there is So Much that compels me about solrook, but i think one of my favorite aspects is that rook sees the worst parts of solas
his regrets, of course, but also him. the way he behaves, the way he betrays them, and betrays them, and betrays them again-
like ofc the inky sees this too. but what they see of solas is so much gentler, barring the route where he hates them. and they know him for so much longer than rook does, see so many different sides to him, have him by their side in battle, rely on his wisdom
he betrays them, too. he's lied to them the whole time. he's manipulated them and the world. but i think it's somewhat easier for the inky to find something in him that is worth pursuing, to try and stop him without trying to destroy him
but rook? he shows his worst face to rook. he is cruel, dismissive, condescending. he's brutal. and at the same time, they're seeing under the armor, they're seeing the deepest regrets of a man who is fundamentally shaped by his regrets
i just think a rook who chooses him after all that - in whatever way - is so compelling
now, of course he's not just shitty to/around rook. they see moments of vulnerability, and he does work to help them. a rook who chooses certain dialogue options implies that they wanted to trust him and be trusted by him, that they valued the time they worked together, that they wanted to earn his respect
and as much as an inky pursuing him romantically after Everything would shock him, i think a rook pursuing him romantically would shock him even more. he wouldn't trust it. couldn't trust it. until he does, and he realizes that someone who saw the worst of him still chose him, not out of ignorance, not out of naivete, but because they saw something worthwhile in him despite everything
it's the end. the way solas strokes their hand. the way he begs them to stand down, to let it happen
it's the way he is so, so desperate to not kill them
and, well. most of u probably know my feelings re: the canonicity of supplementary materials (books, comics, etc.), so as with all that supplementary canon i hold this in a kinda... quantum state of true-and-false simultaneously, but... felassan
solas and felassan were so close
and solas kills him
so, rook. why does he not kill rook? it would be so easy
but there's an element of this that cannot, in my opinion, be overstated. to disregard its impact is to miss a huge amount of solas' emotional state in this game: rook means so much to solas
rook is his ONLY connection to the outside world for the entire time he's imprisoned. for a game that is about hope in so many ways, rook is notably solas' only hope - and it is a brutal kind of hope, using them, manipulating them. but it is still worth pointing out that, for solas, while he is existing in the regret prison, rook is his symbol of hope
as well as his hope, rook is his only connection to reality, his only reprieve from regret and memory. when rook is not talking to him, he's being drowned in his deepest regrets again and again and again. relentlessly. because he is brutal, when he feels he needs to be. thus, the prison would be brutal, unyielding, and exacting
now, ppl talk about solas in that prison as though it did nothing for him. but i don't think that's true at all. i think it's a factor - one of many - that allows him to set aside his long-standing goals (other crucial factors include: the inquisitor; rook; varric; mythal; and a significant change in circumstances with all the evanuris now dead)
he has always been steeped in his regrets, we know that. but he has also set them aside. whether the murals were a way to bury his regrets, to imbue them in art and apart from himself, to feel them less, is iirc implied but still uncertain, bc dragon age as a series has long been predicated on narrative uncertainty. but either way, he is able to avoid dwelling on his regrets overmuch - whether through ridding himself of them, or through focusing on action, goals, etc.
but in the prison, he cannot avoid them. and upon his escape, i think he does not want another regret. he cannot avoid the weight of them any longer, and they are heavy
he does not want to kill rook, because he does not want to regret killing rook. is this selfish? of course! a part of it IS about him wanting to spare his own feelings. but another part is that he knows that rook is a person, and he's never wanted to kill anybody...
he also does not want to regret tearing down the veil. he does not want to regret the deaths that will follow. he also does not want to cause death: both these things can exist simultaneously
but that is viewing rook in a sort of... abstract, generalized way. while that is an aspect - rook is a person; solas does not want to kill people; ergo, solas does not want to kill rook - it is more important to consider the relationship between solas and rook
solas is suffering in that prison. rook's visits are, would have to be, bright spots amidst that suffering. to me, this is just basic: repeatedly, solas' only relief comes in the form of rook's visits. they're complex in their own way, of course, but it is the only interaction he gets outside of his own worst memories being replayed endlessly
so, in the end, solas is being confronted by the inquisitor, mythal, and rook, all of whom are asking him to stop
confronted by mortality. by immortality
confronted by people he has misled, used, manipulated
and he is seen by them. all of them see him
-a shared moment of understanding; seeing completely, and being wholly seen.
Memory of a Duet (codex)
while the above is about mythal - the codex entry is shown with her tarot card, after all - it also points to a deep desire of solas'. he wants to be seen. to be known. and to be accepted
mythal knows who he was, and much of who he is
the inquisitor knows who he pretended to be, but i think there was significant truth in that pretense: it was who he wanted to be, who he could have been. it was a mask, yes, but not a complete falsehood by any means
and rook knows him from his regrets, from his actions, and from the way others speak about him. knows him from varric's accounts as they traveled together to stop solas. knows him from the inquisitor's accounts. knows what he is willing to do, how far he is willing to go, because he does so with rook
to have these three see him, know him, and accept him...? to have them ask him to stop, to tell him that everything can still be forgiven...?
it must have felt so surreal. i am sure part of his time in the regret prison was each of them calling him a monster. saying they wished they'd never met him. telling him to his face that he ruined everything, ruined them
that is the fear
and this is the reality
and i just... i cannot imagine what all is going through his mind. it's little wonder he breaks down
god i just love him so fucking much. but, to speak on the solrook of it all... he does care about rook. i don't think there's any real room for interpretation on that. if he didn't, he'd have killed them. he's killed other people who he cares for (note: i'm not necessarily arguing that he cares more about rook than he did about felassan - i don't want to compare relationships like that - but i think it is fair to say that he has changed since that time)
and rook is the one who has the final choice. the one who can choose to return the dagger to the god of lies. the one who can show such utter vulnerability and, yes, hope, their own hope, their hope for solas, in that final moment
it's hard to imagine him not falling at least a little in love right then. he may not be aware of it at the time, but seriously, that's so profound, that's so formative, that's so shaping. and he has always loved those who shape the world and who shape him
please do not add hate to this post, bring up the art book, or bring up the books/comics. thank you!
in the beginning:
solas, in arlathan, seeks to free the slaves. he tries to convince the evanuris with words and with letters. when that fails, he begins a rebellion. given what we see in the memories, this rebellion appears to have started with the cultivation of close interpersonal dynamics
rook seeks to stop solas' ritual. varric tries to convince him with words. when that fails, varric attacks and solas kills him. when the ritual is disrupted, when the evanuris are freed, rook begins… what is, essentially, a rebellion. this rebellion is based around the cultivation of close interpersonal dynamics
in the end:
solas, in arlathan, realizes that the evanuris are seeking the full power of the blight and reaches out to mythal. when she confronts them, they kill her. solas imprisons them
"They killed Mythal. (Chuckles.) A crime for which an eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment."
note: in this situation, I truly don't think there was any viable alternative. the evanuris were already blighted and empowered by their dragon thralls; impossible to kill, too far gone to save, too corrupted to sway, although he tried, countless times
rook, in minrathous, chooses what to do with the dagger. essentially, they free him or imprison him, specifically in a prison that is designed to torment its prisoners—something rook is intimately aware of, having been trapped in that prison
parallels:
while veilguard is, of course, its own unique narrative, it also allows us to follow in solas' thematic footsteps. the situation has changed—pointedly, he is now the enemy, but there are many other changes as well—but the underlying structure remains similar. an attempt to sway peacefully. failing that, the start of a rebellion; the beginnings of which are strongly idealistic and oriented towards people, the latter stages of which are far more rooted in practicality than morality. at the end of that, the opportunity to imprison the enemy
rook is different than solas. and solas is different from the other evanuris. but solas in the beginning was different than he was in the end. and rook is traveling that same path. the more brutal choices they must make, the more they must weigh life and death, the more they travel the path that so damaged solas, the more they become willing to use his exact same methods
noting the inquisitor : dread wolf parallels:
worth mentioning, although not the main point of this meta, is how these two also have substantial parallels. the title that usurps their true name and identity; the ascension to something akin to/related to divinity; and the bad magic future timeline in DAI that so directly parallels what solas' awakening to the modern world would have been like (discussed in more detail here!), one which the inquisitor resets, erasing everything that happened in that year; not out of malice for the people currently alive, but because of a conviction that this was the only option
conclusions:
through the narrative of both inquisition and veilguard, we as players essentially walk solas' entire path. we walk the dinan'shiral… and we don't know until the end that we are walking it!
the inquisitor resetting the timeline feels justified, inevitable, right… which is exactly how solas felt and feels about his ritual, except he, unlike the inquisitor, lives in the modern era for long enough to recognize that it has its own inherent value
rook begins a rebellion against the tyranny of the evanuris—exactly as solas did, so long ago—and can end that rebellion the same way he did: with punitive justice. rook can walk solas' path to the point of, in many ways, becoming him… or rook can step free of his path at the last. can offer the dagger. offer their trust. offer their faith. they can be vulnerable
it's not the safest option. it is not the wisest. it is not the most guaranteed. and that is where they can diverge from solas' path; not by being foolish or naive, but by choosing to re-embody the emphasis on people
and solas is a person. rook sees that, just like solas eventually learned to see modern people as people
Stopping Solas' Ritual: The Necessity of Mythal, the Inquisitor, and Rook
Solas was so dedicated to his course. But Mythal, the Inquisitor, and Rook were the keys to turning him from that course, each for their own reason and because of their unique dynamic with Solas.
Mythal:
With Mythal, they love each other. She says, explicitly, in-game, that she still loves him. and so much of what he is doing, he is doing for her - but it is, notably and importantly, not something she wants. This is one of multiple ways his grief, guilt, and regret are coloring his perception. Because he feels at fault for her death. Her first death, I mean, at the hands of the Evanuris; he obviously is responsible for Flemythal's death/"death" .
And I am not adding this as a justification, but as a fact; a death that Flemythal 100% permitted. She had all the power in that moment. I think this is an important part of their overall dynamic that can sometimes get glossed over; he killed her, and that is horrible, but she could have stopped him so easily and chose not to. To me, this reads as an obvious inversion of his taking form being so traumatic and harmful to who/what he was, a sort of death of Wisdom, but he did it for her; and she let him kill her for her power, and she did it for him.
The Inquisitor:
Now, the Inquisitor. They are a direct victim of Solas', and he knows it, even if for a long time they do not. And they are a victim in a unique way... what he did to them - unintentional, but still caused by him, as was the case with Mythal's first death - was not to kill or destroy them, but to force them to take on the burden of leadership. This is a pain he knows deeply. He knows how it wears on a person. He knows how leaders are transformed into something both more and less than what and who they really are. He knows what it is to be seen as a figurehead, to be worshipped, to be associated with godhood/seen as part of gods.
He has to watch someone struggle with the exact same things he struggled with. and there is a parallel here, too; where Mythal asked him to come, asked him to take form, because she needed his help, and how that destroyed him (because i do agree that it did destroy him), he is now in something very like that position, watching the Inquisitor be destroyed in a way - because they, too, are destroyed in a way, although they certainly fare better than Solas did - and knowing the whole time it is because of him...
He has to watch someone be twisted by his actions. And especially if he loves them - platonically or romantically - then he is in Mythal's position. She had to watch him twisting and know that it was because of her; he has to watch the Inquisitor twisting and know that it is because of him.
Rook:
And then Rook. Rook is no less important in this! And although I 100% love solrook, that's not why i'm saying this. It is Rook's specific narrative role that matters so much, and the way they interrelate with Solas on multiple levels.
For one thing, Solas and Rook are connected by Varric. They both care deeply about him. Solas tried to deter Varric, but he could have killed Varric at any point. And Solas knows about Rook, although that is neither surprising nor entirely relevant at first. Rook is just a factor he has to be aware of.
And Rook distracted him during the height of the ritual, yes. But I have seen other people - I would mention them here if i could remember their urls and will add them in later if i can find the posts again - point out that Rook's disruption was likely not what destroyed the ritual; rather, it was Solas stabbing Varric, a dwarf, with the lyrium dagger. I agree with this view, although it did not click with me until i read it. But it makes sense - the lyrium dagger is fundamentally derived from the Titans, who have an integral relationship with the dwarves, as we see when Harding touches the dagger. And blood/blood magic is a theme in Dragon Age in general, and I would argue, in Veilguard in particular. No, we can't play as a blood mage this time, and we don't see it as often, but the entire nature of the dagger is rooted in blood magic, as is Solas' connection to Rook. Blood magic is a narrative underpinning of Veilguard.
Okay I got a little sidetracked there. Point is: Solas knew about Rook, knew about some of their tactics, but I think Rook surprising him and disrupting the ritual was not actually what caused it to fail. It was that scuffle he had with Varric and stabbing him that caused it to fail. Solas was regaining control of the ritual before that moment. But the interaction between the dagger - Titan blood - and Varric - a dwarf - caused something to happen to the ritual. Caused it to fail, or shift. Whether through what is more or less a "mechanical" disruption or something more like the Titans themselves impacting it through that connection/reconnection is uncertain, and while interesting, not relevant for this meta.
So, Rook and Solas are connected initially, before they even meet, through Varric. Varric believes in both of them. He recruits Rook to stop Solas, but not to kill him. He does not recruit Rook as a murderer or a god-killer. At the time of Varric's mission, killing a god - or "god," really - was not anywhere on the agenda.
Then Solas is connected to Rook - and only to Rook - through the blood magic ritual (more thematic blood magic!). Solas is at this time sealed away in a prison that feeds on regret, his personal greatest weakness. It is undeniable that he is suffering immensely there. And Rook is his only chance of escape, yes, absolutely; but they are also his only connection to the world outside this replay of his regrets. To the real world, to any real world, even a world that he struggles to see as being as real as what he used to know.
The thing is... I find it literally impossible to believe that Solas, in this situation, does not come to care for Rook. He is utterly isolated, haunted by memory and regret, and Rook is the only disruption to that. Rook's appearances would coincide with moments of relative peace, of a return to something resembling normalcy.
All the same, he uses Rook. He does his best to build up their regrets, their despair, so that he can switch them. This is absolutely brutal. Is it believable? Yes, I think so. Solas thought himself necessary - with cause, I might add, as he is at that point the only one who has ever faced Elgar'nan, who truly knows how powerful his adversary is, although he, of course, could not defeat Elgar'nan alone... and that is another primary theme of Veilguard!
Regardless, while it is entirely possible that he would have tried to switch places with Rook just to gain his own freedom, especially tormented as he would have been in that prison and the things people do when they are pushed to the brink, it was inevitable that he would try, and try as hard as he possibly could, to find a way out because he thought he was the lynchpin in saving the world. In saving any version of the world. Solas continues to be the man for whom the ends justify the means. He does not try to be brutal, but he will be brutal if he feels it necessary.
And of course, Varric. Varric's memory. However you interpret the mechanics behind this, the fact is that Solas refused to let Rook understand that Varric was dead. Dead by Solas' own hand.
Again, this is extremely brutal.
All of Them:
Mythal represents his past, of course, and their shared past. She represents the well (see what I did there?) of deep knowledge, the one who has seen what and who Solas was and what and who he became. He is, in many ways, her victim; and she is, in many ways, his victim.
The Inquisitor is one of his victims, someone who he unintentionally forced to play the same role that so damaged him.
And Rook is another victim; and unlike the Inquisitor, he has has comparatively little good interactions with Rook, although their understanding of him is contextualized by their relationship with Varric, their correspondence with the Inquisitor, witnessing his regrets, and their conversation with Mythal and Morrigan.
He is... forgiven might not be the right word for everyone. But three people he has deeply hurt - and in Mythal's case, has been hurt by, because the situation they were in was always an impossible one - trusting him to do the right thing... I think that was what was needed.
They all knew him. Parts of him. Mythal knew Wisdom; the Inquisitor knew Solas; Rook knew the Dread Wolf. And their respective and combined knowledge allowed them to trust him, even after everything.
Mythal releasing him from her service - which I need to clarify, I do not interpret as a literal "releasing him from her binding," but more of a "you do not have to continue to fight for me and for what we had and what we were and what we worked towards; it is the past, and you can move on."
The Inquisitor saying that they will forgive him for everything, for lying to them, if he stops now.
And Rook handing him the dagger after everything...
Varric asked if Solas was trying to convince him or convince himself. At the end of Trespasser, Solas told the Inquisitor some part of what he was doing and left them alive. He had them travel through his history, to see, know, and understand him. This was not necessary, and in fact, posed a considerable risk to his plans. He also helped the Inquisitor stem the Qunari invasion. Had he let it happen, the Inquisition would have been drawn into a state of war and he would have likely had a much easier time fulfilling his purpose. But he did not want everyone to suffer... he wanted them to live as well and as freely as they could until the end.
But also, he did want to be stopped. He always wanted to be stopped. He just couldn't bring himself to stop, the tally too high already. Sunk cost, yes, but such uniquely horrible sunk costs. And then three people who numbered amongst the horrible things he had done in pursuit of his goal trusting him to stop.
And Varric. Of course, Varric. He played a role here, too. He played such an integral role. He may not have been standing in that group at the end, but he was how they all got there. He was the beginning of the end - and a good end. The kind of story he never really got to write.
that gdl cameo popping out of my queue is making me think so much about solas and rook
I hella ship it but that's not even important for what I'm gonna say: I think that solas absolutely cares about rook. I think he would prefer not to, but he does. just like how he cares about varric, and sera, and dorian, and blackwall
not "just like" as in "identically to," but solas, despite it all, is a man given to caring deeply. he values people. and it would be so much easier if he did not, and he tries to cling to the idea that they are lesser, shadows of what they ought to be, but...
he does care about them. and barring a hatred path, he cares about the inquisitor as well
so, yeah, I think he absolutely cares about rook. someone he knows varric cares about. someone he has researched on his own, finding at least one part of their personal history admirable
and, of course, the only person he gets to talk to for as long as he's in the prison
he is using them, absolutely. like with everything, he feels he must. but I think it's impossible for anyone to not care about the only human (so to speak) connection they have, especially when all other times are just him getting assaulted directly by his deepest regrets
