User blog:Toa Roden/Spring 2014 Update

Well, folks, I'm not going to pretend I didn't see it coming, and I'm sure you'll feel the same way. So I'll try to keep this simple and to-the-point.

It's spring of a new year; time to tie up loose ends, cut off the unused knots, and just generally time to reboot and refocus.

I guess you might say that this is, in a way, little more than a continuation of my last blog post, in which I announced that I would be permanently shutting down my Custom BIONICLE Wiki writing career in order to, in a word (or two), throw my mental and physical resources more thoroughly into the bittersweet, breathtakingly lucid existence that is Real Life.

Since that blog post, my feelings and sentiments towards this community and all it represents have not changed; I remain as steadfast a LEGO fan as ever, I cherish the memories and inspiration BIONICLE has provided me with through the years, and I can't even begin to properly acknowledge the further support, memories, and inspiration that CBW itself has provided me with. I could name names, and wax long-winded and emotional, and so forth and so on, but I'm not going to. You've all meant a lot to me, and many of those who have departed before me, have also mean a lot (or more) to me.

I am, my friends, hereby permanently retiring from all things connected with this website and its community. My reasons, as I said, are the same as the reasons that I mentioned previously, in my last blog post. I'm growing up, and by now, the only thing remaining that really ties me to this is nothing more than a sense of duty and nostalgia. No real motivation anymore; no real enthusiasm.

It's time for me to move along, and, like Varkanax and TheSlicer and ToaAuserv and many others before me, I'm doing just that. Thanks for everything, y'all. I appreciate it. ;-)

The only project that I'm leaving unfinished is Shadowfell. I had honestly planned on completing it, but as I said, I just couldn't get it done. No more motivation, no real enthusiasm. Just duty. I couldn't do it. In the interests of storyline, however, I'd just like to detail what I had planned.

As my readers will have no doubt already guessed, the Veythari will very soon end up making a Spartan-esque final stand in the Pass of Shadowfell, fighting desperately against unthinkable odds until overwhelmed and slaughtered. The nighttime raids of the Minotaurus bought them time, but precious little; Trace Vaethar, the half-Elemental outlier, is the only survivor, and represents a beacon of hope against the encroaching shadow. In the last gory minutes of the stand, before he and his last few remaining warriors break and fall, Kilrone sends her to flee, to bear word to the other defenders. She does so. The last chapter, or epilogue, is written from her point of view; Trace describes the fierce fighting that took place within the borderlands of the Fells after the Stand at Shadowfell, and how, after months of conflict, and only because of the few days of defensive preparation that were bought at such a heavy cost, the Ix were temporarily repelled. She vows vengeance, vows to use her newly-discovered powers (exactly what element, I hadn't yet decided, but probably a mixture of Earth, Stone, and the Green) and, true to the nature of the Veythari, the legend closes on a note of grim warrior's purpose.

That's basically all. I understand, and am regretful indeed, that I can't convey the emotion of the story's finale in a single brief paragraph, but at least now you know what happened. And that's something, at least.

I've lost track of who's on the staff team, but I obviously won't be needing my rollbacker status anymore, so whoever you are, feel free to grant me an honorable demotion. Thanks. :P

I'm still around and active on BZPower, particularly in the roleplaying subforums, under the username 'Shadowhawk', so if you're ever interested in re-establishing old connections, look me up. As said site, when compared with CBW, doesn't require as much of my creative energy in order to remain active, I plan to be around there for an awfully long time yet.

I still very much plan on pursuing a career in creative writing, most likely in the sci-fi/fantasy circles, in at least some shape or form. We'll see how it goes, but if I ever do become a published author, I'll be using the name 'L.D. Pitman', so keep an eye out in the years to come. ;-)

So long, folks. Thanks for everything. This is Toa Roden... signing out.

Toa  Roden   16:23, June 30, 2014 (UTC)