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

Anonymous asked:

About your post on eluvians and the possibility of their existence in the Temple of Sacred Ashes - wasn't there a huge deal with Andraste championing elves and helping to free them, something that the chantry later went back on? I'm sure there was one elf that was particularly close to Andraste, though I'd have to go back and look at the codex entries. Is it possible that he may have had something to do with it? And that the cult members residing there made the holes later on?

Eluvians in the Temple of Sacred Ashes

Absolutely! Andraste allied her forces with elven slaves who were rebelling against Tevinter. Shartan, the leader of these elves and the close friend of Andraste you’re remembering, became Andraste’s champion and was killed trying to save her from the pyre. The Canticle of Shartan was part of the original Chant of Light and detailed the elves contribution to Andraste’s Exalted March. Andraste’s children gave the Dales to the elves as reward for their valor, but the Chantry went back on this promise of an elven homeland after the Second Blight and the Exalted March on the Dales. This was also when the Canticle of Shartan was struck from the Chant. From my research, I think there is a very close association between the elves and Andraste’s people. The Temple of Sacred Ashes definitely has elven features, including statues and iconography of the elven gods, as well as Avvar features.

(Elven god statues, possibly Falon’Din although the headdress/torch combo is not seen in other statues of him, in the Temple of Sacred Ashes.)

(These statues are identified as representing Falon’Din in the Dalish Origin.)

(This is the entrance to the Gauntlet at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Notice the effigy of Elgar’nan above the door.)

(And there is, of course, this lovely Mythal mosaic in the floor as you battle Corypheus.)

These and other features point to an elven origin for the temple, and certainly support the idea that eluvians were part of the original construction. The Avvar and/or the Alamarri certainly were in Ferelden long enough (at least a thousand years before the fall of Arlathan) to develop close ties with the elves in the area. There is evidence of human/elven culture becoming very closely connected in the Brecilian Forest Ruins. The Arcane Warrior that was trapped in the crystal there said that elves and humans lived together in the area. After so much time together, it seems very probable that elven and human cultures blended and resulted in places like the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Kinloch Hold, the Brecilian Forest Ruins, and the ruins in the Dalish Origin/Witch Hunt.

So yes, I was hedging a bit by saying that the Temple of Sacred Ashes might not have had eluvians, but upon more reflection, I think it is very likely that it did. I’ll have to write more about the connections between ancient elves and the Avvar/Alamarri some day.

Thanks for the ask!

-MM

wyrdsistersofthedas

In Search of: Eluvians! Mysteries of the Ancient Elves: Random Thought Blog #4

A small side post today on a topic that was brought to my attention as I was working on a mega meta post that I keep getting distracting from finishing. According to the lore we learned in The Masked Empire, Inquisition and Trespasser, eluvians were a combination of highway and door system, connecting important centers of civilization. As such, there should be a lot more of them in ancient sites even with the Ben-Hassrath collecting them for who knows how long. I revisited almost every structure in all of the games, and I found eluvians hiding in places that I had never noticed before; places where it would make sense that eluvians were once used.

#dragon age #dragon age meta #meta #eluvian #dragon age origins #dragon age inquisition #dragon age witch hunt #dragon age warden's keep #dragon age trespasser #morta's musings #elven ruins (dalish origin)#kinloch hold #soldier's peak #Brecilian forest ruins #drake's fall #temple of sacred ashes #orlais

wyrdsistersofthedas

Random Thought Blog #2: Andraste is connected!

Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew. Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you. In my arms lies Eternity. -Canticle of Andraste 14:11

So I was rereading part of The Calling for a different Wyrd Post when this section jumped out at me:

“As [Fiona and Maric] approached a cave opening ahead, she heard the sound of running water. They stepped into another large cavern, and from where they stood on the edge of a small cliff they looked out over what had to be some kind of underground lake. The water was cloudy green, lit from beneath by phosphorescent rocks until it shone like an emerald on the rocky ceiling. It had an eerie beauty to it, she thought.

....Maric stood at the edge of the cliff and stared out at the water, awestruck. He said something under his breath that she didn’t quite catch.

“What’s that?” she asked him.

“Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew.

....It’s where Andraste goes to speak to the Maker for the first time. It’s where she convinces him to forgive mankind. It was supposed to be this beautiful temple deep under the earth surrounded by emerald waters.” (emphasis added)

That last bit sounded eerily familiar after playing The Descent. Why did Andraste go into the earth to commune with the Maker? And why does it seem like we made the same journey?!

No, I don’t think the Maker is a Titan. I don’t believe the denizens of Thedas will ever know if there is truly a Maker (mostly because that seems very D&D to me), but I do think that Andraste could somehow have became connected to the Titan beneath Ferelden, perhaps like Valta now is. Andraste is said to have entered trance-like states then said that she had heard voices as if from a lost memory, the sound of bells, or talked of strange auras. This is reminiscent to the Sha-Brytol and Valta. Andraste is also rumored to have been a mage (They totally say she was in Tevinter, but they would!), although codex entries in Inquisition seem to cast doubt on this. (It sounds to me like Andraste was at least fade-touched or, at most, the reborn Old God Baby Dumat) After their bond was formed, Valta says that the last time the Titan she is connected to wakened was 1000 years ago...which would be very near the time of Andraste.

What if the Herald of Andraste is unknowingly following in the footsteps of the Andraste? Literally!!

And stranger still, could Andraste have been connected to the Fade (mage) and connected to the Titans? All we need is the Void and Andraste is like ...the Avatar of Thedas!

-Morta Mahariel, Wyrd Sister of Thedas

PS - What if the lyrium veins in the Temple of Sacred Ashes are connected to the same Titan in The Descent? Was that why Andraste’s ashes were taken there and contributed to their miraculous healing powers?

PPS - So if Andraste was the Old God Dumat reborn, then she might have knowledge of the Blight, which probably comes from the Void so yeah. Avatar!

#dragon age #dragon age meta #dragon age titan #andraste #herald of andraste #temple of sacred ashes #dragon age the descent #dragon age the calling #dragon age theories #morta's musings #random dragon age thoughts