OPEN: Bloomingtide Rifter Arrival

[faderifting]

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.

Comments

[blessedmaiden]

"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.

[dragoon_pride]

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.

[blessedmaiden]

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...

[dragoon_pride]

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!