10, 14, 20 & 32 for thora & ruth!
inquisitor meme | accepting
10: Are there further beliefs/religious perspectives your Inquisitor is interested in or perhaps despises?
Thora is… relatively open and interested in other religious perspectives. There are some difficulties, especially some she runs into in early Inquisition. For instance, the Skywatcher you meet in the Fallow Mire early on the game has a less-positive reception than the Avvar she meets in the Frostback Basin. At that point in the game she’d only just been exposed to spirits as something more than what you hear Chanters sing about a few months ago at best, and hasn’t encountered any that haven’t tried to kill her. She admits Solas has a point that they could be people when he explains, but it takes much longer (and meeting spirits like Cole, Command, the Divine in the Fade, etc) for her to start internalising that point, so the idea of someone worshipping them strikes her as strange. But she’s not about to turn down his help, and if I remember right he’s not dismissive of the idea of Andraste (in banter in multiplayer he seems to just regard her as another goddess of sorts) so it would be rude to express more than confusion.
The Dalish gods she’s quite sure were never real (in any sense), but still has an interest in them especially as she grows more well-versed in the history. Though the events of Inquisition have her questioning that aforementioned belief even before she meets Mythal. Codices found, written by someone who refers to themself as Geldauran and refers to the gods in a much more personal sense than most religious texts she’s read/heard, etc. Discovering the first Inquisitor seemed to believe in both the Dalish gods and the Maker also resonated with her as someone who believes in both the Stone and the Maker.
The religions she’s most prejudiced against would be Tevinter beliefs, but in that case it’s pretty aimless, and her perception is changed by Dorian. He doesn’t seem too different from other Andrastrians despite the difference in Divine. Still, she finds the history of how they got to be Andrastrian in the first place to be mostly a case of trying to cover their asses. She would be deeply uncomfortable by anyone who worships the Old Gods, but has never ran into them as far as she knows. The Qun is sort of a quasi-religion along the lines of Confucianism, with a lot more philosophy and a lot less belief in a higher power, tangible or otherwise, but I’ll talk about it, anyway. She’s not a fan of it, having been in Kirkwall during Act II of Dragon Age II, and her brother having converted and left. Again, she doesn’t have much of an idea of what it involves, just that it separates families and invades cities. Her opinion of the Qun doesn’t change much for the better, either. She becomes more sympathetic to those living under it, but that’s not quite the same thing.
There’s also a matter of cults that pop up around the time of the Inquisition. Those who worship Corypheus she mostly feels pity for, her hatred mostly reserved for their god (though even he she feels some pity for in the end, she relates to the feeling of being abandoned by your god). And, of course, there’s the cult that’s formed around her. You have the more literal cult in the Hinterlands, who she recruits but sends away to help people, and the more general cult following that all Inquisitors probably have to live with for the rest of their lives– whether they’re Andrastrian or not. Thora’s most comfortable with those in the Inquisition who don’t see her as chosen by the Divine. She doesn’t like telling people they’re wrong, but she can never bring herself to fully believe she was chosen by anyone and that her position isn’t the result of having a good catching hand.
14: Which advisor did they listen to more often?
It’s pretty even, actually. Her morals most align with Josephine and a post-personal quest Leliana (softened), so I think she tends towards Josephine in particular, but not uniformly. Some of Josephine’s non-violent solutions still involved some kind of underhanded moves, and while Thora wasn’t above that, she also sometimes appreciated Cullen’s straightforward methods, even if it did lead to answers like “just stomp hills flat.” One example where I remember she always picks Cullen is when a noble sends a letter complaining about refugees and Cullen’s answer is to send soldiers to help the refugees, which was the most appealing answer especially given Josephine’s was to just ignore the letter. That being said, whenever magic or mages were involved Thora probably only listens to be polite. So overall, she listens to Josephine most, though later I think she listens as much to Leliana.
20: Which abilities did they specialize themselves in? Explain how the trainers convinced them.
Thora already had a specialisation by the time she became Herald, she was a Beserker, albeit the specific tradition that lives on on the Surface, which is to say, likely removed from what Oghren describes in Origins. She got convinced to take up that specialisation by Lantos (the dwarf who communicates with you during the Cadash war table missions) because after every fight she was always sick, or barely holding it back, and the figured if she got so angry she couldn’t see straight it might help. And he was right, mostly. She is still often sick after battles once she comes down from it, but by then she can remove herself from the situation. Lantos used this argument, and told her it was a traditional dwarven technique and Thora, being always eager to connect to traditional dwarf culture how she can, agreed.
The offer to find her a professional trainer, either a former professionally trained Beserker who is living on the Surface (like Oghren) or someone from Orzammar given permission to leave, similar to the armies promised to the Wardens during DA:O. The latter likely happens slightly later in Inquisition than the typical specialisation trainers are brought on, due to having to establish stronger ties to Orzammar first.
32: What are their thoughts on Skyhold? Is there a stronghold they would prefer over it?
Thora loves it. She probably would’ve loved it if Solas had brought them to an empty cave in the mountainside, but it turned out to be perfect. It’s in the mountains, but basks in sunlight, and it’s highly defendable. It feels like a meeting of her identities, although she’d feel stupid saying that, and frankly Thora doesn’t know strongholds well enough to say if there’d be one she prefers. None of the holds captured throughout Inquisition are as defendable or large, and while she can’t feel much about the magic at work at Skyhold, she trusts the people who say it’s there.
What I think Thora appreciates most about Skyhold is having space to call her own. Like, real space. She’s never had more than a little room with the Carta, a shared hovel in Haven. She doesn’t need a whole fortress, but that room at the top is something she might have dreamed about when she was a child.
Leaving it after Trespasser is unsurprisingly difficult. She takes most of her non-essential Stuff to Kirkwall, where Varric has secured her family a seat in the Merchant Guild and an estate, but nowhere will ever be as loved as Skyhold.
