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[The Sarendoctrinator]

Also the griffon rider in the background, at the end of their weapon it looks like it could be frost enchantment/magic?

Nice catch, I didn't notice that one. It could be a mage staff + frost spells. 

 

_{What what, how am I only just finding out about this? I've only just preorder the masked empire. Still looking forward to this and its good to know its in safe hands.}

I think Amazon listed the new novel before BioWare officially announced it. 

[bairdduvessa]

my curiosity is how it will influence the game.  each book kind of serves as a way to explore the choices of characters and how it affects the world.

 

stolen throne made me look and loghain differently

 

the second book made me look at the architect in a new light, and made me wish i did something differently in origins.

 

asunder while about setting up the mage/templar war, was also about how hawke and his companions choices actually did echo into the rest of thedas

 

the masked empire well i'm not going to spoil that

 

the silent grove had some cool ideas in it 

[CudaThedas]

Interview with Liane Merciel - Dragon Age: Last Flight

http://www.dragon-ag...ast-flight.html

 

[lynroy]

Wonderful interview! It's reassuring to know that she's a fan of DA.

[LianeMerciel]

The first chapter from the novel has been posted on the publisher's website: http://us.macmillan....n=9780765337214

 

(That might already have been posted somewhere on the forums, but I didn't find it on a quick search, so I'll toss it up here in case it's of interest to people. )

[LianeMerciel]

Hey guys!

Now that this book is out, I'll check back on this thread periodically to see if there are any questions I can answer about what happens in the story, why certain plot decisions were made, and so on. I cannot answer any questions pertaining to the game, only to the book.

 

Also, I'm going to be staying out of all other threads where Last Flight is discussed, so don't feel like you need to hold back on any criticism you might want to throw out there. I won't get my feelings hurt (unless you post it in here, then I might).

 

So, for example, if you wanted to know

 

Spoiler

whether it's possible to repopulate a species from 13 related individuals

 

the answer would be

 

Spoiler

Yes. It's not ideal, but it's certainly possible, and it is easier to do with domesticated animals where humans can completely control the breeding decisions. The history of the Norwegian Lundehund was the basis for that particular idea. At one point, this rare and distinctive breed of working dogs was reduced to a mere six individuals, five of whom were siblings. Through careful breeding decisions, however, the Lundehund was saved as a breed.

[Kantr]

Hey guys!

Now that this book is out, I'll check back on this thread periodically to see if there are any questions I can answer about what happens in the story, why certain plot decisions were made, and so on. I cannot answer any questions pertaining to the game, only to the book.

 

Also, I'm going to be staying out of all other threads where Last Flight is discussed, so don't feel like you need to hold back on any criticism you might want to throw out there. I won't get my feelings hurt (unless you post it in here, then I might).

 

So, for example, if you wanted to know

 

Spoiler

whether it's possible to repopulate a species from 13 related individuals

 

the answer would be

 

Spoiler

Yes. It's not ideal, but it's certainly possible, and it is easier to do with domesticated animals where humans can completely control the breeding decisions. The history of the Norwegian Lundehund was the basis for that particular idea. At one point, this rare and distinctive breed of working dogs was reduced to a mere six individuals, five of whom were siblings. Through careful breeding decisions, however, the Lundehund was saved as a breed.

That answers the only question I had from this

I really enjoyed reading the book, thanks for writing!

[Willowhugger]

I really liked Last Flight! Thank you for writing it!

I posted my review on my blog.

 

Last Flight review.

 

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind answering them.

 

Spoiler

1. Do you think Blood Magic's primary danger is the fact it's "unearned" knowledge just dropped in people's heads and they don't know enough about it or because it's inherently dangerous? You raise the possibility later in the book and I found it very intriguing.

 

2. Do you think the Wardens would have done what they did if they'd known griffons would go extinct? As horrible as the action was, it seemed to reverse the tide of the war and make the Archdemon vulnerable.

[ElitePinecone]

So, for example, if you wanted to know

 

Spoiler

whether it's possible to repopulate a species from 13 related individuals

 

the answer would be

 

Spoiler

Yes. It's not ideal, but it's certainly possible, and it is easier to do with domesticated animals where humans can completely control the breeding decisions. The history of the Norwegian Lundehund was the basis for that particular idea. At one point, this rare and distinctive breed of working dogs was reduced to a mere six individuals, five of whom were siblings. Through careful breeding decisions, however, the Lundehund was saved as a breed.

 

Haha, I was just wondering about this in another thread!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to come by and clear that up, I'm impressed that there's actually some real life parallels to the situation at the end of Last Flight.

 

That particular plot point was the only question I had about the book, I really enjoyed it overall. The descriptions of combat and the flying sections were fantastic, and I thought you nailed the mood and atmosphere of the DA setting.

[LianeMerciel]

Thanks for the kind words, all.

I'm glad (and, to be perfectly honest, more than a little relieved) that you liked the book. I know the Bioware team was really concerned about bringing in another outside author after certain past events, and I think we were all holding our breath a little to see what the fan reception would be.

 

There are a couple of little things that might be perceived as iffy canon-wise, such as

 

Spoiler

at one point Qunari get name-dropped before they're supposed to have made contact with other civilizations

 

but in most cases those were intentional decisions, such as because

 

Spoiler

I wanted to use ogres (ogres are cool!), which meant that the Qunari could not be totally removed from the rest of the world, since you need to have Qunari to get ogres. When I started writing this book, I had not yet read the World of Thedas, so I didn't know about the darkspawn-slaughtered colony in the Korcari Wilds. That would have been a shortcut to the entire thing.

But, since I wasn't aware of that then, my reasoning went: a world that has high-speed aerial travel is a "smaller" world than one that doesn't, and a Grey Warden who just happens to fly overhead and spot one of those guys is probably going to be all "whoa, what is THAT?" and drop down to investigate. Therefore it would not be completely unreasonable to think that isolated contact might have been made once or twice, by that or other means, and that at least some Grey Warden scouts might be at least broadly aware of what Qunari are (if only to the limited extent of "hey, these guys are not darkspawn, we don't need to freak out about them even though they look kinda weird"). But, of course, that's not their primary focus, and it's also not hard to imagine that the few Wardens who maybe hypothetically did know about Qunari got wiped during the Fourth Blight, and then there are no more griffons so the possibility of accidental re-contact goes way down, and we get back to a world-state where nobody remembers what Qunari are until they invade.

 

However, at the same time, I didn't want to portray Qunari as being so common or widely known that one would actually make an on-screen appearance in Last Flight, because then there would clearly be a canon conflict. To split the difference, they only got a one-off mention in a throwaway line. I figured that would cover all my bases as to who knew what when and how there could be ogres in the Fourth Blight, as the readers who cared enough to worry about that kind of stuff would be able to make the connection, and everybody else would just skip past it.

 

But obviously I'm not actually all that confident that it worked, which is why I wrote this whole long spoiler explanation about it.

 

Also there are probably lots of mistakes that actually are mistakes. It's a complicated world, there's a lot of stuff to keep straight.

 

 

I really liked Last Flight! Thank you for writing it!

I posted my review on my blog.

 

Last Flight review.

 

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind answering them.

 

Spoiler

1. Do you think Blood Magic's primary danger is the fact it's "unearned" knowledge just dropped in people's heads and they don't know enough about it or because it's inherently dangerous? You raise the possibility later in the book and I found it very intriguing.

 

2. Do you think the Wardens would have done what they did if they'd known griffons would go extinct? As horrible as the action was, it seemed to reverse the tide of the war and make the Archdemon vulnerable.

 

Thanks for the review! It's very fair and even-handed, and I'm grateful that you took the time to write it.

 

I figured that if anything people would think the end was too unrelentingly grim and miserable, so that part surprised me a bit. Usually I get comments going the other way, so that was an interesting change of pace!

 

As to your two questions:

Spoiler

1. I think that what is actually a primary danger very much depends on who you are and where your weaknesses lie. Blood magic has a whole host of potential risks and traps built into it, and not everybody is going to be equally susceptible to the same snares.

 

But yes, if you ask me, I think that there is probably a danger in assuming that because you've been given a lot of knowledge about something, you must have all the knowledge about that thing. It's sort of another hubris trap, which in my opinion is pretty appropriate for a gift that sometimes comes from pride demons.

 

2. I honestly don't know. Maybe it's a little weird to be reluctant about speculating on the choices and actions of characters that you made up, but... I don't know. It probably depends which Warden is making the call. Certainly Isseya would never have started that snowball rolling down the mountainside if she'd had any inkling what it was going to turn into. But another Grey Warden, who wasn't a griffon rider and didn't have the same emotional attachment to them, might have been more willing to make that sacrifice.

[Palidane]

I thought it was a great book that really brought to light the dangers or blood magic and the sheer mind numbing horror of the Blight. Heck, that Blight only lasted like 15 years. Imagine fighting through the First Blight, which went on for 200 years!

 

I think the only big plot inconsistency in the book is that for some reason, everyone know's about the joining. Maybe it's common knowledge in the 'Fels, but back in DAO, you only learned the details at the joining, with the chalice in your hands. All these mages, however, know everything about it, including it's ingredients and survival rate.

 

There was one other thing that I wished had been included. I don't fault you at all for overlooking it, as it was only ever mentioned in one Codex entry, but the codex for the Stonehammer's Gift armor set in DA2 says it was worn by the fabled Hero of Starkhaven, who played some kind of pivotal role in the Battle of Ayesleigh. Oh well, twas not to be.

 

Anyway, congrats on the book, I thought it was excellent.

[Willowhugger]

Thanks for answering my questions!

I figured that if anything people would think the end was too unrelentingly grim and miserable, so that part surprised me a bit. Usually I get comments going the other way, so that was an interesting change of pace!

 

Well, I read a lot of Zombie Apocalypse stories (they're the primary focus of my blog after video games) so perhaps I'm not the best person for making that sort of judgement call. I figured the ending was pretty upbeat, all things considered.

Despite the fact our protagionist and her brother end up in grim places, they save the world in a fairly epic fashion. The Blight is defeated and the world is saved, which doesn't happen very often in Zombie Apocalypses (The Blight being the Orc-Zombie Apocalypse).

I just sort of considered the griffons to be something of a sacrifice and reminder that the Blights remove something special from the world each time they happen. That's misreading the situation a bit, though, since the griffons don't disappear because of the Blights but the hubris of men (or elf women).

 

Anywho, I'm glad you didn't pull any punches with our protagonists as there's no happily ever after for each of them and that was appropriate. I also liked the way you portrayed the somewhat surreal stories which can show up in Dragon Age. My favorite "bits" from the book are the Templar who's father preferred suicide to going to a Circle and the oddball relationship of our favorite Antivian Crow Bloodmage to the mother of his victim.

 

That was very human, as you said.

 

I also liked your portrayal of the Mages and Templars in the book. How it's got to be hellish for the mages who didn't hate the Templars and believed they were their guardians plus the Templars who actually took their job of protecting mages seriously. It's a war of the extremists that betrays both sides. That was a nice piece of storytelling.

[LianeMerciel]

re: Joinings -- that's another topic where it's a teeny bit inconsistent as to who knows what, because it's true that at the beginning of DA:O it seems like nobody knows that particular internal mystery of the Wardens, but then later other characters act like they do know.

 

My impression was always that the PC's ignorance at the beginning of DA:O was just to give the NPCs a reason to explain information that we-the-players needed to have (and it makes sense for pretty much all the origin stories that your PC wouldn't have that info, so it was a completely reasonable and warranted storytelling choice). Afterward it wasn't necessary to rehash the information, so the level of NPC background knowledge seemed to vary depending on what offered the best dramatic potential (for example, Morrigan not only knows a lot of Warden lore but has new and interesting ways of manipulating the magic with the old god baby).
 

So given that there was some precedence for in-game characters having different levels of information about Warden lore, I opted for what best fit the story I wanted to tell. It was more streamlined to have the Hossberg mages already semi-familiar with Warden lore, and I felt like there was enough canon justification to make that work (they're politically aligned, plus Wardens and mages do have some shared interests when it comes to lyrium supplies, magical research, defenses against darkspawn, etc.), and then after that all the characters have been sitting around Weisshaupt studying up on Warden history and lore for a while, so I was like "good enough! rock on."

 

There was one other thing that I wished had been included. I don't fault you at all for overlooking it, as it was only ever mentioned in one Codex entry, but the codex for the Stonehammer's Gift armor set in DA2 says it was worn by the fabled Hero of Starkhaven, who played some kind of pivotal role in the Battle of Ayesleigh. Oh well, twas not to be.

That, on the other hand, is a straight-up oversight for which I have no excuse. I just plain missed that one.

[Willowhugger]

Thanks for answering!

 

Spoiler

2. I honestly don't know. Maybe it's a little weird to be reluctant about speculating on the choices and actions of characters that you made up, but... I don't know. It probably depends which Warden is making the call. Certainly Isseya would never have started that snowball rolling down the mountainside if she'd had any inkling what it was going to turn into. But another Grey Warden, who wasn't a griffon rider and didn't have the same emotional attachment to them, might have been more willing to make that sacrifice.

 

2. How about Garahel in particular? Garahel had his sister do the Blood Magic ritual even though he saw it was taking years off her life everytime it was used. He also was willing to take the final shot on the Archdemon himself. So, it wasn't a case of cowardice either (though no one who is a Grey Warden is a coward, IMHO). Was he ruthless enough you think?

 

The fact we can ask these questions shows you did a great job with very little development time I think. I also find it sad that Isseya will never be a hero like her brother and was forgotten by history despite the fact that she's the Morrigan of the group and the Fourth Blight's most central ender. Sadly, if her deeds were known, it'd probably HURT elven relationships and undermine Garahel's reputation.

 

3. Speaking of which, is he is as famous in the Modern Era as the past or was our Mage reader just well-educated about him? He's unknown in the Denerim Alienage until Duncan brings him up.

[veeia]

Hi Liane! I really loved the Last Flight! It was so dark and so very human without feeling "grimdark". I actually expected this to be my least favorite of the books, because the GW are probably the least interesting part of the series to me, but now I think its actually my favorite of the ones that came out recently!

There was one beat of the story that I stumbled on--and maybe you or someone else can clear it up.

Spoiler

There was one scene where Calien said there was one thing he'd never do and that Isseya already knew (or would know soon), and I never quite got what that was. Was it just as he said at the end, that he'd never make a bargain where he didn't understand the cost again? Or did I miss something?

[Thunderfox]

Hi Liane.

I don't get my copy until Thursday so I can't comment on the book itself. I just wanted to say thank you for being so open and engaged here with the community. 

[kukumburr]

I just finished the book! I really enjoyed it, and as someone who was apprehensive about a book done by someone outside the DA writing team (because of the ME: Deception debacle), I think it's definitely on the same level as the other Dragon Age books. Which was a relief.

Spoiler

I think the saddest part to me was actually the mention of the "new" Warden-Commander at Vigil's Keep. I assume that must be the replacement for our Warden from Origins, since they disappeared. I'm so worried they're going to kill her off...

 

But also, BABY GRIFFONS! I want one!

[Pirate of Ferelden]

Hi, Liane.  I really enjoyed "Last Flight" too.  I definitely want to applaud your efforts to stay consistent with the tremendous amount of lore that the Dragon Age universe contains.  You have a new fan, and I look forward to checking out your other novels.  Well done!

[Willowhugger]

The Broodmothers get mentioned in Last Flight. Did the Wardens lose their knowledge of the Broodmothers or was this a mistake? I thought the Wardens weren't aware of their existence until the Hero of Fereldan found one on his journey to the Deep Roads.

Or am I just wrong about them discovering it?

[Kantr]

nah they know about broodmothers. The codex entry says so

[Willowhugger]

spiffy!

[LianeMerciel]

Thanks for answering!

 

Spoiler

2. How about Garahel in particular? Garahel had his sister do the Blood Magic ritual even though he saw it was taking years off her life everytime it was used. He also was willing to take the final shot on the Archdemon himself. So, it wasn't a case of cowardice either (though no one who is a Grey Warden is a coward, IMHO). Was he ruthless enough you think?

 

The fact we can ask these questions shows you did a great job with very little development time I think. I also find it sad that Isseya will never be a hero like her brother and was forgotten by history despite the fact that she's the Morrigan of the group and the Fourth Blight's most central ender. Sadly, if her deeds were known, it'd probably HURT elven relationships and undermine Garahel's reputation.

 

3. Speaking of which, is he is as famous in the Modern Era as the past or was our Mage reader just well-educated about him? He's unknown in the Denerim Alienage until Duncan brings him up.

 

Spoiler

I think Garahel would have done it, yes.

 

re: fame levels -- I'm a little antsy about trying to pin that down, because the question is, famous where? Among whom? 400 years ago, the Habsburg rulers were among the most important and famous people in the world, but how many of them can any of us name now without looking? Even among famous people today, my ability to identify and connect this year's new pop stars to their biggest hits would be like 40% max, and my ability to identify or match sports stars to teams, uh... it would be considerably worse.

Anyway, the point I'm clumsily trying to get at is that you can be really famous and still have people who have never heard of you (as gets demonstrated every time they come out with one of those silly polls like "one out of five kindergarteners can't identify the President!"), especially in a world that doesn't have the huge ubiquitous influences of pop culture.

 

So yes, Garahel's legend survives to the modern day -- we know that from NPC dialogue and Codex entries -- and he's widely known as a hero, but there are certainly still plenty of people who don't necessarily know who he is or recall the details of his deeds.

[LianeMerciel]

Hi Liane! I really loved the Last Flight! It was so dark and so very human without feeling "grimdark". I actually expected this to be my least favorite of the books, because the GW are probably the least interesting part of the series to me, but now I think its actually my favorite of the ones that came out recently!

There was one beat of the story that I stumbled on--and maybe you or someone else can clear it up.

Spoiler

There was one scene where Calien said there was one thing he'd never do and that Isseya already knew (or would know soon), and I never quite got what that was. Was it just as he said at the end, that he'd never make a bargain where he didn't understand the cost again? Or did I miss something?

 

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

I'm not entirely sure which scene you mean (there are a couple like that), but in general Calien is not as hardcore about stopping the Blight as a Grey Warden, and he's not totally on board with the "by any means necessary" ethos.

 

If it's specifically the scene at Mariwen's feast, then what Calien is referring to is

 

Spoiler

using blood magic on the griffons.

[LianeMerciel]

Hi Liane.

I don't get my copy until Thursday so I can't comment on the book itself. I just wanted to say thank you for being so open and engaged here with the community. 

 

Well, I was chewing my nails in worry about what you all would think of it. Really I should thank all you guys for being so welcoming.

 

Again, thanks to everyone who posted! I'm delighted to have gotten so many positive comments and relieved that this wasn't a total disaster. I may or may not check back on this thread, but in any event I'm very grateful to you all.

 

I'll keep my fingers crossed that they let me play in the DA sandbox again.

[veeia]

Okay! I think I probably just read his line more ominously that it was intended to be. I started having all these weird theories about him. 

 

I also really liked Lisme...super cool to see a ...genderfluid (? is that how you intended them to be read?) character, and wanted more time with them! Do you have more of a backstory or tibits on them you could share?

 

Thanks again! Echoing the previous poster that its awesome to have you here. I will keep my fingers crossed for you too, because I'd love to see your take on more DA stories.