Character Fiction – Tyazul
Tyazul – Dark Elf Necromancer (to be)
NOTE: With the Feb 2nd 2006 patch to EQ2 this story is now largely void. There is no boat ride, there are no more archetype classes, and so on. The sister / brother idea and all of that is still there.
Thanks to the SOGA models, EQ2 now has character models that fit the “true” EQ dark elf look. I have to admit that despite all of the misgivings that I have with EQ2 (and there are many), it is sort of nice to see a reflection of sorts of my original character. It’s that nostalgic feel.
According to the lore of EQ2 (not that SOE will ever follow it), the world of EQ2 takes place 500 years after the original EQ. Though dark elves do have long lives, the backstory of the EQ Mysk already had him at a couple of hundred years old, or there abouts. Due to his age and the massive cataclysm that ocurred in the EQ2 story I consider the original EQ Mysk character to be dead.
This is very fitting because that character will never rise again in an EQ game. If he does then he’s not played by me.
The situation provides an excellent clean slate with which to start a new character story, however.
Tyazul is the offspring of Mysk and his dear, talented “student”. He has many of the same traits as Mysk, both physically (thank you SOGA team) and emotionally, but is ultimately his own character. The world wide and celestial destruction that leads into the EQ2 world has consumed the vast riches and magical items that Mysk accumulated in his adventures, and Ty must fend for himself completely.
The rending of the world and of its moon has also dramatically changed the way in which magic works. To worsen matters, most of the masters of the arcane are (no doubt) long since dead and their vast libraries, such as the original city of Erudin, destroyed. Or in the case of necromancy, it is locked away in the city that originally brought it to the rest of the world. Sealed behind magical bindings within the walls of Neriak. If the city even still exists.
Armed with only a smattering of childhood memories of his parents and their foreboding powers, Tyazul knows of only one way to assure his survival and wealth: To follow in the footsteps of his progenitors. The new world forces him to start as but a mere pathetic mage in order to gain a grasp of its arcane mysteries, but in time, a new shadow will rise…
…And when it does, the prodigal son will return to Neriak.
You can see some better shots of the character here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/releasethepenguins/sets/1260557/
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About
I’d describe myself as a very ecclectic and strange individual. My interests range from the very spiritual to the very technical, having delved into both non-mainstream faiths as well as little bit of Linux. I’ve been called a “hopeless romantic” by a very dear and intelligent woman and I find that quite fitting, and I typically shun social interaction in general.
This blog is a sister blog to Shadows In Motion and will most likely be used for personal posts; what goes on in my life, perhaps some of my writing, random thoughts and so on. Be prepared for some strange ideas!
My original plan for continuing the Mysk heritage was to create both a son and a daughter. The son was going to be a Shadow Knight and the daughter an Enchantress.
I tried to play a Shadow Knight in EQ2 and it was incredibly boring. I never made it beyond level 11 or so with that character. It just wasn’t worth my time, in my opinion.
I’ve tried other classes. Assassin and wizard being the other two primary classes that I’ve tried. The assassin class is okay, I suppose, but it’s a massive button mashing style of play. The wizard, on the other hand, is an incredibly monotonous style of play that could easily be described as “mind numbing”. I’m hoping that the wizard improves, but I’m not expecting it.
So that leads me back to the original path that I took in EQ and stuck with there. Playing a necro. This goes against my original plans for the heritage, but thankfully I had not finalized the characters.
With any luck, the Enchantress will be an interesting play experience. I really do not want to change her character!
Also, each character was/is to have a distinct view of their parents. The son was to view his father as an intelligent, evil character who danced his victims – either dead or alive – on invisible strings. However, the son would see the need for increased strength and much more direct manner of of approaching things; that’s been changed since he’s no longer a Shadow Knight.
The daughter was/is to see their mother as a dark elf who had chosen the wrong path. Alluring and enchanting, her mother had many at her beck and call who lavished her with gifts and, in general, treated her as royalty. She also, shall we say, had many suitors. As such the daughter saw her mother’s true strength in her ability to enchant and is/will be determined to master this incredible power.
Both the daughter and son have only vague memories of their parents, along with some fragmented journal pieces and the like. Their views of their mother and father are incorrect in many ways, but they would never know the truth. Their entire lives are to be forged by the views that they have of their parents. Neither would ever know of the great love story behind their parents nor of how Mysk’s partner first showed him the logic of love, and then the emotion (not to say that he ever gone completely soft; oh no). They would remember only how they studied, how they spent great spans of time apart, their power (both politically and magically), and their wealth.
The two children, of course, are seperated and know very little of each other. These are dark elves that we’re dealing with, not the loving siblings of the more gentle races. Though they were “close” in their younger years, their philosophies grew an ever greater wedge between them – even while building a dark respect for each other.
On the day of the great cataclysm, their parents were gone as usual and each sibling was persuing their own agendas. The world was rent, the sky exploded into searing light and chunks of the moon fell down upon the land and oceans around them. Did the daughter survive? Ty doesn’t know, though he doesn’t exactly care.
We know, of course, that they both did, but the daughter’s story will unfold another time.
The magic that they knew ceased to function and suddenly each child found themselves without wealth and devoid of the magics that they had come to rely upon. Ty survived on what was left of the land around him and, as the EQ2 story goes, was eventually picked up by one of the many refugee boats that search the still roiling waters for survivors.
This is where Tyazul’s story begins.
UPDATE : SOE is removing the requirement to play 20 levels before you start the class that you want to play. That’s right, you’ll be able to start as a necromancer from the first day. As it darn well should be!
This change will be added some time late January 2006.
Tyazul’s character fiction will change a bit to reflect this. Sadly, he’ll probably be a necro by then – unless I focus on crafting, but that’s never been very fun to me.
At any rate, now I don’t know what to do. Shame I can’t freeze my remaining game time until this change goes in so I don’t have to waste time playing some crappy class that I have no interest in.
~Mysk