Video

[dreadinquisitor]

[He wanted time to familiarize himself with this place. He needed to know if anyone else from the Inquisition had been brought across as well, and then to find them if they had. But first, he'd looked through the information they'd given him - the neat print on the strange white paper - and now, suddenly, Maxwell had a much more immediate, personal worry.

The video opens on his face; his expression a mixture of incredulity and concern.]

Hello. [It feels awkward, addressing nothing, but he pushes on.] My name is Maxwell and I have a question, and there doesn't seem to be anyone else to ask.

[The camera turns and fixes on a portion of the pages he'd been given. He points to a section, chases a sentence with his fingertip as he reads it aloud.] 'Bears will always find him.' [Then the feed swings back to him.]

Why would anyone want this? How many bears do you even have in this place, to hope to make this useful? And do they just-- roam about?[He glances away, as if one might have suddenly sneaked up on him, then back.] Are these abilities negotiable in any way?

Comments

[dreadinquisitor]

[A smirk, and a low laugh, for the irony of it.]

That's me. Chilling.

[fehus]

I'm super gonna go pursue my life's purpose now.

[there's a lame joke here]

[dreadinquisitor]

Go forth and prosper with the wisdom I have imparted.

[And because he wasn't raised a good Chantry boy for nothing, he makes a small blessing gesture.]

[fehus]

Did you just hex me.

[wooden shock. this kid won't be an actor, that's for sure]

[dreadinquisitor]

Given I can't be sure you're not secretly a Dwarf or an Elf [he was fairly confident he could discount Qunari] maybe. But what the Chantry doesn't know won't hurt it or you.

[fehus]

[there's a sudden spike in interest in grey eyes]

-- I'm technically a prince of elves, which is like, this super embarrassing thing about me, because it sounds like I wear those ruffly harlequin legging-pants and play a lute on the weekends.

You have elves and dwarves in your world?

[dreadinquisitor]

[Maxwell's head tilted, trying to discern if he meant it or if it was another of the young man's jokes. It was hard to tell.]

Yes. And Qunari.

Do you?

[fehus]

Yes.

What's a Qunari, though? -- Sorry if that sounded racist, I just don't know.

[dreadinquisitor]

There's no harm in honest curiosity.

The Qunari are a race of people from my world: tall and muscular, usually grey in skintone, and typically with horns. You'd remember one, had you seen them.

[fehus]

They sound badass as Hel.

[dreadinquisitor]

[He smiles, fond as he can almost hear Bull charging his agreement.]

They can be.

Also terrifying.

[In more ways than one, but he wasn't eager to get into a debate over the Qun.]

[fehus]

I think anybody can be terrifying if they believe in themselves.

Do all different types live in the same world, or different one?

[dreadinquisitor]

[He nods, a thoughtful bob of his head.] Not always comfortably, or happily - certainly not as much as we should - but yes.

We don't have-- anything like this. [He gestures, meaning the Earth he's now on. And how he came to be here.] Moving between worlds. There's the Fade, but it's not like this.

We don't go there physically.

...Or most don't.

[fehus]

Oh.

[he looks a little downcast, for whatever reason. oh it's this one]

I thought you might be from one of my worlds. What's the Fade?

[he knows what "fading" is in his world, hopes that's not what he's talking about]

[dreadinquisitor]

[His expression gentles with sympathy.]

It's-- [He pauses. How did one go about explaining something as indecipherable as the Fade?] The Chantry teaches us that it was the first realm of the Maker- the spirit world. But when he became dissatisfied, he made ours- the physical world and all living beings. It still exists, the spirits within separated from us by the Veil.

It's where we go when we dream- most of us, anyway. And some believe we pass through it when we die.

[fehus]

Do you believe that?

[dreadinquisitor]

[There's a long pause.]

...I've been to the Fade. Not just in my dreams, but physically. I've seen what remains of the Golden City with my own eyes... It exists, which means something must have created it. Whether that's the Maker, or the Old Gods of Tevinter, or the Gods of the Dalish, or....

I have learned enough to understand that I know very little.

[fehus]

[Magnus considers it]

Sounds like an other world to me. I have nine in mine, so I'm pretty good at detecting those.

[dreadinquisitor]

Nine? [Maxwell pulls back in surprise.] And you.... can you move between them?

[fehus]

Yeah. That doesn't make me special or anything, for the one I live in, though.

It's like taking public transportation.

[fehus]

Of course that's the only power I can't use anymore, though, so don't get excited. I should have said that upfront.

[dreadinquisitor]

[His smile is wry.]

Don't worry, I've already received that speech: comings and goings are controlled by the all powerful machine-god with the love cruel irony.

[But then he brightens a bit.]

But still... that's its possible - it's unheard of in my world. I was only the second person to ever do it, and we were terrified of what havoc it might cause. That you can so freely... [It make him think of Solas, and wish, quietly, that the elf were here.]

[fehus]

[Magnus is also constantly wishing an elf he knows was here. Even if they're not from the same worlds, he shares a surprising amount in common with this bear snack]

Freedom's big in the 9 worlds. It's sort of lacking here. Cough, registration, the entire imPort process, cough.

[dreadinquisitor]

[Maxwell's brow twitches into a slight vee.]

I've only heard a little about that. What does this registration entail exactly?

[fehus]

Dunno, didn't do it.

[but that's not what he's asking, really]

For some people it just means easier travel access. For others it's the morally right choice. For others it's about the fame and money.

From my perspective it entails recruitment and surveillance by a shady government that has no idea what's happening for a cause I don't support or care about in exchange for perks that I can get myself, like food and somewhere to sleep and employment.