001.

[sorcerised]

FORM: Crystal! Or action, if you happen to be around Kirkwall's Lowtown.
SENDER: Arohaerd
RECIPIENT: Everyone with a crystal
WHAT: Aro has itchy feet and wants some advice.
WHEN: Today, mid-morning
WHERE: Lowtown, Kirkwall
NOTES: Crystal or action welcome! Please add any warnings to thread headers.

Hello, everyone. I'm Aro. I know some of you already, I'm sure, from the unfortunate snowbound arrival last month, and then the...incident with that mine, and now some more new faces have arrived too! Anyway.

I'm sure there's many more of you that I don't know. I know that some of you are from this world, and some of you are from others, as I am, but...we're all here, in this city, which is ruled by something called the Inquisition, as far as I can tell, and. Well.

[ A deep breath, while he thinks very carefully about how to word this. ]

While I'm grateful for the hospitality, and please don't think I'm not. There must be more to this place, this world, than Kirkwall. Getting out to see Amaranthine was brilliant, even though we were there to bring the others back. Don't any of the rest of you want to explore? We can go together, make a quest out of it!

And those of you who live here, or who've been here for a while, tell me of the other lands, and cities, and places of this world. Tell me where you like, tell me where I should visit. I just need to know where to start.

[ If you happen to be in Kirkwall to hear this in person, Aro will be the young half-elf sitting on a wall by the side of the road, with a flute dangling from his fingertips. He's very pale and blond, hair short enough for the slightly pointed tips of his ears to show.

Both before and after the broadcast, he'll be seen playing the flute, sounding out a variety of folk songs from his own world. They're strange to people here, but it all sounds like home to Aro. ]

Comments

[swordproof]

Should you learn some exciting things will you share with others?

[ Guess who is finding Kirkwall a little stifling, given everything. ]

[sorcerised]

Of course! I can only hope I find something to share. Does the road also call to you?

[ He'd not be surprised. How anyone lives in such an urban landscape all the time is beyond him. ]

[swordproof]

Somewhat. I am not used to being in one place for so long. It has been trying.

[ There's only so many times you can hit the same training dummy... ]

[untiltheyarent]

Val Royeaux is quite exciting, especially if you've never been. Being new to this world, I imagine you would enjoy it, if you've the coin and the right company.

[sorcerised]

The right company. Well then, I can only ask what that might be! It's certainly an interesting name. Will you tell me about it, and where it might be?

[ He'd like to make his own map of this place. Not because there aren't any, but because he'd like to see it with his own eyes. ]

[untiltheyarent]

Someone you like, who appreciates sightseeing, music, things like that. It's the capital of Orlais, and if you hold to the center of town, it is quite magnificent. I don't recommend straying toward the outer neighborhoods. [Spoken from experience.]

It is the center of the arts in Thedas, as far as many are concerned. Beauty around every turn.

[koteletten]

Are we claiming the entire city as our own now? Which will they make the next Viscount, do you think, the Dalish or the Rifter?

[ his tone is lazily sardonic, emphasis on the lazy, too breezily casual to clearly register as mocking ]

[sorcerised]

[ This sounds far more political than he even wants to think about. Aro doesn't think he should be on the same continent as the word viscount. ]

I don't...honestly know, actually? I've been here a month. If I said something wrong, that's likely to be why. Though I'm reasonably sure they treat the Dalish terribly, so perhaps they're next in line after all.

[gatheringstorm]

If you're a fan of spices in your food, Antiva and Rivain up north are worthy spots. They have some of the best beaches, too, and the water's a lot warmer.

[sorcerised]

Really?

[ That perks him up - less because of the weather and more because coastal areas are so good for Iessa. This recommendation might rate first on his list. ]

I'll try anything once. They sound nice. I have to say I'm used to northern territories being colder, and this world has turned that on its head. Your snow is in the south. Tell me more about Antiva and Rivain. Are you from the area or did you visit?

[gatheringstorm]

My grandmother lives in Rivain, so I visit as often as I can. I'm from Wycome, which is about halfway there from here, so it's a mix of north and south. Most qunari that aren't part of the Qun itself -and some who are- have ties to Rivain.

[limier]

[ with a patience that — another time — might be less strained: ]

We do not rule this city; we are ourselves guests within it.

There are many opportunities to travel for the Inquisition’s work. Where do your skills lie?

[ she doesn’t misunderstand the question, or his implications. but it’s worth trying to steer this in a halfway useful direction. ]

[sorcerised]

[ Side-eyes this answer. That's not exactly what he asked. She must work directly for them. He closes his hand around it's awful green shard. ]

I haven't said I'll work for the Inquisition. [ He says, with a slight edge to his voice. ] I didn't choose to come here. I don't do this, I don't live inside stone walls or answer to a commander. I'm not a soldier.

[ Just, you know. For the avoidance of doubt. ]

I'm a sorcerer. In my world I travel widely, and use my skill to help protect people when they need it. I'd do the same here, of course, but I'd do better on the road than in a city in any case.

[limier]

A commendable goal. You will find it difficult without our aid.

Your hand. The mark, no? Those who bear it do not congregate here without purpose. The farther you are from others so afflicted, the more it will pain you. I am told that it lessens, when one travels in sufficient company.

But as you say, you are not a soldier — and we do not order civilians into danger.

crystal.

[assistente]

The Gallows is only a small part of-- I mean, it's separate from the larger city of Kirkwall, in its way, but also a part of the city, in its way. And, um. That is what the Inquisition holds. Or occupies. If you prefer.

Uh, and-- If you do decide to travel, it would be best, if-- I mean, the Inquisition often assigns work and missions to locations outside of Kirkwall. If you chose the correct project or department.

[sorcerised]

[ He'll just go ahead and side-eye this answer, too. Obviously the Inquisition have a lot of supporters. They clearly don't need him too. ]

They have quarters inside the main city, too. Don't tell me they don't, I've seen them. Look, I'll tell you what I told the other lady. I'm not a soldier, I'm an explorer, and I'll do much better outside the city than within it. I'm still willing to use my magic to help people, I won't refuse anyone. I surely don't have to wear a uniform for that.

[assistente]

Well--yes. I mean, no. I mean--we don't have uniforms, exactly.

But, um. The Inquisition does need the assistance of anyone who is able to assist. And--chiefly, we are--the Inquisition--we are more likely to understand the situations Rifters find themselves in. There are places, people too, less likely to trust or embrace, a--

I mean, if you travel with the Inquisition, and explore in the name of the Inquisition, then you are afforded some of the protection of the Inquisition. In a way. And other simple amenities. Like the quarters.

[utulien_aure]

I rather enjoyed the Inquisition's trip to Nevarra.

[Pausing, reconsidering]

At least, I did until someone tried to murder us all in the middle of their Grand Necropolis.

[sorcerised]

They...tried to murder you?

[ All right, that's concerning. ]

What actually happened? An enemy of the Inquisition?

[utulien_aure]

Nevarra's burial practices are...unique in Thedas.

[And this is one instance where Fingon is siding firmly with this world's mainstream opinion, because necromancy, this is madness.]

They invite spirits to inhabit the bodies of their dead, and bury them together in family crypts. We were invited to tour the great crypt in Nevarra City, but someone unfriendly to the Inquisition enchanted the corpses inside to kill everyone in the party.

A win-win situation for the one behind the plot. Either we all died, or the Nevarrans were offended by what we had to do to the corpses of their kin.

[barded]

Leaving already? Did you just here?

[sorcerised]

Right when you did. That's still the longest I've spent anywhere at once, though. I mean, come on, there's a whole new world out there! And I'd not seen nearly everything there was to see in ours, yet. Don't you want to see more?

[barded]

Have you really seen everything in Kirkwall already?

[coiledscales]

I myself am interested in learning more about this world and how it all works, but I tend to enjoy reading and delving into lore.

Still, eventually even I get tired of libraries.

[sorcerised]

Does that mean you'd like to get out of the city?

[ That's good news; Aro remembers this voice. Alacruun had been kind to him and Iessa when they met in the wild. ]

I've admittedly never spent a lot of time around books. Sometimes I look for maps or lore to start me off, and then I go and fill in the gaps myself. Have you learned much about this world so far?