Has this been talked about and I missed it? Why has no one mentioned there’s a Fen’harel statue outside the mouth of the cave that leads to the waterfall Solas takes you when you romance him?
Here’s the statue from a few other angles - circles for the mouth of the cave.
Does this place hold special significance for Solas? I mean, I think it’s been pointed out that it’s a three week journey to travel from Skyhold to Crestwood. I just chalked it up to the devs wanting a waterfall and nevermind the distance.
But Solas intended to tell her he was Fen’Harel. What if this place was somehow important to him in regard to that fact. And he wanted to take Lavellan - not just to any waterfall - but here specifically. What if “the Veil is thin here” is a significant key-in and not just what I assumed was flirtation?
And while we’re at it, what significance do the Harts play? Why would they be here specifically where the Veil is thin and there’s a Fen’Harel statue guarding the entrance?
@galadrieljones this has absolutely nothing to do with Teen Solas but also makes me think that Ghil and Solas were a real thing hahaha
AH! Ah. I have things to say! Some Dead Season spoilers ahead:
I actually based Solas and Ghil’s relationship in Teen Wolf off of a story in one of the mosaics in the Temple of Mythal, The Ascension of Ghilan’nain:
Ghilan'nain kept herself apart from the People. She used her power to create animals none had ever seen. The skies teemed with her monsters, the land with her beasts. Andruil hunted them all, and after a year of killing, approached Ghilan'nain with an offer: the gods would share their power with Ghilan'nain, but only if she destroyed her creations, for they were too untamed to remain among the People. Ghilan'nain agreed and asked for three days to undo what she had made.
On the first day she struck down the monsters of the air, except those she presented to Andruil as a gift.
On the second day she drowned the giants of the sea, except those in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought, and Pride stopped her hand.
On the third day she killed the beasts of the land, except the halla, whose grace she loved above all else.
This is how Ghilan'nain was made youngest of the gods.
—Story of the elven god Ghilan'nain, author unknown
My choice of Ghil for Solas in Teen Wolf was totally purposeful. She was one of the people first and had to earn her godhood. That “Pride stopped her hand” in this extreme scenario really struck me. From my first playthrough where I actually realized what that meant, I thought that it could mean that Ghilan’nain and Solas had been friends. It’s an odd mention, that Pride was there to help her, very specific. And I was in love with the idea that they were both a little off beat. They were not invited to this party, but they were let in the door anyway.
In my adaptation of this little bit of lore, and this is something I write about toward the end of The Dead Season, I establish that Ghilan’nain’s territory was where Crestwood now is, which was mainly just nature and animals at the time. She planted all the purple flowers that still grow, and she shaped Crestwood to look like the Weathers, the suburb of Arlathan where she and Solas grew up. It was her way of trying to salvage her shredded mind, and then toward the end of the war (which she was largely removed from), she made that little cove with the waterfall like a hiding place where she would meet in secret with Solas, protected by her halla statues like sentinels. There, he would try to convince her to come with him and to defect to his rebellion, but she was very far gone. She didn’t even know Mythal. She hardly understood the seriousness of the turf war being fought to the north.
So, ah! I’m glad you noticed this, @bearlytolerablethethird. While it’s obviously not canon, I tried to use real evidence from the game to mold the story in such a way that it would feel real, while playing. So like when Solas takes his Lavellan to that cave with Ghil’s sentinel hallas, it means something–like that he is hoping desperately to regain some form of his lost ability to be loved, and that maybe by channeling Ghil there, he can find the strength to tell the truth.
@thevikingwoman, per your interest <3
Apparently, It gets better.
I was roaming around the Exalted Plains the other day, and there just happens to be another stone wolf standing guard in front of that area you need to unlock at the war table.
I about lost my shit.
And you know that giant stone wolf that looks out over the entire Exalted Plains?
Well, turns out, the Exalted Plains is the ONLY map in Inquisition where you find halla. What if Solas is literally guarding over her places?
WHY HAVE I NEVER NOTICED THIS BEFORE?!?!!
Also the damn harts are there again too! There’s one by the Dalish camp!
There’s supposed to be a second one, judging by the sketch that we get, but I couldn’t find it.
It really makes me think about the significance of Solas’ personal quest being on this map.
And also, it kills me to think of the possibility that he and Ghilan’nain were really close friends (at the very least) and they lost each other.
But wait, there’s more!
In the Temple of Mythal, there’s an archway being flanked by two Fen’Harel statues. If you’ve allied with the Sentinels, the guide will open it for you.
There’s a freaking golden halla inside.
Ngl, I’m feeling a little jealous of Ghilan'nain right now 😅
@ladylike-foxes right??
But also it is further proof that @galadrieljones was right all along, as usual!!
Solas and Ghil had better just been friends…
Yeah, ngl I was wondering why so many Halla and Hart statues were by the wolf statues. But also tbf, isn’t Lavellan also represented by a Halla? Maybe that doesn’t have as much significance, since I think that might be more a fandom thing… but yeah, this makes a lot of sense thinking that deeply about it.
In that case i can’t help but think about Ghilanain’s and Solas’s temper. There is a rumor that Ghilanain was a mad amoral scientist who created beasts from living creatures and maybe Elvens. Made experiments with them. In Trespasser you can find the codex about Methods of Enchantment on skin. It may take huge post to pruve this theory so i just suggest you to read this @rpglvr ’s post about Ghilanain and codexes mentioned there. There is an old proverb “Tell me who is your friend and i will tell you who you are”. Thinking about Solas and Ghilanain used to be friend makes my skull numb.
Thank you @thehunterr for reblogging this. I was thinking about this post the other day, and wondering how the heck I was going to find it again. 🤣
I know we’ve decided the “she” Solas is talking about here is Mythal and how the evanuris turned on her. But what if we’re wrong? What if the “mistake” Solas is referring to is his decision to trust Ghilan'nain, and she took whatever he shared with her and twisted it?
He can find peace in her grove, so maybe he’s not that bitter?
Let me chime in here real quick because what all this reminds me of is the story of the “sinner” mentioned in this one ancient writing in Mythal’s temple. 👀
“His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine. The sinner belongs to Dirthamen; he claims he took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain, and begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him.” “For one moment there is an image of a shifting, shadowy mass with blazing eyes, whose form may be one or many. Then it fades.”
I talked a little bit about it in this post, but basically, there’s a theory that this ancient writing and the inscription in the last chamber of the Solasan temple describe the same event!
Faintly carved into the stone is a figure bound in chains. Two other figures have turned their gaze from the central image. The script below the image is ancient, though Solas is able to provide a partial translation: “Pride in our accomplishments and in our hearts. That same pride became (a word meaning corrupted or altered) within him, he sought to claim (indecipherable), cast from favor and so he was bound. Hidden from mortal eyes, death lies within.”
The theory suggests that the sinner in this story was actually Solas himself. So like you said, if we assume that he isn’t actually referring to Mythal in the “I know that mistake well enough to carve the angles of her face from memory” line, but Ghilan'nain… it could fit with the narrative that the “sinner”/Solas was betrayed by her when he “took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain”/“took the shape of the divine”(a dragon), which ultimately led to him being bound, while Ghilan'nain (and Dirthamen?) “turned their gaze”.
I’d also like to point out the mural in the third volume of The Missing again, that could likely depict Ghilan'nain and Andruil embracing each other romantically?
So if this was how Solas painted them at one point (when they were still in a mutual relationship?).. with all the Mad Scientist stuff and the terrifying things described in Horror of Hormak… You have to wonder how the heck she went from this to…. this? ⚆_⚆
Because good god, if this one theory is true and her and Solas had something going at one point… I would just hope that this was *before* she turned into an Eldritch monster three times his size. lmaoo (Solas in that picture is like “Oh shit, it’s my crazy ex.”)
I still think that the “carve her face from memory” line is about Mythal, but there are just way too many juicy little hints here to completely dismiss this theory. Just some food for thought! 😁
