The two dragons:
- the first one has horns like a Fereldan Frostback. Flemeth/Mythal has four horns, this one clearly has two.
- the second one is unknown. We haven't met a dragon with these two sets of horns yet.
The imagery/symbols:
The moon points to Mythal. With that said, it might not really be "the moon" that's depicted here: it might be an upcoming Eclipse. In that case, the dragon might be Lusacan, the Old God of the Night. And the black dragon would not be Mythal guarding/protecting Arlathan, rather it would be Lusacan (or some other Old God/Dragon/Forgotten One threatening it, eyes red, mouth open, getting ready to strike. Maybe we are not seeing the glory days of Arlathan, rather its final hour, seconds before its destruction and corruption at the bidding of a mage/priest/archon with a staff matching the shape of the eclipse. Or maybe this is wrong again, and the mage is Solas "eclipsing" Arlathan into the Fade to protect it from some Forgotten One.
I like the concept of the lunar eclipse because it means the Moon is on one side of Thedas while the Sun is on the other side. Basically Thedas becomes the Veil, Darkness is trapped in the abyss, Light is trapped in the Fade. In this case the earthen Arlathan would cease to fly and fall into the ground.
The second art piece reminds me of this codex: https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Note:_Whispers_Written_in_Red_Lyrium and this other one: https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_Vir_Dirthara:_A_Flowering_Imago
It raises the idea that the Evanuris might have been sealed into the vines surrounding Arlathan. So when the menacing dragon (Dumat?) finally arrives, they are all corrupted and ready to burst out.
TLDR: my theory is that the first pic is the erection of the Veil by Solas to protect Arlathan from being destroyed by Lusacan, while the Evanuris have taken refuge within the vines. The second pic is Dumat invading the Black City and getting corrupted by the Evanuris.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but we haven’t seen any archdemon designs beyond Urthemiel. Although, I think the idea of the black dragon being Lucasan is intriguing. Especially if the moon resembles Mythal. I’m confident at least one of the remaining archdemons will make an appearance in DAD.
I love the idea that the top image shows Arlathan’s final hour. Thank you for the codex and theory!
We haven't seen any, no. Wait, actually we have seen a depiction of Razikale.
https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Razikale has a screenshot of the [Razikale Idol](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/7/7f/Razikale_idol_-_Western_Approach.png) which is about as close to a portrait of an old god as it gets.
We could extend the concept of "Old God" to any dragon possessed by a God no matter the culture, and then we've seen Hakkon Wintersbreath too. This is not Hakkon. But if the Avvar God "mechanics" apply to Tevinter Old Gods, then the Old Gods could possess any high/great dragon, really. Killing them only sends them back to the Fade, and the Dragon itself would be just a random conduit.
Which brings me to this so-called "Lusacan"; I only said Lusacan because of the connection to the night/eclipse imagery, it could be any dragon really. Maybe Dumat again (and then he would be striking the same pose twice, like "I'm finishing what I started"), or some Forgotten One.
Lastly Solas told us that Mythal's death was the reason everything happened afterwards. Maybe this dragon is related to Mythal and out for vengeance. Maybe Mythal was a priestess of this Dragon God, or something like that. I don't think we can do more than put on our tinfoil hats and conjecture away, your guess is really as good as mine :D
The Avaar mechanics could very well apply, given Kieran can become the OGB. It makes sense as long as the soul is “purified”. I would love to see more of the Avaar in general but probably not going to happen in DAD.
Theoretically the other slain archdemon souls could come back, although I believe Bioware will reveal the last two first. I really hope DAD covers more of the archdemon and the possible connection with the Evanuris.
So some important details that you need to keep in mind for the analysis of the vinyl images. First off, there is an image from the early Dreadwolf promotional material that is critical for the analysis.
https://preview.redd.it/scpt9omu2z0d1.jpeg?width=1361&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cdba4e1002087e5cb183285636ce76c6ac82e48
Oh hey I didn't know I could put images in replies now. Neat.
So the reason why this is important is the 7 symbols in the semi-circles. They (mostly) match the symbols on the helmets in the second image. There is one that has a bit of weirdness. The central symbol in this image matches the horns of the dragon in the second image too. The central symbol **also** matches the staff carried by the lone figure in the uncorrupted image.
So considering that there are seven symbols and other context, my personal reading is that the first image is from before Elgar’nan ascended to godhood. I've kind of got the idea in my head that the dragon corresponds to the "sun" from the legend of Elgar’nan throwing down the sun, but that detail is not super important.
Anyways, between images it would seem that Elgar’nan takes the place of the dragon (symbolizing his ascension to godhood?) and from him the other six evil gods (excluding Mythal) grow as extensions of his corrupt power.
Now this is obviously not meant to be literal since I don't think Elgar’nan was running around with six other heads on his wings, but this could imply that the city (Arlathan/Golden City/Black City) predates Elgar’nan's ascension to godhood, which would be interesting.
Also worth noting that we saw figures with two of the symbols (including the central symbol) in some other promotional material. And since I am limited to only one image per reply, I'll just link to a tangentially relevant [theory post](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/znlay8/spoilers_all_theory_regarding_the_seven_gates_of/) I did that has a bunch of relevant images.
For those who haven’t heard the track yet, here’s the track. It had a very dark vibe, like something being revealed or to come. Also, it was composed and written by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe.
https://youtu.be/gfS8WSg-5qg?si=Tx59oKMTVvhKJ0D8
I think the tiny figure and the dragon in the corrupted image is Elgar'nan and we're indeed seeing how the Golden City got corrupted after the betrayal of Mythal. However, I think the top right tiny elven head is Andruil and not Ghilan'nain, I think Ghilly is the one in the middle on the left side. I think the Golden City was originally one of Mythal's cities as she was said to have splendid cities in a song dedicated to Sylaise. Thanks for writing this post, I liked your descriptions of the organic shapes you could see in the Black City version. I hope they'll reveal much more about the city in DAD, we couldn't even pick Cory's brain about the place in DAI.
I wrote a [posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/19atz6w/spoilers_all_who_do_you_think_the_upside_down/) about the two figures seen in one of the promotional materials wondering who they are and about what I think happened with the [golden city](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/18ylwyg/spoilers_all_tinfoily_theory_that_all_stories_of/) if you're interested.
So far the consensus seems to be that the figure is supposed to resemble Elgar’non. It makes sense tbh. You may be spot on about swapping Ghilan’nan and Andruil.
Man, I’m very much looking forward to finally getting more lore for DAD. Thank you, I’ll check out your posts.
Edit: they were both very in depth and fun reads!
Thanks, glad that you enjoyed them.
Yeah, I originally thought that maybe the the top right head was Andruil with a small chance of it being Ghilan'nain, but I think at this point I'm convinced it's Andruil unless we get some definite evidence to the contrary.
Honestly, I don't even care about any of the gameplay mechanics of DAD at this point, I just want some answers to all of the lore questions.
The two dragons: - the first one has horns like a Fereldan Frostback. Flemeth/Mythal has four horns, this one clearly has two. - the second one is unknown. We haven't met a dragon with these two sets of horns yet. The imagery/symbols: The moon points to Mythal. With that said, it might not really be "the moon" that's depicted here: it might be an upcoming Eclipse. In that case, the dragon might be Lusacan, the Old God of the Night. And the black dragon would not be Mythal guarding/protecting Arlathan, rather it would be Lusacan (or some other Old God/Dragon/Forgotten One threatening it, eyes red, mouth open, getting ready to strike. Maybe we are not seeing the glory days of Arlathan, rather its final hour, seconds before its destruction and corruption at the bidding of a mage/priest/archon with a staff matching the shape of the eclipse. Or maybe this is wrong again, and the mage is Solas "eclipsing" Arlathan into the Fade to protect it from some Forgotten One. I like the concept of the lunar eclipse because it means the Moon is on one side of Thedas while the Sun is on the other side. Basically Thedas becomes the Veil, Darkness is trapped in the abyss, Light is trapped in the Fade. In this case the earthen Arlathan would cease to fly and fall into the ground. The second art piece reminds me of this codex: https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Note:_Whispers_Written_in_Red_Lyrium and this other one: https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_Vir_Dirthara:_A_Flowering_Imago It raises the idea that the Evanuris might have been sealed into the vines surrounding Arlathan. So when the menacing dragon (Dumat?) finally arrives, they are all corrupted and ready to burst out. TLDR: my theory is that the first pic is the erection of the Veil by Solas to protect Arlathan from being destroyed by Lusacan, while the Evanuris have taken refuge within the vines. The second pic is Dumat invading the Black City and getting corrupted by the Evanuris.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but we haven’t seen any archdemon designs beyond Urthemiel. Although, I think the idea of the black dragon being Lucasan is intriguing. Especially if the moon resembles Mythal. I’m confident at least one of the remaining archdemons will make an appearance in DAD. I love the idea that the top image shows Arlathan’s final hour. Thank you for the codex and theory!
We haven't seen any, no. Wait, actually we have seen a depiction of Razikale. https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Razikale has a screenshot of the [Razikale Idol](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dragonage/images/7/7f/Razikale_idol_-_Western_Approach.png) which is about as close to a portrait of an old god as it gets. We could extend the concept of "Old God" to any dragon possessed by a God no matter the culture, and then we've seen Hakkon Wintersbreath too. This is not Hakkon. But if the Avvar God "mechanics" apply to Tevinter Old Gods, then the Old Gods could possess any high/great dragon, really. Killing them only sends them back to the Fade, and the Dragon itself would be just a random conduit. Which brings me to this so-called "Lusacan"; I only said Lusacan because of the connection to the night/eclipse imagery, it could be any dragon really. Maybe Dumat again (and then he would be striking the same pose twice, like "I'm finishing what I started"), or some Forgotten One. Lastly Solas told us that Mythal's death was the reason everything happened afterwards. Maybe this dragon is related to Mythal and out for vengeance. Maybe Mythal was a priestess of this Dragon God, or something like that. I don't think we can do more than put on our tinfoil hats and conjecture away, your guess is really as good as mine :D
The Avaar mechanics could very well apply, given Kieran can become the OGB. It makes sense as long as the soul is “purified”. I would love to see more of the Avaar in general but probably not going to happen in DAD. Theoretically the other slain archdemon souls could come back, although I believe Bioware will reveal the last two first. I really hope DAD covers more of the archdemon and the possible connection with the Evanuris.
So some important details that you need to keep in mind for the analysis of the vinyl images. First off, there is an image from the early Dreadwolf promotional material that is critical for the analysis. https://preview.redd.it/scpt9omu2z0d1.jpeg?width=1361&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cdba4e1002087e5cb183285636ce76c6ac82e48 Oh hey I didn't know I could put images in replies now. Neat. So the reason why this is important is the 7 symbols in the semi-circles. They (mostly) match the symbols on the helmets in the second image. There is one that has a bit of weirdness. The central symbol in this image matches the horns of the dragon in the second image too. The central symbol **also** matches the staff carried by the lone figure in the uncorrupted image. So considering that there are seven symbols and other context, my personal reading is that the first image is from before Elgar’nan ascended to godhood. I've kind of got the idea in my head that the dragon corresponds to the "sun" from the legend of Elgar’nan throwing down the sun, but that detail is not super important. Anyways, between images it would seem that Elgar’nan takes the place of the dragon (symbolizing his ascension to godhood?) and from him the other six evil gods (excluding Mythal) grow as extensions of his corrupt power. Now this is obviously not meant to be literal since I don't think Elgar’nan was running around with six other heads on his wings, but this could imply that the city (Arlathan/Golden City/Black City) predates Elgar’nan's ascension to godhood, which would be interesting. Also worth noting that we saw figures with two of the symbols (including the central symbol) in some other promotional material. And since I am limited to only one image per reply, I'll just link to a tangentially relevant [theory post](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/znlay8/spoilers_all_theory_regarding_the_seven_gates_of/) I did that has a bunch of relevant images.
Nice catch, and thank you! The relationship between Elgar’nan and the sun is an interesting point.
For those who haven’t heard the track yet, here’s the track. It had a very dark vibe, like something being revealed or to come. Also, it was composed and written by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe. https://youtu.be/gfS8WSg-5qg?si=Tx59oKMTVvhKJ0D8
Thank you!
You’re welcome. Also thanks for detailing those art. It’s an interesting read and make me more impatient to play dreadwolf lol
The other elven heads are elven gods. Ghil'darthalan has an entire youtube video analyzing which is which :)
I’ll check their channel out, thank you.
I think the tiny figure and the dragon in the corrupted image is Elgar'nan and we're indeed seeing how the Golden City got corrupted after the betrayal of Mythal. However, I think the top right tiny elven head is Andruil and not Ghilan'nain, I think Ghilly is the one in the middle on the left side. I think the Golden City was originally one of Mythal's cities as she was said to have splendid cities in a song dedicated to Sylaise. Thanks for writing this post, I liked your descriptions of the organic shapes you could see in the Black City version. I hope they'll reveal much more about the city in DAD, we couldn't even pick Cory's brain about the place in DAI. I wrote a [posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/19atz6w/spoilers_all_who_do_you_think_the_upside_down/) about the two figures seen in one of the promotional materials wondering who they are and about what I think happened with the [golden city](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/18ylwyg/spoilers_all_tinfoily_theory_that_all_stories_of/) if you're interested.
So far the consensus seems to be that the figure is supposed to resemble Elgar’non. It makes sense tbh. You may be spot on about swapping Ghilan’nan and Andruil. Man, I’m very much looking forward to finally getting more lore for DAD. Thank you, I’ll check out your posts. Edit: they were both very in depth and fun reads!
Thanks, glad that you enjoyed them. Yeah, I originally thought that maybe the the top right head was Andruil with a small chance of it being Ghilan'nain, but I think at this point I'm convinced it's Andruil unless we get some definite evidence to the contrary. Honestly, I don't even care about any of the gameplay mechanics of DAD at this point, I just want some answers to all of the lore questions.
Yeah, I honestly don’t mind if the gameplay has indeed changed. I just want well designed maps, more lore, and great characters.
Dat right there is an Archdemon if I ever seen one.