Who’s up for another mighty tinfoil theory to make the wait for the next Dragon Age a little bit more bearable? Y’see, I think the prevalent and mysterious secret society that’s known as the Executors are a tribe of ancient elves from Solas' time who still linger - perhaps a branch of Ghilan'nain's or Andriul’s network that have endured this entire time across the sea, posing as one of the greatest threats to Solas' plans.
With that as my initial hypothesis, let’s throw the kitchen sink at this theory and explore its entirety, step by step.
What are the Executors?
For the uninitiated, very briefly, the Executors are a shadowy syndicate that speaks "on behalf of powers across the sea." I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of them before because the Executors were very subtly introduced in Dragon Age: Inquisition through a series of war table operations. “As a gesture of goodwill, we share our knowledge. May it prove valuable in your coming battle. On behalf of powers across the sea, The Executors." (Unmask “Those Across the Sea”).
To cut to the chase, the war table operations uncovered the Executors appealing to the Inquisition—not to be antagonistic—but to determine if the Inquisition’s forces could defeat Corypheus. Once the Executors believed the Inquisition could, they simply left them to it, stating that, for the moment, they are not their enemy.
“Corypheus threatens us all, and the Inquisition is Thedas's only hope for stopping him. Remember that, for the moment, we are not your enemy.” (Unmask “Those Across the Sea”).
The Executor’s intention was to watch, once they determined that the Inquisition could defeat Corypheus, they left. Based on that encounter, it seems that the faction has Thedas’ best interests at heart, ensuring that the land is safe from any threat who dare oppose it, by any means. Thus, explaining why they made their presence known to the Inquisition firstly against Corypheus, and most recently in Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights against the Dread Wolf - but more on that in a second.
"A caterpillar on a leaf does not know there is a forest about him. You will hear no more from us. Our intention was to watch, and we have seen enough. (Unmask “Those Across the Sea”).
“We came because we possess a shared interest in the Wolf.” (Tevinter Nights).
As a summary of their greater intentions, the Executors stated to the Inquisition that Thedas’ present troubles are great, however, more will come - they prepare for that day and hold vigil - which greatly foreshadows the Executor’s presence in Thedas.
“Thedas' present troubles are great (…) More will come. We prepare for the day and hold vigil. (Unmask "Those Across the Sea").
What do the Executors look like?
For the longest time, the Executor’s triangular symbol with wavy lines through it was the only identifiable source that related directly to them. However, Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights revealed a physical agent of the Executors kitted in dark robes of Vyrantium samite, covered head-to-toe, with a thin mesh that covered their hood. Their robes were trimmed in a twisted shape pattern that curled to points in places that made one's eyes hurt.
“A figure covered head to toe in dark robes of Vyrantium samite, with a thin mesh dropping down to cover the hood. The dark robes were trimmed in a pattern Charter had never seen, twisting shapes that curled to points in places that made her eyes hurt.” (Tevinter Nights).
Beyond their hooded robes, their appearance remained a mystery. When this specific Executor agent spoke, their voice carried no distinction of gender or age - almost as if their speech was a presence that filled the room, rather than a person speaking behind hooded robes.
“The voice that came from the Executor could have been male or female, young or old. It was less a voice than the idea of a voice, rendered acceptably but no more” (Tevinter Nights).
And, very unsurprisingly, the Executor agent carried a faint whiff of the ocean, and something beyond the ocean - which is something I will come back to.
“But she caught a faint whiff of the ocean from his robes, and something beyond the ocean. The Executor.” (Tevinter Nights).
While Tevinter Nights’ description of an Executor creates more questions than answers, we have a decent outline of their appearance: robed, hooded, and smells of the ocean with no clear distinction of gender/age. Let’s take a step back and explain each piece of evidence that supports my hypothesis that the Executors are ancient elven. First up, let’s unwrap the Executor’s elven ties examined through concept art.
The Executor’s Elven Ties Through Concept Art:
Taking a gander at the 2021 concept art piece that showcased a mystifying, hooded figure with an enigmatic magical bow - in my opinion, everything in this artwork resembles an Executor agent: the embedded triangle symbols, the fully-covered, hooded figure, and the mysterious magical bow. So (for the sake of this entire video), I’m going ahead with the assumption that this concept art piece is, indeed, an Executor agent… With that prefaced, our agent is bare-footed which is actually a huge deal and our first lead for this theory because, throughout the Dragon Age games, the only group in Thedas that’s culturally barefooted are the elves.
For example, Solas, an ancient elf, is barefooted and Fenris, a modern-day elf, is also barefooted. In fact, the majority of the elves in the games are barefoot. This is proven, of course, in-game and in many elven concept art pieces like Solas’, the ancient elves, and the dalish elves. Thus proving that this aversion to footwear is an elven thing, ancient or not. So, what does that mean for our Executor agent here? Well, it means that their design/outfit appears rather elven in nature.
And that’s not all, in addition, the Executor’s colours have a very similar colour scheme to the ancient elves with their gold trims and darker colour shades. The ancient elves also appear hooded most of the time, wearing long cloaks. The Executor agent’s design is parallel to the Sentinel elves in the Temple of Mythal, while they followed many contrasting green colour schemes, the Executor has a lighter, autumnal scheme with the familiarity of the Sentinel elves.
This similar style is shared with the other concept art pieces of potential Executor agents, showcasing that the conceptual designs for Executor agents are very ancient elven-inspired. So, could the Executors have ties to the ancient elves, yet follow a different colour scheme because they worship a different elven god? For instance, perhaps the Sentinel elves wore green to resemble/honour Mythal, maybe the Executors decorate themselves differently, resembling a different elven god, explaining their autumnal colour scheme.
Adding more into the mix, if we look at this concept art piece, it most likely showcases two Executor agents given their similar, autumnal coloured, and robed style, their protection spell/shield of triangles, and most importantly, the figure on the right wielding this mysterious, very familiar bow made of floating triangles.
For obvious reasons, I think it’s safe to assume that this bow is of Executor design - the floating triangles kind of give it away. With that shocking revelation, this Executor bow ties this concept art piece and the original concept piece together, connecting them as potential Executor agents, also, and more importantly, the bow ties to the figure that was revealed holding it in the Game Awards 2020 trailer - this horned, enigmatic figure that has been dubbed as ‘the mysterious V archer’ by former Creative Director Matthew Goldman.
Given all of these connections, I think it’s a very safe bet to say that every single figure who’s been seen holding this bow is an Executor. The bow itself is drawn physically by the figure in the Game Awards trailer, whereas in the concept art piece, it’s almost as if the arrow is being cast as a spell - whatever the truth is, there definitely seems to be a magical element to the Executors given their composition in their concept art pieces like the spell/shield of floating triangles.
While this bow ties the multiple concept art pieces and the promo trailer together, potentially representing the Executors, we still have another huge elven connection to explore that brings the Executors and the ancient elves together, and that’s the mysterious V archer’s horns.
Initially, when the Game Awards 2020 trailer was revealed, many of us speculated about this mysterious figure, but their horns really threw us back - are they a Qunari? Could they be a witch of the wilds? A Nevarran Mortalitasi? Who/what are they?
Well, before I straight up state that this figure is an Executor… Previously explored in Inquisition’s concept art was a very interesting and bold design for an ancient elven Sentinel. As you can see, the concept art explored the Sentinel elves with huge, curved horns, exactly like the new figure in the 2020 Game Awards trailer. While this is a conceptual design for an ancient elf, at one point, BioWare were considering giving the Sentinel elves horns.
With this new figure having incredibly similar horns like this - does that mean that this figure is an ancient elf, very similar to the Sentinel elves? Have BioWare re-implemented an elven concept design for this new figure? If so, given that this figure also ties to the Executors - are the Executors a resurfaced, splintered group of the ancient elves?
Perhaps? but, let’s not stop just there! The next huge elven connection that’s going to solidify this theory requires an entire section dedicated to it. Let’s look at the Dragon Age Day short story, ‘Ruins of Reality and the Tevinter Nights story, ‘Three Trees to Midnight.’
The Morlyn Clan Executor Connection:
The ‘Ruins of Reality’ short story featured Strife, an elf from ‘Three Trees to Midnight’ in Tevinter Nights, thus tying the two stories together. As a quick TL:DR, in ‘Three Trees to Midnight,’ we discovered that Strife is a tall Starkhaven elf with silvery hair and a strong build - he’s at least fifty years old and has no vallaslin.
“Then chain me to a man, not this knife-ear,” Myrion said, glaring at the silver-haired elf.” (Three Trees to Midnight).
Strife left the Starkhaven alienage after hitting a guard who was beating elven children. Fleeing the city, Strife lived in the woods by himself until the Dalish found him, he joined their clan, known as the Morlyn clan and picked up what he could from them.
“Hard to believe, I know. I hit a guard who was beating elven children, and he came back with more guards, and I ended up living in the woods. The Dalish found me and let me join up with them. I’ve picked up what I can from them, but . . .” (Three Trees to Midnight).
Since then, Strife was taken captive by the Qunari Antaam, he escaped their grasp with the help of Tevinter mage, Myrion and elven shapeshifter, Irelin. Together they fled into the Arlathan Forest, making their way back to the Morlyn clan.
Now, this is where we shake things up, the ‘Ruins of Reality’ story was set just after the events of ‘Three Trees to Midnight,’ the story followed Strife and Irelin hunting down a relic that belonged to their clan. The pair ventured through the cursed Arlathan Forest, tricked by its ancient magic until Irelin recovered their clan relic - a crystal halla figurine held by a statue of Ghilan'nain. Now hold that thought, let’s look at the official artwork of this story, as it tells us even more about this tale.
“Strife. Scrambling through the brambles, dodging the bloodthirsty forest with a familiar urgency. Another him. The other elf hid behind a weathered stone column shrouded in vines, stealing a glance at a leatherbound journal—the same journal he was holding. It was a relic of the Morlyn clan, handed down over generations.” (Ruins of Reality).
The artwork showcased Strife looking at a reflection of himself in the Arlathan Forest, wearing a red cloak with a downward-pointed triangle with two wavy lines drawn through it - the most iconic Executor’s emblem. Irelin’s shadow can also be seen at the bottom of his cape, looking over him. In addition, just like the previous concept art pieces, Strife is barefoot, wearing red hooded robes with floating triangles all over. Of course, it makes sense for Strife to be barefoot because he’s an elf, however, why would he be wearing a cowl belonging to the Executors?
Well, Strife said that when he joined the Morlyn clan, he picked up what he could from them. So, are the Morlyn clan the Executors? Strife was a nobody until this clan found him, and suddenly, he’s training in their ways, robed with an Executor emblem, looking for elven relics… It would certainly make a lot of sense… especially given the dots we’ve already connected. So, we’re going to go ahead with this bold prediction and state that the Executors are the Morlyn clan.
“The Dalish found me and let me join up with them. I’ve picked up what I can from them, but . . .” (Three Trees to Midnight).
Even further, in ‘Three Trees To Midnight,’ while being chased, Strife said to Myrion, “If we get out of here alive, it’ll be because of what Andruil taught my people.”
“Strife shot him a glare. ‘If we get out of here alive, it’ll be because of what Andruil taught my people.’” (Three Trees to Midnight).
So, considering that Strife was a City Elf until he joined the Morlyn clan, I assume when he refers to his people, he means his Dalish clan. So, given that Strife is praising Andruil directly, we have a small tie to an elven god that could mean something huge for the Executors, especially considering that Andruil is the elven goddess of the Hunt, she has many ties to survival, powerful weapons of the Void, the ways of the arrow, bow and forest, etc. She is one of the perfect candidates that this hypothetical ancient elven Executor cult could worship.
“Hear me, sons and daughters of the People. I am Sister of the Moon, Mother of Hares, Lady of the Hunt: Andruil. Remember my teachings, Remember the Vir Tanadhal: The Way of Three Trees That I have given you.” (Codex entry: Andruil: Goddess of the Hunt).
But that’s not the only elven god that ties to all of this - we need to talk about Irelin, Strife’s shape-shifting companion. Irelin has a lot of representation with Ghilan'nain considering she transformed into a halla in ‘Three Trees To Midnight,’ and she recovered an idol of Ghilan'nain that belonged to the Morlyn clan in ‘Ruins of Reality.’
“The halla looked at Myrion, his breath heaving and his leg throbbing from the shackle, and then at Strife. Then, with a shimmering sparkle of magic, the halla slid into the form of a young elven woman.” (Three Trees To Midnight).
“Strife was looking at it now. On the other side, so was his double. Both transfixed by a statue of elven goddess Ghilan'nain holding a crystal halla figurine, exactly as the journal described... Irelin swooped in and snagged the figurine with her talons, tearing it from Ghilan'nain's grip.” (Ruins of Reality).
Ghilan'nain is the Mother of the halla, the fact that the Morlyn clan have an ancient relic in her image is very suspicious, in fact, Irelin’s shapeshifting talent and the elven gods' ability to shapeshift is also just as a sus regarding Irelin’s potential identity. But moving away from that, the Executors and Ghilan'nain do have a few similarities.
As mentioned in the first part of this theory, the Executors speak "on behalf of powers across the sea," there’s someone/something behind their entire order. Also, they carry a faint whiff of the ocean and something beyond the ocean.
In “The Horror of Hormak” Tevinter Nights short story, Grey Wardens discovered a chamber with a ghastly pool of viscous grey fluid. The entire vicinity was elven in design with a formidable stench of seawater and formed patterns of the horns of a halla - it’s speculated that this chamber belonged to Ghilan'nain, and this pool was used to mutilate creatures.
“They descended the spiral staircase. The minutes stretched on as they went farther and farther into the darkness, and the smell of seawater grew even stronger.” (The Horror of Hormak).
“The striations on the columns, random at first, began to form patterns before Ramesh’s eyes. The same symbol—the horns of a halla—repeated on each column. The symbol seemed to shift, changing in an inexplicable way that made Ramesh’s eyes water.” (The Horror of Hormak).
Putting these two dots together, the Executors smell like the ocean and Ghilan'nain has hidden chambers with mutilated pools that smell like seawater. Ghilan'nain was said to create giants, monsters, and beasts that spanned across the sky, water, and earth. However, before she ascended to godhood, she had to destroy all her creations. Before she killed those of the sea, Pride stopped her hand, and we all know who Pride is.
“On the second day she drowned the giants of the sea, except those in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought, and Pride stopped her hand.” (Codex entry: The Ascension of Ghilan'nain).
The Executors come from beyond the sea and speak on behalf of unknown powers across the sea, so do they serve Ghilan'nain? Are they her own personal network? Could the Executors themselves also be mutilated like the creatures within Ghilan'nain’s hidden chambers?
“There was a hissing sound, a flash of light, and the cocoon shattered. Yet what came out was not a hurlock. It had the head of one, but that head rested on the body of a massive drake.” (The Horror of Hormak).
This could explain their horned look, especially given Ghilan'nain’s relation to the halla - the biggest claim yet, but as we know, halla also have horns similar to this speculated Executor agent.
I could also make a claim about the Executors and their ties to Andriul, given what I’ve previously explored, with the whole Goddess of the Hunt and the Executors represented in predatory situations. But, either way, I think it’s a safe bet to assume that the Executors are ancient elves working behind another elven god.
But, I’m not done just yet, the final part of this theory involves looking at the Executors future intentions with Solas.
The Executors Intentions With Solas:
In ‘The Dread Wolf Take You’, Tevinter Nights story, Solas disguised himself as an Orlesian bard, infiltrating a meeting comprised of Thedas’ best intelligence factions: the Inquisition, the Carta, the Mortalitasi and the Executors. Each faction member shared their knowledge of the Dread Wolf and his current scheme. During the conversations of this meeting, the Executor agent spoke about how the Executors care only for Solas’s goals and his means of accomplishing them, they disregarded any other information that didn’t help eliminate the Wolf - revealing their hostile intention towards Solas.
“We across the ocean care only for his goals and means of accomplishing them. (…) This does not help us eliminate the Wolf. You might as well suggest we throw a rock at him.” The Executor turned. (Tevinter Nights).
As each representative went around the room, explaining their intel on the Wolf, Solas, very subtlety, killed the Executor agent before they could fully share their findings to the group.
"Before the Executor could answer, the Bard raised his hands. “I believe I know where the mage carrying the lyrium idol went next. S’il vous plaît, allow me to continue its tale." (Tevinter Nights).
Despite the rest of the agents who shared their knowledge on Solas, the Executor was the only one that was killed before they could share their intelligence. While the rest of the agents, minus Charter the Inquisition spy, were later killed, they were at least able to share their intel.
“Second, that the Executor has not moved since you touched his hand while he and the Assassin argued. And third . . . that you never drank your tea.” (Tevinter Nights).
“The Assassin and the Mortalitasi were still where they stood, their skin and clothes suddenly the gray of dead, dull stone.” (Tevinter Nights).
This begs many questions between Solas and the Executors, like, what do the Executors know about Solas that he’d rather not have the rest of Thedas’s intelligence factions know? Also, how long has Solas been aware of the Executors’ presence? Has he known about them for a while? Like since the ancient days? Or has it been a recent discovery?
Either way… for Solas, it seems that the concealment of their intel was worth physically infiltrating this meeting, silencing this Executor agent. There’s something about the Executors that Solas finds threatening, whether that’s the information they have, the powers that they speak on behalf of, or something else entirely, Solas is intimidated by them.
Ironically, after killing the Executor agent, Solas told the Inquisition spy known as Charter that the Executors are ‘dangerous’ - which was said with intent, almost as if they’ve personally done something to Solas to earn that description. Even with the Inquisition, Carta, and the Mortalitasi present, Solas stated the Executors are the dangerous ones.
“I would caution you in dealing with those across the sea,” he said. “They are dangerous.” (Tevinter Nights).
So, given that stance, do the Executors have a way to foil Solas’s plan? And therefore, are dangerous to him, yet worthwhile allies for the rest of Thedas? Do they know exactly who he is? Have they met him before? Do they have a longstanding rivalry with him? Or has this war effort been a recent thing?
Well, we really don’t know, but if we tie this theory altogether, it would certainly make sense if the Executors were an elven god’s personal network, hostile to Solas’s intentions given how he defeated the elven Pantheon. Could the Executors be out for revenge, opposing Solas by any means, thus explaining why they’ve decided to help Thedas’s present factions?
While this is only a theory, it certainly presents a deeper cause for the Executors and their future plan against the Dread Wolf.
Sounding off, as a rebuttal to some aspects of this theory, a lot of the evidence is concept art that refers to non-official work, and some other pieces are quite widespread. Even so, I feel like we’ve at least hit the nail on the head with some cases, especially the elven ties, maybe not all of them, but that’s to be expected given the nature and the mystery of the Executors. In any regard, this joining the dots was just a bit of fun on my behalf, please let me know down below what you think about the Executors and their ongoing mystery. Is there any evidence you can bring to the table on this secret society’s identity? Who/what do you think they are? And most importantly, who/what do they speak on behalf of?