Disclaimer: This is just my experiences. If there are any official Olienne things, those will come from Thandiwe, as she's the Events Queen of All Queens!
Last year, the GM who was planning to run Olienne during the finale was going to be unable to make it, and they reached out to me -- the newly rehired/trained GM. And thus began my two-year stint of inhabiting Olienne...in a swirl of panic about taking on a role in my favourite GS event that had a massive, five-year storyline, in year 4. It was nerve-wracking! And glorious. And, did I mention nerve-wracking?
I had so much fun playing the dreamy-on-the-outside, pure-liar-on-the-inside Olienne! Getting out and about and RPing with all of you was fantastic. I can't even begin to grasp at the depth and breadth of everything that happened on Caligos, but my hat's off to all the GMs who developed it and pulled off this amazing five-year arc. I look forward to next year's EG, where I can start from the beginning and maybe not feel lost, lol.
I do apologize for the insanity of the finale! Haliste and I have been buried in finale coding and designing for weeks, stopping to do other things that came our way (such as merchant week and live games week for me!), and we definitely had a few areas that with 20/20 hindsight, I would have done much differently (having to individually assign eel/blood to all of you about killed me! And of course, having third person messaging for all those rituals killed everything...we just had a MUCH MUCH bigger turnout than we thought).
I know there were some great ideas for like looking glass rooms so people who wanted to spy in on things could have. Again, hindsight...that would have been fabulous. Nevertheless, thank you SO much for your patience, constructive feedback, kindness, engagement, and participation.
I love all the mychars and IC whispering and plotting people do. It just shows how amazing you and your RP all are. I may not always be able to respond (screen scroll, and sometimes, I just have to focus).
Major, huge, hugging kudos to Haliste. Working with her all month on this has been a blast. She's incredible! You have her to thank for spicing up the eel messaging too. She looked at what I wrought in the ritual and said, "Eels need to be more gross! I have ideas!"
For those who may have missed it in all the scroll - here are some snippets from the finale stuff:
Choosing Blood
>Assignment:
Speaking to you, Olienne says, "You will give of your blood to provide nourishment to Him."
>Ritual w/dagger in hand:
Olienne claps her hands together triumphantly and crows,"Approach the altar, (YOUR NAME). It is time for your chosen sacrifice." You calmly step to the altar, holding your arm above it as you slash your own flesh. Your blood drips onto the altar, and Olienne turns a warm gaze upon you. "He is pleased with your sacrifice. May the indigo mists bless and keep you."
>Ritual w/o dagger in hand:
Olienne claps her hands together triumphantly and crows,"Approach the altar, (YOUR NAME). It is time for your chosen sacrifice." You calmly step to the altar, holding your arm above it as Olienne cuts into your flesh with her own dagger. Your blood drips onto the altar, and Olienne turns a warm gaze upon you. "He is pleased with your sacrifice. May the indigo mists bless and keep you."
Forcing Blood
>Assignment:
Moving swiftly, Olienne grabs you and pulls you to the altar. Speaking to you, Olienne says, "As you refuse to choose, a Choice has been made for you. When the ritual commences, you will give of your blood to provide nourishment to Him."
With a satisfied smile, Olienne releases you from her iron grip.
>Ritual w/dagger in hand:
The voice emanating from Olienne is deep, and it is as if sinuous tendrils are drilling into your skull, "You failed to choose in the beginning, but in the end, you picked up His dagger," Olienne says to you. "Now, make your sacrifice to Him." Indigo mist caresses you insistently, and before you can stop yourself, you draw the dagger across your forearm, bleeding onto the altar." You stumble away from the altar, your injury healing rapidly as you drip a few last bits of on the dais floor.
>Ritual w/o dagger in hand:
Indigo mist wraps about you, pulling you to the altar. The Ezreshi grabs your arm, baring your flesh. With a quick slash of her dagger, she slices into your skin, spilling your blood on the altar. Olienne intones, "(YOUR NAME) failed to choose, but He still gets His due." You stumble away from the altar, your injury healing rapidly as you drip a few last bits of blood on the dais floor.
Choosing Eel
>Assignment:
Speaking to you, Olienne says, "You will consume of Him, symbolizing your undying dedication to carry His Salvation with you always."
>Ritual w/eel in hand:
Olienne hums happily and calls out, "Approach the altar, (YOUR NAME). It is time to carry Him with you." You approach the altar, holding your handful of wiggling eels reverently. With a nod to Olienne, you take a large bite, forcing your teeth to grind through the rubbery and slimy skin. Newly formed scales crunch against your tongue and slice the roof of your mouth, which now stings from the eel's salty residue. With a most difficult swallow, you manage to choke down the ground eel, barely able to keep it from coming back up. Indigo mist twines approvingly about you as you step back.
>Ritual w/o eel in hand
Olienne hums happily and calls out, "Approach the altar, (YOUR NAME). It is time to carry Him with you." You approach the altar, no eels in hand. Olienne glances at you then takes a handful of eels and holds them out to you as they wiggle wildly in her grasp. You lean forward and take a large bite, forcing your teeth to grind through the rubbery and slimy skin. Newly formed scales crunch against your tongue and slice the roof of your mouth, which now stings from the eel's salty residue. With a most difficult swallow, you manage to choke down the ground eel, barely able to keep it from coming back up. Indigo mist twines approvingly about you as you step back.
Forcing Eel
>Assignment:
Moving swiftly, Olienne grabs you and pulls you to the altar. Speaking to you, Olienne says, "As you refuse to choose, a Choice has been made for you. When the ritual commences, you will consume of Him to carry His Salvation with you always."
With a satisfied smile, Olienne releases you from her iron grip.
>Ritual w/eel in hand:
Indigo mist insistently caresses you, as the Ezreshi beckons. "A choice was made for you, and you have accepted your fate. Feast now on His flesh and carry Him with you wherever you go." She smiles ecstatically at you. You grimace and take a bite from your handful of eels, swallowing even as the mist twists about you tightly.
>Ritual w/o eel in hand:
Indigo mist rushes into the area and forcibly wraps itself around you, pulling you to the altar. Olienne states, "As you refused to choose, a choice was made for you. You shall eat of the flesh and carry Him with you wherever you go." She smiles ecstatically at you, grabbing a mass of transparent eels and forcing one into your mouth. You gag and try not to swallow, but the mist wraps around you, and you feel its slimy flesh slithering down your throat. You stumble away from the altar. Olienne smiles triumphantly.
Flooded Altar Room Description
Spinning and tumbling through the frigid water, the disorientation prevents focus on any one thing. An occasional body floats past and thrashes into a crumbling granite column. There is no light except for an emerald-tinged hue that streams in from a large hole in the ceiling, and the churning waters have sucked the life out of all caught in its fury. There is no way out.
Destruction Inspiration
In our shared google doc as we hashed out ideas, I had commented, "The temple is being saved, so we can't really destroy it." To which, Haliste replied, "Have you ever seen Burnt Offerings?" And I had. And that is where our temple is destroyed but also made new inspiration came from. I also had the blood running across the altar and up the walls, being absorbed in, and the eels into the foundation....all to indicate your sacrifices (willing or no) were strengthening the building.
Amusing Anecdote
Well, amusing to me. After 4 weeks of all EG, all the time, my husband (who is an old-school GS player, currently doing ESO, texted me last night. I was downstairs finishing up working. He was upstairs on his computer. He was all "argh, last day of ESO event, I need to do these dailies...going to be down about 30 minutes later than normal!"
I mean, dude, I just spent 3 solid days coding, testing, preparing, stressing, staying up past midnight for a game event. You take your 30 minutes.
(Gaming spouses are best spouses, that is all).
In Conclusion
It's been a wild ride, and I had a blast. I know it could have been better, but I think overall, it went fine...and you all ROCK! Keep on making EG awesome. Stay creepy. Stay cool. <3
--Xynwen--
World Team, MHO GM
>Emails for MHO business should go to GS4-MHO@PLAY.NET
"My real name is Mephistopheles, but you can call me baby"
