Cloak and Shadows

Hey buddies! Hey friends! Hey pals! That (↑) is fucking Falon’Din, my dudes!! (So says Artemis. So say we all.)

The Wyrd Sisters of Thedas and others believe that the figure depicted in the Mark Darrah tweet is Falon’Din, the elven god of the dead, and that he will play a major role in Dragon Age 4. He may even be the true big bad of the next installment of the franchise.

Want to know more? Equip your tinfoil hats and follow us below the cut….

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wyrdsistersofthedas

So in chatting with @hanginwithhelsdim and looking at the images in question, I think I did get this wrong. I highly encourage everyone to check out the original post! It turns out that more elvhen masks were hidden in plain sight in the DAO credits. We only see June and Elgar’nan’s mask in Origins, and I mistakenly labeled the effigy on the right as being the elvhen All-Father and resident vengeance monger:

Turns out Elgar’nan’s image was in the end credits:

The center image, as you can see, matches the icon in the Temple of Sacred Ashes, which is all sorts of interesting. If @hanginwithhelsdim is right, which I think is highly likely, then the mask below represents Mythal.

I would also note that there are a few design elements from Flemythal’s makeover, both dragon and human, in DA2 that also might be nods to this mask like image.

That may indicate that all of these “masks’ are related to the evanuris’ dragon forms. But let’s set this thought aside and think about what it would mean if that particular mask represents Mythal.

Reassessing the Ruins

Something I’ve wondered about for a while now was why there were so few images of Mythal in DAO. Given how important we now know her to be, that absence was very pronounced. Well, turns out Mythal’s iconography is all over the place, including some really curious ruins. The Gauntlet of the Temple of Sacred Ashes is just the beginning.

The Brecilian Forest - Lots of Mythal throughout this ruin, including near what is very likely a rebuilt Well of Sorrows.

The Ruins in the Dalish Origin - There are more images of Mythal in this temple than any other member of the elven pantheon.

The most interesting thing about this revelation is that both of these ruins had to have been created after the arrival of humans and the creation of the Veil. According to Tamlen and the elven spirit in the soul crystal, the structures are human architecture and yet they are filled with effigies to the evanuris. And, at least in the case of the Dalish Origin ruins, there is a connection to a dwarven city somewhere in the Deep Roads. That’s a lot of cultures crossing in Ferelden.

Mythal’s image is found throughout these ruins, along with Andruil, Sylaise, and Ghilan’nain. There are almost no images of the male members of the pantheon, save one, admittedly important, statue of Falon’Din. Why weren’t Elgar’nan, June, and Dirthamen honored in these temples?

Falon’Din’s statue was also prominently placed in the grand entry hall of the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Given how tenuous the relationship between Mythal and Falon’Din is implied to be, it is curious that he alone is featured in these post Veil temples, especially in one that was almost certainly dedicated to Mythal before it got an Avvar makeover and Andraste’s ashes were interred there. Why is Mr. Merciful One, Friend of the Dead dude, the only manly member ( ;) ) of the elven pantheon included in these human temples? I hope there’s a story here.

Mystery of the Masks

So who are the other two masks in the credit image?

Andruil and Ghilan’nain? Dirthamen and Falon’Din? ......Sylaise? Honestly, it is almost impossible to say for certain, but I am leaning towards the ladies because they are depicted with statues that are reused all over the place, regardless of the context. @hanginwithhelsdim also is leaning towards Andruil for the one on the left, but again, go read the original post! The last could be either Ghilan’nain or Sylaise, both of whom seem to have a fondness for fancy headdresses.

So why not the boys? Well, Falon’Din already has his creepy ass statue in DAO, and it’s likely that the nearly identical, and equally creepy, one seen in the center of the image below is Dirthamen.

But what do you think? If any of you see some iconography that could identify the two remaining masks, send your thoughts our way.

-MM

PS - @hanginwithhelsdim The Invasion mosaic seems to have the same staff and headdress as the other credit image you cite.

(There are so many interesting details in these mosaics that everyone should check out @higheverrains posts with clearer images of them. They can be found here.) I really need to do a write up of what I see in the mosaics. Is it just me or are there similarities to the statue in the Wending Woods or the credits image?

And yeah. They could be the evanuris, but they could also very well be their Chosen. I’ve got another “ask” in my inbox that is causing me to delve into that topic further. Hope to have it ready to post soon. Thanks again for the images and the info!

wyrdsistersofthedas

Well Shit: The Elvhen Ritual (Part 4 of 4)

We have examined why the Well of Sorrows was so important to the ancient elvhen Sentinels, the origins of the Vir’abelasan, and whether Dirthamen’s Temple once contained a Well as well.

If our theory that the Well of Sorrows is more than a plot device for Inquisition, and that it and many other important story elements for the rest of the Dragon Age series were previewed in earlier games, then it stands to reason there should be something like the Well of Sorrows in Origins or DA2. And it is there.

In fact, most of our Wardens drank from the Well, which could lead to a “Well, shit!” moment for the Warden if they are still alive (and make an [unlikely] appearance) in DA4.

The ruins in the Brecilian Forest are extremely interesting. There are so many important details in them that they could be a series of posts unto themselves. They, and the ruins in the Dalish Origin, point to elves and humans living together side by side after the Veil was created for hundreds of years before Tevinter shows up.

The Wiki says that the Brecilian Forest ruins are probably Tevinter in origin, but honestly that seems highly unlikely given what we find in them and the history we learn from the elf trapped in the spirit crystal. There are signs that indicate these ruins once used eluvians as doors in some places and the presence of what is almost certainly a Well of Sorrows.

Before we get into the details of who created this well, let's first examine if it is actually a Vir’abelasan. There are many indications that the “fountain” in the depths of the temple was used to prepare the honored elven elders for uthenera, just like the Well of Sorrows. When you pick up the tablet that starts the Elven Ritual quest you get a message that says:

“Most of the carvings are faded. What little you can make out involves a scene where the honored dead is laid to rest inside a grand chamber.

There seems to be some kind of process involving the altar before the body can be laid to rest, but most of those runes are illegible.”

The text could be interpreted as a funerary ceremony, but when you read the codex entry for the tablet, it details a process that seems very similar to the ritual that occurred when servants of Mythal placed their memories and knowledge in the Vir’abelasan before entering uthenera.

A Warden who didn’t know anything about the Vir’abelasan would, of course, have interpreted these scenes as some sort of cleansing ritual, but post Inquisition the image of an elf with vallaslin standing in a pool pouring something into the ‘water’ while being revered by other elves takes on another meaning.

There are differences, of course. There doesn’t seem to be an altar near the Well in Mythal’s Temple, and the “Well” is very small. The Warden doesn’t seem to gain any great insights or whispers that help them understand the ancient mysteries. Problematic, but not necessarily a sign that it was not a Well. So what else do we have?

There are some other indications that there is a “will” or force influencing the actions of people who come in contact with the Brecilian Well/Fountain. In the text describing the Warden’s thoughts and actions while interacting with the Fountain and altar are very interesting:

Some force or intelligence subtly prompts the warden away from ‘common’ mistakes, like leaving an offering. It is interesting that small mistakes such as the offering are acceptable, but once the clay jug becomes involved shades punish those who do the ritual wrong. It is interesting that shades attack the warden if they drink all of the water from the jug, leaving nothing to pour back into the fountain. These shades can be defeated with relative ease, but it is a stern reminder to do the ritual correctly.

The warden can still finish the ritual correctly even after the shades attack them, which again suggests that this ritual was supposed to be idiot proof. It was more important to the creators of the ritual that it be finished than it was for it to be done correctly the first time. This suggests that they expected the people performing the ritual to not know the proper forms of the ritual and that they might need a second chance. This is suggestive and we will circle back to this idea in just a moment.

This may not be conclusive proof that this Fountain is a Well of Sorrows, but the totality of the evidence is certainly pointing that way. The images inscribed on the tablet alone make it more than likely that the elves who once lived in the ruins knew about the ritual performed in Mythal’s Temple. Now we have a few other questions to answer: Is this an original Well of Sorrows? A remnant that was revived by later generations of elves? Or was it a recreation of a Well by elves who were not clear about exactly how to do the ritual?