I think among the dalish the lines between "mage" and "non-mage" are much more blurred? like in a dalish clan mages who arent really very powerful arent necessarily considered mages; theyre trained to control their power of course and theyre usually trained to do something specific related to their actual role in the clan like helping with the aravels or the halla or casting those weapon-enhancing spells but the clan doesnt consider them mages and they dont really consider themselves mages and it's fairly surprising to them qhen they interact with outsiders who do
This post has me wondering about all the diaspora necessary variants of elven that crop up among the Dalish and City Elves.
Like there would be common basics among all the groups but when it gets into in depth conversations and group to group communication I can see the variations going deep until even at the Arlathvhen there are at least five fights an hour because someone says something that doesn’t mean the same thing to someone else.
Hey! re-tumblr-eating-asks: I was curious if there are any celebrations/ festivals that were associated with your Forgotten Ones (like Fen'Sulahn's Dye Festival, but in the Forgotten Ones' territories)? Also was curious if that same dye can be found in the mondern!AU?
There are!
There is the Storyteller’s Festival in Henne’thel’s lands. People from all around gather to tell stories and sing songs. hahrens tell old myths, and actors and acrobats and musicians entertain and act out well-known legends. It is a festival meant to bring people together to share history, and every new story is told to Henne’thel, who remembers them all, to pass down to the younger generations. It is a great honor to have a new tale or legend, or a new version of an old one, and to be able to recount it to Henne’thel herself. While Dirthamen is said to be a Keeper of secrets and knowledge and to have a vast library in which he kept his lore, written down for the ages to come, it was Henne’thel who sang and told the stories to all, and did not keep them to herself. She is the progenitor of the oral history traditions of the Dalish. The Dalish that worship the Forgotten Ones say this festival was the first Arlathven, though the Dalish that worship the Evanuris claim otherwise.
Anaris has many tournaments and festivals, as games and luck and chance are his purview. He is also known for his love of drink, and so there is a grape festival that is associated with him, with a night full of parties and dance and gambling.
After the fall of Arlathan, many festivals sprung up among the Dalish. There is the Day of Truth, associated with Oranani, in which no one lies or is allowed to lie, and has turned often into a day of vow renewal, as it is known that no lies are uttered, and therefore all words and promises are sincere. It is a taboo to lie on this day.
The Festival of Memory is an interesting one. It is a far more solemn festival than most. It is a time to reflect, and remember, and delve deep into what once was. This festival has been attributed both to Geldauran and to Oranani.
The Festival of Dreams begins in the morning, when nets are woven out of special vines from the dreamweaver plant, found only in the Tirashan. These nets are hung in the doorways of all the aravels in the evening, to trap nightmares, ill will, and harmful spirits. The nets are then burned the next morning. This is to start every year with a new, clean, and safe place to rest. It is associated with Daern’thal.
Snakes are associated with Melarue, the Cunning One/Clever One, and are also associated with the idea of renewal and healing. There are no specific festivals, per se, but seeing a snake or finding a snake skin is considered good luck and a sign of Melarue’s favor. Also, Melarue is one of the only Forgotten Ones who is known among the non-Dalish in the Tevinter Imperium. The symbol of a coiled snake has become a sign of safe houses for runaway slaves, an image hidden in plain sight as snakes are also well-known among the Magisters, and so it is a safe symbol to place in doorways or carved up the arms of statues. While they are not known as a Dalish God, per se, they are known as an entity that outwits slavers and Magisters.
And I don’t know if Adahlan’s red dye still exists in modern AUs. I imagine there are many synthetic versions of it, and likely the river snail that held the pigments used to make Adahlan red is extinct now, or endangered. It can only thrive in very clean environments, which was not a problem with magic, but likely when the veil was lifted this hurt the ecosystems greatly and it likely disappeared.
Anyone else thinks the Dalish might have 'sister clans'? Like, clans that are said to trace back to siblings or lovers and even though they live in entirely different areas of Thedas, their Keepers are keeping in touch and when they meet there are celebrations and they exchange members.
So I decided to compile some of the meta I wrote for Thedosian Lunar New Year, focused on the Dalish Elves (and by extension, City Elves), and lay it out here in non-fiction form for easy consultation. Anyone may use this for their own Dragon Age elven world-building as long as credit is given to me, though I highly recommend researching Chinese customs for the Chinese New Year, well beyond what’s written here.
The Legend of the Elven Lunar New Year
The Elven Lunar New Year Celebration
Readying for the Dance
Masks and the New Year
There are some things below that I have modified with regards to the older meta, so it makes more sense and is better rounded for within the DA-verse. Enjoy!
New Moons, Fen’Harel, and the fear of spirits
It is general consensus among worshipers of the Elven Pantheon and descended cultures that the moons are avatars of Mythal. The first moon was created by the All-Mother to guide and protect the Elvhen at night after the sun had set, and it is said by the Dalish that the moon’s light was Mythal’s gaze itself. However, from time to time, Mythal would grow weary of watching over her creations, so every New Moon, the goddess entrusted Fen’Harel, who had ingratiated himself with her, to ensure that the People were safe during her rest.
Instead of protecting the elves, Fen’Harel used this moment when the Gods were asleep to do what he pleased in the Beyond and give free reign to spirits and the Forgotten Ones, who then preyed the People.
The legend of Sulanin, the Dream Warrior
Dalish legend tells the story of warrior who braved the Beyond named Sulanin. Sulanin entered the dream world and alone he tracked and fought Fen’Harel in the Wolf’s domain. When Sulanin struck Fen’Harel with his blade, the sight of his own blood made the Dread Wolf flee, while the dreamer banged his sword against his shield and screamed throughout the Beyond chasing the Trickster God, scaring away the spirits that plagued the elves with nightmares and waking up the Creators.
Made aware of the Dread Wolf’s doings, Elgar’nan and Mythal called upon the dragons to help them banish the Forgotten Ones from the dreams of the People, and to ensure that Fen’Harel’s negligence wouldn’t put the elves under threat again, Mythal shaped another moon and put it in the night sky, to shine its light alongside the First Moon, and whenever it couldn’t.
However, there’s is one night per year where both moons are in their new moon state, and that is the day of the Lunar New Year.
Elven Lunar New Year customs
Because Fen’Harel sealed away the Creators and Forgotten Ones alike, Mythal could no longer look after the People during the Lunar New Year night, or the Longest Evening, so the elves took it upon themselves to keep awake for the entire night so that neither Dread Wolf nor malicious spirits can bring them nightmares.
What is Dalish and what is Elvhen?
There are many customs that allude to the Legend of Sulanin, such as the dressing in red, the use of da’nan and rhythmic drumming to make noise, and the main choreographed dances, Fen’Harel Tel’solas and the Dragon Dances. It’s argued that these practices stem from a period after the fall of Arlathan, while the use of masks, some traditional dishes, and the gifting of trinkets and coin by the eldest of the Clans, are believed to date from the times of Elvhenan.
How the Legend of Sulanin shaped the Lunar New Year celebration
The red clothing are allusive to the blood shed when Sulanin struck Fen’Harel, and it is meant to scare the Dread Wolf. The lighting of da’nan and drumming, as well as the singing and shouting, emulate the banging of the Dream Warrior’s sword against his shield and the shouts that drove the spirits away, and are meant to keep the malicious spirits far from those who can’t keep awake in this night.
Fen’Harel Tel’solas is a dance that depicts the story of how Sulanin defeated the Dread Wolf. It is performed by three seasoned dancers, proficient in the ancient martial art of Mian’vhen, one in the part of Sulanin, while the other two form Fen’Harel, and joined by the children of the Clan who form a circle around the three performers.
The Dragon Dance is performed at the break of day by various members of the Clan, who hold up one or more dragons made out of cloth, paper, leaves, and wooden sticks. The dragons simbolize the beasts that aided Elgar’nan and Mythal banish the Forgotten Ones from preying further on the People.
From Elvhenan until the Present
The traditions for the Elven Lunar New Year that have no basis on the Legend of Sulanin are believed to have persisted from Elvhenan. Some have remained the same since then, like the gifts in the red packets given by the elders, while others, like the wearing of harelinan, or masks, have adapted and mixed with the newer customs.
The red packets are called the danansal, and are given in the morning by the Clan elders to the children, the newlyweds, and the expecting new parents. The Keeper, hahrens and masters join together to gather trinkets and other valuables, and offer the young the red packets filled with a gift, along with blessings of good fortune and health.
There are a few variants of Lunar New Year harelinan: the masks for the Fen’Harel Tel’solas, used on the night of the Lunar New Year, and the elgar’harelinan, used for the Spirit Dance on the morning of the day of the Second Moon’s full moon phase and last day of the celebration.
For Fen’Harel Tel’solas, there are the masks of Sulanin and Fen’Harel used by the performers to get in character, and also the vallaslin harelinan, used by the children. These masks with the blood writing designs serve as a way for the children to feel more connected to the Clan (as the vallaslin is used as a identifier of the Dalish) as well as symbolizing their aging and closeness to their coming of age. The vallaslin harelinan are made of paper so they are light enough to be used by a small toddler, and painted with tattoo designs. Sometimes these masks are painted by the child who’s intended to wear it, and their crafting is overseen by the an artisan or crafter. Due to their fragile materials, these masks usually only last for one celebration.
The elgar’harelinan feature more complex designs and are made of more durable materials such as carved wood or molded clay. They symbolize different spirits and are used by the dancers performing the Spirit Dance. This dance involves the dancers going from aravel to aravel and asking the families for a small tribute. These tributes are a symbolic appeasement for the spirits so that they do not come to their dreams and give the elves nightmares.
City Elves and the Lunar New Year
[I will preface that I have not expanded much upon how City Elves celebrate the Lunar New Year]
Depending from where the elves who live among humans are descended, some may not even have heard of the traditions that are closely based on Sulanin’s Legend, which is believed to have originated from the original Dalish Elves. Nevertheless, it is custom to host a grand feast for the extended family, or in the case of smaller Alienages, for the entire community.
Masks are worn while dancing, and in the morning all line up to make offerings to the vhenadahl and receive their blessing from the hahren.
New nomenclature
Da’nan - Firecrackers (lit. little vengeance)
Fen’Harel Tel’solas - The Humbling of the Dread Wolf or the Wolf Dance
Mian’vhen - Defensive martial art (transl. Defender of the People)
Harelinan - Mask (lit. eye-deceiver)
Elgar’harelinan - Spirit mask
Danansal - Red packets or envelopes (lit. small blessing)
Thanks
I want to thank @more-aoe for kicking off the Thedosian Lunar New Year celebration in 2016, and without whom I would never had developed this meta. @ridethefrostback for discussing and helping me with some ideas for this year’s edition, and for helping me mod @thedosianlny along with @paramnesiagirl and @niki-lah.
I also want to thank my friends who have encouraged me and boosted my creations, without you I wouldn’t have done this
Up until the later years of their decline the Avvar avidly avoided hunting or stepping foot in the Revassan’s territory, speaking tales of their fierce skills in combat and their terrifying mages. A warning often spoke over fire, a warning to young hunters and traders, later making its way to the bards of the lowlands. These tales and the warning were renewed with vigor after Inquisitor Lavellan earned her legend-mark.
What a missed goldmine of information not to know about the founders of the clans. The legends and stories about each founder could have heavily influenced the way clans live or how they view the world.
Like, the Sabrae clan could be proud of descending from a famed hunter and their hunters are highly praised amongst the clans. The Lavellan’s founder could be a renown Fade Singer and so Lavellan mages are respected and marrying them/sending them to other clans is extremely valued. The Alerion clan could have its roots in a genious explorer and their clan unearths more hidden ruins than any other clan. They always bring new artifacts at the Keepers’ meeting every ten years and Merrill’s curiousity would be praised amongst them.
The People have used the harelinan since the years of Elvhenan, but few are the occasions when the use of masks is as grand as during the Lunar New Year.
Some masks are unique in their purpose, such as the mask of Fen’Harel, the mask of Sulanin, or the spirit masks, worn by seasoned fighter-dancers. But there are others for those who do not, or cannot, practice the careful and exerting choreography of the fight in Fen’Harel Tel’solas, or the rhythmic beat of the Dragon and Spirit dances, and yet should be given the opportunity to join the celebration in its fullest.
There is no better time for a da’len’s lesson than during such a festive time. The children don harelinan of vallaslin in a show of maturity and age in the opening dance of the festival, the Humbling of the Dread Wolf. While their older clanmates perform their choreographed fight of Fen’Harel Tel’solas with their own special masks, it is the role of the little ones to cheer on Sulanin and, as a clan, help the hero deal the defeating blow against the Wolf, learning the value of unity in a Clan, and how a Clan can help a single member achieve great and seemingly impossible things.
In the morning of the next day, skilled dancers wear the elgar’harelinan, or spirit masks, and dance to the beat of the drums, visiting aravel to aravel, performing their dance to the families, who then offer a trinket to keep the preying spirits and demons away from their dreams in the coming year.
— as recorded by Keeper Archivist Aleran of Clan Taveni
One last thing for @thedosianlny, with a little bit of an expansion on the masks that I drew for my piece for this year, continuing the meta I had written for last year! X X
Thanks for @ridethefrostback for the idea for mask name!
