D5, Nightrunner Channel

[whattaprick]

[ The nightrunner channel comes to life in the mid-afternoon. ]

This is Nightrider Lambert. We'll be making a stop at a new world tomorrow. For some of you, it'll be the first time, so if you've got any questions now's the time to get them out of the way.

Keep a lookout for trouble and tell me or another nightrunner if you can't get ahold of me. You're not on a leash, but I'd better hear from you at least once a day, even if it's just to tell me there's nothing to report.

We also got a warning that we might need to watch for any sign of other fae. A lot of you won't know what that looks or feels like, so Strange will fill you in.

[ And he lapses into silence for Strange to take it away. ]

If you aren't magically sensitive then I'm terribly sorry, but you might not be able to tell fae magic apart from other magic in the first place. For those of you who are, the thing that I've always associated with fae magic is the sheer power behind it. Even a faerie artifact can radiate more power than your average magic user and certain spells can linger long after the enchanter dies. It's also...simple, in a way? Carnival magic is a bit of a hodge-podge, a combination of all sorts of magics from different worlds. Fae magic is more pure and...primordial, perhaps. [ Strange is 100% not certain about that word choice! ]

Though, at least with the Portland fae we've encountered, they weren't too good at making certain things fit their surroundings. Mysterious berries, a large gathering of birds, roses springing up out of nowhere...if you see something that looks out of place, take a picture and ask someone about it before you decide to metaphorically poke it with a stick.

[ And Lambert will tack on: ]

One person screwing up is all it takes to land us all in a load of shit. So if you see someone doing something that could be a problem? Stop them. Be ready for anything.

Comments

[dirthena]

I think I do, too. It also lessens one's connection with the Fade, which means the more you use it, the more it becomes your only option for magic.

( and therefore, more inclined to do murder for. ah, thedas. )

Not a pleasant memory for you, then. ( a pause, and a frown, although he cannot see it. ) You were at war and couldn't kill men you brought back from the dead? Were they too busy attempting to express how annoyed they were at it for you to do so?

( sorry strange... )

[kingsroads]

The corpses had been dead for weeks. [ Strange responds, trying to be as matter of fact as he could despite the fact that this wigs him out more than he wants to admit. ] Killing something like...that is harder than expected.

Besides, I still fancied myself a gentleman at that point.

[dirthena]

You get used to it. ( she says, idly. as if possessed corpses were a thing she dealt with on a day to day basis. and, to be fair to strange, sometimes she doesn't fight corpses. sometimes she fights people. or demons. ) Especially when they're trying to kill you first.

Is that something unreconcilable with fae magic and raising the dead?

[kingsroads]

It something I thought irreconcilable with fae magic and raising the dead. Now, however, I find it's a bit meaningless.

[ Strange can't use that excuse after his literal descent into crazy. There's a bit of an awkward pause before he asks, ]

So I assume you've had experience killing corpses?

[ because what the fuck ]

[dirthena]

Then you have my apologizes, if it was something of value to you.

( she knows how that goes, a little. and lavellan pays no mind to the awkward pause. )

Corpses of the dead who've been reanimated after a demon has possessed them. Normally the shemlen of Thedas burn their dead so that they do not turn against them, but sometimes plague or war prevents them for doing so.

[kingsroads]

War prevents a lot of things from going the way they should, [ Strange responds, with a bit of a siiiigh. ]

It's interesting to hear that demons are such a large part of your world, as they aren't a part of mine. There are strange similarities between Thedas and England, but then you mention the demons or I mention raising the dead and the similarities come to a halt.

[dirthena]

Indeed they do. I imagine that's one of the reasons for waging them in the first place.

( wars are just as complicated as anything else, in lavellan's opinion. )

You have no elves, which makes it quite unimaginable to me. ( she points out. ) But there's enough similarities that even we thought that we might have been from the same place. Perhaps there's other worlds out there that we might visit that bridge the gap between our two.

[kingsroads]

In that case, I hope we visit some of them in the carnival. Aside from the fact that we both could gain so much from that, I'm overdue a world that I'm familiar with!

[dirthena]

Has there not been one that's similar enough for you recently? I only have that time spent on the moon to compare wherever we end up to.

[kingsroads]

The most similar was probably Greysol. And even then, that had people's souls wandering around externally as animals.

There was the Prince's realm, but that doesn't really count.

[dirthena]

( uh. ) Walking around as animals?

( that's unheard of to her, how on earth does that work. )

Why doesn't it really count?

[kingsroads]

It'd be easiest to show you. Lambert, I know you're listening, be certain to introduce Lavellan to Celandine sometime.

[ just casually bossing his boss around, nbd. ]

And it doesn't really count because the Prince chose that aesthetic himself. Likewise, the Prince's realm was just a large manor, not an entire world.

[dirthena]

( can you just casually boss your boss around like that? that's a move lavellan is going to have to try sometimes, damn. )

I see. Was it separate from the other worlds -- from what I understand they seem to be as large as my own. If it was a realm, then it stands that it was smaller and more self contained.

[kingsroads]

It was smaller. The Prince's realm was technically an Earth elemental that he enslaved and built a manor out of.

[ though, with Lavellan talking about the sizes, Strange feels the need to clarify a bit. ] The size of things is a bit flexible with regards to the fae. Faeries can have their own domain, but things like size, spacial arrangement, and boundaries can be easily changed.

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert is still listening in, but the bossing around has more to do with best!!! Friend!!! Privileges more than anything else. Nonetheless, he feels the need to chime in. ]

The Carnival's already an example of that. We just spent a month on the moon, we got a lake and mountains after we went to hell -- I don't think there's anything about this place the Ringmaster couldn't change if she wanted to.

[dirthena]

( damn it!!! also earth elementals sound awfully familiar -- she'll get back to that, though. )

So the Carnival would count as her domain, like the Prince's. But she's a neutral fae, you said, and therefore operates out of the boundaries of the others. ( a small huff, and then: ) Why did she pick a Carnival, do either of you know?

[kingsroads]

She's an eccentric? [ fuck if Strange knows. ] It does make a bit of sense, though. Does your world have the 'run away to the circus' cliche? It's a smart way to entice people into signing a contract

[dirthena]

I don't believe it does, no. Running away is feasible enough, but Darkspawn still linger. And then there's the slavers from Tevinter and templars. ( a small, thin smile. ) I suppose a city elf might wish to run away and join the Dalish, although they ( and there's a slight, very tiny pause after that before she continues ) are not in possession of any magical means of realm hopping.

[whattaprick]

What's Darkspawn?

[ Of course that's what Lambert would jump on. ]

[kingsroads]

And where's Tevinter?

[ time for LAVELLAN'S turn for an infodump ]

[dirthena]

Darkspawn are-- ( creators, how to explain the darkspawn. ) Creatures who have been tainted, whether through contact with other Darkspawn or the fact that they were simply created that way. They have no guiding purpose but to seek out an Old God and corrupt it to become something like themselves, and then kill and corrupt all that dwell upon the surface of Thedas as the new Archdemon leads them.

Tevinter is to the north of Fereldin and Orlais, as well as several other countries. It is the oldest still-surviving shemlen nation; one that benefited from picking through the scraps and remains of Elvhenan and Arlathan in order to propel itself to greatness. ( shes's bitter, but not as bitter as solas might be about it. so there's that, at least. ) They practice blood magic and keep slaves as well.

( just so she's clear about what a cesspit it is. no hard feelings, dorian. )

[whattaprick]

Sounds like a nice place to take a vacation.

[ Sarcastic, obviously. ]

So those are the monsters you've got to deal with, huh?

[dirthena]

Very tropical, or so I'm told.

( even though there was a tropical rainforest in the mountains. don't ask. )

Not normally. Fighting Darkspawn is a Grey Warden's job; they can sense the location of Darkspawn. Although that gift comes with something they call the Calling. I have met one or two, but can't tell you much more.

I dealt with three god-pretenders. Not that anyone's counting, of course. And demons, and men who'd been overtaken by a parasitic crystal.