#veilguard codex

[softdefault]

rook de riva: aww how nice viago sent me a letter viago:

(the rest of the letter icymi):

[fangbangerghoul]

The Book Club Notes are my favorite

[bingsoo-jung]

Veilguard Non-Codex Texts

I'm cataloguing all the non-codex entry texts and notes that I come across in (this) playthrough of Veilguard. These posts are tagged as #veilguard codex. This is batch 3. Here was batch 1. And batch 2. And batch 3.

[justrookthings]

I am only just now starting to pay more attention to the Codex and I can't believe how much character interaction is just hiding in there.

[deathcupcake]

So far, I have successfully made three of the six Veilguard Codex cocktails.

Daisy Fun-Time Lemon Gin

Ammazzacafe

Grappaling Hook

These two should be pretty easy.

Qun on the Rocks

Vint-6 the Common Red

Dew of the Dales is causing me issues, though.

I'll start on photographs and recipes next week. I was going to start this weekend, but then I decided that I really needed a particular nick and nora glass for one of the photos so I ordered it. I have coupes that would work just as well, but I need this nick and nora. Just gotta wait for it to arrive.

[shem-fatale]

As far as I've seen I have really enjoyed what they're doing with Dorian within the codex of this game.

Not particularly impressed with some of the other content, but this background storytelling is doing a lot for me, and not just in regard to Dorian. PS: I have only read a fraction of the codex chapters so far, so apologies if I got the wrong impression.

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT. Thank you Dorian for being the best once again and pointing out that hey maybe if the Chantry didn't treat their mages like shit and traumatize all of them they'd get possessed less often.

[radiantlightxx]

26. A letter to Rook from Serafina, House Veritas

This letter is written on expensive parchment in an ornate hand. The silver seal adorning the envelope bears a stylized 'V' on a corvid's breast, the crest of House Veritas.

Cattivella mio,

It's about time I heard from you. Nearly a year without a visit? Nary a letter? Not even so much a as a message delivered through Andarateia?? Spare me the excuses - I know you've kept in touch with the Seventh Talon. She speaks of you fondly. Had she not kept me apprised of your continued antics, I might have thought you no longer drew breath. I've lost sleep over it, Vas'ii. Pictured your bones picked clean by fish and strewn at the bottom of the canals.

I jest. Mostly. I should have known you'd find your way -- you've always been a stubborn little thing.

If you think these words are writ in anger, I pray you hear them instead uttered in affection, Vas'ii. I am happy to hear that you've been keeping well.

You were hurt when the Fifth Talon sent you away from Treviso after your confrontation with the Antaam -- and hurt more still when I did not move to stop him. You've danced around the edges of Crow business long enough to know that it is like a spider's web -- difficult to navigate, easy to get caught up in. Even a little movement can cause a shockwave and bring danger right to your doorstep.

And what you did? It was not little, bambina.

The Crows are in a fragile state. There is change on the wing, and not every house is happy to see us eschew business as usual to fight for Trevisan freedom. Indeed, some Guildmasters attempted to use your well-intentioned misstep to undermine not only House de Riva, but the entire movement against the Antaam. And still others called for your blood as payment for the foiled operation against the Qunari.

That is the reason Viago sent you away. Since he will not admit it to you, allow me to do it for him. And that is also the reason I couldn't ask him not to.

Even so...I know your heart was in the right place. It always is, Vas'ii. And aren't I the foolish old woman who always told you to follow that heart? Perhaps the folly, then, is mine. Such sentiment directly contradicts so much of what I was taught when I trained to be a Crow as a young woman. But it was your brave, foolish, hopeful heart that made me take you in all those years ago, and it was the same heart that made me hope for a better future than the Crows for you. Even now, I know that it will not steer you wrong.

And speaking of matters of the heart...

Andarateia tells me that you and Lucanis Dellamorte have been exchanging -- and I quote the Seventh Talon here -- "yearning, impassioned glances whenever they think the other isn't looking."

I confess, I smile to picture it, though I can hardly imagine either of you doing such things -- and yes, I know the Demon of Vyrantium well enough to try. I've been entrusted with his contract negotiations for years now, after all. I don't need to tell you to be careful, but I will anyways.

Lucanis is a Dellamorte, one of the two remaining grandsons of the late First Talon, in case you've forgotten. Caterina was not a woman to be trifled with. You will have even more eyes upon you if you tangle with him, Crow politics being what they are...so tread carefully, Vas'ii. Worth mentioning with the way you always rush headfirst into things.

Now. Matronly advice aside...

Next time you are in Treviso, let us meet for dinner. This is not a request, mind you. It's been too long since I've last seen you, and as much as your recent writing at least hints at your happiness (gods and blight and the burdens of leadership aside), I would be happier to hear it in your voice.

And bring Lucanis along! Since you've apparently hired him, we have to discuss his rates. Killing gods is outside of his usual purview, but given that Viago refers to them as power-hungry ancient mages, I'm sure we can reach an accord. I hope your benefactors have deep pockets. And I would fain see these yearning, impassioned glances in person to determine the depths of your affection myself.

Again, this is not a request.

All my love,

Serafina

---

A note scrawled at the bottom in Rook's handwriting:

Serafina is going to treat this like one of her romance novellas, I just know it. I don't know which would be worse: bringing Lucanis and having to endure Serafina's cat-like grin and pithy quips the entire time, or leaving him at the Lighthouse and inviting her ire. Do I even warn him?

'Oh, hey Lucanis. Did you know your contract negotiator is also the woman who raised me since I was nine? Also I know we haven't spoken about what happened in pantry but she wants you to come to dinner. Too soon?'

Is how I feel about him that obvious??

Shit.

---

An addendum, written in Bellara's tidy print:

Rook, I'm not sure how this letter made it into my room.

But oh, oh! Your guardian is Lucanis's contract negotiator?? And she was the one to bring you into the Crows? And then you got a contract to rescue Lucanis?? Are you sure your life isn't a serial romance? I mean, come on Rook! The plot practically writes itself!

Also... what happened in the pantry?

And...yeah, you are kind of obvious. At least when Lucanis isn't looking. But it's cute!

---

Rook's reply:

Damned wisps.

Nothing happened in the pantry.

That last question was meant to be rhetorical.

But maybe you're right. No one does dramatic stories quite like the Crows. Remind me to tell you about the assassin who ran off with his target in Ferelden, and then returned to Antiva to instigate an inter-house rebellion with his lover at his side. Just mentioning his name will have certain guildmasters looking over their shoulders to this day.

Oh, and the lover? None other than the Hero of Ferelden herself. Now there's a plot hook.

[kakibot]

This post has a very narrow target audience, Lucanis romancers who chose the "I also love coffee!" option during the Treviso coffee date.

A big shoutout to everyone else who has baked the Nevarran Hazelnut Torte before me because they made me panic less when I reached the "why is this just a big ole lump" stage. 🖤

[housederiva]

This gets tucked into the Shadow Dragon's codex tab

[mohntilyet]

"for the chance to be by your side i would storm the black city itself. never doubt it" "let me make a promise to you here. i dream you will say yes" "tell me this ends with me asleep in your arms, and i will kill any god you ask" can we hear it for the antivans!!!!!!!! can we PLEASE hear it for the antivans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lizzybeeee]

When you spend 20 years attempting to bring down the child slavery, murdering, human trafficking exploitation ring that stole your childhood, murdered your friends, and killed countless innocents only to have them rebrand as 'Noble Freedom Fighters™' off-screen.

[wardensantoineandevka]

[fangbangerghoul]

This is probably one of my favorite things.

[bingsoo-jung]

Veilguard Non-Codex Texts

I'm cataloguing all the non-codex entry texts and notes that I come across in (this) playthrough of Veilguard. These posts are tagged as #veilguard codex. This is batch 3. Here was batch 1. And batch 2.

[sky--phantom]

Lucanis' love of wyverns

[deathcupcake]

Dragon Age The Veilguard Cocktails

My holiday break from work* has begun, and as I mentioned, I'm starting my research into what I want to make for the drinks mentioned in the Veilguard codex entries.**

I believe these are the only drinks listed in the codex, but let me know if I missed any.

Ammazzacaffè

The coffee-killer, this pomace brandy is swirled in a still-warm cup and sipped on the move, following the Antivan custom of demitasse in the dining room, murder in the den.

Daisy Fun-Time Lemon Gin

Not everything in Antiva is murder, murder, murder. This juniper spirit is flavored with local flowers and fruit, served with tonic and only the merest, most necessary dash of murder.

Grappaling Hook

A white liqueur with hints of elderflower and dark intent. Served with three coffee beans and a smile not shared by the eyes. Colorless. Guileless. Harmless? Now we have you.

Qun on the Rocks

A recent Drowned District staple, rum is matched with saltwater and presumably seasonal Par Vollen fruit, floated from a dreadnought hold while Antaam are distracted by their own windy Butcher.

Vint-6 the Common Red

A celebration of life, thick and sweet, served by the sip. Tradition says the more who partake, the greater the fortune, for no one is free until everyone is free.

Dew of the Dales

Like it says on the label, spirits for the spirited, an elven elevation of the brewing arts. Sold only in Antiva, a guarantee that changes only slightly in other markets.

*let's hope this doesn't turn into a prolonged shutdown, but not much I can do about the state of the government

**Caveat: I don't often bother to make multi-ingredient cocktails myself but I sure have a lot of oddball liquors, love bitters/amari, and have been collecting cocktail paraphernalia for about 20 years, so I probably have what I need, maybe even the mixers. However, I will take this opportunity to buy that Allspice Dram I've been eyeing for the past year, even if I don't use it in any of these.