True Romance in Telara – Share your story and we’ll personally plan your in-game day!

[Cherlindrea]

Its 8:30pm, our little one has just gone to bed. My fiancé and I smile at each other as she is soundly asleep within minutes. He powers on our computers while I make us coffee; it’s been a long day of children’s games, books, and television programs. The day is hers but the night belongs to us, as it always will.

He quickly logs us in as we hope there is no queue yet. He reminds me to clear out my bags and I remind him to mend his soul before we mount up and hit the road to start our nightly adventure.

For us, this is how we spend a typical night at home. He may not open doors or pull out my chair at a candlelit dinner, but his character sacrifices its life on many occasions so that mine may get away. I may not put on a fancy dress or my high heels tonight, but any newly acquired armor my character wears is always dyed to match.

Sometime during the night we may share a laugh when we overestimate our character’ abilities and end up dying. He may snag an artifact before me, I may join a group without him, we may quest apart, but he is at my side in our home because the night is ours. It has always been this way for us since our first online gaming experience together. The games may change and so may the characters, but we never will.

This coming June these two night owls will be tying the eternal knot. Being married in Rift in full costumes and being one of the five couples to have it broadcasted in-game would be the shimmering cherry on top of our not so traditional sundae.

[Bloodrapture]

My fiance and I met 6 years ago on EQ. We have both been gamers since we could spell (and I do not mean leet speech). I have always been a loner due to the geekiness and love for endless hours of computer gaming and Mt Dew. When MMO's came out I hoped on board EQ in 1999 and so did he. He was in Texas and myself in Florida, but after 3 months of online courting after being best friends in game, he left his life with the clothes on his back to be with me. 6 years later we have played every MMO out there and probably most compuer and xbox games as well. Our dream has always been to get married in a game that we love and share, but not something that is just a bunch of guildies gathering in a town center or something....something real and special. Until we can save up enough for the real thing that is. So help out 2 geeks who found each other in the online world and made that world a reality against all odds.

Bloodrapture and Kreiger
Gamers, Geeks and Soulmates for life and eternity

[Katsmeow]

I was new to the game and questing in Silverwood. I happened upon another player of the same level as me and being a veteran player of another MMO I started asking him questions about his guild and others on the shard. He proceeded to tell me about how the guild that the toon he was playing on was not that great but his main's guild was awesome. BUT... it was an all dwarf guild. Saddened by the news I (a high elf) walked away. A few days later I got a message from the player I had met in Silverwood... Great news! We're letting your kind in now! LOL. I joined up and soon became a High Elf in a Dwarves' world. I kept running into a certain guildie who also happened to be the GM, we would quest, craft, PvP, and just 'cause general mischief. Sometimes Dancing the night away and just talking. Soon the friendship blossomed and we met in Real Life and it has been Love ever since. Since we can't be with each other as often as we like we still meet every night on Rift and PvP or just do nothing at all. He has been so excited about the in game wedding since he's heard about it and keeps "joking" about doing it but I really think he wants to. It would be a nice surprise if we were picked for the contest. The timing is great as well because we will be moving in together right after Valentine's Day. He's my warrior tank and I'm his pocket healer and together we laugh in the faces of those we defeat in pvp!
Help make us the Ruling Couple we deserve to be! Thanks, Kat

[Pandryl]

*A rum soaked rogue stands atop a bar and attempts to hush the crowd*
“All this talk of love and relationships brings a man to heart…”

Gather friends, hear my story true
A tale of desire and love renewed
In a metaverse they met you see
I now tell the story, of her and me

A wistful gaze across the room
In a virtual club, something blooms
Daydreams racing, breath caught short
A simple joke, a quick retort

Passing words grow in to more
Over time a friendship born
Every moment possible shared
Finding the depths that the other cared

Now in the open, others raise alarm
Wicked words spun, lies through charm
Many opposed these lovers two
Their relationship hearing the chimes of doom

Mesmerized, and led astray
The two they go their separate way
It seemed to be the end you see
Of this tale of her and me

But love is stronger than lies allow
An epiphany came to me now
I spun and ran back to her arms
Swept her away, and shielded from harms

Together now, through worlds we flew
Taborea, Metropolis, and Gotham too
Through The Caribbean, Norrath, and Atreia we roamed
But now we call Telara home

Years gone by, our champions stand
Next to each other, hand in hand
Her scoundrel, her hero, her warrior true
My life, my priestess, my goddess, my muse

Gamers for life we shall always be
Adventuring together eternally….

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4 years ago, my better other/significant half Moondriagh and I, met in Second Life (snicker all you want, you weren’t there) during a time we were both coming off disappointing relationships. We eventually began talking and became friends. Next I knew I was flying across the country to be with her. We now work, play, live, and love…together…

[Drakhatter]

Every night I come home from work and am greeted by my wife and kids. My wife and I have dinner and a little play time with the kids before they have to go to sleep. Afterwards, my wife and I get on Rift and play into the wee hours of the morning. We run dungeons, raid, explore, and chat with guild mates.

Before online games, my wife and I loved each other, but we had little in common. Online games brought us together. We both enjoy playing with one another. It is our together time.

One issue that happened before in other online games is that we were never able to marry, even if we were playing a game that had marriage in it. This is because I would almost always play a female character and the game would not allow same sex marriage. My wife has always wanted to marry me in an online game and I would love to make that happen for her in Rift.

[Roseanna]

In 2007, my first husband was playing a game. I saw the bright graphics and heard the pretty music and wondered what it was. He set me up with an account, and I soon became hooked. Our marriage ended quickly – I kicked him out after a year and a half of physical and emotional abuse. But I did get one good thing out of him: gaming!

In 2008, my very first MMO had a level cap raise and I was questing on mobs that fling poison. I was a squishy mage with no self-healing. I was running around green with numbers spewing out above my head, and out of the bushes jumped a cleric to cure me. I thanked him and he ran away. Three or four more times he jumped out of bushes to cure me, so I asked if he wanted to party up – and we did. After a year of friendship, we were surprised to run into each other at the divorce NPC. We'd both had significant break-ups and we comforted each other. In June 2009, we met in-person for the first time. In 2010, he moved across the coast to live with me. On August 21st, 2011 we tied the knot.

MMOs are our joint “ship in a bottle” style project. When we're not playing our MMO, we're talking about it – about events that happened, about our goals for the future (both individual and together), planning and coming up with ideas. We created and lead a guild on Aedraxis together, and we were chosen to be officers together in both our Estrael and Faeblight guilds. We work incredibly well together, and while I do play solo very often – Rift is always much more fun and meaningful when I play with him.

[lotusflwr]

My husband and I first met on the battlefield in DAoC in realm vs. realm combat. We couldn't talk in-game since he was from Albion and I was from Hiberna and there was no cross-faction communication, but we knew each other by sight and reputation. Eventually we got to know each other through the forums and our server's unofficial IRC channel. We had a lot in common and flirted madly, even though we were still technically enemies. He lived in Texas and I lived in Virginia, but both virtual and real-life distance didn't seem to matter with how quickly and deeply we connected.

Even after real life intervened and we had to stop playing MMOs for a while, we continued dating. He visited me first, and then I visited him. Before we even had anything planned, he wound up moving to Virginia. We got our first apartment, settled in with new jobs, then got married (IRL) on the anniversary of the night we first actually chatted with each other. This year will be 10 years together, and we still are addicted to MMOs -- and each other. ;D

[Myuriel]

My husband and I began our relationship as co-workers in another game where we worked together to bring storylines to life and enhance the roleplay community. Long hours, creative arguments, and pride in our accomplishments were the soil that nourished the seeds of our burgeoning long-distance relationship, which eventually blossomed into a lifelong commitment. We burned through airline miles flying back and forth to be with one another, but eventually the time came when he made the choice to leave friends and family behind and move to my area.

I was diagnosed with the early stages of cervical cancer shortly after he arrived, which is a rocky start for any couple beginning a new life together. Our hopes and dreams of a future family, even our happiness at finally being with one another, were all put on hold while we paraded through clinics, hospitals, and specialists as we battled against this scary adversary standing in our way. Like an epic raid boss being whittled down, we bested this medical stumbling block and soon got married. Not long ago, we had a miracle that was never supposed to be - a brilliant bit of sunlight in our lives that that calls us 'Mamma' and 'Daddy'.

Now, life's commitments keep us apart where we struggle through a myriad of responsibilities to find just a few moments to be together. He works ten hours or more a day so we can make ends meet and pay off our medical debt. When the house is quiet and the chores are all done, we sneak onto Rift and steal some time to be with one another. We enjoy meeting the challenges of a dungeon, exploring new areas, or chasing after achievements with each other. Whether we are grouped with friends, or taking a jump from Lover's Leap in Scarlet Gorge, we are immersing ourselves in a world of fun and enchantment. Meeting challenges and being creative together was the fuel of our relationship, and Rift helps us keep those feelings alive. Thank you, Trion.

Happy Valentine's Day to all who follow their hearts and make it together, whether in Telara or elsewhere.

[Scrafilix]

I entered the war room in Meridian and looked around for a seat, the meeting had already started, so there weren't many chairs to choose from. I finally found one seat open next to this female mage, so I walked across the room and sat down next to her leaning my staff up against the wall. I leaned over and asked what time the meeting had started, she whispered back " You are an hour late ." I said to myself "oh, well whats going on?" She told me that the general had been going over the events of our recent attacks in Scarwood Reach on the plane of life and that we where preparing for a new attack. The meeting went on for another 30 minutes and with the finalization of our attack plan the general called this meeting to and end. So after our prayer I grabbed my staff, turned, and walked outside to my trust ash strider, cinder. I was about to mount up when the mage that I had sat next to in the meeting called out "Hey you." Not really knowing who she was talking to I turned anyways, then realized she was actually talking to me, and was on her way over to me. As she walked over to me cinder gave a little snort and looked at me with his normal look of, lets get the show on the road. I gave him a nudge and laid my staff down. The mage walked up to me and introduced herself and Adnegveill. I asked her why such a unique name, and she said it was because it was an angel and a devil combined into one word, which I thought was very clever. Usually I would of cut the conversation short and road off without saying much, but this women had a certain spark in here that I could feel my planar energy yearning for. So I introduced my name as Scrafilix, but everyone calls me scraf. So we talked for about thirty minutes, where she told me she lived close to meridian and was staying in a house with a bunch of other people, and was planning on moving out in a few days. I told her I had a place of my own not to far away in Stonefield, and told her she could come stay with me when she moved out. And as we talked on the hours drove by, then finally at about an hour before night, we said our goodbyes and promised to meet tomorrow at the same place. So I road off back to my home excited for the next day.

As the next few days went by, went spent more and more time talking with each other and falling more and more into each other. After she moved out of meridian, she packed up all her stuff and moved over to my house. Over the next week we spent hours with each other, not leaving the house for days at a time. We had fallen in love and I knew this was the girl I had been looking for. She had beautiful auburn red hear, and a smile that could bring a death reaver over to the good side. So now we spend our days traveling through telara together watching each others backs, and conquering huge amounts of enemy's together, bringing us even closer together. Cinder may not like sharing his time with me, but he will get over it.I have never found someone so strong, beautiful, and interesting as her, and I will never want another for the rest of my days.

[Katsmeow]

I was new to the game and questing in Silverwood. I happened upon another player of the same level as me and being a veteran player of another MMO I started asking him questions about his guild and others on the shard. He proceeded to tell me about how the guild that the toon he was playing on was not that great but his main's guild was awesome. BUT... it was an all dwarf guild. Saddened by the news I (a high elf) walked away. A few days later I got a message from the player I had met in Silverwood... Great news! We're letting your kind in now! LOL. I joined up and soon became a High Elf in a Dwarves' world. I kept running into a certain guildie who also happened to be the GM, we would quest, craft, PvP, and just 'cause general mischief. Sometimes Dancing the night away and just talking. Soon the friendship blossomed and we met in Real Life and it has been Love ever since. Since we can't be with each other as often as we like we still meet every night on Rift and PvP or just do nothing at all. He has been so excited about the in game wedding since he's heard about it and keeps "joking" about doing it but I really think he wants to. It would be a nice surprise if we were picked for the contest. The timing is great as well because we will be moving in together right after Valentine's Day. He's my warrior tank and I'm his pocket healer and together we laugh in the faces of those we defeat in pvp!
Help make us the Ruling Couple we deserve to be! Thanks, Kat

Okay so now that the patch is live and I read the description of the in game wedding instance I now KNOW that this in game marriage is meant for us. We are the Ruling couple of Bahralt's Hammer on Silkweb. Please please please pick Morholt and I for this great honor! TY

[CosmicBandito]

Three years ago, I met my wife. She has autoimmune-related disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis. This makes anything physical, even dinner out, difficult or impossible.

While we were dating, I asked her to try WoW, my main hobby. She grudgingly agreed. She took to it like a duck to water; the game gave her mobility in a way that was impossible in the real world.

We had our two main characters, and she loved them. When Rift launched, we made the switch. She went from just being happy to shining. My bride had found a game that impressed her on every level. It was fresh and new and beautiful. She particularly liked achievements and laughed so hard she cried when she got to dance with squirrels. I have never seen her so happy! It makes my heart swell to see her so alive and free, even in a virtual world.

During our play, we've "linked" our characters. For example, Cerreus and Elegy play and progress together. They are a pair. It just doesn't feel right unless we are enjoying our time in game with each other. The new marriage feature will give us a chance to "bond" our characters, a chance to show our love for each other and the game. Her RL wedding ring has "Forever Mine" written on the inside. In-game marriage is one more way for me to show her that she is mine, forever, no matter what the Universe has planned for us. Regardless of whether you choose us, we will still marry in game with our mains and all of our various alts. I wanted to thank all of you for giving us the ability to have date nights and be active together in a way we can't in real life. Thank you!!

[MissThais]

Once upon a time there was a girl who was very unhappy with the state of her World. She entered the Internet to escape her atrocious life and wielded a mighty staff to heal those who would battle monsters and the forces of evil. With staff in hand she’d storm battlefield after battlefield supporting those who protected and fought for a better Internet! On one such journey to the Internet she happened upon a stalwart paladin. This poor soul was hurt, heartbroken, and had no hope for love in the future, even though he fought for the goodness in people and protected those who couldn’t protect themselves through the mighty justice of God. This powerful healer and this tenacious paladin found hope in each other, hope they both thought was long since extinguished and in only a short time they fell into each other’s arms, fell in love. Together they fought with such power that many a foe fell to the ground before them, doomed to run back to their corpses in hopes of reviving. The power of this couple went beyond the bounds of the Internet and spilled into the World they were doomed to inhabit. They met in the World and swore to each other that through any hardship they would remain together, for all eternity. Their love was the strongest force; they are each other’s perfect counterparts, Yin and Yang, soul mates through and through. Thier life together in the World was hard and bitter, but their love never faltered. Their life together in the Internet is truly where they dreamed to be, to the very end. And so, every day they enter the enigmatic universe of the Internet together, staff and sword in hand, to journey into the future and fight for justice and love.

[Alizabeth]

My husband and I, we go way back
We got married before he was sent to Iraq.
The desert was harsh, and I all alone
Wondering if he would even come home.

Over the summer our hopes would shift
As we both signed up for this game called Rift.
Before we knew it, we were saving the land
Both in Telara, standing hand in hand.

The nights weren't as lonely, the days were more bright
as I could sleep knowing he was holding me tight.


From Freemarch to Moonshade and Ironpine Peeks,
Telara was our home for so many weeks.
And though real life was harder to weather,
Rift was the thing that kept us together.

He was my knight, a tank clad in leather,
glimering daggers and wickedly clever
I was a mage, a dame soft and sweet
together any foe was hardly a feat.

A hero he is, in Rift and real life,
and I am so proud for being his wife
And Rift rid us all, of all our disparage
I darest say that Rift strengthened our marriage!

So thank you, Trion, for letting us play!
And I hope you will attend on our wedding day.
Aliza and Kanko, both full of glee
getting married for all of Telara to see!

[Drazin]

While fighting a very difficult beast (Ragnor) in Freemarch, i nearly gave up, at level 9 i was being tossed all over Eliam Fields and was not even making a dent in this monstrous razorbeast. So close to death, a tall, handsome warrior appeard and slew the beast, saving me from certain death. As quickly as he had appeared...he was gone. I wanted to thank him for his help but he had disappeared into the mists of the water invasion.

For several days i continued on my journey through Telara in constant awe of it's beauty, all the while wondering if i would again meet the warrior that saved me. I was sent to Deneger's Stand to assist in their struggle in Smith's Haven. As i entered i saw the warrior battling several undead and near death himself. I rushed forward and with flashing daggers i was able to help him bring down the hordes of undead. To my delight he remembered me, i thanked him and for the last several months we fight back to back protecting Telarans and each other. Capo, the warrior has asked me to be his wife and i Honesty, the rogue have agreed to stand at his side through whatever life on Telara(Gnarlwood) brings us.

[Princessblue]

I couldn't believe my husband had bought me a gift,
I eagerly opened it up only to find it was Rift.
WTF hunni i screamed, you got me a game
I'm an effin female, are you bloody insane.
Calm down he said, I think you'll like it,
You can make your own character n'all, just try it.
I was so mad but gave in and installed it,
I chose an Eth Mage and called her Blueorchid.
I tried not to show my excitement as I played,
or admit that my attention toward rift had swayed.
Our friends played too so we created a guild,
and we would all share tips on our latest soul build.
My husband and I come home from work and do our daily T2 together,
then rage at Rift for the amount of loot drops that are leather
He laughs at me when I fall off a cliff and die,
he walks up to my corpse and does a forward slash cry.
We like to play over a bottle of wine
and he is always making sure his DPS is better than mine.

Rift has given us something to do together that we both equally love and in my opinion playing together helps us stay together.