driftfleet | As an empire of dead men leave their graves

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As an empire of dead men leave their graves

Who: Justice and YOU
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Blameless and Iskaulit
When: After the glitches kick in.

[Video & Blameless Action, Day 1 of glitching]

--Gone, vile thing. [The communicator turns on as it's thrown against the wall. Loyalty the pygmy snow leopard paces in front of the camera, making loud unhappy noises and largely obscuring the vision of what's going on inside Justice's room (for it has to be Justice's room with Loyalty, right?). Justice's voice sounds different, so much so that it's not immediately recognizable, but it echoes strangely. When the camera can see past the pacing legs of Loyalty, it doesn't focus properly on the person standing in the room. It's like the camera can't quite register that there's a person there at all, but there's definitely an outline there, and it's definitely glowing blue.]

Muire! What did you do?

[Iskaulit Action, Day 3 of glitching]

[For those who don't know much about Justice, it's not clear that this is Justice. The spirit glows blue all over, and it wears ancient Tevinter armor that obscures its face entirely. Looking at it directly may provoke a headache--there's something about it that seems fundamentally wrong, like it's not supposed to be there, and if one looks at it long enough, it may start changing shape to better reflect the observer's vision of justice.

It is also incredibly tense, and its sword is drawn. It turns to the observer quickly, and in an androgynous voice, it says,] Speak, mortal, and tell me where I am.

[Iskaulit Action, Day 5 of glitching]

[It's official. Loyalty is literally the only indication that this is the same person anymore.

Justice walks the Iskaulit with Loyalty at heel, but this Justice looks nothing like people are used to. For one, this Justice appears to be a woman. For two, she has different armor, one that's older and sleek and resembles elven work with a long hood over her head instead of a helmet. Long, pointy ears are occasionally visible under the hood, but she's hidden her face with a scarf that hides everything except her eyes, which seem too sharp to be entirely human or elven. Her skin still glows blue, and she walks with a sword at her hip, and when she speaks, her voice still echoes, though it's considerably more feminine than usual.] Where have the dreamers gone?

[Some may recognize that she's speaking in Ancient Elvish, but the augments automatically translate her into Common, so does it matter?]

[Wildcard - Meet Justice on any day]

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[Justice turns to face the shemlen, brow clearly furrowed and pointed ears twitching, as though she were listening to something no one else can hear.]

Everyone. Everyone who is not my kind or a servant of the Earth.

[Her frown etches its way deeper into her glowing face, and Loyalty lets out another aggravated meow.]

Like you. You have been mutilated. Who did this to you, shemlen?

[This has to be Justice. Loyalty hanging around is a give-a-way, but the tone and voice seal the inclination. Why Justice is an elf right now is beyond her, but she can sort that out later.]

Servants of the... you mean dwarves? And your kind being spirits? And what sort of spirit are you?

[She knows, of course, but she's treating this like she does if someone she knows from Thedas shows up but doesn't recognize her.

The remark about being mutilated leaves her a little taken aback. Confused, she looks down at herself, expecting to see some kind of injury she hadn't noticed.]

Er... no one? I'm not injured.

Can you not feel what I am? [The fact that Riona doesn't instantly know seems to agitate Justice even more, her eyes narrowing as they focus on something no one else can see.] You are worse than mutilated. You are worse than blind and deaf. And you do not notice?

Even servants of the earthshakers know what they do not have. Someone must have cleaved you in half. It is not natural, the state you are in.

[Riona frowns, trying to parse Justice's words through the alarm and confusion. She's no expert in spirits and the like, or even with magic, but the way Justice is making her sound...]

You describe me almost like one would a Tranquil. But I am no mage. I cannot sense spirits or anything of the like. Most can't, honestly. You speak of things I've never heard about. Earthshakers and whatnot. [Does she even WANT to know what that is?]

I do not know what a Tranquil is.

[But if Justice did know, she'd say Riona was right on the nose.]

Everyone but the earthshaker servants can sense spirits. But you are... [She struggles, trying to find a word, but there is no appropriate word. It would be like having a word for the act of keeping one's liver in their body--it's just never been an issue that required an adjective.] It is as though you were cleaved from the realm of dreams entirely, and you can only feel in the material world. Like someone took your soul.

[The frown deepens, and finally Justice turns her gaze to their surroundings, at the other people in the Iskaulit.] But you are correct. It is not just you who suffers this condition. Something is terribly wrong. [As Justice tries to figure it out, she reaches into her pocket, pulling out the lyrium ring that Riona had given another version of her.] The earthshakers were defeated long ago, but it is only their power that I can imagine doing such a thing. Do you recognize this substance, at least?

A Tranquil is a mage whose connection to the Fade has been severed. They cannot be possessed by demons, but it leaves them unable to cast magic or feel any emotion. I have never been able to cast magic, but I assure you I am able to feel.

[The more Justice goes on, the more concerned Riona gets. Where is all of this information coming from? What... is Justice talking about?] I dream in my sleep, as everyone but the dwarves do. We go into the Fade then. But I cannot enter it at will. Only a mage can, and even then it's... well. The last time someone physically entered the Fade [Discounting the Inquisitor because that's a complicated issue] it incurred disaster.

[There's so much to unpack and so much that's she still left confused on, but the ring? She knows that. It pains her that Justice doesn't recognize it, but clearly Justice isn't quite... itself at the moment. Or maybe- Riona's brow lifts a little. No, this is very much Justice. This is a past Justice. Just like she'd been a little girl again for some time, the same thing was happening to Justice. Or she was relatively sure that was what was happening. Even if Justice was having a "simple" loss of memory, it wouldn't explain why Justice was in this form or talking like this.

If she was right... how old was this form? Very, very old, clearly, but just how old? What did Justice remember?]

That's lyrium. It's mined from underground. It's a kind of mineral with... almost magical properties. I'm not an expert. But it's used for rune crafting, enhancing magical powers and the like.

From where I stand, there is little difference between you and a Tranquil. Performing magic and walking physically in the Fade is not a special skill reserved for the few—everyone can do that besides the earth’s children. At least, [Justice focuses on Riona again, looking at her in the careful, slightly horrified way one may look at a Tranquil,] everyone is meant to.

[Justice seems to just be getting more agitated as she goes, and with Justice goes Loyalty, who keeps meeling unhappily and pressing against Justice and Riona in turn, like Riona will be able to fix whatever has gone wrong.

As Riona explains lyrium, it just makes it worse.]

You should not use this substance. You do not understand it. It is the blood of the pillars of the earth.

["Everyone is meant to." The words sink into her like a cold weight, one that eventually sits in her stomach and makes it churn about. That can't be - No, surely it's not...?]

How can that be? The Veil prevents that from happening. Mages are able to draw from it to cast magic, but they are not the majority. But you're saying that everyone should be able to, aside from the dwarves. If everyone was able to bypass the Veil, then how did that stop? Why has that ability tapered off? [The last few bits are said more to herself. It just doesn't make sense, even as she desperately tries to wrangle with it.

But oh, the conversation gets much worse. Much, much worse. Riona's eyes widen. Wait, what?]

The blood of - I, wha- Pillars of the earth? Are they those earthshakers you mentioned? I do not know what those are, and I doubt any are left that do. Please, tell me what they are, like you would to a child.

That is not—you cannot—the pillars are the creators of— [Justice scowls in consideration, frowning at the floor as she tries to think of how to explain everything she needs to say. It’s hard when she barely understands what the shemlen is saying about her own understanding of the world.]

It would be easier to explain air to one who has never breathed. Words are insufficient. [Justice holds out one glowing hand.]

Borrow my eyes. Let me show you.

[Unlike the incarnation of Justice Riona is used to, this Justice has no reticence about offering to mingle and fiddle with minds. It’s as if it would never occur to her that it might be bad or immoral.]

[And that's exactly why Riona's taken by surprise when Justice offers. The spirit never offered it so freely in the past. Apparently, that had not always been the MO.

Poor Justice is probably wondering why Riona's hesitating, but given their conversation so far, they might as well be from two different worlds. To Justice, this is as easy and inconsequential as breathing, but to Riona, the risk is high. She trusts Justice, but she trusts the Justice she knows. The one before her is different. But really, what choice does she have? They'll keep going round and round if they try to talk it out more.

With a nod, Riona hesitantly steps forward. Much of her concern stems from more than just what they're doing. What is she about to see? What does Justice know? For better or worse, she's about to find out as she gingerly puts her hand in the spirit's.]

[Justice is wondering about a lot more than just Riona's hesitation, which may become obvious as Justice reaches out mentally to touch Riona's mind. It's not like before, when Justice tried to ease Riona's pain. This younger Justice's touch isn't hesitant at all, and in fact embraces their minds like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Justice shares more than sight. She shares sound and smell and touch and some other senses that have long been lost to humans and elves.

The world Justice takes Riona to is clearly not Thedas, but it's not the Fade either. Bare-faced elves, taller and more muscular than Riona would be used to, walk freely in groups. They all pull magic from the air, the earth, the sky, their own bodies as naturally as breathing, carelessly leaving behind memories of themselves on everything they touch that everyone can see or feel. They've built cities that float in the sky or are nestled on the ground, connected not by roads but by vast networks of mirrors and streaks of memory just as real as the present. There is no Veil here. There is no separation between the material realm and the Fade--everyone walks in both, and even non-spirits are able to feel each other, to connect in mind even without body or words and witness each other's memories dancing in books and streaked on the walls of their magnificent cities.

Without a Veil, it's clear that shemlen and elves have senses, feelings, and magic that go beyond what they have now, and infused in Justice's memories is the distant horror at the thought of anyone not having that, similar to the horror Riona may feel when she meets a Tranquil. Without this means of connecting with one another and the world at large, how can anyone be called a whole person?

Justice remembers the elves dealing with her as one might deal with an ocean, a forest, a mountain, or any other natural wonder larger than them--with caution and respect, but familiarity and even affection at times.

After giving Riona a view of what the world is meant to be, with no division between material and dreams, the visions turn to the pillars of the earth--the titans, the earthshakers, the creators of the land. Justice shows Riona visions of massive golem-shaped creatures, and with their every shift, every twist, every breath, they carve the earth. They build mountains with their bodies and carve valleys with their memories. The rock are their flesh and bones, and the massive tunnels in the ground full of dwarves (much taller than in Riona's time) are windpipes and organs, and deep inside the titans are vast glowing oceans. All through the titans' bodies are their blood, veins of glowing lyrium that sings the most beautiful song, communicating to their dwarven children.

The next visions are shorter, choppier. The earthshakers' activities split apart elven cities, and the elves retaliated. The titans' creations, the dwarves, battled elves with glowing lyrium armor fused to their skin, and the elves wielded sword and magic in harmony. The elves defeated the titans, putting them back to sleep and still, and the dwarves fell with the titans, losing their connection with their creators. The elves mined the titans' bodies for their singing blood, taking more and more until suddenly something caused them to collapse all the entrances to the Deep Roads that they used, fleeing something deep within the Titans' bodies that would bring ruin on them all.

The visions run their course. Justice allows Riona to come back to herself, but she doesn't release their connection immediately.]

Do you understand?

[Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. She sees her world but it is nothing like the world as she knew it. Magic flows through her and around her. There's a rhythm it provides, a beat to the world around her, as steady as a heartbeat. Elves reign here, and they are not the diminutive race the world knows today. They stand tall, proud, and... unmarked (odd, why is that?) While the scenes around her are unfamiliar, she knows what it is: Arlathan. Or at least, some part of Elvhenan. The once mighty empire of the elves, now alive in only a spirit's memories and the scattered fragments of lore the Dalish keep.

The Veil... where is the Veil? For magic and spirits to float about so freely, there could not possibly be a Veil. But then, where is it? The Maker made it to keep His children separated, but this... If it did not exist, even back then, then when did it come to be? Who had the power to make such a thing? And above all, why?

Before she can ask or think on it, she's whisked away, to a sight that steals the breath out of her. Those are... The Stone. The dwarves worshiped it. She'd never understood why they gave obeisance to a bunch of rock, but now, now she understands. The memory of these titans, these earthshakers, are gone, but the thread of that time remains in the idea of The Stone.

It's unnerving to see the titans and dwarves battle the elves. The races are nothing like she remembers them. The elves with such a power as to be unmatched and the dwarves, tall and mighty, clashing on the surface. Unnerving more still to see the mighty titans fall (just how much power did these ancient elves have?) and for the elves to plunder the Deep Roads. The knowledge of what lyrium is, what it's from, makes Riona almost sick to her stomach. Blood. Mages and templars have been using and consuming blood. Blood mages, all of them, and without even knowing. Oh, the Chantry would shit itself if it knew.

As the vision closed in on the elves fleeing the Roads, a familiar sense of unease creeps down Riona's neck. This danger, what they flee from, feels familiar. It's almost like when she would come across the-

No, it can't be. It's not... but how...?

Without warning, the vision ends, and Riona stumbles back, letting go of Justice. Her back slams against a nearby wall, and she gulps and gasps for air. To say it was a lot to take in would be... understating it, to say the least. Her whole understanding of Thedas just got flipped upside down. The Maker didn't create the Veil. Lyrium was blood. There were sleeping, gigantic beings in the ground that could render the earth in two. And all of this knowledge was gone. Lost to time and imperfect memories.

Justice's question provokes an almost startled reaction out of Riona. She looks up, barely managing a nod. She understands... as much as she's capable. There are still a lot of questions, of course. But if there's one thing she needs to say, it's this:]

That world is long gone.

[Justice feels all the awe, alarm, and confusion wafting from the shemlen, so the reaction isn't quite unexpected.

And the words are also not entirely unexpected. Despite certain idioms, Justice isn't literally blind--she can see that the Fade isn't layered on the material realm here, and no one seems to be connected to it nor are alarmed by the fact that they are not connected. But that doesn't mean it makes sense.]

An entire world does not end for no reason. [The pillars of the earth, perhaps, could have torn the world in two. Or maybe one of the Evanuris, if they were really dedicated.] And none of the inhabitants of my world die so easily. I imagine more of that world lasts than you know. [Although it seems like the shemlen is having trouble taking this all in, so maybe Justice should cool it.] Do you need to sit?

It didn't literally end. But the structures, the systems, the way of life... it's almost entirely gone. It survives in fragments among the Dalish elves, but so much was lost. Arlathan and Elvhenan fell 2000 years ago, and the elves have never quite recovered from it.

[They had the Dales, for awhile. But even that got ripped away from them eventually. The humans take and take and leave nothing in their wake.]

No, I'm all right. I just... need a moment. [She glances at the ground. Justice showed her a lot of fascinating, but disturbing, knowledge, and it'll take time for her to parse through it.] Those earthshakers are all but forgotten, at least as far as I know. The dwarves survive, but I don't think they remember.

2000 years? [Justice lets out a huff and waves dismissively, like that's too inconsequential to even talk about.] That is a long time for shemlen, but what is it to an elf? A spirit? A titan? This world is strange and new, that is true, but temporary. Soon enough the earthshakers will wake, or the Evanuris, or the artificial barrier thrown between the world will fray entirely, and the world's natural state will assert itself again.

[Not even the news that the dwarves don't remember the titans seems to disturb her.] The pillars of the earth are not like my kind. Being forgotten makes them no less real. If you walk on earth and stone and mine their blood, then the earthshakers yet live, and they will eventually wake.

[Just.... trying not to freak out over here at the additional info. She thought the titans were dead, and the lyrium was essentially being mined from their corpses. But if they're just asleep...]

Elves do not have the immortality that they once did. They live as long as humans now. [That got taken from them, too.] But you mention Evanuris. What is that? And - how do you mean the Veil will fray? It's held for this long.

[And that scares her about as much, if not more than these titans. If the Veil breaks down, there's nothing that'll stop the demons from pouring into the world. Abominations will run rampant, and countless people killed.]

Then they are shemlen as well. [Justice pauses for a moment, as if reminding herself that she needs to explain every little thing to this woman.] 'Shemlen' does not mean 'human.' It means 'quick children.' It means one who dies quickly. If your elves live only as long as you, then they are shemlen.

[Justice considers once more, thinking on whether she can talk about this or if she needs to show it.]

The Evanuris rule the elves. The elves call them gods. [Justice waves a hand, frowning.] It seems obvious that the barrier would fray, does it not? It is not natural. Someone must have created it. If you did not know of any of these things, then whoever created the barrier is gone, perhaps asleep. So the magic is left to degrade with no one powerful enough to reinforce it. I do not know how long it would take for magic like that to fray, but tell me, are there ever tears in the barrier? Ways for people to pass between the realm of dreaming and waking consciously?

Edited 2018-09-26 17:43 (UTC)

[That... doesn't sit well with her. It seems wrong. But as a non-elf, Riona's not sure if it's her place to fight that battle. Better to let Cyril or Leilani argue or agree. They'd know the finer points of it far better than she.]

...like Mythal? And - and Falon'Din? They were real? [SHE'S REALLY, REALLY NOT SURE WHAT TO MAKE OF THAT. REALLY SHE ISN'T AND EVEN HER THOUGHTS ARE KIND OF SCREAMING IN BLIND CONFUSION AND PANIC BECAUSE SHE'S PRETTY SURE THAT MIGHT NOT BE GOOD.] I don't know if the person who did it is around or not. We were taught the Maker created it long, long ago, but if it wasn't always around, then it wasn't Him. [Had the Chantry just attributed it to the Maker, not knowing how else it could have come to be?] There are ways, yes, but it's very difficult to do so consciously. It takes a lot of lyrium, or blood, to send someone awake into the Fade.

Of course they were. [Justice says it dismissively, like she can't believe she even has to explain it.] They still are, most likely. Their kind do not easily die, if they die at all. They were the ones who won the war against the earthshakers. If you do not know of them, then they are asleep, or perhaps hidden away and plotting how to restore their world.

Does passage through the barrier ever leave a mark? On the barrier, or perhaps on the land of the physical or the dreams?

[If it weren't for the fact that A) she's rather overwhelmed and B) this was Justice, she'd probably be considering punting the spirit out the airlock for the attitude.] But why would they have all fallen asleep or disappeared at the same time?

I'm not sure. To do so physically might, but that's only been done twice.

I can only speculate. Perhaps there was a rebellion among the elves, and the people exhausted their leaders. Perhaps the titans awoke and attacked. Perhaps the Evanuris fought amongst themselves until they were tired enough to sleep for thousands of years. [Justice pauses for a moment, brow furrowed.] ...I would guess that one. The Evanuris are known to disagree, and where there is much power and conflict, there is eventually violence.

[No one ever said that power gives people the ability to get along all the time.]

If it has been done twice, it will be done twice more. Then twice again. Do your people know how to repair that kind of damage to the barrier?

[And Riona can only nod along. She's in no position to refute any of the speculations. But it certainly unsettles her the more she thinks about it. With nothing to be done about it here, she decides to leave it as is.]

There was a breach that happened rather recently, and it sparked other rifts throughout the south. Luckily someone is able to close them and are doing so. Nothing like that has happened before, and it wasn't caused by normal means. I believe mages have ways of being able to mend smaller tears in the Fade, but I'm not the best person to ask.

If you do not know how it happened, perhaps the being that created the barrier between worlds has returned.

[She says it casually, like it's just the natural way of things and it was going to happen eventually. Justice hasn't quite grasped how momentous that would be to someone who's only just learned of what the world is meant to be.]

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As an empire of dead men leave their graves

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