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“No real god need prove himself.
Anyone who tries is mad or lying.”
✖ PLAYER INFORMATION From the Network that brought you "Selfies" and "Oddly Specific Advertising." Handle: M Age: Old enough to pay taxes, young enough not to get social security Contact: Current Characters: n/a ✖ CHARACTER INFORMATION From the Network that brought you "It's Not Really Emotional Over-Investment" and "Crying About Fictional People." Name: Solas Canon: Dragon Age: Inquisition Canon Point: Immediately after that fiasco at the Temple of Mythal Age: Ambiguously 40-something, probably a lot older Initial Housing: RNG me History: Dragon Age @ Wikipedia :: Draon Age Wiki :: Solas @ DA Wiki In Solas' Thedas, the Inquisitor was a power-hungry female Lavellan with whom he never saw eye to eye. She did everything she could to secure more power for herself at the expense of others. She allowed the Templar Order to join the Inquisition without requiring any changes made to their operation, essentially giving their blatant abuses of mages in Thedas a free pass. Solas found it a contemptible action but was largely willing to give the Inquisitor a second chance. Then she gave the Wardens permission to remain in Orlais after they had shown themselves weak to the possession of demons and fond of corrupting spirits. Solas couldn't comprehend showing the Wardens mercy, and he was even more disturbed when he found out she chose to leave Hawke in the Fade because Hawke threatened her power. Following her return to Skyhold, they fought. She hit him, slugged him in the jaw actually, and reminded him that he served her. Shortly after that, Cole left the Inquisition and took everyone's memory of him. Cole couldn't stand an Inquisitor who hurt people instead of helping them, but Solas had no such excuse. He needed to stay to retrieve the orb that granted the Inquisitor her powers. He wished he hadn't. Ellana Lavellan allowed Celene to be assassinated and appointed Gaspard as Emperor or Orlais in Celene's place. After slaughtering the elves guarding the Temple of Mythal, she drank from the Well of Sorrows, and she sealed Solas's enmity. It should be noted that Solas' claim about growing up in a small village to the north are probably true in spirit if not in letter. Solas is Fen'Harel, one of the so-called elven gods (should you question him about them, he supposes they could have been powerful mages or strong spirits; he doubts their godhood). It's possible that Fen'Harel was born in a village in the north, as Solas rarely outright lies. Little is known about Arlathan. The implications found throughout the game suggest that the supposed gods were constantly at war with each other. Finding a mural of him in the Temple of Fen'Harel will trigger a brief conversation between Morrigan and Solas, and Solas points out that Falon'din's appetite for adulation grew great and so he began wars to gain more followers, slaughtering those who would not bow to him. The other gods were rallied by Mythal to stop him. He also claims Andruil was a goddess of sacrifice, and there are curious runes found in the Exalted Plains that suggest she enjoyed hunting her own kind. The elves of Arlathan had a caste system of some rigidity, and the nobility marked their priests and slaves with the vallaslin, which the Dalish now tattoo on themselves to honor their gods. We know that Solas detests slavery and abhors the vallaslin, and so it's not unfair to suspect at least part of the reason he locked the gods away was for their mistreatment of the slaves. Solas, as Fen'Harel, likely came from a world of luxury - he tells stories of how Arlathan's palaces were made of crystal and floated among the clouds - but grew disillusioned with it over time. Any more details than that are conjecture. Personality: Solas is, by and large, a fairly sedate person. He is quiet, introverted, thoughtful, preferring the company of one or two to crowds. He isn't entirely used to people and readily admits that, prior to the Inquisition, he had no friends except for spirits. In spite of this, he's not awkward with people. When he wants to, Solas can exercise a rather mighty wit. Usually, he turns that wit to a wicked purpose, delivering backhanded compliments to keep a healthy interpersonal distance between him and everyone else. Other times, he's completely blunt. He uses Tevinter's slavery as a weapon against Dorian, throws Vivienne's beliefs back in her face, and sneers at Blackwall for his lies. The only person in the Inquisition who never finds himself on the sharp side of Solas' tongue is Cole, but Cole is a spirit and Solas is at his best when he's surrounded by spirits. Much of his time has been spent wandering. Since he woke, he has combed Thedas by himself, dreaming of times long gone to relearn the world. Contact with people is something he hasn't gone out of his way to achieve, especially since he doesn't care for modern elves very much, and they certainly don't care for him. His demeanor is often rough around the edges, unpolished except in the most startling ways. For someone who has ostensibly spent his life living rough, hiding from templars, Solas is oddly at home amidst the finery of noble society. But he lacks awareness of day to day social niceties, and he doesn't have any interest in wasting his time learning those things. Above all other things, Solas is a prideful man. He's aware of this: solas is the Elvish word for pride, and it is a name he likely chose. As he is one of precious few people who know the truth of the past, he is sure his ways are the right ways, that his understanding is correct at the expense of all other conclusions. He expects that people, when confronted with the truth he bears, will realize that it is The Truth and fall in line. When they don't, it doesn't go over well with him. His relationship with Sera codifies this. He tries, constantly, to teach her about the elves, and she rebuffs him at every turn. She infuriates and frustrates him, but he also has a grudging respect for her tenacity, that she will not deny the essence of herself. Solas tries to teach, but he has little respect for ways of thinking that don't align with his. He wants the elves to learn, to reclaim what they have lost, but he doesn't care for the culture and society they have built for themselves while he slept. He has no respect for what he sees as the foolishness of the modern age, and that disdain creeps into everything he says and does. He speaks of the Dalish with loathing, and the Inquisitor can ask what they did to him. Nothing truly harmful. They simply ignored him. Solas clings to the past, to how things were done in his own time, while attempting to distance himself from the modern. He's like that grumpy old man who tells the kids how easy they have it and how he used to walk thirty miles in the snow, uphill both ways, to school every morning. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is more critical of the elven people than he is of any other race - and he is critical of them all. The dwarves are lesser because they have no connection to the Fade, and, really, with them he stops there. To Solas, for whom magic is nearly everything, that lack of connection to the Fade is a sort of soullessness he can't see past. The qunari, followers of the restrictive qun, are a mindless mass with no sense of individuality or true understanding of purpose; they cannot make decisions for themselves, are incapable of intelligent thought. Humans are thugs and brutes, a pale imitation and shallow echo of what the elves once were. He doesn't go out of his way to hide these feelings. He disdains the humans for what they've done to the elven people, for what the humans took from the elves after Arlathan fell. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is most critical of his own people. To him, the Dalish are fumbling children trying desperately to recreate their former glory, and the city elves have given up their identities entirely. His way, then, is the only right way, and those who don't adhere to it are fools and beneath him. Solas speaks little of himself, not out of any sense of humility (we've already established he doesn't have that at all) but rather because he knows that words will get him into trouble. He's prideful, not stupid, though the two sometimes join hands and lead him down terrible paths (see: giving Corypheus his orb). Solas is a master of doublespeak and backtracking. He doesn't lie so much as he bends the truth, preferring obfuscation to outright deception. He claims he grew up in a small town to the north. That's probably true. It was probably more true several thousand years ago. He claims, also, that he learned most of his skills on his own. Given that he's likely spent the last several thousand years dreaming in the Fade, cavorting with spirits, that's also not a lie in the strictest sense. Occasionally, more often then he'd like, he misspeaks. Some part of him really would like the world to know who he is, not necessarily because he wants recognition but because he's tired of being alone. So he'll make oblique references to his misspent, dissolute youth or he'll comment on how he misses events like the parties thrown by the Orlesians when no apostate elf would ever have a reason to rub elbows with empresses. His time with the Inquisition has been his happiest in many years. He builds an easy rapport with Blackwall - at least until Blackwall's lies come to light. They are a strange foil for each other, but Solas fails in owning up to who and what he is where Blackwall is honest. In spite of their conflicting points of view, he has a respect for Cassandra and for Varric. With the Inquisition, for the first time in ages, he's part of something larger himself. To be surrounded by people working together for a cause is invigorating for him - and it fills him with a curious sort of hope. He sees his world in terms of its conflicts, is keenly aware of the way power tips and changes, and with the Inquisition he sees disparate people from different sides of many conflicts coming together to fix a single, very scary, and very dangerous problem. It pleases him; the last conflict he likely saw was one fought between the People as their gods or, barring that, the elves and Tevinter. Solas values thoughtfulness above all other things. This is, perhaps, why he enjoys card games. Which you should never play with him. Blackwall taught him Diamondback and had to return to the stables with nothing but a bucket for his bits. Those who are deliberate in their choices, who consider all possibilities before forming a conclusion, gain his respect quickly - even when they make ruthless decisions. He also believes very firmly in freedom of self and personal thought, abhorring and form of enforced servitude or censorship. He disdains the qun because it limits and restricts so completely; if a person chooses to be limited, that is acceptable, but for limits to be forced on them? That will never do, and he will never abide someone who forces their will on others. He pokes almost constantly at Iron Bull for adhering the qun, for willing surrendering his free will. In fact, the quickest way to upset Solas is to defend those who control others. He loathes templars, seeing them as brutes who wield power like a club against those who cannot defend themselves. He has little love for the Wardens, especially since seeing them corrupt spirits and enslave those spirits as demons. Solas believes absolutely in freedom: personal, mental, emotional, it doesn't matter. To bind someone, anyone, is reprehensible to him. This is what draws him to Sera. She seeks to subvert the rule of the aristocracy, and he is happy to help her, but is baffled when she tells him she has no real plans beyond chaos. Violence, he says, is a means to an end and not the end itself. Abilities: Note: I admit that I play fast and loose with Dragon Age magic. Since it's a video game, all of the magic is battle based. I tend to give most spells mundane utilities, too, so Solas might give something an electric charge to snap it into his hand or use the Lightning Cage to hold someone without hurting them. Since there is no healing tree in DAI, though, I would never give him healing abilities. STORM Chain Lightning: A blast of lightning that shocks one target and arcs to nearby others. Stormbringer: The storm comes to Solas' aid even without his calling it. When he is in combat, lightning will periodically strike a random nearby target. Gathering Storm: A skill that fills the area around Solas with sympathetic magic, allowing him to cast spells more frequently. Lightning Cage: An electricity field that paralyzes those that try to leave. It is strong enough to do a fair amount of harm to any who try to leave its boundaries, and weaker enemies may even be killed. Lightning periodically strikes enemies in the cage. INFERNO Immolate: A massive explosion, leaving enemies in the area burning in agony. Flashpoint: Landing a particularly effective attack will allow Solas to cast another spell much more quickly. Pyromancer: With the mastery of fire magic, Solas can do more damage to burning or panicking enemies. Fire Mine: A glyph is left on the ground that takes a short time to prime. Once it is ready, it will erupt into flame when a enemy crosses it, damaging and staggering the target. WINTER Winter's Grasp: Solas locks a target in a sheet of ice, freezing it in place. Fade Step: Solas lets invisible waves of magic carry him forward, blurring ahead a short distance. He is particularly adept at this, given his affinity for the Fade. RIFT MAGE Veil Strike: Solas recreates his own fist from the essence of the Fade and smashes nearby foes to the ground. This blow weakens his enemies, and they will do less damage with each hit. Stonefist: A boulder from the Fade smashes it Solas' target, exploding on impact and sending them flying. The explosion weakens and staggers nearby enemies. Restorative Veil: A skill that allows Solas to pull stray magic from around weakened enemies to regain mana based on the damage he does to them. Encircling Veil: By manipulating magic around an enemy, Solas can make any status effect more effective. Smothering Veil: Weakened enemies have the damage they inflict reduced even further. Twisting Veil: Solas can manipulate stray magic to increase the power of his own attacks. Pull of the Abyss: A spell that effects gravity on a small scale. Solas creates a small rift that pulls enemies toward a central point, weakening them. Firestorm: Solas summon flaming meteors, raining fire down upon enemies all over the area for the next several seconds. This ability can only be cast with the help of the Inquisitor, is insanely over powered, and is quite exhausting. He doesn't like using it.
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✖ SAMPLES From the Network that brought you "Words: Some Sentences" and "Accidentally Posting a Video is Pretty Hard, Honestly." Network: In dreams, I have seen ancient battles waged between bitter enemies. I have seen empires rise on the bones of their oppressors only to fall under the weight of their ineptitude. I have seen one man's hero be another man's traitor. And yet in all my dreaming, I have never seen a people who can take men and women from across worlds for the sole purpose of entertainment. [Instead of sounding upset or even weary, Solas sounds delighted. Not too delighted; they're still prisoners. That still infuriates him. There's the whole larger issue of free will being stripped away that has him livid.] The kind of magic it must take-- [He has no concept of technology, not in the sense the vespers are using technology.] --to do something like this is phenomenal. To move people from one world to the next requires a level of power that is simply beyond anything I have ever known. That we are locked away in this town is disagreeable, yes. [A dark shadow passes over his face. "Disagreeable" is a very clear understatement. And yet...] But the opportunity to learn that we have been presented cannot be overlooked. [Even if these people aren't elves.] Log: link! |