36 réponses à ce sujet

[MichaelStuart]

Was it ever explained why Meredith bought the lyrium idol from Bartrand in the first place?
Was she looking just looking for some extra lyrium and ran into Bartrand selling it? or did see actively look for Bartrand and the lyrium idol?

Also, didn't Meredith break the law by buying the lyrium idol? as the sale of lyrium is controlled by the chantry.

[Heimdall]

Never explained. I've always wondered.

The lyrium supply is largely controlled by the chantry but it is not illegal for others to possess it.

Modifié par Lord Aesir, 05 septembre 2012 - 08:50 .

[Face of Evil]

More than likely she recognized its power and saw its potential as a weapon. By the start of Act 2, Meredith was becoming paranoid over corruption within the ranks of her templars and sought a way to defend Kirkwall on her own if it came down to it. (In a sense, she and Orsino were both engaged in a magical arms race, with Orsino collaborating with Quentin.)

I can't say whether Bartrand approached her or Meredith sought out Bartrand, but I do know that the outcome of Hawke's expedition was no great secret in Kirkwall. Varric likely told a lot of people about the strange idol that Bartrand ran off with, and eventually those stories would have filtered through to Meredith.

If your next question is "Why did she think she could control it?",  I would point out that templars drink lyrium to gain their abilities. If there was any person on the face of Thedas who believed that they could control the powers of an ancient lyrium artifact, it would be a templar, especially one as self-righteous and reckless as Meredith.

I don't think the Chantry's control on the lyrium trade is particularly applicable when it comes to idols recovered from ancient thaigs that pre-date written history.

Modifié par Face of Evil, 05 septembre 2012 - 09:17 .

[Anvos]

MichaelStuart wrote...

Was it ever explained why Meredith bought the lyrium idol from Bartrand in the first place?
Was she looking just looking for some extra lyrium and ran into Bartrand selling it? or did see actively look for Bartrand and the lyrium idol?

Also, didn't Meredith break the law by buying the lyrium idol? as the sale of lyrium is controlled by the chantry.

Lets see your putting a rare more potent version of lyrium infront of somebody addicted to lyrium by their own order's mandate.  What you think is gonna happen.

[EricHVela]

I don't recall where it said that Meredith purchased the idol herself. I do recall Bartrand saying something about selling it to a lady. Didn't someone also mention about trying to track down who purchased it just to warn them about it (or was that simply one of the options that Hawke could say with no results)?

There's a lot of room for speculation.

My speculation is that (regardless who purchased the idol and made the sword) Meredith assumed that the properties of lyrium that are supposed to give them resistances to magic also work in weapons. I'm guessing that the common lyrium was not feasible for durable weaponry such as swords and daggers or even shields. Common lyrium might be fine for arrowheads if it wasn't so valuable in other uses and, thereby, costly.

The lyrium from the primeval thaig seems different. Since the sword is "pure lyrium" and not some lyrium-infused metal, I'm guessing that someone was able to forge that special lyrium similar to metal, something that people cannot do with common lyrium to our knowledge.

That opportunity to have a pure-lyrium weapon against magic might have been too tempting for Meredith, who was already a bit "off" from the very start given what we hear of her.

I don't know how she chanced on the idol. Given Bartrand's state of mind, it's possible that he tracked her down after someone else sold the goods for him for the sake of covering his own tracks (After all, Varric seemed to think Bartrand was hiding from him.) If that is the case, someone else saw the potential in the object and brought it to Meredith's attention.

All conjecture, of course.

[Fallstar]

She was slightly nuts even before she bought the idol. That's the only reason I can think of for keeping anything made from pure lyrium near you all the time if you're not a dwarf. (And it even drives Dwarves nuts eventually, see the trader in the Orzammar commons)

[Fiacre]

DuskWarden wrote...

She was slightly nuts even before she bought the idol. That's the only reason I can think of for keeping anything made from pure lyrium near you all the time if you're not a dwarf. (And it even drives Dwarves nuts eventually, see the trader in the Orzammar commons)

IIRC that wasn't so much continued exposure as him accidentally cutting himself and getting the dust into his blood.

And I can only imagine that she thought a lyium sword would be useful against magic. She was paranoid enough that she probably wanted to be as effective against them as she could possibly be.

[Arthur Cousland]

I assume that Meredith thought that it wouldn't affect her like Bartrand because "he is weak, where I am not...". She just wanted a powerful sword that would assist her in keeping the mages in line.

Trying to make sense with anyone in Kirkwall is pointless.

[Heimdall]

Arthur Cousland wrote...

I assume that Meredith thought that it wouldn't affect her like Bartrand because "he is weak, where I am not...". She just wanted a powerful sword that would assist her in keeping the mages in line.

Trying to make sense with anyone in Kirkwall is pointless.

She probably didn't know about the effects and just thought Bartrand's was nuts.

[General User]

My theory: the idol sought out Meredith far more than she sought out it.

It sang to her. At first, slowly, quietly, in dreams and hopes and wishes. Then louder, like whispers from another room; enticing and intriguing... but beyond her grasp. She had to follow it. Follow the whispers. Follow the song. Follow it to the ugly little dwarf. And when she finally found the idol (and it found her) it was love at first sight.

Modifié par General User, 06 septembre 2012 - 02:15 .

[Face of Evil]

General User wrote...

My theory: the idol sought out Meredith far more than she sought out it.

It sang to her. At first, slowly, quietly, in dreams and hopes and wishes. Then louder, likes whispers from another room; enticing and intriguing... but beyond her grasp. She had to follow it. Follow the whispers. Follow the song. Follow it to the ugly little dwarf. And when she finally found the idol (and it found her) it was love at first sight.

It wouldn't the first time that happened in Dragon Age. That's basically how Branka was lured to the Anvil of the Void.

[General User]

Face of Evil wrote...

General User wrote...

My theory: the idol sought out Meredith far more than she sought out it.

It sang to her. At first, slowly, quietly, in dreams and hopes and wishes. Then louder, like whispers from another room; enticing and intriguing... but beyond her grasp. She had to follow it. Follow the whispers. Follow the song. Follow it to the ugly little dwarf. And when she finally found the idol (and it found her) it was love at first sight.

It wouldn't the first time that happened in Dragon Age. That's basically how Branka was lured to the Anvil of the Void.

Good point!  The Anvil of the Void was also made of rather primeval lyrium if I recall correctly?  Makes me wonder...

[TEWR]

The Precious....

http://t2.gstatic.co...vgQsPpwBZ7__RbQ

General User wrote...

My theory: the idol sought out Meredith far more than she sought out it.

It sang to her. At first, slowly, quietly, in dreams and hopes and wishes. Then louder, likes whispers from another room; enticing and intriguing... but beyond her grasp. She had to follow it. Follow the whispers. Follow the song. Follow it to the ugly little dwarf. And when she finally found the idol (and it found her) it was love at first sight.

Not all too different from what I thought some time ago. Well done! Great minds think alike!

Modifié par The Ethereal Writer Redux, 06 septembre 2012 - 05:26 .

[Urzon]

Meredith when first seeing the Idol....

"OOOOOH! Shinies!!!!!"

Modifié par Urzon, 06 septembre 2012 - 05:11 .

[EricHVela]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

General User wrote...

Face of Evil wrote...

General User wrote...

My theory: the idol sought out Meredith far more than she sought out it.

It sang to her. At first, slowly, quietly, in dreams and hopes and wishes. Then louder, like whispers from another room; enticing and intriguing... but beyond her grasp. She had to follow it. Follow the whispers. Follow the song. Follow it to the ugly little dwarf. And when she finally found the idol (and it found her) it was love at first sight.

It wouldn't the first time that happened in Dragon Age. That's basically how Branka was lured to the Anvil of the Void.

Good point!  The Anvil of the Void was also made of rather primeval lyrium if I recall correctly?  Makes me wonder...

Not all too different from what I thought some time ago. Well done! Great minds think alike!

This (while still conjecture) seems very in-step with the style of Dragon Age. I'm inclined to think that this very likely played a part in all of it.

[terdferguson123]

Bartrand did not specifically mention that it was sold to Meredith. And considering Meredith is the power in Kirkwall, my guess is that she wasn't the person who it was originally sold to. She most likely confiscated it somehow.


Regardless, Meredith was obviously paranoid even at the end of act 2 when we finally meet her, she is addicted to Lyrium like all Templars, and she is obsessed with the idea of slaying every mage she can find. A sword made of pure lyrium seems right up her alley.

[Heimdall]

terdferguson123 wrote...

Bartrand did not specifically mention that it was sold to Meredith. And considering Meredith is the power in Kirkwall, my guess is that she wasn't the person who it was originally sold to. She most likely confiscated it somehow.


Regardless, Meredith was obviously paranoid even at the end of act 2 when we finally meet her, she is addicted to Lyrium like all Templars, and she is obsessed with the idea of slaying every mage she can find. A sword made of pure lyrium seems right up her alley.

Well, not obsessed with killing mages.  Obsessed with killing blood mages and abominations.  The paranoia just ensured that she pretty much suspected every Mage was a covert blood Mage.

[Arthur Cousland]

It has been mentioned that the lyrium idol looks like Meredith, when her sword breaks and she becomes petrified. Was it fate? That's kind of creepy, that the idol looks like her, before she even comes across the idol. Perhaps she wasn't the first one to meet that end?

[thats1evildude]

I assumed that the idol was responsible for the creation of the Profane. Prolonged exposure might have eventually turned Meredith into a rock wraith.

Modifié par thats1evildude, 07 septembre 2012 - 03:10 .

[Face of Evil]

terdferguson123 wrote...

Bartrand did not specifically mention that it was sold to Meredith. And considering Meredith is the power in Kirkwall, my guess is that she wasn't the person who it was originally sold to. She most likely confiscated it somehow.

He described the buyer as a woman who 'glittered like the sun, but her heart was as cold as ice.' While somewhat vague, that sure sounds like Meredith.

[Urzon]

It's not that hard to imagine how she got her hands on the Idol. When a shady dwarf is trying to sell a very magically potent Idol, made out of an unknown type of lyrium, Meredith was going to get word of it sooner or later. She sends templars to investigate, and she then goes herself to pick it up.

The real question is, with Meredith's paranoia of all things magic, why would she craft something as unknown as the Idol into her personal weapon? Like others have said, I would have to say it's like The One Right. It just keeps broadcasting a "Take me! Use me!" message to things in the area that are susceptible.

Let's just hope that it isn't the horcrux of the Big Bad Behind Everything that might or might not show up in DA3. Maker knows how many pieces of that Idol are scattered around Thedas now, not to mention the Meredith(preserved in lyrium) Statue.

I somehow have a feeling they will bring her back as a boss fight. A huge annoyingly difficult rock wraith with templar abilities....

*Shiver*

Modifié par Urzon, 07 septembre 2012 - 04:47 .

[Arthur Cousland]

The lyrium idol reminds me of Soul Edge, and how fragments of that sword are all over the place, with it having varying effects on those who find the pieces. Meredith in act 3 did look like she was carrying her own Soul Edge. What happened to Meredith is somewhat like how Sigfried became Nightmare after the first game. Perhaps Meredith will return as some kind of profane who hunts mages.

[TEWR]

Face of Evil wrote...

terdferguson123 wrote...

Bartrand did not specifically mention that it was sold to Meredith. And considering Meredith is the power in Kirkwall, my guess is that she wasn't the person who it was originally sold to. She most likely confiscated it somehow.

He described the buyer as a woman who 'glittered like the sun, but her heart was as cold as ice.' While somewhat vague, that sure sounds like Meredith.

Additionally, she confirms she bought it in the endgame from Bartrand.

[Knight of Dane]

So lyrium =/= indoctrination?

No we know what the reapers are made from!!!1!

[JamesStark]

 Maybe she didn't know what it was and just liked it cause it was shiny?