3. Memories - The Invisible Wounds

Memories - The Invisible Wounds


  • Harking back to February of 2003 I distinctly recall starting Narfell as my Paladin, Eshgal Darkeye (the name I always use for my first try at an RPG, be it off or online). Leaving the Boarshead Inn, I promptly meet a Dwarf called Figan Worldwalker (AK_Wraith if I recall correctly). He took great care in showing me around, warning me for an evil druid called "Vine Spellsong" and then sending me off into the forest, where my brave Paladin promptly died to a goblin. Yay.

    My second char, Vilehelm Throathslasher (where do I keep coming up with these amazing monikers, I dare ask you?) was altogether more successfull. Joining a small (and low-level) mercenary band, we went on an extended trip to Jiyyd, taking us several hours. My character mostly played the ultra-loyal mercenary bodyguard of our group's Captain, Rollo (breath of life: Fortun3). Aside of one human male whose player (and name) I forgot, we had Rhaine (SilverCrane), female ranger, and the good old Wynn Saal (xMattx), halfling (you guessed it) Rogue. In the Regal Whore our band gets told a story from a Captain called "Panache" about his ship, the Lady Luck, which exploded. The Captain is still around, I hear.

    Later on we continue our journeys to the Elven Camp, braving low level goblins, and spending an entire night there. Glorious RP. After that we returned to Norwick and all died to a single Goblin Elite. Except Wynn Saal, the sneaky git. 😉

    I finally had my fill of male characters, I decided to roll up a couple of female ones. Selena Sureflight was a young redhead cleric, who instantly became friends with Yhesail Dhelros (another one of SilverCrane's incarnations). Most glorious moment be their deaths, as a heavy armor wearing elven "I farm in Bearform" druid escorted them through the pass, only to leave them to die by the hand of a couple of Eastlander Faithfuls. I think we both were very attached to the char, as we both remade them with a slightly different name (oh what a vile tactic indeed).

    But, having remade Selena I found that she had "died" to me. That's when I noticed I liked Permadeath a lot, and decided to use "survival first" as a motto with my next char, Shyrae, deciding that I would use the "one death" rule as strictly applying to my character. True to form, in all the time I played her she never was fugued. I'll have to think a bit more about her affairs with the Wolves and love for Zoma Nogardis and later Honsa Aylomen-Wang. Maybe I'll post here later.


  • "It's never as good as the first time", is what they say, but to me my true feeling of "clicking" with Narfell came when I rolled up Shyrae. I vowed that one death would be final for her, and as such I made her a dark-skinned ex-slave (original, I know) girl from Anauroch, taught the lore of the wilderness and given the sadness in her past, a devout follower of Kelemvor. (I know Kelemvor technically can't have rangers but I wasn't so sure at the time). I wanted her to be surviveable in combat from first level, so I chose powergaming stats for her and planned to make her the best archers a human could be.

    Little did I know that if I wanted surviveability I should have chosen a cleric, but at that time I thought high starting HP (13 with 16 con) and powerful archery skills (16 dex) plus some skill at playing the game would see me through.

    Back in the day regular Eastlanders and their cutpurses would give XP right up to hitting level 9. So that's what I did. I did RP a lot, but most of my off-time, when 5 people were on (out of about 40-50 in the start of 2003) I spent hunting. I played 18 hours a day, so obviously I levelled quite fast. Took me only 3 months to reach level 9 (and I didn't play nights, so saw little in the way of Quest or RP xp).

    Aside of hunting, Shyrae went through an amazing "life", changing from the very moody and depressed ex-slave girl to a powerful, strong and self-sufficient woman. She became loved and respected as a ranger/fighter in the Wolves of Narfell and honorary member of the Druid's Circle. back then she was still Lawful Neutral, and at times harshly so, uncaring of her friends when they broke the rules of her community (firmly voting out Rodi after he started kegging the forest with Bruno, for example).

    Through the years, and through her romantic relationship (in it's own odd way) with Zoma Nogardis, right up until the day he left her to die in his homeland (traitor!) she learned gentleness and later she learned to explore fierce passion in the hunt (and in love) with Honsa Aylomen-Wang. That man became the father of her child, Gaedyn Aeron-Wang (who I rolled up as a PC but never played much).

    In 3 months time she made (despite her attitude at times) a lot of great friends:

    • Her girly friends Linah Lossel and Yhesail Dhelros. The drunk evening in Norwick remains as an all time High/Low.
    • RedJack Rogers, Zoma Nogardis, Honsa Aylomen-Wang and Marcus Endur, for being men that impressed her (and that she was attracted to).
    • Some of the druid circle and most oldschool Wolves: Orock -Hunter-, Fade foxfire, Adlanail, Alandar Ironclaw (the very first Raider Bow), Big Six Mathewson, Grivel Rasheren, Lo'en Jaspenellar, Ravish Blackbow, Equinox Stargazer (never got her :P), Nebril, and yes, even Ashen Lockeheart (who she never forgave for ruining her position as the only human in the Wolves).
    • Meril and Velaria, who were (together with Adlanail) the best bards she's ever known.
    • Vino Sten (for being an uptight but nice guy altogether).
    • Wynn Saal (for being weird).
    • Darrs' Blink, the amazing cleric whose god I still don't know. He used to invoke a different god or goddess every day, and I made a point of rolling an Int check every time with Shyrae to see whether she noticed or not. I rolled abysmally low ever time and she never figured out. Thanks Zro for your amazing characters (yes, I liked Friar Kent, in his purple plate, as well)!

    Glory moments that stick:

    The nights of deep talking on the hill in Jiyyd with Big Six, who was often visited by the shade of his lost love. Moving.

    The surgery performed on her by Kia (terrifying courtesy of Kute DM) after she was stabbed by an Eastlander poison blade while pregnant of her son.

    Her birth, which I actually RPed. It felt amazingly weird. Thanks to Rith (Emerwyn) and of course Magi13 (R.I.P.) for being the DM to oversee it. Rith even got to trash an extra copy of the child after the server crashed mid-event.

    The first time she got 1000 xp (by Andelas) by solving a (frankly very easy riddle) while the rest of the people on the server couldn't. Of course I knew the answer, but Shyrae with her 8 int might not know it. I had probably the only good Int check of her existence that time, and got duely rewarded for it.

    After all, I only played her for about 3 months, yet she was one of the profound and even emotional RP experiences I have ever had. I think in many ways she was a logical reflection of my own state of mind at that time. I was not in a happy place, but the 3 months of playing her got me through my troubles, in a way. After her I rolled up Anakore, and perhaps he was a relfection of my later state of mind, but that's a story for another time.

    After 3 months her story was finished, her evolution from a broken girl to a mended and secure woman complete. Thanks for all involved.