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

[kartereo]

"I mean, as far as I can understand it, yes," Waver said. It was actually a good thing that Sam knew Kirk, Waver was going to guess that there was some discussion of space travel had at some point. "The other option is that we're within the same greater universe, but on deeply different planets. Either way, it is within the realm of possibility."

[el_tybs]

Yes, there had been plenty of discussion of space and the traveling of it, as well as a number of other things. "If it is the latter of the two then Thedas is still a place unknown to Earth. Least that is how I understand it from talking with Kirk; his travels or that of his organization has not come across this planet."

[kartereo]

"Well, that isn't too surprising. The universe is big and as far as the last time I checked with science, still expanding," Waver said brightly. "But there's explanations no matter how you approach it is the point, I suppose."

[el_tybs]

"Even if you cannot figure it out at the moment," he concurs, more interested in the fact that Waver was talking so energetically now. "So where you're from you have both magic and this science?"

[kartereo]

"We do, although the existence of magic is kept pretty well under wraps," he explained. It was an effort to keep both hands on the reins, truly. "Not everyone would be thrilled, and more would want to use that type of power. Plus magi like to cultivate their own sense of mystery even among themselves, mostly just because."

[el_tybs]

"Sounds like that is a popular idea for magic on Earth." Keeping it under wraps that is, at least from the people he's talked to. Or in some cases doesn't even exist. "So do you know magic, or just know of it?"

[kartereo]

Waver smiled thinly. "I've been advised that confirming such things might not be very safe in Thedas."

Which was to say yes, he did. "But if you were to ask me what I do to earn my living I'd have to also say I know enough of it to give formal instruction."

[el_tybs]

"Oh?" He wants to ask who advised that, but it isn't very important. "Well they're things you certainly don't want to go around bragging about, that's for sure. I'm honestly just asking because I'm curious and a bit concerned. I know one rifter who knows magic but it's done different in her world so she's had difficulty adjusting. And then I know one who doesn't know magic and now he has magic because of the shard."

[kartereo]

"Oh, the differences between magic here and home are miles apart," he said, cheerful. Where they lay was within Waver's realm of interest, if he was to be honest, as cross-cultural study always yielded fascinating results in his mind. "I haven't tried much yet because there's been too much else--" bullshit, Waver was always a weak spellcaster back home, he didn't want to know how being in another world impacted it. "--But the understanding of where magic energy comes from alone is night and day."

[el_tybs]

Even if it is bullshit, Sam buys into it considering he's already met others who were having difficulty with their spellcasting because it was different to how they normally did it. "Really? Where does magic come from where you live then?" He's curious to know since here it came from the realm of the Fade.

[kartereo]

"One of two places," Waver began, feeling his entire body shift into lecture mode. He was ramrod straight, eyes intense, and his voice had that air of scholarly pomposity that he loved to use on the first day just to mess with his students.

"There is the magical energy in an individual. To create magecraft, you harness the energy from within, channel it through one's magic circuits - think of them like chanels for a river - and then force that energy into the world to twist that energy to do what you command. There is also magical energy in the larger world, but harder to tap into and very, very slow to replenish. Magi rely on the former. There's no Fade, no demons unless you go out of your way to summon them, nothing of the sort."

[el_tybs]

Certainly seemed that Waver was getting more comfortable with a horse considering it wasn't stopping him from using such a posture and tone.

Once more Sam finds himself raising a brow. "So you're saying that anyone in your world could learn magecraft?" They called it magecraft, huh? "They just need to learn to harness the power?" Was he understanding that right?

[kartereo]

"There's a biological component to it, unfortunately." And there was no mistaking the fact Waver hated this next part. He spent years chafing against the kind of attitude this basic fact brought. "Magic circuits have to exist within a mage, and not everyone has that. Once they appear though, you can begin a family line. By and large, families grow more powerful generation after generation as there are usually more magic circuits in each successive offspring.

"Once you've got the ability to channel the energy though, you can start to learn. The question of how is up to an individual's family."

[el_tybs]

So not so different from here after all. "So not everyone is born a mage, but families with magical tendencies try to pass that down the bloodline. Well that isn't guaranteed to work here, but that certainly sounds exactly what Tevinter does. Now that is a subject I would certainly be careful about talking about. Tevinter is a touche subject..."

Considering that Tevinter was associated with a lot of bad things; Venatori, blood magic, just to list a couple. Not to say that everyone from Tevinter was bad, proof by several members of the Inquisition, but even they still got looks from people.

[kartereo]

"Believe me. From what I've heard about their society, it sounds like the kind of bullshit magi from back home would absolutely do if they could function out in the open."

It was funny, in a way. Of all the universal constants to be true, magi being terrible at setting up a decent society was one of them. Not that Waver would ever say such a thing out loud, but it was one of the thoughts that had stuck in his mind since arriving.

"I've been taking pains not to bring it up though. Or being a mage in general, based on how everyone who isn't Tevinter tends to react."

[el_tybs]

Well considering everyone had a different idea what 'decent' was, that was probably debatable, but in all honesty if Waver had said that out loud, Sam would agree. Magic was both a gift and curse in this world.

Sam grins slightly as he gets his horse to walk a bit faster; even though he knew he guessed right, Waver had pretty much confirmed that he was a mage. "Just don't go beating yourself up about keeping it too quiet. There are so many mages here that it is rather silly for anyone to be surprised anyone. Even the whole thing about Rifters is calming down a bit considering the vast amount we've been getting. Course that is concerning in it's own right really. Point being, it'll be easier to learn things if you aren't trying to be so secret about it all the time. Could even take some magic lessons to see how things work here."

[kartereo]

"Mind, lessons in your version of magic assumes I'd be able to tap into the power source," Waver replied. It is something worth exploring, he knows, especially sine without any form of magic he is far, far too vulnerable for his liking.

"I'm curious about what the inital reaction to Rifters was, if you don't object to elaborating. I feel safe in assuming there's no books or anything on the topic."

[el_tybs]

"Better to take lessons to figure that out before perhaps finding out later with an accident," he points out. "If anything you should at least do it for the shard. That certainly is able to tap into our magic in different ways." That was probably the most important one really. Accidentally shooting someone in the ass coughKirkcough aside, it would help later with Rifts or demons.

"Well considering that normally only demons came through the rifts... it wasn't a far stretch to think that people coming through could be demons as well. A lot of people probably still believe that, but for the most part I think we've gotten past that. There was also a lot more tension between natives and rifters. It's still there, but it's calmed down a considerable amount."

[kartereo]

"Any instructor you'd recommend in particular, or not really?" Waver was a better student these days than he was in his youth, but it never, ever hurt to double check and see if there were names to avoid. It'd save a lot of grief in the end.

"Is the tension still based on the potential to be demons, or is it more of a values and culture clash now?"

[el_tybs]

"Hm. Well myself and a lot of mages are willing to help with teaching magic, and we have lessons in the morning. Any one in particular I can't say is better then someone else since we have a lot of different mages here. I would probably recommend talking to Hermione or someone else who is magically inclined and also a Rifter, since they have a similar perspective as you at the moment."

The second question has Sam making a face and sighing softly, considering it, but also showing that it wasn't his favorite subject. "More values and culture I'd say." He's sure there is still tension about potential demons, but honestly most believed mages were the same so it wasn't anything new. "A while back one of the Rifters apparently made some threats - to the Inquisition or Thedas in general I'm not sure - and got locked up for it. It wasn't handled well and... caused a lot of groups to get angry at each other. We've worked past it, sort of, but it still lingers."

[kartereo]

"I'm tempted to stick with you then, as you've proven to be an excellent instructor so far." Hermione's name had come up in several conversations though, and Waver made a mental note to seek her out at some point in the near future.

"Ah," Waver said delicately. Culture wasn't a surprise, given that anyone from Earth would be coming in to a whole bunch of new races just to start off with. But as Sam's explanation went on, he could only wrinkle his nose in distaste. "Yes, I can see how something like that could be an issue. That kind of hurt can haunt for years."

[el_tybs]

"I wouldn't be insulted if you decided otherwise," he says with a chuckle, though flattered that Waver was considering it after showing him how to ride a horse. Honestly that wasn't too hard, it was literally getting the man the courage to get in the saddle.

"Honestly I don't think it'll ever go away. Thedas has always had issues with magic and mages in one way or another. Rifters and the shards just bring a whole new branch of complications with it."

[kartereo]

"Nor would I mean to offend, but I give the compliment freely." Waver had had terrible teachers in the past. He tended to respect anyone who proved themselves skillful and empathetic when it came to any kind of instruction.

"Ugh, I can imagine. I'm curious though - is Skyhold the only place that Rifters go, or do they manifest more widely in Thedas?"

[el_tybs]

Sam raises a brow at the question, taking a moment to consider it before giving an answer. "Well Rifters appear all over when they come through the rifts; Ferelden, Orlais, Free Marches, etc. If we're able to find them we bring them back here to Skyhold. So far I believe we've been able to find anyone who's come through, and while we have our issues, we're a bit more understanding then a lot of Thedas."

[kartereo]

"Mm. So the possibility of some wayward Rifter that hasn't made contact with Skyhold is nonexistent, or at least deeply slim."

It was something he had wondered about for a while, truth be told.