TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

What if there is no tomorrow?

Only more Hinterlands

Maybe the Inquisition sent you, maybe you came seeking the Inquisition. Maybe you fell out of a rift into this world last week and are still just trying to find your feet. However it happened, the first days of the new year find you in the Hinterlands. Tucked between Ferelden's massive Lake Calenhad and the icy Frostback Mountains, the Hinterlands are a hilly region covered in patchy forests and small farms trying to eke out a living between the boulders. Though somewhat remote, the area is rich with game and minerals and home to Redcliffe, a bustling town on a busy trade route.

Lately the Hinterlands have also been full of mages and templars and rifts, all threatening to turn once-peaceful countryside into a dangerous warzone. The Inquisition has set up several camps and sent personnel to try to restore order to the region, unwilling to let it slip into chaos. There's a lot to be done, some of it straightforward killing bad things, some of it weird and nebulous morale-building.

STILL WITH ADDED SNOW AND NOW ALSO ADDED KINDNESS TO ANIMALS (MOSTLY).

1. IF I GET SCARED, YOU'RE ALWAYS AROUND

You have turned the wrong corner in the snow, forded the wrong stream in the snow, crested the wrong hill in the snow, entered the wrong cave in the snow. Maybe you are far from camp, in the snow. Maybe you are in camp, which is also snowy. Whatever has happened, wherever you are: you are being chased through the snow by bears. Did you throw a snowball at the bears? Are they huge and snow-dusted? Babies burrowing through the snow drifts and coming for your ankles? Fade-touched in addition to snow-touched? Controlled by cold mages who are hiding in the snow? Popping up out of the snow like a game of whack-a-mole? What are they chasing you away from in all of this snow? What are they chasing you into, other than more snow? What warm things do you plan to make out of their hide if you kill them in the snow? What do you think they'll craft out of your hide if they kill you in the snow? P.S. It's still snowy.

2. THEY SAY WE'RE YOUNG AND WE DON'T KNOW

The Inquisition has, possibly, been a little too good at dealing with the Hinterlands' bear problem, and a group of concerned citizens--including young burgeoning naturalists, farmers concerned about the effect an unchecked population of rams may have on their crops come spring, and at least one woman who claims to be directly descended from bears--has taken issue. Maybe they're blocking your character's attempt to enter a bear-infested area. Maybe they've doused your character in bear blood. Maybe the bears they have been working so hard to save have cornered them in the wilderness and they're changing their tunes.

3. WITH YOU I CAN'T GO WRONG

The Inquisition's (cough Leliana's) habit of communicating by raven works out fine, usually, but this particular raven has gone a little rogue. It's not the raven's fault! She's young, she's trying. But she has very important information tied to her leg, and instead of delivering it, she's joined a flock of identical wild ravens to hunt for food in the snow. Recover her, somehow, without hurting her and making any spymistresses angry.

4. BEFORE IT'S EARNED, OUR MONEY'S ALL BEEN SPENT

The tavern at Redcliffe remains as busy as ever, filled with locals, travelers, and Inquisition members. But this month in addition to the usual free-flowing ale and rowdy conversation there is also a contest going on. Bakers have come from across the Hinterlands bearing their very best in an effort to win a coveted ribbon and the title of Best Cake. They pack the tavern and spill out into the surrounding courtyard when the weather allows, cakes sold off tables, out of packs, small chunks given away to whoever is passing and not paying enough attention to refuse. The votes are carefully guarded by several serious looking fellows in the back corner of the tavern. In addition to traffic issues, the cake madness has also caused an infestation of large local rodents, who have appeared out of their holes to devour the many crumbs. Legend has it that if they can be humanely eradicated from the tavern before the final vote is cast, spring will come early. No one in living memory has succeeded, but you are strongly encouraged to try anyway.

5. AIN'T NO HILL OR MOUNTAIN WE CAN'T CLIMB

Hunt game so you can rescue it before other hunters get there, kill demons or maybe just try to hug it out?, dig under the snow for herbs or plant some of your own to replace what others have taken, track bandits through the snow and see if they need a hand, deal with someone charging extortionist coat prices now that it's snowing and convince them to do the right thing, fall off a deceptively tall rock into the snow and admit it was your own fault, get lost circling the same hill ten times trying to find a way up to the weird glowing skull on a stick you can see is up there in the snow so that you can give it a decent burial, climb trees or abandoned towers covered in snow and be careful not to knock them down, rummage around in empty homes to get out of the snow but leave a nice apology note, run from a dragon in the snow and promise not to trespass on its territory again, definitely don't kill any fennec foxes, set up camp and chat around the fire about your feelings because it's snowy and cold, give yourself a pat on the back (figuratively, or even literally if that's more your speed)-- the Hinterlands are your playground.

Comments

Terra Branford | Final Fantasy VI (DA AU)

[iknowlove]

((ooc; BASIC NOTES: she's a mage, yes, but more importantly, she's a spirit medium. Possessed by a spirit? Have one harassing you? Come on down to the party! She promises not to tell anyone your secret. Also, her hair isn't actually green but I'm too lazy to find a bunch of blonde!Terra pictures to icon SO... Also also prose or brackets are a-okay, I will match you!))

1. She doesn't know what she did to make it angry, but man is that bear angry.

Terra finds herself making her way through the snow as quickly as she possibly can, which is a lot harder to do than she had thought it would be. If she could just run on top of it or maybe melt her way through that would be great, but alas, that kind of luck just isn't in her cards. Occasionally she glances back over her shoulder, glad to see that at the very least the bear isn't gaining any ground. It is doggedly persistent, however, no matter how much she runs.

But then she trips, falls, tumbles through the snow a few times, and the bear gains on her. She cowers slightly, eyes squeezed shut, and lets out a loud "Leave me alone!" that gets accompanied by a blast of spirit energy. When she looks up she finds the bear knocked back a few yards and staggering and she takes the opportunity to get up and resume running, looking for either shelter or, better yet, someone with a sword to stab the thing. Or at least scare it away.


4. Not only is the tavern warm (a more than welcome change from the cold outside) but it smells amazing to boot. Terra has sampled more sweet things in this one day than she has her entire life, and the weight of it all is starting to settle heavily on her stomach. Glancing around, trying to find somewhere a little quieter to slip away to to maybe rest some of the snacks off.

Luckily she finds herself a nice corner to nestle in to and she wraps her cloak tighter around herself, tattered and worn from her travels, and she settles in to maybe catch a quick nap. Here's hoping that the seat wasn't being held for someone, or that she doesn't accidentally kick someone in her sleep.


5. Do you know what's exhausting? Snow. Do you know what's even worse? Climbing hills that are covered with snow. The worst part is that, with everything being just so white everywhere, it's hard to tell where a path ends. Which is how Terra manages to find herself tumbling over the edge of a low cliff to land in the snow bank below, unharmed but now soaked through to the bone and--hopefully--she managed to avoid anyone who happened to be passing by.


Or Whatever. DO A THING. I'LL RESPOND TO IT.

1.

[gatheringstorm]

"HEY! OVER HERE!"

Is Korrin talking to the girl or the bear? Well, both. As the girl runs towards her, the Vashoth mage casts a Barrier spell to encompass them both. Narrowing her eyes at the large, clawed menace, she blurs forward on waves of magic, slicing at it with her spirit blade. Despite some local idiots complaining about the Inquisition doing their job when it comes to rift-addled wildlife, she's not going to just let one pass and ruin someone else's day. This thing is going down.

[iknowlove]

She hears the voice before she sees its source, but Terra turns toward it blindly and starts shoving her way through the snow, her energy renewed. She scrambles a bit toward the end to duck behind the large (very large) woman, nearly collapsing to the ground when the sense of safety settles around her. But she keeps herself upright, pulling herself up to watch with muted amazement.

The qunari had such... control. Terra's eyes widen slightly and she stares down at her own hands in wonder. Could she-- she has so much to learn. Her gaze lifts again and she shifts a bit to the side in order to get a better view, her eyes flickering from her rescuer to the bear who still didn't seem to want to give up.

[gatheringstorm]

Bears never seemed to want to give up, annoyingly. Korrin blames the Breach driving them mad, which makes her pity them just a little...but not enough to let it live and continue to rampage. The bear's energetic, she'll give it that, but Korrin's barrier holds, to her satisfaction lasting longer than it does before she began her specialized training. As she swings with her glowing blade, dodging a large paw swinging her way, the Vashoth woman calls out.

"If you have anything to throw at it, now's the time! It's defintely distracted." Not that distraction is Korrin's main goal; if she can cut through that hide and end it, well, she'll take that opportunity.

[iknowlove]

It's definitely there, a certain sort of tug that she gets when her magic is itching to be used. But then so are the voices, the whispers of spirits around them, prickling her skin and trying to get her attention. She closes her eyes against their words, blocks them out, and eventually she holds out her hand, palm facing out toward the bear.

Gritting her teeth she braces herself as a bolt of white light, touched by spirit energy, fires from her palm. It doesn't seem to do much, but it's followed by another, and yet another in rapid succession.

[gatheringstorm]

Upon seeing the series of bolts strike their target, Korrin grins--and then is nearly deafened by that roar from the bear. That's what she gets for insisting on magic that will sustain her on the front lines, though in the end it's still worthwhile. When the bear begins to turn its attention back to the other mage, Korrin's eyes narrow.

"Oh, no you don't. Stay on me, you piece of shit!" And she closes in again to slice deep into the underbelly of the bear, piercing its hide as though it were little more than a nug thanks to the weave of magic that is her blade.

[iknowlove]

Terra watches, awed, as the blade slices through the bear like it was made of nothing. Her hand drops down to her side and she finds herself unable to tear her gaze away even as the beast is split apart. When it finally drops to the ground the silence that settles around her is almost too much to stand.

She finally lifts her gaze, her chest rising and falling as she tries to catch her breath, and she nods slightly. "Thank you."

[gatheringstorm]

And it's over.

Taking a moment to catch her breath as well, Korrin allows her blade to vanish as she steps away from the fallen bear and blood-stained snow. She'll be sure to pass on its location to one of the scouts, for use of its hide. As for the meat, she'll pass on recommending anything likely rift-tainted.

Glancing back, she manages a smile. "And thank you for those magic bolts. It seems likely I rarely get the chance to finish one off before its snarls attract a handful of others, so this is refreshing. Are you alright?"

[iknowlove]

"I'm... fine, mostly. A little tired." Understandably. She's been running away from a bear through the snow. It hasn't been the easiest day for her.

Terra draws her well-worn cloak tighter around herself, cooling off now that the chase is over. Her gaze dances briefly toward the bear before she looks back up again, something akin to hope sparking in her eyes. "You're... a mage too, aren't you? Yet you have a sword..." A brief pause and she shakes her head. "Oh, no, I'm getting too far ahead-- I'm Terra."

[gatheringstorm]

Looking Terra over, because she's used to people saying they're fine even when they aren't, the Vashoth woman seems satisfied and heads over after a quick glance around. Good, still no more bears.

"I'm Korrin, and yes, I'm a mage. The sword I use is one made of magic; it's a specialized style, and those who use it are called Knight-Enchanters. I just started down that path, though as you might have guessed, I'm no Circle mage."

[iknowlove]

"Then I suppose we have that much in common." Terra smiles slightly as she straightens herself up, trying to draw herself to her full height--not that it would have mattered here. She could be standing on the second floor of a building and probably still feel small next to this woman.

"I don't know what happened," she finally says, glancing past Korrin to the dead bear. "I didn't even go near it..."

[gatheringstorm]

"It wasn't your fault. The Breach and all the rifts it spawned drove a lot of wildlife crazy. The bigger or more aggressive they are, the worse it seems; at least, to me. Bears like this happen all too often around here, which makes the people getting mad at us for defending ourselves and others against them complete idiots."

Korrin huffs in contempt at that; it's not as though she wanted to go bear-hunting, but if something isn't done, the Hinterlands would be a wildly depopulated place by now. Well, more than it is already. And a human who's not a Circle mage? Interesting. "So you're not with the rebels, then? Those that didn't join the Inquisition, that is."

[iknowlove]

That made some sense. Her eyes lift skyward at the mention of the Breach, her eyes going toward the green hole in the sky, and she shivers slightly. Everything was going wrong in the world all at once and she wasn't entirely sure she could handle it. The spirits were more agitated than usual, calling out, seeking attention. It was getting hard to handle.

"Rebels...? No. I--" Terra pauses, biting down on her bottom lip. One arm crosses over her body to grip the other and she glances away. "I've been... kept away. Until recently."

5.

[nockpoint]

[ he's found in his time so far in this strange place that it is better to remain material than it is not. there's no shortage of mana in the air, water, plants, every speck of dirt and every living thing in this world he's found himself in, so it is no longer a concern that he will simply fade away, but each time he returns to a purely spiritual form, the world beyond the physical one seems to tug at his very core, trying to pull him apart and dissipate him into the void. normally, he would allow such a thing to happen, were he still a thrall to the counter force and not in command of his own faculties, but he is, definitely aware and in control.

so he stays in his physical body, and has to travel on foot from place to place, which is how he happens to be a scant 3 feet away from that snow bank terra just fell straight into. at least he's in bright red, so she doesn't have to worry about not seeing him, i suppose. as soon as she gets her head unburied she'll be able to see him standing over her, silently offering a hand to help her up, his expression bemused. ]

[iknowlove]

[ Maybe she should just say in the snow forever. It'd be a fitting fate, wouldn't it? Poor lost girl escapes servitude, dies in snow, body perfectly preserved until it all thaws. She shakes her head to clear the thoughts as she bursts free of the snow drift, gasping as though she had been holding her breath underwater. It's a moment before her vision clears and she sees a hand in front of her.

Oh. Oh, no, someone was witness to that.

Sheepishly she reaches out to take his hand but she stops, gasping in shock once they make contact. Her eyes lift, wide and surprised, as she stares at the man in red. ]

You aren't from this place.

[ And hello to you too. ]

[nockpoint]

[ its okay, he won't judge. much. can't expect all humans to have super elegant grace and miniskirts and whatever, you know? honestly probably the only one who can pull off elegant and miniskirts while jumping off cliffs at the same time is rider. ]

And what makes you say that?

[ still, her weird response to taking his hand doesnt stop him from gripping hers and easily pulling her out of the snowbank and to her feet. ]

[iknowlove]

[ Well now he's just showing off.

Terra rights herself once she has solid ground beneath her feet again, and despite the fact that she was now incredibly damp from head to toe, she wasn't shivering. Her focus was sharp, clear, and all centered on the hand she had yet to let go of. ]

The spirits are agitated by your presence. I don't think they appreciate having you around.

[nockpoint]

[ he is definitely showing off, yep.

archer glances down at her fingers clasped around his hand, expression distant, raising his eyebrows when he looks up at this girl's face. ]

Hm. Can't they recognize their own kind?

[ I MEAN, sure, he's in his own human body (or a version of it) but he's still a spirit at the end of the day. ]

[iknowlove]

That's just the problem. You're like them, but you're not them...

[ Her brow furrows and she finally lets go of his hand in order to bring it up to press against her temple. What was he? Who was he? He didn't feel like any of the spirits she had ever spoken to. He was... bigger, somehow, in his presence.

She wasn't sure how to feel about it. ]

Who... are you?

[nockpoint]

Archer.

[ he doesn't stop watching her, but adjusts his stance, folding his arms across his chest as the snowflakes stick to his shroud and invisibly in his hair. she asked who he was, not what, and for now his class is the only identity he has to give. ]

I imagine what they don't like is the human form.

[iknowlove]

Archer.

[ The word is foreign on her lips, strange to say. It doesn't sound like any name she's heard before, and it certainly isn't the name of a spirit of Thedas. Her lips purse together as she thinks on it, her eyes squeezing tight as she tries to block her surroundings. A spirit, but not a spirit. Human, but not human.

What was he? ]

That is no spirit's name. I've heard rumors but-- did you fall through the hole in the sky?

[nockpoint]

Technically, Archer is a Class — a title, if you will.

[ secrecy is the very core of the grail wars, but... there is no grail here, and she should not have been able to tell he was a servant in the first place, so it's not like it matters much. ]

Something like that, I think. This isn't a timeline I should be in, if it's a proper timeline at all.

[iknowlove]

[ There's a moment's hesitation before Terra takes a small step closer in order to peer up at him, eyes large and curious as she stares. He's so... strange. She's heard the word "exotic" be applied to people before, and she wonders if this is what it means. ]

You're so...

[ She lifts a hand, hovering it near his chest but not touching, simply... feeling. ]

You have a strength I've never felt. You'll need to be careful in these lands.

[nockpoint]

[ archer keeps watching her, grey eyes unreadable, all the color that was in them once burned out by his own magecraft, the same way it burned the color out of his hair, seeped into his skin. this is an odd turn of events, a simple act of consideration turning into a warning and unearthing new questions to be answered. ]

... Careful of what? [ even with his lower stats, he's still well beyond the majority of humanity's capabilities, and can defend himself well if need be from that. perhaps she's speaking of the spirits? it's true, this incarnation is only a copy of his true self, but... really, the worst that could happen is he'd die, and fade away, right? ]

[iknowlove]

[ She can feel it, can tell he's more than capable of taking care of himself, but Terra still finds it in her to want to be protective. Because he's a spirit? From another world? Maybe just because he's different, an anomaly, and that speaks to her. She bites the inside of her lip as she brings her hand back to herself and she lets out a small breath. ]

There are people here, powerful people, who would love nothing more than to subdue you and use your abilities for their own ends. All because you are unique.

[ Speaking from just a little (aka 18 years of) experience. ]