All good things...
And so, as he had done each month upon the day that she went away, Yuusuke knelt before the greatest of the Lorsa Trees of fair Feladan and placed a single flower upon the ground by the roots. Xolita had always wanted flowers, uncommon that they are in Istaria, flowers as a present, flowers to grow in a garden, but most of all flowers to be seen again in Feladan Wood. This tree too, was Xolly's. She had played upon it as a child, climbing about and looking up at its great arching branches. She had mourned it in the years that Feladan was under the thrall of the Blight, and rejoiced to the point of tears when it was restored to health and beauty upon the liberation of this city.
Our one great achievement, that liberation was. The one, and only, success in rolling back the foulness that The Withered Aegis brought upon Istaria. Sadly, no matter what efforts else The Gifted made over the years of war, no other such true victory was won. A battle here, a defeat of forces there, a few minor towns rebuilt, a few more near lost to isolation as the Foe claimed land and fortified its positions. It had all settled into a stalemate, a war of attrition between a never-ending Foe and the near-immortal Gifted. Neither was winning, and in all examination, neither ever could in what had become an unchanging world.
Yuusuke sat a little longer, and quietly prayed, and then once again gathered what remained of his weakened spirit to set out on his rounds again to tend to the shrines of the Gifted. He sat back upon his heels, in that most uncomfortable Saris style the Eastern Elvish still called "se-i-za" and tried to concentrate upon what could be done. The guild, The Annatar, was in good hands with the new officers. His tasks there were at last finished. He needed but see to his own matters now. Perhaps he would try to go East again. Durand had done so, twice, but the second time to a fate undetermined. Grummel had also tried, but only after he found his spirit could no longer safely bind. He likely fought well, and might even have reached his ancesteral home village, but he surely took The Long Death out there somewhere. Darkmagius, gone somewhere in his continued quest for power to master the magics he believed would turn the tide. Roxi, slain by disease, the worst and saddest of the Long Deaths. and so many, many more. Of all that began, or came early to The Annatar, only the enigmatic Helian GreatOne named CrystalMist still awoke, and she... well, she always came and went of her own agenda anyway. One by one, he saw them all as he sat there with his eyes closed. It took a very long time. But when he opened his eyes to see again, he could scarcely believe what was before him.
There, sitting quietly and holding the Flower of Rememberance, was Xolita.
She told him she had no other existance else than with Yuusuke, and that she missed him. She sadly admitted that her spirit was not ever again to be enshrined in Istaria, and that where she was and where she would go, she could not even begin to explain. But, she told him, where ever she would be, she would wish to be there with Yuusuke.
He gently took her in his arms, and held her there. After a while, he asked her how long he had before they both would go.
She replied, "Not long, not long at all..."
Dear friends and fellow players,
I will be finished playing Horizons on January 2nd, 2007. It has been three years live, and a bit more with all the beta time. I am at a loss to mention by name all the fine players and their characters that made the good times in this game one of the shining memories in my nearly 30 years in the hobby and business of RolePlaying Games. Please forgive my mentioning no further names, as the list would be unbearably long. Those many long times where I could remain in-character as Yuusuke, and the adventures, friendships and achievements he made, that is what I will fondly remember of Istaria.
It has been a great pleasure to have shared the experience with you all.
or as Yuusuke would have said it: "It has been a pleasure and an honor to have had the opportunity to serve with you. Be Well and Safe, and go well when you go."
Thank you,
gyaretto ruusaa dagurasu, aka L. Douglas Garrett
[email protected]
Tochigi-shi, Japan
2006 (Heisei 18), December 30th
my thanks to the player of Xolita LaLuna for suggesting the best way for Yuusuke to depart.
