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Friday, January 23, 2015

Fireside Chat with Raynor

Photo by Jesse Gifford
In winter, I don't much like traveling.  It's just too damn cold, and I feel pretty terrible making any horse/bird


travel in the icy wind.  This time, I stayed close to home.   In fact, I stayed home.  Raynor and I sat down for some stew and a chat in Hart's Hollow:
---Twen

What are you most proud of accomplishing?
Probably what I am most proud of accomplishing is being able to bring Temorse back from Bedlam.  It took a long time, a lot of effort, but was incredibly rewarding when it happened.

 A bag filled with ten thousand gold just fell on your lap.  Now what?
Well, if I can avoid the 100% income tax that's been put in place, I have a few options.  I would use some of the money to get some fancy-shmancy clothes.  And probably to deck-out my armor to look fancy as well.  I could use some quality leg-armor and would probably get pauldrons for the look if I had the runaway cash.  Oooh, and a cloak.  And then the rest would be saved for gambling and hidden in my boots.

 What advice do you have for a new adventurer?
Talk to everyone.  Lots of times I see newer adventurers afraid to stray outside the friends who they started the game with.  Go out and talk to people!  There's lots for you to learn, and a ton of different perspectives on things.  Each nation has it's own way of interacting with the Realms, and each player has seen things differently.  Don't be afraid to get out there.  People are friendly to newbies.

 Tell us about your favorite feast dish.
- Does bread count?  But seriously, I've enjoyed a lot of things.  What I can really remember as being absolutely dynamite were the phoenix rolls at Feast of Leviathan.  They were super tasty, and I was able to bring home some leftovers which were super tasty as well.  I don't know when I haven't hounded Gwen for the recipe yet.

 Explain your personal heraldry.
My heraldry is very personalized to me.  After my knight's request, I created one with a lot of symbolism in it.  The heraldry at it's most basic is a black and gold bird of paradise clutching a rapier, with a green vine beneath it.  The bird itself represents freedom, growing up and spending most of my time in the woods has made the idea of freedom in all its forms very important to me.  The sword symbolizes honor, another concept that I hold dear.  The vine below stands for friendship, and the green to show a strong loyalty in that friendship.  The colors of the bird are black to show my past griefs of losing my family to Bedlam, and leaving that world behind.  The gold is a promise of constancy as well as a desire to strive to achieve glory.

What nation are you in and why did you join it?
The nation I'm in is Ashenmark.  The reason that I joined it is a bit convoluted.  Originally, the only member of Ashenmark who I knew was Kahlenar from the practices at Fort Oakenbrook.  He and I spoke about me joining, and I turned him down at first.  I didn't want to join the nation just because of him, so I looked around and spoke to members of other nations.  As a member of the Oaken Guard everyone was very receptive to me, and so I was able to spend a few quests with different groups.  But ultimately, I ended up spending time on the western flank with a few members of Ashenmark who I hadn't met before.  We quickly became good friends, and Lord Temorse soon reached out to me about an initiate membership, which I accepted.

What was your life like before you began adventuring?
Well, I spend most of my time living out in the woods.  After coming to the Realms through some strange circumstances, I didn't know anyone or where I was.  I lived off the land, and eventually found Fort Oakenbrook and was taken in by Lord Sir Aeston.  I began combat training there when I was eighteen, and was soon granted membership into the Oaken Guard to begin my life as a hero.
Photo by Angela Gray

Tell me about your favorite yearly tournament and why it's your favorite.
My favorite tournament every year has to be Queen of Hears.  I love having multiple different teams rather than just two, plus there tends to be a ton of adventurers who attend.  Having several non-combat tournaments, plus a variety of war tournaments and individual tournaments makes the event a ton of fun, and I always have a great time.

How have your countrymates influenced your actions?
In plenty of ways.  I tend to be more of a backseat player, and let events happen around me.  My countrymates have dragged me into situations and places which I probably would've avoided if it hadn't been for them.  They've also kept me out of quite a few situations where I may have done something dumb.

Where and how do you spend your time when you're not adventuring?
Most of my time is still spent in the forests, only now I am mainly in Ashenmark.  We have quite a few trees, and running through the woods has always been fun for me.  Now that the weather is starting to cool down, more of my time is spent indoors with fellow Ashenmarkians playing varieties of games or training.  I also try to still head to Fort Oakenbrook when I can and train with the new recruits under Lord Sir Aeston.  Otherwise I spend time with my knights Dame Twenaria and Sir Nighthawk, and recently I've been spending a lot of time with my countrymate Umbra.