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The Ice demon slid over to the bar, the floor frozen behind him. With a flick of his tail the floor unthawed.

"So, what's the coldest drink in the house?" the ice demon asked the folks behind the bar.

*makes a pinacolada for the ice demon*

Here ya go sugga

Hmm...we need to add some bar games.

*the changeling queen wanders in bored out of her mind*

Anneliese scurries up to the bar and straddles the barstool. 

"I'll have a whiskey sour!"

The one-horned qunari finishes his months-long meditation in front of the hearth, and crashes down on the nearest bar stool he finds.

"I'll take one of those large, round bread things you humans like so much, along with two cups of cocoa." He stares at the perpetually twirling snow storm outside. "On second thought, make that three."

The one-horned qunari finishes his months-long meditation in front of the hearth, and crashes down on the nearest bar stool he finds.

"I'll take one of those large, round bread things you humans like so much, along with two cups of cocoa." He stares at the perpetually twirling snow storm outside. "On second thought, make that three."

I'll have the same thing.

*the changeling queen snaps her fingers as her servants come out and serve them both the round bread things coated in frosting and 3 cups of hot cocoa each*

I think you mean cake, I had a friend of your race who asked for something in a similar manner, it took months for me to realize he wanted cookies. she chuckles before sitting down with the qunari.

"Thank you, this is indeed what I meant." The qunari's mouth twitches slightly into their version of a smile, which unfortunately is lost on all normal races.

"I have travelled far in this miserable cold in the lands of the bas. Sometimes it's worth it just for your colourful foods. I had to kill the owner of a previous tavern because the cake was a lie."

This is not my land...nor my people or tavern. the changeling mimics the smile nearly perfectly.

*she then quickly grasps the horns of the qunari showing him visions of her home...blasted wastes where the weak fall and die as they bleed from their mouths and other orifices from some invisible force, the winds blow and sandstorms rage as the skies glow a unearthly  green and strange beasts soar. Within the sands stands a great tower of black strange metal the tower seemingly upside down hinting on where it stands. the vision travels down a long winding staircase to a hall of green flames leading into colossal doors that proceed to open slowly revealing a land underground a great hive of many, working towards the prospering of a people. the vision scans over the cityscape before leading into a grand building that shows hundreds of swirling vortexes like windows leading into many worlds conquered and assimilated into the collective might of the horde before it fades*

Now know this...it was not magic that allowed me to show you these things, while us changelings are capable of such it is our biology that allows us to flow and change to survive nearly anything...we simply interfaced with your nervous system projecting our thoughts and memories as yours. she lets go of the qunaris horns before perfectly mimicking the smile.

The qunari struggles to regain his balance, but soon sits upright once more, and now looks at the changeling with newfound comprehension.

"You are conquerors of some kind?"

He proceeds to dig into his cake.

"This cake is delicious. Is it also your way to preserve the best of each nation you conquer, and add it to your own culture? If so, you may be surprised how similar your race is to ours."

He finishes the cake and quickly consumes all three cups of scalding cocoa, as heat does little to a qunari.

He is about to respectfully ask for more, when he realises that this strange being is probably acutely aware of his desires, having so recently melded her mind with his, and proceeds to smile once more, indicating he would like a refill.

Anneliese looks over at the Qunari and changeling. 

"On second thought, make that a double."

In a way yes and no to both of your questions....

* diagrams seem to form in the air in front of the qunaris vision, but prove invisible to others*

don't panic it's just mental images being unlocked as you inquire. the changeling tries to make certain the qunari doesn't think he is either possessed or being hexed on knowing the races strong aversion to magic.

*the diagrams help explain the changelings answers clear in a way the qunari can easily understand*

We as a race became conquers after the discovery of the ability to harness the dimensional energies flowing across time, space, and the multiverse. At this discovery we had decided to expand and with numbers and our new gift added to our astounding ability to adapt and change swept over realm after realm for hundreds of years...In our wake we left barren lifeless worlds only good to strip of all racecourses and move on. Yet after hundreds of thousands of realms not only did our hunger never die...but we grew bored with the whole slaying of everything,harvesting everything of value, and leaving nothing left.

*at this point the queen takes a breath and drinks a bit of cocoa to wetten her tongue*

So the higher castes in society began to do some unorthodox things to try to relive that boredom...architects and artists  took the barren worlds and made them  into art in a variety of ways, generals began to look at the tactics and weaponry of the enemies, and engineers actually looked at the remains of whats left of tech left after the fall of each civilization to find something new or interesting...

*she then stops and remembers to explain the next bit which would make a lot more sense*

I forgot to mention that sometimes we conquered worlds sometimes so similar we did it practically for the hell of it...I mean we conquered your home realm of thedas 1784 times...

*she then brakes of noticing that may anger the qunari*

Ok so i should get to how reform eventually got into all of this...So us changelings began to look at the ashes and realized...due to our actions the voices of so many were silent...So overtime we began to take steps slowly overtime...sort of like when you want another cookie even though you decided to have no more after another...So we started to preserve all flora of a planet under the excuse to preserve the planets for parks...then we started to spare fauna under the excuse to provide a thrilling hunt...then we began to preserve particular races in contained areas under the excuse for rigorous study...then we simply began to enslave whole races under the excuse to provide cheap labor to forming outer-colonies...Then finally we reach the time stretch within the last 500 years...my reign.

*the changeling then sighs*

God i feel old...you know I was once xenophobic like much of the old royalty but after my mother decreed my more weak sister the right to the throne upon her retirement I grew frustrated and she set me up on a failed invasion of a local kingdom abandoning me to die...I obviously survived but i was cut off from the main hive mind along with my men...In words i was pretty mad and killed a number of people who probably did not deserve it but i was denied my birthrite...So I made due with my forces and we took a few small colonies in the outer expansion, however not many changelings were out there to rally to overthrow the current regime...but tis many oppressed people who I looked in the eyes and realized they wanted what I did...A chance to break past what they were born into and reach higher...

*she seems to zone out a bit before returning to her explanation*

So I rallied them instead to fight the crown and as a result we took world after world ourselves freeing the rest until we reached the inner worlds when i told  the truth to many lower queens who gave me there men to win this civil war...and I did just that the second I slayed my mother...Looking back I realized changeling not did not just apply to a race...but to a people and I as my first decree as queen of the horde freed all the current slaves and let them take tests to decide what caste the fit into to prove they are the best....

*she then begins to wrap the story up*

So as a result we now act as a guiding hand and influence on other races, integrate races into every single role, fight on fair grounds as our opponents, and allow local governments to decide the rules and laws based on situation and population aproval, as a result colonies on those worlds often become a blend of local cultures and the swarm...However sadly some realms still practice slavery and changeling supremacy but those who stood up for change can't do much as those ideas are generally common in parliament on a federal level.

*She then stops and the images fade*

To comment on your earlier comment a number of versions of thedas easily integrated into the horde due to similar ideals to the qun and as result very little blood is spilled when we arrive to establish a colony.

-smiles and I walk in, a little worse for the wear though and I go behind the bar and make myself a Winter Hammer I then sit down and drink it-

"Thank you, this is indeed what I meant." The qunari's mouth twitches slightly into their version of a smile, which unfortunately is lost on all normal races.

"I have travelled far in this miserable cold in the lands of the bas. Sometimes it's worth it just for your colourful foods. I had to kill the owner of a previous tavern because the cake was a lie."

"Mmm....yeah, with the blockade in place against my nation, it is has been difficult for us to receive even cake, much less bacon.  The Chancellor had started rationing foods.  Just recently, a train rammed one of the lorries which was carrying 70,000 pounds of bacon. "  The gentleman took a bite of the cake and a swig of his cocoa.  Man, it felt good to have such fine foods of the Free World.