Solas/Dialogue

Solas' dialogue contains a list of conversations he has with his companions.

Combat Comments
During Battle Fallen Companions
 * Away with you!
 * Enough!
 * (Low Health) I'm hurt!
 * (Low Health) I must retreat!
 * (Inquisitor) No! Hold on!
 * (Inquisitor) Fenedhis!
 * (Varric) Varric is hurt!
 * (Varric) Varric requires help!
 * (Dorian) Dorian's in danger!
 * (Dorian) Dorian!
 * (Sera) Sera is wounded!
 * (Sera) Sera's in danger!
 * (Cole) Cole needs us!
 * (Cole) Cole is hurt!
 * (Blackwall) We must help Blackwall!
 * (Blackwall) Blackwall has fallen!
 * (Vivienne) Help Vivienne!
 * (Vivienne) Vivienne!
 * (Cassandra) Cassandra!

Location Comments

 * (Crestwood) Ferelden has failed the villagers of Crestwood. They deserve better.
 * (Crestwood) Sometimes it seems this land is a collection of tragedies, one piled atop another.
 * (Crestwood) Rifts in the Veil imperil both this world and the Fade.
 * (Emerald Graves) [Elgarnan's Bastion] My people built a life here ... it must have been something to see.
 * (Exalted Plains) The Dalish remember fragments of fragments, but that is more than most.
 * (Exalted Plains) [Ghilan'nain's Grove] It's quiet here. I like it.
 * (Hinterlands) [When first encountering the Black Wolves] The Breach may have driven them mad... or perhaps a demon took command of the pack.
 * (if in the party) Cole: Do you know a lot about wolves?
 * Solas: I know that they are intelligent, practical creatures that small-minded fools think of as terrible beasts.
 * (The Fallow Mire) We will want to launder our clothes later. Or burn them.
 * (Forbidden Oasis)[The Temple Of Pride] This is an odd temple.I wonder if others like it exist or if this is the only one of its kind.
 * (Arbor wilds)[The Cradle Of Sulevin] Lost or misused?There is a reason it was never reclaimed.

Companion comments about Solas

 * Blackwall: Talked with Solas the other day... That man knows all there is to know about everything.


 * Blackwall: Don't play Diamondback with Solas. You've been warned. Taught him the game last night. He turned around and beat me at it. Lost everything. Had to walk back to my quarters with only a bucket for my bits.
 * Josephine: I suppose I should be wary of an apostate, but our elven mage has conducted himself with the utmost propriety. And he has the most fascinating stories.


 * Sera: Solas? Pfft. His head's crammed up a thousand years ago.


 * Sera: (If Inquisitor romanced Solas) I've seen how you look at him.. You're in it. Bet he calls out "Elven glory" when he does it.
 * Vivienne: I don't know what to make of Solas. So much knowledge and so little personal history... I find that... peculiar, don't you?


 * Vivienne: (if Inquisitor romanced Solas) Is it my imagination, dear, or have certain... lingering looks passed between you and our Solas?

Solas and Blackwall
____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________
 * Blackwall: Skyhold. How did you find it?
 * Solas: I looked.
 * Blackwall: Now you sound like Cole. You looked?
 * Solas: This world is full of wonders for those who seek them.
 * Blackwall: Elfroot. Do elves just call it "root?"
 * Solas: No, we have another name for it.
 * Blackwall: Well, that's no fun.
 * Solas: You spend too much time with Sera.
 * Blackwall: I just realized, I've never seen an elf with a beard.
 * Solas: You haven't seen many elves then.
 * Blackwall: You've seen many things in the Fade, how do you know they're true?
 * Solas: I don't. Everything in the Fade is a memory and memories are all too easily muddied. Just like your history books, they contain truths, but reason and sense are required to extract it.
 * Blackwall: I am sorry about your... friend. Losing someone is difficult.
 * Solas: Thank you. The death itself was less painful than what came before.
 * Solas: Seeing a good spirit twisted, its nature defiled.
 * Solas: Those mages knew nothing of my friend. Worse, they did not care.
 * Blackwall: I... don't know what to say.
 * Solas: Nor will you, until you've seen ignorance snatch away all that you love.
 * Solas: Pray such a day never finds you.
 * Blackwall: Sera and I were just talking about you. We need you to settle a question for us.
 * Solas: (Sighs.) Sera's involved? So this question will be offensive.
 * Blackwall: Yes, probably. Sorry.
 * Blackwall: You make friends with spirits in the Fade. So... um, are there any that are more than just friends? If you know what I mean.
 * Solas: Oh, for... really?!
 * Blackwall: Look, it's a natural thing to be curious about!
 * Solas: For a twelve year old!
 * Blackwall: It's a simple yes or no question!
 * Solas: Nothing about the Fade or spirits is simple, especially not that.
 * Blackwall: Aha! So you do have experience in these matters!
 * Solas: I did not say that.
 * Blackwall: Don't panic. It'll be our little secret.
 * Solas: Ass.
 * Blackwall: Now who's twelve?


 * Solas: You have seen a great deal of battle.
 * Blackwall: We all have.
 * Solas: Not all, not like you. You live and breathe war. You understand it. It is home to you.
 * Blackwall: What's that supposed to mean?
 * Solas: I intended no offense.
 * Solas: We have both seen terrible things. We have watched death and destruction render that which we love unrecognizable.
 * Solas: It is calming to see something familiar in another.


 * Blackwall: What happened at Redcliffe, have you ever seen its like, Solas?
 * Solas: The distortion of time? I have seen magic accomplish many things, but ... no, that is new.
 * Blackwall: Magic has little place in a war between men.
 * Solas: Many mages are brutes, seeing nothing more than a larger ball of fire.
 * Solas: But those with imagination, those who use war to push the limits of the possible ...
 * Blackwall: I wish the Chantry could better enforce restrictions against its use.
 * Solas: Such rules never hold. Any who want victory will find some reason their cause merits exception.
 * Solas: The best we can do is ensure the world still stands when this fight ends.

_____________ _____________ ____________
 * Blackwall: Those red templars... how could any soldier let that happen to them?
 * Solas: They were templars.
 * Blackwall: I suppose you might look down upon them, as a mage.
 * Solas: It is not looking down upon them to recognize what they are.
 * Solas: Some, like Ser Barris, are thoughtful soldiers doing what they believe is right.
 * Solas: The rest? Younger sons, petty criminals, thugs, bullies, orphans...
 * Solas: Either they are accustomed to a life without choices, to following even the worst orders...
 * Solas: Or they have learned to enjoy causing pain, to leap at any chance to swing a sword harder.
 * Blackwall: Val Royeaux, huh? I remember the first time I visited it, some thirty years ago. The market was not half as large without the garish statues and far fewer stands selling those ridiculous frilly little cakes.
 * Solas: The Val Royeaux market was once nothing but tents of oils, leather, and mud. Filled with ragged humans selling strings of beads made of bone.
 * Blackwall: You saw this in the Fade?
 * Solas: Yes. I left that memory quickly. The smell...
 * Blackwall: Must have been ages ago.
 * Solas: Oh yes, it's much better now. I enjoy the frilly cakes.
 * Solas: Your Order, the Grey Wardens.
 * Blackwall: Not my Order, as you well know.
 * Solas: Of course, but you may still have an answer.
 * Blackwall: What about them?
 * Solas: The Wardens see themselves as the world's defense against the Blight, do they not?
 * Blackwall: Yes... why do you sound so skeptical? Doesn't everyone know this?
 * Solas: When an Archdemon rises, they slay it. What will they do when all the Archdemons are slain?
 * Blackwall: Uhh... retire?
 * Solas: Without Archdemons, there can be no Blights, is that the reasoning?
 * Blackwall: Right. Where are you going with this?
 * Solas: Nowhere. I hope they are correct.
 * Blackwall: You remind me of someone I used to know. He was fascinated with the Fade and spirits too.
 * Solas: A mage?
 * Blackwall: No, just a man who liked eating these strange purple cactus berries.
 * Blackwall: I don't think he was ever actually in the Fade.


 * Solas: I heard you in the training yard this morning.
 * Blackwall: Oh. (Sighs.) I was running new recruits through some drills. Should I be quieter next time?
 * Solas: No, no... It's fine. Children don't learn unless you shout at them.

_____________
 * Blackwall: Do you have any advice for fighting demons, Solas?
 * Solas: Survive the first thirty heartbeats, and you'll have already won.
 * Blackwall: So I should try not to die? Helpful.
 * Solas: I mean that demons are rarely intelligent enough to change their tactics. If you focus on defending yourself, you will see the full range of their abilities within the first thirty heartbeats. By then, you should be able to find a weakness and exploit it.
 * Blackwall: Ahh, that is helpful! I will try to remember that.
 * Solas: Also, try not to die.
 * Blackwall: You spoke of seeing death and destruction. Did you fight in a war?
 * Solas: There are struggles across Thedas at any given time. I doubt you would have heard of it.
 * Blackwall: An Elven skirmish?
 * Solas: In a manner of speaking. You?
 * Blackwall: I was a soldier. And I... Well... You know how it is.
 * Solas: I do indeed.


 * Blackwall: For all your experience, Solas, you don't carry yourself like a soldier.
 * Solas: You should have seen me when I was younger. Hot-blooded and cocky, always ready to fight.
 * Blackwall: Ah, youth.
 * Solas: It is a delicate balance for those who fight.
 * Solas: If they lack sufficient passion, they never become truly skilled, and die or leave the life.
 * Blackwall: But too much passion, and they end up dead - or monsters better off dead.
 * Solas: Yes. It is a rare soldier who can fight without letting it define him.


 * Blackwall: You haven't said much to me since...well, you know.
 * Solas: There is little to say. I assumed we were alike. We'd seen war, knew its terrible costs, but understood that it was necessary. But there was nothing necessary in what you did. You did not survive death and destruction. You sowed them. To feed your own desires.
 * Blackwall: I know that. I see it every time I look in a mirror. I try to make up for it.
 * Solas: By wearing another skin. You ran away rather than face what you had done. You wasted your time.

_____________ _____________
 * Solas: I wish to apologize for what I said to you, Blackwall.
 * Blackwall: You were right, though. I deserved it.
 * Solas: My people had a saying long ago - "The healer has the bloodiest hands." You cannot treat a wound without knowing how deep it goes. You cannot heal pain by hiding it. You must accept. Accept the blood to make things better. You have taken the first step. That is the hardest part.
 * Solas: I will remember this. When it is over.
 * Blackwall: This? This war? The Inquisition?
 * Solas: The people. How you fought against the tide. It is... courageous.

(If the Inquisitor romanced Blackwall)
 * Solas: So, you and the Inquisitor are together.
 * Blackwall: Yes. Is that a problem?
 * Solas: Far from it. People should seize any chance for a moment's respite in times such as these. I am glad you've allowed yourself some happiness.
 * Blackwall: I expected you to think that I should keep punishing myself.
 * Solas: I would be concerned if you forgot your past, but that seems unlikely. Beyond that, guilt is a distraction. One we can ill afford.
 * Blackwall: What of you, then? Have you found someone to share a moment's respite?
 * Solas: I find my peace elsewhere.

Solas and Cassandra

 * Cassandra: Solas, have you always lived alone? Out in the wilderness, as an apostate?
 * Solas: For the most part.
 * Cassandra: Would that not be incredibly trying?
 * Solas: People can be trying, mankind most of all.
 * Cassandra: That... is an excellent point.


 * Cassandra: I confess, Solas, I'm surprised you decided to remain.
 * Solas: Why? The Breach remains a threat to us all.
 * Cassandra: Just the same, I wondered if you might leave now that we have a plan to seal it.
 * Solas: Ah, because I am an apostate. I might flee before the Inquisition throws me in chains?
 * Solas: I take my commitments seriously, Seeker. Come what may, I shall see this through.
 * Cassandra: As you wish, though I cannot guarantee what will happen in the days to come.


 * Solas: Did you believe the Conclave could achieve peace, Cassandra?
 * Cassandra: I had hope. As did we all.
 * Solas: The templars went to war to force mages back into their Circles, which the mages would never agree to. What solution could Divine Justinia have offered when all sides rejected compromise?
 * Cassandra: The war was going nowhere for either side. That they went at all showed that they realized this.
 * Solas: Or they believed the other side would relent.
 * Cassandra: We shall never know now.


 * Cassandra: I've wondered: How did you know to approach us, Solas?
 * Cassandra: The Breach opened, we were scrambling and barely had time to think... and there you were.
 * Solas: I went to see the Breach for myself. I did not know you would be there.
 * Cassandra: You must not have been far away.
 * Solas: I was not. I'd come to hear of the Conclave, but did not want to get close.
 * Cassandra: Hmm. Lucky for us, then.


 * Cassandra: It is interesting to hear a mage's perspective of our abilities, Solas.
 * Solas: I am pleased you find it so.
 * Cassandra: I am taught my abilities come from the Maker. You probably think it silly.
 * Solas: Your abilities declare the world real. Who, if not the Maker of this world, could grant such a gift?
 * Cassandra: You believe in the Maker?
 * Solas: I am always open to new ideas.


 * Solas: Seeker, you initially believed our "Herald of Andraste" was involved in the attack on the Conclave, yes?
 * Cassandra: I did. The evidence seemed damning, given the lack of an alternative.
 * Solas: Yet you changed your mind.
 * Cassandra: You also heard the voices at the temple - is it so surprising I listened to them?
 * Solas: Sadly, yes. Too few invested with authority possess the courage to alter their course.
 * Solas: They fear the appearance of weakness.
 * Cassandra: The truth is more important than my reputation, and anyone willing to accuse me of weakness is welcome to try.


 * Solas:  Your abilities are remarkable, Seeker. It is fascinating to see how you and the templars negate magic.
 * Cassandra: Have you never encountered templars before?
 * Solas:  Only at a distance. I am an apostate, after all.
 * Cassandra: And they never caught you even once?
 * Solas: I am a very careful apostate.


 * Cassandra: Solas, did you ever considered reforming the Circle from within? You have both knowledge and wisdom. You could have made the difference.
 * Solas: I admire your optimism, but ask yourself honestly how the templars would have reacted.
 * Cassandra: You fear that they would have made you tranquil.
 * Solas: There is no doubt in my mind. My studies threaten established ideas. I would never have been tolerated.
 * Cassandra: I suppose you are right. Repairing the damage done will take great effort.
 * Solas: Would there be more like you, Seeker.


 * Cassandra: You say you've witnessed past events in the Fade, Solas--or the memories of them.
 * Cassandra: But the Fade distorts reality. Surely it cannot offer a true reflection of what occurred.
 * Solas: Are your own memories any different? The truth is never precise, regardless of where you are.


 * Solas: So, Seeker, your Inquisition grows.
 * Cassandra: It was never my Inquisition, Solas.
 * Solas:  You did the brutal, thankless work putting the wheels in motion.
 * Solas:  Do you feel no regret at letting that power pass to another?


 * Solas:  You surprise me again, Seeker.
 * Cassandra: Your opinion of me must be very low to surprise you so often.
 * Solas:  Not low, but realistic. Very few, however honorable, release power they have won.


 * Cassandra: Solas, if you do not mind me asking, what do you believe in?
 * Solas: Cause and effect. Wisdom as its own reward, and the inherent right of all free willed people to exist.
 * Cassandra: That is not what I meant.
 * Solas: I know. I believe the elven gods existed, as did the old gods of Tevinter. But I do not think any of them were gods, unless you expand the definition of the word to the point of absurdity. I appreciate the idea of your Maker, a god that does not need to prove his power. I wish more such gods felt the same.
 * Cassandra: You have seen much sadness in your journeys, Solas. Following the Maker might offer some hope.
 * Solas: I have people, Seeker. The greatest triumphs and tragedies this world has known can all be traced to people.

(If Inquisitor romanced Solas and removed the Vallaslin.)
 * Cassandra:  I admit, I know little of their meaning, but I did not think it was possible to remove Dalish tattoos.
 * Solas: Most Dalish would agree with you--- and see little value in doing so.
 * Cassandra: Then how---?
 * Solas: It was done in a... private moment, I would rather not discuss it.
 * Cassandra: Of course, I should not have asked.


 * Cassandra: What is it like when templars nullify magic, Solas?
 * Solas: It is as though you are drawing upon the world around us. Mages draw forth the essence of the fade, and use that essence to shape reality.
 * Cassandra: And our powers drive it back, making this world harder to affect?
 * Solas: In a manner of speaking. You reinforce reality so it's less mutable. The fade has nowhere to gain a foothold, and the magic disperses.
 * Cassandra: No one has ever accused me of reinforcing reality before.
 * Solas: You are a seeker of truth.

(After In Hushed Whispers, if the mages are conscripted)
 * Cassandra: Now that they have surrendered to the Inquisition, the rebel mages are likely to lose some of their former freedom.
 * Solas: That is the likely result, yes.
 * Cassandra: Does that concern you?
 * Solas: If I were to be shackled, you would have done so by now. I am an asset, if not a friend.
 * Solas: I may disagree with the Inquisition's choices, but such concerns pale in comparison to the threat we face.
 * Solas: Regardless of who was responsible, the conflict between Templars and mages helped Corypheus rise to power.
 * Solas: We cannot afford to let political infighting distract us from our duty.
 * Cassandra: Agreed. When it is done, I promise what you have done here will not be forgotten.
 * Solas: Thank you, Seeker. I think.

(After Promise of Destruction is completed)
 * Solas: How are you feeling, Cassandra, after the revelations about your Seekers?
 * Cassandra: How do you expect I might feel? Most of my life was dedicated to the Order. I did so much I believed was good in their name.
 * Solas: Now that you know them corrupt, you must determine which parts of yourself to discard and which to keep.
 * Cassandra: I assume you have advice?
 * Solas: I would hardly presume. In our travels, I have been impressed by your honesty and your faith. It is a difficult path, Seeker, but if anyone can walk it honorably, you can.

(After Promise of Destruction is completed)
 * Cassandra: I noticed, Solas, that you did not seem surprised by what I uncovered about the Seekers.
 * Solas: No? They are an organization.
 * Cassandra: You think organizations to be inherently corrupt?
 * Solas: Given enough time, yes. To survive, an organization must devote resources to maintaining itself. Those resources inevitably accumulate until the original purpose, however pure, is all but lost.
 * Cassandra: You make the Seekers sound like a mindless beast.
 * Solas: A beast, no matter how mindless, will die and give way to a successor. An organization is eternal. There are always corrupt men who hoard power for their own gain and there are always honorable men who hoard power to fight them.

(After Here Lies the Abyss)
 * Cassandra: You don't think much of the Grey Wardens, Solas.
 * Solas: They are fools, a fact only amplified by Corypheus' meddling.
 * Cassandra: A harsh assessment–but after Adamant, perhaps not undeserved.

Solas and Cole

 * Cole: You're different, Solas. Sharper. You're in both places.
 * Solas: I visit the Fade regularly. Perhaps you are sensing traces of it.
 * Solas: You are a spirit who crossed the Veil and took human form.
 * Cole: Spirit or demon.
 * Solas: The two are not so dissimilar, Cole.
 * Solas: While the world may exert a pull in one direction or another, the choice is ultimately yours.


 * Cole: It's brighter here. Glittering. Glaring. Glinting. I can't...
 * Solas: It's a mild tremor in the Veil. Nothing to worry about. Focus on what is here, in this world.
 * Cole: But... what is here?
 * Solas: Feel the ground, the breath in your lungs, fabric rustling against your skin.
 * Cole: (Breathes.) Thank you.
 * Solas: It's nothing. It can be overwhelming for anyone.
 * Solas: How go your attempts to ease the pain of those at Skyhold, Cole?
 * Cole: I made the scullery maid stop crying and one of the boys in the stable is happier. Some of the servants are angry. My help makes work for them. Do you want me to stop?
 * Solas: No. You exist to help others. You are kindness, compassion, caring. If you stop giving comfort, you would twist into something else, as you did before I suspect.
 * Cole: Yes. I will not be that again.
 * Solas: Good. Never forget your purpose. It is a noble one, even if this world does not understand.
 * Cole: You are quiet, Solas.
 * Solas: Unless I have something to say, yes.
 * Cole: No, inside. I don't hear your hurt as much. Your song is softer, subtler, not silent but still.
 * Solas: How small the pain of one man seems when weighed against the endless depths of memory, of feeling, of existence. That ocean carries everyone. And those of us who learn to see its currents move through life with their fewer ripples.
 * Cole: There is pain though, still within you.
 * Solas: And I never said that there was not.
 * Cole: You don't need to envy me, Solas. You can find happiness in your own way.
 * Solas: I apologize for disturbing you, Cole. I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths.
 * Cole: They are not gone so long as you remember them.
 * Solas: I know.
 * Cole: But you could let them go.
 * Solas: I know that as well.
 * Cole: You didn't do it to be right. You did it to save them.
 * Inquisitor: Solas, what is Cole talking about?
 * Solas: A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything.
 * Cole: You weren't wrong, though.

Or
 * Solas: Thank you, Cole.
 * Inquisitor: Cole, I think Solas would like you to stop.
 * Solas: It is no bother, Inquisitor. Cole is a spirit of compassion and this world is too bleak to spurn compassion offered freely. I will never know that for certain, Cole, but thank you for saying it.

(occurs after completing All New, Faded for Her)
 * Cole: Bright and brilliant, he wanders the ways, walking, unwaking, searching for wisdom.
 * Solas: I do not need you to do that, Cole.
 * Cole: Your friend wanted you to be happy, even though she knew you wouldn't be.
 * Solas: (Sighs) Could you... if you would remember her, could you do it as I would?
 * Cole: He comes to me as though the Fade were just another wooded path to walk without a care in search of wisdom.
 * Cole: We share the ancient mysteries, the feelings lost, forgotten dreams, unseen for ages, now beheld in wonder.
 * Cole: In his own way, he knew wisdom, as no man or spirit had before.
 * Solas: Thank you.

(occurs after completing All New, Faded for Her) (occurs after completing All New, Faded for Her)
 * Cole: I am sorry your friend died, Solas.
 * Solas: Thank you, Cole.
 * Cole: I didn't know there were spirits of wisdom.
 * Solas: There are few. Spirits form as a reflection of this world and its passions.
 * Solas: We will never lack for spirits of rage, or hunger, or desire. The world gives them plenty to mirror.
 * Solas: The gentler spirits are far more rare. We can ill afford the loss of even one spirit of wisdom, or faith...
 * Solas: Or compassion.
 * Cole: I will try not to die.
 * Solas: Do that, please.
 * Cole: Is there a way to save more spirits, Solas?
 * Solas: Not until the Veil is healed. The rifts draw spirits through, and the shock makes demons of them.
 * Cole: Pushing through makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you.
 * Cole: Being pulled through means you don't have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being.
 * Solas: Yes, exactly. Deliberately crossing the Veil requires that a spirit form will, personality.
 * Solas: That concept of self gives a spirit the chance to maintain its nature.
 * Solas: Wrenched into this world unwillingly by the rifts, spirits suffer the same fate as my friend.
 * Cole: Then we will help them.
 * Cole: If it helps enough people, it becomes more... wandering, wishing, touched by them, Maker loves you, and it grows.
 * Cole: But I am me. Will I be more one day, if I help enough? Is this a task, timed, temporary?
 * Solas: No. It is a mistake to ascribe human motivations to them.
 * Cole: So I am always this?
 * Solas: You are always you.

(if Cole becomes more human) (if Cole becomes more human)
 * Solas: How do you feel, Cole? Are you...
 * Cole: I am me. I cannot be bound, broken. I will help the hurt and kill the killers.
 * Solas: I see. I... let me know if I can help.

(if Cole remains a spirit) (if Cole remains a spirit) (If the Inquisitor romanced Solas)
 * Solas: Are you well, Cole?
 * Cole: Well wishing, waiting for once. Clean and clear, uncluttered.
 * Solas: I am glad to hear it.
 * Cole: Can I help you? You healed my hurt, but yours is old inside, vast across the Veil.
 * Solas: I am fine, thank you. There are others who need your help more urgently.
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Solas: Do you wish you can return to the Fade, Cole?
 * Cole: I can. I am light, unlittered. I can slip back across a small kind thing.
 * Solas: Yet, you remain.
 * Cole: I can help here.
 * Solas: Then for as long as you remain, I am glad of your company.
 * Cole: (If the Inquisitor kept the vallaslin) Stop. You are perfect exactly as you are. But then you turned away. Why?

(Or) (Or)
 * Solas: I had no choice.
 * Cole: She feels her face, marked, marred without malice. She didn't know. She thinks it's why you walked away.
 * Cole: (If the Inquisitor had the vallaslin removed) Ar lasa mala revas. You are so beautiful. But then you turned away. Why?
 * Solas: I had no choice.
 * Cole: She is bare-faced, embarrassed, and she doesn't know. She thinks it's because of her.
 * Solas: You cannot heal this, Cole. Please, let it go.
 * Inquisitor: Perhaps Cole can get a better answer from you than I did.
 * Cole: He hurts, an old pain from before, when everything sang the same.
 * Cole: You're real, and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything, but it can't.
 * Cole: They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them... (gasps) Where did it go?
 * Solas: I apologize, Cole. That is not a pain you can heal.
 * Inquisitor: I would rather not discuss it, Cole.
 * Cole: I'm sorry.
 * Solas: It was my doing, not yours.

───────
 * Cole: She wants a Chantry but it does other things instead.
 * Solas: She did not need a Chantry, she needed to remember her faith.
 * Cole: But it also spend time with her. It wanted to fall, feeling.
 * Solas: They are always attracted to the world of the living.
 * Cole: Why did it only talk facing one way?
 * Solas: We all have a face we want to show, and a face we we do not.


 * Cole: It sees him ready to jump. Pain pounding, pulsing, life of frustration can finally fall, to freeze.
 * Solas: Ah, yes.
 * Cole: It holds him high, shows the hole, were everything falls without him. He never needs to leave. He matters here.
 * Solas: That is one interpretation, yes.
 * Cole: You think it is different.
 * Solas: I think he fell, and it held him as he died, leaving him with images that told him his life was worthwhile.
 * Cole: That's much sadder. But yes. Calm, comfort, as the cold takes him away.


 * Cole: It makes sense. It holds them as they die. But then it's a man, and he wants a woman. Why?
 * Solas: When they possess people, they often indulge in feelings they have never before experienced.
 * Cole: But it changed. It is blank, black, blunted from being. It never wanted before.
 * Solas: Have you felt no interest in women since you came through the Veil?
 * Cole: No.


 * Cole: They can only return to the Maker if they become real. Why can't they be forgiven as they are?
 * Solas: People say they lack the ability to learn or grow.
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Solas: But the more contact you have with this world, the more ability you gain.
 * Cole: Why would they want to prove the Maker wrong? He's already far away.
 * Solas: It isn't about right and wrong. It's about attention, when you think you have been forgotten.
 * Cole: And rolling the ball so it goes in the hole.


 * Cole: A war in the Fade waged with human hate. (Shudders.) I should never want to see that.
 * Solas: It would be a terrible thing.
 * Cole: It was wrong to hide it in the child. It hurt her.


 * Cole: They left for love, and then love lost them. More pain, more joy than anyone can bear, and yet they embrace it.
 * Solas: How could they not?


 * Cole: It was a game, but more than a game. It meant he would get a family.
 * Solas: Competition brings passion, Cole, and passion lets people attach import to trivial things.
 * Cole: Why didn't they help at the end?
 * Solas: People wish to accomplish the truly great things on their own.
 * Cole: They didn't give the boy what he wanted.
 * Solas: They did. The boy got a family.
 * Cole: They gave him a new one. He wanted his old one. I would have done it better.
 * Solas: The wise must sometimes give people what they need, not what they want.


 * Cole: Why would they want to make people fight? Why would they fight the Maker?
 * Solas: It is easier for people to believe that they were tricked into making terrible decisions.
 * Cole: The brothers shouldn't fight. They should tell their troubles. Their father didn't teach them to talk.
 * Solas: Often a problem, yes.

Other Companions' Comments
(Other companions will comment on Cole and Solas' cryptic conversations the first time they hear them. These comments always occur immediately after any of the slightly obscure pieces of dialogue.)

(if Cassandra is in the party) (if Vivienne is in the party) (if Iron Bull is in the party) (if Dorian is in the party) (if Blackwall is in the party) (if Sera is in the party) (if Varric is in the party)
 * Cassandra: What are you two talking about?
 * Solas: It will make little sense unless one has spent more time in the Fade.
 * Vivienne: You should not encourage that thing.
 * Cole: Solas is not a thing.
 * Solas: Well said.
 * Iron Bull:You two just work whatever that is out of your system. Like poison. Weird-ass poison.
 * Cole: It's good. I can explain.
 * IronBull: I really didn't ask.
 * Dorian: It's fascinating listening to you two. Like working out a puzzle with only half the pieces.
 * Solas: I'm pleased you're enjoying yourself.
 * Blackwall: The two of you make no sense sometimes.
 * Solas: That is a matter of perspective.
 * Sera: You're both nutters.
 * Cole: You want to be the one with the words that wander.
 * Solas: True.
 * Sera: Stop it!
 * Varric: There are times I almost understand the two of you.
 * Solas: You are a rare soul, master Tethras.

Solas and Dorian

 * Dorian: Solas, I take it you study spirits?
 * Solas: I do.
 * Dorian: Back in my homeland, we keep spirits as servants.
 * Solas: So I've been told.
 * Dorian: The things they can be made to be are quite marvelous, you should see them.
 * Solas: The Tevinter Imperium is not the safest place for an elf.
 * Dorian: Ah, yes. Point taken.


 * Dorian: Do you use spirits as servants, Solas? You'd have no trouble capturing them.
 * Solas: No. They are intelligent, living creatures. Binding them against their will is reprehensible.
 * Dorian: How much "will" do they have? They're amorphous constructs of the Fade.
 * Solas: Hmm
 * Dorian: There's no harm putting them to constructive use, and most mages back home treat them well.
 * Solas: And any that show any magical talent are freed, are they not?
 * Dorian: What? Spirits don't have magical talent.
 * Solas: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about your slaves.


 * Dorian: Solas, have I offended you?
 * Solas: If you have, why would it concern you?
 * Dorian: Because we're here working together for a common cause, and because I respect your abilities.
 * Solas: My abilities as a mage.
 * Dorian: Well, I... realize there's more to you than that.
 * Solas: The differences between us are not technicalities to be discarded, Dorian.
 * Dorian: I... was hoping we might find common ground, that's all.


 * Dorian: Solas, that little flare you sometimes do with your staff... You're redirecting ambient energy to your personal aura?
 * Solas: Yes. The effect clears magical energy and creates a minor randomized barrier to impair incoming magic.
 * Dorian: Fascinating. It's a Tevinter technique. I've never seen anyone in this part of the world do it.
 * Solas: The technique is not Tevinter. It is elven.
 * Dorian: Oh! That means we... never mind, then.
 * Solas: But do go on about the wonders of Tevinter magic.


 * Solas: I am surprised you do not practice blood magic, Dorian. Is it not popular in Tevinter?
 * Dorian: While we're sharing surprises, you've done a lot less dancing naked in the moonlight than expected.
 * Solas: Tevinter lore about elves remains accurate as always.
 * Dorian: I wanted to see you make flowers bloom with your song, just once.

(if Vivienne is in the party)
 * Dorian: Solas, what's this whole look of yours about?
 * Solas: I'm sorry?
 * Dorian: No, that outfit is sorry. What are you supposed to be, some kind of woodsman?
 * Dorian: Is it a Dalish thing? Don't you dislike the Dalish? Or is it some kind of statement?
 * Solas: No.
 * Dorian: Well, it says "apostate hobo" to me.
 * Vivienne: Unwashed apostate hobo, more specifically.


 * Dorian: Solas, for what it's worth, I'm sorry.
 * Dorian: The elven city of Arlathan sounds like a magical place, and for my ancestors to have destroyed it...
 * Solas: Dorian... hush.
 * Solas: Empires rise and fall. Arlathan was no more "innocent" than your own Tevinter in its time.
 * Solas: Your nostalgia for the ancient elves, however romanticized, is pointless.
 * Solas: If you wish to make amends for past transgressions, free the slaves of all races who live in Tevinter today.
 * Dorian: I... don't know that I can do that.
 * Solas: Then how sorry are you?

(If Sera is in the party)
 * Solas: I notice you used a nullification enchantment combined with an offensive attack.
 * Dorian: The nullification disrupts any ambient magic lying about. Things then burn hotter.
 * Solas: Don't you then waste an inordinate amount of magic overcoming your own nullification?
 * Dorian: Ah, no. I warp the Veil slightly to effect distance between the spells.
 * Solas: Of course. Have you considering snapping the Veil-warp to enhance the relative energy?
 * Dorian: Like cracking a whip? Yes, tried it once. Made my teeth taste funny.
 * Sera: Two of you doesn't make this normal!

(If Solas was in the party that entered the Fade during Here Lies the Abyss)
 * Dorian: I can't believe you entered the Fade. Physically.
 * Solas: You think that is an achievement of which to be proud?
 * Dorian: It's the second time that's been done in all of history. That's not nothing, Solas.
 * Solas: In all of human history.
 * Dorian: The Fade is still a mystery to us humans, yes. Probably always will be.
 * Solas: Perhaps it's best it remain that way.


 * Dorian: Let me get this straight, Solas.
 * Dorian: You're an apostate - neither Dalish nor city elf - who lived alone in the woods studying spirits.
 * Solas: Is that a problem for you?
 * Dorian: No, no. You're a special and unique snowflake. Live the dream.


 * Solas: Your magical skill is impressive, Dorian.
 * Dorian: You're not the first to say so.
 * Solas: Would you not conserve magical energy with a less... flashy... style, however?
 * Dorian: Yes, and I'd live longer if I only ate rice and boiled vegetables, but that's just as unlikely.


 * Dorian: Ah, Solas. You startled me. You're always so... nondescript.
 * Solas: Please speak up! I cannot hear you over your outfit!


 * Dorian: That orb Corypheus carries... are you certain it's of elven origin, Solas?
 * Solas: I believe so. Why do you ask?
 * Dorian: There are paintings in the Magisterium's archives of men holding similar orbs.
 * Dorian: They were depictions of a time long before the magisters. The ancient Dreamers, perhaps.
 * Dorian: The texts called those orbs "somnaborium"--"vessels of dreams." Could they be the same thing?
 * Solas: Perhaps. The humans of ancient times took much from the elves.
 * Dorian: And Corypheus isn't far removed from the time. Hmm.

Solas and Iron Bull

 * Solas: Iron Bull. I understand that among your people, you are... what is the term?
 * Iron Bull: Ben-Hassrath. Secret police. Spies, basically.
 * Solas: You spied upon your own people.
 * Iron Bull: Is that so different from Orlais or Ferelden? They have all kinds of people policing them.
 * Solas: What they say and do, yes. Not what they think.
 * Iron Bull: What you think is what you say and do.
 * Solas: No. Even the lowliest peasant may find freedom in the safety of her thoughts. You take even that.


 * Solas: Surely, even you see, Iron Bull, that freedom is preferable to mindless obedience to the Qun.
 * Iron Bull: How so? Last I checked, our mages weren't burning down Par Vollen.
 * Solas: You think Orlais and Ferelden would be better off under Qunari rule?
 * Iron Bull: Not really my call. I think most people everywhere have a system that works for 'em.
 * Iron Bull: When that breaks, you fix it. Like we're doing now.
 * Solas: Do not equivocate. Would we or would we not be better under the Qun?
 * Iron Bull: It's not that simple, Solas.
 * Solas: It absolutely is.


 * Iron Bull: Alright, Solas, been thinking. You wanna know how this place would be if the Qunari took charge?
 * Iron Bull: Orlais, Ferelden, all of it would be healthier under the Qun.
 * Iron Bull: But the war to make that happen? That'd be ugly. A lot of good people would die.
 * Iron Bull: So I'm not hoping it happens. There! You happy?
 * Solas: Happy? No. Quite the opposite.
 * Iron Bull: Oh, come on. I said I didn't want us to invade you!
 * Solas: No. You said this world would be brighter if all thinking individuals were stripped of individuality.
 * Solas: You only lack the will to get more blood on your hands.


 * Iron Bull: Tell me something, Solas. Do you think the servants here are happier then the people living under the Qun in Par Vollen?
 * Solas: It doesn't matter if they are happy, it matters that they may choose!
 * Iron Bull: Choose? Choose what? Whether to do their work or get tossed onto the street to starve?
 * Solas: Yes! If a Ferelden servant decides that his life goal is to... become a poet, he can follow that dream!
 * Solas: It may be difficult, and he might fail. But the whole of society is not aligned to oppose him!
 * Iron Bull: Sure, and good for him. How many servants actually go do that, though?
 * Solas: Almost none! What does that matter?
 * Solas: Your Qun would crush the brilliant few for the mediocre many!
 * Iron Bull: And then people feel like crap for failing.
 * Iron Bull: When the truth is, the deck was stacked against them anyway.

(if the Inquisitor is Qunari)
 * Solas: If your Qun is so wonderful, so fair and perfect, how does it create so many Tal-Vashoth?
 * Solas: There are enough of them to marry and have children, like the man/woman we travel with!
 * Iron Bull: And for every one who turns out alright, like him/her, and his/her parents, dozens go savage.
 * Iron Bull: Most Tal-Vashoth are nothing more than savages. Killing's all they know.
 * Iron Bull: The Ben-Hassrath are trying to lose fewer people to that sickness.
 * Solas: It isn't a sickness. You are losing them because they see a chance for freedom!
 * Solas: And most of them are "savage," as you say, because your culture taught them nothing else.
 * Solas: They know nothing but the Qun. So even as they fight against it, they are guided by its principles.
 * Iron Bull: Watch it, elf. You haven't seen the Tal-Vashoth like I have.
 * Iron Bull: Try watching a Tal-Vashoth kill a Tamassran and her kids. Then we'll talk.


 * Solas: You fought the Tal-Vashoth for a long time, Iron Bull, did you not?
 * Iron Bull: Every day.
 * Iron Bull: I'd kill some of them, they'd kill some of my guys, and then I'd kill them some more.
 * Solas: No man can kill so many people without breaking inside. To survive... those you fight must become monsters.
 * Iron Bull: The ones that kill innocent people, yeah. The rest... I don't know.
 * Solas: The mind does marvelous things to protect itself.


 * Iron Bull: So, Solas, you go into the Fade on purpose when you dream? Just to... hang out?
 * Solas: Yes. The Fade holds a trove of memories to explore. Spirits know secrets lost to this world.
 * Iron Bull: Yeah, but they're spirits. You can't treat 'em like people.
 * Solas: Would many not say the same of the Qunari?
 * Iron Bull: Uh, no, because Qunari don't go around trying to possess people and turn them into abominations.
 * Solas: Instead, you conquer them and turn them into servants of the Qun.
 * Iron Bull: Oh, come on!

(If the Inquisitor sided with the Qun during the Demands of the Qun quest)

(If the Inquisitor sided with Iron Bull during the Demands of the Qun quest)


 * Solas: Iron Bull, how do your people put on shirts?
 * Iron Bull: We don't, usually. It's pretty hot where we're from.
 * Iron Bull: But I can get into anything with a loose collar. Just gotta ease one horn through and then angle it up.
 * Iron Bull: There's a term for getting caught unprepared that translates to "running around with clothing stuck on your horns."
 * Solas: Colorful.


 * Iron Bull: Nice job in that last fight, Solas. You really kicked the crap outta that guy.
 * Solas: I suppose.
 * Iron Bull: What, you don't think so? You ripped him a new one. It was great!
 * Solas: Unless the fight is personal, violence is a means to an end. It isn't appropriate to celebrate.
 * Iron Bull: I don't know. Gotta wonder about anyone who fights as much as we do and doesn't have some fun with it.
 * Solas: We have fought living men, with loves and families, and all that they might have been is gone.
 * Iron Bull: Yeah, but they were assholes!


 * Solas: Hmm.
 * Iron Bull: Something wrong?
 * Solas: A man in the last village. Something in his manner troubles me.
 * Iron Bull: The baker with the squint and the red nose? Yeah, spy. Probably Venatori.
 * Solas: Why do you say that?
 * Iron Bull: He watched all of us. A normal guy would focus on you, because staff, or me, because horns.
 * Iron Bull: He had a dagger up his sleeve, which no baker needs, and the knot on his apron was tied Tevinter style.
 * Iron Bull: I sent a message to Red. She'll investigate.
 * Solas: You are more observant than you appear.
 * Iron Bull: The good spies usually are.


 * Iron Bull: You've got an odd style, Solas. Your spells are a bit different from the Circle mages or the Vints.
 * Solas: That comes from being self-taught.
 * Solas: I discovered most magic on my own, or learned it from my journeys in the Fade.
 * Iron Bull: I've seen self-taught warriors. Even the good ones have something awkward in their style, something that clunks.
 * Iron Bull: I don't get that from you. Maybe magic is different.
 * Solas: Or without magical training, you cannot notice the parts of my magic that "clunk".


 * Iron Bull: Hey, Solas, you ever do your Fade thing and pretend you can fly?
 * Iron Bull: Just flap your arms and zip around in there? Then maybe bang some hot Fade ladies?
 * Solas: No. Such behavior attracts the attention of demons.
 * Iron Bull: Aww. Demons shit up everything.

(If the Inquisitor sided with Iron Bull during the Demands of the Qun quest)
 * Solas: How do you feel, Iron Bull? Do you need a distraction to focus your mind?
 * Iron Bull: Well, this area's low on dancing girls, sadly.
 * Solas: King's pawn to E4.
 * Iron Bull: You're shitting me. We don't even have a board!
 * Solas: Too complicated for a savage Tal-Vashoth?
 * Iron Bull: (Grumbles.) Smug little asshole. Pawn to E5.
 * Solas: Pawn to F4. King's Gambit.
 * Iron Bull: Accepted. Pawn takes pawn. Give me a bit to get the pieces set in my head. Then we'll see what you've got.


 * Solas: So, where were we? Ah, yes.  Mage to C4.
 * Iron Bull: Little aggressive. Arishok to H4.  Check.
 * Solas: Speaking of aggressive. I assume Arishok is your term for the Queen? King to F1.
 * Iron Bull: Pawn to B5.
 * Solas: All right. You have my curiosity.  Mage takes Pawn.
 * Iron Bull: You call your Tamassrans Mages? Ben-Hassrath to F6.
 * Solas: You call your Knights Ben-Hassrath? Incidentally, Knight to F3.
 * Iron Bull: Ben-Hassrath makes more sense than horses. They're sneaky, and they can move through enemy lines. Arishok to H6.
 * Solas: Pawn to D3.
 * Iron Bull: Ben-Hassrath to H5. Hah! All right, take some time. Think about your life choices.


 * Solas: All right, Bull. If you are prepared: Knight to H4.
 * Iron Bull: Arishok to G5. So, you giving up the Tamassran at B5 or the Ben-Hassrath at H4?
 * Solas: Neither. Knight to F5.
 * Iron Bull: Pawn to C6. Left your Tamassran hanging out.
 * Solas: And you, your Knight. Or Ben-Hassrath, if you will. Pawn to G4.
 * Iron Bull: Ben-Hassrath to F6.
 * Solas: Hmm. Tower to G1.
 * Iron Bull: Hah! Pawn takes your Tamassran - or Mage, or whatever it is.
 * Solas: I get the idea.
 * Iron Bull: Too much time playing with spirits, Fade Walker.
 * Solas: We shall see.


 * Solas: If you have a moment, Bull: Pawn to H4
 * Iron Bull: Arishok to G6.
 * Solas: Pawn to H5. Careful.
 * Iron Bull: You're the one who lost his Mage. Arishok to G5.
 * Solas: Queen to F3.
 * Iron Bull: Oh, clever. Almost trapped my Arishok. Ben-Hassrath to G8.
 * Solas: Mage takes Pawn, threatens Queen.
 * Iron Bull: (Grunts.) Arishok to F6.
 * Solas: Knight to C3. You've developed nothing but your Queen.
 * Iron Bull: Don't get cocky, you're still one Tamassran down. Tamassran to C5, by the way.
 * Solas: Hmm. I will need to consider.


 * Solas: After careful consideration: Knight to D5.
 * Iron Bull: Arishok takes Pawn at B2.
 * Solas: Mage to D6.
 * Iron Bull: Arishok takes Tower. What are you doing, Solas?
 * Solas: King to E2.
 * Iron Bull: All right, Tamassran takes Tower. Your last Tower, by the way.
 * Solas: Pawn to E5.
 * Iron Bull: Really. I've got my whole army bearing down on your King, and you're moving a Pawn?
 * Iron Bull: Are you even trying anymore?
 * Solas: Think about it, my friend.


 * Iron Bull: All right, Solas. I've thought about it. Ready to finish this? Ben-Hassrath to A6.
 * Solas: Knight takes Pawn at G7. Check.
 * Iron Bull: Uh-huh. King to D8.
 * Solas: Queen to F6, Check.
 * Iron Bull: And now my Ben-Hassrath takes your Queen.
 * Iron Bull: You've got no Towers. You're down to a single Mage. Too bad you wasted time moving that Pawn to... to...
 * Iron Bull: You sneaky son of a bitch.
 * Solas: Mage to E7. Checkmate.
 * Iron Bull: (Grunts.). Nice game, mage.
 * Solas: And you as well, Tal-Vashoth.


 * Iron Bull: You're not as flashing as most mages, Solas.
 * Iron Bull: The Tevinter mages I fought in Seheron tried to scare us with what they could do.
 * Iron Bull: Dorian looks like he's waiting for applause after every spell. Even Viv has this confident swagger.
 * Dorian: As any good mage would.
 * Iron Bull: Vivienne has this little swagger, like she knows she's the most dangerous thing in the room.
 * Iron Bull: Not the quiet elven mage, though. No frills. Nothing to give you away. Half our targets never even see you coming.
 * Solas: I shall take that as a compliment.
 * Iron Bull: If you like.

Solas and Sera
─────── ───────
 * Sera: You can make magic anywhere, Solas? Ever piss it by accident?
 * Solas: No. Wait...no.
 * Sera: What? How would you not remember something like that?
 * Solas: We were all young once.
 * Sera: Hey, Solas! Droopy-ears-says-what?
 * Solas: ... excuse me?
 * Sera: Ugh, you're no fun!
 * Solas: Sera, if you eschew all things elven, why not a crossbow? It certainly takes less training.
 * Sera: Ugh, too much winchiness.
 * Solas: Ah, yes. Winchiness. A point I had not considered.


 * Solas: Ar dirthan'as ir elgara, ma'sula e'var vhenan.
 * Sera: Pppbbthh!
 * Solas: Excuse me?
 * Sera: Excuse yourself. Whatever you said and what I did, same difference to me.
 * Solas: I'd hoped, well, our people can sometimes feel the rhythm of the language despite lacking the vocabulary.
 * Sera: Uh huh? Know what else is good?  Words that mean things.  Like these.  Words.
 * Solas: Fenedhis lasa.
 * Sera: Pppbbthh!


 * Solas: Have you ever had any interest in learning magic, Sera?
 * Sera: Get off?
 * Solas: While it has not manifested naturally, there are ways to determine whether arcane gifts lie dormant within you.
 * Sera: What? Don't make me think about that. I have to sleep at night!
 * Solas: Sleeping would give you the chance to explore the Fade. I could introduce you to spirits.
 * Sera: Right, you're messing with me on purpose!
 * Solas: Why would I do that? It is not as though I know who filled my bedroll with lizards.
 * Sera: Heh. Fair point! That was pretty good.


 * Solas: Our people used to be here.
 * Sera: Pfft, you say that everywhere.
 * Solas: It is more true than you want to believe.
 * Sera: I bet, right? Who wants to think about stepping on dead elves.
 * Solas: Din elvhen emma him?
 * Sera: Oh, you felt that one.

(If Inquisitor is an elf) (Otherwise)
 * Sera: (shivers) 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.
 * Sera: It’s not an elf thing. You’re not shaking.
 * Sera: 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!


 * Solas: What color is the sky, Sera?
 * Sera: Hang off.
 * Solas: It is an earnest question. 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.
 * Sera: 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: Sera, I notice that in a recent fight, you killed someone I was already dealing with.
 * Sera: You were doing it too slow.
 * Solas: Just to be clear. You wish me to manipulate the delicate balance of the primordial energy of the Fade... faster.
 * Sera: You're not making it worse. It's bad enough you people do that at all!


 * Solas: I heard about your organization, Sera. I am impressed.
 * Sera: Is this a trick?
 * Solas: Hardly. But it is an opportunity. You have already divided your group's membership. That is wise. No one cell can betray all your secrets. The next step is to establish a rhythm. When your enemies pursue, you vanish. When they become complacent, you harass them. When they are weak, you strike in earnest.


 * Sera: Where d'you get all this, then?
 * Solas: Do you wish to be unnerved by another tale of my explorations of the Fade? Or do you wish to learn something?
 * Sera: I don't know. Neither?


 * Solas: Once you have the aristocracy weakened, Sera, you will have to redirect your lieutenants.
 * Sera: Oh, this again. All right, what am I doing?
 * Solas: Some of your forces, valuable until now, have no interests beyond creating disruption. Chaos for its own sake. They must be repositioned where they can do no harm, or removed if necessary. You replace them with organizers willing to build a new system and carry out the ugly work that must be done.
 * Sera: What? Why? What ugly work?
 * Solas: That is up to you. Do you wish to disrupt the nobility, secure a title? Or change the political structure entirely?
 * Sera: None of it! I don't want any of that!

(If Inquisitor is in a relationship with Solas) Or
 * Solas: I do not understand you, Sera. You do not have an end goal for your organization.
 * Sera: Nobles get rattled, and people get payback. I play in the middle.
 * Solas: Why not go all the way? You see injustice. And you have organized a group to fight it. Don't you want to replace it with something better?
 * Sera: What, just lop off the top? What does that do, except make a new top to frig it all up?
 * Solas: I...forgive me. You are right. You are fine as you are.
 * Sera: You hurt my head sometimes, Solas.
 * Solas: Yes, I have been known to do that.
 * Sera: So, you and the Lady Inquisitor. Interesting.
 * Solas: Your interest is not my concern.
 * Sera: That's all right, because I meant boring. The elf always takes the elf so that banging bits will mean something.
 * Solas: It is not a topic for discussion.
 * Sera: Oh, come on. Drop 'em and rebuild the empire. Phwoar!
 * Inquisitor: Sera! No more!
 * Sera: Hmph! Fine. Whatever.
 * Solas: Don't concern yourself, vhenan. She is… apart from herself.
 * Inquisitor: (Laughter) You're ridiculous.
 * Sera: Not me. It's him! And you.
 * Solas: Only one of us is looking sad and foolish, Sera.
 * Sera: Oh, go twang your ears!

Solas and Varric

 * Solas: Varric, you joined the inquisition when seeker Pentaghast questioned you?
 * Varric: She was very insistent that I help.
 * Solas: Interesting.
 * Varric: What's Interesting?
 * Solas: It surprised me that an elven apostate is the one who joined the inquisition voluntarily.


 * Solas: By the end of Hard in Hightown, almost every character is revealed as a spy or a traitor.
 * Varric: Wait, you read my book?
 * Solas: It was in the Inquisition library. Everyone but Donnen turned out to be in disguise. Is that common?
 * Varric: Are we still talking about books or are you asking if everyone I know is a secret agent?
 * Solas: Are there many tricksters in dwarven literature?
 * Varric: A handful, but they're the exception. Mostly they're just honoring the ancestors. It's very dull stuff. Human literature? Now there's where you'll find the tricky, clever, really deceptive types.
 * Solas: Curious.
 * Varric: Not really. Dwarves write how they want things to be. Humans write to figure out how things are.


 * Solas: Varric, you fought Corypheus once before?
 * Varric: Not my fondest memory, but yes, I did.
 * Solas: And you killed him. You were certain of his death?
 * Varric: Yes. What's on your mind, Chuckles?
 * Solas: He survived the explosion that destroyed the Conclave.
 * Solas: If he can live through a blast that levels a mountaintop, we would do well to determine how.
 * Varric: Even if we knew, would that help us?
 * Varric: The Wardens couldn't kill him, and they had a thousand years to figure it out.


 * Varric: You really spend most of your time in the Fade?
 * Solas: As much as possible. The Fade contains a wealth of knowledge for those who know where to look.
 * Varric: Sure, but I don't know how you dream, let alone wander around in there.
 * Varric: Especially when the shit that comes out of the Fade generally seems pretty cranky.
 * Solas: So are humans, but we continue to interact with them... when we must.


 * Varric: You know what I like about you, Chuckles? Your boundless optimism.
 * Solas: It's comforting that whatever qualities I lack, you'll invent for me, Varric.
 * Varric: No, really. Why else would an elven apostate help crazy Chantry folk close a hole in the sky?
 * Solas: When you put it like that, I must concede your point.


 * Solas: Is it true that the entire dwarven economy relies upon lyrium?
 * Varric: Mostly. We've got the nug market cornered as well.
 * Solas: And the dwarves of Orzammar have never studied lyrium?
 * Varric: If they have, they certainly haven't shared anything up here. Why?
 * Solas: It is the source of all magic, save that which mages bring themselves.
 * Solas: Dwarves alone have the ability to mine it safely. I wondered if they had sought to learn more.
 * Varric: The folks back in Orzammar don't care much about anything but tradition.

─────── ───────
 * Solas: Do you ever miss life beneath the earth? The call of the Stone?
 * Varric: Nah. Whatever the Stone - capital S - is, it was gone by the time my parents had me.
 * Solas: But... do you miss it?
 * Varric: How could I miss what I never had?
 * Varric: But say I did have that sense, that connection to the Stone. What would it cost me?
 * Varric: Would I lose my friends up here? Would I stop telling stories?
 * Varric: I like who I am. If I want to hear songs, I'll go to a tavern.
 * Solas: You are wiser than most.
 * Solas: I find the fall of the dwarven lands confusing.
 * Varric: What's so confusing about endless darkspawn?
 * Solas: A great deal, although that is a different matter. Dwarves control the flow of lyrium. They could tighten their grip on it.
 * Varric: It's hard to get the attention of the humans when the darkspawn aren't up here messing with their stuff.
 * Solas: You're active in the carta. You know your people could tug the purse strings.
 * Varric: You're not saying anything I haven't said myself. Orzammar is what it is.
 * Solas: Is there at least a movement to reunite Orzammar and Kal-Sharok?
 * Varric: What is it with you, Chuckles? Why do you care so much about the dwarves?
 * Solas: Once, in the Fade, I saw the of a man who lived alone on an island. Most of his tribe had fallen to beasts or disease. His wife had died in childbirth. He was the only one left. He could have struck out on his own to find a new land, new people. But he stayed. He spent every day catching fish in a little boat, every night drinking fermented fruit juice and watching the stars.
 * Varric: I can think of worse lives.
 * Solas: How can you be happy surrendering, knowing it will all end with you?
 * Varric: I suppose it depends on the quality of the fermented fruit juice.
 * Solas: So it seems.


 * Varric: What's with you and the doom stuff? Are you always this cheery or is the hole in the sky getting to you?
 * Solas: I've no idea what you mean.
 * Varric: All the "fallen empire" crap you go on about. What's so great about empires anyway?
 * Varric: So we lost the Deep Roads, and Orzammar's too proud to ask for help. So what? We're not Orzammar and we're not our empire.
 * Varric: There are tens of thousands of us living up here in the sunlight now, and it's not that bad.
 * Varric: Life goes on. It's just different than it used to be.
 * Solas: And you have no concept of what that difference cost you.
 * Varric: Oh I know what it didn't cost me. I'm still here, even after all those thaigs fell.
 * Solas: You truly are content to sit in the sun, never wondering what you could've been, never fighting back?
 * Varric: Ha, you've got it all wrong, Chuckles. This is fighting back.
 * Solas: How does passively accepting your fate constitute a fight?
 * Varric: In that story of yours—the fisherman watching the stars, dying alone—you thought he gave up right?
 * Solas: Yes.
 * Varric: But we went on living. he lost everyone, but he still got up every morning. He made a life, even if it was alone.
 * Varric: That's the world. Everything you build, it tears down. Everything you've got, it takes—and it's gone forever.
 * Varric: The only choices you get are to lie down and die or keep going. He kept going. That's as close to beating the world as anyone gets.
 * Solas: Well said. Perhaps I was mistaken.


 * Solas: That crossbow is remarkable, Varric. I am surprised the dwarves have not made more of them.
 * Varric: The woman who made Bianca would rather that not happen. Wars are bloody enough as it is.
 * Varric: A crossbow that fires this far and this quickly with so little training? Every battle would be a massacre.
 * Solas: Indeed. I am surprised, not disappointed.

Solas and Vivienne

 * Vivienne: So, an apostate?
 * Solas: That is correct, Enchanter. I did not train in your Circle.
 * Vivienne: Well, dear, I hope you can take care of yourself, should we encounter anything outside your experience.
 * Solas: I will try, in my own fumbling way, to learn from how you helped seal the rifts at Haven.
 * Solas: Ah, wait. My memory misleads me. You were not there.


 * Vivienne: You know, Solas, you do an excellent job of spellcasting without any concrete knowledge of technique.
 * Solas: Your rigorous training lays a solid foundation, true. It also creates boundaries, limits, where none need exist.
 * Vivienne: I do prefer to have boundaries between myself and the demons, my dear.
 * Solas: Of course. You endured the Harrowing, where your Circle teaches you that all demons attempt to possess you.
 * Vivienne: Not at all! Many of them simply want to kill you. I suppose you would claim otherwise.
 * Solas: Why should I? You would not believe me. You have learned your lessons all too well.


 * Vivienne: Solas dear, do you find your magic affected at all by the fluctuations in the Fade?
 * Solas: Nothing unexpected, given the energies emanating from the rift. And you, Enchanter?
 * Vivienne: The same.


 * Solas : Do you require a mana cleansing to remove the residual energies on your staff?
 * Vivienne : The Circle’s training in energy modulation is thorough. I sincerely doubt you could add anything.
 * Solas : So you intend for your staff to carry that particular aura?
 * Vivienne : Is that a problem, my dear?
 * Solas : No, no. As you were.


 * Vivienne : I'm sure you know exactly what you're doing, Solas, but a word of advice?
 * Solas : Oh, I look forward to this. Go ahead, Enchanter.
 * Vivienne : You set your coattails on fire with that last spell.
 * Solas : Perhaps what you perceived was merely a figment of the Fade.
 * Vivienne : (Laughter) I would not claim your familiarity with the Fade, but I recognize fire when I see it, darling.
 * Solas : It did go out eventually. It was not worth mentioning.
 * Vivienne : Not for you, perhaps.


 * Solas : Tell me, Enchanter. Do you even bother to explore the Fade in your dreams?
 * Vivienne : I prefer to explore the world I actually live in.
 * Solas : Pity. You could be much more powerful if you ventured outside your narrow preconceptions.
 * Vivienne : Ah, the temptation to leave the path. You sound like a pride demon.
 * Solas : Enchanter, any pride demon you met would just walk away, shaking its head and laughing uncontrollably.
 * Vivienne : Oh darling, more than one already has.


 * Solas : The fact that I, an apostate, have not been enslaved by demons must be quite vexing, Enchanter.
 * Vivienne : Not at all, darling. You clearly have an exceptional gift for the Fade.
 * Solas : You flatter me.
 * Vivienne : I'm far more surprised you haven't been murdered by terrified villagers wielding pitchforks.
 * Solas : Yes, packing all the mages into towers and threatening them with Templars certainly kept them safe.
 * Vivienne : It did, until a rogue apostate destroyed Kirkwall's Chantry and started a fight most mages did not want.
 * Solas : Your Circle was a tightly clamped lid on a boiling pot. It held for a while, and, unless you looked inside, it all seemed fine. And everyone feigned surprise when it finally burst.


 * Vivienne : So, apostate. If the Circle is such a failure, what would be your solution? Would you have your fellow mages live among the people, unguarded, unwatched?
 * Solas : Yes.
 * Vivienne : And when they became possessed, or use their power to harm?
 * Solas : I would kill them. Magic is more elegant than a blade or a bow, but a murderer remains a murderer.
 * Vivienne : So you alone would pass judgment, repay murder with murder, or do we open this up to mobs and vigilantes? If you're going to dispense judgment upon violent mages yourself, you'll need eternal life and omniscience. If only there were individuals dedicated to finding and eliminating such criminals. Perhaps they might help?
 * Solas : I am certain they would. Until black and white distinctions perverted their simple minds.


 * Solas : Do enjoy this time, Enchanter. You may miss your freedom when you lock yourself back up in some tower.
 * Vivienne : Imprisonment is largely a matter of who holds the keys.
 * Solas : You so often come out on top. You play the political games brilliantly.
 * Vivienne : A compliment? Although you speak it as a curse.
 * Solas : You could use those skills to improve the lives of your fellow mages. Instead you have done nothing, save consolidate your own power.
 * Vivienne : What if keeping my power might in fact improve the lives of my fellow mages?
 * Solas : You honestly believe the world is better off with you setting its course?
 * Vivienne : I need not be in spotlight. But after watching others try and fail, why should I not have a turn?
 * Solas: Then Enchanter, I leave you with the greatest curse of my people. Dirthara-ma.
 * Vivienne: What rustic elven curse is that, apostate?
 * Solas: May you learn.


 * Solas : Your position in the Orlesian court must be frustrating, Enchanter.
 * Vivienne : Darling, I have no idea what you might be implying.
 * Solas : With your magic you are kept at arm's length, never able to play the Game to its fullest. Some part of you must always wonder if you could have gone farther had you not been a mage.
 * Vivienne : Don't be absurd. Without magic, I doubt the Orlesian court would have interest in me at all.
 * Solas : That must rankle as well.

(occurs after completing In Hushed Whispers) Or
 * Vivienne : You must be pleased, apostate. Your rebels have won the favor of the Inquisition.
 * Vivienne : You must be pleased, apostate. With the Templars dissolved, your rebels will be most difficult to pacify.
 * Solas : My rebels? Am I an agent for their cause, whispering poison into the Inquisition's ears? How comforting.
 * Vivienne : You enjoy seeing yourself as a villain?
 * Solas : No more than any other clever man who wonders what he could do if pushed. But I met you, Enchanter. How comforting it must be, for you to see a traitor helping the rebels from within. You need never concern yourself with the possibility that your Circle was wrong.

(occurs after completing Champions of the Just)
 * Vivienne : You must be disappointed, apostate. Your rebels have not found the freedom they hoped for.
 * Solas : I planted no seeds in your garden, Enchanter. You grew that fruit yourself.
 * Vivienne : And I will once again ensure they are protected from a world that hates and fears them.
 * Solas : While mages live in deprevation you do not share? You lord their mystique over those not so gifted. Well played, Enchanter. In another age you might have ruled an empire.
 * Vivienne: You are too kind, my dear. But this age is still young.

(occurs after completing Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts)
 * Solas : It was fascinating to observe you at the Winter Palace, Enchanter.
 * Vivienne : I am pleased that such engagements were enjoyable for everyone. Even those with no grasp of subtle, social interplay might enjoy the pagentry.
 * Solas : It is all pagentry, Enchanter.
 * Vivienne : Isn't everything?

(occurs after completing Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts)
 * Vivienne: I do hope you were not mistaken for a servant at the Winter Palace, Solas.
 * Solas : Such mistakes are opportunities in disguise. Nobles say things around servants they would never say to Cassandra, or the Inquisitor.
 * Vivienne : Yes, anyone who wishes to play the Game learns to use her servants effectively. Although I am surprised to see an elven apostate catch on so quickly.
 * Solas : My apologies. I shall try to live down to your expectations.

Solas, Cassandra, and Varric

 * Varric: So, who do you think is the toughest: Josephine, Leliana, or Cassandra?
 * Cassandra: I'm right here, you know.
 * Varric: That doesn't rule you out, Seeker.
 * Solas: Cullen's not up for consideration?
 * Varric: Curly? They just keep him around to look pretty.


 * Varric: So here we are, elf, cleaning up another human mess.
 * Sera: (if in party) Who you calling elfy, jackhole?
 * Varric: Not you, other elf.
 * Solas: What would the Inquisition do without our stabilizing influence, Master Tethras?
 * Varric: I'd assume they'd just start burning things
 * Solas: That does sound like most humans I know.
 * Cassandra: If you gentlemen are quite finished?
 * Varric: Now, now, don't get touchy. We're just here to lend you simple humans our help.
 * Solas: Before you cause everything to explode.
 * Varric: Again.