I hate spitballing theories when they're completely raw and untested in my head, but there's a related concept that's been bothering me for a bit as well. Like you, I initially assumed Lavellan becoming "real" to Solas was metaphorical- a tipping point in terms of his respect for her as a worthy (ugh, for lack of a better term) inheritor of the ancient legacy of his People.
That's not an entirely satisfying explanation though, so let's play devils advocate with this crackpot alternative:
It's been suggested that Solas, and other original pre-veil entities like him, are distinct from post-veil races and spirits by being fully present in both reality and the Fade. Essentially, they are more "real", more complete, than beings who are restricted to either side.
Consider Cole now, and his limited but uncanny access to the world beyond the game world. Not in-game reality, not the Fade. Our world. Again, his scope seems limited, but the movie references make it hard to deny, and Solas shares this ability. There is a second veil in Dragon Age, one formed by your computer screen, and the game seems to grant entities like Cole and Solas some measure of awareness of this True Beyond, (where Thedas' real creator gods do indeed exist in the form of Bioware writers) as well as a limited ability to access knowledge beyond it.
Now think about the player in this context. Think about you, and how you fit into the world of Thedas. You are, in essence, a guiding spirit from the Beyond, inhabiting the mortal shell of Lavellan. She has her own backstory, her own life in the context of the game world in which she lives, but after the initial scene you are the spirit that guides every action, every moral choice she makes.
And what sparked that catalyst, in game? The events at the temple of Sacred Ashes and the placement of the anchor.
In this context, Solas' interactions with the Inquisitor become... layered. Again, in a limited way- but it's not as much of a stretch as it feels like it ought to be if it all weren't in some way intended. In questioning what effect the anchor has had on the Inquisitor, he's (perhaps unwittingly) serving as a conduit to the voice of the actual Makers.
"Has it changed you? Your mind, your morals, your... spirit?"
Everything you've experienced: the characters you've met, the choices you've had to weigh. On the side of the True Veil, our side, where real change is possible- has being anchored to this world affected you? Has it reinforced your sense of compassion? Your commitment to justice, to helping the helpless? Has it challenged or confirmed your views on gender and sexuality?
I'm probably reading far too deeply into this, but if the nudges are intended, then two things:
1. It would be a pretty amusing mirror of spirits "earning his wings" and being granted access to the Maker if the first player to take a very particular, predetermined path in game resulted in an invitation to meet the writing team . =w= heh.
2. Tell the tiny part of you that is Solas that he succeeded, Weekes. It worked. I moved from SanFran to Atlanta last year, and the initial culture shock of dealing with the Deep South pretty much shut me down entirely on the volunteering front. There was just too much wrong here. It was too big to be fixable, too bone-deep to make the attempt feel like anything but utter futility. The ideological concessions that had to be made to have a chance at turning the state purple made even the prospect of success a hollow victory.
DA:I kicked me in the pants with its "Nice work saving Thedas, too bad it's just a Fade dream" subtext. This is the side of the veil where things can actually change. Time to get up, dust myself off, and keep trying.
Banal nadas indeed, you crazy Canadians. ^w^
So meta, I love it!
A few pieces (localised to Solas) feel like they fall into place (but forgive me if this has been mentioned, we are moving fast!) When we meet Varric he tells us that Solas kept the mark from killing us while we slept after the events of the conclave. What if the method of Solas keeping us alive involved something he had not even been sure was possible – had only theorised?
In the later conversation between Cole and Solas, in reference to Lavellan, Cole mentions how she is now “real”, “but she can’t be, because that means that everyone else could be real, too”. What if the method of keeping Lavellan alive involved doing something to her which altered her in order to be more like him? More “real” to him?
If we accept that the anchor may be allowing Lavellan access to not just the Fade, but a range of possible worlds including that of the world outside of the game, then Solas may have willingly invoked the spirit of the player into Lavellan. Whether his intentions were purely to keep the power of the anchor intact, or as a happy coincidence in simultaneously saving a life is another matter. He later seems surprised at his own success
.
When Solas seems amused in meeting you (in contrast to his demeanour for the rest of the game) it is perhaps not entirely due to you simply being alive (and his orb power intact). He smiles as he greets you as another player.
A handful of subsequent moments, like the one on the balcony where he asks “Has it changed you? Your mind, your morals, your… spirit?” suggest that he wants you to know that he knows that you are more than what you appear to be to everyone else there in Skyhold.
This also may support the repeating occurrence of mythical characters who change names when they desire to, or shed a name when the meaning of it no longer applies (as Solas suggests to Abelas, and as we know he himself has done in the past). It is akin to naming an avatar - starting a new identity in order to perfect those scores you didn’t quite get right when you played as the last one.
So, a slightly eerie thought: How long has Solas been playing this world of Thedas alongside you? How many times have you unknowingly crossed paths?
Haha it is all waaay out there but this train of thought has me giddy with delight, thank you! 
Retour en haut
It's really the way that Solas seems to be involved in all these mysteries in the plot that makes him the most interesting character in the game to me.
He looks spiffy in it tho 
