Flora, Detail From La Primavera, By Sandro Botticelli, 1478

Flora, detail from La Primavera, by Sandro Botticelli, 1478

this has got to be THE funniest sentence ive seen all day im gonna cry

Solas and Mythal - A theory

Hello everyone, today I would like to talk about Solas and Mythal, in particular regarding their relationship. This is the first analysis that I’m posting on my blog and English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for all the possible mistakes.

Described as the All Mother, the protector of the people and the spouse of Elgar'nan, Mythal was the most important deity of the Elvhen Pantheon.

In the Elvhen Pantheon, the deities were always somehow releated to each other, even if the legends often give different versions (for example, Dirthamen and Falon'din are described as Mythal and Elgar'nan eldest children and twins in some legends, while in other legends their relationship is described as a strong friendship, with no blood ties, and the same happens with the other Evanuris).

In any case, there are two of the Evanuris who make exception to this rule and are, instead, treated as complete outsiders: Ghilan'nain and Fen'Harel. Ghilan'nain, the mother of the Halla,  was a mortal who reached her deity only at a later time, and she was Andruil’s favorite.

What about Solas? How did he become one of the Evanuris, and why he was nicknamed as The Dread Wolf?

My theory, is that Solas was a boy of modest origins, probably a slave.

We know that the Evanuris, not really deities but ‘’only’’ very powerful mages, used their claim to divinity to subjugate the other elves, expecially, they had slaves marked probably with Lyrium.

Given Solas’ repugnance against slavery, and that he was the leader of the revolution, is not difficult to think that he experienced slavery himself on his own skin.

Mythal was often in the middle when the Evanuris fought each other and the Forgotten Ones. Still according to Solas in Trespasser, she was “the voice of reason”. With her diplomacy, she avoided civil wars to happen and, in this way, innocent people to be involved.

( Codex entry: Mythal, in her wisdom, interceded in an argument between Elgar'nan and Falon'Din. With clever words, she convinced them to settle their grievance through a battle of their champions. Elgar'nan and Falon'Din agreed, and set their champions against each other rather than declare war among the gods. May those knights long be remembered, and Mythal’s wisdom be praised). In my point of view, Solas was one of Mythal’s slaves, and he wore her Vallaslin. There’s the famous cryptic phrase said by Cole, that many had already mentioned and theorized about, plus it’s possible to notice the shape of Mythal’s Vallaslin analyzing the positions of his scars (Yes, I think that the dimple on his chin is so pronounced  because it is actually mixed with a scar).

So, how could be Mythal considered as a positive entity, expecially by Solas, if she still had people marked with her Vallaslin? I’ve thought about this many times, and I have come to the conclusion that she could have been a figure similar to Daenerys Targaryen in A Song of Ice and Fire: a respected and powerful woman, protective but fierce, who gave to people who followed her the possibility of choice. To do another example, when Daenerys Targaryen frees the Unsullied, Grey Worm chooses to keep his name. The same could have happened to Mythal’s followers: some chose to keep the Vallaslin (like Abelas), while others chose to remove it, like Solas.  

Going back to Solas and his ascent to the status of Evanuris, it’s possible that he was already leading the rebellion to free the fellow slaves when he was noticed by Mythal, who shared his intent.

In my headcanon, Solas was not only an astonishing strategist despise his modest background, but a talented boy who was always searching for wisdom, hungry for knowledge above all. A quality that Mythal greatly appreciated. So she decided to take him under her wing, she was happy to share her knowledge, and he became her pupil, her general, a friend, and over time, like an adopted child. (There are many connections also in the tale of Andraste and Shartan, that I think is based upon Mythal and Solas, but I’ll discuss it later in another post). Probably, the other Evanuris were frowned upon her predilection for an elf who was considered by them as a barbarian, an outsider. Here comes the insult that Solas took as a badge of Pride: Dread Wolf. The nickname that can be given to a savage, a person who was nothing else then a Watchdog in their point of view (maybe also raised in a ‘’small village in the north’’ between the wolves? Who knows). In fact, there are many statues of Fen’Harel outside Mythal’s temples, and Mythal was also the Deity who created the Moon, according to legends. In symbolism, wolves are often depicted howling at the Moon, as a demonstration of loyalty.

So ‘’This is the past, what about the future?’‘ Remember - all that glitters is not gold, and I don’t think that Mythal’s teachings didn’t have a price for Solas. I think that his hunger for knowledge was so strong, hoping that this knowledge could be used to help his people (’’ he wanted to give wisdom, not orders’’) that he accepted to drink from The Well Of Sorrows time ago, so he’s bound to Mythal’s willpower. That’s why he had that strong reaction if the Inquisitor drinks from the well, that’s why he sympathizes with Abelas - he was like him once. Wisdom in exchange for eternal loyalty, that was the price.

Given the fact that, whatever was Mythal at the times of Elvhenan, now she’s nothing but an entity obsessed by vengeance,  I can say that  the perspectives are VERY dark. Cross my fingers.

Sorry for the long post, and let me know your thoughts about this. An exchange of ideas is always appreciated, even if in disagreement.

This is the best image of this cat. XD

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