#and the FORESHADOWING BANTER between anders and justice

[inquisimer]

all up in my DA awakening feels once again

[allisondraste]

Betrayals, Vengeance, and Curses, Oh My!

It is a frigidly cold day, classes were cancelled, as well as any appointments in the clinic, so I have time to sit down and write up A Theory on which I have been noodling for weeks.  Sit back, buckle up, and keep your arms and legs and any other appendages inside the ride at all times, because I’m not the most efficient at lore meta, but I’m going to give it a good college try.

When I first played DA:O back in 2009 when I was but a mere 14-year-old child, I immediately got Big Bad Vibes from Flemeth.  They were the kind of vibes that I got from the evil queens in fairy tales.  I thought, “She is definitely more evil than she looks.  Need to watch out!” Then…

Nothing happened.  A Blight came, I killed Flemeth for Morrigan, only for her to reappear in DA2 with a cryptic message for Hawke & and Co., and then again in DA:I to take back the Old God Soul from Kieran (if it exists), to torment Morrigan, and to have some interesting Dialogue with Solas after the credits.  She was in The Stolen Throne, too,  from the very beginning “nudging” history in a direction.  Still, she always seemed to be behind the scenes, her motives unclear and her actions confusing.  We were distracted with darkspawn and archdemons, mages and templars, rebellion, breaches, red lyrium, Coryphenutz, and the Dread Wolf himself Mr. Fen’Harel.  

After seeing a thread of tweets discussing Flemeth’s “true nature,” as it is described in the RPG Sourcebook Faces of Thedas, as well as reading Morrigan’s banter with Solas regarding Mythal,  I was reminded of my initial feelings about her and my disparate shards of a theory began to fall into place, and here it is.

The Nature of Mythal

Conversations between Morrigan and Solas in the Temple of Mythal reveal to us that like spirits, Mythal’s nature is/was dual.  She is Justice, protective and fierce, but she is also Vengeance, brutal and merciless.  Solas reveals that most people who prayed to Mythal did so seeking out vengeance against those who wronged them.  “She is both and she is neither,” he explains.  Solas also shows some ambivalence toward Mythal, wavering between adoration and fear from one breath to the next.  It seems as if Mythal had a dark side, and that it is terrifying.

Mythal was killed by her own people.  “The best” of the Evanuris was destroyed, leading to the fall of the people.  Solas states that the Evanuris do not die so easily, and we certainly see Mythal pop up several times, so what is actually meant by “death?”  I believe that “death” in this context is the death of the aspect of Mythal that served as protector.  Justice disappeared and the once motherly woman be was consumed with Vengeance toward those who betrayed her.  How did she enact this revenge?  Stay tuned, because I will answer that very question.

The Possession of Flemeth

It is no secret that possession by a spirit of Justice/Vengeance can lead to some pretty serious repercussions, as the spirit’s purpose is affected by the feelings of the mortal it inhabits.  We watch Anders’ passion and anger toward the institution that oppressed him turn Justice into a stubborn, powerful force that will stop at nothing to see its ends met.  Anders, who just wanted freedom from the Circle and its Templars becomes consumed with the need to exact revenge instead.  

What then, if one were not only to be possessed by a spirit of Justice, but a powerful ancient elven mage who embodied those same characteristics?  We know that in her sorrow, Flemeth cried out for help and was answered by a wisp of Mythal.  Moved by the mortal woman, Mythal takes her form, and carries on vengeful, spiteful, and completely unstoppable in her mission, whatever that might be.

The Faces of Thedas conveys Flemeth as a master manipulator who is easily provoked into drastic, disastrous actions.  She is incredibly powerful and unable to be killed by anything less than someone of equal or greater power (sounds kind of like slaying an archdemon, doesn’t it?).  In other words,  she is immortal, invincible and Void bent on seeing those who betrayed her suffer.

Zathrian, Witherfang, The Lady of the Forest, and ...Foreshadowing? 

I am sure everyone here is familiar with Zathrian and his werewolf afflicted clan of elves.  Zathrian was forced to watch as a band of human men tortured and killed his children.  Filled with sorrow and fury, he summoned a spirit and bound it to the body of a wolf, which he then set upon the humans, causing them to become werewolves.  Even after 500 years, his anger and need for vengeance remain.  

The Lady of the Forest serves as a source of wisdom and calm that holds back the savage nature of the beast and Witherfang.  The spirit was pleased to be given consciousness and form by her maker, yet she did not relish in her duty to eternally punish these humans for the crimes of their ancestors.  She took no joy in watching them suffer, and began to reach out to Zathrian in an attempt to convince him to end the curse.  She is willing to die so that the curse will be lifted, but Zathrian refuses to submit until he is brought to his knees and given with no other option.

He lifts the curse, which kills him and destroys the spirit.

The Connection

In Trespasser, Spirit! Cole has several banters where he implies that Solas was a spirit of wisdom who never wanted a physical form, and never wanted to fight, but was asked to do so by Mythal.  He became bound to this identity of the Dread Wolf that struck fear into the hearts of his enemies.  But is the Dread Wolf simply an identity, or is it more than that?

In a lot of the murals we see depicting Fen’Harel, we see a corrupted dark creature with glowing red eyes that seems to call us back to imagery of corruption, red lyrium, and the Blight.  In some of the images, Solas seems to be one and the same with the wolf, and in others (such as the one from the new trailer) he seems to be in opposition to it.  

What if Solas, like the Lady of the Forest was summoned and bound to a curse that would serve to punish those who betrayed his summoner?  What if he is responsible for unleashing the Blight, but also the only barrier against it?  What if he has finally realized that in order to save his people who are now suffering needlessly, he must amass enough power to stand against Mythal and defeat her.  Like the Lady of the Forest, he is prepared to end his own life to save people who are paying a price for crimes they did not commit?

What Does This Mean?

Ultimately, if this theory is true, it means pain, and a lot of it.  It would seem that in order to stop Mythal’s vengeance, Solas would have to gain enough power to be her equal, and then kill her, absorbing her soul so that it can be destroyed instead of hopping into Morrigan or perhaps another who drank from the Vir Abelasan. Perhaps the WellDrinker will have to die, too, in order for the curse to be ended. Ultimately there are a lot more questions that arise because of this, and I know that there are definitely some major holes in the theory, but I cannot seem to shake it.  I think that Mythal, Solas, and the Blight are all connected in some way, and that perhaps it is a motif we have seen before in Zathrian’s story, in Flemeth’s story, and even further back in Andraste’s story even.  

I believe that the big evil force is and has always been Flemythal.  Her betrayal and murder by the Evanuris created a great, evil, and nearly unstoppable force.  I’m looking forward to learning the truth, to see how it compares with what I have hypothesized.

[ladyherenya]

Books read in April

Holidays are an ideal time to find oneself with a pile of library books to read. The downside to having gone away with a pile of books is having too many books to write about afterwards.

I also reviewed the short stories I listened to: “Intro to Prom” and “Semiramis” by Genevieve Valentine, “The Shipmaker” by Aliette de Bodard and “When We Were Starless” by Simone Heller.

Favourite cover: Stand in the Sky!

Reread: Once again, didn’t get to the book I’d planned to reread.

Still reading: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee.

Next up: Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYa Anthology. A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein. Maybe Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear.

(Longer reviews and ratings are on LibraryThing. And also Dreamwidth.)

Pride by Ibi Zoboi (narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo): Seventeen year old Zuri Benitez is proud of her family, her Haitian-Dominican heritage and the community of her Brooklyn neighbourhood. She’s unimpressed by changes like gentrification or the wealthy Darcy family moving in across the street. This contemporary YA remix twists the events of P&P fit Zuri’s context, allowing the story explore cultural identity, class and dealing with change, and for Zuri’s relationship with Darius makes sense for 21st century teenagers. It’s a cute teen romance but most powerful as a love-letter to Zuri’s hood. The audiobook brought it to life even more vividly.

Stand on the Sky by Erin Bow: Achingly beautiful. It kept making me tear up because while it’s only sometimes sad -- while this is a hopeful and joyous story -- it captures twelve year old Aisulu’s emotions so intensely. When her older brother is taken to hospital, Aisulu is left behind with their herds and relatives and throws herself into raising an eaglet. A fascinating insight into nomadic Kazakhs living in Mongolia and into the challenges and the rewards of eagle-hunting. I love the prose, sense of place and characters; I love Aisulu’s relationships and the way this is her story -- her journey.

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser: Caro has grown up on the river with her father, a wherryman and a smuggler. She’s offered her first job in exchange for her father’s freedom -- to deliver a crate, unopened, to Valonikos. But when she opens the crate, its occupant has other ideas about their destination. This YA fantasy shines the strongest in the skills and knowledge Caro has about sailing and about river life. I enjoyed the rest, but some things happened a bit too quickly for me to feel invested.

Undying by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: I wasn’t very enthusiastic about Unearthed but this sequel was a lot of fun to read. High-stakes and satisfying. There’s escaping and travelling across Europe incognito and trying to save the world. And it got to build upon what had previously been established, so there’s more nuance and it all felt more believable. After reading these authors’ other books, I was confident that everything would turn out okay. I’d have liked the ending more if the authors had surprised me and there had been a higher cost -- but this is a YA novel and teenage-me certainly wouldn’t have wanted that.

Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein (narrated by Kelly Marie Tran): I didn’t find The Last Jedi very satisfying but I’m a fan of Elizabeth Wein, so I listened to this story about a mission that Rose, her sister Paige and the rest of Cobalt Squadron are involved with. Knowing that the Tico sisters survive lessened the tension somewhat, but I liked getting to know them better. (I also know that Wein is capable of writing more complex and harrowing stories but that’s not what this one is aiming for.) The audiobook includes Star Wars music and sound effects. I’d love to see music and sound effects used in more audiobooks.

A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro: Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson are attending an Oxford summer program before they start university. Charlotte is asked to investigate a mystery involving the drama society. It’s a quieter mystery than the preceding ones but I am not going to complain about that. I’m happy to read about mysteries at Oxford! Towards the end Charlotte makes a decision which I thought needed to be foreshadowed better and then the epilogue rushed over some things, and I wasn’t totally satisfied. I also found Charlotte’s references to things like “fall”, even though she’s living back in the UK, jarring. Minor-ish quibbles?

The True Queen by Zen Cho: The companion to Sorcerer to the Crown. This took a while to hook me, but once the story got underway, I enjoyed guessing where it was all headed. It is a delightfully diverse Regency fantasy, with some satisfying twists. If I have any quibbles, it’s that I wanted a better resolution for something -- and maybe also just more of the ending? I don’t quite know... I didn’t spend much time analysing my reaction and it was now over half a dozen books ago.

Scorch Dragons by Amie Kaufman: In the sequel to Ice Wolves, 12 year old Anders and his twin sister find themselves on different sides of the conflict between wolves and dragons, but they work together with their friends to prevent a second war. The riddle-solving and questing for a hidden objects reminded me of Deltora Quest, which I enjoyed when I was Anders’ age. A very satisfying sort of adventure.

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss (narrated by Kate Reading): In the sequel to The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Mary Jekyll and Justine Frankenstein set off for Europe to rescue Lucinda Van Helsing at the request of Mary’s former governess, Mina Murray, and receive help and hospitality from people like Irene Adler and Carmilla. I particularly enjoyed the Athena Club’s interjections and digressions in the narrative, and interactions with each other. They make a great team. Kate Reading does a great job with all the voices and accents, which made the story all the more engaging. Even at 1.5 speed (due to 20+ hours of audiobook to get through!) it was easy to keep track of who was speaking.

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie: I liked it! It’s engaging, intriguing and doing some surprisingly-similar things to Ancillary Justice (which I loved), such as: a first-person narrator who neither human nor omnipotent but has greater awareness and abilities; an interesting use of pronouns -- Eolo’s actions are described in the second-person; and a story about the past eventually collides with the story about the present. I completely missed that this is ALSO themes and variations on Hamlet. That might explain why I found the ending incredibly satisfying for the first-person narrator but I was expecting something more from -- for? -- Eolo.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black: I borrowed this because it has a delightful map by Kathleen Jennings, it’s a finalist for the Lodestar Award, and I liked the last book I read by Black. It’s an interesting exploration of what it means to love terrible things, with a clear-sighted awareness of their flaws, but I spent most of the story thinking “I hate faeries” and wishing Jude could escape them. Then the plot did its thing, and I had to admit that this is a successful piece of storytelling, if still not quite my thing.

The Austen Playbook by Lucy Parker: Parker’s fourth romance about actors from the West End -- in which Freddy accepts the role of Lydia Bennet in The Austen Playbook, a televised, audience-interactive murder mystery theatre production -- is a lot of fun. Having an interesting setting and plot outside of the romance definitely enhances my enjoyment of the story. This had Jane Austen and Harry Potter references, rehearsal tensions, important family relationships, a mystery involving a (fictional) play, banter, and a lively actress and a grumpy theatre critic who are honest with each other.

The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta: This is about Jimmy Hailler (from Saving Francesca), now in his mid 20s. But it is equally about Rosie, who meets Jimmy in a Queensland town during a flood, Rosie’s stepmother Martha and the house built by Seb, Rosie’s late-father. It’s a powerfully moving story about grief, friendship and finding family. It’s shorter than Marchetta’s more-recent novels and I finished it feeling oddly disappointed, like it needed to be longer. Then I reread the book the following day, and reconsidered. I’d like more, certainly, but it is a satisfying story as it is.

From Clarkesworld Magazine, narrated by Kate Baker:

“Intro to Prom” by Genevieve Valentine (Issue 133): About four teenagers for whom prom is like a game they play, a way to pass the time. It is intriguing but bleak.

“Semiramis” by Genevieve Valentine (Issue 57): This is Valentine-ishly bleak and yet satisfyingly so? 

The worst thing about being a sleeper embedded somewhere long-term was that inevitably, eventually, you started to care. The worst thing about being embedded long-term as an administrator at the Svalbard Seed Vault was that when you inevitably started to care, you started to care about things like proper political geo-temperate arrangement of seeds, and there was just no one else in their right mind who was going to care about that with you.

“The Shipmaker” by Aliette de Bodard (Issue 124): Set in the same universe as The Tea Master and the Detective. It is intriguing but sad, and I wonder if I’d appreciate it more if I read more of de Bodard’s stories and understood the context better.

“When We Were Starless” by Simone Heller (Issue 145): This has been nominated for the Hugo for Best Novelette and I can see why! It’s a hopeful story about survival, questioning what society teaches and finding a way to a better future. There’s also an AI with feelings.

Once, I might have felt out of place, an unwelcome disturbance. But I had left my fear of ghosts behind like an old skin a long time ago, and what I had found instead was the unforeseen, and sometimes pure beauty.