faderift | PRIDE BEFORE A FALL

Entry tags:

PRIDE BEFORE A FALL | Closed.

WHO: Lakshmi + Coupe, Kitty, Gwenaelle, Helena, Iorveth, Marcoulf, Merrill, Solas.
WHAT: Fade cannonball
WHEN: You can't make me date you
WHERE: The Free Marches
NOTES: OOC Post, Discussion plurk.

This is routine.

A rift, high above the ruins of the Hammer’s Edge Bridge. It cuts into the sky, green and pulsing as a wound to spit out spirits like misery. This is routine — but the position is precarious, so near to a cliff ledge. Watch your footing, a fall promises only sharp rocks and water below.

The task is straightforward: Close the tear, or provide a diversion for the Rifters doing so. Keep yourself alive, and keep your hand to the task, no matter how it aches. When respite comes, it’s a matter of seconds: The Rift stabilizes, and,

And Lakshmi breaks from the group. Moving fast (too considered for the pace, every demon dodged, never a misstep on the odd root or rock) as she sprints for the edge. Maybe you tried to grab her, stop her, stop someone else from grabbing her.

She launches herself legs out, flatly determined in her aim —

Maybe it’s only that like it or not, she’s going through that rift. Maybe it’s that there’s no good reason not to join her. Maybe it’s that everyone else is jumping too.

Routine, right?

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"I never thought I would find myself here physically."

Solas' reaction is not quite as intense as he thinks the rest of the party's might end up being. What crosses his face is not necessarily that of uncertainty but of a level kind of delight as he steps around, drinking it in. He barely notices what is happening to the others, the Black City in the distance, the flickering images of one another not enough to distract him from the awe and wonder of being here, present, physically.

The nostalgia tugs at him and, for a moment, Solas simply breathes.

"Perhaps not the area I would have chosen, but to be here, physically..." A shake of his head. "I wonder what commands this place. I have seen nothing like it before now."

Is he talking to someone? No, it seems as though he is, more than anything, talking to himself.

"What is this place?" Merrill asks, peering over the edge of the roof as well as she can without getting close enough to topple off. "Not the Fade, I know that part, just- is this a reflection of somewhere?"

It certainly didn't look like a bridge, or even the ruins of a bridge. Then again, perhaps that was because she was on top of it.

Galadriel was going to be rather cross with them.

"I am not sure," he admits, frown settling on his face. It seems as though he is finally recognising the problem of being in the Fade itself rather than being wrapped up and caught up in the joy and wonder of stepping here himself. It has been long enough that he is not sure how to accept it, how he should feel being placed so close to something he knows but cannot know at the same time.

His frown deepens.

"Something that I had not thought to see. I wish that I knew exactly where..."

"If everything would stop changing, that would help," Merrill huffs, but she also knows that it's not likely to happen. This is the Fade, after all. That's what it does. So she sighs, stepping away from the roof to stand near Solas, crossing her arms.

"Galadriel's going to scold us," she points out, even as she shifts up onto her toes to try and look around. "I don't suppose you see anything familiar...?"

Of course, the landscape is changing; everything could be familiar and not, all at once. It was terribly frustrating.

"It is discomforting to some, I am sure," Solas nods in agreement. This is familiar territory for him, at least for now, and he steps forward, looking around and drinking in all that the Fade has to offer. He wants to embrace it all, to study it, to know it, but he's more than aware that this is likely not the time.

No matter how distracted he might be by it.

"Galadriel will understand, I think, that we had no control of this." Finally, he looks at Merrill properly. "But I see nothing I know. I think we might have to explore to find an exit."

"Yes, but I think she'll also be worried when we don't come back in a timely fashion." They had worried about her at the Abbey, after all - and this time, it's both of them. Still, they can't do anything about it now other than, as Solas said, explore.

She nods, frowning slightly, and settles back down onto her heels. "I think you're right. I hope there's a door off this roof somewhere." Fade or not, broken bones are very real, and Merrill is not jumping off the roof.

At the very least, she won't be the first one to jump off.

"I believe that she will understand that we were not at fault," he says gently. Solas wants to believe it, at least, unless Galadriel responds to his disappearance the way he had done to hers. This was not a mission she had ventured on, however, so it might be different - she might not even know they are gone until they've made their return.

He doubts it would be so simply. He imagines, somehow, she would know.

Looking around, Solas drinks in the place, trying to resist the urge to smile, to show just how enthused he is by the nature of being physically within the Fade itself.

"There must be a way. Much is possible in the Fade."

"She will," Merrill agrees, though she wrings her hands together - letting her staff, for the moment, rest against her shoulder. Galadriel understanding, however, does not mean that Galadriel won't be upset. Maybe not at them, but in general; at the circumstance.

Still, Solas is right. She lets her hands fall, one returning automatically to her staff.

"It's not the first time people have ended up in the Fade physically. I think we may just have to find an exit back." Easier said than done, but possible. There are paths, and other places that it's possible to traverse. "Which way should we start?"

Perhaps she will not fault them, but Solas understands Merrill's worry. Galadriel has seen and learned enough of this place, of Thedas, to know the dangers of it - she had experienced it herself. He doesn't see any reason to imagine why she would ignore it simply because Solas has somewhat more experience of it. No, this is still a danger, even for someone as wise as he has been forced to become.

Shaking his head, he begins to look around, thoughtful, curious.

"With the number of Rifts that have begun to emerge it would not necessarily be too much to assume there is one," he nods. He had been the one tracking the Rifts for the Inquisition; surely there will be an exit. "Any way you like."

"And then hopefully we're not in- goodness, I don't know. Par Vollen."

Please do not let them come out of a Rift in the middle of a Qunari camp. That would be potentially worse.

Still, Merrill turns and gestures toward a tower of the structure they're on. "What goes up must come down?" Not in the Fade, no, but- maybe if she believes it hard enough, it'll happen.

"I would hope that we find a Rift a little closer than that."

It's said with a hint of a smile; at least he has some kind of optimism about this. He feels comfortable in the Fade, but...

Turning his head, he looks over at the tower before he nods, once. "It is no worse place to start than anywhere else. After you."

Kitty normally makes a policy of avoiding people who mumble to themselves, being as they'll usually get you in some sort of dreadful trouble in one way or another, but - well, what worse trouble is there, really? Beyond being stuck in an otherworldly realm? And honestly, he seems...Well, he seems so strangely happy about the whole thing that she can't help but be curious about it. So -

"What's that mean?" Kitty asks. Then says, "Sorry - " because it's rather rude to eavesdrop on someone even when they're just talking to themselves. "'What commands this place.' What's that mean?"

There's no denying that Solas holds a rather heavy handed affection for the Fade and it's clear as he looks around that he's somewhat enchanted. He has walked this place in dreams many, many times, but to be here himself, to, perhaps, be witness to memories and dreams and stories, to speak with spirits and more in person - it is a remarkable thing.

He's pulled from his thoughts as he turns his head, pausing for a moment before he manages something of a smile. He has always had a fondness for those who ask questions.

"Some domains in the Fade are shaped or guided by spirits. This may be one."

"Oh." She looks around, then, trying to discern some unity of vision in this place, like it was made by a single consciousness. She supposes she can sort of see it, as long as the vision the spirit was going for was crumbly and depressing.

"So then - would it help us if we found that spirit? Could we negotiate with it, somehow, to bring us home? When we want to go home, that is." She adds that somewhat belatedly, because it looks like he doesn't have much hunger to return any time soon.

It is entirely possible, Solas thinks, and he looks around. The Fade is often like this, from what he knows; unshaped it appears barren, lost, unsure, waiting for something to bring it together, to tie it to a thought or a memory. If there is a spirit here then, perhaps, it is not strong or unconcerned. Either way...

"They might, if they decide to." Solas tilts his head, trying to resist the urge to smile. His enthusiasm is not so well hidden, he imagines. "Most spirits are kind by nature, but if we find that this is ruled by a demon rather than a spirit then it may be more difficult."

"But a demon could be reasoned with too, couldn't it?" Or - no. She'd been told early on that expressing interest in demons was the sort of thing that could get her in trouble; even if she is curious (and she is), that's something to keep to herself.

So she shakes her head and corrects herself - "Or maybe not. But it's worth seeking them out, at least. Whoever it is. D'you know how to find them?"

Solas, at least, does not look particularly put off nor offended by her comment; only thoughtful and considering.

"Demons are more dangerous and difficult. They seek to fulfil their purpose and their desires and would strike bargains to which they would never keep their end. A spirit can be kind, but a demon is often only deadly." There are other kinds of demons, of course, and he has not met nor experienced them all, but...

"I think we will find one, if we walk enough. The Fade is not quiet and there will be a number of spirits and demons both that might be attracted to a group as large as ours."

"And Merrill said that strong emotions attract demons, right? Which - "

Kitty casts a dry look over at the others. Two of them in particular. Well, and then also one other - no, make that two others...Basically, everyone in this group is incredibly messy and it'll be a miracle if they don't bring all of demonkind down on their heads.

But - she's encouraged by that matter-of-factness. No look of horror, no hushing her or telling her not to ask dangerous questions. So: "Where'd you learn about spirits and all that, then? Seems like a lot of the books I read don't really wanna talk about 'em."

"That can be the case, yes. They're certainly attracted to reflections of their own nature."

Lust to lust, Pride to pride and so on. It's natural, he thinks; it's something that most people who have been in Thedas for a little while are quick to pick up on. The nature of spirits and demons is something that haunts the residents of this world, no matter what Solas' personal affection for them might be.

Solas, at least, is a scholar. He knows that people from the Rifts are bound to be curious and he has no reason to deny them.

"I am something called a Dreamer. I venture into the Fade during my dreams and I have spoken with many spirits over time. One of them was a dear friend of mine."

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PRIDE BEFORE A FALL | Closed.

solas | ota

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