#the dalish
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“Wolf-mother, where you been?
You look so worn, so thin
You're a taker, devils-maker
Let me hear you sing, hey-ya hey-ya.”
- Wolf, First Aid Kit
#I love my problematic child#her personality trait is angry#solas needs to be with a lavellan willing to crack some eggs imo#vunin lavellan#lavellan#vunin#dragon age#dragon age inquisition#inquisitor#inquisitor lavellan#the dalish#dalish#dalish elf#dalish elves
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CONFESSION:
I’ve been watching someone play DAO and they read every codex entry and they recently went to the dalish camp. And I don’t know if I never processed it when I played, but dalish elves age at a slower rate when they’re not in close contact with humans??
Is that a thing still? You mean to tell me my Mahariel could have lived an extended life if it weren’t for humans? Is that something they dropped?? I don’t know how I feel about this information. It’s just weird
Here is a Wiki Forum post on the Dalish Life Span
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Saw a recent DA confession about Rivain (not gonna touch the post with a 10 foot pole though because the notes are "meh" and I'm pretty careful about my fandom exposure), but I just love seeing people bring it up because it's one of those instances where Bioware tries to make instances like the mage-templar conflict a grey issue instead of black and white, then they drop some horrific lore in passing through a codex or a war table mission and expect people to continue going "b-b-but both sides..."
Yeah, we literally have a matriarchal society outside of Chantry influence (except in their capital). The Circle they have is basically a front. Mages are free to come and go as they please. Elves and Qunari are welcome among them, have settlements there. From the codex and wiki, the Templars honestly don't give a damn about the mages training their women as seers, so long as the seers help them out here and there. In my eyes, it's about as much of a utopia as we can get in the Dragon Age setting.
Then, the Chantry comes in and pulls the Right of Annulment out of their ass because we can't have anything outside of the status quo threatening their influence, right?
Anyways, I'm just amazed how many people seem to miss that and then how many people just blatantly disregard the knowledge when presented with it, and try to make it seem like "The Exception" to the rule, even though the Avaar and the Dalish are other clear examples of mages existing peacefully enough outside of the Chantry’s influence. (Don't get me started on that "3 Dalish Mages" rule which clearly contradicts the lore up until that point.)
#dragon age#pro mage#chantry critical#dragon age fandom critical#tagging that just in case#bluerose rambles#anyways im totally normal about rivain i swear#rivain#the avaar#the dalish
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I like to imagine the differing styles of the vallaslin between dao and dai is because of differing cultural artistic styles between the Dalish and their clans.
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I always wonder what it would be like for Lavellan to over hear Solas and Cass's banter pre-Trespasser. Especially from the perspective of one in a relationship with him. The sheer extent of how much he will entertain the idea that Cassandra's order is a good one, encourage her to believe in the Maker, and even ponder if the Maker exists himself is really cool. But Lavellan would only see her partner validating the Chantry, who still seek to obliterate her people, while belittling the religion of the Dalish for reasons he won't elaborate on. It must have been infuriating.
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What could have been by Sting ft. Ray Chen gives off Solas vibes to me.
I could see certain lines being aimed at the Evanuris, the Dalish,and Lavellan respectfully.
Especially the lines
"I am the monster you created."
"I couldn't care what invention you made me, cause I, I was meant to be yours."
Here, have some angst and longing.
#feykrorovaan#dragon age inquisition#dragon age#Dragon Age II#Solas#Fen'Harel#Dreadwolf#Certain lines would be aimed at the Evanuris#the Dalish#and Lavellan#idk Solas angst#Spotify
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I still find it relentlessly funny bioware’s writers deny up and down the Dalish were influenced by indigenous cultures when I can look at them, basically 1 to 1 with the Mexica gods and Arlathan is basically Aztlan.
Once again... I CLAIM THE DALISH FOR US.
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BioWare be like, oops made the mage/templar conflict too black and white with clear perpetrators and victims, time to grey-wash it. Same thing with the Dalish.
#bioware critical#dragon age#dragon age inquisition#dragon age mages#dragon age templars#mage templar war#dragon age elves#the dalish#dalish#dragon age grey morality#bioware grey morality#“grey morality”#fake grey morality#🧇
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Day 1: Arlathven
Elluin meets Abelas as she readies herself to speak the truth to the Dalish gathering at the Arlathven. Also on my Ao3. Kudos, comments and reblogs are appreciated and welcome. Thank you! For @dalish-appreciation-week
The clearing, surrounded by trees as old as time, echoed with the voices of dozens of Dalish elves speaking at once. Some sang, some exchanged vocal greetings and some even shed tears. Elluin watched all this with a small, tired smile on her lips, while her right hand - her only hand now - clutched the hem of her dark green cloak until her knuckles turned white. She could not help but allow the warm happiness to envelop her soul, but her mind beckoned her to be vigilant and prepare for the announcement that would change their world: Fen'Harel has returned and plans to plunge her life into the merciless waves of chaos and uncertainty.
With a groan, she left the comfort of the tree she had been leaning against and slowly, with every muscle and bone in her tired legs complaining as she moved, made her way to the centre of the gathering. There, with Vallaslins marked by the wrinkles of time, the eldest Dalish waited for everyone to find their place. While the first day of the Arlathvhen was about all the clans arriving and settling , Elluin had no time to waste. Her spies, the few who had agreed to continue working for the now retired Inquisitor in her mad quest to stop a god, had warned her that Fen'Harel's people were making their way to the place where the Arlathvhen was being held. For what reason, she could only guess, but her stomach clenched every time the thought crossed her mind.
One of the elders, a woman with a bright smile and even brighter eyes, beckoned to Elluin and patted the ground invitingly, but before she had a chance to nod in agreement and join the elders she had played tricks on as a child many years ago, a bright flash of light stopped her in her tracks. From across the clearing, the sun's rays shone on the golden armour of three tall elves who watched the gathering with deep frowns. Elluin's breath caught as she recognised the garments and for a few awful, wonderful seconds she hoped that Fen'Harel himself graced them with his presence.
A bitter, barely audible snort left her lips as it became clear the three elves - two men and a woman - were not Solas. Why would he drag his almighty ass into the middle of a dusty, grassy clearing to wet the feet that supported his inflated ego?
Anger welled up in her chest, and Rage - now completely fused with her - made the fire flare in her fingers, but she pushed it back the next second before the old elves decided she was their enemies. She marched towards them, ignoring the cheerful greetings of the people she loved. Her ears rang as her heart beat wildly against her ribs, as if it wanted to leap out and fight the elves who dared to appear in their golden armour.
"Why are you here?" hissed Elluin to one of the men. Her nails dug into the flesh of her hands as she recognised the features of his face, burned into her memory months ago. Abelas.
"Inquisitor," he bowed to her, armour clanking. "It is an honour to see you again."
"Spare me the titles. Why are you here?"
Abelas glanced over her head and eyed those present with lips pressed into a thin line, eyebrows still furrowed. "He sent us here."
"Why? To kill us all before we have a chance to fight back?"
"Inquisitor, is that how you see us?" His gaze drifted back to her face, in which she recognised a hint of indignation, but she did not care for his pride. "We have come to ask for help."
"Help?" Elluin choked on the word and spittle caught in her throat as her muscles refused to work.
"Yes," he nodded and clasped his hands behind his back, a gesture that pierced Elluin's heart with the memories it evoked. "He had judged your people harshly, but now he understands their strength and courage. And he wishes to have them as allies, not enemies."
Rage stirred again, the centre of her chest growing red-hot and threatening to burn her clothes and set her on fire. She took two deep breaths, blocking out the reverberations of the days and nights she had spent with Solas in a vain attempt to change his mind about his people. And now, suddenly, he wanted to ally himself with the Dalish?
"Is that so?" she said after a few more seconds of staring at Abelas' face and counting her breaths. "And what made His Highness change his mind?
"You had."
The only sound Elluin could hear was her blood pulsing, racing through her veins, driven by a heart struggling to make peace with Abelas' words. Her heart beat against her ribs like a bird trapped in a gilded cage, with needles pricking her every move. How much more happiness was Solas going to rob her of? Was it not enough that he had stolen her heart and her hand? Did he now have to come and steal her family as well?
"Leave." Elluin whispered through her clenched teeth. Abelas frowned at the distortion in her voice, as if two beings were speaking at once.
"I am one of you, Inquisitor, why am I not allowed here?" Abelas pointed to his Vallaslin branching on his forehead. "Why are you allowed to stay when you have forsaken the marks of your gods and I have not?"
"It's not the same thing, you're here to corrupt my people and-"
"Corrupt? We are here to tell them our truth and ask them to join us if they wish." Elluin opened her mouth to protest, but Abelas continued. "Do you believe your truth is the only real truth? Do you want to decide instead of your people?
Had he struck her in the stomach, she would have felt less pain, but the bitter truth Abelas spoke took away her breath and the conviction to drive Solas' people away, for the three bore the marks of the gods she no longer believed in. Defeated, Elluin moved out of his way. She could not become the people she had fought: those who decided what was truth and what was lies.
Abelas was right. Just as she had the right to be there and speak their truth. Who was she to stop them?
Elluin smiled a bitter smile and looked back to the Dalish, who now began to sing of old times when the long lost language stood on the lips of the world. When magic and the love of the gods were still interwoven. The song changed, the lyrics changed and the people who sang it pleaded for the love of the gods to return and flood them once more.
Elluin choked on the tears she struggled to hold back, for the times they had sung about would return. Faster than they could have imagined. And she had no choice but to fight it.
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Halam’shivanas - Chapter 3
Castle on a Cloud
With her pack on her back, Astala wandered restlessly through the camp. At some point, she took one left turn she hadn’t taken before and suddenly found herself in front of a large animal pen. Inside the very large pen were the most beautiful animals Astala had ever seen. Snow white, with antlers that curved into graceful patterns like stylized branches and similar to the carvings on the aravels, with large doe eyes and majestic gait. All her thoughts tumbled over one another and fizzled out of existence at the sight of these creatures, until she was standing there, mouth open, eyes wide, mind empty, and staring.
“Hello?”
Astala had to do a double-take because for a moment, the woman who stood in front of her looked exactly like Shianni. But she was at least a decade older than her cousin; she wore dark brown vallaslin in a design similar to that of the dark-haired huntress Astala had met when speaking with hahren Paivel.
“Hi,” Astala answered. And then the words stalled on her tongue until she gestured over to the herd. “They are beautiful. Who are they?”
“These are the halla,” the woman answered. She set out to say something else, paused, and then gave herself a visible shove. “Forgive me for prying, but is something troubling you?”
Whole chapter on AO3
I have decided on a whim to change the update schedule. Friday seems like a much better day than Sunday. And I promise this one is cheerful, up to a certain point, anyways XD As always, enjoy on your own time and pace. Have a lovely day!
#astala tabris#ilanlas mahariel#warden tabris#female tabris#warden mahariel#male mahariel#the dalish#halla#dao#dragon age#dragon age origins#clan sabrae#dragon age origins fanfic#dao fanfic#my writings#here we gooooooooo
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#dragon age#dragon age: origins#the dalish#inon zur#2009#music#(10 secs of silence at start due to copyright sorry)#ost#soundtrack
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A slight re-colorization of a very old Dragon Age piece I depicted where I stated that I prefer the anchor when it’s presented as more of a violent, spreading atrophy.
Vunin Lavellan - Current protagonist of my latest Inquisition run for a Solvellan playthrough for inevitable DA: Dreadwolf lore. She is played as an aggressive Inquisitor (hitting all those mean dialogue options and still somehow managing to get most of the companions to somehow like her). I’ve actually really enjoyed a Solvellan relationship with a more “hardened” Inquisitor. It’s fun to be able to match Solas’ own haughty pride with your own. Though, perhaps I’m someone who enjoys deeply flawed characters. That and it is fun to have a Dalish who begins with being extremely confidant of their culture and inevitably have that spiral as more evidence comes forward to suggest what they know to be true may be nothing at all (especially with Abelas and his, “you’re not my people,” comment at the Well of Sorrows). Looking forward to her want for scrambled eggs next game.
#dragon age#dai#dragon age inquisition#vunin lavellan#inquisitor lavellan#lavellan#vunin#dalish#the dalish#dalish elf#anchor#the rift#inquisition#the inquisitor#inquisitor
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CONFESSION:
I really liked hearing about Red Crossing. Yes the elves are treated like garbage and its horrible but it showed they are capable of making mistakes just like all the other races. I grew up in a poor neighborhood and one time a neighbor was accused of stealing from another an elderly neighbor. It was eventually discovered that it was another person in the neighborhood who we trusted who did the stealing. The neighbor who was originally accused did forgive those who accused them but the damage was done and they moved to another area. I know it angered a lot of fans but Red Crossing was written to show everybody (not just humans, dwarves, Qunaricommits stupid mistakes. And when people make mistakes, they don't like to admit it and that includes the elves.
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Been reading through some of Fenris' banters for reasons, but reading the first interactions with him and Merrill about elves just saddens (or maybe a better term is disappoints) me because up to this point and even in Inquisition, there has been next to no middle ground for the City Elves/Dalish takes! With the companions, it's always so black-and-white. Frustratingly so! Zevran, Merrill, Fenris, Sera. (I'm omitting Solas because that's a discussion for another post.) All of them are guilty of it. Whether it's blaming the current elves for their oppression, dismissing the idea that they all share common goals, or making it a point to distinguish themselves from "other elves," they all do it to some degree. And I just wish the narrative and/or protagonists could challenge those ideas more, that "hey, guys, funny idea but maybe the Dalish and City Elves are more alike than you think and could be stronger together, just a thought." That they're not two separate peoples, but rather two subgroups of one.
#dragon age#fenris#merrill#zevran#sera#the dalish#city elves#bluerose rambles#bioware critical#kinda
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Some Ashura outfits bc dalish elf rights
#ashura lavellan#Dragon Age fanart#da fanart#he's not an inquisitor but he's the twin brother of my inquisitor asma#dragon age inquisition#dai#BioWare#my art#artists on tumblr#dnd#Dungeons and Dragons#lavellan#Outfit lineup#swana elf appreciation hours#dnd character#dalish elf#digital art#character design#elves of color
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More Visibly Half Elven Alistair musings
ft. my Dalish HOF Cawen
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