#tevinter artefacts

[lairofdragonagelore]

Brecilian Ruins - DAO

[Remade post, originally from here] 

I don't know what to make of Brecilian Ruins. Can we truly trust DAO design with its statues? Spoiler answer: no.

[This is part of the series “Playing DA like an archaeologist”]

The following post contains

Tevinter architecture filled with Elven traps

Iconography

The Well of Sorrows: DAO version

The Tevinter Artefacts

Extra minor details

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Tevinter architecture filled with Elven traps

The first thing we have when entering these Ruins is Morrigan telling us that, despite seeing the whole place with the same architecture we saw in the Ruins of Dalish origin, this is Tevinter. Sure, we can assume that the Dalish hunters know nothing of Elvhenan Architecture or Tevinter Architecture, so their opinion about those ruins being elven could be wrong from the first moment. They are, after all, extremely unreliable beholders of the reality. 

Anyways, let's assume Morrigan is right and we see Tevinter arquitecture with Elven traps. This is quite different of what we usually find in Thedas: which is elven structures appropriated by Tevinter humans. This makes sense when you think that the elves were the first creatures in this world, and humans came later, in addition to Tevinter always co-opting any knowledge or techniques from the Elvhenan. 

However in Brecilian forest the order of the events seems to be on the other way around. Historically speaking, it can be explained in the following way:  we know that Tevinter invaded Ferelden and built many structures with defensive purposes, like Ostagar [which was built to contain the “danger” of the Chasind in the far South]. 

We also know in the DLC: Witch Hunt, that slaved elves ran away from the North to the South years later after the fall of Arlathan. We know they hid for a while in a Thaig, but maybe some could have reached these forest and inhabit the ancient human structures, protecting themselves with elven traps to keep Tevinter slavers away from them.

Another possibility is that Tevinter simply co-opted the Elven traps and used them in their own buildings. It would not be the first time doing this.

Iconography

The Ruin corridors and chambers are filled with statues. They are the same statues we saw in Zathrian's camp: Sylaise (woman with a vessel), Andruil (woman with a sword. Why? Should not be a bow?), and Ghilan'nain (woman without head and hands). 

These are the same exact statues we find in any Chantry, Circle of Magi, or human town, so this is exactly why I never trusted DAO design in general. I don't know if the engine and its lack of resources made them reuse a lot of background details, or there is a real intention in them [I incline to the former]. Considering that DAO had almost 10 years of development, I want to believe that this is not by chance... but maybe the limitations of the engine forced them to remove most of the potential that environmental telling has to offer... I don't know.

In any case, inside the Brecilian Ruins we see a symbol or figure we also saw in the Dalish origin: a kind of dragon-head like figure, accompanied many times by one of those figures that we believe, it represents Andruil (the goddess of Hunt). This could also represent Andraste [who always has a sword or a shield in her representations] beside two figures that look like dragon heads. This would link Andraste with Dragons too, which has been a repeated association that we are not stranger to. 

In DAO we see that the dalish are deeply related to Dragons too if we pay attention to the enviromental details that are not repeated anytwhere else:  in Zathrian's clan we see many aravels with masks that are dragon-like skulls, and when you click on them, you find out it's a representation of one of their elven pantheon. 

We see the concept art of these in the credits of the game.

By now it's quite difficult to say if this is an obvious link of the Elven Pantheon with dragons or maybe Old Gods, or it's just a vestige of former slave elves whose masters may have forced them to worship the Old Gods. It is not strange that a slaved group takes the religious symbols of their slavers and worship them in the name of their own (forbidden) gods. We know that we can't trust in Dalish tales as reliable sources of History, because it's extremely fragmented and lost (thanks to DAI we are truly aware of how false they are containing barely a pinch of truth in them, twisted and romanticed).

On the other hand, I am inclined to think that this is just a representation of how the Elvhenan had, originally, a religion based on Dragons. We know that they venerated a “divine” shape that was meant for their gods and their chosen ones that implied Wings, and due to Mythal’s shape, we associate this Divine Shape with the form of a Dragon. Additional material that can support this speculation can be found in the first three comics of DA comics [The Silent Grove , Those Who Speak, Until We Sleep] where we are informed that the Dragons were the ones who controlled the skies originally, possibly had a broad power over the Fade [Dreamer-like, so from the Fade they could alter reality], and they may have been related to an original non-fragmented “song” that everythign and everyone in the world sang.  Also, Dragon Blood is “the blood of the World”, placing the Titans in a confusing position within the lore.

In these Ruins we find a codex of Falon'Din. Which is the same god that Talem told us about when we asked him if he could identify that strange winged statue. So... the confusions gets worse here: it's a Tevinter Ruin, with elven traps, and Elven God statues. 

It’s impossible to overlook the fact that this statue of Falon’Din has strong resemblance to the Old God statue of Urthemiel. As if Falon’Din wanted to have the shape of Urthemiel.

The chamber with the fire traps displays “Sylaise” and “Andruil” statues. Which in terms of Dalish Elven lore makes little sense. Andruil? Sure, she is the hunter goddess, though in these statues she is not in a aggressive stance. So is she chasing after you?. And what about Sylaise? The goddess of the domestic arts? Trying to kill you? Protecting the home of the elves? In a Tevinter structure? This makes a bit of more sense if we keep in mind what we know about Andruil from DAI and the little bit of Sylaise [read their sections in Evanuris]; Sylaise is a very agressive, envious goddes of Fire, who is described top have fire breath [like a dragon?], as powerful as Andruil’s spear [a very dangerous and brutal weapon so far we know]. Andruil is presented to us in DAI as the goddess of Sacrifice, brutal and merciless so far we can gather from the codices. So both goddesses seem to fit a bit better in a deadly trap room if we keep in mind the interpretation we had from DAI.

The Well of Sorrows: DAO version

Then we reach to our first "Well of Sorrows". Or more like "Puddle of Sorrows", lol. Once again, we find a wall covered with that Dragon-like skull statues of “Andruil” and “Sylaise” [I keep the quotation mark because we know we can’t trust little these representations]. We also find the codex of an ancient elven tablet explaining the ritual which, after DAI, makes more sense. You drink from the water of the pool, taking the knowledge left by other elves, and then you put the rest of the water in it, leaving your knowledge there [it works similar to what Abelas explained about the Well of Sorrows]. It seems to be corrupted or empty since you don’t have any whispers or sudden knowledge inside your head, and many Shades are summoned if you fail in the procedure. This chamber unlocks the following one where we find the Uthenera chamber.

Since the only Elven god codex we found in these ruins is Falon'Din’s, it could be fair to believe that this may be interpreted like a "Well of Falon'din" which gathers all the knowledge of those elves that want to stop living and go to Uthenera. 

This is consistent with the info provided in The Masked Empire, when Felassan explains that powerful mages went into Uthenera in underground tombs beneath Orlais and their servants had to take care of their bodies until they rebelled to them and slit their throats. This part of the Ruins are deep down underground. It is also reasonable in its location: Mythal’s Temple is located in the Arbor Wilds, South of Orlais, while this potential ruin in the depth of the Brecilian Forest. What’s a bit inconsistent is that some chars [Morrigan] said that this place was a Tevinter building [not an elvhenan one], but we can’t take Morrigan’s words as reliable either. She has been wrong many times along the series. 

The one thing that deeply disturbed me was that there were two spirits, a little boy and a woman, clearly humans, talking in elven. We could assume they were elf-blooded, but there is no assurance in this. I want to believe this is not a mistake, there is purpose in them being humans since this game has elven models. There is no “engine” limitations there. Now, about the meaning of it, it’s another thing entirely.

The ghost human woman is beside the altar where you find the codex of Uthenera, some elven remains, and a piece of the Juggernaut (a lot of these Ruins History can be scratched via the rare items you find, so sometimes finding a particular item in a particular place is not minor).

Another detail that annoyed me is that the platform where the elven burial lays is surrounded by Alamarri/Tevinter statues. It’s not clear the story of this building: was it originally elvhen? retaken by Tevinter and later taken by elves again? Or this was an Elvhenan ruin, taken by the Avvar or Alamarri of any tribe, and then taken by Tevinter when they invaded the South? It’s not clear neither the original construction of this building nor the succesive invations and appropiations of it, 

So the elven chamber dedicated to Uthenera is surrounded by dragon skull-like figures, there are Sylaise and Andruil statues on the outside ring and Alamarri/Tevinter statues with spears in the inner ring. Clearly this shows that we can’t truly trust much the enviromental telling of DAO due to the restriction of resources. 

The Tevinter Artefacts

Finally, when you head to the deepest bottom of the ruins, you find a big statue I can't establish to what culture belongs yet; I speculate it's Tevinter due to the places where I found it most of the time. It has a similar flavor to the ones found in Kirkwall. 

Behind it, an instrument with two tables filled with research stuff. The instrument is something that I can't decide if it is the same artefact we use in DAI to strengthen the Veil, those elven artefacts, or it's a prototype version of the Tevinter artefact to see the stars: the astrarium [which would make NO sense in the deep bottom of the Ruins, lol. What stars are you looking at?]. 

In any case, after this part you find a big chamber with a quincunx. Probably the first time we see this organisation. Which makes us remember Solas Tarot Card: the thing we find in a quincunx’s centre tends to be of great importance.

So, this disposition makes a quincunx inside another one, since each of them is also a  quincunx, but its centre must be.... a person? a sacrifice? 

 And if this symbol were not crazy enough already, the squares have a Chantry symbol in each corner. Not the Imperial Chantry (which won’t be a big fuss) but the Standard Chantry! I can’t believe this is a lack of resources... the sunburst symbol is extremelly important in DA series.

In the centre of this big chamber, once again, we found another artefact that may be an Astrarium or an Elven Artefact. We are sure it's Tevinter, since the same object can be found in the basement of the Circle of Magi. We have no idea what it does, or if it's related to any other artefact we found in DAI. (But it’s related to the one found close to the tables full of research stuff. They look the same, one only has a spherical glass around it while the other is more like the skeleton of the first one, with some missing part)

Anyway, returning to the quincunx Chamber: Here we fight an Arcane Horror. I always found these creatures with a design preeeetty close to the Sidereal Magisters. I don’t know if this means something, but in this context, it hints that a Tevinter experiment went wrong in this chamber and corrupted the mage performing it. It’s not by chance that Arcane Horrors are a product of a Pride demon taking control of a mage corpse. It has a big symbolism.

So, we can speculate that some Tevinter experiment happened here, there is no doubt. Not by chance Zathrian and the Oak tree tell us that the Brecilian Forest has a particular thin Veil, and rage demons possess the trees around. We also find a lot of revenants here (pride or desire demons bound by blood magic, explained in the codex The Black Vials). In short,  Brecilian forest has similar symptoms to Kirkwall. Tevinter made experiments here, but it’s not sure if they were performed before or after the slave elves lived here.

Extra minor details

In these ruins is where we found a soul trapped (or bound?) to a gem that will teach us the ancient arts of the Arcane Warrior. It says that it is the last of their kind, implying that if you don’t acquire this knowledge, it will be lost forever and would make no sense for Viviene to have this knowledge in DAI. 

All over the Ruins there are some rugs with a symbol that can be interpreted as an oversimplification of the Tevinter Imperium heraldry.

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore ]

[flowersforthemachines]

Some facts about Neve (and Tevinter) gathered from the banters

I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).

Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)

Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.

Other characters' posts: Bellara, Davrin, Harding, Lucanis, Emmrich, Taash. I'm also planning a post about just the Lighthouse some time later

About Neve:

General:

Neve isn’t rich, and her best coat is a gift from a grateful tailor after she saved his warehouse from an arsonist

Neve’s coat is woven with enchantments to resist fire and lighting 

Neve has never done blood magic. She is against it on principle and judges those who use it 

Neve doesn’t seem to like entertaining extreme hypotheticals since she reacts to Harding’s questions like “What would you take with you to a deserted island?” with asking why she would end up in such situations in the first place 

Neve wouldn’t want gems on her leg, because she thinks they would get stolen within a day of working in Minrathous, and she generally prefers to keep a low profile while on the job

However, she still considers saving up for a new, fancier leg to have more fashion choices. She likes Taash’s idea of getting a ruby inlay for it

Neve never visited Rivain before joining the Veilguard, though she now finds its beaches charming

Ever since she was a baby, Neve was stubborn and asked too many questions (and hated unanswered questions as well)

Neve likes Qunari food but thinks it’s very spicy

Neve likes seafood 

Neve doesn't drink tea

Neve isn’t really close with her family

Neve once tried to use a wisp-repelling artefact the Veil Jumpers found to get rid of the wisps in her room, but it only attracted wisps from the entire Lighthouse

Neve isn’t interested in exploring the mysteries of the Lighthouse because she has enough mysteries on this side of the Veil

(If Rook chooses to save Minrathous) Neve sends civil engineers to assist in Treviso 

On work: 

Neve didn’t want to be a detective when she was a child (not as if in she didn’t like the idea, she just didn’t consider it), though she didn’t have any dream career either 

Neve got into detective work by picking up odd jobs and building a reputation of being good at finding things. Eventually, she was hired to find someone’s brother, a case nobody else wanted to pick up, and her career took off 

Neve agrees that she is cynical and married to her job, but doesn’t consider herself ‘serious’  

Neve allegedly has a system for sorting her papers (Emmrich and Rana are sceptical about its existence) 

(If Neve becomes Dock Town's protector) Elek is implied to visit the Lighthouse again multiple times. Taash mentions seeing him poking around the library. Neve explained that he thought he could grab some fade-touched items to sell, and told him to run the plan by the Caretaker (one would think they did not approve)

On life in Minrathous: 

Neve was born and raised in Minrathous

Neve has never been inside the Archon’s Palace

(If Neve chooses to become Dock Town’s inspiration) Neve doesn’t regret letting Aelia live because she got information on Venatori out of her, and her death wouldn’t change the past

(If Neve chooses to become Dock Town’s inspiration) Neve gets to take a break for once in her life because Rana keeping an eye on the Dock Town actually helps

(If Neve chooses to become Dock Town’s inspiration) People gossip about Neve and Rana after they start their agency :)

Neve describes the rain of Minrathous as "cold fingers down your neck", but she misses it now that she's away from the city. The sound helps her fall asleep 

Neve’s entire apartment could fit inside villa Dellamorte’s dining room 

One of Tevinter papers referred to Neve as "Dock Town dirt-chaser," and to Emmrich as "sinister foreign necromancer”

A Tevinter paper called The Minrathous Herald once wrote that Neve should be exiled. The same paper called Shadow Dragons “traitors to the Empire” 

Neve never runs out of ink because she's on good terms with Minrathous ink sellers 

There is however one banter where she runs out of ink (I think it was with Davrin). Make of that what you will. 

On the Shadow Dragons: 

Neve didn't know Dorian personally until she joined the Shadow Dragons

Neve figured out the Viper's identity even before joining the Dragons. Her not revealing it to the public is one of the reasons he recruited her

Tarquin calls Neve a pain in the ass 

Relationships with companions: 

Neve calls Manfred ‘Fred’ (he seems to like that)

Manfred learns to say Neve's name (likely only happens if you revive him at the Necropolis, though I am not sure)

Neve introduces Lucanis to a spice shop in Dock Town

Harding describes Neve’s tastes in coffee as “made of gutter water filtered through an old sock”

Lucanis once showed Neve’s coffee to Viago. He found it “unsettling” 

Davrin thinks drinking Neve's coffee is worse than the Joining

Neve spoils Assan (but denies that accusation)

Neve is rather quick to consider questioning corpses with Emmrich’s help for her cases 

Neve is very apprehensive about lichdom and the perspective of Emmrich eventually turning evil (just like Emmrich isn't thrilled about her taking over the Threads for similar reasons)

Lucanis is concerned about Neve taking over the Threads. Mainly, about how much they are paying her

Neve has multiple banters with Taash discussing her relationship with Lucanis. Taash initially thinks of it as some sort of predator-prey dynamic, but Neve says she is not into that and explains that they are taking it slow and cautious. They both went through a lot of pain in their lines, which they tend not to show for different reasons

Neve's relationship with Lucanis is also more than she usually looks for with people

Neve takes Taash to Hal’s fish fry stand. Taash loved it :)

Taash offers Neve help on ladders in case she may need it/it gets stuck on steps due to being hook-shaped, mentioning they knew a Lord of Fortune who lost a hand and whose shoulders hurt while climbing because of it. Neve seems to appreciate the gesture, even though she can handle herself

Neve thinks Taash is nice to work with, offering help without being overbearing like some people are

Neve asks Taash to teach her Gold Thief (a Lord of Fortune dice game), so she can play it with the Shadow Dragons, and then subsequently gets beaten by the Viper

On Tevinter: 

Fashion is important in Tevinter because a good outfit lets people know you are under the protection of someone powerful

There aren’t many mages in Docktown, which is one of the reasons the government doesn’t care about it 

The big red cat near Halos’s stand is named Ferdinand

Stains on clothes can be cleaned with magic

You can get pineapples anywhere in Minrathous 

Neve calls the magic used for the lights in Minrathous a party trick, but Emmrich considers it a high-level enchantment because of its quality and duration

Tevinter doesn’t regulate the charms sold in the market (which is why there are a lot of scammers who sell fakes) 

[vigilskeep]

works of powerful magic, especially blood magic, weaken the veil. in tevinter nights, lucanis can literally hunt blood mage targets by following his trained instinct for where the veil is weakest, and demons pour through as soon as the area is unprotected by elven artefacts. this could be why we see such significant tears in minrathous, despite solas’ ritual taking place a considerable distance away in arlathan forest, and i expect it’s rook’s good reason to not be a blood mage. in summary: good fucking luck to the denizens of kirkwall

[mllemaenad]

I have run this conversation over in my mind a dozen times, and I frankly do not understand how this could be true. Anything valuable is also highly likely to be "cultural": because it is beautiful and considered art, because it is rare, because it is made with valuable materials, because it is of historical significance; perhaps even because it is unknown – finding evidence of a lost expedition or settlement attempt that you thought left nothing behind would be valuable, even if you didn't know you wanted it before you found it. Even ancient graffiti can be valuable to a scholar.

There are probably items that are common enough that it's not a huge deal – an excess of very common household pottery, maybe – but that also wouldn't really count as treasure, now would it.

And okay: the Qunari can pay to get their stuff back, and the Lords have a policy not to overcharge. I'm not sure that's exactly ethical, but they're pirates! I'm not expecting them to be ethical. Isabela not wanting to piss of the Qunari more than necessary makes sense.

But ... I mean ... the old elvish ruins are ... old and forgotten because their civilisations fell, to Tevinter, and later to Orlais. It is genuinely going to be difficult to trace ownership of something very old to a specific Dalish clan, say, but I don't think that makes selling off their stuff better. Especially since we know the clans haul around a small number of cherished artefacts that they were able to save, so I think we can say with reasonable confidence a) they want all of it and b) they don't have the sort of resources to pay for it that the Qunari do.

I'm not sure how to read this, yet. Maybe this is something we explore with Taash later. But as a starting point ... I'd like to argue a bit more about what this means.

[galedekarios]

musing on the rooms of the companions

i didn't want to put it in my main post since none of it is confirmed, but here's my take on it:

emmrich's room:

the statue echoes the one of the grand necropolis

the incense burners & lamps mirror the one he had in the trailer

the myriad of skulls in the shelves at the back

the many vials and potion bottles that he's also pictured with in his concept art

2. neve's room

the teal pops of colour just like in her outfits

the very tevinter style of architecture + aesthetic

tevinter heraldry (dragon) on decor / lamps

the huge crime investigation cork board behind the desk complete with several pieces of thread connecting maps and clues and sketches of people

prosthetic leg at the left hand side near the sideboard

3. davrin's room

grey warden crest

dark spawn statue

a plethora of swords and shields

4. bellara's room

same head of a statue as in her concept art

magical / elvhen artefacts + spheres

colour scheme choes her outfit

lots of triangles hanging from the ceiling, which have been part of her design nearly everywhere from her earrings to her armour

appears to have one of the halla statues you can collect at the winter palace in inquisition

5. taash's room

lots of dragon trophies / statues / paraphernalia from horns to sketches to wooden statues, v fitting for a dragon hunter

what surprises me is the amount of nug statues

lots of scrolls, maybe contracts or tallies/debts

6. harding's room

harding was described as a "romantic" and as someone who "loves nature"

rooms reflects that with lots of plants, a open water pool, lots of warm and natural light

has an outdoors feel to it, fitting for a former scout

which leaves...

7. lucanis's "room"

i assume it's a pantry? or a storeroom for food?

there doesn't seem to be anything personal here at all, which is perhaps fitting for someone who is both described as an assassin and as a workaholic, but it still surprised me to see just how barren his living space is, with no trace of himself seemingly, apart from a nondescript cot set up in the back

[asharaks]

the vision for rivain: instead of an organised faction of good-guy treasure hunters, the lords of fortune are a much looser organisation; not so much a tight-knit group of friends as a network of fences, buyers and suppliers, informally referred to as the “lords of fortune” for their reputation as led by the principles of profit above anything. the lines each “lord” is willing to cross varies as they don’t have a unifying ethos, but it’s a market with a reputation for graverobbing, theft of valuable artefacts and other ethically dubious procurement of goods, and its atmosphere and structure are heavily influenced by the blending of cultures — rivain is a coastal country with a history of occupation iirc, and they have better relations with the qun than other countries in thedas; things are more fluid, cultures are less defined and tend to bleed together. they’re also a country with a long history of mage tolerance and reverence for magic, so less chantry presence, more free trade and more open trading in goods that are frowned upon elsewhere, such as spell reagents and body parts for use in necromancy and blood magic. taash's mother fled to rivain and is a contact for the lords but taash herself isn't one; notably, the lords are neither the only trading network in rivain nor the largest, and more reputable traders abound along the coastal towns available to explore. 

rivain itself is not represented solely by an uninhabited beach and a gladiatorial arena. instead, while you find taash on a dragon hunt along the coast, rivain is first represented as a thriving coastal city with a significant population of free mages, seers, qunari and tal-vashoth, with whom dialogue can be initiated about their varied opinions on the state of the city and surrounding area. the dragon hunt with taash is characterised by discussion of dragon hunting as a sacred practice to qunari (more on this later!), with taash emphasising the spiritual and cultural importance of dragons to qunari; they are insulted by the implications of killing a dragon for profit, and take a defensive stance about it, but will later admit they were planning to profit off killing it: having grown up isolated from qunari culture, while they are aware of dragon hunting as a sacred practice, they’re unfamiliar with the practical rituals surrounding use of the downed dragon’s body.

after successfully baiting the dragon, you fight it for a while, before it overwhelms the party and you’re forced to retreat; taash is frustrated, but admits she’s never actually successfully killed a high dragon. you head back to the city, where the lords of fortune contact is unimpressed by the failure to bring back loot, and taash takes offense: before things can get violent, isabela steps in, introduces herself, and offers more useful contacts in exchange for rook and taash’s help dealing with a group of slavers moving qunari slaves to tevinter off the rivain coast. as a known pirate, she can’t get legitimate crew and since she won’t participate in slavery, the lords of fortune won’t help her without a solid promise of reward. lord of fortune rooks here get some unique dialogue regarding frustration about certain practices within the lords. you and taash help her free the slaves, and open up a new faction merchant and base area.

rivaini culture is depicted here as a blend of mercenary and spiritual, with a lot of npcs expressing a range of religious beliefs, including unconventional approaches to andrastianism, followers of the qun, rivaini seers, and dalish elves. the city carries a very different atmosphere to both treviso and minrathous, with a more mixed class and caste system, fewer templars and guards, and a strong sense of movement, as merchants and traders move in and out of the city. quests can be given by a range of npcs, including tal-vashoth, qunari, dalish elves, seers, and human citizens.

the primary quest, given by bela, is to retrieve a cursed artifact stolen by another subfaction of the lords of fortune: when you bring it back and have it appraised by taash’s mother, you find it’s an elven artifact that’s been damaged. isabela recommends taking it back to merrill at the veil jumpers, and gives you a note to pass on on her behalf too. taash will volunteer to come with you of her own free will, having heard about the blighted dragons at minrathous and treviso: taash’s mother tries to discourage this, but they insist.

also, bela gets clothes.

(previous - arlathan and the veil jumpers)

(next - the wetlands & the wardens)

[crossdressingdeath]

It's so weird to me seeing people insist that all Rooks are going to be the exact same with no real variation between them besides the names based on the fact that they all get involved with the Veilguard after prioritizing saving lives over their faction (if you look at the blurbs even the "they go against orders to save people" angle only applies to Thorne, the others didn't know or didn't have actual orders to go against, and even "prioritizing lives over their faction" doesn't apply to Mercar (going against slavers is kind of their job and the Shadow Dragons want them out of sight to protect them) or de Riva (they didn't actually know about the wider mission at stake and could easily have assumed that their superiors urging caution didn't mean letting civilians die)). For a few reasons, actually. First and most obviously... people are making a lot of assumptions based on the very brief and vague backstory overview you get at the start of the game. The character introductions we get at the start of the game have always been a brief overview with no emotional details; the details come in the game proper (which is also when Rook will I'm sure get the chance to discuss how they feel about their faction and the events that led to them leaving it; it's very strange to me that so many people seem convinced we won't get to make decisions about that based from what I've seen solely on the single paragraph of background information we get before the game even starts). Bioware didn't stop in the CC of DAO, DA2 or DAI to ask us exactly how our character felt about their background, they let us decide that for ourselves during the game, and I really don't understand why people are assuming it'll be different here.

Secondly it's based on a massively oversimplified view of what exactly happens in each backstory blurb. I mean there is of course the general setup of each character's background before the incident that led them to the Veilguard (do not come here and try to tell me that a baby found by the undead and raised by necromancers in Nevarra is the exact same as a kid raised by a military family in Tevinter, using the two whose childhoods we have any information on as an example; they are not the same and would have very different viewpoints on the world), but there's more to it. The actual incidents are quite different if you look at them beyond that basic "prioritized lives over the faction's best interests" angle! Aldwir choosing to give up a valuable artefact to save their teammates isn't the same as Thorne refusing to wait for reinforcements when a nearby village would be destroyed before they arrived, which isn't the same as Laidir pissing off the nobles and risking drawing the authorities' ire down on the Lords by killing a corrupt noble, which isn't the same as de Riva unknowingly compromising a larger mission by rescuing Antivan citizens taken captive by the Antaam. These are different events! Saying they're all the same is a very, very simplified read of them!

But I'm sure people will still argue that they're too similar because of that very simplified read. To that I say: every Warden is the exact same because they all get involved in a dangerous event and then get recruited by Duncan. Every Inquisitor is the exact same because they all go to the Conclave and pick up the Anchor. The details of their backgrounds and their thoughts on those backgrounds and their dialogue that's impacted by their backgrounds don't matter, the inciting incident is the same so clearly they're all the exact same character and the only things that change are names, classes and aesthetics.

...Stupid, right? Obviously if you boil down the protagonist of an RPG to the most basic description possible they're going to appear the same as every other possible protagonist of that RPG. The protagonist needs a plot hook to get them involved in the main story and that plot hook is always going to be similar to every other potential protagonist's plot hook. The Warden needs to be in a situation where they would get recruited by Duncan, and it makes for easier writing if that happens in a situation where there's a good chance they'd be grateful for it. The Inquisitor needs to get the Anchor. And in this game Rook needs to be in a position where their faction wants or needs them out of the way for whatever reason and Varric would want to take them for the Veilguard. With those two factors in mind, them putting innocent lives over their faction (for lack of a better way of putting it, see my comment on Mercar and de Riva in the first paragraph) is a good choice. It's something that ensures their faction will encourage or order them to join up and something that would encourage Varric to pick them! If you agree that it's stupid to claim all Wardens or Inquisitors are the exact same regardless of backstory because of the inciting incident that gets them into the plot (which I assume everyone does), then don't automatically assume that all Rooks are going to be the same because of their inciting incidents having some similarities.

[lasatfat]

Hey welcome to DADWC

"A hand mirror, its glass irreparably shattered" from the artefacts of thedas list. For Gideon Lavellan/Dorian

artefacts of Thedas | @dadrunkwriting

Risk My Hands to Pick Up Shards

“Ouch!”

Dorian snatches his hand back, and instinctively shoves his stinging finger into his mouth. The taste of copper tells him that he has, indeed, drawn blood, and apparently rather a lot of it. With his good hand, he fishes a handkerchief from his pocket, and wraps it around the wound.

“Fasta vass, and thank you very much!” he tells the offending box of…well, he was still in the process of ascertaining what exactly was in the box when something inside decided to fight back. A lot of useless trinkets, so far. Peering in, he can see the culprit: a shard of mirror glass, now bearing a glob of carefully curated Tevinter blood, sticking haphazardly out of a rather handsome frame. Shame, it would be a pretty thing, if it wasn’t now a collection of shards and glittering dust.

The door creaks open behind him. “Dorian? Are you alright?”

Oh, joy of joys. Of course the universe would conspire to make Dorian look like either an incompetent fool or a dishonest blood mage in front of the Herald of Andraste. The former is marginally less damaging, so he decides to push for that interpretation.

“Gideon!” he says, brightly. He holds up his covered finger, as the handkerchief is rapidly becoming saturated. “I wonder if you might be able to help me. I’ve finally met a mirror that doesn’t like me.”

The joke might have landed, if Gideon had been less concerned. He hurries over, and kneels beside him. “Let me see.”

He pulls back the handkerchief, examining the cut with sharp eyes. Fresh blood oozes over Dorian’s finger. The wound is not quite as large as he’d thought, but it seems to go rather deep. Even so, Gideon appears less worried than he had before. He pulls a fresh cloth from a pocket on his belt, folds it over the handkerchief, and squeezes tight, drawing a hiss of pain past Dorian’s teeth.

“Ir ab…sorry,” Gideon mutters. He lifts Dorian’s hand over their heads, his grip like a vice. “I need to stop the bleeding.”

They sit in that odd position, in an uncomfortable silence. Gideon may be new to the political game, but he has perfected the impassive mask essential for navigating it. He watches Dorian’s elevated hand, his brow furrowed slightly in thought. Dorian can’t parse anything from him now, other than maybe he’s concentrating on the job at hand.

“What were you saying there?” he asks, if only for something to talk about. “Ir ab?”

“Oh, ir abelas. It means, ‘I’m sorry,’” Gideon explains. “I didn’t think you’d know much Elvhen.”

“Not as much as I’d like.”

“Well, the exact translation is ‘I am filled with sorrow for you,’ but that’s a little overly dramatic.” Gideon smiles, companionably, and Dorian smirks in return. “In any case, I am sorry I hurt you. I can heal this up in no time, but not while it’s bleeding like that.”

Dorian chuckles. “Yes, I know. It’s not the first time I’ve sliced myself open on something. Accidentally, of course,” he adds, hurriedly.

“I assumed as much,” Gideon replies. “I imagine if you’d done it on purpose, you wouldn’t have shouted ‘ouch.’”

“No, I’d imagine not.”

The time passes a little more pleasantly after that. Gideon teaches him ‘andaran atish’an’ and ‘dareth shiral,’ and Dorian teaches him ‘avanna’ and ‘vitae benefaria’ in return – while Trade is the common tongue in Tevinter these days, a little Tevene might go a long way. Eventually, Gideon cleans the wound – he pulls the stopper from his waterskin with his teeth, which is far more alluring than it has any right to be – and suddenly, it looks more like Dorian has suffered a small cut and less like he has been savaged by a wild animal.

Gideon meets his gaze, soberly. “Would you like me to heal it for you?”

Perhaps it’s a courtesy to ask in the South, or among the Dalish. Perhaps it’s simply a quirk of personality. Either way, it’s quite endearing. “By all means,” Dorian replies.

With a small nod, Gideon rests Dorian’s hand on his marked one, and passes his right over the both of them. A soft, blue glow suffuses their gathered hands, settling in the divide in his flesh, shrinking to a thinner and thinner line as it pulls the split pieces together. Finally it disappears, as the skin closes.

Dorian lifts his hand, examines the finger from all angles. “Not even a scar,” he says. “Excellent work.”

“Thank you.” Gideon looks over his shoulder, into the box, and his gaze falls on the shattered mirror. “That’s seven years of bad luck, isn’t it?”

Dorian laughs. When Gideon stands, and offers a hand to help him up, it feels like the furthest thing from bad luck.

[choccy-zefirka]

Old Man Friendship: the Lore

I will make my Alexius-to-Emmrich pipeline canon or so help me

As previously established in my recent ficlet, at one point when they were still apprentices (aged 17 and 15 respectively), Emmrich and Johanna stumbled upon mentions of an interesting-sounding book written by some posh fellow in Tevinter, but could not find a copy in Nevarra. So, once Emmrich thoroughly rejected Johanna’s plan to sneak off across the Tevinter border and steal the book from a magister’s library, they wrote a letter to the book’s author. Who turned out to be Alexius! Not much older than the apprentice duo, he was an aspiring researcher, a young magister trying to overwrite his father’s oppressive legacy, and, of course, happy father to a baby boy appropriately named Felix.

Charmed by the two Nevarrans’ spunk, Alexius wrote back, sending them the book and his regards. Johanna did not hold a particularly high opinion of him as a nobleman, but Emmrich was friendlier, once he made certain he was talking to a fellow scholar that was, in fact, quite passionate about providing the lowborn with a quality education. The two continued a correspondence that spanned years, with multiple in-person visits (at least on Alexius’ part, as Nevarran mages still appear somewhat restricted, at least within the confines of the Necropolis), to exchange research ideas and gossip, once Emmrich found out that the rebellious, brilliant-but-flippant kid he’d tutored at one point was now Alexius’ full-time apprentice.

Perhaps on certain occasions, Alexius would also bring along his family (i.e. Felix and Felix’s mother Livia). I feel like Johanna would be thrilled to hear the story about how Livia killed her father-in-law before he could kill Felix for being bad at magic and besmirching the family legacy. If I could have my way, I would say, for extra angst, that the fateful darkspawn attack that cost Livia her life and left Felix infected, happened as the mother and son were on the way to see their good friend Emmrich for Satinalia, with Alexius staying behind in Minrathous to finish up some business… But they were travelling through the Anderfells, so the geography does not make sense.

Be that as it may, as he spiraled deeper and deeper into his desperate attempts to cure Felix, Alexius visited the Necropolis one last time (while temporarily leaving Felix in the care of Dorian, who was still helping him create a Blight-stalling medicine at that point). He tried to break into the lower vaults to plunder them for an artefact that might help him, which Emmrich could not allow, much as his heart ached for his friend. Especially with lichdom on the line! So he had to essentially wrestle a wild-eyed, disheveled Alexius for control of the lift, magic flying everywhere, probably words being said that could not be unsaid. He never expected to see Alexius again, certainly not after a letter he got from Dorian, informing him that Alexius had joined the Venatori and Dorian himself broke off ties with him. I am unsure where exactly on the timeline Johanna got exiled from the Watch, but either way, Emmrich would now lose not one but two friends to the allure of dark magic!

During the events of Veilguard, my version of Alexius (i.e. alive and redeemed through service to the Inquisition, plus with Felix somewhere out there as a Warden as a nice bonus) either helps the Shadow Dragons against the Venatori or joins the field hospital in Treviso, utilizing his previous research into the Blight. He inevitably runs into Emmrich, who is astonished and deeply moved as he recognizes if not the man he used to know, then a version of him that sank to the terrible depths of grief and self-destruction but clawed his way back up. (“Ugh, he turned out to be a weakling after all!” Johanna’s skull scoffs).

More often than not, Alexius is accompanied by his beloved, the Inquisitor (I have several of those, as I have several Emmrichmancer Rooks). For example, in Evaraas Mercar’s verse, it’s Issala Adaar, a towering statuesque goddess of a woman who gently bends down to kiss her dear magister, hair streaming down her shoulders, with the vibes of Ponyo’s parents from Studio Ghibli. It does not take a lot of prodding for Harding to spill all the details of the Inquisitor’s epic enemies to lovers romance with a former evil cultist, who already lost the love of his life once but dared open his heart to new hope and new affection. And Emmrich, a known enjoyer of enemies to lovers novels at the book club, is utterly entranced and a little envious… And then he does the mental math.  Alexius is about ten years his senior; so when he and the Inquisitor found each other, when they went from villain and hero to battle couple, when his former enemy’s compassion gave him the strength to live and love again — he was the same age Emmrich is now! It might not be too late!... Is this allowed?

[dreadfutures]

Fan Work Friday Funday

Rules: If you’re tagged, MAKE A NEW POST to showcase ONE fanartist and/or fanfic for any fandom you recommend (with links). Then tag someone to give their recs next! Don’t forget to reblog the rec you were tagged in, and include these rules! :) If you have more than one person to highlight, consider spreading it out!

Bonus: Choose works by people you aren’t super tight with, or choose older works that maybe haven’t gotten some love in a while. :)

This summer I think I'm going to highlight my favorite writers and artists who delve into either the wider world of Thedas than just the Ferelden/Orlais we see in the games, and the writers who I believe capture Solas the best.

Today: some of the latter.

WRITER: @theharellan | @queenaeducan (AO3)

I discovered Tas's works via her Solas RP page, The Harellan, which also contains her masterful Solas meta.

Here's one of my favorite Solas think pieces: Solas Has Friends, and Some He Holds Loyalty to Before You. Oh and another: Protagonist Bias in the Red Lyrium Future

But I encourage you to check out the rest of the writing on @theharellan because in the past, Tas has answered many thought-provoking questions about Solas, both in and out of character. And man, Tas just has Solas's voice down both in RP and in writing.

Tas has written some of my favorite character studies. For example:

Fic: Remembering Well

Victory at Adamant came with a cost, and Solas does not want Varric to spend his first night in a world without Hawke in it without a friend.

This fic shows a beautiful reflection of Solas and his relationship with grief, and with the new world he's in--and his companions. It's really touching, and I remember reading it in the excellent fanzine Solamancy and being just gut-punched by it. Really beautiful prose, and firmly centered in Solas's head.

Fic: Tales of Fen'Harel

There are always two sides to every legend. A series of original legends about Fen'Harel.

Tas, in addition to thinking about Solas's worldview and conveying it clearly and thoughtfully, writes like a true storyteller. I love the legends and customs she's come up with for the elvhen over the years, and this small collection of legends demonstrates the skill she has weaving the canon lore with original headcanoned folklore.

Fic: Homecoming

Charter attends a Tevinter party, hoping to deny the Dread Wolf another ancient Elvhen artefact.

Tas is one of the first people I personally interacted with to really passionately encourage gen fic. She wrote me this fic in particular as part of an exchange, and I really treasure it. Now, it's a Charter & Lace Harding and Charter & Agents of Fen'Harel fic, sure -- but it's really, really good. And at the heart of it, the story Tas tells speaks to the true man beneath the mantle of Fen'Harel. This fic made me cry, and it still does.

And with that, I encourage you to check out the rest of Tas's works <3 They've written a lot over the years and have a trove to sift through, and I hope that as we experience more of DA4, it'll inspire more to come.

I tag forward, to recommend fics about Thedas at large or about Solas (if you're up for it - otherwise, any fics or fanart recs will be appreciated <3 )

@rosella-writes | @fadedsweater | @queenaeducan | @shift-shaping | @knightdawn

[serensama]

I think we're getting low on onions again...

Chapter 2

Slight AU- No Dread Wolf/God plot or Spite, and Neve and Rook are old friends.  Read on Ao3

Prompt 24 out of 25: Illario 

Rook stared at Neve, unsure if she was joking or being serious. Even after being friends since they happened to meet each other almost a decade prior through fortuitious happenstance (an intersecting aboard a Tevinter Galley- Neve working with the Shadow Dragons to free some slaves and Rook on board to steal a priceless artefact), she regularly mistook one for the other. It was a Tevinter custom to buy your new friend a fried fish every day for three months? Apparently a joke- that she let rook in on after two and a half months of free fish. The Antaam had taken over Antiva and the country was currently occupied? Shockingly serious. Rook didn’t think they would deviate from their focus on winning the war against Tevinter and conquer another country. 

Neve thought the hats she wore were stylish and suited her? She claimed that was being serious about that, but Rook begged to disagree. 

The two caught up whenever Rook had the time to visit her detective friend, often getting wrangled into one of her cases or strong-armed into helping out the Shadow Dragons because she was too much of a soft touch. Not that she minded too much, if it assisted those in need then she was always ready to help. After all, if she wasn’t given a helping hand when she had nothing, her life would have turned out very differently. 

So when Neve said she needed Rook to go meet with a contact in her stead, she had to double check it wasn’t a joke and it wasn’t another way the woman was trying to wring more free food from her.

“So distrusting Rook-” “Coming from you!” “I’m a detective, I’m meant to be distrusting,” she smirked, handing her a vellum with the details for the contact. “The Shadows are making a deal with the Crows, they help us with some Venatori and we help them with their Antaam. A win-win and then after that... our alliance is over.” 

“So why do you need me to go? It seems you have everything in hand,” Rook queried, handing back the missive after a quick scan. “If I went I’d probably mess something up, blow someone up or both.” 

Neve took it and lightly tapped the Lord of Fortune on her head.

“Spot on, Little Dove! That is exactly what we want.” “You want me to blow something up? Is this some weird ‘Vint joke again, because truly Neve-” “Not at all. I need you to be you, Rook. There’s one crow in particular, Illario of House Dellamorte, a well known lover of the fairer sex. And you, my friend, are very fair. We need you to keep him busy whilst we speak to the Talons coming here,” she explained, sitting back on the edge of her cluttered desk. “Whilst undoubtedly talented, he’s been known to be not as, hmm how can I say this?...competent as other master assassins. And as he’s the grandson of the First Talon and been sent as her one of her envoys-” “You need me to babysit him to keep him occupied so he doesn’t try to get in on the job and mess up the plan,” Rook finished, understanding the plan they had devised for her.  “Exactly!” “So what... I run around and make it hard for him to attend the meeting? Create some sort of dangerous diversion around Dock Town? You want me to beat him unconscious?” she asked, getting more and more uncomfortable the longer Neve didn’t stop her mind from wandering to more insane possibilities. “I’m not actually going to blow anyone up, Neve!” The Tevinter mage laughed at her friend’s propensity to think outlandishly. 

“Oh Maker, of course not Rook! This has actually been organised as a blind date, no killing necessary,” she said with a grin on her face. “Is it too late to put killing someone back on the table?” “Rook, you’re making a much bigger deal about this than it is-” “You. It’s you who I want to kill.” “I figured. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone, we get the Crow out of our way, and you, Little Dove, can go on a date. See what I did there? Killing? Two birds … you’re no fun.” 

“Stop making horrible jokes where my only logical recourse is to plot your death…”

“When was the last time you went out with anyone?” Neve asked veering the conversation back to the topic at hand. The woman had suddenly become very interested about her love life ever since finding her twin flame in Ashur (Rook was never going to call him ‘The Viper’ in private, it was stupid and she refused to.) 

Rook sat there on the floor of Neve’s little apartment and thought back. There was that tryst with the sailor... or that weekend with the twins... 

“...Sex doesn’t count, Rook.”  “How does sex not count?!” she yelped pathetically. As if she had time to have a proper relationship with someone. Even those native to Rivian, who understood how the Lords of Fortune lived and earned their coin, many still found it difficult to maintain anything longer than a few tumbles in the sack. And she didn’t need it. She had her friends, never ending adventure and- “You’re not doing much to disprove my point Rook,” she said, her concern obvious in her eyes. “We both don’t have a lot of... or any family, really. I think of you as a sister and I... if anything were to happen to me, I can’t stand to think of you alone without someone having your back.” 

Rook’s defences came crumbling down. Blasted woman, being sappy and shit. She knew that always got her to do anything she requested, no matter how ridiculous. She really needed to learn how to be more callous, it would make her life so much smoother. Though she was loath to admit it, she missed romance in her life. 

“It should be fun, we’ve been advised that he is the life of the party. Plus as a Crow, so if it works out, I know you’ll always have people looking out for you.” “Or looking for me. You do understand that there are a lot of In-House jobs, right? Plus you’ve not even met the guy! How do you know he’s not a serial killer? You know... outside of his day job?” 

“So, as long as he’s getting paid for the murder, that’s not a problem?” “A girl has to have her limits. Besides, you’re the one setting me up with him, none of this can really bunch up your knickers too much, can it?” Rook quipped, as she rolled her eyes and stood up. “Alright. If I was to help you and meet this guy, what time and where?” “7pm in front of The Cobbled Swan. You won’t be able to miss him. By all reports he is dark, handsome with brooding features. The source says that he has a wonderful smile.” “Sounds just like your type. Why aren’t you going out with him again?” “I don’t think Ashur would appreciate that. Remember, we would like this plan to succeed and not end with a contract on the Shadow Dragons just because my partner couldn’t keep his jealousy in check, Rook.” 

“Okay. Counter offer. Ashur’s really pretty, tell him to go out with the Crow instead of either of us.”

“Rook!”

“Fine! But I’m borrowing your good silk shirt!” 

The things she did for her friends, honestly. 

--- 

Okay... so maybe she owed Neve an apology. Illario was fantastic. Charming, witty and he made her laugh- and it did not hurt that he was beautiful. Tanned, smooth skin and such expressive brown eyes; she had to admit at the very least, Neve knew how to pick them. Rook had come a few minutes before 7pm and was impressed to find the man already there, in his dark Crow attire looking far too dashing to be standing in Dock Town of all places. 

Conversation came easy to them. He spoke of his love for Treviso and how he would love the opportunity to take her around after finding out she had never been before, her ‘job’ not affording her the opportunity to visit his fine city yet. He described the markets and taking her to the opera if she had felt so inclined, and she could not deny that the fluttering in her stomach was not just from her very strong physical attraction to the man. “I have to tell you, I’m quite surprised at how tonight has turned out,” he admitted, taking a sip of the most expensive wine the bar had to offer, “everything apart from this Red, this is exactly what I expected from Tevinter. Bitter and angry, with very little flavour.” “And what do you mean by that?” she asked, leaning forward to steal his glass, sniffing at the richly coloured alcohol. “The wine or the evening?” “Both, in any order- surprise me,” she grinned as she returned his glass to him, but remained in the same position to show him she was definitely interested in what he had to say. That and it gave him a wonderful view of her chest, courtesy of Neve’s shirt which she didn’t button past her waist. Somehow it felt more scandalous than her Rivaini armour ever had, and that was considered glorified underwear to most people. 

He smiled and mirrored her position so their elbows almost touched on the table, both craning forward to the other as if they were about to share a secret. Oh no, he smelled amazing, his deep, lush cologne so wonderful that she reminded herself that he may not appreciate her asking if he minded if she sat on his lap and just spent the rest of the night smelling him. She knew he did not wear it whenever he was on a job. It would be too easy to notice him, easy for a possible witness to pick him from a crowd based on that scent alone, she was just lucky she got to enjoy it on the rare occasion he was able to use it. Like on a date.  “Tevinter is not well known for their wine. Mages, sure, cream of the crop. But Antiva my dear Rook, Antiva is known for our vineyards. It’s like nothing your tongue has experienced,” he smirked as he noted the way one of her brows rose at the unintended double meaning. “And as for the evening... When I had been told by my cousin that I had to attend this meeting, I was not expecting to enjoy myself at all. I thought that it was another task given to him that he thought was beneath him and always fell to me- but I am very pleasantly surprised by the quality of company,” he articulated, his wonderful accent making each word sound like a sonnet. 

Rook crossed her legs, unsure where the wave of primal desire came from. Had it been so long since she’d been touched that a pretty face and a decadent voice was enough to get her to fall into bed with someone? She considered his face once more, his classically handsome lines made him look like a statue or someone straight out of a romantic painting of old. Yes, for this man, that was enough for her to invite him to one of the empty rooms upstairs and distract him all night if that was what Neve and the Shadows needed of her. Three full days and nights even. It was all for the cause, right? Whatever it took. 

Rook pushed herself to the edge of her seat so she could move even closer to him, ignoring the way the rim of the table dug into her stomach. She picked up his glass once more and brazenly took a sip, holding his gaze as she drank. She was thrilled to see his eyes watch every small movement she made, the lick of her lips, her finger tracing her mouth to wipe away any wine and deftly lick up any errant liquid. Even though The Cobbled Swan was not the brightest lit establishment, it was bright enough for Rook to see the way the assassin’s pupils had started to dilate. 

“I have to admit that I was... wary... of tonight, I did not know what to expect. But like you, I have found myself more than satisfied with my companion for the evening,” she sat back, hoping the Crow would give chase. “And I don’t know, I’ve sampled Tevinter and have always enjoyed it. Is it possible that you’re merely overselling Antiva’s experiences? I would hate to be disappointed.” 

“My Lady Rook, I have never had any complaints. In fact, most people have never been able to go back to anything else after having tried an Antivan.” “An Antivan… wine, correct? Or an Antivan himself?” she encouraged, circling her finger on the rim of the glass. He chuckled low and wet his lips before answering her, placing the palm of his hand gently on top of her own to stop fidgeting. “Yes.” 

Rook watched him as he clearly warred with himself to decide his next move, when he paused and turned around, confusion written across his handsome features. He pulled away and Rook found herself missing the feel of his hand on hers. 

“Cousin? Why are you here?” he called out to the new Crow walking towards them. “Thank you for coming here in my stead, I can now take it over from here!,” the man said, flashing them both a smile. He pulled a seat from an empty table and placed it closer to Rook’s side, eliciting an unimpressed tut from her date. “I appreciate your assistance tonight, but the other matter has been wrapped up and I can continue on here and you can go back to the Talons,” he added, not allowing much room for argument. 

“Illario-” Rook blinked. Illario? The cocky bastard who came prancing in was Illario? “Lucanis, we can discuss when we get back, but I must get back to my date.” 

“Lu-Lucanis? I thought... I didn’t realise when you said you were my contact from House Dellamorte I didn’t realise that you weren’t Illario,” she stammered, blindsided by the switch up. 

Lucanis offered her a short bow and an apologetic look, unsure where the comedy of errors had begun. “My sincerest apologies Rook, I had not known you were expecting my cousin Illario’s attendance specifically. I was just advised to meet with Rook and keep her company until I was summoned back by the Talons. I didn’t realise this was meant to be a date between you and my cousin.” “You... you didn’t even... not a worry,” she had started to voice her offence but ignored it. It was her fault for assuming and not confirming his name was actually Illario. He had not lied to her, or at least meant to. “It was lovely to meet you, Lucanis. For whatever it’s worth.” “And you, Rook,” he replied with a deeper bow, making sure to catch his cousin’s gaze upon straightening. She may not have spoken ‘Crow’ or well versed in any other Antivan apart from ‘churro’ or ‘paella’, but she knew exactly what that stare said. We will talk about this later. Rook looked on as her accidental date left, his gait of a man who knew he was both death and sex incarnate. And she was sorry to see him leave. Instead she was left with... Illario. The real one. A man who was surely very handsome and probably very much fun for a quick tumble- but he did not inspire any flutters in her stomach. And she certainly did not want to share a drink from the same glass as him, let alone any of his bodily fluids. 

“So, Rook is it? Tell me about yourself,” he smirked confidently, far too sure in his allure, too brazen even for her. His smile made her skin crawl and if her reproductive organs weren’t already primarily inside her body, they would have found a way to crawl inward at the way he raked his eyes over her. She had half a mind to get up and leave, make it up to the Shadows and the Crows by some other means, but she was already there- may as well make the most out of it, especially on their coin. 

Either way, Neve owed her. She was going to keep the shirt. 

--- 

The moment his cousin stepped through the front door, Lucanis pulled the man through and slammed him against it. He had come in smelling of liquor and perfume, but not the kind that Rook had worn. What had this idiot done? 

It took another couple of seconds for him to see the black eye and the swollen nose. 

“Good evening to you too cousin, did not realise you were waiting up for me,” he sneered, freeing himself of Lucanis’ hands. “What is your problem?” he asked as he pushed past him and further into the foyer of their rented villa. “Is there any dinner left? I’m starving.” 

Lucanis suppressed the urge to throttle his kin and gripped at his dagger instead. Caterina would not be happy to learn he had murdered him due to a moment’s frustration. He followed the man into the kitchens where he had started to forage but could not find anything that caught his fancy. “Hey, can you make me an omelette, like the one you made after our job last week?” “No, make your own damn eggs,” he said, his mouth pulled down into a deep scowl. It was the refusal to make him food that caught Illario’s attention. No matter how tired or angry he was at him, Lucanis was always happy to feed those closest to him. “Where have you been? Why are you hurt?”

Illario misinterpreted Lucanis’ anger for concern due to his condition, they were Crows and family after all. He reacted the same way when they were children when an older trainee had roughed him up. 

“It was that crazy bitch from tonight, that Rook. I had gone there as the Shadow Dragons swore I’d have fun with her but she was the biggest disappointment ever. I say we don’t help them on that basis alone- the Tevinter’s lie and do not deliver on their promises,” he huffed, finding an apple and biting into it, his obnoxious chewing grating on Lucanis’ nerves. 

“Why would you ask me to go and then switch back mid-way- what the hell was going through your head? What if she was the daughter of an important Shadow Dragon? You could have ruined the entire alliance!” 

Illario shrugged and took a few more bites from the fruit before answering him, knowing that his cousin held a soft spot for him and wouldn’t do anything out of line, he was the good one, always stayed within the lines their grandmother had set and never stepped out of bounds. He would always defer to her before taking matters into his own hands. 

“I heard from someone in House De Riva that the woman they organised for me was just some common wench, not even connected to the Shadow Dragons and I was insulted. They think that someone from House Dellamorte was going to be happy with any old consort? So I organised for my own entertainment whilst we remained in Dock Town. Imagine my surprise when passing the bar and seeing you both, and the woman I was meant to meet was actually very easy on the eyes,” he huffed at the last point. “So naturally I cancelled my plans and decided to proceed with the original date. You saw her for yourself, she was gorgeous, but she was also as boring as the lectures on poison handling that Viago always gives.” 

Lucanis could not marry his cousin’s experience with his own. The Rook he had the pleasure to meet was vivacious and exciting, funny and enticing- what could have happened to change her so much? “So... what happened then?” “Huh? After a while I excused myself and pretended to get a message from the Talons and told her I had to leave,” he shrugged, finding the last slices of bread from earlier in the day to eat. “Sure. But what happened with the eye and nose then? You said it was Rook who hit you,” Lucanis pressed, not sold on his cousin’s rendition of the evening.  “Did I say that? I meant the guards at the next bar I visited. The owner did not appreciate that the barmaids were giving me free drinks and ignoring their regular patrons. He decided to rough me up when I was using the facilities and had my hands full,” he cracked up, lewdly gesturing to his crotch. Disgusting, he hated when his cousin was drunk, it almost made him want to inherit First Talon just so he could slap Illario around whenever he acted like such a pig. 

Lucanis gave his cousin a withering look and left him behind to clear his head. It was a rare occurrence for him to meet anyone he connected with and even if the night had soured her opinion of the Crows or House Dellamorte, he would try to repair the damage his stupid cousin had done. He made his way back to the Swan to see if anyone could tell him where she may have gone to, any lead would not be turned down. He was again pleasantly surprised when he saw her still at the same table, this time joined by a woman, a Templar and 

the leader of the Shadow Dragons, the woman casting magic to ice Rook’s hand. Fucking Illario. 

--- 

Fucking, fucking, Illario. 

He listened as Rook told him the story of the disaster date they had. It turned out that there was a woman his cousin could not charm. That fact alone was enough to confirm that if he wasn’t interested in her before, he certainly was now. “So let me get this right. Illario, that idiot, talked about himself all night and then proceeded to get drunk. Somehow along the way the imbecile’s ego thought you were ‘up for a good time’. He then got a little too excited and paid for a room. When you turned him down, he ended the date like the spoiled little shit he is and got a little forward with one of the barmaids, to which you rightly struck him twice, hurting your hand?” Lucanis asked, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stop his migraine from coming on. He glanced up to see her nod, testing out her recently healed appendage. 

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to get a contract on my own cousin and then pay double to the House to let me murder him myself,” he sighed disappointedly. To debase her, himself and their House, he almost wondered if he should leave him to their grandmother to deal with. Idiot probably thought he could get away with acting out because they weren’t in Treviso, like location mattered. 

“It’s not worth it- I’m pretty sure I broke his nose with that hit, I’m good,” she said, doing her best to placate him. “I’m so sorry Rook,” Neve apologised, holding both of Rook’s hands. “We never thought... I can’t believe that we ever thought he may have been a good match for you-” “It’s not your fault the guy’s an asshole Neve,” she replied, brushing it off. “But I can certainly see why you wouldn’t want him executing any of your plans moving forward. Everything go well at the meeting?” “Yes, the Fifth and Seventh Talons agreed on the terms and we will begin our arrangement shortly,” she confirmed, still looking guilty about setting up her friend with such a dud. “I promise the next time I even think of setting you up with someone, I will personally vet them.” Lucanis could not help but smile at the horror on Rook’s face at the thought of another potential date in her horizon. How hopeless had Illario been that the mere mention of one would make her recoil so thoroughly? Though, it was not like he could talk seeing as technically his accidental date with Rook was his first ‘date’ ever, but he had to believe it was better than whatever happened with his fool of a cousin. 

“You really don’t need to do that Neve, I forgot to tell you earlier, but I’ve actually met someone I’m interested in,” the Rivaini said, doing her best to look anywhere but at her friend. “Really?” the detective replied, suspicion dripping from the single word. Rook nodded vigorously, hoping her enthusiasm alone would convince the woman. “Who?” she asked, crossing her arms like a suspicious parent, waiting to catch their child out in a lie. The Crow waited to see how she would answer, interested in the answer himself. Invested in finding out their name, location and schedule, specifically where they would be alone for long periods of time with no one checking in on them. He wanted to know- for a friend. 

“Him,” she answered naturally, pointing at him with a grin. The three Shadow Dragons turned to him and looked at him with varying levels of surprise, doubt and fascination. 

“Him? Lucanis Dellamorte? The Demon of Vyrantium... the mage killer?” Neve spelled out slowly for Rook. “I only know him as Lucanis, but sure to all those things too. Maybe a little less of the mage killing though, if he can help it,” she winked up at him which he felt himself return in spite of himself. “I would prefer to live through our next date, if he’d be open to having one. Maybe he'd be willing to meet me at the Diamond and show me around Treviso when I come to visit in the coming weeks?”

Lucanis did his best not to forget that they had an audience and carefully chose his words and actions to remain appropriate in polite company. Let there be at least one Dellamorte who didn’t embarrass himself in public that night. “For you, Rook? I’d consider it.” “To sweeten the offer, I’d even buy a bottle of your favourite Antivan wine for you,” she said, moving to stand in front of him, the alluring scent of the lavender oil on her skin enough to get him drunk, wine or no. 

“Really? My favourite bottle can go up to 2000 sovereigns.” “I’d even steal a bottle of your favourite Antivan wine for you,” she quickly amended, earning her a laugh from the normally reserved Crow. Neve, Tarquin and Ashur shared the same knowing looks and hastily made their exit- however the two had managed to find each other, they were not going to stand in their way. Not when they could easily see the way the Crow had looked at her when he entered the bar, and definitely not when they could see the almost ravenous glint in Rook’s eye whenever she looked at the assassin. 

Lucanis gently took the hand she had been nursing, the skin bruised but intact. He allowed his thumb to gingerly brush along her knuckles, listening intently to the shift in her breath. He took a leaf out of her playbook and lifted her hand to his lips, holding her wide eyed stare, thoroughly enjoying the pretty way her cheeks flushed. He looked forward to meeting her in Antiva, however he was not quite done seeing her that night. 

“That room my cousin purchased-” he began, instantly regretting his choice of words at the look that crossed her face. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that perhaps we could use it to play Wicked Grace or continue our talk or-” “The room remains mine and unused, Master Crow,” she said, shaking her head at him. “But if it was with you, Lucanis, I’d more than consider it.”  

Chapter 3

[lairofdragonagelore]

Comic: Until We Sleep

This post belongs to the series DA comic. The main intention is to collect the basic story of the comic and highlight any potential lore concept that may be of interest and may be explored later in the game series.

This post has the following points:

Story

Relevant Details

Characters: A bit of Maevaris, Maric, and Varric with Bianca.

Lore

In the Lore section:

Yellow eyes are shown again as a feature in Titus.

The Qunari explanation to the Calenhad's legend: The Tome of Koslun claims that the man was a mere regular human who, under the advice of a Witch [maybe Flemeth?] drank a great dragon’s blood and acquired power that was inherited by his descendants.

Maric, the person who feeds blood to the Magrallen artefact, becomes a Dreamer in the Fade, maybe because he has dragon blood. This establishes that, no matter if you are a mage or not, a person with dragon blood can be as powerful as a dreamer with some assistance of an artefact.

Once again, it's hinted that the Qunari may have dragon blood since it’s said that the dragonfire may have been their “birthright”.

Tevinter Artefact: The Magrallen. This artefact is known for being based on blood magic, and it is a legacy from Tevinter. Its function is unknown, but seems to allow the control of some sections of the Fade if you feed it with [dragon] blood.

There is a soft and weak analogy between the Magrallen’s powers and the red dragon eggs’ in the Eluvian network we explored in the DLC.

Titus is a blood mage who uses dragon blood with the intention to control the Fade. He is well aware that controlling the Fade may alter the reality [a Dreamer's power], this is the true power of Divinity in DA lore, hence he claims he can become an "old god".

Apparently, those who carry great dragon blood may become Dreamers easily and can control the Fade.

Potential explanation to several lore concepts that seem to make more sense if we assume as correct the idea that dragon blooded people have the power of Dreamers.

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Story

Varric and company reach an isle in the middle of the sea, called Ath Velanis.  So far the illustrations go, it’s a Tevinter fortress with a lot of dragon decorations. Varric explains it’s a place where sacrifices to the Old Gods used to be performed. How true this is, coming from Varric’s mouth, is hard to say.

Meanwhile, Sten shares the Qunari suspicion of why Titus wanted Maric and now Alistair: they have blood of great dragons, introducing to us to the story of Calenhad: a drinker of a great dragon’s blood whose power were inherited by his descendants. 

Alistair claims that his blood may not be useful since it’s tainted with the Joining. We already commented about how conflicting this fact is in the DA lore in the section “Lore problems” in the post The Silent Grove post. In short, it makes little sense for Alistair to have became a Grey Warden so easily when dragons are naturally resistant to the Blight [read the Josephine result in Learn More about Dragons].

As Varric is exploring Ath Velanis, he rescues Maevaris, who had been tortured, and finds Maric connected to a strange artifact. He has no better idea than to shoot at it. 

The explosion of the artefact threw everyone in the fortress into the Fade, even the dwarf. Lore-wise, this is very weird. Only the Inquisitor managed to open a Breach and make Varric fall into the Fade [or pass through a Dalish ritual in DA2 to go to the Fade]. Here, the only thing we saw that caused this was a ball of watered-down dragon blood. This may explain how powerful dragon blood truly is, that can throw a dwarf into the Fade or how carelessly these comics were made and hence my mistrust to them.

The most curious thing of this part, if we ignore the nonsense of throwing everyone into the Fade, is that Varric walks on a terrain that, when looking from afar, is like a gargantuan hand made out of Stone. It gives a strange feeling of being related to Titans, given that it’s a dwarf who is walking on it after being thrown into the Fade. Is this a reflection of what means to be a dwarf? Is this a hint to the Stone? to a Titan? Is this the reflection of that “sense of wanting to connect to Titans” that every dwarf has, according to Cole’s words?

In any case, Varric explores the Fade, gathering his friends in the same fashion we did in the Fade in DAO. He finds Maervaris, who is enjoying the illusion of being with her late husband; Isabela, who is part of the Qun, is living her personal nightmare; and Alistair, who lives his life carelessly as his father is still the King of Ferelden. This Maric we meet is not merely an illusion, it’s the real one, the one connected to the blood-artefact. When Varric and the others inform Maric that he is connected to it, the man takes control of the Fade itself, fights Titus, claims himself being a Dreamer just because his dragon blood [again, how much of  these comics can be taken seriously? I wonder] and once everyone returns to real life, they kill Maric out of mercy.

Relevant details

Why the title?: It refers to the concept of reality and truth. In the last page of the comic, we see each of the protagonists returning to their lives: Alistair is in his throne, Isabela seems to abandon her ship, and Varric returns to his life of spymaster/merchant guild-master/author, and all of them keep wondering where the true life exists, here, in the “real world” or in the world of dreams. It’s a title that comes from a final line that closes the comic that questions the nature of the world and reality itself.

Time: The time is the same one than in the previous comic, around 9:38 Dragon, 2032 TE, 3 years before the Breach of Inquisition.

Characters: Maric appears and there is closure to the mystery of his disappearance in the canon. We know a bit more about Maevaris’ backstory, and Varric’s past with Bianca.

Concepts :what this comic can provide in terms of lore?  

We keep seeing Titus with yellow eyes in case we were not sure about this in the previous comic.

Calenhad is introduced in this comic with a side story: he was not a gifted hero who made miracles [as Ferelden folktales like to portrait him], but an ambitious man who drank the blood of a dying Great Dragon and acquired powers that were inherited by his descendants. This breaks and reformulates a lot of lore about him that we had read via codices along the games. We also see that a “Witch” suggested him to drink dragon blood. Because this fact has such long-term repercussion in the world of Thedas, I’m pretty sure that this witch was Flemeth or some of her daughters instructed by her. Somehow, keeping the blood of Great Dragons in a powerful human family seems to be a decent precaution to take in a world that destroys what can’t understand [dragons].

That the Qunari know this via the Tome of Koslun is immensely odd to me, but on the other hand, it makes sense since it’s hinted that the Qunari themselves are a crafted race, probably coming from Dragons. At least it makes sense for such a race to keep tales and stories related to those who are involved with dragons too. In DAI it’s even hinted that the Qunari may have dragon blood in their own veins too, but probably from dead dragons? [for more detail, read Frostback Mountains: Somewhere North]. I suspect this due to Corypheus’ shout to a Qunari Inquisitor: “Your blood is engorged with decay. Your race is not a race. It’s a mistake”. 

Dragonfire is presented as a brutal fire power, and due to its name, it seems to be the fire breathed by dragons. As the qunari fight in this fort against Titus, he casts this fire, instantly killing/melting the qunari. He claims that such fire may have been the qunari’s birthright, but instead, it kills them. Here it’s hinted once more that the qunari may have been crafted from dragons, and that this detail is known by a Tevinter so knowledgeable in Tevinter History and Fade, it may confirm a bit more that it may have been Tevinters who tried to craft the Qunari as a dragon-based race.

Tevinter Artefact: The Magrallen

This artefact is known for being based on blood magic, and a legacy from Tevinter [but to be honest, considering how all “Tevinter legacy” ends up being a co-opt of Elvhenan magic I would not be surprised if this is a version of an ancient elvhenan artefact]. 

The artefact shows a serpent-dragon eating its own tail. This is a proper symbol of Ouroboros. Sadly, we can’t say exactly what an ouroboros means since it has been used in real human history by many, many cultures and even though sometimes they shared meaning, in other cases it had different ones: it can represent the eternal return or the concept of cycles. It may also represent life and the concept of time, or the things that never truly disappear, or the transmigration of souls. In the way itis used in DA lore, I don’t think we can pick one. We also know that Tevinter, in general, has a strong symbology with snakes/dragons, so the use of an ouroboros may be an aesthetic choice: just because it’s a Tevinter-made object it’s made in the shape of dragons and snakes.

We already saw an hexagonal artefact/decoration in many Tevinter buildings, where two serpent-dragons eat each other’s tail. This concept seems to be followed by the Magrallen in an aesthetic way; meaning it’s just a single snake eating its own tail. However, I would like to clarify that this symbol with 2 snakes has nothing to do with an ouroboros. Two serpents eating their own tails looks more like a Tevinter symbol of the Magister culture, eating each others in their race for power.

The function of this artefact is not clear. It looks like it consumes or gathers Maric’s blood [which contains Dragon Blood] and allows a complete control of some parts of the Fade. This would mean that Dragons have a unique contol over the Fade. The position of the victim in this thing reminds me to the experiments made out of red lyrium that we read in the book Tevinter Nights: slaves hanging up as they are forced to drink liquid red lyrium. Even though Varric knows nothing about magic, he claims this artefact is more than mere blood magic. I don’t trust this comment since its source [Varric] is highly unreliable.

The artefact looks like a ball filled with blood and afixed  to a statue of a dragon claw. 

The closest thing we saw to this was the polished red dragon eggs in the Shattered Library or in the in-between spaces [more details in Shattered Library; Entrance]. These eggs glowed in red when activated, which seems to suggest some kind of blood magic. And if they truly contain dragon blood, it would mean that dragon power allows the creation of paths in the spaces in-between. This interpretation seems to make sense if we are being said that dragons have a strong control [almost as if they were Dreamers or Somniari] over the Fade.

When Varric finds Maevaris in the Fade, she explains a bit more about this artefact: it is named Magrallen, it belongs to the time of the Dreamers [a time where they also used orbs like Solas’, also stolen from the elvhenan], and it is currently being empowered with dragon blood present in Maric's. Again, the function of this artefact is never explained. Given Titus’ goal of becoming a master of the Fade and control it to modify reality, one can suspect that this artefact may contribute, somehow, to that goal. But throughout all the comic, it is never explicitly said.

When they finally gather everyone in the Fade, Maevaris informs Maric that his mind is in an oneiric suspension state.

Funnily enough, Maric seems to understand and know magic because he knows the name of the artefact, and what it is doing to him. He claims that it’s the only thing that keeps him alive. 

When they defeat Titus in the Fade, Alistair frees Maric from the artefact, who decays immediately. The way he does so makes it look as if time had been stopped around him in order to feed the artefact with his blood. As soon as the Magrallen is destroyed, the suspension of time catches up with him. Similar effect was seen with Ameridan in the DLC of Jaws of Hakkon [Frostback Basin [DLC]: Frozen Gate]. 

So far what we can gather in these panels: Titus is a blood mage involved with Dragon blood whose intention is to control the Fade. He has a series of panels where he claims that the power of the Fade can affect reality, and mages can alter the Fade, and therefore, Reality. This is basically the concept of the Dreamers or Somniari introduced for the first time with Feynriel - Somniari and Fade. Solas also told us about these powers in “Solas sharing Lore: Part 1″.

Through Solas, we know that this power to change reality is truly as strong as Titus claims it to be: With low approval, Solas says that the only way he can save the “elves” is to bring down the Veil, bring the Fade into the Waking World, and reshape reality, which is exactly what he plans to do in DA:D and it’s similar to what Titus is trying to do here [however, in Titus’ plan there is no notion of destroying the Veil first]. The only additional information we have from Titus is that this power seems to come from the “old gods” or the “Dragon gods”. Hence, controlling the Fade in order to change Reality is something that comes from “dragon powers”. Again, we have a reinformcent of the idea that power=divinity. This resignifies the scene where Solas kills Flemeth [a dragon] to have power to bring the Veil down. He opts to do this when his orb, and all the Fade power gathered for a millenia in it, was destroyed after the battle against Corypheus. So, through the end of the game we are also told that dragon power=Fade power gathered for millenia.

By these comments, we also notice that Titus is aware of the places in-between; these planes of existence that the elvhenan used in order to transport themselves far distances in short periods of time: the eluvian network. Via Morrigan we know they are places where the Evanuris cannot track their servants too [for details read The Crossroad].

If we gather all the words used by Titus, we can link the powers of the Dreamers, able to change Reality through the power of the Fade, as an ability that belonged to [Great] Dragons and could be transmitted via blood to others, or using rituals that needed dragon blood.

The connection of Divinity with [great] dragon blood that we have been working along the several posts of DAI and the elvhenan codices, seems to be confirmed with Titus’ words [if Titus is truly reliable, which I don’t think so].

When Maric faces Titus in the Fade, it’s confirmed again that the power of a Dreamer is related to [great] Dragon Blood, since Maric says that Titus is not the dreamer in this place, but himself.  Maric, suddenly, seems to be extremely aware of magic and blood stuff related to dragons, lol. 

This makes speculations about the Qunari grow wilder: if [great] dragon blood provides this brutal power of becoming a Dreamer [and therefore, controlling the Fade to alter Reality], it would explain why the Tevinter would have wanted to create a pet-race of Dragon blooded creatures as the Qunari: maybe to harvest their blood for rituals or sacrifices, or to force them to do their biddings. In any case, the idea is that someone with [great] dragon blood is a natural dreamer. 

If this interpretation is correct, we may understand the logic behind several lore concepts:

This would explain why the Saarebas are so brutal in power, if the Qunari are truly a crafted race based on dragons and dragon blood; their magical ability may be the highest that any creature in Thedas can have [Dreamer-like]. 

If the Qunari were made out of [great] dragon blood, that would explain why they need to have their Saarebas so brutally leashed: most of them, if not all, may be Dreamers. They are able to change reality to their whims if not controlled.

In several ocassions we were informed that the Fade lacks of dwarven presence [reasonable, since they are disconnected from the Fade and can’t dream] but also Qunari [which is rare, since they have mages]. The only way I may explain this is that the Saarebas may pass through a strong chemical leash that prevents them to enter the Fade. We know via Felassan that there are herbs that could allow him to never reach the Fade ever again if they are consumed daily [this is said at the end of the book The Masked Empire, for more details read Felassan and bits of lore]

Dragons in most dnd settings are usually presented as whimsical creatures. In DA series we know little about this aspect of the dragons. High dragons are presented as creatures that follow a normal animal-like cycle: they create a nest, keep their drakes around them, feed, mate, have dragonlings, and then hibernate to repeat the cycle next time. DA series never spoke about Great Dragons with the exception of these comic series, so we know nothing about them. If they are as whimsical as usually dragons are presented in dnd settings, it would make sense why the Qun was forced upon the qunari, since they may be a race made out of dragons that needs roles and purpose in order to control their immense power.

If dragon blood allows control of the Fade and the Reality, it makes sense that the red dragon eggs we found in the in-between spaces have such power to “create” paths that allows travelling big distances. They are affecting Reality and Fade at the same time.

Mythal has appeared in a dream of a tattoo-less elf servant from Val Royeaux [Elven Servant Dreams of Mythal, another videos here].  From that moment on, the npc appears with her Vallaslin [as if she may have taken him as a servant, making effect of whatever happened in the Fade into the Waking World]. This weird situation may be explained if Mythal, who has dragon powers since she is a dragon herself, may have changed reality in this way. Also, during the The Fade - Part 2, Flemeth claims to have more power than anyone of the party when she is in the Fade. This may be caused by a similar mechanics of her having dragon powers.

The constellation codices are, in general, a big mess. They tend to confuse more than to inform us. But what I found curious is that many of them are related to dragons and old elvhen figures. This is a weak proof that ancient Tevinter and Elvhenan may have worshipped the same gods in the begining [until the Elvhenan managed to find a way to control Divinity and “forgot” their original gods to become gods themselves]. Among the several constelations codices, one of them claims that the Old Gods were eight and not seven as we knew for so long [Constellation: Draconis, which states that there is a serpentine old dragon, that may be related to Mythal since she “took the shape of a giant serpent” to fight Andruil in the elvhenan codex Elven God Andruil, which is analysed in Ancient Elven codices, Temple of Mythal]. If we also read the codex related to the Astrariums, we find that much of the unaltered constellations information comes from the time of the Dreamers, a group of Tevinter mages that were against the Magisterium system and were into astronomy, a discipline almost forgotten in Thedas. These codices link Ancient Tevinter with Dreamers and dragons, suggesting that the true divinity=power comes from Dragons, and this idea was appreciated not only by Ancient Tevinters, but the Elvhenan too, at least in the begining until the Evanuris took the divinity power for themselves.

Summary of Lore concepts in this comic

Calenhad was not a gifted hero, but a great dragon blood drinker whose powers were inherited by the Theirin family.

It's hinted again that the Qunari are a crafted race made out of dragons.

The Magrallen is an artefact from the time of the Tevinter Dreamers which gathers dragon blood. It's function is not clear.

Great dragon blooded humans have natural Dreamer powers. As Dreamers, they can alter the Fade and therefore, Reality.

It's hinted that the Old Gods may have been Great dragons that shared their power to other mortals, making them Dreamers, and giving them command over the Fade and the Waking World.This may be the origin of the divinity among the Elvhenan, and the Evanuris were their “chosen ones” first. Rememeber the codex Ancient Elven Writing : “His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine.“

Therefore, Divinity seems to be connected with the power of Great Dragons

[flowersforthemachines]

Some facts about Bellara (and also the Veil Jumpers, and other random Elven things) gathered from the banters

I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).

Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)

Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.

Other characters' posts: Davrin, Harding, Lucanis, Emmrich, Neve, Taash. I'm also planning a post about just the Lighthouse some time later

About Bellara

Family and past:

Bellara’s mother is a woodworker who sells furniture in Orlais, and her father is an herbalist. He taught her about deadly plants (for her own safety)

Bellara didn’t tell her parents about Cyrian’s (second) death

Bellara once broke both of her arms while racing an Aravel 

Bellara learnt magic from her Keeper and later the Veil Jumpers, but she also studied a lot on her own by reading books and just trying things out

When she was little, Bellara wondered what it’s like to settle down instead of moving all the time (just like Davrin did) 

General:

Bellara can better focus on writing when she has background noise (like Rook talking)

Bellara likes tea (but can also drink coffee after she pulls an all-nighter, which seems to happen pretty often)

Bellara liked Lucanis’s grilled fish

Bellara didn’t know any Qunari recipes before joining the Veilguard

Bellara wouldn’t want to be an assassin, but she would be interested in taking lessons from Crows about assassination techniques

Bellara thinks that most people in Tevinter are condescending, even the nice ones 

Magic and life with the Veil Jumpers: 

Bellara once found an artifact that was basically an ancient elven mechanical toothbrush 

Bellara is a Veil Jumper because Arlathan is her home, and she can’t stand by and do nothing. Also, because of the artefacts

Part of the reason why Irelin and Bellara broke up is that Bellara became too consumed by studying/fixing artefacts 

Bellara and Davrin agree that the Veil Jumpers’ odds are even worse than the Wardens’

Bellara thinks that the ancient Elven magic feels cold

Bellara didn’t find anything on the Devouring Storm in the libraries or Circles. Vorgoth and Myrna never heard of it either 

Life at the Lighthouse: 

Bellara owns a bronze candleholder shaped like a fennec

Bellara thinks that the Fade in the Lighthouse is almost too calm compared to Arlathan

Bellara likes her space in the Lighthouse and feels like “it's been waiting for her”

The Archive sometimes stares at people who come by

Bellara eventually suggests that she and Lucanis completely take over the cooking. Everybody except for Harding dreaded any meal not cooked by them anyway and gleefully agreed

Antoine let Bellara borrow his compound for flaming arrows to see how it reacts in the Fade (she doesn’t speak about the results, but she used at least one compound for testing without incidents and later wants to borrow more) 

Relationships with companions: 

Bellara offers Davrin to listen about his findings regarding the Gloom Howler as he searches for the missing griffons, saying she's a good listener

Bellara asks Neve if she can become a Shadow Dragon and is very excited when she hears “Yes”

However, when Emmrich offers her to join the Mourn Watch, she turns him down saying that the Veil Jumpers need her. 

A writing inconsistency. Probably. 

Neve once saw Bellara poking around Assan, trying to figure out if he was real or some clever mechanical contraption 

Bellara wants to make pillows out of Assan’s molted feathers (but Davrin refuses because he finds it weird)

Bellara made dog biscuits for Assan (that Davrin accidentally ate the first time). The next time she brought a batch, she left them in a box labelled “Assan biscuits inside, do not eat.” Assan liked them!

Bellara once covered Assan in olive oil thinking it could improve his wind resistance and let him fly faster. Didn’t work. 

Bellara offers Emmrich to co-author a paper about ancient elves after they find out elves came from spirits

Bellara asks Emmrich about vampires multiple times. According to him, when a Hunger Demon possesses a corpse, the resulting abomination can seek out blood, sort of resembling a vampire. They can't turn into bats though

According to Neve, some magisters in Minrathous have tried bonding with Hunger Demons which resulted in them having immense power but also a craving for blood 

Bellara and Harding swap books for reading

Bellara gets into lifting using Harding's rocks

Bellara doesn’t think she needs to threaten Lucanis when she finds out he and Neve are dating because Neve could wipe the floor with him herself if she wanted (Lucanis agrees) 

Bellara is fine with Lucanis taking on Ghilan’nain’s contract (“Whatever we were worshipping, it wasn’t her") and cheered him on at Weisshaupt

Bellara asks Neve to beta-read her story

(If Neve and Rook are in romance) Bellara thinks that solving cases together is romantic

(If Neve leaves after Rook chooses to save Treviso) Bellara kept notes of everything that happened while Neve was away to help her adjust after she’s back

About the Veil Jumpers:

Bellara mentioned that a certain elf camped in some ruins, and one day woke up stuck in the clouds. The Veil Jumpers haven’t figured out a way to get them down, so they just send them food and water

Veil Jumpers use some of the artefacts they have recovered as weapons. However, they don’t use them often, since most of them need to be charged after one use, and nobody really knows how to do that 

Veil Jumpers eat whatever Arlathan Forest provides

Though Bellara also mentions she doesn’t forage in the forest anymore. Strife does, however, he always finds something edible

It’s hard to say how many Veil Jumpers are out there because people die/go missing/leave too often to keep a proper count

The Veil Jumpers once found an artefact that caused whoever activated it to get sucked into the Fade. One guy got trapped inside because he used it even if the others told him not to. Bellara is weirdly nonchalant about that whole thing

The Veil Jumpers once found something like an entrance to the Deep Roads on the Southern Edge of Arlathan Forest. The group that found it sealed themselves inside and destroyed the entrance, leaving a note telling the others not to enter. Davrin hypothesises it could be one of the pools similar to the one we saw in the Horrors of Hormak

Ritsivas from the Veil Jupmers is non-binary (mentioned by Harding in a conversation with Taash)  

Misc:

The power crystals are called “June'suledin'bellanaris'ena'ghilan'lasa'shiral”. You may infer the reasons everybody just calls them 'power crystals'

Not all traps in Elven ruins were originally meant to be traps, but their magic is old, so it doesn’t recognise modern people and can backfire. And sometimes magic just degrades over time and accidentally rips the Veil, summoning demons

Andruil’s Gauntlet is an ancient site meant to test hunters who want to wield the mightiest weapons. It’s filled with traps, and no one has made through it in ages. It was made by Andruil’s priests to test the warriors of Elvhenan 

Clans Nuvenis and Sabrae live in Ferelden. Harding’s village traded with the Sabrae in the past

[sky-scribbles]

Introducing my Rook, Taren! They used to steal elven artefacts from human museums to return them to the Dalish. Now they're a tired Veil Jumper who just wants to read books but no, some guy just had to try destroying the Veil...

They have a gift for languages and specialise in translating ancient elvhen. Will infodump about elvhen noun declensions at the drop of a hat.

Their museum heists were carried out with their late husband Enari, an adventurous mage from Clan Lutare (I'm thinking of making him a cousin of Bellara's). Taren has a very analytical mind, and was the plan-maker of the two; they would strategise for months before they went into action.

When a heist went wrong and Enari was killed, Taren blamed themselves for not planning enough. They've largely recovered from Enari's death; he's a kind memory now, not an aching loss. The main legacy of Taren's grief is their crippling analysis paralysis - they obsess over getting All The Info before acting - and their determination to never let anything similar happen again, hence their abandoning the map to save the other Veil Jumpers.

Taren was adopted into Clan Aldwir; I'm not 100% sure where they were originally from, but I'm considering them having been born into slavery in Tevinter, and running off to join the Dalish with a stack of stolen books on elven history under their arm.

They love their clan, but struggle with insecurities about not being really Dalish thanks to having grown up separate from Dalish culture ('Sky', you ask, 'are you projeting your own issues?' What no I would never haha-)

They're in their early forties. The hardest decisions this game has forced on me was making me choose between giving them some lines on their face and giving them freckles. Deeply rude. (I couldn't even make their hair properly grey, what IS this madness-)

Generally reserved and private, Taren easily gets embarassed by strong displays of emotion and tends to retreat inward. They do feel very strongly, they just really struggle to express it.

Desperately wants to feel wanted and needed.

'We love and need you,' their clan tells them. 'Yes, because I bring you elven lore,' says Taren. 'No,' says Clan Aldwir, very tired, 'because we appreciate who you are as a person.' 'I am a mediocre person at best,' says Taren. 'Oh my gods,' say their clan.

Autistic as all fuck.

Not sure about romance, but I'm leaning toward Emmrich? He seems passionate and kind, from what I've heard, and Taren could really do with that.

[fiorilavellan]

@fadewalking

Fiori was a scholar. She had spent her life chasing the threads of old magic, spells woven so deeply they still left echoes in the world long after their empire had fallen. Once they were poets, warriors and kings. Even reduced, they had history and culture to be proud of. What they had kept may only have been a fragment of a splinter of what was, but even those splinters shone so brightly it was hard not to dream of what the whole might have been.

The Inquisition had given her resources she had never imagined. Old texts, stories and songs from around the continent in so many languages it made her head spin. Old spells, magical constructs, ruins so old it was a wonder they didn’t crumble at the touch. Places where their people had once walked, protected for once, for careful study. Artefacts left in place rather than plundered, so they could be understood. She had learned a lot during those years, and even if she had rarely contributed anything of value, the Inquisitor had barely noticed such a tiny drain on their resources. 

That had ended when the Dread Wolf had revealed himself. Suddenly she was noticed, as an elf who specialised in old stories and songs, how they connected to history. She had been made to explain, over and over, the significance of the tales, why Fen’harel was feared, why the Dalish spent their lives guarding against his influences. And then she was sent to spy on him. It was ridiculous. A waste of resources and time. She knew how to play the Game as well as any other elf in even the smallest position of power, had played it well during her time in the Inquisition in order to secure resources for her clan and passage for her people. But she wasn’t any good at hiding who she was, or sneaking around, or sending secret messages. It was absolutely no surprise at all that she had been caught.

Fiori remembered very little about the reclusive scholar of the Inquisition, might have heard his voice in the distance, or perhaps replied to a note. In fact she was sure, now, that he had once asked her for a particular volume on star charts, written by sailors from Tevinter. 

She couldn’t remember anything he had written or what she had said in reply, but in retrospect it chilled her, to know she had been that close. The Inquisition had told her what they knew about him, but there wasn’t much to go on. A long-ruined home, something of a sweet tooth but a distaste for tea, esoteric knowledge of the Fade and spirits. How had they missed such obvious holes?

Leliana had worked carefully to insert her into Solas’ rebel army. They both knew she would likely fail, the Nightingale had pleaded her case to the Inquisitor, to no avail. She was unknown to Solas, despite crossovers in their field of work. She was an elf with strong ties to her culture, and she was something of a rebel herself, so they should have a lot in common. She was beginning to regret lying about the hair thing. Clan Lavellan was known for dyes and weaving, and blue was a common choice for hair in her family. But humans always liked a rebel rather than an elf too devoted to their culture, and it had smoothed the way to say she was on bad terms with her Keeper. The Keeper who had taught her the spell for colouring her hair in the first place. That spell was the only one on her when they put the shackles around her wrists. It kept crackling and fading, so that she looked like she had fallen into the dye vat for the first few hours until the shackles finally cut off her magic entirely. Clever really, to have a visual indication of a prisoner’s mana reserves. Now her hair was its natural wheat blonde, in long waves down her back where it had broken free of its braid. The shackles were lighter than those the Chantry used; more like glowing bracelets. They left her hands free in the hours she was left alone in her cell. There was a window high up on the wall, and she had latched her fingers onto the sill and hauled herself up for a look only to discover it was magic. There was a view, but it changed hour by hour. It was a pity she had nothing to stand on to watch it go by. She was expecting execution. She had already confessed exactly who she was. Fiori couldn’t stand pain, and owed the Inquisition nothing for putting her here. It was only a shame their only spy was so damned inept, it really didn’t bode well for the world. 

[galedekarios]

i was talking about this with my friend @evenstar-crescentmoon, but we were both thinking about how gale would fit into the dragon age universe while talking about how he'd probably get along with emmrich, particularly now with veilguard coming out soon.

so this then got us to thinking:

feel free to elaborate in the replies or reblogs. 🖤

my ideas so far:

shadow dragon!gale, an eccentric but respected mage of the tevinter imperium, part of the dekarios clan, using his standing to try and better the world around him - some say a mistake in his past made is what makes him want to do so. i think he'd be not so dissimilar to dorian and his story in inquisition.

but my personal favourite idea was grey warden mage!gale, who has been recruited after he came in contact with a blighted magical artefact and the situation spiralled out of control from there. he was conscripted in the aftermath to save his life. he has learned to be at peace with his lot, striving to protect the world and those dear to him from the blight and from himself - even as the artefact left behind something: a slow corruption that might end his life before the calling does.