December 2015 highlights

OMG Im so proud of my team. Team Blood Spirits for the survival of the Town. Im so glad I saw some of this coming a year ago...

From friday night hide and seek games keeping people moving hydrated safe using the back 40 still on the major pathways to dropping into a fitfull worried two and a galf hours if sleep. None of you left the blue dragoons exhausted mind.

Move to live. Live to move. Pain recalls you are alive. Keep together keep quiet. Do not laugh. Please for the love of the gods be ok. All on Friday.

Headcount after headcount. The Cairn sacrifice. I took out all the personal stops on that one getting there before it got hit, knowing the Cairn would be a target. I targeted the most destructive clear of color dragon i knew... Because sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Finding out later that race was the first race created to form the world and how they changed later becoming stronger, gives me some hope.

'Soli im sorry. If you dont feel right doing this then go! Go!! I got this.' As he leaves. 'Just stay safe and come back. Gods damn it come back to us.' That summed up every time i sent A Blood Spirit or ally off on a mission. And i did it far more than i ever have before.

The shock of Sebastian and Alister. Itching power James... Hit ftom over 20 ft away and suddenly im handed 4 more with cards and physreps.

Watching for any signs of my friends still in There and realizing they were either so snuffed not to be seen or they were truly gone. So try for the dragon. Cairn stone with two of the oldest running PCs red and blue blood with the ancient glyph on a heart stone from the blue side if the cairn. James if I see him again... You have accepted my physical role play. Im coming for you.

The devistated Birgitta that came after. The town finally brought her to crying tears. Even the loss of so many of her adopteds had only tears because they were doing their jobs at the time and many became ascended. This was a true cry. Poor Donny didnt know what to do but figured out the core. Very astute my love well done. Then comes the Baron... Who just... Wow. Im tearing up writing this.

Ok... A few minutes later I got this. Ive never had to take a break from writing highlights before. Weird how characters can hit you in the emotions so hard. If this were a book it would have been thrown across the room.

Getting it up under control and going back out. Scaring the shit out of some poor PCs who thought Birgitta had been taken to. No im fine...really its me. Its ok.

Ok, I thought as I walked on... That what we need to have happen for things to be just ok. Survive at all costs. If Travance falls into becoming husks the world will have to deal with all those here as husks like the Boss and Alistair. That can't happen.

Ops reports check ins coordination three sets going to the Keep of the Dragon Telegrim. I knowing ours was the far off shot and getting something more useful and valuable out of it and leaving a calling card behind. The enemy of my enemy is my ally and a bleeding black dragon is a serious ally... If he can be swung in with the Diamond clear, the former Black so be it.

We need all the help we can get.

And if the dragons created the world to make it habitable...they can recreate it the same way.

Were gonna need them.

So the field trip I swore 15 years ago Id never make, happened. James and Steve ran it. First time ever for a personal scene with PCs i never thought Id be running with.... Awesome.

Black flakes ='scry find and discuss.

Feast Lamb! How ironic and beautiful. Standing the guard during.

Warlord plans being enacted...I know I set... Just...Wow. Ok watch post on relay listening coordinating reports to the right people places counting successful mission results and cursing those lost and cheering those brought back.

Exhausted cold. I hate my body weakness. Damn my cold disease issues.

Young upstart of a guard.... Lol. Run. You were my PCs darker amusement. Love it.

Taking tail of the line making sure everyone got up to Validus. Even the other old man dragoon.

More reports. The great reveal...a lot of which I suspected. But outer space greater beings... Not so much. The reason for the ascension war... Yeah knew that.

'I LOVE THIS TOWN! What was that about? I dont know.' A concerned look between the two and i get a sly smile on my face as I walk by.

Oh yeah VIM speaks! That was a shock.

Back on it. My dear dear Chenging. You have no right. And you earned the wrath of Momma Blue Birgitta.

I just realized in this game so few really know how the hard ass feels... And how much she feels.

When the Baronial set guard didn't get up I went directly back into guardian sleep mode hearing those that came in much later and waking at first silver light of predawn and later getting up at golden dawn. Exhausted and finding the feet that finally came out of boots had swollen to the point my toes didn't touch the floor. I regret nothing.

I regret nothing. No Thing.

Bows to the assembly. Much respect to you all. My love for this game its people its characters background story and staff grows anew. James is the Stephen R. Donaldson of LARP. Only the bravest writers will destroy a well loved world and build something greater and different but rooted in the old in its place. The next three years...i can't wait... But my feet can.

The most surprising part of the whole event was the fact that I did not lose a life tag. I was fully expecting to do so, even purposefully taking the first NPC shift so that I would be around during the mayhem that would be main mod.
That was the FIRST lucky thing that happened to me.

Walking downstairs with my new staff and having everyone LOSE THEIR MINDS, but not in the way that I was expecting, that's when Fenri found out what was going on, so I didn't get to show off my staff as much, but I had a few points where some friends dragged people over to me just so I could show it to them. ALSO HAVING MARSHALS APPROVE THE NEW HEAD OF THE STAFF WAS A FREAKIN' JOY AND A HALF!

Becoming vassaled in to Pendarvin was a very fun experience, showing up 15-20 minutes late to the meeting later that night because I wanted to "just rest my feet.......ah, let me just rest my eyes too..............HOW LONG WAS I OUT FOR? DOES ANYONE HAVE THE BELLS?! FORGET IT!" Running straight from the inn to Pendarvin was the FIRST time I ran full speed this weekend. (I should mention I was also completely alone and it was dark out, which I didn't realize until I was actually outside)

Feast was amazing, never ate so many cheesy potatoes in one sitting before.

Main mod.....
Watching Talia migrating the healers, all of us mostly low level, to their respective groups, pairing the really new ones with the not-so-new ones and the CHAOS that ensued right after it started.
Falling back, trying my best to remain with my group in the darkness....making it to Winterdark only to be picked for what I'm calling a "special mission" from Sir Pluvious because I've been attuned to the Phokus. No other information other than "go inside" which turned in to "go outside with the wardens" ........ wait, that was plural.
WAIT I THINK I KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING
WE'RE GOING TO REMOVE THE PHOKUS CRYSTAL?

Confirmed.

No gate to the inside of the barracks. Having enough distractions to get me inside the barracks with Lord Silverbow. Sitting down with Talia and going over the plan, there was a gate back to the inn available...for three people.

*Super seriously important thing happened to me here. This is when I realized I finally have a disconnect from my "realities" - Mike did not exist, my life outside of KR was nowhere in my mind, I finally hit that moment where, looking back, I was truly Fenri.*

I said I would stay behind, provide any necessary distraction to keep them safe, to keep anything away from them as they prepared and gated.
If my life can save Travance, then I will gladly give it.

RIGHT THERE, THAT EXACT MOMENT, THE FIRST TIME I HAD TO HOLD BACK TEARS AT KR.


And then we had ANOTHER gate back to the inn....
This is the SECOND lucky thing that happened to me this weekend because I was able to be a part of that group.

Practically nonstop running, hiding, doubling back, running more, looking for anything glowing OH NO THAT'S THE ORANGE ONE, ANOTHER ROUTE, ANOTHER ROUTE, ANOTHER ROUTE.

Having to use the only deflect I had to avoid an instant incapacitate along the road but overall, being faster than those NPC’s (or, they gave up chasing us, I want to hope that I was actually just faster)

Reunion with Thalion and Talia on the road. Oh crap, the entire time since I left the Barracks, I was running with two staves (I had grabbed May's on the way out)

Creed bringing me the best Pork Roll Egg & Cheese sandwich of my life at probably 2AM right before I fall asleep.


This event made me shatter that barrier where I was completely lost in the LARP experience and it's like a sweet, sweet drug that I want more of.

Throughout the events I feel that I've gone through a transformation.

First event, September: Sitting in my house as a child, behind a closed curtain, hearing the other kids in the neighbothood make screams of joy every so often. Talking to them about it when they came inside for a break.

Second event, October: Opening the curtains, looking outside and seeing the kids play. Being noticed indoors and having people want me to come outside.

Third event, November: Opening the door and leaning against the frame, watching everyone play but still hesitant to join in, maybe going outside and watching, having familiar faces wave over to me, beckoning me to join, "Come on, it will be fun!" I'll be against the side of the house and maybe throwing back a kickball or something when it goes out of bounds.

Fourth event, December: Playing the game, getting the ball thrown to me, making a goal, forgetting that there ever was an inside.

Not exactly a highlight - but I'm finding it fascinating and captivating seeing who took the existential reveal in different ways. Seeing some find it reaffirming (glad I'm not the only one whose RP took it that way - though i could not have predicted who would have gone which way), some found it devastating (I saw people who NEVER tremble, never waiver, never doubt questioning things for the first time), some broke (someone was crying who NEVER cries), some shrugged it off as if nothing happened (not ignoring it, but with a resounding "who cares what the big story is, someone wants to kill us, we stop them" type bravado/pride/dedication) and one person laughed at everyone because faith in Science was proved true! (you know who you are).

Regardless of any issues I had before main mod, that post main mod scene, and the resulting post game forum posts that are unfurling are powerful as heck.

Fenri Kantaris wrote: Throughout the events I feel that I've gone through a transformation.

First event, September: Sitting in my house as a child, behind a closed curtain, hearing the other kids in the neighbothood make screams of joy every so often. Talking to them about it when they came inside for a break.

Second event, October: Opening the curtains, looking outside and seeing the kids play. Being noticed indoors and having people want me to come outside.

Third event, November: Opening the door and leaning against the frame, watching everyone play but still hesitant to join in, maybe going outside and watching, having familiar faces wave over to me, beckoning me to join, "Come on, it will be fun!" I'll be against the side of the house and maybe throwing back a kickball or something when it goes out of bounds.

Fourth event, December: Playing the game, getting the ball thrown to me, making a goal, forgetting that there ever was an inside.

... This is a beautifully written description, and I want to share it with the world.... Bravo.

As I'm sure many people will attest to, this event was terrifying but so much fun. Some of the highlights off the top of my head:

- Very surprised when the Baron announced we'd be fighting Telegrim Friday evening. Even more surprised to find out the dragon was a complete misdirection (for now).

- Standing on the front lines Friday when Sir Pluvious turns to me and gives me several powerful buffs, leading me to think I'd be perfectly safe...

- My thought process once the fight began Friday: Oh neat, this looks awesome. Wait they aren't dying. I'm hearing both retreat and stand your ground at the same time... Yep, definitely retreat time.

- Got to practice being extremely quiet and staying hidden for quite a while both Friday and Saturday night.

- Ended Friday (well, Saturday morning) by helping in the kitchen making pies for feast till 5am.

- Saturday seemed calm until the Count and others as husks attacked everyone and downed many people.

- Main mod was just as intense, if not more so, than Friday night. Managed to hide on the ground under a bush as a Null walked a few feet away from me. So many trips up and down hill between Winterdark and the Barracks in the dark.

- Didn't do much on Sunday besides fight some of the Black Dragoon/Undead that attacked the inn.

- Very grateful for Lord Gideon's generosity outside of Logistics.

This event was so much fun, can't wait to see everyone again in January! Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the banquet, so I hope everyone has fun there, too!

My single greatest sadness about this event was I did not get to PC the times when the fear, teamwork, and most of all RP was the greatest. I saw SO MUCH teamwork between groups that normally have little to do with each other this event and it was fantastic. The attitude of "we're all in this together. Work to save everybody," was so good to see from a player perspective. This was probably the least murderhobo-y event I have ever attended, and I'm happy I got to see it.

Everybody was thinking outside the box, working together, and being utterly brave as hell. The number of times I heard of or saw someone say "I'll stay and distract it, you all get to safety," was friggin' heartwarming. As Spock said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Frank and Brian. Hats off to you guys. The amount of ninja-healing and purely magical timing you guys had to save people was astronomical.

The little I did PC as Nigel was relatively low-impact in comparison, but I have never once had a bad time when out as this character.

Opening Pioneer Occultist, yay! Science Bubble with Ilyrin! Nigel STILL having no clue he's going on a date! Discussions about Druid things where a Londwyn outsider apparently was so on point, Caldor physically took my finger and put it on a dot on the tablecloth to illustrate it!

The reactions to Nigel always interest me. Since I try to play him in a rather different way that any of my PCs, and even a good number of PCs in general, the way people interact with his politeness, quiet neuroses, and personality quirks is always interesting to see. But the warm welcome and huge smiles on the faces of some PCs when they see him is super gratifying to me as a player. It's nice to not have to be the badass for a bit. And relaxing as hell. Especially when sipping tea out of an alchemy bottle and not being in danger of being attacked by whatever Travance has pissed off this time.

I'm excited to see where you guys take this story. This was the beginning of something great, and I can't wait to see what y'all do.