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Alternative first meeting between Lucanis and Rook

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Sheryl Chee (Harding's writer) on the state of things

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This is the fucking funniest exchange in the entire game. This is peak fight banter. I cannot believe Lucanis actually says this during the final run through Minrathous

King shit right here. Absolute king shit

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You know what I would love to see in Veilguard when we're visiting Minrathous?

Remember those magical hologram theaters??

Massive old libraries filled with juicy Tevinter lore??

And gorgeous public baths???

*heart eyes*

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Veilguard is all about the Blight, and yet I don't think anyone says the word Taint even once. Because of woke.

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"this is my time to shine" - Illario

happy new year everyone!! 💖✨

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Just a thought I had while replaying this fight & choosing to not imprison Illario...

What if Caterina didn't promote Lucanis to First Talon during this conversation after the fight?

Illario knows Caterina won't show him mercy the way Lucanis seems intent on doing. He went too far with trying to get Lucanis killed and then trying to usurp Caterina's position as First Talon.

He knows it won't matter what Lucanis wants to do. Caterina holds the power to decide his fate.

So... What if, instead of giving Lucanis that choice, Caterina decides what to do about Illario? Because she wants it known that House Dellamorte is still capable of holding the position of First Talon, even after Illario has taken such drastic actions to try and usurp her position.

Although, let's face it, in terms of Crows, Illario's actions aren't that misaligned from what Crows have been known for. Lucanis even says later on that Caterina would be proud of Illario for trying to get rid of her.

The funny thing is, Illario is what Caterina expects Lucanis to be. Cold. Manipulative. Someone who clearly doesn't let his heart and attachment to people get in the way of doing something. Someone who wants the power of being First Talon.

Now Caterina has to face the fact her favorite grandson is willing to let Illario just walk away like nothing happened. No, she's not going to stand for that. If anything, she's less mad at Illario for trying to get rid of her than she is about what he did to Lucanis.

Caterina wouldn't just let him walk away, simply being babysat by the Fifth Talon like Lucanis requests. No, she'd have him imprisoned for an indeterminate amount of time.

Or she'd have him killed. Illario probably expects this to be her decision.

Caterina won't do what Lucanis asks. She won't refuse to imprison Illario because then it would make it seem like she had become soft, that maybe she couldn't handle being First Talon anymore. (And maybe that's why, in game, she promotes Lucanis and lets him make that decision. Because then it's Lucanis showing a hint of forgiveness/compassion towards Illario instead of her.)

In my version of this, Caterina decides that Illario's punishment will be imprisonment. She won't have him killed, but she also won't let his imprisonment be that simple either. She'll find little ways to make his life unbearable from that point on.

Lucanis eventually hears about how Illario is being treated. He'll go to Viago and ask him to help get Illario out of Treviso, maybe even out of Antiva entirely. Viago will, of course, voice his displeasure at being caught in the middle of House Dellamorte drama, but he'll agree to help.

Caterina isn't surprised to find out Illario has somehow managed to "escape" and get out of Treviso. In fact, she knows Lucanis had a hand in it.

It's not until after Illario's disappearance that Caterina decides to step down and name Lucanis as the new First Talon.

Illario hasn't forgotten Rook is the one who spoke up on his behalf, to convince Lucanis not to imprison him even if it wasn't Lucanis's decision to make. (My canon Rook is also a Crow, and in the past, had been one of the few people who ever showed Illario any true kindness. Illario thought she was trying to use that kindness to manipulate him, so he pushed her away.)

He knows the Venatori have overtaken Minrathous after the dragon attack, when Rook chose to help defend Treviso instead. With nowhere else to go, he sets his sights on taking down the Venatori he had sided with not that long ago. When Elgar'nan makes his move... Illario is there to fight alongside Rook, Lucanis, and anyone else willing to stand up against the blighted god.

Illario knows joining the fight doesn't erase what he did, what he would've done had his plan been successful.

Lucanis still struggles with Illario's betrayal. Illario tries to figure out how to move forward, past all the hate and vitriol that drove him to wanting Lucanis dead.

Eventually, they'll reconcile as best as they can. And as First Talon, Lucanis will give Illario permission to return to Treviso should he wish to do so.

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I don't usually make male characters in games, but I have absolutely fallen in love with my Rook for my 2nd run of DATV.

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Illario probably needed a healing potion more for that burn than any of the various bruises he got from Lucanis.

Bonus dialogue from this fight as Lucanis reacts to Illario hitting Rook during battle:

Meanwhile, off to the side, Viago is probably hoping Lucanis follows through on that threat.

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When Davrin is going on about how easily Rook trusts Lucanis and then questions if he should be trusting Solas, and Rook just looks at him like this...

Davrin, please. This poor guy is one second away from going to sit in the corner and just cry because he's overwhelmed and still trying to process the fact he's been thrown into this mess because he interfered with Solas's ritual.

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He did not get punched during my first playthrough, but maybe next time

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"Everyone else does."

A year of enduring unspeakable torture in the Ossuary. A lifetime of abuse and being pushed to do things he didn't want to do.

And suddenly Lucanis finds himself standing before someone who genuinely doesn't want to hurt him, someone who tries to show compassion in face of knowing Lucanis is possessed by a demon.

That is my Rook for my current playthrough. His name is Gunnar. I can share more about him in a separate post if anyone is interested.

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x

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Taash, Lucanis and Emmrich pulling Rook out of Regret Prison (fly cam)

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This scene is honestly one of my favorites in the game.

(Spoilers ahead for the storyline & Lucanis's romance in this clip & under the cut.)

Lucanis falling asleep with his head in Rook's lap shows just how much he's learned to trust her, how much he's now willing to trust Spite.

I'm betting Spite was probably begging Lucanis to go to sleep so he could finally have a turn to talk to Rook. Lucanis, though, doesn't want to fall asleep because he doesn't want to miss a moment with her, not after what happened.

I've seen it mentioned somewhere that Bellara says Rook was gone for weeks, but there doesn't seem to be a definite answer on how long exactly. General consensus is 3-4 weeks from what I've read from others who've posted about it. There doesn't seem to be any explanation either as to how the team got Rook back.

Lucanis had to have been hit hard in the wake of what happened. He was finally beginning to trust someone enough to admit he loved them and in an instant, Rook was taken from him. He probably also thinks about missing that first shot against Ghilan'nain and how, if he'd succeeded, then maybe things wouldn't have gone so terribly wrong, maybe some of the ones they lost would still be alive.

My headcanon is that at some point, Lucanis absolutely spiraled after about the first week. Spite probably struggled to understand why Rook wasn't around anymore and why Lucanis wasn't trying to find her.

None of my gaming friends have played this game & my best friends aren't gamers. So, my options were either share my thoughts here or just go scream into the void.

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Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!

And to those that don't celebrate it - I do hope you still had a wonderful day!

Photo from 2021 of my RDO character during a festive Call To Arms session. I didn't have any recent photos because I haven't played RDO in quite a while.

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Something I noticed while doing The Cobbled Swan Case quest earlier - As the blood magic's hold on Makal Damas fades, Lucanis is very obviously reacting to what just happened.

The way Neve holds her hand up in his direction and acknowledges his reaction.... Lucanis looks momentarily shaken here, which I found both interesting and heartbreaking.

Edited to add: This is my first playthrough. I've been made aware that other companions will have the same reaction/facial expressions here. It's just more poignant to me if it's Lucanis who's been brought along on this mission.