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Posted by shispan
*spoilers* Sera is a Vessel Speculation - more evidence and connections

My friend and I have been playing with the idea of Sera being Andruil’s vessel for a while now and, since we saw the theory popping up, decided to add our voices and evidence to it. -friend’s original BSN post on the subject-
Even if this speculation doesn’t speak to you personally, thanks for reading and giving it a chance. We’re lucky to have a universe that allows for so much theorizing :)
Beware: Thar be DA:I spoilers ahead.
TL;DR? Quick version with bullet points at the end
To start, I don’t think that Sera is Andruil in the way Solas is Fen’Harel. Instead Sera could be the vessel of Andruil the way Flemeth is for Mythal (Flemeth says “she came to me, a wisp of an ancient being”). This also means that, though Andruil may have been sexually involved with men, Sera and Andruil’s possibly different sexual orientations are irrelevant because she is only a container of sorts and not solely Andruil. Regardless, I don’t think Sera knows what is going on. She seems to be hiding from memories, wants to ask Leliana about prescient visions (written in the book near her door), fears her dreams could be real (comes up in the romance), and is antagonistic toward the elven 'gods.‘ At times she seems to want the Inquisitor to reassure her that the elven 'gods' aren’t real (her reaction after returning from the Well of Sorrows <– more on her extreme feelings for Mythal in a moment).
Cole tells Sera, "there are songs in every part of you… waiting for you to hear them“ and ”the sky wants to say something, it’s trying,“ plus, Sera experiences déjà vu (Cole says it’s memories slipping to her across the Veil) and hears whispers that other elves do not (sounds similar to the mostly unintelligible whispers the Inquisitor hears if she drinks from the Well). Flemeth has accepted and integrated Mythal (”she is a part of me, no more separate than your heart from your chest“) so she can fully understand the knowledge, memories, and power that comes from Mythal, but Sera might be scared and angry because she’s trying to suppress or avoid these feelings and the wisp is probably still too weak to manifest more strongly.
So here’s the big question: if Sera contains the wisp of an ancient elf 'god,’ then why is she so hateful toward 'elfy’ elves? (elfy is an important distinction because she seems to judge people for how they act and not simply what they are) There are a few possibilities. If Sera is getting memories from Andruil’s wisp she could be reacting to Andruil owning slaves and slaves’ horrible treatment at the hands of their elven masters in general. She could have some understanding of the truth about the ancient elves and the atrocities committed by the 'gods,’ so she’d be angry at anyone who worshiped and glorified them. On top of this, she can’t even explain it to anyone because she’d have to reveal (and admit to herself) what’s inside of her. Lastly, her rage against elfy elves could be so extreme because of self-hate and guilt if the wisp inside of her embodies everything she thinks is wrong with the world.
Here is an important codex entry on Andruil from the mosaic in the ToM:

Let’s break this codex down:
"Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning." and "But Mythal's magic sapped Andruil's strength, and stole her knowledge of how to find the Void. After this, the great hunter could never make her way back to the abyss, and peace returned."
This could explain why Sera doesn’t know what she is (whatever that is), where she came from, and her apparent loss of memory. She remembers being a child in the alienage but says she doesn’t remember her parents and doesn’t care to remember where she was born.
"One day Andruil grew tired of hunting mortal men and beasts. She began stalking The Forgotten Ones, wicked things that thrive in the abyss." and "Mythal spread rumors of a monstrous creature and took the form of a great serpent, waiting for Andruil at the base of a mountain.”
The Forgotten Ones may be dragons or, like Flemeth, take dragon form. The evidence for this is shaky but there is more ancient elven text that suggests the greater gods and their chosen could.

If true, it could explain why the game goes to lengths to show how much Sera enjoys hunting dragons. From her dialogue when you encounter dragons, to war table notes, and this from her completed codex entry:

“Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning.”
When you take Sera to The Fade and go to the area with the gravestones Sera’s specifically says that her greatest fear is The Nothing, which is strange unless you consider that The Nothing could be another way to describe The Void.
Before we leave this codex behind, take one last look at the overall story of Mythal luring Andruil into a ambush and their fight that ends in Mythal stealing her strength and knowledge. In her companion quest, Sera is lured into an ambush by a nobleman and, if certain options are chosen, she goes out of her mind with rage and wrecks him. Her reaction was unnervingly brutal and felt extreme even in those circumstances, but it could’ve been an echo of Andruil's rage in the same way that Flemeth is still angry and wants revenge for being betrayed personally and for Mythal being betrayed in the past.
Another quote from Cole reinforces the idea that Sera is a vessel for something:
“Fleet-footed and free, the arrow that caught the miller’s sack, but no longer shot alone, a quiver in a quiver."
The 'quiver in a quiver’ part may be significant if both Andruil and Sera are empty of most of their significant memories (essentially a hollow container within another hollow container) and the arrow caught in the sack represents Andruil's purpose. If the arrow was meant to pierce the sack to tear a hole, open the floodgates, and allow 'grain’ to flow out, then being stuck in the sack shows that something went wrong and Andruil’s purpose was thwarted. Grain and arrows also comes up in the writing from the ToM below, in which Andruil gathers 'grains of light’ into an arrow that seems meant for some terrible use in the future.

Cole also says the following, which might tie into her purpose.
"She hurts, but helping hurts more. She sees the strings that pull me, eyes like raisins in a stale cookie.”
Also how would Sera see the strings that pull Cole? I don’t think she is hiding being a mage, but the part of Sera that is Andruil may be capable of it.
Sera seems to be resisting Andruil's wisp and gets vague feelings/messages/power from it that she doesn’t quite understand and possibly even tries to suppress (whispers, dreams, natural ability with the bow, etc). Look at Sera’s involvement with the Friends of Red Jenny, Andruil’s Way of the Three Trees (WotTT: be swift and silent, bend but don’t break, be stronger together/mindful of the gifts of the hunt), and the story of Andruil and Ghilan'nain.
The WotTT might as well be the motto of the Friends of Red Jenny and the story of Ghilan'nain is a perfect illustration of how the Friends of Red Jenny actually operates.
“And Ghilan'nain prayed to the gods for help. She prayed to Elgar'nan for vengeance, to Mother Mythal to protect her, but above all she prayed to Andruil. Andruil sent her hares to Ghilan'nain and they chewed through the ropes that bound her, but Ghilan'nain was still wounded and blind, and could not find her way home. So Andruil turned her into a beautiful white deer—the first halla. And Ghilan'nain found her way back to her sisters, and led them to the hunter, who was brought to justice."
Ghilan'nain (a Friend) calls to Andruil (Red Jenny) for help, who sends hares (the Little People), that chew through her bonds to set her free (Little People acting within their limited power to help the Friends of Red Jenny as a whole), which eventually leads to the target being brought to justice in some way (the Friends will harass nobles, steal, upset plans, even kill those they think deserve it). If Sera felt echoes from Andruil’s wisp inside of her she might’ve felt compelled to act in certain ways, and joining the Red Jennies is like following a skewed version of Andruil’s WotTT.
Now let’s see how Sera’s tarot card, the "grains of light” text, and Andruil's vallaslin come crashing together with surprising clarity.
We can usually only guess at which vallaslin goes with which elven 'god,’ but Andruil's is pretty obvious considering it’s a bow and arrow. Now flip the vallaslin upside down and you get the layout of Sera’s second tarot card: her bow, arrow, head, shoulder and chest armor, legs, gap between thighs, and even the shape of her hair and pointed finger are all represented.


Now compare Sera’s tarot card to the text from the ToM: whole stars appear at the top of the card and streaks of light clearly center on a glowing arrow with a pale golden shaft.
The stars, grains of light, glowing spear (a projectile, just like an arrow), and Andruil's vallaslin are so clearly depicted in Sera’s very deliberate pose on her tarot card that it’s hard to believe this was anything but intentional.
TL;DR:
Sera isn't Andruil, she’s a vessel for Andruil's wisp (like Flemythal)
Sera and Andruil’s possibly different sexual orientations are irrelevant because she is a vessel and not solely Andruil
She is avoiding/resisting/suppressing the wisp and it manifests subconsciously (dreams, whispers, innate abilities)
- Sera could hate “elfy” elves (not all elves) because she’s aware of the atrocities the 'gods’ they worship and glorify committed (much more above)
Sera reacts violently to the ToM and Mythal specifically, Andruil had a terrible fight with Mythal
The Void drove Andruil mad and Mythal stole Andruil’s power/knowledge/memories, Andruil’s wisp is weak and Sera knows very little about her own past
Sera goes beyond rage to rip apart the noble who ambushes her much the way Andruil reacts to being ambushed by Mythal
Sera’s greatest fear is 'The Nothing,’ The Nothing = The Void
- Sera doesn’t understand why she loves hunting dragons, Andruil hunted Forgotten Ones/dragons
Cole calls Sera a “quiver within a quiver," says the arrow is "no longer shot alone,” and says Sera can “see the strings that pull [him]"
Sera’s involvement with the Friends of Red Jenny is like Andruil’s Way of the Three Trees and the story of Andruil and Ghilan'nain
Sera’s tarot card combines Andruil's vallaslin and text on Andruil from the Temple of Mythal
**Edited to clarify the bit referring to sexual orientation.
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