The Game Informer Article *Contains Spoilers!!*

They speak of two sets of gods battling one another. Solas says there were no actual gods, just very powerful leaders (all elves were capable of a little magic then) who gradually assumed absolute control. We know from JoH that one of the Forgotten Ones did exist, Gelduran. Felassan also mentioned another in one of his tales, Anaris, and he had a grudge against Fen'Harel. Anaris is mentioned in the password at Fen'Harel's sanctuary. It is possible it means something in elven, like Solas does, so not necessarily the name of a leader of the rebellion but it does seem strange and somewhat coincidental that the writers decided to include it (unless they deliberately wanted to confuse us). Thus it seems to me that the Forgotten Ones were a group of powerful elven mages who resented the rule of the Evanuris and joined with Fen'Harel in order to overthrow the gods. Hence the Dalish remembering how he seemed to be friends with both sides because, of course, he was allied with Mythal. It is clear from Gelduran's words that he intended assuming rulership once the Evanuris had been dealt with. Solas probably discovered this and realised that he would simply be replacing one set of tyrants with another. Hence him having to devise a plan which resulted in both sets of "gods" being imprisoned. This is why I think the term "Evanuris" (leaders) applies to both sides, not just the group that the Dalish know as the Creators. I think there is probably also some truth in Merrill's version where he enticed them into his trap by telling them the alleged location of the ultimate weapon to win the war. This may have been red lyrium or the idol.

I have to admit that after reading Horror of Hormack I think he discovered one of the pools and what they were used for. The entry says they sealed them off with magic, which would account for why no one discovered them in the Deep Roads before, but something (probably the Breach) must have broken the seal(s) allowing the pools to activate and the monsters they created escape. Of course, they could be from the earlier era and what Ghilan'nain used to create the monsters that Andruil hunted but if so, likely she was ordered to destroy the pools when offered godhood but possibly just deactivated them and then resumed using them at a later date in secret, which Fen'Harel discovered.

Red lyrium probably had something to do with it. Mythal did seem to be in charge of the lyrium mining. Red lyrium, which can grow on anything, would by-pass her control of this power source. It may be something they did discover after the start of the rebellion. If I am correct and the Forgotten Ones were part of the rebellion, then it is said that Andruil went hunting them and that is when she became corrupted. Stealing her memory was likely Mythal's way of ensuring the others didn't find out where the red lyrium was located but the secret was out and the others started wanting it too. I would be interested when the duel was fought between the Champions of Elgar'nan and Falon'Din. Was it just a general memory of how Mythal resolved disputes or was Falon'Din challenging Elgar'nan a direct result of their increased lust for power? Was it after Elgar'nan's champion won the encounter that Falon'Din sought adulation by more lethal methods and Mythal was forced to act against him directly?

On second thoughts may be we have our answer:

Reading the theories of the ancient conflict, I would genuinely love for there to be a reveal that Mythal wasn’t the best of the Evanuris but the worst. Not necessarily whitewashing the others, but there being a twist where the Evanuris acted not out of selfish reasons but to stop Mythal from doing something worse would be interesting. Especially with Solas both in him being wrong about Mythal but the Evanuris doing an action he sees as evil but they saw was the only option being a mirror to how he sees his actions vs how we see his actions.

It was annoying having to work with him but he did give us some good leads and if we had totally ignored him from the outset then the Collectors would have succeeded. So I can totally see parallels with TIM. Which connects with my point about the comment perhaps relating to some sort of final decision. TIM wanted us to preserve the Collector Base so we could study it. From everything I knew about them, the Reapers and what I had seen during both the games, I absolutely thought that was a bad idea, so I refused. Then when he contacted us when we had safely returned through the Omega Relay and tried to influence us again, I just cut him off. The Reapers were still out there and a danger but he had shown his true colours so I preferred to deal with the threat my way from then on.

That is how I envisage it playing out with Solas. There is the immediate threat of the freed gods, for which I will appreciate any advice he may like to give but follow it at my own discretion. However, assuming we do successfully deal with them, there is still the ongoing threat of the Blight which has been around for millennia and always a temptation to those who want power, particularly when it comes to red lyrium, and also the darkspawn. I'm hoping that is the big threat for which his solution was to create the Veil to lock it away along with the gods. The Magisters released it, so now we need to figure out how to stop it from destroying the world. Solas solution is to flood it with magic but that doesn't mean there may not be an alternative. He is just convinced that his way is the only way but that is his problem not mine. Hopefully my team will be able to help figure it out because I believe in consulting with others as I'm not an expert in everything.

I personally would be sad if Mythal turned out to be the worst Evanuris in another twist, mainly because Flemeth (and by extension Mythal) is such a force of ambivalence. Any malice she has lurks beneath a coy, withdrawn exterior, and it makes her feel so mysterious and unknowable. I’ve already made peace with Kate Mulgrew not returning, I’d hate to lose that too. But that’s purely an emotional response on my part, clearly there’s more going on than what Solas tells us and I highly doubt Mythal is innocent in it all.

As for the Solas line, it’s after the Well of Sorrows. Which increases the chances of him referring to Mythal, although it may also be Andruil or Ghilan'nain. Video here:



Starts around the 3:00 minute mark.

Interesting. I never saw her as a naughty aunt, personally—her relationship with Morrigan is clearly abusive at best—but I never thought of her as villain in the classic sense of the term, either. She’s always been closer to the witches from MacBeth than a Maleficent type in my mind. Inscrutable and even sublime, in her own way.

When Inq asked Flemeth why Mythal went to her, the reply was, For a reckoning that will shake the very heavens. Then a moment later says She was betrayed as I was betrayed --as the world was betrayed! Mythal clawed and crawled her way through the ages to me, and I will see her avenged! Alas, so long as the music plays, we dance'. Then later says, I will have my due.

But... we already know there was more than just one war  For example, it's one of those great past wars that has elevated Evanuris to position of god-kings.

And we know there were also conflicts *between* Evanuris, as well as conflicts that existed when Elvenhan was ruled by them (for example, we know that the Forbidden Ones were exiled during their reign)

And we know all that basically only from ancient sources, The Dalish myths, for example, don't seem to mention the conflict with Titans at all - or mention it in such a convoluted, game-of-telephone way, that the fact that there was a war involving Titans is entirely lost.

And while I'm not one to completely dismiss later/incomplete/clearly biased sources - they were put in the story for a reason (although sometimes that reason is mostly flavor), I still do not understand giving priority to half-remembered Dalish myths (especially given how much the Dalish got wrong) over far more robust evidence/clues planted in the story by writers.

Considering that WE KNOW that Elves use names that also mean something else (Solas = pride, Abelas = sorrow) - which is something that happens in many languages - I'd say that this isn't as much some sort of deliberate misdirection, as just... some worldbuilding.

And while I understand looking at everything in the story as a potential clue, as someone who's a wannabe storyteller, I'd advise against trying to analyze everything writers put in the story as equal in importance, or equally as deliberate as those very deliberate clues they do indeed sometimes put in the story.

Sometimes blue curtains are just blue curtains, you know? And, in this regard it may be nothing more than trying to clue us into what word "Anaris" may actually mean in elvhen. 

If you do indeed go by what the Dalish myths say here then it only says that the Forbidden Ones were rivals and that both considered Fen'Harel as one of their own. If anything, it seems their conflict was much older than Fen'Harel rebellion, and may even be as old as that war that elevated Evanuris in the first place (and who knows what happened before that).

However, if you ask me then I'd say that the "Forgotten Ones" was an umbrella term for anyone who challenged the gods at any time, which is why Fen'Harel sometimes has status as one - because they tried to do it to him as well, but didn't actually manage to, for whatever reason (probably the whole 'leader of a widespread rebellion' thing)

I don't know what we're going to discover in DAVe, but so far there is no evidence whatsoever that Solas was motivated by him figuring out that both sides of the conflict were as bad.

Because HE was the side of the conflict during his rebellion. He likely had companions and friends, and likely very powerful allies - but it was HIS war. It wasn't the war with the Forbidden Ones - it was Fen'Harel's rebellion. It's why there are goddamn wolf statues everywhere. HE was the central hero. Like the Inquisitor - his counterpart.

And he does tell us, explicitly, what his motivation was - Evanuris killed Mythal, which apparently cleared the way for them to do something that would imperil the entire world. He doesn't mention the Forgotten Ones anywhere as his motivation to lift the Veil, regardless what he thought of them.

Likely what has happened is that the same solution that dealt with the Evanuris has also dealt with the Forgotten Ones as well, as a collateral. Basically, as Evanuris went silent, so did the Forgotten Ones.
The Horror of Hormak is there specifically to establish what kind of twisted individual Ghila'nain was (and we now know that she'll be a big part of DAVe), and that there are things existing on Thedas that were result of ancient elvhen breeding experiments (including, maybe, the Qunari).

And we are pretty explicitly told in Trespasser - in the Deep Road section - that the thing that motivated Solas to rebel against Evanuris is something terrifying that he's found underground, heavily implied to be related to Titans.

Like... again - why give priority to this over things so clearly established in Trespasser????????? I really don't get it 

In fairness, even in DAO Flemeth is incredibly helpful. Everything evil we learn about her is filtered through Morrigan. And while I believe Morrigan, having to hear about it is very different from having to experience it as a player. 

Naw, she's clearly more complex than that.

Mythal and Solas saying she was good are not good sources since they are obviously biased towards her. We need evidence from sources that weren’t in her or the Evanuris camp to really know where they all place on the scale.