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Fade Rift Mods ([personal profile] faderifting) wrote in [community profile] allthisshitisweird2020-04-24 01:58 pm
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TEST DRIVE!

TEST DRIVE MEME

While in some alternate, tidier timeline, the War against the Elder One ended years ago, you're not in that timeline. It's 9:45, and there's a war raging in northern Orlais, where the Chantry, aided by the Inquisition, marshalling Orlais and the faithful of Southern Thedas into a new Exalted March against the army of demon-bound Wardens, Red Templars, Venatori loyalists, and darkspawn Corypheus has amassed over the last four years. Rifts are still scattered across the continent, periodically spitting out strangers from strange worlds with green-glowing anchors embedded in their hands. There's no Herald of Andraste to save Thedas. Someone else is going to have to do it.

You're part of (or allied with, recently hired by, imprisoned by, etc.) a new organization that's an offshoot of the Inquisition, dubbed Riftwatch, that consists mainly of the otherworldly new arrivals, rebels and Wardens, and other people who want to prevent the apocalypse without necessarily marching under the Chantry's banner to do it. Their headquarters is an island fortress called the Gallows—formerly a Circle of Magi, more formerly a prison for slaves, but its new occupants have done a good job removing the more grotesque reminders of that past and making the place livable.

Maybe you're here because you want to help. Maybe you need the money (though there isn't much of it). Maybe you acquired an anchor and sticking around is the only way to prevent your hand from falling off. Maybe you've been sent by the Chantry or some other entity to keep an eye on everyone—they're rumored to be a lot of weirdos and troublemakers. Or maybe you're a new rifter and just going where the nice people with swords tell you that you need to go.


I. THE CROSSROADS: This month, Riftwatch members are spending most of their free time in the Crossroads, a pocket of magic-infused reality that connects a network of magic-mirror portals, called Eluvians, that are scattered across Thedas. The roads between them have mostly crumbled, but sometimes the magic can be manipulated or a series of interconnected eluvians can allow reaching one of the ruined buildings or bridges that now hang like floating islands in the distance. The portion being explored now is also densely populated by spirits trying to fulfill some ancient purpose—which apparently largely entails annoying or embarrassing everyone they come across.

II. THE WESTERN FRONT: Riftwatch is no longer part of the Inquisition or directly engaged in the war that it, the Chantry's faithful Exalted Marchers, and Orlais are fighting against an invading Tevinter and Ander force in northern Orlais. But frequently enough, Riftwatch's business—delivering helpful intelligence, spending quality time with prisoners of war that might have information, assisting soldiers with a rift they've found too close to their camps, or passing through on the way somewhere else—requires spending time in camps. After a year, with the weather turning cold and a dragon occasionally hurtling overhead to breathe a few bursts of chaos onto the army in its sleep, morale is middling at best. But there's space around the campfires if you need it.

III. KIRKWALL: Even when enormous evil darkspawn are trying to take over the known world and you and your colleagues might be the only ones who can truly stop him, you can't work all the time. And when you aren't working, Kirkwall is there for you with its dingy Lowtown taverns, its flashy Hightown establishments, its market stalls and street musicians and cellars hosting gamblers. Or maybe you can work all the time, and you're in the city to do some official shopping, try to spy on a suspicious character, or show a potential financial backer a good time.

IV. SEND A MESSAGE: Each member of Riftwatch (or rifter, or ally) is assigned a blue crystal, small enough to wear around the neck, that can transmit voice messages, as well as an enchanted book tied to that crystal that can be used to exchange written messages. They're secure enough to discuss the war, if you'd like to get down to business, but loosely controlled enough to ask a question or play a game with only a few rolled eyes from people who hate fun.

V. BANTER: Sometimes the walk is long, the herb-cutting is dull, or the watchtower is quiet, and there's nothing to do but talk to the person next to you. So say something.

VI. WILDCARD: From the Gallows' library to the pirate islands off the coast, from Hightown's high-priced market stalls to the bloody frontlines of the war, Thedas is yours to explore.

venenifer: (Default)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-12 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, if you like.

[He takes another pensive spoonful, wearing much the same expression as before while the gelatin rests in his mouth.]
kantikoy: (the sun is out)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-13 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's almost like the setup of a very bad joke. What is cold, and doesn't need to be chewed, but is not a drink? ]

Well. I suppose first I should ask: are you writing a book?
venenifer: (lol)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-13 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Her question actually elicits a small chuckle.]

No. I admit I take an interest in walks of life unfamiliar to me.
kantikoy: (do you want to know)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-13 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
Well. What do you know about the Wardens? That'll give me an idea of where to start.
venenifer: (oh i bet)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-13 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Their whole purpose is to stop Blights.

[He takes another spoonful with a grimace, as if continuing to consume the dessert isn't entirely his choice.]

I'm from Redcliffe. I remember how the Wardens came through and stopped the nightly attacks.
kantikoy: (lose my mind)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-14 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ She admires his commitment to eating the stuff; Adrasteia will just watch, thanks. ]

Yes, that's true. But I meant about how one becomes a Warden.

[ There's always the chance that he knows exactly nothing but there's also the rumors, stories, and pure fictions told about any group, even amongst children. ]

Oh, Redcliffe. [ A place she's not visited but knows some history of anyway. She laces her fingers together and tucks her now folded hands beneath her chin. ] I can't imagine that was easy. How old were you then?
venenifer: (Default)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-14 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
In my early twenties.

[It was ten or so years ago, recent enough that it can be clearly remembered.]

Of how Wardens become what they are, I know very little. I've heard rumors of blood magic, but perhaps that was given rise by the situation at Adamant Fortress.
kantikoy: (do you want to know)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-15 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ Nodding. She was fourteen and remembers the Blight very well. One of those life-shaping events that get burned into the memory. ]

Well. The Joining is one thing, really, but I didn't mean that specifically. It's just... [ She opens one of her hands, gesturing with it in the space between them. ] Anyone can become a Warden. From any background, any past, any walk of life.

But! We were talking about me. The day I joined the Grey Wardens my husband had just been killed by a Hurlock.
venenifer: (bitch pls)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-17 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
My condolences.

[Does he mean that? Impossible to tell.]

I've heard of such things happening. Were you Tainted?
kantikoy: (That glowed in the dark)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-17 07:03 am (UTC)(link)
Mm. [ She gives a little shrug. ] Probably. I didn't wait to find out. [ Not the entire truth, but he's so hard to read. ] I didn't see myself as having many options.
venenifer: (wat)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-18 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
Hedged your bets.

[There's no judgment in the statement, at least none immediately audible.]

And it's worked out for you?
kantikoy: (You're like my yo-yo)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-18 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
It's what has to be done to survive, sometimes.

[ She weighs her hands in front of her like a set of scales. ]

I'm still alive.
venenifer: (sympathetic)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-18 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
So you are.

[He almost digs the spoon into the gelatin again, but purses his lips and thinks better of it, setting it down.]

Do you believe that you'll succeed? That Wardens will kill all the Old Gods?
kantikoy: (but just saying it)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-18 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ Adrasteia raises a single eyebrow, surprised by the question but immediately feeling as though she shouldn't be. ]

Not particularly, no.
venenifer: (wtf)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-18 07:51 am (UTC)(link)
Huh.

[Is he impressed by her answer? He wasn't expecting it, that much is clear.]

Then what you keeps you fulfilling your oath? Why not... [he waves one hand vaguely,] live the rest of your truncated life in a way that pleases you?

[There is curiosity, rather than judgment, in the question. What would anyone do, if bound to such a force?]
Edited 2021-01-18 07:53 (UTC)
kantikoy: (searching underground)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-18 09:21 am (UTC)(link)
Should I be blessed to live long enough, someone may one day ask me what I'd done. How I'd tried to do the right thing. If I tried to stop them from doing the wrong one. Or did I just keep my head down and live the rest of my life as I wanted?

[ She opens one hand and then tucks them both beneath her chin again. ]

I don't think I could live with myself for long if I walked away without trying.
Edited 2021-01-18 09:21 (UTC)
venenifer: (wat)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-19 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
What's the 'right thing', in this context?

[He tilts his head curiously.]
kantikoy: (I have faced my fears)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-19 07:15 am (UTC)(link)
I wish I knew for certain.

[ She gives a little shrug; it's not like she can see the future. ]

But I don't think that it means using blood magic and possibly wiping out all the Wardens in one go, either.
venenifer: (focus)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-19 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Gideon chuckles lightly, lowering his eyes to the table, concealing whatever thought process might be going on behind his eyes.]

That's fair.

[Falling silent for a moment, he purses his lips, considering.]

...thank you for your candor.
kantikoy: (a new state of mind)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-20 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ She smiles, soft yet bright. ]

You're welcome. I'm afraid that I don't have many reasons not to share it, though my compatriots vary from me in many ways.

What's brought you to the Riftwatch?
venenifer: (Default)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-20 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
I can imagine. Most groups of people do.

[His gaze lifts to meet hers again.]

I'm a medic. I was told Riftwatch was always in need of more.
kantikoy: (the animals the animals)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-20 07:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ She nods. ]

That's true enough, I'd expect.

[ But it's not really an answer. ]
venenifer: (sulk)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-20 07:56 am (UTC)(link)
[It seems it's all she's getting, at least for the moment.]

Well. Thank you for your time.

[He presses his hands on the table to hoist himself to his feet, glancing at the shared abomination between them.]

And for. ...that.
kantikoy: (it doesn't hurt me)

[personal profile] kantikoy 2021-01-20 08:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ Adrasteia also stands, reaching out to take one of Gideon's hands in both of her own, if he allows it. If not, she'll let them fall to her side. ]

Of course. [ Why not share food abominations with others if you can? ] If you ever need a mage for anything, or, Maker forbid, a Warden... you'll let me know?
venenifer: (sympathetic)

[personal profile] venenifer 2021-01-20 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[That'll be the day.

But he smirks, at least until the Warden takes his hand; and then instead Gideon looks profoundly uncomfortable, nonetheless allowing it until Adrasteia has withdrawn her grip, at which point his hand retreats back into his robe.]

Um. Yes.

[sure]

(no subject)

[personal profile] kantikoy - 2021-01-22 00:24 (UTC) - Expand