[network] @ADMIN; Arrival [open]

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Welcome to Norfinbury. The time is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R and the date is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R. This network has been provided for your use. Please interact politely with everyone else on this network.
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫ E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̨̢͎͎̗̦͈͎̘R̨̘̦̙̖̳͈͟R̢̞̺͖̩̟̻͙͕̩͜O̢̢̼͉͔̟̯̝͇̙͜͠R̴̛̗̝͕̣̘͙̪͖̀͟:̢̢͉̙̥̝͖͉̯̟͇̖̱̖͓̲̳ ͏̴͉͈͈̦̝̦͉͖̖͉̪̝̠̭I͡҉̣̼̜̩̻̜͓̻̳̼̥̭̯̭̫͉̭ͅL̶͖͖̯̝̥̬̖̤̥̹͎̟̬̻̦̜̝̻̗͟͞Ļ̸̸̸̥̺̝̜̭̘̞͈͎͚͉E̶͍͍͈̬̕͜͟G̳̬͉̙̥̩̼̭̦͔͘͜͡À̴͟҉̤͔͇̩̳͝ͅL̟͉̯̥̝̀͢͝ ͏҉͈͎͇̞̪̬͓͎̖̥̜̦̖̜O̺̹̺̜͉̠͉̠͇̭̣͔͡͞P̢͘͜҉̺̝̥͎̜Ḙ̢͔͇̰͇̯̺͇͓̜Ŗ̦̝̫̯̻̰͍͙̼̮͎̕ͅA̸̬̯͉͓̥̕͢͞ͅT̷̡͎̻̳̥Ḭ̵̡̥̭̥̀͞O̴͈̤͚͇̜͘͘͞N̢̬͕̙̫̦̳̫̭͖͙̤.̧͢͜҉̩̼̬̞̟̻͇̭͖ ̳̝̺̯̣̠̣̲͎̝̞̣̭̫͘͠S̡̧̼͈̱̳̰̰̳̻̺̫̝͈͖͎ͅH̦̖̣̦̱͓͙͓̣́͜͠͠Ù̸͎̹̼̱͈͇̼̼̕ͅͅṰ̤̝̦̞͍̮̦̞̼̪͕̹̬͈͝T͞͏̟͖͔̯̼̫̞̥̣̘͉̫̟ͅI̢͖̪̮̺̰̟͎͈͇̻͈͔͉̱̯͓̻͞N̢̨̮̱͕̣͟Ģ̸̝̟͚̩͙͖ͅ ҉̴̝̭̩̯̫̤̼̬͇͡ͅD̨͏̺͎̝̟͔͉͕̲̮͎̦͓̥͕̹͓̮̖̘̀͠Ǫ̵͍͇̝̱̖̳̦͖͡W̸̧̩͕̹̹̬̰̻̣̣͓̞̼̮̦̺͟͞͡N̡̛̫͙̠͚̠̲̙̟̤͔̦͙ͅ.҉̢̻̝̦͓̀̕͠

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Day 2, voice (ID: Enoch)

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch left once and didn't stay out long, venturing just far south enough to find some rubble and then returning to that one same house he woke up in. This time, it wasn't his footwear that impeded him, but the atmosphere, the paranoia settling heavily in his gut while everything his mind is rejected it. It was enough to make him feel ill, and he didn't feel much like moving from the couch after returning.

Instead, he left the tablet on, listening to the network. Most of his attempts to respond were held back by suspicion that was so very unlike him, little jabs of unease at the back of his mind telling him what if they're in on it. It just so happened Hawke was one of the ones he actually managed to respond to, though getting positioned for a video feed would require more effort than he was willing to expend at this point.]

I've never heard of this... [A pause as he hazily takes a guess at the noun that adjective belongs to.] Orlesia? It sounds unpleasant.

[It's really just stalling while he thinks of a story to tell. He's getting restless, cooped up in here with nothing but the cold, network chatter, and encroaching paranoia.]

[acerbic]

[ Hawke doesn't even hesitate to respond. True, someone on the other end of this might be the one responsible, but that just means it gives everyone else the upperhand. People always give tells and with dozens of others watching, listening, observing, at least a handful would be able to put pieces together.

Maybe that's why he's in this puzzle house.

He grins at the screen, uncaring that he's only got a voice to speak back to rather than a face. Not someone from Thedas, then. No matter. ]

Close. Orlais, actually. And it's not so bad; they're just dramatic on the whole. And somehow they've made their hams taste of despair. Waste of a good pig, if you ask me.

[warriorscribe]

[He'd laugh a bit more at the thought of despair having a taste. But he's tasted vileness and that's close enough, and so thoroughly unpleasant all that comes out is a weak little chuckle, an attempt to be polite in the face of a joke.

And so the conversation can't actually head in the direction of said unpleasantness, he steers it back to the story.]

I see... So what sort of story would you like to hear? Most of my years have been lived in a desert, so I don't think snow will be much of a problem.

[Not that it never snowed; desert nights were very cold, after all. But it wasn't likely to stick around after the sun rose like this.]

[acerbic]

I truly won't be offended if there is snow in the story.

[ He was merely being cute, considering their surroundings. ]

Whatever you feel like sharing, I'm here to listen.

[warriorscribe]

[What story should he share? His own? No, what if he's looking for weaknesses? He hates to admit it, but that is a possibility...]

Nearly everywhere I have traveled has had its own ideas of how we came to be. Would you like to hear the story of man's creation as I have heard it?

[And as he knows it to be, but that, too, might point to a weakness. What if it sends their captor after his allies next? Best to just present this as a story.]

[acerbic]

[ That's a fair point, one that Hawke hadn't considered and might not for some time. Admittedly, the general feeling of unrest and need to fill up the air with something other than his thoughts and his hound's breathing are his driving force today. So, he's exceedingly happy for the distraction. ]

Sure. Never hurts to hear another creation story.

[warriorscribe]

You've been collecting them too? We should trade.

[It's an interesting subject. He can't exactly blame him for it. He'd be glad to trade, actually, this subject seems harmless enough and it will distract him from the ugly feelings plaguing him, as well.]

In any case...the story goes that God - we only have one, most places seem to worship many - created the world in six days. He created all the beasts, and the first man and woman, named Adam and Eve. At first, all life was in a paradise called Eden, where food was never scarce and the weather was never cruel. There was one fruit in Eden they were forbidden to eat, however...

[And it's here he trails off, because he's not sure he wants to tell this story the way he had heard it anymore. If it's right for the lack of context to paint anyone in this story in a bad light. What he's learned from his stay in Heaven about human free will, about how special it is for humanity to have it, and the light that sheds on the events of Eden...on what it really must have meant for them to be able to disobey...

He's torn between not revealing he knows things he shouldn't, and not casting anyone - God, Eve, the serpent - in a bad light. He really should have thought this through a little better.]

[acerbic]

[ Hawke just shrugs noncommittally. He knows the story of the Maker and Andraste. The Dalish have an entire host of various things going on that he only has a marginal understanding of thanks to Merrill. At one time he used to wonder what the Qunari believed. Now he's just... he's just. That about covers it. ]

I wouldn't say I'm collecting them. Just hear about them from time to time.

[ This story, though, is a new one. And he'd like to hear the end, so he makes a small continue gesture with his hand. ]

Yes, and? There seems to be more to the story here.

[warriorscribe]

Ah, y-yes, I'm sorry. There are a few ways to tell this part, and...I was undecided on which to tell. I'll continue...

[A deep breath, and he made his decision. He wouldn't blow what cover he had. (He already is beginning to regret using his real name after all.)]

This fruit was said to be of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

[He knew it was just wisdom in general now. Possibly. Or maybe the story was true here. He wouldn't know. Though he was only six generations removed from them, they hadn't passed down the complete story, whether it was unrefined writing, the distortion of oral storytelling, or just shame - after all, they hadn't been given reason to suspect there was something more to these events the way he had.]

One day, a serpent called Eve to the tree, and convinced her to eat the fruit. When she found it wasn't poisonous or wouldn't hurt her, she shared it with Adam. They were now aware of things like shame, and sewed clothes out of leaves to cover themselves. This made it obvious they had broken their promise, and God exiled them from Eden to make their way in the desert, where their descendants live on to this day. He cursed the serpent, as well, to be forever hated by men.

[There's a little chuckle here, an attempt to lighten the mood after what seems a much worse story to him now than it ever was before.]

I can't say how strong that curse was. Personally, I've no hatred for snakes.

[acerbic]

[ Hawke takes it in, clearly never having heard anything like it before. He's since learned that gods—no matter which sort they might be—don't seem very forgiving. Sometimes even cruel. Something like this—banishing people for eating a piece of fruit...

He huffs. ]

Seems like a bit much to banish someone for, if you ask me.

[ A smile is offered and he shrugs one shoulder. ]

I've no opinion one way or the other. A place where I'm from uses serpents in their heraldry. Not too many like them. Guess you can take that to mean whatever you want it to mean.

[warriorscribe]

[There are a few ways to interpret what happened, he'd like to say. He knew how it would sound to a total outsider, but what if revealing what he knew was dangerous to him somehow?]

That could be a coincidence...but I wouldn't be surprised if they chose that image deliberately, as well.

[Enough about things that might lead to other things that are dangerous to him. He'd suggested a trade, and he'd follow through with that.]

So, how did you hear the world was created?

[acerbic]

[ Hawke just shrugs a little bit, uncaring one way or the other. Many like to tell Tevinter uses that particular heraldry because the Imperium is full of snakes themselves, belly-crawling their way and infesting all that's good in the world. But, he doesn't know, and doubts this man knows anything of his home, anyway. No point in getting into miscellaneous philosophical bullshit. ]

Depends on who you ask. Everyone's got a different version back home.

[ He puffs out his cheeks with a breath as he reaches back in his mind to remember what he learned about the Maker when he was a boy. ]

As most stories begin, a long, long time ago, the Maker created the Fade and His first "children," spirits. But, He became disenchanted for various reasons and turned His back on them to create new "children." Which would be like yours truly, people. But, like people are wont to do, some shit happened with sin, and worshiping Old Gods, and the Maker turned his back on us, too. After trapping the Old Gods, of course.

Then some dark shit happened because of corruption and a thirst for power, which lead to magisters entering the Golden City where the Maker lived. And that pretty much screwed things up from there on as the rest of us continue to pay for what these magisters did.

But then a while later, a woman by the name of Andraste came along and she persuaded the Maker to come back. But, she was eventually burned at the stake by her husband, so the Maker turned his back on his "children" once more.

[ He inhales a breath, knowing he's not the best story teller in the world and this sort of thing is a bit boring to him. Especially as of late as he doesn't even know if he can believe in anything anymore after the life he's had. ]

So, that's about where things are now. People follow the teachings of Andraste and believe if they do, the Maker will take them to his side, rather than damn them to wander the Fade for eternity.

[warriorscribe]

[It all sounds similar to various things he's heard on his travels, in bits and pieces. That's the thing that makes him think everything else is just the take on the truth that suits that society best. Of course, he knows better than to say something like that. That would just be rude and not the least bit helpful.

There is one thing that's a little different, though...this mention of other gods before the world was made (he thinks).]

"Old Gods"? Was the Maker...competing with others?