P.S. - "Post Script"

Thank you Ryou for this lovely picture. Everwind at sunset...gotta love windlight =).

*sighs* I am not going to flower this up, and I have tried several times to work out my thoughts to no end. I came to realise as the month ended how much things have changed in the last 9 months for me. Before Everwind closed roleplay was everything for me, and I had only just started to take my first steps into building. Now I find that with each build either for myself or a customer I am happier being lost in creating something then trying to find a place that I could take my character to.

Each new realm is a challenge as Katlin has become something unique and each new Realm I find taxing to keep true to what she has become. I don't mind change, it's only that I prefer to do it with roleplay so it has some meaning. I have seen too many constantly change their characters without any effort or roleplay and it makes it hard for other roleplays to comprehend what has happen. No matter what happened to Katlin between her travels from Everwind to Triskele to Carmarthenshire I was able to keep true to who she had become.

I feel that she has come full circle, she has wandered in the forest one last time and found peace there. While I continue to build and create I will keep my eyes open and wait for maybe there will be a Realm she will come out of the forest to call home once more

This does not mean I am going to give up roleplay, only I will not be using Katlin as I don't wish to taint what she has become. I will take my roleplay as someone new, a new character ready to be molded into someone unique. This will also allow me to divide my roleplay and my work and hopefully find that happy balance that I have been looking for

Happy RPing!

The end....

I have tried to think of what more there is to say after my resurrection, and returning as a child of Illustree. I wasn't of the "light", and my character took on more a neutral role. I spent the last months of EW focusing on the guild and training.

Everwind went though a lot in its final months. Grace and Slip broke up and suddenly Everwind was turned upside down. Slip was taking up his sim "Woods" and suddenly Minions, Elves, and Fae were losing thier homes...that is pretty much the whole Realm suddenly packed into the main village, nipping at each other's heels in their small confined space.

Grace's third sim had been set up for months now, and everyone had avoided it pretty much due to the fact that a line was drawn at the sim boundary, no combat and people were renting the land for private living...or at least as private as you can get next to two full RP sims. Grace was quick to rebuild, but even as things were changing we were slightly saved not a week later when Grace and Slip made up. But things had already changed, and it was a little late to just flip things back to the way their were.

Trainers in the guild drew closer together as we adjusted the training to the new realm. We were overwhelmed by the growing number of recruits and constant demand of training and testing. Towards the end of Everwind, it seemed to some that we did less and less RP and spend more time teaching one or more recruits with the hours we had online. Recruits were happy to take on the challenge of becoming a ranger, but giving up chance to roleplay and teach others took a special few people...but towards the end, it was almost sad as we got less time enjoy Everwind's last breath.

During the last months in Everwind I had also been drawn to Triskele, helping to start up my own Ranger Guild there. As one event after another seemed to lead to the end of Everwind I was debating my place in Everwind, if I should remain or not. But my choice seemed to be made for me as Grace announced plans to make Everwind an "age verified" only sim. Now I didn't think anything of it at the time...I had take on a challenge to build a float for the Ranger Guild with the help of Jacko, Maya, and Samo. At the time my building skill was limited at best, and it took the month we were given to complete the master piece. But it was a bitter sweet win, as I realized that not only wasn't I verified in SL, that I would never do such a thing either.

Now I understood the whole "covering one's *ss" with applying age verification to a sim, but the whole process as easy as it was for me to do being in Canada, was against my personal boundaries. I was not about to dish out more personal information to make things more "safe" for Grace and Slip, it was also useless, as any kid with any sense to get this far on getting on SL could just as easily steal their parent's ID and Identity to verify age on SL. Now people could argue one way or another till they are blue in the face, but simply put, I made a choice.

As things got heated more and more over those that picked one side or another on this issue things seems to go downhill fast, and as much as I have respect for Grace as a sim owner and all she gives to those that play in her sims, it was a dark side of plain and simple disrespect for those that put their hearts and souls into HER playground that did it in for me. Fine, it was her money, she can do and say what she wants, but I am not stupid and being slapped in the face is about the last thing anyone in their right mind would stand to turn back and let that person do it again.

As my last days in Everwind counted down, I made myself at home in Triskele as I knew come New Years it would be my only home. I had looked forward to celebrating a year in Everwind and more of its adventures, but I came to accept that all good things come to an end. And more so, as Everwind has come into history as THE best Medieval Roleplay sim to have come to life in SL, I can look back and smile and say "I was there...I was apart of it".

Since Everwind close, and its sad attempt at rebirth in the new year, there is rarely a day that doesn't go by that I think back on the first realm I called home. Through all the ups and downs, the pain and heartaches, to the joys and love I have come to feel for so many I met in that precious part of SL...I have no regrets other then wishing I had more then my few memories to relive.

~I posted this towards the beginning of my blog~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQM93l4J2Iw

Note: The Elf in the cage and on the sacrifice table in the Underworld, that is Park, my sis *smiles*....no, it wasn't even IC, it was just for the video! And if anyone knows the WHOLE soundtrack to it, can you tell me? Especially the part that picks up as the Knights run out of the Castle.

DO-OVER!

Ever as a child did you play a game with your parents, snakes and ladders and keep rolling the dice and landing on the snake, or getting nothing but 1s or bad cards? Your parents would smile and hand the dice to you again, letting you take another shot. Oh it was great, it was like wiping the slate clean and starting over, but still taking everything with you.

Now in RP, it's not so easy to just forget things that happened. Many times RP has been voided, battles or fights go bad and then a GM comes along and you have to pretend that 3 hours of your time have just gone "poof". So what happens when your character comes to a wall, and you want to take five steps back and go down another path? Well, you can't really do that, but nice thing about RP is if you are good, if you were Mage you could just blow the wall away, but if you are a Ranger, throw over a grapple hook and up you go!

Okay, its not that simple, but you get the idea, if you are creative enough, in RP, just about anything is possible if you are willing to do it.

Now, Stormy and Chance had only been gone for about 2 days, Raenn sat on the thrown and I was torn. She along with the minions wanted me to stay, but it just wasn't the same without Stormy and Chance there. I finally decided that this was it, that my time had come and I was going to throw that grapple hook over the wall and find my next path. So how does one just leave the Dark Realm, not to mention step down as a Dark Sage? Well...it's easy really, just depends on if you would enjoy it or not.

I get it in my head that this is it, and portal into Everwind, just as I land I get a notice from the Ranger's Guild. Park has stepped down and left, no longer Ranger Second or even a member of Everwind. And just who do I bump into as I head towards the path to the Dark Valley but our fearless leader Jacko *grins*. Needless to say, I am up for promotion, Park gone, my long time rank of Lt is about to take me higher...wooohooo! Well, a sad moment, hurt that Park is gone, but thrilled to be Second, and oh wait...there was a reason I went to Everwind in the first place...right....back to the story.


WARNING THE FOLLOWING IS ROLEPLAY, NOT REAL, EVERYTHING DONE WAS CONSENTED TO, COULD BE GRAPHIC!!!

Log of Nov 11 '07 - Scene set in the Dark Cathedral, the new Dark Queen on her thrown, and top loyal minions surround her. Enter Katlin, Dark Sage Ranger.

Stix: Vedui' Katlin

Raenn: Vedui Kaitlin

Katlin walks into the Cathedral and looks at the Dark Queen long and hard

Raenn lifts a brow "Something to say Kaitlin"

Katlin shakes her head and slips off her Sage band from her arm and throws it to the ground at the Dark Queen's feet

Stix eyes katlin

Raenn looks astounded she leaves the band on the ground

Katlin: My oaths were to MY KING, MY QUEEN and APOS

Raenn saunters up to the human girl eyes as cold as ice, her blood boils in her veins "You DARE disrespect me?"

Stix rests his hand on his weapon

Katlin: My Queen and King are dead, and Apos the only one that had a hold on me is weak

Raenn grabs her by the hair and throws her to her knees

Katlin falls to her knees hard

Raenn: Apos has made me your Queen, you will respect her desires or die!

Raenn: repent Child and your punishment shall be swift *glares down at her

Raenn spits "Beg girl!"

Katlin glares at the Dark Queen...."Apos has no power over me anymore, but I'm not a coward....I wont run and hide"

Stix draws his staff.

Rayiden: Your orders my Queen?

Raenn's suck in a breath through her teeth "Then you leave me no choice" *pulls the girls hair harder bringing her head back, a dagger appears in her hand gleaming in the candlelight with a swift movement she thrusts it into Katlin's throat and twists grunting with a satisfied smile, she throws the girl down simultaneously jerking the blade from her throat and shivers with pleasure

Katlin body shudders with the force of the blade, her life leaves her quickly

Raenn turns a gleam in her eye "dispose of this garbage, feed it to the Orcs"

Stix grabs the corpse by the hair and drags her from the cathedral.


And that was the end of Katlin, Dark Sage Ranger of Everwind. I was now a ghost, for length of 7 days of roleplay. Not a very good first day of being Second of the Ranger Guild, but it was my do-over *sighs*.

Bitter Sweet Ending

Three posts in one day....well the war between Light and Dark went on for a while, and I am on a roll.

This whole time there were to plots running around Everwind, one about the Seelie and Unseelie ghosts roaming around Everwind and another about a deep betrayal that seemed to revolve around the fate of Stormy and Chance.

IC, I knew nothing about what was going on, I was a loyal Sage, and as the war raged on I kept on fighting beside them. OOC I was torn inside, because Stormy had confided in me the truth of what was to come. Each battle I fought was leading to an ending I did not want to face.

During one of the final battles of the war the fight raged on for almost a full day, it had started somewhere in the forest and ended up on the very edge of the Dark Valley, people were captured on both sides, I was one of them.

After falling twice already in battle and finally someone had the time and wits to start binding the fallen minions, and drag us off. We already had captives back in the Cathedral being tortured, my own Head Ranger Jacko being one of them...so even as my wrists and ankles were bound I knew it was only a matter of time till either we escaped or we were traded or rescued. But I was a little worried....with Stix gone, and Winkie barely present, I was the only active Sage for Stormy and Chance, and now I was bond and being dragged back to the village.

While the other minions kicked up a storm about being thrown in jail I was actually playing hurt and curled up on the stone floor. I actually found it very interesting to be on the other side of the bars for once, after all this time of being a minion I had finally be captured.

Above, Mordok, my captor, and me on the ground, there were three other Drow divided between the cells. I think a couple managed to escape, in the end we were traded/released. I remember Samo came to help me back to the Valley, still wounded from battle since no one bothered to really play on the fact I was laying on the ground moaning and emoting how hurt I was. My Queen healed me, but remaining in the Valley was getting to me, so I wandered out and back to the village. I am not sure what drove me back there, it might have been my parting words with Grace IC was a bitter banter of her calling me a traitor. Samo went with me again, only to find much changed in the village. Between the time of our release from the village and when I returned Grace had declared the village closed to all minions, any entering would be arrested.

Now I should mention that throughout my time of being a minion, many people took it rather hard and in some way this aided me. Most that knew me before my turning were always trying to save me, or convince others besides the fact of my deeds that I was still "good". Rath was such, as Commander and Head of the Knights in Everwind we had known each other a long time, through good and bad, and he did not want to go through with his orders. He was good enough to give us a choice, staring down on both me and Samo he would permit one of us to leave, the other would be arrested. Now I wasn't about to have Samo take my place behind bars, and I wasn't to thrilled about being placed behind bars for the second time in one day...but I wouldn't deal a fate on another I wasn't willing to accept myself. In the end I had to use my rank as Sage to order Samo to leave and take a warning to our King and Queen, and then turned to be chained and taken off again. At least Rath had the better sense of mind and had me taken to the jail cells set up in the human castle *grins*.

I remember when Kelly showed me these cells for the first time, they had been built to hold the highest of risk prisoners to King Slip and Queen Grace, hence, they had been build to hold Stormy and Chance. They had been used once before that I am aware of, during a trial of Kobo for treason. He had been held there till he had been brought to trial and sentence carried down. Now I sat in one of the two cells, tucked away from the Realm. Now, point about an RP realm is that if you force someone away from everyone else, they can't really RP, and they get bored rather quickly.

Needless to say, I was bored, but I welcomed the break from constant fighting. That night I was allowed out to enjoy the OOC Halloween Dance, and the next day came a grand rescue. Stormy and Chance led the minions against the castle to free me, and what a wonderful rescue! They swept in and up, broke the locks and passed me a weapon to fight with, and we rushed out, heading quickly back to the Valley....we had to trace our path to gather a few minions caught up in battle but we all made it back to the Valley and in one piece, it was wonderful!

But, it was short lived. The roleplay behind the Seelie and Unseelie wound down and came to an end, and Stormy and Chance would make their last stand. I arrived to find my King and Queen half out of it and speaking strange, they spoke of being fired on, but did not care. I already knew what was to come, OOC I knew they had been poisoned with a potion that would bind them to serve Queen Grace, IC I was just a Sage, confused and baffled by their sudden change in behaviour. Then came the messenger, my King and Queen had been called to the village, and I followed, helpless to do anything but to watch now. I watched as everyone gathered in the village, I watched as my King and Queen bent to the will of the potion and signed a treaty in blood. I watched in horror as Apos came down and brought her wrath upon them for their betrayal....there was little more I could do but watch.

I cried long and hard that night. Stormy and Chance had been cut from their roles and now a new Drow Queen stood in their place, and I was left trying to decide if it was worth staying and if so, what would I do next?

Will the fighting ever end?

Following that battle it was clear that it was no longer safe for any side to just wander about the realm without fear of being under attack. Few "Safe-Zones" remained in the realm, most of them were Shrines or the main teleports down into Everwind, battles could only be started by the factions in their own land. More battles would follow, but it wasn't till the death of our Dark Sage Stix that things got mean.

It started out as something small, a group of minions gathered and started to taunt and cause trouble, the Knight's drew, they had to, it was their territory, and it started *sounds a chord*. At first I watched, not interested to be drawn into it, then one of the Knights seemed to focus on me....well I was a minion and an easy target just about then, so I was all in then. Stormy and Chance showed up and what started out as small became a round about fight, we didn't face as much lag as we had before, people fell and meters recovered faster, the battle went round and round for some time. Then Stormy got tired of the Light getting up and ordered the kills. Not only was I not big on the idea of RPing out the kills was seeing the one liners. I gave mine two, but finally things seemed to be slowing down and ending. Of course, the Light side was screaming foul and in walked Grace, and without even hearing our side voided it all. *sighs*

Worse was to follow, in another fight that started and drew into the village we had been given orders not to kill, this was just to stir things up. We didn't want to fight and see it all voided, and waste hours of fighting to have to go back saying, "nothing happened". Towards the end we start to draw out, and we think that we have everyone as we head back to regroup in the Valley, only to learn that Stix fell and was killed, his body thrown into the fountain. It had been done by a rogue that even as the battle started had professed he was not taking a side, and yet he had gone out of his way to join the Light side and then kill one or Sages.

I took this picture shortly after, Stix RPed a very nice reanimation and he played it to a T....he was literally a walking Zombie, but as good as the RP was, Grace wouldn't void his death, but she voided and created new laws to reanimation, voiding Stix's character and returning him to his death.

From Left to Right: Samo, Katlin (me), Chance, Stormy, Stix

This picture was the last time Stix and I stood together with our King and Queen before he and Jiji left Everwind, fed up with Godmongering. Looking back, now I might take things differently, but I think the worst part is having to accept the fact that as roleplayers we were trying to have fun and seeing those at the top always sway things in their favor. I am a lot more accepting now in roleplay, I am not afraid of my character being killed or facing capture or torture, I accept that if people are willing to have fun with it and put the effort into roleplaying it, then all the more fun. Stix and Jiji were excellent RPers and losing them was a blow to our side IC and OOC. It was then that we were just ready to walk away, it felt that it didn't matter, we would always lose cause Grace or Slip would void anything that actually seemed like a win for the Dark.

We walked away from a number of battles after that. One day the number of captives just piled up in the valley, we ran out of room to put captives. Grace and Slip mounted a raid/rescue into the valley for the captives, and refused to admit they had been seen coming into the valley, refused to accept that the "gates" to the cathedral had been locked. But as it was Dark faction land our side would have had to have drawn. Mind it was about 3 minions against I don't know how many. So no weapons were drawn, many of us refused to even RP with Grace or Slip at this point, which lead to rant in a notice to tell us to grow up...hmmm, so maybe both sides didn't "act" in the best way, but pointing the blame solely on those that fill your Realm with an opposing side might not be the best thing. We lost a lot of minions that day, those that stayed either wanted to continue to pick a fight, or like myself, love Stormy and Chance and stayed for the loyalty they had for them.

But we were tired, of it all, and just wanted it to end.

It's War!

Tension had been growing for months now, and you could feel it in the air, you could taste it....it was that intense!

It's hard to say where it started, but a good place to start on the side of Dark was the anger over The Jar of Justice, that both IC and OOC had ticked a lot of people off, especially those that had been subjected to it. It has started with a raid, which ended up with 4 minions captured and dragged away. What happened, I am not sure of, it was one of the few raids that was actually led by the Light, but those captured were brought back to the main village and placed inside this huge Jar in the middle of the village. At one time I had a picture of it, but I was disgusted with what it stood for and sent it to the trash....POOF! There was a plaque on it, stating that anyone charged with treason would be placed within, they were also "changed" into a fairy for the duration of their punishment.

I was baffled and furious that anyone but our King and Queen could charge a minion with treason...of course we would be against the Light...then should they not throw everyone in there cause everyone would be betraying one side or another but the rare few that could and did remain neutral?

After that our King and Queen gave us orders that no one entered the Valley was safe from our hands, we were ordered to capture all trespassers and freely offered to do with as we wished. Many were captured, most tortured, few killed to leave a message to those of the Light.

Our King and Queen launched a number of mass attacks on the Light, one even included a wonderful plan to attack by all means, by land, by sea, by air....it was wonderful, save for a little OOC slip that tipped off the Light. They "knew" we were coming and massed for the attack, Stormy's Trojan Horse stood in the main village waiting for them to accept it, the air balloon hovered over the Elven Village and a war ship neared the Fae Glade, all ready for the attack. But the OOC slip brought it all crashing down...no one would accept the Trojan Horse and our King and Queen finally turned us into one mass to fight, no longer divided we headed to the Elven Village and stormed over the walls.

It was a wonderful battle, the lag so heavy even running made you stand still and maybe your hit would land 5 minutes later if the meter even read it. Before the battle we had prepared ourselves, knocking off as many attached items as we could, reduced our settings to next to nothing, just enough for us to see what and who we were fighting. We were able to fight through the lag, at one time I was up against Dream with her "Hero" meter and she was furious cause she couldn't get to me but I reduced her meter to the red. At this time I was human, and this caused a lot of confusion, I got a number of IMs from people asking what side I was on cause I was being relentless in attacking them. Even with the lag people started to fall and after hours of battle Stormy and Chance called a retreat. It wasn't till the numbers started to thin and the lag slowly lifted that my meter finally dipped below green.

I should have mentioned that as a human and a ranger I had 2 healing powers (Charm- Human, Self Heal-Ranger) and 3 attack features on the rest of my Ranger HUD, between that and fighting with a very low lag, low scripted sword I was just sitting pretty for this battle and most that followed. At the end, Dream demanded that I leave the battle cause my meter was broken. Even as Chance shouted us to retreat I stayed to take out one more opponent...I had Mulder down to the orange and we had been facing off for most of the battle, I wanted to take him out before I left. One of Mulder's hits struck through then just as Dream IMed me and I was nice enough and lag permitting to copy and paste it for it to show that my meter was working and kept fighting. Mulder was down moments later and with Ajin at my back we hurried out of the Elven Village and to safety.

As each side licked its wounds and us Minions sat and grinned and rewarded ourselves with a battle well fought and no looses, (we had been given orders not to kill before the whole battle started) there was no more doubt left for any side...we were at WAR!

Hail! Da King!

Da King *hugs* my King Chance, at rest in his lazy boy...one of my favorite pictures of him!

Trust me, he might look layed back but his bow was never far or slow from being drawn in a time of need and you couldn't run far enough or fast enough if he had it out!

What do you do with a bored minion?

I had found a very happy place in my roleplay and my character now. I had started to let go, both of the pain I was feeling and clinging to being "me" and not a character. I found I could still be Katlin and myself, but have more fun with it and not let the RP effect me as much. Without the stress of having a character RP forced on me, I was a lot more comfortable...and partly pleased with myself how many people were mislead by my human looks...everyone simply assuming that if you are human you are good.

This is hardly true, in many fantasy based cultures, humans were given the right to choose, where as Elves are deemed always Light, and Drow are deemed always Dark....a human could pick any path...freewill.

The Drow I walked among hardly batted a lash as I continued to serve Stormy and Chance, it was usually the newer minions that arrived that questioned me. But as now a proven and loyal minion, and one of only 3 Dark Sages, I held a lot of respect, all of which, I hope and tried hard to earn and keep.

In Everwinds history there have only been a handful of Dark Humans. Samo was most the most notable, from day one of Everwind's opening he came and swore himself to the Drow, and on the day it closed he was still there. Seat would venture into darkness a few times, torn by either a curse or oath, he could always spin a wonderful character to play off of. I recall only one other human, Crom, but rarely active. And then there was me....*smiles*.

And you would think the Realm would have to fear Drow, but they knew what they looked like and could see them coming. Dark Humans, unless you knew, you wouldn't know what hit you till it was too late.

I think a returning point for me came not long after, Samo and I were killing time in the Cathedral. The Realm was quite, and we were getting bored, it was just one of those few nights that Everwind was quiet and RP dried up. Depending on which of us talks about that night, will blame the other *grins* that the events to follow was never their idea, and that they were only the one following.

Samo taught me a great deal of understanding to being a dark human, a minion, and also focusing on keeping true to the roleplay. That night we rode together to the main village and hitched our horses to a tree, gathered our weapons and crawled up the steep side of the hill leading to the Human Castle. In what would be an epic RP for us, we would fill the night...almost 3 full hours of struggling around the outer rim of the castle, hiding from patrolling Knights, and slipping quietly inside the castle.


Getting in was half the trouble. Rath had seen to putting doors at the throne room balconies, and we did not realise this till we were already on the back side of the castle. 2 hours of roleplaying finally goes us around pillars, down to different levels of ledges and to an open balcony....tut tut Rath, you forgot one *grins*.

We slipped inside, did the usually minion mischief...sat on the King and Queen's thrones, left a picture of Apos in front of them. We could have done worse, we could have lit the castle on fire, but we had gone into this expecting to be captured and we had come so far....I was scared of my mind, but I didn't care, I was having the time of my life.

Leaving didn't take us nearly as long, but Samo kept the RP in check, we grappled our way down the side of the castle and made for our horse, spurring them towards the Dark Valley and to safety! We made it!

We presented our task to Stormy, who was rather happy with what we had done. Grace was rolling her eyes at us OOC for something original *shrugs*....and Rath...a few days later her got around to returning the picture of Apos to me, then was sure to add doors to the balcony we had climbed through.

*holds her finger to her lips in a secretive smile* Even with passwords to open doors and get inside, there is always an RP way to break into a castle *winks*.

I am going to dedicate this entry to King Samo and Queen Katlin.....hehe...even if it was just for 5 minutes.

Birth of a Dark Human

Things were actually going well for me, I had grown close to Stormy and Chance. Geroff had stepped down and left Everwind, and at Park's request Stormy and Chance had offered me rank of Dark Sage Ranger in his place. I joined Stix, and Winkie among those second only to our Dark King and Queen.

Then my reason, my poison for being a Drow vanished and I was left wondering what more there was left for me here in Everwind. I was crushed and broken, and my friends were left to help pick up the pieces. I nearly left SL completely, I started seeing things I hadn't before and wondered why I had been so blind.

My friends and my roleplay were all that kept me going. I renewed friendship that I thought I had lost, but they had only been waiting in the shadows. I consumed myself in my own character RP...the Drow that was me, was dying, my reason for being was gone...I was free!

I was dying!

Over the next couple of weeks I let my character weaken, as I struggled to figure out what to do next. I didn't HAVE to be dark anymore, but I had grown close to those around me, I also loved Stormy and Chance to death, and they had been a key to my strength as my world crumbled around me.

I had a choice to make, the Drow was dying, how would she be reborn?

Stormy confided in me then that her and Chance would be stepping down in a matter of months, they had a huge roleplay revolving around their fall from the Dark Throne and being replaced. I knew then that if they were leaving I probably would too, but till then, I was going to stay by their sides and rock the Dark Valley till the bitter end.

With the aid of Stix and his Cleric power I was saved and cursed. The Drow I had become was banished, but Apos still held onto my soul. I would remain a Dark Human, and serve my Drow King and Queen.

*sighs* It was good to be pale again!!!

It's Good To Be Drow!

Don't ask me how I got here, I can't remember. This is me, a Drow, sitting on the Human Queen's throne....*snickers*. It was something I think all minions did sooner or later, like a right of passage.

*****

Let me introduce Divine. The first time I met her, Park and I were wandering near the new Dark Valley. At the time, I was still Human, she was still Elf. We spotted a figure that didn't seem to belong down there, pale skinned and alone. I wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but following my sister we quickly made our way down into the valley and searched her out. We only talked to her for a moment and we both knew that something was wrong, our best guess was she was being brain washed of sorts. She refused to leave and in a moment of what seemed between sanity and madness she bid us to leave and quickly, before it was too late.

The next time I would see Divine she would be a Drow, and I would slowly get a larger taste of how good of a roleplay she is. When it came time for my turning, Parked helped me start it off, Divine helped me finish it.

The most amazing thing I realized on the other side, was it was right what they say. Baddies are just good people playing Baddies. I met some amazing people that IC I would not have gotten close to if it had not been for my turning. Besides seeing the true side to Stormy and Chance, I met others that change me. Jiji and Stix were an amazing couple...Xeno, Geroff, Kar, Divine, Kyr, Samo...just a few of the names of people I got closer to and got to see them beyond the characters they put in front of themselves. I counted them as much better roleplayers then myself.

Despite all the heartache of being a Drow, we had some good times. And amazing how much fun being bad can be, and what happens when one is bored.

*****

So what is it, that Drow and Minions alike do when they are bored? Go raid the Elve's Land...go pick up a few faeries to torture, or sacrifice a few lost humans? Nope....we dance!

It started in our own Dark Cathedral, I happened upon Divine and Ajin and a few others dancing. The Orc Chieftain just standing back and enjoying the view.

No, I am not in this picture, by this time I was Sage, and I wasn't about to just go join in a dance, but they were having fun so I gave them what I could so they could carry on...I pulled out my flute and gave them something to dance to. Now we were having way too much fun, and we couldn't possibly just keep it to ourselves.

At this time the Realm was busy at the main tavern having a nice OOC chat about this or that, so we thought it would be nice to take our dance to the village, waiting for everyone to come back IC. The moment the meeting broke up, I put my flute to my lips, Drow and Minions alike clicked Divine's chimera and we never looked back.

*~* PROOF *~*

Even though some of us wore weapons, we didn't have meters on. We seriously only went to have fun. Some people came and laughed at us, others with us. Some thought my flute was haunting, and others wanted to join in with it. Then there was Slip, Human King, he walked up and without a second word drew his bow and commanded his Knights and Royal Rangers to do the same. People were torn, even those that followed his orders. It was a good day to be a Drow, even at the end of the King's bow and all the men and women sworn to him.

Under threats of being fired upon, I stopped my flute and the those dancing stopped. We took ourselves slowly from the village, and the Faeries called to us to take our dance and celebration to the Glade. It was wonder, those that followed and joined us then. Those that only moments before had had their weapons ordered drawn and pointed at us.

It was one of those day, one of those few rare days, that for me, it felt good to be a Drow.

EVERSTOCK!!!

Everstock in Everwind, September 14 ‘07 - Happy Memories, Rockin’ Parties!

Grace & Slip, Queen and King

Stormy & Chance *HUGS*

Trippin’ Fairy

Dyson! I think...maybe I was trippin'.

My groovin’ sister Park

Count...even the Knights know when to let their hair down.

Jacko! He is a party animal inside!

Goovin’ Kelly

Maya took 1st place for best female look!

Think I am wearing enough pink? I didn’t think so either.

What are your limits?

For those that have ever got to one of my Combat RP classes, there comes a moment when I am talk how to accept capture and be sure of your limits of what happens next. Anything can happen, and just like anyone else that has come new and scared into RP, capture is something that will happen, it's only a matter of time, so easier to be prepared. I go on to tell them about the things that follow...you could get rescued before anything happens, you could end up being killed then and there, and your captor could get you back to their dungeon, and start torturing you before any rescue attempt. I ask them, what are you limits? Could you lie there and take having someone carve their name into you? Cut off your toes and feed them to you? How about when it's all over and you are barely alive, drag you to the sacrifice table and offer your blood and soul to their God/Goddess? Some of them laugh when I ask, others get squeamish....and I ask, because those are only a few things I have witnessed...and have to admit in being apart of. Knowing that....what are your limits?

This is one of those stories that starts with how it ends, or at least leads you to think this is how it ends. No mistaking it, Kelly laid on the Alter of Apos, her body tortured, and now sacrificed...her spirit, her angel now hovering and looking down on us all. Shhhh...it's a ghost, you aren't suppose to see it! It's bad RP!

**Flashback**

The friendship Kelly and I shared almost crumbled into nothing with my turning. Unfriended, not even able to speak OOC with each other...it was probably about the most heart-breaking event following my turning, to see a friendship fall for something that was suppose to be just IC. But it was more...I had always played it safe, IC wasn't it for me.

Over the weeks that followed things started cool, Kelly and I were able to talk once more, being able to draw a line between IC and OOC we could both manage with, though still hard.

Kelly came to an idea, she had to face that which she feared. Oh no! I was fighting and hiding behind what I had become, and she was ready to face what she feared. She planned it all, Stormy and Chance agreed to help with it, and in near hind-sight it might have been better if I hadn't logged on just then. But being a good little minion, I followed my King and Queen, no questions asked...one thing I could do was take orders.

Kelly told me not to worry...I did....

**Fast-forward**

I was being a good little minion and following my King and Queen around. The day had come, we know what is planned, but acting like we don't. We leave the Cathedral, leaving it open for Kelly to enter without us noticing...tonight she is meant to be catch in the act of stealing a sacred scroll from the Cathedral. Half a dozen Drow now waited just outside the Cathedral...waiting. But then came the question, if we aren't inside, how are we to know if anyone is in there sneaking around. I set up my hawk to watch the land around us, and wouldn't you know, it picks up movement and someone that shouldn't be here. I send up the alarm and call out to my King that we have a trespasser...you have never seen so many weapons drawn at the same time! I know that both Stormy and Chance were there....Xeno was there through his magic, a few others had bows drawn, while I went with my sword as in the back of my mind I was thinking so many fighters so close together, lag was going to be eating us. You would think, that one person against so many would not last long, but Kelly and her own Hawk put up an amazing battle! Arrows flew all over, Xeno trying in vain to bind her in place, it was pure madness. I got up close, even knowing I would be hit by arrows of my own kind I had a better chance of landing hits with my sword. Her meter slowly started to sink, Xeno's spells finally took, binding Kelly in place, and as the final blows of arrows and sword landed she fell to the ground, unconscious.

By chance my sword had struck the final blow on Kelly, but I wanted no part in her torture...I begged Stormy and Chance in IM to spare me, but with so many roleplayers things moved quickly. Fingers turned to me, and my King and Queen called me forward to mark my prize. My Queen turned over her own sacrificial dagger to me so I could carve my name into her. I tried IC and OOC to get out of it, but IC was more demanding, displease my King and Queen and I share Kelly's fate...and I was evil now.

Needless to say, I happy to realise I wouldn't be the only one torturing Kelly, everyone was having a hand in it...and by then a number of other Drow had showed up to have their fun with the Royal Ranger Commander. That made me a little more comfortable as I slowly carved my name into Kelly. Xeno spelled up a giant spider, I think my King was the one that took her toes and stuffed them into her mouth....I don't think I was actually reading the rest of the torture, just focusing on getting my little part done. Much more was done, it gets gorier as it went along, as if having someone carve their name into your chest isn't bad enough, it was one of Stormy's favorite things to do. Kelly's blood was on my cloths and I watched them drag her off toward the alter, hanging onto life with but a thread. I hung back, taking myself out of range from hearing any more. It wasn't long till it was finally over, Kelly's angel now hovered above the Realm, free from life, safe from anything more being done to her.

That night literally tore me to pieces then. Kelly was happy though, despite it all and her fears, she came out better in the end. I would cry, and she would tell me its okay, everything was fine, and I would try and believe it. It was something we were both glad in the long run, that it had turned out the way it did in the end, and had been something we did together. It's still troubling at times when we talk and we flash back to the night of her torture, but in the long run, that night changed us each for the better.

Where did all the good Rangers go?

Even before I turned it was rare to find a Dark Ranger. Our Code made if very hard to be Dark and a Ranger. Being Dark and reading over the Code, your head would spin....being Drow and reading over the Code, gave me a headache...how was I suppose to take on the role of a Drow and still be the Ranger I was?

The Guild stood a little differently now. Kelly had stepped down as Second to head the Royal Rangers, Light sided Rangers that would answer to the Human Queen and King. Park had been raised to Second of the Guild, and I still held my rank as Lt....getting more and more unsure of what the rank ever did for me....but I still liked it.

Park was soon to follow and join me with the Drow, but not cause her Sister had turned. Neither of us turned for our own reason I believe, we made that mistake...but she made a far better Drow then I ever did.

At the time, Arthur, Maya, Kelly, and Seat were Officers, Samo was a Trainer...Jacko would add Brice to the mix sometime later. But looking at how the guild once stood in question over if it was too "Good" to be allow you to be "Dark"...was thrown out the window. Now half of the ranking Rangers were Dark, two of which, Park and I led the Guild in Jacko's absence. Now no matter how much you press it, a lot of people starting out find it hard to wrap the idea that Guilds are neutral...if you have a guild led by a Drow, I would say that would intimated a number of people approaching you to join up. There were calls to have Park step down...then I would be sure to follow, but Jacko was good to squash this, he was good at backing us up no matter what path we took.

There was a time, when even I looked and wondered what the purpose of a Guild was, and how it could hold, but now I look back and understand Jacko more and more...the only difference was time, and understand.

Be Bad, Not Drow!

Just before I turned, Grace had gone back and revisited the Underworld and torn it up and started anew. She had placed a new Dragon Wyre, Vexxus' Tooth had been knocked off to a nub and the Underworld had been ripped right out of the ground. Now, instead of a dark foreboding swamp, and probably the best Underworld I have seen and terrified to enter...there stood a peaceful valley. Dwarves had to share the cliffs with the Orc camp just below, and then there was the Dark Cathedral, the new home of the Drow and Minions alike.

It was so wrong in so many ways. For one, no one was afraid to enter Dark land anymore...people wandered in, and were surprised and constantly ranting how unfair it was to end up captured/tortured/dead cause they had no way of knowing this was "Dark" land. Drow are meant to be underground...they had a good thing...now they were exposed. Elves hide on the ridges over the Dark Cathedral were always watching, now with an easy arrow shot of all minions without leaving their land. The only rule in our favor now was that we were the only ones that could start a fight on our land...that didn't stop Elves from shooting us from above, or the Humans from plotting raids.

I saw a new light, a new side, a new world when I went dark. It went deeper and further then I could personally take my character, I couldn't take myself there. For the first weeks after I turned, I hid in the Dark Valley....from those angry at me for leaving them, those shocked that I had done this, and those that wanted to save me. Almost as soon as I turned I wanted out, but just as I had done it for the wrong reasons, I stayed for the same and I faced all the anger, confusion, and sadness.

Even looking back, I never enjoyed being a Drow, still today, I would not put on that grey skin and white hair again and take on the roll. I do admire those that can play the roll, they are far better RPers then I if they can keep to the character. This doesn't mean that I couldn't be bad, I just couldn't be Drow.

So Bad It's Good

I've met a lot of people in the year+ I have been roleplaying in SL...many with years of experience and practice. I have also found that having years of roleplay behind you doesn't mean you are a good roleplayer. I don't admit to being a good roleplayer, I have my faults and battle to keep things IC as possible. My roleplay started in Everwind, from the first day I wandered around with a visitor tag I learned to play it safe even then. I never really challenged my character or pushed the limits. My roleplay was safe, I did what I believed was right and good, and easy to go to bed with at night.

After the death of BlunderBeard there was continuing plot with pirates and a push for intersim roleplay into Algarond. After being disappointed with how the last epic ended and wrapped in my own little safe world of roleplay I wasn't interested in leaving a Realm I was comfortable in. Kelly and I were busy putting together new training for the Guild, she had also gone on to recruit and lead the Royal Rangers...we had a number of Rangers moving up within the guild as officers...it was a time of adjusting, but for the better.

I have told people that I am Katlin, she is me in every sense, if not more so, as I get to reflect more of what I would want to show through her. We are like and as difference in rl and sl, but my character through her has always been me, when I roleplayed I was just living through myself into her. This is both good and bad, good, it wasn't hard for me to roleplay, I knew Katlin and understood her...she wasn't just a character I played. Bad thing was, limiting myself to who I was meant challenges that turned my character up side down effected me deeply IC and OOC

Going "Dark" was about the worse thing and best thing I did. Bad, because I did it for all the wrong reasons, good cause in the long run it really taught me how to roleplay a character instead of living through a character.

Okay, so I made a mistake, I turned Dark because I wanted to please someone else, I put them before my own personal needs. Ouch! Kelly and I had been working so closely together it nearly broke the friendship we had into pieces. Others were so shocked over the transformation they wouldn't and couldn't believe that Katlin....I had gone Drow.

Yes proof, even I went grey and white haired once!

Funny thing was, not a week before the Drow King Chance had been trying to lure me to the Dark. OOC in IM he had been going on and on about how good it would be for me to be a minion for him and the Drow Queen Stormy. Now....I have a deep respect for Stormy and Chance and the roles they played as I did with Grace, Slip, and even Dream...they lead races, the fact that Stormy and Chance were both on my friends list made my head spin at times...I was just a simple Ranger...Lt even.

Then, I had told Chance that it was best for everyone if I stayed neutral. Little did I see I would be torn less then a week later and taking such a dive as to go against everything I had held to all this time. Not completely impossible, I have done things before for others without putting myself first and gotten hurt before. Bad reason, needs a good kick the the backside for that one, but looking back, it was the start of something beyond good, it was perfect! And I could probably get a kick in the backside for waiting so long.

A Quest That Never Was...

There once was a Pirate called BlunderBeard....
Who tried to take over Everwind....
*laughs*
But he was a sorry match for a Dragon named Zeno.
*sighs and shakes her head*

The Pirates was a great epic quest to start, I was looking forward to seeing it pan out. We first met Captain BlunderBeard one fateful day, he was running around, bumbling and talking as if he had spent too many days at sea in the sun without food or water. It turned out he was a wonderful actor as well, cause he fooled everyone, including the Queen. She had him behind bars and in hindsight, it would have been a good place to keep him a long time, but she released him and he threw a curse upon us all. Knocked out and crumpled on the ground and completely helpless he took the time to taint the water in the village fountain, before leaving us with his promise...to return with his crew and take Everwind as his!

Hail the new King of Everwind!....oh wait, not yet.

So we spend days watching for signs of the Captain and his crew, planning how we are to defend the Realm from such an attack. After being through a number of epic quests I was getting into the flow of things...I had a feeling we weren't meant to win this up and coming battle...we would have a quest to follow in order to bring down the Pirates.

The battle comes...we are all panned out across the Realm waiting for the pirates to show up. And the moment it starts I was already confused, cause with everyone in position the Pirates happened to be in the very human Castle, having not been seen even coming into the Realm. So bad roleplay, they POOFED into the Realm, didn't care how much time and effort everyone put into planning their arrival and got down to fighting.

I think the only good thing I found out this night was how useless bows or any range weapons are in lag. And it has come in handy ever since, as due to lag SL can't rezz prims, can't rezz the prims of arrows and no damage...WOOT! Good to know! *toses her bow, draws her sword and gets back to fighting*

We fought, finally gave up, but some didn't want to leave the fight even after retreat had been called over and over. It didn't take long to realise that BlunderBeard and all his crew were returning alternates from the Demon/Sorceress Epic Quest and others....they wore the same god meters and fast healing powers...we weren't meant to win this fight.

When the final few that had stayed behind to fight finally rose and joined us outside the castle as we heard the Captain's voice shouting for us to welcome their new King...him! Joy!

At this time a few of us that are willing and wanting to move past the battle and continue to the quest turn to Merrick one of the High Mages of Everwind and he is already talking sense. We can't stop the Pirates as is, they are protected by a powerful magic, we have to search the realm and start looking for their chest of gold,t he key to their power and their downfall if we can get our hands on it first.

At this time two things happen....BlunderBeard and his crew come down from the castle and the battle continues out into the woods. And those of us that are willing to listen to Merrick go off and start hunting for this chest.

A quest that never was....at least that is how it felt by the time the evening ended. We searched the castle, we divided up and retraced each other's footsteps looking for this chest. The whole time I keep an eye on my mini map and I can see the mass of green dots, and I know there must be a lot of people seeing red, and I am glad I am not in that battle, knowing the pirates must be at the center of it all.

Word comes that they have been captured, I don't know a lot of details of all that happened. I just remember standing on the far side of the fountain in the village with Merrick and a few others as we watch two of the pirates dragged up. BlunderBeard is taunting and angering one of the greatest dragons in the Realm, Xeno, who now stands near him in bi-ped form. As thing continue you know it can't be good...something is wrong, and in a fit of rage Xeno ends the Captain's rants and snaps the bound Pirate's neck.

That was the end of it, a few days of watching pirates in a cell and going on to escaping. Xeno was banished from the Dragon Wyre for his actions and meddling with human affairs and became a Drow. And some of us were left thinking...was that really how it was meant to end?

I am not really sure, but it seemed a rather empty ending.

Big Bad Demons

Jacko was the brain child behind the Demon War....and out of all the epic roleplays I have done, between EW, Triskele, and now the Shire it has got to be the best, because of the way it simple consumed the whole realm. You didn't have a choice, if you entered the Realm you were in the roleplay, no options, demons roamed and they would gladly take you out if you didn't watch your back and get your backside into a shrine!

We all have moments during the Demon War that consumed us, and I want to hear things people went through. For me I have flash backs. I see and feel Dream as a Demon hovering over me and drooling down on me. I remember the dragons were not safe unless they hid in biped form and watching Xeno go down, and being taken. Earlier that day he had been flying overhead and watching over me as I ran from shrine to shrine, now he was outside the shrine calling and taunting us to come out.

I remember Chance telling me he had to hide from Stormy as she hunted the Underworld for him.

I would love to hear personal accounts...we were so close in those days, all facing the same fate if we weren't careful and yet divided into the shrines, each facing different demons and trials.

THE DEMONS ARE COMING! THE DEMONS ARE COMING!!

100 Points to anyone that knows the name of the movie I took this Blog Title from!!!

So what does one do, when the Queens of the Realm are falling ill, and a strange rock like portal opens up in the Faerie Glade? You get a stranger to take the Queens and to sacrifice the Dragon Elder, of course. Okay....what?

Well it happened, and only in Everwind...and well, it was suppose to work. Didn't turn out as planned...oops!

So what happens when you don't go through with doing what needs to be done? You get cursed! So now we have 5 BIG BAD demons running around the Realm. Now, we learned rather quickly, there was no way to killing these things, even as you did they would return 10 hours later as they already were. The more lives they took, the stronger they got...and they took lives!

With the First Knight Rath gone from the Realm on his own personal quest, and King Slip mourning the loss of his wife to this demon curse, we ran short on help. Most of the Knights fell over the days, Guild Leaders started to be plucked off, some of the best and toughest dragons met their end. *Takes a moment to remember Zeno and his horrible Demon Minion Dragon Avatar...shivers* GAH!

So how do you get rid of Demons? or even stay alive to get around to figuring that one out?

We had a wonderful voice of reason, Merrick. One of the highest ranking Mages in the Realm told us what we needed to do, we had to stay alive, to make them weak, before we could fight back. If they killed us, they stayed strong. So easy..stay alive, can't be that hard you think? Wrong! What do you do when so many want to go out and fight then listen to reason? Bodies start to pile up.

So as we stand around in the village and talk, learning that our safety might lie with the Shrines around the Realm, the Demons takes this moment to come and rain down on us.

No better time like NOW to see if the Shrines work or not. As we scatter, some stay and fight, and some would end up dying, others take to the castle to hide. Somehow, Raziel and I end up in the Shrine above the Fae Glade, with the former Elven Queen in her horrible form hissing and testing the barriers around the Shrine. I could almost hear as she dragged her claws along the opening of the Shrine, testing the spiritual field around it. In our own panic we were using the Shrine more as cover and still firing our bows at the Demons....BAD IDEA!....this we noted might anger the God or Goddess and they might lift their protection on the Shrine.

Didn't take long for people to get the word that they had to stay in a Shrine, but its hard to keep people locked up in those tiny things. Many people would wander away from the protection of the Shrine to get some space, then as one of the Demons or their new minions (anyone that was killed by one of them) came hunting, would go running back to the Shrine. Now not everyone that was killed went minion, some good hearts still remained and returned to aid us. But hey...when you get a chance to be a baddie and not have to worry about being stuck with your actions, it's just too tempting to be bad.

I look back at the War of the Demons with alot of fondness, it was a great time to be a Ranger. We ran back and forth between the Shrines, back to the village for food and water, keeping track of who was still alive to fight when the time was right. A few days is alot to ask people to sit around and be stuck in tight places, it was great RP, and always looked back to think that of all those that were lost we only lost 2 rangers, were as the Knights and Warriors, the fighters of the Realm were quickly downed and killed. I guess that can be looked at in a few ways, we aren't purely fighters, if there is another way to handle something besides picking up my bow or sword, I would rather do so.

In the end, as the Demons were lured back into the Fae Glade, and their minions hovering and fighting around us. The Clerics and Mages worked together to draw the void shut and banish the Demons. Rangers and who was left of the Warriors and Knight, took to their weapons ((RP wise that is)) and held off or downed any minions. I still remember Kelly taking out one Minion against a tree, runner her blade threw it and then apologising to the tree! And, what a night to rejoice as those fallen returned to the world of the living. A night to be a Ranger in Everwind.