TEVINTER NIGHTS Analysis: Three Trees to Midnight

 "There are no more elves, no more humans. There are only bas, who must work to prove themselves worthy of serving the Qun."
—From "Three Trees to Midnight," DRAGON AGE: TEVINTER NIGHTS

WARNING: SPOILERS on TEVINTER NIGHTS! Please read at your peril!

So hello all you glorious people of Thedas,

I hope you're doing okay in this insane world, and most of all, that you are all staying safe and well.

I'm hoping to help provide an escape of sorts by analyzing all of the stories in TEVINTER NIGHTS that I feel specifically advance the lore.

So—please note. This doesn't mean I dislike or didn't enjoy stories I leave out, it just means that I want to actually try to note and discuss the new things we learn, and what aspects of those new stories might be subtly teaching us something that will bridge the gap (or even foreshadow) the potential game issues of Dragon Age 4.

With this in mind, I'm starting with Patrick Weekes's homage (for me, very real) to the classic story of THE DEFIANT ONES with a brief discussion of the overall story, and then some final tidbits noting what the story gives us in terms of new information. I will be doing this for many, although not all, of the stories in the anthology, slightly varying inclusion here and there if a theme emerges.

Please note—if I don't include a story you love, hit me up. My focus here is mainly on lore—what we get, what we learn, and and what will propel us forward. So I may love many stories but skip past if they don't give me tons of lore. 

Here goes!

The Story at a Glance

Put simply, the plot of "Three Trees to Midnight" is about a Tevinter mage named Myrion (hiding his talents for survival) who suddenly finds himself a Qunari prisoner, shackled to an elf named Strife (a Starkhaven city elf eventually adopted by the Dalish). After a brief and brutal journey by dreadnought, the two find themselves unwilling compatriots as they attempt to escape imprisonment with their lives in the misty forest of Arlathan, even as the Qunari elite pursue them at every step.

The scenario is timeless and irresistible—a trial by fire in which Myrion and Strife must match wits (and strides) to attempt to escape from the brutal prospect of slavery (or mindlessness) under the conquering Qunari. Each man considers his shackled partner a non-person then looks more closely to see themselves in each other's eyes.

"Filthy knife-ear," snarls Myrion at their first meeting.
"Lazy shem isn't used to working," sneers the elf right back.

Of course, it's a match made in heaven.

And of course, both of their assumptions about each other end up being oversimplifications and (mostly) outright wrong—both have lost loved ones in the recent battle, and both are better, braver men than they first appear to be to the other. And more loyal. Of course, they bond as they flee into the mysteries of Arlathan forest (and yes, I may have let out a delighted sigh when I realized where they were). In the end, they battle and evade their pursuers, bond over their shared danger and survival, and end with the prospect of a new life—however challenging—that awaits them.

What It Adds to the Lore (and Implies for Dragon Age 4)

"Three Trees to Midnight" starts off fast and never lets up, so it could be easy to skim past so many delightful new details and confirmations when it comes to the lore.

But here's what I felt was new information, so here goes:

• Approximately a year after "Trespasser" (I think?), Ventus, "Jewel of the [Tevinter] Imperium," has fallen to the Qunari. This is an important detail because I think it's painting a picture of just how inexorable and inescapable Qunari world victory may be (without help). It's also worth noting that we find out later that "the Antaam had attacked the bas of the South without the blessing of the other Qunari..."

• Another detail: One small ray of hope is that Strife's friend Thantiel had smuggled out information on the next Qunari invasion, and that's what Strife is able to recover and take with him. Based on comments from Strife, it looks like they are targeting Rivain, and Strife wants to help stop that, but he also simply wants to warn the clans before the attack (his friend Irelin appears to put that into motion instantly).

• Qamek is more concisely defined—not just as a chemical potion that wipes minds, but as one that appears to be alchemical—a combination of drugs and magic that is a bitter, viscous brown liquid. We later realize (per a gleeful Bas-taar, happy at their absence) that the Ben-Hassrath "measure" qamek, implying that some lighter doses may be less debilitating or permanent.

• We see qamek's effects firsthand (and that heavy doses are irreversible) first on Strife's friend Thantiel, and then (implied) on Myrion's friend (and perhaps lover) Jasecca. Turned into "walking corpses" by the drink, the only escape for those afflicted is death, and both Strife and Myrion provide that as all they can do for the qamek-cursed.

• The Qun was already terrifying. But under more brutal commanders like Bas-taar (the self-styled "Keeper of Bas," i.e., people-as-things), all men are put into work camps and all mages are routinely mind-wiped via the Antaam (or at least this command). (AGHGHGH).

• Another important element here is that we're introduced to the concept of the Qunari Huntmaster, an important figure who seems to straddle multiple worlds in the Qun, and who acts as a kind of freelance justicar. He's new to the Bas-taar's regiment and was sent (interestingly enough) directly by the Antaam to oversee him—it appears they are a bit concerned about his zealousness.

• When Strife introduces himself to Myrion, I instantly thought of how elves will often rename themselves after moments of transformation or trial. I wondered if Strife might therefore be the name he had just adopted after the battle and his imprisonment. As a city elf who was welcomed by the Dalish, could he be someone we have met before?

• At least some Dalish mages are shape-shifters, and the one featured in this story, Irelin, consistently appears as one of the halla, sacred to the Dalish and beloved of Ghilan'nain. She is also able to shapeshift at will into other animals, from falcons to bears and more.

• The Huntmaster is a wonderful character—his black and white facial vitaar seems to imply that he exists between the two, and in his first scene, he reminds Bas-taar that "The path of the Qun does not call for needless violence," even as he spares a seagull he could have skewered effortlessly. Bas-taar does not understand this kind of subtlety—there is no difference for him between the seagull and the prisoners they took, and all deserve to be skewered and tortured.

• The Huntmaster's facial markings are later revealed to symbolize sight, and his gift for empathy shows up in lovely details like when he notes (with "an edge") that the Bas-taar had killed all the mages he'd encountered—even those who surrendered and did not fight. It's interesting to further be reminded that the Ben-Hassrath would normally have judged which mages should have lived and died, offering the judgment of "No, this mage should live, do not hurt them more than necessary."
  
  Again, it all reminds us that—if we pay attention, this is a brutal Qunari conquest but not sanctioned by the Qun itself (reinforced when he attempts to break off the chase in Arlathan, as "there is too much we do not understand." Bas-taar refuses.

• I like the reminder that Myrion is a mage who can function without a staff, it just requires his training, ability, and a more precise connection to the Fade.

• Arlathan forest is reported to be haunted (not a huge surprise, given its brutal and shrouded history), and Strife remembers being told that in Arlathan, "Spirits remembered what had once been."

• Cool detail: It appears that most of the Qunari do not speak Trade very well (an interesting detail that may be important later).

• As he works to escape, Strife locks his thoughts to each of the elements of the Vir Tanadhal, the Dalish tenets legendarily passed down to them by Evenuris/goddess Andruil. Each tenet he recalls strengthens him and guides him forward—(1) Vir Bor'assan, the Way of the Bow, (2) Vir Assan, the Way of the Arrow, and (3) Vir Adahlen, the Way of the Forest.

• For me, Strife reveals some verified elements of Dalish cultural details... it's an intriguing reminder of the Dalish love for Andruil, who frankly always terrified me, so it sets her in a better, gentler light than I am used to. The Vir Tanadhal was not universal however (and was in some ways directly opposed by Sylaise's quieter Vir Atish'an, "the Way of Peace") but it certainly helps Strife here. Strife also calls upon Ghilan'nain, too, and later warns a scoffing Myrion, "Be careful how you speak of the Lady of the Hunt while you stand in her forest."

• Further on, what is a truly exciting is the revelation that Arlathan forest is protected across the ages, and that it lies under a mist of ancient elven magic that will actually feel the moods and emotions of interlopers, and respond automatically to threats, as we see here when a "forest guardian" (basically a huge elven golem of wood and stone, with blades of thick metal edged with lyrium) rises to combat the forest intruders. Strife later confirms that there aren't many of these golems, and that the guardians seem to be spaced by a day's march or more.

• Strife speaks the standard "Andaran atish'an" greeting, but the Arlathan guardian golem doesn't back down the way he expects it to. A sign of the world 'moving on?' Or is Strife just wrong here?

• Myrion gives us a rare glimpse into Tevinter mage tests, which appear to occur a bit earlier than the Harrowings in other parts of Thedas (he took his at 14, where he was tempted by a desire demon that took the form of a boy he had adored.

• Later, the Huntmaster (who has been trying to help the fugitives in subtle ways) reveals that he is "Saarbrak, of the Ben-Hassrath," and that even opposed to Bas-taar, that he is deeply loyal to the Qun, and his job is in fact to "destroy those who threaten the Qun," even if they are... within the Qun itself. I love this. He further notes that he is not Antaam. He is something else.

• “Some of the bas now call us monsters,” says the Huntmaster. He adds, "This is what threatens the Qun.” “Hass ebala-varaad nehraa,” he says after slaying Bas-taar in righteous judgment. Then translates for total understanding: “For those I watch, of which I am one.”

It begins in hatred, anger, and division. Yet it all ends with a realization of respect, of kindness, and (best of all) of freedom and found family, two of my favorite tropes across all fiction anywhere. What's not to love?

Meanwhile, what do you think? Did I miss any details?

Sera and Andruil: Echoes of the Huntress

Solas: We are not so far apart, you and I.
Sera: We will be.

Funny, brash, and maddening, Sera can be both charmingly sweet and occasionally, breathtakingly cruel. She's the impudent friend who's spent her life thieving (but who, like Robin Hood, never forgets to champion the little people), who drinks herself under the table, flashes her ass at prim and proper Vivienne, and who jokes with Bull and Blackwall. She also taunts Solas constantly—not for his secrets, but ironically, simply for embracing a shared heritage she has refused to acknowledge in herself.

Sera is a superb archer who's bold, slightly mad, loves women,
and who hates dragons, Solas, and injustice. She bears an
intriguing similarity to the Elvhen goddess Andruil.

However, Sera, out of all our companions, cares most about the common people of Thedas's world—the poor and abused who suffer most during the appearances of Breaches and Blights (although she has a definite fondness for breeches of another kind). Sera thumbs her nose at propriety, is wary about getting too close to people, hates her own "elfyness," and also deeply dislikes people writing songs about her skills at thievery and archery. Do that, and you just might get a lute over your head.

However, what's even more interesting about Sera is that while she hates and fears her own elven heritage, there are several mysterious hints within Dragon Age: Inquisition that she may in fact, like Flemeth, carry a spark of the Evanuris (ancient elven immortals) within her—specifically, in Sera's case, the "wisp" of the elven goddess of the hunt, Andruil. (Note: This has been a popular topic of discussion across the DA fanverse, but I wanted to write my theories before reading others. I've now gone through several outside debates on this as well, so I definitely want to credit Shaylyn Ispan, who started the discussion following some early Bioware posts—her original post and analysis is not only detailed and worth reading, it also includes the fantastic revelations of the Andruil Vallaslin superimposed over Sera's Tarot card.)

According to the tales and scraps of information we uncover in Dragon Age: Inquisition, the ancient Elvhen goddess Andruil was a superb archer, creating what was known as the "Vir Tanadhal," or "The Way of Three Trees." This Way involved three branches: The Vir Assan ("Way of the Arrow," a directive to, per the Dragon Age Wiki, "fly straight and do not waver"; the Vir Bor'assan ("The Way of the Bow," to bend without breaking), and last but not least, the Vir Adahlen, or "Way of the Forest," which involves the acceptance of the gifts of the hunt with humility and compassion.

Let's apply these to Sera: She lives and breathes the Way of the Arrow ("Arrows!" is her answer to most quandaries), she's a survivor, bending without breaking, and she gives generously of the hunt with compassion to the humblest in Thedas.

In other words, Sera shares an incredible number of similarities with Andruil: She's a superb natural archer whose abilities are commented on with amazement (along with the reminders that she achieved this with little to no training), she's both compassionate to the "little people" but also cranky and distrustful of authority figures. She's more comfortable on her own than in a group. Like Andruil, Sera is quite willing to act mercilessly in vengeance, and like the huntress, she does so swiftly and brutally. 

Also like Andruil, whose beloved was a woman named Ghilan'nain, Sera is gay, a woman who loves women, and she prefers a life that's fierce and free, untethered. Andruil's ambitions eventually drove her mad, and here again, Sera shows more than an occasional hint of mental instability. Another way Sera resembles Andruil is in her antagonism—just as Andruil once actively fought against Fen'Harel directly on more than one occasion, Sera clashes constantly and adversarially with Solas, as well as with Mythal (so this is probably a good moment to note that Sera's curiously drawn to fighting dragons—interestingly, Mythal's symbol is a dragon, and it's also Flemeth's alter-ego/shapechanging form).

Another potential similarity is the fact that Sera's greatest fear (as we discover in the Fade) is simply "nothingness." What was Andruil's greatest feat? Entering the forbidden Void in order to hunt the Forgotten Ones—a feat that drove her mad. (Eventually Mythal intervened and removed all knowledge of the Void's location from Andruil's mind).

Sparring with Solas

And this is where it gets really interesting. My feeling that Sera has an inner magic or presence isn't just based on her outer similarities to Andruil, but on her own acknowledgment that there's something else going on within her that scares her to death.

Interestingly enough, the person who brings this out in her? Solas. In her conversations with Solas in the game's banters, Sera suddenly shows outright terror and disturbance at something she can't define (she is shaking visibly). Solas asks her what's happening, and this is the conversation that follows:

Sera is terrified of acknowledging her "elfyness." What if her
fear is actually of awakening the ancient elven presence
within herself?

Sera: Weird.

Solas: Sera? What are you feeling?
Sera: Ugh, here we go. It’s nothing, it just feels like I've seen
this. Exactly this. It happens.
Solas: Not to everyone.
Sera: It’s not an elf thing. Inquisitor's not shaking (alt: You're not shaking). I suppose now you’ll switch to how I’m 
the same but different?

Solas: You are different. You are the furthest from

what you were meant to be.

Sera: Well I’ve definitely heard piss like this before. Hmph!

This is one of my favorite banters across the game—the moment in which Solas, quietly and without doubt, says to her, "You are the furthest from what you were meant to be." As if he knows exactly what or where that is. 

This moment is echoed again in a later banter, this time with Cole, as Sera feels that strange sense of deja vu again:

Sera: Have we been here? I mean right here, doing exactly this? It feels weird.
Cole: Yes. But not how you mean. In the soft thin places, spirits push with memories that didn't happen. Or did. Or might.

Meanwhile, Solas is even able to get Sera to expound on these moments later on, despite her unwillingness to engage with him:

Solas: What color is the sky when you look at it?
Sera: You know, blue mostly. Except for the Breachy bits.
Solas: And when you looked past the Breach? As perhaps
you were drawn to do?

Sera: Greenish? Then clear a long ways, and kind of... felt
like falling. Ugh! Makes my head hurt. You make my head hurt.
Solas: We are not so far apart, you and I.
Sera: We will be.

Solas makes several similar references in the course of his conversations with Sera—that Sera is far from herself, that she is "apart," and sundered from who she was meant to be. Is Andruil who she was meant to be? A proud elf, fierce and free, a hunter of men and beasts alike?

Calls From Past Millennia

Remember Flemeth's dialogue with Morrigan in the Fade near the end of the game? About the wisp of Mythal's awareness that became part of her, and of how a soul cannot be forced upon the unwilling? I think this is hugely important—not just to Solas's story, but also potentially to Sera's.

Is Sera hearing the voice of Andruil somewhere deep inside?
Could that actually be part of why she rejects and fears her
own elven heritage?

Millennia back, Mythal was murdered by the Evanuris—the act that caused Solas (Fen'Harel) to create the Veil, imprison the Evanuris (who were enslaving their own kind, while also making a pretty fair attempt at conquering the world), and to inadvertently damn or destroy the very people he was trying to save—the elves—for ensuing millennia. 

Mythal's consciousness, however, continued to live, until (centuries before the events of DAI), she made her presence known to Flemeth, a witch howling with loss, rage and a desire for vengeance against men. Flemeth heard and accepted Mythal's presence as a kind of wakened subconscious, as a new teammate in her desire to take retribution (and, I feel, once her anger had cooled, to "nudge" the events of men now and then in the right direction). Mythal's presence in Flemeth elevated the witch to something more than mortal, and she lived for centuries, arising even from death (if killed in her dragon form in DAO) only to live again in DA2 and DAI, providing rescue, counsel and insight at key moments.

Love and Death Among Immortals

From a writing standpoint, I think Mythal clarified this for us in DAI so that there was no mistake about the final scene in the epilogue between Flemeth and Solas (also a scene between Mythal and Fen'Harel, of course). But generally speaking—we see Flemeth send another of those familiar "wisps" of soul into her eluvian. Then she simply, calmly awaits Solas. When he arrives, their reunion is sorrowful and loving. Solas even notes that he is the one who should pay, but that he cannot leave his task undone. Mythal, meanwhile, seems to be nothing but supportive. She is either actively cooperative or passive as Solas then, sorrowfully, takes the wisp of life from Mythal. That light instantly glows in his own eyes, over her apparently lifeless body, but that still doesn't account for that wisp she sent through the Eluvian, so I'm totally in the camp going, "Flemeth/Mythal's not dead, guys" (and it's echoed again, smilingly by Solas in "Trespasser," when he admits, "The first of my people are not so easy to kill"). So, basically, Solas got a huge power-up (and I'd imagine the life of a goddess to be a significant boost, judging from his seriously terrifying powers in "Trespasser").

Now, the early dev notes (as posted by Reddit user Libito) do say that Solas is willing to kill Flemeth/Mythal there, so it's definitely possible that he was prepared to be ruthless there. But there's no need... and I like that the scene is presented so lovingly—it's actually sadder and more disturbing that way, and foreshadows the deep love between them that we hear about later in "Trespasser."

But let's get back to Sera—and here's where it gets interesting.

Wisps, Souls and Voices

Flemeth willingly, and in full awareness, accepted the wisp or spark of Mythal's soul. She further emphasizes to Morrigan that there is no real possession involved in the process and that it's entirely voluntarily. She later takes a similar wisp or spark from Kieran (presumably, the spark of the Old God Soul created in him when Morrigan did the Dark Ritual back in DAO). Kieran's wisp is one that I actually think may be more like Sera's -- it didn't seem to be a possessive consciousness for him so much as an additional awareness. (He does express regret to Morrigan that he will be lonely now, once the wisp is gone.)

In addition, remember that it's been established that the first of the Evanuris—at least, Mythal (and perhaps more) can speak to mortals in dreams, as we hear that Mythal has done after the game has ended, if we go back to Val Royeux. Once there, we can hear a woman talking confusedly about her dream-conversations with someone called Mythal—so once again, Mythal has defeated death (and is definitely not gone for good).

So what about Sera? Sera would never accept this kind of soul-subletting, not least with an ancient elven goddess. No way, no how.

A Whisper of a Presence (and a Tie to the Fade?)

With this in mind, my feeling is that Andruil is a dormant and probably inadvertent, trapped part of Sera's soul or subconscious—latent, not active, just whispering to her in dreams and perhaps around the edges of her life. For me, it's almost as if Sera is a distant reincarnation of Andruil, with her most distinctive traits mirroring those of the goddess even as she remains her own person. So she's a superb (almost preternatural) archer and huntress, she is a woman who loves women, she's subversive yet strongly traditional, actively opposing both the dragon (Mythal) and the wolf (Solas).

So my guess is that it's only around the very edges of Sera's life that Andruil whispers her presence—in dreams (another reason for Sera to hate and fear the Fade), or as when Sera grows dizzy looking into the Rifts, or when delving into herself for magic.

Cole also makes some very interesting observations that may denote Sera's inner divine spark as well, as when he tells her, "There are songs in every part of you, Sera. Soft silly sibilant, sighing in silence, waiting for you to hear them." Sera, in response, furiously refuses to listen further.

This would also explain Solas's constant fascination with Sera—a fascination that isn't romantic but which does appear to be intense and almost eager. As a person who is deeply lonely, with no companions from his era save Flemeth (who appears to have distanced herself after the disaster of the Orb and the Temple of Sacred Ashes), Solas would certainly be eager to see potential connections with his lost companions—even those who opposed him.

Does Solas therefore see the echoes of Andruil, his old antagonist, in Sera, and seek to draw her out in his loneliness and desire to reconnect with his ancient people? Even if—as is implied—he brought about her death?

It's a really interesting thought. My guarded answer right now is... Yes. I think he does.

It also provides another really believable answer for why Sera is so antagonistic to Solas (yet also why she is consistently drawn to answer him truthfully). He is pulling abilities and visions out of her that frighten her, and that she does not want awakened.

This is why I believe Solas remembers Andruil when he looks at Sera, and marvels: "You are different. You are the furthest from what you were meant to be." 

It's both sad and believable how, to Sera, this sounds like the Dread Wolf's worst curse of all.