Arelith

The tale of Ekrid came to a close in the deserts of Sibayad.

From his criminal start, to quixotic final chapter, I was privileged to write with many unique talents. There were duels on the streets of the Freeport, larcenies, protection rackets, investigations, trials, visions, oaths, imprisonments, redemptions - all made possible by the generous and collaborative spirit of my fellow Arelithian writers.

Thank you for continuing to surprise me.

Thanks for the RP. Ekrid was Ivrathe's most important companion on her journey, and it was a rare pleasure to have been able to rp with you during the time I had. Looking forward to meeting again someday again on different characters!

Ekrid was one of those rare characters that was a real mover and shaker, but allowed other people to have a delicate and palpable impact on his story and personality, and he focused on smaller stories and ideas within the setting that I think are often overlooked.

met Ekrid across 2 characters, he was cool to speak to and shake hands with.

Ekrid was a fantastic character, and one of the most memorable I have played with on the server, even if those interactions were brief in the grander picture. That perhaps speaks for the weight of those encounters.

Fruvularna had the privilege of witnessing and playing some modest role in his redemption. Watching Ekrid pull himself out of darkness and refuse its temptation was a catalyst for change in her life and worldview: she lended faith to the concept that those mired in evil might have a chance of emerging from it, and it thawed some of her fundamental cynicism towards non-gnomes.

Being named a knight of the Sundered Blade was very much something Fruvularna took seriously after some encouragement and affirmation from those close to her. She realized that even a skittish artificer like herself might leave the world a bit better than she found it. From that point on, Fruvularna tried to be a better, more traditionally virtuous person, and not only when it was safe or easy to do so.

Without that catalyst, maybe Fruvularna wouldn't have become Caretaker, maybe she would've just continued living a simpler, quieter, more profitable life as a peddler and gonnesmith. They only spoke a handful of times after Ekrid's redemption, but she reminisced fondly of him to friends more than a few times. If or when she hears about Ekrid's death, it will be a dark moment for Fruvularna.

Ekrid invited another character of mine to a knightly pilgrimage just last night. I am sure that would have been a fascinating time as well, had he lived to see it through. Perhaps she'll still try to make sense of what Ekrid told her awaited in the desert.

On an out-of-character level, I greatly respect you and those around you for pulling off an earnest, weighty redemption. At no point did it feel unearned, expedited, or simple. The character Ekrid grew into after that captured traditional chivalric romance in a way I've seen many attempt but few excel at.

It's sad to see him go, and I'm glad to have interacted with him those times that I did.

Sundial once again showing that we need a 60 RPR rank.

Ekrid was pretty cool.

When Aria finally hears this, she will be terribly sad.

Ekrid was a complex character who did so much in such simple ways. Truly amazing. Each time my character interacted with Ekrid was a lesson in roleplay. I only wish I could have seen and experienced more of his redemption arc as I am sure it was splendid.

Ekrid was great! I've now experienced 3 of your characters and you are a very talented writer. Ekrid will be missed. Thanks for the little bit of RP at the end. It was precious

Our paths rarely crossed, but in the few encounters, he was certainly memorable and I for certain looked forward to and had hoped for more.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing Ekrid across many characters as he evolved. When playing Maxine, he was the embittered racketeer who perhaps pined for more and to be more, but only believed in a world where being a bully was the only way things wouldn’t get taken from you.

When I played Raymonde, he was the hedge knight unsure of his next steps.

On my current character, he became the crusader looking for a slice of redemption in the endless sandy wastes.

Each iteration of Ekrid was full of depth and every scene in which he featured was a treat. Thank you for the good times, and good luck on your next character.

P.S.: Sorry about the horse.

Thanks for all the fun! Richard loved to hate Ekrid, and I enjoyed the scenes they shared together.

Another one of those fantastic Guldorand regulars, even if he was not in Guldorand much in the end (not in my timezone anyway!) has left us! A pity! He was great

thanks, drext's crying now smh

Love you big, homie. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

My man kills it every single time and never misses

10/10, keep setting the gold standard.

Man. I don't know how I missed this. Ekrid was great, and I enjoyed the few mini-debates he and Dib got into about morality and chivalry in Sibayad. He was a very interesting and refreshing character. Sad to see him go, but I'm looking forward to who you bring next.

I wasn't able to rp with Ekrid nearly as much as I would have liked, but he was always a really great and interesting character. He'll absolutly be missed.

What the heck, so many cool characters are dying lately.

Ekrid was really cool, I liked watching his story grow. My character has met a number of dreaming elves (I can't remember the word for it), a lot of them end up in the human criminal sphere. Ekrid is the first one I've seen have an awakening, it was really amazing watching how that impacted your character and I wish I got to see more of him after his revelation.

I hope I get to RP with whatever you do next. I hope we'll be able to go and cause trouble together again sometime.

Time to leave 100k on his tombstone.

I loved seeing Ekrid's journey over time. From back when he was pushing Farouk around in the Freeport as the Banite thug, to a thoroughly changed man writing about the loss of his horse.

So much pressure on learning his story.

"Rest now, Ekrid, far from woe,
Where dreams may take the paths unknown.
No coin to chase, no weight to bear,
Only the wind to guide you there."

See you on your next character!

My regret is that we did not get to flesh out our drama even further. Rovek and Ekrids journey began together in Skal where we traveled with the Orthodox Banite sisters. When we got to Arelith, we went our separate ways, but would still run into each other over the years, supporting one another as our bond was still so strong!

Then it all changed with the news that really should have drove Rovek to be the arbiter of Ekrids end. When he turned against Bane publicly, that is where the bond was shaken, though it is hard to say if it was broken since he never got have any real moment of closure with Ekrid.

He still misses his friend though. Even if he was an elf, and a heretic.

You are a great roleplayer so I am looking forward to your next character!

-Your Banite Buddy

We only rped briefly when I played Kaska but his presence in Freeport was felt and it helped make the journey when he began his crisis in faith all the more fascinating for it to coincide with a major shift in Myryn’s story up to their final interactions in Sibayad from mutually loathing to a touching scene not long before his death.

It is little wonder he played such a role in others stories from start middle to finish and was regarded well both by heroes and villains in Arelith.

Awesome stuff Sundial