I debated for some time the memory I would choose to write about. Ultimately, I was drawn to a moment very personal and dear to me.

Sharla tightened her grip on her bow, never wavering as she loosed arrow after arrow at the great beast, her comrades fighting equally as valiantly as they took cover from the dragon dive-bombing their position, the dragon Twintania.

My best friend and girlfriend, we had known each other for sixteen years, had been dating for eight, played this game together often. When she left me I was devastated. I knew in her mind she was trying to make things easier for me. There were circumstances surrounding her decision and I knew it wasn’t out of malice or anger, but it hurt all the same.

It’s infernal dive-bombing ceased, Sharla had only a moment's reprieve before the dragon summoned three massive pillars of wind, instantly knocking three of her comrades down, their bodies lying motionless on the scorched rock. Gritting her teeth and attempting to escape the vicious creatures that had joined the battle, Sharla let out a shout that became a song, allowing her aether to flow from her voice to her ailing comrades, bolstering their strength and steeling their resolve.

We didn’t speak after that. A relationship of sixteen years, over half my life, had suddenly ended. I felt lost, angry, sad, bitter, empty, a cavalcade of emotions I had no idea how to deal with. In truth, I thought about leaving this game, this game that she introduced me too, that we had shared together. It was a mutual friend that convinced me to stay, and I’m glad I did.

The twisters gone and its Dreadknights dealt with, Twintania’s aether began to seep into the ground beneath their feet, forming pools of molten rock. Sharla ran as fast as she could, the pools of hell opening up beneath her always just a half step behind. Still, she forced herself to keep singing, to keep her aim locked on the great dragon and her arrow’s true. She could see its strength was fading, its wings beat with less vigor than before. Still, with three members down and the others nearing defeat themselves, she knew it would take something more than song and arrow to turn the tide.

Two years later that same mutual friend asked me to join in running roulettes one day. We had run hundreds before but this time they were playing together and invited me to join them. For the first time in two years, I heard her voice. I heard her laugh. For the first time in two years, I remembered how important that friendship was to me. Though our relationship had changed, I realized then that it didn’t necessarily need to end.

“Y’akasha now!” Sharla cried. The Miqo’te’s ears twitched in response as she slammed her staff into the ground. The resulting burst of aether that enveloped the group truly did feel like its name implied, the Pulse of Life. Standing together once again, Sharla smiled and tightened her grip on her bow.

(Noble Barding)