supporting character meme | selectively accepting
someone with power over my muse
the inquisitor – especially a low approval inquisitor, but this applies to all of them for some extent.
i think people tend to forget this because people tend to forget that solas’s power isn’t absolute in general, but he’s in a position of vulnerability throughout much of inquisition. he mentions to you in the fade dream you share that cassandra threatened him if he didn’t produce results, and at that point he would not have had the power to do anything about that if she had acted. at best, he could have run, and the world would be swallowed as a result.
and he makes it clear in his first conversation that he’s not altogether comfortable here, he’s an apostate working for an organisation that would see him jailed or worse. at this point the power discrepancy between him and the herald isn’t very dramatic, they’re newly come into their own power and if they promise to protect him he asks how– indicating that should the inquisition move against him, he doesn’t think they could stop it.
but that changes. the herald starts calling the shots, potentially recruiting yet another organisation that would see him chained, binding those like him, or letting them join as allies.
it’s at this point that it’s his knowledge that’s potentially the only thing between him and a similar punishment, and where the inquisitor unarguably has power over him regardless of where they stand as friends (or enemies). when i played through a pro-templar, low-approval inquisitor, solas leaving at the end didn’t seem so sudden. he was essentially getting out now that his usefulness had ran dry, and before my inquisitor could put him in a circle or make him tranquil.
one of the most telling lines, which i’ve talked about here before, is the low-approval line “rattle the bars if you like, I chose to enter this cage.” solas feels trapped in a low-approval inquisition, and is well aware that someone he despises has power over him. he keeps some power via his secrets, but there’s only so much that can do.
again, this is downplayed if they’re friends, he definitely doesn’t feel caged– in fact, he’s fairly sure that if he felt he had to leave the inquisition that they would be disappointed, but understand. there is a power discrepancy nevertheless. how this manifests would depend on the inquisitor, ones he’s friendly with but have shown to be open to use tranquility is one he might feel pressure to remain in their good graces (or else trust in his usefulness to keep him safe), etc.
there’s a lot of reasons why solas doesn’t tell the inquisitor who he is until trespasser, but there’s a reason that why he chooses to do it while they’re ailing in a way only he can fix. had he told a romanced inquisitor what he initially planned to, and they reacted poorly, he wouldn’t have had the power to do much about it. he might not have even been able to take them in a fight– he’s a powerful and talented mage, but it’s really important for people to remember that’s all he is at that point.
tl;dr - the inquisitor is in a position of power over him more or less immediately after champions of the just/in hushed whispers. it’s understated if they’re friendly, solas’s secrets give him agency, but if they’re not friendly he knows that if they decide his knowledge isn’t enough to save him that his only chance is to run. he and the few Fen’Harel agents at Skyhold would only die if they fought, and it isn’t until after inquisition that he regains his OP magic.
areudirty
tangentwithtanner
turnnoffyourmind
theartofmadeline
