The Story of Seryth

This is an experiment into a new form of roleplay in World of Warcraft, where I play through the game and write my character’s story as I go, inspired by the quests and sights I see as I go along.

Though perhaps I shouldn’t call it “new”…? As this is what I feel open-world roleplaying games should be and what most of them were in the past. Unfortunately, since about the Cataclysm expansion, World of Warcraft’s storytelling hasn’t involved a lot of player choice, instead running your character down certain railroaded storylines where your character’s, well, character has little influence on the direction of the story. (Though, to be fair, World of Warcraft has never really involved a lot of player choice, except the kind where you simply chose not to do certain quests!) As Seryth is a character I’ve been wanting to develop a story for for several years, I decided to try this experiment with him to give me some ideas.

Prologue: Born and raised in Westfall, there was nothing more interesting about Seryth than the face he was a half-elf and possessed a rotten temper...
Click the chapter heading images (like this one) for a bigger image for easier reading. If you have trouble loading any of these images, the alt text contains a transcription of the passage.

(NSFW) And Then There Were Three

This post is NSFW (Not Safe For Work) due graphic scenes related to childbirth and sex. More on the level of PG-13 than R I think, but you hath been warned! Continue reading “(NSFW) And Then There Were Three”

The Second War

Even before the Farstrider turned towards her, his mouth a line of regret, before Tyrric gave a ragged cry and dashed forward, Mirium knew. Mirium knew, and suddenly her world would never be the same.

I had written this many months before, but the dramatic wording of it caused me to not post it until I could go back and edit the tone down a little. Months later, the tone isn’t edited down by more than a few word changes, but I’m calling it good enough to post despite my misgivings.

Though not an exhaustive look at the Sunwalkers’ doings during the Second War of the Warcraft universe, this hits the major happenings: Keelath’s death, Evelos’ departure south to join the Alliance, and Mirium’s downward spiral into losing her Light magic.

Author’s Note

Evelos tossed and turned. The grief was still too raw, sharp edged, and his mind fled from it Continue reading “The Second War”

A Meeting Observed

Character Icon of Talthan, Old God minion. Talthan Dawnspell sat back in his chair, fingers steepled as he finished observing the outcome of the fight on the shimmering disc floating in front of him. He opened a ledger from his desk and flicked through until he found the relevant entry.

“Well, well, well. It seems we have a new player to consider. And one with a connection to a particular friend of ours. Perhaps it’s time to arrange a meeting… ” Continue reading “A Meeting Observed”

A Meeting in the Legerdemain

A slightly different take here, now. The next few posts to this plotline will be based on roleplay sessions held on both the official forums and an instant messaging program between myself and a few friends. Because there was no easy way to convert hundreds of lines of text into one narrative, I instead chose to preserve the forum-like format by sketching avatars for each character and roughly dividing the paragraphs between them. As this first part took up multiple posts on the official forums, I also broke it into several page breaks to make it easier on your scrolling buttons.

What do you think? Is this format easy on the eyes? Are there any tweaks you’d suggest to make it so? Please comment below, and in the meantime, enjoy!

Author’s Note
Continue reading “A Meeting in the Legerdemain”

Deleted Scene: Another Reunion

I’ll be the first to admit that the plot line between Keelath and Mirium is a bit of a mess. Keelath’s characterization of being a cold, unemotional death knight is pretty inconsistent at times, and I have to be careful to not overdo the kissy-kissy scenes, which irritate me personally and, I’m sure, my readers as well.

This was an earlier attempt at a reunion for the couple, which would have taken place sometime between Evelos being cleansed of the n’raqi and the faction war picking up again in Darkshore. I decided ultimately to do away with it, as it seemed too easily resolved at the time, and closed off an alternate storyline that was picking up between Mirium and Tyrric and his wife.

I still like it and post it however, for it shows a more determined side of Mirium that we don’t get much of while she’s struggling with trauma and some minor N’Zoth corruption, as well as keeping the contrast strong between Evelos and Keelath: a sensitive son vs. a relatively insensitive father. This is Mirium at her best, and an iconic interplay between all three characters. Continue reading “Deleted Scene: Another Reunion”

What Darkness Lies

Another long conversation piece, along the lines of The Long Talk and Reunion. (Reunion, being a fanfiction piece and speculation, has no relation to this post. It just represents a different take on Keelath and Mirium coming back together.)

This post was edited in July 2021, after first being created in May 2019.

Author’s Note

When Mirium woke up the next morning, she found herself staring at the ceiling for many long minutes. She was alone, despite the offered companionship of last night. She had turned Keelath away at the door. She couldn’t explain it, but she wasn’t ready yet to accept the death knight back, just like that, as if no years had passed since the day of his death.

Things had been a blur from the previous two days, a certain nightmare turned into an uncertain one. One minute she had lived in fear and starvation inside Ulduar, only to be delivered from the trap her hunters had laid forher by none other than her family. Yet that family was now a twisted mockery of itself, each person tainted or broken, changed from the people she remembered and loved.

Mirium wondered if perhaps Talthan’s research into the Void had done more than drive the two of them apart. Could it break worlds? Twist reality solely by existing? Her life had been turned on its head. Continue reading “What Darkness Lies”