Neve Gallus - Official Companion Thread [Spoilers]

I thought that was Taash if anyone, although I wasn't aware that the writers had indicated any of the companions are non-binary. We've had this discussion before, though, on her thread. Taash is voiced by a non-binary VA and one of the Rook VAs is also non-binary and said something about enjoying being one in the game. Not sure if that referred to them playing the game or if there are some specific lines for a non-binary Rook.

They said something related to Neve on the panel but I don't think it was about her being non-binary. However, I wasn't paying much attention at the time, so you could be right. Since all the companions are pan-sexual, I'm not sure how important it is going to be narrative wise if any of them is non-binary.

So the wife and I were watching the Jackdaw reaction and she said that Neve is giving off Cora vibes to her. I was a little tickled by this given who my Canon Ryder romanced.

🧐
… If ‘Neve’ in Portuguese means “Snow”; and Gallus = “Rooster”… then, is Neve basically a snow c*ck? #ImportantStuff #CompanionCodex #ForTheGreatestBiIsBilingual

what if Neve is the viper?

Could be but I think it more likely that the Viper is someone she trusts and that trust is going to be betrayed. That decoration on her leg is weird though. It is not just a snake but a really aggressive snake. I think it does have something to do with her membership of the Shadow Dragons, though, because their faction symbol is a snake, so perhaps she didn't lose her leg that long ago. In fact it is possible that could have altered her view on life in the Imperium. Remember Dorian saying how the Altus are all about perfection, including perfect bodies. So, how would they react to someone with a maimed leg, particularly if perhaps she could have had it restored by blood magic but refused? (Maevaris hinted there was some sort of magic that could do this in DW's comic series and Zara Renata was restoring her skin with just a drop of blood, so I can see how it might be possible).

Also, we have seen two different versions of her tarot, one with the snake showing clearly in crossed leg position and another with it less prominent with her legs together. There does seem the possibility of a third with the shadowy figure revealed. So, it is intriguing and I'm fairly certain this is going to be relevant to her backstory.

Unlike Zara's staff which I think is topped with a dragon head, no doubt the Viper has one with a snake/cobra. That's why I think the tarot card that has an angry snake on it is related to them, not Neve. It is strange that faction was called the Shadow Dragons though if its leader equates themselves with a snake and the symbol is also a serpent. You think they would be the Shadow Snakes but perhaps they did a poll of the membership and they opted for Dragons instead.  (Also perhaps the writers were afraid they would be accused of copying the Sand Snakes from Game of Thrones - their father, Oberyn was known as the Red Viper as well).  Also, I'm definitely curious to discover why much of the eastern map of Tevinter is covered in snakes.   It was obvious on the Collectors edition map but also visible when it was shown in the 2023 trailer.

That was specifically to entrap Andruil though. She gave out about a great serpent because perhaps Andruil was accustomed to dragons. Also, as that was considered the form of the gods, if she said a dragon it might have been seen as bad imagery by the other gods and Andruil might have been suspicious too, since she knew Mythal was equated with dragons. So, Mythal deliberately had it put about that there was a big serpent on the loose. There is no reason why she could not have adopted that form as a proficient shapeshifter. Also, if they were at war at one time with the Snake People/Scaled Ones then Anduril may have thought she was hunting one of their old foes. It may even have been the reason Mythal opted for a giant serpent.   Whilst dragons and serpents are often equated IRL that is because of the imagery in the Bible.   There is absolutely no reason why this should also be true in Thedas.   Remember, I've pointed out the dragon and snake appear to be in opposition on the Tevinter iconography and there was a suggestion in Jaws of Hakkon of a conflict between an alliance of Tevinter with the Moon Men (elves not aligned with Arlathan  but the Forgotten Ones perhaps) and the southern barbarians in alliance with the Snake People.    We don't know how far back in time that might have been.

It isn't two snakes, though, it is clearly a snake opposing a dragon. That could account for why the Shadow Dragons chose the symbol as a snake. Perhaps it does represent two different political factions in ancient Tevinter but one became dominant over the other and thought them insignificant, no longer needing to be respected. We don't know how long that particular iconography has been in use, although I must assume it pre-dates the Chantry era. Thinking back to the kingdom of ancient Tevinter rather than the Imperium into which it was subsumed by Archon Danarius when he combined it with the kingdom of Neromenian, there are a few things that strike me concerning his history. Firstly, that his mother, the Queen and Priestess of Razikale (presumably a mage) was overthrown by his uncle, Tarsian, in a political coup whilst she was giving birth. He was not a mage and yet held the throne until Danarius came back to reclaim it as King of Neromenian. That suggests to me that the citizens of Tevinter were actually quite happy to have a non-mage ruling them, even though the adjoining kingdoms of Neromenian and Qarinus refused to recognise a Soporati ruler.   Danarius reclaimed his birthright by trickery, claiming to be coming on a peaceful state visit and then using magic to isolate Tarsian from his guards.   That suggests to me that he knew the citizens of Tevinter supported Tarsian and would have fought with him if Danarius had come with an army instead.  The Neromenians particularly venerated dragons and they believed their heroes were reborn as dragons. The worship of Dumat started there and they also worshiped Toth and Lusacan. It is possible that during the reign of Tarsian, the worship of Razikale was not as prominent as it was under the Queen priestess. Perhaps during this time the symbol of the Soporati king was a snake. Thus, the iconography of the Imperium, showing a dragon in opposition to and dominating a snake is representative of the rule of mages over the majority populace of Soporati, yet both are necessary for the continuance of the Imperium. The Shadow Dragons feel that the mage hierarchy have forgotten this. They are quite happy to coexist with mages but they want the respect they deserve. Something like that anyway.   

Note also the story in JoH about Tevinter allying with the Moon Men and the south barbarians with the Snake People, might also reflect the ongoing conflict between the magocracy of the north (Moon men) and the non-mage secular rulers (Snake People) and mage augurs in the south.   Remember the mage priests only started to become the supreme rulers of the human barbarian tribes after they started listening to the whispers of the Old Gods and embraced blood magic.   Prior to that the augurs seemed to be respected elders whom the people of the tribes would consult but they did not dominate them with magic.   This is demonstrated by the old traditions of the Avvar and also the Wise Women of Rivain.   It is also possible that Drakon knew this as originally his concept seemed to be that mages should be debarred from being rulers but could still be in advisory positions, whilst the Circles were intended to be places were they could conduct research safely and be properly trained so they did not pose a risk to the community (much as had been the case under Hessarian in Tevinter).  He didn't intend them to be prisons where you went in and never came out in the majority of cases.   After all, his good friend Ameridan was a mage, as was the latter's lover.   It was later Divines in collusion with the Templar Order that changed the nature of the Circles from how Drakon had intended, most likely after the Altus reinstated the rule of mages back in Tevinter, including appointing a mage as Divine.   (This is why I thought the whole idea that anyone from the southern Chantry would have voted for Vivienne as Divine was ridiculous).

We really need cultural movement to improve the image of snakes, like the one we've had for wolves.

Snek appreciators, unite!

We already had a suggestion in gameplay reveal that someone Varric considers 'an old friend' has recommended Shadow Dragons as a trustworthy faction - and while this may eventually turn out to be not who we thought, I think most of us suspects that a person who recommended Shadow Dragons was Dorian.

Also, IMO Lucerni and Shadow Dragons are likely working together, if they're not outright sponsored by Lucerni. They wouldn't be the first faction that has a division working in daylight and one working in shadows... Heck, I'd say that the names themselves suggest that:

Lucerni - from 'luce' meaning light in Italian ('lucem' in Latin): so, a division working in daylight - trying to reform Tevinter through means that are palatable to magisters and the general public

Shadow Dragons - a division/allied faction working in shadows, doing Lucerni's "dirty work" (even if that dirty work doesn't mean e.g. stabbing political opponents, but doing detective work and eliminating threats to Minrathous, like that Venatori plot that Neve stopped)

Of course, this contrast in names may also suggest a conflict (each faction may have a different idea of how to reform Tevinter), but given that Dorian has seen how Inquisition works, and how much it relied on its spy network (even more now, given that it's basically all a spy network since Trespasser) AND the implication that he recommended Shadow Dragons to Inquisition, I'd say it's more likely that they're working together rather than being in conflict.

It would make sense, because Shadow Dragons could go where Lucerni can't (being a faction with people who can fight, spy and go to places no politician can), while Lucerni can act where Shadow Dragons can't (being a political faction with access to the highest strata of Tevinter society and government).

Side note: I'd like to also point out that the Shadow Dragon 'dragon' on their emblem is very snake-like - it's not a coincidence, of course, given that dragons and snakes are directly related - and I don't just mean in Thedas, but in (not just Western) culture overall - dragons derive from snakes so much that up to this day they are related/synonymous across many Indo-European languages. The word 'dragon' itself derives from ancient Greek 'drakon', which at the time also meant both snake and dragon. Heck, dragons in English are still sometimes called Serpents, and Wyrm derives from Proto-Germanic word meaning both 'worm' and 'snake'.