#the inquisitor lost their anchor

[dragonagesb]

This is one of my favorite moments with Varric

[skyguytoast]

DARK SIDE, SOFT HEART: SUITLESS!VADER X YOU

SYNOPSIS: where suitless!Vader is the right arm of the emperor with anger issues and you are his soft-spoken girlfriend who knows exactly how to bring him to his knees—with nothing more than a look.

WORDS: 600+

WARNING: nothing just fluffy, just a tiny bit of angst

A/N: hiii, dear lovers, I wrote this while waiting for my class to start. It’s a bit small, like probably one of the smallest as I wrote. 😉😘 anyway, comments, reblogs are appreciated. kisses and good reading 🥰🤩 Dividers by @cafekitsune

Vader was possessed — not by the Force, not by vengeance, but by the failure of a mission that should have been flawless.

Everything had gone wrong.

He had led a squad of Inquisitors in pursuit of one of the last remaining Jedi, a mission that was supposed to be swift, surgical, and final. It wasn’t even a full Jedi — just a Padawan. And yet… somehow, they had failed. Miserably. Two Inquisitors dead, another maimed. The others had fled — fled — like frightened children, disgracing everything he had trained into them.

Vader had expected power, precision, dominance. What he had seen instead was weakness.

And weakness had no place in his world.

The survivors suffered for their cowardice — his wrath descended like a star collapsing. He punished them without hesitation, a lesson carved into their flesh and bone. There would be no tolerance for failure. Not again.

By the time he returned to Mustafar, the fire inside him had grown unchecked. Fury rolled off of him like heat waves. His crimson saber roared to life, cleaving through anything and anyone foolish enough to be in his path — droids, furniture, command consoles, even the occasional stormtrooper caught in the wake of his rampage. Walls cracked. Steel melted. The fortress trembled under his wrath.

And then, suddenly, he was in your doorway.

The doors slammed behind him like a final verdict. You flinched, eyes wide, caught mid-page in your book, silk nightgown flowing like soft petals around your legs as you sat on the bed. The light from the hallway was devoured by his presence, all shadow and fury. His shoulders heaved with ragged breath, and those burning yellow eyes — normally hidden beneath the cold, black mask — flickered with a murderous storm.

You didn’t speak. Not at first.

You simply set your book aside, your fingers steady even as your heart raced. There was blood on his hands. His jaw was clenched tight, his entire body wound like a drawn wire. He was still ready to strike — to kill.

“Anakin,” you said softly, and it struck him like lightning.

That name. The name buried beneath layers of darkness and armor. Only you called him that, only you dared. And right now, it felt like an anchor thrown into the storm raging inside him.

He turned his head, jaw twitching. “Don’t,” he growled, voice raw, trembling. “Don’t say that name right now.”

But you were already rising from the bed, bare feet touching the cold obsidian floor. You approached without fear. Your hands reached for him — not to pull him close, but to ground him.

“I know what happened,” you whispered. “You lost control. They failed you. But you are still here. Still standing. You don’t have to carry this rage into our space.”

His fists were clenched, saber still in hand, his breathing ragged. His eyes flicked to your face — so calm, so tender — and for a moment, he was still. Then, with a trembling exhale, his weapon fell to the floor with a heavy clang.

And then… he dropped to his knees.

Not in defeat.

In surrender.

To you.

His forehead pressed against your stomach, his hands clutching your thighs as if they were the last solid thing in his galaxy. You slid your fingers into his sandy hair, gently tugging him closer, cradling him like a wounded beast.

“I’m here,” you whispered, brushing your lips against his temple. “You don’t have to be a god or a monster with me. Just breathe.”

His breath hitched. His hands trembled.

You were the only force in the galaxy that could bring Darth Vader to his knees — not with power, but with gentle. With love.

And as the chaos of the galaxy raged on outside, you held him together piece by piece, reminding the broken soul within the armor that he was still human, still Anakin — and still yours.

TAG LIST: @ihearthayden @anakinstwinklebunny @sometimescharlolette @awhhayden @dessxoxsworld

[loredrinker]

Solas, Isolation and His Greatest Fear

As a spirit of Wisdom, Solas was connection itself - not physical, but connection to ideas, emotions, and existence. Spirits in the Fade are born from shared thought and feeling; they are communal by nature. Wisdom, in particular, does not just possess knowledge - it listens, gathers, synthesizes, and applies understanding to help others and guide action. This is why Mythal calls to him: she needs not just his knowledge, but his capacity for connection, counsel, and guidance.

But for a spirit turned mortal, life outside the Fade can be isolating when not actively choosing it's original purpose. It's why Solas urges Cole to never lose sight of who he is, to choose compassion as an act of will. By consciously reaffirming his nature, Cole stays anchored to his essence, preserving the purity of his spirit against the distortions of the physical world. Solas knows this because he himself failed to do the same. Over time, he drifted from his original essence, allowing pride, fear, and duty to erode his wisdom.

From the moment Solas chose a physical form, he began severing the natural connection that had once defined him, as did all the Evanuris. Over time, he accumulated knowledge, but lost the practice of true wisdom, because he lost the communal engagement that wisdom depends on. Wisdom’s purpose, at its core, is fulfilled in relation to others - and in isolation, it withers.

Over time, Mythal’s influence, the betrayals of the Evanuris, and the violence and trauma of war taught Solas to rely more on control, strategy, and force - not mutual understanding​. He made decisions at every stage that moved him further from his original nature by choosing actions that prioritized victory, security, and ideology over connection. Isolation for Solas is not just loneliness; it is a spiritual dislocation from his very being.

Solas' greatest fear of dying alone is made poignant in this light. It reflects the deepest terror specific to what he once was: a being whose identity depended on connection​. As a spirit of Wisdom, his existence was validated by being in relation to others - understanding, advising, guiding, providing. Isolation, in contrast, is annihilation. Without connection, he loses not just companionship, but the conditions that once made him whole.

His fear of dying alone is the ultimate expression of this spiritual dislocation. To die alone would mean to vanish without witness, without anyone to recognize or carry the truth of who he was. It would be the final confirmation that his existence, once built on connection, ended severed and forgotten - the antithesis of everything he was born from.

No where is this more revealed than in the dialogue with Varric where he describes dwarves as "the severed arm of a once mighty hero, lying in a pool of blood. Undirected." Solas is saying that whatever vitality, whatever purpose the dwarves once had, is gone forever - they do not dream, they have no connection to the Fade, and therefore no participation in the greater flow of memory, spirit, or shared existence.

This metaphor reveals how Solas conceptualizes disconnection: a spiritual death. A severed arm may twitch and move, but it no longer truly lives. It is isolated, amputated from the body that gave it purpose. He does not fear physical death, he commits to the din'anshiral after all, his fear is being the severed bloody arm: existing in fragments, lost from the shared dreaming, without meaning, without recognition or connection​.

For Solas, to die alone, isolated, would be the final confirmation that his existence ended in that severance. It would mean he had failed not just his mission, but the nature of what he once was.

Inquisition: Fragile Restoration

Despite his cynicism and caution, Solas builds relationships during his time in the Inquisition. Dialogue and banter across Inquisition confirm this. Even with an Inquisitor who disapproves of him, Solas’ reactions show he cares - disappointment and sorrow leak through when the Inquisitor betrays principles Solas values. Aside from the Inquisitor, Veilguard confirms that his time with the Inquisition left an imprint. Dialogue with Rook shows that Solas remembers, regrets, and cherishes aspects of that time​. He confesses (through a letter and direct conversations about some companions) that these bonds mattered to him. He was not as detached as he wanted to believe.

Inquisition represents a brief, fragile restoration of Solas’ original self - a being tied to others, building meaning through connection, guidance, and shared struggle. For the first time since the collapse of the ancient world, he steps back into a community, forms bonds, and allows others to matter to him, offering him a glimpse of what it would mean to live whole again, to exist not as a severed limb but as part of something larger, vibrant, and real.

And because he walks away from it - because he sacrifices it in the name of his duty - I think the fear of dying alone only grows sharper for him here on out. Why?

He proves to himself that even when real connection is within reach, he will destroy it for the sake of his mission, reinforcing his internal narrative that he will always be alone - not because the world forces it on him, but because he cannot hold onto connection without crushing it himself. He now knows that even when salvation is offered, even when the bonds are real, he is the one who lets them go. And if he can't choose connection when it stands right in front of him, how can he hope to avoid facing the end alone?

Veilguard and the Consequences of Isolation

Being forcibly bound to the Veil in the non-atonement endings doesn’t just physically isolate Solas - it symbolically completes his severance from who he once was.

When Solas describes the dwarves as the severed arm of a once-great hero, appearing to live but fundamentally lost - the worst/fight endings force him into exactly that state.

In one ending, he still clings to his pride, calling himself a god.

In another, he collapses into bitter self-loathing, calling himself a fool.

Either way, it shows how far he has fallen: whether in arrogance or despair, he has lost the balance, the clarity, and the communal being that Wisdom once represented.

The non-atonement endings aren't just "bad" outcomes for Solas - they are the final realization of his worst nightmare: not death, but survival in a form hollow and broken that he becomes a shadow of the spirit, and man, he once was.

Atonement: Restoring Connection

The significance of the atonement ending in Veilguard cannot be overstated. When Rook reintroduces Morrigan, carrying Mythal’s essence, and the Inquisitor (his vhenan or friend) back into Solas' life at a critical moment, it is not only tactical but a symbolic act.

Rook interrupts the cycle of isolation that Solas has been trapped within for millennia at the perfect time - when he is his most spent, his most exhausted, his most off balance. They do not force Solas into submission through violence or deceit, instead, they bring witnesses - two of the few beings left who understand Solas. It is an act of restoring connection at the precipice of total severance.

It is Rook at their most unpredictable, their most radical - a deliberate act of compassion in a moment where all history pointed toward violence.

Morrigan/Mythal represents the beginning of Solas’s long journey: the spirit who first called him into the physical world, the one who sparked his original departure from his pure, communal self. She is the first bond he formed, his longest and the first to be broken.

The Inquisitor represents the possibility of renewal: a mortal connection that survived knowledge, betrayal, and grief. Whether as a beloved or a friend, they carry Solas’ truth - the full complexity of his mistakes and his heart - without turning away.

Rook represents the force of free will, unpredictability, and change. They are the living proof that fate is not fixed, that even the most rigid paths can be broken open by compassion and choice. In bringing Mythal and the Inquisitor back to him, Rook shows Solas that salvation does not come from control or grand design, but from trusting in the unpredictable, living bonds between people.

In this ending Rook, Morrigan and the Inquisitor give Solas the one thing he could not reclaim on his own: the restoration of his place in the greater whole - purpose. They force him to confront that he is not, and never was, alone.

Solas’ original fear - the spiritual annihilation of being severed, forgotten, fragmented - is at last answered. He is seen and known as he takes his first steps on the path of facing the terrible cost of his decisions and actions.

Choosing atonement - binding himself to the Veil willingly - is not a defeat, nor is it an absolution of his sins. It is the beginning of change, a reclamation and restoration of his original self: the spirit of Wisdom, whose existence was rooted in advising and connecting through communion with others. He still is a prideful man, but in surrendering control and anchoring the Veil with his own life, he begins to untangle pride from purpose.

It is the moment when Solas, for the first time since he sundered the world, chooses connection. And he does not have to face it alone. Whether he walks into the Fade by himself or with his vhenan at his side, the symbolism remains unchanged: Solas knows, at last, that he is not severed. He leaves not as a fragment, but as someone with renewed purpose.

And how beautifully symbolic that the path before him will center on healing an even more painful severance, that after connection was offered to him at his lowest moment, he will now find a way to offer connection back to the Titans and their dreams.

[arrowfortea]

the inquisitor undergoes a painful, sudden amputation at the hands of a former ally, and there's infinite ways they could feel about that, especially when we had little insight on thedosian prostheses pre-veilguard—what if they're left-handed? what if they're an archer, or a 2h warrior?

physical aspect aside, what if they had any kind of emotional attachment to the anchor and what it meant for them? or dreaming?

the anchor appears to turn the inquisitor (or possibly only a high-approval one) into a dreamer, as they can dream-walk to solas. dwarves DON'T DREAM, and non-dwarven inquisitors that aren't mages can't lucid dream, nor can they even remember dreams very well.

it's reasonable to assume this lucidity is dependent on the anchor's presence, since aforementioned executive manager of the anchor says "i had no idea that the anchor would allow you to dream with such focus", and even a mage inquisitor has him mention it's remarkable.

and he takes it away.

"dwarves are the severed arm of a once mighty hero, lying in a pool of blood. undirected. whatever skill of arms it had, gone forever. although it might twitch to give the appearance of life, it will never dream."

there's so many implications for a dwarven inquisitor here!!! what if they remember him saying the above to varric! how did they feel about being able to dream!!!

trespasser's epilogue has a romanced inquisitor (who swore to redeem him) witness solas visiting her dreams. if she's not a mage, these are dreams she now can't control or fully remember. she has to make do with the scraps of scraps.

after having lost their left arm, the inquisition, the anchor and all it ever implied, skyhold, (for a romanced inquisitor, her partner, and optionally her vallaslin), and the ability to dreamwalk/lucid dream, which they could do for two years, and which their friend, rival or lover valued astronomically highly — the inquisitor must've had a helluva therapist between da:i and veilguard, to be hyucking it up about the Good Old Days.

(oh, and then they lose varric! 😊)

[lathbora-virann]

I know all the hand statues and iconography in Veilguard are used in multiple places, but in my head and heart all the ones in Solas' regret prison not only symbolise all the People, past and present, whose lives do or did depend on him, who he sacrificed, who he betrayed, who he couldn't save, who he's trying to save or honour or avenge... but specifically they also symbolise the Inquisitor and what he did to them – from the very beginning of them receiving the Anchor through all of the events of Inquisition, to the very end with him removing it and causing them to lose their arm.

And I think it would have been such a subtle but meaningful inclusion to have had the Inquisitor's default prosthetic actually look like all the hands that Solas is surrounded by (or to be able to change the prosthetic and have those hands also change their look). To really solidify the connection between them. Even if Solas and the Inquisitor disliked each other, they would still symbolise all of the Inquisition including all the people Solas did care for and all the lives and places changed, damaged and lost because of his fateful choice to give Corypheus the orb.

And if the Inquisitor was his friend, his lover... Imagine him constantly surrounded by visions of the hand he can never again hold. Fingers he can no longer lace with his own, a palm he can never press his lips to, an injury he can never soothe or heal. Not just because they're separated, but because that hand no longer exists, thanks to him.

Yet at the same time, they would also represent the hand the Inquisitor does still have – the hand that has been reaching desperately for him for a decade now, reaching out to stop him (one way or another). How Solas would torture himself over these hands, not knowing if they want to strangle him or hold his in return. How he would desperately long for the latter while telling himself it was the former. How either option would fill him with so much regret and grief... I just have a lot of thoughts about this.

[abyssal-ilk]

can't think about the fact that vivienne not only loses bastien during dai but she also lost bastien's wife, nicoline, just a few years prior AND her friend lydia just before dai starts. she lost nicoline to illness just as she did bastien, and will eventually lose the inquisitor to the anchor. no one talk to me rn. having a moment

[rookinthecrownest]

what pride had lost

the inquisitor was warned that reckless use of the Anchor would accelerate its effects on her body, but in her pride she didn’t listen, and lost more than she thought she would

[preztee]

[extremely biased Dorian romancer voice] Guys, I think we won.

I know it's more common to hear that Solas romancers won - and after seeing how much extra content they got (additional dialogue trees with the Inquisitor and a whole alternate ending with a kiss), I can definitely see why.

But that's the thing - I've seen Solas romancers utterly split on if they liked this extra content or not. I've seen takes ranging from, "oh, I'm so glad I finally got my happy ending!" to "what the hell? This is awful!"

I've seen people heaping endless praise onto Solas' characterization. I've seen people deeply upset over Solas' characterization. I've seen people who think the Inquisitor vowing to save Solas is the most romantic thing ever. I've seen people who hate how the writing portrayed the Inquisitor as hopeless, blinded by love, and shadowed by Solas' dynamic with Mythal.

Case being... the fanbase is polarized. Some people won, but some people lost very, very bad. I've noticed the latter with those who had Inquisitors that romanced Solas, but wound up angry and vowing to stop him.

So, back to my first point. How did Dorian romancers "win"? For lack of a better term.

Well, for one, we got more content than every other romance (barring Solas'). I'm mad on behalf of the other romances, but there's no denying we made it out VERY lucky in that regard. Could it have been better? Yeah. But honestly, in comparison to Hawke talking about their romanced companion, I feel like we won. Not a huge win (Warden Alistair's dialogue about the HoF was a MASSIVE win), but a pretty good victory nonetheless.

Romance wise we got: direct, in-character interaction that alludes to Trespasser's conflict with the anchor secretly killing the Inquisitor. Sweet idle dialogue from Dorian. An immensely touching letter from Dorian that logically concludes his character arc from Inquisition (with him no longer being allergic to The L Word!). And we even got a Dorian romanced Inquisitor implying that he's up in Minrathous enough to consider himself a source of information for the Inquisition.

Generally, we got: Dorian being written in character (this is helped by him showing up as a side character and not a main one... less questionable decisions), with notable development stemming from what was planted in Inquisition (working through emotional repression, abolition and enacting societal change, etc). The option to make Dorian Archon or not, allowing for the player to decide what future they want for him. The Inquisitor wearing the Shadow Dragon casual outfit and arranging meetings in Dock Town of all places. Both of them surviving to the end of Veilguard. Both of them working and fighting together in the finale to save Minrathous and stop the gods despite the Inquisitor's duties in the south. Heavy implications that Dorian and the Inquisitor have been talking off screen about Rook and about recent events. Vague timeline that allows for several headcanons to fit - like, are they married? Engaged? Idk. How often does the Inquisitor visit? Well, often enough to consider himself a direct source of information, but with recent events, he and Dorian have been forced to use the calling crystals and write letters over the course of weeks... so really, it's up to you.

What we didn't get: Maybe a dialogue tree during Rook's conversations with the Inquisitor. Uhhh, there's one optional dialogue response if you're too formal with the Inquisitor where he calls Dorian an old friend. Which Dorian also does to the Inquisitor in Trespasser. Literally the same exact wording of "old friend". I can't be too mad over a such a funny oversight happening again. In the exact same way. But this time easily avoidable.

TL;DR - We got a lot of wins, a lack of divisive content, and a generally happy fanbase. That, and the Inquisitor and Dorian standing next to each other. Oh, the screenshots to be had. The whimsy of it all.

[callahanisms]

inquisition companions react to the inquisitor missing half their arm

because bioware didn’t wanna give it to us, i decided i’d just do it myself. (insert thanos meme) even though i am like years late to the hype.

the game is like 9 years old at this point, but spoilers ahead.

do keep in mind this is my own personal interpretation of each character. it may not be accurate to your own interpretations. (also i know leliana is technically not a companion in inquisition but i included her anyways)

cassandra pentaghast

if cassandra could plunge a knife into the heart of solas, she would. she would not let him get away with betraying you and taking the anchor along with your arm. you had basically fallen into her arms when you emerged from the portal and she had to carry you back to halamshiral. for the days you were unconscious, cassandra was anxious and extra prickly. there were many times where cullen would have to talk her down from her anger. even varric did too.

dorian pavus

the first thing he did was crack a joke. the atmosphere was tense and it just slipped out. “i asked you to come back in one piece, not missing one.” safe to say, the other companions did not approve of his joke. dorian was set to return to tevinter after being notified of his new position as a magister, but he delayed the return to his homeland for you. he sat in your room as you lied unconscious, barely breathing, leg anxious bouncing up and down. when you awoke, you were immediately met with a large and tight hug from him. he knocked the air out of your lungs from that.

blackwall

blackwall admires you. in fact, everyone would go so far as to say he adores you. he thinks of you as strong, capable, almost infallible. you closed rifts, you closed the big green tear in the sky, and you defeated corypheus! what couldn’t you do? all your feats proved to him that you were the strongest leader he could ever know. and yet, you were still mortal. you left the eluvians mortally wounded and exhausted beyond belief, your eyelids so heavy and ready to close so you may drift off into the black void of sleep. blackwall would not let you, not until you were taken away to be cared for. you found him sitting besides you, awake and on guard. your mortality was his reminder that you and him were the same, even if your lives appeared to be completely different. and he understood that the world would need a leader like you and that is dangerous.

iron bull

the bull could feel a stronger kinship with you that day. it appears that the both of you lost something. he betrayed the qun for the inquisition, thus losing a part of himself, his people. you lost a literal part of yourself, something you had to come to terms with after having the anchor for two years. to say iron bull was shaken up would be an understatement. he was getting cassandra to hit him with sticks for days on end while you lied unconscious. he wondered what would’ve happened if he was with you, if maybe...he could’ve stopped solas. but reminiscing never did anyone any good.

cole

as much as he wanted to help you, cole couldn’t. he also understood that you wouldn’t accept his help, no matter how much he insisted. so instead, he did the best thing he could do: help tend to your injuries. what was curious was that he could feel very little of your pain. when he felt your pain two years ago after forming the inquisition, it was concentrated in your hand and forearm. with it gone, you felt at peace. the primary source of pain for you had been washed away. perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, he thought.

sera

sera’s immediate reaction is, like dorian, to crack a joke. everyone is used to her eccentricity. but it felt different this time around. while you laid unconscious, recovering from the long battle, she occupied herself. she had to busy her hands and her legs, keep moving, keep her mind busy. because if she sat too still for even a second, then her mind would think about the worst outcome. she would get images of you, dead, because solas had betrayed you, betrayed her, betrayed the inquisition. hell, he betrayed the world! that knob! thinking he knew what was best! sera’s all the more relieved when it’s revealed you survived. she bursts through the door to see you and hug you tightly, complaining about how much you scared her.

varric tethras

in all honesty, varric should’ve been more prepared to expect...well, the unexpected. he had expectations of you coming out unharmed, untouched. obviously, that was not what happened. and he wondered if he was responsible for this. he had been one of the many people to support you as the inquisitor two years ago, suggesting it. he wondered if he made the wrong decision. but also, part of varric was relieved. he lost someone close to him two years ago. he didn’t know if he could handle losing you too.

vivienne de fer

the court would devour tales of the eluvians and how you managed to survive. that was vivienne’s first thought. people would be talking about you for centuries to come, certainly. and yet, she knew in her soul that was not what you would want. she does her best to minimize what rumors spread when you first emerge from the eluvians and help give you privacy. behind closed doors, vivienne checks on your injuries. part of her is amazed that the anchor was removed so cleanly.

josephine montilyet

josephine has seen many things ranging from serious to just plain absurd. when she was alerted that you had returned with many serious injuries, including the loss of half your arm, she sent messages to get the best possible doctors in all of orlais to help attend to you. the woman was definitely stressed beyond belief. but when she wasn’t trying to get everyone from backing off from you or getting people to look at you, josephine was attending to you herself. you awoke to find her wiping some sweat off your face and when she noticed, she muttered about how great andraste was and embraced you tightly.

cullen rutherford

your knight-commander appeared to take the news very well, much to the disapproval of cassandra. but the moment cullen was alone, in private, he flipped a table, causing everything to crash. all he could feel running throughout his body was regret, guilt, and anger. regret and guilt for not having gone with you. he should’ve. because if he did, maybe you would have came back alright. anger directed towards solas because the apostate had betrayed you, the inquisition. and everything you and him had worked towards was going to crumble. all of his hard work, leliana’s, cassandra’s, josephine’s, it’d all be for naught. cullen ends up spending a lot of time alone while you’re unconscious. he prays to andraste and the maker to distract himself from any wandering thoughts going towards lyrium. certainly the new mabari hound he decided to adopt on a whim helps with distractions at least.

leliana

the woman has seen many things in her lifetime, having experienced the fifth blight itself and been part of that fight against the archdemon. still, things aren’t easy when you come back from the eluvians missing half of your arm. even if it goes against all her duties, leliana stays with you until you wake up to make sure you’re alright. you’re the inquisitor after all and it’s vital that you’re still alive.

solas

he’s the one who took it. you think he cares?

in all seriousness, it gave him no pleasure to remove your arm for the anchor. even if his plan was...well, shoddy we should say, the anchor was going to kill you. he had no choice. carrying your hand and forearm around felt heavy. he could carry it just fine but what made it heavy was the burden that came with his plan to tear down the veil and bring doom upon the world in a desperate attempt to bring it back to what it once was. and also, the burden of having harmed you.

[diesvitae]

Day 3: Fade

Another Veiltober piece.

Inquisitor Elinan Lavellan might have lost an arm, but in Dreams she now found another home and the spirits became her People too. I headcanon due to the anchor having been part of her for years, even after Solas took it away from her, some powers lingered and she gained the powers of a Somniari. Which helped greatly her mission to give safety and redeption to spirits, demons and abominations who were deemed unsalvageable.

[lafaiette]

there's a codex entry in the lighthouse that you can find in the second locked room in the central room. it's a series of notes written by solas to study his ritual and it confirms he lured the inquisitor in the crossroads in trespasser not to save their life (not just for that anyway) but also to retrieve the anchor and study it for his ritual. the writers did EVERYTHING to make him look like a villain, i'm so mad and sad

YES, I saw that, and I was so mad, too! I don't remember the devs ever saying that Solas managed to retrieve what remained of the Anchor in Trespasser - they just said the Inquisitor's arm was so damaged, Solas had to "collapse the Fade energy that had started to poison [the Inquisitor's] arm".

He reveals his whole plans to the Inquisitor, but never mentions needing the Anchor's remaining energy to do so. He has no qualms explaining what he intends to do - why shouldn't he also say he needs the Anchor to complete his preparations? It's not like the Inquisitor can stop him at that moment.

He actually says he lured the Inquisitor in that place to save their life (or to avoid more chaos in the South due to their death if they're not friends/in a romance iirc). So it's clear this was something they added in just for Veilguard, never once hinted in Trespasser, turning Solas' heartfelt words into a half-truth ("Luring you here was the best chance to save your life... at least for now. But also I need to use you again :) "

Furthermore, if he could take back the Anchor and its power, why did he wait until it was "damaged beyond repair", like that codex entry in the Lighthouse says? Why not take it back immediately and proceed with his plans? Did he need Mythal's power to do so? Why wait two more years until the events of Trespasser, then?

It makes no sense, and it once again paints Solas under a villainous light, even with a romanced Lavellan - he didn't lure her in the Crossroads just to save her life, he also needed her (again) to fulfill his duty and save the Elvhen people... but not really, because what really drives him is not the wonderful connection to the Fade the elves lost and that he wishes to recover, but Mythal! Isn't he a scoundrel! How could you love such a man!

[eastern-lights]

After rereading The Stolen Throne and The Calling, I can't help but see paralells between Loghain and the Inquisitor of all people.

The unpersonification of the Inquisitor that you see in DAI as they become nothing but a cause and a symbol for all intents and purposes? Loghain went through the same thing during the rebellion. Just like the Inquisitor, he was conscripted into a cause he did not necessarily initially believe in. Over the years, the rebel army and Maric in particular shaped him into the ideal commander, the perfect Fereldan hero, until there was nothing else left. At one point, Maric and Rowan arguably emotionally blackmailed him into staying with the army instead of returning to his old home so he could bury his father and find out if the woman who basically raised him still lives. By the end of the war, he cared about nothing but Ferelden because that was the only thing that was not taken away from him.

Until it was taken from him at the Landsmeet, just like the Inquisitor lost the Anchor and the Inquisition, the only things that made them what they were in the end.

If Loghain lives and becomes a Warden, he does eventually find himself again. He has a cause, but it does not define him. He disobeys Clarel because it's the right thing to do. It really does seem like for the first time since the first chapter of TST, we see Loghain as himself, not as the Hero of River Dane or the Traitor Teyrn.

I'm really hoping for the Inquisitor to achieve the same. To be allowed to... not return, because that is impossible, but reclaim some pieces of themselves before the end.

[skrevel]

I realized some bittersweet thoughts for my Lavellan. So she has June's vallaslin, I always had the head canon she chose that particular one because her father was a carpenter in the clan and worked a lot on repairing and maintaining aravels. She learns how to carve wood from him, and would've followed in his footsteps and become one as well if she hadn't had magic. He would often carve little toys for the children in the clan (he was a lot like Blackwall in that reguard). One day he carved a small duck, that can easily fit in a pocket, and gave it to either her or her brother as a good luck charm. The duck gets passed between herself and her brother based off of who needs the more luck at the time.

The duck goes with her to the conclave

The duck goes with her when they try to close the breach

The duck is with her when she's trudging through a blizzard after Haven, trying to find the others

The duck is with her when she became the Inquisitor

The duck goes with her to Adamant

The duck is with her when she gets the word that her clan is gone

The duck is with her when the anchor and her arm is gone, after which Dorian wraps it in strong thread to wear around her neck and enchants it against getting lost because even he is starting to wonder if it's actually lucky

The duck goes into the fade with her and Solas

[thewardenisonthecase]

im not going to find it now, but @/v-arbellanaris post on the themes of identity loss in DAI are not that well handled because the inquisitior is not allowed to have an identity TO BEGIN with due to how centrist this game is is always on my mind.

Because like, everytime i see people talking about this big theme around the inquisitor i cant help but feel like i played a different game. I felt so disconnected from the inquisitor because I had no idea who they were. Like, they felt too much like a blank slate. DAO and DA2 both gave you established backstories of which you could build your character around, but DAI felt like I needed to work it from the ground up. I remember the first time i got that convo with Josie, in Haven, where you can establish some stuff, I felt almost weirded out because I was suddenly being told things about this character that I knew nothing about and now i had to establish things? It was confusing and I didn't even KNOW what to pick. And I played the games in order, so for it was extremely JARRING to jump from warden to hawke to inquisitor. So much so that it took 3 tries, with 3 different characters until I finally landed on one that I felt like i could work with, because until then, I couldn't figure out who the fuck my inquisitor was supposed to be.

And its really, REALLY hard to have a theme of you're losing your identity when you don't have one. I almost feel like there should have been two games - one where you deal maybe with only the mage rebellion and get to see and understand who your character REALLY is and then DAI, where you see all that you were get rewritten. And honestly, it gets to me because loss of identity is something that lowkey permeates the other characters - The reason Varric wrote the tale of the champion was in part because people were getting Hawke's story wrong (Cassandra is a GREAT example of how people were imagining things went down and why Varric's book was so relevant). I like to add that "you're only a symbol now" theme to my warden sometimes and it fees like a natural progression but to the inquisitor?

And to be honest, I'm not even entirely sure that this theme was intentional on the writer's part. Like, i give DAI some grace because of HELLISH the development was, but sometimes it feels to me that either they had a specific idea for who the inquisitor should be and if you play differently, themes get lost, or that the inquisitor was 1000% just some placeholder.

No wonder that the one character that stuck with me was Adaar because it was the only backstory that i felt gave me something i could work with - it said you have at least one mother and one father who left the qun and you joined a mercenary band and they have names. Not the faceless trevelyans who you only mildly hear about nor clan lavellan, who is talked about as if all those people were one person instead of, y'know, a group of people (i bring these two up because my 1st inky was a trevelyan and the 1st inky i ACTUALLY finished a playthriugh with was a lavellan and my god. i felt SO disconnected with them).

There's some other stuff too regarding the inquisitor's story that i don't know how to explain but that add to that feeling of not liking the inquisitor. Like, I think one of the things that I really like about the warden and Hawke is that you really have to build that character from the ground up. The wardens are very near the bottom of the social ladder and hawke is a refugee who's possibly an apostate too. it takes LONG in these games for your character to get any semblance of comfort. But for the inquisitor idk, i didnt feel that? Things happened to them and I had this feeling that they didn't deserve it. Like you go from haven, who's alreayd more organized than anything the warden and hawke had from the get go, and then you go to skyhold which is even nicer but I just cant help but feel that its unearned.

idk. its hard to explain. its even harder when i add the whole anchor thing, because I really do hate this thing. Like sorry, even if the inquisitor got named that because of their leadership, they were only given a chance to begin with bc of the mark. Its not a chosen one story but it sure as fuck feels like one to me most of the time. And the inquisitor being this leader is also something i just struggle with, and i blame it mostly on the fucking war table missions. Idk, again, bc in dao and da2 you have to basically do everything yourself, i could picture the warden and hawke as leaders, but because the nit and gritty is done by leliana/josephine/cullen, its like ok so am i just the guy who sits on a chair and orders people around? I just never get the feeling that the inquisitor is ACTUALLY working to get these things done its always just ordering others around. And like sure, the king who sits on the throne and orders people to their deaths is a leader, but the general who's going to war with me feels more like my leader than the guy with the crown (terrible analogy but its the best icould come up with).

idk. i have too many thoughts about how i don't like the inquisitor as a PC because of how they were written. its why i talk much less about asala because for me, despite doing 2 FULL PLAYTRHOUGHS its so hard to picture her in my head because the game gives me so freaking little to work with.

[lanaluuart]

By the way, how did Varlen lost his arm?

I never played Dragon Age, so sorry if the answer is obvious!

If you don't mind spoilers for Dragon Age Inquisition:

The Inquisitor(your protagonist, or Arlen here) gets something called an "anchor" or "mark" on their left hand which allows them to seal tears in the fade (fade is another realm with spirits and demons). Eventually that mark starts killing them. A companion (or ex-companion) helped with the stop of the spread but too much damage was done to the arm leading to its removal.

[littlechaoscosplay]

More than enough

SolasXLavellan

Rated (T).

He found it a bit strange that his love is sleeping in just a tad later than normal

Solas sat the cup next to her plate filling it close to the brim of the warm beverage, knowing full well she is not a morning person and looking at the time he had a feeling she might need the extra pick me up.

However as he awaited to hear her foot steps that would slowly make their way through the room, it didn’t come. It was strange but not worrying he did warn how the lighthouse could effect someone’s inner time clock due to its nature.

But as time passed and the steam from her cup died; it was then something did not feel right and he headed straight to her room.

As he walked he kept his composure; rationalizing that she must have stayed up later after he had fallen asleep; that or her mind is elsewhere and had simply lost track of the time.

He stopped at the door and gave it a few gentle knocks; no answer.

He knocked once more, silence.

He swallowed back the anxiousness as he slowly opened the door, just to peak to ease his thoughts. He looked to see her still in bed; and could see the gentle rise and fall of her breaths, he chuckled to himself feeling a bit foolish but before he could close the door, “…Wha.”

He paused, “A-apologize vhenan…you have slept in quite a bit.”

In the darkness with just the small stream of light bleeding in he could see her sit up, wiping her eyes before looking to him, “Oh…I’m-” She wiped her eyes again, “I’m sorry, I’ll be right there.”

A simple answer but it felt…off.

Perhaps lingering worry was still itching in the back of his mind that he could not leave. “Are you sure you are alright…?” He asked quietly.

She turned away from him as if she was searching for something, “Yes, I’m fine.” She answered.

He frowned, and made his way into the room. That tone of voice he knew, a tone that was used in front of companions , the tone used to ease the worry of the masses. He took a seat next to her making her jump at the feeling of the bed dipping slightly.

“My love” He started carefully, “Please look at me.”

She kept her gaze from him, “I will be only a minute.” She assured in that unchanging happy tone.

“Inquisitor.”

He could see her freeze tilting her head confused, “Why are you calling me-“ she stopped when she almost looked at him.

“Because the Inquisitor tends to put on a very convincing act when she is trying to conceal her true self.”

“Not unlike someone I know?” She joked.

He chuckled, “Yes…and dare I say I pride myself in knowing when someone is lying to me.”

She let out a small breathy laugh, “…I’m just tired is all, I’m sorry I worried you.”

He felt a pit in his stomach, the sense of uneasiness still there but not wanting to pry made it unbearable, “I could bring something to eat here?” He then offered.

“Honestly, I’m not very hungry at the moment.”

He nodded, but wasn’t sure if she noticed as she was still looking away from him, “How about a beverage at least? Something hot, may-haps?”

“That…would be nic-” She then shook her head, “Actually no, it’s alright.”

“Would you like to lay down a bit longer, I can wake you later?”

“I think I might;yes...”

It was a silent acknowledgment as he got up, looking back to see her slither under the covers before closing the door. It was still there as he walked the halls down into the small courtyard. The worry, along with an almost helplessness.

Back in the days of the Inquisition he knew the brave face she would display but the natural anxiety that came with sudden leadership never left her bed ridden, at most caused her to be a tad exhausted or needing a small moment to herself to collect her thoughts.

He remembered watching her closely in the beginning more so to make sure the anchor that once marked her hand would not outright kill her, But then saw the stress of it all forming and how it effected her and would offer little comfort he could give in those moments, it was at first selfish acts of kindness to make sure she was able to continue the duty to right his mistake but as they got to know one another…

He cursed himself everyday since for damning such a kind soul to such a cruel fate.

And now he is finding that he has done so again, even though she consented to being with him, even though he warned her…no, he should have done more, he managed to push her away twice but in that moment his selfishness took over. The moment a prideful; cowardice man could not bear the thought of being alone, even though he deserved to be…

She must be suffering yet again because of him, the lighthouse does offer its comforts but he is still bound to the fade and the crossroads, he cannot journey the waking world however she is not, She can still leave. She should not be burden with any more of his wrongs.

He turned heel and went back to her room, he must do this now, before he finds himself unable.

He reached for the handle and announced his presence as he slowly opened the door, only to be welcomed by a darken room, she was still sleeping and he felt a pang of regret as he approached to wake her.

He took a breath before lighting one of the lanterns near the bedside, but as the soft glow illuminated the room it did not seem to bother her, she laid peacefully.

He leaned in but lost his courage to speak and instead gently brushed the loose strands of hair from her face it was then he noticed the deep shadows under her eyes, his voice was still lost in his throat as he carefully pressed his hand to her forehead, a small relief that she did not have a fever. His hand then instinctively moved to stroke her hair softly, he had to hold in a laugh as she moved her head into his touch further.

But stopped as her eyes fluttered open, “S-solas?” She said her voice slightly hoarse.

“I am here.” He answered; finally finding his voice, “How are you feeling?”

“Better…” She said as she sat up.

He pressed his lips together in a thin line, he knew this was for the best, “M-may I speak candidly?”

An uneasy smile slowly formed as she spoke, “You may?”

He knelt down beside her, “Vhenan, You being here is the greatest gift I do not deserve, but seeing how my imprisonment is effecting you so…I do not think it’s wise for you to continue being here… being with me.”

Her eyes widened she went to say something but all she did was stare.

He continued, “You have always deserved the best.” He then chuckled as he felt his eyes start to burn, “-and I knew this wasn’t, I should have stopped you…”

Her head slowly shook, as her sleepy demeanor quickly fell at the suddenness of what was being said, “I-I do not understand, I chosen to be here…”

“I know but seeing you so ill because of this, you still have a chance to live a better life.”

She went quiet, pressing her eyes shut, “You are worried because…” She let out a shaky breath in hesitation, ”I am not ill from being here; being with you Solas…it’s because of my own self.”

His eyes narrowed, “Whatever do you mean?”

He patiently watched as she looked for the right words before turning to him almost defeated , “For as long as I can remember I’ve had this…ailment, so-to-speak.” She explained.

“But during the Inquisition…”

“I was better at hiding it.” She said bluntly, “My mind could not hinder me if it was occupied.”

“Your mind?”

She nodded, “Somedays It feels as if my mind and body are separated, my thoughts feel as if they are trying to claw at the inside of my skull while my body lays heavy and just…aches.”

He swallowed down the shock of her words, “That is-“

“Unpleasant? It’s why I didn’t wish to tell you-anyone for that matter and just hoped the feeling would pass on its own as it usually does.”

“But even so….”

She placed a hand on his shoulder as she softly spoke, “You have your own self to worry about, and regardless on how it sounds it’s nothing compare what you face.”

His head lowered, “Instead I’m left with the knowledge that you suffer in silence?”

Her hand slipped from his shoulder and placed it back into her lap, “…You are taking this too seriously, just as I feared.” She muttered.

He frowned before getting up and taking a seat on the bed, “Of course I am…! If I can do anything to ease the pain of the woman I love; I will do everything within my power to do so.”

He was then taken aback when he saw tears begin to form in her eyes that she quickly wiped away with a genuine smile, “Sweet talker.”

“Vhenan…” he pleaded.

She thought a moment, “There is not much you can do, and I’m not speaking as though I do not wish for your help. I just…don’t really know what can besides waiting for it to subside.”

His face dropped, there had to be something, “You said in the Inquisition it did not affect you as terribly aside from the obvious duties was there anything else that kept you at ease?”

She laughed, “Quite frankly “ease” is not the word I would use…it was just dulled. But I see what you’re trying…” she closed her eyes, “I will say…this is nice; being able to talk about it.”

“I am to assume you had not brought it to anyone’s attention after the Inquisition?”

She shook her head, “I didn’t know how…and over the years it wasn’t something that was exactly my main concern.”

He winced, “Ah…”

She gave him a slight nudge, “Now, now don’t pout.” she teased.

“Apologies If not for me you could have-“ he stopped himself then carefully cupped her face, “No, this is not about me, Are you still feeling unwell?”

She leaned into his touch as she did before while she slept and hummed in contentment, “A little but it feels as though it’s settling, Thank you…vhenan, for listening .” She smiled.

He smiled back, “I only wish I could do more.”

She gently pulled from him and settled herself back down before reaching out, he accepted her welcoming embrace and made himself comfortable next to her. She nestled herself against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her bringing her closer.

“…Right now this is more than enough.” She whispered.