#denerim

"All I need to know is if there might be some future for us, some possibility of... I do not know what. [...] I still have the earring. I would like to give it to you... as a token of affection. Will you take it? [...] Then that is enough for me."

In truth, for the chance to be by your side, I would storm the Dark City itself. Never doubt it. (c)

I still remember that playthrough of DA:O like a decade ago (third at least), where I decided this time I'm gonna sacrifice my Warden at the end. I think at that point I knew how it goes. You kill the hellish dragon and you die. What I didn't expect - to suddenly be broken at those moments where everyone at my party speaks, like the Warden is gonna come back, like there's gonna be an "after" the battle.

Like Alistair saying that we'll talk about the "him being the king" situation after.

And like Zevran saying this in the middle of the battle for Denerim.

____________________________________

i am so in love with the city they designed but dont actually let us see.

so the city is essentially a bowl, built up both sides of the valley around river drakon. as in it's not just the fort and the palace that are higher than the rest of the city but it curves back up again across the river. all of ferelden's coast really is mountain, no wonder its so hard for orlais to invade.

here's the market district. its just the market itself and the distant ring of the city's edges at the highest points.

i understand Why they made the walls so tall, to save on rendering, but i wish we could see ANY of this its SO cool. I love how dense and alive this city looks. every other place we see is so sparse and empty

here is a close up on some of the prop filler buildings. while every human building we see up close in game is covered in crumbling debris that would make living in them almost impossible (why bioware. ancient ruins weren't ancient AT THE TIME) these look like functional medieval towers AND what i want to call tudor-ish town homes, mansions and apartments. love the mix side by side, shows a functioning but ancient city

here's fort drakon and its tiered approach. MUCH more realistic than the concept art's thousand meter mesa or whatever the hell they drew.

i'll be kind and put all the panoramas under a read more

It was a generous art-gift 🎁

"On the outskirts of Denerim, Fenris stumbled forward, his feet dragging after yet another fight he had sought out. When he reached the riverbank, he let his sword fall and lowered himself beside it. He sat on the cold ground, his knees drawn to his chest, elbows resting heavily on them as he stared at the water. The sky above was clear after a light rain, the stars mirrored in the river flowing through all of Ferelden. But lost in thought, Fenris couldn’t see the beauty of the night.

The constant fights were draining him. Day after day after day, he pushed on, his body and mind battered. He was caught in a relentless loop, each struggle keeping him just alive enough to face the next."

Day 1 ✦ Day 2 ✦ Day 3 ✦ Day 4 ✦ Day 5 ✦ Day 6 ✦ Day 7

For @alistairweek💖

Dealing the last blow against Urthemiel, ending the Fifth Blight, witnessing a brand new dawn upon Denerim💖

Y'ALL this little girl is absolutely, positively, my Rook.

YOU CAN ALSO TELL HER (and the boy with her) THAT A ROGUE HERO TOOK FROM THE RICH (ie nobles and leaders) TO HELP THE POOR, AND THAT WHEN THE TIME CAME, SHE TURNED HERSELF IN IN ORDER TO HELP PEOPLE AGAIN.

That is QUITE LITERALLY Warden Rook's backstory minus darkspawn. Rook helped people, nobles and Warden brass got really REALLY mad about it, Rook stood in account but also stood proud and defiant.