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.

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During the fight
The loneliness of being stripped of her eidolon is something Rydia needs a moment to process: the real shock doesn't come from the sudden change of scenery, nor by being teleported -summoned, maybe?- by a weird green light, the shock comes from the sudden silence and the feeling of broken links that not only she lost contact with her beloved summons, they somehow don't exist anymore.

The second thing she finally notices is the painful sensation in the palm of her hand and, let's admit it, Rydia has to thank it if she's able to snap back to reality soon enough to notice what's happening around her. You know, being smashed by one of the five demons rigt after her arrival would be... unpleasant.
The summoner, a green spot in the middle of the battlefield, gets up grasping her whip -oh it felt so... powerless. But no time to think about it- and getting read to fight. At least her magic still seemed to work, even if her mana felt a bit off.

"... TCH!"

Time to stop some monsters, questions could wait.

After the fight

While most of her offensive spells seemed to work normally others literally drained her energies leaving her exhausted. What a nice way to start...

"So..." Everyone is still casting recovering spells and whatever on the battlefield, the summoner isn't exactly expecting people to pay attention to her. At least she didn't spot bright blue hair or children anywhere during the fight, hopefully Cuore is still napping under the tree in front of their house- where she should be as well. And the eidolons may be nowhere to be felt but they're probably safe as well, back in her... homeworld? Yes, it definitely feels like a completely different place and the ~~wonderful~~ diversity she can see between the species in front of her seems to be a first valid proof of that. Oh, well...
"What now?"

Edited 2016-05-15 01:27 (UTC)

The fact that there are demons is bad enough on its own. Kain had been prepared for that sort of thing. Demons came out of the rifts, and any new arrivals would undoubtedly need the back up. What he hadn't expected was to see a shock of green hair in the near distance. It couldn't be...! There's only one way to find out, of course, he has to get closer.

So Kain takes into a jump, soaring well above the field of combat, descending rapidly to stab down at one of the demons surrounding her. He gets in a good strike, enough to weaken it considerably. But there's no real time to rest now, with the others closing in. He just barely gets a chance to see her now, up close, and now it's confirmed for certain. It's shocking to see someone so familiar after so long.

"Rydia!"

The summoner was ready to deal with the demons following the flow and supporting the other fighters but Rydia expected it to be a battle at the side of strangers- she didn't certainly expect to see the dragoon who accompanied her during so many journeys. But, hey, it's one of her favorite battle companions (with Cecil, Rosa, Edge and Luca) and Rydia isn't going to complain!

"Kain? You're here too?" It takes her a moment to notice how something has to be off- but no time to explain! "I guess it's one of those kill first, question later kind of situation." She charges a fireball, throwing it against another creature before steppig behind his back and taking position. It's almost natural, after all most of the time they spent together was on a battlefield, not anywhere else, this is a dance they both know. At least Rydia and the older version of Kain. "I suppose the green light got you too..."

And she reaches down to call Titan at her side, it's another insctintive thing, but no one answers... and for a moment she feezes on the spot because this is so wrong.

Edited 2016-05-16 07:38 (UTC)

It’s shocking to have such familiarity all of a sudden, here, now, in this world where nothing is at all familiar. He’d grown used to it all these months here, and longer still off at the Gods’ war. It’s been a long time since he’s been home and fought beside any of those companions. Yet the moment Rydia steps into position, it all feels so natural. It all comes back at once.

“Yes, there’ll be plenty of time to discuss it… once these demons are destroyed.”

He looks at her uncertainly as she freezes in place, almost not sure he wants to know what that means… But there’s a demon closing in on her, and it’s time to handle it. Kain charges ahead toward it and strikes with a swift upward thrust of the lance. Then, he’s leaping skyward once more, to come down in his Sky Rave, twirling with deadly aim toward the demon.

Her memories about fighing the creator are still freash and her body still responds well to the presence of the dragoon- and it's a nice sensation, in the past seventeen years she grew distant from them but between the last adventures and, well, that, the summoner can still say their bonds are strong. Her hands are again charged with magic energy, Rydia isn't confident enough to rely on her whip alone right now, and another fireball is thrown in the distance to hit another small group of creatures.

"Demons?" Isn't that one of the most generic terms ever? "Oh, I'm counting on that, you seem to know what's going on."

Rydia clenches her teeth for a moment and lets out a groan of frustration, the ice spear thrown from her hands toward another group of is unnaturally big and sharp for her standards "You know what I really hate? Who gets in the way of me and my family." Just when she, Asura and Leviathan finally decided to work together again, like a proper family! "Any idea of how many creatures will keep appearing?"

"I only wish I knew more about what's happening..."

Kain still feels like a newcomer himself, in some regards... But he's been here longer, so perhaps she has a good point there. Rydia's making a good dent among their ranks, the fire and ice tearing through them and weakening them considerably. The demons are crowding all around, so it's time to start really getting it together and enhancing his attacks. Time to see how his Reaver skills are paying off, this time for real. Especially as those creatures are starting to unleash their own attacks upon them...

He growls, just barely dodging some magic flung by a demon.

"There are usually several of them at once! They tend to come in groups." He concentrates, whirling around and marking the field, taking it as his own, the ring of pain settling all around the nearest demons. It's a skill she never would have seen him use before, of course, being newly learned. Once that's set, he takes to the air again, soaring high above and coming down this time for an even more devastating blow than before. He keeps right on the demon he stabs afterward, even more aggressive and up close than usual as he strikes with powerful lance blows. That creature soon enough trembles and falls. Hmmph, good, but there's more to go...

"Well, that makes two of us!"

She has lots of questions, to be honest. Like, why is he earing that stupid armor? wasn't him over the whole 'covering my face' thing? Right, later. A Shiver goes down her spine when he growls but the summoner is soon distracted by another group of charging monsters that are soon targeted with another fireball. The flow of her magic is... off, there's something not completely working as she would but she can't exactly tell what right now.

"Well, too bad for them-" Rydia isn't fast enough to properly dodge another creature and its claws manage to open a cut on her arm, fortunately enough she's quick enough to blast if away with fire before the situation gets worse. Darn, it hurts but it's not bleeding so much and she will worry about it later. "We're working as a group as well. Hey-" He seems... faster? And she honestly doesn't know what he's doing, Kain is moving in a way she never saw before but- improvising is good."Why don't you give yourself a litle push?" She generates three blocks of ice midair, gravity may be cool but using them as platforms to perform an upside down jump at full force- it sounds cool in her head, okay? Rydia is already preparing more fire spells to break them before the big shards before they smash on the floor and that's when she feels... drained. Holy Leviathan, the summoner can only hope it's not going to be the norm for magic users.

It’s really hard to tell any difference in Rydia, at least not yet. She seems the same as when he left her, and really, he’s been away for a very long time, given the war he’d been drawn into as well as the months he’s been here. Kain is keeping on the demon he’s chosen to target next, the way he’s fighting pretty much inviting injury. He takes one hit from one of their attacks, feeling that fuel his strength, the pain dulling thanks to his Reaver-powers. Sure, he’s far from invincible, and he knows it, and the Ring takes quite a bit of stamina to use… but these skills are letting him fight like never before.

He sees Rydia take a hit herself, minor for now, but he’s got a potion or so on him for if it’s needed. When she asks him that question about a push, he glances over curiously, the ice blocks forming and giving him enough of an idea what to do.

“Not a bad idea!” he shouts, before he springs into action, dashing up the blocks and leaping into an impressive jump, flipping around in the air and then downward, with his lance aimed with deadly precision at his next demon target. The result is an especially powerful hit, given the extra momentum from where he’d jumped, along with the way Ring of Pain works.

She still has to notice anything wrong about his fighting style, mostly because Rydia is still struggling with the weird feeling of being drained at the use of her magic (and she can't even joke with Rosa about biting Kain and use osmose to restore her mana- not only she's not so close with the white mage anymore but, well, since he turned holy dragoon he definitely started using his magic essence...) and the whole thing with the eidolons... the summoner isn't really looking at Kain so much, her instinct is what drives her while fighting at his side. Just give her time to realize he's basically asking enemies to hurt him, she will definitely start to worry. A lot.

"Well, this old lady can help too, you know?"

No potions needed, she will tend to her wound later in a good old fashioned way if nothing else decides it'd be fun to attack them, the adrenaline is already alleviating the pain by itself.

"It's just..." Another fireball is thrown at another group of creatures, that's... definitely easier to handle than the ice blocks midair, even if the summoner can't really tell why for now. Maybe the whole place is aligned with a specific element? "... magic isn't so easy here." And- let's admit it, there's no fun in the battlefield when all you do is blasting enemies with fire. But shh...

Ah, right… Kain hadn’t even thought about that too much until Rydia says something just then. He thinks to the times he’s spoken with rifter mages, the difficulties some of them have encountered. Not that their magic is gone entirely, ever, but it seems to work… somewhat differently here. Of course, there’s always the chance to pick up some of this world’s magic and train, just as he did with one of their warrior styles… but that’s a lot to discuss. He’ll save it for later when they’re not fighting a vicious enemy.

“Magic is different in this world!” What a bad way to have to find that out, though, being tossed straight into battle. At least she’s got him for some backup… it could have been far worse, if she were on her own. Kain continues striking at the demon he’s fighting, inviting it to attack him back, leaving his defenses open just enough to let it get a blow in. He grunts with the pain. That’s the real trick of this Reaver business, trying to take just enough pain so it’s not debilitating… but so that it can fuel his power all the same. “Once we destroy these demons... I’ll explain more!”

Gathering power, he twirls his lance to use his Cyclone ability, a whirling gust of wind blasting off the weapon and straight into the nearest demon. Another down. Progress!

Church doesn't have any magic to his name, save the shiny shimmering pocket of ow on his hand, so all he can really do is help calm people down (not something he's ever been awesome at) and pass around some satchels of water.

Which he passes to her. "Nice hair." What a way to say hello, Church. What a charmer. "Now we gather our shit up, take a little inventory, and walk back to a little fortress in the mountains we call Skyhold. You okay?"

Yeah, she got that little ouch too and it still hurts. Someone still has to explain her what it means, you know?

"Why, thank you." it's a strange compliment for Rydia but the man is offering water and this is way more interesting than any greeting he offered. "Well, it's not like I have a lot to gather." She's barely covered in what seems an awfully elaborate swimsuit and has a whip. Really, too many things to carry...
"I guess that's my only option considering I don't even know where I am. What after reaching that place?"

Yeah...yeah, he notices the not having much to inventory. He notices it a lot. He's even trying to make an effort to be nice-ish and semi-polite but damn okay.

"Good question. Okay. I'm not sure where to start. Probably about how you fell through an interdimensional portal to this world aaaand now you've got a bit of Fade magic in your hand? The Fade's the green weirdness you dropped through. It's kind of like a place where creepy demons and spirits hang out?" He's not explaining things well. Go figure. He doesn't get half of it as it is. "Whatever, you're here now, you can close fractures and rifts where demons come out of with your pain laser shard hand, aaaand you'll be with the Inquisition now." Unfortunately. "They're kiiind of a peacekeeping force?"

Moments earlier, Korrin had been everywhere on the battlefield, blurring forward on waves of magic to blast lightning at demons or slice at them with her glowing blade. But now that blade is non-existent, the hilt strapped to her hip, and her staff on her back. The horned woman -about a foot taller than Kain, who she seemed to know- assesses the area afterward, not having been able to close the rift but checking on everyone and passing around potions. Pausing at the woman with the odd-colored hair, her tone isn't unkind.

"Now we return to Skyhold, where you can get food, rest, and more answers. The pain in your hand ought to fade in a few hours, though the mark itself won't. I'm Korrin, by the way. Nice work with those spells."

~~Sorry, real life kept me super busy~~]

She's still putting all pieces together, hearing part of a conversation here and another thing there and trying to understand what is really going on- it's... confusing and Kain nowhere to be seen, the summoner is sincerely relieved when the fellow mage approaches her- and the way she speaks, being so direct to the point... it's pleasant, okay?

"Thank you." She bows in her direction, it's a natural instinct when speaking with a non human who seems in a higher position than her but please, ignore her silly habits. "I'm Rydia. And yes-" she nods in her direction "I don't mind the pain but I'm looking forward more answers. I'm not unfamiliar with visiting" or living in "different worlds but this was rather... sudden."

The bow clearly startles Korrin given her raised eyebrows, not used to that amount of deference at all. On a good day, she's lucky not to hear 'ox' muttered as an aside to someone. Never directly, as even bigots aren't that stupid. She simply nods, though, not wanting to make the newcomer more self-conscious when she's already overwhelmed. Her expression softens, well-aware how disorienting all this must be. She's seen it enough with rifters before, after all.

"It was, wasn't it? That's what I've been hearing from just about everyone who emerges from a rift. No one expected it to happen. I wish I could say we have a way back for you, but...we don't. We're still not sure how this even happened to begin with, let alone where to go from there. Hell, we didn't know about any other worlds until this started, the Fade aside. And the Fade is...well, that's a whole other can of worms. I can save that for another time if it's too much."

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OPEN: Bloomingtide Rifter Arrival

Rydia | Final Fantasy IV

Fight!!!

FIGHT!

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After the fight

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