Be Gay, Do Crime

in both dialogues with josephine and letters from the keeper, clan lavellan is characterized as aberrant inasmuch as they're relatively cosmopolitan and mercantile, relying on trade as a secondary mode of living. as a clan that's unusually dependent on trade, it's in their best interest to maintain cordial relationships with sedentary societies, and their attempts to do so have been more-or-less successful. keeper istimaethoriel says as much in her letters.

While some Dalish clans hate humans and wish nothing to do with them, Clan Lavellan has always dealt fairly with all and wished only for peace.

and in one conclusion of the same operation,

We would be a distraction if we came to the Inquisition itself, our hunters arguing with the humans as they so easily do.

clan lavellan finds itself in and around human settlements often enough that the hunters arguing with humans is a known tendency. it's also notable that relations with humans are, while tense, sufficiently civil that the hunters are arguing rather than being forced into armed conflicts. you only get into debates with people who are not actively attempting to massacre you.

choice-dependent dialogues with josephine buttress this characterization of the clan as one that has been effective in forging ties with its sedentary neighbors.

PC: The human towns we traded with ate the same food and suffered the same weather we did. PC: The main difference was that they had homes, while we wandered.

the reference to "village mobs" in an alternate part of the same dialogue tree emphasizes that pursuing these relations can be dangerous, but you know which sedentary population is most likely to trade fairly/least likely to stab you for being an elf? one composed entirely of other elves: the wycome alienage.

it's not stated that clan lavellan has had prior dealings with the elves of wycome, but it's not an unrealistic inference to make based on how the two groups treat one another.

Keeper Istimaethoriel: Some of the elves of Wycome fled their alienage to warn us. Others fled to escape the harsh treatment they are suffering in the city. I fear violence will come soon, da'len.

the fact that the city elves of wycome begin fleeing to clan lavellan even before the purge indicates that 1) the city elves believe it plausible that the clan would grant them refuge 2) the city elves feel obligated to warn the clan of potential dangers. based on these attitudes, there’s a sense of solidarity between these two groups; the city elves trust and attempt to aid the clan, trust that the clan proves justified by accepting refugees and risking themselves to intervene militarily. the “dalish are isolationist” claim a few city elves make elsewhere in the series is a clan-specific complaint borne partially of ethnic prejudice, and the attitudes they display towards each other indicate that it’s not a widely-held belief among the elves of wycome or at all applicable to this clan in particular.

and all of the traits given to the clan through the war table operations, dialogues, etc. are compatible with and implicit in the initial premise of the game. lavellan is sent to the conclave as a spy, and it makes more sense that she’s able to move in culturally human circles so easily if she’s used to being tasked with doing so. the pc was only at the conclave in the first place because this keeper is atypical in her keen, consistent interest in foreign politics.

Solas: Your clan was unique in having enough interest in human affairs to send you to spy upon the Divine's meeting.

it's a common criticism that lavellan's narrative pretext for being present at the conclave is weak, and while i don't disagree, it's less true if sending spies to meddle in human business is exactly the sort of thing deshanna would do. this conflict will affect elves, and judging by her reactions to wycome, deshanna considers all elves to be her business. she is an established meddler, and she knows exactly what she's doing here.

one of the details i like best about this is the departure from inquisition's standard treatment of economic modernization as inextricable from cultural assimilation. you can play a lavellan who is proudly and unapologetically dalish, having received extensive cultural instruction from the keeper herself (the line in the temple of mythal about being taught the prayers to falon'din, among others). keeper istimaethoriel is progressive in most respects, but not at the cost of maintaining the clan's robust cultural legacy. this keeper has pursued economic modernization and diplomatic outreach without sacrificing her cultural preservation/transmission efforts because she sees them as linked goals - in order to preserve the people, you need allies, new members, the ability to adapt without losing the things that make you who you are. becoming the partial ruler of a multiracial polity is the absolute ideal outcome for someone with these beliefs.

in origins, lanaya, the first to keeper zathrian, says that when the elves find a homeland, all elves - even "those who have forgotten," or city elves - will live in safety and reclaim their traditions. if the player character intercedes prudently, keeper istimaethoriel has secured them a home, one where close interaction between dalish- and city-born elves is an inevitability. she doesn't have to wait for the rise of a second elvhenan to share lost lore with those who want it or materially aid elves across ethnic lines; if the clan survives, she can begin that work immediately.

+ 1st Sketch cuz the end result is crazy compared