shellphones | video; not tech savvy

Entry tags:

video; not tech savvy

Type: Video
Sender ID: weishappened (Davrin)
To: Public
Subject: figuring out the shellphone
Warnings: possible Veilguard spoilers, please let me know if you'd prefer to avoid them and I will! None in the original post.

[The post is really... more a series of quick mini-videos. Remember Vine? A little like that. But with less purposeful comedy.]

[A video of streets in Eltrut, the person moving along, camera pointed down for a good while, until it swings up so the holder can peer into it. At his heel is a flurry of feathers before the video stops.]

[A couple of the shops - the bookstore, general goods shops. A man's voice can be heard speaking, asking after general supplies. Complete with a squawk in the background as the man's voice asks after a... Bestiary?]

[And finally, the inside of one of the stater apartments, filmed like the phone's owner has just come home. He's speaking to someone not visible, but there's a patter of feet that definitely don't belong to a biped.]

- I know, boy. I know. No convenient way back, far as I can see. [Something trills, avian-like.] We'll keep looking. But for now? Let's get settled.

[And thus, the phone is set down, on a low table. Showing further images of the man, and - and a big grey, griffon face peering into it intently.]

Assan.

[This tone of voice.]

Assan, do not -

[Too late. The griffon has grabbed the camera. Ironically ending the feed there, but not before the sound of a chase is heard.]

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You too? [That's - actually almost as fascinating as Torgal. But definitely worse. So much worse.] What's it like, where you come from? Aside from the magic part.

[It doesn't really affect magic in Thedas, but on the other hand, he's not a mage. Neve or Emmerich would probably know better.]

Really? Queen had some big hounds. [No judgment - he's seen mabari. And, also. Assan's no small fry already.]

Dead. Everything is dead. Flora, fauna, anything aether related is dead. It's like once the Blight has touched your area, you might as well move on and hope that it doesn't come for the next area. But more likely than not, it will. It's just a matter of how soon.

[Though that didn't stop Cid and by extension, Clive, from making a hideout in the Deadlands. It's not impossible, just difficult.]

She wasn't just the Queen. She was a Dominant, someone who holds the presence of an Eikon inside of them. Fenrir was her trusted guard and it seems that through time, Torgal has not only taken on his size, but other qualities.

[While she describes it, that grin on his face turns to a much more grim expression.]

Sounds like ours. Used to be, it wiped out plant and animal life - and ran the risk of blighting anyone who got too close to it. Blighted people, creatures, monsters. Turned into nightmares, all of them.

[Which was bad enough, and then the gods got freaky with it.]

An... Eikon? Sorry, you're going to have to explain that one.

Ours doesn't directly affect people, but that doesn't mean it causes no harm. Creatures are forced to move too, which means their territories begin to converge on ours and that's never a good thing.

I told you it was a long story.

[She smiles, but the expression seems a bit sad at the corners, as if a simple explanation is not so simple.]

An Eikon is something like a god in my world, some worshipped due to their power of an element, others cursed and looked upon as an abomination. What they all have in common is that they reside inside a human called a Dominant who can call upon the Eikon at will. Sometimes we know we're a Dominant from birth, other times, not until years into our lives.

[We and our, she says. If he's sharp enough to catch what Jill isn't saying behind those words...]

You've got a point. That never ends well - for either side. Mostly for the animal life, in our world.

[He inclines his head for a moment, to acknowledge that. And then he's quiet again, listening to her explanation, chin propped in his hand.]

[That sounds... dangerously like possession. But also more like these Dominants are more in control than any abomination. More than Lucanis and Spite, at any rate. Besides, her description makes it sound inherited, which possession definitely is not.]

At your will? This is something these Dominants can control?

[Yeah he heard you, Jill, but she doesn't seem to want to advertise, soooo... Discretion.]

[Possession was never how Jill considered it, but had he mentioned it, she could see how someone unfamiliar would think so. Inherited or not, no one asked them if they wanted to be a Dominant; it was just thrust upon them.]

Most of the time. [The smile on her face turns sadder, but Jill continues on.] My first priming was fully out of my control, but then again, I was only but a girl of twelve summers. It seems to have been tied to an upheaval of my emotions at the time.

[Describing the night that Imreann called her to his private room as an upheaval of her emotion is a deep understatement, but she's trying to keep things fit for polite company.]

Then there's the curse to contend with every time we do prime...

Just a kid... Damn. [That hand under his chin scrubs over his face. Seeming in answer, Assan butts his head up against his dad's elbow, earning a few scratches.] When you put it that way, makes it sound a lot like how our mages get their power.

Poof - someone's on fire. Or frozen.

[It's kind of darkly funny to think of someone like Neve Gallus accidentally turning someone to ice, instead of on purpose.]

Curse? Don't like the sound of that. Probably goes without saying, though.

Frozen, in my case. I too am from the Northern Territories, after all.

[She never got to freeze Imreann, but Jill certainly ended up getting her revenge in her own way].

No, I understand, but it's a curse that affects all Dominants and Bearers alike. [She puts a hand up to stop him, just in case he asks what a Bearer is. Jill is ahead of him on that.] A Bearer is someone who can use magick without the use of shard from the Mothercrystal, not unlike a Dominant. They're poorly treated by others due to that and enslaved until they are no longer of use, meaning their death via the curse.

The curse, the crystal's curse, is one born of using too much aether. Flesh slowly becomes stone and once it begins to spread, it's just a matter of time and aether usage before it takes over.

Does that have a lot to do with peoples'... abilities? Where they're from?

[He can't help but crack a slight grin at the hand up. Yeah, she read him right there.]

So... your world's version of a mage isn't well-liked either? Am I following?

[The description of the curse though - yikes.] And there's no way around it?

No, not really. I was being facetious. If you meant the Dominant aspect of things, some people believe it's a bloodline thing, others think it's just by chance. My parents are long gone, so I've never had the chance to ask them which one of them counted for me.

[Though maybe her parents wouldn't even know themselves. Sure, she had been sent away to become a ward of Rosaria at six due to the war, but neither her father or her mother had mentioned anything about Shiva before then.]

You're following. All children are tested at birth to see if they are a Bearer or not. If, unfortunately they are, most are taken by the state, marked, and enslaved for the rest of their life, barring some outsiders helping them escape. The others, who had the more unfortunate fate of being born in a kingdom that sees Bearers as more of an abomination than anything else are killed as soon as their status is discovered.

Not that anyone's seemed to have figured out. [She grasps her left wrist, turning her hand side to side, as if she's checking the flexibility in it.] It seems to have slowed down here, though I haven't really tried to prime here. I dislike doing so unless necessary.

[That and it seems like she simply can't for the moment. Perhaps she needs another emotional upheaval or two to trigger it.]

Hah, well - you got me there. [Put that smile away sir, that's a deadly weapon.] I'm sorry to hear that, though. About your family.

[That's always rough. He's pretty sure his parents are still alive with the Clan, but he'd never looked back. Eldrin was still perfectly fine - good enough for him.]

Sounds like mages, for sure. At least in a lot of countries - for a while, they were dumped in towers or fortresses under lock and key. I've heard horror stories from mages in the Wardens, before. And, if you're an elf... I hear it's worse.

[They've already got low opinions from humans in most of Thedas.]

What about here? [It's a very cautious, almost gentle question.] Have you found anything here that might help? Maybe bring it back with you?

It's okay. Once I became a ward of another kingdom, I accepted I wouldn't see them again.

[She sounds casual about it because that's what happens when you're forced to become a pawn of war by a bunch of adults. Tiny Jill didn't really have a choice.]

Elf? What's an elf and why is it worse for them?

No, not yet. [She's sure if any of the other Dominants here had found a way, they would have told her immediately. Maybe not Benedikta on second thought, but surely Cid would let her know.] Not for lack of trying, though. I just keep any magick use conservative even with the tattoo.

Still. It's not easy for people sometimes - leaving their family behind.

[Speaking from experience?? Yep.]

[He looks confused for a second, before remembering - right. Different worlds.] My people. [A gesture toward his ears, toward the vallaslin on his face.] Technically, I'm Dalish, not all elves are. But the short of it is, elves have been second class people for centuries. A whole empire decided elves made great slaves, and it's been... hasn't been great, ever since.

[Without getting into the gritty details of Elvhenan, the gods... ugh, the gods.]

If it's of any use, I'm a monster hunter, adventurer, by trade. I don't intend to stick in town while I can help it. Wouldn't mind keeping an eye out for any magic healing ... whatsits.

[Davrin "whatsits" is not a word.]

No, it's not. Especially when you don't get much of a say in leaving because the adults are too busy warring with each other.

[Following his gesture with her eyes, she nods, finally giving herself leeway to take a closer look at his facial markings. Jill wonders if the marks were forced upon him, much like a Bearer's brand, or if he did that willingly. She's shared more than enough about herself, so perhaps asking wouldn't be too rude.]

Those facial markings... Do all Dalish have them... willingly?

[It's clear she's trying to step lightly, just in case it's a sensitive topic.]

Whatsits. [That makes her laugh, genuinely so.] That's really the best term for it as I couldn't begin to tell you what to look for. Though I think before I ask such a favor of you, we should at least exchange names first.

I'm Jill Warrick.

Especially not, then.

[Now that, he has no real inkling about. But the implication she's offering is heavy enough to give an acknowledgment in return. Yeah, that sounds awful.]

[He chuckles, and nods.]

If you don't have them, you're either not old enough, or looking to join the Clan from outside. It's a rite of passage, adulthood. It can take a while, sometimes, because you're supposed to stay silent the whole time. If you can't, they stop. But you can always try again another day.

[We don't know how long it took him, but there's really no shame in several sessions. At least in his clan.]

Whatsits. [Complete with one of those big ol' grins.] Ah. Right. Davrin. And Assan. Good to meet you, Jill.

[Jill squints at the camera, but there's a mischievous glint to it.]

You look no older than a couple dozen summers, so I'll guess you joined from the inside then.

[Sir, you are probably a baby still, like Assan.]

A pleasure to meet you, Darin and Assan. You already know Torgal.

[BARK! Damn right you do.]

[He laughs, at that. Trying to affect an affronted tone, but too amused.]

And here I thought I was a charmer. You're right, though. Grew up in the clan.

[Ma'am he is thirty something.]

I do. And glad I do.

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video; not tech savvy

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CW: Implied CSA

murder :)

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