#trespasser fresco

[babe-a-yaga]

Trespasser mural???

[secretmage]

The Din'anshiral | DeviantArt

"I walk the din’anshiral. There is only death on this journey."

Faux stained glass 'triptych' art of Solas' journey, inspired heavily by the frescoes, art, Veilguard gameplay trailer and of course Nick Thornborrow's amazing The Chant stained glass, as a sort of companion piece to my previous stained art Dragon Age: Trespasser a long time ago (WHERE I SAID I WOULDN'T DO A TRIPTYCH BUT LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW??) this took me more than a week of sleepless nights so imma lie down now bye (Find the WIP Gif here!) edit: prints for anyone who wants them!

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

HAPPY VEILWEEN (eve)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SOOOOOOO happy with how this year's fen'o'lantern turned out, based off some of the frescoes we see in Trespasser. it's a bit of an evolution of my 2020 jack o'lantern based on The Tower. I also have a video showing all the sides :)

now back to going insane until i can finally see this elf again tomorrow 🙏

[lafaiette]

Some spoilers for Veilguard

I'm still convinced Solas was the happiest he had ever been when he was in the Inquisition.

Addressed as a scholar and wise expert of the Fade, asked for advice on magic and lore, surrounded by people who can potentially become dear friends and respected companions, potentially falling in love with Lavellan and being seen by her as simply Solas, and not the rebel god Fen'Harel. Some people consider him a bit odd, yes, and some can't help but refer to him as "messere", after witnessing his wisdom and knowledge, and talent with ancient elven frescoes.

"He wants to give wisdom, not orders", Cole says in Trespasser, and we're all sure he's referring to him, to what really drives him, his true passion: learning and sharing knowledge, asking and answering questions, not planning rebellions, killing, and lying. And for some time, Solas was able to live that simple life, so be what he really wanted to be: a man, not a god.

Now, in Veilguard, he's forced back on the path of rebel and trickster, and he's treated just as the Evanuris treated him during his rebellion.

Everyone in Thedas is looking for him (the Venatori, the Antaam, the ex-Inquisition); everyone is talking about him, everyone knows what he did (the Veil Jumpers in Arlathan say he's "a bastard", "the god of lies", but acknowledge the good reasons behind his rebellion); his agents kill and steal in his name; Rook and their companions explore his main base and peer into all his memories and regrets without permission, because they see him as an adversary, so they feel allowed to do that.

He's not the nondescript, respected hermit mage of the Inquisitor's inner circle anymore - he's a well-known, feared, hated, misunderstood figure once again, forced to constantly flee and hide in dangerous, ruined, forgotten places (in the comic The Missing he sleeps in a small room underground, surrounded by darkspawn!).

He's under the spotlight once again, starting a ritual he doesn't really want to do ("Do you believe that I would do this if there were some other, better option?").

I think he will never be able to be friends with Rook, at least not in the same way he was able to be friends with the Inquisitor and the Inquisition companions, because his full identity is out in the open now - he's too important, too awe-inspiring to be simply seen as Solas the Fade expert. The Inquisitor, Varric, and Harding are the only ties to that innocent time he has left.

So I'm hoping he will be finally allowed to be who he really wants to be at the end of Veilguard: not a feared divine-like figure, but a scholar who wants to spread wisdom and live in peace.

[lagunapoint]

Veilguard is nice. Cool interactions, great romances, excellent graphics, excellent combat. I love flashy slashers, so it worked for me. But wraps up in a blanket of sadness at some point, it becomes clear that I kind of like it, but the little elf Inquisitor inside me misses Inquisition, which was completely forgotten in this new part :( I don’t miss the circles and the templars, I miss the little details that built the atmosphere. I’m not saying they should’ve made Inquisition 2. I like the new story, but it would’ve been great to find more little details and Easter eggs. Yeah, it was cool to find the note about Gordon Blackwall. Why didn’t they add more things like that? For a new player, it’s new info and world expansion, and for us, it’s just nice.

But the reason for my post is that yesterday, I got blown away by this fresco.

Here’s Trespasser, the conclave, the rebellion, the ancient elves, Solas, the qunari, the wolf, magister Alexius (?????), the creation of the breach why am I whining if it’s right here- Inquisition? But you know where this fresco was? In the ass of Minrathous. I’m not sure many people would have the patience to get through that quest to this fresco. And if they do, it’s super easy to miss, just by flicking the camera too fast, because this fresco is BEHIND A DOOR hahaha, and because it’s dark! Anyway, because of this drawing, I’ve been whining all morning and floating around like a storm cloud above my keyboard.

So. We’ve got the qunari next to Solas, but there’s not even a hint of the Inqui. I don’t know, maybe the second qunari is supposed to be the Inquisitor? What a load of crap. Okay. How do you draw the Inqui here if everyone’s is different? Just add the Anchor? Didn’t we have enough Anchor symbolism in Inquisition? Where is the Inquisitor? Why add such an important moment (SOLAVELLANS, I’M HORRIFIED) and not include the Inqui?

And now let’s play riddles. Up top there are pieces of frescoes from the Skyhold rotunda. First there’s the tevinter magister from the third fresco of Solas, which appears after choosing the Templars or the mages. If you choose the mages, Solas paints two versions of the future, and at the center is a magister - Alexius, since he’s a key figure in that storyline. And now this magister is painted on the wall of the Minrathous. Is it the same magister? Alexius? Why is he here :( Or has this image now become a generalized representation of 'bad magisters'? Either way, there are even some long-forgotten magister, but no details that would hint at the key character - the Inquisitor. Was this really not that important all this time? 🥲  A reference to the temple of mythal and part of the fresco about the explosion at the conclave, the creation of the breach, and the wolf, black, with no white elements, as part of the conclave fresco. The absence of the second wolf on the right - it’s just empty lore imao It’s probably unlikely, but could this drawing here be meaningless? Maybe someone just added elements they liked? It reminds me of a podcast where the words of Solas and Elio’s ritual were the lyrics to the song 'I Am The One,' which played during the sex scenes in Origins. I didn’t know whether to laugh or focus.

In general I’m satisfied and unsatisfied at the same time. Can someone share their thoughts on this drawing with me, please? Or on all of this eh? <3

The frescos from Skyhold

[bardandbear]

The Dread Wolf Follows

Something interesting I've noticed is that much of the artwork depicting Solas/Fen'harel not only has the two as distinct entities, but usually the dark wolf appears as a threatening, looming over Solas or even in opposition to him. Obviously we have The Tower as his non-romanced tarot entry, but much of the Trespasser and pre-release content follows this pattern too.

The only time the wolf is depicted without Solas in the image is his own unfinished fresco in Skyhold. The wolf-like creature here matches the Solas/Fen'harel fresco we got in Trespasser with the same belly markings, so I think it is safe to assume they are the same creature. Interestingly, it isn't actually shown killing the dragon (Mythal), but almost mourning her.

While the simple and popular explanation for the wolf is that it's Solas's elvhen god animal form, I do wonder if the separation is actually more deliberate, especially after reading The Callback in Tevinter Nights. Spoilers for Tevinter Nights and DA4 story details released in the promotional material below the cut:

But here, unfinished, was the outline of a beast that stood over both dragon and sword. This was not the battle, or the victory. This was after. And the beast was not a dragon. The outline alone might have allowed that assumption, but now, filling with black and red, it was something other. The creature was reptilian, but also canine. The snout was blunted and toothy, but edges came to a point in houndlike ears. As the mass of plaster filled the shape, it began to rise, revealing scales and tail, and paws with talons. It looked like two figures painted on either side of a pane of glass, then viewed together, their forms confused. A wolf that had absorbed a dragon, and now stood crooked over all. [...] The limb folded into the creature’s layers, each movement adding to the rasping sound. It rose to its full height, as high as the panels would’ve allowed, and bellowed its name so loud that dust fell from the walls. “I am Regret!”

The regret that has spawned from Solas's room in Skyhold takes the form of a wolf/dragon demon of regret, and later sees a 'glimmer' when it is slain that it pursues. We also know from various DA4 story spoilers that regret is a major theme of the DA4, and that Solas's regret in particular will be a focus to the point where we will actively fight them (presumably in similar spirit/demon form).

For a long time, Solas has been running from regret, barely outpacing it with new plans to fix things that inevitably feed the emotion. Literally, figuratively, metaphysically it has been following him for millennia. It takes the form of the wolf because Solas hates what he has had to do in the dread wolf's name, he hates that his legacy has been further corrupted by it, he is haunted by the dread wolf. The dread wolf is regret, always one step behind him, the tower that threatens to crush him, the reminder of what he's done and what he must do. While it remains, he can never just be Solas. I really hope the 'good' ending is finally freeing him from its shadow.

[scribeofmorpheus]

Var Lath Vir Bellanaris

PART 1: Vi'Revas Warnings: Veilguard spoilers, Solavellan spoilers, angst, yearning, the feels! Words: 2.5k, not proofed, straight word vomit. Sequel to: Harellan (post-Trespasser) & Not Some Fanciful Story Recommended song: In Cold Light NOT PROOFREAD

The sky was blackened. The spire covered in the entrails of Lusacan, the last Archdemon. So much of that moment reminded her of the final push at the Valley of Sacred Ashes, of the last fight to save all of Thedas.

“Bind yourself to the Veil,” Rook’s voice carried as clear as a bell. “…stop it from falling.”

Revas’ blood turned to ice, a gasp fighting its way out of her quivering lips.

This wasn’t how she’d imagined her future, crippled, heartbroken, beaten-down from losing friend after friend to the blight in the south. She hadn’t expected to survive her encounter with Corypheus all those years ago, but she had always imagined hope would endure if she fell in that battle; hope that there would always be a promise of tomorrow.

There was none of that now.

She’d felt it when she walked the streets of Tevinter, seeing so many feet sway above the hanging post, nooses digging through skin. Cries of loss trickled from near every home and it was worse back home. The Free Marches. The Dales. Denerim. There were no more roaming halla. The aravels were gone. Cities, older than she would ever be, were lost to the blighted growth of endless decay, lost to the sourness of rot and the heat of death. Skyhold remained. And the sick, the poor, the wounded, they all flocked to her walls. Last she was there, they had turned the rotunda into an infirmary. She’d watched as countless strangers and friends had erected a wall of remembrance over the frescoes.  Drawings, letters marked with the names of loved ones, red hand prints, every creative indicator of loss was mounted on those walls, a candle lit by the feet each night.

She had hung up the letter from Briala a few months ago, the one that spoke of the loss of the Dalish clans and city alienages, the loss of what little elvish resistance had begun to rise in the face of human tyranny. She had cried when she’d added the title of Last of Clan Lavellan to her speeches, rallying the dwindling number of her troops to their death as they tried to save Grand Enchanter Fiona and her Circle mages, and then the Arl at Redcliff, and then the entire city of Halamshiral. Walking the palace she had once danced in, seeing barely a soul, hearing no music, it broke her.

The morning after each hard-fought battle, when she went to count the new dead amongst the half-living, she’d hear the curse she’d once foolishly cast on the very walls that stood as the final bastion against complete ruination.

I hope, wherever you are, 'ma vhen'an, that you are as miserable in your lonely hunt as I am miserable in this broken body, carrying the weight of two hearts. May the dinan’shiral break you, for that is the only way I could ever hope to see you again; or let this cruel world open its maw and swallow me whole, into nothing, past the Fade and out of memory so my sadness can never touch another again.

Regret. O, such a dagger, blunted and rough, pushing past bone to tear at your insides. She understood it better than she did joy. Because why else would the world try so hard to tear itself apart if not to answer her prayer?

Was his dinan’shiral not breaking them both?

A week ago, she had placed a Chantry necklace at the foot of a pile of jewellery recovered from the dead for Mother Giselle and Charter. And then the letter from Varric… she had carried it with her, through everything. Her last shred of hope.

I found him, Freckles.

She had cried as she held the paper in her hands, Dorian’s hand pressed to her back as Rook walked out to face the last of the Evanuris.

Revas should have been used to losing. All those lessons of Wicked Grace she’d had with Varric, all the sparring matches with Bull, the debates with Dorian, the arguments on Circle infrastructure with Vivienne, talk of belief in the Maker with Leliana, belief in elven gods… Crestwood. Losing should have been as easy as breathing, but every breath was a shard of glass to her lungs, a battering ram to her spirit.

There were no ties left to bind her to her home in Thedas.  

There was but one choice to make.

Revas looked down at Elgar’nan’s body, disappointed at what rotten fruit the ides of godhood bore.  There was always someone bent on breaking the world. Uncertain, she looked ahead, dismayed by just how much the tide had turned in a few months.

It cut her deeply, to know that it was her heart that stood at the helm of this unending cycle.

From where she stood, she could see the Veil gouged open like the slit of a tired eye; poised to waken, yet still full of the promise of further sleep. That same light had once shone from her very palm.

Despite everything, she found herself fighting off the pull of a smile. Herald of Andraste here to face the very maker of the Veil. It was poetic enough to make a religion out of it. Varric would’ve made a killing with a twist like that. His best and last seller for all of Thedas. A love story.

She paused by the doorway, watching him ascend the steps slowly, unsure of what it was she was hoping to see, but when Solas bowed his head in that very same manner he had done before he bent to kiss her that last time, she knew the words that would fall from his lips before they even had a chance to grace the air.

He couldn’t do it.

Not on his own.

Thirteen steps. That was all she needed to surmount. Not a high dragon. Not a blighted, ancient Tevinter magister who had walked the Black City. Not the fall of the South. It was just thirteen steps across the divide, past Rook and past every decision that led them to this point.

Back turned to her, wrecked and ravaged by a hard fight, Solas’ body was wrapped beautifully in armour stripped down to its barebones, a remnant of the one she’d watched gleam through an eluvian, wolf pelt slung on the side in place of a sigil. It made him look vulnerable. Nowhere near as regal as he’d been in the Fade, yet neither draped in humility as he’d been in Skyhold.

When Solas climbed the final step, dagger balancing dangerously in his open palm, he declared full of regret: “I cannot.”

His voice, quivering and mournful, sent tremors through Revas.

She quickened her pace, half afraid she’d turn into a shemlen in the process.

He was so close. So close to touch. Her every muscle ached to reach out and be reunited with him, her chest heavy as though she could feel the very weight of him pressed against her bones. Yet, despite how much she desired it, she could not run to him. She had to take each step carefully.

Rook gave her a look of warning, but shifted to the side, letting her pass.

They would work together on this.

Revas would have her shot.

Until she wouldn’t.

The ground seemed to stretch farther with each step, creating even more distance the closer she got. The air, acrid with the smell of blight and blood, grew thick, electric in that habitual way the Fade had felt when it coursed through the anchor, when it bound her every fibre to a spark of light and used her very spirit as flint to cauterise the tears in the veil all those years ago.

Three steps left.

She could practically feel what it was like to be beside him, to be near his magic.

They had once been like ice and thunder. Her, this brewing storm like the kind that kissed the horizon on the Storm Coast. Him, the kind of avalanching cold that could rival the fall of Haven.

Whenever she’d been close to him in battle, feeling the strength of his barriers, nearly impenetrable, she’d felt unstoppable. And at the mark of terrifying blizzards that’d turn the skin of any enemy brandishing a blade against her to glaciers, she’d feel so possessively loved.

That is what she had to hold onto. Not the pain or the betrayal or the losses. The love that was always there, slipping through the cracks, chipping away at his polite mask, bolstering her with the knowledge that she was not so easily avoided, no matter how hard he’d tried to steer clear of her.

Elfroot, ozone and poultices. The scent of an apostate. A teacher. He was only three steps away.

Solas stared at the Veil, his back holding fast with purpose, his fingers twitching by the dagger's grip. He took a breath, and without looking back at Rook, he pressed on with his reasoning: “To stop now would be to dishonour those that I’ve wronged to come this far!”

Solas raised his hand, dagger’s edge close to his bleeding eye, and she knew not to wait any longer. This was it. The moment when she’d test how well she’d kept his heart.

Time went still. His body turned ridged as he turned to face her the moment she spoke.

“Even if those you’ve wronged asked you to stop?”

He looked so utterly broken. Revas watched in relief as she saw just how much of an effect those simple words had had on him.

Solas’ lips parted ever-so-slightly, his brow moving up a fraction, showing a hint of familiar awe—that surprise at having been affected so deeply by her. It was good to see that things didn’t change. And for a second, she imagined he’d smile. But then he bowed his eyes, snapping his eyes away from the heat of her gaze, turning his head to look downward.

Shame.

He was ashamed.

In a solemn breath, one meant for reunited lovers, not opposing forces at the end of the world, he whispered her title; her name; her place in his story: “Vhen’an…”

That simple word was enough to knock the wind from her, but Revas would not give him the satisfaction of being backed into a corner by pain. Not like in Halamshiral. Not again.

Her heart quickened as she took another step forward, “You think you’ve gone too far to come back but you’re wrong. I am here,” she gestured to the desolation around them, beseeching, “walking the dinan’shiral with you!”

Slowly, he lowered his dagger, his temples burdened by the dawning of his actions, by the gravity of what she’d just said.

“I lied,” he urged, trying to draw on any nerve that might still be raw, unwilling to believe she truly meant the words she’d spoken. “I betrayed you.”

And what did that matter?

Through everything.

How could that matter when she was beginning to remember what it was like to be in his gaze, to hear the tremors in his voice, to feel the power of his yearning across those steps?

“I forgive you!” She felt her voice crack. “All you have to do is stop!”

Please, for me, my heart, stop.

Solas turned to face her completely, his head, once high, was brought low in reverence. Humbly, as was his way all those years ago, he bowed before her and her heart broke.

“Ir abelas, vhen’an, but I cannot.” His head rose up, his eyes hardening, replacing humility with purpose. “Long before we met, I failed my oldest friend. She died for my failure. If I leave the Veil in place, I am destroying the world she wanted. And I will have… She will have died for nothing.”

He turned back to the tear in the veil, raised the dagger once more, and was halted by the cry of a raven—a creature Revas had once held sacred as a Keeper of Dirthamen’s Secrets.

Morrigan transformed before him, her entrances as memorable as always. She approached Solas with ease, speaking to him with the cadence of an old friend.

Revas took another step forward, mind focused on him. Always him. All she could do was push; pushing past the doubt that tried to claw up her spine when she witnessed him shrink with the realisation that he was not speaking to Morrigan entirely; pushing past the wrenching in her gut when she heard how torn he’d sounded as he’d spoken Mythal’s name; pushing past the anger as she learned of his corruption at her hands, past the devastation as she watched him crumble in the last light of forgiveness before Mythal vanished.

The petrifying sounds of his sobs sent her to her knees beside him, as he had knelt for her when she’d been wracked by pain when the anchor tried to rip its way out of her.

Finally, she would say the vows she had dreamed of saying.

“Banal nadas. Ar lath ma, vhen’an,” she could see him shake, hear him whimper, but it had been enough.

With a clenched fist, Solas resolved to stand tall, his hand ghosting the deep bruise near his forehead as he tried to control his sobs. With a steadying breath, he found the strength to turn to the Veil and do what must be done.

In the blink of an eye, he brought the lyrium dagger to his palm and sliced clean through, holding his fist up as he made his oath.

“My life force now sustains the Veil. With every breath I take, I will protect the innocent from my past failures. The Titans’ dreams are mad from their imprisonment. I cannot kill the blight, but I can help to soothe its anger.”

Solas placed the dagger in Rook’s hand, finally turning to Revas to say his goodbye, “I will go and seek atonement.”

Then he paused in front of the tear, and Revas was certain this was where her path would always end.

“But you do not have to go alone,” she walked up to him, hands outstretched.

There was that look again. Awe. Disbelief, Adoration.

When next he spoke, he sounded so small, so mortal.

“Ar gelass vir banal,” she shook his head, his eyes gleaming with tears that were barely being held at bay. Soft. So unbelievably soft. Revas would not be talked out of this.

“Tel banal arama,” she refuted his excuse.

Solas swallowed down another sob, except this one was half laughter. Because, of course she’d cast aside any fears he might have used to persuade her otherwise. His hand pressed down on hers, hopeful, full of need, and she complied.

As a child, she’d heard lovers exchange the vows of eternity during marriage ceremonies. Once, she’d dreamed of uttering them to him, when they’d been in the Inquisition. Sylaise enaste var aravel. Lama, ara las mir lath. Bellanaris. The words had sounded so beautiful. Inevitable, even. But knowing what she knew of the Old Gods, if she were to make a vow of forever, it would not be in Sylaise’s name. It would be in honour of the distances they’d spent apart. The journey.

“Vir shiral ma’lasa, bellanaris,” she sealed the vow with a kiss. Gentle, compassionate, tangled with relief. They had endured. As Ar Bellanaris had, the burial grounds in the Dales, through war and occupation, an untouched beacon of old Arlathan. Bellanaris. Eternity, come what may. They had made the journey, and now all that remained was the love.

Solas deepened the kiss, wincing through it as he carefully moved his cut lip against hers, the taste of blood shared between them.

When they finally parted, they were one. Bound. Spirits entwined. And then they became the heartstone of the Fade. The place where Cole was from. The place where they had shared their first kiss. As Revas had made Skyhold a home, made Thedas a place worth living in, for however short a time, she knew Solas would do the same for her. A home for a home.

The Maker returned back to his beginnings, but he was neither alone, nor surrounded only by regret. He was with his bride. The Herald of Andraste. Inquisitor. Revasan Lavellan, the Last of Her Clan; a Paragon of Freedom.

Now all that needed to be done was face the regret.

[deilmo]

The first freed elvhen

"He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face."

The recent discoveries made about ancient Elvhenan revealed a story painted with much more gray areas than was first believed. Some of these new historical documents depicts Fen'Harel as a liberator of enslaved elvhen, removing their markings and welcoming them at his side to fight the Elvhen gods' seemingly tyranical and crazed leadership.

While the veracity of these discoveries are yet to be proven, it has irremediably changed the field of Elvhen studies moving forward. Some historians hope to find written records to link to this new discovery. While unlikely, as the Elvhen seemed to favor frescoes to teach the illeterate masses, a record of the freed slaves could help historians draw a tangible timeline of the late days of the empire. Similarly, crawling back up those same records to the first freed elf could help scholars to single out the trigger that launched Fen'Harel into action.

Professor Bram Kenric - 9:49

-

Useless details to throw at you:

Solas is wearing an archer's armor, hence the gloves, the forearm brace, half plate and single shoulder pad concentrating on one side. Legends in game describe him as a warrior, an archer, and Inquisition as a mage so i picked an archer. Though I picture him more like those veil jumpers archers we've seen in DA4 multiple trailers that seem to use a mix of archery and magic.

His hair ornament is inspired by Mythal's statue in Trespasser having a reversed moon instead of her head

Yes, his scars are there, and they're fresh!

I tried to recreate a lonely and isolated feeling that I think would illustrate the sadness of Solas freeing himself. Alone. As the trailblazer, no one would have been there for him except himself

There's two version of this drawing but I'm posting this one first because it's closer to the vision I had

This idea is at least a year old, I remember making a thumb-sized sketch in a corner of a work sheet when I had it, then promptly forgot about it until this week-end. I ended up drawing it while watching the XBOX Showcase live.

[mogwaei]

[Dragon Age: Ouroboros Codex - Precipice]

~

[Fen’Harel ⚔ Ouroboros]

The bad ending.

(codex text below cut)

“You are my dream. When you think yourself a nightmare, becoming or living one…remember that.”

He gripped her one hand, heart lurching, “How would you stop it? If it exists within me?”

Her mouth twitched, briefly in to something forlorn, “Let our tower protect you from it. You say I am a knight? Then you will have my sword and shield. Slip through the secret door and be free. I will follow, when I can.”

The simplicity of her answer stunned him into a silence of deep contemplation and he could only watch her walk away, returning to the camp alone. A tower to protect us from ourselves. Swords to cleave through the darkness. A secret door for the two of us.

That night when he lay alone on his bedroll, Fen’Harel dreamed of a knight in the Fade that shattered a crumbling pillar holding the sky apart from the earth. As the heavens crashed into the land, through the chaos, heedless of the danger around them, he witnessed the knight gather the pieces of the pillar, which became a lantern in their hands. Then, without looking back they secreted the lantern away to a place built in a remote reach of the world. Far though the knight ran, they were pursued, for the pieces once holding apart the domains were highly sought after. He could not discern their hunters, whether they were armies mortal or mindless darkness, he knew only that they were intent on destroying their quarry in totality and finality.

Within the walls, the Knight prepared, shutting and barring all the doors and drawing up the bridges. Ghostly sentinels patrolled the battlements and he overheard talk of setting wicked traps and calling forth vicious beasts from the Fade to guard the inside.

He felt a wrenching sorrow when at last the enemy arrived at their threshold and beat upon the walls with steel and magic. He did not know why, for any of it.

He found himself gripped by the dream as he watched the walls finally give way and the invaders flooded inside. He followed behind, through the ruined portcullis and into a wide courtyard, only to find that the shadowy invaders had come to a stop, emanating a perplexed air. He saw why.

There were no traps nor grotesque guardians. Of the sentinels there was no trace—perhaps an illusion all along.

Instead, they were greeted by frescoes adorning every surface, painted with pigments no mortal in present could possibly imagine. A thousand beautiful scenes that shifted and changed before his very eyes—mosaics made of gems and glass and stone glinting as though each piece contained its own soul. Gardens flourished all around that could only have been grown from dreams themselves.

The ache sank ever deeper, where no sword could reach as he watched the army disperse in search of the Knight and the Pillar-Made-Lantern. He seethed with anger, as they tore apart the sanctuary they had made. But he was powerless to stop them and he was filled with hate as desolation replaced beauty. Though he did not understand why they sought to capture the two, nor the enmity between the sides, he hoped the pair would not be found.

After following what appeared to be the leader of the force, it seemed his hopes weren’t for naught.

They encountered a hidden door, overgrown by syl’sils. His throat constricted as the rare and fragile blooms were crushed and torn by hacking sword and clawing gauntlet.

When the door was finally revealed, only then did the hateful trespassers cease their assault.

For the secret door was already cracked open. They had escaped after all.

He treaded forward, not quite believing what he was seeing propped up against the wall, just to the side of the portal.

But before he could get a closer look, the cobblestones dropped under his next step and the dream collapsed around him.

When he woke, his cheeks were wet and he had no explanation why.

[moonlightheretic]

One last moment

Armored fingers folded over into loose fists; Solas set his weight into the gold flecked mural and leaned in. “I must leave you, Vhenan.”

He pressed his head against the cooling surface, “I am sorry.” His eyes squeezing shut and his mouth twisted into a grimace as regret stained his tongue in the aftermath of those words.

“Rest assured, I will find her and I--” The breath shivered in his throat, “—will right these wrongs.”

Reluctantly, Solas withdrew. His hand relaxing into an open palm as it swept down gently caressing the fresco before him.

“One day you will understand.”

With his shoulders slumped he turned from the wall, his gaze trespassing over a fluid barrier encompassing a Dawnstone casket. From his cloak, he produced a small bundle cushioned in cloth of gold and stepped into the barrier.

The portrait of a woman painted behind him shimmered in metallic hues, the twinkling eyes chaperoned by false light and diaphanous powder. Six violet amethysts crushed into submission and subjected into the landscape of a grieving man’s regret. Sapphire pinched into the intricate lines of her vallaslin, Mother of pearl pressed into porcelain-snow skin, and obsidian stroked into ribbons of midnight-colored locks. Gold-leaf adorned her neck in ringlets, lavishing even more opulence upon the figure.

His shadow lengthened with each step and those carefully constructed eyes followed his form as he approached the casket in the center of the room.

The Dread Wolf bent humbly at the lip of the crystal casket, his fingers teasing the string of the bundle free, the fabric hissing like serpents against his metal hands. The luminous material swooned over his fingers and lying in the center was the Jawbone amulet.

He plucked it from the deflated fabric, and it dangled over the edge, frothing whisps unfurling from the opening just below. With a single whisper, he ushered the surface to divide and recede.

Solas held the cord with his other hand and placed the amulet on the still chest of someone lost, delicately curling the cord around her neck. His voice, an entanglement of sorrow, now victim to the sight below him, willed his lips to move, “I will return her to you,” and a single tear plummeted into a familiar face.

“Farewell.”

[wyvernscales]

My Meta/Analysis

I don’t really know how to make one of those fancy masterlist pages for myself, so this will have to suffice for now. Just wanted a hub for some of the posts I’ve been making as of late.

For the tag, click here

Theories:

Old God Soul Andraste? 

Kirkwall and the Second Sin

Lore:

Signed Languages in Thedas 

Envy Demons 

The Nightmare Demon 

Dragon Age: Inquisition Locations

Observations:

My Magnum Opus: The Trespasser Mural/Skyhold Fresco/Dread Wolf Rises Analysis 

On Hawke and Dragon Age 2 

Darkspawn Ichor

Comparing the Inquisitions

Warden Brosca and Orzammar

David Gaider on the Evanuris and Old Gods

Flemeth? Andraste? Mythal?

The Wardens are not a Great Order

My Novel Reviews

The Stolen Throne

The Calling

The Masked Empire

Asunder

Last Flight

Upcoming: Mythal and Snakes, The Black City and the Evanuris, Background Specific War Table Missions, Dwarves and the Fade, The Avvar/Alamarri/Clayne

[hoboblaidd]

random headcanon question: Where does Solas sleep during Inquisition? Is it that couch? Does he just collapse at his desk sometimes? Or is there a bed secreted away somewhere we don't see?

For a while I thought it was the couch, but thinking about it it's too exposed. Sleeping out in an open air rotunda with at least three points of access is not going to jive with his rebellion mentality of watching his flank. So I imagine that on the way to Cullen's tower, before leaving the rotunda proper, there's another passageway like that from Josie's corridor down to the cellar. There must be servant's quarters in a fortress that big, and I think Solas dropped his stuff on one of the beds down there and claimed it as his own.

He has his own room, like that of a housekeeper or butler so he has some privacy, but it's nothing fancy. Sparsely furnished, and the woven bedframe and thin mattress provide little comfort. The vermin situation is also not great, though luckily they're higher in the mountains so it's more persistent roaches and rats than the more annoying flying insects.

While he never thought to have belongings, since this was supposed to be a quick fix and then on to the main event of tearing down the Veil, he accumulates a host of dog-eared books, weathered scrolls, dubious artifacts, recovered instruments, etc., as the year drags on. He keeps them all in his organized mess of a room, including whatever notes he took during the day at his desk. He also fills it with paintings - nothing as grand as his rotunda frescoes, but more like those smaller paintings we find during Veilguard, and all over the walls (you can't vandalize a fortress if it was your fortress first). Painting helps him think, or sometimes more importantly, not think, so he's doing it constantly.

He'd never admit this, but he also likes living amongst the servants. Were they 'people' to him when he started in Haven? No. But for thousands of years at the Lighthouse or the elven ruin barracks we find in Trespasser, he's lived among hundreds or thousands of refugees and freed slaves learning what it was to be free. The din of servants talking, laughing, gossiping, etc. is so painfully familiar to him. It's like the best sort of white noise. It helps, too, that most are elven, just because that's how it goes in Thedas. He learns to see them as people, to hear their struggles and their lives in alienages or Orlesian slums. He grows to care for them as well as the nebulous "People" he let down.

Plus, it makes eventually recruiting them as agents or using them as soft spies that much easier, because they all know him as simply Solas, the Inquisition 'advisor' who humbled himself to live amongst them instead of the more comfortable rooms for higher ups. He's one of them. Older and wiser maybe, but just another elf. It's an incredibly useful recruitment tool.

But yes, he’s also absolutely fallen asleep in that ridiculously plush chair in the rotunda.

[lairofdragonagelore]

The Crossroads [DLC Trespasser]: Elven Mountain Ruins ,  Forgotten Sanctuary; Vallaslin Removal Chamber and Hidden Armoury

In the time of Elvhenan, this valley was a sanctuary created by Fen'Harel to give shelter to elven slaves. He rejected the divine mantle himself and taught the refugees the truth about the Evanuris in the surrounding towers. In the Forgotten Sanctuary, Fen'Harel removed the vallaslin, giving the now free slaves the chance to join his army in order to fight back against the pretender gods.

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

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

The Vallaslin Removal Chamber

Here, we find one of the murals of DAI [I make a deep analysis of all the murals in “Murals in DAI”]. For now I can say, briefly, that I’m not so sure if this one was made by Solas. 

We know his technique is not unique, it belongs to the ancient elves [proof of this is given by the archivist Banon of Skyhold in The Rotunda and the Fresco]. Technically, any educated elf of the past could have done it. 

We already saw how much of a romantisation of Fen’Harel was done in the mosaics of Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins, so this mural may perfectly be part of them as well. My main argument to put in question this is that we never saw Solas draw himself in the way he is presented here, so I’m a bit sceptical about his authorship.

This mural pictures Fen’Harel as a person wearing a wolf cape and a fine robe. The intricate patterns of the fabric makes him look more important, more “Evanuris”,  when he usually draws himself with the same kind of robes than the slaves are wearing: a black and green simple robe. I think there is an intent of idealisation of Fen’Harel by making his outfit fancy and more elaborated.

The figure is covering his face with a wolf mask [so, technically, anyone can take this role] and removes the vallaslin of the slaves. To me, this figure represents, ironically, a “priest” of Fen’Harel, a representative that embodies Fen’Harel’s (romanticised) ideas and shares and applies the power that Fen’Harel himself gave them [aka, the spell to remove the Vallaslin]. This figure could be a mage that knows the spell and removes the Vallaslin in groups of recently arrived slaves. 

We saw the removal of the Vallaslin in the romance scene of Solas: it’s a mere spell that doesn’t need any great material or fashion to perform, it’s easy and doable if you know the spell. Another extra detail to support this suspicion is the figure’s staff. That’s not Solas’ staff.

We know his staff from his tarot card (number 1), it is a kind of a “halla profile” with a very messy set of horns. In the mural of the red lyrium idol, he painted his staff (number 3) closer to the design of 1 than 2.  Staff 2 seems to be a generic branch made into a staff. 

Continuing with the mural, the elves come from a blue water pool which contains inside the shape of an elven orb.The water is drawn with undulating blue lines that can represent mere water, or lyrium pools [if we want to link this to The Horror of Hormak]. These waters are a product of the Evanuri’s power: from these waters, the elves come out, slaved and branded. Similar undulation can be seen in the vallaslins coming out of their faces, and in the borders of the aravels, giving us some hints to point out to The Horror of Hormak. These undulating lines appear too in the spheres of the Mural of “The Creation of the Veil” that we find in the Shattered Library. The relationship between undulating lines, orbs, and vallaslin seem to be rather consistent, and I trust this interpretation more than others.

Now, something that I will owe, because I have no idea about yet, are those white drawings over the heads of the elves. No clue what those could be.

For some unknown and unsettling reason, this mural has the face of the The Strange Idol repeated four times, with its mouth stained in (dry, I assume) blood. We have seen this exact circle with his face in Emerald Graves: Din'an Hanin and in Emerald Graves: Din'an Hanin, Elandrin’s Tomb. One of these heads holds the brazier from where you can cast Veilfire. 

Does this have any meaning? I’m not sure. We are not sure who this figure represents yet. The furthest we reached was Elgar’nan, thanks to the description in Signs of Victory as I commented in Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara and thanks to the name of the zone [Elgar’nan’s bastion] where we find his statue in the middle of Elandrin’s Tomb. But we don’t know who named this place like that, so we don’t have anything truly reliable to identify this statue. So far, we can only suspect it to represent Elgar’nan, while some Tevinters considered it Dumat. More details about this unsettling figure can be read in The Strange Idol.

The Inquisitor and their companions make remarks about this mural: we are introduced here to the concept that the Vallaslin was a different kind of mark [this knowledge is only truly known by female inquisitors who romanced Solas]. For more details, check the post about “Murals in DAI”.

To activate the statue of Fen'Harel, we have to solve a small simple puzzle.  Curious detail, in front of the Sitting Fen'Harel statue we find a Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style. This combination of elements will be repeated along the Crossroads and the small pocket worlds we visit: The stone that gives us a clue to solve the puzzle of the Sitting Fen'Harel statue is a Stone in Razikale-Ceremony-style. Mere reuse? I'm a bit lost with this stone since it appeared in the Fairel's burials. More about this stone was discussed in Razikale Ceremony and Dumat’s Warrior tablets.

Once we solve the puzzle, Fen’Harel statue moves, opening the entrance to the basement. We have access to the last mosaic:

It narrates what we saw in the previous mural: the removal of the vallaslin. For more details, read Ancient Elven codices; Fen’Harel’s mountain ruins.

As the mosaic disappears, it gives us access to the Hidden Armoury, where we see the arsenal of weapons that the rebels had to fight against the Evanuris.

In the Armoury, we read a report left by a qunari agent about an elven artefact in the box laying between Fen'Harel's paws. However, if we return to it and inspect it, we realise it is not elven [this shows how little Qunari know about elves and elvhenan craftsmanship]. Here we find Arrowwood which is associated with ... well, many things.

It speaks of a Ciriane tale, an alamarri tribe from which Andraste comes from.

We don't know the race of the main char of the story, we assume is human [but we know that the Alamarri have been mixing with other races without much problem, so they could be a half-dwarf].

He removed his heart to have mastery in the bow. There are two stories related to a creature that removes their heart: Korth, and the story that the elves narrate with the mural of the Titan: “The Death of a Titan”

This char shot the Sun, causing eternal night. This concept links him with Elgar'nan who fought the Sun or pushed it down into the earth depending on which unreliable story you based this on.

The queen of the Ciriane [called gothi] sent a messenger to the Witch of the Wild to stop him.

Depending on the story, the messenger never found the Witch and made a deal with a demon. Or worked for the witch and her daughters for a year. Or found the Lady of the Skies. In all three versions, we can interpret the same: the messenger found Flemeth [since she is an abomination with certain anomalies she qualifies as a demon for many tales. She is a also a witch of the wild, and she has a big potential to be the Lady of The Skies in some shape or form]

In all cases, the messenger received a coil of silk that he used to replace the string of the bow of the Arrowwood.

When Arrowwood tried to use the bow, his heart shattered and he became dust.

The queen took the weapon, encased it in an iron chest, and dropped it in the Nahashin Marshes.

Now, how and why a weapon of Ciriane nature, that has some resemblances with titans, Korth, and Elgar’nan, ended up in an ancient elvhen chest, from a time before the arrival of humans to the world? If it's not an elven weapon, it makes no sense for it to be here. And one can argue that this could be similar to the case of finding the Chapter ??? of Hard in Hightown in the Lower Archives, but I feel that such chapter makes more sense as a way for the devs to tell the players that whoever was left in the Fade, died in peace. It’s closure to a narrative. Now, this doesn’t make sense in that way either. One could assume this is just pure game mechanics and thinking too much about it is wasteful. It’s a good weapon after all.

Hidden Armoury

The first thing we see when walking downstairs is, besides all the weapons, a curious statue of two birds in a strange amalgamation. So far I'm aware, we never saw similar statue anywhere in the game [I tend to overlook Orlesian stuff, but I feel this statue would have got my attention anyway] .

It's two birds [maybe ravens due to their beak?] joined by their backs, and struggling to fly. The first idea that came to me when i saw it for the first time was the two ravens of Dirthamen: Deceit and Fear [if we indulge in the unreliable Dalish tales]. But it makes little sense. It's true that Dirthamen is present in this sanctuary more than we have expected, and he is also present in the first tower where we enter [ the Vine-covered Tower]. But what would be the meaning of placing his ravens, fused, in the armoury? This symbol here escapes me.

This place is filled with elvhenan weapons and armours [similar to the ones we saw Abelas and his elves wear in the Temple of Mythal].  

We find in addition to more Dalish supply boxes, Hallas statues that we know in game have been used by the Valmont family to create a system of locking doors in the Winter Palace, and three different kinds of rugs: 

One red and black, with geometrical patterns and small "fishes" in it. It's a rug we can find in Skyhold under the basic option [meaning, Skyhold may have had a link to the activities done in here]. On its corners we see two small dogs [?] attacking a simple-horned halla/deer.

There are smaller rugs in the rooms, featuring stars of 12 points. These rugs are the same ones we saw in the Temple of Mythal, placed in front of the Mosaics, giving the idea of being used to kneel and pray.  And a last carpet that, in a first impression, seemed to be Chasind, but it is not. It is an old red carpet which has a border pattern that looks like a half-sunburst [similar to the Chantry symbol indeed].

In terms of drapery, we find two main options: the typical Dalish drapery, with the "mask" that in DAO represented Mythal, with a pattern of spherical trees on the background.  And the second drapery that caught my attention was a series of ragged, discoloured flags hanging along the entrances of the armoury. It had a very curious symbol on it that I retraced. I've never seen this design. It looks a bit [with a lot of will] like "tentacles", which is not a big thing in DA series anymore, since in DAO the option of making the Old Gods as strange Eldritch creatures was removed due to the limitations of the engine or to add dragons instead. 

This symbol, however, appears in another place: in Skyhold, when you pick the basic decoration. Once more, it seems that Skyhold and this hidden armoury may have had some link in the past. Who knows if some of the broken eluvians in this place may have been related to Skyhold long ago. We also know that Skyhold was used by elves long time ago, and suffered strange damage, specially in the section of the jail, that the game leaves it free of any explanation [Prison Structural Evaluation]. At the end of Trespasser we know that Skyhold was Solas’ fortress at some point, so the link with this armoury is not that strange anymore. 

The eluvian to gets us out from this Armoury is flanked by two archer.

Extra Details

Along the exploration of these ruins, we find details worth mentioning.

The purple fire

In some parts there is a purple fire that, no matter what you do, it kills you. The only way to cross it is through powers that provide you invulnerability for a while, one of them is the use of discharge of the Anchor. What this means lore-wise?

This fire is visually the same kind of fire that the Archdemon from DAO breathed and it’s now Solas’ current power. I fear so much to connect excessively things that are unrelated, but on the other side, DAI in particular has proven to be such a detailed game, that something of the like, so visual, has a good chance to be intentional. I’m not going to say that Solas is an archdemon, because we still don’t know what truly is an Old God [the non-corrupted version of an archdemon]. We only know that Urthemiel was worthy to be protected according to Mythal’s actions, so the relationship of these powerful elvhen mages with these old dragons is not clear yet but the relationship seems to exist. 

The design in general

I like the design of the Elvhen banner and how it relates to Dalish and Tevinter design. That the Dalish banner is a more elaborated version of the Elvhen banner is not a surprise to anyone. It’s the same object with some extra “orlesian-like” ornamentation that can be justified for the years of coexistence between the Ancient Dalish and the Orlesians in the Dales, before the Exalted March. 

However, I think it’s worth noting how Tevinter design is, yet again, based on Elvhen design, specially the one related to arcane. Tevinter banner has a shape on its top that resembles an oversimplified raising dragon [like the symbol of Emerius, ancient Kirkwall] but it also can be seen as a thicker and compressed version of the top of the Elvhen banner. Both of them inspired, at the same time, by the shape of a dragon or an owl extending its wings. 

This comment is not meant to relate crazy lore stuff, but it is basically to highlight how the design of these objects is also related to the History they represents, and who co-opted what. Dragon Age Inquisition is such a detailed game in terms of design that, for that reason, I’m doing this extensive comparison and studies of the statues and art we see in it. It’s not mere whim, they truly worked a lot on this stuff. The director art and the artists who worked on this game, REALLY thought a lot how real life civilisations base their design, culture, and religion on previous ones, modifying them or mixing them with others, to the point that it’s hard to identify the original inspiration. And I’m truly convinced that DA series is a lot about the exploration of this concept in many levels and cultures. 

[icharchivist]

Veilguard Spoilers (artbook time)

starting going through early ideas make me so sad bc some of those stuff already reflect what i thought was missing in DA4,

but there's a bit of vindication over some of my theories that didn't pan out exactly like i had imagined in the main game and that i thought were a shame bc i really liked my first theories, but now i see in the artbook that they did consider my POV more, so it's not like i missed a set up in the prev games but just a different path taken as they developped Veilguard.

Basically i thought the Titans were put to slumber by the wars for the foci especially, and then by the veil, and it's why one of the titan stirs in The Descent, "awakened by the Veil". I thought the dwarves always existed but they were a hivemind - like basically parts of a bigger body, like, red blood cells or something, and being cut from the dreams made them individuals, which is why Mythal already enslaved them in Trespasser's deep roads. And i thought the Blight was more specifically a illness, like the Titans' immune system to the extreme violation caused by striking them down for the foci.

(I did also think they made bodies from Titans but tbh i thought those were humans. we still don't know shit about the origin of humans in DA.)

in Veilguard they went about how the dagger (which, while based on the idol in da2, is new to the lore) cut the titans from the dreams wayyy before the Veil and it's what created the Blight, and there's no healing the Titans, and then the fact they were shattered by their dreams being cut created the dwarves. and that the Blight was their lost dreams, corrupted.

And idk i'm not. fan? of it? maybe bc i'm too attached to my HCs but my theories were opened to the return of titans, which were hinted in previous trailer, and, as i see it, in the artbook.

but Veilguard ends on "well the titans' time is over, time for the dwarves" because we can never truly recover the titans so all Solas can do is seek penitence in the Fade for his sins striking it down.

but idk the striking of the titans's fresco in Trespasser was giving a much more interesting reason for the war with titans than Veilguard went with and in the end Veilguard is the one that came up with reasons to never bring back titans, despite the fact DAI was opened to that.

overall DAI was really opened with the idea of the magic of old to return and to change the shape of Thedas as a result, but Veilguard basically just. Shut down every single old magic from possibly returning because they're bad by default, and if any of this old magic is worth bringing back it means Solas would be right and we can't have that.

that's depressing but seeing early concepts do reassure me to know that it's not that i missed something in my analysis before, but just that really they took a direction that doesn't contradict this set up in a way so like, kudos for them, but is just widely different from what i would have prefered/interpreted.

sad.

[gikairan]

(Tumblr please put the read more here, plz)

Spend the spare 15 minutes of my lunch break intending to pet a virtual griffon because doesnt feel good folks!

Noticed 2 characters standing near each other, go to listen to their dialogue

Its Taash and Bellara standing by one of the old murals. I notice how theres barely any of it left, so i check all of them in the library area out.

.... Then go back to the music room.

So uh, theres a mural i didnt notice last time on a wall hidden by boxes:

But now im wondering like.... when where these painted?

vs the Inquisition era one:

Biggest difference is not only the wolf/ dragon one is finished, but the wolves in the 2nd one have a totally different expression....

Im also not really sure if these are frescos, or paintings.

Theyre so much more weathered than the Trespasser frescos, which ive always assumed were ancient.

Since its the Fade, if they were reflections of the real frescos - they probably wouldnt be weathered like that? The frescos in the time of Veilguard are destroyed, but by being broken up into pieces - not weathering.

And Solas either repainted them all (potentially with paint, rather than a fresco) in his years of relative isolation for Reasons (Someone else can do the character analysis)

.... Or these were his drafts, and he was visiting the Lighthouse during the Inquisition years.

Ill be honest, the new ones make me think its the former rather than the latter. But the fact theres a finished version of the last one does make me hmmmmmm

[thebonerpit]

Name: Tara Lavellan Nicknames: Tara is a nickname, her full name is Tarasylanin (“child of the storm”) but no one calls her that except her Keeper Age (at the start of DAI): 30 Age (current in 9:54 Dragon): 43 Gender: Female Pronouns: She/her/they Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Race/Background: Dalish elf Class: Rogue, twin blades Specialization(s): Tempest Alignment: True neutral MBTI: ISTP – The Virtuoso Strengths: Quick wit, curious, insightful, playful, inventive, creative Weaknesses: Has little interest in leadership, can be judgemental, private to a fault, often doesn’t take things seriously Body Type: Very slim, average height, long willowy limbs Eyes: Green and gold Hair color/texture: Strawberry blonde, wavy, shaved on one side Complexion: Olive and very freckled Lookalike (if any): A mix of Cara Delevingne and Dichen Lachmann (I could only do so much to recreate this in cc)

Romance: Solas, was curious about Bull but it didn’t go further than flirting Usual Party: Solas, Dorian, Bull Friends: Dorian, Sera, Cole Neutral: Cullen, Josephine, Cassandra, Varric, Bull Distrust/Dislike: Vivienne, Blackwall

Mages vs. Templars: Allied with mages Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts: Celene and Briala reconcile and rule together, Gaspard executed Here Lies the Abyss: Grey Wardens exiled, Stroud stayed in the Fade What Pride Had Wrought: Morrigan drank from the Well Divine: Leliana (hardened) Trespasser: Disbanded Inquisition, attempt to redeem Solas

More about Tara's companions below...

Solas: Tara was intrigued by him from the beginning but also found him a bit stuffy. Once they got to know each other more and his flirtatious/cheeky side came out she fell for him pretty quickly. She had always loved to draw and paint when she was with her clan, so she often went to sit with him while he painted the frescoes in the Rotunda. My headcanon is that she even helped him paint sometimes. She allowed him to remove her vallaslin and she was absolutely crushed when he broke things off, but she could never bring herself to be angry with him. It's foolish, and she knows it, but she wants to save him from himself. Cassandra: She can’t deny that she thought Cass was super attractive right from the beginning but all her Maker talk and serious demeanour kind of turned her off. In the end, she does have a good amount of respect for her even if they don’t agree on everything. Varric: She found his lack of conviction a bit annoying, but he does have a good heart, and she loved listening to his stories. Dorian: Immediate BFFs. His personality just enchanted her and they flirted constantly. As someone who is really interested in magic she was very impressed with Dorian’s skills. He sometimes created little wisps in the form of forest animals for her, to help her feel less homesick. Bull: A very reasonable mix of fear and arousal tbh. She liked Bull, especially after meeting the Chargers and side mission, but knew it would be hard to ever fully trust him. Dorian and Bull do flirt and maybe hook up but she worried about Dorian with him. She knew he needed someone who is completely dedicated to him and didn’t think Bull could provide that. Sera: Her second BFF. She liked Sera instantly, how fun and silly she was, even if she didn’t understand her dislike of the Dalish at first. After she got to know her more, she started to understand why Sera felt the way she did. They argued about it sometimes but came to an understanding eventually. Sera kept her grounded, and was a welcome relief from nobles and responsibilities. Cole: Whenever Tara was overwhelmed she’d go up to the attic of the tavern and just sit in silence with Cole. He was comforting, if a little strange. She followed Solas’s advice and made him more spirit and while it was a bit sad to see him drift away, she knew he was at peace doing what is in his nature: helping people. Cullen: Cute, but too serious for Tara. She appreciated his military and tactical knowledge since she barely had any herself. Secretly wants him to pull his head out of his ass and realize he’s got feelings for Dorian. Leliana: Kind of unintentionally hardened her. Tara very much felt like she didn't have the authority to interfere with how Leliana did things, so she let her be more cold and calculating. She supported Leliana as Divine because she agreed that the whole lot needed to be thrown out and changed and she knew Leliana was capable of doing something good with it. Josephine: As someone who is really not into human politics and court intrigue and nonsense, Tara and Josie don’t have a lot of common ground. But Josie was so sweet and helped the Inquisition immeasurably, so Tara really respected her. Vivienne: Similar to Josephine but magnified x10 plus her support of circles means she did not get along with Tara whatsoever. They maintained an icy distance as Tara knew she needed Vivienne’s skills and connections. Blackwall: He was almost a father figure to her at first, and she loved to hear stories about the famous Wardens, but after his reveal she couldn’t look at him the same way. She couldn't leave him in prison but she felt it was only right to turn him over to the Wardens, even if that potentially meant his death. Luckily he survived his Joining and Tara is glad he'll have a chance to make up for his lies, but their relationship was never the same.