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[Gervaise]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I can't seem to find the thread, so it must have been some time ago.  I've been wondering how Merrill would react to the revelations about Solas being the Dread Wolf and his plans for the world.   I play a Dalish Inquisitor, so having disbanded the Inquisition, he is going to be based in the new estate given him by Varric in Kirkwall.   This will naturally mean he would want to visit Merrill and help her with efforts on behalf of the elves there, which means he will also be discussing things he discovered during the course of his time as Inquisitor.   What I am trying to figure out is whether or not she would be opposed to Fen'Harel or one of those rushing off to support him.

 

I like to think that if Lavellan tells her how Solas' plans are going to involve the death of the races to bring back the old world of the elves, she would be as committed to stopping him as Lavellan is.   However, I do wonder because during DA2 there were times she did seem to have an almost fanatical determination to restore her people to what they once were.

 

When we go into the Fade to rescue Feynriel, she easily succumbs to temptation by the pride demon because she says "she cannot put her friendship with Hawke above her duty to her people".    I generally end up rivalled with her because of her insistence on stopping at nothing to restore her eluvian and her persistent use of blood magic, even if it doesn't harm anyone but herself.   Her attitude to demons/spirits is that they are dangerous but nevertheless her attitude towards them does seem more in keeping with Solas' and of course he does not condemn blood magic outright but only when it is being used for purposes of which he does not approve.   She has a fascination with any ancient magic and rituals, actually approving if you make a sacrifice at the alter of Dumat in Legacy, which surprised me since the old gods had assisted in the destruction of Arlathan.

 

Then there is the business of her eluvian.   I didn't notice it in the Crossroads myself but people are saying that they specifically saw her eluvian there, proving she did succeed in mending it.    If this was the case and not simply another eluvian that looked like it, then when Solas took control of the eluvian network he could even have visited Merrill if he so wished and recruited her as a agent.   Now he might not have been as specific about the affects of his plan as he was to the Inquisitor but even if he was, do you think he would have succeeded in swaying her to his cause?    Even if he did not, the epilogue has many elves leaving from across Thedas to join the Dread Wolf, so he must have some way of contacting and recruiting them and has had 2 years from the fall of Corypheus to do so, before revealing his plan to the Inquisitor.

 

So how do you think Merrill will react?

[ComedicSociopathy]

Merrill's generally a good person and while she can be quite cavalier when it comes to bringing back elven history I can't see going with Solas's plan once she's had it explained to her. Merrill has way to many non-elven friends that she'd hate to lose and finding out about how the gods she worshiped were insane tyrants might end up turning her off from pursuing anymore ancient elven lore entirely. Anyways, I'd imagine (and hope) that she just stays in Kirkwall and keeps helping the city elves there. 

 

Honestly, the only elven companion I'd see going along with Solas with full knowledge of what he intends to do would be Velanna, and only maybe. 

[AnimalBoy]

I'd hope that Merrill would blast Solas right in the face.

[Patchwork]

We don't know what Solas is telling the elves that join him, for some that elves will be on top again will outweigh the cost but I don't think Merrill is one of them.

 

She might join up initially, especially as Varric doesn't seem inclined to to tell her the full truth, but I don't think she's hardliner enough to stay with him once she learns Solas plans to kill everyone including the elves. 

[dgcatanisiri]

Oh, Varric would tell her as much as he could - he looks out for his family, and Merrill's part of that circle. Which means that she would probably blast Solas's egg on sight. Rather than help the Dalish reclaim what they can, he would tear it all down, killing everyone, the people she loves, just because 'it's not right, I'm going to turn back the clock and do it over again.'

 

If anything, Merrill knows what it is to fight for others who can't. The Dalish beliefs probably suggest putting the clan's well-being above their own. Why wouldn't she be willing to fight for and die to stop the plans of the Dread Wolf?

[Pokemario]

Oh, Varric would tell her as much as he could

 

He doesn't seem very inclined to do so...

[Nimlowyn]

When Hawke pursues Hadriana with Fenris you come across an altar where a person has been sacrificed to fuel Hadriana's blood magic. If Merrill is with you, she reacts in horror, "They sacrifice the unwilling?" 

 

As much as Merrill wants to restore elven culture, I don't think she would sacrifice countless unwilling innocents to do it. I think she is too compassionate to go that far. 

 

That's my $0.02.

[AnimalBoy]

Regardless of the nature of their relationship, (Friend/Partner) It's pretty safe to assume that Merrill's allegiance is now with Hawke.

[myahele]

Regardless of the nature of their relationship, (Friend/Partner) It's pretty safe to assume that Merrill's allegiance is now with Hawke.

 

Unless you killed her

 

... then again death has never stopped anyone from returning

[ThePhoenixKing]

Yeah, there's no way Merrill would ever support Solas. Besides having so many non-elven friends, and recognizing that Solas would destroy most of the existing elves to bring about his perfect world, there's also the fact that while she is a blood mage, she does have solid ethical boundaries that she wouldn't be willing to cross. After all, she's never controlled anyone's mind, never used any blood for her spells but her own, and is even willing to stand up for Anders and Fenris, two men who have rarely shown her any kindness. Merrill's simply too compassionate to buy into his nonsense, and after what happened to Marethari, there's no way she'd walk into any situation blindly in the future.

[Gervaise]

Glad to hear the majority opinion is that Merrill would support my Lavellan against Solas.  The reason I asked was that, based off everything he said in the main game, I would never have thought Solas capable of carrying through with a plan that would result in such wholesale death and destruction, particularly after he had got to know so many people personally whilst with the Inquisition, yet it would seem I was wrong, no matter how much he declares his "regret" over what he plans to do. 

 

So it had shaken my trust a bit and I wondered if it was just wishful thinking that Merrill would reject Solas' restoration of the elves.   I am writing my own bit of fan fiction (purely for myself) where my Lavellan has asked to be introduced to Merrill because he wants her aid in saving the elves, both city and Dalish, from doing something stupid, whilst simultaneously trying to give them a better future to look forward to.   Mind you, I think the number of things he will be revealing to her will pretty much blow her mind.   Unlike Varric he doesn't intend hiding the truth from her, even if it isn't pleasant.    You can't make an informed choice if you don't have all the facts.   It will be helpful to have someone on side who has had a similar upbringing to himself as they can better understand his own difficulty in coming to terms with the revelations.

[In Exile]

It's not clear that Solas's plan will have a happy ending for the elves that are currently alive, either. We know he wants to remove the Veil to re-create the world that he locked away, and that this will lead to a lot of death. That doesn't necessarily mean the elves that live today will be spared - and while he wants to "save" them in the sense of restoring them to what they were, that doesn't exactly translate to keeping them alive. 

[Gervaise]

I've never doubted that the modern elves will die along with the other races, though I would still object to his plan even if he had assured me they wouldn't.   The things is that elves generally have it so bad across Thedas, they might well go along with his plan because they don't care so long as somewhere along the line elves are going to benefit.    He states he is going to restore the world of the elves and an awful lot of elves seem to be joining him.   May be he hasn't told them the likely outcome for them or may be he has and they still support him because ultimately it will bring back elven greatness.    When you've been kicked around for the last few millennia and the only chance for improvement was taken away from you even though bestowed by the promise of a holy prophet, it sort of leads to a sense of despair of things ever getting better without something drastic happening and if you have no hope then following Solas may seem an improvement.  

[Nimlowyn]

It wouldn't surprise me if we find that the elven servants and Inquisition members who are leaving mysteriously are mostly his agents, his followers from ancient times like Felassan. I don't doubt that there are some modern elves among them, but I do doubt they would have much in the ways of details. Solas doesn't divulge much at all even to a friended/romanced Inquisitor. 

 

Certainly there would still be modern elves who would follow even if they know the whole truth. They'd be the most wretched and despairing elves in all of Thedas to go that far. Merrill isn't like that. The only way I could possibly see Merrill following is if she were duped. 

[Gervaise]

Well in my world Merrill won't be duped because Lavellan is currently informing her of the true situation.  This thread really helped me get started with their conversation and after that it flowed naturally.   Next problem is confronting her use of blood magic because he is against it but mostly because of the whole blood sacrifice thing which of course Merrill doesn't agree with and actually has similar views about blood magic to Solas.  

[vertigomez]

When Hawke pursues Hadriana with Fenris you come across an altar where a person has been sacrificed to fuel Hadriana's blood magic. If Merrill is with you, she reacts in horror, "They sacrifice the unwilling?" 
 
As much as Merrill wants to restore elven culture, I don't think she would sacrifice countless unwilling innocents to do it. I think she is too compassionate to go that far. 
 
That's my $0.02.

This.

Also, he's Fen'Harel. She was raised to believe her entire life that he's the Trickster God responsible for the elves' undoing. I don't think she'd be inclined to trust anything he says.

[In Exile]

This.

Also, he's Fen'Harel. She was raised to believe her entire life that he's the Trickster God responsible for the elves' undoing. I don't think she'd be inclined to trust anything he says.

 

Let's be fair. If she accepts who he is, then what he's doing is trying to undo their undoing. It just so happens that the cost is an apocalypse. It's an interesting question for the elves. Quite apart from them having to sacrfice themselves, is scourging the world and massacring hundreds of thousands worth recapturing their glory?

[vertigomez]

Let's be fair. If she accepts who he is, then what he's doing is trying to undo their undoing. It just so happens that the cost is an apocalypse. It's an interesting question for the elves. Quite apart from them having to sacrfice themselves, is scourging the world and massacring hundreds of thousands worth recapturing their glory?

If she accepts that he's Fen'Harel, she has no reason to believe he's trying to undo their undoing.

But yeah, I'm sure there are many elves who are so disillusioned with their lives that they're just gonna say "**** it!" because it can't possibly get any worse for them, or they'd do it out of revenge, or because Solas dupes them with false promises, etc.

And there will be just as many (like...pretty much all the elven companions we've had so far) who are opposed to that line of thought. Like Fenris says, "It's not my history. It's simply history."

[GoldenGail3]

I think Merrill would be informed by Varric and Hawke about Solas; no danger there.

[Patchwork]

This.

Also, he's Fen'Harel. She was raised to believe her entire life that he's the Trickster God responsible for the elves' undoing. I don't think she'd be inclined to trust anything he says.

 

She was also told blood magic is bad and don't make deals with demons, if Merrill thinks she or in this case Fen'Harel is in the right then she would find a way to justify siding with him to herself.

 

A fully informed Merrill wont side with him but if she only learns the truth about Arlathan and not what his end game is in the present then I think she would go with him. 

 

And for all her waifu ways Merrill is well worth recruiting. Stick her somewhere with books, resources and some ancient elves who aren't outwardly contemptuous of modern elves and you'll get new eluvians that Briala and her people don't know about. It could just be done with ancient elves sure but having Merrill be the visible leader of that project sends a powerful message to the other modern elves about what they too could achieve in Fen'Harel's army. 

[Gervaise]

Seeing  as we will probably have to wait years for the next instalment, I'm having fun writing my own.   So I've got team elf  anti-Solas comprising of Enavir Lavellan, Raven Tabris, Zevran (her lover), Fenris and Merrill, with honorary elves, Seren Hawke and Dorian (also lovers of members of the team).    Actually our team isn't that racist about it because of course Sera is on board as well (don't you go all elfy on me right) and Charade (Red Jenny and Hawke's cousin) plus Varric and all his dwarf contacts.     Still the emphasis is on elves because of the need to infiltrate elven communities to dissuade them from getting involved, whilst the others are watching for leads as to where Solas might be.   We also want to counteract the influence of the Qun on the city elves as well; no sense in turning them off Solas only to have them go in the opposite direction.

 

I've moved on to the Arlathaven now.   I figured one should be coming up fairly soon after Trespasser, so Lavellan makes a point of attending and revealing all he knows.   Now I have to decide which way the various clans are going to jump on that one.    I don't see it as a collective decision but the Dalish splitting into factions; isolationists who won't support anyone but themselves and will simply await developments; progressives who want to follow the lead of clan Lavellan and get more involved with their neighbours in order to improve their position in the world; restorationists who may not actually support Fen'Harel but love the idea of the evanuris being released because they are convinced that they will punish the Dread Wolf for his transgressions and save them.   They don't believe they will die along with the other races because they are proper elves (in denial about the revelations concerning Abelas and anyway Lavellan isn't a proper elf because he took a shem for his lover so of course he will go up in smoke) but even if they did it would be a price they were prepared to pay for the restoration of elven glory.

[Ghost Gal]

Well in my world Merrill won't be duped because Lavellan is currently informing her of the true situation.

 

Good for you. And once the next game comes out, if the writers make it so Merrill learns of the Dread Wolf but wasn't told anything of the sort, try not to be offended.

[Gervaise]

I am not going to be offended if things don't pan out exactly as I have imagined them.   However, I will be annoyed if they do a blanket, all the elves ran off to join Solas type of thing, which is in fact implied in the epilogue where the screen also show both city elves and Dalish going off to join him.   Obviously things are going to be different for a world state where the Inquisitor was not an elf because there are very few direct links to pass the information on to them and none that have been part of their inner Circle.    So it really then boils down to how far Solas wanted attract elves to him from across Thedas.   Seeing as he knows the Qun have infiltrated the alienages and he loathes the Qun,, it is likely that he would be sending his agents in to counteract their influence and draw them to him.

 

Like I say, I am now working on progressing the story for my own amusement, based off an elven Inquisitor, so they would have a vested interest in not just stopping Solas but saving their own people from him.   Most of my world states do also have either a Dalish or a city elf Warden; hence my Inquisitor contacting and involving them in his quest to prevent the destruction of the modern Thedas.  Zevran is usually their lover but even if not, I can't see him being enthusiastic about Solas' plan.    I was pretty sure Fenris would be against Solas' plan too, considering he is a mage whose plan may well release more powerful, corrupt mages, so that just left Merrill as someone I couldn't be sure about.  

[myahele]

[ash-wolf]

I feel I'm the only one who wants to help Solas succeed although I know that would never be an option for the next DA (imagine how hard that would make the sequels!)