Curse

Faer · Dec 23, 2006, 09:32 AM // 09:32

If you aren't into emotional Holiday drivel, don't read any further.

It's often hard to remember what this season is about, even with all the many feelings it inspires. Each individual has their own perceptions about "The Meaning of Christmas", or "The Reason for the Season" as my politically correct elders once taught me. However, one thing I'm sure we can all agree on is that the holidays should be spent with the ones you love, trust, and admire. Personally, the holiday season (ranging from November to February or so, in my case) has always been a disgusting time in which I just wished to be alone, by myself, and free to brood and ponder the many dark mysteries of the Universe that no mortal will ever have explanations for. I never had anyone around me that made me feel important, or who gave me reason to be jolly or merry for the holidays. That is, until this year... When something nothing short of amazing happened.

Several months ago, I stumbled upon the Guild Wars Guru Internet Relay Chat (IRC) room. There I met many casual and hardcore Guild Wars gamers, who shared my deep passion for this amazing game. One user in particular, however, stuck out soon after I began to become a regular of the channel. I first felt a strange connection with him after I learned that we shared a slightly odd taste in music. It's not often that I meet a person in IRC that is as passionate (or possibly more so) about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as myself. In fact, he was the first. From a small discussion about the group, we began to learn about each other, and I dare say, from each other. At first, we discussed the game itself; he shared with me his experience and insight, while I shared with him my hair-balled schemes and wild concepts. Eventually we began to speak of more personal aspects of our lives - what we did all day, our love interests, and our passions for other games and hobbies. It became clear to us, and many other frequent chatters of the IRC, that he and I were extremely similar, and possibly somehow embodiments of the same spirit. The differences between us are indeed few and far between... Because of this, even though we are an ocean apart, and have never (and may never, though I do hope this is not the case) met each other face to face, we forged a bond of friendship. Even though all we have is the text in a chat room (apart from the occasional conversations on Vent), we know there is still a real person on the other side of those characters; a fleshy creature capable of sentient thought and complex emotions is the source of those words, even though they can not be seen directly. Through the Internet I found something I never really thought I'd have (due to various oddities in my very unique personality, as much as I seem to make this entire scenario seem cliché)... I found a true friend, a person I can trust.

Forgive me, if you will, for this break from my sentimentalities. It will all tie in soon, that I promise you.

With the release of Guild Wars: Nightfall came a problem for me. Living in South Florida, I have very few choices as to where and how to live. The price of living the good life isn't exactly affordable for a person like me. I have a nice job, with crappy pay, that takes care of my share of the bills and not much else. I was saving for Nightfall, but something else came up (you, the community, may hear more of this in the future, but that is another tale to be told

) and I was without funding for the latest Chapter. It wasn't a real problem at first... PvE had begun to bore me, and PvP was still open to those that only had skills from Prophecies and Factions. However, as time went by, more and more players accepted only those who could provide certain things to a team, and the majority of roles were filled by those who had access to the new and often imbalanced skills. I was left in the dust, both competitively, and cooperatively. Even those who knew I did not have the ability to purchase Nightfall eventually started telling me to get a copy of it any way possible, because there was (seemingly) no way to function without the skills it provided. It began to distress me and annoy me to the point that I had just generally given up on the game. There was no reason for me to worry about functioning in a community that had no use for me. I moved on to other things (Morrowind, PS2, and World of Warcraft on slightly-less-than-legitimate servers being the primary three), that did not demand such expenditures or stress from me.

Now, I promised I'd tie all this up for you. Remember that friend I was talking about? Well that friend whom, may I remind you, I have never, and may never, meet face to face, stepped in to share a bit of holiday spirit with me in a way that I could never have expected or even hoped for. On the day before the day before Christmas, I received a serial key for Guild Wars: Nightfall from this friend. I won't state his name here, because I doubt he wants to be bombarded by messages asking for similar actions... I just want to make a public notice of my extreme gratitude, and a promise that one day, I will find a way to repay this most generous of gifts.

So why did I bother with this? Well, there's a moral here, if you haven't guessed already. You see, even if you think you can never meet a real friend over the Internet, the truth is, you can. There are so many people that have helped me in so many ways since I started playing Guild Wars, and to list them would take ages, so I will refrain. I think of many of these people as my friends, but I wouldn't claim to feel even a hint of the bond with them that I do with this one friend in particular. Even though you can't see a person, or hang out with them at the mall, you can still bond with them. I never felt this way before, but these past few months have taught me otherwise. So remember folks, even though it's a game world, or a forum, or am IRC room, the people there are still real people. Treat them as such, and you will probably receive the same in return.

I thank you all for keeping Guild Wars running. I thank you all for keeping these forums active. I even thank you for giving me a hard time in Sardelac with your repetitive ignorance of the stickies and search function, because without that, I wouldn't have much of a job to do around here.

Thank you, friends. May the holidays be merry for you and your kin. To quote Las, "I love you in a very macho way - but not leather macho". By the way, my gift all to you is the fact that I refrained from typing up this entire thing in Times New Roman. I know how much some of you loathe me for the use of that font.

Again, happy holidays folks. I'm off to collect more Candy Cane Shards so that I can perhaps afford my Ascended Kurzick Armor by the end of the event (I know it's outdated, but I have to support my emo brethren). If you hang around the International Districts in Elona, maybe I'll see you around.

~Faer

arcanemacabre · Dec 23, 2006, 10:04 AM // 10:04

<- tear of joy

Excellent, man. True spirit of giving, right there. That's awesome you found one of the few really, truly good people out there, and it sounds like you're one of them, too. Wish there was more of you guys out there, and in here, on this forum and in-game.

I'm in a similar boat, except here in North Carolina, price of living isn't as high. Still, I am working to support both my wife and I, so the price of living doubles

. Then again, we did quit smoking, which opened up a good chunk of income, so we use that on GW.

Either way, great to hear a story like that. Really lifts my spirits. Well, good luck to ya, and hope you get a raise!