Saying Hello

[Larrien]

Considering the relative inactivity here on the Dustari sub-forum, this might be better suited elsewhere, but I never felt comfortable posting on any of the main boards and I wouldn't want to force anyone to read it. In short, I'm an older player (2001 - 2004) who's allowed a brief fit of nostalgia to get the better of him and have purchased a subscription with the intent of playing again. As I'm not sure anyone is familiar with me, here's a brief summary I wrote last week:

I purchased my first subscription in September of 2001, which led to me joining Dustari as the Mayor's Assistant, and I concentrated on that server and the events that came with it (Ashes of Dustari and so on) before we moved over to Kingdoms. As I remember it, Aftershock was unanimously elected to take over as Dustari's King, and his asking me to become Prince was impetus enough for me to purchase another subscription in September of 2002. When he stood down after a few months -- and originally I was to follow him -- I took over and became the worst king in Dustari's history, bar none.

There's a lot I would have done differently, like respecting the people who I had spent so much time with before ascending to the throne, or not overreacting and deleting the entire kingdom's roster when it became apparent that some pruning was needed. My maturity and introspection simply weren't yet up to the task. But that's neither here nor there, and the only lasting consequence was a tarnished reputation and a feeling of ... incompetence? Embarassment? Both, I'd say. I stayed on as a Commodore, had further arguments, and left the server when my subscription ran out. I did continue to play Era for a period, but even that became stale sometime in 2004, and I haven't bothered to look in since then. Though clearly Kingdoms is a shadow of its former self, it is satisfying for me to know that remnants of the social institutions that defined my gaming interests for well over a year still exist, even if only superficialities like names and titles are familiar to me.

My reign as Larrien Amelyn could only be described as a catastrophe, and after I abdicated the throne I attempted to distance myself from the kingdom and eventually the server. Even after I made a clean break altogether in 2004, however, some intangible connection with the game motivated me to stay informed of developments and goings-on, and finally last week that culminated with a renewed interest in playing again. Since this is the only MMO(RPG) I have ever had the misfortune of being absorbed into, I suppose it was only natural I might gravitate back to it again. My primary interest, first and foremost, was role-playing, but that was a form increasingly marginalized even when I was active, so I can understand if it's completely died out. It would be nice to reconnect with anyone still actively playing -- or a member here -- from that time; since I don't have an instant messaging client, a private message will have to do. When I raise myself to a respectable level (I tried ruling as a level five King, and that did not work), I would be interested in joining Dustari again, as I simply can't imagine myself anywhere else.

Apologies for the tangent, and hopefully my second experience is as enjoyable as the first one was.