Lucanis Dellamorte - Official Companion Thread [Spoilers]

They said we'll have all companions by the end of Act 1.

Calling it now. We're going to have the option to either help him overcome his Crow programming or encourage him to embrace it.

I was just re-reading the section on the Crows in World of Thedas 1 and was reminded of the fact that all Crows have a unique tattoo. Some have them proudly on display (as Zevran did) but some keep them hidden. I don't recall any mention of a tattoo on Lucanis in Tevinter Nights. Likely his grandmother encouraged him to keep it hidden, which would help him to blend in outside Tevinter (Illario doesn't seem to have his on display either). If the writers haven't forgotten about the unique tattoos then perhaps Lucanis' tattoo is somewhere that we only get to see in intimate circumstances. At the very least it is something he only reveals to those he trusts.

Just trying to counter people who try to turn him totally evil. The problem with this scenario is that I would have to avoid romancing either of them, at least for the romance angle to work out between them, although they could still be friends. However, that would leave me free to romance Davrin. At present, though, I am starting to really like Neve as my romance option because we have so much in common, so perhaps I'll just focus on being a good, loyal friend to Lucanis and hope that is enough to turn him from the dark side and let me give the metaphorical finger to his awful grandmother.

To be fair, this is the staple for basic influence in a character's progression arc for RPGs in general, not just for Bioware - help a character resolve and move past their trauma or compound on it and have them end up perpetuating that trauma onto others. Even with characters that don't deal with trauma you still have the same choice of either influencing them to become better people or the worst version of themselves.

I always thought it more likely they cooked up some story between them, which is why the narrator says that Illario sounded as though he was repeating a script. It is obviously going to play a part in Lucanis story though or why not end our encounter with him at the end of the Wigmaker Job rather than introduce a short story where he obviously faked his death. If Illario had genuinely believed Lucanis was dead he wouldn't have sounded rehearsed. Also, considering their affection for one another is apparently genuine, he wouldn't get drunk, he'd get revenge. That's what his Grandmother would expect of him.

I'd already found a piece about him on-line where he said he does a side line in comedy, probably to pay the bills. However, I was unsure whether it was the same person until Barlow mentioned he is a comedian. I love that Zach is so enthusiastic about the role, which I think is genuine, not just playing to the audience. His normal voice doesn't have an accent and there is only a very short clip from another show when he has one, so I look forward to hearing exactly how he sounds as Lucanis.

It always seemed a bit odd to me that he should let himself go like that. He is angling to be First Talon and yet he goes to pieces on the death of his cousin and in front of the other Talons? That's not how they are trained. Zevran confirmed that when he started panicking over falling in love with the Warden. He had double reason for this. Not only had he been conditioned not to give way to his emotions but he had done that once before and it ended disastrously for him, first because he thought his lover had betrayed him, then he discovered it wasn't true. Lucanis also recalled his training was to control your emotion, use it productively.

The problem is that all they gave us was the aftermath to the Wake. We have no idea how long before Lucanis had "died" or where. Was it on the journey back to Antiva or after they got there? Was it on a job or during a relaxation period in between? Who "killed" him? Illario said "it should have been me." Did Lucanis undertake a job that was really Illario's responsibility? Did he take the blow that was meant for Illario? Is it that Illario had already exacted his revenge and then only after that did he let his emotions flow? Wouldn't he have done that in private?

I simply compare Illario's "performance" with the reaction of the various Talons in Eight Little Talons to the attack in their story. Bolivar reacted by getting drunk and Viago had nothing but contempt for him as a result. Caterina maintained her composure throughout. If the Venatori, Zara Renata, recognised that Lucanis' concern for the slaves revealed he had a heart and that this was a flaw, a weakness that could be exploited, that would also be true of the leaders of the Crows. Would the ambitious Illario really expose himself like that when he wants to be First Talon? Something doesn't add up.

I just found that whole short story weird considering they must have planned on including Lucanis as a companion by the end of 2020 when they issued that story, so why the deception because he clearly isn't dead? Then Illario, who actually seemed the more ruthless and cold of the two despite his superficial charm, completely loses it over Lucanis' death. Perhaps Caterina was aware of this "weakness" in him and that is why she favoured Lucanis but it is clear her training was thorough and as Lucanis was said to be honest with his cousin, surely he would be aware that was the reason and tell him as much? There is more to this than meets the eye. Zach was giving his assessment of their relationship based off Tevinter Nights and it certainly would appear accurate using that story but that isn't the whole picture and the fact that Zach says that he and his brother can be ruthless with one another despite their love is, I think, hinting at something. Someone (was it Mary Kirby or one of the other members of the team?) hinted that the dumpster fire of Lucanis' personal life was related to his family, so I wouldn't be surprised if Illario was putting on a show because he wanted to deflect suspicion about the circumstances of Lucanis' "death". In other words, if Illario's emotions are the reason Caterina favoured Lucanis, then perhaps he knew it would look suspicious if he wasn't cut up about it.

Clearly there are different ways of viewing this, so I suppose we shall have to wait and see what materialises but I won't be surprised if it turns out there are fireworks when it is discovered that Lucanis isn't dead, whether Illario was the one who helped fake it, Lucanis did it on his own or even that it was Caterina was arranged it for whatever reason.

I wonder if she had anything to do with it. That is another oddity. In the comic series the Missing, Harding and Varric encountered Teia and Viago in Vyrantium sniffing around the house of a Venatori. What were two senior Talons doing in that city after the events in Tevinter Nights? Only 4 Talons survived the treachery of Emil and one of those was acknowledged by Viago as pretty useless. Would they both have left Caterina to manage on her own, even with the assistance of Illario, particularly if she was now without her favourite grandson, the Master Assassin? They had acknowledged their backs were to the wall at the end of Eight Little Talons, so what in the hell were those two doing in Vyrantium and, more to the point, how did they get there? If the Antaam were going to lay siege to the city they ought to have blockaded the port as well (the Arishok does also control a substantial navy). Yet apparently Varric and Harding were able to leave by sea. The short story As we Fly had the Antaam already attacking Antiva and at least in partial occupation of Treviso. So, did that occur whilst they were absent?

What also made me suspicious was the fact Illario said this:
“He was my cousin, but we were more like brothers, really. Always getting himself into every sort of trouble. And I was always right behind him, you know? Always.” Illario’s voice suddenly grew thick with emotion. “Now there’s nobody for me to follow.”

Clearly he wasn't right behind him when he was killed. Nor was he always accompanying him since he had been sent by Caterina to recall Lucanis from Tevinter, so Lucanis had previously been operating there on his own. Then he states: “It should have been me.” Illario sounded bitter now.

Actually there could be a double meaning to his words and even the title of the story. Yes, he loved Lucanis as a brother but he was always in his shadow and always played second fiddle to him in the eyes of Caterina, always had to follow in his wake (which is the alternative meaning to funeral party). So, when he says it should have been him, he was referring to the fact that he should have been the favourite to succeed her, not Lucanis (because he was the one who wanted it and thought himself worthy of it). So the Wake was in fact Illario, who always followed in the churning waters left by the majestic ship of Lucanis and came to resent it.

now I'm picturing him as an angry cat.