Bioware has finally revealed the name of the latest title in theDragon Ageseries –Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. While no official release date has beenconfirmed alongsideDragon Age 4’s title announcement, the team at Bioware has promised that more details will be released later in the year, although the title itself highlights a certain character’s involvement in the upcoming entry.
Although this next game has been teased for about four years now, the title reveal of the upcomingDragon Agegame confirmed the main focus of its narrative. Upon the utterance of the name ‘the Dread Wolf,’ some would instantly recognize them to be the romanceable, elvenDragon Age: Inquisitioncompanion, Solas. BioWare actually confirmed his involvement in the next installment from the get-go, back in 2018 with the #TheDreadWolfRises teaser announcement. As such, the title may not be a surprise to longtime fans, though newcomers should get an idea of who the game’s main threat is before more info on the sequel is released.
[Major Dragon Age: Inquisition spoilers ahead]
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The Dread Wolf, at first, is met by players during 2014’sDragon Age: Inquisitionas Solas, an elven apostate hedge mage – a magic-wielder who is untrained bythe Circle of Magi. He joins the Inquisition after witnessing the creation of the Breach, of which sets the plot ofInquisition, and the elven mage plays a large role in assisting the Inquisitor through their journey.
Although he is quite elvish in appearance, he doesn’t identify himself as either a Dalish or City Elf, and for most ofInquisition’s story, it is unclear why. During interactions with the player, more and more details come to light about the mysterious, bald elf, but nothingabout Solas' true identity. As an ‘apostate,’ Solas taught himself magic since he had no contact with the Circle of Magi or even the Dalish, and has a special interest in the Fade – a metaphysical realm tied to Thedas that is separated by the Veil. While most Thedosians are taught by the Chantry to fear the Fade and anything pertaining to spirits, Solas embraces it and seems to take every opportunity to learn about it.
After players defeat the Elder One, Corypheus, Solas leaves the Inquisition and, depending on whether the player successfully romanced him, his lover. It’s not until the post-credits scene inDragon Age: Inquisitionthat fans learned Solas is the Dread Wolf, Fen’Harel, revealed by Flemeth, who carries a wisp ofthe elven All-Mother Mythal. This also reveals him to be a member of the Evanuris, the Elven Pantheon. Solas tells his woes to Flemeth about being ‘too weak’ to control the Orb of Destruction, hence allowing Corypheus to wield its power and activate it. The two apologize to each other for unknown reasons and embrace – a moment which Solas uses to his advantage. He absorbs Flemeth’s power, an act that seemed to fully reignite his powers as Fen’Harel.
ThroughoutInquisition, players can learn about the elven ‘deceiver god’ Fen’Harel, believed to be a ‘traitor’ to the gods and elvenkind by most of the Dalish. He used his good standing between the opposing clans of the Creators and the Forgotten Ones to trick them into keeping to their respective realms before trapping them in the Fade by forming the Veil. To the Dalish, this madeSolas the traitor irredeemablein their eyes. Once players reunite with him in theInquisitionDLCTrespasser, Solas admits the creation of the Veil led to irreparable damage caused throughout elvenkind. They lost not just their immortality, but some of their magic and the many marvels that were reliant on having a connection to the Fade.
The truth of Solas' so-called ‘betrayal’ of the Evanuris also led to the discovery that the gods worshiped by the Dalish elves were merely powerful mortal mages who enslaved elvenkind and bound them by vallaslin – themarks on the Dalish’s faces. Solas, being not a member of ‘the Creators,’ sought to free the enslaved which caused his peers to look at him with disdain, calling him Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf, a name which he embraced. Mythal was the only Evanuris to see the error of their ways, but in their lust for more power, the other members of the pantheon murdered the All-Mother. Solas trapped them in the Fade as punishment for their actions.
Solas' main belief is the right of all free-willed people to exist, in total opposition to that of the othermembers of the Evanuris. InTrespasser, players discover that his sole purpose upon awakening from his slumber is to restore the elves' former glory and the world of ‘his people’ – the ancient elves – even if it destroys Thedas and its current inhabitants.
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Dragon Age: Dreadwolf
Alongside Solas, the game introduces two potential companions,Bellara and Davrin, whose voice actors were shown in the 2018 Behind-the-Scenes video. While it’s clear that players of the upcomingDragon Age: Dreadwolfwon’t be reprising their role as the Inquisitor due to the ending ofInquisition, what is unclear is the involvement of Solas in the game. Giving the game the titleDreadwolfseems to allude to him playing a huge role.
At the end ofInquisition, the player character sticks a knife into a specific area in Thedas,the Tervinter Imperium– confirmed to be the setting of the upcomingDragon Agegame. Although there are many bits and pieces of info about the game that have appeared over the past four years, allowing series fans to bring them together, nothing incredibly concrete has been announced by BioWare about the story. Hopefully, excited fans will get more information on the story ofDreadwolfand Solas' role in the narrative by the end of the year.
