Emmrich Volkarin - Official Companion Thread [Spoilers]

Pretty sure Hanako was making a Full Metal Alchemist reference.

Why you gotta put that thought in my head?!
There's other ways to pleasure someone without penetration or resorting to questionable consent. The bear situation in BG3 was weird but at least consent was involved.

I don't.

One of the Community Council member mentioned it (that Davrin had a secret, they didn't say what it was). They thought the GI article was going to spoil it, but it did not (so far).

I am curious why the Mourn Watch has been dispatched outside of the borders of Neverra, especially in such times when the succession is uncertain and we might get another civil war between the Pentaghasts and the Van Markhams. The Veil being disrupted on such a scale will probably have dire ramifications on the legions of undead housing spirits in the Grand Necropolis. No matter how well meaning the Mortalitasi seem, they scream ulterior motive or meddling with forces they know nothing about.

It might depend more on the other party members reaction to him and his profession. Bellara seems young in appearance but she could be an ancient elf and thus who knows how old? You don't necessarily stop wanting to make new discoveries when you start to mature in outlook, you just have the wisdom to be more discerning about which you accept and which you do not. Her enthusiasm and inquisitive mind would I think make her attractive to Emmrich, so if this was reciprocated it is not beyond the bounds of possibility they could hook up. As friends, I think they could have hours of fun comparing magical knowledge they have gained and this could then lead to something more intimate.

As for the other three, I am less confident about how they might react to him. Neve could have prejudices against necromancers because of her experiences with them in Tevinter. If she didn't start with these then I suppose it could be a case of opposites attract, because I think she is probably more reserved than Emmrich but we shall see. With Davrin I don't feel it is so much of an age thing as his outlook on life. I wonder whether he would view Manfred as a monster and thus by association Emmrich as well? On the other hand, the Wardens have been historically less picky about the mages they recruit than other organisations, so that might make Davrin more open minded about his aspect of Emmrich. When it comes to Lucanis, I don't want to assume anything until we get to know a bit more about him and what that whole purple wings thing means. If he does have some sort of bond with a spirit, then it may have objections to Emmrich's use of necromancy (after all Cole did) and I have mentioned on the Lucanis thread how he may be rather hard work just befriending him, let alone having a romance, so I'm not sure how much the other companions would want to invest time and effort in doing this. Whilst the Devs said other companions may hook up with each other if we don't, that doesn't necessarily mean they all will.

It could be a follow up to what occurred in Tevinter Nights in the Dread Wolf Take You. A member of the Mortalitassi died at Solas' hands in that meeting, when they were co-operating with the Inquisition in their search for current information on the Dread Wolf. So, in view of what also happened in that ritual she was involved in, plus the aftermath at the meeting, it might make them all the more determined to join the cause against him. After all, at the ritual Fen'Harel did declare "From this moment, should you ever bind a spirit, then your life is mine." Was that threat against just the mages involved in the ritual or the Mortalitassi generally? Then, as you say, his ritual may have disrupted things at the Grand Necropolis, so even more reason for a senior member of the Mourn Watch to want to co-operate with the Inquisition. The screen shots of the Grand Necropolis seem to confirm that at least part of the narrative will take us there. Whether at the request of Emmrich or in order to seek him out remains to be seen.

The other reason that Nevarra generally may wish to involve themselves in northern affairs is the threat from the Antaam. This is the reason the Mortalitassi were prepared to engage in the ritual with the Tevinter mage in the first place as they predicted the Antaam would soon have conquered the entire eastern side of Tevinter. In the Missing the Antaam had reached Vyrantium at the southern most point of the Nocen Sea and if they succeeded in conquering that city, they could decide to turn south-west for Nevarra instead of north against the west side of the Imperium, particularly if they did feel threatened by the presence of the Grand Necropolis, so it is entirely possible that the King of Nevarra was prepared to drop their former hostility to Tevinter and make and alliance with them against the Qun, particularly once news reached him that the Antaam had attacked Antiva.

So, plenty of reasons for the Mortalitassi and the Mourn Watch to be found in the north. Also, it is quite possible that the leadership are more concerned about the Antaam than they are about Solas, except for Emmrich.

After DAI I don' tthink anyon ewill o rat leas tbe slow to

I mean the thing is he doesen't exactly lie...of course the biggest liars also use the truth. 

I wonder how this compares to the DAI bug where Vivienne was wearing Morrigan's skin.

One of the infinite reasons I can't wait for the game to be out is that I can't wait to hear about all of the weirdest, funniest bugs.

Yes, it is known as equivocation and opens up a whole can of worms. It is what the Jesuits were infamous for, particularly when operating in England where they were officially outlawed and in constant danger of arrest and torture. The Council of Trent had decreed that lying was always a sin. So, what were they to do when questioned about people who had been sheltering them and to refuse to answer was considered a tacit admission of guilt for the person named? The solution was to equivocate, otherwise known at the art of dissimulation, prevarication and evasion to avoid giving an answer that would either incriminate yourself or other people. When used to protect innocent people, who have done nothing more than offer you shelter, from the full penalty of the law it is justifiable but was open to abuse when used to conceal actual treason as was the case when Father Garnet was questioned subsequent to the gunpowder plot. In the end his story was so convoluted he contradicted and incriminated himself. Part of the skill of effective equivocation (or outright lying for that matter) it consistency.

Once you know who Solas is, when you play DAI again you can see his conversations are full of it. He never lies outright but he does evade, deflect, use ambiguity in his answers and only gives as much information as he can safely get away with without being accused of concealment or outright falsehood. By Trespasser he isn't even bothering to pretend as he admits he is only telling you as much as it suits him to. You may have questions but he decides which ones he is prepared to give answers to and admits he is withholding information if you ask him directly "Why this world has to die", because that information might harm his cause. Just as with Father Garnet, this reticence eventually backfired on him so on the face of it his plan did fail once again. Unless, of course, what happens in the prologue to DAV was always his intention.

Dear lord.