1. So the classic question, what brought you to Miz, and what’s kept you going through over 1 million words during your time here?
About two years ago, I found a little wolf RP site with a grand total of five members. The site lasted for a handful of months but, even so, I was hooked on collaborative writing. There is something about being able to craft a story with others because you're being pulled along a plot's twists and turns as much as creating them yourself. It's the very best of reading and writing!
When this site fell, I set out upon a quest in the mystical realm of google to find something bigger and better. Two entire clicks later, I found Mizahar. It was like going from generic Captain Crunch to the real deal! I'd never considered that so much creativity could flow in and out of and through a single place.
Since then, I've managed to write one really crummy character that taught me the perils of writing without reading the lore and one whom I'm incredibly attached to and proud of. Despite how much I may dislike Edreina's sickly sunny personality at times, I am always able to find something inspirational enough to keep writing her. My amazing threading partners played a huge part in that and I cannot thank them enough.
2. Edreina has traveled all over Mizahar, as most Svefra are wont to do. What has been her favorite city to visit or inhabit and why? Is there a city Edreina is dying to visit?
Zeltiva, most definitely. Edreina loved that it was open to the sea instead of being closed off like Syliras was. Here, she also learned that magic suited her disposition far more than more physical means of protection and combat. The only thing that made her leave was the employment of her lover taking them to Sunberth and a desire to one day return to the Anchorage Flotilla.
I hope that isn't a Sahova pun. Dying to visit... After experiencing Zeltiva, Edreina has had a mild curiosity about Riverfall. In her mind, it could be the only city worth spending a fair amount of time in because it lies upon her beloved Suvan as well as, from what little she has heard, being incredibly eccentric and, thereby, a place that could feed her curiosity for a fair while.
3. Over the past couple seasons or so Edreina’s character and story has taken a severe turn for the dark, and we find our once peppy and slightly naive Svefra in Sahova. Can you tell us a little bit about how this came about? Was there a lot of OOC planning there, more IC happenstance, a melding of the two?
Oh there was copious IC plotting, actually. It started out as a joke in Chat but, as we realized the merits of such a plot as well as how much fun it would be to throw two character so different at one another, it started to become more and more appealing. At first, we had thought it would be a very brief experience ending with both characters slightly altered by one another. However, with the disappearance of my primary threading partner, I was left with a hole in my plot so large that only a creepy, undead island and an evil sorceress could fill it.
4. As a direct follow up to the above question, is where Edreina is now different from where you saw her going when you first shaped her at character creation? Also is there any chance you can give your adoring fans some teasers as to what will be happening next with her?
She has adoring fans? *squeals into a pillow*
Ahem.
Edreina is definitely very different from the woman I created originally. I'd created her, originally, with a single concept in mind: insatiable curiosity. This element has gone on to influence her every decision and many of the finer points of her personality. Despite everything, she cannot help but harbor unending curiosity.
Another part of Edreina that has remained important to who she is is her self-inflicted naivety. Yes. Self-inflicted. By this, I mean that she has unconsciously kept herself naive to the darker sides of life by focusing only on the bright side of things. Like a duck, nothing has really stuck to her. If something was uncomfortable, she just sailed away and did not deal with it. When she was taken hostage by Annalisa, she was physically forced to face every horror that the sorceress presented instead of being able to turn away. This was what allowed Annalisa to break the Svefra's will so quickly and easily.
Since then, Edreina has made a conscious effort to be more aware of her surroundings and to learn from her experiences. Her curiosity remains, as does her desire to see the best in a situation and others, but she cannot allow herself to be naive any longer.
Another small change that I'm starting to slowly work in is Edreina's independence. Before Razkar, she was very reliant upon her pod for support and entertainment. Razkar then stepped up and supported her through her transition into life on land and as a mercenary of sorts. When she lost him and was taken hostage, she was forced to start relying upon herself for far more. She will always be the sort to cling to those who can offer her some form of knowledge, but now she is more likely to seek out a way to learn things on her own and improve them in secret.
As for the future... I'm not sure yet. I'm sure all of you know how hard it is to plan when you're subject to the whims of your own creation.
5. If Edreina was ship wrecked on a deserted island what three things would she have with her (one cannot be a boat)?
A knife for her food, a hammock for sleep, and some kind of magical book that will teach her one interesting thing every day.
6. There’s a lot of varying opinions on religion on Mizahar, can you tell us about Edreina’s own views and how these beliefs have shaped her over her travels?
Edreina believes that the gods are to be feared, respected, and sometimes loved. However, she does not think it is right to hate any god. All gods, in her opinion, serve some kind of a purpose in the greater make up of the world. Without Rhysol, we would not find the peace of order and of true friends who won't stab you in the back. There cannot be a silver lining without a dark gray thundercloud.
Over her travels, she has learned more about the gods and how key a role they can actually play in the lives of the mortal. Laviku, in her experience, was an immense, distant god who did little for her people beside indirectly providing for them; even so, she loved him as a child would a father.
Since leaving the Suvan, Yahal has slowly been coming to play a greater part in Edreina's religious life. Being marked was a pivotal moment for Edreina because it washed away her fear that acting on faith would always get her into a sticky situation as had been happening more frequently since her joining Razkar's company. Even now, despite being forced to look evil in the eye, she has faith that this awful situation will somehow lead to her betterment.
7. What is Edreina’s ideal vacation getaway (Can be on either Mizahar or Earth)?
Somewhere tropical, where it is sunny and warm. The water should be clear and full of vibrant life. An island in the Caribbean, perhaps, riddled with caves on land and beneath the water.
8. Who are Edreina’s closest friends, and conversely, her most hated enemies?
Edreina's best friend is, oddly enough, Matthew (Slutty Spock, I call him). He offers her endless satisfaction (not in that way...yet...) of her curiosity and advice when she needs it. He rarely judges her save for when he is simply unable to comprehend some aspect of her. She enjoys his company and sees him as a very valuable friend and mentor in many ways. It is my personal hope as her writer that I'll be able to write more between them in the future.
I'm sure that many of you are expecting me to say that Edreina's enemy is Annalisa but that is not entirely true. She strongly dislikes Annalisa and does not agree even faintly with how she behaves. And yet, she pities the wizard. There are times in their conversation when Edreina thinks she may see a deeper element of the wizard, some pangs of loneliness and even helplessness. Despite everything that is happening between them, Edreina is seeking the bright side of the situation (*cue Monty Python sequence*) and the logic behind Annalisa's behavior in hopes of understanding her.
9. A million words means a lot of threads. What is your favorite type of thread to write? Least favorite?
Oh my... Favorite thread would have to be one where Edreina is being challenged in some way... I love writing out her complex thought patterns when trying to riddle through a situation. Magic threads where Edreina is learning... Hypnotism posts where Edreina is trying to figure out how best to manipulate someone in order to facilitate some abstract, desired outcome... Plot-centric threads are always the best, I have an awful lack of patience for simple meet and greet threads, sadly. I like to see that everything influences the story in some way more than "Hey! My name is Bobby Joe and I like knives!" It's very easy to turn a thread from something that has little to no effect on both Edreina and your character after it's conclusion, you just have to try.
I don't have a least favorite type so much as a least favorite style of thread to write. Threads full of "coincidences" bug me, as do threads that go from meet-n-greet to hardcore love at first sight in a handful of posts. Smut for the sake of smut and/or awkwardly serving no purpose save for fulfilling a writer's fantasies instead of some aspect of a story are also horribly annoying. Oh and threads where the writer does nothing but make their character look 12 shades of pure awesome are rather annoying. I love to write threads with deep characters, even if there is not a plot. I love seeing faults and strengths and emotion in your writing!
10. You’ve contributed a lot to MIzahar, formerly as an ST and now as a mentor and grader. Are there any changes MIz has undergone since you joined up that have really excited you and or changes you’re excited to see in the future?
Oh my gosh the Graders! *snuggles each and every one* That, I feel, has made Mizahar flow so much more smoothly and beautifully and taken stress off of the mods. (If you're still reading at this point, I would seriously suggest trying to be part of the staff if you have the time and energy. I fell in love with Endrykas while I modded there.)
I hope to see more game-wide plots like the Djed storm. Those are awesome in that they throw everyone for a loop.
11. *Turns on a few more spotlights* What would you like to say to the community as a whole?
Gah! Don't give me freedom! I'll end up ranting about how people need to start their characters where they belong (Inarta and Drykas specifically), or how-... It'll make this interview longer than it already is! Did I do okay? I hope no one fell asleep reading this...
However... Can I share my spotlights with others? I really want to thank a few people...
Matthew, Razkar (I summon thee in thine new form! ), and Annalisa, thank you all so much for helping me to make my character who she is today. Some of you wrote with me while I was still trying to hash her out as a character.
Balderdash, thank you so much for being there for me when I was in a slump and for letting me spitball for hours on end. Oh and for all the times you've managed to get Angel of Music stuck in my freaking head!
Jen, thank you for putting up with my endless questions and hair-brained ideas.
Mods as a whole, thank you for all of your hard work and you grading and the modded threads!
Just... thank you all so very much. <3
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by Orabelle Deepseeker on May 2nd, 2014, 12:06 am 
