"You did it to save them."
Oh Cole. How right you were.
Naturally I run out of likes just as I catch up. 
*4 new replies added*
...DAMN YOU ALL!
Anyways, going off the earlier question about whether Tevinter was a power when Solas was around: I very much think so. 
Just not the Imperium.
Humans arrive 4500 years after Arlathan in the Neromenian Migration.
The Old Gods are said to teach the Dreamers of the Neromenians magic 300 years after the initial Migration.
385 years later from that, the Alamarri flee their shadow goddess.
Six hundred years after the Alamarri, the Avvar split-up. If Liz's interpretation of Tyrdda Bright-Axe is correct, and I'm inclined to believe that it is, Mythal and Dirthamen are both active, and Arlathan faces dangers from its own gods. It is 5785 years since the founding of Arlathan.
115 years after Tyrdda, the Neromenian tribes form the four ancient kingdoms in modern-day Tevinter: Tevinter, Neromenian, Barindur, and Qarinus.
Thalsian, First Priest of Dumat, wields blood magic a 105 years after the kingdoms form. Other sources point to elves captured.
400 years after Thalsian, the Tevinter Imperium is formed when Darinius unites the four kingdoms and creates an alliance with the dwarves.
214 years of the Imperium later, the Arlathan conflict begins, leading to its fall after six years of warfare and siege.
Solas makes enough comments about Tevinter getting elven legends mixed up and taking magic from the elves, with a "Oh my God it's been eons and they're still doing the same crap. Ugh. The only original thing they've invented is this tea crap."
He also seems a little too familiar with the tale of the shadow goddess. I suspect he observed the situation from the Fade or even in person. Or he was hunting for memories of the glory days, experiencing stories that had slipped past him.
Solas speaks of Barindur buried beneath ash. While one of the original kingdoms, it seems a volcano was involved. The Neromenians blamed Dumat's wrath. Madrar blames Elgar'nan, stamping out an attempted rebellion by one of the gods, Thelm Gold-Handed style. It is of course entirely possible that it was just a volcano.
So my guess is that the Chaotic Civil War era, with the gods directly involved, was going strong at the time of the Alamarri split. However, the Alamarri were unsuccessful in their attempt.
It seems likely to me that Solas was there and awake for the beginnings of Tevinter's rise. Namely, that of a junior kingdom. The Creators likely were happy to manipulate this new group of people, but became involved in their own conflicts once more. The Old Gods whispering from the Golden City could well be the Creators doing a rehash of raising the Elvhen up, assuming you're a fan of those theories. The Tevinter slowly began to learn more and more from their neighbors, before invading after the loss of the gods and centuries of entropy.
I would guess that the gods being sealed away happened somewhere between Thalsian and Darinius uniting the Imperium, going off the idea of the Creators being the Old Gods and whispering from the Fade. Blood magic being the sealed Creators getting desperate, and a potential rival kingdom on Arlathan's borders uniting all of his neighbors under one flag is not the sort of thing gods would tolerate.
But the potential for fascinating conflict with the gods using humanity, specifically the organized kingdoms in Tevinter, as weapons against their fellows is really my main interest in this. 
Side-note: I've spent my morning reading up on the Bronze Age Collapse and the theories on the Sea People. THIS IS MY NEW JAM. I MUST KNOW ALL OF THE THINGS.
"Sadly, it seems the Sea People will remain largely enigmatic."
*prepares to throw book out the window in a rage*
"Next up, Persia and Zoroastrianism."
*grudgingly lowers book and continues reading* 
Retour en haut
Are you going to make them do the Solas Romance? 
