Ways Solas’ Inquisition Romance Impacts The Plot

This article contains endgame spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Summary

• Solas’ romance in Dragon Age: Inquisition is complex & heartbreaking, but fans can interact with his honest self in Veilguard.
• Romancing Solas in Inquisition provides insights crucial to understanding his story in The Veilguard.
• Veilguard offers Solas content, deepens the understanding of his character, and gives a satisfying conclusion to his arc.

Anyone drawn in by this enigmatic character already knows that Solas isn’t a lighthearted romance in Dragon Age: Inquisition. The Dread Wolf, true to the trickster god archetype, pushes the envelope of the morally gray. But he also draws attention to that which is broken in a complacent world, a notion that kindles hope in his fans that Fen’Harel isn’t an irredeemable villain. Veilguard revisits all the feelings his romance with Lavellan stirred, except this time, fans can interact with Solas for the first time as his honest self. If anyone stands a chance at catching the God of Lies in a lie, it’s a Solavellan fan.

Solas uses the cunning Dread Wolf persona with Rook compared to how he communicates with Lavellan. He doesn’t unburden his feelings or the truth of his cause to Lavellan, but his love for her almost makes his mask slip, giving fans an advantage at decoding what he doesn’t say. His romance is infamous for ending in heartbreak, but he also goes out of his way to convey that his feelings for a romanced Lavellan are still real and intact. Fen’Harel almost gives up on tearing down the Veil for her, and that’s a powerful incentive to want to see his story come full circle in Veilguard.

8

The Dread Wolf Prologue

Solasmancers Needed These Answers

In the opening moments of Veilguard, Solavellan fans get to see him again, with more than they bargained for besides. Players who understand his heart know that this open wound at the center of his story is what this game sets out to resolve. No one is under any illusion that his plan is good, and the complete picture of how his mind operates comes together with the insights from the previous game.

Not only does the prologue immediately offer a lot of Solas content, but the task before Rook and the Inquisitor becomes an immediately fascinating interplay between the character they knew and the Dread Wolf unveiled. He still has the same mannerisms and air of lonely regret, suggesting there may be a way to reach him. That makes a Lavellan Inquisitor an integral puzzle piece to fit into the picture.

7

A Beacon In More Than One Way

The Lighthouse, The Special Eluvian, & The Dread Wolf’s Crossroads

Lavellan learns more from romancing Solas than any other Inquisitor. She is the only Inquisitor who comes close to unmasking his true identity, learning that there’s a lot for a modern elf to learn from the Dread Wolf about the past. Veilguard still relies on Solas to connect some of the dots, but this time, he’s not the only ancient voice to speak.

It’s clear that influencing the Dread Wolf requires understanding him, and those left with personal questions after Inquisition have the most motivation. In Veilguard, players not only move into Fen’Harel’s former rebel hideout, but they have access to his secret network of untraceable eluvians. The Lighthouse and the Crossroads are alive with relevant lore and, put together with his memories, Solasmancers will have plenty of psychological clues to contemplate.

6

The Power Of Slow Burn

Solasmancers Have Experience Reading Between His Lines

Although Solas’ Inquisition romance has the least amount of romance-specific content compared to the others, it’s a fine example of “less is more.” Every word packs a punch for players hanging on them. The Dread Wolf must be cagey around his unsuspecting Inquisition allies. As a result, much of what draws players in is inferred, and Lavellan gets interesting clues about elven history.

This carries over into Veilguard, resulting in a layered experience for those versed in Solas’ lies of omission and other tricks. His fans know to expect a deeper game playing out between him and Rook, and that helps reframe his words. It doesn’t soften the blow when he lives up to his monikers. Still, Veilguard gives a lot more content than Inquisition, while simultaneously casting a new light on how Solas navigates his feelings, and how to deconstruct his worst impulses.

5

Solas’ Memories Are Peak Angst

For Players Who Approach Heart-First

Loving this character and the tragedy of his story has no bearing on real-life choices, but there is a therapeutic aspect to being a part of Solas’ redemption arc. His complexity is at the core of his appeal, and his story speaks to the larger metaphysics of Fade spirits and their distortions. His motives seem honorable, but his methods are decidedly not, bestowing him with the magnetism of the “I can fix him” archetype.

Reasoning with Solas seems impossible, but as his wounded spirit comes into focus, it makes sense that his heart is the seat of the issue. Inquisition events such as Cole’s transformation were early clues, and they gained new meaning after Veilguard. His romancers already know that his pride isn’t the true heart of his problem. Veilguard is cathartic for players invested in healing the real problem rather than perpetuating the cycle of destruction.

4

Everything Begins & Ends With Mythal

No Wrath Like A Goddess Scorned

Learning about Mythal’s involvement in Solas’ story from the perspective of a Solasmancer explains so much of his behavior. It doesn’t take a Dread Wolf fan to see how their layered relationship weaves in and out of the series, beginning with Flemeth’s suspiciously timely rescue in Origins.

Although Mythal’s “mortal” manifestations pivot away from the dominion of elves, Lavellan’s interaction with her remnant is a weighty experience. It seems fitting that in Veilguard, Morrigan evolves into the new aspect of the fallen goddess. Rook’s choice to confront Solas about his complex relationship with Mythal and then reuniting him with Lavellan is an emotionally charged experience for fans. It also seems like the best way to ensure a healthy Veil.

3

Elven Glory

The Evanuris Plot Is Personal

Mahariel and Tabris, Lavellan, and Elf Rooks all explore different aspects of Thedas’ ancient past while contrasting it to their modern reality. Their mysterious heritage builds momentum across three games as a bloody history of oppression and decline, until Solas reveals that the true story gets darker. Fen’Harel was a savior to his followers, but to modern elven heroes, he’s always been part of the problem.

Viewing Inquisition through the lens of an elf building on the legacy of a proud but wounded ancestry is a uniquely harrowing experience. As an elven Rook, there are plenty of options to explore this heavy legacy once more. It feels even more relevant in the context of the hope inspired in Solasmancers that their Lavellan can save the world by appealing to Fen’Harel’s better nature.

2

Rook Has Fen’Harel’s Mind, Lavellan His Heart

Together They Reveal All Of The Dread Wolf

One of Rook’s main functions in the team is being at the other end of a mental link Solas created between them. It’s tenuous, but the relationship developed with Fen’Harel through meditation and chance Fade-adjacent encounters is exactly what fans could wish for. Bantering with Solas is a highlight of Veilguard. That said, Rook needs more than wits to outfox the Dread Wolf.

Although learning about Solas’ regrets is enough to confront him, his motivations and feelings are a little murkier without gaining insight into how his heart operates. It’s worth experiencing that side of him as the Inquisitor. Learning the true legacy of the elves isn’t just a personal revelation from Lavellan’s perspective, it also pairs well with an elven Rook who permanently denounces the elven gods.

1

Full Circle Under A Total Eclipse

A Brokenhearted Solasmancer Gets The Best Ending

Whether invested players respond to Solas’ betrayals with anger or sorrow, Veilguard’s conclusion is as personal and satisfying as it gets. Putting aside the obvious Fade mechanic questions, confronting Solas with his biggest regrets doesn’t measure up to the power of Lavellan’s invitation to be a part of a new future rather than choosing destruction.

In keeping with the joys that come with a pivot to high fantasy at the tail-end of the franchise’s overarching story, Solasmancers finally get to fix him. Fans of the Dread Wolf have dreamed of this moment for a decade, making it hard to focus on anything else. The most tragic romance in all of Dragon Age’s impressive breadth of tragedy finishes with the most satisfying note — Lavellan and Solas running off into the sunset of a new existence in the Fade.

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