#hormak

[ionmarkelargazkiak]

[crapet-illu]

Mother of the Halla, Mother of the Monsters

[aamuusva]

Ghilan'nain, Mother of the halla

[ringofdoubt]

I have a theory...

[eonianshadow]

The Horror of Hormak

[liaragaming]

"Lavellan should have moved on years ag-"

Alright, listen here, you nutters. *spoilers for Tevinter Nights*

In "The Horror of Hormak," Warden Ramesh carries around a love letter in his boot from his would-be lover of 15 years ago and goes on a suiccide mission to find him after his patrol goes missing - all on the regret of lost love and the hope they might get a second chance.

And his past lover, despite being twisted into a ghilan'nain monstrosity of madness, does the utter impossible and manages to hold onto himself through the sheer faith that Ramesh will come looking for him! And then is completely lost once he says what he held on for so long to say.

Adjmsidjwjfj

"Lavellan should have moved on" my as-

[novarunestone]

If you're as excited about Veilguard as I am, start reading Tevinter Nights. I'm about a third of the way through it and it's amazing. A collection of short stories with some old familiar faces and a few peaks at some of our new companions, including Emmrich, Neve, and Lucanis.

Also if you're worried that this game won't be as gritty or dark as you're hoping, let me tell you that The Horror of Hormak has permanently altered my brain chemistry. It scared the absolute shit out of me and it was so good that I keep rereading it.

I'm a lore diver when it comes to Dragon Age, especially when it comes to the Evanuris and Empire of Elvhenan. So that story in particular left me with so many thoughts and questions. Especially since it's been confirmed that Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan are being released from Fade prison.

Have I mentioned that I'm overly excited?

[scribeofmorpheus]

New stills of Solas and Eldritch Mommy Ghilan'nain (and look at the size of that Dragon!), ho boii!

[source]

[shem-fatale]

Spoiler? John Epler, my dude, you wrote a whole ass story about how they've been going for a little swim in Ghilan'nain's mutation pools. You've even told us the exact number of monster factories we're presumably gonna have to find in Veilguard. The end of that story reads like a to do list. (Not complaining, can't wait to get all up in that briney apocalypse.)

[nightingaletrash]

this is probably not that big of a deal and just a superfluous detail in a fifteen year old game but...

post-Horror of Hormak, is it possible that there's a significance in the use of a halla skull as part of an idol? or is this just the darkspawn using whatever's to hand and I'm reading into it too much?

[hellamorte]

the horror of hormak reference in the first bellara companion quest 🥹

[arlathen]

i keep thinking about tevinter nights. which was published in 2020 so probably written, what, mid-late 2019? right around when we know the iteration of The Next Dragon Age Game that we ended up getting started actual production. so it's so clear that the writers didn't suddenly forget the world lore. the stories in tevinter nights are rough and violent and horrifying and gross and heart wrenching and interesting. they're good. and you can feel traces of a lot of those ideas in veilguard. it's just so clear so much of it got cut or sanitized or sanded away and it makes me sad. and i think, when john epler tweeted about the most difficult criticism to receive is one you fought against. i think this is what he was talking about.

[elfroottales]

If Ramesh can go into the almost literal pits of heck to find Jovis after 20+ years, you bet my inky isn’t giving up on finding Solas again wherever he is after just ten

[sky--phantom]

Horrors of Hormak reference

[flowering-imago]

Veiltober: Ghilan'nain

So I read Horror of Hormak...

Ghilan'nain, raised from mortal kin, we beseech you.

Her children beg for mercy in the dark, but there is no comfort in her embrace. There are too many arms and only the cold rot of sour-sweet brine.

She does not cradle slaves, but cocoons, dreaming of shapes that do not exist. They do not understand and she does not explain, and their blood writing weeps as she unmakes them.

Her mask ripples, and red clouds coagulate as she sighs. She is far removed from what she once was. She cannot hear the cries of the chattel, her only language is the song of creation.

Sea-Mother, who dissolves their skins of elvenkind. Spider-Mother, who weaves their carapace of silver Plague-Mother, who grows their horns of undulating gold. Halla-Mother, who creates them anew.

The newborns stagger on too many legs, shivering as the ice sings to their bones. But there is no love in her eyes.

Imperfect, flawed creations.

She guides them back home, so they can fetch another batch, unwilling, bleating. Again, her children beg for mercy in the dark--

[housecantori]

So Ghilan'nain has horrifying brine pools under mountains where creatures are transformed into new monsters... The Halla in the Hormok murals look more insectoid... I'm sort of concocting here but listen.

It's likely with that information and Ghilan'nain being called "Mother of the Halla" She made the first Halla to begin with.

Theory: Halla evolved into more deer-like creatures hundreds of years after the Veil creation, mostly due to deer being a more welcome animal to have around than giant bugs.

This leads me to my main question though; what other creatures of Thedas are original Ghilan'nain creations?

Personally I think Deepstalkers are a likely candidate.