Speculation, quarantined and labeled — five theories the fandom argues about.
The blizzard that arrives when Soren’s angry, the stillness before he acts, the aurora burning brightest on his vigils: coincidence, or is his frostweaving leaking into the Reaches’ weather? The “leak” camp points to the Glacier Awakening — raw, unmetered power reshaping a harbor. The “coincidence” camp points out he’s a warden: of course he’s out in dramatic weather; that’s the job.
Soren’s watchfire claim — see Creatures — split the fandom. Believers note Kaelis believes him, and Kaelis doesn’t believe in anything. Skeptics note the third cup. The middle position, currently winning: the Serpent is real the way the Wailing Spires’ song is real — a natural wonder the lore hasn’t explained yet.
The Oathbreaker’s story feels unfinished by design — half-mad in the deep Reaches, wholly guilty, and the only foe Soren pities. The dominant theory: Varric returns not as a villain but as a warning, in the arc where Soren is most tempted to overspend. The minority theory: he’s already returned, as the hooded figure in the Wailing Spires scene. The lore neither confirms nor denies; that’s why it’s a theory.
The Frozen Throne sits empty by ancient law — but laws are plot devices, and the Crown of the First Frost is right there in the Vault. One camp says the story ends with Soren refusing the throne on-page, making the theme explicit. The other says the throne stays empty and that’s the point. Both camps agree on one thing: if anyone sits in it, the story’s over.
The least supernatural theory and the fandom’s favorite: Maren’s river stone — the one warm thing — is the thesis of the entire lore. Every arc is Soren learning, again, what the stone means: power is the frost; purpose is remembering warm. Issolde adding “I will remember warm” to the oath is, in this reading, the moment the Wardens’ whole philosophy changed. It’s barely even a theory. It’s just … true, in the way fanon is true.