The Old Gods and the Evanuris are one and the same.
This is going to be expanded upon, but I just typed this up to explain it, and it’s the most coherent form so far. Developed over weeks of playing Dragon Age with @faerelden
My friend and I have been developing a theory over the last few weeks that the Tevinter Old Gods, and the Trapped Evanuris are one and the same.
We know that Tevinter took on a lot of Elvhen lore/language/places etc, it's not crazy to think that they would reappropriate the Elvhen pantheon, in a similar way to how the Romans took on and redesigned the Greek Pantheon to suit their own needs.
The Tevinter Magister's learned magic, when their Gods whispered to them from the Fade, where the Evanuris were conveniently entrapped.
The Old Gods forms are, conveniently, Dragons. You can't tell me that Mythal being able to shapeshift into a dragon is, then, a coincidence.
The Old Gods dragon forms are, conveniently, sleeping. Strangely similair to the way ancient elves would have entered Uthenera?
There are 7 Old Gods, and 9 Evanuris... but Mythal was presumed dead, and Solas wasn't trapped inside the Fade, that makes 7 and 7.
Solas is not pleased to find out that the Grey Wardens have been 'killing' Old Gods. This is where our theory gets a based a bit more on assumptions that canonical evidence.
We are told in game that when anyone other than a Grey Warden kills an Archdemon that it's soul passes to the nearest tainted body. When a Grey Warden kills an Archdemon, it is the closest tainted body, and that it somehow destroys the Archdemon... but it wouldn't be the first time Bioware has 'told' us something, only for us to learn more later, from a different source, that what we were believing was wrong for some reason. (Lyrium being a mineral springs to mind).
We also know that if the Old God soul jumps to Morrigan's child, it's no longer an Archdemon, but seems to be a purified version of the soul.
Add in that during Jaws of Hakkon, a DLC that revolves around killing a 'God' so that it's spirit/soul can be 'purified' or reset, and Faerelden and I believe that the Grey Wardens haven't been killing the Archdemons, so much as purifying their souls of the Blight, and simultaneous unlocking the door to the jail cell Solas threw the Evanuris into.
There are 2 unshattered seals, in the image from the announcement trailer, and 2 Archdemons left, and just maybe 5 purified Evanuris spirits floating around out there, somewhere, waiting to cause trouble.
Permalink to Version 2: https://kita-lavellan.tumblr.com/post/189482711875/headcanon-theory-1
(Another Headcanon/Meta post developed with @faerelden. Just a little one this time, but I like this and the way it would intertwine the ancient beings of the elves and spirits of the Fade.)
The Forbidden Ones were once Elves, who then Allied with the Forgotten Ones/Rebel Elves.
1. The Forbidden ones were originally elves, slaves to the Evanuris, and shed their physical forms to flee and/or hide, either from their masters, or from the Evanuris' war with the Titans.
DAI Codex: Vir Dirthara: Exile of the Forbidden Ones - "for casting aside form to flee to where the Earth could not reach"
2. The Evanuris banished the Forbidden Ones spirit forms to the furthest reaches of the fade. Lyrium powered magic [Earth] could not kill their spirit forms. We know that spirits cannot be killed only banished. We also know that the Evanuris twist things to their advantage.
DAI Codex: Vir Dirthara: Exile of the Forbidden Ones - "The pages of this book—memory?—show the blazing forms of the Evanuris banishing a howling spirit from the reaches of the Fade that touch their lands. A voice rings out, stern and imperial"
This comes across as propaganda, and if you flip the information, then it implies that the Forbidden ones did not abandon the Elvhen people, but possibly betrayed the Evanuris.
3. Forgotten Ones were probably the Rebel Elves.
DAI Codex: Fen'Harel; The Dread Wolf - "The legend says that before the fall of Arlathan, the gods we know and revere fought an endless war with others of their kind. There is not a hahren among us who remembers these others: Only in dreams do we hear whispered the names of Geldauran and Daern'thal and Anaris, for they are the Forgotten Ones, the gods of terror and malice, spite and pestilence."
DAI JoH Codex: Geldauran's Claim - "There are no gods. There is only the subject and the object, the actor and the acted upon. Those with will to earn dominance over others gain title not by nature but by deed. I am Geldauran, and I refuse those who would exert will upon me. Let Andruil's bow crack, let June's fire grow cold. Let them build temples and lure the faithful with promises. Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery."
DA2 Merrill to Hawke, The Betrayal - "Long ago, there were two clans of gods. The Creators looked after the People. The Forgotten Ones preyed upon us. And one god who was neither. Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf."
This theory is expanded upon further in @faerelden‘s Meta-post HERE.
4. During the Elvhen uprising, the Rebel Elves (Forgotten Ones) needed a source of magical power stronger than their natural connection to the Fade, to combat the Evanuris' use of Lyrium from the felled Titans. This was probably blood magic, which they learned from the Forbidden Ones, previously banished Elvhen slaves.
DAI JoH Codex: Geldauran's Claim - "Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery."
DA2 Codex: Forbidden Knowledge; Tarohne's Beginning - "The first of the magus cast themselves deep in the Fade in search of answers and power, always power. They found the forbidden ones — Xebenkeck, Imshael, Gaxkang the Unbound, and The Formless One. Many conversations were had and much of the fabric of the world revealed. And thus the magic of blood was born."
Assuming that "Their Pride will consume them" is a reference to Solas, then the discussion with him in Dragon Age Inquisition is also relevant to this point.
Solas: "...Using blood magic seems to make it more difficult to enter the Fade. You understand why I have never bothered to learn it. A shame, as it is extremely powerful, provided it remains a tool, not a crutch... nor a passion."
You know you’re DEEP into Solavellan Hell when an innocent Meme on Facebook gives you plot bunnies ^_^
Pride and his Vhenan....
@faerelden
“Just... Just stop, Solas!” Kita shouted, the winds swirling around them almost stealing the words, ripping them from her lips and dragging them across the half lowered veil.
It was like Solas had summoned a storm instead of lowering a veil, and chaos had begun erupting around them as people panicked and spirits clamored to the forefront with curiosity, only to be met with open hostility and fear.
"I can’t,” Solas said simply, and she would have thought him stubborn except for the pain in his eyes. ‘Another mistake’, his gaze said, another failure as he watched the spirits he so adored become baffled and confused by the world they had been separated from for too long.
“It’s too late, Vhenan, the process has started. I can’t stop, it’s impossible... Fenhedis...” the ancient elf cursed, hands lifted, shaking, and glowing green as he held the half cast spell. Neither completing it or releasing it, and Kita took a step closer, and then another, until she could lay a single gentle hand against the center of his back.
Solas’ head bowed, and his shoulders shook beneath her tender touch and Kita felt her breath catch when she spotted a single glistening tear trail it’s way along his cheek.
One last plea was all she had, so she stepped closer still, her other hand sliding along his arm, settling against his wrist just shy of the glowing green light of Solas’ spell.
Tagging forward to anyone who wants to take part, in addition to…
@rivainisomniari @lyrium-lavellan @schoute @perhapsrampancy @in-arlathan @solas-disapproves @pikapeppa @cornfedcryptid @skekiss @faerieavalon @elveny and @ranawaytothedas if you haven’t already done it :D
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As the glow settled in the palm of her hand, still painful and unstable, she began to suspect that Corypheus had seen it as corrupted because the anchor was no longer linked to the Foci of the Dread Wolf.
Lokita could use it and control it because it was hers, an extension of her own magic but wild and volatile and too much - too much - for a mortal body to contain.
Panting with the exertion needed to corral the anchor to her palm, and simply keep it there, her colourless eyes, lit green with the glow from her hand, widened in realisation, and the sweat dripping from her turned chill and cold.
She needed her own Foci.
Panic took her mind as she realised she had not even the faintest notion of how to craft such an item. One of the many things lost to the elves, the only person who might be able to help her had left her shattered heart behind him, and the pain mixed with the panic, letting her control slip and the anchor begin expanding once more.
My friend, @faerelden, and I rewrote the lyrics to ‘Arabian Nights’ from the 2019 Aladdin Remake, to fit in with the release of the new Dragon Age book, Tevinter Nights, coming out in March...
So, for your viewing pleasure, and my absolute embarassment.... The audio (in case you don’t know the song/tune) and the new Lyrics...
Oh, imagine a land, it's a faraway place,
Where the marvellous mages roam,
Where you wander among every culture and tongue,
It's chaotic, but hey, it's home.
When Elves move from the east,
And the Wardens from west,
And the Seheron sand is right,
Come on down, stop on by,
Hop a Griffon and fly,
To another Tevinter night.
As you wind through the streets, sneak the famous bazaars,
Between the elfoot-smelling stalls,
Catch the glint of a knife,
While you haggle the price,
Of the silken Magister shawls.
Oh, the music that plays as you slip through a maze,
In a haze of sand and sunlight.
You are caught in a dance, you are lost to a trance,
On another Tevinter night.
Tevinter nights, like Tevinter days,
More often than not are hotter than hot,
In a lot of good ways.
Tevinter nights, like Tevinter dreams,
This mystical land of magic and man,
Is more than it seems.
There's a road that may lead you to good or to greed,
Through the power your magic commands.
Let the darkness unfold or find fortunes untold,
Well, your destiny lies in your hands.
Tevinter nights, like Tevinter days,
They seem to excite, take off and take flight,
To shock and amaze.
Tevinter nights, 'neath Thedas' moons,
An Elf off his guard could fall and fall hard,
Out there on the dunes...
Additionally, if anyone would like to retweet it, I was encouraged to @ PatrickWeekes on Twitter with this Rofl... Link
And to join in with more crazy Dragon Age shenanigans, hop on over to our Dragon Age Discord, for creators of all types, Beyond The Veil.
@elveny -- Thank you for the tag!
Tagging forward to anyone who wants to take part, in addition to... @rivainisomniari @lyrium-lavellan @schoute @perhapsrampancy @in-arlathan @solas-disapproves @pikapeppa @cornfedcryptid @skekiss @faerieavalon and @ranawaytothedas if you haven’t already done it :D
~*~*~*~*~*~
He was gone. Solas had left through an Eluvian. Had promised to never forget her…
Something in her knew that it had been Fen'Harel who stepped out the other side, determined to do what he felt needed to be done, but Lokita didn't care about that.
The mark was killing her, but she didn't care about that either.
She'd done everything right; Formed the inquisition, led them to victory, loved Solas with every fiber of her being... it hadn't been enough, and now she was dying.
In an attempt not to overpower my Inquisitor in battles and fights, (since it’s the easiest thing in the world to overpower a magic-user character), I spent several hours figuring out which spells she knew, pulling from all the games, making any small edits for my Inquisitor’s backstory, and deciding when and under which circumstances she learnt them. WIP but I wanted to show my friend what I had so far...[Edit: This is taking forever to work out and type up *sobs*]
Natural Inclinations/Starter Spells
A) Veilfire - Age 6
Kita learnt Veilfire as her first spell by conversing with Spirits in the Fade. She only stopped speaking to the Spirits when the Keeper of her Clan finally realised the girl had magic, and began warning her of the dangers of Demons, forbidding the girl from interacting with the creatures of the Fade if she wished to stay with Clan Lavellan and her family.
She knows how to write with Veilfire, a skill thought lost to the ancient elves, but after her Keeper’s reaction to finding out she even knew how to cast the comparatively simple Veilfire flames, Kita has kept that piece of information a secret from everyone except her mother, and later her sister.
1) Winter’s Grasp - Age 7
The caster locks their target in a thin sheet of frost and ice. Some targets can be frozen solid, the smaller the target the higher the chance of it being frozen. The target gives off waves of cold that can cause discomfort in other nearby enemies. A frozen target takes additional shattering damage from a melee blow.
This was the first spell Kita cast outside of the Fade. Her mother would tell stories of how, when her daughter’s porridge was too hot, a small shower of snowflakes and frost would settle across it’s surface.
2) Cone of Cold - Age 9
Cone of cold produces a blast of ice in a 90 degree angle, with the caster as the point of origin, reaching out 4 meters (13ft). Cone of Cold is more effective against larger targets than Winter’s Grasp, but similarly to Winter’s Grasp, Cone of Cold can freeze targets causing them to give off waves of cold that cause discomfort to nearby enemies, and take additional shattering damage from melee attacks. Cone of Cold can also be used to freeze environments such as stones, puddles or put out fires.
Kita used to use this spell to create paths across ponds, or to create small area’s covered in snow for her baby sister, Nel, to play in.
3) Chain Lightning - Age 11
A bolt of lightning hits a target of the caster’s choice within 2 meters (6ft). It then splits into two (2) bolts, each jumping to another target, within 2 meters (6ft) of the First Target, and doing half the original amount of damage. Each of those secondary bolts then splits into two (2) more bolts, jumping to different target, within 2 meters (6ft) of the Second Targets, and doing a quarter of the original damage.
Overall, Chain Lightning can hit a maximum of seven (7) targets, and 300% of the base spell damage.
Kita learnt this spell instinctively after watching a bolt of lightning hit a tree in the Emerald Graves during a summer storm. The hot and muggy weather that followed the rainfall brought many biting insects to the clan’s camp, and after growing tired of batting the offending creatures away from herself and her sister, she sent small sparks of chain lightning at the insects.
4) Hand of Winter - Age 13
Hand of Winter sends of a blast of ice and snow in every direction for 7.5 meters (24ft), with the caster as the point of origin. Since this direction also includes up and down, this spell can be used to partially freeze lakes, or create a floating glacier-like structure. It is almost guaranteed to freeze any living target in it’s path, unless the target is a magic user of exceptional will themselves, able to resist and overcome the spells effects through sheer willpower.
When Kita was twelve (12) years old, she fell through the ice on a lake and drowned. Her five (5) year old sister, Nel, summoned spirits that lifted her sister from the icy lake, and resurrected her by guiding her departed spirit back to her body from beyond the veil. For almost a full year after the event, Kita practiced her ice based spells over and over. They grew stronger, but not enough that she felt safe enough to use them crossing lakes and ponds as she had as a child, until her mana exploded in a wave of ice cold. She learnt Hand of Winter through practice and determination, and with a stubborn desire to no longer be afraid of the water. While her spellcasting was a success, Kita still doesn’t love water above her waist, or swimming in water where her feet can’t reach the bottom.
5) Telekinetic Burst - Age 15
A simple defensive spell, Telekinetic Burst sends out a wave of magical energy, with the caster as the point of origin. Anyone within 1.5 meters (5ft) of the caster is either stunned and left staggering, or physically knocked back by up to 3 meters (10ft). The strength of the blast is determined by the spellcaster’s willpower, and the amount of mana thrown into the spell.
Kita and Nel often explored the area’s near where the Clan camped, running off alone in the Brecilian Forest or exploring the grasslands of the Exalted Plains. On one such occasion, they stumbled upon a group of hunters who didn’t take kindly to the teenage elf or her eight (8) year old sister, threatening to cut off their ears or send them to the nearest Alienage. Desperate to get the grown men, with weapons, away from herself and her sister, Kita’s will manifested in the form of a Telekinetic Burst, giving the two girls the chance to run and lose the hunters in the wilderness. She had to tell her grandmother, Keeper Deshana, about the encounter and the Clan moved on quickly, but it did bring about the Keeper’s decision to officially name Kita as her First.
Keeper Taught - Learned as the Clan's First
Chosen to be the Keeper’s First at Age 16, Kita spent a year learning how to use a Mage Staff correctly. The Keeper refused to teach her any new spells until she could manipulate a staff as a weapon in it’s own right as well as being able to pass her small repertoire of spells through the wood correctly. Kita shattered many training staves, before learning to regulate the flow of her mana.
B) Arcane Bolt
One of the first lessons Deshana gave Kita was how to use a staff to form an Arcane Bolt.
An Arcane Bolt can be used even when a caster’s mana is near depleted because it relies less on the caster’s mana, and more on the power infused in whichever Rune is crafted into the Mage Staff. While it needs a mage to activate the Rune, it draws power from the energy infused in it’s crafted form, not the mages abilities.
Because the spell doesn’t draw from the caster’s mana, it’’s ability to cause damage is weak, but it’s range is exceptional. Able to hit a target up to 30 meters (100ft) away, the Arcane Bolt is best used on either a retreating enemy, or as a way to redirect an enemies attention away from an injured companion. Arcane Bolt is also useful in teaching a young mage accurate aim, casting techniques and staff movements, because there is little chance of them causing damage with a miscast Arcane Bolt.
1) Spellbloom - Age 18
Spellbloom creates a sphere of revitalizing energy that can span up to 10 meters (32ft) in diameter, with the caster as the point of origin. When touched by this restorative energy, mages find their mana pool replenishing faster, and fighters find their stamina bolstered, while the weary traveller might find the strength to continue their trek for several more hours.
One of the first spells Keeper Deshana taught Kita, this spell is a staple of Dalish Clan life. Sometimes the Clan is not in a position to stop and make camp when the Halla are tired, or their warriors begin to flag, and the Spellbloom spell allows the Clan to continue on until they can find a safe place to spend the night.
2) Energy Barrage - Age 20
This spell sends a group of small orbs of magical energy at up to four (4) targets. Energy Barrage produces no less than eight balls of energy that attack either a single target, or up to a maximum of four random targets, depending on the caster’s intention. The maximum number of energy sphere’s created is determined by the strength of the caster, and the amount of mana poured into the spell making this a potentially draining cast.
For a Circle Trained mage, the magical energy takes the form of whichever elemental type their staff is crafted to best attune to. In the case of a Dalish Elf or an Apostate Mage, whose (often makeshift) staves have no such elemental alignment, the energy takes it’s type from the power-type that the mage is most proficient in.
In Kita’s case, this spell takes the form of a mixture of lightning & ice blasts. This is unusual, and after spotting the puzzled expression on her grandmother’s face at the sight of the two elements mixing, Kita limits this particular spell to Lightning only. It uses more of her mana to limit it in this way, but to the teenager, it was worth the additional effort to avoid standing out.
3) Fist of the Maker aka Veilstrike - Age 22
This spell, known as the ‘Fist of the Maker’ among Circle Trained Mages, is taught primarily in the Circles located in the Free Marches. An elf who escaped the circle taught Deshana, and Kita, the spell in exchange for being allowed to stay with the Clan.
Fist of the Maker draws energy from the veil, and uses the force to slam enemies against the ground. The spell can target a single enemy for massive damage, or span an area 4 meters (13ft) in diameter to stun all targets caught in the area of effect.
Kita first used this spell in battle when the Clan stumbled across a nest of corrupted spiders in the Brecilian Forest a couple of years after the end of the 5th blight. In an attempt to stop the spiders overwhelming the Clan’s warriors, and potentially infecting them with the blight, she used Fist of the Maker to crush the arachnids, the force of the spell shattering the creature’s legs and stopping their advancement.
Once Kita begins discussing magic with Solas post-Conclave, she discovers that, among Apostates, and Rift Mages, this spell is also known as Veilstrike. Since Kita has no affiliation with the Andrastian faith, she begins referring to the spell by the much more neutral name.
4) Stinging Swarm - Age 24
Stinging Swarm summons a cloud of stinging insects that converge in an area of approximately 2 meters (6.5ft) in diameter, attacking any enemies within that space. If the mages will falters, the swarm will disperse harmlessly.
Another staple of Dalish Keeper’s, this spell is often used to fend off local wildlife, such as wolf packs or gurguts. Most animals will leave an area where a wasp nest resides for a few days before venturing back, and this often allows a Clan to camp safely without having to put the clans hunters at risk.
Once Kita meets, and gets to know, Sera she often helps the young elf play pranks by summoning swarms of bee’s for Sera to bottle up. When Sera claims not to remember how she got bee’s inside of Commander Cullen’s training dummy, it was to keep Kita’s involvement in the prank a secret.
5) Fade Shroud - Age 26
Fade Shroud is an advanced version of the spell Arcane Shield. While the Arcane Shield uses mana to deflect incoming attacks, increasing a mages chances at avoiding weapon attacks and projectiles, Fade Shroud allows the mage to briefly become spirit-like and incorporeal.
Kita finds this easier than funnelling her magic into a physical barrier that deflects attacks, and when Deshana questions her about the unusual technique, Kita describes it as pressing up against the sail of a ship that is blown full with a strong breeze. You can press against it, and into it, but the veil is constantly pushing back to force you out again, which is why Fade Shroud can only be used in short bursts of up to five (5) minutes at a time. While active, however, the rush of energy from the Fade energizes the mage and replenishes their pool of mana.
6) Nature’s Blades - Age 29
Vines grow up from the ground, wrapping around the caster’s ankles and immobilizing them for the duration of the spell. Additionally, thorny vines then sprout from the ground for 4.5 meters (15ft) in all directions, with the caster as the point of Origin. Enemies caught within this field can be knocked back up to 10 meters (32ft). Any enemies not knocked away from the caster by this spell have to contend with reduced maneuverability, and the constant slicing attacks of the sharp thorns as the vines whip at and wrap around enemies within the spell’s range.
This is a spell that Kita created herself. It is a blend of the ‘One With Nature’ and ‘Thornblades’ spells that Keeper Deshana attempted to teach her. To this day the Keeper still believes that Kita simply casts the two spells in quick succession, and only Nel is aware that her sister crafted an entirely new spell to merge the two magical attacks.
7) Lightning Bolt - Age 31
A powerful lightning strike arcs down from the sky striking a single target, causing massive damage and paralysing the target for up to a minute. Up to four enemies within 2 meters (6.5ft) of the target can be blasted away from the target by up to 4 meters (13ft) from the force of the Lightning Strike.
When news reached the Clan about the Chantry of Kirkwall being blown up by an apostate mage, Keeper Deshana encourages Kita to study the Lightning Bolt spell. In addition to causing damage, and stunning an enemy, Lightning Spells also drain a warrior’s energy (stamina) and the Keeper wanted her First to be able to defend against potential attacks from Templars or Town Guards now on the lookout for Apostate Mages.
Learned Throughout Inquisition
1) Barrier - Age 32
3) Fireball/Flashfire - Age 32
4) Crushing Prison - Age 34
5) Lightning Cage - Age 34
Specialization Spells - Rift Mage & The Anchor
1) Stonefist/Fadefist - Age 32
2) Pull of the Abyss/Devouring Veil - Age 32
3) Mark of the Rift (Open Small Rifts in Inquisition/Parts the Veil post Trespasser) - Age 32, 34 & 36
4) Aegis of the Rift - Age 36
5) Magical Discharge (Weaker post Trespasser/Uses Mana not the Mark) - Age 36
Post Trespasser/Arbor Blessing
1) Blizzard - Age 36+
2) Tempest - Age 36+
3) Firestorm - Age 36+
4) Custom Spell - foci based magic TBD - Age 36+
5) Custom Spell - foci based magic TBD - Age 36+
Link to Kita’s Masterpost
I was tagged by @solas-disapproves (Consider yourself tagged back :D) last week, and have been carefully keeping track of the days to make sure I didn’t miss joining in!
Also tagging @faerelden, if you have anything in progress <3
The mage bolt ripped through Solas’ people without warning, screams of agony, and death cries rose up and Kita’s head whipped around to stare across the village, crystalline eyes seeking out the cause of the chaos.
She had expected a demon. They were rare now, but not entirely eradicated. She did not expect to see an elvhen woman almost glowing with power.
“Solas…” she warned, her voice soft and low despite the urgency there and the elf beside her offered a small sound of acknowledgement, drawing her gaze back to his spellcasting.
It only took her a moment to figure out where he was up to and to realise that Solas couldn’t stop. If he let the spell loose now, it would crash the veil down all at once, flooding the area with demons. Combined with the threat the Evanuris now represented, it could decimate both their forces, and Kita bit her lip, mind seeking out a solution.
“Who-”
“Andruil,” Solas answered quickly, and Kita felt her breath catch, “Evacuate everyone,” Solas said, storm-cloud eyes settling on her briefly before he refocussed his attention and Kita nodded, heart in her throat.
The last thing she wanted to do was leave his back unguarded but Nel and Cullen were there somewhere, and there were dozens of unarmed villagers-
Another round of screams went up when a new bolt of magical energy blew through their people and Kita didn’t hesitate again.
She ran for the evacuation point, shooting a bolt of green veil fire into the sky as she went, the signal for both Fen’Harel’s people and her own to get the village clear if something went wrong.
