Conflicted

Conflicted

Turns out funny, handsome wizards with magical bombs in their chests always get the girls.

Please enjoy Gale and my Tav - Theo, with the idea of Mystras jealousy flaring as he moves on. CHOOSE THE HOT ELF GALE, LET MYSTRA GO I'm fine

Gale Dekarios, former Chosen of Mystra, wizard of Waterdeep, smartass with a silver tongue and a ticking contra-magic timebomb in his heart, brought to his knees by the fact that one person, the ONLY person that matters, wants him for himself, not some possible future where he ascends to godhood, hearing he's good enough for the first time, and worst of all: believeing it

assorted fun lines from my screenshot folder

Random bits of Avvar lore

These are just some bits of Avvar lore that I consider interesting, though I rarely find an excuse to bring them up in discussions about Dragon Age lore. They might not be terribly relevant but I think they're worth mentioning! If you're working on a fic that incorporates Avvar characters, you might even find these bits useful for adding flavour.

The Lady of the Skies has favourite species of birds.

“Bluebirds carry the goodwill of the Lady.” (Amund, DAI multiplayer)

“Budgerigars are sacred to the Lady. I think she likes the chirping.” (Amund, DAI multiplayer)

The Avvar call the shards "elfstones" and were able to locate them with help of Hakkon Wintersbreath before he got locked away.

"In the old times, the first Jaws of Hakkon spoke with the great spirit himself. He opened their eyes that they might see the elfstones hidden across the world, and they entered the old cave and learned the mysteries of winter." (Codex entry: Leather-Bound Hakkonite Journal)

The ability to read and write is not widespread among the Avvar (and may even be seen as odd) but hold leaders and augurs are usually literate.

"Script style and surrounding symbolism mark text as Avvar. Writing not widespread in holds—place marked by a leader or augur? Few lowlanders known to be in area at time.” (Codex entry: Colette's Notes)

“Thane Harofsen thinks he alone can work the words of lowlanders, as though the augurs had not learned the tale-drawing runes to study the old magic.” (Codex entry: Leather-Bound Hakkonite Journal)

They refer to the Tranquil as "dream-slain".

"The lowlanders, though, have found a new way to see them. The skull of dream-slain, set with the right magicks, can bring the elfstones to our sight." (Codex entry: Leather-Bound Hakkonite Journal)

An Avvar warrior won the Grand Tourney once.

The Grand Tourney is the oldest, and perhaps only, tradition of the Free Marches. [...] Contestants come from all over Thedas. [...] Once, the champion was an Avvar mountain man. (Codex entry: The Celebrant)

Their swearwords often involve gods/legendary heroes

Korth's stony arse, Korth-cursed, Tyrdda’s tits

Another common type of profanity is tied to domesticated animals and/or body waste

goat-lovers, goat-kissing, goat’s piss, goat shit, chicken-craps, shit-eating, blood-drinking

Stone-Bear hold has changed its physical location a few decades prior.

"Stone-Bear Hold's been here a few generations. I was born further north, but we left before I could remember." (Arvid Rolfsen, DAI)

Each of the chief gods has a test associated with them that can be used to settle disputes. The test of the Lady is climbing, as witnessed when first entering Stone-Bear Hold. The test of Hakkon involves fighting with blunted weapon, similar to the Hakkon's Trials quest where you face local warriors and fight until surrender. The one test that wasn't shown in any shape or form is the test of Korth, which incorporates flyting - an exchange of insults conducted in verse.

"The test of the Lady. We use it to settle disputes when it is not clear who has the right of it. There are others. For the test of the Mountain-Father, you battle with verse while those who favor you hold you aloft. The test of Hakkon is battle, with blunted weapons." (Svarah Sun-Hair, DAI)

Veilfire runes are known as "god-runes" to the Avvar.

"Stone-hidden lie the tales of this hold. Here's the means to find them. Return when you've seen all the god-runes, and I'll tell you why the Jaws of Hakkon did this." (Augur, DAI)

okay this episode of code switch podcast on race in dungeons and dragons (and fantasy as a genre more broadly) is mostly all stuff i talk about here all the time but the specifics surrounding gary gygax the history of d&d/rpgs was new to me and really made it clear how it’s just like. oh you really don’t have to connect any dots you don’t have to extrapolate or read between the lines it’s just right there huh

also sidenote i know this is something i never shut up about but honestly the amount of harm jrr tolkien did to fantasy as a genre (and obviously, you know, real life people of color) by constructing the modern conception of orcs as, in his own words, “squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes: in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types” … truly immeasurable. literally imagine what we could have if the foundations of this entire fucking genre hadn’t been built on white imperial fantasies about good and evil and wanting to be able to guilt-free dream up scenarios where they could massacre hordes of some inherently evil subhuman species to save the world

Call Lightning favorite spell in game, Ildàn and the Harpers had to solo the shadow beasties bc the rest of the party was Bad At Following Directions. Also Gale after that fight had be YELLING like...been trying to get with you for a month now and THIS is what it took to get you??? Reckless unhinged sorcery?? Okay, king. Can we be boyfriends now.