Schmooples' Den! The DA News Discussion Thread

Wait, hang on... something can't be 'accurate' and 'pro-something' or with 'spin put on them'. I mean, even if there is something accurate about those records they still can't be trusted as accurate overall (never mind that we actually have little to no idea what really happened to Arlathan, although this is hardly just about Artlathan or its destruction).

And that's aside the fact that these supposed 'accurate' records somehow completely missed the whole 'there was no Veil' detail or Empire-wide slave revolt, with an echo of it completely misrepresenting both the nature or motives of Fen'Harel, never mind all the other important details.

Also, Solas did tell us that Mythal was the best of Evanuris and that she genuinely cared for her people. So you can't really point at Abelas and say that this was standard for all Evanuris - in fact it seems that Mythal may have been an outlier there in terms of treating people or the nature of servitude (who may still have been different class of citizens than common slaves) at least in waning years of Elvenhan.

I mean, if you want to talk about accuracy of pro-Evanuris faction - we have records from library that was filled to the brim with pro-Evanuris stuff. And those pro-Evanuris records state very clearly that slaves were a thing in Elvenhan, with not even an attempt to call them something else. And that's aside from memories of servants in TME and other sources that aren't necessarily affiliated with Solas.

All in all - even if we give Evanuris the benefit of the doubt and find all kinds of complexities and nuances strewn across millennia of history, and even if we assume that the whole thing with Mythal and Solas is way more complex as well... the fact that there was slavery/servitude under Evanuris meriting an Empire-wide rebellion AND the fact that Evanuris - undeniably - viewed themselves as gods who required worship doesn't speak well of their rule at all.

Anyway, I think it's fair to say that there's stuff in Dalish myths that is more accurate than records or conjectures made by others, especially Chantry and humans. Even Solas said that although the Dalish have only fragments of fragments it's more than most. I don't think it's productive to try and make it seem like Dalish folklore is more accurate than it actually is.

Other than Harding? Pfft. Not fair.

Maevaris, Vaea and Calpernia all have the potential to be interesting companions. But if I have to pick 1, then i guess I'll go with Calpernia since I find her potential character development most interesting.

Hrungr @hrungry
Replying to @dragon_Age_Fans
Storvacker! 🐻

Did they actually call them slaves? I thought the records simply recorded large numbers of elves working in concert to achieve major aims under the direction of other elves. We can interpret this as slaves and overlords but the records do not state it as such.



Well no one seems to remember there was once no Veil even though records now indicate humans were around at that time. It is part of the reason why the Dalish folklore associates them with the loss of their immortality. What the Dalish did remember correctly is that their ancestors all had magical ability, so whilst they might not remember why they lost it, they weren't wrong about that. As for the "Empire-wide" slave revolt, that is not absolutely proven either. There were some who rebelled against the rule of the Evanuris but how wide-spread was it?

My whole point was that the version of history handed down to the Dalish came from the pro-Evanuris side and considering the only reference to the rebellion was an old elven folktale, it would seem that those who supported the Evanuris vastly outnumbered those who did not; hence only their version of history being transmitted. History is always coloured by whoever has the upper hand at the time and the fact that the first we heard of Solas' side of the argument wasn't until he woke up, suggests his followers either died out or weren't bothered about passing on their side of the argument. So the Dalish version of history was accurate from the perspective of elves who were in favour of the Evanuris, which would seem to have been the majority.

As for misinterpreting the motives of Fen'Harel, how much did he divulge to anyone of why he did what he did? According to the Dalish version, he tricked the two opposing groups of gods by suggesting they call a truce and returning to their respective HQs, which he then used to entrap them. To anyone not privy to this thinking, that is how it must have appeared. We know from the memories in the library that it caused wide-spread panic (at the disappearance of the gods) and destruction, which survivors clearly attributed to the actions of Fen'Harel. With him absent (asleep) and probably only contactable through the Fade, it must have seemed like he had done it for purely selfish motives.

Trespasser left a lot of unanswered questions, particularly about the role of those known as the Forgotten Ones, although since they were said to be in opposition to the Creators and the Dalish recall they regarded Fen'Harel as one of them, it would seem they may have been his allies in the revolt, who were also shut away by his action with the Veil. We know from JoH that Gelduran, who was one of the Forgotten Ones, definitely opposed the Creators and seemed to share similar sentiments about godhood to Solas.

What I find annoying is when people imply that the Dalish were wholly inaccurate in their histories. Some bits may have been lost and others give only one side of the story but I find it surprising just how accurate much of it has turned out to be.

As long as she's one of the companions we can kill...

Thanks, folks.

Now I want the MP characters to be present in DA4. Sidony, Luka, Katari, Thornton, the whole lot.

I hope you're satisfied

That hat. You're ridiculous, Hrungr, you know that? lol

That isn't an internal reference though. Meaning, not a description written by an ancient elf. It is the game devs' description of what the book contains. And they call them servants in the first sentence, so it's not even a consistent reference.

PC Gamer @pcgamer
What's your favorite videogame prison break? buff.ly/35yQgDg

...

Mind blown.