Okay 👁👁 I realized this, but magic is never seen being utilized for shipping food in Thedas. tbh this applies to a lot of fantasy worlds with magic. But specifically rn for DA. Could they possibly be using winter magic to make pseudo refrigeration?
ELLIE. I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED. (I have thought about this and its like a big thing in my dnd setting but that's not what you're here for.)
So, I really dug into this for Dragon Age (and later my dnd setting) when I fell down this rabbit hole in the early days of working on Thedas Cookery - and its also in my milk meta as well as the whole meta/headcanons I have about Orzammar's importing of food but those are entirely different posts.
Food preservation in shipping food and the possibility of some form of refrigeration in Thedas: there is a simple and a complex answer to this.
Simple answer is yes, there is magic that could be used in food preservation and shipping of food. However, it isn't strictly winter magic. The other option is the preservation glyph in the creation school of magic (this comes up in the ttrpg). If you stick with just winter magic, the creation of ice that will slowly melt naturally and sticking it in a root cellar, basement, shipping box, etc. is a possible use of magic for preservation.
Now the complex answer. Sort of, in a very yes it is possible in theory but logistically for most of Thedas it cannot be utilized because it is so expensive and people are both rationally and irrationally afraid of magic.
But for the most part the main barrier would be cost. Hiring a mage from a circle is expensive, and really the only people who would be able to do so regularly are those in Tevinter, Rivain, the Crows, Dalish, Chasind, Avvar, or those with the means to do so. And if they don't get a mage and instead spring for dwarven enchantment (or circle enchantment), that is also prohibitively expensive and limited in availability.
In The Masked Empire, Celene has a tea pot that keeps her tea at the right temp constantly. It is a dwarven enchantment that while common in Orzammar's nobility and higher socioeconomic castes, it is so expensive Celene notes that if she were not empress she likely would not be able to enjoy such a thing.
Enchantments in general are expensive and are a display of wealth and power. Which is why Tevinter and Orlais use it for a lot of public spaces to show off the wealth and power of their countries. But it isn't just the specialized labor that makes these expensive, but also the rare/dangerous materials.
So what about the glyph I mentioned? Well, the creation school of magic is one of the hardest schools of magic to learn and master. So already it becomes another specialized skill that has a limit on who can perform it. In the ttrpg, the glyph has this description:
You draw a faint glyph on the surface of the subject, which can be any piece of dead organic material. The spell arrests the process of decay for the material, keeping it as fresh as it was when the glyph was inscribed for a month. A glyph of preservation can be renewed during its duration, which extends its affects for another month. When the glyph expires the process of decay begins again from where it left off. The spell is used to preserve foodstuffs, to preserve corpses (for lying in state or dissection), or to protect valuable items made of wood, paper, or leather.
So, the ttrpg does specify that foodstuffs counts as "dead" but on a technical level unless it is meat or other animal byproducts we know this isn't true. (See the potato you put in the dark and forget about and you come back to it having arms and legs.) But lets just say for the sake of this that plant based foods are also "dead". This means that you can preserve a crate of tomatoes or a cluster of mushrooms, etc. Unless of course it only applies to dried/preserved food stuff and animal byproducts (meat, dairy, eggs, ect.). But this is my quibbling.
All that said, the fact only a mage skilled in creation magic can do so decreases the availability of its use. It means that while yes, Tevinter or Rivain could easily use this to ship to other nations. Dalish, Avvar, and Chasind could also use this glyph - or even have a modified version of it since they do not practice circle magic and all magic we are exposed to is either circle magic or enchantment/lyrium based.
(Except for the Dragon Age Multiplayer (DAMP) where we get to see a skill tree of non-circle magic aka "hedge magic".)
So non-circle mages may have access to a different methodology or be barred from that vein of magic due to the inherent differences of circle magic and non-circle magic. (This brings up a whole other conversation on the magic lore of Thedas that the game doesn't quite go into outside of codex and I think it is some of the best lore. But I'm weird.)
So TLDR:
Absolutely there is preservation magic for foodstuff. It just is an actual handy glyph. BUT you could use winter magic as a way to make ice out of season to increase the viability of food and create a sort of refrigeration.
4. Which one of your ocs do you wish people would pay more attention to?
I think people give my ocs the same amount of attention that I put out. If that makes sense. I think, for example, people gravitate to Kendis a lot because I talk about them most.
I will say I would like for my other twc MCs to get more focus. Because though I don't talk about them near as much as I do Kendis [especially of late], I do talk about them. Pierre and Val in particular.
I'd like my non-twc MCs to get love to, so that's why I'm gonna try and put out the effort of giving my infamous and fhr mcs focus while everyone's hyped on those. As you can see I am already planning ;-D [... just hope I follow through lol]
And if there are any people want to know more about, my inbox is always open.
9. Which of your ocs do you think you would get along with best in real life?
I think my positive but chill OCs. Like Lala Sandoval (infamous/blooming panic) and Ariel Centofanti (original). Characters that are easy-going but really enjoy life. They're not pushy about it, or in general [though Ariel has moments].
I think I could get along Alana Carita (infamous/bloomic/etc) or Bethany Josnel Coleman (infamous), they're both reserved without being cold. Distant yet respectful.
11. Do you have an oc "type?" (AKA, are there any design or characterization trends that you notice popping up amongst your characters?)
Looks-wise, I think it is rare for my MCs to have straight hair. Not like non-existent, but at least they have wavy hair. Though the curlier the better.
Personality-wise ... stubbornness? LOL. I dig loyalty. I am a sucker for the various ways loyalty can manifest, and am partial to 'let the world burn for you' types.
I don't think I've ever had a disloyal character. Even if that loyalty extends to just one person or ideal outside of themself.
I try not to make Loyalty a theme but somehow it ends up slipping in, very often.
This is a very good question. I should ponder it more, lol.
Thanks for the asks!
Which one of your ocs would you want to dress like if you could get away with it?
Which one of your ocs *actually *dresses the most similarl
random lol. top 5 soups (if you don't like soups then top 5 comfort foods)
I had this split pea soup once that no other soup has ever lived up to. It was at a wedding, I wish I had the audacity and the foresight to realize I would never have something that good again so I should have asked for the recipe. Alas, hindsight my nemesis.
I suppose chicken soup - particularly with veggies [like celery and carrots, not the more gross ones].
Tomato soup, even tho it gives me The GERD.
Soup Joumou, except with chicken!
Pho.
thanks for the ask, pumpkin!
put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go
For Ismeria po mostly but if you want you can blab another oc too :)
hi ellie! thank you for the ask kaibigan 💓
2. Are there any physical traits that are common among your OCs?
sharp cheekbones 🔪 and a JUICY booty
also jet black hair, full lips, and ethnic noses!
3. Are there any personality traits that are common among your OCs?
they all tend to be creative 🎨 i’ve gifted my ocs with skills in writing, dancing, cooking, music, painting, anddd photography
they also all tend to be good leaders even though their styles can vastly differ. my ocs all have grand values and causes that they're passionate enough to kill for 🤪 i can have a little rage fantasy. as a treat 🧁
lastly they're all absolute sluts 🤭
16. Do you have any OCs who you mostly just like for the design, rather than personality or story?
i'm a writer so all my characters have pretty robust foundations is personality and story! in terms of design though one of my faves is my jjk sorcerer, miya 🌸 she's my jocky pastel time traveling femme dream girl 🙂↕️
