#last flight
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Okay, hot take coming in, but I've seen a few posts mentioning that Isseya's character was done dirty in Veilguard. And... I disagree. Here's why:
1. Isseya is already established as a morally gray character, willing to do basically anything if it meant ending the Fourth Blight, even when it went against her own personal morals.
2. Her Calling advanced quickly because of the blight, and it's theorized in Last Flight that all her use of Blood Magic probably didn't help, either.
3. She has been alive for CENTURIES after she should have died on her Calling. She is more Darkspawn than elf, more akin to The Architect or Corypheus than she is Davrin, by the time we meet her in game.
4. And this is the doozy, in the novel The Calling, we see what happens when Wardens don't die on their Calling. We know what happens when they let their taint change them. We saw what happened when the Architect advanced their Calling so that they might keep their minds... They didn't. After only months, Bregan starts to lose it. The blight is anger. It's rage. It is a literal plague of HATE. And it twists not just his body, but his mind too.
So, imagine Isseya, already angry. Already wracked with guilt, grief, and righteous anger when she goes on her Calling. And then she doesn't die, but Revas, her griffon, does. And so Isseya is all alone, festering in her own negative emotions for centuries, all while the blight in her veins slowly takes over and whispers nothing but hate directly into her brain. For over 400 YEARS.
And it all comes down to the Wardens. She blames them for what she became, for the fate of the griffons (understandably so), and her madness spirals into making an alternate Weisshaupt, recruiting her own order of Blighted Wardens.
(side note: was she working with The Architect? Because this is some Architect shit.)
And then Ghilan'nain shows up with an offer to help "save" the griffons. And Isseya is blighted, driven mad with centuries of unmitigated hate. So she takes Ghilan'nain's offer, never once seeing how she's being used all over again. Because the blight has blinded her with hate for the Wardens.
Isseya's character hasn't been botched. They didn't do her dirty. Her story is SAD. Heartbreaking even. It's a tragedy and a warning, of what that much hate can do to a person.
Did I wish better for her? Absolutely. I loved Isseya in Last Flight, and my heart broke for her then. But unraveling the Gloom Howler that first time? Realizing who she was and WHY this was happening? It was an amazing experience. (The way I said, "oh, Isseya"??? Tear my heart to shreds, Bioware.)
But, just because Isseya's fate is tragic, doesn't mean she was written poorly. From what we know about her, the blight, and the Calling, her character is actually very consistent and believable.
Just... really fucking sad.
#dav spoilers#datv spoilers#da4 spoilers#dragon age spoilers#veilguard spoilers#isseya#the gloom howler#last flight#tl;dr disliking a character's arc doesn't instantly mean it was bad writing
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What was done to Isseya is one of my personal biggest upsets with this game. I loved her in Last Flight. She's a genuinely interesting, complex character, and given the themes of mistakes and regret present through Veilguard, it makes TOTAL sense for her to make an appearance! What makes no sense at all is for her to be reduced to a two dimensional villain with no clear motivation who's just...doing exactly the thing she fucked up in life? Except worse? I'm gonna summarize the events of last flight for the folks who haven't read it;
The first griffin Isseya put through the joining was already blighted in battle, and dying from it. Quickly. Griffins are extra sensitive to the Blight and any attempts made to join them resulted in the animals going berserk and tearing themselves, and anyone else in range, to pieces to get away from what was now in their veins.
In a well meaning, but misguided effort to save one of the animals she loved, she used blood magic to alter the griffon's mind, to convince it the Blight in it's system was just a regular cold, and it didn't need to fight it, then put it through the joining.
It worked, but it changed the griffon. Made it stronger, fight harder. More difficult to handle. The griffon ultimately went out in a spectacular blaze of glory, and people didn't know what she did, just that she did SOMETHING, and that griffon did ten griffons worth of damage on it's way out.
The fourth blight was far worse, far longer than any of the blights we have witnessed first hand. I think it lasted like 15 years? And it was going badly for Thedas. They ordered Isseya to do what she had done to the first griffon again as a last ditch to stand a chance at I *think* Starkhaven (it's been a little bit since I read last flight, so I'm sketchy on dates and what battles were fought specifically when). She hated doing this, but it was orders, and it was exploit this handful of griffons or watch the world die. She's a warden, she signed up to stop the blight at any cost. In war, victory. In death, sacrifice.
By the time her brother Garahel slays Andoral, she's had to blight a number of griffons, and the constant blood magic use has massively accelerated the blight in her own body. Her brother garahel is this golden haired pretty boy beloved by everyone who looks upon him, and Isseya looks so much like a ghoul at this point people are uncomfortable being in the same room as her. Even though this is completely due to her service to the wardens.
Then, the remaining joined griffons start going mad. And then it starts to spread to the other, non-joined griffons. In using blood magic to convince the griffons the blight was just a disease, she had caused it to become one. A contagious one.
It's one of the most interesting examples of how dangerous blood magic actually is we ever see. We're just told over and over "blood magic bad, slippery slope to killing people. Bad. Even if you use your own." And we never really see explicitly why it's an inherently dangerous form of magic until this.
Back to Isseya though. Garahel's lover's Griffon had a clutch of eggs sired by Garahel's Crookytail. Isseya, knowing there was no stopping what was now in motion with the griffons, set out to do her one last act of penance. She took, and purified those eggs, hid them in a ward that kept them in stasis, so that they might only hatch once the griffons were gone, and this disease had died with them, so they might have a chance. And then she hid the clues to their location, and begged that whoever find them not let them be used by the wardens again.
And then she went on her calling.
These are not the actions of a villain. Isseya EMBODIES the warden principal of sacrifice. But it isn't glorious battle rewarded by a quick death alongside an archdemon for her. It's death by inches, by blight, knowingly and willingly accelerated in her own body to stop it from consuming the world. Sacrificing her ideals, the animals she loves, her brother, Garahel. Isseya gives it all for the wardens, to end the blight, and is not thanked for it or remembered kindly.
And she did everything she could to seed the slightest bit of hope, that both in spite of her and because of her, griffons might return to the world, as free creatures.
Her Veilguard arc feels like really egregious character assassination, and I wish she had been given an ounce of the sympathy that other characters had been given. It made sense for her to be here, thematically, mistakes and regret, and good intentions still leading to bad ends, but she deserved the same opportunity for forgiveness and/or redemption that Solas, Mythal, Cyrian, even Illario got.
Isseya was done dirty by Veilguard.
#veilguard spoilers#veilguard critical#last flight#Isseya#i feel the need to disclaimer that im not anti veilguard#i by and large like it and am willing to give it a lot of grace for some things#but Isseya is not one of thise things
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HOW IT STARTED:
HOW IT'S GOING:
#yes there are griffons in the story#davrin x rook#assan#griffon daddy#wynne#wynne dragon age#davrin dragon age#davrin romance#veilguard#dragon age#dragon age veilguard#dragon age origins#dao#datv#dav#rook#da#dragonage#griffons#assan the griffon#last flight
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I know a lot of us were so lost in the euphoria of punching the First Warden that we never got to learn about this, but if you talk him down, when you find him again later he is willing to talk to you, and will tell you that Isseya often looks at a feather she kept. This is the conversation that follows.
Davrin: I know who you are, Isseya [not shown above, sorry]. A Grey Warden who lost her way. You Blighted the griffons. You doomed them!
Gloom Howler: The Wardens doomed them, by their own decree. I saved them. The eggs--these are the future! With Blight in their veins, the griffons will be immortal. The Wardens will never harm them again. I will be their shield against the pain.
Rook: What about this feather? It belonged to a griffon you cared for, didn't it?
Gloom Howler: Revas...
Davrin: That was your mount?
Gloom Howler: And a friend.
Rook: Did the Blight free it from pain?
Gloom Howler: It drove her mad. I had to...put her down.
Davrin: And you would do the same to these griffons?
Gloom Howler: I'm sorry.
Saying this, Isseya puts down her knife, curling forward onto the ground and dying.
So, you can talk her down. Isseya is still in there.

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Anyway y'all should read Last Flight if you're even mildly interested in Grey Warden lore. It does a great job at showing that they've always been well, morally grey, in the name of the greater good. And that being a warden means sacrificing everything, not even just in death, but whatever it is asked of you.
And it's just a damn interesting story, in my opinion. With a nice choice of focusing on Isseya, Garahel's less celebrated sister, rather than Garahel himself.
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I'm also dying about Davrin's little gremlin griffon chick because I have been HOLDING ONTO the end of Last Flight this ENTIRE time and VINDICATIOOOON
It looks only a few years old as well, could well be from one of the eggs that got untainted.
Based on what we can see, it does look fairly similar to Crookytail, with white, grey and black, and possibly tan patches and floppy ears:
The odd griffon was not solid gray like most of his brethren. Crookytail's feathers were tinted with dusky brown; white patches decorated his chest and belly. One of his ears flopped forward, and he had a distinctive, bushy tail with a prominent kink in it - giving him his name.
#dragon age#veilguard#dav#da:v#da: veilguard#dragon age: veilguard#dragonage#da4#dragon age the veilguard#datv#dragon age 4#last flight#dragon age last flight#griffon#griffin
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My Dragon Age Favourites - template by @dalishious
#judge me as you see fit people#dragon age#dragon age origins#dragon age 2#dragon age inquisition#leliana#anders#iron bull#the iron bull#isabela dragon age#merrill#morrigan#trespasser#dragon age trespasser#last flight#dragon age last flight#dalishious#veilguard#the veilguard#davrin#dragon age the veilguard#dragon age veilguard#grey warden#hero of ferelden#meredith stannard
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before you can kill the monster (you have to say its name)
In which I lovingly work the nuance from Last Flight into Davrin's Veilguard arc đ I adored seeing the characters in the game, but this idea for a more fleshed out resolution for Isseya & Valya seized me as soon as I finished the quest.
⨠read it on ao3 here â¨
Isseya & Valya, Caronel/Valya | Rated T | ch 1/10 | No Warnings When Davrin and Rook reach their final confrontation with the Gloom Howler, they're interrupted by the last person they'd expect. But Valya followed them for a reason, and she won't let them kill Isseya until they know the truth. The whole truth, this time.
#my writing#dragon age#da4#dragon age the veilguard#datv#dragon age veilguard#dragon age fanfic#last flight#isseya#valya#dragon age fanfiction#veilguard spoilers#davrin#caronel x valya#forever yelling into the void about last flight#this fic is not for you it's for me but if you want to cry about them with me that'd be great đđ#yeah they KIND OF alluded to the impossibleness of her situation#and gave davrin some empathy for her#but I need MOAR đ¤đ¤#so I'm giving it to myself#dragon age last flight
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This made me both sad and glad that I'm reading Last Flight
#dragon age#dragon age veilguard#veilguard spoilers#dav spoilers#datv spoilers#da4 spoilers#dragon age spoilers#last flight#dragon age last flight#garahel#warden garahel
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Bioware, I swear to god - if you don't let me free them. If something happens to these babies.
I. will. find. you.
#really makes me wish I had managed to read all of Last Flight before launch. only just met their parents & i'd already die for them#datv#dav#veilguard#dragon age#dragon age: the veilguard#dragon age the veilguard#griffon#assan#assan dragon age#grey wardens#anderfels#datv spoilers#veilguard spoilers#last flight
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Spoilers for Davrinâs companion quests (particularly the final one), and Last Flight
Is anyone else kinda disappointed by the direction they took with Isseya? So much of her story was about how much she regretted everything that she had to do to the griffons, to the point that she kept searching for a cure long after she shouldâve gone on her Calling, and she left clues only someone âworthyâ of protecting the griffons could find⌠only to now try to blight them? Like I guess the reasoning is she thinks the Wardens still donât deserve the griffons, but wasnât the whole point of the everything Valya found to make sure someone good would find them??
I suppose we can point to her being blighted as a reason for her becoming like this, but it makes me a bit sad about Last Flight now in retrospect (my favorite of the Dragon Age books) even if her change âmakes senseâ lore-wise. I thought her doing everything she could to protect the griffons before finally going on her long overdue Calling, never to see if her plan to save the eggs would truly succeed, was a really good, bittersweet ending for her. But now actually she isnât dead and sheâs basically undoing everything she worked for at the end of Last Flight. Kinda disappointing :(
(To be extra clear: I get the lore reasons for her change in Veilguard! I just think itâs not a very good character direction, given the arc she had in Last Flight)
#datv spoilers#isseya#dragon age: last flight#last flight#dragon age spoilers#veilguard spoilers#dragon age critical#fade posts
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"The peppery-sweet fragrance of those tiny purple flowers were painful to Isseya. The darkspawn had no concept of beauty, no use for the small, civilized gestures that made the world a more pleasant place. They just... killed and destroyed and poisoned, and where they passed, no lavender would ever grow again." - "Last Flight" by Liane Merciel
This quote feels different now. Flowers can grow again, Isseya. I promise.
#isseya#last flight#dragon age#dragon age spoilers#dragon age the veilguard#dragon age the veilguard spoilers#dragon age : the veilguard#dragon age : the veilguard spoilers#flo posts things
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Rosemary and Citrus Ch. 14
To live truly is to live fully, but for the Demon of Vyrantium, it's never been that simple, no matter how hard he tries. There's always duty, and politics, and now the end of the world. Wren Thorne found herself facing down Blighted gods not entirely by accident, and not entirely unprepared, but of course it's more complicated than that. The fate of Thedas was never supposed to be in her hands - and really, what can one Grey Warden do? Slowburn Rookanis
All Wardens together
--
âHer name was Isseya.â
Valya paced in the small infirmary room where Caronel and Remi had been convalescing since the battle, from the low-silled window to Davrin leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed and Assan pressed up against his leg as if attached with glue. Rook had found space for herself perched on the low table that separated the two narrow cots, though she had to keep her back braced against the wall to avoid aggravating her broken ribs. The lamp hanging from the ceiling guttered low enough to paint stark hollows over Valyaâs face, the first pink streaks of dawn though the window not yet strong enough to warm her cheeks.
âShe was a Warden assigned as a griffon rider at the start of the Fourth Blight,â she explained as she turned to pace again. âA mage. As the Blight went on and things became more desperate, she was caught in an ambush trying to collapse a darkspawn tunnel, and one of the other griffons in her formation was blighted. She used blood magic to put it through the Joining but the results were⌠mixed.â
Rook glanced to Davrin. From the force of his scowl, she guessed he hadnât heard the story before, either.
âWhy blood magic?â he asked. âSurely she knew better than to mess around with that stuff.â
âIt was the only way,â Remi answered. She had only shed her fever an hour before, but despite the remaining physical weakness, her mind was sharp. âYouâve seen the way they are with the darkspawn corpses we train with. Whatever it is that drives their hatred of the Blight, it meant that any beast put through the Joining would tear itself apart. Literally. The blood magic was to quiet their minds and make them think the taint in their blood was only an infection.â
Valya nodded. âThe problem was that it still drove the griffon insane. It was uncontrollable, and when it saw darkspawn it went into a frenzy and kept fighting long after it should have died of its wounds.â
âI can see where this is going,â Rook muttered. Anything to stop the darkspawn, no matter the cost. The Orlesian Wardens had once gathered in Jader, content to sacrifice the whole of Ferelden to bolster their own defences.
âIt wasnât like that. Isseya was only ordered to Join a small number that were too old or injured to fight. They made the difference against Andoral, but something in the spell she used to subdue them changed the nature of the taint in griffon blood. It morphed into a plague that spread through the entire population and by the time the First Warden declared a quarantine, it was too late. there was no choice but to put them down.â
Read the rest on AO3
#rookanis#lucanis x rook#rook x lucanis#dragon age#dragon age the veilguard#datv#dragon age fanfic#grey warden rook#rosemary and citrus#wren thorne#davrin#assan dragon age#last flight
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Meet the Legends: Garahel
Introducing the myths and legends of Dragon Age Annual 2025: Legacies! Garahel features in fic as part of our zine, Sagas.
Click Here to order DAA 2025: Legacies NOW!
Orders Close:
Physical Copies & Merch: October 31st
Digital Calendar & Zine: January 31st, 2025
Codex Entry: Garahel's Helm
I watched from across the battlefield as Garahel struck the final blow against the Archdemon and a great wave of energy surged out from the beast. It was enough to level what buildings were not already destroyed by the endless battle we had fought, enough to knock horses and ogres aside as if they were little more than parchment. Even at my distance, the force struck me like the blast of some great storm. The darkspawn around us felt it too, as savage desperation turned to sheer terror. A great pillar of energy rushed up into the dark clouds, the blackness that had gathered with the horde and blocked out all glimmer of hope. When we stood again, we saw the first rays of sunshine peeking through those clouds and we let out such a cheer of joy and relief that it shook the very earth. I joined the others as we searched for Garahel, but as the eve approached all I found was his enchanted helm. It was not until much later that I heard his body had been retrieved, flung to the far side of the battlefield by the Archdemon's death throes. My friend, this elf who helped us unite the lands and cleanse Thedas of the darkspawn scourge will always be remembered. I swear it.
âExcerpt from a letter written by the Grey Warden Prosper, 5:24 Exalted
#garahel#grey wardens#dragon age last flight#last flight#elves#dragon age#zine#fandom zine#charity zine#dragon age zine#zine preorders#zine preorders open#dragon age annual#dragon age annual 2025#fandom events#dragon age lore#dragon age codex
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No custom world state, slow start to main story, everything in the south being off screen
Best combat, best companions, tevinter nights and last flight characters, the main story from Weisshaupt onwards, Mathew Mercer, the origins of the elves, dwarves, titans, archdemons, and the blight, the emotional gut punch that was Tearstone Island, Solas being under a binding, basically the last 5 hours of the game.
#dragon age 4#dragon age the veilguard#solas#matt mercer#dwarves#titans#the blight#archdemons#rook#varric#elves#tevinter nights#last flight
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Last Flight: A Summary
This novel switches between 9:41-9:42 Dragon and 5:12-5:24 Exalted. I will note the time switches.
âââââ
9:41 DRAGON
With the Mage-Templar Conflict in full swing, the Grey Wardens of Weisshaupt make an offer to the Hossberg Circle: Any mage who volunteers to join the Order will be protected from the Templars using the Right of Conscription. Valya, a young elven mage, and four others take up the offer.
They are greeted by an elf warden named Caronel, who explains that they will not be undergoing the Joining right away; instead, they will be put to work in Weisshaupt's libraries. Caronel makes mention that the Chamberlain of the Grey requires their assistance researching blood magic â specifically, cases of wardens acting strangely, and Awakened darkspawn. Caronel takes the mages to the archives and tells them to start with records from the Fourth Blight.
In the library, Valya pours herself over old battle maps, and notices a hint of lyrium on the parchment. Valya uses her magic to reveal new words: âLathbora viranâ, translated as âthe path to a place of lost loveâ. She remembers it from a poem she learned growing up, and uses this as a clue to find a hidden journal â Isseyaâs journal. Valya begins to read it in secret.
5:12 EXALTED
Isseya and her brother Garahel, having joined the Grey Wardens a mere year before and still fresh in training, are thrust into battle prematurely when the Blight hits Antiva. So, they are among those sent to Antiva City to meet with the royals. King Elaudio and Queen Giuvana refuse to take the Grey Wardens advice to evacuate the city though, instead saying they will âthink on itâ.
While waiting for the Kingâs response, Isseya and Garahel are taken to be paired with a griffon. Itâs explained that griffons choose their riders, and that bond is formed for as long as both are alive. Isseya bonds with a griffon named Revas (elven for âFreedomâ). Garahel bestows a new name on his griffon: Crookytail.
When the darkspawn hit the city, the Antivan people decide to revolt against the King for his refusal to evacuate. The king and queen are killed, but the Wardens rescue and escape with Amadis Vael who was visiting from Starkhaven, and Calien dâEvaliste, a mysterious mage. In their escape, Isseya witnesses Calien use blood magic that proves very effective against the archdemon, even if they didnât succeed in killing it.
9:41 DRAGON
Itâs been two months since Valya and the others came to Weisshaupt. Valya is scared that without undergoing the Joining, the Wardens will kick them out. Caronel explains that they wonât be undergoing the Joining until there is an immediate need for it, since they may die in the process. Caronel also explains that he became a Grey Warden during the Fifth Blight; after humans attacked his alienage in Ferelden, he took to the Wardens for safety. So, he understands Valyaâs situation and promises to defend her against any Templar threat.
Despite this assurance, when five Templars come to Weisshaupt seeking to join, Valya is terrified of ulterior motives.
5:12 EXALTED
In Wycome, the Warden-Commander orders the party of Isseya, Garahel, Amadis and Calien to accompany her back to Starkhaven, and then later they are to go to the Anderfels to rally support. Isseya questions why not Orlais or Tevinter, and the Warden-Commander reminds her that in Orlais and Tevinter, she and her brother wonât make much headway because theyâre elves. But in the Anderfels, they will be more respected because of being Wardens.
Isseya joins her brother, Amadis, and Calien at a tavern. There, itâs revealed that Amadis is a princess of Starkhaven, as well as the captain of the influential mercenary company, the Ruby Drakes. Calien shares that he is an Antivan Crow. While they talk, Isseya comes up with a way to evacuate Wycome using magic makeshift aravels.
While Isseya takes the lead with the aravels, Garahel is sent flying letters across Thedas and told to charm his way into convincing various lords and ladies to helping the cause. Isseya laments that she hates the political game required of Wardens, but is glad that Garahel proves mostly successful.
The plan with the aravels mostly works, and Wycomeâs citizens are largely evacuated to Starkhaven.
9:41 DRAGON
Valya asks the Chamberlain of the Grey what happened to the griffons. The Chamberlain simply says they died, without explaining how.
Valya is then invited by one of the templars, Reimas, to talk. Reimas says she is not there to harm Valya or the others, and is only interested in peace. Reimas also claims that she only ever wanted to protect mages, though Valya remains disapproving.
5:19 EXALTED
Hossberg in the Anderfels has been fighting the Blight off for the last seven years now, with mostly success. Isseya participates in air-drops of supplies using griffons, and an idea occurs to her: Calien, using blood magic, could get inside the head of a darkspawn scout and they could follow it back to where they are emerging from underground. That way, they could seal off the entrances and slow down the horde significantly. Calien agrees, and following the success of this plan, Isseya asks Calien to teach her.
Calien shares the story of how he learned blood magic himself: he took on a Crow contract to kill a woman, who was in fact an abomination. The demon bargained that in exchange for healing from the wounds inflicted on the attack, it would give Calien blood magic knowledge. Calien agreed, healed the demon only slightly, and then completed the contract. Isseya is not bothered by any of this, seeing blood magic as a practical tool against the Blight. So, Calien agrees to teach her everything he knows.
The next morning, Isseya leads the Grey Wardens to the entrance she and Calien found, and they are ultimately successful in sealing it. However, one of the griffons, Shrike, is mortally infected with the Blight in the assault. Isseya offers a way to make the Joining potentially work on the griffon, using blood magic. (The Joining does not work on the griffons otherwise; it drives them mad to the point that they tear themselves apart.) Shrikeâs rider agrees to attempt this, and it saves the griffonâs life.
Queen Mariwen of the Anderfels approaches Isseya and not-so-subtly says that if the Wardens want the crownâs continued cooperation, then they will make Garahel have sex with her.
Itâs discovered that the griffon, Shrike, now has incredible vigour and acute senses in battle, because of the Joining. Isseya is disturbed by this unexpected change, and vows not to use the spell she performed to make the Joining work on Shrike ever again. (Oh, my dear girlâŚ)
9:41 DRAGON
Valya asks Reimas if sheâs ever encountered a blood mage before, and if itâs really as evil as the Chantry teaches. This conversation prompts Valya to share with Reimas that she found Isseyaâs diary. And Reimas admits that maybe it is possible to do good using blood magic.
5:20 EXALTED
Since things have calmed down in the Anderfels since closing the darkspawn entrances, Garahel suggests they shift their focus to the Free Marches. He also tells the group that he plans on refusing to sleep with Queen Mariwen, but Amadis convinces him sheâs okay with it because itâs for the greater good. Amadis makes a request though: her own griffon, even though she is not a Warden.
Queen Mariwen throws a party, and Garahel spends the night with her, so she grants the Grey Wardens use of her soldiers. This enables Isseya and many other Wardens to go to Fortress Haine in the Vimmark Mountains, to be used as a safeguard against the Blight in the Free Marches. But the situation becomes dire very quickly, and Garahel delivers Isseya an unfortunate command from the First Warden: Put the griffons of Fortress Haine through the Joining.
Isseya cries the whole time through her modified ritual, but she puts all the griffons except Revas through the Joining. Then in the following battle, Isseya is forced to use further blood magic to possess the griffons in order to make them go along with the plan, because they can no longer be reasoned with. It causes a great strain, and Calien offers to help next time, but Isseya is still emotionally shattered.
9:42 DRAGON
Valya approaches Caronel for help getting to Red Brideâs Grave in the Wandering Hills. Caronel says the last time he was there, it was full of demon-possessed corpses, but Valya convinces him to take her and a group of recruits.
5:24 EXALTED
In the four years that have passed, Isseya has grown increasingly blighted and depressed, but Garahel has become a beacon of shining hope, and a prominent figure in the war against the darkspawn. Even things that Isseya herself accomplished she let go credited to her brother to help build this glory and inspire people. Isseya holds onto her griffon, Revas, who she still refused to taint despite almost all the others undergoing it at this point. Isseya has grown increasingly depressed and blighted, with the constant rituals taking a toll on her: âShe looked like sheâd been serving as a Warden for twenty years longer than her brother.â The other wardens are wary of her, seeing her as a monster, but a necessary one.
Garahel shares his plan to launch an assault into Antiva, where the Archdemon is. He fully admits that he does not expect many to survive the attempt, but draws an army of supporters for his plan anyways.
The next day, the Wardens and supporters fly into Antiva, where they take to aerial combat with the Archdemon. The tainted griffons fight with such ferocity that they are able to deeply wound it. With Isseya and Garahel being the last two wardens capable of reaching it, Isseya prepares to commit to the sacrifice of its defeatâbut Garahel stops her. His last words are âIsseya, be kind to yourself,â before Isseya watches him and Crookytail swoop in on the dragon. Crookytail is killed, but Garahel lands on the Archdemon and is able to strike the final blow.
Garahel is given a heroâs funeral â the grandest to ever be given to an elf.
A month later, Isseya is called back to Weisshaupt. There, she is horrified to discover that the griffons are dying out from the taint; even those that were not put through the Joining have been corrupted through breeding and proximity.
Three months after this, the First Warden orders all griffons who show any signs of âirredeemable viciousnessâ to be put down, and Isseya predicts this will be their extinction. She is wracked with horrible grief, blaming herself. She tirelessly searches for answers to understand the disease she created, but comes up empty-handed. So, Isseya turns to Starkhaven and finds Amadis. There, she discovers that Amadisâs griffon is sick as well, and explains to Amadis that while she canât save her griffon, she might be able to save the newly-laid eggs. Isseya then tells Amadis that she does not plan to be alive to see if it will even work, but asks that Amadis keep the eggs a secret â she does not believe the wardens or anyone else of her time deserve the griffons after what they did to them.
Isseya kills Amadisâs griffon and takes the eggs to a secret place in the Anderfels. There, she draws the taint from the eggs into herself, purifying them before freezing them in a magical stasis. She hides her diaries in Weisshaupt under a series of enchantments that none but an elf would be likely to unlock. Isseya wants the Grey Wardens of the future to be the ones to uncover the eggs, but wants it to be someone who would understand the value of freedom.
Isseya then takes Revas for one last flight, off to her Calling, as she no longer wants to live.
9:42 DRAGON
On the way to Red Brideâs Grave, Valya shares with the group her theory that they will find griffon eggs there. They fight their way through corpses, and eventually find the eggs, perfectly preserved. Upon uncovering them, the eggs begin to hatch, and Valya watches as one emerges who looks exactly like Crookytail was described. (Baby Assan!)
The group agrees to take the griffons home to Weisshaupt.
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