This was probably discussed multiple times, but I'll dare to bring it up once more. The DA lore has a notion of a "soul," an immaterial substance that lingers when the body dies, "made of dream and idea, hope and fear". At the same time, there is also a notion of a "spirit," an immaterial being residing in the realm of dreams (Fade/Beyond) and able to shape it. What if they are one and the same?
The Chantry teachings say that dead souls pass through the Veil, and the unworthy dissipate, returning to the ether ("the Void") from which they were made, while the worthy move further to the Maker's side. However the mages declare that there is no proof to substantiate the Chantry's claim, as no dead soul has ever been witnessed to enter the Fade. The Fade spirits claim not to know what happens to the souls. The Dalish believe that elven souls (interestingly, they say "spirits" rather than "souls") wander the shifting paths of the Beyond, and in the past the elders were able to voluntary enter a slumber-like state (uthenera) and awaken from it, i.e. were dreamers who are able to shape the Fade just like spirits do. In Asunder we have Cole, who is initially referred to as a ghost - a lost soul. He describes a feeling of drowning in the darkness, falling into the cracks between what is real and what is not real. In the end there is nothing left of his personality but a pure spirit and it is unclear how the Cole we see in Chapter 1 is related to it. Are they different entities, or was it an evolution of sorts? In TSG Yavana outright summons the spirit of Claudio to the mortal realm. We also know that spirits (including Justice and various types of demons) are able to exhibit emotions like living souls, and while one can argue that they imitate mortals, why do they know envy in the first place? In DAA the Baroness draws souls/spirits of villagers into the Fade and turns into a demon (i.e. a malevolent spirit) herself.
All in all, I see more similarities than differences, and I'm inclined to think that spirits are "souls" trapped in the Fade, either after they forgot their mortal lives or before they were able to experience them. What do you think? Please, share) Asherinka (talk) 21:25, May 5, 2012 (UTC)
The way I've been interpreting it, the Fade kind of is the afterlife, though perhaps not in the manner it has always been. Souls of the deceased pass beyond the Veil and into the Beyond (not yet the Fade). Worthy souls would be drawn to the Maker's side in the Golden City, with the unworthy being spun into the substance of the Beyond itself and perhaps being subject to reincarnation. But then the Magisters corrupted the Golden City with their mortal sins, turning it Black and causing the Maker to abandon humanity in disgust.
The Beyond now becomes the Fade, where souls literally fade away into formlessness, with nowhere else to go. But particularly forceful souls might have a way to escape this fate. A great warrior, for example, might lose all sense of himself in the Fade, but remain in some manner as a singular concept. A hero might become a Spirit of Valor, while a marauder might become a Rage Demon. All that's left of them is their defining characteristic in life, so that is what they seek to reclaim from contact with mortals. Son Goharotto (talk) 21:56, May 5, 2012 (UTC)
- Btw, this^ doesn't necessarily take into account Elven lore. But I remember reading someone else's theory that The Maker might be Fen'Harel, after he tricked and sealed away the Elven Gods and Forgotten Ones. It rather like that. Son Goharotto (talk) 23:01, May 5, 2012 (UTC)
- What confuses me is that I don't see alot of middle ground for religions in Dragon Age. It seems like everyone wants to have ONE way of how the world was made (Maker, Creators, etc.) to the exception of all others. Isn't there a way to explain how ALL the Pantheons of God(s) can weave together without trying to put new names to faces (Maker= Fen'Harel)? If all the lore we gather in both games is anything to go by, then the Elven gods were around first; but it never says that the Maker couldn't have shown up later and made the humans, does it? That the Maker and all the other gods aren't perhaps old friends making bets on the fates of mortals? Okay, rant over. Whether Spirits and "souls" have anything to do with eachother seems like too difficult a topic to discuss without some concrete lore or something to give the theory substance. My theory is that souls return to the Fade and "melt" into the background again, not strictly reincarnation per se but all "souls" and spirits would be made from the same material? Ether? Who knows? EzzyD (talk) 12:13, May 22, 2012 (UTC)
- Ever tried convincing a Christian that the Norse gods came first and they really all happily coexist up in the clouds? There is no middle ground in religion. Middle ground requires compromise, which requires logic and a willingness to cede certain points to the other party, or at least acknowledge that their points are just as valid as yours. Faith is by nature illogical and unchangeable. Getting a relgious person to change their mind on anything pertaining to religion is impossible unless they themselves choose to form a different opinion. And such choices are extremely rare. This is no different in the world of Dragon Age.
- I like the idea that souls and spirits are made of the same basic material. I'm not sure if I'd prefer reincarnation (where a spirit cycles between a life in the Fade and a life in Thedas) or souls and spirits as kin born in different worlds. I once read a novel that postulated the idea that beings can be born by combining a bit of the Otherworld (that universe's Fade) with a bit of a human's personality. That also appeals to me. It would allow the suggestion that mages are perhaps souls "born" with just a hint of the Fade in them, not enough to make them a spirit and resident of the Fade, but enough to let them connect with that realm.
- Kestrella (talk) 16:04, May 22, 2012 (UTC)
To me it would make sense if spirits were just souls of the long dead. It may also explain why demons want to posses mages so much and return to the physical realm, being bad/selfish people who were never able to accept thier own deaths.--Nemesis1807 (talk) 11:47, May 22, 2012 (UTC)nemesis1807