According to the devnotes in the text file, the prison was originally different from what we see in the game. Rook first wandered in the darkness, then along a bloody path among fallen comrades. In the end, the path was supposed to lead to the Demon of Regret who could change its appearance and voice to put pressure on Rook. There was a choice to confront it or give in.
Alone in the Dark
Rook awakes in darkness, alone. Chains appear to have attached themselves to Rook.
Attempting to gain a bearing, Rook starts to hear a voice. The voice sounds like Solas, but different. A path appears before them.
Rook attempts to get answers from the voice while following the trail.
Blood Leading the Blind
The path resembles blood dripping over the edge of a cliff. The trail disappears after rook moves forward.
The Voice returns to inform Rock they have swapped places with Solas.
Rook Demands answers, but is taunted in return.
A small light appears at the end of the path.
Reaching the Light fills the screen with white.
A still image of Solas appears when the white fades. He is striding out of a opening in the fade. This scene is identical to the one where Rock was moments ago.
Approaching Solas triggers a banter about Solas with the voice.
Approaching the Portal triggers a banter about the prison.
Reminded of the Lost
The set pieces fade away into the darkness, the path continues beyond.
Escaped, but the battle has just begun.
Figures come into view as Rook travels down the path. They are the fallen followers from the Ghilan'nain's battle, Frozen in their death throes.
The scene is frozen in time capturing the moments Rooks followers died along with a scene of Ghilan'nain.
Taunted by the Lost
The followers that died taunt rook.
Banter will play as players fumble around the space and while they progress down the path.
Banter line about the First Fallen Follower
Banter line about the Second Fallen Follower
Another flash of white fills the screen.
The mighty have Fallen
Rook finds themselves on the walls of Weisshaupt. Similar to earlier, the scene is frozen in time.
Rook walks the ramparts with the still battle around them. The voice speaks of moments from the battle.
Banter line about Ghilan'nain.
Manipulation Manifest
The voice asks why Rook is here. Rook responds by mentioning Varric. The scene fades away.
Rook finds themselves on another trail, however this time there is a doorway at the end outlined in the darkness.
Passing through the doorway leaves Rook inside Varrics room.
Suddenly the furniture and the walls will fall away, revealing a pile of rocks.
Approaching the rocks triggers the Varric Reveal scene.
First/second/third/fourth banter of characters. Get the Characters speaking about Varric.
Challenge the Demon of Regret by walking towards it.
Regret Changes its appearance and voice to imitate characters Rook has interacted with in an attempt to stop Rook in their tracks.
Changes again to another character.
Changes to one last character.
Within the Conversation there are non-standard game overs depending on which response is chosen.
Give-in to Regret
Confront Regret
Approaching the Demon, Rook overcomes their regret. Triggering the outro cine.
Rook emerges from the Prison, where all their followers await them. After the hugs and jubilation, the group sets off to stop Solas and Elgar'nan will new found determination.
The text also contains some lines from the dialogue with the demon.
----------
What is this!
Is someone there!
Hello!
Rook.
Solas?
Solas, you...!
It's like... walking against a wall.
Follow the line, I guess.
Where does this lead?
What... what am I seeing?
It's what you chose. The tipping point.
What are you? What's the point of this?
This is the truth of your actions. Your tipping point.
The moment of freedom. A god walks free, because another took his place.
Someone who played the role.
Solas built a cage that could hold the gods. You trapped him, but were also his way out.
You're not Solas. What are you?
Another god?
I am the lock on this prison.
Keep going, Rook. It's a long way back.
Back? To what...?
I'm not moving without answers!
I deserve answers.
You will get what you deserve.
You're more like Solas than you know. It's the blood on your hands.
What blood? Show me!
Neve/Bellara? No. You're fake, like Solas.
(Neve banter)
I fought for you, Rook. You led me to this.
She'd call me Trouble, make some joke to hide how she feels.
She wasn't fighting for me. She wouldn't say that.
(Bellara banter)
Was this what I fought for, Rook? Was it worth it?
She'd never say that. Every moment was worth it.
She knew why she was fighting. Didn't need me to tell her.
You're not her. Not real.
Live long enough, the only thing that's real is what you've lost.
(Harding banter)
I did everything for you, Rook. And then you left me.
Lace would blame herself. That would hurt more.
Her voice, but she'd never try to hurt someone like that.
You don't know her. Not like I did.
(Davrin banter)
I saved you, Rook. What was the point?
That's not how he'd challenge me. How he'd tease me about it.
He'd have saved anyone. Done it for the challenge alone.
You don't know him. Not like I did.
If the pain is great enough, appearances can be all that matter.
You're stealing these voices. If this is the Fade, are you a demon?
I am Regret. The Regret of a god. And you are a speck that I will consume forever.
You feed me regardless.
Wardens, hold the wall! This is our house!
Hold that wall, Wardens! Push them back!
A face in the sky. Like no Blight before.
The Mother of Monsters. Like no Blight before.
That's Weishaupt. I saved the Wardens.
You saved some of the Wardens.
And they're dead, aren't they.
I came to warn them. Their plan wasn't going to work.
I tried to warn them. The gods changed everything.
They didn't know about the gods.
Why were you here?
I told you, to warn them.
That's what you came to do, not why you were here.
But why you, Rook?
Because I trapped Solas.
Because Varric—
Why show me this? To make me give up?
Ascend.
What?
Rise to match the gods. Rise above those who died.
See why you lead.
You won't keep me here! Said it yourself, this cage is for gods!
I'm not like them! Not like Solas!
"A cage built for gods."
Or mortals with delusions.
I'll get out, you know. I get out of things.
Solas got out.
Stubborn. Another thing you and Solas share.
Another? What's the first?
The regret. The blood on your hands.
You want to know how he swapped places with you? How your regret could match his?
Every choice you've made, you owe to this.
This is the moment that put lives in your hands.
Welcome to your cage. The moment why you lead.
When Varric showed you the cost of leadership.
And the god of lies regretfully killed him.
He was always...?
Always.
The first fight against Solas? Varric is still...
Right where you left him.
This... is the moment Varric died. But this regret isn't mine.
The god of lies abhors blood magic, but made an exception for you.
He had to do it. You made him do it.
Varric died at that ritual. You didn't want to face it. And with a little blood magic, you didn't have to.
The moment Solas used. When the blood on your hands clouded your mind.
Solas was trapped in his own cage, but if your regret grew, he could escape.
Only by trading you. Shaping you. Until your regret matched his.
So Varric lived on, in your mind, until it could hit you all at once.
This is the end. When he traded his regret for yours.
This is the very real loss that let Solas swap his regret... for yours.
Regret is the price we pay for acting when no one else will.
That's what leaders say. When they get people killed for the greater good.
When they toy with lives.
It was lies. The whole time...
I was toyed with. Lied to.
This mistake. This failure.
And it can never be undone.
Do you see? How everyone says one thing, but you hear another?
(Laughs.) Poor "injured" Varric.
Give up. Lucanis has only spite for you.
Give up. Emmrich could never love you.
Give up. Die. Taash doesn't care.
Give up. Harding deserved better.
Give up. Neve deserved better than you.
Give up. Bellara needed better than you.
Give up. Davrin deserved more than you.
Give up. Your fortune is wasted. End it.
Give up. Die. No one will mourn you.
Give up. Die behind the Veil.
Give up. End this contract. You failed.
Give up. You failed your calling. Die.
Give up. Fade like the failed shadow you are.
Give up. You're a poor example of your kind.
Give up. You failed what's left of the elves.
Give up. Your time in the sun is over.
Give up. You can't fight your way out of failure.
Give up. Your magical powers can't help you.
Give up. There's no evading this death.
Give up. You're alone in the dark, like you deserve.
Give up. You could never match those who came before you.
Give up. Death is the only role you deserve.
Give up. There's no point in even trying.
Give up. Die. Like Solas knew you would.
Give up. This is what your failure deserves.
Give up. No one believed in you. End it.
You're right. I can't go on.
I can't deal with the loss.
Lies win in the end.
Regret is too much to bear.
It's too much...
There's nothing...
I give up. I failed Harding/Neve/Bellara/Lucanis/Davrin/Taash/Emmrich.
I give up. I'm no Shadow Dragon/Warden/ Veil Jumper/Mourn Watcher/ Lord of Fortune.
I give up. I failed the Crows.
I yield. I failed as a human/elf/qunari/dwarf.
I'm a failure as a mage/warrior/rogue.
I give up. I have no one.
I failed the heroes before me.
Delicious.
I'll face regret. Keep going.
Things always seem impossible. Just fight one battle at a time.
You're not in this alone.
Go on, Rook. It was always you. You got this.
You know bullshit when you smell it, and that demon is full of it.
Varric?
How dare you make me lose him twice!
Using Varric was a mistake.
If you really knew what Varric meant, you wouldn't have used him.
You didn't take his voice. You couldn't, could you? Because it's always been a comfort!
"Things always seem impossible. Just fight one battle at a time."
"I know I can handle this."
"It's not a personal failing to be scared!"
"I'm not in this alone."
What are you doing?
Varric knew the risks. Knew what it might cost.
I didn't lose him. Solas killed him!
Solas did this, and he'll pay!
You think you can break me with what I've lost? What Solas took?
I don't regret this. But gods be damned, Solas will!
He built this prison, not me!
Solas lied, made me lie to myself!
I won't be caged by what he did!
I can see through the regret. I see through you!
I can regret, but keep going!
That loss might have ended me! But not now!
You think you can hold me? That you're the first regret to try?
I have friends to fight for!
And no regret will keep me from them!
I get beat up. Get sad. That's what life does.
It hurts, and then I get back up!
All I can do is keep going!
All I can do is keep trying!
Varric chose me. Saw something worthwhile!
You're damned right he's why I'm here!
I can't regret what he did for me!
More time with him was a gift!
All you've done is remind me why I try.
The value of the friends I have left!
Shown me how much I need them!
I know they're waiting for me!
You think you can keep me from them!
You think you can keep me here? Keep me from what matters?
All of this hurts, but you're wrong about me!
I'm not alone! Not in my heart!
I found love! That's my light in the dark!
Nothing can keep us apart! Not gods! Not you!
I regret nothing about the time we had. Nothing!
(Growl!)
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From Ghil Dirthalen: Variant/alternative DA:TV faction logos from the design of a piece of official merch, scanned by Ghil. (the bird near the top left is the Crows. the monkey in the top right is the Lords.) [source]
I completely understand why every analysis about Mythal in DA:TV is so intense, whether pointing to her as an abuser towards Solas, or whether saying they should share responsibility for all the shit they did, but in truth, the only thing that makes me hate her most is her character visual design.
too Barbie'd for me. Ghilly steals her lunch at school
this woman though. "and I will have her avenged" in Kate Mulgrew's voice. we are in awe when we see her. we fear her.
it is said that Flemeth's fragment has been improving over the years. clearly this has also occurred in the aesthetics. girl, it's called fashion
This, right here, of all the things The Veilguard did wrong - and they’ve done wrong a lot of things - this right here is the worst thing they’ve done.
Because they gave us an entire expansion pack dedicated to the fact that the Darkspawn are as much the victims of the Old Gods and the blight as the rest of the world.
They have spent an entire expansion pack, HOURS of gameplay, to show us that the Darkspawn can be reasoned with, that they crave freedom, that they can be freed from the yolk of the song, that they can be helped, where at the end you can side with the guy who is helping them and let them be.
They gave us all this only, at the end, at the culmination of the story of the blight and Darkspaw, guve us 3 sentences to basically say “ah nah. Fuck them”
I joke sometimes Justice For The Architect but now I say it with pure sincerity, as seriously as I can. Justice for the Architect, justice for Dragon Age Awakening and justice for the player base who invested hours upon hours into a storyline only to be told “yeah we’re not actually doing that”.
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thinking about the social and personal ramifications of being an orphan of unknown parentage or providence in a culture that's so deeply ensconced in the veneration of the deceased and one's ancestors in particular - taking care of skeleton nobility draped in silks and jewels and repairing the knees of a 135 year old blacksmith whose resident wisp is curiously awaiting a visit from "their" newly born great great grandchild - while you don't even have a grave to visit, or know the bones that begat you
I say this with much love for both the dragon age series as a whole and for the veilguard:
dragon age: the veilguard feels like it never completes its idea. It's always just one step away from truly being satisfying.
The team never has any real conflict and talk like they have years of therapy under their belt.
Rook talks about being stressed about being a leader but (and this might just be me) it never really feels like there's much of a struggle. Someone's going to get hurt no matter what, you learn this from the very first mission. And you're not given much of a chance to play a Rook who isn't conflicted about leadership either.
I could write an entire thesis on all the little things that bother me with veilguard but I do want to reiterate that I have enjoyed this game. I just feels a little bit undercooked narratively.
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solas could've avoided this whole mess and probably had enough free time to take lavellan on a nice little date if he just took up archdemon hunting instead of all the rituals and the other dastardly deeds
lucanis won't romance rook if they go to minrathous but will romance neve because despite saying he's cool, he's not cool
everyone's nice and no one has slaves or anything because *checks forearm* the blight
all your companions get along with you and each other because also the blight
even though he's like, really manipulative and uses people all the time, solas accumulated but then gave up an entire army's worth of spies and agents because he decided he wasn't ready for a management position
red lyrium isn't really around because—and you are not gonna believe this—the blight
solas just lies. all the time, outright, to everyone. so I guess he was actually only super careful to not ever actively lie in Inquisition as like a fun little challenge to himself
tying the veil to his life force (you know, the guy who couldn't even take down an archdemon on his own and actually just got his ass beat so is not in great shape in the best ending) fully repaired the veil! \o/ don't ask how you wouldn't understand it it's not a big—
everyone near minrathous is cured of the blight! but @ everyone else you may be entitled to compensation 🥀
the only ritual solas has ever gotten or will ever get right is cleansing the idol into the ritual dagger. good thing too bc it was way more dangerous than this one. other than that, wrong about everything ever
elven magic is like not that big a deal, dude
the griffons are, unfortunately, long-term fucked
the elves don't see the crossroads differently anymore because uh.. because....... war
spite does not get involved in rookanis sexytimes. so perhaps him spreading his wings was actually just in preparation to leave bc ew they're kissing gross
