TWR, Dynamis thoughts (8-6-08)  

The Weekly Refresh, Aug. 6, 2008 Earth Time

Damn you, Altana.

I had finally gotten over it. Had finally moved on. And then you did this.

Just had to bring it all back, didn't you?

You know what I'm talking about. Heck, most everyone does by now. If my dragoon friend Makina were here, she'd bury her face in her palm and then stab me with a pitchfork.

It's the hat.

You know the one, Altana. The red chapeau with the metallic insignia and the pimp feather. Ring any bells?

Until recently, many moons had passed since I'd entered a dynamis realm. A big reason was that blasted hat.

It's pretty gut-wrenching, you know, to be so close to something so great, only to watch it slip away. For months, I waited to lay hands on that chapeau. I chased the Dynamis Lord through dark kingdoms and the frozen northlands. And I did it in your name, and for that silly hat.

Finally, after countless battles, I stood alone among the red mages in my army. I had given my all. The hat of all hats was mine for the taking. It would have been the ultimate reward for years of unwavering belief in you.

Only you wouldn't let it fall.

You tested my faith, Altana. You were so stingy, my once-solid linkshell disbanded before you would give us another hat.

How could you do this to such a devoted follower? I had slew the Shadow Lord and vanquished Promathia. Even after you screwed me over, I went on to prevent Ragnarok. I have saved the world three times over. And you wouldn't give me a stupid hat? Oh, Altana, that just doesn't make sense!

Time passed. I finally accepted that I'd never wear a duelist chapeau. I found a new dynamis linkshell. I vowed never again to pursue that hat, to chase what was now an unreachable dream.

I would have been fine, Altana.

And then you did this.

You've declared that you're not going to be so stingy, that you're going to bless your servants by rewarding their efforts more often in the dynamis realms.

Where were you two years ago?

I overheard voices today as I walked through Whitegate, trying to clear the cobwebs from my mind. Looks like several other adventurers aren't happy with you, either.

One guy's mad because he thinks others will have an easier time than he had getting a relic weapon. Others are mad because they don't like dynamis, but now they'll HAVE to go back to get puppetmaster, blue mage and corsair relic. And some people are just… well, mad.

And then there are all those people like me. Your humble servants who worked so hard, and fell just short of our goals, and were finally OK with that.

Oh, the nerve.

Exactly how kind are you going to be? Will relic armor drop twice as often? Or triple? Will the northlands suddenly have the same drop rates as the city realms? Will the demon notorious monsters in Dynamis-Xarcabard drop armor pieces all the time?

How can we even be sure you're talking about the northlands? You can be so cruel, Altana.

Will your generosity be noticeable? Will we finally see some relief to the northlands bottleneck that suffocates so many linkshells? Will the door finally be opened for all red mages --- I mean adventurers -- to join a linkshell and finally earn the most prized pieces of northland relics?

Just so you know, Altana, I still believe in you. And I would never resent a fellow red mage for laying hands on a duelist chapeau, just because you refused to give one to me.

I'm just a little emotional right now. It took a lot of effort to declare my dream was dead.

And now you gave me hope again.

Damn you, Altana.