Legacy of The Magi: Dracos Harrowing

I hope no one notices. As long as I nod my head as father speaks about the Harrowing for

the fifth time today, he might not notice my internal battle to keep breakfast down. The standards

set forth by my ancestors have placed great pressure on me. The expectations for a twelfth

generation magi are enormous. Although I am nervous, I am also very excited. It is time to make

a name for myself. It is time that I, Draco Hellsworth enter the dream world to face the demon.
Strike! The first evil spirit unlucky enough to meet my gaze is struck down. I head

forward, wherever forward is. All of my training is paying off as I dispatch of any and all entities

in my way. I happen upon a talking mouse. I realize the mouse is a spirit and he warns me of the

trickery and history of the dream world. Although I am grateful for Mouses help, I dont fully

trust him.
Continuing on, I meander and investigate the landscape, scavenging and dispatching of

any harmful spirits. Blinding white light attracts me and I realize the light is the armor of a spirit

suit. I ask the spirit about the Harrowing and dream world. He knows little that is helpful, but it

is evident that I have not been told every detail before entering this place. Valor, the spirit warrior

does have something that may be useful. I notice weapons floating around and ask about them.

Valor informs me that I must prove myself worthy to wield his weapons and do so by defeating

him in a duel. I earn a staff and continue to hunt the demon.

My next encounter is a spiked bear named Sloth. Sloth lazily explains that his form can

be of use to me when fighting the demon. Mouse eagerly learns how to take Sloths shape and

this proves useful as we continue along. Further along the path I encounter the demon! It looks

like a talking tongue. Although the fight was brutal, Mouse and I dispose of the demon rather

easily. I begin to wonder why the feared demon was such a push over. Understanding finally

enlightens me as mouse proves to be the real demon! I knew I couldnt trust that rodent!
I wake up in some quarters of a sort. My head is pounding. Right away, I meet a man

called Jowan and learn about a practice called tranquility. Some magi are stripped of their hopes
and dreams. This causes the unlucky magi to become husks more or less. Jowan informs me that

I must seek out a senior Magi by the name of Irving. Irving is in his study, but I plan on taking

my time and learning more about the current times before I proceed to the study. I make myself

familiar with the castle. I learn many things from eavesdropping on conversations being had all

around me. I am intrigued to hear about politics and even my survival of the Harrowing. I must

visit my new living quarters and scavenge more.

Finally I find the study and approach a group of bickering men. I meet Irving, who in turn

introduces me to Duncan. Both men seem nice enough, but I admire the air of wisdom and

authority in Irving more than in Duncan. Duncan gives me my magi robes and I cant help but

think of how proud father must be! I am informed about the outside worlds condition and learn

of the dark spawn. It seems likely that I will battle this spawn and I plan to obliterate it. Jowan

finds me soon after and he looks very troubled.

I am saddened to learn that Jowan has been chosen to become tranquil. He letsme know

of his feeling for a woman called Lilley. I pity Jowans and Lillys heartbreaking predicament

and vow to help in any way I can. Before doing so, I feel compelled to relay what I have learned

about Jowan and Lilly to Virgil. I feel used as Virgil presses me for more and more information. I

also, feel bad for betraying my friends. Although I feel like I did the right thing, I am still sad.

Virgil seems to think Lilly is the crux of the problem in regards to Jowan. I dont fully agree, but

I remain silent as he speaks his mind.

Reflection
I thought it would be really difficult to enjoy this game, but found myself engrossed in

the storyline soon enough. The controls were difficult to learn and use on a computer, but I

managed well enough. I found myself being torn between helping Jowan and staying true to the

Magi. Also, the Magis coming of age ritual was scary. The initiation into that discourse

community was rough. That process reminded me of navy boot camp and having to overcome
adversity in order to be accepted in the one of the most traditional discourse communities in the

U.S. The game installed smoothly on my computer. I roamed often trying to scavenge things I

could use. I liked having the ability to steer the narrative in the direction of my choice as well.
I have never played a game such as Dragon Age Origins. I enjoyed listening to others

gossip and sought out any and every one I could have a possible conversation with. I found the

opening scene particularly striking and decided from that point my character would have a sense

of honor and duty. I knew that no matter how the story played out, I would incorporate these pre-

determined core values. I also was hoping there would be an option where you could avoid

fighting altogether, but soon realized the plot required action. I also found myself eager to

develop a good feel for the storyline. I had no intentions of rushing ahead without exploring

every corner of the dream world and castle alike. Two hours came very soon.
I am also surprised at the similarities between Draco and myself. I felt torn within the

game between friendship and duty; I too am torn between two college majors. I am currently a

pre public heath major. I am strongly considering becoming an English major. My conflict is do I

commit to a major that I have experience in with PH, or do I follow my heart and dare to take a

new journey. I understand the significance of committing to either of these discourse

communities and find myself torn. Overall, the experience of playing this game was interesting

and thought provoking. With that being said, it was not the easiest game for me to play. I am

grateful for the experience.

James Williams
 My Understanding of Discourse Communities

What I have come to understand about discourse communities during this project

sequence is the diversity and variety within discourse communities. I find this interesting,

because prior to starting the DA. O personal analysis, I had a meager understanding of what a

discourse community was and how being a part of certain discourse certain discourse

communities can affect the choices you make in real life. Being a Navy veteran and a student at

UNCC are two very different discourse communities that I am a part of, but both influence the

decisions I make daily. For example, in order to maintain my status as a university student, I

must take time to study, complete required work and also come to class prepared to learn. These

are a few of the requirements to maintain my status within the universitys discourse community.

On the other hand, the core values of honor, courage and commitment heavily influence my daily

actions. These values were instilled within me, as I served in one of the most prestigious

discourse communities, the U.S Navy.

Although I understood that the choices I made throughout the game had no effect outside

of the virtual reality in which my character was confined, I found myself weighing decisions and

developing a bond with the people wand world within the game. Specifically, I really took being

a part of the magi discourse community seriously, and my decisions and actions strongly

reflected my loyalty to my discourse community. My train of thought directly coincides with

Swales Conceptualization of a discourse community, as Swales stated the common goals agreed

upon within discourse communities. This is to say that once you are a part of a discourse

community, you adapt to the ideals, goals and logic within that community and uphold these
values. Swales, J The Concept of Discourse Community. Genre Analysis: English in Academic

and Research Settings, Boston: Cambridge UP, 1990.21-32

Interestingly enough, my classmate Gavin had a similar opinion on discourse

communities even though he chose to create a character within the warrior class. Gavin and share

similar tastes of games and the MMORPG genre is not a favorite of ours. Gavin shared my sense

of loyalty to his discourse community as did I with mine. As a result, Gavin stuck to the storyline

and played the game as someone within the warrior discourse community would. Hacking,

slashing, and showing no mercy. I did find it interesting that Gavin would chose a brutal class

such as the warrior. This is because his demeanor is relaxed and quiet. This also leads me to

believe that people may join certain discourse communities to take a break from the norm. The

wide array of discourse communities available in the video games allows for gamers to recreate

themselves within the rules of that community. This is cool because it allows you to virtually

become anyone or anything within the rules of the game and discourse communities.

In closing, I appreciate the subtle way in which this assignment taught me about

discourse communities I have a better understanding of how being a part of certain discourse

communities influence my everyday life. I must admit that my excitement level for this project

was not very high in the beginning. However, it is very apparent that I am heavily influenced by

the discourse communities that I am a part of. Ironically, I find myself using lexies within one

discourse community that confuse members in other discourse communities. For example, my

military brethren may not understand me if I used the same lexies as I would with a fellow

student and vice versa. I have a better understanding of my choices and the discourse

communities in which I pledge allegiance affect the world around me.

 Interview Questions

1. Are you a gamer? If so, do you normally play this genre?

2. Where you interested in exploring or did you play the game to get it over with?
3. What class of character did you create and why?
4. When writing your narrative, did you add dynamics or storylines?
5. Did you want to be a hero, villain or remain impartial?
exies as I would with a fellow student and vice versa. I have a better understanding of my

choices and the discourse communities in which I pledge allegiance affect the world around me.