It's that time again: the time of me starting to think back to all that happened in my playtime with Elspeth and considering who and how to properly thank for all they have given me, both OOC and IC, with their roleplay. And oh boy... this time I'm in for a damn LOT of great peeps.
So much, indeed, that it is more comfortable for me to divide them by groups and by "ages" that my story as Elspeth has gone by and, sometimes, even by groups!
~First Age: Noble Beginnings~
When Elspeth arrived as a small noble, with some backstory on her shoulders and lots to learn: the city of Cordor was in the last days of the D'Immersea administration and the first ones of the Silver-Wind one!- Berenor Silver-Wind: Elspeth's first met Chancellor, one that was wounded and suffering and made the woman filled with the sacred fire of responsibility!
- Aremis Keidos: Elspeth lost her father, and Aremis was the closest thing to an adoptive or surrogate father she had. Stern and unapproachable on the outside, yet one who -built- Elspeth, her political views, and help her give form and structure to her opinions on justice and leadership.
- Percival Godfrid Corbyn: Guard Commander at the time, and a swell dude overall. Wholesome to a fault that introduced Elspeth to her first government work in the Guard.
- Pigeon: a strange man to melt Elspeth's stern heart! The first one that she considered could have been one of her Retainers and one who managed to make her smile.
- Milanaith and Elatha Nostalfay: definitely 100% not true nobles, change my mind. But in all honesty, both strange and special people who Elspeth verbally fought with due to her vision of nobility: yet ultimately those who do the best for Cordor are good!
- Aldros Rivorndir: definitely 100% not a true noble, change my mind. In all honesty, an interesting relation: Aldros always represented everything that Elspeth disliked about "modern" nobility: a deep attachment to wealth, questionable practices, instances of unvirtuous behaviour. Yet as the Nostalfays: he ultimately wanted the best for Cordor (even if happy to take the path who also happened to be the best for him and his house!)... and thus was accepted in the good bois list.
- Duncan Waynolt: definitely 100% a true noble! Elspeth met him few times, yet those times were impressive: he always seemed comfortable, like a sturdy oaken tree that had lived in the land for centuries and was ready to provide with wisdom and advice. Few RPs, but all worth the time spent!
- Elias De Kaliburn: to this day the man who convinced Elspeth that she was ultimately personally weak... and brought her to decide that it was more than acceptable as long as she surrounded herselves with those who complemented her weakness with strength. Maybe not a character that Elspeth loved, but one was extremely important in constructing her opinion on strength and delegating.
- Hospitality: from known woman, to colleague to aide, Hospitality always was somebody Elspeth felt awkward spending time with... possibly because Hospitality herself felt something very similar. Yet Elspeth always appreciated her earnest nature and her keen want to do the best for the humble and the weak: she will always have a special space in Elspeth's memories.
- Tilly: in all honesty, Tilly was one who was with Elspeth the whole time and through both ages. Such a strange duo: the filantropic homeless She-Elf and the strict and authoritarian noble. And yet they always found common ground and a semblance of friendship: they went through a lot and their philosophical discussions on the nature of power and responsibility will always be amidst my favourite RPs!
- Quistillia "Superiority" Song: oh dear... Elspeth's first love, one that she saw as the ultimate embodiment of her fight against the Dark and her philosophy of utter rebuke and hatred of all those who served a certain type of innatural darkness threatening the very nature of society. Song inspired Elspeth to no end, and she was close to an object of worship for her. As important in death as she was in life, Song literally built Elspeth's character in the following months of play and years of IC rulership: her focus on guilt, sin and repetance all being born of the absolute dread of ever failing again as she did with Song.
~Second Age: The Chancellor~
After one year as a Cordorian Guard and one year as High Justice, Elspeth managed to get elected Chancellor of Cordor and, from there, started an uninterrupted or often unchallenged four-years-long administration.- The Accords: Elspeth was always convinced that the true path towards greatness and good passed through the unity of Arelith. Her often described Vision was: "Arelith, in peace, one under heaven". She dreamt of a united Arelith, and the Accords were her path towards that future. This category thus holds all the people and leaders she met through the Accords! We are talking of personalities like Meriam Fuzzypaw and Kael, individuals who convinced her of the utterly pie-centric nature of Hin and Knightly culture on Arelith. The unmovable stern nature of Falgrim Vintergard whose musings were always hidden by sage strokings of his venerable beard. The images of wholesome responsibility: Mather and Derristan Barley (AKA: dUrStOyN bRuRlAy) that made her appreciate Guldorand's loyalty and focus. The mysterious conclave represented by Angela Amana, always eluding Elspeth's understanding of wants, visions and desire! All of them have been an absolute blast to play with and they have been incredibly supportive and helpful both IC and OOC, which is why it will be an utter surprise when Cordor Armies will march on their puny lands \o/ !!!
- The Helmites: the Helmites have gone through many phases themselves. When first Elspeth met them she massively disapproved of their actions, but then progressively saw them rebuild and grow into a force to be reckoned with and to deeply respect! Emma Young has spoken with Elspeth many times, she has offered her great help in matters both personal and public and always seemed the figure moderating the most extreme aspects of the Helmites. Tenoch Veresi, the new leader, strong and determined, and so incredibly dedicated to give Elspeth some form of joy and humanity even with the Chancellor being so damn focused on self-destruction! Konstantin Helbrecht, a one-man-army that Elspeth once considered a threat, then understood as a deeply devoted and driven man, even to the point of respecting him greatly. Rayne ... we know what we need to know =3 ! And so many others that Elspeth had less chances to RP with, but were still great in giving the Helmites a presence.
- The Rivorndirs: a bunch of no-good doers only interested in their own gain and status... yet they also have flaws
! All jokes aside, the Rivorndir family had an absolute bunch of excellent players inside. Going from Aldros' own cousins: Uthros, the stern and unflinching one, and Dra'gos... the good one! Not to mention the Knights and retainers: Dameon with his sense of battle-honour that Elspeth could witness after the Tournament of Champions II, and Drad, the Golden Chisel, that Elspeth considered a honourable, intelligent and excellent artist! And again, so many others that gave this faction a remarkable presence on Arelith!- Archdruid Burin: has there ever been a more wholesome Dwarf on Arelith? Elspeth adored spending time with people such as him, who reminded her the pure nature of good hearts unfettered by greed and desire: he was always ready to negotiate and show understanding, ready to prove his support in so many means. Such a great presence for Arelith!
- Itzal: the Black 63 Elf who has recently abandoned his true calling and started to adopt more tones of anthracite and dark gray that Elspeth personally approved more with. Man: what a strange relation. An Elf that proved a strange other side of Elspeth's coin: the one ready to do anything for the good of Cordor, compared to the woman who would have done nothing against her morals and always tried to find a compromise between them and the City. So much conflict yet also so much middle ground found in their care for that crazy port-town.
- The People's Council: what a list of strange and great characters! Elspeth started to know you all late in her reign and yet felt great about those forming this great council for the benefit of the People: Merianna and her verbal poking, Jeniah with her experienced matched by wit and devotion, Candice who was always so deep into the Cordorian politics and able to embrace and ride it capably, Videla with her adorableness and capacity to use heads as bongos, Lavanya who ultimately met with a greater fate, Drad who is so good that he appears in two entries of this kudos thread, and Kathmar who was lost on the path but is fondly remembered! You're all great!
- Kaladin Softstep: the smol goncho who gonchoed all the gonchos. I always loved the way Kaladin's dialogue is written, as it gives so much character to him and to his enthusiasm about all that happens around him. The way he reinforced his own sentences provided one of the most natural RPers I saw on Arelith! Unexpectedly: a great guy!
- Marley Goodman: seeing Marley was so similar to see a younger Elspeth. She never wanted to settle for the lesser good and always wanted to do the very best: the well-being of everybody was her target and she met Elspeth when the Chancellor was already jaded by the political decisions she had to make. Always a super interesting RP, to see a morally better mirror so clear and well portrayed!
- Childenessa Ulthbane: now, a moment of absolute honesty. RPing journalism and interviewers can soon become adversarial: yet Childenessa never seemed like that. She always behaved in the interest of information, never distorted reality and always showed a sincere want to make the People of Cordor well-informed of the Government's doings. Full of character and so enjoyable to RP with.
- Denny Walvish: if the Good Bois Club had a special spot for the Goodest Boi, that spot would be for Denny Walvish. What an endearing and, at the same time, strange character: one that, using Elspeth's words, has ultimately a good heart but the unspeakable capacity to make all the wrong choices. Elspeth welcomed him and respected him almost like a son and will continue to do so in the days to come, seeing him improve and redeem him from the sins of his past: she has, after all, a weakness for redeption stories. Always a pure joy to RP with, able to find that uncanny and yet delightful balance between absolute levity and absolute serious focus.
~The Cordorian Guard and Navy~
Goshdarnit, this deserves its own category. People from the Government were, inevitably, those that Elspeth had a tendency to see more often and no Government job is more intense and time consuming than the Guard: people who try to log in and RP at their best so that a believable feeling of life can be given to Cordor and to protect the city at their, again, very best!- Melodia Tsukiko: Angel girl. The "mute" singer who often proved Elspeth wrong when she used to say that there are no Angels in Cordor. She has proven a great capacity in reaching many communities and basically built the very base for the system of Ambassadors that Cordor used!
- Lieutenant-Commander Gracie: because breaking people's legs is sometimes an excellent way to enforce law and order! But in all honesty: a great player who managed to balance loyalty with a more wicked streak, one that managed to prove that those believing in a harder enforcement do not need to be authoritative Banites. Nuanced and always great to RP with.
- Ara Ellin: in a world of smol Elves there is one who is smolest amongst all. One whose smoleness is the stuff of legend: such a person is Ara. I remember seeing her the first time, noticing how the halberd was excessively big and blinking as I read the description of her diminutive size, matched by not-quite-diminutive enthusiasm and will to do and be present! As all the others, great fun to RP with.
- Seraph: the elder aunt in the youthful frame. She always had so much wisdom to share with Elspeth; we never RPd many times, but all the times she did it provided a great deal of insight in Cordor's past and gave great advice to the Chancellor so that mistakes from the past were not repeated!
- Duster: where is Duster? Probably behind you! Such a great character for the concept of the Special Services and even more, one with a deep story who embraced an old identity of slavery and rebuilt her character onto it. RPing with her always felt like RPing somebody with a -complex- past and that is always so good to feel!
- The Artificer: I will not speak her name, because even to this day I am not completely sure how one does spell it. But if you look for the definition of obscure and mysterious, you will probably find a picture of the Artificer stating that she is still "missing an Illithid from her collection". Absolute great in conveying an air of pure mysticism and eldritch mystery.
- Lucia Springstride: possibly because an ingame and IC award isn't sufficient to make it clear, I will further clarify it here... the Guard today would not exist without the work Lucia did to organize everything: from the renovation of the Government Building to small things behind the scenes, such as the organization of payments with perfect timing. Not only: one that made the work for this Government and for any future Government so much easier due to the entire remake of the Archives. In all honesty: one of the Guards, if not THE Guard who invested so much time and effort on the operation... and that never lost a bit of RP worth due to it. We didn't have many interactions unfortunately, but we will have more in the future, I am sure: because I want to find out more of Lucia! Really the embodiment of true Knighthood as Elspeth was in her beginnings and one with a complex set of values that she always RPed at the very best!
~The Cabinet~
Another separate section: as Elspeth would say... People elect the Chancellor, not the Cabinet. But damn, the time online would have been SO MUCH HARDER without these great people helping me.- Isabel: she is part of Cordor's story. If something of relevance happened at some point, Isabel was there, observing or participating. And that is the feeling when RPing with the character: she is always, there, always in the moment, always ready to provide advice (wether snarky, witty or serious depends on the context!). She and Elspeth has a complicated relationship sometimes, and talks of Effigies and perceptions were made in between, to clarify the strange philosophy of the Wizard compared to the strange philosophy of the Paladin. Both grieved for Song, both worked for Cordor together and a time has come for her to take her rightful place as beloved tyrant of all.
Aaralyn (Cellance!): such an interesting character. Born from nothing, having built something from nothing and then finding out her nobility through such unexpected developments! No matter the scene, the place or the context, Aaralyn will be comfortable in it: like a velvet drape that sits onto anything and never loses its shape and character. She brought forth much of the negotiation aspect of Cordor and was also the mind behind the Tournaments of Champions: some of the events attracting the greater number of characters in Cordor!
Jensen Whisper: a Helmite by all means, yet into this section since Elspeth knew him mostly as High Justice. When Cordor had difficulties and the High Justice Hospitality had left (after a glorious period of RP), Jensen was ready to take her place and did so by sacrificing much: yet no lamentations, no whining, only absolute focus on his work and boy, was he good... still is! Not many RPs had out of exquisitely work enviroment, but I hope that the future will offer more chances to know the former Lord of Castle Gloom (100% not a true noble, change my mind).
Rory Tate: what is there to say about the strong arm of trade? Since Elspeth saw him hauling tons of stone she was curious about that arm wrestling match, but perhaps it'll be for another time! He was a brilliant Trade Minister: he organized events and created many brilliant programs for the position. He had to wear the complex mantle left by Isabel and did so greatly, being one of, if not THE, most active Trade Ministers I have seen since joining Arelith! Great RPer!
Khal-Dun: SEE YOU ARE INTO THE CABINET SECTION!!!! But yeah... Khal-Dun is one of those extremely rare RPers that are able to convey so much with their emotes, lines and actions during a session. I have always been in love with the type of roleplay that doesn't only convey interactional or transactional meaning, but that it is also ripe with culture: and every time I RP with Khal-Dun I feel like I am learning interesting bits of obscure lore, stories that could have remain hidden but are instead presented to me through subtle and interesting writing. Possibly one of the people on Arelith I enjoy to RP more! He also goes "yahrrrr" so that is all added value.
Anavia Strobl-Klennald: again, oh my... at the end of the Chancellor period and of many months of play, I can safely say that there is no person on Arelith that knows Elspeth as Anavia does. Since she was made Knight-Commander, she started rebuilding the Guard from scratch and made it a force to be reckoned with: events were made, meetings, and the Guard was active and efficient! Yet on the personal side, Anavia was the one that most of all contributed to "unlock" Elspeth from the limbo of grief, guilt and absolute self-mortification she was sinking in... the depths of which philosophy will likely remain hidden to most yet not to Anavia herself. One of Elspeth's closest friends, or even better: definitely the one who is closest to Elspeth and that is also the right size to mount on Elspeth's shoulder as a perfect turret! More to come... !
~The Bad Guys~
Cordor is renowned for the amount of evil threaten it, have threatened it or want to threaten it! And sometimes, evil is not evil per-se... it can be ambition, greed and any form of other desire that puts people into conflict. And a few excellences were on Elspeth's path!- Karstaag: damn, that legendary duel in Minimir. It has become part of Elspeth's story and a driving force for Elspeth's desire to capture the Ogre and remove him once and for all from Arelith! And yet he always manages to survive and scheme another plot: definitely one that still remains an unresolved grudge!
- Peram Flint: alright! He isn't absolute evil... but an adversary? For sure. Peram is everything that Elspeth is not: cunning, ready to adopt possibly immoral techniques to obtain what he wants, bitter, pragmatic... and though her challenge found solution in a single great duel during the elections for the fourth year of Chancellorship, their differences remain so interesting to play. Love the character and the player: such a subtle type of more moderate and societal "evil"... if the term can even be applied.
- Roselyn Kingsley: you know all that stuff on evil being just a facet of society and all? No... this gal is EVIL! And I love that: the prototypical traitor, the abyssalist betrayer that cultivated her plans for years, decades even, before seeing it brought to completion. And when found out did she decide to just teleport away and reorganize? Oh gosh no: if you want to leave, leave in style with a rain of Demons on the city - great character: hope to see more!
- Maalafess Enkephalon: so... Elspeth's nemesis. The one she hates most of all, the one who took her first great love away from her, that cast her into the utter darkness of self-denial, self-mortification and refusal for all that is joy and emotion. Though Elspeth's words to Keph were initially brave, that cruel one utterly won: as it took years of grief, pain and destruction of the self to re-awaken Elspeth's desire for life. But the matter remains unresolved still, and Elspeth will find Keph one day!
-
Another time I have to muse on those that I have inevitably lost: those that were unmentioned for a reason or another (likely because I forgot about them: you are so many!). Sorry to you all, but know that I love you still.And of course, a big shoutout to all the DMs who helped me with Elspeth: from her concept as a Derlson to the unending questions on the faith of Siamorphe (I am sure if one were to list the PMs received by me with silly questions about lore and doability of certain religious themes they'd be both surprised and perplexed!).
DM Fox and his great plot of Darrow brought so much story in Cordor!
DM Avalon Soul surprised us allo with the Adamantite Coffer and created so much suspense!
Yet all of them have been helpful and for that I issue lots of thanks
!Well that was long... time to end a bit of unfinished business and continue Elspa's story!
... though with a few changes here and there! See y'all on the other side... which is Arelith I guess?
