piratejournal | [Written]

[Written in a very fluid and well-practiced script. He'd worked what he was going to write and how to write it during the last two days, hoping to present himself in a favorable manner while also explaining why he had waited so long. From what he could tell, the next round of expected arrivals would be coming soon and him claiming to have only now shown up would be suspicious. The truth of the matter was much easier to go with, even if it needed some explanation.]

To those looking to recruit a sailor,

It seems all the activity and excitement of the last few weeks has died down and those who went to battle are tending to their wounds. Welcome news though this is, I do profess to be more concerned about my own circumstances. I arrived just as the lady, the witch, attempted to sway the minds of those new to this land. I remained quiet and did not seek out the ships and crews others have made offers of and continued to do so until now. In this time I have been studying the people and what is know of this world as best I may.

I confess I thought it all to be some elaborate lie and that I was being manipulated perhaps by the powers of some demon of the Fade. Or a particularly powerful and malevolent malificarum. For those of you not of my world, the world of Thedas, the Fade is the realm of dreams from which all magic comes. Malificarum are blood mages, those who use blood to power their magic instead of, or in concert with, the mana within them.

As the rest of you, I have come to accept that this is not a trick. We are really here. This does not make dealing with the demands of life in this world any easier, of course. With all that said, would like to inquire about joining a ship now that those who are established have a chance at a break from the fighting. I am a mage of some skill and a veteran of many battles, though I have little knowledge of how to sail.

My hound and I have been making camp in the forests outside the town on Isla Empieza and will be planning to return in the next several days to meet with interested parties.

Thank you for your consideration.

-Sydni Surana, Warden-Commander of Ferelden

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That must be something incredible. I never knew there were worlds or realities beyond Thedas before coming here. Though I am very certain that in Thedas, magic comes from the Fade. The realm of dreams where all things are possible. Nature and the world at large have little influence over it, but it can have a great influence over the world.

And yes, I did. Most mages who are not apostate grow up in one of the Mage Towers of Thedas. We are put there when our magic shows itself at a young age, generally around five to seven years, and remain there. Gaurded by the Templars under the jurisdiction of the Chantry to control us and guard the world from our power. Some never have a chance to leave.

And you did? What made you different from the unlucky ones? And why are these Templars sounding more and more oppressive? Surely they don't think all mages are blood mages.

I was unlucky, actually. At least at the time. I admit that now it has been a very lucky road, but when it happened... I left as part of a punishment meant to be kinder than another punishment. Both were death sentences, the one I received just let me live longer before the proverbial ax came down. The ax will still come, of course, that is the cost of becoming a Grey Warden, but I live much better now than I could have possibly imagined a year ago.

To answer your questions: the Templars as individuals range from kind to seeing maleificarum in every mage. As a whole the Templars are rather oppressive though they are tempered by their duty to follow Chantry law. They don't generally believe all mages practice blood magic, but they are taught to watch for it in every mage because of how easy it is to turn to. They often believe that not being willing to live a life watched by them, to want to live outside Chantry Law as an apostate, is the same as admitting to being a blood mage.

[He snorted.]

After all, what other reason could any upstanding person have for not wanting to live under constant guard?

Heh, you'll forgive me if I think that's a load of horse-shit right?

[Fucking paranoia, man...]

Now, I'm not sure what a Grey Warden is, though. What's that and why's it a death sentence?

They why is a secret that is not mine to tell. And so long as the creatures Grey Wardens hunt do not arrive here, it is not one that matter.

What Grey Wardens are is easier to explain. We stand guard against foul creatures known as Darkspawn that spread a taint like a disease. It corrupts all that it infects, twisting men and beast alike into nearly mindless monsters. It is our duty to destroy the Archdemon that guides the horde when one of them awakens.

[That...sounds oddly familiar. Like something she'd heard of from some of of her fellows...]

What are the symptoms? And how does one get infected?

The symptoms include general sickness and a discoloration of the skin. Those farther along who have been unlucky enough not to die from it tend to hunch over and bodies look as though they may twist in upon themselves. Infection occurs when the black blood of Darkspawn gets inside you. Either through swallowing or from being cut with one of their weapons, which they lace with their blood much like an assassin would with poison.

Animals that are infected usually grow a little larger than normal and have obvious deformities, most of which are the dark discoloration and odd spike-like bone, fur, and hair protrusions.

Sounds...a bit like Phyresis. And entirely unpleasant. And your job is to fight them, huh?

Are there a lot of you Wardens?

Not as many as there should be, no.

Are these Darkspawn widespread? Or...?

They are, though they keep mostly to the Deeproads as they dig their way mindlessly in search of the next Archdemon. It is usually only during a Blight, when an Archdemon awakens, that they rise to the surface in a vast, organized army. Most of Thedas is crossed by the Dwarven tunnels that are the Deeproads and the Dwarves lost the battle to keep their Thaigs and cities there a long time ago. Only two cities remain free of the Darkspawn, one on either end of the vast expanse.

And I take it that an Archdemon is an overmind of sorts, right? In charge of a lot of them?

Why...don't you just collapse the Deep Roads?

The Archdemon commands the whole of the Horde when it is awake, yes. As for the Deeproads... Parts of them have been collapsed, but it would not solve the problem. The Darkspawn are numerous and they dig. And the Deeproads tunnel beneath most of Thedas. Collapsing all of them could collapse whole mountain ranges and long expanses of plains that they run under. And even if we could risk the political fallout of that, we lack the knowledge and man power to do so. Only the Dwarves have ever successfully collapsed parts of the Deeproads. They are the only ones with the knowledge to do so consistently.

Shame, I guess. That usually solves all sorts of problems. My only other suggestion would be to fill them with lava, but that might cause problems for the dwarves.

If it had any chance of stopping the spawning, I'm sure at least a few of the would consider it. But having seen hoe they spawn, that is very unlikely unless we somehow managed to destroy all brood mothers simultaneously. To do which, we would have to be sure we knew where they all were.

And I take it you can't use some sort of tracking spell?

We already do, to an extent. There are hundreds of thousands of the Darkspawn moving in the Deeproads. We can track them, sense where they are when we're close, but not pinpoint specific ones or kinds.

Oh good, that's something at least. Makes it easier to predict large attacks then, I guess.

[Except for the part about there not being nearly enough Wardens to do that effectively.]

It has it's uses.

Might I know with whom I've been speaking? I do believe I failed to get your name.

Ah, yeah, that's true isn't it? My name's Chandra. Chandra Nalaar.

It's a pleasure to speak with you, if not meet you properly, Serrah Nalaar.

Indeed. It's good talking to you too. I'll hopefully have a chance to bump into you personally eventually. Though till then? Good luck.

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