“Gossamer strands only stand between this world and home. Feel it?” ―Sophia Dryden[1]
The Veil is a metaphysical barrier that exists between the physical Thedas and the Fade. Neither spirits nor mortal beings can easily pass physically through the Veil, but the consciousnesses of most mortal dreamers and all mages are a different matter (though the average dreamer is unlikely to ever be aware of such 'travels').
The Veil is not an object—it cannot be touched or seen. It is not a physical barrier, but rather something similar to a magical vibration that repels the Fade. It is a metaphor used by mortal scholars to explain the interactions between the two different realities.
History[]
During the events of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it is revealed that the Evanuris weaponized the Blight in their wars of supremacy, especially during Solas' rebellion against them. Presumably the Evanuris discovered the Blight could be used as a source of power when Andruil discovered a magical armor infused with the Taint and used its power to terrorize the other elven gods until Mythal stopped her.[2]
Solas told Mythal of the other elven gods' abuse of the Blight and she sought to convince them to cease its use on behalf of Solas. The other elven gods had somehow acquired Solas' lyrium dagger, however, and murdered Mythal with it when she confronted them. Solas recovered the Lyrium Dagger from Elgar'nan and from it extracted a fragment of Mythal that had lain hidden within its depths.[3] For unleashing the Blight onto the world and murdering Mythal, Solas imprisoned the Evanuris in the Fade and used their lives to sustain the Veil by connecting their blood to his Lyrium Dagger. So long as they lived, the Veil would stand.
There is no mention of a time when the Veil didn't exist in human history,[4] which started from their arrival in Thedas in -3100 Ancient.
In spite of Chantry belief, it wasn't the Maker who made the Veil, but Fen'Harel, who "held back the sky" to banish the Evanuris. This act was meant to prevent the Evanuris from destroying the world with their excesses, and as retribution for the murder of Mythal. However, since Elvhenan was so heavily dependent on magic to survive, the Veil effectively severed the elven people from the Fade, leading to Elvhenan's demise and the loss of the elves' immortality.[6]
Skyhold's original name, Tarasyl'an te'las, means "the place where the sky was held back" in ancient elvish[7], thus the Veil was created there. Solas also confirms that Skyhold was his castle during the time of Elvhenan.[8]
Tears[]
It is theorized that the Veil tends to be weaker in places that feature, or have experienced, extensive death or overuse of magic.[9][10] The former occurs because spirits are attracted to death and press against the Veil, straining it.[11] The Veil is particularly thin at night, when most people sleep and spirits are most active.[12] The use of blood magic can allow the Veil to be torn so that demons may physically pass through it into the waking world.[13] This is traumatic, however, and often causes the spirit in question to be driven violently insane.
An artifact used to weaken the Veil resonating a green hue
Weaknesses in the Veil can be recognized their characteristic green hue. The Dalish call places where the Veil is thin "setheneran", a land of waking dreams.[14] Such areas are a habitat for giant spiders[15] and other exceptionally large beasts,[16] as well as the rare plant felandaris, also known as "demon weed".[17] When the Veil is stretched thin, demons or spirits can escape into the mortal world. Once they steal in, weaker demons urgently possess something that cannot fight back, such as corpses or trees—thus resulting in beings such as animated corpses and sylvans.[18][19] In other scenarios, spirits engrossed by a particular event may endeavor to preserve the "feeling" of the area by preserving some or all of the area itself. This close presence of spirits scared away the vermin and plants that would erode such an area.[20]
Areas where the Veil rips open are usually referred to as "tears" in the Veil, in keeping with the fabric metaphor. In fact, when the Veil itself tears it makes a sound like ripping cloth.[21]
Known instances of the Veil being torn[]
- The Brecilian Forest was the site of many battles, for example between the elves and humans in the ancient times, and Alamarri battling the magisters of the Tevinter Imperium. According to the Grand Oak the bloodshed weakened the Veil beyond repair and that caused many spirits and demons to cross over. This event gave rise to sylvans among other creatures as the spirits possessed the trees in the forest.
- During the Broken Circle incident, the Fereldan Circle Tower was overun by demons and abominations. Uldred used a mass amount of blood magic to pull demons from the Fade into the physical world. This caused the Circle to nearly be destroyed by demons and abominations.
- The Abandoned Orphanage became haunted by angry apparitions and demons after a massacre took place there during an elven riot.
- During the Battle of Soldier's Peak, Avernus summoned demons, but his miscalculations and the deaths caused the veil to tear.
- The Baroness's blood magic rituals in Blackmarsh and transporting all the villagers to the Fade made the Veil very weak around the village. Demons could be physically seen through the Veil.
- The Dalish possessed an artifact called Mask of Fen'Harel. It is capable of tearing the Veil and is used by Saarebas to do so.
- An enormous tear in the Veil, referred to as the Breach appears in the Frostback mountains and countless smaller Fade rifts appear throughout southern Thedas.
Closing a Tear[]
"Mending" these Tears, i.e. strengthening the Veil, is extremely difficult. Depending on the level of damage done to the Veil, it can be closed through several methods. For example, in Soldier's Peak, either Sophia Dryden or Avernus can accomplish such a mending, as Avernus is an expert on the Fade and Sophia is possessed by a powerful demon who crossed the Veil. The Warden-Commander can mend several Veil Tears by killing powerful spirits or demons keeping the Veil open. The Tear caused by one Saarebas was closed after the artifact used to open it was destroyed.
Removing the Veil[]
Codex entries[]
See also[]
Gallery[]
References[]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
