#zither!

[seracadash]

orlesians man

[dragonagereversebang]

mage against the machine

Summary: What if ZITHER!, Dorian, Anders, Emile and Merrill formed a band? Perhaps it would look something like this!

Rating: G Artist: AnonymousBenefactorOne

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

A spotlight on the mages! Performing live near you! In a modern AU, this unlikely group is rocking out and raging! Go look a little closer and leave some love for this piece!

[keoulkeech]

Just found out that Mages in Veilguard can use orb, staff or dagger and now I can't stop thinking about him... fingers crossed for a lute mention in the future...

[conversationswiththemoon]

Arcane Screenshots: Various Inquisition Characters, Part 3

Chevalier, Ser Michel de Chevin

Chancellor Roddy Lee Jones

The poor elf you scare at Haven

Lord Seeker Lucius

Grand Enchanter Fiona

Knight Captain Denham

Crassius Servis

Warden Commander Clarel de Chanson

Dagna

Calpernia

Calpernia

Poor Teagan Guerrin at least looks better here

Maryden Halewell

Maryden and Zither!

Elven agent at Halamshiral

The Viddasala

– ARCANE FILTER SCREENSHOTS –

Inquisitor Ellena Lavellan

Inquisitior Ellena Lavellan, Part II

Inquisitor Asha Lavellan

My Other Inquisitors

Companions Part I

Companions Part II

Companions Part III

Advisors And Leaders Part I

Advisors And Leaders Part II

Advisors And Leaders Part III

Various Inquisition Characters Part I

Various Inquisition Characters Part II

Various Inquisition Characters Part III

[howemancing]

Cracktheory: Bards in Thedas Actually Do (some) Magic

In short: Whether or not they were born a mage, some bards may actually be able to do small amounts of magic, consciously or otherwise

To spoil the conclusion: because they have an audience in the Fade too. And the spirits LOVE a good, emotional show

So first, the groundwork to lay:

Summarizing and condensing for the sake of attention spans (namely mine), the Fade is the realm of dreams, spirits, and magic.  And while theoretically only mages are connected enough to stay conscious in dreams and tap into its energies, non mages can still brush it in dreams./ Templars and Seekers, depending on what you believe about their abilities, seem to access the magics of some form. 

Magic itself seems to come from several different sources; the direction actions of sapient spirits, the emotional resonance of semi-sapient wisps, or just pure raw energies from accessing the Fade. And fade spirits still react to strong emotions of battles and such. And they seem to like paying attention to notable figures. In a word, they like experiencing big stories and strong emotions. 

(Also, since I hear the objections already in my own head - Dwarves are of course an outlier here. But barring a clearer picture of what exactly Sandal and Valta can do and how, the theory somewhat parses if, instead of “Fade spirit/wisp attention”, you substitute in “a fraction of a Titan’s attention”)

Bards, beyond just the Orlesian type, are set to deliver big stories and strong emotions in spades. They’re often going to be performing for large crowds of notable people. Perhaps some are even called upon on commemorative/remembrance events for places of great tragedy, or heralding great changes.  

Their intended audience may be mortals, but what if the spirits of the Fade could hear them too? What if, over time and many performances, a bard catches spirits’ attention? What if, over time, the bard develops an audience of spirits that begin to follow their performances?

There are times when spirits of the Fade seem to be able to affect the physical world - hey, Fade-touched material exists! - whether through cracks in a weakened Veil or pushing hard enough to just influence things just slightly?

Bards in DAO have abilities that buff the entire party in arguably magical ways - granting attack, critical hit, stamina regeneration (heh) and so on. Nathaniel, sometimes spec’d as a bard, can make people fall in love with him despite him being a non roman cable companion in a 12 year old DLC. 

That last one might not count, technically, but really. Bards can do some PRETTY SUSPICIOUSLY MAGICAL THINGS.

What if spirits are helping them? What if the fade spirits are just...really excited to see a good show, and are doing what they can to help it along?

What if some bards are aware of this, and are specifically trying to play towards their Fade audience - in the hopes of getting a boon in the form of a lucky break or perhaps a little more?

Leliana in the Sacred Ashes trailer seems to be able to use some pretty magical arrows (and sure, that could be just a magical arrow thing or a faith thing, and is probably actually just artistic license). She’s also gotten visions from the Maker, has an unusually high blight resistance, and, potentially, was so connected to a spirit that one just took her place. Suggesting she might have some magical hookery pokery up her sleeves is not that far fetched 

Zither is a bard who is actually a mage, and uses NO abilities that his supposed Circle training would imply, His playstyle in the game is WILD, but focuses a lot on buffing the party but occasionally doing massive attacks of his own.  

Mage seems to be doing very well for himself these days, considering how popular his band is. 

According to him, anyway. But he is just jauntily out and about in Trespasser, with nary a Templar guard in sight. 

In fact, much like his mundane bard counterparts, his abilities seem to buff his party through enhancing their attack, or offering them some protection.

So...why would a Circle trained mage have abilities more in common with a mundane bard than the various battle magics we see used in game? 

Is it possible that it’s simply because bards are already tapping into a small form of magic in their adoring Spirit fans, and ZITHER! is just a really amped (heh) up version of their magic?!?

Who knows. It’s just a crack theory. But I like it. 

[melisusthewee]

DAY 1: MUSIC

Featuring the weirdest bard on this side of the Frostbacks - ZITHER!

[junryou]

Drinking Buddies

Amund: When we return victorious, I will have words with that tiny man Cabot about getting us real Avvar mead to celebrate.

Zither!: I’ll try anything once. And then forget I did and try it again, because I will try anything. Once.

A SUPER-FUN commission for @pancakekazoo & @crowetesque of the Dragon Age: Inquisition multi-player characters, Amund and Zither!, enjoying a round of Avvar mead together!

I added in our three Inquisitors—Ayrah, Persephone, and Braith—as well as a couple cameos and a mabari ‘cause REASONS.

Hope this brings y’all joy in this dark and seemingly hopeless time! <3 Thanks again for supporting me and my artwork!!

reblog, do not repost/use

[feeshies]

Who’s the best Dragon Age Character?

Trick question: it’s Zither!