The new enemy I want to see in DA4 is...

The Black City is actually a Blighted Titan, and here is how the Old Gods might fit into this.

- It's been hinted that the Old Gods were spirits originally, and we know there were even spirit teachers among the Ancient Elves.
- The Old Gods were said to teach magic to humans... as well as Blood Magic.
- We know from Mythal that an Evanuris could be slain and later possess/merge with any willing host.
- The Archdemons and Corypheus could also do something very similar... but only with creatures tied to the Blight.
- And it's important to note that spirits who are slain typically lose their identity/memories/power, even if they are reborn later. Thanks for that Solas & JoH.

Could the Old Gods have originally been spirits/demons who became envious of the Evanuris' immortality/power (perhaps were slaves?)... and wanted to become "Gods" themselves?

What if the spirit/demon predecessors of the Old Gods tied themselves to the Titan's power? Possibly creating the Blight themselves (through blood magic & the Titan's power) and "infected" the Titan with the goal of using its power to corrupt, control, and achieve a level of immortality they envied in the Evanuris? To become "Gods" themselves with ever-growing legions of followers?

Now, back on Thedas the imprisoned Old Gods had a "Song" power similar to the Titan's "Song", but were not tied to the Blight. Which makes me think things didn't quite go as planned. Maybe the Evanuris noticed the Blight taking hold of what would become the Black City and swiftly moved to imprison it. The Old Gods are now forced to flee, possessed or took on the form of dragons, and hid, hibernated or were imprisoned as punishment.

But while they had power from the Titan, they weren't tied to the Blight and therefore still vulnerable to being killed (and losing their identity). So they dangle the carrot of the "Golden City of the Gods" to the Tevinter Magisters. They breach the prison, become corrupted by the now fully Blighted Titan, and bring the first Darkspawn and the Taint to Thedas. And that might explain why they tempted the Magisters to enter the Black City in the first place, their hatred of the Elves, and why the Darkspawn are drawn to the call of the Old Gods.

The Old Gods want to be corrupted and tied to the Blight (and the power/control/immortality it offers), but perhaps it came at a cost they didn't expect.

The big wrinkle in their plan though were the mortal races learning to use the Blight to their advantage: Grey Wardens & the original DS Magisters (who were corrupted/empowered by the source of the Blight).