#Lavellan is over there talking to Harding

[hauntedgarden95]

“I thought I was lucky, not having to be a Grey Warden the way my brother was and again when the world exploded in Kirkwall and I was miles away.”

“You regret joining the Inquisiton?”

Raven shakes her head, giving Rook a tired look, “No. I do not regret it. Helping stop Corypheus is not something I’ll ever regret. Same with helping defeat the blight.”

“I sense a ‘but’ there.”

Raven gives them a sad smile, “But I did not know that each time I help, I’d lose a love.”

[corseque]

I honestly just wanted one single plot step that I could not predict given the 10 year wait. More behind the cut, I talk about Emet too, and I'm comparing his writing favorably to Solas' writing and why it worked better for me personally, but I am just talking about the writing skill that went into the games and not the dudes themselves, I love them both dearly of course. idk this is a mess and I am not going to edit it for clarity

For me, the game was a series of me saying

"ok I knew that. cool."

"oh yeah, I knew that. I guess it's good that the larger fandom knows about that now."

"nice, but yeah I already knew that too"

"that was something we've been talking about a lot for years"

"this thing they are acting like is a huge enormous reveal that the characters could not possibly have deduced through simply thinking about it in depth over the 10 years... the fans easily figured out by thinking about it in depth 10 years ago. So you would think his girlfriend would be able to figure it out more easily than we did. Like, why couldn't the game have been like 'oh lavellan already figured that out a while ago' it would have cost them nothing"

"this is something I've been thinking about for years, and now that it's being revealed, the companions' reactions to it are very irritating and jarring and unnecessary and I really dislike the experience I'm having right now, in this, the hour of my greatest triumph"

"this thing that is happening on my screen right now is something that I wrote an essay about 2 years ago describing how it would be a letdown if it happened without the correct setup"

"this way that they're characterizing Solas makes him less likable and less interesting than I have been finding him for all these years, and I have had people tell me 'no, he's simpler than you think' for years but I guess I was wrong, he really is simpler than I thought, so that fucking sucks. I wish I could take that information out of my brain."

"this thing is a retcon of information I have been thinking about for 10 years, and so I don't know how to follow along with this new direction, and I'm not sure if I even want to because it's not particularly interesting anyway"

"aw that was sweet"

"why is it like, so very impossible to have an honest back-and-forth with my favorite character about the dilemma that was most interesting to me about the previous game"

and then, as soon as, like, the other fans had caught up to the Solas lore that was really obvious from the other games, the game was.... over without anything surprising happening, or introducing a new element or plot point or perspective, or a real true twist (or two, or three) for those of us who have thought about it too hard for too long. It was very simple and easy, much, much, much, much easier than I was imagining. It all felt sort of like that Nicholson quote:

The thing was, the whole story was so interesting to think about because in 10 years, I couldn't figure out a good solution to it!!!!! It's why I was never able to write post-game fanfic about it. So I was stoked to find out some reveal we never knew about, some new information, in maybe a SERIES of steps of new information, that made the situation more complicated but also something that could be navigated by everyone involved. I know it was asking for a lot, but they had TEN YEARS, and they seemingly had set up the things they did in DAI on purpose, so surely they had some idea of a complex and satisfying narrative that would reconcile everyone.

The reason why I was expecting this is because FFXIV did a very similar story arc, which was started AND concluded WITHIN those 10 years (so it took the FFXIV team far less time to deliver as well). And the conclusion to the story in FFXIV did what I was expecting Dragon Age to do. So I thought, "holy shit, if this is the FFXIV version of this plot, how much more complicated is DA4 going to be!?!?" The DA devs also PLAYED FFXIV so they were completely aware, several years ago, of a satisfying story ending that was pretty darn similar.

People are probably going to think "oh, well Chelsea was disappointed because she spent too much time building it up in her head" but that's exactly it - I actually speculated and thought about FFXIV's story IN DEPTH NONSTOP for a year+ before its ending came out, and the ending absolutely blew me away. FFXIV Endwalker managed to introduce information and new story elements that I was not able to figure out in the YEAR I spent speculating on the ending of FFXIV's story. It took a complicated situation and revealed several several more facets to it that I was not able to predict, but were very interesting and thematically compelling, and took us all to surprising and climactic places that we could not have predicted.

Endwalker ("end" is in the title on purpose) too, was written to be THE ULTIMATE SATISFYING ENDING for a very long-running story in the exactly way that Veilguard SHOULD HAVE for Dragon Age, so while this complexity is being explored, FFXIV also gave catharsis to many different plot threads that have been built up through the previous expansions, until finally it ends with a bang. The story is desperately good to me, I loved it, it gave me closure for Dragon Age long before Veilguard was even revealed, and going back and looking at its story has made this whole thing far less painful for me.

So, I actually did not have a picture in my mind for how things SHOULD go. I just had the thought "I hope it's complicated and there are points of view or facts that we haven't before been exposed to, and the situation is resolved respectfully for Solas, not making him look like a fucking idiot (lol, the only thing I asked for). I don't even care what happens to Solas and Lavellan, I just need the story to be complicated and interesting to think about. Please, god, don't let it be "solas is wrong and he just needs to be convinced" because that's like the simplest story you could tell with this setup"

(btw they managed to tell Emet-Selch's story without making him seem like he's being an idiot on purpose or can never get anything right, and in fact the more the story goes on, the more you think of him as smart and capable and cool, so it is possible to write.... I wasn't asking for the entire moon)

And I played it and... yeah. Most of the story beats were more simple than I wanted them to be, a lot of them didn't make sense in my heart given the writing from Inquisition. (This is another essay, but if Solas' thematic story arc was always about him needing to let go of regrets, why was his personal quest the way it was? After that quest, doesn't he end up regretting not doing more....? Why did he never really talk about regret during Inquisition? If he was so trapped by regret, why was he able to do so many actions? It doesn't mesh well to me. The whole regret thing was very quarter-baked to me, I don't even like thinking about it.) His story never seemed like one that was as simple as being about one man's regrets, but then, I guess, it was always just about one man's regrets.

Emet-Selch's personal storyline (and the way it interacts with and affects the larger story) is very similar but much more cohesive and satisfying to me. It would be difficult to explain why without the aforementioned 5-hour essay. Emet-Selch's story IS about grief and anguish on a world-shaping scale in a similar way that Solas' was apparently always about letting go of regret, but Emet's story was also very pointedly and beautifully about that one theme for the entirety of his story from every tiny detail, from beginning to end - meanwhile, it seemed to me that they tried to introduce 'regret' as the main thrust of Solas' story only in the short story with the Regret demon onward.

From Inquisition just by itself, the closest I personally could get to a story theme for Solas was his inability to trust others hurting him and the world, but his trusting others in DA4 wasn't really addressed to my satisfaction. He is never required to trust anyone before the ending, he never opens up or makes himself vulnerable at all. People find out information about him, he never really dynamically opens himself. So the personal story I thought he had was never addressed at all, while a new one about regret was introduced that never made a ton of sense to me. And I don't think this is just because of my expectations - my reaction to FFXIV proves that I am able to meet good writing where it goes in surprising directions, as long as it's interesting and thoughtful and clear.

And I think this might be part of what people felt was off about the ending - Solas is sort of uninvolved in the revelations that are about him, and doesn't do much to be part of his own ending. Part of what I loved about Solas in Inquisition is that he is not controlled by you in any way, and so he feels like his own person with a very strong sense of character.

Anyway, Emet-Selch, in a very comparable and arguably more extreme plot position, is very involved in the revelations about himself, he always feels like a very strong character who cannot be affected by the player, and the whole situation is handled with deft emotion and care and delicacy. The story is comparatively very uninterested in litigating Emet-Selch or putting him on trial - the story allows you to simply feel the way that you feel in an organic way, and Emet's story spends that energy instead actually exploring his thematic material about grief and legacy, and the larger story theme of existentialism instead, in a way that is very refreshing and interesting. I've seen a lot of western stories tie themselves in knots over "redemption" and frankly it's almost never been interesting at all. Who cares about any of that. lol

(Now, I guess this is a matter of preference, because some people really like being able to shape a character's story, but idk I rewatched the ending of FFXIV and even though there wasn't a choice with Emet, because it isn't a branching story, his story felt more satisfying to me, maybe because there isn't a patronizing choice to be made for him. He is who he is, and he fulfills a very beautiful narrative role and purpose that no other character could in the story.)

I don't know how this could have been improved to me and still allowed players to choose Solas' ending for him, but I can actually think of a few different methods, none of which involve Rook condescendingly and patronizingly lecturing Solas as if Solas had never thought about a single aspect of this horrible situation he's in before that very moment that Rook lectures him lmfao.

All this to say... idk I'm writing this and I am not going back to edit it so it's stream-of-consciousness. But yeah

I just wanted the story to be complicated on a few more levels than I could have predicted. I genuinely don't care what happened, but I thought of a few twists like the Veil coming down and yeah, I was expecting A Single Twist or reveal to happen. In a Dragon Age game.

I wanted Solas to seem cool and capable and noble and smart, and actually feel like he was as old and experienced as he is.

I wanted a clear theme I could sink my teeth into

Like notice I didn't even say anything about Solavellan. Like I never in 100 years thought they were getting a happy ending where they were both alive in bodies, and I like that we got that, but I would honestly trade it for a more complicated story. To me, if a story is sad you can always write fanfic, but if a story isn't COMPLICATED, that's a much more urgent issue.

These 3 things DA4 didn't give me in a way that satisfied me but FFXIV did. anyway idk the way my hyperfixations work, I completely switch to a new subject so talking about Dragon Age is actually hard for me right now.

[medlilove]

↓↓DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED VEILGUARD + Click for full res.

Harding’s mother knew her daughter's work had taken her far and wide, and she had connected with many different people. But never did she ever imagined so many would come.

It was a stunning sight. In robes and armour, in scarlet and blue and gold and green, they had journeyed across all of Thedas to their sleepy little hamlet. They had filled the humble inns and the surrounding fields, full of spring heather, transformed into colourful campsites. They had come, with gold jewellery and shining armour, they had come with holes in their shoes and worn-out leathers, they had come and sat side by side. To honour her sacrifice and celebrate her memory. She had seen then how her daughter had known the whole world, and in return, the whole world had loved her—the hero of the final blight, the hero from Ferelden.

(click for a lot more detail) ↓

Her home away from home—the Veilguard—had arrived first and stayed the longest, some had helped set up, others had gone about fixing old roofs, helping the farmers repair their equipment, planting gardens, bringing ingredients from all over and cooking large meals, and talking to her and her husband about all Lace had done.

Then more and more started arriving, celebrated for three days and three nights. Many Harding’s mother had not known at all—Tevinter civilians, assassins from Antiva, fortune seekers, and seers from Rivain. There had been Elves with beautiful, delicate tattoos from far-off northern forests, Grey Wardens in uniforms so different from what she had known, Dwarves dressed in peculiar garb who had not stayed long, and Nevarran scholars with dark jewellery, black robes, and warm, generous dispositions.

And old friends too.

Commander Cullen, Lily Trevelyan, and their young family had brought fruit and fruit seeds from their small farm in the valley over.The Iron Bull—the tallest Qunari Harding’s mother had ever seen, and the kindest and most respectful—he and his Chargers had brought crates of honey mead, before starting up a game of sport with the village children. Soon after, they had been joined by Sera, Lace’s fellow archer, who had offered to let each child try out her bow. Watched by Dorian, who had soon grown bored and returned to the garden to Neve, whom he had walked around and introduced to old friends.

Josephine had arrived late, flushed, and emotional without a hair out of place, but had made up for it by immediately taking charge of herding the crowds this way and that. The Herald, Lavellan, had sat outside in the sun watching her young daughter play in the grass, frail and weakened by what the mark had left—and was still taking. Yet she had spoken to every person who had passed by. Many faces had wandered through to sit beside her and speak. In particular, Lady Cassandra—silver lines of hair mixed with her black—had sat with her the longest. Both had been stricken with the loss and the burden of leadership, a hole in each of their hearts for the knowledge that Harding had died dressed as an Inquisition Scout.

Harding’s mother had never seen the Divine up close, but had heard a great deal about her from Lace. Her strength as a spellsword, quick wit and sharp mind had made her an intimidating idea. Yet, she had come dressed in simple robes—perfectly tailored and beautiful, but simple. With just a cape and a modest headdress. No guards. If you hadn’t known who she was, you would have been forgiven for mistaking her as a high-ranking Circle mage—nothing more. She had arrived with no great entrance, heading immediately to her and her husband. She had sat with them for an hour, as the sun had glistened in a golden afternoon light, before walking with them to the small chantry that sat in the centre of the village. After that, she had gone to old friends, sitting on a wooden bench beneath the cherry tree, speaking with a rugged, rough-looking man with a black beard streaked with grey and looking like he had lived a thousand lifetimes—a complete contrast to her well-kept, elegant appearance.

As the friends and family had gathered for the formal ceremony, Vivienne, had performed the Chantry rites. Afterwards, a few people had taken turns to speak. The Herald, then Rook—their young leader of the Veilguard—before the dragon hunter, tall and stoic, and so young, who had been so blunt and informal it had been almost funny. The days spent in Harding’s home with her mother had softened Taash’s heartbreak just enough.

The Inquisition Spymaster and the Witch of the Wilds had made an odd pairing as they had stood away from the rest, beneath the oak tree on the hill. They had stood so close you might have mistaken them as sisters—or perhaps simply two people who had experienced too much together. Later, as the sun had begun to set, they had been joined by another. A man, around the same age, but his face had been in shadow. He had worn simple travelling robes, and a cloak with his hood up, a strawberry blond beard speckled with silver, and a sword at his side. The three had stood informally in a line looking down at the gathering. Later, in the evening, as guests had begun to wander off for rest, the man—brown eyes, heavy yet still shining—had asked to speak to Harding’s mother and her husband privately, to pay his respects to a “Hero from Ferelden.”

(if there is anyone I forgot to mention, they were also there, what do you think they were doing?) I had this idea for months but could only finish it now. I hate that it feels like it was meant to be harding, the sacrifice.

[the-promise-has-been-made]

Thinking about Solas and Lavellan post Veilguard, alone together in fade prison? hell? Black City? and like yeah we're all giggling because obviously they're fucking. Obviously. A lot. But... there is also ten years of grief and pain between them? Like, Lavellan lost a hand. She mourned a relationship, a love, depending on how you HC it's her first, greatest, only love. Solas had to leave her behind. He nearly breaks every time she's brought up, by his own admission he very nearly gave everything up to be with her. Also, he's done some HORRIBLE stuff. There is A LOT unsaid between them, and not all of it is sunshine and roses. Like once the whiplash from the end of the game wears off, once the wounds are healed, once the honeymoon phase is over, there's going to be some HARD talks to be had. And the only thing that can get them through these talks is to remember that there is no fate greater than their love. Like OOFF there is a lot to unpack with these two and where their relationship will go from here.

[broodwoof]

why veilguard is good for the overall lore of the games:

the cultures that have existed since arlathan era - and those who have come into existence since then - will continue to exist. they aren't going anywhere

-

the dwarves are now privy to vast amounts of their history that have been long buried, and they have the ability to move forward with that information

kal sharok is accessible now, and the dwarves who inhabit it seem open to communication outside of it. it is another in a line of deep complexities in dwarven history, but it is relevant that the dwarves of kal sharok are not a silent memory inscribed in the blood of their forebears and then erased; they are a real, living, breathing people who can stand up for themselves

and through harding - whether she survives or not, frankly - dwarves have discovered a magic that is unique to them. i mean, harding was not the first, valta was, but harding is proof that valta wasn't super-unbelievably-special-and-unique. same with... oh shit. oh no. why did i just forget their names. sorry yall there's a lot i've yet to see for myself in veilguard so i'm unwilling to google stuff but UM the main dwarf in kal sharok you talk to. who i love so much... and his sister! those two!*

*STALGARD!!!

anyway, harding shares the knowledge with them, and so even if the magic does not manifest for them - and it doesn't seem as though it did - then the knowledge, at least, remains regardless of what happens to harding

the dwarves also now understand their unique connection to the blight itself. the tainted, twisted, infuriated blood of their forebears. that is a grim legacy to carry, which is a theme in dragon age: that the past is not glamorous, but just as gritty, as bitter, as cruel as the present... and just as hopeful, as optimistic, as kind, as gentle as the present

-

the qunari/the qun has been shaken to its core. they are, in-world, a unique people with a culture all their own, and a force determined to achieve total victory over the world, complete with conversion

the qun losing a large part of its "body" with the warriors deserting is going to sharply curtail its ability to forcibly convert or invade for a long, long time, thus leaving large areas free of the constant border skirmishes

too, the information that shathann and taash discover about the pre-qun qunari shows a different path for those currently under the qun. and taash is willing to work with the displaced warriors of the qun, those who are willing to set down their weapons and participate in other societies/cultures; it's not an extermination, but it is addressing a very real and persistent threat, especially given the nature of the qun training warriors to just be warriors, and as codices point out in-game, this limits their ability to sustain themselves with anything except constant pillaging

they needed an out. they were following orders, following the chain of command they had been programmed to follow. and taash recognizes enough of this reality to be willing to reach out to them and see if any will choose a different path forward

all these things together make for a great deal of complexity for the future of the qun/the qunari, all without completely exterminating them or destroying their entire culture

-

and the elves. the veil jumpers have been working tirelessly to try and make arlathan forest - a significant part of elven/elvhen history - safe. and they do this out of a passion to provide that safety and security (along with, in many cases, a personal interest in the strange and unfamiliar forms that magic takes in arlathan) and the ability to understand more of their own history, grim though many parts of it are

solas' reveal of the meaning behind the vallaslin clearly did not stay exclusive to lavellan. the elves appear to have discovered this history for themselves (which is! important! it's not solas handing out information from on high; it's their own studies of their own history that led them to this discovery, although certainly lavellan might have spread the word)

through the archive, the theme of the elven people grappling with their history as one of violent conquest and subjugation - their own people, their direct ancestors, very possibly (arguably more likely) among the subjugated rather than the subjugators - and their modern present as a deeply oppressed and threatened people is continued and exemplified

there is no right answer here. the archive is a spirit housed - or trapped - in a 'computer'. it is also an emblematic symbol of the past vying with the present (through bellara). it is a physical object that represents a deep, ontological, theological, historical, political, social, and cultural juxtaposition

-

one of the primary threats to thedas, a threat that we as players have fought against since dao, the blight itself, is now, for the first time, actually able to be managed. this is the primary risk that thedas as a whole faces, and through veilguard and the atonement ending, the core of the blight itself may be addressed and its anger soothed

it is also understood. so, let's set aside solas for the moment. say your rook bound him to the veil instead. the mechanics behind the blight are now known, and solas is not the only dreamer to exist. there are others who can attempt to soothe the rage of the blight, the rage of the tranquilized titans

-

during veilguard, orlais and ferelden took the first steps towards cooperation in decades. that it didn't really work out doesn't mean the steps weren't taken or that they didn't matter. in dai, ferelden and orlais were partly agreed on the fate on the inquisition; that it had grown too powerful, too ungoverned, that it was a standing army beholden to a pseudo-religious, pseudo-political, pseudo-hero-worship group, and that its wanton, unchecked power needed to be checked and hard

they differed in how that power would be checked, of course. but they shared the opinion that it should be. and then in veilguard, they move towards a collaborative approach to dealing with the threats besieging the south

all of this matters, and it paints a picture of moving to slowly - very slowly - heal the deep divide between these two places

-

skyhold is a protected fortress, high in the mountains. without a doubt, supplies remain from the height of the inquisition days, including nonperishable foodstuffs; on top of that, trade routes had already been established once and could be again, even with all the current threats in mind. the people who take refuge in skyhold are not going to starve or be inherently doomed

and even if there was no trade (how? why? everyone wasn't automatically killed in the south), skyhold itself hosts a substantial garden complete with fruit trees, which implies quite a bit about the fertility of the ground there, and there is always game

no, that garden can't support a massive group, but with stored foods, the possibility of trade/already-established-and-known trade routes, game, and whatever goods the people were able to bring, i think it's safe to say that they have a good stockpile during the events of veilguard

the people who take refuge in skyhold are very likely to survive, and an already heavily-fortified area was further reinforced during the inquisition days. in 10 years time, a stone fort would not have rapidly decayed to the point that it has become unrealistically dangerous to settle there

-

with the fucking divine spearheading the abolition movement, and with one of two queer abolitionists now the archon, tevinter is in for a massive progressive reform. both are opposed to blood magic and would curtail its use - and abuse - within the imperium, and although there won't be any overnight changes (because this is a society, albeit a fictional one, and it's not going to change overnight), there would be far less tolerance and i think very quick actions taken towards abolition

and specifically abolition. in-game, there is a codex where dorian storms out of a meeting when it is suggested that they slowly move towards abolition. he's not going to wait. similarly to how leliana acts as divine, his - or maevaris'! - changes are going to be fast and intense

the archon holds a great deal of power. and both mae and dorian hold a lot of individual power as well, with many and varied connections, including, again, to the fucking divine. having the support of the chantry in their reform efforts would go a long way towards convincing the faithful... if not of their goals, at least to not fight them openly

-

veilguard is a game about hope

the veil stayed up and the world didn't end

look, i expected veilfall. i wanted it. i don't blame anyone who is disappointed with its absence. but according to gaider - word of god stuff, take it or leave it - most of the big points of lore were planned out long, long ago, and veilguard apparently stuck to most of them

i struggle to see the veil staying up as incidental, or a last-minute retcon. it makes perfect sense with the lore. bound to the lives of the evanuris, beings who are becoming mortal as each blight is stemmed by killing the archdemon/their dragon thrall, and then the veil steadily losing that which powered it...

the veil going up suddenly was disastrous. i think the veil coming down suddenly, unexpectedly - maybe immediately after the last archdemon has been slain, or maybe many, many years or even decades later, depending on how mortality works for the evanuris - would also be disastrous

and there is a very real possibility that the veil being destroyed in that manner would also unleash the entirety of the blight onto an unsuspecting world

that would be the truly world-ending state of affairs. not the south being under attack. not the warden not getting a cameo in veilguard. not rook saying "okay" too much (they can say "okay" more actually. and should. just to piss yall off)

that is the horrible end that solas is trying so desperately to avoid (which is why i can't see him as a villain, exactly)

and that is the horrible end that rook & co manage to avoid... but not alone! that's the whole fucking point of the game!

they're working with the veil jumpers, magic experts who have trained on weird, veil-warped magic, and a group largely - but not exclusively! - composed of elves, because this is part of their heritage, their home, their history;

with the mourn watch, experts in the fade and its denizens and how said denizens relate to and interact with the physical world (safely! comfortably! without binding!);

with the grey wardens, who are an Obvious powerhouse but also come with masses of information about the blight, about the wardens themselves, about the same complexity and grappling with a sordid history that every other group in thedas has to deal with;

with the crows, which are a huge, sprawling organization that has been in a position of relative power for centuries, with different houses doing things differently, with a political system that, while far from Ideal, is realistic in that similar political systems have actually happened;

with the lords of fortune, a group which is opportunistic, yes, and imperfect, certainly, but also powerful and incredibly flexible, particularly on the seas, which is actually a really important area to have covered when anticipating major battles;

and with the shadow dragons, a group composed of many diverse people - including slaves! they are actually a part of it! although, yes, it would've been nice to have one in an obvious leadership position - who are actively working to improve minrathous by addressing the horrible system of inequity that is so pervasive there

rook & co are getting support from all over thedas. the inquisitor is supporting them from ferelden. they are getting support from antiva, tevinter, rivain, arlathan, the anderfels... from orzammar and kal sharok...

that is how they saved the world. that is where solas failed. i love him, i am staunchly pro-solas, but in his isolated sense of guilty responsibility, he did fail; and it was the rejection of that which allowed rook & co. to succeed, and allowed rook to escape the prison that was binding solas for a large part of the game

thedas' future looks bright. imperfect, yes, but bright, for the first time since dao

how is that anything but hopeful?

(if u read this far. ily.)

[himluv]

I agree with you on the Solavellan ending. I love the angst and tragedy and I'm eating the idea of Solas and Lavellan having a lot to unpack once in the fade. Dramatic confrontations, tears, breakdowns and a slow road to forgiveness,. Delicious food. But I'm really annoyed with a portion of the fandom that seems to just gloss over the fact that Solas killed Varric, someone who was always kind to Lavellan and was even her friend. And even if you don't like Varric personally he is in canon a relatively decent person who tried to reach out to Solas on a compassionate level. Then he used a blood magic puppet of him to manipulate Rook... IDK the way that seems to mean little to nothing to a lot of Solavellans kind of bothers me. I'm not here to tell anyone how they can or can't play but the takes have been so bad. The infantilization, excuses and woobification of our boy are so egregious. Solas is complex and morally gray. Why would we be going through the effort of redeeming him if he wasn't doing things that would require redemption in the first place? I've felt really disconnected from the rest of the fandom because of all of the softening of his character people have been doing and it's refreshing to hear a take from someone who loves Solas but doesn't want to defang him.

Thanks for this thoughtful reply to this post! Sorry this took awhile, but I've been thinking of what I wanted to say. Long and spoiler-riddled reply below, and I don't even know how relevant it is to your reply, Nonny. Sorry!

I think A Lot of folks have spent the last 10 years rotating him in their heads like one throws a clay pot, molding him into something he could be based on what we knew about him. But, we didn't necessarily account for the other forms he could take. And some folks are very resistant to who he's canonically become by Veilguard. Because it's not a good form, he got Worse™ in his decade away from friends and love (shocker!), and it's hard to reconcile this version of him with the ones we may have made.

I get all of that. But I also LOVE that. It means he could still surprise me, and I got to experience this weird duality of love/hate I didn't expect to feel toward him. I got to see his lies in real time, know he was lying because I KNOW HIM, and go, "oh, you little shit (affectionate)". Like, that's just FUN! Which, last time I checked was in fact the point of video games.

I love that he is unpredictable and dangerous in this game. That we finally see him go all out, and use every skill and trick he has. That is THRILLING, especially because he's more dangerous and lethal and ruthless than I personally expected. Which... Is my fault. I should have expected it, because look what he did to Felassan. Look how he so easily killed all those Qunari in Trespasser. Look what he did with those spirits of chaos and disruption. Look what he did to the Titans! I should have known better, the games and books showed me time and again what he was capable of. I just didn't want to believe it.

I've seen some posts talking about how Lavellan approaches Solas at the very last confrontation. How carefully she goes up the stairs towards him. I've seen several interpretations of it, but there's one I haven't seen (which could be because I'm not hanging out in the Solavellan tag much these days).

She takes those stairs slowly, as if approaching a spooked horse, because the last time someone climbed a set of stairs to talk him down from his ritual, he killed them. And I don't think for one second Lavellan believes, if she handles this poorly, he won't do the same to her.

And I think she is 100% right. He would, perhaps on "accident" as he claims to Neve was the case with Varric (debatable - seemed pretty intentional if maybe a bit impulsive from here). But I firmly believe there is a world where Solas would stab his vhenan if he had to and certain conditions hadn't been met (and yes that would utterly destroy him).

She walks up those stairs to him, her vhenan, knowing this is it. Their final stand. She will save him from himself, whatever it takes, and she is prepared to die at his hands if it comes to that. And it so easily COULD HAVE.

I don't know. I just think that Veilguard gave us SO MUCH more insight into Solas and there's so much there to chew on. I think we're going to be able to go back through all the games and codices and so many little details are going to fit together and complete a puzzle we didn't even know we were making.

After all of this, I still have so much to think on 😂. I'm going to be living in Thedas for another decade at this rate!

Good. I don't ever want to leave.

[lillotte17]

The Music Room

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS‼- Do Not Read unless you have completed the Dread Wolf's Regrets quest!!!!

AN: I have not finished the game, so I don't know if this will actually be part of my canon yet, but the world is currently awful and I...needed to be making something. But as I said: I have NOT finished the game yet, so if you leave a comment (pls and thank) do NOT write anything with spoilers in it!!!

Okay, on with the show!

~

Rill finds Inquisitor Lavellan sitting at the harpsichord in the music room. All of the other rooms at the Lighthouse had seemed barren when they had first started using it as their base, and even this one had apparently been used as some sort of storage space -there was an alarming amount of cheese for some reason- but the quiet here feels different in a way that is hard to quantify. Peaceful, as opposed to desolate. The light pouring through the windows is always bright in here. Always warm. The murals on the walls were still vivid when they came. Colorful and new. The most prominent one bears the symbol of the Inquisition flanked by howling wolves.

The woman contemplating it does not look like the fearsome hero who closed a hole in the sky and stopped the southern half of the world from falling into chaos, though. She looks small. And tired. And sad.

Rill clears her throat, feeling awkward.

“So. Not trying to complain or anything, but when you asked to come here, you did say that you could help by giving us insight into Solas’ history and his way of thinking and… Well. You were pretty quiet in there while we watched those memories.”

“I know,” Aili sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry. I’m just… I knew some of it. Bits of things he told me himself. Things I figured out…afterwards. And I knew there would be more. More I didn’t know. He’s thousands of years old, so I knew that the story of his life would be more than what he had told me, but…”

“It’s a lot.” Rill hums in agreement.

“Bit of an understatement,” Aili snorts. Her gaze drifts down, and she runs her fingers over the instrument in front of her. “…I didn’t even know he played.”

“So, tell me what you do know,” Rill says, casually plopping down onto a nearby crate, “It’s probably more helpful than you think.”

“I know… I know that he hates tea.”

“Right. Noted. Probably shouldn’t offer him any of Lucanis’ coffee either, then.” Rill grins, folding her arms across her chest.

“Probably not,” Aili agrees, returning the smile faintly. “He has a sweet tooth, though. He loves books. Loves learning. And teaching, too. He was always happy to share stories about places he had been, or spirits he had talked to. He paints beautifully. And he sketches, too. He doesn’t laugh very often, but when he does, it’s…”

She trails off, her face creased with grief and faint traces of longing.

“I’m sorry.”  She says again.

Rill shakes her head at the apology but gives her a curious look afterwards.

“You said that Solas was important to you; I’m guessing you didn’t mean that you were just really good friends?”

Aili shrugs.

“I thought that we were…something.” She glances around the room again, eyes landing on the mural of the slain dragon and the mourning wolf above it. “Now I’m not sure if even that was true.”

“Is that something he would lie about?” Rill wonders, her eyebrows ticking upwards, “Because that would be some valuable insight. He doesn’t strike me as the sort to use seduction as a manipulation tactic, but he seems comfortable twisting the truth about everything else, so…”

Aili sits for a moment in silence, frowning in consideration before finally shaking her he in the negative.

“It’s… No.” She fumbles briefly. “I know that given���given everything we’ve seen, it might be hard to believe, but… He has a kind heart. Truly. He wants to do the right thing. He believes in justice, and he wants things to be fair. He wants to help people when he sees them suffering. And he blames himself when he can’t. He just…comes to the wrong conclusions, sometimes, and he struggles to ask for help when he needs it. He… There would be no reason to -no point- in lying about his feelings for me. I was already his friend, and I took his advice seriously. He had my ear and my protection. He wouldn’t get anything out of it unless his intention was to be needlessly cruel, and…he’s not like that. He isn’t.”

“Then why were you doubting that you had something?”

“It’s…complicated.” Aili sighs. “It’s about time, I think. Or at least, part of it is. He feels things deeply. Passionately. Even if you can’t tell which words he’s telling you are true, you can always tell when something matters to him. And this place… Mythal is everywhere. In every mural. In every room. Statues. Paintings. Symbols. Everything is about her. For her. Even now. Even after taking Flemeth’s power and essentially killing her himself. His love for her, whatever shape or form it might have had, has colored every aspect of his life since the beginning of the world. And compared to that…”

She taps a single key on the harpsichord, letting out a high clear note.

“Mythal is the All-Mother. The Protecter. The bright and beguiling moon. And I…I am barely a candle flame.”

“You’re the Inquisitor. The Savior of the South. People still call you the ‘Herald of Andraste.’ You disbanded the Inquisition, and still managed to bring enough people together to hold back the darkspawn hordes while I fight the gods up here in the North. I think you might be selling yourself a bit short.” Rill says with a curl of her lips, trying to be kind.

“There will always be heroes, just as there will always be despots. I’m hardly unique in that respect.” Aili replies, striking another key. “A puny mortal striking back at false gods probably reminded him of his own past. His own struggles. Maybe that was it. Maybe there’s even something about me that made him think of Mythal. I don’t know. I don’t know what he saw in me. Or thought he saw. But look around. There are a few Inquisition symbols in this room, but beyond that… There is no trace of me in this place. Nothing he held onto. Nothing he felt was worth keeping.” 

Rill frowns. Fidgeting with her hands. Itching to pull out a blade to play with, but uncertain if the move would been seen as a threat.

“Sorry.” She offers after a few moments of silence. “I try not to talk to him very often, for obvious reasons. It’s still a bit creepy, if I’m being honest. Even if I did, though, I don’t think his romantic life would be something he’d be keen to tell me about.”

“It’s not your fault,” Aili assures her with a smile that does not reach her eyes, “He wasn’t keen to tell me either.”

“The Fade’s a funny place, though,” Rill says, gesturing at their surroundings, “I’m not always sure which bits of the things we’ve found here are from Solas, and which things we brought along ourselves. Lucanis found a book he used to read as a kid. Harding says she can smell her mom’s cooking sometimes. Neve said she can hear the sea when she wakes up in the mornings. Things like that, you know?”

The Inquisitor nods.

“Not surprising, given the nature of this place and the person who built it.” Aili says. “This was a refuge. For spirits and slaves fleeing tyranny. And for Solas himself, too. It wants to be welcoming. It wants you to feel safe.”

“It was different when we got here, though.” Rill tells her. “Bit empty. Bit sad. Lonely, almost.”

“Sounds like Solas,” Aili sighs, something close to exasperated fondness.

“This room though…” Rill sits up straighter, turning her head to glance at the sunlight painting patterns on the already painted walls. “It was always like this. It may be small and tucked away, but it’s honestly one of my favorite places in the Lighthouse. It’s always a little warmer in here. The sun’s always shining through the windows. The quiet in here feels like…comfort. Like home.”

“I feel like you’re trying to lead me somewhere, but I’m not sure where it is,” Aili chuckles.

“Well, you said it yourself, didn’t you?” Rill grins back at her, “This is the only room with Inquisition symbols in it.”

Aili blinks. Makes a face.

“There are also murals of Mythal in here. Because she’s everywhere.”

It is Rill’s turn to sigh.

“Maybe she is. Maybe he couldn’t escape from her. Maybe he never will. What she did. What she made him do. What was done to her. But the library with all his memories of her is big and dark and gloomy. And the statues of her are stiff and aloof and cold. And the little room upstairs he shoved a cot into to sleep is…just depressing, really.”

 She catches the older woman’s gaze. Holds it.

“It’s called the Lighthouse, but the beacon at the top isn’t where the light is. It’s not in some huge memorial room dedicated to Mythal. It’s here. There’s a chair with your seal on it, almost waiting for you to sit and watch him play. There’s the paintings on the walls. There’s… Look, when did this become me telling you about the Dread Wolf’s heart?”

“I have no idea,” Aili laughs in earnest this time.

“Really though, this is a good room. I like to sit and read by the windows in here sometimes. The light in here always makes be think of summer afternoons. The air has a sweetness to it, too. Something flowery. Heather, maybe. Or Lavender.”

Aili starts, her eyes going wide.

“What’s wrong?” Rill asks.

“You said it smells like lavender in here?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“It’s…the soap I use. For my hair. I always have.”

“Well, there you have it!” Rill grins in triumph. “He kept your memory here. Away from his regrets. Somewhere bright and happy. Well…as happy as Solas gets, anyway. Not too bad for a candle flame, eh?”

Aili laughs again.

“Thank you, Rook.”

[baphometsss]

I think it's an interesting that who Solas is when he is focused on his plans vs who he is when he isn't (something which is represented, loosely, as his identity split between Solas/Fen'harel or Wisdom/Pride), is so similar to my own experiences with chronic depression

I had severe untreated depression for 10+ years before I found a medication that worked. In that time I thought that the depressed me was the real me. It was only after the antidepressants kicked in that I started to realise that severely depressed me is not the real me. Emotions and impulses that I hadn't felt since childhood came back. It was overwhelming to realise that the person I thought I was, was really just a heavily dulled version of me, one that was unable to properly fill the space of my personality and inherent nature because I was too sick.

I feel like this is what's going on with Solas in some ways. I'm probably projecting a lot here but there's so much about his romance that makes me keep coming back to this.

I've never been in a relationship so I can't say exactly what I need, but I do know that loving someone with severe depression means being able to accept that the depressed version of them is not the entirety of who they are; its a heavily distorted version. I know that I need people to be forgiving and patient with me when my mood falls off a cliff and I stop talking. Or when I can't get out of bed because of the terror. It's not about being loved in spite of that, or because of it, but with an acceptance that it's a part of me and part of my life. It's just there, like my hair being curly is just there, or me being asthmatic just there. I need it to be accepted as part of me and for the unique emotional needs it presents to be addressed. It's fairly basic but a lot of people struggle to understand that.

What's important is what we choose. I personally think that people underestimate their will a lot, and that who we want to be says a lot more about us than whatever we're born with. Solas wants to be good, he wants to atone. Post-DATV, he can't dwell on his mistakes anymore because his focus is on protecting the world and by his own words, guilt is a distraction.

Yet still, he is a very traumatised person who has just released a burden he's been carrying for millennia. Realistically speaking, he would be emotionally fragile for some time after all that. I try to address this in my fic writing and it's so delicate--someone who is reeling from having his purpose ripped away from him so suddenly, who, even though it was what he dearly wanted all along, long ago resigned himself to never finding peace. To shouldering the burden he and only he should be responsible for. To mourning his friends and spending every day regretting what he did to them for the so-called greater good. Who gave up the only thing he ever wanted for himself, something that he was willing to throw it all away for, in slavish devotion to his duty and because his identity as an individual was long ago subsumed by both that and his trauma. Now suddenly he has the one he actually wants by his side, telling him that they love him for him and wish to walk this uncertain path with him forever. Now he serves another purpose, and adjusting to that purpose and learning how to just be Solas again will take some time.

I think this is partly why the ending, despite its flaws, resonates with me. Lavellan accepts that he is both Fen'harel and Solas, and loves him all the same. They are able to see the fullness of him entirely and they do not judge. In my own fanworks I write a lot about Lavellan's feelings on being expected to pass judgement over and over again when they don't feel at all equipped or entitled to do so. My Lavellan in particular really grapples with her guilt over whether or not she's done the right thing because she never wanted that level of responsibility. I think this is why I find it hard to accept the criticisms that Lavellan is wrong to leave with Solas in spite of what he did to Varric. Lavellan knows that Varric is the last person to seek retribution and that all he wanted was to save Solas from himself, in the way he couldn't save Anders. Leaving with Solas after stopping him is the outcome Varric would've wanted.

Most of all however, it resonates because Solas is free to be himself with Lavellan in a way he couldn't be with literally anyone else. All he wanted was to be free. Lavellan loves him and refuses to judge, because they've done that enough to plenty of people. They do not want to do it to him. It gets read as being passive, but for my Lavellan it's a powerful act of self-preservation. They get to choose what they want to do after so long fulfilling duty after duty, and it's being with the man they love after so long trying to save him and the world. It's in choosing to be with someone who loves them for them, who always saw them for who they truly were when the world was taking everything from them. It's in doing this that they're following Ameridan's advice: to take the good moments where they can, because the world will take everything else. There's nothing pathetic or passive about that.

[thatssolavellan]

Something I always see Solavellans bringing up when they talk about Solas' development over his time with the Inquisition is that he became more flexible, learning about friendship and love. But I always think about how this was also true for Lavellan, at least in my headcanon.

I imagine Ellana being prepared to be the keeper of her clan. Listening over the years to stories about her gods and her past, about Arlathan, about everything that should be passed on by her to the next generations. Being prepared to be a leader, firm but kind. Being prepared to be fair, but to weigh the consequences of her actions. A little alienated, even, from "mundane" things like passions and frivolities of life. The life of the Dalish is hard and does not have much room for such; something she gradually left behind in her youth.

During the Inquisition, she also learns. She learns about the real weight of her decisions in people's lives. She learns about sharing it with other people. She learns about the suffering and pain of other people besides the Dalish. And, more particularly, she learns to question her own views - with Solas and his stories about "the Fade". About how everything she has learned may have other facets. She also learns more about flexibility. And she learns about herself. About wanting someone and loving someone, about a connection different from the ones she has allowed herself to have until now.

In the ten years between the disbandment of the Inquisition and the reunion, she ponders. She learns more about what Solas saw. She immerses herself in Elvhen language and observes all the nuances he presented to her, and that materialized in front of her in the Temple of Mythal. She observes the society of Thedas as a whole and participates in decisions that affect more than her clan. And, even more, she thinks about the reunion. She thinks about what would have been if he had stayed. If he were still by her side, building a change little by little, instead of the rupture he planned. Instead of being a martyr, she allows herself to share the weight of these decisions as she has learned to do. I see some criticism saying that their relationship is weird because it feels like she's been passively waiting for him for 10 years, but that seems to me to ignore what 10 years can do in terms of someone maturing, but not necessarily in terms of changing something that's felt so deeply.

This makes me feel like their reunion and vows in Elvhen are even more special for both of them. They're not just something that should have happened years ago. They're a portrait of their growing up…and their love for each other.

[lathbora-virann]

So I just had an idea.

We've all talked a lot about the logistics and reality of the Solavellan Crestwood scene and the fact it would have taken them days (I've seen conflicting reports ranging from a minimum of 4 days to a full three weeks) to ride all the way there, only for both of them to have to do it all again *alone* after the break up (remembering he says that he'll meet her back at Skyhold in one ending), HOWEVER ☝️

What if they used the eluvian that Morrigan just brought into Skyhold that leads to the Crossroads.

There's no way Lavellan doesn't immediately drag Solas over and get Morrigan to show it to him (my Lavellan does at least, but I don't think she's built that different) and we know he just regained control of Briala's network at Halamshiral. He could pull his usual *I saw it in the Fade and/or a dream* and say that he knows of one that goes to *somewhere* in or around Crestwood. It could have even been one of the things he planned to use to show her the truth of him being Fen'Harel.

I also don't think it would be too much of a stretch to imagine that Morrigan would allow the Inquisitor access to the Crossroads again (even if it was for something not strictly necessary for the overall mission) given that her whole purpose for being there was to assist them with arcane matters and finding alternative ways to thwart Corypheus. If he didn't want to completely bypass her whole *knowledge and power is sometimes enough* to unlock it (which I assume he absolutely could) Solas could have also straight up lied to Morrigan and requested access by saying he had a totally legit strategy reason for taking the Inquisitor through. Or maybe he just appealed to her incredibly sentimental and romantic heart.

Given how fast and loose Inquisition plays with all the travel times (especially when you consider the game supposedly takes place over the course of around a year), and given how unrealistic a lot of scenes become if we start thinking too hard (popping over to Val Royeux for a coffee date with Cole springs to mind), it doesn't feel like too much of a stretch to imagine in my silly little brain that there could instead be a random eluvian in the area that takes them right to heartbreak central and back in time for dinner.

[draconic-ichor]

100 Uses for Elfroot

Fluff Drabble

Female Lavellan x Solas

Warnings: none

Solas suddenly realizes how deep his care goes for the Herald: Sulevin.

Sulevin had been picking herbs, knees in the dirt, rattling off the one hundred uses for elfroot for the last quarter hour. Solas leaned heavily on his staff, drifting in and out of the conversation.

Seventeen of the for-mentioned uses were surprisingly new to him, must of been discovered in more recent years.

The group had long learned to just wait out the Herald’s fascinations with collecting items she deemed as ‘useful’. Cassandra alone had tried to talk her out of stopping every forty paces every outing at least ten times, but it fell on deaf ears.

Blackwall stood off in the distance, preparing a pipe for smoking while Varric polished Bianca close by, neither listening to the in-depth list of elfroot uses.

“Isn’t that simply spectacular?” She asked, lifting a sprig to her face, unusual bright eyes almost sparkling, “That one simple little thing can do so much?”

“…Riveting.” Solas sighed, glancing down at her. His breath caught in his chest.

She was smiling up at him, face bright. Her hands were covered in dirt, knees doing no better, with leaves caught in her snowy hair. But she’d never looked so beautiful to him; confident and serene in her element. For the first time since awakening in Haven she seemed truly happy.

His heart skipped a beat.

She stood, oblivious to his reddening ear tips, bundling the herbs together with twine.

“Could you place these with the rest?” She asked sweetly, “Please?”

Solas almost dumbly took the bundle, staff shifting into his elbow.

Sulevin pranced off to the lake edge to wash her hands in the cold water, leaving him standing there. As he tried to clear his head she squealed, jumping up. The three men tensed, ready for anything, until they all at once realized she’d just found a stone.

“Blackwall!” She ran over to him, “Look at this!” Waving her wet hand, stone clutched in her fingers.

“Ah!” Blackwall smiled, taking the stone and looking it over, “That’s agete, you can find it all around the waterways here.”

Solas stopped listening to their conversation, a thought worming into his head:

You care for her…

The more rational part of his brain caught up with his heart, the thought suddenly turning into a bolt of steel; heavy and piercing.

Mind reeling, he withdrew more into himself, completely unaware of the dwarf clearing his throat beside him.

Varric elbowed him, almost sending him off balance.

He huffed out his nose, head spinning to fix the other with a hard gaze.

“Think any louder Chuckles and she might hear you.” Varric smiled knowing up at him.

Solas turned away, gripping his staff tightly as he chuffed, “I have no idea what you’re speaking of.”

“Sure you don’t.” Varric shook his head, walking away. He closed the distance between the two groups, tone completely different as he called out to the others, “Not that I don’t love rocks just as much as the next dwarf, but are we still going to the next outpost or not?”

“Sorry!” The herald called back bashfully, the three moving back to the path.

“Solas!” She called after him, breaking the storm of thoughts hanging heavily over his head. Solas took a deep breath, pushing all emotions deeply away, steeling himself before following.

Thoughts for another time…

[weaveandwood]

In Hushed Whispers

There was a little interest in me posting some Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfic here, so I'm going to share the one shot I have written! I know I have a few mutuals who are also doing their first playthrough of Inquisition, so if you haven't done the quest this one-shot is named for, don't read this! Consider this your warning!

Pairing: Cullen/Female Lavellan (Brinni, my dual wielding rogue) Words: 1,374

Angst

Read on AO3!

Cullen threw the crumpled up message across the room and leaned over the war table, shaking his head, willing himself to take his next breath even as dread constricted every fiber of his being. 

Dead. 

He slammed his fist against the table, toppling over the markers that had been so carefully placed earlier that day. He told her it was a trap - he told them all! She wasn’t an idiot, she knew it was clearly a trap as well. Still, she was determined - and that determination had doomed them all.  

He paced the length of the room. Back and forth, over and over, replaying their last conversation in his head, trying to figure out what he could have said differently. 

“Redcliffe has repelled thousands of assaults. If you go in there you’ll die, and we’ll lose the only means we have of closing these rifts. I won’t allow it,” he had told her. Of course, there was the unspoken reason he hadn’t wanted her to go, one he was too foolish and too scared to voice. No, better to have her believe he only saw her as a tool, a weapon for them to wield. Nothing more. 

Cassandra, Josephine, and Leliana argued the optics of marching on the castle, the consequences of leaving a foreign magister in power on Ferelden land. It appeared they had been outplayed. No matter how hard Cullen stared at the table, a strategy would not come to him. 

“There has to be something we’re not thinking of,” she had said quietly, finally breaking the silence and looking at each of them. “Another way in.”

Discussions took place. Brinni paced back and forth while Leliana and Cassandra spoke of the secret entrance for the family and planned the “distraction” Brinni and her envoy would be for the magister. Someone suddenly barged into the war room with insider knowledge of the magister’s plans - Brinni seemed to trust him and his easy confidence, so everyone else did as well. 

It was settled. They would leave first thing in the morning. 

 “The plan puts you in the most danger - we can still go after the Templars if you’d rather not play the bait. It’s up to you,” he said to her before parting, his cool demeanor soothing over the storm within. Don’t go. It’s a trap. You will die. 

She went. So did Blackwall (prisoner), Varric (prisoner), and the new mage, Dorian (dead). 

Dead. 

If he had just talked to her, told her how important she was - not just to the Inquisition, but to everyone in their inner circle even after this short amount of time, how he looked forward to reading her messages from her seemingly never-ending duties in the Hinterlands, how their conversations while he was overseeing the training exercises were the best sort of distraction…

He sighed. She still would have gone. Still would have died. 

He walked out of the building, staring at the breach in the sky. What were they going to do now? 

Months passed. It was almost a year to the day since the Inquisition lost their one hope at closing the Breach. Cullen had been right about Redcliffe. He threw troops at it, but they were no match for The Elder One’s demon army. Thedas was gone - everything was covered in red lyrium. Leliana had been captured on a spy mission months ago. Cassandra and Iron Bull led a charge soon after the news of Brinni’s death reached Haven with the rest of her companions - they never returned. Josephine tried her hand at diplomacy and was caught by a demon possessing a nobleman. 

Dead, dead, dead. 

Only a handful of troops remained. Templars, warriors, and even a few elves had traveled to Haven after everything really started going south about a month after…after her death. They fought for the fallen Herald of Andraste. He fought for her. Brinni Lavellan. He still found his thoughts easily drifting to her. He did a double take every time he saw an elf with short white hair the color of starlight. He missed her, even now. Even as he mounted his favorite horse outside of Redcliffe Village, ready to lead one last charge against the castle. One last attempt at saving the world, though it was certain they would all end up the same as everyone else who had tried.

Would he see her once this was over? He mulled the thought over as they marched on the castle through fields of red lyrium, the power surrounding it warm and intoxicating. He saw corpses with crystals growing out of them and shuddered. What world was left to save? They got to the bridge and he dismounted, taking all of the riding gear off of his horse. He dropped it to the ground before slapping the horse’s hindquarters, sending it off to live whatever life it could manage. There would be no one left to care for it after today and he could not bring himself to watch the horse die in battle. He smiled to himself. “The Commander has a soft spot” - she had teased him about that once in the stables, long ago.

A horrible grinding noise brought his attention back to the present, the telltale sound of the demons that had laid waste to the land and the people of Thedas. This was it. He raised his sword, rallying the small troop behind him and charged. 

They fought as well as they could, taking down a few demons while the demons took down more of them. He watched as they fought and fell, their numbers shrinking further and further until only a true handful were left, each fighting their own hopeless battle. A cry, a thud. Dead. A shout, a demonic laugh. Dead. 

“Sir, behind yo-” someone called out, seconds too late. Cullen started to turn, his sword preparing to strike when he felt a sharp pain in his chest, followed by searing heat and frigid cold seeping through his body. He fell to the ground, looking up at the roiling green-grey sky and tried unsuccessfully to remember what it looked like on a clear, blue, cloudless day before magic destroyed everything. He was lying in something warm and wet and he was tired, so tired. His eyes fluttered and the world grew dim. The cries of battle were quiet now and the grinding noise from the demons drifted further from his consciousness. 

It was over. 

“Sir? Sir? A message from Redcliffe,” a voice called from outside the door of his office, accompanied by urgent knocks. 

Cullen startled and sat up. Had he been sleeping at his desk? The long nights and early mornings had caught up with him, it appeared - he would need to keep a better schedule. He cleared his throat, calling for the messenger to enter and took the small envelope from him. 

He quickly ripped it open to read the missive from Brinni’s operation, his eyes scanning desperately for a key word to indicate how the mission went. He quickly crumpled it up and threw it across the room to prevent himself from spending all day reading it over and over again before leaning over his desk, his head in his hands. 

Mission successful. Recruited mages as allies. Will explain when we return. - B

She was fine. She didn’t die, she wasn’t taken prisoner, and she had recruited the mages as allies for the Inquisition. Once again, she exceeded his expectations. He leaned back in his chair, his face to the ceiling and laughed loudly, the cord of tension within him that had been wound so tightly since they left finally loosening. Was the tension he had been harboring solely due to the fate of their Inquisition? They would be able to continue closing Fade Rifts and perhaps close the Breach with the assistance of the recruited mages. Or…was it something that was beginning to take hold inside him, gentle and warm, just like the way she smiled at him during her rounds the other day when she found him in the stables, brushing his favorite horse’s mane and talking sweetly to it? “The Commander has a soft spot,” she had teased him. 

It appeared that the Commander may have had more than one.

[fomagranfalloon]

Fellow Solasmancers, I wanna hear your thoughts on this aspect of Veilguard. ENDING SPOILERS FOLLOW

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How are we feeling about the Inquisitor forgiving Solas after he murdered Varric?

I can see how psychologically, she could forgive him for terrible things he did thousands of years ago during a war against truly awful Evanuris. Idk if the Inquisitor even knows what he did to the Titans or Felassan or that he killed Mythal since this is all done away from her/revealed to Rook. We don't get a scene of Rook debriefing Lavellan like "You think creating the Veil was fucked? Lemme tell you about the mother fucking BLIGHT."

But Varric? It's implied in the notes that she knows Solas murdered him. Wouldn't she at least need a beat for THAT? Bioware picked Varric for this because he's a long-running much-beloved character who is besties with your Hawke and probably damn close to besties with the Inquisitor by the end of DAI. The writers want the player to feel kicked in the teeth by the reveal. (And I did. Thankssomuch.) Surely Lavellan would find it hard to forgive Solas for murdering someone she's personally close to?

I wish we'd gotten some more discussions with the Inquisitor to experience them working through the implications of everything. Not just Solas or the Evanuris, but the dismantling of core tenants of the Andrastian faith that she's the herald of! The Forgotten Ones, the Titans, the blight SO MUCH STUFF that Rook apparently is too ignorant to know is a Big Goddamn Deal or is too cavalier about. And lastly, yes, that in addition to all the other shit, the man she loves is a spirit who was twisted from his purpose by Mythal. Wisdom became Pride. And he murdered Lavellan's friend Varric.

(I mean, more conversations with the Inquisitor is just bare minimum. Personally this game felt primed to be the first Dragon Age with the same player character over again. The Inquisitor would 100% have been working with Varric and coordinating with Dorian over the sending crystal okay I'm off on a tangent now.)

Please talk to me fellow Solasmancers! I need to discuss with all of you since the game didn't give me the option to hash it out with her!

[mllemaenad]

I really do not understand why Varric is the one pursuing Solas. I mean, I understand the Doylist explanation – Varric is a beloved character who will now have featured in three separate games, as well as multiple novels and comics.

But the Watsonian explanation is not clicking. I did my homework. I sat down and read The Missing, but that did not help at all. In fact, I have now considered my Inquisitor and am completely confident that Dirthara Lavellan's plan for dealing with the Solas problem would absolutely not be "send the ageing viscount of Kirkwall on a months long wild goose chase, with the apparent end goal of ... talking Solas out of his plan".

First, I don't see why Varric would be the most likely person to be able to reach Solas. The Inquisitor herself seems the more reasonable option.

Second, Varric is viscount of Kirkwall, a city-state notorious for setting itself on fire if you take your eyes off it for five minutes. I appreciate Alistair had a few adventures in the graphic novels, and there was that time Maric got lost in the Deep Roads but ... broadly, heading up the "Stop Solas" taskforce is a whole separate responsibility that does not seem to be something you should allocate to a man who has the Worst City in Thedas to rule.

Third ... seriously, the plan is to find Solas and have a chat? That's it? It's clearly it. All through The Missing, they keep noting that they don't really know what they'll do if they actually stumble across Solas. And the backup plan, to which Harding occasionally alludes and at which Varric consistently baulks, is to stab Solas until he stops moving. That one ... also doesn't inspire much confidence.

At this point, I'm not sure what Solas's plan entails or exactly what the outcome will be. I'm not even 100% sure I'm opposed to it. I recognise that the narrative is telegraphing that this is bad but, eh, they say that about blood magic too, and my feelings on that are much more complicated.

Surely, instead of chasing Solas all over the map like a fantasy Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, we should be researching what his scheme entails, and potentially how to disrupt it. There have to be options other than this. We have a game series littered with elven scholars like Merrill, accomplished mages like Dorian or Morrigan, thoughtful rebels like Briala or Anders and ... we're ... not ... going to do anything with that?

In both Origins and Inquisition the set up established that there was a solid plan that unexpectedly failed: the Battle of Ostagar in the former and the Conclave in the latter. While I was not a fan of how many of its established plot lines Inquisition chose to just blow up instead of actually resolving, I at least understand how both scenarios led to a rag tag band who should never have been responsible for any of this saving the world. Dragon Age 2 was about the systematic failure of government in Kirkwall and, again, Hawke is forced to act as the people in power utterly refuse to do anything reasonable at all.

Here, my question is – why are we doing it like this now, before we have to?

Ah, well. Maybe it will become clear in time. I may look back on this post and laugh.

[mercysought]

Small stack of unanswered letters addressed to Asharen Lavellan - to the small house in the outskirts of Antiva City. Around 9:44-9:45 Dragon (post trespasser)

A small neatly folded letter. without wrinkles except of recent use. Left unused over a stack of other papers.

As for the aspects of the fade and the intricacies of the veil as to the physical attributes, I'm afraid I have reached my own limitations on knowledge of the matter. I would, however, refer you to my other colleagues within the Necropolis. Here is a list of names: Professor Emm—

A longer stack of papers. Sturdy handwriting. The stack says that that most of the letter was kept unread.

— tells me that you've not been keeping up with the letters we've been sending. You're starting to worry me. Now, you don't have to tell me what you have been up to, it's not like I would likely understand it, but I do miss seeing that enthusiastic script on my desk. Charter has sent someone to check on you, just so you know. I almost stopped her, but you know how she is, if you find a nevarran mage with a new set of tea cups, you know who sent her. I think you'll like her. Say something, Scribbles. I hope yo—

A small piece of paper. The letter is written in half elvhen, half common. There are typos, but it is more of a note - the parchment closer to the closest piece of paper one could find. Some of the text on the edges is worn out.

Papae is worried sick, Asharen. I had to convince Mamae to not come herself. Please. I will remain in Antiva City for the next three days at the Andorinha Inn. Please come talk to me, to at least know you are still alive. Or let me in, I know you are in there, I see candle light burning at night. Papae thinks that you are still angry at him since the last visit, but if you were still mad at him - why not let me in? Surely this is not enough to cut us out of your life. Ameridan wants to come but he cannot and you are worrying them too. Please, you don't even need to let me in, just tell me you are ok.

the letter smells of warm mornings in late spring. It is kept by a small bench on the side of the door towards the orange trees that one can see in the window.

Do you still watch the swallows? The way they build their nests almost always underneath your door frame? I think I will come by, to hopefully see the swallows with you. I miss our talks. Miss hearing you talk about fish nets and the waving of curtains when you press your hand against it. There are days your presence grows darker, like swathed by night. Or perhaps the depths of the ocean. I will visit soon.

the letter is written in elvhen, solely so. A dialect unknown to the dalish.

I'm afraid I do not know more. Most of our bretheren have chosen to remain, but many more have left the temple. I am unsure what they would have done, to chase after the path of Fen'harel would not be the choice of many in ages past, but the world is not what it was and neither are we. I suppose this is my way of saying I cannot tell you what you wish to know. Only that I'm sorry. I hope you find peace.

The handwriting is sloppy and with multiple crossed out words. It is still beautiful, despite all the crossing of words with typos. Whoever was writing the letter, was holding the quill too strongly, pressing too hard.

Inquisitor, I know you do not like me calling you that but I am at my wits' end. If I do not receive a missive from you or someone around you I am going to march myself to Antiva City and tear down your wall - no, I will not care about your books or notes. And no, I will not care that Varric told me not to do it. If you were to answer your missives then I wouldn't feel the need to do this. I am worried, you didn't sound like yourself on the last letter - and that has been a while. Don't make me contact Lady Montilyet.

[kestrelsansjesses]

One thing I like to fit in when I talk or write about my Inquisitor is just... a general feeling of displacement and not knowing what to do now that they're no longer the hero. They obviously still have so much work to do back in the southern parts of Thedas, but the game seems to indicate that it's largely a matter of organizing people and probably acting as a diplomatic bridge between different factions to help aid in fighting the Blight and famine. They lost their arm, they lost the strange Rift magic (which could be the only form of magic they had) and they could have lost the Inquisition entirely if they chose to disband. And now there's a new hero who has come in, and being a hero is horrible and yet- it feels like they've been benched, like they've been put aside and their time for adventures is over, even though this is a journey that in some ways started with them. They're not dead and they're still /young/ and suddenly it seems like a lot of stopping Solas has been taken out of their hands. How do they live with that? How do they feel? I know for my Lavellan, there's a certain level of resentment. She doesn't feel like her story is over, but it feels like it's moving past her no matter how hard she tries to keep up.