Tevinter Nights - Spoiler Thread

My guess of those three is the first one. After all it’s called the Dragon Age because dragons re-emerged from extinction first in Antiva. Maybe that’s the part of Antica they showed up in.

Also lol at the Aliens joke.

Well Sir Otto was a Templar and I always assumed his heightened senses were as a result of losing his sight. However, I take your point that it could just be the result of long years of experience on the part of Lucanis rather than anything supernatural.   I agree that he doesn't need that aspect to make him interesting.

It's not just the sensitivity to magic, which Illario doesn't share, but also the heightened sense of hearing. I got the impression that in the scene where the mage is creeping up the stairs, only Lucanis is aware of it. He was also able to pick out the individual sounds in the main room of the inn from the general noise through the floorboards by simply closing his eyes and focussing on them and from these was able to paint a mental picture of the scene below.

Then later when he is listening at the thick studded door, despite the cacophony of twisting bones and breaking shackles behind them, he can still hear the sound the other side of the door of a mop, swirling water and soap suds popping. Again Illario doesn't seem aware of this, only the lack of an alarm having been raised. Now to my mind even a dog or other animal with sensitive hearing would have had trouble discerning the mopping of a floor on the other side of a closed door, with a much stronger noise to counter it in the same area as the listener.

So it cannot simply be his training with the Crows because Illario doesn't share his ability. It is clearly something unique to Lucanis. Add in his sensitivity to magic and clearly he has either some innate ability or has honed his skills over the years in a way that far exceeds most ordinary Crows. May be that is why he is the favourite of his grandmother because she appreciates his dedication to his profession. It would also seem the reason his does not share his cousin's ambition to be First Talon because he does not want the distraction of running House Dellamorte to detract from what he is supremely good at.

No, I get the impression that Lucanis hears stuff that even Illario doesn't. However, that could be the reason he is described as a Master Assassin. So he is clearly at the top of his profession. Illario strikes me as someone who is superior to most Crows but not as good as he thinks he is; no doubt why Caterina favours Lucanis.

Other interesting stuff from that tale, which I believe someone has already mentioned on this thread. Lucanis was working with an underground operator provided as part of the arrangement with his mysterious employer, an elf who wore a scarlet coat. Was she a Red Jenny? If so that could point to the employer being the Inquisition or even the southern Divine, considering Sera said they could rely on her (and her network) in the future. May be it was a case of Dorian providing the money, Sera providing the personnel and Charter co-ordinating the enterprise. If so, it does further suggest that we are likely to find ourselves working with Lucanis in the future.

Something I found curious in some of the other tales was the lack of engagement of the Crows in the hunt for Solas or concern about him. The First Talon had called the other Talons together for an important conference about national security and whilst they may have felt the Qunari were the more immediate threat, it seemed a bit odd not to mention the elf apparently threatening the whole of Thedas at all. I'm pretty sure the Crows must have got wind of his existence and the fact that other organisations were taking the threat seriously. The fact that they were focussed on the Qunari seemed to confirm my idea that Solas was deliberately sowing misinformation and discord in order to deflect attention from himself.

Emil says he was approached by someone claiming to be from the Qunari offering a peace deal. So what proof did Emil have that the person who dealt with him was genuinely from the Qunari? It is also more the sort of thing that would be dealt with by a member of the Ben-Hassrath rather than the Antaam, yet we were being told elsewhere that they were not part of the invasion of Tevinter. It also seemed to have escaped everyone's notice in the stories that invading Tevinter mainland did not break the Llomerryn Accord because they were never part of it. Invading any other country would, which was something the leadership on Par Vollen have consistently been anxious to avoid because it would bring them in on the side of Tevinter. In the epilogue to Trespasser, if you had previously worked with the Qun, they were even trying to bring the Divine in on their side in the war. Which is why the constant suggestion that the Qunari were planning on invading Rivain or Antiva made no sense. However, we do know from one of the stories that an agent of Solas was deliberately trying to provoke the Qun into breaking the Llomerryn Accord. Incidentally, I would point out that if the story of the Mortalitasi in the Dread Wolf Take You was true then technically the Mortalitasi of Nevara have broken the Llomerryn Accord as they took part in a ritual organised by a representative of Tevinter intended to drive back the Qunari by manipulation of spirits. So it is probably just as well the Ben-Hassrath did not have a representative at the meeting.

Speaking of which, it seems curious that if it was meant to be a gathering of the best spies in Thedas in order to share information, where were the Crows? The Mortalitasi remarked at the absence of the Tevinter Sicari and the Executor mentioned the Ben-Hassrath, yet no one questioned the absence of the Crows? With contracts across Thedas and responsibility for their own national security, the Crows would ensure they were made aware of any developments that might threaten them and might well have acquired information that could be pertinent to the search. Now the Executors have clearly been studying the Crow's methods because their representative made reference to them in another context but did not question their lack of involvement. May be they already knew any information the Crows had acquired.

Anyway, it seems to me that the two organisations that were given the greatest attention in the stories were the Lords of Fortune from Rivain and the Crows of Antiva, so it would be odd if they did not feature prominently in the next game, particularly as we have never heard of the Lords of Fortune up to now so what would be the point of introducing a totally new organisation if it was not going to have some relevance going forward?

On top of super-hearing and the ability to detect magic with his itchy eyeballs, Lucanis is also:

- a friend to all elves and full of moral righteousness despite being an assassin;
- knows all there is to know about red lyrium, ancient elven artifacts and demonic possession;
-is feared by the Venatori and even other assassins to the point they refer to him as The Demon (which is a fairly silly nickname for a group who binds demons);
-has such an amazing constitution that he can apparently walk across the city with three fractured ribs (one can be fatal if it punctures your lung) and several other wounds before dismissing his cousin’s suggestion of a healer.

Perhaps the reason he enjoys all these wonderful qualities is that he’s a Gary Stu. Just throwing it out there.

I found this interesting little blurb regarding Lucanis on TV Tropes that makes me reevaluate his morals.

Designated Hero:In “The Wigmaker Job," the main character, an Antivan Crow named Lucanis Dellamorte, decides to punish his target, the eponymous Wigmaker, for feeding red lyrium to his slaves by destroying the artifact he was using to keep the Veil intact within his mansion. This results in demons of vengeance possessing the slaves and attacking the Wigmaker’s party guests, which results in over thirty deaths. Lucanis justifies his actions in-story by dismissing the party guests as allies or members of the Venatori, but there are two problems with this reasoning: first, becoming an abomination is generally depicted as a Fate Worse than Death within the franchise, so the slaves who were possessed spent their last moments as horrors; and second, there was no way for Lucanis could know the demons would disappear after everyone at the party was dead - it’s equally likely that they would have gone on to wreak havoc in the city. And while Lucanis also demonstrates compassion for an elven slave being kept in the Wigmaker's mansion, he shows no mercy to the eight guards he had to kill in order to get at his target.

I think his reasoning was that they had already been put through a fate worse than death by Ambrose and that becoming an abomination would be mild in comparison.



This is where I started wondering about his knowledge and sensitivity to magic and whether it indicated something more than being a supremely able and experienced master assassin. The explanation given in the book suggests that Lucanis did expect the vengeance demons to depart once Ambrose was dead and was actually a bit taken aback when it didn't happen immediately but after a short interval when it looked like they might turn on him. So according to the writer he wasn't being totally irresponsible in releasing the demons. Thus it is down to the writer if this seems inconsistent with the lore as we have experienced it up to now.



Again, this shows the difference between him and Illario. The latter just regards it as a job to be completed as efficiently as possible, with perhaps a bit of fun at the party thrown in for his enjoyment but nothing to get in the way of making a successful resolution. As their grandmother taught them: "There is no place for emotion in killing." Yet some part of Lucanis seems to revolt against this idea. So you could say that there are some sights that are too much even for a seasoned assassin to stomach, even though Illario was not affected in the same way, or perhaps there is some other reason.

As Necrowaif points out, he also has an amazingly tough constitution that his body could take the battering it did and yet he can still cross the city unaided at the end of the fight with no mention of him downing any healing potions (although I suppose that could be assumed). So we have an amazingly tough, magically knowledgeable individual with hyper sensitive hearing that seems to stretch the lore of Thedas close to breaking point. To be honest, it would be more in keeping with everything that has gone before if he was co-existing with a spirit but instead may be it is more a case making the lore fit the character rather than the character fit the lore or in other words, a Gary Stu.

I still wouldn't mind meeting him next game though. However, they would have to tone down his super powers a bit for him to make a credible companion. Otherwise it would just be Tallis all over again.

I liked Tallis. I would prefer her far more than Lucanis.

Well of course there is an outside chance she could be brought back. After all she is a character that can't be killed and worked for the Ben-Hassrath and since I'm pretty sure we will be working with one of them next game, it could be her as we know she is still with them from DAI War Table missions and Trespasser DLC. Their determination to try and show the leadership in Par Vollen, together with the Ben-Hassrath, are separate from the attack of the Antaam on Tevinter, is likely because of their desire to include one of them as a companion. If they don't then we may still meet her as someone working independently of the PC in trying to stop Solas.

Lucanis seems more connected with trying to do away with the Venatori and the danger of uncontrolled red lyrium use. Of course that is also a concern of the Qunari but it may be that they see that as the lesser of two evils or the Antaam conquering Tevinter will deal with the problem. Of course we could end up being opposed by Lucanis if that Venatori Magister is successful in manipulating him. Like the Ben-Hassrath, the stories seem to be making an effort to paint the Crows in a better light going forward. Having read the biography of Zevran in WoT2, together with other codices, it seems to me they are more like the Mafia in the way they operate and wholly ruthless in their dealings. Still, as I say above, Illario seems in character as a member of the Crows but something about Lucanis seems off to me as his behaviour in the story had too much of an element of paradox in it.

It certainly wasn't lost on me how Solas completely embraced the culture and their "frilly cakes." Court is Court, but I find it interesting that Solas would even find Orlesian Court as thrilling as Ancient-Fade-Magical-Elvhen Court. Maybe Orlesian society, with their gold, masks, and The Great Game, isn't that far off from how the elves did court? Mythal is consistently seen with a mask and there's even an artifact called "Mask of Fen'Harel. So, that's very curious. 

About Solas' past - I don't think that he's actually changed that much. While I agree that he may have done some terrible things in the past, his actions are smart as much as they are devastating.  Solas has goals and works the long game and does not show his power in the same way others do. "Hot-headed" and "Foolish" doesn't necessarily imply and angry asshole. An example of his abuse of power was raising the veil. He foolishly changed the makeup of the world out of revenge. Did the Evanuris really go too far, or did Mythal's death twist Solas into thinking that raising the veil was the only solution? Let's not forget our Introspection friend in Callback. 

I've even read some theories that while Solas attempted to *save* the Elvhen people, he also absorbed the lyrium branding that was on their face, in order to power his own orb and create the veil that completely UNO-reversed onto the people he thought he was saving. Note the mural: 




My point is that Solas is Hot-Headed and Foolish even now, but he can't see it because he's too damn prideful. The moment he changed is he was twisted against his purpose. We have yet to hear that story, but I assume it has something to do with him leaving Mythal's service. 

I think intrigue and political scheming is pretty timeless and that is what appeared to excite him. Take out the setting and just concentrate on the participants and there is probably not a lot of difference between the two. It is the same when you compare Orlais and Tevinter. I've said previously that Orlais use poison and knives where Tevinter use blood magic but the end result is that your enemy dies horribly and yet the southern Chantry do not condemn the Game in Orlais as they do blood magic.

It is the same with the use of trickery and scheming. After all, that is what Dorian was trying to do when researching Corypheus' family name; get some hold over his relatives in the present. It should also be remembered that Drakon's mother attained the position of Gothi, or High Queen of the Ciriane, largely because her husband was so adept at political power play from his time back with his family in Tevinter. So clearly "playing the Game" is universal and transferable. Felassan also said as much to Briala when he wanted to remove her rose tinted idea of what life must have been like in ancient Arlathan.  Solas' conversations with Vivienne about their time at the Winter Palace are also very revealing.  It is clear he does have an understanding of how to "play to Game" effectively, which surprises Vivienne when he is meant to be a simple apostate who has lived his life largely away from civilisation and no doubt one of the reasons she always had her suspicions about him.

I still feel that Fen'Harel's reputation as a trickster was acquired before he rebelled against the Evanuris. Admittedly Dirthamen would seem to occupy the position of god of spies and secrets but may be Fen'Harel was the one person able to keep his secrets from him, whilst uncovering secrets others wished to keep hidden. Also, since there was a nobility who occupied the next layer in society under the Evanuris, there was plenty of room for court intrigue and scheming that did not involve the gods directly. Perhaps he was the equivalent of an Orlesian Bard, a freelance operator that others could appeal to for assistance when they wanted to discover some dirt on their enemies. (There is a certain irony about his choice of disguise in Dread Wolf Take You if that is the case). Felassan's story about someone appealing to him to find out the name of a unknown girl would fit with this. No doubt Fen'Harel enjoyed imparting his "dark wisdom" how to resolve their dilemma as recounted in that story and equally enjoyed playing off one person against another in their petty power games, without ever really showing loyalty to anyone and feeling smugly superior to them all.

I just wish we knew why he was always seen as a wolf though and is the only elven god depicted as an animal in the mosaics. Slyness in our world is linked to the fox, not the wolf, but may be it was different for the elves.