#i mean dalish were mentioned

[lizzybeeee]

Calling it now:

If there's ever any future installments of Dragon Age there will be no mention of the differentiation between the Dalish or City Elves.

Like in DATV they will simply all be 'elves' and the vallaslin will be reduced to 'cool looking tattoo's that some veil jumpers have' - no mention of the elven pantheon either, because why bother! They're all dead now!

They're all dead and responsible for every lore plot point in Thedas, and there's nothing of mystery or substance left in the world now.

No mention of the culture in the alienage, of the vhenadahl tree, of the horrific racism and systematic abuse the elves have been through...now its just elves. With the way the Veil Jumpers have been set up, and the fact that the elven gods were the enemy in DATV, I find it extremely unlikely that the Dalish will even exist as a group either. Why would they? Their Gods returned and blighted the world - not that the fact is even truly discussed in the game. Elves are just elves, and the notable elves are Veil Jumpers.

Maybe you'll walk in a city, pick up a codex, and get a copy and pasted explanation of history from a DAO codex - a reminder of what we used to have and what BioWare absolutely demolished in their attempt to build a new IP on the bones of Dragon Age. The absolute whiplash in writing, story, and character between DAI and DATV is staggering. How on earth could the studio that made such a gorgeous, rich world of lore surrounding the elves in one game end up utterly bastardizing and reducing it to nothing?

How can you look at a place like the Temple of Mythal and go from those gorgeous golden murals and emerald tiled roofs that reached to the heavens to a place like the Lighthouse? From the Emerald Graves to the ruins of Arlathan - devoid of halls that reach to the heavens and golden murals replaced with stained glass? The entirety of the Trespasser DLC had more character and reverence for what the elven empire once was, and DATV feels as though it's approaching it with the perspective of 'generic elven bullshit with triangles everywhere'. All that unique architecture has been obliterated by adding in World of Warcraft focus crystals and automatons.

How can you go from the atmospheric/environmental storytelling of the Lost Temple of Dirthamen to Solas just blurting everything out? No weight, no double truths or hidden meanings - just blurting it out, getting it said and done with no gravitas? That was Solas' entire thing! People have made threads literally dissecting what Solas says and does not say - now he spits lore out as though it were common, everyday knowledge.

How can anyone justify the sudden emergence of magical automatons everywhere in old elven ruins? As if Dragon Age didn't have a host of enemies/creatures available to use in their stead - or the ability to create something unique to the forest of Arlathan. What happened to the spirit guardians? What happened to the lingering echoes of the elves slaughtered by humans in wars ages past like in DAO? Magic was their very existence - spells taking years or centuries to cast, weaving in and about each other - and you're telling me the ancient elves spent their time creating magical transformers?! It feels/looks so utterly seperate from everything we know of the elves from Dragon Age.

Or look at the Crossroads - listen to how Morrigan speaks of it - the reverence for the past, the misty atmosphere, and the heaviness of this pocket of the world that carries the fading memories of a world and people that no longer exists...now it's reduced to a hub world! People are just popping in and out of it at will!

In Trespasser, the few eluvians that we were available to travel to led to the most lonely, desolate spots of Thedas, which ensured their survival over the past millennia. The mirror in the Deep Roads, the mirror in the ancient stronghold in Ferelden...now they're everywhere!The 'few surviving' eluvians are in every major settlement of Thedas and all are in operating order! More than that, everyone who sees an eluvian knows what it is - this ancient marvel of a world long gone has lost all worth and is reduced to a 'world building' justification for fast travel.

Poor Merrill, slaving for a near decade to try and restore a small sliver of her history, only to have all gravitas and wonder of her discovery utterly made void. All that accomplishment wasted, especially when Bellara can wave her magic omni-tool and fix an eluvian in a matter of hours.

If you took every specific Dragon Age terminology out of the Veilguard and replaced it with generic fantasy bullshit you would never be able to tell the difference. The world of DATV is so divorced from its predecessors its astounding.

[felassan]

Some thoughts on this article from Game Informer [source]. ^^

Teia and Viago as the 'face' of the Crows/the Crow 'agents', pretty please..? 🥺 👉👈 And I hope maybe Strife and Irelin can be the same but for the Veil Jumpers..? :D

Customizing qunari Rook's horn type and material reminds me of Taash's gem-horn design

Which faction do you think has the coolest casual threads? in my mind's eye [wild speculation] it's a toss up between Mourn Watch and Antivan Crows :D

What do sword and shield warriors 'hip-fire' with?

What is a "night blade" :D

Faction selection/backstory (while not playable) determining who Rook was before, how they met Varric, and why they travel with him reminds me of the different origins in DA:O and how each possible HoF crossed paths with and was recruited by Duncan in a different way.. 🥺

Factions and groups in the world working together to save it.. it felt like there were hints of this in Tevinter Nights. In that book, we saw different groups and factions from across Thedas working with the Inquisition, with varying degrees of cooperation, on being concerned about Solas. Yet other groups were also interested in keeping tabs on him. now we see the same kinda thing in DA:TV with different groups being involved in saving the world from the Evil Gods.

"'You help them, they help you now" but first they all have serious problems you need to solve' has echoes of how in DA:O, the HoF solved a problem for each major group (Dalish elves/werewolves, Circle Tower/templars, Orzammar etc) before they would obey the Grey Warden treaties and agree to help fight the darkspawn for the final battle

Do you think that some of the voices in the Thedas Calls teaser trailer were some of the 'faces' of the factions? For example, the Antivan Crow woman speaker as the face of the Crows, and the Nicholas Boulton-sounding Warden man speaker as the face of the Grey Wardens?

Each spec being tied to a faction explains the faction symbols being on the specializations, as here. From this, we can see that the faction each spec is tied to is as follows:

Mage: Death Caller - Mourn Watch Evoker - Shadow Dragons Spellblade - Antivan Crows Rogue: Duelist - Antivan Crows Veil Ranger - Veil Jumper Saboteur - Lords of Fortune Warrior: Champion - Grey Wardens Reaper - Mourn Watch Slayer - Lords of Fortune

The Mirror of Transformation returns. Do you think that means Rook will also be able to go to the Black Emporium, like Hawke in DAII and Inquisitor in DA:I? Will Xenon the Antiquarian also return? ^^ Maybe not though, since it's said the Mirror is in The Lighthouse

I'm not sure about "If you find yourself unhappy with your lineage or your class, you can change them using the Mirror of Transformation". It was previously reported that "You can change your character’s physical appearance at any time during the game, but not their class or backstory" [source] [prev post mentioning it]. I guess one article is incorrect, but am not sure which. or maybe this aspect of the game changed in development. ^^ UPDATE: please see here re: an update/clarification from Game Informer on this. it reads:

"Editor's Note: This article previously stated players can change their physical appearance, class, lineage, and identity using the Mirror of Transformation. That is incorrect as class, lineage, and identity are locked after you first select those. The article has been updated to reflect that, and Game Informer apologizes for any confusion this mistake may have caused."

What do you think is the problem[s] faced by each faction that we have to solve? :D We got some hints about this already. For example, for the Crows, something "is amiss" in Antiva and they're trying to uncover the source. The Qunari have also invaded Antiva. For the Wardens, they just recently discovered one of Ghil's underground monster labs and learned there are 11 more (Tevinter Nights), and ominous tremors of unknown cause have been creating disturbances in the Anderfels lately. The Lords of Fortune have lost dominion over the coasts of Rivain and dragons are laying waste to their ships. The Shadow Dragons probably have the Venatori, who are still around and up to mad shit, to contend with. Arlathan Forest is currently all timewarped, reality-fragmented, awash with darkspawn and corruption etc. For the Mourn Watch.. maybe the Veil rips and weakening has caused more premature possessions of corpses and demons possessing corpses and wreaking havoc in the Necropolis, or the Nevarran politics stuff? In TN Dorian also mentions learning from a Mortalitasi mage that there are things "past the Veil of our world, neither demon nor spirit". maybe they're having problems with those things?

[source]

[vaiyamagic]

With the new Dragon Age game looming on the horizon, I wanted to reblog an old theory I had, but I can't seem to find it. So, either tumblr search is being stupid again, or I've never actually shared it, so, here goes:

Solas mentions once, that Corypheus had learned the secret of "effective immortality" by jumping into the body of a blighted creature and taking it over, just like the archdemons do (and why only Wardens are able to kill them.)

This means he, Solas, also knew the secret of effective immortality, whether he used it or not. And since it's pretty obvious at this point that the achdemons are the old tevinter gods and also the evanuris, that means the evanuris were using this same secret before they were corrupted.

But what did they use before the blight existed?

Well, they had slaves, didn't they? Slaves that were marked. With tattoos made from blood.

It wasn't just that Solas was taking away the marks of slaves, Solas was saving them from being possessed, and in the process, literally taking away the "gods'" immortality.

It makes me wonder if the way vallaslin is made and applied today is the same way it was done back then.

Will all Dalish suddenly become a liability when the evanuris are set free? (Just like Anders and the other Wardens were having trouble keeping their own minds when they first met Corypheus.)

[vigilskeep]

oh shadow dragon elf warrior?? 👀👀 say more, if you would like....

i love roman military history, i’ve been passing the time until veilguard by watching chinese period dramas full of dashing generals as male romantic leads, and the shadow dragon backstory says you were adopted into a military family. all this has been combining into some kind of murky soup in my brain for the past few weeks, and out of that soup we have eventually gotten xarius mercar, the shadow dragon elf warrior who has decided to take up residence in my mind

now i’ve been dead set on dwarf for my rook, but for shadow dragon specifically, i want to play an elf. it would feel strange to me to have two of tevinter’s anti-slavery rebels in the party and neither of them be elven, plus it gives us a city elf to contrast with our dalish companions! it adds some interest to the adoption backstory too; what kind of presumably patriotic military family from the tevinter imperium adopts an elven foundling? which (to me) is even more interesting as a non-mage, because magic might be an easy explanation for why you’d want to add someone to your family. so if you take that away, what’s left? and i do really want to play a warrior, so that works out with that and with the background of being part of a military tradition. i mentioned earlier that i think there are really exciting ways to flavour veilguard’s take on warrior for someone once trained to serve in tevinter magic-centric armies!!

i want to play xarius as a contrast to neve... she has a core of idealism and truly loves her city. he might have been raised to believe in such things, but as an elven non-mage, he’s long since been bitterly disillusioned. (tragic backstory pending, but, well, i mean, being those things in minrathous basically is a tragic backstory.) it’s dependent on if i can actually play my rook that way, of course, but i hope so. i think an elf who’s quite jaded about the current state of the world, and has seen the worst it has to offer for his people, is a fun character to have mirror and interact with solas, in that you’re kind of his exact target audience

otherwise, in terms of what i have in mind for personality, he’s definitely more of a fighter than a talker, not a diplomat at all. which may cause me problems. but he’s fiercely intelligent too, with a keen eye for strategy, so not necessarily someone who just blindly thinks with his fists either. it makes him sharply funny and quick-witted. it can also make him a little cold in his decisions, risking things others couldn’t bring themselves to risk, not giving people a second chance, very capable of thinking about the bigger picture rather than being emotionally swayed by what’s right in front of him. but at the same time, he’s super protective of the people he fights beside, because, hey, what’s even the point of playing a sword and board warrior if not. he takes being comrades-in-arms and the duty you have to each other very seriously. since he’s leading the party, they’re his responsibility. on the battlefield, but also off it he can be surprisingly gentle with them, i think

i think that’s all i have... the mercar backstory is fairly vague and i haven’t seen any in-game content that explains further so i don’t want to settle on anything much else. which means he kind of has to be more of a build-as-i-go, wait and see what the game gives me type character. but that might be the best experience for the first game where i don’t know everything abt the story in advance lmao

[telanadasvhenan]

Solas, Lavellan and Home

I've been thinking again, unfortuantely, about solavellan and the idea of home. I read an extraordinary think piece regarding Solas & Leaving by @/gangrelslut that everyone should go read because it is BEAUTIFULLY written & has changed the way I see him, and it's made me consider what home is to Solas.

Solas only mentions his past in brief, vague sentences. A village long lost to time, barely ruins, was his birth place. But it is not home. What we know about Solas is surprisingly so little that most is speculation, but i like to believe that to him, People are home. I don't mean specific people either, but the concept of them. The feeling of community, of togetherness and love, that is home. He has been a leader, of a rebellion and a saviour. He lives his life for others, specifically, the Elvhen. They are his home, where his feet take him and where he finds his peace. And they are gone. Lost. Barely ruins.

There is no physical place for Solas to return to, yes because Arlathan fell, but because the people are gone. All he knows, that love, the community and the connection, is gone. He can never go home and how could he? What could compare in his adoration and commitment to his people, so much that he destroyed them for it. Cole is somewhat a foil to Solas sometimes: Compassion is precious and far too uncommon, but it can kill without mercy. Solas, like cole, did not know his actions were wrong until it was too late. His love killed his home.

Then there is Lavellan, Dalish and far from home. It is interesting that for the Dalish, their home is so similar to Solas'. Home is the people, the love. It is not so much a place but a tangible thread to keep you connected. She knows what it is to miss and ache for a people, and what it is to find comfort in that home, even if you cannot be there.

This is purely my own feelings now but I like to believe that Solas first felt home once more when he met Lavellan. She is wise, wonderful and open minded. She reflects his favourite colours of the world and sings like the morning birds he'd forgotten the song for. She is real. What must it be, to feel a connection after years of slumber, only to awaken to a horrific tragedy? She wraps her love around his pinkie finger and kisses his knuckle. Vhenan. Heart. Home. Elven as a language is inherently poetic there is something striking about the simple meaning of the word. You are my home. In that grove, crestwood, where he almost gives in, you can see the ache and yearning in his eyes. It is so clear, to me at least, that he wishes to confide in her and allow himself that, to allow himself a home once more.

But lessons are lessons, and Solas knows to learn them. He is wisdom as much as he is pride, and in that moment he falters. He lies about his intentions, and sees Lavellan for what she is and what she could be to him. Lavellan could be his home, but what would he do to it? "There is only Death on this Journey. I would not have you see what I become." In trespasser, Solas tells us of what he is and what he became for his people, and what he will become for them yet. How could he call her home, knowing what he is and what he must do? What cruelty could he conjure, kissing her and promising her heart whilst his hands are bloody for a home he can never truly forget?

The people need him. The love between them is there and it matters. But it is not enough. Lavellan cannot be his home. Look at what he did to the last.

[gryffintheparrotcat]

Things in Veilguard that have annoyed me so far, in no particular order:

(I'm about to recruit Emmerich and Taash, if you're not there yet consider yourself formally spoiler warned)

1. Solas hates bloodmages now, this makes no sense.

2. Bioware still doesn't know people darker than #8D5840 exist. This is the fourth game, you'd think the devs learned this by now.

Player characters pass the paperbag test, that is not a good thing. I swear I've seen npcs with darker skintones but Rook can't have a slice?

3. Dalishs are just chill with their gods being evil and real and instead of addressing all that we just go and watch another elven community get massmurdered.

4. We're in The Elvenenslaver And Qunarihater City™ and there are 0 slaves and everyone is friendly to my elven and my qunari Rooks.

4. My Rook having an Elgar'nan vallaslin has not been acknowledged even once.

5. The qunari are going against Qun orders and are just cartoonishly evil now. Neither of these things align with previously established lore.

6. The Crows are all a big happy family. Sorry Zevran.

7. The Grey Wardens are incompetent. Again.

8. My Rook being called kid by Varric and others, that is a grown adult man.

9. Being called Rook. I didn't like that title much to begin with but the fact that it's not even earned this time makes it even more annoying. He has a last name!

10. The companions doing jackshit in combat. I'm a mage not a tank, can someone else kite the enemy?? I miss the pause button

11. The controls being different again. Why is spacebar a whole different button in each dragonage game? Were these ever made while considering people who may play one after the other?

12. Harding not being a romance option for the inquisitor. I never played Viviennes semiromance (i'm always siding with the rebelmages so we haven't exactly been getting along) so I can't say how deep that is and if she should be an option, but i will note that she is also not an option.

13. Harding saying she wasn't in the inner circle of the inquisitor. Harding darling I promise you inquistior adaar loved you dearly. I'm pretty sure I talked to Harding far more than I talked to Varric in Inquisiton.

14. "The previous games aren't relevant because they play in the South" WHAT ABOUT KIRKWALL? What about Navarran Princess Cassandra?? Dorian is here why not the others?? Not even mentioned once?? Cmon.

15. No proper wrinkle slider in character creator... again.

16. Not being able to resize eyes in character creator. Why??

17. No slider for the stomach to stick out. A for effort on even adding bodysliders to begin with but I was hoping for proper tummys for once.

18. The dialogue wheel. And more specifically how little origin/class specific options there are as a mage elf with a vallaslin specifically. And not being able to be mean, just a bit blunt. Meeting Davrin and him being a bit prickly at first was a breath of fresh air ngl. I don't need evil alright, I get it I'm playing a hero now. But let my Rook be a bit spicy sometimes. Neve complains about a Crow prioritising Treviso over Minrathos? Let Rook be an ass about it.

19. I brought Neve & Mage Rook to recruit "The Mage Killer" and neither have voiced any discomfort about that? Or acknowledged that at all? Neve has some party banner with Lucanis but even there it's more of a L "Are you scared bc of the title?" N "lol nope".

Hopefully I won't have to make a pt2 any time soon.

[dippedinmelancholy]

I’ve heard that DA:I was originally planned for the MC to only be able to be human, so idk if this is intentional or not by the devs.. .

Playing Lavellan, regardless of gender or sexuality, is just so insanely isolating and depressing, especially if you’re someone like me who latched on SUPER hard to the Dalish.

The Dalish elf gets sent to see if the humans can actually work out their problems. If they can give the mages rights, more freedom than they’ve ever known, maybe that means hope for how the Dalish are treated. But then, surprise, the Dalish tries to help a human woman being sacrificed by people who have sworn to protect the good of all, and everything goes to shit.

They’re suddenly at the head of a religion that has spent hundreds (thousands????) of years hunting them, hating them horribly, so much so that one of your first conversations with Josephine she mentions some of the rumors being Dalish making blood sacrifices. You’re “claimed” by this religion, and have no choice but to work with them. No matter what you believe, you cannot escape this. From this moment on, your entire heritage, family, and beliefs will be forgotten. You are carved in history as the history that even the “savage” Dalish can be claimed and saved by Andraste.

This could be endured. It’s horrible and icky, but on its own could be endured. No one has control over how the world perceives.

But nearly every companion either refuses to acknowledge you are Dalish and that matters to you, or they (Looking at you Sera) outright are disgusted by you, and vocalize how much they hate that part of you at every chance they can. Cassandra, though I don’t think she means to, is horrible insulting by asking if there’s not some space for one more god for you, as though they haven’t used “the Maker” to hunt and punish Dalish.

Josephine is the only one who shows softness or understanding.

But you endure. There has to be a reason, and even if there isn’t, you have to protect the world, because if not you then who will? All the while, this budding, horrible fear of what happens after. No Lavellan can be foolish enough to NOT have that fear. When the threat is dealt with, the dust settles, and the humans grow more comfortable and forget how grateful they are to you, what will happen? A Dalish will not be allowed to keep such power, wielding it over humans. Especially not if you has the misfortune of being born a mage.

And then Trespasser. Your gods aren’t gods, and even if they were, they never cared about you. You’ve spent all your life clinging to the pride that even though life as a Dalish is hard, it is worth it because you are FREE. You are not servants or slaves, you are free, and that makes the suffering worth it. But you were never free. You willingly welcomed slave markings, and the world was too shattered for any of your people to ever know the truth of their history.

And though you and your people have prayed to the gods all their lives, it’s no a single one of them that gives you the mercy of this truth. No. It’s the most feared of the gods, the unspoken, the whispered, the cursed. The Dread Wolf. The rebellion of those slave markings, in your midsts, and in my case, in your bed, in your heart.

Your world is shattered. You are dying. Everything is in tatters because you were foolish enough to try and help a human woman, when no human has ever reached a helping hand to you. Yet, the only remaining constant is that you are alone.

You are alone and you are a fool.

[crossdressingdeath]

I finally figured out why Vivienne rubs me the wrong way. To paraphrase she is a lottery winner telling the underpaid workers that capitalism works.

As throughout the Dragon Age series we see how circle fails mages (In Orgins there is books about blood magic in hopes of catching desperate mage in the act of a crime, Awakenings the templars setting a entrapment for Anders despite being a grey warden and then there is Kirkwall).

Then in the game in which mage independence is a big issue our only circle mage perspection that is a main character is Vivienne who is fine with the current system. As Vivienne will tell us the player that while the system has flaws overall is fine. Which is really ridiculous considering the last game.

What Dragon Age Inquisition needed was a Kirkwall mage who saw the worst of the circles to be a counter argument that the circles are flawed

And what I mean by Vivienne being a lottery winner is that her position is almost a miracle. As while a young mage in the circle she had to be powerful enough to be allowed to do her harrowing but also not too powerful to make the templars afraid (as I believe it is implied that mages that are too powerful are nipped in the bud in Orgins), then in a party she is charming enough that a noble takes a fancy to her which then allows her to charm the Empress and gain political power.

All of these aspects feels like sheer luck. So when Vivienne tells me the circle works I want to eat my face in frustration as I remember Jowan and Anders and Hawke's parents desperately trying not to be in the circle.

(Sorry for the rant)

I think Vivienne is ultimately a very notable victim of a lot of DAI's poor writing choices. Both in terms of character writing and in terms of the overall themes.

See, DAI doesn't want us to get any perspective that doesn't prop up the Circle and the Chantry. It doesn't want us questioning the necessity of either institution. It's not just Vivienne; think back on the mage characters we see in DAI, the ones that aren't in the Circle mostly just don't talk about it. Not even Quiz, and if Quiz tries to argue that the Circles aren't great the Circle mages go "Well you're wrong because it was great for me" and Quiz isn't allowed to say anything back. See also Minaeve going "Well the Dalish are shit and the Circle is great because the Dalish threw me away and the Templars rescued me and that doesn't contradict anything in the preexisting lore and also it definitely doesn't say anything about the Chantry that my clan couldn't support an additional mage in their life on the run and also I'm just going to blindly assume the Tempalrs were telling the truth" while Lavellan is forced to just stand there, smiling and nodding and not arguing back at all even though they logically would. DAI needed a counterargument to the "Circles are good" argument, it needed a character who'd seen the worst they had to offer, but we were never going to get that because DAI didn't want it to be a debate. It wants us to blindly agree that the Circles are good and mages wanting freedom is bad. Which is a wildly stupid decision but someone made it anyway!

DAI also does not like character growth. Not in the slightest. The most DAI's companions get is their character growth popping in all at once in Trespasser after a full game of them being completely static. Just like how Sera refuses to acknowledge how awful she's being to Lavellan until Trespasser where she suddenly asks how they're feeling about the Evanuris stuff without using it to make them feel like there's something wrong with them for having non-Andrastian beliefs or how Dorian defends slavery and then that's quietly never acknowledged again until he mentions in Tevinter Nights that "someone he met in the south" changed his mind on the subject or how Cullen... is Cullen, you're never allowed to challenge Vivienne on her beliefs because if you did that then she might change and grow as a person and DAI does not want to deal with that. Especially not when challenging Vivienne means challenging the argument that the Circles are The Best Option. Poor Vivienne gets hit hard by DAI's refusal to accept that the Chantry's bad and the fandom does not want to side with them, she's probably the single biggest piece of collateral damage to DAI's bad choices.

And the thing is it's not that Vivienne doesn't know she's lucky! It's not that she doesn't know the Circles fail people! She recognizes there's a lot of flaws, and she does genuinely want to improve things for her fellow mages! Her intentions are good! Plus honestly if you work to get her approval up she's actually one of the better companions in terms of how she treats Quiz (seriously, look at some of her high approval conversations, she cares so damn much) and she'll defend even companions she doesn't like from unjust attacks (she's got a very good banter with romanced Dorian about how she got a letter from a magister she knows somehow about how disgusting Dorian and Quiz's relationship is and basically told him to fuck off with that). Vivienne really does care and really does want to make things better, she's just been so poisoned by her life in a world very heavily controlled by the Chantry and the Templars that she can't see past their way of doing things. The problem isn't that she doesn't see how lucky she is; she knows she got a lucky break that a lot of mages don't get (although it's important to note that she didn't just get lucky, Vivienne absolutely worked her ass off to get to where she is), and she knows that not everyone could get to where she is even if they'd gotten as lucky as she did. What she misses is that you need to be insanely lucky just to be more or less content in the Circle, never mind happy or powerful. Lucky enough to escape the worst of the Templars' abuses, lucky enough to be in a decent Circle, lucky enough not to be too weak or too powerful, lucky enough to get a manageable demon in your Harrowing, lucky enough to be the sort of person who won't be completely miserable trapped in one building your whole life... The thing Vivienne misses is that she got out, she doesn't have to spend her whole life in the Circle praying the Templars are good to her, and that's not an opportunity a lot of mages get no matter how smart or skilled they are. It drives me nuts, because if we were just allowed to push her to see that her story would immediately be so much better. As it is it's a lot of potential and a strong start that never really get paid off.

[nadas-dirthalen]

she, the mender; he, the break. (2)

solas/lavellan, rated T.

previous entries: (1)

synopsis: The Dalish elf that closed the Breach has woken. Immediately faced with a world that no longer looks at her the way she expects, Ithalia must piece together what transpired.

How did she survive at all? And who, if anyone, has an interest in her life?

content warnings: canon-typical violence mention, canon-typical depiction of racism, canon-typical profanity, canon-typical religious references, canon-typical depictions of depression.

read on ao3!

Two Ithalia

Something is wrong, deep in her bones, when Ithalia wakes.

Some things, plural. A gap in her memory where, apparently, a trip to the Fade should be. A mark in her palm whose cold burn she cannot pinpoint as coming from… anywhere.

A hole in the sky that she can feel, somehow, from her place on a too-warm bed in a too-comfortable room, is… gone. The quiet left behind is jarring.

Before—there’s no way to know if it’s been days, weeks, a decade—the quiet would’ve been a boon. She’d wanted it, before, a Dalish spy in the Conclave, a watcher sent from home. She’d been meant to watch. That was it. The quieter, the less imposing, the better.

She’s an explosion or two past less imposing, probably.

But what could take a Dalish elf from a prison cell to the plush of a clean bed?

One thing at a time. She cracks her eyes open—those still see the same, even after the last flash of blinding green she remembers. To her right stands a wall, simple wood planks. To her left, everything else: a bedside table, a desk, a flaming sconce, several pelts hung around a small window, a bookshelf—

A tray that clatters on the floor, dropped by an elf standing frozen in her wake. 

“O—oh,” they stammer, sweat beading on their brow. Young, no valasslin—probably not Dalish. At the sight of her, their head starts shaking. They backpedal, one step and then another. “I—I didn’t know you were awake, I swear!”

An elf, of all people, ready to run as soon as she props herself up on an elbow.

“Don’t…” Mythal’enaste, her temple throbs. Her hand, moreso. “... Don’t worry about it. I only—”

The elf falls, and Ithalia jolts upright.

They collapse to the floor—not to faint, but to kneel.

“I beg your forgiveness and your blessing,” they plead, palms to the floor, even their brow touching the stone. “I am but a humble servant.”

A servant. A city elf, bending to kneel before one of the Dalish, as if Ithalia is something… more. Something else.

Some things wrong, indeed.

“I…” Ithalia lets her voice fade to nothing. She what, exactly? What does this elf, or anyone, think of her? Why is she here? And where is—

“You are in Haven, my lady,” the younger elf says, lifting their head to meet her eyes. They swallow when they spot Ithalia still watching them. “They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand.”

She turns her attention there, to the mark, if only to… spare… the younger elf from it. It lights with the twitch of a finger, the same way a person might look up at the sound of their name. It thrums, warm yet impossibly cold, in an arc from the heel of her palm to the curve between her thumb and forefinger.

It looks like an open wound, the color of the Veil.

What she thinks is the Veil.

Probably.

“It’s all anyone has talked about for the last three days.”

Three days. The Breach, gone. Three days.

“So you’re saying…” She tries another look at the elf, who winces. She doesn’t hide her own stammer, as she’d learned to do under Keeper Ishmaetoriel’s guidance. Let this elf hear her disbelief. “They’re… happy with me?”

“I’m only saying what I heard. I didn’t mean anything by it!” The elf rises, standing on shaking knees. Again, they step backward, hands raised like at any moment, Ithalia might lunge. “I—I’m certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you’ve wakened. She… she said, ‘At once.’”

Lady Cassandra. Ithalia grits her teeth before she remembers the younger elf would flee for less. She pauses, finds a smile, rubs a temple. Lady Cassandra…

Seeker Cassandra.

She fights to rise, stifling a groan. “And… where is she…?”

“In the Chantry,” the younger elf answers, their full-body tremor in their voice, now, too. “With the lord chancellor. ‘At once,’ she said!”

They all but fall into the door as they push through it, and then they are gone.

Quiet blankets the room again—but just outside, a wave of murmurs rises, rippling out from this lodge. This Haven lodge, now that the Breach has been closed for three days.

Haven. Breach closed. Three days. She can cling to those, even when…

She will have to face the outside. Soon, probably.

In the meantime, maybe someone has left something behind more informative than the elf who somehow dropped down before her in worship. With precious little time and through the haze of a headache, though, little stands out save for a pile of loose papers left on the room’s only desk.

She chews a lip, looks down at her fingertips. Hands this clean—washed? By whom?—won’t leave any obvious prints that she’d need to make excuses for. If she did, would she have to make them? Or would anyone besides that lone elf drop down and do…. That?

No time to ponder long either way. She tests her steps, finding her own knees shaking, and ambles over to the desk. Elbow on the wood, she bends down and lifts the paper close to her eyes, cursing her headache for at least the third time in as many minutes.

Day One: Clammy. Shallow breathing. Pulse over-fast. Not responsive. Pupils dilated. Mage says her scarring "mark" is thrumming with unknown magic. Wish we could station a templar in here, just in case.

Ithalia sucks in a breath, releasing it only at the end of the passage. Mark must mean her—and unknown magic, while it ties her stomach in knots, matches her assumption.

Mage—she does remember, tangled insides tightening. A flash of green: once, twice, again, then for good before all went dark. A hand clamped over her wrist—no. Loosely. It’d been the Seeker’s grasp that was rough. Cassandra’s, not—

Solas’.

Where is he, now? Where are any of the others, aside from Cassandra and…

Lord chancellor. Haven. Breach closed. Three days.

She sighs, closing her eyes to keep the words from blurring on the page. It takes a moment for the room to return to stillness, for her stomach to stop threatening a heave.

Under the page of notes, there’s nothing discernible. Only a collection of pages with a series of numbers in two columns, marked with what looks like the time over the course of several days and nights. The measurements have no labels. The notes in the margins are packed too tightly, in too intricate of a shorthand to attempt deciphering.

Even one in elvish, which is all she really gleans from the pages. Multiple pages, packed with writing on both sides.

He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.’

The dwarf’s voice—one of precious few things Ithalia remembers. Varric Tethras: rogue, author… something. He didn’t look ready to cut her down, for either her heritage or mark. He didn’t look ready to collapse in reverence, either.

“My lady?” a voice—soft, high—asks outside the door, scarcely audible over the rest.

Something brushes against the opposite side of the wood, then stops.

“Shhh! Are you mad? Leave the Herald be!” another hisses.

The Herald. Haven. The lord chancellor, with Lady Cassandra. 

Scarring “mark” thrumming with unknown magic.

The Breach, closed, three days.

She’ll have to face them all, now, with nothing else to go on. No blade to ready herself for anything that might not be instantaneous adolation.

How many, in Haven? To what end?

She can’t know, until…

Ithalia opens the door with a tremoring hand and finds a parted sea. Rows of onlookers, standing politely to each side of a cobbled path, some with heads bowed, some with eyes shining. None of them notice the icy wind that shudders down her spine. None of them care for anything but what is in front of them.

A Dalish elf, Dirthhamen’s valasslin upon her brow, down the bridge of her nose, across her cheekbones, under her lip. Unmistakable from every angle as not them, a probably-Veil-green gash pulsing visibly on her palm. Washed by hands that were not hers, dressed in clothes she’s never laid eyes upon, emerging from a lodge she never chose.

Stepping out under a sky scarred the same as she: a waving line of green to split the blue, like a scar over pale skin.

I am not this, she fights not to say, for they should already know.

Have they forgotten?

She has learned, all her life, to run from human worship. To see the sight of red and learn from the bull’s mistake, fleeing opposite, never giving in to anger when survival is never not at stake.

Her Keeper has told her stories, since she was old enough to catch their meaning, of forests made of graves, canopies thick enough to blot out the sun.

Yet this tableau—this human tableau, scarcely an elf and not one Dalish in sight—stays perfectly still. They bow, not for the red of their Chantry, but for the green of her palm.

A magic that is not hers, a name—Herald—that is not hers, a mended sky that is not hers.

For if it were hers alone, she would be dead.

It is because of one that she is not.

[niofo]

it's always weird to me when ppl say that there's too much dalish and that games pander to solavellan content, when the dalish were always treated like shit by bioware. you can literally murder/cause death of an entire dalish clan every game, your dalish character is constantly converted to andrastianism, dalish companions are treated either as stupid (merrill) or mean and violent (velanna), not to mention you barely even can interact with your own heritage in a meaningful way (the fucking "who is mythal" dialogue).

should there be more city elf or more dwarf content? absolutely, but it should not be introduced instead of the dalish content. you know who already had way too much screentime? the fucking chantry, gtfo with it finally. i don't really care about solas or solavellan, but don't lie to me that the dalish had some sort of a special treatment bcos of that, they were a butt of a joke ever since da2, and we don't even have a dalish companion in inquisition. instead of looking at others who are getting bare scraps, let's look at who is always getting a whole ass cake no matter what.

[solitaireships]

New Friends

I've been hardcore in Anders love mode for like the last two months, so at last we have a fic with him! This is about her and Romilda's first meeting, and I have some other fics from further along in the timeline that hopefully I'll get done one day lol

Rating: Teen

Genre: Fluff, Pre-Relationship

Words: 1964 words

Divider by animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Content warning: mentions of death and imprisonment

Romilda had never wanted to be a Grey Warden. She had grown up hearing stories of their heroism, but she would hardly have considered herself capable of that. She would have been content to live peacefully, only ever using magic if she absolutely had to. Her sense of justice unfortunately got in the way of that, but even then, she doubts that would’ve been enough to make her ever even consider joining the Wardens of her own volition. But she supposes a life dedicated to fighting the darkspawn is better than what her fate would’ve been if the Warden-Commander hadn’t invoked the Right of Conscription. She doesn’t know if being executed or made Tranquil would’ve been worse, but regardless, joining the Wardens was clearly her best option. 

Though this still means that she has to leave her home. Now she’s come to Vigil’s Keep, days of travel away from where she spent her entire life, and away from anyone that she knew. There’s a feeling of loneliness that follows her as she makes her way out of the keep’s main building, the sharp taste of darkspawn blood still on her tongue. The Joining ritual was nothing like she would have expected as part of recruitment into the Wardens, but she supposes that this is just what her life is now.

It’s nice getting to be outside without having to worry about being on alert for templars, though. Romilda doesn’t know where she’s going, perhaps just to clear her head, but she finds herself moving towards the houses just past the keep’s forge. 

Though she finds herself pausing as she draws closer to one of the houses, eyes going down to land on an orange cat. It looks up at her with curious eyes, approaching her readily with a soft meow. It’s an adorable sight, and one that serves to help ease Romilda’s nerves. It’s not exactly the same as at home, but there were plenty of stray cats in the alienage, and she grew up with a pet cat of her own. This one is clearly someone’s pet, with a collar and a little bell around its neck, but as far as Romilda can tell, its owner isn’t around. 

She kneels down to greet the cat, holding one hand out for it to sniff before petting it. 

“Hello there, beautiful,” she says. “Are you all by yourself?”

The cat merely mews in response, circling around her legs to rub itself against them. It’s certainly affectionate, purring at her touch and nudging its head against her legs as if to demand more attention. 

As Romilda pets the cat, she supposes that things here probably won’t be too bad. If nothing else, it at least seems she found something to calm her nerves with. The cat’s fur is soft, and as she scratches behind its ears, she finds that its fur is even softer there. She hopes whoever its owner is, they aren’t too far, though she quickly gets and answer to who’s cat it is. 

“Ah, there you are Ser Pounce-A-Lot! I see you’ve managed to make a new friend.”

Romilda turns to look at who just spoke, seeing a person dressed in blue mage’s robes trimmed with gold, and with a set of feathered black pauldrons. She’s tall— Romilda’s pretty sure she’d only come up to around her shoulders if they both were standing— and has a sturdy looking build, seeming to be a bit fat. His blond hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and stubble stands out against his pale skin. So does the gold of the earring she’s wearing in her right ear, but Romilda finds her attention lingering more on the staff at her back. 

It’s not surprising that the Wardens have a mage on their roster. Romilda’s fairly sure that she saw a Dalish woman with a staff of her own when she was in the keep’s main hall, and the Warden-Commander herself is a mage. But it’s still nice to meet another mage. It’s always hard to judge how people without any magical abilities might react towards her, at least with other mages there’s some commonality on that front. 

“This is your cat, then?” Romilda asks.

“He is. But as you can see, he likes to wander,” the mage replies, coming to kneel down by Romilda so that he can pet Ser Pounce-A-Lot too. She coos at the cat, an adoring look on her face as she pets him.

“Hopefully never too far from you,” Romilda says. 

“More like unfortunately. He’s not a fan of the Deep Roads,” he says. 

“Well, I can't imagine I would be either."

The mage laughs, smiling. “Finally— another Warden with at least a bit of a sense of humor. You’re the new recruit we got in from Redcliffe, aren’t you?”

“That would be me,” Romilda replies, though she can’t say that she’s ever been told before that she has a good sense of humor. She wasn't trying to be funny, the Deep Roads do sound genuinely dreadful, but she supposes this has worked out in her favor. “My name’s Romilda.”

“Anders. And you’ve already met Ser Pounce-A-Lot.”

“Yes, he seems very distinguished. No doubt befitting for a knight of his status.”

“Oh, yes, I’m definitely going to like you,” Anders says. 

Romilda smiles. She’s not used to accepting compliments, but it still feels nice to find someone here that she could already see herself bonding with.

“Did you used to live at the Circle?” she asks, more out of an idle curiosity than anything. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had been an apostate, but still she does wonder what it might have been like to live in a Circle. 

Anders scoffs. “It’d be more accurate to say I was trapped there. Not anymore, obviously— turns out that seventh time’s the charm for escaping from Kinloch Hold.”

“That’s… a lot of escape attempts,” Romilda says. And a good enough indicator that for as challenging as staying beneath attention for years of her life was, it was probably for the best. She doesn’t know if she would have had the determination to even attempt to get out of the Circle if she were there. 

“And we’ll still have to see if this most recent stretch of freedom actually lasts,” he says. “Ser Rolan’s here to keep an eye on me. Doesn’t matter if he says he’s not a templar anymore— you don’t just leave that behind.”

Romilda can hear the frustration behind Anders’s voice. It’s one that she can understand, even with her experiences with templars being different from hers. Before recently, the majority of her experiences with them was trying to stay as far away as possible. But it seems that they’re an inescapable fact of life when you’re a mage, forever lurking in the background, ready to leap at the first sign of magic to either smite them or send them off to a perpetual imprisonment. Even Romilda’s ticket to freedom may not be a complete one. 

“I’ll have to avoid him, then. Thanks for letting me know.”

“If that sword on your back’s anything to go by, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about him. He’s a smug bastard, though,” Anders says. 

“I might have something to worry about other than just annoyance. I was caught by some templars doing magic. The Warden-Commander decided to step in for me, which is why I’m here instead of Kinloch Hold,” she explains. 

“You’re an apostate,” Anders says. 

When Romilda looks at him, he seems to be seeing her now in a new light. There’s a curiosity to the way she looks at her, and a new appreciation. Romilda didn’t get the feeling he bore any ill will towards her in the first place, but now it seems more like he’s fully interested in her, like learning that she’s an apostate makes her all the better. It’s an unusual sentiment considering most people would rather she either die or be made to no longer be herself upon finding out she’s a mage living outside of a Circle, yet not an unwelcome feeling. 

But she supposes that it also makes sense— she knows it’s not the prevailing belief in Circles, but she’s heard enough horror stories about them to know plenty of people would see any mage able to live outside of one as something of a wonder. Romilda has had a freedom that few people like her could say they ever had, even if it came at the cost of the miserable conditions of living in an alienage instead. 

“It’s not nearly as glamorous as it seems like it would be,” Romilda says. “A lot of training in private, a lot of learning about self control and trying not to push too many boundaries.”

And trying to find ways to make her powers blend in with what anyone else might be able to do. Channeling her magic into a weapon made it easier for her to pretend that any magical effects were just the result of an enchanted blade, though she supposes now that’s not an option. 

“But you’re what, in your mid twenties?” Anders prompts.

“Twenty-nine,” Romilda corrects. 

“And you never got caught by a templar before? Ever?” she asks.

“Not until about a week ago, no.”

Anders laughs, almost unbelieving. “You’re incredible, you know.”

Romilda gives a small smile at that, though she can’t say that she agrees with him. She was only able to avoid the attention of the templars for so long because of self control and pretending to be something she wasn’t. She’s glad that she never had to be taken away from her family, but she’s been through her own challenges to get this far. And now it all got thrown away, just because she couldn’t ignore someone in danger.

But she’s not going to say that out loud. So instead she says as she scratches around Ser Pounce-A-Lots’ ears, “If being incredible means that I’m able to spend more time with your cat, I’ll take it.”

“Oh, being incredible can get you far more than just that,” Anders says. 

Romilda’s not used to being flirted with, but she can recognize the light tone in Anders’s voice, the proposition hidden beneath her words. It’s flattering, even if it does feel undeserved. And she supposes that he’s a pretty good looking person too— it’s impossible to know if things could even work out between them, but the thought’s far from the worst she’s had recently. 

“Are Wardens even allowed to have romantic relationships? I thought the point was that we spend our lives fighting the darkspawn,” Romilda says. 

“And helping people solve every other problem in existence, apparently,” Anders adds. “But no, you know I don’t think there ever was a vow of chastity or marriage to the job requirement in the recruitment process. Just the assurance of an eventual death in the Deep Roads and the disgusting aftertaste of that darkspawn blood.”

“Well, then in that case, I might be interested in seeing you more often,” she says. 

“Maybe over dinner?” he suggests. 

“Dinner might be nice,” Romilda says. 

Anders grins. “Then I suppose that I’ll have to see about taking you out some night. Amaranthine is still recovering from the darkspawn attack, but there is a good tavern there.”

Romilda isn’t used to being flirted with, nor is she used to flirting with other people. It’s surprising to her just how far she’s managed to make it with Anders, but it’s exciting too. Maybe this is just some casual flirting, or maybe this is something that could evolve into something more. She hopes that it will be the latter. 

Still, Romilda has trouble figuring out how to respond, so instead she nods. “I’d like that.”

[whereismywarden]

So after finishing the game last night, here are my initial thoughts on it.

I had fun. I enjoyed it. A LOT. Definitely more than Inquisition.

It's very much a Dragon Age game - with some Mass Effect sprinkled on top of it.

It's a direct sequel to Trespasser (even with the massive time gap there's no denying that), and its storyline is reminiscent of DAO and DAI, although it's structured more like ME2. And there are a lot of emotional beats, not just in Act 3 but during the companions' quests too.

Speaking of companions, they and Rook feel more like friends and family than coworkers, falling more in line with DA2. BioWare did a great job getting me to care about them. Special mention given to Taash, whose story arc was beautifully handled.

While I missed having three companions in my party, it wasn't as bad as I expected. I just wish enemies wouldn't zero in on Rook so much. It made playing a ranged character a bit difficult at times.

The game puts a lot of emphasis on the background you picked, with sometimes entire conversations that appear to have a faction-specific parallel branch. Interacting with characters from your faction feels a lot like returning to your origin's location in DAO. My only complaint is that my elven Rook appeared to know a lot about the Dalish despite his background suggesting he was city-raised, but that can easily be brushed off.

One of the highlights of the game for me though was how well trans Rook was written! It felt truly affirming, and I loved that you always have a choice: from what their experience with gender is like to whether or not you want to bring up the subject in relevant conversations. And there are multiple trans and non-binary characters throughout the game too. It's not just you and that one blink-and-you'll-miss-them NPC. There are major trans and non-binary characters in this game.

That being said, I found myself thinking way too often that there should have been an imported choice for this or that. And I don't just mean "wow, wouldn't it have been cool if we'd gotten a cameo from so and so?" There are specific lines of dialogue in the game that might invalidate some people's playthroughs!

Also, I now get why some critics claimed BioWare was playing it safe with this game. Historically, they haven't always been great at writing morally grey storylines, but here, it seems they were so afraid of getting some backlash (specifically over their depictions of the elves and probably the Qunari) that they're not even trying anymore. It's not necessarily a bad thing (lord knows some improvement was needed), but it's at times such a 180 from existing worldbuilding that it's pretty jarring.

Though that doesn't stop the game from asking you to make difficult choices. This time, they're just more akin to picking an ice cream flavour rather than "Aunt Mia is allergic to nuts but if I don't give her a pecan pie, Travis will kill my dog."

But again, I can't stress it enough, I loved that initial playthrough, and only time will tell how well that opinion holds up on replay.

[daitranscripts]

Sera Conversation

Tell Me About Your Background

Sera Masterpost

PC: Tell me about yourself.

Sera (female PC if flirted before): Oh yeah? Interested, are you? Sera: What about me?

1 - Dialogue options:

General: Where are you from? [2]

General: Who trained you? [3]

General (Dalish PC): It’s nice knowing other elves. [4]

General (non-Dalish PC): You’re different for an elf. [5] -Sera slightly disapproves

General: Goodbye. [6]

2 - General: Where are you from? PC: How about the basics. Where are you from? Sera: Ferelden? PC: I got that from the accent. Where in Ferelden? Sera: All over? Okay fine. Denerim for a bit. South. North. Wherever I want.

Dialogue options:

General: No ties worth mentioning? [7]

General: I can make evasive jokes, too. [8]

General: Don’t keep secrets. [9] -Sera slightly disapproves

7 - General: No ties worth mentioning? PC: There are no connections you want to mention at all? Sera: Nope. [10] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 8 - General: I can make evasive jokes, too. PC: Oh, you’re from Wherever? I’m from North Wherever! Sera: What? PC: North Wherever. Oh, we had fun on Street and/or in Local Tavern. Sera: Oh, har-dee-har. All funny, you. [10] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 9 - General: Don’t keep secrets. PC: I expect more direct answers than that. Sera: Which of this lot gave you straight answers? Not as many as you bloody well think, I guarantee. Look, I’m not from anywhere. No home, no castle, a few friends. [10] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 10 - Scene continues. ㅤㅤ ㅤ Sera: It’s complicated. I don’t like complicated. Let’s leave it at that. Maybe. [back to 1]

3 - General: Who trained you? PC: You’re skilled. Who taught you how to use a bow? Sera: No one. PC: That seems unlikely. Sera: What? I picked it up here and there. Mostly it just makes sense. It’s not like that for you?

Dialogue options:

General: Not typically. [11]

General: Only when I’m boasting. [12]

General: Are you serious? [13]

11 - General: Not typically. PC: Usually it takes considerable discipline. Hence my question. Sera: Hence? Look, I work at it. Practice. A little. [14] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 12 - General: Only when I’m boasting. PC: Oh, certainly, not a day’s effort for the naturally gifted like us. Sera: Well, it’s not like that. It takes work. A bit. [14] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 13 - General: Are you serious? PC: Seems like there’s more to it. Sera: Well, yeah. I practice. Some. [14] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 14 - Scene continues. ㅤㅤ ㅤ Sera: Not like Cullen and his pets. I mean, you miss, then you don’t. Is it that hard to see when it’s wrong? ㅤㅤ ㅤ PC (Dalish PC): Well, it’s not like that for other elves, I know that. PC (non-Dalish PC): Is it an elf thing? ㅤㅤ ㅤ Sera: (Laughs.) Most I know couldn’t find an arrow sitting on it. Right, maybe I just make it look easy in shite company. Fact still is, no teacher. Where would I find one in alleyways anyway? Pfft. [back to 1]

4 - General: It’s nice knowing other elves. PC: I’m just interested in talking to an elf like me. Sera: Mmm, don’t think so. PC: Why not? Sera: Well, maybe you’re all right. But most elves are too… elfy. Like that Solas, right? “Never be as good as we were.” Well, who’s we? I’m just fine. [15]

5 - General: You’re different for an elf. PC: You’re not like most of the elves I’ve met. Sera: Thanks, right? Or was that an insult? Suppose I could go barefoot and whine more. Like that Solas, right? “Never be as good as we were.” Well, who’s we? I’m just fine. [15]

15 - Dialogue options:

General: There’s no value in tradition? [16]

General: You’re saying “get over it”? [17]

General: Just throw it all away? [18]

16 - General: There’s no value in tradition? PC: There’s a lot of tradition there. Should it just be thrown away? Sera: Your great-grandfather’s dead, why aren’t you dead? You’re throwing away tradition. PC: That makes sense to you? Sera: None of it does in the city. That’s why I’m not “like an elf.” [back to 1] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 17 - General: You’re saying “get over it”? PC: I think there’s more to it than that. A few thousand years more. Sera: Hey, someone wants to be angry about old debts, be angry. Be a terror that never lets an enemy forget. But if you’re digging it up so you can wear it, that’s just weird. ㅤㅤ ㅤ Sera (Dalish PC): I mean, you Dalish don’t really know. You have stories, but that’s all they are. It’s all fancy dress, not history. [back to 1] Sera (non-Dalish PC): I mean, the Dalish don’t really know. They have stories, but that’s all they are. [back to 1] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 18 - General: Just throw it all away? PC: There’s nothing to learn from any of that history? Sera: Yes. “Don’t do that.” What? “We” lost so bad, there was nothing left. You figure out what they wore on their deathbed, you wear it. Waste of time. [back to 1]

6 - General: Goodbye. PC: We’ll talk later. Sera: If you say so.

[crabs-with-sticks]

For Ghilara and Solas, how about 86 and 15 :)

15- How do they comfort one another when the other is upset?

Solas would try to create a space of normalcy for Ghil, a place where she doesn't have to be the leader or the herald or the inquisitor. Whether its being able to chat about meaningless things, or just hanging out with Solas sketching or reading and Ghilara being able to do her mending/crafts, or just letting her hide in his room with him for a bit.

I think Ghil would comfort Solas with a lot of gentle physical affection. The man is so god damned touch starved he needs to be enveloped in a hug. I'm talking full on smothered. I think that Ghilara gets that there is a lot he can't/won't let himself talk about with her, so she makes sure she's there for him and in a space where he can talk about whatever is bothering him on his own terms.

86- Who gives the best gifts? Who gives the more thoughtful? Who goes for expensive?

Solas is 100% better at gift giving. He'd be the type who would be like 'you mentioned one time 3 months ago that you were missing X from home so I got some made specially for you'.

Ghil on the other hand would probably give boring gifts in comparison, but it would all be stuff that she hand made and that will be useful. Being dalish they don't have as much of a trade economy, and being nomadic would mean that useful practical gifts would be common and appreciated. Like 'oh well Skyhold is pretty chilly and with lots of stone floors so I knitted you some socks' or, 'you're always complaining about how messy your desk is so I wove this lil basket for your trinkets/small stuff'

[vigilskeep]

Hi I saw you mention wanting to talk about schools of magic and specializations; do you want to talk about the arcane/primal earth DAO -> force mage DA2 -> rift magic DAI transformation and what that says about the different places that various protagonists learned their magic/what the fade is like in Kirkwall (I feel like I saw you mention that "fade is thin in Kirkwall" + "yeah rift magic, which has all the force mage spells, is a new school since the giant hole in the sky" was a bit of an odd take)?

Alternately, would you like to talk about the arcane warrior -> knight enchanter thing and how the chantry getting ahold of ancient elven battle magic might have occurred? And what that means for the Greater Lore?

Anyways love your blog and you have the best takes ❤️

i actually just made a joke about the obvious similarities of force magic and rift magic and it’s @miraculan-draws who had the really great take about the veil in kirkwall that made me take this seriously!

it really can’t be overstated how fucked the veil is in kirkwall. the sheer amount of demons out and about! the way you can just become an abomination with a snap of your fingers no trip into the fade to make contact with demons necessary! good lord! it’s also worth noting that it’s not even just the mass suffering and slavery that has happened here and is literally painted onto the walls; kirkwall, insanely, is intentionally built in the form of giant glyphs and iirc it’s implied it was used by magisters as a mass blood ritual for entering the fade, possibly even THE entering the fade? not to mention corypheus’ prison nearby or keeping the mages in the GALLOWS of all places or the histories of occupation or sundermount. mass death and suffering causes tears in the veil. nobody should live in kirkwall. nobody should fucking live there. it would totally make sense if force magic, a brand of magic specifically noted to be popular in kirkwall, required the same closeness to the fade as rift magic. kirkwallers don’t need a breach they literally just live like that

as for arcane warrior/knight enchanter, it’s covered really interestingly by ariane in the witch hunt dlc and velanna in the awakening dlc that a lot of the circle’s magical knowledge is essentially appropriated from ancient elven knowledge that they were able to preserve while the dalish were robbed of it. that’s what’s happening when you take ariane to kinloch to get information on eluvians and some random young human mage knows more than her and her keeper, and ariane talks about this at the time. velanna and anders also have this banter:

it comes up a lot in anders’ banters with dalish mages that he is coming from having grown up in a place intended for the sharing and discussion of magical knowledge, where bickering academic rivalries as well as political ones are commonplace, and learning from each other and living side by side is what makes them better safer mages. (which is one thing abt the circle i think he actually misses and tries, however awkwardly, to seek out. imo he’s just parroting “great civilisations are built on the sharing of ideas” here, it sounds way more like something that’s been said to him than something he would think. he wants to talk abt magic bc he’s lonely and on the run and used to be surrounded by people to talk abt magic with! vivienne talks abt this more intentionally, she makes good points abt mages thriving when they’re together among those who can understand them.) whereas merrill and velanna grow up in a background where magic is quite individual and private, shared from one keeper to one first and (according to merrill) never practised in public, and that’s a safety measure to protect them from templars and to protect elven knowledge from being taken away from them as it has been previously. so obviously they’re not engaging with the first human mage trying to blunder his way into discussion with no sensitivity at all by picking the kind of fights he’s used to, which velanna and merrill obviously wouldn’t have context for

that’s a tangent abt characters bc i love talking abt anders merrill and velanna and the way i think they think abt magic, ignore me. anyway. my POINT is i imagine the ideas behind knight-enchanter came into the hands of circle mages and the chantry in a similar way to finn’s knowledge about eluvians in witch hunt. that seems natural enough. i believe you can have a conversation with solas after taking the spec where you discuss what the ancient elven arcane warriors might think to see their abilities in the hands of the chantry?

[fl3shm4id3n]

𝓐 𝓓𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝓔𝓵𝓯

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ɴᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ ᴛᴇ ꜱᴜʟɪ ᴛꜱʏᴇʏᴋ'ɪᴛᴀɴ x ᴅᴀʟɪꜱʜ ᴇʟꜰ! ᴍᴀɢᴇ! ꜰᴇᴍ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Tw: blood magic, mentions of cutting palms, demon, reader had facial tattoos, reader is between 5'1-5'3 in height, reader has pointy ears and big eyes, reader is an outcast, racisms towards elves, slur is used such as knife ears, some angst.

A/N: I always had the idea that the Omaticaya were a bit similar to the Dalish Elf from dragon age, so I thought of something involving an elf and an alien.

Masterlist

It all started with a demon, you had been in the forest doing your daily hunt for food. It should of been fast, but instead you had come across a voice. This voice sounded very nice and not so demonic, this voice had promised you knowledge not even the Clan's Keeper knew. So being the foolish child that you were, you had accepted since it sounded promising. That was a huge mistake.

When the rest of your clan had found out about what you did, they were not happy. They wanted you to leave, considered you a danger since you had made a contract with a demon and they feared you might bring the clan into it's down fall. But the Keeper did not allow this, she knew what you did was wrong, but it could of happened to anyone, you were a victim of this demon.

You had also began to practice blood magic, this kind of magic was still Taboo since it was dangerous and could attract bad luck to yourself and others. Since then, the Keeper had been keeping an eye on you, making sure that you are kept in line and not cause any danger to yourself or others, she knew that you did was wrong, but you were still a part of the Clan as well as a child.

Day by day, the other members were not afraid to show you that they disliked you for the magic you now processed. They didn't want you near them, or their children. You had been basically isolated from everyone except for the Keeper, majority of the time you were seen with her, she was the only person who didn't see you in a bad light like everyone else did. The demon had began talking to you, trying to convince you into using your magic to harm others for their mistreatment towards you, but you didn't let the demon get to you. It was understandable since the clan was afraid.

That day you had gone into the forest to clear your head from everything, you hated being the black sheep of the clan due to your new magic. You've also been learning some basic and less dangerous spells that didn't involve you cutting your palms. You had also heard of a spell that allowed you to teleport from one place to another, you had been meaning to try it, but you didn't know if this could attract demons due to the spell involving blood.

This was a risky spell, but you were curious about it, so you decided to perform it. You got your hunting knife then you began to work on the spell, as you chanted the spell you then cut your palm, allowing the blood to leave your hand. Then everything had began to shake drastically, but you didn't noticed since you were very focused on your spell, until a light had began then hit you, causing you to get knocked out.

Who knows how long you had been knocked out, all you knew that you had been asleep for a while when you woke up. You were still in the forest, but something didn't feel right about this forest, sure it was just as green as the one back home, except this place was much bigger and brighter. Could the spell had possible worked? You noticed how your palm had been healed, it must have happened while you were asleep. You thought it would be best to explore the forest, just to get a good look at it.

As you explored, you saw some unusual animals that you had never seen before, they were strange yet beautiful and colorful. You now knew that the spell had worked, this forest was not the forest that you were used too. You continued to explore, seen the different plants that you came across, they were unique and beautiful just the animals you had seen. You got a better look when you had began to climb on the trees and jumping from one to another, this place was beautiful in your eyes, maybe because you were from the forest and not the city, your clan had always avoided going to were the humans were, since they had done horrible things to your kind. You remember when you first came across a human, they had called you knifed eared and a tree huger.

What you didn't know was that you had been watched by someone. That day Neteyam had wanted to go hunting, to get away from his duties for a bit. What he didn't expect was for you to show up, he had been hiding around some bushes, trying to catch something, but you had scared it off. Then he saw you, a human? Wait, you were not human, sure you were small like one, but your features were unusual. You had pointy ears, your eyes were almost as big as his and you had face tattoos. Neteyam grew curious about you now, he had never seen anyone like you.

The whole time you had been exploring, he was right behind you, watching your every move. He also noticed your love for the forest, you were almost similar to the people, who loved and cherished the forest, except your appearance was different. Now he really wanted to know where you were for sure.

Dusk had began to show, the sky was going from that blue into one of yellow, orange and purple. You were exploring the forest, you noticed how the plants were now glowing, some more than others, It was a very pretty sight to see. Then you began to hear noises coming from the bushes.

Alarmed you got your bow that had been on your back and two arrows that your quiver that was also tied to your back. Looking around, you placed the arrow on the wood, ready to aim. Then you heard someone step out of the bushes. Right away you pointed your arrow at them, causing their figure to lift heir arms.

"It's okay, I'm not going to harm you" he said, getting closer to you. Thanks to the light you saw how tall he was, and not to mention his features. He had wide yellow eyes, his skin was blue like the sky with some stripes on the cheeks, forehead and allover his body, his ears were also big and had feline like nose. His hair was black and styled in braids that really suit him. His attire involved a loincloth, a leather waist band, an arm band and he also had a bow but he had it on his back.

You lowered your down and placed your arrow back on the quiver, but you noted that you had your hunting knife on your hip. "I apologies, I have no Idea where it I am, I was practicing a spell then something went wrong." You rambled, now feeling embarrassed. "It's okay, let me help you." Neteyam said kindly, keeping his distance to not scare you any further. "How rude of me! I'm y/n, of the Sabrae clan" You said politely, seen his look of confusion. "Sabrae? I've never heard of that clan" he said. "Oh, It's my delish clan, we live in the forest... but I don't think what that is either" you smiled shyly.

"Well, I'm Neteyam of the Omaticaya clan" he said sending you a toothy smile which made your face heat up a bit. "Nice to make your acquaintance" you said still a bit shyly, forgetting about how you were just about to shoot him. "It's already dark, it's not really safe out here, we should head to my village." Neteyam mentioned in which you replied "oh! its okay, I'm out in the woods almost all the time" you said, but Neteyam raised his non existing eyebrow. "I believe you, but here, it's not really safe." He mentioned, he was right, you didn't know these woods. "Alright then" you said.

Neteyam lead the way back to village, he was pretty fast for your comfort due to his long legs. You had to catch up as much as possible. Until finally you both arrived at a small camp. You followed behind him, seen that others like him, they eyed you and murmured in a language you didn't understand. He lead you to a much larger hut, which had people in them. A much older male, a young female and a elder.

"Where were you?" The male asked the boy who had lead you here. "I was out into the woods then I came across the her, she was lost and needed help." He pointed to you, now you got their attention. Their yellow eyes were on you now, you felt smaller then you already did. Before anyone could say anything, the older woman was the first to approach you. She looked like a leader, she must be leader due to her attire and not to mention that wisdom she carried with her. "What are you called?" she asked, in a heavy accent. While she examined your features, you answered "I'm Y/n, of the Sabrae clan" you mentioned feeling her touch your pointed ears, then she moved to your big eyes and face markings.

"I see that you're not from here" she mentioned, seen your attire. You stayed silent while she continue to look at you. "How did you end up here" she asked. "I was doing a spell, then it backfired and sent me here." You told the older woman, you felt her eyes go right through you, as if you felt her seen your soul. "I sense that you mean no harm" she asked, in which you nodded. "I see, you will be allowed to stay, my grandson will teach you our ways, but I do see that we are not very different from your kind" she mentioned. In which you nodded respectfully.

Afterwards you were introduced to his parents, Jake Sully and Neytiri, who were still a bit not very trusting of you but were willing to give you a chance. Then you met his younger siblings. Kiri, Lo'ak and Tuk, they were curious when they saw you. They had seen humans but never an elf until now.

Your time with the Sullys, they were just like any other family back home. Except they didn't avoid you like the plague. You were introduced to Miles Socorro, but he prefers to be called Spider. Just like the kids he was curious about you since he's never seen an elf. The kids actually made you feel as if you were one of them, sure you were the size of a human and had different features, you weren't really any different from them.

You climbed trees, loved the forest, knew how to wield a bow, ate almost the exact same food, and so on, what really needed work was you learning the language, it was easy to learn since the dalish also had their own language. Just like how they taught you na'vi, you thought them how to speak it as well. Even though you were away from home, you still did things you'd normally do. You crafted your own clothing and arrows, hunting, worked on your magic, along with weaving other materials that perhaps the Sullys could use.

When they heard about the magic you processed, you weren't sure in showing them at first since you had a demon literately living in your head and your magic was blood magic. But it wouldn't hurt showing them some safe magic tricks. You showed them how you can manipulate some plants, creature illusions, make plants grow and so on. They were hooked in seen your magic, they were really interested in seen your perform magic tricks.

When it came to Neteyam, things were more different, besides him teaching you more about the Omaticaya, he also spent a lot of time wish you. With the excuse that he needed to teach you this or that, but anyone with common sense knows full well what his intentions are. You and him exchanged info about both your clans, along with other things. He had been the one to take you on a ride on his Ikra, it was scary since you weren't used to heights, sure you have been on tall mountains but never had you floated on the sky. Not to forget how kind he is towards you, he is kind to everyone, but when it came to you, he was just the sweetest.

He also began to give you extra arrows he makes, as well as giving you a new knife he had made for you as a welcome gift. Soon you began to think that he was actually courting you, in delish costumes gifting was part of the courting rituals. Maybe that wasn't the case, he was just being friendly, but you couldn't help but also feel some kind of attraction towards him. It also felt wrong since you were both different species, it wouldn't work. He was a Na'vi, the Son of Toruk Makto and Paluluka Makto. You were no one, you're an outcast in this land, you were just a mare dalish elf with a curse.