Reconnecting Past and Present.

Copyright.© Mark Kelly 2021.
All Rights Reserved.

This was a post I never thought I'd ever write, but a recent turn of events has reignited the urge and desire to post once more.

Much time has passed us by since I last posted on my blog - 2018 to be precise. 

In all honesty, I'm not really sure as to how I feel about it? Ambivalent, maybe? Overflowing with enthusiasm? No. Tentative? Most definitely. But here I am regardless. To any reading this - I hope life finds you well, that stress is not dominating your waking hours, and the zest for life has not been soured by the crappy previous twelve months and everything they brought with them.

Moving on. My reason for posting: a re-connection with a love affair I presumed to be laid to rest, never to see the light of day, or night, ever again. And how wonderfully wrong I was.

I have returned to running a role playing group using the (for me, a very much beloved) Dragon Warriors role playing system. I have been fortunate enough that life has brought me together with several kindred spirits, for whom the role playing game genre holds great interest, but had yet to experience it first hand. And this is where I enter, as their guide and DM / GM (Dungeon Master / Game Master, to the uninitiated among you).

There is nothing more rewarding, nor challenging, than having a complete group of newbie players want to join the role playing game hobby. These bright, enthusiastic and fledgling players have once more stoked the fires of my imagination that had lain for so long as mere smouldering ashes within the brazier of my mind.

But this is also a new experience for me, as this is being run via Discord and the use of webcams and microphones. I cannot lie, I felt daunted by the prospect of running a game via this medium, but as the proverbial dust of our second session now settles as I type, I am filled with ideas, images, plot lines, villains, and interactions reminiscent of old. For that, combined with the wonderful people (and friends) I have as my new group, I really do feel so grateful, and my mind, once more, feels alive. Mere words cannot convey how fantastical that feels to me, especially in the environment within which I work several days of the week. Which, I have to be honest, could be worse, as it could be five or more days of the week, so I really shouldn't complain. Much.

As for my group, I shall leave them nameless, as I do respect their privacy, but as characters I can say this: to 'Datu', 'Mari' and 'Dorcha', I thank you from the depths of my being for breathing life into the fire of my imagination, and for the warmth of good companionship, laughter and adventure. May it long continue.

EDIT: Since the writing of this post, my online 'family' of stalwart Dragon Warriors has now grown; initially to four, with the addition of 'Morrin', a fine addition to the mix, but now they are soon to be five, with the imminent addition of 'Ifriel'.

Welcome to the family. Enjoy the journey, embrace the friendships, pull together through the darkness when it falls, and most of all, stay loyal and faithful to your group. To that end you shall overcome all.