The thing is like canonically you fucked up a warden mission and you were told to ‘walk away’ for a while, until command didn’t want your hide for chairs anymore (so many wardens died during the last blight AND whatever the fact happened at adamant, so much that Davrin says ‘we’re less than 1000’, so probably they didn’t want you dead, but they wanted you away).

so my rook, that starts as this funny dude who is crystal clear aware of their expiration date so picking jobs to save the world seems like a good use of their last 10 years, and does not show his affiliation to the order in any way, meets Davrin.

‘100% on the job, I wanted a cause and a purpose’ warden, ‘silver and blight through my veins but it’s experience that forges us into weapons’ Davrin. Meanwhile my dude joined because he was already blighted, might as well make a go at it (if he survived. He did.)

so already things were tricky. My warden and this warden trying to have warden to warden communication and the Bluetooth fails because one is a badass and devoted, the other one truly grappling with his half-life crisis of purpose —

and then Weisshaupt happens. And they kind of find a common ground because that was home. Rook always planned to go back. Davrin doesn’t have anywhere else to go. They both have friends that are not there anymore and those few left are precious (and then the fucking dragons happen).

so rook starts wearing the blues, a more understated suit when out and about and the full armour when around other wardens. Part to say ‘I’m still here. Tell me what I can do to support us.’ And part to remind them that he also shares their fate. This twilight that mirror the course of the blight for a warden - the twilight of their order. There is hope: the griffons can find a new life in arlathan, the order is dying so long live the order, and maybe Davrin killing an archdemon doesn’t mean dying altogether. Maybe if Davrin doesn’t have to be a martyr and a living weapon maybe there is a feature for my rook too.

but also as a dwarf, rook is shook by Lace. She’s already such a strong presence, and to find out that she’s this flare of hope for their people? She’s able to let other dwarves hear the voice of titans! She moves titans’ rock, she can freeze dark spawn into rock shapes (funny how it only happens at the beginning). Maybe with whatever solas did, more titan powers will appear in dwarves. The age of titans has ended, but some are still sleeping and this means that the dwarves could dream and shape magic again! Being both surfacers, she’s an inspiration to reconnect with their origins, their story, that known and that unknown. And her conundrum, like Lucanis said, ‘you were small as a child, right? The way I see it, a small girl surrounded by tall ferelden farmers, it was probably easier to appear nice and approachable?’. Insane.

she’s also someone that makes my rook happy but like, she’s so much more! Kind, optimistic, genuinely devoted to understand people and incredibly insightful and wise and just. Augh. I have no words, she’s my everything,

so the game is asking me to choose between a brother in arms, the reason why my rook found his way back to his calling, his feathery son VS a new hope for his people (incidentally: also his god's damned love interest), someone that worked so hard because ‘someone needed to help, so I enlisted’, someone that sees rook not as a sleek badass but someone they can fumble and be soft and adorable together — insane. This choice is tearing me up and I haven’t even gotten to it in the game!