Dragon Age 4 has kept a lot close to its chest, but Gamescom footage gave players a glimpse at the development and thought behind it. A lot of concept art was shown, including for what appears to be a fully powered Solas, but one of the more interesting showed a big first for the franchise.
That is, one piece of Dragon Age 4 concept art showed some characters under water. As seen below, it appears to be Dorian and an unknown individual swimming after a woman with a dagger. Upon close inspection, though, something doesn’t seemingly quite fit.
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Looking closely at the human characters, it’s clear that they are all holding their breath. This could suggest expanded underwater gameplay for Dragon Age 4, perhaps in the Nocen Sea between Tevinter and Seheron, but closer inspection points out a new, unrecognizable figure. Just above the figure who appears to be Dorian (potentially join by Lucerni Maevaris) is a unique, unknown, but clearly humanoid figure. It appears to have a skull-like face with potentially an air bubble surrounding its head, and it appears to have just dived into the water. There is clearly a face on the skull and a bulky but humanoid body attached, and in many ways, this matches the descriptions of the Executors.
The Executors are first referenced in Dragon Age Inquisition, as “those across the sea” or those in service to “the Powers across the Sea.” This would mean that they are not native to Thedas, and they’re certainly not discussed in known circles. They never meet face to face with the Inquisitor, despite watching the Inquisition closely, but are only known by the symbol of an upside down triangle with two wavy lines representing the ocean (seen at the very top of this post).
The Executors interact with the Inquisition through the War Table, as the Executors believe that Corypheus also threatens them, while maintaining a non-allied language in communication. Attempting to discover the Executors leads Leliana to Caimen Brea, a location in Dragon Age 4′s Tevinter. Further, they are also referenced in Tevinter Nights in a meeting of Thedas’ best spies. Solas petrifies them before they can be expounded upon, with the protagonist noting that they could have been “male or female, young or old.” Solas is apparently even wary of these figures, as he warns the protagonist not to trust them.
This doesn’t fit any known Thedas race, and with a skull-like head/face, it would explain why the Executor was completely covered in robes, face and all. It would also explain how the Executors escaped Leliana‘s agent, as Caimen Brea is on a riverfront, and it seems the above figure can breathe underwater. With their powers being denoted as from “across the sea,” this would make sense. The Dwarves believe in the Titans, who have been confirmed to be massive beings that as part of the planet itself, and so this would make sense that there is an aquatic equivalent.
Of course, this is mere speculation and remains to be seen, but it all adds up. Whether Executors, or that particular Executor, are allies, companies, enemies, or a big threat in Dragon Age 4‘s story is up in the air, but it seems that it may not just be Humans, Dwarves, and Qunari teaming up against Solas.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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