#shadow dragons

[kathrenax]

Finally finished my series! There's a chance I'll revisit these doodles in the future and maybe redraw them in more cohesive art style, but that's really all I can do for now. Hope y'all enjoyed these as much as I did <3

Elric Thorne (Grey Warden, Fighter) x Lucanis Dellamorte (from demon hater to demon fu lover)

Carith Mercar (Shadow Dragons, Rogue, dashing young man) x Emmrich Volkarin

[writerfromshikahr]

A Shadow Dragon (female) Rook's perspective after the big choice. I am currently doing a SD play through and it always struck me as odd that no one speaks to a SD Rook after this, if they have saved Treviso. This is also a pre-relationship moment with Lucanis because I always romance him, let me have my things.

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Shadows & Dragons - Lucanis X Rook

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"Neve is taking it hard. Tarquin is beside himself, and Viper… it’s a lot," Lace said, her voice heavy as she addressed the rest of the companions. "Neve’s going to be gone for a while, cleaning up the mess. And, well...we need to do what we can for Minrathous—to help."

Rook stood silently by the fireplace, her gaze fixed on the flames. Had no one considered the weight of the choice she’d made? The destruction of her city hung over her like a shroud. She didn’t regret her decision—Treviso had needed to be saved. The Shadow Dragons had always endured before. That’s why she had sent Lace and Bellara there. With the Templars and Magisters in Minrathous, she had thought her home could stand strong. Treviso had nothing, no one to protect them apart from the Crows—and they weren’t exactly known for slaying dragons.

"Yes, we need to offer whatever help we can to Minrathous and Neve," Lucanis said, his tone steady but concerned. His dark eyes flicked to her. Rook, do you have any ideas?"

Rook turned to him, her expression tense. "You’re asking me?" Her voice cracked under the weight of unspoken emotion. "I’m the reason this happened. Minrathous is my home. I grew up there, played in the streets, and I have—" She faltered, then corrected herself bitterly. "Had family there. Yet not one of you has asked how I’m doing. I know I made the call," she continued, her voice rising. "But those were my people. The Shadow Dragons blame me for the fall of their city, my city, and they’re right. I let them down. Saving Treviso was the right decision—I don’t regret it—but I’m numb. I don’t know what to think, let alone how to feel. And now you’re asking me again…?"

"I… Rook…" Lucanis started, his voice soft but unsure.

"I’ll fix this," Rook interrupted, her voice trembling slightly. "I’ll figure out a way to fix it. But right now? I can’t."

The words felt heavy, almost like an admission of defeat. She looked at Lucanis, searching his expression for something—understanding, perhaps—but found only his quiet concern. "You all talk among yourselves. I need to get some air."

Without waiting for a reply, she excused herself and left the kitchen, her footsteps quick and purposeful. She needed space—room to think, to process—but most of all, to escape the weight of everyone’s eyes on her.

Rook climbed the stairs in a blur, her heart heavy with guilt and frustration. Reaching the balcony, she sighed in relief at the silence, leaning back against the cool stone wall. She closed her eyes, letting the faint glow of the Fade light warm her skin. For a fleeting moment, it was peaceful, a rare reprieve from the chaos below.

Blighted dragons. No one had been prepared for what they’d faced, least of all her. The one in Treviso had been nearly impossible to kill—if it hadn’t flown off, she wasn’t sure they could have stopped it.

Her mind wandered to Tarquin’s words, sharp and accusatory. Neve had been just as upset, though her tone had been a touch less brutal. Only Viper had refrained from placing the blame squarely on her shoulders—not that it brought much comfort.

She understood the urgency, the team’s need to help Minrathous. But what stung the most, cutting deeper than she’d expected, was the complete lack of acknowledgment that Minrathous was her city, too. She’d grown up there, lived its stories, and lost family in its streets.

The damage was done. She couldn’t take it back. But as she stared out at the quiet horizon, one thought consumed her—how can I make this right?

She let out a long sigh, startled when she realized she hadn’t even heard him approach.

"Rook… I’m sorry," Lucanis said softly. His voice was heavy with sincerity. "For what happened to Minrathous."

He lowered himself to sit beside her, his presence grounding despite the weight of the moment. "I don’t think I could have made such a decision," he admitted.

She turned to him slowly, her gaze distant yet resolute. "That’s what I do, Lucanis—make the hard choice and follow through. Whether I can fix everything afterward is another story altogether." She exhaled shakily. "But Neve… the way she looked at me. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me. And I wouldn’t expect her to."

Lucanis offered her a soft, reassuring smile. "Neve will come around. She’s a sensible woman, Rook, and you were put in an impossible position. You went with your heart—"

"It wasn’t my heart, Lucanis," she interrupted, her voice firm but not unkind. "I went with what I knew. Treviso has no army, no defenses… It wasn’t about yo—" She caught herself, the words hanging unspoken in the air. Her expression flickered with vulnerability as she hesitated before finishing, "Our friendship."

"But thank you," he said softly. "Thank you for saving my home, my people. If you hadn’t…" He paused, his voice tightening. "I can’t even imagine what would have happened if you hadn't helped. I will always be grateful for what you did."

She offered him a half-smile, but it lacked warmth—more resignation than anything else. "At least someone is pleased," she replied, her tone edged with bitterness.

"I’m not pleased that another city—your home—had to be sacrificed for mine," he said, his gaze steady on hers. "But I’m grateful to have a leader—and a friend—who can make the tough call when it matters most."

[wild-magic-oops]

lmaooo

[heliomanteia]

I mean it makes sense that Shadow Dragons use a subtype of a dragon (wyrm) as their symbol because it’s both connected to Tevene culture (you can buy Tevinter wyrm for the Lighthouse) and simultaneously it is not a winged high dragon (notoriously tied to the old gods and Tevinter magisters). It’s as close to “fuck you, we’re the real Tevinter” as you can go, symbolism wise.

[proffbon]

Me after finishing a Veilguard playthrough:

Okay, technically I still need to do the final quest but after that it's another one for sure. I just don't know which one to go for.

(Honest/Humorous/Stoic is basically Blue/Purple/Red personality-wise but matching to Veilguard's descriptions for each personality)

[rimarzaarts]

Just two average coffee lovers in Thedas

[angelofdumpsterfires]

the shadow dragons are the funniest faction in veilguard tbh they’re an underground abolitionist revolutionary sect and also the best queer support group in northern thedas, one of their members is bascially tevinter batman, they’re single-handedly responsible for the choice of tevinter’s next archon, their secret hideout is hidden by a singular magic glyph, they don’t even use dragons in their insignia-

[shewolfofvilnius]

something i don't think gets talked about NEARLY ENOUGH regarding Dragon Age: Veilguard: If you pick certain options and let enough banters play out, MULTIPLE companions will for all intents and purpose signal their plan to change factions post-game.

Taash can become an honorary Antivan Crow and seems to be legit into the idea by game's end (also Harding like the cape). Like, if they were a returning companion in DA5 I could EASILY see them having joined up (or at least become associated).

Bellara can flat out ask Neve to join the Shadow Dragons. (edit: OR apparently can ask to join the Mourn Watch?!?!)

Davrin can signal he's planning to spend a LOT of time with the Veil Jumpers and the griffons once this is all over (and a big part of his banter sequence with Bellara AND his tertiary content with Rook involve his realizing that the Veil Jumpers' aims are different than the Dalish he grew up with).

Like, that's FANTASTIC. No one is ever permanently any one thing, and I love the idea of some of the companions realizing "hey, actually, this works better" and they've built those connections and networks and so hey, Antivan Crow Taash? Sure, Teia will make them a cape. Shadow Dragon Bellara? Hey, they took the ex-templar Rana, they'll easily take her. Etc.

[housederiva]

Thinking about how the leader of the Shadow Dragons is called The Viper. Thinking about how Dorian’s clothing and all three of his tarot cards have a viper on them. Thinking about how in the gameplay trailer a friend told Varric that Shadow Dragons are people he wants to know. Thinking about how Dorian returned to his home to fight against the oppressive system he benefited from for so long and how the Shadow Dragons fight that same system

[dragonagegallery]

The Shadow Dragons

[the-overanalyzer]

The factions of Northern Thedas

The Veil Jumpers: You know what's great? Not leaving all this old crap lying around waiting to explode. The Antivan Crows: This invasion is wonderful for us because now we can convince people we're somehow the scrappy underdogs. The Grey Wardens: We cannot catch a fucking break. The Shadow Dragons: We may be bankrolled by aristocrats, but we're still more credible scrappy underdogs than the Crows. The Mourn Watch: The secret to a stable government is state-subsidized goths. The Lords of Fortune: You know what's great? Not living through Act 2 of Dragon Age 2 again.

[loustica-lucia]

DATV — Tarquin x Ashur / The Viper

Tarquin & Ashur/The Viper behind the scenes... kissing like true Shadow Dragons: far from sight! 👀 Because I refuse to believe these two aren't dating🙈 (And if they truly aren't, they SHOULD.)😤

[joy-jpg]

[erika-xero]

For @dancing--lights! Livia - also known as Rook - and detective Neve Gallus.

Working on this illustration was s a pure delight! ~

[rookfeathers]

moments we stole from the blight

[andarateia]

If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading BioWare's free Dragon Age short stories released ahead of The Veilguard between 2020-2022. Each story focuses on a faction that will be featured in the game (e.g., Antivan Crows, Grey Wardens, Mortalitasi, Shadow Dragons, Veil Jumpers - unfortunately, there isn't a short story about the Lords of Fortune) and the characters in these stories may even turn up as faction agents in The Veilguard 👀