#tunes plays veilguard

[solasfenheral]

I love how every bit of new eluvian lore makes what merrill did in da2 even more insane. oh? you handcrafted a new eluvian that not only worked, but remained merely dormant? like June? Elven God June? Creator of the eluvians? Guy who did so dividing a lyrium crystal perfectly in two and thus created resonating, interconnected portals? And you cleansed the fucking BLIGHT from this thing? that said god got consumed by instead?

[invinciblerodent]

Listening to Vows & Vengeance again after having played Veilguard kind of puts this (already ominous) part of the first episode into a little bit of a new context. [Spoilers ahead.]

And even when I listened to this the first time, this fit into the context of Trespasser perfectly (when all we knew was that he's seeking to bring down the Veil and bring back the harmonious world he remembers, nothing more specific than that)- but in retrospect, and knowing what we do about the Evanuris now, this part really spells out that Solas is not seeking a reform, or the good of elves (or dwarves, or anyone), in doing so.

By his own admission, he never was.

I think this is one thing on which I've seen people give him what I think is way too much credit: Solas' goal, in his own words even, never was to make the world better.

It was always to make it what it once was, which he merely believes to have been better.

He calls it a reckoning, a punishment of misdeeds (those of the Evanuris? maybe also his own?). He seeks to bring back ancient Elvhenan (from before the Evanuris' rise to power? before the war against the Titans? before everything?), to restore the perfect world of unity between spirits and mortals (were there mortals, besides the dwarves then? would him succeeding do anything for, or even to the dwarves?) that exists only in his mind now, and his views and goals have always been regressive, by virtue of simply being what they are.

He calls his goals a regeneration, like he's cutting back a dead plant (didn't he call present day Thedas something like "a world of Tranquil"?) to give new growth, healthy growth, the opportunity to live- but what he very conveniently neglects to acknowledge at every given opportunity is that the branches he's been working to hack down are alive.

In Veilguard, he says to Rook that he had plans to "minimize the damage", the loss of life. But now that I'm looking at as complete a picture of him as we'll ever have... I genuinely struggle to imagine that those plans had any intention at all of actually preserving the living, or if it's just another clever half-truth we're meant to interpret as him intending to preserve life, just based on how different Solas' own definition of the living seems to be. (Yes, he's seeking to preserve life. But who exactly right now has what he considers a life, seems to be up for a little bit of debate.)

... An extra tidbit that I find interesting in this is that this whole exchange happens in a cave in the Silent Plains, which is the site of the ending of the First Blight, where Dumat fell. Dumat is presently believed to have been the dragon thrall of Dirthamen, god of Secrets, the first of the trapped Evanuris to fall, and Corypheus, whom Solas entrusted with the Orb of Fen'Harel in Inquisition, was a High Priest of Dumat.

I don't think any of this can really be a coincidence. There's got to be something weird going on in the Silent Plains.

[adahlena]

Dragon Age Veilguard: 2024 | 1/??

↳ Arlathan Forest🍁🍂

[sehaniine]

act 2 of arcane is making me feel absolutely out of my mind lads... i keep randomly crying thinking about episode 6...

[vaguely-concerned]

Tentative idea doodles for some Rooks!

Illaryen von Bioware-pls-reveal-the-faction-surnames (they/them). Mourn Watch, mage, elf, in their 40s. If Mourn Watch elves have the option of having a Dalish background, I am considering going so on the nose that there's danger of a nosebleed and choose Falon'din vallaslin for them.

Personality-wise I want to press the sad clown trickster with emotional intimacy issues button so hard that Varric constantly looks over at them with something wistful and heavy in his eyes like '...y'know you remind me a lot of my best friend as a young man' (purple hawke you will always be famous), except with an added air of 'what if the sartorial choice of wearing a half-cape was a person'. Genuinely intellectually interested in everything Solas is doing and what it means for the understanding of magic overall, but doesn't agree with it, at least at the outset. Get ready for rigorous intellectual debates Wolf Boy, you'll be married to it for a while

Name pending (he/him). Shadow Dragon, warrior, dwarf, late 20s/early 30s. Just a really nice, very strong lad with high ideals and the desperate hope that a positive attitude can make up for lack of experience or understanding much of anything that's going on around him (Fade... what??? what kind of capital v Veil now???). Dwarves seem to do pretty ok in Tevinter all told, so if the backstories allow it I think a sort of defector from decadence vibe might be fun for him -- I imagine he's from a warrior caste family who have historically done pretty well in Provings and is now the family black sheep, having known the sky (shudders in traditional dwarf). Very much part of the 'we can fix him!' crowd in regards to Solas, quite possibly to a fault.

--

(I don't have romances planned out for either of them -- I need to see more of the companions and suss out their romantic vibes before I can make any decision about that!)

[pausegame]

Always gonna hold out hope DA games have like an Origin DLC where players get to experience their chosen protagonist's backstory a la DA:O bc those are still so good, and I really wanted more context for my Inquisitor 🥲

[juls-art]

-- *✧Support me!✧* *✧Tip me for a job well done! ✧*

Rook roll call!

[a-driftamongopenstars]

alright, i finally finished Dragon Age the Veilguard.

tldr; 3/10. I didn't like it.

If you enjoyed the game and would rather keep enjoying it, please don't click the read more section as what follows is rather critical.

I can finally sit down with my thoughts and put them together in a more cohesive structured review, touching on most things that I wanted to address. I'll start with positives and then focus on the negatives.

Warning, this is VERY long.

Overall, I had a neutral to negative impression of DatV, which got worse by the end of the game. It had some good moments, but they were entirely unexplored and underutilized, suffering from bad writing. While the game itself is rather pretty, it didn't outweigh the dialogues, the stories and the lore butchering that took place.

1. Environment and visuals. 8/10.

I think Veilguard is a very beautiful game. I enjoyed exploring the corners of this new world, the little bits of environment design and storytelling that it had. It felt magical, certain locations were mesmerizing! I couldn't stop staring at the valley where you go to with Harding, the carcass of a titan.

2. Combat. 9/10.

I love flashy combat, I enjoy hack and slash, so until the very end of the game I was having most fun in combat. Yes there was repetitiveness but I tried to combat (hehe) it with changing my abilities and weapons every now and then. I liked combos and I liked timed parries. Enemy tactics got a bit boring by the end, but a few enemies still surprised me and challenged me.

.... That's where positives end. Now on to the negatives.

1. Characters. 2/10.

I don't understand what happened. Almost all the characters in this game were tuned down to a two-dimensional personality, "good" and "bad" - and absolutely no nuance. This happened not only to the villains, but to the different NPCs and even our companions. Their interests got narrowed down to single points of interest (Lucanis and coffee being a prime example to me), their motivations got watered down.

This is not what I expect from a Bioware game. I want to be challenged, I want to dislike characters or approve of their choices. I like characters who are messy and complex and don't always have their shit together.

I like villains who may have other reasons for their choices, other than "ba ha ha, I am so evil and I will do evil things". Where is Alexius who sold himself to the Elder one, just so he could save his beloved son? Where is Samson, forsaken by the Chantry and turned to red lyrium with his addiction? Where is Calpernia, misguided in her choices, just to free the slaves of Tevinter?

Where are the slaves of Tevinter anyway?? That's another topic.

2. Rook. 4/10.

On one hand, I liked playing Rook. They were stoic but with a humorous side, ready to get the job done, compassionate to other people.

The problem is that it's the only Rook you can really play. The protagonist is set in their ways and their dialogues and there is very little to roleplay. Rook really does feel like a gentle manager, trying to get everyone to play along nicely, while providing therapy every now and then, and is excluded from the majority of friendly interactions with other people. That awkward glance everyone gives you after their banter is embarrassing. The way you can third wheel people, the way the game actively offers you to leave a couple of animated conversations between other people - why even include those? Why not make Rook a part of the 'team'?

I did like Rook's dynamic with Solas. They got to see a different side of him, one that's not presented heavily in Inquisition. But like everything else, it felt surface level and underexplored.

3. Story arc. 2/10.

I am left unsatisfied with the story. The pacing threw me off so much nearly every quest, it was hard to stay on track. From "we need to solve this NOW" to "actually, let's all slow down and deal with our problems", the plot's priorities were all over the place. We kept hearing about the gods and their destructive oppression, but we saw surprisingly little of it. Yes, there was the Blight, yes there were Venatori and the Antaam, but they felt more like a video game fodder and dressing rather than a part of the story.

Not to mention that all of those things made little sense to me. Why would the gods align with aforementioned factions? Why would the aforementioned factions align with the elven gods? In-game explanation was not enough for me, it did not make sense. Not with the established lore in the previous games.

I also did not enjoy the ending. While the idea of Solas binding himself to the Veil is good and does make sense, what was suggested as the good ending (inviting Mythal to deal with Solas essentially) actually left me feeling awful. I sent a man, full of regrets and self-loathing, on a lonely journey to figure himself out. That... did not sit right with me at all. Neither did the fact that Northern Thedas, supposedly the point of the gods' attack, gets to live and flourish, while Southern Thedas is dying of starvation and blight. That is UNHINGED to me.

4. Music. 1/10.

There was no music. I remember one track. It was not memorable whatsoever and I can't believe they hired Hans Zimmer to do exactly nothing. Just wow.

5. Lore. ???/10.

And here is the worst offender. What was done with Dragon Age lore is unacceptable. I was doing a head-in-hands every five minutes. This was a slap in the face of so many fans who enjoyed the three prior games and delved into deep, interesting lore of various races, countries, cultures and religions. Veilguard showed a big middle finger to all that.

Everyone has already touched upon the sanitization of different factions. From the suddenly slaveless Tevinter to found family Antivan Crows, everything has been scrubbed clean and made sweet and palatable and "good".

The Dalish clans have been removed from existence as we know them. The Antaam left the Qun? Don't even get me started on that. The Chantry has no influence in this game? Really? The Chantry? The biggest religion in Thedas? The one that we know has heavy presence in the Anderfels, the Black Divine in Tevinter? That Chantry?

I think it really hit me how disrespectful the game is during the quest of saving the Dalish elves, where apparently Elgar'nan's Venatori, uplifted to be his servants and chosen people, were trying to sacrifice them. It's a gross and oddly telling idea that the ancient Elven god turned to a faction of racist mages to sacrifice elven people. I actually can't believe I'm writing this. Just how much are you going to shaft these people? Mindboggling.

There is a lot more I have to say on this specific topic, and I probably will later, but the idea is this.

6. Romances. 2/10.

Whoever said this is a game with romance lied so hard. So hard. The romance was atrocious. From the badly written flirting to the lack of romantic scenes (I romanced Davrin), to the poorly timed and awkward 'final' romance moment... It was atrocious. I felt no connection between Rook and Davrin beyond what game was telling me. My actual companions got more screen time with their romances than me and my LI.

Damn, even Evka and Antoine, my single most beloved NPCs in this game, had more romance going on that my Rook.

---

All in all, Veilguard was a massive let down. After having enjoyed the first 3 games many times over, with multiple playthroughs, I was so excited to see how the story of the Inquisition, of the elves, would end. When I saw the first trailer for VG, I knew I would never get to see it. When I played the game, I was left with disappointment and disdain.

I'm glad there are people who enjoyed this game, genuinely. I'm sure there's something to find for anyone, but it was not for me. Nor was it for many other people. It was a let down. I feel like I'll never get the conclusion I wanted - so I'll have to write my own I guess.

I have more thoughts on this game that I might be sharing, but for now this is the review I wanted to write. Thanks for reading!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

Inquisition: I spend three hours in the Hinterlands fighting bears for their leather to make new armor and weapons for my companions while tracking down every landmark for the Saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe, Avvar-Mother. My party is Blackwall, Vivienne, and Cole. I'm exhausted. I think to myself, "I miss my man." With one last bear, I finally have enough materials.

I go back to Skyhold, but the armor/weapons and the war table missions can wait. I rush into Cullen's office. I press him for updates, and he asks me if he should be worried about the cake Sera gave him [he should], and I tell him he needs to take a break.

I take in the view as I wait for him. He arrives, and in front of all the Inquisition scouts, soldiers, and the Maker Himself, we kiss. I am content, I am satisfied. Can't wait to do it again.

Veilguard: I spend what feels like three hours fighting that damn forgotten one dragon in Necropolis that I'm clearly under-leveled for but keep trying to kill out of spite. Taash and Emmrich are in my party. I'm exhausted. I think to myself, "I miss my man." We finally kill the dragon, and as we leave, Taash and Emmrich bicker about something that I'm tuning out.

I go back to the Lighthouse. Companions have quests for me, but they can wait. I rush up the stairs and break into a sprint as I burst through the doors, dart across the courtyard to the dining hall. I find Lucanis in his pantry. He's sitting on his bed with a cup of coffee in hand.

As I approach, he lifts his head to look deeply into my eyes, and he says to me:

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

Tears well up as I realize there's no affection to be had. I leave the pantry, leave the dining hall, and go hug Assan for the 2547th time.

I didn't think it was possible to feel so touch-starved while playing a dragon age game, and yet, here I am.

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard info compilation Post 5

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

[There are also a series of 'lil snippets' posts where I was just chucking together bits and pieces that I saw at other times: one, two, three, four, five, six]

Post is under a cut due to length.

There is a lot of information coming out right now about DA:TV from many different sources. This post is just an effort to compile as much as I can in one place, in case that helps anyone. Sources for where the information came from have been included. Where I am linking to a social media user’s post, the person is either a dev, a Dragon Age community council member or other person who has had a sneak peek at and/or played the game. nb, this post is more of a ‘info that came out in snippets from articles and social media posts’ collection rather than a ‘regurgitating the information on the official website or writing out what happened in the trailer/gameplay reveal’ post. The post is broken down into headings on various topics. A few points are repeated under multiple headings where relevant. Where I am speculating without a source, I have clearly demarcated this. if you notice any mistakes in this post, please tell me.

For notes in here on community council things in particular, I recommend to listen to the vid directly, it's always better hearing things first-hand ^^

Character Creation

"The diverse body and gender options make it an industry leader by a signifcant margin" [source]

"BioWare was keen to highlight the hair strand technology that looked very similar to that seen in FIFA and EA FC, also made under EA's roof" [source]

"Fine tuning sliders that allowed for microscopic adjustments of nose angles, it was clear that a lot of options exist to get the smallest possible body parts exactly right" [source]

"There's no specific genital customisation to be oversold as CDPR did but, much like Saints Row, there is an option for bulge customisation" [source]

Pronoun choice, gender identity, body type, and voice choice are 4 separate options, not tied together [source]

Height is customised on a slider [source]

Size is customized on a triangle like in Saints Row: the 'points' are fat, slim and muscular [source]

The different lighting options are 4 different settings: clean, bright, dim, sunset [source]

In CC you can also try out what Rook looks like in their starting rags, in typical mid-game armor, and some level 50 gear (class appropriate for each one) [source]

There's a way for you to modify your character's look once the game has started if you want to make some tweaks [source: the official Discord]

You can be any class and choose any backstory/faction, any race, any gender [source]

Story and lore

On meeting Neve in the opening, if Rook chooses to say the positive dialogue option (I think this is the thumbs up one, "You rescued yourself, I see") they say something like, "It looks like you're doing pretty well by yourself huh?" [source]

According to someone who played the game at SGF, the game has a Mass Effect 2 Suicide Mission feel to it [source]

The Shadow Dragons are kind of an anti-Venatori faction, sort of. [source] A freedom force. [source]

The Mourn Watch are kind of like the police for the Grand Necropolis [source]

The Veil Jumpers are kind of like weird magical investigators, weird magical nerds [source]

The moment right after the gameplay video ends is 👀❗❗...? [source]

On the timeskip, the Community Council were told that they were going to make it about the same amount of time in-game as the amount of time that passed in real life from the time most people would have last played DA:I [source]

Rook's faction is also referenced outside of the intro segment of the game [source]

In the gameplay reveal video that we saw, some of the Evanuris statue assets at Solas' ritual site are doubled up in error, i.e. some of them have the wrong heads. This is not supposed to be the case, they are supposed to each have a different head (bear in mind this was an early build and isn't the final build of the game) [source]

Characters, companions, romance

Go [here] to see some DA:TV doodles of the characters that a dev drew this year and last year. :> the hidden doodle is a version of Rook, hidden as they have not yet shown any of the possible hairstyles for Rook outside of the gameplay reveal video. [source]

It is Lucanis who has the purple wings [source]

His name is pronounced "Loo-khan-ess Day-ah-MORT-ey" [source]

Lucanis is hands-down "the sole dumpster fire of the crew". Mary "wrote him specifically to be a bisexual disaster of a human. You're welcome." [source]

As a name 'Rook' is closer to 'Inquisitor' than 'Hawke' [source]

The Community Council highly requested there to be 4 voices for Rook. They kept bringing it up [source] (there are 4 voices for Rook)

The Solas face model has been tweaked "a hundred times" [source]

Gameplay, presentation, performance etc

Rook can jump [source: the official Discord]

Rook can sprint [source: the official Discord]

Warrior gameplay (or at least one build of this) involves doing the right parry timing to lead to a certain attack [source]

Warriors have a dropkick ability, enemies can be dropkicked off cliffs using this [source]

According to someone who played the game at SGF said that the game ran smoothly and didn't have any bugs [source]

Companions can have an ability that heals Rook even when they are not mages [source]

Sword and shield warrior's ranged skill is like, boomeranging their shield over there [source]

In terms of the 'the game isn't open world, it's mission-based' stuff, it could be likened to Trespasser in this regard [source]

The first time the Community Council played, they asked if there is a photomode. BioWare said no, and the Council were like 'aw that really sucks, we really wanted one'. The next time that they went to play it, BioWare introduced them to a dev and said "Okay, we have photo mode, all thanks to this guy". "So there is one particular dev we all need to be kissing the feet of" because he figured out photo mode. [source] [nb, more on the Photo Mode situation here]

The current build of the game is not the final build of the game. A few things are currently being vigorously worked on [source]

Other

Someone who played the game at SGF was told that all of the choices and consequences were in the game, and that basically the team are just polishing things up right now [source]

The number of community members on the Community Council is in the double digits and they are from all walks of life. They don't have any contracts which say that they can only say positive things; they can be as negative as they want about DA media. Not every member of the council has said publicly that they were part of the group, there is nothing mandating them to do so [source]. They have not played the full game [source] and they tested it on consoles [source]. A lot of them ended up liking the gameplay [source]. They played some of the main story but they don't know how it ends. At one point they did three days of playtesting from like 9am-4pm daily. "I liked the quality, I liked what was going on, I was very invested. I did have some worries from the first playtest that were completely resolved in the second". "If you are someone who is into the story, I think we're safe, in the clear, I think we're okay. What I saw, I was really enjoying, I'm really excited about" [source]

The name change also surprised the community council. They aren't keen on the 'the'. There are a lot of things that they said to BioWare which, sometimes things just cannot change as it's too late. [source]

They did not see the finished game trailer before it released, and at that time it might have had a different song in it. They fed back that the version of the trailer that they saw was fine (what they saw was a bit different) [source]

BioWare have data on the percentage of people who used tactical view in DA:I and it's in the single digits [source]

Upkeep of the The Keep is a lot and it goes down like once a month. There have been times when it was down for weeks at a time [source]

[solasfenheral]

the implication that a different evanuris to elgar’nan was the one to position their Archdemon Dumat as the king of the Old God pantheon is deeply funny to me

[thedissonantverses]

With BioWare and EA doing what they are doing, maybe Dragon Age could be picked up by another company. I mean it could happen! Just like Larian produced Baldur’s Gate 3!

Yeah actually let me express this from the point of view of someone who has been here with EA and their studios several times. (like when people call VG a cash-grab I laugh in Sims fan cause you don’t know what a cash grab is). Also I’m like…32 so like….not my first rodeo lmfao.

I didn’t think Veilguard was coming out. At all. More than that, for a long while after Anthem I didn’t want it to. Finding out what BioWare had been putting its employees through really pissed me off. I have serious concerns about ME5. The reason I missed most of the fandom shenanigans and was because I was tuned out until this past summer. I had serious qualms and wasn’t sure until the last minute if I was going to buy it.

The games’ industry at large needs a massive wake-up call. But this isn’t anything new and it’s certainly not unique to BioWare and EA. And I have uh Thoughts on Larian(like thank fuck Davrin didn’t get the Wyll treatment) so I’ll leave them out of it for the moment because you’re right. I seriously doubt this is the last we’ll see of Dragon Age if for no other reason if an exec thinks it can sell we’ll get more in one way or another cause that’s capitalism for ya haha.

I have found in the last three months that I have an endless supply of hope and love in me despite the fact I was one of the most cynical people I knew at one point in my life. I uh have no interest in letting EA dictate my happiness hahahah. Like fuck em. They don’t know what they have.

I do though!!!!!!!!

I want people to take the space to be upset and especially on behalf of the team’s sake! Vent in my asks if you need to. But like idunno same shit different day I’m gonna play Veilguard and celebrate my fellow creatives and keep my head up. Ima keep praising the writers and my friends and run my little fan events and I’ll be damned if I stop because why? EA sucks?

When haven’t they?

[drakorn]

Rewriting Veilguard Part 2 - The Shadow Dragons

Rewriting Veilguard Part 1 - The World State

Disclaimer: I don't hate the game, I actually think it's quite great given the development hell Bioware went through in those 10 years. This is more of a hypothetical universe where there was less of that behind the scenes drama. Just a fun writing exercise.

Writing an Origin Story Mission for the Shadow Dragons

Now that we have dealt with our World State, it’s time to pick Rook’s background. When I first learned that there would be six factions to choose from, I was honestly very ecstatic. You’re telling me we’re getting six different origin stories for Rook? Did BioWare finally listen to the fans’ wish to get one more game with DAO-style prologue missions before the big main plot begins? Then I learned that six of the companions you meet would represent one of those respective factions, and I was like “Amazing, so you will definitely have one party member with whom you can at least align interests and goals from the start.”

What we ended up getting was…sort of something in the middle. Your backstory is brought up and you get quite a lot of unique dialogue regarding your faction. If you’re a Shadow Dragon, there’s a lot of Minrathous dialogue tailored to you specifically. If you’re a Grey Warden, you’re having an absolute field day whenever the Blight is involved, which is…a huge chunk of the game.

But there was…something missing for me. You see, when we start the game, we’re immediately thrown into this epic mission where Rook, Varric, and Harding find Neve and race to stop Solas. It feels very much like we’re starting somewhere in the middle rather than at the beginning. And that, in my humble opinion, is due to the lack of a unique origin story that you can actually play through. So, here’s what the next few parts of this hypothetical rewrite of Veilguard will focus on: creating six unique playable origin stories that would very much be doable without the vampiric leech known as “development hell” hovering over you. This post will focus solely on the Shadow Dragon origin story, so stay tuned for the others. I’m aware of how long it might take between posts, but I want to make sure I do this the right way.

Creating Rook

We start the game, which immediately kicks off Varric’s opening narration. But instead of Varric talking about Solas immediately, we’re gonna set the stage for the general state of Northern Thedas: with the South experiencing a few years of relative peace, the North is a wholly different story: Tevinter and the Qunari have engaged in a bloody and brutal all-out war, the Grey Wardens are growing more reclusive, strange reality warping occurs in Arlathan Forest, a part of the Antaam broke off and is now occupying Antiva and Rivain, strange whispers arise from the Grand Necropolis, basically, everything is in chaos. But Varric is certain that one person is the key to all this. Cue the distant howling of a wolf and six red eyes. Cut to black.

Now we get to customise Rook and choose our faction. As the title of this post suggests, we’re taking the Shadow Dragon route. The backstory text, however, is going to be different to the one we get in DAV. You see, when reading through those backstories, I got the feeling that all of them sounded like outlines for what could have been the origin story quest. I am actually 100% confident that BioWare planned on including prologue missions at one point but had to scrap them due to development hell reasons. And all of the six summaries essentially boil down to “you upset some higher authority and now your faction wants you out of the spotlight.” All the choices regarding Rook’s personality have already been made for us. Playing this actual backstory allows us to roleplay in a roleplaying game, which…shocking, I know, but here me out. Instead, the origin text we get when we click on the Shadow Dragons is simply going to be:

“You are a Shadow Dragon. This underground resistance opposes corrupt rulers and slavery in Tevinter. Coming from all walks of life, they are determined to bring justice to the people. As a member of House Mercar, a renowned Soporati family renowned on the battlefield against the Antaam, you have much influence to bring, and much to lose.”

That’s just the small little snippet we see when hovering over the option. But that’s all we’re gonna get for now. There is no mention yet of Rook’s personality as we’ll get to shape it ourselves a little bit. So, we customise our Rook, finalise our massive World State, and click on the play button at last.

Varric’s narration continues, just like in DAV, but this time, he’s going to give us our chosen faction’s backstory. We get a recap on how Dorian and Maevaris founded the Lucerni shortly after the war with Corypheus and how much of a ray of hope this group was in the twisted and corrupt society of the Tevinter Imperium. But then, some of the more powerful magisters began to heavily push against them, eventually leading to Maevaris being framed for treason and losing her seat in the Magisterium. She took all the blame on herself so that Dorian would be able to retain a spotless reputation and continue their work on the great political stage. Maevaris took the remaining Lucerni underground and formed the Shadow Dragons, continuing their work under a different name. Now unbound by political restrictions, the Shadow Dragons are free to take more radical measures in their fight against oppression and slavery. And Varric is confident that the perfect candidate to go against the bigger threat can be found in this group.

The Shadow Lair

Our story begins in Minrathous, in the underground base of the Shadow Dragons. And right off the bat, we’re making a change regarding said base’s location. In DAV, it stands in a random building somewhere in Dock Town that pretty much anyone could access. I get that they were probably going for the “hide in plain sight” approach, but let’s actually have some fun here.

In this rewrite, the Shadow Dragons are literally operating from the underground. Now, Minrathous’ underground system has two things that are very beneficial for a secretive rebellious organisation:

Vast catacombs. The catacombs of Minrathous are so massive that they can store food to survive years of siege. Minrathous, like so many cities and settlements in Tevinter, is built on the bones of Elvhenan. You can easily get lost in those catacombs.

Gigantic sewers. The sewers are arguably even more treacherous than the catacombs, because we have seen in Tevinter Nights what can lurk there. Imagine the sewers of the greatest city in the world, the greatest magical city in the world. Surely it comes with its own set of urban legends akin to the sewer gator. But in a city like Minrathous, those legends are probably true. Failed magical experiments, lyrium-infused mutations, abominations of former mages who failed some twisted blood magic experiment, possessed objects; all this can be found in Minrathous’ sewers. Dangerous for everyone, and therefore perfect for the Shadow Dragons.

The Shadow Dragons operate from a place called "The Shadow Lair”, a section of an underground district known simply as “The Undercity”. That’s where all the poor and forgotten retreat if they wish to disappear from the world, or criminals who flee the Imperium’s justice system. A dangerous but also perfect place.

NOTE: For the duration of the prologue, Rook will be referred to by the name of Mercar, as “Rook” is the name they give themselves after disappearing from the scene.

Depending on what race Mercar is, the stakes vary:

If Mercar is a human, they are the direct heir of House Mercar, destined to take over the family name one day. If Mercar is a human mage, they are currently in the process of getting their family appointed to Laetan status, which will give them more political power and influence.

If Mercar is a dwarf, they are an adopted scion of House Mercar.

If Mercar is an elf or a qunari, they are an official slave of House Mercar, but it’s made pretty clear in the beginning that House Mercar’s slaves are slaves in name only, while actually being more akin to paid servants. House Mercar simply refers to them as slaves to stay under the Magisterium’s radar and actually uses them to pass on information to the Shadow Dragons.

I was personally disappointed that DAV didn’t really touch on Tevinter’s slavery system. It felt a bit like I was treated with kid gloves and not given the trust to being able to handle dark topics. But Tevinter, as has been established in all DA media before DAV, is a pretty dark place for anyone who isn’t a human mage. And it’s important to depict that as it shows the stakes and just how rotten of a society the Imperium is. We need to see what the Shadow Dragons are actually fighting for. It’s not enough to just tell us how much a freedom fighter group we are, no, we need to see it.

Meeting the Leaders of the Shadow Dragons

For the sake of this playthrough, our Mercar is going to be a human mage, and thus not only the direct heir to the house but also one who can elevate it to Laetan status. We have a lot to lose, so we must be extra careful in this precarious situation.

So Mercar meets with the leaders of the Shadow Dragons, namely Maevaris and the Viper. From this conversation, we get the general gist of what’s about to happen and why we are here: House Mercar decided to get a bit more involved with the Shadow Dragons after both parties discovered a massive plot for something big involving Minrathous’ vast slave population. Whatever it is, it’s happening somewhere in Dock Town, and we are to rendezvous with Neve Gallus, a local and renowned detective, to get to the bottom of this.

Exploring the Shadow Lair

After the conversation, we get to have a quick look around the Shadow Lair, where we can instigate a small series of encounters:

We can talk to Maevaris some more and learn about her past and her motivation behind what used to be the Lucerni.

We can talk to the Viper and learn more about him, how he’s usually running operations and that he’s from an Altus house. But that’s about everything you can learn about him at this point in time.

We can meet Lorelei and learn about her being one of the city elves Loghain sold to Tevinter all the way back in DAO. She will give a few remarks on how the Hero of Ferelden dealt with the Alienage and how she and Alistair made it a more just place.

NOTE: For this rewrite’s hypothetical playthrough, the Hero of Ferelden is a Human Noble who romanced Alistair and became Queen of Ferelden. She is now searching for a cure for the Calling.

We can have a bit of a look at the Undercity and just see how much of a poor and dark place it is. This is the gutter, no, this is below the gutter. The people here wish to disappear. They are miserable, most of them have given up hope. The Shadow Dragons are the only ones who actually care about them.

Since the Undercity is below modern Minrathous, we can see traces of ancient elven architecture on display, including mosaics and frescoes.

An Old Friend

Just as we’re about to leave for Dock Town, a familiar face strides into the Shadow Lair: Varric Tethras. Yes, we actually get to see Rook’s first meeting with Varric here! Maevaris greets and introduces him to us (and we actually get to know that Varric and Maevaris are family, which DAV kind of glossed over, thank you very much). Mercar gets to have a first chat with Varric, where he assess our personality. This vibe check is what allows us to determine Rook’s general personality: are we diplomatic, humorous, or aggressive? I fully get that Varric wouldn’t pick an evil person to fight against Solas, but we should still have some kind of roleplay room regarding Rook’s way of thinking and speaking.

Varric’s purpose in these prologues is very similar to Duncan’s in DAO. He’s the one who recruits you into the larger fight and acts as a mentor figure for a while. I was actually fully expecting that to be the case in the actual game when we were told that Varric recruits Rook into the fight against Solas. Well, he did, but I would have liked to see it! Alas, we shall do so here!

Varric stays behind in the Shadow Lair while we go off and do our thing.

Entering Dock Town

Dock Town is pretty much right above the Undercity, the gutter above the actual gutter. The entrance to the Shadow Lair is quite hidden with enchantments, known only to Shadow Dragons and their associates.

Dock Town is going to stay pretty much exactly as we see it in the game. If there is one place in Minrathous where everyone could mingle without being necessarily immediately prosecuted, it’s that place (which is probably why that’s the only part of Minrathous we see in the game, but I digress). However, there will be one major change: slavery is still a thing.

Dock Town is…well…a place where ships dock. That includes ships of slave traders and prisoners of war. In this rewrite, Tevinter is still locked into a war with the Qunari, so there will be a lot of that reflected in the environment. As we walk through Dock Town, we see guards on high alert, slaves and prisoners being led away in chains. We’re doing some important environmental storytelling here that lets us know exactly why Tevinter is a place that needs to be liberated and changed so desperately.

Meeting Neve Gallus

We find Neve Gallus at the Cobbled Swan. Depending on dialogue choices, we might or might not have heard of her up to this point. I think it would be fun if Mercar could geek out about her because he read some sensationalist tabloid about one of her cases.

So Neve tells us that a huge part of Dock Town was closed off for a great event, a former small coliseum that hasn’t been used in decades. Coincidentally, several unpurchased slaves and prisoners of war are being dragged into that area.

Neve has a good lead to assume that the Venatori are somehow behind this because of course they are. Neve gives us a recap on what the Venatori are and how she had multiple run-ins with them already. She is to be absolutely certain that Mercar can be trusted as they will need to work together on this. In response, Mercar shares his side of the information, that his father, Charon Mercar, who is also a respected Legatus in this rewrite, oversaw a strange pattern in how many prisoners of war and masterless slaves, primarily from places like Ventus and Carastes, Qunari-conquered cities, have simply disappeared, and how surprisingly many military vessels have been transferred to Minrathous. Since Neve is a detective, it’s fun to make this part of the journey feel a bit like a crime mystery.

Once all information has been shared, Neve declares that it’s time to go.

Approaching the Coliseum

Neve takes us across Dock Town’s roofs towards the closed-off area of the coliseum. There, we see just how massively guarded it is. The official excuse for all this is a military training exercise. Horrifyingly, this is much closer to the truth than we realise. There are Imperial Templars and Legionnaires patrolling the outskirts, so we have to find our way in.

Neve directs us to a secret hiding spot, where we meet Tarquin, who is, as we know, an Imperial Templar working for the Shadow Dragons. Not even he knows exactly what’s happening, but something definitely big is going on.

There are two options before us: do we sneak in from above and observe from the shadows, or do we disguise ourselves as templars and participate in a more open manner? This right here gives us another choice regarding Mercar’s way of doing things. Are we feeling confident enough to just walk in and hide in plain sight? Or do we take the stealthy approach? While Neve is all for stealth, Tarquin prefers the closer look. So a first major choice presents itself:

Follow Neve and observe the proceedings from above, quietly gathering the information you need.

Follow Tarquin and disguise yourself as an attendant, getting a much closer look at the proceedings.

So I’m feeling a little brave right now. I think my Mercar would try to do the bold approach to get better results, even if it means a higher risk. For this playthrough, I’m choosing to follow Tarquin and let myself be disguised. Neve begrudgingly follows along.

Entering the Coliseum

A few minutes later, Mercar, Neve, and Tarquin approach the Coliseum gates in disguise. Tarquin wears his Templar armour, while Mercar and Neve are dressed as mages of the Legion.

Once we enter the arena, we have the chance to explore it for a little while. Doing so allows us to encounter the following:

We can have an early chat with Magister Zara Renata, who will, of course, be very relevant later, along with her lackeys Felicia and Calivan, all of whom are prominent members of the Venatori. Neve is able to make that connection due to Felicia’s brother Livius having so notoriously attempted to corrupt the Wardens at Adamant Fortress in DAI.

We may encounter Magister Bataris, alongside his son Albin and get early hints of just how far the Venatori corruption runs.

If we make a good enough persuasion attempt at the Templar Captain guarding the entrance to a basement, we shall enter it and discover the prisoners and slaves intended for some heinous affair. Here, and only here, if we perform this correct dialogue choice, and being a human mage, unfortunately, certainly helps here, we get to see that our father, Charon Mercar, is among the imprisoned. And the worst of it all? He doesn’t even recognise you. Actually none of the slaves and prisoners react in any way, as all of them seem to be under some sort of spell. As we look closer, we can see that all of them have strange spiked collars around their necks, filled with blood. This is blood magic that keeps them entranced. If we want to risk it, we have time to break our father’s collar and ensure that perhaps, he can escape. So we do just that.

The Imperator

Following our exploration of the Coliseum, we get streamed into a crowd of onlookers as the Imperator of Tevinter’s legions, the Supreme Legatus himself, Magister Aemilianus Laskaris, enters the centre of the arena.

We know from DAV that Tevinter has an Imperator, and the Imperator is not the same as the Archon in this context. While the Archon is the overall ruler, the Imperator is the highest military commander. Think of this guy as Tevinter’s version of Loghain. Laskaris also happens to be one of the loudest voices responsible for forcing the Lucerni out of the Magisterium.

Laskaris delivers a speech in which he proclaims just how bad Tevinter is faring against the Antaam. Here we get some early insight into the fact that a large chunk of the Qunari army broke off and is now bearing down on Antiva and Rivain. However, a large part of it remained and is following the Arishok into battle against the Imperium. And even against this broken Antaam, the Legions are starting to fail.

Laskaris cites lost cities such as Ventus, Carastes, and Neromenian as evidence for the desperate situation Tevinter is now facing. Therefore, something must be done. Something drastic. He presents, to the gathered onlookers, the Salvatio Initiative. Basically, all unpurchased slaves and prisoners of war are to be given to Tevinter’s legions, where Laskaris and the Legates serving under him will perform blood magic rituals to turn them into mindless but ravaging soldiers against the Antaam. Dangerous cannon fodder essentially. He will use tonight’s demonstration to convince the gathered members of the Magisterium to pass a law that will officially permit Tevinter’s legions to use blood magic. Well, we know, Tevinter has always used blood magic behind closed doors, but this will mean that all safety measures are off, all precautions, all careful attempts at hiding it. And the worst part is: since slaves are considered nothing but tools, it won’t even be seen as unethical by the large portion of conservative Senate members. And prisoners of war? Qunari? Who cares about them anyway, right? This is the darkness and true corruption permeating Tevinter. This is exactly why the Shadow Dragons exist to bring back the light.

Several doors open and Laskaris directs all slaves and prisoners to be brought forth.  They are all wearing the blood collars. Upon the Imperator’s command, him and several blood mages under his leadership, activate the blood collars and turn the slaves and prisoners into an absolute frenzy. A battle erupts in which the sheer destructive power of the now-mindless fighters is demonstrated.

Mercar now has a choice to make, and it is the biggest one there is in the prologue:

Do we stealthily fight the blood mages and try to rescue the innocent mind-controlled people without blowing our cover? You do, however, risk your father dying.

Do we rush in headfirst and fight Laskaris head-on, saving your father but maybe dooming more innocents and risking exposure?

Do we put our personal emotional interest above the greater good or vice versa? Well, because we broke our father’s collar earlier, we can at least assume that he’s going to be able to fight for himself with a clear head, so let’s focus on the blood mages in a stealthy manner.

Neve and Tarquin quickly take us behind the scenes as the crowd watchers in apt interest. There are five blood mages, including Laskaris, who need to be dealt with. Neve takes one half, Tarquin the other, while you have a go at Laskaris himself. You are masked so he won’t know it’s you.

While Neve and Tarquin successfully dismantle two blood mages each, we sneak right up to Laskaris and try to either knock him out or backstab him altogether. This results in the same outcome but tells a lot about Mercar’s personality. Do we kill this guy and end it now? Or do we try and incapacitate him so that he can still be of use for the future?

Regardless, Laskaris sees it coming and engages in a boss battle against us. It’s a tough battle, one that we are logically meant to lose. If we get Laskaris down to 0HP, miraculously so unless we play on Storyteller mode, the cutscene will slightly change but the outcome remains largely the same.

Laskaris lashes out and wounds us, causing us to fall down, bleeding, losing our mask, exposing ourselves to Laskaris, while the slaves and prisoners stage a mad revolt around us, forcing the gathered magisters to flee the scene. But because we freed our father from his collar, he comes rushing in to save us, engaging Laskaris in a one-on-one duel. Despite “only” being Soporati, he puts up quite a fight with his huge two-hander. We want to help him, desperately so, but we are just too weak. Laskaris is impressed by Charon’s strength, but ultimately, deals him a mortal wound. Just before Laskaris turns to finish us off, he is struck in the shoulder by…Bianca!

Varric steps into the fray and fires off a row of bolts against the Imperator, allowing Neve and Tarquin to take us away as we pass out. As they do so, the Viper appears and casts a spell that shrouds the whole arena in fog.

Back at the Shadow Lair

We awaken in the Shadow Lair and are greeted by Varric. It turns out that he was using this whole mission to assess us from the background, to determine if we are the one he’s looking for. And he decides that, yes, we are. Laskaris, the Venatori, all of this is just one puzzle piece of something much greater. We can press Varric on what this could possibly be, but he won't tell us just yet. Instead, he tells us that we should disappear. And he might just be able to help with that. We can be incredibly outrageous about this. I just discovered the biggest plot to endanger slaves ever since the Magister Sidereal tore open the Veil to reach the Golden City! I can’t just leave right now to pursue something I don't even know about!

At this point, Maevaris joins us and agrees that Mercar has to disappear for a while, now that Laskaris knows who we are. We can’t be seen with the Shadow Dragons for the time being. Doing so would just endanger the whole cause.

Reluctantly or readily, that depends on our personality, we concede that there is sense in Varric’s words. Varric advises us to adopt a codename as well, like so many agents of the Inquisition did back in the day. Mercar thinks for a moment, reflects on the most recent events, and decides on “Rook”. Varric approves. “The strongest piece on the chessboard, I like it.”

Afterwards we get a final chance to talk to the members of the Shadow Dragons before we depart, and get a last look at the Undercity. Neve returns to Dock Town to keep an eye on Laskaris and the slave rings, as well as search for any Venatori ties.

What follows is a cutscene where Rook and Varric depart the Shadow Lair and leave Minrathous altogether. One last time, Rook looks at the city he swore to fight for, then turns around and follows Varric into the unknown.

And that’s as far as we’ll go today! I hope you enjoyed my little hypothetical take on a potential Shadow Dragon origin mission. Of course, not everything is refined and perfect, but I hope you still got the overall gist of what I was going for! Next time, we shall focus on a potential prologue for the Grey Wardens! Stay tuned!

Rewriting Veilguard Part 3 - The Grey Wardens

[high-dragon-bait]

I've almost got all the descriptions for the hypothetical Dragon Age 5 companions complete, but I'm too tired to finish them tonight. Here're the four that are concretely done as a little WIP/motivation booster to finish these tomorrow

Hypothetical Dragon Age 5 "Plot":

Playing as either a child of or a great admirer of a past protagonist, 30 years after the events of Veilguard. It is 9:82 Dragon, and you are determined to become the last great hero of this Age before it ends.

You have decided your path is not in Thedas, but across the sea, and have joined a dangerous expedition to discover what may lay beyond the world...

Companions WIP

Asala - Qunari Rogue - Female

Summary - A qunari in her late thirties. Asala has lived her life in deep devotion to the Qun, but she carries a secret. She was never truly satisfied with her role, no matter how hard she tried to be. She eventually met a Sten, and trained with him in secret, discovering her love for the physical arts of combat, and passion. In time Asala gave birth to a child, whose conception was not approved by the tamasraans. Asala has joined the expedition to atone. Taking on the name "Asala" meaning "Soul", she will become the embodiment of the very soul of the Qun and carry it to wherever the Qunari began eons ago, and perhaps then she will be worthy of her role once again.

Appearance - Dark, dark grey skin with a violet undertone. Incredibly fine tuned muscles on her back and arms. She has just as dark black hair, thickly curled and tied into a long black cascade down her back, with a single shorter lock falling in front of her face between her horns. Her eyes are molten amber, set into black sclera. Burning at you from the rest of her face. Her horns are long, ribbed and twisting like an antelope's. She wears silver rings between each rib, with a thin chain connecting them from two pierced points at the tips.

Hissera - Qunari Mage - Female - Romance Interest

Summary - A qunari in her early thirties. A tal-vashoth seraabas, the qun shaved her horns to nothing and cauterized them with molten gold, after cutting out her tongue, and sewing shut her mouth. Hissera lived like that for years before she finally escaped, and has slowly been reclaiming herself and the identity she was denied, scars and all. Hissera has joined the expedition in hopes of seeing where the qunari came from, and if the cruelty she experienced at their hands is truly part of their very origin.

Appearance - Warm grey skin, like a storm cloud at a dawn, contrasted against glittering silver hair. She wears it in a half-braided style, one thick braid in the center, and the rest of her hair being allowed to flow down beneath it. Her horns are sawed away and covered in once-molten gold to keep them from growing back. Forever set in a frozen drip pattern down what's left of them. She wears heavy golden weights in stretched ear lobs, and gold studs in the holes that once held her mouth shut. The largest stud being in the middle of her upper lip. Her eyes are a vibrant blue set into bluish-white sclera, like a clear still pond.

Tamsin - Elf Warrior - Female - Romance Interest

Summary - An elf in her fifties, Tamsin became a Warden only a year before the sixth blight ended all blights. While there were still Darkspawn to be fought, Tamsin felt she had missed the golden age of being a warden. Now, darkspawn are growing scarce, as is the time Tamsin has left before the taint takes her body at last. She has decided to join the expedition for one true adventure, before it is all over.

Appearance - Dark brown skin that has just begun to settle into creases around her eyes and mouth. Once vibrant brown eyes have faded under age and blight, and her full curled hair is growing in grey at the roots, with some strands already beginning to streak through. She wears it tied back haphazardly, and many stray strands stick out of various places on her head. She carries many scars of being a warrior. She has a long jagged scar from the corner of her right eye to the center of her cheek, and she is missing half of her left ear, a matching scar cut into the scalp just behind it.

Glory - Spirit Warrior - No - Romance Interest

Summary - A spirit of glory drawn to you and your quest by your drive to be remembered. It becomes infatuated with you, and molds itself into your idea of what is "glorious" as the story goes on.

Appearance - A faceless golden impression of a person. Its body ends at its hips, leaving it floating legless a few feet of the ground. It carries a large yellow blade on its back, and a flowing swirl of energy around its echos of shoulders that could be an attempt at hair or a cape, depending on how you choose to look.

[gavinette]

It is so incredible to me how Solas and Lavellan have their own code to communicate to each other. Not only explicitly in lines of dialogue, like the elvhen they use in a room full of people just to have their private moment, or the hallelujah cadence they use in certain moments (like when you meet the Inquisitor the second time).

I'm talking about Lost Elf and the music that plays in the "Atonement" romanced ending in Veilguard. Two instruments having a dialogue while time is running. How the tune changes when Lavellan appears in the scene, shifting from the big Dread Wolf vibes to a new arrangement (dialogue?) of the Lost Elf. The music even stops for one second.

I'm obsessing over this little detail, I know, but I think it shows, even if you don't understand Solas or Lavellan body language to each other in the finale, what is happening. They're having the same debate all over again but it is different, the music is telling you it's different. More elements influence it. Lavellan knows better now, the violin is different and it doesn't have this desperate vibe to it.

I always admired Hans Zimmer since I was a little kid and getting to play Veilguard, save Solas from his worst fear and Hans Zimmer taking his time to do something specific for the solavellan ending makes me feel like it was my birthday.

[nerdanel01]

for love is strong as death

Chp. 5 - Pawn of the Dread Wolf

“I see you’ve discovered the music room.” 

Agnes nearly jumped out of her skin, her body leaping so fiercely that the harpsichord bench clattered underneath her.

“What the fuck, you rude asshole,” she snapped, fumbling for her misplaced pride and composure, hoping she didn’t sound too breathless with shock and fear. “Most people start with ‘hello.’”

Then she twisted on the bench to face Solas, a scowl on her face. 

It was strange to see him here—unsettling, really, to see him anywhere outside of the prison in the Fade she’d trapped him in. 

“Have you managed to escape the Fade somehow?” she asked him, eyes narrowed. “Or is this some fun new symptom of the blood magic, that I’m going to start hallucinating you everywhere I go? Because—and I cannot stress this enough—I would very much not enjoy that.” 

“You are not hallucinating,” Solas said, taking a few loping steps across the room, closer to the harpsichord. His feet on the stone floor did not make a sound. “You are dreaming… and so, my presence here simply means my link to you is as robust as ever.” 

Dreaming? Still dreaming? Agnes forced her face to freeze in a look of suspicion, so that the sudden fear that had gripped her did not parade itself across her face, announcing itself for Solas to see and take advantage of. But she could not help but wonder if he had not caught some glimpse of the nightmare she’d just stepped out of, her transition from one dream into another.

Willing her heart to still, Agnes quipped back, “What a relief.”

“I would imagine so,” Solas answered, dryly, “since you would have little hope of defeating Elgar’nan and Ghilan'nain without my aid.” 

He looked from Agnes to the harpsichord, then back at her, curiously. 

“I am surprised to find you here, of all places. Do you play?”

“Oh, no. Not remotely,” Agnes answered, eking out a few more sad, discordant notes. “My younger sisters were given lessons, to help them court husbands, but as I was not expected to marry—or at least, certainly not to marry well—I was not afforded such tutelage.” Bitterness softened by a warm smile, she added, “But I’ve always loved the sound of it.” 

Thankfully, Solas did not press too hard on any of these revelations—these sore spots from her past. But as he had already made clear the effort he had undertaken to find out as much as he could about her from the moment Varric had recruited her to the Veilguard, before she and Solas had ever met… perhaps he did not need to. Perhaps he was already well aware of what a special hell her father’s house had been for her. 

He approached the bench, ran his fingers over the keys, not quite touching them. “Would you like me to teach you?” 

Agnes laughed at him—the idea was laughable. “You’re joking.” 

“I am not. What I am, I assure you, is dreadfully bored.” 

Agnes lifted an eyebrow. “The prison you built for your nemeses wants for stimulation, does it?” 

“Planning my next move against Elgar’nan’s and Ghilan'nain is plenty stimulating,” Solas answered, without missing a beat. “And certainly after enduring my own confinement, which lasted millenia, I should have patience enough to suffer through it again. But I’ve become too accustomed to my waking body, and it has made me woeful for its comforts… its distractions.” 

“Like?” 

“Like the way a long walk invigorates the body, flushing it with blood, clearing the mind,” Solas said. “Or the consolation of a tune. Or the warmth of an embrace.” He appended, quickly, “That was not an invitation.”

“Would not have accepted even if it was,” Agnes shot right back—which, frankly, was putting it mildly. 

---

Emmrich/Rook long fic, Chp. 5/?, 43k+ wc [Read from this chapter] [Read from beginning]