Sun Dec 14 19:54:13 2003


At 2 o'clock AM, Day of Thunder, 24th of the Month of the Grand Struggle
on the Theran calendar Goronik perished, never to return.

We didn't have a ton of interaction, but we did travel together (basically through Mekantos) a bit, and I'm curious what Goronik's view of Urtunlot was. For some reason I always some them as some sort of weird kindred spirit thing, even though they weren't allied at all or anything like that. Just a penny for your thoughts thing.

And I thought your character was kickass. Liked everything I saw.

I had fun with it for quite a while, though it was starting to get boring after 400 hours, probably more because I found enemies were scarce at times than because of the character wearing thin or anything like that.

This was my first shaman, and I think I did fairly well considering how different the tactics are from anything I usually play. I tried to play it balls to the wall, usually fleeing at convulsing. As for all you practice junkies, I didn't practice anything except word, and I'd rarely put my deaths or losses down to skill failures. More often it was mistakes I made or good tactics on the other part. Amusingly enough I didn't intend to play a female, I accidentally put it in on the roller. I realized after I'd done a quest, and figured it wasn't worth the trouble of redoing it and the rolling. My role was pretty simple, I'll post it soon.

On to the farewells. Anyone I forget is purely accidental.


Immortals:

I rarely felt I was being watched, though of course I stayed in character. I'd be interested to hear what any of you thought, of course.


Scarabaeus - Thanks for empowering me and tattooing me and all. I always had a hard time figuring out just what you thought of me. I mean, you tattooed me and gave me those fun tricks and all, yet every time we talked I felt like you didn't have much confidence in me, you were just giving me a chance to fail. I would have liked to see you more, but at least you were around more than the last dormant god I followed! *chuckle*

Mekantos - Congrats on imming. We had a fun time running around while you were mortal, until things got kinda screwy with your falling out with Zaknafir. I was closer to him than you, and maybe you got pissed off that I was with him a bunch, I dunno.


Fortress:

First a comment on all of you. Most of you fought me alone often enough that I respected you. I do have to wonder though... does every warrior get handed a spear on their way in, and every paladin get granted the Faith virtue? The spears were annoyingly common and definitely have been making me wonder if the spec is the most powerful spec around now, especially with various weakenings of others. The Faith virtue just seemed way too common to be sensible, I dealt with three paladins who had it and only remember one paladin who didn't as far as I know within hero range.


Lariya - Damn you were tough. The only time I even got close to killing you was when you lost link. *chuckle* And I remember a ton of times I fled from you under 100 hp, though I don't think you ever got me. We had a few good talks, too, and I thought you saw a few points on the rest of the Fortress, anyhow.

Skallgrim - You gave me a bunch of good fights, though unlike Lariya, didn't mind having help against me. I don't think you ever got me without someone helping you, but I did get you alone, once. The long duels we had were interesting, though we both ended up running out of mana a bunch of times. Amusingly enough, you were the only one I ever got with revenants.

Tyohleib - You're still alive, aren't you? We grew up together and had some good fights. You were one of the people who made Goronik decide trying to teach the Lightblind about their blindness was about pointless. I tried, anyhow, though.

Jirash - Damn I hated you. You rarely fought me without someone else in front. Either I wasn't flying and you were trip/cheap shotting me (generally to death) or I was flying and you weren't doing much, maybe putting me to sleep or trying. I rarely found you alone. Of course, I can't really blame you, you're not exactly a warrior.

Belrhin - I know you're not in the Fortress, not even a goodie, but you might as well be both. You started on me, and you jumped in every time you saw me fight a goodie, pretty much. You claimed you'd think on what I talked about, but didn't say a thing until you helped kill me again. In fact, you didn't talk much at all. Plus, you were a cowardly bitch. Where I hated Jirash for doing what I couldn't blame him for doing, I hated you because you were a complete ass.


Scion:

Hopefully you'll get strong again soon. When Zaknafir deleted and Mekantos immed, the presence seemed to almost disappear.


Foslin - Where've you gone? We never talked much really, but we worked together a few times and you seemed pretty competant.


Battle:

I hope a cabal or a few more come soon to give you some opposition, it seems like it'd be boring to be a rager right now, and difficult to be a mage.


Thrakadan - I had an amusing time with the strange "flirting" we did. As well, you seemed damn tough.

Haljunei - Had a fun time when we worked together. You seemed to be after gear alot, but you didn't have much else to do.


Sylvan:

Goronik would have liked to fight with most of you more, but unless she raided, it was hard to find most of you.


Voronil - Had plenty of good fights with you, but you never stayed around long enough to be in real danger. Damn that dirt kick.

Nydosin - Got you a few times. You stuck around for more than most warders, though you paid for it.

Flarkle - Had some good fights with you, wish I'd known you when I had more than 6 con.

Pelthaas - Never did see much of you after that gangbang in frigid. A few more fights, but not many. Are you even still around?


Empire:

Didn't really deal with you much. Goronik believed that you were weak-willed for going into a structure that involved ranks and following orders. So she was unwilling to help you in any way. But she also believed you didn't spread the oath much and you never seemed to sustain any strength, in her view because your weak-wills would make you fall apart with infighting.


Herald:

I grew fond of running in, rotting someone, and getting booted. When I had 4 con, found I was banned from the inn after rotting Agraemas... but oh well. I sat in the Inn occassionally, but it wasn't a very important place for Goronik.


Odelius - You were helpful at times, but your style didn't work much with Goronik's. You kept asking her to come for a drink, when she was on the hunt.


Tribunal:

Rarely dealt with any of you. Goronik came to view evil tribunals as respectable because she believed they must use the law to gain for themselves, but felt the rest were foolish for protecting the weak. But in general, Tribunals weren't worth her time and blood.


Others:

Elspeth - I liked your character alot. You seemed to be fairly new to the Scarab religion, but trying constantly to learn and figure it out. The "lesbian giant" thing was something to express how lust shouldn't be seen as "wrong" no matter who it's for, and I had fun playing at it, though I wasn't trying to make it go further than joking around and stroking your head and such. Goronik saw you as a betrayer when you went for the Light, and I knew that day was probably the last shot I'd get at you. Unfortunetly you saved against rot once, and I lost concentration the other time. I only hope you're not going for the Light just because Scarab "turned you down."

Agraemas - You were, um, a good punching bag. You didn't seem to know what to do to deal with me except run. I started alot of our fights with wither, which kinda screwed you... but even so, if you'd started fights even, you'd have done alot better.


Other characters I've played include Sporial, Brotmin, and Phinitz. As Phinitz I was Flame of the Scarab, so that kinda helped me know what I was doing with the philosophy, though I felt more clear with him than with Goronik.

Anyone who wants to email is welcome to do so, at tralish@yahoo.com

Goronik was born to a pair of warriors, deep in Kiadana-Rah. Her parents had
been hoping for a male giant, and hoping so strongly that they gave her a name
more suited to a male. As she grew, they encouraged her to act like a male, and
dressed her like one. They quickly came to see that other young giants (and
older ones) did not treat her as male, no matter how she acted. This in itself
might not have discouraged them, however, except that Goronik herself knew
that she was female, and eventually insisted on this. She was female, and proud...
and the rest of fire giant society welcomed her declaration even as her parents
grudgingly accepted it.

They were not ready to stop pushing their expectations on her, however. As she
grew old enough, her parents insisted that she learn to be a warrior in the army,
as her parents both were. However, Goronik found that her skill with weapons
was adequate at best. On top of this, she observed the army and found it foolish
how so many soldiers followed orders without question. Some orders could be
quite bad, and reminded her of the way her parents had insisted on her acting male.
She observed other parts of fire giant society, and eventually came to find she had
a talent in focusing her mind the same way that the few priests and anti-paladins of
Kiadana-Rah used. She could not channel magic energy like the anti-paladins, so
she decided to take up priests' path. but came up against a large obstacle... the
very femaleness she was so proud of was what barred her from the priesthood. In
Kiadana-Rah, priests were highly respected and valued, and the males had built
customs over centuries that insisted women did not have the focus and strength of
will to be priests, and would make poor excuses for priests. Goronik was
disheartened, but still sure this was what she was meant to do. She thought it a
sign of weakness in the priesthood, that they were scared of giving a chance to a
female who might prove them wrong, and a sign of weakness in her parents and
others who supported the custom without question.

On occasion, some groups of fire giants would slip past the storm giant army to
Hamsah Mu'tazz, to gather extra supplies for the village or even just out of curiousity.
Goronik had made a few of these trips, but it was in a trip shortly after her refusal by
the Kiadana priesthood when she found something she had not noticed before. This
was a statue of the Father of Devils, Scarabaeus. As it happened, there was a human
in front of the statue on this day, preaching. Goronik was curious, and stopped to
listen, scaring off a small group of other humans. The preacher was not discouraged,
and spoke straight to her. He told of the Dark Father, who taught that most are lost
in a fog of customs, habits and limitations set for them by the ignorant. The true
life is that lived according to one's own Will, without care for the desires of others
or traditions of society.

When Goronik heard about this, something felt right in it for her. She demanded to
hear more, and the preacher was happy to tell it. He told of the Light that many such
as the storm giants follow. Goronik had often seen the storm giants rushing in to
attack, and believed that they were only seeking power, as fire giants and anyone
with the smallest of brains did, in her opinion. The Light was not something that fire
giants talked about and she had never heard of it before. When she did, and realized
this strange system of "right and wrong" was what guided the storm giants, she was
amazed that anyone could be so stupid. The preacher told her of how the storm
giants, and many other races, believed that some races were naturally "evil" and had
to be destroyed for this. He told of how those of this "Light" held back their own
urges, and refused to do what they knew they really wanted, or often did it while
claiming it was done for a different reason. Goronik could see one reason might
be the "evil" of a fire giant, when the Lightbound person actually just had the urge
to kill which all fire giants understood. Goronik's interest only became greater with
all she heard. Eventually, however, the preacher had to leave. Goronik still wanted
to hear more, so the preacher asked if she knew how to read. As it happened, when
she had insisted on her female role, Goronik's mother had grudgingly told that if she
was to be female, she would need to learn to read, to have any chance of keeping up
with the knowledge of the males. Goronik's mother had done this teaching, herself.
The preacher told that more information could be found in the library of Hamsah
Mu'tazz, and led Goronik there before leaving. He even agreed to meet with her the
next day, to help her learn more. The librarians were shocked to see a fire giant stalk
into their nice, quiet library. However, when she did not try to destroy anything,
they did not call for guards. They showed her quickly to the small section on
Scarabaeus, and kept a watch on her. As she read more, she found that the highest
positions in this priesthood were those of the Hand, the Eye... and the Flame. The
last piece seemed to fit for Goronik, and she knew her place. She was meant to
burn through the blindness of the Lightbound, and the fools bound to customs, like
the flames of Kiadana-Rah.

She met with the preacher the next day, and finally found out his name was Horthis.
He taught her more, and as she told of what she had realized, he encouraged her to
seek the blessing of the Dark Father, Scarabaeus. Horthis then pulled something from
his pack. He said that he had found this in a shop just the night before, and perhaps
it was another sign of the path she was meant to take... he had instantly known it was
meant for her. Horthis gave her a long, huge dress which could only be meant to fit a
giant. The dress was covered with patches of orange and red in various shades. What
was truly strange about the dress was that it seemed to slowly shift and flicker, and
a patch which was red might be orange a moment later. She put it on, finding it fit
well, and agreed that it was meant for her. Horthis said that he was sure he could
get repayment from her sometime in the future in a way she would not mind at all.
She was wary of this, but believed the dress was worth the debt. Horthis told her
of the location of Scarabaeus' temple, and told her more as she wished... but they
both knew that he had done about all that he could. The rest was up to Goronik,
and her new Lord.

We only had a brief encounter during your last days but it was enough to get me pleased to have what may turn out to be another skilled foe. I have had three Scarabs and was intrested in your view of things within the temple. It is a shame we didn't have a chance to interact more fully for I was hoping to give you a few more chances to get your axe back. See you in the fields soon.

To the Night's Dark Taskmaster
Your Old buddy Karnavex

I honestly didn't expect to kill you. I figured you were regearing and would just word away. The conversation was enjoyable and I enjoyed the debate, but it turned me off when you started using ooc lines adjusted to be ic. Other than that though I looked forward to future meetings.

I think you managed to hit the nail head on so to say. As I saw it, there were two scenarios if we were to face off alone.
a) You're not flying, I hope to outtank and outlast that damned axe
b) You're flying, I try to blackjack, fail and get my fuzzy butt handed to me on a silver platter

Regardless, it was fun fighting and talking (the little we did) with Goronik, one could always count on you being out there somewhere.

Toots

Jirash

I always asked everyone to come for a drink, I thought the Inn needed more people there. Anyway, I bent my style for you, you were cool. See you around

You were one of, if not my alltime favorite enemy. I think you're right that none of us ever died in our fights. I tried pretty hard to make sure they were all one on one, though I think there were a few times one of us had a numbers advantage. That one time you, Mekantos, and some assassin tried to gank me at the Inn stands out. Halaquith almost killed me by being a dimwit spamming cease. He did more in that fight than any of your groupmates

The best part was our talks after the fights. We got this really cool respect going between us, both of us knowing we'd never really convert the other, but we both knew we could count on each other for an honest fight, and we both hated Empire, so there was that too. Anyways, excellent character. Like someone said awhile back, losing a real in-depth enemy like this hurts a char almost as much, if not more than losing a good ally. Things won't be the same without you. Good luck with the next.

Was fun fighting you as Gorthalon. It was hard for me to ever defeat you alone, but we had some pretty decent fights. You rotted me a time or two, but I think I only died to it once. The rest of the time, I ended up with enough +con gear to survive it. I wish we could have interacted more, rather than just fight, but what I didn't learn about the Scarab religion, I learned about shamans, as you were one of two I ever fought more than two or three times.

Good luck with the next.

Just wanted to drop a line and tell you that I really enjoyed talking and interacting with your character. You did a really good job as a Scarab from what I saw and I enjoyed every minute of our going back and fourth. Me trying to be as nice as possible and you trying to twist my words and make me sound like the most evil thing on Thera...it was a blast. Great job and best of luck on the next go 'round.

Ty.

Elspeth enjoyed your times together, minus the lesbian giant advances Thanks for showing me around.
Well done, large one.

Superbly played character.

I was sort of surprised I took your last con. You weren't far behind skallgrim it seems. THanks for the talk we had, I enjoyed it. Didn't know you that well, but i wish I had, you seemed like a fun character. No need to say anything more, most of it I said before.

Was nice fighting you. Good luck with your next!