#tales of thedas

[talesofthedas]

Thank you for everything!

We were all good stories in the end, and you were great ones! (Thank you and happy new years)

[the-three-idiots]

Tales of thedas: Epilogue #5  The final message of Ashal Tieran

It has been a few months since the ruins of Rata Sum, me and Master Raim have finally gotten to our final location; The last beacon

After two days of hiking through the Caledon wastes, we make it to the site of the last battle between the great powers of Tyria. The lands have been scorched, and impressions of bodies both humanoid and not have been left in the ground.

In the centre of the battlefield lies a giant crystal tower. Standing at least a hundred feet tall and glowing brightly, it brings light to the dark wastes surrounding it. This is the last beacon.

It took Master Raim and me an hour to get to the tower's base; we did not say a word to each other. We did not know what to expect, but we both knew that talking about it may only make it worse.

We travelled up the seemingly never-ending staircase, seeing dark impressions of humanoid figures pressed into the walls. Something ominous about them, like they shouldn't be there.

We finally reach the top of the staircase, leading to an open room. From this height, you can see the entire Caledon waste. We both look around for some way to activate whatever interface the tower may have.

“Hello Raim.” A voice spoke to Raim with a surprising level of warmth.

Master Raim and I turn around to see the hologram of the female sylvari, the same one from Rata sum. She certainly appeared without much warning.

“H-Hello?” Raim says nervously.

“It must be just a message.” I postulate

“I assure you I’m quite real master librarian.” she replies back to me.

How did she do that? There's no way for a hologram to do that at least. How is she responding to us?

“Who are you?” Raim asks

“I am the assembled knowledge of what was guild leader Ashal Tieran. I am essentially her.” she explains.

“Are you alive?” Master Raims asks

“In a sense.” she replies

Her hologram moves towards Raim. She looks directly at him.

“I can’t tell you how long I have waited to see you.” She says, giving a reassuring smile.

She places her hand on Raims cheek,

“I’m sorry I have to ask. How did you come to be?” I inquire

The hologram turns to me.

“During the last war, our fight against the shadows proved to be futile. The top minds of Tyria came together to give future generations a warning in hopes of making sure this never happens again. You see, in our hubris, we ignored the warnings about the elder dragons and as we let Aurene have her final rest. We quickly found out why there were six elder dragons. The magic that bound them kept the shadows at bay. The piercing light of six elder dragons in unison kept them from seeping into our world.” she explains.

This cannot be, I had studied all their texts and history. Surely the heroes of the past could not have ended the world?

“A second project alongside my own was created by the humans and asuran to ensure the viability of future generations. It was soon conceded the race who had the best chance of surviving the calamity was the Sylvari.” she looks at Raim “Reintegration At Infinite Means, you were our last, best hope at preserving life.” The hologram explains.

It makes sense, R.A.I.M was something that was written on the pod I found him in. I had always assumed it was his name, never thought it stood for something.

“Reintegration at infinite means?” Master Raim asks

“We tried to create a master seed, something that could sprout from any soil and still grow hundreds of new sylvari but recreating a new blighting tree proved too complicated and the time we had left meant that only two sylvari seeds could be made.” She says

The hologram swipes her hand and displays information around the inside of  the room.

“You have the lifespan of a human from our time, 200 years alongside properly integrated organs for reproduction and a brain capable of storing hundreds upon thousands of years worth of data.” the hologram explains

“I’m just some science experiment?” he asks

“Join the club kid, so am i.” she remarks

“I dont understand if these shadows were such a threat. How have I and master Raim not seen any?” I query 

“This entire tower is made of dragon crystals, both of Kralkatorrik and Aurenes. It was designed to soak up as much life energy throughout the world to repel the shadows. We drew them here with our very lives and then drained the life energy of everyone in Tyria to destroy them. In the process, our bodies burned an echo into the very essence of reality.” she explains

Raim looks at the shadowy impression of two figures kissing.

The hologram looks over at Raim, she walks over to the impression and gently touches the wall.

“I…The real Ashal Tieran and her wife, Ever Forward, spent their last moments. Their love forever burned into a monument of death.” The hologram says with a quite real inflection of sadness.

Raim smiles at the hologram. She smiles and turns back towards the center of the room. The tower begins to dim, she nods.

“It’s almost my time to go.” the hologram states

“What?” Raim asks.

“This tower barely had enough to contact you in Rata sum, damn near killed-” She pauses as she smiles to herself “Damn near killed me.” she chuckles.

Master Raim looks at me in distress, the last visage of his kind is about to fail and unfortunately there's nothing I can do.

“This whole tower contains your mind, doesn't it?” i ask, knowing the answer

“Who knew one's mind could be so big?” The hologram laughs to herself

The hologram starts glitching, losing her form for a split second. She falls to the floor, her interface must be burning the last remainder of energy just to say goodbye. Master Raim kneels down to the hologram, he takes hold of the hologram's hand who smiles when he does so.

“You said there were two seeds?” Master Raim asks 

“A female seed, yes, located somewhere out there.” her interface glitches once again “She is the only chance of  bringing back the sylvari. Master librarian?” She turns to me.

I walk over and kneel down to her.

“You hold some of the last knowledge from our guild, find the female seed and the three of you will be able to create a new mother tree, then the land will be able to heal. We destroyed this land but you have to save it. it's up to you now.” The hologram says.

“I promise you, we will get it done ma’am.” I reassure the hologram.

She nods and looks at Master Raim.

“We made so many mistakes before the end, I am glad before I went I got to see that we got one thing right.” she's says with a smile.

The hologram starts glitching, the damage is done now. The crystal tower begins to dim.

“We are all good stories in the end. Be a good one.” she utters, quietly.

The hologram disintegrates as the tower completely loses its light, Master Raim sits himself down. He looks at me, he looks lost. A few months ago, we were just exploring the deadlands saving the last of the old world. Now the fate of an entire species has just been dropped on his shoulders.

I sit down next to him, putting my arm around him. He leans in.

“I’m sorry, i know that-” I try to reassure him

I am not sure what to say to him, he came here trying to find some truth or some meaning to his existence. He just found out that  he was grown in a lab, his existence owed to a desperate effort due to the mistakes of his forebears.

“Its ok, glad I’m not alone today though.” He states

His eyes widen, he jumps up and twirls around. I think he just realized what he said. 

“I’m not alone!” he proclaims.

I stand up and attempt to calm him down, he looks up at me rather excitedly. 

“Calm yourself master Raim, there is a hundred foot drop and no handrails.” I state.

He has a wide smile.

“But there's another me out there Prothis, a lady me. Goodness i hope she isn't called Raim as well, that would be confusing. Oh what colour would she be? What type of leave does she have? Oh i have so many questions!” He exclaims

“We don’t know where she is, Master Raim. We don't even know where to start.” i state

I lie of course, there’s always a place to start. I just want to see his reaction.

“For my whole life I thought I was alone and I don't want her to think she is alone either. Even if we never find her, I have to at least try.” Master Raim says

He looks down to the floor, fidgeting with his hands.

“Master Raim, I have been looking after you for fifteen years. I have seen both you and your mind grow, whatever your decision is, I will support your decision.” I reassure him

He looks over the Caledon wastes, he frowns and reaches into his bag. He grabs the journal from his bag, he looks through all the pages and stops at a blank page, he grabs one of his stencils and writes ‘the start’ on the page. He looks up at me, smiling.

“I think we need to go on an adventure.” he says.

I walk over to him and grab the journal from my bag. Turning my book over to a new blank page and turning it to him. He writes the same sentence in mine and I close it. I place the journal back in my bag.

“Which way?” i ask

He looks to the west and then to east before looking directly in front of him. 

“North, north looks good.” he replies

I look over to him but he doesn't notice.

“I’m proud of you Master Raim.”  I state

He looks up to me and smiles. He nods towards the staircase and we walk over but he stops himself and looks back. He rushes over to me and wraps his arms around me, I embrace him back. He takes a few steps, looking a bit embarrassed. 

“You know, if I were human. I’d want someone like you to be my father.” he states.

“And if i was a father, i wish for someone like you to be my son.” I reply back.

He looks a bit flustered, he goes to walk to the staircase but stops once again.

“Thank you for everything…dad.” He quickly utters

Master Raim quickly walks down the stairs and this is probably the most motivated I have ever seen him.

That's good though, he has always been able to move on the better, greater  things. He has always wondered where he came from and now he knows, he can finally be himself. Finally grow up and be his own man, whoever that may be.

As teachers, our greatest victory will always be to see how our students grow beyond us.

And he has certainly moved past me, he has chosen his own path and it is time for me to follow. I am glad I can see him grow like this before I become frail. I am no longer a young man and one day, even Master Raim will need to leave me.

He will need to move on and that's ok.

But until that day, I shall help find his other half. He is no longer the last of his kind and I need to make sure he can spend the rest of his days with his own kind. For that i would go to the ends of this world to make sure he will be happy. So that he will be able to move on.

[weirdlookindog]

Hugh Rankin - The House of the Golden Eyes

(Weird Tales - September 1930)

[nimthirielrinon]

Chapter 15 of Dania’s Tale is up!

They found the tavern, which was also full to near bursting. They managed to nab a small table and three stools eventually, and while there was no food to be bought, there was watered-down beer. Alistair nursed his, though he barely seemed aware that it was allegedly for drinking, while Dania sipped hers and made a face each time she tasted it. Morrigan refused to have any.

[little-goose]

So much speculation on if Varric will die and, if he does, how it would happen

And look there have been many solid theories but I’ve yet to see Varric dying being used as a catalyst to jumpstart the “Save Solas” storyline

He couldn’t save Anders, but I’d believe that man would play the martyr to save at least one Tortured Mage Who Isn’t Managing Their Inner Darkness Well

[sanctamater]

so i will say in my dragon a.ge verse amelia did not have a... smooth transition between kirkwall and joining the inquisition as its arm's master. amelia's role in the kirkwall rebellion and the events leading up to it was obviously not an innocent one. she profited greatly off of meredith's paranoias and thoughts of conspiracy and essentially functioned as a war profiteer ( lore accurate amelia trait ) while selling arms to the templars and allowing them to stockpile all manner of weapons.

in all likelihood, amelia would be facing some trial in the aftermath for her involvement in the rebellion. not only did she profit off of it, she ( at least in @ idolbound and i's verse ) would have aided meredith in the lead up to the rebellion ( notation, filing, wanted lists - writing and copying when meredith was too exhausted to ) and would have likely been made to pay reparations to the city of kirkwall to aid in its reconstruction.

[twist-assist]

I still can’t get over the idea that Marian chooses Purple dialogue options because smoothing things over with a joke is more comfortable than having to actively confront the actual issue at hand

Like yeah she helps the Mages but when the Mage/Templar decision comes up in DA2 she initially tries not to choose a side. She’s been trying to avoid the conflict but in doing so was pulled more and more into it

[felassan]

The Next Dragon Age Has a New Title

by Author - BioWare - Posted on June 6, 2024

"Join us on Tuesday, June 11 for the Official Gameplay Reveal Hi everyone, Summer is nearly upon us, and as promised, we’re ready to provide an update on our big reveal. We’d like to invite the world to join us on Tuesday, June 11, for the official first look at gameplay for the next Dragon Age! After Dragon Age: Inquisition launched, the studio was given an incredible opportunity to explore, test, and validate a variety of gameplay concepts as we worked to determine what the next Dragon Age could look like. We brought everything to the table which, yes, even included a multiplayer concept. The time we spent experimenting and iterating gradually taught us a lot. This work, and the amazing support from EA, helped us re-focus on creating an incredible single player game, with all the choices, characters and world building you’d expect from us. At BioWare, we create worlds of adventure, conflict and companionship, where you’re at the center of it all. As fans of our franchise know, every Dragon Age game has delivered a new standalone story. Set in the world of Thedas, these tales explore epic locales and threats, always thrusting you into a new conflict. Each game also introduces a new lead hero – The Warden, Hawke, The Inquisitor – that you can call your own. You can expect all that, and more, with the new game. And of course, much like your unique hero, it wouldn’t be a Dragon Age game without an amazing cast of companions – right?  Each of the seven unique characters that make up your companions will have deep and compelling storylines where the decisions you make will impact your relationships with them – as well as their lives. You’ll unite this team of unforgettable heroes as you take on a terrifying new threat unleashed on the world. Naturally, the Dread Wolf still has an important part in this tale, but you and your companions – not your enemies – are the heart of this new experience. So, to capture what this game is all about, we changed the name as the original title didn’t show just how strongly we feel about our new heroes, their stories and how you’ll need to bring them together to save all of Thedas. We proudly introduce to you Dragon Age™: The Veilguard.

We know you’ve been waiting a long time for this reveal and we’re so ready to show you what we’ve been up to. We’ll see you on Tuesday, June 11th at 8:00am PT at the Dragon Age YouTube channel with over 15 minutes of gameplay from the opening moments of the game that has you jumping back into Thedas on your new adventure. This moment means so much to everyone at BioWare, and we wouldn’t be here without you. We’re ready to have some fun, so join the chat early…we’ve got a few special surprises for you.  Thank you for all your support. See you soon, Gary McKay Executive Producer, Dragon Age, and General Manager, BioWare"

[source]

[nadas-dirthalen]

Dragon Age: the Veilguard Was Packed with Lore — But Many of Us Overlooked It

�� PART ONE — [ 2 ]

Welcome back, friends and travellers. If you've been here a while, you'll know that I wrote 30,000 words of predictions in the week and a half before DA:tV released. But here's the most surprising thing—I was right, for the most part.

I spent my first Veilguard playthrough grinning (and then sobbing) at all the lore reveals. And here's the thing: I think most of us missed a lot of them, including even me.

So let's begin with...

Titans: Dark and Light, Compassion and Rage, the Eternal Hymn and its Endless Listeners (1/2)

This is your warning: This post will contain spoilers for the entirety of Dragon Age: the Veilguard, and all Dragon Age content made before Veilguard.

Alright, pals. If you've been here a while, you know how this goes. I always start by listing what we're going to cover, like anyone who's never fully recovered from academia.

Today's Discussion:

What Veilguard (Re)Taught Us about the Titans

The Titans the first Shapers of the known world.

The Titans are beings of the Abyss.

The Titans are sleeping, dormant—but alive.

Dwarves are the Titans' children, created to tend them.

The Evanuris mined the Titans' bodies to create people.

The Titans—the Earth—fought back.

What Veilguard (Re)Taught Us about the Titans

The best thing about Dragon Age, as someone who loves the series to death, is that its worldbuilding is consistent, but also bears the unique quality that we, as players, are not aware of it all. Our protagonists in each game don't know everything; the people they learn from also don't know everything. We learn what we can through codices that are all biased and need an extra layer of decoding. This is a feature, not a bug.

It also means that we did not know how to understand the Titans before. Even my 30,000 words of theorycrafting, especially my piece all about the Titans, had elements of speculation. I had to check that speculation against other sources like the Chant of Light, which is a source that we REALLY did not know how to decode when it was revealed piece by piece in DAO, DA2, World of Thedas, and Inquisition.

Here, I'm going to break it all down, piece by piece.

The Titans were the first Shapers of the (known) world.

It is said in the Descent DLC that Titans are enormous beings whose singing shapes the world. Their existence predates much of Thedas, if not all of it. The Titans are called the first Shapers for this reason, and in Veilguard it is restated several times over that they did, indeed, shape the world—for instance, by Cole in Inquisition.

"Their ancient shapers were mountains drawn of all their wills, walking their memories into valleys of the world." —Cole dialogue.

Inquisition told us so much more about the Titans than just that, though. The Titans have a realm all their own, a counterpart to the Fade, mentioned over and again in the Chant of Light and referenced as a quest name in Inquisition.

Here lies the abyss: the well of all souls.

The Titans are beings of the Abyss.

Now, it's important that I mention right here that the Chant of Light has existed long before Inquisition. In fact, its tale is what opens DA:O as the game begins. Recently Eurogamer stated that BioWare has had a massive lore document for the 20+ years of its existence, and I believe that there is no truer example of this than in the Chant of Light itself.

The Abyss, for a long time, was a mystery to us. Inquisition cleared it up a lot—not only with its game content, but with World of Thedas' publication shortly thereafter.

Not only is the Abyss referred to in many elven codices, but we go there. The key locations of the Descent DLC—the Forgotten Caverns, Bastion of the Pure, and the Wellspring—are in a region called the Uncharted Abyss.

Now, with Harding, we go deeper into the Deep Roads than the average dweller. The same is true in that instance: venture down far enough, and we reach a Titan's heart.

We find a Titan's heart there. But the Titan does not wake—none have before DA:tV, and even then, they have not fully woken. Because, for as long as we have known...

The Titans are sleeping, dormant—but alive.

"It's singing. A they that's an it that's asleep, but still making music." — Cole dialogue.

There is so much Cole dialogue in Inquisition that speaks on the sleeping Titans, on their old songs that once sang the same, on how they will never wake up, that it would be folly to try and post every codex here. Suffice it to say: Cole knows of the Titans, knows of their songs, and knows they are asleep. He is one of the pathways to our knowledge of the Titans in Inquisition, and his words are peppered throughout the game.

The Chant of Light also makes reference to a mountainous Maker, who oft speaks about a forgotten mountain. When Andraste meets the Maker "in darkness unbroken," specifically, these words are used:

The Maker Appears to Andraste (7) Eyes sorrow-blinded, in darkness unbroken There 'pon the mountain, a voice answered my call. "Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing, An ocean of sorrow does nobody drown. — Andraste 1:7

Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing — a being who has been broken, but whose heart still beats. We can hear that, in the Descent DLC.

Veilguard confirms that both sources are true through Harding, her personal quest, and the codices for the Dwarven people.

Records that exist outside of Orzammar mention "great sleeping Titans" and "the First Ancestors." — Codex Entry: Harding's Notes: Orzammar and Titans

Harding's experiences in Veilguard, in this way, serve to prove Cole right. That is a deliberate narrative choice: BioWare's way of saying, Yes, this is true. Yes, you should take Cole's take on Titans as correct.

We also know, from Cole, that this state of being is permanent. Not only are the Titans asleep, but they don't know how to wake.

Songs screaming far away. It wants to wake up but can't remember how. No one should be here. — Cole dialogue.

This becomes crucial information in Veilguard, and central to the main plot. It serves as the backdrop for what actually matters most to the characters living in Thedas right now, which is...

Dwarves are the Titans' children, created to tend them.

By now, a lot of people have seen this reveal in the art book: the dwarves were created to tend to their Titan hosts/makers. But we knew this before—we just didn't know it in context, and therefore we did not believe it to be objectively true of Thedas.

In truth, we've known about the elves and the dwarves' origin since the Chant of Light came out in full with World of Thedas volume 2.

At last did the Maker From the living world Make men. Immutable, as the substance of the earth, With souls made of dream and idea, hope and fear, Endless possibilities. — Threnodies 5:5

I talk about it in more depth in my Chant of Light dissection, but what this verse says in context is that the dwarves (the Maker's second children) are beings crafted by the maker: bodies made of lyrium, souls made of the same "dream and idea, hope and fear" as the original spirits.

This concept has already been massively hinted toward with both Valta (who has become The Oracle in DA:tV) and Dagna, who both connect to isatunoll during Descent and Inquisition's base game, respectively.

We've known about the Evanuris' horrible crimes since before Inquisition, as well, for the same reason and from the same verses in the Chant of Light.

Until, at last, some of the firstborn said: "Our Father has abandoned us for these lesser things. We have power over heaven. Let us rule over earth as well And become greater gods than our Father." (8) The demons appeared to the children of earth in dreams And named themselves gods, demanding fealty. — Threnodies 5

With the context given to us by Trespasser and Veilguard, we know without a doubt that the Evanuris are those "jealous spirits" that comprise the Maker's first children.

And just like the Chant describes, they sought to conquer the earth: the realm of the Titans.

The Evanuris mined the Titans' bodies to create people.

Trespasser taught us so much of what we needed to know about the Evanuris' and Titans' conflicts. Its codices in the Deep Roads outline how it was Mythal, specifically, creating some of the first elves in the coffins found in that zone. The Temple of Solasan features coffins of the exact same kind.

Ir sa tel'nal Mythal las ma theneras Ir san'a emma Him solas evanuris Da'durgen'lin Banal malas elgara Bellanaris, bellanaris. — Codex: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 3

My (updated) translation: Isatunoll Mythal gives you dreams Lyrium within Becomes Solas evanuris Little stone boy You give nothing to the Titan (anymore) Forever, forever.

Trespasser reveals that Mythal mined the bodies of slain titans and rendered their demesne unto the People: she conquered Titans and used their bodies for her own ends. The hints about these actions, however, are not exclusive to Trespasser, nor to Solasan. These seeds were planted all the way back at the Temple of Mythal.

Elgar'nan, Wrath and Thunder, Give us glory. Give us victory, over the Earth that shakes our cities. Strike the usurpers with your lightning. Burn the ground under your gaze. Bring Winged Death against those who throw down our work. Elgar'nan, help us tame the land.

This codex to Elgar'nan makes reference to Elgar'nan giving victory over the Earth (capital-E, the Titans). Trespasser would follow this up with much context—that it was Mythal who was first known to have slain Titans, "rendering their demesne unto the People."

I theorized that Mythal's mining of Titans for lyrium to make elvhen bodies was what angered the Titans, based on codices in Trespasser and the Temple of Solasan. (I go into much more depth there!) Veilguard confirms this theory in Solas' Memory #4: A Memory of Manifestation.

Solas: I have the Fade. Besides, this talk of taking on a solid form. When you took the glowing stone to build your body, did the earth not shake? Mythal: The lyrium gives us the strength we had when we were of the Fade. We are the best of physical and spirit.

Mythal's crime was what took the war with the Titans in a new, darker direction. It was what would set off the chain of events that would change the very nature of the world—and it was foreshadowed, back in Inquisition, by Cole.

The Titans—the Earth—fought back.

"They made bodies from the earth, and the earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget." — Cole dialogue.

In this post, I theorized that it was Solas' creation itself that caused the first Titan to "go red." That is to say, to change its nature and fight back. I used codices from Trespasser and Solasan to get there, as well as one paragraph from World of Thedas and this codex on Fen'Harel that describe the Forgotten Ones as "beings of terror, malice, spite, and pestilence."

Thinking about those words, and specifically terror, I read the codex in the secret Deep Roads room in Trespasser with fresh perspective.

For a moment, the scent of blood fills the air, and there is a vivid image of green vines growing and enveloping a sphere of fire. The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast.

Terror. The first of the turned Titans. The fire/plant/ice imagery also caught my eye, and when I went back to Solasan to check, there were many hints that this was, indeed, where Terror came into being. (For more, go look at the most recently linked post in this section!)

Huge implications for Solas aside, what this codex taught me is that Titans' natures could change. This was confirmed in Veilguard many times over, yes—but my point here is that Inquisition taught this to me, just a few days before I gained the context of Veilguard. This was never a retcon! However, this lore plays exactly to BioWare's rules: we did not have the full context, and so almost no one read that Deep Roads codex as it was meant to be interpreted—including me, the first few times I read it!

It was only when I'd seen the achievement icons before Veilguard's release that it all clicked for me. All of the lore of Inquisition and everything before it made sense. That was never a bug, never a retcon, but a genius twist on BioWare's behalf: one that almost no one guessed at for an entire decade.

One that changes everything.

Titans, we know for certain now, behave as spirits. Obscure hints in World of Thedas, Inquisition, and the previous games have been confirmed in Veilguard. This new understanding changes not just the Titans, not just the dwarves, but reframes everything we know about the entire history of Thedas and how its magic system works.

______

Thank you for reading! It means a lot when people engage with these. And don't worry: I'm not nearly through with them. It's taken me a while to compile everything, but with more of Veilguard added to the wiki every day, it's a lot easier to compile things for these posts!

(Immense thanks to the wiki staff, of course. <3)

Up Next: Titans and Spirits are far more similar than we think, and it means everything.

[corseque]

I wanted to make a last-minute prediction post based on what I’ve seen so far. I haven’t looked at new Dragon Age news for the past couple (3? 4?) weeks, and I know I’m (on purpose to avoid spoilers) missing some (probably a lot of) details that other people already know. I DON’T WANT TO KNOW. So if I’m already right or wrong about something,

PLEASE please DON’T TELL ME.

You can come back in a month and tell me THEN. It’s just one more month to wait.

Also, this is just for fun, and it’s not serious. It’s based on vibes and also based on what I would write myself. I have developed a surprisingly specific image of what might happen to Solas and I’m just want to write it down.

I’m thinking “there is no possible way this is right………” but then I’m like “unless…..?” so a vague chance of potential spoilers

First, I’ve been suspicious about the elven gods getting free and Solas being trapped. If you think about what Solas says in Trespasser, it’s very

Part of Solas’ aim that has so far been revealed to us is he likely wants the Veil torn down, and one of the only things that is keeping him from that is the reality of the elven gods trapped in there, who would be released.

Inquisitor: “If you destroyed the Veil, wouldn’t the false gods be freed?”

Solas: “I had plans.”

But that is no longer a concern from that moment in the gameplay trailer where they are released. 

“I intend to restore them. Doing so will most likely destroy your world.”

Two elven gods rampaging across Thedas sounds like the kind of “the world is being destroyed” situation Solas was talking about. It is his incision that breached their prison, and it isn’t impossible that Rook may have been almost manipulated into completing it. I wonder if Solas is playing his two sets of enemies against each other yet again?

In the old tales, Solas uses his enemies to fight each other while he is tied to a tree, trapped. He gives both sides equal advice until they are both defeated, at which point he frees himself and finishes what he set out to do. 

Honestly, even though he’s “trapped,” it sounds exactly like the sort of thing that needs to happen for his work to continue.

(All of this is speculation that I think I’ll have a better idea about once I hear the full first conversation with him, and exactly how he words his point of view of what happened. If he’s very squirrelly in his wording, I’ll know he may have caused it on purpose.)

“I seek regeneration,” he said in Vows & Vengeance. The devs had said that Solas has been bringing back magic for centuries before the series even started. Perhaps it explains why the dragons have returned. It seems that his reshaping the world, regenerating it, will be successful because it seems to be moving steadily without him. So maybe this is a last and, once in motion, inevitable step in “healing” the injured world.

I think that the elven gods are very scary and world-ending, but Solas is the only one of them that reshaped the world successfully. He will be the one to do it again, not Ghilan’nain or Elgar’nan or any other god. He is a trickster his, and Tricksters are the Gods of Inevitable (otherwise catastrophic) Change.

One of the greatest criticisms of Inquisition was the lack of screen time Corypheus had. And how the climax fell flat at the end because he didn’t have enough screen time. This leads me to believe that Solas may be the “Last Boss” of DA4. Because we definitely HAVE a complicated satisfying personal relationship with him that has been set up for two whole games.

So the ending for Solas needs to do a lot of things:

“These are the times in which legends are born or slain” Solas as the Dread Wolf will die

It needs to work for both people who love and hate Solas

In order to defeat the Elven Gods, Rook has to find their weakness, which is Solas’ weakness too (maybe a fatal flaw, or how they can be truly killed) so it can be used on Solas too. Perhaps this will involve Solas trying to obscure this from Rook as best as he can

Solas fully is on Rook’s side against the evanuris, but when they’re taken care of, he doesn’t need to team up anymore

I don’t believe that you will be able to stop Solas’ plans, and I hope that they will change Thgedas’ world no matter what. I hope it’s just a fact of life that the Veil comes down

The story basically needs to involve Solas betraying Rook again, because new players need to experience that feeling in order to be in the same place with him as they were in DA3

It needs to give players a torn situation about him, one that makes you feel he’s reasonable but at the same time make it satisfying to fight him. So I believe this is why he will betray the player again, even if he is getting along with them.

I believe there needs to be a boss fight against Solas because he does have a cool big monster form and people have been promised to be able to kill him

It needs to be satisfying for those who romanced him too, but it also needs to be beautifully sad because part of the draw of the romance compared to all the others in the series is that it’s beautifully sad

For that reason, I suspect (not because I particularly want this to happen, I’m just saying what I see most likely) is that fighting and killing Solas may not actually be optional, and he is killed in every worldstate. This way, everyone gets a last boss fight and everyone experiences pretty much the same story without much branching 

I think the difference between friendly and unfriendly version may be whether he is brought back to life by the efforts of those who care about him after he is killed

So basically:

Veil comes down/magic comes back

Solas helps Rook take down evanuris

Solas betrays Rook when it seems the story should be over

Boss fight with Solas as the Dread Wolf (see: my Tulpa Theory)

Solas is defeated and killed

Story ends there if Solas is hated, (story about Rook getting revenge)

If Solas is loved, Solas is brought back and rebirthed in another freer form through a spirit ritual, perhaps as Wisdom, but some part of it is bittersweet like Rose and Doctor 10 (story about regret).

But basically, no matter how Solas and Lavellan’s story ends, their love enduring will be the path to joy, or them being together. Rook can kill Solas and Lavellan can bring him back. Even if it has to just happen off-screen or in fanfic.

I think it is very likely that Solas kills Varric or another character as a way to transition from passive threat to active threat. Or maybe Rook is responsible because of the theme of regret, idk. But I think we’ll get a great cathartic end for Varric probably.

I think we may have to choose between Varric and the Inquisitor, because it’s similar to the Hawke-Alistair choice

I would be very surprised if the story ended with Solas and Lavellan went off into the sunset together in a perfectly happy ending with nothing bittersweet. But sadly, I don’t really see this happening and I think bittersweet may be the name of the game.

Other things I predict:

We can assume that the Inquisitor will have an optional death scenario when they reappear, where we choose either to let them sacrifice themselves in some way, or save them. So perhaps there is an ending where Solas and Lavellan die together and can be free as spirits, which would also be bittersweet.

I don’t really have predictions for anything but Solas, so the big lore reveals might change the situation so much that none of this applies or makes sense anymore. In which case I will probably be HAVING FUN.

I am not EXPECTING any of this to happen, I am just writing it down and posting it in case I’m right. Anyway please wait until I’m done playing to tell me if I’m right or wrong, and this is just for fun, I wouldn’t mind if the whole game was completely different.

[eurekq]

can you even imagine the horrible romance novels that had to have come out in the wake of the release of tale of the champion. like come on... theres gotta be so much unauthorized hawke-adjacent smut out in thedas. anyways i only started thinking about this because i realized this drawing looks like a bad romance novel cover

[sammakesart]

I’ve been thinking about my top 3 happy-ish endings for Solas and a Lavellan who romanced him.

Do I think these are going to happen? Probably not. But if I was a writer on the game and I got to write endings for them, these are the ones I’d write:

Solas becomes “just” Solas. He loses his immortality, and he and Lavellan cast off the titles of Fen’harel and Inquistor for good. They venture off into the world together, never to be seen or heard from again. They journey around Thedas exploring ruins and perhaps helping the occasional Dalish clan they come upon, never revealing their identities, before disappearing again into the night. They become a folk tale.

Solas has to remain in the Lighthouse/Fade/somewhere else. He either is trapped there or chooses to remain there for the greater good. Lavellan chooses to stay with him so he is not alone. Where ever they are trapped gives Lavellan immortality.

Solas embraces his Fen’harel mantle. He and Lavellan, now an immortal as well, become the leaders of a new pantheon of gods. This could be a more “bad” end—seeing as how art that depicts Solas as the Dread Wolf seems darker/more sinister. But this would be a “bad” end I could get behind narratively. I would also just like one (1) story about a god falling in love with a mortal to let the mortal become a god! Or a “villain” romance where they let them join the dark side!! Come on!!!

[the-three-idiots]

Tales of thedas: Epilogue #4 Last Push

Alakess Ledge is the old gateway to Caledon, it was shut by the Tyrian alliance  long ago but my ancestor’s Master Lyrisa and her twin, Y'vana, managed to excavate a way through. Took twelve years but they managed to open a way back to the Caledon wastes.

Even though it is only the afternoon, I feel that we should wait until the morning before we head towards our final destination.

“Why did they close the portal?” Master Raim asks

“In the final days of the war with the shadows, shortly before the calamity. The Tyrian alliance had a plan to save the land using something called the last beacon. They needed time to finish building it. Now I'm not sure why but the shadows had trouble getting over large mountains. So they blocked it off the entire area.” i explain

“Like the Faolain peaks?” Master Raim asks

“Not exactly, while that was a feat of pure magical skill this was achieved by simply blowing up the portals and any way that it could be opened. The armies of Tyria did not expect to come out of Caledon alive, so they left nothing to chance.” I state

I grab one of my old journals out , open it and pass it to him. Master Raim looks at the pages intently.

“The Faolain peaks stopped shadows from getting in from the land but they didn’t stop the shadows from coming by sea but the remaining nightmare court sealed the portal to Caledon, so the Shadows wouldn’t be able to get into the rest of Caledon. They put a curse on the land so that the shadows would burn if they stepped foot in Caledon.” I clarify

He looks at the journal, he looks confused.

“Burn? How did that happen?” he asks

“From what I have been able to deduce, the shadows were basically anti-magical energy. They were not able to touch lands or people with large amounts of magical energy, A revenant called Voroni said to have felt the touch of a shadow and it was described as like touching an infinite  ice glacier.” I try to explain

“So they knew they would die and so put all their magical energy into the curse so the shadows couldn't or at least had trouble getting into Caledon.” Master Raim figures out

“Exactly, the shadows consumed it but they couldn’t take on large amounts at any given time. However, the bigger the shadow, the more magic it could consume at any given time. ” I showed him the journal “But the very thing they consumed could kill them.” i explain.

He looks through the journal and nods.

“Will we encounter any of these shadows?” Master Raim asks

“No, they perished with the calamity. I'm not sure how but they are most certainly gone, do not worry.”  I try to say in a reassuring tone

I am not completely sure how the creatures who ended the world vanished, by means of their biology, they could have easily lived off the land. Everything has some form of magical energy imbued into it, the elder dragons of old may have been conduits of this energy but everyone and everything has it in them.

One of the main issues the Tales of Thedas and indeed the great Tyrian alliance faced when fighting the shadows was that they could consume the very magic they fought them with. The only way to defeat a shadow, to my knowledge, was to overwhelm them with enough energy to ‘burn’ them out of existence really.

By the accounts of revenant Voroni, the shadows even had the power to effectively shut off the realms of mist from our own realm. They stopped people's souls from passing on or even coming back to become new revenants. 

From what I have gathered over the years, I can only assume that shadows are a dark collection of energy from one of the other realms or even a counter balance to the amount of magical energy from our realm.

So how did they enter our world?

In short? I have no idea.

The Tales of Thedas main reliquary and library in the lost halls of Caledon have long been lost to me and my predecessors. Wherever it is, could tell me how this all started.

I'm sure if the original Thedas guild could have seen this tragedy occur before it did, then maybe the world would have been in a better place than it is now.

“I must warn you master Raim, we may be heading towards our final push but i have to warn you, when we get to the last beacon, you may not like what you find.” I warn

He nods.

“I’d rather find something that I don't like than having to live my whole life wondering what it was I should have found out.” he states

The words of a true scholar.

“If i may ask, how come you never taken me to this last beacon?" He asks

"I'll be honest with you, it scares me." I reply

He looks at me in a confused way.

"My father took me to see it when I was seven years. You just look at it and it feels like it staring back at you. This tower of crystal just stares right at you as if it has a mind of its own. Then there's the echo's." I explain

"Echos?" Master Raim asks

"It was I call them, my father called them the burned. They are impressions of people and animals burned into the very ground itself. You could dig up a hole 10 foot deep and the echo would still be there. I have no idea how something like that happens but that's not the worst part." I explain.

I take the journal from Master Raim, flip a few pages back and pass it back to him. He has a read-through.

"The echos feel wrong, like there was a person wiped from existence. I haven't actually touched one, I just look at them and I get shivers. Like someone just walked over my own grave." I remark

"Scared by something you can't explain? that's not like you." Master Raim remarks 

Master Raim is hearing me but he doesn't understand what I’m saying.

I grab a small wooden box from my bag, I open it and show him the inside. In the box are six of the weirdest dirt samples. I take bottle three from row one, I present it to Master Raim.

Inside the bottle is a black substance I had scraped from one of the echos when I first went to the last beacon. I’ve tried every type of test on it to determine its chemical composition and it has none.

“What’s wrong with it?” He asks

“What makes you think there’s something wrong with it?” I inquire

He takes the bottle, he shivers before putting the bottle down on the floor.

“There’s nothing there, I can see it and touch it but there isn't anything there.” He replies

I take the bottle off the floor, the effect it gives off, numbs my hand a little.  I put it back into its box. I look 

“I’m not sure what we will find at the last beacon but promise me that as soon as we find out what the message, we get out of there.” I request

“You really dont like that place do you?” Master Raim asks

I shake my head.

“Sure but you promise me, whatever we find, please keep and open mind, okay?” He requests 

I nod and he smiles. I can guarantee much, The sylvari are all dead so i have no idea how Ashal Tieran managed to contact Master Raim but whatever we discover tomorrow, it cant be good.

[pineflowerart]

The Forgotten Memoir: Cost of Dreams

The Inquisitor’s return from Crestwood brings the Champion to her door, his patience grown thin as the letter he'd been expecting doesn't arrive. The time has come to find out why. One unsent letter, one more mission. The heroes of Thedas come together in an untold, forgotten tale lost to time. Upon the precipice, they stand facing the cost of dreams, looming closer. A Dragon Age fanfiction, cowritten with @oracle-of-space! Read over on AO3.

[Chapter 1: Unsent Letters]

[ammocharis]

One bit of obscure Dragon Age lore a day until Dragon Age: The Veilguard is released

The port city of Laysh in the Anderfels once flourished thanks to traders that were coming from across the Volca Sea. The travelers who arrived on odd-looking ships became known as the Voshai. They carried wares never before seen in Thedas and were extremely interested in acquiring lyrium. They also didn't seem eager to learn the local language aside from phrases needed for barter. Captains of all Voshai ships were dwarves who got treated with exceptional deference. Notably, no elves were ever spotted among the crew. Tevinter merchant houses launched several expeditions to reach the homeland of the Voshai, yet all had failed.

The Voshai traders stopped coming in the early Black Age, causing Laysh to fall into ruin. After centuries of no contact, however, their ships began appearing on the shores of the Volca Sea again, bringing tales of a "massive cataclysm" in their homeland.

Source: Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 132

Previous bit

[exhausted-archivist]

Common Fanons That Are Confused As Canon

Through my time of collecting lore and learning things about Thedas I've come across a couple things of fanon that leaked into lists of canon elements. Which was an interesting little thing to follow the rabbit hole of where they even originated. While making this list I did ask others for any that I might have missed or not seen because I wanted to be thorough as I could when even making this list. I haven't been in the fandom long enough to see all the things that have come up.

To be clear, I thought it was neat to see what became so pervasive in the fandom to become easily mistaken as canon or misunderstood. I'm also not discussing whether canon as it stands is "good" or judging the fanon or anything like that.

I just wanted to put it all together in a list, especially as I have had friends who were getting into the series and ask about certain things; as well as Dragon Age Summer hitting us soon and new interest in the series abound.

General

Mages can sense other mages The closest source I can find to this is the fact that Anders states that he can "feel the power in you". No other mage states anything similar and could likely be attributed to the fact that he is possessed. Much like how Cole can sense your magical connection as an Inquisitor. An outlier is how Keiran can sense your magic regardless of if he has the Old God soul; but he is also not confirmed to be a mage as of yet.

All Saarebas always have their lips sewn shut/horns cut off This seems to originate from da2 specifically, with the model of Ketojan having the scarring, the other saarebas missing horns, the concept art, and then boils down to BioWare being inconsistent with their lore/depictions. Most of Thedas fixates on the fact that the Qunari have saarebas with their lips sewn shut, the Seer's yarn tale denotes that tamassrans tell the story of a saarebas with their lips sewn shut, the tarot art for Saarath, and the flippant joke between Sera and Iron Bull. But, the lore specifies that it is in extreme cases or in general that it can occurs but it is not the standard. [WOT p. 103 & 128] Much like tranquility, it is used as a form of punishment - one that we know can and is abused by certain factions. We also see saarebas characters in Inquisition who do not carry either of those traits. Specifically Hissera (multiplayer), Saareth (Trespasser), Heroes of Dragon Age models, and some Qunari in da2.

All Saarebas have their tongues cut out This is seperate from the previous point due to the different source of this fanon. It seems to be an exaggeration of one particulare line from Sten. In dao, Sten will state during the Broken Circle quest that "This is why we cut the tongues from mages, in Par Vollen." He is very general with the statement, but contextually it is reasonable people took this to mean all mages. However, since dao it has been made clear that it is not a universal practice throughout the Qun.

Elves are shorter than humans This one does have a clear point of where this started, though it is never stated in lore, back in Origins elven models were universally shorter than humans. But from DA2 onward, male elves were only shorter than their human counterparts of the same sex while female elves are shorter than both human sexes. Fenris is taller than f!Hawke while both forms of Hawke are taller than Merrill. Solas, Abelas, and a m!Lavellan are taller than female human characters but all human characters are taller than female elves (except Sera who has a female human model).

Dalish are illiterate This is a little less clear to me where its origins started. Perhaps based off of medieval period history (which da isn't necessarily medieval in time period) or due to the fact that most common folk in certain regions in Thedas are illiterate and reliant on pictures over written words. But we know from the Witch Hunt dlc that the Dalish keep tomes of their history and of the ancient elven empire. They also actively translate ancient elven script for their own records. Whether this is role restrictive or not is unclear, but we do know that the Dalish are literate in both Common and semi-literate in ancient elven script.

Dalish and City Elves don't have contact This seemingly comes from a misunderstanding stemming in the city elf origins in dao where some npcs will comment on how Dalish might be myths. However, in dao, da2, dai, the comic Knight Errant, and the novel The Masked Empire, that elves from both sides do semi-regularly trade people with each other if not visit certain alienages, as well have other points of contact with each other. Pol, Zevran, Coran (Vaea's uncle), and potentially Feynriel are all city elves that join Dalish clans. Merrill and Arianni are known Dalish who join alienages.

City elves are genetic/physical differences from the Dalish elves This one I have seen around a lot, most stemming from the idea of the previous one that the elves in the city are generations apart from the Dalish, implying they have no contact with each other. Which could be true for certain alienages. But as far as lore is concerned there isn't any example of this, not even as being a point of reference for the Dalish to consider any of the aspects as to what makes them "less of an elf" in comparison to Dalish.

Elves pass on their elven traits Most seem to know this isn't canon, albeit one of the less popular canon elements; but new fans don't always know this. It is popular fanon to give half-elven children the reflective eyes, smaller stature, more angular features, straighter nose bridge, and/or pointed ears from their elven parent.

Only elves can have mixed kids with other races This seems to come from the fact that elven traits aren't passed on to their kids when mixed parentage is involved. However humans, dwarves, and vashoth can all have mixed kids from the other races. According to Patrick Weekes, this decision was made consciously to avoid very racist and harmful rhetoric. We know of many elf/human mixed kids: Alistair, Eiton, Feynriel, Gestan and Thale (residents of elven area of Halamshiral), Kieran (conditions), Michel de Chevin, Rinnala, "Sabina's Brat" (son of the elven prostitute Sabina at the Blooming Rose), Slim Couldry, Tainsley (Potentially. Is described as a 7'(2.13m) human, though he references a Dalish uncle.) While mixed dwarf children are rare simply due to dwarven fertility issues we do know of two dwarf/human kids: Keiran (conditional) and the child of Tyrdaa Bright-Axe(Avvar) and Hendir (dwarf).

Elfroot leaves get you high/is Thedosian marijuana This is another Origins era thing, due to an easter egg that made a play on the American "This is your brain on drugs" anti-drug campaign using elfroot. This was then repeated in 2015 when Patrick Weekes said that its medicinal properties were rediscovered in 4:20. [Source] Elfroot hasn't been shown to get anyone high in canon, it is the roots that are primarily used as medicinal. In World of Thedas (WoT) vol. 2 the recipe for Dalish Deep Forest Comfort says you can substitute elfroot for spinach making the leaves more vegetable in quality. That said, marijuana leaves are edible and rather nutritious. They just don't have the chemical make up to induce a high. Those lie strictly in the buds. According to Origins, elfroot does flower though.

Red lyrium is completely different and more dangerous from blue lyrium This one is all on BioWare in regards to this misconception. Because while yes, it is more dangerous than the blue lyrium, they aren't two seperate substances. More that red lyrium is a branch off. To cover the generals of the written lore of lyrium it breaks down like this: Blue lyrium in it's raw form innately toxic to just be around to all but dwarves, however it will kill a mage who gets too close in proximity. That proximity being within the same room while non-mages would have to touch the stuff. It also has a pension of self-combustion without warning or a clear cause. When it is refined down for templar use it is "safe" for non-mages to come in contact with and consume. Whether this level of refinement is the same level as what is used to make various cocktails and liqueur is unclear. But we do know that getting too close, being in same room as lyrium refined to this level, is enough to make a mage sick. Finally, we have the most refined and diluted stage of lyrium, this is used by mages to make potions, certain alchemical work, and other things. This isn't enough to kill a mage, make them sick (without extreme over use), and infact can result in positive outcomes for a mage. Red lyrium overlaps with most of that, with a couple key differences. First off is that red lyrium doesn't seem to self-combust. There is some contradiction on whether or not non-dwarves can mine it as due to game mechanics you can destroy it, but the only ones we see mining wild nodes are dwarves. But if the red lyrium is grown from a living creature it seems accessible to all races? In codices about the various types of red templars, we learn that a small vial around a templar's neck is enough to make all the mages in the area around him sick.

Character Specific

Alistair

Alistair is a dog person I couldn't track any clear origins for this, it seems to be a case of overlap with the stereotype that "all Fereldan's love dogs" and a mix of building off of a line of dialogue about him being raised by the hounds and them being his family. However, he doesn't seem overly one way or the other. He mocks dog at times, talks down in not such a playful way, and at times seems to treat dog with the same attitude he does Morrigan though not as blatantly. This could be chalked up to his joking nature though.

Alistair's obsession with cheese While he does admit to an obsession to cheese, it is often cited that Alistair makes a ton of cheese jokes in dao. When in truth he only makes four through out the entire game. Given his joking nature it is up to personal interpretation of how much he actually loves cheese.

Alistair and Cullen knew each other before Origins This is more specifically that the two went to the same monastery for their templar training. There is no canon evidence for this though. That said, there is a possibility due to not knowing much of anything about how the Templar Order trains its recruits nor the amount of monasteries they have in Ferelden for training.

Alistair collects toy soldiers This seems to come from the gifts he can be given during the Feastday dlc. Canonically he is given runestones and carved statuettes of various types stone. These statuettes are described in a manner closer to effigies than toy soldiers.

Alistair's mother is not Fiona This one is a bit funny as it has multiple origins and is dependent on the player's experience with the series. From what I have gathered there seems to be one of three sources: - People who never read the Dragon Age novel The Calling - People who read The Calling after playing dao and feels like it is a retcon (though The Calling was released prior to the release of dao, same with the novel The Stolen Throne) - People who take a "chuck the baby with the bathwater" approach to the lore The funny thing about this is that the cover story in dao for Alistair's mom is based off a combo of things; the hypothetical scenario Fiona told Maric and answers she gave Maric when he asked what to tell Alistair if he asked about his mother. The hypothetical was that Fiona would not return to the Circle and would hide from the templars and pretend to be a washer woman. When Maric asked what to tell Alistair of his mother, Fiona said to tell him his mother was human as she did not want him to deal with being half elven and all the stigma that comes with that as well as to tell Alistair that she was dead.

Avaline

Aveline is straight She will kiss Hawke regardless of gender and ask them if they ever considered her and them. Though it is clear she never had romantic interest in Hawke in particular. An easily missed aspect I think given the general opinion of Aveline as well as most people seeming to not choose the flirtatious option with her.

Blackwall

Blackwall doesn't have a sense of humor This one genuinely surprised me considering he jokes with Sera, The Iron Bull, and Solas. His banter shows as much that he does have a sense of humor and tells jokes. But it does seem pretty common of a fanon characterization for him.

Dorian

Dorian paints his nails His model doesn't have painted nails in game, but it is a popular fanon. There is nail polish in Thedas though. It's mentioned in the novel Masked Empire as well as the novel Last Flight. It seems to be of Anderfles origins, but given the Last Flight is post Orlesian occupation, it could originate in Orlais.

Lady Mantillon said, tapping an elegantly lacquered fingernail on the polished wooden arm of her chair, “we will fail, or we will be killed. Neither is acceptable.” - Masked Empire, Chapter 17 p. 362 Every one of her fingers glimmered with a jeweled ring, and her nails had been freshly lacquered. - Last Flight, Chapter 13 p. 144

Fenris

Lyrium can be drawn from Fenris' tattoos There is no mention of this being possible in da2 or any of the subsequent media. There isn't even mention of others being able to sense the lyrium in his tattoos or even mages getting sick around him as they sometimes will dependent on the concentrations and/or purity of lyrium.

Fiona

How Fiona was cured of the taint This comes from The Calling novel, where it isn't ever clarified what actually removed the taint from Fiona. The common fanon is that it was either the mentioned brooch, or that by having Alistair. That it was by having Maric's son who has Great Dragon blood due to being of the Theirin bloodline that cured her. However, in the novel she is very clear that the mages at Weisshaupt aren't sure what cured her. She only offers one explanation that the Grey Wardens theorized and trails off before saying what the second one was.

“It’s gone,” she said flatly. “The mages at Weisshaupt weren’t sure if it was because the First Enchanter’s brooch sped things up artificially, or... at any rate, all the corruption vanished. They don’t think it’s going to come back, either. There was test after test, but they think I may be the first Grey Warden that never has to endure the Calling again.”

Hawke

Hawke is stabbed by the Arishok This fanon likely came into being due to one of the moves the Arishok has where it will leave you almost dead. So a bit of canon as it is in his move set, but fanon in the idea it is something that always happens in canon.

Unable to confirm if Fanon, Canon, or a mix of both

Teagan marries Bella, the barmaid from Redcliffe This one goes back really far and is hard to tell if it is a case of mistaken identity and association, or a really buggy option for the epilogue, or isn't actually a possibility. What I can confirm is that Teagan does have a woman he can marry given certain conditions are met in dao, but it is actually Kaitlyn, the sister who's brother goes missing in Redcliffe. If you properly compensate her for her grandfather's sword she'll open up a foundry in Denerim and will marry Teagan after having known him for a few months. According to this thread, you have to get Kaitlyn to move to Denerim with her brother, make Bella the maid to Teagan and in the ending slide Teagan and Bella will get married. Though I haven't been able to confirm that this is possible. (If you have a screenshot/video of this slide and know how to trigger this please let me know) This is also not an option mentioned in the Keep, however neither is Kaitlyn's. Which isn't surprising given some of the ending slides that were not direct player choice (ex) choosing Orzammar's king) are mostly cut from canon.