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

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."

[gatheringstorm]

That body language and hesitation has Korrin curious, but she also doesn't want to scare the girl off. There's more than enough to be done without prying into someone else's affairs, anyway. "At least you missed the chaos with mages and Templars, then. That was nasty business, not that this current crap isn't."

She gestures to her left, past a hill. "If you need to catch your breath and restock on potions or whatnot, camp isn't far. It ought to be relatively bear-free, unless someone accidentally lured them back to camp again." It's not that common an occurrence, honest.

[iknowlove]

The offer to be taken to camp has her simultaneously intrigued and hesitant. She still isn't that great with people, and any one of them figuring her out isn't exactly high on her list of things to do. She's rare, it's a gift, she's heard it all to justify decisions made on her behalf.

Still, the thought of a campfire is what finally seals it and she nods, a small smile finally appearing on her face as she nods. "I'd appreciate it."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin returns the small smile, starting them off. "It's no trouble. I need to restock my potions, anyway. Too many people need them out here." Herself, not so much. That Barrier spell lasts a lot longer than it used to, thankfully.

"I tend to forget it in my introductions, but I'm also a member of the mage council in the Inquisition, representing the non-Dalish apostates. Politics aren't my forte, but it's better to be heard, right? And this way, it's not just the Circle mages having a voice."

[iknowlove]

Terra falls into step behind her, more than happy to walk in the qunari's path. It makes things a lot easier for her, anyway, to not have to forge through the snow herself. She stares up at Korrin's back, caught on her every word. It sounds... almost too good to be true.

She keeps her cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders, occasionally glancing down to make sure she isn't about to lose her footing. "I've heard only a little about them. Is it... safe there?"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's fine with clearing the way, though she herself wishes that a certain Avvar buddy was around to do it for them. He'd plow through all this with little resistance. As it is, she's careful in her footing, not about to be caught off-guard by either ice or bears.

"Relative to here? Yeah, a lot more. I won't lie and say it's a paradise of acceptance; someone became an abomination a couple of months back and that's put everyone on edge. That said, there's been no violence, nor has the mage council been forced to stand down or accept Templar authority. If they did that, I'd be the first one to walk...but the higher-ups are reasonable people. As long as we're here to help them stop Thedas from falling apart, that's what matters to them."

[iknowlove]

Abomination.

There's a word that strikes a chord with her. Terra slows her steps for a time before she stops walking altogether, staring down at the ground. She was a risk. A danger. Being too close to them puts her directly in harm's way. She has to be kept under close watch.

Abomination.

Terra bites down on her bottom lip and lifts her head, finally speaking up. "Before we go further, there's-- I should tell you something." There's a moment's hesitation and she takes a slow breath to steady herself. "I can... talk to them. Spirits, I mean. They can be as real and present to me as you are now."

[gatheringstorm]

Realizing that Terra's stopped following her, Korrin turns around and pauses to listen. Hearing that news prompts a raised eyebrow, but no looks of disgust. Spirits and the like aren't her forte, but she can respect a rare ability like that, especially in light of the past several months.

"So you're a medium? That could be useful, for encountering those not driven mad by the Breach. We have some Spirit Healers with us who would probably find a lot of common ground with you there. The Templars won't like it, but screw them. Unless you let one possess you, they've no authority to do anything about it."