faderift | Rifts and the Veil/Elven Artifacts Meeting

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Rifts and the Veil/Elven Artifacts Meeting

WHO: All members of the Rifts and the Veil and Elven Artifacts projects are invited to attend.
WHAT: A joint discussion, trying to solve a puzzle together.
WHEN: Early Firstfall, after Satinalia
WHERE: The Elven Artifacts laboratory in the Gallows.
NOTES: A follow-up to the island elven ruins quest. WTF was that map, anyway? Takes place after this announcement.

Tea and refreshments are offered--nothing elaborate, just something for people to gnaw on in case they get peckish while thinking. The mosaic has been drawn and painted as accurately as possible and hung on a wall for examination. It is a map of Thedas, with most of the south broken away and pieces missing, with green slashes--some straight, some curved oddly, all tapered at the ends and thicker in the middle--cutting across here and there. Where the green lines cross, they are bright red.

"All right," Pel says, pointing to one of the intersections. "Our goal for today is to reckon out what these are, or at the very least, come up with a plan for reckoning it all out. This is obviously a map, but what's it a map of?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Why would eluvians be on lines?" Kostos cuts in, which is not an idea, not what he'd been instructed to do, but. Sorry. He's gleaned enough to know that the eluvians matter because they allow for some sort of communication, and that's why anyone gives a damn, but he's clearly a but behind here. "If they could only use them to talk to people on the other end of one line—that would be a pain the ass."

Edited 2017-11-06 18:17 (UTC)

Inessa smiles a bit as Myr joins them, even though he can't see it. She'd been hoping for his insight on this matter and is certain he'll have some once he's caught up to speed. Speaking of which....

"There is more to eluvians than merely communication. They were also used as a means of transport." They still are, though she'll leave that for their resident eluvian expert to elaborate. She's not going to talk over one who has studied them to an extent she has not.

"Huh," to Kostos' explanation, and: "Thank you--" when the page is put into his hands, the latter a little befuddled until he feels the lines upon it. Oh. He promptly sets to feeling it out, listening as he does to the rest of the conversation with half an ear.

"How much can you move through an eluvian at once? I mean--why does it have to be just one of these things we're discussing, and not both? --Or however many more you've got up there," Myr amends. "But wouldn't it make a kind of sense the ruins might be around eluvian sites? Since I'm assuming they're better, safer transport than just walking from one spot to another, and that's how I'd want to move to settle somewhere new."

"Maybe they're places with other old, cursed as fuck civilizations? I mean, that village we found was definitely older than the dead people we found there, right? And it was stupid cursed. People being lured to stay, seeing shit from home, people--" Church shudders. "Maybe there are other places like it. Is it possible we can send a scouting party or two to some of the approximate locations, see if anything's there worth seeing?"

Pel adds to the list on the wall:

Other old, cursed as fuck civilizations

When she had thought of the eluvians being revealed, it hadn't been like this. There had been letters exchanged with Merrill about it being kept close to the chest. (Skyhold had advantages Kirkwall does not, that both eluvians are there, safe behind a heavy locked door set with spells with staff paid well for the trouble of keeping them that way is about as much as she might hope for.)

To Myr and Kostos she turns since they asked but well, since it's out of the bag now she sets her jaw. "Long ago, and seldom now they were a means for the ancient elves to move from place to place. I must emphasise that this was kept from most given the fascination the enemy has - Venatori sought to claim eluvians. Imagine, should word spread too easily." Imagine too what a shapeshifter might do if this is the next gossip flying free through Kirkwall when it's Kirkwall. "Most of the eluvians are damaged beyond repair. My own I had to craft myself to be certain that it might be of use. The other the Inquisition possesses belonged to Merrill's and she had to rid it of the Blight."

Let your imaginations run wild but well, she saw the Blight. Corypheus is a magister risen again. Caution doesn't need to be said so loudly, does it?

As for why they might be on lines, she turns her attention to Kostos alone, pointing to Myr's map since it's probably closer. "There were ways to move from one to the next yet now they are shut. Eluvians shattered. Lost. Darkened. Beyond reach. The dragonbone wastes would certainly count as a cursed place."

Melys showed late, shuffled into the back, and by the power of a lingering hangover has thus far managed the minor miracle of shutting up as it all goes flying past her aching head.

Miracles don't last. She squints to the front and lifts her voice:

"Reckon that's all dead useful, but what's this elf --" A last minute check on the profanity; skull's ringing too much at the moment for a fight. "Stuff, these. Eluvian things. What've they got to do with the bloody rifts?"

She's collected a croissant, and punctuates her words with curt, crumb-spraying gestures.

"And how's a door get the fu -- th'Blight?"

Edited (I remember what words mean) 2017-11-08 01:51 (UTC)

There's a moment after Inessa speaks where Ellana glances towards Morrigan, wondering if she missed a big announcement going out about the eluvians, because the last she remembered, Morrigan had told her to kept the transportation part a secret after their journey through one to Kirkwall. But it seems she hadn't missed anything after all, and she picks up with the conversation.

"I think it's worth sending out scouts to see what's at these red lines. Then we might be able to narrow down our theories on what this map represents."

Cosima was on time (or close enough, at least, that the meeting hadn't properly started), but she's been quiet. She settled next to Church, as one of the people she knows best, but she hasn't had anything to add thus far. She has, however, been listening intently.

"Discreet scouts sound like a good idea," she finally offers, though. "Because the question isn't whether we need more data. Obviously we do. It's what kind of data and how best to get it. But whatever we decide we're looking for, this smacks of field work."

"I'd rather question locals for rumors than send people straight into the heart of it, not knowing what's there." Pel looks up and down the list, then turns back to the meeting. "Questioning the locals, then proceeding further if things look promising. If the rumors are about, I don't know, people coming back in pieces or not coming back at all, we'll know to play it safe. What do the rest of you think?"

For her part, Inessa listens intently to all that's said while sipping her tea. She doesn't seem apologetic about her revelation; this is a meeting where that topic is relevant, and she won't leave any stone unturned. Besides, she trusts in her own people to be professionals, as well as Pel's.

She nods at Ellana's mention of scouts, but also pauses thoughtfully at Pel's suggestion. "That is a fair point; I don't mind risk, but I would prefer knowing just what we are walking into, if possible. We can send in some low-profile agents, those that are most likely to have the locals open up to them. We do have a Diplomacy division, after all. Let's make use of it."

...Well, that's rather more than Myr thought he was in for coming to this. He keeps silent as he digests Morrigan's implicit warning, fidgeting at the corners of his map for something to do with his hands--until he becomes aware he's doing it and stops himself.

"Seems wise enough--though what're we do with places that haven't got locals living near enough for anything actionable?" He tips his head toward Morrigan, adding: "And forgive me for being obtuse, but however it is you travel through these eluvians--can you tell anything about a line that's been shut up just by going...toward it?"

His voice is hesitant on "toward;" that may not be the most appropriate description of what one does in the eluvian.

"There are some places I have been that are paths seldom travelled. There are things not so easily committed to the page." Circles take grimoires away after all, for as long as some here have known her they can't mistake that she has two on her person at all times after that.

To Myr then, since he asked the question. "No." Forgive her for being short but them being what they are? Morrigan leans forward, steeples her hands, and perhaps she might take Myr aside at a later point to speak of them in more detail. "Let me be clear so no doubt remains: eluvians are from long before the empire was lost. Those were in the ancient days, now 'tis a matter of understanding what is left to us.

"Say an eluvian is a door," she continues carefully one hand held up for the benefit of the rest. "A door might open both ways but for eluvians 'tis not so simple. From one end, without a key, 'tis closed. Some can be opened only from one side. Knowledge is required as much as power to be certain of where one might go with it. When Merrill and I went to Kirkwall, I had seen her eluvian prior, she knew where hers was, that was how we were able to venture between." Both sides open, no one becoming trapped.

(Until the Venatori happened, she's said much so if someone else would like to speak up about certain problems lurking in the field each time eluvians have happened? She'll maybe give you wine.)

"Locals also lie, are wary of the Inquisition, or work for the enemy," Ellana points out bluntly. "Plain clothes scouts are our best bet on learning anything." She gives Inessa a brief nod. Low profile is the way to go. And a scout knows risks. It's how they live their lives. "But we're not learning anything by sitting around here guessing."

Sure, they're throwing around ideas, but ideas aren't results. It's hard to look at -- or feel, in Myr's case -- a map and be able to determine what it's marking as significant. So far all they know are locations, so the locations have to be visited; simple as that.

"For now, we can come up with theories that the scouts can test out, as well as them being on the lookout for anything unusual. They're scouts; they know the risks involved, so if there aren't locals around, they'll have to search without any prior information." She's sure Leliana would agree with her.

"So we aren't meant to accept any theory proposed here as fact without further evidence?" Kostos says, not quite quietly enough to count as under his breath, because he's an asshole. "Why did I even come."

Answer: to be an asshole, probably. (Exhibit B is the look he gave Melys, initially, with all the crumb-spewing, but it softened as she asked actually interesting questions.) To be an asshole and to learn way too much about magic mirrors. But, having managed that many words, he clears his throat and tries a few more, this time louder.

"Maybe it's a map of Eluvians. Maybe it's a map of what made putting an Eluvian on a small island in middle of the sea worth the trouble. There was also a rift, red lyrium, a dormant volcano, an astonishingly thin veil, signs of human and Tal-Vashoth settlements in the ruins—"

To say he trails off would be charitable. There's no trailing, just an abrupt end and new observation.

"On the ground, those intersections will cover miles."

[ ooc | the thing about the intersections covering miles seems sort of unfair for me to use because i know it but y'all, not having an actual map to look at, could not have! but i'm trying to keep things clear and help the discussion progress, so forgive me please. and if anyone wants to check visual details with us for the sake of this log (pending us having time to actually make the map, somedaaaay) you can add to the questions being asked here! xoxo ]

Edited 2017-11-11 05:40 (UTC)

"There's no geographical correlation, nothing the locations have in common that are clear from comparing it with a map of modern Thedas, nothing like that. It could be there's intent in these lines, rather than a characteristic. This is what I keep coming back to--if it was made for the purpose of the intersections alone, why not simply have points on the map? Instead, there are lines, all of different shapes. That's why I don't think it's simply a map of locations."

She waves at Ellana in acknowledgement--they'll get to a plan of action when they've reasonably analyzed the information they already possess.

Morrigan's explanation neatly aborts the next question Myr would ask; he inclines his head in mute acknowledgment, lower lip between his teeth as he works to assemble what's been put forth into some kind of reasonable whole. (Damned frustrating, still, that he can't see everything written down, or the original map and what Kostos describes--)

"They'd cover miles if the map's scaled right," he observes. "It's a mosaic, so it wasn't meant for precise navigation--and they might've been freer with distances if whatever those lines depict doesn't need to be measured exactly. Or can't be, as might be the case if it's something to do with the Fade."

"There are things that are enemy and his followers have shown interest in at one time or another: rifts and rifters - enough even to kidnap them, red lyrium, eluvians as I have said." With her gaze fixed on Kostos and Myr, the two with the wits in their heads to put together what Morrigan is saying without it being used to sharepn the edge of ones tongue, Morrigan continues.

"Much might make the Veil thin, 'tis thin here from the work of old Tevinter. Blood washes away sooner than what might make it, unless this is a recent thing. Corypheus believes himself a magister of old Tevinter, now," to Kostos, to Myr, intent and willing them to come up with something worth her while so as not to disappoint, "what sit that by the power of the eluvians, what might the enemy wish with it?"

Since the matter of how to proceed is put on hold for the moment, Inessa doesn't verbally pursue the matter but she does nod at Ellana's perspective. Either approach has its merits, but they can discuss once they have determined more about this map.

She sips her tea and stares at it with a furrowed brow, silent as she ponders while everyone speaks. Kostos gets a reluctant nod; she'd been considering the same about the intersections, which hardly narrows things down. But mention of the lines has her glancing to the map and tilting her head. "I agree. The shapes of the lines has to be significant; what they imply could be just as important as the intersections. Everything on that map has purpose, or we must treat it so until proven otherwise."

Mention of Corypheus has that frown of thought returning, as she leans back in her chair. "He has a singular great purpose, one which has not been achieved. It must link to that, beyond a doubt."

Corypheus believes himself a magister of old Tevinter, now, Morrigan says--and the strangest look flits across Myr's face. Part fear, part he couldn't--

But of course he would; the magisters' besetting sin was pride, and pride didn't admit to failure. "He intends return to the Black City," he says, carefully, tasting the words. "Which means tearing the Veil open wider than it's already been--and that requires a colossal amount of blood--"

He stops in the middle of that thought, head tipped a little to one side. "They're wider in the middle of the lines and narrow at the ends?" To confirm.

"Perhaps a little like a map of a train system," he muttered softly to himself, finally looking up from whatever long contemplation he'd been having.

"Morrigan," he said, his voice no longer a whisper, "may I ask - when one passes through an eluvian. Do they simply come out the other? or is there more to it?"

"They are thick in the middle and tapered at the ends. If that is Corypheus' purpose, and we have reason to believe he has a use for this map, that does lend credibility to the hypothesis that they are places where the Veil is especially thin. Somewhere where he can tear through to the other side." Pel considers for a moment, then looks back at the list.

Eluvians
Elven Ruins
Ley Lines
Weakened Veil
Other old, cursed as fuck civilizations

"Don't they look like tears in the map?" she muses. "Isn't that exactly how you would portray a giant tear in the Veil, if you could? Although they don't look anything like the Breach. But they don't look all that much like each other, either."

"Hey, uh, so this is probably a stupid question, but that's what I'm here for. Shouldn't we also consider who made this? Like, okay, it was in some creepy elf ruins, right? But to just say 'elves made it' doesn't help...super a lot? I mean, they help us think maybe it's to do with these transporter doors."

Listen, if he ever goes through an eluvian and comes out covered in black stuff on the other side, he's quitting Thedas forever.

"But I mean like societies make different things for different reasons. One group of elves isn't gonna have the same ideas and ideals as another. For all we know, this could just be like...a big map of trade roads. I know it's not, but I'm just saying. What do we really know about the people that might have made this, and how does that influence the possibilities of what it could mean?"

In response to the Medicine Seller (what is a train?) she shakes her head slightly. He'd put the puzzle of the eluvians together far faster than any other from them talking together previously but there's still more to discuss. "A door requires a key. So does an eluvian, if you have the key then yes you will proceed as you will but if not, if you choose blindly, there is every chance to become trapped. So many are sealed. Gone dark."

Church if you go through an eluvian and come out covered in black stuff you might have to talk very nicely to your local Grey Wardens but that's still not a guarantee about not leaving Thedas forever.

"As for the maker, the ancient elves have a-- poetic vagueness to anything written that makes it near impossible to interpret meaning. I have studied long years through ruins but never have I come across something such as this. Whereas elves after the fall of Arlathan then the Dales have tales that overlap then change in the telling." The look of irritation on her face isn't directed towards the question, more an older thing, remembering long days and nights poring over the same phrases to find a meaning lost to time. "If there were those who did recall the eluvians perhaps they attempted to repair one. 'Tis no small task, let me assure you, and to attempt to find the way back..."

Had they tried to find the Crossroads? Somewhere else? Had their doorway been sealed shut behind them?

This is all out of her league, not that she's about to admit as much. Melys slouches in stubborn place, tries to play catchup —

"D’you get stuck in the Fade? Or in," Her face screws up, "Void?"

She finally offers, for lack of better word. It falls a little flat. Who understands elves today? Let alone dead ones. Church's point seems half-reasonable:

"What purpose is there t’opening the Veil if you ain’t Corypheus?" Why would they care about weak spots? Maker, all this magic nonsense. They'd be welcome to keep it for themselves, if it didn't go messing up life for the rest. "An' if we're worried on him using them, why not just. Seal the ones what still work?"

Edited 2017-11-20 00:30 (UTC)

Rifts and the Veil/Elven Artifacts Meeting

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