For some reason I can't automatically produce quotes or paste text. So to Maria13:
Given Solas' background, I get the impression he grew up studying a lot and then rebelled against the Establishment. From what he's said about the other Elven gods at the Temple of Mythal it's implied he rebelled because he knew most of them to be oppressive and selfish. He acts like an Intelligentsia, who prefers higher thought and wishes to modernize society beyond religious servitude. His attitude towards the Emerald Knights, what happened with the Sulevin Blade, can be attributed as a disdain at how Elven people have degraded after the collapse.
The way he talks about the fall of the Dwarven Empire obviously bugs Varric yet Solas keeps bringing it up. That part about them not being able to dream because they're a 'limb' of something greater was insensitive. Mix that in Dagna's vision after examining the Fade remains and we can tell that Solas knows something.
Recently, I played this game with a Qunari warrior Inquisitor. I didn't get the same banter between Solas and the Iron Bull about the Qun. But I do remember it from my previous character plays. So when Solas personally spoke to my Qunari in the bedchamber, he referred to the Qunari as savages held by the strict code of the Qun. Now Solas grew up during a time when the Elves were enjoying immortal lives and great magical prosperity. The Qunari migrated to Par Vollen, possibly having to change themselves from their Kossith roots. Add the fact that they're natural Reavers and it's understandable why they need the Qun to control themselves. Solas acts like he believes with enough knowledge great power can used wisely. It's a huge pitfall to intellectual thought to underestimate the base desires of people.
Hello again!
I have to a large extent the same impression as you about Solas' background, he acts and behaves like intelligentsia, highly educated, skeptical, critical, detached, wishing to bring some form of enlightenment to society etc. etc. but the truth is this is an assumption. We have no idea who he is, who he was or where he is going...
My speculation is that he is somehow either an enlightened ancient one or some sort of "creature" either created from scratch (Mythal, Ghila'nain) or "ascended" or "adopted" by Mythal, let's not forget he apparently has a wolf form, which may be his original form. I do think, however, he is somewhat of an outsider to the elven pantheon, let's say he's a guest in the country club but not a founding member. In other words, to an extent, he's a self-made elf (or would that be wolf/elf/), evolved, hence the distance he adopts towards them... Plus there's his comments about sex and intrigue in Halamshiral where he chooses to go undercover disguised as a servant, which makes me think he's used to being an outsider, he's used to using his wits and he's used to being underestimated and overlooked.
But all this is speculation. I don't take the emerald knights comments as disdain for one side or the other but rather as the comments of someone who's began to see things from a new historical perspective and is seeking to find some balance.
I don't quite follow what you are saying about the dwarves... Sure he makes insensitive comments, he makes them about almost everyone, and I am not quite sure what his intentions are, sometimes I suspect it's his way of getting the measure of whom he is dealing with, challenging something about their culture to see how they react, to see if they are capable of engaging in reasoned argument. He's a tad socratic like that... But likewise he delivers praise and quite frequently.
You may be sure that Solas knows things be we have know idea what he knows... From his comments to Blackwell about the old gods it seems he knows something about those and disapproves of how the grey wardens are handling them, but we don't know what he knows so we are in no position to judge whether his withholding information is harmful or not... I suspect in the main his approach would be that unless it is absolutely necessary to divulge something, it's better that people discover or rediscover things for themselves. He seems pretty didactic like that.
I really don't think he underestimates people's base instincts, he has his own to contend with for a start, and he is fully aware that he's handling them badly, first getting emotionally entangled with Lavellan and then having to extricate himself with the resulting pain on both side.
Anyway, I am enjoying this discussion...
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