The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

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Iceborn
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The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Iceborn » Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:16 am

Image

Playing Veritas all this time... was very much like the closest you'd get to the experience of playing Darkest Dungeon in Arelith.

Playing him was an experiment in stress. At first I had the book for mostly that reason, to keep him perpetually tense, to push him forward where the situation would not... and boy, that wasn't really needed for long. It took very little time before V had enough responsibilities, duties, rivals, enemies, and frienemies to add to his very heavy mental weigh, and that was just great.

My own experience writing him as a character was like trying to describe a walking Kubler-Ross model that thought itself a man. He was constantly put under stress, and half of the times he would crack down under that stress, and the other half he would come stronger. He's been hopeless, victorious, glorious, desperate, abusive, commanding, heroic, broken, beaten, battered and there would be always something to rebind him back to stay operational, to keep him moving forward.

Any other character in this situation would have backed off and away, but this was exactly what he wanted. Even if there's nobody that really got to understand exactly why he did everything that he did!

You just don't leave an ancient red dragon waiting... for as long as we did, at least. But we did anyway

I dealt with hundreds of characters with V, and I don't remotely remember as many as I should. But here's what I've got!

The Tower
The Tower was, naturally, V's home, and where he based his operation and most of his RP. Its staff was very much like his own family. It's something that I dearly wanted to explore further with my wild mage, and I could not, and I got my good fill of it with V.

I don't take as many screenies as I should.

The Arch-people:
While I had a lot of previous interaction with Angela, it's Jacob the one that managed to surprise me further, and defined V's personality when he was still hot with the cooking mold. Their disposition to always help and facilitate MORE BLOOD when needed, and their superior sense of diplomacy often served as reference point for V when he was getting too lost in his own world.
Jacob in a nutshell.


The Wards:
Jadoth. I could write all day about Jadoth and all the frustrating feelings that he infuriatingly caved into my brain, like a character in a gritty grimdark show that survives too many seasons and you can't help but to actually care about what happens to him. He is a wonderful character, with horrible flaws and too many problems for you to possibly solve. And V certainly didn't expect to turn into his awkward uncle.
I'm not remotely sorry for half of the things we did.

Yorn is... a strange character, with a similar focus to Jadoth. As that they resolve around mostly drama and the roleplay of a misfit. I cannot say V got remotely as well with him as he did with Calel, though :P

The Dragonsongs:
Vail and Sarina are an item. Deal with it.
These are two characters that V forged an uneasy chain of feelings with that he didn't want to have to handle as a master of the Tower. Juggling emotions, the debt for what they have done and his own responsibilities was an amusing game by itself, though it was the combination of elements that lead to this situation to be able to happen. Vail's commitment, his relentless service, his dedication, and Sarina's own humanity, her-... in fact, I have another section for her.

The Magi:
Oh gods. So many characters. I'm going to be writing this thing all day.

Lissa Whitehorn: Lissa has been around for faaar longer than I got to play V, and I was thrilled to get to finally meet the mad gnome that had been laying all those devices with weird acronyms all over the island. While most of our interaction was based on the spriggan plot, there was still so much I wanted to dig out of her that I simply didn't have the chance.

Azar Anskuld: This guy, this guy has been around ever since my wild mage, and he's still as enjoyable to deal with as a I remember. There are rarely characters that exude as much personality as Azar, or that are dynamic and smooth to deal with magic nonsense and just go with the flow, without being afraid of carving their way through the lore to make something intense or interesting in the spot, and it was a delight to get to deal with Azar again. Hope you get your fey back!
Azar, you rascal, they were comatose in a ritual! That was meeeeean.

Astra Starlock
Tadgh
Lily Blake
Cern Cerfall
ABYEMELECH
Valorie Felblade: Go Mystran, yo!
Woopin Genderbell
Ayperi
Uuuuuuuuuhhhhh...
Isendel Dedralen
Celessssssssstia

BLOODY BAELINDOR: This is where the real elf RP is at. I love your style and your energy, and I'm glad that V got to boss you over and drag you as much as he did, but not glad enough that he didn't get to do MORE earlobe pulling!

Alastair
Oh how I hate that I didn't keep any logs now.
Corbin! Ah, I just remembered who you are! V would have held a more polite and confident attitude toward this character if I had remembered in time. Corbin legitimately unnerved V, when it seemed that the decision of mastership would fall on his shoulders.
Erinnnnnnnn.
Patrick O'Sullivan: A friendly old coot. Literally, those are the four defining words that describe Sully. An upbringing, optimist character, though not careless or apathetic toward other people in any mean.

The Wardens:

First and foremost, Thulk:
Thulk is what seems to be, at first glance, your standard dum-dum me-smash-you-good half orc, and builds beautifully from the racial background into a real, tangible, malleable character. Thulk is the living example of how to take the best of your racial culture into roleplay, and even then remaining perfectly dynamic and involving of all the people around, OOC and ICly keeping everything together and everybody having fun.

Blake.
Sarah Anderson.
Lemli
Diiiiiiiiiilirrrrr, fix our broken coffee machine!
Ollarrrrrmmmmmmmmmm
Bar-... no, that one goes to the other list.
Jantira is da man. And he's occasionally da bat. And also da dragon. Jantira is deceivingly a lot of things, and oddly reliable when you need him to be.

Tiss one strange Adam's family


The Sweethearts:
Oh yes. I have a list for this.
For the strangest reason, V seemed to have always a collective of oddly flirtateous friends that he'd nicely pretend he wasn't aware of.

Serena Stirling is the ultimate sweetheart. She could always soothe the mage with just the right words, and he always knew that there was something funny going on around with Serena, enough to keep his guard up... even when he really didn't want to. She may be very high in the list of characters I wanted to build more with, to do more with... alas!
"Loose lips sink ships, captain".

Olivia Van Graf is another strange character that V... should have been particularly more wary around than what he actually was. Olivia's seemingly insane nature was relaxing, and her flexibility made her easy to deal with as both master and just a mortal mage. Their creativity and willingness to, as always, RP through the thick and fog of "what the hells are we doing?" kind of RP, and do it fluently gets her a special place in my heart.
I guess that's one way to get to know somebody. "Wanna enchant an infernal contract with me?"

Nehala Rein was the tiefling V didn't know what to do with. I swear that there wasn't a day or a moment that having her in the room didn't produce conflicting feelings into the mage. Whether to strangle or kiss her, or do both at the same time. In another case and situation, we could have done more, so much more. I just hope you keep playing her and find a balance to keep pushing her story forward!

Baranna was the other tiefling V didn't know what to do with. The wonderfully roleplayed gruff, overly beefy grunting woman of the obscure motivations is a mystery to V.

Elisha Vashti... goes to another list. Probably.

But Sarina goes here! Sarina is a strange character, and strangely humanized to even her exotic, infernal nature and perception. Her struggles, her care, perhaps the most strange thing about her is her own perception about herself, and it's something that's always sparked his curiosity, even though he'd never say so.

Saphira Blackstone (yes, I'm putting her as a sweetheart, sue me!) I didn't remotely expect that I'd deal with Saphira as much as I ended up doing. At first their relation was strictly professional and cold, and for the barrier-putting socially-cold enchanter that wouldn't let anybody too close, Saph was one of his closest friends, and of the few people he could actually confide and always share a piece of his mind, of his true thoughts.

Meridia Silverheir: Iiiiiiii missssssss youuuuuuu. We never got around going to the Underdark and scouting around with the raven familiar.

Ayperi - You belong here! And you know exactly why!

The Malignant:
Vivi was the strangest thing that could have happened to V, and it was also the best. The sheer conflict that their relation spanned all around the island was amazing, the echoings of it, and how far the rumors went. Not to mention, what actually is true of all that. I'm every bit glad I went out of my way to involve her, and I'm every bit sad that she was dismissed... even though we know better.

The (outer) Inner Circle:
Because just calling them friends and allies is out of fashion. V, naturally, made a good collection of friends and contacts from out of his work. In this list:

Aston Khan: The feeling-confused shapeshifting socially awkward monk was great to involve in as many situations as I could, and his own calm demeanor when the ceiling was coming down and observations of emotions surging at poorly-timed moments were great. He was equally great to have around and discuss philosophy and lore with.

Mykthar Silverbeard, is also the real dwarf. He failed at being a dwarf so hard that he went all the way around and became the real dwarf of this list. As one of the oldest friends V made in the island, he simply knew to trust the dwarf, and dragging him along (or occasionally following) in their weird shenanigans and inane plans was often the highlight of too many days, even well-moved days.
Go back to Dragon Age, Varric! We can see through your guise!

Lyyyyyyyle.


Other folk:

Khabul: The Keeper of the Status Quo, a pretty dangerous guy that V certainly didn't know what to do with, and thus got stuck in the middle of preserving a fragile alliance.

Bhando: No, don't be greedy. You already got your own kudos in your kudos thread! Staph!

Pierce: Despite all the things I heard about you OOC, ICly you were great to deal with, and every time that V knocked on Cordor to keep your folk up to date or argue, it's always left me with a good vibe and the feel that I could come back to RP whenever I wanted.

The Wizzzzzzzzard: The wizard doesn't exist. And at the same time, the wizard is all of us. V actually met the wizard, five times, and probably none of them were Cluny, and honestly, that's great! He was mentioned a lot in our RP, and treated like an unseen threat that may have been lurking at any moment. And the same can be said about Elise.

General shout out to all dwarves for being generally cool beans and other interesting sorts of beans. Barik, Falgrim, the thane, other's which name I can't remember!

General shout out to all elvessss for having particularly pointy ears. And I mean, like, really pointy! And Alara. Obvs. The elves were great, specially Keryvian and his TEMPER PROBLEMS.

General shout out to Kera and her other shorties!

Hendrick. V remembers who you are, and he will come for you. One day, maybe.

Nym, the spaaaaaaace leeeeeeelf. Still as endearing to deal with as he was with my last three characters.


The goodies (and the too zealoty to be goodies!)

These are all characters that I love to argue against... because that is what V did. He doesn't take a "this is your opinion, this is mine" for an answer. If you have a belief, you damn better be able to back it up, and he went well out of his way every single time to deal with those that could match him verbally, and call out his moral obscurity.

Lacroix was great at that. V always saw him as something like a link between a man that was trying to do good and just a zealot that wanted to nail the sword into something evullll, but his motivations always marked him as less likely to actually do anything. In V's eyes, he was a man ruled by fear rather than righteousness.

Snow was the real hero here, and even though I never got to talk with her about all the talk of what was really happening, she's always been there to sew the wounded and stich the cut back together time and time again, and often time, prevent that from happening. Her moral discourse and understanding of psychology were also a refreshing plus that I wanted to grill more at.
We did a lot of stuff, didn't we?


Hyskos. THE ANGRY EGYPTIAN MAN. Hyskos is the worst extreme of a paladin, and he's great at that. V grew to hold nothing but contempt for him, and he would have sooner forgiven the spriggans for their crimes against everything than dealt with Hyskos again.

Edgar! He was there, and never actually got a direct word with him.

And Cato was there too! And he was amazing in his very holy and righteous way. And then in his lapses of cold diplomacy and corteou... what do you mean that corteous is not a real world? Oh god, I've been mispelling courteous all this time. ANYWAY!
Cato was, like the best opponents, a man that spoke softly and carried a big stick, and even when V didn't remain composed, Cato did in turn. Enough to remind him that he -should- as well.

Elisha Vashti.
Elisha Vashti.
Elisssssha Vasssssshhhhhti.
There's smut written about V and Elisha.
There is not a single character in this list that V has more mixed feelings about. Her actual humanity as a character, her depth, the fluidity of emotions, everything that makes her as she is, and not just that, but your narrative integrity, your prioritization to put the actual story before and beyond any momentary encounter. You are the best kind of player, and I am honored to have had the attention that I was granted to have Elisha as the main rival of my character.


A little special shoutout to Titania, for running one of the plots that were actually one of the most reliable sources of RP, and letting my mage sink boats with a falcon punch. Wish for being there and actively trying to kill my mage (and succeeding most times!), and Grumps for his last good news.


This long overdue kudos thread is courtesy of... me leaving, actually. As I will be disappearing for a rather extended period of time. Take care of the wiki and be nice to your resident DMs. Don't feed them too much LSD, or stuff may happen!
Last edited by Iceborn on Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gods_Kill_People
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Gods_Kill_People » Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:30 am

Veritas was an amazing character to get to know, Yorn was never sure what to make of the crazy mage and his talking book. To being unsure how to respond to him a third of the time, wanting to kill him another third, or actually wanting to talk to him as someone he might be able to trust, it was a very strange friendship that literally bordered love/hate. Your an amazing player, never give that up! Will be waiting for your return!!

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-XXX-
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by -XXX- » Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:49 am

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY HAVING TO ENDURE ARELITH WITHOUT THE MOUSTACHIO WIZARD?!

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by cptcuddlepants » Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:53 am

Veritas managed to go from "that annoying fool with the rude book" to a replacement big brother/wacky uncle/role model/mentor/guide. He gave Jad a goal and many, many things to think about and work on, and left a gigantic stache-mage shaped hole in Jad's heart.

Take care, and I hope to encounter you and Veritas again in the future!
When the going gets tough, the tough hide under the table.

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Miaou
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Miaou » Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:00 am

Just let me stab your devil, man. Gotta let a hin down.

(Interesting character as always!)

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Atlantahammy
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Atlantahammy » Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:41 am

I'm glad I left a lasting mark on you~

TimeAdept
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by TimeAdept » Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:44 am

Pierce: Despite all the things I heard about you OOC,
Let's talk. I want to clear the air.

That goes for anyone who 'has heard things about me'. I hate rumors. Let's chat.

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Xerah » Thu Nov 09, 2017 6:49 am

A sad way to end things with so much left in the air. Then again, there never is a good time. Don't let the dragon turn him CE.
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Echohawk » Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:39 am

A small concept, a little bit of nuance and dedication goes so far.
That book was one heck of a hook to draw in the curious or even those remotely paying attention. You don't have to be a 5% to create an amazing and engaging means of facilitating role play, Veritas certainly embodied that in my mind. On occasion I am in awe and pushed to better myself as a storyteller and as an element within Arelith. This certainly is one of those circumstances.

I do hope you take care while you're away.
And Sarina will miss both the man, and that smarmy tome. Til next time.
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Frostaspella » Thu Nov 09, 2017 9:09 am

Hey,
Thanks for the fun! You will be missed! Thank you for allowing me to jump right in and get involved in heavy rp the first day I arrive on this server! It was alot of fun and because of it I meet so many wonderful people both in game and out of game!
Frostaspella (Mage = Free Food and Drinks for all!)

Ski-U-Mah!
Skol Vikings!

#gopherfinalfour2018
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Atlantahammy
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Atlantahammy » Thu Nov 09, 2017 9:57 am

Veritas is definitely going to have a hug pile waiting for him when he returns.

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Seekeepeek
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Seekeepeek » Thu Nov 09, 2017 10:39 am

Iceborn wrote: This long overdue kudos thread is courtesy of... me leaving, actually. As I will be disappearing for a rather extended period of time. Take care of the wiki and be nice to your resident DMs. Don't feed them too much LSD, or stuff may happen!
Didn't role-play with your mage, but kudos for the wiki updates. your properly the main reason it was up to date. :!:

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Ozzy.nl » Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:22 pm

Val will never go mystra... Especialy now that Veritas aint around to guide her away from bane.

That being said he will be missed around the arcane tower. He always was a blast to be around. And you never knew what would happen next.

Valorie actualy looked up to veritas as a spellsword as well and knows what she is training for.

Hope yoy will return with another cool character concrpt one of these days.

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Griefmaker » Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:32 pm

Doh! Veritas was one Baelindor respected greatly, despite all of his many, many, MANY human flaws. Chief amongst those was him, you know, being a bit human ;)

But seriously, Veritas was great and I know I am bummed Baelindor will not be able to interact with him more. It was always entertaining, witty, informative, and just plain fun to do. Echohawk nailed it with how the book was a great little hook to catch one's initial attention, and then once caught, Veritas never lost it.

You'll be missed buddy!

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Bran Bree
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Bran Bree » Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:55 pm

I only witnessed a sliver of a fraction of V's story. The few times I did, it was always 10/10. Much respect for this player.

Also, stats out the roof:

CON: Seemed to be an RP machine. The amount of output even in a single ritual was crazy.
WIS: I learned from his example of bending his RP around others, which takes a certain amount of humbleness and patience.
INT: So damn quick witted, both in imagination and key strokes. I could not keep up with either.
CHA: Great sense of humor, so freaking hilarious. Very "benefit of the doubt" attitude. Very respectful to others, both in-game and out.

Good luck and thank you!

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by This is not for you. » Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:31 pm

wtf that was really nice of you to say

Veritas was/is the catylst to the new grimdark dour inquisitor. Gone are the days of the bright eyed bushy tailed tyrran ready to make the world a better place and now only the professional and angry marine. I enjoyed their dynamic a lot in all of our scenes and interactions and I am lament to try and find someone to fill the gap in the stage now.

His gift left her speechless! Thanks for the ride.
Sydney Harrow (Disguised) wrote: You can chop with almost anything, with the right attitude.
Varania Sylanna wrote: Tell: Why is my alignment constantly tested by idiots.

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Tyrantos
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Tyrantos » Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:42 pm

I hate you. Why do you do this to me. All my magic friends go away. Always. GODS DAMN IT.

Anyhow. I will miss annoying the magic man. Mykthar owes him alot, and the other way around. And as you say. He is a fail dwarf. And he will always be a fail dwarf. Perhaps in time though, He'll become a decent person. Thats all we can hope for in this grimdark settning that is Cordor.

(PS: Come back damn it.)

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Karris the Anarchist » Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:54 am

Veritas was one of the reasons I felt a bit sad that I burned out on Meridia for a bit - we always had so much fun! Sad to see you go, but I'm sure I'll see you around eventually. :)

PS: Nice sig
That which doesn't kill you, simply makes you... stranger.

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Griefmaker » Fri Nov 10, 2017 2:14 am

Hah! I never noticed Iceborn's signature. It sounds just like what Baelindor would say... ;)

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WanderingPoet
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by WanderingPoet » Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:20 pm

Veritas was certainly interesting! From nearly getting into a fight to healing and attempting to guide him off his Path of Doom - seems that he reached the end of that Path. He was either loved or people wanted him dead, across the isle!
Path_of_Play wrote:Fear, intimidation, anger - All these, the tyrant's tools.
Laughter, encouragement, play - not simply just for fools.
These tools reveal,
More is learned,
From another in an hour of play,
Than in a year of contention.

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by JediZero » Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:52 pm

Veritas! You better get your Snuggybear back here eventually or I swear to god Jacob is going to find your pieces, stitch them back together and bring you back to life Frankenstein style! *fistshake*

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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by MoreThanThree » Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:28 pm

ok bye bring back snacks
20 RPR GANG

Orian_666
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Re: The Enduring Mage flies off in wings of crimson!

Post by Orian_666 » Sat Nov 11, 2017 4:07 pm

And so the Island of Arelith lost some of it's magnificent facial hair this day!! :'(
I look forward to when/if (fingers crossed) he comes back, awesome character with a lot of great RP to give :)

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