The Last Voice

"I have worn a thousand faces. None of them were mine."

Overview

Deep beneath a forgotten Tevinter ruin, sealed behind lyrium-forged doors older than the Imperium itself, lies a prisoner.

Not sleeping.

Not dead.

Waiting.

When discovered, he appears to be an ordinary man in his late thirties. Calm. Intelligent. Soft-spoken.

Yet everything about him feels wrong.

He speaks languages scholars have spent lifetimes attempting to decipher.

He recognizes symbols that predate recorded history.

He knows routes through the Fade that even the most accomplished mages have never mapped.

And when darkspawn draw near, he becomes uneasy long before anyone hears them.

He calls himself only:

The Last Voice

Because he cannot remember his real name.

Appearance

His appearance subtly changes throughout the game.

Not dramatically.

Small details.

Eye color shifts between scenes.
Hair length changes overnight.
Scars appear and disappear.
Reflections occasionally show someone else.
Fade distortions sometimes reveal draconic features.

Companions notice.

Players notice.

Nobody can explain it.

Class

Unlike traditional companions, he is effectively a hybrid.

Fadewalker

He can:

Step through weakened Fade tears.
Sense spirits.
Walk through dreams.
Enter memories.

Unlike ordinary mages, he does not cast spells.

He manipulates reality itself.

Shapeshifter

Not the traditional Ferelden style.

His transformations are ancient.

Examples:

Massive wolf-like predator.
Stone-skinned giant.
Shadow creature.
Dragon-like battle form.

Every transformation appears connected to forgotten creatures that no longer exist.

Engineer

One of the strangest revelations.

He understands ancient mechanisms instantly.

Tevinter vaults.

Dwarven machines.

Lost magical devices.

Nobody knows how.

When questioned, he often says:

"I don't know. My hands simply remember."

Weapons Master

Regardless of weapon type:

Sword
Spear
Axe
Bow
Staff

He displays mastery.

Yet he claims to have never trained.

Nature Speaker

Animals react unusually around him.

Birds gather nearby.

Wolves refuse to attack.

Ancient forests seem aware of his presence.

Even spirits associated with nature treat him differently.

Some call him:

"The Forgotten Wing."

The Mystery

The game never immediately confirms anything.

Players slowly discover clues.

Clue One

Grey Wardens hear traces of the Calling around him.

Not loudly.

Like an echo.

A memory.

Clue Two

Archdemon murals react to his presence.

Ancient dragon statues weep blood.

Old wards weaken.

Forgotten vaults open.

Clue Three

Certain darkspawn refuse to attack him.

Instead they kneel.

As if recognizing something.

Clue Four

Ancient spirits become terrified when they see him.

One spirit simply says:

"You survived."

Before disappearing.

Companion Personality

The key is making him a person first.

Not a lore device.

He is:

Curious
Compassionate
Patient
Occasionally frightening

He hates being worshipped.

He fears power.

He desperately wants to know who he is.

One of his greatest fears:

"What if the thing inside me is not trapped? What if I am trapped inside it?"

Companion Quest

Echoes of Wings

Throughout the game, players recover fragments of his past.

Ancient memories.

Lost dreams.

Broken pieces of identity.

Each fragment reveals a different possibility.

Possibility One

He is an Old God reborn.

Possibility Two

He is merely the vessel.

Possibility Three

He is a prison.

Possibility Four

The Old God died long ago.

Only memories remain.

Possibility Five

Something even older is involved.

Companion Aura System

One unique mechanic could be his Aura.

His emotional state affects the world around him.

Calm

Allies gain resistance.
Wildlife becomes friendly.
Spirits become peaceful.

Fear

Fade disturbances increase.
Darkspawn become more active.

Anger

Dragons become aggressive.
Ancient wards weaken.

Acceptance

Hidden memories unlock.
New powers emerge.

Players influence this through dialogue and quest decisions.

Companion Relationships

Many companions would react strongly.

A Grey Warden may want him executed.

A Tevinter mage may want to study him.

A Dalish companion may believe he is connected to forgotten gods.

A spirit companion may refuse to travel with him.

Others might become fiercely protective of him.

Endings

Dragon Ascendant

He accepts the ancient consciousness.

Transforms into a true dragon.

Not an Archdemon.

Something entirely new.

He disappears into the skies of Thedas.

Occasionally appearing during world events.

The Sacrifice

He destroys himself.

The ancient presence dies with him.

The world is safer.

But a friend is lost forever.

The Purged

The Old God essence is removed.

For the first time, he becomes completely human.

Free.

Unknown.

Terrified.

Happy.

The New Voice

The player helps him merge with the entity.

Not dominated.

Not consumed.

United.

He becomes a new power in Thedas.

Neither god nor mortal.

A being capable of reshaping the future.

Why This Fits Dragon Age

Unlike a fully awakened Old God companion, The Last Voice preserves the mystery that makes Dragon Age compelling.

Like Solas, he would challenge the player's understanding of history.

Like Morrigan, he would exist in the space between myth and reality.

Like the Grey Wardens of the Grey Wardens, he carries a burden tied directly to the Blights.

Most importantly, he is not a god traveling with the player.

He is a man desperately trying to discover whether he is one.

The Last Voice

Expanded Character Design

The greatest strength of The Last Voice is that every answer about him should create two new questions.

The player should never be completely certain whether they are traveling beside:

A lost hero.
A failed experiment.
A forgotten god.
A prison.
A monster.
Or the last survivor of an age that should not exist.

Real Name

As the story progresses, numerous names are discovered.

Ancient records call him:

The Wing Beyond Dawn
The Seventh Witness
The Keeper of Ashes
The Silent Scale
The Walker Between Songs
The Last Voice

Every culture remembers him differently.

No two stories agree.

Some portray him as a savior.

Others portray him as a destroyer.

Others insist he never existed.

The player eventually realizes that somebody intentionally erased him from history.

The question becomes:

Who had the power to erase someone from every civilization?

His Unique Presence

When companions first meet him, they experience strange sensations.

A mage hears distant dragon calls.

A Grey Warden feels the Calling become silent.

A spirit feels ancient fear.

Animals become curious rather than hostile.

Even demons hesitate before approaching him.

Not because they respect him.

Because they recognize something ancient.

The Forgotten Talent

One of the most unsettling discoveries is that The Last Voice possesses skills he should not have.

He can sit at an ancient instrument and perform flawlessly.

He can forge weapons using techniques nobody has seen for thousands of years.

He can navigate ruins without maps.

He knows military tactics used by civilizations that no longer exist.

When questioned, he becomes uncomfortable.

"I don't know how I know these things."

"Sometimes it feels as though another life is reaching through me."

Companion Combat System

The Last Voice would have one of the most versatile combat systems in Dragon Age history.

Path of the Beast

Ancient shapeshifting.

Forms include:

Stonehorn

A massive armored creature.

Tank role.
Taunts enemies.
Generates barriers.

Ash Wolf

Fast predator.

Bleed effects.
Ambush attacks.
Fear generation.

Fade Serpent

Semi-spiritual form.

Teleportation.
Illusions.
Psychic attacks.

Sky Terror

Limited dragon-like transformation.

Breath attacks.
Aerial strikes.
Crowd control.

This form terrifies him.

Because every time he uses it, he remembers something.

Path of the Engineer

Ancient technology mastery.

Unlike dwarven engineering.

Unlike Tevinter magic.

Something older.

Abilities include:

Deployable constructs.
Ancient defensive barriers.
Lyrium disruption fields.
Autonomous guardian drones.

Companions begin questioning where such knowledge originated.

Path of the Voice

His most unique specialization.

Not magic.

Not combat.

Power through presence.

His voice influences reality.

He can:

Calm demons.
Strengthen allies.
Disrupt spells.
Reveal hidden memories.
Weaken creatures tied to the Fade.

Some enemies collapse in terror when he speaks ancient words.

Words no longer spoken anywhere in Thedas.

Personal Fear

The Last Voice fears dragons.

Not because they are dangerous.

Because they trigger memories.

Every dragon encounter causes flashbacks.

The player begins witnessing:

Ancient skies filled with dragons.
Massive battles.
Forgotten kingdoms.
A colossal winged figure whose face is always obscured.

The player never knows if these are his memories.

Or the Old God's.

The Dragon Hunters

Midway through the story, a secret faction emerges.

The Silence

An organization older than the Chantry.

Older than many kingdoms.

Their purpose:

Destroy The Last Voice.

Immediately.

Without question.

Without negotiation.

When confronted, they reveal something disturbing.

They have been killing people like him for thousands of years.

And he is the final one.

Companion Approval

Most companions form strong opinions.

Not neutral opinions.

Strong opinions.

Because he challenges everything they believe.

High Approval

He becomes more open.

More human.

He jokes.

Laughs.

Shows curiosity.

Starts imagining a future.

Low Approval

He withdraws.

Becomes distant.

More ancient.

More mysterious.

More frightening.

Sometimes he speaks in forgotten languages while sleeping.

Sometimes he seems to recognize places before arriving.

Romance Path

His romance should be one of Dragon Age's most tragic.

Not because he dies.

Because he genuinely does not know what he is.

At one point he asks:

"If I become something else... would you still see me?"

The player realizes he fears losing himself more than death.

The romance is less about saving the world and more about helping someone discover whether they deserve to exist.

The Secret Twist

Late in the game, a revelation emerges.

The Old God consciousness may not be the real threat.

The real threat may be whatever imprisoned it.

Ancient records reveal a possibility:

The Old Gods were not merely worshipped.

They were contained.

Watched.

Restricted.

Locked away.

Not because they were evil.

Because something feared them.

Something powerful enough to alter history itself.

This revelation changes everything.

Suddenly the question is no longer:

"Is The Last Voice an Old God?"

The question becomes:

"What was powerful enough to make even the Old Gods afraid?"

Ultimate Companion Moment

Near the climax, the party enters a place untouched since before recorded history.

A chamber filled with thousands of ancient names.

Some recognizable.

Most forgotten.

In the center stands a massive stone monument.

Upon it is carved a single title:

"The Last Voice."

Not a name.

A title.

Beneath it are the words:

"When all others were silenced, one remained."

At that moment, for the first time in the entire game, The Last Voice remembers something.

Not everything.

Just enough.

And the expression on his face tells the player one thing:

He has finally learned why the world forgot him.

And he wishes it hadn't remembered.

The Last Voice

The Truth Hidden Beneath Thedas

As the game progresses, the player eventually realizes something unsettling.

Everyone has been asking the wrong question.

The mystery was never:

"Who is The Last Voice?"

The mystery is:

"Why was he left alive?"

Every ancient enemy.

Every forgotten civilization.

Every purge of knowledge.

Every destroyed archive.

Every sealed ruin.

Every missing page of history.

They all point toward one impossible fact.

Someone wanted him erased.

Yet someone else wanted him preserved.

The Chamber of Seven Echoes

Late in the story, the party discovers an impossible location hidden beneath the earth.

Far deeper than the Deep Roads.

Far older than any known dwarven civilization.

A chamber containing seven empty thrones.

Each throne bears marks associated with the ancient Old Gods.

But one throne is different.

Destroyed.

Broken.

Scratched away.

As if history itself attempted to erase it.

The Last Voice immediately recognizes the chamber.

Yet cannot explain why.

When he touches the broken throne, memories flood outward.

Not into him.

Into everyone.

What The Party Sees

The companions witness fragments.

Ancient skies.

Ancient cities.

Winged shadows.

Golden towers.

Massive dragons speaking with mortal civilizations.

Not ruling them.

Guiding them.

Teaching them.

Protecting them.

The vision contradicts everything known about the Old Gods.

Nothing matches Chantry teachings.

Nothing matches Tevinter myths.

Nothing matches recorded history.

The Forgotten War

Another revelation emerges.

Before the wars remembered by history...

There was another war.

One completely erased.

Not a war between nations.

Not a war between mages and templars.

Not even a war involving the Fade.

A war against oblivion itself.

Something arrived.

Something ancient.

Something that consumed memory.

Not lives.

Not souls.

Memory.

Entire civilizations vanished because nobody could remember they existed.

Entire species disappeared.

Entire cultures were forgotten overnight.

The Last Voice remembers fragments.

Because he was there.

Why He Is Called The Last Voice

His title finally gains meaning.

He was never called The Last Voice because he survived.

He was called The Last Voice because he remembered.

While entire civilizations forgot.

While cities vanished from memory.

While history collapsed around them.

He carried their stories.

Their names.

Their songs.

Their languages.

He became the final living archive of an entire age.

The Memory Vault

One companion quest leads to a hidden location known as the Memory Vault.

A place existing partially in the Fade.

Partially in reality.

Inside are preserved memories.

Entire civilizations stored as living echoes.

The player can walk through:

Ancient markets.
Forgotten kingdoms.
Lost battles.
Long-dead cultures.

All preserved because The Last Voice carried them.

The realization becomes heartbreaking.

His burden was never power.

His burden was remembrance.

His Greatest Weakness

For all his abilities, The Last Voice has one crippling flaw.

Every time he uses his most powerful abilities...

He loses a memory.

Not necessarily an important one.

Sometimes:

A favorite song.
A friend's face.
A childhood moment.

Other times:

Entire years.

This explains why he remembers so little.

For thousands of years, he has been sacrificing himself.

Again.

And again.

To preserve others.

Companion Reactions

One of the strongest scenes occurs when companions discover the truth.

Not that he contains an Old God.

Not that he might become a dragon.

But that he has spent millennia losing himself to save the memories of people nobody else remembers.

Many companions completely change their view of him.

Some become protective.

Some become angry.

Some become devastated.

One companion asks:

"Who remembers you?"

The Last Voice cannot answer.

Because nobody does.

The Ancient Arsenal

Throughout the game, he begins recovering weapons tied to his forgotten past.

Each weapon unlocks a piece of history.

The Ash Spear

A weapon forged to slay creatures larger than dragons.

The Lantern Blade

A sword that reveals hidden truths.

The Silent Hammer

An ancient dwarven relic created before the First Blight.

Memory's Fang

A dagger capable of cutting through magical bindings.

None of them feel legendary because of power.

They feel legendary because they belong to a history nobody remembers.

His Relationship With Dragons

Eventually, dragons begin behaving strangely around him.

Wild dragons stop attacking.

High dragons follow him.

Ancient dragon nests open pathways for him.

One old dragon kneels.

Not in submission.

In recognition.

As though greeting an old friend.

Or an old enemy.

The game never immediately clarifies which.

The Dragon Dream

Near the end of the story, the player experiences a shared dream with him.

Not a vision.

Not a Fade event.

A genuine memory.

The player sees through his eyes.

Feels enormous wings.

Feels ancient power.

Feels responsibility.

Feels fear.

For a brief moment, the player experiences what it means to be something far older than mortal understanding.

Then the memory ends.

Before revealing the face.

Before revealing the truth.

The Final Choice

The ending revolves around identity.

Not power.

Identity.

The player must decide:

Preserve The Voice

He remains as he is.

A living archive.

A guardian of forgotten histories.

The burden continues.

But so does remembrance.

Release The Voice

All preserved memories are freed.

Entire forgotten civilizations finally pass on.

The Last Voice becomes mortal.

For the first time.

Become The Dragon

He embraces the ancient consciousness fully.

His body transforms into a colossal dragon unlike any seen before.

Not corrupted.

Not monstrous.

Majestic.

Terrifying.

Beautiful.

A creature standing between gods and mortals.

Rewrite History

Using ancient powers, he restores everything that was forgotten.

Lost cultures return.

Lost truths return.

Ancient conflicts return.

Thedas changes forever.

Whether for better or worse becomes the question of the next age.

Epilogue

Regardless of the ending, one final scene remains.

A traveler enters a small village.

An elderly storyteller sits beside a fire.

Children gather around.

The storyteller begins a tale.

A tale about forgotten kingdoms.

Forgotten heroes.

Forgotten dragons.

And one lonely figure who carried their memories through the darkness.

The storyteller smiles.

Then says:

"As long as someone remembers, nothing is ever truly lost."

For the first time in thousands of years, The Last Voice is no longer alone.

Someone remembers him too.

The Last Voice

Companion Banter, Hidden Truths, and Legendary Moments

One thing that would make The Last Voice truly special is that most players would spend the first half of the game believing he is simply a mysterious companion.

The second half would slowly reveal that he may be one of the most important individuals to have ever existed in Thedas.

Yet he never acts like it.

He carries supplies.

Helps refugees.

Repairs broken wagons.

Feeds animals.

Tells stories around campfires.

The contrast between his humble nature and the impossible weight of his existence is what makes him compelling.

Camp Conversations

Unlike many companions, The Last Voice enjoys listening more than speaking.

He asks questions that seem simple but carry strange implications.

To a Grey Warden

"What does the Calling sound like?"

When told it sounds like distant singing and whispers, he grows silent.

Later he admits:

"I hear it too. But mine sounds sad."

To a Dalish Companion

"If your people found the truth about their gods, would they still worship them?"

The Dalish companion may become angry.

The Last Voice never argues.

He simply says:

"I wonder the same thing about mine."

To a Mage

"Do you believe power changes people?"

If the mage says yes:

"Then perhaps I should be grateful I have forgotten most of mine."

Hidden Behavior

Players who pay attention discover unusual things.

The Birds

Whenever the party camps, birds gather nearby.

Not dozens.

Hundreds.

Perched silently.

Watching.

When he leaves, they leave.

Nobody knows why.

The Wolves

Wild wolves never attack him.

Even starving wolves back away.

Sometimes they simply sit nearby.

Observing.

The Darkspawn

A rare encounter occurs where a wounded darkspawn crawls from a battlefield.

Instead of attacking, it stares at him.

Confused.

Almost frightened.

Then dies.

As if recognizing something impossible.

His Workshop

Eventually the player unlocks his personal workshop.

Not a magical laboratory.

Not an alchemy station.

A strange collection of inventions.

Half engineering.

Half magic.

Half impossible.

Inside are:

Ancient mechanical birds.
Self-writing journals.
Lyrium-powered maps.
Devices no scholar can identify.

When asked how he built them:

"I don't know. My hands remembered before I did."

The Living Journal

One of his most treasured possessions is an ancient journal.

The pages are blank.

At least at first.

As the story progresses, words appear.

Not written by him.

Written by previous versions of himself.

Entries spanning centuries.

Perhaps millennia.

Example Entry

"Today I forgot my mother's face."

"I have written her name three hundred times so I will not lose it again."

Another Entry

"I found a village erased from memory."

"The people still existed."

"Nobody remembered they did."

Another Entry

"If I ever forget why I continue, remember this:"

"Someone must."

The Dragon Skeleton

One quest takes the party to a mountain range.

There they discover something impossible.

A dragon skeleton the size of a fortress.

Larger than any dragon ever recorded.

Larger than an Archdemon.

The Last Voice immediately recognizes it.

Not its name.

Its personality.

He knows its favorite hunting grounds.

Its habits.

Its fears.

The realization horrifies him.

Because he should not know any of this.

The Ancient Enemy

Eventually the player encounters an entity known only as:

The Silence Between Names

A being existing outside memory.

Outside history.

Outside the Fade.

Unlike demons.

Unlike spirits.

Unlike dragons.

It consumes identity itself.

Not bodies.

Identity.

When it attacks victims:

Names disappear.
Faces are forgotten.
Relationships dissolve.

The victim still exists.

But nobody remembers them.

This enemy recognizes The Last Voice immediately.

It calls him:

"The One Who Escaped."

The Truth About His Aura

His aura is not magical.

At least not entirely.

It is the pressure of countless lives and memories existing within one soul.

When people stand near him they unconsciously feel:

Ancient victories.
Ancient losses.
Ancient hopes.

This is why strangers trust him.

Or fear him.

Without understanding why.

The Dragon Form

If unlocked, his dragon form should not resemble ordinary dragons.

It should look older.

Different.

More intelligent.

Almost sacred.

Features include:

Crystal-like scales.
Glowing runic veins.
Eyes containing moving constellations.
Wings resembling living night skies.

When companions first witness it, they are speechless.

Not because it is terrifying.

Because it is beautiful.

The Forgotten Throne

Near the end of the game, the party discovers a throne hidden beneath reality itself.

A throne nobody can perceive.

Except The Last Voice.

The moment he sees it, memories begin returning.

Fast.

Violently.

Thousands of years.

Millions of moments.

Entire civilizations.

Entire lifetimes.

The player finally learns the terrible truth.

The Real Burden

The Old God consciousness was never imprisoned inside him.

The opposite.

He imprisoned it.

Long ago.

For reasons he no longer remembers.

He chose to become the prison.

Knowing he would eventually forget why.

Knowing he would lose himself.

Knowing history would erase him.

Knowing nobody would remember the sacrifice.

And he did it anyway.

The Final Revelation

In the climax, the player gains access to the final memory.

The first memory.

The memory that started everything.

A younger version of The Last Voice stands before a vast winged being.

Neither good nor evil.

Merely powerful.

Dangerously powerful.

The being asks:

"Who will carry this burden?"

Thousands refuse.

Kings refuse.

Heroes refuse.

Gods refuse.

The young man steps forward.

Not because he is the strongest.

Not because he is chosen.

Not because he is destined.

Because nobody else will.

And that single decision shapes the fate of Thedas for thousands of years.

Why Players Would Remember Him

Dragon Age has featured powerful companions before.

Assassins.

Grey Wardens.

Witches.

Ancient elves.

Living legends.

The Last Voice would be different.

Because beneath all the mystery, all the power, all the dragons, and all the ancient lore, his story is ultimately about one thing:

A man who kept carrying a burden long after everyone forgot it existed.

And who kept saving a world that would never know his name.

Until the player finally does.