Entry tags:
Entry tags:
ooc: rare/unheard banter
source;
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Morrigan: My research uncovered many strange claims about elven ruins.
Inquisitor: Such as?
Morrigan: Some insisted gods sent fantastic beasts to prophesize in their temples.
Morrigan: Others said they whispered wisdom to those who slept there a year and a day without pause.
Morrigan: The latter may hold some truth. Ancient elves were said to be gifted wanderers of the Fade.
Inquisitor: This altar… what kind of ritual is this meant to be?
Morrigan: I believe it represents a petition, a declaration of will to the priests who resided here.
Morrigan: Some ancient elven ceremonies were said to take decades to complete. Hopefully this is not such a one.
Inquisitor: What sort of ceremony takes decades?
Morrigan: Strange, is it not? So much time and effort.
Morrigan: Perhaps that is what led to the wistful Dalish legends of lost elven immortality.
Inquisitor: More rituals? What are they for, do you know?
Morrigan: I believe they signify an intent to lay one’s self bare, to champion a cause without pity, regret, or shame.
Morrigan: Mythal’s cult was not fond of vacillation. One approached them with nothing less than complete confidence.
Inquisitor: What happened to those who were less sure of themselves?
Morrigan: Legend… does not say.
Morrigan: Perhaps this place has a more gruesome history than we know.
source
Abelas: The shemlen are as poor at keeping their word as reputed.
Morrigan: As you assumed, else why would you have fled to destroy the Well?
Abelas: And we will defend the vir’abelasan, as we ever have.
Morrigan: With what? These few warriors who remain at your side?
Morrigan: What about one trained, prepared in your arts?
Inquisitor: You said the knowledge inside the Well might be “too much”… is it dangerous?
Abelas: No being so young has ever partaken of the vir’abelasan. I cannot know.
Abelas: You could never prepare as Mythal’s true servants did, in the scant years granted a shemlen.
Morrigan: Your vast lifespan did not ready you to drive off the Venatori. It has limits, clearly.
Abelas: This is true.
source
Morrigan: An interesting inscription: “Submit to law unyielding.”
Inquisitor: “Law unyielding”?
Morrigan: Perhaps this was some manner of courtroom? I cannot say.
Morrigan: The ancient elves considered Mythal a god of justice.
Solas: To call it “justice” is simplistic. Mythal was properly invoked by those seeking vengeance.
Morrigan: Oh? Are they truly so different?
Solas: To those who followed her, yes.
Entry tags:
ooc: The Korcari Wilds
The Korcari Wilds are described as being filled with tundra, a cold southern expanse of forests, the full extent of which is not actually known. What is known is that they're dangerous and home to very few: Flemeth, her daughter Morrigan and nomadic barbarians known as Chasind Wilders. The Chasind say that there is snow to the south but few believe anything that comes out of the mouth of the Chasind. There is a mist surrounding the Wilds that is said to be unnatural and the result of a curse involving werewolves; this simply makes navigation complicated and risky because it reduces visibility and makes the shadows confusing. There are numerous marshes and bodies of water present too and the odd little area of camp belonging to the Darkspawn as well as Chasind trail signs.
-- The Stolen Throne
-- The Stolen Throne
Map of areas the Warden is able to go in the first visit to the Wilds.
Deep within the Wilds is Flemeth's hut; it's a small hut, made of wood and raised from the ground, surrounded by marsh and some old ruins. It's not much to look at. Beyond that, it has an invisible magical barrier erected by Flemeth that repels Darkspawn but other than that, there' s nothing special to note. The hut will be locked and there is nothing of value left inside anyway.
-- The Stolen Throne
-- The Stolen Throne
-- The Stolen Throne
-- The Stolen Throne
-- The Stolen Throne
-- The Stolen Throne
There may be many huts like this in the Wilds owing to Flemeth's habit of moving around when discovered by Templars and due to her magic – all will be empty except maybe a few things, all shabby and rundown. Some might still have skulls etc lurking around. Without Flemeth it is very likely that the trees attack as there are no sylvans that will attack the Warden at all until much later in the game in a completely different forest.
There are many ruins found in this place, most of them Tevinter in origin and sunk into the water so that only domes or spires can still be glimpsed.
-- The Stolen Throne
There is the ruin of the Grey Warden's Cache but there's nothing there save a bunch of rubble.
Korcari Wilds
Codex: Korcari Wilds
The Korcari Wilds are dangerous. Morrigan mentions early on in conversation that she knows of fifteen poisonous plants growing at the swamp the party is stood at which happens to be right outside her mother's hut.
There are some wolves encountered by the Warden's party and they're pretty generic wolves, white and grey and very bitey. They shouldn't be too difficult to deal with.
There are black snakes known as Silent Crawlers (The Stolen Throne) that can be found, poisonous but tasty, at least the length of an arm. Ignore the smell if you eat them.
-- World of Thedas
Chasind and Codex: Chasind
They were deep in the Korcari Wilds now, he knew. The forest's dangerous reputation had yet to prove itself, but it certainly looked unlike anything he had ever seen before. The giant trees twisted like they were frozen in the throes of agony, and a perpetual mist clung to the ground.
-- The Stolen Throne
Maric collapsed in a natural alcove formed by the roots at the foot of a fallen tree. It was an elder poplar, papery white and ten times as wide as himself, and some unknown force had ripped it out of the ground. Massive exposed roots snaked around the alcove like giant tentacles, and a bed of thick moss and delicate white flowers grew in the shade.
-- The Stolen Throne
Map of areas the Warden is able to go in the first visit to the Wilds.
Deep within the Wilds is Flemeth's hut; it's a small hut, made of wood and raised from the ground, surrounded by marsh and some old ruins. It's not much to look at. Beyond that, it has an invisible magical barrier erected by Flemeth that repels Darkspawn but other than that, there' s nothing special to note. The hut will be locked and there is nothing of value left inside anyway.
Deep in the thick of the forest, where the white mist turned into an obscuring fog and the sun barely reached, there stood a simple weathered hut with a roof of brown moss and old branches. It lay on the end of a short path, and thick, dark ivy crept up the walls on all sides. More significant were the ropes of skulls hanging along the path: rat and wolf some Loghain couldn't even identify, all tied together with feathers and sticks and mud. They dangled ominously, a sign staking claim to this land. Maybe there was magic here, too, for Loghain felt a strange sensation running up his arms and into the back of his neck. The air bristled with power, and the way the mist flowed seemed to beckon them in farther.
-- The Stolen Throne
Loghain paused, unease growing as he noticed what were surely human skulls hanging in the ropes.
-- The Stolen Throne
As they walked down the path, the shadows seemed to deepen. The trees towered more ominously overhead, and the mist twisted and danced around them. A trick of the light? In front of the hut sat a small rickety rocking chair as well as an old fire pit that had not seen use in many days. Small moldy bones surrounded the pit in neat piles.
"Is that...?" Maric's voice trailed off in horror, and Loghain followed his gaze up into the trees. There hung a corpse, a human man with clammy white skin like a fish. He was strung up by his neck and arms, dangling like a broken marionette, with flies and the smell of turning meat hovering in the air. There was no sign of injury, but he had been dead long enough to discolour, the skin glistening slightly as if sweating. The doughy, swollen face and bulging eyes were not enough to hide the corpse's identity. Loghain knew exactly who he was.
"Dannon?" Maric whispered.
Loghain nodded. There were other bodies hanging farther in, just a few that he could see, hidden in mist and shadows. Most of them were skeletons with nothing more than tattered cloth and scraps of wispy hair clinging to them.
-- The Stolen Throne
Loghain heard Maric's sharp intake of breath behind him but turned only in time to see one of the giant trees reaching towards him with lightning speed. Great branches wrapped around him like giant hands, pulling him up into the air. Leaves fluttered all around while flies buzzed angrily through the air. He struggled and shouted, but it was useless. The tree stepped back into line with its brothers, and Loghain became another dangling trophy only a few feet away from Dannon's bloated corpse. Panicking, he tried to shout to Maric, only to have smaller branches wrap around his mouth and hold his head still.
-- The Stolen Throne
An instant later, something long and white slithered out from the shadows and snatched up the core. It was buried under the leaves, almost out of sight, but still Maric got the impression that it wasn't a snake at all.
-- The Stolen Throne
The hut was empty of everything but dust and rot, as if nobody had lived there for years. They searched about, but there was no sign of the witch.
-- The Stolen Throne
There may be many huts like this in the Wilds owing to Flemeth's habit of moving around when discovered by Templars and due to her magic – all will be empty except maybe a few things, all shabby and rundown. Some might still have skulls etc lurking around. Without Flemeth it is very likely that the trees attack as there are no sylvans that will attack the Warden at all until much later in the game in a completely different forest.
There are many ruins found in this place, most of them Tevinter in origin and sunk into the water so that only domes or spires can still be glimpsed.
There were no more unexpected encounters, though on the third night they found the remains of an overgrown ruin. It was a sight to behold, tall stone pillars jutting into the sky like rib bones, presumably having once held up a great ceiling. Part of the foundation remained, along with a set of long stairs, all of it cracked and almost reduced to rubble by encroaching greenery. Maric seemed awed by the structure and poked around it at length. He found the remains of an altar that held a great carving of what once might have been a dragon's head. It was faded now, though Maric seemed to see where the eyes and teeth might have been and traced them out. Excitedly, he told Loghain that this was probably a temple of the ancient Imperium, from back in the times when they had encroached this far south and warred with the barbarian tribes.
-- The Stolen Throne
There is the ruin of the Grey Warden's Cache but there's nothing there save a bunch of rubble.
Korcari Wilds
Codex: Korcari Wilds
The Korcari Wilds are dangerous. Morrigan mentions early on in conversation that she knows of fifteen poisonous plants growing at the swamp the party is stood at which happens to be right outside her mother's hut.
There are some wolves encountered by the Warden's party and they're pretty generic wolves, white and grey and very bitey. They shouldn't be too difficult to deal with.
There are black snakes known as Silent Crawlers (The Stolen Throne) that can be found, poisonous but tasty, at least the length of an arm. Ignore the smell if you eat them.
Some members of the Alamarri tribe, called Chasind, resisted the unification of Ferelden, retreating to the Korcari Wilds in the south. There they continue a peaceful life if misunderstood life in small communities. Their leaders are shamans, respected in Chasind culture for their magical abilities.
-- World of Thedas
Chasind and Codex: Chasind
Entry tags:
ooc: witch house
A small dwelling tucked away in a corner of Sundermount, not too unlike the home she once shared with Flemeth but that will definitely have a much more Morrigan feel about it. Not so easy to find unless you happen to know what and where you're looking for, only comfortably large enough for one person permanently residing there but a guest or two could squeeze in for a visit at a push. Funded in part by Inquisition salary for the things she cannot make herself and probably money stashed from her time in Orlais.
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Entry tags:
The Hunt For Flemeth
Index
Plot notes
Flemeth's Grimoire
Mythal is often depicted as a dragon or a female humanoid figure with dragon head and wings. The constellation "Silentir," which resembles a dragon in flight, may be related to Mythal.
Shaman notes, Stage i
Constellation: Visus
Constellation: Silentir
Sylvan Raids
The Forgotten Ones
Geldauran's Claim
Elves refer to Flemeth as Asha'bellanar, the woman of many years, and defer to her. The Chasind call her Mother of Vengeance. There are tales of their shamans learing magic from Witches of the Wilds.
The Dalish believe that their Creators, including Mythal, were sealed away in the Fade by Fen'Harel, and that this was an act of great betrayal.
The Dalish consider Mythal to be one fo the most powerful Creators, on par with Elgar'nan. She was often their voice of reason. She also rendered judgement and enacted vengeance on behalf of her followers, but only if their causes were worthy.
Flemeth was a powerful mage of the tribal peoples of the South whose hand was sought in marriage by Conobar, an Alamarri noble. Chasind legend states that Flemeth's heart was won by a penniless poet (a bard, Osen), and that Conobar kidnapped Flemeth and killed Osen. Flemeth then appealed to 'spirits' for vengeance and took an entity into herself as an abomination, slaughtering Conobar and all his men before fleeing into the Wilds. Morrigan, however, says that the legends are incorrect. Flemeth's arrangement with Conobar was an equitable one on the part of all three of them until instead of paying Osen the gold he'd promised, Conobar killed him instead. At this point Flemeth sought vengeance, and didn't become host to a spirit until she made it to the Korcari Wilds. Note: it's likely this spirit is a reference to Mythal/the fragment of Mythal.
Flemeth: I am a fly in the ointment. I am a whisper in the shadows. I am also an old, old woman. More than that you need not know
Morrigan (The Last Court, on Flemeth): She spent most of her time trying to make me into something that would please her.
Morrigan: Mankind blunders through the world, crushing what it does not understand; elves, dragons, magic...the list is endless. We must stem the tide, or be left with nothing more than the mundane. This I know to be true.
Anything else
Keeper Marethari sought vengeance from a Witch of the Wilds after the Avvar slaughtered her husband and (prior) Keeper. It isn't confirmed that this was Flemeth but after she returned the Avvar were set upon in the forest and killed.
Marethari mentions to Hawke that she owes a debt to Flemeth that must be repaid. Note: it's likely to be the vengeance sought from the Witch of the Wilds who was indeed Flemeth.
Flemeth (to Merrill): The People bend their knee too easily.
Flemeth confirms that she was once "a woman crying out for vengeance" and that Mythal was the spirit who answered. Flemeth speaks of Mythal crying out for vengeance and Flemeth eager to provide it, planning a reckoning that will "shake the very heavens". Note: Heavens might mean Fade and/or Veil, beyond those are her murderers. Flemeth and Mythal have ceased to be separate beings, with Flemeth describing Mythal as part of her in much the same way the heart is part of one's chest.
Morrigan warns against Flemeth's plans and that the Old God ritual was a "means to an end".
Flemeth can also take into herself the spirit/essence of other magical beings as she does with Urthemiel.
Morrigan: She was after the Old God soul all along.
Mythal: In most stories, Mythal rights wrongs while exercising motherly kindness. Others paint her as dark, vengeful. Pray to Mythal, and she would smite your enemies, leaving them in agony.
Hawke, upon being saved by Flemeth is given a fragment of her (Mythal's) essence, allowing her to regenerate. This takes place during the Fall of Lothering before the option to kill Flemeth. "Must I be in only one place?" Note for pre-stage iii: Morrigan and Carver have had a talk, Morrigan needs to discuss the timing + the grimoire with trusted individuals (Thranduil and Alistair).
She may be able to visit the dreams of others; Sandal has a dream about a scary laugh and a lady standing at the foot of the bed, and an elf in Val Royeux after visiting the Temple of Mythal.
Sandal: The old lady is scary.
Bodahn: There is no old lady Sandal. How many times do I have to tell you that?
Hawke: What's this about?
Bodahn: Oh my boy sees things sometimes, says he saw an old lady standing by his bed.
Sandal: She has a scary laugh.
Bodahn: Yes well there you go.
Spirits can join with a mortal body and be largely sublimated ito the host's personality without becoming the usual physically warped abomination that typically results from possession. Flemeth/Mythal prolongs her/their life by passing on her spirit/essence/soul to her daughters, possessing their bodies. Morrigan asks the Warden to kill Flemeth to prevent this possession. However: "a soul is not forced upon the unwilling" so she can't do it to an unwilling host. Yavanna seems to support this.
Flemeth's quote on grief, "your grief must come later, in the dark shadows before you take vengeance, as my mother once said" is either referring to Mythal or the previous Flemeth.
Spirits can sometimes sees the future since they exist outside mortal time, though their visions may be skewed. Flemeth warned Maric about the advent of the Blight, and Loghain's eventual betrayal. Flemeth was also expecting the arrival of the Wardens but she prevaricates about it.
Yavanna was involved in the death of Queen Madrigal who died with four swords in her. Yavanna is associated with dragons, knows of the same ritual of possession Morrigan fears but knows it as a gift. Queen Madrigal bargained for the life of her son, Prince Eladio, who was meant to die with her, and when she rode into the forest to challenge Yavanna, she died.
Mosaic of a dragon is found in the main entrance of the Temple of Mythal in the Arbor Wilds. Eluvian-shaped doors are present, also common in Fen'Harel strongholds. Flemeth is able to shapeshift into a dragon and Mythal is associated with dragons.
Yavanna, a daughter of Flemeth, reverees, communicates with, and raises dragons in order to preserve them from a slow death at the hands of humanity.
Aesthetics
Scales; scales associated with Mythal's role and justice vs dragon scales. Also the idea of the world as an egg with cracks running through it: the Dragon Age, the Breach, Mythal and her dragon associations tied back to scales.
Justice: just behaviour or treatment
Vengeance: punishment inflicted or retribution enacted for an injury or wrong
The Four of Swords is the card associated with vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit's repose, exile, tomb and coffin; reversed it's associated with wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament. [It] reflects withdrawal, getting away and shifting the focus inwardly so that recovery and healing can take place. Note: Yavanna, Madrigal, Eladio.
The Two of Swords; uneasy truce, balance, justice, calm fter the storm, uneasy peace, caution, take care, think carefully before acting, lies and deceit, stalemate, slow change. Upright: Calm after the storm is signified with the Two of Swords but it is an uneasy peace laced with tension. A problem has reached a stalemate and while there is balance, it is also clear that there isn't a resolution yet. Relief is in sight so be aware that you won't need to worry much longer. The Two of Swords can also refer to someone who is willing to maintain peace at any price. Not liking fights or disagreements, you may hide your own feelings or pretend like everything is okay to keep the peace. Emotions need to be vented so allow yourself to acknowledge what you're feeling to relieve pressure. Reversed: Think twice or even three or four times when the Two of Swords is reversed. Your advisors, intuition, and knowledge are clouded, and you are not in the best position to make any final decisions. Any changes will occur slowly, and honestly right now that's for the best. There is an air of deceit that surrounds you, and it will be hard to find agreements that work to your advantage. While you'll feel like being impulsive to move things forward, you'll regret anything you agree to.
Justice: A woman, sometimes blindfolded, holding a sword and set of scales. A very traditional allegory of justice, objectivity, rationality, and analysis, expect references to the Judgement of Solomon, the Balance Between Good and Evil, and maybe a Secret Test of Character. Everything you do will have consequences, but the world doesn't work on a tit-for-tat princple. Sometimes people aren't as great as you thought; you must judge wisely, and don't forget that the idea of law governs your morals too.
Lore Meta
The Noladar Anthology of Dwarven Poetry:
The undead exhumed
Borne from the shallowest graves
Mined from the living
• By the Paragon Lynchear, 7:44 Storm
A possible Titan reference.
Red lyrium:
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
This looks to be about the Titans, especially with a dwarf connected to a Titan again.
Magisters thought they were unlocking the ultimate power but instead unlocked the Blight. And if the Blight comes from Titan's blood as a defense mechanism against the Evanuris mining them for their blood/lyrium and it was brought to the world, especially by Andruil.
Mythal was murdered after the Titans were sealed away. Mythal sealing the lyrium and Titans from the rest of the Evanuris was the reason she was murdered; as well as her alliance with Fen'Harel, it also isolated the Blight since there was the thing with Andruil. Mythal was the one to challenge Andruil and steal her knowledge of the Void after it drove Andruil mad.
The Veil was created to shut away the Blight as well getting revenge on the rest of the Evanuris.
Elgar'nan is another creator deity implied to have a dragon form since the ancient elves beseeched him to bring winged death, fire, and lightning upon the dwarves and Titans who destroyed their cities with earthquakes. This also provides a reason for dwarves to fear the surface because of Elgar'nan's sun (given the Stone and the hivemind that the dwarves possessed prior to this being severed), since being up there was bad and dwarves shouldn't be up there. Elgar'nan was too hot-tempered to deliver justice so the people went to Mythal - she was the only one who could calm him - but if they were unworthy, she left them to him.
Evanuris, Old Gods, Archdemons comparisons:
Andruil = Andoral, Dragon of Slaves since Andruil was known for asking for slave sacrifices
Sylaise = Toth, Dragon of Fire since Sylaise gave elves fire
Dirthamen = Dumat, Dragon of Silece since Dirthamen is the keeper of secrets
Ghilan'nain = Urthemiel, Dragon of Beauty since Ghilan'nain was considered the most of beautiful
June = Zazikel, Dragon of Chaos; an argument could be made for Elgar'nan but given he's the father deity in the pantheon and June is associated with crafts and weapons, and Zazikel's Blight lasted 90 years, an argument could be made.
This leaves Falon'din and Elgar'nan, and Razikale, Dragon of Mystery, and Lusacan, Dragon of Night. Archdemons are also corruptions of what the Old Gods were so Lusacan could be Elgar'nan, Dragon of Night, and Falon'Din, Dragon of Mystery since Falon'Din is associated with death and fortune, guiding elves to the Beyond, and is the twin soul of Dirthamen. However, twin soul does not mean twin in the traditional sense.
The things said when Razikale falls and when Dirthamen and the rest of the Evanuris were locked away are fairly similar when looking at the Razikale texts vs the lost temple of Dirthamen:
There are parallels between the calamities (the First Blight + the magisters sidereal fallout vs the loss of Arlathan + the creation of the Veil/the fallout from that)
Solas is against killing the Archdemons/Old Gods in the Deep Roads so it's unlikely they're actually the Evanuris since I doubt they could be killed so easily but something drew the magisters, and if they managed to influence the magisters as they did, it's interesting. Because Tevinter followed much the same pattern that the Evanuris did. They built a power base. And belief is a powerful thing. If the humans listened in dreams, given what we know of the Fade especially with the blood magic involved and the Somniari, then it'd be easier to plant the seed. The magisters wouldn't have known that these were powerful elves stuck in the Fade, and eventually they got a message like 'btw come say hi guys' which turned into a fiasco which I think, on some level at the very least, had to have been planned. Since the Blight is old and it was Mythal who sealed it away.
Of course this contact with the humans and all that followed didn't get them out but looking at Corypheus and how powerful he is, to the point that the Wardens spent all that time locking him up because of what he could do because he'd lived so long, and that he didn't kill himself with the orb Solas had, he bodysurfed the way Archdemons do, invested part of his power in a dragon (and dragons are strongly associated with the Evanuris too), it's worrying. The Architect is also around, able to do what he does as well, and was part of the magisters sidereal.
The most complicated puzzle in the Temple of Mythal is the puzzle related to Fen'Harel, meaning that petitioners to Mythal had to do one to do with him, and there are statues of him everywhere, including in the Crossroads and again in the Temple of Mythal where he also has a whole room; that room in particular is like a prayer room, and he may in fact be guarding the Temple.
Mythal has been nudging history for a long time, most likely as a way of getting revenge for what happened to her by moving pawns on the board until they're in the correct place.
She was Tyrdda's lover, influenced Calenhad, Maric, the Hero of Ferelden, the Champion of Kirkwall, the Inquisitor, lived not so far from the Left Hand of the Divine/possible future Divine (Leliana), met another possible future King of Ferelden (Alistair), and the future Arishok (Sten.)
Mythal, however, was an Evanuris, and that doesn't mean she wasn't as capable of being terrible just not to the same degree as the rest of them. She only intervened when Falon'din was going to attack her people but he was able to turn everything else to a bloodbath before she rallied everyone together to stop him. To stop civil war between Falon'din and Elgar'nan she had them choose two innocents from their armies to fight and that was to decide the winner. Land stolen from the dwarves - severed from their Titans - was given to the elves, and she had slaves, including Felassan. She did help Solas/Fen'Harel with the rebellion but that would've had to be behind the backs of others or she would've been killed (and she might've been willing to turn around and betray him anyway, see: still perfectly capable of being terrible and we don't know how much she knew of his plans.)
Dwarves and their beliefs about Darkspawn probably support very different views to everyone else which could still reflect some sort of shared knowledge from memories somewhere, again linking it with Titans blood and the Blight. Chronicles of a Forgotten War is way before the First Blight and it tales about the Scaled Ones, not Darkspawn, so this could perhaps reference ancient elves infected with the Blight meaning that the Broodmother queen is either the oldest Shriek Broodmother or a Titan.
The Song that Tainted people hear is aching and ethereal, pulling them towards a memory of nostalgic bliss as well as being a sound of terrible beauty and a yearning ache. Tainted people discover the song, they've never heard it before, and they love and hate it at the same time. In Asunder, Cole hears the song and says it has "an urgency that sped his heart" and is different to lyrium. In Emprise du Lion by red lyrium (Tainted Titans blood) Cole will say "its song is very angry". So if the Blight comes from Titans, then the Wardens, Ghouls, Darkspawn, and Tainted people are all hearing the Titans song that was actually meant for the dwarves aka their long lost children, explaining the nostalgia, the longing. The desire for long-lost perfection would also make sense given the bond dwarves and Titans had before it was severed (and in The Descent DLC when reaching the Bastion of the Pure and the Wellspring). This was all also before the Titans were mined for lyrium.
Cole also asks this to Varric: Do you write to reach across? To hear the song that was sundered? Again suggesting this is what the song refers to, and given the connection with dreaming, with creativity it's interesting that Cole brings it up since dwarves are the most advanced creative people in Thedas.
Blighted people hear a different song to the original pure song, and Cole says the Calling is different to the song of lyrium. When an Archdemon is present during a Blight, people hear it, and that song comes from the corrupted dragon, that or yearning/long-lost perfection might also reference an unhealthy/tainted thing wishing to return to the days when it wasn't that way.
The Veil isn't a physical thing, it's a magical vibration that repels the Fade with the source of the vibration being unknown, and there aren't any accounts of the Veil not existing in human history with humans only able to reach Thedas after it was created, around -3100 Ancient. The Veil might offer protection to humans due to the effect a thin Veil has on them since it makes them feel slow and heavy, and have headaches from too many colours whereas elves feel strong and quick. Dwarves however could live in a world without the Veil because of their bond with the Titans.
Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads
The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. probably the titans creating the blight to defend themselves against lyrium mining
A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast. the elves seal the deep roads to keep the blight in there, pretty much locking the titans and dwarves away with the plague the titans created as a line of self-defense
A voice whispers:
“What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all.”
This had a huge impact on dwarven society, and the ancient elves, particularly the Evanuris, royally screwed them over so if/when knowledge of that got out it'd have the potential to be very bad for the elves. Elgar'nan's sun is why they're afraid of the surface, the Caste system that causes people to be left in poverty/in the Deep Roads to die likely came about because of what happened to them, the link they had with their symbiotic protectors was severed along with the Fade/magic/dreams, and they had poverty, Darkspawn raids, the Blight...
The Titans remember this too. Yes, one was reunited with a dwarf but that's probably not going to do it in terms of appeasement. That doesn't mean that one isn't still angry, and it was the Breach that woke the Titan so there are possibly other Titans that woke up because the Veil was damaged and it finally allowed them to wake after a long slumber.
Tyrdda Bright-Axe of the Alamarri had a lover called 'laughing lady of the sky' and 'leaf-eared lover' with Tyrdda herself being called 'spirit's bride' meaning that all this would've happened when Mythal was a fragment pre-Flemeth. Tyrdda was a dreamer and Mythal spoke to her, gave advice, nudged history. The whole poem about Tyrdda is great because it's about Tyrdda's enemy who, convinced by dark voices in his dreams, wants to cross the Waking Sea to sack a golden city. Guess what's across the golden city? Arlathan. Tyrdda refused to marry him, refused to sack the golden city with him, and they fought. Tyrdda had other adventures including fighting a dragon armed only with the staff given to her by her lover before being advised to marry a dwarf as recommended by the lady. Her tribe was literally dying out but she did, and they had a daughter. Morrighan'nan. Not the first time that baby acquisition or that name have sounded familiar.
Dagna + working on rifts:
A thing deep inside Dagna remembered and sensed what being connected to a Titan was like, and the Titan's blood called out to her. The lyrium. She said that the lyrium and the Fade are linked so that's why the Evanuris were into it in a big way since it was a source of magic and a way to enhance magical power and to be stronger.
Dwarves aren't Tranquil in the way that a human or elven mage would be Tranquil in that they can't dream or use magic but they still have emotions. Since dwarves are disconnected from the Titans and the Fade, they're able to work on lyrium safely; they can touch it, transform it, make runes, enchantments, but they aren't part of it anymore. The Tranquil can't enter the Fade anymore or access their emotions - so the Fade and emotions are linked - whereas the dwarves aren't what they were. But lyrium was something that was once only related to dwarves. It's the blood of their creators, the things that gave them life since Valta says that the Titans predate the Stone, so the Stone is probably a substitute form of worship for the Titans they lost.
The Tranquility elves and humans go through is different to that of dwarves since they're cut off from the Fade directly with no mediator, and since they aren't bound to anyone, it's just them being affected by it. Meanwhile since the dwarves and Titans had a symbiotic relationship it meant that the dwarves allowed the Titans to be connected to the Fade and at the same time the Titans allowed the dwarves to use magic. When the Veil was created, it tore through that so the true Tranquil in that situation are the Titans. And the dwarves 'who make it happen' in Dagna's words couldn't reach the Titans and forgot about them so the symbiotic relationship couldn't reform. Instead they kept living somewhat normal lives but very differently to the way they once did. The Frostbacks come into all of this since the Frostbacks are full of lyrium aka Titans blood, and Oghren comments on that during Origins, as well as there being evidence of it during the beginning of Inquisition. Skyhold is built there and the Inquisitor is warned about not building too much in places including the whole floor collapse where the writer doesn't want to know what caused the damage because it's usually only caused by dams.
Lyrium allows Templars to use a form of magic that nullifies that one used by mages by reinforcing the reality around them and stopping the Fade from reaching them so the mages can't cast spells and are harmless. Cole says that the bodies of the Templars become incomplete and try to connect to something older and bigger than they are. They reach for that "other thing" and magic has no room to come in. Non-mages through training can use lyrium to possess special abilities but over time in large quanties it causes addicition and madness; even dwarves can die if they directly ingest it. Mages use lyrium to enhance the abilities they already possess and to walk through the Fade with perfect focus the way Somniari can without it. Pre-Veil, all elves were mages, there were't distinctions.
Dragons are able to slow the effect of the Blight by forming cysts in their bodies. The Taint is trapped within them for a short period of time and this allows the dragon to fight it longer than other creatures. In Elvhenan, Tevinter, and to the dwarves, dragons all appear. Their shape is "the shape of the divine".
The Old Gods/Archdemons/dragons might also be a security measure - explaining why Solas doesn't want them dead - left by Mythal in the Deep Roads with the dwarves to keep the Darkspawn at bay, linking nicely with the Evanurisu so the Blight is connected, and both Mythal and Elgar'nan had dragon forms, the ability of powerful tainted beings to invest their power in another thing and to bodysurf, as well as the dragons and their Blight cysts.
Spirits:
Spirits are deeply interested in the waking world most likely because it's where they belong and yearn to return to but their nature/reasons why are still up in the air. If the Fade is a stage, then spirits and demons prepare in different ways for meeting the people they encounter: a very scared person expecting only to find demons is going to find them e.g. if they expect to find a rage demon they will find and dream of rage and anger-related issues if they're not a mage strolling around in there.
Spirits and demons are also extremely interested in emotions, they portray them and become that emotion they so admire, love, are attached to, attracted to, corrupted into etc. If there were different before the Veil isn't exactly known. The texts and memories of Elvhenan don't mention emotions tied to spirits, don't give them connotations, they're spirits/brethren of air so they might have been much more complicated before but elven language is said to be poetic so there's room for interpretation there. Added to that though is how adamant Solas is about calling them people and considering them as such.
Spirits could also be ancient elves who abandoned their physical bodies - given what was learnt in Trespasser - so this could mean that all the spirits and demons are the ancient elves who were stuck and/or trapped there after the creation of the Veil, who lost themselves and the memories of the lives they once had. Again, Cole has interesting things to say about the Fade if he's made more spirit-like and the Inquisitor asks him what it feels like: "It is here but held, constrained by a construct, Veiled. Feelings, memories, minds, mortality: all shape it, a glass to hold water, we flow to the deep. Without you, we have nothing, not even us. That’s why we want so much".
Spirits desire to come into the waking world but it's conditional on being summoned or by calmly passing through the Veil of their own volition. They're intrigued by what they see, by the emotion they witness to the degree that they'll repeatedly act out those things which is perhaps to feel closer to the world e.g. corpses rising and attacking to feel they belong to it again or because it's instinctive to them because some part of their nature tells them to do that, because it's something that should belong to them too.
- Stage i ooc post
- Asking for aid for Stage i
- The Hunt for Flemeth Stage i
- A summary of the Stage i
- Stage ii ooc post
- The Hunt for Flemeth Stage ii
- Discussing the aftermath of Stage ii with Herian
- Kieran confides bad dreams to Alistair
- Talking around Geldauran's claim and the nature of godhood
- Confiding her suspicions to Thranduil
- Telling the Inquisition she's found her mother. And something more.
- Report on finding Flemeth and Mythal
Plot notes
Flemeth's Grimoire
An old, but lovingly cared for book, bound in leather of questionable origins. The pages smell of herbs and wood smoke. Intricate stitching on the cover marks out a leafless tree, strangely ominous in its stark appearance. Note: this bears Mythal's symbol.
Mythal is often depicted as a dragon or a female humanoid figure with dragon head and wings. The constellation "Silentir," which resembles a dragon in flight, may be related to Mythal.
Shaman notes, Stage i
You know the ways. You are her daughter, she taught you well but those with you - do they know what they march beneath? The Watchful Eye of the people we were. Is it a weight? Vengeance is a heavy weight. Many years is a heavy weight. A price is to be paid for all things. Guidance, truth, hope, justice; how heavy a price?
The sky splits. The Dragon Age lies heavily upon this world, the age of violence and the sword. The eggshell splits itself. Cracks asunder. None knew what would spill out. Dragons slumber beneath the sky same as flying. Silence is not what it was. Silence was her long before they came, the starts did not begin with the ones to give new names to them.
Tevinter came. The scourge. Before the the Blight.
Tevinter came and took before any took back. Now they say it is a horn and a wand a man in the sky holds aloft but I see scales, so did the one before me and them before and before and those after me, we will see scales, there are so many scales, covered in scales. Vengeance, the mother of vengeance. Vengeance, justice, one seeks the other, which one is first, which one is last, no balance with swords and blood and the sky screaming.
Betrayal. What other thing is there but betrayal in this world? Time and time again it comes. You look in the wrong place.
Constellation: Visus
Known as "the Watchful Eye" in common parlance, this constellation had great significance to the ancient Alamarri and Cirianne peoples of southern Thedas. The story goes that the Lady of the Skies opened one eye so that the light from her gaze could lead her people safely from the Frostbacks. When Andraste's armies marched north from their ancestral lands to wage war upon Tevinter, they were guided by the Eye, and it became the Maker's gaze—not the Lady's— leading them to victory. The sword was added later; it is said that the star that marks the point of its blade only appeared in the night sky after Andraste's death. The early Inquisition took Visus as the symbol of their holy calling when they joined the Andrastian faith: the Eye representing both their search for maleficarum and the Maker's judgment upon their actions. When the Inquisition ended and became the Seekers of Truth and the Templar Order, the templars took the sword while the Seekers retained the eye.
—From A Study of Thedosian Astronomy by Sister Oran Petrarchius
Constellation: Silentir
Referred to as "Silence" in the common parlance, the constellation Silentir is historically attributed to Dumat, the Old God of Silence and leader of the ancient Tevinter pantheon. The depiction of the constellation, however, is often debated. Some depict a dragon in flight, while others (also the most common modern depictions) show a man carrying a horn and a wand. Some scholars believe these represented scales, which would point to this constellation being a supplantation of the elven Mythal, but nothing indicates this to be more than speculation.
—From A Study of Thedosian Astronomy by Sister Oran Petrarchius
Sylvan Raids
Fires still lick at the blackened ruin of the farmstead. The mud in the yard is grey with ash and churned by footprints. Some flee westward. Others, light and slender, circle the ruin. One of your guards pulls an arrowhead from the smoking wood. "Elfshot!" He hisses.
The homesteads along the hissing fringes of the Tirashan were unprepared for the attack. You listen to the refugees' tales of a narrow moon that spread long tree-shadows, of the lithe figures that slipped between them, of arrows that sped from the night, sudden as death.
"The knife-ears drove us from our home!" one peasant cries. "We heard them, laughing from the dark!"
The Forgotten Ones
Your soldiers clash with elven archers at the forest's edge. The elves are cold-eyed, with tattoos a brilliant crimson. They extract a red price from your warriors before fleeing into the deeps. For a time, the border is untroubled.
"I've fought the Dalish before," mutters a scarred sergeant. "I've heard them call on their gods in battle. Elgar'nan for vengeance. Fen'Harel when they think all is lost. But these ones called out to no gods I've heard of before. They weren't calling out for aid; they were offering us up. Like pigs on a platter."
Geldauran's Claim
There are no gods. There is only the subject and the object, the actor and the acted upon. Those with will to earn dominance over others gain title not by nature but by deed.
I am Geldauran, and I refuse those who would exert will upon me. Let Andruil's bow crack, let June's fire grow cold. Let them build temples and lure the faithful with promises. Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery.
Elves refer to Flemeth as Asha'bellanar, the woman of many years, and defer to her. The Chasind call her Mother of Vengeance. There are tales of their shamans learing magic from Witches of the Wilds.
The Dalish believe that their Creators, including Mythal, were sealed away in the Fade by Fen'Harel, and that this was an act of great betrayal.
The Dalish consider Mythal to be one fo the most powerful Creators, on par with Elgar'nan. She was often their voice of reason. She also rendered judgement and enacted vengeance on behalf of her followers, but only if their causes were worthy.
Flemeth was a powerful mage of the tribal peoples of the South whose hand was sought in marriage by Conobar, an Alamarri noble. Chasind legend states that Flemeth's heart was won by a penniless poet (a bard, Osen), and that Conobar kidnapped Flemeth and killed Osen. Flemeth then appealed to 'spirits' for vengeance and took an entity into herself as an abomination, slaughtering Conobar and all his men before fleeing into the Wilds. Morrigan, however, says that the legends are incorrect. Flemeth's arrangement with Conobar was an equitable one on the part of all three of them until instead of paying Osen the gold he'd promised, Conobar killed him instead. At this point Flemeth sought vengeance, and didn't become host to a spirit until she made it to the Korcari Wilds. Note: it's likely this spirit is a reference to Mythal/the fragment of Mythal.
Flemeth: I am a fly in the ointment. I am a whisper in the shadows. I am also an old, old woman. More than that you need not know
Morrigan (The Last Court, on Flemeth): She spent most of her time trying to make me into something that would please her.
Morrigan: Mankind blunders through the world, crushing what it does not understand; elves, dragons, magic...the list is endless. We must stem the tide, or be left with nothing more than the mundane. This I know to be true.
Anything else
Keeper Marethari sought vengeance from a Witch of the Wilds after the Avvar slaughtered her husband and (prior) Keeper. It isn't confirmed that this was Flemeth but after she returned the Avvar were set upon in the forest and killed.
Marethari mentions to Hawke that she owes a debt to Flemeth that must be repaid. Note: it's likely to be the vengeance sought from the Witch of the Wilds who was indeed Flemeth.
Flemeth (to Merrill): The People bend their knee too easily.
Flemeth confirms that she was once "a woman crying out for vengeance" and that Mythal was the spirit who answered. Flemeth speaks of Mythal crying out for vengeance and Flemeth eager to provide it, planning a reckoning that will "shake the very heavens". Note: Heavens might mean Fade and/or Veil, beyond those are her murderers. Flemeth and Mythal have ceased to be separate beings, with Flemeth describing Mythal as part of her in much the same way the heart is part of one's chest.
Morrigan warns against Flemeth's plans and that the Old God ritual was a "means to an end".
Flemeth can also take into herself the spirit/essence of other magical beings as she does with Urthemiel.
Morrigan: She was after the Old God soul all along.
Mythal: In most stories, Mythal rights wrongs while exercising motherly kindness. Others paint her as dark, vengeful. Pray to Mythal, and she would smite your enemies, leaving them in agony.
Hawke, upon being saved by Flemeth is given a fragment of her (Mythal's) essence, allowing her to regenerate. This takes place during the Fall of Lothering before the option to kill Flemeth. "Must I be in only one place?" Note for pre-stage iii: Morrigan and Carver have had a talk, Morrigan needs to discuss the timing + the grimoire with trusted individuals (Thranduil and Alistair).
She may be able to visit the dreams of others; Sandal has a dream about a scary laugh and a lady standing at the foot of the bed, and an elf in Val Royeux after visiting the Temple of Mythal.
Sandal: The old lady is scary.
Bodahn: There is no old lady Sandal. How many times do I have to tell you that?
Hawke: What's this about?
Bodahn: Oh my boy sees things sometimes, says he saw an old lady standing by his bed.
Sandal: She has a scary laugh.
Bodahn: Yes well there you go.
Nobleman: You’re worrying Madame with your shouting during the night, not to mention the other servants.
Elven Butler: I can’t help it, sire. A woman comes to me in my dreams, and she whispers things…
Nobleman: You mustn’t say that, not in public. People will think you’ll be taken by a demon!
Elven Butler: She’s not a demon, sire. She says her name is Mythal, but… I will be quiet, I promise.
Spirits can join with a mortal body and be largely sublimated ito the host's personality without becoming the usual physically warped abomination that typically results from possession. Flemeth/Mythal prolongs her/their life by passing on her spirit/essence/soul to her daughters, possessing their bodies. Morrigan asks the Warden to kill Flemeth to prevent this possession. However: "a soul is not forced upon the unwilling" so she can't do it to an unwilling host. Yavanna seems to support this.
Flemeth's quote on grief, "your grief must come later, in the dark shadows before you take vengeance, as my mother once said" is either referring to Mythal or the previous Flemeth.
Spirits can sometimes sees the future since they exist outside mortal time, though their visions may be skewed. Flemeth warned Maric about the advent of the Blight, and Loghain's eventual betrayal. Flemeth was also expecting the arrival of the Wardens but she prevaricates about it.
Yavanna was involved in the death of Queen Madrigal who died with four swords in her. Yavanna is associated with dragons, knows of the same ritual of possession Morrigan fears but knows it as a gift. Queen Madrigal bargained for the life of her son, Prince Eladio, who was meant to die with her, and when she rode into the forest to challenge Yavanna, she died.
Mosaic of a dragon is found in the main entrance of the Temple of Mythal in the Arbor Wilds. Eluvian-shaped doors are present, also common in Fen'Harel strongholds. Flemeth is able to shapeshift into a dragon and Mythal is associated with dragons.
Yavanna, a daughter of Flemeth, reverees, communicates with, and raises dragons in order to preserve them from a slow death at the hands of humanity.
Aesthetics
Scales; scales associated with Mythal's role and justice vs dragon scales. Also the idea of the world as an egg with cracks running through it: the Dragon Age, the Breach, Mythal and her dragon associations tied back to scales.
Justice: just behaviour or treatment
Vengeance: punishment inflicted or retribution enacted for an injury or wrong
The Four of Swords is the card associated with vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit's repose, exile, tomb and coffin; reversed it's associated with wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament. [It] reflects withdrawal, getting away and shifting the focus inwardly so that recovery and healing can take place. Note: Yavanna, Madrigal, Eladio.
The Two of Swords; uneasy truce, balance, justice, calm fter the storm, uneasy peace, caution, take care, think carefully before acting, lies and deceit, stalemate, slow change. Upright: Calm after the storm is signified with the Two of Swords but it is an uneasy peace laced with tension. A problem has reached a stalemate and while there is balance, it is also clear that there isn't a resolution yet. Relief is in sight so be aware that you won't need to worry much longer. The Two of Swords can also refer to someone who is willing to maintain peace at any price. Not liking fights or disagreements, you may hide your own feelings or pretend like everything is okay to keep the peace. Emotions need to be vented so allow yourself to acknowledge what you're feeling to relieve pressure. Reversed: Think twice or even three or four times when the Two of Swords is reversed. Your advisors, intuition, and knowledge are clouded, and you are not in the best position to make any final decisions. Any changes will occur slowly, and honestly right now that's for the best. There is an air of deceit that surrounds you, and it will be hard to find agreements that work to your advantage. While you'll feel like being impulsive to move things forward, you'll regret anything you agree to.
Justice: A woman, sometimes blindfolded, holding a sword and set of scales. A very traditional allegory of justice, objectivity, rationality, and analysis, expect references to the Judgement of Solomon, the Balance Between Good and Evil, and maybe a Secret Test of Character. Everything you do will have consequences, but the world doesn't work on a tit-for-tat princple. Sometimes people aren't as great as you thought; you must judge wisely, and don't forget that the idea of law governs your morals too.
Lore Meta
The Noladar Anthology of Dwarven Poetry:
The undead exhumed
Borne from the shallowest graves
Mined from the living
• By the Paragon Lynchear, 7:44 Storm
A possible Titan reference.
Red lyrium:
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
This looks to be about the Titans, especially with a dwarf connected to a Titan again.
Magisters thought they were unlocking the ultimate power but instead unlocked the Blight. And if the Blight comes from Titan's blood as a defense mechanism against the Evanuris mining them for their blood/lyrium and it was brought to the world, especially by Andruil.
Mythal was murdered after the Titans were sealed away. Mythal sealing the lyrium and Titans from the rest of the Evanuris was the reason she was murdered; as well as her alliance with Fen'Harel, it also isolated the Blight since there was the thing with Andruil. Mythal was the one to challenge Andruil and steal her knowledge of the Void after it drove Andruil mad.
The Veil was created to shut away the Blight as well getting revenge on the rest of the Evanuris.
Elgar'nan is another creator deity implied to have a dragon form since the ancient elves beseeched him to bring winged death, fire, and lightning upon the dwarves and Titans who destroyed their cities with earthquakes. This also provides a reason for dwarves to fear the surface because of Elgar'nan's sun (given the Stone and the hivemind that the dwarves possessed prior to this being severed), since being up there was bad and dwarves shouldn't be up there. Elgar'nan was too hot-tempered to deliver justice so the people went to Mythal - she was the only one who could calm him - but if they were unworthy, she left them to him.
Evanuris, Old Gods, Archdemons comparisons:
Andruil = Andoral, Dragon of Slaves since Andruil was known for asking for slave sacrifices
Sylaise = Toth, Dragon of Fire since Sylaise gave elves fire
Dirthamen = Dumat, Dragon of Silece since Dirthamen is the keeper of secrets
Ghilan'nain = Urthemiel, Dragon of Beauty since Ghilan'nain was considered the most of beautiful
June = Zazikel, Dragon of Chaos; an argument could be made for Elgar'nan but given he's the father deity in the pantheon and June is associated with crafts and weapons, and Zazikel's Blight lasted 90 years, an argument could be made.
This leaves Falon'din and Elgar'nan, and Razikale, Dragon of Mystery, and Lusacan, Dragon of Night. Archdemons are also corruptions of what the Old Gods were so Lusacan could be Elgar'nan, Dragon of Night, and Falon'Din, Dragon of Mystery since Falon'Din is associated with death and fortune, guiding elves to the Beyond, and is the twin soul of Dirthamen. However, twin soul does not mean twin in the traditional sense.
The things said when Razikale falls and when Dirthamen and the rest of the Evanuris were locked away are fairly similar when looking at the Razikale texts vs the lost temple of Dirthamen:
There are parallels between the calamities (the First Blight + the magisters sidereal fallout vs the loss of Arlathan + the creation of the Veil/the fallout from that)
Solas is against killing the Archdemons/Old Gods in the Deep Roads so it's unlikely they're actually the Evanuris since I doubt they could be killed so easily but something drew the magisters, and if they managed to influence the magisters as they did, it's interesting. Because Tevinter followed much the same pattern that the Evanuris did. They built a power base. And belief is a powerful thing. If the humans listened in dreams, given what we know of the Fade especially with the blood magic involved and the Somniari, then it'd be easier to plant the seed. The magisters wouldn't have known that these were powerful elves stuck in the Fade, and eventually they got a message like 'btw come say hi guys' which turned into a fiasco which I think, on some level at the very least, had to have been planned. Since the Blight is old and it was Mythal who sealed it away.
Of course this contact with the humans and all that followed didn't get them out but looking at Corypheus and how powerful he is, to the point that the Wardens spent all that time locking him up because of what he could do because he'd lived so long, and that he didn't kill himself with the orb Solas had, he bodysurfed the way Archdemons do, invested part of his power in a dragon (and dragons are strongly associated with the Evanuris too), it's worrying. The Architect is also around, able to do what he does as well, and was part of the magisters sidereal.
The most complicated puzzle in the Temple of Mythal is the puzzle related to Fen'Harel, meaning that petitioners to Mythal had to do one to do with him, and there are statues of him everywhere, including in the Crossroads and again in the Temple of Mythal where he also has a whole room; that room in particular is like a prayer room, and he may in fact be guarding the Temple.
Mythal has been nudging history for a long time, most likely as a way of getting revenge for what happened to her by moving pawns on the board until they're in the correct place.
She was Tyrdda's lover, influenced Calenhad, Maric, the Hero of Ferelden, the Champion of Kirkwall, the Inquisitor, lived not so far from the Left Hand of the Divine/possible future Divine (Leliana), met another possible future King of Ferelden (Alistair), and the future Arishok (Sten.)
Mythal, however, was an Evanuris, and that doesn't mean she wasn't as capable of being terrible just not to the same degree as the rest of them. She only intervened when Falon'din was going to attack her people but he was able to turn everything else to a bloodbath before she rallied everyone together to stop him. To stop civil war between Falon'din and Elgar'nan she had them choose two innocents from their armies to fight and that was to decide the winner. Land stolen from the dwarves - severed from their Titans - was given to the elves, and she had slaves, including Felassan. She did help Solas/Fen'Harel with the rebellion but that would've had to be behind the backs of others or she would've been killed (and she might've been willing to turn around and betray him anyway, see: still perfectly capable of being terrible and we don't know how much she knew of his plans.)
Dwarves and their beliefs about Darkspawn probably support very different views to everyone else which could still reflect some sort of shared knowledge from memories somewhere, again linking it with Titans blood and the Blight. Chronicles of a Forgotten War is way before the First Blight and it tales about the Scaled Ones, not Darkspawn, so this could perhaps reference ancient elves infected with the Blight meaning that the Broodmother queen is either the oldest Shriek Broodmother or a Titan.
The Song that Tainted people hear is aching and ethereal, pulling them towards a memory of nostalgic bliss as well as being a sound of terrible beauty and a yearning ache. Tainted people discover the song, they've never heard it before, and they love and hate it at the same time. In Asunder, Cole hears the song and says it has "an urgency that sped his heart" and is different to lyrium. In Emprise du Lion by red lyrium (Tainted Titans blood) Cole will say "its song is very angry". So if the Blight comes from Titans, then the Wardens, Ghouls, Darkspawn, and Tainted people are all hearing the Titans song that was actually meant for the dwarves aka their long lost children, explaining the nostalgia, the longing. The desire for long-lost perfection would also make sense given the bond dwarves and Titans had before it was severed (and in The Descent DLC when reaching the Bastion of the Pure and the Wellspring). This was all also before the Titans were mined for lyrium.
Cole also asks this to Varric: Do you write to reach across? To hear the song that was sundered? Again suggesting this is what the song refers to, and given the connection with dreaming, with creativity it's interesting that Cole brings it up since dwarves are the most advanced creative people in Thedas.
Blighted people hear a different song to the original pure song, and Cole says the Calling is different to the song of lyrium. When an Archdemon is present during a Blight, people hear it, and that song comes from the corrupted dragon, that or yearning/long-lost perfection might also reference an unhealthy/tainted thing wishing to return to the days when it wasn't that way.
The Veil isn't a physical thing, it's a magical vibration that repels the Fade with the source of the vibration being unknown, and there aren't any accounts of the Veil not existing in human history with humans only able to reach Thedas after it was created, around -3100 Ancient. The Veil might offer protection to humans due to the effect a thin Veil has on them since it makes them feel slow and heavy, and have headaches from too many colours whereas elves feel strong and quick. Dwarves however could live in a world without the Veil because of their bond with the Titans.
Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads
The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. probably the titans creating the blight to defend themselves against lyrium mining
A new vision appears: elves collapsing caverns, sealing the Deep Roads with stone and magic. Terror, heart-pounding, ice-cold, as the last of the spells is cast. the elves seal the deep roads to keep the blight in there, pretty much locking the titans and dwarves away with the plague the titans created as a line of self-defense
A voice whispers:
“What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all.”
This had a huge impact on dwarven society, and the ancient elves, particularly the Evanuris, royally screwed them over so if/when knowledge of that got out it'd have the potential to be very bad for the elves. Elgar'nan's sun is why they're afraid of the surface, the Caste system that causes people to be left in poverty/in the Deep Roads to die likely came about because of what happened to them, the link they had with their symbiotic protectors was severed along with the Fade/magic/dreams, and they had poverty, Darkspawn raids, the Blight...
The Titans remember this too. Yes, one was reunited with a dwarf but that's probably not going to do it in terms of appeasement. That doesn't mean that one isn't still angry, and it was the Breach that woke the Titan so there are possibly other Titans that woke up because the Veil was damaged and it finally allowed them to wake after a long slumber.
Tyrdda Bright-Axe of the Alamarri had a lover called 'laughing lady of the sky' and 'leaf-eared lover' with Tyrdda herself being called 'spirit's bride' meaning that all this would've happened when Mythal was a fragment pre-Flemeth. Tyrdda was a dreamer and Mythal spoke to her, gave advice, nudged history. The whole poem about Tyrdda is great because it's about Tyrdda's enemy who, convinced by dark voices in his dreams, wants to cross the Waking Sea to sack a golden city. Guess what's across the golden city? Arlathan. Tyrdda refused to marry him, refused to sack the golden city with him, and they fought. Tyrdda had other adventures including fighting a dragon armed only with the staff given to her by her lover before being advised to marry a dwarf as recommended by the lady. Her tribe was literally dying out but she did, and they had a daughter. Morrighan'nan. Not the first time that baby acquisition or that name have sounded familiar.
Dagna + working on rifts:
A thing deep inside Dagna remembered and sensed what being connected to a Titan was like, and the Titan's blood called out to her. The lyrium. She said that the lyrium and the Fade are linked so that's why the Evanuris were into it in a big way since it was a source of magic and a way to enhance magical power and to be stronger.
Dwarves aren't Tranquil in the way that a human or elven mage would be Tranquil in that they can't dream or use magic but they still have emotions. Since dwarves are disconnected from the Titans and the Fade, they're able to work on lyrium safely; they can touch it, transform it, make runes, enchantments, but they aren't part of it anymore. The Tranquil can't enter the Fade anymore or access their emotions - so the Fade and emotions are linked - whereas the dwarves aren't what they were. But lyrium was something that was once only related to dwarves. It's the blood of their creators, the things that gave them life since Valta says that the Titans predate the Stone, so the Stone is probably a substitute form of worship for the Titans they lost.
The Tranquility elves and humans go through is different to that of dwarves since they're cut off from the Fade directly with no mediator, and since they aren't bound to anyone, it's just them being affected by it. Meanwhile since the dwarves and Titans had a symbiotic relationship it meant that the dwarves allowed the Titans to be connected to the Fade and at the same time the Titans allowed the dwarves to use magic. When the Veil was created, it tore through that so the true Tranquil in that situation are the Titans. And the dwarves 'who make it happen' in Dagna's words couldn't reach the Titans and forgot about them so the symbiotic relationship couldn't reform. Instead they kept living somewhat normal lives but very differently to the way they once did. The Frostbacks come into all of this since the Frostbacks are full of lyrium aka Titans blood, and Oghren comments on that during Origins, as well as there being evidence of it during the beginning of Inquisition. Skyhold is built there and the Inquisitor is warned about not building too much in places including the whole floor collapse where the writer doesn't want to know what caused the damage because it's usually only caused by dams.
Lyrium allows Templars to use a form of magic that nullifies that one used by mages by reinforcing the reality around them and stopping the Fade from reaching them so the mages can't cast spells and are harmless. Cole says that the bodies of the Templars become incomplete and try to connect to something older and bigger than they are. They reach for that "other thing" and magic has no room to come in. Non-mages through training can use lyrium to possess special abilities but over time in large quanties it causes addicition and madness; even dwarves can die if they directly ingest it. Mages use lyrium to enhance the abilities they already possess and to walk through the Fade with perfect focus the way Somniari can without it. Pre-Veil, all elves were mages, there were't distinctions.
Dragons are able to slow the effect of the Blight by forming cysts in their bodies. The Taint is trapped within them for a short period of time and this allows the dragon to fight it longer than other creatures. In Elvhenan, Tevinter, and to the dwarves, dragons all appear. Their shape is "the shape of the divine".
The Old Gods/Archdemons/dragons might also be a security measure - explaining why Solas doesn't want them dead - left by Mythal in the Deep Roads with the dwarves to keep the Darkspawn at bay, linking nicely with the Evanurisu so the Blight is connected, and both Mythal and Elgar'nan had dragon forms, the ability of powerful tainted beings to invest their power in another thing and to bodysurf, as well as the dragons and their Blight cysts.
Spirits:
Spirits are deeply interested in the waking world most likely because it's where they belong and yearn to return to but their nature/reasons why are still up in the air. If the Fade is a stage, then spirits and demons prepare in different ways for meeting the people they encounter: a very scared person expecting only to find demons is going to find them e.g. if they expect to find a rage demon they will find and dream of rage and anger-related issues if they're not a mage strolling around in there.
Spirits and demons are also extremely interested in emotions, they portray them and become that emotion they so admire, love, are attached to, attracted to, corrupted into etc. If there were different before the Veil isn't exactly known. The texts and memories of Elvhenan don't mention emotions tied to spirits, don't give them connotations, they're spirits/brethren of air so they might have been much more complicated before but elven language is said to be poetic so there's room for interpretation there. Added to that though is how adamant Solas is about calling them people and considering them as such.
Spirits could also be ancient elves who abandoned their physical bodies - given what was learnt in Trespasser - so this could mean that all the spirits and demons are the ancient elves who were stuck and/or trapped there after the creation of the Veil, who lost themselves and the memories of the lives they once had. Again, Cole has interesting things to say about the Fade if he's made more spirit-like and the Inquisitor asks him what it feels like: "It is here but held, constrained by a construct, Veiled. Feelings, memories, minds, mortality: all shape it, a glass to hold water, we flow to the deep. Without you, we have nothing, not even us. That’s why we want so much".
Spirits desire to come into the waking world but it's conditional on being summoned or by calmly passing through the Veil of their own volition. They're intrigued by what they see, by the emotion they witness to the degree that they'll repeatedly act out those things which is perhaps to feel closer to the world e.g. corpses rising and attacking to feel they belong to it again or because it's instinctive to them because some part of their nature tells them to do that, because it's something that should belong to them too.
Entry tags:
ooc: playlist


Amenamy - Purity Ring
Scallop the breastbone, roll in toll and fold the long winter in it
Think not what the season will become
Breathe truthfully at the garden glen, that grew masterfully over your
Withering son
Lightning Field - Sneaker Pimps
Strike me down
Give me everything you've got
Strike me down
I'll be everything I'm not
Count the questions on one hand you don't ask me what I planned
Strike me down
Should have asked me what went wrong
Strike me down
Should have stayed away too long
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
She is like a cat in the dark
and then she is the darkness
she rules her life like a fine skylark
and when the sky is starless
All your life you've never seen
woman taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
will you ever win?
Will you ever win?
There Are Good Witches In the World - Atli Örvarsson
Instrumental
Heartlines - Florence and the Machine
And I’ve seen it in the flights of birds,
I’ve seen it in you.
The entrails of the animals,
The blood running through.
But in order to get to the heart,
I think sometimes you'll have to cut through.
But you can’t…
Dirty Paws - Of Monsters and Men
Her dirty paws and furry coat,
She ran down the forest slopes.
The forest of talking trees,
They used to sing about the birds and the bees.
The bees had declared a war,
The sky wasn't big enough for them all.
The birds, they got help from below,
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow.
Vampire Smile - Kyla La Grange
Baby you need to leave
Cause I'm getting drunk on your noble deeds
It doesn't matter that they don't get done
When I feel this cold they're like the fucking sun
Baby I need a friend
But I'm a vampire smile, you'll meet a sticky end
I'm here trying not to bite your neck
But it's beautiful and I'm gonna get
Like Real People Do - Hozier
Like Real People Do - Hozier
I had a thought, dear
However scary
About that night
The bugs and the dirt
Why were you digging?
What did you bury
Before those hands pulled me
From the earth?
The Hunted - Snow Ghosts
You wandered through the willows
In the forest you were found
Trying to hide your footprints in the ground
It's not so wise, if you try to run
It's not so wise, you know I've won, you know I've won
Season of the Witch - Donovan
You got to pick up every stitch
You got to pick up every stitch
You got to pick up every stitch
Mmmm, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch, yeah
Must be the season of the witch
Pyrrhic - Julianna Barwick
Instrumental
Two Planets - Bat For Lashes
Pyrrhic - Julianna Barwick
Instrumental
Two Planets - Bat For Lashes
And to be shared
On this night
Feel my hands
Feel my life
For the Sun
And the stars
Are my Mother
And my sister
I know where the form is changing
I know that the stars will follow me..
Wolf - First Aid Kit
Wolf - First Aid Kit
When I run through the deep dark forest long after this begun
Where the sun would set, trees were dead and the rivers were none
And I hope for a trace to lead me back home from this place
But there was no sound, there was only me and my disgrace
Satisfy myself
Avoid beginners
Who long to shut my mouth
Till I take one of them home
'Cause I know how it feels
Filling in the blanks
Looking on the bright side
When there is no bright side
Entry tags:
ooc: cr chart | thread tracker
Nearest and dearest;
Gwenaelle Vauquelin; survival has meaning and power has meaning, the young woman has both and has weathered such storms since first arriving in Morrigan's study in Skyhold. Loved and adored, it's a fool that threatens Gwenaelle, a fact Morrigan makes plain frequently. Kieran is particularly fond indeed. Knows the truth of Gwenaell's parentage and was there after mother died, will guard the secret ferociously
Alistair; they've come a long way since the Fifth Blight and despite a certain hiccup, it's as close to friendly as it'll ever be. She trusts him with Kieran and some of her worries that she can't voice to anyone else and she's...glad to have someone who understands. The least useless Warden and the only Warden she trusts. Did any of you defeat an Archdemon? No? Well get out of her sight, you're nothing to her
Thranduil; continuing source of fascination with the tales of where he hails from as well as his research interests and the manner he conducts himself with, cannot help herself when it comes to him and spiders. There's so much Morrigan has confided in Thranduil now that she can't really imagine him not being around
Friends;
Ellana Ashara; tender of the flame of Clan Ashara before choosing her own path, a shapeshifting student of Morrigan's who has grown into her own and studies many ruins and elven lore with the Inquisition. Morrigan watches her progress keenly to see where this will lead her in the world
The Medicine Seller; a most intriguing figure, utterly delightful, a mystery, and someone who understood the eluvians with minimal input so clearly she must keep him close and keep an eye on him
Wren Coupe; what strange days when a Templar is someone Morrigan trusts, but Wren gets things done, persists with Gwenaelle, and isn't a damned idiot. Her tales are interesting, and when a forest sprouted in Hightown overnight that Morrigan was asked about? She told Wren as much of the truth as she could guess at. And she was right.
Acquaintances;
Samouel Gareth; mage of the Ostwick Circle, he still managed to prove himself enough that he became a shapeshifting student of Morrigan's
Inessa Serra; Grey Warden, survivor of Kinloch Hold, strange to see what they become after you do the rescuing and step out of the tale
Korrin Ataash; the first Vashoth mage Morrigan has ever met, an intriguing extra perspective that never hurts to have
Church; an intriguing Rifter with so many baffling tales, a valuable boon for her research
Val de Fonce; an Orlesian scholar fond of his own voice with the self-preservation so very common to Orlesians and scholars alike which is to say distinctly lacking, she has agreed to appear to his mother involving moths in exchange for his aid in Sundermount because why not
Teren von Skraedder; Grey Warden and someone who Gets It, look we odd folk who make others uncomfortable must stick together by our powers combined at parties
Nathaniel Howe; she will actually strangle you with your own courtesy, obedient servant
Melys; no there are no ghosts but she is wiser than she perhaps would wish to admit if vexing
Myrobalan Shivana; blind elven circle mage who still was brave enough to speak with her on the Circles, her reputation, and she can respect that enough to give him a lesson on survival and understanding
Nell Voss; former Circle mage who seemed to want to put the little Circle aka Mage Council back together again so of course Morrigan had to tell her how shit it was
Kain Ventfort; a Reaver Warden, won't be surprised if he dies in a blood explosion but he has a connection to dragons that intrigues her
Kostos Averesch; mage she would assume, rude but given the company they met in she can understand. Talks as if he possesses a working brain.
Gwenaelle Vauquelin; survival has meaning and power has meaning, the young woman has both and has weathered such storms since first arriving in Morrigan's study in Skyhold. Loved and adored, it's a fool that threatens Gwenaelle, a fact Morrigan makes plain frequently. Kieran is particularly fond indeed. Knows the truth of Gwenaell's parentage and was there after mother died, will guard the secret ferociously
Alistair; they've come a long way since the Fifth Blight and despite a certain hiccup, it's as close to friendly as it'll ever be. She trusts him with Kieran and some of her worries that she can't voice to anyone else and she's...glad to have someone who understands. The least useless Warden and the only Warden she trusts. Did any of you defeat an Archdemon? No? Well get out of her sight, you're nothing to her
Thranduil; continuing source of fascination with the tales of where he hails from as well as his research interests and the manner he conducts himself with, cannot help herself when it comes to him and spiders. There's so much Morrigan has confided in Thranduil now that she can't really imagine him not being around
Friends;
Ellana Ashara; tender of the flame of Clan Ashara before choosing her own path, a shapeshifting student of Morrigan's who has grown into her own and studies many ruins and elven lore with the Inquisition. Morrigan watches her progress keenly to see where this will lead her in the world
The Medicine Seller; a most intriguing figure, utterly delightful, a mystery, and someone who understood the eluvians with minimal input so clearly she must keep him close and keep an eye on him
Wren Coupe; what strange days when a Templar is someone Morrigan trusts, but Wren gets things done, persists with Gwenaelle, and isn't a damned idiot. Her tales are interesting, and when a forest sprouted in Hightown overnight that Morrigan was asked about? She told Wren as much of the truth as she could guess at. And she was right.
Acquaintances;
Samouel Gareth; mage of the Ostwick Circle, he still managed to prove himself enough that he became a shapeshifting student of Morrigan's
Inessa Serra; Grey Warden, survivor of Kinloch Hold, strange to see what they become after you do the rescuing and step out of the tale
Korrin Ataash; the first Vashoth mage Morrigan has ever met, an intriguing extra perspective that never hurts to have
Church; an intriguing Rifter with so many baffling tales, a valuable boon for her research
Val de Fonce; an Orlesian scholar fond of his own voice with the self-preservation so very common to Orlesians and scholars alike which is to say distinctly lacking, she has agreed to appear to his mother involving moths in exchange for his aid in Sundermount because why not
Teren von Skraedder; Grey Warden and someone who Gets It, look we odd folk who make others uncomfortable must stick together by our powers combined at parties
Nathaniel Howe; she will actually strangle you with your own courtesy, obedient servant
Melys; no there are no ghosts but she is wiser than she perhaps would wish to admit if vexing
Myrobalan Shivana; blind elven circle mage who still was brave enough to speak with her on the Circles, her reputation, and she can respect that enough to give him a lesson on survival and understanding
Nell Voss; former Circle mage who seemed to want to put the little Circle aka Mage Council back together again so of course Morrigan had to tell her how shit it was
Kain Ventfort; a Reaver Warden, won't be surprised if he dies in a blood explosion but he has a connection to dragons that intrigues her
Kostos Averesch; mage she would assume, rude but given the company they met in she can understand. Talks as if he possesses a working brain.
Twisted Fate; her first shapeshifting student and the most unusual Dalish elf she had ever met, a true rebel spirit she misses still. Now that he's returned to the Inquisition, Morrigan's glad to see him back.
Julius; head of the Corypheus project, a Circle mage with a mind of his own and seemingly no small lack of ambition. Morrigan likes this one.
Carver Hawke; a chance meeting in a library but he was good enough to tell her the truth of the meeting Varric described of her mother, so there's that in his favour.
Chloe Price; recently arrived rifter, confusing but it was a strange time. Told Morrigan of a friend with time magic which was good of her if more confusing notes to be added to the pile.
Marisol Vivas; an Antivan noble and mage, a sharp mind, a sharp wit, and interested in shapeshifting as well as how it might be applied on a mission. Someone to keep an eye on.
It's Complicated;
Anders; to say he caused a furore with his reveal is to put it fucking mildly but time changes many things and they've...joked? Worked together??? Who even knows, things are changing people are changing, she's keeping Kieran away and not examining it too closely. If he keeps talking to Gwenaelle the way he does, Morrigan will absolutely murder him the first chance she gets.
No;
Beleth Ashara; abrasive, obnoxious, gives her a migraine
Gone but not forgotten;
Leliana; not meant to be perhaps but it happened nevertheless, Morrigan able to understand her better and when they finally came together it was all she had hoped for without realising it was what she wanted and needed. Selfishly wanted to pull down Leliana's hood more and remind her she was Leliana and not the Nightingale
Zevran Arainai; there was a hiccup that almost threatened everything but in the end Morrigan and Zevran became closer than they had ever been, Zevran a doting uncle to Kieran, both of them able to joke together and confide in one another. After Zevran's son arrived in his life, she was honest about what it was to be a mother to Kieran and did her best to aid him where she could with his new arrival
Merrill; one who knew the eluvians and understood the need for secrecy, a great loss to the Inquisition with her leaving. Merrill is someone Morrigan would not have seen herself becoming close with and yet they did, and now she will wonder what might have been
Twisted Fate; her first shapeshifting student and the most unusual Dalish elf she had ever met, a true rebel spirit she misses still
Adelaide LeBlanc; Morrigan was ever willing to agitate and stir the pot when it came to the little Circle as she called the Mage Council though Kieran had lessons with some of Adelaide's students and there were times they came to something of an understanding despite Morrigan's enjoyment of being the cat among the pigeons
Shale; of all the places to meet a golem once again, the Inquisition was not the place she imagined it to be. Shale will be missed now that she appears to have wandered off again
Vivienne; mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm how does it feel Vivienne to be usurped by someone who thumbs their nose at your Games
Katniss; eager young woman, she's unsure where she went but she was so keen to be involved in whatever it was that she uncovered that Morrigan does hope that wherever she is, she's taking the advice she gave to heart
Josephine Montilyet; did she think she would find the ambassador to truly be such pleasant company? No she did not, and yet she was even if she wasn't so very subtle in prying about her and Leliana and whatever name they failed to put to what they were
Ruby Lucas; dear girl with a past that echoed uncomforably like her own enough that it hurt
Sabine; rest assured Sabine, her room in Kirkwall may not have an eluvian but there is a solid door with witchy spells upon it, just for you
Alan Fane; what an odd young man honestly. Shapeshifter, perhaps a little too used to it but she enjoys his company a great deal and nothing bonds you like dragging and Orlesian noblewoman through a palace with Red Templars after you. Dearly hopes the red lyrium does nothing untoward to him
Oghren; look. He's survived this long. It's Oghren. She is strangely fond after ten years. Also this is what happens when you're both the least likely to become parents if people asked ten years ago but also the two that became parents and are trying your best to do right by them
Jamie McCrimmon; what is a bagpipe but no a useful young rifter who came with her to find some plants
Pel Ashara; former First to Clan Ashara, Pel has since chosen to walk another path as so many of the young of that clan have. Studying Veilfire runes, they also investigated the Lights of Arlathan at Cadash Thaig together and Morrigan offered her some words of advice and supplies when Pel told her of her pregnancy
Kit Gandir; former Legionnaire who accompanied her to the Korcari Wilds proving himself to be of use and willing to go where few dare to tread
Hermione; a rifter mage of sorts, valuable for her research
Sina Dahlasanor; the young Dalish First with a shard almost lodged in her heart, they've spoken once or twice on elven lore and she keeps her secrets and guards her tongue. Morrigan wonders how long it will be before her shard claims her life
Velanna; Grey Warden mage and former Dalish First, someone to speak to in the future for her research
Julius; head of the Corypheus project, a Circle mage with a mind of his own and seemingly no small lack of ambition. Morrigan likes this one.
Carver Hawke; a chance meeting in a library but he was good enough to tell her the truth of the meeting Varric described of her mother, so there's that in his favour.
Chloe Price; recently arrived rifter, confusing but it was a strange time. Told Morrigan of a friend with time magic which was good of her if more confusing notes to be added to the pile.
Marisol Vivas; an Antivan noble and mage, a sharp mind, a sharp wit, and interested in shapeshifting as well as how it might be applied on a mission. Someone to keep an eye on.
It's Complicated;
Anders; to say he caused a furore with his reveal is to put it fucking mildly but time changes many things and they've...joked? Worked together??? Who even knows, things are changing people are changing, she's keeping Kieran away and not examining it too closely. If he keeps talking to Gwenaelle the way he does, Morrigan will absolutely murder him the first chance she gets.
No;
Beleth Ashara; abrasive, obnoxious, gives her a migraine
Gone but not forgotten;
Leliana; not meant to be perhaps but it happened nevertheless, Morrigan able to understand her better and when they finally came together it was all she had hoped for without realising it was what she wanted and needed. Selfishly wanted to pull down Leliana's hood more and remind her she was Leliana and not the Nightingale
Zevran Arainai; there was a hiccup that almost threatened everything but in the end Morrigan and Zevran became closer than they had ever been, Zevran a doting uncle to Kieran, both of them able to joke together and confide in one another. After Zevran's son arrived in his life, she was honest about what it was to be a mother to Kieran and did her best to aid him where she could with his new arrival
Merrill; one who knew the eluvians and understood the need for secrecy, a great loss to the Inquisition with her leaving. Merrill is someone Morrigan would not have seen herself becoming close with and yet they did, and now she will wonder what might have been
Twisted Fate; her first shapeshifting student and the most unusual Dalish elf she had ever met, a true rebel spirit she misses still
Adelaide LeBlanc; Morrigan was ever willing to agitate and stir the pot when it came to the little Circle as she called the Mage Council though Kieran had lessons with some of Adelaide's students and there were times they came to something of an understanding despite Morrigan's enjoyment of being the cat among the pigeons
Shale; of all the places to meet a golem once again, the Inquisition was not the place she imagined it to be. Shale will be missed now that she appears to have wandered off again
Vivienne; mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm how does it feel Vivienne to be usurped by someone who thumbs their nose at your Games
Katniss; eager young woman, she's unsure where she went but she was so keen to be involved in whatever it was that she uncovered that Morrigan does hope that wherever she is, she's taking the advice she gave to heart
Josephine Montilyet; did she think she would find the ambassador to truly be such pleasant company? No she did not, and yet she was even if she wasn't so very subtle in prying about her and Leliana and whatever name they failed to put to what they were
Ruby Lucas; dear girl with a past that echoed uncomforably like her own enough that it hurt
Sabine; rest assured Sabine, her room in Kirkwall may not have an eluvian but there is a solid door with witchy spells upon it, just for you
Alan Fane; what an odd young man honestly. Shapeshifter, perhaps a little too used to it but she enjoys his company a great deal and nothing bonds you like dragging and Orlesian noblewoman through a palace with Red Templars after you. Dearly hopes the red lyrium does nothing untoward to him
Oghren; look. He's survived this long. It's Oghren. She is strangely fond after ten years. Also this is what happens when you're both the least likely to become parents if people asked ten years ago but also the two that became parents and are trying your best to do right by them
Jamie McCrimmon; what is a bagpipe but no a useful young rifter who came with her to find some plants
Pel Ashara; former First to Clan Ashara, Pel has since chosen to walk another path as so many of the young of that clan have. Studying Veilfire runes, they also investigated the Lights of Arlathan at Cadash Thaig together and Morrigan offered her some words of advice and supplies when Pel told her of her pregnancy
Kit Gandir; former Legionnaire who accompanied her to the Korcari Wilds proving himself to be of use and willing to go where few dare to tread
Hermione; a rifter mage of sorts, valuable for her research
Sina Dahlasanor; the young Dalish First with a shard almost lodged in her heart, they've spoken once or twice on elven lore and she keeps her secrets and guards her tongue. Morrigan wonders how long it will be before her shard claims her life
Velanna; Grey Warden mage and former Dalish First, someone to speak to in the future for her research
Entry tags:
ooc: inbox/plot with me

{sending crystal | notes & letters | personal visits}
Note: I work Mon-Fri and I'm basically away 11 hours a day but I do tags in gdocs and I try to do a round a night. Timezone is GMT.
ooc contact: deathwailart @ plurk | bansheesquad#0389 @ discord
Entry tags:
ooc: permissions
[OOC]
Backtagging: I usually keep going but if I forget, ping me
Threadhopping: check with me first please
Fourthwalling: Please don't
Offensive subjects: I don't have any really.
[IC]
Hugging this character: She will actually kill you
Kissing this character: No really she will actually kill you
Flirting with this character: You can try but she'll probably roll her eyes or cut you down to size
Fighting with this character: Talk to me first just so we can work it out
Injuring this character: Please see above
Killing this character: No thanks
Using telepathy/mind reading abilities on this character: Yeah just let me know
Backtagging: I usually keep going but if I forget, ping me
Threadhopping: check with me first please
Fourthwalling: Please don't
Offensive subjects: I don't have any really.
[IC]
Hugging this character: She will actually kill you
Kissing this character: No really she will actually kill you
Flirting with this character: You can try but she'll probably roll her eyes or cut you down to size
Fighting with this character: Talk to me first just so we can work it out
Injuring this character: Please see above
Killing this character: No thanks
Using telepathy/mind reading abilities on this character: Yeah just let me know
Entry tags:
ooc: info post

Basics
NAME: Morrigan AGE: 35 (arrival) | 37 NATIONALITY: Fereldan RACE: Human OCCUPATION: Arcane Advisor to the Imperial Court | HEIGHT: 5'8" BUILD: Slender, curves in all the right places especially as a spider HAIR: Black EYES: Golden BEARING: Proud |
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Those creepy gold eyes, watching, always watching. DIVISION: Research PROJECT: Elven Artifacts |
Status
Morrigan will likely be around Skyhold arranging tutors for her son, continuing her studies into forgotten and ancient magic, no doubt harrassing the Dalish and upsetting them by shemsplaining, and making life miserable for Alistair by virtue of her presence. Oh and probably writing letters to the Imperial Court just for the sake of appearances.
Morrigan has an office within Skyhold that is fairly brimming with her research; there are books upon books, pages upon pages, and plenty of plants that she grows that aren't trusted to the gardens. The doors are often left open unless she's working on something that requires privacy, so knock if it's shut. It is locked and warded when she's gone.
Reputation
Given that she was instrumental in helping to defeat the Fifth Blight, anyone who actually knows anything about it is welcome to know about her as is anyone who can connect Flemeth with her though mention of Flemeth will not gain you the stories you seek. If you've got handwaved past CR during the Fifth Blight days with the Warden's squad then let me know. If your character had involvement with the Imperial Court feel perfectly free to have met her or heard the rumours, just drop me a line. When it comes to Kieran however, it was absolutely not common knowledge that they were related so speak to me about connecting those two first please!
Hooks
Dalish elves are you ready for her to know more than you and to know how to work an eluvian without blood magic and demons? Do you want to learn of lost magics in general? Have you heard rumour of a Witch of the WIlds or perhaps the arcane advisor in Orlais? In general mages will work best with her and those not from Circles who reject all the Circle has to offer (nice mage council you sheep). Also come be a tutor to her son he's cute.
Her current research projects:
- Elven magic and lore: the ancient, lost, forgotten, and forbidden
- Dragons and connections beyond their world and into those of the rifters
- Anchor shards as they pertain to ancient magic
Approval & Gifts
+ Supporting mage freedom + Walking your own path + Keeping an open mind about things + Valuing the old ways + Leliana being a person + Upsetting Alistair | - Support the Circle - Following the done thing - Being closeminded - Believing the past should be forgotten - Fuck your Nightingale bullshit - Alistair being happy |
GIFTS Morrigan has a fondness for small shiny trinkets since she was never allowed such things, and her favourite would still be a golden mirror. She would also greatly approve of small items for Kieran of the not-a-nug-or-a-mabari variety since they actually have to move so often so it's not really practical to have a pet on the road alas. Research supplies and materials would be hugely appreciated too, even if it's just information since what might not matter to someone might be very helpful to her. |
Entry tags:
ooc: application
PLAYER
Name: Mhairi
Age: 26
Contact:
Other Characters: Araceli Bonaventura | Original (Rifter)
Interests: With Morrigan, I'd love to have her poking around into any sort of magical goings on given all the time she's spent studying the eluvians as well as her own knowledge of the Orlesian court after time as Celene's advisor. She'd absolutely still be good in a fight but I'd love to have her digging into magical lore more than anything else and disappearing off with various groups to go find new places and things to research properly. Or 'research' because it's Morrigan her interpretation is impeccable thank you very much or it is until the universe decides to smack her back down when she's getting too big for her boots.
CHARACTER
Name: Morrigan
Canon/OC: Dragon Age
Journal:
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Race: Human
Nationality: Fereldan
Occupation: Arcane Advisor to the Imperial Court of Orlais
Age: mid-30s at least given Kieran is 10 at the start of Inquisition
History
Morrigan at the Dragon Age wiki. In addition to the world state, she's spent the intervening years since Origins and Witch Hunt in the Imperial Court of Orlais including being sent to Serault by Empress Celene to rebuild an eluvian. She also studied the lineage of Serault including the Shame of Serault, the great-grandfather of the current Marquise.
Morrigan's position within the Imperial Court is of course controversial. Though Celene had sought a mage that hadn't come from the Circle and was free from any religious bias regarding their skills and viewpoint on magic, there were those who didn't trust Morrigan at all and believed she had used blood magic to enchant the Empress. However, it's stated that Morrigan and Celene argue a lot which can silence a lot of those believing in the blood magic stance. And, unlike Vivienne who had to work to convert the position into anything more than a jester, likely because of the sort of mage Morrigan is, she's managed to gain her own political power remarkably quickly.
She has joined the Inquisition at Skyhold ahead of schedule to
Personality
In the beginning, Morrigan was snarky, spiteful and more than a bit of a bitch. Time spent with the Warden, one son and ten years down the line then she's not nearly so spiteful and snarky – she's even almost friendly to Alistair and Leliana - and more willing to volunteer actual useful information. Of course she still has an agenda she probably hasn't informed you of but where's the fun in being completely honest? And she's still not above being snarky but it's very clear that she's kinder than she was, possibly down to her son, being away from her mother or more likely both of those things.
In the intervening years, she's had plenty of time to study and learn about ancient magic. Unfortunately that means she can be ignorant of her own ignorance when she's very much convinced that she's in the right. This can come off as rather smug and insufferable when she's speaking of a culture and magic that isn't even her own and when she blurs the line of history and legend. She's also not above using small lies to achieve her ends. Still, she does offer what she knows which is a damn sight more than most because she specialises in the lost and the ancient; indeed, her ultimate goal is to restore what has been lost from the world so that it's a less 'dull' place. Alas, when there is something older and bigger with you with an agenda that knows you? This desire can come back to bite her. Hard.
Despite having lived most of her life away from civilised society, she's managed to gain political power in Orlais which is no small feat given that she's the ultimate outsider: a Fereldan mage not of the Circle, one some believe to be a blood mage. Even though she's advisor to the Empress, it's stated that the pair of them will still argue, likely due to Morrigan having her own agenda rather than just doing exactly what Celene wants. Even so, despite the rumours of her using blood magic on Celene, she's still shown to do her part to help save Celene's life from a Venatori plot.
If there's one main thing that changed Morrigan's life, it's her son, Kieran. She will admit that she didn't expect to care for the child, and yet despite being aware of her faults, potentially even having to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life, she puts her son first. She wants him to have a much better upbringing than she ever did and she will pay the price to allow him to have that. Definitely a far cry from the woman we met back in Origins.
So if you require vital assistance in stopping the holes in the sky and the thing responsible for them? Trust in a witch. Just maybe not without a pinch of salt.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Mage: Morrigan is a daughter of Flemeth, an extremely powerful WItch of the Wilds and as such she has an understanding and knowledge of magic without the typical influences of the Circle such as caring for ancient and lost magic. In Origins she can be developed however the player wishes but based on her starting stats, she's a blend of primal (ice and lightning) and entropy spells. Her specialisation from Origins is shapeshifter though she does mention in dialogue that she can become other creatures, namely a bird, a wolf or a cat so gameplay/story segregation. I highly doubt she's somehow forgotten any of that. Alas, for all that she's a mage so she is definitely squishy and not to be put on the front lines unless you want her turned into a fine red paste.
Witch of the Wilds: After growing up in the middle of the Korcari Wilds, she knows enough about survival out there and her time with the Warden and her travels alone would only have enhanced that. Like remember that fun time she told Alistair about all the possible poisons in the Wilds? Good times. Classic banter. She can cook, she can set up her own camp as witnessed by her not camping with the loser brigade in Origins, by the fact that even as a child she could evade Templars with her mother and even thought of it as a game. Her shapeshifting has likely helped her but she ultimately values survival so she knows how to survive in the middle of nowhere with only herself to rely on. Her interpersonal skills can be somewhat...lacking as a result and no one was surprised.
Temptation Lies in the Forbidden: So here's the thing: Morrigan cares about what is lost to the point that she will do stupid things. Like wanting to drink from a well even after it's revealed that she doesn't know everything about, even when it will take her away from the son that she loves. Which leads nicely into the fact that she will withhold information to get what she wants. Still, she's studied a great deal of lore that falls outside of the Circle teachings, especially elven lore and magic, so she does actually have plenty of knowledge to back the talk up but she can be a bit smug about it. The thing is though, is that she believes so greatly in her own interpretation of things that she can ignore or not fully realise what she's getting into and when life comes along to humble her, she falls damn hard.
Elfy stuff: Like it or not, she does know an awful lot about very ancient elven history. She's pretty smug about it though it's all her own interpretation of it but it's pretty handy to have someone around who can actually read the elven written language when that's stated to be something few elves themselves can do these days. She will probably annoy the hell out of elves to her own peril given she tends to equate history and legend.
Mama bear: Seriously do not touch her son even if she has to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life you will not have her son to use for your own ends. I mean he is a sweet boy why would you want to have your face zapped off for trying to do anything to him?
Grey Wardens: And finally, thanks to the treaties, Flemeth and probably sneaking around like a sneaky witch thief, all in addition to the time with the Warden, she knows a fair bit about them and Warden-y things.
Inventory
1 x Robes of Possession (ten years and a kid but nope you get the same outfit)
1 x fancy Orlesian court gown
1 x staff
1 x black grimoire
1 x Flemeth's grimoire
1 x golden mirror
Assorted mage supplies (herbs, crystals, lyrium potions, way too many books for one lady)
A decent amount of coin
1 x eluvian (to be sent for)
1 x Kieran* (and the necessary supplies a kidlet would require)
*Assuming that unless Kieran is considered to be playable, it'll pretty much go the way of Inquisition in that she will tell him that his butt should run along to go do his homework.
Motivation
Morrigan has been in the Imperial Court for some time as arcane advisor, furthering her own research; she has rebuilt an eluvian for Celene as seen in the Last Court but of course like all things, she wouldn't have done it if she hadn't stood to gain something from it. In joining the Inquisition, she would gain access to magical items and to go research them with much less oversight than she would in the Imperial Court, especially when the Inquisition has so many minds from different places coming together.
SAMPLES
sample one;
Tarasyl'an Te'las, it was properly called yet for all the Dalish so far from their clans, did any of them know the true name of the place they now called home? Or had that too been thought lost forever as so many other things, like the eluvians and the crossroads, the old bones of an empire that could scarcely be recalled now by a single soul.
To see it in the glory days of the empire would have been something spectacular. Now however, given the history, given the fall of the elven empire, it would have to do as it in the current condition.
In the quiet of the rooms they'd been assigned, Kieran moved in his sleep with the rustle of blankets, exhausted from the longest journey they'd taken, from the excitement of marching through snow and being somewhere new. A curious boy, not prone to trouble but trouble had a way of finding boys and she'd need to arrange tutors sooner rather than later though given the numbers present it didn't look to be a problem.
Only here he wouldn't have the anonymity he'd had in Orlais. In Skyhold he would be her son and it would be known. And if people knew enough about the Fifth Blight, about old Ferelden tales of Flemeth, of witches in the wild places only the Chasind traversed then it could get back to him.
He was only a boy. A normal boy despite his conception, despite what dwelt within him. A boy she'd raised and loved and guarded fiercely all his days. Coming here would be the right thing to do, after all there was war in Orlais, not so open as Loghain's civil war had been a decade ago, nothing so uncouth for the Orlesians who at least kept it to the Plains but here he would be safe. All else could wait until the morrow, she decided, checking the lock on the door and setting her staff within easy reach as she made herself ready for bed.
"The eluvian has waited this long, it can wait a little longer," she murmured to herself. There might be several fits if a sudden flurry of letters from the Empress herself appeared after all. "A secure room away from the bustle of the masses, away from prying eyes." Prying elven eyes who might take exception should they know what it was.
For now, it was time to sleep and gather Kieran close when he reached out in the dark, like she had when he was smaller, unwilling to dream of the past reached out with hands as sharp and ragged as the demons that spilled through the rifts.
sample two;
The Fifth Blight ten year reunion goes better than expected