June's Featured Contributor: Cheshire!

Me · by **Colombina** on June 1st, 2011, 12:28 am

"We're All Mad Here"

Congratulations to Cheshire for Contributor of the Month!

Loved by many, feared by all ;-)

Cheshire is a pillar in the Miza community. She has been the faithful moderator of the winter city, Avanthal, and an active player to boot. Her city is the new hotspot (coldspot?) for the clash between Priskil and Sagallius and continues to grow with talented players arriving daily. She is a friendly face in chat and good fun to write with. Still young (she recently took senior pics you know) Cheshire blows us away with the level of her writing. Join me in thanking her for all the hard work she puts in.

1. When you got to Avanthal, you had a skeleton of a city and got to fill in some of the guts, what was that process like?

At first it was really overwhelming to say the least. I spent a lot of time looking over what other people did to see what I was supposed to be doing. I wanted to make sure it didn't turn into the whole cliche northern city where all of the misfits snuck out to because it is one of the harder cities to live in. I took a lot of hints from Wind Reach for different kinds of places I should have as locations. I started out playing in Wind Reach so I sort of looked up to Gossamer and Dreamcatcher as my first mods to watched over me. I knew I wanted to get the whole city fleshed out before I opened it because I didn't want to run into the whole problem of "I want to play here but it is not open, make it for me." I wanted it to be done and done so everyone could just play without waiting for me to poke around and make locations. It caused a lot of people to have to flashback so they could be in Avanthal but I think waiting made the process easier for everyone. I was a little scared just because there was so little information about Avanthal. I remember being very nervous but at the same time, very excited. I asked Tabarnac for help all the time and he was really helpful while I was still a new ST. So thank you Dani for putting up with all of my endless questions! I still get a little nervous about running my own city but I have to admit. It is one of the most exciting and interesting things I have ever gotten the chance to do.

2. What is a contribution you are especially proud of?

I personally am very proud of the holds of Avanthal. I took a few from the older Vantha players who already made up their own holds. From there I had to figure out specialties, histories, and names. Skyglow, Iceglaze, Whitevine, and Snowsong were all already hold names that people had taken. From there I fleshed out a couple more holds to even out the specialties of the holds. I added in Frostfawn, Winterflame, and Coolwater. Making the histories was the most fun in my opinion. There is so much of Avanthal's history I still want to dive into and through the histories of the holds I am able to figure it out a lot better. People always ask me which hold is my favorite but truely, I love them all in their own way.

3. What hold would Cheshire belong to if she lived in Avanthal?

I think I would be caught between Snowsong or Frostfawn. I am very into music in real life. I am in choir and have been for the majority of my schooling. On the other hand, I am also very interested in animals, I grew up surrounded by animals, and I am always trying to learn more about them. I think I might be a child of a Frostfawn and a Snowsong.

4. What do you want Avanthal to look like in a year’s time?

I want the holds to all have active players. That would make me happy beyond belief. Right now I get excited when there is one person in a hold so if I can get all of them filled up with people I would feel very accomplished. I also want Icewatch to become more staffed with PCs. Recruitment for Icewatch is going to start in summer. I keep promising it is going to happen to now that I have said it in an interview it has to happen. I have a good group of people who want to try out for Icewatch so I am looking forward to a good group of new recruits. Most of all, I would like to see people wanting to travel up into Taldera to trade with Avanthal. We have a lot to share with the warmer cities. We just need some brave souls to venture through the snow.

5. Tell me about your favorite thread in Avanthal.

I think my favorite thread so far has been "A Swift Recovery". It was the thread between Rhuryc and Atzi right after they got to Avanthal. There had been a few threads leading up to this thread but in in a nutshell, Rhuryc had gotten into a bit of trouble with a group of men in the Northern Reaches after escaping them he starts to head back to Avanthal and on his trip he meets Atzi, a tiger kelvic. She helps him back to the city and then "A Swift Recovery" starts. I really showed how a kelvic and a human bond in a beautiful way. Atzi and Rhuryc play off each other very well and it is clear to see Atzi understands the concept of a kelvic very well which is a huge plus in my opinion. All in all it was a very sweet and interesting read.

6. If you were compelled to moderate another city, which would you choose?

I've always really liked Endrykas. I guest moderated it for a few days a while ago. I just think the city's history and whole idea is so interesting. I know the Burning Lands are not a city but I think it would be interesting to moderate there too. I have always found Chaktawe to be really an interesting race and it would be cool to help them with their searching and help them get their guardians. I've always been a big fan of face paint and feathers.

7. What challenges do you see in your city in terms of how it's approached by the playerbase?

A lot of people come into playing the city with the mentality of "Ew, I hate cold weather" and I am fully aware of the fact people don't like winter as much as I do. I also see that it is a bit harder to play in Avanthal because the bottom line is, it is pretty expensive and dangerous. People have to be constantly wrapped up in furs which are expensive and they are always in danger of getting frostbite if they don't wrap up (which a lot of people tend to forget). The city is also surrounded by HUGE beasts which like to try and wander into the city at times. Icewatch almost always keeps them at bay but no one is perfect. It is quite hard to come and go from the city because of the snow and beasts. A lot of people don't even want to bother which I can understand but what fun is role playing without a challenge right?

8. How has Mizahar changed for you since you took on the mantle of storyteller?

It is sort of like being an actor in a play and then one day you are suddenly directing parts of it. It is exciting but you also are faced with the feeling that you don't want to let anyone down. It has helped me to think of things in a much bigger scale than just my PCs. It also has given me much more respect for the other mods (not that I didn't respect them before). It is a lot of work but a lot of fun. I would recommend it to anyone who has the creative bug it is not for those who like to pop in and out of the site. People also tend to think I am much older than I am because I am a domain storyteller. When they find out I'm seventeen they are blown away because they thought I was in my twenties. Also, you never really know how tedious the wiki can get until you are one of the people updating it. It has given me a boat load of patience for wiki articles to be developed.

9. How does the almost perpetual presence of a goddess (Morwen) in your city change the tone of the area?

I think for one thing, it makes people want to behave more. Of course we get the people who joke around about wanting to romance Morwen but I think that Morwen gives the city a very special presence especially because she is so open to visitors. Morwen is also the reason for two of the biggest holidays in the Vantha culture, the Departure and Homecoming of Morwen. The city's entire personality changes in the winter when mama Morwen is away spreading her influence with everyone else. She definitely gives Avanthal a reason to celebrate and I also feel as though the Vantha want to work hard for her. She is in a way the mother of Avanthal.