Forum:Races in the Eluvian - Qunari origins hinted?

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So, I know most of us are all busy with life or playing Inquisition, but I have a question for those of you who are willing to answer.

I played as a Qunari. When I went through the eluvian and into the crossroads everything seemed fine and dandy. I've seen this video on youtube of an elf going through. And it was the exact same experience for me, I think. My head filled up on theories by the time I finished the game and I've forgotten how that scene played out for me exactly.

Anyway, after that, I saw a video of a human going through. And by george that was interesting. That was very different to the elf one. And now its got me super curious as to what happens with dwarves. Does anyone have any videos of a qunari or a dwarf going through, or would you mind sharing your experience.

Now the reason I ask is because, if we combine the possibility that a qunari has the same effect in the crossroads as an elf, then we can assume the races share a similar heritage. Add on to this what Iron Bull says after you slay your first dragon. And then what the big bad says to a qunari inquisitor during the final battle....

We may well have a plausible origin for the qunari. Or Kossith. Whatever you wish to refer to the race by. If not, then I'm back to being stumped.

Oh, and I have absolutely no idea whether qunari origins have been confirmed or this topic has been discussed elsewhere at all. I've kinda been glued to inquisition for the past few weeks. 21:49, December 4, 2014 (UTC)

I do not think that this has been discussed elsewhere and I do not know how different the races are (I have compared different youtube videos) inside the eluvian but to analyse your theory.

• Outward traits: the qunari have pointy ears, like the elves but otherwise look quite different.
• Geography: While the elves are the natives of Thedas the qunari come from... elsewere. It is possible that they are distantly related though.
• Corypheous' statement "your race isn't a race, it is a mistake" did make me think too but I do not know the credibility of it, by the time the qunari arrive Corypheous has already... well... taken a nap. It is possible though that he had access to very ancient records from the time before humans arrived in Thedas (both the qunari and humans come from the north so it is plausible that they come from the same continent), but I would consider it improbable because of the lack of written record that seems to come from that time.

Caspoi (talk) 22:34, December 4, 2014 (UTC)

Qunari are said to come from elsewhere, but this is a little "sketchy", since all records before Koslun are a but rare. It is also possible that the original qunari race were exiled to elsewhere. Then came back. And Corypheus had access to those records, or heard that story.

Anyway, my idea is pretty much this. Elves and Qunari share the same lineage. They have the same genetics if you want to think of it like that. But, like in X-men, Qunari carry a mutant gene which makes them distinctly different from elves. This is caused by dragon blood. Be it Tevinter, or ancient Arlathan, or something else, a civilization who enslaved elves force fed them dragons blood. Doing this, made them better slaves, or so they thought. These slaves discovered their newfound reaver abilities and rebelled. The rebellion was quashed easily. The "infected" slaves were few in number, but the extent to which they bred was unclear. So they exiled all the slaves. Or killed them all and a handful escaped and fled.

Generations pass and these elves grow in size. They become physically stronger, taller, and less like the regular elves. More generations pass, and the horns begin to sprout. Then, they sail south and rediscover their homeland, unknowingly. Thus the qunari we know today are born. This is mostly inspired by what Iron Bull says, and the fact that he's a reaver. But, to be honest, ANYTHING is possible given the revelations in inquisition. But one thing does seem apparent, elves and qunari share some ancestry. 22:50, December 4, 2014 (UTC)

I would not call it "apparent" but it is interesting, the idea that they are simply reavers does sound a little bit far-fetched though. Oh, and one thing that I meant to write before but forgot is that qunari, like the dwarves do not dream like elves and humans, just a thing of note. Caspoi (talk) 23:47, December 4, 2014 (UTC)

That whole bit about qunari being like dwarves, is totally unconfirmed. They may well be, but, unlike dwarves, they are capable of magic. And thus they must have ties to the fade, so they should, in theory, dream like elves and men. That said, they see the fade as the realm of the dead and their culture pretty much allows for a loophole regarding whether or not they dream. They probably just don't talk about it. And regarding reavers, it is pretty miraculous that Iron Bull just happens to be one right? And that Cole says he has dragon horns, and that most qunari look like they have dragon horns. To me it sounds pretty obvious, not far fetched at all. 00:22, December 5, 2014 (UTC)

I had gotten the impression that qunari did not dream like humans and elves and just wanted to point it out. And the fact that the Iron Bull (one qunari) is a reaver does not make all qunari so. Yes they have horns but there is a large step to go between "qunari have horns" and "qunari are ancient elven reavers". Caspoi (talk) 01:28, December 5, 2014 (UTC)

Origins certainly did give that impression, but inquisition kind of throws that out the water with the banter Bull and Solas have, Bull is very much aware of the fade and dreaming. Now, I never said it did make all qunari ancient elven reavers. Legend says Calenhad drank dragon blood, but Alistair is not a reaver, by default anyway. Thus, just because dragon blood is there doesn't mean you will automatically be a reaver. It simply means they have the potential to be, more so than an ordinary person does to spontaneously develop reaver powers. My point is that I think Qunari are descended from ancient elven reavers. And due to inbreeding and what not, the occasional qunari will magically be a reaver, or cleaner bloodlines will be born with no horns. With Bull, there was absolutely zero explanation for him being a reaver. What was said about dragon blood, is part of what sparked my theory. 01:47, December 5, 2014 (UTC)

From what I understood, the Reaver specialization in Inquisition is pretty much a mix of the previous berserker and reaver specializations. I may be misinformed, but there is anywhere in Inquisition stating that you have to consume dragon blood to acquire that specialization? The Templar specialization in Inquisition is also named like a previous game but also works differently in mechanics and lore. And don't require the ingestion of lyrium. (Joao gabrielp (talk) 02:19, December 5, 2014 (UTC))

Not sure if it is related to the topic, but I think Iron Bull said the current Qunari had to leave their original homeland because something bad happened and that the "other" Qunari are very different from them. Tough that's the only thing he knows. I think that maybe the Qunari we know were a small faction of fanatics who tried to impose their philosophy on their homeland but failed and were forced into exile for political reasons. Maybe the majority of the Qunari aren't really very different from humans, elves and dwarves, but we don't know them yet. (Joao gabrielp (talk) 02:27, December 5, 2014 (UTC))

I played a mage so... but I looked up a vid, and the reaver specializaton requires you to conquer dragons mix up concoctions and drink some blood. Specifically dragon blood. So yeah, Reaver does require yo to drink dragon blood.

I didn't experience that line myself, but it may be true. It's also true that most qunari have horns, Bull says as much. Hornless qunari are rare which is why they're special. So my point about being of common descent with elves is still possible. Not to mention Elvhenaan had some 3000 odd years at least to play around with stuff. It's not difficult to believe they exiled a dragon cult or something like that. Or a shipwreck and they had to eat and drink dragons... 02:52, December 5, 2014 (UTC)

Seems possible. I only played as a human mage yet so I didn't get that line from Corypheus, but it seems that line also implies the magisters might had something to do with the Qunari too. If they didn't he probably would formed that sentence differently. As it is, it's almost as if he is speaking from personal experience. (Joao gabrielp (talk) 03:11, December 5, 2014 (UTC))

I also got the same impression especially after seeing the whole eluvian thing. Furthemore many of the traits that are associated with a Qunari (like size and strength) could be explained by the many generations of selective breeding they have gone through under the Qun and the way Corypheus speaks also makes it seem like he actually knows something which could definitely help explain the dragon blood bit that is told by Bull and why dragons are considered "holy". It is just a theory yet but I think it is very plausible or that something similar will eventually be revealed. Alexskr (talk) 05:50, December 5, 2014 (UTC)

Well, if the Imperiums the source, I wouldn't be surprised if the qunari size and strength is explained by the imperiums attempts to breed a superior slave. The only thing left to explain would be the horns. Which the only explanation I can think of is a few generations of dragon blood being force fed to them, resulting in horn growth. 13:42, December 5, 2014 (UTC)

At op, were you a mage? Because I went in as a human mage and I was expecting a to go in with a headache (going off the background from TME), but everything was cool. It seems only elves and mages are unaffected by the Eluvians wards. -- Soulofshezarr (talk) 14:41, December 5, 2014 (UTC)