Three of Cups

Shadow

Significance: Shadows are cunning in battle and also infused with red lyrium, as you can see from the image. They too follow Corypheus.

Cups 03

The card itself represents: Happiness, a jowful occasion, birthdays and weddings, celebrations, sharing, healing and vitality, good news, exhiliration, parties, relief, a problem resolved, generosity, rejoicing, etc.

Reversed: Upsets, postponing, excess, self-indulgence, dashed hopes, bad news, being unappreciated, envy, bigotry, greed, hostility, etc.

Cups 03 O

A dirty blood-orange corruption reflected through the spikes of red lyrium that the Templar has become, no longer human in form, his former embodiment barely visible, a mere shadow of what he once was, as he heavily clamours to his master’s will. A chain around him reflecting the enslavement and addiction that took him. Rings around the moon, like ripples in the water; the actions of one knight could affect the whole world. Miniature clubs on a dim sky downward arrow pattern permeate the downward spiral a lyrium addict or Red Templar is on. Nothing good could come and thus, once rich with vitality, he is lost and forgotten, a whisper in the shadows.

What I think this means for DA: The ripples are significant: each Red Templar is like a pebble, but as each is thrown into a pool of chaos, a ripple is created, and thus each and every one corrupted Templar affects the rest of the world, its people, and only time will tell how much and in what way. We’ll surely learn more in the next DA game.