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Post by midnight tea on May 26, 2017 17:06:16 GMT
Fuck you. ... Okay then - I guess there's really no point for me to try and further interact with you.
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Post by Iddy on May 26, 2017 17:08:48 GMT
Fuck you. ... Okay then - I guess there's really no point for me to try and further interact with you. If you will continue to be condescending, that may be for the best.
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Post by CrutchCricket on May 26, 2017 20:13:27 GMT
... and let's stop that right there. You don't have to be nice about not agreeing, just stay away from the personal jabs, yes?
Good.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2017 23:37:34 GMT
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Post by Garnet on May 27, 2017 3:52:26 GMT
Self-art post!? I've been hellspirlaling HARD this past week. I don't know why it hit me suddenly, but it has. So, I drew another Solas! I wanted to share it.. The stripes are so bad. This is what happens while drawing at 5AM And I drew my new Lavellan, whose name I think I stole from someone on the old boards... (Sorry! )
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Post by shechinah on May 27, 2017 18:35:29 GMT
Late to the discussion but I think his lack of hair was a deliberate design choice to further the image of a "harmless" guy for the lack of a more apt word. I think Solas' design is rather well done because, to me, it does seem to make him appear less like someone suspicious and dangerous. The same with his attire which tends to be plain and practical. Besides his necklace, nothing about his attire or appearance invites questions. Basically, his overall design very much seems the wandering scholar whose intents are not suspect and who is what he appears to be.
That's why I think it's the better design for Solas than the dreadlock concept would have been. There's nothing wrong with the dreadlock concept itself. I just don't think it would fit because Solas' appearance seems exactly the sort of appearance someone would assume when wanting to appear unworthy of suspicion and invite the least amount of questions. It doesn't draw the eye like the dreadlocks would, it doesn't invite questions like the animal skull would and so on.
Solas' design is plain and doesn't grab the eye which is what makes it absolutely brilliant.
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Post by shechinah on May 27, 2017 18:46:39 GMT
I recall the devs mentioning somewhere that they've tried multiple hairstyles for Solas only to figure out that a 'bold, bald head' is a proper look for him. I assume there's a lore component to it (we see a lot of Sentinel in Temple of Mythal being bald), but also, it may have something with a certain popular show the protagonist of which made baldness 'fashionable' again, as well as easily identifiable with peaceful, meditative practices from the East (it really is no coincidence that Solas wears his wolf pelt over one shoulder, too): In the art book and on the page featuring various concept of Solas, this quote is written: "When exploring the final appearance of Solas, we tried many hairstyles. None seemed to evoke the sense of ageless wisdom required by the character more than a bold, bald head".
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Post by midnight tea on May 27, 2017 18:52:31 GMT
Late to the discussion but I think his lack of hair was a deliberate design choice to further the image of a "harmless" guy for the lack of a more apt word. I think Solas' design is rather well done because, to me, it does seem to make him appear less like someone suspicious and dangerous. The same with his attire which tends to be plain and practical. Besides his necklace, nothing about his attire or appearance invites questions. Basically, his overall design very much seems the wandering scholar whose intents are not suspect and who is what he appears to be. That's why I think it's the better design for Solas than the dreadlock concept would have been. There's nothing wrong with the dreadlock concept itself. I just don't think it would fit because Solas' appearance seems exactly the sort of appearance someone would assume when wanting to appear unworthy of suspicion and invite the least amount of questions. It doesn't draw the eye like the dreadlocks would, it doesn't invite questions like the animal skull would and so on. Solas' design is plain and doesn't grab the eye which is what makes it absolutely brilliant. I always have a laugh whenever I hear Dorian and Solas picking on each others' appearance, when it's quite obvious that both of them use theirs as a shield Diametrically opposite approaches of course, but to the same effect, basically.
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Post by AlleluiaElizabeth on May 28, 2017 2:13:59 GMT
If he was using Mythal's power, he wouldn't be saying that he stopped the Anchor the same way he did at Haven. No, he seems to only use "Mythal's powers" in a sense that he replenished his own power reserves with those of Mythal's. The "eye glow" is likely just a way to show how powerful he is now. These things aren't mutually exclusive. The spell/technique is his own. The power is Mythal's and that is displayed in the eye glow. This is the way I understood the dialogue in Trespasser, as well. I think he meant that he did the same spell/technique/"calming my magic lodged in your hand" thing he tried to do while you were unconscious in Haven (I assume he means in that time period we are unconscious btwn falling out of the fade and waking up in chains), just that it actually worked now b/c of the power boost he has, a power boost that we know involved the absorption of Mythal. And I do think the incorporation of Mythal's power is actually why his eyes glow when he draws on his magic now, at least for the powerful spells we've seen him use. Its possible his eyes glowed like that way back in his prime when he was powerful all on his own, too, of course. But now its b/c of Mythal. The fact we see his eyes glow in that exact way when he absorbed her supports it. Late to the discussion but I think his lack of hair was a deliberate design choice to further the image of a "harmless" guy for the lack of a more apt word. I think Solas' design is rather well done because, to me, it does seem to make him appear less like someone suspicious and dangerous. The same with his attire which tends to be plain and practical. Besides his necklace, nothing about his attire or appearance invites questions. Basically, his overall design very much seems the wandering scholar whose intents are not suspect and who is what he appears to be. That's why I think it's the better design for Solas than the dreadlock concept would have been. There's nothing wrong with the dreadlock concept itself. I just don't think it would fit because Solas' appearance seems exactly the sort of appearance someone would assume when wanting to appear unworthy of suspicion and invite the least amount of questions. It doesn't draw the eye like the dreadlocks would, it doesn't invite questions like the animal skull would and so on. Solas' design is plain and doesn't grab the eye which is what makes it absolutely brilliant. I'm wondering if they'll stick with the bold bald head the next time we see him. Or is he gonna change his look even more to really ham up the " The Dread Wolf cometh!" vibe??? Which of course would be yet another act and persona he'd be adopting for his cause.
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Post by gervaise21 on May 28, 2017 13:30:02 GMT
How would he suddenly develop hair? I thought he was naturally bald, not simply shaven headed. Then I had this absurd idea of Solas in a wig as a disguise, which he takes off and goes "Ta Da" when he wants to reveal himself.
Honestly, there would be no point in changing Solas' appearance, unless they were going to change his voice as well, because it would fool no one who has played DAI and I hated how I knew more than my PC in Trespasser about the identity of Solas, even more so because our PC could only figure it out for themselves if they found a certain series of clues, some of which were not on the main path. I'd rather we had not been given that epilogue at the end of DAI because then the big reveal at the end of Trespasser would have had so much more impact for me as a player.
I'd mention here that I hope they don't introduce more cut scenes showing things going on behind the scenes that the PC doesn't know in game. I seem to recall PW saying that the team was thinking of doing this in the next game. I really hope not. I'd rather not have known that Zevran was working for Loghain before encountering him and I still find it annoying that I know what Solas did to Mythal but my PC does not. If they show cut scenes with Solas talking to one of his agents and that person subsequently approaches our PC without revealing their connection because my PC is not meant to know, that will ruin immersion and role playing for me.
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Post by AlleluiaElizabeth on May 28, 2017 16:39:27 GMT
I didn't mean I was wondering whether Solas would change his appearance so people wouldn't recognize him, Gervaise. I meant he'd change his appearance to look more the part of the great and powerful Oz Dread Wolf.
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Post by gervaise21 on May 28, 2017 21:42:07 GMT
Ah well if he did that he wouldn't change his own hair style but he might adopt that wolf pelt headdress we see in the picture in his sanctuary, plus the black robes if he really does want to play up the Dread Wolf persona.
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Post by ellehaym on May 29, 2017 15:18:31 GMT
I wonder if being bald have a special significance during the Ancient Elvhen times?
I know that the Sentinels in Mythal's Temple were bald (looked similar to Solas too). Then there's Shartan that's depicted as bald and lastly Zathrian.
I once jokingly thought that many Elvhen shaved their heads so that they could wear fancy headdresses (like Vivienne) and elaborate wigs
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Post by cloud9 on May 29, 2017 21:15:21 GMT
Every time someone says "this isn't difficult to program in games" a game developer takes a shot. As if that were an excuse. Might as well not make the game at all. That's BioWare for ya.
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Post by midnight tea on May 29, 2017 21:41:38 GMT
I wonder if being bald have a special significance during the Ancient Elvhen times? I know that the Sentinels in Mythal's Temple were bald (looked similar to Solas too). Then there's Shartan that's depicted as bald and lastly Zathrian. I once jokingly thought that many Elvhen shaved their heads so that they could wear fancy headdresses (like Vivienne) and elaborate wigs ... I'm still standing by theory that ancient elves just wanted to cover their bald patches But more seriously - it may just be a cultural thing. I mean, even Evanuris are depicted bald on their mosaics. It might also be something that has to do with practicality of such hairstyle - especially if one stays long in uthenera. It'd be kinda tragihilarious if it turned out that at least some of ancient elves got strangled by their own hair if their nap was too long. ... On the other hand one may ask if hair growth can be magically stopped (Patrick Weekes once suggested on twitter that this is how Solas keeps his head all nice and shiny) at the root, is it too hard to stop it when it reaches certain length. Also - do they do the same for nails?
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Post by arvaarad on May 30, 2017 4:08:56 GMT
I wonder if being bald have a special significance during the Ancient Elvhen times? I know that the Sentinels in Mythal's Temple were bald (looked similar to Solas too). Then there's Shartan that's depicted as bald and lastly Zathrian. I once jokingly thought that many Elvhen shaved their heads so that they could wear fancy headdresses (like Vivienne) and elaborate wigs Thinking about this more, I have another totally serious theory on this. Ancient elves seem to do a lot more spellcasting through their heads, compared to modern mages. Abelas does the eye thing, Solas has the eye thing and the whoooshy Mythal-stealing face-womp, and a Mythal-bound Inquisitor tames the dragon by staring at it real hard. Modern mages, who channel magic primarily through their hands and chest, keep their hands a little more available via cloth gloves or very open gauntlets. Ancient elves have heavier gauntlets but are more likely to keep their heads unobstructed, because they need to channel power through their face more often. If this totally reasonable and not at all crazy explanation is true, then wearing hair would be a bit like having big metal gauntlets - it's certainly possible, but perhaps it complicates spellcasting a bit.
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Post by gervaise21 on May 30, 2017 15:57:14 GMT
Anything is possible until the writers finally get round to explaining the logic of the design for us. May be it is just a trade off for being immortal.
Or may be the ancient elves didn't have hair because they had no reason to think it was part of the design for humanoid creatures, since they were around long before humans and probably dwarves as well (or at least they hadn't encountered them then), so this distinguished them from the "hairy" animals. Or may be they had seen some proto-humans/primitive humans and wanted to distinguish themselves from them. After all Abelas doesn't even have eyebrows, so Solas would appear to have grown some to make himself look more "normal".
This ties in with the idea that they were all originally spirits that crossed over from the Fade to the Unchanging World and took on material forms as a result. It would also explain the elves going bare foot as it makes for a stronger connection with the essence of the world and makes them more "grounded" there.
After all, the Forbidden Ones, were banished from the realms of the Evanuris for "abandoning the people in their time of greatest need" and "casting aside form to flee where the Earth could not reach". Which suggests that originally Xebenkeck, Imshael and co had material forms, probably elven forms, but had to surrender them when they went into the Fade. Then when Imshael is summoned back he took on the form of a human because may be he preferred that "form" or did it to annoy the Thelhen, the extremely prejudiced Keeper who summoned him. It would also explain why he seemed to be on terms of nodding acquaintance with Felassan because in fact they are all of the original people.
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Post by Iddy on May 30, 2017 16:40:25 GMT
No need to speculate so much. The decision to make Solas bald came from the desire to give Solas a design that conveys his wise character.
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Post by midnight tea on May 30, 2017 16:57:11 GMT
Anything is possible until the writers finally get round to explaining the logic of the design for us. May be it is just a trade off for being immortal.
Considering that we already have Patrick Weekes telling us on twitter that Solas just stops his hair from magically growing? I'd say that this has little to do with immortality itself. Besides, is Felassan bald? I don't recall. We also see elves with hair (those already protected by Fen'Harel) on Solas's mural. Also - I know that we can't be sure how and when the dalish myths have been embellished, but I do wonder why one of the myths goes out of its way to mention that Ghilan'nain has snowy-white hair? ...Or is this to suggest this is where halla got their coat color from? Out of all ancient elves we've met only Abelas has no eyebrows. Seems like a personal style choice, same with glossy lips Besides - considering that elves has one particular feature that distinguishes them from dwarves and humans on their heads alerady: their pointy ears (and their characteristic facial features overall, and their lean build, and possibly some sort of magical 'signature' Abelas was able distinguish ancient elves from non-ancient elves), I don't see why they'd shave their hair to distinguish themselves from others. The whole barefoot thing is an art departament decision, not the writers. Some of the (like Gaider) seemed to be reluctant to make much out of it. If anything, bare feet are - in many fantasy settings - characteristic of hardy people that are connected with nature (which we know elves are), but not necessarily anything beside that.
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Post by gervaise21 on May 30, 2017 18:53:48 GMT
Just because PW puts something on Twitter (which could just be him joking), I am not taking that as proof of anything. When he actually has Solas say in game that he stops his hair from growing magically, then I'll take it as lore.
We never get told anything about Felassan's appearance, except that he seems to have fake Vallaslin. There is a distinction made in Solas' mural in his sanctuary between those on the left hand side, where he is removing their vallaslin and their heads are covered (so may or may not have hair) and those on the right hand side who seem to be in some sort of bubble. It has been suggested elsewhere that may be this is meant to show the freed elves after he cut them off from the Fade with the Veil. In which case, that suggests that the post-Veil elves had hair. So I suppose this could tie in with his comment that Solas prevents the growth of hair with magic and the post-Veil elves were no longer able to do this.
All other murals and the mosaics of the gods, seem to show ancient elves without hair. All the ancient elves in the Temple of Mythal were without hair. I cannot believe that this universal lack of hair is just down to choice on their part to shave their heads or magical suppression of hair growth alone but is fundamental to the nature and appearance of elves born pre-Veil. Which is why I think that it is only as elves got further and further from their origins with each generation born post-Veil that hair became the norm rather than bald heads.
As for the bare foot thing, I am aware that DG said it was purely a design department decision which he did not approve of. Just as many Fantasy Settings have elves wearing foot coverings as those that do not. (In LoTR hobbits go bare foot but they have hairy feet, elves wear lightweight canvas type shoes) My chief objection to the introduction of this elven design in DA2 was the impracticality of it. In our real world, native tribes that go without footwear are almost always found in warmer environments. Northern Native Americans wear moccasins or boots, Eskimos and Lapps wear boots, the ancient British tribes did too. All these cultures have/had a close affinity with nature but live in climates that are generally cold and/or wet, particularly in winter. Their feet would suffer if they didn't wear shoes or boots of some form.
Elves going barefoot in Tevinter I could understand as a combination of poverty and warmer climate, so Fenris was in keeping with that, although presumably his armour originally came from Denarius, who would have no specific attachment to nature he would want to preserve in his slave, and elves going barefoot in the alienages would again just be down to the fact they are so poor. However, Dalish originating from Ferelden just didn't make sense, given the freezing conditions there in the winter, with cold and wet conditions in the southern part most of the year (which is where the Brecillin Forest is, the southern part of which borders the Frozen Seas). Dalish would be well able to craft decent boots for the winter and lighter shoes for the summer.
So it would seem that in addition to explaining why ancient elves are universally bald, they also need to explain why modern elves don't get frostbite.
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Post by midnight tea on May 30, 2017 20:10:13 GMT
Just because PW puts something on Twitter (which could just be him joking), I am not taking that as proof of anything. When he actually has Solas say in game that he stops his hair from growing magically, then I'll take it as lore. He wasn't joking - he answered a question from a fan. A lot of such honest answers are usually treated as part of lore - including Solas meaning to tell the truth about himself to Lavellan in Crestwood and then chickening out. That wasn't part of game - that was 'word of god' in an interview, and it IS considered canon. Besides - Solas was first designed with hair. According to the devs, they've tried multiple hairstyles on him. The decision to make him bald was dictated with 'bold, bald head' fitting his character in the first place, rather than lore per se - so even if they adjusted it along the way, I think we can at least throw some of the more exotic ideas out of the window. That is a completely bizarre suggestion - one that makes no sense whatsoever. The Veil was a singular event that has cut everyone from the Fade - NOT something that Solas did one at a time, *during* rebellion and not something that happens when he removes vallaslin. Also, what - did he "Veil" himself when he removed his own vallaslin? Nevermind the timeline. The Sanctuary is obviously a relic of time before the Veil. All other murals only show Solas. Also - all of the murals are pretty surely painted before the Veil dropped. We know this, because there's enough clues to suggest that creation of the Veil was the cause of Solas's long-ass Uthenera, from which he woke only a year before he joined Inquisition. All those murals are obviously old, obviously worn by time, so please - don't even try suggesting a scenario where he spent the year before Inquisition painting murals. So why try and make an exception for the mural which depicts elves with hair? ...because it doesn't fit your theory? Really, at times like this it's best to just apply Occam's Razor - claiming that the mural show post-Veil elves in a series of murals painted prior the Veil and inadvertently suggesting that Vallaslin removal somehow is linked to creating some sort of mini-Veils (???) generates one heck of a convoluted mess that is difficult to explain. a. We have not seen all of ancient elves in Temple of Mythal and majority of them wore cowls. b. those were elves that just woke up from uthenera AND were part of Mythal's priesthood/guard, which may be why they chose to shave their hair. It might have even a fashion, OR it might have had religious significance - just like shaving heads is for some of those who practice Hindu or Buddhists religion. Heck, in some our cultures people shave their hair (and brows!) as a sign of mourning, and we know Abelas even changed his name to reflect how much he mourns Mythal. Basically, we know too little yet and correlation doesn't necessarily means causation. Solas may be bald for entirely different reasons than Sentinels are. Okay, so elves are different or are they the same as humans? I can't keep up. There's no reason to assume that elves are not hardier than humans - in fact I recall reading somewhere that they ARE indeed hardier than humans. This isn't just a matter of bare feet - despite temperate climate on the South and normal winters, elven armor - Dalish specifically - is generally light and can show a lot of skin. So they are not bothered by lower temperatures as much as humans are.
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Post by midnight tea on May 31, 2017 1:00:33 GMT
Since we're theorizing about contents of Solas's ancient murals - I have a theory of my own, concerning this particular painting: We can discern from Skyhold mural that one painting (because Skyhold mural is basically one painting) can depict fluid passage of time. The method is very simple - time flows forward from left to right. It's not that hard to guess that at least some of Solas's Trespasser murals also depict passage of time, given that they feature the same person (him) on one picture, and more than likely follow the same left-to-right rule. So, it's also likely that his vallaslin-removing mural also depicts such passage of time - perhaps not literally (we see three people on left side and two on the right), but in terms of effect of the whole ritual. One can only guess what exactly the method or its effect really are, given how little information we have now, but if I had to guess, I think there's a specific reason why the 'aura'/shield/bubble around vallaslined elves has a color of dry soil. It looks depleted. What's more, the 'water' (with Fen'Harel's orb featured inside?) washes over the elves just as the Dread Wolf removes their vallaslins - the clean-faced elves have their aura/bubble filled with the very same color the water on the left has. That may suggest that vallaslin removal and whatever else is done during that process may restore something they've been deprived of as Evanuris' slaves. One can only guess whether it's something metaphorical or literal - heck, it could be both. And IF Evanuris required slaves to feed off their subjects' magic, belief or willpower (which in world of Thedas is not as abstract of a concept as it's here), it's not that crazy to imagine that eventually either their strength will wane, OR their waned strength would be an effective way to keep people subjugated. And whatever Fen'Harel does either restores their strength or gives them a rejuvenating boost. I also find it interesting that the color of surrounding mountains is also the color similar to 'depleted' aura around vallaslined elves, while the rejuvenating blue only seems to hover above the ground. I kinda wonder if it was supposed to depict level of 'depletion' of world itself.
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Post by Iddy on May 31, 2017 11:43:58 GMT
You know, I think the decision to keep/disband the Inquisition is a little harder as a Dalish elf. Briala needs all the support she can get in order to stay in power and even a shrunk down Inquisition still should be helpful. At the same time, history has taught the elves that Chantry + Military power isn't good. Sure, maybe the new Divine won't misuse it, but you never know what the next successors will do.
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Post by gervaise21 on May 31, 2017 15:48:32 GMT
I wasn't just talking about the murals in Trespasser or the murals painted by Solas but all the murals we see throughout the game. I must assume that all were the work of elves pre-Veil and all of them have elves shown without hair. Admittedly some of them may be stylised (like our own cave paintings), so they do not necessarily have hair shown but then there are others that quite clearly seem to be intended to represent figures as near to life as possible and again they do not have hair.
Every time we come across a mosaic of the gods throughout the game they are shown as bald headed creatures with the exception of Fen'Harel, who has a wolf's head.
Many of the sentinels fighting out in the Arbor Wilds were without head coverings and once again there was no hair. When you see the followers of Sampson/Calpernia kill the sentinel in the cut scene just before you confront them, the sentinel has no hair. I am quite willing to concede it may have had some sort of religious significance but it would be interesting to know what exactly. May be it was something restricted to the priesthood and their acolytes or may be slaves were not allowed to shave their heads to distinguish them from their "betters". It would just be nice to know why the ancient elves, who don't recognise modern elves as being the same as them, have such a consistently different appearance.
As for the mural in the sanctuary, it could be that it was painted by Solas' followers rather than Solas himself. In which case it is possible they could have added the bit on the right hand side after the Veil was raised, which actually was something he did do "during" his rebellion. Solas may have dropped into uthenera almost straight away but it doesn't mean that all his followers did. The memories in the Library show that people were aware who was responsible for the destruction that followed his action. May be someone more sympathetic to his cause decided to "record" why he did it. I'm sure Solas wasn't the only ancient elf able to do such art work and it would make sense that his followers would adopt the same style as their mentor.
The theory about the bubble showing the Veil is not my own. However, there does seem to be a clear distinction between the left hand side and the right hand side. The idea of one side being before the Veil and the other is after was someone's suggestion. I am not using it simply because it fits my theory. However, the depiction of the elves on the right hand side is out of step with every other depiction in game, so I was prepared to go with that person's idea as a possible explanation. I repeat every other picture of the ancient elves, not just the ones painted by Solas, show them without hair.
Your own theory is interesting, although I question what exactly Solas is meant to have restored to the elves apart from their freedom. What sort of "depletion" do you feel it depicts apart from the depletion in magic that followed the creation of the Veil? I know there is a theory that the vallaslin may have been more than just property markings but may actually have allowed the Evanuris to control their slaves in some way but, again, that is just one theory among many.
What is that labyrinth surrounded by water meant to show? I don't think it is meant to be his orb. Actually, based off Masked Empire, I would say it is meant to represent the main control area that Briala used to activate the eluvians, where she had to navigate a labyrinth in order to reach the console. Then the wavy lines may be symbolic of the appearance of an activated eluvian. So this would be indicative of the fact that it shows the escaped slaves having used the eluvians to get to Fen'Harel's sanctuary. Then the ones on the right hand side are simply sheltering there.
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Post by midnight tea on May 31, 2017 16:40:52 GMT
I wasn't just talking about the murals in Trespasser or the murals painted by Solas but all the murals we see throughout the game. I must assume that all were the work of elves pre-Veil and all of them have elves shown without hair. Admittedly some of them may be stylised (like our own cave paintings), so they do not necessarily have hair shown but then there are others that quite clearly seem to be intended to represent figures as near to life as possible and again they do not have hair. If we go by murals of entirely known origin that we see strewn across the landscape then I guess we must also assume that they were also naked - after all, all of them depict stylized elves with no hair and NO CLOTHES. And we already know this is untrue. After all, it's not like all ancient elves are all strutting about naked.... although that would make for hilarious scenes in DAI, when we meet an army of naked Sentinels or keep asking Solas about his dislike of clothes xD Again - Solas's and Evanuris reasons to be bald/be depicted bald may have entirely different reasons than the populace and have very little to do with anything concerning ancient-elfiness. If anything, it'd only be logical to assume that Evanuris following shaving their hair could be a sign of veneration of their gods. ... What do you mean 'why'? Theirs is different culture, mostly lost to time. If anything, it visually distinguishes ancient elves so we - the audience - can tell they're ancient elves. I mean, the ancient elves seem to have no need to search for distinctive outward appearance in order to tell apart ancient elves from post-Veil elves. It doesn't matter how Inquisitor is outfitted or even picked one of 5 shades of baldness from hair menu - the very first thing that Abelas notices about elf Inquisitor and Sera is that they look like their kin, but aren't ancient elves. All of the main murals we find in Trespasser are Solas's murals. Not only it's painted in the same style, Nick Thornborrow - the guy who actually painted them - tells us directly on his tumblr that they're Solas's murals. ... and without clothes. Also - why would Solas depict the Veil on that mural? It makes no sense whatsoever. It clearly depicts elves being accepted by Solas who removes the marks of slavery and suddenly - BAM - the Veil? Especially that we know nothing of any materials existing to suggest that the Veil was EVER the rebellion's goal - it was an emergency plan after Mythal was gone and no rebellion could have stopped Evanuris. ... I actually wrote in my comment what I think might have been leeched off. And I don't necessarily claim that it's vallaslin that was the device to leech magic/energy/willpower from people - I also said that the depiction could be metaphoric as much as it could be literal. Solas removing the vallaslin could just depict the removal of mindset through removal of symbol of enslavement - and we KNOW for a fact that the sanctuary contained chambers in which Fen'Harel helped people deal with Evanuris brainwashing. In other words - just like his murals in Skyhold - one picture might have portrayed a longer process, not just an instant event. It looks pretty much exactly like his orb. The orb has pretty much the same, labyrinthian patterns on itself as its depiction, only less stylized.
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