I figured I would read through Tevinter Nights and quote the juicy bits with my ramblings attached. I’m sure there is a synopsis out there, but that isn’t what this is. I’m taking a closer look at the interesting parts and writing down my thoughts with them.
This post is in order, but assuming that you’ve read the story and know the background.
I didn’t bother quoting it since it’s placed in a couple of different passages, but there is a sense of dread that feels like the Calling even before the wardens can see their mountain destination. Considering the connections to the blight that I make further down, I wanted to make sure I had this in here.
The monsters aren’t as interesting to me as what made them, so I’m starting with the warden who went through the process, yet somehow got away and found Ramesh and Lesha in the forest.
“‘We didn’t know. Didn’t know . . . and now we do.’ She giggled, a high-pitched noise that sent a shiver down Ramesh’s spine. ‘Got to know, though. Oh, yes—we know better. They taught us, gave us a lesson,’” (78).
“They” is implying there is intelligent (or at least “driven”) life within the monstrosities. To me, it sounds like the hivemind of the darkspawn to an archdemon.
Also, how did she get away without the rest chasing after her? Near the end, it says that the process takes time, but you would think you would see something changed on her. Maybe not a cocoon, but some kind of mutation.
“Whatever toxin’s in her system is one that must work its way out naturally. No response to my magic,” (78).
That is super weird. Like no effect at all? Kind of like how templars and mages can dispel magic? Is that where we’re going with this? Or does this just mean that the magic here is well beyond a modern mortal?
“‘We went too far. Too deep. Something’s down there, something bad. We thought it was darkspawn but it’s worse. Because it’s different, you see? Not the same at all. Not twisted but made—created. Three died. They were lucky. I wasn’t. Escaped. But not really,’” (78).
Too deep, implying elven “stuff” is under (re: older than) the dwarven empire and the Deep Roads.
Also, for a warden to say that this shit was worse than darkspawn (even though it “uses” darkspawn), that’s not a good sign. And different, “not the same at all” except that it really is, there are so many comparisons to the blight… I don’t know, it feels related, but different in the sense that it could be older, or more focused than the blight is.
“Dont make me go back. Not there, not where they are. I will not. I cannot. We must leave. This place to her, to them! (…) They build it for her! They wait for her! I am free—I paid the price!” (78).
I think she means less the physical construction down there with the lyrium crystal and that brine fluid, and more the army that they’re making. Whoever “she” is, they don’t have access to her or vice versa, but if they’re waiting, it means they expect her return.
She’s free because she paid the price, ingesting the fluid that changes them, but she didn’t change (even though she had enough fluid in her—an extraordinary amount—to bring the change about).
And what price could she have possibly paid to leave? The only thing I can think of is that she’s meant to spread the fluid that changes creatures, like an infection along the lines of the blight (which also brings to mind the plight of the broodmothers…)
“Then she began to whisper something to herself, over and over, a nearly silent litany. Ramesh came closer, trying to hear what it was she said. But his presence quieted her, and he returned to his seat. A few minutes passed, and the litany started up again, nearly silent, unsettling,” (80).
This doesn’t tell us much, but it feels like (though it isn’t stated) that Ramesh was trying to “sneak” up to her, but couldn’t. That feels a little like the darkspawn sense to me, but without stating that she felt him instead of just seeing him, I can’t properly speculate. The litany is interesting as well, though it doesn’t tell us much. I wish we got a hint of what she was saying, even if it was just ravings, but it doesn’t feel like just “madness.” It feels like there was a purpose to what she was saying. The word “litany” is also an interesting choice. The only other time we’ve seen it used (ingame at least, I haven’t read the comics) is the Litany of Adralla—an item that nullifies blood magic.
“A thin, grayish fluid” (81).
I don’t have anything to point at for comparison (or possible identification) but the color feels important here. In conjunction with the seawater smell, I’m not sure what to make of it.
“The reek of brine, of the ocean, was stronger. More present,” (82).
If the ocean is important to whatever this “she” is, why is her lab or whatever it is in a landlocked Nevarran area? If the dwarves and the mountain were the necessary components for said lab, we have canon fallen thaigs near the ocean—Kal’Hirol (a great thaig), and Heidrun (where the Descent takes place). Worth noting that under the latter was a living titan…
“The gray fluid came out in a rush. Gallons and gallons of it spilled forth into the clearing, and he leapt back. It seemed to come for minutes—far longer, and far more, than should ever be inside a person,” (82).
Because Dragon Age is very particular about teleportation and even travel magic, I don’t think that her stomach was somehow connected to the vat in the lab. That leaves the hand wave of “it’s magic” for an explanation, or possibly that the fluid is rapidly growing (like a living thing), expanding (as in, getting bigger), or replicating itself. To me, that sounds a lot like red lyrium—the only thing we know that can appear that quickly (I talking about, specifically, the red lyrium at the Temple of Sacred Ashes).
“its three asymmetrical peaks twisting around each other. Yet still that oppressive feeling, that smell of decay, remained, and seemed to grow stronger as they left the forest—not weaker. And over it all, that faint hint of brine,” (83).
Now the smell of decay is added to the brine, but what they find, the darkspawn monstrosities, aren’t “decayed” at all. With their changes, they seem more deadly and smarter. So where is that decay coming from? That makes me think of decomposition, and while there are dead monstrosities and tons of blood, darkspawn smell different from normal things and I don’t think they break down the same way either (like the plains of blighted desert in the distance of the Western Approach),
“But there was something different about these darkspawn. The mutations that gave rise to their mindless hordes were far from consistent. Yet here he saw variance unlike any he’d previously known,” (85).
And that variance is all from other, natural creatures (apart from the two-headed darkspawn). They are—except for a single monster—two creatures combined into one, something Jovis references later. Combining two things into one whole, like possession. I don’t know if I mentioned this anywhere else, but I think everything (maybe even humanoids or especially humanoids) had spirits before the Veil, which sundered them apart. The combining of things together might have something to do with that, like a remedy to a greater threat than even the Veil.
“Whole place is unstable—Dumat really did a number on it,” (88).
This is more for my personal theory, but as I assume the Evanuris are Old Gods, and that each is sealed in the heart chamber of the titan whose heart they took, this quote might imply that Dumat’s prison (re: heart chamber) was beneath/around Hormak. Given the other hints as to which elven god made that place her lab, this implies (according to my theory) that Dumat was Ghilan’nain.
“these were eerily silent,” (89).
Another change that, with their heightened intelligence, hints that the transformation is more than the sum of its parts. Also, other than the elven animals that could have been included in the genetic components of the vat pre-Veil (or whatever else might have sealed it off), all the other mixtures are creatures one could presumably find in the Deep Roads, meaning that it likely hasn’t been “recruiting” for long or far from its base. (spider, bat, drake, snake, other darkspawn). I don’t know what to make of the Jovis-thing though, as far as I know, we’ve never seen centipedal monsters like that, but it reminds me of the concept art of the giant white serpentine monster with the crescent head and spear thing (monstrous reborn Ghilan’nain maybe?).
“a level of cunning and guile unusual for their kind” (90).
Same as above, making darkspawn better soldiers or slaves like in the bas-reliefs.
“The slope of the ground started to abate, then, and the walls begin to take on a more sculpted appearance. Blank rock gave way to carvings—mostly too worn and damaged to make out. Lesha paused in front of one image that had largely survived. It was a simple painting of three figures—a supplicant, a priestess, and a monster,” (93).
A couple of things here. One, that the slope tapered off could potentially imply that this was level ground before the dwarven kingdom, possibly pre-mountain even. Just a thought.
The walls are blank and rough closer to the dwarven part, then become more skillful and intricate near the elven part. If Lesha is right, that the dwarves made at least this stretch of the elven part, I have to ask why? Especially when the elves had the ability to make something much better. Why resort to (likely) slave labor, and unskilled at that, when further in is beyond modern capabilities? It almost feels like this came after the fall of the Evanuris, and dwarves, now freed, were carving their interpretation or memory of what they saw in person.
But why then is the part closer to the later dwarven part (the more skilled variety), more bare and basic? As if they were losing something of themselves as they carved, as the time without their Evanuris stretched on. Did the dwarves fall into some kind of de-evolution without the Evanuris (which, in my theory, might have severed their connection to the titan hivemind)? Did it render them into some kind of fugue state that, once lifted, saw the rise of modern dwarves with no real knowledge of titans?
“‘This reminds me of something. what, exactly…’ She shook her head. “Almost like Avvar cave paintings. but dwarven, maybe?’ (…) ‘They look more elven to me. ‘Least the people in the pictures do, I mean.’ ‘It’s not about the people. Look, every culture has their own artistic signature—something that makes it theirs. Tevinter is all about sharp angles. Ferelden is hard and brutish, and Orlais is delicate and opulent. Dwarves are… well, simple is the wrong word, but they get right to the truth,’” (93).
Something is stylistically wrong here, dwarven made but not dwarven in style. With the comparison to cave paintings, as in cavemen, or more primitive, I assume this means these were by primitive dwarves, i.e. before their kingdoms.
“‘It’s the same image repeated, with slight variations.’ She pointed to another painting that was partially intact. ‘Three figures. The supplicant, the queen, and the monster. Except the person and the monster change. Not a lot, but a little. Enough to tell. But the priestess remains,’” (93).
The way priestess and queen are used interchangeably like that is a good description for the Evanuris in my opinion. Also, the way she stays the same but the person and monster change imply that these aren’t just repeating motifs. These are likely records of something that actually took place, many, many times. A record, not just artwork.
Also, as there are only ever two other than the “queen,” I think this is supposed to mean the ritual/experiment was only combining two creatures together. That could either make the halla/snake/varterral an anomaly or a mistake by the author, which seems likely considering Jovis’ insistence that “two form into one.” OR it could possibly mean that the humanoid is turning INTO the monster, which also makes sense, but doesn’t account for the two into one or the overwhelming majority of the monsters only being two things.
“She was right. The creature changed a bit each time, as did the figure, but the priestess remained the same. Or at least, almost the same. It was perhaps the oppressive nature of the place acting upon his worst fears, but it seemed to him that the priestess’s smile grew a little wider, a little crueler with each subsequent image,” (93).
Two things. One, the smile getting wider and crueler could just be the artwork getting less crude and more detailed the farther in they go.
Or two, the Evanuris was increasingly becoming worse. Mad, even. When else do we hear of Evanuris going mad? Andruil and the void (the void likely being the blight). What is the connection here? Maybe this madness was more common than we thought, and something that Solas saw as a threat, enough to need them locked away for it.
“They continued down the passageway. Around them, the walls grew smoother—larger. Delicate carvings started to appear, then flowers and creatures that Ramesh did not recognize. Finally, the hallway came to an end. In front of them, two massive stone doors hung part way open,” (94).
That sense of skill heightening the further they travel again, but also into an unquestionably elven design. Unrecognizable creatures are interesting as well, things that no longer exist in modern Thedas, things that died out or were driven extinct. (Like the codex about Ghilan’nain destroying her creatures at Andruil’s behest, all but the creatures of the sea as Pride [re: Solas] stopped her hand.
“What details he could make out in the glow of Lesha’s staff were incredible. Carvings of a fineness and beauty that transcended any he had ever seen covered every surface of the cave. As a warden, he’d seen as much of the Deep Roads as any—the greatest works of the dwarves, buried for centuries in ruined thaigs behind seemingly endless waves of darkspawn. This was something different—something more,” (95).
Again, just more evidence of the elves being superior artisans pre-Veil than the dwarves at their height. That sounds mean, but I mean it in the sense that their civilization was more advanced because it was older and they likely used the dwarves as slaves, thereby stunting the growth of their civilization.
“There was no question, in his mind, that these ruins were elven in nature. While dwarven architecture remained the rule in the Deep Roads, there were exceptions. From time to time, Wardens would find unmistakably elven architecture scattered among dwarven works,” (95).
Though we’ve found cultural anomalies in ruins and the Deep Roads in particular before, this confirms its less an anomaly than a rule itself. It sounds like the Evanuris had a lot more going on in the Deep Roads (or, considering the Roads themselves are dwarven, likely just certain places underground) than just the Lyrium mines and this lab under Hormak.
“This, however, was exclusively, entirely elven—there were no dwarven works interspersed throughout, not even any sign of darkspawn that filled so much of the underground. And this chamber was nearly pristine,” (95).
Again, why use dwarven slaves when you have something fully elven and better farther in? But also the lack of darkspawn—where else do we see that? In and around titans, and escaped archdemon prisons. (And in my opinion, those two places are the same.)
“The usual signs of age—of water, dripping from above, or pooling from below—were absent. Debris was scattered on the ground in places, broken vessels and shattered chests, but the room itself was intact,” (95).
The fact that there’s no degradation could just be because no darkspawn willingly go there to mess stuff up, but it also might mean more magic in the construction than would be feasible by any other society.
“Pooling from below” might just be a throwaway line, but it could also mean those subterranean lakes we’ve heard about but rarely seen. I also wonder how such lakes or oceans affect titans.
“Fluted columns receded into the darkness above, carved in patterns that seem to shift, depending on how you looked at them, their surface smooth to Ramesh’s touch, speaking to the quality of the work, and the finest of the carvings,” (95).
That “shifting” sounds magical to me, and further along it seems likely, but I also feel a connection to the “hauntings” red lyrium (or specifically the idol) instills in places. I’m not saying it’s the same, I’m saying it feels similar somehow.
“On the surface of the walls were carved massive bas-reliefs, running in three parallel bands and disappearing into the darkness in either direction. The detail was exquisite, and Ramesh quickly realized that what he had first thought to be some kind of paint or pigment was, in fact, millions of tiny gemstones set into the stone,” (95).
I think this speaks more to the opulence and excess of the Evanuris, and also likely their entire culture. It’s beautiful, sure, but how many slaves were abused or died mining them?
“On the topmost band, stately elven kings and queens held court, their people kneeling before them in respectful supplication,” (95).
Interesting that we go from a singular figure of the “priestess” or “queen” to multiple. I know we often see a mix of Evanuris representations in their temples, but it’s still interesting considering how antagonistic they were to each other.
“On the middle, scenes of healing and succor, of disease and injury being drawn forth from the sick and the dying by elven mages,” (95).
Though we later find that the elves were forcing sickness into the supplicants, healing could be something they once did, but changed into the reverse, like the possibility of the change in the queen/priestess. Something that happened slowly and over time.
“And on the bottom, aravels, far more elaborate and grandiose than any that Ramesh had ever seen, pulled by armies of halla toward distant mountains—one of which, he realized with a start, was that same mountain that they were now beneath, the three jagged peaks that twisted around each other easily distinguishable in the detailed carvings,” (96).
Why were prisoners (or slaves, or the willing, etc.) taken to all of the mountains, not just the lab beneath Hormak? Is this implying that there were more laboratories to change humanoids into monsters (hinting that they became “better” soldiers through the process)?
And what were the Evanuris fighting that would require such an army, as this wouldn’t have been an inner-Evanuris conflict if all of them are above the scene?
What do the mountains have to do with where these “labs” are, unless, as I theorize, each is technically a titan (or has one beneath). What else do we know of under mountains that are thematically relevant?
“It was, taken as a whole, magnificent—and yet, the more he stared at it, the more disquieting it became. There was something slightly off—something that set his teeth on edge and his palms itching for the comforting feel of his weapons. Not one specific thing, but a preponderance of little things all adding up to an aura of quiet, deliberate menace,” (96).
“Deliberate menace” is what I find interesting here. To me, the whole scene, especially the part around the halla horn motif, suggests inherent magic in the entire lab, not just the lyrium/fluid construction. As if there is some kind of enchantment that wants the intruders to leave.
“The striations on the columns, random at first, begin to form patterns before Ramesh’s eyes. The same symbol—the horns of the halla—repeated on each column. The symbol seemed to shift, changing in an inexplicable way that made Ramesh’s eyes water. He tore them away, focusing instead on the bas-relief that ran around the chamber. Yet even they, suddenly, seemed wrong,” (96).
Halla horns lend evidence that the “she” whose lab this is would be Ghilan’nain, mother of the halla. We’ve also seen codex entries, the same one about the monsters of the deep, that say she created scores of different monsters—just like the lyrium/fluid thing does.
That noticing of a pattern seems to be the key to revealing the menace hidden in the relief, almost like a spell. Sort of like, you need to find her symbol to see the real message there.
“The lowest band of carvings, the halla pulling the aravel, was off. The halla were different, wrong. They had too many horns, for one, and a harder, more rounded look than was normal. A look that was almost insectile. And the horns themselves were longer and ridged. Organic, somehow. And the aravels were unlike any he had seen. The windows were barred, and they bore more resemblance to a prisonship than anything else,” (96).
Not even the halla, the creature now synonymous with Ghilan’nain (and elves in general), were safe from experimentation. The insectile look is interesting. I can’t think of any major creatures in Dragon Age that they remind me of. Sure, they have spiders, but the halla here don’t seem spider-like. More beetle-y than anything. And what’s up with the horns described as “organic”? Horns are already something that could be described that way as they are naturally occurring on halla. Does “organic” here mean something closer to “relating to plants” vs. “naturally occurring”? That makes me think of the varterral, which always seemed more botanical, with its bark skin, than animalistic. And the varterral do seem like a mix-up of a bunch of different, non-natural things.
“The middle band, with its scenes of healing, seemed now twisted, wrong. No longer did it seem as though mages were drawing corruption and disease out of the wounded and infirm—but instead they forced it in, pushing it through and into the fallen bodies,” (96).
Forcing corruption and disease into “fallen” people sounds a lot like how the darkspawn make broodmothers. We still don’t know what, if any, connection the Evanuris had to the blight, but this sounds like they were weaponizing it (if that “corruption” is the same).
“The expressions on the faces of those elven rulers betrayed a contempt that was almost palpable, their beatific smiles edged with disgust and disdain for the creatures at their feet. And the subjects, far from kneeling and reverence as Ramesh had first thought, seemed more to be cowering in terror,” (96).
This is just confirming what Solas told us about the Evanuris, that they were cruel and didn’t care for their subjects in the slightest. The disgust and disdain feel like they’re looking at a whole different, lesser (in their eyes) species. Now that I think about it, this combining of creatures to make an army kind of sounds like the Qunari, since, according to Corypheus, their race is a “mistake.” Dragon/elf (because of the ears) hybrids made the way Ghilan’nain was already making her army? Makes sense with the way they handle their society, like a military.
“And in the center, a massive pool, filled with a viscous gray fluid. The scent of brine wafted forth from it. Above it, a massive lyrium crystal hung suspended. It glowed with a sickly light, tinged with yellow and green. Streamers of energy flowed from it into the pool, sending it bubbling wherever it touched,” (97).
Yellow-green lyrium is very interesting to me, especially considering what the other colored variety does. I was thinking that different colored lyrium comes from different titans, or that the blue variety was more common because it was coming from a/the living titan (under Orzammar, connected to Mythal).
Worth noting that there is a hall lit with lyrium in the first part of the dwarven ruins, and nothing strange is noted about it. If I’m correct and Ghilan’nain’s orb came from her titan, the one below Hormak, I would also assume that it produced that yellow-green lyrium and the reason the dwarves used regular lyrium is that it no longer produced the yellow-green variety, meaning it either died from having its heart taken, or changed in some way because of it. No heart=blue lyrium?
That admittedly throws a wrench in my titan/great thaig theory, unless Mythals titan “died” when she did. That actually does line up, in my opinion, leaving Solas’ titan the last “living” one, meaning it can still produce its red variety. I’m putting death and life in quotes here because I think the heart-to-orb process doesn’t kill the titan in a literal sense, more metaphorical, but the change it undergoes is real.
“They watched as a hurlock walked toward the pool, stiff-legged. It broke the surface of the gray ichor, which reacted instantly, flowing around the creature. In moments it was completely submerged. Out of the murk rose a cocoon, iridescent and pulsing with green light. There was a hissing sound, a flash of light, and the cocoon shattered. Yet what came out was not a hurlock. It had the head of one, but that head rested on the body of a massive drake,” (98).
We have no understanding of what compels the darkspawn to submit to the process, but we know it doesn’t affect dwarves (from their unchanged skeletons above), and wardens (as neither Lesha nor Ramesh felt anything but fear and disgust). That means the darkspawn likely forced Jovis and the others to drink the fluid.
But what compels them to do so? Is it that blank hivemind that searches for an archdemon to control it? Is something in the lyrium or fluid doing the same, taking control of the hivemind?
Also, we get a “green” light from the cocoon, not the same color as the lyrium. I’m just pointing it out in case my color theory (lol) is wrong. Also, in the same vein, you can get a color wheel of 12 using the 3 primary colors, the 3 secondary colors, and then the 6 tertiary colors between them. Just saying.
“‘We drank. Works differently for us. Can’t just touch it, we need it inside. Takes a while. They turned us. Two halves, two wholes. Trying to be two ones. But I stayed me, and it hates that.’ It twitched, the cavern shaking in sympathy. ‘Not forever, not for long. Just for now—enough.’ The buzz returned to the voice, insistent. ‘And we waited for you! Oh, yes! Now you come.’ The creature screamed, and Jovis’s voice came back,” (100).
Now, if these were anyone other than wardens, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at this. But they are, the same people “immune” to the blight, but can speed up the process to turn into fully corrupted ghouls by the Architect. I don’t know, this just makes me think that the fluid is akin to the blight, a different kind of corruption with different (though similar) rules.
That buzz that shows the “other” creature is taking over reminds me of possession as well, that dual voice that demons have. And that insistence on the two in one… just makes me think that the whole of the world and everything in it is sundered in half, and the whole point of (the bad guys? The good guys? I don’t even know at this point) is going to be reuniting those halves somehow.
“‘Can’t let this out. Got to . . . bury it. Bury me.’ The words came even more slowly, each one being forced through whatever will battled Jovis’s for control of the creature. ‘She cannot have it. Not again. Locked for a reason,’” (100).
How do they even know about “her”? Is there some kind of consciousness in the fluid? Like the Well of Sorrows or something? God, they know so much and they just won’t say it! “Can’t have it again”— what exactly did she do with it the last time? This also implies by the wording that whatever the “it” is, it was not originally hers. If it is the lyrium, that could just mean it was the titan’s before it was hers, but if it’s the fluid, or the act of the change itself? That could be anything.
“Locked for a reason” is the most interesting part here. Especially since it’s clearly not locked now. Who or what unlocked it? If Solas bringing down the Veil is the “lock” in question—and I can’t think of anything else in lore that it might be—then what opened it?
There were “ancient” dwarf skeletons, so not the dwarves or it would have been going on for much longer. There was an abandoned town above that might have been it, but how do ordinary people get through the darkspawn in the Deep Roads before they can access the elven part? The original warden party was attacked by the mutated creatures, so it was definitely unlocked before they showed up.
Also, I’m not taking the Veil as the lock here, that would be too convenient. Something else locked this place up, and it broke before the Veil had a chance to.
“’Same Ramesh. Always the wrong question.’ (…) ‘The lyrium. Blow it up. Take this place down. collapse the entrance,’” (100).
Why is the name the wrong question? What’s the right one? If the name doesn’t matter, that implies it doesn’t matter who wields it, that the power shouldn’t be in anyone’s hands. But again, what would the right answer be? Not “who” and we know the “where,” so what’s left? (a lot but I’m simplifying).
What is this thing? From context clues, likely a weapon to make an army.
How does it work? The best I’ve got is something like the blight, maybe even a “sister” to it.
Why was it made? That is the big question. What the fuck could immortal, nearly all-powerful mages need an army of monsters for that they couldn’t wipe from the map themselves? I can’t imagine it was/is anything good.
“The mountain he brought down, the one that buried that nightmare under thousands of tons of rock, was not the only one to which the aravels brought their prey. There had been, before the images repeated, eleven others,” (105).
Forgive me for repeating myself here. Twelve mountains, twelve great thaigs, twelve elven gods (the Evanuris plus the three fogotten ones). I’m just saying. If each great thaig had a titan underneath, that would add up…
So, those are all the relevant passages in “The Horror of Hormak” and my disjointed thoughts along with them. Lots of interesting lore in there, and even more questions. Hopefully, we will get some answers (and even more questions) in Dreadwolf.