Fans are super excited about the forthcoming Dragon Age 4 and one thing is for sure, at least one of the companions from Dragon: Age Inquisition is set to make a comeback, Solas, or as he was revealed to be at the end of the game — the Dread Wolf.
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For those who are new to the series and want some background information, or for any old players looking to refresh their memory, here's a list of everything you need to know about the Dread Wolf for when the next game releases.
10 Who is the Dread Wolf?
Fen'Harel, also known as the Dread Wolf, is an elven god, generally seen as the god of betrayal or rebellion due to his past actions. He is best known for betraying both the Creators and the Forgotten Ones, claiming to be kindling a truce between the two, but ultimately sealing both away in the heavens and the abyss by creating the veil.
Despite some of his more infamous misdeeds, the Dread Wolf did show his compassion for the elven people and freed slaves by removing their vallaslin, and as a result, he gained many followers.
9 His Role in the Dragon Age Series
While the Dread Wolf was mentioned in the very first game in the series as part of the lore of Thedas, he didn't take an active role until the release of Inquisition. Unbeknownst to players until the end of the game, the Dread Wolf had accompanied them as a companion named Solas, an elven apostate with a deep understanding of the Fade.
Solas brought about the events of Inquisition and caused the breach in the Fade by allowing his Orb of Destruction to fall into the hands of Corypheus. This was because Solas was not strong enough after his slumber to open it himself, but the events afterward did not unfold as he had expected.
8 Past Romance
During his time as one of the Inquisitor's companions, Solas was a romantic option if players chose to be a female elf. It's unclear whether this might affect the storyline going into Dragon Age 4, as Inquisitors who romanced him did experience a slightly different scene when they found him again in Trespasser.
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However, Solas was not originally intended to be a romance option for the game but was added when development was extended by a year, leaving many to believe it will have no impact on the longer story whatsoever.
7 The Truth of his Deeds
Like many things, the passage of time and history has changed some of the details of what the Dread Wolf did. While it's true that he tricked the Evanuris, known as the Creators to the elven people, he did so for a very good reason — they murdered the goddess Mythal, who Solas considered to be "the best" of the Evanuris and the "voice of reason".
As a punishment, Solas created the veil and sealed them away, convinced that had they been left in the mortal world that they would have destroyed it. After using his power to create the veil, Solas fell into a long slumber and when he awoke he was surprised by the negative impact the veil had caused on the world. The elves lost their immortality and most of their magic, and the elvish marvels reliant on the Fade had begun to crumble.
6 The Dread Wolf's Goals
As erecting the veil did not have the results that Solas had anticipated, he intends to rectify his past mistakes by tearing down the veil. This will cause the world of Thedas as it is currently known to be destroyed, at which point Solas plans to restore the world of the elves from his time.
This was what Solas had originally planned to achieve by using Corypheus as a tool, but of course, plans went awry when Corypheus didn't die as Solas had expected, and so the anchor that Solas had intended on using himself ended up with the Inquisitor.
5 Mythal's Demise
Though history recorded Fen'Harel as being the murderer of Mythal, when players encountered the ancient elf Abelas in Inquisition, he made it clear that the Dread Wolf was not responsible for her death, and much later, notes found in the Trespasser DLC revealed the whole truth.
Despite not being her original murderer, at the end of Inquisition, Solas does seem to take Mythal's life (or what remains of her spark in Flemeth's body). Designer notes coded into the game reveal that Flemeth knew Solas would steal her power and allowed it, knowing that his drive to restore the elven people meant he would kill even his oldest friend.
4 He's Stronger Now
One of the things that players learned from the Trespasser DLC is that Solas has grown considerably stronger since he was a mere healer in their party, in fact, he admits as much to the Inquisitor. This increase in power is likely due to him absorbing Mythal's power at the end of Inquisition.
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It's not just his magical powers that have increased either, as Trespasser also revealed that Solas has a large following of devotees to his cause, with many elves leaving the Inquisition to join the agents of Fen'Harel. This increase in power is setting Solas up to be a formidable foe for the next installment, though whether he will be the sole antagonist remains to be seen.
3 New Powers
As part of Solas's newfound powers, he also has new abilities that he seemingly did not have throughout the main story of Inquisition. During the Trespasser DLC, Solas exhibited new abilities that allow him to petrify people with just a thought/flash of his blue eyes.
It's clear that Solas can do this en masse, as the Inquisitor comes across multiple people turned to stone in the DLC. This new power will likely pose a problem for the new protagonist of Dragon Age 4.
2 He's Not Above Killing his Friends
Solas stole Mythal's remaining power from Flemeth, which seemingly kills her in doing so, proving that Solas is willing to pay any price in order to fulfill his ultimate goal of returning the world to what it was, and there are even more examples that he's willing to cross all lines before him.
It is revealed in Trespasser that Solas killed his friend and follower Felassan when he failed to take control of the eluvian network that Briala possessed, though Solas apparently did so with some regret. He also made it more than clear to the Inquisitor that they too would have to die for him to achieve what he wants.
1 Solas in Tevinter
Bioware has already confirmed that Solas will be returning in Dragon Age 4 and that at least some part of the game will feature the Tevinter Imperium too. This is really interesting as Dragon Age lore appears to show a connection between Tevinter and the Dread Wolf, as there is a city within Tevinter called "Solas", located north of the Silent Plains.
If fans are correct in assuming this location has a connection to the Dread Wolf himself, perhaps Dragon Age 4 features Tevinter because Solas needs to visit this location for some reason to fulfill his goal of returning the elven world to what it was.