the⠀old⠀𝕯𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚂𝙷⠀c̶u̶r̶s̶e :

and  they  ᵂᴱᴿᴱ   (  𝐴𝐿𝐿  OF  THEM  )   𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚁𝙰𝚈𝙴𝙳 .

[fenheral-a]

we're here now. hi.

[fenheral-a]

feeling a little cluttered, which means a small overhaul. i'm gonna be clearing my inbox (except for some recent stuff, and stuff i intend to answer in the somewhat near future) and try to focus from there. i want to try and actually put stuff out and this (together with some reading!) will help over the next few days.

[fenheral-a]

dual lie (keeping to the solas theme), i'm gonna archive. probably will keep some threads, probably won't, but i will message you if i want to continue something, and please do the same to me if you wish to as well!

[fenheral-a]

feeling a little cluttered, which means a small overhaul. i'm gonna be clearing my inbox (except for some recent stuff, and stuff i intend to answer in the somewhat near future) and try to focus from there. i want to try and actually put stuff out and this (together with some reading!) will help over the next few days.

[fenheral-a]

new carrd look (thank you sam!) and slow progress on replies. hyello!

[fenheral-a]

# verse : eyes that eat, words that wound.

to the inquisition, he was known as solas : a hedge mage who knew the mysteries of dreams as well as he could navigate the fade. but to the dalish and their ancestors before them who lived thousands of years ago, he was known as fen'harel : the dread wolf, the ancient god of trickery and rebellion. as cunning as he was merciless, neither friend nor foe, the dread wolf manoeuvred around the courts of the ancient elves with ease, an ally and then enemy in the span of a snap. but legends remembered are wrought by victors, and the evanuris have never lost a war.

this verse is made in collaborative canon with @feneireth.

a wolf in the halls.

even among the evanuris, the dread wolf is an enigma. the name of the god behind him is long erased, unknown to even the first of the elves. at the behest of elgar'nan, he was tasked in defeating a powerful rebellion from a group called the enfenim, defeating them by infiltrating their ranks, earning their trust, then imprisoning them away in a great act of betrayal. from that moment on, elgar'nan prized fen'harel for his ingenuity and cleverness ; named aptly 'wolf-trickster' after an animal of guile and cunning. not beyond trickery or treachery, fen'harel and his methods had seemed crude to the evanuris, but as long as it secured them victory and power they did not rebuke him.

unlike the rest of the elven pantheon, who walked upon the halls of arlathan in the form of elves or great dragons, ever a rebel and outcast, fen'harel took the guise of a massive wolf whose jaw could swallow a farmer's cottage in one bite, with six eyes and a long mane from the tip of his ears to the end of his long tail. to almost all the world, the dread wolf may have been a myth even then with how little he was seen within the courts of the gods. mythal claimed to know best the ambitious and secretive elf underneath the lupine pelt, describing him as a scholarly thing of intense magical prowess, pale-skinned with steeled violet eyes and long hazel hair corded into braids to keep his tresses from his face. the empire of arlathan would not believe her, for the dread wolf had always to them been simply an animal roaming their temples and legends and the stories of their gods. when asked, he would not deny it.

fen'harel was impartial to all, and was as feared by the elves as he was respected. where no gods granted wishes, he granted deals, and was not beyond scathing truths to meet his ends. his fellow evanuris describe him as prideful and secretive, yet not beyond ruthlessness or a fair amount of wine and humour.

esem'ghi'myelan.

when the world was won by the elves and the scars from their victory with the enfenim faded, the courts of the evanuris grew heavy with the things they usually grow with : lies and intrigue. always the outcast, fen'harel was rarely privy to their secrets, and to seek foothold into this battlefield of words, the dread wolf sneered to himself to gain a pawn in their greater schemes.

fen'harel searched through the lands for his bride, yet all the villages cowered in his shadow. one day, as he roamed the forests, and arrow struck him true near his heart ; it had come from the bow of a hunter of the lavellan clan, a cervine thing named al'anna from the quarry of ghilain'nan. fascinated by her ability to have wounded him when nothing else had, he whisked her away from her home village to persuade her into his service.

al'anna had never seen his reputed elven form in the daylight, yet every night her bed he would slumber alongside her not as a wolf. such was the almost nuptial alliance of the dread wolf and his hunter, who plotted in the shadows how she may bind a leash to her lord, that she may manipulate herself the bidding and tight-wound web of the courts of the evanuris.

[andiris]

as one, all eyes of the wolf shift— fear rattles against her ribcage, and she wonders how they cannot hear what their dread wolf strums under her skin.

❛❛ lethal'en, ❜❜ irene calls. at once, elvhenan lives again; she speaks as one who walked its forests and its stone. one who remembers. time has not eroded the song. her voice is as clear as the first that spoke this tongue. ❛❛ aron ame i ish, ame i na! ❜❜ she feels his eyes from beyond the fade. dark violet and narrowing.

❛❛ he has called me to his side to serve; an honor i accepted undeserving . . . as only half my heart knows our people's blood. ❜❜

[fenheral-a]

the whispers unfurl through dozens of mouths,   susurrus on susurrus.    a wind rustles the tall grass and twigs of a field to rouse them into soft speech.     when they look at her,   they see another dark animal in the shape of a woman,   one with feathers instead of fur.

❛❛  what are you  —  ?  ❜❜        but a storm brews behind unseen clouds,   his head tilts like a curious dog’s but his eyes burn cold with an ire unique only to bewilderment.        ❛❛  and now you lie ?  ❜❜        unseen hands grip her wrist tighter,   the tips of his fingers threaten claws in her skin.    against her thin resistance, wolf paws pull her closer with a forceful tug.        ❛❛  what good will it do them to listen to the misleading sermons of half their blood ?    what credence shall that give your words ?    they will listen to you because the tongue behind your teeth is mine.  ❜❜        she is so small when the shadow of his height eclipses her like this,   even in a world without chiaroscuro or air.    a small bird between sharp jaws,   thorn - hook fangs.        ❛❛  do not waste our time with pointless trifles,   rook.  ❜❜

[hissrath]

TRISTAN TREVELYAN &. FEN'HAREL SOLAS, part one: on horrendously complicated agape or 'how to make each other worse'. | DO NOT REBLOG UNLESS YOU'RE @/FENHERAL.

a brother named gethsemane, natalie diaz. // the great, tony mcnamara. // crush, richard siken. // to kill a kingdom, alexandra christo.

[ohisms]

✱˚｡⋆ ↪ 𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 . ( a collection of dialogue prompts from the film the hobbit : the desolation of smaug . adjust phrasing as necessary . )

this is no chance meeting , is it , [ name ] ?

take back your homeland .

what if i were to help you reclaim it ?

that's not the worst of it .

we have another problem .

what did i tell you ? quiet as a mouse .

will you just listen ? i'm trying to tell you there's something else out there .

the bear is unpredictable , the man can be reasoned with .

come away from there , it's not natural . none of it .

it's obvious , he's under some dark spell .

you'll be safe here tonight ... i hope .

we grow in number , we grow in strength .

death will come to all .

there are others like you ?

you're running out of time .

a darkness lies upon that forest .

i would not venture there except in great need .

go now while you have the light .

this forest feels ... sick . as if a disease lies upon it .

something moves in the shadows unseen , hidden from our sight .

if our enemy has returned , we must know .

i would not do this unless i had to .

you've changed , [ name ] .

you must stay on the path . do not leave it . if you do , you'll never find it again .

is there no end to this accursed forest ?

we're going around in circles , we are lost .

the sun . we have to find the sun .

we're being watched .

they're growing bolder .

not just a thief , but a liar as well .

i myself suspect a more prosaic motive .

i have seen how you treat your friends .

you turned away from the suffering of my people .

a hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf . i'm patient . i can wait .

did he offer you a deal ?

shh ! there are guards nearby .

you were supposed to be leading us out , not further back in !

are you mad ? they'll find us .

please . please , you must trust me .

this is not a nice place to meet .

why now , [ name ] ? i don't understand .

a human sorcerer could not summon such evil .

in our blindness , the enemy has returned .

the enemy is preparing for war .

i started this . i cannot forsake them , they are in grave danger .

you want me to cast my friends aside ?

i think we've outrun the orcs .

we've no weapons to defend ourselves .

do it again , and you're dead .

what makes you think i would help you ?

no doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed .

oh , come on - enough of the niceties .

i would like to know who you are . and what you're doing in these lands .

we need food , supplies ... weapons . can you help us ?

i'd wager there are ways to enter that town unseen .

for that , you'd need a smuggler .

there was more he could have told us .

i don't care what he calls himself , i don't like him .

we don't have to like him , we just have to pay him .

i've been bled dry by this adventure ! and what have i seen for my investment ?

if you value your freedom , you'll do as i say .

folk in this town are suffering .

you'd do well to remember ; we know where you live .

it's a small town , [ name ] , everyone knows where everyone lives .

who would have the nerve to question my authority ?

you promised us weapons .

death ! that is what you'll bring upon us .

have you forgotten what happened to [ name / location ] ?

let us not be so quick to lay blame .

join us when you're healed .

[ name ] , you belong with the company .

i belong with my brother .

we have no time to wait , we're on our own .

the evil that is hidden here ... i command it reveal itself .

you have keen eyes , [ name ] .

let all those who doubted us rue this day !

i know these walls ... these halls , this stone .

i do not know what you'll find down there .

it never ceases to amaze me . the courage of hobbits .

if there is in fact a live dragon down there , don't waken it .

come , now ... don't be shy . step into the light .

there is something about you , something you carry .

there you are , thief in the shadows .

i did not come to steal from you .

do you think flattery will keep you alive ?

what else do you claim to be ?

truly , you are mistaken .

you have nice manners , for a thief and a liar .

i know the smell and taste of dwarf .

they are drawn to treasure like flies to dead flesh .

did you think i did not know this day would come ?

you should leave us .

and go where ? there is nowhere to go .

the dragon , it's going to kill us .

i kill where i wish , when i wish .

my armor is iron , no blade can pierce me .

i need you to distract the guards .

time to do what , to get killed ?

yes , i'm afraid . i'm afraid for you .

you're not yourself .

the darkness is coming ... it will spread to every corner of the land .

you were only ever a means to an end .

i will not part with a single coin . not one piece of it .

your reputation precedes you .

you have no equal on this earth .

i think our little game ends here .

so tell me , thief ... how do you choose to die ?

we've given him the slip .

there may be a way out .

it's our only chance , we have to try .

i've heard tales of the wonders of elvish medicine .

that was a privilege to witness .

i will not die like this . cowering . gasping for breath .

if this is to end in fire , then we will all burn together .

perhaps it is time i paid them a visit .

this isn't their fault !

you care about them , do you ? good . then you can watch them die .

i am taking back what you stole .

you will take nothing from me .

i laid low your warriors of old . i instilled terror in the hearts of men .

this is not your kingdom . these are dwarf lands .

revenge ? revenge ?! i will show you revenge !

i am fire . i am death .

what have we done ?

[fenheral-a]

one of the tiniest but genuinely aggravating changes veilguard made was to make fen'harel a god of lies. no. no, fen'harel has never been a god of lies ; fen'harel has always been a god of deception and betrayal. you're probably thinking i'm crazy with semantics here, but solas has never lied to your face, not once, in the entirety of inquisition. he lies through omission and double-speak, less outright negating a truthful statement and more meandering around it so that you're thinking the truth. if you ask him "are you x?" he will instead say something like "i am y, or i am z," he will never say "no, i am not x, i am w." he isn't like blackwall who will just completely negate a truthful statement with a false one ; he'll word things extremely carefully so that the truth is manipulated just a teeny bit and your suspension of disbelief does the rest. the one time he straight-up lies to you by saying "that's not true actually" is this bit in post-halamshiral (which has been clowned on so many times and it deserves it) :

it's why i think i'm starting to hate the way solas is portrayed in veilguard. in inquisition, solas is very particular about information he chooses to disclose. he is (usually) our only source of information on the fade and demons and spirits — and it's a biased one to be sure — but it usually ends up being reliable knowledge, which makes us trust anything solas would say, which in turn makes us susceptible to little invisible tugs and pulls of misinformation. it's a very deliberate crafting of his character. meanwhile solas in veilguard is a manipulator and backstabber, who will actively feed you misinformation, who will outright lie to you and contradict even himself if it means he gets his way. i've seen people argue that solas in veilguard is different from the one in inquisition and yes, i agree but that's........not solas. that's just not the same solas. even the solas who betrays you in trespasser does so through fucking subtlety : he leaves instead of actively harming the inquisitor and only risks crossing their path when they end up fighting the same enemy two fucking years later. solas straight-up lying is out of character.

[fenheral-a]

happy new year from over here, he's to 2025!

[fenheral-a]

merry (slightly belated) christmas if you celebrate it, and i hope you've had a good day so far if you don't! since the next few days will be very chill for me, i'll work on writing some and also putting a lot of solas' old verses (and fixing them!) back up across the week.

[fenheral-a]

peony

# botanical headcanons.

peony : what would a 'happy life' look like in your muse's eyes?

the initial answer is a chance to restore the world as it was to him ; to give the elves back their lives and to bring magic back into the world. if the people are happy, so is he.

the new answer is : wherever and whatever his life will be, as long as he won't be alone anymore.

[fenheral-a]

he is the last to retire.    in the distance,   calling owls shrink into slumber.    the last vestiges of the dying campfire perversely slither into the inquisitor’s small tent and he follows their trail,   ducking then parting the flap to kneel inside.    low light becomes greedy for her,   latches onto her gentle features and the soft bend of her arms,   the curl of her neck,   her head rolling loosely against her pillow as she stirs at the sound of his quiet footsteps.    he kneels,   gently pushes ash - silver strands of hair from her face to kiss her brow,   closing his lips softly over the crevice of her temple.

cervine,   timorous,   so very small.    perhaps the instinct of wolves comes not from hunger but out of possessiveness     ——     sharp jaws latch around a graceful leg,   red tongues against long necks,   a shadow eclipsing reticence.    he cannot help himself.    her delicate hand drowsily traces the leather string of his talisman,   @feneireth coos high and skittish and this becomes impossible.    he lowers himself,   leans over her,   a cold mage’s fingertips tentatively roving over the skin of exposed shoulder blades,   over her nape when she keens.    he nibbles small kisses on her cheek,   the underside of her jaw,   her throat shuddering with a hiccup laugh  :  can’t it wait until morning,   my darling ?    her eyes flutter open near his own and   …

no,   it cannot.    there are her hands,   soft and prey - like  ;  desperate little clutches at the collar of his shirt,   around his shoulders,   pulling him.    he cannot help himself.    softly,   he did not know his voice could be so soft  —        ❛❛  fenedhis,   ane ir’ina’lan’ehn.  ❜❜        ( when had he last felt like this,   like the world flowered and sighed in autumn breaths and woodland smiles ?   not in elvhenan,   not in his deepest,   thousand - year dreams. )        ❛❛ al’anna   …  ❜❜        her name makes his tongue curl with ecstasy,   an involuntary shiver when it tastes something too sweet,   a modest song.        ❛❛  let me stay with you.    let me sleep by your side,   if only for tonight.  ❜❜

[fenheral-a]

angelica : where does your muse draw inspiration in life ? what motivates them ?

# botanical headcanons.

angelica : where does your muse draw inspiration in life? what motivates them?

in terms of The Goal and to a wider extend just his motivation to do what he does, solas says this himself perfectly in banter with cassandra :

Cassandra: Solas, if you do not mind me asking, what do you believe in? Solas: Cause and effect. Wisdom as its own reward, and the inherent right of all free willed people to exist. Cassandra: That is not what I meant. Solas: I know. I believe the elven gods existed, as did the old gods of Tevinter. But I do not think any of them were gods, unless you expand the definition of the word to the point of absurdity. I appreciate the idea of your Maker, a god that does not need to prove his power. I wish more such gods felt the same. Cassandra: You have seen much sadness in your journeys, Solas. Following the Maker might offer some hope. Solas: I have people, Seeker. The greatest triumphs and tragedies this world has known can all be traced to people.

he draws inspiration from people. notions of good or bad, right and wrong, it's people that he fights for and people that he'll stand for.

[fenheral-a]

marigold

# botanical headcanons.

marigold : is your muse prone to jealousy? how might they handle envious feelings?

he isn't, i don't think ; especially jealousy in a traditional sense of desiring something someone else has. he doesn't tend to be envious since a lot of his ideals stem from being altruistic and thinking about the needs of others before himself. (then again, solas' kind nature is still prone too adaptation, so there will be more obvious streaks of jealousy or envy if the people around him are also jealous or envious people. probably not as significant as their own but to a lesser degree.)

[fenheral-a]

a dozen and one arrow - points focus on a single vertex,   then two dozen eyes follow the same path.    the forest shivers with whispers that no mouths could speak,   and the moon filters like snow through gaps in the treeline,   falling in gentle ribbons across three dozen faces,   maybe more  :  a collection of elves neither city nor dalish.    and if the moon’s smaller sister is greedier than her,   she would pry the shadow more open and see that the skins of their faces are bare,   with only scars to mark those who might have been warriors.    no dark etchings,   no blood writing,   lack to indicate something more.

bow strings stretch a taught, tight sound,   multiple lungs inhale.    quiet before inevitable pandemonium.    time slows painfully until the seconds feel like minutes,   then hours,   then   …   a stop  ( or a stop so slow it appears like stopping )  .    suspended in an asymptote,   @andiris finds him in the fade and pulls through her summons  :  the knife in my side bears your name !    she reaches for the sheath at her belt and grasps nothing but grasps its idea all the same     ——     an invisible weight that he could not see but feel.    call your agents off.    i did not ask for this any more than you did !

( no,   they ask for nothing.    gods should not even have tongues to ask. )    he reaches across the thinning distance and eclipses her hand with his own.    and her voice is still her own when she speaks to them,   but the words are theirs and his.        ❛❛  hamina,   lethal’en.    fen’harel dirtha ove em.  ❜❜        with that, the arrowheads bend low like wheat in the wind,   low,   low,   stoic vigilance fading into confusion.   obedient acquiescence.

somewhere else,   he retracts his touch but still his fingers wrap gently around her small wrist,   a kind of prickly bird’s sharp wing.    she is thrumming with an adrenaline unique to fear,   and this part of the fade has not known a stalemate’s anticipation in so long that it claws at her with glee.        ❛❛  i have told them to stand down.  ❜❜        he looks into her mismatched eyes,   parsing each emotion from itself.    small pebbles flow within the pull of a gentle but determined current.        ❛❛  i ask you not antagonise them,   rook.    they are only concerned for what has become of me.    i suspect that should you even attempt to explain,   it will not be an easy tale for them to believe.  ❜❜

[fenheral-a]

last few missions of veilguard have felt like this