Dragon Age: Dark Fortress (Comic)

There have been a lot of seeming inconsistencies about the eluvians:

• In DAO Tamlen is able to see something through the eluvian but that would seem to be the place it was connected to, as darkspawn were coming into the chamber through it. So it would seem it was active at that time, until Duncan smashed it.
• In Witch Hunt, Morrigan seems to discover how to activate her eluvian because of what she found in the book she stole from the Dalish. Presumably she was already able to understand parts of the text that the Dalish couldn't, possibly because of being taught by Flemeth, because otherwise why hadn't the Dalish clan thought to search out these eluvians and attempt to activate them?
• In Masked Empire, Imshael says that the eluvians were shut down at the time of the Exalted March on the Dales. People tend to miss that fact. So it is implied that the Dalish did discover how to activate them, which would explain how they were able to take Val Royeaux by surprise, when normally getting there would require either access to ships or marching the whole way round the Waking Sea. However, it presumably wasn't until after the Long Walk or the freed slaves could have avoided a long and dangerous journey overland. Imshael may be regarded as not an entirely reliable narrator but it does give pause for thought. Still we were given to understand that it was not possible to control the entire network without the keystone, which was left in the possession of Briala, much to the displeasure of the Dread Wolf. I assume that with the network open, that is how the Qunari originally got in but not how they continued to be able to use it once Solas had taken back control. Why didn't he simply shut it down from the central console to prevent the Qunari or anyone else from using it?
• In DAI, Morrigan, if there is no Kieran and she drinks from the Well, is once again reading a book on eluvians (so presumably didn't give it back as we thought at the end of Witch Hunt). She says the network was shut down at the time of the elven civil war. So perhaps that was the first time it was shut down but not the last. Then when she shows us the eluvian she suggests that anyone can access the network if they have the right key. Given how many elven artifacts the Ancient Tevinter acquired, including elven foci, and how invested they were in magical research, it seems odd to me that they discover how to use them for communication (which as I say no one else seems to have done until the latest comic), yet never discovered how to enter the network, particularly when the Qunari and in fact Thelhen did, he just wasn't willing to make the blood magic sacrifice that Imshael required. Given how invested the Ancient Tevene were in blood magic and doing deals with demons, it seems odd that they never managed to find one to give them the required information. If it specifically required Imshael, then clearly someone had to make you aware of this, hence me thinking it was Felassan who gave Thelhen that information.

Anyway, if Tevinter did discover how to use the eluvians for the purpose of communication and apparently independently of the control of the system itself (assuming it was shut down at the time) then presumably that knowledge is still available, if not among modern Vints, then in their archives. If in fact they weren't used for communication between individuals but as a window on the world, then, again, presumably we could do the same. So maybe we could use them against Solas, finding out where his hideout is or where the ritual is taking place. At the very least it could be a case of seeing where he is whenever he activated it, thus discouraging him from doing so. Alternatively, could looking into an eluvian put someone under the influence of Solas?

In LoTR the palantir worked independently of one another if you had a strong enough mind to do so but once Sauron got hold of one, the other palantir automatically focused on him and allowed him to manipulate the viewer, until Aragorn freed his palantir in a contest of wills with Sauron. If they are planning on doing something similar with the viewing eluvian, that would be interesting.   Before it seemed you had to be a Dreamer to see the world and contact your allies remotely (as the Dalish believe the ancients could do) but if you can also do this by finding a suitable eluvian and bending it to your will, then that means anybody could theoretically do this, whether Dreamer mage or not, if they have a strong enough mind.  Our new hero perhaps?

I would not mind her being ace, at all. Just available to ladies, it would be awesome. 

Sure, a lot of people always assume people are straight from the get-go. But Nunzio said he never decided Vaea's sexuality before, so it's never disclosed during the comics. 

That is an interesting idea, I agree that would be cool to see. Remember Tevinter supposedly have message crystals as well, like the one Dorian gave the Inquisitor. I wonder how they work exactly? If they are derived from the eluvian's magic at all?

Hmmm...

I feel exactly the same way.

It is good to role-play in video games, and ok to be a tyrant and enjoy playing that role. Some people end up identifying with this, and these people scare me. Lots of them out there.

Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir Reflect On Their Entire Dragon Age Comics! (Dark Horse Writers)
Video Description:


Figure I should put this in the actual Dark fortress thread where people can talk about it.

Okay then. I read Blue Wraith and the Dark Fortress in an hour. The first was mostly annoying, I about choked on Fenris' bitterness about a Hawke abandoning him, but I'm going to block out that nonsense as the absolute non canon it is.

The second one got one laugh (Grumpy Fenris met his match with silent Marius) and it got one tear of me with Ser Aaron.

What are we supposed to take from all this exactly?

😕 They are probably pulling a President Ghani cuz apparently that's a thing a leader would do now.

Yuuup, I was a little disappointed.

But I liked the parts of the comic that didn’t involve Shirallas going out like a punk.

So, y’know, still a better comic than Magekiller