faderift | Wintermarch Rifter Arrival

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Wintermarch Rifter Arrival

WHO: New rifters and their rescuers
WHAT:
WHEN: Wintermarch 10
WHERE: The Southern Hinterlands
NOTES: This log is backdated intentionally to allow new rifters to also immediately play in Skyhold and have a few days to handwave acclimation and explanations, if you'd like. It's open to rifters and to any Inquisition members who would volunteer to recover them.

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.

In this world, you wake with a jolt when you hit stone, dropped from above by a flaring, crystalline green rip in reality that hangs overhead. Beyond it is blackness--no, if you focus, it's not emptiness, but stone, with the light from the rift reflecting on distant crevices and stalactites. You're underground. And you're not alone. There are two other people on the ground with you, and something with a deep, guttural laugh not far from you.

The source of the laugh is soon lit up with light of its own, arcing purple electricity rippling over a hulking body so large that humans don't quite reach its hip. It's the only demon here, but it isn't going to go down easily. And the only way out is a narrow tunnel that the demon is--demonically--blocking.

But you're not alone. There's that. The ground around you is scattered with weapons and belongings--maybe one of them is yours--and it won't be long before more people arrive, armed and armored and ready to fight.

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Fortunately, the still-holding magic barrier over both of them shields Korrin from worse damage that simply being knocked off her feet. She grits her teeth while moving to stand again, ignoring that her lungs don't appreciate having the air knocked out of them. Any discomfort on her part is going to have to wait until the mortal threat is over.

"Nope! You're stuck with it as is, so have at!" Please, anything to distract or disable the fucking thing until its essence collapses back into the Fade. Pausing the impromptu lesson, the Vashoth mage summons a fiery glyph underneath the pride demon, triggering it to explode. It roars in fury, unsurprisngly not a fan of being on fire, but the cumulative attacks are starting to have an effect. Its clawed attacks are increasingly vicious, seemingly determined to take them with it.

Well, thank goodness for small favours. He held it up again, though he had found a sword, this seemed like it was far more effective at holding the creature at bay. Luckily, Jamie's dislike of the creature calmed the Doctor enough to be willing to fight a bit harder.

"Right." He looked up at the creature and did what he does; talked. "Look, apparently you don't belong here. I know the feeling, I don't either. But this really isn't the way to go about it. Just stop for a minute and maybe we can send you where you belong. Of course, you can do the alternative too."

During his speech, he was slowly raising his hand higher and higher. This time he could time his attack. He didn't understand what it was in his hand, but he knew how to time attacks when he focused. He hadn't survived the Time War just on wits. He had learned how to fight quite well. He usually didn't even need a weapon.

Finally his hand was high enough to send a charge at the creature again. This time it was at a time when everyone seemed to be in the right positions, hopefully they could attack at the same time...

Edited (hit post too soon) 2017-01-16 19:10 (UTC)

"Pride demons suck at listening!"

Which of course it proves by roaring again, trying to take a swipe at anyone getting close to it. Korrin narrowly avoids being knocked over again, and responds with a swipe of her glowing blade. She'll soon have to renew the barrier if this keeps up much longer, at least over the rifter. At least her companion's actions buy them some time when the rift reverts to that crystallized state, allowing for the shard to exploit it again. When the demon is subsequently stunned, she grins.

"Perfect!" And now she strikes relentlessly. The pride demon isn't long for this world, thanks to the shardbearer. Korrin will make it as short as possible, watching for the moment when it will begin to disintegrate, its essence trailing back to the rift and hence the Fade.

"It's not always about getting them to listen!"

Simple distractions are sometimes enough. He grins when she says 'perfect.' But he was going to back away, because clearly others have a better idea about what to do. He is definitely out of his element.

Still, he's at the ready to shock the creature again, if need be.

That's a good point, though Korrin's not sure that the guy who's more useful than her regarding rifts should be doing the distracting. That's what her spirit blade is for, isn't it? But there's no time to discuss this, not with a pride demon to stop. It isn't their efforts alone, of course. Uniformed Inquisition soldiers fire arrows at the creature, and with a few more blasts and swings, the pride demon lets out a futile roar as it begins to disintegrate. As mentioned, its essence seems to travel back into the rift, and the rift itself collapses into a smaller state with a sound akin to breaking glass.

Though that's not quite the end of all this. "Okay, we need to gather everyone with shards together! If it's not sealed, it'll just split open again when we're gone! The demon parade will never end." Seeing as how she isn't one of those people, it's now Korrin's turn to stand back, gesturing for everyone with a shard to contribute. "Do what he just did and raise your hands to the rift!"

He has no way to know how vital he is. But when she explains what needs to be done, he obeys. Clearly he's not the leader in this place, but he's led often enough to know when he should follow. He's slightly concerned about the disintegration. He doesn't believe in killing if it can be helped. But now might not be the best time to have that conversation.

He holds his hand up again and hopes that the meagre group has enough power to seal the rift. He has many questions brewing through his mind right now, but he's trying to compartmentalise them until the rift is sealed....

Then he lowers his and and looks at her. Doubt and questions, clear on his face. "How do I know that closing that rift isn't sealing myself here forever?"

Also good points, and Korrin can't fault the man for all his questioning. He's the one dragged to somewhere completely unfamiliar, after all. So, she'll be completely honest out sympathy. Her tone remains brisk, though, her main concern still on the fact that the rift could expand and spawn more demons.

"That rift leads to the Fade, the realm of demons like that asshole we just fought. To say it's not very hospitable is a vast understatement. You're not going to get what you want just by charging in, trust me. There's a lot of them all over Thedas, too, so this isn't the only one. And every rift that remains endangers civilians unlucky enough to find them. I don't know if we'll find you a way back, but if we do, it shouldn't be at the expense of those that can't protect themselves."

He looked from the rift to the woman and back again. Clearly he's having some great inner debate with himself.

Finally he screamed at the rift. "Why isn't it ever anyone else's turn!? Why does it always, always come down to me?"

His rage was short-lived, though. Of course he would do what was necessary to protect those who can't protect themselves. He stared long and hard at the rift, then rejoined the small group.

He looked at the rift as if he was seeing something that wasn't there. Maybe seeing beyond it, into what was familiar to him. He whispered. "Good-bye."

And with that he raised his left hand and aimed it at the rift.

It's too much to expect heroic sacrifice from others without some justified rage on their part, or at least Korrin believes. So the outburst is met with a sympathetic, weary look that shows she understands that sentiment quite well regardless of origin. Muttering more to herself, she shakes her head. "Sorry, man. I know it sucks."

Standing back, she stares at the collapsed rift as the beams of energy connecting the shards and it create a tense hum that steadily increases. With the sound of shattering glass, the rift abruptly closes. There's no sliver of green to summon forth more demons, and for a moment silence reigns.

"...fucking finally. If anyone's hurt, let me know. We have supplies to help with that."

The problem for the Doctor is he was the one to literally always make the sacrifice. It was exhausting. And now, he was trapped in this strange place, cut off from everyone he knew. He pointed at the woman.

"You, there. What's your name?"

It was time to do what he did and ask questions to get to the bottom of this.

Straightening -though there's really no need, as she's almost seven feet tall-, the mage answers promptly. "Korrin Ataash, mage of the Valo-Kas company and allied with the Inquisition. That's the group dedicated to finding the asshole who created this mess all over Thedas -we know who he is, just not where- and restoring order as much as we can. As you might have guessed, it's an uphill battle.

What about you, what's yours?" Because if there are introductions, she likes them to be mutual.

"Good to meet you, Korrin. I'm the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey."

Which he offers, mostly to see if any of it rang a bell. Because, well, that would tell him quite a bit about this place.

"What was that thing? Was it brought here the same was I was?"

Korrin's eyebrows immediately shoot up, as that definitely strikes a spark of recognition. "Wait, the Doctor? Jamie's Doctor? The little Scottish guy who runs around in a kilt?" Well, he's little to her.

She perks up a little at that, hoping that Jamie's finally found the traveling companion he's missed so much.

"That was a pride demon. They're the most powerful of the demons, and have been the downfall of a lot of mages. And no, not exactly. It's already native to the Fade, the place that rift opened up to. Some people think that the creation of the rift dragged them out, and being thrust into Thedas drove them mad and twisted them into demons. Or they were just demons before and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, the result is the same. They arrive and lash out at everything around them."

Edited 2017-01-18 15:21 (UTC)

The Doctor purses his lips slightly. "Not sure I belong to anyone. But I am the Doctor."

Yeah, he doesn't like being owned, sorry. Even if he does like Jamie quite a lot, no one really owns him. He nods at her explanation.

"So this place is called Thedas. Is it a planet, or simply a city on a planet? Or is the Fade a planet? Or is Fade how you define your universe?"

The Doctor is sort of talking to himself, but mostly asking the questions hoping for answers. It's hard travelling the whole of time and space and then getting sent to a place he's never encountered before.

"I just mean that's how I know you, that's all." Not liking the idea of being owned, either, Korrin just lets that slide. She crosses her arms and frowns in thought while rambling. "Thedas is our continent, though it's also used to mean the world itself. We're in the southern Hinterlands, to be exact, in the kingdom of Ferelden. The Inquisition's headquarters is in a fortress called Skyhold, west of here in the Frostback Mountains. I should really start bringing a map for these things...."

Anyway. "The Fade is hard to explain, but I'll try. It's plane of existence tied to Thedas and separated by the Veil. Every being in Thedas enters the Fade in spirit upon death, or mentally when dreaming. (Except dwarves, they don't dream.) Mages like myself tap into it when we cast our spells. Most people don't remember their time in the Fade, with the exception of mages since we're able to remain lucid.

In its raw form, its pretty eerie, with a green sky, floating rocks and a barren landscape with nothing but more rocks and demons. But it's more complicated than that; much of the Fade is divided up into fiefs, where a spirit or demon squats on it like a dragon hoarding treasure. They change the landscape of the Fade to emulate what they see in the minds of mortal dreamers...or, well, they try. They copy locations, objects, people and concepts of the real world, but imperfectly or with a cruel twist. That's why mages are told to trust nothing when we enter the Fade. It's easy to get misled if you don't know what to watch for."

"Oh a proper civilisation, then. Theories about the afterlife and everything."

Ne nods. Okay, he can deal with this. Not any different than any other planet he's visited. Save that he's stuck.

"So, this thing in my hand. The Shard. Could that be one of the changes they made? Or did the rift I came through not pass through the Fade?"

A treasure to be hoarded - he's been called worse.

Since this conversation is likely going to take a while, Korrin places her now-empty hilt back at her hip and sets her staff onto her back.

"Nah, demons didn't make that. Demons can't truly create, they just emulate. But it's definitely connected to the Fade, I can tell you that much. The asshole responsible is a being called Corypheus. He used to be human, eons ago; now he's powerful darkspawn with way too much time and Tevinter pride on his hands. He used this orb in an attempt to reach the Fade physically. As I said, most of the time people just enter it when dead or asleep, but he wanted to be special and become a god or something.

Well, that attempt caused a huge explosion that killed a lot of people and made this massive tear in the sky called the Breach. That Breach was the mother of all rifts, spawning the rest. We managed to seal it, at least for now...but that asshole still has his orb, and he could do it again. I bet the only reason he hasn't is because he still believes he has a shot at getting into the Fade, and might still need it. Otherwise, he might have set it off again out of spite. He destroyed our first headquarters, with that army and damned dragon of his, to get back at us for sealing the Breach. So, I know he's that petty." And oh is she bitter about Haven. Her fists clench, remembering that massacre all too well.

"Can't create? Your demons are dreadfully dull, then."

Yes, yes, very funny, Doctor. He pulled a face at her use of foul language, but then looked around and noticed there weren't children about, so said nothing. But then she spoke a familiar word.

"Corypheus. That's a rubbish name. He's a leader called 'Leader'. Which brings me back to my original statement that they're dull."

He did, however, consider her explanation and something caught his attention.

"Wait." He held up one hand as if he had an idea. He didn't. But he had a question. "He used to be human? People don't just stop being human. Unless, of course their humanity is taken away from them. But very few have that ability. So what do you mean by 'used to be human'?"

Sorry not sorry, Doctor. Korrin's speech is peppered with swearing and as long as there aren't children about, she'll keep doing what's natural to her. Besides, after the stuff Corypheus pulled on them, the Vashoth woman thinks she's entitled to some expletives.

"My teacher always said you can trust demons to act according to their nature and only that. Once you figure them out, they're easy to predict. And most of the time, what they want is to screw us over just because they can. Even the benign spirits have a set way of thinking and can't really deviate. You force that upon them, and they can turn into demons."

Oh, boy. This is going to be a longer story, one that Korrin knows is going to sound bizarre. "I mean just that. We think he was one of the seven original magisters of Tevinter who attempted to breach the Fade. They were there worst, most corrupt bastards of a rotten lot and they did countless blood sacrifices to gain enough power to do it. But when they got to the Golden City, seat of the Maker, they tainted it with their mortal presence and were tainted in turn, becoming darkspawn when they made it back to Thedas. Darkspawn are usually mindless, tainted beings that seek to kill or corrupt everything. But somehow, this Corypheus retained some intelligence, and his power. He wants to do accomplish what he and his magister fuckheads were trying to do ages ago; gain the power from that city and become akin to gods.

I don't have it with me, but if you come back to Skyhold with us, go to the library and look up the Chant of Light. Within that, find the Canticle of Silence. The fall of the magisters is explained there. But take it with a grain of salt, because it happened forever ago and the witnesses to it are either long dead or ancient, corrupted things."

Edited 2017-01-19 00:59 (UTC)

The Doctor rolls his eyes. "Like I said, boring. And so far, this is all myths and legends. Which doesn't mean it's untrue. It just might not be true in the way you think."

He looked around them.

"You know Jamie. Which means I'm not the only one brought here. How many other universes are being pulled here? And what is the reason for that?"

He has too many questions. He won't go anywhere until most of them are answered.

"For now, it's what we have to go on." Korrin shrugs, conceding that there is likely far more to the story than the general public knows. Still, it can't hurt to start him off with what every native is taught from a young age.

"There are a lot of people from a lot of different places. I think some have mentioned Earth? But the way they talk, it doesn't always seem to be the same one. I don't know exact numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised if the advisers have some kind of census going. Jamie said that no one else from his universe had arrived, until now. There are a lot of people like him, who arrived alone from a place only they're familiar with. As for the reason, I doubt this is what Corypheus had in mind. He only cares about reaching the Fade; that his actions triggered people arriving from elsewhere seems to be a side-effect. That said, don't expect any quarter from his Red Templars or Venatori."

"So the rest of you what? Just take us all in as the hapless strangers? You made it sound like you do this often, so what is expected of us?"

He might come back to the 'red templars', but he knows 'Venatroi' means something akin to hunters, and given how she spoke of them, he assumed they're the 'bad guys'. So, to more important matters - what he doesn't know.

"So, he used this orb to rip a hole in the fabric of reality and somehow this fabric is drawing people in from across all universes. And since you don't know what is actually going on or how, you have no way to send us back home."

He offered a grin.

"Well, then, good job I'm here."

Yes, he really is that arrogant.

"But you said Census. Which means these advisors are keeping track of us. And you said not to expect anything from the other side. So, what will your side offer?"

"Food, shelter, medical care, libraries, lessons on a wide variety of subjects, and some truly terrible dwarven ale if you're that adventurous. That's available for anyone, whether they remain apart form this mess or want to join the Inquisition. If you do, there's more equipment and training available, and you'd be sent out on missions with the rest of us. Those can range from diplomatic crap to spy stuff to combat, so making your strengths and preferences known is a good idea."

That grin is met with a weary one of her own. It's nice to see someone with spirit, arrogant or not. "Useful and willing? I like that. I honestly don't give a shit who gets the credit, as long as we stop Corypheus from wiping out Thedas. Some will, but they're idiots who aren't worth the attention. And yeah, I'm pretty sure the advisers try to know at least general numbers, so we have enough supplies to go around. Those folks would be Cullen, the commander of our forces, Leliana, the spymaster, and Josephine, the main diplomat. And no, I don't spend a lot of time with either of them. I'm on the field and they usually remain in Skyhold, so."

"Join the Inquisition? Where I'm from, the Inquisition was an unquestioningly brutal force in the name of religion. Tell me about yours."

It wasn't an out-right no. But it did mean he was going to proceed with more caution until he knew more.

"Fair enough. I'm not going to lie; the Inquisition was sanctioned by the late Divine of the Andrastian Chantry. Andrastianism is the main religion of Thedas and carries a lot of weight, even now. The fact that she was killed by Corypheus and the Grand Clerics are divided means that there's no great authority guiding this, though. We're on our own--perhaps forever.

Our goal is simple; find Corypheus, destroy him, and stop the rest of the south from falling into chaos, and likely the rest of Thedas with it. Orlais is in the midst of a civil war, Ferelden is still weak from the Fifth Blight and Tevinter's off having a slapfight with the Qunari, and so on; basically put, none of the major powers are in any shape to stop this on their own. So, it's up to us. And I don't know about you, but I'd at least like to go down knowing I tried my damnedest to stop this shitstorm instead of giving up and letting it all happen. We're not perfect, but right now we're the only ones even trying to do anything about this Maker-forsaken mess."

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