#i hope she and bellara talk about that

[girlbob-boypants]

Other concept art thoughts

1. So they were both never normal about Taash's body/armor but also went with the most boring armor?? Wish we'd gotten that one with the two handed axe tbh the gold armor screams way more Lords of Fortune and they couldve added tights or something to make her more covered if that was a concern (idk if it was given her exposed midriff and pointed armor).

2. Thank God the model designers just ignored the Harding concept art and made Harding instead of miss 5'1 100lb Disney Princess aldjskfj

3. the Silver Surfer looking thing is interesting? They were really considering Dwarven magic altering her body. Wonder if they followed that idea elsewhere or if they decided against it entirely and that's why she's not like that.

4. Whichever modeler went "well if Bellara doesn't wear a bra her tits are gonna sag" is a hero I like that her titties aren't perfectly perky in the photos we've seen.

[oopsallmabari]

also: i am doing my best to be careful about spoilers (apologies if i have spoiled something for you!!!) but especially now that the gameinformer article is out and discusses things past the gameplay reveal here are the veilguard tags i am using if you want to blacklist them:

da veilguard: anything that talks about the game, or references the veilguard characters/companions generally

dragon age veilguard spoilers: anything that discusses the game's plot or speculates about things based on the plot info we do have beyond the companion trailer

[cy-cyborg]

It's been confirmed that there are 3 amputees in the main cast of Dragon Age: the veilguard - Neve (leg amputee), Bellara (arm amputee) and your inquisitor (arm amputee). So as an amputee myself, here are some things I'd like to see.

Note: these aren't predictions, just things I'd really like to be included.

The inquisitor doesn't use a prosthetic (I already talked about this in its own post but with 3 amputees, and 2 of them already being shown to use prosthetics that, lets be honest, do look like "perfect replacement" prosthetics, it would be nice to see at least one who doesn't)

We will get to customise our inquisitor in chatacter creation, so I would love, if they do use a prosthetic, for there to be some customisability to it (im not holding my breath there but still).

Neve and Bellara's prosthetics aren't perfect prosthetics, and they are actually acknowledged as being disabled while still being active members of your party.

There's some kind of party banter between Neve and Bellara about some of the downsides/problems with their prosthetics, not necessarily in a "poor them" way, but in a "ugh, don't you just hate it when you can't get the stupid thing on in the morning" kind of way.

I get a kind of jokey/adventurous vibe from Bellara, I hope they aren't affraid to let her use her prosthetic for pranks or jokes. I don't think neve would, but I can see bellara having a blast with it.

I hope the prosthetics come off during down time. No amputee wears their prosthetics 24/7, it's uncomfortable, and they get heavy and sore after using them all day.

I hope we see Neve express some frustration or see her alter her walk animation on rough terrain. It's hard to get a clear look because the trailers she's been shown in are so dark, but her foot doesn't look articulated, which is going to change how she walks, even just a little bit.

I hope the prosthetics don't break - this is a trope I'm starting to notice more and more, where someone has a perfect prosthetic that is only not a perfect replacement when it breaks, usually for plot reasons, at which point the character in question is forced out of the action until its fixed. DA has forced companions out of your party for story reasons before (e.g. solas after you free his spirit friend and he needs to cool off) so I can see this being used for plot, and I really hope it's not.

The inquisitor, Neve and Bellara compair prosthetists (the maker of the prosthetic) and maker techniques.

I really doubt they'll do this but I'd love it if random NPC's approach you if you have any of the amputees in your party to ask what happened and/or make weird comments at them ("but cy, that would be so annoying and inconvenient!" That's the point. So many people do that to irl amputees, and it's never at a convenient or even safe time, and I've never seen it happen in media. A game is arguably the best place to have it happen, in, say, a random event similar to the ones that could happen in origins)

In that same vein, I'd love to see a scene where someone approaches the inquisitor to call them an inspiration- you and the inquisitor assume it's for, you know, beating corripheus (I know I spelled it wrong lol) and saving the world, but it's revealed the chatacter has no idea who the hell the inquisitor is and just means it's inspiring that they're out in public "like that" - referring to their arm. This also happens to me all the time, and you can't tell me some snooty orlesean or tevinter noble wouldn't make those back-handed compliments, lol. You also can't convince me that any version of the inquisitor would just accept that

I hope none of the chatacters are used as inspiration porn ("don't you worry Rook! I can still pull my own weight on the team despite being an amputee, you just have to give me a chance to prove myself!")

At least one of the chatacter's stories of how they lost their limb is left untold in game (we don't always need to know how it happened if it's not relevent to the plot).

Like I said, these aren't predictions, just my hopes. I wouldn't hold my breath for any of these to be honest (bioware has not been the best in term of disability rep in the past) but A lot of them wouldn't be hard to implement and could take the representation from hardly even acknowledging their disability to something actually pretty decent disability rep-wise. It's also pretty rare to have so many characters with the same kind of disability in the cast of such a mainstream piece of media, and I really, really hope they do something with that because you can have a lot of fun with that.

[felassan]

Thoughts on the updated companions screenshots:

Lucanis: in a few screenshots now it's looked to me that Lucanis has a slightly 'crooked' nose and I love that feature! in this shot you can see that at the bottom of the 5 little vial things there's a small spike. the design of the opposite side has the impression of a ring pull. here the purple bit almost looks like fluid held in a sort of glassware. vials of poison for enemies (the Crows make use of poison), or something Lucanis needs to take regularly himself, with a sort of injection delivery system? or simply vials of something with a decorate spike at the base, and the part with the ring-pull looking bit is simply the lid/screw off top? in this shot you can also really appreciate the bird-like inspirations in Lucanis' whole character design. like he has an aquiline quality, the way his hair fluffs out a lil bit at the sides reminds of wings, etc.

Davrin: this shot is a more complete crop of one of the ones of Davrin from yesterday. ^^ in this widened crop, we can see that the person he's leaning in and leaning down to talk to is Assan (with Manfred and Rook appearing in other shots in this collection below, it means the gang's all here). 🥺 the expression on his face is so lovely and if you zoom in you can see that Assan has the impression of lil furry/feathery eyelashes. 🥺 the design of Davrin's jacket buttons reminds me of wheels. could this be a reference to aravel wheels? I hope that Davrin's relationship with his Dalish culture and clan is portrayed respectfully, that he's connected to them etc.

Bellara: this shot is a more complete crop of the ones of Bellara from yeserday. ^^ the wisps of hair around her ears.. 🥺

Harding: another shot of Harding injured 😭 aaah why 😭.. I count at least 5 now. (3 in that post, 1 from yesterday, and this one from today). again in this image she's clearly had her injuries for a while, she has stitches and the bruising is in fading mode. she's seated in her casual clothes - I think this shot was taken in the Lighthouse. it's a different seat, but the vibe is very much like Harding here. omg in her casual attire Harding's braid is down ♡ like still braided but not tied up. I feel like in the field it's more like tucked up or wound round her head? in this shot we also have a lovely and detailed look at the adorable flower pattern she has stitched on her shirt. Harding is never defeating the adorable allegations.

Neve: in the background is an eluvian, the way we've seen them look in this game when they have just been used or are just about to be used. I wonder if this is the eluvian that leads from the Lighthouse out into the world of Thedas, and if this shot is from an early point in the game. every time I see Neve I wanna drop to me knees lmao and even though we've seen it before, every time I see her I'm stunned by the care and detail by the devs that went into creating her outfit, every aspect of it. :') in the center at the bottom, just behind Neve near one side of the eluvian's frame is a purpley glow. I think that might be one of these (circled in yellow), from this scene in the release date reveal trailer.

these things presumably have something to do with how to work and use the ancient elven magic-tech of the eluvian. with her Veil Jumper experience and interest in ancient elven artifacts, Bellara presumably knows how to use it, or has an idea of how to do so. in the reveal trailer, it looks like she's demonstrating this, or 'opening' the eluvian, to show Rook and the party.

Emmrich: it looks like he's talking to the lady elven warrior Rook that we've seen a few times now in the promotional material (like in the recent warrior gameplay video). Emmrich has impeccable style. I love all the detailing on his clothes. like the skull pin at his collar, he also has two skull pins lower down on either side of his waist. (this is a fashion flair shared with Lucanis; he also has a pin at his collar and then two more, one on either side, elsewhere on his coat; only his are crow skulls of course). parts of the material of his clothes have that crushed velvet look. Emmrich has big "I tell the time by a beautiful antique pocketwatch I keep on a chain" vibes. :D on his shoulder pads there are arrow patterns. the background location looks Nevarran and/or Necropolis-y to me. it looks like there are candles which burn with green flame (I'm really curious about that. is it Veilfire?) and you can also see a hexagon. I wondered here based on prior screenshots if hexagons are an aspect of Nevarran art/design/tileset.

Taash: I would like to see a new screenshot of Taash beloved 👉👈

Manfred: he looks so cute and happy, this is a really detailed shot of him and I'm really curious about the material that composes the lenses of his goggles. they look like they could be cut gems. if you look closely at the detailing on them, there's a pattern like an eight-pointed star or something etched on each lens. it gives his expression a permanent "🤩"-type impression hhh. and I'm really curious again about the purpose of his goggles. depictions of them like in Emmrich's tarot-style card art make it look like they have something to do with the necromancy. he is very helpfully handing us a lantern. the glow of the light in it looks green, like the lighting fixtures we've seen in the Necropolis.

Bonus Neve shot: what are these lights in the background I wonder? ^^ this shot is a good reference for the handle of her wand-cane thing. I think the blue-lustre finish on the gold parts is pretty. btw, do you think the orb held in Neve's wand-cane functions the same way for Neve the way the orb in dagger-and-orb style does for dagger-and-orb/Spellblade mages?

[breadedsinner]

I have only seen people talk about Bellara hate not the actual hate itself, but assuming it’s about her interest in Lucanis, I hope she fucks him so hard he’s unavailable for the next level.

[dngrs-untld-hrshps-unnmbrd]

Graven Hearts

After being unofficially banished from the Mourn Watch, rebellious Lisbette must recruit one of her former professors, Emmrich Volkarin, to help her defeat two ancient Elvhen gods. Hurt that her favourite professor never stood up for her when she needed him, Lisbette takes delight in provoking the handsome, silver-haired necromancer, perhaps enjoying herself a little too much.

Female Rook | Age Difference | Daddy vibes | low key bratting | Hurt/Comfort | Eventual Smut

Chapter One

The Lighthouse is a sheer delight to Emmrich. The rooms given to him seem to shape themselves around him to his ideals and tastes without him needing to ask. He and Manfredd spend a happy afternoon putting all his things away, and Emmrich makes mental plans for how he may help this charming group of people. They are facing two ancient Elvhen gods, and the task before them is forbiddable. 

Manfredd goes out to explore the lighthouse, and Emmrich sits behind his desk to write letters to his colleagues in the Mourn Watch. How does one post letters in a place like this? He supposed he’d figure it out. 

There’s a soft knock on his door, but before he can call out for the person to enter, the door opens, and Lisbette appears. 

He smiles at her, and opens his mouth to say, “It’s wonderful seeing an old student doing so well,” but the expression on her face makes the words turn to bone dust in his mouth. She’s smiling at him, but it’s a hard, fixed smile, very unlike the friendly welcome he received at the Necropolis. 

But now he thinks of it, Bellara was the one doing most of the talking. Lisbette was merely polite.

Without a word to him, Lisbette takes a long, slow walk around the room. She’s wearing comfortable off-duty clothes, a pale shirt tucked into high-waisted pants. The ensemble is nothing special, but she somehow looks lovely in them. Her masses of curly red hair is down past her waist, and the freckles on her face and glassy green shards in her eyes catch the sunshine.

Lisbette pokes at a skull on a shelf. Examines a bottle. Her attitude is irritatingly overfamiliar, as though she feels she has a right to both examine his things and ignore his presence. She was never rude to him during her student days. Lisbette had been rebellious and provocative on paper occasionally, but in his classes, tutorials, and private meetings in his office, she’d always behaved with manners and respect. 

Emmrich sits back in his high-backed chair and watches her with what he thinks of as his chilliest gaze. Though her student days are over and her relationship with him is quite different, he still expects manners and respect.  

Finally, she saunters over to him, though she still doesn’t look at him. Her fingertips trail across the surface of his desk. “ Coming in here reminds me of being called into your office, professor.”

“How so?”

“I can feel waves and waves of your disapproval, just like the old days.”

“What do you believe I disapprove of?”

Lisbette laughs softly. “Always a teacher, aren’t you?”

“Lisbette. If you don’t want me here...”

“I need you here,” she says with a careless shrug, and perches on the edge of his desk. 

Emmrich opens his mouth to tell her not to sit on his desk, but then closes it again. She wants to provoke him, and he feels certain that he mustn’t be provoked. He supposes she wishes she didn’t need him. Needing someone from the Mourn Watch upsets her after she was unofficially banished from the faction. He feels nothing in particular about that. He wasn’t there when the decision was made, and it’s good for a young person to learn that their actions have consequences.

“You have gathered together quite a team,” he tells her, hoping to change the subject to a topic they can both enjoy. 

“Yes, they’re like family. It’s good to have family around me again.”

Family?

He feels his heart sink. 

Lisbette was found abandoned as a baby in the Necropolis. Like him, the Mourn Watch raised her, and just as it does to him, the Mourn Watch means family. Home. Love. 

Or it did until they banished her.

How would he have felt if the only family he’d ever known shut him out and told him to leave? Has she had one kind word or letter from anyone at the Mourn Watch in the year since?

But Lisbette has landed on her feet, he reasoned. She’s a talented young mage and she’s navigating these unfamiliar waters with confidence and apparent ease. 

All the same, him being here hurts her. Angers her. She doesn’t want anything from the Mourn Watch, but she has no choice. 

He can find a way to win her over, surely.  

In a kinder tone, he begins, “Lisbette, what happened a year ago...”

She scoots around his desk toward him, and then reaches for a book on the far side of his desk. Doing so, she splays herself across his lap in a bewildering manner. His fingers flex on the arms of his chair as he stares down at her. 

Lisbette sits up and pushes her red curls out of her face with a breathless smile. “ Alvarus’ Treatise on the Undead . I’ve always wanted to get my hands on this.”

There’s better light from the window if she’s facing the other way, and she perches on the arm of his chair. Emmrich finds himself with his arm around her, but pulled back as far as he can so as not to touch her inadvertently. She wriggles back, closer to him, making that task difficult for him.  

“ Lisbette, there are chairs for both of us.”

As she turns the pages, she slides further from the arm of the chair until she’s half sitting in his lap. “I’m fine here, professor.”

“Lisbette.”

“Hm?”

“ Lisbette .”

She looks up at him with a dazzling smile, her face just inches from his. “You’re handsome when you’re annoyed.”

“I know what you’re doing. You dislike that you need help from me. You’re provoking me because you’re angry with me. If we could have a mature conversation...”

She blinks innocent eyes at him. “Don’t be silly, professor. I’m provoking you because it’s amusing me.”

Slowly, she sinks even further into his lap. Her bottom feels soft against his bony thighs and very warm. Lisbette rests against his chest, licks her fingertip, and turns a page of the book. 

He grits his teeth. If she won’t speak seriously, he will. “I will speak with the Mourn Watch. You’ve been punished long enough and you should be allowed to return to the order .”

The smile fades from Lisbette’s lips. She reaches up and touches the silver strands of his hair, and then combs her fingers through the locks. Her touch feels surprisingly sweet. 

Then she boops his nose with her forefinger. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had better adventures since being told to leave, and now I have a Mourn Watch professor all to myself. He’s going to help me save the world.”

He gazes at her, feeling unimpressed by her arch tone and the way she’s touching him. She might be their leader, but he was not her pet.

“How may I be of service?” he asks icily.

She muses on this for a moment. “Do you have any advice for me, professor?”

“Your spells were ragged today. Your staff work was sloppy, and your incantations poorly aimed.”

“You called out Beautifully done, Lisbette at least three times.”

He had, hadn’t he. He was delighted to be invited onto the team, and he’d been impressed and inspired by the leadership his former student had shown. The way she smiled at everyone. Her warm confidence. He’d congratulated himself that he’d been responsible in part for the young woman she’d become, the old fool. 

Emmrich clears his throat. “I must encourage as well as correct.”

She tilts her head teasingly toward his. “Ah, so you encourage me in public and correct me in private?”

“You’re trying to provoke me, young lady.”

Lisbette reaches up and ruffles his silver hair. “I am provoking you. Thank you for the book.” 

She snaps the volume closed, gets up from his lap, and saunters out of his room with an maddeningly hypnotizing sway of her hips. 

Emmrich opens and closes his mouth. Too late, he thinks of something to call after her. “Lisbette! I was reading that book.”

But the door closes behind her, and he thinks he hears her laughter in the corridor. 

__

Oh, Lisbette and Emmrich, you're both in so much trouble. Not the same bit of trouble, but definitely a lot of it, and together. Thank you for reading!

CHAPTER TWO

[mythalism]

ok im going to try and parse through my feelings on the entire game in the hopes that expelling these thoughts from my brain will allow me to actually sleep because i am running on about 3 hours right now

i will start positive with the things i absolutely loved:

solas. whos suprised

just kidding i will elaborate further of course. genuinely, from a (mostly) objective writing perspective, he is the best part of this game. like hands down. his writing is bonkers insane. he has the best lines and the most complexity out of any character in the game (besides mythal perhaps). i was so so so afraid they were going to completely woobify him into someone who was right all along and never did anything wrong in his life blah blah to make him sympathetic to a new audience. they did not give a fuck however and i could not be more glad. he is exactly the dread wolf and bringer of nightmares of legend. he is so wonderfully in character, even if that character is not someone we saw in inquisition (we saw solas, not the dread wolf!). there are moments that solas shines through, like in his mentions of varric in the very beginning, when he mentions his love for the inquisitor, his convo with a rook he respects (which i do believe was genuine, even if he betrays them anyway. we know that he regularly betrays people that he likes and respects lol), the way he helps the shadow dragons and saves the dalish, and of course in his final scene with the inquisitor. he manages to retain that perfect back and forth, mask on and mask off, solas vs. fen'harel dichotomy with a different balance than the one we saw in inquisition. in inquisition, we saw solas with hints of the dread wolf peeking through. in veilguard, we see the dread wolf with hints of solas peeking through. ok i need to move on or i will talk about him forever. but they nailed the moral ambiguity with him. they nailed the theme of forgiveness being hard. i loved when harding said something along the lines of "there is no one who doesnt deserve forgiveness" this is one of the few consistent themes that this game was successful in exploring. ok ok moving on now i promise

i also loved mythal (fragment mythal, not morrigan mythal who was a flop). admittedly i am a mythal stan, but her integration into this story was a highlight for me. she haunted the narrative in such a great way. it added so much complexity to solas. hearing him GROWL at elgar'nan in rage "you have lost the right to say her name" made me scream in glee. i loved talking to her and having to prove my worth to her. i love that it was hard and she would kill you without hesitation if she found you unworthy. i love that if she does find you worthy she is instrumental in changing solas's mind. i loved her dragon appearance even if she was useless in the damn fight lol. morrigan mythal sucked tho but thats for later

similar vein but the main quests were fantastic, with a few caveats. but overall every main quest had me hooked, having so much fun, at the edge of my seat and screaming and flailing in my chair. weisshaupt was incredible, BLOOD OF ARLATHAN WAS INSANE (the solas elgarnan bitch fight will go down in history as a moment of all time for me) and of course the finale was some of the best writing ive seen from bioware. the way suspense was built was well done, the stakes felt high, and the twists were interesting.

choice and consequence was absolutely banger. i gasped when i went back to dock town after leaving minrathous to fend for itself and saw a gallows with bodies hanging from nooses and piles of bodies in the streets. i gasped when harding died. i gasped when bellara got blighted. definitely the best choice and consequence in the entire franchise and it was very satisfying. i feel motivated to play again to see different options play out.

the environments are fucking insane. genuinely insane giga brained genius. i have never been so gagged by a video game like this. not only were they beautiful but they were well-designed, interesting and diverse. i rarely got bored anywhere (except treviso lol) and i was regularly picking my jaw up off the floor. some highlights for me were the anderfels area where you first meet davrin with that amazing vista, kal sharok, the docktown catacombs, pretty much anything in arlathan, the deep roads, and honestly so much. absolutely beautiful.

this game felt incredibly cinematic and the direction was fantastic. the cutscenes were so well done and they transitioned so smoothly into gameplay. the animation was fantastic, and everything was so engaging to watch. my favorite cutscene has to be when solas is about to switch places with rook and you see him in the background out of the corner of your eye twice, though rook doesnt know. i was literally screaming it was so fucking cool. it genuinely felt like watching a movie a lot of the time

i genuinely enjoyed the gameplay loop of exploration. i had a lot of fun just exploring around docktown and arlathan, there was always something new to find, i loved the puzzles, and i loved finding codex entries. this is a crazy thing to say but it actually reminded me a lot of genshin impact LMFAO. which i know a lot of people would probably consider to be a negative but i thought it was engaging and fun.

combat fucks. it got a little repetitive by the end, mostly because i think i just wanted to find out the end of the story and fucking darkspawn were in my way, but it was a huge step up from previous games and i think action combat was a good choice.

this game has an incredible amount of genuine heart and soul put into it and you can feel it in every facet of the game. i can tell that the devs were passionate and their creativity was genuine. i could feel their love for the characters and the world. this game is unflinchingly sincere and not afraid of being cringe (though it definitely is cringe at times, i respect the commitment to it so i dont mind it). it genuinely does not feel like an EA cash grab, which is a huge win considering how likely it was for years that a cash grab was exactly what we were going to get.

i enjoyed the varric ghost twist. i knew something was up with him but i didnt fully call him being dead until right before the reveal. i get why people are going to be upset about it, its a pretty fucking crazy decision, but i think what saves it is the quote he gives rook in the fade about his choices being his own and still encouraging rook to try to get through to solas despite being KILLED BY HIM.... fucking crazy. it ties in enough to the overall theme of regret and forgiveness that i think it works.

ok time for the negatives

its hard to pick my biggest issue but i definitely have a top 3: the lore flopped majorly, much of the writing felt juvenile, and there was an overall lack of nuance to everything about the game except for solas's storyline that did feel very not-dragon age to me

i actually dont give a fuck about lore retcons, especially if they are explained well. i think they are often necessary and can be pulled off. but this game literally just pretended to answer decades long questions about the lore and then does not. which would be fine if we didnt have someone who knows all the answers to those questions hanging out in our brains and willing to answer them. we did not learn what exactly a titan was. we did not learn what they were like when they were alive and before they were blighted. mythal called them monsters. harding suggests they might have been violent like the elves. we literally dont know anything about them except for what solas and mythal did to them. i dont think anyone even actually gave a clear answer on what the blight is. ok it was the titan's severed dreams but what the fuck does that mean? it was their rage and pain? then why does harding say the red lyrium manifested by her rage and pain was not blighted, just red? if blight equals titan nightmares then that lyrium should have been blighted? so what the fuck is the blight that ghilan'nain cooked with? red lyrium? how did the original darkspawn get made? did she start injecting people with red lyrium? but we know what that does to people because we saw it in inquisition. it makes them red lyrium freaks but it doesnt make them darskpawn. WHAT ARE DARKSPAWN? WHAT IS THE BLIGHT? did i miss this in a codex entry or something guys im so serious. how did we play this whole game and not actually learn what the blight is. we also learned almost nothing about the forgotten ones, which is fine except we literally met one and all they really had to say about it was "evil spirit" ? ok. also um. where are the rest of the evanuris. ok they are gone but where did they go. we know where their archdemons went, but where did they go? ghilan'nain exists separate from her archdemon so its not like killing an archdemon kills the evanuris, it just makes them vulnerable. should they not all be still alive in that prison together, just mortal and archdemon-less? they literally just say "they're gone" and expect us to be like ok! WHAT THE FUCK??? WHERE ARE THEY?? WHERE ARE THEIR BODIES??? WHAT??????? also the explanation for archdemons was boring. it felt like the team literally did not know the answers themselves (and didnt feel like calling up david gaider) so they just gave us vague non-answers hoping we wouldnt notice. I NOTICED.

similar vein; we learned nearly nothing about elgar'nan and ghilan'nain, and they overall felt cartoonishly evil and one-dimensional. and this is a greater problem that ill talk about next, but they were afforded none of the nuance that solas and mythal were given, and it feels glaring in comparison. why was elgarn'nan evil? was he just born fucking evil? we know thats not true. he originated as a spirit, what kind of spirit? what was his relationship with mythal like? what was his relationship to the other evanuris like? he calls ghilan'nain "sister", were they always close? did they become close in their prison? what are his goals beyond tyranny? or do you actually want me to believe he is just full stop evil? if he was one of the original spirit born elvhen what virtue did he embody and what polluted him into something so terrible? why does ghilan'nain love the blight? why is she obsessed with creation? we only get a single codex about she and andruil (that i found). what was her and solas's relationship like before she ascended to godhood? he calls her "the best of them" but we never see anything about their relationship. neither of them has any nuance. they are just pure evil, corrupted by ???? something ??? power??? i guess. and we are supposed to just be fine with it lol. what are even their motivations? why do they want to cover the world in blight? what is their emotional connection to this pursuit??????? we get such an exploration of this for solas and just NOTHING for them. they feel so one-dimensional in comparison, literal comic book cartoon character villains.

similarly, this game lacks nuance overall. bioware is known for its exploration of grey morality on both personal and sociopolitical levels. this game has that only for solas and literally no one else. qunari antaam? evil (super fucking racist depiction as well). venatori? evil minions. elven gods? evil. forgotten ones? evil. meanwhile, crows? suddenly good. its okay. just forget the MURDER, child slavery and abuse. seriously its fine. caterina dellamorte is a sweet old lady :) dont worry about it :). every faction is good and every antagonist is bad. its genuinely insane coming from the studio who gave us dragon age 2 to now give us something so fucking boring and black and white. they got SO CLOSE with the wardens and isseya and in the end davrin still kills her. why does solas get a chance at redemption and no one else does? here we are with an entire story centered around this morally grey character, interrogating whether or not his actions are justified, whether his intentions matter, whether his abuse informed his atrocities, asking ourselves if he deserves forgiveness asking if he deserves to be saved, where do we draw the line? what is the point of no return? why do people do the things they do? its fantastic. and then you go and do a faction or companion quest and its just like, these are the good guys and these are the bad guys. dont ask questions. have fun! WHAT???? FROM BIOWARE??????????

this issue bleeds over into the companions as well. i genuinely liked all of them. they are likable. but holy shit they have no flaws. all of them are genuinely good people and their problems center around others rather than themselves. there is little to no complexity, to the point where honestly they did not feel like real people to me. harding is sweet and perfect and her worst trait is being *checks notes* TOO AGREEABLE? davrin's worst flaw is raising his voice at his pet too much. emmrich's only flaw is FEARING DEATH LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING? neve is kind of cold. thats it. bellara never does anything wrong. lucanis doesnt sleep enough? taash is the closes they come to any sort of complexity and i did genuinely enjoy their identity struggle and i loved seeing their complex relationship with their mother. but none of those are flaws. like these characters are cookie-cutter perfect. we used to have companions who committed acts of terror and blood mages and mean jealous little brothers and did horrible things and said horrible things to each other and struggled with things like internalized racism and complacency in violent corrupt institutions and addiction and facing your fucking war crimes and they are some of the most beloved of the franchise because they feel SO REAL. like genuinely going from characters like anders and blackwall to these companions was so jarring and disappointng. i LIKE them all, dont get me wrong. but they do not act like real, complex fully fleshed out people, and the writing overall suffers greatly for it.

again connected, the writing in terms of literal dialogue but also what i mentioned above comes together to feel incredibly juvenile. i know some big reviewers beforehand said that the game feels like a pixar movie at times, and unfortunately i dont think thats inaccurate. a little harsh maybe, but there are moments that are truly written in such a way that it feels like the audience is children. and that doesnt mean its bad, because i am a lover of childrens media and most of my favorite media of all time is actually for kids (avatar the last airbender, fullmetal alchemist, etc), but this game oscillates back and forth so violently it will give you literal whiplash. it reminded me a lot of the way young adult fiction is written. GOOD young adult fiction, where its well-done, but its deliberately written to be simpler in both diction and theme and focuses on concepts that young people can identify with. this is how i felt during much of the companion quests during this game. again, it was GOOD young adult fiction, but it had the narrative styling and lack of nuance and complexity that is characteristic of such things, and that is just literally not what the game is supposed to be like. and there are great writing moments that do feel appropriately mature and complex, but they are mostly in the main quest and their presence makes the lack of maturity in the rest of the writing feel even more jarring. i have no idea why they wrote it this way.

morrigan's mythal flopped and was out of character. i missed flemeth's crazy ass. they literally nerfed her. i think this is connected to everyone being nice and good and perfect (no abusive mothers allowed!) which is crazy because the other mythal fragment got to be a crazy bitch. so what the hell

the lack of world states is still a major L. it felt like things were missing that should have been present and had no reason not to be other than just no worldstates. well of sorrows needed to be there ESPECIALLY considering the solas/mythal/lavellan dynamic.

this one is self-indulgence but solavellan could have benefited from better pacing. packing so much into act 3 made it feel rushed. i loved the scenes themselves, but there could have easily been more build-up with a few codex entries.

no fenris. i will never forgive

ok im running out of steam and actually feeling more able to sleep now (thank god). i know i said a lot of negatives but i actually believe this game is very, very good, especially within the context of its development. i think a lot of the issues likely do stem from their fraught development cycle, and overall they did a great job of identifying their priorities and pursuing them to the fullest. i dont necessarily agree with what they prioritized or what their vision was at all points, but i respect the clear direction that this game had. i do not believe it will stick with me the way the previous games did, and while playing i often found myself just missing the characters from 2 and inquisition that i love, and the writing that so often had me screaming crying throwing up and/or giggling and twirling my hair. however, this game gave me the #1 thing i wanted which was a satisfying solavellan conclusion, and though yes it could have been done a bit more... artfully, i think its incredible considering where we were just a few years ago with this game. i will play it again a few times, and the fact that it has sold well enough to guarantee bioware gets to stick around and make new games is a major win. 7.5/10 thank u for listening

[hydrangeapartridge]

My completely biased review and opinion about companions in Veilguard (major spoilers of course)

(Side note : english is not my first langage, I hope I can express myself clearly enough for you all to understand my points)

- Neve

I like Neve, she’s cool. I loved the detail of the noise her metal leg makes when she walks.

Her questline was however a bit bland. We had better portrayals of power hungry blood mages in previous games and Aelia wasn’t that good an antagonist. She lacks charisma and isn’t seen much before the last quest so you don’t really care about her. It could have been more dramatic, like if we had to fight people of Minrathos being controlled, idk. Also not much about slavery.

I get that Bioware tried to make Neve’s quest like detective work, searching for clues and stuff, but for me it wasn’t that exciting, and Venatori are the mobs I like the least, I don’t like the crystals you have to break in order mechanics and stuff.

I chose to make her the hero of Minrathos and it was satisfying.

- Harding

I can’t find it in myself to call her Lace damn it XD

Of course I was happy to see Harding again after Inquisition ! She is a ray of Ferelden sunshine. I really enjoyed her questline with the Titans ; it was mysterious and you really felt the danger in the deep roads, and the potential threat of her newly acquiered magic. I liked the giant oracle and the design of the lyrium caves. It was a nice throwback to the first games.

The end scene of her quest was nicely done, with Rook trying to reach her while the whole cave was collapsing and then a group hug.

I chose the path of compassion.

- Lucanis

His accent was more funny to me than endearing (as is his signature « Mierda ») and I was surprised to find that he was soft instead of suave. I didn’t save Treviso so I feel like I missed a lot of his quest (and the decision at the end) and in the end he was OK but not that interesting to me.

There was also the problem of Illario ; the second he was introduced I smelled the family treason nd so there was no suspense to this quest. It felt like a bad telenovella.

I like that Zara had a literal blood bath in the quest of the same name. It was a cool fight.

I didn’t bring him out much but I enjoyed that he ended up with Neve.

- Bellara

Bellara is adorable. I liked her quirkiness but her dialogues were sometimes terrible. When she talked I felt like she kept repeating the same things phrased differently and sometimes I felt the itch to skip (I usually never skip dialog!).

I had high hopes for her questline because of Anaris and finding that her brother wasn’t dead, but it all flopped in the end when Cyrian got killed by being sent flying away and Anaris didn’t turn out that scary. It felt stupide that Cyrian was not dead and then really dead…

I chose to keep the Archive but that choice felt like the less impactful of all the companion choices.

- Davrin

I didn’t expect Davrin to be so brash ! I enjoyed his banter a lot and the growth of his relationship with Assan. That griffin is an absolute cutie !

His quests were cute for the Arlathan ones and impactful for the one with the Gloom Howler. I enjoyed Isseya’s story and saving the griffins.

I still felt Davrin to be a little too « jock » coded, but his banter with Emmrich and Manfred was perfect ! I enjoyed seeing the wardens again (Antoine and Evka <3) and am glad he was a true Warden this one.

I chose to release the griffin in Arlathan because my Rook was an elven veil jumper.

- Taash

In real life, Taash is the kind of person I would have trouble connecting with. They’re obtuse and a bit rude. I felt like I was intruding during the parts with her mother (it is probably the goal of those moments but it made me uneasy). I wanted to be supportive so I was but I didn’t feel like my Rook and them ended up great friends. The identity crisis wasn’t handled that well I think, but it wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be and maybe I’ll get hate for that but they come out at first more Trans than non binary given their problem is being misgendered as a girl mostly or expected to do girly things? They even say it feels right to be called a man I think I remember? (but I respect whatever pronouns she chose in the end)

I really enjoyed the dragon hunt quests however and their last quest was cool too. Their mother’s death was a sacrifice that made sense and it pained me.

Their romance with Harding was cute (mostly because of Harding’s reactions and that height difference XD)

I chose to push them towards embracing the Rivein life, even if I think they could have made peace with both ?

- Emmrich

Of course my favourite. And not only because he is the handsome older man who swept my Rook off her feet.

To give us a scholar necromancer that was the antithesis of the cliché : a man poised but a tad insecure, nerdy, gentle, kind, a bit posh, extremly elegant and whose favourite colour is lilac ! Genius !

The Necropolis had such a distinct ambiance that every quest there felt special, with amazing details and wonders of finding a wisp, a spirit or hearing a dead’s last words.

To me his personnal quests are the ones with the best handled rythm. The first one in the peace and quiet of the beautiful garden sets the tone : serious but poetic, sad but hopeful, and dares to tackle very real and grave subjects. Death and regret but also life and love are perfectly handled in his story and brought me lots and lots of feels.

There is a great antagonist whose motives are simple but dangerous ; a friend turned rival, similar but so different from dear Emmrich. Johanna is simply iconic (her hand gosh and the fact that you keep her skull in the end, brillant). The fights are well balanced, the cutscenes and dialogues perfect for immersion. And don’t get me started on Manfred… I love this little guy to bits.

I chose to revive Manfred and for Emmrich and Rook to live the rest of his mortality together. In Undying Love

[thedastravelerer]

I just finished the Dragon Age Veilguard and I need to scream my thoughts into the internet void.

My Rook, Lucrezia, was bought along with other kids by the house de Riva when she was 3 years old. She doesn't remember anything before that. When her magic manifested at the age of 8, she begged Viago not to send her to the Circle. Viago saw great potential in the little elven chaos gremlin, so he decided to hire private tutors for her. From the age of 14, she became Viagos apprentice, accompanying him everywhere. Her sunny, bubbly personality was a great distraction in social settings. She was the Robin and Viago was the Batman, basically.

Inquisitor romanced Solas.

So that is the viewpoint, from which I experienced the game.

The good:

The music is AMAZING

The environments are gorgeous

Spellblade is sooo much fun. The perfect mix of rogue and mage.

Treviso is so beautiful. I am never saving Minrathous. That sh*thole can get swallowed by the ocean.

The final missions were great. The tension, the loss, the heartbreak, the betrayal—10/10. No notes.

Baby griffons

The conversations/dynamic between Lucanis/Spite and Taash crack me up

The dynamic between Viago and Lucrezia was everything I could have hoped for. I still laugh when I remember the letter from Viago starting with "IDIOT".

Viago and Teia—I would die for them. Every time they flirt, I picture Lucrezia sticking fingers into her ears and going LALALALA. I don't want those pictures in my head.

Harding wins the competition for the prettiest room in the Lighthouse.

I love the little offhand comments and banter between all of the Crows. It was fun to hear Lucanis or Lucrezia randomly mention Viago or Teia. It really painted a picture of them knowing each other for a long time and being able to poke fun at each other.

I loved Lucanis as a character. Also, the 3-way relationship between Rook-Spite-Lucanis is perfect. I loved that when Lucanis learns about Caterina being alive, he shuts down and Spite is like: "What?! Why are you putting more locks into our prison? I AM GETTING ROOK! :D

The "Solas therapy" ending was heartwarming (and also a bit funny)

I loved Solas as a character. I see, why he is the god of trickery and lies. And how his wisdom turned into pride. I just wish I could slap that stubborn liar. Just once.

You know it is real love when you spent the last few hours chomping on an archedemon and your Vhenan still kisses you.

I liked the relationship progression between Davrin and Lucanis. They went from open hostility to mutual respect to drinking buddies.

Lucanis questioning Bellara and Neve about their business decisions was hilarious. Crows are first and foremost business people.

Isseyas storyline. I just wish they delved deeper into her story instead of getting an infodump. I enjoyed seeing how the blight twisted her grief and regrets. How she remembered only her love for the griffons she saved. And the blight corrupted that love, forcing her into horrible mistakes.

The bad:

The story is so shallow in comparison to previous games. All of the nuance is gone. There is no Loghain, no Meredith and Orsino, no Anders. Everyone is either the good guy or the bad guy. Maybe except for the Butcher and Isseya.

A lot of the darker, complicated, interesting themes are ignored. After the Antaam Qunari (Sten in DAO), the Ben-Hassrath Qunari (Bull in DAI) we finally meet a scholar of Qun and we get NOTHING interesting from her. We can't have a deeper conversation about the Qun. We can't even talk about her hypocrisy of running away from the very rules she forces on Taash. The Antaam are the a$$holes and everyone else following the Qun is good. Until they disagree with their assigned role in life and get their mind broken until they fit the mold again. But we don't get to learn that.

Who TF is Anaris? Why is he the Forgotten One? What does it even mean? What beef did he have with the Evanuris? We don't get to learn that. We get MWHAHAHA I AM SOOO EVIL. Boring and disappointing. It would have been much more interesting if he convinced Cyrian his sister was a pawn for the Dread Wolf. There could have been a conflict between elves choosing Anaris, who promised them power after their gods turned out to be a$$holes, and elves choosing a new, free path.

Are we not going to address the EXECUTIONER in the room? Who is he? Where did he come from? Why is he totally cool working a desk job in the Necropolis?

We finally see Kal-Sharok and we learn almost nothing about the dwarves living there. How did they survive? How do they govern themselves? What is the culture like?

I don't understand the Titan powers Harding has. Like, I get the concept, but the details are confusing.

I am sick of the words "ritual" and "artifact"

The quests "press button in three places" or "destroy/place crystals so they link/unlink" were a bit repetitive.

Characters sometimes have lapses in memory. Ferelden has fallen to the blight, but Emmerich and Harding are going camping there... Mmmmkay. Rook, baby, you have used the teleport vortex like three times before. We have 2 in the Lighthouse.

I love Lucanis, but his romance is very undercooked. I get, that he pushes a lot of emotions down, and flirting is just another weapon the Crows use to get to their targets. But we see no inner turmoil in banter, no notes wondering about Rook. He touches Rook exactly once - in the romance scene at the very end. They never even address the almost kiss.

The brutality of the life of Crow recruits is smoothed over to be nice and family-like. We are talking about an organization that buys enslaved children and forces them into hunger games to shape them into elite assassins.

The widespread Tevinter slavery is mentioned minimally. The only mention might be the codex of Dorians speech in the Magisterium. Their whole social system is built on slavery and caste system. We don't get to talk to Neve about any of it.

Most of the helmets are hideous.

The "stealing cultural stuff is wrong and we, the pirates and treasure hunters, are not doing it. We are the good guys!" talk you have with Taash right when you meet her was so jarring. Like, it makes sense, because Isabella is in charge. It would have been funnier and less preachy if they went with "We don't steal cultural stuff, because Isabella stole something from the Qunari once and it was a sh*tshow".

No dirt, no persistent gore

You don't get to have deep conversations with your followers. Instead, you get to read their diaries and letters in the codex. I felt like a creep snooping through their notes and letters to each other. Same feeling with the Lighthouse banter.

I miss the more abrasive followers. Everyone is high on friendship. Why is no one protesting against the demon-possessed assassin cooking all of our meals? Why isn't Bellara more wary about the Tevinter mage? Emmerich gets a lot of sh*t for the creepiness, but nobody questions the morality of using body parts as Legos.

I wish we could choose a class for the Inquisitor. She looked so ridiculous and out of place in the last fight. She is one of the most fearsome fighters in Thedas and she wears the blandest outfit possible. She isn't even armed.

We find out the Andrastian faith is a fairytale and no one except Harding comments on it? All of the human followers grew up in Andrastian cultures. Religion forms the structure of society, customs, inner values, viewpoints on the world, and what is considered "normal" on a subconscious level. In DAI you have a conversation with Josephine about how the Andrastian faith provides common ground for negotiations across cultures. Cassandra walks through an elven temple that is older than her religion and still wonders who could believe this nonsense. Why aren't you more upset, people?!

I am going to pretend the post-credit scene didn't happen. You will not soil the beautiful tragedies of the very human mistakes and choices the imperfect characters like Loghain made. I will not accept some demon whispering over the wonderful multi-faceted people and their rises and falls. F*ck you.

The bug, where the game loads the preset character instead of your custom Rook is annoying and didn't get fixed by the patch.

I hate the UI with a passion

No grey streaks in Inquisitors hair is a crime.

I hate the underwater view in Rooks room. I have an irrational fear of deep waters and sea life. The Ossuary is a prison of my nightmares.

I hate the redesign of the demons. They look like dementors with their robes open.

It is not clear how long was Rook trapped in the prison of regrets.

Anyway... rant over. I enjoyed the game like I enjoy the Marvel movies. With half of my brain turned off.

[teamdilf]

bestie I am begging you I'm lit obsessed w your Solavellan stuffs I hope you keep writing abt them after all that.......... happened in Veilguard...... and I ALSO wanna kno what you think of it once you finished 🤭🫣😭👁️👁️

I’ve already got one post-Veilguard fic up and am working on another! I’ll put my thoughts under a cut for the sake of people who haven’t finished yet.

In general, I loved the game. It had its issues - I think the lack of world state customization hurt the narrative, leaving it feeling disconnected from the other games.

I didn’t feel as strongly about the companions as I have in the previous games - but I’ve also only played once, and I finished the game over six days. I’ve just started a second run and I’ll be playing over a much longer period of time so I’m hoping that will change.

Bellara and Davrin were my favourites, though and I romanced Davrin, and thought it was lovely. 💜 I’d been so lukewarm on Bellara in Vows & Vengeance so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved her. Emmrich was also lovely, but I didn’t connect with his storyline, truth be told.

Having developed my Rook, Melody, so much beforehand was helpful from a role playing perspective, especially since I was disappointed in the lack of Lords of Fortune lore. Her backstory has changed a bit to correspond with canon reveals about the LOF origin, and I’d like to write about the early years of her life, and meeting her mentor/adoptive father, Marcel.

Now, on to my Solavellan thoughts! 😂 I was happy with the ending. Thrilled, honestly, because I’d predicted long ago that the happiest ending they’d ever have would have Iris leaving to live with Solas in the Fade. I adored the Loki/Sigyn allusions to their ending.

That being said, I think they could have stood to let their reunion breathe a bit. I didn’t like that Solas refused Lavellan when she asked him to stop - I think it would have felt better if he’d been waffling, and not get answered when Morrigan intervened and brought Mythal to speak to him. Initially I’d been pretty pissed that it was Mythal and not Rook or Lavellan who talked him down, but after a few days of reflection, I’m more OK with it. He needed to be freed from his self-imposed bonds in order to be able to move forward and start the work to accept what he’s done cannot be undone without causing mass carnage.

That he ended the game as the veilguard (willing or unwilling) felt right - he needs to atone for all he’s done and his vow to protect the world with every breath he takes was moving and satisfying.

The kiss was fine - he’d gotten chewed up by an archdemon and was in rough shape so, much as I’d have loved a bit of tongue in there, my assumption is Lavellan was being careful not to hurt him. 😂 I wish we’d gotten more of his expressions - the fly cam shots floating around are beautiful and I’d have loved to see him smile as he gazes at his love in-game, rather than via fly cam.

Long story short, while the journey wasn’t perfect, the destination was, and I’ve got a whole list of fanfic ideas to tackle - both featuring Iris and Solas, as well as Melody and Davrin. Right now I’m working on a fic set immediately after Solas and Iris arrive at the prison. It’s heavy on the hurt/comfort on account of Solas taking a legendary ass-kicking, but I’d also like to explore Iris’ own regret, given the nature of the space they’re living in, as well as her efforts to alter the space to make it a home and not a prison. It’ll be a slow effort, but you can see the end result of that work in the fic I linked above, which is set three years after the end of Veilguard.

[5queerducksinatrenchcoat]

i hope there's a point in-game where bellara's talking about something and she's getting so excited that her words start to run together a bit because her brain is going too fast for her mouth to keep up properly

[queen-schadenfreude]

now that I've finished datv.. i have some first pass thoughts

spolers below

first of all why is this game trying so hard to rehabilitate in-universe controversial aspects? I mean like. Slavery in Tevinter. It's swept under the rug with a few lukewarm platitudes and codices about how it's being addressed off-screen. Previous games have established how horrific it is, but the tevinter we see in veilguard doesn't reflect that at all. it feels dismissive of a lot of major setting and character development. Same with the antivan crows! they were described as a brutal, cruel organization but now they're the underdog protectors? Sure, there was family drama and a few mentions of how cut-throat things HAD been before, but we don't get to *see* any of that. illario was weak as an example of this bc he was the only thing to be shown as bad. There's no tangible impact.

it seems like a feeble attempt to make sure the players understand that the writers do not condone the unsavory aspects of the setting and characters, while making everything a Teachable Moment. honestly half of the game felt like a psa on extremely basic ethics, like surface-level shit children already know.

on top of that, idk why the game is trying so hard to therapize the player via companions' emotional journeys. The extremely basic and direct "your feelings matter and it's okay to feel your feelings! " scenarios were so repetitive and cringe. Sesame street level bullshit. am i crazy for expecting a more mature and nuanced approach to emotional struggle??? I swear previous games were better at this

also fuck all of southern thedas, it's cooked. hope yall didn't care!

Anyway.

ive only played through Neve's romance and i chose her bc she talks and acts like an adult and not a flustered teenager like harding, or a quirky mpdg like bellara. I liked it, it was fine. no strong feelings about it tho.

I didnt consider Taash as a romance option bc they act like a petulant child most of the time and that's just not fun for me.. and I don't love that Taash seems more like a prop for Gender Ideology 101 rather than being a fully complex character who is working through a gender identity crisis. I am not trans and cannot fully speak to this but as someone who knows more than the absolute basics of gender ideology, their story felt patronizing.

the boys are... fine, I guess. I wrecked treviso so I think i got locked out of some Lucanis stuff but his possession just isn't as compelling as previous characters who have been possessed. Davrin is fine, inoffensive. Emmerich is funny I do like him, Manfred is delightful.

I played as an elf bc I hoped it'd be extra relevant to the story, what with the Big Bad(s) being evanuris. it didn't matter at all. the crossroads doesn't even look different for an elf character like it did in Trespasser.

I expected everything to drive torward making Solas out to being a Good Guy Actually, and it kind of did. but super aggravating for have phantom varric to say that after being actually murdered by him like damn!! you are just gonna let that guy walk all over you bc yall were friends for a short while a decade ago. Where was that sympathy for Anders??

varric being a figment of rook's imagination the whole time was a fun reveal, tho.

siiigghhh. but listen. there were things I liked about the game, too. the gameplay is fun. the environments are GORGEOUS. the characters look good, i think the art style is fine actually. the character creator is great (except those qunari fiveheads RIP)

a lot of the banter and jokes did genuinely make me laugh, and i did like exploring maps and interacting with the new companions generally.

I havent given a lot of thought to it but I think a lot of the plot-related issues i have could've been solved by just setting the game like, 100 years in the future. All of the questionable and unsavory aspects of the cultures the game tries SO hard to diminish and write off would've had time to be organically rectified in-universe. I guess.

well. whatever.

[hawke-ondary]

thinking about the dissociative sludge rook's brain must be the entire game. little 500 word scene under the cut, no explicit spoilers but some are implied

He’s standing behind Bellara and Emmrich. Lucanis is on his left, Taash and Harding somewhere behind him. Davrin is beside him, Assan somewhere around here, just waiting for Davrin’s call. Neve is talking to Lucanis- or, at him, probably. Rook isn’t sure, truthfully. He’s barely listening. He’s learned when to tune in, these past several weeks. Or he hopes he has. No one’s said he stares off into space for too long, though Harding’s said she’s heard him talking to himself at the Lighthouse. That tracks. Grief is weird. His eyes focus on what Bellara is doing, Emmrich hovering over her shoulder, the two of them talking magical jargon that goes over Rook’s head. He knows enough magic to not get possessed and make his kills flashy. He never needed to know more, and the Crows didn’t want to throw him off to the Circle back when he was a kid, so all of what they’re talking about- lyrium reserves and resonance chambers or whatever the fuck- just isn’t making sense to him. He watches Bellara’s hands work around the artifact anyway, feels along the edges of the magic she’s doing. Bel’s magic always feels bright, curious and sharp- not sharp like a dagger, but sharp like wit. Personable and malleable. “-ook!” His head jerks up, and Rook’s gaze finally refocuses on Bellara, who’s waving a hand in his face, “Oh! There you are!” she grins, “Lost you for a moment, there,” He chuckles nervously, “Ah, sorry about that. You guys got talking all your fancy words and you lost me,” “I do worry for the state of your magical education sometimes,” Emmrich mumbles, ever the professor, and Rook snickers, even if the amusement he feels is dull like every other emotion since the ritual. “Maybe you could do a placement test,” he jokes, and Emmrich visibly lights up at the idea, but then Taash’s elbow is on top of Rook’s head. “So what is this thing?” they ask, motioning towards the artifact Bellara stabilized. “Oh!” Bellara grins, “Interestingly, I think this one is from after the Veil went up- just the way it reacts to the Veil is all, far more receptive to the comparatively lower levels of magical input modern mages are capable of- though what it was for...” she frowns, “Not sure! But Irelin and Strife will be glad to know it’s not exploding!” Davrin snorts, “I think most people are glad it’s not exploding,” “That would be troublesome,” Lucanis mumbles. “... Magic is fucking weird,” is all Taash has to say to this, earning a snort from Neve and a fond little chuckle from Emmrich. “No denying that,” Rook mutters, trying to get his eyes to focus. They’re right, it is fucking weird, and has only gotten weirder the past several weeks. Maker, he wished shit would stop getting weird and sad and start making sense again. If it ever could.

[bloedewir]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Mass Effect companions

If talking about Bioware there's always a familiar personality types from game to game (and it's totally ok because despite well known archetypes the devil is in the details). So. I was bored and thinking about the da4 squad. Let's just say it's kind of a comparison and a try to guess what to expect. No serious stuff included, just for entertainment.

(also it would be hilarious to wait the release and found out I failed dramatically)

Bellara Lutara

Peebee

As devs said Bellara is the one who always has a solution and so as Peebee.

She may seems immature and careless yet is actually smart and resourceful despite the first impression. A true adventurer in a search of truth and new knowledge. Savvy of the team.

Lucanis Dellamorte

Garrus Vakarian

Archangels, as celestials, are supposed to be with wings so Dellamorte with his wings is a perfect match.

I mean. Kills shitbags. Outrageously skilled yet surprisingly awkward in a matter of personal relationship. The job must be done even if not a nice one. Dedication of the team.

Emmrich Volcarin

Mordin Solus

Academic mind. Responsible and quite a work enthusiastic yet morally questionable. Calm, polite, discreet. Tremendous vocabulary (I hope the speed of speaking isn't salarian tho). Wits of the team.

Lace Harding

Wanted to say Liara T'Soni because of VA, but it's Nyreen Kandros

Moral compas always point in a right direction. You have to do anything that is possible to help those who can't protect themselves. Conscience of the team.

Neve Gallus

Miranda Lawson

Smart and capable. Ice queen at first sight but if you can earn the trust is the loyal friend. Determination of the team.

Davrin

Liam Costa (??)

Having a problem here. Not much known about Davrin yet. Liam Costa seems fitting because he's not a hero or a chosen one or something. A good person who cares a lot, wants to help and tries to make things right. And he is bold and charming so as Davrin was described. Heart of the team.

Taash

Aria T'Loak

Strong, confident, brave as hell. You need to get shit done? It's your lady. Yet has a soft side you can see if prove yourself trustworthy. And then the most loyal ally who goes with you to hell and back. Courage of the team.

[felassan]

Notes and thoughts on some of the new companion information:

I wonder what clan Davrin was raised in. Is it a known named one, or one we haven't encountered/heard of before? He went to be a Grey Warden - maybe his clan wandered in the Anderfels? Dalish have been known to live in the lands called the Anderfels:

In the far north, where the hills wander the plains and the earth is eternally baked beneath the uncaring sun, the lands which the shemlen call Anderfels, a clan of our people lived, struggling to survive the Blight. Iloren was their keeper. A hunter in his younger days, crafty as any wolf, he led his people always just ahead of the darkspawn who chased them. But the old hunter knew that even halla cannot run forever. They must turn and fight, or be run down.

Davrin would "rather make history than reflect on it"; Bellara is "obsessed" with uncovering the secrets of ancient Elvhenan. there is a bit of contrast there and so I'm curious to see their similar and differing perspectives on elf-related topics. (I hope they are friends).

I just love that Bellara has a strong sense of self, a clear idea of who she is, and a clear idea of what she wants. we love to see it.

Neve not believing in the superiority of mages, being born and raised in a working-class neighborhood of Minrathous: you can see how this ties to what was said about Neve in the SDCC panel -

John: "So Neve, as you can see in the video, is one of the first companions that you encounter in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. She’s from Tevinter, Minrathous specifically. And anyone who’s played Dragon Age before knows that we’ve always talked about Minrathous, we’ve always talked about Tevinter, so we wanted to have a character who showed, not the parts of Tevinter that we’ve touched on before, you know, obviously slavery is a big part of it, it’s a mageocracy, but somebody who was pushing back, fighting back against that." Jessica: "I love her loyalty, I love her dedication, I love how much she loves Docktown and its people and how she really sees a different vision for Tevinter than, as John said, than what’s previously been depicted. And she’s really really fighting for those people, and she loves those people, and so yes she’s cynical, and yes she’s kinda tough and brusque and all these other things, but when they say there’s a heart of gold, there really, like to have that kind of a passion and dedicate your life to something like that, I think that, that’s my favorite part about her."

Lucanis, please level up from specializing in executing powerful mages to specializing in executing powerful mage god-kings (pls. we are in danger).

In Tevinter Nights, a Vint says of Lucanis after The Wigmaker Job, "They're already calling him 'the Demon'". It turns out that his full title is "The Demon of Vyrantium". (hh, it makes him sound like a speed-demon, a boy-racer tearing up the streets and drifting). of course, this is likely a reference to what he did during The Wigmaker Job, a story which was set in the Tevinter city of Vyrantium. the body count from that party was over forty people (all Venatori, sympathizers or 'I'm okay with it'-izers), including Venatori blood mage and sick wigmaker Ambrose Forfex.

I love that Emmrich is serious about his duty to protect innocents. :') a real kind-hearted gentleman.

[dell-amor-te]

“Of Blood, Bindings, & Burdens Halved”

Part 1 of 2.

Word Count: 4,672.

Warning(s): Canon-typical injuries, literal hurt/comfort, no beta but I try my best.

Pairing: F!Rook x Lucanis Dellamorte.

Summary: Healers make the worst patients. And ancient elven gods make for the worst to ask for straight answers from.

🐦‍⬛Read on ao3.

It gave Nöa great delight to know that she was the exact opposite of most magisters.

She wore every scar and flaw on her body with pride, badges of honor and survival only she could claim. Not to mention the bounty of tattoos she had accumulated over the years, each one to better channel her magic. While mages like Zara Renata spilled the blood of others to preserve their body as some untouchable monument to perfection, Nöa often spilled her own blood in order to ensure that she was able to survive to fight another day, to earn another scar.

Some would (and had) called her self-sacrificing.

She would (and had been known to) disagree with that sum.

Her mother’s clinic was where she could first remember seeing a wound tended. A deep cut that had been earned in a wood-chopping accident. Nothing her mother hadn’t seen and treated a hundred times before and another hundred times after. Nöa could even remember her mother laughing and saying she had seen much worse outcomes to similar accidents.

While her father was undoubtedly adept at using his magic for healing arts when forced into dire straits, and while his command of the dead fostered an extensive anatomical knowledge by nature of his practice, her mother was the undisputed expert.

Nöa had been too young to ever sit under her mother’s tutelage properly, but her mother’s incredibly detailed notes had been a constant advisor as Nöa trained herself. Her education on the subject was less than formal and often supplemented by her father’s lesson in using blood magic as a conduit for aiding in self-promoted healing, and yet Nöa would wager her command of her knowledge could rival any healer across Thedas. And that wasn’t just her pride talking.

Her skill served her very well, and often others, too.

But no amount of medical training would give her the flexibility to treat wounds outside of her range of motion. And despite her knowing this was the natural order of things, when Nöa felt the open wound on her back begin to bleed—profusely, she believed, if the amount of blood pooling down from her shoulder to her leg was indication—she chose to ignore it.

The only people she ever willingly put aside her ego to let treat an injury on her body were her father and Vellora.

Vellora was all the way in Arlathan. Even with the Eluvians, she wasn’t a viable option. Her father was, though. So long as the bleeding didn’t catch up to Nöa before they reached the Lighthouse. She just had to make it back to the Lighthouse, that’s what she kept telling herself.

And also outrun this pack of Ghilan’nain’s hunters. It would be fine. She just wouldn’t think about it.

She uttered a quick spell, reaching back as far as she could to access the spot, trying to play it off as loosening her shoulder. With how many monsters had met their end with her dagger today, it wouldn’t alert any of her companions to its true intent.

Now to hope what little magic she had left would hold things together until they made it back.

“Let’s pick up the pace.” Lucanis said. “Hopefully we can confuse them if we split up once we read the woods. Davrin, Bellara, once we reach the fork, why don’t you split off to the east path. Barring confusion, we can at least even out the odds in smaller groups.”

“Good idea.” Davrin nodded. “Assan, scout ahead, boy. Make sure the path is clear.”

The griffon squawked, ever eager to please.

It was supposed to be some simple scouting out in the Crossroads. No big fuss. Scout some of the paths, clean up any potential Darkspawn hordes. Nothing Nöa, Bellara, Davrin, and Lucanis couldn’t handle. Especially with Assan around.

What they hadn’t accounted for was Ghilan’nain apparently being hit was a stroke of inspiration.

These new beasts of hers, whatever they were, were some of her most grotesque yet.

Nöa made sure she matched her pace to Davrin’s as their group headed for a fast-approaching treeline. They were all frighteningly familiar with the Crossroads at this point, but they still had to keep their wits about them as they traversed its winding paths.

Nöa tried not to ignore the sound of the blood puddling in her boot, how it squelched with each pounding footstep.

Dear Mythal, her sock was soaking wet.

Was it that or her rapidly dropping blood pressure that was making her feel so nauseous?

“Shock troopers!” Davrin shouted.

“They’re gaining ground!” Bellara grunted, shooting back an arrow to take one down that was keeping stride with them along a nearby outcropping of rocks.

Only one thing to do, then.

“Follow my lead!” Nöa issued in quick order.

The group obeyed, following her off the path. As soon as they were all clear, Nöa turned, taking a stand in front of her companions. She pulled her staff from her back, nearly cursing her own body at the shock of pain—and then there was nothing, numbness, that spread through her fingers—as she lifted it in front of her.

She ignored it all, focusing solely on her command the Fade, bending it into twisting shapes, using her conduit as kindling, and then—

A wall of fire erupted along the path, reaching hungrily upward toward the Fade-formed sky.

She laughed, despite herself. “That should buy us some time.” The elf managed, panting.

The small victory was short-lived.

“Hey, Nöa…are you bleeding?” Bellara asked warily.

Nöa looked down at the earth beneath her feet numbly. Sure enough, there was a puddle of blood soaking the ground.

Her blood.

“Nöa?” Bellara put a hand on her fellow Veil Jumper’s shoulder carefully.

“Oh, I’m fine.” Nöa said brusquely.

She couldn’t bring herself to lift her staff back behind her to its holster. She didn’t want to let go of it, frankly, unsure her knees would hold her.

“Come on, we’re almost to the fork—”

It was Davrin’s hand that kept Nöa face from meeting the dirt personally.

“Fine, huh?” The Warden raised a dubious eyebrow.

“I’ve had better days.” She relented, locking gazes with him. “It’s my back. Near my right shoulder.”

“May I?” Davrin asked.

“Be my guest.”

“I’ve got her.” Lucanis said, taking Davrin’s place to support Nöa.

Carefully, Davrin moved aside the black cloak that had effectively concealed her present state from the group. The blood had drenched through her white tunic, spreading across the entirety of her back already, the fabric holding fast to her skin. It painted enough of a picture that Davrin didn’t so much as move to adjust her tunic’s neckline to see better.

“Nöa.” Davrin chided. “You should have said something.”

“Look, it’ll be fine until we get back. Speaking of: can we go now?”

“How long did you let this go?” Bellara questioned, fretting.

“I have no idea when it happened.”

“Fine. Then when did you notice it, Panöwen?” Lucanis asked pointedly.

With him still holding her up, there was little Nöa could do to avoid the Crow’s knowing gaze.

“Before we even reached the peak, maybe.” Her breathing quickened as she felt her body begin to work harder to keep her on her feet. “It’s fine, really.” She assured them all. “Once we get back, my father will see to it. I’ll be good as new.”

Lucanis scoffed. “It’s not fine. You’re as pale as paper. We have to at least stop the bleeding now.” He told her. “Come on, we need to get you off your feet.”

“Is this payback for carrying you like a potato sack last week?”

“No. This is so we don’t leave a trail of your blood for those beasts to follow. Here.”

Any shred of the normal sense of camaraderie between the two of them was gone—enough so that it made Nöa comply and Davrin and Bellara wary. While they all knew Lucanis was poised and often the man of fewest words among their group, Nöa tended to loosen him up a bit; a change they were all growing far too accustomed to.

His tone now, the way he was able to take command, reminded them all why the First Talon had favored him as her heir.

Nöa felt her feet leave the ground, but not much else after that. She was able to get her left arm around Lucanis’ neck, leaving her to rest her chin against his shoulder. Lucanis reached down to pick up her sunburst of a staff, holding her securely with one hand.

“You two, meet up with Assan and get back to the Lighthouse. Stick to the plan. We split up. Once this wound’s been dressed, we’ll follow.” Lucanis said.

“What if those things come back? We don’t know what they are, let alone—” Davrin began.

“The fire will hold.” Nöa interjected, ironically lacking some of her usual fire. “It’ll feed on the Fade’s magic, too, which should also keep it from spreading anywhere it shouldn’t. They’ll burn before they can follow.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Bellara couldn’t help but ask.

“It’ll be fine. Go.” Lucanis ordered, and neither elf disobeyed.

“Just please be careful.” Bellara pleaded, still hesitant.

“I think we’re already past that.” Lucanis said.

“Come on.” Davrin ushered her on.

Bellara sighed, but did as they had been told.

Nöa closed her eyes, feeling fatigued and safe in Lucanis’ arms at once. She didn’t play the damsel well, but right now she felt too off-kilter to argue or really care. But Lucanis was quiet, and that did bother her.

It wasn’t his normal quiet. This was a frustrated silence.

He didn’t say a word as he searched for a place they could shelter while he saw to her injury. He found it, eventually. A clearing far off the main path located after a cautious zig-zagging, just to be safe. He carefully got Nöa situated against a large, moss-dressed stone.

“Alright.” Lucanis sighed, not wasting a moment. “Let’s have a look.”

“You don’t have to. Really.” She half-slurred. “As long as you can help me work a little bit of blood ma—”

“You can’t afford to lose any more blood.” He said sharply. “Besides, your magic is clearly spent. That wall of fire wore you out—your hands are shaking.” He nodded knowingly.

Nöa didn’t have a good rebuttal or a clever word to counter his assessment. Her silence did nothing to set Lucanis’ nerves at ease. She always had a comeback.

“Let me take care of you.” He insisted, his tone softer, lower, but every bit as adamant. “Please.”

“Okay.” A beat of hesitation. “Here. My dagger.” When he looked at her, at a loss, Nöa elaborated. “Open the hilt. There’s herbs inside that can be used to pack a wound and stave off infection.” She grimaced, shifting slightly so he could reach her belt easier. “I think the hit agitated the nerves. I can barely feel, let alone move that shoulder. You’ll have to grab it off my belt. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He said, already moving to do just that.

“I can lean forward.” And she managed to do so. Just barely. “You’ll have to get the rest of my gear off, too, I’m afraid. If you cut off that side of my tunic, you should have plenty of access to the area.”

She hated this feeling. This uselessness.

“Right.”

To his credit, he didn’t blush or hesitate. Nöa half-expected him to. And maybe that was unfair of her.

Once he had her dagger from her belt, Lucanis moved again, creating a slit in the hem that ran down her right side before carefully removing the once-white tunic, leaving her upper body exposed to the open air.

“I think I’m more upset about the tunic than the nerves.” Nöa admitted.

“You can’t sew?”

“Skin? Sure. Fabric…not so much.”

Lucanis’ lips twitched. “I cut along the hem. Maybe Nova or Harding can mend it.” He suggested. “Assuming all this blood washes out.”

Nöa sighed. The cool air felt good against her sweating skin. It was probably a shock response—her skin raising its temperature to combat how cool her internal temperature was without proper blood supply.

Lucanis knelt down behind her in a fluid motion, finally able to assess the wound properly. It was deep and jagged, no doubt a lucky, blind stab made as they fled from that first onslaught. Her lacking range of motion was likely owed to a muscle tear.

Nothing Lucanis could mend now, but Emmrich would be more than capable of tending so long as Lucanis stopped the bleeding now.

“Maker, Nöa.” He muttered under his breath.

“Is it that bad?”

“It’s not…great.” He relented at last. “It will definitely scar.”

“What’s one more?” She laughed lamely. “I have a needle and some thread in my bag. I assumed it hit an artery or a vessel.”

“Artery.” Lucanis told her. “Looks like the subclavian to me.” His brow twitched. “Did you hit this with some magic?”

“A little. Before the fire wall. Just to be safe.”

“Stubborn woman.” He grimaced. “It’s partially sealed, anyway. Though the hold is weak.”

“And still exposed, since you can see it.”

He hesitated. “Yes.”

It was far from ideal.

“Lovely.” Nöa exhaled, trying to slow her heart rate. “You know, this would be a nice place to be buried.”

“Hush.”

“You’ve got the rock for my grave marker and everything.”

“Hush.” Lucanis chided more insistently. “And hold still.”

“Yes, ser.” Nöa groused.

“I don’t think this should be stitched.” Lucanis decided after a thorough assessment. “Not yet, anyway. It needs to be packed to staunch the bleeding, but we’ll just be starting the cycle over again when we get back if we close it now. That artery is going to need more than just field care.”

“Whatever these new pets of hers are, you must admit they have good aim.” Nöa mused.

“Here, let’s get you turned over.” Lucanis didn’t feel like ceding that point when it was her blood proving it. “This forward gravity can’t be comfortable.”

“Nothing’s comfortable right now.” She shot back wryly, though she helped him reposition her as best as she could.

Which was fairly well, Lucanis noted.

Once he had her reclined against the stone, Lucanis got to work packing the wound with the herbs from her dagger.

She kept an impressive little apothecary hidden within her dagger’s hilt-compartment. It had to be an expensive upkeep. They were high-quality herbs, and fresh, too. Either she went through a lot of them, which wouldn’t surprise him, or she rotated them out when they began to wilt.

Which also wouldn’t surprise him.

“Make sure you keep the packing even.” Nöa said quickly.

“Healers make terrible patients.” Lucanis muttered under his breath.

“I know.” He could practically hear her roll her eyes. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I much prefer to do the dressing than being dressed.”

“I know.”

He worked in silence after that. The bleeding didn’t stop, not completely. But it would buy them time until he could get her back to the Lighthouse.

He just hoped it was enough.

Lucanis used her sliced tunic as a makeshift dressing, the soft linen sleeves working to tie everything off properly. They decided to bind her arm to her chest in order to keep strain off of her muscles by leaving her arm hanging down at her side.

Once he was satisfied, Lucanis nodded.

“All done?” Nöa questioned.

“All done. We’ll move once everything settles.” He decided, sitting across from her so he could assess her properly.

She was pale, flushed. He could see a sheen of sweat on her forehead, and her hands were still shaking, worse now than before. There was no sign of poisoning in the wound, but he couldn’t rule it out just from sight alone. The blade had left her shoulder wide opened, fileted. The packing would hopefully help draw out any potential poison in the meantime, along with warding off infection.

He noticed when she began flexing her fingers.

“What’s wrong?” Lucanis asked, scooting closer, taking her hand.

Nöa laughed tiredly. “The nerves. There’s a few herbs in that mix that’ll help the agitation, but they numb everything up first. Just making sure my hand’s still attached, is all.

Lucanis’ thumb stroked her trembling knuckles. If Nöa hadn’t looked down, she wouldn’t have even known he was doing it.

“Are you familiar with nerve damage?” The Crow asked.

“More so than I wish I could say.” She bared her teeth for a moment, wincing, but made no sound, trying to make herself comfortable while she talked to him. “When I lost my eye, the impact also shocked the nerves on that side of my body. Through my face, down that arm. It probably got close to my spine, but not enough to do damage there. We weren’t sure they’d ever come back. It took a year before I could use that side of my face again. Another six months before I could move my arm enough to rehab it.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“What can I say? I like a little bit of mystery.”

He needed to keep her awake. The best way to do that was to keep her talking. Knowing her stubbornness, she would understand his intent in spite of the bloodless delirium she was steadily slipping into.

Speaking of Spite—Lucanis was grateful the demon had chosen to remain quiet, though he couldn’t fathom why. He didn’t have the time to consider it, either.

“I’m going to make sure the packing took now.”

“Okay.”

She said it so quietly that Lucanis wondered if he imagined her saying it altogether.

He returned to his place behind her, kneeling down once more. The bleeding was slower, though it still moved far too quickly for his comfort. He sighed, his eyes catching on her scar and ink-covered back.

“Will you tell me about some of them?” Lucanis asked.

“Which ones?”

“How about this one—base of your neck?” He traced a finger along it, even if she couldn’t feel it.

The skin was puckered, raised, but it was covered up by the vine-like ink of her tattoos.

“That was a boring one.” Nöa almost laughed. “I was…fourteen? Nova and I were sorting through our mother’s textbooks, and he accidentally dropped one on me. I had my head in a book, with my neck bent, and he was up on the roving-ladder, and the corner of the leather got me just right. It probably wouldn’t have scarred had I had baba take care of it, but it didn’t bother me and I didn’t want him to freak out, so I let it heal on its own. You can see how well that went.”

Lucanis could almost imagine the scene.

“There should be one, down toward the right side, just above my hip.”

“I see it.”

“Varghast bite.” She said.

“Really?”

She recounted the story as much as her foggy mind and slurring words would allow. She giggled more than she ruminated, truth be told.

There were so many scars littered across her skin. Lucanis didn’t know how she kept count of them all. He certainly couldn’t remember where most of his had come from anymore.

He frowned.

He had never had a reason to see her undressed, but he never could have imagined how extensive both her scars and her body ink were. It was little wonder she had such a high pain tolerance. Her lived experience could rival Caterina’s training.

“I didn’t realize…” Lucanis trailed off.

“We all have our scars. I’m not special.” She said feebly. “Luc?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t feel so good.”

“It’s okay.” Lucanis soothed her. “Rest.”

With the blood flow impeded for now, there was little harm in letting her close her eyes. It could help, even. Keep her body from overworking itself. Spare her from feeling some of the pain, if she was feeling any of it at all anymore.

Before long, she was almost entirely unconscious, and then she was back in his arms, his own cloak settled over her in the place of her blood-soaked one. His footfall was easy, mindful of his gait so he didn’t jostle her or upset the wound. He tried to keep up the pace.

She needed Emmrich, more so than he hoped she knew.

“Mh…” Nöa’s head lulled back against his chest. The rush of his heartbeat, elevated by anxiety, soothed her, bringing only one thought to mind.

Beat. Vhenan. Beat. Vhenan. Beat. Vhenan.

It was his heart she was hearing, not her own.

And yet…

“Ma vhenan.” She barely managed, head cradled against Lucanis’ shoulder.

“Nöa?” His voice was so far away now.

She drifted off, unaware of anything but the warmth of him surrounding her.

Hello, Nöa.

A voice, so much like Lucanis’…but not quite right….greeted her.

I’ve been dying to talk to you. Shame we had to wait until you were dying to have the chance.

…

“Here.”

Lucanis barely registered the mug of hot coffee directly under his nose. It wasn’t until he processed the feeling of the steam hitting his chin that he looked up. His eyes moved, though no other part of him did, wandering up to the face of the person handing him the drink.

Nova smiled tiredly.

“Thank you.” Lucanis supplied, finally accepting the drink.

He didn’t move to actually sample it.

Nova heaved a sigh, resting his back against the windowsill where Lucanis had sat himself hours ago. The Crow hadn’t moved since, except when Emmrich needed someone to hand him something. Half the time Manfred beat him to it, anyway.

The elf hummed, finishing his assessment of the man before nursing his own cup of coffee.

At last, Emmrich seemed to finish his work. He didn’t move from Nöa’s side, but he stood up straight, rather than hunched over as he had been through the hours.

“Well?” Nova prompted his father.

Emmrich didn’t turn to face the two younger men, instead remaining fixed in place by Nöa’s side. He let go of a pent up breath, the sound haggard and drawn.

“I know Crows are trained to tend wounds should they be injured in the field, but I didn’t expect this caliber of care.” The mage admitted, half-lauding Lucanis’ handiwork.

“She handled the worst of it with a spell before she even told us she’d been hurt.” Lucanis corrected himself. “Well, not told us. She didn’t tell us.”

She didn’t tell us. She didn’t tell us. She didn’t tell me.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Lucanis.” Emmrich said quietly, turning halfway to face them. “She’d be in a much worse state if it weren’t for you.” He looked to Lucanis again. “Thank you.”

“She’ll recover?” Nova asked, anxious.

“Nerves and all, I believe.” Emmrich nodded tiredly toward his son.

Nova patted Lucanis’ knee, relief practically flooding the two men.

“That’s all the thanks I need.” Lucanis said soberly, his gaze fixed on the now peacefully sleeping Veil Jumper in front of him.

Emmrich’s thumb stroked his daughter’s forehead for a moment as he looked down at him once more, his mind still working a million paces a minute. He pressed a kiss to the center of her vallaslin, his lips drawn into a thin line.

“You’re going to be alright.” He barely whispered, offering comfort to the sleeping elf.

Lucanis did his best to ignore the way he yearned to do the same. How he wanted to hold her—her hand, her whole being, or just his lips to her brow. Anything to assure his very being that she was going to be fine.

“You should get some rest.” Emmrich advised Lucanis. “You all had a hard enough day before this. Davrin and Bellara got their rest, I would say you’ve more than earned yours now.”

“No. I’m fine.” Lucanis shook his head, stiff. “Illario was dealt a similar wound, once. I treated that one, too. He needed monitoring overnight.”

“I can see to that.” Nova said.

“Allow me. Please.” Lucanis insisted. “I won’t sleep, anyway. Not unless I know.”

Emmrich smiled knowingly at his son before nodding his assent to Lucanis’ request. “Very well. But come get me if she takes a turn…” He put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, commanding his attention. “Or if you get tired.”

“Yes, ser.”

“Good man.”

“You can come get me, too.” Nova offered, his sister’s ruined tunic tucked in his arms. “She’s my sister.”

“I know.” Lucanis assured. “I won’t take my eyes off her.”

“I suppose I should go let everyone know she’s alright.” Nova decided, sparing one last looking toward her sister. “I didn’t know she could be so quiet.”

Though he was hesitant, Emmrich took his leave with Manfred and Nova both in tow. The skeleton waved at Lucanis as they departed. Lucanis waved back lamely, but it satisfied Manfred.

Alone, Lucanis finally felt himself let go of a breath he had been holding since he laid eyes on the threatening wound on Nöa’s back.

His boots hit the floor of the infirmary—Nöa’s infirmary—without a sound. He crossed the floor, standing where Emmrich had stood for so long.

Manfred had cleaned up while Emmrich worked. Everything seemed so sterile now. Not a drop of blood, and Emmrich had declared long ago that the bleeding had all but stopped entirely. The dressing would need checked overnight for drainage, both as of now, she was sound.

Lucanis pressed his forehead to Nöa’s.

She was nowhere near as clammy as she had been in his arms on their return to the Lighthouse. Her breathing wasn’t erratic. Most of her coloration was back.

If Lucanis didn’t know better, he would have thought Emmrich was a miracle worker.

It promised to be a long night. Though he was hesitant to do so, Lucanis moved away from the exam table turned temporary cot in order to grab a stool from beside Nöa’s desk in the corner of the room. He carried it over to her side before making himself comfortable.

He took her hand in his, watching her as she slept. Wondering.

Vhenan. Ma vhenan.

What did that mean?

He didn’t want to think about it too much. She had been more than half out of her mind at that point, after all. It sounded too distinctive, too elven, to have been mad ramblings or slurring of words. And yet Lucanis couldn’t parcel out what it meant.

And he couldn’t get it out of his mind.

“Solas?”

He had no idea if the ancient elf would answer him.

When the infirmary remained silent and the air remained still, Lucanis gave up any thought of receiving an answer. He wasn’t even sure if he could speak to Solas the way Nöa did. True, they had all seen Solas’ memories from time to time, but did that require the same connection, or something more.

She gave you quite the fright, didn’t she?

Lucanis lifted his head. “You answered.”

You asked for me, did you not?

Lucanis nodded. “She said something. Earlier. I thought you might know what it meant.”

She says a lot of things, Master Dellamorte. To what exactly are you referring?

“It sounded like ma vhenan.” Lucanis said to the empty air. “I think that’s what it was. What does that mean? I assume it’s elven.”

A lengthy pause, so long Lucanis almost thought Solas had elected not to answer, ensured.

It is.

“Which means you understood her.”

I…did.

When the Dreadwolf offered no further explanation, Lucanis worked his jaw.

“So what does it mean?” He asked a little more firmly.

Perhaps it would be better to hear that from her mouth, rather than mine. There is a translation guide in my study, if you can find it.

Lucanis frowned, but decided not to question it. For tonight, he would focus on Nöa. Everything else could come later.