Kingsway Rifter Arrival

[faderifting]

WHO: New rifters & their rescuers
WHAT: People fall out of a rift and get attacked by stuff
WHEN: Kingsway 8
WHERE: The coast of the Waking Sea in northern Orlais, just west of the mountains.
NOTES: The arrival log is open to all. Solas was able to alert the Inquisition to the general area where the new rifters would be arriving so people could be sent to pick them up.

You were asleep--deeply or fitfully, for the last time or just resting your eyes for a moment-- and then you were not. And wherever you were was not, anymore, replaced by nothing but the sensation of falling, tumbling into endless, bottomless nothing. If this were still a dream, you would wake before you hit the ground. You can't die in a dream, they say. In some worlds.

In this world, you're plunged down through warm, sticky sea air and full-body into salt water. It's shallow enough to stand and keep your head above the rolling waves--but you'll need to do more than that to live. Overhead, there's a flaring, shifting, green-lit tear in reality. Around you, there are a number of ghastly figures: some float above, hooded and rasping, poised to freeze the sea around you if you don't get out of it quickly enough, while others are spindly monstrosities that burst up from the sand and rocks beneath your feet and scream as they emerge from the water. Whatever arrived with you floats in the waves, slowly pushed toward the shore, or sinks beneath the surface. It may be wisest to leave it for now and collect it when the area is slightly less demon-infested.

To add to your troubles, there's a narrow splinter of light in the same sickly green as whatever brought you here, now glowing out of the palm of your left hand. It aches, a bone-deep pain that gnaws even through all the distractions.

But there's help, on the shore.

Comments

[serannas]

Usually Ellana wouldn't bat an eye over a warrior fighting on horseback, but as she comes closer to fight off the demons, she sees the glowing green shard in his hand. Did-- did his horse come through the rift with him? Does his horse have a shard too? Never mind; now is not the time to question it. The stranger needs help and he will see a faint blue glow underneath him and his mount.

"Shielding you!" she shouts towards him. Her barrier spell decays as soon as it's placed, but for about fifteen seconds or so, he and his horse should be protected from any incoming damage. Then she aims her staff at a demon and thrusts it forwards, a fireball shooting towards it.

[conqueredhearts]

Iskandar noticed the glow around him and didn't bother to hesitate in his actions. He heard it was a shield and he immediately used that as an opportunity to be reckless for a short time while he charged a larger group so he could trample them to the ground. It was far better to use this advantage than to question it in his mind (of course it probably also helped that he was used to the fact that mages could do extraordinary things) and to instead use it to win. Cutting down the ones that remained, he looked over at who had helped him and gave her a grin.

"My thanks, my friend!" He laughed then turned his horse to come closer to her moving in a circle around her body to force the demons to keep their distance. "It is good to know I have so talented a mage to fight with me!"

[serannas]

He and his horse are amazing, since they take care of most the demons so quickly, and Ellana appreciates the shield they make in exchange for the one she gave them.

"You don't hear those words often around here," she says, though it gladdens her heart to know he comes from a world where he respects mages. He'll find few here who do, though the Inquisition is more open-minded in that regard.

"Let's finish them off and I'll tell you how to close the rift. Otherwise more will keep coming through."

[conqueredhearts]

"I'm not sure what I could do but I will trust your judgement, my friend. Tell me, can you cast and ride?"

He knew not every mage could do so from his world so it was better to ask. This appeared to be another world entirely and the laws of magic could be slightly different. No, that was not accurate. They were different because he could feel it just in his very existence. There was a different sensation to his abilities that he knew he would have to test out during a time that was not in combat.

[serannas]

"I can," she begins, giving the rift a worried glance. "My staff helps focus my magic, but I don't have to use it. Why?" Well, obviously because he wants her on his horse. She gets that part. But why on his horse?

[conqueredhearts]

He lowered his hand to her along with a warm smile, offering to pull her up onto the horse in front of him. "Because together we can create a better shield and I can get closer to the enemy while also knowing that you are safe. You are a capable mage and I a capable warrior. Together we will be a force to be reckoned with."

[serannas]

"All right," she says, taking his hand and placing her staff on her back. Don't ask her how it stays there. The answer is magic. But once up on the horse, she concentrates and sweeps a hand outward, laying down another barrier.

"Good to go!"

[conqueredhearts]

She was really dwarfed by him but the grin he gave her made him seem rather harmless. To her anyway. With a laugh, he shifted the horse around and let her work her magic before riding out again so he could slash at demons as they went along.

"Excellent! We make a powerful combination of skill this way!" Keeping the hand on the reins low, he made sure that she had room to still cast as she needed to, even focusing more on holding her and just guiding his horse with his legs instead. There was enough trust between horse and master that the giant beast moved without hesitation, doing everything Iskandar needed him to.

"How close must I be to this rift to finish it?"

[serannas]

Ellana can't help but smile at his confidence and optimism. He doesn't seem to fear the demons at all, and that's good to have for this fight.

"You don't have to be right underneath it, but close. No more than five or six yards away?" She finishes that statement by lifting her arms, allowing an energy barrage to leave her and sweep towards a demon, slamming him with electricity.

[conqueredhearts]

"Five or six? That won't be too difficult. We just have to rid ourselves of our foes and I can get us close."

Iskandar was charging the demon she'd attacked, trampling it beneath the hooves of his horse as he beheaded another with a sweep of his sword. This horde was quite the busy thing! Looking around, he counted how many were left and hummed in thought before he let go of the reins completely to hold onto her. This time he really was just using his legs but he was able to make sure she wouldn't fall as they trampled more demons in their path.

"When we are done with these creatures, what will close the rift?"

[serannas]

"Oh, you hold your hand out towards it. The one with the green shard," she explains, amazed by his horsemanship. "You'll feel a connection. Reach towards the rift and pull back to try and close it." It's really all the advice she can give. Back in the Western Approach, she witnessed Kain close a rift, so all she knows about how it looks and feels comes from him.

...Came from him. He's gone now, cut down by a demon. She doesn't want any other rifters to fall to that.

[conqueredhearts]

"So that is why my hand now glows. Well! We best rid ourselves of these enemies so I can close it then!" He gave her a wide grin, having already settled into what this new role in his life was. New world where he had the power to close these rifts? Why not? In life he'd been only human and then he'd become a Spirit who was summoned by a mage and with great powers. This was just another thing to add to the list of experiences!

"I ask that you protect my horse as best you can. He is strong but he is not immune to these weapons. But should we lend him your strength, he can help ride us to victory."

[serannas]

"I can do that," she says, more than ready to end these demons and close the rift. She keeps a barrier up on all of them, and as it slowly decays, she throws spells at demons to sap away their health. Together with Iskandar and his trampling horse, they should be able to clear the area.

[conqueredhearts]

Without a second though, he let her focus on barriers and her spells. He clearly had faith in her to take care of them, just riding straight over the enemies without a second thought. They'd just met but he believed in her completely. Of course, he personally saw no reason not to. She was a mage and so that meant she knew what she was doing here. "Do you see any others, my friend?"

[serannas]

"No, no more yet, but more will come through the rift unless it's closed." She throws a look back over her shoulder, sure he can close it because he's come at this with such confidence already. She doesn't blame rifters for coming in confused and scared, struggling to understand what is meant when they're told to close the rift with their shard. It's just a relief to have someone so ready to go and just fight.

"Hold your hand out to the rift."

[conqueredhearts]

Turning his horse toward the rift, he held his glowing hand to it. It took only a second before he saw and felt the connection. Though it hurt, he never wavered and never showed signs of pain. Instead he just held strong until there seemed to be a sound and a sign of the rift vanishing from the sky. Looking toward his hand, he blinked a little.

"Hm. That is quite the trick I seem to have at my disposal!"

[serannas]

"It's just what we needed," Ellana replies. "Shardbearers are the only ones who can close rifts and they're spread throughout southern Thedas."

[conqueredhearts]

"This must be quite the problem for you then, my friend," he noted as he gazed down at her smaller frame. He was well over a foot taller than her but he didn't seem like one to use his size to intimidate all those around him. Rather he gave her a reassuring smile instead. "A good thing I have what you need to battle this! I am willing and glad to offer my aid."

[serannas]

"That is really good to hear! The Inquisition is a haven for shardbearers right now. We send people out to close rifts, and we're fighting a war too. We have a camp not far from here. We actually have it because of the rift. If rifters come through, we want to bring them back."

Now she points to the south. "Our camp is that way."

[conqueredhearts]

"Then allow me to give you a ride there." He laughed and turned his horse south. Despite the ache in his hand, he handled the animal beautifully, a sign the two had been riding together a long time. Smiling to himself, he surveyed the land they were on, getting to know it better as they went along.

"Tell me, my friend, is it only those of other worlds who bear these shards? From what I can tell you do not possess one."

[serannas]

"Mostly. But sometimes the shards are thrown out of rifts at natives who get too close." It's in fact a risk Ellana takes whenever she comes by a rift.

"We have people studying the nature of the rifts to try and better understand them and how to get you home, but it's been difficult so far. The rifts are still very mysterious."

[conqueredhearts]

"Is there a way to remove the shard from the body?" Somehow he had a feeling the answer was no since she hadn't immediately offered him a solution. Still, he felt he could at least ask. There was always the chance there was something that could be done even if it was but something enormous that could destroy.

Then again, perhaps that was why no one had done anything about it thus far.

[serannas]

"Not yet," she answers truthfully. "We have researchers looking into it, but no one wants to get things wrong and hurt anyone." Hopefully that answer will satisfy him.

[conqueredhearts]

"I can understand why this would be. And those of us who likely could have handled it are limited now. At least I assume others are since I feel my own abilities have become...altered." He would certainly be looking into how but he was aware that things were quite different.

[serannas]

"Yes, those with magic find themselves changed a little when they enter this world. Our magic comes from the Fade, and yours should to now." The researchers back at Skyhold can probably explain this better than she can. Unlocking the mysteries of the Fade is of interest to her, but she's been so busy she hasn't really had time to join their ranks and help out.

"There's the camp down there. The scouts are expecting us."