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.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TDM FEATURES SNOW.

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, currently covered in snow and ice; 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, currently very cold. 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. In the snow!

II. KIRKWALL: A quick row across the near-freezing harbor will take you to Kirkwall proper. The city is built into the cliffs, from exclusive and wealthy snow-dusted Hightown at the top to impoverished Darktown in the abandoned mining tunnels below, where discarded waste is presently frozen into slushy brown ice. In the middle is Lowtown, home to taverns, merchants, and plenty of trouble to keep anyone looking for it happy. And a lot of snow. You’re welcome to spend your free time and your money here—but try not to annoy the locals too much, please, in case the Inquisition's welcome runs out. It’d be a shame to have to pack up and leave in all this snow.

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 Denerim, in the snow, pouring demons into the snowy 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 snow-covered road, or to gather samples out of the snow and take notes on the rift’s location once its closed, or to speak to prominent locals (in the snow) 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. And snow.

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.

There is no snow on the crystal, unfortunately.

V. WILDCARD: The whole of Thedas is yours to explore, from coast to uncharted wilderness filled with bears, and did we mention that there is snow? Anyway: choose your own adventure!

Comments

Ignis Scientia | Final Fantasy XV | Rifter (spoilers for FFXV but not Episode Ignis)

[extraverse]

I. THE GALLOWS

Growing used to new surroundings was complicated enough during the best of times, doing so without one's sight made it even more so. Ignis, though, seemed to be coping well. He needed a walking stick to help when he was outside of familiar settings, but it was rare that he complained. He had memorized the layout of his room, the main halls of the Gallows, the offices he frequented, but out in the Gallows courtyard and beyond there were gaps in his mental map of the area. His goal today was to use his limited collection of downtime to memorize the courtyard completely.

Not that he seemed to mind the idea too much. Leaving the main part of the Gallows fortress meant he could feel sunshine on his face and breathe in fresh air.

Both were things in short supply back home.

"Excuse me?" he asked the nearest person he could sense walking near him. He wasn't sure who they were just yet without them speaking - the only person whose footsteps he could recognize easily was Prompto - but the movement of someone near had caught his attention. "Do you mind if I bother you with some questions?"

II. KIRKWALL - THE HANGED MAN

Why was he here again?

The smell was a tad overwhelming. The desire to clean the table itched at his fingertips. There was a wall of almost oppressive noise around him. The ale was barely digestible.

Honestly, he should have felt miserable, or at least discomforted, but instead he found himself catching bits of merriment here and there and felt an odd sense of homesickness.

No, that wasn't it exactly. He felt sick for a home that no longer existed, for a time that had already passed.

It was that longing and bittersweet ache that kept him seated, though he seemed more reserved than most anyone else around him. He should at least try to be engaging, but for the moment he was at a loss of what to say.

And then someone, a barmaid he realized, bumped into him and spilled a bit of drink on him. She apologized right away, mortified even more as she realized he was blind.

"No trouble," he reassured her as he took out a cloth to clean off some of the alcohol that was now all over the arm of his shirt. "It's not the first time I've found myself in a sticky situation. Cleaning up is ale in a days work." His delivery had been solid, and it was rewarded with a gentle chuckle from her and a pat on his back.

"You let me know if you need anything," she promised, before leaving him back to his own devices.

At least Thedas still had puns.

II

[crowncitizen]

Despite Ignis having something spilled on him, Prompto couldn't help but snort at the puns. Ahhhh, nothing better than a double header. As the barmaid walked away, Prompto said, "You handled that with class, Iggy, bar none." Okay, that one's reaching a little bit, but he didn't have much time to come up with it.

"So, how you been settling in?" Prompto's been trying to help as much as he can, but he doesn't want to constantly hover, either.

[extraverse]

Reaching or not, Ignis seems to appreciates Prompto's efforts. At least there is a bit of a smile on his lips after Prompto speaks up.

"As well as can be expected, I would think," Ignis replied after a bit of consideration. The entire idea of Thedas and Rifts was like something out of a book. Then, they had experienced a lot of oddities as of late.

"More importantly, I'm impressed at how well you've settled in, Prompto. I've been here long enough to tell how many here think highly of you. It is a rare man who could so easily fit in while adjusting to a new world."

[crowncitizen]

Pleased to see Iggy smile, even if only a bit, Prompto smiles in return. He leans back in his seat, relaxing and taking a sip from his drink. It's almost funny how used he's gotten to the taverns here.

"Yeah, I know it's a lot when you first get here. Ton of stuff thrown at you and it's like... like someone made you close your eyes, spun you around a bunch, then you opened them and you're dizzy and then you get shoved into the middle of a crowd of strangers and told 'Good luck!'" That's not even getting into the bit with the shards. Ugh.

That's... oh wow, that's real praise. And not meant sarcastically, either. "Aww, Iggy, you're gonna make me blush!" Gosh!! "But I guess I'm not doing too shabby, considering I'm a rifter who's known for having the weird box." His camera's raised a few eyebrows while he's been here.

[extraverse]

"Which brings me to a less blush-worthy question: How much power does your camera have?" Ignis asked then, after a moment. He wasn't sure what Prompto could do once the batteries ran out, and how many spare ones he had packed on him when he was pulled through a Rift.

[crowncitizen]

Right, he hadn't told Ignis about that yet. "Well... funny that you ask. I didn't come with my camera. Somehow I got left with one of those old fashioned ones. Black and white film, big as a box kind of camera. But! No electricity needed!" Which makes it actually useful, though- "But there's only so much film and chemicals I came with. Once those run out, I'm SOL."

[extraverse]

"Perhaps there's a way we could procure more? Some native concoction that could be used as a substitute?" The types of chemicals and materials needed for that aren't exactly his expertise, but there were only so many elements that could be needed, right? And while Thedas was unusual it wasn't utterly unlike Eos. It still had the same basic building blocks of life.

[crowncitizen]

"That's kinda what I hope might happen, but I'm no chemist." He barely knows what the chemicals he uses are called, let alone how he can substitute them. "And it's not like anyone here would know either. Photography's not a thing here."

[extraverse]

Ignis feels a little guilty now that he hadn't taken more interest in old fashioned photography. Back on Eos, Prompto had had a digital camera so he hadn't needed the chemicals so much as a way to charge his battery and all of his fancy accessories. He had also been remarkably self-sufficient about it - probably, Ignis realized, in an effort to not burden any of the others with his personal hobby.

"Perhaps another Rifter might know more? We could ask on the crystals, see if any of them have an idea of the chemical makeup we would need and then it would be a matter of finding like properties in natural chemicals here. Or we could attempt to analyze the chemicals you have now."

[crowncitizen]

Ignis... yeah, he's got it in one. Photography is Prompto's thing, and the others had enough to worry about than his little hobby, so he'd never talk much about how he did everything. Just showed them the pictures and let them help pick out which ones to keep. Admittedly, Prompto's knowledge about older modes of photography isn't great. He wishes he paid more attention in high school about it.

"Not too many rifters here, unfortunately. We could try the crystals, but teeeen to one we'd just get a whole bunch of Thedosians asking us what the heck we're talking about." Kirk lived on a spaceship and Church... doesn't strike him as the type to know much about chemistry. "Probably be better off trying to figure it out ourselves. I remember a few things from school about it, but not much."

[extraverse]

Ignis tilted his head in acknowledgement of Prompto's point and then listened to what Prompto was saying. He could remember a few things. That was a start.

"Tell me what you remember. Perhaps we can build on that."

[crowncitizen]

"Well, there's the developer and then the fixer. Then there's the washing process at the end. Also the stop bath if needed." He shuts his eyes, trying to remember. They hadn't really discussed in depth just what all was IN the stuff, just what it did. "I think there's some kind of sulfur in the developer. And alkaline? And stuff that does something with stopping oxidation." Where he pulled that from, even he doesn't know. "There's salt in the fixer. It's meant to get rid of silver on the image, I know that much. And the washing is just water for the most part, but it takes forever without cleaning agents." He's had to rig a set up in his dark room to have water running from a bucket he rigged. It's not pretty, but it works.

[extraverse]

Ignis listens to what Prompto says and makes mental notes. Things like sulfur and salt should be easy enough to track down, depending on how importing works in Thedas.

This task is basically going to end with them having to completely invent photography in this world, but they've done even more impossible things.

"Do the containers you have now have any sort of labels on them?"

[crowncitizen]

More or less. He knows there are other chemicals in the process. They're just long, difficult to pronounce ones that he doesn't know for the life of him. What he wouldn't give for a rift to pop out a chemistry book about photography or something.

"No. Just plain containers. It was the look and smell of the stuff that tipped me off to what each one was." And luck played a part as well, honestly. "There are older types of photography that we could fall back on. Simpler stuff to use for processing the film. Buuuuut that would mean figuring out and building a camera, and a lot of experimenting." Which he's not sure he's smart enough for, frankly.

[extraverse]

"What of the film?" he asked after a moment - because this wasn't just the camera and chemicals. They needed the items the pictures would be printed on. "How much of that do you have left?

I

[dashing]

Unfortunately for the stranger, the very closest person to him is a woman who would appear about as friendly as a cliff in a winter storm. Fortunately, she's not as severe as she appears. Generally speaking. At least, she likes rifters, even if a lot of people don't seem to like her.

... Okay, she can come across like a jerk, but not a total jerk. That's... something?

"You're welcome to ask me anything," she replies, though there is a kind of flat calm to her voice that can, at times, come across as cold. The weather currently might not help, or the black robes, or the staff at her back made of gnarled, twisted wood. "Whether I am qualified to advise is another matter entire."

[extraverse]

He really wasn't one to judge by appearances anymore, considering, though he could pick up tone of voice rather well.

When she offered to answer, though, he tried not to waste any of her time. "The gate that leads to the dock... It's in this direction?" He gestures about in the right direction, trying to use a simple unmistakable landmark to orient himself.

[dashing]

— Ah.

Herian hesitates a moment, and considers the cane, the questions, the gesture towards the gate. Foolish, she chides herself. When she speaks again, her tone is—

not warm, but a little less stiff, at least.

"Aye, that it is." She almost reaches for his arm to adjust the angle he's pointing at a little, before stopping short. "With your permission, I can show you more precisely. If there's some place you are seeking out, I can gladly accompany you thence."

[extraverse]

He's grateful that she's asking first. He still bristles a bit at being touched without asking first, unless it was someone he was used to and trusted.

"I admit I'm not going anywhere specific at the moment. What I need is to better memorize the layout of the area. I'm afraid that might be dull work for someone else, but if you are willing to walk with me a bit to keep me oriented I wouldn't mind the company."

If she had something to do, he wouldn't burden her but he had learned not to turn down the offer for help.

[dashing]

“I’m bound to no particular duty, and would be glad to join you.” If she were on guard patrol she might hesitate based solely on the desire to dedicate her full attention to her orders, and the equal desire not to neglect someone deserving of care. “Though I must confess there are those that would pity you the company.”

She is not unaware of her reputation as cold and difficult; she is controlled, not oblivious. Still, the words have trace amounts of humour in them. Very, very trace.

“Would you prefer to walk as you are, or take my arm?”

[extraverse]

"Well," he starts, with a causal, comforting sort of tone to his voice. "I've never been one overly invested in allowing others to form my opinions for me." It's a gentle way of saying that even if he has heard anything of her reputation, he doesn't plan on letting that color the way they interact.

Though, he isn't exactly sure who she is just yet.

"Ah, your arm would be lovely." He tries not to show any signs of how much relying on others can bother him at times, in this moment he's not too prideful to accept the help. He's in a foreign world so he should take the help where he can.

He is careful to hold his arm out rather than reach for hers though, letting her make the final decisions for physical contact.

"My name is Ignis. It's a pleasure to make your aquiantence."

[dashing]

And there she goes, taking the offered arm. It's strange, she's really not much of a casual contact of any means sort of person, but its okay. This is to help someone, she can live with it.

"Well met. I am Herian Amsel, a Knight Enchanter to the Inquisition." Of the White Spire, she means to say, but the White Spire is no more, and her service has been long bound to the Inquisition. The change is uncomfortable, does not sit well with her, but it is perhaps the less confusing thing to say.

"Have you been in Kirkwall long, Ignis? It can be an unforgiving city, but I've found a good many here to be more than kind."

[extraverse]

He is aware by now that 'Knight Enchanter' means mage and that mages are feared by the populace of Kirkwall, but as he has very little experience with that fear he doesn't react to the title. In fact, he relaxes a bit at how easily she aligns herself with the Inquisition. The members and leadership of that organization have made him feel welcome since he arrived, as much as they can anyway, and they had taken care of Prompto while he was here alone. He does have a positive opinion of those who consider themselves a part of it at least.

"I arrived with the newest batch of 'Rifters' - or so I'm told we're to be called." He offers her a cautious little smile. He is also aware that people have mixed feelings about those who arrived through the Rifts. "A strange thing, to be dreaming one moment and to find yourself in an entirely unknown world the next. Usually one has to travel some distance to experience such a foreign affair."