"We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss" -- Flemeth, Dragon Age 2
"One day the magic will come back. All of it. Everyone will be just like they were. The shadows will part, and the skies will open wide. [...] When he rises, everyone will see." -- Sandal, Dragon Age 2
"Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?" -- Yavana to Alistair, in "The Silent Grove"
Many of us know these quotes. There has already been speculation about them, but in the light of recent information they acquire new significance. The meaning of some parts is now obvious, but others remain obscure. Those are the most interesting ones, however.
The basic hypothesis: from these quotes, and from another one by Morrigan in Witch Hunt I don't have access to at the moment, I get the vibe that the appearance of the Elder One is but a symptom of a more fundamental change. Something bigger than any of the actors in the drama, something we won't be able to hold back even with epic levels of badass, where all we can do is to decide how to ride the storm. The suggestiveness was so strong that anything else - such as everything going back to normal after the Elder One is defeated - would be somewhat disappointing to me after all that buildup. I expect something on the level of "Winter is Coming". We may not even see it fully manifested in DAI, as it may be part of the five-game arc Bioware hopes to realize, but we will, so I hope, get to know what it is all about.
But what can it be? I have identified two components which may be significant, based on statements made in the context of the various Dragon Age publications:
The return of the dragons, and dragon magic
Rather obvious, you might say, because there wlll be quite a few dragons in DAI and these stories are all set in the "Dragon Age" after all. What I mean is more than "just" dragons, however. I do not think that the Elder One's and Flemeth's dragon shapes are merely convenient shapes they take on, but a part of their nature. It is said that the Old Gods were to today's dragons as the ancient Dreamer-kings were to today's humans. The Old Gods, the rulers in the days "when dragons roamed the skies" (Yavana)? Whatever they were, they were gone long before the Blights. Why? Religions have made up stories that fit their ideologies, but nobody knows. I contend that whatever made it possible for them to exist and be active is coming back, and with it a special magic specific to them. "Dragon blood" is said to be significant. The reason why it is significant will be known. Also, it is possible for entities to exist on a sliding scale of "draconic-ness".
It also appears that "draconic-ness" is a transferable quality. Morrigan's Old God child is human, but is said to have the soul of an Old God. What does that even mean, since apparently this Old God soul does not carry individuality and does not define a person? I have already posited that Flemeth and the Elder One are of the same kind. Maybe Morrigan's Old God child is yet another one?
This is all unavoidably vague. The central statement may be phrased like this: one component of the change that is coming is that draconic-ness will once again be a significant aspect of Thedas' magical landscape, as it once was, and recognizeable in many different ways. We may have some influence on how that will manifest, but we will not be able to prevent it from happening.
The sundering of the Veil
This one is, the Veil tears notwithstanding, not quite as obvious a possibility. Also, the expression may be a little dramatic for the kind of change I'm envisioning. It's not as obvious because there would be practical problems the story would have to address, which would challenge or invalidate the concepts around which several cultures are built. I'm not seeing that happen. What I do see is a gradual weakening of the Veil, bringing the spirit world and the physical world closer together and enabling different kinds of contact and interaction that have been impossible before, with obvious side effects and risks.
Yavana says that there was a time before the Veil, when dragons ruled the skies. Usually, I would've put that off as the archetypical "forgotten old mysteries" setup. More often than not, from the perspective of a history of ideas, these mysteries are forgotten because they are no longer relevant. As civilization moved away from animism, the spirit world became less relevant to people's lives. In such a context, the mageborn would be a throwback and an anachronism, in spite of their obvious power, which would be set up to be surpassed by technology. Merrill's story in DA2 takes up this theme: is the old knowledge no longer relevant? Marethari appears to think so and we can support that stance. We are, however, seeing a movement in the opposite direction. The magic will come back, says Sandal, and we are seeing the Veil torn, magical beasts returning and spirits walk the land.
The Veil tears may be of the Elder One's making, but I contend that they are only possible because something fundamental is changing in the landscape of magic. It is unclear whether this has been brought about by someone or if it is the expression of a natural fluctuation. The Fade being what it is, one could suspect that people's collective beliefs might have brought it about, but we have no evidence of such a thing.
This, too, is by necessity vague. The central statement may be phrased like this: the Veil will become more permeable, resulting in an increase in the frequency of spontaneous magical phenomena and strange dreams. This will not allow spirits to exist in the physical world unaided, but it may influence the power or the problems associated with magic, and change what it means to be mageborn in Thedas.
As usual....comments, additions, debate etc.. are welcome. It is why I have written this.
TL;DR:
Several characters hint that some big change is coming to the world. I am speculating that this change will feature the return of "draconic-ness" as a significant aspect of Thedas' magical landscape and an increasing permeabillity of the Veil as central components.
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