So we've seen theories of Solas being connected to various other elves in Dragon age, from Zathrian to Felassan - but as I've been replaying Origins, I found another elf that he could perhaps be connected to.
The bald and the beautiful, Shartan.
"You're just grasping at straws!" You might say. "It's just because he's bald - and an elf!"
True enough gentle reader. True enough. But let's delve a little deeper, shall we?
Now, I must admit, I don't quite know where I am going with this crackpot theory - I just feel like there is a connection I am missing here - perhaps it's just that the story feels so familiar? There might not be a tangible connection between him and Solas, but, well, read on.
Shartan - AKA the leader of the elven slaves who joined Andraste's rebellion against the Tevinter Imperium around 1020 TE. (The Ancient age, 800 or so years after Arlathan was sunk into the earth by Tevinter.)
At Shartan's word, the sky
Grew black with arrows.
At Our Lady's, ten thousand swords
Rang from their sheaths,
A great hymn rose over Valarian Fields gladly proclaiming:
Those who had been slaves were now free.
-Shartan 10:1, Dissonant Verse
The leader of a rebellion, a dreamer of a new life for his people, Shartan was an enlightened slave and rumored lover of Andraste. He won his people The Dales, a gift from Maferath for their part in the war against Tevinter. Though he did not live to see it, the surviving elves made the long walk on foot and settled in Halamshiral.
It was Shartan's dream that one day we we would have our own homeland, where we could live as we chose. After the long struggle that claimed the lives of many, even Shartan himself, we were granted the Dales. And though the Dales were to the south of the land of Orlais, and a long way off from Tevinter, it mattered little. We were going home. And so we walked.
--As told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves
Lets take a baby step back.
The elves that escaped Tevinter were Shartan's followers. He encouraged them to rise up against their masters, making weapons from broken barrels and sharpened stones. He was literate, which was very rare for a slave, and even wrote a book - A Slave's Life.
So, an educated elf, with a mind for strategy and a burning desire for the independence of his people - borne from the life of a slave?
Unusual. But let's press on.
Anyway, Shartan was killed when Andraste was betrayed (likely burned alive by the Tevinters) but the elves he rallied and trained were able to go on without him and found their new home in the Dales. These elves, once completely uneducated except to serve, now were fierce warriors with proud hearts and independent spirits.
Thanks to Shartan's influence, sometime during the building of their new society the elves founded The Emerald Knights - elven warriors that rode on Halla mounts alongside their wolf companions known as "Knight's Guardians". Huh. Why would the elves seek out wolf companions?
You still with me? Excellent.
Well, we pretty much know the story of the Dales. The elves cut themselves off from humans, blah blah blah, the divine in Orlais declared them "heathens" for worshiping the elven pantheon, blah blah HOLY WAR. Thus the Exalted Marches and the utter ruin of whatever Shartan had tried to recover for elf-kind.
So, a few more interesting tidbits before we move on from ancient history:
- The creation of the Emerald Graves: What is the Emerald Graves? Basically a GIANT burial site for all of the elven soldiers that died in the Exalted Marches. A tree was planted to mark each grave, and given that there are A LOT of trees there.... that's a lot of graves. Interesting amount of wolf statues there too.
- The Exalted Plains - where the elves made their last stand against the Chantry.
- Halamshiral - "The End of the Journey", once the first free elven city at the end of The Long Walk now is home to The Winter Palace (as seasonal retreat for the Imperial Court). No real connection to my ramblings here, but wow talk about a friggin sharp stick in the eye to the elves. Rude, Orlais, just rude.
Ahem, anyhoo. BACK TO SHARTAN.
So thanks to The Exalted March, any mention of Shartan in The Chant of Light was removed. Ouch thanks for rewriting history, Chantry! In fact, mention of Shartan wasn't just removed, it was now known as the "Heresy of Shartan". And as if THAT wasn't enough, any Chantry artwork depicting elves was destroyed.... and the only remaining image of Shartan is in a mural where his ears have been docked wtf.
The Chantry doesn't like Shartan, mkay?
So where do WE here about him? Where do we get a glimpse of Shartan? Oh yeah, the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest, where his spirit poses us with a riddle.
"I'd neither a guest nor a trespasser be. In this place I belong, that belongs also to me."
"Home."
Of course the answer to his riddle is home. All he wanted for his people. The more interesting part is what he says after his riddle.
"It was my dream for the people to have a home of their own, where we would have no masters but ourselves. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and thus we followed Andraste, against the Imperium. But she was betrayed, and so were we."
Call me crazy, but hear me out for a sec.
The Inquisitor without a doubt can be compared to Andraste in many ways, his/her story has so many similarities. I just can't help but also notice one of Andraste's allies (and some claim her lover) is very similar to a certain ally of the Inquisitor's.
Now, I'm definitely not saying Solas = Shartan, but one can't help but wonder a few things.
- How did Shartan, a slave born in captivity, become so educated in not only reading/writing, but warfare and strategy?
- The most common words used in conjunction with Shartan are "he dreamed". Did he perhaps learn things in the fade? Have contact with a certain Spirit?
- According to the Canticle of Shartan (later called the Heresy of Shartan) he met Andraste on the Valarian Fields after he rose up against his Tevinter masters where she gave him the mystic blade known as Glandivalis. You can get said blade in DAII for defeating the Pride demon Hybris. Why would a pride demon have Shartan's gift from Andraste? Most curious is what Hybris says: that he has held "fragments of every fool who held a throne, here or in the black." The black? The black city? Throne? ?????
And here is the sum of my crackpot theory.
Given all of the information I've covered, from Shartan's intellect & rebellion to the creation of The Emerald Knights I think that somehow he is involved with Fen'Harel. Whether there some some sort of possession going on, like with Mythal in Flemeth, or if Shartan had MUCH more information that modern elves have on Fen'Harel, through some sort of dream magic. It's just too much. Too much for a slave to know, to do.
In the lore, Fen'Harel has been known to impart knowledge on individuals on a whim, and I think that's what happened to Shartan.
Like Andraste is the Maker's miracle to the world, Shartan seems to be the elven equivalent. He did and knew everything that was needed for his people. He was at the right place, at the right time, just like Andraste, just like the Inquisitor.
PHEW. That's a lot of info, I know, for a theory that isn't even fully formed. BUT I FEEL SOMETHING THERE. I just have... a few missing puzzle pieces. But something is there.
One last thing before you go.
- You can give Shartan's book A Slave's Life to Fenris in DAII as a gift. Irony to give such an ex-Tevinter slave known as "little wolf".
Retour en haut
throw in some Dean winchester while we are at it.
It ends quite hilariously too.. "Careful... ears." "Indeed."
) The link collection on page 1 is great! Thanks for that! 
