153433 réponses à ce sujet

[Janic99]

With all three of the advisors off on 15 hour missions in Tiger's playthrough, I decided to try my hand at creating Shenshen for my future mage Lavellan. Said I'd share some screens, so here she is:

 

Reference:

And, Shenshen Lavellen attempt, the first:

Spoiler

 

 

I dunno. I think I got the face mostly, but the hairstyle selection is very problematic for me. I thought I was ok with this one, but I just now noticed in a later shot that it's not actually attached to her head. Not sure if it's noticeable enough to remake her yet. What's a girl gotta do to get some decent curls and fringes, durnit!

 

At this rate all my characters will all probably end up using the cocker spaniel ponytail.

OMG I JUST LITERALLY STARTED AWW:ing!! T_T SO CUTE AWW I LOVE HER

[flabbadence]

Me?  Well...  I kinda suspected from before, that Solas was going to be some sort of tragic romance.  Either he was going to be a bad guy, and/or Lavellan simply wouldn't be able to keep him for some reason.  Even during gameplay, all his warnings were like giant red flags that this wasn't going to end well.  I've also mentioned once that the moment I saw that he was also an artist, I knew the romance was doomed.  He had become too perfect to have a happy ending.    So I came into this accepting that there might not be a good ending.  But I still really wanted it, he was *really* interesting.  No regrets, even if there is so so so much pain. And likely more to come..

 

LMAO, ain't that the truth

[Fialka]

I've just finished The Last Flight (the latest Dragon Age fiction book, and it's not bad), and I'm wondering about blood magic. I won't spoil the contents of the book, but one of the themes there is - it's something we can't fully understand or comprehend. All magic comes with a price(hello, Once Upon A Time!), but with blood magic, we sometimes can't know this price until it is too late. Hence, blood magic can have unforeseen drastic consequences, don't use it, don't use it, don't use it.

 

(and I kid you not, in the book, blood magic does have pretty drastic consequences, even though good intentions are there)

 

So. Back to our elven apostate. What does he say? That it's extremely powerful, and it can be very useful, providing it remains a tool, not a crutch, nor a passion.

 

Hello? Consequences? I mean, he's possibly the wisest person we know! How could he be that flippant about blood magic, if it's in the lore?

 

// I was okay with blood magic, myself, but not after that book. It clearly seems that there's something very, very wrong with it. Whether it's a retcon or not, I'm not sure, but since Dragon Age people decided to add this to the world, it's now there.

Oh good! Someone else who actually read the book (I've referenced it a couple times on the thread, but it didn't seem anyone had read it).

 

Mild and intentionally vague Last Flight spoilers below:

Spoiler

Hmm... I actually had the same reaction. At first. But then I thought about it some more, and I've been reading the thread... I don't think blood magic caused what happened. Blight magic did. That's what they were messing, with, really... Just think. No one seems to really understand why the Joining works like it does. They just know that it works, and it serves its purpose, at least well enough in the absence of an alternative. We've theorized the blight might be the magic of the Void itself. The archdemon (you might recall that in the book its magic is described as not of the Fade) uses it. But... what is the power of the blight, exactly? We know it corrupts, and spreads, and infects. Combined with lyrium (the conduit for Fade magic) it turns lyrium red, and makes it grow and infect things the same way the blight's corruption does. Combined with blood magic... Corypheus seems to do just that. Who knows what else it can do?

 

REALLY HEAVY LAST FLIGHT SPOILERS:

Spoiler

What Isseya did was actually alter the Joining ritual using blood magic to force the griffons to accept it (which, if you'll recall she'd learned blood magic - what, the night before? I loved her character, and her intentions were good, but that was royally stupid). It makes sense that changing the spell (do we even know who came up with it, I wonder?) would have some unforeseen consequences, as would forcing a creature to accept the Joining when it seems to have a really powerful instinctual aversion to it (probably for a reason - the griffons are presented as being intelligent to the point of being borderline sentient).

 

And as for Solas' opinions on blood magic - I'm still inclined to agree with him, as it's more or less how I saw blood magic even before playing Inquisition. However, it might be good to take Solas' opinions on such matters with a grain of salt - he is a very pragmatic 'ends justify the means' kind of guy.

[nranola]

The animations do some funky things when you look at them from unintended angles. During the final romance scene Solas's right arms twitches uncontrollably right before he takes your hands. Maybe he's just overcome with emotions?

 

It could just be his arm not being animated properly and his hand went there as a result when his torso moved. Then again... If you look closely at Solas's forearm in particular, it angles downward from the elbow.

 

Or I might be overthinking it, I dunno. I'm just gonna be with my brain, here, in the gutter...

 

I wouldn't doubt that he was really nervous in the final romance scene. I would be too, if I was in his shoes! 

[madrar]

Madrar:

Why I'm still not swayed entirely by your Tripe Threat Solas Theory, in part due to meta reasons as a writer, I'm really fascinated by everything else you've come up with. I'm still not sure I understand it all, but I'm curious as to how Malvernis would fit into your theories on the magic and the Fade system.

http://dragonage.wik.../wiki/Malvernis

http://dragonage.wik...geforn_the_Foul

http://dragonage.wik...n_the_Wasteyard

http://dragonage.wik...he_Lonely_Vigil

And I was really intrigued by what you've mentioned of Songs and the mechanics behind that. Unfortunately, it was seven hours past when I should have been in bed, so I just sort of gave it a bleary thumbs up before collapsing into slumber on my keyboard.

Would you kindly give an example of those mechanics? I previously thought the Architect couldn't hear the Old Gods' Calling, but now it appears he can hear it, but he simply isn't compelled the same way his brethren are. And Wardens who are sufficiently past their Calling appear to become much more darkspawn like, but then they're not driven insane by the Calling. Likewise, Corypheus doesn't seem drawn to the Old Gods underground. I'd imagine that if he could hear the Calling, he would believe it to be a sign the Old Gods existed and were still talking to him. Both he and the Architect went to the Black City, what's the difference?

 

Whoa. This is really interesting stuff.  @w@  First, I think the Will behind the taint is more than happy to allow Corypheus and his brethren to have an illusion of free will, so long as they generally continue to work to advance His goals.  It's possible the Magisters have enough Song (self) in their own blood not to hear the Old Gods in the first place (they are not mindless, as the other darkspawn are) meaning their individual Song forms a counter the relatively soft and distant Song of the Old Gods- certainly until being blighted cranks up the volume.  Even then, it's likely they're shielded from the Old Gods call by the power of the Sun's Song itself.   After all, the Archdemon's Song is something of a counter-call (in theory) even though it's blighted.  Given how much red lyrium the magisters seem to have taken into themselves, it wouldn't be too surprising if the Sun's Song was all they could hear.  

 

As far as Malvernis is concerned: honestly, the only thing that kind of makes sense to me here is less a direct connection with the Song metaphor and more a biological one: Dwarves-as-the-Stone's-immune-system, Malvernis-as-Plague.  The parallels are interesting, at least.  He devours their warriors, dissolves their living bodies, and turns the bones of their dead to slime (white blood cells becoming pus) before they're able to encase him in lyrium "stained with the blood of a hundred warriors" - like an abscess, a bit.  They then push up to the surface (like a pustule) where it can theoretically do no more harm, even if it breaks.

 

It's not a widely held view, I know, but I believe Thedas is alive.  In a very literal sense, she is Mythal's (the Earth's) Child.  The network of lyrium "veins" beneath the surface are simultaneously her circulatory system (her Blood and limited Will) and the connecting neural network of the "Stone" (her Brain- again, same source of Will).   The Dwarves are her immune system gone a bit wild.  They were, originally, something like a basic fetal system with maternal antibodies- able to take on general defense from threats like gangue spirits (clearing away old or dead cells) and even more serious diseases like Malvernis.

 

The blight, however, is a literal cancer- an incredibly virulent, fast-acting virus that threatens the life of the Stone itself.  I believe titans may have been crafted artificially by June as an "immune system boost" in response to this- taking the basic units of the Stone's innate, non-specific system and strengthening them considerably for specific purpose.  By all appearances, the blight in the Stone's blood itself (in the form of virulent red lyrium) is also being fought in a more direct way by the Dwarves of Kal-Sharok, who seem to act as direct mirrors of T-cell lymphocytes, sacrificing themselves by taking the blight into their bodies to purify the Stone.  

 

Anyway!  What time period are these codexes from?   The idea of a humanoid hunger-plague thing makes me immediately think of the story of the three magisters, seen fighting far down in the Deep Roads, one of whom killed and ate the other.  The start of Malvernis, possibly?  A blighted magister, compounded and twisted by taking in a Hunger demon?  I don't have the lore background to do more than raise an eyebrow.  

[zambixi]

I think there are two things to keep in mind when looking at that bit of text.

 

Firstly- it shouldn't be too surprising that Solas is willing to get his hands dirty in order to right whatever wrong it is that he's done. He gave his orb to Corypheus. We don't know what his end goal is, but whatever it is he's committed to it. But I don't know if I would take 'would kill anyone' to mean that he's going to suddenly flip flop into a one dimensional villain. The text written in developer notes is predominantly shorthand. It doesn't really carry any nuance.

 

I do think Solas has an edge, and its a dangerous edge, but at the same time I don't think he's going to go completely off the deep end.

 

Second point of note- Flemeth/Mythal knew he was coming. That text implies that she's known he was coming for at least a thousand years, and she nurtured Mythal's spark specifically for that purpose. This means whatever goal that he's after, she either agrees with it completely or it coincides with her centuries long vengeance plot.

 

It could be that both of their plans are bad news. But I don't think so. I don't think Flemeth would accept a stereotypical villain plot, not when she had a thousand years to potentially figure out how to get rid of Fen'Harel. Then there's also the fact that Solas was planning to tell the truth to Lavellan...which means his scheming can't be completely insane. Its probably dark. But I don't think it is on the level of master villain. Otherwise telling her would have never been a consideration. 

 

Essentially- I expect more of a Morrigan from Solas than a Meredith. Morrigan was not so sweet in DA:O as far as the things she was willing to do to ensure that the warden succeeded. But ultimately her intentions were good. 

 

Basically just want to agree with what you have here. I think Solas is more than willing to pay the costs for his actions as necessary,  but he's not a straight "ends-justifies-the-means" character in the way that say...Saren (ME1) or even Renegade!Shepard are. He pursues the means he believes will have the fewest negative effects and only escalates when things go to crap. Whereas most of the time when I see EJtM applied, its to a character that just bulldozes through everything and says it's cool because hey, they got done what they needed to get done.

 

To take it into full Solas-apologist mode, I wonder if he gave the orb to corypheus thinking he'd do the world a favor and get rid of a seedy character while getting the orb for whatever he needed it for. We'll see about that, I'm pretty sure I'm terribly wrong there.

 

 

Oh good! Someone else who actually read the book (I've referenced it a couple times on the thread, but it didn't seem anyone had read it).

 

Mild and intentionally vague Last Flight spoilers below:

Spoiler

Hmm... I actually had the same reaction. At first. But then I thought about it some more, and I've been reading the thread... I don't think blood magic caused what happened. Blight magic did. That's what they were messing, with, really... Just think. No one seems to really understand why the Joining works like it does. They just know that it works, and it serves its purpose, at least well enough in the absence of an alternative. We've theorized the blight might be the magic of the Void itself. The archdemon (you might recall that in the book its magic is described as not of the Fade) uses it. But... what is the power of the blight, exactly? We know it corrupts, and spreads, and infects. Combined with lyrium (the conduit for Fade magic) it turns lyrium red, and makes it grow and infect things the same way the blight's corruption does. Combined with blood magic... Corypheus seems to do just that. Who knows what else it can do?

 

REALLY HEAVY LAST FLIGHT SPOILERS:

Spoiler

What Isseya did was actually alter the Joining ritual using blood magic to force the griffons to accept it (which, if you'll recall she'd learned blood magic - what, the night before? I loved her character, and her intentions were good, but that was royally stupid). It makes sense that changing the spell (do we even know who came up with it, I wonder?) would have some unforeseen consequences, as would forcing a creature to accept the Joining when it seems to have a really powerful instinctual aversion to it (probably for a reason - the griffons are presented as being intelligent to the point of being borderline sentient).

 

And as for Solas' opinions on blood magic - I'm still inclined to agree with him, as it's more or less how I saw blood magic even before playing Inquisition. However, it might be good to take Solas' opinions on such matters with a grain of salt - he is a very pragmatic 'ends justify the means' kind of guy.

 

I tend to agree and disagree with Solas. I don't think blood magic is evil in and of itself, but I think it's almost impossible to comprehend and as a result is almost impossible to use carefully. Normal magic comes from the Fade, so that is what mages are familiar with. Blight magic comes from...somewhere else (probably the Void) and so mages are unfamiliar with it. Blood magic comes from one's life force, which I believe is mostly separate from the Fade and again, mages are unfamiliar with the mechanics. I'd say even Solas does not fully understand how it works, since he's not a practitioner, and as might grossly underestimate how easily it is to fumble with.

[nranola]

So...this is not my Tumblr and honestly, some of you may already follow this person, but..If you dont, you should.

 

I am obsessed with her page. She basically does screenshots of her game but they are the most beautiful wonderful things. I don't know what she uses or how she edits them or what kind of powerful magic machine she has, but I literally spent a good hour just gazing on the beauty.

 

The pictures of Solas are just....ugh.

 

http://pictureamoebae.tumblr.com/

 

I saw her post in the Tips for taking better screenshots thread. Could prove useful!

[Janic99]

Spoiler

I just saw this theory but there is no way it could be because he says '' I was too weak to unlock it after my slumber '' 

you know.. he slept like thousand years? XD lol so he IS the dread wolf not the vessel and it can be explained also by the facts that he knows so much ancient elvhen and ancient elvhen things.

[Mims]

 

 

To take it into full Solas-apologist mode, I wonder if he gave the orb to corypheus thinking he'd do the world a favor and get rid of a seedy character while getting the orb for whatever he needed it for. We'll see about that, I'm pretty sure I'm terribly wrong there.

 

 

I don't think you are terribly wrong! We have fairly decent evidence to suggest that Solas always assumed that the orb would destroy Corypheus upon activation. And it did...he just didn't realize that Corypheus could regenerate into the nearest darkspawn or grey warden host.

 

He probably didn't choose Corypheus just because he wanted to get rid of a bad guy, but it was certainly an added bonus. 

[Moondreamer01]

So, out of curiosity to see how popular certain Solas related choices were for fellow Solas lovers and to see everyone's canon, I have compiled a list of questions for you guys. My personal answers are under spoiler tags for space saving If enough people reply with their own feedback I'll tally up the answers to see which choices won the popularity contest.
You can choose your first, canon, or favorite play through if you have multiple Lavellans.
1. What is your Lavellan's name?

Spoiler

Ithilia Lavellan

2. What is your Lavellan's class?

Spoiler

Mage power! And Rift Mage...for knowledge, not because it's Solas's specialization (I always play as a mage for my first play through)

3. Which god's vallaslin does your Lavellan use?

Spoiler

Dirthamen, (he's who I wanted too!) my Lavellan is forever seeking new knowledge.

4. How old is your Lavellan?

Spoiler

24 during her time at Haven

5. Did you intend to romance Solas when you started the game?

Spoiler

Yes, but only because I only wanted one female elf play through and I wanted to do all the romances now I'm obsessed with Solas.

6. What is your Lavellan's relationship with her clan?

Spoiler

They are a super close family! I head canon that her mom originally was the First but left to join another clan who was in dire need of a First. Her dad went with her mom, but she's close to her Keeper who is also her great aunt. She also has a best friend named Thalia, who is a hunter.

7. What are your Lavellan's religious views?

Spoiler

She's skeptical of any gods actually existing, but acts devoted because of her position as the Keeper's First.

8. Did your Lavellan drink from the Well?

Spoiler

Yes, (I hope that doesn't come back to bite her in the arse) honestly I wasn't going to make the choice for her to drink, but then I realized she'd probably be my only Inquisitor (stupid enough) willing to do it. So I just imagine she didn't trust Morrigan with the knowledge and owe of the Well.

9. Did your Lavellan have Solas remove the vallaslin and why/why not?

Spoiler

No, Ithilia is proud to have been raised Dalish and the vallaslin was part of her heritage. Plus, it looks cool.

10. What response did you choose after Solas broke up with you?

Spoiler

Don't do this to me! aka Tell me you don't care aka the Feelsuh

11. How is your Lavellan taking Solas being gone and how are you taking it?

Spoiler

She is furious that he left without saying goodbye and explaining himself. Also very sad, but she let's the anger cloud that.
I have built a shelter in the Solas thread and only venture out for the inconveniences of daily life.

12. What would you give for a Wolf Hunt DLC?

Spoiler

My very soul *_*

Hope everyone likes it! Any choices I should add in?
Edit: Everyone's getting into this! I'm glad people like it, but now it makes me want to elaborate on my answers!

Sorry for late reply, still trying to catch up with the thread...

 

1. What is your Lavellan's name?

Spoiler

Ellana Lavellan. Not very original I know, but I liked the name Bioware came up with for Lavellan and saw no reason to change it.

 

2. What is your Lavellan's class?

Spoiler

She’s a rogue/archer, and I went with tempest as a specialisation. She always wanted to be a mage and spent her childhood thinking she would one day be keeper first as both her parents were mages. But her magic never appeared (and she was so angry at that turn of fate!) and so tempest is probably the closest thing she could come to having magic of her own.

 

3. Which god's vallaslin does your Lavellan use?

Spoiler

Mythal, the smallest of the three versions. Mostly because I liked how it looked as I didn’t know of the links between gods and vallaslin at the time. Still, it fits her as she has the urge to protect those close to her.

 

4. How old is your Lavellan?

Spoiler

Haven’t really thought about it, but probably mid twenties.

 

5. Did you intend to romance Solas when you started the game?

Spoiler

My first playthrough was a mage trevelyan romancing Cullen, but Solas caught my eye and once I was done with that PT, I created Ellana just for the romance. The rest is history (damn you egghead!)

 

6. What is your Lavellan's relationship with her clan?

Spoiler

She loves them, but her lack of magic and impression she failed everyone pushed her away from them as a teen. On the other hand, her hours spent exploring old ruins alone and the lack of formal education a keeper’s first would have had means she got ideas of her own about their past that might not always be the same as the stories told by the dalish. She’s curious of everything and used to keeps notes of everything she found. She was always the hunter with the notebook, and that had many in her clan snicker at the weirdness. Still they were her home until the Inquisition and she has so many good memories of them.

 

7. What are your Lavellan's religious views?

Spoiler

She’s skeptical, especially after some of her findings in old ruins that don’t seem to fit with what the Dalish know. after meeting Solas and talking to him for a while, her religious views change even more, until she’s pretty sure gods in the sense she used to understand the term, don’t exist.

 

8. Did your Lavellan drink from the Well?

Spoiler

She did! For several reason. the pressure to win against Corypheus, her curiosity about the ancient Ehlvens, the fact she couldn’t bear to have Abelas destroy it for what she felt were the wrong reasons, the fact she didn’t want Morrigan, a shemlen, drinking what she thinks as her people’s legacy, and finally because she thought solas would help her make sense of it all despite his disapproval. Then he breaks up with her...

 

9. Did your Lavellan have Solas remove the vallaslin and why/why not?

Spoiler

She had him remove it. By that time, she didn’t feel quite Dalish anymore, and his revelation was the last straw. She wanted to be free to reinvent herself.

 

10. What response did you choose after Solas broke up with you?

Spoiler

Started with the sad “Solas…” then went angry. I tried a couple of different options, but in the end, the angry answer fit her better. she’ll cry, but only when no one can see her do so.

 

11. How is your Lavellan taking Solas being gone and how are you taking it?

Spoiler

She is furious and hurt and wants to just understand his reason. Unfortunately, the death of Corypheus isn’t the end of things for her and she spends the next several months traveling around closing rifts. Once that is done though, she leaves to look for her answers. The ruined village where he was supposed to be born will be her first destination I think (awww, the fanfic I could write…)

 

As for me, probably not as bad as if I hadn’t been spoiled in advance, but still bad enough that I spent all my time in this thread, even if I don’t talk much.

 

12. What would you give for a Wolf Hunt DLC?

Spoiler

Take all my money!

[Fialka]

Oh! I just though of something else, regarding Last Flight and blight/blood magic...

MAJOR BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD:

Spoiler

We know that the the Joining/the taint/the blight tap into some sort of Hive Mind shared by the darkspawn and the Archdemon and the wardens as well. What Isseya did with her blood magic, in possessing the Joined griffons, might have actually tapped into that Hive Mind (since she, a tainted warden, was entering the minds of the tainted griffons). That might be why things went so wrong... Huh. I feel like I'm onto something here...

[DrTeatime]

I saw her post in the Tips for taking better screenshots thread. Could prove useful!

 

Ooooh, this is relevant to my interests. I might just have to look into this and re-visit the epilogue scene at some point.

[chibielf]

Spoiler

LOL!!

This just totally made my morning. The amount of unashamed giggling I just did in the office, if my co-workers didn't think I was mad before. They do now. Ha!

[flabbadence]

Oh! I just though of something else, regarding Last Flight and blight/blood magic...

MAJOR BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD:

Spoiler

We know that the the Joining/the taint/the blight tap into some sort of Hive Mind shared by the darkspawn and the Archdemon and the wardens as well. What Isseya did with her blood magic, in possessing the Joined griffons, might have actually tapped into that Hive Mind (since she, a tainted warden, was entering the minds of the tainted griffons). That might be why things went so wrong... Huh. I feel like I'm onto something here...

 

You're saying

Spoiler

she and the other warden mages turned into mini-archdemons, of sorts?

 

Huh. Interesting. Maybe that's what Corypheus did to the Wardens as well, only on a much larger scale

 

Edit: ToP Solas

Spoiler

http://elizabeth-rya...-Wolf-498027286

[zambixi]

I don't think you are terribly wrong! We have fairly decent evidence to suggest that Solas always assumed that the orb would destroy Corypheus upon activation. And it did...he just didn't realize that Corypheus could regenerate into the nearest darkspawn or grey warden host.

 

He probably didn't choose Corypheus just because he wanted to get rid of a bad guy, but it was certainly an added bonus. 

 

My line of thought was that if he knew Coryphallus was a bad guy (which...if he'd met him recently he is clearly a bad guy) and was trying to justify giving him the orb despite that, he did so by saying that he wouldn't live anyway and the world would be better for it. I think his overriding reason was that he needed Cory to unlock it, and would have given it to him anyway even if Cory had been a "nice guy".

 

What I don't quite understand is why Solas did not just try to amass power to unlock the orb himself. Clearly he's able to absorb power, since he does so with Flemythal. Or does that transfer only work with elves, and since he did not know that she was still around he thought Cory was his only option? Why not work with the Architect - a much more "reasonable" fellow that does not strike you as immediately evil (the evilness comes later)? Come on Solas.

[DrTeatime]

I just got my commission from the lovely Barbara Wyrowinska.

This is the first time I’ve commissioned anyone and I’m really happy with how it turned out!

 [Spoiler because of huge image.]

Spoiler

Post-breakup Solas beating himself up over hurting Lavellan? Yes, please. :3

[madrar]

I'm not sure if this was pointed already (the thread, it's so long, it's endless, I can't catch up, I GAVE UP) but the part about her "my thought was all of our thoughts"? Made me think about the taint.

 

<snip>

 

I totally headcanon magic as electricity now XD

Lyrium is a conductor! Electricity sings too! It can explain why lyrium spontaneously combusts.

 

And what Dagna saw? She saw through the eyes of the old god slash forgotten ones slash titans.

 

Shari, you're a genius!   @w@    I don't agree with all of the conclusions above, but the core is a key piece: that's how the Song and weird physics are related.  Wave theory totally explains how blue lyrium acts as an electrical impulse type nervous system while simultaneously being blood (Song).   Electrical impulses are waves - it's still all Song.  The Brain directs the Song and creates Will.

 

Obviously not a perfect map to our universe, but as an artificial magic system, it really can't be.  The game-fade twists, but doesn't break our basic Laws.   Nice!

[flabbadence]

My line of thought was that if he knew Coryphallus was a bad guy (which...if he'd met him recently he is clearly a bad guy) and was trying to justify giving him the orb despite that, he did so by saying that he wouldn't live anyway and the world would be better for it. I think his overriding reason was that he needed Cory to unlock it, and would have given it to him anyway even if Cory had been a "nice guy".

 

What I don't quite understand is why Solas did not just try to amass power to unlock the orb himself. Clearly he's able to absorb power, since he does so with Flemythal. Or does that transfer only work with elves, and since he did not know that she was still around he thought Cory was his only option? Why not work with the Architect - a much more "reasonable" fellow that does not strike you as immediately evil (the evilness comes later)? Come on Solas.

 

I'm getting more and more convinced that Something Happened to drive Solas into desperate measures instead of waiting to amass power by himself. Maybe it's whatever made him wake up in the first place.

[llandwynwyn]

@Janesutin

Unless Bioware reveals more I'll continue to take canon as it is. Flemeth is the host of Mythal because the God died and survived as nothing more than a wisp, which is different from the other elven gods.

[scintilla]

My line of thought was that if he knew Coryphallus was a bad guy (which...if he'd met him recently he is clearly a bad guy) and was trying to justify giving him the orb despite that, he did so by saying that he wouldn't live anyway and the world would be better for it. I think his overriding reason was that he needed Cory to unlock it, and would have given it to him anyway even if Cory had been a "nice guy".

 

What I don't quite understand is why Solas did not just try to amass power to unlock the orb himself. Clearly he's able to absorb power, since he does so with Flemythal. Or does that transfer only work with elves, and since he did not know that she was still around he thought Cory was his only option? Why not work with the Architect - a much more "reasonable" fellow that does not strike you as immediately evil (the evilness comes later)? Come on Solas.

 

Most people theorize desperation is the reason he gives it to Cory. It's probably a combination of convenience and desperation. Cory is definitely alive and active on the surface, whereas if the Architect survives Awakening (and he may no matter what but we don't for sure), he's retreated further into the Deep Roads.

 

The fact that Solas was too weak to active it when he woke up suggests he would eventually be strong enough to do so if he'd been willing to wait. But how long might that have taken?

[Caddius]

Whoa. This is really interesting stuff.  @w@  First, I think the Will behind the taint is more than happy to allow Corypheus and his brethren to have an illusion of free will, so long as they generally continue to work to advance His goals.  It's possible the Magisters have enough Song (self) in their own blood not to hear the Old Gods in the first place (they are not mindless, as the other darkspawn are) meaning their individual Song forms a counter the relatively soft and distant Song of the Old Gods- certainly until being blighted cranked up the volume.  Even then, it's likely they're shielded from the Old Gods call by the power of the Sun's Song itself.   After all, the Archdemon's Song is something of a counter-call (in theory) even though it's blighted.  Given how much red lyrium the magisters seem to have taken into themselves, it wouldn't be too surprising if the Sun's Song was all they could hear.  

 

As far as Amgeforn is concerned: honestly, the only thing that kind of makes sense to me here is less a direct connection with the Song metaphor and more a biological one: Dwarves-as-the-Stone's-immune-system, Amgeforn-as-Plague.  The parallels are interesting, at least.  He devours their warriors, dissolves their living bodies, and turns the bones of their dead to slime (white blood cells becoming pus) before they're able to encase him in lyrium "stained with the blood of a hundred warriors) - like an abscess, a bit.  They then push up to the surface (like a pustule) where it can theoretically do no more harm, even if it breaks.

 

It's not a widely held view, I know, but I believe Thedas is alive.  In a very literal sense, she is Mythal's (the Earth's) Child.  The network of lyrium "veins" beneath the surface are simultaneously her circulatory system (her Blood and limited Will) and the connecting neural network of the "Stone" (her Brain- again, same source of Will).   The Dwarves are her immune system gone a bit wild.  They were, originally, something like a fetal system with maternal antibodies- able to take on basic defense from threats like gangue spirits (clearing away old or dead cells) and even more serious diseases like Amgeforn.

 

The blight, however, is a literal cancer- an incredibly virulent, fast-acting virus that threatens the life of the Stone itself.  I believe titans may have been crafted artificially by June as an "immune system boost" in response to this- taking the basic units of the Stone's innate, non-specific system and strengthening them considerably for specific purpose.  By all appearances, the blight in the Stone's blood itself (in the form of virulent red lyrium) is also being fought in a more direct way by the Dwarves of Kal-Sharok, who seem to act as direct mirrors of T-cell lymphocytes, sacrificing themselves by taking the blight into their bodies to purify the Stone.  

 

Anyway!  What time period are these codexes from?   The idea of a humanoid hunger-plague thing makes me immediately think of the story of the three magisters, seen fighting far down in the Deep Roads, one of whom killed and ate the other.  The start of Amgeforn, possibly?  A blighted magister, compounded and twisted by taking in a Hunger demon?  I don't have the lore background to do more than raise an eyebrow.  

I honestly want to sit you down in a room with a Word program open, and force-feed you all of my own writing notes, and see what you come up with, and then claim that was my intention all along.       

I'm not sure what time period Malvernis is from. (Amgeforn I believe is the dwarven word for sacrifice, referring to them having to stay up on the surface.)  A Paragon era, which is basically anything after Tevinter's rise and Endrin Stonehammer. It's worth noting that Malvernis shapeshifts, but one of them looks humanoid. Maybe the Paragon went to the Grey Wardens for help making a prison on the surface, and the Warden-Commander went, "Oh  , there's another Magister? Well, Kirkwall is already doomed. What's one more horror locked away in the Vimmark fortress?" Or the Wardens may have gone to the dwarves for aid.

The turning them to slime reminds me of that damn Deep Roads Emerald Lake, even though I know the statues melting are just from the acidity of the lake's fumes. But that does not sound like any demon we've encountered. Crazy rot and the rest? Sounds almost like the Blight growths that coat the Deep Roads. Malvernis in its prime sounds quite intimidating. It also seems to be ravaging the dwarves en masse. As in, it killed one settlement, then another, then another.

Not something possible in a post-Blight world, as they were down to four kingdoms, then swiftly two. All separated by distance and darkspawn.

So I guess that gives us a period of about 800 years between Stonehammer and the Paragons and the First Blight's beginning.

Unless Malvernis was part of the first wave of darkspawn. Perhaps the other Magisters devoted themselves to 

Now, is the power behind the Taint Elgar'nan or Papa Sunshine in your theory?

Dwarves as the Stone's immune system does make sense, considering their religious views.

 

LAST FLIGHT SPOILERS:

Spoiler

Last Flight really did put Blood Magic into perspective. We're still not sure where it comes from. Some claim that the Old Gods taught it to the Neromenian Dreamers, and they created a magically backed theocracy with it. Others, that the Tevinters learned it from interrogating Arlathan elves. Then there are those Codex entries about the Forbidden Ones.
The griffons falling to the hatred plague was upsetting, on a multitude of levels. It's curious how the griffons seem to hate the Taint that much. It's either they're just smart enough to know to hate it, but not 'smart' enough to see the benefits. We've also got conflicting information on the griffons' place of origin. One Codex entry claims Par Vollen jungles as the griffons home, everything else points to the Hunterhorn mountains. Mountains would be more traditional.
The book definitely gave me perspective and newfound respect AND contempt for the Grey Wardens. Namely, why they're so willing to resort to desperate measures, but also why that can backfire horrifically. It's kind of amazing that we ended the Fifth Blight sans griffons. Thank you, Riordan.
It's not clear if it's Blight or Blood Magic that's behind it. And the plot thread that was waved, IN MY FACE, by Merciel was that the First Warden wants them to investigate cases of Wardens acting out of character, as if by blood magic. During Blights, and in between, and times leading up till now.
The Architect has had limited contact with Wardens until recently. After ten years as a punching bag, Corypheus spent a thousand ears in stasis and only broke out the last couple of years.
Are the other Magisters more active than we thought?

[Mims]

My line of thought was that if he knew Coryphallus was a bad guy (which...if he'd met him recently he is clearly a bad guy) and was trying to justify giving him the orb despite that, he did so by saying that he wouldn't live anyway and the world would be better for it. I think his overriding reason was that he needed Cory to unlock it, and would have given it to him anyway even if Cory had been a "nice guy".

 

What I don't quite understand is why Solas did not just try to amass power to unlock the orb himself. Clearly he's able to absorb power, since he does so with Flemythal. Or does that transfer only work with elves, and since he did not know that she was still around he thought Cory was his only option? Why not work with the Architect - a much more "reasonable" fellow that does not strike you as immediately evil (the evilness comes later)? Come on Solas.

 

I think Solas was a bit motivated by desperation. He could have possibly waited, conserved energy, and used the orb himself at some later date. But I think the shock got to him. He woke up, and everything was wrong. Everything was ruined. He wanted to fix what was wrong, and do it quickly before things got even worse. Depending on what it is his end goal is, there could even be a time sensitive aspect to his mission. [For example- if we say his goal is to free ancient elves trapped in limbo, then expediting his plans limits their suffering.] 

 

As for why Corypheus and not the Architect...it could be that Corypheus was already searching for the orb. Corypheus didn't seem to need a user manual for how to use it, after all. He never seems to question that this magical orb just landed in his lap. So I doubt it appeared in a box one day at his doorstep. I'm guessing that either Corypheus showed up looking for the orb, and Solas recognized him as a powerful magister. Then he left it where he knew it would be discovered, but not rise suspicion. 

 

Or, he just found the first magister that his power could sense out. The Architect is most likely still underground, keeping a low profile. Given how weak Solas is, he might even be completely out of reach. 

 

As for Mythal- I don't think Solas actually knew Mythal still lived until the temple quest. He seems legitimately in awe when he comments that 'Mythal endures.' So to add to his desperation, he probably felt that he was completely alone in having to fix this problem. Rather than, say, just giving Mythal his orb to crack open for him. If it was even in her power to do so. 

[Fialka]

You're saying

Spoiler

she and the other warden mages turned into mini-archdemons, of sorts?

 

Huh. Interesting. Maybe that's what Corypheus did to the Wardens as well, only on a much larger scale

When you put it that way... yeah, actually! Or at least, the mechanic was similar... By using blood magic's mind control abilities in tandem with the blight, you can mimic the archdemon's call. Corypheus did the same thing with the mage wardens and his dragon. Perhaps the Architect used similar means to 'free' his darkspawn as well.

[Shari'El]

Shari, you're a genius!   @w@    I don't agree with all of the conclusions above, but the core is a key piece: that's how the Song and weird physics are related.  Wave theory totally explains how blue lyrium acts as an electrical impulse type nervous system while simultaneously being blood (Song).   Electrical impulses are waves - it's still all Song.  The Brain directs the Song and creates Will.

 

Obviously not a perfect map to our universe, but as an artificial magic system, it really can't be.  The game-fade twists, but doesn't break our basic Laws.   Nice!

 

 

Ooo, that's a nice one. Haven't thought about that.

[BlueElf2]

Flycam gif of the second romance scene, from the same person who caught the Solas thighs screenshot. It's very... interesting. 

Spoiler

http://kreebby.tumbl...-deliberate-for

 

Definitely changing my headcanon now. They totally did it.

 

The animation looks rather deliberate, don't you think?

This is lovely...except for the part where his hand is stabbing through her stomach in a not so romantic way. LOL