Arelith

Hey friends,

Arelith has been a beloved community for me for a very large chunk of my life, starting back when I first joined the server in '09. I have played here for so long that I feel in a certain sense that I have grown up here; over the years I have changed and so has Arelith, and when I look back on my years here this place makes me realize just how precious and unique a community like Arelith can be. This server has facilitated profound experiences and friendships that I never would have otherwise had anywhere else in the world. All things must come to an end though, and I have decided it's time for the Arelith chapter of my life to come to a close.

I have played a lot of characters over the years and there are simply far, far too many people I have interacted with to thank individual people, so I will simply instead thank everyone who has made it such a joy to play my many characters over the years, from super old ones like Nautilus, Proxy, and Parthalon in 2010ish to the more recent Isak Fisker, Lavok Xun'viir, and a large number of sneaky others (even if most of you probably didn't know it was me; I play a lot of incognito!).

I do also wish to especially thank everyone who impacted Lavok Xun'viir's story. Lavok was by far the character I played much more and much longer than any other, which is something I never expected or intended, and I am grateful and humbled by all the countless fantastic roleplayers who I had the pleasure of storytelling together with. In some ways Lavok's longevity was both a blessing and a curse; there was simply always more story to tell, Lavok always had more growing to do as a character, even when several times I thought I had finished his story I would always find myself coming back to him. A huge part of this I accredit to Ilphaeryl Xun'viir for the fantastically rich, compelling and engaging faction that is House Xun'viir. My memories of Lavok joining House Xun'viir as a clueless commoner and growing into the villain he became are some of the fondest memories I will probably ever have of any roleplaying experience. I enjoyed playing Lavok from the beginning but it wasn't until I had played him for a year or two that I got to truly experience the slow and nuanced character development that can happen when you play the same character for that long, experiencing both triumphs and defeats at the hands of friends and enemies, and being shaped by both. I learned so much about roleplaying and even about myself through playing him over the years. A huge thank you to House Xun'viir, allies, enemies, Andunor, and Arelith as a whole for granting me that unforgettable experience.

On the dev side, although I was only a dev for a short time I am grateful for the opportunity to apply some coding skills towards building some cool stuff for the server (definitely a teenaged-pipe-dream of mine come true!). I currently build software for my career in real life but had always been hesitant to mix work with play until a couple months ago when I finally decided to just take the plunge, and I am glad I did! Working on Arelith's dev team has been a rewarding and insightful experience in many ways. I have seen just how much effort and dedication Arelith's devs commit towards making everyone's experience in this game better and I know firsthand the challenges that come with working in this medium - challenges that I think many players vastly underestimate. What has been built with this 20 year old game is staggering the Arelith community is incredibly fortunate to have such dedicated and talented individuals on its team. I am very thankful and humbled that I had the opportunity to learn from people who know so much about this game and share that knowledge so generously.

I have decided to move on from Arelith as a player and dev, but I will remain in the NWN-sphere as I will be writing code on the dev team over at The Dragon's Neck. Perhaps I will see some of you there if you decide to check us out!

Farewell Arelith, have fun!

Will miss playing with you. You are also an awesome dev.

Will miss you! Don't be a stranger!

When myself and a friend started on Arelith several years ago we were drow and had our first encounter with Lavok in the Slaver's Tower while we were leveling up. You were with Hadi at the time, and it was a minor interaction, but I'll always remember it. Later, we'd approach you and Ilph to scheme about the Temple politics and I'll never forget going into Xun'viir manor for the first time. It was something that showed me what Arelith could be when elder/established players are willing to invest in others, and even though things didn't work out in that instance, I'll always be grateful for that willingness and openness to work with people. So, thank you, KT28, I look forward to seeing what you do next!

We didn't get to RP terribly much, but it was always meaningful when we did. Thank you for taking the time to RP with my rogue. It was really hard trying to find people willing to hire someone to do underhanded work, it meant a lot to me that you did. I'm going to miss you, I hope you have fun on Dragon's Neck. And thank you for the really cool dev work, for both adding amazing new features and working on completing player suggestions.

Goodbye and good luck! Thanks both for the RP, and leaving a few groundbreaking updates as a parting gift!

Maybe I'll come take a look in your new haunt someday. Have fun in the meantime!

Lavok was fantastic. Always a pleasure to interact with him.
Thanks for your contributions as a player and developer!

I didn't get to rp with Lavok as much as I'd liked (Largely because my character thought drows are poopheads) but every time I did the mutual distrust was tangible- making the interactions thrilling, dangerous and fun.

I got to rp more in depth with Isak and it was great. The lifeforce of that character was contagious and helped to grow further depth to Odtgan.

Also thanks for the cool new additions we all get to enjoy.

I met Lavok only once and I vividly remember the chat in his house. I was seriously concerned we'd not be able to leave the Underdark when we first were "invited" in for a chat, and I'm sad to hear I won't be seeing him around again! I did enjoy it though, despite the terror!

Thanks for all your work for the server, and good luck in your next project!

The icey showdown as Ravares stood over the incapacitated Ilphaeryl and Lavok stood by the only thing guarding a wounded matron from her own opportunistic daughter. Then the continued sibling relationship with Lavok after the fact knowing at any moment they might be at each other's throats should their ambitions collide.

Lavok was a brilliant character and so decidedly drow. Even in interactions after the fact the meetings were tense and thrilling. Lavok had a great energy.

Never got to RP much with your characters (that I know of at least!) But when we did it was fun.

Thanks for all your Dev work and good luck in whatever life has in store for you next!

Thank you for all your effort! We interacted only rarely, but Lavok's presence loomed so large that he managed to impact several plots regardless. Best of luck wherever you end up next, and don't be a stranger!

Just want to state that you've been the gold standard of a good villain. Be it when I talk face to face with Eira or with people on various servers or pm's

Thank you. I had hoped we could have played more but you profoundly impacted people, kudos.

Lavok had a reputation that reached far and wide. He terrified one of my characters and became best friends with another. I've enjoyed every minute playing with you. You are a talented RP'er and storyteller, very inclusive and a great dev. But this is certainly not farewell! Thanks for all the good memories.

Nautilus probably sits somewhere in the high echelon of characters that affected deeply my approach to roleplaying, and probably the idea of writing characters as a whole.

Be well out there.

*fistshakes for In'iira*

Great player, greater characters.. Look forward to playing with you elsewhere in the future! Thank you for including me in your stories!!

Easily one of the top RPers I've ever had the pleasure of playing with.
Lavok was one of the BEST villains, and I look forward to playing with you and seeing your work in TDN!!!

One of my favorite people to play with on the server!

Au revoir, Hans Lavok.

Fun fact, Nautilus was the very first PC I'd encountered when I first dropped myself into the server as Johann Blackthorne in 45 AR, 11-odd years ago.

Hope things go well for you.

It was a joy playing with you! You've really been an addition to the server both as a player and as a dev.
I wish you luck!