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blondepomeranian · 5 years

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so, hear me out...

I’m not wholly convinced the figure at the end of the teaser trailer is Solas.

In fact, I’m almost convinced that it’s definitely not Solas.

(That said, I’m a baby at persuasive meta, so believe what you will, but here’s my reasoning.)

First, let’s get the purely aesthetic reasons out of the way.

Yes, the figure does seem to have a mage staff, the tell-tale fur, and appear to be bald. But that does not an egg make. What throws me most are the skin tones, the pattern on the outfit, and the staff.

So what the fuck is the white part on the head? At first glance it looks like a helmet, similar to the one the ‘canonical’ image of the inquisitor wears, minus the nose piece (which could be omitted at the right angle). If we are assuming the white part of the head is depicting a helmet, that does not match with Solas’ typical presentation (excepting Halamshiral but that was pure petty spite) nor does it fit with the fact that the figure is presented as a mage (staff) when mages typically wear crowls, hoods, or other headgear that is not a helmet. IF it is believed to be a helmet and the darker skin (inconsistent with Solas’ white-washed complexion) beneath it to be, well, just that, it does not explain necessarily why the hands are of a similar color besides ??gloves??gauntlets??. Artistically speaking, I think it was important to have the hands stand out and so to do those with a darker color given the bg may not have had as much of an impact, so I’m willing to give those an artistic pass, but the white of the helmet I’m not so sure on. If it is a helmet, it clashes not only with presenting as a mage but also what Dalish elf wears a helmet?? An alienage/tevinter/former slave elf, on the other hand... But if it’s not a helmet, then is it... hair? fenris? A representation of baldness in that manner would not be consistent with other representations, like that of the sentinels (which I have a theory that Solas modeled his hobo/Inquisition-appearance after, but that’s another post). For now, I’m gonna give a big ol’ IDK to what it is exactly, except to say that I don’t think it lends credence to the figure being Solas. If anything, its vagueness casts more doubt, and scatters credence to other theories, hence this post.

The pattern on the outfit: from the moment I saw it something pinged it as familiar. I cannot for the life of me find exactly what I’m looking for, but the patterns that come to mind are, particularly,

those of grey warden armor (mage armor close up, seen here). Although I will admit that could be a total crapshoot, as the style in the fresco gives more a noble, cloak like appearance while that is very much not the typical style of more functional grey warden armor. Still, there is no consistency with any of Solas’ attire except perhaps in the sleeve over the bicep (before it’s weirdly cut off by an armlet??) if compared to his outfit from the romanced tarot card. But I’m really just grasping at straws here to find anything that matches.

Lastly, the staff held there is, imo, a glaring error that that figure is probably not the Egg. While we do not see him wield a staff in Trespasser, the only time we see him canonically wield a staff (uninfluenced by equipment) is in his original (unromanced) tarot card, in which I will 100% admit that staff looks exactly the same as the one in the trailer. HOWEVER, given his duplicity and the artistic nature of tarot cards, I’m hedging my bets that that staff was used to [mis]guide the player into Solas’ leaning towards the Elven hobo Mage image, and hence why I’m more or less brushing it aside. Besides, the other time we see him wield an uninfluenced staff is in the journey to Skyhold, where he is shown to hold a very specific kind of staff that I am currently blanking on, but

that. Which, if anything, appears to be Tevene in origin, based on the heavy metallics and the dual dragon iconography. Either that, or it’s Elvhen sentinel, though in-game skins don’t entirely support it but the general style isn’t a far jump. And even if I’m wrong in what it appears to be, what I’m getting at is IT SURE AIN’T DALISH, which is entirely the style of the staff held by the figure. If anything it looks suspiciously like the staff a Dalish Keeper would typically wield...

Which brings me to my next point of contention...

The tree the figure stands in front of, in a protective stance. And not just any tree, a Vhenadahl, by the looks of it. The symbol of the [Dalish] people. Now I’m not saying Solas isn’t, in a twisted way, trying to protect his people (the Elvhen), but he’s outright stated how he’s willing to sacrifice the Dalish in order to bring back the Elvhen, so the imagery here would be a complete mismatch. (But you know what wouldn’t be? An alienage/tevinter/former slave elf...) And given that he’s doing so in opposition to the rendering of the Dread Wolf, it portrays a very Dalish image--unwilling to submit, even when everything you know and love is nearly lost, against the very villain of the Dalish folklore. IIRC, the imagery shown in places like the Temple of Mythal and other ruins from the time of the Elvhen always seem to have more of a grandeur with their warriors in aggressing stances, not the a ragged, last-stand, protective kind that threads through Dalish history (but that could be because I’m leaning heavily on (foggy memories of) the sentinel imagery from the temple of Mythal and in trespasser).

As for the overall composition of the piece...

I went to school for a degree in English and Psychology; I’m no art historian or critic. My weaknesses with his piece are that while I’m vaguely familiar with the symbolism of the circles behind heads and understand the general connotations behind certain colors, I have to say the pale red behind the figure leaves me a bit stymied. The only other instance of this in my tarot/fresco scan is in Blackwall’s original picture, which could suggest power, strength, conflict, blood, or duplicity. These could thematically fit with Solas as the Dread Wolf, but given the contradictions above and my bumbling guesses with what it’s supposed to represent at all, it doesn’t end up warranting much of a claim. There is also, of course, the obvious in this picture that it could be something to do with red lyrium, but I personally don’t have enough information to make any kind of real stab at incorporating that into a guess.

So anyway, leaving the details where they are, we see a mage-ly figure in front of a burnt tree standing up to a recoiling or circling Dread Wolf. The figure is clearly leaning forward, perhaps mid-step forward, while the Dread Wolf appears to be backing away or at least keeping an even distance from the figure (at least for the moment) as they encroach. Given Bioware’s set up for Solas/Fen’Harel to become the (currently known) villain of DA4, this figure opposite the Dread Wolf is set up in the composition as the protagonist of this piece. Who they are, exactly, is unknown for the moment, but I believe it is safe to say, at least, who they are not: Solas.

(please interact with this--I’d love to hear input or other opinions but pleeeease be civil and courteous. As said earlier, I am still a baby in terms of dragon age lore and meta.)

#dragon age 4 #dragon age 4 speculation #meta #solas #the dread wolf rises #in case you can't tell I have a strong Feeling on who-ish the figure is #but not an Opinion as strong as 'Not Solas'

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