Solas - Official Return of the Dread Wolf Speculation

I sorta agree to a point. I doubt the "large-scale goals" in question will be waylaid or changed drastically since its likely a part of the franchise's plot/storyline, but I do think we may be able to potentially influence Solas anyway. It all depends on whether or not the devs will want to go through the trouble of coding it all it. But if i'd had to guess, we'd either:

A: Can't stop Solas from doing 'the thing'. But we can change why he's doing 'the thing ' anyway. (negative vs. high approval) This mostly just changes the tone of the narrative.
or B: Stop Solas from doing 'the thing', only for 'the thing' to happen anyway but with a different person triggering it (ex. Morrigan, Mythal, random radical follower). 

And its not like this is a new thing for the DA franchise either. A ton of major events like the end of the 5th Blight, the releasing of Corypheus, the Kirkwall rebellion, the outbreak of the Mage-Templar war--all of these could have thier motivations or potential players changed only for the major event/'the thing' happen anyway. However, it should be noted that some characters were deemed essential and irreplaceable in these story elements. Characters like Fiona, Coryphaeus, Meredith and Orsino, etc. are all characters that presumably shouldn't or couldn't be changed no matter what the player does.

So that begs the question: is Solas one of those characters? He certainly seems to have been built up like it. And most of those characters ended up dying regardless of what the player wants because that was thier role in the story. But it should be noted that once thier essential use in the plot is used up, a character and his/her fate can still be decided by the player (as was the case for Fiona).

TLDR; I still think there is some hope for Solas as a character, even though I doubt we would be able to change anything drastically plot wise.

Current Solas apparently is not indifferent and yet still none too cautious about collateral damage. The message from Trepasser was essentially "Enjoy it while you can because you're all going to burn, Sorry."



This presumes that the only way to deal with the Blight is by means of Solas' plan. If that was the case then stopping him would destroy the world regardless, which makes any efforts on the part of our PC rather redundant. Personally I don't want to race around trying to stop him, only to find that if he had explained why he had to do it to the Inquisitor everyone could have got behind him in his efforts (or taken his advice and just enjoyed it whilst we could). Admittedly giving us the choice of destroy the current world or let it be destroyed by the Blight is the sort of Catch 22 situation that Bioware love to give us but I hope they do come up with something better than that.

Well this goes back to Canticle of Exaltations where Solas awakens/devours the remaining Olds Gods, and his reason for absorbing Mythal is for the location of the Void, either he plans to destroy the Void or to use the knowledge for the benefit of the Elves only.

And those who slept, the ancient ones, awoke,
For their dreams had been devoured
By a demon that prowled the Fade
As a wolf hunts a herd of deer.
Taking first the weakest and frailest of hopes,
And when there was nothing left,
Destroying the bright and bold
By subtlety and ambush and cruel arts.
------
Solas: Your Order... the Grey Wardens...
Blackwall: Not my Order, as you well know.
Solas: Of course, but you may still have an answer.
Blackwall: What about them?
Solas: The Wardens see themselves as the world's defense against the Blight, do they not?
Blackwall: Yes... why do you sound so skeptical? Doesn't everyone know this?
Solas: When an Archdemon rises, they slay it. What will they do when all the Archdemons are slain?
Blackwall: Retire?
Solas: Without Archdemons, there can be no Blights. Is that the reasoning?
Blackwall: Right. Where are you going with this?
Solas: Nowhere. I hope they are correct.

This is the problem with the terminology that has been used up to now.  There are numerous uses of the words Abyss, Void and Wellspring with no way of knowing if this is different cultures using the same word for different meanings (or inaccurate translations of their original word) or if everyone is referring to the same thing.

For example, Andraste refers to the Maker as the Wellspring of All and then in the Descent the location of the Titan is referred to as the Wellspring. Are the writers just messing with us or is there a connection between the two?

The Maker is said to have said to her "Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew." This seems to be referring to the Fade but could also be the Maker referring to himself. This would seem to equate to Solas referring to the Void as the place where life begins anew, so may be it is just a primitive part of the Fade. However, elsewhere the Chant of Light there is the suggestions that the abyss is the darkness where you go if not guided by the Maker, whilst the Chantry teach that lost souls are just left to wander the Fade.

Then in another part of the Chant of Light it says: "Where the Maker has turned His face away, Is a Void in all things; In the world, in the Fade, In the hearts and minds of men." This suggests the Void is just symbolic of emptiness but then we are told that Andruil actually went there and it is the location of the Forgotten Ones, which in the story of the Betrayal is called the Abyss.

This is why it is difficult to read anything into what we have been told, including prophesy, because of the way words seem to have been used interchangeably and it is impossible to tell if this was deliberate by the writers or just carelessness.

Nah, I think the theory is that when the Old Gods die, the resultant lack of influence will essentially mean chaos for blighted creatures. Chaos that could potentially spread to the mortal realms to the point that it either can't be contained or make blighted creatures more prominent threat on the surface (the mere existence of which could prove disastrous given how the taint can spread). While some imagine an endless hoard of darkspawn deciding to take on the surface world, I think it will be a lot slower than that.

Some may stay underground, but I don't think it is unusual to say that the lack thier God's song will cause for some to panic. They may come up to the surface to search for them, others will run about because they don't know what to do without the calling. Likely nothing drastic at first, but because the blight was never cured that means there will be more and more potentially-confused darkspawn who will be compelled to wander around in varying states of distress (as opposed to being compelled to dig forever by an archdemon). I foresee darkspawn raids becoming more common, maybe extra portions of the map becoming blighted thanks to recurring darkspawn presence that I doubt non-Gray Wardens will not take much notice of. But unless Thedosians start making like the dwarves (who deal with darkspawn threat almost daily) they will have to deal with a slow, albeit steadily encroaching, expansion of the taint as the darkspawn become less concerned with staying underground and start to cover more parts of the surface world.

Far more concerning though is if the darkspawn grow to be like we see in the DAO DLC where they are intelligent, free thinking and develop personalities. In that DLC we are told they were freed from the call of the old gods by means of a modified joining. But would killing the Old Gods, and thus presumably ending thier song, produce a similar result? Or is thier intelligence purely the result of joining, an otherwise specific magic blood ritual? I really hope for the later but it looks like the joining was merely a method to reduce the effect of the calling rather than directly give darkspawn intelligence.

But of course, this is not counting whatever may happen with the black city, evanuris or whatever old powers could still be out there. 

Edit: Made a game reference mistake. Corrected.

I don't think that would help. The "original" Broodmother, if she is even still alive, isn't necessarily special compared to other Broodmothers. The taint doesn't come from Broodmothers, they are created by it. Even if you somehow manage to kill them all, more can be created.

Also worth mentioning, the Ancient Magisters became Darkspawn without a Broodmother, so killing all Broodmothers wouldn't stop the creation of darkspawn.

^
Much of Solas' dialogue dialogue tells us what questions we should be asking about the Blight, many of which have been discussed ad nauseum in fan spaces:

--
Solas: I find the fall of the dwarven lands confusing.
Varric: What’s so confusing about endless darkspawn?
Solas: A great deal, although that is a different matter.

Question - Why do the darkspawn keep coming, what is their wellspring? Why do they not age and die? Why did their hordes originate deep in the earth, when the Magisters fell from the Black City in the Fade? Why didn't the Titans protect the dwarves from the darkspawn?

--

Solas: The Grey Wardens allow elves and dwarves into their ranks?
Varric: Qunari, too, I imagine. They don’t care about titles or blood, just stopping the Blight.
Solas: A pity they do it so badly, then.
Blackwall: Would you care to repeat that?
Solas: Argue if you like. Your fight against the darkspawn is noble, but what progress have you made?
Varric: Give them some credit. It’s not like you can study the Blight safely. I may not like everything they’ve done, but without the Wardens, we’d all be blighted by now.
Solas: They’ve bought us some time, I will grant them that.

Question: Why have the Wardens not found a better solution after 1000 years of fighting and having the best resources out of all of the factions including Blight-resistance? How much time does the world have before a never-ending Blight overwhelms everything?

--

Inquisitor: The Wardens deserved a chance to redeem themselves.
Solas: Their only purpose is to protect the world from something they do not understand, something that corrupts them!

Question: How much does the Blight itself influence the Wardens actions?

--
Vivienne: You disapprove of Corypheus using the magic of the blight, Solas?
Solas:Every intelligent creature should.
Vivienne:Yet you raise no objection to the Grey Wardens using blood magic.
Solas: Blood magic is no worse than any other, properly used. But the Blight…
Solas: The blight corrupts everything it touches. Those who believe themselves capable of using it safely are mad.

Question: Is there a way to cure the Blight or handle it safely?

--

Inquisitor: You said that you believed the orb is elven?
Solas: I never would have believed a Tevinter mage could unlock such a powerful relic.
Solas: It clearly enhances his abilities, giving him access to power he should never have known.
Inquisitor: Like the power to control the Archdemon?
Solas: Indirectly, one assumes. Nothing in any lore connects my people to the Old God dragons who became Archdemons. lol

Question: How are the ancient elves connected to the Old Gods and the Blight? 

--

Cassandra: Solas, the dragon Corypheus commands—could it truly be an Archdemon?
Solas: One assumes that if it were, we would be facing a Blight.
Cassandra: So what is it, then? A corrupted dragon, simply another darkspawn?
Solas: It is connected to Corypheus. Such a relation goes beyond mere control—it is a bond.
Cassandra: It makes you wonder if that’s all the Archdemons themselves are: pets to beings who no longer exist.
Solas:I would not go so far as that. This dragon is a replica spawned from a creature who aspires to greatness, no more.

Question: Why would Cassandra make the connection of the Archdemons being pets if the writers didn't want us to consider the idea, and what are the Old Gods/Archdemons really? Why did Solas say "replica", unless the Old Gods really are pets?

--

Inquisitor:Why would the Wardens try to kill the Old Gods?
Erimond: A Blight happens when darkspawn find an Old God and corrupt it into an Archdemon.
Erimond: If someone fought through the Deep Roads and killed the Old Gods before they could be corrupted… poof!
Erimond: No more Blights. Ever. The Wardens sacrifice their lives and save the world.

Solas: That’s madness! For all we know, killing the Old Gods could make things even worse!
Inquisitor: I wouldn’t mind never having another Blight. Corypheus interfering is the real problem.
Solas: The Blight is the real problem.
Inquisitor:And the Wardens are trying to end the Blight forever.
Solas: That’s not the point. Even if they could succeed, the entire idea is wrong.

Inquisitor:How many lives were lost during the last Blight?
Inquisitor: Corypheus notwithstanding, I don’t blame the Wardens for acting instead of reacting.
Solas:They acted stupidly.
Inquisitor: By trying to end the Blight forever?
Solas:Yes! Would it have worked? Do you know? Did they?
Solas: The fools who first unleashed the Blight upon this world thought they were unlocking ultimate power.
Solas: Forgive me. The entire idea is… unnerving.

Question: What will happen when all the Old Gods are dead? Why would killing them make it worse? Why is Solas so angry? Who first unleashed the Blight? 

--

The fact stands that even if the Darkspawn already existed, they did not become a full-blown problem for the dwarves, until after the Magisters Sidreal cracked whatever seal was on the Black City. Something got out with the Magisters, it seems like it's still leaking out, and I think the new mural suggests that there's a whole lot more where that came from. And the only way to kill it is with fire. Lots of fire.

At this point, I'm 100% certain that the taint, and the original darkspawn, come from a Titan, or multiple Titans, and that they existed before the veil.

Raw me, chaos-daddy.

I saw a video about The Grim Anatomy from Ghil Dirthalen, about possession and it’s effect on the blood of the subject, and I’m wondering if the taint is actually just the aftermath of a possession attempt/success on a titan. Mages who get possessed and turn into abominations have strange biological results like growing in height or bulbous cancerous growths. I can only imagine how weird a spirit of the fade possessing a creature who reinforces the nature of reality could get; Corrupting their blood, resulting in red lyrium, that then snowballs to corrupting it’s dwarves, etc etc till we have the situation we’re in now.

EDIT: whoops! Wrong vid. It was this one.