The Long Goodbye
I'd like to tell all of you about something very dear to my heart. Something all of you are acquainted with: Dragonlance Underground. Dragonlance Underground began as an idle notion between Raistlynn and myself. "Dragonlance, as a community, takes itself too seriously. Wouldn't it be great," we mused, "if there was a website for Dragonlance humour?" From that tiny seed (if you will forgive the conceit) blossomed Dragonlance Underground. Over the course of a year, Raistlynn and I worked our machinations: designing the site, writing content, and keeping our fingers on the pulse of the Dragonlance community. Early on we determined that to stand any chance of regular updates, we would need a staff of regular contributors. One of the first people we brought on board was Lady Raist. If there is a voice aside from Raistlynn's or mine that truly defines DLU, it is Lady Raist's. She has done, and continues to do, more work for this site than anyone ought to do for free.
DLU was launched on January 1, 2001. At the time it was launched we had assembled a stellar staff, an amazing collection of articles, and the worst message board ever designed. It's hard to believe that was four years ago. At the time, there were fans in the Dragonlance community prophesying our downfall. We've yet to fall. Stumbled a couple times, yes, but we caught our balance. Wandering around the site, I am still amazed at how many articles we've collected. We've been bold, brilliant, brazen, brash, bitter, bawdy, and base. We've been funny, and we've been poignant, and above all, we've been totally inconsistent. That's the true spirit of Dragonlance right there.
If all this sounds a bit like a farewell speech... well, that's what it is. Not for DLU, no. I hope DLU will continue to make us laugh for many years to come. For Erejam Niltsiar, however, it's time to hang up the old black robes.
I've been a Dragonlance fan for over half my life. I began reading it at twelve, and kept up with it for nearly a decade and a half. What started as a solitary pleasure became a community pleasure when I discovered the internet. What started as a readerly pleasure became a writerly pleasure as I progressed into fan fiction, and later still, published fiction. I have run the gamut from newbie to bitter dino and points beyond. At various points of my life, Dragonlance has inspired me, motivated me, and I dare say consumed me. Through Dragonlance, I have made friends and lost them, earned respect, and lost that as well, fought for my convictions, betrayed the trust of others, loved, hated, lost, won, and been transformed by the entire process. I must say, for a series of books, Dragonlance has affected me quite a lot over the years.
But now, at twenty-seven and some odd change, I look at Dragonlance as it was, and as it is--as it will be, and as it never will be--and I realize it does not stir my heart as it once did. I have not read a Dragonlance book in more than a year. Possibly two. I don't listen to the pulse of the community as I once did. My interest has waned, and with it, my ability to effectively support this website. Before I become forever mired in trotting out stale Heroes of the Lance humor time and again, it's time for me to step down, and walk away.
You see, even now, I love Dragonlance. But now, it's that nostalgic sort of love: the blissful remembrance of an old lover's caress. One thing we as a community have historically been bad at is passing the reigns to younger fans. It's time to let them shape the magic as we once shaped it, and instead of begrudging them their joys, support them.
And so, as we begin to bring new Raistlins into the fold, this old Raistlin, writer, fan and friend, bids you farewell. I wish you years of joy and mirth ahead, and I hope, when visiting DLU, this site continues to relieve you of your burdens.
That's what we hired the kender for after all.
Yours in Past and Present,
-"Erejam Niltsiar"
Kevin James Kage
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