153429 réponses à ce sujet

[madrar]

Could it be so simple? 

> Mythal as the "soul of the Earth" not simply metaphorically... recognised in the form of "the Stone" by dwarves? 

> Could the entity known as "Mythal" actually be a component of the global neural network that is Lyrium - able to inhabit one (or more) mortal bodies as added components of the network? 

> June (as speculated) may have created dwarves artificially, using knowledge of the way the Earth already functioned... adapting and directing it for his own uses? 

 

Hmm. The terminology here makes things more confusing than they should be.  Remember, if we're describing the Earth in accordance with how it's presented in Dalish myth, Thedas was created by the Earth and Sun.  The Earth and Sun existed before it did: they are older entities.  They created the planet (the Stone) and are fundamentally distinct from it and its soul (the Fade), if you see what I'm getting at. 

 

Leaning on Triad theory in combination with the Dalish and Andrastean creation myths, it seems likely that the Earth's original form is long dead, her life sacrificed to grant Elgar'nan the power to triumph over the Sun.  If her corpse still exists, it lies outside the world as we know it.  The being we know of as Mythal would be the remnant of the Earth's soul, or spirit.  (Again, keep in mind that the planet Thedas is not the Earth, but her "Child".  Mythal is the Earth's soul, not Thedas'.)   

 

Personally, I suspect this is a bit of a simplification, and that Thedas is actually the Earth's second Child by way of Elgar'nan, but I'm trying to keep the crazy to a minimum for the sake of clarity.   @w@   

[madrar]

• <snip>
• HOLD THE PHONE!

Can we get some theory-crafters who have a better grasp on the Fade-shadow and blood theories and Will than I do?

Add in that the darkspawn can sustain themselves forever on the Taint itself...

 

Reposting because lazy:  >w<

 

It's mentioned that Cole can draw sustenance from the Fade directly, just as the ancient immortal elves did.  "The old songs can pull me.”   He's able to sustain his mortal body that way, and thus doesn't have to eat or sleep. (In a way, Cole is like an inversion of an elf entering Uthenera: a fade-spirit transitioning into a physical self, instead of a physical self transitioning into a fade-spirit.)

 

The blood of beings on the "real" side of the veil is like a physical manifestation of their Will.  Your blood sings the Song that shapes what you are, if that makes any sense. Spirits that are pulled through don't really have much Will of their own- they have a Song, but it's generally very, very quiet.  They don't have a true "self", no sense of individual identity or personality.  No blood.  Most are easily warped and overpowered by how tremendously loud the Real World is, in comparison.   The world completely drowns them out, making their Song something other than it was before.  

 

Cole was a bit like that when he first came through, but at least he wasn't pulled against his will- he came through for a reason.  That willful passage - driven by his own Will, his intent- made his Song strong enough to sustain a sense of "self" on this side of the veil.  The longer he stays, and the more he focuses on being "Cole" - a Self that can decide, the stronger his Will gets.  Strong enough, and that Will starts to manifest itself in the physical body as actual blood.

 

I believe the taint offers Darkspawn a sustaining connection to the fade (or "soul") of the Sun, in much the same way that beings like Solas or Cole can draw on the fade of Thedas (the Stone) to sustain themselves.  The why and how of that is still half-baked in my head, though.  Digging down through the layers of the physical Stone, the Void, and the Sun's fade within the Void gets into a level of high-dimensional abstract space where (speaking as a non-physicist, non-mathmatician) everything gets really, really wierd.

 

At the very least, we have from several sources that other mages can detect no part of Thedas' fade in magics cast by the Archdemon.  This seems to make sense if we use the above as a foundational assumption.  The power of blight magic would be drawn directly from the Sun, not the Stone.  

[madrar]

I figured out a way to make your individual Lavellan a bit smarter: just don't pick the stupid questions.

 

 

I understand you are annoyed that the developers allow her to ask such things in the first place, but please understand that there's some players who don't know anything about the DA universe and BioWare must somehow satisfy them, too. Sure, there would have been ways around letting her ask silly questions (like having a companion do it), but those ways are more expensive and time-consuming (writing, recording, animation, etc). So let's just settle for "Better this than waiting even longer for the game to be released". Or let's call it "freedom" - the player can play an imbecile Lavellan or one who'd spent her life under a rock, never interacting with her people.

 

Totally on board with this- the only irking thing for me (and I'm trying not to beat a dead halla here) is that when the romantic lines are presented, there's only ever one choice.  And that one?   Occasionally in stark contrast to the kind of cerebral flirting that intelligent people who are into each other actually do.  A few of them boil down to little more than batting eyelashes while making suggestive innuendos, which from my own experience with Solas-like guys, is far more likely to result in a "what the hell?" look while they back away slowly, no matter how interested they might otherwise be.  

 

I find being forced into that type of flirting both jarring and irritating, given that we have an LI set up (in theory) to respond more to our brains and our spirit than our beauty or feminine wiles.  And in that context, coy, lash-fluttery lines like, "I'm more interested in 'felt'" drive me insane.   I know a significant part of the stomach-churningly coquettish tone is in the delivery and not inherent to the dialogue itself but still.   UGH.   COME ON.  

[Avejajed]

So, hi. I just finished my Lavellan romancing Solas playthrough and...

Spoiler

I'm devastated. I need gallons of ice cream and wine and a crate of tissues to get through this broken heart. I couldn't even talk to anyone at the after party. I just went to my room and logged out. So, so, so sad. I loved the romance, I loved the mystery, I love the elf. Oh sweet misery...

Welcome. You are not alone. Here, have some strong liquor and a blanket fort. I don't have the picture so just pretend I linked it.

[madrar]

http://dragonage.wik...aff_of_the_Void

"The inscription is old Tevinter Imperium: "There is strength in absence. Absence of weakness, and of limitation. Absence of caution, and of mercy. The Void has always been within."

Side-note, I'm reminded of the Void in Wheel of Time. Namely, a technique for maintaining serenity in dangerous situations like deadly combat or being a character in Wheel of Time. Specifically, the character picturing a fire in a Void, and feeding all of the fears and worries into the fire, until there's nothing left but the Void and icy calm.

Main-note, what the devil is the Void? It's obviously important. It's apparently the source of the Blight. It may have been home to the Forgotten Ones. I'd like to send a firmly worded letter to the writers. 

 

Damnation....  I remember void theories being tossed around many, many pages back, but can't track them down.  

 

Quick summary of my take:  the Void can be conceived as a dimensional pocket of (semi) non-existence: a bubble of Silence, in terms of the Song that is Creation.   If the connections in Dalish myth hold, this is where the Sun was imprisoned after being cast down by Elgar'nan, which is a strong hint that it's likely where Elgar'nan imprisons later challengers who pose a threat to his rule, or to the social Order as led by the Pantheon. 

 

The presence of the Sun in the void, being the theoretical source of red lyrium (the sundered Song) and by extension the Will that underlies the Blight, provides the explanation between Void and Blight.  It is his prison, though it's possible the eluvian that allowed Elgar'nan access to this dimensional pocket is also allowing the taint of the Sun's blood to slowly leak into Thedas.  That latter bit is just supposition though, and entirely unnecessary to explain its presence in the physical world.

[madrar]

ahhh AHHHH!! *grips Caddius collar and manically sobs into his shirt*

Okay gotta make this coherent

 

The "devil" is the "sun" imprisoned in the "void". According to Song of Creation Theory, the sun's song of "order" is one half of the "Maker's" original song. The original song is essentially "life" on Thedas. 

 

<snip snip glorious madness>

 

*literally dancing around her lounge* What does everybody think?

Edit: Top of page Liz 

 

http://lizsketch.tumblr.com/

 

(((@w@)))

 

I've been working from the assumption that Blood = Fire = Physical, but I... am going to have to think about all this.  

 

*clutches at her head* 

 

Much processing to do.  Will definitely pick this back up when done.  It is crazy interesting.

[madrar]

http://dragonage.wik...iki/Blood_Magic

So yeah, basically it's up for speculation in-universe as well. 

It would greatly surprise me if the Arlathan elves and gods did not know and practice at least some blood magic. A lot of Morrigan's more esoteric studies brush up against it, without crossing the line into flag-bearing Tevinter blood-gorged Magister territory. And she was tutored by an elven goddess.

<snip snip>

 

*dons tinfoil hat*

 

My theory on blood magic is still half-baked, but my raw hunch is that it might have been developed an alternative to drawing on the Fade: essentially allowing a caster to draw on her own life-force instead of Thedas'.  This is tenuous at best, of course, and very dependent on the assumption that "normal" magic in the DA universe really does work like combustion, the combination of the "fire" in the caster's Will using up tiny amounts of a finite fade resource every time it's used.  

 

So, a conservationist, alternative-energy source idea gone horribly wrong?  *shrugs*  Possible.  

[drake2511]

Before I go back playing the game, some Solas pics

Spoiler

Pretty Eyes

Spoiler

No happy blacony-ending-scene? **** you, Imma get it anyway!

Spoiler

[Satsumi]

Me too
Ok, so the hat is bugged.. damn, I was right... xP

As for the uniform.. I can't stand it. It looks out of place for me for some reason xD Eveybody has awesome dresses and you just look like a royal guard or something. It kinda reminded me of: http://www.paffio.it...tere01/0063.jpg
It's kind of a man's uniform. Okayish for male quizzy, Cullen and the boys I guess (tho It just looks off on Solas imho xD) but for all the females, it doesn't look very feminine :/ 
 

 

Yeah, the ladies look rather...frumpy.  I was super disappointed

[madrar]

Warning, this is really long. I figured I'd just cramp it all into a master post with different sections. This way you can skip the theories you are already familiar with/have no interest in. Though, they are all built upon each-other somewhat. I tried to form these on as much evidence as I could gather. Some of them are more loosely based, and this is all just speculation, but I am hoping you all may be able to add to or deduct them based on what you, yourselves, have found. 

 

<snip snip theory>

 

*gets the crazy eyes*

 

HI.  WELCOME.   Are you ok with people poking around with the bits you have here and presenting counter-theory?   Because while I agree with you that Andraste was almost certainly carrying Mythal's OGS, I think there's a fair bit of evidence that OGS was not directly Dumat, but rather required Dumat's OGS to be released so Dirthamen could enter Andraste's dreams and convince her to willingly take Mythal in.  Same effect, but fundamentally different cause.  

 

I don't want to step on any toes, though.   If you're open to considering alternatives, just say the word and I'll write up a counter-theory megapost.  ^w^

 

Also, I'm really sorry for the sudden spam, all!   TwT   

 

^{_{Only 20 more pages to go to catch up....  so close....}}

[BoscoBread]

So, hi. I just finished my Lavellan romancing Solas playthrough and...

 

Spoiler

I'm devastated. I need gallons of ice cream and wine and a crate of tissues to get through this broken heart. I couldn't even talk to anyone at the after party. I just went to my room and logged out. So, so, so sad. I loved the romance, I loved the mystery, I love the elf. Oh sweet misery...

There there *pats on back*, find something to mock him about. He's not perfect.   You'll feel a bit better.  Think about fluffly headcanons. 

[Oswin]

So, hi. I just finished my Lavellan romancing Solas playthrough and...

 

Spoiler

I'm devastated. I need gallons of ice cream and wine and a crate of tissues to get through this broken heart. I couldn't even talk to anyone at the after party. I just went to my room and logged out. So, so, so sad. I loved the romance, I loved the mystery, I love the elf. Oh sweet misery...

 

Welcome. You are in the right place we know those feels well.

 

 

 

I just went to fight the Abyssal High Dragon and Sera one hit KO'd it using her Focus ability. Five Seconds. Five bloody seconds to kill that thing. I waited longer for it to land than it took to kill it. 

Wut.

And I thought the Artificer's Focus ability was crazy OP.

[Avejajed]

I was like whattttt I swear how did the post grow like eight posts in two minutes. But it's just Madar.

[Sable Rhapsody]

What are some of your headcannons for non-mage Lavellans? I even think mine can barely read. Wouldn't that be something taught only to the First? I don't know if there's any codexes about it, it kind of feels right. I'm just worried that they won't have a lot in common since she's not mage, y'know? What would be her reason in being interested in the Fade? I know she would be interested in knowing about her culture~

 

Is it Lavellan headcanon time again?  I love headcanon time! 

 

Clariel, my Lavellan, is a rogue.  I headcanoned Keeper Deshanna as her aunt, and her cousin as First.  She was a few years younger than her cousin, and Deshanna strikes me as being a more liberal-minded and permissive Keeper, so Clariel tagged along for lessons while she was still too young to be trained as a hunter.  Her father is the clan's storyteller, so she got a lot of history from him, elven and otherwise.  Despite not being a mage, she's got a decent grounding in the subject of magic between her father and her aunt.  And she's insatiably curious about everything.

 

As for the literacy thing, I'm not sure.  We're not told one way or another, and in terms of gameplay all PCs can read since they all get the codex entries, even characters like the City Elf from DA:O or the Dwarven Commoner.  As for the Dalish, it probably varies from clan to clan.  I don't see them all being literate, and certainly only the Keeper and First have to be.  It might be the sort of thing where some Dalish don't learn to read because they don't have to, but the knowledge is there if you want it and the Keeper is willing to teach you.

[Elven_Glory]

So I just started another Lavellan playthrough (second Lavellan)! My first Lavellan was a mage but if I'm being honest I think enjoy archery for my canon Lavellan the best. I think it makes more sense for her to be a mage but this is the first game I found archery fun. Maybe is the fact that you can move while you shoot suckers in the face, I don't know.

My headcanon is kind of fuzzy but she's a hunter. Did anybody else do rogues or warrior for Lavellan? I know most people here play as mages but my favorite classes are always warrior and rogues. It's just that in terms of the story, it made sense for Lavellan to be a mage? I just don't think I enjoyed it as much.

What are some of your headcannons for non-mage Lavellans? I even think mine can barely read. Wouldn't that be something taught only to the First? I don't know if there's any codexes about it, it kind of feels right. I'm just worried that they won't have a lot in common since she's not mage, y'know? What would be her reason in being interested in the Fade? I know she would be interested in knowing about her culture~

Spoiler

----------------------------
Have some Solas!! I don't know if these have been posted but I woke up to some awe striking smiling Solas and have to share!



(source)


(source)


(source)


(source)


(source)


(source)

My Lavellan is a warrior, which I basically just did for the one flirt with Solas which is class specific, but I worked it in to her backstory were her father wanted a boy, and so she picked up the biggest sword she could find and learned how to wield it in attempt to impress him, which didn't work, but there you have it. Her brother is about 5 years younger and a mage, so daddy isn't too fond of him either since Daddy wanted a hunting partner. Lysaris's mother died in childbirth, and eventually her brother ends up taking over her (the mother's) spot as First. My headcanon has Lysaris surprisingly well read, though. She was taught to read a little, and then the rest, she kind of just picked up on her own from trading books with merchants she met as her clan travelled (she has the tendency to treat them as libraries) she especially loves adventure stories and she never really expected to have one of her own, so when she was thrust into that position, she went for it whole heartedly.

[Avejajed]

Welcome. You are in the right place we know those feels well.




I just went to fight the Abyssal High Dragon and Sera one hit KO'd it using her Focus ability. Five Seconds. Five bloody seconds to kill that thing. I waited longer for it to land than it took to kill it.
Wut.
And I thought the Artificer's Focus ability was crazy OP.

I don't think it works for me. Lol. I'm an artificer and it never last long enough to get anywhere with my cooldowns. I'm probably doing it wrong.

[Addai]

That sums up my Lavellan's experience at the ball. Savage dirty little Dalish elf walking in there and owning the place and finding she had the time of her life doing so. Some people say they really hate the whole Halamshiral storyline, and I just don't get it. I adored it.

I appreciate that it's different, and offers some quest solutions that aren't just fighting. Nothing had quite the dastardly flair of signing the guest book in Dishonored, though that level has a much different purpose.

It's just that it's so Orlesian. The only ones more self-absorbed and callous to human life than Orlesians are demons, and that might be unfair to the demons.

gaaah, I keep falling further behind! Sorry to dredge this back up, but wanted to clarify:

If you're asking why he would have had to change bodies, that depends on which time you're talking about.

*snip*

Except I don't buy any of that, sorry.

[Colonelkillabee]

I think there's a fair bit of evidence that OGS was not directly Dumat, but rather required Dumat's OGS to be released so Dirthamen could enter Andraste's dreams and convince her to willingly take Mythal in.  Same effect, but fundamentally different cause.  

You'll have to run that one by me...

[madrar]

I was like whattttt I swear how did the post grow like eight posts in two minutes. But it's just Madar.

 

*sobs*

 

I'm so sorry!  Currently trying to grind my way through DA:O/2 to refresh my memory on certain things, and am missing all the good stuff here in the meantime.

 

Keeping up with this place is a full-time job.  @w@

[Ajna]

So if everyone hates him now does that mean we're no longer hipsters?

[Siha]

I think this is fairly accurate. 

 

 

Totally on board with this- the only irking thing for me (and I'm trying not to beat a dead halla here) is that when the romantic lines are presented, there's only ever one choice.  And that one?

 

Yes, that is true! I dislike many of the flirt options (though I do feel they did a better job this time, not as awkward as some flirting in DA2 or ME). But I assume there's also people out there who actually like them (they do test their games prior to release, don't they). Maybe they want to keep it "simple" at the cost of different approaches/personality. But I really do not want to be too annoyed. The game is pretty big already and we had to wait quite a few years. And I had rather not wait 5 years for the next entry to the series so I'll just keep my list of wishes short...

 

Btw, good to have you back here. I hope you are well again.

[panamakira]

Is it Lavellan headcanon time again?  I love headcanon time! 

 

Clariel, my Lavellan, is a rogue.  I headcanoned Keeper Deshanna as her aunt, and her cousin as First.  She was a few years younger than her cousin, and Deshanna strikes me as being a more liberal-minded and permissive Keeper, so Clariel tagged along for lessons while she was still too young to be trained as a hunter.  Her father is the clan's storyteller, so she got a lot of history from him, elven and otherwise.  Despite not being a mage, she's got a decent grounding in the subject of magic between her father and her aunt.  And she's insatiably curious about everything.

 

As for the literacy thing, I'm not sure.  We're not told one way or another, and in terms of gameplay all PCs can read since they all get the codex entries, even characters like the City Elf from DA:O or the Dwarven Commoner.  As for the Dalish, it probably varies from clan to clan.  I don't see them all being literate, and certainly only the Keeper and First have to be.  It might be the sort of thing where some Dalish don't learn to read because they don't have to, but the knowledge is there if you want it and the Keeper is willing to teach you.

Aww I love this headcannon. I've always liked the fact of the Inquisitor having siblings. One of the things I miss from DA2. I think it adds more weight to what you do because you have a family to protect type of thing. It's hard to tell if it's a gameplay mechanic or if the Dalish and commoner dwarves do learn how to read/write. I think it's safe to say it depends from clan to clan. To be honest it does look like we do quite a bit of writing (letter correspondence and research) in our room so maybe it's safe to say the Inquisitor simply knows how to read/write.

 

 

My Lavellan is a warrior, which I basically just did for the one flirt with Solas which is class specific, but I worked it in to her backstory were her father wanted a boy, and so she picked up the biggest sword she could find and learned how to wield it in attempt to impress him, which didn't work, but there you have it. Her brother is about 5 years younger and a mage, so daddy isn't too fond of him either since Daddy wanted a hunting partner. Lysaris's mother died in childbirth, and eventually her brother ends up taking over her (the mother's) spot as First. My headcanon has Lysaris surprisingly well read, though. She was taught to read a little, and then the rest, she kind of just picked up on her own from trading books with merchants she met as her clan travelled (she has the tendency to treat them as libraries) she especially loves adventure stories and she never really expected to have one of her own, so when she was thrust into that position, she went for it whole heartedly.

This is a really good cannon lol. I would read a whole story with this setting. That last part was cute and I can see that making sense in the story. 

I guess clan Lavellan seemed more interested in humans in comparison to other clans we've seen, so I can see a hunter being in charge of trading and the like, picking up the language to read and write.

[BoscoBread]

So I just started another Lavellan playthrough (second Lavellan)! My first Lavellan was a mage but if I'm being honest I think enjoy archery for my canon Lavellan the best. I think it makes more sense for her to be a mage but this is the first game I found archery fun. Maybe is the fact that you can move while you shoot suckers in the face, I don't know.

 

My headcanon is kind of fuzzy but she's a hunter. Did anybody else do rogues or warrior for Lavellan? I know most people here play as mages but my favorite classes are always warrior and rogues. It's just that in terms of the story, it made sense for Lavellan to be a mage? I just don't think I enjoyed it as much.

 

What are some of your headcannons for non-mage Lavellans? I even think mine can barely read. Wouldn't that be something taught only to the First? I don't know if there's any codexes about it, it kind of feels right. I'm just worried that they won't have a lot in common since she's not mage, y'know? What would be her reason in being interested in the Fade? I know she would be interested in knowing about her culture~

You want to talk about meeee!  I love rogues and prefer to play them in almost all games - the archer class in this game is so good. I was so happy with the amount of work they put into it. 

 

Background on my Lavellan:  She was trained as a hunter.  Still living of her family before the conclave was her father and her little brother...her mother died in childbirth  but she doesn't remember her mother very well. She was really young when she passed.  Her father is pretty taciturn but doted on his daughter - think Loghain and Anora. He's a craftsperson.  He taught her everything he knows about making bows, arrows, knives etc.  She's pretty handy and really sharp when it comes to making poisons, grenades etc. She loves trying and making new things. She bonded with Blackwall a bit - before she found out about the Thom Ranier - over woodworking. He was like replacement Dad. 

 

She loves magic. She's also kind of afraid of it but - in truth - was a bit envious of the First and the Keeper and all the things they could do.  When she met Solas, Vivienne, and Dorian - she was just sort of enthralled by their knowledge.  Since Vivienne and Solas were on the scene first, she was kind of scared to ask Vivienne anything.  Her and Solas were already pretty friendly so she started asking more about the ins/outs of magic.  She just wants to know. She likes knowing how things work...including magic.  He was happy to share it because she was so excited. Like Dagna.

[TanisLave]

So I tried to make my asian-dalish-elf tonight.. She came out too cutesy. WELL I HOPE YOU STILL LIKE HER SOLAS.

By the way, do you get the whole flirt-comment thing with Solas if you didn't pick his first romance dialogue options? ((I mean the first romance where you say I'd never let anyone hurt you, and then later on there is the second filrt where he sorta hits on you? about your class abilities.)) Because I kinda want to start their *romance* awkwardly in the Fade-scene where she doesn't know It's not a dream. 

 

sigh deep sigh.

[Moirin]

I'm curious, does anyone know at about what age the Dalish start  getting "trained"? Like, at what age do they start training the children to become hunters, or train with the craftsperson etc? Did we ever get any info on that?