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amaryllis-sagitta · 23 days

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[Old reposts] Some thoughts about Ghilan’nain’s and Fen’Harel’s apotheosis

The myth of Ghilan’nains ascension tells that

“[Andruil] approached Ghilan'nain with an offer: the gods would share their power with Ghilan'nain, but only if she destroyed her creations”. (Codex: The Ascension of Ghilan’nain)

Dalish lore also points at Ghilan’nain being especially faithful to Andruil’s moral path and, in turn, favoured by her. The offer of apotheosis itself was extended by none other that Andruil.

This opens up a rare possibility of patronage being granted by the Evanuris to their chosen subjects. Eventually, the Evanuris agreed to “share their power with Ghilan’nain”. It likely involved some sort of social rite of passing: she received a domain, a sacred shapeshifting form (perhaps shapeshifting was reserved for the Evanuris only altogether?), probably much more than that, but she had to enter the clique and adjust to their group dynamic.

It is confirmed by Fen’Harel in Trespasser DLC that godhood among the elvhen was a matter of acquired power. The Evanuris climbed the ladder of power and esteem until they were worshipped as gods. This suggests an enormous disparity between the Evanuris and the common people of the Elvhenan in peak moments before Mythal’s murder - a disparity that Fen’Harel would have sworn to even out.

He could walk among both the Evanuris and the Forgotten Ones, but only the latter are said to have recognized him as their equal.

for although he is kin to the gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways and saw him as one of their own. (Codex: Fen’Harel, The Dread Wolf)

It is implied from Cole’s remark from Trespasser DLC that Solas used to wear the vallaslin, presumably Mythal’s, but removed it from his own face:

He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face.

I’ll leave aside the possibility of him being chosen as Mythal’s beneficiary at some point in history. What interests me is the tricky position: Fen’Harel being “kin” to the Evanuris, but being excluded from the pantheon; always separated as the double-dealing, lone walker, recognized by the Forgotten Ones, but not quite one of them either.

My guess is that Solas broke free from Mythal while she was still alive because, in his earlier years, he was this kind of archetypal chaotic rogue who couldn’t stand any restrictions, or follow any rules for dear life. Thus, he received a trickster moniker that seems to gather all meanings around betrayal, chaos, deceit, duplicity, havoc, revolt, etc. etc. The ostracization of Solas/ Fen’Harel would have begun long before he started his revolt, for one specific reason: he probably despised both cliques, defied their rules and inner dynamics altogether, and rose to power by plucking whatever bit he wanted to pry away from them to undermine the existing dynamic. For all it’s worth, he operated like a Forgotten One.

From Geldauran’s Claim we can derive that at least one of the Forgotten Ones recognized accomplishments of power and rejected the Evanuris as a group with their pretence to set the rules for others. We don’t know if the Forgotten Ones themselves showed any pretence to define themselves as a group, not just defiant individuals reconciled with their fate to be obscured by history as long as it’s dictated by the Evanuris:

Let Andruil’s bow crack, let June’s fire grow cold. Let them build temples and lure the faithful with promises. Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery. (Codex: Geldauran’s Claim, JOH)

The myth of Fen’Harel and the Tree shows him between a rock and a hard place, having wronged both Andruil and Anaris the Forgotten One. Which implies, our boy could have been really busy pissing everyone off and usually finding a way to escape retribution by the skin of his teeth. The question remains why Fen’Harel was somehow remembered as a separate entity, not just labelled another Forgotten One.

A possible answer is that his remarkable skill in deceit and double-dealing gave him an immunity pass of a spy mastermind who had a hook on everyone. Which leads us to another possible answer: it’s quite possible that he surpassed both groups, and they reluctantly had to reckon with him while trying to keep the common people away from his area of influence. If he truly managed to imprison both groups of the elvhen “gods”, then for a brief moment he might have been, effectively, the most powerful elvhen to ever exist.

So, here’s a contrast between Ghilan’nain, who obeyed the Evanuris and destroyed the majority of her creation in exchange for power and inclusion (possibly, also the mandate to keep making her creatures on a lesser scale, with better resources and infrastructure, under other Evanuris’ scrutiny), and Fen’Harel who disregarded their rules and quite literally remained a self-made figure. Apotheosis as a token of recognition and as a rise in reputation, and apotheosis as a claim for tangible control.

#old side blog reposts #from cheapertevinterglam #solas #dread wolf #fen'harel #ghilan'nain #dragon age meta #dragon age theories #ancient elvhenan #ancient elvhen #arlathan #the evanuris #da meta #da theories #by magister asinius vivellius

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amaryllis-sagitta · 23 days

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[Old reposts] Succession of the Evanuris and symbolic eras in the elvhen history

Looking up the Evanuris mythos, I was wondering about family relationships between the Evanuris assumed in the Dalish lore. I don’t find it very likely that these were actual blood bonds. I would blame this on the origin myth tropes, where the first inhabitants of the world tend to be depicted through blood relations.

But what if this order of kinship depicts some actual relationship between the Evanuris? I will test the following assumption: the Evanuris assumed power in “generations” of succession, each of them adding to the elvhen society or changing it, in parallel to the Dalish myths and given divine attributes of the Evanuris.

Succession of the Dalish Creators goes as follows:

1st gen: Elgar’nan and Mythal,

2nd gen: Dirthamen and Falon’Din, the former couple’s “first children”,

3rd gen: Andruil and Sylaise as sisters, either daughters of EG&M, or daughters of the Earth itself; June either as their brother, or as Sylaise’s husband,

4th gen: Ghilan’nain, ascended by Andruil’s favour,

Fen’Harel: known as “kin to the Creators”, but placed outside their line of succession. A suggested direct relationship between Fen’Harel and Mythal would likely place him in the 3rd gen of the Evanuris, as a wayward “son” of Mythal’s legacy, but definitely not a “first child”.

I believe we can find traces of the main course of elvhen history through the Creators’ respective domains - due to the Evanuris converting themselves into an origin myth, and ascribing their names to the earliest eras of the society’s development.

Elgar’nan was told to be the first among the gods, born from the Sun and Earth themselves. He is best known for having defeated the Sun when it got envious of all the creatures of the Earth.

Elgar'nan had defeated his father, the sun, and all was covered in darkness. Pleased with himself, Elgar'nan sought to console his mother, the earth, by replacing all that the sun had destroyed. But the earth knew that without the sun, nothing could grow. She whispered to Elgar'nan this truth, and pleaded with him to release his father, but Elgar'nan’s pride was great, and his vengeance was terrible, and he refused. (Codex: Mythal; The Great Protector)

Mythal allegedly “walked out of the sea of the earth’s tears” and convinced Elgar’nan to negotiate with the Sun.

Humbled, Elgar'nan went to the place where the sun was buried and spoke to him. Elgar'nan said he would release the sun if the sun promised to be gentle and to return to the earth each night. The sun, feeling remorse at what he had done, agreed.

Tinfoil guess: in the age named after Elgar’nan and Mythal, the world became inhabitable. This is reflected by their success in mitigating Sun’s anger, establishing a day and night cycle, and bringing the creatures of the Earth back. Only the Canticle of Threnodies from the Chant of Light goes further back in cosmology than this, suggesting that spirits of the Fade appeared before the material world, and before the creatures of will/ soul.

Furthermore, Trespasser DLC suggests that Elgar’nan and Mythal had something to do with an onslaught on the Titans and dwarves:

War? I don’t remember any legends about our people fighting the dwarves. Though I remember my Keeper telling a story about how the dwarves fear the sun because of Elgar'nan’s fire. A metaphor for the elves of Arlathan driving the dwarves underground? The Qunari like metaphors. I should share that. (Codex: Torn Notebook in the Deep Roads, Section 2, Trespasser DLC)

Hail Mythal, adjudicator and savior! She has struck down the pillars of the earth and rendered their demesne unto the People! Praise her name forever! (Codex: Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads, Trespasser DLC).

The official reckoning of Thedas dates the first contact between the elves and the dwarves around -4601 Ancient, which is also 3000 years after the founding of Arlathan. Let’s leave it for a while.

Falon’Din is told to be the first one who freely crossed what Dalish myths interpreted as the Veil. But the situation is more complex. A tale of a wounded animal suggests that Falon’Din’s journey is relevant to boundaries of life, but not necessarily the temporal boundaries. As we know, the Elvhen were effectively immortal:

"Play with us,” said Dirthamen. “Alas,” spoke the deer, “I cannot. I am old, and although I wish to go to my rest, my legs can no longer carry me.” Taking pity on the deer, Falon'Din gathered her up into his arms and carried her to her rest beyond the Veil. Dirthamen tried to follow them, but the shifting grey paths beyond the Veil would not let him. (Codex: Dirthamen: The Keeper of Secrets)

What Falon’Din really did was release the deer from the body:

When Dirthamen found Falon'Din, he found also the deer, who once again was light on her feet, for her spirit was released from her weakened body.

Tinfoil guess: in the era of Falon’Din and Dirthamen, the People established a way to enter and leave (semi-?) material bodies at will. Dirthamen, in turn, “gave each creature a secret”.

Now, things will get philosophical. Falon’Din and Dirthamen are viewed as complementary yet inseparable. This reflects a basic dualistic view on the mind and body. My speculation is that whereas Falon’Din taught how to use the body - the vessel, the part of the self exposed to the environment, Dirthamen watched over secrets of the inner world. (It is a complex topic to what extent this internal world, within the metaphysical framework of Thedas, is built of spirit, soul, a mix of both, what spirit and soul mean in the first place - I had Plans™ in this regard but covering it will require a lot of effort.) The most important take-out from this is that Falon’Din and Dirthamen represent the discovery of incarnation. Indirectly, this hypothesis speaks in favour of metaphysical succession between primal spirits and the elvhen. Extensive exploration within the frames of physical experience began.

Returning to the timeline of Thedas: could it be that destruction of the titans was a step to prepare Thedas for a mass incarnation? Could it be that, for about 3000 years, Arlathan only existed in the Fade, as the Eternal City/ Golden City without a material aspect, with spirits occasionally peeking in but otherwise having no interest in the physical world? That’s high tinfoil right here and I can’t handle it for the moment.

Moving on to Andruil. She is known as The Huntress, and the patron of the best known elven moral code.

In the era of Andruil, the People are described akin to a prehistoric society of gatherers.

When the People were young, we wandered the forests without purpose. We drank from streams and ate the berries and nuts that we could find. We did not hunt, for we had no bows. We wore nothing, for we had no knowledge of spinning or needlecraft. We shivered in the cold nights, and went hungry though the winters, when all the world was covered in ice and snow. Then Sylaise the Hearthkeeper came, and gave us fire and taught us how to feed it with wood. June taught us to fashion bows and arrows and knives, so that we could hunt. We learned to cook the flesh of the creatures we hunted over Sylaise’s fire, and we learned to clothe ourselves in their furs and skins. And the People were no longer cold and hungry. (Codex: June: God of the Craft)

In the age of Sylaise and June, the People became skilled hunters.

That Andruil, June and Sylaise are put together nonetheless, might suggest that “physical” elvhen developed technology quite rapidly:

It is Sylaise who gave us fire and taught us how to use it. It is Sylaise who showed us how to heal with herbs and with magic, and how to ease the passage of infants into this world. And again, it is Sylaise who showed us how to spin the fibers of plants into thread and rope. (Codex: Sylaise: The Hearthkeeper)

Finally, Ghilan’nain, whose domain after ascension becomes navigation, finding one’s way on the journey - both physically, while traveling in aravels, and morally, as a tribute to Andruil’s moral code. In the age of Ghilan’nain, the People could have been improving their means of transportation and expanding across Thedas. Also, could her gift in creating monsters be an allusion to cattle farming, and a hint at the transition into the Thedosian equivalent of the Neolithic revolution?

It’s weird in as much as this progression suggests that the elvhen were on a very mundane path of technological advancement and expansion. That something pulled them to stay in the world and organize themselves into a society there, instead of making the Fade their hub and their point of return.

At any rate, I hope this makes any sense as a hint at a shift between some sort of Fade-based existence, mass incarnation and a clumsy transitional period when the elvhen were getting used to physical reality, towards an advanced, mostly mundane society that had to compete with other entities of the earth.

#old side blog reposts #from cheapertevinterglam #dragon age meta #dragon age lore #dragon age tinfoil #ancient elvhenan #ancient elvhen #the evanuris #arlathan #by magister asinius vivellius

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