Now That I Have Finished All The Fourteen Flames Of The Valyrian Pantheon, I Decided To Do A Family Tree.

As much as I usually prefer playing mages and elves… reading The World of Thedas vol 2 in preparation for a new playthrough is actually getting me hyped to play a Cousland.

Reading about my soon-to-be Amalthea Cousland’s parents is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking:

Her mother, Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, was raised on the deck of a ship and was a fierce rebel raider known as the Seawolf during the time of the Orlesian occupation of Ferelden. After Maric retook Denerim and mobilized the northern banns to defend against Orlesian retaliation by sea, she met her future husband:

I considered the name Dane, from Fereldan legend, but I think Amalthea’s mabari will have to be named Mistral, after her mother’s ship.

After the war, when Bryce returned to Highever:

“Teyrn Bryce spent four months receiving oaths and taking possession of his ancestral home, and every day without fail he sent a letter to Lady Eleanor - sometimes more than one a day.”

The shanty in question:

I think that, even if this was something Eleanor “never shared with her children” they still learned about it from other sources. I have a feeling that a young Amalthea (or “Theo”) got in trouble when she learned the song and got caught belting it in the castle.

Years later, as Highever mobilized to assist King Cailan at Ostager, Theo would have a few notes stuck in her head, plaguing her as she couldn’t remember what song it was from… Until several weeks later, when she would hear the song played in a brothel in Denerim and the enormity of the loss of her family would finally hit her like a meteor.

The book has this to say in the section about Arl Rendon Howe:

Bryce was his friend during the rebellion against Orlais. They, along with their friend, Leonas Bryland, survived the massacre that was the Battle of White River together. Bryce was still his friend after Leonas cut contact with him. Bryce and Eleanor Cousland were at his wedding. They were the only people at his wedding. They were his friends.

They were his friends and he still slaughtered them.

I’m so unwell about this.

(Some silly headcanons about Mortalitasi and Nevarran traditions that ended up leading me to Emmrich. How typical.)

We don't actually know all that much about Nevarra and their customs. World of Thedas and some of the in-game codex tells us some key points: strong royal families, a rich history of dragon hunting, an elite group of mages rumored to be heavily involved in makings of the country, and, of course, the thing that this country is most famous for - the fascination with the dead.

Our very own Nevarran companion mentions a couple of things about her home country:

And even though she doesn't seem fond of Mortalitasi practices or Nevarran customs surrounding the dead, she admits that some stories that pervade the South are greatly exaggerated:

(I feel so called out)

This makes me think that this interest in the dead is still a personal choice. I doubt that an average Nevarran is obsessed with those rituals any more than an average person from Ferelden is with theirs - those are just a part of their traditions that obviously affect their lives in unique ways, but that is all.

Now, Nevarran nobility are a different matter. They are said to start the construction of their tombs very early in life - lavishly decorated palaces with gardens, ballrooms and bathhouses. A sign of power and wealth for them, and that I can believe.

But when it comes to Mortalitasi, do they, in general, care as much? Do they take all these things, all these rituals, to extreme somehow, professional pride and all?

How much would a Mortalitasi care about their own tomb? Would Mortalitasi friends and colleagues ever promise to lead the other's ceremony depending on who dies first? "Oh, I'll totally mummify you if you're the one to go first, don't you worry, I know you think that Markus is getting sloppy".

The coffin sharing is also not unheard of (the spouses from The Flame Eternal), and I wonder if it's ever used as a grand gesture - to ask someone to be placed in the same tomb?

(And just imagine how messy this could get, the way people are. Building a tomb together only to have a falling out, what are you even supposed to do after that?)

Would it be romantic then, to tell your significant other that you don't want to ever part from them, even in death?

Beacause imagine Emmrich writing a quick letter to his friend from the Mourn Watch (Johanna, if they are still friends after all these years, or Myrna), "doing fine, on a saving the world business trip, will be back when I can; could I trouble you with a favor - a bigger coffin, installed in my tomb, not urgent, just whenever you have the time."

When the reply comes and his friend is (obviously) asking for a reason for such a sudden change, he just looks at Rook from the corner of his eye and replies with "no particular reason, just felt like it."

SOOO here's the veilcard template i made for myself 🫣

it's a very barebone but fun little way to introduce your Rooks !

the template is here in case anyone is interested 👉👈

The template contains a .psd file and a blank transparent .png version with separate icons for people who can't access the .psd

Feel free to edit it to better suit your needs! ( the "personality traits" for exemple could be changed to other better suited words for your Oc, you do you )

HUGE thanks to @pinkyjulien's Extrated DAtv folder ! all the icons I used came from it !

have fun!

i would really appreciate if you tagged me or just tag it #veilcard so i can see them 🥹

my goal is to collect all the rooks like pokemons so i can become the ultimate Rook master™

22 years later and the Crows are still cringing over Zevran. Truly the man of all time.

My thoughts on every faction in Veilgaurd:

Grey Wardens - probably a lot of people are gonna chose this faction for their rook, purely becuase of nostalgia and just how attached we dragon age fans are to the wardens. Should be very interesting to see what happens to them after the entire corypheus fiasco

Antivian Crows - same as the wardens, lots of nostalgia and warm feelings about this one, cuz i love zevran (despite never romancing him LMAO). Im really looking forward to how antivia and their assasins wil fit into this story. Also, feels like a perfect faction for a rouge

Shadow Dragons - Slave Liberation? Fighting against an ancient corrupt regime? TEVINTER?! WHERE DO I SIGN UP

Veil Jumpers - Im always down for some ancinet elven ruins and more fade lore... espeically if im right and this faction will be closely related to solas and elves plotline, more then any other faction

Lord of Fortune - dont know if this is a hot take or not, but this is probably the one faction im least interested in, mostly cuz im not that into treasure hunter concept... but hey, this rook will be from Rivain, i think? (correct me if im wrong) So, in that aspect, im really looking forward to seeing and learning moe about Qunari territory

Mourn Watch - more interesting to me then lords to me on conceptual level, but i dont have that much to say about it, other then "Necromancy? from Nevarra? oh, thats pretty cool!"

As for the faction for my own rook, ill probably chose Shadow Dragons or Veil jumpers - dragons cuz slave liberation, veil jumpers cuz elf lore and maybe Solas

i am such a big fan of lavellan and solas kissing & touching non stop but i am also an advocate for touch starved solas who felt his hand around her wrist once time and simply couldn't handle the possibility of touching another person again.

the YEARNING. the desperation, the sick, twisted hunger at the bottom of his stomach just thinking about the warmth of lavellan's skin. He's so steadfast in his conviction i think the only reason they DID kiss was because it was the fade. I think Solas purposefully tried to avoid touching anyone, especially lavellan, because it's one more affirmation that the world around him is real and this isn't a dream. He can't give himself an inch because he will take a mile. It's like when you haven't eaten for so long that the idea of food makes you nauseous. He shakes and shivers just at the graze of her armour. AGH

the idea that he loves her so badly that just the thought of her touch sends him weak enough to isolate himself physically makes me want to curl up and kick my feet.

Newly minted ambassador Josephine Montilyet is being shown around the Grand Necropolis by the snivelling nobility. They intend to show her how Mourn Watch take care of the Necropolis as well as boast about their ethically sourced workforce. When they enter, the first thing Ambassador Montilyet notices is a skeleton wearing a flower crown. It's poorly constructed yet surprisingly holds together as the skeleton swings it pickaxe.

They come across another and another until now even the skeleton guards are wearing them. The noble is getting noticeably upset, confused and somewhat angry thinking someone is playing a prank on them and trying to ruin the ambassadors opinion of Nevarra. They decide to take her to the memorial gardens only to find the source of the disruption.

A young Foundling who goes by the name Ingellvar is offering anyone they come across a flower crown, grinning from ear to ear when they take it. Vorgoth assists. The noble intends to take the being aside and lecture them on keeping their ward in check only for Ingellvar to offer Josephine a flower crown.

She accepts.

Twenty years later, Josephine still has that flower crown pressed and safely preserved behind framed glass. It's one of her favorite gifts and a fond memory of a child happy amongst the dead and their eldritch guardian watching over them.

Love it when mages/spellcasters in stories have slightly otherworldly traits. Unnatural eye colors/pupil shapes, unusual skin tones/hues, sharp/animal like teeth, nails, or ears, fur/horns/scales/feathers where they'd normally have none, etc.

Morfydd on that Elven ‘Superiority Complex’ THE RINGS OF POWER (2022)

[+] MORFYDD CLARK [GIF Collection] 🌷 [+] ..more on Galadriel✨ [+] “The Making of the Rings of Power” 🎬

your canon DA worldstate

as veilguard's premiere comes closer, an ask game with a couple of lore-heavy questions for your warden/hawke/inquisitor — answer for all three in your canon worldstate, or for the protagonist of your choice.

your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor's opinion on Orlais?

are they skilled in The Grand Game?

opinion on blood magic?

attitude towards Andrastianism?

attitude towards the Chantry?

attitude towards the Qun?

if they had to choose one person most important to them, who would that be?

who do they hate the most, and do they have an arch-nemesis?

what is their love language? 

are they good horse riders?

what are their religious beliefs, if any?

attitude towards Mabari?

their thoughts on the Grey Warden order?

who are they closest to from their family?

preferred weapon of choice?

do they get sentimental about their weapons or armour?

what were they like as a child?

do they have any irrational fears?

are they afraid of death?

where would they like to be buried?

what is their biggest regret?

have they ever been to Tevinter?

do they have, or want to have, children?

what languages can they speak?

what did they plan for their life to look like before the events of the game happened?

do they get a happy ending?