What about Velanna's or Seranni's? Far as I can recall, their tattoos were pretty unique. Granted that was back in Awakening, but still.
I always thought Velanna's went with Ghilan'nain. I'd say that looks the closest.
Not sure about Seranni. I'd guess Sylaise but that's a pretty crappy guess.
All the dwarven NPCs you meet of noble origins in the series don't have tattoos. On the other hand casteless NPCs are loaded with them. IMO the tattoo options for the dwarf noble are just there for greater character customization, but are bit out of step the lore in some respects. A dwarf noble with tattoos would probably be viewed as someone who is slumming.
You dare speak that way of the man who should be king of Orzammar -- my Aeducan?!
THIS CANNOT STAND. I CHALLENGE YOU TO A PROVING.
At any rate, just because we don't see a tattoo'd noble in the series with any of the Noble-variants doesn't mean A) they don't exist and 
that it was just something for the CC.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, after all.
Matt Rhodes (Lead Concept Artist) just released a full list of which tattoo represents which elven god.
Here it is:
Sorry to break it up to you but...
Sorry to break it up to you but...
Spoiler
What vallaslin meant during the time of Arlathan doesn't reflect what it's come to mean now for the Dalish, which is also what Lavellan can say to Solas.
What vallaslin meant during the time of Arlathan doesn't reflect what it's come to mean now for the Dalish, which is also what Lavellan can say to Solas.
Pretty much. Cultures adapt and change. They do not remain static (although they can be rather conservative in nature, they never go without changing).
Rats. I always preferred Falon'Din for my Inquisitor, but I keep choosing June. Next time...
Sorry to break it up to you but...
Spoiler
Well, technically it's both. The markings were used to honor the "elven gods" in ancient Arlathan, it's just that the usage was different back then.
I gave mine Elgar'nan. Turns out it fit his rather uncouth and pragmatic approach to problem solving very accurately.
Damn now I'll have to remake Merrill...
Guest_TheDarkKnightReturns_*
Hah, my Dalish Warden was bound to Elgar'nan. Badass!!
What vallaslin meant during the time of Arlathan doesn't reflect what it's come to mean now for the Dalish, which is also what Lavellan can say to Solas.
Yeah, I don't know why people keep saying this. It has meant something to them for generations, its original meaning is irrelevant unless an individual elf decides they take exception to it. There's plenty of things in human culture that meant one thing long ago, but mean something different now. It's good to know, for personal reasons, what it originally stood for, yes. And for those elves who could be upset about it, it is something they definitely deserve to know. Some will hate it, and some will choose to embrace it for what it is, an aspect of cultural heritage that has been re-appropriated to be something different than what it meant a thousand years ago.
And who's to say that when the elves fell, way back then, that they didn't deliberately re-use those tattoos despite knowing their origins? Maybe they knew what they started as but said f*ck it anyway, it's going to be this now, and taught that to future generations, in which it became distilled into what it is now, its original meaning lost?
My elves will not give up their tattoos, given the option. But they won't look down upon anyone who does (assuming that is ever an option to anyone not in the romance). It's personal. As a person with tattoos that I got for specific reasons, I can totally relate to it (though clearly mine don't have an origin like the elf tattoos). If I found out my tattoos' origins were different than what I thought, that doesn't change what they mean now in the present. (One's from a video game though, so no chance of that happening.. heh.)
Any ideas who this one represents?
It's a concept art for the Dalish warden back in Origins, there's also a concept art for each warden origin like this one 
As for the tatoo, both my dalish warden and dalish inquisitor have Mythal's tatoo (it's the best one for me 
) and with all the revelations we know about her that just fits very well 
Yeah, I had the Dirthamen and Falon'Din ones mixed up so my male archer has Falon'Din. I guess he's all "death from above" instead of the sneaky sneak I intended him to be.
Heh, alas Falon'Din had decided him to be a deathdealer long ago. Those wily elven gods still seem to influence the elves' fate from behind a mirror. 
Besides, death from above is just as cool.
All of my elves have had Mythal. I kept choosing the simplest version because, well, it was simple and it frames the eyes nicely. This is going to make my eventual Solas romance that much more fun.
I still can't get his artifact count quest to trigger though. 
I wonder if Mythal has so many variants because she 'absorbed' the markings used for Fen'Harel. Fen'Dawg (as he is also named, it seems) is still honored by statues put on the outskirts of the camps as a protector; this was also true in ancient times as shown by his statue being at the gate of Mythal's temple. The common 'protector' theme could be enough to allow for something of Fen'Harel's markings to be preserved in some of the Mythal variations.
Reasons to like Fen'Harel:
He protects the people, even today.
He locked away all of the other gods, which allowed people to be free and not the playthings of the gods.
He's a frickin' wolf, gotta love that. Wolves are badass.
Trickster gods are the most fun. You never know what you're going to get.
Sera would TOTALLY be a Fen'Harel worshipper if she wasn't so annoyed by all things 'elfy.'
Guest_Faerunner_*
Sorry to break it up to you but...
Spoiler
False. They do represent the gods.
Besides, whatever they were used for in Arlathan, the Dalish have reclaimed them and have been using them for this purpose for close to 700 years. Whatever they were used for before, this is what they mean now.
I've always wondered what vallaslin Merrill had. Now after seeing the chart for DA:I I think her tattoo most closely resembles Falon'din's. And it seems appropriate and fitting for her character. Velanna's looks like Ghilan'nain's. Marethari's vallaslin looks like Sylaise's.
As for my own quizzies, my first ever character, my female mage that romanced Solas, had Andruil's vallaslin. My canon male mage Lavellan also has Andruil's vallaslin. But I also made another female rogue Dalish elf with Elgarnan's markings, because it suits her tough personality. Finally, I made a self-insert female Lavellan with Sylaise's vallaslin.
False. They do represent the gods.
Spoiler
Besides, whatever they were used for in Arlathan, the Dalish have reclaimed them and have been using them for this purpose for close to 700 years. Whatever they were used for before, this is what they mean now.
Hear hear.
In my head-canon, when my mage Quizzie takes Mythal's marks off it's because she feels burdened by the Well's power. So when Solas offers to take them off, she jumps at the chance... It's a small rebellion. The explanation just goes in one ear and out the other:
"Blablabla... I can take your vallaslin aw-"
"Yes, please!"
"-ay... Was that a yes?"
"Yes, yes, get on with it. She's got my soul, but there's no need to flaunt it. "
My assassin Quizzie (from the profile pic) won't take Elgar'nan's marks off so easily. (And I was so, so happy to hear that they were dedicated to the god of Vengeance ) If/when Fen'harel frees the other gods, if the All-Father wants the assassin to kick the Dread Wolf's ass, she's going to be all "Sir, yes sir. With pleasure."
The first Mythal Alternate seems more pronounced than I remember on my elf character. I don't remember it reaching all the way round to their temples. Odd enough, after I did it, I would have prefered Sylaise Alternate I think (looks nicer), can't change it once character was made though.
my Elf had the June { Alternate] Fitting, as she loved to make her own Bows/armor/...
but she fell in love with Fen'Harel ...but drunk form the well... so she is bound to Mythal.......
Cool, I usually use Mythal on most my elves regardless of class but it's my favourite.
Does anyone know whose tat Tamlen wears? I always used that one in origins (miss it) would be nice to know who that one belongs to.
Does anyone know whose tat Tamlen wears? I always used that one in origins (miss it) would be nice to know who that one belongs to.
My guess would be an alternate version of Falon'Din.
Guest_Faerunner_*
Hear hear.
In my head-canon, when my mage Quizzie takes Mythal's marks off it's because she feels burdened by the Well's power.
"Blablabla... I can take your vallaslin aw-"
"Yes, please!"
"-ay... Was that a yes?"
"Yes, yes, get on with it. She's got my soul, but there's no need to flaunt it.
My assassin Quizzie (from the profile pic) won't take Elgar'nan's marks off so easily. (And I was so, so happy to hear that they were dedicated to the god of Vengeance
Ah, my "canon" Lavellan also bore Mythal's mark and also drank from the Well of Sorrows.
While she wasn't thrilled to learn the All-Mother wasn't quite as all-loving as the stories depicted her as, she wasn't fully sorry she drank from the Well either. (Like Morrigan, she feels ancient magics and knowledge are worth preserving no matter the price.) She still felt loyal to her people and her heritage, and still wanted to keep her vallaslin. She still felt they symbolized her devotion to her people and heritage (not necessarily the goddess in question), and felt that removing them would be symbolically disowning everything good about her culture and heritage just because they have some bad aspects of them, and she doesn't believe in throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I can only imagine how upset Solas was though. He believes in freedom above all else, and is implied to have locked up most of the Elvhen Pantheon in the ancient past to free lower class elves (like those who wore the vallaslin in his time) from the yoke of gods and nobles. Yet, his current beloved drank from the Well of Sorrows, became Mythal's servant, and still has Mythal's symbol carved into her face. I imagine whenever he sees and/or thinks of Mythal and Lavellan, he'll just see "PROPERTY OF MYTHAL" branded across her face and soul.
Meanwhile my poor Lavellan is oblivious to it, and wouldn't agree if she knew anyway because she sees it as, "It's not slavery because I chose it."
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