Mythal, Solas, and Lavellan
So there’s lots of discussion about Mythal and Solas, and we need to talk about it.
I too, at first, was mad that Lavellan wasn’t enough for Solas.
And then I started thinking about it.
Not only was Mythal his mother, his creator, she coaxed him into being. Into changing his spirit and his purpose.
He let her use his knowledge and wisdom to do a terrible thing, to kill (tranquil) the titans, changing a whole race of people at a molecular magical level.
When that choice created the worst power known to Thedas (the blight) he was responsible again. And Mythal asked him to step up and fight against it, and he did. And a lot of people died.
Mythal DIED. (IMO The gods blighted her because she stood against them for wanting to use the blight but that’s not important here). And Solas blames himself.
From Solas’ perspective, he is her puppy. Her Emerald Knight. Her General. Her Protector. Her Wisdom. Her servant, her SLAVE. He is BOUND TO HER. And he caused her downfall.
And you’re all like, GEAS! GEAS!
Rook says something somewhere along the lines of like, by abstainsing from being the good guy (oh wait maybe it was Varric in the fade…)
By choosing to be the villain instead of the hero is he absolving himself of the guilt (regret) that comes from having to have made those choices.
From Solas’ perspective, he is her slave.
LOOK AT HIS BODY LANGUAGE.
He is a worm in the dirt in front of her. He is a scolded child, a puppy with his tail between his legs.
But in the eyes of Mythal, he was always her friend. The one person who had always stood by her. She did not literally entrap him, or bind him. It was all in Solas’ own head.
He refused to take accountability for his actions, only able to survive through the crushing weight of his own guilt by blaming it on servitude to Mythal.
That’s why Rook escaped the prison. Because she faced her own choices, choices with terrible consequences, and accepted them. Took responsibility for them, and promised to do better.
Remember, after the Temple of Mythal…
You gave yourself into the service of an ancient elvhen god!
What does that mean exactly?
You are Mythal’s creature now, everything you do whether you know it or not will be for her. *** You have given up a part of yourself.
***THIS WAS NEVER TRUE. IT WAS NOT TRUE FOR FLEMYTHAL & MORRIGAN, NOR WAS IT TRUE FOR ABELAS, NOR WAS IT TRUE FOR SOLAS. HE JUST WANTED TO BELIVE THAT IT WAS.
…I suppose it is better you have the power than Corypheus. Which leads to the next logical question… What will you do with the power of the Well once Corypheus is dead?
The war proved that we can’t go back to the way things were. I’ll try to help this world move forward. **Lavellan is talking about the mage/templar conflict, but Solas is putting her in his own shoes. Solas reached for power he could not control and fucked the whole world up.
You would risk everything you have with the hope that the future is better? What if it isn’t? What if you wake up to find that the future you shaped is worse than what was? **
**This is literally him asking her what she would do in his shoes. He woke up and the world was in chaos OF HIS MAKING. To prevent an evil HE CAUSED from spreading, he orchestrated the downfall of the people he loved and swore to protect.
I’ll take a breath, see where things went wrong, and then try again.
*He is in shock that she can be so cavalier about the guilt that has rocked him for (4?) millennia.
If we don’t keep trying, we’ll never get it right.
*And this is the only thing that calms him down.
You have not been what I expected, Inquisitor, you have… impressed me.
You have offered hope that is one keeps trying, even if the consequences are grave… that someday, things will be better.
Then, of course, he takes this to mean that he needs to try to put The Evanuris in a different prison and take down the veil which isn’t at all what we meant sweetie but that’s okay get up and try again.
This is a classic case of a person in power not understanding the terrible, horrible consequences of unfettered power imbalances. Because Solas was always Friend to Mythal (Im not going into Freudian sex shit with you weirdos right now).
Solas was Mythals FRIEND.
Mythal was Solas’ EVERYTHING.
excessive emotional or psychological reliance on a partner,
His Mother, General, Creator, Protector, Queen, Goddess.
And he loved her so fiercely with every fiber of his new, physical being.
And when Lavellan fell for him, and he for her, he was afraid.
Because he would never force a spirit against her purpose, and in his eyes the only way to love is the sick and twisted way he loved Mythal.
But again, from Mythal’s perspective, it wasn’t twisted. Solas was just Solas. And once again the powerful care not for the thoughts and opinions of those beneath them.
And that sin is on Mythal.
And that’s why she comes out and talks to Solas. Both aspects of her. To release him from the bonds that never existed. Be free, friend. You always were, but if you need me to say it I will because I love you.
“I pulled you from the fade and sent you into war. I used your wisdom as a weapon… and it broke you.”
Cole: Is there a way to save more spirits, Solas?
Solas: Not until the Veil is healed. The rifts draw spirits through, and the shock makes demons of them.
Cole: Pushing through makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you. Being pulled through means you don't have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being.
“The things that I have done…”
“Are not for you to bear alone, my friend. The many wrongs we did, we did together.”
And he COWERS before her. Shaking and shuddering. FNALLY being absolved of the guilt he’s carried since his inception.
“I release you from my service.”
And he SOBBS. At the RELIEF.
And Lavellan kneels before him (wrong, IMO because they should be equals but its fine)
And he can go back to his original purpose.
“My life force now sustains the veil. With every breath I take, I will protect the innocent from my past failures.”
The Shepherds Wolf. Protecting his flock from those who would do them harm.
And Lavellan promises it won’t be terrible, as long as they’re together.
And maybe Solas can try this different kind of love. A love built on respect, and trust, instead of fear, and obedience.
And he can be his purpose, Protection, and also be a man. And love his vhenan.
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