sparklequeen: (087 » But I wanna forgive and forget)
Queen Glimmer ([personal profile] sparklequeen) wrote in [community profile] faderift2021-04-16 10:41 am

Out of the frying pan... [ Open | Arrival ]

WHO: Glimmer, anyone else.
WHAT: Glimmer arrives in Thedas via Rift, then gets settled in the Gallows
WHEN: A week or two during Cloudreach
WHERE: Location
NOTES: N/A


i. Falling, falling, falling

Glimmer had gone to sleep in New Amsterdam, awkwardly curled on a too small mattress, doing her best not to make unappreciated skin contact with the girl she shared with. And as usual when far from home, she had been dreaming--dreaming of home. Of her friends. Of her war. When she dreams this time, it is of the endless corridors of the vessel she had been imprisoned on--a common nightmare for her. In this one, she runs through endless, identical corridors, pursued by identical monsters, each of them wearing the face of the warlord imprisoning her. She fights them, but no matter how many she blasts down with her staff or fights free of, there are always more. Endless, endless, and endless. She cannot escape. She will never escape. Until she stumbles through a doorway and into emptiness. She is tumbling down, down, down--

Her eyes shoot open and she flails. She is falling, really falling and she has a staff in her hand--she doesn't know where this is or what's happening. Too green to be New Amsterdam and yet not the familiar land of home. She flails, twists herself, and by instinct tries to teleport herself down to safety--

And finds that she can. Appears in a burst of sparkling light. There's a laugh. A bark of stressed, unsure mirth at being able to teleport once again.

"What?" It's the only thing she can think to say as she stumbles and leans against her staff. It neatly sums up her experience in the last few months.

[ There are probably some shades of the clones chasing her through her dream around to be slain, and they'll go poof pretty easy. Maybe some Fade daemons? Go wild! Please PM me if you've got other questions or ideas. ]

ii. Landing on your feet

The Gallows seems an appropriate name for the place when Glimmer first sets eyes on the imposing edifice that seems to rise out of the water of Kirkwall's harbor. Thankfully, once she sets foot on the island, she finds it much less of a miserable place than she had thought. It feels more familiar than the artificiality and sterility of New Amsterdam (at least before it had been overrun by plants) but has a feeling of oppressiveness and closed-off isolation compared to the open, airy corridors and breezeways of Bright Moon. Still... she can deal with this, right? Having gotten her bearings, she settles in for what is sure to be an interesting time.

There are days of education. She can be found learning about this new world, about what brought her here. In the training yard, sweating as she swings a practice staff against targets and works on her teleportation 'muscles' once again. Appearing and disappearing in bursts of light, firing off blasts of her photokinesis to knock down targets until she collapses from the exertion, panting and weak. It helps her work off the frustration of being far from home once again and though she's friendly enough when approached, there's something moody and closed off about the young woman from time to time.

Perhaps she's found at meal times, tired and practically dozing in her soup after a hard training sessions or with her eyes fixed on a book about Thedas as she tries to absorb whatever she can. Regardless, there's a new face to be seen at the Gallows and she could probably use someone friendly to help her feel welcome.

Or maybe you just want to needle the new kid. Either way.

[ Go wild! Open to to other stuff as well. If there's nothing here that strikes your fancy, hit me up on Discord or Plurk and we can plot something else out. ♥ ]
fairforce: (04)

ii

[personal profile] fairforce 2021-04-17 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Tiffany is usually in the training yard, too. Even after months of living at the Gallows, the yard is the place that feels most familiar to her. Chalk it up to the fact that she's spent most of her life in training--with her siblings at the Keep, and then among the Seekers--until her role was reversed, and she was the one training other Seekers.

That training did not include magic. Tiffany, going through her drills, has spent the afternoon observing the other woman. She's polite enough that her observing can't be confused with open staring--but if she had been staring, she could hardly be blamed. The display is strange and fascinating.

When the current sequence seems to have come to a close (at least for now), and the woman is catching her breath, Tiffany comes over and sets a jug of water beside her, with a friendly smile.

"Want some?"

She's tall, clad in half-armor for ease of training. Her broadsword is sheathed over her back, its pommel wrapped in bright blue leather. Her surcoat, too, is blue, the mark of the Seeker order picked out across the chest in yellow: the eye, the flames behind it.
fairforce: (67)

[personal profile] fairforce 2021-04-17 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"I used to be so excited to get out and work that I'd do the same thing. Right up until I fainted dead away after a drill. Now I bring double water." She gives a self-deprecating little smile, a gesture. "Sharing is no problem."

The crown is the most telling part of the woman's garb. Tiffany's eyes graze over her forehead, a quick glance. The gold catches in the sunshine. It's mot exactly easy to overlook.

"I'm Tiffany," she says. Introduction instead of asking any questions. "Lady Seeker Theophania Hart. The formality is a little much for me, but I don't like to surprise anyone at a later date. You're new to Riftwatch?"
fairforce: (43)

[personal profile] fairforce 2021-04-18 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, is the sound Tiffany makes, quiet and surprised--first because this is a Rifter (but of course it is, the magic had looked different, a style unfamiliar), and second because of the title.

"We don't have to be formal, as long as you're comfortable with informality. I am, if you are. It's very nice to meet you, Glimmer, even if I'm sorry about the circumstances of our meeting."
fairforce: (47)

[personal profile] fairforce 2021-04-18 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
Tiffany shakes her head. "Not a thing. Well, the queen bit does--we do have queens. And moons that are very often bright, but the way you say it makes it sound a place, which makes a difference. What is it like?"

While she's here, and they're conversing, she might as well have a seat. The clink of chain mail has a kind of musicality to it as she adjusts herself to sit as comfortably as she can.
fairforce: (18)

[personal profile] fairforce 2021-04-18 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Tiffany has to twist a little to get her broadsword into a place that doesn't make her feel like a scarecrow on a pole. She manages it as graceful as anyone could manage such a thing, with minimal face-pulling.

It helps to have Glimmer's account of her home as a distraction. She smiles as she stretches her legs out. "It sounds wonderful. I come from a place in Ferelden that sounds like it might be much the same, the Ruswold. Except the glittering castle. That sounds like something out of a wonderful story. Ruling a friendly people must be a rewarding job."
fairforce: (70)

[personal profile] fairforce 2021-04-20 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
War. That's certainly sobering. Tiffany looks down at her boots. They're worn but well-made, the sort that can be worn day in, day out, taken to a cobbler for repair for years without seeing retirement. She's worn them in battles and in trainings, marches and patrols and homecomings.

"I'm sorry your home has known war." Simple, straightforward, genuinely meant. She digs her heels against the thin soil of the yard, making little crescent-shaped impressions. "Sometimes it seems overwhelming, thinking that everyone has lived during some war or another. Not just in Thedas, but--everywhere. It makes peace feel like some far-fetched ideal."
heorte: (22)

ii / post training yard

[personal profile] heorte 2021-04-19 07:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Glimmer is difficult to miss.

"You push yourself very hard," comes after she's finished, and Ellis can draw up alongside the edge of the training yard when Glimmer seems ready to leave it. It's a neutral observation, Ellis studying her. There is plenty he doesn't know about how magic might work, what kind of toll it takes on the user. And Rifters, that's a whole other arena of capability; he's never seen someone disappear in a blinding flash of light before.

But what he does know is that it's likely rude to ask so bluntly about the strain any magic puts on a mage, so—

"Have you ever practiced that with partners? Someone at your flank?"
heorte: (40)

[personal profile] heorte 2021-04-22 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Almost: Don't force it.

But Ellis holds that particular piece of advice in check for the moment.

"I've some experience fighting alongside mages. And sparring with them," he offers instead, even though the word mage might not be quite the right fit. But the differences between magic in Thedas and magic everywhere else is Wysteria's domain. Ellis is thinking strategically.

"I'm not much for staves, but if you'd like a better partner than those training dummies, I'd volunteer."
heorte: (166)

[personal profile] heorte 2021-04-28 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Ellis," he volunteers, though there's a beat of hesitation before he puts his hand in hers. The name is less cause for consideration than her height. If he hadn't seen her display earlier, he might have been more concerned about squaring off with someone this tiny.

"I fight with a mace," follows after, Ellis tilting his head slightly before continuing, "But for this, a sword, maybe."
heorte: (16)

[personal profile] heorte 2021-04-30 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Were you not fighting, where you came from?"

There's a sense of...delicacy in the question. Ellis doesn't want to be mistaken as prying, doesn't want to be needling at something sensitive.
heorte: (155)

[personal profile] heorte 2021-05-03 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
As with most references Ellis can't place, he takes the unfamiliar names in stride.

"You needn't tell it if you aren't inclined to," he offers instead, rather than questions. "There'll be more than enough opportunity for you to fight here."

Is that reassuring? Ellis wants it to be, but isn't entirely sure it's had the desired effect. He tacks on, with a slight smile, "If it's not demons, it's bandits. Or bears. They'll keep you in top form."
heorte: (02)

[personal profile] heorte 2021-05-05 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
"You won't when you meet one that's been Fade-addled," Ellis cautions, so solemn that the degree to which he's joking is impossible to discern. From what he'd seen, Glimmer might not be so outmatched by bears, Fade-touched or no.

But, more sincerely, "There'll be work for you. It might not all be..."

A pause, Ellis casting for descriptors that encompass the range of things Riftwatch is asked to tend to.

"You won't be bored," is what he settles on, apparently the most honest summation that can be mustered.
okayimin: (Default)

ii

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-04-20 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Can you do that through a door?" asks a crisp voice, interrupting Glimmer's training on one particular afternoon.

The voice belongs to a tiny dwarven woman dressed in the bright reds and whites of the Chantry. She looks up at Glimmer with an assessing frown, the expression pulling slightly on the blocky "S" shaped mark on her cheek.
okayimin: (what's that)

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-04-22 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Wouldn't know anything about that," Sawbones admits, "Dwarves don't have much to do with magic." Neither does Sawbones herself, unless it's useful. In which case: "How are you with heights?"

Because yes, she is here to recruit for a task.
okayimin: (sup salrocka)

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-04-24 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
"That will do," Sawbones says, satisfied, "Follow me."

She sets off without checking to see if Glimmer follows. She won't be hard to keep up with, given the height differences. She does glance over her shoulder during her march down the Gallows halls to ask: "What's your name? You're one of those new Rifters, aren't you?"
okayimin: (what's that)

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-05-01 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
That makes Sawbones turn. She squints up at Glimmer, trying to gauge her age.

"I thought queens and such were supposed to be grown. You look young for it."
okayimin: (Default)

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-05-07 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Huh." And Sawbones is aware at least that these kinds of things are sensitive. Families aren't particularly of any given importance in Dust Town, but it's impossible to escape the importance of a House and the legacy attached to names. Still, it sounds like a lot of Caste and nobility business.

"Suppose those things do happen. I just wanted to be sure, since surfacers all look like children." It's sympathy and apology, awkwardly given and with Sawbones once again setting off down the hall.
okayimin: (hang on gotta lick a rock)

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-05-11 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
With that seemingly settled, Sawbones forges on til they get to the one of the inner gardens. It's early spring still and Kirkwall is not gentle on anything, including plants, but still. There's a few trees in bloom and stubborn green shoots bursting out of the ground.

Sawbones points to one of the flowering trees. A large basket sits at the base of it, half full with various herbs. "I need to get some of those blossoms." She plucks a glass jar out of the depths of the basket, "At least enough to fill this jar. But someone's moved the ladder."

This is the very important problem that Sawbones has accosted one of the new Rifters for.
okayimin: (hang on gotta lick a rock)

[personal profile] okayimin 2021-05-12 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
She's still a great deal taller than Sawbones, small even for a dwarven woman. And something eases in her as the blossoms start filling the jar. Plants do that, so does someone else's clear enjoyment of plants.

"Trying to make some of the medicines taste less bitter," she says, holding the jar and watching it fill, "I got one that helps keep fatigue off, but it's horrid to taste and you can't always have something on hand to cover it up."