Dragon Age is a series filled to the brim with complex lore. The narrative has always been at the forefront of the experience. While the next game is still a ways away, developer BioWare has revealed its name as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. While the title obviously refers to Solas, who was revealed to be the Dread Wolf in Dragon Age: Inquisition, there may actually be a deeper hidden meaning behind it as well. That meaning could give a major clue as to where the next game’s story is going.
Shortly after the official announcement of the title, a fan that goes by @banalnadas on Twitter noted that “Dreadwolf” is an anagram for “Fade World.” Even more surprising was when former Dragon Age producer Mark Darrah retweeted the revelation with an eye emoji.
Any Dragon Age fan will be immediately familiar with the Fade, the metaphysical realm that’s tied to Thedas and is the home of spirits and demons. Players have journeyed into the Fade multiple times across the series, but with the anagram meaning, it could work as a central location in Dreadwolf, which would make perfect sense.
At the end of Inquisition, players learn that Solas is the Elven betrayer god Fen’Harel, who’s nicknamed “The Dread Wolf.” Coincidentally, this isn’t the first time the series has used an anagram, as Solas’ companion quest in the game is titled “All New, Faded For Her,” an anagram for “Dread Wolf Fen’Harel.”
As legends in the series go, Fen’Harel betrayed the rest of the Elven gods and locked them in the Eternal City at the heart of the Fade. Solas tells players he actually did this to prevent the other gods from destroying the mortal world. We don’t know Solas’ full plan at the end of Inquisition, but we do know he wants to restore the Elven people to their former glory as rulers of Thedas. This will undoubtedly involve the old Elven gods in some way, which means players could be heading to the Fade to meet them.
Part of Solas’ plan is to tear down the Veil, the metaphysical barrier that separates the Fade from the mortal world. In the distant past, the Fade and the world were one realm, but when Solas locked away the other gods, he created the Veil to separate the two realms, and ensure that spirits couldn’t pass to the physical world. When the Veil was created it’s possible the elves lost something, like their connection to their spirits, and now Solas wants to set right the mistake he made.
All of this lines up perfectly with the setting we already know about for Dreadwolf, the Tevinter Imperium. An official BioWare 25th anniversary book has already confirmed Dreadwolf will take place largely in Tevinter, which is the oldest nation in all of Thedas. Tevinter is a magocracy, a stark contrast to other nations where mages are largely persecuted and locked away in towers.
Magic, of course, has close ties to the Fade, and as the new game explores the history of Tevinter it makes sense that we’d learn even more about its connection to the Fade and the old gods. In fact, the gods of the Dragon Age universe are something that’s been largely unexplored up until now.
BioWare has remained tight-lipped about details on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, but the Fade World anagram has some massive implications for where the series could be heading next. For now, we’ll have to wait until BioWare shares more details later in 2022.
