INTRO LOG: WELCOME TO THE BATCAVE

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-15th
Warnings: Bats, but not Batman. Weird arts and crafts. Confused newbies.

You awaken on the hard-packed sandy floor of the colosseum. As you blink the sleep from your eyes and begin to try to get your bearings, you might hear the gentle, soothing sound of wind chimes tinkling through the air. It's a peaceful sound, a pleasant sound. As you look around, you'll find tall stands with curved hooks at the top here and there throughout the arena, each supporting a different handmade wind chime.

You could stay and enjoy the sounds, even if what they're coming from is a bit less than aesthetically pleasing. Or you could pause for a moment and wonder where the wind that's sounding the chimes is coming from, considering you're in a cave. There are breezes in Hadriel now and again, but what's causing this wind is something else entirely. Spend too long out in the open and you'll find out what.

Perching atop the broken walls of the colosseum, hidden in crevices and shadows, are a number of Ahools. These giant bats can have wingspans as big as 12 feet, and they're certainly strong enough to lift smaller and lighter people off their feet entirely, carrying them away to devour at their leisure. Don't think you can hide - their echolocation will find you as easily as a bat finds a moth in the black of night.

If you manage to escape the Ahools and get your bearings, feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies until your belly is as full as that giant bat's was supposed to be. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers January 10th-15th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► All characters now arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[hotspurred]

[Existence is an infinitely more complex a topic now than it was just a year ago. Henry's not a stupid man, but nor is he hugely philosophical. All he can do is face the truth head on accept that the scope of understanding he has is yet again wrong. Of course there are more worlds, on top of additional realms. Why shouldn't there be? Is it really so strange for everything imaginable to be universally connected?

Not unlike the weave of mail, he tells himself, and that familiar image makes the thought easier to manage, less vast and bitter. It is best to just take each new revelation in stride and focus on coping with the present.

He reflexively grimaces at mention of dark magic.]

England. [Henry answers. The thought of home grounds him immediately, even as a pang of homesickness pierces him. He has been too long in France. Alert once more, he repeats himself with underlying reverence.] 'Tis called England.

[sparkler]

[Of course, Dorian has never heard of the place. That's what he expected, so it's no surprise, though he has to admit some tiny part of him is disappointed. Another from his own world would be welcome.

But it's clear simply from his voice that Henry loves his homeland. Dorian smiles just a bit, a touch wistful. If only he could speak of Tevinter in that manner, thinking only of the things he loves about it, not the things that horrify him. The things that should be changed.]

What is your England like? I've been something of a traveler in my time, I do enjoy hearing of other lands.

[hotspurred]

'Tis an isle, with borders to the north and west. The land is green, and where there is neither forest nor hill, there is farmland. A great number of castles stand guard across the country. Our towns and cities are walled, each with gatehouses, and many travel in from surrounding villages for market days. In the south our cliffs are famously white, and 'tis also in the south where our capital, called London, lies. No city is so large or so busy. Within its walls resides our royal court.

My family holds the county farthest north. 'Tis a wild place, unlike southern parts. The landscape is oft untouched, with few people who call it home.

[Henry rubs his aching eyes, warding off sleep. He only needs to hold on a little longer.]

England has its own long history, full of invasion, triumph and tragedy. England is a kingdom crowned in glorious legend.

[sparkler]

[He listens as they walk. The picture Henry paints is lovely indeed, and while Dorian knows enough of the world to be certain not everything in England can be so perfect as it sounds, for a moment or two it's nice to imagine that it might be so.]

No wonder you love it, if it's such an unsurpassed land. Quite a disappointment to be here instead, no doubt. I would hope that you can return one day.

[Just as he hopes to return to Thedas - and perhaps even Tevinter, eventually, though he knows that won't be so easy.]

Here, just ahead. These spires have living spaces within them.

[hotspurred]

[Henry doesn't bother to disguise his relief as he takes in the spires. Sighing, his posture slumps with exhaustion now that there is but a short, visible distance to drag himself. Already he begins tallying a mental estimation of how long it will take to clean each piece of his armour; once that is done and he has washed himself he can sleep for at least a solid day. Truly processing all that has happened -- those last desperate battles in Champagne and Normandy, finding himself here -- can wait for days to come.]

Thank God.

[He mutters to himself, before he stops walking, turns, and specifically addresses Dorian.]

Your timely assistance has spared me considerable indignity... whether deserved or not.

[He pulls off his right gauntlet, tucking it under his left arm, and holds out his mercifully clean bare hand. The gesture is an offering of respect. To his shame, he cannot say that he would have done the same in Dorian's position -- another thing he will reflect upon.]

I thank you.

[sparkler]

[Shaking hands like that is not such a common thing in Thedas, but Dorian's gotten more used to it since finding himself here. He grasps Henry's hand politely enough, appreciating the gesture for what it is.]

You're quite welcome. I'm certainly not in the habit of holding grudges against those who've done nothing to deserve it.

[And considering the regular rudeness and distrust he received at home thanks to being from Tevinter, smaller rudenesses tend to slide off more easily. Besides, he remembers arriving here, the confusion and even fear that came from finding himself in such a strange place. It's difficult not to sympathize, even a bit.]

No doubt we'll see each other again, ser, this city isn't so very large. I wish you luck at settling in.

[hotspurred]

[Henry releases Dorian's hand after an appropriate length of time, and replaces his gauntlet. He'd like that, he thinks. The situation may be a hardship but at least it is not a complete rout.]

Until then. Fare ye well.

[With that, he heads for the spires.]