The Singing Blade is the fifth main quest in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. According to Morrigan it is crucial that the team recovers the dagger that Solas used during his ritual as it holds great power, perhaps even being the key to defeating the gods. Rook, Harding and Neve therefore head back to the ritual site to look for it while Bellara remains to look at their Eluvian.
Acquisition[]
This quest is received after completing Shadows Crossing at which the team will immediately travel to the Ritual Site.
Walkthrough[]
Solas has lost his lyrium dagger, an ancient magical artifact of great power. Harding is eager to return to the site of his ritual, hoping to find the dagger before it falls into the wrong hands.
Find the lyrium dagger[]
Speak with Harding upon arriving where she will admit that she holds regrets from the outcome of the ritual. Rook has several options to respond, though only one of them results in approval changes. Hop down the wooden scaffolding to uncover an area of residual magic that the team suspects was the original location of the dagger before it was taken somewhere.
Retrieve the lyrium dagger[]
Head deeper into the ruins to see a ghoul holding a blue magical object before it runs away. Keep chasing the ghoul suspected of taking the dagger and you'll run into a single hurlock, followed by a simple beam generator puzzle to advance through a door. Just aim the beam at the energy node above the gate. Once through, loot the chest. Afterward, head out into a clearing and take care of a group of darkspawn before destroying the blight boils to venture further in.
Walk under a stone bridge and turn left to climb up some cliffs that will let you access a chest after crossing over the bridge. Return to the main path where you'll need to destroy two blight boils to continue further. One is located on the wall to the left of the blocked path, whereas the other is located underneath the bridge constructed from the housed power crystal. Remove the crystal to uncover the remaining blight boil below. Loot the revealed chest and place the power crystal in the next housing to raise the gate.
Take care of the group of darkspawn in the next area and align the two beam generators to open a gate that leads to a chest. One of the beam generators can be accessed by a short stairway, while the other's access is a ladder hidden behind a breakable wooden wall to the left of the locked gate. Return to the main area and clear a blight boil blocking the path toward the objective. You'll encounter a Protected Javeler and a group of ghouls blocking your path. Take care of them and once you've entered the Old Quarry, drop down into the water and head North to find another chest. Continue back toward the quest marker to reach the final clearing and fight the ghoul.
The Lyrium Ghoul is a fast attacking boss enemy. Its basic attacks can be dodged or blocked, but be sure to evade its conal lyrium attack that applies Necrosis with every hit.
When the fight is over, Harding stops Rook from picking up the dagger and picks it up herself. As she tries to hand it to Rook, blue lyrium colored veins begin spreading over her body. The rock beneath her gives way, causing her to fall from the cliffside. However, her voice becomes layered and echoed as she speaks "This is the eternal hymn, the prayer, and the proclamation. Isatunoll. I am. We are. Free again. Whole again. Here again. Here... again..." before rising out from the rock itself with her eyes glowing blue and thick blue lyrium veins covering her body. As the glow fades a few ghouls try to sneak up on the party, and Harding freezes and shatters them with her newly gained magical abilities.
Harding being thrown off the quaking cliffside after touching Solas' lyrium dagger.
The second phase of the boss battle begins. Harding's stone-wielding magic summons rock walls from the ground, encasing the battle to a stone arena while darkspawn attack. The stones retract as more darkspawn appear. After fighting a few waves, the Lyrium Ghoul joins in again, this time protected by a barrier. Other darkspawn keep appearing as you fight it. It gains a new move where it jumps into a blight pool to disappear from the fight for a while, which gives you time to take care of other darkspawn in the fight.
The team agrees to head back to the Lighthouse and a cutscene plays showing Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain observing the battle using magic. It is revealed that the Lyrium Ghoul was Ghilan'nain's "pet" tasked with retrieving the Lyrium Dagger from the Ritual Site. Due to this failure, they set their sights on crafting a new dagger - this time made with red lyrium instead.
Back at the Lighthouse, Neve, Harding, and Rook meet in the library to discuss Harding's newfound magical abilities that seem to have been triggered by Solas's Lyrium Dagger. Rook has the opportunity to give their opinion on these powers, and this conversation also gives Rook their first romance dialogue opportunity with her. Harding leaves the conversation stating they'll send word to the Grey Wardens about their encounters with the blight and darkspawn, while Rook intends to try and speak with Solas again.
Rewards[]
- 1,850 XP
- My Regards - Uncommon Shortbow (Harding)
- 300 gold
- Everyone's bond increased
- Harding's bond increased
- Codex Update
Results[]
The team has returned to the site of Solas's ritual, hoping to find Solas's lyrium dagger before the power artifact falls into the wrong hands.
The team returned to Solas's ritual site, hoping the find the lyrium dagger that Solas lost. They pried the ancient artifact away from the darkspawn ghouls that were drawn to it, but touching the dagger has had a profound effect on Harding, seemingly rekindling a forgotten link between her and "the Stone". What this means for Harding remains to be seen.
Notable loot[]
- Back Passage
- Forest Guardian's Veil (medium helm) / Vitaar of the Veil (medium vitaar)
- Ancient Bridge
- Crown of Leaves (heavy helm) / Asaaranda (heavy vitaar)
- Cliffside Passage
- Golden Grassblade (rogue) / Firebrand (mage) / Sentinel's Glory (warrior)
- Dark Shard (rogue) / Etched Raider's Axe (warrior) / Frostbranch (mage)
- Old Quarry
- Time-tested Trappings (medium armor)
Approval[]
On Harding's regret from the ritual[]
We all carry blame - Neve and Harding approve
On Harding's magical abilities[]
Just make sure to aim - Harding approves
