Solavellan Baby Be Upon Ye

Solavellan baby be upon ye

Also, just adding to this, halla are integeral parts of community. They pull the aravels, they give milk which is used for cheese and butter, and they are said to guide dalish elves into the afterlife. I also vaguely remember one of the games (origins?) talking about the halla as leading the Dalish and pathfinding for them but can't find a source on it so I may have just made that up.

But unlike other animals in a similar role in other societies, such as horses, they are not domesticated and have a great deal of agency within their community. The codex on halla from inquisition talks about them as 'brothers and sisters' and noble companions rather than beasts of burden. The halla in the exalted plains camp are not fenced in, they could easily get out if they wanted to and the golden halla trusts the dalish healer enough to let herself be helped and taken into the camp. They are not beholden to the dalish, and work together of their own accord.

"How then do we harness them to the aravels? How do we ride them, or strap our packs to them? Well, how do you get a brother, a sister, or a friend to do you a favor? Simple, isn't it? You ask."

And it is quite clear that they don't have to help. The dalish explicitly say they are no servants or pets. When talked about by non-Dalish they are described as "ornery and almost impossible to train", quite the opposite of what we see with their interactions with the Dalish.

As well as being extremely stubborn they are also fierce creatures when they want to be. Halla historically bore knights into battle, and the codex also says that shems that try to constrain or capture halla are often impaled on their horns.

The fierce blood of a warrior still runs through her veins and she would sooner fight to the death than demean herself. Like the Dalish, the halla are proud. A halla knows who she is, and will tolerate no being that tells her she is less.

Also, moving forwards I think the parallel is going to get even more interesting when we learn more about Ghilan'nain. The impression I have gotten so far (I'm staying away from spoilers so this may not be 100% accurate) is that of a scientist and experimentor. That she is the person who created the horror of hormak. There's definatley a lot you could do on trauma and the experiences of loss lavellan faces as a form of this twisting a gentle and cooperative creature into something angry and dangerous.

And I do totally get why people don't like the wolf and halla imagery for solavellan, what with the whole predator and prey thing, but I think it is really interesting imagery myself. Because the halla have a really significant place in Dalish culture.

The imagery is evocative to me because it is setting up two very powerful, noble, and proud creatures. But they both choose to use their power in different ways. The wolf is feared as a danger to the community. The halla is loved and part of a community. The wolf wants to protect and hold its territory. The halla are nomadic and want to protect those it deems worthy. The wolf will fight to protect its territory. The halla will fight those who will capture or mistreat her. The wolf is seen as a danger to the community. Without the halla there would be no community, with the inquisition codex saying:

Without the halla, there would be no Dalish

And this notion is perhaps interesting when you compare ancient elvhen Solas to modern Dalish Lavellan. Lavellan, like the halla, is a creature of pride, fierce in the defense of the dignity of herself and her people, and a willing builder of community and family. These are all qualities that are required for the Dalish to survive in the modern world and that have allowed them to hold onto their autonomy and culture. The halla looks to build and travel while the wolf looks inward (or backwards) to keep its territory free from outsiders.

I also think there is something to say in that choosing not to fight does not make one weak or helpless. The choice to be gentle, kind, or helpful does not make somebody weak. There is strength in community, strength in helping, value in building, that the lone wolf can never achieve.

alright listen. i have a Take. it is super inconsequential but i Have It.

ppl who don’t like the halla imagery for Lavellan, esp a Solas romancing one (wolf and halla stuff) are super valid! there’s reason to feel icky about it!

but i definitely find myself giving that a read that… seems at least to be far more balanced. i’m from a part of the world that still has most of its large ungulates, and i gotta tell you, those things are far scarier than the predators in the forest, and here’s why:

a predator fights for a single goal: to eat. fighting takes a lot of energy, and so unless it seems like it will pay dividends—either by landing you a tasty meal or by getting you out of an unavoidable fight with another predator alive—they avoid it. it’s why there’s all these tips for how to handle being stalked/attacked by any given large predator in the area i’m from.

but prey species? if they’re in a fight, 100% of the time it is a fight for their very survival. for a deer or an antelope or an elk or a moose, it is fight and win, or die trying. as a result, the stakes are higher: a predator can walk away from a fight relatively unscathed if the benefit of it (a meal) no longer outweighs its costs (getting your skull smashed open by a moose). a predator can simply find an easier meal. prey species don’t have that option. the stakes are MUCH higher.

(also note that if an ungulate is hungry enough, they will attack, kill, and eat smaller animals like birds and rodents. they’re just all around way more metal than common conception gives them credit for. i’d rather meet any large predator while alone in the woods than a moose, just to toss in my two cents.)

so! not an attack of the “i hate wolf!solas x halla!lavellan imagery” position, certainly. just a defense of that dynamic here.

in my view, they’re both fighters, both survivors, just employing different strategies. the “halla” figure here is surviving through support of community, working and fighting to keep everyone safe, because there is strength in numbers. but fighting does happen, and it is brutal—for the “halla” figure, victory is the only option.

the “wolf” figure—a “lone wolf,” in this case, and that matters—is surviving at the cost of others. there is strength in numbers for them, too, but they are without that support. if they are spotted or found out by the community they are “preying” upon, they risk being killed by that community for the sake of its survival. but importantly, as long as they can get out of this alive, they can try again if this fails. they can find a other meal ticket.

i just think there’s room to read it as a far more balanced dynamic that just predator and prey. there is that element in there, and that squicks some people, and that’s fine! but there is also the element of a lone predator, one that would typically be a part of a larger, stronger pack, preying on the entire community. there is vulnerability and fear to be seen on both sides. so anyway, i just think it’s far more balanced than a lot of takes i’ve seen on it! that’s all i wanted to point out. ☺️✨

I struggle a lot with color and lighting. A lot.

We all know this site is US-user heavy, but I wanna know how many are vs aren't from the land of capitalism.

keep getting evacuation notice on my phone but it will not stop me now

Currently in the middle of my Stormlight reread, so have a Shallan!