Hail & well met. Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Ervin Bloodstone. I have lived a long life on Sosaria and with the blessings of the Gods I will continue on my path. Please allow me to properly introduce myself and my family. As I have already stated my name, let me tell you a story of my family and of my life. I find it curious and sometimes entertaining to the notions that people come up with about my last name, so let's start with my parents shall we? My mother Elana Bloodstone, whom I scarcely remember, died when I was very young from a terrible incident. She was traveling from Britain to Trinsic with intent to rest at the Village of Paws for fresh farm staples when she overheard men traveling the road ahead towards her. She quickly ran into the forest for refuge as she had an uneasy feeling about the men approaching. She silently took cover behind a large willow tree as her suspicion was validated when the men passed. Murderers. She recognized their faces from the bounty board at West Britain Bank that she gazed upon earlier that day while waiting in line to see a bank teller. She decided to make haste toward home and stay off the traveled path to avoid encountering such unsavory men. My mother was a cook, a provider for the home, not a fighter nor an adventurer. She had no business making the trip alone but times were hard and my father could work more to provide for us if he didn't have to take time to attend to the finances and trades. Two days past due to be home, my father organized a search party and scoured the lands in search of my mother. He found her lifeless body near a lake north west of Paws. She had been bitten by some creature that had been infected with the Black Weep and died a lonely agonizing death. She did not deserve that.... We know of the details of her death through entries in her journal found on her corpse, now a treasured family heirloom. Though my memories do not recall much more than the warmth of her touch and a shy laugh, the endearing stories my father would tell of her and the way his eyes welled with tears when he thought of her, I knew my mother was someone special. My father, Theros Bloodstone, was left to raise six children on his own. This was not an easy task for a man that had been hardened by labor and loss, but he did his best. He was a prospector of mines. Picking his axe away at the mountain's underbelly hours upon hours in search of jewels and precious metals to sell and provide for his family. He worked tirelessly just to make ends meet. One day my father decided the mines of Minoc were not producing enough to profit and were too overcrowded so he packed his children up and we began traveling south west towards the Western Mountains outside of Trinsic. He had heard rumor of newly discovered ores that the smith's were paying well for. We set up camp in a dingy tent town along the mountain side and he began searching for this new ore. It wasn't long after arriving that he began pulling a dark shadowy ore from the mountain side and we finally started getting a taste of the "good life". Before long we were able to build a small wooden house and a sense of normalcy began to return to our family. Early one morning while out mining, my father noticed something green reflecting the sun's light in the jagged mountainside. Using a small pick he extracted the stone and stared at it in awe. He had never laid eyes upon such a extraordinary stone before in his life! It was a fairly large stone, about the size of a grown man's fist, and it was colored a deep dark green with speckles and splotches of vibrant red - blood red. Jewelers had never seen anything like it before as well and pondered at what it was. He named it a "bloodstone" because of it's spotty bloodlike appearance. Because of it's rarity word had spread quickly across the land. It was during those times that people were named after their profession or reputation, and we quickly became the Bloodstone family. Unfortunately with this new found fame came the foul scum seeking to take it away from him. He was assassinated with a poisoned dagger on the busy streets of Britain while on his way to show his beloved treasure to Lord British himself. Before my father had departed on what was to become his final journey he had told us that he was going to donate the stone to the Museum so that all may behold it's beauty. To this day we do not know of the location of the bloodstone but rumors still keep the hope alive that I will one day be able to track down the stone and return it to the resting place of my father's wishes, the Museum in Vesper. Well now you know a bit about my past, let me share a few passages about my siblings and my life thus to this point. I come from a large family of five brothers and one sister - Ewan, Irvin, myself Ervin, Ivan, Ian, and Ozara. Ewan being the eldest son followed in the footsteps of my father and became a craftsman. Ewan is a miner but he is also gifted at creating just about anything. From crafting furniture to smithing a sword, there is not much he cannot build. He worked closely with father to learn the trade and was 25 years of age at the time of my father's murder. Next in line are Irvin and myself. Twins born only minutes apart but each born on different sides of the Winter Solstice. Growing up we were very close and attended the School of Magic together. Irvin always had a bit of a temper and would be quick to fight, I tried to honor my family name and follow the virtues. After my father's death Irvin was enraged. Seeking revenge he sought out after the assassins to have his revenge. Every tavern he visited gave him a new lead to track, and track he did. He began murdering those that were accused of having anything to do with my fathers death, without even investigating to see if true or false. At some point he lost all sense of reality in his quest for revenge and just began murdering everyone he came across. His logic was that eventually he would have his revenge if he eliminated everyone. He has gone insane and should you see him do not try to plead with him, just flee. I have tried to reason with him but I'm afraid he is too far gone and so our family has all but forgotten him. We were 21 years of age when my father died. Ivan was the smallest of all the boys and had to learn to use his wit over his brawn. He found it was easier to sneak a coin out of a purse than to slay a monster to win it. Ivan traveled down the path to becoming a thief, or as he likes to put it "an acquirer of misplaced belongings". You would surely find Ivan to be full of charisma with a facetious tongue and of a fun loving nature, but beware your purse when standing too close, things just happen to find their way into his pouch! Ivan means no harm to anyone and would much rather engage in stimulating conversation than worry with lifting your goods any day of the week. The last of the brothers is Ian, a strong warrior who grew up hunting in the great woods of Yew and later joined a militia based out of Jhelom. He is as chivalrous as any I have ever met and as brave as I wish I was. Ivan was 19 and Ian was 17 at the time of my father's passing. Then there is Ozara, the youngest sibling and the only girl. As the boys were put to work by my father, except for Ivan who perfected how to stealth away to go and play, Ozara was kept close by in the fields near the mines. There weren't any other children her age and the boys never wanted to play girly games with her so she began making friends with the creatures in the area. She always had a way with them that I can only try to explain that it was if she could talk to the animals. As she began to blossom into a young woman my father grew nervous of the other boys working the mine. He sent her away to live with our Aunt in Ocllo who had three daughters of her own and knew how to nurture a budding young lady far better than an old miner. She was 14 years of age when she received word that our father was murdered. I only tell you of my kin because I am sure as time passes by and you get to know me you will meet them all with the exception of Irvin, at least I hope you do not meet him. I myself have carved my own legacy at the youthful age of 26 when I first became a Grandmaster of the magics. I decided after my father's murder that I wanted to pursue those who were murderers, vagrants, and dishonorable men. I began searching for others that felt like I did, that believed in honor on the battlefield and were not so barbaric in their ways. I found myself alone in this world without any other guilds to join. I decided upon my own to form a War Guild to seek out others to hunt down and bring justice to those who deserved it, and to fight along side those whose values were shared with mine. I lead this guild in the world of Great Lakes for many years and we battled everyone from the foulest murderers, to the largest guilds, to Factions, and anyone in between. At one time the guild waged over 100 active wars and there was no safe place for any of us to gain refuge. As the battles waged on and on, time changed that world and the Age of the Renaissance came to a closing and the Age of Shadows reigned in. Slowly the wars ceased to exist until there was no longer a need for a guild such as ours. People stopped fighting each other and waging wars and became engulfed with greed from the new monsters that appeared shortly after the Age of Shadows began. Knowing nothing but war, we all went our separate ways and disappeared into the shadows not to be seen or heard from for a long long time. Some became mercenaries, others met their fate, all became loners in this world or the next. It was then that I retired for many many years and kept to the solitude of my home, penning letters to my siblings to let them know I was alive and well and they the same. Now, I am older and much wiser, but also not as quick as I was in my prime. I still study my magic spells and enjoy a good adventure but find myself wanting more. I want to once again feel what it is like to fight for justice along side of true companions who are as willing to die for me as I am for them. Word had spread of a new world discovered, one much like the very one I knew but unique in it's own way. One that resembled the world as I knew it as a child. I sent word to my family of this world and they all responded with great excitement of the possibilities that this new world could bring. We arranged a meeting in Buccaneer's Den so that Irvin could meet to discuss, yes we still love him even though he is insane. Collectively we decided that it was worth the journey to be able to experience a world like we use to love. Using our combined magic power we opened a magical gate to this new world and here we are. Our possessions, homes, and gold left behind. We have come to start fresh in this world of yours. I am aware that I have to earn each of yours respect and trust, but please know that I am no young buck who still has his mother's milk around his lips. I am old and weary and some days not so polite, but I mean well. I only ask for a chance to earn your respect and in return I will give you mine. My family looks forward to our many adventures ahead here and as I said earlier, stay away from Irvin - he does not mean well. Good day to you all, -Ervin Bloodstone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Side note about my characters name. I am not the original Ervin Bloodstone. The original was a player from Drachenfels who was a member of the legendary PvP Guild "Team Cow". He was however my mentor in PvP and the one who inspired me to become a mage in UO. I am from South Carolina, USA and I chose Drachenfels in 1999 because I thought it was a cool name and had no clue it was a European server! After playing there for a year the ping got so bad (300+ with 50% packet loss) that I was forced to move to another shard. I chose Great Lakes and when I did I created a character named Ervin Bloodstone as sort of an hommage to my mentor. Eight years of playing there the name stuck and I have adopted it as my own at this point but I never claim to be an imposter to the original. All the subsequent Bloodstone characters and the storyline are all original to my imagination. Sometimes people will start talking to me as if I am from Team Cow and I'll play along to see what they will say (some stuff is hilarious) but in the end I always disclose the truth. So if you see me and you knew Team Cow on Drachenfels know that I am not the Ervin you knew. If you see me and you know Lords of War on Great Lakes, yea that's me. If you don't know who the hell either of us were then "Hi, I'm Ervin" I just wanted to put that out there just in case so there is no confusion. Enjoying it here so far, if you see me in game on any Bloodstone character say hi, I'm always up for conversation! Except for Irvin, we can talk after I kill you
Well met Ervin. I was deeply moved to hear of the tragic details of your mother's death. Sadly, before the southern settlement of Paws, much of the Paws record keeping was only passed down as an oral history. Much of this history was lost during the seasons of great famine and desolation that buried the once great Paws under the swamps now known as the Fens of the Dead. The history that was retained consisted only of that which those who survived these dark times could remember. The survivors sought refuge in the City of Compassion and settled in a small hamlet just south of Gung Farmer's bridge. The Southern Settlement of Paws was established by Catalin and a few others who followed him to try and re-settle the lands of their heritage. Since then they have been much more diligent about recording their records in books. I shall inquire around to see if there is any information about your mother or a woman of your mother's likeness in any of the oral histories retained. If there are any clues that we can provide to lend aid to your life's mission, we shall deliver them to you with all diligence. * signed in Runescribble * - Jupiter Greystone
Thank you for your kind words and offers of assistance Jupiter Greystone. My family and I would greatly appreciate any information about my mother that could possibly be discovered. She made that trip from Britain to Trinsic many many times for my father and I know she often stopped at Paws for a rest so there is hope that a remanence of her life remains in a tale. I know we would treasure that more than any worldly possession. We also would be extremely grateful if you or anyone else would keep an open ear to rumors of the bloodstone. There is no way of knowing if it is here or in another world but some rumors lead us to believe that there is still hope of finding it yet. I will be sharing family journal entries to hopefully garner some interest and assistance in the search. Many thanks, - Ervin Bloodstone
I have to say, I was an 8 year player on Chesapeake, and this is one of the best intros I've ever seen from a character. Awesome job, man. A like just wasn't good enough for this. I look forward to having you here. Never did much on Drach... I had a downtime pvp'er there.... Macer resist guy named bam bam.... hehe It was fun to terrorize the Jhelom farms while Ches was down for service. Ah, the good ole days.... lol Welcome!
