The Conspiracy Corkboard: Hidden Motives, Secret Societies, and Double Agents of Thedas

Felassan. Fen'Harel's #1 fanboy. Probably wears Fen'Harel pajamas to bed. Knows a lot about Fen'Harel, ancient elves, and also, have we mentioned Fen'Harel? On a first name basis with Imshael. Mage. Word of Weekes says his vallaslin is probably Mythal's. Confirmed by Solas and Cole in Trespasser.

That Trespasser Elf. "Found" the gaatlok in Halamshiral. "Found" the Qunari body in Halamshiral. Good at "finding" things. Magic ability unknown. No vallaslin. Confirmed by Solas, who casually threw her under the bus to make a point in his villain monologue. He really is a terrible employer.

Cillian. Wears sweet-ass armor. Says cryptic things. Makes that familiar "I saw it in a dream" excuse. Knows an ancient elven fighting style For Some Reason. Mage. June vallaslin. Suspected at time of writing.

"Sketch". Worked with Leliana. "I now believe you were placed according to the stirrings of an old empire and the seeding of our borders with hidden agents. Some formerly owned." Pursued by many, many, many different assassins. Mage. No vallaslin. Suspected at time of writing.

Dalish. Excellently positioned to spy on the Ben-Hassrath. Goes by a nickname that's the elf equivalent of "Mr. Hugh Mann". Doesn't talk much, allowing Bull to fill in her backstory. "My keeper thought I should see the world a little." Not a mage, because that would make her an apostate! Dirthamen vallaslin. Mildly suspicious at time of writing.

Elan Ve'mal. Inquisition apothecary. Previously worked for multiple unspecified nobles. Could just be well-connected. Wants Isthmus Goodson dead. Magic ability unknown. No vallaslin. Mildly suspicious at time of writing. Might be in Briala's network instead.

Order of Fiery Promise. An apocalypse cult which is only slightly better at staying alive than the Empty Ones. Enjoy wearing seeker and templar regalia. "A band of men and women who decreed that not only was the end of the world nigh, it was necessary. Thedas must be cleansed with fire and reborn as a paradise. This they solemnly promised; they devoted themselves utterly to seeing this come about." Probably aren't actually working for Fen'Harel, but their fanclub sure would love him. Mildly suspicious.

Hissrad/Iron Bull. Trained as a Ben-Hassrath. Ben-Hassrath training, remember? Is Ben-Hassrath. Good at lying and killing things, which is ideal for Ben-Hassrath. Which is good, because the tamassrans made him a Ben-Hassrath. Confirmed. Yes, Bull, we know.

Tallis. Wears the Qunari symbol on her armor. Wants a Qunari item. Has a Qunari name. Quotes Qunari proverbs. Confirmed, to everyone's great surprise, near the end of MotA. Truly, the Ben-Hassrath are masters of infiltration.

Lord Trifles Minutiae. Constructs the diabolical, nigh insoluble obstacle course that is... the Quizquisition! There is absolutely no reason to suspect that he works for the Executors, save for his vague and mysterious ways, so alike to theirs. Poorly made wind noises.

Pyramids of Par Vollen. The Executors are clearly the kind of secret organization that doesn't want to actually be secret. Doubtless the fiendish Towers of Hanoi are their calling card as well. Why not?

Elegant Abbess. Of the Abbey of the Bans. Sister to the Muttering Banker. Occasionally slips into the woods. "We will be shepherds, and Serault our lamb. We shall see her to sunlit pastures. We shall stone the wolves who threaten her." Confirmed at the rites of Masked Andraste.

Ashkaari Koslun. Founder of the Qunari. What are they doing in this section? Said something about "fly straight, and never waver; bend, but never break; receive the gifts of the hunt with mindfulness." Wait, that wasn't Koslun. This is Koslun: "Struggle is an illusion. The tide rises, the tide falls, but the sea is changeless. There is nothing to struggle against. Victory is in the Qun." Chill stoner who talked about wisdom and being one with nature, only to somehow inspire the most militaristic theocracy on the continent. Where were we? Oh yeah: mildly suspicious.

Cult of the Forgotten Ones. Elves who live in vaguely the same area and offer up blood sacrifices to the Forgotten Ones. Masked Andraste probably isn't a Forgotten One. If she is, Serault is not very good at forgetting. Mildly suspicious by dint of proximity. Not proximity to the shrine of Masked Andraste, mind you; their proximity to Serault. Everyone in that area is suspicious in some way.

Haven cultists. Worship a version of Andraste that takes the form of a dragon. What do huntress-statues at the edge of the Tirashan have to do with dragons? Andraste, apparently. Mildly suspicious at time of writing.

Charade Amell. Much nicer than her dad. Operates in Tantervale. Confirmed by a war table mission.

Sera. Makes terrible cookies. Can throw bees, but should drink potions, because those stack Killer's Alchemy. Has been to Tevinter. Confirmed by Sera.

The Inquisitor. Very conspicuous. Can scale tall buildings with a single grappling hook arm. Is ready to relax for a change. "The wolf did not believe them, that they would loose him, until they laid Týr's hand into his mouth as a pledge. But when the Æsir would not loose him, then he bit off the hand at the place now called 'the wolf's joint;' and Týr is one-handed, and is not called a reconciler of men." - Prose Edda: Gylfaginning; on Týr's daring. Conditional on friendship with Sera.

Anders. Would have been better off in any place other than Kirkwall, and with any spirit other than Justice. Goes predictably bonkers. Confirmed by Anders in DA2.

Evangealine. Is not a mage. Once and for all: spirits can possess templars (Wilmod). Spirits can possess viscounts (Khedra). Spirits can even possess rocks (Profane). They prefer to possess powerful things, so mages are usually more appealing. But mages don't have a monopoly on possession. Confirmed in Asunder.

Hakkon. The breath of winter; the cold wind of war. While most spirits are lucky not to end up in a tree or corpse, this guy casually lands a dragon. Show-off. Honorable mention to all the other Avvar gods, but they didn't show up to the party. Confirmed to be in need of a good rebirthing by Svarah Sun-Hair.

Flemeth/Witch of the Wilds/Asha'bellanar/Old Woman Who Talks Too Much. Has just awful luck with men, which means she's probably playing a Bioware game. Creates alt accounts for fun. Is also Mythal, because why not? Provided the Old God Baby ritual, which means she's an OGB herself, knows suspiciously much about the Blight, or both. Confirmed by herself and the Well of Sorrows.

Wynne. Has a spirit of faith. Occasionally manifests as over-optimism that Circles will get better on their own. Could at times be mistaken for Sloth. Confirmed by Wynne in Origins and Asunder. After Asunder, Faith now lives in Evangealine.

Morrigan. Mythal's "godhood", whatever that means, has been passed to Morrigan. "Her mother's paths / Shall the maiden tread / When the gods to death have gone." - Poetic Edda: The Ballad of Vafþrúðnir; Vafþrúðnir's response to Odin's distress at the wolf devouring the sun. Ambiguous; it's unclear how much of Mythal is with Solas and how much is with Morrigan. Whoever has Mythal's login now, they're talking to elves in Orlais.

Sebastian Vael. Last time we saw him, he was vowing to visit vengeance on Anders. I'm sure everything is just fine. If Sebastian happens to track him down and kill him, surely Justice would return peacefully to the Fade. What would a possibly Blight-mad spirit of justice want with the ruler of a city-state, anyway? He's not a mage, so of course he has no power that might draw a spirit's attention. With the minor exception of commanding an army. Mildly suspicious at time of writing.

Blackwall. Is totally a warden, you guys. Likes looking at warden artifacts so he can cram for the test contemplate honor and duty. Confirmed to be Thom Rainier by himself.

Valta. Hears the lyrium song. Carves a path through Sha-Brytol. Hates Sha-Brytol. Lets the Inquisitor fight the titan's guardian. Doesn't have food or water. Becomes a titan's... researcher? Confirmed by Valta and her spooky lyrium magic.

Leliana. Conditionally, is resurrected by the lyrium song and becomes a fake Leliana made of birds lyrium dreams? Unconditionally, has a dream of the Maker which propels her to the Left Hand of the Divine, and later to spymaster, where she can approve or reject all of the Inquisition's agents. Skilled bard who does not catch Solas, the Ben-Hassrath agents, or the myriad ancient elves until after they've acted. Per her letter to Sketch, she may know about AoFs during DA:I, but doesn't tell the Inquisitor. Helps plan the Inquisitor's Tevinter move. If she's compromised, the new organization is too. Suspected to be important to someone lyrium-related, but it's unclear who. May be an unwitting agent.

Purveyor of Teas. "We shared a nameless tea, you and I. One that was drunk in Tevinter of old. We are bound." Surfacer. Brews many varieties of tea, including one laced with lyrium. Lives in Serault, so he may just be weird. Mildly suspicious.

Templar Order. Appears to extend, in some form, at least to the time of the ancient elves. Maybe further. Unusual, vaguely magic powers granted by lyrium. "The lyrium helps, but their bodies always want to connect to... something older, bigger than they are. That's why they block magic. They reach for that other thing, and magic has no room to come in." Per Solas, the templars protect people "from thinking", although that may be Solas being dramatic. Mildly suspicious at time of writing, though I wouldn't want to be within a mile of the templars when the old dreams reawaken.

Viddasala's team. Started mining lyrium to boost their saarebas' magic. Likely very close to a titan's heart, as the lyrium keeps refilling. Also close to the point where the elves sealed off the Deep Roads, in terrible fear of something beneath. Jerren calls Viddasala as mad as Meredith. That could suggest lyrium, but she could also simply be power-hungry. Mildly suspicious.

Sandal. Enchantment! Not enchantment at time of writing.

?????

Cole. Can read minds, sort of. Wants to help you. Wants to help the Inquisitor too. Murdered some mages in the White Spire. Confirmed to be a spirit of despair in Asunder and Compassion in Inquisition. Still occasionally murders people, but prefers to go after the mean ones now.

Horned Knight. Summoned by the Shame of Serault, who also helped bind Corypheus, because the Shame apparently operated on a "bind one loose one" policy. Rules the woods of Serault. Gives exciting gifts. Confirmed to be better than the Wayward Bard. How is that even a question?

Lord Woolsley. Is a very special ram. Confirmed by people who can't keep a handle on their Chain Lightning.

Solas. Named for an emotion. Wears armor with same broad shoulders, skinny legs, and sticky-out wrist things as a pride demon. Cut off the dreams to prevent the old dreams from waking. Killed Felassan so he'd stop posting selfies tagged #chillinwiththevillain #bffs #enansal'd #awoooo. While he's confirmed to be Fen'Harel, it's less clear whether he's a shade. We know he's not an abomination.

Herren. Tries valiantly to keep Wade focused. Lover's name rhymes with "shade". Appears as a desire demon (purpose spirit?) in Darkspawn Chronicles, which is considered apocryphal. Unconfirmed in main canon at time of writing.

Most of Kirkwall. Lives under a thin Veil. Prefers "virtue" names like Worthy. Can pop out of walls and ceilings, like terror demons. Unusually aggressive/confused, as if pulled into the world against their will. Very few children, yet population is steadily replenished. Probably attributable to Varric's artistic license. Mildly suspicious at time of writing.

Andruil. "Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning. Andruil put on armor made of the Void, and all forgot her true face. She made weapons of darkness, and plague ate her lands. She howled things meant to be forgotten, and the other gods became fearful Andruil would hunt them in turn." It's generally assumed - though not confirmed - that her weapons, the plague, and possibly her armor were blighted. However, it's unclear whether they came from the Void (making the Void the source of the Blight), or were more effective at hunting in the Void (making the Blight an elven weapon). Mildly suspicious at time of writing.

Branka. In retrospect, acts a bit like Valta. Is obsessed with finding the Anvil of the Void, to the point of leaving her entire party to the darkspawn so she could throw their spawn at traps. Could just be a garden-variety mad scientist. Mildly suspicious at time of writing.

Caridin. Created the Anvil of the Void and the modern golem-making process. How did he know it would work? Has probably at least heard of the Sha-Brytol. Is unable to destroy the Anvil himself, but wants to. Only mildly suspicious, and also dead. So even if he's really tied to the Void (and didn't just give his anvil a cool name), he's unlikely to play a role. With the exception of...

King Bhelen or King Harrowmont. Regardless of choices around the Anvil or the line of succession, the current king of Orzammar wears a crown forged on the Anvil of the Void. If the Anvil is destroyed, Caridin crafts the crown on it first. If the Anvil isn't destroyed, Branka makes the crown. Neither king has undergone any obvious changes, but this is still mildly suspicious.

Titans. "And those who slept, the ancient ones, awoke / For their dreams had been devoured / By a demon that prowled the Fade / As a wolf hunts a herd of deer." Sleepy earth-pillars who cause earthquakes when the Fade touches them, probably. The ancient elves didn't like earthquakes but really liked the Fade, so that was a problem. At least one lives in (around?) the Uncharted Abyss. Mildly suspicious. It's still unknown whether the Void/Abyss is actually linked to titans, or some even deeper thing. And what's the deal with the Stone? She's supposedly "under Orlais", which is nowhere near the titan the Inquisitor visited. Is she even a titan?

Whispers in Red Lyrium "We are here / We have waited / We have slept / We are sundered / We are crippled / We are polluted / We endure / We wait / We have found the dreams again / We will awaken." Could be anything from corrupted titans (since titans speak through lyrium) to elven gods (since "we endure" is 50% of ancient elves' vocabulary) to the Forgotten Ones(?), to something else entirely. Probably does not refer to the blight itself, since the blight would not consider itself polluted by the blight. Nor could it refer to archdemons, since the sleeping ones are (we think) not yet blighted. Extremely suspicious, but as of now we can't pinpoint the source.

Empty Ones. Worshipped the blight, which they believed to come from the Void. "The Empty Ones believed the world to be beyond redemption, and that it was the Maker's will that it be destroyed completely." Got a head start on the destruction by standing in front of the darkspawn during the Second Blight. Deceased, and of questionable accuracy.

Florianne de Chalons. Standard Orlesian noble. Doesn't waste time pretending to hate the Game, unlike certain members of her family who shall remain un-maned. Confirmed by herself.

Gereon Alexius. Can time-travel. Slightly. Would prefer to time-travel further. Not all that loyal to Corypheus, but needs access to resources. Confirmed by Felix.

Livius Erimond. Has a facial hair situation that wasn't a dead giveaway to the wardens. Convinces them that killing all the old gods would be cool, despite the fact that their song keeps darkspawn in the deep roads. Confirmed to be an asshole by Cole.

Lucius Corin. Concocts elaborate plan to overthrow the Seekers by way of an envy demon, red lyrium, and the Order of Fiery Promise. Confirmed, Lucius does things in the most complicated way possible.