The assassin guild of Thedas spreads its wings in the short story collection more than The Veilguard.
We’re several days into the first week of a new major RPG, which means it’s just about time for everyone to take a little screen break from Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Not that you have to take a break from Thedas entirely while getting away from the computer: Instead, you should crack open the short story collection Tevinter Nights, especially if you think the Antivan Crows assassin guild is kind of cool.
Tevinter Nights was written by a number of BioWare writers and includes stories with several of The Veilguard’s companions. Neve and Lucanis both feature prominently while others like Emmrich get nods in bits related to their factions. The Crows are an attractive concept—who doesn’t like a group of assassins?—and The Veilguard definitely brings us into their world more than Dragon Age has in past games. But even so, there are two Tevinter Nights stories that give them so much more depth than The Veilguard manages to.
“The Wigmaker Job” by Courtney Woods is a must-read for fans of Veilguard’s Crow companion Lucanis. It showcases his relationship with his cousin Illario during a contract they’re working together to kill a blood mage in Tevinter. There’s also little treat of a line about Lucanis’ appearance in there, setting up what he looks like in The Veilguard for those paying attention.
That job highlights Lucanis and Illario’s differences in approach, in personality, and in the palpable tension between two Dellamorte family heirs: one who absolutely wants the limelight and status within The Crows and one who just wants to do his job. It also gives a lot more insight into Lucanis’ own values by showing how he makes difficult choices about avoiding bystander deaths while still completing the contract.
My absolute favorite story from Tevinter Nights is also by Courtney Woods, “Eight Little Talons.” This one is a Clue-like murder mystery that takes place during a summit of the Crows leadership as they reckon with the Qunari military threat that winds up being a prominent part of the faction’s story in The Veilguard.
The Veilguard mostly flattens Teia and Viago, two of the Crows highest ranking members, into quest delivery mouthpieces but they’re both full of flair in “Eight Little Talons.” Teia is a charmer overflowing with self-confidence and an expansive wardrobe that likely rivals Illario’s. Meanwhile Viago is a staunchly serious and emotionally constipated lover of poisons. Wouldn’t you know it, but they’ve been dancing around an attraction to one another for quite a while, which comes to the fore during this close-quarters mystery.
If you think the Lucanis romance in The Veilguard is brimming with sexual tension, it’s got nothing on Teia and Viago’s simmering tryst as they work together to sort out which of their fellow Talons is a traitor. You even get treated to both of their perspectives, watching how they continually struggle to snare one another.
I’m not normally one to call the supplementary materials required reading. Given some of the complaints about storytelling I had in my Dragon Age: The Veilguard review though, both of these stories in Tevinter Nights really flesh out the nuances of what these characters and The Crows as a whole value in a way that The Veilguard just doesn’t leave space for.
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