If there's one thing that continues to infuriate me about DAV it's the lore related to the old gods and dragons in the game. Significant chunks of it make no sense and make the setting worse all around. A lot of it seems to stem from some kind of desire to streamline the lore. So here's a list of all the issues I have with the Old God lore in DAV:
1. The Old Gods are high dragons
So this is the first mistake they made. Turning the Old Gods into high dragons. In the comic books we were introduced to the concept of great dragons and how they were extra powerful and connected to dreamer magic. In the previous games there were several codex entries that hinted that the Old Gods were supposed to be great dragons rather than high dragons.
The Old Gods were like unto dragons, as the first human kings were like unto ordinary men. So it is written in the Tome of Koslun.
-Sten, Those Who Speak
Codex entries: The Old Gods; Dumat, the Dragon of Silence; Dragon Cults, Drake's fall
2. The Old Gods are all female
Now this issue stems from the whole let's make the Old Gods into high dragons part. If they had confirmed that the Old Gods were great dragons they could have side stepped the whole "all high dragons are female" lore by saying that it doesn't apply to great dragons. Instead we get to hear the most contrived reasons for why Elgar'nan calls Lusacan by male pronouns. You could also think that hmm maybe the pronouns are supposed to refer to the soul of the Evanuris inside the dragon, yeah, except they fucked up that part too. Prior to DAV the only Old God confirmed to be female was Razikale and Toth and Andoral were left ambiguous, the rest were male. This meant that if we were to assign Razikale, Toth, and Andoral to Ghil, Sylaise, and Andruil they would match. Now what did they do in DAV:
For some insane reason they keep referring to Toth with male pronouns when they've decided that the Old Gods are high dragons and all high dragons are female and there are no references anywhere to Toth's gender before this. Now, no matter how you assign the Old Gods to the Evanuris you're left with a situation where one Old God and one Elven god are both referred to as a "he" even though the elf and lizard are both female. And you can't even blame this with in game lore of "ooh the 'vints were dumb and couldn't figure out dragon anatomy" when they've been shown to have advanced understanding of dragon anatomy and the grey wardens literally have access to their corpses. The lady of the forest from Origins also refers to Urthemiel as a "he", so it's not a 'vint thing.
And then there's also this blast from the past:
Ben Gelinas was in charge of the World of Thedas books, so Bioware could've changed the gender of the Old Gods for those books too if they had wanted to, unless the gender of the Old Gods was supposed to be some kind of secret and gotcha trick.
3. Disconnecting the dragons from the "sun"
DAV is a game that can't handle a metaphor to save its life which is why we get to hear Elgar'nan going on about the literal sun and night when in the past lore it was implied that the sun was a dragon/dragons in general.
Here we see a bunch of elves imprisoning a dragon with what looks like to be lyrium. (Also you're telling me that there were murals like these in the middle of Minrathous for the past few thousand years while everyone was wondering why the Old Gods are underground, like really.)
Here's what old codex entries said about the sun and elves:
Codex entry: Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance & Codex entry: Mythal: the Great Protector
In both cases the sun is trapped in what sounds like a prison made out of lyrium. The Old God prisons were right next to Titans or huge lyrium deposits based on WoT books, as there was a prison near the Heidrun Thaig where the DAI Titan is, and Note: Ancient Warden Logbook, which says that the wardens broke into what looked like a Thaig when they were trying to dig up an old god.
4. The Old God prison in the western approach
In DAI if you go to the western approach and the mine there you can find the above mentioned note that mentions that there's an Old God prison right under your feet:
Solas also comments: "Someone was digging for things that should have been left undisturbed."
In Asunder Cole comments how he can hear the calling and iirc he was close to the western approach in the following passage:
"And worse, there was the music. He didn't know what it was, but it seemed to come from far, far off. It called to him, but not in a pleasant way-it had an urgency that sped his heart and made his blood burn. The dark creatures, the lurkers, they listened to it. He didn't know how he knew that, but he could feel them out there, craning their necks, raising taloned hands towards that call."
Asunder, ch: 9
But in general there's nowhere said that the prison is empty and pretty much all other blights have started far away from Orlais. So given the fact that this prison still seems to be functional and the archdemon there is referred to as a he it would make sense that this is where Lusacan is imprisoned, right? Now where did Elgar'nan awaken Lusacan? Arlathan forest, on the other side of the freaking map.
5. Erasure of the "dragons used to rule the skies" lore
This is something that is probably only familiar to those who have read the early comics, but Yavana, one of Flemeth's daughters says the following:
"The blood of dragons is the blood of the world."
-Yavana, the silent grove
Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?
-Yavana, the silent grove
Yet this whole aspect of the lore seems to have been completely removed from both the game and the art book. In the art book iirc there's one picture with unicorns and dragons flying in the skies but otherwise nothing.
As was shown in the part where Elgar'nan imprisoned the sun he might have been the one responsible for fighting against dragons. The Chant of Light also features the following:
"Until, at last, some of the firstborn said:
"Our Father has abandoned us for these lesser things.
We have power over heaven.
Let us rule over earth as well
And become greater gods than our Father."
The firstborn are the elves and the earth is most likely the Titans so, who is the Father here? Elgar'nan's father is said to be the sun, which might be the dragons. The implication here is that they first defeated the dragons and then the Titans. Yet again, this potential war and dragons ruling the skies are not referred to anywhere. Great dragon blood in the comics was said to grant dreamer abilities.
6. Tying the Evanuris's immortality to the dragons is dumb
So, the Evanuris are invulnerable to death as the dragons give them the body hopping ability and the lyrium murder knife is only needed to get past their protective spells. Well, guess who is not limited by such trivialities? Corypheus. Our dear ancient magister didn't need his pet dragon to body hop, instead he nerfed his body hopping ability by binding the red lyrium dragon. Rook's tactic of first killing Ghil's dragon and then stabbing her who knows how long later with the dagger wouldn't have worked on Cory as he would have recovered from having to reabsorb his power from his dragon and then he would have simply body hopped to the nearest blighted being if he was stabbed to death. Thus the Evanuris have worse immortality than Corypheus does, since they can't body hop without the dragons.
As stated in DAI about Cory's abilities:
Kill it, and his ability to jump to other bodies is disrupted for a time. He can be killed. -Inquisitor
Kill the dragon, and his ability to leap into other bodies is disrupted. He can be slain. -Morrigan
And straight from the horse's mouth:
In short Cory is king and the Evanuris are a bunch of losers and the blight likes to play favorites.
Also, we're in Tevinter and didn't get any proper codex entries about the Old Gods, like wtf.
I want to complain about the fact that there's Solas's slavery liberation project going on in the tunnels of Minrathous and about the damn elven statues/ruins beneath Minrathous at all. Not only did they take the whole "Tevinter was built on elven civilization" too literally (have they never heard of metaphors?), but it makes no damn sense given the lore. These ruins were never mentioned before just that there were tunnels under the city.
Minrathous was according to WoT books a rocky island that the early humans arrived to while the elven civilization was still going on. So, how did these humans take over the elven city? It made much more sense for it to be an uninhabited island.
And did everyone just ignore Solas's operation? Like did the humans and the elven establishment just go all "ignore the baldy and the missing slaves and the shady shit he's doing"?
According to the artbook the devs tried to make Cory and the Architect look like imitations of Ghil and Elgar'nan, but that didn't really work on a character level because Cory's dialogue is peak while Elgar'nan's dialogue comes across as "I'm 14 and this is deep" and simplified with less complicated vocabulary and grammar.
I tried to find some examples where Cory and Elgar'nan are supposed to be saying similar things to showcase this:
Elgar'nan: I am Elgar'nan: First of the Firstborn, Last of the Evanuris. Come to reign over you with fine and gentle hand.
Cory: I am Corypheus. I shall deliver you from this lie in which you linger.
A short example of the simplification imo:
Elgar'nan: This is my moment of triumph.
Cory: Now is the hour of our victory.
More examples under the cut:
Elgar'nan: All this and more I would gladly share. In exchange I ask only for your devotion.
Cory: I ask for nothing, because it is not in your power to give. But that will not stop me.
Elgar'nan: From beyond the Veil, I heard your lament, and have come to deliver you from desolation.
Cory: Mortals have always cried thus. Praise me, for I would end the silence that answers!
Elgar'nan: There is no light save my glory! No refuge save my shadow! No desire save my perfected intention!
Cory: Once I have ascended, I will be their answer. I will be their light.
Elgar'nan: If you will not bow, you will burn!
Cory: Bow before your new god and be spared.
Elgar'nan: When next we meet, Rook, you will not be so fortunate.
Cory: And you. I will not suffer even an unknowing rival. You must die.
Elgar'nan: You are nothing but an insect. Resist if you like. I have an eternity to spare.
Cory: A thief, in the wrong place at the wrong time. An interloper. A gnat.
Elgar'nan: I will sear the last glimmer of defiance from this wretched world!
Now you understand that none may stand against me. Those who try…
Cory: You will fall as a warning to those who oppose my divine will!
You will resist. You will always resist. It matters not.
Elgar'nan: Your Tevinter crumbles under its own weight. I can restore it.
Cory: I have gathered the will to return under no name but my own, to champion withered Tevinter and correct this blighted world.
Bonus: Insulting Solas
Elgar'nan: The vermin keep coming. Go. I will deal with that ragged wolf!
Cory: Is this ragged mage another ally? One more rattus emerged from the garbage?
And of course Elgar'nan has no line that's anywhere near as good as:
Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods, and it was empty!
The idea for this piece has been simmering in the back of my head and in some sketchbooks for YEARS, so I finally bit the bullet and actually painted it. It's also influenced by Paramore's song Misguided Ghosts, which has always been one of the main songs I associate with Mahariel. It fits the Dalish Warden Origin so well. 💙
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