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Post by colfoley on Jul 21, 2019 0:11:00 GMT
What's the deal with Skyhold? I mean, aside from the obvious implications that it was used by Solas's ancient elvhen army and likely the place where the veil was put up, I still have a lot of questions about the place. We have all these hints that not only were the ancient elves there, but a Divine age Ferelden enchanter ( codex here), and probably dwarves at some point (there's a dwarven statue and an old dwarven chandelier to hint this) and possibly even another large group of humans who built over the structure sometime near the Black age (if the stolen brick is anything to go by). And some of these residents were not lone scholars either, but full forces capable of delivering the resources necessary to rebuild the fortress ( codex here and here)...and yet there is little to no record about who they were or what they did. Large forces don't just do nothing. maybe it's a destined fortress of anyone who has a need...maybe Solas enchanted it.
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Post by Absafraginlootly on Jul 21, 2019 1:14:30 GMT
After them keeping Corypheus secret not only from Thedas at large but most of their own order I wanna know what other things the wardens are keeping secret.
I get the impression that the top brass know a lot more about the taint, blights and old gods then what's public knowledge.
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Post by xerrai on Jul 21, 2019 1:48:51 GMT
What's the deal with Skyhold? I mean, aside from the obvious implications that it was used by Solas's ancient elvhen army and likely the place where the veil was put up, I still have a lot of questions about the place. We have all these hints that not only were the ancient elves there, but a Divine age Ferelden enchanter ( codex here), and probably dwarves at some point (there's a dwarven statue and an old dwarven chandelier to hint this) and possibly even another large group of humans who built over the structure sometime near the Black age (if the stolen brick is anything to go by). And some of these residents were not lone scholars either, but full forces capable of delivering the resources necessary to rebuild the fortress ( codex here and here)...and yet there is little to no record about who they were or what they did. Large forces don't just do nothing. maybe it's a destined fortress of anyone who has a need...maybe Solas enchanted it. Well we know it was enchanted to some degree. Morrigan all but confirms that the ancient magics wards off 'evil', but another potential indication of this is how Skyhold is literally a random oasis smack dab in the frostbacks. We have all this ice and snow for miles and miles, and then--for no naturally discernable reason--we have this fortress that holds trees, grass and shrubbery. Either Skyhold has some ancient magic that makes the land fertile, or the keep is located over some sort of special geothermic point.
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Post by yogsothoth on Jul 21, 2019 1:51:25 GMT
Random thought: Are Eluvians alive? Merrill's Eluvian shard had the Blight, and the Blight is only supposed to be able to infect living things.
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Post by xerrai on Jul 21, 2019 2:26:24 GMT
After them keeping Corypheus secret not only from Thedas at large but most of their own order I wanna know what other things the wardens are keeping secret. I get the impression that the top brass know a lot more about the taint, blights and old gods then what's public knowledge. Which begs the question...why? Most of Thedas I can understand, as about 90% of what the taint/blight does or requires would absolutely horrify the general populace. But the other wardens? Even some of the relatively higher members? We could have another Lord-Seekers-Knowing-About-Tranquility situation. The higher ups know the truth, but honestly believe for one reason or another that keeping the truth secret is the best way to ensure order. They are well-intentioned but are ultimately opposed to what the potential revelation of this truth will bring. We could also have another Clarel-Motivated-By-Despair/Fear scenario, where they are lead to believe that the future blight situation is so dire, bleak or apocalyptic that radical action (in this case extreme secrecy) is must in order to ensure survival. Or at least buy time. And we all know how disastrous that can be. Or we could have cult ideology to blame. Be it Promisers who want the world to burn or an Old God cult, they could believe that the taint may be instrumental to thier ultimate goal of....whatever. And seeing how those wardens are both seniors and likely suffering from any amount of PTSD or dementia as a result of the joining, it not hard to believe that a good enough portion of them started to find cult ideology appealing or logical. Especially if the knowledge they hold is that powerful. Hm.
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Post by Buckeldemon on Jul 21, 2019 2:43:02 GMT
Random thought: Are Eluvians alive? Merrill's Eluvian shard had the Blight, and the Blight is only supposed to be able to infect living things. I wondered about that as well. My guess that Eluvians are partially made of/contain Lyrium.
...
I guess the HOF was so successful because there were no 'proper' order members or superiors around anymore to hobble them - after Duncan got the axe. But given what we see in DAI, Duncan was an exccedingly skilled diplomat by warden standards. Well, he needed to be, else Ferelden would have kicked him out.
To me, the wardens appeared to be a bit too fond of their secrecy and rituals, besides being a bit on the elistist side of things, perhaps due to their glorified public imagine, a trait thay share with the Templars.
Now I have one dumb idea: Could it be that Grey Wardens behave opposite to Geth, in that the more are in place, the less intelligent they become? Thinking of it, their connection to the 'taint hivemind' appears to become ultimately detrimental, a.k.a. the Calling. There are also probably at least 4 'blight magisters' left to mess with the order.
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Post by xerrai on Jul 21, 2019 2:43:49 GMT
Random thought: Are Eluvians alive? Merrill's Eluvian shard had the Blight, and the Blight is only supposed to be able to infect living things. Well, I mean, probably? If the taint-only-being-able-to-corrupt-living-things is absolutely true, then that should be proof enough that the eluvian is alive but what if it was just a vessel for the blight? The eluvian shard may have simply been attuned to blight magic at the time. Merrill's eluvian shard originally came from the dalish origin from DAO, and that eluvian is infamous for leading to a....weird place. One that was likely blighted itself. So if the eluvian shard was still connected to that potentially blighted place, would it not stand to reason that the eluvian could hold the taint? Even if it was not neccesarily 'infected' itself but instead attuned to blight magic? But the eluvian being alive? Still highly possible. It could be 'alive' just as lyrium is 'alive'. So just about as alive as blood or maybe a plant I suppose.
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Post by Absafraginlootly on Jul 21, 2019 5:40:00 GMT
Thanks to what we saw in Warden's keep with Avernus experiments. I really think Wardens have the potential to develop some crazy abilities that could make any kind of being tremble of fear. They have so much potential, yet so little has been done with it. Call me crazy or captain obvious, but the Wardens from Anderfels are nothing like the wardens we have seen so far, and it's not only because they are nobility there, there are a lot of things that can be explored, one could be what I said above, show how much potential a warden has in their tainted blood. I haven't played the Avernus dlc yet but I think it should be possible for a warden mage to use the taint for blight magic like Emissaries, Corypheus, and Archdemons do. Though doing so may increase their rate of deterioration? Atleast it might make their calling happen sooner - at worst perhaps it might even compromise them. Wardens have some connection to the hive mind because they can sense darkspawn and eventually hear the song prompting them to go to die before they become a will-less ghoul. Perhaps using blight magic - strengthening their connection to the taint - would risk being taken over. Which, if the wardens can do this, would explain why they wouldn't share the how with most of their members because its so risky... Alternately perhaps the leadership has already been compromised by this means? /puts on conspiracy hat
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Post by colfoley on Jul 21, 2019 6:07:16 GMT
Thanks to what we saw in Warden's keep with Avernus experiments. I really think Wardens have the potential to develop some crazy abilities that could make any kind of being tremble of fear. They have so much potential, yet so little has been done with it. Call me crazy or captain obvious, but the Wardens from Anderfels are nothing like the wardens we have seen so far, and it's not only because they are nobility there, there are a lot of things that can be explored, one could be what I said above, show how much potential a warden has in their tainted blood. I haven't played the Avernus dlc yet but I think it should be possible for a warden mage to use the taint for blight magic like Emissaries, Corypheus, and Archdemons do. Though doing so may increase their rate of deterioration? Atleast it might make their calling happen sooner - at worst perhaps it might even compromise them. Wardens have some connection to the hive mind because they can sense darkspawn and eventually hear the song prompting them to go to die before they become a will-less ghoul. Perhaps using blight magic - strengthening their connection to the taint - would risk being taken over. Which, if the wardens can do this, would explain why they wouldn't share the how with most of their members because its so risky... Alternately perhaps the leadership has already been compromised by this means? /puts on conspiracy hat the last is certainly a chilling thought but would explain a lot.
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Post by Absafraginlootly on Jul 21, 2019 6:36:58 GMT
Random thought: Are Eluvians alive? Merrill's Eluvian shard had the Blight, and the Blight is only supposed to be able to infect living things. Well, I mean, probably? If the taint-only-being-able-to-corrupt-living-things is absolutely true, then that should be proof enough that the eluvian is alive but what if it was just a vessel for the blight? The eluvian shard may have simply been attuned to blight magic at the time. Merrill's eluvian shard originally came from the dalish origin from DAO, and that eluvian is infamous for leading to a....weird place. One that was likely blighted itself. So if the eluvian shard was still connected to that potentially blighted place, would it not stand to reason that the eluvian could hold the taint? Even if it was not neccesarily 'infected' itself but instead attuned to blight magic? But the eluvian being alive? Still highly possible. It could be 'alive' just as lyrium is 'alive'. So just about as alive as blood or maybe a plant I suppose. If the Eluvian was only transmitting the blight from the location it connected to and not actually infected with the taint itself then wouldn't it have stoppped radiating taint when the mirror was smashed and broke that connection? If the shard Merrill took was still tainted for her to purify then that would seem to indicate that the Eluvian is at least partially made out of living materials. Lyrium is probably a good guess. Speaking of that Eluvain - the ruin that the Dalish Warden found it in has a statue of Falon'din in it and it is the only eluvian thus far to be tainted. Indication of a possible connection between Falon'din and the taint? Or since the ruin they were in was of human make, they may just be more elven relics stolen by tevinter and be from completely unrelated locations? Or is it an Alamarri ruin? Is the human ruin with elven relics and the elven ruin with human ghosts (nature of the beast) the results of Falon'din's lust for more followers causing him to branch out? Or instead that post-veil elves and the Alamarri had a better relationship before Tevinter stormed the continent?
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Post by midnight tea on Jul 21, 2019 6:49:50 GMT
Random thought: Are Eluvians alive? Merrill's Eluvian shard had the Blight, and the Blight is only supposed to be able to infect living things. Interesting that you mention eluvians - I've remembered today I have an old theory concerning eluvians that is perhaps tentatively connected to this question. Searched some of my notes and here it is, and I'm just going to mostly copy-paste it below. For some reason I see some people convinced that the moment Solas has taken control of eluvians from Briala was during WEWH, but for me it doesn't really makes sense. I mean... why? Because both him and Briala are there? Because he's excited in Winter Palace, when it's been established in the story that Solas enjoys court intrigue - and a visit at the Winter Palace reminded him of how he enjoys it? This is some flimsy evidence. After all, depending on who Inquisitor chose to be in their combat party (I assume all companions and advisers are in Halamshiral either way, judging from later banter) Solas has to be at Inquisitor's beck and call, and while he's definitely having fun in Winter Palace, he has to be very careful not to out himself. So no, I don't think this is when he took Briala's eluvians. When do I think eluvian retaking began? In Temple Of Mythal. After all, look what surrounds the Well of Sorrows? Eluvians. Not just one, but several of them. This is basically an eluvian hub. (worth nothing that all save the central eluvian are shattered. I suspect all of those broken eluvians probably belonged to the other Evanuris and were destroyed after Mythal was killed to prevent their attack. We know Abelas feared it and made preparations)And remember how Solas tells us "She (Morrigan) is right about only one thing - we must take the power that lies within that Well". So he's reluctant (either because he doesn't trust Morrigan or Inquisitor, or worries about Inky), but still advises to take it. Why, I wondered? Well, I think I know the answer now. After all, what happens with the Well after it's been emptied? A mysterious water lady rises from the basin and collides with the eluvian. Interestingly enough, despite Inquisitor and the rest popping up directly in Skyhold (they don't go through Crossroads - the order in which they appear in Skyhold and the speed with which they do it mirrors the order and speed they've entered ToM eluvian) the water lady doesn't follow, possibly because she stayed IN the eluvian. Basically, I think this is when the eluvian network got re-opened - meaning, there are no longer just a few eluvians "accidentally left ajar" (as Morrigan tells us) that must be pried open through knowledge, power or keys, but pretty much the entire network got itself revitalized. We can see the effect of it in OGB world-state - the eluvian in Skyhold suddenly gets opened; and it gets itself opened into raw Fade - a feat Morrigan claims requires immense power. And I don't think this is solely because of Flemeths' or Kieran's power. I think the feat could be accomplished only because the eluvian network itself is buzzing with new energy - same one that has risen from underneath Vir Abelasan. It would also be another good reason for Solas to go after Flemythal and steal her power. After all, he did try to re-acquire access to eluvian network in The Masked Empire and killed Felassan for failing to do so... and seeing how much the network is featured in Trespasser, indicating that re-acquiring eluvians is crucial for Solas' plans to work. Then, of course, is this. I see many folks usually interpreting this moment as Flemeth "sending something through eluvian". I don't think this is that at all. Judging from past encounters and her pleased smile (after meeting with Inky and Morrigan in the Fade) Flemeth has long prepared contingencies. So whatever she has in store for Morrigan or whoever else, she's likely sent or stored her energy away a while ago. What she does here, IMO, is either revitalizing another part of eluvian network OR preparing herself to override Briala's password (or luring Solas by appearing to do so). In other words, I don't think this is a coincidence at all that they meet under the eluvian or that one of the last scenes in the main game is this: I think this is the moment Solas not only took Mythal's power, but probably when he took over the eluvian network. Also... this eluvian... it's quite big, isn't it? Pretty much as big as the eluvian we see behind Solas (and in which he disappears) in Trespasser. I don't think this is coincidence as well. I think that all the small hints and visual storytelling make it a far stronger case as to when exactly Solas gained eluvians for himself compared to Halamshiral.
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Post by colfoley on Jul 21, 2019 7:26:27 GMT
Random thought: Are Eluvians alive? Merrill's Eluvian shard had the Blight, and the Blight is only supposed to be able to infect living things. Interesting that you mention eluvians - I've remembered today I have an old theory concerning eluvians that is perhaps tentatively connected to this question. Searched some of my notes and here it is, and I'm just going to mostly copy-paste it below. For some reason I see some people convinced that the moment Solas has taken control of eluvians from Briala was during WEWH, but for me it doesn't really makes sense. I mean... why? Because both him and Briala are there? Because he's excited in Winter Palace, when it's been established in the story that Solas enjoys court intrigue - and a visit at the Winter Palace reminded him of how he enjoys it? This is some flimsy evidence. After all, depending on who Inquisitor chose to be in their combat party (I assume all companions and advisers are in Halamshiral either way, judging from later banter) Solas has to be at Inquisitor's beck and call, and while he's definitely having fun in Winter Palace, he has to be very careful not to out himself. So no, I don't think this is when he took Briala's eluvians. When do I think eluvian retaking began? In Temple Of Mythal. After all, look what surrounds the Well of Sorrows? Eluvians. Not just one, but several of them. This is basically an eluvian hub. (worth nothing that all save the central eluvian are shattered. I suspect all of those broken eluvians probably belonged to the other Evanuris and were destroyed after Mythal was killed to prevent their attack. We know Abelas feared it and made preparations)And remember how Solas tells us "She (Morrigan) is right about only one thing - we must take the power that lies within that Well". So he's reluctant (either because he doesn't trust Morrigan or Inquisitor, or worries about Inky), but still advises to take it. Why, I wondered? Well, I think I know the answer now. After all, what happens with the Well after it's been emptied? A mysterious water lady rises from the basin and collides with the eluvian. Interestingly enough, despite Inquisitor and the rest popping up directly in Skyhold (they don't go through Crossroads - the order in which they appear in Skyhold and the speed with which they do it mirrors the order and speed they've entered ToM eluvian) the water lady doesn't follow, possibly because she stayed IN the eluvian. Basically, I think this is when the eluvian network got re-opened - meaning, there are no longer just a few eluvians "accidentally left ajar" (as Morrigan tells us) that must be pried open through knowledge, power or keys, but pretty much the entire network got itself revitalized. We can see the effect of it in OGB world-state - the eluvian in Skyhold suddenly gets opened; and it gets itself opened into raw Fade - a feat Morrigan claims requires immense power. And I don't think this is solely because of Flemeths' or Kieran's power. I think the feat could be accomplished only because the eluvian network itself is buzzing with new energy - same one that has risen from underneath Vir Abelasan. It would also be another good reason for Solas to go after Flemythal and steal her power. After all, he did try to re-acquire access to eluvian network in The Masked Empire and killed Felassan for failing to do so... and seeing how much the network is featured in Trespasser, indicating that re-acquiring eluvians is crucial for Solas' plans to work. Then, of course, is this. I see many folks usually interpreting this moment as Flemeth "sending something through eluvian". I don't think this is that at all. Judging from past encounters and her pleased smile (after meeting with Inky and Morrigan in the Fade) Flemeth has long prepared contingencies. So whatever she has in store for Morrigan or whoever else, she's likely sent or stored her energy away a while ago. What she does here, IMO, is either revitalizing another part of eluvian network OR preparing herself to override Briala's password (or luring Solas by appearing to do so). In other words, I don't think this is a coincidence at all that they meet under the eluvian or that one of the last scenes in the main game is this: I think this is the moment Solas not only took Mythal's power, but probably when he took over the eluvian network. Also... this eluvian... it's quite big, isn't it? Pretty much as big as the eluvian we see behind Solas (and in which he disappears) in Trespasser. I don't think this is coincidence as well. I think that all the small hints and visual storytelling make it a far stronger case as to when exactly Solas gained eluvians for himself compared to Halamshiral. I never noticed other Eluvians were there before. Mirrors mirroring the cross roads? I also wonder... though unlikely...if there was something special about those Eluvians connecting them to the others then maybe that connection was instantaneous...which since Morrigan dragged it there is unlikely... where did she get it from?
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Post by Ieldra on Jul 21, 2019 7:52:31 GMT
What's the deal with Skyhold? I mean, aside from the obvious implications that it was used by Solas's ancient elvhen army and likely the place where the veil was put up, I still have a lot of questions about the place. We have all these hints that not only were the ancient elves there, but a Divine age Ferelden enchanter ( codex here), and probably dwarves at some point (there's a dwarven statue and an old dwarven chandelier to hint this) and possibly even another large group of humans who built over the structure sometime near the Black age (if the stolen brick is anything to go by). And some of these residents were not lone scholars either, but full forces capable of delivering the resources necessary to rebuild the fortress ( codex here and here)...and yet there is little to no record about who they were or what they did. Large forces don't just do nothing. I don't think we'll ever hear anything about Skyhold again. They wanted to give the place an aura - after all, the Inquisitor couldn't reside just in any old fortress, right? I'd like to ask another question: why isn't anyone there? It's hard to believe none of the adjacent nations knew about it. And if someone knows about it, it makes no sense to leave it unoccupied.
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Post by Ieldra on Jul 21, 2019 8:00:33 GMT
Well, I think I know the answer now. After all, what happens with the Well after it's been emptied? A mysterious water lady rises from the basin and collides with the eluvian. Interesting hypothesis, but I don't think it matters all that much when Solas took control. It may matter much more to know who this figure is. Does anyone have an idea?
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Post by LadyofNemesis on Jul 21, 2019 10:56:16 GMT
speaking of eluvians...the other day I was going through Soldier's Peak again...and I wondered the area where Avernus/Sophia banishes the demons and mends the Veil, in the corner of the room there appears to be an object that looks similar to an eluvian so I wonder, is it an eluvian or merely a reuse of in-game assets, if it's the former...did the Wardens know what it was, and if so...how did it get there?
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Post by LadyofNemesis on Jul 21, 2019 10:59:54 GMT
Well, I think I know the answer now. After all, what happens with the Well after it's been emptied? A mysterious water lady rises from the basin and collides with the eluvian. Interesting hypothesis, but I don't think it matters all that much when Solas took control. It may matter much more to know who this figure is. Does anyone have an idea? the first time I played I thought it was the Inquisitor, but that theory failed rather quickly when I replayed with a different race and gender
what is interesting is that the figure appears to be human, in a temple dedicated to an Elvhen goddess but as to who or what she is...I have no idea, it might be Flemeth (and by that I mean the original Flemeth from before she hopped several bodies)
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Post by midnight tea on Jul 21, 2019 14:28:02 GMT
Well, I think I know the answer now. After all, what happens with the Well after it's been emptied?A mysterious water lady rises from the basin and collides with the eluvian. Interesting hypothesis, but I don't think it matters all that much when Solas took control. It may matter much more to know who this figure is. Does anyone have an idea? Umm... I just gave the idea? It's some sort of magical energy that has re-vitalized the eluvian network.
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Post by midnight tea on Jul 21, 2019 14:42:29 GMT
I never noticed other Eluvians were there before. Mirrors mirroring the cross roads? I also wonder... though unlikely...if there was something special about those Eluvians connecting them to the others then maybe that connection was instantaneous...which since Morrigan dragged it there is unlikely... where did she get it from? I think each of those shattered eluvians may have each belonged to other Evanuris, as mentioned before. The other possibility is that it may have connected to some major locations in Mythal's domain. But I don't think Morrigan's eluvian was necessarily connected to anything there, just like it isn't necessarily connected to the Crossroads section we visited in DAI. It's quite clear that there's nothing preventing one eluvian directly connecting to another, if one knows their workings and... signature? Kinda like phoning someone - if you know a number, you'll reach a device it's assigned to. And Morrigan knows her eluvian well. She not only had to obtain it - she had to restore it. We know from The Last Court game in DA Keep that she went to Serault to obtain glass able to fix it.
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 21, 2019 17:50:08 GMT
It may matter much more to know who this figure is. Does anyone have an idea? ...if there was something special about those Eluvians connecting them to the others then maybe that connection was instantaneous...which since Morrigan dragged it there is unlikely... where did she get it from? My answer to both these questions is connected to Mythal. Flemeth particularly refers to her as an ancient being not simply an ancient elf. Whilst she may have taken on the elf form for a time, that doesn't mean that she would always appear in that guise. In fact several of her statues look more draconic then elven. So the fact that the spirit that rises out of the Well of Sorrows looks human is immaterial. The Well was created by Mythal and her priests. In Dalish legend Mythal was born of the sea, so at her most primal level she seems associated with water. Thus the water spirit that rises out of the Well was likely another "piece" of Mythal or at the very least a water spirit loyal to her. Not all spirits are associated with an emotion. The Lady of the Forest was called out of the rocks and earth of the Brecilian Forest by Zathrian and she was a very ancient spirit that had been there since its creation by the elves. As for Morrigan's eluvian, according to her history in WoT2 a member of Celene's court recalls that when the mirror was first brought to the palace it was coated in rust and mud as though it had been dredged up from the bottom of a swamp. I think it is likely that whether a swamp or a pool, the mirror had been concealed in water. May be it was another case of a priest of Mythal trying to keep the eluvian from being used by her murderers or their followers but instead of smashing it, they submerged it in water. It would also explain why this eluvian connected so easily to Flemeth/Mythal's lair in the Fade. (I know Morrigan said it would take great power but it would still be easier than if it was just some random eluvian.) For all we know, the eluvians may have been the brainchild of Mythal. If people are right and the reason Merrill's eluvian was afflicted by the Blight is because lyrium was involved in its creation, it would have taken a shed load of lyrium to create the whole network and who controlled the supply of lyrium in the elven empire? Mythal.
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August 2016
gervaise21
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Post by gervaise21 on Jul 21, 2019 18:00:32 GMT
Or instead that post-veil elves and the Alamarri had a better relationship before Tevinter stormed the continent? Up in Seheron the Fog Dancers teach that their ancestors "learned at the feet of the elves". This suggests that either before or after the Veil, there was at least one group of elves that were on good terms with their human neighbours. They were clearly a different faction from the elves that inhabited the city in the Arlathan Forest, from whom the Dalish would appear to descend, as their legends suggest that their ancestors took a negative view of these interactions. So it is perfectly possible that there were factions of elves across Thedas who co-habited with their human neighbours, passed on their knowledge to them and may be inter married with them, explaining why no trace of these elves seems to have survived. It would also explain how the elven lament Where the Willows Wail ended up in an Alamarri war poem and later a Ferelden lullaby.
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xerrai
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September 2016
xerrai
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Post by xerrai on Jul 21, 2019 18:23:13 GMT
speaking of eluvians...the other day I was going through Soldier's Peak again...and I wondered the area where Avernus/Sophia banishes the demons and mends the Veil, in the corner of the room there appears to be an object that looks similar to an eluvian so I wonder, is it an eluvian or merely a reuse of in-game assets, if it's the former...did the Wardens know what it was, and if so...how did it get there?
At first glance it looks like a reused asset. The same kind that can also be found in the Circle's harrowing chamber in DAO's magi origin ( link here). But an asset being used for a repetitive decoration is one thing, but this one seems strategically placed to a degree...Right now I am leaning toward it being a simple mirror. But I could be wrong.
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midnight tea
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Post by midnight tea on Jul 21, 2019 18:57:07 GMT
speaking of eluvians...the other day I was going through Soldier's Peak again...and I wondered the area where Avernus/Sophia banishes the demons and mends the Veil, in the corner of the room there appears to be an object that looks similar to an eluvian so I wonder, is it an eluvian or merely a reuse of in-game assets, if it's the former...did the Wardens know what it was, and if so...how did it get there?
At first glance it looks like a reused asset. The same kind that can also be found in the Circle's harrowing chamber in DAO's magi origin ( link here). But an asset being used for a repetitive decoration is one thing, but this one seems strategically placed to a degree...Right now I am leaning toward it being a simple mirror. But I could be wrong. Oh, I don't think that mirrors in the Harrowing chamber are a coincidence either... DAO has less of a distinct style assigned for elves, but it's already clear where they're heading with it (lofty, light-toned gothic structures) and after I first saw it (I played DAI and studied the story a bit beforehand) I was like 'yup, that's an elvhen structure'. Like... this wasn't built by the Avvar, help of dwarves or no. It just wasn't.
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LadyofNemesis
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LadyofNemesis
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ladyofnemesis
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Post by LadyofNemesis on Jul 21, 2019 21:01:12 GMT
At first glance it looks like a reused asset. The same kind that can also be found in the Circle's harrowing chamber in DAO's magi origin ( link here). But an asset being used for a repetitive decoration is one thing, but this one seems strategically placed to a degree...Right now I am leaning toward it being a simple mirror. But I could be wrong. Oh, I don't think that mirrors in the Harrowing chamber are a coincidence either... DAO has less of a distinct style assigned for elves, but it's already clear where they're heading with it (lofty, light-toned gothic structures) and after I first saw it (I played DAI and studies the story a bit beforehand) I was like 'yup, that's an elvhen structure'. Like... this wasn't built by the Avvar, help of dwarves or no. It just wasn't. there's also a statue in the repository of the Circle that bears resemblance to the one found during the Dalish Origin VS. the 'wings' of the statues are different in style but both look quite similar the one in the Dalish origin is apparently one dedicated to Falon'Din (guide/friend of the dead), maybe the one from the Circle is Dirthamen? (keeper of secrets)
given that Tevinter took a lot of elven artifacts, I'd say they probably also took some of the eluvians regardless of whether they worked or not
during the Magi origin Lily asks why the Circle has so many Tevinter artifacts in storage, to which Jowan says it's due to it being history the ruin during the Dalish origin is also one of mixed human and elven origin, Tevinter in style but with elven artifacts inside (such as the eluvian)
I imagine Kinloch Hold is similar, it sits on the old Imperial Highway (parts of it are near Lake Calenhad when you arrive) perhaps the Circle tower was once used as a research facility to unlock the powers of some of the eluvians?
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xerrai
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Post by xerrai on Jul 21, 2019 21:50:15 GMT
Oh, I don't think that mirrors in the Harrowing chamber are a coincidence either... DAO has less of a distinct style assigned for elves, but it's already clear where they're heading with it (lofty, light-toned gothic structures) and after I first saw it (I played DAI and studies the story a bit beforehand) I was like 'yup, that's an elvhen structure'. Like... this wasn't built by the Avvar, help of dwarves or no. It just wasn't. [...]
given that Tevinter took a lot of elven artifacts, I'd say they probably also took some of the eluvians regardless of whether they worked or not
[…]
Oh that's almost a given. In fact, I think Duncan even (understandably) mistakenly referred to the eluvian as a Tevinter artifact instead of an elven one. What stands out to me though is that apparently the Vints did manage to get eluvians to "work". Or at least "work" in that they were apparently able to use the eluvians to communicate over vast distances. Now eluvians connecting to eachother isn't too far out there (the Temple of Mythal eluvian apparently connected straight to Skyhold), but apparently these long distance communications were 'all' they managed to uncover. Assuming these communications results were not complete lies and fabrication, I am honestly surprised the eluvians managed to act in this capacity at all without revealing the crossroads in at least some of thier experiments. Unless its a property of sealed eluvians. Or perhaps the tevinters attempted eluvian reconstructions and based thier results on that?
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LadyofNemesis
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ladyofnemesis
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Post by LadyofNemesis on Jul 21, 2019 21:58:57 GMT
[...]
given that Tevinter took a lot of elven artifacts, I'd say they probably also took some of the eluvians regardless of whether they worked or not
[…]
Oh that's almost a given. In fact, I think Duncan even (understandably) mistakenly referred to the eluvian as a Tevinter artifact instead of an elven one. What stands out to me though is that apparently the Vints did manage to get eluvians to "work". Or at least "work" in that they were apparently able to use the eluvians to communicate over vast distances. Now eluvians connecting to eachother isn't too far out there (the Temple of Mythal eluvian apparently connected straight to Skyhold), but apparently these long distance communications were 'all' they managed to uncover. Assuming these communications results were not complete lies and fabrication, I am honestly surprised the eluvians managed to act in this capacity at all without revealing the crossroads in at least some of thier experiments. Unless its a property of sealed eluvians. Or perhaps the tevinters attempted eluvian reconstructions and based thier results on that? I do wonder about the mirror found in the Dalish Origin now
Tamlen says he sees an underground city when he touches it, as well as a great darkness...so either an ancient dwarven thaig or the buried remains of Arlathan however, during DA2 we learn that the demon Audacity also meant to use it to escape from it's prison (at least apparently, seeing as we don't know if Keeper Marethari was telling the truth, possessed as she was during that time)
so I wonder where that mirror originally led
we know the Tevinters moved one of them to the Dragon Bone Wastes (the one Morrigan uses during Witch Hunt) in hopes the ancient bones there would amplify the magic of the mirror but I agree that they might've even tried to replicate the mirrors, especially if they couldn't figure out it's actual use according to several characters all they could use them for was communication, we later learn they were also used for travel (at least by the elves themselves), who knows what else they might be capable of doing
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