Reincarnation

A few players have asked what it’s like to take on an “older” godrole that an admin has played in the past. After some poking and prodding from Zvoltz, I’ve decided to write about my experiences with Isune – because, frankly, every godrole’s situation is different.

When we take an old godrole, sometimes the last admin left detailed notes on how they ran the order and have outlined extensive plans they’d put into place for their godrole. More often than not, though, it’s a big scavenger hunt for the new admin – and that’s what it was for me: a big, messy, exciting scavenger hunt through every log I could get my hands on, every events post I could snag, and whatever knowledge older admin could give me about how the countless other Isunes played their role.

It’s daunting. Isune’s a role that has been around since 2004, and every reincarnation has added something beautiful and inventive to the character. The Isune I play now isn’t the same as the Isune who came out in 2004, because she’s gone through so many events since then. Isune had to repair a Seal by sacrificing her own essence; the Wyrd came into being; her lover Lacostian became Elostian. Her history is complicated, and sometimes confusing, but diving into it was absolutely fun, and I’m very grateful to the Isunes who came before me and left such incredible lore behind.

My favorite story, I think, is how Shikari and I discovered Isune’s crystalline rose of pure diamond. I was sifting through old portraits of Isune (as an aside, if you look at Isune’s desc now, parts of it come from those paintings – I fell in love with some of the old written images) when I saw one picture of Isune wearing a rose, a rose that I recognized as Shikari’s. He’d thought it was funny something so very un-Shikarian was in his inventory and showed it off to me when I first came up as an ephemeral. We put two and two together and basically freaked out over this forgotten exchange between our godroles, and actually had a bit of fun with it during my release.

Despite all this studying I’ve done on how the past Isunes were played, the best advice I have been given in the Divine havens is to play my -own- Isune. What I love about the godrole includes everything that each former Isune added to her character; when you take an older godrole, it’s to leave your own mark behind, too. And there will be people who dislike how you do it, but there will also be people who enjoy what changes you bring and what nuance you add. I’m very appreciative of the players who’ve come along for the ride, and hope you have as much fun as I do seeing where we wind up!