” What you are about to read is the telling of a tale that only few remember and as time passes must be passed on from generation to generation. I am not worthy to tell this tale. However, I feel compelled to do so. If you could please forgive my assumptions and exploitations as I merely want to convey to you what I feel about the ones I call family. I marvel at the great deeds that they have done as I pass this on with great pride and hope that you also will see what I have seen in these people. Honor , Loyalty, Courage and above all else family…”
“Kithalic Monsaic ~ Guild Scribe for Wintersbane ~”
When you set out to tell a story you never imagine that the story would suddenly start telling itself. There are days I sit in front of the pc just looking at what has been written and wonder where do I go from here? The story and the world have gradually grown and expanded to an entire universe of history and characters. At this stage in the publishing the reader may not see it but the world of Shadora is huge full of histories and legends. Many of them I don’t even know where to begin telling the story from. I wish that you could see the world of Shadora as I do as a world that I simply look into and tell you as an observer what I see and hear.
I sit wondering which road should be taken and which story do I tell next. The plight of Shadora rests upon the shoulders of only a few, but the untold stories of thousands exist. I want to break out at times and tell you the story of Iceforge and the history behind it, or the day Forge and Rastain met. I want to tell you the tale of Azzorrians day’s in the academy of the arcane and the mysteries and horrors he experienced there. These are just a few stories that could fill volumes of books just by themselves.
The question still remains though “what’s the message or meaning behind the story”. Is it a spiritual one? Is it a moral one? Does it reflect something from our world or from our past? Each time I’m asked these questions I simply have no answer. Why? Because I don’t think about those things as I write the story. I’m a story teller the story in and of itself is the reason for telling it. Are there spiritual and moral statements? Or is there reflective imagery of the world around us? I can say those all exist, but that is not the reason or the essence of the tale. They are elements of the world around the characters and just as in life these elements will change and even contradict each other.
Human’s have this need to find meaning in everything. It must fit with in our ideals and concepts of the world around us. We destroy that which doesn’t agree with us and lift up that which does. It’s a sad truth but the moment we perceive anything challenging our way of thought we instantly set out to destroy it. I have used many different ways of thinking in telling this story some are reflective of my own thoughts others are not. In the end they are there as elements of the story to move it along and give the characters substance or lack of substance.
Even beyond those stories there exists the real stories the adventures and good times in the world of warcraft, Dark age of Camelot and Guildwars. The real people and characters that inspired many of the characters. Wintersbane as a guild had existed for years as a family of online friends. So I decided thats what I will do. I will tell you the stories behind the stories… the character and people behind the characters. Hopefully in the end you will see what I have seen for so many years being a part of wintersbane.
Even though they are scattered and flung across the vast universe of various online worlds they are still family. The guild may have long since died out and moved on but in the minds of everyone that was apart of the guild the stories and adventures we experienced will live on.
RK Animations 