The human architecture of the temple might have something to do with the fact that the high magisterial like corypheus and the architect were in contact with the false gods. The magisterial even sacrificed elven slaves for them. The statues were kept but only renamed, their eleven origin was kept secret and only known to the higher in rank. Why else would Corypheus be looking for Artifacts of such knows their magic and so on. The Empire was lured in by one of the Elven gods, Dumat. They were probably told to become gods themselves once they were to enter the golden city and bask in glory. but all they found was death, and corrption. They fought for their lives and called out to Dumat (Elven name unknown), he answered their calling and lead them to their dragon guardian, where they have sealed parts of their soul into. But the dragon must have been already corrupted or corrupted by the desperate Tevinters. The First Archedemon was born and furled by its rage and blighted mind it went on full assault on the living wishing to destroy everything. Reminds me of the bhagavad vita; "and now I shall become death". Also I belive the humans to have been rather primal tribes roaming the places in lumps raiding the fields like brutes. The Elvhen after the false might have crossed breed with I'm and brought them parts of their culture. Probably already weakened by broken veil, after all most of them depended on magic and became of "trabquil", absolutely helpless and cowering creatures, raided by humans, breeding with the Elves brought humans magic into their blood, so lines in which magic appears wih in humans are related to the Elvhen. The human uga uga's probably were also equipped wih better brains, that's why they were suddenly able to format. The Elven blood must have made the Tecibters also more prone to the co troll of the again Elvhen God's. ×_× ok hopefully it is still understandable.
I think it has to do more with the Lyrium the Magisters began using. Lyrium is a living talking crystal- the one behind it can say what they want. The trapped Old Gods- probably the Elvhen Solas banished since they sit in a "golden city" (Arlathan was golden) or maybe the Forgotten Ones though I think they are underground. Anyway, the Magisters discovered Lyrium that called to them. It was red lyrium- tainted by the Old Gods, not simply by the Blight as Bianca thinks. From the Fade, the Magisters wanted to enter the Golden City. When they managed it (by lots of blood sacrifice) they found only "dead whispers." Well... If they're weakened and their bodies destroyed the Evanuris would like like wisps (like Mythal was).
The dragons might've been one of two things: 1. Forgotten Ones, trapped there by the Evanuris as they conquered the world. 2. Pets or "warg animals" of the Evanuris. Either group would've wanted to conquer the Great Dragons (more than High Dragons) as like the ultimate trophy and weapon. If the Forgotten Ones were trapped, it was by the Elvhen who wanted complete control. If the second option the Evanuris may have put a piece of their soul into each dragon to ensure they would never, ever be fully destroyed- which would explain why when an Archdemon dies there is a pure Old God Soul. They developed a method of coming back into the mortal world via the corrupted Archdemon's death and purified rebirth.
In Dragon Age Inquisition Corypheus says (and I paraphrase)"once I entered into the Fade on behalf of another to serve the old gods directly." If Corypheus really is one of the original magisters to enter the fade and corrupt the golden city, and he did it on behalf of the leader of the imperium, then perhaps the Imperium worshipped the lost old gods of the elves, worship of the maker didn't start until Andraste came around, raised and army and overthrew the imperium.
The way the Avvar talk about the fade, spirits and their beliefs aligns very much with Solas' thoughts and beliefs. Perhaps the paintings with the bear and antlered person is a representation of Avvar/Elvhen relations?
Amanda Peters oh, very interesting!! I am definitely very interested in how the Avvar view spirits. I actually have audio I recorded about that and just need to edit! I hope you'll like it! :D
girltriesgames oh! I'm excited then! Jaws may only seem like an unrelated dlc. I have so many theories about DA. Like if you go back, all of the old elves are bald. Wth is that??
If you get Sera's approval high enough, you get an option of a "friendly chat" that takes place on a roof. There are about five different short scenes that can be triggered after that, one of them being her reciting the first two lines of the poem, I think. When she finishes, she says something along the lines "It's poetry because of the w's and shit" in her usual fashion. Barring any fun theories about her unknowlingly carrying a part of Andruil, it's likely she learned the lullaby in Denerim as you just showed us in this video. Sera also tries to recall the first part of the poem in Redcliffe dungeons (and thanks to the red lyrium corruption, she has a hard time of it) as you approach her. I really enjoy your videos, so thanks for that. ;)
I'd like to think that as the Human tribes spread across Thedas they lived with relative peace with the elves and that in some areas they were close trading partners or even part of elven society to an extent and some may have worshiped their gods. (There would have been interracial marriages because they found out that elf-human pairings only produce human children) After the quickening was discovered humans would have been expelled and the elves would hide. then after the quickening humans forgot about elves and only legends remained. Which is why the Imperium "re discovered" elves. It is likely that the practice of accepting humans into elven society was a rare and regional thing as Soals states that he "had little dealings with your*human* kind" Maybe the Elves in the Brecilian ruin were unique?
One big piece of the puzzle. The Chantry. It's been erasing history all over Thedas. Trust that the Imperial chantry wouldn't act much differently and that the elves were definitely affected. Another thing. What Tamelen seemed to have thought was Human architecture might have been Elven.Keep in mind that they have no idea what pre-quickening architecture looks like. They probably think that humans build stone fortress' and elves live in trees. But we saw that elves used stone in the construction of the Altar of Mythal in the temple of sacred ashes and in the temple of Mythal. Tamlen has no knowledge of elven architecture except for Aravels.He's a bad source to judge who makes what.
Principe Negrô That's definitely true. We know the Chantry (and Imperial Chantry) has covered up a lot, and twisted a lot. I agree, Tamlen may not be the best source of who built what, but I think that that Arcane Warrior (who also said that humans built the place) may have better knowledge
Yes, that's true. He says it's built by humans, as well. And you're sure those are the same ruins? Aren't those the ruins inhabited by the werewolves. Maybe I'm mistaken but it doesn't seem that Tamlen went into the same ruin. Why didn't they run into any werewolves? It's clear they have no love for elves.
Yea, I can agree with that. I haven't gotten to the 2nd set of ruins but I did run through the ruins tamlen disappeared in and i have to say, it's strange. If humans built that place... Did humans use magic mirrors, as well? There's also a collapsed cave the back, behind the mirror with a weird statue that talks about trade relations between the elves and dwarves. Could that place have had some kind of tunnel leading to a part of the deep roads we've never seen? It's also good to keep in mind that the devs hadn't thought of the story as thoroughly as they have now. Flemeth talks about the maker being responsible for trapping the old gods beneath the ground. Then she says she doesn't know anything about the blight. In da2, she says she knows it "better than you could possibly imagine".
Principe Negrô lol I talk about the dwarves statue thing at the end of this video!! hahaha I'm pretty sure the devs had all of the back story plotted out before they created the games, and most of the main plot (gaider said so in a tumblr post a couple months ago). When does Flemeth say the Maker is responsible for trapping the Old Gods?? I gotta listen to this! :) :) :)
So super late to the commenting party but thought I would just drop something down. Firstly I like your theory and you have lots of interesting points to back up an elven human relationship earlier on. To add to your points it is super interesting to look at the geography of Thedas. It is mostly a "circle" that is surrounded by impassable areas. To the west you have a mountain range that I don't think anyone has crossed. To the south is the world's south pole. To both the north and east are extremely stormy oceans that trapped both the Tevinter and Qunari in Thedas. Tevinter humans settled in the north but alamarri humans came from the west. I also believe somewhere in the world of Thedas some dwarven traders came from the north-west to the Anderfels. This geography point is interesting because you have a "world" that is surrounded by hostile physical landmarks that is inhabited by elves. All the other races seem to come in by breaking through these barriers and settling in Thedas. You could also begin to look at and tie this entire geography thing into why the veil is weak in possibly just the area that is Thedas. Also your two timeline points are fascinating with the 1905 TE (humans arrive) and 1655 TE (elves begin to age), and then connecting that to the poem. The end of the poem seems to hint at when Solas (will use his name since it is easier to write then Fen'harel) entered his sleep. Somewhere in this time is when the veil in Thedas was created since Solas hints that it once didn't exist and even the Chant says it didn't exist at one point. So Solas created the veil to end the war with The Forgotten Ones and this put a resistor to magic which is possibly what started the elves aging. The end of the poem then says that "we wastrels warred." This could mean the non-god elves and humans who remained after the veil was created. This shock of the veil being created, the possible war with a blight, and then the continued fighting between possibly followers of the now dead or trapped gods would have weakened the elven empire and sown seeds of distrust between humans and elves. This weakened state would allow the Tevinter Imperium to march in and swiftly overrun the southern lands of Thedas. It also adds a nice bit of interesting idea to that timeline where Tevinter didn't know about the elves till later on. A side note though that makes this theory a bit unstalbe unless you assume that humans are arriving as a stated earlier, is that OGB Keiran clearly makes a distinction that elven blood is old. So if humans and elves were coexisting then why would this distinction need to be made? As a final side note it ads an interesting character perspective to Corypheus and his motivations. As high-priest of Tevinter's chief god he would possibly know that Tevinter overran a disparity group of already broken petty kingdoms, dukedoms, and tribes. He would see the Tevinter Imperium as a force of order and stability. Cue thousand year sleep and he wakes up to a world where Tevinter has fallen and humans have broken into the very thing that was overrun (a bunch of little kingdoms hating each other). So Corypheus isn't so much a madman (still totally mad) as he just sees himself as bringing stability and order to a ruined chaotic world. It further ads perspective to why he despises elves so much because all he would have seen of them would be ruined kingdoms and cities that were fighting each other.
Buggy300 Yes! Totally! I never really thought about the geography of Thedas before, but that IS really interesting and probably played a huge role in its development. There are definitely holes in the theory, as I think we are missing some pretty big puzzle pieces :( But I really like seeing what you said about Corypheus and comparing that to how Fen'Harel must be feeling/thinking, and what that might say about his goals... hmmmmm!!! Thanks for watching and discussing with me!! I love hearing other peoples' interpretations too! :)
The Falon'Din statues are also found in the fade in origins. Might just be spirits mimicking what they see beyond the fade, might be related, or lazy devs. I feel like it's related though as Falon'Din is a god of death and who helps people pass through the fade into the beyond. Many people like the qunari and Andrastians believe the fade to be the land of the dead or a place you pass through once you have died, seems appropriate that you would find his statues in the fade. Perhaps he was a key player in creating the veil?
lemonsassquatch Ooh, cool! I hadn't noticed (since I only recently figured out that that is Falon'Din). Is it when you're in the mage tower or when you're doing your harrowing as a mage?
Solas: "I do not believe they sing songs about falon din's vanity. They say that Falon Din's appetite for adulation was so great, he began wars to amass more worshippers. The blood of those who wouldn't bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans. Mythal rallied the gods once the shadow of falon din's hunger streched across her own people. It was almost too late. Falon Din' only surrendered when his brethren bloodied him in his own temple." Could this be that temple? "Most tales paint Falon Din's stubborness only second to his self regard." He also said "one does not kill a god lightly, even in legend" which goes against the fact that he said he didn't believe the elven gods, were actually GODS. It's totally possible that these people were subjugated by Falon Din, and he has something to do with the blight.
Principe Negrô or maybe they're something more than just mere mortals, but not some kind of fancy divine creature? I am working on a video about this right now! :) Also - I'm very interested in what you said about maybe Falon'Din subjugating the humans that made that ruin. But at the very least, there is definitely something more to the human/elf relations than what we've been straight up told.
Thank you for pointing me to this video. I absolutely love your theories. You really base them on "real" evidence, and don't make big jumps to prove what you believe. I cannot wait to see more!
man i gotta love a game what is this complex first was wow and now dragon age and just notice how very complex dragon age is. its complex in lore just as wow is got to love complexity.
I think that a war with Gods would expand all of Thedas. So any humans in Thedas would suffer effects of the war as well. As for the elves and humans being friendly, it's very possible. The quickening started to happen because elves where trading with humans, which would imply some type of friendly ties.
Hi, I'm back. In retrospect, I will remind everyone that my theory is Arlathan was not the only Elven civilization on Thedas. That seems crazy to me. Instead, Arlathan was an empire that conquered other Elvish peoples. Some elves fled to the human settlements, and lived among them. (Hence the elves living in human ruins.) The "Quickening" may not have been caused by humans. Because so much has been lost, I take all accounts of ancient history with a spoonful of salt. (For the record, I don't believe the story. I think it was merely an excuse to keep elves away from the humans.) Soon enough, the fugitive elves assimilated into human life, making statues of their gods. (These were the elven statues.) However, I think these were statues of the Forgotten Ones, not the Creators. (In my theory, the Forgotten Ones were the gods of non-Elvhenan elves.) The styles were merely similar, due to years of cultural influence from Arlathan. Overtime, the humans adopted these gods as their own, learning Elvish magic as well. They warred against their former oppressors, and forgot their own elvish origins. In other words, this hybrid people became Tevinter. They rewrote the history, claiming they had no contact with the elves to hide their roots.
Peter Hanes I agree that it seems very unlikely that Arlathan was the only Elven civilization. I think that's definitely really interesting to think that the Forgotten ones were the leaders of other civilizations of elves. I never thought of it that way, but I like it!!
girltriesgames Also take a look at the "Titans" that OGBKieran and Dagna mention (Kieran mentions it to a dwarf Inquisitor if they joke about pretending to be taller and Dagna mentions feeling "Mountain Tall" after study some of the Fade you bring back with you after "Here lies the Abyss"). Here's a reddit thread on it: @2
marcus brown could be a evil spirit, could just be jealous, could be the other gods threatened some balance of existence, but i think we need some more game content to get a firm foothold on that subject maybe
4:00 - humans made contact with elves, then elves withdrew from them, then after thousands of years elves became just a legend, and humans didnt believe in them, until Tevinter noticed them again
What if the most ancient elves were some type of common ancestor type of deal? It was hinted by Iron Bull that the Kossith (or at least the matriarchs) tampered with their blood to change them. Bare with me; I suspect that the Kossith may have been a kind of elf as well, but even if they weren't, it seems likely that they got the knowledge of how to manipulate genetics from somewhere. The quickening caused them (elves and humans) to separate, so they might look pretty different by the time the 'Vints arrived, if the loss of the quickening and magic was involved. Solas states that the Tevinter built on the "bones of his people", and the implication from the full conversation is that he means by more than just taking elven slaves. So, maybe the Kossith got their knowledge from the ancient elves like the 'Vints, and the humans are a result of the elves using some kind of magic (the type the matriarchs used) to try and prevent the quickening or create an immunity to the blight. The Dwarves being immune to magic could mean that they came from an all together different ancestor race; the elves, humans, and qunari can all use magic though, implying some kind of connection between those three races (which could be explained by their ancestors being immortal elves who "lived and breathed magic"). This probably way more sci-fi than fantasy, admittedly, but a fun thought to entertain.
So, then maybe Dwarves were part of the same thing that caused humans and elves to separate? Another attempt at stopping the corruption? The Thaig in DA2 was "barely even dwarven" (or however Varric put it; maybe in a slightly similar way to the human ruins with elven statues), and there are odd dwarven structures on the surface.. maybe after they split off, they were forced underground by the blight.
DogMechanic The origin of dwarves is deeply linked to their resistance to lyrum. Perhaps they were created to make some kind of weapons out of Lyrium.The veil seems to be what took away the ability for everyone to use magic. Only people with specific blood lines that lead to before the creation of the veil, seem to be able to use magic at varying degrees. Like I said in my other post. Varric sees something he doesn't recognize culturally, as dwarvem. It doesn't necessarily mean that Dwarves didn't build it. But anything is possible.
girltriesgames thanks for another great video :) I would like to ask you though, what do the statues of Ghilan'nain mean, especially where there are two of them?
Bloody Cherry Thank you!! :) Well, in DAO the ghila'nain statues all seem to be headless O_O and in DAI, you're right the hart statues seem to always come in twos. Though, I have seen the rare occasion in which there was one. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet, but I am working on a statue video and will give it more thought! :)
girltriesgames there are statues in one, but it is really rare. I also think that some statues (especially Fen'Harel`s) could had been build at different times. For example, the small statues of wolfs in Emerald Graves (Knight`s Guardian) were build by the Halamshiral empire, while the big ones should definitely come from time of Elvenan. Also fun thing, I have noticed recently (thought it was a bug): In temple of Mythal, when my elven mage fired bold on the walls or other objects, the spikes of red lyrium came out. hoho In relation to the poetry by Sera, I got it from her with elf inquisitor and I think she tells it only to an elf inquisitor. But this I`ll check later. :)
I totally think you're right about the fen'harel statues being built at different times. There are some that are clearly from Halamshiral times, but then that same statue is also found in ancient ruins, so I'm not sure what that means! Did the original Dalish revere Fen'Harel before someone decided he was "evil??" I'm really interested in this red lyrium thing coming out of the Temple of Mythal! You mean it came out of the walls?? How?? -goes back in game to try- O_O
girltriesgames I`m not sure if it happens in the whole temple (I mean the area with the first ritual + where you need to decide to take the rest of rituals or follow Samson/Calpernia). However, it happened after allying with sentinels, when they took inquisitor through the halls with elven god statues. I tried to fire on walls, statues and even vases and from all the objects red lyrium spikes came. I was really surprised!D Clearly red lyrium in Kirkwall was not discovered, it was re-discovered. Perhaps, ancient elves used it to increase their fighting abilities. Maybe these lyrium spikes are some sort of temple defense mechanism.
The human architecture of the temple might have something to do with the fact that the high magisterial like corypheus and the architect were in contact with the false gods. The magisterial even sacrificed elven slaves for them.
The statues were kept but only renamed, their eleven origin was kept secret and only known to the higher in rank. Why else would Corypheus be looking for Artifacts of such knows their magic and so on.
The Empire was lured in by one of the Elven gods, Dumat. They were probably told to become gods themselves once they were to enter the golden city and bask in glory. but all they found was death, and corrption. They fought for their lives and called out to Dumat (Elven name unknown), he answered their calling and lead them to their dragon guardian, where they have sealed parts of their soul into. But the dragon must have been already corrupted or corrupted by the desperate Tevinters.
The First Archedemon was born and furled by its rage and blighted mind it went on full assault on the living wishing to destroy everything.
Reminds me of the bhagavad vita; "and now I shall become death".
Also I belive the humans to have been rather primal tribes roaming the places in lumps raiding the fields like brutes.
The Elvhen after the false might have crossed breed with I'm and brought them parts of their culture. Probably already weakened by broken veil, after all most of them depended on magic and became of "trabquil", absolutely helpless and cowering creatures, raided by humans, breeding with the Elves brought humans magic into their blood, so lines in which magic appears wih in humans are related to the Elvhen. The human uga uga's probably were also equipped wih better brains, that's why they were suddenly able to format.
The Elven blood must have made the Tecibters also more prone to the co troll of the again Elvhen God's. ×_× ok hopefully it is still understandable.
I think it has to do more with the Lyrium the Magisters began using. Lyrium is a living talking crystal- the one behind it can say what they want. The trapped Old Gods- probably the Elvhen Solas banished since they sit in a "golden city" (Arlathan was golden) or maybe the Forgotten Ones though I think they are underground.
Anyway, the Magisters discovered Lyrium that called to them. It was red lyrium- tainted by the Old Gods, not simply by the Blight as Bianca thinks. From the Fade, the Magisters wanted to enter the Golden City. When they managed it (by lots of blood sacrifice) they found only "dead whispers." Well... If they're weakened and their bodies destroyed the Evanuris would like like wisps (like Mythal was).
The dragons might've been one of two things: 1. Forgotten Ones, trapped there by the Evanuris as they conquered the world. 2. Pets or "warg animals" of the Evanuris. Either group would've wanted to conquer the Great Dragons (more than High Dragons) as like the ultimate trophy and weapon. If the Forgotten Ones were trapped, it was by the Elvhen who wanted complete control. If the second option the Evanuris may have put a piece of their soul into each dragon to ensure they would never, ever be fully destroyed- which would explain why when an Archdemon dies there is a pure Old God Soul. They developed a method of coming back into the mortal world via the corrupted Archdemon's death and purified rebirth.
In Dragon Age Inquisition Corypheus says (and I paraphrase)"once I entered into the Fade on behalf of another to serve the old gods directly." If Corypheus really is one of the original magisters to enter the fade and corrupt the golden city, and he did it on behalf of the leader of the imperium, then perhaps the Imperium worshipped the lost old gods of the elves, worship of the maker didn't start until Andraste came around, raised and army and overthrew the imperium.
The way the Avvar talk about the fade, spirits and their beliefs aligns very much with Solas' thoughts and beliefs. Perhaps the paintings with the bear and antlered person is a representation of Avvar/Elvhen relations?
Amanda Peters oh, very interesting!! I am definitely very interested in how the Avvar view spirits. I actually have audio I recorded about that and just need to edit! I hope you'll like it! :D
girltriesgames oh! I'm excited then! Jaws may only seem like an unrelated dlc. I have so many theories about DA. Like if you go back, all of the old elves are bald. Wth is that??
Amanda Peters maybe hair is frightened of the power of old elf magic! lol
If you get Sera's approval high enough, you get an option of a "friendly chat" that takes place on a roof. There are about five different short scenes that can be triggered after that, one of them being her reciting the first two lines of the poem, I think. When she finishes, she says something along the lines "It's poetry because of the w's and shit" in her usual fashion. Barring any fun theories about her unknowlingly carrying a part of Andruil, it's likely she learned the lullaby in Denerim as you just showed us in this video. Sera also tries to recall the first part of the poem in Redcliffe dungeons (and thanks to the red lyrium corruption, she has a hard time of it) as you approach her.
I really enjoy your videos, so thanks for that. ;)
skopde ooh I hadn't heard about her saying it in the dungeons, either! I'm gonna have to go give it a try! Thanks! :) :)
I'd like to think that as the Human tribes spread across Thedas they lived with relative peace with the elves and that in some areas they were close trading partners or even part of elven society to an extent and some may have worshiped their gods. (There would have been interracial marriages because they found out that elf-human pairings only produce human children) After the quickening was discovered humans would have been expelled and the elves would hide. then after the quickening humans forgot about elves and only legends remained. Which is why the Imperium "re discovered" elves.
It is likely that the practice of accepting humans into elven society was a rare and regional thing as Soals states that he "had little dealings with your*human* kind"
Maybe the Elves in the Brecilian ruin were unique?
I am ROSSO I think it's definitely a possibility!! I like it!
One big piece of the puzzle. The Chantry. It's been erasing history all over Thedas. Trust that the Imperial chantry wouldn't act much differently and that the elves were definitely affected.
Another thing. What Tamelen seemed to have thought was Human architecture might have been Elven.Keep in mind that they have no idea what pre-quickening architecture looks like. They probably think that humans build stone fortress' and elves live in trees. But we saw that elves used stone in the construction of the Altar of Mythal in the temple of sacred ashes and in the temple of Mythal. Tamlen has no knowledge of elven architecture except for Aravels.He's a bad source to judge who makes what.
Principe Negrô That's definitely true. We know the Chantry (and Imperial Chantry) has covered up a lot, and twisted a lot. I agree, Tamlen may not be the best source of who built what, but I think that that Arcane Warrior (who also said that humans built the place) may have better knowledge
Yes, that's true. He says it's built by humans, as well. And you're sure those are the same ruins? Aren't those the ruins inhabited by the werewolves. Maybe I'm mistaken but it doesn't seem that Tamlen went into the same ruin. Why didn't they run into any werewolves?
It's clear they have no love for elves.
No, I don't think they're the same ruins, but they're definitely both in the Brecilian Forest. Also a very similar style!
Yea, I can agree with that.
I haven't gotten to the 2nd set of ruins but I did run through the ruins tamlen disappeared in and i have to say, it's strange.
If humans built that place... Did humans use magic mirrors, as well?
There's also a collapsed cave the back, behind the mirror with a weird statue that talks about trade relations between the elves and dwarves. Could that place have had some kind of tunnel leading to a part of the deep roads we've never seen?
It's also good to keep in mind that the devs hadn't thought of the story as thoroughly as they have now.
Flemeth talks about the maker being responsible for trapping the old gods beneath the ground. Then she says she doesn't know anything about the blight. In da2, she says she knows it "better than you could possibly imagine".
Principe Negrô lol I talk about the dwarves statue thing at the end of this video!! hahaha I'm pretty sure the devs had all of the back story plotted out before they created the games, and most of the main plot (gaider said so in a tumblr post a couple months ago). When does Flemeth say the Maker is responsible for trapping the Old Gods?? I gotta listen to this! :) :) :)
So super late to the commenting party but thought I would just drop something down. Firstly I like your theory and you have lots of interesting points to back up an elven human relationship earlier on.
To add to your points it is super interesting to look at the geography of Thedas. It is mostly a "circle" that is surrounded by impassable areas. To the west you have a mountain range that I don't think anyone has crossed. To the south is the world's south pole. To both the north and east are extremely stormy oceans that trapped both the Tevinter and Qunari in Thedas. Tevinter humans settled in the north but alamarri humans came from the west. I also believe somewhere in the world of Thedas some dwarven traders came from the north-west to the Anderfels.
This geography point is interesting because you have a "world" that is surrounded by hostile physical landmarks that is inhabited by elves. All the other races seem to come in by breaking through these barriers and settling in Thedas. You could also begin to look at and tie this entire geography thing into why the veil is weak in possibly just the area that is Thedas.
Also your two timeline points are fascinating with the 1905 TE (humans arrive) and 1655 TE (elves begin to age), and then connecting that to the poem. The end of the poem seems to hint at when Solas (will use his name since it is easier to write then Fen'harel) entered his sleep. Somewhere in this time is when the veil in Thedas was created since Solas hints that it once didn't exist and even the Chant says it didn't exist at one point. So Solas created the veil to end the war with The Forgotten Ones and this put a resistor to magic which is possibly what started the elves aging. The end of the poem then says that "we wastrels warred." This could mean the non-god elves and humans who remained after the veil was created. This shock of the veil being created, the possible war with a blight, and then the continued fighting between possibly followers of the now dead or trapped gods would have weakened the elven empire and sown seeds of distrust between humans and elves.
This weakened state would allow the Tevinter Imperium to march in and swiftly overrun the southern lands of Thedas. It also adds a nice bit of interesting idea to that timeline where Tevinter didn't know about the elves till later on.
A side note though that makes this theory a bit unstalbe unless you assume that humans are arriving as a stated earlier, is that OGB Keiran clearly makes a distinction that elven blood is old. So if humans and elves were coexisting then why would this distinction need to be made?
As a final side note it ads an interesting character perspective to Corypheus and his motivations. As high-priest of Tevinter's chief god he would possibly know that Tevinter overran a disparity group of already broken petty kingdoms, dukedoms, and tribes. He would see the Tevinter Imperium as a force of order and stability. Cue thousand year sleep and he wakes up to a world where Tevinter has fallen and humans have broken into the very thing that was overrun (a bunch of little kingdoms hating each other). So Corypheus isn't so much a madman (still totally mad) as he just sees himself as bringing stability and order to a ruined chaotic world. It further ads perspective to why he despises elves so much because all he would have seen of them would be ruined kingdoms and cities that were fighting each other.
Buggy300 Yes! Totally!
I never really thought about the geography of Thedas before, but that IS really interesting and probably played a huge role in its development.
There are definitely holes in the theory, as I think we are missing some pretty big puzzle pieces :( But I really like seeing what you said about Corypheus and comparing that to how Fen'Harel must be feeling/thinking, and what that might say about his goals... hmmmmm!!! Thanks for watching and discussing with me!! I love hearing other peoples' interpretations too! :)
The Falon'Din statues are also found in the fade in origins. Might just be spirits mimicking what they see beyond the fade, might be related, or lazy devs. I feel like it's related though as Falon'Din is a god of death and who helps people pass through the fade into the beyond. Many people like the qunari and Andrastians believe the fade to be the land of the dead or a place you pass through once you have died, seems appropriate that you would find his statues in the fade. Perhaps he was a key player in creating the veil?
lemonsassquatch Ooh, cool! I hadn't noticed (since I only recently figured out that that is Falon'Din). Is it when you're in the mage tower or when you're doing your harrowing as a mage?
I think it's both? My memory is a little fuzzy but I think it shows up the most during the mage tower quest.
Nice! I'll have to keep an eye out in my playthrough! :)
Solas: "I do not believe they sing songs about falon din's vanity.
They say that Falon Din's appetite for adulation was so great, he began wars to amass more worshippers. The blood of those who wouldn't bow low filled lakes as wide as oceans.
Mythal rallied the gods once the shadow of falon din's hunger streched across her own people. It was almost too late. Falon Din' only surrendered when his brethren bloodied him in his own temple."
Could this be that temple?
"Most tales paint Falon Din's stubborness only second to his self regard."
He also said "one does not kill a god lightly, even in legend" which goes against the fact that he said he didn't believe the elven gods, were actually GODS.
It's totally possible that these people were subjugated by Falon Din, and he has something to do with the blight.
Principe Negrô or maybe they're something more than just mere mortals, but not some kind of fancy divine creature? I am working on a video about this right now! :)
Also - I'm very interested in what you said about maybe Falon'Din subjugating the humans that made that ruin. But at the very least, there is definitely something more to the human/elf relations than what we've been straight up told.
Can't wait!
Thank you for pointing me to this video. I absolutely love your theories. You really base them on "real" evidence, and don't make big jumps to prove what you believe. I cannot wait to see more!
yes sera does read that poem and she says something like this after... " it's poetry ya know, because of w's and Shit"
9:30 it was said that it's not human ruins, but human architecture; it means they were built by humans at the very least
man i gotta love a game what is this complex first was wow and now dragon age and just notice how very complex dragon age is. its complex in lore just as wow is got to love complexity.
I think that a war with Gods would expand all of Thedas. So any humans in Thedas would suffer effects of the war as well.
As for the elves and humans being friendly, it's very possible. The quickening started to happen because elves where trading with humans, which would imply some type of friendly ties.
Ariane Pimentel Definitely! And I think it's likely that humans in different areas would have different relations :)
Hi, I'm back.
In retrospect, I will remind everyone that my theory is Arlathan was not the only Elven civilization on Thedas. That seems crazy to me. Instead, Arlathan was an empire that conquered other Elvish peoples. Some elves fled to the human settlements, and lived among them. (Hence the elves living in human ruins.)
The "Quickening" may not have been caused by humans. Because so much has been lost, I take all accounts of ancient history with a spoonful of salt. (For the record, I don't believe the story. I think it was merely an excuse to keep elves away from the humans.)
Soon enough, the fugitive elves assimilated into human life, making statues of their gods. (These were the elven statues.) However, I think these were statues of the Forgotten Ones, not the Creators. (In my theory, the Forgotten Ones were the gods of non-Elvhenan elves.) The styles were merely similar, due to years of cultural influence from Arlathan.
Overtime, the humans adopted these gods as their own, learning Elvish magic as well. They warred against their former oppressors, and forgot their own elvish origins. In other words, this hybrid people became Tevinter. They rewrote the history, claiming they had no contact with the elves to hide their roots.
Peter Hanes I agree that it seems very unlikely that Arlathan was the only Elven civilization. I think that's definitely really interesting to think that the Forgotten ones were the leaders of other civilizations of elves. I never thought of it that way, but I like it!!
girltriesgames try an do the analyze with the maker weather he is real or not
marcus brown I'll add it to my list! :)
girltriesgames Also take a look at the "Titans" that OGBKieran and Dagna mention (Kieran mentions it to a dwarf Inquisitor if they joke about pretending to be taller and Dagna mentions feeling "Mountain Tall" after study some of the Fade you bring back with you after "Here lies the Abyss"). Here's a reddit thread on it: @2
marcus brown could be a evil spirit, could just be jealous, could be the other gods threatened some balance of existence, but i think we need some more game content to get a firm foothold on that subject maybe
4:00 - humans made contact with elves, then elves withdrew from them, then after thousands of years elves became just a legend, and humans didnt believe in them, until Tevinter noticed them again
My theory always was that those status where war prize, trophy looted from conquests
there is another one of those elven statues in kinloch hold, in the repository with the tevinter statue that speaks to you on jowans philactory quest
6:17
"he was one of the old gods"
OLD GODS ARE EVANURIS CONFIRMED
lol
Awesome vid I love these
Jack Thomas Thank you so much!
What if the most ancient elves were some type of common ancestor type of deal? It was hinted by Iron Bull that the Kossith (or at least the matriarchs) tampered with their blood to change them. Bare with me; I suspect that the Kossith may have been a kind of elf as well, but even if they weren't, it seems likely that they got the knowledge of how to manipulate genetics from somewhere. The quickening caused them (elves and humans) to separate, so they might look pretty different by the time the 'Vints arrived, if the loss of the quickening and magic was involved.
Solas states that the Tevinter built on the "bones of his people", and the implication from the full conversation is that he means by more than just taking elven slaves. So, maybe the Kossith got their knowledge from the ancient elves like the 'Vints, and the humans are a result of the elves using some kind of magic (the type the matriarchs used) to try and prevent the quickening or create an immunity to the blight.
The Dwarves being immune to magic could mean that they came from an all together different ancestor race; the elves, humans, and qunari can all use magic though, implying some kind of connection between those three races (which could be explained by their ancestors being immortal elves who "lived and breathed magic").
This probably way more sci-fi than fantasy, admittedly, but a fun thought to entertain.
DogMechanic A conversation with Solas and Varric suggests that at some point, Dwarves could use magic.
So, then maybe Dwarves were part of the same thing that caused humans and elves to separate? Another attempt at stopping the corruption? The Thaig in DA2 was "barely even dwarven" (or however Varric put it; maybe in a slightly similar way to the human ruins with elven statues), and there are odd dwarven structures on the surface.. maybe after they split off, they were forced underground by the blight.
DogMechanic The origin of dwarves is deeply linked to their resistance to lyrum. Perhaps they were created to make some kind of weapons out of Lyrium.The veil seems to be what took away the ability for everyone to use magic. Only people with specific blood lines that lead to before the creation of the veil, seem to be able to use magic at varying degrees.
Like I said in my other post. Varric sees something he doesn't recognize culturally, as dwarvem. It doesn't necessarily mean that Dwarves didn't build it. But anything is possible.
DogMechanic That would definitely be interesting, especially considering the fact that we know a half-elf, half-human would look purely human! hmmmm!
Principe Negrô interesting.. very interesting! The wheels in my head are turning...
girltriesgames thanks for another great video :)
I would like to ask you though, what do the statues of Ghilan'nain mean, especially where there are two of them?
Bloody Cherry Thank you!! :) Well, in DAO the ghila'nain statues all seem to be headless O_O and in DAI, you're right the hart statues seem to always come in twos. Though, I have seen the rare occasion in which there was one. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet, but I am working on a statue video and will give it more thought! :)
girltriesgames there are statues in one, but it is really rare. I also think that some statues (especially Fen'Harel`s) could had been build at different times. For example, the small statues of wolfs in Emerald Graves (Knight`s Guardian) were build by the Halamshiral empire, while the big ones should definitely come from time of Elvenan.
Also fun thing, I have noticed recently (thought it was a bug): In temple of Mythal, when my elven mage fired bold on the walls or other objects, the spikes of red lyrium came out. hoho
In relation to the poetry by Sera, I got it from her with elf inquisitor and I think she tells it only to an elf inquisitor. But this I`ll check later. :)
I totally think you're right about the fen'harel statues being built at different times. There are some that are clearly from Halamshiral times, but then that same statue is also found in ancient ruins, so I'm not sure what that means! Did the original Dalish revere Fen'Harel before someone decided he was "evil??"
I'm really interested in this red lyrium thing coming out of the Temple of Mythal! You mean it came out of the walls?? How?? -goes back in game to try- O_O
girltriesgames I`m not sure if it happens in the whole temple (I mean the area with the first ritual + where you need to decide to take the rest of rituals or follow Samson/Calpernia). However, it happened after allying with sentinels, when they took inquisitor through the halls with elven god statues. I tried to fire on walls, statues and even vases and from all the objects red lyrium spikes came. I was really surprised!D
Clearly red lyrium in Kirkwall was not discovered, it was re-discovered. Perhaps, ancient elves used it to increase their fighting abilities. Maybe these lyrium spikes are some sort of temple defense mechanism.
That's so interesting!!! thanks for sharing! I need to go give it a try
also if you have not made a video for use who is curious on how long solas/dread wolf slept make one would be very good.
What if mythal was andraste
can humans be a race of elves?
A woman after my own heart.
Garrett Ivy :) :)
The chapter on the watch time bar says Brazilian instead of Brecilian. 😂
So glad u're back :) Here the poem :) ua-cam.com/video/foUXBeB5Ko4/v-deo.html
Luna pur Thank you so much! :) :) :)