therookery | rest, my brother, and tell me all about the ocean

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rest, my brother, and tell me all about the ocean

FORM: Sending crystal.
SENDER: The Outsider
RECIPIENT: everyone
WHAT: Poking the hornets nest.
WHEN: Nowish?
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: He creepy.

What a tumultuous time it is in this world. An empire at war, ancient protectors showing what many feel to be their true colors, strangers falling from the sky -- the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I am not of this world, though it bares similarities to my own -- namely a prominent disdain for the other and ridiculous class differences -- as much it it shows its differences. Empires rise and fall; I admittedly have little interest in wars that have played out hundreds of times in similar ways across hundreds of worlds.

However, I do want to know what you find interesting about this world, if you will share.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Magic comes from the Void. The Void gifts it to its representative, who may then gift it in turn to those in the mortal world -- and his chosen may gift others.

As the current representative of the Void, I did not have much choice in the matter -- of either magic or being the representative itself. But I have had four thousand years to get used to it.

I... see.

[It almost sounds like a sort of vampirism, but it isn't fair to equate such a term for what's simply his version of magic.]

Four thousand-...? Sorry, this must sound awfully human-centric of me and I really do apologize, but... what are you? I've never heard of any being with that long of a natural lifespan.

I was human, once. But I was taken, offered to the Void, and it accepted.

[ He is aware that's a horrible answer, so- ]

Those in my world call me half angel, half devil; a spirit; a god. I do not know what term you would use, but I am the entity that represents the Void, in this stage of the world.

[ A pause, and- ]

There are elves here from another world, through the Rift; some older even than I am.

I've met one of the older elves, though I haven't exactly polled their ages. It's just... a bit startling. The oldest man I knew of back home hadn't even reached his seven hundredth birthday, and he'd lived that long with magic.

What exactly is the Void? Is it like the Fade? Or perhaps your world's version of it?

They are- comparable, but not the same. The Void is the beginning and the end, the realm of dreams and restless souls. But they feel different, and there is no wall to break through to go between them -- if you know how, it is as simple as going from land to sea.

That sounds... dangerous. Not that it's dangerous that it exists, but it's dangerous that there's nothing like a Veil between the Void and the rest of the world. Shouldn't they generally be kept separate?

Why?

[ That's it, that's his whole response. ]

Well... what do you mean by "restless souls", exactly? Ghosts? We have those where I'm from, and they're generally harmless, though poltergeists can be frightening for people who've never experienced them before. Or are they more like the spirits here? Because those... vary, from what I've seen and heard. Either way, it just seems simpler for everyone involved if there was some separation between the world of the living and waking, and the world of the dead and dreaming. Otherwise, why have a Void at all?

The dead that are not at peace. Not quite ghosts, not quite the spirits of Thedas -- I am more comparable to a spirit of Thedas than they.

The Void existed first. Why have a realm of mortals at all?

[ And he will expect an answer to that one. ]

In any case, you misunderstand. They are separate. They are simply not torn in two; they are a part of one world.

I don't profess to know anything about the designs of any higher power that may or may not exist, either from this world, yours, or my own. It just seems a bit disconcerting to envision a world where the living and the dead exist side by side. For that, there should be no death in the first place. Or no life, I suppose, but that only raises more philosophical questions about just what it means to be alive.

I see. I don't think Thedas and the Fade are physically two separate worlds, either; it certainly wouldn't be easy to travel to the Fade in our dreams if one had to travel through space. But again, I can't claim to know much of the Fade other than what I've seen for myself, and I try to block that out of my memory. That calls for a bit more of a metaphysical mindset than I typically have.

The dead rarely know how to cross, and the living know even less. Not without help. Yet the living fear what they do not understand, the Void and magic and myself among them. The dead mostly mourn what was lost.

Even with magic, it seems you too fear what you do not understand.

I'm not afraid! It's just prudent to be cautious around anything that may pose a danger until you learn more about it. There's a difference between fear and caution.

All told, is there any reason to be afraid of you? I imagine you wouldn't outwardly say if you meant me harm, but would you consider yourself too dangerous to be among mortals?

You are blocking your memory of the Fade out. That is fear, is it not?

There is reason to be afraid of everyone, if you look for it. But I have no intention of harming anyone who does not try to harm me first. I never have.

It's not fear. It's... discomfort. There's a difference.

[There is. Hush.]

Then so long as you mean no one any harm, and this Void isn't inherently dangerous, and I know magic is only as bad as the person wielding it, no, I'm not afraid of you. I may not understand you, but that doesn't mean I can't be fussed to learn.

It's hiding.

[ :v ]

I have been informed that I am 'creepy'.

Caution.

[This is how she compromises, okay?]

... creepy? Really? Why? Because of your tie to the Void?

Because I have all black eyes, tend to float, and am called 'the Outsider'.

There are probably other things.

... ah. I suppose that might be off-putting for those who aren't used to that sort of thing.

Is "the Outsider" a nickname of sorts?

A title, I suppose. I had a name as a human child, but it no longer applies.

Others here tend to like giving me names.

What name do you prefer? Human or otherwise?

I do not have a preference.

[ he's Difficult sorry Hermione ]

Everyone has a preference.

[She's a Gryffindor; they're the most Difficult.]

I am not everyone.

No. You're you. And you deserve to be called by whatever name you think best fits you.

They all fit, in their own way. Mortals don't often have a choice in their names.

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