Welcome, one and all, to a nice fireside tale of one of Wizard101's most mysterious NPC's of all time, ever since the game's first inception back in 2008.
If you've been frequenting Wizard101 theory's over the years, you may have seen a couple talking about Ivan Soulsinger, a Death Wizard boss encountered in Dragonspyre at the end of a rather lengthy side quest chain, and also the man whose often sought after for the Soulsinger's Soulsword, one of the most desired stitches in the game.
Ever since I first encountered him and read the theory's, I'd always been interested in seeing a new side quest plot where the player realizes he's been corrupted by vile forces ( Probably during the war that tore Dragonspyre to pieces and left it in the state it's in today ), and where they work to restore him to his old self, before he'd turned evil and threatens to take over our bodies and the like.
Me and my friends actually worked out a bit of a story behind this idea, complete with dungeon runs and boss fights, and we were pleasantly shocked with how well this worked out. We even made a player character similar to Ivan in terms of school and appearance to use for this little experiment, which I had the pleasure of taking control of. And when we were done, well, he kind of just stuck around.
Our tale went something like this:
Once he was brought back from the darkness that had consumed him, he ultimately deduced that he was no longer welcome or wanted in Dragonspyre, so he chose to remain with the inhabitants of the Fairy Kingdom, aiding the Rangers in the war with the undead, which at the time was at it's peek. And if you've ever visited my friends special house mini-dungeon that we called "The Dread Fortress", the skeletal remains of what's assumed to be many, MANY brave Wizards who fell trying to keep the monsters inside the fortress, which are still lying around there to this day, will tell you everything you need to know about how brutal that war was. IT WAS BAD.
Fearing that he'd be identified as the man who "Betrayed" the drakes and possibly attacked, he took on the name of "Ian Soulsinger" to disguise his true identity, and despite the fact that he still maintains the same appearance as his counterpart in Flamewind Tower, right down to his chosen weapon, this guise worked. Only a handful of Wizards actually recognized him. ( Although we mainly made up this part due to the fact that "Ivan" isn't an option for a player character's first name, which makes no sense, but let's not stray off-topic here )
At first, during the high point of the war, Ivan was simply recruited to guard the entrance of the undead's headquarters, the dread fortress, and keep both weak Wizards from wandering IN and getting themselves killed, and keeping the fortress' inhabitants from wandering OUT and causing even more mayhem. His skill and strength were more than enough to keep the beasts at bay, and for the first time, the tide of the war had turned. And while he didn't really leave his post unless it was urgent, enough Rangers went to and from the fortress that he got to know the other warriors quite well, and even fought alongside them every once in a while.
But after the war died down and peace returned to the kingdom, the fortress didn't really need a guard anymore. Luckily, Ivan had done enough to get the attention of the royal family, and he was recruited as their personal bodyguard. More specifically, he was tasked with defending the young princess, who was the only heir to the throne, from any stragglers of the war seeking revenge. It's a safe bet that wherever the princess is, Ivan is nearby, ready to spring into action if he senses danger towards the young songchild.
Unable to forget his past in Dragonspyre, as well as the pain he inflicted on the Drakes while he was possessed, he discovered that a shadow form of his old, possessed self had appeared in his old home, Flamewind Tower, and ultimately decided it was time to face his own, dark past. After taking a special training crash course to master several new spells, including the then new Monster Mash spell, he set out to confront what can only be described as himself in his old tower.
The fight was long and brutal, and with both Soulsinger's mana reserves exhausted after a battle that seemed to go on for hours, it ultimately came down to a battle of blades. But in the end, the newly free Ivan managed to overpower his dark self and drove him into the abyss, allowing him to finally reclaim his own Soulsinger's Soulsword. Leaving Flamewind Tower behind and returning to the Rangers Headquarters, everyone seemed to notice that he was more cheerful than before, and seemed to be friendlier towards others than he had been during the war, which the royal family's chief sage speculated had come from finally confronting his personal demons and overcoming his tragic past.
Nowadays, Ivan is still with the kingdom, continuing to act as the personal guard for the princess, whom had become a very dear friend to him due to her cheerful and carefree attitude and her desire to protect her mother's subjects from evil, which usually means he's kept very busy keeping her out of trouble. While he still reflects on his past life in Dragonspyre, he knows that there comes a time when one must move on to new things and leave the past behind.
PHEW... that was quite the tale, huh? All this occurred over the span of several years, going right alongside tons of other crazy things that happened, so there is a chance I left some details out or overlooked something. But I think it's nice that we were able to give Ivan a happy end to his story, even if he did suffer a lot of bruises along the way. Maybe one day I'll be able to give him his old name back and he can quit hiding behind that "Ian" alias. But he survived the past couple years hiding his true identity. I think he can wait a little longer.
Now I want to hear from you guys: Do you have any tales about one of the game's many characters you'd like to share? I'd be happy to read them! And who knows, we just might give the devs ideas for new side content to add into the game in the future, to keep us pacified while they work on the big updates.
