Sorry for the the repost! This is old and embarrassingly poorly referenced, but sticking it here anyway since it's necessary foundation for other theories I'm going to post.
At ths point it's well established that Solas was Fen'Harel in the elvish Pantheon, but in the ages before that, there is strong evidence that he was represented by Dirthamen / Falon'Din. His powers are their powers, his sins are their sins, and tracking their history through myth allows us to trace the why and how of his transformation to the Dread Wolf as well as his redemption to the Pantheon as Fen'Harel under the watchful eye of Mythal.
1. "You're different, Solas. You're in both places." -Cole
This is the key to unraveling the core contradiction of the mythical Twins that are not Twins. They are aspects of the same being- an entity that exists both fully in the fade and fully in the physical. (Solas's spirit seems to be infused with enough Will - enough Self - to function as an independent but coordinated entity. This is recognition of his spirit as Falon'Din, partner to his physical OGS Dirthamen.)
2. "Ma ghilana mir din'an." -Spirit of Wisdom
"Guide me into death." The final request of the spirit of Wisdom in Solas' personal quest. Aside from Mythal, this is the character most likely to have known Solas before he was cast down as the Dread Wolf or restored to the Pantheon as Fen'Harel. He greets her as kin -"lethallin"- and she responds in kind, speaking to him as the form in which she knows him best: Falon'Din, friend and guide to those on the other side of the Veil. Solas as F'D hardly needs to be explained. Solas. Fade! Solas. Spirits are Awesome! Solas.
3. "May her ashes be gathered by Falon'Din and carried safely." -old guy in Redcliffe
Solas approves. ...yes, I know. "He's a compassionate person!" But you don't get his approval from rescuing druffalo, do you.
4. "You really don't let anybody see under that polite mask you wear, do you?" -Inquisitor Lavellan
~ insert appropriately snide and scathing comments about Dirthamen, God of Secrets, and the damned apostate elf whose favorite pastime is not telling anyone, anything, ever. ~
5. "Though you reach out in compassion, I must now insist that you... forget." -Solas
This is one of the only direct clues we have that links Solas to Dirthamen as well as Falon'Din. The important distinction here is the difference between Solas and Cole's abilities. As a Spirit of Compassion, Cole's domain is pain and hurt, which allows him to see the path that Solas has chosen. But there's not necessarily any hurt or pain involved in taking that away. (Unless you assume that Cole was unduly upset by what he found. Ignore that. Stay with me.) What Solas is doing is different. What's being washed from Cole's mind is knowledge- or more accurately, a secret. As we see at his temple, this is the core of Dirthamen's power and the boon he grants his followers: relieving them of the burden of their secrets.
The secrets are madness in our ears, but they are ours
The Highest One cannot take them from us.
Only Dirthamen, our Keeper, only he
And if he does not take the secrets
they are ours forever.
6. "I do not believe they sing songs about Falon'Din's vanity." -Solas
Vanity. Arrogance. Ego. Pride. They are all one and the same. If Solas' sins are Falon'Din's sins, then he has more blood on his hands than any of us would ever have imagined. "The blood of those who would not bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans". Note, critically, that he does not say the slain were ones who would not bow to him. What he is describing is a social rebellion, a failed one that he encouraged and led, until it spread to Mythal's lands and she gathered forces to suppress it. Even then, against the combined force of an allied Pantheon, Falon'Din only surrendered when his brethren bloodied him in his own temple. This rebellion, then, is his great crime- the treason for which he was first stripped of both his standing and form and cast as a monstrous beast into the Abyss. This is how the Dread Wolf began.
7. "But Mythal’s magic sapped Andruil’s strength, and stole her knowledge of how to find the Void." -Codex
But how did the Dread Wolf end and Fen'Harel begin? What service could he possibly have offered to the Pantheon to regain his place among them? The answer lies in a threat to the Pantheon greater than any he had ever posed: the blighted madness of Andruil. Mythal needed him. She could subdue Andruil with her magic, but only Dirthamen had the power to wipe Andruil's secret path to the Void from her mind. In exchange for this service, the Dread Wolf rose to the Pantheon once more as Fen'Harel, loyal Hound of Mythal.
8. A picture is worth a thousand words.
This is the only shrine to Fen'Harel we encounter in game, and tellingly he's represented by a pair of wolves: one light, one dark, pointing to his dual nature as Falon'Din and Dirthamen. Tellingly, we find similar light/dark imagery repeated in the Temple of Dirthamen in the ancient murals that adorn its walls.
Two halves, light and dark, that together make gray in both perspective and morality. Balance is the essence of Solas' character- it is the core Duty placed on him by Mythal when the world was created, and it is mirrored in every aspect of his representation in the DA universe.
As for his possession of Mythal's orb: I believe (though I could certainly be wrong) that stripping Falon'Din of his power was part of his punishment when he was cast down as the Dread Wolf. Not necessarily Chantry-style tranquility as we know it, but certainly something simliar- something that rendered him a non-threat to the Pantheon.
This was not reversed when he was restored as Fen'Harel. As Solas (or however you want to refer to his core being to keep things straight) he only retained the innate powers unique to his OGS- much like Andruil/Sera and her marksmanship, or Sandal/June and his craft. He could still wipe secrets, and could still walk the Fade- but that was largely the extent of his power.
The orb then, may have been granted to restore limited access to magic when he rejoined the Pantheon as Fen'Harel. It necessarily limited the scope of that power and bound its use, to some degree, to Mythal's will. Not a direct geas on Solas, exactly- but inherent to the orb itself. He would be unable to unlock its full potential, and the power that was granted could only be used in her service. Magical "probation", as it were, of indefinite length.
Its destruction represented a significant loss to Mythal's personal power, and thus his "side" in the ongoing war between Order/Domination versus Chaos/Free Will, not to mention the scrapping of whatever potential immediate use he intended for it.
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Just to further this very interesting theory, I read in a thread somewhere that the two statues you see on the Inquisition load screen are of Falon'Din and Dirthamen flanking the Temple of Sacred Ashes. I do not honestly know if that's the case though.
Less of a theory and more of a hunch... In Solas' personal quest wherein you have to save his spirit friend I've seen people comment on how strange it was that a pride demon was somehow the "opposite" of a spirit of wisdom. It's the implication of Solas that interests me. Could spirits of wisdom have something to do with Dirthamen, the keeper of secrets? Could demons of pride have something to do with Falon'din? Who Solas himself proclaims as vain? And if these spirits are somehow linked, what about spirits of justice (mythal)? Vengeance (Elgarnan)?
Less of a theory and more of a hunch... In Solas' personal quest wherein you have to save his spirit friend I've seen people comment on how strange it was that a pride demon was somehow the "opposite" of a spirit of wisdom. It's the implication of Solas that interests me. Could spirits of wisdom have something to do with Dirthamen, the keeper of secrets? Could demons of pride have something to do with Falon'din? Who Solas himself proclaims as vain? And if these spirits are somehow linked, what about spirits of justice (mythal)? Vengeance (Elgarnan)?
I definitely think there's something to this- though like you, it's just a raw hunch at the moment. We've actually seen two types of Pride demons in DA: the more common is lightning (pointing directly at an Elgar'nan connection) but a felfire/veilfire version (which we encounter in Corypheus' prison) exists as well, complicating matters. Pride, it seems to suggest, is a sin of both Wills. At any rate, I believe Spirits of Faith are the beneficial aspect of Order / Elgar'nan's faction: after all, they grant Seekers the ability to hold the world in place, preventing change, keeping it as it is. Mythal's thematic connection to Purpose (or duty) and the established perversion of Purpose to Desire gives us another potential Pantheon<->spirit relationship.
Though we've never seen a Spirit of Hope in game, I think we might be able to extrapolate some interesting things about who they correspond to by looking at a Spirit of Despair and how their features correlate to existing statuary. It's admittedly a bit of a stretch, but starts with recognizing a few unique features of despair demons. First, the fact that they seem to have distinct layers:
Though toothy ridges repeat down the neck, there seem to be two or three "main" mouths that make up the head, each within the other. To me, this seems like an interesting mirror of some ancient statuary we find throughout Ferelden.
Note how this too seems to be a tri-part figure: a relatively humanoid head, covered by a beast mantle, its open mouth displaying another beast (spirit) within. The basic idea is expounded in the Fade, where we see the same figure metaphorically expelling the internal spirit (or rather being forcibly disconnected from it) by the application of Tevinter iconography to the figure's forehead, site of tranquility brands.
In more ancient statuary, this basic figure (the aggressive mantled wolf-man) is associated with Falon'Din, counterpart to Dirthamen's passive man with spear. At this point in Ferelden history, however, I believe the statue may have been intended as representative of the combination of the two: his external form still that of the Dread Wolf (the mantle) with the smaller face in his mouth being indicative of Falon'Din within.
This same basic idea, in combination with various codices equating the wolf with rejection of despair and renewed strength to fight, suggests we might need to re-evaluate the possible positive role of Fen'Harel / lycanthropy in early Ferelden history. The same figure above could be easily described as a metaphor for a werewolf: a human, sheathed in the mantle of a wolf, who has taken in the spirit and strength of the wolf inside himself. An unusual concept for "hope", certainly, but for those desperate to hold out against overwhelming forces of Order in the form of Blight or the Imperium.... that may be exactly what it appeared to be.
Anyway. One final connection is that (though they hover and thus we can't know for certain) Despair demons seem to share the peculiar trait of digitigrade legs with werewolves.
Coincidence? Possibly. There's precious little solid evidence to build from, so the whole thing is shaky at best. Fen'Harel is just the most plausible connection for Hope/Despair I can think of in the absence of counter-evidence or competing theory. ^w^
My personal theory is Solas was the follower of Dirthamen , who tricked by Ghilan'nain , went flying as a dragon ...and that act caused a lot of troubles.(http://dragonage.wik...t_Elven_Writing)
The constellation Fenrir :" in the case of Fenrir, an alignment with the elven trickster god, Fen'Harel, would be logical. Others claim a much older Neromenian tale of awolf escaping hunters by fleeing into the sky exists, but the legend's veracity has never been proved."(http://dragonage.wik...ki/Codex:_Tales)
Solas following Dirthamen , Gods of secrets and knowledge , makes sense : Solas is a scholar before being a rebelz.
There's this old tale talking about a wolf flying in the sky.(see above)
Fen'Harel had a special place among the pantheon ...his mosaic shows him as a wolf , other gods who could shapeshift as well are shown as elves, makes me believe he has special circumstance going on , and he was standing out as a God.
Dalish tales says he could walk among the Gods and the Forgotten Ones.(I think the forgotten Ones were just elves rebelling against the Gods , and who were challenging the truth of their divinity.)
Solas talks of being betrayed in the past , Ghilan'nain tricked him , in the codex things get bad for the one who shapeshifted.
And the codex ends with Mythal refusing to judge him , and Elgar'nan God of violent Spanking taking matters in his own hands.
What follows is "an image of a shifting, shadowy mass with blazing eyes, whose form may be one or many." .
I believe this is talking about a angry mob , probably the (future) Forgotten Ones , seeing the shape of Divine wasn't so divine after all , and the harsh punishment that followed , a number of elves probably were fed up with the "Gods".
Now this is where I go in more tinfoil hats theory , because there isn't any codex or text to go along with what I think happened.
I believe Mythal was stuck between a rock and a hard place .
There's a couple of example of Mythal keepin the peace when the Gods were misbehaving , calming down Elgar'nan and taking the role of judge .Kicking the ass of Andruil and Falon'din when they went crazy or bloodthirty...
( Ghilan'nain and Dirthamen were BFF with Andruil and Falon'Din , coincidence I think not)
Possible it was all a plot to turn the people against Mythal and get rid of her .
I believe she eventually figured this out , the People were angry with her , the other Gods were jealous and betraying her.
So what did she do?
She publicly forgive the sinner and gave him a place among the Pantheon.
She appeases the masses , and gain an ally among her peers.
That also would explain why so far , we haven't found any Fen Harel temple , or Fen Harel vallaslin , Fen Harel godhood was a political move , a sign things were changing.
Of course Mythal was murdered , things went bad , and with time , the elves grew to dislike Fen Harel .
Yeah.... no. There's too little substance in this theory and it further complicates already complicated story. It's enough that Solas is implied to be ONE ancient elven god, much less two, or - god forbid - maybe even THREE.
1. "You're different, Solas. You're in both places." -Cole
This only implies the duality of character's nature as well as implied duality of Fen'Harel himself (black and white wolf). I honestly think it has more to do with Ying-Yang symbolism, as well as possibility that Solas resembles beings that existed back when Veil was either different or wasn't up yet.... well, aside from the fact that it may symbolize the moral conflict he's struggling with throughout the story.
2. "Ma ghilana mir din'an." -Spirit of Wisdom
If he was indeed someone who spent a millenium in the Fade, then we don't know how many Fade-related things he learned. Besides, the spirit was already dying - it might be that Solas simply eased its way back to the Fade or something.
3. "May her ashes be gathered by Falon'Din and carried safely." -old guy in Redcliffe
In Hinterlands alone, he also approves when we give back the ring of killed elf farmer to his wive wife, when we feed refugees, when we kill demon-led wolves, among other things. It's dishonest that you point out a druffalo, while intentionally avoiding mentioning other instances when he approves of our actions.
4. "You really don't let anybody see under that polite mask you wear, do you?" -Inquisitor Lavellan
Masks have been mentioned in the game numerous time - to not even mention that there's an entire country in Thedas in which nobles wear masks for symbolic reasons. So really, this is a moot point.
5. "Though you reach out in compassion, I must now insist that you... forget." -Solas
I point to what I said under #2. If Solas has spend considerable part of his life in the Fade, he's likely earned quite a few Fade or spirit-related abilities.
6. "I do not believe they sing songs about Falon'Din's vanity." -Solas
Pride - or more specifically, hubris - has been one of the main themes of the entire game. Many people, organizations or leaders (including Cory, naturally) are guilty of that. And sure, I'm actually inclined to believe that Solas named himself after the one thing he was guilty of himself, but likely a very different thing altogether.
Also - how is it that all gods, consistently - even in places as old and intact as Temple of Mythal - are depicted ALONGSIDE one-another, with no indication or comment that one was added earlier or later? There's also nothing in the myths indicating that Fen'Harel is younger than other elvhen gods.
It's also strongly implied that Fen'Harel's rebellion has been a noble one, an opposition against some sort of oppression - which doesn't sound at all what Falon'Din has tried to do.
7. "But Mythal’s magic sapped Andruil’s strength, and stole her knowledge of how to find the Void." -Codex
Um, Andruil's knowledge wasn't wiped - it was STOLEN (and, by implication, acquired) by Mythal. Also, you're adding things to the myth that aren't there.
We're yet to understand what really connected Mythal with Fen'Harel - but the fact that she called him "old friend" (and he's called 'one of his oldest friends' in dev notes) in post-credit scene suggests that they've known and maybe even liked one another for a very, very long time.
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My personal theory is Solas was the follower of Dirthamen , who tricked by Ghilan'nain , went flying as a dragon ...and that act caused a lot of troubles.(http://dragonage.wik...t_Elven_Writing)
The constellation Fenrir :" in the case of Fenrir, an alignment with the elven trickster god, Fen'Harel, would be logical. Others claim a much older Neromenian tale of a wolf escaping hunters by fleeing into the sky exists, but the legend's veracity has never been proved."(http://dragonage.wik...ki/Codex:_Tales)
Only one is a dragon... and another is a wolf. There's nothing really that connects the two, and the only thing it may imply is that Fen'Harel might have been hunted at a time and had to flee.
Solas following Dirthamen , Gods of secrets and knowledge , makes sense : Solas is a scholar before being a rebelz.
It's likely that he was a talented Dreamer ever since he was young - but we don't know anything about him being a scholar, or follower of Dirthamen at that time. After all, he mentions and describes himself in his youth more as a soldier type, apparently a cocky one and always ready to fight.
Solas talks of being betrayed in the past , Ghilan'nain tricked him , in the codex things get bad for the one who shapeshifted.
While I think it's (minimally) plausible to think that Ghilan'nain might have been involved in some sort of betrayal or something, I hardly believe that it was something as simple as tricking him into shape-shifting into dragon. Not only this seems to be a small, almost petty crime (as well as type of betrayal), but there way too little to connect this codex with anything that has to do with Dread Wolf - if there is anything at all.
And an idea that Mythal publicly forgave the sinner and added him to pantheon merely for the act of shifting into the form of gods? ....Sorry, but that's just one BIZARRE speculation. Especially that the old text specifically mentions that she doesn't show mercy to the perpetrator and gives him to Elgar'nan.
Possible it was all a plot to turn the people against Mythal and get rid of her
The fact that Solas specifically mentions (after his Falon'Din story in ToM) that gods aren't easily killed implies that there must have been some sort of immensely elaborate plan to overthrow Mythal - but who has done that, for what reason and by what means, we're yet to find out, because we don't know anything at all about it.
I also don't think Mythal would react to Solas the way she did (or he reacted on revelation that some part of her still endures) in post-credit scene, nor she'd have wolf statues in his temples if he was just Dirthamen's follower, nor he'd be mentioned in the lore as frequently and in as important role as he was.
Yeah.... no. There's too little substance in this theory and it further complicates already complicated story. It's enough that Solas is implied to be ONE ancient elven god, much less two, or - god forbid - maybe even THREE.
<snip>
Well, I appreciate the stab at a reasoned argument instead of "I don't like this, therefore it isn't true." I believe existing evidence points to a certain conclusion, and you're certainly free to disagree. That said, I think you need to examine why Solas-as-Fen'Harel is associated with duality and balance: the black/white, yin/yang that you mention in your post. The two sides, the "fragments" he is composed of- Order and Chaos- point directly to both how he came to be and why. It's not as complicated as it seems (in fact, the core idea is remarkably simple and repeated fractally throughout the game) but the thesis-length post that digs into DA's cosmogony is going to have to wait until I have more than a few hours to pour into it.
For now, consider the problem from another angle: the loose ends that demand an alternative explanation if Solas-Fen'Harel was not represented as Dirthamen-Falon'din and thus had no connection to Falon'din's rebellion. What was Fen'Harel's purpose within the Pantheon at the time? What was his domain? What was his relationship to the Forgotten Ones? Why is Fen'Harel the only god not depicted as elvhen in the ToM mosaics? Why do only seven figures appear in the "Tevinter" bas reliefs? And so on.
While it's true that Solas' personal history is far from simple, piecing together a coherent alternative seems much more complicated to me.
Personally, I think the yin-yang symbolism has a lot more to due with Fen'Harel's inherent duality among the Pantheon. He was both a member of the traditional Pantheon, and the Forgotten Ones. He walked among bothe the dark and the light, he was both. A simpler interpretation. *shrugs*
Fascinating theories, here! And while the original post made for a very interesting read, I don't really but into the idea either. I think that, odds are, the Elvhen gods were seperate entities as we've seen them presented. Although, madrar, I'd be interested to see how you'd interpret the Great Betrayal? And the mirror comment we got from Cole? If you believe Sandal to be June and Sera Andruil, what does that mean for the fates of the gods?
Sorry if you've explained this elsewhere, but I'm curious! XD
Personally, I think the yin-yang symbolism has a lot more to due with Fen'Harel's inherent duality among the Pantheon. He was both a member of the traditional Pantheon, and the Forgotten Ones. He walked among bothe the dark and the light, he was both. A simpler interpretation. *shrugs*
Oh no, that's absolutely true! There's no conflict there: in the context of ancient Elvhen society the Pantheon is definitely Order and the Forgotten Ones Chaos. The DA universe is cyclical, however. Falon'din-Dirthamen's "birth" not only predates the Pantheon's shift from government to religion, but the actual creation of the Pantheon itself. I believe his role as Balance stems from a much older struggle: the primordial conflict between the Sun (Chaos) and Elgar'nan (Order). I won't get into how warped I believe Dalish myth to be on this point, but they describe Elgar'nan casting the Sun in to the Abyss of the Earth, after which Mythal rose from the sea and brokered peace. This peace, I think, was marked not just by the planting of the Tree of Peace (which became one of her symbols) but also by the creation of a being that literally brought the two sides together, a fragment of both Order and Chaos in one entity: Dirthamen-Falon'Din.
Dirthamen is Order. Deliberation. Stasis. Status quo.
Falon'Din is Chaos. Impulse. Action. Change.
As an aside, I think both aspects were originally in synchronous conscious control until Mythal relegated Falon'din to the fade as punishment for his part in inciting the failed rebellion. (A moment marked by the "Invasion" mosaic, as well as a pointer toward a plausible explanation for Dirthamen / Falon'din's -and later Dumat's- representation as a being with four arms: his body was a vessel for two integrated but still semi-independent entities.) Explaining the full reasoning behind the how and why would take a few paragraphs describing how Dirth and FD map to the left and right prefrontal cortex of a sentient being and the lateralization of brain function in evaluating matters of empathy and justice. =w= ...so let's just ignore that and admire Mother Earth'samazing parenting skills.
Although, madrar, I'd be interested to see how you'd interpret the Great Betrayal? And the mirror comment we got from Cole? If you believe Sandal to be June and Sera Andruil, what does that mean for the fates of the gods?
Do you mean why Fen'Harel sealed the gods away, and what happened to Arlathan? (Which mirror comment from Cole?) As for the fates of the Gods, that would have to be part of an absurdly long and tedious "How I Think the DA Universe Works" post that I'm desperately trying to avoid. TwT I keep hoping it'll somehow magically write itself.
I think you need to examine why Solas-as-Fen'Harel is associated with duality and balance: the black/white, yin/yang that you mention in your post. The two sides, the "fragments" he is composed of- Order and Chaos- point directly to both how he came to be and why. It's not as complicated as it seems (in fact, the core idea is remarkably simple and repeated fractally throughout the game) but the thesis-length post that digs into DA's cosmogony is going to have to wait until I have more than a few hours to pour into it.
Oh, it's not really complicated - it's even less complicated than what you make it to be; the implied duality is reflected in the structure of the world itself: Thedas and the Fade. They're two sides of the same coin - realm governed by immutable laws and realm governed by will and imagination. Order and chaos.
You don't really have to create complicated theories about Fen'Harel, when Solas himself seems to reflect the complicated nature of the world.
Besides, if Fen'Harel has been involved in wars and rebellion, he might have done either dark or morally grey things AS Fen'Harel, not as Falon'Din (didn't I mention already that Solas describes himself as hot-blooded and cocky in his youth?) - after all Solas mentions that he understands the necessity of war, therefore sometimes sad necessity to bring order through chaos. Heck, even if the whole Betrayal thing is way more complicated thing than it was originally implied and it was actually necessary to avoid worse disaster, it's still a deed that had fairly dark and chaotic consequences. It illustrates well a person who is not inherently either dark or bright (or chaotic/orderly), but one that still will do questionable things either if pushed to do it, or because somebody had to do it.
Another thing to consider - duality itself doesn't necessarily imply the possession of dark nature (or, to be more precise, giving in to it), but understanding of it. Yin Yang, after all, is the symbol of understanding of how opposite forces are actually complementary, connected and neither of them "good" or "evil" - and with that understanding enlightened people find balance and become wholesome.
For now, consider the problem from another angle: the loose ends that demand an alternative explanation if Solas-Fen'Harel was not represented as Dirthamen-Falon'din and thus had no connection to Falon'din's rebellion. What was Fen'Harel's purpose within the Pantheon at the time? What was his domain? What was his relationship to the Forgotten Ones? Why is Fen'Harel the only god not depicted as elvhen in the ToM mosaics? Why do only seven figures appear in the "Tevinter" bas reliefs? And so on.
But these questions can be answered, or at least attempted to be tackled, through myriad of ways! I mean, it's not like the "Fen'Harel-is-also-Falon'Din/Dirthamen" appears to be the only viable option - far from it.
What was Fen'Harel's purpose within the Pantheon at the time? / What was his domain?
- gods don't have to have specific roles to be gods. We have no idea what domain Forgotten Ones were and what was their domain, yet they were either viewed as gods or something close. Though, judging from available lore Fen'Harel appears to be an arbiter or mediator of sorts, as well as possibly someone who offered advice; maybe things he's learned while roaming the deepest recesses of the Fade, collecting knowledge forgotten even by ancient elves.
- one of the stories told in DA2, I think, mentions that Fen'Harel assisted gods in their time of need. He's been also known to offer advice to mortals/subjects when other gods refused to do so.
- last, but not least, in Temple Of Mythal, he is described as God of Rebellion. So it appears that this is one of his domains.
What was his relationship to the Forgotten Ones?
- both sides considered him one of theirs. Nowhere in any myth it is implied in any way that Falon'Din or Dirthamen has any sort of similar relationship; they were on side that apparently warred with Forgotten Ones.
Why is Fen'Harel the only god not depicted as elvhen in the ToM mosaics?
- if he was the kind of god who didn't want to be directly associated with Elvhen Pantheon, but someone who walks his own ways and only gets involved when such involvement is necessary - and nothing in lore or anywhere else clashes with such assumption - then this question is easily answered.
While it's true that Solas' personal history is far from simple, piecing together a coherent alternative seems much more complicated to me.
And I'm sorry to say, but claiming that he's Falon'Din is neither coherent, nor necessary - his story appears to be complicated as it is. We don't need to over-complicate it further, especially that we don't yet know many things either about his past or what happened to ancient elves and their gods.
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- last, but not least, in Temple Of Mythal, he is described as God of Rebellion. So it appears that this is one of his domains.
A God of Rebellion who had no part in Falon'din's rebellion? That doesn't strike you as... I don't know, a bit odd? You also carefully sidestep the problem of explaining Gatsi's mosaics, a critical piece of the overall picture.
I think we're just going to have to shake hands and go our separate ways, since there's no additional in-game evidence yet, and what currently exists isn't sufficient to convince you. There's no harm or foul, but there's also little gain in continuing to debate the same points.
I'd be interested to see how you'd interpret the Great Betrayal?
*nervous sweat*
Weirdly enough, I feel like I have much firmer footing with regard to primordial history than I do with events surrounding the Fall of Arlathan. @w@ I have a semi-plausible crackpot theory, but it takes a little bit of background to build up to it. Quick cut n' paste from earlier posts:
We start with the Spear of Andruil, the weapon mentioned in this codex. She "shook the radiance of the stars, divided them into grains of light (electrons) then stored them in a shaft of gold." The star reference can be traced to Elgar'nan's origin myth, which describes stars as the literal blood of the Sun, theoretical source of red lyrium. Taken together, this makes the codex description a plausible mythologization for what would be (in modern scientific terms) essentially a free-electron laser powered by red lyrium.
So this gives us a weapon of incredible destructive power in the hands of someone we know to be... uh, let's say "a bit unstable" when it comes to putting Big Hats in their place. (Reference Sera and Vercheil. Whether you let her off the leash or not, if you don't wrap up the conversation quickly, Harmond gets a viscerally bloody, not-entirely-sane takedown that continues until she's essentially mutilating a dead body. "Pulling punches" is not something Sera does, and the same likely holds for Andruil.)
To get back to the point, I believe a direct rebel attack on Arlathan immediately preceded its disappearance. I think Andruil's finger was on the trigger of this WMD, ready to smite Elgar'nan into the ground no matter the cost or consequences, and Fen'Harel, seeing she was on the brink of no return, had no choice but to take immediate action. Using a massive amount of power, he threw the attacking force, the defenders, and the Golden City itself into a frozen bubble of space-time deep beneath the earth- a similar situation to what we find in the Still Ruins, but on a much larger scale. Time couldn't be stopped entirely, but could be slowed to an almost immeasurable crawl, giving him time (-since, in theory, Falon'Din was still 'free' in the fade-) to find a way to stop the incipient carnage. It was a long shot, and perhaps it might have worked... but history suggests it didn't.
We know the Old Gods went silent around the time Corypheus and co broke into the Golden City, but pinning down exactly when is an important factor in figuring out why. Contemporary accounts from members of Corypheus' household suggest that the ritual was born of desperation to reinvigorate Tevinter's worship of the Old Gods which, though still a strong factor in Tevinter society, was flagging. Critically, that suggests that though the priesthood may not have had as much sway over the populace as they used to, or felt they should have, the Gods were still actively engaged with the world when they hatched their plan. Additionally, when Hawke wakes Corypheus, he calls out to Dumat and fully expects to be answered. This is a critical point. These bits and pieces of evidence, (bolstered by the Tevinter timeline the priests of Razikale leave in the Frostback Basin) seem to strongly suggest that it wasn't until after the attempt that the Old Gods went completely silent.
Just as our own meddling in the Still Ruins broke the holding spell there, it seems a strange coincidence that the Old Gods' sudden silence corresponds with the priests' theoretical arrival at the Golden City. Andruil's weapon, and the possibility that Arlathan was being held in a pre-apocalyptic moment frozen in time, gives us a possible reason for both the gods' silence and the "corruption" of the city itself. Consider the effect of a single femtosecond pulse from a laser as powerful as Andruil's weapon might have been.
It would have turned every metal surface black. Pitch black.
Permanently- not like a layer of carbon soot that could be rubbed off. Intense heat actually restructures the metal on a microscopic scale, creating an incredibly effective absorptive (instead of reflective) surface. This holds true for any metal, even though on an atomic level it's still entirely made of up whatever it was before- silver or aluminum or -of course- gold. Now, how much of the Golden City’s description was literal and how much was rhetoric is debatable, but as the greatest city of the Elvhen Empire, even if it were not literally entirely golden, it was probably liberally accented in a gaudy display of wealth and power. If a weapon like this was turned on the city, every living thing in its path would be obliterated, and every golden surface indelibly blackened.
So if Corypheus and co unwittingly 'popped the bubble' on their arrival, we have a plausible explanation for the Golden City being utterly black and empty- its physical inhabitants vaporized, all residual lyrium blighted by the energy source of the apocalyptic weapon that had been unleashed there. The rebel Old Gods, caught in the blowback, might have been thrown into a recuperative "slumber" state like that described in the myth of Fen'Harel and the Tree.
All of this seems... kind of possible? Still, I don't particularly like it, since every problem it unravels spawns ten more. If Arlathan and its attackers were sealed in a single pocket of space-time deep beneath the earth, why do Archdemons erupt from such widely disparate places in Thedas? Why do darkspawn have to dig to reach them? (ie: if the bubble had a dimensional aspect, and thus was overlaid on what was sheer rock, why wasn't popping it immediately fatal to the old gods' dragon vessels?) If Cory and Co's arrival triggered the release of the spell's effect, why weren't they obliterated with the rest of the city?
Adding to the confusion is the fact that the Abyss (pseudo-hell), the Fade (pseudo-purgatory), and the Void (pseudo-heaven) are referenced almost interchangeably at times. The Andrastean Chant seems to suggest that Corypheus and Co somehow managed to teleport themselves to the Void, seat of the Sun-as-Maker:
Above them, a river of Light, (the Milky Way) Before them the throne of Heaven, waiting, (the Maker's "empty throne" = Sun's physical vessel) Beneath their feet The footprints of the Maker, And all around them echoed a vast Silence. (Song of Creation = matter as energy, Silence = the void of space)
A mortal being could theoretically survive a visit to the Abyss, but the Void is another thing entirely. To me, this supports the idea that the ritual more likely deposited them into the Fade or the domain of the False Sun- the "fire at the heart of the World": the Abyss. But even if we sidestep the obliteration problem by assuming they entered the city's fade reflection and not its physical reality, how do we explain how their presence there could have had an effect on the "real" city? Everything we know about how the DA universe works suggests the opposite: that changing the physical world changes the Fade, not vice-versa. You can bend a funhouse mirror however you like, but it won't have any actual effect on the person it's reflecting.
Anyway! To summarize a way-too-long post: I don't know. TwT Fen'harel's "betrayal" and its potential connection to the fall of Arlathan is still pretty baffling to me. I think we're going to have to wait for more clues from Edmonton before a coherent picture comes together.
Cole: They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them...
I'm not certain, but I think he's talking about the Forgotten Ones. Consider the parallels to "Whispers Written in Red Lyrium":
We are here We have waited We have slept We are sundered We are crippled We are polluted We endure We wait We have found the dreams again We will awaken.
Elgar'nan has been using the Void as the Pantheon's Guantanamo since time immemorial, and it's worth noting that its first prisoner was the Sun- theoretical source of red lyrium. It seems possible, if not likely, that the Forgotten Ones imprisoned in the same space have become infected in the ages since. Given that, the mirror described is most likely Elgar'nan's eluvian, currently located in the (physical) Black City.
As for Solas' potential interest in waking them: these were his brothers in arms against the forces of Order during the first failed rebellion- and therefore potential staunch allies against the rising threat to come. Unfortunately, although Solas may be able to enter the Void without Elgar'nan's key (Dalish myth implies that he lifted a secret path from Andruil's mind) it would still require an incredible amount of power to do so.
This, I think, was the original purpose he had for Mythal's orb. Without it, I think he was left with two options: attempt to reclaim the Inquisitor's mark (which we know from "Justinia" would require her death- an apparently unthinkable option, given how abruptly he slams the door on Cole) or to sacrifice the last of Mythal's internal, self-sustaining power. DAI's final scene seems to reveal his choice, but whether the rest of this theory is accurate...
A God of Rebellion who had no part in Falon'din's rebellion? That doesn't strike you as... I don't know, a bit odd? You also carefully sidestep the problem of explaining Gatsi's mosaics, a critical piece of the overall picture.
I think we're just going to have to shake hands and go our separate ways, since there's no additional in-game evidence yet, and what currently exists isn't sufficient to convince you. There's no harm or foul, but there's also little gain in continuing to debate the same points.
That's true - there's not enough evidence to convince me, though I find it odd that you seem to be resistant to any evidence or logical assumption I present on the contrary.... or maybe I shouldn't be surprised at all. Eh, in the end we'll have to wait on the new game or DLC or any other additional story in different medium to figure out what's going on so... have at it.
Although I've gotta address these two things:
What strikes me as odd is that you a.) call Falon'Din's war a rebellion (if you pay attention, you'd note that Solas says that Falon'Din was so hungry for new followers began WARS - in plural), b.) assume that IF there was a rebellion, there was only one.
Why? I don't get it.
Why assume that there was only one war and one rebellion, when Solas, very straightforwardly tells us that elven gods were arrogant and fickle (more than JUST Falon'Din) and they warred with one another, had feuds and vendettas? (in short, he implied that there were numerous conflicts between them)
Sorry, but it's like thinking that in modern Thedas only one war can happen or it can be just one at the time - but mage-templar war and Civil War are a great example of conflicts that can happen alongside one another. And in the midst of it, the thwarted, but maybe still possible Orlesian elf uprising with Briala leading it (and in "The Msk Empire" there are numerous allusions that Briala may be doing things similar to what Fen'Harel had at his time).
Has it crossed your mind that perhaps elven gods/warlords were not really that different than emperors and kinds of human kingdoms? And that bleeding masses, who suffered the most because of their arrogant and fickle lords had enough, and united under Fen'Harel's banner, who himself might have had enough of what elvhen gods have been doing (at least some of them)?
It's a possibility. In fact I'd say that it's far more plausible possibility than thinking that Falon'Din's war for more worshipers might have been Fen'Harel's rebellion, which itself seems to be more about fighting with oppression - I couldn't think of two conflicts with two more opposite goals.
Also - Gatsi's mosaics are from early Tevinter. You seem to sidestep that fact. They're old, and many were likely reshaped, but nothing in them indicates that they're telling any story of elvhen gods, but that of seven magisters who invaded Golden City.
That's true - there's not enough evidence to convince me, though I find it odd that you seem to be resistant to any evidence or logical assumption I present on the contrary.... or maybe I shouldn't be surprised at all.
Hold up there. Nothing in your posts has involved presenting actual counter-evidence or logical flaws in the basic theory. To be charitable, the best I can say is that you've presented an alternative theoretical timeline for Fen'Harel that does not, unfortunately, adequately address aspects of in-game lore that the original theory does. Each consecutive post has essentially been a rehash of your original complaint: that the available evidence isn't sufficient to convince you that the thesis is correct.
And that's fine! There's nothing I can do about that.
However, claiming "there's not enough evidence to convince me, therefore you're wrong" is a far cry from pinpointing logical fallacies or presenting counter-indicative lore, either of which would actually be useful. It's not getting us any closer to the truth- it's just argument for argument's sake. Which, to be honest, is getting a little tedious.
What strikes me as odd is that you a.) call Falon'Din's war a rebellion (if you pay attention, you'd note that Solas says that Falon'Din was so hungry for new followers began WARS - in plural), b.) assume that IF there was a rebellion, there was only one.
Why? I don't get it.
*facepalms*
That's a lovely straw man, and if that assumption formed the basis for any part of this theory, you would be quite justified in challenging it. But I never claimed Falon'din's war was the only conflict involving the Pantheon before the fall of Arlathan. Clearly, that's unlikely to be the case. It is, however, the most significant conflict supported by historic record, and the fact that it provides a plausible explanation for Dirthamen's exile as the Dread Wolf makes it -to the topic at hand- far more relevant than the rest.
Also - Gatsi's mosaics are from early Tevinter. You seem to sidestep that fact. They're old, and many were likely reshaped, but nothing in them indicates that they're telling any story of elvhen gods, but that of seven magisters who invaded Golden City.
I never claimed Falon'din's war was the only conflict involving the Pantheon before the fall of Arlathan. Clearly, that's unlikely to be the case. It's simply the largest conflict for which we have multiple pieces of evidence in the historic record, and because it figures prominently in Solas' hypothetical timeline, that makes it -to the topic at hand- far more relevant than the rest.
It's one thing to call it "relevant", it's another to make a crackpot theory about Fen'Harel being Falon'Din at one point. The scenario in which Falon'Din's war might have been either a direct or indirect cause of Fen'Harel's rebellion (with them being two separate entities, mind you) STILL remains a way more plausible option.
I hate to brake it to you, but that's just another of your personal hypotheses. You can't just throw it at people with *facepalm* on it, without making yourself look silly. So far as we know these mosaics are Tevinter, or heavily re-shaped in some cases, in Tevinter - do they contain some information, maybe even about elvhen gods? Maybe, but I'm yet to find SOLID evidence on it.
I hate to brake it to you, but that's just another of your personal hypotheses. You can't just throw it at people with *facepalm* on it, without making yourself look silly. So far as we know these mosaics are Tevinter - do they contain some information, maybe even about elvhen gods? Maybe, but I'm yet to find SOLID evidence on it.
Of course you don't have to accept my hypothesis. You do, however, have to account for the fact that Gatsi's in-game explanation for the mosaics is blatant lore lampshading: full of inconsistencies, contradictions and hanging threads that demand an alternative explanation.
Unless what you're saying is that his version makes sense to you? In which case, honestly... we just need to shake hands and be done here. No hard feelings.
Of course you don't have to accept my hypothesis. You do, however, have to account for the fact that Gatsi's in-game explanation for the mosaics is blatant lore lampshading: full of inconsistencies, contradictions and hanging threads that demand an alternative explanation.
Unless what you're saying is that his version makes sense to you? In which case, honestly... we just need to shake hands and be done here. No hard feelings.
I never said Gatsi's in-game explanation is satisfying or not full of inconsistencies or hanging threads - but it's not like you're doing anything different. I applaud trying to interpret them on your own, it's not like I don't recognize the value of such speculations, but there's TOO much of free, unrestrained speculation there, not based or anything or on very little.
"Unrestrained speculation"? "Not based on anything"...?
*trails off into silent gestures of despair at all the codices and references*
I think we're just going to have to shake hands and go our separate ways, since there's no additional in-game evidence yet, and what currently exists isn't sufficient to convince you. There's no harm or foul, but there's also little gain in continuing to debate the same points.
"But Madrar," absolutely nobody argues,"if Solas-Dirthamen is Solas' waking self and Solas-Falon'Din is essentially his spirit, what happens in the Fade when he goes to sleep?"
Right. Good point. Glad you asked, because this is definitely where things get weird. Before we can talk about who's giving fade-tongue to who though, we need a little backtheory about how the emergence of the early elvish Pantheon seems to map to the development of sentient life.
Elgar'nan's domain governs the earliest, most basic processes of living creatures: the brain stem, neurologically. Awake/asleep, light/dark, alive/dead: these are the concerns of life at its most primitive. It's a stark, absolutely black and white world, and naturally, his elemental focus - electricity - suggests the spark of life itself. The Sun is next, and his domain is only slightly more advanced: the processes that govern the survival of the individual in an evolutionary context. Predation behavior, aggression, the will to dominate: all of the "selfish" instincts that promote and protect the individual. Mythal's domain comes next on the evolutionary scale: emotion, memory- functions of the midbrain that serve to modify or inhibit the "lower" directives that come from Elgar'nan and the Sun. And finally the creation of Dirthamen/Falon'Din, the right and left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, source of reason, planning, morality and the emergence of true sentience.
This progression is generally supported by Dalish mythology in game, with the exception of the father/son inversion of Elgar'nan and the Sun. Setting the question of Earth's seniority aside (since Her likely contribution to life was physical form- 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'-) Elgar'nan is the eldest of the Gods known to living beings, followed by the Sun, then Mythal (a fragment of Earth's spirit), and then Dirthamen-Falon'Din, said to be the "eldest" of Elgar'nan and Mythal's children.
Spoiler
As mentioned earlier, the "known to living beings" bit may be relevant. I think it's possible the Dalish myth of Elgar'nan's creation is the misremembered history (perhaps intentionally promoted by Elgar'nan) of an earlier conflict that preceded the creation of life, in which Elgar'nan battled his direct Order predecessor- a being whose domain we can intuit would likely have involved darkness and cold, aspects of the primordial Void.
Getting back to Dirthamen and Falon'Din, let's take a look at how they map to the cerebral cortex. Cut 'n paste from the Solas thread:
Spoiler
Dirthamen (who is dominant in the Solas we know) represents the left brain, where analytic processing takes place. Math, science, logic- these areas are where the left brain shines. More importantly, when it comes to morality, this side of the brain takes a deliberative, calculative view: the greatest good for the greatest number. The right side of the brain, Falon'din, processes social cues a bit differently. The left brain is empathetic- it understands emotional processing in others, and has an abstract view of morality. This is the side that would have pushed the combined self to take action when the Pantheon's rule over the People became an iron fist, and it was the side that was locked behind the veil when the rebellion failed. (Due to his domain and theoretical ability to use the Fade as a spiritual path between bodies like eluvians provide paths between places, Falon'din couldn't be punished with exile in abyssal form the way Dirthamen could be. Instead, he was imprisoned by Mythal and relegated permanently to the fade.)
When Dirthamen was released from the Void as Fen'Harel, I believe he was still connected to Falon'Din through the fade (aka, on a subconscious level) and thus we find F'H still represented in statuary as two halves: the loyal Hound (Order) and the howling Dread Wolf (Chaos). The Solas we know today is much the same. He is governed primarily by his right brain: the monosemantic, predeterministic, analytic self. That's not to say he's totally without connection to Falon'Din, however. Unless he's been painting in his sleep, the fact that Solas can express himself through art is a significant hint that he's not as completely divorced from his left brain as it might seem at first glance.
Still, a lot of the problematic character traits we see in Solas are directly related to "Dirthamen's" dominance. As I mentioned earlier, the left brain is monosemantic and predeterministic, which is just a complicated way of saying that once it believes it knows what a thing is, that is literally all it can be. Because the left brain handles the heavy lifting of analytic processing, it tends to cut corners where it can in terms of taking in new data from the outside world: it creates its own internal idea of how the world works, and references that instead. In many ways, the left brain is almost entirely disengaged from the reality of the world around it.
This is (kind of brilliantly) referenced in Solas' rant against an Assquisitor. Lines like "how entirely expected" are the essence of the predeterministic left brain. This tendency even surfaces with a friendly Inquisitor, since the Inquisitor's deviation from expectation comes as such a surprise. (As we know, it takes him forever to notice, and even then he treats the Inquisitor as a strange oddity- a unique blip in his conception of how the world works, rather than allowing external data to change his internal perspective.)
This is also apparent in the way Solas views other members of the Inquisition. Cassandra is often "Seeker"- her role literally stands in for who she is in his mind: his conception of her place in the universe. Verric is often simply "Child of the Stone". On a more romantic note, the same holds for "Vehnan". More obviously, this applies to his perspective during Cole's quest to become human- a position some felt to be out of character, but completely in line with the monosemantic nature of the left brain.
"This is not some fanciful story, Child of the Stone. We cannot change our nature by wishing."
To Solas, Cole simply is what he is -a Spirit of Compassion- and that is all that he can and should be. The thought that he would choose to be otherwise, and take action to literally make it so, is almost impossible for him to admit.
Bonus: as Solavellans can attest, the left neocortex also has a prominent role in romantic love: it makes the left ACC and AI light up like a Christmas tree. What it can't do very well is judge how the other person is feeling, sense pain in others, or react properly in an emotional context. ...so, yeah. Sounds pretty familiar.
Wait, wait. Does this mean my Lavellan fell in love with Solas-Dirthamen, but got fade-tongue from Solas-Falon'Din?
It's... possible. There are a few potential options when we consider the current relationship between the two, and there's not much definitive evidence one way or the other yet. One possibility is that their connection was almost fully restored when Dirthamen was released as Fen'Harel- or as close as it could be without allowing Falon'Din to reenter the waking world. The shrine we find in game is a somewhat hopeful sign, given that it's flanked by a pair of wolves, one light, one dark, that are given equal prominence.
On the opposite side of the optimism spectrum, we may be dealing with two entities that developed entirely distinct identities, perspectives, and (most worryingly) goals during their separation, and that continue to work at odds in the modern day. Going back to neurology, some patients with debilitating epilepsy find a degree of relief having the main connection between the right and left hemispheres of their brain surgically severed. This helps to interrupt the 'wildfire' spread of seizure signals from one side of the brain to the other, making attacks significantly less damaging. There can be significant side-effects to this surgery, though- ones that are often bizarre and somewhat unexpected. To a degree, each half of the brain continues to function as an independent individual.
For example, because motor control is mirrored functionality, each hemisphere controls the opposite half of the body. Sometimes the right hand literally doesn't know what the left hand is doing. In one famous example, a patient attempting to select clothing for the day would select a shirt with one hand, but be unable to stop the other from tugging it out of his grasp and throwing it on the floor. Another patient would button up his shirt with one hand while the other followed, unbuttoning. Or one leg would refuse to go on a walk- only allowing the patient to move if he turned back toward his house. As before, the "self" we usually recognize as valid is the one able to communicate with the outside world: by default, the left side of the brain with its language-processing areas. (And again, as expected, Dirthamen-Solas occupies the waking world while Falon'Din-Solas is relegated to the relative silence of the Fade.) This laterality is swapped in some patients, however. And in a very few, both sides have a limited degree of language processing. In one such instance, the experimenter asked each side separately "what do you want to be when you grow up?" ...and got two entirely different answers.
So potentially we have a being fundamentally at odds with itself. An interesting phenomenon in human neurology, but a rather dangerous possibility for a God. And though we don't have much to work from, there is limited in-game evidence for concern. The first item is one of Cole's movie references: "He hunts the killer, but he's the one who killed her. He can't remember." The real-world reference is to Memento of course, but a plausible in-game "he" would be Solas-Dirthamen, which gives us two likely possibilities for "her". It could be a reference to Mythal during the fall of Arlathan, whose (possibly willing, possibly not) death may have been the required sacrifice that powered Fen'Harel's desperate space-time gambit. Alternatively, "she" could be Andraste, her death coordinated by Solas-Falon'Din's hypothetical influence on Maferath in pursuit of balance: a stable, sustainable outcome to the Andrastean revolution. In either case, modern Dirthamen-Solas would lack personal memories of these pseudo-betrayals, since in the former his OGS subsequently passed through the veil when Dumat was slain and was cleansed, and in the latter (given their theoretical disassociation) he would have been unaware of Falon'Din's actions.
The second in-game reference that makes me raise an eyebrow is Mythal's advice to Hawke in DA2.
"Take care not to cling to [regret], to hold it so close that it poisons your soul."
Regret is something Solas knows well. As he advises the Inquisitor, "There are few regrets sharper than watching fools squander what you sacrificed to achieve", which is exactly what he's endured time and again through the ages. If regret "poisons the soul", it seems possible events in the waking world have had a tremendous negative effect on his spirit. The idea of Solas-Falon'Din as a Dorian-Grey-esque reflection, twisted and vengeful, is an interesting one. Still, if we assume Cole is aware of both aspects of Solas' dual existence, the fact that he doesn't run away screaming is fairly heartening and does quite a bit to discredit Evil Falon'Din theory.
A third possibility lies somewhere between reconnection and total dissociation. Though a direct line of communication may not have been restored, Dirthamen-Solas could have a dim awareness of Falon'Din-Solas, perhaps as "nudges" from his subconscious mind or as the voice of his conscience. This too, is unsatsifying however- since we know that waking Solas has access to an enormous wealth of knowledge gleaned from his time in the fade. The personal manner in which he describes his experiences seems to directly contradict this option, and should thus be discarded.
Given the information we have, the first option seems most likely: two halves that are neither completely distinct nor entirely the same- just as you or I would be if our respective right or left hemisphere were granted near-complete dominance in a given context. I think the Solavellan dream sequence gives us a fair amount of evidence that they remain slightly different, with strengths and weaknesses that map to their respective domains, yet remain part of the same whole.
Armed with the knowledge that humor and emotion are primarily right-brain processes, watch how often Solas smiles or laughs during the dream, and note the multiple approval boosts for picking a joking or sarcastic response. Evaluate the unusual intensity of feeling his voice carries throughout, how vividly he describes his fear and frustration, and how broadly pessimistic his memory of those early days is. "You were never going to wake up- how could you?" "I had no faith in Cassandra... nor she in me. I was ready to flee." As well as the way he describes his decision to stay: "I told myself... one more attempt to seal the rifts."
Optimistic left-brain Solas-Dirthamen literally talking pessimistic right-brain Solas-Falon'Din into the idea... or just a metaphor?
There may actually be little difference between the two, as it is with most of us. (Who hasn't talked themselves into or out of something?) After all, being "of two minds" about something doesn't infer an fundamental rift in your sense of self. I think Solas-Dirthamen and Solas-Falon'Din are both essentially Solas. And in that light, describing Falon'Din as "stealing" Lavellan's first kiss is almost as silly as blaming "Sleepy Madrar" for ruining her diet with a piece of midnight pizza. =w=
Still, though waking Solas seems well aware of the dream's events, their after-dream conversation does suggest he wasn't entirely in control of his Fade-self's actions. I always thought his tone was a bit odd, but given the full context, his actual intent may have been to chastise his impulsive, quick-to-act half (Solas-Falon'Din), not the Inquisitor.
S: "The kiss was impulsive and ill-considered, and I should not have encouraged it."
L: "If I'm pressuring you..."
S: "No, you are not. I am perhaps pressuring myself."
This tendency to refer to internal conflict as if between his conscious self and another party continues after the Solavellan break-up:
S: "I understand your anger. I am furious with myself as well."
Ménage à trois weirdness aside, the important point in all of this is that (for an avatar of Balance) modern Solas is still distressingly lopsided. In his own words, "I have observed too much and done too little". So long as Falon'Din remains relegated to the Fade, it's not certain Solas can be restored to a truly integrated whole, which could bode poorly for Thedas' ability to counter the resurgent threat of Order.
This, I believe, could be where a romanced Lavellan (who represents a willingness to take action and promote change) could act as Solas-Dirthamen's Anima in a Jungian sense. Her nature is close to that of his Shadow, and so in embracing her, Solas comes closer to once again embracing that side of himself. This perspective seems reinforced by the two ultimate versions of his tarot card. In the unromanced version, the mage figure is dwarfed into near-insignificance by the towering black Dread Wolf (Dirthamen), while in the romanced version, the white wolf (Falon'Din) is present in its place, possibly acting as a guide or tugging him back from the step he seems about to take into the Void.
So potentially we have a being fundamentally at odds with itself. An interesting phenomenon in human neurology, but a rather dangerous possibility for a God. And though we don't have much to work from, there is limited in-game evidence for concern. The first item is one of Cole's movie references: "He hunts the killer, but he's the one who killed her. He can't remember." The real-world reference is to Memento of course, but a plausible in-game "he" would be Solas-Dirthamen, which gives us two likely possibilities for "her". It could be a reference to Mythal during the fall of Arlathan, whose (possibly willing, possibly not) death may have been the required sacrifice that powered Fen'Harel's desperate space-time gambit. Alternatively, "she" could be Andraste, her death coordinated by Solas-Falon'Din's hypothetical influence on Maferath in pursuit of balance: a stable, sustainable outcome to the Andrastean revolution. In either case, modern Dirthamen-Solas would lack personal memories of these pseudo-betrayals, since in the former his OGS subsequently passed through the veil when Dumat was slain and was cleansed, and in the latter (given their theoretical disassociation) he would have been unaware of Falon'Din's actions.
It's very interesting when you mentioned Andraste and Maferath, what with his betrayal creating a stable and sustainable outcome for Andraste's rebellion, the following banter between Solas and Sera came to mind...
Solas: Once you have the aristocracy weakened, Sera, you will have to redirect your lieutenants.
Sera: Oh, this again. All right, what am I doing?
Solas: Some of your forces, valuable until now, have no interests beyond creating disruption. Chaos for its own sake. They must be repositioned where they can do no harm, or removed if necessary. You replace them with organizers willing to build a new system and carry out the ugly work that must be done.
Sera: What? Why? What ugly work?
Solas: That is up to you. Do you wish to disrupt the nobility, secure a title? Or change the political structure entirely?
Sera: None of it! I don't want any of that!
It struck me then, as it strikes me now, that Solas is very much of a Stalinist as opposed to a Trotskyist in terms of his political methodology, eschewing the idea of Permanent Revolution in favor of pragmatic political and bureaucratic realities. When Solas speaks of 'ugly work', bloody ice-picks spring to mind...
If your theory holds true, and indeed if Solas was linked to Shartan, this all makes even more sense. WoT V2 seems to imply there is some kind of connection...
Some scholars debate whether Shartan was a single elf or instead many seeking freedom under the title of "Shartan," or even truly real, as many aspects of his Canticle are similar to ancient elven folktales of a trickster warrior rebelling against tyrants.
What makes this sad then, is the realization that if this all is true, then Solas is the kind of companion that sells his friends out for "The Greater Good" and while he may regret his actions, he'll rationalize and justify them. It's very probable given the hints around Shartan and Andraste (especially that they may have been lovers) that he has done this before, and through some of the hints between himself and the Quizzy it implies he fully expects/expected to do so again, although he confesses the Quizzy is not what he expected.
Another little tidbit from WoT V2 is the following regarding Shartan:
Scholars question whether the true location of the elven rebellion lay in Vol Dorma or elsewhere, such as the cities of Marnas Pell, Hasmal, Marothius or Solas. All these locations suffered from slave revolts and the Tevinter famine.
My brain is humming with things I need to work through... Bravo on this whole thread, though, which yes I read all of it. I need some tea and a quiet corner to think now. But this is so going to be a Doctor Who thing, where myself, and other more brilliant people come up with 100 really spectacular and elegant theories, to be tossed out with a much more simple, and boring answer. Or not? I'm still making my way through the books/comics/replays, so I haven't yet formed my own (legible) thoughts, but I really hope some of this ends up being true.
When I found the codex about their separation and the deer, I think that's what really nudged my senses to think...hmmm...
"The legends of Dirthamen and Falon’Din may have been an allegory for complex elven relationships we lack context to comprehend."
I'd say so... Anyway, I want to believe this, so... isn't that enough? Maybe I have just been so in it (Solas, Elven pantheon, etc) that my brain clicked into a position it considered suitable and there you go.
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