hadrielmods: (Default)
ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴅᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴏғ ʜᴀᴅʀɪᴇʟ ([personal profile] hadrielmods) wrote in [community profile] hadriel_logs2017-10-14 09:52 am

Event Log: Dreamwalker the Second

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the Dreamwalker part 2 event
Where: In your dreams
When: October 14th-20th (the second log will go up on Oct 23rd, please keep the two weeks of the event separate!)
Warnings: All different kinds of dreams falling under the umbrella of Delight, Rage, Sorrow, and Hope.


This time, the weird stuff doesn't happen when you're awake- as a matter of fact, your waking hours are the normal ones. That's because you're forced to sleep by some unknown entity, getting more and more exhausted by the moment as night falls. Better make sure you're always around a soft pillow.

Once asleep, it doesn't get any less weird- your dreams will be influenced by one of the four gods that make up the first week. Something to make you smile, something to make you angry- or something that reminds you of your deepest regret or most vulnerable hope, they're all things that you're dreaming about now for some reason, no matter how hard you may try to pull away from them.

To make matters more complicated, there are others intruding on your dreams who definitely don't belong there, and while they may seem like manifestations at first, it becomes clear that these others are actually the consciousness of other members of Hadriel, getting some top quality exposure to your angriest, happiest, most sorrowful moments. Hope it doesn't get awkward when you see them tomorrow...

► This log covers October 14th-20th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you die in dreams you don't die in real life, but if you somehow die in real life anyway, please let us know here.
outofthefire: (the road is long we carry on)

Sorrow

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-14 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Laura has never seen, never even imagined this type of carnage before. oh, sure, she had her teachers droning on and on about wars and battlefields, but this is beyond her.

she wanders up to a dead soldier? knight? she doesn't know and it probably doesn't even matter. he's dead. he's dead and his eyes are wide open and staring at her. it gives her creeps, so she tries to close them. she can't. they're frozen open, so she stumbles backwards, nearly falling over another corpse in the process. she screams and it echoes back to her, mocking her with its sound.

she starts to run, dodging bodies and weapons and shrapnel along the way, only to find herself funneled onto a bridge. a bridge with a crucified man in the center of it and Aren there, saying that he needs a pyre.]


--what? Why? Who is he?
paragonbrosca: (13)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-14 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[Staring upward, Aren turns abruptly, staring at the woman who definitely wasn't here when she had returned to Ostagar. But someone who isn't a darkspawn or a corpse is a welcome change from...all this. Clearing her throat, she stares back up at the crucified corpse of a man.]

King Cailan.

He died when his father-in-law betrayed us, and we lost the battle. [She wants to summon some spark of rage upon recalling that, but all that she feels is this emptiness. They're dead and gone, the battle lost. Nothing she does can change that.] He...I remember when I first got here, I was a nobody. He didn't have to acknowledge me at all, but he did. He treated me like a person, called me friend. [There's that lump in her throat again.] He wanted glory, sure, but actually he seemed to care about people. What they did to him....

[She can't take it anymore, just staring and doing nothing. So she begins to use her blades to climb up.] I gotta cut him down. Keep a lookout, okay?
outofthefire: (every inch of my tar black soul)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-15 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Laura's eyes widen at the explanation of how he died] His--his own father-in-law let that happen? [bitter laugh] I guess I shouldn't be surprised at what fathers will do.

[she listens to the rest of the explanation and her face softens a little] He sounds like a good man. I'm sorry he died.

Okay. I don't know what I can do, but I'll keep an eye out for you.
paragonbrosca: (14)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-15 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
...thanks.

[The subdued word is far from her usual cheerful rambling, but it's all she can muster for the moment. When she's hauled herself up, she sheathes a blade, using her free hand to yank out the spike holding him in place, one by one. For a small woman, she seems to have considerable strength as she manages to work them out and still hold her grip.]

Okay, step back. I don't want him to fall on you. Ugh, they left him to rot....
outofthefire: (don't wanna see all the things I've seen)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-15 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
[she watches Aren climb her way up and work to free the body of the dead king and steps back as requested]

So, these darkspawn you mentioned. They did this?
paragonbrosca: (7)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-15 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
...yeah. [Her words come in between huffs of breath, while she works.] There was a huge horde of them, the start of a Blight. We failed, and they spread across Ferelden. It was all for nothing....

[The spikes fall to the ground one by one, with thuds all the louder for the pervasive silence around them. And then she begins to lower the king down, trying to hold on until she no longer can and the corpse falls. When it does, she leaps the rest of the way, landing beside it. She turns over his corpse and arranges it to be a little more dignified, then pauses.]

...I need to find Duncan, too. He was my mentor, he stood with the king to the last. He has to be around, somewhere.
outofthefire: (I'd follow you down down down)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-16 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
So all of these people and that king died for nothing? [Laura sounds torn between anger and disgust at the notion]

[the sound of the spikes hitting the ground rings in Laura's ears and she winces. she watches Aren handling the body carefully, hanging on for far longer than Laura would have been able to. she stumbles back a few more steps as the body finally falls to the ground near her and lets Aren see to arranging the body]

All right. What did he look like? Maybe I can help? [Laura's voice trails off at the end, as though she's not sure how much help she'll be]
paragonbrosca: (13)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-16 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks. He was human; dark skin, darker hair in a ponytail, facial hair...had kind of a hawkish nose? Though with what's been done to Cailan, I'm not expecting to find him very recognizable.

[She sighs and looks down to Cailan.]

We'll be back, salroka.

[She didn't find Duncan during her first return; part of her knows that. But she's got to at least try, as she did before. Duncan meant far too much to just leave him to rot somewhere.]
outofthefire: (c-can you hear me?)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-16 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
A-all right. I'll try to--to see what I can find. He's down there, among all of that? [she points to the dead bodies she can see below her]

What does salroka mean?

[maybe she'll have better luck this time? Laura doesn't get what Aren had to achieve to get where she is, but she gets wanting to take care of a friend]
paragonbrosca: (13)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-17 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
It's dwarven for 'friend'.

[Her smile is fleeting and melancholy, feeling comfortable using it since Cailan called her 'friend' first. She looks the bodies and nods, biting her lip.]

Probably, yeah. I don't know where exactly they fell, because I didn't see it happen.

[She doesn't know if that makes it better or worse. Would she have been able to save them, or would her presence only meant she'd have fallen, too? Probably the latter. So she heads toward the dead bodies, passing some of fallen darkspawn as well. At least the Grey Wardens here went down fighting.]
Edited 2017-10-17 00:39 (UTC)
outofthefire: (audio tune lies she's still shining)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-17 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
Oh. [she considers a moment] It's a good word.

[she tries to smile back, but it's likely unconvincing. she's a little overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the death surrounding them]

We can . . .start at the top of the hill and work our way down?

[Laura follows close behind, eyes widening as she sees even more dead bodies of humans and darkspawn. she's extra careful to give the darkspawn a wide berth as they're disgusting]
paragonbrosca: (9)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-17 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that works.

[That Laura's sticking close, that she's offering to help at all, it's some comfort even as Aren can't voice it yet. She can only focus on one thing at a time, and that's finding her mentor so she can burn him with Cailan. That's something that didn't get to happen before...but maybe it can change now.

They don't find him at the top of the hill, but a short distance from the bottom, Duncan can be spotted...or at least his head.
outofthefire: (it’s all I’ve got to keep myself sane)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-17 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[well, Aren is cool and Laura gets the feeling she's been through some shit, too, even outside of being a crazy-strong fighter. girls like that should stick together.

when Laura sees the head, she gasps. but she doesn't let herself look away, even though she wants to. she just turns to Aren and says]

All right. The--the rest of him should be nearby, right?
paragonbrosca: (Default)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-18 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Seeing the head -and only the head- she halts and stares at it, stricken. But her task isn't going to complete itself, and she forces herself to halt. Drawing in a deep breath, Aren nods and tries to keep a steady voice.]

Let me just...put this with Cailen.

[At least Alistair isn't here to see this....]
outofthefire: (my heart it breaks every step I take)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-18 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[she's still doing better than Laura who just wants to scream and run away from the battlefield. but she's forcing herself to stay because Aren's been nicer to her than anyone here so far

Laura nods]
I'll be right here.

paragonbrosca: (13)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-18 04:36 am (UTC)(link)
[It doesn't take long at all for Aren to place it with Cailan's body and return, probably because the dream allows it to be so. She probably looks as drained as she feels about all this, not able to put up a cheerful or stoic front right now. But she returns and nods to Laura, and then looks around for...the rest of him.

And she does, eventually, though finding a flash of something familiar in the snow. A glint of metal...his armor. Finding the body, she sighs and crouches down by it.]


Duncan saved my life. If he hadn't recruited me for the Grey Wardens, I've been executed as a casteless criminal. I know it. I humiliated the nobles and warriors by showing I could do something better than they did, something only their castes could do. They weren't going to let me live for that.

But Duncan...he swooped right in, took me away from a dead-end life where I never had any choices. He was one of the first people who wasn't a brand to treat me like a person. I'll never forget that.
outofthefire: (so I just ride just ride)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-18 10:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[Laura tries to smile at her when she returns, but it's probably unconvincing. in fact, she's sure it's unconvincing as Aren still looks sad.

she accompanies Aren on her search, still giving the Darkspawn bodies a wide berth. they're disgusting enough far away, she doesn't really want to see one up close. she follows Aren to what's left of the body]


Casteless? What does that mean?
paragonbrosca: (8)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-19 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
Every dwarf in Orzammar has a place in life, a caste. You can almost never change your caste, and if your commit a crime or go to the surface, you can lose it. Like...the nobles are up here, then the warriors...and so on and then the servants are at the bottom. And then the casteless are below that. We're like a living insult to the Ancestors, so we can't do any legal work that any other caste can do. So, that mostly means begging or crime.

[Why is she saying this? Laura isn't from Thedas, Aren could have gotten away with no one knowing her origins. But was it fair to Duncan if she didn't explain just how much he did for her?]
outofthefire: (love you more than those bitches before)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-20 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Laura takes a moment to digest this. it's unlike anything the all-American girl has heard of]

That's--that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life! So what, if you were born without a caste, it's what you can do that should count. And you've obviously done a lot and I'll bet that a lot of dwarves in castes couldn't do it. This Duncan guy was just smart enough to see it.
paragonbrosca: (1)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-20 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Laura's anger paradoxically brings a small smile to Aren's face. It still amazes her to see people stand up for her, after a lifetime of only being able to rely on her sister for that. For a moment, it's almost enough to break Sorrow's hold on her...or at least alleviate it a little.]

Thanks. I've learned better by now, but it's still nice to hear. If it helps, the dwarves later made me a Paragon; that's like a living ancestor. My family got their own house, so they're not casteless anymore, and my little nephew's the son of the new king. Orzammar at large still has to change but for us, the fact that 'as good as it gets' no longer means 'it still fucking sucks' is a huge step up.
outofthefire: (I hear birds on the summer breeze)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-20 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[Laura is definitely angry on Aren's behalf. she's never heard of such a backwards system before. of course, she grew up in an upper-middle class American household]

Those all sound like good changes. But what's all this stuff about ancestors?
paragonbrosca: (13)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-21 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
We don't have a formal religion like the surfacers do, but we have a sort of ancestor-worship thing going. 'Dwarves who lead a strong and noble life are said to strengthen the Stone when they die, becoming one of the Ancestors. Those who are ignoble or disgraced would weaken the Stone and are therefore rejected by it for all eternity.' Like that's any real threat, when casteless already 'pollute the Stone', you know?

...anyway, we have the body now. It's time to make this right.

[Aren crouches by the body, and the scene blurs a bit. When it's clear again, there are two pyres, with Cailan and Duncan lying atop each. She draws out her blade, and flame wreathes it just as it goes in the waking world.]

Atrast nal tunsha. 'May you always find your way in the dark'. [Stepping forward, she lights the pyres with her sword, then steps back as the flames start to spread.]

They're not dwarves. I probably should have said something about the Maker, but I don't really know the Chant of Light well enough to quote it.
outofthefire: (every night I used to pray)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-21 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't believe that you could've ever polluted the stone. And if casteless dwarves polluted the stone, there would probably be no stone left to pollute.

[Laura finds herself at a pair of pyres, Cailan at one, Duncan on the other one. she manages to avoid gaping when Aren's sword catches fire]

I know The Lord's Prayer, but it wouldn't mean much here. I think what you said is fine.
paragonbrosca: (1)

[personal profile] paragonbrosca 2017-10-22 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[Aren stares at the pyres for a moment longer, the only sound being the crackle and pop of the flames. Then she glances up with a melancholy smile.]

...thanks. You could've tried to leave, but you didn't. I'm not sure I could've made myself deal with it alone. Even when I found Cailan, before, I had help. But we never did find Duncan...until now.

[That...will make the overall memory a little easier to bear, knowing that at least she was able to give him that now.]
outofthefire: (every inch of my tar black soul)

[personal profile] outofthefire 2017-10-23 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Laura tries to give an encouraging smile]

I'm--I'm glad I could help. [Laura shakes her head] I've never seen anything like this before. It just seems so overwhelming.

[even if it was only in a dream]