#solavellan for example

[andrastesgrace]

man getting older hasn't changed my ships but it has changed the way I think about them and my reasoning for the ones I don't love

[fattylime]

vallyn and solas for @/Westlywheatlya2 🌱

[krems-chair]

[thebookworm0001]

i can't quite put words together about it but it is very funny and telling that when solas talks to you on your balcony, it is wildly obvious in retrospect how he's trying to figure out if you're more like the spirits he considers people than the rest of thedas

"your mind, your morals, your [insert massive pause and look off into the distance] spirit"

like, i wonder which one of those things matters most to you in this moment. you'd never be able to tell

[perkeleen-lavellan]

I think the thing that makes Solavellan most tragic to me is Solas's incapability to appreciate the beauty in the world as it is.

He can never look at Lavellan and their people and appreciate the perseverance, spirit and culture they've built since Solas first put up the Veil. He will always look on at that with grief and regret, until he can atone his deeds to himself. Which I'm not sure he's capable of. Maybe after Mythal releases him he could begin that journey, but as it is it never happens.

[micheldechevin]

I think the thing that isn't really mentioned is how Solas wouldn't know the inquisitor anymore. I mean any inquisitor, theres a big difference between watching movements of a person and getting to know a person. Having intel on someone isn't the same as sharing a meal and stories. It's not the same as knowing their favorite color. It's not the same as learning how they react when they're angry. 10 years is a long time and people change in 10 years.

What if your inquisitor likes something they wouldn't eat before? What if your inquisitor decides they hate the color yellow but used to like it. That's not the person Solas knew.

Even inquisitors who hate him change, their anger might strengthen or lessen but he doesn't know what that means like he would know before he left. A lot changes in 10 years no matter who you are and what relation you had to him.

Maybe your inquisitor decides to help him and then changes their mind or vice versa.

Idk I just think it's interesting.

[mabaris]

ok so reading the article about world state choices. my take on it is that it seems like they’re specifically referencing choices to create the inquisitor, like that’s the “adventurer” in question? it might be on its own page because that’s when you’re also customizing their face and voice. maybe there will be another page for more worldbuilding because i don’t think there will ONLY be three choices that matter in the scope of the game. the well of sorrows absolutely has to come up in a game with morrigan and the inquisitor and the elven gods right??? i hope??? come on

[gwinaesfer]

I need more Dragon Age stuff to show off so please send some of these for my rookanis or solavellan 😗 it looks so fun

spots to kiss.   since y’all like kissing prompts—and who wouldn’t, honestly–so have a collection of places to press your lips to. many of these work perfectly fine for platonic or familiar affection while some are a bit steamier, though what counts as what is of course naturally dependent on the muses and the context. send ‘ SPOTS TO KISS + [number] ’ to kiss my muse there, or with # for dealer’s choice. context and description allowed and encouraged. feel free to use the last option  ( 57 )  to give the kiss on any fantasy or scifi body parts not listed here.

a kiss on the top of the head.

a kiss to hair.

a kiss on the forehead.

a kiss on the space between eyebrows.

a kiss on the temple.

a kiss on the cheek.

a kiss on the eyelid or the undereye.

a kiss on the nose

a kiss on the ear.

a kiss on that space where jaw connects.

a kiss on the corner of the mouth.

a kiss on the cupid’s bow.

a kiss on the lips.

a kiss on the chin.

a kiss on the jawline.

a kiss on the back of the neck.

a kiss on the underside of the jaw.

a kiss on the throat.

a kiss on the side of the neck.

a kiss on where the back of the neck turns to shoulder.

a kiss above the collarbone.

a kiss along the collarbone.

a kiss on the space between collarbones.

a kiss on the shoulder.

a kiss on the bicep.

a kiss on the forearm.

a kiss on the elbow.

a kiss on the outside of the wrist.

a kiss on the inside of the wrist.

a kiss on the back of the hand.

a kiss on the palm.

a kiss on a finger.  ( which one? )

a kiss on the side of the ribs.

a kiss on the shoulder blade.

a kiss on the space between shoulder blades.

a kiss along the curve of the spine.

a kiss on the upper back.

a kiss on the lower back.

a kiss on the sternum.

a kiss on a pec / breast.

a kiss under the breast.

a kiss on where the sternum ends.

a kiss on the stomach.

a kiss on the navel.

a kiss on the hipbone.

a kiss on the ‘v’.

a kiss on the front of the thigh.

a kiss on the back of the thigh.

a kiss on the inner thigh.

a kiss on the knee.

a kiss on the calf.

a kiss on the ankle.

a kiss on the heel.

a kiss on the foot.

a kiss on a toe.

a kiss on an nsfw body part not listed here.  ( where? )

a kiss on a sfw body part not listed here.  ( where? )

[astarionass]

while the mahariels are my canon da world state i have a whole other host of inquisitors who i love dearly too. i should make a brief intro post for them like i did for everyone else… hm

[luzial]

i gotta say of my fellow solavellans, we have never been a quiet bunch when it comes to solas thirst. i deeply respect that about us.

but after veilguard? my friends, we are on another level entirely. we are out here like our bodies are deserts that have never seen a drop of rain in our lives and now there's a monsoon and we can't actually absorb all that rain as quickly as it's coming down so everything is just flooding everywhere. and honestly this metaphor is a good example of my point because i didn't start that sentence meaning for it to sound Like That and yet here i am and here we are.

but, holy shit, you guys. idk if it's the thrill of it being over? seeing him at the height of his power in act 3 (can't think about that for too long right now or it'll be my whole day)? or maybe it's the fact that he was beautiful in DAI but then someone turned that dial up so far the dial broke off for his VG model and now i can barely fucking look at him in all your screenshots and gifs because jfc why is that man so gorgeous the LINES of him aaaaAAAAaaaAAAAh.

anyway. i salute you all. i salute myself. we made it. we did it.

[rachelmcewanart]

I know the Solavellan ending has sparked some intense discourse, with opinions falling sharply between love and hate. Personally, I’m in the 'love' camp, and while maybe my voice isn’t needed, I can’t resist sharing why it resonates so strongly with me. I don’t have anyone in my life who understands (or cares) about this, so here goes.

For me, the ending we got captures the essence of Solas and the Solavellan relationship beautifully. Solas is deeply passionate but also, as I interpret him, inherently reserved. Their relationship reflects this—intimate and private, removed from the public gaze in a way that other romances in Inquisition aren’t. Think of how Cullen’s romance unfolds on the battlements, Josie’s duel is a public affair, Blackwall, when being judged, had the option to be a more public declaration of love, and kissing Doran happened where anyone could walk by and see. These relationships have public elements, while Solas and Lavellan’s moments remain intensely private. Their first kiss takes place in the Fade, the second on Lavellan’s private balcony, and their final meeting is secluded in Crestwood. Even looking to their scene in Trespasser as another example. Their love is personal, something shared only between them.

To me, the reunion in Veilguard perfectly honours that pattern. The fact they even kissed with a small audience was new, but still, they spoke to each other in a language that kept things private. Also, Solas is severely injured and likely in a state of shock—it’s a vulnerable, raw moment rather than one for sweeping gestures. There’s so much they need to unpack, with conversations that may turn heated, but now they have the time to do it. That they even received a happy ending was a surprise, but a welcome one—I didn’t expect it, and it felt like a fitting conclusion.

(A final note that these are just my feelings and interpretation. Everyone's are valid, of course)

[mythalsknickers]

The Bullying and Doxxing

This has been edited to clarify my points 6.6.2025

It has taken me longer than I would like to put this into words, due to life giving me all the good things I have been working for at once. I am going to make this abundantly clear for everyone.

What happened to Idontevenlikedragonage should have never happened. Not because we are all rainbows and toxic positivity, but rather we as a community should never allow people to feel comfortable enough that they can dox someone. In my thirty one years of existence there has been one cardinal rule of the internet.

If you dont like something or someone's take ignore it.

At the end of the day we all like engaging with media be it on a hyper critical way or on the barest amount of engagement. However it does not matter if it is a survey, an analysis, or someone's opinion. You do not need to escalate to bullying them off the internet and doxxing.

This is different for real beliefs that translate beyond the videogame space such as Zionism, TERF ideologies, White Supremacy, Racism etc. That being said the more engagement you give a piece the bigger platform they have. The best strategy I have seen across social media platforms is blocking and not engaging period.

DOXXING IS ILLEGAL.

The fact this was done on Anon, very clearly illustrates that they know what they are doing is wrong, and they do not want to face the consequences of their actions. However, I am ultimately not surprised as to date to my knowledge this fandom has done the following;

Bullied Jenifer Hepler off the Internet

My fandom knowledge has said this was due to the alleged character assassination of Anders. However someone did bring up Proto-gamergate and while I am still looking into the events leading to her being doxxed and her family threatened but it is possible for these two things to exist in the same space and time. It is still bullying and harassment.

Disclaimer: Her TERF and Zionism ideologies are not condoned

Bullied David Gaider, Mike Laidlaw, Trick Weekes, and John Epler into Locking their Accounts Multiple Times.

I am specifically referencing a group of Solavellan enjoyers known as Sollavellan Wives due to their alarming similarity to Snape Wives from the Harry Potter Franchise. To MY KNOWLEDGE this does not include anyone with nuanced versions of Lavellan, or Solavellans who are capable of disagreeing with the the creators but remaining rational about it. Additionally this comes to mind about Emmerich sleeping like a giraffe or Solas having a breeding kink, the devs are allowed to have fun, they are allowed to not like a character they write. I will be real as a budding novelist and fanfiction author I legitimately do not like some of my characters. I have a character who I literally mentally shake like a maraca because they keep changing what they want. At the end of the day though this does not change my dedication for my characters or the work I will put in to see that their voice is heard.

Hate mobbed A WOC author for her portrayal of Vivienne, using the fic as an example of systemic violence against WOC characters, and Improper Tagging.

Bullied Voice Actors and Devs for having different opinions on the characters.

Bullied Concept Artists for releasing concept art.

Y'all need to learn to enjoy life and nature more, I am tired of seeing creators and people who simply enjoy the game bullied for daring to have a different opinion. There is a difference between bigotry and use of stereotypes and someone genuinely having an opinion for no reason that the media you consumed is not great. The above actions are not the fault of the victims but rather the so called alleged fans who decided to bully them off the internet. Congratulations you are as bad as the Star Wars Fandom and that is not a compliment.

DA is what you make it, Veilguard is what you make it.

I have been in this franchise since ye-olden days and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have also actively enjoyed Veilguard to the point it is competing with my UNMODDED Inquisition run on XBOX for playable hours, mind you this was when you had to leave the machine on and the game running for the Wartable to it's thing.

Also if by some miracle I have mutuals or followers/following that are contributing to this bullying and doxxing bullshit in the fandom. Please do reach out and let me know. They do not speak for my beliefs or opinions. Fandom should be our place from the world to take our selves less seriously, and enjoy the media we all love.

Racists, TERFS, Zionists, and those practicing other forms of Bigotry please exit stage left. You are not welcome here.

[dayntee]

Re: The Fen'Harem Made Me Do It

I wanted to put this out here for folks to be aware of even though like... most of my mutuals probably know this already.

A bunch of us Solasmancers of various kinds gather together on a Discord server called The Fen'Harem. What you may not know about it is that it's probably the nicest, most chill, most supportive, friendliest online community I've ever been a part of.

No, really, we're like aggressively supportive of one another. When you're feeling down or self-critical, you will absolutely be hit with a deluge of supportive messages, digital hugs, and kind words. It's sort of incredible.

Anywho, there's a good chance if you've read more recent Solavellan (or Solas anything, really) fanfiction and sometimes fanart, you've probably come across one of the authors/artists that hangs out or lurks in our halls. You might have even come across the following tag:

#The Fen'Harem Made Me Do It

This tag's starting to see use on both AO3 and here on tumblr (maybe elsewhere like BlueSky, but I haven't checked). What it means is that the person posting likely is on that server and/or that server is directly responsible for harassing supportively inspiring that work into being.

My own fic, That Year at Arlathan University, is just one of many examples of this. For real, I would have never come up with any of these ideas without the Fen'Harem. I certainly wouldn't still be writing it without them, either. I fell back into Dragon Age fandom with Veilguard at launch; that I'm writing the same crack story almost half a year later is kind of insane. And I've genuinely made some lovely friends that will have a hard time ever getting rid of me now.

(You know who you are.)

This community is incredibly talented and have helped me with innumerable things:

Getting through a very rough depressive patch with unemployment

Helping me get over my fear of writing and posting smut

Inspiring me to be more sex positive overall (which, truthfully, has had an incredibly positive impact on my health and marriage)

Giving me a group of friends I love and know are always there when I need them... and know that I'm there to do the same

I'm a community manager by trade, over ten years of it. Take it from me when I say that these sorts of communities are precious, rare, and take a lot of work to maintain, especially as safe spaces that happen to attract a lot of marginalized folks (fandom do be like that). I'm always grateful I have this place, and it's hard for me to not check in on everyone at least once a day.

This ended up longer than I intended, but TLDR:

Go read our fics here because holy shit everyone is so goddamn talented.

Join the server if you need a place to scream about the egg and never be judged for it. Trust me. We have egg.

The mods deserve a special level of love and appreciation, because they keep this boat safe and afloat and I honestly don't know what I'd do without it

Always put in what you get out of a community. Fandom is a space of giving and taking, and the Fen'Harem is one of the purest forms of that I've ever seen.

And to the rest of the Fen'Harem, ya'll just need to know: I love you guys. 💖

[mythalism]

the ambiguity of solas's ending actually really does piss me off so bad. like i dont know why they think they were cooking by being vague about where exactly he ends up and whether or not he is trapped or able to leave, especially if your own player character ends up there with him, whether thats rook or lavellan. the imagery in the epilogue slides and implication in the "atoning for the blight" ending is clear but only if you're well versed in lore that veilguard does not really explore, and thats only for the atonement endings where he leaves to heal the blight willingly. where does he end up in the other endings? where did the rift behind him lead to? is it just the fade? do all the rifts lead to the black city even if he doesnt intentionally leave to go heal the blight??? if so why??? the rift opened naturally, solas didnt open it. is it just luck that it leads to exactly where we need hin to be?????? does rook even know where it leads???? do they even think before shoving him into it?????? does it even matter if he has the fucking dagger anyway????? if so whats the point of any of it??????????? WHAT THE FUCK???????

if that was just the game's refusal to employ it's own vocabulary that would be one thing, because its a larger issue in the game overall. the black city/golden city is not mentioned to my knowledge, though perhaps it is in codex entries, and so to use that terminology in the end would be confusing to the incompetent and stupid "new players" the game was written for who apparently cannot be trusted to absorb worldbuilding information on their own. but the fact that several people have asked for clarification from the devs and we have gotten more ambiguous, unsatisfying answers or straight up refusals to elaborate is so ridiculous to me. why? spoilers? for the game you are never actually going to get to make? even if it was a spoiler who fucking cares? an ending that leaves you unsatisfied because you are CONFUSED is not a well-written one. when i first finished i genuinely felt PANICKED because it was over and i didnt understand how it ended. i felt so desperate to know where exactly they were. the way the ending feels completely different if they are in the black city versus the regret prison is HUGE. those are two completely different endings. whether or not he has agency and is able to leave makes a HUGE difference in the overall messaging of his character. it makes a HUGE impact on lavellan's willingness to join him. i guarantee that like half of the people who hate the solavellan ending and were really upset by it would have felt far better about it if it was just explained where the fuck they were. like what is the point. how does it serve the narrative for the audience to leave the epilogue unsure of what just happened? and the worst part is that, while i am a full 99.9% sure that they are in the black city rather than regret jail, because thats where the blight is and thats the visual imagery used in the epilogue slides, that 0.1% uncertainty exists not because i just dont know the lore well enough or didnt understand the ending, but because i no longer have faith in bioware to stick to their own writing.

i know that it only makes sense for solas to be in the black city if his goal is healing the blight, but what if epler decides he wants solas to be in the regret prison instead being psychologically tortured because he thinks hes annoying and deserves it? what if some other dev who has a bone to pick with bald guys gets hired and pushes for it really hard in meetings for 5 years? will what they established for the ending actually matter, then? or will they do a complete 180 from what was set up and retcon the ending? and i get it- they have always done this on some level. corypheus returning after da2 to be inquisition's antagonist, for example, though i'd counter that argument with there being clear foreshadowing that he body hopped so that seed was indeed planted. or killing flemeth with morrigan in origins only to find out in da2 that she gave her soul to hawke just in time to survive. but these things have an internal consistency with the world-building that i have lost faith in the writers to continue. corypheus survives because he uses blight body hopping, an established ability that we already knew archdemons had, then elaborated on when he returns in inquisition. flemeth is an ancient unknowable legendary swamp witch who is suggested to be playing 4d mind chess with the characters even before you know about her own body-snatching, so finding out she was able to cheat death like that isn't unfounded or far fetched. but veilguard so gleefully tramples over its own world's rules and established stories, whether its stupid small mechanical gripes like rook wading through "blight pools" and exploding "blight cysts" all over themselves with no explanation meanwhile we know that felix alexius died of blight from just coming into contact with hurlock blood when attacked, and that ferelden mabari biting darkspawn was a death sentence for them unless they could be cured with a rare herb. or larger things, like.... idk. solas's characterization, motivations, and massive network of agents and supporters. or slavery existing in tevinter. or the existence of the titan's heart orbs that each evanuris has? or um. RED LYRIUM. and so much more.

i think thats why the vagueness of this game bothers me in a way it did not previously. granted, i do not think inquisition is NEARLY as vague with its lore reveals and character epilogues. its actually very straight forward and explains everything sufficiently. theres more of an argument for da2 being very vague. but previously, i would have trusted that it would be taken care of in a way that made sense, or at least was internally consistent with the world. i have completely lost that faith. instead, after playing the rest of veilguard and seeing how little respect the game has for it's own world and story and characters, the ambiguity of solas's ending is nothing but anxiety-inducing and unsatisfying. i cant even clearly analyze his character arc if i dont truly know the implications of the ending. and on top of that, what reason do i have to believe the writers will respect their own writing going forward?

[chanafehs]

I think datv was kinda screwed over when they decided to make it a soft reboot - I’m not going to pretend I know exactly what happened behind the scenes but having a soft reboot that is a direct sequel of not only a previous game but a DLC kinda set them all up for failure narratively.

If they wanted to make it accessible for new players, I feel like they could’ve done that in a different dragon age game - one that isn’t a direct follow through of the canon storyline. There were multiple times when I was playing where I had to question if new players would actually understand what was going on if they didn’t have the context of the previous games (maybe this is why they kept repeating things every three seconds), especially when it feels very obvious like they had a set inquisitor in mind.

Just the most obvious example: are new players going to understand that you could’ve had a very low approval relationship with solas? Are new players going to know his thoughts about Dwarves and the Qunari, especially a dwarven or Qunari rook? A dalish rook? New players have no idea what tearing down the veil could look like for people who are not elves as they never played in Hushed Whispers - to some Elven rook players, it might even sound like a good idea.

The inquisitor has been defaulted to having a friendly relationship with him, regardless of if they chose to stop him or not, and it makes it all the more weird when you remember you can’t even do solas’ personal quests if you had low approval. Harding even makes comments about Mythal’s and solas’ relationship that would only make sense if you had the context of solavellan…which is weird because she’ll say that even if your inquisitor isn’t romancing him.

I have seen some others kinda harp on people who say this as “you’re just mad because the game isn’t respecting your headcanons”….well no shit. Also a headcanon is something you made up - not an actual thing you did in game. If I made vivienne my divine that’s not a headcanon, that’s something I was actually able to include with the choices I was given within canon but I digress.

I don’t want to accuse any of the devs of lying, I think EA had a heavy hand in what went into the game vs what the devs actually wanted, but the way this game was marketed was very disingenuous especially in regards to player choices - if John Epler’s thing was “hey maybe we just might not bring up certain choices but it doesn’t mean they’re not canon” then why are there so many bits of lore that invalidates previous choices? Even with the new information that a DA5 would adhere to the choices in the keep…where does that put this game? Is it not canon?

Regardless - I don’t think you should have to read 100 codexes or find every crumpled note in a corner of a locked room to understand a game. When I first played inquisition I understood it pretty well even though I hadn’t played the previous games, even after playing the previous ones, despite what criticisms I may have, I didn’t hate it and I felt like it was an actual successor to the timeline. Datv, for a soft reboot, feels like a 60 hour DLC.

[blackcatsnest]

The meaning of "Solas" and its influences

While researching lore for my solavellan fanfic (if you are interest, see here), I came across something intriguing that I haven’t seen much discussion about in the fandom. Solas once said, “I was Solas first. Fen’Harel came later. An insult I took as a badge of pride.” This implies that Solas was his original and "only" name before he chose to rebel against his kins.

This raises an interesting question: do spirits even use names? From what I remember (and correct me if I am wrong), in the game spirits are typically referred to by their nature—Spirit of Justice is Justice, Demon of Spite is Spite, and so on. The only exception is Cole, but he gained his name by assuming the identity of the real Cole. This suggests that spirits don’t have the same sense of individualism as mortals. However, if they embody or manifest in a physical form, they might adopt a name that reflects their nature or experiences. This leads to an interesting possibility: Solas might not have had a name until Mythal crafted him a body. But why would Solas, a spirit of wisdom, choose a name associated with pride? (And it can also mean 'stand tall,' which carries a more positive aspect while still hinting at pridefulness—thanks for the reminder from @smoggyfogbottom )Here are two potential theories:

Theory 1: The trauma of becoming physical twisted his essence into pride.

The process of taking on a body is said to be very traumatic, maybe that altered Solas at his core, leading him to identify himself as pride rather than wisdom. However, I find this theory unconvincing. At the beginning of their creation, the Evanuris were still performing good deeds, and Solas served Mythal and her people as an advisor. This indicates that the spiritual purpose of the Evanuris wasn’t significantly altered right away. While the act of taking on a body may have been distressing, it likely wasn’t as severe as the transformation spirits undergo when crossing the Veil and becoming demons instantly. Thus, there’s little reason for Solas to call himself "pride" immediately after gaining a body.

Theory 2: The name originally meant wisdom, but the meaning changed over time.

It’s possible that the word Solas initially conveyed the idea of wisdom or something closely related, but its meaning was later distorted to represent pride. This wouldn’t be the first instance of a name or term being twisted over time. For example, the meaning of Fen’Harel has been confirmed to have changed. According to the Codex, Fen’Harel does not mean “God of Deception” or “Trickster,” but rather “God of Rebellion” or even “God of Noble Struggle.”

----

Codex entry: The Rebel God The Dalish use "Harellan" to mean "traitor to one's kin," but the word does not appear in any elven text before the Towers Age. The ancient root-word is related to "harillen," or opposition, and "hellathen," or noble struggle. The Dalish call Fen'Harel a god of deception, but I posit a far more accurate translation would be "god of rebellion." What he rebelled against is a story lost to time. In Dalish legends, Fen'Harel seals away the other deities out of love of trickery. If we understood more ancient elven, we might find earlier versions of the Dread Wolf's story give him a more nuanced motivation beyond spite.

-From A Treaty on the Pagan and Heretical Customs of the Elven, by Senallen Tavernier of the University of Orlais, commissioned by Empress Celene.

---

If this distortion of meaning could happen with Fen’Harel, it’s plausible that the name Solas experienced a similar fate. The question then becomes: when did this shift in meaning occur?

The Codex notes that the word Harellan—first appeared in the Towers Age. This suggests that the meaning of the root of the word, Fen’Harel, and the related terms Solas, were changed much earlier, potentially as soon as Solas led the rebellion. The Evanuris likely employed highly effective propaganda to paint their enemy in a negative light, which endured for thousands of years.

But where were Solas’s supporters and allies in all this? After the Veil was created and its devastating consequences unfolded, many likely turned against him, resenting him for the chaos and suffering that followed. Others may have felt betrayed or abandoned. Over time, they may have forgotten that it was Solas who freed them from slavery, focusing instead on the cost of his actions.

An additional point of interest lies in the timing of the word Harellan’s emergence in the Towers Age. This coincides with the birth of Flemeth and her eventual possession by Mythal. The Codex containing this information is found in the Temple of Mythal, which seems too significant to dismiss as mere coincidence. Could Flemeth/Mythal have influenced the Towers Age Dalish to create Harellan and deepen the misrepresentation of Fen’Harel’s true nature?

If so, what was Mythal/Flemeth’s motivation? We know that Mythal and Solas’s relationship was never a healthy one—there were certainly elements of manipulation involved, and many people even believe Mythal was abusive towards him. Perhaps she still harbored grudges against him? Having a trusted subordinate rebel against you would have been both humiliating and deeply personal. In some ways, Solas’s actions may have even contributed to her death. So she seeks revenge, even after all these years? We have no way to be certain. But her action did denied Solas further from his legacy as a liberator. Now he is reduced to a villain in the eyes of future generations completely.

This is why I think Mythal is definitely not the noble and innocent figure Solas would like us to believe, and why their relationship may not have been a romantic one. I imagine their dynamic to be more like a superior and subordinate, or perhaps a mother and son, mixed with thousands of years of friendship. In one word—complicated. I also believe there’s more to the story of Andraste, who is implied to have been possessed by Mythal at some point. Morrigan once remarked that Andraste “runs off and falls in love with a wild man,” suggesting that she and Maferath had a genuine emotional bond. If there is no Maker, as Solas claims, why then would Maferath become jealous and betray Andraste? Could it be that Mythal sought to destroy the Tevinter Imperium to restore Elven glory, but the war dragged on for too long? Perhaps Maferath saw no end in sight and felt it was all spiraling out of control. This would be an interesting topic to explore further.

But back to our current discussion: the impact of these shifts in meaning is significant. Imagine waking up with the hope of seeing a better future, only to find that everyone now calls you a traitor. While Dragon Age lore doesn’t specifically state that names influence people directly, it’s common sense that names represent how others perceive you—and this perception undoubtedly affects self-image. Over time, even Solas begins to acknowledge himself as the God of Lies, believing deception is inherent to his nature, even though he uses lies only as tactics.

And let’s be honest—he’s a terrible liar! He leaves hints everywhere, unable to fully conceal the truth. Moreover, spirits reflect people’s thoughts and emotions, and at his core, Solas is still a spirit. Can we blame him for struggling under the weight of these misinterpretations and the world’s expectations?

It seems Lavellan understood his nature better than most. She said, “Lies of the heart? No.” That simple statement cuts to the truth of who he is.