Rhythm And Breath In Dragon Age: Inquisition

Now THIS is the biggest glow-up in Dragon Age history

Anyway here's the Guerrin timeline as best I can piece it together, if it's useful to anyone!

Updated 7/14/23 with corrections & additions.

~8:84 Blessed - Eamon is born. (The Calling - He's 15 at the time of the Battle of West Hill, which occurred in 8:99 Blessed.)

8:99 Blessed - The Battle of West Hill. Arl Rendorn Guerrin, Eamon's father, is killed in action. Maric Theirin is presumed dead but reappears in Gwaren, which is then taken by the rebels. The Battle of River Dane deals a decisive defeat to the Orlesian forces, though the conflict is not completely over. It will take several more years to completely drive out the occupying lords. However, Emperor Florian officially withdraws support for King Meghren.

9:02 Dragon - Eamon, 18, returns to Redcliffe to claim his place as arl, but find it still under Orlesian control, and works with the rebel forces to reclaim it. Isolde, the daughter of one of the Orlesian governors, is sympathetic to the rebels and becomes infatuated with Eamon, who does not return her feelings; nevertheless, she feeds information to the rebels, and chooses to stay in Ferelden after her family is driven out. Isolde is four years younger than Eamon, making her 14 at the time. (WoT v.2 p. 102, 106)

9:02 Dragon - Maric kills the usurper King Meghren in a dual, officially ending the occupation and winning Ferelden's freedom. (There is a noted discrepancy in the dates between the epilogue of The Stolen Throne, and World of Thedas vol. 1, the latter of which puts the duel at 9:00 Dragon. Given other events, the later date seems more plausible.)

~9:08 Dragon - Six years after their initial meeting, Eamon (24) meets Isolde (20) again in Denerim. They quickly become involved and are married. (WoT v.2 p. 103)

9:10 - Alistair is born to Fiona and King Maric. His parents give him up to be raised at Redcliffe Castle, inventing a story about his mother being a human serving girl. (The Calling.)

~9:20 Dragon - Isolde becomes pregnant with Connor after difficulty conceiving. This causes rumors about Alistair (10) being Eamon's bastard to resurface, and Eamon sends him away to a monastery to spare his wife's feelings. Connor is born soon after.

~9:29 Dragon - Short of taking his vows as a templar, Alistair (19) is conscripted into the Grey Wardens. (WoT v.2 p.79)

~9:30 Dragon - Connor Guerrin (10) shows signs of magic. Isolde hires an apostate, Jowan, to tutor Connor in secret. Eamon (46) is poisoned by Jowan and falls ill. (Origins.)

~9:31 Dragon - Following the Blight, Eamon decides to stay in Denerim, serving as an advisor to the throne, eventually declaring his brother Teagan the new Arl of Redcliffe. (Origins, WoT v.2 p.104)

?:?? Dragon - (If Connor is dead) Rowan Guerrin is born to Isolde and Eamon. After a difficult birthing, Isolde dies. (Potential Origins Epilogue slide.)

?:?? Dragon - Rowan Guerrin shows signs of magic and is sent to the Circle, though her father continues to visit her. (Potential Origins Epilogue slide.)

Thedosian Artists and Performers

Here's a little list I compiled over time of Thedosian artists and performers, professionals and hobbyists, that are explicitely named across the franchise. Many more artists haunt the narrative but saddly they remain unnamed.

I saw someone earlier this week struggling with finding canon thedosian artists but the app crashed before I could note their name. Hopefully this will find its way to you, unknown person! I'll post (hopefully soon) additional lists compiling in details all form of Arts, Techniques and Music that are mentionned to exist in Thedas along with named artisans and specialized workers, in the hope it could be useful references for someone. Don't hesitate to fire a DM my way if you need something specific fast! ^-^

Abbreviations you might be not familiar with, just in case : DAtV : Dragon Age - The Veilguard TLC : The Last Court TME : The Masked Empire TN : Tevinter Nights TST : The Stolen Throne WoT and WoT2 : World of Thedas and World of Thedas 2.

Actors :

Interesting tidbit : Orlesian theater actors wear color-coded shape-coded facemasks on stage. A half-face Green mask is to signal the lead masculine role, a half-face purple one for the lead feminine role, blue masks for supporting masculine characters and red masks for supporting feminine characters. Full white masks are for spirits while demons are played wearing red-striken black masks. The race, gender or age of the actors themselves don't matter in the least in the attribution of roles. There are also professional theater critics in Orlais (and maybe Tevinter as well). - Maudine : Orlesian actress, played in front of the Orlesian court in 9:41 (last name unknown, source : DAI) - Juliette : Orlesian actress, played in front of the Orlesian court in 9:41 (last name unknown, source : DAI) - Robert : Orlesian actor, played in front of the Orlesian court in 9:41 (last name unknown, source : DAI) - Stephan : Orlesian actor, played in front of the Orlesian court in 9:41 (last name unknown, source : DAI) - Rendell : Elven actor from Markham, Free Marches (has a slight accent which is frowned upon), played in front of the Orlesian court in 9:41 (last name unknown, source : DAI) - Victor Boyet : Elven orlesian actor, made his big break as the lead in "The Heir of Verchiel". (timeline unknown, before 9:20, source : DAI)

Playwrights : (See : Codex entry: A Compendium of Orlesian Theater, for more lore on those!)

- A. Pourri : Orlais, known for the popular "Wilkshire Downs" (which includes a lot of... farting. Might be why the french adjective used as a name here literally translate as "rotten"). (timeline unknown, likely pre-DragonAge, source : DAI) - Lumière Bartlet : Orlais, author of very little renown during his life, wrote "The Setting of the Light", considered to be one of the strangest plays to have been written and a possibly cursed one, as many of the crew and even the author himself suffered fatal accidents (demon deal gone bad?). (around 4:52, Black Age, source : DAI) - Marquise Freyette : Orlais, author of several plays, her most famous being "The Sword of Drakon : An Examination of the Life and History of the Father of Orlais", the play almost got banned by the Chantry for depicting Drakon as a man with doubts and feelings instead of a perfect hero. (timeline unknown, likely pre-DragonAge, source : DAI) - Paul Legrand : Orlais, author of the play "The Heir of Verchiel", a story of betrayals and revenge beloved by the Orlesian aristocracy. (timeline unknown but an "emperor" on the throne at the time, likely pre-DragonAge, at the very least pre-9:20, source : DAI) - Violette Armand : Orlais, author of the melodrama "Death in the Mansion", very avant-garde in its uses of masks' codification as a tool for subverting expectations. (timeline unknown, likely pre-DragonAge, source : DAI)

Artists and Artisans of various crafts and renown :

- Baldassare of Antiva : master artisan in Antiva City, unknown artistic specialty, sponsored by Orlesian nobility, active in 9:41. (source : DAI) - Chantal of Val Royaux : Orlais, unknown artistic specialty, sponsored by Orlesian nobility, active in 9:41. (source : DAI)

- Gustav of Val Fontaine : Orlais?, master cabinet-maker and virtuoso of fine marquetry. Designed and realised all the furniture of the library of the Winter Palace (one of the biggest library in Thedas). (timeline unknown, assumed dead, source : DAI) - Lady Cinthia : Ferelden or Orlais, renowned master seamstress and glove-maker whose work is recognizable by its stitchwork. (full name unknown, timeline unknown, presumed dead as of 9:30, source : DAO) - Ambrose Forfex : Tevinter (Venatori blood mage), wigmaker of renown, used to host seasonal "wig shows" for the nobility to attend, with models parading on stages in his estate in Vyrantium. (exact timeline unknown, but post-9:41 and pre-DAtV, deceased, source : TN)

Musicians, Singers and Dancers :

Interesting tidbits : Musicians seem especially valued in Orlais but exist everywhere, even under the Qun (Sten is even surprised it is not obvious to Leliana when she asks him). Nobles all around Thedas seem to receive some form of musical education and the most common instrument across the continent is the lute.

Dancers : - Veridian (stage name) : Llomerryn, twins exotic dancers, active in 9:41. (source : DAI)

Singers : - Carlota Montivecchio "The Songbird" : Antiva, famous opera singer, tried to murder a rival soprano only to be murdered in turn. (timeline unknown, source : TN) - Ser Corram "The Bard": Ferelden, famed singer and warrior, active in the Steel or Storm Age and lover of Arl Jacen Guerrin. (source : DAI)

Musicians : - Emeline de Montsimmard : orlesian music composer and private music teacher to the orlesian nobility, active in 9:41. (source : DAI) - Lord Edmond : orlesian, music student under the tutelage of Emeline de Montsimmard. (source : DAI) - Maryden Halewell : identified as both bard (but not the orlesian kind) and minstrel, published an anthology songbook called "A Garden's Grace : Songs of the Field", active in 9:41. (source : DAI) - Zither! (stage name) : Orlais, (actually a mage!), active in 9:41 (actual name unknown, source : DAI, playable character in multi.) - Edmond : Orlais, active in 9:41?, harpsichordist in Zither!'s band. (last name unknown, source : DAI)

Orlesian Bards : I set them aside a bit, since they're versed in music and arts but technically Art is not their primary goal, just a means to an end. - Arianna (deceased, source : DAA) - Bastien (deceased, source : WoT2/DAI) - Katriel (deceased, source : TST) - Leliana - Marjolaine Vasseur (deceased, source DAO) - Melcendre (deceased, source : TME) - Rosalyn (situation unknown, source DAA) - Shayd (active in 9:41, member of the Inquisition, source : TN) - The Black Fox (situation unknown, likely deceased as he was active in the Blessed Age, source : WoT2) - The Black Hart (situation unknown, Charter's previous identity? source : DAI).

Bonus : Named Bands Those were likely made just for the joke but since they're in the game, you can pry them from my cold dead hands lol. (source : DAI) - Evading Demons ("Didn’t they lose their singer to an abomination?") - Fuchsia Lotus ("They had a song about that. “I need to live” or, maybe “Hey! Don’t kill me!” " -Zither!) - Gemstone and the Oculara ("A marvelous band. Sexy too." "With mad skills." -Zither) - Spymaster ("Great musicians, but rubbish in the sack." -Zither!) - Apostacy - Bluebird Coop ("avant-garde rubbish" - Zither!)

Painters, engravers and illustrators :

Interesting tidbits : Thedas has several "traditional painting schools" [WoT2] and Orlais has a "classical period" for paintings [TME]. Commissioning artists seem to be pretty common in noble households in Orlais, the Free Marches, Nevarra, Orzammar and Ferelden. Lockets with painted miniatures of loved ones in them are common in Ferelden, Orlais and Nevarra.

(Funny additions : Adult books with raunchy illustrations are very much a thing in Thedas. Paintings with peepholes hidden in them for spying purposes are totally a thing as well! [TN] There also are professional art critics in Thedas as well as art forgers. Orlais had a critic named "DeCassoulet" (after the French dish) who recently fell from grace because of his association with art forgers. [WoT2] )

Painters : - Ambrose Poirier : Orlais, specialty unknown, sponsored by Orlesian nobility, active in 9:41. (source : DAI) - An Ortienz : unknown origin (maybe the Anderfels given the name?), portraistist of talent, active in Serault, Orlais, during the Blessed Age. (exact timeline unknown, source : TLC) - Caliastri : unknown origin (maybe Antiva given the name?), their style is easily recognisable (and often forged?) and their paintings are found in Orlesian noble homes. (full name unknown, timeline unknown but still famous in 9:40, source : TME) - Griselda Reiniger : Anderfels, portraitist in the "traditional Anderfels style", came to prominence with the painting "The Chant of Light" depicting Andraste playing the harp the night before her execution. Won a price at the University of Orlais for it and is sponsored by both the imperial Orlesian court and the Chantry. Supposedly active in 9:41. (source : WoT2) - Tillendall Lemallen : portraitist and wild-life painter for the Orlesian court. (given his name and his knowledge of Halla, he might be elven or even Dalish of origin, timeline unknown, source : DAI) - Yvette Gabriella Montilyet : Antiva, learned her trade under Antiva's royal tutors and her works are expected to be exposed in antivan salons in 9:41. (source : DAI)

Engravers : - Ambrose Dumont : Orlais, of humble origins, famous for his woodcut carvings and prints, especially pieces representing Nugs, sponsored by Orlesian nobility, active in 9:41. (source : WoT2)

Hobbyists : - Henri Ducette : Orlais, amateur historian and artist, sketched numerous statues around the Forbidden Oasis shortly before or in early 9:41. (source : DAI) - Horace Medford : Orlais, adventurer, took charcoal rubbings of elven carvings in the Exalted Plains for the University of Orlais before 9:41. (source : DAI) - Isabella : loves to doodle in (Hawke's) books, she gets an honorable mention (because I can). (source : DA2) - Lady Marchellette : young Orlesian girl drawing fanart of shirtless Calenhad (lol what an icon), sometime before 9:41. (source : DAI) - Prince Baldewin of the Anderfels : young boy who sent his drawings and fanart to the Inquisitor, deserves a mention for being adorable. (source : DAI) - Solas (source : DAI) - Sera (source : DAI) - Yves Montilyet : Antiva, Josephine's father, hobbyist painter? who hosts salons and art shows. (source : DAI) Known titled artworks : - "Abel d'Onterre" (portrait, source : DAI) - "Anita Chayeau, beloved Grand-mère" (portrait, source : DAI) - "The Chant of Light" by Griselda Reiniger (source : DAI) - "The Dalish Woods in Summer" (landscape, source : DAI) - "General Mathieu d'Onterre, Feared by the Dog Lords" (portrait or statue?, source : DAI) - "Giroux Lemarque" (portrait, source : DAI) - "Jeanette d'Onterre, Matriarch of House d'Onterre" (portrait, source : DAI) - "Nanette d'Onterre, Ma belle Rose" (portrait, source : DAI) - "Portrait of a Goosegirl" (source : DAO) - "Portrait of Leandra Amell" (source : DA2) - "The Rebel Queen" (heroic portrait, source : DAO) - "Val Royaux" (landscape, source : DAI) - "Skyball" (a black stone painted to look like the night sky and showing constellations (source : DAO))

Poets :

Poetry is fairly common across Thedas. It is canonically taught as a discipline to noble children in Orlais, Antiva, Orzammar, the Free Marches and Nevarra but seems to be accessible to broader masses as well; as several occurrences of commoners trying their luck at it demonstrate. Published poetry works and anthology books aren't uncommon either and have existed at the very least for 300 years [DAI]. Orzammar has a long tradition of poetry and haikus [DAO, DAI, WoT2].

- Carlol of House Yonoch : Orzammar, known as a "wordsmith", published in "The Noladar Anthology of Dwarven Poetry". (active during the early Dragon Age, source : WoT2) - Karsten Groeke : poet and philosopher, gave a lecture at the Univeristy of Orlais and was consequently chased out by the students following a bad bit of poetry praising absynthe (a strong alcohol). (Orlais? Anderfels given the name?, timeline unknown, source : DAI) - Lady Madeline : renowned poet and writer, daughter of the Rivaini Ambassador at the imperial Orlesian court, active in 9:41. (source : DAI) - Magister Oratius : Tevinter, known for his Sonnets Anthology titled "A Chant for Dreamers". (timeline unknown, source : DAI) - Paragon Lynchar : Orzammar, known for his Haikus, published in "The Noladar Anthology of Dwarven Poetry". (active during the Steel Age, source : WoT2) - Paragon Seuss : Orzammar, known for his mastery of rhymes, published in "The Noladar Anthology of Dwarven Poetry". (active during the Glory Age, source : WoT2) (- Kaariss of the mercenary group Valos-Kas loves to try his hand at poetry, to the great despair of his companions.) Unsure : - Paragon Ebryan : Orzammar, famous for his "Songs only Nugs can hear", unknown if they were a musician or a poet or both. (Exalted Age, source : DAO)

Sculptors :

Also common throughtout Thedas and despite varying through the ages, sculpture styles are seemingly recognisable for most people. Nevarra and Orlais have a long tradition of heroic statues of their historical figures, while Ferelden, the Chasind and the Avvar have a tradition of animalistic and votive sculptures. Both Orlesian and Tevinter imperial Houses as well as the Anderfels' Chantry seem to have a love for gigantic statues carved out of cliffs. One of Orlais' distinctive sculpture style is called "amour-tourmente style" ("love-torment"), example of it can be found in Art History books or seen in the Nevarran Grand Necropolis. One Fereldan Arl has a drawing room where carvings are exposed for visitors to enjoy, including one representing Yusaris, the legendary sword. To quote Lesha in Tevinter Nights : "Look, every culture has their own artistic signature—something that makes it theirs. Tevinter is all about sharp angles. Ferelden is hard and brutish, and Orlais is delicate and opulent. Dwarves are . . . well, simple is the wrong word, but they get right to the truth.” (Funny side-note : Ice sculptures are a thing in Orlais! [TME] They also have liqueur bottles with peach pits carved with erotica scenes in them. [DAI])

- Appius Trius : Ancient Tevinter, (also published in "Artists of Ancient Tevinter") famous for "sparking the imagination of all gazing at his work". (Ancient Age, source : DAI) - Gatsi Sturhald : formely Orzammar, now on self-imposed exile on the surface, the Inquisition's lead stonemason, produced several carvings of Paragons during his years as a sculptor in Orzammar, alive in 9:41. (source : DAI) - Hemiare Allegri : Antiva, commissioned by Duke Prosper de Montfort, active in Orlais during the first half of the Dragon Age. (exact timeline unknown, but alive during the Dragon Age, source : WoT2) - Juliette Coreau : Orlais, famous for a carving of Emperor Kordillus Drakon The Great commemorating the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the Orlesian Empire. Work displayed in the Winter Palace. (exact timeline unknown, but Blessed Age, so assumed dead, source : DAI) - L'Etourneau (stage name, French for "starling") : Orlais, known for a carving of Maferath The Betrayer, commissioned by Empress Yvette during the Blessed Age. (exact timeline unknown, but Storm/Blessed Age, so assumed dead, source : DAI) - Natalie Breault : Orlais, famous for her carving of "Lambert Valmont, The Swaggering Lion", commissioned by Emperor Judicael I. (exact timeline unknown, but Blessed Age, so asumed dead, source : DAI)

Thanks for making it all the way down! Hopefully, I didn't miss any name (don't hesitate to tell me if you find one I missed!) and this will be of some help to someone! Have a lovely day! ฅ՞•ﻌ•՞ฅ

can you talk about misinterpretations of wynne and zevran's dynamic??? i'm chewing on your analysis

i think it’s a very basic case of people simply taking what is said at face value, in a way that comes up a lot with your classic zevran misinterpretations and uhhh oversimplifications. zevran and wynne’s banters are full of his classic exaggerated flirtations. all of their banters hinge on this joke and they’re very funny. but i’m always mildly stunned when i see people taking that as... zevran actually literally just being horny AGSHSKKSKS

i don’t think people give zevran enough credit for how clever he is at dancing around the other companions. nobody ever really gets one up on him. i can think of one specific instance in banter where i do think something gets under his skin, which i think oghren of all people manages essentially by accident the one time he’s actually not really trying

anyway: wynne opens their first banter with “you must know that murder is wrong, i assume.” it’s very wynne; she makes a judgement and announces it as fact. zevran is slightly stunned by this and also how funny it is: “i’m sorry... are you speaking to me?” with this incredible disbelieving pause because, like, he’s the party assassin. but he’s also playing for time quickly on how to react to this out of nowhere. wynne then explains the simple narrative she’s constructed that joining the party is due to a crisis of conscience on zevran’s part about being an assassin. and zevran immediately jumps into exaggerated agreement, and once he gets a better idea, the first of his flirtations with her, until she gives up in exasperation. it’s an evasion tactic zevran is very, very good at and has been doing to you, the player, since his first appearance on screen. he wants to play on the characters he performs when they’re useful shields, whether it’s the victim or the flirt or what have you. but also always with that ironic air that he’s clearly doing a bit; there’s the charm of letting you in on a private joke, but also he needs everything to be a faintly ridiculous game to him, so he doesn’t have to be affected

zevran keeps this joke up for the full extent of his banters with wynne through the whole game, because he finds it wildly entertaining, of course, and because he has no interest in ever inviting the conversation she wants. he so badly doesn’t want to deal with her asking this that he decides to run this bit into the GROUND, and starts doing it pre-emptively to ward her off even after she stops trying to instigate the conversation. bc wynne may be a good way off the mark, and, ironically for someone wanting zevran to take this seriously, not able to imagine that his life and feelings may be more complex than assumed (absolutely classic spirit behaviour once again), but she is needling at his reasons for leaving the crows, which is the last thing wants to be honest with anyone about

making the assumption that zevran is flirting with wynne out of genuine interest is, to me, the same mistake as thinking zevran when you first meet the warden is flirting out of genuine interest. this is how he knows to stay alive. if he let his guard down, he’d be dead; if he wasn’t charming, he’d be dead; and if he ever stopped to dwell instead of being the “eternal optimist”, always instinctually grasping at one more chance to live another day, he’d be very, very dead. he’s not going to casually discuss vulnerabilities for someone else’s peace of mind and he definitely doesn’t have the kind of insecurity to need to explain himself to people who don’t know him or what they’re talking about. so, rogue evasion abilities activate! it’s time for him to dodge! which is what he spends the entire series of banters doing. but also he’s just still finding it funny throughout. she just gives him so much ammunition. it’s like taking candy from a baby. zevran loves an old and terrible joke repeated for several months solid, they age like wine to him

i also think wynne’s comments are a light jab at how zevran does get read by players. he’s not ashamed of being an assassin. there’s this great line in one of his dialogues with the warden that asks why he shouldn’t continue to do what he’s good at when so few have come by his skills “honestly”, as he believes he has. there’s a tendency to characterise him and characters like him as, ah, the guilt-ridden victim in need of a pure-hearted saviour to show him the light, etc etc, but that’s never been who he is. there’s no ending where he suddenly quits being an assassin lmao

On the importance of morale, the opportunism of Empire, and the value of supply lines.

This is part 3 of a series of posts in which I closely examine the letters my character received from the Inquisitor across Veilguard, and talk about the strategic and political implications of what we see within them.

I strongly suggest reading parts 1 and 2 before proceeding with this one, they contain vital context!

Part 1 can be found here!

Part 2 can be found here!

With that said, I will get into it:

Morale is critical to sustained conflicts. Underestimating this is lethal, and Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain clearly understand its value per the last letter.

They have been concentrating on symbolic attacks as well as strategically significant ones, often weaving these together with devastating effect for the South, as outlined in the last letter.

In this one, we see how critical Rook's actions will be for the outcome of this entire conflict: because we goad Ghilan'nain into making mistakes. And we do this via hits to her morale.

For all the strategic value of her victory at Weisshaupt, it pales to her in the face of the loss of her Archdemon. That's her baby, her perfect creation. The mother of monsters mourns her daughter. We reminded her immediately that she is now mortal, which is another devastating morale hit.

When we take out her blighted dragons at Hossberg it only compounds. She is overcome by her anger and grief, a situation so dangerous for them that it prompts Elgar'nan's direct intervention to soothe and retrieve her.

The war against the Evanuris will not and cannot be won in a numbers game. Both sides are keenly aware of this. Our attacks are instead personally targeted and blisteringly effective.

We see some of that in the course of playing, but it is driven home additionally very firmly here.

As the letter makes clear - to the people of Thedas, this is not just Rook's victory, this is a victory for the Wardens, who desperately needed a win to demonstrate that their Order was not robbed of power and agency in the wake of the Fall of Weisshaupt.

Hossberg sends a message: we will survive, we will endure, and we will win and rebuild.

And not just here, in this victory, either - as we progress through the game this is driven home thematically when Antoine tells us that flowers will bloom again there. No matter how bad it seems, some form of life will cling on.

Morale is everything, and this victory has encouraged enlistment in the overall struggle. The stakes are clear: we will fight together, or die alone.

However. Empires, are Empires.

Empires tend to die alone. Imperialism isolates you from everywhere that isn't another Empire, and while collaboration does happen, and is happening here, there is a constant friction when two expansionist Empires are rubbing up against each other.

We see here confirmation of the speculation from part 1: the Venatori are on the ground and providing direct military aid to the Orlesian rebels and their forces. The taking of Val Royeaux is a significant blow, and one that grants naval access to the Free Marches, which seems to have been immediately made use of by launching attacks eastward.

While they could make use of the overland route I've put on here for good measure, there's not much meaningful opposition to controlling this stretch of the Waking Sea. Attempting to take Kirkwall is the next move in stepping up aggression.

It is another goal with multiple strategic purposes and morale consequences.

To the people of the city, which finally had reconstructed under Varric's tenure as Viscount, the attacks threaten what they have just regained and would create desperation, which we all know historically goes great in Kirkwall.

To the Venatori, taking the City of Chains back would be a significant morale victory and affirmation of Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain's 'commitment' to their cause. Reclaiming the ancient powerful sites of Empire would do a lot to bolster their political influence back home, and also be a blow against the Shadow Dragons - regardless of what their current status is.

Kirkwall is the source of almost all the trade that flows between the Free Marches and Ferelden. Take it out? Ferelden is completely isolated, and the additional morale hit from this realization and starvation tactics will begin to also do their work.

If you take Kirkwall, you have consolidated naval control up to the mouth of the Waking Sea, with the Antaam intended to be performing a pincer here to lock down control of the coastlines. I'm being handed a note, we'll get to that.

Meanwhile, Orlais is dying on the hill of standing alone. We can see in the Trespasser DLC that regardless of who is in control, tensions between Ferelden and Orlais flared again when it came time to talk about what to do with the Inquisition. It is a substantial concession for Ferelden to send any military aid to Orlais, but its rejection is to be expected.

To an Empire that is governed with revolving door betrayals and power plays, accepting help and coordinating tactics with a former territory is an unacceptable display of weakness, and the sending will likely be regarded as a display of opportunism from Ferelden, rather than genuine solidarity in the face of the current existential threat.

After all, it would be opportunistic for Orlais to send aid to them, no? As it was in Inquisition? Why would this be any different?

The Inquisitor also points to the generational trauma of the war directly here, just to further drive it home. But this is a systemic cultural barrier that even an hypothetical edict from the Divine herself would not be able to overcome - the work has not been done to enable it too. All of this, incidentally, is why we will be working with the Shadow Dragons rather than appealing to the Magisterium directly. The vast bulk of Magisters have nothing to gain by working with us, and all of them have everything to lose. What support we get can only come through underground channels, lest it risk a complete purge, and depending on our actions that can occur as it is. Empire is often a game of sunk cost, and we cannot expect meaningful aid in overthrowing a corrupt system from the vast majority of those who are personally invested in it.

I have been handed the rest of the note. Again, our work up in the North is critical to the stability of the South.

I've marked with red X's the locations we know for sure are almost entirely out of commission at this point: Denerim, Orzammar, and Val Royeaux. Kirkwall is being harried, and so was Ostwick, so those are circled in yellow.

The Felicisima Armada historically close ranks when under attack by outsiders, and our work in Rivain and Treviso provides ancillary support to the overall fight against the Antaam, sowing division between two of their leaders and dividing their attention back down to the warband level.

The Armada's work draws the Antaam away from the mouth of the Waking Sea, opening up supply lines.

Per volume 1 of The World of Thedas, pages 72 and 82, we can also get a sense of the likely situation.

I've circled Treviso in yellow as well, since we know it is having a bad time. I saved Treviso in this run, so I don't know if anything changes at this point if Minrathous has been prioritized - but it's use in this situation is limited regardless while the occupation continues. Llomerryn and Estwatch, circled here in magenta, are stronghold locations for the Armada. Taking them would require significant commitment of resources and a well oiled logistics network, and I expect attempts are being made.

Even with begrudging Venatori aid, however, we see at this point in the game there are substantial cracks, as Rook's and the faction's efforts popping up all around the North are dividing attentions and interrupting supply and disrupting morale there. The Antaam cannot take to the open ocean, which means they have no choice but to travel up the coast, getting harried every step of the way.

As the Inquisitor points out, it's much needed relief. But this is also a dangerous moment, because we have driven our enemies to desperation that they cannot afford to wear on their sleeves.

After the loss of the Archdemon and the two Blighted dragons, Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan need to consolidate their power and reassert their divinity and right to rule, or else they risk losing control of the Venatori and the Antaam. That means they need another major symbolic victory, and that means another act of targeted terror. I was!

Very frightened at this point!

That wraps up this round!! I'm glad these are being enjoyed, they are fun for me to write out.

One thing origins did is make me a Ferelden nationalist. That's my HOME COUNTRY right there and i want my MABARI. LONG LIVE YHE KING!

One of the craziest things about Dragon Age (and this might help those of you who don’t go here kind of understand what people are yelling about in the coming months) is its lore. But I don’t mean that in the way you’re probably thinking.

I mean, quite literally, the way it presents its lore to you. In picking up notes and books as you go along and sifting through the codex, the game effectively asks you to act as an anthropologist. You’re met with a host of primary and secondary sources, some many hundreds of years apart from one another, written by anyone from the highest Chantry scholar to John Farmer, and you’re meant to constantly be questioning every piece of information you’re given. What biases are present in what I’m reading? What is fact and what is complete fabrication and what is, potentially, a slightly twisted version of a fact? How does one source potentially contradict another? The lore is one giant mystery-puzzle that you get to piece together across three games, and what conclusions you draw are going to be entirely different from someone else’s, and so on.

And yet, the series still does something even cooler than any of that. You realize, at a certain point, that this idea you have been engaging with on a meta-level — this idea that history is biased and fallible, that it’s written by colonizers and conquerers, genocidal racists and religious zealots, that the ability to control historical narrative is the prize you win for spilling the most blood — that idea is one of, if not perhaps THE most important, overarching theme of the series. The way that we remember history — what we remember and what we don’t, and why — and the impact that has on people on a sociological, political, cultural and psychological level, on both a macro and micro scale. It’s the entire thesis of the series’ main villain’s whole motivation.

And there’s gonna be a lot of people that don’t care about all that but me personally it makes me want to gnaw on a cinder block and scratch at my walls

The world is in great peril, and you are the unlucky protagonist who must save it! Spin this wheel three times and get your Dragon Age party that you're stuck trying to save it with.

Feel free to reroll repeats. Most are companions, but there are also a few companion-adjacent possibilities. You can assume that you as the protagonist have a basic level of combat competency even if you don't in real life, so don't worry about yourself

On the pitfalls of relying on myth and historic, faded strength during an international emergency.

Part 2 of a series of posts talking about the letters my first character received from the Inquisitor during the events of Veilguard, and why I am very excited about them and personally really enjoy what they have to say about the political and strategic situations in the South.

I am going to strongly recommend that you read part 1 first, especially if you find this post in isolation! I go into a lot of context there that sets the stage for this one.

However long this series winds up being, in the final post I will wrap up how I feel the letters tie into the overarching themes of both this game and the series as a whole, and my feelings as a narrative designer on how Bioware used these letters to thread an impossibly small needle. If I make any lore mistakes, my apologies! But I'm mainly going to be talking about strategy and political ramifications here.

So!

The first letter, with a load bearing middle paragraph, told us a lot about the starting position of the South, in particular, of Ferelden and Orlais, during the events of Veilguard.

In that paragraph, it evoked a LOT of history. Both in-world historical events prior to the games, and of our actions within each title.

The second letter, received after the fall of Weisshaupt, is even more densely packed than the first. I'll be presenting it in chunks and going through it bit by bit as a result.

From the title of this letter, it sets the tone. The fall of Weisshaupt, capitalized as The Fall of Weisshaupt, reflecting that this is an event of immediate major consequence in the now and historic record.

Weisshaupt, as a fortress that was constructed in the First Blight, and that has never fallen in all that time, is a location shrouded in legend.

Before we can go through this letter, we need to consider the circumstances in which it was built, and why.

To do that, we need to consider the first Grey Wardens. Per the codex entry from Origins of, The Grey Wardens, the original Wardens were former soldiers of the Tevinter Imperium. Their lived experience had been nothing but endless war and Blight, and they met in the newly constructed Weisshaupt fortress to discuss their options. Per World of Thedas, p. 156, Weisshaupt was built in an area strategically close to Tevinter, but not hit as hard by the Blight.

In a time when the Blight had been an omnipresent reality for 90 years, that's a very significant starting position for a new order to have. They renounced their nationality and political ties.

Weisshaupt becomes their base of operations, and while it is a considerably larger fortress, we can consider it analogous to Skyhold in Inquisition in several ways - both in Inquisition itself and in Veilguard.

Per the codex entry gained in Origins, The First Blight: Chapter 4, one of the first if not THE first major victory the Grey Wardens won was at the city of Nordbotten, circled in the screenshot above.

Reports of each Warden taking down 10-20 Darkspawn at a time - a number that seems almost ludicrously low compared to the expectations on them in current Thedas.

But the first Blight, while very long, also saw the Darkspawn divided heavily between their surface and underground activity. There were less of them overall, and they had to cut their way through the Dwarves in order to establish their underground hives that would allow them to become an exponentially multiplying threat.

Over the next hundred years, the first Wardens fought to establish themselves. They made treaties, they established conscription and did not discriminate by race or class or background. In many ways, their actions mirror those the Dwarves took in creating the first Golems, but that's a subject for a different post, maybe.

All of this builds up to saying:

Weisshaupt was critical as a strategic location when it was first used as a base of operations. That victory cemented it as the ancestral headquarters of the Grey Wardens in all the time that follows, but as time marched on it became less and less strategically relevant to subsequent Blights.

Its main value became symbolic - the last refuge, the place to make a last stand. Weisshaupt has never fallen, and while it remains standing, there is hope.

I am being handed a note. It's this note. We can talk about the rest of this note now.

With all that prior context established, we can look at the actions the First Warden takes here with a critical eye. Leaving aside the merit of some of the things he has to say to Rook in the game, when we consider the actual underlying positions that the First Warden holds, he is deeply conservative, and a hardline traditionalist. He is an old soldier, yes, but as has been seen by references to his actions in previous titles and in this one: he is largely a figurehead, caught up in politicking.

As a political figurehead, but one fully on board with the death-cult tendencies of the modern Wardens (obsession with past glory and future heroic, destined death; deeply secretive to its own organizational detriment; rife with paranoia), First Warden Glastrum is faced with a deeply unenviable burden: constant darkspawn activity and multiple Blights across what we can assume is his entire tenure in the position, since no reference I can find is made to his having been a newcomer to the role.

Already quite old, both by normal standards and ESPECIALLY Warden ones, the First Warden displays some irrational behaviours that made me suspect he was actively experiencing his Calling from our first meeting with him.

His fixation on due process struck me as a desperate attempt to seek control in the face of that, and the actions that followed reinforced my feelings that this was a man who wants to cement his own legacy while he still can.

Calling the Wardens back to Weisshaupt is a strategic choice that does not make sense outside of that framework, and it is reinforced as what is probably going on by the Veilguard codex entry: Every Warden's Journey.

Viewed through this lens, and with him experiencing the Calling later confirmed if you reason with the First Warden, we can see that calling the Wardens back to Weisshaupt was less about meaningfully combatting the new Blight, and more about forcing a last stand.

We know that all the Wardens are having a bad time once Ghilan'nain takes control of the Blight. We know, per Dorian, that the First Warden signed off on the plan to raise a demon army in Inquisition, a plan which involved active collaboration with the Venatori. It is not the first time he has approved Glorious Last Stands.

The First Warden is a perfect target to subvert if you are Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, and the Grey Wardens are a potential obstruction to your plans to consolidate control over the entirety of Thedas.

He wants to do right. He wants to fulfill his duty. He wants to die with honor, and make his mark in a way he has not been able too across the rest of the games, trapped as he is in the role of a figurehead.

And so he calls the Wardens, en masse, back to Weisshaupt. And we all know how that goes.

He concentrates them all in one place, which at this time in history, is a strategically useful location, but not for what we see it used for. Not as a border fort with immediate access to the worst off areas in this new Blight.

Weisshaupt would have been the perfect place to house refugees, and to use as a counterpart to Skyhold in the South. An information and logistics center.

Baiting the First Warden into a suicidal last stand serves multiple strategic purposes:

It consolidates the bulk of the Grey Warden order in a single, isolated location.

It pisses off everyone who currently really needs Grey Warden support.

It denies those people and places Grey Warden support, which as we will go over in the letter has devastating consequences.

It denies the forces in the North a powerful base of operations, as just outlined.

A victory at Weisshaupt is a devastating blow to morale across all of Thedas. It's fall robs everyone of the comforting myth that no matter what happens, they can always fall back to Weisshaupt and know that they will be safe. It sends a message: nowhere is outside of our reach, and there is nobody who can protect you.

We see how this unfolds in the next lines of the letter. The Grey Wardens withdraw, and it results in immediate losses of ground, particularly for Orzammar. It is a betrayal of one of the oldest alliances that the Wardens have, and one that will stoke the isolationist tendencies of Orzammar's ruling class.

If they are abandoned, once again, why should they show up for anyone else? And, indeed, I did not hear of them again until the final letter.

Orzammar has been dying a slow death across all of the games. The humans - and then the Qunari, in the events of Trespasser - have been trying to circumvent reliance on the Dwarves for access to the lyrium trade across all of the games and in the historical record.

There is a horrifying mirroring of the true history of the Dwarven people we learn about in the Descent DLC and the things we learn in Veilguard that we can see in these efforts.

And no matter who we made King, Orzammar has up until now refused to adapt and make the systemic change needed to reverse this slide into obliteration: the abolishment of the caste system. I want to go into the differences between Orzammar's approach and that of Kal-Sharok, but that will have to be a different post I think. Suffice it to say, based on everything we have seen of that city in prior titles, I expected exactly this result. Now Orzammar will have to contend with the same set of circumstances that Kal-Sharok was once forced into:

The unaddressed systemic cultural issues and generational trauma of the Dwarves of Orazmmar led to them becoming increasingly isolationist and reliant on the lyrium trade in order to tend to their daily needs. And without Grey Warden allies, and with their supply lines also affected by the same issues hitting Ferelden, their options dwindle sharply.

And a thousand or so Wardens die at Weisshaupt.

That is a devastating loss. We see what even a pair of Grey Wardens can do multiple times across the series.

With the loss of the Wardens and Weisshaupt both, Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan can launch the next stage of their offensives. Remembering that aside from being known as the mother of the halla, Ghil is the elven goddess of guides and navigation. We can subsequently intuit that she probably has a very firm understanding of how long it takes to get places, and she has control of the Blight and the Darkspawn - which means she now controls the Deep Roads near entirely unopposed. She's got the subway.

Coordinating an eruption of Darkspawn at historic sites terrorizes Thedas with what the Dwarves already knew: the Darkspawn are everywhere, in seething hordes, and surfacers will reckon with those numbers when Orzammar no longer holds them back.

So!

Per the last letter, the border with Orlais is being harried. The Darkspawn horde at Ostagar appears to have made directly for Denerim - another strong strategic move. Take out the capital, and theoretically you undermine the ability of the nation to organize and field meaningful resistance. Except, here, the less centralized structure of Ferelden society does it a firm favour. As we have seen in prior games, Denerim is not the only key location to locking Ferelden down. Redcliffe is also critical. I'm being handed another note, but that's a problem for future me and for future Ferelden.

The situation in the capital is grim, yes, but not currently totally lost. We have seen how stubborn and determined the people of Denerim are in the face of adversity in Origins firsthand.

Next up is the one part of this that I did not see coming after receiving the first letter - though I should have! I overlooked the implications of the Jaws of Hakkon dlc, having only viewed it through for the first time shortly before Veilguard's release.

When the political process is failing, when the establishments are tearing themselves apart, when civilians lives are on the line and there is an existential threat to everyone: the sorely neglected and othered often step up to provide the most critical support. So it is here, with the Chasind and the Avvar.

Relegated to the margins across all of the games, treated mostly by our viewpoint characters and those we interact with as backward and provincial at best, both the Chasind and the Avvar are substantial and mostly unrepresented groups in the franchise. They also occupy the most outwardly 'hostile' terrain in Ferelden, and know it like the back of their hands.

I got so, so excited when this popped up. The implications of this alliance were the most stirring thing to give me hope for the South. With access to the travel routes and supply lines, as well as remote and well protected territories, the potential to slip civilians out from the noose that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are tightening around Ferelden shoots up.

Troops can be moved, and so long as the Blight is contained and harried at by those who at this point have a great deal of learned experience fighting Darkspawn, this alliance marks a potential turning point both in the immediate moment we receive the letter, and in the long-term arc of history that will go on far past the events of the game itself.

It's exciting to me, and I'm excited to also dig into the next letter! As with the last one, nobody else has to like what they've done here, but I think it's great, and I'm really excited to share more of why.

Andrastian Statues

The purpose of this collection of statues is to show the Andrastian style depending on the region, the details in it, and how this may or may not influence other statues we saw in game. I also attempt to recollect some interpretations of them, although most of them are mostly based on speculations.

The current post contains the following set of statues:

Ferelden Style: Pre-Divine Andraste, Chasind Andraste, Ferelden warrior protector Andraste, The Maker, The Dwarf [?], Rider Maferath  [?], Masferath Repentant, Hanged Masferath, Other Statues.

Orlesian Style: Rustic Maferath, Hessarian, Andraste; The Orlesian Warrior Andraste, The Stylised Orlesian Andraste, The Orlesian Andraste, The Orlesian Maferath, The Orlesian Havard, and the Orlesian Hessarian; The Weight of War

Free Marches Style: The Free Marches Hessarian, The Free Marches Andrastian Warriors [?]

Unknown Style: The Skull with sword, The Guide, Guardians of the Path / The Watcher.

[This post belongs to the series “Analysis and speculation of Statues”]

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