That ‘comment on your a03 work’ email hits like a line of cocaine every time. unmatched dopamine increase. shoutout to everyone who leaves a comment on fics. you deserve the world
the way i understand the difference between blorbo and The Character is that blorbo activities are 1. fun and 2. voluntary. when youre rotating blorbo in your mind you’re playing with your tuoys. but when The Character has got ahold of you then you are a tortured artist being plagued by visions
For those reading Auras of the Fade on Ao3 I wanted to make a little introduction for Rior, he's had a rough time being forced into a cult by family and all that.
I struggled with this one, love you Taash, love your design but GOD DANM i am never drawing your armour again. Sorry for the big head Davrin... curse of making analogue art 🥲
I love it when people get passionate and inspired and fire off reblogs and comments to add their own interpretations of characters or scenes in the games. People can complain about Dragon Age fandom all they want (and there are valid complaints 😂) but I see far more positive engagement than negative. I love reading through new additions and new insights and how people create such wonderous worlds within this world (especially when it's done respectfully and enthusiastically).
Some locations have phases that activate specific content in the game. Tearstone Island, Arlathan Crater, and Weisshaupt have phases of cut encounters with the Executors. According to the banter names, there were supposed to be four encounters in total. It's unknown where another one was meant to take place.
The script contains lines describing post-game achievements. Rook returned to familiar places, and apparently that eventually brought them to the Executors.
000FD957 On return to Rivain Island, defeat the Executor and collect the Memento for Davrin/Harding
000FD923 On return to Weisshaupt, light the final beacons for the 6th + 7th Blights
Not sure for what purpose Rook returned to Arlathan Crater. This questline was supposed to progress in a specific order. Hard to say where it started, but the final encounter was meant to be in Weisshaupt. I managed to trigger only the last phase, but it's very rough, so no video.
Most likely, this content was replaced in the release with three codex entries featuring the Mysterious Circle and a post-credits scene. Although the game still has banter where Rook talks to the Executors, those conversations were originally more extended. They even had lipsync, though there's no audio in the files.
First encounter.
Approach banter
Executor: Missing. Gone.
Executor: Two dead. One caged.
Executor: Others approach. Hands bloodied. They did it.
Executor: Test them? Test us?
Executor: Yes. We fight.
75% Health
Executor: Fascinating. Unforeseen.
Executor: Skilled. Strong. Even sundered. Unexpected.
Executor: Worthy enemies. Even still. Unexpected.
Executor: Their blood. Strength. Power. Unexpected.
Executor: Skill. Power. And defiant. Unexpected.
Rook: Who are you?
Executor: Irrelevant. Immaterial.
Bellara: Well, that's helpful.
Davrin: Suit yourself.
Emmrich: We require a more satisfactory answer!
Harding: Don't need to know your name to take you down.
Lucanis: True.
Neve: No need to play modest!
Taash: What the crap does that mean?
50% Health
Executor: Pain. We had forgotten.
Executor: Distracting. Distressing.
Rook: We can stop any time you want.
Executor: No. We continue.
Executor: We learn.
25% Health
Rook: Why are you here? What do you want?
Executor: To see. To find.
Executor: To prepare.
Bellara/Lucanis/Taash: Prepare for what?
Davrin: I can't wait for this. For what?
Emmrich: For what?
Harding: Prepare? For what?
Neve: Prepare. All right. For what?
Death
Executor: They… pass?
Executor: No. We… fail.
Death Reaction
Rook: Okay. Does anyone know what just happened?
Rook: Who was that? Or what?
Bellara: I'll ask around. See if anyone knows anything.
Davrin: And I thought the Gloom Howler was weird. I'll ask around. See what I can find.
Emmrich: Completely unfamiliar to me. I'll see if there's anything in the Watcher's archives.
Harding: I'll ask my contacts. Maybe someone knows.
Lucanis: I'll ask. If the Crows know, you'll know.
Neve: I'll start asking questions. See what I can dig up.
Taash: No idea. I'll check with the Lords. See if anyone knows anything.
Second encounter.
Approach banter
Executor: They interrupt. As predicted.
Executor: As expected. As hoped.
Executor: Stronger now. We will fight. We will win.
Fight
Rook: I thought we killed you.
Executor: No. Impossible.
Executor: Other forms. Multitudes.
Executor: We persist.
75%
Executor: They fight. They resist.
Rook: It's kind of our whole thing!
Executor: The end, inevitable. The outcome, certain.
Executor: Only delay. Never prevent.
50%
Executor: Are they stronger?
Executor: Yes. For now.
Rook: Did you know that you're very unsettling?
Executor: Unimportant.
25%
Executor: Unpredictable. Chaotic.
Rook: Not the first time we've been called that.
Executor: Must change. Adapt.
Bellara: We need to take this thing down, and quickly.
Davrin: Time for this thing to die, and quickly.
Emmrich: We almost have them. Strike quickly!
Harding: Come on! We have to take this thing down!
Lucanis: We need to finish this.
Neve: We need to end this fight. Now!
Taash: Kill it before it talks more!
Death
Executor: More knowledge. More defeat.
Executor: We will… learn.
Executor: We will… triumph.
Death Reaction
Rook: So can we just never kill this thing?
Rook: We've seen it die twice. And I think it's gonna come back again.
Bellara: Maybe they're like the Evanuris? You can't kill them until you kill whatever they're tied to? That said, something felt weird about the magic. Almost like it was… greasy.
Davrin: Maybe they're like the elven gods and the Archdemons. Have to kill one before the other. Assan sure didn't like what he was smelling.
Emmrich: That manifestation… Could it be an extension of another's will, much like the elven gods and their dragons? Regardless, there's a pall about its magic.
Harding: Like the Archdemons? Or Corypheus? Linked to something you have to kill first. I don't know. Something felt really strange about it, like an itch in my mind.
Lucanis: Perhaps they're like the elven gods and their dragons. We have to kill its heart first. Spite says the magic smells like oil on water.
Neve: Perhaps they're tied to another creature? Like the Archdemons and elven gods. But the magic… It feels different. Almost… greasy.
Taash: Maybe they're tied to another creature. Like whatever the elven gods did with their dragons? I dunno. Something felt weird about it.
Rook: Reach out to your contacts. I'll reach out to mine. Maybe we'll find something.
Third encounter.
Approach banter
Executor: You return. We are content.
Executor: Another chance. Another test.
Executor: Learn. Adapt. Triumph.
80%
Rook: Why do you keep fighting us? What do you want?
Executor: Not now. Not yet.
Executor: We will show you. Soon.
60%
Executor: You quelled the storm. Stilled the waters.
Executor: We felt it. The ripples. They went far.
Executor: But we did not move yet. We waited. Watched.
40%
Executor: Then the tyrant. The sun. Dimmed by blood. His own.
Executor: The ripples joined. Expanded. Extended.
Executor: We readied. Consulted. Planned.
20%
Executor: And then the wolf. He knew of us. In part. Not in whole.
Redeem ending:
Executor: You changed him. Saved him. With the other. She lingers.
Outsmart ending:
Executor: Fought him on his terms. Defeated him on yours.
Defeat ending:
Executor: Took his strength. Fought him with yours.
Rook: You know an awful lot about me.
Executor: But not enough! Not yet!
Death
Executor: The pattern… continues.
Executor: Nearly… enough.
Death Reaction
Rook: That thing gets creepier and creepier every time we kill it.
Bellara: It sure seems to know a lot about us. You know. Given that we've never met it before.
Davrin: How's it know so much about us? We've never met.
Emmrich: Studying us in turn. It knows far more about us than it should from these encounters.
Harding: What is it, and why does it know so much about us? Is it watching us or something?
Lucanis: It seems to know a lot about us. It's been watching us. How?
Neve: It seems to know enough about us. From watching? Or doing homework? And why?
Taash: What is this thing talking about? It keeps talking like it knows us.
Rook: Yeah. I was kinda trying not to think about that part.
Rook: This just gets weirder every time.
Fourth encounter.
This part of the quest started in the Main Hall of Weisshaupt Library. From there, Rook rode the elevator to the West Wing and then headed toward the Dragon Trap. The Executor appeared at the site of the fight with Razikale. The gameplay here is unfinished; this boss has no health bar or animations. I've previously posted what this looks like.
Approach banter
Executor: We have finished. Succeeded.
Executor: Now we have knowledge. Now we have certainty.
Executor: Fight again? Last time?
Executor: Yes. Nothing to lose. Much to gain.
80%
Executor: You are skilled. Strong. Unpredictable.
Executor: Yet mortal. Still flesh. Still alone.
Executor: Your victory, impossible. Yet it happened.
Executor: How? Why?
Bellara: A lot of planning. A lot of hard work. And a lot of luck!
Davrin: Sharp minds and sharper blades.
Emmrich: So there's a limit to your piercing sight!
Harding: Ooh, so you don't know everything about us!
Lucanis: So you don't know everything.
Neve: Now there's the question! If you figure it out, let me know!
Taash: I hit you in the face with an axe!
60%
Executor: Troubling. Still strong. Even now.
Executor: We must change. Adapt.
Executor: Yes. New thoughts. New plans.
Rook: What're you talking about?
Executor: Soon enough.
40%
Executor: We can win. We can change.
Executor: No. Not now. Not necessary.
Executor: Must not reveal. Must not alarm.
Executor: Soon, though. Very soon.
20%
Executor: The plan changes. Adapts.
Executor: Speak to the others? Let them know.
Executor: Yes. We have learned much. Can share much.
Death
Executor: This form… exhausted. Done.
Executor: But… we learn. Soon… the storm.
Executor: Next time will… be… different.
Death Reaction
Rook: So… any ideas what it was talking about?
Rook: "The others"? "The plan"?
Bellara: Shouldn't we let someone know about it? Charter, maybe?
Davrin: Maybe we should tell someone about whatever that was? Charter?
Emmrich: None whatsoever. Perhaps Charter should know of this.
Harding: We should tell someone about this. Charter?
Lucanis: Charter may want to know about… whatever this is.
Neve: Leaving us with questions—at least it's consistent.
Taash: We should tell someone about this. Maybe Charter.
Rook: Let her know what? We fought someone spooky in a robe, they came back to life three times, and after the last time, they issued a cryptic warning?
Rook: But… yeah. We should let Charter know.
There's one final conversation related to this questline in the files, but it's empty. Perhaps Rook reported what they saw to Charter, though that's just speculation.
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