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Looking forward to building some cool stuff and running some cool spice.  See you in game!

[Who she was:]

Eupraxia the Heron

Eupraxia's long, strange journey to the center has finally come to an end.  I was relieved to find that this time around I got plenty of screenshots that don't spoil rings.  The Heron was intended to be a bounceback concept after the Tears of Blood died.  She had essentially the opposite view of ringrunning that I portrayed on Quarterdragon: this was no grand journey to the center to fulfill a ridiculous wish.  She thought she would find something terrible at the center, and she intended to kill it.  To that end, a staggering variety of PCs joined her quest.  In her first phase, her anti-monarchy sentiments drew the attention of a collection of druids, and the original Breakers were formed, though they lacked that name.  Sadly, all the changelings ended up dying in unrelated incidents within a couple days (one within 2 hours) of passing the Ring 95 challenge.  The second phase, which was the longest and most varied experience, began when the Companions of the Twisted Spire joined forces with the Breakers, creating a new group of nine members, taking up the name of the Breakers.  The new Breakers were together from the Wizard Warrens where the alliance was sealed all the way to Baz'eel, though only four remained by the time that distance was crossed.  Some exciting things happened along the way, which are depicted in screenshots below.

Considering Eupraxia's nautical background, it seems fair to call what followed her personal doldrums, though in this time she was not entirely adrift, as it was after the rush to Baz'eel that she joined Eliphas on his outring schemes, some of which are still in play, so I won't spoil.  The most public, of course, was Luke Danebluff's expedition to kill Ib'javi, in which Eliphas played a critical role.  Eupraxia hated the plan from the beginning, and tried to convince Eliphas to stay behind, but when he wouldn't, she joined him in Hell, where she experienced her worst failure in the City of Rings by failing to protect him.  Self-loathing set in, and it did not lift until Saibhon Dumein, an old friend from before she became a ringrunner, returned to Ring 99 and gave her the perfect target towards which to funnel all her bitterness.

And then the rings beyond Baz'eel opened; some of them earlier than I think most people were aware, but most only very recently.  The remnants of three groups to have reached Baz'eel joined forces, and created a group I would never have expected to be as fun as it was, but there is something to be said for traveling with somebody you loathe, and I was twice-blessed in this regard.  I wish I had more non-spoiler screenshots of Dorian Raventree, but he did a great job balancing out Eupraxia's relentless vitriol towards Aethelwine Sothilde.  This group only existed for about 10 days, I think, forming somewhat before the announcement from the Vizier, but it was an amazing experience to tackle the truthfully absurd deepest of rings with this motley crew.  Without saying what we found at the center, I can say I absolutely recommend striving for the deep rings both for the wildness of the content and the incredible lore the DMs have built.

Who she was:
Before Awakening, Eupraxia was a sailor on her mother Pherenika's ship: Eleutheria.  An ironic name for a vessel that often traded in slaves, selling justice by way of indenture contract for captured pirates to the merchants of those ports along the Sea of Fallen Stars which allowed such.  She never knew the shores of her mother's homeland, the isle of Ixinos, but she greatly respected the cultural symbolism of birds that the citizens of that place would take (completely made up, sorry if that offends any canon lore enthusiasts).  Her symbol was that of the Heron, which represented learning and improvement in her mother's homeland, and was chosen because Eupraxia always felt she had to struggle to stand out from the shadow of her naturally talented older sister, Pelagia (whose symbol was the Eagle).  She always felt pressure to live up to the better legacy of her family, her mother having been one of very few to try to claim the symbol of the Roc, only just failing in the rites of the people.  Her time in the City of Rings convinced Eupraxia that her sister must have awakened before her and made her own run to the center, one of the few beliefs she held with no rational basis.

Now, on to the screenshots.  I've divided these up by broad topic to make them easier to manage.

[hide=Eupraxia's Personality and Outlook]
I don't think it was any secret that Eupraxia hated the City of Rings, and would have much preferred to remain in the old life she recalled.  Her bitterness with regards to her situation was one of the character traits that I found easiest to portray.  It wasn't all there was to her, though, and it was a joy to discover what memories she still cherished, and what new friendships mattered to her.









[hide=Minor Area Spoiler Visible]

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[hide=Aethelwine Silver]
I had a few rivals during this run, but ultimately it was the last active member of Amastacia's Wake who got the best and worst of Eupraxia's animosity.


























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[hide=William Thorne]
William Thorne was not the first surrogate father to join Eupraxia's quest for the center, but he was the one who ended up being with her until that quest's conclusion.  She wasn't the best friend she could have been to him, often belittling his beliefs, while he in turn would kindly whisper to others along the road that she had an affliction of the mind that caused her to be unnecessarily abrasive.







[hide=Minor Ring Spoiler]

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[hide=Eliphas]

Eliphas was a mad old wizard, and madness wasn't something Eupraxia much cared for, but his exceptional ability convinced her to put up with all of it, and in the process she learned some things as well.  Losing him in the raid on Ib'javi's Citadel was her greatest failure.




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[hide=Dumein]
Dumein was actually the first friend Eupraxia had in the City of Rings, and while they drifted apart, she was always glad to see him, despite her claims.  In the beginning, I was trying for a Mulder/Scully dynamic between the two of them, but I think it ended up being a slightly less respectful riff on the relationship between Seth Bullock and Reverend H W Smith from Deadwood.








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[hide=The Duke of Deals]





[hide=The Biggest Deal, Minor Location Spoilers for a Deep Ring]
Eupraxia did not like being betrayed like this


Danebluff didn't seem to mind much


Perhaps there is some joy to be found in this after all


The cruelest salting of wounds



She figured Dumein would like this story because he loved suffering.

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[hide=The Breakers]








Angvald actually joined the Breakers during our original run, he was just a little slow and didn't make it into Baz'eel until 5 months after the rest of us.





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[hide=Miscellaneous]






























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[Hide=Obligatory Cold Steel Meme]

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I have some other pretty cool screenshots, but none of them have been approved for release.  I will see if eventually they become okay to post.

This quest has the tileset bug that prevents the area from loading.  From what I remember, it probably has this bug in multiple areas, including the main entryway.

I wanted to play a dragon disciple on EfU ever since I saw Alaron Kaur serving as emissary of Etorix in chapter 1.  It took a long time to come up with a concept that really fit, but City of Rings ended up providing the perfect playground for a character who wanted to become a dragon.  I got into the server about six hours after the start of chapter and my initial plan was to hang out with half-elves and half-orcs talking about how alloys are generally stronger than pure metals.  This didn't quite go exactly how I expected, though, as during those first few hours of roleplay, Velastra only knew she was descended from a dragon, and with flames manifesting from sorcerous power, she assumed from red.  It took a long journey with many friends to realize that she was in fact descended from a steel dragon.  Thereafter, she tried to embody the perceived ideals of her heritage.

The ringrunning company that formed in the basement of the Spinning Groat didn't have a name until we passed the challenge of Ring 95 together.  The founders, Varthan the Ringlock(e) and Dr. Dalidande Mench, recruited their dragon very early, to help scour the swamps of Ring 95.  CLYDE followed almost immediately, having pledged himself to the service of Velastra when he learned of her draconic nature.   Beodda was actually her oldest friend and somehow had no idea she was evil at the time while rampaging around and demanding that everyone serve her draconic whim, so it was natural that she recommend him to the group.  Kowl mysteriously joined after several mysterious meetings in the swamps, searching for the same things.

Together, this motley crew of ringrunners made it as far as Ring 88 before realizing that they needed somebody more martially capable.  The perfect opportunity presented itself in Ser Errilam, though his divisive addition to the crew marked the end for Dr. Mench (she was already on her way out with the Tchunite madness).  Aliatris and Adrian also helped tie Velastra and the Tears forever more to House Velstra.

With the strength of Ser Errilam and the Velstrans, the Tears pushed far, reaching Ring 75 where Ser Errilam had his fateful showdown with the chimera (with help from the Tears) and Velastra found the egg of a steel dragon, the same draconic lineage she bore.  After hatching him, she named him Caesinirthos, and carried him everywhere in her backpack.  He was in danger every moment of his life, with Oscar Tchammorar hunting him, and other factions that contain PCs so I won't spoil.

A lot of the later stories are too specific to the rings, so I won't spoil, but thank you to everyone who was a part of her journey toward the center.  Many other Tears followed: Sylyn, Alfrida, Ciriaco, Brooke, Catarina, Arek, Maria, Dinaze, Boar, Annie, Ivan, Hakiim, and I'm sorry to anyone I missed, it's been a long while.  Also thank you to all the DMs, especially Abala, Vlaid, Halfbrood, Pigadig, and Howland.

It's going to take a while to sort through my images and find what's acceptable to share, but here's the character sheet and loot up and a few DM-approved shots up front.  Unfortunately, I was usually too immersed to hit the screenshot key, so a lot of the best moments remain only memories.

[hide=Velastra]

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[Hide=Caesinirthos]

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[Hide=Pretending to be a Dragon]



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[Hide=Vassal of House Velstra]


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[Hide=Your Draconicness]

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[Hide=A Gift From Boar Noblestout]

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[Hide=A Dream]






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[Hide=She Liked Gambling]
Her favorite game was Royal Dragon, of course, but she also spun the Wheel of Fire from time to time.

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[Hide=Trouble With the Seventh Face]
Velastra gave three fingers to Magnus to be spared during the seven days of apocalypse.  The Seventh Face decided she owed more.

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[Hide=Dire Straits]

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[Hide=Cat]

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[Hide=Swamp Elf]

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[Hide=Sad Sights]



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[hide=Loot]












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I think it would be nice and not too risky balance-wise if Peerage citizens gained 5 xp per pull on the Groat Gainer at levels 1-4, giving them a nice repeatable activity that is comparable to rat hunting, but with the dignity the Peerage requires.

The Saurian Defender Spirits in this quest are neutral.

The questgiver for the Little Yellow Dragon Theater does not provide an option for closing the quest after the journal says you have cleared it.