#solas is getting more enrichment

[shift-shaping]

despite the rain

solas and lady volant attend an extravagant party put on by the duke of wycome.

rating: t

pairing: solavellan

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first fic in this series

By the time Lady Volant and Solas arrived, the party at Castle Magnolia was well underway.

They had put off their appearance as long as they could, but each successive messenger sent to retrieve them from the apartment was more insistent than the last. They'd given excuses --needed to rest, to mend a sleeve, to answer a letter-- in the vain hope that they might wait out the party itself, or be forgotten once the drink was truly flowing. Rain, steady and cold, bought them more time still, but eventually there would be no more delaying.

Lady Guinevere Volant was dressed fashionably, yet modestly, in a long sleek dress with delicate floral details. Solas himself was once again in servant's clothes, albeit a somewhat more fitted set meant to compliment Lady Volant's. He was essentially her accessory, which suited his actual role of protecting her and watching their surroundings.

They blended in well at the party, though more so in terms of fashion than sobriety. Despite the eerie silence of their earlier tour through the city, this event was reasonably well attended. The rain had driven it indoors, with some brave, drunken souls spilling out into the darkness of the courtyard. Lady Volant easily sidestepped a stumbling couple and approached the guards at the door. At her introduction, they allowed her inside.

The ceilings of the main hall soared into vaults painted with elaborate scenes of the sea, a heavily dramatized celebration of the city's heritage. Paintings of well-dressed men and women lined the walls, some awkwardly crooked. Enormous gold-plated birds of prey stood before towering columns in a manner typical of Free Marcher excess. These birds looked unique though, with tall, thick bills and broad bodies --sea eagles? Above and around them were balconies dotted with colorfully-dressed party-goers, and to either side were wide hallways leading to other wings of the manor. Tall round tables were scattered about, most covered in discarded drinks and dirty plates. A few bards played clumsily-overlapping tunes, and a handful of half-nude men and women danced before leering eyes. He watched one dancer elegantly avoid a large puddle of what appeared to be wine on the floor, as if she'd gotten used to dancing around it.

Solas had seen far more opulent great halls, but for this age it was impressive enough. What alarmed him, however, was the suspicious lack of servants. The crooked paintings, the puddles on the floor, the unbussed tables --it was strange for such things to go unnoticed for so long at an event like this.

"Lady Ambassador!" Solas and Lady Volant turned to see a familiar bearded face smiling brightly at them. Duke Antoine seemed more at ease now, but maybe that was the result of the nearly-empty wine glass in his hand. With a prickle of apprehension Solas noticed the same elven slave from earlier lurking just over the Duke's shoulder. Solas felt less of a pull from the slave's magic on the Veil, but there was still an icy focus in his eyes.

That the slave was serving his master in this manner was not surprising in the least; Solas was extremely and personally familiar with the use of slaves to do dangerous magical bidding. What was surprising was the slave's dedication. He was obviously a talented mage, and could have defected to the Inquisition or even the nearby alienage with little effort. Solas sensed no charm present to track him, no curse to seal him to the Duke. Unless he was missing something, that left only mundane leverage to keep the slave in his place: threats to family, to friends, to a home somewhere.

If it was possible to untangle the slave from his master's web, the effort would be worth it to acquire a gifted agent. But to do that, Solas would need to find out what that web consisted of, and he saw no clear path towards that goal. His purpose was to investigate the Duke and protect Lady Volant, not necessarily to recruit.

The Duke and Lady Volant exchanged pleasantries, and the Duke offered her a glass of wine. She accepted, and the Duke looked around for a server.

He made eye contact with a young elven woman in the corner of the room. She held a bottle of wine and a few empty glasses on a round silver platter. As far as Solas could tell, she was the only server near them. She nodded to the Duke, and as she approached the bottle wavered on the platter. She reached up and steadied it, grasping it by the neck, and nearly knocked one of the glasses off in the process. Lady Volant continued her conversation with the Duke as the server handed her one of the glasses --smudged around the base-- and very slowly attempted to pour the wine into the glass.

"No more than half," Lady Volant said gently. "Too much and I'll get a terrible rash." The server nodded. The wine splashed into the glass instead of pouring smoothly, and some landed on the server's ill-fitted sleeve. She had poured maybe a third of a glass before stopping and looking at Lady Volant, who thanked her.

Relieved, the server put the bottle unsteadily back on to the platter and turned to leave. Typically, an event like this would dress servers in neatly fitted dress meant to accentuate the wealth and grandeur of the host. The uniform this woman wore scarcely looked like it belonged to her at all, with sleeves so long they had to be rolled, a baggy undershirt that barely fit under the jacket, and trousers a few inches too short.

The Duke did not seem to care, having instead launched into a lecture about the wine they were drinking, but the slave watched the server closely. She did not return to her post, and disappeared down one of the large hallways leading to another wing of the manor.

They began a tour, the ambassador once again treated as an honored guest. Unlike that morning, the Duke took the time to introduce her to other members of the upper class. Given the silence of the noble estates earlier, it was unsurprising that many of these guests were visitors from elsewhere.

Lady Volant had been clever in telling the server she wouldn't be drinking much. Avoiding any of the food or beverages at the party was wise considering there were Venatori present.

"Messere," a small voice said. Solas took his eyes from the ambassador's conversation to see a short, freckled elf with delicately braided orange hair. She bowed slightly, and the platter in her hand stayed steady. Upon it were hors d'oeuvres wrapped in napkins. "You are a guest this evening as well. Is there anything we can get for you?"

"No, thank you," he replied. Though she was short, even for an elf in this age, her clothing was a much better fit for her than the previous server he'd seen.

"Of course," she said, but she ignored his reply and handed him a shrimp tartlet. He raised an eyebrow. She nodded to him, then retreated without fully leaving the room.

Solas observed the tartlet closely, uncertain of what to do with it, before he noticed tiny scribbles on the napkin. As discreetly as possible, he unfolded the paper and read the message.

My name is Emilie. I have lived and worked here for years. I do not know who any of these servants are. Please help.

Solas quickly folded the napkin and put it into the pocket of his trousers. He looked to where the server had gone, worried she might have left the room in hopes he would follow. But then he saw her just outside the main party space, near an unstaffed bar in a state of disarray. It had a direct line of sight to where they were standing.

"Ambassador," he said softly, speaking to Lady Volant just over her shoulder. "I am going to get myself a drink." She looked up at him, and he glanced towards the bar. "Would you like anything else?"

She followed his gaze to the bar and shook her head. "No, I'm quite alright, thank you. But you should see to your own needs."

"Of course." He left her with the Duke, the slave, and several guests. The bar was close enough that he could still intervene if something went awry.

Emilie stood up straighter as he approached and put her tray of tartlets on the bar. "Messere."

He took the note from his pocket and swiftly burned it. Her eyes widened at his casual magic use, but she didn't comment on it. 

"Who are the other servants, if not the Duke's own?" He said quietly. He still held the tartlet.

"I don't know. I was only gone for a week to visit a friend in Bastion. When I came back, everyone was --replaced." She looked around for a moment before going on. "I don't know what to do. You are Inquisition, though, yes? You help people? Mages and-- and elves, right?"

It was somewhat heartening to know that 'helping people' was the Inquisition's reputation to this person, especially given that 'helping mages and elves' was primarily due to Enaste's decision-making. But it also reminded him of the target on their back.

"You should go, da'len," he urged. "If the other servants have been replaced, you are likely not supposed to be here." He looked towards the entrance hall. "Go to the alienage and hide. If anyone bothers you, tell them you were sent by Enaste Lavellan." He paused, then went on. "And if you see Enaste Lavellan, tell her Solas sent you."

"Enaste Lavellan, that's... The Inquisitor herself?" She asked, and Solas nodded. She opened her mouth, then shook her head. "But I don't know the alienage, I haven't even been there in years. I live here, in the servant's quarters. And... and what if the other servants are hurt? What if something happened to them?"

Solas looked at Emilie seriously. "What would you do to save them?"

"I..." She hesitated, then looked at him with a stubborn determination. "I know the castle. If they're still here, somewhere, I could help you find them."

"If the servants here have been infiltrated as thoroughly as I suspect, they will know the castle too. Unless you have a very good idea of where they are, you are better off keeping yourself alive by fleeing to safety."

"But they're... Some of them are my family. I know them, I..."

"And if you are hurt or killed trying to rescue them, where will that leave you?"

She looked down, visibly frustrated. He waited, giving her space to think. Then her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. "Okay. You're right."

He was relieved. As long as she got out of the estate, she should be safe and able to give them more information about the infiltration later.

She looked at his hand, then at the tray of tartlets. He went to put the tartlet down, and she cocked her head. "You don't like shrimp?"

"Abelas, please take no offense. I am simply uncertain of the precise... Ingredients."

"Oh," Emilie frowned, then took one of the tartlets and popped it in her mouth. Solas felt a little silly watching her eat it. She shrugged as she swallowed. "See? No poison."

"Fair enough, but you'll forgive my caution."

She glanced at the tray. "I do. Well," she looked past him, towards the entrance hall. "I'll take your advice. Enaste Lavellan?" She repeated.

"Lavellan," he corrected her pronunciation slightly, the Inquisitor's surname rolling off his tongue.

"Understood." She bowed quickly. "And thank you. Try to stay safe."

"We will."

…

The rain outside grew louder and the wind picked up as the party wound down to a more intimate size. The servers, few and far between, had eventually bussed some of the tables, but they were so far behind that they had no hope of catching up. At least the fireplaces were lit.

Lady Volant joined the Duke and a handful of other guests by one such fireplace, sharing hard leather couches. Solas stood off to the side, watching the ambassador and keeping an eye on the slave standing behind the Duke.

The slave's posture suddenly straightened, and the young man turned towards the entrance hall. Solas followed his gaze to see a tall, well-dressed human man flanked by several people --either servants or unarmed guards-- approaching them. The only one of the manor's servers Solas could see stiffened at the sight of the new guest.

The Duke turned in his seat and smiled, a bit too wide. "Magister Malchus! How wonderful that you've made it despite the rain! Come, have a seat."

The advisor was completely dry despite said rain, likely the result of a spell. "I apologize for my lateness, your Grace. I do appreciate the invitation." He spoke with a heavier accent than most of the Tevinters Solas had met.

"Lady Ambassador, this is Magister Lanius Malchus, of the Circle of Magi at Marnas Pell," the Duke announced as the Magister joined them by the fire. "Magister, this is Lady Guinevere Volant, the Inquisition ambassador to Wycome."

Lady Volant smiled warmly at the Magister. "What an honor to meet one of Tevinter's highest officials."

Malchus returned her smile. "I am honored to meet a woman as beautiful as yourself. And well-read: not many southerners understand Tevinter's titles."

Solas eyed the Magister's other servants. They were humans, as far as he could tell, broader and more built than the elves. He saw no sign of shackles. None of them had weapons nor were any actively using a spell.

As they talked, mostly trading pleasantries, the slave who had been babysitting the Duke retreated from his post. He still lingered close by, lurking in the shadows beside a cluttered standing table. From his vantage, he should have a clear view of the conversation. Seizing his opportunity, Solas crossed the room to join the slave. 

The young man regarded him coldly. At first neither said anything, their ears trained to the cautious political dance going on by the fire. Then, to Solas's surprise, the slave broke the silence.

"You are a powerful mage," he observed quietly, his accent thick around the words.

"As are you," Solas replied.

One of the servers approached them, and Solas tensed. She offered them both drinks, already filled with dark red wine. "Drinks, messeres?" She asked softly.

The slave looked at him. He still had that ridiculous wig, but it was better kept and styled now. The server, not waiting for an answer, put both glasses on the table. One was clearly closer to Solas, the other to the slave. Then the server left them alone.

Neither moved. "You do not have to do this," Solas hissed.

"You know nothing of me."

"I do." He stared hard at the slave, eyes narrowed. "I know you have carried the weight of shackles like a noose around your neck. I know your blood runs hot from how often worse men than yourself have spilt it." The slave finally looked at him, his expression hard and cold. "I know what it is like to want what you believe impossible to have."

"You will win no allies here, Inquisition," the slave responded sharply. "You are surrounded." His eyes gleamed in the dark. "You will die here, in your old world, and we will bring the dawn anew."

Solas snorted, and the slave flinched in surprise. "You honestly believe that? Is that what your master told you?" The slave looked away. "That your Elder One will break your chains?"

"My chains are broken," he snarled. "I am no slave, stultissime."

Though that surprised him, Solas just shook his head. "The Magister owes you nothing. He will use you again so long as you remain in his grip."

"You have no idea what he owes me." He reached for the glass of wine beside him, but Solas was quicker, and took the glass meant for the younger elf. He narrowed his eyes, but slowly took the glass meant for Solas.

The glass was no cleaner than any of the others Solas had seen that evening. The wine was impenetrably dark. He held it up to toast. "Sanitas, lethallin."

The glasses clinked together. Solas took a drink, confident that by switching the glasses, he'd thwarted the server's plot.

Then he saw the same server staring at him from over the younger elf's shoulder, eyes wide, one hand raised, and realized he made a terrible mistake. The wine tasted like ashes in his throat, and as soon as it settled in his stomach a horrid burn arced through his blood.

His vision blurred, like heat rising from stone, and he felt suddenly like his bones weren't connected to each other. There was a commotion as the fire overtook his mind, boiling his thoughts until he was conscious of little else but pure pain.

As his knees gave out underneath him, Solas watched the man he thought was a slave sip from the glass meant for him. His lips tilting into a smirk was the last thing Solas saw before everything went white, then black.

translation notes: stultissime - fool sanitas - health (used as a toast)

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[carabas]

Dragon Age Veilguard liveblogging -

Mourn Watch!Rook was found by the undead as an infant? For a second there that had me worried Rook was going to turn out to have a mysterious Chosen One backstory instead of being just some dude Varric picked up in a bar, but the other factions don't mention mysterious abandoned infant Rooks. I love this actually. Why did the Mourn Watch not take him to an orphanage. Is this normal in Nevarra, does the Mourn Watch have foundlings around on a regular basis, or is it just Rook, was baby Rook the Mourn Watch's collective mascot, I can't wait to talk to Emmrich. And I'm resisting the temptation to give Rook vallaslin but delighted to discover the option is there even with this faction backstory, maybe your Rook could have lived with a Dalish clan in between life at the necropolis, it's possible. And LAVELLAN. MY GIRL. MY GIRL IS BACK AND PREPARED FOR HEARTACHE, I AM EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS IN THE CHARACTER CREATOR.

...wait, that can't be all the past choices we input, can it? Just the Inquisitor/their LI/whether the Inquisition was disbanded/whether they want to save Solas? There will be an opportunity to fill in more of the worldstate later, right? They probably just don't want us to get too bogged down in the character creator/prologue. I'm not going to worry. I'm a little worried.

PLAYING FOR ALL OF TWO SECONDS AND WOLF STATUE SPOTTED, I HAVE MISSED YOU

The frescos! The photo mode, the ability to get up close to see the frescos from any angle I like, even playing on xbox with no modding tools!! Incredible, I am going to be poring over every scene like a museum exhibit you've got to drag me out of, I am poking through all Solas's artifacts in extreme closeup, and also what is this wolf-headed instrument doing on the bed in his Minrathous hideaway, does he play music, why has Lavellan not heard him play music, has he been holding out on us

The ritual! ...still has that one extra Elgar'nan circle-headpiece statue on the bottom row of statues that doesn't match the top row, huh, I'd kind of thought that was just a slapdash placeholder kind of thing for the preview that would be edited for the final game. Why doesn't triangle-headpiece get a statue on the bottom row, why's Elgar'nan hogging an extra spot. Rude.

Rook: "Helpful advice from the elven god of, and I am quoting you here, 'Lies, treachery, and rebellion.'"

Solas: "Depending on the story."

The way Solas takes time out from his frustrated angry lecturing to let some amusement show through there, and then that You have exchanged verbal jabs with Solas popup, the most important achievement, giving our trickster god some enrichment in his enclosure

HE LIVED! I KNEW VARRIC WAS GOING TO LIVE i mean he looks pretty bad and it was a magic dagger so who knows what'll happen later but he was NOT KILLED OFFSCREEN IN A HASTY CUTAWAY IN THE PREVIEW! Phew.

Aaaand now that we're in casual clothes, my poor mage gets hideous pajamas. Ah, now it really feels like Dragon Age is back.

FELASSAN SIGNING CODEX ENTRIES IN THE LIGHTHOUSE ;_; And the Divine Imperatives codex entry musing on the nature of divinity in general and its effects on Solas and his followers specifically, and a puzzle to solve already and it's such a cute one with these statues, how am I supposed to ever leave the Lighthouse and progress the plot when Solas's base is already giving me everything I want. He kept a music room locked away! He has been holding out on us. "Finally, a beloved memory surfaces. A smiling glance, meeting at a crescendo, a shared moment of understanding" - given the way we opened this room, was that moment shared with Mythal? And he's recreated his specific frescos from Skyhold here in this hidden room! And despite the fresh paint supplies in front of them they're already in not great condition, and all the other frescos in the Lighthouse are so incredibly horribly faded here in the Fade where time is not real, Solas is really not doing okay

and neither am I, HELP, HELP, I NEED A TANK, I NEED A DOG, I NEED CARVER, CASSANDRA, ALISTAIR, SOMEONE COME GET THESE DARKSPAWN OFF OF ME, I don't think any Dragon Age has spent this long without giving you a warrior companion. Between Varric, Harding, Neve, and now Bellara, one ranged support companion after another, I'm really, really feeling pressured to make Rook the melee guy here, and I refuse. Just frantically spamming Fade Step all through Arlathan Forest.

IS THAT MY WIFE?? okay obviously it would be reading far too much into things to suspect the first raven I see of being Morrigan, but to be fair, they've had sneaky raven Morrigans before, she spent Wicked Eyes Wicked Hearts hiding out in raven form on Celene's balcony - aaaaand shortly afterward, here's Morrigan in the Veil Jumpers' camp! I've connected the dots, I've connected them. It was probably just a raven.

"I have borne many appellations." "I have had many names, but you may call me Flemeth." Welcome back, Mythal.

...But if Morrigan's here already, Mythal headgear and all, and we still haven't been asked to input any more worldstate information like, say, whether she drank from the Well of Sorrows, or the existence of her son - that's seriously it then, those extremely few questions in the character creator were seriously all the worldstate customization we're getting? That's shocking. I'm being so well fed with lore about Solas and the gods right now that surprisingly I don't mind this all that much, but it does feel like they're losing a huge part of what makes Dragon Age Dragon Age. And I was really hoping our Dalish Grey Warden companion would have maybe just one line about what the existence of a Dalish Hero of Ferelden meant to him.

Actually in general the gameplay here is reminding me a lot more of Mass Effect than Dragon Age - the new combat style, the single linear story path to follow with almost no side quests so far aside from the puzzle to unlock Solas's hidden room, Bellara's busy making calibrations and Rook's in their room looking at fish, and now we're heading out on our ME2 recruitment mission. And I mean, I like Mass Effect fine, and every Dragon Age game is always drastically different from the last, but this is an adjustment

SOLAS HAD HAIR AND WE GET TO SEE IT we get to wander through memories of solas's past this game is so good to me I can't stay mad at it.

the god of rook's people now speaks to rook in their sleep and in their meditations and rook even walks through his memories, rook is surrounded by all these charming romanceable companions and yet the most intense connection that is being formed right now, by far, is with solas, and it's in such a wildly different way than Lavellan who got to know him as just Solas first, the person not the legend, Solas the vulnerable apostate in the middle of a powerful organization she leads; Rook is having intense personal conversations with his very own god of lies and he knows it, insane about this.

The prison mission is so beautiful with the enormous sea creatures in the distance and bones at the bottom of the sea and, most importantly and most beautifully, Lucanis drawing some melee fire away from me ;_; tears of joy ;_; finally a companion I can rely on ;_; And Neve complimented his demon on having good taste in possessing him! Oh my god Neve, stealing Hawke's pickup lines? You can do so much better than a Hawke pickup line!

[mindtrove]

Inquisitor tag game

Damn haven't done one of these in a while.

Tagged by the lovely @emmg and I have to strongly agree. While I look forward to Veilguard. My Inquisitor will always be my baby. Moro is very special to me and as the years have gone her lore and her personality have really been enriched (especially in BG3, because of course I had to shimmey her over there)

So here's the answers to all the questions with how Moro would react accordingly:

1. Their reaction to the Evanuris

I think deep down Moro will be extremely relieved that she's taking a backseat this time around. Don't get me wrong (I've decided her daughter will be my Rook) she's not going to leave Rook to completely take care of everything but I definitely see her being overwhelmed by the entire thing.

To begin with Moro wasn't born Dalish and didn't really choose to join them, as she was too young to make the choice. So she was more agnostic than anything else and had more of a "it'd be nice to believe we have our own gods and they watch over us" as suppoed to resolute blind belief. So the Evanuris coming back would be a very "Oh...shit...well...that's awkward.."

2. How are they saying hi to Solas (punch/kiss/hiss/once again—middle finger/offer him a stylish hat??)

As fun as it would be to keep things super angsty, I think Moro would have come to terms with their relationship's end. But I think she'd still hold a grudge about losing her arm.

Solas nervously see's her form across the room and waves and she smiles back and waves with her cut arm then just give him the stink eye lol

Solas is definitely not over it though. They'd argue a lot about how to advise Rook/Ramia. They'd probably argue about a lot of things that ends with their tongue's down each other's throats.

3. What’s their go-to reaction when Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast recommends them a book?

Moro's never read a smut novel in her life. She'd be polite and accept the book and then end up down the smut rabbit hole.

4. What did they do at the Winter Palace? No like really. Hook up? Get drunk and chat with the golden nug? Egg on every noble?

She would have definitely felt out of her element. I think when not down to business. Solas would have been trying to keep her calm and getting her to try enjoy the night.

5. This is very important—did they have the ugly Qunari Par Vollen bed in their quarters and if not why did they make the wrong choice? (lmao I love that bed, so stupid)

I had to google that shit cuz i couldn't remeber it why the fuck does it look like that?! XD

6. Who is their bff?

Varric. Before Solas the one thing they have in common is being hung up on their ex.

I think Varric is also that person that always reminds the protagonist that they're still a person and not to get swept up by what everyone wants from them and I think that's something Moro needed.

7. What have they been up to in the 10 years between Inquisition and Veilguard?

Moro has a brother. He was taken to the Circle as a child while they still lived in the alienage and she's spent her whole life accepting he was either dead or she would just never see him again.

Turns out he's not dead and has been doing well for himself in Nevarra despite being a mage and an Elf. I think he would have come through and once he'd proven that he was indeed her brother he would take taken both her and Ramia into his protection to get them away from everything and let her heal.

Clan Lavellan got wiped out during Inquisition so they had nowhere else to go. So she's spent the last 10 years catching up and rebuilding a relationship with him. She lost her arm and a lover but she gained a brother, which would be really great for her. Despite some of his tendancies, i peg him as neutral evil alignment lmao but he is genuinely happy to know he does have family again and his sster and niece are exempt from his more morally questionable dealings.

8. The most important question: how do they plan to annoy Solas in Veilguard?

She's going to be very passive aggressive. Lot's of tutting and scoffing at anything he discusses.

Chilling on a couch with a glass of wine while he makes battle plans and he can feels her eyes on the back of his head and it'll drive him nuts.

She'll claim everythings fine but he knows it's not fine but he can't get her to to be honest and it's just a never ending cycle.

Gosh I haven't thought about DA Moro for a while, especially while writing (i need to hurry with those) the BG3 version of her atm but this was fun! Halsin is defibnitely healthier for Moro than Solas is but who doesn't love some good toxic sexual attraction.

[thenamesblurrito]

more Aventuri mecha! it's actually been insanely fun reaching back five years to resurrect the shapeless abandoned OCs and give them form for this colony

Skamma is a bold, enterprising bot with a lot of big ideas! ideas that will capture the minds and the wallets of many a client, enriching their imaginations while she enriches herself, before she scampers away as the market bubble pops, the investments fail, and the business pursuit grinds to a halt. somehow, none of the hundreds of bad reviews manage to prevent Skamma from shilling her latest scam to eager new buyers, of which there are plenty in industrial Temperon. if business gets real bad, well, good thing she got her hands on that universal travel pass a few years ago, she'll simply find better customers in other city-states! although she has no outlier ability other than typical Aventuri extremophilic adaptations, her compact all-terrain trike mode serves her equally well on snow and stone, and her radium inclusions light the way in shadelocked Temperon. Primus help us if Skamma and Swindle ever meet

Sledge is a simple mech, with a simple alt mode, simple jasper inclusions, and a simple life. he enjoys his job as a courier, battling hurricane winds to transport cargo from one Nova Spectra city to another. it's a daily test of strength he is more than capable of winning as a sturdy jet, and though he may be on the lower end of the social scale, he sticks with the contractors who treat him fairly. a lot of his work is schlepping archives, artifacts, and ritual objects between Tributic shrines throughout Spectral's pilgrimage territory. many shamans have noticed he's sharp as a tack, genial, and dutifully patient, and lately Sledge has been offered a place as shrine staff in Central Sola. that's more than he ever expected to be offered as someone with no abilities beyond Aventuri durability, considering the majority of shrine staff are high-level outliers, but still he struggles to make a decision. that's not really the kind of lifestyle he pictures himself pursuing. what's a simple mech to do?

Glitterswarm is nice! she's nice, and she tries very hard to be nice, and it's very important to her to be nice. she doesn't want to hurt anybody, and the nicer she is to people, the more likely they are to help her! and she certainly needs a lot of help, considering she was recovered out in the ice floes of the Bitter Sea, half-dead, stuck in her amphibious alt mode, and totally amnesiac. the records of the Ulyssean capital Albedo City have her written down as a casualty of an alien raid several centuries ago, so the fact that she's turned up again on Aventuras, traumatized but alive, is a miraculous mystery. she used to be a caretaker for newly forged mecha, particularly adept considering her outlier ability: she's a nanohive, a frame with a swarm of nanobots that act as an extension of herself. before, she was steady and skilled enough to heal wounds, reprogram circuitry, support a slippery grip, display holograms, and more, using the nanobots streaming from her vents without a second thought. now, though, she's nervous and uncertain, with a shaky grasp of her own abilities. it takes a lot of effort just to polish her ametrine inclusions, much less look after anyone else. maybe someday she'll regain her memories, but for now she's trying to find her feet again, mothering anyone who will let her in an effort to cover her own anxiety

[libriaco]

Letture & Riletture

Owing to the flood of shallow books which really are exhausted in one reading, the modern mind tends to think every book is the same, finished in one reading. But it is not so. And gradually the modern mind will realise it again. The real joy of a book lies in reading it over and over again, and always finding it different, coming upon another meaning, another level of meaning. It is, as usual, a question of values: we are so overwhelmed with quantities of books, that we hardly realise any more that a book can be valuable, valuable like a jewel, or a lovely picture, into which you can look deeper and deeper and get a more profound experience every time. It is far, far better to read one book six times, at intervals, than to read six several books. Because if a certain book can call you to read it six times, it will be a deeper and deeper experience each time, and will enrich the whole soul, emotional and mental. Whereas six books read once only are merely an accumulation of superficial interest, the burdensome accumulation of modern days, quantity without real value. Cioè, all'incirca: A causa della valanga di libri dozzinali che si esauriscono veramente con una sola lettura, la mente moderna tende a pensare che per ogni libro sia la stessa cosa, finito dopo una sola lettura. Ma non è così. E gradualmente la mente moderna se ne renderà conto di nuovo. Il vero piacere un libro lo dà leggendolo più e più volte e trovandolo sempre diverso, incontrando un altro significato, un altro livello di significato. È, come al solito, una questione di valori: siamo così sopraffatti dalla quantità di libri che difficilmente ormai ci rendiamo conto che un libro può essere prezioso, prezioso come un gioiello o un bel quadro, in cui si può guardare più e più a fondo e provare un'esperienza ogni volta più intensa. È molto, molto meglio leggere un libro sei volte, a intervalli, piuttosto che leggere sei libri diversi perché se un certo libro ci può invitare a leggerlo sei volte, ogni volta sarà un'esperienza sempre più profonda e arricchirà tutto i nostri spiriti, emotivi e mentali, mentre sei libri letti una sola volta sono invece soltanto un accumularsi di un interesse superficiale, l'accumulo gravoso dei tempi moderni: quantità senza valore reale.

D. H. Lawrence, Apocalypse [1931], London-New York, Penguin, 1995

Via LaudatorTemporisActi.

L'immagine: C. Collodi, Pinocchio [1871], Firenze, Salani, 1959. Illustrazioni di Carlo Vitoli Russo.

[halla-hunts-the-wolf]

For Rook Concepts: My Rook is a member of the Mourn Watch, a Qunari who got a job at the Necropolis as a guard against grave robbers and worked his way up -or shall I say down- to the echelons of the Mourn Watch. There, he first met Emmrich. The care with which Emmrich went about his work captivated him but as a lowly guard, he had no hopes that he would be noticed. Best to just admire from afar. Meanwhile Emmrich does notice the young Qunari guard newly assigned to his section of the Necropolis and while his heart stirs for the first time in years, he knows he is far far too old for him. There is no possibility that he would be interested. Then Emmrich is dispatched to deal with Solas, his tampering with the Veil threatening the careful balance of the Necropolis and all its residents with demonhood. The Mourn Watch is concerned about a man of his years in so much danger and assigns the young Qunari guard to travel with him as protection.....

I'm glad that Emmrich is getting so much love from the fandom, and I've seen all sorts of concepts made for him and Rook! I feel like a Qunari/mage dynamic can be very similar to what people are hoping for when creating a mage for Lucanis. It subverts the expectations and stereotypes made by the lore to create a more enriching narrative. I hope Emmrich and your Rook have the opportunity to become great friends (and more if your story goes that way-) and learn to appreciate what the other has to offer on a personal and a professional level; admiring one another from afar can only take them so far!

[spainsola]

Exploring Flower Therapy Massage at Spa in Sola: The Massage Pack for Ultimate Relaxation.

Introduction:

In today's time, everyone is so busy with their work that they are unable to even take care of their health. Everyone wants to adopt new methods to remain healthy and get relief from stress.

Are you bored with common massages and looking for a different method to relax and rejuvenate? There is no need to look any further! Flower therapy massage at our Spa in Sola, is the newest wellness trend that blends the therapeutic power of touch with the relaxing fragrance and essence of flowers. Join us on a pleasant journey as we explore the world of flower therapy massage and learn why it's quickly becoming one of Blue Sea Thai Spa’s most popular spa services.

What is Flower Therapy Massage?

Flower therapy massage is a holistic method that blends the healing powers of flowers with the power of touch therapy. It is an opulent massage technique that uses natural flowers and essential oils to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and uplift the spirit. This massage, inspired by ancient healing methods, attempts to restore equilibrium between mind, body, and spirit, encouraging total well-being.

Flower Therapy Massage Procedure:

Consultation: When you arrive at Best Spa in Sola, you will be greeted pleasantly by our skilled massage therapist. They will begin the appointment by doing a brief consultation to learn about your specific issues, preferences, and medical history. This phase guarantees that you receive a personalized and successful treatment plan that is suited to your specific needs.

Flower Selection: The massage therapist will next lead you through a selection of fresh, aromatic flowers and essential oils. Each flower has its own healing characteristics that address specific requirements. This tailored choosing procedure makes the massage experience more personal.

Preparation: After selecting the flowers, the therapist will gently cleanse your feet in scented water enriched with flower extracts. This relaxing foot ritual helps you relax and prepares you for the massage ahead. It also permits your body to absorb the initial flower therapy advantages.

Massage Technique: The massage therapist will professionally blend the chosen flowers and essential oils to produce customized massage oil for you. They will employ a range of massage such as lengthy strokes, kneading, and gentle stretching.

Sensory Experience: You will be immersed in the calming perfume of the flowers during the massage, producing a multisensory experience. The smells of the flowers encourage relaxation, alleviate anxiety, and elevate your mood, resulting in a wonderful state of tranquility.

How It Is Beneficial For You?

Reduces tension and Anxiety: Flower Therapy Massage at our Spa near Sola, relieves tension and anxiety by soothing the nervous system and fostering deep relaxation. The aroma of flowers, such as lavender or rose, causes the body's natural feel-good hormones, endorphins, to be released, lowering anxiety and elevating mood. This holistic approach to relaxing allows you to let go of daily concerns and immerse yourself in blissful tranquility.

Improves Blood Circulation: Therapists masterfully mix moderate pressure techniques with the medicinal powers of flowers during this massage. Because the manipulations increase blood flow, they help to improve circulation throughout the body. Increased circulation delivers important nutrients and oxygen to the cells, promoting cell regeneration and general health. The encounter leaves you feeling revitalized and revitalized.

Nourishes the Skin: Flowers are not only visually pleasing, but they also have various skin-beneficial properties. This massage makes use of flower-infused oils or floral essences to nourish and hydrate the skin. Flowers with soothing characteristics, such as chamomile or jasmine, encourage skin suppleness and a beautiful complexion. The luxurious massage, combined with the healing properties of flowers, leaves your skin silky smooth and deeply moisturized.

Harmonizes Emotions and Energies: It is known for its capacity to harmonize emotions and energies in addition to its physical advantages. Each flower has its own energy signature, and the combination of flowers utilized during the massage corresponds to the client's emotional demands. Flowers' medicinal scent improves mood, removes emotional barriers, and fosters a sense of well-being and equilibrium. This comprehensive approach encourages a stronger bond between the mind, body, and spirit.

Promotes Restful Sleep: Are you tossing and turning at night, trying to settle a restless mind? Flower Therapy Massage can aid in the promotion of restful sleep. This massage causes relaxation by using flowers recognized for their calming characteristics, such as chamomile or ylang-ylang. It also relieves insomnia and improves sleep quality. Those who embrace this beautiful spa experience will have a restful night's sleep.

Conclusion:

At Blue Sea Thai Spa, professional therapists mix the therapeutic power of touch therapy with nature's rich flowers to create the ethereal bliss of flower therapy massage. This wonderful massage technique not only relaxes your body but also your emotions and spiritual well-being. Allow the lovely smell to transport you to a state of absolute tranquillity as you enter a world of floral ecstasy. Make your appointment today and let the flowers and the therapists' talented hands work their magic on you.

For more information please visit: https://blueseathaispa.com/

[solatgif]

TGIF: Roundup for April 7, 2023

Happy Easter! In case you missed it, check out our series of devotions for the season on Substack.

We published 4 new articles this week: The “Model Minority” Myth in the Asian American Church by Andrew Lee, 5 Lessons from the Japanese American Internment by Tom Sugimura, Good Grief by Linda Kim, and “Church History” for Kids and Adults: A Book Review.

This newsletter is one of the many ways you can keep in touch with us. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram.

Aaron Lee, Editorial Curator

Enter to win these excellent books! Reviews are in the section below. Thanks to The Good Book Company and Robert J. Nash for providing these books for our giveaway, in partnership with my newsletters for @diveindigdeep and FCBC Walnut.

Articles From Around The Web

Heidi Wong: Gods and Gangsters

“Instead of gearing up for the next battle in the culture war, the church must first be willing to abandon the superfluous nature of its mansion in order to be set free from shackles that blind it.”

Samuel Lee: These 3 Japanese Christian Women Changed Their Country

“Meet an early evangelist, an education reformer, and a preacher who held Bible studies with the royal family.”

Daniel Jung: Narco Saints’ Drug-Dealing Pastor

“The Netflix series works as both crime drama and critique of Korean megachurch culture.”

The SOLA College Writing Cohort is our new writing cohort for college-age students to receive mentorship and training as young Christian writers. Editorial Board member Soojin Park will personally be leading this initiative, and she is very excited at the prospect of nurturing the next generation of Asian American thinkers and writers who will help encourage and edify the Church!

Books, Podcasts, Music, And More

TGC Front Row Seat Podcast: Moving to a New Place with Irene Sun

Kristen Wetherell and Kari Olson invite Irene Sun to discuss the challenges and joys of moving to a new place as a pastor’s wife. Irene shares her story of moving from Chicago to Pittsburgh, how prayer was her lifeline through every transition, and the importance of giving thanks to the Lord when we’re in a foreign land.

Gateway Chapel: Hanley Liu

Pastor Hanley reminds us of our deep need for living water that truly satisfies our souls – that all of humanity is in need of this living water. When Jesus was cut off from the living water on the cross, he made a way so that all who trust in him will never thirst again.

Aaron Lee: Related Works

Book Reviews: Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know… (Keepsake Edition) by Melissa B. Kruger, Say the Right Thing by Carolyn Lacey, God’s Not Done with You by John Meador, Words of the Resurrected by Robert J. Nash. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.

Check out the new edition of our SOLA Network Magazine! Download it for free and share it with your friends as a great way to be introduced to the work we do at SOLA Network.

Featured This Week On SOLA Network

Aaron Lee: “Church History” for Kids and Adults: A Book Review

“How did we get from the Great Commission to the modern church today? In Church History, Simonetta Carr presents the important people, places, and events of church history.”

Linda Kim: Good Grief

“When waves of grief wash over me in unexpected ways, I am letting the tears flow. I am inviting them in and allowing myself to sit in the grief because it helps me to know that Jesus sits with me.”

Tom Sugimura: 5 Lessons from the Japanese American Internment

“Although the mass evacuation and incarceration of Japanese Americans were neither right nor wise, the experience nevertheless enriched the church’s spiritual life as nothing else could have. Consider lessons the church today can learn as we minister to fellow believers who similarly face adversity.”

Andrew Lee: The “Model Minority” Myth in the Asian American Church

“Asian Americans continue to live in the liminal space of the margins. This is not to say Asian Americans have not gained that much in both secular and religious life. However, as the ‘model minority,’ we remain on the outside, looking to the majority for guidance and direction in matters of church and faith.”

TGIF: Roundup for March 31, 2023

Judgment for Pastors: How Shepherds Prepare to Meet Jesus / Resisting the Impulse of Self-Optimization / Chinese Christians Adapt Under New Restrictions / On the CROSS Conference / How God’s Daughters Can Create for His Glory

General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors.

[onlinejoynagarsweets]

Why do Fake Flowers Look So Unique

Becoming a center of attraction artificial flowers are the shine of any event. People are in love with fake flowers due to their beautiful colors, shapes, and many other features.

Also known as silk flowers, these flowers are enriched with brilliant qualities. Guess what, these flowers are also making wedding bells ring.

Yes, that’s true. The phenomenal beauty of sola wood flowers is driving people crazy. Event managers are mostly using artificial orchids, and a bunch of tulips to decorate the stage of the wedding.

Now, what’s more on the plate? Let us get a gist of it and have some glowing features of the best artificial flowers.

Fake Flowers Don’t have a Fake Shine

Real-looking artificial flowers are blessed with the best materials of great quality. The superb beauty of the fake flowers is amazingly incredible for many occasions.

Decorating a birthday table, or brightening up the Mandap of marriage, artificial flowers throw their beauty everywhere.

Let us check some great features of fake flowers,

Hypoallergenic

The sola wood flowers are quite hypoallergenic in nature. This means that the material used to make fake flowers is not allergic.

People tend to sneeze, have burning eyes, and itching like allergies to original flowers. But these problems are not there with fake flowers.

Real Looking

There comes a variety of fake flowers in the market. Nowadays, artificial flowers are designed using natural materials that give a real look to the flowers.

This is why individuals love to decorate their weddings and other events with these real-looking flowers. It makes the ambiance amazing and is also used for theme parties.

Cost-Friendly

The artificial flowers are quite inexpensive compared to the original flowers. Real flowers have to be plucked from the plants and require high maintenance.

But there is no such problem with fake flowers. With the use of the least expensive material, we can easily design beautiful fake flowers. This makes them cost-effective.

The Conclusion

The bottom line suggests using fake flowers as they look unique and have mesmerizing qualities. This inclines most individuals toward using fake flowers than the real ones.

For Audio: Click Here

[lairofsentinel]

Aw thank you so much @giant-sequoia. I always try to interpret DA lore without excess of conspiracy board-guy, because in general, writers develop a story with the goal of reaching the broadest target, and for that, you need to give them good clues to lead them to clear logic speculations.

Also, I guess because my job I have a hard training in following conclusions based on facts and not on too many baseless hypotheses. However, DA lore is still loose enough to force you to do some of those things at some points. Plus, I think that working with the axioms I determined when I started that DA lore blog helped me to stablish a "loosen system":

 I will mostly consider closer to the truth every piece of information that comes from Mythal-Flemeth, Solas, Felassan, Imshael, Corypheus (a bit biased, though, since he was a recent creature in this world during the Elvhenan glory), The Architect (technically, if he could recover his mind), and Valtra (since she is connected to a Titan now). Following this thought, sources of information coming from untouched Elvhenan ruins are always more valuable what a Chantry Mage may say in a Banter. Spirits and Avvar people have a better understanding of the World than any other modern theodosian creature.

With these axioms, we purified our ability to determine from what piece of information we should craft our hypothesis [clearly NOT from the Chant of Light, for example, lol]. The less reliable pieces of information would help us to see if our hypothesis can be “more or less” contrasted with how that fact evolved into a myth or a legend or was changed across the ages but it won't be the foundation of our hypothesis [for example, Fen’Harel’s story has a lot of common things with The Maker's, making us suspect that people took Fen’Harel’s story (something we know existed and have proofs) and modified it to turn it into the Maker’s Myths (something we know so far has been silent and we don't have any proof of its existence)] These processes are 100% anthropological real in our human history.

Now, let’s talk about your enriching comments :D

‘Bad Children All Get Eaten’

Yes! I noticed that too, but I didn’t comment it because I was not so sure how much of the Fade could be interpreted in that image. Certainly, the elongated triangles on the bottom [see that's they are not exactly elongated, but they become more elongated as we go more and more down] have the same style than the triangles we saw in murals where we can suspect “the Fade and the Waking World blend each other”. Elongated triangles seem to follow that meaning, at least, in the  Nick Thornborrow’s illustrations. Why is so important for me to clarify that this analysis only is supported on his illustrations? This artist was the main responsible in creating most of the Murals that we find in DAI Trespasser, and has been contributing to the general art of the franchise with a style that, in his own words, keeps the symbols consistent. Since he promised consistency, I’ve approached his art hoping to see the patterns in an attempt to scratch a bit more of lore information.

As you said, in Murals in DAI: Basics, we see that the equilateral triangle is mostly associated with the Fade, while the Elongated one to places where the Waking World and the Fade mix. If we translate this interpretation here, the lower part of the drawing should be related to the “thin Veil”, a place where both worlds combine, while the top of the image, to the most pure Fade [we see 2 equilateral triangles made out of circles].

This makes us suspect that this image is not about “the Waking World”, but the Fade, and these creatures are “eaten” by something that pushes them down, and probably makes them “fall” into the Waking World. Since the song talks about “temptations/behaviour” in a childish way, we could even interpret this tale as something created by spirits, to avoid other spirits to fall into the Waking World, that somehow, humans in Free Marches acquired across the ages and used it for their children. We see similar things happening with Dalish songs: they contain a lot of ancient Elvhenan details that were mixed, or twisted due to oral tradition among the Dalish clans, so the result is something so worn-out and faded, that it’s hard to see the original source from it.

Another detail that always caught my attention on this image is that the humanoid figures are all the same. They are only differentiated due to the symbol on their belly or head. Beside the symbol of the small spiral, the others can’t be speculated about, since we didn’t have any other clue to associate them with.

Corypheus

Yes! I know this etymology, but I didn’t highlight it in any post beyond small comments since it’s mostly a configuration that shows the relevance of the work of each of the Priest of the Old Gods: Corypheus was the leader of the group, and according to the Chant of Light text written y by Archon Hessarian: Silence 1-3, [the same text says it explicitly, Chant of Light - Part 1], they translate his name as “conductor”, as the means to which the Sidereal Magisters managed to reach the Golden City. This may be mainly because Corypheus was the main user/conductor of the Claws of Dumat, which is a device that seems to have been used in that endeavour [more detail in The Raw Fade - Part 1]. Architect was called that way because he made the “plans” for the ascension [or maybe he developed the claws for Corypheus, we can't say for sure].

However, your interpretation of the Chorus, and this relationship with song/music that we know later is related to the Blight and the Red Lyrium, is something I didn’t think about before. My main question about this interpretation is that it seems to put together that the song of the Blight and the song of the Red Lyrium are the same, but we were told already they were not [aside from one single small confusing line coming from Cole]. I made a compilation of all this info in Songs and elements that sing and whisper in DA Lore. The one saying this is mostly Cole, so since he is a spirit, he has a better understanding of the world even if his ways to explain it are so cryptic. It’s clear that the Blight has a song attached to it, and may be related to the Black City [or the entity trapped there], in the same way that normal Lyrium has a song to it, which is related to the Titans. Now, I never could be sure what truly was related to the whispers in the Red Lyrium, my best hypothesis is to a corrupted, angry Titan.

Thelm Gold-Handed

I really never considered this possibility. It makes sense with the statue where the first mention of Thelm happens. It may have a link with “Dirthamen’s owl” which is usually the creature that has the Golden Ring in its talon

BUT, on the other hand, we never have to forget that the owl is also a symbol of Andruil, we know that this inconsistency exists inside Thedas, and even Dorian highlights it to the player so we don’t forget about it.

That Thelm wanted the Golden City fits with Falon’Din [or even Andruil?], I just find it curious that he would need human armies for that, considering how lesser all other creatures were considered for the Elvhenan. The Stanza says nothing about the physicality of him, but certainly has an ambivalent wording in that case: he fed human tribes to use as armies and head to, potentially, a place we hypothetise may be Arlathan; he pushed these tribes until they screamed, “heed the dreams and cross the Waking”. We know that the Waking is the ocean between Orlairs and Ferelden, but may have a double meaning? Could these armies be elven/spirits pushed into the Waking World to conquer Arlathan?

However, if we keep applying this way of understanding the stanzas to the others, we find that the next stanza, when Thelm asks for marriage to Tyrdda, is triggered on the Maker statue, making Thelm a potential source for the Maker’s myth?

I’m not saying no to this interpretation, but certainly when we apply it to the rest of the stanzas gives us strange curious extra interpretations of other concepts we have been working around.

Maybe, a more in-between interpretation can be done: maybe the whispers that Thelm listened was from another Evanuris who wanted to conquer Arlathan. However, let's not forget how much the Elvhenan despised the form and the shape that the Titans reinforced. It was the Forbiden Ones who enjoyed it [ check "Exile of the Forbidden Ones" from Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara]. Maybe Thelm was whispered in dreams by a Forbidden One.

Also, let’s not forget in all this interpretation that there is no 100% piece of info that makes clear link between the Golden City and Arlathan. And all these interpretations are using both cities as equivalents when they are, so far, a mere hypothesis up to the moment.

About the Blight and the Red Lyrium’s own will

I am afraid I'm not inclined to this interpretation, mostly because what I said above: the song of the Blight and the song of the Red Lyrium are not the same, we were told already they were different, The song of the normal Lyrium and the Red Lyrium ARE similar [they "fit"], but Red Lyrium’s is “angrier”, and this makes sense: it may have some remmants of the memories of the Titans. Let’s remember, thanks to Corypheus in Shrine of Dumat, when siding with Templars, that we learnt that lyrium is a good means to storage memories. So we can speculate without much inconsistency that the lyrium's song is related to the Titan’s ancient memories, and the Red Lyrium's, to the ones when they [or some of them] were corrupted.

The Blight has a song with undetermined origin: we only know through Avernus that it doesn’t come from the Archdemons as most Grey Warden think about, but from the Black City itself, and due to the last Vynil [Speculations about the Vinyl Art], we may speculate it may be related to Mythal and/or the Evanuris trapped in it. After all, we know that the song causes a compulsion to “release” the entity trapped there. For a refresher we can reread the compilation of all this info in Songs and elements that sing and whisper in DA Lore.

However, it's true that Red Lyrium has a codex about "Whispers Written in Red Lyrium." Which with Cole's comments make us deal with an inconsistency: On one hand, Cole says that the song of the Blight and the Song of the Red Lyrium are different, but then he says that the Red Lyrium contains "old whispers" asking for you to open the "door", which makes us relate to the same kind of need that the blighted creatures feel in their compulsion.

Another detail that came to me just while writing this: we have the codex of Raising the Sonallium , where we learnt that through song-based spells the Elvhenan could create pocket-worlds by using Fade essence. We have here an "ancient song" related to creation.

So, I'm still unable to say with certainty what all these songs are about.

Solium

This is a marvelous question I didn’t think about! Why they need a constellation to represent a Sun which already is in the sky during the day? Potential anwers that come to me: because they had no Sun, or because this "sun" is certanly not a sun.

Probably the answer will be in the true meaning we may discover about the “sun/stars” that the Elvhenan represented with overlaping rings, overlaping spheres, and “spheres of fire”. I’m pretty inclined to think that this Sollium is more closer to the concept of the Red sphere of fire than an actual sun. I made a lot of analysis and specualtions about these overlapping rings and star symbols in [Speculations about the Vinyl Art]

Dragon Age Iconic Patterns: The Sun

In this post I will try to extensively gather all the sun-based or sun-like imagery that we find in all the games of Dragon Age. From the most typical ones to those which may seem obscure or with a hidden allegory/design. I will qualify their resemblance with the Sun symbol as Strong, Weak or other.

This post contains the following symbols

Chantry Sunburst

Elvhenan Culture: Sun symbol among the Evanuris

Elvhenan Culture: Asterisk Symbol and Elvhenan Doors

Elvhenan Culture: Golden Ring

Elvhenan Culture: Crappy Sun

Elvhenan Culture: Elgar’nan and Sylaise

Elvhenan Culture: Murals

Tevinter Culture: Green Star

Tevinter Culture: different decorative elements

Dwarven Culture: Fairel and Dwarven art

Ferelden Culture: The Sun Face and the geometrical Sun

Grey Wardens and the Sun

Avvar and the Sun

Flemeth

Qunari, Par Vollen, and the Solium Constellation

DAO design

Free Marches Rural Areas

[This post belongs to the series “Analysis and speculation of Statues”]

[Strong] Chantry Sunburst

The most typical one that appears in DA series is the Sun or Sunburst with wavy rays, repeated so much along the games that we can identify it immediately. It’s the unequivocally symbol of the Chantry. We found it in many versions, and it represents the “dawn” with the idea of hope and “new beginnings”, but also the fire that “purified” Andraste in her pyre to let her ascend to the Maker’s side. In the posts of Andrastian Art [Andrastian Design: Stained Glasses], we also find that “balls of fire” [which can be interpreted as a Sun in another way] are shown to represent the Maker or the Faith in Him.

Andraste’s single spiked helm seems to be inspired in a single sun ray, at least this is what an illustration in the Chant of Light [book of World Of Thedas] seems to suggest.

In general, most of the representations of the Chantry Sun have 16 rays.

The same sun-like symbol appears in its Tevinter version when we see the Imperial Chantry; the only difference with the Orlesian one is that the Tevinter Sunburst has straight rays.

As a detail, in DAO, we had the typical representation of the wavy sunburst present in some strange devices of Tevinter origin, for example, the ones we found in [Brecilian ruins], while the main Church in Denerim, or in Haven, display spikes that, more than resembling a sun, look like thorns or even a thorny vine. This may be a consequence of an original plan in linking, design-wise, the chantry symbology with the thorny vines that represent the Blight or the Darkspawn [As we explained in the section “Non-mural symbol: Thorny vines” from Murals in DAI: Basics], or merely it was a limitation of the design of the game, as we know DAO suffers from.

We also know that tranquils should display this symbol on their foreheads, burnt with lyrium, but as we saw along DAO, none of them had it. Later we were informed that the devs had problems to add this mark on the npc, therefore, it was never shown until DA2. When it comes to this symbol, it is interesting to see that tranquils carry the metaphor of “a Sun burning their minds and emptying them”, which may or may not be related with Dwarves and their fear to the Sun and potential relatinship of Elgar'nar shoving a fire ball into their underground lands [More details of this concept in Deep Roads [DLC Trespasser]: Lower Walkways in particular with the codex  Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads,].

[Strong] Elvhenan Culture: Sun symbol among the Evanuris

Strangely close to the Chantry Sunburst symbol, we find the “half” sun symbol [tagged along the blog as Sun-head creature] in what we suspect was one of the ancient primordial dragon symbols that some Evanuris took over when they claimed Divinity [for more context, read Attempt to rebuild Ancient Elvhenan History]. It’s hard to say which Evanuris took control of this symbol, but we know there is a clearly sun-like symbol present in the Crossroads of the DLC [as a statue, check The Crossroads [DLC Trespasser]: Entrance] and in the Shattered Library [as an Eluvian, check  Shattered Library; Entrance and Courtyard]. With the release of the Vinyl, we also discovered and reinforced the hypothesis that this symbol belongs to or was co-opted by an Evanuris [read Speculations about the Vinyl Art for details] thanks to the image of an elf wearing a hat with that shape.

A consistent detail of this image is that it’s a half-sun with exactly 7 rays.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Asterisk Symbol and Elvhenan Doors

If we extend this imagery, and check other symbols that may look similar to a sun, we find the ancient Elvhenan Doors [Elven Ancient Shard-based door], which top displays a pointy sun of 8 rays that may or may not be related to the Asterisk symbols [also related to the Titan’s core, which I talked about in the post of Murals  “The Death of a Titan”]. In the way the door gets illuminated when activated also makes us see a “circle” in it that can be loosely related to the “Golden Ring shape”. More details about this ring will be treated below.

This strange sun on the ancient door also makes us think in the Asterisk Symbol [made of 8 points], which lays at the centre of the yellow mosaic, which may be related to the core of a Titan [asterisk of 8 points too]. The link is immediate when we see that this asterisk is outlined by a shape that looks like a star or a Sun, inside a big ball with triangular-shape ends. This same symbol appears in the last Trailer of DA4, behind Solas, when he is presented like an Hermit, mysterious, apostate mage. Around this “sun” we can make out several concentric lines that may refer to a “Golden Ring”.

The Asterik symbol also appears in murals such as  “The Creation of the Veil” or “The Death of a Titan”, which allowed us to relate them with the core of a Titan and its immense power of "making real what you imagine"reinforcing the reality", but this symbol also appears in a corner of Solas’ tarot card.

The yellow mosaic also has some shapes at the four corners that may represent eluvians or something related to Mythal. In the mural of “the Temple of Mythal” from  “The actions of the Inquisitor”, we see that Solas draw a particular star of 8 points inside a door frame that resembles this “eluvian outline”, but it’s also the shape of the doors of the Temple of Mythal which represents Mythal herself in her dragon shape. All these symbols seem to reinforce the idea we explored in “The Death of a Titan”: Mythal seems to be related to the core power of a Titan represented by an asterisk that evolves into a golden ring and into a sun.

As I repeated several times in Speculations about the Vinyl Art, at times, we find some hints where stars or balls of fires [also understood as suns] are related to Mythal and Elgar’nan, making us suspect that, maybe, Mythal and Elgar’nan share a nature similar to Falon’Din and Dirthamen’s: apparently, the same creature with two different aspects from them. If this were the case, associating Mythal with the Sun would make sense, and it would also explain why, if Elgar’nan was so central in the Elvhenan culture, there are so few representations and statues of him, while Mythal overwhelms it.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Golden Ring

During the last trailer of DA4, we see Solas turns into the Black Dread Wolf as a sun in the background becomes a moon [single golden circle] and later, it separates itself into concentric rings, that may or may not be related to the “Golden Ring” so deeply entangled with Elvhenan culture. Thanks to this imagery, we may relate the Sun to the Golden Ring [specially if we consider that the mural presented in Nation Art: Elvhen displays the yellow ring in a position that may be considered “the sun”, but also the "authority/power above"]

We need to remember that the Golden Ring’s presence is always associated with control, power, and occasionally to Mythal and Dirthamen. In the mural of the “zombie elves”, it’s above all of them, and due to this position, it could be interpreted like a “sun” or moon upon the controlled, zombified elves. But I’m not too convinced in this interpretation, since we already explored in posts such as: Nation Art: Elvhen, Exalted Plains: Ghilan’nain’s Grove and the Dead Hand, DLC: Jaws of Hakkon - Frostback Basin, Elvhen Tomb, Ancient Elven codices; Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins, The Crossroads [DLC Trespasser]: Elven Mountain Ruins; Vine-covered Tower, Murals in DAI: The Death of a Titan, and Speculations about the Vinyl Art that this ring was more related to control, power, or even forced change/shape in some cases. Due to its power or potential knowledge, it's also associated to Dirthamen Owl [which also could be Andruil's owl according some inconsistencies in the same Unreliable Dalish legends].

On the other hand, it’s never clear if this symbol may have morphed into a sun along the ages with the loss of memory that the Elves had throughout generations when they lost their immortality. However, I tend to consider that this Golden Ring may have changed into a Sun when it entered in contact with human groups, in the same way that I see the story of Fen'Harel gave enough context for humans to create the Maker myth based on him, potentially during the time of Halamshiral [for more details, read The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light]

This ring also appears in the last scene of DAI, when we defeat Corypheus, showing Mythal inside it, as bits of red lyrium sprout around it. This can be related to many speculations done in Speculations about the Vinyl Art, where we can conclude that another fragment/part of Mythal is still trapped in the Black City, corrupted, and contained by an immense power that may have been used before by the rest of the evanuris to control their own people.

The Golden Ring has also been seen enclosing Elven Tree Statues and Elven Orbs, implying its relationship with elvhenan power and/or Mythal’s [after all, we know that Mythal took the power from a Titan from which elvhen orbs were developed, and trees are also her symbol, according her vallaslin]. It's worth noting that the only working orb we saw in the game was Mythal’s, so far.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Crappy Sun

There is also a strange symbol that I called “crappy sun” in the ancient tablet we find at the entrance and deep into the tomb of Forbidden Oasis: Solasan Temple [along this blog I’ve tagged it as “Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style”]. It’s hard to say if it represents a sun or a breach. It may be related to a sun similar to the one of the Elven Ancient Shard-based door that, later, Tevinter co-opted to turn into the several versions of pointy suns we see in Tevinter Pre-blight ruins, [let’s remember they were not Andrastian yet, and still they had this symbology in their buildings and elements because it may have been related to ancient dragons, or taken from another elvhen symbology during the time of the Dreamers since there are some proofs, such as the Tevinter Mosaic [Invasion], that may show that Tevinter had a better relationship with elves back then].

Maybe the original symbol was related to Elgar’nan, as we see in his mosaic, where he shoves down the sun into the earth, and its rays are wavy and a bit “crappy”. If this relationship is correct, maybe what Elgar'nan shoved into the Earth to destroy the dwarves/Titans was not a sun but a breach? Again, a very unlikely hypothesis.

This “crappy sun” also has 8 rays.

[Strong] Elvhenan Culture: Elgar’nan and Sylaise

Elgar’nan’s mosaic was interpreted in the post Evanuris, and basically shows an elf shoving down a Sun of wavy rays into the Earth. It’s easy for us to relate this image to the unreliable Dalish legend of Elgar’nan [read Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance]. Elgar’nan is presented here as the son of the Sun itself, who tried to burn all life on the Land out of Jealousy, so Elgar’nan vowed vengeance against his Father’s cruelty, and his rage won against the fire of the Sun. Then, “Elgar'nan threw the sun down from the sky and buried him in a deep abyss created by the land's sorrow.”

This story can be followed later in the post Emprise du Lion: Pools of the Sun, where we find another unreliable Dalish legend claiming that this place has spring waters because it was here where Elgar’nan shoved the sun into the Earth. I also made a link to Sylaise considering the Elvhenan arenas we can see in this region, the presence of Sylaise’s Shrine, and her thirst for being always competing with someone. These details can make us suspect that this Sun could have been Sylaise [so deeply related to fire, the sun, and also as angry as Elgar’nan according the Song to Sylaise].

It’s very worth noting that these two legends, said by different clans, claim that Elgar’nan pushed the Sun into the Abyss. Another detail we have to assume is that "Abyss", "Beyond the Deep Roads" and "The Void" seem to be one thing related to the places where the Titan sleep [or even inside the Titan themselves] instead of a strange dimensional pocket we never saw before. This links the Elvhenan with the Dwarven in what we speculated in Murals in DAI: The Death of a Titan.

With this relationship, we see again the Sun as a weapon of destruction and control.

[Weak] Elvhenan Culture: Murals

Murals present a red sphere with rays that may imply a Sun .

In the mural “The Creation of the Veil” [1], we find a red sphere inside a black one, making us suspect it’s the big evil released by the Evanuris that Solas isolated with the creation of the Veil. Around it, there are seven “bubbles” with similar “rays” in grey and golden colours that may imply “gates” that would allow us the access to the central “sun” or red sphere.

In the mural “The Death of a Titan” [2] we talked extensively about the asterisk symbol, its representation of a Titan’s heart and all that power associated with it, as well as with Golden Rings. The codex in here speaks of a red sphere that contains fury, and maybe all of this can be related to a sun, or better said, the other way around: a Sun as a sphere of fire, related to fury, and buried below underground to contain its destruction. This also brings us some similarities with the unreliable Dalish legends about Elgar'nan.

In the mural  “Red Lyrium Idol” [3] we also commented how the image looks as if Solas were walking on a sphere of fire. It may be related to the red lyrium idol too. Here, we keep linking this idea of a “sphere of fire” as a potential Sun.

In the murals of “The actions of the Inquisitor” [4], we see several times that the red sphere associated with the big evil isolated behind the thick, impenetrable barrier of the Black City seems to be positioned in places that may allow a soft interpretation as a “sun”in the sky.

These symbols seem to gather more importance as we analysed the Vinyl Art, where we find the concept of the Eclipse [as an ominous symbol of Fen’Harel that covers and hides the Sun] and a lot of iconography of stars, which can be interpreted as “suns”.

[Weak] Tevinter Culture: Green Star

Pre-Blight Tevinter art has a “star” symbol that may be interpreted as a sun, specially if we consider that the inside of this green star displays the symbol of the elvhenan Golden Ring in red colour. However, it seems more likely to be a symbol representing the power that one can extract from the Breaches. The green colour helps in this interpretation and puts it a bit farther away from a sun interpretation than other symbols. However, it keeps linking the Golden Ring with the power of creating a Breach.

[Confusing] Tevinter Culture: different decorative elements

The rest of the symbols in Tevinter objects may have some relationship with the Sun. For example, we find doors, boxes, and columns decorated with an 8-pointed star [1] but we also find another one with 6 points in something that looks like a box [2]. The shape of an “hexagonal” sun of 8-pointy rays can be found as well in objects like the “scrying orb” [4].

Among the outfits, we find a 3-ray comb used by Tevinter women [3], which may be related to the sun-based symbol of an Old God [and potentially related to the corresponding Evanuris associated with it]. This symbol is a lot closer to the "Sun-head creature" we found among Elvhenan objects.

As a curious one, I will always point out the strange, hidden Sun figure that belongs to the Free Marches decoration that can be found at the entrance of the Inner Sanctum in Western Approach: The Still Ruins, Viridis Walk and Inner Sanctum.

I think it’s clear and safe to say that most of the sun-based symbols present in Tevinter culture [and previous to their conversion to Andrastian religion] may have been originated from the contact with the Elvhenan [during the Dreamer time where we can see less repulsion to Elvhen according the Tevinter Mosaics] or [most likely] with the dragons that may have been related to the Elvhenan, as I made the connection in the comic post The Missing.

[Weak] Dwarven Culture: Fairel and Dwarven art

The Dwarves, at least the ones in the Fairel’s ruins, may have some link with the Sun as well. In these ruins we find the same exact stone tablet we find in the Ancient Elvhenan tombs [1], which displays the “crappy sun” I commented above. Once again, it could be a sun but also a breach, so there is no much sense to keep focusing on it.

Another symbol to relate the Sun to the Dwarves may or may not be an old “Dwarven stone-paintings” we saw since DAO, which basically shows a dwarf working the stone [3]. Based on symmetry, we could assume that the triangles on the background are stalagmites, but if we stretch-out this interpretation, they could even be seen as a sun with its rays. It’s very unlikely, since it seems to be more a design resource to highlight the scene of the stone-painting, but for completion’s sake I think it’s worthy to keep it commented here.

However, this simple design allows us to interpret it in different ways: the spikes we see can be pieces of rock protruding from the ground and the Dwarf in it is mining them [as its original codex in DAO seems to imply], but also it could be understood as a quarter of a Sun peeking through the corner of the image as a Dwarf works tirelessly.

Later in DAI we are introduced to another piece of art of similar characteristics [2]. The building was never possible to be identified unequivocally, and in posts like “Architecture of Kirkwall : Gallows and Lowtown/Darktown” I related it to representations of Kirkwall or cities that may be similar to Kirkwall where the runecraft mastery of dwarves was used [and probably, it was a source of pride for these clans, who may have kept the achievement immortalised in a piece of art reproduced among the noble dwarven families]. This piece also shows a background very similar to the one in [3] that may be a representation of stalagmites or a sun, if it’s stretched-out enough.

Another strange symbol in the dwarven furniture is the one presented in some stone-seats: an elaborated metal image that shows thorny vines on or over a sun [4]. This symbol appears in many other parts of the game where there are dwarven rooms, but also in Arbor Wilds :Cradle of Sulevin where we can read the Vir Tanadhal, However, in this case, the symbol is not completely the same one than in the Hissing Wastes: Fairel tomb.

It’s hard to suspect if this is a mere reuse of assets, it has a lore-related meaning, or it’s just a reflection that the Dwarves and the Ancient Elvhen had a relationship quite ancient [as it shows the Elvhen tree and its dwarven, more geometrical style, that I’ve been pointing out since DAO in Orzammar]. We have to remember that the Ancient Elvhenan saw the dwarves as soulless creatures, workers of the “pillars of Earth” and worthless. However, I always claimed it was never clear if this was a reference to ancient Dwarves that were linked to the Titan deeply to the point that they became Sha-Brytol after the break of the link, or were related to more independent dwarves as the ones we see now, who have a sense of Stone, but can’t understand the Titan with the exception of some gifted ones [such as Valta].

Finally, the dwarves have an additional aspect related to the Sun in the very unreliable codex called Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 2. I wrote about this codex in a more integral way in Deep Roads [DLC Trespasser]: Lower Walkways. But basically an ex-Dalish elf [now a Qun converted] relates Elgar’nan’s fire [which another unreliable Dalish legend, Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance, claims he shoved the Sun into the Earth] to the fear to the Sun that Dwarves experience [Read the section Elgar’nan and Sylaise above]. This may have been a Dev’s choice to makes us aware that there exists a relationship between the Sun and the dwarves, even though there is no lore material that can make it clear enough.

[Strong] Ferelden Culture: The Sun Face and the geometrical Sun

In the Tryptich presented in Andrastian Design: Tapestry and Tryptich, we find three symbols on top of each part of the scene: the six-snakes that represent Tevinter, the golden city above all the image representing the Maker or the Chantry Religion, and over the section of Ferelden/Orlais chantry, a 8-pointed sun which rays look like triangles. Once again, the resemblance of this symbol with the elvhenan sun in the mural “Temple of Mythal” is remarkable [check the Temple of Mythal in “The actions of the Inquisitor”] or the sun shape in the elvhenan yellow mosaic or in the background of Solas in the Trailer of DA:D. This could come from different roots:

1- An Orlesian root, considering how much of the elvhenan influence it had during the time of the Halamshiral and the coexistence of humans and elves in the Dales for some years [to the point where inter-racial families were made, as it was hinted all over the Exalted Plains]. I spoeculated how the idea of the Maker may have been developed during this time in the post The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light

2- Another potential root is related to the Alamarri root, and therefore, linked to the Avvar: this sun may be a representation of the Lady of the Sky for the same reasons I will explain below in the Section Avvars and the Sun.

We can find similar icon in the book World of Thedas, where they show a unique Ferelden Tryptich [3], which top displays this symbol with a sun that even may have a shape of a Golden Ring within it. In either case, we know that this symbol later was part of the Ferelden Chantry, which sun is very pointy, as DAO showed it [see the first section in this post: Chantry Sunburst].

In DAI, we find in some small towns of Ferelden, a unique strange Sun with a crying face [1]. On it we see a bird and a squirrel. It’s hard to know exactly what this is, [check the post Nation Art: Ferelden], but maybe it can be understood as a representation of Andraste made by Ferelden culture mixed with some local animals and fables created as a mixture of cultures, similar to the tale that related Wyverns to Andraste [check the wyvern section in Dragon Age Iconic Patterns: The single spike].

There is also a fish drawn in the DLC of Hakkon on a fisherman shack [2], which displays a pattern that can be related to the “crappy sun” designs on its skin. Not sure what to make about it. The closest is that the Avvar represented this symbol as a way to reflect what they may have seen in the Isle of the Lady, where a big ancient breach have been there, open, since the time of Telana [read about this in “The Veil and the preservation of the Waking World” from the post Frostback Basin [DLC]: Miscellaneous ].

[Strong] Grey Wardens and the Sun

The typical symbol of the Grey Wardens involves a chalice that represents the Joining ritual. It always displays a Sun, and not any sun: it’s one with a strong resemblance to the Sunburst of the Chantry. Let’s remember that the Grey Wardens was and is an independent Order that doesn’t respond to the Chantry, and even more so: it was created before the existence of the Chantry, and before Andraste was born. So any quick explanation that this sun is present in this object due to some potential influence from the Chantry seem unlikely.

However, as I showed in Western Approach: The Still Ruins, Main Chamber and Hall of Silence, there are griffons with this same chalice that belonged to pre-Blight Tevinter, maybe remotely associated with Dumat in some ways [since they appear in a hall called “Hall of Silence”, and Dumat=Silence]. We know that the Joining, as a ritual of blood magic, came from the knowledge of Arlathan elves and Tevinter Mages during the desperate times of the First Blight when nothing seemed to stop the darkspawn and even slaying Dumat did not work the first time. Therefore, this Sun may have some relationship with the elvhenan, the Old Gods, or just the blood magic that allowed the creation of the Joining.

[Curious] Avvar and the Sun

The Avvar have a symbol that I always found very Sun-like due to its design and cultural concept: The Lady of the Sky. It’s not only the concept; the lady of the sky can be any important object in the sky; moons or suns. Since Thedas has two moons, it seems more plausible to think of her as unique as the Sun itself.

In the painting that represents her (found on a wall in the Frostback Mountains) we see a design of an owl which shape looks like a Sun. Even her sculpture in Skyhold displays small spikes around her neck which give her a low-key “sun-like” design, specially if we relate this shape with the “sun” shape we saw in the Ancient Elvhenan Yellow Mosaic or with the star we saw in the “Temple of Mythal” mural [in “The actions of the Inquisitor”] or with the Sun that appears behind Solas in the trailer.

Curiously, her banner displays her eyes in a shape that looks similar to the Golden Ring shape, but in black colour. That the Avvar have an art that may have resemblance with Elvhenan's is not strange for me if we remember that  Tyrdda Bright-Axe Path’s story narrates that her lover was an elf that, as it is hinted, may have been the Lady of the Sky herself. This means that the Avvar always were a culture under the influence of the Elvhenan and the Dwarves [due to the marriages they arranged with the children of the Stone].

[Weak] Flemeth

Flemeth also had a unique concept art that shows all of her nature in one drawing: her dragon shape, Mythal, as the central part of it over a human figure that may be a petitioner; a bit aside and as if she were in a inner ring of a brown sphere, The Witch of the Wild: Flemeth, with a very particular staff inside a yellow circle that may be interpreted as a Sun. And very hidden in the corner, in the core of this sphere, now black, we see her as an "old, old woman" with a big eye drawn on her apron, at the edge of a cliff [potentially representing the fragment of Mythal that lives inside her]. This kind of eye is very similar to the ones that we see in the concept art armours of Mythal’s temple guardians. I assume it has to do with her omnipresence due to the manipulation of dreams [we know that she presented herself in dreams to an elf and marked him with the Vallaslin of Mythal after awakening, check the video]

Mythal also has bland hints related to Elgar’nan symbology, which is related to the sun, fire, and balls of fire with anger [check all this in the posts Speculations about the Vinyl Art and “The Death of a Titan”]. Flemeth ends up being related to all this since she carries a fragment of Mythal in her.

[Strong] Qunari, Par Vollen, and the Solium Constellation

The Qunari have little link with the Sun, but not the land they conquered. In the book World of Thedas we are informed about the existence of the Fex, a race we never saw nor had much information beyond the fact that they exist. May they be related to the Sun or a Sun-base proto religion? We don't know.

In the Codex Constellation: Solium, we learn that this constellation [which looks like a Sun/Star, image above, pretty similar to the Chantry Sunburst I may add] may have been a representation of the Sun or the Moon [or both] for the Neomerian [Ancient Tevinters], however, it could also represent Elgar’nan, since unreliable Dalish legends claim him to be the “eldest of the Sun”.

Another Codex, called  The Pyramids of Par Vollen, tells us that the Jungles of this continent have ancient ruins that doesn’t seem to be tombs but places of scientific purposes. The shape of these ruins fits perfectly with the constellation of Solium, making them, in some way or another, related to the Sun. These pyramids are a great mystery in the DA lore, especially for their total lack of information beyond this codex. We know their walls show images of “intricate sea creatures, shipwrights, musicians, archers, and kings. Odd figures are depicted, tall, horned, always in a position of authority and respect.” It seems that there was no resistance when the Qunari came to conquer this place, so we can suspect that this previous civilization embraced the Qun without much resistance, in part, because the Qunari have horns, and that caused respect and authority. Or the civilisation had been gone long ago when they came. Or it was a civilisation that was developed by or under the authority of the Kossith, the ancient Qunari who had no Qun.

The brief description of these ruins also makes me link it, potentially, with the underground ruins we find in  The Horror of Hormak .

[Confusing] DAO design

This section tries to relate the Sun shape with designs that may make the connection a bit stretched or not truly reasonable, therefore, DAO leads this part, lol.

We find that many places along the game, specially the ones related to puzzles [Honnleath and Enchanter Wilhelm’s basement] or to Tevinter experiments [Ruins of Brecilian Forest] display a platform on the ground with a symbol similar to the Sunburst of the Chantry. I’m not sure why they are there, specially in the Brecilian Forest, since we know this was a fortress probably developed by Tevinter [ which potentially may have co-opted, as usual, an ancient Elvhenan building and claimed it as its own] just to be taken by Dalish and humans later. This Fortress is a mess in terms of design and statues that it displays, so it’s hard, if not impossible, to truly take it seriously. To me it all feels more like a reuse of graphical resources, but just for the sake of completion, I add the present section.

More of these sun-like platforms can be found in the Tower of the Circle of Magi [which could potentially make sense since the tower was made by Avvar and Dwarves, and it may be a representation of the Lady of the Sky, as we saw in the Avvar section of this post] but also in the Temple of Andraste or in Denerim at the Fort Drakon which makes less sense [unless it is taken as a symbol from the Chantry itself]. Again, these inconsistencies make me suspect the reuse of assets in a game that could not afford to have 5 different platforms designs.

[Confusing] Free Marches Rural Areas

Another place where I found a sun-like symbol was in a very disturbing image of the book World of Thedas associated with a cautionary tale told to Free Marches kids. In it, we see that people/children are punished if they go outside a bubble of darkness with small “sun-like” symbols floating around. Each of these kids have a symbol on their belly or head. Curiously, one of these symbols is a small spiral that I’ve brought the attention upon long ago in the post Hinterlands: Statues, paintings, and structures found in the open where we found the alamarri statue I called Eroded dragon skull which has a “G symbol” on its back, which, at the same time, seems similar to the one present in a reiterative way all over the elvhen artefacts and in some dwarven rug designs.

I don't know how to interpret this image, mostly like the big black bubble that contains these klids seems to protect or shield them from the dangers outside. The kids that "behave badly" are dropped outside of it and are consumed by the dragon fire/jaws of the dangers outside. So in a very stretched way, we can interpret this image that the bubble filled with Suns protects people, or at least, it's the right path to follow not to be eaten by those monsters outside.

Conclusions

To put an end to this post, I would like to bring a short conclusion that we may have reached together along it. The Sun in Thedas is an ancient symbol that mostly every culture took to exploit and use in their own representation of gods/power.

This fact alone is not strange, since in anthropology we can see that severals cultures on Earth have developed religious rites or created Gods out of the Sun itself. The Sun is a symbol related to warmth, light, food, life, and security, so it seems reasonable for DA Lore to take it as the main symbol of Thedas civilisations.

The Sun in current Thedas is immediately associated with the Chantry and Andraste: it is a symbol of hope, of dawn, that provide the idea of new beginnings; it’s also the idea of the Maker itself and the Faith people have in him. It's also the fire that purifies in order to grant ascension [Andraste's case].

When it comes to Elvhenan, the Sun is immediately related to Elgar’nan, who was considered, according to the underaliable Dalish legends, the son of the Sun itself, who in order to save the Land shoved the sun into the ground, potentially causing a great damage to Dwarves and Titans.

There is also a symbol of a half-sun in an Eluvian, a statue, and in a hat worn by an elf, that may suggest that an original god, represented by the sun [potentially an ancient Dragon] was worshipped by the Evanuris. Lately, that symbol may have been co-opted by one of the Evanuris when they took divinity and the identity of the ancient gods they worshiped.

Elvhenan also seem to take the symbol of the asterisk as an oversimplification of the Sun, which across the murals, is also related to the heart of Titans, to power, and to the Golden Ring, which is also associated with control. So, for Elvhenan, we may suggest that the Sun represents immense power, if not, Divinity itself, that may end up being related to the core of Titans. The asterisk is also associated to the orb, a big power object.

Since Elvhenan were the first civilisation we know that started in Thedas [besides the Titans and their children], their symbols of power [asterisk, orb, golden ring] may have evolved along time to reach human groups which developed, later, all the sun symbols that ended up in the Chantry’s.

Thanks to Tevinter, we also can suspect that the Sun may have been a representation of an Old God, since they have a lot of sun-related images in their decoration and objects that belong to ancient times in which they were not Andrastian yet [in fact, so ancient times that Andraste herself was not born yet]. This may mean that the Sun symbol cloud have been taken from the Elvhenan or from the Ancient Dragons. Through Tevinter style, we also realise that the Elvhenan Golden Ring may have been used to create Breaches, which again shows and seems consistent with the idea of relating it to power and control. The symbol of Sun in Tevinter culture may be related originally with Elvhenan or with Ancient Dragons that Tevinter used to worship.

Dwarves have little representation of the sun for obvious reasons, but due to the unreliable legend of Elgar’nan and the war with the Titans, we may establish a relationship in which the dwarves endured the Sun [or the Elvhenan power] at some point in their story.

Thanks to the Grey Warden we can relate a sun with the idea of ancient Blood magic or ancient Dragon blood knowledge, since the Joining is represented by a chalice with a Sun on it.

The Avvar also have a low-key representation of the Sun in their Lady of the Sky, which may be just consequence of their deep relationship with the Elvhenan culture.

Par Vollen may have more answers about the Sun and ancient times, but the lore of DA world is very scarce on this region of the map of Thedas, so we can only speculate.

[corseque]

You said that there are things that you would have tweaked about the Blackwall and Cullen romances. What is it that you would change?

This is just annoying opinion on my part. I don’t focus on or study these characters so this is just a gut “I want to edit this a little bit” feeling, so just take it with a lot of salt. My writing process involves mentally editing everything I consume

Cullen’s romance is like the romance you get after a lifetime of struggle where you finally get your reward, but we didn’t actually get to see the bit where he changes his mind and thus earns the reward. He changes his mind about mages off-screen after years of working for meredith, and I love redemption, but we don’t really know what happened to him to do that. 

Conflict is really good, especially in romance. It makes it feel real and earned. I know some romances are there to be the calm reprieve from the storm, and comforting, but again, this is my opinion, but I think it can be a reprieve WHILE both characters are challenged into being better people. I want to see them both transform. So for Cullen to have transformed before the start of the game, it’s a wasted opportunity for drama and interest to me. Imagine dating Kirkwall Cullen as a mage, after he loved the mage Hero of Ferelden (which, the part where he loved the Hero of Ferelden is fully canon in my gamestate, from my baby’s first playthrough of DAO), and after the circle fell both times and he was there. That’s high drama, man.

So I would simply just make him start out as where he was in da2, and have him change his mind during the story because he met you. Still use the lyrium addiction as another set element to enrich the material. Have him working through trauma and work through his prejudices, and really earn that happy dog ending by contrasting with where he starts, and more fairly contrasting him with Samson. As it is, he kind of starts out pretty well-adjusted, and I kind of felt it could have been riskier or more threatening, with more conflict, given what the feeling was with his character in the previous games. I feel like he could have been more like Samson, almost. Like, less put together, less repaired before you meet him?

Blackwall’s romance, playing the second time around, I think he needed something besides Wardens to let him talk about something without lying, so we get to know him better. I feel like he lies more openly and often than Solas does, and Weekes talked about how that is a risk that weakens their characters if you do it too much. They described that they like, finally found Solas after drafting a couple really bad drafts, because they finally wrote Solas as a character in his own right that could fully stand even if the Big Reveal never happened. He could have just been simply Fade Professor and it would have actually worked for the whole game, and it was a strong enough character concept to stand up. I think Blackwall was very nearly to that point as well, but he doesn’t stand up as well for me. So just like some kind of added “Fade Professor” element, but for Blackwall. 

I desperately love that Blackwall is a self-hating soft man bear who just wants to worship his lady, and I love that Cullen is an anxious traumatized man who finds love after a lifetime of pain. These are actually slight changes. I really did like these romances, I’m just nowadays always looking at writing trying to think what I like or don’t like, and what I would slightly change to suit my interest.

I know this sounds like “make both these romances more like the Solas romance” but I mean, Solas romance is really good and moving to me, so I’m trying to figure out why I like it the best, and what I could do to give the other ones the same interest level and complexity because... I mean, they deserve it. Why can’t they have that too? So obviously, my tastes would be to make them more complex with more conflict. For some people that would be the very opposite of what they want or need in these romances.

In both romances, I would also try to make the inquisitor transform and be explored as a character as much as I possibly could. 

[kedreeva]

Hi, I’m sure you must get this question a lot but can you speak about peafowl as pets? I have a private, mostly secluded 5 acre farm with horses and chickens and I’m seriously considering adding peafowl into the mix.

I have indeed gotten this question a lot! I went through and grabbed what I could find from my blog. I’m sure there are ones I missed or things I could have added, but it should cover almost everything you could possibly want to know about peafowl. If you read through it all and still have specific questions, feel free to come ask, or drop me a PM!

General Information

General care article I wrote

Peafowl vs Chickens care

Things you should know up front

Things you should REALLY know up front

Noise level

no really, noise level (vocalizations)

Screaming

Even the babies do it

The babies sleep like they’re dead and it’s terrifying

Baby warning

Please give babies a stuffed animal

Also a chicken friend

General information

How long to maturity?

Language notes

How children should hold baby birds

On feather gathering

Can you eat their eggs? Yes.

Please stop putting peafowl on leashes

seriously stop it 

it’s the worst

Even experienced handlers get injuries

Note that these were acquired while handling all the birds for NPIP certification testing to check for salmonella pullorum

Housing Information

General housing information

References (young pen construction)

References (Young pen finished)

Different young pen

Adult housing

In construction

More photos

Early construction

Early construction II

Inside the coop

Original pen construction

Original pen construction II

Original pen construction III

Original pen construction IV

Original pen construction V

Cold weather/emergency housing

Peafowl and climate

Baby cage + some medical

Inside barn housing + babies

More barn photos

On cleaning pens

Outdoor pens need LESS cleaning, but still need scraped for waste and to have the feathers raked out after molting

Heated perches and radiant heaters

Get yourself a perch scraper 

Feeding/Treat Information

On treats and feeding

Feeding notes

Treats and behavior

Kale enrichment

Why kale?

Raw meat?

On millet

Enrichment

More leaves (video)

Toys

Laser pointer

Behavioral Information

Social affection

Peahen dominance display

Male bowing

Peahens and babies also raise trains

Can peafowl fly? Yes.

And they’re beautiful

On Molting

Baby dustbath station

On peafowl indoors

On eating peafowl

More notes (graphic pictures)

On letting birds mourn

Laying behavior to look for

Discussion of Taming

Interaction advice

On baby care

On Loafing Around

Feral interaction advice

On Free ranging

Free ranging notes

Links to tame behaviors

Picking up my tame birds

Idiot Baby + perch hold

Baby birds and affection

You will have to deal with this at some point

Probably many times

And they won’t be nice about it

Trained behaviors

Tail up!

Up! command

Up! command

Ask nicely

Genetics and breeding:

Masterpost of peafowl genetics (slightly outdated)

Problems in peafowl

Further notes on inbreeding

Birds to avoid

Java outcrossing

Information about Leucism vs Albinism + Pied

Pied morph information

Leucism/Pied information

Albinos

Conformation discussion

Conformation notes for purple peafowl

Further notes

Squat conformation health notes

Helios specific notes

Quality comparison

Poor Quality discussion

Sexing chicks

More information

Pattern comparison (angel wing pied)

Color comparison (with photos)

Egg and breeding info

On hatching deaths

Reference for the above

Incubator vs Hen hatching

Cabinet incubators are best

On candling eggs

Fresh babies info

Intersex peafowl

On Trans peafowl

Chicken/Peacock hybrids

Medical references

Sola and bread

Giving pills

Sola sinus infection

On belly buttons

Medical information on Stan and Artemis

Bird-rito and shoes

Shoes

Stan’s shoes

Splayed Legs

More splayed leg info

Splayed legs (and curled toes) are often a result of a lack of vitamin E in the parent birds.

Panting/overheating behavior

My advice before acquiring peafowl is to locate a veterinarian that will see them if something goes wrong and assess whether they seem to know what they’re doing (a good vet that does not know much about peafowl will admit this to you up front). I would also ask if they’re willing to take consult from other vets, because a vet unwilling to talk to other vets for consult is a vet you do not want to see.

Color references

Masterpost of color photos

Peach peacocks

Purple loud pied peahen

Purple blackshoulder pied peacock

Purple blackshoulder pied hen vs cock

On purple bleaching

Cameo blackshoulder white-eye

Cameo

White peacock (tail visible)

Opal Peacock

Bronze, Peach, Montana, and Taupe

Taupe is a mixed-color bird; genetically it is both purple and opal at the same time.

Peach is a mixed-color bird; genetically it is both purple and cameo at the same time.

Montana is new and can have severe health problems.

Elfenbien Peafowl

Java Greens

More

Baby feather patterns

Hen vs Cock as babies

Blue vs purple train feathers

Pied/Leucism vs Vitiligo

Feathers and Anatomy

Alula anatomy

Wing compartment

Yearling feathers

Hen train feather

Primary coverts

Tail feather

Random Other Information

On selling

Peafowl diapers information

Peafowl Diaper Making Tutorial/Pattern

picture of diaper off bird

More diaper notes

Diaper care

Applying a diaper

Best diaper post

Feral Peas

Accurate humor facts

Immediately after hatching

[blarfkey]

8 and 11 for fanfic writer asks!

Thanks babe!

#8 -- How often do people catch onto your little details? 

Since Solas is Ellana’s benefactor/paying for her college education/secret pen pal, its fun to have him slip up on vague ways that wouldn’t bust him but the readers know exactly what he meant. And a lot of them do catch it and freak out! But its also vague enough that a lot of them don’t notice it all, which is good, cause I want it to be realistic that Ellana didn’t catch it at the time.

11. What’s a fanfic idea you haven’t done yet? 

There are so many that I will answer this again! I’ve always wanted to do a Solas Becomes A Middle School Teacher fic to have an ACCURATE portrayal of the teacher life for once. But also to make him suffer because he would be a college professor thinking that he would step down to enrich the bright young minds and inspire them before they become pessimistic adults in his college classes and instead got way more than he bargained for. Shay would be the teacher across the hall that helps him get through the year. Just think of moody, baby Inquisition members! Sera would be his worst student who made it a point to make him miserable until he connected with her on a real level and not a “I saw this in an inspirational movie once” level. He would have to deal with Varric’s alcoholic parents. Cassandra would be in trouble for fights all the time. It would be great.

[faerieavalon]

Sa’vunin - A Single Day

Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition Rating: N/A Pairings: Solas/Elvhen OC, Felassan/Elvhen OC, Solas & Felassan  Chapter 4:   Shesathem - Surprise

Note: italics are implied Elvhen speech. 

[Read on AO3]

The clouds at the edge of his perception flickered in warning before Felassan stepped through. He was late, as usual. Solas clasped his outstretched arm when he approached, drawing him close and pressing their foreheads together in greeting. A formality from their early years, it had grown habit over time. He smiled at his friend and waited for the report.

Felassan rattled off a list of names that sounded like breaking glass to Solas’ ears. They must be more of the Orlesian recruits. As the list and completed tasks were rattled on, Solas found his mind unable to focus. He kept nodding and making noises to encourage him to continue but his thoughts strayed back to the sounds of her laughter, the feel of her hair between his fingers, and the taste of her lips on his tongue.

“What has you so distracted, tar’fen?”

“Hmm?” Solas shook his head and attempted to come back to the conversation. “There are developments in the Inquisition that I find most curious. I apologize for my lack of attention. Please carry on.”

“Oh, I’d rather hear about you. Has the Inquisitor done something to change your plans?”

“No. In fact, he is working towards both goals splendidly on his own.”

“Is it his forces then? Do you need more agents in their ranks?”

“Not yet. Too many too soon will attract attention.”

“Are you well? Have they begun to suspect?”

“I am more than well. There are none that question my motives.”

He hated that he didn’t want to tell him. That he wanted to keep this just for himself a little longer. But no. Felassan knew everything. He could be trusted with this as well.

“There is a complication,” he spoke slowly, choosing his words with utmost care. “No. She is not simply -”

Felassan smiled as the image Solas twisted out of the Fade energies began to take shape.

“Oh, it’s a she?” He laughed. “She must be a special thing to turn your head.”

“She is exquisite of mind and body,” Solas shot back.

His lips twisted in displeasure but he kept working. He remembered her hair when it was loose, pulled from its braids by his own hands. It hung in soft waves down her back. Her lean curves he could still feel beneath his palms. His mind dressed her as she had appeared in her dream the first time they danced. The bright smile and playful glint in her eye drew his full attention away from his old friend. Last, and almost begrudgingly, the branches of Mythal’s claim appeared on her cheeks and chest.

When he turned, Solas expected to hear more teasing. What he didn’t expect was to see Felassan gaping at the near perfect image of Ara’lan. His old friend trembled as he approached, arms loose at his sides and jaw slack.

“She-” He was dead serious now. “What is her name?”

Solas frowned, equal parts curious and concerned. “Ara’lan.”

Felassan laughed again, a broken sound catching in his throat. “Oh? That’s cute.”

“I agree. Her name in our time was Era’las.”

The whimper that came out of Felassan struck him in the heart. His keening pain threw the calm ambiance of their shared dream state into turmoil. Solas flexed his fingers to reinforce the barriers.

“She, she’s alive.”

He turned to Solas, eyes brimming with tears and rushed at him to catch him in a hug. So caught off-guard, he allowed Felassan to lift him off his feet. Relief poured off him in waves that flowed with his near-hysterical laughter.

“She’s alive!”

He cleared his throat and Felassan set him back on his feet. The younger elf immediately went back to study the conjured image of Ara’lan. He walked in circles around her, still laughing under his breath. It was the most curious thing he had ever seen him do.

“I take it you know her?”

“I take it you know her,” he parroted and choked out another laugh through his flowing tears. “Oh yes. I thought I had lost her forever and of course she shows up now. She always had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. I didn’t think I would ever -”

Felassan cut off his own thoughts. He reached out a hand as if to cup her cheek but paused before his contact could disrupt the illusion. Hysteria faded away and a sharp longing played across his face.

“Where is she?” His voice shook but it was softer. “I need to see her.”

Solas clasped his hands behind his back and truly looked at his old friend. He had never seen the mercurial elf ever openly express such sentiment. This Ara’lan was something special indeed. A wry grin pulled at his lips.

“You will get your chance soon. The Inquisition has been invited to attend the Winter Ball and she has been asked to accompany us. She is safe, lethal’lin. We are in Skyhold and she has acclimated well to her surroundings.”

He caught himself unable to resist staring at her echo. A warmth blossomed in his chest. The gift she gave him hummed away beneath his skin, a pulsing daily reminder of how special she truly was.

“They are treating her kindly. Her spirit grows by the day. As do the people around her. She can not help but attract a following.” His smile softened. “She is magnificent.”

“She is,” Felassan agreed. He gave Solas a knowing smile. “How well have you gotten to know her exactly?”

Were they not in the Fade, he knew he would be blushing. Even so, he waited too long to find his answer. Felassan nodded and his smile fell away. He squared his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

“How much does she know?”

“Enough,” Solas hedged. “I have told her who I am. She took it well. I will not cause her to worry about anything more just yet.”

“Be cautious, tar’fen,” Felassan growled in warning. “You are my isa'ma'lin and my tarlen but if you hurt her…”

Solas lifted an eyebrow, maintaining his calm. This was new. They had argued over many things in the past, some at great length. Never had Felassan openly threatened him before. Like the final piece sliding into a completed puzzle, realization dawned. This was a complication he didn’t expect.

“You love her,” he murmured.

“Yes.” Felassan admitted it without shame or pause.

“Ah.”

“Is that going to be a problem, tar’fen?”

Solas grimaced. He hated when Felassan called him that and he knew it. This was a big complication. If it came down to it, he would walk away. He wouldn’t fight his brother over a woman. Especially one with a heart such as hers. The path ahead of him was hard and this distraction, while pleasant and enriching to his soul, couldn’t steer his course.

“No. It will not. She is free to choose as she wills.”

Felassan relaxed and offered his hand again to seal the agreement. He took it gladly, hoping to put the strain behind them.

“You know,” Felassan whispered with a sly grin, “Were she to love us both, you know I’ll still be the pretty one.”

[obsidianarchives]

Slavery in Thedas: How BioWare Could Bring Nuance to Dragon Age

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), video gaming’s most prominent trade show, has dimmed its lights and shuttered its doors until next June. One game that was conspicuously absent was the highly anticipated fourth installment of the Dragon Age franchise from EA-owned BioWare. This isn’t so surprising since a Kotaku article detailed the turmoil going on at BioWare that led to a truly abysmal reception for its latest game: their first try at an online loot-and-shoot adventure, Anthem.

Still, I must admit that I have thought about Dragon Age every day since The Game Awards of December 2018. That’s when BioWare dropped a 65-second teaser and launched a hashtag that had me hooting triumphantly in my living room, #TheDreadWolfRises. I even wrote an article about who from the past games should appear in the next.  

I have met some of my all-time favorite characters and gone on my most beloved adventures while traversing the carefully crafted world of Thedas (The Dragon Age Setting). A big part of that is due to the broader themes of how theocracy, colonization, and war affect the marginalized and enrich the powerful. 

Creating worlds

of adventure, conflict and companionship

that inspire you to become the hero of your story.

The statement above is only one of the many messages on BioWare’s website that highlight how much they value story and characters in their games. This attitude has served BioWare well. Its last unqualified success, single player RPG Dragon Age Inquisition, earned a whopping 130 Game of the Year Awards in 2015 and had professional critics specifically praising its story. 

Of course, not everyone has been impressed. BioWare frequently gets criticized by what I like to refer to as the “dude bro army” for daring to include PoVs that aren’t in lock step with the dominant culture. Read: “Y’all have too many queers, coloreds, and non-hot ladies in your games!” Back in 2011, the lead writer for the Dragon Age series at the time, David Gaider, wrote a response to one such gamer on their now-defunct message board that was so well crafted it garnered press. Gaider, an out gay man himself, challenged the notion that video games should cater to the fabled  “straight male gamer” that all such close-minded dude bros evoke when complaining about diversity. As a bi Black woman gamer, this endears BioWare to me even more. 

All is not perfect, however. In addition to sex and sexuality, racial oppression and hegemony are two frequently explored themes in Dragon Age games. There is an allegorical connection between the systemic and situational anti-elf sentiment found throughout Thedas and the anti-Black sentiment that runs rampant in our own world. The problem is that many of these experiences are written and crafted by folks who have never been on the receiving end of this kind of oppression. Although talent and empathy carry the stories surprisingly far, the devil is in the details.   

In fact, the usual formula of giving players the freedom to choose how they want to act allows for just as much conquest, haughty disinterest in ethical decision making, and even slave profiteering as opportunities to fight those evils. (I try not to think of how many players across the globe regularly sell elves to slavers for a few in-game bucks while I’m murdering every slaver that the game will allow.) 

This is why when another Kotaku article reported that a Dragon Age project set in Tevinter—the slave trade capital of Thedas—was scrapped, I didn’t share in the disappointment that bubbled throughout fandom. Quite frankly, I was relieved. I unfortunately don’t see BioWare being able to craft a story taking place in Tevinter in a way that won’t be chock full of obliviousness, microaggressions, and straight up triggers for Black players. 

How can I think this way about one of my favorite game franchises of all time, you ask? Well, in Inquisition, it was not only possible, but extremely easy for someone playing as an elf to make a mistake and wipe out their entire clan while assigning missions on the war table. Because this process takes place over multiple in-game decisions and hours of gameplay, there was no way to go back and fix it. What’s more, no one even acknowledges that it happened in the game.  

To be fair, the developers admitted that this was a problem, but saw it more as a design faux pas akin to other similar war table missions that went awry. To me, it resounded particularly loud to see an oppressed people who were frequently set upon by aggressive humans get extinguished like a flame all due to my actions. What’s more is that this is my Inquisitor’s family and the only society she’d known until the beginning of the game. To say it jettisoned me out of the heroic role play fantasy for a while would be an understatement. 

Later in the “Jaws of Hakkon” mission, when it is revealed the first Inquisitor was also an elf but the chantry (church) scrubbed all records of this from history, the game similarly ignores the profound implications this would have for an elven Inquisitor. I have spent my whole adult life trying to sankofa (go back and fetch) all the history of my people that has been deliberately obscured or warped by a western school system. This connected to my life in a way that was never even partially explored in the game. 

Other ways a few high ranking Black developers could have helped BioWare is with Dorian. Sure, he’s one of their most dynamic, fun, and charismatic characters in Inquisition. But he’s also an unrepentant slave owner who, even late in the game, vacillates between vacuously apologizing to Solas for Tevinter’s fabled domination of Elvhenan and encouraging the annoyed elf to enslave spirits to do his bidding.

And then there’s Vivienne, the one character designed as a Black woman. Look, I’m not suggesting that tough as nails, power enthusiast Vivienne should’ve dropped her unfriendly Black hottie status and held hands with everyone. But how much more nuanced and mindful would Vivienne’s characterization have been in the hands of a Black woman who has spent her academic and professional career modulating her voice and carefully curating her demeanor to avoid the scarlet letter of being dubbed “angry” or “difficult”? What made “The Iron Lady” into the cold, calculated defender of the status quo? The horrors and indignities she must have faced in the Ostwick Mage Circle that led her to create her impregnable persona are never even hinted at.

Furthermore, Vivienne is immediately and permanently pit against the most lovable character in the game, Cole. No one in the game seems to understand her position. She is a Circle mage that was taught to mistrust and fear demons before she was able to read. Of course she’s scared to death of Cole! Instead, the game just casts her as an irrational bigot and a danger to ‘innocent’ Cole, a being that even admits he is potentially quite dangerous.

And that's not to mention Sera's internalized elven racism and self-hatred that could have used more nuanced handling from someone of a community that deals with such things.

I just…Hire some Black writers and developers, BioWare. 

That way when you explore these themes common to our experience there will be a level of authenticity Black players can appreciate and identify with immediately while non-Black players get to enjoy a narrative shaped by people with a deeper connection to the subject matter. Having multiple queer writers helped the sexuality content immensely; it’s time to do the same for the racial commentary.

Patrick Weekes, the current lead writer for the Dragon Age series is an immense talent. He wrote my favorite character in the entire franchise, The Iron Bull, and two others in my top 10, Cole and Solas. I have no doubt that he and his team will create an incredible yarn, but if BioWare wants to level up and reclaim their former glory after their last few games have struggled, leaving their brand a bit tarnished, they are going to have to evolve and invest in more diverse, authentic voices.

[roseategales]

100(ISH) WORDS A DAY CHALLENGE: NOVEMBER 2019 — DAY ELEVEN TO TWENTY-FOUR: WHISPER, BITTERSWEET.

rating: explicit. | categories: smut, modern au. | pairing: solavellan. | content warnings: mentions of alcohol. | word count: 2.2k.

previous days: day one. | day two. | day three. | day four. | day five. | day six. | day seven. | day eight. | day nine. | day ten.

author’s notes: idk what i’m doing. is that new tho? this wasn’t supposed to be uhhhh this long or take up two weeks afashfgsas oh well. i may actually end up using this an outline and turn it into a three chapter fic somewhere down the line, with more detail. i have Ideas.

                                                                              The main venue for tonight’s date is provided courtesy of Josephine.

Spare tickets for a new musical at one of Grande Royeaux’s theatres were given to her by an acquaintance hoping for good graces, and, as she had prior engagements, she passed them to Eludysia to do with as she pleases. It’s another modern retelling of Andraste’s rebellion against Tevinter, focused on her early life and the beginnings of the war she fought. The mythos is thoroughly known throughout Thedas of course. A centerpiece of faith and nations, it’s the subject of innumerable non-fiction and fictionalised works of controversy, so Eludysia had little inclination in carving out time to see it. But it has been weeks since she and Solas last had a night out together, and critics and audiences have raised this one to acclaim; thus, she has persuaded him and they are meeting tonight.

She wears a dress that flows to floor-length, with an asymmetrical neckline and a slit along her left leg, the shade of myrtle leaves. Her hair is bound into a simple side-braid, her makeup done with a subtle hand. Her heels and matching clutch-purse are an off-white colour. The overall effect is one that satisfies—and, she anticipates, is prepared well for the evening.

The show is at eight. In midnight black suit and tie, he picks her up at exactly six. It gives them enough time to have dinner and conversation at a restaurant nearby the theatre. They talk about the usual things: the current affairs of the city, her cases and their successes, his classes and the books he’s read, the new discoveries of the lost Elvhen empire. He tells her she looks beautiful. She jokes that he should wear a suit more often. His hand brushes her palm and she holds it. Their reconnection is natural. Smooth as the dark red wine which fills their glasses and they raise a toast to.

They arrive at the theatre on time to be seated. An usher escorts them to a private box for two, at the side of the stage. Soon, the seats below them are filled, to the very last one. And then the lights fade out. Applause follows. The play begins.

For the next half hour, they relive the times of old through the music of their own day. The tragedy of the story should be dissonant with the vibrancy of the beat, but the presented narrative is instead enriched. It’s something to be appreciated.

By Eludysia’s asking, Solas gives commentary on the historical inaccuracies and creative liberties taken. She’d be lying if she said she doesn’t prefer the deep baritone of his voice to the cast’s, talented though they are. In exchange, he asks for her thoughts. Their seats are side by side, close enough they are still be audible to each other over the orchestra. It’s close enough for their knees to touch, and for their hands to find each other’s after each applause break.

After half an hour, Solas’ hand doesn’t return to Eludysia’s. It drifts.

At first, his placement of it is innocuous—right above where her knee meets his. But then, his fingers trail a line. His touch whisper light, they wander up and up, across the skin bared by the opening of her dress’ slit, up toward her thigh. And he shifts the fabric.

Her breath hitches, of its own accord.

Solas hasn’t even begun.

She glances from the stage—where Andraste’s actress is delivering a conflicted soliloquy on her marriage to Maferath—to where his fingertips trace the curve of her thigh, back and forth. As if awaiting a decision. “Solas… What are you doing?” She asks, like she is unaware of his intent. Like she has to read his expression to glean it.

“I’m observing the show, vhenan,” he says, as if it’s obvious. He toys with her hem, but tenderness rests on his features. “Is there a problem?”

He’s offering an out. Affirming what she wants. One word from her, and he would stop. He wouldn’t question her. If she expressed any discomfort, he would let her push him away to undo it. The night could pass by without incident, and he’d bring her back to her apartment.

His concern cuts at her heart. She loves him. She does.

But the desire for this is mutual. She craves for it as much as he. So, “not at all,” she says, with a sweetened smile.

A smirk lurks at the corner of Solas’ mouth. His ivory hand dips beneath green.

He has knowledge on just how to unravel her seams, in both contexts of speech and touch. That may be the most dangerous part. She adjusts herself to help him push aside the fabric of her underwear, and his fingers are expert; he skims her inner thigh, teases at her folds, strokes slow circles around her clit, effortless. He does it all without looking directly at her, his attention still seemingly on the reenactment of the politics of the Alamarri border to an outsider’s eye. But while she tries to steady her gaze on the same, she grows wet and wanting. Her posture slackens to allow him better access. He slides a finger inside her, two, and she has to bite her lower lip to cage her gasps and moans as her hips seek and seek more and more of him.

He summons a tension Eludysia is driven to chase. She bucks forward, and he evades. She quickens her pace, and he delays his. The discordance of their rhythm is deliberate. It turns her frustrated and impelled to grasp for the cuff of his sleeve to synchronise their movements.

It’s a mistake. He withdraws.

She has to clamp her hand over mouth, muffling a scream of his name.

Distantly, as her head rests on the seat, she realises he’s remarking on the musical.

“…how vital Shartan’s role was in the rebellion. It is refreshing to see it recognised,” breaks through the drumming of the music—through her wild, erratic pulse—Solas’ tone somehow casually academic. He looks at her, wearing a spurious innocence, expectant. “Don’t you think so?”

Breathless, she laughs.

“I think…” What does she think? The only roles she cares about now are the ones she and Solas play. She is feverish, restless. The set of the theatre is reduced to a two-dimensional backdrop, fallen away and out of focus. The script’s pages are lost. She resolves to rewrite. “I think you’re enjoying this too much.”

Solas follows. “I always enjoy giving you what you want, vhenan,” he says, placing a soft kiss behind her ear. “In due time.”

He returns a long, slender finger to hover and drag along her sex. She writhes. The high ceiling is less dizzying to stare at than the stage lights and her mind.

For a fraction of a second, Eludysia weighs a plea on her tongue. Solas might relent. It’d be easy and she’d be satiated. But it occurs to her that if he keeps her on a precipice, there is a chance he will not. And she is rarely one who begs for leniency. If it’s a struggle he hopes for, it’s a struggle he will get. “How long?” she asks, for she has knowledge on Solas too.

He chuckles, shakes his head at her. Rubs patterns on her thigh to soothe. “Be patient.”

“No, no, I meant—” She wets her lips and considers him, and her laugh is of daring impulse. “—how long, do you suppose, until I can touch you the way you’re touching me now?” She ventures and leans toward him, cloying, promising. “How long until your cock will be stroked by my hands, my—”

His thumb presses her clit. Her legs squeeze and her hand flies to her mouth.

“Lest you forget,” Solas warns, the storm-grey of his eyes darkening. He parts her legs; fully revealing the left and more. The way her skirt drapes over her now is almost precarious. “I still have an advantage.”

A whimper escapes her, unhidden. She grips at the edge of her seat to rein herself. “You said you enjoy giving me what I want.”

“Unless what you want is to incite me any more than you have. That will not end well.”

She doesn’t give up. “Why? Will you bend me over and fuck me—”

“Eludysia!”

The thrust of his fingers is as sudden as his hiss. Thought is abandoned and she jolts and buries her face into his shoulder. He moves faster and deeper this time, a furor, that spurs her on and on and on until she is trembling around and beside him, smothering her keens and sobs as pressure builds, pushes her to the edge. She maintains her grip on the seat, knuckles whitening. Her hips press against him, her legs squeeze to snatch him there. Her insides are molten and the sought for high nears—

And Solas retreats again.

Strings of Elven curses tumble from her lips onto his sleeve.

Regretful, Solas calms her. His breathing is irregular, as is hers. The hand working her goes back to gently caressing her thigh, the other cradles the back of her head. He kisses the top of her hair, mumbling an apology, and ascertains if she’s all right. She collects what she has of her strength to nod and articulate an apology as well, in spite of her wound up state, and encircles his arm with hers to reassure.

There’s a sliver of Eludysia still conscious of their surroundings, the possible consequences of their actions; muted in the obscene but present. Applause is heard, a break before the next song. What would happen, if someone were to sight how she and Solas hold each other? She is ragged, covered in a sheen of sweat and her skirt askew. He is stiff and strained, fingers glistening from her slick. The balcony’s marble enclosure hides their misdemeanor, but not their unbelonging embrace.

She draws back, glances at the silhouette of the audience, then at him. “Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?” It’s a genuine question, apart from tricks and tactics. Absurdity underlines their situation like crimson ink. A portrayal of a battleground is just downstairs, and here they are, irreverent, above, with one of their own. All it would take is a slip of her voice, or for someone to look up, or for intermission to arrive. And yet, they go on.

“I calculate my risks,” Solas says, pausing his ministrations to pull at her skirt’s fabric so she is less exposed. He regards her appearance, her visage. “Not unlike you.”

Eludysia can’t help but smirk. “Referring to the dress, or?”

“You had your suspicions on how I’d respond if you chose it, didn’t you?” he sighs and stills, the statement coarsened. “Like you how you had suspicions on how I’d attempt to silence you if you stirred my fantasies.”

“Well,” she says, eyes bright as the purest emeralds, “I enjoy giving you what you like, too.”

“The games we play should frighten us,” he observes, his mouth forming a grim line.

“They would—if we weren’t aware of what we were getting ourselves into.”

“We aren’t always.”

“We’ll work on that,” she promises, and tugs on his arm. Her body is still as sensitive as a livewire, but her words are tender. Earnest.

Solas hums, and he allows himself a smile and the approval. The hand in Eludysia’s hair moves to tip her chin up, closer. “Perhaps you’ll stay quiet, then?”

It’s her turn, now, to shake her head at him. “One day, ma’lath,” she says, with a lilting affection, “you will tire of your need for restraint.”

“Ma vhenan,” he chokes, the endearment a bittersweet sound. Behind his lust, his delectation, his solicitude, is an unnameable despair. He sets it before her and indulges, “that day came when I fell in love with you.”

And so he kisses her roughly. A lash of hunger upon her, his mouth and nipping teeth inflict silken heat, his fingers finding her sex to delve in once more, so she gasps and his tongue can steal its way to entangle with hers. He conducts a new, headier rhythm, strikes in and out in concert with her need, how her hips rise and buck and pursue. He takes her moans, he takes her breath. Her nerves sing, burn, pulse. She becomes lightheaded and begins to seize as he finally, finally delivers unto her a delirium. She pushes away for air, but he keeps a vice-like grasp by the nape of her neck so their lips and her cresting cry remain sealed and secret.

There is a beautiful irony in the paradoxical act; what is meant to restrain is itself a surrender. What should conflict is inseparable. Where does one end and the other emerge?

As Solas releases Eludysia and rights her, she lets her head lay on his shoulder. He doesn’t protest. Oxygen floods her lungs, and in the equilibrium of weightlessness and the sense of gravity, a line from the Chant of Light rings crystalline: —a vision of all worlds, waking and slumbering / spirit and mortal to me appeared.

They don’t wait for intermission. He takes her home. Her dress is ripped, discarded on his bedroom floor with the rest of their clothes. She makes good on her word, strokes him with her hands, her mouth. He then has his way with her; marks her skin like she could eternally be his own. Like they’ll be all right. And together, they relish in their sounds and avowals of love saturating the room through and through.

He doesn’t know Eludysia wakes in the middle of the night to wonder at the profoundness of him and his confession, as she’d done months ago when he came to her door.