We received an in-game cinematic sequence for the upcoming Dragon Age game, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, on Dragon Age Day 2022. So grab some snacks because this will be an in-depth analysis of these scenes, as well as comparisons to previous murals/trailers we've seen throughout the years. Of course, all the links for this scene as well as trailers are linked down below. But without further ado, let's break down this cinematic scene from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
On Dragon Age Day, BioWare tweeted the video out with the caption 'Elvhen god of lies or heroic rebel against tyranny? Depends on who you ask.'
Below they state, "We're Kicking today off with an in-game cinematic from #Dreadwolf!". And I want to first start with that. For many fans of Dragon Age, a lot of us have an understanding of who Solas is, what he did in the Elvhen Pantheon etc. So this cinematic scene was not anything new in terms of knowledge about the next game.
However, as several BioWare developers have said, this is an in-game cinematic scene in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Because this is a cinematic scenario, it is similar to what we see in Dragon Age: Origins and even in Dragon Age 2.
I'd suppose that this cinematic scenario occurs sometime at the beginning of the game, perhaps even when Solas/Fen'Harel is introduced. Despite how many fans would like to believe this is a trailer, it is not, and it was captured directly from the game. This tells me they're quite deep into the progression of the game and we shouldn't be too concerned (well, at least for now...)
This video's title, "Who is the Dread Wolf?" indicates that this is a narrative about the Dread Wolf (wow, you don't say). Varric's narration in the scenes describes Solas as a companion mage who was 'obsessed' with dreams. However, long ago Solas had a different name, Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf. Ancient Elvhen god of lies or heroic rebel against tyranny? Depending on which story you believe.
Beginning Scene:
The First scene of Solas is very similar to the tarot card we first see of him in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Solas' first tarot card resembles the hermit. Solas' default card is ideal for him because the Hermit represents a degree of seclusion from society. The card represents self-reflection, soul-searching, and meditation as it moves upwards. When Solas first enters the Inquisition, he is dealt this card. It expresses his state of being, and the inverse meaning also applies to him. When reversed, the card might represent loneliness, despair, and detachment from loved ones. While this card describes Solas, he also employs it as a mask to conceal other aspects of himself. The Inquisition will not realize he is the Dreadwolf if he follows the path of a Hermit. He can protect his sentiments like the Hermit. He may get close to his opponents without being devoted to them. The Hermit is also an earth element card, which can represent stability and connection to the physical world.
With that out the way, this scene begins to show the Sun behind Solas. The Sun is an important factor within Dragon Age lore primarily regarding the Evanuris.
According to World of Thedas Vol. 1, the elvhen god Elgar'nan is an ancient elven god of vengeance and the sun, the All-Father.
The Dalish belief was that Elgar'nan was born from where the sun and the land both touched. The land loved him so greatly that it bestowed him creatures of the sky and the forest, and all manner of wonderful green things. However, the sun saw Elgar'nan joyous under the lands works and grew jealous.
Out of spite, he shone his face full upon all the creatures the earth had created, and burned them all to ashes. The land cracked and split from bitterness and pain, and cried salt tears for the loss of all she had wrought.
—Codex entry: Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance
Elgar'nan was enraged at his father's actions and vowed vengeance. He ascended into the heavens and battled the sun, determined to win. They struggled for an eternity, and the sun grew weak but Elgar'nan's anger was unabated.
Eventually Elgar'nan threw the sun down from the sky and buried him in a deep abyss created by the land's sorrow. With the sun gone, the world was covered in shadow, and all that remained in the sky were the reminders of Elgar'nan's battle with his father—drops of the sun's lifeblood, which twinkled and shimmered in the darkness.
And that's just what we got out of the sun; I told you there's a lot of legend surrounding that symbol. The emblem is very similar to the chantry, also known as the Maker in the Andrastian religion and the Chant of Light. But, focusing on the Evanuris myth, this leads me to assume that Solas resembles the sun. Perhaps we know very little about Fen'Harel's original roots, and this is only the beginning.
The Dread Wolf Scene:
The transition to Solas turning into the Dreadwolf shows us a couple of similarities, the first being very similar to Solas' painted murals on the rotunda within Skyhold.
According to Callback from Tevinter Nights- Skyhold is now left alone, with a team who was left to preserve the frescos within the rotunda, they went silent suddenly. In Callback's story they send a team to investigate their silence.
They discover one of the caregivers gutted and nailed to the stable with his own hand. The remainder have been mutilated, their body parts dangling from the cages of the rookery. The murderer appears quickly: a demon of Regret, his body fashioned from the plaster of Solas' paintings. The demon has many eyes and resembles a wolf that has absorbed a dragon. It claims to be the regret of a god.
And to quickly explain, a demon/spirit that is pulled into the physical realm of Thedas from the Veil, would have to be powerful enough to do so by either the will or emotion of someone else. So for a demon to claim they are the regret of a god, leads us to believe that Solas' thought and power within Thedas is increasing, causing many spirits and demons to pull from the Veil to cause chaos on the lands.
Solas in the middle gets an armour change, which is very similar to what we see of Solas from The Game Awards back in 2020. With having the same staff kind of reminds me of the hermit once again, which still wants to tell me that Solas is again in seclusion and or isolation.
His insignia or broach, is not really drawn out to show any specifics but relates to another concept art of Solas from Gamescon which was also back in 2020. However when zooming in it doesn't remotely look the same now. Specifically because the Gamescon's looked like an eye or swirl symbol within the middle, and now for this cinematic scene it almost looks like a tree or even crested wings within the badge. I mean we are of course looking at probably two different art-styles from differing BioWare developers, but I'm sure that insignia will come into play in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf one way or another.
With the large dreadwolf behind Solas' back, it is again depicted with 6 red blazing eyes. Of course this is a common depiction of the DreadWolf from many concept art and trailers we see of this game so that is nothing new except resembling the similarities of the DreadWolf being an embodiment of pride. Solas' name translation from elvhen actually means Pride as well. Of course, the Pride demon in Inquisition we see has been debated to have 7 eyes, or even 9 eyes so some fans. But so far the eyes of the dread wolf have been consistent and we can lean on the notion that the DreadWolf if very similar to a Pride Demon.
Moving on, the sun in the middle of the DreadWolf has shifted, into a golden globe or an orb. But we will see that orb move into something different in another shot.
The black tendrils on the left and right sides of this image remind me of the Blight and its magical component. With Solas needing the Red Lyrium Idol in the most recent comics and even in Tevinter Nights, it leaves me to believe Solas is definitely involved with the Blight, and using its power to destroy the Veil.
The Ritual Scene:
Primarily calling this the ritual scene, because it literally resembles so sort of ritual Solas used to trap both the Evanuris and the Forgotten Ones into their respective realms.
The golden orb in the middle is shown with a gong-like noise with another mural-like scene. Now we get into some of the juicy bits within the lore. This mural closely depicts a lot of art we see in the Vir-Dirthara from the Trespasser DLC in Inquisition, as well as the DreadWolfRises Teaser trailer that was released way back in 2018.
Let's first start with the glyph markings within this circle. Of course, we cannot fully see the extent of the full circle to show all the major patterns of this glyph, but it shows a lot of hidden secrets from Dragon Age regardless. Varric is stating what the Dread Wolf did to imprison the false elvhen gods of Thedas. But looking at these symbols it leaves to believe that this is a magical spell Solas used to imprison those gods.
However, what catches my eye that looks familiar within this glyph is the 3 circles colliding together. There is a lot we can tinfoil about, but the closest thing that I can relate this to is that we see something similar in the Din'an Hanin from Inquisition. This place was a large elvhen ruin for the final resting place of the Emerald Knights (an elvhen group responsible for protecting the old elvhen nation of the Dales)
There is a small area, within this ruin that resembles the exact 3 colliding circles found in this cinematic scene. It really could mean anything, but the elves after the establishment of the Veil most likely knew the knowledge of what truly happened and why Veil was created.
The two golden orbs shown within the circle could represent the sun and the moon, or the two moons that exist in Thedas, one is shown to be bigger, and the smaller moon is known to be named Santina. There is also a notion that an eclipse could arise for Solas' plan, and it leaves me to believe that this could be definitely possible with what we are shown here:
The Emergent Compendium is a book found in the Black Emporium in Dragon Age 2, it was rumored to explain some future prophecy in future upcoming Dragon Age games, but some fans cracked out the code, and we are left with sentences that might give complete explanations for the mural given.
“Two Shadowed Spheres, An eclipse as Fen'Harel stirred”
Perhaps this could explain the overlapping spheres we see a lot in most of these Dragon Age murals, and the Vir Dirthara also references the same thing as well:
“For one moment there is a vivid image of two overlapping spheres; unknown flowers bloom inside their centers. Then it fades.” -Codex in the Vir Dirthara
Another thing I want us to kind of acknowledge is the clock sound that I hear in the background, with the magical glyph moving in a clockwork style. This is another thing that might lead us to believe Solas' ritual involved more than what could ever be imagined. I hate to bring this up, but now it seems that there is a possibility that Solas could have used time magic to create the Veil. (no god, please no)
In all seriousness, it does seem fishy that BioWare introduced time magic with Alexius and Corypheus, and of course, we see time magic even happens when you side with the mages in Inquisition. Temporal or time magic is possible, and it's also very possible to use time magic to break open the Veil. But perhaps the Veil was created by slowing down time to trap each elvhen god into their respective realms. It is certainly tinfoily and when it comes to temporal magic, and now anything is in the realm of possibility because shifting time and creating paradoxes can manipulate the very existence of Thedas as a whole.
Moving away from the time-magic theory, let's look at the obvious depiction of what looks likely to be the Golden City. The Golden City looks like a floating city with this look. Which now I can finally rest assured that the Golden City is now confirmed to be Arlathan. Ancient memories tell of a city of blue glass spires and enormous green parks, with figures strolling along the pearly, glowing strips as if they walked on solid ground. Arlathan was also known to have floating cities among the clouds, and this was even quoted by Solas:
“Imagine instead spires of crystal twining through the branches, palaces floating among the clouds. Imagine beings who lived forever, for whom magic was as natural as breathing. That is what was lost.”―Solas
The Evanuris Faces:
We will get more to the Golden City/Black City discussion in the moment, but lets jump into the faces of the Evanuris we see below the circle. As I mentioned before a lot of these heads of the evanuris are shown throughout the Vir Dirthara even in the Deep Roads in the Trespasser DLC from Inquisition. The one mural from the Vir Dirthara shows a huge similarity to the Evanuris shown in this cinematic scene. The common theme with all of these murals is the evanuris outside of the border of the inner circle.
With there being 7 figures, it would make sense due to Mythal being proclaimed dead before the creation of the Veil, so each of these figures could resemble the trapped gods within their realms. Although the dragon-like head for one of them looks way too close to be Mythal, but let's get back on topic. For the sake of my sanity, I won't be guessing which head belongs to who or anything of that nature, but rather guess who they are in a different way, so let us to get into the imagery of the previous murals we have already witnessed for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
In the Dread Wolf Rises teaser trailer mural, it shows 7 half-spheres as well. And the main thing I want to point out is the golden figures, while the others are grayed out. Back in 2018, the 2 golden half-circles were theorized to be the last two remaining Blights within Thedas. With the Wardens already knowing which Old Gods are left, it leads me to match up the two remaining Old Gods from the other mural with the cinematic trailer.
The two slumbering Old Gods who have not been blighted as archdemons are known as Razikale (The Dragon of Mystery) and Lusacan (The Dragon of Night).
THIS IS WHERE I HAVE CRACKED THE CODE guys, I'm sorry, but this is insane, BioWare it was always there wasn't it:
The constellations you usually find within Inquisition once completed give you a codex, Thedosian scholars within the codex usually link the Old Gods with the Evanuris within these constellations.
So, with Razikale being known as the constellation Eluvia: it states-
Owing primarily to the popular Orlesian tale of the same name, the constellation Eluvia is commonly referred to as "Sacrifice."
―Constellation: Eluvia
We know that Solas states the god who is known as the Goddess of Sacrifice is Andruil.
"I believe we are in the presence of the Elvhen goddess Andruil, Lady of the Hunt...
— Morrigan
"Or a goddess of sacrifice for some"
— Solas
With Lusacan, their constellation, Tenebrium states:
Called "Shadow" in the common parlance, likely due to the ancient association of the constellation Tenebrium with Lusacan, the Old God of darkness and the night... This lends credence to the widely-held belief that Tenebrium was a name meant to supplant an older, elven association—perhaps with the elven god Falon'Din, sometimes represented in tales as a giant owl.
―Constellation: Tenebrium
With all this knowledge aside, the two remaining gods in the cinematic trailer have now been located. Andruil and Falon'Din, also now known as Razikale and Luscan are the two remaining Blights within Thedas, and now we can conclude that the Old Gods are also the Evanuris.
(I have highlighted them for convenience) And these Evanuris' faces are also shown in the 2020 Dragon Age: Teaser trailer as well. So there you have it, Andruil and Falon'Din are the two perpetrators within all of these trailers. And while we may believe that Solas is the big bad, those two people of the elvhen pantheon are more likely to be linked to Mythal and her betrayal.
According to Solas in Trespasser, Mythal was killed by her own kind, the elvhen pantheon.
'They killed Mythal (chuckles), a crime for which an eternity of torture is a fitting punishment.'
— Solas
Codices within the game about Andruil and Falon'Din dealt with Mythal's judgment upon them. Andruil was sapped and defeated by Mythal when she tried to hunt the Forgotten Ones, and Falon'Din started wars to gain more worshippers for him, Mythal rallied the gods against him and bloodied him within his own temple. With both of these stories, we have every reason to believe that those two gods had a huge vendetta against the All-Mother of the elvhen pantheon Mythal...
And the only two gods that Morrigan and Solas talk about in the elvhen temple are also Andruil and Falon'Din. So that leads us to believe that these two gods are most likely either going to be dealt with in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, or Solas needs to go back and seek full revenge against them for Mythal's death.
I also want to give props to the artist for these shots Nick Thornburrow, because their art consistency stuck and that is how I understood this most recent mural, so I appreciate their beautiful cohesive work on that.
The Black City Scene:
Moving onward to the Black City scene, Varric states, 'Solas imprisoned them and created a Veil, that split our world from the raw magic of the Fade' with the sound o a lock turning in the background.
This would now explain/theorize that the imprisonment came from the Blight, or either the Blight was seeping out from the Evanuris during their millennia within their prisons. Which in turn, made the Golden City: Arlathan, black, and has been corrupting the Fade with each passing age. Of course, the border of the circle clearly resembles the depiction of the Veil that keeps the two realms separate within Thedas. With the black tendrils surrounding the Black city and then clouds the entire circle into Black corruption.
This again, semi-confirms that the Golden City/Black City is synonymous with the ancient city Arlathan, the city of the ancient elvhen.
I mean there isn't much to decipher here, it seems pretty straightforward that the Evanuris' prisons are becoming more and more blighted, but the other thing we can theorize is that Solas could have been using Blight magic to entrap them as well. Or the more likely scenario- the Blight's power is being held back by the Veil.
The golden orb, now black, looks almost moon-like, which makes me believe that this is again a relation to the moon, but it could also just be an art-style and nothing really crazy going on here at all.
But alas, with all of that knowledge aside, let's go on to the last scene in this cinematic:
Breaking the Veil Scene:
Varric lastly states, "But now, he wanted to tear down that Veil, and destroy the world. And we are the only ones who can stop him."
Let's begin with Solas, as depicted, he looks to be holding a weapon of some sort. The closest thing that I can see this being any resemblance to is the sword Certainty that Meredith wielded in Dragon Age 2. Meredith forged the blade out of the cursed red lyrium idol. And we know from the most recent comics and the book Tevinter Nights that Solas needs this specific idol and even claims it to be his.
Although it does seem to be different in shape, according to Tevinter Nights the idol is also known to shape-shift to different types of weapons according to whoever wields it. So perhaps this weapon is a sword, or perhaps it is even a staff. Regardless, this weapon does have a unique shape and makes me lean onto the closest link to that blasted sword Certainty, and the red lyrium idol's potential menace.
And there seems to be another magical glyph within this scene. I tried my best to clear it up, but here is the finalized glyph. Again, the similarities with the overlapping spheres and even the glyphs looking like clockwork, leave me to theorize that some time-magic does have a competent with tearing down the Veil and restoring the world of ancient times, the world of the elves.
With the overlapping spheres being heavily symbolized here, is also known as the vesica piscis. When arranged so that the lens is horizontal, with its two overlaid circles placed one above the other, it symbolizes the interface between the spiritual and physical worlds, represented by the two circles. This of course works well knowing that the Fade and the Waking world of Thedas could one day, return to it's original state and link both the spiritual world back to the physical realm.
But with that we are going to wrap up, what are your opinions on this cinematic scene? Are we excited, or are we wanting some more? I'm surely wanting a little more of course, just because I would love to see what this game is all about with our new protagonist, but there might hopefully (fingers crossed) be something at the Game Awards.
If not, then thank you for sticking this long on the breakdown, subscribe if you haven't already for more Dragon Age lore, and I will see you in the next video.
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