eachdraidh - canon update information

[arla]

WARNING: There are spoilers here for Jaws of Hakkon, The Descent, and Trespasser DLCs. Read at your own risk.

Decisions/Playthrough Notes: To begin with, each of the DLCs for Nasrin occur after the main game. This means that she comes out of the base game with no romance, a sense of accomplishment, and a lingering concern over the world. I'm going to go through each DLC briefly to discuss any decisions made before moving on to her personality changes.

Jaws of Hakkon

The DLC occurs around a request to investigate the Frostback Basin and help a scholar uncover information that might help the Inquisition. This turns out to be the final resting place of the original Inquisitor, leader of the first Inquisition. However, hostile Avvar called the Jaws of Hakkon believe in stopping the current Inquisition. What they uncover is that the first Inquisitor was also a Dalish elf, who sacrificed himself to stop the dragon Hakkon. The dragon itself is, in truth, possessed by a dangerous spirit and being held in an old Tevinter stronghold, lending credence to the idea that the Tevinter magisters are not the first to guide terrible spirits across the Veil and that the Old Gods (the dragons) remain in stasis until they are corrupted (as per a Blight) and cannot actually live or die until this happens. Old Gods can call followers, however.

Another terrible truth is that Telana, the first Inquisitor's beloved, searched for him in the Fade when he disappeared. The Inquisitor, Ameridan, was fighting the dragon as a favor to Drakon, the Orlesian Emperor at the time. Lavellan meets with Ameridan, trapped in a binding he created to keep the dragon - and the spirit-god - there, who tells her more of the truth, and she offers him the same. A Dalish mage became Inquisitor at the behest of the Orlesian Emperor during a time of strife, demons, dragons, and Darkspawn...and he did not want to be Inquisitor, much like her. He then lost his lover, all of his friends, and the world changed. The Chantry wrote his involvement out of the lore and the Seekers created the Rite of Tranquility and used it as punishment for rogue mages. The Second Blight ravaged much of Orlais. Ameridan was an advocate for cooperation between all of the races of Thedas, much like Nasrin herself. He also believed in the Maker and in the Creators, believing they were just another name for the boots that walked side-by-side in creation of the races. In the end, Ameridan fades away and Nasrin and her allies defeat the dragon, freeing the spirit-god's soul for a "rebirth".

Ameridan's dialogue chart for what he says.

Takeaways from this quest:

"Take moments of happiness where you can find them. The world will take the rest." - Ameridan

"Every time you're more than just a person to someone, you're also less than a person to them. They don't see that a real, normal woman fought the Avvar and killed that dragon. ...And they certainly don't know your strange fixation with elfroot." - Scout Harding

The Descent:

The Inquisition is called to help the Legion of the Dead and Shaper Valta uncover the reason behind terrible earthquakes that are damaging the lyrium mines and, thus, lyrium trade...including the Inquisition's stores and supplies of it. Joining Valta, the Legion, and its lieutenant named Renn, Nasrin and her companions delve down into the Deep Roads to find the root cause of the quakes and find evidence that there is a creature called a Titan down below. They discover that the Titan is able to control dwarves via lyrium infused in their armor, as they have become a part of the Titan itself. Renn and the Legion lose their lives in the ensuing battles.

When they find the Titan, it is mostly a large stone, like a heart, that has tendrils or veins that spread everywhere...into lyrium. The defenders, the Sha-Brytol, drink from the lyrium to become enraged and overly powerful to protect the Titan. Valta is touched by raw lyrium and chosen by the Titan to be its 'child'. Valta seems suddenly capable of magic, making her capable of great power, and she chooses to stay behind to listen to the Stone and to keep it connected to herself. The Titan was perturbed by the Breach and is now calmer, grounded to Valta, and the Inquisition leaves her behind at her request.

Later, however, there is a great cry in the mines. Renn's body has disappeared and Valta is nowhere to be found.

Trespasser:

Two years after the fall of Corypheus, the Inquisition is called to the Exalted Council in Orlais where Orlesian and Ferelden ambassadors are calling for the Inquisition to either be disbanded or to operate under stricter guidelines with its allies, under the Divine, or as a part of the Chantry. Nasrin reunites with her allies (all save Solas, who has vanished since Corypheus' defeat). The mark on her hand has begun to hurt even more recently and is becoming unstable, uncontrollable.

The body of a Qunari is found outside of an Eluvian at Halamshiral. Going through the Eluvian, Nasrin finds that the Qunari are looking into the agents of Fen'Harel and she discovers that the Qunari are looking to infiltrate Halamshiral. Further exploration into the Deep Roads allows the Inquisition to discover that the Qunari are attempting to destroy several of the noble houses across Thedas. Further discovery and exploration through the Eluvians allows Nasrin to learn more of the Titans, Fen'Harel, the Evanuris (noble elves who were powerful), as well as the creation of the Veil and the destruction it caused. The Qunari are being led by a woman called the Viddasala, who is using a dragon to construct the acidic explosives that will destroy the noble households and wreck havoc across Thedas. The Viddasala reveals that the Qunari are moving in response to the Inquisition and the Breach: believing the Inquisition are agents of Fen'Harel and are seeking destruction, the Qunari are to bring order and indoctrination to the world. She also reveals that Solas is an agent of Fen'Harel and was possibly using the Inquisitor if Nasrin truly is not allied with Fen'Harel.

As the group continues, Nasrin's mark becomes more destructive, hurting her. Its power grows exponentially but is quite obviously beginning to kill her and is too dangerous to be controlled by her or anyone else. After an intense battle with Saarebas Saarath, Nasrin steps through a final Eluvian alone and finds several of the Qunari agents turned to stone...as well as Solas and the Viddasala. Solas turns her to stone as well, greets Nasrin, and stops the pain in her hand. She tells him she has uncovered the truth about him - that he is Fen'Harel - and he tells her more about his past. He was Solas first, Fen'Harel later, and sought to stop the Evanuris from destroying the world after they killed Mythal. He freed slaves and removed their slave markings, and the Evanuris branded him as a trickster and traitor. He created the Veil and brought it down, destroying so many things of the Elvhen (the library in the Fade is an example of this, as well as elven immortality). Solas awakened a year before he met Nasrin and found the orb, leaving it to the Venatori to unlock. Corypheus eventually took in and Solas had hope that it would destroy him. It did not.

Solas reveals he is going to lift the Veil and destroy it...which means countless lives will die in the process and the world as they know it will be no more. Nasrin believes Solas can be stopped and redeemed, but the Anchor flairs up. He takes it from her, saving her life, but in doing so her left arm is mostly destroyed (and taken by Solas).

Nasrin returns to the Exalted Council, disbands the Inquisition, and uses her few remaining friends and contacts in the Inquisition to hunt Solas to stop him, as well as using their resources and reach to find a method to prevent him from destroying the world.

Final Worldstate:
- Leliana is Divine
- Nasrin chooses to believe Solas can be redeemed
- Dorian and Bull are in a relationship
- Sera and Dagna are in a relationship
- Nasrin becomes one of the Red Jennies and is given a hook-arm by Sera
- Cullen makes a home for retired Templars
- Josephine returns home
- Cassandra rebuilds the Seekers
- Vivienne makes a new college of Magi
- Blackwall travels the world to bring solace to criminals and to encourage redemption
- Cole departs as a spirit
- Varric becomes Viscount of Kirkwall
- Dorian gives Nasrin a communication crystal necklace to speak with him
- Dorian leads a group of mages called the Lucerni to advocate for Tevinter reform
- Bull continues mercenary work with the Chargers
- Nasrin disbands the Inquisition ("Our work is finished.") to keep corruption out of its ranks
- Nasrin continues the Inquisition as an underground organization to stop Solas
- Leliana, Cassandra, and Harding continue to help Nasrin run the Inquisition without true authority checks back in the desolate structure of Haven
- Nasrin remains unromanced



Personality Changes:

Nasrin's greatest changes are from learning the truth about the Inquisition, about Solas, and about the elven gods. When she first came to the Drabwurld, she was already suffering through a crisis of faith because of what she had learned in the Arbor Wilds; now knowing that the elven gods were the Evanuris, who kept slaves and murdered one of their own, she is terribly lost. What are the Dalish, then, if not mimicries of a past and a culture they believe is right? The things she's been taught, the things she believes, are all lies. It's a difficult thing to stomach, let alone to incorporate into her new life. She will return to the Drabwurld believing that there are gods of life and death, the Hart and the Shuck, and even they are not immortal, but everything else is a truth that is subjective.

Solas, at his core, used the Inquisition to rectify a mistake. While riddled with doubts about his true intentions and how candid their relationship was, she still believes he is a good person who has made terrible mistakes and is about to make another. Nasrin's love for him as a friend is second only to her love for the world as her own. They are her people, and she is, in essence, their Keeper; as Inquisitor, she has looked after the world in her own way (for better or worse) and she wants to see the betterment of the world and the people in it. Solas' plan means that people will die and the world will change forever. She is torn between understanding his plight (because she does not want the elves to forever be second-class, hiding in the wilds, or slaves) and rejecting his methods because of the damage it will do. Solas is living in the past and while Nasrin openly promised to make things right and to restore what has been lost, this isn't the way to do it. Reviving the past and bringing the elves back into power is a goal she shares with him...but ultimately, what he will do will kill elves with everyone else, and she cannot trust that what he wants will be what is best for everyone.

Nasrin still believes in life before anything else, in protecting people, and in ensuring the continued survival of all with a true quality of life. While she believes in compromise, she also understands that change is not always won through peaceful measures. As she has grown as Inquisitor, she realizes more and more that violence is not always the answer but challenging authority and the status quo is. She doesn't need a position of power to make a difference and she certainly doesn't need to be micro-managing people. She doesn't need an army or spies, or other mages or even Templars. She needs loyal, honest, and talented people beside her. She needs connections. She breathes life into an underground Inquisition set on saving the world and protecting people and no authority is going to take it away from her. If the world didn't want her to look after it, then they should have said something sooner; they should have given her the tools to break the Inquisition away, they should have been involved in helping people more.

Now, she feels she can't rest until she's ensured that the world is safe from Fen'Harel, from an ally she trusted, and from her own mistake. She gave him the means, she gave him the access, and she gave him her trust. He is her responsibility.

That isn't to say that Nasrin is a control-freak or needs to have the power or authority necessary to run an organization. Certainly, it's helpful. If she had no idea Solas was going to do this, she would have disbanded the Inquisition peacefully and gone home or left to travel the world. It is in knowing the truth and realizing that Solas will destroy a world he deems unacceptable by his standards that she believes she has no other choice but to act. Maintaining the Inquisition with corruption in its ranks - from both Qunari sources and Fen'Harel agents, no less - and also kowtowing to the Chantry, even with Leliana as Divine, is unacceptable. It remains in name only so she can ensure that they finish what they began: protecting the world from its destruction and bringing that person to justice.

She still believes there is good in people, that there is hope in this world, and that must be protected and nurtured. Life is precious and the world is too important to lose. Though she's gained a more political and hardened outer edge when it comes to dealing with people, Nasrin still has a cushy center and a passion for people, for freedom, and for charity. It remains one of her finer qualities, and though she has become more worldly, she still struggles with her hope and her naivety that there are people worth saving and worth fighting for...even with the horrible things they have done. Though she is still wrestling with what she believes is right, Nasrin wants to do her best to redeem Solas first because she believes he can be reasoned with. If he does not back down, if he doesn't change, only then will she consent to ending his life, and she will wield the knife herself.

Lastly, she will return to the Drabwurld weary from fighting, tired of loss, and still in incredible amounts of emotional pain from the events of the Exalted Council. She has lost a physical part of her, many of her friends and companions have departed, and she must steel herself for another excursion across Thedas. Coming back to the Drabwurld will be both a blessing and a curse: it will mean she has the time and means to look into a way to stop Solas, though it takes her from her current agenda. Returning to the Drabwurld also gives her a motivation to stay busy and to focus on the bigger picture, which is to save the worlds and to make sure that the future doesn't happen. She'll have closure from her current canon point and will still have enough open-ended uncertainties to want to pursue both the larger goal of peace and connection while tending to her inner conflict and her world's eventual turmoil.




Added Abilities:
Storm Bringer - Lightning randomly strikes targets
Exploding Bolt - Lightning bolt does more damage and if there is an enemy close to the striking point, it forces them back.

Fire Mine - Nasrin creates a glyph upon the ground that, when crossed, exploding and damaging the enemy.
Searing Glyph - That same glyph will now also launch enemies into the air while setting them ablaze.


Fade Step - Blurring forward for a short distance with great speed.
Ice Mine - Nasrin creates a glyph upon the ground that, when crossed, freezes the enemy in place.


Dispel - Removes hostile enemy affects from allies and stripping beneficial buffs from enemies.