Retirement

[Etherdrifter]

Within 48 hours Etherdrifter will be no more.  He has outlasted alll enemies, all who wished to grief him out of the game.  He bought about necromancer philosophy, which overcame your petty kingdoms, which crushed your rebellions.  The necromancers stood tall and defied all.  Your kingdoms, your empires, your companies, your zergs.  All rotted before us.  Even now, as you dream of crushing the NG, you will fail.  We are here to stay, and I now step back to show you that the NG cannot be defeated, we cannot be griefed out of the game as many of you tried.  We are permanency, we will endure, we will outlast you.

Many in shartak I respected, my genuine opponents.  Um Bongo, Skullface (and his alts), Solemn and his brilliant political tactics,  Tathers and Daves (the original puppet master).

I salute these foes.  They were fun and worthy foes, I salute them and invite them to take a drink.  As the leader of the NG, I say we endured and out-waited our foes (ergo it was not because of me, it was because of us all).  However, I lament the loss of such worthy opponents.  Worthy in that they played honestly and honourably.  If such great players ever wish to challenge me again they need but message me.  I feel honoured to have faced such decent folk and pray that I will have the privilege to do so again.

[Dani]

Although I find it a bit insulting that you use the 'you' pronoun quite often to refer to zergers and griefers, it was a stirring good-bye speech nonetheless.

Practically speaking though, a few points:

-It's rather the tradition that when the clan leader leaves the game, his or her clan falls apart soon after. Only RCoGR resisted that tendency, and they are no more. I've met some fine NGers in my time, but none of them stayed in that spirit hut of yours, they were out and about. It would be my hope that if the NG does keep soldiering on, that the new leadership tries to get involved in other Shartakian affairs. After all, it's fairly easy to 'overcome petty kingdoms' by staying within your hometown wailing for xp gain, you just wait them out.

-Interesting that you mention Solemn in your list of worthies, considering his tendency to drop out of the game given even a hint that you were trying to meddle with Durham's affairs. On that note, before our falling out, Solemn suggested to me that you were almost certainly the one behind the Drifters' pk raid on Durham (hence etherDRIFTER). I'm sure you meant that to be emulating Dave's 'puppetmastery', but it struck me as both selfish and petty, particularly given the NG added nothing to that conflict other than jerking Dani around. I don't know what your plan was supposed to be, but it was an extraordinarily dull, witless conflict that me, Johnny Hobo and Jalal just trudged through before getting clued in. After which we just abandoned Durham and sure enough, the Drifters died out soon after.

-You make it sound as though you're leaving the game--or rather your character, but I assume you mean the former--because there aren't enough 'worthy challengers', and in a sense, I agree with you, but only in a very small sense. Having been given the keys to KOW I've found the village to be a virtual tomb (see what I did there), the spirit hut vacant, and no helpful dread sorcerors with years of experience to aid in reviving the rotting carcass that is now Wiksik. It strikes me that you gave up a long time ago, pal. Announcing it after the fact doesn't make a lot of sense, except to toot your horn posthumously.

-Since you're leaving anyway, I might as well thank you for giving Dani a worthy native challenger, even if most of it was pure flummery.

[Etherdrifter]

Actually I am leaving because I can't look after the Ng with my current workload.  There are many people worth challenging in game but that was never my real aim, I merely wanted to demonstrate that I could create a society that the old-skool forum group could not break (since my reception to the game was them trying to grief me out of it).

Solemn was thorn in the NGs side for year and he was a worth opponent.

I say you, mostly because most of those on the forum wish I had considered them my foes.  This year I have given less than 75 lines of text, but the NG has not only lasted but thrived.

The drifters were not my plan, however we :palm:ed new haven over together in a spectacular rp. Of all my foes I salute solemn because he played fairly and, even though only at the end, we came to a personal peace.  I salute what solemn did because he twisted words as well as I, he knew it was a game and we had fun.

The spirit hut, an idea.  We created it, the NG.  It endures and, even when I am long gone it will endure.  We were persecuted, griefed, bullied.  We won.  We are here, so I claim an NG victory.  My study will show the NG beat all against them.  Players fighting not for a stuck up arsehole (etherdrifter) but for a way of life.  And we did.  Many of those here tried to kick us off with alts, or with their clans.  All are dust.

So yes, I am arrogant and claim a victory.

However, I must say it has been a pleasure to play this game with you all.  Now, those who curse my name.  Prove em wrong, show them shartak is greater than one person!

[Jalal]

I must express my sadness but of course respect Ethers decision. He is a true great and the NG now face its most important decision.

Let this thread be a tribute to Etherdrifter and his achievements, well done Etherdrifter I doubt there will be another like you.

[Anthor]

Ether, I thank you for almost five years of Shartak, friendship, and a journey that has taken many twists and turns. Never a dull moment we have had.

You walked beside me through the darkness, when all others abandoned me to the spiraling train-wreck of endless troll wars that even the most astute of Internet adventurers would have difficulty walking away from. For that, I will never forget.

Enjoy your journey into the next segment of your life adventure.

[Cobalt Manticore]

The most I've ever interacted with you was defacing your tree. But it is kinda a bummer to see more of the old school graduating.

Me, I've got Still got...

things to see,

places to kill,

people to go.

[Killian]

Bye!

[Killian]

Oh wow, I just read this thread and I got that bit on SOLEMN. Which is interesting, because looking at his track record, one might be led to conclude he be shartak's ONLY RECORDED CASE of a SWAN devolving into a NEMATODE. GOSH, I GUESS THE CUNNINGEST PEOPLE END UP BECOMING THE MOST NIPPLE RIPPINGLY INSANE, HUH??

Despite that, I still like that paddy son of a wonderful woman. When's he coming back to give more flavor filled southernisms?

[Anthor]

While I remember, re: The Drifters... That was kind of my doing. The Drifters joined Light Rising, and I told them they should try Shartak too. Drifters and Etherdrifter in name was purely coincidental, although I do believe Ether used them to his advantage.

[Dani]

Stupid Solemn...

[Katie Calhoun]

What Anthor said is true. I was there also and when asked which camp should they go to, I said Durham.  I had no idea they would go in blasting. I then mentioned that if they were there to build up Durham they could have gone in a bit more peaceful. Their remark, "Now you tell us." Once it was posted here in the forum that they were in Durham, I sent a message to Solemn and explained things to him so he knew.  Soon, it seemed they were getting bored so I asked if a few of them wanted to come to Derby. I had some things at the time they could take care of if they wanted and they said yes. After awhile they said they would be leaving and going off to another game where the others had already gone. They are still here asleep somewhere. So Dani...once again you try and take credit for something you had no hand in.

Etherdrifter, take care and study hard. I will see you on the flip side.

[Dani]

So Dani...once again you try and take credit for something you had no hand in.

Yes because there are so many people on this forum I must impress.

You know it's a shame when the great roleplayers retire, not only because there's one less interesting character running around the island, but also because miserable sourpusses like you become the only thing left to fight.

[andrewbuff]

sad to see another player leave, i hope the best in your future endeavors. we didnt really interact much, except when woody was hanging out in the spirit hut waiting for that agriculture contest to start(before he bailed on it.) i always thought you took what was an afterthought and made an entire class of it. i dunno if im missing some great spirit before my time, but in my opinion you set the standard for a ghosty.(not the character)

[Etherdrifter]

Oh wow, I just read this thread and I got that bit on SOLEMN. Which is interesting, because looking at his track record, one might be led to conclude he be shartak's ONLY RECORDED CASE of a SWAN devolving into a NEMATODE. GOSH, I GUESS THE CUNNINGEST PEOPLE END UP BECOMING THE MOST NIPPLE RIPPINGLY INSANE, HUH??

Despite that, I still like that paddy son of a wonderful woman. When's he coming back to give more flavor filled southernisms?

Sorry you feel that way kid.  I would have mentioned you but I put up no section for failtrolls.

[Johnny Hobo]

Not to sound like a jerk, but you didn't do jack:palm: but sit around a single hut the entire time I've been around. Seriously, I could drop in on any given notice and knife you, if you weren't already dead.