#vallaslin

And what were they originally.

The fact the Dalish have managed to preserve the practice and designs so intricately is a testament to their (slightly suspicious) ability to retain history, but what seems to have been lost in translation is the why. Solas and others in the game say they were slave markings, but the process for creating them is surprisingly complicated and involved.

Aside from the ritualistic application requiring silence (could have been added or there originally), irrefutably the process uses blood, and the ink used is described as sacred. While an obvious feature of ‘blood writing’, it raises an interesting question: why? There are other, more normal forms of tattooing in Thedas, so the application of blood is wholly for tradition, but otherwise seems to hold no other purpose. So, if it is tradition, why did the ancient elves do it?

The simple answer that Vallaslin were petty marks used as designation of ‘property’ is stunningly over-simplified if the process used to create them was at all similar. The ancient elves were nothing if not intricately complicated in anything they did, and they didn’t do it without a reason. 

To further support the idea that these markings originally had functional purpose, includes text in the Temple of Mythal, attributing the fall of Elvhenan to the ‘failing’ of the Vallaslin, which lead to freedom. While elves like Solas could potentially remove them, it seems unlikely that a small group of people (or person) removing them could have triggered this change. Furthermore, the need to remove them in the first place suggests a functional purpose, in that the servants were so numerous and presumably could have revolted before that point if they’d had free will.

Possibility One: Blood Magic

This seems the next obvious leap, and would have a number of advantages for the evanuris. Imbuing elves with this magic would force their subservience, and potentially grant power to those who held the spell. It would explain why the evanuris were always so intent on gaining new ‘followers’ - those with the most marked servants would be more powerful than the other members of the pantheon. It would stop their servants from being able to rise up, or defect to other members of the pantheon, ensuring their loyalty absolutely. This seems the most likely of the options presented with what we currently know.

Possibility Two: Spirit Binding

There is increasing evidence to suggest that the ancient elves may have once been spirits / related to spirits, which brings a second possibility to the table about why the Vallaslin were necessary. The markings may have bound actual spirits to physical form, allowing the creation of armies from the residents of the fade. It could also offer a possible origin for the practice - the war the elves participated in prior to the construction of Arlathan. If they were desperate for soldiers, perhaps the decision was made to create them, despite the reprehensible moral cost. It may even have been the process by which the bodies were grown, as well as sealing the spirits within.

Ixchel Lavellan and Dirthamen for @dreadfutures! I love them and I want them to be happy

Every month, my Curator patrons get a free sketched portrait of an OC of their choice (among other things)! This, uh, technically isn’t a sketch, but I was using the opportunity to play around with some of Procreate’s default painting brushes and got carried away. Thank you, @cassandra-pentughasst, for supporting me!

A dalish court painting for @dreadfutures, my beloved

Here are Ren Lavellan’s parents Irassal and Elgara! It was super fun to bring them to life (no pun intended) - Can you tell which features Ren shares with her parents?