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[phishface]

I wish I could say I'm the first to come up with this theory, but I can't. Geek Remix got there many months ago. All I can say is that I might have found some more connections, particularly relating to the mysterious Awiergan Scrolls.

 

Shartan

 

Shartan, also known as 'The Liberator', was the leader of the elven slaves who rebelled against Tevinter.

 

He's encountered in DA2, in the Fade, and looks like this:

 

 

In Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, it is said that "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."

 

Here's Shartan and Solas next to each other. Note the key.

 

 

 

Hybris

 

Hybris is an ancient personification of pride, or "pride unbound". It appears in DA2 as the climax of the Awiergan Scrolls quest line.

 

The name Hybris derives from the Greek word 'hubris', meaning "excessive pride towards or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis". The name Solas means 'pride' in Elvish.

 

When Hybris is defeated, he drops loot including a sword called Glandivalis. That sword originally belonged to Shartan.

 

Before the battle, Hybris says: “Horrors are pieces, slivers of greater crimes. I am pride with reason. I enslave the whims and wyrds, the dreams from the other side of the Veil. Face me! Face everything!” This may remind you of the kind of thing Solas says about demons. Note also the reference to "greater crimes".

 

The Awiergan Scrolls

 

Other loot dropped during the Awiergan Scrolls quests also suggests a link to the ancient elves, including the Girdle of the Elders.

 

The Awiergan quest involves releasing something old and dangerous from ancient bindings. Whatever it was, it was split into three parts. Once the three parts are 'unbound', you face Hyrbis. The codices are obscure, but can be read here, here, and here.

[Hydwn]

Neat catch!  I hadn't noticed that.  I suspect Andraste's history in the Imperium is going to come up at some point in DA4, so maybe this will as well.

 

The one serious problem with this, though, is that Solas was by all accounts asleep at this time.  He could communicate through dreams apparently, as he wandered the Fade in his sleep.  I could certainly seeing him inspiring Shartan, however - some prodding in dreams to encourage him to take up the rebellion.

[phishface]

There's also this dialogue between Solas and Sera. It shows that Solas is experienced at running an insurgency/terrorist organisation, which could come from his time with the ancient elves, or Tevinter, or both.

 

• Solas: I heard about your organization, Sera. I am impressed.
• Sera: Is this a trick?
• Solas: Hardly. But it is an opportunity. You have already divided your group's membership. That is wise. No one cell can betray all your secrets. The next step is to establish a rhythm. When your enemies pursue, you vanish. When they become complacent, you harass them. When they are weak, you strike in earnest.

• Sera: Where d'you get all this, then?
• Solas: Do you wish to be unnerved by another tale of my explorations of the Fade? Or do you wish to learn something?
• Sera: I don't know. Neither?

x

• 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!

x

• Solas: I do not understand you, Sera. You do not have an end goal for your organization.
• Sera: Nobles get rattled, and people get payback. I play in the middle.
• Solas: Why not go all the way? You see injustice. And you have organized a group to fight it. Don't you want to replace it with something better?
• Sera: What, just lop off the top? What does that do, except make a new top to frig it all up?
• Solas: I...forgive me. You are right. You are fine as you are.
• Sera: You hurt my head sometimes, Solas.
• Solas: Yes, I have been known to do that.

[Big I]

Was Shartan in DA2? I know he was in DA:O, as a spirit in the Gauntlet.

 

I think Shartan was a real person who gets conflated occasionaly with Fen'Harel because of their similarities. No one else in the Chant is considered to be an allegorical figure, not even disciples like Havard.

[SandiKay0]

Shartan may have been someone like Fellassen(sp?), another ancient elf who was part of Solas' rebellion.

[Reznore57]

It seems Shartan was a normal elf but elves who probably had vague memory of their past , linked him and the old story of Fen Harel.Not the bad trickster one the Dalish knew , the noble rebel part lost to time.

[Wahed89]

I think it's possible that shartan was not a real person but a group, just based on that same theory being repeated in Dragon age.

He resembles Solas because I think it was probably his agents that inspired the movement, and so they used his symbolism. It's not directly linked to the dread wolf because it was too Elvhen for that racist society to accept. This we have Shartan.

Andraste was much like the inquisitor, a symbolic figure that could be used by a group to push forward a movement (rather like Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games). Then it was "Shartan" and now it is the "Inquistion".

At least that's my theory of it turns out Shartan wasn't a real individual.

[Mr.House]

I think Solas inspired Shartan when he was dreaming since we know Solas was walking the fade as he slept.

[Wahed89]

I think we'll definitely find out the truth in DA4. The fact the chronicles of Shartan are referenced in the trespasser epilogue shorts shows Shartan and his/their history is very relevant.

[Statare]

I really hope not. Shartan is like one of the only prominent Elf character in-between the fall of Arlathan and the founding of the Dales, and is even, arguably, more prominent than any elf character of the Dales. If he's just another Felassan and we find more of such characters... ugh. It would be more interesting if Shartan was simply inspired by old legends and we can use Shartan and his rebellion as fuel for the "this world is worth saving" mission in regards to Solas. Felassan types end up just being alternate stand ins for Solas, as basically Felassan in TME is Solas down to a T, and his betrayal of his master when discovering this world is real is exactly what happens to Solas over the course of Inquisition, and it becomes formulaic writing and completely repetitious. 

 

Please BioWare, don't reduce a plethora of actors and individuals to a handful of puppet masters. It also makes Solas look really incompetent and inconsistent. Incompetent because if he can organize a revolution while sleeping, why could he not organize for his orb to be safely unlocked? Inconsistent because prior to the Inquisition he thought everyone were just Tranquils, not real people apparently, and he just wanted to wake up and kill them all. Unless he just wanted to free the Elves so he'd have more freedom for his agents... but that seems so obnoxious.

 

If every single thing about Elven history after the fall of Arlathan is some shadow/misremembering of the past or some ancient figure pulling strings, then it reinforces this idea that Elves have to go back to go forward, which is counter productive to going against Solas plans. I'm really hoping we learn about more Ameridan types. Elves trying to move forward. I hope Shartan has no direct connection to Solas.

[Aren]

They all are bald?

[Gervaise]

It may have been a red herring introducing that window.  Or they were trying to draw attention to something else; the Canticle of Shartan, which you can find in full in WoT2.   In the introduction to it, apparently scholars have noted that it bears similarities to an older elven folktale about a trickster warrior who helps the people fight against tyrants.   The Canticle wasn't written down until the early years of the Chantry and the scholars suggest that Shartan may have been just a honorific title given to any rebel leader because they seem to have been a number of elven uprisings simultaneous to Andraste's crusade.   However, the Dalish definitely recognise Shartan as an individual and historic figure, which seems borne out by the shade in the Shrine.

  

My own theory is that Shartan used the older folktale to inspire his followers and as his own history was passed down it became embellished by the old folktale.  Suggest going to read the Canticle in WoT2 because if you substitute the name of Fen'Harel for Shartan, Mythal for Andraste and Arlathan for Minrathous, you could possibly be reading of the war waged by Mythal and Fen'Harel against the other evanuris.    There is a particular line where the prophet gives Shartan the sword and says "Take this my champion, and free our people forever".    The use of the word "forever" seems a bit odd from one human mortal to an elven one but not from one immortal elf to another. 

 

If it is then it is rather ironic, if you have Divine Leliana, that she reinstates the Canticle of Shartan at precisely the time that Fen'Harel becomes a threat.   But then may be Leliana knows more than we realise.

 

Would also point out that nothing in the Chant concerning the last part of Andraste's crusade bears any resemblance to the true events, which is why I don't think the Canticle of Shartan does either.

[In Exile]

<p>

There's also this dialogue between Solas and Sera. It shows that Solas is experienced at running an insurgency/terrorist organisation, which could come from his time with the ancient elves, or Tevinter, or both.

• Solas: I heard about your organization, Sera. I am impressed.
• Sera: Is this a trick?
• Solas: Hardly. But it is an opportunity. You have already divided your group's membership. That is wise. No one cell can betray all your secrets. The next step is to establish a rhythm. When your enemies pursue, you vanish. When they become complacent, you harass them. When they are weak, you strike in earnest.

• Sera: Where d'you get all this, then?
• Solas: Do you wish to be unnerved by another tale of my explorations of the Fade? Or do you wish to learn something?
• Sera: I don't know. Neither?

x

• 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!

x

• Solas: I do not understand you, Sera. You do not have an end goal for your organization.
• Sera: Nobles get rattled, and people get payback. I play in the middle.
• Solas: Why not go all the way? You see injustice. And you have organized a group to fight it. Don't you want to replace it with something better?
• Sera: What, just lop off the top? What does that do, except make a new top to frig it all up?
• Solas: I...forgive me. You are right. You are fine as you are.
• Sera: You hurt my head sometimes, Solas.
• Solas: Yes, I have been known to do that.

That dialogue isn't just about the insurgency - it's about his worldview. Solas views the whole thing as a means to an end: a new world order. Sera is cynical about power - she thinks a new world order just means a new form of exploitation.

[phishface]

What poor Sera doesn't understand is that if you kill everyone with power, the powerless will eventually rise to power and the next cycle of oppressors appears. History has shown this again and again, the oppressed ALWAYS come to new oppressors, it might take a decade or a century, but it's inevitable.

 

Can you even read!? That's exactly the point 'poor Sera' is making in the quotation directly above your post.

[TheBlackAdder13]

Can you even read!? That's exactly the point 'poor Sera' is making in the quotation directly above your post.

 

Yeah, Sera understands this perfectly. It's egghead who has trouble grasping this concept. 

[Jandi]

Can you even read!? That's exactly the point 'poor Sera' is making in the quotation directly above your post.

 

I misred a line or 2 somewhere, oh well.

 

No need to start foaming at the mouth.