Ghil my dude, you are one of the pillars that have held up this silly fandom. I appreciate your thoroughness (absolutely willing to watch a 40 min video, always) and also the great mix of ultra pleasant production and occasional swearing. 😂

I feel bad for Varric, his friends keep trying to break the world

Between this cinematic and the Netflix series, I’m pouring one out for you, because OH BLESSED ANDRASTE is there some STUFF TO SAY.

As somebody musical, it's actually really nice to see someone non-musical learning about our craft! Not many people put much thought into how music works beyond liking certain songs. It's neat when people do. 😊 That said, you calling a medieval lute a 'banjo' absolutely sent me. 🤣

I think old Gods will be fractions of Mythal. We know that Elven gods killed Mythal, but Solas claims that his people are not easily killed. Which would imply that they couldn't just stab Mythal and call it a day. So realistically they could've shattered her and each elven god kept her piece bound to a dragon, perhaps even tainted that piece. Let's assume one piece of her was safely tucked away - similar to how Flemeth has Hawke smuggled her out. And that piece is the Mythal, which Flemeth meets and joins with. That would also explain why Flemeth tries to collect old god souls - since that's the way to restore Mythal to full power, which seems to be the only thing Flemeth cares for - make sure Mythal can get her vengence. That would also explain why Solas is seemingly mad at grey wardens and dislikes them so much - they're source of "death" for Mythal. We know that piece of Mythal whispered to Flemeth, that would also be align with her "tainted" pieces whispering to magisters and pushing them to enter golden city. And since borderline all elven pantheon related to Mythal, it could be that each of the gods took the piece of her, which they could control the easiest. That's why each of old gods loosely corresponds with elven gods, but not exact. Would also explain why for example for Elgarnan the piece is complete opposite of his nature - since light illuminates darkness, therefore weakening it.

Theory; The headshapes represent the shapes of their original dragon form's horns/heads. Mythal was shaping Flemeth's hair into her dragon 2 sets of horns, so maybe the others used their horn/headshapes as a strong visual to be recognized by as well. The shapes on the tambourine just remind me of horns for some reason...

perhaps the traps of the elven gods/old gods were seals on the lock Solas used to imprison them. By killing archdemons in a blight, the lock is weakened (tambourine bits disappear), that's why Solas was so mad at the Grey Wardens. It also makes destroying the veil inevitable, as sooner or later the blights will force Grey Wardens to destroy the remaining archdemons/seals.

Just feel the need to point out DA2 took place entirely from the perspective of Verric telling the story to Cassandra, and what better way to protect the existence of a dangerous object than to say it exploded. So just because we see the idol blow up in DA2 doesn’t mean it really did, Varric is shown to embellish and lie to protect people he cares about, why would he not do the same for the red lyrium idol. You can see evidence of the gameplay being a retelling of events even in some of Varric’s roaming dialogue in Legacy DLC. This also explains inconsistencies with the timeline, such as Anders being in two places at once. And personally I always thought the final boss battle against the statues was just him trying to make the story more exciting.

Gently pointing out that the “banjo” is probably either a Lute or a acoustic guitar. That being said amazing video. Cannot wait till DA: Dreadwolf!

Im happy to take any excitement in the fandom! I was personally pretty bummed by the lack of content, but I am absolutely ready to be proven wrong. I just want more Dragon Age 😭😭😭

When you talked about Andruil being connected to the Deep roads and Elves and Dwarfes fighting, all i could think about was: Are Dwarfes really just Titans Antibodies? Are they anti Magic jst so they could fight the ancient elven gods that killed the Titans?

Still hope we can save Solas and help him find another way to help better the elves's life conditions.

RE: The double sun imagery/symbol. There's actually another and surprisingly prominent place a version of this shows up. It's in both the second scene of DAI and the last scene in Trespasser, And both times the Inquisitor is standing/sitting right on it! It's on the floor of the prison in Haven's chantry basement, and it's easy to miss given how faint and worn it is. Also it has the more familiar chantry symbol at it's centre, which makes it easy to miss that there's this larger double (triple?) sun motif surrounding it, done in the same style we see here. So what could the significance of that be (if any?) Well that place had previously belonged to a weird dragon worshiping cult from a pre-chantry branch of Andrastianism, so perhaps this is the symbol of their faith? As to the connection between Old Gods/Archdemons and the Evanuris: I think the one that makes the most sense is that the when the veil went up, their minds/consciousness and bodies were sundered. The former were trapped in the fade, the latter buried deep underground. So what an archdemon really is is the mindless body of an Evanuris infected with the blight. What the blight actually is and how it relates to the golden/black city is a whole other set of discussions, but I personally like the idea that the relationship between each individual Evanuris and Old God may be analogous to the relationship between spirit and demon; one is purpose, the other is that purpose "gone wrong". "Justice" becomes "Vengeance", "Wisdom" becomes "Pride", "Beauty" becomes "Death", "The Sun" becomes "The Night". On the other hand, there's some pretty clear lines between some of these pairings that suggest otherwise. For example the codex entry for the Constellation "Tenebrium" seems to draw a very clear line of association between Lusacan and Falon'Din. In that instance "god of the night" seems to pair well with "guide/friend of the dead". Elgar'nan and Toth seem like an obvious pairing, because; "fire!" Though a case can also be made for Dumat since the constellation 'Silentir' could be depicting scales of justice. As we know from DA2; Justice corrupted it Vengeance, and if Elgar'nan became known as the God of Vengeance, one might presume that he started out as Justice. (the alternative being Mythal, and Mythal as Dumat makes no sense!) Also if there was a ringleader among the Old Gods, Dumat would seem to be it, and that also tracks with Elgar'nan. I tend to agree that Andruil and Zazikel seem to match since "chaos and freedom" lines up with the kind sport hunting Andruil was into. Also the constellation Kios is both considered to be a bad omen and seems to be a winged serpent holding aloft a sword, and if there's any Elven God who's appearance would be both bad news and assumed to be brandishing a weapon, it'd be the one known for hunting people for fun. Ghilan'nain and Razikale also seem to work because Eluvia looks very much like "moonhead" (just replace the cloud with the crescent shape!) I would actually link Sylaise with Toth given their symbol seems to depict fire, and what is a "hearthkeeper" if not a "keeper of fire"? June and Andoral makes sense because of course the Evanuris best know for "craft" would also be big into chains and slavery, because who but slaves is going to be doing all that crafting? Which just leans Dirthamen and Urthemiel . . . which is a bit hard to justify, but "secrets=truth" and "truth=beauty" is about as close as I can get to a logical argument. I don't feel great about this line-up either. Matching these has always been a bit of a wild guessing game! As for Falon'Din being centre stage instead of Elgar'nan; IIRC those two were considered near equal rivals, so it's possible that with the "killing" of Mythal, Elgar'nan's standing was weakened (doubly so if Elgar'nan was Dumat and is now dead!)

The part where you said that you don't get Blight from the "side things" makes sense. Blight is often depicted as something inky, like in the map in Origins. It spreads and stains and seeps through. But the side parts is more like ... Idk, vines? Something that covers or wraps around. Maybe I'm thinking too much of it. :D And what you put as Andruil is sort of maybe also kind of like an unique arrowhead, so maybe that's more reasoning why it could be Andruil? As for the ending of the music, I kind of get a very "undercover" vibe from it. Something that I could relate to the Crows or the new Lords of Fortune...

If the old gods are ancient elves, I think it is more likely they are the Evanuris. We know little of the forgotten ones, but we know that unlike the Evanuris, they do not seek godhood or to be seen as such. The old gods do, they want humans to worship them, just as the Evanuris raised themselves to the status of Gods for the elves. Not only that but I remember Solas mentionning he had to lock down the Evanuris because their thirst for power would anihilate the whole world, it's not too much of a stretch seeing how the city blackened as they were locked into the fade, that what Solas prevented might have been a mass world wide blight lead by corrupted would be Gods. Locking both the evanuris and the blight deep into the Fade. That would also explains why the blights only started after the magister breached the Fade, they allowed the blight an out through them. But to add my own little grain of salt, I was reading back on chantry lore since people have been drawing similarities between elven lore and chantry lore and it didn't escape my notice how the city blacken in the new cinematic- We know humans lived among elves for a while, since when they struck down Arlathan, the elves were already in pretty bad shape- , that their chantry lore ressemble elven lore isn't so weird to think about. The Chantry timeline is different on some accounts from the elven lore but lot sound similar to each other. What made me tick was- The elvhen all speaks of how Solas disappeared and turned away from them after casting away both evanuris and forgotten ones, leaving the elves to fend for themselves. The chantry... says something similar. It says "In fury, the Maker cursed the Old Gods, imprisoning them in underground tombs where they would slumber eternally.' and "After imprisoning the Old Gods underground, the Maker turned away from mankind, and departed from the Golden City." I always believe that old tales, especially in games or stories, have a baseline of factual events. and the more we dig, the more it seems the stories interconnects. It could very well be that humans took Solas for their Maker with how powerful he was, just like they made Andraste bride of the maker for rising up against slavery. For me that is the baseline of factual events; Solas cast out the forgotten ones and evanuris, created the veil and disappeard into a long slumber, the evanuris and Solas' absence was noticed by both elves and humans, while somehow the golden city turned black and corrupted beyond the veil for no one to see except maybe Solas and the Evanuris who were trapped in the Fade. However humans, having no access to the golden city will only realise it centuries down the line, when the magister breach down the city to find it empty and corrupted. And of course, will put the blame on the people who breached the city for corrupting it, and that their blight is the maker's punishment upon them when this blight seems to have festered in the Fade since the moment the Veil was created. Given both humans and elvhen cohabited for some time, I'm pretty sure events like casting out the evanuris, or the disappearence of that super powerful mage that made the Veil, would be noticed by both accounts, with each their own explanations for what happened. We know how murky and innacurate a tale can become with time with the elves, the same can be true with the chantry, especially knowing how much they like to strike some parts of it from the records to serve their current problems. If they shared the same events with different explanations, it might even fuel Tevinter's assault on Arlathan, "How dare they have a different explanation than us, they were there, they saw what happened, they won't listen to reason, we must act."

(I'm so sorry for making multiple comments, but it feels easier to keep all my thoughts on this separate that way.) The blue idol sort of makes sense. Solas was able to "purify" it; to remove the taint that had turned it red. This possibility goes all the way back to Witch Hunt, with the book that Morrigan left behind, which in turn sent the Warden on their quest for a cure. There was surviving documentation on how to cure things of the taint. Given how Andruil had originally found it and brought it back, it makes sense that the Evanuris would have a way to deal with it, otherwise it would have likely run rampant at that point. With Mythal's connection to lyrium, it makes sense that she specifically would know how to cleanse red lyrium, at the very least. Through Flemeth, she was able to ensure the knowledge was recorded in more recent times to make sure it would survive longer, hence how Morrigan got it. Solas got the knowledge at the end of Tresspasser, when he "absorbed" Mythal--taking her power, and likely knowledge with it.

The thing is. The question "who is the dread wolf" is more about is he the villain, or is he a rebel? And that's the divide in the community. I believe he will never become a true villain, not like razeron. He wouldn't compromise his morals at the drop of a hat.

Well, beetle could be Falon'Din... In the temple of Mythal Solas says that he 'began wars to amass more worshippers' which might mean that by the time Solas locked everyone away, Falon'Din might have been the most powerful elven god based on the sheer scale of his followers. This can be also supported by what Solas says next, that Mythal rallied the gods (maybe all the rest or even some) in order to stop him. It can be speculated that someone who needed a rally of gods (plurar) in order to be stopped must have been pretty high up in the pantheon's hierarchy, hence the prominance of his symbol depicted on the tambourine.

Someone pointed out in another comment that the "banjo" is probably acoustic/classical guitar or lute - in the context of Varric's speech it kind of reminded me a little bit of Maryden, and similar musical sounds also crop up both in Leliana's Song in DAO (which is in Elvhen, though I think that piece is harp-backed instead of guitar/lute-backed), and in the Hawke Family Theme of the DA2 soundtrack. I wonder if it's to musically signify legacy / legend / folklore, since Dreadwolf seems to be playing pretty heavily on those themes so far. Or maybe the "Spanish" sort of sound of the riff is to remind us that the Antivan Crows will be there! Who knows :)

In terms of all the speculation on the infamous tambourine, I'm inclined to believe your theories the most. I certainly don't have any better ideas, and as silly as the reasoning is sometimes, it sorta works. *The only thing I'd change is to switch Andruil with June. The pin looks like fire anyway, and the horns match Andruil as a huntress.* Apart from that, you raise some good points about the musical aspect of the teaser we got on DA Day. And yeah, it seems Bioware are outright confirming that the Black City is Arlathan. No doubt in my mind.

Kinda dissapointed there was nothing new during The Game Awards but the cinematic trailer is okay too I guess.

@Ghil Dirthalen that’s a lute or a mandolin.

1. Varric is salty. I understand. 2. You do such a great job with these videos. They're gorgeous and informative.

The Andruil-Zazikal mirroring kind of makes sense when you consider their alternate titles of goddess of sacrifice and dragon of freedom. Makes me think of the mosaic “Freed are slaves”, as Gatsi would put "saying words but meaning different things". Also I don’t know if you watched absolution yet but that image at 21:42 makes me wonder if a certain thing from absolution is connected to it.

I just want to have my Bingo Card out there before DA:D comes out so here we go. Beetle is totally Elgar'nan; agree with all of Ghil's reasoning. "Sun" again agree with the crown assets making this Sylaise, and therefore Horns is June; the arrangement makes sense. Falon'din is Triad (Dalish Origin was my first playthough), and again that makes Line Dirthamen; however I will argue that it looks like a "Wizard's Tower" when you zoom in more than a line, which pairs nicely with Arcane Knowledge imo Now, I need to flip Moonhead and Nib. Andruil is Moonhead; if the sea monster brandishing a golden spear isn't enough, that crecent moon shape also resembles a Bow across the brow as shown in Andruil's vallaslin. Ghilan'nain is obviously the partner symbol of Nib but if you wanted to talk about experienting with Lyrium in the deep roads... look no further than the mad scientist.

oh caitie you always manage to renew my hope and make me excited about DA again, you're doing amazing work !!

I think people make associations too easily. If the old gods were simply the Evanuris: Why creating the veil at all? Why would Solas mention them as all alive and not easily destroyed? who is Kieran/old god soul then? Im fairly sure that if he was an Evanuris - itd be apparent while the speeches of saving it (Flemeth's plan) was to preserve old knowledge/power/magic no matter how feared. I doubt Mythal would save an Evanuris on top of her plan being a gigantic revenge of apocalyptic proportion. (which fits Morrigan's reaction about Flemeth when she's met next to the eluvian behind the Mother) It also wouldnt make sense for Solas to be REALLY upset about the Warden's plan to kill em and also state that the Evanuris are sealed away forever....while just being trapped underground and being freed as archdemons. People need to not assume and associate anything that are similar. There are countless of ways to debunk it and the devs LOVES to give us really small subtle hints but also to give us bullcrap and confusing elements. Why Arlathan and the Eternal city are always differentiated when talking to elves and Abelas says Arlathan to be destroyed by themselves? Remember Awakening's city is very close right? Since we know the fade reflects locations in the real world.....how interesting that its close to lake calenhad.....the spot that Belenas, the great mountain and heart of creation(and Korth's own heart nearby) was supposed to be at. Which coincide to Avvar's and elven stories about a fight with a great serpent that seperated it from the ground.....Thats why i dont think Arlathan is the simple answer -if at all. Jaws of Hackons also reveals a LOT about the Old Gods themselves, spirits, fascinating lore - also the lore about great dragons - check it out! The forgotten ones are serving their purpose. They are truly erased and forgotten. BUT they do exist. They will play a role sooner rather than later imo. As they said: they refuse the Evanuris' oppression. One of them is waiting for his time. Being a dragon was also forbidden by the Evanuris. This could explain in part why the old gods are trapped underground. Odd that "forgetting" is also a theme of the Titans. What about the links of the old gods and the doors of the black city? + Drakon's prophecy on top of this trailer? Also, Yvanna and some codex entries talks like the Fade is a construct. If the world came first: Then we have an interesting situation in which both Humans stories and Elvish stories can be both true. Relationships btw Great dragons, Titans and the eve of creation. (connected with the Golden city) Isnt it interesting how blood can be used in the same manner as lyrium - blood of the titan? I wonder why it comes from demons. It is clear however that the taint is intended to work with blood. Avernus showed that it *has* power. Fun fact and theory about the Black city. I had this long theory that the city is two forms. First, why are there so many depictions+Cory's account that are so different from each other or that doesnt fit what we're seeing in the fade? In Awakening: there is a glitch in which you can walk to the city and see it from VERY close. The main bottom landmass has its walls there. However, the rest of the city is tilted down. All its buildings are facing down and the land mass is a steeper 45 degrees and there is a building on the tip. It doesnt look normal. Its a complete city with different architectures. Still, it doesnt fit what we've heard and scene in images of it of a building/halls/tower. Thats where DA:I's mission Here lies the Abyss solve some of it and is related to this trailer. You are physically seeing the tip that fits all of those images and Cory's account. Also, What's the other word for the Abyss? The void. Which is mentioned in many lores and that mission's name isnt an accident. In the trailer: the city has two sides: The top and bottom part. The top part most likely represent the fade city and bottom is what we see physically in the fade. Tho they are forming some sort of paradox. They are technically both physical in the fade. Which was the point of Awakening's trip in the fade against the pride demon. Solas also mentions that altho the rules of the fade is essentially: every spot has a relation to the real world but be molded to the spirit's will. The black city however isnt. But yet, it still looks vastly different while being the same thing. why? Why does it also holds actual power? I always had an idea that the evanuris may be there (they were sealed away according to legends, then we get told of dead whispers by Cory's and being enticed to go, then well of sorrows has whispers....yea it stinks of elven.) I have a feeling that the Golden city is the center of all creation/Titans/gateway between worlds and dimensions + more. Interesting also that Mythal's husband/kids are in the evanuris too. I have a feeling she will be the last antagonist. You dont get to be so cryptic, mentions how everyone was betrayed including the earth and that you'll do a reckoning and not do some insane stuff. Soon we will know what the taint truly is. Lets not forget: The elves saw something terrible in the deep roads that they sealed in any measure what they could. Something the Evanuris wanted to unleash.

Dragon Age Absolution... It was So fucking GOOD. Once you get better and healthy, I hope you get to it.

Girl, outstanding work! People writing on IG and Twitter that this cinematic didn't give any new info and I'm like??? They clearly didn't watch close enough. About the music: I hope Trevor Morris returns.🥺

I was replaying Inquisition yesterday, and decided to take a closer look at Solas' wall murals. That symbol in the center of the Fade in the teaser, that people were saying looks like a city and/or a skull when it becomes black, is actually depicted at least twice in his paintings: his first set of murals and the one added after Adamant/Here Lies the Abyss. I think it's meant to represent the Fade. The Inquisitor came from the Fade at the start of all this, hence the symbol the very first painting, and the Inquisitor was also in the Fade at Adamant, hence the symbol reappearing in most recent picture. I just think it's interesting that this symbol has come up before.

The editing in this video is just crazy good, Caitie. And, of course, the lore sleuthing is superb as always. So grateful for (and entertained by) your work!

To me personally, Fen 'Harel is more like God of Deceit rather than Lies 🤔

Oh my god, I am SO there with you about the icons and the Old God connections. I was bewildered by how many people just seemed to not care about those at all. Like, to me that was THE big thing and I have since found barely anyone who feels the same. This has me so excited for all the implications this connections brings with it. So exciting! That said, never in a million years will I agree with your line-up for the Evanuris. For the singular reason that I just cannot see Elgar'nan allowing anyone else to be represented by a Sun. I think him not getting the big center spot is actually a matter of perspective. These murals are Solas' doing. What reason does he have to give Elgar'nan any special treatment? If anything, my money is on Beetle getting the center spot because he was the brains behind Mythal's murder. Now that would make him special to Solas. And if we're going with that logic, Falon'din seems the perfect candidate for Beetle. Because nobody has as much of a motive for killing Mythal as he does.

I always love when you upload, my favorite Dragon Age Lore channel. Amazing work as always!

I had a thought that if the evanuris were the old gods, then they whispered to the magisters sidereal to break into the city to get them out. They somewhat succeeded but Solas' contingencies created the blight, and corrupted the dragon forms of the elven gods. Maybe that's why the darkspawn seek them out and end up corrupting them. There is also the fact that Morrigan found the ritual for the old god baby from Flemeth, the host of an elven goddess.

19:17 The theory of "Moon Head" and "Beetle" being the only ones left alive could be right. The image of the tambourine with the blacked out bells appears to be rotated clockwise compared to the new image we have with the full 7 bells with the shapes. The head shapes for those two line up with the two bells that were still golden on the first image.

10:50 Now I'm just imagining Solas coming out of the shadows playing the banjo.

finally someone who is also optimistic about this game! big fan of this channel

LOL @ 'head-shape BINGO card." Awesome lore rundown. I still think Arlathan is at the bottom of that Bay. Too many indications we'll be swimming, too much real world lore of buried cities. Also, when stuff falls from the sky, the crater is usually deep enough that water ends up on top of it. I'm still on board with the duality of spirits (wise/demonic) and thus the duality of the Elven gods. So I'm still leaning on the Forgotten Ones being the 'bad' half of the Elven gods.

Falon'din and Urthimiel make sense to me, because of Solas' comment on Falon'din's vanity.

Currently a GM for a dragon age rpg retelling origins while trying to incorporate awakening and feeding lore for DA2, DAI and now possibly DAD with a party consisting of Aedan Cousland, Solona Amell and Lyna Mahariel supported by Barkspawn. I appreciate all your lore vids and theories as it helps greatly with me trying to remember finer story details and even putting twists into certain areas. Just wanted to say, genuinely, thanks. Long may it continue 🎉

Awesome video, I think you're just about spot on with the symbols! Though, currently I'm of the mind that Andruil is horns and June is nib. In Andruil's mural in the Temple of Mythal, the way Andruil is weilding her bow in that image looks exactly like the "horns" shape to me, so I believe the symbol itself to depict her bow! (As for June, it's more so just that he's the one left over lol! So little information seems to have survived about him that it's plausible that he was of lower status on the pantheon, the hard lines and corners of the nib symbol somewhat resembles the style seen in the background of his Temple of Mythal mural, and the symbol could be argued to depict some sort of tool which he was known for crafting - that's all I got with him)

i was a bit 'oh yea solas again' after they showed the trailer, so thank you for doing this deep analysis, i am now very much excited again!

Ghil.. you're at 50k now... I expect a Dragon Age 5 mods video now... I know, I know, DA:D isn't even out yet, but, you're the DA Lore Master. You should know DA so well that you even know what the best mods will be. Look, I have expectations ok? As a DA Lore Master, I feel you should have the power to predict the mods...... What? 🤪

Thank you for bringing up the lore implications and the symbolism! That was what I was hoping we'd get from some of the other videos about the cinematic. We can always rely on you for all of that lore discussion, thank you for taking the time to make this video.

I’m so thrilled to see SOMEONE talk about the tambourine and the old gods. I was screaming when I saw that and NO ONE was talking about it. If the blight has something to do veil, then perhaps Solas can heal the blight? Purify it? Idk but I’m so INTERESTED

I mean I was hella hyped when I saw this trailer, and I’m not even that big of a Solas fan. A shame to see a lot of others didn't share the excitement, but oh well. (Different tastes and all that) But I share your hype so much Ghil! I'm such a big nerd who loves to connect everything this trailer has to offer. The symbols and meanings, all of it! It is so interesting and cool to me! I love fictional lore, just as I love real-life history. It is so cool to see how events shaped the world into what it has become and learn about the people who shaped it. Learning about what drove them, their motivations, Good or Bad. Learning about why they did what they did, and how they did it. It sort of makes the world feel like a giant mystifying puzzle, which will likely never be fully complete. But it excites me to no end! This grand design of the world which all adds up in one way or another. That is also how I very much feel about Dragon Age. The lore is the biggest draw for me personally. Which is why I absolutely loved this trailer! And why I adore your Videos as well.💖 To some, it may seem pointless to care so much for a Fictional setting. But it makes me happy, and it causes my imagination to soar! I hope the mystery and lore stays strong with this series, even after DA:D! For it is my absolute favourite pastime, to just sit and nerd out over Dragon Age lore. 🏹˖*°࿐ •*⁀➷💘 PS: (And to all my fellow nerds out there. Cheers and have a good day! May the maker smile upon you!)

I could see lies working as while he never lies directly, he does by omission (what details he keeps to himself) and by twisting the truth to fit what he wants believed. So agreed in that 'lies' is easier to use than manipulation. Honestly I was so hyped to see this especially when they said it was a cinematic meant to be in the game. Replaying Origins and 2 recently made me realize how much I missed that style of narration in Inquisition so I'm really happy to see it come back. To me part of the excitement this brings is some confirmation that they really are looking to bring the series back at least in part to where they started which is all I've really wanted to see. Also your mention of the Evanuris being locked in their own pockets of the Fade/Black City reminded me of the Circle of Magi quest in Origins where you have to go into the Fade and release your friends from pocket dimensions they were trapped in that was being powered by the life force of a mage named Niall... What if Solas did something similar but on a larger/more powerful scale with the City itself (or whatever is there like a Titan head/heart) as the power source? The Magisters breaking in could have very well weakened whatever spell Solas had them under... Where the Blight plays in or is created during all of this I'm still not sure of... Corypheus himself says the city was already black when they got there. It's possible that the Evanuris were already blighted (either getting it from the Void or somehow creating it themselves or it being a by product of their hunting of the Titans) and the magisters just released that Blight onto the world. I'd even hazard a guess that the Magisters were the first to weaken and/or pierce the Veil and are the reason it can be weakened at all like we see happen in the games for various reasons. Also also, when you showed the 'crest' used by the Darkspawn in Origins it reminded me of the Architect's mask so I looked it up to check and ya it almost matches perfectly. Given the Architect was the priest of Urthemiel then it makes sense that they'd be using the sign of that god but not again after the Blight because they're currently Archdemon-less and thus no one pulling them together into a group (still SO mad at the redesign). All of this just adds to why I keep saying Origins needs a remake/remaster to help bring it back fully in line with the lore of the rest of the series.

This cinematic dropped when I was in my "trying to ignore Dragon Age things because I'm tired of getting excited and then waiting years for more info" era. I had missed the alternate head mosaics! I saw the cinematic but I was purposefully trying to not get into it! I had NO IDEA we'd seen these symbols before. And it's kind of hilarious because I was so entirely ALL-IN on the tambourine theorizing back when we first saw it. Now I'm trying to catch up on the theory bits and my mind is exploding connecting these symbols to the figures that appear behind Solas in the gameplay reveal.

The lack of marketing may be due to ea wanting to do more condensed marketing campaingns closer to their game releases, like with jedi survivor.

As soon as I saw the tambourine I've been waiting for this video hahaha, Also I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Absolution!

So something that occured to me near the end of this but... What if the Forgotten Ones, are the Titans. If we go by the Legend of Fenherel we know he was able to stop the war between the Evenuris and the Forgotten Ones and if we go by what Solas says in Trespasser the War going on would have destroyed the world which as theorised before could have something to do with the Titans. So what if this war in the legend was the war between the Titans and Evenuris and the reason Solas was able to play both sides was because he somehow convinced the proto-dwarfs/Titans he was no friend to the Evenuris or he helped the titans out to prevent more titans from dying in an attempt to stop the worst case scenario before deciding all his efforts at the time were just not going to work and he had to seal the Evenuris and the Forgotten ones away to stop the war. And this would also come into how he sealed away both groups, while the Evenuris were physically locked away in the Fade. The Titans who we know are connected to the fade because of the presence of lyrium in the raw fade, what if locking away the fade basically turned the titans tranquil and that's what made them sleep and subsequently made the Dwarves lose their connection to them (along with possibly the dwarfves connection to the fade as they no longer had the connection to the titans which were their... conduit to the Fade so to speak as, to add to this tangent. we know dwarves can dream whether it's been induce by Demons like Varric and Ohgran or by the blight like the Warden and... Ohgran which means they've been given access to the fade by something in a similar vain to the titans). And then the note from Jaws of Hakon from the forgotten ones could have been written by one of the Titan's dwarves in the area. This part I will admit is just me quickly filling in a hole haha. I don't know how accurate this will be because I writing it really off the cuff after watching but it's just something that occurred to me, especially since as far as we know the Evenuris never mention Forgotten ones, they mention the forbidden ones but it seems like the Forgotten Ones came later and the Titan are literally the forgotten ones with even the shaperate having zero mention of them and I feel like ti could tie in the legends of Fenharel and the reality that we know of from Trespasser.

There is no other Dragon Age content I would rather watch than your videos. I absolutely love how you approach your videos with such care and a refreshing frankness. My ultimate hope is that the pay off of all the Lore and content that we have gotten, and that you have brilliantly laid out for all of us, is huge and widespread. That the story of Solas and everything they've pumped into Dragon Age over the years ends in an amazingly satisfying conclusion or continuation. Alternatively, with that ultimate hope also comes a significant worry that we will not see justice done to these characters and this story that we LOVE.

My personal canon is that my inquisitor become so disillusioned by sola’s betrayal, coupled by the events of trespasser, stops seeing the good in people and goes deeper into the rabbit hole as he hunts solas under the radar after the inquisition disbands

The symbol you labeled June I think is andruil. It's like the shape of the mosaic of andruil and of seras bow on her tarot card.

A new analysis video to keep me company on my drive up and back to rehab today! Niiiice! Cant wait to start getting hyped about Dragon Age again!

I came back to this about the gold wavy lines on the mural, 34:02. The blue wavy lines, probably lyrium, are above Solas the mage. The gold is above what is probably meant to be Solas in wolf form at some point. The gold could represent that Solas no longer has his mage powers in this form but what the gold power represents. Gold has been used to assist one in attuning to nature and its healing forces. It has been said to attract honours, wealth, and happiness; to provide composure, to stabilise the emotional system, to alleviate tension and stress, and to amplify positive feelings. It could simply be that he has to change to access another type of power that gives him easier access to changing nature. It would also make sense for Elger'nan, Sylaise and the forge guy, I have a terrible memory, to use a type of nature changing power. Thank you for taking the time to explore this more. Just a thought, black is the absence of color which is why it absorbs all of the light spectrum. The sun being the object sending out the said light spectrum. Not sure if I can explain this well, but you see a green plant because that plant does not absorb that green color so it reflects it back out. That is why black and white are not colors. Black is the absence of colors and white is the presence of all colors. This is going to sound stupid, but I always thought that Mythal is the one that used blood magic to changed the Qunari into what they are now to fight the titans or her death allowed the other members of the pantheon to create them to fight Solas. Or simply the Qunari were created to be slaves that protected the elven pantheon. If they used them to fight the titans that could by why they are in the deep roads as dark spawn. Inside the circle, those moving lines along with the dots makes me think of a solar system. The lines showing the paths of the plants, moons, etc. The 3d? depiction of an explosion shows the release of four pockets which could be hinting at the release of the forgotten ones. The Origin mural? has basically four circles also if you count the misshapen ones created by the dotted lines. Because of the cartoon released, I suppose this is a spoiler: We can say that the figure on the left is Meredith but is the one on the right the Magister from Awakening or do we meet a new one? I would find it amusing to think that one of the magisters that entered the fade has been hiding all this time with the Wardens. I was disappointed with the cartoon. I knew it would be subpar but it there was so much missing. The streets were totally devoid of life and I actually don't think they even showed a bird or two when they were travelling. I also found it hilarious that a Qunari running around was completely ignored by a group of people that had been at war with them for ages. It was completely created for fans only. Someone who didn't already know the lore would have no clue what is happening or why because the only explanation was a short bit on why Tevinter is bad. The story itself was blah, the only effort seemed to be taken in the love interests. If Fairbanks was the one from Inquisition, it was obvious he was the good guy and the human mage was the bad guy. Seriously, offing Fairbanks, once of the few decent humans in Thedas? Besides, she was so going to be the bad guy simply because humans always betray their love interests if they are elves in DA.

It was only a little underwhelming because it didn't really tell us anything new about the game... No gameplay or companions. And we've been really good.

My thinking is that the idol was used both to create the veil by Solas, and by the seven magisters to bring it down. In the latter process, it was corrupted into the red lyrium idol.

The symbol denoted to Andruil looks a lot like the symbol/ key thing used to light the trail markers found in Razikales's Reach during the "On Ameridan's Trail" quest. Edit: Here's my take on things: The suggested matches, I agree, seem to line up fairly well with the exception (IMO) of Andruil and Gil. Gil (Razikale) (Bunny ears) - The symbol seems to match the trail markers found in Razikale's reach in the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. Gil is also emphasized here, which I find much too coincidental. This would suggest that Andruil= Moonhead, which again IMO just fits better. I have a long standing personal theory that the Evanuris are inspired by the Olympian Greek Gods. Artemis (Goddess of the Hunt/Moon) = Andruil.

31:17 knowing what we’ve seen from the demo now this seems pretty spot on. Those head shapes match up with the figures solas frees, would make sense if they’re the final two arch demons/evanuris as well

A year late, but I just realized that I recognize some of those symbols on the tambourine. They're Ancient Egyptian symbols for the Gods.

Loved this, and GIRL! I am absolutely in the camp of, excited by the symbols. I thought of your old videos as soon as I saw them and I was looking forward to you posting this cuz I just knew you'd be pulling out the data mined theories 😄🖤 edit: it might be a stretch but in this instance the sun/moon on the other side of the golden city could represent mythal. Because she had her own ideas and strayed the path that's why she's away from the others and on the other side of the city. It also lines up to be directly across from elgernahan. The only other reason I have for this, is that the sun is depicted behind solas before it fades into the tambourine and he was like, a trusted advisor? Leader of her army ? So it makes sense that he would stand in front of her. The city turning black could be a result of the other gods trying to get at her, like a war. And that's why the city is portrayed in the middle of the groups, it was caught in the cross fire... no idea where I'm going with ut, just thinking out loud 😅

Something about this tells me Solas is the Maker. What makes that especially sad is everyone would be worshipping this guy who made them by mistake, doesn't care for them much, and will be actively trying to destroy the world they know. But, essentially, by putting up the veil, he did make Thedas as it stands. It would explain why they believe the Maker walked away.

Hoping to get your thoughts on the Netflix show. I've watched the first 2 episodes so far, but am loving it.

This is a very good analysis from the art and lore perspective. Just to throw this out there, one could do a symbolic association. In this approach, Ghilan'nain would be Horns, because Halla have horns, Elgar'nan would be sun, Dirthamen would be Nib (walls around an inner darkness) and so on. Not saying this is right, either, but it's a completely different approach that would give completely different results.

I kinda think Elgar'nan was Dumat, since Dumat was the Old God that was taking point in the scheme to corrupt and control the humans that would one day form the Tevinter Imperium. If the Old Gods have a leader, it seems like it's Dumat to me...

We love to see BioWare going back to DA’s roots in terms of art style. I’m so excited and to see you so excited makes me even more excited 😆🤩

Catie: [Releases a 40min video] Me: [popcorn and notepad to take notes]

That last mural with the 4 silver and 3 gold circles slotted into the tambourine... did anyone else notice that the circles have little black circles attached to them? I wonder if those are the old gods, while the bright ones are the elven gods?

The instrument at 10:05 could be a lyre, but I don't truly know. The lyre evolved into the guitar and banjo so your guess is as good as mine. My elven/elder gods line up is a rand roll of the dice. I don't know.

Love the idea of when the Elven Gods got locked away they kind of turned into the Old Gods and twisted the thing they stood for.

Ohhh thank god! I was just about to fall asleep, change of plans now.

Honestly, Elgar'nan as the Old God of Night/Lusacan makes a lot of sense. He's the "Eldest of the Sun", not the sun itself. He overthrew his father (the sun) and buried the sun in the abyss, creating a world of darkness until Mythal convinced him to put the sun back in the sky - with the promise that the sun would set each night. Even the stars are a result of Elgar'nan's battle with the sun. Effectively, he is responsible for creating the night in this mythology. EDIT: Oh! Also, the circle-horns symbols that's probably being used for Elgar'nan in the tambourine arrangement looks a lot like a SUN BEING ECLIPSED. Which would very much fit into Elgar'nan's lore.

Anyone here after the GI cover story? Spoilers for beginning ahead: She nailed the evanuris predictions like seriously. I wonder how much else she was right about

The cinematic struck me as more of the recap that you can watch in the Keep.

I think the Elven Gods and the Old Gods have a sort of an UrSkek-Skeksis type relationship. The Old Gods are the worst traits of the Elven Gods made manifest. Solas' attempt to split the world between magic and mundane does seem to parallel the UrSkeks' attempt to rid themselves of their more destructive/harmful aspects.

Ghil, we're pretty much all waiting for your input on the leaks....

Did anyone else notice that “moon heads” head looks like a bow and the lower body looks like a crossbow?? Giving me andruil vibes

Maintaining my love of dragon age is just so exhausting sometimes lol

I think a big reason why everyone thinks the main figure is Falon'din is because of all of the lore build up and attention Falon'din got as a potential antagonist among the Evanuris in Inquisition. Solas says that he was arrogant and started wars to amass new followers, often starting conflicts with other Evanuris. Even his war to gain more followers was only stopped by Mythal when he tried to conquer her lands. Falon'din also had conflicts with Elgar'nan, but Mythal settled their dispute between a fight with their black and gold champions. Out of all of the Evanuris, outside of Solas and Mythal, the only other ones that have some build up is Falon'din and Ghilanan. Falon'din has been set up as an instigator for violence and maybe even a catalyst for civil war among the evanuris, so him being a major antagonist among the Evanuris is possible, especially with how little attention has been given to Elgar'nan. Compared to the other Evanuris, Elgar'nan is more or less just hanging in the background. I have a theory (which is a total headcannon and probably wrong lol) that the conflict that forced Solas to create the veil was a civil war among the Evanuris, with Falon'din and Elgar'nan leading the two different factions. Mythal chose not pick a side instead focusing on making sure her people were safe, and as a result of not being allied with either faction, both saw her as an enemy and killed her, which forced Solas to seal the Evanuris away (my money being on Falon'din killing Mythal since she's interfered with him before, giving him a motive).

Omg. I totally agree with your music analysis. The blight part feels like dragon age origins. The veil part has inquisition all over it, with a twist. The "banjo" (I think lute) conjures up a tavern scene in my mind, where the main character stumbles in, minding his/her own business, before he/she is thrusted into the main plot. I also wanted to say thanks for your awesome videos. Been a long time listener and love hearing your lore stories and your analysis of the lore. Looking forward to more videos.

This is a fascinating video, I love when you do this theory stuff. Something I noticed in the 'Solas' picture is that two of the sun beams also sort of resemble arms and hands reaching up and cupping the sun. No idea what significance that might hold, but it feels like it has to mean 'something'.

Thank you so much for the video! What I noticed in the trailer is that the icons disappear in an interesting order: Moonhead is a little ahead, and Horns a little behind. Hoped there might be a meaning behind this. Maybe this is the order in which the gods were locked up? Idk

Dragon Age has the best lore out of anything ever... This was amazing to listen too and I fucking love how you talk through it

Still in the middle of watching this but I'm so glad you touched on the music in the trailer - you caught more details than I did but I was so impressed by the layers in the cinematic's music!!

More vids please Ghil You are easily the best source of D.A information

My personal theory is that the old gods are the forgotten ones. We have only four names but we don't really know how many there actually were because of how forgotten they were.

When Solas absorbed Mythal at the end of Inquisition, her "essence" or whatever you want to call it, had also this light blueish glowing color. So maybe thats what the blue glow around that weapon in Sola's hand is? Dunno.

Given how little we've heard of the Forgotten Ones, I sort of wonder if Bioware isn't keeping them in their back pocket for the *next* series of Dragon Age games. Like I'm sure we'll learn more about them in DA4 (or I'd be very surprised if we don't, anyway), but they feel like they have the potential to be a lot bigger than just one game

Having to replay this video just to reply to points you made that I want to reply to. I also apologize for this novel! Music: The part of tearing down the veil actually sounds like for lack of a better word, the villain version of the Inquisition theme? Which makes sense given the Inquisition was keeping the veil up to keep people safe but now it's being torn down the same way and people are in danger. The "banjo" part which as people said is probably a lute, was played a lot in Absolution. I think it's the unofficial theme for the 4th game and it's setting which I am guessing is the north (probably a fair bit in Tevinter or dealing with Tevinter). Imagery: Solas and Fen'Harel parts: Suns seem to be connected to godliness in general in Thedas. Chantry, Seekers of Truth, Circle of Magi, the elves, they all use the sun to denote godly power and usually good. The sun being covered up by the wolf might be a visual reminder of Solas now using that power ruthlessly and without good intent. I agree not blight on the black parts. I myself was reminded of spider webs, which made me think of spy networks. I also thought of how it's parting away from him ala the Red Sea so maybe if it was Blight, it's getting out of his way which would mean Solas knows how to deal with the Blight, but that seems a bit much though would explain why he doesn't think much of it. The Golden City: Got a few bits here obviously so bear with me please! The glyphs: The relation to Din'an I think is actually pretty obvious. Din'an is a tomb for emerald knights, but in Solas's and the ancient elf's time they just took a nap and supposedly wandered the Fade. The Veil only separated the Fade and Thedas, so I think the symbol is just the elven one for Fade. It's more complex because in ancient times there was a lot more known about it. The dead supposedly still go to the Fade though so the symbol, while become simplified would remain the same. So yeah, it means the Fade and likely talks of how things were. The Blight: Specifically about how the magisters "corrupted" the city technically. Remember how Corypheus tells the Quizzie that the mark is permanent and it's been spoiled by their fumbling? I theorize the same thing happened with the Blight. Let me paint a picture. You have these elves, which I use Solas as a template for. There is 7 of them, and they are ALL dreamers and I honestly think Solas put them to sleep, just like the legend says. Like Solas (who does this with your Quizzie) they can talk to mages in their dreams, which all the magisters have happen. Solas would have been able to keep the lot sleeping forever but some damn humans came stumbling in, and then you have the kind of quarantine on them broken. There's nothing to say how or when the magisters left the city, and a bunch of angry elven gods torturing and twisting the crap out of them seems right up the alley of how Dragon Age's themes go. Not to mention you have 1 (Andruil) who was showing similar sickness to Blight illness and another (Ghilan'nain) who was known for making monsters. The Bells vanishing is the "gods" waking up, and from then things in the Fade (and beyond) started going bonkers. I think they are kept from leaving because, as Solas himself had issues getting into the Fade after waking up, they have troubles getting out for the same reason. The hole in my theory is how the Magisters got out...or if they were maybe, released to find a way to get the elven gods out. The Icons: Couple points here. First off, the heads being masks actually sounds accurate. In mosaics Solas is depicted a few times wearing a wolf's head (cause duh) and I am always firmly reminded of Stargate the Movie and how the possessed human "gods" wore masks to inspire more worship. The crown of Andraste, the Idol, and the Tevinters I though looked more like Mythal's statues myself. It would fit better with Andraste and the Idol given Andraste is seen as a mother figure often and the Idol is mother looking, if twisted. I got nothing on the Venatori armor choice though outside of "Hey wouldn't this be cool" from armor designers. The Guesses: Honestly, my brain pops to an arrow when looking at Line. One end just looks slightly feathered if that makes sense? Given Andruil was the hunter it made more sense to me but you do you. As for your question of how beauty is connected to the dead and sun to the night, you are forgetting the tales of the elven gods at their worst. Elgar’nan would have caused an endless night after defeating the sun. Falon’din was horrendously vain, which would be connected to beautiful people. Andruil makes sense if you think less about how she was the huntress and more how she was crazy like you said. I would flip Andoral and Toth with June and Sylaise. Anvils are often matched with slavery in Dragon Age (Anvil of the Void for example) and Sylaise is said to have been praised for her fire. Secrets and Silence also seems to match up to me. The Mosaics: The gods being upside down and bleeding lyrium I actually…think is basically what Solas’s plan was. Notice how one of the murals has a wolf’s head, that would be Solas out of them, but he’s also upside down and bleeding blue. If you look at the tales of the elven gods and plug in the fact that lyrium is addictive, and Mythal was the one holding the reins on lyrium…suddenly it all kinda clicks together in a very bad way. Solas is the one that realized he had a problem and effectively freed himself of the slavery to the addiction, likely with Mythal’s help. That’s my theory anyways. The Sundering: The city was also never the center of the Fade given the fade existed before the city and the Veil. As for the flatness vs. depth, I think this is an art deal all the way. As you said, everything has been flat and 2d. The explosion goes 3d though. If you think about how Solas commented he was in a world of Tranquil, this is an illustration of him making everything go 3d effectively. I definitely think Solas has the sword from the tale. However, remember that he was literally fighting for elven freedom at the time. I think the Forgotten ones are literally that, forgotten. I imagine Solas needed lietenants just like the Inquisitor needed their companions. These people would have been regarded as the actual threat or enemy by the elven pantheon and as such their peoples while Solas jumped the lines like a double agent just like the tales.

My personal little pet theory regarding the Forgotten Ones is that they were Solas's generals in his war against the Evanuris.

It's a little soon, but I'd love to hear what you think about the pretty obvious lore break at the end of Absolution and whether you think its significant or not, since its tangentially related to some of the topics you mentioned (trying not to spoil for anyone skimming comments, but you know the one). I have a hard time assigning any meaning to it because the show seriously scuffs some areas of the lore in general and I think its just as likely that they didn't bother reading up on the timeline between DA2-Tevinter Nights. Interested in hearing your take.

Good thoughts, I enjoy the ideas. I think the main proof that Dumat isn't Mythal is the monk statue from the Legacy DLC where it says something like "shrine to Dumat". That statue is everywhere in elven ruins but has never been connected to Mythal at all. My guess is Dirthamen too since there's a Dirthamen statue in the fade bleeding blood next to Kieran and Flemeth. Also, that secret/silence thing and Dirthamen's mural seems to indicate silence. Will be interesting to see which one is correct..

That sound is most definitely a classical/Spanish guitar ☺️ Thank you for the video 😊

Super excited for this myself as well. Very deep occult symbolism throughout the series and this one is no different. Definitely one of my favorite parts being the occult symbolism mixed with ancient and modernized dreamer and conscious dreamer threads the games weave so well with in most regards.

I was discussing the metaplot with some friends, and I pointed out, by what we've seen so far, Anders has a higher success rate than Solas in his schemes.

It's looking to be that time again. my favourite Bioware content creators coming back to the fold . THIS was the holiday miracle i was looking for lol

Dragging myself back to increasingly old videos as I wander this story drought

When I saw the circles on the bottom of the tambourine, I thought, "AH AH AH Ghil gonna freak"