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

I

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin is often at the stables these days, but her reason for visiting isn't the horses. Instead, she's drawn to the nuggalopes and hers in particular. Asher isn't an excessively needy sort, but she enjoys spending time with him and making sure he's comfortable. The dry mountain air tends to demand that he have horn balm, so she'll take care of that for them both, one after the other.

It's when she's busy working on Asher's horns that she notices a new individual nearby. As Korrin herself is about Iskandar's height, he's naturally short to her. "Never seen a horse before, huh? What do you ride instead?"

[kartereo]

"It's less never seen a horse and more no idea how to ride one," was the automatic response, before Waver even turned to meet Korrin's eyes. Looking up was, admittedly, natural to him these days in a way it hadn't been for a very long time, and the horns were now within the realm of normal. He'd seen so much variation these days that he felt unphased by everything. Everything except the nuggalope, which was where his eyes rested.

"And living in a city, there's no need to own my own transportation." He paused, then admitted the obvious. "Also, that's clearly not a horse but I do not know what to call it instead."

[gatheringstorm]

That gets a grin from Korrin, who pats her new mount on the muzzle. "No, it's not. He's a nuggalope, a large rideable breed that's related to the common nug but infinitely more awesome because...well, horns. Not many people knew about them, either. They've been pretty reclusive, but I had some help luring them out into the open, so now the Inquisition has their aid. Their hands are pretty well-suited to the mountain paths around here."

Yes, hands. Asher is currently resting on his knuckles, grunting at Korrin when she pauses her work to chat. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten you. Hush, Asher."

[kartereo]

Waver committed the creature's name to memory, although he imagined it'd be hard to forget such a memorable appearance and name. The mention of horns provoked a small smile from him, before his eyes flicked down to observe the nuggalope's build.

"No kidding. Reminds me of some of the draft horses I've seen back home."

Seen back home in pictures, admittedly, but Korrin didn't need to know that part. Besides, and more importantly, this was a chance for conversation. "Do you want any help?"

[gatheringstorm]

"They're a bit sturdier than draft horses, though perhaps slightly slower. I think they more than make up for it, though." Having tried horses, Korrin doesn't mind them but nor has she really bonded with them, either. This is a nice change of pace.

At the question, she lifts up the horn balm for him to take some. "Sure, if you want. I haven't gotten to the other horn yet. It's just the base of it where it's needed; that tends to get itchy in the dry mountain air, as I know from personal experience. Better this than him destroying the stables to get some relief." Resuming her work, she's rewarded with content grunts from Asher, who closes his eyes a little.

[kartereo]

"Sounds easy enough," Waver said, dipping in his forefinger and middle finger into the balm. It was cool, but not cold, and having observed Korrin applying it, Waver felt confident in attempting the same. But he didn't want to startle Asher or come off as aggressive, so Waver held out his free hand to be sniffed before doing anything else.

"And please correct me if I'm doing anything wrong."

There would be nothing like showing up in another world and then ruining someone's primary mode of transportation.

[gatheringstorm]

Asher sniffs the offered hand, cautiously curious. As long as it hasn't come into contact with any truly strong scents, the nuggalope will press his muzzle against it after a moment.

"My best advice is don't touch that 'bog unicorn' before approaching Asher, that's all. He hates the scent of that undead thing and I honestly can't blame him there. Why they brought it back here, I've no idea." She shudders a little; there are very few things that unnerve the world-weary mercenary, but that would be one of them. "I'm Korrin, by the way, member of the Valo-Kas company and part of the Mage Council here. I'm used to answering questions from newcomers, so don't be shy about asking them."

[kartereo]

"Bog unicorn," he repeated, like Waver absolutely knew what that was and how to properly avoid it. Actually, anything that was also described as undead was well worth avoiding for the time being, and so Waver shoved the thought away from his mind and began to slowly and steadily rub the balm onto Asher's other horn.

"Waver. And you're certain that you don't actually mind me bombarding you with questions? I'm a professor back home, and I know everyone has their limits about such things."

Waver's limits were also dictated by his students, but then again, he has some prodigiously annoying ones.

[gatheringstorm]

The rubbing from both ends prompts a soft, content grunt from Asher, who closes his eyes a little. Korrin's pretty sure he'll let them know if they touch him wrong, so she'll keep at it, careful and thorough in her application. "If I reach my limit, I'll let you know, but after a year or so of people being pulled into Thedas, I've gained a big tolerance for them. A professor, eh? Of what?"

[kartereo]

"Well, that answers at least one burning question on my mind," was the response, cheerful enough. Not that Waver was thrilled to know that something clearly irregular was going on for a year and change, but still. Good to know.

"I started out in another department, but now I head the Modern Magecraft Theory department. Not that it's exactly a prestige appointment."

Quite the opposite. Waver was aware that he had been placed there in hopes of failing and becoming easy pray for those who disliked him.

[gatheringstorm]

Despite what he says about prestige, Korrin raises an eyebrow. "So, it's a mage school or at least one with a mage element to it? I hope it's voluntary, at least. The state of Thedas as it is now is at least partly what happens when they try to corral and control mages like they're criminals simply for being born as they are."

Yeah, she might be a tad biased in that area.

[kartereo]

"Entirely devoted to magecraft," he clarified, before stopping at the rest. Waver had been trying to understand exactly what the attitudes towards magic were here, and Korrin's words sink his stomach like a stone.

His voice was far more hushed when he continued. "Yes, it is voluntary. Magi are a small population, and secretive for-- well. No one else back home knows magecraft exists and there'd be chaos if it got out. But now I have to ask you to clarify. What exactly was the nature of the persecution there?"

Was being the operative word. It sounded like too many things were in flux at present.

[gatheringstorm]

That reaction doesn't go unnoticed, but Korrin isn't going to apologize for being blunt. Better that he learn how mages are treated before an incident happens due to ignorance. She's silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts while she works on the nuggalope.

"That's complicated, but I'll try to make it as brief as possible. You must know about the Chantry, the overarching religion of Thedas. They're a reaction to the Tevinter magisters of long ago, who ruled the continent and were basically cruel, insufferable assholes whose empire killed their prophet. On top of that, beforehand, seven Tevinter magisters made a huge-ass blood sacrifice to breach the Fade and gain access to the Golden City because blah blah blah more power. Except it backfired, turned them into darkspawn and introduced Thedas to the horror of the Blights. So the Chantry gained a foothold with their 'magic was meant to serve man and never to rule over him'.

As a result mages -the ones in the south, anyway, Tevinter is a different can of worms- eventually gained a lot of restrictions to prevent an encore of Tevinter from ever happening elsewhere, and they ran with it. Most mages, upon their power manifesting, were immediately taken to the Circle. No family contact, no leaving it without Chantry sanction. If you escaped and became an apostate, the Templars would hunt you down with a portion of your blood used to create a phylactery.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Mages are more susceptible to demonic possession since they're drawn to our power. If they take over, then the resulting abomination can easily wipe out entire towns. All Circle mages undergo a Harrowing, which is basically a thing where they chuck you into the Fade and summon a demon. If you resist its wiles, you get to live as a full-fledged mage. If you don't, the Templars kill you. And if you don't want to go through the Harrowing or they think you too weak-willed, you can be made Tranquil. That's when you're cut off from the Fade; you have no magic, or ability to feel or dream. I've seen Tranquil before and...it's so sad. You know they were more, once. Not that they aren't still people, but a vital part of them is missing.

And before you ask, I was never a Circle mage. I'm one of those 'apostates' that grew up outside those places. What I know I've heard from other mages and seen the aftermath thanks to the mage rebellion."

[kartereo]

Waver listened carefully, to the point where his hand stilled and he was no longer paying attention to Asher at all. All the snarky comments he'd apply to his own brand of magecrat, the quirks, the hierarchy and the politics, he had been prepared to bust those out or to at least make comparisons.

But there was nothing to compare, there was only a quite mutter of, "Good God."

Followed by a quiet moment of contemplation of how to handle his middling magical abilities. He paused, his free hand slowly pinching the bridge of his nose. A reminder that this was a conversation, not a history lesson. "Thank you," he said, after silence settled in for just that moment too long. "For telling me, even if that's the grimmest and most horrifying approach to anything involving magic that I've encountered in my entire life."

[gatheringstorm]

Satisfied with Asher's care by this point, Korrin pats the nuggalope before leaning against the stable door and turning her full attention to Waver. She expects to impart a history lesson every time a new rifter is met, as evidenced by her somewhat practiced tone. Nodding, her expression is grimly sympathetic as she crosses her arms.

"That's why the Circle mages rebelled, after centuries of abuse. It doesn't hurt that the phylacteries of many senior mages were destroyed in the White Spire, so the Templars couldn't hunt them down anymore. That's not to say it went swimmingly after the war broke out; in fact, the rebellion was in a pretty awful state by the time the Inquisition caught up with them. Long story short, their leader said they were losing and had no choice but to pledge themselves to the Venatori, Tevinter mages we later learned were working with the darkspawn magister asshole behind all this mess. If the Inquisition hadn't intervened, they'd be their indentured servants by now, and probably battle fodder."

[kartereo]

Waver quietly wondered why rebellion had taken as long as it did, but that was a question that screeched ignorance and superiority. He shoved it aside, marking it as something to never ask, then focused on the rest of it. The rest of it was, after all, present politics rather than a discussion of hierarchy, and something that he needed to get to grips with now.

"Part of me wants to know what exactly intervening entailed, the rest of me wants to know how magi are treated at present so I can cover my own ass. Although," Waver paused, realizing there was a third question. "Does any of this actually tie into the rift? Logic says it does, given the chaos of what you said, but logic also suggests I'm reading too heavily into things."

[gatheringstorm]

"Well, yeah. Corypheus -the darkspawn magister asshole I was talking about- is the one who created the Breach, the mother of all rifts that was steadily devour the world before the Herald put a stop to it. She had the Anchor, which is a more powerful version of that shard you have. While it takes several people to close a rift now, back then it only needed her." And yes, all past tense. Korrin frowns a little, crossing her arms and remembering what she could of Evelyn back then, which wasn't much up close but that isn't to say she didn't observe.

"Intervening meant that the Inquisition infiltrated Redcliffe Castle, where the Venatori were holed up, and got their leader to submit. I think he's still in the dungeons of Skyhold. If he'd succeeded...well, ask Dorian about the details since he was the only one with the Herald from the start of it, but from what he's said that alternate timeline was...brutal. We already took steps to prevent it, but that isn't to say we're in the clear.

As for how mages are treated now...in Skyhold itself, you'll be treated civilly for the most part. Just avoid the Templars; they're even more suspicious about magic from beyond the rift than native mages. Outside of Skyhold, it varies though as long as you're in Inquisition company, you'll have support. But the Mage-Templar War hasn't improved mages' overall image. Many ordinary people don't see that mages are fighting for their lives and freedom, they just see the damage all the fighting has caused. And the Templars, well, they benefit from those ordinary people seeing them as heroes, keeping them safe from the dangers of magic. It's a tough balancing act for us."

[kartereo]

Waver quietly ticked off the number of boxes that fit into his own home's understanding of magic. There were five overarching ones, ones that allowed for multiple universes, time travel, all of the big stuff. All of them were involved here, involved and active. It was that second part that mentally set Waver's teeth on edge. That level of magic was genuinely rare-to-impossible back home, and here in Thedas it was just something that happened.

"Got it. Although honestly, it sounds as if I'd almost be better off simply keeping any abilities to myself." It'd be like inhabiting the non-magical world of London, really. "Given that outside of one or two large feats, I'm one to talk about theory."

Not by choice, he noted bitterly. Magi were, by and large, more powerful through successive generations, and he was from a young family. That had always been true. But this all meant something else, something Waver disliked even more. Physical self defense, rather than bounded fields that created safe bubbles to ward off all attacks. "Fuck. Are there decent tutors in self defense around?"

[gatheringstorm]

"That's up to you, though the shard will always get you attention no matter what...bad and good. When there's an active rift around, people tend to throw their usual fears aside in favor of doing whatever it takes to close them." Korrin shrugs, having seen how quickly distrust transforms into gratitude under the right circumstances, though she lacks one of those hand-shards herself.

"And yeah, there are some. Jim Kirk, another rifter and a friend of mine has offered self-defense classes. Dorian has something similar going, though with a mage bent to it. If you're not familiar with a staff and want to wield one effectively, he's your guy."

[kartereo]

"Like my hand didn't have enough weird crap on it," Waver snorted, his eyes temporarily going back down to the faded command seals that once existed to exert power over Iskandar ten years ago. They look more like faded scars than anything else, and they're something Waver's used to looking over. Treating as another part of himself. The shard would have to join such a rank.

"Magic requires a staff here?" Waver chided himself for that being what he's fixated on, but for now, that was better than anything else Korrin had shared with him about magic in Thedas. "That's novel."

II

[conqueredhearts]

One large hand came down to rest on Waver's shoulder as Iskandar came up behind him. He hadn't specifically been looking for him but now that he'd located him, he was more than ready to spend some time with him. Perhaps more so because it was time for a meal and he wasn't so sure that the man had truly been taking care of himself. Grinning at him, he looked as if he hadn't just possibly come up seemingly out of nowhere.

For a large man he could have some stealth about him if he wished it.

"Boy! Let us go and have a meal together!" Did Waver have a choice? Not really. Iskandar was already using the hand on his shoulder to guide him towards the tavern.

[gatheringstorm]

"Requires, no, but it's always a good idea to have one. Most mages are lightly armored and fight from a distance. If you run out of mana during a fight, a staff is simple to use and keeps you at a distance. Plus, we've found out that rifters with magic have an easier time of using it when they conform to how magic works here. The more their magic resembles something we have, the better off they tend to be."

[kartereo]

Waver nearly jumped out of his skin as Iskandar's large hand clamped down on his shoulder, arms flailing and cigar nearly coming out of his mouth. It was by the grace of God that he prevented the latter, and that was driven by the fear of the smouldering end catching something and causing a fire.

"Would you just warn me before you come out of no where?!" he snapped, putting on a show of huffiness that was far more for anyone else that might've seen that display. Waver's stomach took that moment as the ideal one to let out an unhappy noise, meaning that any anger was immaterial to actual hunger.

"And you know I can walk there by myself you don't have to steer me like one of the bulls."

[kartereo]

"Back home that kind of extra material screams of cliche in popular imagination," he admitted. At least the fighting from a distance was consistent, magi hated to actually get their hands dirty back home. Grail Wars were a perfect encapsulation of it, really. Summon someone to do the physical fighting for you while you took care of the sneaky stuff.

"I have a distinct feeling that there are going to be more differences between my school of magecraft and what's common here though." And if Waver didn't hide his grimace, so be it.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's glances is sympathetic as she pats Asher one last time before stepping away from his stable, gesturing for Waver to walk with her. "Let's compare and find out. I always like to know what people can do before we're on the battlefield, since it can save a lot of time and prevent stupid mistakes. Like the time when a fellow mage and I cast opposing elements at an enemy and effectively canceled each other out. I'd like to avoid that shit, if I can."

So, yeah. Her magic. "I lean towards Storm magic, so lots of lightning, but I know basic Winter and Inferno spells to round things out. I've also received extra training as a Knight-Enchanter, so unlike a lot of mages, I can last on the front line, and my barriers hold pretty much as long as I keep attacking. I've learned a little rift magic, too, but to be honest that's a lower priority since I wanted to master Knight-Enchanter stuff first."

And she pauses, as something comes to mind. "If you know any blood magic...that's really not something you can get away with here. For several reasons. It can be used to control people, so that always has people freaked out. Not to mention that it tears the Veil to shit and we already have problems with that. We don't need more. And also, Tevinter was heavily into sacrificing people for blood magic spells, so that's wrapped up in the anti-Tevinter backlash."