#solas positive

[supernova2395]

Solas and Inaction

"Those fools and duty. Responsibility is not expertise. Action is not inherently superior to inaction."

I've seen a couple of posts now saying how, should Solas have just waited, his plan would have been done for him and things would have been better for him that way. However, I think that's a misreading of his character, and because everything would have been so much worse had Solas not acted.

The veil was tied to the evanuris, who were tied to the archdemons, who were being killed off one by one each blight. By acting when he did, Solas was trying to stop the inevitable descent into a blighted Thedas that he sacrificed everything to stop when he created the veil in the first place.

Solas painfully knows that the veil will fall after the 7th blight, that's part of why he's so motivated to get his plan done quickly. There is nothing Solas hates more than slavery and suffering, and there is little doubt that a blighted world would cause nothing but suffering.

Not only that, but those things are an issue in Thedas anyway, and the longer he waits, the more harm they cause.

But then, to truly see it through Solas' eyes, you need to take into account the effect the veil has on Thedas anyway:

It's physically (metaphysically??) in an awful state even before Origins. Practically everything thins the veil (death, particularly concentrated amounts of it, like battlefields, blood magic, normal magic in enough quantities, even just at random, like in the Frostback Basin) and that makes it more likely that spirits will be drawn through and, in most cases, corrupted.

There can be no true understanding between spirits and non-spirits because spirits are locked away, and only a select few can talk to them. But even then, spirits are a reflection of expectations, and the world teaches that they are all demons out to possess you. That they should be feared and banished, and because you're afraid of seeing a pride demon, you're more likely to see a pride demon.

Spirits should never have been separated from the world and although some are happy to simply dwell in the fade, others want to go to 'exotic Rivain', which they should have been able to, but the veil prevents them from doing so unless they possess someone. So many spirits do want to possess mages as a way to experience what they should have been able to anyway. Which also has the added effect of making mages a 'danger to society' because possessing someone will often corrupt the spirit (see the previous point) and cause both the spirit and mage to lose control.

To Solas, his options are:

Do nothing and let calamity take Thedas after the 7th Blight

Lock the Evanuris and Blight away in a new prison and leave the veil torn to shreds, spirits being corrupted and demonised (hah), mages ostracised, and hope it doesn't get worse (this assumes that locking them in their new prison wouldn't sever their ties to the veil or the veil wouldn't fall at some point anyway because of *gestures to everything*)

Lock the Evanuris and Blight away and bring down the veil in a somewhat controlled manner

And like I don't blame Solas for his plan, especially with the precarious position the Elves are in in Thedas. What was he supposed to do? Go to the powers that be and say:

"So, you see, elves originated from spirits (yes the ones you are constantly afraid of and demonise at every turn) and thousands of years ago we fought with the Titans because we used lyrium to make our bodies… and didn't realise we were hurting them until it was too late and they retaliated. Which, fair, but we did not want to die so I... inventedtranquilityandseveredthemfromtheirdreams. Which I regret, for obvious reasons, but at the time, saw no other way.

"Then it turns out the people I did that for declared themselves gods and started enslaving my people *and* continued mining the Titans for their lyrium, so I rebelled. Then they decided to draw on the power of the severed dreams to stomp out my rebellion and tortured those dreams until they created the blight, which they then used with abandon to make themselves more powerful, and when Mythal finally confronted them on it, they killed her.

"There was no way we were going to be able to stop them, as the first of my people do not simply die, so instead I tried to create a prison for them but I was not powerful enough to do it and accidentally severed the waking from the dreaming stranding countless in uthenera and killing countless more who got stuck in the passages in between.

"Then I fell asleep for millennia because of the power it took to defeat the Evanuris, but the world *was* saved from the blight… UNTIL YOUR MAGISTERS SCREWED EVERYTHING UP AND RELEASED THE BLIGHT ANYWAY cough sorry, and with each successive blight you have been killing those powering the veil, weakening it and meaning that it will fall and blight the world after the 7th blight. But also with every battle, the veil gets weaker and will probably fall at some point anyway… do you maybe want to help me avoid a complete catastrophe?"

I just don't see any way that would have ever gone over well, even if they could be convinced that what he was saying was true.

And, honestly, I truly don't think that (had BioWare been brave), bringing down the veil would have needed to be catastrophic, especially if they allowed the discussion about the veil and the harms it brings to actually be discussed in the game and not just shoved aside.

Mostly because the Frostback Basin exists: a place where the veil is naturally so thin that spirits can slip through without being corrupted, and a place where the locals live, not only in peace with them, but with them in an understanding not seen anywhere else in modern Thedas.

I'm sorry, but tying Solas to the veil will never not be deus ex machina to me, and I actually hate it narratively, especially with the build-up from the previous three games and extras. RIP Sandal and the fricken Chant of Light.

I just feel like there could have been a really compelling story that could easily have been within the confines of the game, especially if Veilguard had dealt with the "inevitability" of the veil coming down early and had that as the reason why the Inquisitor was not around.

Like, "Oh Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are really focussed on Northern Thedas, that means that you in the South can be using your College of Enchanters and remnant circles to deal with the veil issue" and then you can confront Solas with Plan 2: Electric Boogaloo, "you don't need to destroy this world Solas" "I am glad to be proved wrong, my friend" as your redeem ending and "we can't let you do it your way, fuck you" as your hatred ending (fight him and incapacitate or kill him or lock him away with the blight idk 🤷🏻‍♀️). The veil comes down, but Thedas is saved. You’ve got your soft reboot, and don’t completely ignore parts of the lore from your previous games.

I'm going to stop ranting now, TL;DR: Something had to be done. I don't blame Solas for what he was doing, and BioWare should have been braver with their narrative.

[beccacoffindaffer]

A question for the Solavellans out there because I go back and forth on this myself and I'm curious what others think:

Did Solas and Lavellan ever sleep together over the course of their relationship in Dragon Age Inquisition?

Yes, he was too down bad and weak for her

No, that was the line he never would cross

The cuddly slept together but never sexy slept together

Voting ended onMar 24, 2025

[broodwoof]

pls do not include character/ship/game hate on this post, ty! as with all my meta, these are my opinions

Solas' Character and Arc

He is tragic. He is gentle and loving.

He doesn't think he can be gentle and loving - he thinks it's a weakness.

In part this is due to Mythal, yes. That said, he chose to take form willingly at her request. He chose to help his dearest friend. And what they did, they did together. He had autonomy in this decision. He was not forced at any point - he protested, yes, but in the end, he agreed. He did not have to. And there came a time when he no longer did.

Mythal believed in him. Loved him. She needed his aid. And he believed in her. Loved her. Wanted to help her.

I also think it's unclear how necessary their actions truly were, and I think that's deliberate. The true necessity of something like this - especially to avoid war (which I've talked about before, but true full-blown war between the Titans and the Evanuris would have destroyed an unbelievable amount of the world) - doesn't impact the regret of it, the despair, the grief and guilt. It was horrible. They knew it was horrible. It felt like the only or best choice when they only had bad choices.

And when he pulled away, he remained convinced that she'd see his side and join him. But she was wounded. He was wounded. And she did not join him.. but she still listened to him about the blight - which led to her being killed.

And even after that, Flemythal allowed Solas to kill her - something she could have easily stopped. She protested what he was doing, but she followed him this time, let him determine what happened next, even though she disagreed, even though it cost her life. Again. And yes, she found a home in Morrigan - but that was not guaranteed! If Morrigan had denied her, I'm not sure what would have become of that piece of Mythal.

His rebellion saw him becoming colder and more calculating. There were no true successes, no clean victories - every victory was hard-won and punished. The hard choices he and Mythal had made prepared him for this, in a way; but it could never ease the burden on his conscience, or his attempts to protect himself and avoid falling apart by keeping his distance.

He had a plan after waking up. He had a goal. He knew there would be costs, but he had been paying these indirect costs for a huge amount of time - that does not justify them, but it contextualizes his willingness to enact them again.

But even so, he falls in with the people of the Inquisition. Whatever his relationship with the Inquisitor is, he's still close with multiple other members.

Solas is incredibly lonely. And loving. He cares and he cares deeply and he cannot allow himself to, but he cannot help but care when he is amongst them.

I think that's the real reason he doesn't have a following. He can't let himself fall into that again. He feels he cannot afford to care because it would stay his hand. Perhaps he had a following for a time, but realized he could not do it again. He could not have another Felassan trying to stop him. Another Inquisitor trying to get him to stay.

I truly think he did a huge amount of work to try and mitigate the damage veilfall would do. But I think that, at the end, he did not know what would happen.

And even if veilfall itself killed no one - which, imo, is possible - then the social, cultural, and political upheaval likely would. Veilfall would be a massive disturbance. And spirits(/demons) would suddenly be out in force, struggling to adapt to an unfamiliar world.

I don't think veilfall was an entirely selfish goal on Solas' end. Yes, it is about soothing his conscience; but it is also about restoration. And most importantly, it is about protection in one very relevant way.

He hasn't had enough time in the modern world to understand the entirety of its value. He sees some of the worst - spirits like his friend Wisdom being pulled through the veil and bound. But right now, everything is a comparison with him. And I don't think it would be different for anyone else in his position. I don't think someone could irrevocably change the world, end up destroying the very people - the Elvhen - they sought to protect, and then wake up ages later to an unrecognizable world and not feel the need to work to restore it to what it 'should be'.

And the veil is an issue! There are genuine concerns about it!

But the biggest concern, the 'protection' I mentioned above, the issue that was the most impossible to ignore, was the fact that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain were going to escape.

After their deaths, he can accept that the veil can stay. It is not without its burdens, its difficulties. But it is no longer a ticking time bomb, either.

So, yes, Solas was willing to do something that was an immense disruption, one he felt would lead to death...

But it's worth recognizing that he was doing this not just to soothe his own conscience and guilt, but notably to prevent Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain taking over and blighting the entire planet.

[clairedelune-13]

I love how Solas breaking out of prison was seen as a “betrayal”, when his trust was never guaranteed.

Like, if you were stuck in prison against your goddamn will, wouldn’t you do all you could to get out?

In his case, I would’ve done the exact same thing.

I mean, I actually cheered during that section, it was literally the smartest narrative move anyone had ever deigned to make the entire game.

Solas had balls.

Everyone else, your own character included, clearly doesn’t.

Solas is my hero.

And I love him a lot 💜

[dolores-slay]

Maybe this is me being disco elysiumpilled and fatamoru and uminekopilled but. I still can't stop thinking about how beautifully Veilguard handled Solas, and how touching I found the redemption ending in particular.

Something I think Christian and in particular Catholic cultural morality does to us, even those who don't subscribe to those beliefs, is that we mentally keep tallies of 'deserving' when it comes to fictional redemption, punishment and love. Redemption needs to be deserved, punishment must be adequate to perceived wrongdoing, love must be earned by being a good person.

I don't think Veilguard subscribes to this, and this is made deliberate through Solas and Rook. Imho, tallying what Solas did vs what Rook did and how they were confronted for it and what consequence they bore is the wrong way of going about it entirely. It's not about who of them is the better person, you can have those debates if you want but it won't bring you close to the emotional heart of the story I think.

Because none of these things are about deserving. It's about having people who give you grace, who see your value as you are, who are there to confront you when they think you're doing something wrong but they do it because they care for you. Solas didn't have anyone like that, and even when he did it was already too late, as he already sorted people he loved into two categories: those he put on a pedestal and those he felt responsible for.

Up to the very end of Veilguard he can't let himself allow people into any other category, which is why he struggles so much with placing Rook too I think. Rook would be someone he feels responsible for, he can even have the grounds for liking them as a person, but they are opposed to him. In an ironic twist, the walls he puts up between himself and Rook are why he underestimates them, in a way he didn't dare underestimate Varric and Felassan, to tragic effect. He knew what Varric and Felassan could do to his resolve if given the chance.

The potentially romanced or friendly Inquisitor is somebody he puts on a pedestal, but he has the ability to get geographic and emotional distance from them and put that away for the sake of his plans. In an ending where they come to try change his mind, he's caught unawares PRECISELY because this was something he never let himself confront. It was so much easier to put them in the same category he did with Mythal.

Conversely, no matter anything else you decide about them, Rook had Varric. And it made all the difference because Varric's own regrets with family and friends and his good and bad choices meant he really wanted to do it right with Rook.

It's not about deserving and it never was, because love is not payment for being good enough but something freely given! The fact that Solas doesn't get the grace Rook does is not some great moral judgment by Bioware of Solas or Rook being treated as a Mary Sue who can do no wrong, at least not in my view. It's entirely about how people around us can make so much of a difference with their love for us and faith in us.

Solas is responsible for all his actions, but so are we all, and popping out the moral severity scales will inevitably bog you down if what you want is to be able to connect to the story emotionally. What Solas is not responsible for is that he had no one, at least no one who could take the role Varric did for Rook. And the story clearly says it's never too late. Sometimes you just need someone, even if it's just one person, to believe in you, to start believing in yourself.

[callili]

The day the gameplay trailer dropped for Dragon Age: The Veilguard I decided to make my second "canon" playthrough of Inquisition (as one does) as a female human mage.

I always liked Solas but all the Solas-love on my dashboard made me appreciate him even more over the years, so for this playthrough I take him absolutely everywhere, always talk to him, pay special attention to what he says and so on.

I also haven't started romancing anyone.

Looks almost like I'm playing a doomed one-sided Solasmancer.

[astarionconsort]

Solas! Solas! I need you more than oxygen!

[dirthavarens]

solas telling the nightmare demon that nothing is inevitable is honestly the sexiest thing ever fight me on it.