Thedas Calls - Dragon Age Day Trailer (2023)

This does seem a possibility because whilst it seems as though they are referring to Solas' plan, in fact it could be the overall plan, which Mythal restarted when she joined with Flemeth, which would fit the "centuries" reference.

I am still puzzled about how much Solas knew of this. When we visit the Temple of Mythal he says: "So Mythal lives" or something similar when we enter the inner sanctuary with the Well, which suggests he wasn't aware of this fact but apparently the very fact this inner sanctum looks as it does seems to tell him that she must still be living in some way. Yet, after he woke from his slumber he visited the area of Flemeth's hut, which surely isn't mere coincidence. Then in the epilogue he knows where to find her and she is expecting him, plus she knows that he gave his orb to Corypheus. Now unless she knew he had it in safe keeping and would not part with it willingly, how would she know Corypheus hadn't come across it by accident or even taken it forcibly, bearing in mind the Dread Wolf might have been too weak to resist after his slumber? Their conversation also suggests that they had a joint plan but he messed it up since he appears to be apologising to her for his error.

However, it could be just the fact that the ritual would take centuries to enact as he mentions in conversation about elven magic that this was often the case and, of course, when elves were immortal this was perfectly feasible. So, either he woke briefly from slumber to start the ritual or he got one of his followers to do this via the Fade.   The fact that Felassan dismisses Mihris' suggestion that the ancient dreamers could contact their followers through the Fade as idle fancy, seems to confirm this was possible.   In fact, this is how Felassan and Solas stay in touch and it is likely he wasn't the only one.   The elf in the Carta dwarf's story also seems to have got his idea about the idol from a dream, so either it was just a yarn he spun for the benefit of the Carta or Solas was influencing random elves to do his bidding via their dreams.

The problem I have with this explanation is the need for the orb to be "unlocked" and the part that the idol is meant to play. If the ritual had already been running for many centuries, why the rush in getting the orb unlocked? Surely rather than entrust it to some random powerful mage it would have been better to wait until he could unlock it for himself? If the idol was necessary for the final action, why not recover it earlier? If the idol only became necessary after the destruction of the orb, why not head straight to Kirkwall instead of delaying until after our confrontation with him in Trespasser? Why didn't he deal with recovering it personally? If he knew it had passed to that relative of Danarius in Blue Wraith, which the comic suggests he did, why didn't he intervene sooner before the mage did even more harm with it? Instead, according to Tevinter Nights, he allowed it to be transferred around Thedas before finally deciding to step in, when he recovered it with no problem, if his story is to be believed.

I do wonder, though, if that was merely meant to deter Charter from searching for it further. After all, if it had really been offered for auction and then stolen, the various people he suggested were at the venue would be able to confirm whether or not this was the case. It is interesting, though, that its last known location was in Rivain and that is somewhere they have definitely included among our various destinations in DA:D.

If we go by associated media (comics, short stories, etc) then the Archon would seem the only person not engaged in dabbling with dangerous magic, although apparently he does have a museum of ancient artifacts within his palace which could become important. People that we know are recovering, researching and possibly using ancient magical artifacts:

Venatori: Highly invested in the use of red lyrium and know the means to "grow" it Also still seem to be interested in recovering ancient artifacts and may still be up in the Arlathan Forest. One of their members had a base there in Blue Wraith.

Veil Jumpers: A group of mostly elves (not convinced they are genuine Dalish) but also human members who are located up in Arlathan Forest. They have had ample opportunity to study the strange phenomena up there. Have also recovered at least one artifact associated with either Andruil or Ghilan'nain, the halla statue that appears to have some sort of control over the strange magic.

The Executors: I have a feeling they are responsible for the activation or re-discovery of the monster creation pools. It is too much of a coincidence that both smell of the sea, particularly when the pools were many miles inland. They are working against Solas but to their own mysterious ends. Definitely think they are going to be associated in some way with the Evanuris but whether as friends or foes remains to be seen. If allied, mostly likely they are followers of Ghilan'nain. I also have my suspicions about the Veil Jumpers that at least some of their members may been agents of the Executors, in particular Strife.

The Qun (Par Vollen leadership): They have been gathering and researching magical items generally for some time. This may be associated with the Viddasala's original research into how to strengthen the Veil. Solas, or his agents, have been actively trying to prevent this and sabotage their efforts.

The Antaam (break away faction): Not yet established exactly why they decided to launch a mainland invasion without the blessing of Par Vollen (if this is true). Attacking Tevinter whilst it was divided and weak would make sense but not invading Antiva, thus breaking the Llomerryn Accord and having to fight on two fronts, so this could have to do with the strangeness in Treviso that was alluded to in the latest trailer. They have been tracking the Venatori as well and the latter are apparently stronger in eastern and southern Tevinter, which could account for why they overran this part as a matter of urgency. Rasaan refers to "My Antaam" in Tevinter Nights. It occurs to me this could account for the actions of the Antaam as she is the official adviser of the Arishok, so if she had advised him it was the will of the Qun to act as he did, he would have followed her advice. She is particularly concerned with the identity of Solas. Since the Behind the Scene video said our hero would be having to act because those in charge were ignoring the danger, this could mean an alliance with Rassan is on the agenda because effectively she did the same in ignoring Par Vollen and acting on her own initiative.

Lords of Fortune: Based in Rivain, these treasure hunters may well be helpful in establishing leads or already have potential important artifacts in their possession or know where they are located.

The Black Divine: Whilst the Netflix series Absolution is said to be a self contained story, it did suggest the idea that the Black Divine has some ancient artifacts in his possession that he is researching. If the voice at the end of the latest trailer is not one of the Evanuris, then it could well be the Black Divine as everything we know of him from Dorian and the books would suggest he is a sinister individual who will stop at nothing to further his own power.

The Shadow Dragons: We know little about this group other than they aid escaped slaves, oppose the Venatori and a leading member (possibly the founder of the group) is called the Viper.  This individual clearly had access to magic negation in the short story in which they featured and was also already someone to be feared by the Venatori.   Whilst they seemed a pretty useless bunch in DAI outside of a few named individuals, the Venatori are a group who want to gain control of Tevinter and the rest of Thedas through magic, so it follows that anyone opposing them has to be familiar with how to counter magic and may well have magical items for the same purpose.   The Shadow Dragons seem to want to give power to those the mages in charge generally forget, presumably the Soporati, and definitely have non mages in their ranks but are not wholly prejudiced against mages, as Neve works with them.  It will be interesting to see if this group are going to be aiding or opposing us and what their attitude to Solas might be.

If the game takes the locations initially in the order shown in the latest trailer, we will start off in Treviso, Antiva, investigating the strange phenomena that has been observed there. This will likely bring us into contact with Rasaan, who will explain the potential danger from Solas and ask to team up with our PC. From there we will head to Rivain because of strange events and creatures that are emerging in that area. This will likely have us recruiting a Lord of Fortune, possibly Mateo from Tevinter Nights, which if Rasaan is with us could prove interesting given their previous history. It is also possible we might recruit a Rivaini Seer along the way for her knowledge of ancient magic. After that our next lead will take us to the Anderfels and the HQ of the Grey Wardens where we will pick up another companion, likely Davrin but alternatively Evka as she has featured prominently in Tevinter Nights, DA Day short stories and the Missing. At the very least we are likely to meet up with her and Antoine at some point. Perhaps we will travel part of the way to the Anderfels through the Deep Roads and they will act as our guides. After Weisshaupt, with a possible diversion to Kal Sharok, the action will likely then be focused entirely on Tevinter, including the Arlathan Forest, but likely starting in Minrathous, where we will acquire further companions and encounter a few familiar faces from both DAI and associated media.

Some really interesting speculation in this video, didn't see it posted in the thread yet. Key points that I haven't seen discussed much:

• Eluvian sounds in the trailer
• Discussion of Dragon Cults; apparently in the Rivain section of the Thedas Calls trailer you can hear the sound of a gong, which the youtuber felt was a potential callback to the gong used in DA:O to summon a high dragon
• The spot that Andy speculates is Kal-Sharok, this youtuber speculates is the fallen statue of Andraste in the Anderfels; speculates it collapsed when something caved in
• She apparently sees a silhouette of a dragon flying in the stormy skies of the Anderfels section of the trailer, right before it shoots lightening out of its mouth; she connects that to the final voice, which is set with a backdrop of a dragon's roar, thunder, and a wolf's howl.
  
• Some interesting speculation about the appearance of a white flag outside what is presumably Weisshaupt, and what the implications of are.