hadriel_logs | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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?]

[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.

[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.

[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?

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.

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.

[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.]

[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]

Event Log: Dreamwalker the Second

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