Inspired by this little post from Dreadblaidd - I've been going through codices on the halla, wolves and the beasts of Thedas recently so it was nice and timely.
After the Veil, I’m sure any creature with even a trace of the old world could sense there was something unusual - even dangerous - about Solas. But what I've been pondering on is that I don't necessarily think they would fear him. It would be fascinating to imagine what animals might reveal if we could glimpse their thoughts when he was near, especially those species that existed before the Veil, like the halla, and even the wolves. We know the wolves existed pre-Veil, given that Solas was named by Elgar’nan himself as 'Wolf'. (That in itself is fascinating - what were the wolves like at the time for Elgar’nan to give such a name to Solas? Did Solas and the wolves already share a bond that others recognized? And where did the wolves come from in the first place - were they Ghilan’nain’s work, or did they exist long before her creations? We know werewolves exist - how did they first come to be? How might Solas be connected to werewolves? He does shape shift into the Dread Wolf himself. So many questions that will require another post down the road.)
As the codices say, the halla have their own god, their own will, and will not suffer insult. They are proud, independent, and answer only to those they choose to trust. In that, they are not unlike Solas - fiercely self-governing, unwilling to bend to another’s will, yet capable of loyalty but only on their own terms. That tie to ancient times means that even now, after the Veil, they might recognise him with weary recognition rather than instinctive fear.
And there is this codex: on the second day of Ghilan’nain’s culling, when she turned to drown the giants of the sea, she spared those too well-wrought because Pride stayed her hand. If that Pride was Solas, then the great sea-beasts of that age owed their survival to him. What modern sea life in Thedas might still carry some faint instinct of that memory?
It’s before the Veil that really sparks my curiosity. If Solas could unite both elves and spirits in his rebellion against the Evanuris, it’s not far-fetched to think he might also have rallied the great creatures of the time. The Evanuris’ hunger for power and disregard for life not under their domain would have threatened far more than their own people and spirits - it would have endangered the beasts of that ancient age.
We know the Evanuris exploited and altered their own kind, binding some into service as lyrium knights. If they were willing to bind and alter elves in such a way, who’s to say they didn’t also try to bind animals to them in the same manner? The great war-beasts of their age could have been targets for domination, their strength twisted into another weapon of the court. That possibility makes the survival of other creatures even more significant. If the halla fought beside the Emerald Knights and their wolf companions later in history, it might have been part of a much older tradition, one rooted in creatures who refused the Evanuris’ chains and instead chose their allies. (Not me just wanting a big huge battle with elves, spirits and creatures battling against the Evanuris and their ilk - like the battle from The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe).
The Veil fractured so much - the world, its magic, and Solas himself. Perhaps that's why, during DAI, the wolves are driven mad more so than other animals we're shown in the game. They aren't just reacting to the Breach, being vulnerable to demonic control - they are so closely tied to the Dread Wolf, who in that moment is more disconnected from everything than he has ever been. Interesting symbolism. And how sad to think the halla may retain a collective memory back to these ancient times when they fought alongside wolves, but the wolves in their fracture, don't.
All of this makes me wonder about Solas’ relationship to animals in general. In many ways, animals are like spirits - guided by instinct and emotion. They sense the true nature of a being in a way that mortals can't. One of my favourite things when meeting someone new who has a dog is to watch how the dog is - it tells me more about the person than the person ever could. I imagine the same would be true for creatures around Solas, and for him around them.