How the Blight Brings People Together

Listen/purchase: Wait In Flames by Firjii

YES IT”S FINALLY HERE!!

Since this took about twice as long as I expected to finish, I had plenty of chances to reflect on its meaning and motivations. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this song can fit any number of characters. Ultimately, it’s more of a general statement about the Dragon Age series than one specific person.

This was a really, really long road. There’s no way I would’ve kept trying if it hadn’t been for all your likes and reblogs and nice DM’s. You’ve motivated me to push harder, pay more attention, and broaden my learning horizons far beyond what I thought was possible given the givens.

In the past, sharing my thoughts has been almost as hard as putting anything into a vaguely coherent (and vaguely tolerable!) creative expression, but every little bit of positivity spurred me on.

The Final Conversation, a Fanfiction by Dorian Pavus’s Original Writer David Gaider

David Gaider, the former Lead Writer for the Dragon Age series, shares today a new short story about our friendly Tevinter mage Dorian Pavus, titled The Final Conversation. The title stems from a Necromantic blood ritual called the commutatus ultima, where one may briefly talk with the dead before a final passing… which of course is banned in Tevinter but they’ll do it anyway. 

While the story is not canon since David Gaider long departed from BioWare post-Dragon Age: Inquisition, its roots are planted within lore consisting of known Tevinter society and its magical practices. Regardless, it is still an emotionally striking tale that adds context and closure to Dorian’s long tumultuous history with his family’s legacy, his father Magister Halward Pavus, and the beginning steps of Dorian’s ascension to Magister.

I always used to roll my eyes at tales of everyday people swept away to worlds of fantasy and wonder – if I were ever lucky enough to leave the monotony of modern life behind, I told myself, there’d be no coming back! But, mere moments into my time in Thedas, my dreams of adventure became a nightmare…

Van, a 20-something nonbinary journalist, awakes in Thedas without a clue how to communicate and full knowledge of the trials to come. Determined to build themself a new life in a harsh and unforgiving world, and fearful of discovery, Van is unable to stand by while the people who were once little more than pixels on a screen die. When Van’s “visions” come to light, however, they are faced with a dilemma like no other – do they unmask Fen'Harel, shielding Inquisitor Elana Lavellan, their creation and newfound friend, from heartbreak and preparing her to do battle with her entire pantheon, or is there another way to secure the future of Thedas?

Is it even their place to say?

I always used to roll my eyes at tales of everyday people swept away to worlds of fantasy and wonder – if I were ever lucky enough to leave the monotony of modern life behind, I told myself, there’d be no coming back! But, mere moments into my time in Thedas, my dreams of adventure became a nightmare…

Van, a 20-something nonbinary journalist, awakes in Thedas without a clue how to communicate and full knowledge of the trials to come. Determined to build themself a new life in a harsh and unforgiving world, and fearful of discovery, Van is unable to stand by while the people who were once little more than pixels on a screen die. When Van’s “visions” come to light, however, they are faced with a dilemma like no other – do they unmask Fen'Harel, shielding Inquisitor Elana Lavellan, their creation and newfound friend, from heartbreak and preparing her to do battle with her entire pantheon, or is there another way to secure the future of Thedas?

Is it even their place to say?

Xe. Zer. They, whatever - it's all an intellectual shorthand to remind those I trust to treat me as I am - not a man and not a woman, but kind of sometimes.

I've heard it said that dismissing the man/woman binary is nihilistic, and I say, you're absolutely right!

Language is a social construct.

All knowledge is constructed.

Mere moments into my time in Thedas, my dreams of adventure became a nightmare…

Van, a 20-something nonbinary journalist, awakes in Thedas without a clue how to communicate and full knowledge of the trials to come. Determined to build themself a new life in a harsh and unforgiving world, and fearful of discovery, Van is unable to stand by while the people who were once little more than pixels on a screen die. When Van’s “visions” come to light, however, they are faced with a dilemma like no other – do they unmask Fen'Harel, shielding Inquisitor Elana Lavellan, their creation and newfound friend, from heartbreak and preparing her to do battle with her entire pantheon, or is there another way to secure the future of Thedas? 

Is it even their place to say?

Mere moments into my time in Thedas, my dreams of adventure became a nightmare…

Van, a 20-something nonbinary journalist, awakes in Thedas without a clue how to communicate and full knowledge of the trials to come. Determined to build themself a new life in a harsh and unforgiving world, and fearful of discovery, Van is unable to stand by while the people who were once little more than pixels on a screen die. When Van’s “visions” come to light, however, they are faced with a dilemma like no other – do they unmask Fen'Harel, shielding Inquisitor Elana Lavellan, their creation and newfound friend, from heartbreak and preparing her to do battle with her entire pantheon, or is there another way to secure the future of Thedas? 

Is it even their place to say?

Hahaha--I still don't get it.