#orlais sucks

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Okay so: Izuku as Inquisitor.

We keep everything from the last post. Izuku is actually the child of Solas and fake Mythal, the gods are actually not the Evanuris who pretend to be, Solas worshiped as Fen’Harel is a god now as unlike the fakes he is the only one. Izuku and his friends leave their world because society has just kept going and nothing changed.

But this time they get to Thedas before the explosion, and Izuku makes it his mission to bug his father about not going through with it. He ignores it, and argues back. It ends up coming to be Izuku runs to try and stop the Temple from blowing up but can't.

No instead he's now the Herald of Andraste and like… Izuku has ALREADY pulled together a country and fought in a war. Sure he came to Thedas knowing he might need to kill his birth father, but for the LOVE of THE GODS, are you joking?

His friends laugh at him and he is Problem Child Forever.

Now he's got to run this stupid organization.

He hates it so much.

Izuku does his best though. He tries to be a fair person while also shoving his father’s face into the changes of the world.

I do think he'd be slower to confess the truth of him being from another world here. He would eventually do so because he has to. (he would not continue to lie to those who have bled for him).

Solas instantly runs with the narrative he was trying to find his son since he went missing, and Izuku just is angry he's not doing anything but he won't rat out his dad. Not unless he has to.

I think there would be a lot of confusion and a lot of eye opening but everyone accepts it. They even accept Nezu who is thrilled he gets to walk around like normal without the cloak. They figure out someway to make it acceptable to others (AKA Cole messes with their minds to make them accept it).

Izuku would just be the kindest Herald/Inquisitor to those in need while also RIPPING apart Orlais and Ferelden and everything he can.

“This is BULLSHIT,” he says at the Winter Ball before he goes off and blackmails Celene and Gaspard while handing over everything he has to Briala so she can rule through them.

“I fucking HATE this,” he grumbles when he's dealing with Nobles. Ugh.

(Aizawa hates dealing with Fereldens and their dogs)

I'm also gonna talk about the others to:

Yaomomo is a fucking Goddess who helps Josie. I also am saying she ends up with Dagna and when Sera joins in (encouraged by Ochako) chaos reigns. When the secrets are out, Dagna and Harrit basically beg for all the help. Sadly she can't make the more fantastical elements but steel? Wood? She can. Silks to.

(she takes over the entire winter ball cause those are ugly as hell uniforms)

Aizawa works as an advisor and helps spread rumours when he can. He'll slip out and lurk in corners being a ‘drunk’ while picking up info. Also he's trans and upon learning Krem is goes: same.

They then proceed to spread rumours Solas and Aizawa are Eri’s parents for the hilarity.

But yeah Aizawa is his grumpy self.

Midnight I am 100% pairing with Blackwall and she susses out the truth early. Convinces him to confess but work to rebuild. He regrets what he's done it's obvious. And frankly, look at the Templars and their abuses. Yes what he did is horrific but he does better training people to fight back and defending the weak. She and Blackwall now run a minor training boot camp for the ambush fighters.

Nezu is Nezu and happily plots with Leliana who delights in her new friend. Perhaps he is the one to help her back into the light to.

Hitoshi works with Josie as an assistant and she finds he is just as good as her at reading people. I already mentioned how she gets him losing her voice differently then the others. Hitoshi isn't just his Quirk and his ability to speak and manipulate are things she gets. It's very adorable.

Tenya and Shouto work as inner circle folks and help Izuku. They also run around as his messengers and as intimidation because Izuku is still damn short and knows it's cause he's an elf.

Ochako? Ochako is inner circle and causing CHAOS as much as she can. Her quirk is so good with bombs and weapons and getting into position on a roof. She is the ‘DEATH FROM ABOVE’ Queen. Sera loves her so much.

Eri of course is being cute but she's also being portrayed as Izuku’s sister which gets attention. Luckily she has Cole around who will stab. She also works with the doctors and when her secret comes out uses her powers. Carefully, oh so carefully with Cole right by her side. Just in case.

I think romances would stay the same. Bull/Aizawa, Tenya/Shouto, Izuku/Dorian, Ochako/Sera and all that to. It's just like… as Inquisitor Izuku is more involved and more willing to dig down roots. He doesn't get a choice. It's not just murder your dad and fuck off. No it's serious. He has to build firm bonds with these people.

Here he sits down and listens to Vivienne more, tries to understand Cassandra’s faith. He sits with Cullen and they work through the bullshit he has internalized (I run with an AU Cullen in my head because otherwise I could not get through the game and my head version actually admits his faults). He talks with Sera and learns of Pride Cookies. He sits with Bull who fears madness (but will never regret saving his men). He holds Blackwall’s hands and say he is a good man. He stands by Dorian, facing down a monster who hid behind kindness. He helps Cole learn who he is. He sits with Varric as he tells stories and tells his own, eventually being hugged by a man who thought he'd lose his friend. (Izuku wouldn't let it happen. No, not when Iida can run faster then anyone else, can cause a distraction so that they all get free. No never. Hawke and Alistair live, both of them)

Izuku is himself and shines so brightly. And the others want to shine to. Vivienne still believes in the circles but now thinks of a school system like the ones from their world. Cassandra believes but also knows that the ashes of corruption can linger so it is best to be careful. Cullen begins making amends more and more (a letter sent to a mage who makes her partner read it, the Antivan elf carefully speaking the apology from within, the mages harmed in Kirkwall, Templars so scared of him dropping to their knees in shock). Sera who learns to bake. Bull who figures out he is not a monster. Dorian, who does not speak well of slavery but speaks against it, plotting to tear down Tevinter with his bare hands. Cole who stays both human and spirit and is all the better. Varric who laughs and smiles like he once had.

And what of Izuku’s friends?

Tenya and Shouto who lost everything (Tensei choking on his own blood after refusing to give up valuable intel. Fuyumi blowing herself up with Dabi to beat him. Natsuo dying trying to protect Rei who died to. Endeavour still around with NOTHING changing) being happy again. Laughing and getting married with everyone they love there.

Ochako who lost an arm and refused to back down, who lost Tsu and mourns her so badly. Who nearly was killed because her naivety over Toga’s manipulation almost cost her life.

Hitoshi who lost his voice and only got pity, no help. Now he's regained it in a way, working with his wife who loves him dearly to be able to be the diplomat he was born to be. (and who makes it stylish to learn sign language)

Momo who is burned and hurt. Whose girlfriend left because they could not keep up, she's to much. Who was taught to keep her head down. She's creating things again. Laughing and smiling. Is kissing someone oh so sweet who has the same mind.

Midnight who lost her sex appeal and caused people to toss her aside. Acting like she's not human anymore. She's now happy with a man who ADORES her and all she is. She's smiling again.

Nezu who has tried over and over again to change the world. He now has in his paws the chance to help and make a difference. Who joins the Chantry when Leliana is Divine and helps shake things up. He's happy.

Aizawa who lost his husband and mourned so deeply. Who felt useless and broken. He has a purpose. He's working to help others, has a man who helps with aches and pains, who loves and accepts him.

Eri who was a lab rat and who had to learn to smile. Her smiles are bigger and wider here, her laugh echoing in her joy.

Izuku did this. He brought about change and happiness. He feels good.

He still hates Orlais.

@dark-elf-writes the second option if you want!

[ghost-bard]

Finally at the landsmeet, hope i can finally find out what makes ppl defend Loghain as a character, beyond what ive seen in cutscenes and Anora talking about him.

He’s interesting, i sort of get why he’s compelling story wise. But. Why do people defend him. I am curious.

Apologies if im just bringing up old fandom talking points im playing the game for the first time 🙏

[hergnomieness]

https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Visit-Fereldan-by-HerGnomieness/158256170.WFLAH

quote courtesy of @quillonalark

[niofo]

thinking from a doylist perspective at the ferelden succession crisis, i think everything is leading towards collapsing all the worldstates soon enough. currently we have 5 different possibilities for ferelden rulers: alistair and anora either alone, together or with cousland, out of those 2 of them are grey wardens and one is rumored to be infertile, and there's no info about any of them having a kid by dai. except for kieran but like, apart from morrigan not wanting him involved, he might not even exist or be born to a warden with no bearing on ferelden politics. and while the issue of him being the ogb or not don't seem to matter anymore, there's too many possibilities to involve him with ferelden monarchy canonically.

so, my assumption are as follow:

1. there can be another theirin sibling or cousin showing up, but we already played this scenario with alistair, it would be lazy writing to try it again.

2. whoever is on the throne just adopting a child and teaching them how to rule. that way we can have a possible next ruler with a consistent looks and backstory no matter how dao ended. there would prob be slight differences based on who their adoptive parent is, but still way more consistent.

3. there being another invasion or coup ending up with an entirely new line on the throne. which would be sad ending to whoever was ruling ferelden for the last 20 or so years, but would create an entirely new and concise setup.

either way i think the most sense would be to let theirin bloodline go. there's too much different things that could go with it, and while there are ways of preserving it in some worldstates, it would be way more difficult in others. and with how big deal the bloodline is (according to the gaider comics - all the connections to dragons) i think we need to let it go as a whole.

possibly one option i can see is someone recreating what calenhad did, and mixing their blood with a great dragon - now that dragons are coming back and it would possibly mean also great dragons. so we could end up with a new family of op ferelden reavers, making the question if theirins survive or not less pressing.

[densewentz]

The finishing acts of Dragon Age: The Veilguard got me just

[zevranunderstander]

dragon age is a series that annoying people who like to discuss politics and character dynamics in sociopolitical climates like to play and it's developed by a studio that is entirely unaware of that

[mysticwiki]

it took me about 8 years, since this is my first time playing the game, but i now understand why all my mutuals who love da:i also hate it..... there is so much to unpack here, but i am also enjoying myself SO much but WOW some of the writing??? the narrative choices????

[couslande]

i do think part of the reason im soo hung up on ferelden not having much of an aesthetic or identity - particularly when it comes to clothing/armour, is that i genuinely think the devs did such a good job with orlais in terms of both costumes and environment. like u look at images of orlais and orlesians and you can understand something about the people and culture, as well as the more practical side such as climate. and its a shame to me that this wasn’t applied to ferelden too because i think inquisitions art design is beautiful and this was a really cool chance to develop ferelden stylistically in ways that origins couldnt

[gayrui]

Doing anything besides wicked eyes and wicked hearts cause I don’t wanna do it 👍

[fiercestpurpose]

So on an earlier playthrough I got the scene where you hang out with the Bull's Chargers, and we were talking about Krem's gender and Iron Bull was basically like, "Yeah it's totally normal to trans your gender in the Qun" and I was like "alright yeah maybe the Qun have some good aspects"

BUT THEN on this playthrough I got the Cassandra/Iron Bull banter where Iron Bull explains that women can't be warriors and so any woman who wants to be a warrior must become a man, so it's not so much trans rights as it is that gender roles in the Qun are so strict that anyone who deviates from their expected role gets sorted into another strict role instead. So, like, fuck the Qun.

[varricscrossbowbianca]

my warden amell is too tired to hide her true opinions about the politics in thedas and would probably blurt all of her opinions out while her companions keep trying to safe her from losing her head

[sewermageboy]

Honestly for ~ 90% of the choices in the games I don't even care that they won't be relevant in Veilguard, or that they're not using the Keep. It's a different part of the world, it's been 10 years, they didn't want to have to account for too many variables, I get that.

But the choices they did leave out feel SO directly relevant for Veilguard? Like, if Morrigan or Inky drank from the Well is gonna massively affect how they see the Evanuris. Whether Kieran exists also changes Morrigan's whole outlook. Whether Hawke is dead or not would have so much effect on Varric. Whether Divine Victoria abolished the Circles, reinstated them, or is even a mage herself would completely change how the Tevinter Chantry sees the southern one.

Like. This means that apart from the three very lackluster choices we were given, NOTHING else will be brought up again (which would mean that they'd have to sand down Morrigan and Varrics personalities to the point of becoming unrecognizable for example), OR they'd have to go with a default world state.

Again, don't care about most of the choices we could make not being in the game, but there's a justified feeling of anger there. The games lead us to believe some choices are more important than others, that they're essentially THE most important choices you can make: Doing the dark ritual with Morrigan and deciding who will rule Ferelden in DAO, siding with mages or templars and killing or letting Anders go in DA2, and in DAI it's mage/templar again, who you leave in the Fade, who becomes ruler of Orlais, who becomes Divine, and who drinks from the Well. And NONE of these choices matter. That's the part that sucks.

[thekingofwinterblog]

How to fix Halamshiral as a Zone

Inquisition is a flawed game.

I don't think there's anyone who is going to argue otherwise.

The only question is wheter you place it higher or lower than DA2.

One of the things I think it does better than DA2, is that it managed to give every place a soul, an identity of it's own, and at least a distinct, if not always amazing storyline.

The emerald graves doesnt have a very interesting plot, but it has some spectacular side quests, and atmosphere, inculding a haunted mansion, which might be my favorite possession based quest in all of DA because it shows much better than others just how dangerous untrained mages actually are to those around them.

The storm coast tells a story of what was once an important dwarven port, and shows how it fell and was repurposed over time.

The Hinterlands shows the aftereffects of the templar mage war, as well as solas stupid plan to give cory his orb, and the mage rebellion and an actually decent time travel story.

I could go on, but the point is, I usually have at least aomething nice to say about every single region.

All except one.

Halamshiral.

Halamshiral was the single worst part of all of Dragon Age Inquisition for me, and every single time I boot up this game, it's always the last thing i do before the temple of sacred ashes, despite how bizarre the game flows as a result.

And the reason is because i hate everything about it.

I hate it's unique attempt at side quests, i hate the characters involved, i hate the Orlesians who inhabit it, and i hate how this section tries to copy what worked so amazingly well with Orzammar and Denerim during the landsmeet section, and fails every single shot it lines up.

The ONLY good thing i have to say about this, is that it's at the very least relatively short.

So here's today's question. How to fix Halamshiral?

Let's begin with the three main players.

Celene, Gasparde, and Briala.

The big problem with every single option, is that they all suck.

Celene and Gasparde are both fucking awful people without any redeeming qualities, they have no charisma, and there is no prospect of the Empire reforming itself under either of them, the way Orzammar would under Bhelen.

Meanwhile, Briala is much, much better, but the problem is that we know exactly what is going to happen here if you support her.

Maybe today elves will have it better, but tomorrow, when Gasparde is gone, or celene turns on elves again as she always does all the progress will be repealed, and reversed, along with a few purged alienages.

Its an old story that's been told before in Dragon age.

In short, there is no reason at all to care about this overall plot. None whatsoever.

There were so many reasons to care about both Orzammar and Denerim in the same situation, and every single character involved had so much more charisma than either of these would be monarchs.

So let's fix that.

Starting with Celene, take the idea of her wanting to reform the empire, and actually take it to the next level.

Celene is genuine in wanting to reform the empire, and has already taken grand, successful steps to make the entire thing much better for everyone, even elves, giving them and serfs more rights, outlawing the practice of chevaliers having a tradition of killing unarmed city elves to graduate.

But the catch is, while she is genuinely making progress, she is doing so within the confines of the great game.

Celene has nonintention of changing the great game, no plans of wanting to remove this thing that holds Orlais back more than any other, this center stone of their nobility and it's culture.

Meanwhile, Gasparde is a different kind of reformer, one that takes the ideas he had of him claiming to hate the game, and actually doing something with it.

He is far less progressive, has no love for elves, is far more warlike than Celene ever was... But unlike Celene, his ideas of reform isn't going to act within the grand game.

He's going to break it.

Unlike canon gasparde, this gasparde is hated by every single noble family in the entire empire. His only support, and it's a strong one, is the army. The parts of the army that supports Gasparde, and they are a huge part, are loyal to him personally to the hilt.

And he hates them back. He hates the game, he hates the way it cripples the empire, and he wants to change things. Like Celene he plans to break the serfs free of their chains, for the good of the nation and it's power and economy if not for any progressive reasons.

And he'a going to start with Halamshiral.

For this Gasparde isn't merely positioning men to stage a coup... He's planning to kill EVERY SINGLE NOBLE in Halamshiral. Evety man, every woman, every child there.

He's going to reform this empire by wiping out it's cancerous nobility in one fell swoop, and install himself as supreme dictator to see his reforms through, and wiping out the entire Orlesian nobility that might have opposed him, french revolution style.

And thus the Inquisitor has a dilemma.

Unlike Orzammar, where only one side was a reformer, both of these Orlesians are... But you have to choose one.

Do you choose Celene? The more progressive candidate, who wants a more peaceful Orlais going forward? But who is not willing to get ridd of the grand game to do so, thus making it a permanent risk that all her reforms will be undone...

Or will you support Gasparde, and by doing so be complicit in destroying the entire nobility of Orlais, many of whom are not guilty of the shit that Celene and Gasparde here both hate so much? Gasparde is far less likely to create a peaceful Orlais going forward... But he will have obliterated the Grand Game for good and all, a prize that might be worth this Red Wedding style bloodbath.

Meanwhile there is Briala, the elven spy who has enough influence to allow, or prevent Gasparde's plans from going through.

Here there should be another moral dilemma, quite different from the base game.

Do you convince her to aid Gasparde, in exchange for the Elves getting a duchy of their own in Halamshiral? Do you then back her up with Inquisition forces and support, forcing Him to publicly announce her as such, and trust his own, twisted version of honor to actually stick to it going forward(Something he ultimately does), or do you throw her to the Wolves the moment things get rough?

Or alternatively, do you convince her to side with Celene, and bury the hatchet? And if so, on what terms? And similarly, if she actually wants to get something out of this, you actually need to back her up... Something you may, or may not choose to do.

And voila, here you have an actual story of intrigue, massive, lasting political changes as a result of the Herald's actions, and morally grey on grey choices.

Everything that Denerim and Orzammar had in spades.

Now moving on from the plot to the actual place.

Halamshiral has no soul.

It's a french villa on a mountaintop. Whoop de freaking do.

It has no interesting murals, unique art only found there, interesting geography, or anything really to make it stand out.

Compare it to Denerim and Orzammar, and the way they fleshed out the entire city's levels of power and criminal underworlds, and you see the difference.

Denerim is a very realistic, squat, squalid medieval city, with it's buildings built on top of every single bit of available space.

Orzammar is a full on high fantasy dwarf city lit up by a lake of lava.

Halamshiral is a villa presented as a city.

How do you fix that?

There is an artist here on Tumblr who pretty much showcased what Halamshiral could have been, if they had taken the idea of the Dalish(who were the original owners) taking inspiration from native americans(amongst others), and use that to build a truly spectacular city, which has long ago been paved over, but the structure is still there.

Make it a city on the water, like the aztex capital of Tenochtitlan, a marvel of canals and stone.

Make it this Venezia like city, with canals everywhere you look, and the entire city running on water. A marvel of Dalish city building, where they took something as simple as a couple of islands in a lake, and built the most beautiful city in the world.

And rather than just limit you to the palace, instead let you actually explore this city.

Expand the entire event from one night, to a week.

Let the Herald explore the city, meet the players, interact with the nobles, become friends with a few like you could with Ferelden's bans, which in turn makes the possibility of sacrificing them for the greater good hit so much harder.

Let you choose what fancy stuff to wear to the balls and meetings, rather than have this stupid motto of forcing you to wear one, pre determined outfit like this game had for some reason.

Let you discover the places where what little Elven Architecture and art still remains can be found, and talk with the elves who still live here, the descendants after the first elves the Orlesians enslaved.

Make the plotting of Gasparde and the positioning of troops be gradual, not instantly discovered and twarted.

And at the end, if you choose to back Gasparde, you mirror that scene from Dragon Age 2, where the Templars sail across the bay, and you either step aside and witness the bloodbath you just allowed to happen, or you fight them and be recognized by the nobility(most of which are horrible, horrible people) as a hero who just saved the day.

Have the venatori plot be to kill both Gasparde and Celene, rather than their involvement mostly be about handing the player the the easy knife for the knot of which monarch to pick without having to get your hands dirty.

Also have the entire group be gathered for once. Every inner member of the Inquisition just like at Denerim.

Each of whom have their own thoughts on the events.

Who supports who? What is the right thing to do? What is better for the inquisition? Are you staining your honor beyond repair if you back Gasparde? Does the Inquisitor maybe have a breakdown after witnessing what they just allowed to happen and they walk through the gardens or rooms filled with corpses? Maybe have the scene at the end with the love interest be about a moment of them truly comforting their lover in the aftermath of it all, understanding(or not) that as boss, it's your job to have to make the tough decisions. And now you have to live with them.

Or if you wanna go the other way, this could be one of the breaking points like Origins had. If you support Gasparde, Blackwall choses to tell you to get bent, and that he will die as benefits a knight. Defending the week, and calling you out on how you are just as bad as he ever was, a child killer who's going to run away from responsibility, to pretend you are some better person than what you actually are. You're a murder. Just like he was. You are just as responsible for the blood that's flowing as he was with that carriage back in the day.

It would have been a far more impressive reveal moment for his crimes, that's for sure.

Cole probably would be the one who would be second most upset, but wheter he leaves or ultimately stays should probably be depended on your other choices and your relationship with him prior to this, probably have his personal quest be the determinating factor of what he chooses to do.

And i could go on, but point is, this would be a return to Origins choices actually mattering. There were choices that could make or break a characters bond with you. Shale would not budge regarding Caridin, Leliana and wynne would stand against you if you choose to defile the urn, Sevran would choose to betray you for his old friend if he didn't like you enough, and of course the age old choices at the end of act 3 in da2, where you have to pick between templars and Mages, as well as anders fate, and chances are regardless of what you do, at least 1 person ends up dead.

If anyone reading this has any suggestions for how to further improve this storyline, feel free to share, but regardless, i think we can all agree that this is a vast improvement of what we actually got.

[triaelf9]

Countdown to DAtV, day 19!

Inquisition Snapchat! Yes I know this is a terrible scribble & really silly joke, but that first one still makes me laugh so hard XD BOO ORLAIS SUCKS XD The Inquisitor shitposting through the ball would be incredible tho XD

If you want to join in on the Countdown hashtag, share a DA creation of yours that you've been wanting to repost! Let's share our old creations to get hyped for the new game!

[crossdressingdeath]

I think dai would benefit from a little intro ( a la dao origins narrated by duncan) before every main qest to explain what the hap is fuckening, like before the ball: gaspard wants to conquer ferelden again and also sucks, celene torched the alienage and here comes briala with a steel chair

I think DAI would benefit most from not having a main quest where all the setup and backstory happened in a book, but beyond that they actually had the perfect opportunity to give us the pertinent information straight up: Quiz gets briefed by their advisors before each quest. It already has an intro for each quest! But when you get to WEaWH the advisors don't really... explain the situation? Like, Gaspard's an expansionist who no one outside of Orlais should want within a mile of the throne. Celene is technically a progressive leader, pushing for cultural advancement and easier access to education, but she'll also slaughter thousands of elves if someone wounds her pride and doesn't see anything wrong with that. You could argue that they don't know Briala's an option when you go in, but I'd argue that Leliana probably does; she's awfully quick to suggest it once you've met Briala for yourself. And yet all we get is a five second summary of their personalities like that's what matters as we work to decide who should rule Orlais! DAI really wanted this big political quest but it seems to believe that politics are inherently icky so it tried to turn it into a popularity contest instead, and that's a real shame because if the writing had been willing to engage with the premise of Quiz having to decide who they think should be in charge or Orlais based on the policies they'll enact and what they've done with the power they have WEaWH would probably be my favourite quest by a mile. Instead it's just... kind of disappointing.

[dragonagecompanions]

Why do you think Varric made the Inquisitor a Comte? Wouldn’t that make them outrank him? Dumar seemed pretty powerless and I always thought that Varric got shoved in the rule to make him in charge of the recovery of Kirkwall but not actually of Kirkwall?

Sweet gentle anon, I know it was not your intention but you have stumbled into one of my favorite conversational topics and I hope you are ready for the fall out.

Welcome, children, to Fereldone talks about Thedas' Geo/Theopolitical bullshit!

(tl:dr at the bottom)

So, very important things to know going in: Kirkwall's political history is weird. Founded by the Tevinter Imperium in -620 Ancient (which is DA equivalent of BC/BCE, or the time before the ages ascribed to history by the chantry), it was a mining city. After a slave tried to kill the Archon the Magisterium decided they needed to start importing- and presumably breaking the will of- slaves farther from the heart of the imperium and thus the City of Chains gained purpose.

I could throw a lot of facts and names at you, but here's the basics-- it housed millions of slaves over hundreds of years, at the end of the ancient age they rebelled and overthrew it. Kirk means black in Alamarri, the stone they mined there was jet black, and so Kirkwall (black walls) becomes a Free city. It suffered during the fourth blight in the Exalted Age (fifth age, for those keeping score at home), was conquered by the Qunari in the Storm Age (seventh age) and was then conquered by the Orlesians. Orlais was on a roll with the whole 'we own everything whoops killed your ancestral leaders', but in the Blessed age (eighth age) the people retaliate and overthrow the empire to regain independence.

For reasons I can only assume are laziness and a desire not to change all the paperwork, the leader of Kirkwall is still referred to by the Orlesian word Viscount/Viscomte. Bear with me, this is important later.

We are now in the early dragon age (9th age, and when Inquisition happens). The first two rulers of free Kirkwall sucked. Basically they blockaded their own port and made people pay a fortune to get in and trade. This didn't sit well with the Chantry, who would much rather do that themselves, and in 9:14 Divine Beatrix II (later saved by Cassandra!) tells the Templars to strong arm him into submission talk some sense into the viscount.

The knight commander is killed in the exchange, and so his second command Meredith Stannard steps up to try her hand at negotiations. It goes poorly, so she arrests and jails the Viscount and essentially takes control of the city with full Chantry approval. Now the Templars are essentially in control of the city, and so they appoint a puppet leader (Dumar) to play act in control. But Meredith is actually in charge, and everyone knows it.

Including Elthina, who named her Knight Commander. This is why the Chantry never actually does anything about templar abuses.

So! If you are still with me, this is where Viscount becomes important. There are some wibbly bits about how you treat Sebastian Vael in DA2, but essentially Kirkwall decides that it's time to be an actual city state and not a poorly run Theocracy. As the only man with a plan (and the money and influence to do it), Varric steps in to help his home town. Ecstatic at not being responsible for that, the nobles (comtes) band together and put him in charge.

So while yes, in Orlais Viscount be beneath comte, Kirkwall has been so broken up and conquered and messed with over the years that names and titles are meaningless. In my personal opinion, Varric ennobles the inquisitor so that they will always have a staunch ally amongst the backbiting Kirkwaller nobles. It's also a nice and generous a decent thing to do, of course, but Varric is very good at making something do a lot of things for him all at once.

(Also, Varric knows exactly what that key does. He just ensured that someone smart enough and invested enough in peace will always be able to either open or close the harbor--making sure that the people who depend on him will be safe no matter what.)

Personally, the Trespasser epilouge is useless. It's the result of not having a head writer to review things, and the sweet but misguided attempt to give us closure if DA4 never happened. Hawke doesn't come back to Kirkwall. They are in Weisshaupt (if not in the Fade), and that plotIine will likely be in the final game. The Inquisition in whatever form it still has will be heading north, possibly with Kirkwall as an operating base, and this way the Inquisitor (who is confirmed to not be playabe in DA4) will have a reason to be there and not in Tevinter.

That's my read, anyway.

tl;dr Kirkwall has weird history that led to odd ways of organizing their nobility, Varric wants friends in places almost as high as him, shit's going down in the north and I think the inquisitor will be in Kirkwall so the writers needed a reason to put them there.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Mod Fereldone