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

I don't have the game currently installed to look so ... looks like I'm installing it lol.  The Wiki refers to the Inquisitor as the First, however it does not say where that information comes from.  Give me a couple days to look around in game.

Edit:  Because I get obsessive about things and the download finished faster than I thought.  I could not find where it explicitly says the Inquisitor is the First.  However, character creation does say that you are the Keeper's apprentice.  The Wiki cites The World of Thedas (vol 2, pg 164) as saying the Keeper's apprentice is the First.  There may be other candidates to be the Keeper's apprentice but the one referred to as the apprentice is the First.  From that we can infer that the Inquisitor is the First of clan Lavellan.  Also, character creation says that the Keeper of clan Lavellan is female.  I have a screenshot if that helps.  Also, I have way too many characters in DAI and I played that game an embarrassing number of hours.

Thanks for checking!  I don't think I have World of Thedas (volumes 1 or 2) so I couldn't check myself.  If I have either one, I have no idea where they are.  Also makes me wonder who updated the wiki in such a fashion, using such a specific cite that could easily be checked and proven false.

I did read the in game codex for the Inquisitor and clan Lavellan but nothing there says that the Inquisitor is the First so at the moment, without any other sources, it would appear that we have no proof and only assumption.  Unless there's a dialogue option somewhere but I can't say I'm motivated enough to re-play and comb through dialogue.

Maybe the only way to settle this is by resorting to Word of God.

If someone sends a tweet to Mary Kirby and she responds, then that's that.

It could just have been about taking her slaves, since it was mentioned in Felassan's tale about how Fen'Harel freed himself (and his followers) by setting one god against another, which distracted from him making his escape. This definitely tied in with the Dalish legend which agrees that he played off one side against the other before betraying them both. However, it specifically says "without her blessing" which she would surely never give in the case of her slaves/followers. The fact that his punishment was intended to be for him to bed her for a year and a day does seem rather odd for such a crime. "You stole my slaves, so now you have to sleep with me", doesn't really ring true. "You had sex with one of my followers without my permission, so now you have to sleep with me too", does at least make the punishment relative to the crime. I've also always wondered about Andruil's relationship to Ghilan'nain and whether being her "chosen" actually meant more than being one of her priesthood.

Why did PW frame the story that way? Was he hinting at something in Solas' past even back then?

I hadn't thought of this. I'd never made the connection between his staff in the tarot card and halla. I suppose I had never studied it that closely but, you are right, it does look like the head of a halla. Why would Solas have that? It also resembled the helmet/headdress/head of that arcane archer in the trailer.
I'm pretty sure there is some sort of connection between Ghilan'nain and Dirthamen and possibly Solas too, at least in the early years. What about the story about her encouraging a follower of Dirthamen to "fly in the shape of the Divine"? I've often wonder if that could have been Solas in his "hot bloodied and cocky" phase, only too willing to raise a rumpus by challenging the authority of the gods. Let's face it, Dirthamen is the god of secrets and knowledge, so Solas as a follower of his would be a good fit. "Pride" might well be the name that was bestowed on him as a result and his punishment, as decreed by Elgar'nan was to serve Mythal in wolf form. Hence him always being shown as a wolf in the mosaics with the other gods. This could not simply have been after his rebellion because why would the followers of the Evanuris depict him in the pantheon at all? So before the rebellion he was simply "the Wolf" who served Mythal, then after it he became the "Dread Wolf". However, Mythal had already freed him from his service, so he no longer had to be simply a wolf. Also the last lines of the piece about the "Sinner" say this: "For one moment there is an image of a shifting, shadowy mass with blazing eyes, whose form may be one or many." Whilst the warning of the Evanuris against Solas says: "Beware the forms of Fen'Harel! The Dread Wolf comes in humble guises, a wanderer who knows much of the People and their spirits. Also, the Executors, who seem to be linked in some way to those strange pools that are also connected with Ghilan'nain, know him as simply "the Wolf".

Another curiosity is this image we find painted in the barn at Skyhold:

Now I've always assumed this is showing Ghilan'nain with Dirthamen, since at first glance it does look like a bear but it could be a giant wolf since it is hard to tell with the ears covered by a hood. Either way, it must be assumed that the painting was done by either Solas or someone connected with him. So presumably it means something significant to him. Anger with Ghilan'nain? A reference to her betrayal of him? Or who she betrayed him for?

Lastly, there is that reference in the story of how Ghilan'nain was raised to godhood and that when she was about to destroy her monsters of the sea, Pride stayed her hand. Many people have noted the capital letter used for pride which suggests it could have been Solas/Pride who intervened. Regardless of his motivation for this, clearly Pride had influence with Ghilan'nain and what is more it was enough to get her to betray her promise to Andruil that she would destroy all her monsters.

I think they have been dropping little clues along the way that there is more to come with regard to the history of Solas and the complicated relationships he had with the other gods. Combine this with Rasaan looking for his true name and the fact the the game is named after him, suggests to me that uncovering his story is going to be a major part of the plot in DAD in order to find a way of thwarting him.   It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that discovering a long lost offspring of his might be part of it.

That's okay; the idea was really a bit of whimsy on my part. Like you, I am more interested in the power dynamics between Solas and the rest. Let's face it, he admits after the Winter Palace that he rather enjoyed the intrigue because it reminded him of past experience. He seemed perfectly willing to support the status quo so long as Mythal was at the top of the tree. Okay, she may have been a moderating factor but even so she was part of the system, including allowing any abuses of individual Evanuris against their servants/slaves. (Remember she only intervened against Falon'Din when his antics affected her).  I've never been entirely sure how we should view their status considering Solas only seems to have adopted the viewpoint of slaves to the gods after his rebellion, but if they were always slaves he apparently didn't have a problem with it previously. He was also apparently aware that Ghilan'nain was in the habit of creating monsters. I hope this pre-dated the pools and murals in Horror of Hormack or that he was in ignorance of the actual method that Gill used but since he persuaded her to let some of them survive, he was okay with her actually doing this and what it resulted in.

As for Dirthamen and Falon'Din, given his love of spirits and the Fade, I find it hard to believe this didn't bring him into contact with them. He doesn't have anything good to say about Falon'Din but perhaps that was because they had always been rivals over that domain. Now since Falon'Din is known as the god of the dead, may be his sphere of expertise was necromancy and the enslavement of spirits. That does seem something that riles Solas and probably always did, given how much he does identify with spirits. Then, of course, what happens to souls after death? They become spirits and enter the Fade, where presumably Falon'Din was able to rule over them; hence him urging his followers to a blood bath to punish those who would not bow down to him in the Waking World. I wonder if it was Solas that Mythal sent to bloody Falon'Din in his own temple. Meanwhile, I would think the god of trickery would have a fair bit in common with the god of secrets, so did that make them allies or rivals? As you mention above, may be they started out as allies and then Falon'Din proved a stumbling block between them. I am intrigued to discover the exact nature of the relationship between Dirthamen and Falon'Din, since it was clearly intimated to be something other than simply twin brothers.

Considering that he has a mural where he is depicted as one felling Titans, even if the "official messaging" (I say this, because the 'hail Mythal' part sounds very official) ascribes this to Mythal, I'd say that he's been there from the start, or almost from the start of Evanuris, even if not from the start of the mysterious war that has elevated Evanuris into the position of gods.

My personal theory is that he's been around Mythal when she was still the great warlord/general during that mysterious war, and it may have been Mythal that has known him earlier - potentially as a spirit - and called him to serve or help her ("He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face.")

I'd even wager that Solas' and the rest of Evanuris were once companions, potentially quite similar to companions of our characters in DAI or DAO and working together in an organization that - at least initially - probably resembled Inquisition. His attitude towards powerful military and political organizations like Inquisition, Inquisitor and how Inquisitor's attitude should be towards their Inner Circle (Inky should be 'the first among equals' and NOT trust them unconditionally) are indicative of this.

I've theorized earlier - and still stick to this as the most probable scenario - that the pain and guilt Solas feels about events that led to the lifting of the Veil isn't related to the Veil per se, but his previous role among the Evanuris... or his role in helping them rise to power. 

There's a deep mistrust in Solas that feels a lot like a person who has been let down/betrayed by his close companions, whom he probably trusted to not become despots, or not cross certain lines.

Yes, that has always come across very strongly and does explain his unwillingness to trust anyone, even someone he loves, and also his warning against them doing the same. Mind you, that could also be considered dramatic irony. Solas tells you to be wary of trusting others; yet that equally applies to him.

Dang you, you devilish cat person-thing you! Now I have to go back and look all through Skyhold for any other pictures I missed!

I think I like your interpretation that the large, furry figure is the Wolf and not the Bear of Dirthamen. Those sparkles could be eyes and there are seven of them like in the 'demon wolf' pictures of Fen' Harel. Also, note the moon above the monster, related to Mythal and we have far more relationship between Fen and Mythal than Dirthamen and Mythal. Some strong hints there. Now to go scouring for more of those paintings...

Thanks all.

True, though I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive - in fact, I think him being quite aware that what he's doing to his friend(s)/lover can be compared to things that hurt him so much, and it's the source of his reluctance to befriend anyone and to generally keep his distance.

So, while I think it's a component in his behavior and relationship dynamics between him and Inky/the rest of Inquisition, I do think that him being deeply hurt by people close to him was a thing that must've happened. The dialogue tree he has with Inky after they return from Temple of Mythal is particularly indicative of it, given that this is where - in a disguise of Solas interrogating Inky - we're supposed to learn more about Solas and his past choices/regrets.

Ran back through Skyhold (after Cory version no big addons) and mostly its a waste of time. There is one other copy of that artwork on the top floor of the Armory where I would consider to be Cassandra's Room ("A simple bunk just under the roof of the weapons factory, Seeker? You astound me!" - Varric) I don't think there's any significance to the placement of the paintings. Otherwise, there are several owl sculptures that can be found elsewhere so they might be a little clue. There's also a mural of a sorts over the Inquisitor's bed. I'm not sure if that only appears after Cory is finally defeated but the styling doesn't seem to match Solas's frescos or the two animal and antlered woman. I need to think a little on this and would be glad if anyone could confirm we find this painting ONLY in Skyhold. I don't remember seeing them anywhere else but I don't trust my memory that much.

Sorry, an unintentional slip up on my part.