My name is Nilrem.
Yes.
It is Merlin backwards.
No.
I do not have an explanation.
People usually look disappointed when I tell them that.
I am a Mage.
That part is easier to explain.
Magic is useful.
You can make food.
You can go places quickly.
You can throw enormous amounts of elemental energy at things that were having a perfectly ordinary day until you arrived.
And you can turn things into sheep.
That last one is important.
Not always strategically important.
But important.
I've spent a lot of time in dungeons over the years.
Enough that there was a point when walking into one felt normal.
Tank goes first.
Everybody watches the pull.
Someone stands in something they shouldn't.
Someone says they absolutely were not standing in it.
The healer knows.
The healer always knows.
Normal dungeon.
Then I stopped running them for a while.
Life does that.
You step away from something.
A few weeks becomes longer.
Long enough that when you finally come back, the thing you used to know without thinking suddenly requires thinking again.
That has been the strange part.
I know this.
I know I know this.
My hands occasionally request additional evidence.
So I'm rusty.
That's fine.
Rust comes off.
You run another dungeon.
Then another one.
You remember why you moved there.
You remember what the tank is about to do.
You remember the sound your brain makes immediately before someone pulls something they definitely did not intend to pull.
The rhythm starts coming back.
That's the part I missed.
Not just the dungeon.
The people.
Standing around before somebody finally says: “Ready?”
Waiting afterward because nobody actually logged off.
Helping somebody who hasn't done the place before.
Listening to somebody explain something you already know because maybe they explain it differently.
Talking about nothing.
Talking about everything.
Sometimes not talking at all.
I am good at that one.
People call me quiet.
They're right.
Mostly.
I don't dislike talking.
I just don't think every silence needs fixing.
If we're hanging around together, I'm already having a good time.
If everybody starts laughing, even better.
This is where the dancing comes in.
There are moments when the best contribution you can make to a group is good positioning.
There are moments when the best contribution is crowd control.
And there are moments when everybody has been standing around for three minutes waiting on one person—
and somebody needs to dance.
I am willing to make that sacrifice.
Once the pull starts, though, I'm paying attention.
I like joking around.
I don't like making somebody else's run harder because I wasn't doing my part.
There's a difference.
So if you're new, ask.
If I know, I'll help.
If I don't know, we'll find out.
If I mess something up, well—
apparently I'm rusty.
Very convenient explanation.
I may keep it.
And if the situation becomes complicated, remember one thing:
There is a surprisingly good chance at least one of those problems can become a sheep.
Not all problems.
Q.A.C.K. asked me to clarify that.
Several times.
Anyway.
I'm Nilrem Sol.
Mage.
Tailor.
Enchanter.
Occasional dancer.
Returning dungeon runner.
Quiet until I have something worth saying.
Usually serious when things start trying to kill us.
Usually less serious immediately afterward.
If you see me in the Guild Hall, say hello.
You don't have to keep talking.
I'm fine with that too.
And if you see an Orc standing by itself looking entirely too confident—
give me a second.
I have an idea.