#Sacrificial altar

[lairofdragonagelore]

Flemeth’s Fade – Part 1

Quest:The Final Piece

When heading to the room with the eluvian near the Skyhold garden, we meet Leliana who tells us that Morrigan has entered the mirror in pursuit of her son. As the Inquisitor enters the Eluvian, they realise that it leads to the Fade instead of the Crossroad. A part of the Fade that seems to reflect part of the "personal" story of Flemeth.

[This is part of the series “Playing DA like an archaeologist”]

[Index page of Dragon Age Lore]

Once we return from the Temple of Mythal, we find Leliana telling the Inquisitor that Morrigan chased Kieran into the Eluvian. This scene is completely skipped and we never have access to this Fade if Kieran does not exist. For Lore reasons, I think having Kieran is the richest option

We enter the eluvian, and what we realise immediately is that we are not in the Crossroads that Morrigan showed us before. Instead, we are in a part of the Fade. This shows that powerful mages can force Eluvians to go to the Fade and the final destination of an Eluvian is not precisely determined with its construction. This is telling us that technically, any eluvian can allow us to reach the Fade if you are powerful enough. 

This Fade is more guided that the one in Adamant Fortress. In the moment we enter, we find these mabari-brazier that are so typical of Ferelden, and a statue of a The Guide.

Same as in the previous Fade, there are a lot of Keepers of Fears merger in the landscape. I find this strange, because this space belongs to Flemeth, it’s not a space of a demon of Nightmare or terror. Someone could argue that, since Flemeth may have some relationship with the Chasind, her relationship is being reflected in these statues since Alamarri and Avvar [and likely Chasind too] may share the tradition of the Keepers of Fear. We see several screaming faces, Keepers of Fear, Eroded dragon skull, and a Dwarf with long limbs. The first thing giving us a welcome is a big hand and a table.

This same table has been found in the previous Fade, in the beginning of that space too, like an invitation. Over the table, there are hanged generic dead bodies and two enormous hands: one keeping the strings of the hanged dead, and another from which a pile of keepers of fear emerges. These hands seem to work like the hands we see in the Crossroads of Trespasser, which give support to eluvians or circular tree.

Aside of this configuration, a bit hidden on the ground, Andraste statue’s head.

As we approach the second opening, we see a pair of Keepers of Fear, with heads being burnt, flanking a Sacrificial altar. The figure of a man is towering over them, and in front of these elements, there is a statue of Beheaded ram-man. The whole configuration seems to relate again the concept of sacrifice and fear.

These are the rarest version of the Keepers of Fear. In this case, we see them working: their heads are burning, maybe as a representation of the fear screams being consumed before an Alamarri goes to fight against their fate. The base of these Keepers of Fear have a drawing on it that looks like another creature, screaming.

The Sacrificial altar can be studied with great detail in this part of the Fade. We can see that it has a small platform with decorated patterns and carvings in the metal.

We have seen this human sculpture among Orlesian collections or in Free Marches-themes statues. 

The Beheaded ram-man is erected on a head of a Keepers of Fear. [Fore more detail about this statue, read The Raw Fade:  Part 1 ]

As we keep walking, we find Morrigan beside an enormous Claw of Dumat on one side, and a statue of the Free Marches in front of her. There are many keepers of fears around and above too.

Here, Morrigan explains that to direct the eluvian to the Fade requires immense power, which is absolutely reasonable since Kieran keeps the soul of an archdemon inside him.

Ahead, we find a very curious corridor that got my attention since I saw it. I believe the game is explicitly telling us to relate the andraste’s head with the Ferelden Wyvern through the spike. We know there is a tale in Ferelden Folklore [landmark Fereldan Wyvern Statues] where they connect both in a story that the Chantry does not acknowledges as official. I don’t know what’s the real deal with this Wyvern, but the connections with dragon-like creatures [reptiles] seems to be a pattern in the game. This Wyvern in particular is standing on two Tevinter urns. How this creature relates to Tevinter is also a mystery, but this statue has been seen in ancient Tevinter buildings as well, predating Andraste and Blights.

We step into another Guide under which a small table and chair can be found.

Behind the guide there is a skull with two metallic columns that seems to be Claws of Dumat prototypes. We saw these artefacts in Western Approach: Coracavus;  Records Room, gathered around desks:

Maybe it is an artefact used to study elements, such as heads, or to record information. Still it is hard to guess its function.

When we reach to the next clearing, we find one of these Tevinter devices of several claws, diapason-like, clipped with an “injector”. This device, or at least this combination of clipping is similar to what we saw in Suledin Keep, when we met Imshael. Like in that place, at the base of the device there is red lyrium. Same as in Suledin, the area seems to be related to Horned warrior holding a sword. This is the first time that this element appears in the Fade. It’s placed at the left of the device, on a piece of rock: One on front of the rock, and a smaller version behind it.

A bit above of the device, we find a Tevinter urn merged in the stone and more versions of Keepers of Fear, one who is swallowing or regurgitating Red Lyrium, and another screaming.

[sunderwight]

Thinking about Black Widow Luo Binghe.

Hear me out -- so just like in canon, Shen Qingqiu self-destructs to save Luo Binghe, dies, and Luo Binghe steals his body to put on ice while he looks for methods to resurrect him. But unlike in canon, staving off decomposition is simply not that doable for a matter of years, even with cultivation and Luo Binghe pouring qi into the process. The qi costs are still high, so is Xin Mo, and now Binghe also needs a special artifact that can actually preserve Shen Qingqiu, but that runs on blood sacrifices.

To get the thing working, Luo Binghe feeds it a bunch of prisoners from the Water Prison. Then he starts kidnapping cultivators to drain for his own qi reserves, but that's difficult, controversial, and he can't use the same victims for the blood sacrifice afterwards. Frankly, between one thing and another it would be easier to satisfy Xin Mo with dual cultivation, and focus on finding victims for Shizun's Snow White style glass preservation coffin without having to choose between using targets for one or the other. Especially given that, if he finesses it, Luo Binghe can extend the use of his sacrifices and get more out of them with fewer deaths that way.

He's pretty sure that Shizun would want fewer deaths.

Of course, he is not a fan of the logistics of the plan itself, but he'd do worse things to one day be reunited. He consoles himself that he's building up bedroom experience for one day being with Shen Qingqiu, and that it doesn't really count because his heart's not really in it, and also if Shizun got to spend all that time in brothels then it's only fitting that Luo Binghe be his equal in this as well. It still doesn't make it pleasant for him, but it makes him able to tolerate the necessity of it.

So Luo Binghe ends up marrying a string of rich and powerful figures -- mostly the villainous single fathers and mothers and evil uncles of harem members from PIDW, rather than their daughters -- and coming up with creative ways of making all their deaths a few months into the process look like accidents. After the third one people are undeniably wary of marrying him, but there's always someone with a big enough ego to think they'll be an exception, or stupid enough to believe that it really has just been so much bad luck up to that point. It helps that the universe is predisposed to let him hit it.

When SY wakes up in the shroom body and hears about Luo Binghe's succession of marriages, he's not surprised. What he is surprised by is the bisexual graveyard of toxic dilfs and milfs that has replaced the harem.

What did he do to cause that?!

And what does Luo Binghe mean that he wants to marry his own shizun now? Is this his new method of revenge??? Binghe, you don't have to marry someone to kill them!

[sincerely-sofie]

New ship dynamic: Guard Dog x Sacrificial Lamb.

It’s undying devotion to someone who was doomed from the start. It’s someone believing in you when you don’t believe in yourself.

It’s the desire to protect that rages and spits in the face destiny. It’s the desperation for a life with someone when you were born to die.

It’s the willingness to bloody your hands so that theirs remain unblemished. It’s a longing to be a person when you are meant to be a symbol.

It’s an insurmountable distance between you and your love the length of a pedestal, the length of columns that hold up the heavens, the length of that wretched gap between the divine and the mortal, the length of an altar that’s never quite been scrubbed clean when everyone knows it will only spill over with crimson again.

It’s asking yourself if you'd fight against fate for them and knowing that your answer has only ever been always.

It's asking yourself if you'd fulfill your destiny even if it means leaving them behind and wondering when your answer became never.

[ftl-faster-than-life]

I think it's actually really telling that when Barry hallucinates Eobard or when he's appearing in Barry's bad dreams, he usually appears as a voice of reason urging him to make the choice that's best for him.

The Flash Vol. 5, #1 and Knight Terrors: The Flash #2

Whether you believe that Eobard asking Barry to withdraw with him into the Speed Force is actually the kindest option for them both or not, some part of Barry's subconscious views him that way. And that is a jaw dropping testament to how thoroughly Eobard has pressed his agenda with Barry, the way every other relationship has been changed to the point where Barry is unsure where he stands...with anyone except Eobard.

It's really quite insidious.

[maggiecheungs]

xi shiyong….. born to be the protagonist of a magical girl anime, forced to go through living hell to attain an immortality he never wanted while watching everyone he ever loved pass on without him and witnessing the world he once shared with them vanish into the realm of myth—knowing that it all came about as a result of his own choices—knowing that if he had to do it all again he would still choose to doom himself to an eternity of solitude, to being the single stable lonely lynchpin around which the universe rearranges itself

[trillgutterbug]

just rewatched one of the worst movies ever made x-men apocalypse and some parts of it are uhh Good Actually

[lucyghoul]

rhaenyra being there for her children the way viserys never was for her while alicent experienced otto's love and affection as also smothering and destructive so she can never just freely give it to her own children, it's always tangled up in duty and manipulation and the most terrifying thing she could do in this moment is open up to aegon or let him open up to her because they could use it against each other because that's what a family is, right? so it's easiest and safest to leave him alone to his grief, just like he leaves helaena to hers, and she tells helaena to pretend because if any of them stop pretending they have to face it. anyway. how are we to comfort each other if this is all of our own making

[vaporgrove]

trying to be less of a baby who gets embarrassed by feeling joy a bit too much. look at my murder drones oc boy

[aurelion-solar]

Legends of Runeterra May 2023 Expansion Captain Indari - Innovative Blacksmith - Grave Companion - Sacrificial Scholar - Beguiling Cobra -  Perfidious Promoter - Royal Shimmerwing - Altar to Unity

[castaccio]

Ethantwt got me thinking about animal symbolism again...

[meadow-mellow]

Man. I'm too old for ship fighting/discourse. I ain't 16 anymore, dunno how these ppl manage to remain so stagnated mentally cause you'd expect they'd outgrow this kinda thing.

[lairofdragonagelore]

Ferelden: Redcliffe - Future

Main quest:  In Hushed Whispers

As we explore the castle and save our companions from the future, we explore corridors with a series of statues that make little sense. It only seems to be reasonable once we learn this future has no Veil, and this is how it looks like the Waking World with the Fade, fused one another, under the god Corypheus. I imagine the corridors reflect or have elements from the Fade, or from what the Fade reflects of this place.

This post has compiled the most relevant information during the main quest for completion’s sake. These quests have little “archaeological” value, but since I’m visually covering the majority of the game, I can’t put them aside since there are some exceptions, such as the Temple of Mythal.

[This is part of the series “Playing DA like an archaeologist”]  

Along the corridors of the Redcliffe Castle, we find andrastian statues such as maferath crying on the sword [1], andraste variations [1], the Man holding bigger head [2], Tevinter diapason-like artefacts [3], and alamarri mabaris clipped with skulls [4,5]

Avvar heads [1], Tevinter banenrs with glyphs [2], strange clipping combinations of different assets to pretend to create a new one [3], sacrificial altars [3,5,6], dragon gargoyles [4], more Tevinter artefacts [7] and classic keepers of fear [8].

More artefacts appear by the end of the castle: upside-down artefact of Temple of Dumat  [1], torture devices [2], more avvar heads or Eroded dragon skull [3], Maferath statues and Keepers of Fear [4], Andraste in Ferelden style [5] and Free Marches statues with alamarri mabaris clipped with skulls [6].

I found it curios that this universe is an abomination in Solas’ opinion, so I guess he has in mind something different for the future of Thedas when he destroys the Veil.

Trying to reach the outside of the castle, we see more of these strange clipped statues and in the darkest corner, we see the unusual statue of Beheaded ram-man.

Some rooms display Andraste iconography of her life and more Ferelden items. In this case, they display Templar rugs. Rugs are something to question, since we keep seeing Inquisition rugs and carpets in places where there is no way they could be there. So in general, my conclusion about rugs is not to pay them too much attention, so maybe I may have done a mistake in Emerald Graves: Din'an Hanin with doing such a extreme analysis over a damned rug, lol.

We find the codex A prayer, where we are again suggested to connect darkness with Blight. There is an implication that the Old Gods were gods at some point, but not anymore, and the Maker was always invented. One can suspect this prayer is based on Corypheus’ knowledge shared to his subjects.

The art of clipping artefacts: diapason-like artefacts in combination with a sacrificial altar and some red lyrium. In this room there are Tevinter urns too.

We see again Man holding bigger head statue and two stylised dogs, both Orlesian statues.

Here we find an angry Leliana, changed and transformed due to the torture. We learn she is also immune [or resistant] to Red Lyrium, like Seekers are. This implies lore-wise that Leliana may have been touched by a spirit at some point in her life. 

Once more, we have another character in DA series who speaks this line so similar to Flemeth/Myhtal: “I’ve suffered, the whole world suffered. It was real”

Red Lyrium

When we meet Fiona, we see she is half  a vein of red lyrium. Later, we see Templar in similar ways along the castle. A creature become a vein of red lyrium  just by exposure. This implies that the spread of the Red Lyrium has doom connotations. So far, we don’t know how to rend it inert, and it infects by mere exposure, living creatures as well as objects. It’s a disease even worse than the Blight which can be contained if living creatures are blocked from an area.

We are given several bits of info about the nature of the red lyrium. Dorian question if it’s a disease as the Blight, that only affects living creatures. This red lyrium seems to affect things and objects as well, growing out of them.

Exterior

Now, having the interpretation of this statue of the Faceless figure holding a crown  as the Maker, makes this cinematic angle even more dramatic, with a gigantic Andraste, shattered, trying to reach down to the Maker.

Solas informs us that there is no Veil in this world, so all the non-physical situations we are seeing, the nonsense of the statues in the corridors seem to be justified. 

Now without Veil, we make sense of the mixed sculptures we saw in the corridors, reflection and reality overlapping each other. As we go up looking for Alexius, we keep seeing strange statues, like Keepers of fear

We reach to a place where we can explore more corridors heading to Alexis. This particular set seems to be carefully done to imply something:  The Maker with red Lyrium, the Andraste warrior, the Blocky bearded humanoid [which seems to be in the shadows] and this Adonis human statue.

When we reach Alexius’ chamber, we see an Elven Ancient Shard-based door. It’s impossible to know if it was taken from an ancient tomb or its a reflection of the Fade and overlapped with the reality. Curiously, this door requires red lyrium-based shards. 

[methotrex8]

tempted to blend my two mental illnesses together and do an Amigo the Devil themed section of my island

[illithilit]

Here we see the humanoid form of Malheirirra the Master, an ancient black dragoness that created and lead the lauth ( the dragon equivalent of a monastery, albeit still slightly to the left ) that trained Yzare into what she is. The lauth itself only consisted of herself, a fang dragon by the name of Gholix, and eventually Yzare. Malheirirra was Yzare's mentor, her 'mother,' and her first victim -- followed shortly by Gholix.

While a particularly cruel individual, the fact that she's Yzare's first real guiding hand is why she's chosen to be Yzare's dream guardian. The fact that the dragoness is very, very dead is a fact that escapes memory until well after the Emperor reveals himself.

[yume-fanfare]

someone read the new jshk and tell me if i should read it now (at 1 am) or not .

[ostrobothnianoccultist]

I went to hell and BACK to get the nether wart block and then my fuckass friend messages me on discord ”don’t you think it’s a bit intimidating maybe switch it to cobblestone” BITCH I MIGHT BE INTIMIDATING SOON