How to romance Bellara in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Bellara's solidly in the running for most wholesome companion in a cast full of good eggs. In this guide, I'll tell you how to properly lift the veil and romance Bellara in Dragon Age: The Veilguard—for which you'll need a tolerance for endearing magic technobabble rambles and stumbling sentences. The hummingbird's trying her best, bless her.

Bellara Lutare is a member of the Veil Jumpers. Unlike some of the other factions in the game, the Jumpers are a relatively new alliance of interested geeks assembled from various elven Dalish clans. You meet Bellara early on, and very quickly realise she's one half of a missing pair—with her brother, Cyrian, vanishing after an accident with an artefact.

While she comes off as quirky and a bit of a clutz, Bellara's romance is actually pretty lovely—if understated, mostly relying on mutual support through the shocking amount of heartbreak she goes through. Her storyline revolves around dealing with sudden loss, the unseemly past of the ancient elven empire, and the question of whether to preserve knowledge for future generations—even if that knowledge is dark.

How to romance Bellara

Here's the cliffnotes on how to woo Bellara's nerdy Dalish sensibilities:

• Complete Bellara's personal questline, ending in "The Forest of Spirits".
• Flirt with her when the game prompts you to. Otherwise, Bellara generally approves of optimism, kindness, and supporting her interests with enthusiasm. Hummingbirds like nectar, after all.
• Grab Bellara's companion gift from the Veil Jumper merchant in Arlathan Forest.

Like a lot of companions in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Bellara's romance hinges on some key, clearly-signposted conversations.

Bellara romance scenes

Express romantic interest in Bellara

As long as you've been expressing interest in Bellara, being nice, and wooing her as you complete the main story, you should get a cutscene at the Lighthouse during act three wherein you walk in on Bellara composing her own serial.

This is, essentially, Bellara writing fanfiction about you—and you've got to keep your cool and be supportive. Continue selecting those romantic dialogue options, and Bellara will just straight-up ask you "Do you want an 'us'? I mean, romantically". Here's how to respond, immediately after she adds "Okay. Worst possible way to ask that" like a bumbling nerd:

• "It's not, and I do like you" in response. Clear communication is a plus!
• "Do whatever feels right" seems a winner in the immediate aftermath, she's a creature of impulse, after all.

Bellara will then execute the time-honoured manoeuvre of staring at you like she's smitten while leaning on thin air. It's what passes for rizz among the Dalish. Don't question it.

Commit to a romance with Bellara

As you progress Bellara's personal questline, you'll eventually unlock the quest "Hummingbird's Lament", wherein you'll go to the Arlathan Forest to reconnect with a long-lost family member. The conversation doesn't go great, but all that means is a great opportunity for some emotional catharsis and romantic commitment bonding. Score!

This conversation will play out once you're both back at the Lighthouse. Once more, for someone so clumsy and roundabout with her words, Bellara is remarkably responsible and communicative—asking you what you want in no uncertain terms (as long as you expressed interest in her beforehand). Here's how to respond when she asks "Are you sure you still want that, I mean? With everything I've got going on with Cyrian, I mean…":

• "I'm sure." Doing this will lock you into a romantic relationship with Bellara.

The Final Night

From here on, it's just a matter of completing more of the main story and wrapping up Bellara's companion quests—as seems to be standard with these romances, Bellara will tell you she's got plans to swing by your room later in the night before you set out to give Elgar'nan a long-overdue wedgie, where a tame, but very emotionally sweet confession scene will play out.

Honestly, I've been shocked at how charmed I've been by Bellara the further I delved into her romance— Rook becomes her rock in a very endearing way. If you're looking for a sickly-sweet love story based on mutual trust, emotional support, and affection, you could do much worse than the Veil Jumper's nerd representative.