6 réponses à ce sujet

[Cyrus Amell]

Dalish tattoos are known as Vallaslin which translates roughly to mean blood writing. A conversation between Merril and Fenris confirms why this is the case:

• Fenris: Why are you watching me like that?
• Merrill: You have vallaslin. The same markings that the Dalish have.
• Fenris: Yours are not made of lyrium.
• Merrill: No, they're made of blood. Our blood. That's what vallaslin means: blood writing. It's a mark of adulthood.
• Fenris: Mine were carved into my flesh against my will, in a ritual I remember only for the agony it caused me.
• Merrill: I'm... so sorry.

 

Ignoring for a moment that Fenris is a total ass to Merrill, we can thus surmise that the blood of a Dalish elf (likely the one to receive the tattoo) is drawn and then mixed to create the dye for the tattoo.

 

Now, I am neither a certified tattoo artist nor a hematologists but it strikes me that most blood (including elven blood) is red upon exiting the body and being exposed to oxygen which would thus affect the color of the dye for any tattoo. And yet, we see Dalish elves throughout the series with green and blue tattoos and even a depiction in the concept art of a rather fanatical light blue tattoo in the Vallaslin section of the Dragon Age Wiki.

 

My question is how, precisely, would a Keeper (who traditionally applies the blood writing) be able to bring about such an outcome when the base ingredient is blood? Could the amount of blood used be limited as needed?

 

Most Dalish elves have their tattoo in a dark color, such as Merrill, the kind of color that one would expect from a dye made with blood. For my Dalish Inquisitor, who I made with a dark skin tone, I figured the Keeper would opt for a brighter color (yellow) lest a more subdued tone would result in another Dalish camp mistaking my Lavellan for some armed flat eared bandit from a distance and shooting him with arrows. So close to Tevinter, where elves sell other elves into slavery, this might actually be something that could happen. 

 

The player naturally has access to a wide array of tattoo colors never before seen on other Dalish, so I was just wondering about this issue on my own Lavellan Inquisitor. 

[Evil Asch]

I don't think it's that weird, tattoos made with ink IRL bleed while they're being applied. I think Merril is being metaphorical / loosely accurate. The Keeper or whoever applies the tattoos may use blood as a liquid agent in the dyes but the color of the dye would likely will out since any blood injected into the skin is likely to dissipate over time or be reabsorbed into the system and the damaged / dead cells excreted normally.

[AlleluiaElizabeth]

I don't think it's that weird, tattoos made with ink IRL bleed while they're being applied. I think Merril is being metaphorical / loosely accurate. The Keeper or whoever applies the tattoos may use blood as a liquid agent in the dyes but the color of the dye would likely will out since any blood injected into the skin is likely to dissipate over time or be reabsorbed into the system and the damaged / dead cells excreted normally.

I agree that you'd think that actual blood, especially your own blood, would be reabsorbed over time by your body, like the blood in a bruise is. I suppose that the right additional agents (oils/herbs/whatever) could slow that process by coating the blood cells and making them harder to absorb? But, from what I understand, even regular tattoo ink fades and dulls eventually and needs to be reapplied to bring the brightness back. So maybe vallaslin are reapplied  as well, if tattoo brightness is a concern.

 

As for dye colors, I'd agree with the OP's idea that perhaps the ratio of blood to other ingredients in a given dye would vary depending on the color you were aiming for. Also, since its the iron in the blood that makes it red when it hits air (and darker red/blackish with prolonged exposure) then perhaps there are dye agents that react with iron and result in different colors? I can't think of any examples off hand. My chemistry is generally good, but not that extensive.  

 

Another thought is maybe the Dalish let the blood settle, or they centrifuge it somehow, so that the plasma in the blood separates out. That's a pale yellow liquid (from what I remember from labs), composed mostly of clotting agent and water. Maybe then they just use that in the ink mix. I think that might be easier to dye given its base color. Also it might make the ink stay longer since its composed largely of platelets and may be slower to be reabsorbed. 

 

And the third idea is that the ink is magically enchanted and that whatever spell the keeper casts on it effects the color. I think there was something somewhere about innate magic possibly effecting a new mage's eye color, right? So effecting pigment of blood instead of pigment in the iris is prolly possible, too. Also, is it set in stone that it has to be a Keeper who applies the vallaslin? Cus requiring magic in the ceremony would explain why.

[Cyrus Amell]

I completely forgot about how the dye would in time dissipate. Blood would probably be absorbed much more quickly, which would explain why the Dalish can have tattoos of light green and blue because one need not worry about overpowering the red form the blood.

 

And of course, magic solves everything. 

[AlleluiaElizabeth]

I completely forgot about how the dye would in time dissipate. Blood would probably be absorbed much more quickly, which would explain why the Dalish can have tattoos of light green and blue because one need not worry about overpowering the red form the blood.

 

 

So you're thinking the blood component of the blood writing just gets entirely reabsorbed after a while, leaving just the dye behind?

[Illegitimus]

The blood is probably only in there for a ceremonial purpose.  

[Avatiach]

well the fact they use blood for this doesn't mean they can't mix it with other ingidiantes to create different colours, and it is in fact very likely what they do which would explain the different colours.

 

what i'm more curious about, is do they use needles or magic to make th tattoos permenent? probably magic