RIP - Nethaniel Huntington

[darkebon]

So... there was an event, with a lot of death...


... one of whom was, of course, myself.

I've had Nethaniel as a character for a long time - nearly 8 years, I believe. It's been a remarkable ride and I've spent the last few days reflecting on it a great deal. Lots of wonderful memories. A few of my favourites are...

• Paladin - from the moment I heard that this new type of special had been introduced to the game, I wanted to be one - it just fit the character I was playing so well. Huge thanks have to go out to everybody that made it as much fun as it has been. Initiation rites, both successful and not, have all been great fun. The roleplay with the other members of the Order of the Sacred Blood has been a joy. When Seraphim first told Nethaniel what being a Paladin meant - being that candle in the darkness - he completely took it to heart. It was already what he tried to do as a Knight of Celestial, but this really pushed him to make it into his reason for being. Seeing people writing on the obituary thread that they will try to follow his example would be the most satisfying thing he could ever see/hear.
• Knight of Celestial - an amazing group of people throughout and a wonderful journey, from mercenary, to squire, to knight, to eventually Grandmaster. The Order has always been filled with fantastic people and it breaks my heart to see how small it has gotten now. I had hoped that Nethaniel's growing influence would inspire people to join the group, and see it grow again, but he's been cut down before that could happen. I hope the group survives - I really do think that the Lions would be a poorer place for their lack. Some of my very favourite moments have been inside Chez Celestial, chatting and philosophising about the nature of good, teasing and being teased by Elrood, and so on. If I could come back, I would, but I have to make a change. Please still be there when I next need a new character.
• Knight of Lantia - from the moment that Nethaniel saw Sheyna and Irinaye being made into Knights of Lantia, he wanted to join that number. After an event that killed off the entire military command, he became Warlord and got that chance, being knighted shortly afterwards for leading the entire might of the Heartlands to destroy Xivental. There was never a great deal of interaction between the Knights of Lantia, but that was ok - we knew who we were, and it was an incredible buzz.
• Knight Marshall - Being in the Lions military gave me some very good memories, but also some dreadful ones. I really do think that it is one of the hardest jobs in the faction, only getting harder the further up that you climb. It gives you an amazing buzz when it works out (like defeating Xivental), but it is absolutely crushing when it doesn't. However, it did push me out of my comfort zone, and I can recognise now that it was an amazing learning experience for me. It allowed me to put everything I'd ever learned about leadership into practice, and I think I was pretty good. Lots of other military characters have come to me later and thanked me for mentoring them, encouraging them, etc. and I'm very glad I've ben able to do so. Noodle's comment on my obituary thread was wonderful and really made me smile.
• Prince - I've wanted to be an NPC from some of my earliest days of doing LT. I saw people like Bruce leading the faction and inspiring people, and I wanted that to be me. I also had a lot of fun with the game for years, and really looked forward to giving something back and helping other people enjoy it the same way I had. When Ads asked me one night, whilst Emma was unpacking in our tent, if I'd like to take on the new position of DPC, I was incredibly flattered to have been noticed, and very excited about the future. The whole command team whilst I've been involved have been great - Ads, Helen, Rich, Baz - and have really helped me grow into the leader that I always wondered if I could be. I really enjoy leading musters and so forth, so thank you all for letting me do it! I'd also like to put in here how much fun it was to fight alongside my regulators at the Healer's Event (the only time I ever really got to do so) - you two were awesome.
• Plotter - I'd always said that I'd love to join the plot-team, so when Baz invited me to do so as part of being an NPC, I jumped at the chance. My plotline is now in the game, and has garnered fantastic feedback from both staff who are aware of what is going on, and players who are only just starting to interact with it. I wrote my first linear which, whilst almost killing the whole faction, was very well received, and I'm looking forward to continuing with this aspect of the game.
• Sheriff - Nethaniel never really got into the Sheriffing game. I believe I originally signed up because the High Sheriff at the time (I think it may have been Aldous - pretty sure I was already a sheriff when Karnak stepped up) was desperate for recruits. Sadly, I never really got the time to engage with it properly until fairly recently. However, it looks like it's a lot of fun (especially at the moment) and it's always been with a great bunch of people. Thank you all for letting me be involved, even if only in a limited way.
• Member of the Council - People say a great deal that they hate Council Meetings. I was never one of them - I loved that side of the game. When I stopped being Warlord, I asked if I could stay on the Council, I enjoyed it so much. I really enjoyed the debates, the arguments, the reconciliations. Nethaniel became a suspicious and paranoid chap around this time - he always thought that almost everybody (outside of the Order) was trying to manipulate him towards some kind of personal goal, using his principles against him. I'm not convinced that he was wrong, but as long as he remained aware of that, I think he did alright.
• Philosopher - my original concept for Nethaniel had been that of the Warrior-Philosopher - and I think that worked out well. I especially had some great times with Hengist and Karen exploring this side of the character, and had started to go down that route with Daolyth as well, which I had been looking forward to exploring further (Nethaniel very much missed his 'learned colleague').
• Hero - he always described Celestial as the Ancestor of the Heroic Ideal above all else. Inspiring others by action and always working to be exemplary in thought, word and deed. He died following those ideals, knowing that he wasn't coming back as soon as he realised that people had started transporting. I've heard some amazing descriptions of his final moments, which are all pretty much what he would have hoped for. An inspiration to see whilst swinging the axe at his foes. Went down like a Boss! Other similarly awesome tributes. If he had to go, this was a damn fine way to go. The irony is not lost on me that he did very similar to the Gateguard so many years ago, in defending people escaping whilst the land itself started to disappear around him. Getting the killing blow on Thrydwulf is a memory that stayed with him forever (and one he talked about with people on his last day, ironically) as will be distracting the Balrog whilst the camp was evacuated (which he discussed with somebody on his second to last day).
• Friend - Nethaniel was not one to make friends easily - he was very private and didn't tend to show his emotions. When he did make friends, they tended to be in the least likely places. Those people that Nethaniel considered friend hopefully know who you are - you've all been fantastic fun to roleplay with. I'm not going to name names here, as I'll offend somebody by missing them out. I hope you know who you are.
• Husband - last, but most definitely not least. Nethaniel came into the game with a tragic backstory, not expecting to find love, but he did. Even then, he didn't think that anybody would accept him, knowing that his first goal and ultimate priority would always be being that hero, that symbol. Irinaye did. She not only accepted it, but she understood it. Jenny has been amazing throughout and I've had a huge amount of fun playing that relationship. There are wonderful memories there - a random act of kindness, a very deceptive hen-party, desperately searching for each other on battle-fields, and the wedding itself, held with only the two of them and Hengist present are amongst them, but there are many others.

There are all sorts of things that I'm forgetting here, but these are the ones that have sprung to mind over the last few days. However, everybody that I've interacted with over the last few years with the character has helped to enrich the world he lived in and the life he lived. So, thank you all.

And then to the future... it's something I'm keeping quiet about for the moment, in order to hopefully increase impact when it is revealed, but suffice to say that I'm excited about it, as are those few that I have spoken to about the idea. I'm looking forward to not having to wear the armour anymore (though I do love the stuff, and it will certainly make a comeback with future characters). It will be completely different to Nethaniel, and I'm looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity to meet more people around the faction, that I didn't tend to interact with before.

See you in a field!