#stenishok

[zazrichor]

STEN • THE CHARIOT

two forces pulling in opposite direction • I had the pleasure of painting Sten with the tarot card The Chariot as inspiration for 2026's @dragonageannual ARCANA!

[grimweaver]

"Softieeeee!"

[grimweaver]

"It's a good look."

[grimweaver]

Do you think Bull would report "Stenishok" for boinking the HoF, or would he... turn a blind eye? 🤣🤭

[grimweaver]

How much do you want to bet that the Stenishok encounter will be painful no matter what choices we make? Like: (Sacrifice)

Someone tries to reason with the Arishok by bringing up the HoF, saying it would be a great dishonor to their memory by invading Ferelden. But Arishok is convinced that it is the people of Ferelden that have dishonored their memory by letting the country continue down what he perceives to be a path of darkness and chaos. He sees the invasion as a way to ensure a future that is worthy of their sacrifice. But the game will probably not let you side with the Arishok this time--the one you REALLY like-- and you will be forced to kill him. (Ritual) The Arishok learns about what Alistair and the HoF did and you have to have your heart torn to pieces by his scornful rebuke (You're not playing as the HoF, but it's still going to hurt). And, naturally, you will have to kill him to save Ferelden.

I really hope I'm wrong about that, though.

[postmodernismruinedme]

So it's been my headcanon for awhile that there was a specific reason why Sten went into a blood frenzy when he was parted from Asala. And playing through Inquisition again, I think I actually may have some canonical proof to back me up. I want to preface: I'm not defending Sten murdering a bunch of people because he would agree with me when I say that is super bad and still murder, but I think I know why it happened:

The Qun is specifically looking for dragon-blooded warriors and breeding them to create a line of Reaver-like soldiers. They are purposely building an army that goes into a blood frenzy when faced with threat, essentially as mini doomsday devices.

Facts and Figures under the cut.

1.     In the While We Sleep storyline (which we should take with a grain of salt, to be fair, but still can be looked at), Stenishok mentions that the Qun is fascinated with the Theirin bloodline because supposedly Calehad made a deal with a mysterious witch to drink dragon blood, become a Reaver, and create Ferelden. Iron Bull also states that there is a belief that dragons are an ancestor to the Qunari , the Tamassarans are breeding dragon blood into the Qunari, and that their ancestors the Kossith probably don't look much like them.

2.     Qunari really like dragons. Iron Bull literally tells a dragon he is going to masturbate to it later and if his Inquisitor love interest becomes a Reaver, he is basically all over them because he loves the smell. Even Sten seems to get excited about them, even if he plays his cards a little closer to his chest.

3.     One of the steps to becoming a Reaver is literally consuming dragon blood. It is reasonable to think with the thought that Calehad passed on his talents through his bloodline that it would make sense that the Qunari, having perfected cultivating bloodlines, would breed this ability into their future soldiers.

4.     In Darkspawn Chronicles (again, not canon but should be looked at), Sten's default class is Reaver, indicating that he has either an inherent talent or interest in those skills if left to his own devices or inspired by Alistair, who again supposedly has dragon's blood as well.

Okay, so this is all well and good. Qunari have dragon's blood and some are bred specifically for those skills. So what keeps them from going off the rails? Clearly soldiers are trained from a very early age and there does seem to be some checks and balances. There are recommended time limits for tours of Seheron or other high stress battle arenas. There are things as essentially sex therapists to get out that energy or meditation or any variety of things to keep the mind focused. And if that doesn't work, a soldier can be essentially wiped clean and sent back out.

And yet...does this really work? Talking to the Iron Bull, the poor guy is still recovering from his years of service but typically seems to expel that energy in vigorous ways such as drinking, rough sex, and fighting. When he's upset, he literally asks Cassandra to hit him with a stick. So this is a guy who was in Seheron for about ten years acting as a spy, way longer than he should have, but has a lot of good coping mechanisms, which possibly he learned while being reeducated.

But Sten is from Seheron. This is where he grew up and even though according to the World of Thedas he has been stationed elsewhere, this is his home and where he has spent most of his career and childhood. Sten talks at length with the Warden about how much he misses Seheron and what life is like there. He also, at least at first glance, seems to have chosen a much more disciplined life. His pursuits seem to be more in regards to seeking spiritual wellbeing and an appreciation for beauty. And oddly enough, a suggested softer side. So we have Sten, who has no clear specialized talents as a Reaver (and actually can't have a specialization until Level 14, unlike everyone else at 7), with essentially dynamite in his genes. Combine this with the loss of his comrades, losing the thing that he has been taught is his literal soul, decades at war in his homeland, it triggers a blood frenzy. Sten says in conversation that he remembers what happened, knew that it was wrong, and yet couldn't stop himself. He gives himself up and is quite willing to die for his crimes, never giving an excuse. This is where I see the evidence most strongly: even though Sten is thinking one thing, his body is doing what it was trained to do: fight any threat to the death.

It is also interesting that we see that Iron Bull's greatest fear is madness. He seems to be aware of this underlying condition and is utterly terrified of it, so much so that it is likely this may have been what brought him to seek reeducation. Which intriguingly enough, Sten doesn't see to be even an option for himself, possibly because he holds himself to such a ridiculously high standard. As I said, Sten was a ticking time bomb and this incident is when it went off.

tl;dr I'm like 99% the Qun are breeding their soldiers to be Reavers and Sten's blood frenzy in Lothering is because of his genetics catching up with him and not being trained well enough to handle it.

[schmooplesboop]

Stenishok becomes the most popular Arishok in Qunari history for introducing cookies to the Qunari people.