Dagna, Lyrium and Sola's Magic - the Inquisitor's Prosthetic
Dragon Age Headcanon (Inquisitor Lavellan - Mage):
Dagna designed and built the Inquisitor’s prosthetic. She already had plenty of insight into the Inquisitor’s biology, unique magical signature and the Anchor from her earlier studies in the Inquisition. As an arcanist, with expertise in lyrium and enchantments, there was no one more suited to this task than her. (Well, maybe Sandal but who knows where he is.)
Solas’s ancient elven magic is incredibly powerful. His foci (the orb) was to be the tool that would allow him to enter the Fade and tear it down. The Anchor, which was created as a result of the Inquisitor wielding that foci - allowed the Inquisitor to open and close Fade rifts - a mark powered by Solas' magic. Mages already can tap into the Fade to use magic, I reason that opening and closing Fade rifts for as long as she did, with ancient elven power coursing through her, allowed her to also absorb the energies of the Fade itself through the Anchor. For almost three years, the Anchor was part of the Inquisitor, becoming intertwined with their very biology. Even though Solas stabilized it and eventually removed it, it is highly plausible that traces of his power also remained in the Inquisitor’s body.
The key to this prosthetic was lyrium. Lyrium bridges the gap between the Fade and the world - Solas also crafted his body from lyrium so his power is lyrium aligned. I think Dagna used lyrium in such a way that it created a prosthetic that could channel Fade energy even more intensely and even enhance the Inquisitor’s magic.
I like to think that Dagna embedded enchantments that mimicked some of the Anchor’s lost abilities, such as sealing rifts or dispelling magic. The prosthetic is now the Inquisitor’s staff – they no longer need to carry one around.
And this prosthetic stays in place because of those energies. I imagine Dagna found a way to align the lyrium in the prosthetic to resonate with the residual magic left by Solas, creating something like an ethereal signature or a magical magnetic field. If lyrium has a song (vibration), then Solas' magic has its own vibration (song) and Dagna aligned those vibrations to sync.
If the prosthetic is somehow dislodged, it snaps back into place like a magnet returning to its field, keeping the prosthetic in sync with the Inquisitor’s body.
And because Dagna is Dagna, she made some enhancements along the way, carving glyphs and adding runes to keep the prosthetic stabilized, powerful and aligned with the Inquisitor’s biology, magical energy and the effect of Solas' magic.
This is why Inquisitor Lavellan is equipped to enter the Fade with Solas during his atonement. The energies of the Fade already exists within her (because of Solas).
I imagine Solas being fascinated by this design, studying it in the Fade, asking Lavellan questions around it.
I love Dagna. I want a DLC now with Cole, Sandal AND Dagna. Throw in Sera for good measure.
*This still works for a non-mage Inquisitor Lavellan - because Solas' magic and the energies of the Fade would still be swirling around in their body even if they weren't a mage.
With lyrium - a volatile, powerful, and immensely potent mineral - the blood of the mighty Titans. Alive with the songs of these colossal beings.
I’ve been reflecting on the process of body crafting through lyrium and how the spirits of ancient times may have undertaken this transformation. I’ll attempt to walk through my thoughts and imagination on this process as clearly as possible.
First and most importantly, the spirits had to be willing.
Commitment to Manifestation
The Dragon Age: Veilguard artbook tells us spirits observed dwarves and wanted to create bodies for themselves.
Emmrich confirms their willingness.
Before the Veil existed, spirits roamed freely alongside life and creation. The Fade was as much a part of the physical world as a blade of grass.
Because lyrium is such a powerful medium, I think it required absolute harmony between its energy and the spirit’s essence to create form. Spirits unwilling to engage with lyrium likely faced horrible consequences.
"I am not certain the spirit would have talked so freely had it been shackled at the time." - Spirit of Wisdom codex
We have no idea of the number of spirits that willingly took form. I'm sure the very first elves may have tried to force other spirits early on but would have realised quickly that was not the way to do it. Spirits possess a core essence that can only remain intact if not 'shackled'. Forced transformations likely resulted in failure - maybe warped, demented forms or even the death of the spirit. Over time, the first elves (Evanuris) logically refined their methods, learning to seek willing participants.
Mythal would have required her closest ally - Solas - to choose to take physical form. Only through his willingness could his wisdom remain intact and fully realized.
And though he was persuaded by Mythal, his choice still mattered because it required commitment to the transformation process. And that commitment is evident in the very form he crafted.
While it may seem shallow (and biased), I believe the strength and pleasing aesthetic of his form reflects the deliberate and purposeful choice he made. The elegance and grace of his physicality speaks to the completeness of his decision.
As spirit he merged with lyrium, manifesting a physical form that was personal and true to his core essence. How?
Through frequency.
Lyrium's Song - Spirit Meets Frequency
We know that lyrium has a song and songs have frequencies. And each Titan likely has their own unique song.
We have abundant evidence in real-world science of the power of vibrations and frequencies. Specific frequencies can influence the body’s physical and emotional states. Studies suggest that DNA itself may act as a resonant structure, capable of responding to and emitting frequencies. The field of cymatics explores how sound waves interact with matter, forming patterns in sand, water, and other substances.
This process of spirit aligning with frequency required two key elements, which Solas himself describes in Inquisition:
Will: Agency, determination, and intent were essential to stabilize and successfully complete the transformation.
Personality: The traits and characteristics of his spirit shaped his body, creating a vessel that fully reflected his identity.
As a spirit of Wisdom, Solas’s deliberate engagement with lyrium's song shaped an elven form that exudes poise, intellect, and composure. His commanding stature, sharp features, strong jawline, and lion-like profile embody wisdom and pride. His appearance is a reflection of his essence, imbued with the qualities that made him who he is.
Perhaps this connection to frequency-based manifestation explains why Solas writes and plays music. His affinity for music (and art) could be an intrinsic part of his nature, tied to his mastery of vibration and transformation. And why he uses it as a form of introspection and ultimately, healing. (The purring of cats is believed to function as a form of vibrational self-healing.)
To explain this process of spirit and frequency more scientifically (or as scientifically as Thedas and my brain allow), here is how I imagine this:
Vibration: A frequency (sound wave) is introduced to a medium - in this case, the song of lyrium is introduced to a spirit.
Resonance: The vibration causes the medium to resonate, aligning the frequency of the lyrium’s song with the core essence of the spirit. This resonance allows the spirit’s energy to harmonize with lyrium.
Pattern Formation: As the vibration stabilizes, patterns emerge. These patterns shape the physical form, translating the spirit’s metaphysical essence into tangible reality.
Their corporeal form is created.
Alignment of Frequency to Specific Spirit
A single song does not contain just one frequency - it is a symphony of harmonics and vibrations.
This brings us to the Titans themselves. How many Titans were there? Do we know their exact number?
What if each Titan, as a being, carried its own distinct song? Their blood - lyrium - would reflect these individual songs, producing wildly varying frequencies and harmonics.
The diversity of these frequencies within lyrium could explain the unique forms and characteristics of the spirits who chose to manifest.
Each spirit, drawn to different vibrational pulls, hears and responds to a distinct frequency that mirrors its nature. For example:
Spirit of Command: This spirit might be drawn to a powerful, or a sharp, commanding frequency in lyrium.
Spirit of Wisdom: A spirit of Wisdom might hear a steady, intricate melody composed of overlapping tones. This frequency might be soothing, layered, and complex.
Spirit of Compassion: This spirit might engage with a soft, enveloping melody, a frequency the exudes warmth and tenderness.
But where would this be accomplished?
Lyrium Rooms of Transformation
One particular location discovered during Trespasser may offer insights into this process.
Screenshot from @rusya-pics
In Trespasser, there is a room filled with sarcophagi found in the Deep Roads. This enigmatic chamber, submerged with water after the Inquisitor triggers the gatlock to escape, holds intriguing clues.
The room has the sarcophagi arranged in line with what appears to be a pool or well which is connected to a river or deep path of lyrium.
Behind a balustrade and below, they see a huge hall with high ceiling filled with stone coffers containing lyrium. (Dragon Age Wiki)
What if this chamber is located within an actual Titan? The open well in the center could be a direct link to the Titan's veins - allowing pure lyrium to flow into the chamber, feeding the sarcophagi directly. The sarcophagi's purpose may be to contain a spirit and fill it with lyrium.
And if you have Cole with you when you first come across these?
Cole:They're all singing. Coffers, coffins, corpses that aren't dead. A song crying out in the dark.
What if he is referring to the interruption of these spirits forming into bodies? What if these coffins contain spirits trapped in an unending stasis and torment, within the lyrium?
By flooding the chamber, we may have ended their unfinished state, finally setting them free. A disturbing thought, considering how long those coffins might have been there.
I've read theories that suggest these sarcophagi might have been used by ancient elves for Uthenera. However, nothing in my research suggests that lyrium is necessary for elves entering this state of restful preservation.
Lastly, I want to talk about Solas' Dread Wolf form.
The Dread Wolf – Not a Demon but Vibrational Shifting
Solas and the ancient elves were made from lyrium, their own magic and power is lyrium based. Then it follows that their ability to shapeshift might also stem from this vibrational effect - a power reserved for the gods and one that Solas learned to master - if we are to believe this codex is about him (which I talk about in more detail in this post).
What if the Dread Wolf form is not a demonic aspect of Solas’ wisdom but instead a manifestation of his mastery over the vibrational frequencies of his unique lyrium song? Could this process be similar to how Ghilan’nain shaped her creations, using resonance and frequency to craft their forms?
Did Ghilan’nain, with her unparalleled understanding of creation, play a role in helping Solas craft this powerful and deliberate shape for himself? A power that was supposed to only be for the 'gods'?
I feel like I'm only scratching the surface of so much potential regarding these ancient times and beings. I love how these new revelations in Veilguard keep that little itch in my brain going.
Am I missing anything? Is there anything lyrium based that should be considered?
The Shaperate treats lyrium as a living record, a vessel of knowledge that no parchment or stone could match.
To those who can hear it, lyrium hums with a melody both ancient and sorrowful - a song of what once was and what was severed.
Solas crafted his body with lyrium.
He is not just the last of his people - he is the last who can hear them. If the hymns of the past linger in lyrium, then every ruin he walks through is a place where past and present exist at once.
Perhaps that is why music is so important to him. Music allows him to shape a memory into the present, to take something lost and make it exist now. He composes not to relive what was, but to remake it.
In Veilguard, a duet is left behind.
I interpret this codex through the lens of memory (like everything in Veilguard) – I believe Solas composed this long after Mythal died – he composed it with her in mind, remembering her. In the codex, what is described is a diligent practice, the ruthless attention to mistakes, the relentless pursuit of perfection - these are the habits of a man who cannot afford to let a memory slip. It had to be captured exactly as it was, not for an audience, but for the sake of preserving it as truthfully as possible.
Perhaps it is not just about remembering, but about feeling it - letting the song resonate within him as something living, something real. As a being crafted from lyrium, music is the closest he can come to experiencing the past as it was.
So he composes and plays, not just to recall, but to let the harmony take shape again, to let the echoes of what once was rise within him, resonating through his very being, as if, for a moment, it is not lost.
When he absorbed Mythal’s fragment from Flemeth - he took in a piece of her song - a lingering resonance that still hums within him. And so he writes this as a duet, not just because he remembers, but because he can still hear her and he’s combining their frequencies, their harmonies reaching for something...
Then, finally, the memory surfaces:
“A smiling glance, meeting at a crescendo; a shared moment of understanding; seeing completely, and being wholly seen.”
This is the moment he is reaching for - not the music, but the understanding they once had, when they were not burdened by what they had become. When they simply were. He recreates that feeling, perhaps to find peace for a brief time, perhaps to ease his loneliness.
But then - the impressions fade.
The music always comes to an end.
However complicated, however fraught their relationship was, it mattered. It shaped him, tangled in all his regrets, bound up in the choices that led him here. And so long as he carries her fragment, he remains tied to her - to her song.
Until she frees him – and he can relinquish that song once and for all.
