TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

I ROLL TO SEDUCE THE BEAR

Tucked between the massive Lake Calenhad and the icy Frostback Mountains in Ferelden’s chilly, hilly south, the Hinterlands are a region covered in patchy forests, small farms, and a bustling fishing village called Redcliffe. The region was recently the frontline of a war between mages and Templars, but the Inquisition’s military presence has restored order and is now focused on helping the locals and influx of refugees rebuild their lives. Whether you’re a recent recruit or a hardened veteran, a Fereldan local or someone who recently fell out of a rift from another world, you may be asked to go lend a hand.

I. FLOODS

A burst of unseasonably warm weather (in no way inspired by real life events) is initially greeted with relief, gloves discarded and scarves unwrapped—but followed within the week by severe flooding across the region. Maybe you’re sent out to help debris from a road or collect the bodies of those swept away. Or maybe you’re less lucky and instead there when the waters come, shepherding refugees to higher ground, or caught riding in the flow on a dislodged roof or log. Maybe there’s a bear on the roof with you.

II. TREASURE HUNTS

Given the lack of banks and lockboxes, when the people here have something they value, they often hide it—under the ground, in a tree, behind a waterfall. So here you are, with a sketch of some landmarks found on a body, trying to find… something. If you find it, it might be useful: weapons, runes, a stash of supplies. Or it might be someone’s box of racy letters and a request to deliver them to a now-married woman who will slap you on delivery.

III. BEARS

You have turned the wrong corner, forded the wrong stream, crested the wrong hill, entered the wrong cave. Maybe you are far from camp. Maybe you are in camp. Whatever has happened, wherever you are: you are being chased by bears. Did you provoke the bears? Are they huge? Babies? Fade-touched? Mage-controlled? What are they chasing you away from? What are they chasing you into? What do you plan to make out of their hide if you kill them? What do you think they'll craft out of your hide if they kill you?

IV. CRYSTALS

Members and trusted agents of the Inquisition are given access to one of the Inquisition's stores of ancient, mysterious sending crystals, allowing them to communicate instantaneously by voice. It's magic. And a magical excuse to ask everyone what their favorite constellation is in the middle of the night.

Or to call for help because you've been treed by bears.

Either way.

V. MISCELLANEOUS

Choose your own adventure! Hunt game, kill demons, gather herbs, track bandits, haggle over the price of armor, fall off a deceptively tall rock, get lost circling the same hill ten times trying to find a way up to the weird glowing skull on a stick you can see is up there, climb trees or abandoned towers, rummage around in empty homes, run from a dragon, cry over how cute that fennec fox you just shot was, set up camp and chat around the fire, knock yourself out (figuratively, or even literally if that's more your speed)—the Hinterlands are your Frostback Mountain oyster.

Comments

[firstminister]

Because you said you've been here before. I got the impression you see this as sort of a home.

[He didn't mean much by, it really. Talking before thinking, as can happen when playing cards.]

I admit to being more of a thinker than a fighter. But if battles can be avoided, that's for the best for everyone. Some would say I'm a mage, but there are others who have the gift better than I do. Mostly, I'm a wanderer these days.

[Which is all true, he'll just leave out that he was sent to wander.]

[lyriumcarved]

I wouldn't consider it a home, no. Just a place I've become familiar with.

[Fond of too? Maybe? He's not exactly sure. He's not even sure what he'd consider his home, these days, though he's occasionally had thoughts of heading back to Kirkwall to Danarius' former mansion. Maybe one day, he'll just cycle back.]

So you're a mage? Where did you train? [Circle, apostate, magister... whatever it may be, he's always going to be wary of mages regardless of their origins.]

[firstminister]

[And now it's time to start spinning his story.]

I was born into it. My family... tried to protect me from the Circle as much as they could. Before I was born, my father became an apostate. After I was born, my mother ran away too. They eventually found each other When I was seven, my father was captured. We don't know what happened to him. Probably made Tranquil.

[It might sound a little rehearsed, which could be because it is, or could be because he's recounting his history. It was a long time ago for him, judging by his looks. At least 40 years ago.]

When I started to manifest the abilities. Mother taught me herself.

[Which was true, given how Mages ran everything in Tevinter, the education of mages was also handled differently.]

[He draws a card and discards a Serpent.]

[timeforgotten]

Yes. How do you always manage that? Is it just a matter of experience?

[not_the_question]

More about getting the expectation wrong. When you expect the world to always be destroyed or under a similar threat, all your judgements become skewed in that direction.

[needsmust]

In a manner of speaking, yes. I take it that isn't commonly the case?

[needsmust]

I'd imagine that depends on the criteria one happens to be looking at.

[And personally he's glad to, if not have seen the last of the Free Time virus, then at least to not have to worry about it immediately.]

[needsmust]

[Leaving is definitely a good idea, and one that Brax is more than willing to do. Especially when the bear seems like it might have caught scent of them. Of all the things he's had in mind, getting chased by a bear is certainly not one of them, and he doesn't complain when Jamie grabs his sleeve.]

Lead the way!

[Jamie is, after all, the one who knows more about this place than he does, and while he's certainly more than willing to make a run for it (and able to keep up) he'd much rather not end up running into worse trouble, if he can at all help it.]

[needsmust]

[Older than the Master is definitely right. Plus or minus a few variations in the timeline, but older nonetheless. Even if he hasn't much thought about the Master of late. (For good reason, mind.)

Still, it's the comment about being a Time Lord that stirs him into action and he's just about to offer a half-sarcastic comment about how of course he is, when the Doctor gets around to the part about not recognizing him.]

You can't tell.

[It's offered in just about the flattest and least impressed deadpan, as if his identity is something that he thinks should be obvious. Enough so that he doesn't immediately offer any hints as to who he is, though he might yet if it proves to be absolutely necessary.]

[needsmust]

I presume those would be... countries?

[They're not planets, that much he's almost sure of. Not given the level of technology he's seen. But neither can he really say that most of the names mean all that much to him.]

[timeforgotten]

[ Doctor Who writers: a long-running tragedy. Adric listens dutifully to Romana's explanation. It's the best explanation he's ever gotten about regeneration, that much is for sure.

At least there's some comfort in knowing it's normal. A strange thing, honestly, equal parts comfort and disappointment. It was already fairly obvious that the Doctor he first met was long gone, but... well. Something he would have had to really get used to, he supposes. ]

Oh. Well, if that's all true, it certainly explains a few things about the Master. [ He's quick to tack on: ] Not that I'm inclined to believe he was ever stable.

[timeforgotten]

"Laws of probability, that sort of thing"?

[ One of the most nonsensical things his first Doctor ever said, and yet it seems oddly fitting for this situation. Oh, who knows. Maybe he was just a bit early. ]

[in_death_sacrifice]

It's far from common. Most people aren't accustomed to falling out of glowing rifts in the sky into other worlds. How often has this happened to you?

[not_the_question]

[The Doctor shrugs.]

A lot has happened to me... [To Gallifrey, he can't give away secrets until he knows who this is] ...in this body alone. Things get a little muddled up.

[So, no he can't tell. And even if he COULD, well he'd never believe it.]

[not_the_question]

Pretty much that. Or maybe I'm just too old for anything at this point.

[Which is also possible.]

[romana2]

[Romana sighed heavily.]

Yes. People say the Doctor burns through his regenerations too quickly. All the more for the Master. And I don't know that he was ever stable. But he and the Doctor were friends for a long time.



[OOC: There's one great line from Missy that Moffat later cut Clara is challenging Missy that she and the Doctor couldn't be friends because Missy kills people. Missy points out that the Doctor does too. "The difference is I enjoy it more. He's a farmer, I'm a hunter." Which is one of the best descriptions of those two I've ever seen and CURSES to them for removing it!]

[romana2]

Well, of course there's that. I just mean, this place needs a lot of help and I'm not sure if any Time Lords will be able to help it.

[Even the Doctor. Which is sad and depressing to think about.]

[gatheringstorm]

Yep. Orlais is an empire and Ferelden is a kingdom that in living memory was freed from Orlesian control. There's still a lot of Fereldan resentment, as you might expect. If you hear a spat about it, just stay out. It's not worth the headache.

[timeforgotten]

With that attitude, I'd almost believe it's possible. But the universe is still awfully infinite, isn't it?

If there's the possibility of having something new to learn or a planet to save, I'd hope you do me the courtesy of doing it no matter how old you've gotten.

[ He could always haunt him. More than emotionally, that is. ]

[timeforgotten]

Were they?

[ Eugh. He's kind of glad that apparently fell apart before Traken and Castrovalva and the like. There's no forgiveness once someone's crossed the "torture you in a hadron web" line in Adric's book. ]

I almost don't know why it's so surprising to hear.

(( man, that sounds like a really top-notch line to cut! ))

[lyriumcarved]

[It does sound like someone telling a story, albeit a very good one. He's given him no reason to think he's lying, of course... but nor exactly any reason to fully trust him. Especially with his suspicions of where he might be from. He can only speculate and take the information he's being given.]

An apostate, then. [He says that in a neutral sort of tone. While he disapproves of that in principle, he's met an apostate who turned out to be a very good person even as a mage, and he's met Circle mages who weren't so good so... well... that part doesn't matter so much.] You must have had a challenge, keeping yourself unnoticed by Templars. Where did you live for all that time?

[not_the_question]

Only to a point. Everything dies, eventually. One of two universal constants: everything is born and everything dies.

[Pauses in thought.]

Of course I would. I haven't changed that much.

[Sheesh, Adric, what do you take him for?]

[romana2]

Yes, they were.

[Romana chuckles softly.]

I'm not saying it was necessarily good or healthy. But they were friends.


[[ooc: One of the things I dislike most about Moffat, really. He cuts awesome stuff like that but leaves in garbage like "bitch is back"]

[firstminister]

[He doesn't acknowledge the apostate comment. Opting for answering the next question.]

All over. We were nomads after a fashion. Sometimes pitching a tent in the wilderness and sometimes finding a tiny room in a large city.

Rhys | Dragon Age: Asunder

[jonathan_chance]

[OOC: MAJOR VOICETESTING!!! ignore the handle, re-purposing an old account.]


I. Floods
You would think with everything Rhys had been through, he would be more aware of his surroundings. But, as can be the case with flash floods, he was caught completely unaware. He had decided it was finally time to come to Skyhold and offer his services to the Inquisition properly. This wasn't quite the welcome he had expected. Not that it ever was...

He heard the water crashing towards him too late and was swept away. It was all he could do to keep his head above water. There wasn't time to cast any spells. And of course, the armor he wore was weighing him down. He did what he could to call out.

"HELP! Someone! ANYONE!"



IV. Crystals
Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I am told I have you, the Inquisition, to thank for that. I am here to help, though I must apologize for the absence of Evangeline, she was needed elsewhere.

[He might sound just the slightest bit sad about that. He misses her, something he'd never thought he'd say when they had first set out on his Mother's Adventure.]