01 | Open | General introduction and foundation building

[kartereo]

WHO: Waver
WHAT: Waver getting to grips with surroundings
WHEN: Post inital arrival on 8 Firstfall-End of th month
WHERE: Location
NOTES: Content warnings, OOC notes, links to other relevant posts, etc.

I. Stables
Staying near the stables so much isn't exactly a good choice, Waver knew. It meant he smelled like horse constantly, and the smell lingered in his hair most of all. Lingering also made him look just as much as a fish out of water as he felt, but such things weren't quite as important as why he insisted on frequenting the area so much: horses meant fast transport. Fast transport meant greater paths to learning outside of the immediate area. And being thrown into another world entirely, Waver wanted to learn everything he could as quickly as he could. He was at a disadvantage now, and he disliked it intensely.

So he stayed, watching tack go on and off the horses, memorizing the order of events. Observing horses and their personalities, so that he knew which ones might eventually accommodate someone who had never rode a horse before. Trying to figure out who to approach for lessons with minimizing awkwardness or needing to take up more of Iskandar's time. It was a delicate balance of observation, and one that got involving after some time. Enough involvement to ignore the rest of his surroundings, and for him to become more obvious than he'd like.

Then again, it was fairly hard to miss a strange tall man in a red coat, looking at horses like he was going to write a book on them.

II. Outside
One thing that Waver had insisted on doing, was adamant about doing, was trying to keep himself doing was walking the grounds and trying to learn them as quickly as possible. Certainty staying with and near Iskandar would be safe enough for his untrained self whose primary form of self defense was starting to dwindle, but on the off chance of something going wrong or else getting separated, Waver wanted to have some routes available to him.

But he was informed by his desire for safety as he was by Iskandar's preference for staying outside of the primary buildings, sleeping in a stable or a tent like the man was on one of his legendary campaigns. Waver had to admit, perhaps there was something there, but not something he wanted to dwell on.

So he simply walked time and again, retracing paths, a cigar sticking out of his mouth and the smoke billowing ahead of him, the acrid smell announcing his approach. From time to time, he took the thing out and examined it, before muttering, "Where can I get a steady supply of these anyway? I'm nearly out."

III. Additional
For additional prompts in and around the location!

Comments

[justice_is_blond]

He ran a department at a mage university. Anders leaned forward. Waver's question would come first, but then...

"If others are invited in, to come and go and learn just as freely, they can start to see a benefit. If we publicize the lessons, their practical applications that can help the population in their day-to-day lives, they can start to see a benefit there too. Basically establishing this will cause a ripple effect. It has to." He had to believe in that. "What can you tell me of the running of a mage university? I could use... anything, really."

[kartereo]

"Hm. Would some sort of hybrid hospital accomplish something similar?" Waver asked, the idea stumbling out of his mouth before he could word it more eloquently. He felt the need to justify it though, and he quickly added, "Mostly that benefit thing you mention, plus an improvement of health is more hm," he stopped, looking for the right words. "Immediate and demonstrable. Although the barriers might be hard to overcome."

If Thedas' view of magi was in a bad place, inviting magic to play around with one's insides probably wasn't going to be appealing. But Waver let that thought go, his mind focusing to the next part of it all.

"Clock Tower," Waver said with a grimace. "Is tied very closely to our politics, and thus is an absolute nightmare to navigate. I can tell you about our structure and matriculation, but anything beyond that is," Waver stopped, realizing he could actually make a decent Thedas comparison here. He had been filled in on Tevinter, and hell be damned if it wasn't close to home. "Think Tevinter, on a smaller scale, and forced underground. And then imagine me complaining for hours on end."

[justice_is_blond]

Aaaand there goes the leaning forward. Anders leans back a little, face going more serious.

"Blood magic. You maintain your operation with blood magic and everyone stays clear due to that?" He admires Tevinter's freedom for mages. He doesn't appreciate the methods they often use for it, or what they do to elves or the poor. But maybe he's misunderstanding Waver.

"That's nothing at all like a hospital."

[kartereo]

"No, no, I meant in terms of," Waver gently tapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. The concept of blood magic didn't exist back home, not in the way Thedas described it and feared it, and admittedly, Waver was being vague. "How our insular mage society is set up. Generally the next generation of magi will be more powerful than their parents, so there's a massive emphasis on heritage and bloodline. It results in, essentially, the old magi families getting more and more powerful and the newer ones being left out of most things."

Waver was from a newer family, and he could go on a tear for hours on the topic. "Apologies, I forgot about the blood magic angle. Our system of the craft is completely different as well."