Odd.
Yesterday, I was there, fighting the tiredness and drowsiness while reading the texts I need to finish my project. Then, I clearly remember, the clock was about to chime midnight, and although I was almost napping, I do believe it was not a dream, but - from where I don't know - , a voice came to me, startling my pour tired soul. "Netz", it called, "aren't you forgetting something?"
My mind filled itself in dread and doubt! Something inside my head told me I knew that voice, but I was sure to be alone at my safehouse... also, why would it speak to me in English, and how come it could call me by my handle? Amidst this haze, I rose my head and, alas, there in front of me was a guy - not a normal person, mind you, I could clearly perceive he as an apparition, and even if this was not the case, there was no mistaken. The visit in front of me was no human... rather, it was a metahuman, and from a very specific ilk.
Tall, slender and handsome, its seeming suggested it was an elf - but no, that was not the case. As my eyes met his, I was staring at my own image, lost in the reflective surface of a mirror! His eyes were as if liquid metal, as metallic was also his hair!
"Fractal!", said I, "but it cannot be! You are dead!" After a brief moment, I added, "also, you are a fictitious character!"
Without as much as flinching, he started smiling and replied: "Look, I was about to introduce myself, just before you went on and destroyed both the ambiance for these mystic meetings and the proper etiquette. Yeah, while I walked among the living - and the fictional - they called me Fractal. But now, for this moment, you shall know me as the Ghost of Games Sessions Past".
Something in his voice was really reassuring, and I accept this visitation from a World Beyond The Sixth. We talked a lot, about a variety of things, but eventually he vanished. I found myself waking without having been gone to sleep, but I know it to be true. Afterwards, a feeling that something was missing come to me. And I know that it is a game, and fellow players.
So, what I came here to say today is that it was an honor playing with you, my friends, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas (and, in the next days, a really fascinating and Happy New Year). Hope that shadows has not been rough with you, and I also hope it not to be in the future.
Netzgeist