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

In DAO this is how it worked. The Dalish do not have sufficient numbers to go on the offensive against the humans in the cities. Briala was always unreasonable to expect this of them and Felassan, if he was at all honest about it, could have confirmed this. In DAO it seems widely known among the city elves that the Dalish are an option. However, it is not an easy life. Zevran tried it and preferred to return to his "gilded cage" with the Crows. The Dalish in DAO only regarded the city elves to be lost to them if they choose to remain in the cities because they had accepted subjugation over freedom, so in their eyes were not true elves. Hence: "we are the last of the elvhen and never again will we submit." The fact that the gods they worship had actually enslaved them in the past may be considered supremely ironic but not stupid on their part because they don't remember this. The aspects of the gods they do remember are in fact beneficial to keeping them alive, as Strife acknowledges in Tevinter Nights.

An important aspect of the Dalish is their belief that they need to preserve their own culture as distinctive from the other races around them. I often wonder what would ultimately happen with Lavellan's clan if you do the War Table mission right and then end up on the city council of Wycombe. Would they gradually become just part of the human culture, albeit with more respect shown than previously, or would they help maintain a distinctive elven culture alongside that of the humans? Back in DAO the lore keeper of the Sabrae clan suggested that if they ever had a homeland once again, the city elves might be able to teach the Dalish how to co-exist with their humans neighbours. Given how badly the city elves tended to be treated in human cities, I think this might have been a tad optimistic, since what wisdom were the city elves going to impart? Nevertheless, it might point to Lavellan's clan being successful in co-existing by learning from the city elves, without losing their distinctive elven identity and culture.

Wherever he claimed to be from, Leliana said it hadn't been occupied in years (possibly centuries). So, it is hard to know whether he was telling the truth or not. Did he just throw out some random name of a village, knowing that there was no one there who could contradict him, and having a suitable story ready should Leliana have bothered with checking him out sooner? Or was that actually a village in ancient times, so was where he originated, even if subsequently another settlement had grown up to replace the original elven one? We know that Tevinter built a lot of its cities on the top of elven ruins, so why not other settlements as well?

Solas' main objection to the Dalish was twofold. Firstly, their devotion to his former enemies and secondly, their refusal to listen to him when he tried to impart his wisdom to them. In typical Solas fashion he didn't stop to consider how his presumption might have impacted on the Dalish considering he was trying to pass himself off as a simple elven apostate, in other words a city elf. On the whole there aren't a lot of village elves that aren't in some way under the auspices of the humans, so in that respect they would be little different from the city elves in terms of culture, including following the religion of the Orlesian Chantry. It was human missionaries trying to convert them from their faith in the elven gods that the Dalish specifically objected to back in the time of the Dales. Ameridan seemed to demonstrate that some Dalish had no problem in following both faiths but this was in the early days of the Chantry when Drakon clearly felt it expedient not to take a hard line with the elves in order to keep them on side, unlike his fellow humans where he wiped out all alteranative versions of the Andrastrian faith. However, by the time of the Exalted March on the Dales, despite what Cassandra maintains, the Chantry was adamant there was only one god, the Maker, any other gods were false and their adherents demon worshipers. That attitude continued into the Dragon Age.

So, Solas rolling up and criticising their worship of the elven gods would simply have been seen by them as an attack by a city elf that had been indoctrinated by the Chantry. Furthermore, when asked for the source of his wisdom, Solas' go to response was that he "saw it in the Fade", through talking "with spirits". The Dalish are said to have an aversion for and prohibition on any magic involving spirits, probably because it did increase the risk of possession.  So, saying the source of his wisdom was listening to spirits was never going to go down well with the Dalish and was likely the reason they chased him out of their camp.   Solas, though, is so set in his own mind that he is in the right, that he could never admit to himself that the Dalish attitude was anything other than a rejection of him personally, with no appreciation of the mitigating reasons for why they don't instantly accept his assertions.

Demons can be the corruption of more than one type of spirit, according to the writers. David Gaider stated that Faith also can corrupt into Pride: web.archive.org/web/20151105065606/http://forum.bioware.com/topic/476525-cole-asunder-what-kind-of-spoiler/?bioware=1

Funny how there are always little moments you don't notice, no matter how many times you watch something.

Today I did the WEWH quest and when Briala first met the Inquisitor, she said: "Inquisitor Lavellan. Slumming in the servants' quarters with the rest of your people, for once?". It is a rarely addressed point and I really appreciated it.

I'm more curious about his intention. Did he mean to taunt them or did he just want to look nice for the fancy party?

As for the dance, I don't rightly remember it, but I believe that whenever the cutscene doesn't actually show the Inquisitor dancing, it is implied that they left to the ballroom. 

I think he was mocking the Orlesians in his own subtle way. No one else from our group had headwear, even Vivienne, but there is Solas, the servant, in his weird headgear that makes him stand out from the rest. Look at him in the second shot, slouching against a piece of the furniture, which is very much not how a servant would behave. So, I think he is definitely making a point because the Orlesians are famous for their fashion and, additionally, probably thinks it will annoy the hell out of Vivienne, as she just loves her headgear.
Just for your appreciation:    The first is the one from the game and I think the second one is a mod, although his head is tilted back so it is hard to tell.

There also be a historic jib with it as well, if the comparison to the Helm of the Drasca was intentional. Which, on the one hand I think I am overthinking his choice in head gear but on the other hand...can you imagine a better helm for Solas than wearing a helmet that is (possibly) associated with a rebellion against Orlesian rule?

Pretty sure that’s just marketing speak since this shirt is coming out around Halloween.

It could be simply the Halloween theme but there is extensive lore concerning werewolves in Ferelden that isn't all negative. After all, their great hero, Hafter, was the son of a werewolf and then there was Dane who was required to spend time as a wolf in recompense from killing the white stag. I think the more negative associations seemed to begin around the time that the Chantry influence was spreading and replacing the old animist religion. Since the Alamarri also seem to have a connection in their folk tales and songs to the rebellion of Fen'Harel, the Emerald Knights adopted a practice of wolf guardians, and the south is full of statues that are likely of the Dread Wolf even if not attributed to him, the werewolf could originally have been some residual memory of Fen'Harel. After all, his alter ego in the Fade is a giant demon wolf.

Interesting how the treatment of Were-Wolves and mages kind of intertwine.

If I remember right there is something in the codex about someone returning to the woods to seek out the wolves again for protection and be chastised for having gone to the mabari instead of staying with the original wolves.

Wolves could be some kind of reference to Were-Wolves and not just literally wolves here.



Balls of Fire:

The balls of fire like that really make me think that Solas bringing down the sun might be some kind of consistent meteor attack.

It would also make sense for how it could be something to be relented from.

Has it been mentioned here, that one of the theories is that the "Dread Wolf" is an anagram for "Fade World"?

I don't think there was a good choice for leader of the Orlesian Empire. 

Celene is clever but a murderess of both Briala's parents and, indirectly, of many elves in Halamshiral. She will only do good as long as the good gives her an advantage in The Game.

Gaspard is hamfisted and vindictive and resorts to violence to get what he wants and is a Chevalier, meaning he had to murder an elf in cold blood to earn his feather. I can't see him doing anything good for anyone other than the human nobles in the Empire. He would make life much harder for the non-humans and non-noble humans who have to live there.

Briala would probably do a lot of good, but she also is a murderess. (Aside from the people she assassinated for Celene when they were together, she has also just assassinated the ambassadors at Halamshiral in order to give herself a political advantage against both Celene and Gaspard.) If you make her the power behind the throne with Gaspard as leader, I don't think that would last long. Gaspard would kill her once he got sick of being a puppet to an elf or once the human subjects get pissed off about the new freedoms Briala decrees for the elves. If you make her and Celene rule together, you have to reconcile Briala and Celene and that feels wrong. No human is going to let an elf rule Orlais, so no wonder that's not even an option.

I ended up making all three of them rule together in the hope that an uneasy triumvirate might at least last for a little while and do some good, but even that wasn't a good choice, because you know you're putting three ruthless people in charge of the Empire.

Yes, I suppose that would be the mature thing to do. Admittedly, putting Briala in power is an emotional choice that disregards what is viable and other crucial concerns.

That said, an elven Inquisitor may be excused for making this choice, because realistically speaking, someone who had lived away from human society until not long ago can't suddenly become a genius of politics. Not even if they spend a lot of time reading, as I headcanon that my Lavellan did.