“You offer me a stately dinner, when what I want is the ravening, bare-fisted gluttony of a starving man.”
Imshael is an ancient desire demon,[1] purportedly one of the first demons to come in contact with human Magi. Imshael itself identifies itself as a "spirit of choice" although it is more commonly known as one of The Forbidden Ones.
Background
“The first of the magus cast themselves deep in the Fade in search of answers and power, always power. They found the forbidden ones – Xebenkeck, Imshael, Gaxkang the Unbound, and The Formless One. Many conversations were had and much of the fabric of the world revealed. And thus the magic of blood was born.” ―Unknown mage
Involvement
Dragon Age: The Masked Empire
In 9:40 Dragon, Imshael is summoned from the Fade by the Dalish clan Virnehn and trapped in a binding circle, diminishing its power. The clan's keeper, Thelhen, seeks its assistance in unlocking the secrets of the Eluvians. However, Imshael refused, seeing that Thelhen only wants the eluvians awakened and nothing more and wouldn't submit to the consequences of his actions.
Later, when Clan Virnehn plays host to Empress Celene and her entourage, Imshael uses blood magic to lure her champion, Ser Michel de Chevin to it. Engaging in dialogue with Michel, Imshael reveals the existence of the eluvians to Michel and the reason it was brought to the physical world. The demon then tries to make a deal, suggesting that Michel sacrifice a mortal as a host for it in exchange for influencing the dreams of men, who would unknowingly forge documents and claim that Michel is fully human, so as to hide the fact that he is elf-blooded.
Michel later returned with Celene and ordered the demon to produce the Keystone. Imshael then created a Keystone that would lead whoever wielded it through a series of Eluvians that would end in a central chamber connected to all of the Eluvians in Thedas. From there, whomever holds the Keystone could reactivate the Eluvians and reset the spoken password needed to travel through them. But after taking the keystone, Michel attempts to destroy the binding circle, thinking that it would send Imshael back into the Fade, but the demon had in fact misled him and breaking the circle released the demon. After Imshael is free, the demon goes on to massacre all the remaining members of clan Virnehn; save Mihris, the clan First who was spared because Imshael was amused by Ser Michel de Chevin's decision to spare her and secretly possessed the elven mage, keeping its true nature secret even as Mihris joined forces with Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons to get revenge on Michel. After both parties reach the central chamber of the network, as Gaspard and Michel duel for the fate of Orlais, Lienne de Montsimmard and Mihris secretly hexed Michel to make him falter. After Briala kills Lienne, she deduces that Mihris' magic had strengthened considerably since last they met and realizes that Imshael had possessed her. The demon is persuaded to leave her body after Felassan told it that "something bigger was coming" to Thedas. The demon's essence then left the elf's body and enters one of the eluvians, departing to parts unknown.
Ser Michel de Chevin vows to pursue Imshael to atone for his part in the destruction of the clan.
It is worth noting, however, that Imshael did not, in fact, destroy the entirety of Clan Virnehn. The children--who were too young to properly make a choice Imshael could feed upon--were allowed to live. Imshael sent them to another Dalish clan. This clan was, however, facing potential hunger as it was due to the onset of winter: another opportunity for the kind of choices Imshael enjoyed.[2]
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Imshael appears in and can be defeated in the Emprise Du Lion quest Call Me Imshael, still pursued by Ser Michel de Chevin.
Imshael allies with Corypheus' forces in Suledin Keep, helping to cultivate the red lyrium growing there. Upon hearing that Michel was hunting him, Imshael dismissed the former chevalier as a threat.
When the Inquisitor confronts Imshael, the demon will try to negotiate. It will offer the Inquisitor either riches, power or virgins.
- "Riches" yields a
Sapphire, 
Pearl, Diamond and Emerald. - "Power" yields a Pure Spirit Essence, an Amulet of Power (Cole) and the unique shield March of the Everlasting.
- "Virgins" will result in humorous banter, where Imshael reveals that he doesn't have any virgins to give. Instead, he will offer a Superb Corrupting Rune. If Cole is with the party, Imshael will mention him as a virgin, but the Inquisitor would probably not want him.
If the Inquisitor accepts a deal of any sort, Imshael murders Michel, preventing him from being recruited into the Inquisition.
If the Inquisitor refuses, Imshael shifts between the forms of fear, rage and pride demons before being killed. (One player's experience suggests) Imshael's corpse yields the same as the 'power' option: a
Pure Spirit Essence, an 
Amulet of Power (Cole) and the unique shield 
March of the Everlasting.
References
- ↑ "A desire demon, more cunning than anything I have encountered... and I have played the Game." —Michel de Chevin
- ↑
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 279.