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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
Yes, I'm one of the Mortalitasi, and I would be delighted to speak about spirits with you. Practical exposure would be beyond unwise here, however. I could feel the strangeness of the Veil as soon as I stepped out of the eluvian.
[Hence the need for books by local authors. There are theories about why and where the Veil winds up thinner. While common knowledge about the place does fall in line with one of those theories, there may be more going on.]
And I'd also be very interested in speaking with this Doctor Strange. Healing and the necrotic arts are two sides of the same coin, life and death, creation and transformation, and it's rare that someone takes a deep interest in both.
[He pauses, then, thinking back to 'practical exposure.']
There is, perhaps, one safe way for you to meet a spirit here. How do you believe people around here would react to the sight of a skeleton wandering about? Would it be safe for the skeleton?
no subject
[ he doesn't have to elaborate, but ness is making a mental note—they have a whole suite of eluvians and outposts to choose from, after all, the constraints of physical space and travel times don't have to apply to them if they don't want them to. ]
Doctor Strange is a rare person, [ said with the beatific and effusive smile of a student talking about their very most favourite teacher. she'd go on about him, honestly, but emmrich's question brings her up short, and she's diverted by the mental image of some shambling undead wandering the gallows courtyard. ]
A skeleton? It'd be a first, I think, I don't know that there have been undead in the Gallows before, at least—well, not any that could walk around, anyway, I don't know that Rosamunde counts, she lives in my room...
no subject
Rosamunde?
[Is one of the dead trapped here? It's his job to look after such things, so he must follow up on this, at the least.]
And I'm not speaking of an undead skeleton, though I understand the confusion. I speak of a spirit of Curiosity ambulating and interacting with the world with aid of a skeleton built for him. He is my companion, Manfred.
no subject
and then smiles, bright and unconcerned. when in doubt, act like everything is normal, and most people won't question it. ]
A possessed skeleton—that's lovely, Rosamunde is my Manfred! She discovered me in the Necropolis when Riftwatch was there this past August—you recall the floor gave way, and two agents were lost for a time? Myself and the Doctor wandered the lower levels of the Necropolis for a short while before a skeleton led us to Rosamunde! She was so lonely and determined to leave with us, she gave me no choice in bringing her with me.
[ ness inhales, hopefully subtly, like she hasn't been breathlessly babbling in hopes of overloading the professor with so much information he doesn't think too hard about how she stole a skull, and then blithely moves on again, don't think about it too hard, don't think about it, just take her enthusiasm at face value, come on—
(she is, at least, telling the whole and entire truth. if he does call her out, that has to count for something, right?) ]
I would love to meet Manfred, and introduce him to Rosamunde! She'll probably be jealous he can get around unassisted—she's only a skull at the moment!
no subject
[And from the Necropolis. There's no hiding the concern on his face; he's never been able to conceal how he feels about anything.]
I'd prefer to meet her before Manfred does. He's young and influenceable, still, and the ones who inhabit simply skulls...
[...tend to be ones who are facing some sort of sentence and are supposed to be monitored.]
...tend to be older and no longer aware of the demands of society. Can we, please, Quartermaster?
no subject
[ she's babbling again. ness forces herself to take a breath, slow down, stop trying to preempt trouble. the professor isn't accusing her of anything yet! concern is not accusation, it's just concern. he's concerned about a spirit! that's good!
but it does mean she should stop babbling and take him to rosamunde before he gets upset. she smiles, sheepish, and nods at him, finally. ]
Yes, Professor, of course, just let me clean up after myself.
[ ness goes quickly about the task of putting her books away, officially borrowing out emmrich's texts, and loading the small stack on her runed hoverboard. when she's ready, she smiles at emmrich again, and leads them out the doors of the archive and toward the stairs. as they go, she keeps talking, less nervously this time, about her plans to fashion a harness to keep rosamunde attached to her belt so she can come along on safer field missions, see the world—
the office they end up in is of a fair size, kept neat and tidy. bookshelves line one wall, though they're not terribly full yet. a dark wooden desk stands in the middle of the room, upon which sits a stack of loose papers, a quill and inkwell, and a cushion. on the cushion, there lays a skull, devoid of bottom jaw, but otherwise clean and fully intact. ]
Rosamunde, I'm back! [ ness pushes the book-laden hoverboard up to the desk and gently picks up the skull to present it, cupped in both palms, to emmrich. ] I brought a new friend, he was very excited to meet you.
[ the skull's eyes fill with the smoke-like green of fade spirit-stuff immediately. ]
A friend? How do you know? He doesn't look very friendly to me!
no subject
He can also give a little bit of input as to how to safely travel with a skull, considering he's come to Riftwatch with a few as well. None possessed, of course. None that talk on their own. But they're useful for focusing magic and consultations.
The skull, Rosamunde, looks like she's being taken care of. He also can't recall a Rosamunde among the list of those they need to keep an eye on, thought that means nothing. His memory isn't perfect, nor has the list-keeping been flawless. Emmrich says nothing of these thoughts.]
My name is Emmrich, Rosamunde. May I ask what happened to you?
[He holds out his hands, hoping that Ness will hand her over. The missing jaw is concerning. He wonders if there's a spare one that will fit her; even skulls feel better when whole.]
I have experience with piecing skeletons together, and with spirits.
no subject
There's no real way to stop Rosamunde once she gets started, but Ness does put the cushion back on the desk, frowning sadly at the glowing skull—disappointed in the manner of the mother of a misbehaving child.
"She does this sometimes, she's very... opinionated. Rosamunde, ma'am, the Professor just wants to help—"
I'm sure he does—help lose me again! I'll not go back, Ennaris, he can't touch me! I forbid it!"
no subject
Emmrich lowers his hands to his sides to emphasize that he's not a threat. He doesn't need to hold her, even though assessing her stability and essence would be much easier with touch.
"It is my duty to find out how that happened, to prevent it from happening again. If you tell me some of your story that could help." The name alone is a start, he can send a message back to have Audric start searching the library, but it's far from enough.
He looks to Ness. "And it's quite all right. If I was abandoned for hundreds of years and unable to do anything about it, I would be furious as well. I truly do wish to help, however." The last is directed to both of them.
"My assistant is a spirit of Curiosity, Rosmamunde, housed in a skeletal body. Once it was clear he was interested in sticking around, I enabled him to choose what parts went into his form and now he's my companion."
no subject
Well, she snaps eventually, at least he acknowledges fault—though I'll note I've yet to hear an apology—
"Rosamunde!" Ness exclaims, bright-eyed, and the Fade-smoke of the spirit inside the skull ripples in what might be annoyance equal to Ness's excitement, "we could get you a full skeleton! I can't do that myself, you know, I don't have the first idea how to do it, but if you let Professor Volkarin help—"
That's quite enough, the spirit snaps, and Ness bites her lip, trying not to smile. Rosamunde is like this, so singular of feeling, can't be anything new until she's run out of the first thing she was feeling, which means a lot of the time she just ends up expressing her excitement through a veil of abject annoyance—
Alright, Rosamunde says after a dramatic pause, lofty, like she's the one granting Emmrich a huge favor. Ness turns to beam at Emmrich, but otherwise does her best to keep her excitement contained—anything else is just as liable to make Rosamunde change her mind, fickle lady that she is. But there will be rules. Chiefly, you cannot hold me! And I'll only talk to you while Enarris is present. And only in Trade! She hasn't got a grasp of Nevarran yet, and I want her to know exactly what's being said. No secrets, Mourn Watch!