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TEST DRIVE #6
TEST DRIVE MEME
Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you with mirthful revelry and hearty food. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket! |
dorian you will make her Cry
[ His smile peaks a little, his body relaxing somewhat. He's far too used to easy banter leading to something a little less kind, more akin to warfare, and having someone just... Joke with him is unusual. It reminds him of the early days of his alliance with the young mutants and he has to try and school his features. ]
Free so long as we obey. [ Erik doesn't live here anymore, he doesn't really care. ] The Queen doesn't take kindly to those that question her authority. Take it from me.
[ She tried to squeeze his brain out of his nose. ]
at least his country doesn't have a huge city of reanimated dead bodies living underground, right
[ The booze, anyway. He's sure Erik will be right, but that just makes it all more fun. Dorian's smile eases into something instinctual, hiding anything disagreeable beneath his extremely handsome mustache. He's played this game before... ]
Sounds like a fair warning to me. [ He nods. He'll have no more of that talk if it puts either of them in danger. ]
Can't say I missed the courtly politics of home. Swap the Queen for the Magisterium and we'd be in a woodsier, more Southern-looking Minrathous.
.. small mercies i suppose
[ Because, for all that he is cruel and sometimes ridiculous, Erik is honest. He turns his head away to scan the crowd again, letting Dorian have his moment of thought, before he glances back, his posture still tight and rigid even now. ]
Enough warning that you might come out of an audience alive. [ He came out with his helmet and some memories that he would rather forget, but that was the norm for him. ] I'm sure you will find Morla far more giving than any monarch you might have met before. Do as she asks and you will be rewarded. [ Is that a heavy tone of ironic amusement? Perhaps. ]
just slavery and blood magic, nbd
[ For all his false-cheer, Dorian scoffs. He'd seen for himself just how easy it was to entice people into a war. "For the glory of the empire," as they say in Tevinter. Or for food and drink and a few years off your service, whichever gets you to lay your life on the line for a war no one really cares about anymore.
Huh, maybe this really is just like home. Well, the shoe's on the other foot now, isn't it Dorian? ]
And the price for such a reward? A few days on front lines, or a few 'missions' of disturbing the other side?
same old same old shrug
[ And that is the most flattering word Erik can find for her. He shakes his head, trying not to let on just how distasteful he finds the monarchy here -- because for all that he has played by the rules, at least in appearances, he has no time for anything that she asks of him. He goes out of his way to deny it more often than not.
He will continue to do so until there is no other option. ]
That depends. It can be taking part in a hunt or taking part in a battle.
hey at least dorian hates blood magic!! well, the real blood magic. necromancy might have a lil bit
[ "Unique" is right up there with "special" and "interesting" in words that could go either way. Dorian's heard plenty of those to get Erik's meaning. Clearly she's not someone you want to offend, but also not right up there on the list of people you'd want to include as your friend. ]
And in exchange we win back what was taken from us... quite the system they've set up here.
#notallvints right
[ Having all his powers ripped away from him and his brain crushed inside of his skull was not the best first impression, but Erik has never been the sort to go out of his way to make good ones anyway. It's just lucky that Dorian hasn't ticked any of the boxes likely to make Erik want to hurt him. ]
Or more. I kept my gifts and have been given extra for my obedience.
now you're talking #notallTevinters #notallnecromancers
[ Duh, Dorian is exceedingly charming. Who'd want to hurt him?
Someone who knows where he's from, perhaps.]What exactly do you mean by 'extra,' if I may ask? Magic feels... different here. I can't feel the Veil at all. [ It's uncomfortable to say the least. Not that he's about to throwing fireballs around, but generally the magic comes from somewhere. And that somewhere is the Fade. ]
no subject
[ Luckily, she gave his back. But that's hardly important (and neither is where you're from, Dorian. Don't attack mutants and you're fine. Mostly.) ]
I don't know what the veil is, but I mean this. [ He holds out his arm and there, resting around his wrist, is a pale red gauntlet. ] This allows me to control fire, an added benefit for playing her little games.
no subject
[ Ugh, Tranquility is not something Dorian wants. It's very far from what he wants. Having his powers taken and his mind messed with is the very last thing he wants. Ever. The whole thing is actually managing to crumble his facade.
He's almost tempted to pull some fire out, kind of like what Erik claims he can do with his glove. But without the Fade... would it work? Was the Fade simply farther away? Ugh, this would require lots of research. At least that oughta be fun. ]
So they give out magic items in exchange for playing their games, all so we'll be better fighters in their grand old war? Quite the strategy. [ Spoken with venom, of course. Whatever their reasons, a war is a stupid idea and Dorian knows it. Everyone should know it! ] How many people fall for that?
no subject
[ But Erik is a sour puss indeed and he is still searching for ways to break free from Morla's control. Now that Charles is here he might have freer reign over his mind, but if it was a choice between risking his only friend and being bound, somehow, to and from Morla, he knows which he would choose. There is little that is worth Charles, he thinks.
He hides his arms again, careful, before he lets his eyes flicker back to Dorian. ]
If you can call it magic. [ Some would, he supposes, and while it sounds too simple an explanation to Erik it's better than going into the dos and don'ts of mutation theory. ]
More than you would think. Some take advantage of it, of course, but others... Others do not. It is simply a matter of how far they wish to take the game.
no subject
[ And a good lesson for Dorian: don't piss of the people in charge, no matter how much you might want to punch them. Really, it's almost refreshing to know this place is so much like his home. ]
I wouldn't know what else to call it, quite frankly.
[ It's all magic to him. At least it makes all this make... some kind of sense. Even enchanted gauntlets and talk of "powers." Seriously, after this, Dorian is going to take some time to himself to find a comfy chair in the library and read about all this craziness. ]
How interesting. [ Dorian considers this. Is there any wine left in his glass? He'll cast a quick look down regardless. ] And understandable, of course. It's not every day one meets a malign power that can promise you reward and actually follow through.
[ The last bit is somewhat muttered. "Malign beings that give away power" is actually not too far from Corypheus. Now that's an unpleasant comparison. But just as well, Dorian maintains his smile, turning his attention back on Erik. ]
You've given me much to think about, Erik. I thank you for your guidance, truly. [ He smirks, gesturing the area around them, vaguely. ] All this, and I haven't even offered you so much as a glass of wine. Perhaps if we meet again, you would indulge me?
[ Hey, it'll be something picked out by Dorian, not any Queen. ]
no subject
There are innumerable words for the powers people have here. Magic is only one of them.
[ That's another thing he's sure Dorian will keep in mind. Erik is still rather reserved on the idea of magic vs. mutantism, the idea of being born with magical talent rather than a mutated gene that offers you some kind of intense power no one else can quite compare to -- he distrusts magic as an idea, which makes the Drabworld all the more unsettling.
Still, he shakes his head, watching Dorian and letting his lips quirk, nodding his head once. Are you asking him on a date, Dorian? ]
You're welcome, and it would be my pleasure. [ He's used to sitting and drinking with Morgana. Different company won't change too much, he's sure. ] You can use your new trinket to contact me.
I had the words "witty remark" written in my drafts for this tag
[ He could just as easily ask the imps but that wouldn't be nearly as fun as hearing it from Erik himself. Plus, he really does seem excited by the idea. Nerd alert. ]
I'll hold you to that, Erik.
[ He just might. Maybe. You decide that much, big guy. The flirting is completely intentional, though. As for the trinkets, that does remind Dorian of his own. They'd pretty much hefted it on him with little explanation, but he's a smart guy. He'll figure it out. ]
The lockets, yes? And here we were, still using birds and carrier pigeons back home. I don't suppose these things squawk at all bloody hours too, do they? That is just about where I draw the line.
[ So many hours of just listening to Leliana's crows... so many. Dorian chuckles, a bit wistfully. ]
Actually, if they did, it might remind me of home.
that is the most perfect thing
[ And guess who you need to ask for permission? Erik's eyebrow twiches and he bites back his smile, shaking his head. ]
I would not believe otherwise. But, yes, the lockets are a communication tool. Video, voice or writing, whichever you prefer. [ He taps the one hanging around his neck, hidden and tucked away beside his leather jacket. ] It's the easiest means.
They don't. They make noises if someone sends you a message directly but you are free from animal sounds. For now, at least.
[ He can't promise anything about the future, even as he smiles. ]