“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. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly.”
Flemeth is a shapeshifter, known as 'the Witch of the Wilds' or Asha'bellanar ("woman of many years" in Dalish). She is widely recognized as the eponymous character of an age-old legend, described variously as extremely powerful and long-lived (or even immortal); "terrible in her temper and wild in her beauty"; and having many daughters, all of whom are witches like their mother.
Background
The name "Flemeth" belongs to a fearsome personage that walked the Wilds centuries ago. According to legend, Flemeth and her daughters can kill a man by fear alone. The "Witch of the Wilds" is not a true title so much as a superstitious name the locals of the Korcari Wilds gave to these terrifying women. Although Morrigan at first believed her mother to be an abomination, she later realized that Flemeth "is not a blood mage, not an abomination and not even truly human."[1]
Flemeth has an almost unsettling tendency to be involved in the lives of a number of Fereldan's most noted citizens. Although she is most associated with the Korcari Wilds to the south of that nation, tales of her have reached much farther afield, as the Seekers of Truth know of her and realize she is more than just a legend.
Involvement
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne
Dragon Age: Origins
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Dragon Age II
"There is a clan of Dalish elves near the city of Kirkwall. Deliver this amulet to their keeper, Marethari."
Flemeth makes a return in Dragon Age II. Early in the game, the Hawke family along with Ser Wesley Vallen and his wife Aveline Vallen were attempting to escape the Blight in Lothering. Flemeth, in dragon form, saves them from Hurlocks.[2] Materializing as a more attractive human form, Flemeth attributes her actions to mere curiosity towards Hawke for defeating an Ogre earlier. Afterward, Flemeth offers Hawke safe passage with the request that Hawke delivers an amulet to a Dalish Keeper, Marethari from the Dalish Elf Origin, whose clan resides near Kirkwall. This begins the quest Long Way Home. She also warns Hawke and Aveline that Wesley is dying from darkspawn corruption, forcing Hawke or Aveline to put him out of his misery. As these events occur during the fall of Lothering to the darkspawn hordes, it is before the Warden can perform Morrigan's quest to kill Flemeth. [3] When Cassandra expressed disbelief about Flemeth's involvement, Varric Tethras suggests he relate the tale of the Warden, to which Cassandra admits that she shouldn't be surprised to hear of the witch's involvement.
Before Hawke or Aveline kills Wesley, Flemeth mentions that the only cure for the taint is to become a Grey Warden. Hawke/Aveline will respond by saying that they all died at Ostagar. Flemeth corrects them, stating "Not all, but the last are now beyond your reach". Once the choice is made, Flemeth will give a cryptic warning about their troubles just beginning.
After giving the amulet to the keeper and performing a Dalish ritual upon it, Flemeth is reborn, as she stored a part of herself within it. She reveals this was a form of security in case Morrigan was successful in convincing the Warden to kill her. If asked "Are you real?" she will comment on the fact that unlike mortals, she is not limited to being in one place at a time. Her current self is merely a piece of herself that she has projected, effectively enabling her to live on regardless of whether the Warden killed her or not. She then tells Hawke that change is about to come to the world, and gives a number of cryptic warnings to Hawke and Merrill. After this, she flies away in her high dragon form and does not reappear in the game.
Late in the game, Sandal mentions an old woman with a scary laugh who tells him bad things, which mystifies Bodahn and Hawke. It isn't much of a stretch to speculate that Sandal is referring to Flemeth.
Dragon Age: The Silent Grove
Quotes
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne
- "There are things hidden in the shadows of your kingdom, young man, which you couldn't begin to guess."
- (To Loghain) "You've rage enough inside you, tempered into a blade of fine steel. Into whose heart will you plunge that one day, I wonder?"
- "Keep him close and he will betray you. Each time worse than the last".
- (To Maric) "You will hurt the ones you love the most, and become what you hate in order to save what you love".
Dragon Age: Origins
- "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."
- "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)"
- "I laugh at a world full of stupid humans, who ignore the Blight's evil and abandon their vigilance to pursue mortal goals."
- 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."
Dragon Age II
- "Hurtled into chaos, you fight... and the world will shake before you." (Aside, to herself) "Is it fate or chance? I can never decide."
- (To Bethany or Carver) "Regret is something I know well. Take care not to cling to it, to hold it so close that it poisons your soul."
- "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. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly."
- "There is always a catch. Life is a catch! I suggest you catch it while you can."
- "I am a fly in the ointment, a whisper in the shadows. I am also an old, old woman. More than that, you need not know."
Trivia
- After she saves Hawke and their company, she mentions Alistair and the Warden as the only Grey Warden survivors of the Battle of Ostagar.
- Her first words in Dragon Age II are, "Well, well... what have we here?" The same words first spoken by Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins.[4]
- During an exchange with Hawke when a sarcastic option is chosen, Flemeth will mention Morrigan, but not by name.
- Much like Isabela and Varric, Flemeth will respond positively to sarcastic choices.
- After it is mentioned that she is the Witch of the Wilds, she quips that one of her names is, "an old hag who talks too much." This is what Alistair calls her in Dragon Age: Origins, just days before her encounter with Hawke.
See also
Gallery
References
- ↑ Witch Hunt
- ↑ Game Informer (Print Edition), pp. 7-8
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Game-play Video of Dragon Age 2
External links
- Flemeth on the BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins wiki.