In a setting as rich in history as Thedas, it should come as no surprise that Dragon Age: The Veil Guard has many twists along with the callbacks of previous installments. Continuing the epic story told across multiple games is no easy task and Dragon Age Games have always had to walk the line between honoring the choices made and telling a new, compelling story. Like the journey that started in Dragon Age: Inquisition concludes, there are many revelations in The Veil Guard this may catch some completely off guard.
[Warning: Major spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.]
In Dragon Age: The Veil GuardAs Rook fights to save Thedas from the newly released Evanuris, they are joined by seven specialists from around the world, all available for romance as well. As with previous entries in the franchise, The Veil Guard is a game that benefits from multiple playthroughs to explore all the different paths available for the team, the best example being helping Minrathous or Treviso. From character deaths to story drops, Veilguard has many important stories throughout the game.
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Morrigan has a Mythal fragment in her
Morrigan’s journey completes
Morrigan was part Dragon Age from the beginning, appearing in all but one of the series’ main episodes. His appearance in Dragon Age: The Veil Guard It’s not surprising given the nature of the plot and with it appearing in teaser trailers, but there is a reveal midway through the game that may come as a surprise to longtime fans. This comes from a conversation with Morrigan at the Crossroads where the former Jungle Witch will explain that she carries a fragment of Mythal within her.
Anyone who has followed Morrigan’s personal journey will be surprised by this, as one of her biggest fears was having her body taken from her by her mother, Flemeth. However, she will explain to Rook that although she carries Mythal and Flemeth’s memories, their personalities have not replaced hers. Morrigan seems happy with the decision which brings her story to a lovely conclusion.
9
Solas was originally a spirit
Confirmation of a popular Solas theory
During the mission “Regrets of the Dire Wolf,” Rook and the team must track down the Wolf Figurines that contain memories that Solas hid. As the mission name suggests, these are memories of events that Solas regrets or is ashamed of and there are some known changes Dragon Age knowledge contained in them. One big reveal is confirmation of a long-standing fan theory: Solas was originally a Fade spirit.
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who was paying attention to the banter between him and Cole back in the day. Dragon Age: Inquisition. This helps enormously to explain not only Solas’ connection to the Fade, but also his single-mindedness, such as spirits are often the personification of an emotion or concept. However, with the confirmation that Solas and the other elven “gods” were originally spirits comes a series of other revelations that impact Thedas.
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The Evanuris stole titan blood to take shape
Stealing the Titan’s Lyrium started a war
The way Solas and the others took on humanoid form is also explained by one of Solas’ regrets with the horrifying revelation that they stole the Titans’ blood. The Titans were the primordial entities and probably the first beings to inhabit Thedas, shaping it just as the Evanuris shaped the Fade. When the Evanuris wanted to take on corporeal form, they used the lyriumtaking him away from the Titans and triggering a war between the two powerful groups.
Titans did not have much prominence in Dragon Age knowledge until Inquisition DLC The descent, which saw a Shaper from Orzammar able to connect and communicate with a Titan. However after touching Solas’ lily dagger Harding develops powers and a much stronger connection with what’s left of the Titans. Harding’s personal search for The Veil Guard offers tons of excellent knowledge about ancient creatures and explains how dwarves came to be as well.
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The dreams of the titans created the plague
Solas cut down the titans of his dreams with his Lyrium dagger
Solas’ memories further explain what happened during the reign of the Evanuris and their ongoing war with the Titans. As the war progressed, the Evanuris were losing to the primordial giants and Mythal asked Solas to create a dagger made of pure lily. One of Dreadwolf’s biggest regrets reveals that the dagger was used to separate the Titans from their dreams, making them Tranquilbut doing so created something terrible.
The Titans’ dreams were locked in the Fade, where anger and confusion drove them mad. This in turn corrupted dreams and created the Plagueforcing Solas to contain him within a structure in the Fade that would later be known as Dark City. After Solas rebelled against the Evanuris, the elven gods were very interested in turning the Blight into a weapon for control and destruction.
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The entire Andrastian faith is wrong
There never was a golden city; It was always black
The final twist in Solas’ memoir is the bombshell that the entire Andrastian faith is wrong. This is something long-time fans of the series have suspected, with obvious hints throughout the games that the Chantry may have misinterpreted certain aspects of Thedas’ history. However, with Solas’ regret to Rook and his team, it becomes obvious to them that the Golden City was never the seat of the Creator.
The story of the ancient magisters of Tevinter who corrupted the city when they entered the Fade is wrong, as they were deceived by the Evanuris. Instead, what becomes clear is that the Dark City was always black and full of Prague, as it was where Solas imprisoned the Evanuris. This turns everything the Andrastian faith is built on upside down.with the team even debating whether they should tell others about their discovery.
5
The companion who dismantles the protections is taken
The team will lose one member to party selection
Moving away from tradition and making big decisions during The Veil Guardwhere the outcome can change an entire playthrough. Near the end of the game, during the mission “Island of the Gods,” the team will encounter a set of magical wards that will need to be taken down for the group to progress. Both Neve and Bellara will volunteer and Rook will have to choose which companion will dismantle the protections.
However, the chosen companion will not be available to travel with Rook for the rest of the game when they are kidnapped by Elgar’nan. They will not reappear until the final assault on Minrathous, where Rook will have to rescue them from the Plague’s tentacles. This is a twist that definitely requires more thought into the decision on a second playthrough, based on how Rook is spec’d or the player’s preferred playstyle.
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The companion leading the distraction dies
A team member becomes a hero
During the same mission, “Island of the Gods,” As Rook and the team land on the island, the choice is to split into two forces. Harding and Davrin will volunteer to lead a group as a distraction to allow Rook and the rest of the companions to get further into the area undetected. This is a solid plan and it works well. However, any teammate chosen to lead the team will die.
In the final moments of the fight with Ghilan’nain, Lucanis attacks the elven “god” but is caught. Either Harding or Davrin will jump in to attack, splitting Ghilan’nain’s focus and allowing Lucanis to deal a killing blow to her. However, not before they were killed by the angry goddess. This is an inevitable death and will occur even if the companion’s personal quest has been completed and he has the status of Hero of the Veil Guard.
3
Everyone can die with a bad ending
Pay attention to companion missions and faction strength
Speaking of Veil Guard Hero status, this is a condition that completes each companion’s personal quest. This gives them a significant boost to their abilities, but if the missions are not completed before The Veil Guardpoint of no return, then things can go very wrong. During the final attack on Minrathous, Rook will have to assign multiple companions to different groups to help gain access to the city.
However, if companion quests have not been completed and the favor of the faction and merchants have not been updated, things can quickly go downhill. It is possible for every companion to die during the final mission and Rook will be forced to watch helplessly as friend after friend falls. This is obviously the worst possible ending for The Veil Guard and quite difficult to achieve unless the player only completes the main quests and ignores all others.
2
Killing Elgar’nan will tear down the veil
Solas conveniently leaves this detail out
The whole story of The Veil Guard begins with Varric, Harding, Neve, and Rook trying to stop Solas from taking down the Veil. So to have this happen despite your efforts would be a terrible thing. However, In a final trick, Solas omits vital information when speaking to Rook and does not share that the act of killing Elgar’nan alone will bring down the Veil.
The Veil was created accidentally when Solas banished the Evanuris to the Fade and is linked to their life forces. By helping Rook defeat Elgar’nan, Solas will still get what he wants, which is to get rid of the barrier between Thedas and the spiritual world. Fortunately, Rook will figure this out with help from Bellara or Neve, as their connection to Elgar’nan has given them insight, and a new plan is quickly formed.
1
Varric was dead the whole time
Hints can be obtained during subsequent playthroughs
Finally, one of the biggest twists and a major spoiler concerns Varric Tethras, who initially recruits Rook during the hunt for Solas. Varric is extremely popular Dragon Age character and many were eager to travel with him once again. However, throughout The Guard of the Veil, Varric only appears at the Lighthouse, offering Rook advice and support. The difference is that this occurs because Varric has been dead since he spoke to Solas in the prologue.
During the initial confrontation with Solas, Varric is stabbed with the lyrium dagger, and it is revealed during Rook’s imprisonment in the Fade that he did not survive. All over Dragon Age: The Guard of the Veil, only Rook was able to speak and see Varric because of Solas using blood magic. This is a brilliant twist that is cleverly signposted and obvious on a second playthrough, but can effectively fool the player the first time.