Dragon Age 4 has a big legacy to live up to. BioWare will be placing a lot of the studio’s hopes on the game to revive interest in the company on the next-gen after the disappointing receptions of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem.
The story will need to feel engaging and fresh, wrapping up loose ends and satisfying different story arcs to compete against new game IPs like Avowed and Cyberpunk 2077. It is looking increasingly possible that Dragon Age 4 could draw in players by delving into one of its world’s biggest mysteries, bringing back the Forgotten Ones to the continent of Thedas.
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The Forgotten Ones were gods in the old elven pantheon, alongside more benevolent deities like Mythal who later possessed Flemeth, called the Creators. However, the Dread Wolf deceived all of the elven gods, trapping the Creators in the heavens while the Forgotten Ones were sealed away in the abyss. Most of the Forgotten Ones names have, naturally, been forgotten by the time of the Dragon Age games. The Forgotten Ones represented naturally evil aspects of life like disease, hatred, spite, and other negative emotions.
There are a few different stories of how the Dread Wolf tricked the gods. Some say he told them that the war between the Creators and the Forgotten Ones would end if the Creators could find a weapon in the heavens and the Forgotten Ones could find a weapon in the abyss before sealing them in by erecting the Veil, while another version of the story says he tricked the Forgotten Ones into believing that the Creators would be defeated if they came to a truce.
There remain a few Forgotten Ones whose names have come up in the Dragon Age series. Anaris, Geldauran, and Daern’thal are mentioned by name in game, but their exact aspects or natures are left unclear. However, some Dalish elves are still known to worship the Forgotten ones, hiding this blasphemy from even their own people.
Solas was revealed to be the Dread Wolf at the end of Dragon Age: Inquisition and revealed his plan to destroy the Veil between the Fade and the material world. The chaos this could cause makes it seem likely that this act could also make the barrier between Thedas and the abyss more permeable, with some of the Forgotten Ones getting through or making their influence felt in Thedas for the first time in hundreds of years.
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In some sense, the return of the Dread Wolf himself already counts as the return of the Forgotten Ones, as he was considered to be both a Creator and a Forgotten One by some of the elves, hence his ability to manipulate both parties. It seems possible if not likely that Dragon Age 4 players will be faced with a conundrum as one of the biggest mysteries in Dragon Age unravels.
On the one hand the oppressed elves across Thedas may be able to reclaim their magic and immortality if the Dread Wolf tears down the Veil, but it also seems likely that Solas may have overestimated himself this time, and that in destroying the Veil he may be exposing the world to the Forgotten Ones he once locked away. In any case, it seems likely that some of the dark spirits bound by the Dread Wolf will be making a return in Dragon Age 4, which could have unexpected consequences for the realm of Thedas and the Solas himself alike.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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