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witching hour application.
☽☾ Player Information
Name/Handle: Rachel
Are you 18 years or above?: Yes!
Current character(s) in game: N/A, also applying for Lauralae (OC)
☽☾ Character Information
Name: Solas
Canon: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Canonpoint: Post-game and post-Trespasser DLC
Age: We're not entirely sure how old Solas is; he's described as being in his fourties but, considering that he was alive during the time of the ancient elves and slept for a millennia, we know this isn't true. He's really, really old.
HMD link: Here!
Story Role: Chaotic Good
History: Dragon Age Wiki. As the game has many missions that depend on character choice and their Inquisitor, the following is how events unfolded in Solas' canon: The Inquisitor was a female elf rogue named Sahlin Lavellan, who romanced Solas. She sided with the mages, left Logain in the Fade and saved a female Hawke warrior, made the Warden the allies of the Inquisition, supported Celine at the Winter Palace with 100% approval (so that she could arrest Florianne), completed all the rituals in the Temple of Mythal and drank from the well. Character personal quests will be entirely up to canonmates should they decide to be from the same "universe" as Solas!
Personality:
Solas appears, at least initially, as a rather aloof, mysterious elven man that seems to have no real history or paper trail with regards to where he's been and what he's been doing. Loathe to answer much about his own personal life, especially with people he doesn't know or is disenchanted by because of their heritage, he is far more comfortable spending time talking about the things he finds most important; magic, the Fade, elven history and the power surrounding all the old stories. There is, of course, far more to Solas than the initial impression.
He is incredibly critical of societies that damn or limit personal expression or freedoms and he isn't shy about expressing it – Solas is an avid believer in the ideals of liberty and loathes slavery on all levels, choosing to be very vocal on all counts. As Fen'Harel Solas, by all accounts, sealed away the old elven Gods for their sins, their pride and for keeping slaves and marking them as such (hence why, in the romance, Solas uses the vallaslin as a means to distract his Inquisitor from the truth of who he really is). To Solas, freedom isn't a choice people ought to have – it's a right, something everyone should be born with, and he often comes to verbal blows with the companions over these matters, especially the Qunari Iron Bull and the Tevinter Dorian Pavus.
His critical nature isn't limited to just liberty, however. Solas is passionate on a number of levels on many topics that come up during the game, but most certainly the idea of what the Dalish Elves have become in Thedas. The history that the Dalish ingame believe to be true is something that Solas has learned to be false – either because he is the embodiment/actual living Fen'Harel or, as he says when asked, because he has walked the Fade and seen the memories of the true history of his people. While he is neither a Dalish nor a City elf he has attempted to offer his knowledge to his people only to be shunned for it; since then he regards most elves as foolish, ignoring the truth of their histories to enjoy the myths and falsehoods that they cling to, determined not to be educated on matters he has more expertise with. He is smart and knows his histories, knows what he wants to offer to his people, but having been rejected so many times has left him disillusioned with the Dalish, rejecting them as ignorant and foolish. His anger comes, of course, from the fact that he is aware of the truth from personal experience, and their refusal to listen to him harks back to the ignorance of the people of his time.
His idea of a good future is the idea of progress, of repairing the mistakes he made in his youth and bringing about a better shaped Thedas. It's one of the reasons why he is so highly critical of the Grey Warden order; while they're regaled in Thedas for their courage and their ability to stop the Blights that attack the lands Solas sees them as ineffective, as not having done their duties properly – and, during the events of Inquisition, as having given into the power of ritual to summon and harm spirits and demons far too easily. For all that he tries to educate and aid his companions Solas is, at heart, a critic, bent on shaping the world in an image that he sees as best. For all that it appears, Solas doesn't see the Wardens as progressive, as worthy of credit; his main focus is undoing what he did in his youth, to free the elven Gods from the trap he had ensnared them in, and the Wardens are not doing their own duty to Thedas.
But Solas attempting to help the world doesn't mean he is somehow above it – there is a reason his name means 'pride' in elven. Often it seems that he considers himself to be above others, more educated and more worldly, knowing more because of his ability to walk the Fade lucidly. His criticisms come easily and he is quick to damn those that don't heed his advice or warnings, often requiring great lengths to encourage him to come back to a more companionable state once something he disagrees with has been achieved. Continually doing things he disapproves of will result in a far more sarcastic and rude version of himself, lowering his approval and expectations for his friends and Inquisitor alike; he won't bother to hide his disdain and will be vocal about how far he thinks you have fallen.
Despite being stubborn, opinionated and, at times, a walking, talking frustration, Solas is relatively easy to get along with. The best and easiest way to make friends with him is to simply ask him questions, to show an interest in the world around you – be it the Fade, magic, spirits or history itself. His fondness for the Veil is an obvious forefront to any conversation and Solas is always keen and happy to answer questions and tell stories about his experiences, the things he has seen and learned. After being dismissed by his people and ignored by the rest of the world, seen as nothing more than a Hedge mage, it's obvious why he would take such delight in offering up memories and stories to those that would actually sit down and listen to him.
He also has a rather delightful sense of humour, willing to tease and poke fun once he's close enough and friendly enough with someone. While he can be tough to get along with, especially for those with a culture that has a history of going against his views and mindset, once he is your friend he is steadfast, teasing and joking and often making fun when he can. He is also more than happy to engage in, at least initially, idle flirtation with the Inquisitor if she decides to romance him; while there is no actual confirmation of the romance ingame, as there are for other romance options, he will be a flirtatious man to her so long as she acts first.
One of the fundamental aspects of who Solas is, however, is his secretive nature and his dislike of sharing himself or his history. He makes idle remarks about his youth, his part and the things he has seen and done but, if asked directly, often finds a way to avoid the question or change the topic entirely. If he lets something slip about his past he becomes somewhat nervous and guarded, careful about letting on more than, perhaps, he feels like he ought to. This is primarily because Solas is shown to be Fen'Harel, one of the old elven Pantheon and regarded as the traitor that locked the elven 'Gods' away in the eluvian centuries before. His past is a part of elven history and mythology and revealing that he was, in essence, a God, would no doubt be problematic.
This does add a certain aspect to Solas' nature that's really only clear once the player realises who he is. Solas is, throughout the game, secretive and quiet when it comes to who he is, but he is always very well informed about aspects of the battle they're fighting; he seems to know what to expect, what to prepare for and what they are facing. This is because it is Solas that gave the game's 'big bag' the power he needed to enact his plans by offering up his Foci, an orb that was, at the time, dead. By using Corypheus to power his orb Solas was hoping to be able to use it to free his fellows from the prison he had put them in, realising the mistake he had made so long ago. This is his motivation throughout the game and explains many of his actions; why he is loathe to reveal who he is, why he acts so distant and prideful at times and why, during the romance, instead of admitting the truth he chooses to lie, instead, and allows himself to be a coward.
This cowardice only continues once Trespasser comes to and end. Solas, for all his strength, wisdom and foresight, failed to recapture his own power and, in turn, allowed it to cause a breach that almost destroyed the world. When he gets his power back he doesn't intend to use it for good - at least, not a 'good' that most others would accept. He wishes to tear down the Veil he himself created, separating the world from the Fade, and restore the world to what it once was at the cost of the world itself. While, at first, he appears to be confident and set in himself an Inquisitor with high enough approval can break him down - and we can then see that he does have many regrets. The Inquisitor had taught him that there are good things in this world and he hopes, almost desperately, that they can find a way to stop him, to find an alternate route.
If not, then he is set in his ways, as stubborn as ever, prepared to die to undo the damage he did in his youth.
For all that Solas wishes for himself to be the elven God of old, to restore things to how they had been, with freedoms and liberty for all, he is bound by his own secrecy and his own mistakes – mistakes that he feels damn him, even centuries later, like a haunting curse.
Powers & Abilities:
Solas is a mage and, even without his subclasses, can do the things that most mages can do - lift things with magic, summon veilfire, use any form of staff for elemental damage, etc. His personal specialisations are what give him his strength, however.RIFT MAGIC: Rift magic takes the form of Fade mastery, allowing the mage to use their connection with the other plain to summon powerful offensive spells to damage and throw their enemies around. It also comes hand in hand with defensive moves that lower enemy attack damage and help chain them together for combos. The spells for this specialisation can be found here.Solas is also a particular kind of mage called a 'dreamer'; someone that can enter the Fade without using the drug lyrium. Solas can enter the Fade and dream literal memories of a place, using this as a way to uncover secrets that have been long-forgotten by time. The memories are not unbiased, however, and they are influenced depending on the perspective of the emulation. Dreamers can often attract demons and must have great strength of mind to make sure they are not possessed, hence the rarity of dreamers themselves.
WINTER: Solas starts off the game with talent points in the Winter skill tree - and as the continuation of skills is, generally, down to the player, I would like to say that he has mastered this tree as well. Winter magic summons cold that can hurt, slow and weaken foes in battle, and the spells can be found here.
SPIRIT: The final skill tree that Solas starts off with points in is spirit, designed for protection for both yourself and the party. Rather than having a full tree, Solas should have access to Barrier, Guardian Spirit and Peaceful Aura, which can be found here.
After the events of Trespasser it's proven that Solas is far more powerful than he had ever been during the main game. He is able to take on an entire Qunari army practically single-handed as they chase him down, freezing them. The extent to his powers is unknown, but given in-game dialogue information it's clear that Solas is regaining the power he lost from his long sleep and will soon be powerful enough to tear down the Veil, a barrier between the living world and the Fade - which would take a great deal of strength.
Finally, Solas has some measure of power and control over the Inquisitor's mark, the glowing green anchor on the palm of their left hand that gives them power over the Fade. Due to the fact that the anchor was, initially, designed for Solas to take and came from his power orb (or Foci) it is connected to him, though we're not entirely sure how or why. What we do know is that Solas can help heal the Mark, soothe the pain of it and, for a time, prevent the Inquisitor dying from the effects that come with it. The Mark is powerful and without proper control is strong enough to kill the Inquisitor and all game canon suggests that Solas is the only one able to put that off or 'heal' it, but not even that lasts forever.
Fears, Weaknesses:
We’re told, in quite an obvious way, what Solas’ greatest fear is ingame; while travelling through the Fade the Inquisitor comes across a graveyard where each headstone is marked with a name and a fear. Solas’ is simple and, given his backstory, understandable; his greatest fear is ‘dying alone’. Due to the fact that he trapped his fellows in the best prison he could manage, erecting the Veil and separating the Fade from Thedas, Solas is set to a life of solitude where no one can entirely understand nor empathise with how he feels and conducts himself. All those that were like him are out of his reach and none of the elves of modern Thedas are anything like the People he once attempted to free. Given the fact that, at the end of Trespasser, he is certain that the path he is taking will result in his death it’s obvious that Solas is more than prepared to face his fears, even if he loathes the thought of it.
Other fears he has shown during the game are rather more simple in comparison; he fears the loss of his spirit friends, those that might get dragged through to Thedas and transformed into demons and those that are like Cole, both human and spirit that have more to them than meets the eye. He is careful and protective of his secrets and does fear getting found out as well as fearing the loss of those he cares about - though he is more than willing to allow them to die to fulfil his mission, proving that his fear of failure might come higher than that.
Solas’ secretive nature, his avoidance of questions and his stubborn nature are some of his greatest weaknesses. He refuses to speak in detail about himself and turns questions back on those asking, avoids topics that might bring up questions of his history and is incredibly evasive, sometimes badly, when it comes to those conversations. The true evasiveness of his nature makes him appear suspicious and dangerous to others, even those that he deems his friends, and puts him at odds with others.
Magically, he is incredibly strong but he hasn’t yet regained all his power. Having lost his Orb and been unable to pick it up once it was unlocked Solas has had to allow his power to come back to him almost naturally, leaving him far weaker than he had been before - though he’s still strong enough to take on an army of Qunari warriors alone. He’s not as strong as he had once been (the strength of a Godlike being) but he is still regaining his power slowly but surely.
Perhaps his greatest failing is, strangely enough, his heart. He has the strength and the knowledge to make the decisions he has to but his heart has almost gotten him into trouble multiple times - not just with Cole or, in the case of a romance storyline, the Inquisitor, but with other spirits and the truth that comes with it. Solas does want to tell the truth and admit to things and does want to be honest, but he knows the price of such honesty is not worth what would come of it.
Samples
Network Sample: Here, and an example of a text conversation can be found here and another voice sample here, just to cover all bases.
Prose Sample: TDM top-level and non-brackets.