hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Ugh, Talk to the Hand

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Intro Log: Ugh, Talk to the Hand

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for February
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: February 10th-14th
Warnings: None

Welcome to Hadriel. Your first glimpse of your new home is maybe not the most welcome - you awaken on the floor of the colosseum, surrounded by sand and walls and... trees? Yes, trees. Along with you and the other newcomers, a number of Territorial Oaks have arrived in Hadriel. They look just like normal trees, except for those welcoming smiles - oh, and they don't like you at all. They move fast, hit hard, and if you manage to bring one down it'll go out in a large, dangerous explosion. This may have you rethinking your stance on clear-cutting.

While you're trying to avoid the trees, you might come across a few of the other things the Door has deposited in the colosseum for your (its?) entertainment. Namely, a bunch of toys that no one has played with in years. But maybe one of them will tickle your fancy?

Once you've finished indulging your 90's nostalgia, feel free to look around. You can explore the rest of the city! Find a house, a new monster, a project to help with, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers February 10th-14th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication and the newbie guide installed.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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[ That's a complicated question. She could say Mamore, and that would be true. She lived there for most of her life, right up until Corbulo.

But Mamore stopped being home when her parents and brother died. ]

Circinius IV. I was at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science there.

[ She rolls the mace from one hand to the other, studying it. ]

We learned to fight with different weapons. Rifles. Handguns. Knives. I came here looking for a knife.

[was her home lost to her in battle or by treachery? if by the latter, Mariane can relate.

just as Highever stopped being home when her parents, her sister-in-law, her nephew, and all of the Cousland guard and servants were slaughtered, betrayed by one held as close as a brother]

That's in space, I presume? And your studies will serve you well here. There's always some danger or another.

[she watches calmly.

and she nods] There are no such things as rifles and handguns in Ferelden, but I've seen them used by others here to great effect. Would you have either with you? I can help you find a suitable knife?

[ Insurrectionists, battle. And then her second home was destroyed by alien invaders, everyone slaughtered around her and the few survivors. ]

Yes. [ She takes a deep breath, nodding. ] I've heard about the Null.

[ As for the rest of it: ] I have a handgun with some ammunition, but my rifle is empty. If you could, that would be great. We were given standard-issue training knives at Corbulo--and these knives are designed differently than the ones there.

[slaughter take a while to cope with. she was amazed (and slightly annoyed) at how everyone seemed to expect her to push it out of her mind when she became a Grey Warden]

Ah. As have I. I've never faced them in battle, but. That may change soon.

[she volunteered to go along with Fear to trade Delight for Tranquility. she's expecting things to not go as smoothly as one would hope]

Ah. For ammunition, I've heard that you must kill a monster and bring its corpse to Rage as an offering. As for knives, what did yours look like? Its handle, its blade, its balance?

Soon?

[ She doesn't understand it, really, what's happening with these supposed gods and their enemies. Prisoner exchange, she understands, but the risks? The possibilities? They're beyond her, which is as frustrating and frightening as everything else.

The thought of bringing a monster offering makes her think of the Romans of Earth, of Corbulo, and that's too close to thinking about the Academy and its corpses. Offerings to what?

Chyler swallows, then carefully describes her knife. ]

It's standard issue at the Academy. We don't train with live blades, but we're expected to know how to care for one.

Yes. Have you been told what became of Tranquility?

[she doesn't understand all of it, either, but she understands that one of the gods' family has been taken and threatened with death. she lost nearly all of her family and it could have destroyed her if the Blight, if Alistair, if if if. if all of it hadn't given her a reason to keep living, keep fighting.

she's seen people here use guns before. they seem inelegant. efficient, compared with other weapons, but not for her. not when held up against the sword and dagger. she dances with those.

she nods in understanding when she's given the description of the knife and hopes that they can find its likeness here]

Understandable. Growing up, it was much the same for me as well. [she searches through the blades, looking for one that matches the other girl's description. none that she immediately sees is similar.

and her manners finally reassert themselves and she turns to the other girl]

I haven't introduced myself. My name is Lady Mariane Cousland. May I ask yours?

Edited 2019-02-19 08:13 (UTC)

Yes. I... [ Chyler hates admitting ignorance, but she can't exactly pretend her way into knowing what's going on. ] I don't really understand what the gods do, other than feed on us for the sake of the city.

[ She doesn't understand the willingness to negotiate with these creatures. They're the enemy, aren't they? Better to plan how to flush them out, how to destroy them, but Chyler realizes with a start that she isn't with the more powerful fighting force any more. She's suddenly forced to fight in the same way as an Insurrectionist, and the thought makes her feel sick.

Not that her own superior fighting force stood a chance in the face of the Covenant. Maybe there's always a greater power. Maybe it never matters how strong you are. Maybe--

Chyler shakes it off. ]

What? Oh. Freshman Cadet Chyler Silva. [ She offers her hand. ] Nice to meet you.

[as does Mariane. she's still new, but she's lived here while the local gods were gone and was here as they returned one by one, so she knows something about what they do]

They provide the food, the clothing, the running water, and the [she stumbles slightly over this word] electricity. Also, besides the deal with Rage for more ammunition, I've been told that you can make deals with other gods. You perform a task for them, they do something for you in return.

[these gods are absolutely unlike the Maker. the Maker turned his back on the world after humanity killed his chosen (human) bride and prophet and he no longer directly intervenes in the fate of Thedas. so coming here where beings calling themselves gods directly intervene in what is going on is peculiar.

everything about this place is peculiar. she is bound by blood to the Grey Wardens, but that means nothing here. she is a lady of Ferelden, but that means even less. she is having to make her identity on her own merits and it's proven difficult, given her inherent shyness and bouts of melancholy.

she takes Chyler's hand for a shake] And you in return. Which world do you come from?

I lived on Circinius IV just before I came her. I grew up on Mamore. [ She has to wonder if she'll find anyone here other than Ephemera and Maine who will know what any of that means. She supposes she's lucky to have them at all, people from her universe if not her world.

And what kind of bizarre thought is that? ]

We lived on multiple planets, where I'm from.

What were they like? [she has no idea what any of that means. this bothers her because it seems like Ferelden is so small and insignificant compared with all of these worlds.

but she did it. she saved Ferelden. that has to count for something?]

I see. I--I must admit I can't imagine living that way. My world is . . . far less advanced.

Really?

[ Chyler can't help her curiosity. Interstellar travel has been part of human life for so long now. Terraforming, exploration, colonization. It's all commonplace. What kind of life would it be, staying on one world, maybe in one country? She can't imagine it, being that kind of familiar with a single place.

It seems... kind of nice, maybe. Strange, without question. But maybe nice. ]

What's it like?

Yes. It's as impossible to imagine as a fish with wings.

[and Ferelden is all she knows. granted, her parents were in marriage negotiations with high ranking noblemen in Orlais and Antiva for her hand and she was curious about what she'd find there, but she'd always miss Ferelden. it was home.

to her, it's as natural as breathing. most people are born, live, and die in the same town]

Ferelden is . . . it was once described as "one bad day away from barbarism," but that's not true. We value our traditions and our freedom highly. And our dogs.

I grew up in the Terynir of Highever, along Ferelden's northern coast. My father was Teryn, it's ruler. I was taught to swim and sail at a very young age and took to both quite easily. I haven't had the chance to do either in over a year. [the last sentence said with an attempt at concealing sadness]

[ There's an odd kind of romance in the names that Mariane uses. Chyler isn't sure how else to describe it. Highever, Ferelden. They sound beautiful. ]

You miss it. [ It's obvious enough. Chyler's smile is small and sad. ] I wish I missed Mamore. There are parts I do miss, but it... it was violent, and dangerous. There was fighting in the streets as often as there wasn't. I went to Circinius IV to...

[ God, bodies, bodies everywhere. Chyler swallows, her already pale skin going sallow. ] I went there to join the military. To be trained as an officer, so I could go back to places like Mamore and help bring peace for the people who just tried to live there.

[they are both beautiful. Highever is large enough that you can go from the rocky shore up north to the heavily wooded south and it would take a couple of days on horseback to manage the trip]

I do. Every day. [as is hers. and she listens to Chyler's description of Mamore carefully] That sounds--diffficult.

[her gaze turns empathetic] That is an admirable goal. Were you successful? [she's guessing not, given Chyler's expression]

There was an invasion. [ She studies the racks of weapons so she won't have to look Mariane in the eyes. She's not sure what she's afraid of giving away. She's already told Ephemera and Drake about it, but they already knew. ]

These... monsters, creatures none of us had ever seen before. They destroyed the planet.

[Mariane knows something about keeping pain buried inside, but it will only stay buried for so long]

...ah. I see. [she can relate to some extent, given that she just ended the Blight. but that's the key, isn't it? ended. not everyone is so lucky] We you . . . able to evacuate?

I don't know.

[ A sharp twist of anxiety. She needs to be back in her world, with her friends, helping them escape. Even though Master Chief is so much better equipped to assist. Tom and Sully and April are her squad. She should be there for them. ]

We're trying. This place took me before we could.

[she swallows hard. at least Mariane has the certainty that the Blight is over and Alistair has been placed on the throne. that's something to take comfort in, even in this strange place. Chyler, it seems, has no such certainty]

That's terrible. Of all the times for the Door to intervene. But perhaps the gods prefer that uncertainty, the better to prey on your emotions.

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Intro Log: Ugh, Talk to the Hand

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