#thought the bioware creative team had that on lock

[nirikeehan]

With love from Russia I mean solas

So, okay.

The themes of Thalia's story in Inquisition are that of the nature of institutional power. How easily it seduces. How it quickly morphs out of your control into a machinery of greed and corruption. Girl wanted that power; her whole story was an empowerment arc. She wanted to be Inquisitor, to rise from the ranks of a lowly Circle mage, oppressed and imprisoned, and be someone who saved the world. This was her greatest achievement. Letting that go for her was going to be damn hard.

Solas, whom she considered to be a friend and confidant, if albeit a somewhat distant one, completely slipped through the cracks for her. She never clocked he was anything more than he claimed to be, so the revelation for me at the end of Inquisition was earth-shattering. So too was Trespasser for both of us.

Because Solas revealed himself to be the same as her. Someone who rose to prominence, greatness, even godhood. Solas understands all the underpinnings of political and institutional power – he's seen this all before, and he's torn it all down. He knows the cost. And yet.

He'll do it all again. To remake the world in his vision. The very thing he helped Thalia to do, as a convenient tool, for a whole ass year. He tells her he didn't even consider her a person at first. But that she grew on him. So it makes it all that much harder to enact his terrible vision. But he's gonna do it anyway.

In that moment, Thalia and Solas were equals. They were two army generals meeting under a white flag to discuss terms, and they could not agree to a truce. She disbands the Inquisition because it had amassed too much power, yes, but also as a gesture to Solas. To show him no, we creatures of this world aren't all just power-hungry beasts, like the Evanuris you defeated long ago. Because otherwise she'd just be proving him right, and giving him more fuel for the fire of his world-ending plans.

I view them as Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty; adversaries but matches in intellect. Solas is, at his core, a deeply lonely man. And Thalia is not a Lavellan, so there's no romantic love there, but there is a respect. In some ways, Solas is the only person she's ever met who understands the burden of command on the scale she's experienced.

I, haha, foolishly believed this would come into play in any way in the next game. Joke's on me!

So, naturally, now it's open season. Time to write my version.

I confess I'm not much for the "characters talk in dreams" plot device that fuels a lot of Solas's character in-game. So I was like, how can I make this interesting for me without doing that? And then I thought.... well, okay, how about a letter?

So anyway, that's a longwinded way of saying in this fic, Solas writes Thalia a letter and that's gonna kick off the action of the whole series.

Here it is.

My friend, It has been six long years since we last spoke, but I think of our conversation often. And your promise, as well. I did not believe at first you intended to keep it, but then you disbanded the Inquisition. Commendable, if perhaps ill-advised, on your part.  I know you have not remained idle, however. And neither have I.  I have thought long and hard about whether to contact you at all. Your dreams remain carefully guarded. It would be far easier to stay silent. But I am, admittedly, too sentimental for my own good. And so I ask a favor.  We never had a chance to play chess at Skyhold. This is one of my deep regrets. So I give you the opportunity now: set up your pieces, and we shall dance.  Perhaps that is the wrong metaphor. It sounds better in Elvhen.  I have taken the liberty of making the first move. I eagerly await yours.  Regards, Solas