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starlightfaltershere · 9 months

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Casian Race

Note! As in the previous two, some of what I’ve got below is subject to some change as I’ve just came back to looking over the origins of the world and all and feel like it may be due for a rework of sorts, but this is what I’ve got for the time being!

The Casian (Kay’shun), is one of several races inhabiting the world of Circa Specturgia. Casians are, breaking the fourth wall for a moment, the settings equivalent to our humans, with some minor changes.

The terms “human” and “humanity, and all connected words (“humane,” “humanize”) still exist, however these refer to all of the races of the setting, “humanity” being the concept of all humanoid races, or in the spiritual sense, the psychological traits and behaviors that unite all the races in spite of cultural and behavioral differences.

For example, while the kindness shown by a Casian and a Vælan would be different, due to how they view interpersonal relationships, the act of showing kindness itself is a very human trait.

The existing of these words prove the interracial unity that all races still have for each other, a deep and profound understanding and belief that they came from the same origin, phrases like “You’re only human” rather than “You’re only X”. “The human condition.” “The human experience.”

While each race always has great cultural differences, beauties, and uniquenesses, and can speak of these, they can also (but not only) speak of a universal experience, which all others can understand and connect to.

With those notes out of the way, onto the details!

Biology

Some general traits of the Casians are:

Several general traits identical to us humans, diversity of skin color, hair color, both types, height and weight, having settled all over the globe!

An omnivorous diet, though some may chose different balances, which, so long as the body gets the required nutrients, the body is able to adapt to and live off of!

Casians have one of the most resilient biologies of all races in terms of both physiology, immune resistance, and other traits, having a sort of intercultural stereotype for being tough as nails, in the sense of their willpower, and the body to back that up.

One trait that Casians have that differ them significantly from us are their varied eye colors, mostly in shades ranging from pale to vibrant! From sky blue to lapis, mint green to emerald, milk teas to fresh brewed amber earl grey, shades of reds, and oranges, yellows being far less common, although possible! Purples, however, only exist due to crosses with Jihn.

An odd trait that is unique to Casians among all the races is their inexplicable capability to find things never experienced before familiar. This can even stretch to being able to sometimes “remember” things that have not yet happened, and in even rarer cases act upon the “memory,” though it is known that this is not a consciously controlled occurrence. Some captains have written about “remembering” a particular crash of lightning that happened before they ran into the rocks, and turning the rudder just in time, or a swordsman suddenly anticipating the next move of his enemy before they had even met eyes. Most often though, it happens randomly, familiarity of a place, or simple events. This is referred to as deja vu.

The name, Casians, originates from the olden Casia, the name for the Lavenda plant. Since ancient times, Casians knew of the plants properties, often times planting it all over, along with crops, and being known to carry if on their person. Lavenda was deeply ingrained in their cultures, and so they came to be know as the Casians.

Many Casians have freckles, most subtle showing themselves once exposed to more sunlight, some prominent.

History and Culture

Unlike the Væla, Casians do not have a uniform history or culture from which all modern Casian cultures branch. In fact, some cultures have a different name for Casians, such as the Jihn, with a word translated to approximately mean patchwork used affectionately for Casians.

Not only did Casian culture greatly drawn on the unique space in which it arose, but they would also adopt parts of culture that belonged to those they spent time with, learning about it. When this wasn’t scorned by those to whom which it belonged, when Casians were invited to join in practices and traditions, they would often times also take them up! This is one reason why Casian societies which evolved in close proximities with those of Jihn especially evolved similarities and even formed single cultures, considering Jihn sociability!

Aside from Jihn, Casians have societies all over the globe, in very varied and unique groups to one another, with greatly varying cultures, usually shared or ingrained with the cultures of other races living in the same region or country! Of course, very rarely do they have such societies with Væla, with their treasuring of solitude and closed-off culture, or with Vestarii for their unique lifestyles…

However, it’s known that of all the races, Casians form some of the best diplomats, being often greatly empathetic and being able to read others extraordinarily well. They possess an odd understanding of others, being able to read subtleties in a persons mood regardless of their race, to some being unerring while to others a calming friend, someone to whom you may be honest, and who reacts to you well.

Casians are one of the most widespread races across Istra, and the one with the lost varied culture, integrated into a great number of modern societies, and possessing a great curiosity and fascination for the world.

That’s about all I have on them for now. All of this could be technically skipped over and simply replaced with the sentence: “Casians are just Istran Humans”, but nonetheless I enjoyed writing it out and giving it some proper thought! ✨

Any idea which post/topic I should do a post on next…? I’m curious to hear what y’all would be interested in!

Taglist for Circa Specturgia ✨ @bloodlessheirbyjacques @athenswrites @magefaery @muddshadow @awritingcaitlin @agrimedena-drax @pinespittinink @tryingtimi @jessica-writes22 @the-void-writes @queensummer @aesa Let me know if you’d like to be added/removed! ✨

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starlightfaltershere · 9 months

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Dragon age inquisition is fun and games until you realise that some of the content in the game is absolutely mental.

You hear the struggles of a gay man in Dorian. And how acceptance is still a far reaching concept even for parents, let alone society. I bawled my eyes out when he said "I'm never what you wanted". He was the only son and imagine thinking that you weren't what your parents hoped you would be just because you preferred men.

You hear about the struggles of trans people in Krem. Jesus fucking Christ, I have literally no words for this. When he tells us that how his father accepted (in contrast to Dorian's unaccepting father), I think I tore up a little. He shares with you how good it felt to be pretending to be a man when he was little. And God, this character will always have my heart. And can't forget Bull's "THEY ARE REAL MEN. JUST LIKE YOU ARE." 😭❤️

You learn about the struggles of drug addiction in Cullen. There are no words to say that I haven't already said or thought about Cullen. But this quest is titled "perseverance" and jfc, if that's not Cullen's whole character in a nutshell. A character so driven to service and helping that he marked his body permanently forever to achieve it. And then to change your views, to overcome and maintain a clear head while this drug is always on the back of your mind and your dreams are just terrible because of the lack of it.... I don't know how Cullen stands up and does his job every day for the entirety of inquisition. And please, please, don't give him lyrium. He looks broken when he takes it again and I've only seen that frame once in my life and I honestly can't watch it again.

You hear about the minutiae of being real in Cole. I have even less to say about Cole. The concept of spirit/human is a bit fast and loose in Da inquisition than it is in previous titles. But the cornerstone is forgiveness or letting go. You can't relate to Cole but you can relate to these choices. And it's fascinating to see Cole as a human, doing human things, making friends, falling for the bard in the tavern. And even better is his spirit quest line, which I personally like because Cole seems happier after it. And it produces good dialogues between him and varric and solas.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg really. You hear so much stuff about love and life and doing the right thing or wanting to do the right thing and it's just one the reasons that even after a decade later, this game remains so popularly talked about.

Bioware really did god's work in this game. ❤️

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starlightfaltershere · 10 months

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About narratives: the story of Sarcean, Anharion and the Collar.

Ok soooooo I finished Dark Heir and I have THOUGHTS.

This could be my delusional mind speaking BUT I firmly believe that the whole thing about the Collar and the relationship between Sarcy and Anharion depicted in the story written and established by the winners (the Lady's faction) and Gauthier is far from the truth and a lot more complex and fascinating.

More ramblings under the cut!

Putting all the hints given in DH aside for the moment (I will discuss them later) for me the biggest red flag about these narratives is the way Anharion is depicted in both.

This is a little twisted but it’s something I’ve been thinking about since DR, so let me elaborate.

In DR, the Stewards DON’T know about the Collar. James himself admits that he found out about it from Sinclair, and so the Stewards are convinced that James/Anharion had willingly betrayed the Lady’s side, becoming willingly Sarcean’s lieutenant and his lover.

Gauthier instead reveals a more twisted version of the story.

It’s clear that the two narratives are in contradiction with each other: the one told by the Lady’s faction and echoed throughout the centuries among the Stewards doesn’t include the knowledge of the Collar, and it entirely blames Anharion for his deeds and his betrayal; Gauthier’s version instead, serving for the readers as an introduction to the existence of the Collar, specifies that Anharion didn’t have any agency.

So, which version is the true one? Neither of them, because both, as it often happens in history, took the truth, and twisted it to serve its own purpose.

Let’s start with the narrative ‘written’ by the Lady.

My biggest doubt about it is why the f*ck it seems that A LOT of people outside the Hall know about the Collar. Gauthier knows about it because his ancestor was the one who stole it, but Sinclair? Let’s hypothesize that he knew about it from Kettering. Kettering knows about it because he is a Returner, so someone who was THERE, in the Old World. It’s not a stretch then to theorize that the existence of the Collar and its power was somehow known in the past.

And in DH, the presence of the chain attached to the throne in the Sun Court, where EVERYONE could see it, hypothetically ( and I underline this because I don’t trust ANYTHING of what we saw in the Undahar for it was the Sun King’s court before Sarcean’s) linked to the Collar around Anharion’s neck, makes me think that the Collar and its power weren’t such a well-kept secret.

So, the whole “the Lady’s side didn’t absolutely know about the Collar” narrative is a bit sketchy at this point. I believe someone knew at some point, so why would they iterate this version of the story, instead of depicting Anharion as a victim and blaming Sarcean for it?

Well, the answer is simple: damnatio memoriae. The version of the story known at this point had been written by the Lady’s faction, so of course her enemies are painted in the worst light possible. Anharion’s memory is, in my opinion, even more tainted by this narrative than Sarcean’s one; we don’t even know his true name. It didn’t matter that he could have had reasons for his actions: he went against the "good side" and chose the dark, the end.

This narrative is not interested in reporting the truth. Its purpose is to celebrate the Lady as a Saint figure and vilify her opponents, disregarding their reasons, their feelings, their insight of the events entirely.

So, it’s not so difficult to believe that underneath all the twists and the lies, in this version of the story there is a grain of truth; that, in a way, Anharion did betray willingly the Lady. Maybe he understood that the so righteous Lady was, in fact, not that pure and good. Maybe, at the culmination of the fight, he somehow hesitated to kill Sarcean, because he was a human being, not just a cold hearted betrayer. All factors that would of course be excluded from this narrative, for they would expose the Lady’s true face.

At this point this is all but speculations, but one thing is certain, and this takes us to the second point: it’s canon that Anharion had feelings for Sarcy. Before the Collar.

I would not call it ‘undying love’ at this point of the story, but the affection is there. Palpable, visible, corporeal in glances and words. This is, like, a HUGE revelation.

Because this proves that the narrative told by Gauthier is not the truth either!

While I believe that the Collar has some kind of power (I’ll explain this too), in the Gauthier’s version of the story, it’s clear that the emphasis on the submitting part of this power comes from the desire to possess Anharion, from the (false) conviction passed on for generations that whoever put it around his neck would master him. I suspect it consumed not only Gauthier himself, but also every member of his family who owned the Collar before him.

In the end both narratives, pushing for their own agenda, give an insight on the relationship between Sarcean and Anharion not only false but also humiliating for Anharion, for he is depicted as a selfish, cold hearted betrayer where his own agency is totally dismissed (and not even mentioned) in one, and a plaything slave of the Collar in the other.

The truth is far more complex than this, of course, and the one million dollar question about it is then: how much influence did have the Collar on the true nature of their relationship?

In these days I have read a lot of theories about this. One of my favourites is the one depicting the Collar as a mere object of fashion without any power and Anharion not only conscious but also willing the whole time and the fact that this may be hinted in the text makes me feel unhinged (if this is true, you will hear me screaming about it for years)

In my opinion, and I will believe this until I read the third book, the Collar has some kind of power on James/Anharion but not in the way it has been described so far. This is but a mere speculation for the moment, but maybe this power leans more on binding Anharion’s magic to Sarcean’s than controlling his free will or feelings. (this bit in DH is soooo interesting!!!)

I’m convinced that the Collar cannot create something that is not there and that underneath its power, it’s clear that Anharion had conflicted feelings for Sarcean, he always had, because James REMEMBERS feeling this even with the Collar:

This means those conflicted feelings are still there and are not magically morphed by the Collar into pure and simple obedience and that whatever Anharion felt was real, whatever James feels is real, contradictions and all.

We still know so little about this two at this point, and since Pacat really loves plot twists, I believe that their real story will come out in the end and that Will and James will achieve what their past selves couldn’t had, unravelling the conflicts and the misunderstandings between them, and conquering the freedom they search in each other’s arms to be just Will and James.

I had fun writing this, please feel free to give me your opinion on this!

(PS. I think I needed to specify that this whole rambling is focused on Anharion’s feelings. What about Sarcy? I believe his feelings were a deadly cocktail of desire, affection, possessiveness, admiration and horny thoughts, like the disaster babygirl he was, thanks for your attention)

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starlightfaltershere · 11 months

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I loved my friend.

He went away from me.

There's nothing more to say.

The poem ends,

Soft as it began-

I loved my friend.

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starlightfaltershere · 11 months

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collection of posts for a very specific dynamic

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starlightfaltershere · 11 months

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back and even bulkier with another powerpoint! i opted for spreading the information out in a hopefully engaging way over limiting the number of slides. the circle is a BIG, big topic, with such focus over the course of the games, so if i didn't cover anything useful, you want to know anything more specific, or equally if i made a mistake and missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know ily!!

transcript below the cut! my eternal thanks to @bisexualcommandershepard for providing one for the previous powerpoint and in doing so reminding me to get my act together, you have my sword

zevsurana’s guide to the circle of magi

can’t tell your circles from your chantries from your colleges from your conclaves? boy, do i have the powerpoint for you!

hit me with the basics

under the law of the orlesian chantry, every mage is required to join the circle

a mage who does not join the circle, or escapes one, is labelled an apostate, a crime punishable by death or tranquillity

tranquillity is the process by which mages are branded on the forehead, robbing them of their emotions and magic

at the end of their apprenticeship, each mage is taken without warning to their harrowing. they must choose between being sent into the fade for a dangerous test against possession, or tranquillity.

it is illegal to make harrowed mages tranquil, but they are still required to live under the circle’s supervision

depending on which text you believe, there are 14 or 15 circles under orlais’ chantry.

[this slide is accompanied by an image of a map of thedas. there are small markers spread across the map on 12 locations, mostly in orlais and the free marches, but included everywhere except tevinter and seheron.]

these are the known locations!

i didn’t include starkhaven’s, which was destroyed in a fire at the start of da2, or jainen’s, which is mentioned in an online game but as another circle in ferelden makes the dao plot make no sense. i suppose that would have gotten us up to 14 but i’m not doing it. cope

hierarchy of the circle

there are six ranks:

the grand enchanter is the mages’ direct representative to the divine. in our time, this is grand enchanter fiona, who famously stated “fuck the divine”

the first enchanter leads each circle. theoretically, their permission is needed for a mage to leave the tower, for a harrowing, and for a mage to be made tranquil. in practice, their actual power depends hugely on their political skill and their corresponding knight-commander

the senior enchanters are the most experienced mages in a circle, and advise the first enchanter, who will select one of them as their successor

those who have gained the rank of enchanter (also known as junior enchanters) are now expected to mentor apprentices

the simple rank of mage designates those who have passed their harrowing. an inhabitant of the circle fully capable of magic might say “i’m not a mage, just an apprentice”

the apprentices are children and young adults who have not yet completed their harrowing

outside of this hierarchy are the tranquil. they instead belong to the ‘formari’, who perform enchantment and sell enchanted items to produce the circle’s wealth

(it’s really important to me that you know the different ranks usually have different coloured robes to mark them out. i can’t explain that all here because it varies from circle to circle and we don’t have all the data but i think that’s so fun that i have to point it out even though it makes this slide super crowded i hate it i’m sorry)

politics of the circle: what are those first enchanters even doing?

an ideal first enchanter should govern their circle as a quasi-parental figure who can protect their mages while maintaining an uneasy balance and accord with the templars

they are also an administrator managing their circle’s finances

a weak or unskilled first enchanter can spell doom for their circle just as much as one at odds with their knight-commander

the college of magi is a council of all first enchanters

the college regularly meets in cumberland, nevarra, to discuss circle policy and elect the grand enchanter from among them

politics of the circle: what’s this about frat boys?

once a mage achieves the rank of enchanter, they may join a political fraternity

choose your fighter:

the largest fraternity, the aequitarians, are centrists

the loyalists are chantry bootlickers

the libertarians seek greater power and independence for the circle. the resolutionists are an even more radical group that emerged from them

the isolationists wish mages to withdraw from society completely

the lucrosians prioritise the accumulation of wealth and influence

the aequitarians maintained an alliance with the loyalists until the final vote to rebel, when wynne’s son rhys, asked to represent the aequitarians by first enchanter irving, voted with the libertarians

that was a lot of politics.

let’s take a breather because we haven’t even gotten to history yet oh boy

[this slide is accompanied by two pieces of dragon age concept art of white-haired mage women casting spells. one is an older human white woman who may be wynne, dressed in ornate robes and casting purple magic with a casually imperious gesture. the other is the concept art for warden surana, an angry-looking young elven white woman with a palm full of icy magic.]

hot circle mage concept art break. of course you have white hair and [caps lock begins] one thousand points lightning damage-- [caps lock ends]

but where do circles come from, i hear you cry

well, when two semi-circles love each other very much,

the year is 1:20 divine, and our questionable hero is kordillus drakon…

the circles had existed long before this, of course, in a very different form: elite tevinter academic societies

but right now, the south is in chaos. the first inquisition’s reign is coming to a close. the second blight is fifteen years underway with no sign of stopping any time soon, and will rage until 1:95 divine

kordillus drakon, the very first emperor of orlais, has a budding empire and a budding chantry that look like they might die in the cradle… unless he can continue enlisting mages against the darkspawn

we may wish to take a moment to register that kordillus drakon apparently looked like this. Sure.

[this slide is accompanied by concept art of kordillus drakon. he is blond white man in vaguely iron age dress, with an interesting hair cut including bangs, a high half ponytail and a very large moustache. he wears a swamp-green cloak and a black fur pelt over a green and white striped tunic, with a hand-axe slung through his belt, and crossed garters over whatever combination boots and pants he's wearing, which seems to be one singular garment.]

the solution to drakon's problem?

the nevarran accord

“what do video game enjoyers love? fantasy historical treaties? yeah, probably” – bioware, constantly

and they’re right unless you’re a joyless hater

the nevarran accord was agreed between the newly formed chantry and the original inquisition in 1:20 divine

the people of the south feared magic, but they also wanted to be able to use its power against great threats like the darkspawn

in one move, the circle of magi, the seekers of truth, and the templar order were created

some mages considered the circle a refuge in a world full of terror. to others, it was a prison

but this is dragon age, so maker forbid we would only be told one version of events

there is also a codex entry called ‘history of the circle’

it describes the mages of the divine age as chafing under being allowed to do little more than light candles and lamps for the chantry… as if there wasn’t a fucking blight going on

in protest, mages snuffed out the eternal flame in the grand cathedral at val royeaux, and barricaded themselves in the choir loft. divine ambrosia ii attempted to call an exalted march on her own cathedral, but even her templars discouraged her

shouted negotiations were conducted for 21 days before the mages “went cheerily into exile” in a remote fortress, separated from society into the circle for “the first time”

nerd's note:

personally, i would understand this as the circle as an organisation being created with the accord in 1:20 divine, and the mages being relegated to this lesser role after the greatest battles against the darkspawn, with the establishment of circle of magi towers after the protest. there’s no date of events on this codex, but since it mentions templars, it has to have been post-accord.

i would also take this account with a grain of salt in-world, as it was written by sister petrine, a controversial writer to the chantry, but nonetheless a chantry scholar.

this has been a lot of chatter about mages. but there’s an elephant in the room, and it’s looking at us suspiciously…

the circle and the templar order

the circle does supposedly have nominal independence from the chantry…

Knight-Commander Greagoir: I promised you aid, but with the Circle restored, my duty is to watch the mages. They are free to help you, however. Warden: I thought the templars were in charge of the Circle. Knight-Commander Greagoir: The templars guard and advise, but the first enchanter has the last word in what happens in the Circle.

...

Warden: Won’t the Circle of Magi do what the Chantry says? Alistair: Technically the Circle of Magi is independent. We don’t know that the Chantry won’t support us, of course. Morrigan: You truly believe that? Alistair: If we speak to the First Enchanter, he should see that his responsibility to the Grey Wardens supersedes anything the Chantry or even Teyrn Loghain might have to say about it.

… but since when has power ever gone where it’s supposed to?

as world of thedas volume 1 explains, “Although the Circle is supposed to be autonomous, a heavy Templar presence in all Circle towers has effectively made the organisation an arm of the Chantry for ages.”

a first enchanter can quickly lose all the power they allegedly hold

even in the best of times with a skilful, well-intentioned first enchanter, templars reserve the right to send mages to the dungeons, to take away their children, to kill any who leave the circle, etc. as a matter of course

grand clerics reserve the right to grant the right of annulment

generally, the system is maintained by a mutual interest in avoiding open conflict

the templars are the ones in power with the chantry’s full support. if they drive the mages to open conflict, their comfortable routine is uprooted

templars are equipped to hunt down individual mages, even blood mages and abominations

templars are not equipped to be outnumbered or face even numbers. mages are simply far more powerful in a fair fight than they are. lyrium can only do so much

...

mages, meanwhile, operate under the not entirely unfounded belief that the outside world is entirely hostile to them

at least if they remain, they can keep an uneasy balance in which most mages survive, their existence tolerated by the chantry. they can continue studying among their own kind in the only home they know

if they openly rebel, they may throw aside what limited protections and goodwill they have. mages like wynne outright state certainty that if they rebel, “genocide” will follow

furthermore, those mages with more status have more access to privilege. they’re also the ones who have best passed the chantry’s tests. thus, those in a position to lead are least inclined to rebel

you only rebel against the circle because you think less of your children are going to die starting a war than they are in here.

and, uh, on that cheery note… any questions from the class?

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