[Sybaris]

Unfortunately, soon after part 5 came release, and with it, a rather strong wave that washed away many people (and DD felt it really bad). This is where it ended for Trixi. Sorry Galadh.

The vast majority of Sybaris's storyline was roleplayed in game from that point on, and as such i didn't write as much as i did before release but there are a few letters here and there that she wrote when things went blue (sad). I might share those, while at it, though it will present a darker portrait of her (well...if that's possible )

As a reward for reading so far, i guess i could include the signatures of both characters when we wrote those texts. They look similarily themed because if i remember well they were done by the same person (thank you Virani )

Trixi
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1281/trixisig2ia6.jpg

Sybaris
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9...nspirednm3.jpg

[Sybaris]

Chronologically, Sybaris worked as a courtesan for months after release, though in parallel, she tries to find means to save her soul, traveling around Hyboria in search for knowledge. This text was written by the end of july 2008, almost exactly a year ago.

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Memoirs of a sunset…

Once more, the fading burden of my past is making me struggle between this world and the next. I feel the need, the necessity to write, as my time runs by and the inner beast that fights my will slowly, yet surely, walks its way to victory.

Soon after loosing Silence, selling her into slavery once more never to see her again, I realised that the Seven of which I was born and made, were no longer content with their share of my soul. They were afraid of the seventh guest in my mind. Kalashkar, Xotli’s servant, was growing more powerful every day, and while silent unlike the others, I was convinced that it somehow inflicted pain on them as well as me. I felt compelled to find a mean to contact it, hoping that he could shut the others and end the cacophony in my head. I had lost the knowledge and the power to summon such creature…but fate visibly had foreseen to that slight detail.

A month later I stood in a cave that I had found through something I cannot call luck. No, I was pulled there by an invisible force. Entering into the dark and humid heart of the complex network, guided by horrible and mad paintings on the walls, I found an hermit who’s mind had departed this world before his soul. In his eyes I saw the same void, the same emptiness and cold that inhabits my body. The man ceaselessly babbled of impending doom and recognised me as one of the tainted.

From his mouth I learned how to strike a bargain with Kalashkar’s master, of whom I knew little. What happened that night will haunt me for the rest of my wrecked life. I will never know what the six demons I had pactised with experienced, but their last anguished screams makes me doubt that they are truly immortal. In my stubborn vanity, I have kept all the gifts and curses that I worked for in my past.

Of this dark entity that is now my true master, I confirmed that it is refered to by mortals as Xotli, and that there are many tainted souls who worship it as a god. From my researches, it would appear that it was revered in ancient times, perhaps even predating acheronian civilisation. Others believe it is a demon from an outer dimension and that he seeks support in order to enter our own. In the purple lotus swamp, I have found a stone plaque written in cryptic glyphs which I believe could hint at what it is, and ultimately, what my fate will be.

I found physical solace in this establishment, called Dark Desires. I work with the other women and I try to occupy my mind with business. So far, I have counselled three Madames to the best of my abilities, like i did for my family before drifting out of morality. I have found that it is one of the last things that keeps me fighting, as if it proved to me that I am still, ironically, one of the sharpest minds around. Of those few that trust me, none know that I walk the path of flame and darkness, an epitaph of ruin already written on the shattered soul that is mine.

My eyes draw a world of lies...and I have difficulty recognising even those I name my sisters today. It is a veil of mist that is applied on every visage, consuming all uniqueness as if invisible hands worked it into unfinished pottery. Through much effort, I still manage to pass for sane as I walk Khemi’s decaying streets.

Time. The essence of real or perceived continuity that escapes most living and magical beings. The one apparent rule of the gods that shaped this world. As the sun finally dies, and my eyes strain under the fatigue that writing imposes on them, I wonder how much time I have left…What will I be able to achieve before the last shreds of my identity are lost and I finally bow down to despair… to Xotli.

[Sybaris]

Eight months passed between the letter above and the one that will follow. Unfortunately, i cannot even begin to describe the intensity of the events that were roleplayed. Definitely some of the more captivating roleplay i have seen and participated in. Suffice to say that Sybaris fought extremely hard to avoid the ultimate price. Sadly enough, i rarely write when i am roleplaying, so no traces of it are left other than in the memory of those who were there. This means that there is a huge gap between the last text and this one, but i leave it here for archiving purposes as well as for the curious to read. The following event occured last april (2009).

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Tales of a Sunset
a text by Sappho Tekhmet al Mizar, published in Khemi, Stygia

A humid and warm breeze brushed her face as Sybaris walked outside of her old trader ship to enter Khemi. She could no longer afford her room in the Serpent’s head so she slept in her cabin. She looked at the last few souls of her cursed crew, all miserable and unaware of what they were working for, nor the financial situation Sybaris was in. She told her first mate, a Cimmerian who now served as captain since the previous one had mysteriously gone missing, that she would go on a walk in the city. The hulking woman simply nodded, she hated Khemi…and likely her employer as well, though had the wisdom not to show it. Of all those who worked for her, that woman was the most dangerous, and in pure Stygian logic…the most worthy of her trust.

It was one of those days that openly confess of a coming storm, and Sybaris’s mind was rushed with memories of her home city, remembering similar weather before the raining season. People could not sleep, there were fights for no reason, slavers were brutal, traders lost their tempers, and the smell of sweat almost covered that of spice in the souk. The signs were there, and Khemi would see a storm in a day or two.

Walking by the crowded streets, she looked at the various slaves offered in the markets, mindlessly yet expertly evaluating them for health, resale and potential. She remembered her brief career as a slave trader, and was glad it was over, although her acute business sense remained. Going by the carpet traders, she was moved by the beauty of a red marvel made of the softest velvet. Too expensive for her now, she thought. Back in her days, she could have bought more than one of those, just for the delight of preventing others the pleasure of possessing them.

Sybaris stopped as a familiar, unerring pulse within her body waved around her…and while she managed to remain calm, all those in her vincinity felt the already high temperature rise to a very uncomfortable level, and unconsciously parted away from the woman. These manifestations of her dire predicament were starting to be more and more frequent. With Veldriz gone, her soulless body would not endure for very long. She secretly fed the demon within her with souls of innocent people since weeks, devouring her own ship's crew and hiding it as best as she could, in the hopes to buy more time.

Yet more time she wouldn’t get, her mind was eroded to the point she felt a mixture of shame and pride of what she had done, of what she had become. Her devastated intellect was seeing everything solved by dark magic, so she had gone too far, much too far, and had crossed the point of no return. She also had nightmares every night, taunting her out of sanity, keeping any chance for true rest at bay. She remembered Veldriz, her soulmate who offered her untainted soul willingly in attempt to save her, yet in the dream, as soon as she was touched, she started to burn, Sybaris’s powers condemning the woman to a horrible death.

There were other dreams; someone had reached for her heart, a beacon that tempted her to take back her life and fight for the right to exist. But this was hopeless, she thought, the futile swan song of an already faded future. Sybaris’s fall was schemed by powers whose motion was too hard to stop, even by love. Still, the one who she called her muse had been an outstanding ally for parts of the last months, and Sybaris thought she owed that person some credit; it took extreme courage to follow a monster at the dusk of its time.

Speaking of dusk, the afternoon was soon to be over; another day in Khemi would have passed, with its tons of gold changing hands, and all sorts of illicit activities hidden by the shadows. Sybaris drifted about the main docks of Khemi, looking fondly at where she used to wait for the deliveries of silk from Shem that would make her fortune. But this was no more, and even her name had preceded her into oblivion.

With such a distracted mind, she entered the alley leading to her favourite beach, and she never heard or felt herself being followed. Sybaris never heard a weapon or a word directed at her, but a powerful blow struck in her back instead. Gasping for air that could not enter, her eyes wide with surprise and shock. Her body arched back, but was mercilessly shoved forward…and as she fell, turning on her side, trying to react in vain; she saw her…

The surprise, the anger and despair, the sadness and the pain, the surge of emotion that would rush as much as the blood from her unnatural body was so intense that tears erupted massively from her eyes. Her open mouth only croaked, but all her being was expressing a single word…”why?” as her aggressor walked away, not giving her the dignity of a reply. Sybaris tried to gather herself, but found her body almost paralysed…and soon felt the looming presence of a crowd gathering around, realising that there was no hope of help from them.

She was lying in an alley where only beggars lurked, living on the edge of starvation, like jackals of the desert. They finally had an easy prey out of a woman who represented everything that went wrong in their life. And jackals are great opportunists; the first spat on her, the second sent a kick to her belly, causing her to grunt in pain and curl into a ball, though it was not long before her body was hit from all directions in a frenzy of rabid violence as the beggars found an exit to their anger and misfortune, a powerful reminder to those curious enough to look down the alley.

After a minute of commotion, the crowd of lowlifes started to realize how warm it was, how dry the air had become and how difficult it was to catch their breath. One of them thought that something was amiss. Even with their combined strength and anger, the woman was still alive and conscious, though her body was visibly broken beyond repair. He shouted a warning to his comrades that the woman was not normal and magic or worse was at work, and the pack backed away at once. In order to avoid retaliation from the guards or whatever family was hers, the boldest of the beggars decided to pick up Sybaris, who was groaning in agony, and threw her down the stairs that lead to the beach. He yelled in pain as his body was burned atrociously…and collapsed; a soulless husk not unlike mummies of old. The Curse of Sybaris had taken its toll.

A battered and crippled body rolled down the stairs, its head hitting a rock to conclude the lethal descent, blood spilling through her robes and onto the thirsty sands of the beach. Within her mind, Sybaris had long since locked herself away from the pain, she only had moments left in this world, and an eternity of torment would ensue, so she struggled to remain conscious as long as she could…and put all her will into opening her eyes.

As she did, she understood that the gods, even in their most obvious hatred and rejection of the abomination she had become, were giving her a rare nod of respect for her willpower in granting the last favour she requested, something she would bring with her down the hell that awaited: To watch upon the dying sunset one last time.

Sybaris did not feel her body burst into flame as the last shred of reality lost its hold on it, nor did she hear the cries of the panicked fishermen that had approached in cautious curiosity, and she didn’t feel her eyes crystallize, frozen forever in time as her body was consumed by darkfire.

In a last gesture of defiance, the consecration to a path she carved for herself, the woman who refused to live by the laws of men, nature and gods stood up to the world one last time: She smiled…

The End
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Epilogue

And so disappeared Sybaris of Pteion from the face of Hyboria, leaving only two priceless amber gems, lost in the unforgetting sands of Khemi. Some witnesses swore to have seen something clawing out of the woman as the inferno raged, but they were considered mentally ill. Since these events, there is an urban legend telling of a monster that would haunt the streets of khemi, taking the shape of a beautiful woman by day and consuming the souls of the hopeless by night…

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[Venia23]

*aplauds* Bravo!

[Galadh]

Oh, so Sybaris has moved then to the greener RP pastures? Good reading anyway and thank you again for sharing.

I feel almost like necromancer when commenting this... had just my summer vacation which took my time for some other activities than forum trolling.

[Sybaris]

Well, she was sent to other pastures many months, although far from green i tell you. Roleplay has taken a different twist recently and some fans of her story actually wanted to bring her back...well they did through a rather complex roleplay series, but things didn't go as planned there either.

So she's back, but...while she was hard to approach before, it's really not a character for everyone now.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to post, it's highly appreciated

[Reldon]

Just amazing writing.

[Jagatai666]

Beautiful and touching,extremely realistic in the portrayal of emotions and depth that only a tragic story can compell.
It is so well written that Sybaris really comes across a belieavable human being, with all her flaws and fears.
In her desperate attempt to rule her own fate she discarded everything that made her able to appreciate life and its value.
A doomed and cursed woman, not by demons or gods, but by herself.
Having said that,it will be my duty to bring the author back to tell a new tale for Sybaris.
Her voyage is far from over it seems....
And a new challenge awaits her.

[Galadh]

Originally Posted by Jagatai666 Beautiful and touching,extremely realistic in the portrayal of emotions and depth that only a tragic story can compell. It is so well written that Sybaris really comes across a belieavable human being, with all her flaws and fears. In her desperate attempt to rule her own fate she discarded everything that made her able to appreciate life and its value. A doomed and cursed woman, not by demons or gods, but by herself.

Ha ha ha! Take your tongue out from her bum! Well, but I agree fully.

Originally Posted by Jagatai666 Having said that,it will be my duty to bring the author back to tell a new tale for Sybaris. Her voyage is far from over it seems.... And a new challenge awaits her.

I hope you succeed on that. Best luck.

[Jagatai666]

Hey hey! My tongue is none of your business, you get enough of hers in pvp!

But yeah i hope we can bring her back to continue this story