Aodh | Tue 28-Feb-06 09:05 AM |
Member since 06th Jan 2005
352 posts
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#382, "Rhaguel the Feral Shapechanger, Pariah of Hillcrest- July 2005 Winner"
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Gnome Shifter, sphere Spirit. Was headed for Outlander, but things don't always work out.
On Lord High Metabolic Shapeshifter Rhaguel Grazant's recent disappearance... Added Mon Jun 6 18:01:01 2005 at level 1: "Well," sputtered Wiskengrael sadly,"this is what's left of the room." They were stunned. A gathering of 4 of the most prestigious, most learned, most brilliant gnomes looked at the large (by gnomish standards), opulently furnished (by anybody's standards) room with expressions varying from quiet shock, to disgust, to incomprehension on their small faces. Their esteemed colleague, Rhaguel, had been exhibiting signs of disturbance lately, but he had submitted to an interview and assessment by two prominent transmuters, who had pronounced him, with some perplexity, more sane than any gnome they had ever studied, which directly contradicted the scene they now surveyed: furniture broken to matchsticks, humble (but finely woven, and terribly expensive!) robes shredded to fluff and arranged in a common mammal-nest formation, all the fine books, artworks, trinkets and precious knick-nacks piled in the middle of the room, and defecated upon. On the wall to their immediate right, was scrawled, in crazy, looping letters (very unlike the famous shifter's decisive and careful penmanship) "He who makes himself a beast, gets rid of the pain of being a gnome." They looked through the wreck, salvaging a few tomes and devices not chewed upon (or worse), and slowly filed out, shaking their heads. The invoker, last in line, took a final look at the mayhem, and tried to understand-- what made him break? He had it all... He muttered the incantation (Rhaguel wasn't coming back to Hillcrest, that much was obvious),and the flames began to devour the now-mysterious dwelling. In the surrounding wilds, one pair of nostrils sniffed the caustic smoke, one pair of bright eyes watched the blue-black plumes twist into the heavens...
A brief history of the short, happy life of Rhaguel (according to them, anway...) Added Mon Jun 6 18:41:27 2005 at level 2: He studied all his life, he could shift quickly and perfectly, he was an expert on all manner of animal lore, he was gifted, he was brilliant. Rhaguel was next in line after the aging (and mentally atrophying) Master Warritz to be Master Shifter of the Gnomish Academy and Fellowship of Magi. He had always wanted to be a shapeshifter, he had read all the histories of the famed ones, even non-gnomish shifters, and learned of the possibilities for depravity and corruption, or sentimental morality embraced by shifters of other races.
His love was simple-- as a child, he had always ranged far and wide, to his mother's unending worry, in the woods and wild lands, observing the animals and insects in their natural habitat, in their natural play and hunt, the primal struggle for survival. He disliked being small and weak, he never fully appreciated his own considerable mental gifts, many said, and wanted to possess the grace and power of the animals. And something else, too... they didn't have to live in houses, or wear clothes, or be nice to stuffy old guildmasters...
So he rose quickly in his guild, and the further he climbed, the more disquiet grew within him. He would often abandon his studies prematurely to go to the quiet places he had found in his youth, and meditate, just enjoying the sun moving on his face, the wind in his ears, the buzzing of insects and trills of birdsong. This was true wisdom, he thought, here is MY happiness. So his studies lagged, he began to show infrequently to classes, if at all. His appearance began to show less care (if by that, you mean walk about caked in filth), and he would rave to his few close friends about the spirit-crushing nature of the city, of academia's white tower, of endless study and books...
Then one day, he lost it. He was a true beast. He threw off the shackles of "civility" and bounded, free and radiant, into the wilds. He always was an odd (but very lovable, they hastily added) gnome, his friends and family reminisced at a memorial service they held. He had an uncommonly sharp mind, seeing through people's unconscious intentions, to their heart of hearts, slicing through fallacious and circumlocutious logic swiftly and surely. He was noble, in a peculiar way, they agreed. His no-nonsense style and realistic approach were refreshing in the classroom, his professors agreed. If only we could have noticed and cured his illness before it warped his mind...
Just Rhaguel. Added Mon Jun 6 18:54:28 2005 at level 2: So he ranged to and fro in the wilds, as he willed. Eating, killing, sleeping, sunning himself, exploring as he wished. Eventually, he came to. His gnomish personality returned, he began to recall dimly the details of his life... only patches here and there. Not even his surname. He shrugged. Who cares? He continued, delighting in fulfilling his senses with simple visceral, but real and concrete, experience and pleasure. Mountain streams to wade in, sunny meadows to bask in, other free creatures to study, to eat, to accompany. He is growing lonely, as he knows many animals have societies and packs... he doesn't want to go back to the grey shadows he was once enslaved by... He has seen the destruction of the land, he has felt Thera's pain through his shock at the alien, unearthly damages.
He is a very feral gnome, trying to rebuild his mastery of the magical school of shapeshifting. As he ranges, lives, and fights, more and more of his former training comes back to him as instinct, as intuition. His spirit is finally free, unchained by the ridiculous traditions and restraints of his former culture. He no longer views himself as a gnome... not really. He is just himself, with no strings attached.
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Calling all role contest winners!
[View all] , Arvam, Fri 11-Jul-03 03:03 AM
Mogrin - favorite role in theory, but never took off.,
Lightmage,
21-Nov-10 08:03 AM, #24
One question...,
TMNS,
21-Jan-11 09:11 AM, #25
My favorite- Crulvane-Scion Chancellor,
Lightmage,
21-Nov-10 08:04 AM, #23
Fiene,
Rayihn,
18-Nov-10 06:34 AM, #22
Punblinpo (winner 2003ish),
Hutto,
25-Feb-10 02:33 PM, #21
Duule (Runner up June 2007),
Malcolm,
17-Jul-07 08:29 AM, #20
Meagara (long),
Twist,
26-Jan-07 10:43 AM, #16
Gmuer Sabourin(Muouk),
Odrirg,
26-Jan-07 09:04 AM, #15
Any recent winners want to post theirs here?,
Valguarnera,
21-Feb-06 11:25 AM, #11
Here's a lot of the stuff I wrote regarding Flumpel sta...,
Lhydia,
22-Feb-06 07:42 AM, #12
Aputo Gemthumb...,
Saith,
28-Feb-06 07:39 AM, #13
Rhaguel the Feral Shapechanger, Pariah of Hillcrest- Ju...,
Aodh,
28-Feb-06 12:28 PM #14
Tiatan's Role and Death Echoes,
Tiatan,
11-Feb-07 11:32 PM, #17
RE: Any recent winners want to post theirs here?,
v_vega,
11-Feb-07 11:32 PM, #18
Caragwyn (winner, 2001ish),
Beladorizid,
26-Mar-04 11:45 PM, #10
RE: Caragwyn (winner, 2001ish),
Snarf,
15-Feb-07 12:55 PM, #19
what about honorable mentions?,
permanewbie,
25-Mar-04 04:24 AM, #8
Sure. (n/t),
Valguarnera,
25-Mar-04 04:24 AM, #9
Onilyn (Entropy Bard Mayesha Follower),
Lhydia,
16-Jul-03 05:13 PM, #6
Xalthelir (Scion drow A-P),
TMD,
15-Jul-03 02:29 AM, #5
I would like a book with this onset. Shame you lost the...,
Soren,
24-Aug-03 04:48 PM, #7
Kiaspiflas (Scarab arial assassin, Cyradia's tattoo),
TMD,
15-Jul-03 02:29 AM, #4
Iachegao (Battle felar warrior, Jacynth's tattoo),
TMD,
15-Jul-03 02:29 AM, #3
Rafkut's role: (Short!),
Rafkut,
11-Jul-03 11:59 PM, #2
Here is Iriogam's (Entropy Orc Astein follower), I'll s...,
Lhydia,
11-Jul-03 11:49 PM, #1
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