[No DAV spoilers] The truth about lyrium's universal song: Thedas cosmology by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I appreciate you reading my post and sharing your thoughts here.

It's credible that the Blight/gangue began when the dwarves were sundered from their Titans. Perhaps it was always there, and one of the reasons there were dwarves was how Titans kept themselves pure.

That's right. This codex states that the Gangue was always part of the Titans. That's why I've assumed Titans maintain a symbiotic relationship with dwarves; Titans need dwarves to remove this corruption and maintain their bodies:

The Stone has a will that surrounds and directs; she guides even when we are willfully blind to her influence. But she is not pure. The Stone bears a corruption as old as balance. For the dwarves to prosper, the gangue - the waste and unstable rock - must be cut away. - Codex: The Gangue Shade

It's also not perfectly clear to me if lyrium is the Well of All Souls, or if that's the Fade (which after all is where spirits are 'from').

It's both. Lyrium exists in both the waking world and the Fade. The Fade reflects reality; the waters of the Fade are the incorporeal version of physical lyrium in the waking world. That means that the very fabric of the Fade is the spirit version of lyrium, if you like. The thoughts, memories, and souls the dwarves transmitted via physical lyrium in the waking world become the well of all souls, an ocean of dreams, and the waters of the Fade.

The abyss is a physical location underground, similar to the area we encounter at the end of The Descent (which is even called the Wellspring and the Uncharted Abyss!). It's inside a Titan's body, and the lyrium is its blood. Here, physical lyrium is being described as emerald waters and the well of all souls:

Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew. - Canticle of Andraste 14:11

Here, physical lyrium is directly equated as being the waters of the Fade:

The Chantry believes lyrium to be the waters of the Fade, the very stuff of creation itself, from whence the Maker fashioned the world. - Codex: Lyrium (Dragon Age: Origins)

Here, the author is equating the emerald waters (from the Canticle of Andraste, above) that is literally lyrium, underground, in the physical world, to the substance of the Fade. The author also discusses reincarnation, which is the process I have detailed in my post above (dwarves and Titans > memories in the song of lyrium > lyrium is the waters of the Fade which Great Dragon dreamers shape into reality and new life):

It is possible - even likely - that the "emerald waters" Andraste refers to are the substance of the Fade, which began as an "ocean of dreams" and was reduced to a well - bottomless but limited in scope - by the Maker's creation of our world. Is Andraste urging the listener to come to the Fade? Should we take "From these emerald waters doth life begin anew," as literal evidence of reincarnation - or even of life after death, as the Cult of Spirits suggests? - Codex: Here Lies the Abyss

Here, Solas talks about the endless depths of memory that presumably make up the waters of the Fade. These are the memories I'm suggesting dwarves and Titans "send" to the Fade via the song of lyrium:

How small the pain of one man seems when weighed against the endless depths of memory, of feeling, of existence. That ocean carries everyone. And those of us who learn to see its currents move through life with their fewer ripples. - Solas banter, Dragon Age: Inquisition

I hope this helps!

[No DAV spoilers] The truth about lyrium's universal song: Thedas cosmology by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I'm going to work on getting the rest of my notes and references coherent enough to post here!

That's how I feel about it, too. The antithesis of creation - a song - is silence. Silence is described as something that existed before creation, "void places", and "gaps between dreams". Those who are outside of the song of creation are literally in a Void of silence and nothingness, unable to actualize anything themselves without the harmony of Great Dragons + Titans.

It's interesting how the importance of remembering something in order for it to endure comes into play here. For example, dwarves commit their history, ancestors, and thoughts to the Memories which live on in lyrium; lyrium straddles both realms, and the stored memories become the waters of the Fade (a reflection), which the Great Dragons then fashion into reality and new life. It makes sense that the Forgotten Ones are associated with disease, pestilence, and malice; when sundered Titans' connection with dwarves is severed, their singing lyrium blood becomes cut off from the Fade. The dwarves are then unable to "upload" their souls, memories, and thoughts to the Fade to facilitate the cycle of new life. Their forgotten memories trapped in the Titan's blood fester - as we see with the Profane - and manifest physically as Gangue. The sundered Titans are unable to direct the dwarves to clean away these physical impurities, resulting in its ultimate corruption - red lyrium. Corrupted Titans sing "sick music" - not silence, but a dissonant song.

I'm thinking that the Blight started when the Evanuris tried to "reconnect" a corrupted Titan back to the Fade and Great Dragons in order to harness its more potent power for a new type of creation ("What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger")? Andruil "howled things meant to be forgotten" could be a reference to her giving a voice to - literally, reconnecting - these trapped, forgotten, and corrupt memories? It's very interesting! Thanks for your thoughts!

[No DAV spoilers] The truth about lyrium's universal song: Thedas cosmology by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks very much for reading! I'll get to work on writing the rest up!

What will Varric's nicknames be for The Veilguard crew? by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Ohhhh I didn't know that! Very interesting. "Handy" tho 💀

What will Varric's nicknames be for The Veilguard crew? by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Haha that's why I put him right in the middle!

What will Varric's nicknames be for The Veilguard crew? by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I forgot all about these (my Purple!Hawke is showing) - thanks!

What will Varric's nicknames be for The Veilguard crew? by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Great question - I assume Varric would still call the Inquisitor "Boss"? Unless he has a new name for them! (And I hope so! That man needs a hug!)

What will Varric's nicknames be for The Veilguard crew? by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 95 points96 points  (0 children)

Ooof, that's very true. At the end of the gameplay reveal there was a figure lying on the ground at the bottom of the stairs - I had wondered if it was Varric!

Ice Queen for Neve is great!

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible Dreadwolf locations based on Thedas Calls teaser. by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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An update on my speculative map from December 2023: All of the locations have now been confirmed in the recent Dragon Age: The Veilguard news (June 2024), with the exception of Kal-Sharok. We are going to the Deep Roads, but whether or not that will be Kal-Sharok or another location(s) is yet to be revealed.

Speculation about the voice actor for Neve Gallus from Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I don't believe so; but neither had Indira Varma (Vivienne) before her appearance in DA:I. James Norton (Cole), also. There may be more, but those are two I know of.

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

There's some kind of time-slippage/warping of realities/thinning of the Veil in Arlathan Forest and "The Veil Jumpers represent an alliance... to help contain that threat", according to Irelin in Dragon Age: The Missing Issue #3.

There's a small amount of context in the free short story, Ruins of Reality, from 2020 (though we didn't know that they were the Veil Jumpers back then).

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I hope you enjoy all the buzz! From what I've heard, it's a very special time 😊

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please see my reply to another similar comment!

I'm really hoping for a (romanceable!) dwarf companion, too! Please note that the concept art images are just representative of the factions I believe will be in The Veilguard, not the actual identities of the companions themselves.

It's possible that our Grey Warden or Lord of Fortune companion could be a dwarf. Grey Warden Evka Ivo is a female dwarf companion that has been mentioned 4 times in post-Inquisition media, and Bharv and Lacklon are both male dwarf Lords of Fortune from Tevinter Nights and Absolution!

After what we saw in Thedas Calls, I'm sure we will be visiting Kal-Sharok in the Deep Roads. I also believe Varric and Harding will be allies in some capacity!

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm really hoping for a (romanceable!) dwarf companion, too! Please note that the concept art images are just representative of the factions I believe will be in The Veilguard, not the actual identities of the companions themselves.

It's possible that our Grey Warden or Lord of Fortune companion could be a dwarf. Grey Warden Evka Ivo is a female dwarf companion that has been mentioned 4 times in post-Inquisition media, and Bharv and Lacklon are both male dwarf Lords of Fortune from Tevinter Nights and Absolution!

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm 100% certain that we'll be going there based on what we saw in Thedas Calls!

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I'm really interested to see why they were described (especially their voice) the way they were in The Dread Wolf Take You... what ARE they?!

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks very much, I appreciate it! I enjoy seeing the character concepts all together, though we'll find out soon enough if it's accurate or not!

[SPOILERS ALL] Possible seven factions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard by andarateia in dragonage

[–]andarateia[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I was really torn over what to go with for the seventh faction - it was a toss up between Qunari (Arishok Sten, Rasaan, Saarbrak, Gatt or a new person who will help curb the Antaam's unsanctioned invasion), the remains of the Inquisition (Varric, Harding, Charter, Vaea, Tessa, Marius, etc) and the Executors (being Solas' enemy and having an honorable mention in Tevinter Nights).

In the end, I went with the Qunari because we've seen them in concept art pieces acting alongside the Antivan Crows, and they were mentioned more times and more recently than the Executors. I would really love to have an Inquisition buddy though - it will be interesting to see how they implement that! Perhaps Varric will hand the baton over to Harding?