Some locations have phases that activate specific content in the game. Tearstone Island, Arlathan Crater, and Weisshaupt have phases of cut encounters with the Executors. According to the banter names, there were supposed to be four encounters in total. It's unknown where another one was meant to take place.
The script contains lines describing post-game achievements. Rook returned to familiar places, and apparently that eventually brought them to the Executors.
000FD957 On return to Rivain Island, defeat the Executor and collect the Memento for Davrin/Harding
000FD923 On return to Weisshaupt, light the final beacons for the 6th + 7th Blights
Not sure for what purpose Rook returned to Arlathan Crater. This questline was supposed to progress in a specific order. Hard to say where it started, but the final encounter was meant to be in Weisshaupt. I managed to trigger only the last phase, but it's very rough, so no video.
Most likely, this content was replaced in the release with three codex entries featuring the Mysterious Circle and a post-credits scene. Although the game still has banter where Rook talks to the Executors, those conversations were originally more extended. They even had lipsync, though there's no audio in the files.
First encounter.
Approach banter
Executor: Missing. Gone.
Executor: Two dead. One caged.
Executor: Others approach. Hands bloodied. They did it.
Executor: Test them? Test us?
Executor: Yes. We fight.
75% Health
Executor: Fascinating. Unforeseen.
Executor: Skilled. Strong. Even sundered. Unexpected.
Executor: Worthy enemies. Even still. Unexpected.
Executor: Their blood. Strength. Power. Unexpected.
Executor: Skill. Power. And defiant. Unexpected.
Rook: Who are you?
Executor: Irrelevant. Immaterial.
Bellara: Well, that's helpful.
Davrin: Suit yourself.
Emmrich: We require a more satisfactory answer!
Harding: Don't need to know your name to take you down.
Lucanis: True.
Neve: No need to play modest!
Taash: What the crap does that mean?
50% Health
Executor: Pain. We had forgotten.
Executor: Distracting. Distressing.
Rook: We can stop any time you want.
Executor: No. We continue.
Executor: We learn.
25% Health
Rook: Why are you here? What do you want?
Executor: To see. To find.
Executor: To prepare.
Bellara/Lucanis/Taash: Prepare for what?
Davrin: I can't wait for this. For what?
Emmrich: For what?
Harding: Prepare? For what?
Neve: Prepare. All right. For what?
Death
Executor: They… pass?
Executor: No. We… fail.
Death Reaction
Rook: Okay. Does anyone know what just happened?
Rook: Who was that? Or what?
Bellara: I'll ask around. See if anyone knows anything.
Davrin: And I thought the Gloom Howler was weird. I'll ask around. See what I can find.
Emmrich: Completely unfamiliar to me. I'll see if there's anything in the Watcher's archives.
Harding: I'll ask my contacts. Maybe someone knows.
Lucanis: I'll ask. If the Crows know, you'll know.
Neve: I'll start asking questions. See what I can dig up.
Taash: No idea. I'll check with the Lords. See if anyone knows anything.
Second encounter.
Approach banter
Executor: They interrupt. As predicted.
Executor: As expected. As hoped.
Executor: Stronger now. We will fight. We will win.
Fight
Rook: I thought we killed you.
Executor: No. Impossible.
Executor: Other forms. Multitudes.
Executor: We persist.
75%
Executor: They fight. They resist.
Rook: It's kind of our whole thing!
Executor: The end, inevitable. The outcome, certain.
Executor: Only delay. Never prevent.
50%
Executor: Are they stronger?
Executor: Yes. For now.
Rook: Did you know that you're very unsettling?
Executor: Unimportant.
25%
Executor: Unpredictable. Chaotic.
Rook: Not the first time we've been called that.
Executor: Must change. Adapt.
Bellara: We need to take this thing down, and quickly.
Davrin: Time for this thing to die, and quickly.
Emmrich: We almost have them. Strike quickly!
Harding: Come on! We have to take this thing down!
Lucanis: We need to finish this.
Neve: We need to end this fight. Now!
Taash: Kill it before it talks more!
Death
Executor: More knowledge. More defeat.
Executor: We will… learn.
Executor: We will… triumph.
Death Reaction
Rook: So can we just never kill this thing?
Rook: We've seen it die twice. And I think it's gonna come back again.
Bellara: Maybe they're like the Evanuris? You can't kill them until you kill whatever they're tied to? That said, something felt weird about the magic. Almost like it was… greasy.
Davrin: Maybe they're like the elven gods and the Archdemons. Have to kill one before the other. Assan sure didn't like what he was smelling.
Emmrich: That manifestation… Could it be an extension of another's will, much like the elven gods and their dragons? Regardless, there's a pall about its magic.
Harding: Like the Archdemons? Or Corypheus? Linked to something you have to kill first. I don't know. Something felt really strange about it, like an itch in my mind.
Lucanis: Perhaps they're like the elven gods and their dragons. We have to kill its heart first. Spite says the magic smells like oil on water.
Neve: Perhaps they're tied to another creature? Like the Archdemons and elven gods. But the magic… It feels different. Almost… greasy.
Taash: Maybe they're tied to another creature. Like whatever the elven gods did with their dragons? I dunno. Something felt weird about it.
Rook: Reach out to your contacts. I'll reach out to mine. Maybe we'll find something.
Third encounter.
Approach banter
Executor: You return. We are content.
Executor: Another chance. Another test.
Executor: Learn. Adapt. Triumph.
80%
Rook: Why do you keep fighting us? What do you want?
Executor: Not now. Not yet.
Executor: We will show you. Soon.
60%
Executor: You quelled the storm. Stilled the waters.
Executor: We felt it. The ripples. They went far.
Executor: But we did not move yet. We waited. Watched.
40%
Executor: Then the tyrant. The sun. Dimmed by blood. His own.
Executor: The ripples joined. Expanded. Extended.
Executor: We readied. Consulted. Planned.
20%
Executor: And then the wolf. He knew of us. In part. Not in whole.
Redeem ending:
Executor: You changed him. Saved him. With the other. She lingers.
Outsmart ending:
Executor: Fought him on his terms. Defeated him on yours.
Defeat ending:
Executor: Took his strength. Fought him with yours.
Rook: You know an awful lot about me.
Executor: But not enough! Not yet!
Death
Executor: The pattern… continues.
Executor: Nearly… enough.
Death Reaction
Rook: That thing gets creepier and creepier every time we kill it.
Bellara: It sure seems to know a lot about us. You know. Given that we've never met it before.
Davrin: How's it know so much about us? We've never met.
Emmrich: Studying us in turn. It knows far more about us than it should from these encounters.
Harding: What is it, and why does it know so much about us? Is it watching us or something?
Lucanis: It seems to know a lot about us. It's been watching us. How?
Neve: It seems to know enough about us. From watching? Or doing homework? And why?
Taash: What is this thing talking about? It keeps talking like it knows us.
Rook: Yeah. I was kinda trying not to think about that part.
Rook: This just gets weirder every time.
Fourth encounter.
This part of the quest started in the Main Hall of Weisshaupt Library. From there, Rook rode the elevator to the West Wing and then headed toward the Dragon Trap. The Executor appeared at the site of the fight with Razikale. The gameplay here is unfinished; this boss has no health bar or animations. I've previously posted what this looks like.
Approach banter
Executor: We have finished. Succeeded.
Executor: Now we have knowledge. Now we have certainty.
Executor: Fight again? Last time?
Executor: Yes. Nothing to lose. Much to gain.
80%
Executor: You are skilled. Strong. Unpredictable.
Executor: Yet mortal. Still flesh. Still alone.
Executor: Your victory, impossible. Yet it happened.
Executor: How? Why?
Bellara: A lot of planning. A lot of hard work. And a lot of luck!
Davrin: Sharp minds and sharper blades.
Emmrich: So there's a limit to your piercing sight!
Harding: Ooh, so you don't know everything about us!
Lucanis: So you don't know everything.
Neve: Now there's the question! If you figure it out, let me know!
Taash: I hit you in the face with an axe!
60%
Executor: Troubling. Still strong. Even now.
Executor: We must change. Adapt.
Executor: Yes. New thoughts. New plans.
Rook: What're you talking about?
Executor: Soon enough.
40%
Executor: We can win. We can change.
Executor: No. Not now. Not necessary.
Executor: Must not reveal. Must not alarm.
Executor: Soon, though. Very soon.
20%
Executor: The plan changes. Adapts.
Executor: Speak to the others? Let them know.
Executor: Yes. We have learned much. Can share much.
Death
Executor: This form… exhausted. Done.
Executor: But… we learn. Soon… the storm.
Executor: Next time will… be… different.
Death Reaction
Rook: So… any ideas what it was talking about?
Rook: "The others"? "The plan"?
Bellara: Shouldn't we let someone know about it? Charter, maybe?
Davrin: Maybe we should tell someone about whatever that was? Charter?
Emmrich: None whatsoever. Perhaps Charter should know of this.
Harding: We should tell someone about this. Charter?
Lucanis: Charter may want to know about… whatever this is.
Neve: Leaving us with questions—at least it's consistent.
Taash: We should tell someone about this. Maybe Charter.
Rook: Let her know what? We fought someone spooky in a robe, they came back to life three times, and after the last time, they issued a cryptic warning?
Rook: But… yeah. We should let Charter know.
There's one final conversation related to this questline in the files, but it's empty. Perhaps Rook reported what they saw to Charter, though that's just speculation.
So I realized today that my computer still works, and so I immediately downloaded Frosty Editor to make a long text file of all of the Veilguard conversation lines, organized by scene and with the speaker of the line labeled.
While I did this, I found an interesting VERY LONG SERIES of conversations where Rook was apparently supposed to fight and kill an Executor multiple times. I haven't been paying attention to the Executor stuff, so I have no idea if people know about this, but I tried google searching for several of these lines and could not find them.
Now, everything is correct here but THE LINES ARE STILL OUT OF ORDER because I just couldn't be bothered, so keep that in mind. but here's the conversations:
((The Executor character has a description that says:
Gender: Nonbinary
CharacterDescription: A masked and hooded figure that speaks like someone unfamiliar with language in general. Stilted, awkward, but with a low menace.
SpeechPattern: Stilted. Is trying to form words from thoughts that are far more complex than a regular person's.))
The most interesting lines, to me, are the ones where it's apparently talking about the elven gods:
Executor : Took his strength. Fought him with yours.
Executor : Then the tyrant. The sun. Dimmed by blood. His own.
Executor : The ripples joined. Expanded. Extended.
Executor : We readied. Consulted. Planned.
Executor : You quelled the storm. Stilled the waters.
Executor : We felt it. The ripples. They went far.
Executor : But we did not move yet. We waited. Watched.
Executor : Fought him on his terms. Defeated him on yours.
Executor : And then the wolf. He knew of us. In part. Not in whole.
Executor : You changed him. Saved him. With the other. She lingers.
Executor : The pattern… continues.
Executor : Nearly… enough.
"THE WOLF. YOU CHANGED HIM.... SAVED HIM....."
THAT'S RIGHT, I DID :)
I'll upload this file later on after I've had time to look for fun things in it. I thought some people might be interested in this though.
Anyone who claims that the secret ending in Veilguard is disrespectful or nullifies agency in the previous three games is either unable to traverse layered storytelling or is being ignorant on purpose.
I am not sure how someone assumes that it was about mind control or magic when games upon games the fantasy setting in Dragon Age has been a medium for telling stories about the nature of people, about different perspectives, about the dangers of applying singular ideals to a complex existence, about how people and the ways in which they interact shape destinies.
How can you not be excited to learn that there’s a world outside Thedas, that the web is more complicated and that when one wrestles to break the threads it vibrates all the way to the spider letting it know it’s dinner time?
Finally got this one put together in full last night and its ready for the press. Sample below.
Find it Here!
Hawke opened the door. "Rook, you're awake," he said. "I was coming to wake you like we discussed last night." They had met after dinner the previous night and quickly discussed the plan of action, they would hide the ship near one of the smaller nearby islands while Davrin would scout ahead for a way in. Then determine how they were going to find the Executor's headquarters. Rook was confident the shadows would lead him to them; they just had to make landfall to test the theory.
"Alright, we'll get ready and head up," said Davrin. Hawke nodded and pulled the door shut and Davrin walked over to his wardrobe, he had scouted only in his fatigues so Assan could fly longer. "Let's go. Dav'ari go get your armour on."
"Okay!" Rook watched as Dav'ari ran over to the chair where his armour was sitting and started to put it on.
Rook let out a sigh as he walked over to his wardrobe and quickly got dressed. Putting on a new armour he had had custom-made. A modification of his reinforced regiment leathers, blue cloth with a leather chest guard, golden bracers and leg plates, with a golden griffon's head on his right shoulder. He strapped his dragon bone dagger into its sheath and put his staff on his back. As he finished Davrin walked over to him in his newly forged armour Evka had made for him before they left. A chain mail with silver chest, pauldrons, and gauntlets; with full silver leg plates and boots. A blue cloak connected to his collar and hung the length of his back a heavy plate belt wrapped his waist with a griffon motif on its face long blue coattails hung just above his feet accented by gold and some leather padding. His obsidian blade hung from his side with his preferred heater shield on his back; Assan's Fury. He was ready for a fight and was well protected. They gave each other a nod before Dav'ari ran over in his armor and took Davrin's hand. "Let's get up there," said Rook turning to lead them from the room Assan following.
They left the room and quickly made their way above deck, as they came up from the under bowels of the ship it was still dark outside. Bull was at the helm with Leliana, Hawke, Elissa and Harding; Taash was likely still sleeping along with Emmrich and Cullen. Carver and Anders were getting the small rowboat ready at the side of the ship and Bellara was standing with Krem talking to him as he worked. They had dropped anchor off the coast of a small island with thick jungle that provided cover for the ship. The island was a good bit of distance to the main city but would be easy to get to via rowboat with a bit of magic and they were far enough away to stay hidden. Dav'ari instantly pulled from Davrin's hand and ran to Bull at the helm who hoisted him up on his shoulders. Rook made eye contact with the others as they approached the helm.
Tags Cus ya'll watching ;) but also cus I massively appreciate.
