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allthisshitisweird2023-05-02 05:40 pm
faderifting) wrote in allthisshitisweird2023-05-02 05:40 pm
Entry tags:
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 9:49, and the war continues. An enemy force partially occupies Orlais and has decimated several Marcher Cities, while the Chantry, aided by the Inquisition, has marshaled 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. 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.) an organization, dubbed Riftwatch, that split off from the Inquisition several years ago. Riftwatch consists of these 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. Their goal is to do what the Chantry can't or won't do, to go more directly after Corypheus and the dark magic he employs, and to keep the Veil from coming apart entirely.
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 killing you. 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.
NOTE: This is a static test drive! We post them once per year or so and continue to use them for a long time, so you're never late. Current players are encouraged to track new top-level comments.
I. THE FREE MARCHES: Hasmal, Tantervale, and most recently Starkhaven have all fallen to the Tevinter incursion, leaving Kirkwall the largest city-state in the Free Marches to remain unoccupied. For Riftwatch, that means the war is closer to home than ever, and traveling anywhere north of the mountains runs the risk of running into enemy scouting parties. Perhaps you've been sent out to find these scouts before they find the unwary, or perhaps you're just trying to pass through unnoticed to Antiva or Rivain when you run into trouble. Or maybe you're more in the thick of it: joining the Free Marches armies in harassing the occupying army as best they can from outside the city, or slipping your way into one of them to gather intelligence or meet with an ally.
II. THE WAKING SEA: When Riftwatch isn't traveling by griffon or magic mirror, it frequently travels by sea, courtesy of a small assortment of allied pirate ships. So welcome aboard. The sea is choppy and frequently violent—violent storms, violent enemy ships, or both at once—and the crew may not have much patience for incompetence, so either make yourself useful above or try not to get sick below.
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 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. 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.
While in some alternate, tidier timeline, the War against the Elder One ended years ago, you're not in that timeline. It's 9:49, and the war continues. An enemy force partially occupies Orlais and has decimated several Marcher Cities, while the Chantry, aided by the Inquisition, has marshaled 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. 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.) an organization, dubbed Riftwatch, that split off from the Inquisition several years ago. Riftwatch consists of these 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. Their goal is to do what the Chantry can't or won't do, to go more directly after Corypheus and the dark magic he employs, and to keep the Veil from coming apart entirely.
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 killing you. 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.
NOTE: This is a static test drive! We post them once per year or so and continue to use them for a long time, so you're never late. Current players are encouraged to track new top-level comments.
I. THE FREE MARCHES: Hasmal, Tantervale, and most recently Starkhaven have all fallen to the Tevinter incursion, leaving Kirkwall the largest city-state in the Free Marches to remain unoccupied. For Riftwatch, that means the war is closer to home than ever, and traveling anywhere north of the mountains runs the risk of running into enemy scouting parties. Perhaps you've been sent out to find these scouts before they find the unwary, or perhaps you're just trying to pass through unnoticed to Antiva or Rivain when you run into trouble. Or maybe you're more in the thick of it: joining the Free Marches armies in harassing the occupying army as best they can from outside the city, or slipping your way into one of them to gather intelligence or meet with an ally.
II. THE WAKING SEA: When Riftwatch isn't traveling by griffon or magic mirror, it frequently travels by sea, courtesy of a small assortment of allied pirate ships. So welcome aboard. The sea is choppy and frequently violent—violent storms, violent enemy ships, or both at once—and the crew may not have much patience for incompetence, so either make yourself useful above or try not to get sick below.
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 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. 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.
no subject
[ it's not as though she expected the answer to be "we're bad at our jobs and have been twiddling our thumbs since the attack", but, you know. logistics and hierarchies of need is rather a good excuse not to have more permanent and appropriate lodgings set up here just yet.
alright, riftwatch, you're forgiven for people sleeping in the library. ness sighs again, in acceptance this time, and slumps back in her chair. ]
This is all so... daunting. I'm trying my best to catch up, but deciding what's most important to focus on seems impossible, it's all important.
[ her lips twist, gazing unfocused into the distance as she thinks. after a moment, she breathes in, eyes focusing first on the book, instinctively checking the title and subject matter, and then on—hang on, who even is this guy? ]
Sorry, I should have—I'm Ennaris. Ness, if that's a mouthful.
no subject
Viktor. Research division, [may be relevant to her interests, given the books and all.]
I won't say this gets any easier, but, ehh... what is it you're trying to learn?
[Going by this evidently ambitious attempt to catch up, as she says, he's anticipating the answer will fall somewhere around everything.]
no subject
[ with a polite incline of the head, because manners are important: ] Pleased to meet you, goodsir.
[ and, of course, never one to disappoint: ]
Everything would be too broad an answer, wouldn't it?
[ she gives a sort of self-deprecating smile and leans forward, looking back to the books in front of her. her expression upon looking at them has soured some; they are not satisfactory. ]
I'd started with the earliest history books I could find, and was moving now to more recent events. I thought if I could understand the history and the geopolitics at play here, I could assimilate better. But in the face of everything that needs to be done, it seems imprudent to wait until I have a more comprehensive understanding of this place to make myself useful.
Anyway, no one can agree on the facts of the events. If I wanted to get to the bottom of anything it'd have to become my whole dissertation. We don't have that kind of time.
no subject
He listens with patience—not the kind that says he's simply waiting for his turn to speak, but the genuine kind—limned with reserved curiosity. Presently, amusement surfaces, though falls short of a smile; it's in the angles of his face, the gleam in his yellow eye.]
There's time enough to allow yourself to acclimatize before you commit to any thesis in particular.
[He stops short of advising that no one expects her to become an expert on arrival. When you're new anywhere, it certainly doesn't hurt to impress—and you'll never catch him encouraging anyone not to learn something.
(Besides, he did the very same thing she's doing now.) (Sans outbursts.)]
Or to any division, for that matter.
no subject
Is there time enough?
[ she's sincerely curious, looking up to viktor for a real answer—it seems like the world could be ending at any moment, but what does she know? she's new. making assumptions is the quickest, easiest way to make a fool out of yourself in a new situation, and if there's anything ness is determined not to do here, it's make a fool of herself. ]
no subject
We can never truly be certain of that, can we?
[Time to turn his eyes away, to close that book and lift it from the cart.]
There's always work to be done. Whether that work comes with academic prerequisites depends on your area of interest.
no subject
[ mm, yup. as expected, pretty much. she huffs out a humourless laugh and slumps further back into her chair.
it's tempting, of course, to wallow in the fear and the unfairness of it all—died in faerûn only to arrive here and probably die again—or at least to succumb to the overwhelming muchness of learning an entirely new culture in the middle of wartime. how one is supposed to surmount such obstacles, she has no idea. no book could teach you this, no adventurer's memoir or fairy tale can impart the necessary wisdom to get this right.
but getting it wrong is easy—it's giving up before you've even got started. ]
Well, [ taking stock, eyes on her books, ] I'm good at reading books and taking notes. I like to talk to people and I like to help them learn. I've never held a sword in my life, and I can't tell a dog's track from a wolf's.
[ she sits forward in her chair, smiling thinly. as for divisions, seems she has but two real options. ]
Seems like a good place to start, hm? Books can probably wait.
no subject
[Viktor says, barely raising an indicative gesture with his book. The faded grey cover, with its shabby corners, does give an impression of quiet persistence.]
The minds they nourish, less so.
[His dry tone suggests with, not at; she's invited to the joke, should she care to attend. He's there, too, in hospitable humour. Though he is tired—and it's clear that he is, deeper than in the body—he's making what seems to him a worthwhile effort. That's the crux of it. You wake up in pain, you rise anyway. You wake up in a new world, you try to make sense of it. You wake up in a war that isn't yours, a war that looks hopeless, and you feel obligated, at the very least, to try.
As he reseats it under his arm, the ferrule of his crutch gives a soft metallic tap on the stone floor. The sloping angle of his shoulders has opened toward her a little.]
You would of course be welcome in Research, but if you're naturally drawn to politics, you might consider a diplomatic role... division lines are semi-permeable, anyway, as needs must.
no subject
[ her lips do twist at the joke, an amused smile, if not a laugh outright. no one has ever accused her of an overabundance of patience, that's true, though she's tried to train it into herself as she's grown. ]
It will depend on where I'm most needed, I think, [ as to her division, ] and where my skills can best be applied. I've no experience with politics, but I think I can talk to people alright, at least, if Diplomacy's where I'm needed. If I'm miserable at it I'll put in for a transfer and wait out the bureaucracy, I suppose.
[ her eyes flick from the crutch under his arm to the book in his hand, and ness purses her lips slightly. he hasn't seemed to need help thus far, and she hasn't wanted to insult him by offering, but—maybe just one offer, and then if he refuses, he knows his needs better than she does. that's still polite, isn't it? ]
Are you going to grab more books, would another pair of hands help?
no subject
That won't be necessary. But, ehh... if it's a standing offer, I'll let you know.
[It's just as polite an answer, says he probably won't be asking any time soon. He barely knows this person from any other, but he does know that outright refusal of help can feel like a rap across the knuckles even when one isn't so anxious, as she seems, to make oneself of use. It feels kinder this way. That said, it does also motivate him to continue his turn from the cart, lest she decide to become Helpful to him personally—but stops himself short of beginning to walk away for one final note:]
Oh— if you spend much time in here, be prepared for the Archivist to press you to take a break. He means well,
[sounds like a tactful translation of he's annoying as shit, perhaps a little fondly.]
no subject
[ polite rebuff, got it. ness does her best to quash the flush of embarrassment that threatens in her cheeks—this is a fine and normal interaction, she's not in trouble for offering help, and he doesn't hate her just because he said no. everything is fine. ]
Sure, of course. Thanks for the warning, I'll keep an eye out for him,
[ and with a cheery, if somewhat awkward, wave, ness looks back to her books. ]