Fans of the video game series Dragon Age have become used to surviving off scraps. Despite BioWare, the Edmonton-based development studio responsible for the franchise’s creation, suffering repeated blows to its reputation over the years, loyal enthusiasts of the fantasy world have stuck around waiting for news on the fourth installment in the series, officially named Dragon Age: Dreadwolf (or DAD, as it is jokingly being called across the Internet).

Since Dragon Age: Inquisition wrapped up its main storyline back in 2015, we’ve had plenty of spin-off material – mostly comic books and novels. However, there has been little word on where the games plan to take us next.

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As we wait for more, we have Dragon Age: Absolution, an animated television show based on the titular universe. Rumors of a Netflix-backed Dragon Age series have been floating around for some time now, but the recent release of a new trailer was the first actual glimpse we’ve gotten.

Let’s consider for ourselves what Absolution might have in store for us when it releases this December.

Dragon Age: Absolution Will Give Us Our First Look at Tevinter

Of the few things we know officially about Dragon Age: Absolution, one is that it will be set in Tevinter, a country we’ve heard a lot about but have seen very little of. We’ve certainly heard a lot about Tevinter over the series’ history, particularly its unwillingness to follow in the footsteps of other nations making up the continent of Thedas.

Where other countries have outlawed slavery, in Tevinter, enslaved people are ubiquitous. While other countries have long since signed peace treaties with the invading qunari to prevent further bloodshed, Tevinter wages war against them still. And most noticeably, whereas other countries have vilified magic and locked mages away in towers, Tevinter embraces the arcane arts in every aspect of daily living. While it’s an empire clinging to its faded glory days, it still holds a reputation as a formidable force and is one of Dragon Age’s most intriguing countries based on mystique alone.

Absolution promises to give us our first real look at what Tevinter is all about, and we’re excited to do so. It will be nice to physically see this land, rather than reading about it in lore books or hearing all about the political machinations of the empire’s upper echelons from party members.

Who Are the Characters?

     Netflix

According to the new trailer’s YouTube description, Dragon Age: Absolution is promising new characters “inspired by, and authentic to, Dragon Age lore; including elves, mages, knights, Qunari, Red Templars, demons, and other special surprises.” We see for ourselves a qunari mage in action, commanding fire. Whoever she is, we can assume she’s Tal-Vashoth, meaning she’s cast aside the strict lifestyle of other members of her race. Traditional qunari are known to horribly bind and maim mages in an attempt to control them, and this particular qunari looks very much free.

Alongside the qunari, we also get quick shots of whom we can guess will be our new group of protagonists. We’re shown what looks like a traditional lineup of mages, rogues, and warriors. Most of them appear to be human, though there may be a dwarf among them. We’ll have to wait for more trailers or screencaps from Netflix to confirm that one.

We also have an elf featured prominently in the trailer, giving off the rough-and-tumble look of your typical fantasy rogue. We don’t have names or personalities for these characters quite yet, but whoever they are, they all look battle-hardened and ready for a fight, meaning they’ll fit right into the world of Thedas.

We’re also curious to know what exactly this group’s goals will be. A certain ouroboros ring featured in the trailer looks to be of some significance, so it isn’t far-fetched to assume our new characters are working on getting their hands on it. Dragon Age is filled to the brim with mysterious artifacts that hold unique powers – players amass quite a collection of them on their own journeys – and we’re eager to see how this ouroboros fits into the lore.

Will Absolution Tie Into Dragon Age: Dreadwolf?

     Electronic Arts

One question that seems to be at the front of fans’ brains is whether this new show will tie into the storyline of the next Dragon Age game. Considering that marketing for Dreadwolf has been scarce so far, it is a strong possibility that the show may serve the dual purpose of entertainment and advertisement. We’ve known for some time that the next Dragon Age game will likely take place in Tevinter, and Absolution might set us up for different areas we’ll see and characters we’ll meet in Dreadwolf. Some fans fully expect that at least one revealed character in Absolution will join our new video game protagonist on their adventures. (We’re all secretly hoping it’s the qunari mage, right?)

BioWare is also looking to reveal more information on the fourth chapter in the Dragon Age franchise later this year, and Absolution is set to release in December 2022. This can’t be a mere coincidence. It’s plausible that Absolution is setting up more trailers and story information to come, though we’ll have to wait and see.

If this new animated adventure does end up typing into Dreadwolf, might that aforementioned ouroboros ring have a role to play in bringing down the fourth game’s main antagonist? Luckily, we won’t have to wait terribly long for answers.