Mysterious Elven Mosaics {Theory - Spoilers All}
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ธ.ค. 2019
- Welcome, welcome! Love digging through game files? Have an interest in Mosaics? Just desperate for new content? Then come and listen to what is known~
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This video does contain story spoilers for the Dragon Age games and other related media.
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Obligatory joke because ofc it's in JUNE
The elves got you again 😂👌
... oH SHIT
OOOOHH
CONGRATULATIONS!!! My wife & I are SO happy for you guys!!!
My immediate thoughts on the masks was the belief systems of the other races, the Triad being the Stone/Titans for dwarves. The horns being the Qunari faith and society. And the Sun representing the Chantry and possibly Andraste herself.
Chantry wasn't around back then tecnically neither were qunari.
But could be a pre-tevinter human religion
Now as for the qunari before the qunari (lets call them kossith). The problem is that the iron bull thinks they not always had horns. Or at leat were less "dragony". Now he could be wrong he is sharing what amounts to a conspiracy teory.
Now is he is wrong and the kossith looked similar to modern qunari then maybe these mosaics do represent other cultures.
Why? Who knows? Solas dosen't in general think highly of other races but maybe he or his followers found inspiration there.
Maybe non-elven cultures didn't practice slavery back then.
Wich I doubt because Titans but again who knows?
I was going on first impression, not deep dive on their meaning. I also was thinking from a developer perspective in the designs as opposed to a lore based one. Since these designs don’t show up without digging into the game files they could just be an obscure Easter egg for data miners. As for an actual lore answer, it’s entirely possible that ancient elves had the ability to see into the future, perhaps not anything clearly, but enough to get glimpses of the future Qunari and the Chantry.
@@galilea723 Time Magic/Travel Exists. If the Maker and Titans are REAL Gods they would be able to see the past, present and future at the same time. Given the existence of Magic alone anything is possible in this series. But anyways those mosaics aren't canonical as of yet so who knows what they're supposed to truely represent or if they'll ever come back into play. So given it's only a theory just have fun with it.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! May Sylaise bless you and Mr. Ghil as you prepare for the baby 💜
I loved this mystery/delve into this hidden secret! As always, very thorough and not a scrap of lore untold! Awesome video Caitie! 🐦
Back in blackdaw
@@smdfromthatbackshawty9787 yes
Uncle Jackdaw 😂👍👍
I just realized that bioware used essentially the same story from Knights of the Old Republic for the Rakata as they did for the elves in Inquisition. They had an empire and technology that relied on the dark side of the force when they lost their connection to it their empire fell apart. In Dragon Age they say that the elves built an Empire based on Magic when they lost their connection to it the Empire collapsed.
You mean every bioware game nwn the mind flayers. Jade empire the monks. Mass effect the reapers and the jardan and the collectors and the prothens.
@@xsvrrx sure
It's a common trope. Just off the top of my head, Brandon Sanderson's novel, "Elantris", has a similar concept of a magic dependant society falling into ruin.
Yeah it could also be argued that every major rpg has the same trope.
Congratulations on your pregnancy!!
The mosaic at 3:16 makes me think of the Hanged Man tarot card. It can symbolize new perspectives, martyrdom, and sacrifice for the greater good, among other things. The Hanged Man is also frequently depicted with a halo around his head like in the mosaic.
Congrats on expecting! And don't worry about the sparatic uploads. As long as we get anything from you at all it's great :)
The masks being forgotten ones was what I thought when I saw them as well. Was honestly surprised when we didn't get any mention of them in Trespasser. We still know next to nothing about them considering that they were allegedly close with Solas.
there is ONE codex entry that mentions the FORBIDDEN Ones, which are of course imshael, Gaxkang, Xebenkeck and The Formless One and it sorta implies that the Forbidden Ones may or may not have belonged to the Forgotten Ones? I'm don't quite understand that bit myself lol. I saw someone on tumblr mention that the Evanuris fought against the Titans and th Forbidden Ones didnt wanna deal with that which is why they were cast out?
what im trying to say is, youre right, I wanna know more about them and the elves in the orlesian forests who worship them still
I wanted to put this in a separate comment since the first is SO much more important than anything else. While I won't pretend to know anything about the masks I have noted a pattern in the Dragon Age civilizations and this may have something to do with it. Like the Roman Empire, which supplanted previous civilizations, holdovers from those civilizations still turn up from time to time and I think that is what the Forgotten Ones are. The civilization that predated the Evanuris... Ones that the Evanuris attempted to wipe from the map and from history. It would stand to reason that Solas would work to destabilize the Evanuris by working with those that have been broken by them. Couple that with the slavery that he found abhorrent and you might have previously built havens built by those that predate the Evanuris, as well as people to help him, pull off some major tasks using means the Evanuris never heard of. Geez... I hope I'm making sense as I've been up for a while.
Too much of mass effect :D
One thought I had that is somewhat similar to what you propose here, that to be honest dosnt really have any evidence or backing (in fact, there is probably more evidence to disprove it than anything else) but that I enjoy non the less, is that maybe the Forgotten Ones were the original Elven Gods, or leaders or other such equivalent.
Perhaps going off the theory that the Ancient Elves were Spirits who gave themselves physical forms (like Cole) the Forgotten Ones could have been the very first of these Spirits and the ones who taught it to the other Elves eventually leading to the birth of Elven civilization, and perhaps the war that lead to the Evanuris gaining power was actually against them and after the end of the war when the Evanuris began painting themselves as gods they deliberately tried to erase the existence of any previous gods (or equivalent) hence them becoming "The Forgotten Ones".
Congratulations!!!! I'm due in May and I fully understand your exhaustion. I have been so tired it has been difficult to work. Remember baby comes first!!
The last one reminds me of the Andrastian crown design.
And the second one, 'horns', is virtually identical to the Devine's hat, if you take the negative space between the horns to be part of the mask
11:53 "gonna be kind of a wild year coming up". Understatement of the decade contender right there.
Your husband a grey warden? The child will be a rebirth of an old god.
I agree with your theory about these faces being used to represent members of the Forgotten Ones. I remember Merrill saying in DA2 that Fen'Harel walked amongest both the Forgotten Ones and the Creators. They might have been iniatially planning to mention members of the Forgotten Ones but ran out of time or they already had too much.
Congratulations on this wonderful new stage of your life.
No worries on videos obviously your child will always take priority. :) Best of luck to you, all three of you. :)
Congratulations on expecting! May Sylaise bless you.
As for the murals, I agree on the Forgotten Ones. I don't think they were forgotten because they were evil but because they predated the Evanuris in the hearts of the People. We've seen it many times in our own history where one religion takes over from another. The newcomer uses the old beliefs, holidays and symbols to draw the masses in.
Congratulations! Wishing you all the best!
Also just want to point out that the sun mosaic sort of looks like a krogan, and we did see that krogan head on the wall in the Winter Palace... xD
Same.
Thinking about elves and Vallaslin, they used the markings to mark slaves and I was wondering if the dwarfs saw them and came up with the casteless marks from the elves a mark made by the elite to keep those lower in there place, we know in Witch Hunt elves did live underground for a time maybe that is when nobles got the idea
That’s just my thought at least
These become a lot more significant when you look at the new Dragon Age Dreadwolf cinematic, look at the symbols there they match these!
I am more in the camp of abandoned content. Maybe the murals would change depending on some decisions? maybe there would be some time travel at some point ? MAYBE there was an additional dlc planed before tresspasser at some point which would play in the time of the evanuris?
Congrats on your small human!
The only thing I can think of having different mosaics would be for is if there are other codex entries that comes with them. Perhaps it may be better to instead look for cut codex entries that could linking to the mosaics. Because doing different things to trigger them yet still giving us the same info back at us wouldn't help us much in understanding their meaning. It could be possible finding whatever is triggering it may give certain codex entries or leave go further clues.
I want to believe this is story related...but my Bioware senses are tingling. That last one looks suspiciously Krogan. Part of me wonders if initially, they intended this as a Mass Effect easter egg but then realized that the Trespasser plotline was too serious in tone to include them. No idea what the other two are. Asari and Salarian? I don't know. They've put random ME gags in the game in the past, so that was my first takeaway.
Something I find interesting is that all 3 of the masked figures are ill matched to the overall mural. Fen'harel's image fits, the tone of the pieces match even outside of the golden ring. But the 3 masked images almost seem like they are defacements of the original - plastered over or chiseled away.
Maybe Solas built this refuge in an area that had originally been dedicated to the other Evanuris, and he covered the original mosaic images with his own story (fits in with the "propaganda" thing)?
Triad reminds me of Urthemiel's Symbol though.
OMG Congrats! Best of luck with the baby! ...I don't have anything else to say about the video tbh, but wanted to send my well-wishes!
It was probably supposed to be a puzzle between the mosaics and statues, and it got cut either because they couldn't implement it or because they plan to use it in DA4. According to... Gaider (I think), there was stuff that was supposed to be in Trespasser that they left out so they could put it in DA4, which is why part of DA4 was already written back when Trespasser was released.
The other explanation is that these statues don't mean anything. They're just new designs they threw in so they wouldn't have to reuse as many old designs (which they still did anyway).
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I'm expecting my first in Feb and I understand how your feeling. No one can explain what its truely like until you experience it yourself.
And don't worry about the sporadic uploads, you and baby come first!
Congrats on your pregnancy! I hope everything goes well with it!
Those mosaics are truly intriguing. However I personally see them as the Evanuris dragon forms. We know that Mythal can transform, or more accurately shapeshift (Flemmeth teaches Morrigan and NO ONE ELSE), into a dragon. And that one of the Evanuris, (Falon'Din? Dirthamen?) tought another person/follower (and also Ghilan'nain?) "the SHAPE of the Gods" which is forbidden if they are not expressely allowed by all of them I think. And those 'masks' looks an awful lot like Dragon Skulls to me.
Congratulations!!!
Also, you completely sold me on your theory that those masks represent the Forgotten Ones. If that is the case, it brings up a lot of viable reasons that, if they truly are cut content, they would have been cut; it could be that Bioware wasn't completely set on what role they want the Forgotten Ones to play - if any - in the series, so perhaps some "big reveal" regarding them was planned and then ultimately scrapped. Even if the content is actually found in-game somewhere, this could still be the case because the mosaics by themselves aren't exactly dead giveaways of anything. Perhaps originally we were intended to learn more about exactly how Fen'Harel's rebellion worked and who its leaders were (besides himself) and then it was decided to hold that secret for another day.
congrats on the baby!
i wonder if there originally was going to be more content on other members/leaders of fen'harel's rebellion. he can't have led it alone and i could be misremembering but i feel like he says something to that effect when you question him. (if you use the angry responses and really lay into him about using the inquisition and not caring about anyone? maybe? he says something it not being the first time he's thrown other people away to achieve his goals or something. i think?) but there wasn't space for it and the murals would have been too confusing on their own since they don't appear anywhere else so they just swapped it to all be wolf heads. ofc the other leaders could def have been the forgotten ones still so that would make sense.
Congratulations! And what an interesting mystery. I have no insights to offer but this is really cool and I hope someone can provide more information.
Congrats on the baby! I think in 'The Calling', close to when she sees the casket?. there is a mention of something wearing a crown of 5 black spikes. If I can find it again, I will let you know. Nope, not where I thought it was. I'm probably remembering wrong but I will keep looking.
Congrats on the kid!
Growing a baby is exhausting on the body, don't beat yourself up about loss of energy! Also congratulations that is super exciting!
In regards to the mosaics, honestly looking at them I am leaning towards dragons even if my idea may fall into tinfoil hat land. All three designs look like dragon heads and I suspect the Evanuris are more connected to dragons than we thought. The "horns" design is easiest place to start but the "sun" design is similar to Urthemiel's head shape and the "triad" design... looks a lot like sexy Flemeth's crown who we know turns into a dragon and is Mythal (modded versions of Flemeth's dragon form look even closer). Throughout the games we have come across cultures that revered dragons and they have been connected to gods enough in the franchise that I feel like I am on to something.
I've had 4 pregnancies. I know the feel. Patience was the biggest hurdle I had to endure, and trust me, you will get the hang of it. Congrats!
This channel is awesome. I finished DA:I for the first time a few weeks ago and this is perfect! I'm loving the lore and just being able to understand everything a lot more so thank you!
Omg. Congratulations on this new chapter in your journey! So exciting. All the good vibes your way.
Congratulations! Being pregnant is rough, but worth it, i couldn't do anything i normally do even before baby came. Good luck!
The Triad mask kinda reminds me of a Bow and Arrow. Maybe Andruil?
Congrats! Very happy for you two!
Congratulations!!! That’s so awesome!!
Omg congratulations and good luck for the cool news!
Congratulations for the future baby ! This is an interesting video, by the way, may the elven gods bless you and your family ;)
I love your voice, it's so happy and professional 💗
A BABY!!!!!!!! Congratulations that's amazing!!! I'm so happy for you!!! Take all the time you need, pregnancy and parenting are tough, I've seen a few first time parents go through it and while they're happy, they're always saying how important it is to also take time for themselves, so don't forget date night! ❤️ Again, I'm so, so happy for you!! A BABY!!!!
Just finished this video and I don’t know what exactly it could mean, but as soon as I saw the mosaics it reminded me so much of the last veilfire puzzle that’s in the darvaarad! With the owl, the halla, and dragon statue. The full story together says “One sees the hunter, one flees from it, one hunts it in turn, one outwits them all.” The tripod could be the dragon, the horns the owl, the star the halla statue, and of course the wolf being the dread wolf!
Congrats Ghil and Family 💓
My first thought upon seeing the "Horns" one was that the horns and the space between looks kind of like the weird hat things Chantry mothers wear. Not sure what that would mean, but that one and the "Sun" definitely give me Chantry vibes.
Congratulations on the baby!!! And I LOVE your content by the way - so well researched and structured! Also listening to the tinfoil tea party - highly recommend!!!
***spoiler warning***
Me theories:
- The "orb" was used in some kind of lyrium or spirit creation? The blue is striking and suggests some kind of magical power - or just reinforces solas saying he created the fade with it somehow and that's why it's now a key (?)
- The masks allude to the remaining 2 elven gods (possibly 3!? Or ) and solas - which would have led nicely on to DA4 where I'm assuming solas will gain the power of 2 or 3 "gods" and this is his breadcrumb trail for you as maybe there is a part of him that wants to be stopped?
- Linking the mosaics and the masks suggests the old gods power\spirits may have been locked in the orb and their power was weakened with each removal of a vallashalin - opening in it resulted in corepheus actually absorbing possibly not just their power but spirit which is why he had to be "killed" about three times during the series
- And finally, solas is related or betrothed to mythal - just a thought as flemeth could gain power and possess her daughters, so for solas to "absorb" her at the end he couldn't be just a spirit as they need a body and their story alludes to a deeper connection - clutching at straws but maybe morrigans son was carrying the spirit of their child or other relative which could hamper solas plans
omg, congratulations! this is amazing news! ❤
Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you ^-^
And good video, as always!
I think that these heads represent the Forgotten Ones.
My theory is that the Forgotten Ones were once Fen'Harel's most trusted generals. As they say, every wolf needs a pack. Anaris, Geldauran and Daern'thal probably led the Dread Wolf's army in the battle against the false gods, while Solas shared wisdom with the People or recruted new agents. But in the end the Forgotten Ones became just as abusive and power-hungry as the Evanuris. And maybe that's the reason why Solas trapped them in the abyss\the void.
P.S. I hope it all makes sense. I'm from Russia and I genuinely apologise for my terrible English.
this was honestly fascinating. Congratulations on the baby! don't worry about the uploads, we'll stick around even if they are "sporadic"
Caitie I love you, you're keeping this fandom alive for me tbh. Godspeed though and congrats!!
Congrats 🎉!!!!! I’m so happy for you and your hubby❤️❤️❤️!!!
Mazel tov on the upcoming addition to your family!
Congratulations! Take it easy, your family is first, we understand. I wish you all the best!
This is fascinating, thank you
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!! Omg!!!!! Wishing you all the happiness in the world!!!
I think all three are related to Flemeth/Mythal, as she may have been manipulating Thedas in three guises. Here's how I justify it.
The first mask ('Triad') looks nearly identical to the winged female statues being worshipped by blood mages everywhere in DA:O. and in the Avvar-built Ruined Temple to Andraste, found in the Frostback Mountains under Haven. These have the distinctive Triad design, but also dragon wings. The cultists are dragon worshippers, so perhaps there is an Old God there that hasn't been discussed yet that is a primordial Mythal - what she was before she became Mythal to the Elvhan.
Second one is Andraste, but with the triangle motif above her head. However, the suggestion is that under the triangle is *still* a dragon - it's *still* Mythal under there, or Mythal was playing a part with Andraste's life. The 'Triad' has been softened down into the 'Horns'. We've seen this design on Andraste's statue in the Avvar-built Ruined Temple to Andraste, when you go to find the Urn.
The final one is the Andraste, with her spiked crown, and Mythal in her dragon crown again, as we know her from DA:2 and DA:I.
If my theory is correct, I can see how these might have been cut as they are both out of place for the timeline (unless Mythal used different crown appearances during the time of Arlathan - possible, but it's still a dodge). Going by the statues of Andraste and Flemeth's appearances in DA:2 and DA:I, it just points out a longstanding query that has always been tangled up with the Dragon Age series.
Namely: what is the relationship (or not) between Mythal and Andraste? Was Flemeth/Mythal involved with Andraste's story? How does the Avvar mythology and the Elvhen mythology relate (or not)?
I personally don't have any issue with Fen'Harel's walls being covered with Mythal's visage rather than his own. His turning point for finally getting involved in open warfare with the rest of the Evanuris was her murder, so it makes more sense to me that these images were meant to be her, and not him.
However, the question of why the mosaic changed may have something to do with whether Fen'Harel was content with also being worshipped as a god or not, or had slaves or not. Many fans seem to think he perhaps did not stoop to that level. I think he did, and it's part of his regret. His withering response to Bram Kenric who fails to remember Fen'Harel when recalling the elvhen pantheon ('Most people do') is telling. I think he *was* worshipped and probably *did* own slaves (how to perfect his removal spell except to practice on one's own slaves?), so I think replacing the mosaics to Fen'Harel in the game is in keeping with his story and who he was at the time, even if he was beginning to reconsider and regret it all once Mythal died.
congratulations on the new little dragon or wolf, thank you for your work and your love of dragon age
I thought this was gonna be about the mosaic collection that the dwarf translates. But this is interesting. Thank you
Congratulations on the baby! And don't worry about the uploads, health and family come first.
I really like the theory of the Forgotten Ones. I've been trying to dig up all I can on them, and this was helpful!
Congratulations! :) good luck in the weeks to come! You do you on videos i'll love them when I see them. This is fascinating for many reasons. It could be anything from forbidden ones to forgotten ones. It almost makes more sense to me if it were the forbidden ones oddly enough... Why? He sealed the forgotten ones away just as he did the Evanuris... It feels like he's equally against both. Though on a counter note it may signify that they were no better off leading than the Evanuris. Makes me wonder if Solas isn't a Forbidden one... the Pride version. We haven't run into a Pride Forbidden one... It also makes sense that Mythal would coax a very powerful being from the fade to become an ally. My guess is... Solas and Cole are not so dissimilar. Hence Solas' strong feelings on the subject. I think it might be appropriate to review Imshael's response to Solas again.
I can't believe we're all about to become Uncles and Aunties. Congrats Caitie!
As life we meet death in the center we are. Touching, holding, watching we wait upon you, our people.
Congrats on the newest mage warrior.
I found then, well i believe I've found them but they're not as you found them in the files. Have you gone through the banners, paintings and statues with radcliffe castle during in hushed whispers?
Throughout there is a statue that has a hood with three points, one huge one pointung at you within the sky and smaller ones found through the castle.
One symbol can be found at the bottom of an andraste banner with the sun, also you can find a simular symbol on priests garb throughout the dragon age games.
Another can be found on the bottom of a banner of a snake and a dragon fighting with a white background. The face looks that of a snake. Mayhaps the banner of trevinter of some kind?
The other one is in the hall to the shard door, the crest looks like two dogs or demons on yellow and white, tho the bottom of most of them looks damaged so the image isn't fully there. Tho i believe it may be banners of white and yellow in radcliffe?
I'm uploading images to my twitter @MaierDay. Tho the elf I'm currently using is from youtube.
Congrats on the baby! Hope everything goes well
Oh yay!! Congrats!! Take your time with the videos, we'll still be here. You and baby come first.
Youe videos always spark new joy into playing the drag9nage games
Congratulation! 🎉 I wish you the very best 😊
The weird deer with wings sounds like that chapter from Tevinter Nights where the wardens find Andruil's creations.
Isn’t the symbol in DAI for the dalish a mask thing? I always thought it was weird bc the Orlai should be known mask cause y’know. And wow, congrats!
I see the 3 of the main races from mass effect. Turian asaria and krogan in the photos.
Oh my gosh! Congratulations! Take all them time you need, Dragon Age will be waiting patiently for your return. More patiently then we have been waiting for DA4, anyhow. Take care of yourself!
Congrats on the pregnancy!! Just take care of yourself and the baby, we'll be happy with whatever updates you have time for.
Congrats !
One possibility is that the masks were intended to be companions of Solas. He mentions that his title and life was not too dissimilar to the Inquisitor. Dragon Age adventuring parties seem centered on the number 4, other times the heroes run into various heroes they have three fellows.
It could have been the intention to have the towers explain or feature stories about each of these characters, but they were cut late in the dev cycle in order to simplify the story focus to be more about the Qunari plot and Solas' revolutions. Throwing the backstories of 3 new characters at the player on top of all of that might have been seen as wasteful padding, especially since these characters would be long dead and not really matter to the overall story.
Congratulations on the baby!
Congrats on the baby!!!!!!!!!
It also looked like the Omega symbol on the first mural. Also the second mask really reminds me of the hat holy mothers wear if you draw a line straight across. And if that is true then the sun could be a reference to the sunburst throne
Wow just realized the mosaic looks very much like the upside down horned being from the new Dragon Age 4 trailer mural ! Very similar. There seems to be dripping water on the mosaic and dripping water on the mural too !
Congratulations on the pregnancy! Take care of yourself. We'll be here when you can return.
CONGRATULATIONS 🎉🎉🎉❣️❣️❣️
Congratulations!
Does anyone else think that the second one, "horns", strongly resembles the hat worn by the Divine, if the negative space between the horns is taken as park of the mask?
Congratulations!!!!
I really love the idea that these are the forgotten ones. That's awesome to think of
hell yeah hell yeah new theory video
Congratulations! 🥰
the masks reminded me of Nevarra (dragons), Orlais (masks), & Ferelden (Andraste).
I know that this is about elves, ancient ones, but iono.
maybe echoes of the Fade's history influences Thedas
Hi Catie. Congrats on being a new mom! I'm a bit late in the game but really enjoyed all your videos to catch upon the lores and theories. Have anyone came up with an answer on the masks? My gut feeling is that you're right on the 3 Forgotten Ones representing the other heads because it would be too weird to have Falon'din, or Andruil, or Elgar'nan on the mosaics - the 3 potential people who would murder Mythal. The drops of blue might represent lyrium. Someone understood that the "soulless slaves" were drinking the Titan's blood for sustinance thus controlling them so I suspect that the Evanirus marked their slaves with lyrium. The lyrium sarcophagus the Tevinter magister used on Fenris might've been inspired or created by the Evanirus. How the heck did the 7-9 Evanirus were able to amass and control thousands and thousands of elven slaves and then distribute them to the noble/higher-ranking elves for their use? I think the use of lyrium was not only used to power the city of Arlathan but also to control and make them forget.
The ‘sun’ one looks like a book opening. Maybe it represents enlightenment/shaking off the brainwashing of the evanuris?
Good luck!
Happy late 1st birthday to the baby!
It’s Beetle in the Mosaic’s, it looks just like him. The gods look to be binding him.
I think it’s Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Congrats!
Congratulations and all the best for the pregnancy. Don’t worry about the sporadic uploads. Take care! :)