faderift | OPEN: Bloomingtide Rifter Arrival

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OPEN: Bloomingtide Rifter Arrival

WHO: New rifters & helpful Inquisition volunteers
WHAT: Welcome to Thedas!
WHEN: Bloomingtide 7
WHERE: The Imperial Highway near Sulcher's Pass
NOTES: This log is slightly backdated, so it's safe to assume safe arrival at Skyhold and begin RPing there as soon as you're ready OOC. It is open to any characters who would have volunteered to go welcome the rifters, whose arrival sites can now be predicted, thank you Solas.

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.

But there's no waking here, just a flare of green-white light and a jarring impact onto cold dirt and long grass. When your breath returns and the light's after-image fades from your eyes you will find yourself lying flat on stone, squinting up into sunlight and a shifting, blinding green tear in reality.

You are also not as you were: in the palm of your left hand there glows a narrow splinter of light the same sickly green as whatever brought you here. It aches, a bone-deep pain that gnaws even through all the distractions. Like the fact that you're being attacked. Surrounding you and the rift through which you arrived are five massive beings made of fire and molten, veiny flesh, rearing back to throw flames at anything that breathes. But mind your step, getting out of their way: the stone beneath you is the ruin of the Imperial Highway, elevated high enough that dropping off either side or the crumbled gap ahead will not be much more survivable than the fire.

Luckily, you are not on your own. Around you others are rising from the ground, equally confused, with the same green lights flaring from their hands. And help is already here—prepared, this time, unsurprised by your appearance, with armor and a few extra weapons to hand off if you've come empty-handed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"...Spare a sword?" It's not just that he doesn't have a sword, and he'd think that would be obvious since he's holding a staff and fighting demons with magic. It's that something floating is asking for a sword. Then again, the floating man did just attack a demon. And then yet again, his eyes are entirely black.

"I've a boot knife. That's as close as I get. And as I'm not certain you won't drive it into my back, I don't know about handing it over." Justice in particular isn't certain it should be handed over, despite how this... person... has just killed a demon. But after a short beat, Anders bends and retrieves the small knife and offers it. It isn't really like that can be used to kill him unless this being is very fast and very serious about it.

"Mind if I ask what you are?" If the answer isn't good, at least they're ready to fight.

This one does talk a lot, doesn't he? The Outsider is fairly certain most of it is directed at him, but one can never be certain. Still, he takes the knife with hands so pale it's hard to tell if he has ever seen the sun before now, testing his grip on it.

"There is some debate to that in my own world," he offers after a moment, having decided to ignore the slight accusation. "What do you think that I am?"

The answer this man provides, if he provides one, should provide more than just the answer to the question he's asked. Until then, he has no problem with using more magic to fight off the demons; this man is using it, and no Overseers are coming to interrupt and kill all of them. Since the knife is small, he uses his telekinesis to drive it and through the bodies of the demons instead of stabbing with it.

Okay. Now Anders is a little jealous. He can do things with Force magic, but he's not that precise, and that assessment serves to make Justice even more watchful than the question. Surely if this is a demon, then the man would be twisted and changed, except he's heard rumors about Imshael and he's seen Bruce.

"Honestly? If you didn't have the shard in your hand, I'd call you demon. Nothing mortal floats like you're doing, and spirits tend to glow more. That pattern hasn't always held true, though." Which is why he's still fighting the clear demons and hasn't attacked this guy. "What does your world call you?"

A Despair demon turns to look at them, and Anders sends ice spiking up through it, following that with earth and widening the spikes. It's a nice combination of shock and trauma, and Anders turns his attention to the next-closest demon.

"The Outsider."

It is an introduction, more than a description. But it is what they call him, and it isn't as though it isn't a fitting descriptor at that.

The knife is returned to his hand and next is a blast of wind to blow back any demons that are too close, hard enough that one smashes into the crumbling wall- and dissolves into ash, dead.

"They say I am part angel, part devil, but I was human once. Now I am part of the Void, the realm of magic and dreams."

Human once. Sometimes Anders sees things that could be glimpses of his own future, and he takes a moment to look over the Outsider again. Cole was human once too, now he's a mix. Anders isn't entirely human either, no matter how he's trying to return to that state. Can he judge, if this being is fighting demons?

Yes, says Justice. Maybe later, Anders decides.

"Well, welcome to the waking realm. The Fade, the realm of magic and dreams, is on the other side of that tear there, but I've never seen someone try walking through it. Demons come out. I doubt anyone gets in."

Then again, he's never seen someone smash a demon like that before, so maybe going in is something that can be tried.

Of course people get in. People sleep. People dream. And, at least as far as the Void is concerned, people die.

But the Outsider says none of that. If demons come out, then being part of something so similar is hardly going to encourage anyone not to try and kill him.

"And why are the demons coming out?" To attack them, it seems, but for what purpose?

"Because they want to be on this side. This is where they can gain more power, where they can feed more freely. Never mind the fact that most of them stand out here glaringly, and the wise flee or fight them rather than listening. They all think they'll be different."

He sends more ice at a rage demon, watching it steam. It's satisfying.

"For so long they've watched people feel without being able to feed off it. Like that one. Rage." He gestures as he encloses it in ice and the flames start to falter. "The lanky one that keeps vanishing is Despair, they're all vices, and they all grow stronger when people around them are feeling what they are."

He's giving The Outsider the benefit of the doubt here, but is that truly so hard with a shard in his hand? Demons don't use subterfuge.

"They certainly all remind me of humans, if those are their actions." It isn't mean as an insult, though; humans are simply the only beings the Outsider has ever seen that crave power in that respect. Even as the Abbey links things to beware as his tools, he has always been more of an observer.

He observes now, even as he helps attack, defend. Another blast of wind helps to make the magical ice that much cooler, and has the benefit of knocking another demon back where it's set upon by some of the other humanoids who have come to help.

"What do they want with the power they seek?"

"More power. Like the humans who do want power. Some of us simply want to be left alone, have always wanted that." It's mild. If this being was human once, he has to know that. "Once you have some power, there's someone who wants it. Therefore, that fear means one must have more power, and continue to build until they are the most powerful, strongest, most alone, most targeted. You'd think they'd learn, but they never do."

The Outsider's magic seems to be complementing Anders', something he can appreciate. He ices the wind deliberately now as it rushes out, sending a roll of earth toward one demon that's not too close to people. Between the ground moving and the cold wind blowing, the despair demon stumbles and falls. Anders reaches his empty hand out and brings it into a fist, and earth swarms up to surround and hopefully crush the demon.

"And do you not want the power to be left alone? Have you never thought that you wish there was something you could do? Never dreamed, in the dark depths of the night, of ways to stop those that oppress you?" Everything is power, in its own way. Not always magical or political or monetary, but power nonetheless.

Still, this man does seem to understand the spiral that power can bring. "And then they're brought down by someone with just a bit more of the right kind of power." And some people rejoice while others mourn, but the cycle continues.

A twitch of his fingers and the Outsider, currently in a helpful mood, telekinetically pulls another piece of debris to slam into a demon that's heading for the two of them.

That's... a point, and while Anders doesn't like it, he can admit it's being made well. "I do wish I could do something for my people to be free. And I've... I've acted for that goal as well. I've taken some matters into my own hands. But the difference, in my opinion, is that I've not done it to gain power over anyone. It's been to lessen the power of someone else, gain autonomy. When you seek it over people is when you cross a line."

Not that he's not crossed lines. Soon enough the Outsider will be very familiar with those lines.

The fight's nearly over at this point. A few demons are still struggling and doing what they can, and he sets the one just hit on fire.

But power it is. Still, he does enjoy seeing it when people use power in unexpected ways. Not using it to gain more power tends to be one of those ways.

But what do the demons want with power? To rule over this world? It seems unlikely to him, considering the fact that they- well. They don't look horribly intelligent, or at least these ones don't.

For the moment, he's quiet, thinking -- and using his teleportation-turned-Fade Step to get up close and personal with the borrowed knife, helping finish off the scattered demons on the field.

Anders watches him step away and turns his attention to the last nearby one, the one on fire and staggering, and ends its struggle. There's nothing of mercy to the blow, arcane energies closing around it and crushing it entirely. It's a demon. It deserves no mercy, and it will know no mercy.

It collapses and turns to ash. Anders steps forward and kicks some of the ash aside, trying to see if any of it is of decent quality for, well, anything. Not this one. No matter. There will be plenty more demons, and they're currently stocked enough.

"So," he says once he's close to the Outsider again. "Welcome to Thedas? This, the spilling of demons from a rift, is unfortunately not very rare anymore. It may be something you'll need to get used to."

The act of looting catches his attention, not so much because of the action but because of the target. Would there be anything left? Curious. He makes a note to look into them further, but for now, the man is talking again.

"I have always been fond of the interesting and unexpected, at least." He looks around at their surroundings; it's the first time he's had a moment to really look, as he was thrust into combat immediately. "Do others often fall out of the rifts with the demons?"

"Before a few months ago? No. Not at all. Of late? Yes. There's no telling how many or how often; it's easy to think that the arrivals are widespread, and more than the Inquisition has seen." His voice is grim as he puts his staff back into its holster. "We've... Mm. Maybe somewhere around thirty at Skyhold? It's hard to tell when people go on assignment. But one was recently talking about another disappearing, which is an issue. Whether it was someone wanting to get away and have a new life, or something more sinister, I don't know."

Anders shakes his head. "Though you're likely in for a lot of scrutiny, which means chances of you vanishing are slim. I'm not sure if that's comfort or not."

"No way of telling, or no way that has been found?" Have people tried? He wonders. Still, thirty at Skyhold -- which he imagines is a hold, as the name suggests -- and an unknown amount in the world at large? That is a rather large amount.

The knife is offered back to Anders, hilt first. Not stealing, not stabbing. "I imagine that also depends on the kind of scrutiny."

Anders shrugs as he takes the knife and slips it back into his boot. "No way that has been found. There's an elf by the name of Solas who has been doing some research into it and I believe he's some leads. I'd ask him more questions. Healing takes up most of my time, so I've not delved into it, but if you find answers, I'd be interested in them as well."

He looks around, visually confirming that there aren't any serious injuries he needs to be seeing to, before turning back to the Outsider.

"You don't look mortal, and you're open about being part of the Fa--Void. That, to many, will say spirit or demon, and since you're not using a virtue for a name, there's a chance you'll get lumped in with the latter. There are some who deal in the wrong sort of absolutes with the Inquisition. You may find yourself watched at all times, at least for a while, and you may find yourself harassed. I can't... I can't exactly promise a respite from it, but I don't think you're a demon," Justice isn't so quick to agree there, "so if you wanted to come by the lower camp sometimes, when it gets to be a little much, you're likely to find me there. The Grey Warden camp."

Himself, Cole, River, the former two at least aren't entirely human anymore, and he's not sure about the latter. The Outsider hasn't tried to make any offers or bargains, so Anders will give him a chance to show that he's no demon, but simply one of the people who aren't altogether normal.

Solas. The Outsider nods slightly; he will remember the name. And this man is a healer -- he will remember that, too.

"Based on my many observations, I believe not lying would be the best course of action. People tend to be much more angry when you're found out as opposed to simply being upset about the truth in the first place." He has no way of knowing that Anders experienced this recently, but it certainly happened all the time in Dunwall. "They will think what they will, I imagine. I will defend myself if needed, but otherwise, let them watch."

Maybe it would be good for them. Maybe they'd even learn something. He doubts it, but perhaps.

"And the Grey Wardens are...?"

If The Outsider is watching, he'll see a flash of wry amusement and agreement cross Anders' face before it's gone. It wasn't like Anders could have come in under his own name, but he can't argue that it did anger more than a few.

"The Grey Wardens are an organization that fights the Darkspawn." A beat, and now there's a smile that lingers. "The next question will be what Darkspawn are, of course. There's... Maker, this is going to take some time to really explain, so let me give you a very short summary. There's a thing called the Blight that's a corruption. It mostly just impacts living things, runs in circulatory systems, and destroys the mind, everything that the person or animal once was. Then they run about consuming whatever they can, including people, and infecting still others. Grey Wardens have sworn to hunt them down and wipe them out whenever they crop up. Which unfortunately means we wind up underground far more often than I'd like."

Short summaries will work, for now. It certainly adds to the Outsider's reading list.

"It sounds like a- plague, of sorts. Magically based, perhaps? But a plague." One that he imagines doesn't have a common cure. "And these Darkspawn are the carriers, like rats."

That makes you the rat-catcher, Anders.

"Do the Wardens often end up infected, as a result?" Haha it's funny because of what the Joining is.

"Except some keep rats as pets, and you'd never keep a Darkspawn as a pet because there's no good to be found in them at all." Rats. Why rats? Why not... roaches, or spiders, or anything that doesn't have sharp bitey teeth?

"And part of joining the Wardens involves gaining a certain immunity to the Blight, but it's not without side-effects. We'll never become Darkspawn ourselves." As long as they die instead of going too long.

Clearly you've never been bitten by a spider, Anders.

"Humans often keep dangerous pets, simply to have something to show off. It tends to backfire." Please, like no one in Thedas has locked a hurlock in their basement and charged people to see one before it broke out and ate everyone.

"They live underground, then?" Back to an earlier comment.

He sets them on fire before they get close.

"A human keep a darkspawn as a... a... No. No, no one's that..." Except there are people who are that stupid. Most of them wear Templar armor. "Okay, so I could see a Templar doing that, but most aren't that dumb. Most also don't go deep enough to find Darkspawn; it's generally when they're pouring out of the underground, yes, that the general populace tends to see them. By that time it's in numbers enough to wipe out the whole village. We go down and take out the small pockets before they've a chance to do that."

"Do they dig, as moles? And do you then go down in caves?"

He has no idea about dwarves, about the twists and turns of the Deep Roads. This is all very confusing, which makes it- rather excellent, honestly.

"Dig as moles." It's echoed for a moment as he starts to get the slightest idea as to how confusing their world must be.

"No. No, they don't." He pauses, staring past the Outsider. These people are hauled here, some of them clearly don't have underground cities, and then they have to wrap their minds around all of the conflict... Anders exhales.

"There's a people, a race, known as Dwarves. I don't... There." He nods with his chin to where a Dwarf is picking their way across the field. "Most of them live underground in large cities, though there's a fair number of surface Dwarves. The point is that there are massive roads they built, the Deep Roads, which travel underground and span the length and width of the continent. There's no way to patrol all of them, and in fact much of them have fallen into disuse and disrepair. That's what the Darkspawn use, and old abandoned areas down below."

OPEN: Bloomingtide Rifter Arrival

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