After the disappointing critical reception of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, BioWare is likely relying on its next title, Dragon Age 4, to make a splash landing on the next generation of consoles. To do so, the series will likely have to take some bold new directions with its story, already hinted at in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Dragon Age 4 will likely show players parts of the world never seen before, but to move forward with the story, there are also staples from the game’s narrative it will likely have to leave behind. Dragon Age: Inquisition hints at one big character that might have completed their arc in the series and may not be present in their familiar form in the next game.
Flemeth, Witch of the Wilds
Flemeth is one of the most fascinating and well-written characters in the Dragon Age series. In Dragon Age: Origins, the Warden meets her and her daughter Morrigan in the Korcari Wilds where she saves their life from annihilation at the Battle of Ostagar and is ultimately responsible for helping end the Blight.
However, she is also extremely sinister, raising her daughters to eventually be possessed by her so that she can live forever. For this reason, the Warden in Dragon Age: Origins can help slay her, though this defeat is merely a delay to Flemeth’s plans, as her spirit escapes and is present in both Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The tale of Flemeth the Witch of the Wilds varies depending on who’s telling it, but usually involves her being possessed by a demon in order to take revenge on her arranged husband for killing her lover. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, however, Flemeth reveals that she was not in fact possessed by a demon, but the ancient elven goddess Mythal.
Considering Mythal’s descriptions in the Dalish legends of the Dragon Age lore, this makes sense. Mythal is one of the elven “gods” who arose from powerful mages while their people were enslaved. She is seen as at once a maternal figure, but also as a symbol of justice. These are the differing characteristics that made Flemeth so interesting, especially in Origins. She was far from the main threat of the game, and in fact was, on paper, one of the players' most valuable allies. However, she was also terrifying, raising her daughters but destroying them so that she may continue to live.
Mythal, Urthemiel, and the Dread Wolf
If the Warden went through with Morrigan’s Old God Baby ritual at the end of Origins, Morrigan’s child Kieran will appear in Inquisition with the soul of the old god Urthemiel. Flemeth kidnaps Kieran and, before releasing him back to Morrigan, absorbs his old god soul, shown as a green glowing orb which transfers from him to her.
This would mean that, briefly, Flemeth contained both the souls of Mythal and of Urthemiel. However, in the epilogue of Dragon Age: Inquisition, Flemeth meets up with Solas, revealed to be another ancient elven god, the Dread Wolf, who wants to destroy the Fade.
At the end of their encounter, they embrace, and Flemeth suddenly collapses in his arms as Solas’ eyes glow with the same green light players saw transfer between Kieran and Flemeth. At the very leas,t this implies that Solas has absorbed Urthemiel’s soul, but unlike Kieran, Flemeth collapses when the process takes place, implying that the Dread Wolf has also absorbed Mythal and destroying Flemeth in the process.
This will very likely have huge implications for the plot of Dragon Age 4, and makes it unlikely that Flemeth will return as players have seen her in previous games. If she is still alive, she may not have the immense power that she had before. If she still has Mythal’s soul, this could be the first time Flemeth has been truly out-maneuvered in her centuries of existence, as Solas eclipses her in power.
It is also possible, however, that as both were old elven gods in some sense, the embrace and the transference of Flemeth’s powers into Solas was consensual, and that the Solas in Dragon Age 4 may be at once the Dread Wolf and Flemeth/Mythal. Players have yet to see which soul and/or power it truly in control, but in any case, that entity is sure to make for a fascinating antagonist in Dragon Age 4, and one which could tie together story arcs from as far back as Origins into the next game.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.