We’re in the endgame of Dragon Age lore now.
But it’s not a villain we’re particularly familiar with.
Here’s what happens in the scene itself.
There’s a rasping voiceover, attributed to the character “?????
“, which says:“The storm, quelled.
The sun, dimmed.
The wolf, defanged.
And soon, the poisoned fruit ripens.
While this is happening, slightly animated slides depicting major Dragon Age historical events flit by.
Then we see main antagonist Corypheus from Inquisition, the Veil breach, and Morrigan’s mother Flemeth.
The implication is clear: these figures influenced or orchestrated events we’ve just seen unfold.
The Executors are not well known in Dragon Age, but they have been referenced before.
Thedas’s present troubles are great, but you have the strength to meet and conquer them.
We prepare for the day and hold vigil.
Do not look for your men; do not mourn them.
They have given themselves of their own free will to a higher cause.
“On behalf of powers across the sea,
“The Executors.”
She is a resourceful woman.
Once she traced our agent to Caimen Brea, the match was ruled in her favour.
Tell Sister Leliana to call off her dogs.
Save them for Corypheus.
We suspect, also, that she has gotten all she can from Ser Helmuth.
A caterpillar on a leaf does not know there is a forest about him.
“You will hear no more from us.
Our intention was to watch, and we have seen enough.
Corypheus threatens us all, and the Inquisition is Thedas’s only hope for stopping him.
Remember that, for the moment, we are not your enemy.
As a gesture of goodwill, we share our knowledge.
May it prove valuable in your coming battle.
The Executor’s voice is also described as being hard to recognise or place.
“The voice that came from the Executor could have been male or female, young or old.
It was less a voice than the idea of a voice, rendered acceptably but no more.”
The Executor also seems to be looking for a way to eliminate Solas.
Then Solas says,“I would caution you in dealing with those across the sea.
They are dangerous.”
They come during the hunt for the Mysterious Circles which you gotta unlock the scene itself.
- the same as in the post-credits scene.
When you pick up the first Mysterious Circle in Arlathan Forest, you hear:
“They interrupt.
“Rook then wonders out loud what that was, to which the strange voice replies:“Learn.
We will show you.
“Being near them makes my skin crawl,“the journal says.
The second entryis more revealing.
“And there’s a marking.
White lines and black triangles.”
But we shouldn’t be.
“We’d been combing through old journals, missives, anything that spoke of the air feeling greasy.
“We found what we were looking for in an old scouting report from Clan Sabrae.
“So Taeryn and I went there.
We got a little deeper than the Sabrae scouts, and we found another of the circles.
“Then we saw them.
“They looked like a person, though oddly dressed.
Grey robe, grey helmet, and a mask.
“Then they moved.
They were suddenly in front of me.
And they were reaching out - but there was something wrong with their arm.
It was changing, shifting.
“I’ve fought ogres, demons, and more than one templar.
But I’ve never been so afraid, or so sure I was going to die.
I couldn’t move.
“Taeryn saved me.
She hit it with an arrow in the chest.
It stumbled back, and that broke the spell.
But we could feel it behind us, and it was getting bigger.
“We lost it.
I still don’t know how.
But I’m not looking for these circles anymore.
“Let the past keep its secrets.”
Incidentally, I can’t place what comes off as writing around the symbol.
Given the implications of Veilguard’s post-credits scene, this could well be a reference to the Executors.
“Prepare then for the Devouring Storm.
“It’s a clunker of a line, but it’s a telling set-up for something new.
Does this also refer to the Executors, or something the Executors are involved in?
But Gaider respectfully declined to comment, saying this was a question for BioWare now and not him.
And we’ve done it primarily in one place - the only continent in the known world of Thedas.
Perhaps it’s finally time for BioWare to expand upon this world and for us to set sail elsewhere.
That Solas knows of them strengthens this idea.
The way Solas petrified one so easily in the Tevinter Nights book suggests he overpowers them.
So what are they, and perhaps more importantly, what do they want?
What “poisoned fruit” do they refer to that has now ripened?
Where do the Executors even live?
There’s plenty to think about.
It’s a new mystery for a new era.
I only hope that in establishing it, BioWare honours what came before rather than smothers it.
Here’s to another 10 years of wondering?
