#elfmeta

[broodwoof]

something that's really interesting to me about lace (and i say this with love and understanding, genuinely) is how deeply unfair she is to elves as a race

because it wasn't the elvhen who attacked the titans, it was the evanuris. in fact, the elvhen were slaves to the evanuris, and she knows that. but she still - understandably! i wanna make it clear this is not a critique, it's a really good, interesting bit of characterization - blames all elves for it to a degree

the elvhen were victims of the evanuris, just as the dwarves were, just as the titans were. and it's this really messy place because, yes, the elves almost certainly went to battle because the evanuris commanded them to do so, and yes, the evanuris were not originally seen as gods but as generals, so one could assume free elves still willingly(-ish) fought for them

but ultimately, the destruction of the titans only happened after solas took form (and likely not immediately after, either - he took form to help mythal, and they developed the plan for the dagger and then created it, all of which likely took time) and solas was only called when elgar'nan was already beginning to exert control

really, modern dwarves and modern elves share a historical enemy, and it's not each other, it's the evanuris. elves have had an extremely hard history: they had what we can safely assume to be a period of freedom, taken away (presumably slowly) as they became enslaved to the evanuris. then solas' actions resulted in the unintentional destruction of arlathan and stripping the elves of their immortality, yes, but also a significant portion of their magical power, and killing a great deal of them in the process. the survivors were scattered and lacking a societal center, effectively displacing them as the "reigning race," although again, that's a faulty view of the elvhen even at the time, because they were enslaved by their own leaders

with the elves being disparate and scattered and the dwarves having been forced underground - and the kossith presumably becoming the beginnings of the qunari around about this time - the stage was clear for humans as a race to become the power in thedas, and they killed or enslaved many elves. correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't recall anything about humans enslaving dwarves: of course, trade with dwarves was necessary due to lyrium, and the cultural pressure for dwarves to stay underground (likely stemming from a fear of reprisal should they travel back into what had then become elvhen territories) means that surfacer dwarves must exist largely unchallenged. but elves provided no material benefit to humanity, and so were treated as interlopers, outliers, "savages," or - horribly - opportunities

and it's really, really interesting to see lace have to grapple with all of this, because she obviously has a great deal of sympathy for slaves, but she seems hesitant to connect the dots about the elvhen. she acknowledges that solas was right to move against the evanuris and try and free his people, but she still blames elves as a whole for what became of her people

and this is so realistic! especially because so much of this information is new to her. it genuinely fascinates me

[broodwoof]

Which Came First - The Elvhen or the Evanuris?

I was talking with my friends today and realized that the conclusion I took for granted is not shared by everyone, which I always find surprising and interesting. But that conversation refined my own understanding of my point of view and made me want to share it.

So, simply put: I think the Elvhen existed prior to the Evanuris taking form, and I think Elgar'nan took form based on the physical bodies of the Elvhen people.

The way I see it, the spirits existed first, and watched as the Elvhen people developed. I mean, right from the beginning. They observed the homo sapiens of Dragon Age elves kinda thing.

The timing for Elgar'nan taking form is something I'm less decided on, but I think a definite thing is that the Elvhen were beginning to develop society and culture; alternatively, they were already deep into their sociocultural development.

What drew him to come to the physical world and build a body was a desire to guide them. Whether because they were a young race who he felt he could nurture, or because their immortality and their affinity with the natural magic of the Fade drew him to them.

But I think he copied the form of those he sought to command, or guide, or conquer (Solas voice: depending on the story). Something recognizable to them but greater than them, larger, stronger, just more. I think he took what already existed and exaggerated it.

Everything that followed varies all the time in my mind. Perhaps Mythal was the next spirit to take form, and perhaps she did so shortly after he did. Or perhaps it took many years and watching his attempts to control twisting more and more for her to take form. Perhaps other would-be Evanuris took form before she did, having watched Elgar'nan do it successfully and emulating him for their own varied reasons.

All I think we know for certain is that 1) Elgar'nan was first, 2) Mythal came after Elgar'nan but before Solas, and 3) Solas came after Mythal. Where the other Evanuris - those we know and those we don't - fell on that timeline is uncertain, but I suspect one of two primary orders:

Elgar'nan -> Mythal -> Dirthamen & Falon'Din -> Andruil -> Sylaise -> June -> Solas

Elgar'nan -> Mythal -> Solas -> Dirthamen & Falon'Din -> Andruil -> Sylaise -> June

*Ghilan'nain is not included in this because I think the most likely origin for her is not a spirit but an Elvhen who served Andruil and was eventually uplifted to the rank of the Evanuris

And the timing between is equally uncertain. It might have been less than a year, or multiple years, or decades. I don't think centuries between each emergence, but when you're dealing with immortal beings (both the Evanuris and the Elvhen), then we can't entirely discount centuries being the measurement here.

But seriously, it did not even occur to me that there could be a different fundamental order of Evanuris and Elvhen. I vaguely recall having read something about it on tumblr a while back but I think I just glossed over it at the time and didn't think much of it until today.

To be clear, I now understand the perspective that the Evanuris - specifically Elgar'nan - came before the Elvhen and ended up creating the Elvhen people. Just wasn't even on my radar to interpret it that way. He strikes me as very much a Command figure, and I felt that Command would need a specific reason - in the form of people - that would inspire him to leave the Fade and take form in the physical world. Because Command could try to command in the Fade just as easily. So I've always felt that something must have drawn him to the physical world, and that something was the Elvhen themselves.

But I think I'll stick with my view, both because it's pretty set in my brain and also......... a big part of me is sitting here cringing about issues of genetic diversity with a limited number of spirits-turned-flesh creating an entire race. Probably not the intended angle to approach this matter with, but here I am!