“As you were raised up from mortal men to stand with our Creators, our Makers, so raise me up now to defend this world.” ―Ameridan's prayer.
Ghilan'nain is the elven goddess of guides and navigation.[1] She is often called the Mother of the halla—white deer-like creatures revered by the Dalish and used to pull their aravel, or "landships".
Dalish legends[]
One day, Ghilan'nain came across a hunter she did not know. At his feet lay a hawk, shot through the heart by an arrow. Ghilan'nain was filled with rage, for the hawk is an animal much beloved of Andruil. Ghilan'nain called upon the goddess to curse him, so that he could never again hunt and kill a living creature. Ghilan'nain's curse took hold, and the hunter found that he was unable to hunt. Ashamed, the hunter swore he would find Ghilan'nain and repay her for what she had done to him. He blinded her first, and then bound her as one would bind a kill fresh from the hunt. But because he was cursed, the hunter could not kill her. Instead he left her for dead in the forest. And Ghilan'nain prayed to the gods for help. Andruil sent her hares to Ghilan'nain and they chewed through the ropes that bound her, but Ghilan'nain was still wounded and blind, and could not find her way home. So Andruil turned her into a beautiful white deer—the first halla.
—From Codex entry: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla
According to Dalish tales, Ghilan'nain was a huntress of the People[2] and Andruil's chosen.[3][4] She was transformed into the first halla by Andruil[3] and risen to a godly rank for her devotion to the animals.[4]
Ghilan'nain is invoked by Dalish hunters when they struggle to find their way home.[5]
Ghilan'nain was Andruil's beloved. There are a number of different legends describing how she was betrayed by an elven hunter.[6]
Ghilan'nain's name is invoked when the Dalish wish to travel quickly.[6]
In Elvhenan[]
According to an inscription in the Temple of Mythal, Ghilan'nain created giants, monsters, and beasts that spanned across the sky, water, and earth. Ghilan'nain killed those creatures over the course of three days after Andruil approached her with an offer for apotheosis, sparing only those "monsters of air" that she presented to Andruil as a gift, some deep sea creatures and the halla. She thus became the youngest elven god.[7]
The sinner who dared to fly in the shape of the divine took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain.[8]
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: The Veilguard[]
Ghilan'nain emerging from imprisonment
Symbols and shrines[]
Ghilan'nain's sacred animal is a halla. The constellation Equinor, referred to as "the Stallion" in common parlance, might have been associated with the goddess before being deliberately supplanted by the ancient Tevinters.[10]
Ghilan'nain's Grove is located on the Exalted Plains.
Codex entries[]
Codex entry: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain- Codex entry: Constellation: Equinor
- Codex entry: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla
- Codex entry: Halla
Trivia[]
See also[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ According to the statue of Ghilan'nain at the Dalish Camp.
- ↑ Codex entry: Halla (Inquisition)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Codex entry: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 121
- ↑ Clan Shield
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Player's Guide, set 2, p. 23
- ↑ Codex entry: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain
- ↑ Codex entry: Ancient Elven Writing
- ↑ Wesley LeBlanc (June 18, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Returning to the Magic, p. 33" Game Informer.
- ↑ Codex entry: Constellation: Equinor
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