Um... yeah. I've moved the stuff to wordpress. Deviant does not quite suit my purpose. Don't think I will update this site anymore, although I'll be using it for browsing other Deviant sites.

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A recent forum rant, brought these thoughts in my mind. We should respect the boundaries between player and their alts. All of us have different reasons for playing. Some likes RP, some likes the cool factor in skills, some likes Combat and pitting skills, systems, etc. Some play Achaean character as themselves. Some play Achaean character like an actor playing a movie character.

I treat Aerallyn like a character in a book. As the author, I decide on her basic make up, motivations, etc. But like a really good story, she can run away from whatever plot I had planned for her. And as an ephemeral as she is, she is alive and separate from me. Like a creator and her creation, I can be proud of her achievements and I can cry for her failures and heartbreaks.

As Aerallyn's player, I've been fortunate that Aerallyn's one and only romantic relationship had been kept completely in-game. As the player, I've been avoiding any kind of romance for fear that it might bleed over to OOC. But hearing some IC/OOC crossover horror stories makes me really grateful that Aerallyn's love-interest has a good player. Heh, I actually enjoyed their breaking-up phase a lot more than the falling-in-love phase . Mainly because Aerallyn surprised me. That was one of the pivotal points where she really comes into her own. She showed strength I never knew she had. She showed wisdom in her odd Tsol'aa ways, that I had not expected. Yes, she pleased me and made me really proud of her.

Aerallyn, at the moment, has only one parent. Her father owns land and house in the city of Shallam. She has her own room, up in the tower, facing the north. She absolutely adores the view from the tower.

Here is the Aerallyn's room description :

You can see a large desk, piled haphazardly with ink bottles, half-chewed quills, books and half-done maps. A large jar, containing redwood cones and winged sycamore seedpods, is placed lovingly at a corner of the desk. To the right, a bookshelf took up one whole wall. The left half of the shelf houses a collection of dried plant parts: seeds, leaves, flowers and roots. The shelves on the top right contain a collection of rocks and earth packed in small individual boxes. Each item is neatly labled and arranged. The rest of the shelf is packed with scrolls and books. Most of the books sported strips of brightly coloured cloth or ink-stained parchment that had been torn absentmindedly to serve as bookmarks. Directly across the room, a large bay window overlooks the north garden. Vines of morning glory, left unattended, grows wild around the window frames. A worn and cosy window seat fills the window niche. A small, hastily made, bed lies next to the window.


I am quite proud of my first attempt to make a room description in-game. I hope the room reflects Aerallyn's character, history and interest.

Hmm ... perhaps here would be a good place to pen down some of Aerallyn's character make up.

Aerallyn is Tsol'aa girl, and of Sylvan class. She is a quiet, shy and timid creature. She is somewhat absent-minded and naive. Her scholarly ways are reflected in the amount of items devoted to the task; desk, books and collections.

The jar of redwood and sycamore seeds are reminders of her responsibility. Her first grove was in the Aalen Forest, home to the Tsol'aa Village and the giant Redwoods. Eventually, she left the Aalen behind and found a new grove in the Western Ithmia Forest. It was a Sycamore Coppice nearing edge of lake. The ground was full of sycamore seeds and seedlings. And to the west, through a small gap in the trees, she can see the tranquil blue water of Lake Vundamere. This lake plays certain roles in her development later. After fulfilling certain personal vows and goals, she has returned to the Aalen once more. Due to the influence of her WI grove, her new Aalen grove is also close to a lake.

I honest did not know how I came up with her name. Well, actually, there's no hidden meaning or reference. Only by sound and look.

I started at Ae, since I alway wanted a character with 'ae' in the name.

Then I decided I wanted a 'Llyn', to feminise it. I have a fondness for the 'Lin' sound, since it is part of my real name. And the double 'L' because I adore Welsh spellings and their infamous 'll'.

Then I added 'ri' to link the two up. But Aerillyn sounds too feminine to me. So I changed the 'ri' to 'ra' to give it a slightly neutral sound.

And that was how I arrived at Aerallyn. And was quite bummed when I found out there was someone with almost similar name.

This is Aerallyn's first description.

When I created her, I have several things in mind. The first and foremost, is a non too taxing character to play.

The choice of race, Tsol'aa, is a deliberate one. Due to the speeded up time in the game, Aerallyn is going to grow old faster than real life. And since I do not have a lot of time to grow her, I chose a race that has a very long lifespan, so that I may slow her growth. Also, I knew she was going to be a forestal-type neutral. And the Tsol'aa have an in-game history with nature. Perhaps, I will discuss her character temperaments and beliefs someday, but not here and now.

I have recently made changes to Aerallyn's description (40 being a turning point age for her) and because of certain events in her life, which I may discuss in another journal entry.

So, I thought it would be fitting to talk about the beginnings of Aerallyn's design. I wanted a full-fledge natural forestal. After all, I went around LOOKing at people to gauge the appropriate description for her; in length, style and credibility. I've scanned a few that I definitely want to stay away from. And several very good ones.

Anyway, I decided on a harmless-looking one. She is suppose to be non-agressive and something of a nerd, as well as elfin. She is short, as she is still a child at that age, and in protest to 6-foot dwarfs and 7-foot whatever.

She was going to have magic, being Sylvan class. And I adore Mercedes Lackey's Tayledras mages, with magic-bleached silver hair and blue eyes. So, I was torn between a totally nature-look and a magi-look. For now, I have decided on a nature look and gradually move her to magi-look as she grows older and more skilled.

The scar is a hint at background story and the ink stains are from her obsessive need to record things and draw accurate personal maps.

So, here is Aerallyn's first description,
From September 2005 to 17 June 2006.

She is a graceful Tsol'aa and is rather short and small for her race. Unruly dark green hair frames her small face. Her nut-brown eyes peer curiously everywhere and nowhere. As you look closely, there are three parallel scars on her left arm and ink stains on her fingertips.