Most of you won't recognize that name, but some of you will and it is for you that I am posting this. (Some of you may have known him as the bard, Victoria.)
I received a private message today from Ellendruilalyon's roommate that he passed away in early December due to severe burns he suffered in a fire. His real name was Ales (I regret to say I can't remember what his last name was.) and he was in his early twenties.
I first "met" Ellen on the old Solusekro.org forum. Like many others, I could not stand him, and made my feelings quite clear. Then, one day out of the blue, he sent me a tell in game. I recall that I was not exactly friendly to him. It seems that he had seen me passing and noted my guild tag. He told me that he had been a member of Mystic Crusaders himself and that he knew Kizzmet. I was incredulous and asked her if this was true. She said yeah, he's a good guy. I told her she must be insane as he was the biggest jerk on the forums.
After that Ellen started to talk to me in game and I started to see under the contentious facade he put up for the forums. I discovered that he had a wry sense of humor, quick wit and, actually, a sensitive soul. We had many interesting conversations, comparing life in Slovenia with life here in the U.S. We shared stories of our lives and loves. We became friends.
I lost touch with him over the last few months, but thought of him often. I had hoped that he was too busy enjoying life to play EQ or read forums. I wished I had a way to get a hold of him to let him know that Blitzel and I got married and to find out what was going on with him.
Getting the news this morning that he's gone really came as a shock to me. It has affected me more deeply that I ever might have imagined. I can now only wonder if he learned to let go of the past to enjoy the present. I can only hope that his next life bring him more joy than sorrow. It was a honor to get to know him and I will miss him more than I can say. And so, for my dear friend Ales, who's time was up far too soon:
Like a leaf falling from a tree
You leave the branch bare
To be renewed in spring
Dina
For those of you that disliked Ellendruilalyon, please do not post any negative comments in this thread. I made this post for those few that may have gotten to know the person behind the toon as I did. Thank you.
I think it's safe to say that I actually was one of the few people who liked him and saw good in him. I wondered why he was not in the serverwide enchanter channel recently, but never imagined the reason would be so terrible as this. Yeah, Ellen was great at being an ass, but he was also very kind to the people who saw past that facade, and I know you were one of the few who did, Buphie.
