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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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."

He sighs heavily. "Why does everyone always think peace-keeping means war?"

He scratches his forehead. "And what if I say 'no'? Do I get sent into the Fade? Locked up in a dungeon? Drawn and quartered?"

He's fairly certain he was brought here now. And on purpose. Kidnapped. That's less than a pleasing thought. Though, nothing new, really. Except his sonics don't work. He'll need to do something about that.

"To be fair, he started it. We're just trying to defend ourselves while the darkspawn fuckhead's busy trying to become a god. It's not like he's giving us much of a choice." If Korrin has to choose between bowing down to him or death, she'd just fall on her own spirit blade. But she seems to be a little more optimistic than that, since that hasn't happened yet.

"If you say 'no', then that's it. You don't have to join. You're still offered shelter and the basics, but you're not conscripted. Hell, you don't even have to come with us...though in that case, you're completely on your own. I wouldn't go telling people you're from another world, in that case. You say you stepped out of a rift, they'll think you a demon taking a human shape. Skyhold is different; a lot of them are still unsure what exactly to make of rifters, but they won't be hostile. They know many of them have risked their lives alongside us."

He gestures to himself. "Does this face look like the kind of face that cares who started what?"

He listens as she explains what people would think of him. "I've been called worse. But I imagine my titles probably hold no meaning here. There's a lot about this I don't like. But I don't yet know which side is which. At least if I go with you, I might be able to sort those things out."

And he'll be able to ask the really hard questions. The ones that don't actually have an answer, but more beg an action. And he can always leave. He's been on his own before.

"One more thing, before we leave here. My... tools. Don't seem to be working, is there anything around that I can use to repair them? Computers, for instance?"

Judging by how the fight went - talking about magic and all - he's guessing not, but he's hopeful.

That first question gets a roll of her eyes, and though she can see how it might all seem the same to rifters at first, Korrin bristles nonetheless. Having lost many of her company to Corypheus, she can't help but care very deeply about who started this mess. But that's her hurt to carry and not one she wants to share, not now.

"You're right, titles don't carry over. We've had people claiming to be royalty, but it's not like their kingdoms came over with them. That said, your title...does it mean you can heal? We can always use more of that.

...I don't know what a computer is, but we have the Undercroft in Skyhold, a space set aside for crafting of all kinds. If we have what you need, it'll be there."

"If I have the right equipment, I can reattach heads to bodies, so take a wild stab in the dark."

The snark is strong with him today. He normally likes to joke about his name not being the profession, but he's over that.

"I'm the original Doctor. It's my name. Everyone else stole it as simply a title. My title is Saviour or Destruction of the Universe, depending on which side you're on."

Basically, it's probably best to not make an enemy of him.

"Crafting... You mean witch-craft? Or you said 'magic'. Well, I suppose this could be considered magic to you."

"Uh-huh." Korrin simply raises an eyebrow at such an over-the-top title almost wondering if...no, she's tired of running into royalty, at least this is slightly different and more interesting. "I wouldn't use either title here, not if you want to either keep a low profile or get people to listen to you. Or if you're in the tavern, people are likely to just chalk it up to one too many.

"No, magic is what I just did earlier; creating fire or lightning or that barrier that protected both of us, or a bunch of other uses of channeling the Fade's energy. By crafting, I mean creating weapons, armor, potions, and so on...all tools that are useful on the field in one way or another. You don't want to fight a fire-breathing dragon without a good resistance tonic, trust me."

He smiled when she clearly understood some aspects of his title. Good. And it broadened when she said not to use it. "Good. I always hated titles. And I like 'The Doctor', so that works for me."

He nods again at her descriptions. "Well, I have a lot of things that are useful in battle, though I tend to try to talk first.... Wait. Dragon? Did you say dragon? I wonder if they speak dinosaur..."

Because that would be very helpful if they did.

What's a dinosaur is a question that will probably have to wait, at least until the Doctor isn't quite so brand-new and in need of answers. (Though she wouldn't at all be surprised if he always has more questions.) Then she'll turn the tables and have plenty of questions of her own.

"Our dragons don't speak at all, unless you count shooting fire or ice or lightning with their breath as 'speech'. Also, they have this ear-piercing shriek to summon their children, which has the wonderful side-effect of stunning everyone in the area. The high dragons -always female- are pretty majestic, though you so don't want to be at anywhere near one is nesting. That's why this age is called the Dragon Age; we thought they were extinct for a long time, but then they resurfaced."

"Well the shooting bodily fluids aren't so much speech, but the shrieking can be. I would have to hear it. It's possible they share a similar pattern to Earth Dinosaurs."

Yup. He did say all that with a straight face. He was being serious.

"Well, no, I imagine bothering any animal around their children would be a bad thing."

Okay, learning basic information is good. Information he can work with, sort of, mostly, he's trying to place where he is and so far, none of it is sounding familiar. Well, the Dragons. He's dealt with some dragons before, but probably not these.

"How long has this age been going?"

"I'm no linguist, but I think the shrieking means 'I'm toying with you before I and my children eat you for breakfast'. Then again, some have tried that with me and I'm still standing." Korrin smirks, naturally smug about surviving some of the most deadliest creatures in Thedas. There's more to it than that, as well, but that conversation can wait in favor of more immediate concerns.

"It's been going on for...forty three years, now. Wow, it's 9:43 already? Dragons resurfaced at the end of the Blessed Age, the one before this. That's why the Divine at the time named it after them."

The Doctor smirked at her interpretation of the dragon's words. "Quite possible. But some day I'd like to hear it to see if I can translate it."

Because, it's just one of the things he does.

"But I'm glad you've survived so much. I presume it's why you're so knowledgable."

He'll give her that one, because he doesn't want to get abandoned. When she mentioned what sounds like the time, the Doctor looked around. "9:43? How can you tell? It's dark in here."

"No, that's the year. The Dragon Age is the ninth age, by Andrastian reckoning; every age is divided up into a hundred years. So, 9:43 is the forty-third year of the ninth age." It'll take some getting used to, but Korrin's sure of all the things to digest, this will be relatively straightforward.

"I've been all over Thedas; if not with my company, then with my parents'. Only places I haven't seen with my own eyes are the Tevinter Imperium and Qunari-held lands like Par Vollen. For those, you're better off asking a local vint or the Iron Bull. He's a real Qunari...culturally-speaking, anyway. Everyone in the south thinks someone with horns is one, but they're wrong. Most of us that you'll meet in the Inquisition have nothing to do with them. Hell, some might even get offended if you call them that." Korrin's gotten used to it, so it gets little more than an eye-roll from her, but she knows the tempers of others are best warned about.

"That makes sense, then. Not too different from many planets in my universe. Though they don't rename their ages automatically at the 100 year mark."

He frowns.

"If you're not a 'real' Qunari, then what are you?"

Might was well get it out of the way now, right? Korrin doesn't want an incident happening because she wasn't clear, though the truth is annoyingly complicated. Look, she didn't invent any of this.

"It goes like this; my 'kind' don't have any one particular name for themselves. Even 'Qunari' means followers of the Qun, a stupidly oppressive way of life that they try to force on everyone else. People who break away from that are called Tal-Vashoth, rebels. I'm a Vashoth, someone who was born outside all that rot. Most horned folk you'll see in Skyhold are going to be the latter two. It's okay if you ask what they are. They'd rather tell you themselves than be called something they aren't."

"So, you're about as simple as humans. By that I mean, not simple at all and you lot are just as caught up in labels. Which is good to know."

He has his own set of labels to simplify things, but given the size difference, he'll be keeping those to himself for now. He looked around.

"Well, seeing as I've nowhere else to go. Can you show me to this 'Skyhold' place?"

Korrin's lips twitch as she nods in full agreement about being caught up with labels. "More or less, yeah. And I don't think there's anything else to be done with this area, so we can make way for the nearest Inquisition camp, resupply, and strike out from there. You can ride on the back of my nuggalope, if you want. Or we have horses if you want one of those instead."

OMG, I'm going to have to redo my icons, because horseback riding!

not_the_question - 2017-01-23 19:04 (UTC) - Expand

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Wintermarch Rifter Arrival

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OMG, I'm going to have to redo my icons, because horseback riding!