hadriel_logs | Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

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Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

Who: Everyone in the city + Fourth Wall visitors!
What: Part one of the fourth wall event, hosted by Fear, Confusion, and Delight!
Where: All around the city
When: October 24th-November 1st
Warnings: Visitors from other worlds!

If you're not from around here, you may be wondering what's going on. You've woken up out of the blue in the colosseum, or near a temple, or in one of the numerous other locations in the city. You're somewhere underground and it's dark, cold, and maybe a little unnerving.

Luckily, shortly after your arrival, the road below your feet begins to light up in a gentle, warm glow. The light points you in a set direction and, if you choose to travel that way, will lead you toward the center of the city, where there is a large gathering of others who are lost here like you, people who might know their way around a bit more, and even some of the gods who rule this place.

There are lights strung up on poles throughout the large clearing, casting a comforting glow onto the tables beneath them. The tables are abundant with lots of food that looks simply delicious- though, none of it tastes quite like it should. The tarts taste like green beans, the mashed potatoes like cheesecake, and the chocolate seems oddly reminiscent of steak. In addition, there are decorations artfully placed around the meeting point. If you see them moving, don't worry- that's probably just your imagination.

Also distributed along the tables are shot glasses, filled with a sludgy, yellow substance. If you're brave enough to consume them, they taste strongly of mint and will give you a much needed energy boost, circumventing the need to eat or sleep for a full 24 hours! After that, however, everything hits you all at once, so use them wisely. Some of you may remember these shots from our How Delightful event earlier this year!

In addition to all of the above, there are also party poppers strewn around the area. Each popper can jet out some strange objects- glitter bombs, seashells, plastic dinosaurs, maybe a live lizard or two- so be careful! Feel free to use your discretion on these, but remember to keep it small!
_

Of course, you can always not travel that way. The rest of the city has plenty of places to explore- maybe you'd like to stumble in our Silent Hill zone, have a quick look around the alien orchard, or check out any of the god temples that can inspire their chosen emotion. Be careful not to get lost in the tunnels leading away from the cave- none of them can actually move you above ground, but you may run into a few monsters on the way.

For those of you who have been with us awhile, please bear with the gods while they try to adjust around these new folks! Join in on the festivities if you like, or try to orient as many of the others as you can. Start a community outreach program, start a fight club, introduce your parents to your weird cave girlfriend- nobody's judging!

Well. Some of us might be.
_

Enjoy the fourth wall event at Hadriel! Once you're settled in feel free to explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies.

Fourth wall characters do not enter with phones so they cannot reach the network- however, if you'd like to handwave that they somehow got ahold of Mello's Newcomer guide to avoid the 'where am I/what is this' sort of questions, then feel free!

Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers October 24th-November 1st.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well! Fourth wall characters will not have posting access, so grab an in-game friend if you wanted to do anything separate from the main log.
► Fourth wall characters will be in the city for at least one week, though they can stay for longer. The party will go on throughout the entire week, thanks to Delight's boundless energy!
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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[The body jewelry glinting in the dim light caught his eye, and he was halfway to touching fingers lightly against the ones adorning one of Dorian's ears when the man spoke up.

Inquisitor Lavellan. Had he ever been that formally addressed by the other mage other than in playful tones with mischievous smirks? It certainly wasn't the case now, and what Dorian was saying...

Letting his hand fall back to his side, trying to pretend like he didn't feel a sudden ache at the idea. That Dorian didn't know him, that everything that had happened between them simply...

Hadn't.

It hurt more than anything had a right to, in his not-so-humble opinion.]

An explanation would be... appreciated. [Keeping the turmoil from his tone, from his expression, aside from the tightening of his smile, the tension underlying his calm, friendly tone.]

[Dorian is no Iron Bull, to read a man's loyalty from the way he ties his apron, but even he can see the heartbreak in the elf's face at his words, what had almost been a touch that he can only imagine would be fond, and for a moment he hates that he told the truth. But better for him to know now than for Dorian to lie and for him to figure it out later. He hadn't met an Inquisitor yet who was that much of an idiot.]

[So he nods, and smiles as much as he can.]

Yes, of course. I think you're warranted that at the very least. If you'd like, I can explain on the way back to the place I'm staying. [Not his home, it's been over a year since he left Thedas, he's not sure he properly has a home]

[He offers an arm for the elf to take, that bit of contact, perhaps it might help, though it might just make it worse, who could really tell. Once they're heading in the direction of the houses he starts]

I'll try to keep this short, you can have the long, sordid explanation later. [he takes a breath] Suffice to say that there is a multitude of Thedases. All with different Inquisitors, and... several other key differences. All of you gained the Mark, all of you fight Corypheus, even with the same Companions. My Inquisitor was Mahanon Lavellan, who fights with a pair of knives, but I have also met others.

[He looked over at his audience, gauging just how much the elf was understanding]

I... should ask your name. Inquisitor or Herald is far too formal, don't you think?

[There's another smile then, a friendly sort, he wants Athras to be comfortable with him, to know that he might not be his Dorian, but he's a Dorian, and that's good enough for now, right?]

That... sounds fine.

[Even with the news so fresh, with the ache that Dorian simply didn't know him in any way he'd become used to, he accepted the offered arm readily. It was second nature at this point to do so really, to seek out the contact with his lover even if he technically wasn't well...

His.

Listening as he spoke, trying to focus on the area around them, getting used to the place they'd wound up in, but his gaze kept drawing back towards Dorian, unable to help himself at the best of times, let alone after something like this. The situation sounded so impossible, but after everything he'd seen and been through, was the idea of alternate worlds really any stranger? He'd seen one in Redcliffe after all, an alternate future. Was it something like that?]

Athras Lavellan. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how purple the Chantry turned at the idea of a Dalish Apostate prancing around as the Herald.

[There was still that shadow in his expression, but his smile, the teasing tone came a bit easier in response to Dorian's own smile. Even now, knowing what he did it seemed the man could just make everything better by existing.]

[Dorian doesn't say anything, but it's obvious that the way Athras tucks himself in close, that it's habit, that this is something he's done before, and quite a lot. He feels another surge of jealousy for this other Dorian, this Dorian that he will go back home to, that he'll have this and he's sure a dozen things more to share. He'll enjoy it while he can, moments stolen from himself. He deserves some happiness, right?]

[He chuckles and nods]

Oh, I'm sure that at least a few of them had absolute fits of rage. Easy enough to imagine, all those Chantry mothers squawking like a gaggle of angry geese.

[It's strange, knowing someone and yet... not. He feels as if he should know Athras, much as he had felt that he should know Meallan, Eliana, Cecily, Mahanon, Beleth, and all the rest. There had been a familiarity already, like meeting an old friend. He wondered about it sometimes, what common thread it was that bound all of these disparate individuals together and chose one to become the Herald.]

[ He was unaware of the conflict for the moment, thrown enough by the new situation that the cues slip by, at least for the moment. And even so, was it his place to call Dorian on his feelings? It would go without saying back home, but the relationship here was different in a way he wasn't yet sure how to handle. Not realizing he'd settled so close as was his habit, Dorian's presence easing some of the tension from him as they walked. It was the way of things, the Tevinter mage always seemed to have that effect, some odd skill in soothing the Inquisitor whenever stress started to overwhelm him. ]

A few of the older mothers I was becoming quite concerned that they would simply keel over from the strain. Thankfully things have settled some, or I think we'd have much less of a Chantry to speak of.

[Not that it bothered him overly much. It wasn't his religion after all. But at the same time it was important to those around him so... maybe a little bit of concern, if only for their sakes.]

It would certainly be quieter that way though.

Ah, that might not be such a bad thing. Shake up the structure of things a bit, get some younger mothers in charge instead of the stodgy old ones. Religions need shaking ups every once in awhile or they stagnate.

[Not that this was always a good thing, or ever an easy thing. Major religions having shakeups was generally quite chaotic, as they could all attest, as they were one of those religious shakeups]

Quiet seems in short supply most days.

[Everywhere he's been. Here the boredom is broken by chaos (and recently, dragons, but true peace, true quiet, that's harder to come by.]

[The street turns, and there's a path winding downwards in a spiral. Yes, a cave within a cave.]

Here we are, there are houses down there, one of which holds myself, Leliana, and one Cecily Trevelyan. Your human counterpart. But she's not home right now, which should spare us any awkward introductions.

[Not everyone took the "Oh hey, there are multiple versions of you, here meet one!" thing very well. And Dorian wasn't sure how she'd react, she hadn't been in a good place since Cullen had disappeared.]

Do you think it could take more shaking up than we're already putting it through?

[Because really it was already like they'd dropped Fire Mines into the whole mess and given it a shake.]

That'll be an... interesting meeting I'm sure. [But still reeling from what he'd already learned, he was grateful that he'd have a bit of time to settle before that happened.]

[Dorian shrugged]

I suppose that would depend largely upon who you ask.

[A snort this time]

Interesting. I remember there was a curse that involved wishing someone would live in interesting times. Sometimes I think I could do with a bit of boring.

[He headed down the spiral, near the bottom, he didn't bother knocking when he came to the right door, just walking in as if he belongs. Which, well he does, after a fashion, though he feels more like a temporary resident still, filling in the space that the old Dorian had left behind.]

[His room is not precisely messy, there's order to the stacks of books and sheafs of notes that litter the desk and end tables, and it probably looks very familiar to Athras. Dorian pulls several books out of his sack, placing them in the stacks he thinks they should go in. Not that it's easy, with most of them unreadable, but whatever.]

Please, sit down. I'd ask if you need a drink, but I think that goes without saying, doesn't it?

[And because this is Dorian, there's already a bottle nearby, and he pours two glasses, handing one over to Athras]

Here. Now, I'm sure you have quite a lot of questions, hm?

I think everyone would welcome a little tedium in their lives nowadays.

[He should be warier. Some little part of him knows that. Someone wandering around with his lover's face, the strange new place, it all spoke to something strange, something suspicious.

But he knew Dorian. He knew all the little quirks of the man, the cadence of his speech, the little twitches of expression that made them unique. The Tevinter mage might be an unspoken blind spot for him, but he'd certainly know an imposter, and this Dorian was...

Besides what would the point be of going through the trouble only to pretend not to know him?]

A drink would definitely be appreciated.

[Taking a seat, glass in hand, the elf paused a moment to look around the room. It was... a different place certainly, but the ordered chaos was familiar, reminded him of the alcove he'd taken over in the library back in Skyhold where the man would research whatever it was that had caught his attention that day. Despite the oddity of the situation it had him relaxing slightly, taking a long drink as he considered the many questions he had.]

I suppose the first questions would be how we were pulled here, from alternate versions of Thedas. Why would be another.

[Dorian takes the seat next to him, glass in hand, bottle between them.]

Well, the how, from what I've come to understand, is something they call the Door. It opens, once a month on the same day, and pulls in a group of people, along with random objects and seemingly random monstrosities, everything from bipedal lizards with knives to something they call zombies, but they look like undead to me... just nastier. How they are snatching us from alternate existences I couldn't answer, but that at least is not unique to them, in fact it seems quite common with this sort of magic. I've rarely found two of us that come from the same timeline, the Inquisitor that was already here is an anomaly, as she showed up with her Cullen, Blackwall, and Dorian.

As to they why... [He shook his head with a frown]

It looks like the damned thing is malfunctioning and just pulling in whatever it can grab, as if you were sticking your hand into a sack and drawing out a handful of sand. No one seems to know why or how to stop it or how to reverse it. Not even the "gods" who are, by the way, using our emotions to give themselves power, for all that they don't seem to be doing anything terribly useful with it.

[He drained the glass]

I'm sure there's a why, a reason or a pattern, but as there is no physical door that I can study, no residual magical energy that I can find, there is little I can do to find out what in the world is going on here.

[Can Athras tell he's frustrated? He's about ready to chew iron and spit out nails if this keeps up.]

So what you're saying here, is that it's another absolute bag of cats we've found ourself with?

[A grimace at the thought, expression pensive as he thought it over,unable to help but chew thoughtfully at the inside of his lip.]

It makes you wonder just what they need this power for, what they're planning. You'd think that would want to get their 'door' under control.

[Pausing to take another drink, brows drawing slightly as he considered the issue.]

Unless the malfunction is some sort of ploy on their end. I can't say why, aside from keeping attention and blame off of them for being stuck here. At least beyond the general finger-pointing that tends to accompany stressful situations.

Or I could just be stabbing at nothing in the dark, it's hard to say.

I wish it was a bag of cats. That might be more manageable.

[he's nodding along though]

It has occurred to me. They are either incompetent or malicious, perhaps in equal portion. Can you believe that they brought in dragons just a week ago? Four of them, all at once.

[He shook his head]

And then, the one calling himself Hope acts as if I should just be quiet and let them do whatever it is they'd like. As if I've no complaint because well, I'm alive, aren't I?

They have the power to resurrect the dead. Literally. None of this talking to a spirit pretending to be your grandmother nonsense. Actual resurrection. But no, managing a Door is just far too complicated for them.

[He gets angrier about it the more he thinks about it. It feels like the answer is just beyond his grasp, and he hates that]

...If they've that sort of power already, the idea of drawing in more people just continues to beg the question what for.

[The idea isn't soothing in the least, and he can see he's not the only one annoyed by the lack of clear answers.]

It also makes it much less likely that they're as incompetent regarding the process as they want us to think. Hard to say with just supposition, but something tells me that hard evidence isn't in great supply or you might look less like you'd been volunteered for another mountain mission.

More emotions to feed off of, I'm sure. Easy enough to keep us complacent and just frustrated that there's so little they can do. I wouldn't be surprised if they think that simply pouring more power into something will make it work the way they want it to.

[He did laugh, but there's a bitter tone to it, and he sighs]

At least in the mountains all I had to do was run around and kill things. The misery kept me warm.

And yes, so far all I have are theories, guesses. I don't even have a firm grasp on how magic works here, other than that mine does, though not quite as well as it might at home. But other kinds work as well, and there's no Veil, no Fade, no spirits.

[But it's enough that he can kill things, which is more than he can say for Arda. What a pain in the ass that place had been]

Because 'just add more power' never causes things to go horrifically wrong, right?

[Thoughtful, though the comments about the magic definitely earned a raised brow, a tilt of his head.]

Magic without the Fade? That... well it's reassuring that magic still works at least...

[It was a simple enough thing to conjure a small flicker of fire between the fingers of his free hand, the slim elf relaxing imperceptibly that the magic responded basically as it should.]

How far does it go? Does it end up taking more out of us to use, or is it easier over time?

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Event Log: Fourth Wall, Part One

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