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*.