Solas (Dragon Age)

Solas is envisioned by Weekes to be a middle-aged man in his early to mid-forties.[9] His appearance is reflective of a wandering nomad's lifestyle, who journeys from place to place without a set destination. BioWare's designers intended Solas to appear as if he is wearing all that he owns, and that his items of clothing are meant to look like homemade improvisations born from necessity.[10]

Concept art displayed in The Art of Dragon Age Inquisition book shows the creative process for Solas as the team develops his look after many renditions to match the ideas provided by other creative teams. After exploring many different hairstyles, the final decision was made to design Solas with a bold, bald head. This is intended to evoke a sense of ageless wisdom required by his character.[10]

During the opening sequence of events in Inquisition, Solas is encountered fighting demons alongside Varric Tethras and a few Inquisition personnel. This follows the aftermath of a massive explosion at a peace conference which killed everyone present, except for the protagonist, who was discovered emerging from a Fade rift.Solas presents himself to the fledgling Inquisition's leadership as a self-taught hedge mage who spends much of his time dreaming in ancient ruins and learning about what lies beyond the Veil, a metaphysical barrier which normally prevents direct physical access between the physical world and the Fade.[11] This enables him to wields powers developed outside of conventional teaching and who has no affiliation with the Chantry-sanctioned Circle of Magi or any Dalish clan.[12] Claiming that he is able to help the sole survivor of the Divine Conclave's explosion and the suspiciously glowing mark on their hand with the use of healing magic and minor wards, he is granted permission to study the survivor and one of the smaller rifts in order to find a way to seal the Breach. He later helps the survivor seal a small rift shortly after their meeting, and then follows them to the Temple itself to close the first and largest rift, which he theorizes would stabilize the Breach.

After the survivor assumes the role of the Inquisitor and successfully enlists the help of either the mages or the templars, Solas provides assistance with closing the Breach itself. Following the destruction of the Inquisition's base in Haven by Corypheus, the perpetrator of the Breach, Solas explains that the orb that Corypheus wields is meant to channel ancient magics and of elven origin. He worries that if the orb's origin were to be revealed, it may have negative consequences for the reputation of the elven people. He then guides the Inquisitor to Skyhold, a disused fortress located in the Frostback Mountains that the Inquisition could claim as its new headquarters.

When the Inquisitor finally defeats Corypheus and stops him from opening another rift, with the orb being damaged permanently in the process, a distraught Solas laments the destruction of the orb as the loss of yet another elven artifact. He disappears shortly afterwards without a trace. In the post-credits scene it is revealed that Solas is Fen'Harel, an ancient being who is a member of the elven pantheon of gods, and a recurring trickster figure in Dragon Age lore.

In the midst of investigating a Qunari plot to invade Thedas, two years after the defeat of Corypheus, the Inquisitor encounters several elven ruins and learns that the elven pantheon of deities, the Evanuris, were in fact extremely powerful mages as opposed to being divine beings. The Inquisitor eventually encounters the Viddasala, the leader of the Qunari plot, and learns that agents supposedly working for Fen'Harel have been disrupting the Qunari plot; concurrently, the Inquisitor is losing control of the Anchor, threatening their life. The Inquisitor foils the plot and follows the Viddasala into the Eluvian network to confront Solas, despite the Anchor growing increasingly out of control.

After petrifying the Viddasala, Solas calms the Anchor and explains his motivations to the Inquisitor. He confesses to being Fen'Harel, who led a rebellion against the Evanuris after they became corrupt and abused their power. He created the Veil to seal away the Evanuris after they murdered Mythal, sundering the physical world and the Fade permanently, and in doing so dooming the civilization of the ancient elves to collapse due to its dependency on magic. Remorseful over his direct role in the downfall of his people, Solas now plans to unmake the Veil he created millennia ago and restore the ancient elven world by reuniting the physical world and the Fade, being fully aware and regretful that this act may potentially destroy the world in its present state and killing countless lives in the process. He also admits to engineering the events which led to the Breach, albeit inadvertently; he arranged for Corypheus to obtain his orb, anticipating that the ancient darkspawn would unlock it on his behalf as he had awakened from millennia of slumber in the Fade and was too weak as a result. Anticipating that Corypheus would destroy himself in the subsequent explosion. Solas intended to retrieve the orb and use the Anchor to achieve his goal. Realizing later that Corypheus survived the orb's destructive power, he joined the Inquisition to guide the organization into defeating him and his forces. Solas also reveals that he has double agents working within the Inquisition and he deliberately allowed the Qunari's Dragon's Breath plot to be discovered so that the Inquisitor may discover and thwart it. He then amputates the Inquisitor's arm to prevent the Anchor from killing them and leaves.

Upon returning to the Winter Palace in Orlais, the Inquisitor either disbands the Inquisition or reforms the organization into a smaller peacekeeping force to serve directly under Divine Victoria, risking weaker efforts against Solas or further infiltration in their ranks respectively. Due to Solas' familiarity with the workings of the Inquisition, the Inquisitor resolves to recruit new allies who are beyond his sphere of influence. An epilogue reveals that, following the failure of the Viddasala's plot, many elven individuals across Thedas have disappeared.