Talking Dragon Age: Andraste (Lore & Fan Theories) 

I wonder if Andraste' and her sister were perhaps both untrained mages who heard the whispering of their spirit guides/demons? If her sister had drawn an evil spirit, it might have possessed her and threatened Andraste. Then the protector spirit of Andraste would have aided her in defeating the demon and thus killing her sister? Wynne's guardian spirit kind of suggests this sort of thing is possible. And the harrowing suggests the demonic part.

Something that gets me every time I listen to this is how her own children were treated as if they were illegitimate. Considering that the society she lived in was most likely similar to that of medieval Europe where king's and noble's children weren't exactly a rarity. Those children however were even if acknowledged by the Noble at all in constant danger as soon as a legitimate heir was born. It seems weird to me that Andraste's own children were rather treated than bastards then heirs. Them being daughters might have had something to do with it but they still could have been used to secure an alliance through marriage. This leads to two theories. One: Andraste wasn't Maferath's wife but his concubine and this was later changed by the chantry to promote her purity. This would explain the death of Gilivhan after giving Maferath sons. She simply wasn't needed anymore. Andraste's children would have still been seen as illegitimate by the public though and therefore remained as such. Second: Andraste was married to Maferath but her daughter's weren't his children. Seeing that she seemed to have been married to him to secure a political alliance it stands to reason that there might not have been too much love between them. The reasoning of why Maferath secures her release also suggests that this was done more out of political reasons than love. "Her people" wouldn't follow him without her. Maybe she fell in love with a dashing former elven slave and had two daughters with him? This would explain a lot. Why her daughters were kept out of the public eye (obviously not fully human) and not even considered worth political pawns. It would explain why Maferath betrayed her to Tevinter and his spirit's comment about jealousy. Now, the chantry would obviously not want this to be an official version which might be why they were so eager to remove most mentions of Sharlan in the first place. After all, a holy martyr with an extramarital affair couldn't have been a good image. Just a fun little theory I'm going to throw out there.

Sandal is andraste. You heard it here first ladies and gentlemen

If you look at the murals of Shartan, he is wearing the exact armor as Solas did in Trespasser. It's the exact same armor. A bald elf with gold armor and wolf pelt wrapped around his shoulders? It's pretty obvious.

Great video! Very thorough! I never thought much about her sister, so this is really cool. I honestly ascribe to the theory that Andraste was a mage and that she was possessed, by what kind of spirit I don't know, maybe faith or justice. Based on the Jaws of Hakkon, we learn first hand the Avvar use spirit posession as a way to teach mages to use their abilities, and release that spirit as a rite of passage into adulthood. This could be something other ancient Alamarri tribes did as well. What if Andraste never released her spirit? Which as a side note, how the Void does no other culture in Thedas know how to reverse spirit posession? All other cultures treat spirit or demon posession as a curse and a death sentence. How is it that NO OTHER group of people have learn that reversing spirit posession is not only possible but actually easy to accomplish?! Makes my head hurt.

Maferath did give the Dales to the Elves. Which is more than the Chantry did. So he is redeemed, to me.

As someone who has ONLY played DA:I (several times), I'm simply blown away by the insane amount of history and lore within the Dragon Age Universe, covered in the other Dragon Age games, and never mentioned or barely touched upon in Inquisition. I hope DA4 doesn't suck. I hope Bioware can survive their purchase / association with EA, as everything EA touches dies.

My theory is that Andraste was the OGB of Dumat, and maybe her nature as Dumat rose up to protect her against her sister who was possessed or influenced, and her shock at the events and her true nature caused her to repress the memories? This is largely because Andraste was born the very same year that Dumat was killed on the Silent Plains.

Maker = maker of life = Mythal, the goddess of Motherhood.

Could Morrigan be a descendant of Andraste? or Leliana? Or Sera? Or the next DA4 player character? Or will bioware retcon it so Thedas is a world in the ME Universe and Andraste is an Asari?

Something interesting to consider: What of the cult of reavers that were at the temple of sacred ashes? It would be easy to define them as a bunch of religious lunatics that were just looking for something to worship, but in my experience, there seems to be a bit of truth to some of these superstitions. For example, the dwarves returning to the stone. Once I personally scoffed at the idea as just superstition, but then we learn of Titans, giant beings of stone and how they connect with dwarves. Or the dalish and how they believed that the dread wolf still roamed the fade keeping watch over the gods (Solas practically lives in the fade), etc. With that being said, my main point is this: Why did the reaver cult worship the high dragon as Andraste? In theory, it just so happens that the only person we know that is connected to Mythal(Flemeth) is capable of turning into a high dragon, and the temple of sacred ashes is shown having an elven engraving representing Mythal when we fight Corypheus. Did this cult know something about Andraste that we do not?

I always thought that Andraste killed her sister by accident and it was so traumatic she repressed the memory.

Honestly I acknowledge someone in another comment saying a painting of Shartan looks like Solas but… I’m with you Cole that I think narratively too much importance is being placed on elves and like… it might be likely that Solas is Shartan but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. 🤪 I’m enjoying his plot with tearing down the Veil, it’s an interesting plotline but I feel like it’s coming at the cost of making Solas too important to the overall lore and if you make him Shartan… It is like making him like Clara in Doctor Who, if people are familiar with that. If not, basically the TLDR is that a few years ago one singular companion… eh it’s complicated to explain if you didn’t watch it but basically she’s all over the Doctor’s timeline from basically the beginning of the show and that is WAY more importance than a companion has ever been given on that show, bar a few exceptions. But Weekes is lead writer now so I guess I might as well accept that Solas=Shartan. Unfortunately. Personally I need to research it more but I feel like Andraste being an OBG makes sense, although I still don’t think they should explain who or what the Maker was. I’m already annoyed they were like “HAHA the elven goes aren’t real!1” that’s why I can’t play as an elf in Inquisition it’s too sad… potentially your whole clan can die, you find out your gods aren’t real… too depressing although the realize some people probably find appeal in the angst. 😂 Anyway, this was really long and I don’t even expect anyone to read all this word vomit. 😂

Thanks for the video, The Kingdom, and for putting some order and logic into chaotic information. It helps when we don't go down all the rabbit- holes at once! Now I'll look at some of your questions myself. :)

Another great video and brilliant recap lol. Glad you mentioned the Andraste link to the end of the first blight :D. SO.... here's my theory. There are 7 old gods... 9 pantheon. I don't think Solas or Mythal bound themselves to a dragon like the other of the pantheon which would leave us with 7 pantheon souls stuck in dragons. I think Mythal's soul was out and about previous to the first blight and she ultimately gave the first wardens the ritual (like DA:O) which could tie into Brona to being a vessal for Mythal (or not but likely she was as Mythal has keen interest in OG souls), and Andraste or her sister (but ultimately Andraste) being the OG OGB (old god baby). I believe its stated somewhere that Brona and Andraste's father were at the slaying of Dumat as well (can't be certain its been a long time since I looked this stuff up). As to why she did what she did... or anything about her sister... I have no clue.

Since we won't get any definitive answers about the Maker it's probably the best we'll get. Love how the "awnsers" are just "this sh*t is wierd". Lol Works for me

I think Andraste's birth and Dumat's death can't be a coincidence. Mind you I don't know exactly what it means.

1:24 ; That statue, as if handing you a crown ?? There is a portrait of Andraste talking to the Maker who is all dressed in black with a golden crown. When Hessarian kills Andraste, Shartan now holds the crown. That "Crown" must represent something.

Thank you Cole for another great video. I appreciate your drive to keep Dragon Age relative during the chasm that is the time between the last game and the game we are so anxiously waiting for.

I think whole maker and andraste concept very similar to modern religions we use/believe today. I live in middle asia most religious practices here usually altered version of sumerian base religion/law concept. DA also using similar concept people in chantry's story might be never existed or might be real people who carried (or forced to carry) false stories by chantry. In DAI player also forced to carry a role s/he might decline but still forced by chantry if he wants political advantage. Hi for bad English! Sorry its not my primary language :)

So I watched this video, then the Titan video, and now I'm back here to say: didn't some of the Alamarri/Avvar marry with dwarves? Could Andraste have been dwarf-blooded and/or touched by a Titan? Her catatonic episodes remind me of the way Valta and Dagna have bouts of confusion and, well. "Shit's weird." Plus, it would be a clever contrast for the Chantry to be half-Titanic (Orlais) and half-magic (Tevinter). AND, possibly even the Templar abilities being diluted/polluted Titan abilities, like how Reavers are physically boosted from drinking dragon's blood - maybe Templars are psionic mind-reavers after drinking Titan blood? I want to believe. Anyway, that's my tinfoil dose of the day [Edit to add: I'm not sure what this would make Seekers, but since humans are distinct from dwarves in having a connection to the Fade, perhaps they can blend Titan/Templar abilities with magic (getting touched by a spirit) which causes some hybrid specialization...but I'm firing from the hip with speculation here.] [Edit 2: And what about the lyrium brand involved in the Rite of Tranquility? Are those mf'ers forcibly connected to a sleeping/slain/non-dreaming titan and that's why their personality is blank? Yikes]

Before you said it, I was already thinking "what if the Maker is really a spirit of faith?"

The temple of sacred ashes has statues of Mythal. There is definitely a connection between Andraste and Flemeth/Mythal. Also because it's pretty obvious Solas was Shartan since they look exactly the same and their stories are very very similar. Flemeth even has a statue of a headless Andraste. Don't forget that pictures of Andraste with very long, big blonde hair and a crown looks very similar to how Flemeth looks. There is definitely something going on there.

Have these different deities ever crossed paths? Like have Mythal or the Dread Wolf ever met andraste in some way? Has andraste ever seen a titan? The maker of course has seen everyone, the maker is all around us.

What if the spirit that came to Andraste wasn't Mythal or an elven god, but a forgotten one? What better way to gain power and subvert the Evanuris than establishing a religion that employs templars and spreading the word to every corner of the world?

"this video is getting long" yes. good. long videos pls

Well, just a thought right now: maybe a video about Griffons and Kal Sharok?

2:06 I wonder if she "wept for her people" at the green lake in the Deep Roads. That's the verse that begins "Here lies the Abyss" (I think). That lake from the Calling sticks out to be here in Andraste's tale.

Fudging Elves! I always created elven protagonists in DA (except DA2 for obvious reasons). I was fascinated by their deep and sad history, their nomad traditions (I come from a people which ancestors were nomads) and their resilience. But now... Freaking Elves basically are to blame for all the shit that have had happened!

I always ascribed to the theory that some aspect of Mythal was in Andraste.

Hi the Kingdom. I have a theory abaut the Red Lyrium Idol. Some peoples says the Idol is depicting Andraste and some peoples say thet cant be true cuz the Thaig where Hawke find the Idol is older then Andraste or Tevinter. My question is the Idol is old as the Thaig or some peoples find the Thaig after Andraste's death and before Hawke? I think some peoples find thet Thaig where they hide the Idol, cuz its dangerous.

Why wouldn’t everything trace back to the oldest race in Thedas? It just makes sense. I mean shit technically Solas is the Maker since he made the veil.😂

Maferath did very little wrong #Maferathdidverylittlewrong

I think Solas was the maker- and was involved with Andraste.

In Ghil Dirthalen's latest video, she talks about a cryptic, since-deleted tweet by someone at Bioware that might be Dragon Age related. It mentions "the time of seven bells". Ghil talks about it in regards to The Dread Wolf Rises trailer, but it could be related to the sounds of bells Andraste heard. It's a very loose connection, I know, but it's something. Here's the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V-68KIB3HZQ.html

A dreamer possessed by a spirit of faith, how long would it take for the spirit to corrupt itself into a god like being as a way to "awake" faith in the population?

Is flemeth andraste's dependent

Maferath the god killer

Do you really think the Wardens are aware of the Morrigan ritual? Even now. Except Loghain or Alistair.

Andraste is Muhammad, Joan of Arc, Jesus.