Flemeth

"There are men who struggle against destiny, and yet achieve only an early grave. There are men who flee destiny, only to have it swallow them whole. And there are men who embrace destiny, and do not show their fear. These are the ones that change the world forever."

Flemeth, the shapeshifter known as the Witch of the Wilds, is widely cognized as an immortal and pretty powerful being. She is the central character of a homonym legend, which describes her as "terrible in her temper and wild in her beauty". She is also known for being mother to many daughters, all of whom are witches as she herself is. At the beginning of the Fifth Blight, she rescued the last two surviving Grey Wardens from Ferelden and sent them, along with her daughter Morrigan, to gather an army to oppose the Blight by using old treaties. According to Morrigan, Flemeth is a strong-willed woman with a lust for power. Later on, the Witch of the Wilds rescued the Hawke family and the Vallens by transforming into her signature form, when they were overwhelmed by darkspawn by the time they were escaping from Lothering. Although Flemeth could be "murdered" by the main character during the events from Dragon Age: Origins, she was later reborn during a ritual depicted in Dragon Age II.

Background
The name "Flemeth" apparently belonged to a legendary and fearsome personage that walked the Wilds centuries ago. According to legend, the daughters of Flemeth can kill a man by fear alone. The "Witch of the Wilds" is not a clan so much as a superstitious name the locals of the Korcari Wilds had given to the infamous Flemeth and her daughters. Although Morrigan claimed her mother was an abomination, she later realized that Flemeth "is not a blood mage, not an abomination and not even truly human".

Story
“Once there was a great templar, shining and proud, righteous in his faith in the Maker’s will. So proud was he that, upon hearing legends of Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds, he embarked on a quest to find and slay her on his own, leaving his home in Redcliffe behind.

On his way to the Korcari Wilds, the templar came to the village of Rossleigh on the western roads. There he spoke to a young woman that had heard tales of the witch from the Chasind wilder folk. ‘She is a monster,’ said the woman, ‘terrible in her temper and wild in her beauty. She is the hand of the cold, the wet, and the dark. Above all these things she is a myth, and not worth any man’s pain to find.’ But the templar would not heed such hearsay, and so he pressed on.

The templar came to Lothering, where the world gathers at the edge of the Wilds. There he met a woman, a mother that had been telling her child of the dangers of the great forest. ‘Yes, I know of her,’ said the mother. ‘She is a creature of legend, a cautionary tale of the limits to where man should go. Not even a powerful templar can kill a warning, sir.’ But the templar was sure that the Witch was more than just a symbol, and so he continued his quest.

And then the templar entered the Korcari Wilds, home to the savage Chasind people, and he found a village elder, a cracked and bent old woman who was willing to speak in his language. ‘She steals men’s souls at the end of the green,’ said the crone, ‘where hearts turn to ice and blood runs blue. Even a templar dare not go after her, for the land bends to her will, and that templar’s life will be drawn before his sword.’ But the templar bristled against such doubt of his skill and the Maker’s glory and he charged off to find the witch.

And he reached the end of the green, where the Wilds touch snow and frost, and there he did indeed find a cabin huddled against the wind. And there he found a lovely young woman tending a garden that grew even through the frost, and he approached her to ask after the witch.

‘You have come far, good templar,’ purred the young woman, exotic and dark in her beauty. ‘And it is time that you should rest.’

‘I will rest only when the Witch of the Wild has been killed,’ said the templar, ‘Tell me where she is!’ The templar pointed his sword at the young woman, who smiled warmly as the templar felt a knife enter his back.

‘I am myth, and warning, and the thief of souls,’ whispered his killer. ‘I am all those things you heard of me, and I was all those people with whom you spoke.’ And the templar doubled over and fell to his knees, turning to face the voice and finding but a blur. ‘And I am the last thing you will never see.’

The templar’s quest ended there, at the feet of the Witch and her dark daughter. Ever since, all have known never to ask after the Witch of the Wilds, never to seek the one named Flemeth, lest they find her.”

“The Witch of the Wilds”, as told by the minstrel Ensuelo in the taverns of Antiva.

Quotes

 * "You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide, either way, one's a fool."
 * "Either the threat is more or they realize less. Or perhaps the threat is nothing! Or perhaps they realize nothing! (laughs)"
 * "Such manners! And always in the last place you look... like stockings!"
 * "Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature."
 * "Why dance at all? Why not sing? (laughs)"
 * "It is a dance poor Flemeth knows well. Let us see if she remember the steps!"
 * "Choice...There is great power in choices, as there are in lies. I shall give one of each."
 * "Come. She will earn what she takes. I’d have it no other way."


 * Flemeth: Yes, men desired Flemeth then, and some even killed for her....
 * Warden: Are you sure they didn't die from horror?
 * Flemeth: You will need that smart mouth for more than asking me silly questions.


 * Warden: I'm not sure what to believe.
 * Flemeth: "A statement that possesses more wisdom than it implies. 'Be always aware.' Or is it 'oblivious?' I can never remember."


 * Warden: Believed or not, some things must simply be accepted.
 * Flemeth: Ah, there is the answer I sought. An open mind, and not one made of mush.


 * Warden: What's the point?
 * Flemeth: (laughs) How true! So says the shoe to the foot and the foot to the leg, but we all move as one.


 * Flemeth: Considering what the world has done to me, I have already done more than it deserves.
 * Warden: And what has the world done to you?
 * Flemeth: That is between the world and me.


 * Flemeth: There are men who struggle against destiny, and yet achieve only an early grave. There are men who flee destiny, only to have it swallow them whole. And there are men who embrace destiny, and do not show their fear. These are the ones that change the world forever.


 * Flemeth: Hurtled into the chaos, you fight... and the world will shape before you. (Aside, to herself) Is it fate or chance? I can never decide. (She says shape but the word appears as shake in subtitles)


 * Aveline: I know what she is. The Witch of the Wilds.
 * Flemeth: Some call me that. Also Flemeth. Asha'belannar. An "old hag who talks too much!" (laughs)


 * Hawke: Just how much trouble will this delivery be?
 * Flemeth: Just as much trouble as me saving you five minutes ago.
 * Hawke: Good point.
 * Flemeth: If you knew my daughter, you'd know how seldom I hear that.


 * Flemeth: Won't your king miss your service?
 * Hawke: He'll miss his life more.
 * Flemeth: [laughs] You I like!


 * Flemeth: There is always a catch. Life is a catch! I suggest you catch it while you can.


 * Flemeth: Without an end, there can be no peace. It gets no easier. Your struggles have only just begun...


 * Flemeth: We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment...and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap.


 * Flemeth: It is only when you fall that you learn whether or not you can fly.


 * Flemeth: Regret is something I know well. Take care not to cling to it, to hold it so close that it poisons your soul. When the time comes for your regrets, remember me.


 * Flemeth: Tame your destiny, or be claimed by it.

Trivia

 * To the Dalish, Flemeth is known as asha 'belannar or the "Woman of Many Years."


 * She looks much younger in Dragon Age II than in Dragon Age: Origins.


 * After she saves Hawke and his/her company she mentions Alistair and The Warden as the only Grey Warden survivors of the Battle of Ostagar.


 * Her first words in Dragon Age 2 are " Well, well... what have we here?" The same words first spoken by Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins.


 * In all her appearances to date, Flemeth is voiced by Kate Mulgrew, who is most famous for her role on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Janeway.


 * Flemeth is aware of the name the Dalish have for her. This could be a reference to the Dalish that brought Maric and Loghain to her in The Stolen Throne. It can be presumed that the clan was ironically Ariane's clan.


 * In dialogue when a sarcastic option is chosen Flemeth will mention Morrigan, but not by name.


 * She likes a sarcastic Hawke and will respond positive to sarcastic choices, other known characters that like a sarcastic Hawke are Isabela and Varric.


 * Flemeth (albeit sarcastically) can refer to herself as being a dragon if a dialogue option is chosen during the first meeting in Dragon Age II.