#monamaris

How does this magic work?

If I understood it right, in your Thedas, the fade is not the only source of magic, only the source of one possible kind of magic? In Bioware’s Thedas, the world is something of a sorry byproduct of Solas’ actions: Unmoving, broken, like a dying animal that has almost lost any connection to it’s “soul” - the fade. The latter, in it’s original state, is the realm of possibilities, power, deities, the “real” realm and the way it should be - or the way it should be according to Solas’ memories. It’s kind of unbalanced in favor of the fade - the place where the cool stuff happens. And the conflict between the two realms does not go beyond “Solas messed it up.”.

Your Thedas gives me the impression of two equal worlds clashing, if magic and it’s diversity is taken as measurement. Not unlike the Witcher’s “Conjunction of Spheres” in a way. Both worlds have their source of power, their source of magic. There is room for coexistence but also conflict. It takes the emphasis away from the whole Elven pantheon drama a bit and gives the impression of an even bigger universe, in which even those elven gods are just a footnote.

In the story of how Theon’s resurrection came to be, Senros reminds me a bit of Penny Dreadful’s Frankenstein. I feel sorry for both, actually. Theon happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time very often and Senros is always one step away from becoming a monster - unwillingly or not. It seems he really needs good folk, more conservative folk around him (Cassandra, Varric or someone who just prods him and reminds him of reality like Theon). Otherwise he will loose himself and that might result not only in applecatchers but something really awful for him and the people around him.

(While Bioware only really used the Fade as source of magic so far, Avernus, a mage in the “Wardens Keep” DLC, speaks of another kind of magic connected to the Blight. He hints that even Demons (and therefore Spirits) do not understand it, fear it even. Since we were introduced to Titan’s as another source of power and their possible connection to the Blight, I’d actually hoped Bioware would lean more your way in the future in that they’d revoke the Fade as the only true source of magic. But since the Solas & Elven Pantheon conflict needs to be resolved somehow, I highly doubt they can just introduce new rules. I fear Avernus’ hints and implications are already forgotten.)

Magic and the mundane/ The Gentleman / Theon & Senros friendship  

I love the comparison between mundane medicine and magic based healing practices! There was this one healer in Skyhold who actually brought this up when speaking to her. But of course you could not argue that while mundane medicine techniques can never adapt magical healing ones, both would still benefit from each other. She just scoffs and continues doing her thing. Solas gets a lot of opposition for being arrogant and dismissing - rightfully so, of course - but most non mages in Thedas are just the same. Only the other way around.

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Denon and his homunculi (no, homunculi, tumblr-autocorrect. not munchkin). remind me of golems. Tevinter traditionally had a very close relationship to the old dwarven kingdoms. Was his research connected to those dwarven constructs somehow? A Tal Vashoth merchant sounds intriguing as well. 

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