faderift | OPEN: The Nightmare's Domain

OPEN: The Nightmare's Domain

WHO: Everybody present for the effort to draw out the Nightmare.
WHAT: Oh no.
WHEN: 28-30 Bloomingtide
WHERE: THE FADE as it exists, approximately, in an incomprehensible nongeographical way, alongside the Western Approach.
NOTES: You can only participate in this plot if you signed up in advance. (Not really, this is a joke.) For driveby GM taunting or to have the debris of personal nightmares appear in the Fade sign up here. Check here for notes on crystal functionality, which will not be normal. (GIF source.)

The plan is simple enough, on paper.

Lord Livius Erimond, locked in Skyhold's dungeon since his capture, finally cracks when he learns that the Grey Wardens have moved on and no one is coming to negotiate for his release. There's no mind-control driving the sacrifices, he says, only fear. Corypheus has an arrangement with a demon to amplify it and extend the reach of the song that's driving the Wardens to desperation. Handle it, and maybe they'll see that they're being manipulated.

In practice, it's a little fuzzier. Some guesswork. Some optimism. Approximating the demon's location takes time and effort from the Fade-fluent. There's a rift nearby, but it's small, nondescript. Making it bigger, drawing attention and drawing the demon out onto solid ground where it can be fought, calls for every anchor shard on hand, mages and Templars to assist, archers and swordsmen at the ready. The Herald did it before, at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. It's feasible. Just wiggle your fingers, and--

--and the sky opens up wide, then wider, too wide, green light flooding out like water finally cresting over a bank, and the ground beneath your feet turns from sand to stone. In some places it becomes vertical. In others it stops existing at all. The rift sprawls and spiders out with almost sentient aim, encompassing everyone it can reach. It takes two seconds, maybe three.

Then it closes.

I. THE NIGHTMARE

The good news is: the Inquisition pinpointed the Nightmare's location correctly. The bad news is: the Inquisition pinpointed the Nightmare's location correctly.

So if you find a second to to wonder where you are, there are two possible answers. The first is the raw Fade, where few have trod since the ancient magisters entered the Golden City and began the Blight. The City is Black now and it hangs in the distance, always on the horizon, always visible, but never within reach. The light is sickly green and seems to come from everywhere and nowhere, creating shadows from any and all directions. What direction is up and what direction is sideways is open for debate anyway. The ground--if it can be called that when it is only sometimes below you--is dark and rough, all crags and cliffs and spires. It's wet, too, with puddles and stagnant streams wound through the rock.

The second possible answer to the question of where, and the one that might warrant even more attention than the first, is right on top of a damn demon.

The Nightmare is massive, as large as a small fort. It has a dozen legs and at least twice as many eyes; a warm, civilly sinister voice that knows your deepest and darkest fears; and a seemingly endless supply of minions. Terror demons spring out of the ground around you with creaking screams. Fearlings take the shape of your simpler phobias: here a spider, there a snake, or roaring flames, a lyrium-encrusted Templar. Fighting through the flood of demons and bringing down the Nightmare will take every sword, every staff, and several hours. Pick a leg.

And when it's over--when the Nightmare is dead and only straggling Fearlings and occasional Terrors present an immediate threat--try to figure out what's next.

II. SEARCHING

Attempts to tear a new hole in the Veil from the inside will produce no results. But those sensitive to the Fade may be able to feel something--not quite like a draft guiding you out of a cave, but there's no closer analogy in the common tongue. A faint whiff of reality, somewhere in the distance, straight away from the distant Black City. There's no sunrise or sunset, and an hour can feel like a day or feel like a minute, but time is passing, and the walk is long by any measure.

While it's in your best interest to stay with the rest of the Inquisition's forces, this region of the Fade is a twisty, treacherous thing that seems to actively conspire to separate and mislead its visitors. More Fearlings slither out of crevices to menace anyone who lingers alone or tries to sleep. There's a marshy expanse that does its best to trap feet, and a field of memorial stones with the names of visitors etched into their surfaces, each with a cause of death marked below. Everywhere you step the ground is littered with evidence of terrible dreams, worked into the landscape like they were there first and it has grown up around them. There are skeletons in the stone, rock formations that twist into the shape of gallows, lost toys underfoot, an entire home tucked down a winding path, achingly empty.

III. ESCAPE

The Nightmare is dead, but its absence creates new reasons to fear. It begins slowly, things crumbling: the edge of a stair giving way unexpectedly, a towering hunk of rock a ways off collapsing upward into the open air and reforming there. The path rearranges as it's walked and takes wanderers in different directions, leaving them to fight their ways back to the main group. It was the concentration of fear and willpower embodied in the Nightmare that held this domain of the Fade intact, and without it, there's a power vacuum to fill. The spirits drawn here are drawn by lingering fear, and warped by it.

The forms they take may not be those you're familiar with from outside the Fade--less deformed, more malleable, more insidious, the things you most or least want to see. Those who long for safety may find a gentle Desire demon willing to offer it. Those whose fears stem from insecurities may hear the whispers of lurking Envy, mimicking their voices from its hiding place, cautiously testing for a foothold. If fear only pisses you off, be prepared to face your Rage. And if you refuse to be afraid--if you have this under control, if you know you'll be all right--a smiling embodiment of Pride may appear to praise your prowess and ask you to put those skills to other uses.

Whatever form your demons take, they are distractions from the larger issue: this part of the Fade is collapsing, unstable, and not meant for creatures like you to survive in. As important as it is to face your fears, it may in the end be more important to run from them. Regroup, keep moving, take head counts. There's a rift ahead, small enough to slip through one at a time, out into the desert, with its bright sun and relatively solid ground--and however long it feels like you've been walking, days or weeks, Adamant Fortress is visible across the sand.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Once again, Kain is shaken back to his senses, as if he were waking up from a dream. He gasps, disoriented, barely understanding what's happening as he sees that demon smashing through a barrier of some sort. Run! He's still a bit foggy in his mind, but he still has a warrior's instinct. That takes over now as he sees that creature reaching for them. Just moments ago, he hadn't even been aware of its presence. If Hermione hadn't done something... He doesn't want to consider what might have happened.

"Right!" Still shaking off the weirdness of the whole encounter, Kain forces himself to start running, glancing back over his shoulder to see the demon gaining on them. Escaping is the best option of course. If he has to fight, he's up for it, only as long as it doesn't entrance him again.

Though she's glad to find that he doesn't argue with her when it comes to running instead of fighting, Hermione doesn't take into account that Kain isn't the only one prone to being distracted by the demons. She's much too used to having to fight them head-on, and to seeing them in their true form; the idea of them disguising themselves as people she actually knows hasn't quite sunk in.

That is, not until she sees a figure on the ground, shirtless and bloody and parts of his body looking unmistakably mangled. The brightly-colored gore soaks his normally red hair, making him look like a parody, a child's poorly-colored artwork, but there's nothing funny about it. Especially not when it causes Hermione to slow down, mindless of the demon approaching from behind them as she stares at the broken and barely-moving figure of Ron on the ground.

The Fade has thrown Kain off mentally in multiple ways that getting out of here is all he wants right now. Sure, there would be much more honor in cutting the demon down instead of fleeing like Edward the bard from back home but... well... At the moment, getting away is all he wants most. He's had enough.

He's pushing himself to keep going, that he gets a little bit ahead when he realizes he's alone. "Hermione!?" Kain turns, noticing that she's been caught by the very same illusion he had a moment ago. Only this one is with someone important to her... Moving swiftly, Kain takes to the air, jumping and flipping on his way down so he can strike the demon head on. It growls, enraged, as Kain moves to hold it off with his lance.

"Hermione, what you're seeing... I know this is difficult-" He pauses as the demon counters, slashing at it desperately. "-but remember, it's not real! None of it is!"

Hermione's biggest fear had always been failure, and right there, seeing Ron bleeding and struggling to cling to life, part of his arm actually missing... that had been Hermione's single greatest failure in her life. And now she's being forced to witness it all over again.

She's aware that it can't be real, that she'd just tugged someone away from a fear of his own, but awareness isn't the same as action. It isn't until Kain attacks the demon that her eyes focus on him again, and she staggers back a little, trying to wrap her mind around everything that's happening.

She really doesn't have a head for fighting when she's panicked, but she lets out a blast towards the demon with her wand, apologetically holding her hand out for Kain. "Sorry! I just... sorry, come on, let's go!"

"It's not your fault! But this place- it's maddening-" Kain shouts back, knowing to some extent what it must be doing to her. The visions are meant to dismay them, to throw them off. He shudders, hating it all the more for what it is. Adjusting his grip on his weapon, he spins his lance, unleashing a Cyclone, the whirlwind moving fast toward the demon. Between that and Hermione's attack, it ought to be enough to keep it distracted... or so he hopes.

"Now!" he takes the offered hand and then once more he'd off at a run, every so often glancing back in case they have to handle any pursuit.

More than the visions, Hermione hates that this place puts her in the same mindset that she'd been in during the war, where almost every excursion into any sort of building or village or supposed sanctuary ended in panicked running. Only here, she doesn't have the option of simply putting some distance between herself and what's chasing her before she can Apparate to safety. Or rather, it isn't a safe option; she can certainly still attempt it, but there's no telling that she wouldn't just shred herself and Kain to pieces in the process.

She grips his hand hard, not wanting to lose him, and runs as fast as she can. He can keep glancing behind them, if he wants. Hermione focuses entirely on the path ahead of them, hoping to be able to wend a path through the failing landscape and follow the others to safety.

It’s a horrible feeling, being chased, having to run for his very life. Kain isn’t so used to taking this tactic, but here and now it’s definitely necessary. They’re so close to getting out of here, and stopping now would be the most foolish thing imaginable. So he pushes himself to keep running, giving one more glance back. The demon’s still in pursuit, of course, still right on their tracks.

“Almost there!!”

But the path isn’t so easy to follow, chaotic and changing before their eyes. Kain keeps moving, keeping a form grip on Hermione’s hand as he runs. Everything is breaking apart, worse than ever… but that rift remains steadily in focus.

For all the times she's had to run for her life, it has never been through a changing maze in a nightmare dimension, and so Hermione's forced to turn off the logical side of her brain that tells her to keep running forward. Instead, she lets herself react, veering off to the side, tugging or pulling at Kain depending upon which side she takes to make sure her feet don't end up aiming for a piece of ground that's there one moment and gone the next.

She can't always see it coming, though, and so she does stumble once, enough to make her grip on Kain's hand loosen; if he's not holding onto her tightly enough it might just slip out of his grip completely. "Keep going!" she tells him, even as she lands hard on a knee before forcing herself upright and into a limping run once again. They're too close to the rift for her to just allow him to be slowed down by her. "Just go!"

It’s far from an easy route, but then again, it’s the same in all directions, the world breaking apart everywhere, even under their feet sometimes. Kain has to jump a few times, once grabbing at Hermione to take her with him as he leaps across an especially fractured section of ground. He keeps hold as best as he can even as the world is crumbling worse and worse all around.

Kain pushes himself to keep going at first, survival depends on it, after all. But seeing that she’s starting to lag, he slows his pace a little. “Not without you!” He won’t step through until he’s sure she’ll make it. If he has to help her in any way, he’ll do just that.

She doesn't hide her surprise when he slows, allowing for her to keep up with him. Part of her wants to shove him, to send him flying along towards the rift to ensure that he makes his way out. But if she can get close enough to shove him, she can get close enough to run with him, and that's easier than starting up an argument at a time like this.

Ignoring her throbbing knee, she reasserts her grip on his hand, still pushing but at least limping along with him as she pushes. "You can run faster than me; you should save yourself!"

He's far too much of a knight to leave someone behind, too guilt-prone to ever do such a thing. What kind of dragoon would he be if he didn't try to defend others? What kind of teammate, for that matter... fighting alongside the other Cosmos warriors had really taught him a lot about that sort of thing.

"No! I refuse! Not until you're able to get through!" Especially with her seeming to slow down, a bit of a limp to her run. He urges her to keep going, lance at the ready as he prepares to hold off against any demons who might be in the way. They're so close, but in this chaotic landscape he expects anything to happen. "I'll cover you from any threats!"

That stubborn urge to argue that there's no point in him risking himself wants to rear its head again, but Hermione forces herself to stifle it. Wasting time and energy that can be better spent getting them both to where they need to be is nothing short of foolish, and Hermione might be a lot of things, but foolish isn't one of them.

So she keeps a strong grip on Kain's hand, not daring to let go and trusting him to keep her from outright falling to her death. "I'm more concerned with you coming with me than protecting me!"

"There's no need for concern!" Or so he says, anyway, as he attempts to keep his pace steady, at the same time accounting for Hermione's. He's used to being in dire situations, anyway, though usually they involve standing his ground and fighting. Making a retreat like this is definitely wearying, and he'll be glad when they get back. Soon... he sees that rift getting closer...

Hermione's decided that the only way they're going to get out of here without one of them being forced to fight for the other is for her to focus in on the rift with all the tunnel vision she can manage. It makes it a little hard to keep her balance as the landscape keeps shifting and crumbling, but it isn't too long before the bright green slash of the rift is directly in front of her, and she squeezes Kain's hand tightly, making sure she doesn't lose him at the last possible moment. It seems like the sort of thing that might happen here, and she'd never forgive herself for it.

Kain keeps clinging tightly to keep hold of her, knowing that the moment he lets go, all could be lost. He doesn't know if that rift might close, if they could end up stranded here. All he needs is to get back, get to a world that's more steady and stable. He pushes himself even harder to keep going...

"Look out!! Hurry!" He pulls at her hand suddenly, as a demon is suddenly closing in fast from one side. It's going to be a close call- he could stop to fight it off, but at the moment getting through is much more important.

That sudden tug to her hand has Hermione crying out, and for one terrifying moment, she finds herself losing her balance and wondering if whatever sudden threat it is that's materialized is suddenly going to claw into her back. But she forces herself to lean into Kain, to use him as a sort of temporary foundation, and she keeps moving, literally stumbling into the rift. If not for the fact that it doesn't feel as though there's any up or down or any other direction here, she likely would have fallen headfirst into the ground.

Kain keeps hold of her as he continues to run, practically jumping, leaping forth to get into that rift. He does all he can to keep Hermione with him, to keep pulling and bringing her along. He supports her when she needs it, letting her lean all she has to. He's got enough strength to keep going, even though he's getting weary, the adrenaline is keeping him going at this point. He hears the sound of the demon screeching after them, a high-pitched, horrific sound...

...and then he's falling through the rift, and the shifting, chaotic world begins to fade away behind them.

Hermione isn't sure what's worse: that strange, weightless feeling of jumping trough the rift and feeling as though she's falling through a dream, or the hard impact of solid ground beneath her, rattling through her hard enough to make her teeth clatter. Through it all, she hasn't let go of Kain's hand, and if anything she's managed to squeeze it even tighter as she lies there, attempting to gather her wits again. It's a slow process, given that she can't do much else but lie there and groan for a few moments, but she's vaguely aware of the fact that the world doesn't seem to be falling apart around them anymore, and she's incredibly grateful for that.

It's an exhilarating sensation at first to Kain, who loves the wildness of flying and free falling... but he tends to have much more control in the air, so even he's overwhelmed by the feeling of falling through the portal. It's soon enough over, at least. He tries to do what he can to minimize damage in the fall- dragoons are taught this from an early age, after all. But even he gets the wind knocked out of him.

It takes a moment, gasping, trying to relax and get used to the fact the world is no longer crumbling around them. "Are... are you... " He gets his breathing a bit more under control. "Are you all right?" At least they'd kept hold of each other, he doesn't want to think what getting lost in a portal would entail.

Hermione finds it very hard to move at first, especially when she still doesn't want to let go of his hand. When his voice eventually sinks in, she groans as she tries to move, first her shoulders, then her arms, and eventually squeezing his hand reflexively as she tries to pick her head up.

"I-... I think so," she eventually manages to murmur. "Are you?"

It's still a bit overwhelming, trying to get his bearings. Kain takes a deep breath, steadying himself. He's almost expecting a demon to pop out at any moment, or for the ground beneath them to drop away... when none of that happens, he's relieved. It's the regular world of Thedas. Not... exactly the safest world to be in by any stretch, but it sure is compared to the Fade.

"Yes, I- Yes. I'm fine. Better than I was back there... We actually made it..." From the start of the whole ordeal, he'd feared getting stuck somehow, lost forever in that world of spirits and demons. He's glad that's not the case.

For a long time, Hermione is still reasonably sure that this is another illusion, some trick from a demon to provide a false sense of security. But after several long moments pass and she's still alive and relatively safe, she manages to bring herself to look around and ascertain that, much as she hates the desert, she's back in the relative safety of the Western Approach.

She's so relieved that she really can't help herself; she lets out a shaky cry as she turns to Kain, throwing her arms around him and holding him tight. "I'm so glad you didn't let go," she manages to say after a moment.

It seriously is good to be back in a world that’s steady and stable, and without demons present in near every direction. He’ll definitely take the quillbacks and other native creatures of the desert any day over the demons. Fortunately, this stretch appears to be very peaceful, with no signs of trouble. Good.

He’s breathing a sigh of relief as Hermione throws her arms around him. He’s so caught up in that feeling that he doesn’t have the usual surprise or standoffishness he might otherwise have had. He’s just so glad to be back. So, he doesn’t hesitate to hug her in return, needing that moment to just bask in being out of the Fade.

“I never would have, either… no matter what it took.” If nothing else, Kain has always been determined and stubborn. And when it comes to protecting any of his comrades, that becomes all the stronger.

While she might be given to hugging her friends, Hermione hasn't really found many people here in Thedas that she'd count among her friends. But in times like these, she can let go of her reservations.

So she hardly notices that he's hugging her back, just glad that he hasn't actively pushed her aside just yet. "Thank you," she murmurs softly, still holding him tightly. She can hear the sounds of other people slowly picking themselves up, gathering their wits after falling out of the Fade. She knows how some people here feel about absolutely anything that falls out of a rift, and so she's just going to cling to Kain for as long as she can before anyone might attempt to tug them apart. "I wouldn't have made it without you."

The whole ordeal was bad enough that Kain doesn’t mind the contact, in fact he needs it more than he’d probably ever outwardly admit. After being in that world of spirits and shifting landscapes, it’s a relief to just be on solid ground, among the land of the living again. “You’re welcome, of course… but I’d say the feeling is mutual. I wouldn’t have been able to shake that demon’s delusions on my own, after all.”

That’s the part that scares him most about the Fade and demons. He can handle enemies that just want to fight with physical power… not so much these creatures that mess with the mind.

OPEN: The Nightmare's Domain

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