Prologue - A Road Less Traveled


"Get your motor runnin' - Head out on the highway,
 Lookin' for adventure - Or whatever comes our way..."

"Born to be Wild" - Steppenwolf,

Why do I do it?

I've asked myself that question a hundred times, and every time the answer is different. I'm sure the same could be said for any wanderer. Sometimes, I say I do it out of fear. I have to keep moving, traveling the byways and the Tempest to keep one step ahead of Oblivion, going closer to it than others only to loop around in a giant slingshot and throw myself further from it, the better to stop it finding me. Because I know what lurks in the Tempest, and I sure as hell don't want to see any of that up close more than once.

Sometimes, the wanderlust takes me. I move because I have to, I get restless with where I am and I have to move on, have to push the boundaries of where I can go, see what I can find out there in the storm. I'll come back, of course, but I just have to move. Like there's some kind of dynamo inside me, pushing me on.

Other times, I do it for money. What, you didn't think I was in this for the giggles and shits, did you? There's good money to be made running the trade routes between Stygia and the Necropoli, or even just in shifting goods from Necropolis to Necropolis. It pays well, and though I might not be able to hang around for long, I'm doing something people need me to do. And I get to do what I love.

I think that last line says it all. I love what I do. The rush of the Tempest wind, the thrill of courting Oblivion and spitting in its eye, the knowledge that you and only you can do this task right here, right now... That is one powerful rush. It gets you in the head, and in the heart. Metaphorically speaking, of course. The thrill it gives is immense.

Of course, I can just talk about myself. Everyone does it for their own reason. But that reason's why they join up. Not everyone gets to see the thrill inherent in doing what we do, and the Guild gives us a safety net. It gives us people who do understand, people who can get us the contracts we need wherever we need to go. And it gives us companionship. For many Harbingers, that one's the kicker. Unless their Circle doesn't mind traveling, or they've got a vehicle, they're like a fish out of water. And sometimes you just need to talk to someone. Thanks to us, you can, because wherever you are, a Harbinger has been before.

And if they haven't... You just struck pure gold.


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