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[MayriyaNoori]

Then here's an interesting thought.

 

Is Skyhold near the site of whatever the Black City actually is? I know there is the idea that the Black City is actually Arlathan.......and I know there is a place on teh map called the Arlathan forest.....but what if Arlathan was actually near current day Skyhold?

 

Either way.....the fact that Skyhold would be in such a position in the Fade is pretty neat.

 

I think hands down the craziest thing in that part of the Fade though(aside from no Black City)......is the statue behind Flemmeth and Kieran. It's a statue that looks like ones that are supposed to be Dirthamen with a giant sword in it's back and it is pouring out blood.

 

I don't really think the statue is Dirthamen though.

[Serrah]

So, I saw this interesting post on Tumblr, theorizing that the Inquisitor has basically already been to the Black City, though only if you've imported a save with the Old God Baby. It's an interesting read.

 

Source: http://canticle-of-a...-the-black-city

 

Spoiler

wait…have we already been to the Black City?!

Okay, not all of us, but those of us who imported an Old God Baby.

Check it out. When you run into the eluvian after Morrigan and Kieran, no matter how far you run or which direction you look, the sky is uncluttered. Nothing in the distance, no Black City.

 

Obviously, I can’t upload photos from every possible angle, but trust me, I looked. And that’s when I started noticing patches of blue sky and sunlight (see below), suggesting this locale must have enough elevation to escape the endless, relentlessly green mists of the Fade.

 

There are a few structures floating out of reach, but none of them large enough to constitute a city. You can run around and see them from different angles, they’re about the size of Skyhold’s mage tower.

There’s also a palace floating in the near distance, no further than the highest tower of Skyhold from the stables. I mean, really damn close.

 

Another shot, this time including the Breach (when you play Here Lies the Abyss, the Black City is clearly silhouetted by the Breach, but here the sky is empty) but for a few flecks of flotsam. 

 

Anyhow, I’d be delighted if anyone can get a screenshot of the Black City and prove me wrong, because the magnitude of this being the Black City is almost more than I can handle.

Especially considering this section of the Fade contains red lyrium, the Claws of Dumat, a battering ram, fountains of blood, and an empty throne with shackles on either side. 

 

So any thoughts on this? Violent reactions?

Hi all! I was really intrigued by this theory and then I found this in one of the notes:

 

http://girltriesgame...-the-black-city

 

thoughts?

[Cee]

 

 

*empty throne with shackles on the side - well duh, Inquisitor's throne!  Shackles very likely represents him/her being bound by duty and faith to his/her position as the leader.

 

This part also made me think of Corypheus' line “Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods, and it was empty.”

 

This empty throne could thus fall in with the Black City/Golden City theories that have gone around.
 

 

But there is definitely more to Skyhold. I wonder if we'll find it out.

[RoraM]

Is that actually a throne, or just some sort of restraining platform for public punishment? It doesn't look like something intended for someone to sit upon.

[Illyria]

This part also made me think of Corypheus' line “Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods, and it was empty.”

 

This empty throne could thus fall in with the Black City/Golden City theories that have gone around.
 

 

But there is definitely more to Skyhold. I wonder if we'll find it out.

 

If it is the Black City and there's a throne with shackles...

 

That makes me wonder about the Maker.  What was he that he needed to be so contained?

[MayriyaNoori]

You know what though.......you know who we know.....that would know.....and could answer this whole thing.....and is potentially the ONLY individual in all of Thedas who has the answer to all this......and more.....

 

Spoiler

Solas

 

Please....DLC....something......uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh

[Ulv Elskeren]

It's an interesting thought, and just barely plausible enough not to dismiss outright.  That said, the overall theory is a bit wobbly and rests on some iffy points.  Aside from what Tea already pointed out:

 

1)  The Maker's "throne".   This is a fairly direct misinterpretation, as it has the same distinctive Tevinter aesthetic as other sacrificial altars found in game.  (It's the same basic structure as the Dragon Shrine we find the Kuldsdotten Swamp, for instance.)  Even if that weren't the case, from a timeline perspective it would be pretty hard to explain why the Maker's actual throne looked so distinctly Tevine.

 

2) It seems fairly clear Kieran is able to open a path to the Fade by means of the OGS he carries.  Given that, it would be odd to assume that Ghilan'nain -or whoever you believe Urthemiel to have been- would be able to trivially perform a feat that Solas heavily implies Fen'Harel's OGS cannot.   Everything we know suggests that accessing the Fade (by rift or eluvian) takes a great deal of power, but is doable.  Accessing the Black City is another thing entirely.

[midnight tea]

This part also made me think of Corypheus' line “Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods, and it was empty.”

 

This empty throne could thus fall in with the Black City/Golden City theories that have gone around.
 

 

But there is definitely more to Skyhold. I wonder if we'll find it out.

 

Well, Inquisitor's throne is also vacant, because he/she is in the Fade atm

Besides - I highly suspect that something that is supposed to be the seat of the Maker (or at least for someone with great power) the interaction with which unleashed the Blight on the world, it would be something far more imposing and not just a more-or-less random prop found only if we search the area.

 

A lot of deal is also made of unlocking gates to the Golden/Black city, with Morrigan hinting that the Anchor and therefore Inquisitor being able to potentially do this - and I don't think they'd be actively trying to make that plot point irrelevant, or make the whole 'entering of the Black City' anti-climactic.... because it WOULD make the whole thing seem as not as big of a deal - I mean, it IS a big deal that Kieran/Flemeth were able to re-direct eluvian to the Fade, but even with all the things happening, is nobody really noticing that they're supposed to be in the location widely considered to be either center of enormous power or center of the Fade??

You'd think the Black city would make a far bigger impression on IQ and the rest - plus, it would likely have its consequences (again, the previous visit unleashed the Blight on the world and turned magisters into darkspawn).

 

I mean, even Solas seems to be determined to reach the Black City - after all, one of his first remarks about the Fade is "look, the Black City, almost close enough to touch". This, among other things, is making it rather obvious that IF we're going to enter it (be wit with IQ or any other PC in future game) it's likely going to be a HUGE deal.

[Sah291]

So, I saw this interesting post on Tumblr, theorizing that the Inquisitor has basically already been to the Black City, though only if you've imported a save with the Old God Baby. It's an interesting read.

Source: http://canticle-of-a...-the-black-city

Spoiler

wait…have we already been to the Black City?!

Okay, not all of us, but those of us who imported an Old God Baby.
Check it out. When you run into the eluvian after Morrigan and Kieran, no matter how far you run or which direction you look, the sky is uncluttered. Nothing in the distance, no Black City.



Obviously, I can’t upload photos from every possible angle, but trust me, I looked. And that’s when I started noticing patches of blue sky and sunlight (see below), suggesting this locale must have enough elevation to escape the endless, relentlessly green mists of the Fade.


There are a few structures floating out of reach, but none of them large enough to constitute a city. You can run around and see them from different angles, they’re about the size of Skyhold’s mage tower.
There’s also a palace floating in the near distance, no further than the highest tower of Skyhold from the stables. I mean, really damn close.


Another shot, this time including the Breach (when you play Here Lies the Abyss, the Black City is clearly silhouetted by the Breach, but here the sky is empty) but for a few flecks of flotsam.


Anyhow, I’d be delighted if anyone can get a screenshot of the Black City and prove me wrong, because the magnitude of this being the Black City is almost more than I can handle.
Especially considering this section of the Fade contains red lyrium, the Claws of Dumat, a battering ram, fountains of blood, and an empty throne with shackles on either side.

So any thoughts on this? Violent reactions?

I don't have a play through without the OGB to compare. But I think it's unlikely, or if it is true, it probably doesn't mean much for our Quizzy other than a neat easter egg, if it is dependent only on an OGB world state.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are meant to be paralles between Skyhold and the Black/Golden City though. The Golden City is the seat of the Maker, and where Cory believes he needs to go to become a god. Skyhold is (currently) the seat of Andraste's Herald and a "demi god" with the anchor and power over the veil/fade. Suppose Skyhold is some kind of mirror image in the mortal world. Could explain why Mythal/Flemeth would want to find it and control the IQ either through the Well directly or through Morrigan.

Oh wait. Hmmm.

[BoscoBread]

Regarding the Fade thing - As Sah said - it's too reliant on the OBG world state. I think it's just the Fade.  Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

I don't think it is though. To  be perfectly honest. The Black/Golden City is....so incredibly important to Thedas.  It's the center of all problems.  To have it just like the rest of the "damp" Fade would be a bizarre design choice.  I think if you were to enter it, it would be a THING. A Deal.  And we know that entering the City is no small feat.  Even with the ability to enter the fade - which takes a lot of magical power on it's own - the black city is implied to exist even beyond that. 

 

When Corypheus and the rest of the sad magister brigade entered the city, it was cataclysmic. Almost immediately.   Morrigan says it's the Fade. I have no reason to doubt her on this. She would have been flipping out. She nerds way to much on magic ****.  Bioware is not subtle.  Never ever.  The "hints" are POINTED.  I think it's just the Fade.  I also think if Mythal was in the Black City - way more **** would have gone down.  Entering it does seem way too important and then there is the implication that it triggers certain cataclysmic events...and she's just wandering around in there?

 

Also it was lacking June watering his flowers and setting up for Pantheon Falon Craft Time.(I have a theory that the Pantheon is actually locked in the city).

[midnight tea]

1)  The Maker's "throne".   This is a fairly direct misinterpretation, as it has the same distinctive Tevinter aesthetic as other sacrificial altars found in game.  (It's the same basic structure as the Dragon Shrine we find the Kuldsdotten Swamp, for instance.)  Even if that weren't the case, from a timeline perspective it would be pretty hard to explain why the Maker's actual throne looked so distinctly Tevine.

 

Considering that things re-constructed in the Fade aren't necessarily 1:1 to what they are in real world AND the Fade being the realm where "dreams and thoughts come true", therefore their representation is oftentimes symbolic/metaphoric, I don't really think the style of the thing may be all that relevant - that is, unless, you think that what I hypothesize is plausible and that this is supposed to represent Corypheus (and therefore Tevinter) influence on the matters.

 

If the throne indeed is supposed to represent Inquisitor's throne in Skyhold, then it is pretty darn consistent, considering that Corypheus was - very ironically - the one directly responsible for Inquisitor's rise to power and - during events of DAI - he is also the one that 'binds' Inquisitor to the seat of power, considering that Inquisitoon formed and was largely driven by stopping Corypheus and his plan to become god and return Tevinter to old glory.

[Sabriel.]

I don't think it is though. To  be perfectly honest. The Black/Golden City is....so incredibly important to Thedas.  It's the center of all problems.  To have it just like the rest of the "damp" Fade would be a bizarre design choice.  I think if you were to enter it, it would be a THING. A Deal.  And we know that entering the City is no small feat.  Even with the ability to enter the fade - which takes a lot of magical power on it's own - the black city is implied to exist even beyond that. 

It would be some wonderful trolling on Bioware's part if your PC was in the Black City for five minutes with no fanfare whatsoever.....buuut yes. This. (I'm reminded of Thor 2 when you think [spoiler] happens. Like, no. No, gullible movie theatre goers, if [spoiler] were to happen it would be a huge freaking event.) This theory's a case of reading far too much into things, imo. Not that reading too much into things can't be fun! Why else do these forums exist. I'm just afraid "Inquisitor went to the Black City!" is going to become fanon now and when it turns out to be untrue, people will start to whine. (As in the OGB debacle.)

[Cee]

I also think it's just incidental, given the circumstances, but it is fun to speculate.

 

 

Give us some DLC before we all lose it.

[BoscoBread]

@Sabriel - I'm not very fun when it comes to theorizing.  It got beaten out of me in school. That's not to say I won't make imaginative or interesting leaps with analysis. It just needs something more than "LOOK AT THE FADE ROCK!" for me to be sold.  I am reminded of my comrade in arms during our thesis presentations and the bullshit he was spewing at an audience for 15 min. trying to connect some piece of art to a political movement and it was woefully thin and EMBARASSING. Clear he did NO work. It was PAINFUL.   A decade later I still remember it.  ACADEMIC SHAME!

 

I'm good to believe but I need more.  MORE info. I'm not Mulder for Christ's sake.

[drosophila]

@Sabriel - I'm not very fun when it comes to theorizing.  It got beaten out of me in school. That's not to say I won't make imaginative or interesting leaps with analysis. It just needs something more than "LOOK AT THE FADE ROCK!" for me to be sold.  I am reminded of my comrade in arms during our thesis presentations and the bullshit he was spewing at an audience for 15 min. trying to connect some piece of art to a political movement and it was woefully thin and EMBARASSING. Clear he did NO work. It was PAINFUL.   A decade later I still remember it.  ACADEMIC SHAME!

 

I'm good to believe but I need more.  MORE info. I'm not Mulder for Christ's sake.

 

Haven't had my harrowing thesis defense yet, but yes, I can imagine academic shame very well... I also agree more info is needed.

 

Although, by definition fan theories never have enough information to work with. The devs can always come up with more pieces of the puzzle that what we are given and twist the story in such way that none of us are right. It's why I see these discussions as "speculating for its own sake, since I can't get the questions off my mind, but, damn, it's been so long and still no DLC" conversation.

[BoscoBread]

@Drosophila - It was for undergrad - so not all that harrowing! But you know...still. CARE MORE!  I really enjoyed my thesis topic. It was about public art in post-totalitarian societies.  Soo..."Wat do with all the Stalin statutes???"

 

Fan theories are great if there's a sense of fun.  I like them a lot for campy science fiction and if they are 7 levels of ridiculous.  When it's sort of...too serious...I'm more academic about it and a bit of a sourpuss. 

[Caddius]

KotOR 2 got an update today! *hysterical cheering!*       

So I went from excited about the possible Black City bits to impressed with the Skyhold parallels in like a minute. 

The Dirthamen statue with the, er, impalement and the jets of blood does kinda suggest that Mythal isn't happy with him, doesn't it? 

[midnight tea]

Patrick Weekes ‏@PatrickWeekes 

In the minds of a few people who take my tweets seriously, "Vhenan" now canonically means "Schmoopyface".

 

 

Bwaaaahaha! I actually want it to be cannon! 

[Lunapur]

Spoils of the Qunari is out again No story dlc though:( Still i love my amazon elf now:D Really hard to take an action shot with a rogue with only 2 skills,but hey Solas here i come

Spoiler

[midnight tea]

Spoils of the Qunari is out again No story dlc though:( Still i love my amazon elf now:D Really hard to take an action shot with a rogue with only 2 skills,but hey Solas here i come

 

The only thing I don't like is elf females suddenly growing Popeye arms :/

[Sabriel.]

Spoils of the Qunari is out again No story dlc though:( Still i love my amazon elf now:D Really hard to take an action shot with a rogue with only 2 skills,but hey Solas here i come

Spoiler

Damn....

This is what you are missing out on, Solas. Hope your Higher Calling^TM is worth it!

[Joe25]

Wow that will be nuts very interesting 

What is nuts and interesting because I already know Solas is?

[drosophila]

@Drosophila - It was for undergrad - so not all that harrowing! But you know...still. CARE MORE!  I really enjoyed my thesis topic. It was about public art in post-totalitarian societies.  Soo..."Wat do with all the Stalin statutes???"

 

Sounds like an interesting question to explore! In my country of origin they just demolished them, I think. 

 

 

Fan theories are great if there's a sense of fun.  I like them a lot for campy science fiction and if they are 7 levels of ridiculous.  When it's sort of...too serious...I'm more academic about it and a bit of a sourpuss. 

 

I enjoy both 7 levels of ridiculous and too serious. I never find myself getting too serious with theories, but I do my best to respect those who do. 

[Nightspirit]

@Drosophila - It was for undergrad - so not all that harrowing! But you know...still. CARE MORE!  I really enjoyed my thesis topic. It was about public art in post-totalitarian societies.  Soo..."Wat do with all the Stalin statutes???"

 

Fan theories are great if there's a sense of fun.  I like them a lot for campy science fiction and if they are 7 levels of ridiculous.  When it's sort of...too serious...I'm more academic about it and a bit of a sourpuss. 

 

Hmm, I wonder if they had a similar problem in the ancient time. "What to do with all the Falon'Din statues?"

Well...

Spoiler

 

I recently replayed origins and decided to keep an eye open for anything elven-related when entering the Temple of Sacred Ashes. I ran into this about 5 seconds later and was instantly amused. 

[drosophila]

Hmm, I wonder if they had a similar problem in the ancient time. "What to do with all the Falon'Din statues?"

 

Or the Fen'Harel statues  Specifically the ones that are all over the Exalted Plains and Emerald Graves.