The Power of "X" - Shadow of Yserbius

Yserbius had the "X" factor for me. I've spent the years from then to now thinking very deeply about what that entailed. I've been in every major online rpg game since leaving Yserbius, none has had the power to enthrall me the way Yserbius did. In fact, a straight two hour stretch of playing in any of the worlds I've traversed since then has been - well... a stretch. Days go by and I don't log in. A few months go by and I decide its time to cancel my account due to lack of use and interest. Why? The games are so much prettier now, so vibrant, the storylines so much more complex (in some), there's so many more people!

For myself, I've decided that I need a world that mostly lives within my mind, not before my eyes. I need to be surrounded by people that have the desire to work with me to create a world of mystery, thrills, chills, a few spills, lots of laughs, and some love. Those people were in Yserbius. Because of its dearth of pretty pictures and large scale "events", we were all forced to use our creative talents to make a world that we could feel was alive. We had histories, we had factions, we had hatred, loves, lies, and irrefutable truths. I liked having the solidity of an "X" to watch move across a room. I knew that "X" was me. But I was so much more than an "X". I was whatever I wanted to be. Whatever anybody wanted me to be.

There was nothing that outraged me more than people that brought the mundane world into the open channel of the taverns. I did not want help living my life from the people online - I wanted them to help me create an entirely different life.

Queensryche's "Silent Lucidity" says it perfectly:

There’s a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run to in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn’t realize it and you were scared
It’s a place where you will learn
To face your fears, retrace the tears
And ride the whims of your mind
Commanding in another world
Suddenly, you hear and see
This magic new dimension

I interpreted that song to perfectly fit what I took from my Yserbian experiences. I was able to live in duality. To have both Yin and Yang (cumofsumyoungguy - was their last name. Just KIDDING!). To be a vampire queen named Ensaneti in the same day that I was doing income taxes. Of course blood sucking was the theme there too. ;)

Long Live "X", and all its possibilities.