#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )
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The Strength: Thora Cadash by @antaarf
Save me alike from foolish pride,
Or impious discontent,
At aught thy wisdom has denied,
Or aught thy goodness lent.
Teach me to feel another’s woe,
To hide the fault I see;
That mercy I to others show,
That mercy show to me.
Commission of my Thora Cadash’s post-Trespasser tarot, also featuring Solas, as they play big roles in one another’s arcs and I couldn’t resist swapping a lion for a wolf. Thanks again to Anta for working with me on this!
Find the artist here: Twitter (@ArfArts) ☀ Instagram (@anta_rf) ☀ Patreon (@anta_rf)
#dragon age#dragon age fanart#dai#cadash#solas#dai fanart#da:i#show that mercy to me ( thora )#when did i say that i would save you? ( fen'harel )#raincloud eyes in a moonlit face ( solas fanart )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#[ apologies for the repost i wanted it to show up in the tags ]
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What is “Home” to a Wanderer’s Heart?
A series of flash fics written for @rare-egg-hunt featuring Solas and Ian (non-binary, he/him), a companion Lavellan written and conceived by @theshirallen. The ship is canon divergent and doesn’t follow the exact trajectory of canon Solavellan. I wasn’t aware of this event until like, yesterday, so this is all I have time to prepare, but if this happens next year I’m looking forward to being able to contribute more!
You can read more of these two in an AO3 collection featuring fics/roleplays.
Indomitable Focus
Hands which tremble in the slightest wind hold steady now, magic coursing through Ian’s fingers and bleeding into the mortal world. He holds creation itself in his hands, stitching sinew and mending broken bones, turning a month’s bedrest into an afternoon’s. Solas watches, tongue held behind his teeth. Some questions find their answer that evening around the fire, as they speak in quiet tones of magic, and his eyes drift to watch the shape Ian’s lips make around his words. Others wait months before they’re satisfied, indulged at last by the weight of those same hands placed lovingly upon his waist.
Paint Stains
There is colour in the dream where their fingers interlocked, the sides of his fingers painted with the memory of Ian’s touch.
Naps
The head which once lay upon the softest patch of grass, the crook of his arm its only relief, now rests upon the pillow of Ian’s thigh. Eyes flutter shut, leaving open the chance for bare fingers, relieved of their gloves, to trace the slope of his cheek down to his lips turned in the shape of a smile meant for him alone.
Alone
The pillow beside him still bears the impression of Ian’s head, but the sheets have forgotten his warmth. Evenings of quiet conversation become desolate and bereft of any sound save the creak of the bed frame as Solas turns to face the wall. On the floor below Ian sleeps more soundly than he ever has before, dreams locked behind the sun-shaped scar upon his brow.
Secrets
With each spoken word he unveils himself, with each lie unravelled the weight of the hands at his waist lightens, loosens, their once sure grip now questioning who they hold. Is it courage or selfishness that he reveals himself now? Is it dread he sees in Ian’s eyes? The last strands of twilight are swallowed by the stars, his hopes vanishing with the onset of night.
Through the Eluvian
It comes alive at his touch, magic dancing beneath his fingertips, opening paths once forbidden to his like. Skyhold’s shadow stands at his back, yet no distance, no matter how vast, will untangle him from its memory. He lingers in the paint strokes on the wall, in the lessons impressed upon the Inquisitor’s mind, in the space between Ian’s heart and the blackened jaw that now dangles around his neck.
What will they call you?
Fen’Harel. The name follows him like a dead friend through the camp of his fellows. It is not a title invoked with intent to harm, yet it settles over him like an ill-fitting cloak. He pushes open the flap of his tent, and from inside another name greets him, spoken in the voice he treasures most: “Solas.”
#rareegghunt2021#bi solas#dragon age#( my writing )#i have found a home in him ( ian x solas )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )
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What is your favorite Memory of Ian? Out of any of them.
RELATIONSHIP ASKS | accepting | @theshirallen
He looks down in thought, towards hands still clad in armour he’s not yet shed. The day is through, yet he remains averse to ending it.
It does not take him long to find an answer. Precious little of his time belongs to him, of late, but what time he has is easily occupied with thoughts of Ian. He pulls back the first pieces of his gauntlet, catching his first glimpse of the skin beneath it since morning. The impression of chainmail is rubbed into his skin, fine pink lines which the free air will fix in a minute’s time. “We had not been dreaming together long,” he says, hand balling into a fist as he summons the memory of their fingers interlocking. “A week, at most, perhaps two.”
“I showed him memories, the history of the places we slept, and he, in turn, shared with me his dreams. There is no feeling in the world more intimate. We may share our secrets and our bodies with whomsoever we please, but our dreams are private places, even the spirits who pass through them forget, in time.” He remembers, sometimes even when Ian forgets, for the mind is a cruel place where nightmares loom larger than the sweetest dream. This memory, however, neither can forget. “When we were still strangers to one another, I learned he saw the world in shades of grey, albeit in a more literal sense than the phrase is typically used.
“At first I was hesitant to exert my influence over his dreams, content to live in the world exactly as Ian knew it. Even the memories I was careful with, recreating them as though I were working with black-and-white ink, but that evening... I slipped into the Fade and found myself in the northern reaches of Thedas, where Ian had spent the last decade becoming the person I had found myself in love with. He showed me the Alienage he had called home, the garden he grew under an inhospitable sun, the people he loved as he remembers them, and I—” He trails away, flexing his fingers apart as he searches for his place amidst the memories. When they held hands in dreams Ian had not held them as they look today, scarred and worn by warrior’s mail. They were the hands of a scholar, a painter, they remembered the burn marks from a theoretical spell and the thin red line of the papercut he’d sustained from a page of his own journal, not the wounds of war.
He’s uncertain if their absence was a lie, or a happy thought.
“I could not share myself with him as he did with me— not then, not as we were. I asked instead if he would care for a glimpse of colour as he had never known it before.” The garden burst in vibrant greens and reds hotter than a fire’s heart, brighter, perhaps, than they had in reality. It had been all too easy to become wrapped up in the moment, the intensity of his affection reflected in the saturated world around them.
Solas cracks open his right gauntlet, exposing his skin to the open air. Each piece he removes he comes closer to the person he was in that dream. Someone who he could sometimes believe was worth the trust Ian had granted him. A slow sigh heaves his chest, meeting resistance against his breastplate at its peak. As he works up his arm he remembers how the colours bled into the world like water into soil, the look in Ian’s eyes as questions he’d never hoped to answer were laid bare before his eyes.
“I’ve spent much of my life dreaming. I’ve started wars and ended lives, learned things the likes of which many could not, or would not, believe. But I have known no higher honour than what Ian permitted me that day. Though his dreams are distant to me, now, when I walk the Fade and see hope in a grey sunrise, it is comforting to think that despite the distance between us, there are still nights when our dreams remember each other’s.”
#solavellan#bi solas#sabraelin#[ im tagging this actually ]#( asks )#i have found a home in him ( ian x solas )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#[ mark the original thread as ''i could prob rewrite this better w/ more intent than we went into it with but what is time'' ]#( my writing )
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An incomplete list of Solas’ agents, as of 9:46 Dragon:
Miraen (they/them) one of Solas’ oldest allies and friends, although it’s a relationship not without its tensions. Acts as his spymaster. Written by Joly.
Vher’ehnshirve’evanuris (any pronouns) formerly served June, helped create many inventions which persist to the modern age, such as the objects that measure the Veil.
Sylvas (they/them) a spirit of creation, taken physical form. They joined the rebellion in the hopes of creating a new Elvhenan from the ashes of the old empire.
Adélaïde (she/her) Orlesian elf who lost her home when Celene burned Halamshiral, recruited either due to dissatisfaction with Briala’s alliance with Clene or Gaspard or to aid both causes.
Marjorie (she/her) Orlesian elf who also lost her home when Celene burned Halamshiral, recruited with her wife, Adélaïde.
Olivier (he/him) the adoptive son of Adélaïde and Marjorie.
Bruno (he/him) volunteered when Fen’Harel’s forces killed the magister who owned him and reclaimed the elven artefacts she had hoarded, mostly serves as a spy in Tevinter.
Purpose (any pronouns) a guardian who protected the valley where Fen’Harel’s sanctuary lay, potentially killed in Trespasser by Inquisition forces.
Adahleni (he/him) escaped one of Andruil’s hunts and from there found the rebellion. Poses as a Dalish elf due to never having had his vallaslin removed.
Felassan (he/him) an ancient elf who was tasked with recovering the eluvian network, but surrendered it to Briala. Potentially killed in Masked Empire by Solas.
Gaius (he/him) former slave to Magister Qintara, recruited by agents and never met Solas himself. Traded a red lyrium idol to House Danarius in pursuit of information. Potentially killed by qunari during the invasion of Ventus.
Other agents include an unnamed Dalish agent killed by the Carta while attempting to retrieve the red lyrium idol from Meredith’s frozen corpse and the city and ancient elf who worked with him. Also spirits of Valor and Justice who attacked Mortalitasi engaged in a blood magic ritual, and agents who mostly seem intent on causing chaos for the sake of chaos who are likely to be dealt with in the near future, at least by my Solas. And that one agent in Trespasser who likely brought the whole qunari threat to the Inquisition’s attention.
#tevinter nights spoilers#slavery tw#[ incomplete b/c i am only listing the ones from canon or written by myself or joly ]#i will die with you and you will be reborn again with me ( rebellion )#( headcanons )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#[ listen i just think its neat if felassan and gaius live ]
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Anonymous asked: You do realize when you do this thing where you foul up your own plans, you're doing it to the rest of us, too, don't you? Its bad enough you don't want yourself happy but do you think maybe you could keep it to the personal and out of the professional?
He winces, words stinging open wounds, bled anew in the aftermath of the Exalted Council. Intervening had been a mistake, action driven by fear of what would happen should the qunari plot be left unhindered, and yet unlike the many mistakes which came before it he cannot say if he would undo it had he the opportunity.
“If it were my happiness which motivated me I would not be here at all, and the world would be a very different place. Perhaps better for my absence, but then again-- that would depend upon who you asked. In the wake of Corypheus’ defeat, how many, I wonder, toasted to a return to normalcy? How many more feared that return? Or else witnessed the change enacted over the last three years and saw only a beginning?”
Indeed, he’s sure in his absence the humans of Thedas would rest comfortably on their laurels, at least until the Dragon Age’s next calamity fell upon them. It is a quiet thought, imagining his happiness, at rest in the wilderness with a tender lap to pillow his head upon. Yet to linger there scalds him, the picture alone a betrayal of the People he served.
“But you are right. Thrice now I have allowed the bonds I made with this new world to influence my judgment. Though I have endeavoured to make it our strength, there is no denying it has left our operatives more vulnerable than they would have otherwise been.” Now his name is not a curse upon Dalish lips, but lurks in the mind of every scholar and highborn noble. There is power in that dread, but danger, too. “If there is anything I can say to rectify past misjudgments, nothing has come to mind.”
An apology, perhaps, yet too much hope still lives in him to pry one with any meaning from his lips, and so he will not condescend with an empty one. He had once told the Seeker it was people he put his faith in, and perhaps it had never been so true as in the moment Thora took him by the hand and vowed to prove him mistaken once again.
#( asks )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#[ i lied i'll do some writing ]#show that mercy to me ( thora )
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@mercysought asked: One would imagine that Solas had (once upon a time) agents both in elves but also in beings that were more spirit than corporeal. I imagine that he would try to go about to try to do the same in the 'current' days. Do you think he would? If yes how would he go about it? Eluvians, dreams, a mix and match of things? Would he seek specific old spirits that helped him once in hopes that they were still alive or?
I sort of answered some of this with my last post, but Solas definitely still recruits spirits and they serve as agents the same as the other, physical agents we meet. We see it in Trespasser with the guardians who we must either fight or who we can bypass by speaking the right words. These aren’t bound spirits like those we fight in, say, the Tomb of Fairel or frankly throughout the series, but stayed willingly. As Cole says:
“The guardian spirits stayed. Not bound but biding. Because he asked. He knows how to speak so spirits listen.”
Then later in Tevinter Nights we see spirits are still a huge part of Solas’ mission and numbers. During the Mortalitasi’s tale lesser spirits and spirits of Valor and Justice aid in his attack on the Mortalitasi. The mage in question assumes that the only reason they must have attacked was because he bound them, and thought he was being hypocritical, but I think her perspective is just incredibly biased. She’s currently bound a spirit just to stir her tea so the concept of a spirit doing something without being forcibly compelled may be a strange concept to her.
Solas employs eluvian and dreams, in the case of Tevinter Nights the attack was carried out via the Fade, with Solas making no corporeal appearance and instead manifesting as a lupine dragon. He also delivered instructions to an agent via dreams, and so dreams are another avenue to dispense information. His organisation isn’t straightforward by design, so these different avenues and the difficulty for some of his agents to interact sort of works in his favour. I do think that through the Crossroads there is a middle ground for them to meet, although I think of all the things his modern agents are tasked with, accepting spirits as their equals may be the most daunting challenge.
And yes, I do think he would find old friends the same as he employs ancient elves like Felassan. Some, like my Peace (not an agent, but often an ally), find him. Others he would likely have to seek out himself, albeit carefully. I think some spirits like the Nightmare we meet in Inquisition may have changed in ways that wouldn’t benefit him should he seek them out.
#tevinter nights spoilers#i will die with you and you will be reborn again with me ( rebellion )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#( headcanons )#( asks )#[ bless u skells ]
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Anonymous asked: I thought you and @theshirallen had made up. Why did you leave him behind? Didn't you care?
“I am afraid it is more complicated than that. Ian and are are more than the people we become when we’re together. We have duties, higher callings which demand time apart. With the orb in pieces, there are... other matters to which I must attend.” Regrettable measures he must turn to in order to see his plans come to fruition. “And then there is the matter of the Anchor...” His fingers of his left hand bend, touching the middle of his palm.
“In my absence there would be no one to manage the Inquisitor’s pain, no one to calm the magical energies which flood like water dammed water to her mark. Whatever must come next, the Inquisitor is a dear friend, and I would not see her suffer needlessly. Ian possesses the skill necessary to ease her pain, and make these next few years livable.
“So, if it were not already obvious: I do care. There was no joy in my departure, no sweet sorrow to ease our parting. Skyhold glowed like a beacon when I last saw her, the golden glow so familiar it felt like home was calling.” And in a way, it was. Arlathan was gone, buried by war and Veil, but in the ruins of Tarasyl'an Te'las the spirit of its name had been made anew. “But there is no ignoring halam'shivanas. Until our paths cross again I can only hope the night brings with it warm winds and sweet dreams, so that I may meet him there.”
#( asks )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#i have found a home in him ( ian x solas )#dorf elgar ( anonymous )#theshirallen#[ halam'shivanas means ''the sweet sacrifice of duty'' ]
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Guess who read The Dread Wolf Take You!
The Assassin’s Tale:
Three agents. First elf is Dalish, second a city elf, third an ancient elf, which is a good demonstration of the diversity of elven experience among the ranks. I’ll be making another post about Solas’ resources and reach later, likely after I’ve finished reading the other stories, as I know I have comments about some of the other stories where agents are involved.
The Dalish elf says he wants to awaken his gods with the idol, indicating that there’s either differing motives for joining Fen’Harel or he was lying, believing that it would allow him to get what he wants sooner. Both are honestly believable possibilities.
Solas (and his agents, whose ranks also likely include other Dreamers) can kill people in their sleep, even dwarves. This isn’t new information, we’ve known it since Feynriel in DA2, although I am surprised dwarves aren’t immune. I wonder if it would work on Surface dwarves and not Orzammar’s, as magic resistance is explicitly lessened when dwarves leave Orzammar. I imagine it would at least be harder. Based on the Bard’s comments I think in this particular instance and the importance of securing the idol, Solas himself was involved in the assassinations of the sleepers.
Dreams also seem to be places people get instructions/orders, which would confirm a headcanon of mine.
The Mortalitasi’s Tale:
The red lyrium idol is elven, depicting either “two lovers” or “a god mourning her sacrifice.” I should note again that if Mythal/Solas is ever confirmed as romantic I will be going canon divergent on that, but for now it’s still unclear.
The Tevinter mage uses blood sacrifice to get the idol to do its thing, using slaves. Whatever ritual they were doing was interfering with whatever Solas had been doing at the time.
His behaviour in this story reminds me of something he says to the Inquisitor at the start of the game, the first conversation in Haven: “Posturing is necessary.” I’ve long held the headcanon that a lot of Solas’ weight after he became Fen’Harel was a result of deliberately making himself seem scary, what we get in this is a glimpse of the intimidation tactics I think he’s used since Arlathan.
The Mortalitasi thinks he must have bound spirits/demons to accomplish his attack, but this seems unlikely. Solas has his hypocrisies, but Cole notes in Trespasser “he knows how to speak so spirits listen” re: the sanctuary guardians, and it seems more likely the spirits are aiding him freely.
Again, the binding of spirits continues to play a role in Solas’ anger and frustration in the world-- his problems cannot be addressed just by improving the lots of physical elves.
The Bard’s Tale:
I’m rather doubtful of how much of this is true, I do believe he went to Llomerryn and retrieved the idol and that he now has it. Other than that the story is mostly a lot of name drops or references, with everyone from the Warden to Divine Victoria to Xenon to Tallis being referenced.
He describes Solas as touching the idol reverently, clearly it has personal meaning, although given his reaction to the focus breaking it’s probably nice to not find it’s cracked after some human put their hands on it.
I also believe the Ben-Hassrath didn’t listen to his warning at the end of Trespasser, although tbf the vidassala wasn’t in a position to pass the message on.
Addition: Lisa reminded me that the Bard described the idol, and likely has the most accurate interpretation -- “crowned figure who comforted the other” -- again, like the end of Inquisition. This isn’t the first time Solas has had a sad in Mythal’s arms. Why he needed comforting in the scene depicted here is unclear. It could be anything from Mythal’s impending death, to the Veil, to depicting Solas’ feelings after he took physical form at Mythal’s behest.
General Notes:
More wisps being used for really casual things that really could be done by hand, or potentially even just magic by hand, rather than ordering something else to do it for you. From the description of the Mortalitasi putting it away it seems its in the spoon permanently.
First, some notes about The Bard, headcanons included --
◦ As others have pointed out, Gauche, the name the party is booked under and his alias, means “awkward,” but it also means “left.” It’s a fitting name both because like “Solas” it’s a feeling/state of being, but also the Anchor was on the left hand (and therefore it’s the hand he removes in Trespasser).
◦ Opal inlays, which were apparently in fashion a few years back according to Vivienne banter.
◦ Resembles a dragon, again leaning on Mythal imagery.
◦ My headcanon that Solas knows Orlesian came true (although I also hc it as being limited in DA:I, I think he would have improved it since then).
◦ His manner and accent were coached by agents, specifically I like to think Adélaïde (found on @ourdawncomes) played a role in that, among others. Miraen (Joly’s OC, found on @ancientimpudence) likely helped with the outfit.
The little tells Charter picks up on kills me, like her noting that his hair toss is clumsy and the lack of tan lines indicating he doesn’t typically wear rings. I guess when you’ve been bald a while you forget how hair works, which as sb who has had a pixie cut for a few years... yeah, it tracks.
He can freeze people without turning them to stone, and can also freeze golems.
Solas literally can’t pretend to like tea so he just doesn’t drink it. Like I think he’s physically incapable of not making The Face.
The second he drops the act he sounds more like as we know him, Charter immediately noting he sounds “tired.” His voice falters, he smiles sadly, and smiles again when Charter points out that he’s hardly one to talk about the Executors being dangerous. Speaking of, he doesn’t like the Executors, and frankly they do seem pretty odd.
What he says to Charter after she asks for her life -- Ar lasa mala -- features in the phrase “ar lasa mala revas” or “you are free/I give you your freedom.” Since “revas” Means freedom, my guess is this just means what he says in Common, “I grant it to you.”
The second thing he does after allowing Charter her life is freeing the spirit/wisp in the stirring stick, a detail for which I owe Mx. Weekes my life.
Charter does more than just see through Solas’ disguise, but the line “perhaps we are not the only ones you lied to” is probably one of the best assessments of Solas’ character in the series. It also indicates that Solas’ motivations for approaching in Trespasser were, in part, a lie-- or rather, I think, not the whole truth. Lines about how he hopes to be proven wrong and his appearance here it reinforces that he has self-sabotaging tendencies for this plan, like he wants to be stopped but won’t, possibly can’t stop, which brings me back to Regret:
There might have been a better choice-- a thought it had not been allowed.
His plans may not be as destructive as first assumed, it’s noted Tevinter will likely take the brunt of it, but also he notes “the elves who still remain” may find it better when his work is done. I headcanoned ages ago that Solas doesn’t lie to those he allies with about the consequences of his actions, aka the destruction it’ll cause. He’s honest with the Inquisition and telling them the truth, allowing them to know the truth while lying to those he’s working with would be inviting unnecessary betrayal. Solas saying this to Charter is further evidence that the modern elves working with Solas are well-aware of what’s happening and as a whole not being lied to, although I also wouldn’t be surprised if some joined up with different ideas, as the Dalish elf at the start may have.
That Solas’ next move was the lyrium idol (which is also his? Or Mythal’s) indicates that if there are other foci out there, they can’t be wielded by him. This makes sense given his could explicitly only be wielded by him without killing him, so I imagine if there are others out there they’re specific to that evanuris/whatever mage created them.
That he regrets involving and revealing himself in Trespasser is pretty funny considering Solas showed up here in-person for like. Really minor, personal reasons. Again. Then revealed more of his plans. Again. Did I mention the self-sabotage?
It looks like this Solas was neutral-to-high approval, almost definitely not romanced. “Tell them I’m sorry” is a pretty general message, so for the purposes of roleplay he would say different things to everyone’s Inquisitor.
In conclusion: Solas is a loser but im still trash for him.
#( headcanons )#tevinter nights spoilers#dragon age spoilers#he calls himself Pride ( about )#[ i know i'm missing stuff but this is already so long#so if i think of more stuff i'll update it or something ]#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )
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give me uhhhh any further hc's about Solas and Ian's wedding in mainverse
Their marriage happens sometime after Dragon Age 4, so a lot of details are up in the air and subject to change! Discussed with @theshirallen, naturally.
In their timeline it happens after Solas’ plans have changed, again the circumstance of which are very much up in the air. Even if I’m likely going canon divergent, I like to know what canon I’m diverging from before I set anything in stone.
Solas proposes, or more accurately asks that they exchange vows and hold a semi-official ceremony. Both are unofficially committed to one another long before this, so it’s mostly a matter of sentimentality and for Solas he wants to mark that their life together after this will be different. Unlike in their modern verse it’s completely outside of dreams, where in modern he tries to propose in dreams before the shock wakes Ian up.
Both of them write their own vows rather than rely upon the vows of the cultures that made them. None quite fit.
The ceremony itself is a strange blend of Elvhenan, rebel, Dalish, and Andrastrian traditions. It’d be easy to think Solas wants to have a very Elvhen wedding and Ian a very Dalish one, but the truth is both have complicated relationships with their own culture. Ian is more familiar with the traditions from his Anderfels Alienage and Solas has fonder memories of the divergent traditions that emerged within the revolution, however Ian would want some Dalish traditions incorporated into the ceremony.
Signifiers of their union include rings (as per alienage tradition, they mean something to Ian) and for Solas’ part a marriage shawl typically only worn on formal or special occasions. I think before the Veil visual signifiers of marriage were rare and it was the Fade itself which communicated a union with other people, if it weren’t for the rings Solas would have likely torn a piece off of the shawl to wear something daily, but for now the shawl remains in one piece.
Ian wears flowers in his hair, Solas wears something reminiscent of his romance tarot card.
It happens outside, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any verse where they get married where it doesn’t happen outside.
The ceremony is completely private, held only for their own benefit. Their marriage has no legal recognition, the closest it would get to official recognition would be within whatever the agents and rebels have become after Dragon Age 4, which again is still up in the air at this point.
Solas cries because that’s just what he does now.
#ofrevas#( asks )#i have found a home in him ( ian x solas )#( headcanons )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#[ if i can get my character model swap working funnily ian and solas will get married next time i replay him#but it will be nothing like how it actually goes you could not pay solas to get married at the winter palace ]
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Names for Solas are flexible, he’s had a dozen over the centuries. Most were gifts, by friends or, more often, the faithful, and later his enemies. “Solas” was the first chosen by himself, for himself, and ultimately the name he prefers to be called at present. It isn’t a lie anymore than “Abelas” is a lie.
Many among the present-day rebellion continue to call him Fen’Harel, and he doesn’t resent them for it, but I’d compare it to the feelings of a Herald who doesn’t particularly want to be Herald. It settles strangely on him, but he keeps it because it means something important to people who are important to him, and because it has weight that Solas does not-- one that puts fear in his enemies and instills hope in his allies. Tevinter Nights has a good demonstration of what I mean, the image of a hulking black wolf who can devour his enemies in the Fade is linked to the name “Fen’Harel” while “Solas” is who Sutherland thinks of when he sees the rotunda paintings. I haven’t finished Tevinter Nights yet so I can’t speak for all the stories, but from what I understand the agents we see seem to exclusively refer to him as Fen’Harel/The Dread Wolf. There are agents who call him Solas, however, but they tend to be in private conversation and often are ones who have a personal connection with him, on the field “Fen’Harel” would be the more likely way to refer to him. Again, similar to how “Inquisitor” would be invoked in battle over the Inquisitor’s name.
Interestingly, in Tevinter Nights different opposing factions default to “Solas” or “Fen’Harel” depending on their relationship to him. Sutherland refers to him as Solas, he is referred to by both in “Genitivi DIes in the End” but at one point both of his names are referred to as “false” by Rassan, and Charter refers to him by both Solas and Fen’Harel. One thing to note is that she doesn’t actually refer to him by Solas in her narration after he reveals himself (or more accurately, is called out by Charter), he’s referred to exclusively by pronouns until the last line-- “The Dread Wolf isn’t going to stop himself.”
#tevinter nights spoilers#dragon age spoilers#he calls himself Pride ( about )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#( headcanons )#[ this was going to be a list of some of his names and how he got them but now i have nowhere to fit it w/o it feeling weird so i guess#thats another post ]
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i commissioned a post-trespasser thora from @destinyapostasy!!!
destiny is always great to commission and she’s having a sale to help fund her move! details here! (mod credit for her shirt is here btw)
#cadash#inquisitor cadash#show that mercy to me ( thora )#( gifts )#[ decided i'd post this on this blog so the most eyes see it#b/c a) destiny deserves the commissions and b) thora deserves ur admiration ;x ]#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )
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tas give us some solian headcanons pls and thank
Lisa here to enable me icb it.
Solas and Ian had feelings for one another in their red lyrium verse, although little came from it due to their meetings only occurring in dreams and Ian’s mental state unraveling due to being forced to remain shapeshifted. Neither of them are aware of this, but the Inquisitor would be.
Solas starts smoking elfroot again after Ian reintroduces him to it, he smokes occasionally to relieve anxiety but will also smoke socially if the mood takes him. In Elvhenan he had grown quite skilled at blowing smoke in shapes, like dragons and aravel, to entertain himself. The first time smoking with Ian, Solas, high for the first time in centuries and very confident, tries to repeat the feat and ends up choking on the smoke.
They share their first official kiss in Skyhold’s gardens, before the point where we see it in game (when we first arrive at Skyhold the path to the garden is blocked by rubble). Not long after the garden is weeded and tamed, and Solas is involved in the process. Before, however, he saves a blue wildflower from the garden and presses it dry as a token. It stays between the pages of his journal after that.
Ian and Solas start sharing a bed rather early in their relationship, as Ian didn’t have any quarters in Skyhold to call his own, but they don’t share a bed in the way they come to share it later. They don’t touch much, if at all. In general the beginning of their relationship is quite chaste, physically speaking, Ian having been raised in an environment that didn’t encourage open romantic affection and Solas second-guessing without the Fade to help him read Ian’s feelings.
In the final night before Doom Upon All the World, Solas gives Ian his wolf jawbone as a keepsake, knowing after the battle they would be parted for some time.
During Trespasser there is a final, unfinished mural that’s revealed in the ruins after it’s “revealed” that Solas was working for the Dread Wolf which bears Ian’s likeness.
Solas and Ian eventually do get married in their canon verse. Exactly when is up in the air and will remain so until DA4 comes and I get to figure out where I’m diverging from canon, but it will likely be post-DA4. It’s a private ceremony involving only the two of them, and Solas is the one to ask.
#hopewrought#( asks )#( headcanons )#i have found a home in him ( ian x solas )#v; i am dying‚ but no matter ( red lyrium )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#drugs cw
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we've seen like with gaius that many of solas' agents have never met him and were recruited by other agents. but do you think it's possible he has interacted with some of them without them knowing who he was, or is his status as figurehead too important for that?
In short, yes. Starting with the fact that there were probably some who knew him as Solas in Inquisition, not knowing he was Fen’Harel until much later.
My Solas has a long history of disguising himself to interact with the world as he would prefer it, and so does canon Solas, actually:
“Beware the forms of Fen'Harel! The Dread Wolf comes in humble guises, a wanderer who knows much of the People and their spirits.” (x)
This indicates that at least at the point of the rebellion, Solas is dressing in rags and approaching people as a normal person. My headcanon is that part of the reason the evanuris were able to unearth this strategy means it’s something he did before he was Fen’Harel. People tell different stories to the random traveller who you’re giving shelter for the night than they do a god at a temple, and as we see in Inquisition Solas has a fondness for smaller stories. Divinity in many ways is actually deeply unhealthy for his personhood and sense of self, and disguises offer relief from that.
But I’m getting off-track. My point is that as evanuris and, later, Fen’Harel he absolutely does interact with people without them knowing who he is. Pre-Veil it takes a lot of suppression of his abilities, but it’s something he’s capable of doing. Fen’Harel was important to the rebellion (although I hc it began before he joined it, his influence just gave it more weight because unfortunately society be like that, one reason among many Solas says he got more credit than he deserved), but if they aren’t engaged in battle or performing other rebellion-specific rituals, his direct presence/personhood wasn’t necessarily important so much as his name. The rebellion is a curious time for Solas, emotionally, because while he is afforded more personhood than as an evanuris, he is still seen as a larger than life figure. Only a few interact with him person-to-person, an inner circle, one might say, which leads me to…
The first scene you have with Iron Bull in Skyhold! I think this scene parallels a lot of the ideas I’m trying to get across in this answer nicely. The Inquisitor, ostensibly the most important person in, well, the Inquisition, is able to put on a different outfit and take a new name and effectively disguise themself. And while the Inquisitor is likely to forge many lasting and important relationships as Inquisitor, they also have to experience people bowing to them, calling them dressed-up titles for the first time in their lives, depending upon the origin you choose. Even some of their closest friends believe them to be divine, regardless of what they say on the matter. Which sounds familiar, for some reason. In all seriousness, I do like to think about Solas hearing about this moment from Bull and the thoughts it provokes in him. He probably best knows of the Inner Circle what the Inquisitor is going through, but can’t relate directly without giving something away.
When time comes for Solas to leave the Inquisition and become directly involved with his agents– especially those he was not close to in Elvhenan (potentially because they weren’t born)– he has to take on the mantle of Fen’Harel again and in many ways it’s the disguise. Still, the chaotic way Solas runs guerilla operations indicates there’s a good possibility people could speak to him without knowing who he is, depending on the context of their meeting:
“You have already divided your group’s membership. That is wise. No one cell can betray all your secrets. The next step is to establish a rhythm. When your enemies pursue, you vanish. When they become complacent, you harass them. When they are weak, you strike in earnest.” (x)
Some, like my oc Bruno, land in a situation where they immediately know Fen’Harel, but take time to learn who Solas is. Others may never know, and others still may know Solas but only have heard of Fen’Harel, or have only learned to who they had a conversation with after the fact. Again, like in Elvhenan, Fen’Harel is important, but there’s enough weight to the name and armour that if he takes it off and wears a dull sweater and his real name for a bit, nothing will fall. Despite this, Solas is less likely to do this during post-DA:I than he is during the rebellion, simply because it’s sort of a coping mechanism and a means to more healthily express who he is, and after he leaves the Inquisition it becomes much harder to motivate himself to take care of himself. It still happens on occasion, sometimes on accident, sometimes because– as with the Inquisitor and Bull– it’s easier and more revealing to discern morale himself in disguise, and sometimes because there are people like Ian around who only see Solas as Solas.
#mental health cw#guardianlost#( asks )#[ lisa asks good questions that take me 8 months to get to ]#( headcanons )#he calls himself Pride ( about )#for the strength of the wolf is the pack ( fen'amelan )#when did i say that i would save you? ( fen'harel )#v; gods will fall but we will rise ( elvhen rebellion )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )
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you sacrifice everything to fix a mistake you made hundreds of years ago thinking it will curb the loneliness and guilt you feel, but the truth is that even if you succeed in your goals, you'll still be a wolf without it's pack. you're fate is to die alone, and there's nothing you can do to change it now.
“Banal nadas. But if you believe I am doing this to soothe my own guilt, you have not been listening.”
#[ tbh a lot of solas' motivations are external#like yes he would feel guilty if he stopped what he was doing. it'd feel like a betrayal of the people#but also going forward also makes him feel guilty (and rightfully so!!)#overall it's not so much about what he feels is best for him. if he were acting selfishly he'd be in a very different spot ]#dorf elgar ( anonymous )#( asks )#[ idk if any of those tags make sense but that's what i get for rambling when i can't see where my thought began ]#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )
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What does the mark feel like to you now that you hold it?
“As anticipated.”
His left hand still curls as though he holds it in his fingertips. In truth, it is dispersed evenly throughout. To feel it, he must concentrate, as one must meditate upon one’s breath to remember the involuntary act. “I presumed it would have changed in the ensuing centuries, and that it would recall its former bearer.” Or perhaps it himself that remembers her, and in so doing changes the mark. “Perhaps the most surprising detail is that even this is difficult to notice, day-to-day.”
Solas closes his fist, flashing back to the moment he first took her hand and held it aloft. The snow drift moved as she strained to stay on the ground, magic moving through her for the first time in her life. For a child of the Stone, she had taken to it gracefully, some long forgotten part of her awakening in the echoes of a Titan’s heartbeat. It is his, as it has been since its creation, the magics at work within tailored to those inside him, but like a glove worn too many times by the wrong hand, it changed.
“I ought not to be surprised,” he admits, hand falling loose at his side. “Every day for three years, her words shaped me. It is only natural I grew accustomed to her influence, no matter what form it may take.”
#dorf elgar ( anonymous )#( asks )#v; i walk the din'anshiral ( trespasser )#show that mercy to me ( thora )
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So we all know that for obvious reasons Solas doesn't directly contact his former fellow inquisition members, but does he do so indirectly, or keep tabs on them for any reason?
not unless it’s related to spying, so some former inquisition members he may know more what they’re up to, others he may have only the vaguest idea. people like dorian, cassandra, leliana, who may still have some inquisition-adjacent (or whatever comes after it) business going on he has some idea of what they’re up to. people like varric who i can’t see having as involved a role going forward he knows less about, although he has to confirm that and not assume it, so even then he doesn’t know nothing.
but like i said, it’s business-related. even if he had the mind to, he can’t really afford to use his resources to figure out what’s on cassandra’s reading list, and more seriously he knows these people don’t want anything to do with him - not as friends or former companions, anyway. digging into their personal business isn’t something you can justify with it being related to your cause. it’s not that he doesn’t want the best for them, he does, but what would knowing do? bring him peace of mind he doesn’t deserve? it certainly wouldn’t help them
sometimes he finds out, in verses where joly’s cadash gets married she invites him to the wedding (he doesn’t show up kslkfj) and sometimes in trying to find out about information relevant to plots personal information might be dropped, but he doesn’t seek it out.
tl;dr - he keeps tabs on any plans against him, but doesn’t touch their personal lives
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