Fireside Chat with Saegan

While the winter thaw is upon us, I took the opportunity to travel and meet with someone everyone knows.  Saegen.  While we all know who he is, how well do you actually know him?  Aside from knowing I'd be safe if he is in front fighting the baddies, I don't actually know him very well at all.  

                                                                   ~T

• What are you most proud of accomplishing?

Well it's certainly not solely my accomplishment, in fact I'm really just a small part of it. But I'm most proud of Blackwood, and the strides it's made in becoming the Kingdom it is, and the Kingdom it has yet to become. Watching it grow has been amazing.

•   If you could be granted any wish, what would it be? 

Some time ago Jinx made a wish, that was important, and we expected it to have a price. I would wish that it not have that price. 

•  A bag filled with ten thousand gold just fell on your lap.  Now what? 

First I make sure it doesn't belong to anyone else. Then I probably give it to Tao or Sir K to invest for me, and benefit the Kingdom of Blackwood. Or I pay off Ambrose' gambling debts. Whichever. 

•  What advice do you have for a new adventurer?

Set goals that you can achieve. Set goals you don't expect to achieve, but try anyway. 

When adventuring find a role that suits your person, and helps move the quest forward. Build towards that role, and try to make it helpful for the group of you. Everyone appreciates someone that helps the group, and if you're good at something you can make it useful. 

•  Tell us about your favorite feast dish.

Don't get jealous. I mean I've spent a fair amount of time feasting, and I like good food. But there is only one food that I can think of that makes my mouth water consistently; and as much as I love it, it's not the Blackwood Meatloaf. It's not the Rueben pizzas, and it's certainly isn't gelatinous cranberry sauce. I totally back Zarine on that one by the way. 

No. One year, for the super secret special dessert prize at Feast of Folkstone, Malaki made--- for someone I was fortunate enough to acquire some from--- Croche en Bouche. To be honest I'm pretty sure he stole the ingredients for it from Elysium, because I think we were dealing with an army of angels, pretty much the next day.  But I might be wrong. I hate it bring it up, because I'm pretty sure that the adventurers of these days will never truly understand what in the world is worth fighting for, having not experienced it. 

But you asked, so..

• Explain your personal heraldry to us

This is a complicated question. This is Acteon's Heraldry--

I can't place the meaning of the green and white right now, it has heraldric meaning that's from before my time. I'm not exactly a herald. I can tell you that the star stems from Blackwood, it was added to the old Acteon Heraldry once we joined the Kingdom as a symbol of our allegiance. 

The Stag is representative of Acteon the Man, who was a hunter who got into some trouble with a goddess and she made him all antlered and furry. I keep hearing stories around here how he died in that excursion, but that's not how we know the tale. For us he escaped and went through some weird trials to redeem himself. And I guess founded our nation. That's up to theologians and historians to debate, I guess. 

That's the Acteon Heraldry, though. My Heraldry, if I have one at all, really, is this-

It stems from my time in the Shadow War. It represents the final battle with Jonas Cooke, where Wrath, Guilliam, and I were transformed so that we could resist the force of his Bane weapon. 

I chose silver on black for two reasons, we were made these crazy golem things, so the silver represents the stone in that way, and the black represents the bane and shadow. But Black and Silver are also representative of King K, and his tabard, calling back to his time in Creathorne. A lot happened to Blackwood during that war. Cities burned. It was an important victory for us, and I want to remember it.

• What was your most memorable questing moment?

You might think it was something to do with the Shadow War, since I was just rambling on about that for what seems like forever, and I wish I could say it had something to do with someone else being awesome, because I've seen some really amazing things in my time. But it's about me. I'll be a little cocky for a moment. We were questing in Grimloch, which is a slug fest on its own. I'd never been in their lands before, so it was all relatively new to me. I remember being surprised that even their kobolds are armored. But we, the adventuring party, had been fighting through a bunch of terrible things called Metal Lords, facing different challenges to even be able to fight them, and we needed to beat them all because they were empowering an Ancient named Akakios, and he wanted to kill all of mankind. 

So anyway, the adventurers on the know made stuff happen, and I was just kind of doing my thing fighting off undead as people were trying to do the ritual required to challenge Akakios. I took it as my job to make sure those folks could do the thing. 

But it was a one on one fight. In a ring of what must have been hellfire for all I know, some crazy ritual fire. One by one people tried and failed. There was a break in the fighting of the undead and, they were running out of people able to challenge him. Sir K asked me to fight, I was skeptical because I knew who'd gone before me. They were some heavy hitters. 

Needless to say it took some coaxing. I stepped into the burning arena, contemplating how I'd go about this, Akakios was barely a shadow on the distance, going back to whatever plane he resides on. I called out in my best "I'm gonna challenge you" voice, unsure if he'd even turn back and accept. But he did. 

Now Akakios' carried a sword that would take most men at least another half a hand to wield, maybe two, but he also fought with a shield, and it was some sort of loving shield that could jut out with the force of an avalanche. So I figured if I was going to beat him I was going to strike first, and strike fast. So I did. I channeled some inner storm, and if ever their was a clash between the thunder and the mountains it was that day. I can't remember the specifics of the fight, I went high, I went low. I tried not to die. But I remember when he fell. I remember the dust mingling in the air, and the crackle of the fire. And I remember my body saying "you just took out a titan, you have nothing left" and slumping down. 

The excitement from the others around me, that we'd won, at least for the day. That was something I will always remember. That's probably when I stopped doubting myself, to be honest, and realized I could do anything if I needed to enough. 

• Tell me about your first adventure.

Compared to the other stories it's not as exciting. It was during an evening at Creathorne, some portal opened to I have no idea where. I was new and didn't know anyone really, so I had no idea what was going on. I was a 1 path with heal limb and repair armor, and I was adventuring into the dark. People got stuff done, I'm sure, but the only thing I really remember was  that someone screwed up, and something happened that made the entire questing party flee from wherever we were. It was a true stampede. I was literally almost trampled, and just realize I'd better scamper along with them, else I be left behind. 

In every life, there is a defining moment.  Tell us about yours. Blackwood had been after me to join for an age. They were still Idaris when we were first becoming friends. But I am a man of Acteon to the core. Eventually they asked Toah to join. He and I had been adventuring alone for our people for some time, our country was impoverished, and they asked Acteon to join Blackwood. We accepted, I was made a Squire to the Knights of Blackwood, under Nos, and it had set me on the path to be the man I am today. 

• What was your life like before you began adventuring? 

Well I was born of a household that had fallen out of favor on the Acteon Nobility. We couldn't even claim the title of Thane, really. I made a vow to myself to redeem my ancestors, and along with Toah and some others, we started hiring ourselves out as soldiers. Which might seem like an odd way to redeem your ancestors in retrospect, but I was young and I assumed their would be villains, and gold. Turns out it's been mostly villains. 

• Are you married or courting and if so, to/with who? 

No. And no. Unless you count my constant war preparations as courting. I don't really have time for that stuff. 

• Where and how do you spend your time when you're not adventuring?

I try to take the Sky Bridge back to Acteon, specifically Castle Black Stag in the City of Flying Tree, but I don't get to do that very often. There is a lot of preparations to be made. The Risen Kingdom is on the assault in Chimeron, and that sounds like was war that needs snuffing. My boys Torolf and Vawn keep threatening to go start Ragnarok in some other dimension, and I'm pretty sure that's straight up villainy, so I need to stop that. The Imperium in Ashenmark. The time bandit guys in Verai, and Blackwood's librarian has gone missing. There is just too much going on that needs fixing for me to have time off from adventuring.

• What kind of picnic should we go on?

The kind that has all the teddy bears, what other kind is there? 

Poor Saegan, I guess someone should teach him about picnics.  After this evening's talk, I feel like I know Saegan better.  Hopefully, I'll be able to fight at his side one day, it sounds like a good place to be.
If you are looking for a cozy place to sit and talk about anything, even picnics, just let me know.  I am always up for a good chat.
                                    Love,
                                       Twen