#darkspawn which she...captured? also with blood magic?

[skyheld]

remember how isseya could cure the griffon eggs of the blight by drawing it out of them with blood magic and putting it into something else, because the taint couldn't be destroyed it could only be moved? where did merrill put it

[symphorine]

time to return to the scene of the crime (ritual site) (solas did the crime)

ill skip over most of the quest bc it's just exploring the ruins and there's not much new. i did spy a halla statue, but nothing that really gives any insight as to what they're ruins of. we go through pretty extensive built and paved sections, so i'm wondering if we're in a part that used to be the city of arlathan proper, with plenty of different buildings, proper streets, etc.

did take a couple of screenshots of the view from the floating ruins, which gives an idea of what arlathan forest looks like.

i was a little confused about the mountains, but got this map from the fandom wiki:

we do see the white spire to the east, a mountain in antiva, and a mountain range on the west and southwest, which are the hundred pillars from tevinter. my guess is the ruins we're at are in the southwest side of arlathan forest, since we seem to be looking at a mountain range rather than a singular peak? arlathan forest is also right on the coast. iirc in the tevinter night "three trees to midnight" story, we follow characters captured by qunari and set to work between the edge of the forest and a beach. it's set a few years before DAVG, so whether qunari forces are still attempting to penetrate the forest or have been forced to give up because of veil jumpers' effort is up in the air. it's possible that when the antaam broke away from the rest of the qun, some of them were there.

there's also this map from tevinter nights, also found on the fandom wiki, which i find less readable but is a little different (more up to date with recent lore additions/changes):

the end of the quest at the ritual site sees us getting the dagger and harding awakening some magic powers when she touches the pure lyrium dagger, a first for dwarves, as far she (and anyone else) knows.

interesting thing: in the following screencap, taken at the beginning of the quest, we see where the dagger fell. the ground is cracked, and blue light comes from those cracks, indicating magic.

in the following two screencaps, taken at the end of the quest, where the dagger was planted into the ground briefly, there's actually what looks like lyrium veins growing:

it looks like it's not part of the rock either, but growing from nothing on top of it. i don't know what to make of it, just thought it was interesting. surely if lyrium was self replicating like this dwarves would have lyrium farms instead of mines, right? maybe it's just a small scale phenomenon?

other than that, the big thing is obviously harding talking with words and a voice that are obviously not her own. transcript of what she says while she's glowing blue from what's happening:

"This is the eternal hymn, the prayer, and the proclamation. Isatunoll. I am. We are. Free again. Whole again. Here again. Here... again..."

During this speech, she floats up in this rock, then bursts out of it. Again, it's got clear lyrium veins (god I just realized lyrium veins is so literal with lyrium being the blood of the titans. very cool).

And then she turns darkspawn into stone. This is stuff that is explored in her companion quests, so not much to say at this stage. Harding is very much a conduit for new lore in the game, in ways that did irk me a little, but i'll get to that when i progress to her quests. i do wish she had been more of her own character. it also makes it absolutely baffling to me that she can perma-die if you pick her as a second team leader in the ending, and frustrating, like she was really just a vehicle to deliver this knowledge to the player.

before we come back to the lighthouse, we get a little peek at our two elven gods

i looooove ghilannain's silhouette. i think elgarnan should have been more fucked up tbh. what we do learn here is that the darkspawn ghoul that we chased during the quest was controlled/influenced heavily by ghilannain to retrieve the dagger, and seeing as it failed, the gods now decide they need to make a new dagger - ghilannain specificies "made of red lyrium", for some reason. clearly regular lyrium wasn't a problem, since they wanted solas' dagger, but maybe it's a preference thing...? anyway. we now have. the entire motivation for the game i suppose. i guess it IS made obvious how pivotal the dagger is but... idk. it's not very impressive. in general i feel like they suffer from a crucial lack of development in the game. yes, of course as the main antagonists, we dont really spend a lot of time chatting to them, but i wish we'd gotten a bit more depths. especially since later we can hear snippets of conversation! also they have a scrying pool of sorts??? how does it work??? can they only see blighted creatures??? does it include wardens??? where the fuck are they in this screenshot??? it does look like elven architecture but i'd like to know where EXACTLY they are. somewhere in arlathan forest still? why would they not go themselves to pick up the dagger? is it too low-level work for them? are they too weak to risk it yet?

it does remind me tho of when they got freed and you saw solas turn towards them and look afraid. suddenly he didn't seem like the Dread Wolf, but like a very small and scared man. this is probably one of his greatest nightmares. good moment i liked it.

we go back to the lighthouse to have another huddle. harding says that she feels like something took her over and is worried it might be possession - neve reassures her, saying dwarves cannot be possessed because they aren't connected to the fade. i wonder if this is meant as like, a physical impossibility, or just that since dwarves dont dream or access the fade as easily, theyre just so much less likely to come into contact and make a deal with a demon?

a mage rook says it's not the magic they know, and then we have a beautiful bit of dialogue:

Rook: It's clearly Stone-focused. Which makes sense. Dwarves are Children of the Stone. Harding: Mages connect to the Fade. Dwarves reach out to the Stone? Maybe? Rook: Maybe. Harding: I guess we don't have any real answer.

i dont know guys i feel like you could have dug into this a little more T_T. especially frustrating playing a rook who is a scholar haha.

then you can tell harding how you view her new magic. not sure what it influences exactly apart from some dialogue later. i think maybe that's my gripe with a lot of those decisions being made a big deal out of (through the purple notifications): a lot of the time, it's just some dialogue you get or don't, not really something that has a real mechanical consequence (like actually influencing outcomes of situations). i might be wrong though.

lighthouse conversations after this: you can have a proper one with harding, where she expands a little more on isatunoll, and it being a proclamation of being , not "i", because that's a single being, and not "we", because that's multiple but separate. I think the closest analogy I'd give to what isatunoll seems to refer, which would have been the state of the dwarves before the titans were made tranquil, is a hive mind? maybe not quite that, but clearly dwarves were connected to each other through the titans, and to the titans, in very intrisic ways. harding also says she can't find any accurate mention of isatunoll in the books she's reading ("none of the histories are right."). as an aside, she never seemed particularly interested in dwarven history, or underground dwarves - it makes sense that she'd want to look into it now and suddenly feel closer to it, but where did she get those books on such short notice? did they just appear in the lighthouse?

speaking of the lighthouse! the library is now debris-free, and bellara's area, the workshop, is now open, though in the same state of neglect as the rest. we also of course now have the meditation room and get to arrange it. i was delighted to see a mourn watcher rook brings an urn with them... presumably it contains?? skeleton bits?? since nevarrans don't burn their deads??? anyway. imagine just lugging a whole urn around for months on end as you're travelling through thedas. tbf the mage thing, the magical project, also does not seem like something you'd bring with you for that. where were these objects before? who knows.

we unlock this codex entry in the meditation room:

On Life in the Lighthouse This ancient logbook is filled with meticulous veilfire runes. Though it is encoded, flicking through it offers vignettes of borrowed memory. Fearful refugees are ushered to the Lighthouse through eluvians, emerging from the infirmary and libraries as soldiers, spies, and scholars. Gardeners plant long-extinct herbs that grow, are harvested, and wither in the blink of an eye. The sharp smell of distilling medicine wafts from a window, and poison for the enemy drips into a vial. The arguments of a war council go on late into the night; fobidden songs are sung freely, with filthy lyrics substituted for the Evanuris' names. Finally, a heated conversation silhouetted against glass with quick shadows darting behind it. The argument ends with a wordless but unmistakable impression: "You summoned them: you feed them."

i love every scrap we get of what things were like for the ancient elves. it's nice to learn a bit more about the rebellion; it also seems like the lighthouse used to be a much larger place, if it housed all these people and rooms (libraries, plural, but also some kind of alchemy lab for poisons and medicines, at the very least, as well as gardens). and someone recorded this, wrote it in encoded runes - a member of the rebellion presumably? i was also wondering if it could be a spirit observing them, but solas makes it pretty clear later on that spirits were implicated in the conflict whether they wanted to or not, so i dont think there'd be any that just observes, especially in the heart of the rebellion.

solas sassed me so bad during this conversation with him i yelled at my screen. he asks if he overstated the danger, i picked the option to say he didn't, and he told me "How unfortunate for you." in the most mocking way. SOLAS. WHAT IS THIS. this man has no manners.

anyway, we learn that solas knows some of who we are and draws a parallel between him and us. I think that happens no matter what you choose - I'm gonna transcribe what happened with beryl, but I remember a similar dialogue with daea as well.

Rook: Then you know that powerful opposition doesn't frighten me. I find a way to get the job done, whatever it takes. Solas: I suppose I was not so different when I started. Rook: Started what? Solas: My rebellion against the Evanuris -- the "elven gods", as you call them.

side note: fun early apparition of "whatever it takes".

solas then tells us that the gods "wish to reclaim their dominion over the world." that's fine, i guess, but it rubs me the wrong way that we hear our main antagonists' goals through a third party who's assuming it's what they want. that could have been a fun twist! you can perfectly keep elgarnan and ghilannain as evil bad guys while saying they have more complex or specific aims than solas says or thinks; then that could contrast solas' conviction that he is always right, as well (until he realizes he was wrong and decides to destroy the world again about it, of course).

and then some fun stuff:

Solas: First, the blight. What exists in this world is a bare fragment of its power. The rest is imprisoned... until they release it. Rook: (Why blight the world?) I don't understand. Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain were elves like you, right? Why would they want to blight the world? Solas: It is my fault. As the Dread Wolf, I was a thorn in their side. Solas: When my efforts weakened their grasp on the elven people, they grew frustrated. Then desperate. Rook: And turned to the blight. Solas: Once the corruption took hold of them, they were blind to its horror. It was just another source of power for them. Solas: Now, they would blight the world without hesitation and call us backward and foolish for opposing them. Rook: (It's bigger than what we have?) The rest of the blight is imprisoned? There's more than what's in the world already? Solas: Yes. Centuries ago, the magisters of Tevinter opened my prison. A tiny fragment of the blight escaped. Solas: That fragment grew beneath the earth and led to the Blights that have swept across this world. Solas: However terrible the blight is now, it is a mere fraction of what we will see if its full power is unleashed. Rook: (It didn't escape?) The blight didn't escape with the gods? Solas: Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain escaped largely empty-handed, fortunately. Most of the blight is still trapped in the prison I created ages ago. Rook: So what we saw at the village, that's them not at full strength? Solas: Correct.

these are the questions you can ask solas about the blight before continuing the conversation. all interesting tidbits! the blight existed before they turned to it - we know it's the anger of the titans, a consequence of making them tranquil. it was considered bad, including by the evanuris: solas saying that once the corruption advanced enough, they were blind to its horrors implies that they used not to be. the blight we know and have known since origins is only a LITTLE of it, which is humbling. the titans were gods in their own right; that their fury is much bigger and worse than what we've seen also makes sense.

also, the magisters did unleash the blight, but it is not of the maker. someone call the chantry i need to destroy their entire ideology asap (if everyone else' beliefs are getting fucked, i don't see why the chantry should be different. but i will complain about this later for sure). this confirms that the golden/black city was arlathan. corypheus said in dai that he throne of the gods was empty, so either he saw the evanuris in their prison but did not recognize them as gods, or the magisters just didn't go very far into that prison (plausible! it was a ritual that demanded a lot of power and they resorted to a lot of blood magic just to enter the fade physically, let alone go further into it. I wonder if it would have demanded less power if they hadn't been trying to get into solas' prison? also, was it on accident or not?). it is intriguing that the blight escaped first with no god, and now the gods escaped with no blight. were they held in different sections of solas' prison? also, honestly, what the fuck was that prison like? thousands of years imprisoned with your fellow tyrants in the fade? AND additionally: the evanuris and the forgotten ones seem to have disappeared at the same time, but solas only ever talks about imprisoning the evanuris, despite legends saying he imprisoned both (in different prisons). and we see anaris later, coming from and being send back to the fade. what happened to the forgotten ones exactly? clearly they're not in with the evanuris.

anyway. then solas tells us to find the tyrants and bullies, the cruel and the corrupt, because that's where elgarnan and ghilannain will seek followers, as they "care little for the elves". I do agree they don't care for the well-being of the elves, for sure, but i was expecting a "you were ours and you shall be again" angle to be played much more strongly in the game. it soooort of happens, with the way elgarnan talks to and about the dalish, but not that much. but now we've establish that anyone who works with the gods is evil anyway.

it's frustrating because then it's just reinforced that the venatori and antaam are purely evil, with very few exceptions - or not even exceptions, just... contact with members that show another facet. I'm thinking of the crow and venatori lovers in treviso, and the brief dialogue with the butcher in treviso as well. the enemies being uniformly bad, something that is never questioned, is definitely a disappointing and frustrating aspect of the game, especially when racism is thrown in the mix with the antaam (the way theyre depicted is dehumanizing and sexualized and just. so bad. plenty of other posts have touched upon this but it bears repeating.)

finally, "And when you see Varric, please tell him that I... regret what happened." SOLAS WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU.

actually this does remind me of something i forgot to write about earlier, about the very beginning of the ritual site quest, when harding and neve have a bit of a fight. Harding at one point mentions Varric, and Neve says that he knew what he was in for, he knew what the risks were. so clearly varric is not a taboo subject in front of rook. HOW did rook not stumble into conversation that made them realize varric was dead and an illusion during the game? it must span at least MONTHS.

caught up with my screenshots folder, so ill play some more tomorrow probably! I think from next week, as I go back to work, I'll prob play during the weekend and write these posts during the week, but we'll see.

[circetalia]

Introducing my Rook for my Elek Fic-

Anisé "Rooke" Thorne! Lore under cut!

As always, same screenshots because I'm not far into the game and I like creating characters >.<

Anisé was born into a family who was under the capture of the Venatori. She grew up a Venatori slave, and spent her whole childhood in servitude, being used to practice crude magic on or used for blood magic. During one of these experiments, she used some level of magic unknowingly which cause the Venatori to lock her away without food or water for a time. She wasn't trained in her magic, and for the most part thought she was being punished just because the experiment went wrong on their end, which did happen.

Eventually, in her early 20's, a group wanting to help free slaves would save her. They offered her to join them but she refused, scared on who they were and what they wanted. So she fled instead. She found herself in Dock Town, where she lived as best as she could without much shelter or food. Thankfully, if one could thank anyone for their actions, the punishments from the Venatori helped her learn how to manage food, thirst, and hunger. Long enough to where she could survive with barely much meals per week.

Living on the streets was rough though. Thugs wandered around everywhere and fights were broken out almost every night. It was only a matter of time before they decided Anisé would be their next target. And when they did settle on her for shakedowns for food and gold, she ran, hoping that somebody would help. And somebody did.

Two men helped her, but demanded she pay them in return. Members of the Threads, extorting her for protecting her when she never pleaded for help but rather than ran by scared while being chased by thugs. She didn't have any money at the time, as she was already mugged from earlier in the day, so the men grabbed her and decided to drag her to the Threads' hideout. Have the boss deal with her. They would pass by a newer Thread at the time, who seemingly had an interest in her and offered the idea she work for the Threads' instead to pay off what she owed.

Terrified, she just went along with everything. When the men threw her at the younger man who practically saved her, he had her follow him in which he said that he would show her the ropes and help her get on her feet as a Thread. This man would be Elek, of which would become one of her closest friends during the time (during which they would also start a relationship. He would call her 'Annie' as they got closer, as well as helping her choose the last name 'Thorne' since she didn't have one from her being a slave. His reasoning for it was that she was 'as pretty as a rose, but sharp as it's thorns').

About 2 years after she joined, she decided she didn't want to live her life as a criminal anymore, so she set up a trap to get herself caught by the templars. She decided to steal a relic that was locked away in the Chantry during the main hours it was in operation, getting herself caught by not only the Chantry Sisters, but the Templar-Commander, as well. She was imprisoned for this transgression, and spent about 3 weeks in the cell.

After those 3 weeks, a Grey Warden would come in and use the right to conscript anyone willing to come. Her mother used to tell her stories on how the Wardens were heroes, so she willingly joined along. Among the Warden's, she would learn how to fully use her magic and finally feel like she was doing good in the world.

Adamant happened a few months after her Joining, however. She almost died protecting the other Wardens' from demons and aiding the Inquisition. Hawke would save her group when they got overwhelmed, and as a tribute to his sacrifice she would paint her face in the same way he did-only with the Warden blue instead of the red he used.

About 8 years from then, she would disobey her commanders orders and attack the horde of Darkspawn heading for the town she was defending instead of waiting for reinforcements, which resulted in her joining up with Varric in attempt to break away from whatever other punishment her commanders would give should she had stayed.

[my-dumb-obsessions]

I just saw your tags about Cariane Amell's quest for an untainted Old God and that is *fascinating.* What else is Carie up to? What is she like?

Hoo, boy! Cariane's post-Awakening life has many twists and turns, and a good amount of involvement in DA2 Act 3 and Legacy timelines.

What is she like? Compassionate within certain limits, curious and resourceful. She will frequently make decisions with incomplete information because "someone has to." Give her a little bit of command and she'll run with it. She may not know best, but will listen to people she trusts and course correct. But if she's got an agenda and really believes in it, she will stick to her guns.

For this particular project, it started during the Blight. In the years after discovering Soldier's Peak she spent a lot of time working with Avernus, who'd used blood magic to hold off his own Calling and extend his life by 200 years. She also got him a solid number of Warden test subjects after a group of Orlesian Wardens failed to oust her from command (these were the same Wardens who, under their acting Commander, drove off half her mages - including Anders - while she and Nathaniel answered a summons from Weisshaupt). There was a week-long battle over Vigil's Keep, and after reclaiming it from the rebels, she captured and sent them to Avernus rather than executing them.

Carie is also an unapologetic supporter of mage freedom and an active thorn in the Chantry's side, so years later when Leliana informed her that the Chantry wanted her help, she didn't trust it. She took it as a warning and gradually moved Warden operations from Amaranthine to Soldier's Peak, away from public attention.

"In my dreams, I see the Black City, and I am drawn towards it. There is something there, an answer to what this taint is, this taint that we share with the darkspawn..." —From the notes of Avernus (DAO Warden's Keep DLC)

"Naturally, of course, we cut into the cyst. The flesh within was blighted. We immediately examined all other cysts found in the other dragon carcasses. Each time, we found the blight. The only conclusion we can draw is that dragons can stem the spread of the blight within their own bodies." —Excerpt of Frederic of Serault's Report (DAI)

Cariane killed the Architect, because to her, the only good darkspawn is a dead darkspawn. But his research had merit, and she's fine with shady experiments if she's the one doing them 😅. Combined with the work she did with Avernus and the "relevant to your interests" report Leliana sent her about dragon autopsies, she put together this theory. She also got access to old records that implied Wardens who specialized as Reavers tended to live longer before hearing their Calling than other Wardens.

After Avernus died, this became her goal, to see if dragon blood could stem the taint indefinitely - not just any dragon, but the most powerful, near-divine creatures on the planet, of which there were only 2 left. Like a darkspawn, she could follow the sound of the song. And if she could get there before the darkspawn tainted it, maybe she could unlock the power of its blood.

So yeah it's not too different from what Clarel's Wardens were working on, taking the fight to the archdemons before they rose. She just had different plans for what to do when she found one. Does it make her a hypocrite for killing the Architect? Yeah, kind of. Is it completely misguided and doomed to fail? Maybe. I guess we'll find out.

—

Guys I love talking about Cariane, she's got so much lore, I could talk about her for days. Ask all the questions, I'm game! ❤️

[ladeaeveld]

Notes on Tevinter Nights

I finished reading Tevinter Nights not so long ago, so here is an overview of what is happening in Thedas. There is probably nothing particularly new since I'm a bit late to the party. However, I find such overviews convenient to refresh my memory when needed. Perhaps it will be useful to someone else!

This overview was meant to be short, but there were so many interesting details... now, it is huge.

Also, since I’ve read the translated version, any help with wording clarifications is greatly appreciated!

The post is under a cut due to Tevinter Nights spoilers (and length).

Global events

- There is a war between the Qunari and Tevinter.

- Three branches of the Qun do not agree with each other. The Antaam, the military branch of the Qun, attacked Ventus and continued the invasion without the permission of the other two. It results in faster progress of the invasion as the other two branches were a moderating influence on the Antaam. The Ben-Hassrath holds a neutral position.

- In Tevinter, the Venatori are still a problem.

- Smaller countries like Rivain and Antiva are under serious threat of the Qunari’s invasion.

- The heads of the Antivan Crows, eight Talons, held a meeting to join their forces, protect Antiva, and withstand the Qunari's invasion. The meeting was disrupted, and four out of eight Talons were murdered. New heads of the Crows will be chosen soon.

- The king of Nevarra is on the brink of death. The Mortalitasi, who have always had great power in Nevarra, continue to interfere in politics.

- All the Grey Wardens were summoned to Weisshaupt.

- We were introduced to a considerable amount of characters from the guild of treasure hunters, the Lords of Fortune.

- Regarding the Inquisition, little is known. All external issues of the organization seem to be handled by Varric Tethras. He gives quests, monitors their implementation, hires new people.

- One of the Executors, or ‘those across the sea’, showed up in the flesh. Solas said they are particularly dangerous and cautioned against interacting with them.

- By now, many have heard rumours of the Fen’Harel’s cult.

Minrathous

- A demon or something far worse is imprisoned under Minrathous. With the help of the Venatori, it is now unsealed (will probably be sealed again later). Yet, to awake it, some blood-magic ritual must be performed.

- The creature was sealed with eight blood-bonded enchanted clay disks. They showed a long and thin four-winged dragon rising from the dark waters.

- It is said that ‘demon’ is not the best word to describe this creature. It is something ancient and mighty, unnamed, something that will subject to god only.

- This ‘demon’ was a part of Corypheus’ plan of making Tevinter great again. According to this plan, Minrathous was to become the cradle of the new world. If Minrathous had not surrendered to Corypheus, the ‘demon’ would have left the city no choice.

- Most of the population of Minrathous could have perished as a result of this creature awakening.

- Enchanted predators and monsters resulting from magical experiments seem to be common in Minrathous.

Elven experiments

- In Nevarra, under a mountain with three asymmetric peaks wrapped around each other, there is a dwarven thaig. This thaig is called Hormak, and it was lost to the darkspawn hundreds of years ago.

- In Hormak, Grey Wardens have found elven halls, where experiments on living were conducted. And it is quite lively in these halls now.

- There is a huge pool with a greyish fluid that reeks of brine. It creates hybrids.

- There were different types of hybrids: darkspawn with other darkspawn, animals with other animals, darkspawn with animals, and even a centipede and a Grey Warden hybrid.

- When a hurlock stepped in the greyish fluid, it was enveloped and then transformed into a drake and a hurlock hybrid.

- The transformed Grey Warden said that the fluid affects ‘them’ (sentient races?) differently. To be transformed, it is not enough to touch it. The fluid should get inside the body.

- All over the place were large repetitive bas-reliefs depicting ancient elven. There were three types of them. The first one showed majestic elven kings and queens with reverent supplicants. The second one showed elven mages healing sick. The third showed big aravels, drawn by herds of hallas, going to distant mountains (one of the mountains had three peaks wrapped around each other).

- Later, those bas-reliefs were described differently. On the first one, elven rulers were arrogant and despised their subjects, who seemed to be in great terror. On the second one, mages weren’t healing sick, but on the contrary, they were injecting corruption into bodies. On the third, a halla had a strange rounded body and very long and ridged horns, and an aravel had bars on its windows, which made it look like a cage.

- Somewhere at the entrance of the halls was one more type of repetitive bas-reliefs. It showed three figures: a supplicant, a priestess, and a monster. On each subsequent bas-relief, a supplicant and a monster were different, while the priestess remained the same. It seemed that with each subsequent bas-relief, her grin grew wider.

- The experiments are directed by some will, which is referred to as a female. ‘She’ is not yet there, ‘they’ are waiting for ‘her’.

- Symbols of horns of a halla are present on each column in the halls.

- According to bas-reliefs, there are twelve such places in total.

The Inquisition members and allies

For completeness, this part should have included information from the comic, but I tried to avoid that.

- According to Tevinter Nights, Varric and Charter remained in the ranks of the Inquisition.

- Charter mentions her lover, Tessa.

- Vaea and ser Aaron show up but without a clear relation to the Inquisition.

- There are two mages, Vadis and Irian, who saved a peaceful Qunari settlement called Kont-aar from an agent of Fen'Harel, thus keeping the chance of subtle peace between the Ben-Hassrath and Tevinter. The Ben-Hassrath returned the favour by directing said mages to Kirkwall, to a certain dwarf, where they intend to go after seeing Val Royeaux.

- Sutherland and Company are still loyal to the ideals of the Inquisition.

- Quentin Calla, who was a bearer of the enchanted clay disk for a while, provided the Inquisition with some information.

- Philliam, a Bard!, (formerly) Sister Laudine, and Brother Ferdinand Genitivi, with the help of the Lord of the Fortune, Mateo, accepted and completed the quest from the Inquisition.

Fen’Harel and the red lyrium idol

- The red lyrium idol's adventures ended. It is now in Solas' hands, or at least he says so.

- There are three descriptions of the red lyrium idol's appearance. The first one, made by the dwarf, the Carta assassin: two figures, too thin to be dwarves, caressing each other. The second one, by Mortalitasi: two lovers or a god mourning the sacrifice. The third, by Solas: crowned figure comforting another one. (Note: I remind you these are not exact quotes but a translation of the translation, and nuances might have been lost.)

- Some qualities of the idol: red lyrium weighs more than the usual one; the idol is liquid inside; it reacts to other lyrium.

- The idol created or revealed a ritual blade.

- Solas calls the idol his.

- The Mortalitasi recounted the events in the Fade in which Solas took a form of a giant wolf the size of a high dragon. He had burning eyes like those of a pride demon and wings of fire which later resolved themselves into lesser demons. The Fade is called his natural home, and it is said spirits serve him gladly.

- Solas pays special attention to the actions of the Inquisition.

- Members of Fen'Harel's cult would rather die than be captured.

- The ritual the Dread Wolf performs already affects the Fade.

Random interesting facts

- The Qunari slowly cut down a part of the Arlathan Forest.

- The Ben-Hassrath are said to know the most about Solas’ actions.

- Among four killed Talons was Giuli Arainai, Eighth Talon, and this might be a good time for Zevran to show up somehow.

- There was a lyrium crystal that produced a light with shades of green and yellow in Hormak.

- Dorian no longer has slaves, only hired labourers.

- Josephine sent Dorian some good Antivan wine. :)

- Vaea now possesses a healing artefact, which seems to be able to heal anything except death.

- There is an example of a dwarven metal prosthetic of a leg, which does not seem to restrict movement in any way.

Since I’ve read Tevinter Nights after the last Dragon Age Day... - Evka became a Grey Warden and did rescue the next one!

- The hunger demon that turned a person into a werewolf in the village called Eichweill was not completely defeated.

- It seems those elven artefacts do strengthen the Veil, after all.

- The Randy Dowager is Ferdinand Genitivi. Five scarves fluttered in shock out of five.

⠀

This is all for Tevinter Nights for now. I did not include plenty of curious facts, probably enough for another post. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!

If you have any corrections regarding facts, or grammar, etc., don’t hesitate to DM me! Or you may leave a comment in my ask box if you want to stay anonymous.

Thank you for the attention, and have a nice day!

[laureviewer]

Dragons Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age—A Review

WARNING: (not full) spoilers below.

‘We did it darliiiings!’

That’s what I cried, a-la the Great Sylvando, once I finished this game. 112 hours in, and all the way through it showed no signs of slowing. Which, for a shameless JRPG-lover like myself, is exactly what I want in a game. Hours and hours of combat, exploration through stunning scenery, empathetic and deep characters and, most importantly, a completely immersive and entertaining story that I can’t wait to see the climax—but, crucially, I can.

The Chosen One

The story begins in Erdrea, where monsters have invaded the fantastical world—why, we’re not quite sure. All we know, as the infant protagonist, is that we are found washed up on the riverbank by a kindly old man named Chalky, who takes us to his village and gives us to our adoptive mother, Amber.

And, guess what? He’s the Chosen One—the Luminary. You’d have thought our hero would have realised something was different about him with the presence of a very specific birthmark tattooed on the back of his hand, but he and his childhood friend Gemma do come from a sheltered town with very little knowledge of the outside world, after all. True to form for a lot of adventure games, he’s the only one who can save the world. After finding this out in a coming-of-age ceremony a few years later, Amber tells him to go to King Carnelian of Heliodor, who is sure to help him understand what all this means. Right?

If our silent protagonist could talk, this is where he would be screaming, ‘I’m not the Darkspawn!’ as King Carnelian throws him in the dungeon. But thank Yggdrasil he did, or we wouldn’t meet our first companion in our band of loveable misfits.

The Power of Friendship

I’m still unsure why, after so many hours of gameplay, why Erik endears himself the most to me, but he does. Sure, he’s the first one you meet, and you team up to escape the dungeon (running from a giant dragon along the way!), but he’s also a dishonest thief. Throughout the game, you never quite know if he’s in it for himself or to help you save the world. I’ve concluded that he’s actually doing it for you, and your budding bromance…or, at least, that’s my own head cannon. He’s misunderstood. His cutting sarcasm is welcome in a story of overly keen optimists (see: Sylvando). And he’s who the hero seems to look at whenever there’s a sweet, sentimental moment in the story, cementing their true friendship.

Or, maybe it’s because Akira Toriyama drew these characters, and his colourful hair and spunky attitude remind me of my childhood DBZ crush, Trunks. Either way, I’m Team Erik, with his knife-wielding, quick-thinking style of fighting, all the way. My only gripe is that his damage wasn’t that great for me until endgame, unfortunately.

Even though we don’t meet Sylvando until later, it seems that my mind demands he be the next to discuss—much like Sylvando demands much of the attention within the game. We first meet him at the circus, where he is a beloved performer. His quest is to make the people of the world smile—a noble endeavour in a world where the Dark One is coming to rid the world of happiness for good. He is the absolute epitome of flamboyance: he calls your band of companions ‘darlings’; he has a half-naked ship captain with bulging muscles and a pink face mask called Dave, of all things; and he even leads a peacock-feathered parade at a certain point in the game, which the hero must cheerily join in, feathers and sassy sway absolutely necessary.

And yet, he doesn’t simply function as comic relief. He is brave, charming, sympathetic, and quite often the heart of the group. He is always the one to ask if a character is okay, or if they need help, and has conviction that only Henrik, our resident knight in shining armour, would rival. Plus, he’s fantastic with a whip (because of course he is) and has some fabulous healing moves that have saved me more than once in a tough fight. The group would be nothing without Sylvando—and he absolutely knows it!

Veronica & Serena serve as our other characters who are bound by destiny. They are Keepers, born to protect aid the Luminary on his quest. As twins, you’d expect them to look the same…but, after an encounter with monsters, Veronica was turned into a child, and is stuck that way. As an offensive mage who hates being treated like a child, she serves as the brash one of the group, quick to anger, much like her fiery spells.

Serena, on the other hand, serves as the yin to Veronica’s yang. She is temperate and always willing to help, if somewhat hapless. The primary healer of the group, she excels in restorative and defensive magic, and has a harp to while away the less hopeful days. As a pair, these two are steadfast, loyal, and…to be honest, aren’t much more interesting than that, unless Veronica is being goaded into an argument.

Until the later game, anyway. I won’t spoil that here, but will just say I underestimated both their spell casting abilities and their importance in the story. 

You know how the hero is the Chosen One, the Luminary and the absolute saviour of the world? Well, he also happens to be a Prince of Dundrasil. Had the fates been kinder, he might have been brought up in a huge castle, with loving royal family around to raise and guide him.

Rab, a fierce, playful and wise old man (with a banging Scottish accent) is ready to heal, attack with offensive magic, and guide our hero around the expansive world. And, as we find out after defeating him and his sexy companion in a battle competition in Octagonia (see: Jade), he is also grandfather to our hero, and thus a Lord of Dundrasil himself. He may seem old, but not only does he have royal blood, but he is a capable spell-caster and martial artist, making it apparent that he is one of the most capable companions in the game. If I were to ask anyone for advice, knowing that he would neither mince his words nor omit anything important, I would go to Rab.

You know what any game directed at kids needs? That’s right, a sexy warrior princess that you can stick in a bunny costume for most of the game. Even if you choose not to do that, her combat outfit doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Thankfully, Jade isn’t just eye-candy. She has far more going for her. She’s a Princess of Heliodor, the hero’s childhood companion who lost him as a baby. She just wants to find him, her younger brother figure (sadly), and help him fulfil his destiny. Plus, as a battle and spear fighter, she has some of the strongest moves in the game—albeit mostly from her sexy, love-based moves such as ‘Hip Thrust’ and ‘Sexy Beam’, only comparable with Sylvando’s equally as sexy and flamboyant ‘Lashings of Love’ and ‘That’s Amore’ moves. She’s a badass bitch who takes no crap from lovestruck men or monsters.

Though, she has her very own Princess Leia moment, where she is captured by a horrific, giant, evil and ugly monster and made to wear a sexy outfit (hey, there’s that bunny girl outfit again). It is heavily implied she has been under his mind control, and that he’s been having his ‘wicked way’ with her. Good thing she comes out of it with sexy vampire powers, isn’t it?

HEAVY SPOILERS NOW. I warn you, don’t go any further if you care about that kind of thing.

Our final companion is one who doesn’t show up until late game. Sir Henrik, a Knight of Heliodor, is the hero we all need. He defends his ruler to the last (which, spoiler alert, nearly ended up being his fatal flaw), is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of all, and defends the weak: a true knight, with chivalry, bravery, and total care for all others. It’s a shame he hated the hero for the first half of the game, really.

But do I care about that? No, I care that his greatsword abilities make him an absolute tank. On a one-on-one fight, I needed him front and centre of every battle just for his incredible damage output. Against multiple enemies, he is less useful, but with his supplementary healing and defence skills, he isn’t just an attacker, but a true defender of the people to the last.  

Calm it with the Combat

My god, this game has a lot of battles. While that’s expected for a turn-based JRPG, and there were a lot, unlike others such as Pokémon, you can choose which battles to avoid as the figures traverse the overworld. This is useful in such a slow-burning game, and also helps you find the monsters you want—again, a definite improvement on the way Pokémon works, as it saves you having to fight hundreds of creatures you don’t want to find the ones with the best EXP.

A notable exception to this is when you have to find and defeat a rare monster for a quest, which don’t traverse the overworld. This means you have to fight potentially hundreds of more common monsters to find the one you want, which can be frustrating, especially as it is all done on chance and not on how many you have defeated. While you can increase your chances with various items or equipment, it still adds a frustrating amount of time to an already long game.

Another vague annoyance is how much harder the game gets post-game. I actually did not have an issue with this, as a friend told me how to farm the elusive and high-EXP metal slimes using a particular Hero-Erik-Jade Pep Power and so I could use this ability throughout post-game. However, for those not in the know, the potentially grinding at the end of the game may put some people off finishing an already saturated game.

What I loved about the combat was how it kept getting harder and harder. I never worried about over-levelling (as said above, I was more worried about being under levelled) and that meant I could do what I do best: do all side-quests before the end of the main story. In other JRPGs, the completionist in me has always made me want to do all side-quests, but this has meant the final boss has been underwhelming and easier than it should be.

The variation of powers and attacks was also really interesting. You can spec into different forms of fighting for each character—I went for Swords with the hero, Whips for Sylvando, Boomerangs with Erik (after using Daggers for most of the game), Heavy Wands for Rab and Veronica, Wands for Serena, Spears for Jade, and Greatswords for Henrik—and this makes all the combinations of them in the party very cool. I normally just controlled the hero during the fights and let the others fight wisely, unless there was a specific quest to fulfil or a particularly hard boss. Not only did this speed up combat, but it also helped me to learn which of their moves were the most effective against which monsters automatically and quickly, which was easier than picking moves and trying them out myself. It’s easy, with enough gold, to respec if you like, and this I’m sure could make the game fee different every time if you wanted to play with different specs.

Pep powers were also a lot of fun. While it was sometimes annoying waiting for some or all of the characters to pep up and therefore use these moves that combine different characters’ moves for ‘Ultimate’ attacks, they provided fun cutscenes and made the battles more interesting. Plus, they reminded me a lot of DBZ moves, especially the epic ones with the hero and Rab!

Top tip: you can swap out characters and they will keep their pepped-up status. I wish I’d known about that a lot earlier!

The monster designs are great, as per usual Akira Toriyama style. There are lots of different kinds, from slimes, to mechs, to really weird ones like the kissy lip monster and the Bongo Drongos. The bosses are also amazing. Just all the character designs, from human to monster, to anything else. I see a lot of DBZ in all of them, which is fantastic.

You know what? Here’s some pictures. You’re welcome.

Mini Games & Challenges: Hey, I actually want to do these!

I often have issues with mini games, as sometimes they are so different from the main game that I just don’t want to spend time playing them. Gwent in another of my favourite games, The Witcher 3 is a good example: I never really learnt the rules, which I’m sure would have helped, but it was so detached from the main game I just didn’t care. Plus, it had no effect on the story or game at large, so what was the point?

In DQ11, sure, you don’t need to rack up 500,000 casino tokens in poker or the slots to buy better gear. You don’t have to finish first in all five Gallopolis horse races. Forging items isn’t totally needed to advance the game. It’s not necessary to win all five rounds of the Wheel of Harma in a certain number of moves (though this is much more like the rest of the game than the other mini games). But I did all of these, and it was great fun. It’s what’s helped make the game such a time suck (especially the casino) but I never felt like they were a chore.

Apart from the crossbow bullseyes. I did none of them as apparently I only noticed about three out of however many there are. They can suck my Sword of Light.  

 What’s a good JRPG without me questioning the point of life after it’s over?

JRPGs do it best—fight me.

The story of DQ11 is immersive, interesting, intricate and, at times, incredibly heart-breaking. Following the hero and his friends for over 100 hours really means you get to dive into their adventure, and more so, their relationships. You truly believe why they have chosen to follow each other into danger, to protect each other as well as the world. Sure, he’s the Luminary, so Serena & Veronica, the Luminary’s guides, at least have a reason to follow him to the end. The fact he’s the Luminary at may mean the characters have more faith in him than they would anyone else without lightning powers. But, even without that, you get the impression that they trust him for his innocent and yet resolute determination to do the right thing, whatever the cost.

The NPCs in the game also provide variety and are a lot of fun. There’s a lovesick mermaid, a brilliantly incompetent prince, two brothers in Laguna di Gondolia who are trying to sell the same things to you for different prices, and Silvando’s Smile Brigade, to name just a few. Their backstories, personalities and current stories all bring life to a game already chock full of it, and makes even simple fetch quests interesting and well worth doing, if you value a good story like I do. These little touches explain why the game clocks in at well over 100+ hours, but at the same time gives true justification to why that is. It’s the difference between a boring game, and one I loved to turn on and just relax of an evening. I might not have done all that much in three hours, but I still enjoyed every minute.

With everything considered, I will remember DQ11 fondly as one of my favourite JRPGs to date. The storyline, characters, combat and score are all fantastic and makes me wish I played the older games. Thank you, Dragon Quest, for giving me 112 hours of fun. 

[theharellan]

101 DRAGON AGE QUESTIONS | not accepting

for the sake of reducing the number of ooc posts i’m answering these all in one and just @ing the people who asked the questions! thank you for them all!

if you sent me one of these btw and rbed this meme yourself and i didn’t send you something, please let me know! i want to send you things back and must have missed you reblogging the meme. this includes non-mutuals.

1. How did you get into Dragon Age? | asked by @kaaras-adaar & @dreamerlavellan​

Sort of by accident, actually. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in university (2011) and summertime is generally a time of inactivity and depression because I cannot tolerate the weather here. My dad happened to own Origins and I picked it up because??? Fantasy? RPG?

Starting the game I saw you could play as a dwarf, who have been my favourites in fantasy since a child as The Hobbit is among my favourite books. Then after that I fell in love with the worldbuilding for dwarves and Gorim, my first actual Dragon Age love. I was more or less hooked after that. DA was actually not my first Bioware game, I was obsessed with Jade Empire as a kid so like Origins appealed to me immediately despite being far less fun to play than literally any other Bioware game I’ve ever played. The characters and world more than made up for it.

I beat it relatively quickly and my dad bought Dragon Age II which had come out earlier that day, actually against my suggestion because I’d heard it wasn’t good. And in this instance my dad forgetting something I said turned out for the best because I ended up enjoying DAII more in some respects. While it took me a while to join the fandom as a content producer I was a consumer and certified DA trash from then on.

2. Have you finished all three games? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

Kskjdfs yes. I’ve beaten each at least 4 times, but probably more like 8. The only thing I haven’t played are some of the Origins DLC because as much as I enjoy my replays I am so ready to be out by the end of the game (and I have the worst luck with Awakening bugs) and I also don’t have Sebastians DLC b/c his never goes on sale individually and I refuse to spend more than like $4 on him.

3. How long did it take you to finish the series? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

I honestly don’t know. I think it took me like a week to beat Inquisition without 100%ing it, I’d say my first playthroughs all probably took about that long. I tend not to do everything in my first playthrough. Like shard collecting didn’t happen until round two, etc.

7. Favorite DA:O backstory? | asked by @dreamerlavellan & @fatefaulted

I’ve played through all of them and I enjoy them all except Cousland, but my favourite is Aeducan. I enjoy the politics, the culture, the aesthetic of Orzammar. I love Gorim Saelac and the surprising amount of depth to this character who is designed to be thrown away after the prologue. I love how it ties you to the Darkspawn threat in a bigger way than any of the origins accomplish. I love how it ties you to the Orzammar plot later in the game, and playing Aeducan first is probably one reason why I adore that branch of the game. It’s a good origin that establishes its world really well and has great characters to boot.

11. Share a pic of your favorite OC from any DA game. | asked by @dreamerlavellan

I just want to share pics of my girl and Solas’ future husband.

Ian Lavellan, non-Inquisitor written by @theshirallen

Thora Cadash, dwarven Inquisitor and default Inquisitor for this blog written by... me lmao.

22. Favorite DA2 party combo? | asked by @fatefaulted

My main Hawke is a mage Hawke, so this party is horrendously imbalanced, but: Varric, Merrill, Isabela. They all just like each other and I think that’s neat. Although in act one my favourite is probably Carver, Merrill, Isabela / Varric. Unfortunately the game doesn’t want me to have a warrior in my party.

24. Favorite main-story quest from DA:I? | asked by @kaaras-adaar

It’s hard to pick between In Hushed Whispers and In Your Heart Shall Burn. I love seeing the red lyrium’d companions and the dark future of Thedas, and speculating on what happened in the intervening year. I love reflecting on what it must do for the Inquisitor to see that and have it be undone. I think it sets up the rest of the game really well, and in ways Champions of the Just doesn’t do quite as well.

In Your Heart Shall burn is a simpler quest but I think the power and emotions in the quest are so raw. Playing this the first time was riveting and I was on the edge of my seat. The triumph of closing the Breach, the strangeness of your first encounter with Cole (whose appearance at the gates is another reason I prefer IHW tbh, I think it’s more tension building than Dorian’s), Corypheus, crawling through the snow. Capping it off with The Dawn Will Come and the journey to Skyhold idk, it’s just such an emotional high point in the series that every time I replay I get goosebumps.

25. Favorite DA:I place? | asked by @fatefaulted

It’s a tie between the Frostback Basin and the Emerald Graves. I love the lore in both, as elf trash I prefer the lore in the graves especially if I can include the Din’an Hanin into that category. But the Avvar lore and Ameridan is also Very Good, and while I adore the giant trees of the graves the Frostback Basin clearly was able to have more resources poured into its design, and as a result the different sections of the map have so much more character.

A close runner-up is the Hinterlands, as I think the quests there are fun and it feels like home. I enjoy returning to it. Which is good, b/c I’ve played through it... a lot... I think loving it might be a coping mechanism, but also I love the vibe of the early game that’s best captured in the Hinterlands.

32. Favorite DLC mission overall? | asked by @fatefaulted

Trespasser is up there with Shivering Isles as my favourite DLC ever produced. Its hits every emotional beat I think it needed to hit, set up the next game with greater detail and intrigue than the initial epilogue, and I’m honestly dying to get to replay it again on Thora despite what it does to my nerves. The first time I played it I could feel my heart beating faster like wtf me.

37. Blood magic: yes or no? | asked by @hopewrought​

Would I use it myself? No. Morally I think it can be reprehensible but also neutral, much like any other magic in the game. In certain characters I think even if used for good it may encourage unhealthy habits, but I think it can be learned to be engaged with in better ways.

59. Who was written really poorly? | asked by @theshirallen you can’t hide behind anon I know it was you

Oghren fucking Kondrat. When I think about the reasons Origins is my least favourite game he is among them. With Oghren there was a really good chance to portray an alcoholic abuse victim, suffering from severe mental health issues, and still mourning his wife, with the respect it deserves. Instead he just... is a gross sexist dwarf and his alcoholism is mostly played for jokes. And then he comes back in Awakening and... continues to be a gross sexist dwarf whose alcoholism is mostly played for jokes.

There could have been some really interesting stuff with Oghren, the Warrior caste of dwarves I think would suffer from issues similar to qunari warriors, where when they can no longer fill the purpose society has dictated they must serve, what then? They can’t do anything but fight. There could be comradery with Sten, or perhaps Zevran or Alistair, or any of the companions who have had the path their lives took dictated to them by societal forces they had no say in (even if they are happy with that direction). There are snippets of good stuff in here, the line “let us show them our hearts, Warden, and then show them theirs” is one of the best of the good-byes the game offers us imo. It’s a shame about what came before.

Like there are other characters, such as Sera, who I think were done dirty by their writers, but Sera at least got some growth in the DLC and there were attempts to address criticism of her character. Oghren in Awakening was just kind of a take two of an already poorly-done arc.

60. Who do you wish had been given more story? | asked by @hopewrought​

I wish Briala had more, like that she had some impact on the story in universes where Gaspard isn’t crowned with her as his puppetmaster. She and the elves reappears in that but not if you reunite her with Celene or exile her, and I think it would’ve been neat. I also wish she’d had a chance to interact with Solas in some small way given how many parallels were drawn by one of his own agents during Masked Empire.

I also wish we had more about dwarves in general in 2 and Inquisition. We get some great lore in Inquisition that was set up in 2, but with our only dwarf companion being Varric, who honestly has a relationship with his race that at times is comparable to Sera’s, it pulls a few of its punches. I really think they have dwarves set up to be important players in the next game, with their architecture featuring heavily in the dev diary, buuut no dwarves to be seen. So who knows. Just give me dwarves in the next game who aren’t Varric Bioware pls. Let me kiss one maybe.

61. Favorite NPC? | asked by @kaaras-adaar​

I’m not going to count advisors even though they kinda are NPCs and I’m going to answer one for each game so uhh...

Origins - Anora

DA2 - Feynriel

DA:I - Krem

Bonus - Lord Woolsley, the only unproblematic DA character

63. Best story moment? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

It’s a tie between the journey to Skyhold and the talk with Solas at the end of Trespasser and the resulting disbanding of the Inquisition (if you so choose). I really can’t separate them because I think the reason Trespasser works so well is how it calls back to the very beginning of Inquisition and that moment with Solas in the snow. It’s triumphant and sad, something’s ending, the fellowship is breaking, but you know all of you will continue to work towards a better world apart.

In DA:O I think it’d be saying good-bye before the final battle and in DA2 I think the moment where you can tell the Arishok he was right to take in the elves who killed that guardmen is good. Probably one of the reasons why I think Hawke-Arishok work so well as a protagonist-antagonist combination.

81. Favorite fanfic? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​

I don’t read a lot of fanfic, actually. Save what I read on here, which I do count, but idk if other people do.

My favourite writers to read are @theshirallen​, obviously. Joly wants to tweakIan’s personal quest but I think the version they have written now is still very good and you can find it here. I love reading Peace’s stuff and find their smut especially spicy in the best possible way, you can find a Merrill/f!Mahariel piece here! Gaia doesn’t write on Tumblr much these days, but she wrote a wonderful Tug/Sketch (the companions from Leliana’s Song) that you can find here.

I follow so many talented writers and I can’t list them all but here are a few I can fire off real fast: @theshirallen / @ghilannainguideme / @seahaloed / @sabraelin / @valorcorrupt / @mercysought / @hopewrought / @ofrevas / @skyheld have all moved me with their words at some point, be it in fic or rp.

82. Favorite fanart/fanartist? | asked by @ghilannainguideme

Again I just can’t choose jsdfks.

The easiest way is to just link my Solas fanart tag. Obviously this favours Solas artists, however, so also here’s a link to thedaswlw where there’s a boatload of amazing fanart all of wlw.

Of people I’m mutuals with I know @abracafockyou, @kaaras-adaar, @dalathin (currently inactive but I gotta link them), and @syntharts​ are all very talented artists.  I’m also a big fan of destinyapostacy, nipuni, elbenherzart, starscollected (on twitter), and many more.

97. What’s your favorite DA mod? | asked by @ghilannainguideme​ & @hopewrought​

I’ll chose one as many as I want to apparently from each game again, b/c why not?

DA:O - I have to admit I find this game hard to mod because nothing can really salvage the gameplay or look of the game. I need Better Dwarf Model so I don’t have to look at the odd dwarf proportions in the game (the women have arms for days). Mostly I have armour mods. I like Grey Wardens of Ferelden so I can match Alistair in the final batte and have everyone in uniforms in Awakening. I do like Kirkwall Exports because I can put Zevran in the robes of the notorious pirate tho. I haven’t used this mod yet but I also love this mod I retweeted this morning.

DA2 - Again, I don’t mod 2 very much. You could probably make some kind of chart for correlating my enjoyment of a game versus my urge to mod it, with the more I love a game means I want to mod it more. With 2 I enjoy the combat and overall design of the characters more so I mostly use a couple of tweaks, my favourite is Ishs Scarf for Merrill which just adds a cute blue scarf to Merrill and hides the fact that elves in this game have weirdly long necks. Oh and a mod to fix the weird hand dirt.

DA:I - Equal Opportunity Solas mod, I bought the game again on PC just to use it. Being able to play Solas/Ian for screencaps was everything tbh. Other mods I enjoy are More Banter, which while I have better luck with banter it is nice to be able to count on it. I installed it this latest pt and I have heard location comments that have never triggered before. Black Hair for Everyone has changed my life because finally Thora doesn’t have grey hair. No Dirt Buildup is also amazing, as the dirt can cause some really weird blotting on PCs that’s especially noticeable on dark-skinned Inquisitors.

99. Where would you live (Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches etc?) | asked by @heysales​​

Probably Ferelden. It is fantasy England and hey if I make it past Inquisition maybe nothing will ever happen there again. Somewhere in the Free Marches might also be chill. Not Kirkwall. Maybe Starkhaven? Honestly tho I just want to live in the Frostback Basin. Have a spirit friend. Shake hands with nugs.

101. If you could meet your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor, what would you say? | asked by @dreamerlavellan​

If I met Thora I’d tell her I’m proud of her. She’d be confused, but that’s ok.

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Areida Hawke

Race: Human 

Gender: Female 

Class: Rogue

Title: Champion of Kirkwall 

Family: - Aristide Amell (maternal grandfather) 

              - Bethann Walker (maternal grandmother) 

              - Malcolm Hawke (father) 

              - Leandra Amell (mother) 

              - Bethany Hawke (sister) 

              - Carver Hawke (brother) 

              - Gamlen Amell (maternal uncle) 

              - Mara Hartling (aunt) 

              - Charade Amell (maternal cousin) 

              - Fausten Amell (maternal great-uncle) 

              - Damion Amell (maternal first cousin once removed)

              - Revka Amell (maternal first cousin once removed)

              - Four unnamed second cousins through Revka 

              - Anders (husband)

              - Karl Hawke (son)

              - Malcom Hawke II (son)

              - Leandra Hawke (daughter) 

Voice: Jo Wyatt  

Appearances: - Dragon Age II 

                        - Dragon Age Legends 

                        - Dragon Age: Inquisition 

                        - Heroes of Dragon Age

Areida Hawke (born 9:06 Dragon), commonly known as The Champion of Kirkwall, is the main protagonist of Dragon Age II. She is the daughter and eldest child of Malcom Hawke and Leandra Amell, and the older sister of Bethany and Carver Hawke.

Background

Areida was born in 9:06 Dragon to Malcom Hawke, an apostate, and Leandra Amell, a noblewoman from Kirkwall who ran away to elope with Malcom after discovering she was pregnant with Areida, an action that caused her maternal grandparents to disown her mother. At the age of five, Areida was given two younger siblings. A brother named Carver and a sister named Bethany. Areida loved her younger siblings and was very protective of them, even while they were still in her mother’s womb. After her siblings were born, wanting to protect her beloved family, Areida began to practice dual dagger combat fighting. 

When Areida was fourteen-years-old, her family settled on the outskirts of Lothering after being on the run from Templars for several years. Due to her sister, Bethany, being a mage, her father spent a lot more time with her sister than he did with either her or Carver, a fact that Areida didn’t mind at all, understanding that Bethany needed to be trained in using her magic properly.

When Areida was twenty-one, her father became ill and passed away, leaving her as the head of the Hawke household. Three years later, Areida and her brother, Carver, enlisted in King Cailan’s army and took part in the battle of Ostagar. When Loghain Mac Tir betrayed Cailan and left the battlefield with his army, therefore leaving the King and the rest of the army to die, Areida and Carver managed to survive and escape back to Lothering in order to retrieve their mother and sister.

Involvement

Dragon Age II

Around the year 9:30 Dragon, the Fifth Blight has just begun and, following their victory at Ostagar, the darkspawn fell upon the village of Lothering. The Hawke family was among the last to escape alive. Hawke's mother Leandra suggests that they flee to Kirkwall, where her younger brother Gamlen holds the Amell estate. On the road they stumble into Aveline and her templar husband, Wesley, also survivors of the massacre. During their escape, they run into further bands of darkspawn. Though the party defeats many of these creatures, victory comes at a cruel price: Aveline's husband contracts the darkspawn taint and Areida’s brother, Carver, is slain by an ogre. Surrounded by darkspawn and on the verge of death, they are rescued by an attacking high dragon. The dragon turns out to be Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds. Flemeth offers them safe passage to Gwaren in exchange for a favor. Areida had no choice but to agree.

Areida, her mother Leandra, sister Bethany, and Aveline board a ship to Kirkwall but find that the city is filled with an influx of Ferelden immigrants, all fleeing the Blight. The city guard has been turning the refugees away and banning them from the city. Worse, they discover that Gamlen has gambled away the Amell estate and fortune. Gamlen is able to get a contact to bribe the Hawke family and Aveline into the city, but only if Areida and Bethany agree to work off a tremendous debt as indentured servants. Areida had no choice but to agree to be under the smuggler, Athenril’s employment.

One year later, Areida has managed to work off the debt but still lacks the funds needed to properly care for the entire family. Areida then meets a dwarf named Varric, who persuades her to become a business partner in his and his brother, Bartrand's Deep Roads Expedition. Needing a map of the Deep Roads for the Expedition, Areida, Varric, Bethany, Aveline head locate an apostate and grey warden named Anders in Darktown. While trying to make enough money to invest in the expedition, Areida meets and befriends Merrill, A Dalish elven mage who is First to her clan's Keeper, Isabela, A free-spirited pirate captain and smuggler, shipwrecked and stranded in Kirkwall, and Fenris, an escaped elven slave from the Tevinter Imperium, infused with lyrium tattoos by his former master.

In time, Areida was able to make enough to invest in the expedition. Though Bartrand betrayed both Areida, Varric, Anders, and Fenris during the expedition, the treasures found within the Deep Roads brings Areida both fame and fortune. When she returns home however, she finds Templars taking Bethany away to the circle, having discovered her magical abilities. Areida tries to stop them but Bethany tells her to stand down and goes with the Templars quietly. Areida comforts her heartbroken mother as they witness Bethany being taken away. 

Two years later, Areida, Varric, Anders, and Bethany enter a secret Warden prison in the Vimmark Mountains searching for a sect of the Carta who are after "the blood of the Hawke". After investigating the deranged Carta members, the group discovers that the Carta sought to bring either Areida or Bethany's blood to a creature called Corypheus in order to wake him from slumber. After getting to the bowels of the prison Areida chooses to side with the grey warden, Larius who believes Corypheus should be destroyed over the grey warden, Janeka who wants to control Corypheus. Once she releases Corypheus from his prison by using her blood, Areida and her friends destroy him. The Seekers of Truth attempt to investigate some time later, but the prison has been destroyed and they are turned away by Grey Wardens.

A year later, Areida's status in Kirkwall has improved substantially since she assumed her role as scion of the aggrandized Amell family. She has also developed feelings for Anders and started a romantic relationship with him. Areida is asked by the templar Emeric to investigate the mystery of the missing women in Kirkwall. While investigating the murders, Areida's mother, Leandra, is abducted by the white-lily serial killer while on her way to visit Gamlen. Following the killer's trail, Areida finds that Leandra has been murdered and pieced together with parts of other women. Her killer and the instigator of all the serial killings is a blood mage named Quentin. Keeping Leandra alive with his magic, Quentin aspires to recreate the image of his dead wife. Areida battles Quentin and his demon and undead forces. After Quentin dies, Leandra also dies. Her last words were telling Areida how proud she is of her. Areida mourns the loss of her mother while being comforted by friends.

Tensions between the Qunari (who have been stranded in Kirkwall for several years and refuses to leave without their missing relic) and the city's denizens have also been escalating. Areida is asked by Viscount Dumar to intervene with Qunari affairs several times during their stay in Kirkwall but the discord reaches a boiling point when Aveline, now captain of the guard, enlists Areida's aid in trying to arrest some criminal elves who have been granted religious sanctuary in the Qunari Compound. The Arishok, who had to endure a series of provocations from Kirkwall's anti-Qunari sect, takes a final offense to the attempted arrest of his new converts and counterattacks; marshaling his forces to conquer the city and convert it to the Qun. Areida was able to rally the templars and Circle mages and fight back the Qunari. They reach the Viscount's Keep where Areida defeats the Arishok in single combat. Having saved the city, Areida is crowned the new Champion of Kirkwall. 

Two years afterwards, Areida joins a mysterious elf assassin named Tallis, in infiltrating the Chateau Haine and stealing a precious relic. Areida, Tallis, Anders, and Fenris take part in a traditional Orlesian Wyvern hunt. After which they fail an attempt at stealing the relic and are captured. Tallis then reveals the truth about the relic, The Heart of the Many. After escaping, Areida chooses to help Tallis pursue the relic which leads to a fight with Tal-Vashoth and Grand Duke Prosper de Montfort which ends in Prosper de Montfort's death. Though his death at Areida's hands would have normally warranted retribution from Orlais, Prosper's dealings with the Tal-Vashoth against the Qunari, if revealed, would have embroiled Orlais in an impolitic scandal. Areida then lets Tallis leave with the true prize. At some point after returning to the Hawke Estate, Areida writes a journal passage regarding her relationship with Tallis and whether they'll meet again.

Another year later. Knight-Commander Meredith has taken stewardship of the city at the request of the Chantry, but so far has prevented the election of a new viscount. Meredith's stance against the mages has become harsher and much more cruel. After several more mages escape the Circle, Meredith orders more raids, crackdowns, and unwarranted incarcerations. Meanwhile, tales of insurrection from the Mage Underground have been becoming more frequent but have steadily declined to the point of almost utter annihilation due to Meredith's harsh tactics. First Enchanter Orsino accuses Meredith of being a tyrant and urges the citizens of Kirkwall to revolt against her. The citizens of Kirkwall look to Areida to keep the peace between the Templars and the Circle. Meanwhile, Areida is also requested to protect the city from maleficarum apostates. After Bethany is kidnapped by insurgents, Areida becomes embroiled in a conflict with rebel mage-templar conspirators seeking to overthrow Meredith.

Things reach a boiling point when Anders blows up the Kirkwall Chantry in order to remove the chance of peaceful compromise. Meredith immediately orders the Rite of Annulment and demands that the Champion stand with her and her templars in executing every mage in the city. First Enchanter Orsino pleads with the Champion to defend them against the templars, citing that the Circle had nothing to do with the attack on the Chantry. Knowing that the mages had nothing to do with the Chantry explosion, Areida chose to support First Enchanter Orsino and the other mages.

The final battle ends in the Gallows. Desperate to defeat the knight commander's forces, Orsino uses Blood Magic to become a harvester. Meredith, driven insane and paranoid by her Red Lyrium forged sword, also becomes an enemy. Both are eventually defeated by Areida to restore the peace. After the battle, Areida and her friends escape Kirkwall before templar reinforcements arrive. Areida's name became a rallying cry for oppressed mages everywhere. 

On the Run 

Fearing that Divine Justinia V was planning an Exalted March on Kirkwall, Areida and her companions left Kirkwall to spare its denizens and also to divide the Divine's forces should she send them to hunt for them. Areida went on the run with Anders, living under the name Marian and cutting her hair a little bit to avoid being recognized. A month after they left Kirkwall, Areida discovered that she was pregnant with her’s and Anders child, the baby having been conceived a week before Anders blew up the Chantry. Several months later, she gave birth to son named Karl, named after Anders’ friend and former lover who was mercy killed by Anders after being made tranquil. Two years afterwards, she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son named Malcom, named after her father.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Eventually Areida contacted Stroud to help with the investigation into Red Lyrium. Stroud however was concerned about corruption in the Grey Warden ranks and went into hiding. Areida was later contacted by Varric Tethras who introduced her to Inquisitor Rosabelle Trevelyan. After answering the Rosabelle's questions about Corypheus and how he may be related to missing Grey Wardens, Areida and Rosabelle rendezvous with Stroud in a smuggler's cave in Crestwood to see what his investigation uncovered.

Stroud explains that he was investigating if Corypheus could have survived fatal wounds just like an Archdemon can. Yet in the middle of his investigation, every Grey Warden in Orlais began to hear the Calling which he believes is being elicited by Corypheus. Believing that their end is near, Warden-Commander Clarel planned on using a blood magic ritual that would end all Blights before they all perished. Stroud was branded a traitor for protesting Clarel's plan and went into hiding. Stroud, Areida, and Rosabelle scout the ancient Tevinter ritual tower in the Western Approach to investigate a Grey Warden congregation.

At the tower, the party witnesses Grey Warden mages sacrificing their fellow Wardens to summon demons. They are being led by Lord Livius Erimond, a Venatori Magister who convinced Clarel to use his blood magic techniques to raise a demon army to invade the Deep Roads and kill the Old Gods before they wake. The demon binding rituals Erimond taught the Grey Warden mages, however, has the side effect of enslaving them to Corypheus, who will use them to conquer Thedas. Erimond escapes to Adamant Fortress while the party confronts the enslaved Wardens of the tower.

Areida and Stroud join the Inquisition as they lay siege to Adamant Fortress. They confront Erimond and Clarel about the truth of the demon binding ritual and attempt to sway the Wardens against Erimond. When Erimond summons Corypheus' dragon to deal with the Inquisition, Clarel has a change of heart and betrays Erimond. The dragon attacks and a massive battle ensues after which, the Inquisition pursues Clarel. Clarel inflicts her wrath on Erimond but is killed by the dragon he has summoned. Clarel's last act is casting a spell that subdues the dragon, but its crash causes the ground beneath them to crumble, resulting in the party falling off the ramparts. Rosabelle uses her mark to open a rift to transport the party to the Fade.

The party finds a spirit posing as Divine Justinia V who briefs them that they are in the realm of a Nightmare demon and that Rosabelle must recover the memories it took from her. As Rosabelle recovers these memories, she remembers how the mortal Divine was bound by Grey Wardens and sacrificed to power an orb -- an orb which Rosabelle picked up and which gave her the mark, and how the spirit in the Divine's form was the one who led Rosabelle out of the Fade after the creation of the Breach. Once Areida realizes that the Grey Wardens had a hand in sacrificing the Divine to further Corypheus' schemes, Areida becomes incensed and accuses the Grey Wardens of being out of control and needing to be checked. Stroud is defensive about the accusation, and argues that the Wardens were most likely mind controlled by Corypheus and that Areida herself has caused much chaos by causing the mage rebellion which Areida retorts that she did so to protect innocent mages.

The spirit leads the party to a rift but the Nightmare is preventing their escape. The spirit sacrifices itself to weaken the Nightmare, and the party defeats the Aspect of the Nightmare blocking their escape. The party reaches the rift but either Areida or Stroud must stay behind to distract the Nightmare for the party to leave. Areida wants to sacrifice herself to atone for freeing Corypheus but Stroud takes the sacrifice instead to atone for all the harm the Grey Wardens have done. After the party escapes from the fade, Areida travels to Weisshaupt to brief the Grey Wardens on what has transpired. 

Trespasser

In 9:44 Dragon, Varric mentions that Weisshaupt has apparently deteriorated into 'the special kind of mess that only happens when Areida shows up'. A year before the Exalted Council, Areida became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter she and Anders named Leandra, named after her mother. The epilogue states that some time later, Areida, Anders, and their children returned to Kirkwall and that Areida is helping Varric rebuild Kirkwall's damaged infrastructure.

[restoringthedas]

Hawke’s Legacy

So why Hawke?  Why did the Grey Wardens seek out Malcolm Hawke, of all the mages in the Free Marches, of all the mages in Ferelden, to renew the blood bindings on Corypheus’ prison.  They likely had mages within their ranks, but those mages would have the taint and could not go near Corypheus.  Why not any nearby Circle mage?  Why not a known apostate?  Why was this one mage hunted down, his wife and unborn child threatened if he did not comply?  There are many questions and only one suitable answer.

Lineage.

Tevinter magic, the way it was used before Kirkwall was even built, was all about blood.  While the Amells have a long history of strong mage presentation in their bloodline, they were not targeted for this task.  And surely, there are other families of strong magical presentation as well.  Why is Hawke’s lineage so unique?  To determine that, look at why the tainted Carta went after the Hawke siblings.  It’s in their blood as well.  

After his fall in -395 Ancient, Corypheus lay in a dormant state until he awoke in the aftermath of the First Blight in -191 Ancient.[5] The Grey Wardens discovered several darkspawn capable of thought and speech and prodigiously powerful magic and also able to command and lead portions of the darkspawn horde even in the absence of an Archdemon. The Grey Warden, Sashamiri, acting on the orders of Warden-Commander Farele, set a trap in the Vimmark Mountains to capture the most powerful of these creatures: Corypheus. In -189 Ancient, Sashamiri imprisoned Corypheus in a tower stemming from the Deep Roads in the middle of the Vimmark Mountains.[11][12] To capture him, she used the blood of Dumat, whose remains had been preserved in Weisshaupt Fortress. To ensure that no one would know the secret of the spell she'd used to seal Corypheus away, she destroyed Dumat's remains.[12] https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Corypheus

The Wardens destroyed the components of the original binding spell; they couldn't use the original method.  So what could be as powerful as that to which they have access?  It always goes back to blood.  The mage from Serault (https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shame_of_Serault) performed the ritual before Malcolm and this same mage had an unnamed son.  With the events surrounding the rather tumultuous life of this mage, to the point the family mask was stripped from them, it is not surprising to think that a son would escape ignominy by disappearing and taking on a new name.  The original crest of the Serault line was a hart against a shield, over a pair of wings.  Not too far a stretch from hart to hawke.  

The Shame of Serault, name stripped from history, said this of his workings with the Wardens:  ...bonds had weakened almost to breaking. Only blood could renew them. Fortunately, my blood is old and heady.  The bloodline of magic presentation was strong.  To compete with the magic in the Vimmark Mountains, the veil weakened by the Tevinter magisters, only old and powerful blood would be powerful enough.  It still cannot compare to the blood of an old god, but the Wardens did not have access to that except those small amounts from tainted archdemons.  Using the tainted blood would likely not be as productive a binding spell, as it would be like imprisoning like, tainted blood magic to hold a powerful darkspawn.  They needed clean blood from an old and powerful bloodline.  Serault had already proven himself somewhat morally questionable, so providing leverage to coerce him into this endeavour would have been easy.

During the Legacy campaign, it is clear that the Carta requires the blood of Hawke or, since he has passed, the Hawke children.  The power to reinforce the bonds (or break them) lies in the bloodline.  What has created the bond can strengthen or destroy it.  Time and the magic of Kirkwall’s nexus can erode it, but it still requires the blood of the Hawkes, the Serault bloodline, even if diluted, to trigger the downfall completely.  Obviously, those descendants having mage abilities would have a stronger result, but even non-magical descendants would be suitable.  Having the Amell lineage added to Hawke’s adds even stronger mage bloodlines.  

However, due to the dilution of Serault’s line, and the fact that even as strong as it is, it cannot compare to an old god’s blood, the binding spells were weakening.  Even with fresh blood to renew them, it would likely become an every generation type of renewal spell.  That would make it rather difficult for the Wardens to keep their secret.  

(Random note:  I now want a novel or novel-length fanfic dealing with Larius’ recruitment of Malcolm to this role...and whoever got Serault involved.  Knowing how far the Wardens will go to achieve their goals, it would not surprise me if the Wardens help spur the flight/fight responses of Malcolm’s attempt to flee Kirkwall, encouraging Lord Amell to hunt for him.)

[theconfusedartist]

DRAGON AGE

Alright, so I’ve been wanting to talk about this for a while, now that I’ve gotten back into dragon age origins and since I’m about to start doing a shit ton of fanart and fic simply bc I’m getting back in the swing of it, I figure I might as well start actually making a post about them, rather then just making a one-off post and talking about them without out any context lol.

Ok so, in this AU that I’m working on, Duncan realized that, hey, maybe only one recruit for like the end of the world in his order of grey wardens, is not the best idea, and then goes on to recruit all of the characters from the origins.

So, he swings by Orzammar first, getting Brosca and Aeducan. In this au, the name of my Brosca is Tsoyo and the Aeducan is Sariah. I’m gonna post pictures of every one of my warden later, but for now, I’m just gonna say who they are. Tsoyo and Sariah knew each other before, since Seriah hired Tsoyo’s...services in the past. Seriah doesn’t really think much of the casteless, but she does like that they can do some dirty work for her and go basically undetected for it. So, in terms of time, Tsoyo goes to the proving and wins, just like in the original, and Duncan recruits her, but in this, Duncan stuck around a little longer as the Aeducan family still had business with him and he needed to go to the deep roads to make sure that this was a real blight and I mean, hey, what better way to test the new recruit right? 

So, while Duncan is getting Tsoyo ready for what’s to come, Seriah goes to the new provings that takes place as they redid it because they couldn’t fathom that a casteless could ever win and this doubled as them holding it in honor for the Seriah getting her new post as a commander. Seriah didn’t really rise to Bhelen’s bait and didn’t go after him like Bhelen had hoped, even though she realized that there was no way that the mercenaries could’ve gotten the ring unless it was from Trian. It was quite the surprise to see her brother, dead in front of her and her father and Bhelen walking in and being accused of his death. 

She gets sentenced to walk the deep roads and meets up with Duncan and Tsoyo and from there they scout for a bit before going off to the circle. Because I mean, hey, one mage is equivalent to ten soldiers, right? 

So, Duncan gets there, with Tsoyo and Seriah in tow who are really uncomfortable being around each other as they’ve had a less than clean relationship in the past (murder, blackmail, and other stuff). Duncan gets to the tower for recruits and in this au, both ‘Surana’ and Amell are there. I’ll explain why I put the ‘’ around Surana in a minute. 

So, Amell, who’s first name is Daylen, Jowan, and ‘Surana’, who’s first name is Acici, are all there. Jowan is going through with his little plot to escape the circle and Acici has literally just had her harrowing, a few nights ago before Duncan had gotten there. Daylen has his harrowing the night before Duncan arrives to the tower and his goes very...differently. 

I’ll go into this a LOT more in a second reblog, since I want to go into everyone’s backstory in a bit, person by person, with pictures, but since I’m going with the abridged version, I’ll just put it as, Acici had the normal harrowing that we get in the game, give or take, and Daylen thought it was fun to fuck around with things that he shouldn’t. So, Duncan has his eye on the both of them and Acici, being the actual loyal friend goes around bolstering her image and getting the rod of fire, killing spiders and charming the old man to sign the form for her. She had him sign the form, but then figured that if she curried favor with as many senior enchanters as possible, then it would probably be good for her in the long run. 

As for Daylen, well, he’s sitting there like, ‘why do we have to get dragged down with Jowan?’ and goes to Senior Enchanter Irving and tells him about it. Sure, he feels bad about it, but the deal was this: if he goes along with this plan, then he and Acici have to be pardoned and get off scot free for helping with taking down Lily and catching Jowan in the act. Irving agrees and he plays double agent. And well you know how that song and dance goes, Jowan gets away, and the others are left holding the bag. Irving tries to pacify Gregoir, but he hates mages so Duncan conscripts them both into the order. Meanwhile, Tsoyo and Seriah are just really confused with all the magic bullshit going on. And then there were four recruits. 

After that, Duncan and the four recruits go to Highever, to recruit Ser Gilmore because I guess Duncan wanted a basic ass bitch (idk, I’m not gonna lie, I haven’t finished the human noble to this day. I’m still trying to, but I really didn’t see any appeal in Gilmore like that, he seemed like someone good to have as a second, but not someone you’d send to kill an archdemon when there’s only two grey wardens left) and Cousland, or better known as Luna the heartbreaker, isn’t really interested in the wardens or anything. I mean why would she be? Duncan is fine and all, but she gets to rule over a castle by herself, why the hell would she want to leave? But then, it’s not really up to her when mostly everyone gets killed anyways. So, at this point we have five recruits, good job Duncan!

Their next stop is (drumroll please) DENERIM! (wasn’t expecting that were you?)

Duncan was like, shit, lemme go and get Adaia, at least that way I know that I can have someone who knows what the score is and she can help the others and Alistair as someone who’s been around the bend and seen some shit. Only, that’s not what happens, obviously because Adaia was killed by humans a while back, but he is just in time to witness a double wedding and get threatened by a one of the brides (lol). And also see them all get carried off to get raped by the arl’s son and his guards. Luna is cross, but like ‘hey, shouldn’t we do something about this?’. Tsoyo is a bit surprised because she thought that elves were all a bunch of fig eating floofies that just lived in happiness, not squalor and fear of death, so she seconds it. Acici is ready to murder Duncan when he says that they can’t get involved (for that same reason that ‘Surana’ is like that) and hands a sword to Nelaros and Soris. Go get ‘em boys!

And now the estate is running with blood, Nelaros is dead, Shianni is traumatized, one of the bridesmaids is dead, and Tabris, Sauda the bride, has literally learned all the different ways to kill over seventy men with a dagger and how quickly rat posion kills three adult human men. Sauda, not willing to let Soris get hauled off, says that it was all her doing. Which...isn’t really an exaggeration, she tore into those fuckers like she was getting paid to do it, Soris gave back up with his crossbow, but she was very eager to spill blood for the kidnapping of her, the others and Nelaros’ death. Also Vaughn was killed, as was his friends. Horrifically. 

And now we have six recruits!! Way to go Duncan, you always find the lively ones!

This recruit wasn’t planned, as Duncan was planning to cut through the Brecilian forest to save some time, and came across two elves that are just heavily tainted. That’s right, in this au, Tamlen lives. So Mahariel, Yeva, and Tamlen are just sick as fuck, but still alive so Marethari is like, ‘let’s get a fucking move on’ and Duncan conscripts them, when they both try to weasel their way out of it. But what can you do? At least Tamlen isn’t dead (a split second decision, I’m not gonna lie). So, Duncan comes to Ostagar with seven new recruits and most of them just....do not give a damn about the king (lolololol get fuckin’ rekt Calian). They go into the wilds, save a few mabaris (mabari? mabaris?) with some wild flowers, Tsoyo gets a big gay crush on Morrigan, then they come back and do shots with the darkspawn blood in the joining. Daveth and Jory die(wah wah) but everyone else makes it out alive (Tamlen...barely made it. Bitch nearly pulled a Daveth) and then they were sent to the tower. 

The reason for them all being sent to the tower was simple. Cailan realized that a lot of the new recruits just did not give a fuck about the crown or his authority or was in grieving over their lost loved ones, and was like ‘hey, that way there’s no way that the tower ISN’T going to be lit and I don’t have to worry about them on the field’). And then he died. Duncan didn’t die tho, are you fucking kidding me? The leader of the grey wardens? Dying? I don’t fucking think so. He makes it out, but it’s a little after the battle and he makes it far enough into the wilds that Flemeth saves him. The other wardens have already left with Morrigan and they’re on their way to Lothering, but Duncan had to stay with Flemeth for a while due to the severity of his wounds and how long they would take to heal, even with magic. 

Duncan joins up with the other grey wardens around the time that they get captured by Anora’s captors (I have to play to see who would get captured or not, as most of these characters are fucking warriors and some of them in their own personal runs might actually be able to take them down where others can’t) and I haven’t decided what happens at that point. 

That’s all that I have right now, but once I get some character portraits up, I’ll update this a bit more.

[nemossubmarine]

DA RP Write-Up #14.3

This time in Orzammar, the gang splits up, Scoob.

We start with where we left off, after lunch, splitting the party. We are hoping to get Elspet to go with Boshara, but that requires some doing.

Boshara asks to go to bathroom with Elspet, and there Elspet turns into a bird and hides in Boshara’s sleeve.

Outside Humbert is talking with Bert and finds out about this old friend of Randy’s, Anselmi, who came with Randy to Orzammar and has now been made deshyr of House Mandulfr.

Neither Humbert nor Cahair have heard of Anselmi, so Humbert asks for Boshara to maybe go meet him.

When she is saying goodbye, Cahair slips the bird from Boshara’s sleeve and then asks whether she would like her dear pet bird Mustikka with her?

Boshara takes bird!Elspet and off they go, back to the Diamond Quarter.

Humbert and Cahair head off with Carras, who is taking some papers from Saelac to a merchant named master Gorin and while she’s at it, might ask us some questions about the carta attack upon us.

Cahair and Humbert answer very dutifully, though leaving some details out, so as not to raise suspicion on anyone being a mage.

The knowledge of the face tattoos on the carta members seems to worry Carras.

She tells us that it’s ok for us to have weapons out in Orzammar and that we should stay out of trouble.

Humbert asks how Carras would keep us up to date on the investigation, and Carras says that’s up to Saelac, which makes it kinda sound we won’t be getting any information.

We get to Master Gorin’s Stone Emporium. Carras leaves the papers with the old man keeping the shop and leaves. Humbert and Cahair stay behind to chat.

Master Gorin, or Kivi-Jaakko, is a rather pleasant old man. We chat a bit about the prospect of us getting some jewels from him for our jewelcrafting business.

There’s also Stones of Farspeech on sale, but we can’t afford them atm.

Cahair buys some stone-lollipops. Made of stone.

The talk turns to the nightly patrols general Sealac has been organizing, apparently Kivi-Jaakko is part of one, and the papers he just received were his orders for the night.

Cahair and Humbert decide to join up. It might be fun and/or useful.

Boshara makes her way back to house Mandulfr with Elspet perched on her shoulder.

They go to her room first, where Boshara tells Elspet that she’ll get her into Randy’s room so she can check on him and possibly, if a chance arises, she might even be able to heal him.

They find Marjaleena in Randy’s room, but she was just leaving and lets Boshara in, no problem.

Elspet perches on top of Randy and checks on him. It appears that he is in the exact same condition as before.

Boshara asks the house doctor, Doctor House Ferol, if she could have a moment alone with Randy “since they’re clearly not doing much”.

The doc obliges, but is rather offended by Boshara’s wording.

Elspet turns herself into a human and heals Randy. While she does so, she feels a strange sting of pain in her head.

Randy wakes up! Hurrah!

Boshara catches him up on what has happened, and then asks whether Marjaleena can be trusted.

Randy says yes, and Boshara berates him on his quick choice of marriage candidate. Randy tries to explain that that’s how things are done in Orzammar and that Marjaleena has really nothing to gain from Randy’s death, but Boshara isn’t buying it, so Randy reveals that not only is he gay, but so is Marjaleena. That’s a good enough basis for trust. Boshara doesn’t agree.

The original plan was for Randy to pretend to be asleep and wake up later, but unfortunately his caretakers come in. Elspet has just enough time to transform into a bird.

House asks to talk with Boshara. They noticed that clearly Randy has been healed by magical means.

Boshara tries to deny it, but in the end concedes that she does have magical healing abilities.

To her surprise, the doctor asks if she could be so kind as to check on Harrowmont. 

Boshara agrees. 

After their meeting with the stone-seller, Cahair and Humbert head to check up on the miners. They find a small miner pub and join up on a table.

They get to talking with a woman named Barra Hatan, a lyrium miner.

It seems that there isn’t much lyrium mining happening at the moment. About two months ago one of the largest lyrium veins was struck by darkspawn. Another large one followed two weeks later.

The situation appears so bad that even the Legion of the Dead aren’t able to handle it.

Which is why the Deep Roads are basically guaranteed off. General Saelac is more interested in making the situation safe in Orzammar first and then dealing with the other stuff.

Some Grey Wardens have been called upon, but they’ve not yet came by.

Barra herself has been taking time off, but there’s some folks who still do some smaller mining operations.

Our heroes try to ask if there’s any chance they could get some lyrium samples, but that is under King’s, so now Saelac’s control.

One of the miners leave, and Humbert says he’s going to go talk to him a bit, leaving Cahair to chat with Barra about tomorrow’s Provings.

Humbert catches up to the man, Gerryn Vorran, and asks whether he could get some lyrium for him.

Gerryn says he can’t do that, because lyrium is not what he’s going to go mine.

Humbert pushes Gerryn on what on Earth is he mining then, and he admits to mining what sounds like a tunnel, near Orzammar. He begs for Humbert to leave him be, he’s only trying to provide for his family. He is clearly terrified, and as there’s nothing to gain from him, Humbert obliges.

Humbert returns and is pointed to another dwarf’s direction, by the name of Kelavia, who does agree to get him some lyrium.

Cahair and Humbert leave the miners’ pub. 

It’s clear to them that the reason the Legion of the Dead is not effectively dealing with the darkspawn is the fact that at least some of the members are escaping to the surface to do carta stuff.

This tunnel project sounds highly suspicious as well. Cahair suggests he might be able to sneak in to check it out if they only could get their hands on some maps.

Humbert agrees, though he hopes Cahair wouldn’t do the same risky running-off-alone thing he did in Tevinter.

Cahair asks does Humbert mean that one time he jumped from the ship or the whole jungle stint?

Humbert says both. Cahair says he only regrets the jumping from the ship bc there was a bit where Richard was unsure if he was alive or dead and he wouldn’t want to do that to him.

Humbert thinks it does good for relationships. Cahair vehemently disagrees, asking if this is a Humbert-thing or a human-thing.

Humbert asks if Cahair doesn’t think that’s a bit racist. Cahair asks on what stereotype on humans Humbert thinks he’s basing his statement on.

There’s some talk on how much Cahair and Alf talk shit about humans among themselves, tho Cahair claims it’s not that often and it’s only eyerolling.

All in all, it’s one of the most amicable conversations these two have had in a long while.

Boshara and Elspet go spend some time in the Shaperate, while they wait for their access to Lord Harrowmont’s estate.

In there, they meet Candulfr, or Candy, Randy’s cousin and a shaper, who’ll be helping them with their questions.

Boshara first learns of the Legion of the Dead and their purpose, as well as the carta members sentenced to it.

Two of the carta members we killed were Legion of the Dead. Piorell Turow was the warrior Humbert dragged around and Zerlinda Harrow was the rogue Cahair got the dagger off of. 

Zerlinda was one of the four carta lieutenants who gave themselves up after the leader’s Hedda Carol’s capture and sentencing.

She then learns of King Aeducan and Saelac’s regency. Aeducan appears to be very well liked, and Saelac was appointed legally in front of the senate.

She tries to look for any info on Anselmi’s origins, but those are sparse. She does learn he came with another surface dwarf by the name of Berengrad.

She tries to locate Ortag Punchfist, but no one of such name has existed. She then looks into Mandulfr’s school mates as Ortag claimed to be one.

Only one of them became a surfacer, Lenus Orro, a miner, but he has no relatives in Orzammar, so it seems like that particular vein of investigation is running dry.

Then she asks about herself. There’s a mention of her appointment, but no mention of the fact that she is human. Still pretty cool though.

Cahair and Humbert are on a mission to find some maps for Cahair. 

Cahair says it’s probably better if they just nicked some, so as not to raise questions. He’s relatively confident he can do it, even though he’s no Alf.

Humbert tries his best not to make a comment about sneaky elves.

They go to the pub’s cloakroom and while Humbert distracts the attendant by claiming on not remembering where he put his cloakroom ticket and then asking the attendant to teach him numbers in dwarfish, Cahair sneaks past and gets some maps from a backbag.

After this educational Shaperate visit, Boshara is let into Harrowmont’s estate. The presiding doctor by the name of Cox .lets her into Harrowmont’s room.

Harrowmont is looking really badly off. He is conscious but delirious and it’s clear that the sickness he has gotten from the attack was in fact none other than Blight.

Cox explains that they had called for some Wardens from Orlais, but there seems to be some kind of delay with this.

After Cox leaves her to do her magic, Boshara tells Elspet to transform back so she can start working on him, but when Elspet transforms she starts weeping.

Boshara asks what’s up and Elspet says she has realized what the poison in the arrow was. She too has the taint.

Elspet remembers some elven magic she saw the Keeper of the clan of elves she traveled with using, and tries it on Harrowmont. It seems to stabilize him, but it only slows the process down.

She doesn’t do it to herself yet, as Boshara suggests it would be better done in place where they’re sure not to get interrupted.

Boshara starts to wonder if she could be of help. She has some incline that blood magic might be of use. She had discussed such possibilities with Konstantine, though never relating to taint but rather heart diseases and never in practice. She thinks if she could switch the tainted blood with fresh one, it just might work.

She decides to asks whether Dr. Cox would approve of this.

Dr. Cox is very appreciative of her work, and says they’ll talk to Lady Harrowmont to hear her opinion.

But they agree regardless that Boshara will return to the Harrowmont estate in the middle of the night if an attempt is to be had.

Our heroes all meet up for some dinner, and Elspet asks Boshara to tell about Elspet’s predicament.

Cahair is mightily upset.

Humbert seems more worried that there are people out there who now know Boshara is a mage.

Cahair asks if this could maybe wait, since there’s some more important stuff on the table right now, namely the fact that Elspet has the taint.

Boshara also mentions her blood magic idea. Cahair is all on board, going so far to offer his own blood, though Boshara was maybe looking more for Humbert on that front.

Humbert is not the most happy camper, but if Boshara can arrange our other heroes to Harrowmont estate he would like to attend.

There’s also the fact that Jasinto, Jasinta, Dominique, Reta and one of the Tevinter mages went to look for Wardens back in Bloomingtide and had agreed to meet our heroes at Orzammar. So if things get really bad, there’s at least those contacts.

There’s some talk about other things we’ve find out and what to do next.

Boshara suggests that Humbert goes to tell templars about the fact that there’s another way into Orzammar/Deep Roads, which should clear some of the Darkspawn.

Cahair wonders about the other Legion of the Dead members, since so far we operate as if all of them went with carta. Boshara thinks it’s quite possible, as it’s surely better than dying fighting darkspawn.

In the end we decide to stick with the established plans: Humbert going to street patrol, Cahair sneaking to Deep Roads to look for tunnels and Alf sneaking into Dust Town. But first. A blood ritual.

That’s all folks! Let’s see if on top of the cure for tranquility, we might be able to find a cure for the Blight as well. It would sure come in handy, since things are looking mighty scary.

[lyonface]

World building, characters, and the DA Fandom’s propensity to ignore nuance.

I have borne witness to both some serious Cullen Critical posts and Pro Anders posts in the last twenty-four hours and...ugh. I feel the need to put something out there.

As people who have played the protagonists of the Dragon Age games, we are skewed to be more magic-leaning and forgiving than the normal, average joe of Thedas, and it’s disheartening and irritating that a lot of the fandom seems to have a very basic issue with noticing this and applying that mindset when they look at issues in the game, particularly with certain characters.

Under a Read More for length, and there’s a TL;DR at the bottom.

We started off as a member of a very misunderstood sect of warriors that dealt with a very vague threat that most people do not understand and were recruited into that militia/army/whatever 70% of the time due to committing crimes or somehow acting against an authority that forced us into the ultimatum between choosing the Wardens or death/imprisonment/banishment. In other words, we were Wardens only because we already were unsatisfied with the way things were, whether we were a City Elf murdering an entire estate of corrupt rapist humans or a Noble Human dealing with the politics and uncovered atrocities of their fellow countrymen. Or, you know, we could have started as a mage going through the Right of Passage and starting in the Circle to witness all that fuckery first hand. Basically, none of us were average by circumstance, otherwise we would never have become Wardens to begin with. Even then, the wealth of very diverse people we meet and fantastical circumstances we encounter educate us and change our mindsets regardless of our starting point.

Then we go to DA2 where we are just another run away Ferelden trying to escape the Blight. Again, luck and circumstance elevate us to extraordinary, and we are pitted firmly between fighting powers of protection and freedom, between Templars and Mages, among plenty of other shit. We, by that point if they had played Origins, are already predisposed to the plight of mages, we know to some extent what they can go through thanks to Wynne and Morrigan as our previous companions, doubly so if you play Awakening and meet Anders pre-Justice. Although Origins was decently framed as morally ambiguous between helping or hurting mages for various crimes (killing/helping the Circle mages or Keeper Zathrian or Jowain, etc.) we are forced to pick a side in DA2 and, not for nothing, but mages were the very clearly oppressed people in that game. It was a lot less ambiguous, despite the rampant blood magic because it was clear that most cases went to it out of desperation and not the pure desire for power over others. Meredith, no matter how she’s framed, is wrong with flexibly “good intentions” and Orsino is the only thing stemming the incoming tidal wave by Act 3. Origins is not ambiguous about the plight of elves, or the urgency of the darkspawn threat, or the danger presented in Ferelden’s political arena, but it leaves magic more or less up to you. DA2 does not.

In Inquisition, the civil war is in full swing and, if you were hot on the heels of it after DA2 like I was, the image of the Chantry exploding is one of the freshest things in your mind. By then, you understand at the very least the sheer power of magic when concentrated into one place, and you also understand that fighting magic with non-magic, by and large, does not work. You must use magic to curb magic. If you start Inquisition without playing the others, the prologue only further demonstrates this with your magic mark being the only thing that cures magic tears. In the beginning, most long term players go to help Redcliffe because of our nostalgia for it from Origins, or because we’ve known since Origins that Tevinter Magisters are shit and that’s only been reinforced for the last two games. If you’re new, Alexius is basically painted with a “Evil Bad Guy” brush and also time magic is terrifying; fuck the Templars, whatever their issue is isn’t nearly as bad. It’s a no-brainer. The only thing that really tests our understanding of things in Inquisition is nearly 90% about the Fade and magic and Elvhen history, a little less if you have Descent and you played it, then a bit about Dwarven history, but it turns out that just relates to Elves too, in the end. Magic is acceptable in Inquisition, as far as the narrative is concerned, and there is really no room for those that contest its merit or the use of it that can break that idea. The only character who comes close to being persuasive about Circles is Vivienne, and she harbors the middle ground and comes from a place of being a mage, but she has a high social status, so if you weren’t interested in playing the middle ground or being challenged, you can easily dismiss her.

Throughout the games, no matter where you start, the narrative increasingly treats magic as not only something that is normal for someone to accept but is harbored by people who are seen and generally treated as lower class, and thus are the most sympathetic and in need of assistance. Tevinter is an exception, but being a nation that uses people for sacrifices and slave labor can make it hard for people to find redeeming qualities in other practices. Before Dorian, all we saw of Tevinter were magisters that manipulated for power and elven slaves, so whatever their progressive stance on magic is gets covered under the oily grime of awful practices and racism. Dorian is an exception to his countrymen, even in Inquisition, and he’s framed that way in the narrative.

It’s easy to forget when we’ve been surrounded by magic and the Fade and spirits and shit for three games that mages make up just a fraction of the population of Thedas, and the Circle is just a concept to most of the people that live there. The average person in Thedas doesn’t encounter magic on a daily basis and isn’t educated or experienced in what mages are like or what the Fade does or how spirits work. In Ferelden, Orlais, and much of the Free Marches, the average citizen is educated through history and the Chantry which tells them that magic is dangerous and that Circles are to benefit mages by teaching them control and protecting them from hurting themselves or others. We have only seen the absolute worst case scenario for Circles, the one at Lake Calenhad and the one in Kirkwall, the former which fell apart and most only saw it in that state and the latter fucked up the second you reach the shores of the island. We’ve never seen a Circle function as its intended unless you played a mage origin in Origins, and that goes to shit real quick, so most players when proposed with the idea to reinstate them will obviously reject it.

Pro-Anders posts and Anti-Cullen posts seem to all stem from this predisposition about magic, both in terms of forgiving Anders for his terrorism and condemning Cullen for his words and mindset in DA2 and thus using it to dismiss his character arc in Inquisition. It is apparently very difficult to keep in mind what the normal, average, standard Thedasian thinks about mages and magic and I get that it’s stupid to dismiss what we’ve learned in the meta narrative, but it’s important to contextualize where characters are coming from and the application of their actions in the world they live in. Anders came from a place of oppression, pain, and fear due to his capabilities. Cullen came from a place of mental torture, pain, and fear due to the misuse of those capabilities. That helps to explain their actions, but it does not excuse them, and people like to excuse one and explain the other when they’re only showing their bias by doing so.

Let’s break down the viewpoints:

- Anders blew up a large facility that housed hundreds of people, including Chantry affiliates and leaders as well as low ranking sisters and other members of the faithful. These were people who had not contributed to the pain mages experienced in Kirkwall. Yes, they didn’t help them, but they didn’t help Meredith either, and remained neutral until their demise before Meredith or Orsino could argue their case to the Grand Cleric. Anders killed these people to make a statement, costing the lives of everyone inside that building for a political and social idea. In doing so, not only did he plunge the continent into civil war, he helped bolster the Andrastian narrative to the uneducated masses: that mages are dangerous, that magic can result in massive loss of life, and that people who wield it cannot be trusted at face value. An average citizen isn’t going to care about the oppression or tensions or abuse on either side, and they’re likely never going to hear about Anders’s good deeds in having that clinic in Darktown for all those years either; they’re going to care that their livelihood and their families are in danger as a direct result of his actions. That is why Varric speaks ill of Anders and why people do not forgive him for his actions en masse. No matter his agenda, murdering innocent people and thus causing the deaths of so many more due to some upheaval is not worth his intangible ideas.

- Cullen facilitated and assisted Meredith in the capture, torture, and deaths of mages and his fellow templars during his station in Kirkwall. No matter how you dice his conversations, particularly in Act 1 where he’s pretty fresh from the Calenhad Circle, he is terrified, severe, and staunch in his distrust toward mages and easily sanctions death as a punishment for blood magic. Meredith wants order, and he wants order, so he does what he’s told in eradicating rebel groups and assisting in keeping his men in line. Players seem to forget that Cullen gradually over the course of the decade starts to question Meredith more and more. When it becomes clear to him that she’s unhinged he tries to lie to himself about it until it’s far far too late. Normal Kirkwall citizens are going to see his actions as a good thing, despite the fear of Meredith. Once she uses her status to usurp control of the Viscount station is when they start to feel uncomfortable or afraid. The average person is either going to see Cullen as just another templar or recognize his services, and only a few will consider his actions to be against the common good. When he finally turns against Meredith, his loyal men follow him. He leaves the Order not long after that due to his disillusionment in what the organization stands for and what it actually does, including his own actions.

Thus, due to his previous ideas and oft-quoted “Mages aren’t people like you and me,” any chance that Cullen has for redemption is scoffed at despite his obvious change and his struggle to be a better person than he believes he’s ever been. Does his redeeming himself and being better excuse his actions? Of course not. Should his struggle to be better count for something? Yes, it should. Leaving behind his PTSD, his trauma, his lyrium addiction, the basic fact that he is doing better or attempting to be a force for positive change for the future of Thedas is a great thing and should at least be recognized, even if you don’t like him as a character for his past actions or his personality. Likewise, people can actively give Anders a pass in agreement or a chance to redeem himself as Hawke, but so far in the story we have not seen Anders or heard of him attempting to redeem his actions or reconsidering whether he did the right thing or not. By the end of DA2 and from what a romanced Hawke says in Inquisition, Anders assists Circles in disbanding to join the rebellion and aid the conflict in the civil war. At least for the foreseeable future, Anders continues to support his decision and assist in freedom despite the consequences to his fellows and to others.

Jesus this has gone on far too long. Let’s just...try and summarize whatever the fuck is in my head before this becomes a dissertation:

tl;dr - The average person of Thedas is told to be weary and distrustful of magic and mages and anyone who grows up in any place that isn’t Tevinter or a wandering tribe of Elves or Avaar is predisposed to think this way. We as players are in a unique position to see Thedas from many angles and thus experience and see things in the world that most people would never have the chance to encounter or understand. People don’t dislike mages because they’re unjustifiably prejudiced: they do it because there is a cultural and social predisposition to do so. Anders does not understand this, and thus only exacerbated the problem by committing terrorism, and continues to do so due to his continued assistance in the war effort without offering a proper solution. Cullen does understand this, but also learns that mages are not creatures to leash, and thus attempts to rectify not only his transgressions but help those that are being hurt.

Feel free to like/dislike either of these characters; I’m not here to police anyone’s opinions or their rights to have them. Just make sure that when you make an opinion and decide to stick to your guns that you’ve attempted to  consider everything that goes into it. Thedas has a lot of layers to it, just like any culture does, and no action from any character is as simple as “He hurt those people” or “It’s what needed to be done.” You don’t have to participate in character discussions or discourse either, but when you write something like that, expect criticism or responses. I always do.

[mistralrunner]

Trespasser Liveblog, Part Two: Explosions of more than one variety

In which Menel is tired of everyone attacking instead of talking, and heads off to the library to get his questions answered.

I get the feeling this is not the first time Cassandra or Menel have said something sappy during this whole trek through the Deep Roads cause they haven’t seen each other in a while and between that and the Deep Roads Varric is so done

Kind of feel bad for this Templar dude. Had a conscience, left Meredith, and ended up under another lousy murderous boss

But hey, we get to explode things! I’m far more excited about that than Menel.

It's a shame we can't reference any Descent things, such as deja vu with the shaking earth, the whole lyrium is Titan's blood thing

I have to admire the Qunari for defying the world rule of “only dwarves can mine lyrium” and engineering a new way. The rampant casualties from such an attempt not so much.

"I see you. Do you see me?" I see you've been practicing catchphrases, assassin

Assassin stabs me in the back, I knock her off a cliff

Okay that is a creepy elven song in that journal what did the Creators do to the dwarves

SAAREBAS ABORT ABORT

Actually that wasn't that bad. Yet.

"I wish whoever fights in the name of the old wolf was around to fight when the darkspawn took my clan."

No he's too busy napping and then insulting the people who actually do fight the Blight cause apparently they could have fought it better. Stupid Egg

Can Rhovan adopt the Dalish journal writer please. Pretty sure they're dead like most people we read the journal entries of but still.

I’m just really amused by the dramatic assassin one-liners

"There's so much you don't see"

"You are blind, Inquisitor"

So melodramatic. Admittedly the Qunari can be rather eloquent with imagery despite their stoic reputation.

Bit of an adrenaline rush heee explosions and then running away as everything floods

Aww why do all the good Templars die

Yeah, at this point Teagan really does have a right to be angry especially under my headcanon of an arrangement between the Inquisition and Ferelden cause right now it looks like the Inquisition might be betraying Ferelden

From his pov the Inquisition likely led them on with false promises so they’d be less prepared to fight, and then constructed a new crisis that justifies the continued existence of the Inquisition,

Even if it’s kind of hilarious that he’s reacting so aggressively to the Inquisition troops occupying an Orlesian palace 

Duke Cyril possibly isn’t a bad person, although he’s probably using the good cop appearance to win favor cause this is Orlais and Games and maskes, but even if has good intentions we’re not letting the Orlesian empire get augmented with the armies and spies of the Inquisition

Ah right, this is the part with the guard and the servant who are both spies not that Menel knows either of these things

Menel’s internally crying there’s no proper way to do this.

Either action is a poor move politically, unfortunately why can’t we just talk rather than arresting people...ended up detaining the servant cause intuition and the barrels looking familiar after the Deep Roads even though that is probably the worse one politically

Aaah Sera your journal keeps giving me feels

"Not all right! Wait and help. Somehow."

Awww her feelings for Dagna are so sweet

Of course the library level would be past a bookshelf

Time to bring the book club of Cassandra, Varric, and Dorian

Another vanishing guy right in front of me Leliana you're nearby did you see that no she's looking away

Oh hey there's that scar on the sky where the breach was

Once more through the eluvian!

Time to get distracted by books

Oooh Xebenkeck reference.  

So they were banished? I guess it makes sense given they’re ancient so they would have been around during the time of Artlathan.

I wonder if Forbidden Ones are the same as the Forgotten Ones? I still prefer my Forgotten Ones are the Old Gods theory.

All these memories are so vivid there’s a chance Menel was close to crying. He might have received knowledge from the Well but even the memories of countless priests probably only captures a slim fragment of a vast civilization.

Rkejrkrkttkrkejrjtjrn

Enchantment!!!!!

Sandal’s journal is the best.

*goes to enchant things*

I’m worried about Sandal now. Yes, every time I’ve found him he’s been surrounded by a room of dead bodies but the camp is presumably abandoned and there are Qunari around please be okay.

Menel you failed in your duties as protagonist by not finding Sandal in a room filled with corpses

I’m so glad the archivist spirit calls Menel “Honored elvhen” so much better than Abelas but then again that makes sense given the spirit is one of learning and exchange

All the knowledge????

Eeeeeee

Menel is just nerding out with all this knowledgeeeee we still have a mission you know

"I have not thought with myself for some time" is such an amusing line. Well, amusing out of the tragic context.

Hey look at that fresco in the distance isn't the artistic style familiar *cough*

Dorian notes the anchor is flaring up near elven magic and Menel notes it doesn’t happen when he casts cause that is also technically elven magic. Just not ancient elven magic.

Ugh it’s so obvious in retrospect this maze of eluvians is a trap with these energy channelers there to make things worse. Plus if you were to try to slow down/trap Menel an ancient elven library is the perfect place. 

Menel's just like wait what the Beyond was part of the waking world and Fen’Harel created the Veil itself what this aligns with the stories of Fen'Harel sealing away our gods but how does this work with tales of the Beyond

Come on I'm pretty sure Menel at least suspects Solas given these frescos and how he talked about the Fade

Love people being worried about Menel

Haha Dorian wanting to reverse engineer eluvians and Varric is just like, not again

Seriously though, Merrill needs to know about all this.

Excuse me the Dalish canonically read ancient elven, especially a Keeper in training like Menel was. Ugh, Bioware.

Librarians are terrifying. I really wish we didn’t have to fight them though.

The librarians throw spiders on you? Poor Menel

ACTUAL FEARLINGS BAD DAY

Again I can barely translate the elvish and that makes me sad

Menel is falling unconscious so much this is a scary fight

I did the whole end of the library section going into the climax but then realized I hadn’t found the Taken Shape and thus reloaded and ran about finding all the other eluvians cause I didn’t want to do all the side things once things got really serious cause that would disrupt the narrative flow

There's another halla statuette but in the Crossroads and with a map whyyyy I thought we were done with these statuettes

The Deep Roads caverns being flooded is kind of cool. Not surprised Varric says he can’t swim, swimming in any waters around Kirkwall sounds like a terrible idea.

Well, that giant mural of a shattered Titan sure isn’t disturbing.

I really hope Valta and Menel can still remain friends cause Valta is awesome but honestly her “I would never hurt you” line was just jinxing it and now I have further evidence cause if the Titans want vengeance we’re in trouble.

Love how Hawke a while back mentioned she’s not sure she can help unless we’re facing a horde of rampaging Qunari and of course we face one after Hawke leaves

And it’s fitting that the game begins with Menel surviving an explosion and ends with him stopping one. Good bookends.

I can’t believe that veilfire rune on the floor released a fear demon and actual giant spiders Menel is having a very bad day

Anyway, climax next time cause that was exhausting

[lobselvith8]

Dragon Age Questions

Based on the post by @raesand.

01) Favorite game of the series?

Dragon Age: Origins. I had a lot of issues with Dragon Age II and especially Inquisition.

02) How did you discover Dragon Age?

I heard you had player choice in Origins so I thought it would be entertaining. I honestly didn't know too much about it and I was pleasantly entertained.

03) How many times you’ve played the games?

I have played Origins the most. Before the recton, the Magi Boon made me pretty happy as it was the option my Surana Warden had chosen to emancipate his people from servitude to the Chantry of Andraste and the Order of Templars. The Magi Boon recton and the rather questionable creative choices for the elves subsequently soured the game for me.

Runner up would be Dragon Age II, although that's because I did a canon run; I wasn't too pleased with how the game was incomplete and how passive Hawke was throughout the narrative, such as doing nothing about Meredith's dictatorship for three years. Hawke being religiously Andrastian no matter what (Gaider forgot that he included an option for the player to be an atheist in the Human Noble Origin in Origins, and similar options were available for the elven protagonist and the Warden-Commander in the Awakening expansion) and the poor paraphrasing with the dialogue options also made me feel disconnected from the character.

The Last Court was pretty fun. The Elegant Abbess brought Carver to my Marquis of Serault. The Cult of Masked Andraste reminds me of the mythos of Silent Hill. The Horned Knight was very interesting (the presence of the dryads and fauns present at the Heartwood Feast was a neat addition to the lore). The Dashing Outlaw was fun (she gets a full pardon).

I pretty much gave up on Inquisition after an initial run; I tried doing a canon run but the anti-Dalish sentiment I kept running into made the game extremely unpleasant to play through as an elven protagonist. Generally, I was extremely unhappy with the railroading (like being forced to side with the Chantry, despite Gaider and Laidlaw claiming before release that this wouldn't be the case) and the poor treatment of the Dalish elves.

04) Favorite race to play as?

Elves.

05) Favorite class?

Mages.

06) Do you play through the games differently or do you make the same decisions each time?

In Origins I entertained different choices with Zathrian's clan and the choices in Orzammar before coming to a canon decision.

07) Go-to adventuring group?

I prefer mixing it up.

08) Which of your characters did you put the most thought into?

My Surana Warden. Unlike some fans I do not imagine him wearing the Grey Warden armor introduced in Dragon Age II - he wears the Reaper's Vestments. "Reaper was an apostate mage who evaded the templars for many years before being captured. Part villain, part folk hero, it is said he led a charmed life avoiding dangers that would have killed lesser men."

His mother was one of the Night Elves during the civil war against Orlais. He was born in the Denerim Alienage, was forcibly taken from his mother by the templars at a young age, grew up to resent the Chantry controlled Circles (he was ideologically a Libertarian as he wanted the Circles of Magi to be autonomous), and he was a brilliant student of Irving's.

During the Fifth Blight, he was pragmatic, choosing to help Branka (since the Anvil historically provided a century of stability against the darkspawn), supported Taoran Hawkwind, aided the Antivan Crows, recruited Loghain to bring an end to the civil war and fold the tale of the Hero of River Dane into the story of Grey Wardens (to counter the anti-Warden sentiment that was established because of the tyrant Arland Theirin), killed the Messenger and opposed the Architect (there was a rather lengthy discussion at the now defunct BSN forums that brought up the prospect of sapient darkspawn wanting women to turn into Broodmothers in order to create new darkspawn that greatly shaped my decision).

His mother escaped captivity from the Tevinter slavers who had enslaved the Denerim elves during the Fifth Blight. Her freedom was due to the intervention of the Dalish in the Free Marches, including Clan Lavellan, attacking and killing the slavers, as the clans liberated many elves from the human slavers. His mother ended up joining Lanaya's clan when she discovered one of the pregnant elves was carrying her granddaughter.

My Surana Warden leaves the Warens to spend his remaining days with Morrigan and Keiran (who has black hair like both of his parents and looks Latino Antivan with an olive skin tone). Presumably his knowledge of blood magic should stave off the Calling if he was not able to find a way to rid his body of the taint (I lean towards the idea that he found a way).

09) Favorite romance?

DAO: My Surana Warden with Morrigan.

DA2: Merrill. Even if she was too good for Hawke.

The Last Court: The Elegant Abbess. My Marquis of Serault also discovered her role with the Cult of Masked Andraste.

DAI: No one. Although I like to imagine Revas meets Merrill post-game (I like to think Varric gifted my protagonist with the Hawke estate as part of the Comte boon).

10) Have you read any of the comics/books?

Yes.

11) If you read them, which was your favorite book?

None.

12) Favorite DLCs?

Awakening. Although my Surana Warden leaving with Morrigan in Witch Hunt makes it a close second for that alone.

13) Things that annoy you.

Inquisition's tendency to refuse to allow the player to have positive Dalish content without some anti-Dalish dialogue coming at your protagonist from advisers, companions, and even minor characters. It was getting incredibly annoying to deal with the incessant anti-elven rhetoric in a game that never held the Chantry of Andraste to account for the monstrous actions it committed for centuries, like criminalizing the elven faith or purging those of other faiths, or even being able to criticize Andrastians like Celene, who committed literal genocide in Halamshiral.

Also, why is the gameplay content in the occupied nation of the Dales, a predominantly elven region, focused on humans? And what is with the weird habit of the developers making characters of color into white characters?

14) Orlais or Ferelden?

Never Orlais, although I'd prefer the autonomous Dales freed from the Orlesian occupation.

15) Templars or mages?

Mages.

16) If you have multiple characters, are they in different/parallel universes or in the same one?

I don't have multiple characters in Dragon Age. Each game has a respective protagonist since certain choices have no appeal to me (like supporting the templars or tradition in Orzammar).

17) What did you name your pets? (mabari, summoned animals, mounts, etc.)

DAO: Dumat. My Surana Warden had a sense of humor.

DA2: Andoral. It had to do with the Archdemon who was slain during the Fourth Blight and the Hawke family connection to the Free Marches where the Archdemon was slain.

DAI: Sadly, there was no mabari. Maybe Andoral had puppies who stayed with Merrill.

18) Have you installed any mods?

I am on console, so unfortunately no.

19) Did your Warden want to become a Grey Warden?

My Warden wanted freedom from the Chantry at any cost.

20) Hawke’s personality?

That was determined mostly by Bioware, like being religiously Andrastian. Leaned mostly diplomatic after Act I.

21) Did you make matching armor for your companions in Inquisition?

No.

22) If your character(s) could go back in time to change one thing, what would they change?

I'm sure Revas would stop Solas much sooner if that was an option.

23) Do you have any headcanons about your character(s) that go against canon?

The 'three mage' recton has no place in my canon. While Inquisition prohibits the elven protagonist from doing anything to substantially help their people (which bothers me given the nature of the Inquisition), I prefer to imagine that Revas used the considerable fortune of the Inquisition to purchase land in the Free Marches for the clans of the Dalish to reside, and that the clans who worked with Revas would settle near Kirkwall. Revas uses the knowledge of the Well that he possesses to assist the Elvhen.

Revas would establish contact with the dwarves through the thaig in Sundermount for the lyrium trade, using the Nexus Golem there to incentivize them.

The Bone Pit (there are no monsters there anymore), which now belongs to Revas (along with the extensive Hawke estate), would be used to employ the Kirkwall Alienage elves. The Estate is where the plans against Solas take place.

Merrill and Revas get together (I imagine they met before during a previous Arlathvhen that took place). They get married. They have children. Revas does not have to sacrifice his beliefs or his culture for an Andrastian significant other.

The prospect of Merrill using her Eluvian knowledge to gain access to some of the Eluvian network, and establish a sanctuary for the Dalish away from the harmful Andrastian Chantry in Thedas, is also a very appealing one. So much about how this franchise presses the reset button on any elven progress annoys the hell out of me so keeping the Dalish on a continent full of bigots and genocidal leaders isn't really my ideal option.

24) Are any of your character(s) based on someone?

No.

25) Who did you leave in the Fade?

Hawke. Given his role in setting Corypheus free it was fitting that he gave his life to stop Nightmare.

Warden Loghain should have stayed to lead the Orlesian Wardens (which he would have hated) during this crisis with the Rift; it was a missed opportunity (then again, so many decisions in that game baffle me - like reducing a continental war to a small regional conflict and having the Wardens led around by the nose by a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain).

26) Favorite mount?

I wanted Revas to have a halla mount.

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Malcom Hawke

Race: Human 

Gender: Male 

Class: Mage 

Title: Junior Enchanter 

Family: - Leandra Amell (wife) 

             - Areida Hawke (daughter) 

             - Bethany Hawke (daughter) 

             - Carver Hawke (son) 

             - Gamlen Amell (brother-in-law) 

             - Charade Amell (niece) 

             - Aristide Amell (father-in-law) 

             - Bethann Walker (mother-in-law) 

             - Anders (son-in-law)

             - Karl Hawke (grandson)

             - Malcom Hawke II (grandson)

             - Leandra Hawke (granddaughter)

Voice: Nicholas Boulton

Appearances: - Dragon Age II (mentioned only) 

                        - Legacy (ghost)

Malcolm Hawke was the father of Areida, Bethany and Carver Hawke, as well as the husband of Leandra Amell. He was an apostate mage. He died in 9:27 Dragon, three years before the outbreak of the Fifth Blight which forced his wife and children to flee to Kirkwall. 

Background

Malcolm Hawke was born in Ferelden. He was brought to Kirkwall's Circle late in the Blessed Age as a young apprentice. He was shown to be an adept mage and was learning complex spells by the age of fourteen until his advancements slowed to the level of his fellow apprentices. Enchanter Consueslon believed he was concealing his talents in order to not draw attention to himself while in the Gallows. He undertook his Harrowing at the age of nineteen.

In 9:05 Dragon, he met Leandra Amell while the Circle mages performed at Viscount Perrin Threnhold's banquet held for Grand Duchess Florianne. With the help of Leandra's brother, Gamlen, Malcolm and Leandra met more privately on a side balcony. Despite their differences of social status, Malcolm courted Leandra in the following months. With the aid of the Templar Ser Maurevar Carver, Malcolm was able to leave the Gallows to continue to meet with Leandra. When Leandra became pregnant with his child, Malcolm asked her to run away with him. She agreed, and they married in secret. Templar records reveal that Ser Maurevar assisted Malcolm in escaping the Circle, though it is unclear if he was an accomplice in the theft of Malcolm's phylactery.

By the time Malcolm secured passage to Ferelden at Kirkwall's docks for him and Leandra, Lord Aristide Amell had learned that Leandra was pregnant with a mage's child. Lord Aristide forbade Leandra to leave the family home, spread the word that Malcolm was a dangerous apostate, and hired men to capture him and turn him over to the templars. Leandra was able to get a message to Malcolm, via Gamlen, warning him of the danger he was in.

Hunted and nearly penniless, Malcolm was faced with a difficult dilemma: leave on the ship without Leandra or stay and face the wrath of Lord Aristide and the templars. Refusing to leave Leandra behind in Kirkwall, Malcolm went into hiding in a Lowtown tavern where he was approached by Warden-Commander Larius. Larius demanded a service of Malcolm and in return, the Grey Wardens would help in reuniting him with Leandra. Malcolm agreed.

Malcolm briefly worked with the Grey Wardens when they required a non-Warden mage to renew the weakening seals of the secret prison under the Vimmark Mountains near Kirkwall, where the ancient Darkspawn Corypheus had been bound. They chose Malcolm Hawke and forced him to use blood magic to strengthen the seals binding Corypheus (as well as several demons). As a result, the seals could only be broken using the blood of Malcolm's children, making them a target for those trying to free Corypheus when they returned to Kirkwall many years later. Malcolm's cooperation was secured by Warden-Commander Larius threatening to murder Leandra (who was pregnant with Areida at the time) if he did not comply. Malcolm agreed to his terms but also stipulated that, along with Leandra's safety, Larius also paid him for his services and convinced Lord Aristide Amell to allow Leandra and him to leave Kirkwall with impunity.

After Malcolm provided his service to the Wardens, Malcolm arrived at the Amell family estate with a contingent of Grey Wardens, and he demanded that Leandra be brought to him. Leandra came out alone, and she told him that she was free to leave. That night they boarded a ship to Ferelden. A few months after they arrived in Ferelden, Leandra gave birth to their child, a daughter they named Areida, a feminine form of Leandra’s father’s name. Five years later, Leandra became pregnant again and gave birth to twins: a daughter named Bethany, named after Leandra’s late mother Bethann, and a son named Carver, named after Maurevar Carver. After that, they were constantly moving to avoid being captured by the Templars. Malcom’s daughter, Bethany, inherited his powers, much to his dismay, as he did not want his daughter to be ostracized for her magic. He taught her how to correctly use her powers and how to keep them a secret.  According to Carver, he appeared to spend little time with his non-mage children, however.

In 9:20 Dragon, he and his family settled down in the outskirts of Lothering, where he made every effort to ensure that his children didn't fear magic, and were well insulated against those who did. He died seven years later, in 9:27 Dragon, leaving the welfare of his family up to his wife and his eldest child.

NOTE: The names in the family members section of Malcom’s biography that are bolded and italicized are part of my own version of the Dragon Age timeline and are therefore in no way canon.

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Andraste

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Title: - Bride of the Maker

         - Prophet

         - Our Lady Redeemer

         - Lady of Sorrow

         - Lady of Restitution

Family: - Brona (mother)

             - Elderath (father)

             - Halliserre (half-sister)

             - Maferath (“mortal” husband)

             - The Maker (“spiritual” husband)

             - Ebris (daughter) 

             - Vivial (daughter) 

             - Isorath (adopted son) 

             - Evrion (adopted son) 

             - Verald (adopted son) 

             - Alli Vemar (granddaughter)

Appearances: Historical

Andraste is the prophet whose teachings later served as the foundation for the formation of the Chantry, which later becomes the dominant religion of Thedas. She was the spiritual wife of the Maker, the being whom the Chantry worships.

Background

Andraste was a woman who rose to greatness, first as a slave of the Tevinter Imperium, then as a prophet, war leader, and religious icon.

According to Chantry scholars, Andraste was born into a prosperous Ciriane-Alamarri tribe in -203 Ancient in Denerim, which was then a fishing village. Her mother was a Ciriane woman named Brona and her father, Elderath, was the chieftain of one of the largest Alamarri tribes in what is now northern Ferelden. She had a half-sister, Halliserre, born of Elderath and his advisor on matters of alchemy. Halliserre died in a violent incident under mysterious circumstances with Andraste present. This incident scarred Andraste in many ways: she was left with a sickness of the lungs that made her unable to bear children for a decade; she also was known to display strange behavior, such as becoming still for long moments in a trance-like state, after which she would report voices as if from a lost memory and talk of strange auras or the sound of bells. Later on, Andraste came to remember her sister’s death as a matter of heresy, suggesting that her alchemist mother had been whispering of the Old Gods.

Andraste was married to Maferath to create a unified Alamarri border that stretched from the Planasene through the Fertile Crescent to the Bannorn. It was at the time the largest alliance the barbarians of the South had ever attempted. As Andraste was too weak to bear children when she married Maferath, he sired three sons with the concubine Gilivhan: Isorath, Evrion and Verald. Andraste adopted them as her own. She did manage to eventually give Maferath two children: daughters named Ebris and Vivial. The daughters were never counted as heirs and were not permitted to marry though relationships and families were still allowed. Ebris partnered and had children, but was as weak as her mother, and died of a plague in her late twenties. Her daughter, Alli Vemar, was married but died in an accident before she could have any children. The other daughter of Andraste, Vivial, fell in love with the Tevinter mage named Regulan, which caused great controversy and led them into exile. All records of her and her daughters were destroyed by Andraste herself. It is unknown if any of her descendants still live, as all of her scions were born female, and thus they took their husbands’ names in marriage. There have been many claimants in the centuries since, saying that they were related to Andraste, but the Chantry has disavowed each of them. To date, there are no known legitimate heirs to Andraste’s blood.

After their marriage, Elderath was killed in a Tevinter raid and Andraste kidnapped and enslaved, leaving Maferath in control of all northern Alamarri territory, the largest potential force outside of the Imperium. As most of the men were Elderath’s, they would only follow Maferath after he successfully negotiated Andraste’s release.

As her people rallied, Andraste began to see herself as a conduit to the truth of the Maker and what He required for the salvation of the people and declared around -180 Ancient the first Exalted March against the Imperium, who still believed in the heretical Old Gods. The First Blight, which had only ended a few years before, had significantly weakened Tevinter: there was widespread civil unrest over the Blight and the silence of the Old Gods and numerous slave uprisings. The droughts, wildfires, and landslides, now commonly believed to either have natural explanations or to be the result of darkspawn interference, were then considered miracles performed by Andraste. As a result, Andraste’s march was greatly successful.

Andraste also joined forces with the elven leader and former slave Shartan and his people, as they shared a common enemy in the Imperium. Together they fought in the Battle of Valarian Fields in -171 Ancient, one of the biggest victories of the Exalted March. After this battle, Maferath began to believe they had overextended themselves, and were now facing the risk of losing everything they had won, and more. In -170 Ancient, he conspired with Archon Hessarian and allowed disguised Tevinter forces to enter Andraste’s stronghold in the city of Nevarra to capture her and bring her back to Minrathous, where the Archon had her burned at the stake.

Archon Hessarian, who ordered Andraste’s execution, later converted to following the Chant of Light. According to the Chant, the Archon saw the error of his ways as soon as Andraste was burned. It was he who put the sword through her heart to put her out of her misery, which is why the sword is a symbol of mercy in Andrastian lore. Later, he repented her execution entirely, though Chantry dissenters claim Hessarian only converted because he could not stem the tide against Andraste’s followers, who were only emboldened by the death of their leader, and he repented his actions as a means to stay in power.

Ten years after Andraste’s death, he publicly revealed Maferath’s betrayal and proclaimed the Imperium an Andrastian nation, though the Chantry as an organization did not yet exist at this time. Maferath and his court were slain when his betrayal became known.

After her death, a group of people named the Disciples of Andraste was created for the purpose of protecting her remains and continuing her legacy. They moved her ashes to the Frostback Mountains and a temple was built around it. Eventually, however, only the Guardian remained at his post and protected the ashes, as the rest of the disciples believed that Andraste had been reborn into the form of a high dragon. This temple commemorates her memory and prevents the unworthy from viewing her remains. The remains stayed in the mountain, undisturbed for many years and eventually rumors began to spread that her ashes held curative properties.

In 9:30 Dragon, during the Fifth Blight, Ilona Cousland and her companions found Andraste's ashes and brought a pinch back to Arl Eamon, who has been poisoned, restoring him to health.

Chantry Teachings

Vision of the Maker

According to legend, before the Maker spoke to Andraste, she despaired at the fate of her people. At that time, every night, her husband Maferath would come to console her and each time Andraste would tell him of her despair while shedding a single tear, which Maferath captured in a vial. As a barbarian, she was taught to revere the Alamarri gods, the gods of mountains and the wind. When she prayed to them, none answered. On the thirtieth night the vial was full, and when dawn came Andraste saw her first vision of the Maker. Even though this legend is popular and has been passed on for ages, a part of it isn’t in the Chant of Light.

From an early age, Andraste suffered troubling dreams of a deity known as the Maker. Over time she began to interpret these dreams as the answer to questions that plagued her, and she came to believe that the Maker was the supreme being who had abandoned the world when his people took up the worship of the Old Gods, those beings worshipped in particular by the Tevinter Imperium. According to Chantry canon, after having fled the Imperium and marrying the warlord Maferath, Andraste appealed to the gods but her prayers went unanswered. She would sing, and one day the Maker, enchanted by her voice, invited her to join Him at His side. She instead encouraged Him to return to humanity and forgive them, compelling her fellow Alamarri and others to accept the one true god of Thedas.

Imperial Chantry

The official belief of the Imperial Chantry is that Andraste wasn’t, in fact, the Maker’s Chosen, but rather “just” an extraordinarily powerful mage. This view, which is considered heretical by the Andrastian Chantry, can also be found in a book called “The Search for the True Prophet”. Chantry art frequently depicts her as a warrior bearing a sword and shield or as a robed motherly figure, however.

Furthermore, the newly revealed portions of the formerly-apocryphal Dissonant Verses of the Chant of Light seem only to ascribe more “mundane” visions and periods of immobility to Andraste rather than magical powers, and in fact, describe her and her warrior army being nearly bested by the magical attacks of Tevinter during her rebellion. Some individuals, such as Empress Celene, similarly suspect that Andraste’s views were likely more political than idealistic.

Customs and Culture

At the beginning of Matrinalis, there is a holiday named “All Soul’s Day”, and the Chantry uses the holiday to commemorate the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death. In Chantries across Thedas, it is more popular to depict Andraste praying rather than as the conqueror with a sword and shield.

The Coming of Andraste's Herald 

In 9:41 Dragon the peace conclave held at the Temple of Sacred Ashes to put an end to the Mage-Templar War was suddenly destroyed in a massive magical explosion, killing Divine Justinia V, destroying the Temple and leaving a massive Breach into the Fade. Rosabelle Trevelyan, the sole survivor of the explosion was seen being led out of the Fade by an unknown woman. 

Rosabelle suffered from memory loss, and couldn't explain her miraculous survival. On her left hand was a strange mark with the ability to close Fade rifts across Thedas. After stabilizing the Breach, many came to believe that the woman in the Fade had been Andraste herself, who had chosen Rosabelle to save Thedas. Thus, those believers came to call the survivor the "Herald of Andraste".

During the Inquisitor Rosabelle’s push to halt the chaos at Adamant Fortress, she and her companions were physically thrown into the Fade once again. It is revealed that the woman who led the Rosabelle out of the Fade was not Andraste but Divine Justinia V, who had been sent into the Fade along with Rosabelle and sacrificed herself to save her from a pack of demons.