My Theory on Veilguards' Dragons
This sort of popped up with my friend, @this-is-something-idk-what, when they suggested a theory about the dragons/possible archdemons in Veilguard's Release Trailer. I'm just going to put it here, though I will worn. I feel like I read elements of this in the past, so shout out to any original theorist, but also I'm not exactly the greatest at remembering the direct lore of Dragon Age, and I'm also just dumb.
- So This-is-something-idk-what mentioned a potential theory where the archdemons were the Evanuris or the blighted gods, which I do admit is a very interesting term of phrase for Solas to use. While I'm not particularly against it, I have a few problems with it (which isn't exactly mean to attack this-is-something-idk-what). For one, the only god mentioned to be particularly associated with dragons is actual Mythal herself. I don't think this is a later revionisist take on the Elves part, when they began to directly associate different creatures to their gods potentially after Arlathan's fall, like Ghilan'nain's sacred animal being a halla. We know that Mythal was associated with dragons, even during the times of the ancient elves - the final scene with Solas and Mythal is notable with their depiction of a wolf howling on one side of the eluvian, and a dragon bowing it's head on the other. The only Evanuris, that I am aware of and what the wiki mentions, that is associated with dragons is Mythal. (Though, oddly enough, Elgar'nan, the head of the Evanuris, is notably without a sacred animal, being only noted to be symbolized with fire, light, and lightning, though I could imagine Mythal and him may have shared some elements of draconic influence.)
What I think may have lead to the establishment of the archdemons is primarily because of Mythal. According to the Veilfire Runes in the Deep Road:
"Hail Mythal, adjudicator and savior! She has struck down the pillars of the earth and rendered their demesne unto the People! Praise her name forever!"
We know that Mythal had a hand in slaying some of the Titans, and that the Evanuris halted expeditions after they acquired significant portions of Deep Roads, as the Veilfire Runes codex mentions:
For a moment, the scent of blood fills the air, and there is a vivid image of green vines growing and enveloping a sphere of fire. The vision grows dark. An aeon seems to pass. Then the runes crackle, as if filled with an angry energy. 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.
That codex also makes mention that:
"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."
Who is making this claim is not entirely known. It is entirely possible it's a follower of Solas, but the codex doesn't give us much to go off, so I digress.
However, what I think it is interesting is that it is very likely Mythal herself, as the Elves retreated from the Deep Roads, established the dragons as a sort of safe guard against a potential attack from either the Titans, or whatever could be found that could threaten them as the codex talks about. Could it be the Blight? I'm not entirely sure. Some people have suggested that the Blight was made from the Elves, but I can also possible see that it has another originator, the Forgotten Ones - whom is curiously absent in discussion from Solas or from the recent DA material. As for the dragons...who else would place dragons, creatures of flight, who take to the heavens, within the binds of the earth? The presence of the potential archdemons all seem to point toward Mythal, though entirely why she did so is up in the air.
But that's not what I'm really trying to discuss. What I think Veilguard is utilizing the possible archdemons as seen in the Release Date trailer is something that was rarely touched upon, or kinda forgotten, in the fandom (but again, it's been nearly ten years since Trespasser, so it makes sense and we could had talked about it back then).
Solas mentions in Trespasser, at his bewilderment that Corypheus could actually succeed in unlocking his foci:
"I did not foresee a Tevinter magister having learned the secret of effective immortality."
How do we see Corypheus remain immortal? By corrupting an high dragon into his vessel. What is curious is that Solas says "the secret", and not a secret, as if the true way to remain effective immortal is to bind your life-source with another entity, powerful enough to retain it. Of course, Solas does say the Elves were immortal, all of them, but I assume that they could die or be in a state of inability. What we find with Flemeth and Mythal may hint that, which I'm like 90% was talked about in past theories. Why else would he refer to it as "effective" rather than simply "the secret of immortality". Because you don't have to technically worry about dying, even if your body is destroyed. You can simply possess another body.
Which leads me to also believe that to secure Mythal's complete dissolution, the Evanuris went beyond just attempting to kill Mythal. They went on an effective purge. It is my theory, not entirely backed I believe by any real source in the lore, that the vallaslin of ancient Elvhenan were not simply just be slave-markers, but points of restoration when an immortal died, as we have seen Corypheus have done in the Temple of Mythal. Though it could be argued that it is done through his usage of the Taint, similar to the jumping of souls of the archdemon, I am not entirely sure. After all, would Corypheus even need to learn that through the foci? Why would Solas mention it as an the secret of effective immortality? Given Flemeth-Mythal's tendency to jump into the bodies of her daughters when their older body begins to wan, I think it is less a utilization of the Taint and more an Elven invention in which Corypheus adopted, thanks to Solas' foci.
The Purge of the Mythalites seem to be implied in the Temple of Mythal in the Unreadable Elven Writing:
She shook the radiance of the stars, divided them into grains of light, then stored them in a shaft of gold. Andruil, blood and force, save us from the time this weapon is thrown. Your people pray to You. Spare us the moment we become Your sacrifice." There is a brief image of an elaborate golden spear, glowing with unbearable heat. Then it fades.
The full poem comes from both Andruil's Gift and the Unreadable Elven Writing:
She took the gathering storm, trapped its fury in golden limbs, and strung it with the screams of the south wind. Andruil, blood and force, your people pray to you. Grant that your eye may not fall upon us. Spare us the moment we become Your prey. She shook the radiance of the stars, divided them into grains of light, then stored them in a shaft of gold. Andruil, blood and force, save us from the time this weapon is thrown. Your people pray to You. Spare us the moment we become Your sacrifice.
I think it is clear, to keep Mythal from accessing a readily available form through her own practitioner-slaves, the Evanuris ordered and acted toward the slaughtering of Mythal's people, leaving her unable to access the world in a meaningful way until Flemeth (and possibly, if it is to believe, but by God I hope it is not true, Andraste).
Such, what we do find in Veilguard with the dragons/possible archdemons is the usage of the effective immortality Solas mentions in Trespasser. And it is very possible that the Evanuris are blighted, in someway, relating specifically to the Blight.
But again, this is a theory - put together in a short amount of time, at 11pm-12am, and I think my first in-depth Dragon Age theory, so please be gentle. 🥺🥺🥺