Once upon a time, I stumbled across a MUCK (remember those?) called the Black Forest, a role-playing community based on Brothers Grim style fairy tales set in an enchanted forest which was a lot more dangerous than it sounds, especially at night, as the creatures that lived there played by their own rules and they didn't always play nice. The only safe place was the Eventide Inn, a tavern that served as the player hub, however, if you where clever enough you could learn the rules of the forest and even use them to your advantage sometimes. Like discovering Rumplestiskin's name, stumping a gnome in a riddle contest or bribing a fairy with apple pie.

Being your typical introverted geek that often struggled to find friends this place became something of a haven for me. It's where I was introduced to things like role playing, the furry fandom and other concepts that opened up whole new worlds to explore. More importantly it was the first time I felt like I was part of a community instead of just an outsider lurking on the edges. Sadly all good things must come to an end and on October 2013 I had my last drink at the pub and said a final goodbye to my fellow patrons. Thankfully I still have fond memories of those days, even if recalling them is like trying to remember a dream, but such is the nature of faeries...