TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Maybe you’ve been around for a while, or maybe you’re new to the Inquisition. Maybe you’re new to Thedas, having recently fallen from a tear in reality and been collected by uniformed rescuers. Whoever you are, you’ve been sent to Kirkwall, to an outpost where many of the Inquisition’s members and allies work on some of the biggest mysteries and problems the organization must solve if it’d like to keep the world from ending, where “ending” means “falling under the power of an ancient powerful corrupted being who wants everyone to bow to him as a god.”

And just to be clear, it would like that. It would like that a lot.

I. THE GALLOWS: The Gallows is an island fortress in Kirkwall’s harbor. It’s been home to, in order: Tevinter slaves, a Circle of Magi, a lot of creepy red lyrium, and now the Inquisition, which has occupied the fortress with the provisional Viscount’s blessing. There are walls that still need rebuilding and corners that still need dusting, but for the most part the Inquisition has gotten down to business. There’s space in the stone-floored courtyards to train or spar; or, if your skills don’t lie in the realm of hitting things, there’s a large library and several offices supporting the Inquisition’s areas of research and diplomatic efforts. If you don’t know what to do with yourself, then by all means, ask; someone will definitely be able to put you to work.

II. KIRKWALL: A quick row across the harbor will take you to Kirkwall proper. The city is built into the cliffs, from exclusive and wealthy Hightown at the top to impoverished Darktown in the abandoned mining tunnels below. In the middle is Lowtown, home to taverns, merchants, and plenty of trouble to keep anyone looking for it happy. You’re welcome to spend your free time and your money here—but try not to annoy the locals too much, please, in case their welcome runs out. It’d be a shame to have to pack again so soon after arriving.

III. QUESTING: Barely had time to make yourself at home, did you, before you were sent away from Kirkwall again—but this time on a mission. There’s a rift outside of Markham, pouring demons into the fields, and the Inquisition has been asked to lend a hand. Maybe literally. If you have an anchor embedded in your palm, you’re needed to close the damn thing. If not, maybe you’re here to fight demons or guard against bandits on the road, or to gather samples and take notes on the rift’s location once its closed, or to speak to Markham’s nobility afterwards to make sure that they fully appreciate the Inquisition’s efforts. Regardless, it’s a long trip, so we hope you like campfire cooking and sharing a tent.

IV. SENDING CRYSTAL: Joining the Inquisition gets you access to the very latest in barely-understood magical communication devices—namely, a crystal, small enough to wear around your neck, that will allow you to communicate verbally with anyone else who has one. Or everyone else who has one. Say hello.

V. WILDCARD: The whole of Thedas is yours to explore, from coast to uncharted wilderness. Choose your own adventure!

Comments

[faithlikeaseed]

"Something like that," Myr says, encouraging despite the grim topic. "Though that's more the bit we call the Veil, that draws the line between our waking world and the Fade. Demons will do anything to cross it; there's nothing they desire more than to be in this world, after it was denied to them.

"Not just mages--everyone who dreams, dreams in the Fade. Even, I'm told, rifters--now that you're here. Though if you aren't a mage yourself, demons aren't likely to bother you," he's quick to reassure. "But those who aren't mages seem to pass their time there without much control over what happens."

[shotgunsakimbo]

There's a pause and a huff of a sigh as Reaper mulls over that information, thoughts going off in several directions. There's a half formed thought of comparing his recent dreams to ones before he showed up in Thedas.

"Mages get to be awake in the Fade, face potential possession, and this starts when you're children?"

[faithlikeaseed]

It's tempting to editorialize, to over-answer instead of simply confirming Reaper's understanding. (Perhaps because laid out, right there, is all the justification for the Circles and how terribly they can go wrong...) But Myr bridles his tongue and says, simply, "That's the shape of it, serah. Those of us who make it this far have been fending demons for a long time."

[shotgunsakimbo]

"That's a lot of pressure put on a child." And Reaper's not quite sure how he feels about it. There's the soft creak of leather as he clenches his hands, careful not to do it to the spine of a book, and then forces them to relax.

"Aside from developing enough will to temper steel, is there anything else done for mages in the Circles?"

[faithlikeaseed]

There's something rueful and sad to Myr's smile, there a second and gone again. "Like so much else we're born to, we haven't got a choice in it. Though I've long wondered why the Maker's gifts always seem to come at such a high cost.

"We're fed and clothed and given a proper education to rival most secular ones--and protected from an outside world that fears us, rightly or wrongly." He pauses to consider, weighing carefully, before continuing in a neutral tone:

"Which came at no small cost of our freedom."

Someone would bring it up, sooner or late. He might as well take on the task.