allthisshitisweird | TEST DRIVE MEME!

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( She is clearly A++ at taking things in stride and adapting. Four for you, Glenn Coco. )

A mage, huh? We have wizards and witches where I'm from, but... ( she frowns, trying to think how to put it. They're usually evil isn't quite right. And then there were fairies, of course, like Blue and Tinker Bell, but that seemed like something else altogether. Merrill is definitely not a fairy. Distinct lack of wings. ) They're a little different. They don't use the staff, I don't think.

( But that concern makes her laugh, startled, and she takes a pause to think about it, opening her mouth a little, closing it and tasting the air. ) Not... great. Sort of gamey, if the game was... decaying, or something.

( First, though, she's going to tilt her head towards the ruins.) Is your magic any good for skipping some steps on starting a campfire? And, ( Red holds up her hand, green and glowing, ) Do you know anything about this?

Some mages are sometimes called witches, [ Merrill offers. ] And not everyone needs a staff, but it helps with control, precision. In a pinch, you can cast without one, but you're more likely to accidentally burn something down instead of scare off a bear.

[ Or Templar. Or- whatever. ]

Ew, [ she offers, helpfully, at the description of demon-taste. ] But yes, I can use fire magic! I'm no healer, but elemental magic I'm just fine at. And I can answer questions about that, too, but it will take a bit, so maybe water and the campfire first?

Oh, and please be careful if you shapeshift around anyone else -- there are many people who aren't fond of mages just for being mages, so they may attack you on sight.

I don't think the witch I know would burn things down accidentally, ( she replies, just a little dry. Regina... well. Is complicated, and frankly, Red mostly just interacts with her when there is a catastrophe that Regina is involved in, or when she wants a cup of coffee and a stack of apple cinnamon pancakes. )

I like how you think. ( Also how she talks. Very...earnest. And open. It's kind of nice. It kind of reminds her Belle, just the tiniest bit, though the accents are very different. Regardless of the comparative excellence of Welsh and Australian accents, Red makes her way towards the shelter, bounding the last few steps so she can pile together some of the wood she gathered earlier - so convenient.

She's already kneeling with a collection of sticks and logs when she looks up at Merrill, sharply. ) I'm not a mage. I'm a wolf. But... wolves aren't all that popular with people, either.

Perhaps when they were young? [ Merrill offers, but she won't press. She knows too well that there are people who do bad things, mages or otherwise. ]

Oh! Well, thank you. I don't know if anyone's ever said that to me before, actually. [ Likely because most don't think that Merrill thinks, at least upon first meetings. But being open, earnest, optimistic -- those don't make her stupid. Neither does not understanding different cultures, though enough people certainly think that's the case. ]

So- are you a human that turns into a wolf or a wolf that turns into a human? But no; there are stories of werewolves even among the stories of wolves, things that terrify people. But you helped me, and I'll help you, whichever you are.

[ After all, even Fen'harel is still honored, albeit in a different way than the other gods. ]

Maybe. ( Gently, that. According to Snow, Regina was entirely different when she was young. If those stories were anything to go by, Regina wouldn't have wanted to burn anything at all, then. A lot of things changed. A lot of them changed, sometimes for the better and often for the worse.

Red shrugs, easily. ) People don't always say what they think.

( Whether that means that people probably do like the way Merrill thinks and just fail to say it, or whether Merrill having so little filter is the good thing... well. A little of column A and B, and if there is a C, some of that, too.

Even the earnestness with how she asks about the wolf stuff is kind of nice, even if it's jarring in the same moment. ) I'm human.

( Although, that doesn't seem to sum it up. ) The Wolf is always there. I am it, all the time, same way I'm Red all the time. It's a part of me I had to... accept. Not accepting it, wishing I wasn't the Wolf...

( Her gaze drops. ) It doesn't go well. But a lot of people call what I am a werewolf, in--

(In the world without magic. ) In some places.

Or not the positive things, at least, [ Merrill agrees with a slight nod. People always seemed more than willing to criticize. Maybe it was easier for them, but that didn't mean it should have been. ]

Werewolves here don't change between shapes, as far as I know, [ Merrill tells her, absently brushing a bit of dirt off her clothing. ] They look part human, part wolf; not half and half, or anything like that.

But there are mages who can change shape, the way you do; most people will probably think of that, if they see you. Those of us in the Inquisition should be a little more understanding about different worlds, though.

[ Should be. ]

Don't I know it. ( Trying to get a compliment out of Granny was like trying to wrestle and alligator, and she's frankly rather go with the alligator.

So... there are werewolves here. Okay, good to know, but the description is confusing. Musing, quiet: ) Different worlds, different rules.

( Still, she's shaking her head, like it might help her understand better, before leaning back from the pile of wood she's built for their fire. It's ready whenever Merrill is, leaving her free to grab a waterskin. )

The Inquisition? What's... what are they so inquisitive about? ( It could be a dumb joke, but there's some genuine concern in her gaze. Inquisition was a loaded term, even if she was no history buff. )

[ And Merrill is ready now. She holds her staff in one hand, but the fire comes from the other; just a bit, both enough to catch the wood ablaze and to show Ruby that yes, she really is using magic.

It's merrily (no pun intended) crackling in just a moment. ]

The tears in the Veil, mostly -- like the one you would have fallen out of, to get in this world. There was a very large one caused by an explosion that killed a great many people, including the Divine, the leader of the Chantry -- a religious leader. The Inquisition was formed to find whoever is responsible and close the tears in the Veil, as well as deal with people who are battling each other and blaming each other for the Divine's death.

I'm not Andrastian, but- fixing the world, helping people, stopping more bloodshed? It seems like a good cause to me, and people I trust have been with the Inquisition since the beginning.

TEST DRIVE MEME!

u inspired me

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