Flemeth

“I am a fly in the ointment. I am a whisper in the shadows. I am also an old, old woman. More than that you do not need to know.”

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 "no blood mage, no abomination. She's not even truly human!"^[1] If Fenris encounters her, he will offer a similar assessment of Flemeth's nature. ^[2]

Flemeth has an almost unsettling tendency to be involved in the lives of a number of Ferelden'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: stories of her are sung as far north as Antiva, and the Seekers of Truth know she is more than just a legend.

Involvement

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne.

While on the run from Orlesian sympathizers, Prince Maric Theirin and Loghain Mac Tir are captured by the Dalish, who deliver them to Flemeth. In exchange for leading them out of the Wilds, she requests that Maric make a promise to her that he may not share that knowledge with anyone. She also tells Maric that a Blight will occur one day in Ferelden, and gives Maric a cryptic warning about Loghain; "Keep him close and he will betray you, each time worse than the last."

Dragon Age: Origins

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins.

While on assignment to recover old treaties crucial to the Grey Wardens' effort against the Blight, the party is approached by Morrigan, who reveals that the treaties have been removed by her mother. Apparently, Flemeth had kept them safe in her hut in preparation for the Wardens' hour of need.

Flemeth later rescues the Warden and Alistair from the Tower of Ishal following the disastrous Battle of Ostagar, and brings them back to the hut to heal them. Once they recover and grasp the scope of their responsibilities, she insists that Morrigan accompany them. Flemeth avoids giving a direct answer to her reasons, but implies that her main concern is stopping the Blight and perhaps that she wishes to keep Morrigan safe from it.

Leliana, when asked, will tell the Warden the traditional version of Flemeth's story as known in Ferelden and Orlais. Morrigan may tell the Warden the story as the Chasind know it, as well as Flemeth's own version. Morrigan is quick to point out the distinct possibility that neither version is true.

Morrigan may also ask the Warden to recover Flemeth's Black Grimoire, which is held by the Circle of Magi. Recovered from the First Enchanter's study in the Circle Tower, it can be exchanged for a bonus to Morrigan's approval, and soon afterwards the Warden will hear a startling tale. Morrigan claims to discover that whenever Flemeth feels her body diminish from age, she raises a daughter to follow in her footsteps, only to then possess that daughter and discard the old body. Morrigan asks the Warden to kill Flemeth as a precaution, but will not risk being present for such a confrontation. If confronted, Flemeth offers the Warden a deal: in exchange for her real grimoire, the Warden returns to Morrigan merely pretending that Flemeth is dead. If Flemeth is attacked she will transform into a high dragon.

See Flemeth the Shapeshifter for tips on how to defeat her.

After defeating Flemeth or agreeing to lie to Morrigan, access is granted to Robes of Possession and Flemeth's Real Grimoire.

On the eve of the Battle of Denerim, Morrigan reveals that her ritual was designed by Flemeth. Morrigan conceiving a child with a Grey Warden to trap Urthemiel's soul was (according to Morrigan) Flemeth's motivation from the start. Morrigan does not reveal what Flemeth planned to do with the child herself- perhaps she never knew.

Witch Hunt

This section contains spoilers for:
Witch Hunt.

When the Warden or Warden-Commander finally tracks Morrigan down to the Nest, she will warn them that Flemeth is far more dangerous than they suspected. Morrigan has discovered that her mother is not after immortality after all, but something much more horrifying, though she doesn't mention what. Morrigan also implies that Flemeth is more closely connected to the Blight than anyone ever suspected. If the Warden killed Flemeth, Morrigan will state that she has survived. If the Warden-Commander has had no prior association with Morrigan, she simply implores them to warn the rest of the Grey Wardens about the danger Flemeth poses.

Dragon Age II

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

Flemeth03 — Flemeth encounters Hawke and company outside of Lothering

Flemeth encounters the Hawke family along with Wesley Vallen and his wife Aveline Vallen as they are attempting to escape the Blight in Lothering. Flemeth, in dragon form, saves them from Hurlocks.^[3] 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. ^[4] When Cassandra expressed disbelief about Flemeth's appearance in Hawke's story, 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 states that only cure for the taint (that she knows of) is to become a Grey Warden. Hawke or 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 mention that 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.

Dragon Age: The Silent Grove

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Silent Grove.

Flemeth is mentioned by another daughter, Yavana, the Witch of the Wilds in the Tellari Swamps of Antiva, who reveals that Flemeth made Maric promise to come to the Silent Grove once his children were grown. She also says that Flemeth's ritual of possession that Morrigan feared is a "gift."

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Flemeth will return in Dragon Age: Inquisition.^[5]

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?"
(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."
"Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature."
"I laugh at a world full of stupid humans, who ignore the Blight's evil and abandon their vigilance to pursue mortal goals."

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."

Trivia

Morrigan says that Flemeth turned into a giant bird and carried the Warden and Alistair away from Ostagar, one in each talon. She also says that the Warden need not believe that story, so it's quite possible that Flemeth actually rescued them in her dragon form.
Unsurprisingly, Flemeth's dialogue in Dragon Age II contains several references to her role in Dragon Age: Origins:
- 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.^[6]
- After she saves Hawke and their company, she mentions Alistair and the Warden as the only Grey Warden survivors of the Battle of Ostagar.
- During an exchange with Hawke when a sarcastic option is chosen, Flemeth will also mention Morrigan.
- 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.
Morrigan established Flemeth's survival in Witch Hunt (regardless of player choices), though the exact circumstances would not be revealed until Dragon Age II.
In her initial appearance in Origins, Flemeth wears a commoner's outfit, but when she is confronted later she is wearing generic mage's robes (the false Flemeth from Morrigan's nightmare wears magister's robes). Her radically different costume and hairstyle in Dragon Age II are unique, although they are based on early concept art for the character from Origins.
Much like Isabela and Varric, Flemeth enjoys bantering with a sarcastic Hawke.