#yavana

[exhausted-archivist]

The fun thing is this is explained and plot relevant in the Silent Grove Comic series. TLDR: Yavana, a daughter of Flemeth woke them up. Maric left Ferelden to go wake up the Great Dragons as his bloodline has great dragon blood in it and that was the deal he made with Flemeth in The Stolen Throne novel. So, real fun zinger is that Maric has always known the why and how of dragons being reintroduced. And now, I believe the only people who do know and possibly still alive are Alistair and Morrigan. Maybe Varric and Isabela.

It is also semi-plot relevant in Inquisition with the side plot with Fredrick who is studying dragons and gives us all the codice explaining where some species appeared and migrated from.

The thing that is really fun is that it's not important to the big wigs except for the fact that 1) they get to hunt something fun and dangerous for prestige and 2) they get to make the best armor again.

There also was likely a spike in the number of reavers as while wyvern blood can be used for reaver abilities, dragon blood? That's where the real power is. Plus, you know some Nevarran noble wanted to be like their great grandpa and sprinkle it on their food like it was pepper.

Have some apocalyptic events with a side of reintroduced apex predator to heal nature lol

Also I saw in the tag, people were wondering how Taash is deemed an "expert", without going into their storyline 1) Dragon lore from when they were alive prior is still around, Fredrick references it and the Qun has a ton of dragon lore that Taash's mom likely had access to. 2) Dragons have been around as long as Taash has been alive. 3) Rivain has the highest density of dragons in all of modern Thedas. Taash has been studying them with their mother for nearly their entire life. They're an expert, its not that unusual.

I think it's fun that the titular dragons of Dragon Age ARE mysteriously coming back from extinction, but that is (1) never explained and (2) never plot relevant. It's like if during a major apocalyptic event, you just randomly started seeing dodos again. like hey that's neat. anyways

[maintitle]

I want to talk a little bit about the Morrigan/Mythal situation, because I've seen a lot of people talk about how Morrigan chose Mythal and chose that power and therefore this is her life and her ultimate evolution and generally just dismissing what happens to her after Mythal rejoins her as a natural evolution of the character, girlboss, ect. I don't want to be dismissive of that take because it can be one that is easily taken without reflection, but I do think it terribly misunderstands the nature of Flemeth and Morrigan's relationship and the methods by which she was very carefully raised.

So let's talk about Morrigan, how she was groomed and abused, and the training she took great pride in that was that was ultimately weaponized against her by design. Let's also talk about the great pains the game goes through in order to sidestep these issues, and by doing so leaving a much better story on the cutting room floor in order to make a very tepid story of parental forgiveness that misses the depth of their relationship entirely.

I'd like to say at the jump that the fusion of Morrigan and Mythal isn't a story I'm resistant too. I assumed this was the direction they would go and I truly think there was some fascinating storytelling to be had that expanded upon the themes already present in both. But I also think the Veilguard writers either misunderstand the exact nature of how Morrigan was raised, or needed to ignore it in order for Morrigan to serve as a vessel for Mythal in order to serve Solas' story (an issue I have with her use in this game in general, but that's for another post.)

The most revealing conversation that I think Morrigan has in regards to Flemeth is actually one that occurs very early in Origins. I think it's juxtaposition with other scenes is important;

Morrigan: "My Mother has been hunted from time to time, yes. My Templar fools like Alistair, which should tell you how successful they generally were. Flemeth made a bit of a game of it, in fact. The Templars would come again and she would look at me and smile and say that the fun was to begin once more."

Warden: "You really had no trouble with them?

Morrigan: "I am unsure. I was too young to understand, and perhaps 'twas bravado on Flemeth's part. Or perhaps she was merely amused. I will never know. Flemeth would warn them, once. 'Twas a warning they inevitably failed to heed." Morrigan: "And then the true game began. Often Flemeth would use me as bait." She giggles in amusement. "A little girl to scream, and run, and lure the templars deeper into the wilds and to their doom."

Warden: "Flemeth used you as bait?"

Morrigan: "'Twas a game, and I a young girl. If I didn't get to play, I would have been very upset."

This is a really important example, not just of how callously Morrigan was trained to kill when she was challenged at such a young age, but also because it exemplifies how Flemeth taught her. There's an assumption that Flemeth simply yelled and screamed at Morrigan her entire childhood, and that was true in places, but Flemeth was very crafty in how she presented the lessons that she felt were necessary for Morrigan to have.

A bit further into the conversation;

Warden: "Do you still think it was fun?" Morrigan: "I think that my Mother made it fun so that a child did not learn to fear. And I think it was necessary."

Interestingly, if you don't agree with this assessment, Morrigan ends the conversation very suddenly.

The point of highlighting both of these conversations isn't necessarily to outline the casual and cruel abuse, but instead to show how sinister Flemeth's teaching methods were. She treated a child with kindness and the warmness of a friend or Mother when it suited the needs of Morrigan's lessons, but when she broke out and did something that would endanger those teachings, she violently lashed out, as is evident with the mirror scene.

These juxtapositions are important when you look at who Morrigan becomes as an adult, and why she's sent away during the Blight at all. As we know, it was Flemeth's plan all along for Morrigan to offer the ritual before the battle with the Archdemon, but Morrigan posits that it's now her making those decisions and not her Mother. This is highlighted by the line;

Morrigan: "Some things are worth preserving in this world. Make of that what you will."

If we jump ahead a bit to Inquisition, this thought process is expanded on a lot more, in a lot more detail, highlighting the philosophy in Mythal's temple;

Morrigan: "There is... a danger to the natural order. Legends walked Thedas once, things of might and wonder. Their passing has left us all the lesser. Corypheus would squander the ancient power of the well. I would have it restored"

Inquisitor: "I wasn't expecting your answer to be so... romantic."

Morrigan: "Trust me. Your surprise is matched only by my own." Sigh. "Mankind blunders through the world, crushing what it does not understand: Elves, dragons, magic... the list is endless. We must stem the tide or be left with nothing more than the mundane. This I know to be true."

On a surface level, this can be seen as an evolution of who she was in Origins and what she believed then. I can see how that mistake might be made, and I can see how that thought process can lead to accidentally mistaking Veilguard's reply to it as being that same evolution. But if we look at the Dark Ritual, we see this is an opinion based within the philosphy she was always taught by Flemeth.

In order to expand on that, we can actually look to the comics, in the little-explored character of Yavana, sister of Morrigan.

I want to stress first we don't TRULY know much about Yavana. History implies she's a figure out of Antivan legend going back multiple ages, but it's sort of impossible to know if that's true or if it's even her and not a previous Witch Of The Wilds, or even a previous host of Mythal. I hesitate, therefor, to truly assume what her relationship with her Mother was like, however I will very carefully put forward that, based on what little dialogue we have of her, she may be a 'failed' daughter of Flemeth that Mythal deemed unworthy, as she knows about Mythal inhabiting her daughters, see's it as Flemeth does, and seems somewhere between disapointed and jealous in the fact that Morrigan seems to misunderstand that. (I'm not really here to run back the whole Origins possession versus Inquisition's and now Veilguard's 'a soul is not hefted on the unwilling, because frankly it doesn't really weigh in on the point being made here as much as you'd suspect, as you'll see.) But this assumption is questionable, and might be both wrong and not relevant to the issue, if perhaps fairly telling.

What we DO know about her for certain is that she was raised by Flemeth, and at some point moved to Antiva in order to nurture and preserve the return of Dragons to Thedas. Her actual wording of this point, I think, is so telling of FleMythal as a character that I almost wish it wasn't hidden away in the comics;

This is, nearly verbatim, the same message Morrigan gives both in short in Origins before the Dark Ritual, and in much more detail in the Temple Of Mythal in Inquisition. I also find Alistair's response to this INCREDIBLY telling, as one of Alistair's great talents is seeing through people;

While I think the phrasing is very purposefully dismissive and flippant, I don't think the sentiment is totally off base. It actually leads me into the entire thesis of this post, and an aspect of this relationship that some fans and even writers seem to blatantly miss;

The preservation of the old magic is not Morrigan's dream. The preservation of magic is what Morrigan was raised to value most in the world by her abuser.

To illustrate this, let's look at Morrigan's arc in Inquisition, and what it's actually saying about her and Flemythal; The cycle of abuse.

Mythal's Temple is a story about Morrigan and the folly of pride, certainly, but it's also a character arc of a woman who was very carefully raised to HAVE that pride. This isn't an assumption I have made based on evidence, Flemeth outright says it in DA2;

Hawke: "Is (Morrigan) someone I should know?" Flemeth: "She's a girl who thinks she knows what is what better than I, or anyone." Chuckle. "And why not? I raised her to be as she is. I cannot expect her to be less!"

This is, to be, the smoking gun of Flemeth's entire method of teaching and parenting. She is incredibly adept at training flaws into her daughters, pride being the greatest of them. More than that, she's very talented at imparting just enough knowledge that they think they know everything, while also holding back vast amounts of it in order to stay in control.

The Temple Of Mythal is one of the crowning achievements of that. While you can't exactly expect Mythal to have known that's where Morrigan would end up (although Morrigan certainly questions if she knew it would happen), it really hardly matters if she knew or not. Morrigan was raised from birth in order to make the exact decision she made at the Temple. The preservation of what might be lost is such a core part of her being that she can't escape it... and more than that, she can't fathom it being a negative trait. To her, it's a holy calling.

I'm going to pull out the most direct conversation of abuse Morrigan documents now, not to pile on more evidence, but instead because I think it's a more effective conversation to use as juxtaposition of why she thinks that than I could make myself;

Leliana: They say your mother is Flemeth, a witch of the Korcari Wilds. Morrigan: They also say that washing your feet in winter makes you catch cold in the head, but we all know that is not true. But sometimes they are right and they are right in this. Leliana: You know the stories about-- Morrigan: Of course. You think my mother would let me go without telling me all the stories of her youth? Leliana: My mother told me stories too. She was the one who kindled my love of the old tales and legends. Morrigan: Hmph. my mother's stories curdled my blood and haunted my dreams. No little girl wants to hear about the Wilder men her mother took to her bed, using them till they were spent, then killing them. No little girl wants to be told that this is also expected of her, once she comes of age. Leliana: I... uh... I see. Morrigan: No, you don't. You really don't.

This is the environment Morrigan grew up in. She was exposed to Flemeth taking advantage of men, she was exposed to gruesome murder both as a game and in casual moments. Any attempt she made to take self-possession or grow as a person was aggressively curtailed and broken. This was a girl so afraid of her home life that, for many years, she spent as much time as she could living amongst the animals of the forest, and escaping her home life.

Now, imagine; This same abusive woman gives you positive reinforcement. You're a child, and you crave that attention like any child would of their Mother, and you know that reinforcement comes when you're an attentive and talented student. The closest you ever are with your Mother is when you're taking in everything she has to teach you, so it becomes the center of your life. Soon, it's not just a method by which to be close to your Mother, but a core tenant in your life. They stay with you as a fascination, as something you take pride in, as a holy crusade even as you escape your abuser and move on into a happier version of your life where you've grown and matured, where you've seemingly broken the cycle.

Now, imagine the discovery that those few, core, good memories you have were horribly tainted. The lessons you were taught were cyclical, a method by which to control you and gather that which she needs. Your life goal, your career, your passion was entirely made in order to benefit the abuser you've run from your entire life. Imagine who devastating that would be.

That's what happened at the Temple Of Mythal. That was the pride that Flemeth trained into Morrigan, the path by which she wanted her to evolve. She seized that opportunity, and that opportunity either tied her to her abuser forever, and/or told her abuser where she and her son was after years of protecting him from her.

Everything you know, everything you are, everything you've protected... is based on a lie.

Morrigan's character arc in Inquisition is her breaking that cycle. 'What Pride Had Wrought' is in reference at least partially to Morrigan's personal journey, where that pride, that passion, is something she recklessly seizes on because to her it is good and right and just and hers by nature, and it is that pride that was so ingrained into her by her abuser that she watches tear her son away from her and into the hands of said abuser.

In that moment, when she's faced by everything that her pride could lose her, she is forced to reckon with everything she has ever believed, and in the face of her greatest fear... she chooses to break the cycle of abuse. She chooses to assure that her son is safe.

The most obvious quote to be in this write-up;

Flemythal: "As you wish. Hear my proposal, dear girl. Let me take the lad, and you are free of me forever. I will never interfere with or harm you again. Or, keep the lad with you... and you will never be safe from me. I will have my due." Morrigan: "He returns with me." Flemythal: "Decided so quickly?" Morrigan: "Do whatever you wish. Take over my body now, if you must, but Kieran will be free of your clutches. I am many things, but I will not be the Mother you were to me."

This is obviously Morrigan's most famous line, but I actually am not sure if folks understand the truth depth of it; This is not only breaking the cycle of abuse and freeing her son of it, but she's also going against every natural instinct that was bred into her. This woman, the girl that was raised to lure men to their deaths for fun, who's most crucial life lesson was to do anything in order to survive... accepts she will never be safe again. She accepts the possibility of constant danger just to keep her son safe a day longer, a sacrifice her Mother would have never made for her.

This was a possible full culmination of her story. And Veilguard... sort of ignores the meaning of it by giving undo attention to Flemeth's head tilt.

I want to take a moment to preface this next section by saying that I was in no way resistant to the idea of Morrigan being possessed by Mythal in Veilguard. I in fact expected it and was excited by the possibility. There was a really brilliant way to handle the situation even within the parameters of how the game handled it, but the developers chose instead to dismiss this situation in a few lines so that they could instead focus on Mythal, and her relationship with Solas.

I don't want to outright insult the writers here. Veilguard was a game I greatly enjoyed. But I do want to say this because I find it deeply regressive, and I also find the decisions that were made were a symptom of this issue; Morrigan is not in Veilguard for her own character. Morrigan is in Veilguard because she is a convenient vessel through which to explore a character that has much more importance to the main antagonist. This is already slightly regressive because it's two characters largely only serving the plot of one male character, but I find it most troubling because the character they use her for is her own abuser, and by paying as little attention to that as possible while also barely using Morrigan herself as a character, it creates a very tepid story of parental forgiveness that... doesn't work as presented.

From her scene in the Crossroads after finding all of Solas' regrets;

Morrigan: "When I learned she intended me to become the next receptacle of an ancient god's soul, I feared naught would be left of my own. It inevitably came to pass on a deep night: I was awakened by the presence of a blaze of magic in the shape of a woman who both was, and was not, my Mother."

Rook: "I don't think I'd recover from that."

Morrigan: "Neither did I, at the start. Mythal's memories were both gift and burden, this blazing woman told me, but I must accept them of my own accord. The decision was paralyzing. What would it mean to become such a host? What would be lost if I refused? In the end, 'twas something in my Mother's voice which guided me."

Rook: "What was that?"

Morrigan: "Regret. Not the regret of a God, but of a Mother who knew she would never see me again. And so my mind remains my own. What I gained was knowledge... both Mythal's, and of those who bore her."

I think you can see where the problem lies, but let me reiterate:

Morrigan was a child of abuse. That abuse was calculated, both in how she treated her aggressively and how she gave her affection. Her methods of teaching, of raising a child, were there entirely to teach that child to continue on the legacy of Mythal. The preservation of magic was imbued very carefully into Morrigan and Yavana both in order to gather and save aspects of the ancient elves, and in order to prepare them to carry Mythal's soul. Pride was a weakness trained into them from childhood, and their lofty goal of protecting ancient magic was a weapon to be wielded in order to control them. This was a cycle Morrigan first discovered in Inquisition and began to fight against, because she wanted to break the cycle of abuse for the sake of her son.

In this game, Morrigan took on the memories of Flemythal... in order to preserve ancient magic that must be protected so that it is not lost. An instinct given to her by her Mother... in order to be used as a weapon... so that one day she would take on the soul of Mythal.

I want to be clear, I am not opposed to this storyline. I'm not going to yell 'That's problematic, you can't write that!' or 'That's a regression of her character!' because I think it's a fascinating direction to take both their characters.

The problem to me isn't that they went down this pretty natural path, the problem is they did it by... sidestepping any negative parts of how this would affect Morrigan. They sidestepped the fact that the reason she accepted her was largely because of something that Flemythal trained into her and weaponized against her, and the writing treats it as... a difficult moment that eventually brought her peace.

I think this is most exemplified in the aspect of Mythal's soul that remains in the Crossroads. As a concept some are saying it's arbitrary considering how Flemythal saved herself inside of an amulet in Origins/DA2, but I think that's lacks context. It's clear Mythal couldn't prepare this time, because she didn't expect Solas to murder her. Her soul, while saving itself, fractured into pieces. I'm definitely willing to defend that choice.

The problem, I think, is more that the fracturing is seemingly mostly used as a way to sidestep how Mythal's soul fully joining Morrigan would change this scenario. Morrigan's ultimate fear was becoming one with the soul of Mythal, so in order to avoid that they've attempted to only give Morrigan the memories of Flemythal while also seemingly leaving her unchanged as a character.

My issue with this thought process, first and foremost, is that it prevents them from exploring a much better story that has the chance of presenting a much better payoff as a story of an abused child coming to terms with her Mother. It removes the chance of Morrigan's possession being a major character arc, one that would further what she went through in Inquisition while also offering Flemythal a pathway toward an understanding with her daughter so that that ending could still be explored, in order to get to where they want to truly get to as fast as possible, which is using Morrigan as an agent for Mythal's forgiveness in order to fulfill Solas' character arc.

Imagine a more fleshed out version of this story, one where Morrigan had more of a presence within it. Over time, as you discover more about Mythal out through those flashbacks, you begin to realize something is... off about Morrigan. Her unique way of talking has slowly changed, her more sarcastic and poetic tone drips away in favor of Flemythal's more loose, jovial, sometimes playful but always pointed and aggressive tone. The player is prepared to pick up on that, but Rook isn't. Things eventually come to a head where Mythal has to reveal herself, likely as an aggressor similar to how she's handled in the Crossroads, and Morrigan is actually allowed to exist within this presentation. She sneaks through occasionally. The magic of the crossroads allows her moments of clear headedness. She reflects that she accepted her Mother's soul out of that fear, and that it's begun to change her, that she's scared of what she's losing, and even more frightened of how she's coming to understand her Mother. Conflict occurs and if you've reached Morrigan, she fights against Mythal's influence and regains control enough to fracture them just enough to have to come head-to-head, where you can guide them through decades of conflict to a mutual understanding or forgiveness through this bond they have, help Morrigan fully overcome Mythal, or help Mythal dominate Morrigan. Ideally, you'd have the ability to either remove Mythal's essence from Morrigan forcefully with an 'I reject you!' scene, or you can have your moment of forgiveness where the Flemeth side of Mythal removes herself from Morrigan, perhaps into the idol you use for Solas at the end.

But that's not what they did. What they chose to do, I think, is to sidestep a difficult issue, a problem this game does tend to have. I'm not entirely sure if they didn't quite grasp Morrigan's relationship with her Mother, or felt they were forced to gloss over it either because of the world state issue or their need to use Mythal, but the decision they came to is not an acceptable payoff to that story.

The truth of the matter is, this version of the stories' either inability to explore this issue in full or it's misunderstanding of it greatly hurts the characterization and misses a massive chance at more impactful storytelling. And that, to me, is the most damning creative decision of the entire game.

[seeker-ophelia]

The Blight: A Prison Break

Hey, take my hand, and let me take you on the Vir of my Feral Brain

Heads up Seekers, this is a long one.  

Solas & The-Veil-Super-Max vs. Mythal, the Big Bad

**No Veilguard Spoilers Past the Released Trailer Media

The Veil separates the world of spirits & magic from the physical world, but that is a byproduct of its existence, not its purpose.

Creating the Veil also created “The Quickening.” If Elvhen are born with The Veil, they are separated from the magic that makes them, cursing them with a shorter lifespan.

But The Veils purpose is to be the jail that the Evanuris (and the blight?) are in;

The fade-separation-part is an annoying side-effect.

And You Say: But OP, in Trespasser, Solas SAYS:

I will save the elven people, even if it means this world must die. [That’s a big IF to throw in there buddy, do you mean you don’t know?]

Why does this world have to die for the elves to return?

A good question, but not one I will answer [Bah, humbug. Coward BioWare]

… and though I owed you an explanation, I will not give you tools to use against me. [So you’re saying there’s a chance? There ARE tools to be used?]

The return of my people means the end of yours. [What if, I don’t believe you?]

Solas says, that there are ways to stop him. But.

We know, entirely separate from Solas, that The Veil is breaking. It is thinning, without anyone’s intervention, slowly over time.

In Ghillys Grove/Dead Hand, rocks are floating. Companions say, all over the place, “ThE vEiL iS tHiN HeRe.”

The veil is coming down, REGARDLESS.

(Maybe not so fast, but it is coming down. It was not built to last forever.)

*Sidebar about Solas’ ancient Elvhen Artifacts, do they maintain the veil like he says? (It will be harder for tears to form here) Or do they do something else? If you note their locations, they’re all in places where elvhen had palaces/ruins/stuff (except for the Wastes, where they’re located amongst Dwarven shit, coincidence, I think not, but that’s Whole-Other-Post-Number-2)

*They are spheres (like Titan foci?) with something like Bismuth growing out of them?

*Solas made the veil. I think the artifacts are his. And I think they do keep The Veil up.

*Because the veil cannot just Come Down™, that would be disastrous.

*It needs to be Taken Down™. Very different.

Which leads us right back to…

The return of my people means the end of yours.

Let’s Remember this Dialogue

Cole: Is there a way to save more spirits, Solas?

Solas: Not until the Veil is healed. The rifts draw spirits through, and the shock makes demons of them.

Cole: Pushing through makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you.  Being pulled through means you don’t have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being.

Solas: Yes, exactly. Deliberately crossing the Veil requires that a spirit form will, personality. That concept of self gives a spirit the chance to maintain its nature. Wrenched into this world unwillingly by the rifts, spirits suffer the same fate as my friend.

Cole: Then we will help them.

If you are not paying attention, the game wants you to think that the fade is full of demons, chock full of them. If The Veil comes down, demons will swallow the earth. But, that’s not actually the case. Most of the things there are spirits, they only turn to demons when they get pulled through the veil unwillingly. Let’s hold onto that thought.

Solas wants the Evanuris in prison (I am unsure if he knows that there’s only two of them left). He needs them in prison. But he doesn’t want The Veil.

WHY is having No-Veil inherently dangerous to humans/Dalish if there are mostly spirits?

I don’t think it is.

I think he means the end of the Dalish, meaning the end of the Shemlen version of the Dalish. Immortal elves can exist again after The Veil is gone.

So the Dalish will “Die” (people are always dying) but Immortality will come back.

What does Solas say again? (In the fade with Rook):

Your actions have set events in motion, and I would not have your ignorance on my conscience.

The Evanuris. Blah blah blah…

When I rebelled, they drew on the horrific magic of the blight, corrupting all they saw until I trapped them.

Thanks to you though, I am now trapped, and the blighted “elvhen gods” walk free.

Hang on a tidily minute there pardner.

Solas locked them up because they killed Mythal, not because of anything to do with the blight.

From Trespasser:

Inky: You said that the elven gods went too far. What did they do that made you move against them?

Solas: They killed Mythal (Chuckles). A crime for which an eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment…. And in their lust for power, they killed her.

But he Also Says:

Had I not created the Veil, the Evanuris would have destroyed the entire world.

OhKayy.

So… Now we’re retconning Why Solas’ Imprisoned The Evanuris…

OR…

Andruil brought the Blight back from the Abyss, and Ghilly made/weaponized it. I’m guessing The Evanuris were going to/already were, unleashing it on Thedas? But, why? That doesn’t make any sense. Mythal stood up to them, and so they killed her?

Kamikazeing the world doesn’t sound like a smart business strategy. It does not sound in line with The Evanuris’ Mission Statement.

This art from pinacoladamatata has been confirmed cannon by BioWare – this is the face the Evanuris’ Business Manager makes when he sees them making Bad Business Decisions ™

No, its fucking is not, get your head out of your ass.

Fucking GODS. The GODS YOUS GUYS

These guys wanted power. There were 7 of them, ffs. You’re telling me they all went bat shit and wanted to blight the world? To what end? What’s their Modus Operandi? This is not adding up for me.

The Evanuris used blood magic. [IMO, Ghilly created Qunari specifically to have stronger powered blood for her magic rituals. She created a whole race, to die. *What is my purpose*You Pass Butter*Oh My God* Little mix of dragon and elf and poof, Qunari Baby. But Im not getting into that, that’s not the point of this post]

And you’re telling me ALL 7 OF THEM, after they’ve: slain Ancient Dragons, won battle against the Forgotten Ones, Became Kings, Sundered Titans, Became Gods, created races for blood magic rituals, were just like, yeah let’s blight the world? Like for fun, its Tuesday and Im Bored.

Sorry, whut? No. This is not adding up. This does not make any sense to me.

So…  What does make sense?

The Blight IS Bad.

Okay. How?

If Ghilly made the blight and we know that the Evanuris have used the Blight (source, Solas), lets assume they can actually control it; its not a virus or an uncontrollable bacteria, the Evanuris can control it (somehow), otherwise they risk wiping out their own amassed power.

Okay.

And Solas didn’t want them killing more people (he was already freeing their slaves), and decided to lock them up.

Okay.

But before this, Mythal did something to make them mad, and they killed her?

Okay.

But she didn’t actually die.

We know she didn’t die…

How do we know she didn’t die?

Because we saw her Blue/OGB/Navi-Wisp leave Flemeth and transfer to Solas.

And where else have we seen that before?

We see it when Kieran gives up Urthemiel to Flemythal.

Who’s Urthemiel?

Urthemiel, the Old God Dragon of Beauty, aka one of the Evanuris (Sylaise or June probably).

Urthemiel was an archdemon, a blighted-dragon, and (like Corypheus), when it was killed, the Blue/OGB/Navi-Soul got transferred into (supposed to be a Warden who would then die, taking the spirit with them, but actually its) Kieran. Who then gives it to Flemythal.

Who has THE SAME KIND OF Blue/OGB/Navi-Wisp…

BECAUSE SHE WAS BLIGHTED.

Abelas: The dread wolf had nothing to do with her murder. She was slain, if a god truly can be, betrayed by those who destroyed this temple. But the Vir’Abelasan remains, as do we. That is something.

She did not “die,” she got INFECTED WITH THE BLIGHT, and then slain, and then her Blue-Dragon-Navi-Soul moved on to another vessel.

Let’s Re-state What We KNOW

There used to be 7 Old Gods/Archdemons in the Deep Roads

There have been 5 Blights

There have been 5 Archdemons slain

There used to be 7 Evanuris in The Solas-Super-Max-Veil-Prison

Now there are 2

(TBF we don’t know for 100% Evanuris = Old Gods, but we essentially assume they are)

Let’s move into speculation territory:

How did they get out?

Well, we’ve seen Ghilly and Elgar’dad’s physical forms.

Now, I am not a zoologist, but those:

DO NOT look like dragons.

Remember:

Trespasser Solas: “They killed Mythal (chuckles), a crime for which an eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment.”

So, lets assume, that The Evanuris “killed” Mythal by infecting her with the Blight.

I think, when Solas locked the Evanuris away, he put The Blight in there with them. Not just an eternity in prison, but an eternity of torment.

What he (probably) didn’t figure, is the Blight-Body-Snatcher-Problem.

We KNOW, a creature infected with The Blight can pass their soul onto another creature infected with the Blight (Corypheus).

We KNOW, that if blood is spilled during a ritual to contact the Priso, that the blood-spiller can contact people in the prison (Golly, that sounds familiar, hey?)

Solas: Deliberately crossing the Veil requires that a spirit form will, personality. That concept of self gives a spirit the chance to maintain its nature.

“My kind has ever been driven to seek out the Old Gods. This is out nature. When we findone, a Blight begins.”

I hypothesize, the Evanuris killed (Slept? Separated from?) their physical bodies to allow their Blue Souls to re-infect an Archdemon, that was grown, supplied by an Architect, or other strange creatures we don’t know about in the deep roads. Not as nice, or as powerful a body as their Elvhen Forms, but better than being in prison.

And that is how The Blight acted as a prison break for the Evanuris.

Which brings me to the question, what happened to the other Evanuris’ Blue-Dragon-Navi-Souls once they were slain (as archdemons) and moved into Wardens (who then promptly died)?

Watch this: Dragon Age: Origins Death of the Warden in 1080p

(Its actually kinda badass)

This is the moment the Warden (No Dark Ritual Performed) stabs Archdemon #5 in the head (Photo brightened).

(This is not the moment the Archdemon dies)

THIS is the moment the archdemon dies:

[Hmm… looks like an Andruil Shaft of Light to Kill a Titan, hey?]

There is then a Giant Explosion:

We see the Wardens Body only after the fact on a funeral stone. We do not know exactly what happened to them. But Alistair, who was standing right beside them, is fine.

In my mind, the blue mist (1st picture) is the Blue-Soul Transferring, and then the explosion is the Blue-Soul actually dying, meaning it doesn’t get transferred onto another blighted creature.

BUT.

It is important to note, that in a world where the Dark Ritual was performed, where the OGB goes into Kieran, the cutscene is NOT DIFFERENT IN ANY WAY. It is THE EXACT SAME SCENE. Same pillar of light, same blue ring, same explosion. But some how THIS:

(This is a separate screenshot image from a separate video, different outcomes).

Gets turned into THIS:

SO IM GOING TO WiLdLy SpEcULaTe

That if a GIANT FUCKING RING OF EXPLODING BLUE LIGHT can be sucked into Morrigan’s Magic-Fucking-Uterus, it can be wrangled in other ways as well (… or at the very least, into another uterus).  

OK. This Dark Ritual thing. Sounds like, mega weird. Powerful, strange, old magic.

Let’s refresh:

Dragon Age: Origins - Dark Ritual with Loghain and Romanced Morrigan

I offer a way out, a way out for all the Grey Wardens that there need be no sacrifice, a ritual, performed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night. It is old magic, before the circle of magi was created. Some might call it blood magic, (Solas: I abhor the use of blood magic) but that is but a name. there is far more to fear in this world than names. [Nothing is without a cost] Perhaps, but that cost might not be so unbearable, especially if there is much to be gained. All I ask is you listen to what I have to offer. What I propose is this, lay with me here tonight, and from our joining, a child will be conceived. The child will bear the taint, and when the archdemon is slain, its essence will seek the child like a beacon. At this early stage, the child can absorb that essence and not perish. The archdemon is still destroyed, with no Grey Warden dying in the process. Think about what I offer you: the chance to avoid death. Or better yet, the chance to slay the archdemon and live as a hero. No Grey Warden has ever done this. In return I conceive a child, one who will be born with the soul of an Old God. After this is done, you allow me to walk away, and you do not follow. Ever. The child will be mine to raise as I wish. [Is this why you’ve been so friendly with me] It’s… why I was sent with you by my mother.

Wait. WHAAAAAAAAT. You mean FLEMYTHAL KNOWS ABOUT THE RITUAL??? SHES THE ONE WHO TAUGHT IT TO MORRIGAN?

It’s… why I was sent with you by my mother. Its why she saved your life to begin with. Caring for you… was not part of the plan. But I cannot let what I feel interfere with what I must do. This is important to me. The fact that it may save your life makes me all the more determined to see it done. Please do not… cloud the issue. If you feel anything for me, then accept that it will make what we must do… that much easier.

So. Flemeth (Mythal), Knows How to entrap Archdemon (Evanuris) Souls (Blue-Navi’s), which are The Same People who killed Blighted her.

But… What is she DOING with them? Why aren’t they turning on her? Where are their vessels?

WHERE ARE THEY.

(Enter my lover Yavana).

Yavana is an infamous Antivan Witch of the Wilds known as the "Beast of the Tellari swamps".

Yvana Quotes:

"The blood of dragons is the blood of the world."

(to Alistair) Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?"

Alistair: "You and Morrigan and Flemeth...all you do is manipulate and lie."

Yavana: "That is our craft, but not our purpose. Mankind destroys without understanding, yet I preserve."

Yavana, my girl. Girlboss. What are you preserving sweetie?

Some Very-Simplified-Backstory: Marric, Alistair’s dad, was saved by Flemeth once upon a time, and was supposed to go to Yavana after his kids were grown.

Why, you ask? Well:

Now I don’t know about you, but there’s only one task I can think of that a Woman needs a Man for, and its not Knitting.

But Marric never showed. So Flemeth had to improvise, sending Morrigan…

It’s… why I was sent with you by my mother.

Now I think,

Mythal is the big bad.

Because who told Morrigan to get Urthemiel?

Flemythal.

Who’s to say she didn’t plant Yavana in Northen Thedas to collect other Dragon-Souls?

I have no proof, but I would not bet against it.

Let’s Refresh Ourselves on the History of the Blights, Shall we?

[You do not need to read all of this, I have summarized it in the image below]

A Quick, Shallow Dive Into The Blights (A Historical Record): 

{[ (Some Of) The following information is only mentioned in Dragon Age Tabletop. Certain portions of this media may no longer reflect currently established lore.]}

The First Blight

The First Blight began in -395 Ancient (800 TE) and lasted nearly two centuries, the longest Blight in history.

In the course of the First Blight, Dumat was slain multiple times, to no avail - he would always return. Some people saw it as proof of his divine power. The Grey Wardens, thanks to the taint in their blood, could feel the Archdemon die and rise again, as its spirit would go on to possess the nearest tainted creature. They eventually realized that their connection to the Blight might make it possible to kill Dumat for good.

Eventually, Grey Warden scholars proposed that if Dumat were slain by a Grey Warden, due to the Wardens' subtle ties to the darkspawn, his spirit would rush into the body of the Warden that had killed it. Unlike the darkspawn, a Warden's body already has a soul, and the resulting paradox would destroy both Warden and Archdemon.

Records do not say who exactly gave up his soul to destroy Dumat, for many Wardens struggled against him, and the Archdemon's very death throes slew seven or more of them.

Archdemon Slayer: Unknown

Location: The Silent Plains are a desolate area on the southern borders of the Tevinter Imperium, with Nevarra laying further south and the Free Marches to the south-east.

The Second Blight

The Second Blight began in the Anderfels with the corruption of Zazikel, the Old God of Freedom[1] or the Dragon of Chaos, in 1:05 Divine, and lasted 90 years.[2] Both sides suffered heavy losses, but Zazikel was finally slain by the Grey Warden Corin.

Archdemon Slayer: Corin.

Location: Starkhaven is an independent and prominent city-state of the Free Marches that lies on the banks of the Minanter River.

The Third Blight

The Third Blight began when Toth, the Old God of Fire, awoke in 3:10 Towers, and the darkspawn erupted in the central lands of Thedas in greater numbers than ever before.[1]

In 3:25, the combined armies of the Grey Wardens, Tevinter and Orlais met in Hunter Fell and destroyed Toth in one of the bloodiest battles in history.

Archdemon Slayer: Unknown.

Location: Hunter Fell is a city in Nevarra. It is located along the northern shore of the Minanter river, west of Nevarra City.

The Fourth Blight

The Fourth Blight began when the Archdemon Andoral arose in 5:12 Exalted and darkspawn surfaced in the northeast and northwestern regions of Thedas. With only three Wardens left, Garahel flew his griffon into Ayesleigh narrowly avoiding the archers and the Archdemon's attacks before finally driving his blade into a wound at the base of the Archdemon's neck made by the rabid griffons, killing the beast at last.

Archdemon Slayer: Garahel.

Location: Ayesleigh is a city in western Rivain.

The Fifth Blight

(AKA Dragon Age: Origins)

The Fifth Blight occurred in 9:30 Dragon in the nation of Ferelden. The Blight's origins began with the tainting of the Old God Urthemiel during a botched experiment by the Architect to awaken it. In 9:31,[25] the darkspawn horde, led by Urthemiel himself, reached Denerim and attacked before the reinforcements from Redcliffe could arrive.

A small team led by the Warden assaulted the fortress and, despite the efforts of the darkspawn garrison to protect it, Urthemiel was slain. The Fifth Blight had ended before most of Thedas knew it had begun.

Archdemon Slayer: The Hero of Ferelden

Location: Denerim, Ferelden

Remember,

Mythal is the Big Bad.

[Please be advised that this is wild conjecture with little to no evidence to back it up]

Let’s say, that Yavana (or Flemeth or Yavana-predecessor) was around for all previous blights; the Archemon Deaths are all in Northern Thedas. She went around to all the blight-battles where the archdemon was slain, and somehow recovered their Blue-Dragon-Navi-Soul. 

And is housing them (protecting them?). In Dragons? In Orbs? In something else? Maybe they’re bound to an Item, maybe they’re possessing a Body.

Now you might be thinking, OP, how are the Archdemon-Dragon-Bodies getting there? How can the Evanuris control the Blight? How did the blight escape Solas’ Veil-Super-Max? You’re making a lot of wild jumps and leaps.

And I am.

But I bid you read this.

Let me Summarize:

If your Inquisitor drinks from Mythal’s Well of Sorrows, they hear a bunch of weird, garbled audio. One of those “unintelligible whispers,” is “Mythal speaks the calling.”

What’s the Calling again?

All Grey Wardens who do not fall in battle eventually fall to something known as the Calling, a magic that preys upon our own connection to the Blight and the darkspawn. Rather than such foul magic eventually leading to my death, I have determined to find a way to negate this Calling and save all Wardens from its effects.” ―Hero of Ferelden

The Calling is how the Evanuris control the Blight.  

And Mythal is the one who speaks it.

Mythal orchestrated the downfall of her peers, who were gathering power and threatening her own rule, and stole their power (Dragon-Souls) for herself. Solas was a scapegoat the whole time.

Do you agree with me? Do you disagree? Did I get something in the lore wrong? Let me know, lets talk about it! (Please, no Veilguard spoilers, TYSM).

We Will Find Out If Im Right in... 38 hours and 13 minutes.

Dareth Shiral, Dirthalen.

[fluma]

here's new pic of Yahvanna another tolkien inspired neopet on mine!

follow my IG too!

instagram.com/flumanog

[noa-de-cajou]

Yavana belongs to @thal-ent

_________

There’s something kinda mind blowing about standing in the bathroom of a church, a pharmacy paper bag in hand, with your best friend tapping his foot nervously and your best friend’s girlfriend staring at you with complete and utter confusion. What a life we live.

“So… Um… Why are we here?” Yavana asks, hesitantly.

“Because this is the only place I can do this. No way I'm doing this at uni, or at home, or at Bazyli's.”

“Do what?”

Urgh. I hate this.

“My period’s two weeks late, there’s no way I'm taking a test at home or at uni or at Bazyli's, and you're the only people I can bring along.”

They gawk. I expected no less. Bazyli raises a hand, dumbfounded, clearly trying to process everything I just blabbered.

“Wait. Wait. Hold on. So you chose… a church of all places?”

“I’m not doing this in a public bathroom, I have standards.”

He raises a doubtful eyebrow. Hey, sure, I've done other things in public bathrooms that were not meant to be done in public bathrooms, but that doesn't mean I can just… Urgh.

“So what you’re saying is… you might be pregnant,” Yavana articulates slowly, squinting in disbelief.

No shit, what do you think a late period means-

No. This is Yavana. And I’m already intruding at her workplace for something less than catholic.

“Yeah.”

I'm not sure if I want to know. But I kinda have to, don’t I?

“And what do you need us for?”

“Support.”

Bazyli scratches the back of his neck.

“So we just stand outside the door while you pee?”

“Mostly. Is that too much for you? Do you need a chair and little biscuits? Tea maybe?”

Dammit. I shouldn’t behave like that. He could have just walked out and left by now, but he hasn't, and here I am being a bitch. I just don’t want them to see how sweaty my palms are or that I'm holding my crutch way too tight.

“Nah, we can do that. Yav, are you okay with it?”

“Um, sure. I just never took a pregnancy test before, so I'm not sure if I'll be of much help.”

“Don't worry about that. Bronya, have you taken a test before?”

“Yeah. Once.”

In high school. Negative. And I took a morning after pill a bunch of times. Still remember the face of some pharmacists, how they looked at my tattoos and my clothes, the judgement in their gaze when they realized how young I was, too young to be such a whore.

Mom doesn't even know half of it. It's probably for the better.

“Okay. Want me to read the notice for you?”

“I’m not five, I’ll read it myself, thank you very much.”

I pause. Come on, Bronya. He’s being considerate here, not condescending.

“But thanks. For asking.”

His expression goes from troubled to straight-up worried. Great. That’s what I get for thanking people once every blue moon, I guess. I don’t know how to face that kind of eyes so I just go into the toilet with the test and lock the door.

“You drank enough today, I hope! Otherwise you won't have enough piss to tell!” Bazyli shouts from behind the door.

Oh for fuck’s sake.

“Yes, I have! God, could you be more embarassing?!”

“Easily. Want me to demonstrate?”

“Bazy, aren’t you being a little-”

“Don’t worry, Yav, she loves me.”

I do, that's probably the worst part. Anyways, pants off, I guess. And then squat above the toilet like a true slav. Ha, ha. More like shaking like a true motherfucker.

“... Could you guys talk to me? About, like, anything. I need a distraction.”

“Sure! So, who’s the father?”

… What else was I expecting from him, exactly?

“I don't know.”

And it’s true. I don't know. How ironic. There was a time I could fuck ten different people in the same month and never had a single pregnancy scare, and now… now I'm in a relationship with two men and technically they could both be the father. And I have no idea how they’d react. Shit. Is this a pipeline? The slut to polyamorous pipeline?

“You don't- oh my god that means you fucked them without protection. Both of them. Girl. One of your boyfriends’ a volunteer at Planned Parenthood and you didn't use condoms??”

I’m going to kill that fucker. I’m going to kill him because he’s actually doing exactly what I asked, making me angry about something so I don’t think too hard about the little plastic stick in my hand.

“Both our tests came back clean, I'm on the pill, am I allowed to have a latex-free dick in me once in a while or is that too much to ask??”

There's a snort behind the door, followed by a little oh no, sorry, and I snicker. At least Yavana thinks I'm funny.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a big girl, but still-”

“Stop talking to me like you've always taken your damn pill on time, Zielinska, I will fucking end you.”

“You know I've stopped taking it!”

“Did Zuza scold you?” Yavana asks with an amused voice.

“Nah. She just asked if I wanted an IUD. I'm still thinking about it.”

“I should have gotten one,” I mumble.

Or should I have? I don’t know. I’ve always wanted a kid, but…

“Bronya! Did you pee yourself laughing yet?”

… Well I sure as hell did now, you bastard. And he heard me laugh too, because he starts cackling harder. Even Yavana can barely contain herself.

“I’m always your guy if you need to pee on pregnancy tests!”

“Oh my god, s-stop-”

“You're the worst, Bazyli,” I say, but I sound too grateful.

I put my pants back on and I wait as Bazyli keeps spouting random bullshit to keep me distracted. It quickly becomes background noise. There’s too many thoughts in there.

I’m twenty-two, going on twenty-three. I have to work retail to make ends meet and I still live at my mom’s. I’m finally close to getting this godforsaken law degree she wanted me to have so much. She's always told me about how having a kid too young can just fuck up your whole life, and she'd know. I’m disabled and it’s hard to move around on my own. Can you imagine with a kid?

And more importantly, I don’t know what kind of face Milosz and Louis would make, if they knew. They both have their whole future ahead of them. Hell, so do I, I still want to be a tattoo artist. I can't just-

“Hey, Bronya? It should be done by now.”

Yeah. It should be.

His voice is too gentle. It’s grating.

Let's get this over with.

I take the stick.

…

“Bronya?”

Two lines.

Two fucking blue lines.

I start laughing. I don't know why. I sound fucking hysterical.

From behind the door, Bazyli clears his throat.

“I guess that means no smoke breaks for you anymore, huh.”

I nearly fall against the sink in laughter. Fuck, this is actually hilarious. It shouldn’t be.

My mom is going to fucking kill me.

My boyfriends might actually be mad.

I’m ruining my life. This is terrible news. This should be terrible news.

So then, why can’t I stop smiling?

[amaryllis-sagitta]

Why is Hades 2 Nemesis accidentally designed with physical resemblance to Flemeth and her daughters. Pls I am seething in themes and patterns

[sluttyquarantinetheory]

Yavana really just went pussy out to rescue Maric huh

[anneapocalypse]

Addendum to clarify, because I realized after the fact that I confused a lot of people with this: the daughter of Flemeth I referred to who was preserving dragons from extinction was not Morrigan but Yavana, who appears in the graphic novel The Silent Grove, and who definitely inherited her fashion sense from her mom.

"lol isn't it funny how there are hardly any dragons in the dragon age games! and how dragons are barely relevant to the story lol" Anyway isn't it funny how the true importance of dragons in Dragon Age has been such a slow-burn concept despite the final boss of the first game being a dragon? One of the most important recurring NPCs in the series transforms into a dragon and is associated with dragon imagery. The big repeated world-ravaging catastrophes are led by corrupted dragons. These dragons and said catastrophes are connected to at least three of the world's major religions. The current age was named the "Dragon Age" because of the resurgence of dragons after they were thought to be extinct. A daughter of the aforementioned recurring character is revealed to have been deliberately breeding dragons to bring them back, and tells us that "the blood of dragons is the blood of the world." A major character from ancient times finds the idea of all the old god dragons being killed really upsetting and hasn't told us why. We found out in the last game that dragons have an unusual resistance to that world-ravaging catastrophe. There are only a couple old god dragons left. Dragons aren't always in the foreground of the story, but they're always there, they've always been there, in the background or just offscreen, hiding, sleeping, deep under the surface, waiting.

[mass-effect-galaxy]

I probably won't make it out of Act 1 ever again if I don't stop making constantly new characters. Well, at least this time I was excused by patch 6 killing my monk PT.

I anyway wanted to try a sorcerer. Before, I considered them inferior to wizards because they could not learn new spells from scrolls on the fly. And while they do indeed have access to fewer spells, they can wield the ones they know with much more power, thanks to their Metamagic. Becoming an elemental adept and specializing in a certain type of spells definitely pays off for a sorcerer.

This character was inspired by Dragon Age's Yavana. Not sure if draconic tieflings can exist at all. This would be a human who did it with a fiend and then their child did it with a dragon. Or something like that. To each their own...

She at least considers herself a descendent of Tiamat, which would make her somewhat divine. Anyone who stands in her way, or messes with tieflings, will feel her draconic wrath.

Shadowheart's Sharran underwear, or any clothing based on it, is perfect for tieflings BTW because it is cut low where the tail is. I hate it that there in most cases their tail simply clips through the clothes.

[zazikels]

this game will literally tell you anything except acknowledge the thing that started morrigan's reputation. she's had more lovers than there are trees in the forest but she's NOT A HERO OF THE FIFTH BLIGHT OR ANYTHING.

[cosmic-walkers]

crazy au i had is what if maeglin goes to gondlin, figures out he doesn't like it, dips goes back to nan elmoth and claims it as his own but he makes it an elven realm for all elves to hide and live in (he also allows humans and dwarves).

and then what if after the destruction of dortiath, he allows the survivors in nan elmoth, without knowing the silmaril is there , but he still lets them stay. if he knew the silmaril was there, he would've tried to destroy it out of fear.

also in this au, idril actually leaves with him and stays in nan elmoth becaws as you know, they are close friends in my au. celebrimbor also follows them.

anyway, the sons of feanor come for the silmaril and that actually spices things up.

[elluvians]

I was thinking the same thing but it was definitely Claudia Black's voice. Unless she's voicing Yavana instead of Morrigan. OR there's something more going on because her eyes didn't look too yellow to me nvm they both have yellow eyes, ignore this part 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

All I'm saying is. Maybe it's not Morrigan. Maybe it's Yavana. maybe.

(It's probably Morrigan but a guy can hope.)

[thal-ent]

Zuza and Abramelin belong to @soupedepates , Anya, Sigi, Klara and Jakub to @corneille-but-not-the-author , Hanko and Nikolaj/Kolya to @noa-de-cajou and Irena to my sibling

Her lips are soft. So so so soft, against mines, and I have to thank our surprise audience for stopping me from thinking about it too much. I send a look to Jakub, a look we both know isn't real annoyance. But my traitorous mind keeps coming back to the lips of my friend, the girl that I call my friend, the woman I love to see being happy with her husband.

Her husband is just as red as her, and I find it just as cute on him as it is on her. But Hanko is not Anya, and I do not like him like I like her. They're my friends, they're my family, they're people I want to keep with me. And I never though I would like to kiss Anya.

Not just Anya, another girl all together.

I'm no idiot, I helped my own sister get with her wife but, for me ? To like girls as well ? I only thought about Jakub, my husband, to ever consider it.

Jan too, my mind unhelpfully reminds me as I slowly braid my hair for bed. Hanko as well, when our minds are linked and we know everything about each other.

**

I stay against my friend, looking at her son walking in front of us. We're slower than him, as she supports my back and my belly is rounder than it has ever been. I dont hate it, but I'm scared. Jakub and I agreed on names, for our child, I'm sure it's a girl, Zuza is pregnant too and she tells me I'm doing fine. But I'm scared, and I think Anya knows it, stays with me to reassure me.

I dont think about her lips, anymore, the feeling became normal after the thousand's one on stage, for a scene or another. I envy Hanko sometimes, to be the one to get her real kisses, but I envy her as well for getting Hanko's kisses. I think I love him, but it's not important to know what love I have for him, I think.

Anya talks joyfully, lets me think when I want to be silent. She's a ray of sunshine, I could see that when I first met her in the Fort that became the World Tree's roots. I think I like her, in a different way. I don't want to think about what kind of like I have for her, I just want to enjoy the feeling of her comforting me when I cry and wonder if I'll be a better mother than I am a sister.

**

Talmarys is running around, training her little sister along with her on the farm their aunts' own. Irena is talking to me about how she doesn't understand how I could have wanted two brats. I know she loves the girls, loves to hold her nieces in her arms too. Klara isn't home, gone hunting with Sigi. So the rest of us are looking after the kids, trying to stop the oldests from taking their youngest sister into their idiotic shenanigans.

Iekaterina is barely three, with her small legs and long hair. Unlike Kolya she dislikes having it braided, but that means the young changelin is being very quiet on my knees. Anya is running behind Abramelin, Zuza is too old for this now or so she says. Irena leaves my side and grabs with ease Talmarys, the little girl kicking in the strong arms of my sister. I laughs, and before I can get my other daughter, she runs into the arms of Hanko, who probably came out of the house to ask something to Irena.

He lets her get in his arms, talks softly to her. I've known I love him. I've kissed him, more than once, because we both wanted to, we also did more together. I think he likes Jakub like how I like Anya, and he knows about it too. He walks toward us, and smiles softly while talking to our daughter.

Our daughter ?

I secure Nikolaj's braid as I realize what I though. It's true that, in a way, all of the kids of the troupe are ours, to all of us.

But I think I want a kid with Hanko.

[thal-chandra]

Some soft doodles.... Save OCs..... OCs save me.... ( @corneille-but-not-the-author asked for some flowers and then some couples/duos being close so here they are. Anya, Jakub, Kaizarz and Ahelm belong to her !)

[noa-de-cajou]

Day 5 : Scar worship

Yavana belongs to @thal-ent

_____

It took a long time before Yavana let me see her scars.

It was just the forearms, at first. Then the shoulders, the neck, and finally her back.

Burn marks, old but severe, they must have hurt for a long time before they finally healed. The skin is redder here, wrinkled, deformed.

Is it ugly?

No. It's not.

It might not be beautiful in itself. But it's part of one of the most beautiful person I've ever seen, and it's part of what makes me love her. Just like how a lone star is beautiful because it’s part of the sky. “It’s just a tiny star, it wouldn't change much if it disappeared”, it would. Each star is needed for the sky to exist after all, just like each burn on Yavana’s skin magnifies her tenfold. I don't know how to explain it better.

They're surprisingly pleasant to the touch, the scars. I was scared Yavana would feel pain at first, but the fire burned her skin almost to the nerves. I can't describe what it felt like the first time. I just remember that I cried.

Because these are the remnants of the cruelty the Inquisition and the humans inflicted upon her, a testament to their hatred, the curse she has to bear, just as horrifying as the Mark of the Beast.

And yet her eyes are gentle, her voice is kind, her hands on mine soft and cold. They were cruel and she remained kind, when it was a miracle she even remained at all.

That's what made me cry. The courage it must have taken to see and feel those scars every day and to choose to not be the one who would inflict that pain, as soon as the choice was given. Because I know she didn't always have it. Those hands have hurt others. But when they had the choice, they held. When they had the choice, they healed. They soothed.

Yavana, you may not believe it, but you are kind.

Even with a scar this huge, a pain this agonizing, they couldn’t kill you. They couldn’t mold you. The deformed flesh is proof of your resistance. I feel no disgust, no urge to take my lips off them whatsoever. They give me the same warmth as the smoother parts of your body.

How couldn’t I love them?

She looked back at me the first time she saw my own body naked. Her fingers threaded softly, hesitantly on the dark and red scars slithering upon my skin like veins. She smiled, and said they looked like constellations. Long arrays of painful little stars.

I cried again.

How couldn’t I love her?

[hungee-boy]

saw the screenshot of morrigan before watching the trailer and ngl gang at first i totally thought it was yavana.