Meta: The Evanuris' prison, Solas, and the Black City

[flockofcrows]

(This post was also posted on Reddit here.)

It's a fairly well-established theory by now that the Archdemons/Old Gods play a key role in keeping something locked away. This something is either the Evanuris or the source of the Blight, depending on which version of the theory you subscribe to.

The image in the Dread Wolf Rises trailer also generated a lot of discussion, particularly about the seven circles symbolizing the Blights and/or the Old Gods, two of which we have yet to see. The grayed-out circles are supposedly the five Blights/Archdemons we've seen, while the two remaining circles are the still-intact seals that also happen to feature the same symbol as the Titan heart we see on a different mural. These symbols also show up in DAO on the pedestals of various statues that symbolize the elven gods, i.e. the Evanuris. It's worth noting that there were seven Evanuris to go with the seven Archdemons; it's possible that once all of the seven seals are broken/all seven Archdemons are killed, the Evanuris would be able to break free from their prison.

Now for my theory: I think we've seen how the Evanuris' prison works in the series before. In fact, I think we've all played through it.

The Sloth demon wasn't imprisoned in the Fade, of course, he was merely using the seal as a form of protection that made him unreachable, but I still think the mechanics of the spell are the same. The demons we had to kill on the various "islands" served the same function the Archdemons serve: making the central island unreachable. If you killed every demon that served as a seal, you got access to the central island, a part of the Fade the spell made unreachable.

When it comes to the Evanuris, this unreachable, central part of the Fade is the Black City.

No traveler to the Fade can fail to spot the Black City. It is one of the few constants of that ever-changing place. No matter where one might be, the city is visible. (Always far off, for it seems that the only rule of geography in the Fade is that all points are equidistant from the Black City.)

- Codex entry: The Black City

 

And I looked up and saw

The seven gates of the Black City shatter,

And darkness cloaked both realms.

- Canticle of Exaltations 1:1-1:14

Solas was using the same type of spell the Sloth demon was using, perhaps somewhat modified, to imprison the Evanuris in the Black City, i.e. the blighted Arlathan. This is why he's so angry at the Grey Wardens for wanting to destroy the Archdemons: if they do, they will free the Evanuris who may or may not be blighted like the city they're imprisoned in. It'd be like dealing with seven Corypheuses at the same time, only they're even more powerful than he was. "And darkness cloaked both realms" would be an understatement when it comes to the fate of the Fade and the physical world.