#veilmeta

[broodwoof]

davg spoilers

talking with @skip-the-clumsy-dragon about this has led me to really thinking it through, and i want to explore how dragon age can be viewed through an ecological/environment lens

particularly with respect to the actions solas has taken in the far-distant past and what he wants to do in the present

the veil as an inciting factor for a trophic cascade... the removal of the veil as an inciting factor for another trophic cascade...

the dissonance between a desire to restore and a desire to preserve. how sometimes preservation can mean maintaining the status quo; how sometimes restoration can mean destroying much - or even all - of what has supplanted what was

how complex the morality is in either situation. how the whole system needs to be analyzed, and how unethical it is to analyze the whole system, come to a conclusion, and implement it. the brutal mathematics of it all. the no-good-answer, only degrees of bad

restoration in dragon age means one thing for sure, but has many other possibilities

what it means for sure:

the veil and the 'waking world' will be connected again

what it might mean:

magic restored to the elves

magic restored to the dwarves (possibly?)

the titans could reawaken

spirits/demons are safer and less likely to be altered

what it will damage for sure:

the present world (the how remains unclear)

what it may damage:

mortals - both people and animals

landscapes

built environments and societies

existing cultures

as an example of this on a much smaller scale: a pond.

a pond is a habitat, teeming with life. many things are reliant upon it. but over time, nutrients build up in ponds until they become overwhelming. this leads to algae blooms, yes, but also to lower levels of oxygen in the water, lower levels of light penetrating the pond, and a further process of decomposition/nutrient dumping as the algae decays

on top of making the pond itself uninhabitable for some things, certain types of "algae" blooms - especially "blue green algae," or cyanobacteria - can make the water unsafe for non-aquatic creatures. it can be very dangerous for animals to drink from or go into water that has a cyanobacterial bloom

so sometimes, to preserve a pond as a habitat, one needs to get in there and destroy a lot of it. remove a lot of the algae, for one, but it's difficult to do that without destroying or harming some of the life that exists right then and now

the bugs, the tadpoles, the little near microscopic invertebrates you can't see but are definitely there... and you are of course destroying plant life

so do you let the whole pond die, become uninhabitable to anything and everything, or do you restore it, and know that in doing so, however hard you try to preserve the life currently there, you will inevitably end up destroying some of it?

so, am i comparing people with near-microscopic invertebrates? no. but this is a simple example of what i think solas' whole pov boils down to: does he let the world cycle into a slow death, with significant harm done along the way, or does he - doing his best to limit the damage - change it all at once, believing that it can be stabilized this way, that it is inherently more sustainable?

i don't know which way is more sustainable. none of us do. that's part of the underlying conflict of the game, that uncertainty, but i never got the impression that he's just out there trying to restore the glorious city of arlathan or whatever. he's out there specifically trying to restore the entire world to what it once was, and what he feels strongly that it should be. he is trying to preserve its inherent nature

and of course, this is not my discovery and i don't know who first figured it out or shared the information so i can't credit, but it's worth pointing out:

Solastalgia is a term coined by philosopher Glenn Albrecht to describe the emotional or existential distress caused by negatively perceived environmental change.

as a final note: i said i am not comparing people to near-microscopic invertebrates, but i don't think solas is doing the equivalent, either. perhaps at first, but that is dispelled as he spends time in the inquisition, as he gets to know the people of this age

yet the complexity remains. and it isn't clear-cut; there is harm to both sides, and good to both sides. it is painfully, gloriously complex, a narrative that has no single clear answer

[broodwoof]

Veilfall Outcomes

please do not add hate to this post, bring up the art book, or bring up the books/comics. thank you!

thinking about this in the abstract and listing generalized outcomes, beginning with the worst case scenario and moving (roughly/imprecisely bc u can't better/worse some of these) towards the best

the physical world and the fade ("the worlds") and their occupants are all destroyed

the physical world + occupants are destroyed and the fade + occupants are damaged

the fade + occupants are destroyed and the physical world + occupants are damaged

the worlds survive, but with damage to their nature + occupants

the worlds survive, but create physical, magical, and sociopolitical destabilization

the worlds survive, but create sociopolitical destabilization

there are wayyy more than six potential outcomes, but I am trying to generalize. and they can combine: for instance, an outcome where both worlds and occupants survive but are damaged could also have physical, magical, and sociopolitical destabilization. it could also have a portion of the population having been killed by the change, in either or both worlds. lots of nuanced views

personally, I suspect the outcome would've been around 5

[broodwoof]

Solas and Veilfall - Why it Was Necessary... Until it Wasn't

please do not add hate to this post, bring up the art book, or bring up the books/comics. thank you! special psa for this post only: ppl who wanted veilfall are not bad ppl 💖 (personally, i wanted it, played the game, and then was happy we didn't get it, but the ppl who still want it are just fine)

the blight:

solas and mythal tranquilized the titans and, in the doing, created the blight. the former was an intentional action knowingly taken; the latter was an unintended and unforeseen consequence. one could make an argument that they are not responsible for the blight, but it is a largely academic argument about semantics and ethics; the simple, in-world fact is, their actions created the blight, and those actions were independently brutal

there's a great deal to be said here, but it's not the point of this meta

the veil:

another unintended consequence of a deliberate action. solas was right to try and end slavery in arlathan, and he was right to stand against the tyrannical evanuris. imprisoning them for eternity is another uniquely brutal solution, but it, as with the titans, also exists in a very particular context: immortal beings who are extremely powerful. solas was unable to kill them. he couldn't even stand against elgar'nan without being so wounded he needed to retreat. so imprisonment was likely the only way he found to actually stop them

and this was extremely important as they had begun to access the blight. they were already powerful, already tyrannical... with the full power of the blight - of the titan's rage - they would have been eternally unstoppable. the entire grey warden order can barely hold back one blight, and the entirety of the blight within thedas is but a tiny fraction of that which exists. had they not been stopped, likely thedas would not exist, or would not exist in any remotely recognizable way

(again, not the meta for it, but worth acknowledging that the evanuris claiming the blight as a source of power was yet another way they used the titans for their own ends... it's awful)

the original prison:

while it is not entirely clear where the blight is located, there's a chance that it is somewhere within the original prison that solas formed, although certainly separated from the evanuris. but even if not, even if it is sealed elsewhere, the simple fact is: with his prison eroding, the evanuris (blighted tyrants with a centuries-long grudge and a desire to return to their time of rule) would have been released onto a thoroughly unprepared thedas. and they would certainly have pursued the rest of the blight, wherever it was stored

if they found and unleashed it - which is likely, given both their original power, the power from the blight itself, and the canonical recognition between blighted beings which may have helped them track it - then thedas, already under threat, would have been destroyed. no ifs, ands, or buts about it

evanuris and the veil:

the evanuris were bonded to the veil and to their prison. had they all been killed as the grey wardens slayed their dragon thralls, the prison and the veil would have come down with them. this would have been a sudden and almost certainly catastrophic event... and there is a very real possibility that it would have unleashed the entirety of the blight as well

veilfall:

now, this is murkier. in the murals, flemythal agrees that the evanuris must be dealt with, but disagrees with veilfall. this could easily imply that creating the new prison and transferring the evanuris to it is not dependent on veilfall

however, it is unclear

personally, i think the most plausible explanation, given what we know of solas' magic during the time of veilguard (magic which had been taken from flemythal, who had been slowly accruing it over centuries; thus, presumably, not the same strength it was during arlathan era), is that the veil itself is essentially... raw power

solas' orb has been broken. the anchor was recovered and he experimented on it until it, too, was destroyed. he learned a great deal but was presumably unable to recover much if any of its power. his own magic had waned significantly while in uthenera, although it built up in his orb (perhaps actually drawing and storing his magic, now that i think about it...)

so all his resources have been destroyed, used up, or (possibly) rendered unusable by him (in the case of the anchor). all he has is his own meager magic and that which he gained from flemythal. while considerable, it is likely nothing near what he had when he created the prison and unintentionally created the veil alongside it

and since the physical world and the fade originally coexisted in some manner - they were separate locations, as the mural with solas' spirit worm confirms - and were easily transversed, it's clearly not a situation where two planes exist at, idk, different frequencies, different speeds, or some other fundamental difference that cannot be crossed

given that reality, the veil must be powerful. this is not an oil and water situation where power is required to connect the two - they might not connect fully, but certainly they interrelated with ease. thus, the veil has to be a power in order to keep them apart

given all that, i think it's safe to conclude that the destruction of the veil would also have released power... power which could be harnessed and used in order to transfer the evanuris from the old prison to the new one (it might also be less that the veil held power which could be harnessed, and more that it's destruction would react, producing power which could be harnessed)

now, did solas want to tear down the veil even when he anticipated having access to his orb and all its accrued power? yes, he did. that was his plan. and at that time, i would not say that the power released by veilfall would have been necessary. i might be wrong on that, perhaps it was always necessary, perhaps the veil held more suspended magical energy than anything else... but it is unclear, and i won't assume that it was necessary

and he readily admits that he wants to return that which he took: elvhen/elven power. he did not want to give them arlathan back. he fought against arlathan. but he wants to empower the modern elves, literally and figuratively. they are a deeply oppressed people, but also ones who have a history of profound magical ability which they have lost with the creation of the veil

conclusion:

some people paint solas as someone who is only doing what he is doing to soothe his own conscious. while there is certainly an element of that, this interpretation entirely fails to consider the canon these behaviors are standing within

at the beginning of dai, i would say this read of solas is accurate. he of course does want to seal the evanuris in a new prison, but he also wants to tear down the veil, and there is no inherent, canonical connection between the two (at least, none that i know of - mind you, i am sticking to in-game canon [including plot-heavy dlcs], so it might have been mentioned elsewhere and i wouldn't know about it/am not particularly interested in spoilers)

but the events of dai changes him. the time between dai and trespasser changes him. trespasser changes him. the time between trespasser and veilguard changes him

and, yes, veilguard changes him. veilguard changes him significantly

but it is not until the very end of veilguard, with ghilan'nain dead for a time and elgar'nan dead just now, that the inherent, underlying threat to the world finally ceases. or at least, ceases being so immediately threatening

solas has been committed to this course for so long. has sacrificed so much in the pursuit of it, for reasons both selfish and selfless, both cold and caring, both analytical and emotional

i think the fact that he can be stopped at this point says a great deal about his fundamental nature. and, yes, it takes everyone. just as it took everyone to beat the evanuris, just as it took everyone - in origins, in 2, in inquisition, and now in veilguard - to stem the tide, to help mitigate destruction, to save the world. so too did it take everyone who was there to stop solas

but he stopped. he was not made to stop, not forced to stop. he did not lose. he had the dagger. he had the ability. all the pieces in place

and he chose

and he chose... a new path

[broodwoof]

DAI's "Bad Future" Timeline, Red Lyrium, Titans, and Solas

in regards to this gifset

i am now thinking about how that bad future is specifically covered in red lyrium

look, my stance remains the same: we do not know what tearing down the veil would have done. solas himself did not know! he only had his best assumptions and deepest fears about it. would it have been as cataclysmic as he and others feared? perhaps! and perhaps not! i was pro-veilfall. but after having played veilguard, i'm deeply pleased with the direction they took. but i think the uncertainty and complexity and possibility remains, and remains interesting to consider

solas - the one who actually experienced that year, the one who you (can) meet in redcliffe castle - appears horrified by what has happened. and this can be interpreted as the consequences of removing the veil! i won't deny that possibility

but what's particularly striking to me rn is the red lyrium

solas, more than anyone else - save mythal - knows what red lyrium is. because he and mythal created it, in a way

corypheus used red lyrium, was imbued with it, so, again, one can argue - with cause! - that the red lyrium was only present because of him, and because of his push for others to consume it. and going with the mages means that the templars continued to take red lyrium, and must have, at least for a time, existed in this bad future, spreading the lyrium

but what i'm thinking about now is... what if the piecemeal destruction of the veil in that future allowed the imprisoned titans more access to the world? this may not be conscious access, mind, it may just be that lyrium is more... energized, i suppose. more potent, more connected with its source. there's 0 implication that the titans are sealed away in the same prison that holds the evanuris, so i don't think that part is relevant, but if they were stored anywhere within the fade itself? then even the piecemeal destruction of the veil would allow a possible tether between the titans and the lyrium to strengthen (relatedly, the breach and tears in DAI could also be seen as strengthening the red lyrium in this view)

so what i'm rotating now is the idea that one part of solas' fear and horror in that timeline was about the red lyrium being strengthened, the disembodied rage of the titans trying to take over and destroy the world, a part of which had destroyed them

✨this user is deeply sympathetic towards the titans AND towards solas and mythal✨

[broodwoof]

having a Moment after looking at a screenshot and noticing something that totally went over my head when i first experienced it

lighthouse murals.

Solas as Wisdom: "I have the Fade."

One sentence threw everything I thought I knew about the Fade, what I call the waking world, and the Veil into absolute chaos and it is fascinating.

Because all this time - 10+ years - I've viewed the Fade as being a direct result of the Veil. That it did not exist in any form prior to the Veil. The way I interpreted it, what is now the Fade was a fundamental, inexorable part of the world; that magic, spirits (and demons, if you want) were as much of a core element of the world as wind or water.

But Solas, as a spirit, had the Fade. The Fade was a place, even then, before he'd ever taken form. It was a place for spirits, somewhere that was natural for them to be, even though they could interact with the waking world.

Of course the pre-Veil world had much more magic and spirits(/demons) were presumably able to access it much more easily, but not once did I interpret them as even slightly separate entities. There was no division. If I was to draw it, my interpretation of the pre-Veil world was a single circle.

All this time, I've thought Solas was trying to essentially bring water, or sunlight, or wind back to the world. Instead, he is trying to rebuild a bridge.

This is still important! No doubt about that. The way spirits(/demons) are pulled through to the waking world, the way mortals struggle to comprehend and interact safely with the Fade, presumably harm and risk could be mitigated on both sides by having a more open connection. More bleed-through, yes, but also a more organic and less traumatic route between the two.

But it is different than what I thought. Wildly different.

Were I to draw it now, it would be two equal circles with a connecting pathway - that's the ancient world(s) and what Solas wants to restore. And the 'now' would probably be something like a venn diagram with the tiniest overlap in the center, and that is where mortals dream and spirits slip through cracks.

It just... it changes things in my head. And I can't quite put it into words right now, but this absolutely blew my mind. I totally missed it when I watched this scene (I was too focused on Wisdom being the absolute cutest spirit in the whole wide world okay) but now I'm just... wow.

To a degree, I think my original view still holds water. A joined world - one with the 'bridge' intact - would have more magic, more spirits(/demons), and likely, more mortals in the Fade (this is a little less certain though). But it's not quite the same as returning something that was always a core part of the living planet back to it.

I'm gonna have to sit with this one and really let it process because this is so fucking wild to me fr.