I've resigned from The Realm© and I would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to all my online friends that I have come to know through the years. There are far too many to mention on this page, so I will concentrate on those that have made an impact in my real life and are near and dear to my heart. I had played the demo version a month prior to purchasing the game and I was always intrigued with it. I mean it was online, interactive and most of all, addictive. Inevitably, I bought the CD and I started playing full time on May 19, 1996. The last time I logged into The Realm© was on April 9, 2000. The first character I created was AtanaBetuana, so named after one of the heroines in David Edding's The Tamuli Series©. The first friend ever encountered in that magical land was Katzenjammer who showed me the "ropes" ;) She and I got to know each other very well and actually met in Lancaster, PA during the Renaissance Faire ;) I lost track of Katzenjammer when 3.x was released, but eventually hooked up again and to this day, we keep in touch. Thanks for everything Katz! ;) Life's been a little more bearable for me by having you around ;) Thank you for being there for me ;) Keep smiling ;) The next friend I got to know was UltimateDragon. He, along with Katz helped me in my Realm assimilation. They introduced me to many people who I befriended and kept company with. When UD married Athyreal in the Realm, I had another friend I got to know and got close to. UD, Athyreal and I met and visited each other on different occasions and have stayed in touch. Ultimately, UD and Athyreal got married In Real Life. With the release of more sophisticated online games, UltimateDragon and Athyreal left The Realm© and "defected" ;) I've missed you guys! Thanks so much ;) I wish you two all the happiness in the world ;) The next close friend I encountered was a lady named Loanne. She, as the stories posted here tell, was bubbly and outgoing. Loanne and I spent enormous amounts of time hunting and talking, and in the process got very close. She was a very busy lady and I can only assume that her schedule didn't permit her as much time as it used to for her to play. She was in the game up until mid-1999. I have lost touch with Loanne and wherever she is, I wish her success and joy for the future. I miss you Lo! ;) Wherever you are, I hope you're doing well ;) I had made several other characters that didn't live long in the game. I did this to try out other classes other than Adventurer. With the release of 3.x, I experimented with other characters to find the right "combination" of attributes. AtanaBetuana was the only character that was transferred when 3.x was released. She was my original character and I had grown quite attached to her. In one sense, she was me. In 3.x I created several characters, one of which was LadyGamina. Gam was around for a little while. I role-played her with Alissande. However, real life intrudes as it always does, I had to eventually erase that character since Alissande had gone overseas on assignment. Lisele the Thief was created because I had never had a thief character before. She was a terrible thief since she never pickpocketed or jumped any player. She strictly fought NPC's. When she was Level 75, I decided to remake her into a wizard with her "thiefly" attributes to see how good a wizard she would be. She made a half decent wizard ;) Lisele was the other character that I would get very attached to. Atana was one side of my personality, Lisele was the other. Little did I know back in September 1998 when I created her that I would identify with her more closely than Atana. I hadn't really planned to keep Lisele for very long. Eventually, I told all Atana's friends who she really was as I was about to delete her. The advent of Crimsonfyre into her life changed all that, and the rest as they say is Realm history ;) Crimsonfyre and I knew each other from 2.x. He knew me back then as Atana, now he met Lisele. I'll let you read the stories in Crimsonfyre's site and follow her progress as a character that way. Crim and I got to be closer and better friends online, on the game from 3.x. To this day, we keep in touch. Crim, thank you for being there for me all along and for all the smiles ;) Thanks for encouraging me to write stories and letting my imagination soar. I wish you the best in life, love and happiness ;) Smile and take care of you ;) Through NightMaster, Atana's old friend from 2.x, I met a beautiful and lovely lady named ScarlettO. Scar and I got to know each other very well and along with Katz and Crim was there for me in the good times and the bad times. Scar's been the one that's always able to see to the heart of the matter. She's cleared a lot of debris for me and set me on the straight and narrow many times. Scar and I still keep in touch and I hope we do in the days to come. Thank you Scar ;) You've made me come back down to reality more times than not ;) You never did succeed in getting me to join WoC ;) Strength for today, hope for tomorrow ;) For all my other friends, I have not forgotten you and I hope that you will continue to stay in touch with me. I wish everyone all the best for now and in the future. Ajita, Amric, Blazette, Dragtat, Elven, Gabriell, GoldLight, Grenseal, Impish, Jesta, Kalten, Khalua, LadyJaellyn, MeridianStone, Nail, NightMaster, Nikki, PrincessStarr, Taarak, Tessie, Wintr - thank you all. I'll miss you a lot. You've all been wonderful and I've been priviledged to have gotten to know you and to have met some of you ;) What started out as a game ended up being more than that for me. Who would have known that over the 4 years I've been playing, I would be this intricately and intimately involved in some part of your lives. The poem at the top of the page became Lisele's biography toward the latter part of 1999 to the present. This poem is for all of you ;) I owe you all an enormous debt of gratitude. My life has been richer knowing you and allowing me to share your lives however briefly. Thank you all. God bless and take care. Happy Realming ;) ~~Lis~~