An Eluvian (Elvish for "seeing glass") is a magical mirror.
Background
It is known to be a portal of some sort, and it can transmit the Taint. It was crafted by the elves of Arlathan to be used as portals for telecommunication and rapid transportation between their cities, using a type of magic different from that of the modern Circle of Magi or even the Tevinter Imperium.
During the fall of Arlathan, many Eluvians were destroyed, while those that survived the conflict seemingly stopped functioning. An unknown number of Eluvians survived to the present day, scattered across Thedas in forgotten or well hidden locations.
The Tevinter magisters attempted to unlock the secrets of the Eluvians, but all they could use them for was long-distance communication. Some Dalish have also attempted to rediscover and reactivate the Eluvian network to no avail.
Involvement
Dragon Age: Origins
During the Dalish Elf Origin, Tamlen and a Dalish Elf discover an Eluvian. Tamlen claims to see scenes from an underground city through the mirror and proceeds to touch it. This causes a flash of light, which causes the Warden to lose consciousness for two days. After this incident, Tamlen disappears.
Witch Hunt
Dragon Age II
In 9:34 Dragon, Merrill reveals that she is trying to construct a new Eluvian from a shard she took during the events of the Dalish Elf Origin and that she has succeeded in cleansing its taint through use of blood magic. She studied the lore on the Eluvian, and extrapolated information from the shard.[1] Her companion quests revolve around acquiring items or information to restore the mirror.
To complete her labor, Merrill ultimately seeks aid from a pride demon imprisoned within Sundermount, but Keeper Marethari prevents this by sealing said demon inside herself to protect her former First (although it's unknown whether or not the Keeper was correct). Before dying, Marethari claims that the demon only sought to use the Eluvian to escape from its prison and would have killed or possessed Merrill in the process. Depending on Hawke's decisions, Merrill's restored Eluvian may be shattered by her at the end of her personal storyline.
Dragon Age: The Masked Empire
Within the borders of Orlais, the Virnehn clan of Dalish summoned the demon Imshael to help reactivate the Eluvian network.
Imshael created a Keystone that would lead whoever wielded it to a central chamber connected to all of the Eluvians in Thedas. From there, whoever holds the Keystone could reactivate the Eluvians and reset the spoken password needed to travel through them.
Imshael offered the Keystone to the clan's keeper, Thelhen, in exchange for a body to possess. Thelhen refused and imprisoned the spirit indefinitely, so Imshael tricked Empress Celene's champion, Ser Michel de Chevin , into freeing it, and gave Celene the Keystone as a token of gratitude.
The beleaguered Empress of Orlais and her entourage used the Keystone to travel through a series of underground Elven tombs connected by Eluvians and eventually reached the central chamber of the network.
Their journey revealed that the Eluvians are connected to one another via pathways in another realm, separate from The Fade. The realm-largely colorless but for a brightly-lit stone path, was created by the elves of Arlathan and is inimical to humans, who experience disorientation and physical discomfort that Elves don't.[2] In fact, the grey strange world between the eluvians seems to "like" elves, responding and filling with color at their touch.[3] Elves appear to see this world differently, and also move much quicker than humans while in it.[4]
Inside the central chamber, Empress Celene was betrayed by Briala , her Elven spymaster and lover, who seized the Keystone for herself. Briala reactivated all the Eluvians across Thedas and bound their use to a spoken password that only she knew: "Fen'Harel enansal", the Dread Wolf's blessing.
After sending Celene and the rest of their party back to the surface, Briala vowed to use the Eluvians to aid and unify the City elves of Orlais. She also sent word to the Dalish that she would grant them access to the Eluvians as well, if they are willing to acknowledge City Elves as their equals and assist their brethren.
Trivia
- Duncan misidentifies Tevinter as the source of Eluvians.
Gallery
References
- ↑
David Gaider (2010). "How did Merrill get the Eluvian?" . BioWare Social Network.
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pg. 281 and 258.
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pg. 282.
- ↑ Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, pg. 311 and 312.
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
