The Big Good-Bye

[CragOrion]

"Computer, rewind to time index 2005.05..."

What? You want me to play this online game? It's DnD? Oh, that seems cool, why not. Plus, seems like a more interactive way for long-distance friends to hang out. Sure, Guess I'll try it.

So...hm...guess I'll try and make a druid...

"Computer, proceed to time index 2005.07"

Wow, shifters look fun, but I need a 30 RPR and a prc token to play one...okay, I'll make this new character to play in cities so I get more face time around other people and maybe try and get my RPR raised...here goes nothin...
....
Hmm, okay, halfelf fighter...but I wanna try something different. I want somebody thats unruly and bloodthirsty, but not evil...and I can use that bloodthirsty voiceset, perfect! Okay, what to name her...well, I really liked Eldafire's name from Morrowind...need a first name....Trynn'delynn sounds elfy. Trynn'delynn Eldafire, yeah, awesome. Geez, it normally takes me forever to come up with a name!

"Computer, increase playback speed to times three"

Zomg,youinsultmeforbeinghalfelf,mefightyou!
guardingisfunletsdothat
theaerisjigomgomgomg!
secretlywannabelikearistotolus
omgraskissomysteriousandcool
omgguardisgoingtohell
createmyownguard
getknightedyay!
sharrancultohno!
i'mthebaron,bowdownbiches!
vetinariyoujerk!
joinrealguard
wowgraashjustsplatteredthatguyfortryingtofollowus,thatwasawesomeibetterpayattentiontothisguy!
ela'drieeeeeelllllll!!!!!nooooooooooo!!!!!
holycrapi'mcommanderyay!

"Computer, skip ahead two years, we don't need to see the banning"

imbaaaaack!andsoistrynnmwahahaahaha!
moreguardnowaiti'macounciloryay!
allo!mynameisestibansandigoandi'maguardtoo!preparetobeguardedbadly!
heywhathappenedtomygoodrpr!fyoubattletoadiknowitwasyou!
butnowiwannaplayzorroasacharacter...i'llcallhimdiego!
heylooki'mcommanderagain
guardguardguardguard...cordorrulestheseas!yeahthisisawesome!
well,diegosdeadbutiwannadoanex-pirateandmakepeoplecallhimbuster,ihadadognamedbuster,hewasagooddoggy,imisshim...yeahbuster!
morecharacters
moreguardsguardsguardsguards
morecharacters
guardcordorguardcordorguardcordorguardWAYMAN
TOOMANYCHARACTERS
myvaultsareoverflowing!
timetoplayanothereldafire...heheheheheh...ohheyweavemastersarefun
nowaitiwannaplaythiseldafireinstead...heylooki'mcommanderagain,whenwilltheylearn???
onsecondthoughtiwannaplaytheothereldafire
nodonttakemyweavemastersandfavoredsoulsfromme,ineeeeedtheeeeeeem
ACTUALLYiwannagobacktotheOTHERothereldafire....yeahthisoneiscool...whoopsthesword!damnyousabine!<3arael!
whaaaaaaat!donttakemyson!*murderdeathkill*
comesailaway,comesailaway,comesaaailawaywithKyyyyyle...
istillhaveaweavemasterside-characterinmyvault!mwahahahahaaayoucanttakemyweavemastersfromme,andistillhaveaspareoneafterthis!yeahhhhokaycelestia,timetoturnyouintoaseriouscharacterandcompletelyredesignyourbuildwithoutremakingyou
whyseverybodyalwayspickinonmeimeancelestiaboohoohoohoohooooo
NWNEEwooooooooooooooooooo!!!!manskaliscold!
omgguysseriously,itriedsohardNOTtobecommanderagainbutyoumademedoitanyway!
ohthankgodthatcorruptguywontheelection,godihopehefiresme!

"Computer, slow playback to normal speed"

Hey, what's that? A star wars server? There's been one before but it wasn't that great...MAYBE I'll try it sometime....

"Computer, skip ahead one day"

Hope everybody had a good thanksgiving...guess I'll check out the star wars server today...
*crickets*

*crickets*

*crickets*

*crickets forever*

____________________________________________

So damn, Arelith...
Its been...13 years since I hopped on this train.
Arelith has been my main mode of recreation for largely the entire time, with a few breaks here and there to try out WoW, Skyrim, various final fantasies, etc. It was a setting I learned and got fairly knowledgeble at in the process, now FR is one of my favorite fantasy settings. This server influenced my life in a lot of different ways and I met a lot of pretty awesome people along the way.

But years ago, before I ever set foot in Cordor, since I played KOTOR for the first time, I always felt like there was something mising from my life. And I knew what that was. A good online star wars game.

I love Arelith, and Forgotten Realms, but Star Wars has always been my biggest passion ever since I was old enough to HAVE a passion. I was that kid in the late 80's that would dress in all black and carry around a flashlight on holloweeen pretending he was Luke Skywalker, making wooshing noises at the candy-givers. I was a Star Wars fanatic long before it was cool to be one.

So you gotta understand, it took something really major to make this happen. I mean, I still had plans for Arelith. I was gonna grow the Magery. I was gonna bring back Kyle. And there was still his twin sister to play. And with the Benwick stuff gearing back up, I was eager to take part in that again.

But damn, these people over at SWLOR have got me hooked. There's been a Star Wars server before, but it never impressed me. There was a big lack of direction and no story going on. And that kind of stuff will kill a server, nomatter how well its put together. But SWLOR is different. Even though there are limited areas right now, it has been emmensely fun. The players are good, there is a dedicated team of developers and contributors that are constantly working to improve and create new content. And its set around the time of KOTOR, which was a brilliant move. When I play SWLOR, I feel like that was the NWN game I always wanted to play.

So the time has come...
This has been a wild ride. Fun, if melodramatic at times. There were ups and downs, but overall, my time in Arelith is something I look back fondly on. The place has grown itself so much and gone through so many changes since I started back in the summer of 2005. I've gotten to play with some real gems of roleplayers. And as time went on, the roleplayers only got better and better. Ideally, I would love to make a giant post thanking everyone by name that I played with and enjoyed playing off of, but that would take too long, and after 13 years, my memory isn't good enough to remember all those people. Just know, if I ever sent you a tell and chatted with you, shot the shyte, or outright thanked you for your rp, know that I appreciated getting to play with you. I never was much for kudos threads unless it was the end of a character, I generally let you know in the game if I enjoyed your playing.

So instead, I am going to hand out my farewell kudos to some people that really influenced me as a player and as a person:

Izaich (Amadeo, John Diastole, Professor William Mephele, Ku'uve) - I always say it, but I can never say it enough. You're awesome, man. Roleplaying opposite of you is always a treat. You taught me how to roleplay and how wonderous emotes could be back when I was brand new, and I couldn't have had a better teacher.

Little Weasel (Ela'driel Eldafire, Caitlin Snow, Mrs. Mithreas) - There are no words...but I'll try. You blew me away with your RP from the moment I met you IG on your first character. You were always so true to the rp and your emotes were beautiful. Seriously loved every minute playing with you. Nobody could have ever have done justice to Ela'driel like you did, and you set the bar impossibly high for others who followed you in helping me fill out the Eldafire family line. You have turned into a great friend, even if we do go months at a time without talking now.

MiniQuinni (Holando Frayer, Hiro Colds) - Dude, you were my partner in crime for a good long while. Had a lot of fun building the Frayer-Eldafire house with you, and exploring things between Trynn and Holando taught me some important life lessons while I was at it. Be well, man.

Scurvy_Cur (Graash Zorgar) - Sorry, can't remember the name of the other guard character you had while I was playing Buster, but nomatter who you were playing, you were always someone I kept my eye on. I learned a lot about playing a leadership role just by watching you. You've been a mentor to me even if you didn't know it.

EmotionalOverload (Echo, Arael Laceflower) - You are just absolutely evil for drawing me into your characters and making me care about them just so you can devastate me when you kill them off. Playing with you and Jolly on the council was some of the most fun I've had on the server, and your work on Arael was amazing and a tough act to follow. I still wished we'd had more time to explore a deeper friendship between her and Kyle

I don't remember your login, but the player of Sabine/Sydney Harrow - You were my best nemesis. You were always so considerate and thoughtful of the people you were playing against, thank you for entertaining and taking part and welcoming in to your stories.

I also want to tank the devs that work tirelessly to make things better while at the same time tolerating my disapproving outbursts.

And the current DMs, you guys are the best. Titania, Spyre, GrumpyCat, I love you all. You guys have each been there to walk me through a difficult time when you could have just told me to shape up or ship out. Your patience really impressed me and made me feel welcome. Thanks for being so awesome.

And finally, to my friends who are no longer with us
Forlindel, the guy you loved to hate but couldn't help but love. He loved when I said that. Arelith was never the same without you, man
and Erika, I don't remember her playername, but she played a sharessian/sharran named Carleta years ago. She became such a great friend outside the game and her death hit me really hard. Miss you, love you

May you both rest in peace

And to the rest of you...thanks for making my time here fun, and if you like Star Wars and haven't tried the new SWLOR server out, you're missing out big-time.

<3

[Emotionaloverload]

*Hug!* Thank you for all the fun times. I hope you have more fun times with the next game.

<3!
-S

[Ebonstar]

ran into many of your toons over the years, some friends some just made me want to smack them

Celestia was fun to deal with, even made her cry and she hated Aerin, almost as much as Kyle did

Buster and Bok had some strange talks

Was never playing on surface when your eldafires were about.

have fun on the outer rim!!

[Hazard]

Perunika will remember her interactions with M̶i̶n̶a̶ Celestia, fondly.

May the force be with you.

[Dinosaur Space Program]

Glad your passion finally came up with a game that could engage you.

Many memories of your characters since the beginning and while I normally don't engage in sentimentality with players (as we all come and go) I can say that your presence will be missed. You have been a staple on the server for as long as I have played on it so it will definitely be odd to come back on occasion to find you not there, playing your latest character in Cordor.

Of all of them, I think Buster was my favorite. He really summed up your strengths as a player after years of experience on Arelith. That and he was a riot.

Godspeed, soldier. Force choke some people for us.

[LittleWeasel]

One day there will be another GenCon we're going to attend and we'll have dinner again. <3

[EnigmaticSpirit]

Rhianna: Best. Rival. Ever.

See you round. o/

[CragOrion]

Thanks guys, I miss you already. Come visit me on SW sometime
<3

[MisterMadara]

Hey, Crag..

MiniQuinny here.

Whatever you do, enjoy yourself. You have been a pillar of RP on Arelith for as long as I can remember, you helped me discover more in depth RP and because of that, I went bigger and better! I am grateful to have met Trynn all those years ago.

<3