trusthell | Welcome.

Welcome.

You wake with the unshakable feeling that you shouldn't be here.

Perhaps you were in the middle of something, perhaps you weren't. Either way, you're waking up in an unfamiliar location with no recollection of how you got here. The room you've woken up in is sparsely-decorated, though that might be difficult to tell at first given how nice the beds are...but eventually you'll notice a few things that are a little...off. Maybe the scent is striking you wrong - it's clean, but it's not yours. Maybe your bed back home doesn't support your back in quite this way. Maybe you should be seeing sunlight through your window by now.

Maybe you should have a window in the first place.

This isn't right, but leaving the room won't give you any more answers. You might want to grab the silver key sitting on your trunk on the way out.

Don't worry though, you aren't all alone here. Once you step outside your room into the hallway, you'll notice that a few others are emerging from their rooms as well. It looks like they're just as confused and concerned as you are. Feel free to talk to them, but none of you know how exactly you wound up here and maybe some useful information can be found by exploring.

If you follow the hallway to its end (and it's a very long hallway), you'll eventually arrive in the foyer. You'll find some very interesting information about yourselves on the wall near the clock. Perhaps even more importantly, if you look on the other side of the multi-pendulumed thing, you'll find other framed information that you might want to pay attention to. It could very well be the key to escaping this strange place, after all. Don't worry if you forget the rules, you can find them in every room of the building.

Of course, search as you might, you won't find a doorway or a window of any sort. Getting out won't be so easy, it seems.

But who knows? Perhaps your fellow captives have something to say about all of this.

Welcome to Chronos University.

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[The girl beside him throws Varric for several loops. He was used to people with horns, but certainly not with such vibrant hair, or non-metallic skin. He squinted at her for just a moment, noted her troubled appearance, and forced a laugh out.]

[He didn't know what was wrong, but he was sure as hell going to try and help.]

You too, huh? [He snorted.]

[It's a good thing Varric laughs, because it draws Hanyuu's attention and lets her process that he's talking to her. ...No matter how many people she speaks to, she can't get used to it. It's hard to shake habit, after all.

She nods, hesitantly.]

There's...some things here that trouble me. Some that aren't true, or that someone else can't possibly have known.

[The smile on Varric's lips softened in the slightest. He hadn't expected his initial efforts to be overwhelmingly successful, but when they don't even produce a smile, he figures it's time to at least drop the boisterous act.]

[Not that he can keep from making jokes.]

They think I'm older than I am. [Which is a rather egregious offense, in his opinion. He isn't even graying at this point.] Nosy bunch, aren't they?

[Unfortunately, boisterous isn't really in Hanyuu's wheelhouse, so a more subtle approach is probably ideal.]

You too? [...though likely not the same amount of time as hers, er] I think...that seems common so far and I don't know what to make of it.

[Hanyuu had a point. The common discrepancies in ages seemed far more like a deliberate effort and less like a mistake. Especially considering the accuracy of some other information.]

[Then again, from what he had heard, other facts seemed to be just as unbelievable as ages. Back to square one, he supposed.]

Maybe the Wordsmith is just bad at counting?

[...Okay, that gets the smallest of smiles out of her.]

It could be. He is more one for letters and not numbers, we can assume.

[Her smile makes Varric's smile grow all the wider, one broken only by a chuckle bubbling from his lips.]

That's true. Just don't let him fool you. Not all writers are bad at math. [Varric could at least keep track of both his age and the ages of his companions. Yet another reason why he was better than the wordsmith.]

Oh? [Another glance at his profile.] ...Oh, it would seem I almost made a mistake. Of course not, I won't tarnish your reputation.

Don't worry about it. [Another laugh escaped him.] I figure it's hard to come off as any worse than he has. [Being the writer-type that hadn't kidnapped them would do that, he supposed.]

Aah, true. Though, it seems...society just can't help but try. [She can't stop living up to her title, every single time.]

[Varric didn't seem too troubled by her skepticism. In fact, he gave the woman a tight smile, nodding in agreement.]

It's a shame it can't be like the stories. Where everyone is good and wholesome [And didn't try to lock up 30 strangers.]

[Ah, well, that's nice. ...Is it? Well, it's not bad.]

In life, it's far from that simple. ...Your name is Varric, sir? We, aah. Started off this conversation without introduction.

Damn shame, that.

[Varric tilted his head up, the line of his mouth curving upward just a little more. He nodded and held out a hand.]

Varric Tethras, in fact. [He gave a quick glance to the profiles in order to refresh his memory, and then frowned] You're... going to have to tell me how to pronounce your name, I'm afraid.

[A very heavy sigh.]

You don't have to worry about that. The name I prefer is Hanyuu, so you can just call me that. [She's getting so tired of having it up there.]

[Varric's expression took a turn for the sheepish. He lifted a hand, scratching at the back of his head as he looked away.]

I take it you're getting a lot of that?

From most everyone. [Oh, well....] It's not your fault, you had no way of knowing.

You know? [Varric tilted his head slightly, a grin forming on his lips.] I'm suddenly glad my parents gave me a relatively normal name.

[At least one not as easily messed up by someone else. It's the little things.]

[The lightest of chuckles.] To be honest...none of that is really any bit a "personal" name to begin with. It's not how my...ah, it's not how my clan worked.

But Hanyuu is?

[He could understand the sentiment behind impersonal names. He didn't exactly like it -- made it hard to write, for starters -- but he was at least familiar with it. That was how the Qunari worked, after all.]

When I met...the man who would be my husband, he couldn't pronounce my name, so he gave it to me as a nickname. [She sighs, she's thinking about him so much today...]

Jeda, my family name...it means wing or feather. The way "Hanyuu" is written, its characters mean feather and in. A feather in my name. I...took a strong liking to it.

[Varric's eyes fell to the floor, feeling guilty for having made her brought it up. Whatever she'd been pulled from seemed to have a lot of fond memories attached to it.]

It's a good name. I like it.

Thank you. He did that for another of my kind too, my husband. He was a thoughtful man.

[Despite the apparent sadness to her voice, she has a thin smile on her face. Memories... They're all she has.]

Aah, I don't much talk to anyone nowadays, forgive my tangents. It is nice to meet you, Varric.

He sounds like it.

[Given the option, he might have waxed sentimental about his own friends. The fact that he had written an entire book about one of them was evidence enough of that. Who was he to judge?]

No need to apologize. We have all have those moments. Give me a drink and an ear and I won't shut up.

Well, we should all only wish for alcohol in the kitchen, then, because someone with your accomplishments must have tales to tell.

[Like, professional writer and world saver???]

Tales upon tales, even. [He gestured to himself with a flourish.] But I don't need a drink to tell a story. [Not that it didn't help.] I just need one to not stop telling stories.

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