TownCrier Player Spotlight on Lornieh
By Macillus, TownCrier Correspondent
27 Lormesta 5118 // January 27, 2018
Coming Home (2017)
She’d lost almost everything. Almost everything. She still had a longing for adventure. And so she turned to games. She tried a few MMO’s, but just got bored. A new game would come out, and the player base would move on, and the magic would die out. She wanted somewhere with imagination. She thought about GemStone. She’d even dreamed of GemStone from time to time, but so often those dreams would conjure up the painful memories of Gureth.
She realized, though, that those memories were causing less and less pain as time went by. And that maybe now she could face them. She could face that pain. Maybe now, she was ready to come back.
“I'd dream a lot of GemStone over the years. Kind of odd, I know. I recalled the old days of ‘AT RAT, AT RAT’. When I came back, I came back as F2P. It was like old times. It was like coming home."
She started a free-to-play character. As an empath, she made friends quickly. She was hunting in the catacombs, and healing in Town Square Central, and having a blast. Though playing an empath was harder than she remembered. She had to link to heal people, and couldn’t heal the same person repeatedly. Finally, she found out that F2P were the only ones that had to link to heal, and said “Forget this! I’m reactivating my old account!”
“I reactivated my account, and little Lornieh was still there, along with all my current alts.”
It was a bit daunting coming back to her old characters. So much had changed, and with so many alts, she had to relearn each profession as if she was starting over. She met Evrali, who got her using AIM again and introduced her to Silvak, who helped her to fix her old characters. There was so much to learn.
“I was blown away by chrisms, ensorcelling, armor skills, shield skills.... it's crazy! Lich has been a life-saver.”
A few months in, she met Pukk. "We started a conversation on LNet, and it just grew from there," Pukk told me. “We just hit it off!” They decided that Lornieh and Pukk would meet. From there, the connection between their characters grew, and quickly became romantic.
Pukk was a major influence in her early days after returning. It was Pukk who convinced her to pick one character to focus on, Lornieh. He was level 40, and she was 14 – so he helped her level. He also introduced her to roleplaying events, like Kenstrom Story Time. With the help of Pukk, and the roleplaying awards she received, she levelled quickly.
"What I have always known: When she loves, she loves. When she is upset, she is upset. But like a flare with both emotions. Burns fast and bright." -Pukk
Yet, as time went on, Lornieh’s in-character romantic relationship with Pukk began falling apart. One night in June, he ended it. She was caught off guard. She hadn’t realized, as she was immersing herself in her character, how invested she also became as a player. When she got her heart broken, it hurt in game and out. She felt that it might be time to say goodbye. On the brink of leaving, she decided to open up, and posted on the Player’s Corner. Then she was REALLY on the brink of leaving. Until one person sent her a message...
“It was Dreaven who came forward to talk me through it. He sent me a message, and talked me out of leaving.”
She stayed. She stayed because of her love for the game. She stayed because, in Elanthia, she wasn’t alone. In Elanthia, she was loved. She stayed because here, despite her broken body and broken heart, she could be the truest part of herself. Putting her heart into her character meant opening her heart - and that was worth risking the pain.
"I immerse myself pretty far, especially during RP events. It's like I'm there in the body as Lornieh."
She immersed herself in the world, and she became Lornieh. Goofy, fun, feisty, outgoing Lornieh. Adventurous, friendly, courageous Lornieh. Lady Lornieh, the Beastmistress. Lady Lornieh, the helpful friend. Lady Lornieh, the hero.
Reflections and Insights
Who is she?
Kipa says, “She plays a strong character that knows her own value.”
Pukk quietly says, "A very wonderful person IRL and it reflects on her characters. She’s a fast learner, and she is very active with her RP."
Brutish says, "Lornieh? She's the one ranger I know who SWEARS she knows where she's going no matter what… Sometimes it takes her hours to wander out of the woods."
Leafiara muses, "A friendly and gentle person, open to many and sincerely interested in them. She plays straightforward but likeable characters and finds ways to include others, and both invents her own RP and participates with Landing stories. Active but never overactive."
When is she at her best?
Evician fondly says, “When she is in a feisty mood. When she is trying to get something she wants done."
Kipa says, “When she is amongst the Drakes, we are all good friends there and always having fun. And she shines during events with Kenstrom."
Your favorite thing about her?
Brokkrsten says, "Her friendly demeanor and willingness to help a soul out."
Leafiara fondly says, “Her clear love of, well, -everything- GemStone. There are people who just like RP and hate hunting, or people who like hunting and hate RP, or maybe they'll be in the mood for one thing or another... but she seems to love them both.”
Pukk quietly says, "She really cares about helping people and punishing human rogues that upset her."
Evician lovingly says, “I call her my angel for a reason. She helped me when no one else would. I was in a bad place with my paladin, and this was before we became a couple. She hunted with me and helped me stay alive for quite a number of levels. I fell in love with her in game, and out.”
The final word:
Leafiara advises, "If you're interested at all in RP or in the community, get to know Lornieh or any of her other characters. She's one of the better people I've known, and I've met a lot of them here.