Summary
Merrill is one of Dragon Age’s most interesting characters—her obsession with restoring an old Eluvian drives her to blood magic, a power she argues is just a tool and is not inherently evil. Solas later uses the same rationale, justifying his actions by claiming that he alone is essential to restoring balance to the world. Merrill gave us insight into the secrets of the ancient elves before the narrative gradually became dominated by them in Inquisition andThe Veilguard.
Yet—as Vaethul succinctly argues in a recentReddit thread—Merril’s story is somewhat invalidated by the addition of the Veil Jumpers in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Merrill’s story centres on her desire to uncover the secrets of the Eluvian, and her extreme methods puts her in conflict with her clan, prompting her exile. When Dragon Age 2 was released, this made complete sense. We learned a little about the Eluvians in Dragon Age: Origins' expansion Witch Hunt, but they were still shrouded in mystery during the events ofDragon Age 2.
Why Didn’t Merrill Go To Arlathan?
The Veil Jumpers are solely focused on the restoration of elven artifacts including Eluvians. They don’t appear to be particularly secretive about their work either, meaning Merrill almost certainly should have been aware of their existence. We know that the nomadic Dalish clans are supposed to meet once a decade at a gathering called an Arlathvhen. In fact, a young Merrill was given to her clan at one of these events because of her natural talent for magic. If the Veil Jumpers ever attended one of these events (and why wouldn’t they?) then the other clans should be aware of the work they’re doing on relics from old Arlathan.
“Merrill is so passionate about restoring her lost culture that she would turn to blood magic, but she doesn’t seek out the Veil Jumpers on their expedition to Arlathan?” writes Vaethul. Yes - Merrill is somewhat of a lone wolf, but only because her clan disapproves of actions that she deems necessary. The Veil Jumpers are a perfect fit for Merrill, and Bellara plays a similar role to her fellow Dalish companion in The Veilguard.
The addition of the Veil Jumpers makes Merrill’s story arc seem more contrived. She had access to resources and support from people who didn’t see her work as irresponsible, and yet she still chose to isolate herself and dabble in dangerous magic? It’s not congruent with the rest of her personality.
The obvious answer is that the Veil Jumpers didn’t exist when Dragon Age 2 was written, and BioWare was willing to allow Merrill’s story to have a plot hole so The Veilguard could have a different type of Dalish clan. It’s also likely that Merrill would have taken Bellara’s place in The Veilguard if it wasn’t possible for Hawke to kill her in Dragon Age 2, as many of the thread’s commenters have pointed out.
It’s a problem with having characters that can potentially perish: BioWare can’t import them into later games without breaking individual players' canon, or creating a lot of extra work for developers who have to write, voice and animate a character that may not appear in many player’s games. A high level of reactivity is something that BioWare is known for, but a line had to be drawn somewhere.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
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Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
