#dalish hcs

[cumbiazevran]

also okay so these are my interpretations of each of the Pantheon's realm

Elgar'nan — Vengeance, protection and righteous anger. Lord over and under the sun, father of Gods, Magnificent among the rest of them. Lord of War, victory and love which knows no bounds. Bearer of loss. His is the light of the sun and the task of protecting the future of the Elvhen, there where no justice can serve.

Mythal — Justice, protection and wisdom. Lady over and under the moon, who comes and rules the sea, mother of Gods, Magnificent among the rest of them and loved by Elgar'nan. Lady of Strategy, public rejoice and stability. Bearer of growth. Hers is the hope in the night and the task of seeing over all civic life.

Dirthamen — Knowledge, Secrets and Piety*, of the unwavering loyalty and quickest of understandings. Heir to the time of Endless Creation which is to come after the War and, therefore, Heir of Mythal and Elgar'nan. Lord of Serenity and quiet but undying passion, his are the mountains and the stars. Undaunted by Fear and Deceit, all lies and betrayals are abhorrent to him. His is the task to record all history.

*Not to be mistaken with solidarity between peoples.

Falon'din — Time and death. The one untouched by Blight, who cannot be tainted by the Void. Scryer of the futures of Elvhenan because only he knows the weight of time involved in their becoming. Shepard of the Dead. Considered the Eldest in merit of the children of Elgar'nan and Mythal, first of the children to bear a realm. He's the only Creator/Evanuris who can actually understand and feel the passing of time. Because of this, he is owed reverence.

Sylaise — Creativity, diplomacy and peace. Lady of Fire and Home, who reminds of the importance of temperance in one's endeavours. She who gave the Elvhen the gift of creating beauty for beauty's sake. Lady of mourning, as she bears all that for war is lost. Hers are the arts, the gift of gab and of medicine, which she rules over with her brother Dirthamen, Heir of the Elvhen. Her is the task of peaceful resolution of disputes.

June — Resourcefulness, material creation, craftsmanship, commerce and mastery over one's actions. Giver of joy and kindness, pillar of peace as there cannot be peace in lacking, protector of quartermasters and workers alike, to whom nothing is impossible. Husband of Sylaise. His is the task of invention, as he bears the weight of curiosity and love which asks for nothing in return.

Andruil — Fortune, chances, sacrifice, births and rot. Lady of the Hunt and of Survival. Master of swiftness and over-looker of Oaths — to swear on her name and not complete the task is to invite bad luck to the oath-breaker. Lady of resolute action, who is predator and prey. Thematically, she is the most opposed to Sylaise.

Ghilan'nain — Dire circumstances, guidance, overcoming obstacles and navigation. Lady of crossroads and pathways, hers are the river-ways and trails. Protector of trailblazers and patroness of the inevitability of choice. Most beloved by Andruil. Bearer of travelling, and therefore, of yearning, distances, but also of discovery.

Fen'Harel — Deception, lies, illusions, missed opportunities and trickery. The compass to what is Not. Teacher of bitter lessons. Lord of Lost Youth, false hopes and exile. Bearer of Guilt and the cost of Pride. He is an omen of danger and is drawn by fear. Thematically, most opposed to Dirthamen.

[elvhenprince]

The Rule of Three

"Dalish limit 3 mages in a clan" is a lie told by the Dalish, and believed by outsiders.

The ones who tell the Inquisitor about that system are not Dalish, see: Vivienne and Bull. Dalish, the Charger, doesn't directly react to this specific fact other than to continue saying she's an archer.

"Mage" isn't a role or a job. Mage is just who those people are.

So maybe Dalish wasn't lying: she might have actually been taken on the duties of a hunter/archer in her clan. She just wasn't apprenticed to the Keeper.

That is to say - three mages in Dalish clans actually work with their magic. The Keeper, the First and the Second. These are the Three Mages(job/roles).

Every other mage may get delegated to other roles. They could be cooks. They could be hunters and crafters and storytellers. Just because one is a mage doesn't mean that's all they can be.

(Though on Dalish: Maybe she still wanted to figure out more of her magic on her own, maybe she just wanted to explore the world outside her clan- who knows. She has vallaslin, so that at least notes that she is recognised as a Dalish adult.)

[elvhenprince]

El's Dalish Clans & their origins headcanons *if this is wrong idc dont @ me

Clan Sabrae - Known to have the best crafters for many generations. One or several of their ancestors probably used to serve under June, making all sorts of wonders for Arlathan (hence why they have the arulin'holm to this day). while a lot of magic is lost to Sabrae, they still have excellent craftsmanship in all that they make.

Clan Lavellan - Lavellan was one of the noble houses in Arlathan, originally. Served under Mythal, but heavily affected by her death and either ran away or joined the rebellion. Clan Lavellan in present day is one of the clans that can trace their genealogy all the way back to Arlathan; hence why the Keeper has such a long winded name. Many mages in this clan. Huge clan, reaches 100++ in number.

Clan in the Exalted Plains (Keeper Hawen) - Ancestors used to serve Ghillain'nain. Small clan, more halla than people.

[elvhenprince]

dalish headcanons: gender, sexuality, etc

topics I touch on in this post:

gender roles (or the lackthereof) and transitioning sexuality, marriage, baby-making

No Gender Roles

Gender doesn't seem to impact anything a person can do amongst the Dalish. If you're good at fighting, you be a hunter, if youre a mage, you be a keeper, etc. The Dalish need everyone who is able to do things to just do them, regardless of whatevers in their pants.

As time goes on past Arlathan, as the Dalish become their own people, gender at some point simply became less and less important in their society. Social norms change.

Terms like lethallin/lethallan become interchangeable, when once both terms are gendered. Either can work just fine. pronouns also become less and less tied to gender. ofc which part of the process any clan is at varies!

Transitioning

With no gender roles, there's also no need for a social transition. so I think of the Dalish of not having words for trans men / women, but having a word of the act of modifying one's body to suit their spirit. I'm thinking of something along the lines of 'shapechange', 'morphing', 'molding' - to shape the body like clay into what you wish to be.

This can be achieved through multiple ways: attire, cosmetics, and of course, transitioning as we know it.

The Dalish can very easily have multiple methods:

herbs, prepared as a poultice or a potion

surgery

magic, of course. usually by the Keeper

the most recommended is a combination of all three! but people are free to choose what suits their needs.

Sexuality, marriage

People are allowed to explore their sexuality freely. There's no judgement, especially since there's little emphasis on gender roles and expectations. Monogamy and polyamory both happen, and marriage ceremonies are largely symbolistic. Having a party over a wedding, or not having a big party - either works so long as the people getting married want that. (and if the clan can spare the resources and time)

Baby making and the raising of

Dalish children are primarily community-raised. If a person wants a child but doesn't really want to have a partner, that is allowed - a willing donor can be selected with the Keeper's guidance. Similarly, if a couple is unable to make a baby amongst themselves, a willing donor can also be found.

A lot of the baby-making happens during Arlathvhen, where it's much easier to arrange these, though. So significant amounts of Dalish are noticeably 10 years apart. There's probably a Dalish joke about Arlathvhen babies vs wild babies.

[elvhenprince]

dalish headcanons: arts and expression

pure headcanons, not based on any in game lore!

summary: dalish sea(land) shanties, paintings and tags on random natural surfaces, and sign language. i might add more to this list as i think of them o:

music:

dalish sea(land) shanties I've been listening to sea shanties and think: wouldn't the Dalish have songs they sing as they travel? Just to pass the time and keep things light. Maybe not all clans, and maybe not in the middle of deep forests, but if they were travelling across plains I can see it happening.

painting, drawing

they have crafters, of course, that draw and draft designs. but are there also painters? maybe not as much, but drawing on any scrap of parchment they can get, or on tanned hide, or just tagging on stone walls, tree bark, what have you. maybe just painting on nice smooth stones. pigment is rare, of course, so i imagine most of these were probably very limited colours, or just using what is easily available. maybe just chiselling designs into the sides of caves, etc. I doubt every member of the clan is a capable hunter or craftsman. maybe the storyteller hahren is also an artist, usually. because words arent the only way to tell stories, there's art, theres paintings. maybe something like solas' mural where the painting / drawing can almost be read as a sequence of events.

non-verbal communication

dalish sign language! i am 100% of the mind that dalish have a sign language they use, not just for those who don't verbally speak, but for the hunters to communicate across distances while stalking prey.

generally, the dalish care for each member of their clan, so i 100% believe they have a lot of things that help the disabled folks of the clan as well :') be that art, sign language, or whatnot.