I'm sure someone else has already gone over this, but I've been obsessing over Dragon Age again so I wanted to organize some thoughts on Elves and Spirits. So thinking about DA:I and Spirits, there's an interesting dichotomy of the fade being incredibly malleable physically, but unchanging ...mentally? What I mean by this is that while magic is incredibly easy and landscapes are constantly shifting, the Spirits themselves almost never change without some kind of major trauma (like becoming a demon).
In Trespasser we find out more lore about spirits from first hand accounts instead of the Chantry flavored propaganda we had gotten before then.
I'm picking some things out of codex entries from Vir Dithara here.
The pages of this bookāmemory?āare instructions on how to reach the deepest parts of theĀ Fade, realms so far removed they're unmarked byĀ Dreamers:
"Epiphany requires a mind smooth as mirror glass, still as stone. Put aside ten years for practice, and the next hundred for searching. What others have learned will ease your journey. Those who never manifested outside the Fade will find it easier to find its stillest roots, but it is rare the compulsion overtakesĀ our brethren of the air."
The bolded comments imply three things to me.
1. The beings of that time used to live exclusively in the Fade, the tone comes across as "we used to be there, but now we're moved on to here."
2. The beings that lived outside the Fade could go back into it.
3. They viewed themselves as separate, but related to, spirits who never left the Fade. I'm not sure if they regarded themselves as Elves and Spirits as spirits, or as Elves are Spirits given flesh, which I suspect is closer to the correct mentality. Also this may have morphed over the ages. Pre and Post Evanuris could have had different prevailing attitudes.
Another entry, Birds of Fancy-
The pages of this bookāmemory?ādescribe a pair playing, colliding in the air, bodies formed for kissing, stroking lines of heat as molten as the sun. The dance is fluid, roiling, never ending, lovers tangled in a laughing knot that rolls on for years, a promise never to be parted, whatever ages come.
An annoyed thought intrudes, from one who marked this memory after it was recorded:
"By the gods, find a private chamber!"
This is very dreamlike, and seems to be an indicator that there was back and forth give between the Veil and the solid world. Magic was easier in the fade, Elves were immortal, so it stands to reason that some of the more solid aspects of the waking world, such as bodies, could be formed in the Fade. Not unrealistic since even in the time of Dragon Age there were more than a few times where "real" people ended up walking around in the Fade while awake.
Next up, -Attentive Listeners-
The pages of this bookāmemory?āshow a solemn group of elves in an ampitheater of living wood, entire trees grown into seats and stairs for the listeners to recline on. Two other elves and a spirit of learning are speaking in turn on ways to bend the properties of the material world when casting spells. At the end, the spirit, with the air of a senior lecturer, floats forward and booms in a surprisingly deep voice.
"The unchanging world is delicate: spells of power invite disaster and annihilation. The unchanging world is stubborn: the pull of the earth fiercely resists making fire run like water or stone rise like mist. The unchanging world rings with its own harmony. Listen with fearless hearts, and great works will unfold."
This is great because it's an account from a Spirit's point of view of the "unchanging world" pre Veil. This emphasizes the view that the Fade is malleable and flexible, the waking world is fixed and brittle. The balance to that is the residents of each one are the opposite emotionally/mentally. In the Fade, you ARE your description, if you are a Spirit of Compassion, you are all about being compassionate, with not much room for anything else.
Here's another codex entry that I think adds onto this notion:
The pages of this bookāmemory?ādescribe a heated argument between a group of well-dressedĀ elvesĀ inside an elaborately arched pavilion on an island floating in a void. In the distance, haloed by a blizzard of light, thousands of elves are maintaining an elaborate magical ritual that pulls raw essence from the Fade, funneled into a sphere in the air. Through the lens of the sphere can be seen a world of indigo waterfalls and rust-red jungles, and a temple palace so frescoed and cleverly carved, it is a masterpiece in itself.
The well-dressed elves' shouting grows so loud, it can be heard over the magic. One leaps at another, howling and pulling out a knife burning with prismatic flame.
"Architects of the Grand Sonallium (a gift from BlessedĀ SylaiseĀ to CleverĀ JuneĀ as thanks for a great favor) in friendly debate over the color of the palace's roof trim."
Hilarious, but it's telling that so many Elves were so enraged over something like the color of a roof, almost like children throwing a temper tantrum over not having the right color crayon available and not being able to express it in a meaningful way. Now it's doubtful all of those Elves came from Rage Spirits, but that strong a reaction could only come about due to feeling overwhelming rage. So my theory here is that one reason Spirits became flesh was to work shit out emotionally, FEEL other emotions/worldviews aside from the one ideal they glommed onto, and grow mentally and spiritually. That doesn't come easily, especially when unlike a child, you have full access to an adult body and powerful magic.
Which brings me to Solas and the Veil. Amongst all the horrible shit the Veil brought about (mortality to Elves, obliterating their centers of learning, opening them up to invasion and yet more slavery) the thing you can see that absolutely guts him is how Spirits are treated. They're enslaved, feared, used mercilessly and discarded like trash. The Chantry treats all of them as potential demons, cutting off as many friendly interactions as they can, making for a much more lonely existence. Before the Veil, they would wander the solid world as well as the Fade, while Elves would wander the Fade as well. Post Veil, they were cut off from manifesting easily in the solid world, the few interactions they have with solid people are confused dreams or terrified and suspicious mages, or mages corrupting them from their original purposes and effectively destroying them. (The Avar seem to have as close to a "normal" relationship with them as they used to have, but that's one tiny group of people compared to the entire world they used to have access to.)
He did this to his living kin, some (many?) of them existing from that time where he was awake and rebelling. How many of them wiped their memories rather than warp into something horrible from the trauma of losing their world, so they wouldn't even recognize him anymore? How many became warped, and remembered him in their new tormented forms? Wisdom was the exception to that, and she ended up destroyed in front of him anyways. (And now I've made myself sad.). How many Spirits were denied the ability to form bodies and grow. This conversation between Cole and Solas was a great insight:
Cole: Is there a way to save more spirits, Solas?
Solas: Not until the Veil is healed. The rifts draw spirits through, and the shock makes demons of them.
Cole: Pushing through makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you. Being pulled through means you don't have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being.
Solas: Yes, exactly. Deliberately crossing the Veil requires that a spirit form will, personality. That concept of self gives a spirit the chance to maintain its nature. Wrenched into this world unwillingly by the rifts, spirits suffer the same fate as my friend.
Cole: Then we will help them.
Then there's this bit of dialogue that had me screaming. If you take Cole as more spirity with you to the Shattered Library, he gives this:
Cole: The Veil isnāt real. Itās false, fake, fabricated to forbid. Isnāt it wonderful?
Dorian: I was thinking āalarming,ā personally.
Cole: It means I belong here! Helping, healing the hurt! Iām not a wrong thing, a wreck, a ruin. Iām what I should be!
Long story longer, I don't think Solas's goal is to bring back the ancient Elves, not really. I think he's going to make it so his kin, the Spirits, can truly live again, defend themselves again, and become more "real" when they need to again.
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