The Left Hand of the Divine

The Left Hand of Divine is an advisor quest for Leliana in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

A letter, written by Divine Justinia and posthumously delivered to Leliana, directed Leliana to visit Valence, a small village on the Waking Sea. The Divine left something in the chantry that Leliana must see.

Acquisition[]

This quest becomes available late in the game following the completion of Here Lies the Abyss and Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts. Leliana receives a posthumous letter from Divine Justinia V instructing her to travel to the Valence Cloister where the Divine had formerly been the Revered Mother. Leliana believes Justinia left something there for her. The Inquisitor accompanies her on this journey.

Walkthrough[]

After acquiring this quest, fast travel to the cloister in Valence.

Note: You will be prompted to choose your party, however none of the chosen party members will appear in the cloister at any point during the quest.

Upon arriving, Leliana will reminisce about traveling here after the Fifth Blight (with the Warden, if she was romanced.) and meeting Justinia, who was at the time still Revered Mother Dorothea. A woman named Sister Natalie appears and greets Leliana, who signals to the Inquisitor that something seems wrong.

Natalie and Leliana chat about the mysterious letter, considering what it means and where Justinia may have left a last memento for Leliana, as well as of other matters. Leliana notes several esoteric clues that the Inquisitor can use to discover hidden mechanisms beneath related Chantry paintings in order to open a secret door hiding Justinia's final gift for Leliana.

The clues are:

"Always remember that faith sprung from a barren branch." (painting in anteroom of thorny branch)
"Above all, that strength lives in an open heart." (painting in statue room of Andraste's death)
"That light has no fear of darkness." (brazier in statue room)

Once the secret door is revealed, Leliana turns on Natalie and threatens her with a knife. It appears that Natalie was a plant sent by Grand Cleric Victoire, who was previously a nominal opponent of Justinia's and is now an enemy of the Inquisition preparing to move against what she sees as a heretical organization. Leliana notes Natalie's slips in conversation and dress that tipped her off and prepares to kill her.

If the Inquisitor has previously taken actions to "soften" Leliana's personality (notably, persuading her not to kill her agent Butler in Haven and convincing her that her agents are not expendable following the destruction of Haven in quest In Your Heart Shall Burn), she can be discouraged from this course of action and will merely threaten Natalie into aiding the Inquisition. If not, she will kill Natalie.

Once inside the secret room, Leliana will discover a box that appears empty. On further inspection, there is an inscription within it stating that "the Left Hand should lay down her burden." Leliana realizes that Justinia is releasing her. The Divine feared using Leliana as Marjolaine had, and felt she had "failed" her--as the spirit in the Fade during quest Here Lies the Abyss noted--by taking advantage of Leliana in order to keep her own hands clean. To confirm her "softened" personality, the Inquisitor can advise Leliana to stop torturing herself, or else confirm her "hardened" personality if she has killed Natalie.

[Note: If Leliana kills Natalie she will be irreversibly hardened, regardless of previous choices made. Likewise the 'stop torturing yourself' option will be useless if Natalie is killed.]

Following the visit to Valence, speak to Leliana in Skyhold to follow up on the quest and complete it.

Results[]

Leliana will find peace with Justinia's death and her own future.

Note: This quest involves steps to "softening" Leliana.

Notes[]

On traveling to Valence, the player will be required to select a full party, but the chosen companions are not used; only the Inquisitor and Leliana actually travel to Valence.

Rewards[]

1025 XP
Influence 400
Power 3
1 or 2 Tongue of Serpents if Leliana kills Sister Natalie

Bugs[]

After returning to Skyhold from Valence, it may not be possible to speak to Leliana if the Inquisition spy reporting to Leliana fails to speak his lines—potentially becoming stuck in an animation loop. This bug tends to occur if Dorian is seen arguing with Mother Giselle when the Inquisitor enters the area. One possible solution is to resolve Dorian's argument, proceed to leave Skyhold through the world map and then return and head immediately on foot to Leliana (without fast-traveling to her area).