Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Holder of Ragnarök Online

Holder of Ragnarök Online

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house (or just any internet cafe) in which you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Ragnarök Online". A "don't bother me" look will return your request and with a scowl, the person manning the front desk will say "wait a minute" and then type a few words on the keyboard he/she is using. After which, he/she will brusquely say "follow me".

You will be taken down a hallway filled with glass doors, in front of which, chairs have been strangely placed. The doors seem to open to nowhere, as they are black as night. The guide will seat you in one of the chairs and then press a button that you have not noticed and he/she will say "please wait until it is ready". You wait. And wait. In what seemed to be an eternity but was only a minute on your watch, you stare at the blackness. Then the door opens.

As you enter, you notice that a name has been inscribed on the glass. Be wary, for the name inscribed will determine the course and end of your quest.

If the name inscribed on the glass is "Guest", you will enter the door and find yourself in a world of eternal sunshine where Porings and giant white rabbits called Lunatics roam over a summer field of green grass and blooming flowers. You will not find the Holder of Ragnarök Online. Count your blessings and go in peace.

If the name inscribed on the glass is "fatman80000", despair and know that you have met your doom. The door will draw you in, against your will, and you will find yourself at the bottom of a stairway that seemingly leads up to the sky. You begin to climb the stair, again against your will, higher and higher. It doesn't matter that you were full when you entered the door, a hunger will begin gnawing at your insides as you take your first step. On your tenth step, you will hear a sound that is a cross between a howl and a sigh, followed by braying of trumpets. The hunt has begun and you are the prey. Climb and run, as fast as you can, for if they ever catch up, they will cut open your chest and feast on your beating heart. Then you will awake and it begins all over again.

If the name inscribed on the glass is any other, the door will open and you will enter. On the other side, the world suddenly shifts and all vision smears into white. You find yourself in the middle of an avenue of a busy medieval city where everyone is wearing clothes from the middle ages except you see an occasional cowboy or cowgirl in the crowd.

Your feet will take you to a girl wearing a white apron over a dark brown blouse with short puffy sleeves. As you approach, she takes out her handkerchief from her white apron and wipes her glasses before facing you.

Ask her the question, "what is it all about".

Incongruously, she will begin to sing, in a melodic style from a long time ago, of a deep yearning for things that are not. The song will tell stories of heroes and villains and everything in-between. It will rise high to the mountain peaks guarded by dragons and dive deep beneath the ocean waves where strange creatures dwell. It will describe caves and crypts filled with restless dead and demons waiting to devour all who enter. It will describe a tower built to the memory of an ancient hero filled with sentient fragments of that hero's shattered soul, defenders of that ancient relic.

Then she will sing of battle and the glory of fellowship as well as the bitterness of betrayal. She will sing of honor and dishonor, and of mirrors and masks.

When she finishes her song, she will hand you a crystal slate with a simple message glowing on it:

"Save Respawn point? (Y/N)".

That crystal slate is object number 144 of appendix A. How you respond is up to you.


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The Holder Series on theholders.org

The Holder Series Thread in RO Empire Forums

Post Script: I did not write the Holder Series nor do I have any connection to the original series. I read a reprinting/reposting of it in the forums of RO Empire and decided to write something in the same style using a topic that the original writers might not have any idea about, which is Ragnarök Online, a MMORPG developed by Gravity Co., Ltd. and published by many companies worldwide.

I do not have intention of causing ill-will and hope that my readers understand that this is a homage to a wonderful series rather than a rip-off of its content. I don't think I can add my story to the series anyway, it lacks darkness.

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