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03.12.2017 A new guild leader and a farewell (for now) by Imrahil

Imrahil sits brooding in his study.

He has to make an announcement to his comrades in arms from Raging Fury and he doesn’t really know how to put the words. Nine years he has been their leader, another two years he was in the guild as a normal member and an officer. From his first raid as a recruit on the tainted islands of Solteris to these last events in the new Chardok he has been there for more than 4 out of every 5 events for more than 10 years, but he has grown weary lately.

Overall 16 years of constant battle have taken their toll, especially since the pressure of responsibility (as officer or leader) has been there for most of those years, not only with Raging Fury”, but also with Darkwind and Drachentaenzer before. He doesn’t feel the urge to battle mighty foes anymore as he used to, it shows in his participation in raids as in his fulfilment of his duties as guild leader. His pride makes him want to believe that he is still an asset in the guild’s raids, as a player and as a leader, but deep in his heart he knows that he is not giving enough anymore.

At his prime he was one of the strongest paladins to walk on Norrath, sure in his step and confident of his prowess, leading his guild into battle time and time again. Quite a long way from the young and fresh knight who went out of Freeport 16 years ago to hunt down his first rats before moving on to the orc camps, forced into retreat upon the Griffon’s approach. Following down memory lane he fondly remembers his first break in on the Plane of Fear, when all his small guild Die Namenlose Bruderschaft and their allies could do was to run towards the western area and hope a cleric would be able to save himself to resurrect everyone later. Then the first raid encounter upon the mighty dragon Trakanon in Sebilis with Drachentaenzer, the battles on the ice continent of Velious and on the moon Luclin and the first steps in the Planes of Power. The transport over from the universe of contested and aggressive Solusek Ro to the remote Kael Drakkal, where DT started to flourish, becoming the uncontested leading guild for several years, the last few under his leadership.

Finally the decline of the population had taken its toll and the inhabitants of Kael Drakkal had to flee to the universe of AnTonius Bayle, where once again the competition was fierce. His face shrouds while he remembers about how tough the decision to leave Drachentaenzer for Darkwind had been, although he regained his enthusiasm for big adventures during the race to be the first to beat Mayong Mistmoore in the Demiplane of Blood. Even though Darkwind was beaten to this ultimate goal by Raging Fury he is still proud to have been among the very few who had to face the future demigod in the Demiplane in his very first incarnation.

Then the time of another departure arrived, when he left Darkwind to exchange his officer’s mantle once more for the unadorned armour of a recruit in Raging Fury. He still remembers the frantic race towards the final fight against the gods Solusek Ro and Mayong Mistmoore between the guilds on AnTonius Bayle with RF prevailing once more and how relaxing it was, just to be a normal guild member, only to focus on his own role in each event.

That respite did not last very long though, because somehow shortly after he started to lead raids, became an officer and finally guild leader. Imrahil was not sure whether he had been lusting for power or if it was his feeling of responsibility to step up when needed or if he has simply been masochistic, most likely it has been a mixture of all three motivations which has gotten him into these roles time and time again. He just hopes that overall a majority would judge his efforts as beneficial in hindsight, knowing that there are always people who feel mistreated or neglected when a large group of humans has to be handled.

He has always tried to temper his sense for justice (after all, he is a paladin of Mithaniel Marr) with compassion, but sometimes tough decisions had to be made and while he has never liked to punish (or even expel) members, he has not shied away from this duty either. Remembering heated discussions with some of his officers in the past he is grateful for the last relatively quiet years of his leadership and the overall enjoyable atmosphere in the guild. He really can’t complain in that regard lately, but still he feels tired, so it must be something else, the dark-haired knight muses.

He ponders the real cause behind his weariness and comes to the conclusion that it is probably a mixture of multiple reasons: the burden of responsibility over the years, the feeling, that there is nothing really new to experience and last but not least the departure of so many good friends of old, who have moved into their well-earned retirement:

Xack, the godfather of tanks, the unholy trinity (Illandra, Tamarea and Illona), the “Leader of the Dwarf Legion” Grynoldy, Imhotep the lorehelmet, all long gone, same as his predecessors Dalrek and Obsqura or his good friends Klorch, the polite troll, Ninan, the selfnuking wizard, Spiritbane, the semi-evil necro, Kikthin (Paladin Pinky), Charrok, the perma-dieing bard and Manadasa, the paladin he looked up to when he was an untested knave himself.

From all those who have been in Raging Fury when he joined so long ago only a handful is left today:

Aderahl (then still as druid Aderel), always extra ordinary DPS

Jolene, the friendly bard lady from the unfriendly Universe of Rallos Zek

Bebop, the slow typing Halfling druid with the healing skills to shame some clerics

And or course his officers, Vmas, the private dancer and silent RFP master and Jarasil, the friendliest officer he has ever met, always there when needed.

Yes, he will miss them, as he will miss the other friends he has been sitting together with through one guild meeting or the other: Ismel, Pippi, Suri, Blackjaw, the list could go on and on. He will also miss the friendly talks with so many people from around the world, but he somehow doubts he will miss having to force himself to battle on days he feels no desire to do so.

“I will enjoy my freedom, maybe after some time in retirement the hunger for adventure will rise again” he tells himself.

For now his duty though is to set up a speech to announce his own retirement and to hand over the mantle of the guild leader. He decides to make it short and simple as he steps onto the balcony in the great hall of Raging Fury:

Hear Ye, hear Ye!
All you member of Raging Fury, a new guild leader has been decided upon!
Please raise your voices and cheer for Jarasil!

He waits for their applause and cheers to subside, then adds:

I am sure you will help him to make the job as easy as it has been for me in the last years.

He is glad that he leaves the guild in capable hands and in a stable state, although he really hopes that Jarasil will find some more people to help him with the different tasks a guild like Raging Fury requires.

He finishes his speech with a few final words:

It has been an honour and a privilege to lead this guild for such a long time, longer than anyone before in the history of Raging Fury. I wish you all the best in your endeavours in Norrath and in other worlds and rest assured: I will visit this hall to share stories and laughter again as I will also continue to visit my friends in the other world. For now though I shall enjoy my retirement away from this alluring world called Norrath.

He grabs the sword that bears his name and that of his guild, raises it and let's it fall down in a final salute:

imra







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