The Blanketfort (crying and throwing up) - The Official Solas Thread [Spoilers]

I was re-reading Dread Wolf Take You in Tevinter Nights and when reaching the part that is the "Assassin's Tale", something struck me as odd that I hadn't picked up on before. When lamenting the death of their associate, one of the "Dalish" elves leans down and says: "The Dread Wolf guide your soul to peace, brother." I did a double take. Not only does this show they were definitely not Dalish, since they believe that Fen'Harel stalks the Fade, feasting on the souls of the dead, but this suggests they believe the Dread Wolf is a shepherd of souls to a peaceful haven. That doesn't sound like followers of Solas either, since he denies being a god, as did his supporters in ancient times. However, we do know from the Mortalitassi's tale that Fen'Harel does seem to be active in the Fade and have a fair degree of control over it, so does this indicate that perhaps his soul was sundered by the Veil and that the Dread Wolf in the Fade to some extent now operates independently of Solas?

The variation between the beliefs of the Dalish and these modern followers of Fen'Harel can be explained by the Dread Wolf's attitude to those who revere the Evanuris. No doubt he does devour their souls. Whereas perhaps he is more benign towards the souls of those who support him. That doesn't explain their belief though unless the Cult of Fen'Harel is now independent of Solas. So, essentially they do revere Fen'Harel as a god because of his dominion in the Fade and it is the spirit in the Fade that controls their actions, not Solas, and they are acting independently of him. What do you think?

So would I, and since this story was written by PW it seems highly unlikely this was accidental as he should be fully aware of the implications of this speech. As I say, it is in complete contrast to the standard beliefs of the Dalish. Now I can quite believe that at some stage Dalish mages entering the Fade encountered Fen'Harel and the experience was unpleasant to say the least. Hence, their idea that he was lurking there, ready to devour souls, and also their fear of spirits, which we know from the Mortalitassi's tale that Fen'Harel seems to have command over when he chooses. It is also possible that one or more of them were attempting some sort of summoning and had the warning he gave to the Mortalitassi. That would be sufficient for them to warn the other Dalish off because they know you really don't want to mess with Fen'Harel. Also, likely the curse: "The Dread Wolf take you".

That is why this alternative belief struck me as so strange. I have never really believed the elves in the story were Dalish; just that the Carta dwarf didn't know the difference, although he does note there are discrepancies with his previous experience of them. It is that specific phrase though that doesn't seem to fit with normal followers of Solas either but if he is behind it, then there is a whole aspect to him that we know nothing about.

Maybe it's a hold over from when Solas was freeing slaves and taking them to safe havens? 

Since Solas in a romance receives the white wolf card, I would assume the wolf watching from a distance is that gentler, loving wolf. Whether this is actually how Solas manifests when watching her or it is just her perception of him is, I assume, down to your interpretation of that dream. Was Solas really in her dreams or did she just imagine it because of her longing for him?

I would think that should the Dread Wolf appear in her dreams that would be more of a nightmare, reflecting her fears for him and his assertion that "I would not have you see what I become." If it was actually the Dread Wolf watching her, that would likely be an indication that Solas had been totally subsumed into the Dread Wolf persona and lost beyond recall.

Thinking about it; might make even more sense if Solas was the one who came up with the method of keeping a soul in a crystal ala the arcane warrior in DAO.

Carry a soul/fragment in a crystal or amulet containing blood and use the proper ceremony to bring them back to life later.

This would fit with him passing on the secrets of the Fade that he receives from those in Uthenera and the other aspect of him stated in WoT as the God of Secrets and Knowledge. However, he is shown with his hands across his mouth, which would fit with him being the God of Secrets and also the attitude of his priests in that old temple. From what the codex says, once the High Priest had told them that Dirthamen was gone, their big fear was others coming and stealing their secret knowledge. Their god had apparently always protected them from this possibility. I believe he is also attributed with the creation of the varterel and forest guardians that are artificial constructs created to protect important sites from the unworthy. So, there does seem a definite theme there of Dirthamen and his followers guarding knowledge and only making it available to those who are permitted to have it. I suppose that could fit with Dirthamen being some sort of oracle figure, to whom supplicants go for information, which he would only speak if he deemed them worthy.

There is another thing attributed to Dirthamen in WoT (which may be a mistake as there seems no reference to it anywhere else) and that is the Dalish believe he taught them the value of loyalty and faith in the family. This would be tied to their story about him being loyal to his brother and being determined to find him, not being led astray by the demons who tried to confuse him with fear and deceit. So, I doubt it really has anything to do with him in ancient times even if it does form part of the beliefs of the Dalish about him.

Or the "Land that calls to us". As you say, perhaps it is referring to the hope for a future homeland in Andraste's time and also the Dalish continued to feel the pull of the Dales on their consciousness after they were forced to flee. It occurs to me that the designation "Dalish" is probably what other people called them originally (a bit like the Christians in the 1st century), which they later adopted when talking with outsiders to distinguish themselves from the other elves who lived under human rule. From what I recall, the Dalish simply refer to themselves as the "People/Elvhen", hence them seeing themselves as the "Last of the Elvhen" because they would not submit.

So, moving back to the use of the word in the passphrase, assuming it has a similar meaning to that of the Dalish, I suppose the translation could be something along the lines of: "This place calls to me now, the way of eternal freedom."

Small additional thought: When Andraste hands Shartan the sword Glandivalis she does so with the words: "Take this my Champion and free our people forever".   Now the preface to the Canticle of Shartan suggests that some elements of an earlier elven folk tale about a "trickster warrior" who fought against tyrants may have become mixed in with their story of Shartan.   I've always maintained that this could be because Shartan was using that story to inspire his followers and since he and his immediate supporters died trying to rescue Andraste, it is likely why the two stories became combined in subsequent generations because those who knew the difference did not survive.     Anyway, the charge laid upon Shartan by Andraste did seem to be that of an eternal protector and liberator which I can well believe might have been a responsibility originally laid upon Fen'Harel (the Trickster Warrior) by Mythal, particularly when you consider that elves at that time were immortal so having an eternal responsibility given to him does not seem so outlandish as it would do when given to the mortal Shartan.    It might also explain the nature of the meaning in the last conversation between Solas and Flemeth and his determination to save the elven people no matter the consequences.   I've suggested before that perhaps he is under some sort of geas and if my latest theory is correct, we even have the words that she used.    What if, instead of Glandivalis, what Mythal gave to Fen'Harel was the ritual blade of the idol? (before it became corrupted with the blight)

At this point anything is possible. Things revealed in DAI (+ its associated DLC), WoT 1 & 2 and other associated media could be just gigantic red herrings to keep us talking but are essentially misleading, or they could all be linked in some way, or a combination of the two. Fairel's Tomb was a curious story, particularly the bit about dragons, which only started to make sense in the light of the ancient codices from the Temple of Mythal and then both the Descent and Trespasser. Would they really have included it merely as a bit of fluff to mislead us? Solas says something odd about the area as well: "A forest used to tower here, until sand ate away the roots."   Was it the actions of the Titans beneath the surface that caused the forest to tumble and prompted retaliation from Elgar'nan?

It is part of the reason why I am hoping we will get to visit Kal-Sharok and that may reveal more about ancient times. Remember it was originally the capital of the dwarven kingdom until Stonehammer decided to move it further south, which some sources attribute to his concern about the increased power of the Imperium despite the friendly overtures from Archon Darinius. Could it be there is something in their Memories about powerful magic users enslaving the dwarves? Then after the war between the Imperium and the city of elves in Arlathan Forest, Kal-Sharok destroyed not only the elven refugees but the thaig that was sheltering them. Was that simply because they didn't want to antagonise Tevinter or was there a deep seated resentment and fear of the elves?

On a related subject, I wonder if the Forbidden Oasis and the Temple of Solassan will have a relevance going forward? The fact it is recorded in the Keep suggests it might but, if so, more likely it will be like Legacy and it will be assumed that it was discovered even if you never collected all the shards that took you to the inner sanctum. I feel the image found there of the chained figure may prove to relate to something important in ancient times.

It just occurred to me that none of the companions ever say a word about Solas being bald.

Not even Sera, and she is a master of the inappropriate.

Could have sworn there was banter about a magic he uses to prevent sunburn? Or maybe it was about temp control for the bare feet? I feel like it’s western approach related.

Nothing in game so far as I am aware. The idea came from PW, I think. We had been speculating that perhaps baldness was something associated with ancient elves, since Abelas and the sentinels are bald, but PW contradicted this idea, saying the sentinels had simply been a design choice and that Solas had chosen to appear the way he did. Hence some fan art showing a younger Solas with flowing hair. I think we also speculated that perhaps it was necessary for those entering Uthenera to prevent the growth of hair whilst sleeping out the years, or risk being smothered.

However, most of Fen'Harel's self portraits, even those from ancient times, seem to depict him as bald, so it must have been his choice to appear that way even back then. Also, the mosaics depicting the Evanuris also seem to show them as bald. They were clearly created in ancient times since they are in a similar style to the mosaics in Fen'Harel's sanctuary. So, why would devotees have shown them as bald if they weren't?

Strangely enough, Fen'Harel is always shown in these mosaics as a wolf. This also corresponds to his depiction in the Temple of Mythal and alongside Mythal in the Deep Roads. Why was he always shown that way, even before his rebellion? I notice that the Executor also referred to him as "the Wolf". This is why I feel that the "Wolf" part was symbolic of something else, perhaps a guardian generally, even the order of Arcane Warriors, and that the Dalish seeing these images assumed that they were literal wolves, which is why the Emerald Knights adopted wolf guardians themselves not realising they referred to something else. So, Solas was always known as the Wolf but after his rebellion he became the "Dread" Wolf. This would make sense if he was associated with and perhaps even the leader of the Arcane Warriors since he tells us how they protected the nobility in ancient times and no one doubted their honour, so for one of them to turn against the Evanuris would be scandalous. Also, the elven folktale of a trickster warrior who fought against tyrants, that is clearly based on Fen'Harel's rebellion even if the Dalish do not remember this, would suggest that at one time he was known as a warrior. Finally, I would mention his chats with Blackwall when he refers to the fact that he was a fighter in his youth. Of course, he may have just been referring to his rebellion but I am mindful of the fact that Rasaan believes he had a different name before Solas and that may be the key to understanding and defeating him. If he was the leader of the Arcane Warriors and the guardian of Mythal, his guilt over her death because he did not prevent it would be understandable, as would his desire to avenge her. It would also explain how he had the knowledge to organise an effective resistance.

It's one of those lines of dialogue related to a specific area. He is just thinking out loud.