Tucked away in a quiet grove, removed from the hustle and bustle of the
bigger cities, there lies a little abbey. Small and quaint, it is run and
managed by a single abbot. More often than not the religious services are
attended by none besides him. He spends his time doing chores and farming
what sustenance he needs from the land. Or at least, that's the way it used
to be.
A great crash is heard from inside the abbey; crates falling,
benches sliding, even glass breaking. Then a raucous KA-CAAWWW!!!! And
chicken feathers fly as the back door crashes open. Hot on the rooster's
tail a young redheaded boy slides around the corner and with a battlecry
swings down a netted pole narrowly missing the willy bird. Startled, the
old monk drops the bucket he was holding, splashing water all over his
robes.
The sun blazes high over head as the glistening forms of two men
deliberately practice forms in the courtyard. Slow, precise, and honed
movements come from the balded old man, while a smaller, red haired boy
jumps about excitedly. 'Slow down Alkas! Move deliberately. Speed will
come later.' The boy doesn't seem to notice. He whispers to himself
something about saving maidens from trolls and furiously punches the air
repeatedly before attempting a spinning kick that leaves him toppled on his
backside.
The old abbot recalls the day he found the basket with the small
mixed breed child laying on the steps to the abbey. As it sat there,
looking around curiously, pale blue eyes and hair like fire. He hadn't
wanted a child, he didn't know how to raise one, but he couldn't leave the
abandoned boy. Coming back to his senses he sees Alkas sitting across from
him, nearly a man now. 'Do you have all of your things packed, boy?' The old
monk doesn't listen for a response, as a tear wells into his eye he looks
around at the smashed and destroyed state of the abbey from what has clearly
been years of accidents and abuse. With renewed vigor he turns to Alkas and
says, 'I don't know where you're going, but you can't stay here.'
Description:
Bright red hair spikes out from the top of this young mans head, swaying
and undulating in a way that seems to make the colors shift as if they were
living flame. Wrapped around his forehead he wears a simple leather band
that hides not only his hairline, but also the tip of his left ear. The
right must have slipped out, its pointed tip bearing the tell-tale signs of
his elven heritage. His eyes are a pale blue, the color of a frozen stream,
in almost paradoxical contradiction to the burning passion with which his
gaze moves about the room. His nose is relatively small and would be
nondescript if not for the bend to the right, a clear indication of the
mishap it befell sometime long past. Narrow shoulders lead to long arms and
end at rough and calloused hands. He moves about almost constantly, not
twitchy per se, but simply energetic. This same energy accompanies his
stride, as each step he seems on the verge of skipping away.
For real, this is a legitimate loss. I had great interactions with this character across many of my own. RIP Alkas. You did some work, I think you've earned your rest.
This character lasted exactly one year to the day. You were a great Knight, rp'd well, and lasted a long time. It was a pleasure to be a Knight with you. You will certainly be missed!
I cried a little bit when I read that last letter. You should post it here.
Vanisse
5 , 0 , 0 .
Yes, it was really beautifully written. Bravo.
[199]: [KNIGHT] Alkas: Returning to Spirit
Mon Apr 12 07:45:13 2021
To: Vanisse Knight Serra
I think back on my first steps into the wide world of adventure and the
eager boy that took them. Too excited to be prepared, too naive to be afraid,
but also fortunate to have found friends. For I have had many. Many that
have gone before me, and many that yet remain. It has been theirs and
your guidance, your counsel and camaraderie, and your friendship that has
shaped me into the old monk that I have become, and I am grateful to you
all for it.
There have been many battles against the ever encroaching darkness and
many hard fought trials in defense of virtue and Light but I have given each
Of them my all and have fought with my words as well as my fists to defend
The sanctity of all life. I give my thanks to each of you for your support in
Fighting that good fight alongside me. Serin is and always will be a place full
of strife and turmoil, for it is the nature of its Spirit, but it has grown to be a
safer place since my youth, and I hope that it will continue to be a safe place
for each of you.
Remember the teachings of peace:
With awareness depart,
With consciousness speak,
Find the wondering souls,
Bring the truth they seek.
The first step towards wisdom begins with perception my friends. I know
you will continue to fight for the Light, but do not forget the strength of peace.
For the Spirit in all life is valuable.
As I have grown to be more aware of the Spirit of all things, and become
more aware of the Spirit within me, it becomes increasingly clear the
connection that exists between all. It is my desire now to strengthen that
connection, that my Spirit might join the intangible world around us. Mourn
not for my absence, dear friends, for I shall not truly ever be gone. My Spirit
will rejoin the vibrant and torrential flows that exist in all the world around you.
Whenever a gentle and warm zephyr blows from the west, know that it is
the Spirit of Alkas Tyrzaphir come to help you feel peace.
Wow. Thank you all so much. You’re very kind and I am touched. You’re all such talented and important parts of this community that I respect and admire, so it comes as high praise from you.
Alkas was essentially my second character after coming back to AR after about a decade of not playing at all. Back then I don’t think monks were a playable class. (Though I do remember one existing as an Outlaw, Sen maybe?) So I was intrigued and wanted to give the class a shot, I didn’t really have very high expectations to be honest, as I didn’t really know what I was doing in the beginning lol. But I ended up absolutely loving this character. So much fun. And I owe that in very large part to all of you. Thank you for the interactions and the RP and everything else. You all helped me to immerse myself in the game to a level I was never very good at doing 10+ years ago, and I enjoyed “being” Alkas because of you.
I want to especially thank Vanisse for interacting with me and giving me the opportunity to develop Alkas into what he became. It would have been easy for you to just be wizinvis all the time or whatever, but you responded to all my notes and took the time to talk to me in character and that was such a crucial thing for Alkas becoming more than just a run of the mill footman. So I thank you for that and I hope that there are more opportunities with you and all the Imms to RP in the future as well. It means a lot to hear that you liked my interpretation of the Spirit element. I really wanted to turn it into something special and struggled to make everything coincide, Spirit/Knight/Oath and what have you, but I gave it my best.
There were times it was tough to maintain the RP, because hamsandwich would normally do things differently than Alkas did them. But in the end I am very glad that I stayed true to Alkas and now see that as the most important part of making a character memorable. I’ll try more to not whitewash all of my characters into different versions of the same thing, knowing now how rewarding it is to give them proper personalities.
The vast majority of my fights against shamans were plagued by some broken monk v shaman mechanics that made things very frustratingly difficult. But they have since been fixed. In fact, over the course of a year there have been quite a lot of monk changes that I lived through. Which brings me to the point I want to make: Thank you Imms. Maybe things don’t always work out perfectly every time, but I do absolutely recognize and appreciate the effort you put in to making sure the game stays balanced and fun.
In the end, it was just time for Alkas to go. A year is a very long time.
Vanisse
1 , 0 , 0 .
I'm so glad you reached out to me with that first note. I admit I am mostly wizinvis when I'm around and up till that point most of my followers didn't interact much even if I was visible, so it was a nice surprise. I really enjoyed all of our chats and interactions. With just a tiny suggestion you'd come up with your own interpretation of things that flowed and just felt so natural to the character and environment. I thought the way you balanced the Spirit/Knight/Oath and the inherent conflicts between Spirit and Knight's duties was excellent. Also, asking Alkas and Lumubella to try to diffuse the Ilromie/Knight/Justice situation was one of the most fun things I have done with followers in awhile so props to you both for running with my crazy ideas. Probably the last time I had so much fun with followers was with Goron when I set up my temple!
I am absolutely looking forward to your next. Definitely more RP opportunities in the future.
Ashlyn
2 , 0 , 0 .
Very well developed and well played. It was enriching interacting with you all around on different characters as enemies and allies. Its good to see you going out on your own terms and on a high note for the character directly influencing the suzerainty of the light that has recently existed. it was interesting fighting you(got a good schooling on monk) as well just as interesting to see how Alkas reconciled his knightly duties with his personal beliefs as the adept of spirit. Thanks for Alkas, and of course, good luck and looking forward to the next one.
Awesome character, especially as one of your first after a decade-long hiatus!
I knew you as both an ally and enemy, depending on the character. Great RP as a friend, and great fights as an enemy. You were definitely an essential part of the Knight backbone and your departure will leave a noticeable void.
Alkas was very inspirational and a great mentor, even from limited interactions. I'll miss him. Wrote a book to commemorate some of his wisdom but I am sure there was much more!
[reply to Davairus]
[reply to Ashlyn]
For real, this is a legitimate loss. I had great interactions with this character across many of my own. RIP Alkas. You did some work, I think you've earned your rest.
[reply to lionSpyre]
Enjoyed this character a ton. Very solid RP and your interpretation of Spirit element was great.
[reply to Vanisse]
[reply to Ilromie]
[reply to Rhoa]
[reply to Dogran]
Vanisse 
5 , 0 , 0 . Yes, it was really beautifully written. Bravo.
[reply to Lumubella][199]: [KNIGHT] Alkas: Returning to Spirit
Mon Apr 12 07:45:13 2021
To: Vanisse Knight Serra
I think back on my first steps into the wide world of adventure and the
eager boy that took them. Too excited to be prepared, too naive to be afraid,
but also fortunate to have found friends. For I have had many. Many that
have gone before me, and many that yet remain. It has been theirs and
your guidance, your counsel and camaraderie, and your friendship that has
shaped me into the old monk that I have become, and I am grateful to you
all for it.
There have been many battles against the ever encroaching darkness and
many hard fought trials in defense of virtue and Light but I have given each
Of them my all and have fought with my words as well as my fists to defend
The sanctity of all life. I give my thanks to each of you for your support in
Fighting that good fight alongside me. Serin is and always will be a place full
of strife and turmoil, for it is the nature of its Spirit, but it has grown to be a
safer place since my youth, and I hope that it will continue to be a safe place
for each of you.
Remember the teachings of peace:
With awareness depart,
With consciousness speak,
Find the wondering souls,
Bring the truth they seek.
The first step towards wisdom begins with perception my friends. I know
you will continue to fight for the Light, but do not forget the strength of peace.
For the Spirit in all life is valuable.
As I have grown to be more aware of the Spirit of all things, and become
more aware of the Spirit within me, it becomes increasingly clear the
connection that exists between all. It is my desire now to strengthen that
connection, that my Spirit might join the intangible world around us. Mourn
not for my absence, dear friends, for I shall not truly ever be gone. My Spirit
will rejoin the vibrant and torrential flows that exist in all the world around you.
Whenever a gentle and warm zephyr blows from the west, know that it is
the Spirit of Alkas Tyrzaphir come to help you feel peace.
[reply to Ceridwel]
Alkas was essentially my second character after coming back to AR after about a decade of not playing at all. Back then I don’t think monks were a playable class. (Though I do remember one existing as an Outlaw, Sen maybe?) So I was intrigued and wanted to give the class a shot, I didn’t really have very high expectations to be honest, as I didn’t really know what I was doing in the beginning lol. But I ended up absolutely loving this character. So much fun. And I owe that in very large part to all of you. Thank you for the interactions and the RP and everything else. You all helped me to immerse myself in the game to a level I was never very good at doing 10+ years ago, and I enjoyed “being” Alkas because of you.
I want to especially thank Vanisse for interacting with me and giving me the opportunity to develop Alkas into what he became. It would have been easy for you to just be wizinvis all the time or whatever, but you responded to all my notes and took the time to talk to me in character and that was such a crucial thing for Alkas becoming more than just a run of the mill footman. So I thank you for that and I hope that there are more opportunities with you and all the Imms to RP in the future as well. It means a lot to hear that you liked my interpretation of the Spirit element. I really wanted to turn it into something special and struggled to make everything coincide, Spirit/Knight/Oath and what have you, but I gave it my best.
There were times it was tough to maintain the RP, because hamsandwich would normally do things differently than Alkas did them. But in the end I am very glad that I stayed true to Alkas and now see that as the most important part of making a character memorable. I’ll try more to not whitewash all of my characters into different versions of the same thing, knowing now how rewarding it is to give them proper personalities.
The vast majority of my fights against shamans were plagued by some broken monk v shaman mechanics that made things very frustratingly difficult. But they have since been fixed. In fact, over the course of a year there have been quite a lot of monk changes that I lived through. Which brings me to the point I want to make: Thank you Imms. Maybe things don’t always work out perfectly every time, but I do absolutely recognize and appreciate the effort you put in to making sure the game stays balanced and fun.
In the end, it was just time for Alkas to go. A year is a very long time.
Vanisse 
1 , 0 , 0 . I'm so glad you reached out to me with that first note. I admit I am mostly wizinvis when I'm around and up till that point most of my followers didn't interact much even if I was visible, so it was a nice surprise. I really enjoyed all of our chats and interactions. With just a tiny suggestion you'd come up with your own interpretation of things that flowed and just felt so natural to the character and environment. I thought the way you balanced the Spirit/Knight/Oath and the inherent conflicts between Spirit and Knight's duties was excellent. Also, asking Alkas and Lumubella to try to diffuse the Ilromie/Knight/Justice situation was one of the most fun things I have done with followers in awhile so props to you both for running with my crazy ideas. Probably the last time I had so much fun with followers was with Goron when I set up my temple!
Ashlyn 
2 , 0 , 0 . Very well developed and well played. It was enriching interacting with you all around on different characters as enemies and allies. Its good to see you going out on your own terms and on a high note for the character directly influencing the suzerainty of the light that has recently existed. it was interesting fighting you(got a good schooling on monk) as well just as interesting to see how Alkas reconciled his knightly duties with his personal beliefs as the adept of spirit. Thanks for Alkas, and of course, good luck and looking forward to the next one.
[reply to hamsandwich]I am absolutely looking forward to your next. Definitely more RP opportunities in the future.
I knew you as both an ally and enemy, depending on the character. Great RP as a friend, and great fights as an enemy. You were definitely an essential part of the Knight backbone and your departure will leave a noticeable void.
Alkas will be missed.
[reply to Kalist19]
[reply to jaran]
[reply to Serra]