#homemade lore

[seeker-ophelia]

14 Days Until Veilguard

Technically 13 days, 23 hours and 27 minutes but who's counting...

I AM UNWELL

[seeker-ophelia]

This is fantastic. Give me more.

dirthamen and ghilan'nain's intertwined history — a theory

the relationship between dirthamen and ghilan'nain within the lore has always been unclear but incredibly fascinating to me, and after these past few months of being haunted by it i think i've finally figured it out!

in this *very* long post i'll be breaking down their connections and piecing together theories to make sense of their dynamic and history, investigating the more puzzling elements of dirthamen's lore, and exploring how this all ties into the evanuris' eventual betrayal of mythal. i've kept this theory free of veilguard spoilers so everyone is able to read it!

—————

the connections

the reason why dirthamen and ghilan'nain's dynamic is often overlooked is because most of the ties they have to each other can be easily missed or are sometimes misinterpreted. there is only ONE codex entry that explicitly mentions them together, and while that is already widely discussed, there are many smaller connections between them. so here is everything i've found!

the bear mural:

this mural in dai shows a white antlered figure embracing a green bear. to me, it looks like the bear is being protective of the figure (judging by the fact that they are reaching up to it). the art style looks elven and it's used in a few locations, such as the skyhold barn...

...aaand at calenhad's foothold in the hinterlands:

and well well well, that's dirthamen's statue seated just above it...

so this mural seems to depict dirthamen as the bear and ghilan'nain as the antlered figure, specifically how the dalish may depict them in their legends:

dirthamen's sacred animal was the bear (x), (source is a dalish elf, this info is not found anywhere in elvhen lore)

ghilan'nain had "snowy white hair" and became the first halla (x), (source is a dalish elf, this info is not found anywhere in elvhen lore)

it should be said, the amount of actual elvhen lore we have is very limited, so these could in fact be true and not just misinterpreted by the dalish. though they've been twisted, dalish legends came from somewhere, and especially in ghil's example it makes complete sense to portray her as a woman with antlers and white hair when her sacred animal has antlers and white fur. and while dirthamen is mentioned only with corvids in ancient elvhen lore, they are mentioned as seperate entities than him, so the bear could in fact be the representation of himself. in any case, i'm proceeding with the assumption that this mural is indeed supposed to portray them.

so, as the figure is reaching out to the bear herself, i'm ruling out any possibility of the bear being hostile towards her. it looks like the bear is protecting her, from what? or who? above them is the moon, perhaps it's an indication that mythal is watching, and/or that the bear is protecting or hiding the antlered lady away from her?

———

mosaics in the lost temple of dirthamen:

the design of dirthamen's temple is really fascinating. there's elven imagery scattered all throughout, but mosaics of himself are completely missing. there are, however, mosaics of two other elven gods...

there are five green mosaics of falon'din... and two red ones of ghilan'nain. next to one of ghil's there is also this:

falon'din being there makes sense given that he and dirthamen were "twin souls", which we're not entirely sure what that meant, but either way they had some sort of deep bond. ghilan'nain, however... and this specific mural... less so. this art in particular really reminds me of this description of the bas-reliefs from the horror of hormak:

"The halla were different, wrong. They had too many horns, for one, and a harder, more rounded look than normal. A look that was almost insectile. And the horns themselves were longer and ridged. Organic, somehow."

so, why would dirthamen have put her mosaics in his temple? clearly they had some sort of connection, close enough that he decided to honour her within his own place of worship. you don't just put some other god in your temple for no reason, you know?

on why dirthamen's mosaics are missing:

my best guess is that they were defaced/taken down afterwards, either by his own priests or by invaders. the codex entry for the lost temple mentions madness caused by the secrets they held...

"We will not have it, will not have it! The secrets are madness in our ears, but they are ours The Highest One cannot take them from us. Only Dirthamen, our Keeper, only he And if he does not take the secrets They are ours forever."

...and unless dismembering your high priest was a holy tradition to dirthamen then yeah, it doesn't seem like they were entirely sane. for whatever reason, in their madness, they could have torn down the mosaics.

though invaders seem more likely here, simply because they would have just... done a better job defacing mosaics if they truly wanted to. and to remove only dirthamen's mosaics, and not falon'din's or ghilan'nain's.

"They will come for us in the night Those who could steal the words from our lips And our god no longer rises to our defense."

this part of the codex implies that there were attacks on the temple by those who would steal the priests' secrets, and that dirthamen would defend them against these invaders. when he was locked away, he couldn't defend them anymore, and so these attackers could have easily gotten in. interesting... breaking in and removing his mosaics but not falon'din or ghilan'nain's would indicate a hostility towards dirthamen himself, but not the other gods...

———

the sinner:

by now we've all seen this widely discussed codex entry:

"His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine. The sinner belongs to Dirthamen; he claims he took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain, and begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him." For one moment there is an image of a shifting, shadowy mass with blazing eyes, whose form may be one or many. Then it fades.

so apparently "taking the shape of the divine" was a crime bad enough that it counts as high treason and mythal referred judgment to elgar'nan for it, which is REAL bad. this sinner claims ghilan'nain urged him to do it, but why? one would assume the sinner didn't survive elgar'nan's judgment, and if you really wanted someone dead there would be easier ways to kill them... so to me this reads as an attempt to sow discord, either between dirthamen's worshippers or to paint them as troublesome and dirthamen himself as irresponsible in the eyes of the other evanuris? at least that's my takeaway here.

———

the next few are going to be smaller hints that basically rely on subtler location design and stuff like that. i could just be picking at nothing but it's worth mentioning either way!

ghilan'nain's grove and the crow fens:

there are two inaccesible areas in the exalted plains for which you need to complete war table missions to access: ghilan'nain's grove, and citadelle du corbeau. ghil's grove specifically leads you to two other areas: the dead hand, and the crow fens.

the crow fens are interesting because of dirthamen's connection to crows and/or ravens, as written in his dalish legend and by two of the runes from his quest:

"The revealed symbols show what appears to be Dirthamen, the elven god of secrets, on the back of a large crow."

"The revealed symbols show two ravens. One grips a heart in its talons, the other a mirror."

seems like the ravens are fear (heart) and deceit (mirror) while the crow is... idk, just some Big Bird he has. i guess.

so a location named after one of dirthamen's favourite animals right next to ghilan'nain's grove — and let's also go back to that other unlockable area, citadelle du corbeau:

there he is again! the structure is elven, maybe the citadelle was once a place of worship dedicated to him? it's interesting that it's in such close proximity to ghilan'nain's grove, and what's also interesting is the massive statue of fen'harel watching over the entire area:

finally, the description of the quest Rifts in the Fens, which covers the fade rifts in the general ghilan'nain's grove area, says this...

"Active Fade rifts has been spotted in Montevelan Village, Dirthamen's Grove, and the Crow Fens."

seems like it was mistakenly left in, but it definitely implies that ghilan'nain's grove was originally named dirthamen's grove. alright...

———

elven pantheon codex entry placements:

also a smaller one that may mean nothing, but anyway. each of the elven god codexes are scattered through the exalted plains, with four of them being located in the ghilan'nain's grove/crow fens region. these are:

Dirthamen: Keeper of Secrets & Falon'din: Friend of the Dead, the Guide — both found within the dead hand puzzle area

Andruil: Goddess of the Hunt & Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla — both found within the crow fens area, on halla statues standing opposite each other

these two pairings found in the same zone is really interesting, especially that dirthamen's is in an area closer to ghilan'nain's grove and ghil's is in the crow fens. :)

———

mosaic placements in the temple of mythal:

most of the elven god codexes in the temple of mythal are scattered about, with the exception of three who are bunched up in the same room together:

elgar'nan, dirthamen, and ghilan'nain.... interesting bunch to put together considering there are no documented interactions between them so far, save for the sinner codex (and ghil & elg now i guess....) in addition, there's also two golden owl (usually representing falon'din) statues flanking dirthamen and a mosaic of fen'harel to the left of elgar'nan, but those don't grant any additional codex entries.

the reason i find these placements interesting is because of the placements of the falon'din and andruil murals in the temple. they're both on either side of the door to the inner sanctum and both of their codex entries mention mythal fighting them. it just seems very deliberate to me, so maybe this is too.

———

the varterral:

i've seen a few theories about the varterral being one of the creatures that ghilan'nain created - valid, by the way, since it does look like a mix of creatures and something she may create. however...

"...On the fourth day, Dirthamen heard them. He whispered into the mountains and the fallen trees of the forest gathered, shaping an immense and agile spider-like beast. It was the varterral. With lightning speed, vicious strikes, and venomous spit, it drove back the serpent. From then on, it was the guardian of the city and its people." — Codex entry: Varterral

here dirthamen is credited with the creation of the varterral. but it's worth noting that, 1. this is a dalish tale so it may have happened differently, and 2. it's not stated that he created the first varterral or anything, just that he made one. regardless, he made a creature, and an awfully ghil-flavoured one at that.

—————

theories on dirthamen & ghilan'nain's relationship

so what we know now is that they're placed next to each other a lot, there's a mural of them embracing, ghilan'nain was clearly important enough to dirthamen for him to put her mosiacs in his temple, and she may have turned against him later.

firstly, an idea: in ancient elvhenan, a lot of the population were enslaved to the evanuris, whether directly or indirectly through a noble that served them. we don't know if the nobles, or any of the chosen, also had vallaslin like the slaves did. but consider that ghilan'nain was once a normal elf; she became an evanuris later. so the two possibilities here are: 1. she was one of these nobles or chosen, or 2. she was a slave. either way the question remains: which god does someone who makes monsters serve?

the most likely suspects:

andruil: in dalish lore ghil is often mentioned as andruil's favourite, her beloved, a huntress who served her, etc. in the elvhen story of her ascension, it is andruil who approaches her with the offer of godhood. it's possible ghil was making monsters for andruil to hunt (she is specifically mentioned in the story as hunting them,) or perhaps andruil simply intervened when the monsters were getting out of hand first, and their relationship came later?

dirthamen: ghil was a scientist... she made monsters yes, but she conducted experiments and collected research (remember the taken shape?) — she gathered knowledge. that seems just like the kind of thing dirthamen would encourage and value: maybe that's why her mosaic is in his temple, and that's what the bear mural means — he was like a patron to her, she reached to him for assistance, and he granted it?

as for the servant/slave question, i personally think she was not a slave, just based on all she was able to do (she had free rein of all those thaigs, seemingly got subjects delivered to her, had that massive gemstone wall — basically, it's clear her experiments were funded) although i do think it would be super badass if she was a slave beforehand, as well as kinda tragic. like... she broke free of her bindings and became a goddess, but eventually turned into those who once oppressed her... sigh anyway

onto some ideas/possibilities:

ghil served andruil, and made monsters for her to hunt. the connection to dirthamen isn't clear.

ghil served dirthamen freely, and he supported her research. after she ascended, she turned on him for unknown reasons. her relationship with andruil began after ascension.

ghil served dirthamen, and he supported her research, but she did technically "belong" to him. after she ascended, she turned on him, perhaps as revenge? her relationship with andruil began after ascension.

ghil wasn't aligned with any god, and could have just been a noble with her own funds. she could have interacted with and formed relationships with multiple gods, as she wasn't bound to a single one.

i personally think number 2 is the most probable here. going from dirthamen -> andruil rather than andruil -> dirthamen makes more sense, considering that the ghilandruil mural from the missing was clearly drawn after ghil's ascension (since she has her headpiece) and also, from what we've seen of ghil so far, she seems very proud of her creations. why would she want them hunted? again, the bargain she made was to destroy her creations in exchange for godhood. it was a sacrifice.

finally, considering her resources it makes more sense for ghil to have been a servant rather than a slave. what remains now is the question: why would she have turned on dirthamen?

a reason for betrayal

between the missing mosaics in his temple, ghil convincing his followers to commit crimes, and the stabbed fade statue, you can probably tell by now that something's different about dirthamen. remember the fen'harel statue looking over the citadel? there are more potential connections to solas if you look close enough:

fen'harel statues in the lost temple:

dirthamen's mosaics in the elven mountain ruins (note: these are the only evanuris mosaics in the entire area, not counting the forgotten sanctuary):

mosaics in the forgotten sanctuary (on each wall: dirthamen - mythal - fen'harel - falon'din - dirthamen)

symbol of the two ravens in the forgotten sanctuary armoury

so what does this all mean? well u/eravas on reddit had a theory that these are hints that dirthamen could have potentially been helping solas and mythal with the rebellion. remember how morrigan said it was weird the temple of mythal had fen'harel statues? and the mountain ruins were a sanctuary, so why keep the mosaics? (there are also a few other hints eravas mentioned that i missed, but these are the most important!)

and remember how i said that attackers on the lost temple of dirthamen could have torn his mosaics down specifically and left the others? and i came to the conclusion that they must have had a grudge against dirthamen specifically. well, there is some other defaced imagery... in the form of these decapitated statues of mythal:

so, why would dirthamen have helped solas? i don't know, but we don't really have explicit answers as to why mythal helped him either. and then, why did solas trap dirthamen along with the others? well, there is one last thing...

the statue in the fade: the final piece of the puzzle

and now, the part that lives in my head rent free!

if kieran exists in your worldstate, then during the quest The Final Piece you will find him and flemeth in the fade, and above their meeting ground there is a massive statue of dirthamen with a blade in his back, with blood pouring out of the wound and his eyes:

alright so to be clear this takes place in the raw fade, not the "dreaming" fade; we know the fade usually reflects the dreamer, but know less about the "raw fade" when we aren't dreaming. it's complicated, but from the random statues and scattered memories we see in the fade during here lies the abyss, it's safe to assume that some of the aspects of the dreaming fade (such as it being ever-shifting and a reflection of the waking world) are also present in the raw fade. therefore, i'm guessing that this statue's presence here is mirroring something that happened in the waking world... so what is it?

i think there are two possibilites:

someone betrayed dirthamen, and this captures the moment of his betrayal

dirthamen betrayed mythal, and this statue is a "reflection" of this

while 1 is more of a direct mirror and is more likely, we don't have that much info about who could have done that to him. yeah, ghil maybe, but she was only stirring the pot and this seems more... severe. 2 is what i believe due to flemeth's deliberate choice to use that specific area as a meeting spot. also, if one of the other evanuris had betrayed dirthamen, well solas said they fought among each other all the time, so that would seem pretty insignificant. on the other hand... mythal was betrayed by what we assume was all of the other seven evanuris. why portray dirthamen specifically?

the betrayal of mythal

so now we have the idea of dirthamen helping solas and mythal, and we have the fact that solas trapped all seven remaining evanuris for their murder of mythal, which includes dirthamen.

that is the missing piece: dirthamen helped murder mythal, despite helping her and solas, and presumably sharing their goals. why? let me go back to something i said about the sinner codex...

this reads as an attempt to sow discord, either between dirthamen's worshippers or to paint them as troublesome and dirthamen himself as irresponsible in the eyes of the other evanuris

consider that ghilan'nain and dirthamen were close, and she was this young elf who had just gotten into the ranks of the gods, probably trying her hardest to fit in. consider that perhaps she stumbled upon her friend's - and now fellow god's - involvement in a rebellion against the gods. but she was the youngest of them. she could not just go to the other evanuris and say, "dirthamen is plotting against us", because she was so new to their group that they would just simply not believe her word over mythal and dirthamen's. so what else could she do to discredit his word? cause discord among his followers, maybe? to paint him as irresponsible, untrustworthy, and suspicious?

and maybe she succeeded. maybe the evanuris found out about the rebellion, and mythal and dirthamen's roles, or perhaps only mythal's? either way, it all ended up with them asking dirthamen to join them in their plot to murder mythal - if his involvement was revealed, perhaps he was threatened or promised to be spared if he helped. either way, the question is: why did he agree? did he change his mind and side with the evanuris? or did he do it for preservation reasons? to save himself, and all he'd acquired? honestly, i cannot imagine a god who gathers secrets and knowledge agreeing to throw away his life like that.

so there you have it. i think dirthamen betrayed mythal, and solas, with a much deeper cut than any of the other evanuris could have possibly delivered. and for that he was trapped alongside them, paying the price for his treachery.

the full narrative, summarised

to break down all my theorycrafting and brainstorming in a short summary:

dirthamen was ghilan'nain's patron, until she ascended to godhood and discovered his involvement in solas and mythal's rebellion. unable to simply tell the other gods, ghilan'nain began to sow discord in attempt to discredit dirthamen's word. when the evanuris eventually turned against mythal, dirthamen went along with them in order to preserve himself, and ultimately paid the price by being trapped in the fade alongside the others. the end!

—————

final note: companion parallels

i first touched on this briefly here but i have a small theory that part of bellara and davrin's characters will be to sort of act as parallels to the gods whose vallaslin they have. what i found curious about veilguard's early marketing was the focus on companions and how important they will be, and i specifically noted the multiple times the writers said that the companions were all deeply thought through and are significant to the plot. it's clear the companions were thoughtfully crafted in order to provide different perspectives and experiences, which is why i found it incredibly interesting that they decided on two dalish elf companions — in a game about elven gods terrorising the world, you'd think that one dalish elf and one city elf could provide more differing perspectives, but bioware specifically picked two dalish elves instead. it implies that, despite their similar upbringings, bellara and davrin may have completely differing opinions about the current threat, or about solas, or something else we don't know about yet. it was clearly a very deliberate decision, and with how important the vallaslin is to dalish elves, it has to mean something.

bellara is an elven lore nerd who loves exploring ancient ruins and uncovering secrets. dirthamen was an easy guess, and the design - although new and very unique - matched up to patterns on his inquisition vallaslin. as of sept 19, it has been confirmed her vallaslin is indeed dirthamen's.

davrin is a grey warden and a monster hunter. his vallaslin design was harder to figure out, at first i thought it was june's but the lines and layout really remind me more of ghilan'nain's.

the parallels are pretty clear. bellara is more similar to dirthamen, being interested in secrets and knowledge and such. whereas davrin and ghilan'nain are at odds: davrin being a grey warden monster hunter, ghil being a blighted monster maker. one similarity, and one anithesis, which makes them unique to each other. and for all the gods bioware could have picked, to choose dirthamen and ghilan'nain... well, ghil is of course one of our antagonists, but dirthamen has no direct connection to the plot...

........ or maybe he does? we'll have to find out :)

[inbabylontheywept]

she was dead silent on the drive home, but that was okay. sometimes, after band practice, she was just out of words. it was a short drive to her house. the only part where it actually felt weird was after i pulled up her parent’s driveway. 

after that, the silence stretched so far it smeared and left a weird residue. she kept looking at the car door like she wanted to leave, so i looked at the door too, then she looked at me, and i looked at her, and my first thought was that she was going to tell me that the door was stuck. i was used to that car always doing some damn thing. it was the car me and all my siblings had learned to drive in, and it was really beat to hell. there were dents all over the body, which we’d unsuccessfully tried fixing up with spackle. it had looked nice for maybe a week, but then the sun wrecked it - the spackle cracked up like the mud on the bottom of a dry riverbed and turned a sort of off yellow-white that made the car looked like it had been molded out of chicken shit. it also had a bullet hole it through the cabin that whistled like a toothless old man whenever the car went above 40, so loud it could drown out the radio, and a cabin that smelled so strongly of bugspray that even the arizona summer we drove everywhere we could with the windows down.

(if you have kids one day, you will maybe, possibly, begin to understand how much i loved that car.)

anyway, i was thinking about what else could possibly be wrong with the chickenshitmobile, and she just kept looking at me, and then i wondered if there was something on my face, and she just kept looking at me, and then the penny dropped and i realized she was trying to work up the nerve to break up with me. 

now, i’d seen her work up the nerve to do things like this before – it could take quite a while. and knowing it was about to happen made the waiting immediately unbearable. 

so i said hey. 

and she looked at me, very startled, and said hey back real small. like she’d been caught. and in a way, i suppose she had. 

and i said it’s okay. you can just say it. i’ll be okay.

i’m always okay. 

and she said: i’m really sorry. 

i loved her, you know? it was highschool, but teenagers are capable of love. the way people love changes over time just as much as the way they stand, or the way they talk, but things don’t stop existing just because they're different. opposite really – a thing only stops changing when it's fully gone.

and i said, nothing to be sorry for, and i meant it. she looked a little relived, and i was happy to give her that peace. then she left. i watched her make it through the front door, because that was just habit at that point, and then i sat there a while afterwards, checking how i felt. and the answer was not good, but good enough to make it home. good enough to limp on. 

so i put my car in reverse, took my last look goodbye, and immediately backed into her neighbor’s car. 

crunch. 

air bags didn't go off, which was good. i left a decent dent in the bumper of the other car. genuinely couldn’t tell if i did anything to my car – anything wrong with it just kind of blended together into the general ecosystem of hand mottled, sun cracked, chickenshit spackle. 

i checked my glove box, and my car insurance info was, of course, out of date. my phone was dead too. as a teenager, my phone was less my lifeline to my friends, and more my tether to my parents, so i wasn’t particularly conscious of keeping it charged. both my fault.

i sat there a few minutes, trying to think of the best way to handle things, and there was only one answer i could think of, and i hated that answer, so i spent a few more minutes trying and failing to think of a better one, and then a few more coming to peace with what had to be done. 

then i went back to knock on my now ex’s front door. 

her dad opened, which i was very relieved over, even if he seemed less than thrilled. he looked me over, and in a firm, but slightly apologetic way said: she does not want to see you right now. 

(i think he assumed i was going to try and talk her out of the break up?)

and i said not here for her. i just backed into your neighbor’s car, and i need to call my dad, but my phone’s dead. could i borrow yours?

and he looked at me, then back at his neighbors car, which sure enough was dented, then he looked at the chickenshitmobile, and if there was something wrong with it, it just kind of blended into the general Wrongness of the car, then back to me, and i could see him imagining the last ten minutes from my pov: getting broken up with, backing into a car, having to walk up to your exes door and borrow a phone, calling my dad to tell him that i just reversed into someone.  

and his expression shifted from stern and apologetic to truly sad, which felt more kind that i deserved. things only got here because i kept fucking up - forgot to look behind me, forgot to replace the insurance forms, forgot to charge my phone. it was my mess, but his sympathy meant the world to me. i probably would’ve cried if he said sorry, or patted me on the back or called me sport, but instead he said

stay out here – i’ll bring you a phone.

and then he left.  

i found a nice spot on the lawn in the shade under a sycamore, then settled into his grass.i was trying not to freak out, and was doing an okay job. he came out a minute or so later, not just with a phone, but a juicebox and a jar of green olives, which really threw a wrench in the whole try not to cry thing. soon as i saw those, a few tears squoze out. i was still hoping i could pass them off as Manly Tears but then he told me that he’d gotten the olives a few weeks before and had been meaning to hand them off to me, and that this was his last chance for that. then i made a sound like a horse drowning in a bog, and he patted my back pretty rough, four solid thumps, like he wasn't sure if i was crying or choking on an olive, and was trying to cover both bases at once.

then he went back inside, and i made a few more bog horse noises while finishing off the rest of the entire jar of green olives, and then i called my dad.

he was about ten minutes away that day, and luckily was home. he drove over, and we went to the neighbor’s house, and from there things actually went quite nice. the neighbor was a retired man who actually said he could fix the dent himself, no need for insurance. he said he appreciated that i didn't just drive off, and i said i was really sorry about his car, and he said he was really sorry about my car, and then he gestured to the chickenshitmobile and i laughed because it really was a disaster on wheels.

then we left.

i thought we were going to head straight home, but instead we went to a gas station, and we both got several slim jims that we folded into thick enough coils that we could put them on a hotdog bun because the growing up mormon equivalent of having a sad brewski with your dad is just choosing to make bad decisions sober. then he took me to the canals and we watched the sun turn all orange and pink, and he looked over at me and said:

brains are good at remembering bad days. so you gotta make sure that a bad day has a good part in in, so you can remember that too. remember that when you have a kid. try to do a good job on days like that - they're going to be a big part of how they remember you.

and then he gave me a big hug and said he was never going to eat another slim jim again.

---

the year after that i went to college, which kicked my butt in new and exciting ways. and on a lot of those bad days, after a test that went sour, or a faux paus that was particularly embarrassing, or some other hardship of my new adult life, i’d stop by the gas station and pick up leathery, half jerkied hotdog before heading to the canals to watch the sun set. i’d take a bite and imagine my dad next to me, grimacing through the slim-jim wad, asking what good thing i was going use that time to remember. 

and in my head, i’d say you, dad. 

i’m going to remember you.

[trebuchet151]

🍕🧠

If you’re up for it!

🍕 What is their favorite food?

Corey would do anything for tamales. Doesnt matter what kind of filling or where theyre from (buddys got low standards, regularly buys gas station tamales and makes themselves sick). But super extra bonus points if theyre from tia Elena. They love the process of making them just as much as eating them, but they rarely do it. Making tamales is meant to be a family affair also they suck at cooking and know they need help to pull it off

🧠 What do you like the most about the OC?

I love how well I can relate to Corey and some of their struggles, especially given their origins as a self insert. Its been a good exercise in self love lol.

On a less sappy note, I love drawing them. Their facial features (particularly their nose) are really fun to draw, and we share the same fashion sense. Drawing all the tiny details on their sidestep-era battle jacket is super therapeutic and relaxing.

[stevethehairington]

thinkin about how in elementary school me and my friends were actively trying to write a script/screenplay for a bloody mary movie

[seeker-ophelia]

Honestly, what would I do without Tumblr Mutuals?

(Have a life outside of Dragon Age, Maybe? lol don't be ridiculous)

LOL Nadas I had at least half of this already written for a separate post (mostly on Dragons and The Blight which I will link here after I post it), LETHALLAN WE ARE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH....

kinda.

Ok a few things before we begin.

We don’t KNOW. We don’t know that Solas was made from Lyrium. We THINK. But we actually know very little.

We know nothing, John Snow, until we play the game in 4 days

Moving on

Lyrium: Titans' Blood, Emerald Waters of the Fade

I am not ready to admit that these are the same thing and I cannot articulate why.

In short: I think the Fade is the Titans' missing consciousness.

Ahhhhhhghhh then how do you explain

This Vir Dirthara: Attentive Listeners Codex?

The pages of this book—memory?—show a solemn group of elves in an ampitheater of living wood, entire trees grown into seats and stairs for the listeners to recline on. Two other elves and a spirit of learning are speaking in turn on ways to bend the properties of the material world when casting spells. At the end, the spirit, with the air of a senior lecturer, floats forward and booms in a surprisingly deep voice. "The unchanging world is delicate: spells of power invite disaster and annihilation. The unchanging world is stubborn: the pull of the earth fiercely resists making fire run like water or stone rise like mist. The unchanging world rings with its own harmony. Listen with fearless hearts, and great works will unfold."

It was from after the fade separation for a titan?

I take this: The unchanging world rings with its own harmony.

To mean: Earth-Magic (Titan-Magic) is different from Fade-Magic (Elf-Spirit-Magic) but it has its own beauty, its own power.

BUT.

I wasn’t ready to agree with you, and then you hit me with this:

And the Chant of Light agrees with me. Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew. Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you. In my arms lies Eternity. —Andraste 14:11

Well Fuck Me I mean, you’ve certainly got me there.

But, since when has the Chantry ever been right?

Re: What IS a Spirit, Then?

What do we actually KNOW about The Veil:

The Veil separates the living Thedas world from the world of the spirits, and it also somehow acts as a prison for the Evanuris.

It was created by Solas/The Dread Wolf

And, that’s it. That’s all we know about the veil.

What else is The Veil doing? Does it have an effect on The Titans? Some people have said Solas is using The Veil to hide The Titans, protecting the last that exist from the Evanuris. Some say that The Veil has no effect on The Titans, because they’re made of earth and The Veil effects magic/fade, so they’re not the same. Some say it makes The Titans sleep.

Truth is, we don’t know yet.

Reminder:

In the light of the veilfire, the runes seem to shift, coiling and uncoiling like snakes. A thunderous voice shatters the stillness, shouting: “Hail Mythal, adjudicator and savior! She has struck down the pillars of the earth and rendered their demesne unto the People! Praise her name forever!” For a moment, the scent of blood fills the air, and there is a vivid image of green vines growing and enveloping a sphere of fire. The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast. A voice whispers: “What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all.”

What happens when a titan gets sundered (blocked off from its dwarves)? Is it dead? Can it regrow? Or is it lost forever? Where do the memories go?

Dorian: That orb Corypheus carries... are you certain it's of elven origin, Solas?

Solas: I believe so. Why do you ask?

Dorian: There are paintings in the Magisterium's archives of men holding similar orbs. They were depictions of a time long before the magisters. The ancient Dreamers, perhaps. The texts called those orbs "somnaborium"--"vessels of dreams." Could they be the same thing?

Solas: Perhaps. The humans of ancient times took much from the elves.

Vessels of dreams. The dreams of the titan. Are in the orb. The spirits and the memories and the songs and the lives of the dwarfs are inside the foci, inside the orbs (not all of them, a piece of each titan in a thousand orbs). In my opinion, in other words, the SPIRITS of the dwarVHEN is in the orbs. The MAGIC of the Dwarvhen is in the Orb. The Orb itself is a vessel, created to leash the power (magic) of the Dwarvhen.

What happens when that “vessel,” that orb, breaks?

The dreams are gone. The magic is gone, the power is gone.

What happened to it? Is it lost forever? Dissipated to the winds? Truly gone?

At the end of All New Faded for Her:

Inky: What happens when a spirit dies? Solas: It isn’t the same as for mortals. The energy of spirits returns to the fade. If the idea giving the spirit form is strong, or if the memory has shaped other spirits, it may someday rise again.

What happens if a million spirits were to die at once?

Wouldn’t they still return to the fade?

What if a million titan-dwarf-memory-spirits died at once?

Would they return to the stone the titan?

I think its also important to note, that orb is not hollow. It is stone. Black stone. Most likely mined from *drumroll* Emerius. Aka Kirkwall.

The place where the magisterium mines the rock that it builds their temples out of, the City of Chains, the Bone Yard, I think there is special magical properties in the jet stone mined there.

Lets put a pin in this for a minute.

Solas and "Blood" Magic // The Red Lyrium Idol

I'll preface this by saying: no, I have no idea why Solas has changed his tune about blood magic in DA:tV. I hope to find out in five days!

Let’s remember, Blood BINDS. Think Phylactery.

It also makes it harder to get into The Fade, as per Solas. Probably because... it binds, you, to this world, this plane of existence.

If you remember anything about our egg, its that he never wants a person’s will taken away. He will never bind a spirit, or pervert one against its will. (From TN: “From this moment, should you ever bind a spirit, then your life is mine.”)

I do want to suggest that, for Solas, blood magic might mean something different than it does for everyone else.

There's too much to go into here, BUT essentially (does this sound familiar?):

I offer a way out, a way out for all the Grey Wardens that there need be no sacrifice, a ritual, performed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night. It is old magic, before the circle of magi was created. Some might call it blood magic, but that is but a name. there is far more to fear in this world than names.

The Dark Ritual.

Maybe he hates blood, because BLOOD BINDS. 

Oh god I have to go deeper into this.

*Please keep in mind at this point all this is my Opinion now and I have little (zero) evidence to support this

You (Nadas) think of the fade/titans/elvhen/dwarvhen as two sides of the same coin. Which, isn’t really wrong, but I think that you’re missing a huge part of the puzzle.

What makes Dragon Age, Dragon Age.

It’s the Dragons.

If you haven’t, read up on Yavana’s wiki page, and The Great Dragons wiki page, they’re short, I promise.

But the most important line is this: The blood of Great Dragons is enormously powerful.

The Tevinter Imperium echoes this, Qunari stories echo this, and its suggested King Calenhad gained his power because of the blood of a Great Dragon.

We don’t know what separated The Evanuris (at the beginning, only Elgar’nan & Mythal) from the rest of the Elvhen (or spirits) of their time. You might claim that they were literally the first two beings on Thedas (like Adam and Eve), I do no subscribe to that theory.

Trespasser:

The Evanuris were Elvhen Mages? How did they come to be remembered as gods? Slowly, It started with a war. Ware breeds fear. Fear breeds a desire for simplicity. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Chains of command. After the war ended, generals became respected elders, then kings, and finally gods. The Evanuris.

Because of Descent, we think maybe a war with The Titans, but (if the information in the wiki is right), Elvhen were around for a few THOUSAND years before they met the Dwarves. How could they gather power without them?

Well, what about killing the giant fire-breathing bitches in the sky who are probably killing your people/animals?

Let’s stick to only Mythal and Elgar’nan now, because I’m going WAY back in time.

One or both of them found out how to kill a Great Dragon, and when they did, they got his power. Maybe they drank the dragon’s blood and that bound the spirit of the dragon to them.

Namely, a Blue-Dragon-Soul.

Sidebar? Let’s look at Elgar’nan for a minute. The first Evanuris. Who Destroyed The Sun. (In Elvhen, Elgara) Who (IMO) was the first to bind a Dragon Spirit (In Elvhen, Elgar) From that Deep Roads Codex: Though I remember my Keeper telling a story about how the dwarves fear the sun because of Elgar'nan's fire. I think Dragon Fire = The Sun = Evanuris Magic = Dragon Magic = Dragon Spirit Let’s get a little more tin-foilery: IN elvhan the suffix -an means place. A physical location. What if the suffix -nan means bind, like consume. A meta-physical place. That would literally make his name Spirit Binder, or Bound-Spirit-Place. (Not Elgar'arla: Spirit-trap; a binding circle to hold a spirit or demon, because that does exist in the wiki I feel I should put it here)

Back to the Blue-Dragon-Souls

As you so kindly pointed out in that reddit post:

Designer's Notes: This is Flemeth from the previous two games. In this game, Flemeth's story comes to a head -- she knew that Solas would summon her, and that he would need to steal her power to further his plans. She knew that because they are both elven gods...yet Solas has slept for a thousand years and his power dwindled, while she was killed long ago and a spark escaped from her into the body she now holds. She has nurtured that spark, and knew that Solas would need it. He was once her oldest friend, but she knows in his drive to save the elven people he will kill anyone -- even her. She intends to let him have the power, so long as she can pass the essence of her god-hood onto Morrigan, a gift Flemeth had always planned for her daughter yet one Morrigan misunderstood as hostile possession.

The Essence of Mythal is not the Blue-Dragon-Soul (as I had originally thought). The Blue-Dragon-Soul is the first thing that separated “The Evanuris” from their peers. Morrigan will now be Mythigan (Morrithal?), but it is SOLAS who has the power of the dragon (Meta: THIS IS ALSO WHY THE WELL DECISION DOES NOT MATTER).

AND, if I might take it a step further, because I never really thought of it this way until you brought up the fact that Solas is Titan in origin –

Solas walked both worlds, because he was a lyrium spirit, a titan memory, in an Elvhen body. But he was never a true god. I don’t think he ever had a Blue-Dragon-Spirit. I think he just had his orb.

I am going to change the word demon used in the game/wiki to spirit here for emphasis:

In the Hissing Wastes when you complete Fairel’s Tomb, Inky remarks “I’ve never seen a rune like this before.”

It’s a Superb Demon Slaying Rune Schematic. Cool.

What’s a Superb Spirit Slaying Rune Do? (+50 Damage vs Spirits).

What’s it made of?

A blank rune, and 6 units of Pure Dragons Blood.

Dragon Blood Kills Spirits. Magically.

Dragons kill Spirits?

Dragons are effective at killing Spirits?

Dragons have a natural predilection to kill Spirits?

Im just gunna jump all the ways back up there and ctrl C this…

You think of the fade/titans, elvhen/dwarvhen as two separated sides of the same coin. Which, isn’t really wrong, but I think that you’re missing a huge part of the puzzle.

Because its not two sides of the same coin, it’s a Rock/Paper/Scissors triangle.

Dragon Magic, Fade/Elf Magic, and Titan/Dwarf Magic.

*Now I admit, you say that lyrium grows in the fade and that worries me, cuz that kinda shatters my hypothesis to bits. Unless the lyrium is not supposed to be in the fade.  

Again, I have ZERO evidence for this, its just where my brain goes.

SO. What does this mean.

IF, the Emerald Waters of The Fade is the Literal Refined Lyrium of a Titans blood,

That means that Fade and Titan are inexorably linked. Elf magic and Titan magic are linked. By Lyrium. Isana.  

Why? Because, as you say, The Fade is the Titans brain/consciousness/spirit?

We don’t have the time to go down the WHY rabbit hole right now, but we can think about the HOW:

If lyrium is the blood of a titan and also the life-water of the fade, why can Dwarvhen touch it/work with it and Elvhen cannot?

Well, because Mythal created a barrier to prevent the Dwarfs from accessing their magic, Dwarvhen cannot dream, they cannot magic, so that they could safely mine lyrium (bonus power) for the Evanuris (more slaves, essentially).

But, IF, The Fade is a Part of A Titan, that would make Dwarvhen and Elvhen related. They would be children of the same mother.

And maybe instead of the Elvhen meeting the Dwarvhen (in -4600 Ancient or whenever it was) they CREATED the Dwarvhen. Dwarfs are Elves, Elves stripped of magic ability (like tranquil) to mine lyrium. And that makes them short and look like Dwarfs.

I don’t know if I'm convinced of this. This would completely erase Dwarfs as a species of Thedas.

I DO think, that a spirit is to The Fade as a memory is to a Titan.

It is the paradigm, the structure, of how magic works in Thedas.

Spirits float through the fade as memories flow in lyrium.

And the Evanuris stole the… power/magic (memories? spirits? dreams? songs?) of the Titan’s by putting (parts of) it in a barrier, an orb. A stone sphere. A foci, something.

They separated the Titan (Dwarvhen Fade) from the Dwarves, by removing the memories, the dreams, the songs, the spirits. And the Dwarvhen were separated from their Fade.

Golly Gee Willickers that sounds a whole lot like what Solas did with The Veil, does it not?

Not as “opaque,” we shall say, because humans and Dalish can still dream. But certainly similar. Replace Dwarf with Dalish in that paragraph and you have The Veil.

I have to wrap this up now oh my god its so long, but there is actually a reason why I vehemently hate this idea.

It makes me unbelievably sad.

Lets take out that Pin I put in up there.

Cuz it all goes right back to our handsome, hurting eggman.

This thing? This power that was Solas’?

Solas’ Foci? Solas’ Orb?

The thing that he left you because of?  

That means Solas’ Orb was bound dwarvhen spirits. (Or if you are right, bound Elvhen Spirits)

“From this moment, should you ever bind a spirit, then your life is mine.”

Why is there such a difference in his mind? Why is it okay to bind Titan/Dwarf-Memories/Songs but not Fade/Elf-Spirits? Especially if they are the same thing?

Little hypocritical of our eggman to say that of fade-spirits, of Elvhen-spirits, but not a dwarvhen spirits.

FML I’m sorry this is so long.

**Something that will be its own post if I have the time:

More Question About: I think the Fade is less literally part of a Titan and more that this magic framework is the paradigm or blueprint of how magic works in Thedas.

A spirit is to The Fade as a memory is to A Titan.

It is the paradigm, the structure, of how magic works in Thedas.

Spirits float through the fade as memories flow in lyrium.

Elf Spirit = Memory/Song,  // Fade = Lyrium //

Elf = child of fade, Dwarf = child of stone.

And if I am right, If Lyrium is the blood of a titan, Why is it in the fade?

Why/How is The-Fade & Pillars-Of-The-Earth linked?

Do titans make/grow the lyrium?

Does the fade have its own lyrium-growing capabilities or does the Titan Share?

How does it then get into the fade?

Are the Dwarvhen spirits/memories/songs INSIDE liquid lyrium?

Then why are the Fade-Spirits just floating in the Fade (air)?

Is lyrium INFECTING the fade? (Titan moving to take over the Elvhan magic realm in retaliation to the Evanuris blocking them from the Dwarvhen?) Then what are “The Emerald Waters”? And why emerald when lyrium is blue?

I Saw Solas's Origin in an Achievement Icon and It Opened My Eyes on 15 Years of Lore

— PART THREE: if you haven't read previous parts, do it now! —

[ 1 ] [ 2 ]

Welcome, friends and travelers! I wanted to get some thoughts recorded before Veilguard's release so I could see if I am right about an absolute BOATLOAD of theories I have.

In short: I saw the achievement list when it was released. I have seen the backstory hints for Solas included in said list. AND MY MIND WAS BLOWN.

You have been warned: THIS COLLECTION OF THEORIES INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR EVERY DRAGON AGE GAME AND ALL PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL UP TO AND INCLUDING OCTOBER 18, 2024.

Come sit down with me. Make a nice cup of tea (and hide it from Solas). We've got a lot of unpacking to do.

(this photo isn't the spoiler, I just like it.)

Today's Discussion:

So far, we've covered a few things. We know Solas was "born" from (or manifested from) a branch of raw lyrium while he was still connected to a Titan. We know there were hints toward this from across all three previous games, plus a lot of external media. We know his "birth" was initiated/instigated by Mythal.

We also know that there are quite a lot of hints about memory and forgetting across what we've covered so far, from Cole's dialogue to old elvhen lullabies.

But from here, we must ask ourselves: What ARE the Forgotten Ones? And if Solas really IS Titan-born, what does that say about the rest of everything we know about the world of Thedas and its magic?

Why the Titans are the Forgotten Ones

Fen'Harel Walked Between Both Clans of Gods

The Abyss and the Fade

Lyrium: Titans' Blood, Emerald Waters of the Fade

What IS a Spirit, Then?

Solas's Magic: What Was He Born With?

Solas and Petrification

Solas and "Blood" Magic // The Red Lyrium Idol

What Did Solas Absorb at the End of DA:I?

Why the Titans are the Forgotten Ones

Okay. This, I admit, could have been its own post. There is a LOT to cover with just this topic. I was in the midst of outlining such a post when one of my favourite Dragon Age theorycrafters (girltriesgames) came out with this video, which summarizes every point I'd gave gone into at length. Go watch it, if you want the full deep-dive!

For now, I will summarize some of the video's points:

There were two clans of gods, according to Merrill. The first was the Evanuris, and the Forgotten Gods were the second.

Fen'Harel walked among both clans without fear, and both believed he was one of them.

The Forgotten Ones have been "sealed" in the Abyss, which we know is the deep underground from the Descent DLC and other sources such as the Anvil of the Void.

The Forgotten Ones are cited by Merrill and the World of Thedas books as being at war with the Evanuris, namely Mythal and Elgar'nan being at war with four Forgotten Ones; in the Trespasser DLC, it mentions that the Titans were at war with the Evanuris, and slain by Mythal and Elgar'nan.

The Hissing Wastes features codices from ancient dwarves who fled to the surface to escape a war that was ultimately... forgotten, featuring dragons being used as weapons that slaughtered their kin. Obviously an above-ground enemy!

There are countless mentions of the word "Forgotten" around the Titans and dwarves. The Titans have been forgotten. They do not exist in the Memories of Orzammar. The sleeping Titans have forgotten how to wake up.

Cole makes many mentions of forgotten songs in relation to the sleeping Titans and also to the dwarves. Curiously, he even ties these concepts to the Templars, who employ the same magic (according to Cole).

Fen'Harel Walked Between Both Clans of Gods

Once I knew that Solas is made from lyrium and that the Titans are the Forgotten Ones, everything clicked into place for me. The legends say that Fen'Harel walked between both "clans" of gods because each one believed him to be one of their own. That sentence made less sense to me before, because I wondered: how does an elf fool an entire other clan of gods into believing he belongs to them?

Understanding that the Titans are the Forgotten Ones, famously the clan of gods that the Evanuris (namely Mythal and Elgar'nan) warred with... well, it makes sense now, doesn't it? Solas was able to walk between both clans of gods because he DOES have roots in both. Solas is crafted FROM a Titan. Solas BECAME an Evanuris. The Titan would recognize him as one of its own; the Evanuris accept him as one of their own.

This is backed up even further by a piece of Solas's dialogue in The Threat Remains.

"I have journeyed deep into the Fade in ancient ruins and battlefields to see the dreams of lost civilizations. I’ve watched as hosts of spirits clash to reenact the bloody past of ancient wars both famous and forgotten."

The Titans' existence was struck from Orzammar's Memories. Cole makes endless mentions of forgotten songs, old songs. Beings that are sleeping and don't remember how to wake up. Beings that have forgotten even themselves. Solas refers to dwarves as the severed arm of a once mighty hero.

"Wars both famous and forgotten," therefore, might refer to a war that was famous among the ancient elvhen, but forgotten by the rest of the world. One side takes pride in the mining of lyrium from slain titans. The other is doomed never to know what was lost.

But the question remains: When Solas created the Veil to imprison the Evanuris, what exactly happened to the Titans?

The Abyss and the Fade

To truly understand what happened to the Titans, we must first understand what, exactly, the Veil was making a divide between. We know much of what happened to the Fade: that Solas says it was once a state of nature like the wind, flowing through everything. That now it is mutable and unpredictable, with little in the way of permanence in anything. That it takes the shape of the thoughts and memories of those within it. That magic functions unpredictably within it.

But what about what that meant for the Titans? What happened to them with this split? And, more importantly, what was the Fade in relation to them?

Let's start with what we know about the Titans' domain. Frequently called the Abyss or the Void, the realm of the Titans is below the surface. Yet, in much elvhen literature found in Trespasser, their domain is referred to as the Earth.

I believe, based on the context of those codices, that the Earth and the Abyss are not the same. The Abyss refers to the caverns in the deep underground. The Earth, specifically, is the Titans who live within the Abyss. Earth, in the ancient elvhen, pre-Veil context, may refer to the Titans' bodies—lyrium—while "Pillars of the Earth" refers to the Titans as sentient beings. The Song to Elgar'nan talks about wanting victory over the Earth, capital 'E.'

Though the Chant of Light describes the Void as more a state of being, the ancient elvhen describe it as Andruil's old hunting grounds.

One day Andruil grew tired of hunting mortal men and beasts. She began stalking the Forgotten Ones, wicked things that thrive in the abyss. Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning. Andruil put on armor made of the Void, and all forgot her true face. She made weapons of darkness, and plague ate her lands. She howled things meant to be forgotten, and the other gods became fearful Andruil would hunt them in turn.

The time of Andruil using the Void as her hunting grounds predates the Veil. Overall, we already know much of what this codex implies about the Void: that it is dark, underground, and that there is reason we know of that would send Andruil back with madness (the abundance of raw lyrium and the fact that the Evanuris are mages, plus Andruil's lyrium armor).

What I want to focus on is that the Forgotten Ones were thriving in the Abyss before the Veil went up. They were alive and, ostensibly, able to fight back. They had access to their will and to their consciousness.

That consciousness seems to have disappeared with the creation of the Veil. Let me rephrase.

The Titans lost access to their consciousness with the creation of the Veil. At the same time. And what did the Veil do? What is the SOLE thing it did?

Separated the Fade from the waking world.

A collection of facts, when taken together, lead me to my conclusion about the relationship between the Abyss, the Fade, and the Titans.

The Forgotten Ones (Titans) live in the Abyss

They were conscious and "thriving" before the Veil went up

Cole remarks that they have "forgotten" how to wake up in the time since

No one has memory of the Titans, not even the dwarves

Lyrium is the blood of the Titans

and lyrium grows in the Fade.

Lyrium: Titans' Blood, and the Emerald Waters of the Fade

I think a lot of us (me included) have been thinking about the Fade all wrong. I think a lot of people consider the Fade to be this Other Thing™ that was once a part of the world, and is now separate. Now, I believe differently. I think that the Fade and the Titans were once two pieces of one whole, and creating the Veil effectively sundered all Titans' consciousness from their bodies.

In short: I think the Fade is the Titans' missing consciousness.

That's why I think it is very important not just that Lyrium exists in the Fade, but that it grows there. It implies that the Fade is still alive, just like the Titans are still alive, but asleep.

When Solas says, "I seek... regeneration" in Vows & Vengeance, I think this is what he means: reconnecting these two sundered pieces.

We've always thought as the Fade as the realm of spirits. Those characters who contemplate the Veil being torn down immediately think about how many spirits and demons that might unleash upon Thedas.

But I must ask: If the Fade is the consciousness of sundered Titans, where did the first spirits come from, before the creation of the Veil? What relation could Titans have with spirits?

What IS a Spirit, Then?

I'm sure that I am not alone when I say that my original guess for Solas's origin story is that he was a spirit that took mortal, corporeal shape. We've all heard Cole say, "He did not want a body, but she asked him to come." We all know that the Dread Wolf's six eyes greatly resemble a Pride demon, and we have seen that Solas' Manifestation achievement icon features those same six eyes.

If you're like me, you might've seen that and wondered how exactly this is all related. How can Solas be a spirit of Wisdom turned to Pride if he came from a Titan?

I'm here to tell you: I think those are the same thing.

And the Chant of Light agrees with me.

Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew. Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you. In my arms lies Eternity. —Andraste 14:11

Many believe that the well of sorrows and the waters of the Fade must have elemental associations with, well... water. But I'd like to put forth a different interpretation.

Lyrium exists in liquid form, once refined. The Bastion of the Pure in the Descent DLC has a literal underground sea. We know that lyrium is the Titans' blood, growing both in the Abyss and the Fade. We also know that the Fade, domain of spirits, is likely the Titans' sundered consciousness.

The "well of all souls," then, is the same as the "emerald waters." Both of them refer not to water, not to oceans, but to lyrium.

I think every spirit on Thedas, not just the dwarves, came from the Titans originally.

To test the validity of my idea, I then asked myself: what do we know of spirits and their nature?

We know that spirits all boil down to one singular quality: Wisdom, Compassion, Purpose, Love, Justice, etc etc etc.

We know that those qualities can change back and forth from "virtuous" to "demonic" depending on the spirit's own feelings and reactions to the world. The trauma of crossing the Veil or being bound can force Wisdom to become Pride (Solas's personal quest) or Compassion to Rage (Down Among the Dead Men from Tevinter Nights).

Not all spirits are named for "virtues" or "sins." For instance, there are Hunger demons, and hunger is not a sin.

Spirits can be killed outright. When that happens, they may reform, but they are never quite the same when they coalesce again. There are also "ancient spirits" mentioned throughout the franchise, which tells me that not all spirits are the same age. They were not all created at the same time.

Many spirits are mere wisps, without one of those one-word qualities. They must gain power before they take such a shape.

To me, that sounds a lot like how thoughts work.

Our singular thoughts could also be boiled down to singular qualities, if framed in a certain way. For instance, my current craving for food is very much a Hunger thought. My constant joy in reading World of Thedas stems from Curiosity. Terrible traffic conditions inspire fleeting Rage, which changes when I remember my Compassion for other drivers who might be erratic because they're going through an emergency or something traumatic.

People don't remember every single thought they have. The ones that stick with us over time? They remain with us because they are powerful. Stronger memories stick around longer; the rest fade away or become shapeless until we try really hard to remember them again.

But when we do remember things we have forgotten? We never remember them exactly the same, do we? If I remember I thought I had as a child, I have to remember it with the context of my current 30-year-old self. I will never experience the thought exactly as my 5-year-old self did.

As long as I have access to my own consciousness, I will constantly produce new thoughts and memories.

Therefore?

Specifically, I think that all spirits on Thedas are the thoughts of Titans, once either held in lyrium or free to drift through the Fade before the Veil existed. Those spirits may then manifest into a corporeal shape, like Cole does, if they have enough power.

And Solas? Solas is one such thought-spirit, who used to be held in lyrium, who Mythal convinced (or coerced) to take shape.

Which explains a great deal about every type of magic we see him use.

Solas's Magic: What Was He Born With?

Oh, Solas, you beautiful enigma. For so long, we thought of you as an ordinary mage. Then, with the big Fen'Harel reveal and the way you began petrifying people in Trespasser, we thought you were something else.

Mages draw their power from the Fade. It looks like the dwarven magic we're seeing (from Harding, from Valta, from Sandal) draws its power from the Stone, in addition to manipulating it. So what gives? How is Solas able to pull from both schools of magic? Is he a mage? Is he kin with the dwarves?

Now, with all the knowledge we've gained through one singular achievement icon jpeg, I understand: you are both, and you are neither.

We must remember that all ancient elvhen are born in a pre-Veil era. With the knowledge we have, that means an era when the Titans were not sundered from their thoughts, and all magic in the world was one thing. If all spirits are the thoughts of Titans made manifest (either as living concepts or as corporeal beings) and the Fade is just one part of Titans' whole existence, then a world without the Veil is a world where we don't need to think of those magics as two separate things.

Rather, they are both magic, but opposing schools of the same magic. When we think of the four elements here in OUR world, we think of earth and air as opposites—but in a lot of media, magic users have access to both. Often, they are weak to each other, one cancelling out the other.

We see this laid out more clearly in this codex from the Vir Dirthara.

"The unchanging world is delicate: spells of power invite disaster and annihilation. The unchanging world is stubborn: the pull of the earth fiercely resists making fire run like water or stone rise like mist. The unchanging world rings with its own harmony. Listen with fearless hearts, and great works will unfold."

This codex is actively encouraging the magic users of ancient elvhen (AKA, all people from that time) to listen with fearless hearts to the "unchanging world" to exert will over the "pull of the earth." They're not saying to avoid the Titans, or to dominate them with an abundance of their own (Fade) magic. By tapping into the Titans' rhythm, even the magic of the Fade is embellished. Made stronger.

To be alive in that time is to be able to wield both magics interchangeably—but just like Aang in Avatar: the Last Airbender, the pull of the earth is a notoriously difficult thing for "air" (Fade) magic-users to grasp, and vice versa.

(A tiny aside: I believe these discoveries about spirits and magic teach us the distinction between elven and elvhen. The latter translates to "spirit-soul," loosely—the spirits that came out of the Titans. I believe elven refers to the corporeal descendants of those elvhen that sexually reproduced.)

Solas and Petrification

Many of us speculated for a long, long time that Solas's ability to petrify people—an ability associated with Sandal and Harding—was something he took from a dwarven or Titan-aligned source. People speculated that Urthemiel, the archdemon, must be somehow connected to the magic of the Stone.

I have a different theory: Solas has always had this capability, but the power he absorbed from Mythal is what has allowed him to once again perform the magic of the Stone from whence he came.

Maybe utilizing both magics to such a powerful degree (remember his Mind Blast from Trespasser?) requires that a mage be more powerful than most, carrying two "sects" of magic within them and using both in such a great and terrible capacity (like how the Avatar is more powerful than other benders, able to carry multiple elements because of bonding with the spirit of Raava, to continue with my previous example).

Solas and "Blood" Magic // The Red Lyrium Idol

I'll preface this by saying: no, I have no idea why Solas has changed his tune about blood magic in DA:tV. I hope to find out in five days!

I do want to suggest that, for Solas, blood magic might mean something different than it does for everyone else. Solas's blood, while he has taken a corporeal shape almost identical to any other elven person, may not be the same chemical make as the blood of mortals. That might explain why he has not experimented with it much during the time of Inquisition, and might explain why he does not want to use his own blood in DA:tV.

Instead, his blood might be closer to lyrium than we expected. And the red lyrium idol might be HIS idol.

Some of you might remember that way back in part 1, I noted that a hint for Solas's origin from previous games and external media is that, in Tevinter Nights, the Dread Wolf refers to the red lyrium idol as "my idol" before slaying the Mortalitasi trying to perform a blood magic ritual with it. It confused me, for a long time, why the Dread Wolf (the big wolf form, not necessarily one with Solas) would refer to the idol as "my idol" before actually retrieving it to keep. The explanation seems simple: it was his first.

This makes me wonder, given everything we know, if the idol first belonged to the Dread Wolf because it is made from the Dread Wolf's blood. Since the Dread Wolf is a piece of a Titan, that would make its blood likely at least related to lyrium, right?

Many have also speculated that Solas's ritual dagger, which gets passed on to Rook, is made from a purified/reforged red lyrium idol. Given the blood connection between Rook and Solas, it makes sense to me that if the dagger is indeed made from the blood of the Dread Wolf (and/or Solas), that is why Rook has access to its abilities.

What Did Solas Absorb at the End of DA:I?

I cannot for the life of me find a well-cropped image, but this post on Reddit talks about a designer note from the post-credits scene of DA:I between Solas and Flemeth. Namely that Solas does not take Mythal's soul when he absorbs power from her. Before he absorbs that power, Mythal passes her soul on to Morrigan.

While David Gaider had previously advised fans to not necessarily take this as canon, it seems to be proving true in Morrigan's design change, featuring Flemeth's crown.

That means there are two things Solas may have still absorbed from Mythal, since her soul was already "spoken for."

Raw power

The soul of Urthemiel, the archdragon slain in Origins. This is true in every world state with Kieran, but I would wager that Urthemiel's soul belongs with Mythal in every world state, since Flemeth said she had an "appointment to keep" in the prologue of DA2, which is why she did not travel with Hawke. My guess is she went to Denerim, poking at the remains of the slain archdemon until, 10 years later in Inquisition, she was in possession of Urthemiel's soul no matter what.

We know, however, that archdemons are sundered pieces of the Evanuris. We've been able to suspect this since Inquisition, where we see Corypheus's archdemon is in possession of a piece of his soul and is therefore the secret to his immortality.

I don't think either of this gave Solas access to any new spells. Rather, I think either one (or both!) might have granted him the power necessary to access spells he already knows from both Fade magic and Stone magic.

However, I'd like to touch on just one thing before this post concludes.

I believe that Urthemiel is June's archdemon. The Chant of Light references an Architect of Beauty, just as it references Corypheus, the Conductor of Silence. These are high priests of the so-called "Old Gods," which were revealed as archdemons when Dumat appeared during the First Blight. Corypheus was the high priest of Dumat, the old god of Silence.

I believe the word Architect being used as the title for the high priest of Urthemiel is indicative of the Evanuris that Urthemiel belongs to. There is one Evanuris known for craftsmanship: June, who we know nothing about.

The reason I mention this is that, if nothing else, June's abilities may have allowed Solas to "purify" and shape the red lyrium idol into his ritual dagger that we see in Veilguard.

In conclusion: I believe Solas has always had access to the Stone, but it would certainly be interesting to see if each Evanuris has their own suite of magical abilities, potentially due to the Titan from which some of them originated (more on THAT in a later post, stay tuned!).

If you read this far, THANK YOU, as always! The collective hype of everyone reading and sharing these is making me all the more excited for Veilguard.

Keep an eye out for the next instalment in this series: What the Chant of Light teaches us about Solas, Mythal, and the Evanuris at large.

[adrift-in-thyme]

I’m back at it!! The next chapter of Give the Lion Fangs should be up this weekend God willing. But for now here’s a little snippet for Wip Wednesday

“A grown loftwing flying alone is strange,” Sky replies, quietly. “They stay with their rider for life — ever since they’re babies. So if you see one like that usually…their partner has died.”

Slowly, Link drags his gaze down to peer at the grass beneath his feet, and just past that the clouds separating land and sky. An unpleasant little tangle of emotions have situated themselves in his gut. The cheerful sounds of the heroes seem very far away now.

“I suppose they never pick another rider after that?”

“No.”

“But this one had not lost his rider, had he?” Link forces a smile onto his face. (It is not Crimson up there then, circling the sun. It cannot be. A false hope is all that those feelings had been. Another delusion.)

“Because he chose you.”

[seeker-ophelia]

Nothing in any lore connects my people to the Old God Dragons who became Archdemons.

Spoilers below, you've been warned, heads up, #Long Post

In the rotunda with Solas, you have the options to ask him some questions about Corypheus.

Inky: Tell me about his orb. I would like to know more about the orb he carries. As I said, that must be the means by which he created the breach. I suspect the blast that destroyed the conclave was more accident than anything. The result of unlocking power that had sought release for ages. What I cannot understand is how he managed to survive such an explosion. Inky: (Is the orb Elvhen) You said you believed that the orb is Elvhen? *Solas in the most snooty, condescending tone: I never would have believed a Tevinter mage could unlock such a powerful Relic. It clearly enhances his abilities, giving him access to power he should never have known. Inky: Like the power to control the archdemon? Indirectly, one assumes. Nothing in any lore connects my people (Ancient Elvhen) to the Old God Dragons who became Archdemons.

What? Why wouldn’t it? You got 7 Evanuris (+ Mythal), 7 Old Gods. People wernt stupid. Why wouldn’t you make a connection? THEY ALREADY MADE THE CONENCITON IN THE ASTRARIUMS.

And he doesn't say THERE ISNT or THERES NO CONNECTION… he says NOTHING IN ANY LORE… Did he scrub the lore?

Why would he? To prevent others from trying to ascend to godhood like he had?

Nothing in any lore connects my people (Ancient Elvhen) to the Old God Dragons who became Archdemons.

Sidebar: Im super mad at how a Dalish Inky DOESN’T question him more about this. Who are HIS people? We know at this point Solas does not consider himself Dalish. But he’s not a city elf. So what is he? WHY doesn’t the Inquisitor, especially a DALISH Inquisitor, ask him more about this? It makes me big mad.

And as of the leak today,

We absolutely 100% know that, if the Old Gods were not 100% The Evanuris, they are at last a third the Evanuris.

(OP why you making me do math, why a third? Why not half?)

Lets rewind.

Long ago, when time itself was young, the only things in existence were the sun and the land. The sun, curious about the land, bowed his head close to her body, and Elgar'nan was born in the place where they touched. As a gift to Elgar'nan, the land brought forth great birds and beasts of sky and forest, and all manner of wonderful green things. —From Codex entry: Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance

Lets take this to mean, not the literal birth of the man, but the creation of a God. The Sun bowed his neck (like a dragon neck), to touch the land (like a titan), and the first God was born.

Interesting Thing 1) He just called his clan leader a keeper. But a Keeper is the mage leader of a Dalish clan. We assume this is a dwarf because we find it in the Deep Roads, but this might be an elf. An elf who's whole clan was decimated and is going to join the Qun.

Codex entry: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 2 Many of these pages are filled with sketches of elven statues matching the ones found in the area, along with notes and what look like attempts to practice Qunlat: They say the agents of Fen'Harel caused trouble in the Crossroads. I wish I knew. I wish whoever fights in the name of the old wolf was around to fight when the darkspawn took my clan. Mine is not to question. I have chosen the Qun. The Qun will protect me. Rethost: You all protect Rethadim: They all protect Rethsaam: We all protect These statues are older than anything I saw in my days with the clan. The area's dwarven, though. What were the ancient elves doing down here? Mining? Where were the dwarves? Easier to have them mine it. Not a trading post. You don't go into a friend's home, knock over their gods, and put up your own. War? I don't remember any legends about our people fighting the dwarves. Though I remember my Keeper telling a story about how the dwarves fear the sun because of Elgar'nan's fire. A metaphor for the elves of Arlathan driving the dwarves underground? The Qunari like metaphors. I should share that.

Interesting Thing 2) the dwarves fear the sun because of Elgar'nan's fire.

Codex entry: Dwarven Inscriptions: Hissing Wastes Fairel, Paragon, fled from the strife his brilliance created, the strife that destroyed thaigs, sundered houses, from weapons that clan used against clan. His own clan and his two sons followed Fairel to the pitiless surface, the surface where they would hide from the war that took their home.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Fuck I hated the Hissing Wastes."

Codex entry: A Journal on Dwarven Ruins (Excerpt) … The statues here were chiseled thousands of years ago, I'm sure of it. … The writing talks about "the sad parting from the Stone." … … It's a Paragon. The man who lead the people here, who built this city, was master smith Paragon Fairel…. ... I was tracing heraldry etched on a wall when I noticed pictures of weapons with winged lizards worked into the decoration. I spent the rest of the day translating the inscriptions. This verse was apparently passed down through Fairel's house, through his father to his father's father and so on for hundred of generations: "From the Stone, have no fear of anything, but the stone-less sky betrays with wings of flame. If the surface must be breached, if there is no other way, bring weapons against the urtok, and heed their screams." "Urtok" means "dragon." Why was it part of an ancient crest? Why were these dwarves so worried about a monster they'd never see that they worked it into their weapons? This place becomes more impossible each day.

Lets Assume then, that the Elgar’nan’s fire, is Urtok fire. Dragon fire. That’s the Sun. It’s the Sun in dwarven legend, AND, it’s the sun in Elgar’dad’s story.

OK. We got Dragon and Titan.

Sun and Stone.

Sun + Stone + Elf/Mage = God?

Blue and Yellow?

Remember the Flemyth/Kieran Scene. (In my headcannon, these are called Navi-bitches)

We KNOW with 100% certainty that Urthemiel is a blue navi-bitch.

I think it is safe to say that all of the Dragon Navi’s are blue because of the last Flemythal scene in DA:I. A blue wisp goes through the mirror (Urthemiel we assume?) and another blue navi-bitch goes from Flemyth to Solas, effectively killing Flemyth.

So let’s assume ALL dragon Navi-souls are blue.

Blue and Gold waves (probably magic). – with the 8 pointed star (right elf) in light green, and the "sun" in red (center).

(I think its safe to assume now the center red sun is either a red lyrium grove or blighted lyrium)

The Gold Titan heart, with Anruils spear.

Only thing I cant figure is why the 8 pointed star in the gold elfs arms is green.

Its not blue, its not gold anymore.

And Corypheus’s orb is red:  (maybe because it got infected with red lyrium/the blight?)

OUR Mark (The Inquisitors Hand) is Green… so maybe when a Titan heart is taken out of the mountain it turns green?

Looks like Corypheus tried to overpower the orb and that’s why it fucked him in the face?

See green and green? And Corypiss is red.

“Dumat! Ancient Ones! I beseech you! If you exist, if you ever truly existed, aid me now!”

And the orb smack-fucks Corypants in the FACE. Get fucked scrub we don’t like your tainted power.

And the orb is green again.

Are ALL orbs green? Or only THIS one?

I mean, basic colour theory tells us that blue and yellow make green, but we already know the old gods were separated from their orbs because of Kierans blue Navi-bitch.

What happened to the rest of them? What happened to the rest of the Blue Dragon Navi’s? Does putting them into a warden and then killing the warden actually kill the blue spirit?

This is a screenshot from Varrics voiceover (Spoiler Alert).

Looks like an orb to me.

And she’s gold. Maybe slightly green.

SO, where does all of this lead.

Five Gold semicircles missing - 5 Blights. 5 Archdemons. 5 Old Gods. 5 of the Evanuris. But we KNOW their Navi's were blue. Why use Gold? [To erase the Elf-Dragon aspect, Solas you sly fox?]

And where are they now?

We can assume Morrigan has a Dragon-Navi. Solas has a Dragon-Navi. That still leaves 3 or 4 (if Solas has Mythals Navi or a different Old God Navi).

... It really really bothers me that the star outside of the titan is green.

“Emerald water of the Fade”? Is it because the fade itself whenever we’ve gone in it is green-ish? Is the Fade just green? Is magic green?

Fuck it lets go full circle.

Nothing in any lore connects my people to the Old God Dragons who became Archdemons.

Ok Solas. Why?

Solas painted the Trespasser Frescos. He catalogued the evidence of the Evanuris Sundering Titans.

WHY?

Why “remember” the killing of the Titans and NOT that the Old Gods were the Evanuris?

He wanted the Evanuris gone because he wanted to free the elves from the tyranny of the Evanuris (I’m assuming they were using slaves for blood magic-that’s another lore rant). He was angry that they “killed” Mythal.

Solas wants Him freeing slaves, and Him removing vallaslin, remembered. He wants his creation of the veil to be remembered, but he doesn’t want anyone to know the Old Gods = Locked up Evanuris Navi’s.

WHY?

Why show people essentially how to become gods, sundering titans, but ignore the dragon part?

Honestly I don’t know at this point my brain hurts. And I have so many questions now.

Where are the rest of the Evanuris?

Where my Shadow Twins at?

Looking way more likely now that Ghilly is actually Anduil-Ghilly Hybrid, w/ a bit of parasitic-twin-syndrome going on.

Sylaise and June? I have so many questions for you, we didn’t even get to meet you.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Yavana is an infamous Antivan (biiitch we're going there in DATV) Witch of the Wilds known as the "Beast of the Tellari swamps".

Yavana Quotes:

"The blood of dragons is the blood of the world."

(to Alistair) Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?"

Alistair: "You and Morrigan and Flemeth...all you do is manipulate and lie."

Yavana: "That is our craft, but not our purpose. Mankind destroys without understanding, yet I preserve."

Yavana, my girl. Hunny. Girlboss. What are you preserving sweetie? And WHERE ARE THEY NOW THAT ALISTAIR KILLED YOU? WHO HAS THE NAVI’S, YAVANA??

And WHY is it so damn important for SOLAS Mythal to stop the rest of the world from figuring it out?

[seeker-ophelia]

I saw this last night as I was falling asleep and dreamed about it.

LFG brain.

Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same rank and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is the only move in chess in which two pieces are moved at once.

In Castling, the King and the Rook change spots. IMO, this is not Solas LEAVING the fade prison, its him ENTERING IT.

The King is moved to a safe place at the side of the board, protected, while the rook takes the kings previously vulnerable position.

(Sound familiar?)

Now lets talk about Solas in the Fade Prison.

You've hypothesized previously that Solas is in his new fade prison, as opposed to the old one. Did Epler answer this? I don't remember, but its kinda important.

I'm going to assume he's in the old one, because the Old Prison is the one with the holes in it.

I think that anyone can be in any prison, Solas just has to send them there, except in this case, as Ghil and Elgy are escaping, they pull the Dread Wolf into the prison, exchanging themselves, for him.

Solas understands this, because that's how he's built his Regret Prison. He thinks that there has to be an exchange, a swap, there has to be a build up of regrets, because the regret prison holds regrets.

The Evanuris probably regret trusting Solas. They might regret Killing Mythal, they could have a million regrets. And those regrets hold them there, until the lyrium dagger cuts the fabric, and they force-swap themselves with Solas.

We know all about Solas' regrets. He probably has more of them then the Evanuris do. Its a wonder he wasn't driven mad by them in the prison. I think, it might be the fact that he CAN either, see through Rooks eyes, OR, experience Rooks emotions (via blood magic), that keeps him going.

When Ghilly is stabbed, SOMETHING happens. Lots of power, lots of shit going on. I'm going to assume, because an Evanuris is now dead, the veil is incredibly weak, frail, easy to puncture. And Rook just watched [Harding or Davrin] die, and is terrified for [Bellara or Neve]. Definitely feeling regret. And maybe Solas latches onto that.

I don't think he leaves the prison, but he CAN pull Rook into it, Rook with the dagger. Because Solas thinks he needs the dagger to get in and out of the prison. But the Prison is Regrets. The Prison holds your regrets. Neither the Evanuris, or Solas, were willing to separate themselves from their regrets. Rook leaves their regrets in the prison (thanks to Varric), and escapes.

Lets rewind. What if he's in the new prison? Well, then its the new one that's built on regret, and I'm going to assume if Solas (pridefully) overlooked the archdemon/blight/dragon-thrall connection in the first prison, it would be very on-brand for him to overlook the dropping-your-regrets/mentally-healthy/varrics-a-gold-star-therapist escape route in this prison.

You: he uses the dagger to escape so did he just need the dagger?

Yes. And also no. As above, I think he never actually needed the dagger. But the thought of his dropping his regrets and leaving them there was so foreign, so alien to him, there was no way that could ever have happened.

(Remember his first fade talk, "I don't have my ritual dagger, or access to my network of magic mirrors")

This is parallel to my previous thought in another post, how he always CONSIDERED himself bound to Mythal, but was never actually bound. He bound himself. He created this prison himself. He thought it was Mythal who bound him, but really he bound himself. All these restrictions, these barriers, these veils, he made. And he had the power all along to drop them, if he wanted to.

(That part is my opinion, not really based in lore or anything)

You: how did he get rook from the island to the fade physically to take the dagger from them to leave the prison?? what kind of magic does that?

Lets move into wild speculation territory.

Lets pretend this ritual dagger is the end all, be all for the Veil ritual. That the lyrium dagger is what made the veil in the first place.

That would make the dagger instrumental in maintaining the veil, which is essentially confirmed when Solas uses it to slice his hand at the end of VG.

What if it matters who does the slicing?

If it was Solas who used the dagger to imprison the Evanuris (with the dagger), that would tie him intrinsically to the veil, which, even if its not his blood as part of the veil, maybe he, or at least the dagger, is tied to the veil, and therefore the prison, and therefore the REAL blight.

So if it matters who wields the dagger, that makes Rook important. It also makes Lucanis very important. Maybe that's why Solas could make Rook hallucinate that Lucanis was dead, because it was Lucanis who wielded the dagger, and it was Rook who removed it from Ghilly's body.

I'm very interested why there was that swirl of power/magic/whatever when Ghilly was stabbed, but not when Elgar was. What does THAT mean? What's difference between the Ghilly stabbing and the Elgar stabbing?

Well, the main difference is that Solas is out. Which implies to me it was him who made the swirl. He was able to influence the outside world through the fade prison because of Ghillys death. Because it was his dagger that stabbed Ghilly, maybe. If you subscribe to nadas-dirthalen's theory of Solas coming from a specific titan (terror/dread), then lets assume his dagger is made from lyrium of the same, which would give him some link, some connection to the dagger. Maybe strong enough to reach through (not only the prison) but the veil, into the real world, to use Rooks regrets as a rope to pull them into the prison.

Now. I REALLY am interested in Lyrium vs Magic, but I don't want this post to be pages long, I have shit I need to do today. But remember that lyrium is not just titan blood, it is what templars use to nullify magic. It reinforces reality (source: Solas to Cassandra in Inquisition). And if Solas is linked to a reality reinforcer, a magic nullifier, it might be nice for him to have that in the place that's literally built with, reinforced by, composed exclusively of, magic.

This got quite tangential, I hope its coherent, even if it is mostly opinion.

does anyone actually understand how solas manages to “castle” rook. like yes i understand he “molded them into someone the prison would accept” but what the fuck does that actually mean. why does the prison only accept certain people? did he design it that way? did his molding even work if they were just able to leave? what happened that made him know it was time to switch places? am i supposed to believe it’s that rook sent one of their friends to die and solas knew and went “ok well now we’ve both killed our friends so we can switch now”??? what? what’s the magical mechanism by which the switch happens? the blood magic connection? if the davrin/harding death was the signal then how did solas know it happened? has he been able to see through their eyes this entire time? or was it an emotional distress that he sensed??? how does he appear to them visually before he’s left the prison?? is he a hallucination?? how does he get them physically into the prison? what kind of magic is he using to do this?? blood magic??? it is it classic fen’harel fade magic? he uses the dagger to escape so did he just need the dagger? how did he get rook from the island to the fade physically to take the dagger from them to leave the prison?? what kind of magic does that? im just supposed to accept this and not ask questions?

[digital-diary-of-oliver-paddock]

And I'm off!

Work was alright, business was pretty steady.

Nothing really happened, but some customers were talking about the news from yesterday. If that really is a marketing scheme, it's working like a charm.

When we weren't busy, Ellie and I talked. She talked to me more about that beach trip she had planned, and she was asking me which swimsuit she should pick.

....I'M SORRY WHAT?!

Like, out of the blue! I know it was just a simple question, and I answered it, but when you're trying to imagine a swimsuit on someone that you have a crush on....IDK, it's awkward to me.

But I'm home now, and I'm just relaxing...unless Grayson wants me to go on a grocery run

[gilliontidestriderchampionoftheu]

killjoys!wiwi grew up in deadwood, way out in the desert, but left for the outer zones after a run-in with the phoenix witch to figure out wtf all that was about. dakota lived in a neutral town when he was young but ever since a clap ended with his parents dead hes been running around in killjoy spaces. vyncent was born and raised in bat city, but when he realized his dad had been replaced with a lookalike android he didnt know what else to do and ran away into the zones :3

[oops-its-a-fanwork]

Legendary pokémon Sans and Papyrus

Og!Sans and Og!Papyrus legendary pokémonsters au, tagged Lepom Sans and Papyrus now :3

Read about the premise of the au here and about the Ebotti region here!

In this case, Sans and Papyrus are from a long lineage of the protector pokémon of the Ebotti region: protecting any life within, and keeping everything healthy and balanced. They are shapeshifters, able to change their form to become like any other pokémon, or even like a human! They share the same duties of keeping everyone safe and sound, although they both execute them differently:

Papyrus is seen most often, in disguise or not, and tends to go near populated areas to play with young humans and pokémon alike. Usually joining them in races, asking questions and generally being energetic and enthusiastic, which the kids love. He’s the cool dude of the town who has the most interesting fashion around, but makes it work for him (yes, the basketball shoulder pads are real and they are homemade <3). Again, genuinely a cool dude. He loves regional celebrations and other interesting cultural things and tries to understand and share them with whoever he meets! That includes the pokémon around the region, who don’t really understand why these candies are so special around this time of the year, but who are happy to receive their gifts anyways.   He’s very helpful! If you need to be somewhere, anywhere in the region actually, he can tell you how to get there! He’ll even escort you! He does outpace you quite a bit on foot though, so you might end up driving him there. He enjoys cars a lot, as they are endlessly fascinating, so now you have a very excited buddy in the seat next to you! He for sure makes the ride more interesting, and is definitely the kind of person to call out cool things along the road (the kind that yells ”Horses!” when there's horses u know?).   Papyrus is unofficially in charge of peacekeeping at day. He resolves conflicts with fun challenges, he makes people and pokémon talk things out, and he takes the injured to places that can help them, which tend to be pokécenters or hospitals. He doesn't need a lot of sleep, but he does get somewhat quieter or slightly less energetic at night.

Sans, on the other hand, is a laid back kind of pokémon person who you can often encounter when walking through town. He’s always hanging around, sleeping or joking with some people, and if you’re looking for him you’ll find him eventually for sure! No one knows where he lives though. Actually, he kinda just appears outta nowhere. How did he get here?   He tells jokes and plays small pranks on whoever is around. He will always check out any newcomer to the area, whether they are staying for the long run or just passing through, and although he’s always polite enough, one can't help but feel a little…. judged, that first time. He is a great judge of character though, and if he deems you ok, you guys will get along juuuust fine. If he senses trouble, however, little things may happen that will... unnerve this person enough to leave pretty quickly. He is a protector of this region after all. He looks after everyone's safety!    Speaking of everyone's safety, this dude is in charge of keeping the night quiet and peaceful. At night, the more mischievous pokémon come out to play, and Sans is spectacular at distracting and entertaining them if they are getting into trouble, or at boring them until they choose to leave. He’s great at dodging any playful attacks too of course, and it has become a way of playing for some pokémon. He uses his being awake at night as an excuse to ‘sleep’ everywhere at day, but he, too, doesn’t need a lot of sleep to function at all. He just likes to relax :)

Besides their shapeshifting ability, they are also both adept at levitation and especially gravity magic. Additionally, both Sans and Papyrus can use shortcuts, which they use to get around the region. They know it like the back of their hand, and they can move between human- and pokémon-populated areas in the blink of an eye! Papyrus, however, always makes it a show to actually let people believe he walked there, which sometimes he does! And when he mentions he was at a landmark on the other side of the region just a few minutes ago, well, people think he’s such a humorous person :) Sans, on the other hand, just leaves the bathroom stall of the little café you’re in when you’ve been talking about him, (or about his brother, or about something relevant to his interests,) even though you haven't seen him enter the building in the two hours you’ve been here. They are both very adept at not answering your questions about their whereabouts though ;3

[seeker-ophelia]

Hjmmmk I have more big feelings about this so prepare yourselves:

#Long Post

Grab Your Tin Foil Hats, Kids!

OK lets REALLY break this down.

Ancient Elven Writing “His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine. The sinner belongs to Dirthamen; he claims he took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain, and begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him."

This guys name is now Sinner.

Sinner commits “high treason.”

What high treason is, gets explained – it is “taking the form of the divine” – we believe this to be turning into a dragon.

*What the verbiage “The Divine” means can be interpreted one of 2 ways:

A) the divine meaning a divine shape, a shape that is common to all of those that are divine (the Evanuris), OR,

B) The Divine, like the shape is unique to The Divine (title), like only Mythal can turn to a dragon.

Either way…

You would THINK

That a FOLLOWER OF DIRTHAMEN, God of KNOWLEDGE, would KNOW, that he is NOT ALLOWED to turn into a dragon, regardless of whether it is the shape of the Gods (plural), or a Mythal-only shape.

Let’s analyze THIS line:

He… begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him."

Why, why would it say she does not show him favor? If he took the shape of the Gods (plural) in vain, its literally her job to judge him.

Codex entry: The Judgment of Mythal Whenever one of the People wronged another, they would not call on Elgar'nan to avenge them, for his fury would destroy all it touched. Mythal saw this bring strife among the People, and went to Elgar'nan; she offered to deliver justice when the People warred amongst themselves. Elgar'nan saw her wisdom and agreed, binding all to abide by her verdicts.

But she denies Sinner judgement, implying either; the offense to her is so great she cannot stand it (Option B), or she cannot show him favor because she already favors him for some other reason and so would not be a fair judge.

Either way, she hands him over to the guy who is going to judge him too harshly.

So, what does dear old dad Elgar do? One would think the crime for high treason would be death. What’s a punishment worse than death?

Well, if we’re talking about Option B (offending Mythal), How about a lifetime of servitude?

Let’s remember that there are statues of wolves everywhere in the temples, they were not a late addition, Solas did not become the wolf after all the gods were gone, he became the wolf while everyone was still around. He became The Trickster ™ after the fall of the Gods. And if you look at where the wolves are in temples and such, they’re at the entrances, like a guard.

What if Elgar decides to rip Sinner from his servitude to Dirthamen, and instead binds him to the service of Mythal, the Goddess he offended so greatly she couldn’t do her job. Tear off Dirth’s vallaslin, and slap on one for Mythal. Its not so much about shape changing, because if Pride was Wisdom, he can do that on his own (Pride demon eyes=fen’Harel eyes). It is about changing ones purpose. Maybe Elgarnan gave him Purpose. Or Protection. Or Command. Or Faith (in Mythal). Or Justice. But whatever he cursed/gifted Sinner (Wisdom) with, it changed his purpose and that spirit manifested as a solas-fen, fen’harel.

Maybe he’s even stuck in wolf form, he can’t change out of it, and follows Mythal around like a puppy for a few hundred years before she decides he might be more use to her as a full elf.  

I think that the line “she does not show him favor” is really important here, because it will mean one of two things. My option B, where Solas was some random slave and took the form of Mythal-Dragon, or Option C, he was already important to her.

Option C we just simply cannot explore right now. We don’t know how they met, we know they were close, we don’t know Solas’s origin story.

But.

It is interesting where we get this codex, IN Mythals temple. This Codex entry is found in Ancient Elvhen Glyphs (revealed via veilfire) to the right side of a statue of Mythal. We can only decode it if it is the Inquisitor who drinks from the well.

SideBar: Abelas tells us Fen’Harel had nothing to do with “Mythal’s murder,” “She was betrayed by those who destroyed this temple.” Solas says, Ma'las 'a'melin ne ha'lam, Abelas. I hope you find a new name. Maybe names are like curses, placed upon ancient elves with their vallaslin, as Solas (Pride), knows only too well. Or maybe, the naming-people-for-their-backstories is a Mythal thing.

The Codex glyphs are found on the wall to the right of a statue of Mythal - mythals left side. The Left Hand of Mythal.

Hm…

Left Hand of the Divine If the Right Hand of the Divine is her blade in hand, then the Divine's Left Hand is the one concealed in her sleeve. The Left Hand is the Divine's shadow agent who enforces her will through methods that might otherwise blemish the Divine's name.

The Left Hand of the Divine. The shape of the divine.

I don’t know. Co-winkey-dink?

I don’t knooowwww.

Can it also be a coincidence that the reward for completing The Temple of Dirthamen is a shield called Dirthamen’s Wisdom?

I don’t knoooowww.

wolf form thots

this is old news but ive been thinking about this awhile. the general hairlessness/mangey look of solas' wolf form that we saw forever ago in that one trailer reminds me of how the werewolves looked in DAO (save for the werewolves not having tails). like based on this img it seems like the wolf form has hair on its head/face and then has either shorter fur or no fur on the rest of it (save the tail, which we can't see in this pic but 99% sure solas has it b/c of the murals)

and then the cursed werewolves had a fur pattern like this

i just wonder if there's any relation, if the nature of solas' wolf form is similar to their curse (some people theorized ghilan'nain may have cursed solas with the form but i can't remember who/when/where), or if its the other way around and their curse mirrors fen'harel's visage in some way because of Zathrian's (and the dalish's) view of him?

its interesting also b/c the curse is tied to a spirit (witherfang) and theres a lot of speculation about solas originally being a spirit/demon. solas phd havers is this anything

[roadkill-dreaming]

♡

[just-spacetrash]

⭐

[carebearsandkawaiistuff76]

Jade Harley (Homestuck) coloring page

Sorry for the wait, but here’s my Jade Harley in a Squiddle outfit coloring page. Had lots of fun making this Jade Harley coloring page. YAY!

Jade Harley is my most favorite Homestuck character from the series. What a cute nerdy girl.

🐶🦑🌈