With the upcoming Dragon Age 4 representing the Tevinter of our discontent, as it were, it is uniquely important to remember that this is just the newest entry in a long line of Bioware games, meaning that at least some of the more significant events seen and choices made by the player in the first few entries will help shape the experiences of Dragon Age 4. One such player choice helps determine who ends up taking the position of the ‘Divine’ religious leader of the Chantry, a decision that will more than likely have a major impact on on at least some of the story beats in the new game.

For those that may have forgotten, the Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition – that’s you – is given a few choices throughout the game that help shape the story’s ending, a few of which involve deciding which of the character’s allies ends up as Divine.  The three options are party member Cassandra, head of the Seekers of Truth and the Divine’s right hand: party member Vivienne, an Orlesian mage that once served as a court advisor: or Leliana, a series regular and the former Divine’s left hand who returns in DA:I to serve as the Inquisitor’s advisor. Originally brought up by the folks over at Gamerant, determining which of these three characters takes up the mantle of Divine should in all rights create some interesting consequences going into the next game.

It is rather difficult to make these claims without first quickly examining the final story beats of DA:I. At the end of the game’s Trespasser DLC, it his strongly suggested that our beloved egg-head Solas (above) intends to involve the Tevinter Imperium in his bid to restore the elves to greatness. Thing is, as we’ve learned chiefly through party member backstory and other DA-related mediums, Tevinter is a controversial place, a magocracy that actively encourages slavery and serves as a rather negative narrative focus for several of the party members throughout the Dragon Age series. Given that the next game will almost certainly take place in and around the Tevinter Imperium, the new Divine will likely have some choice words for what happens throughout the game, depending on said Divine’s own opinions on religion, slavery, and free mages.

Leliana, on the one hand, disbands mage Circles if chosen as Divine, allowing the magically-inclined to form their own order despite the potential risks, many of which the player has had to deal with throughout the Dragon Age franchise. Both Vivienne and Cassandra choose an altogether different route, reforming the Circles (with varying methods) and returning some semblance of the status quo from before the events of the game, which has the potential for long-lasting conflict given that nothing has really been ‘resolved’ for mages between the current beginning and end of the franchise.

How things stand with mages will undoubtedly be thoroughly explored in Dragon Age 4. Despite its shortcomings, the Tevinter Imperium offers freedom to mages, and should either Cassandra or Vivienne be chosen as Divine, this could lead to dire consequences should the mages of Thedas still be under the Chantry’s thumb. The promise of freedom and prosperity to mages long oppressed within the Circles could very well be a significant story beat during the events of Dragon Age 4, especially given that this narrative point has been one of the primary focuses throughout the trilogy.

Regardless of who ends up as Divine in your playthrough, the fact remains that the inquisitor will undoubtedly need all the help they can get in their bid to stop Solas from accomplishing his goals. Whether or not the Divine will lend a helping hand (see what I did there?) will also depend on her relationship with the character and the choices they’ve made thus far.

Dragon Age 4 is now in development.

So, thoughts on Dragon Age 4 thus far? Are you looking more forward to this, or perhaps a new Mass Effect game? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!