It was following random test characters within the Nethack environment that more serious players were sought out to act in the various roles. As the ultimate Wiz-Hum-Fem characters of the time, me, Nanoha and Fate were obvious choices for the Wizard role! (Um, it helps to have seen the anime "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's", but it's not required. Similarly, it helps to know a bit about Nethack.)

Nanoha descended on Feb 11, 2007, with Neutral alignment. (She got to go first, being the star of the show and everything. I was fine with that.) Regrettably, on DL 4, she ran into the bones file of the less skilled MrMagic, who had died after polymorphing something into a pit viper. On the plus side, he'd had a wand of death; on the down side, both his pet and the pit viper killed Nanoha before she could get there, or escape. (Her own pet wandered away into a corridor, most disappointing.)

Not one to go down easy, Nanoha immediately reincarnated and redescended with Chaotic alignment. (Being killed has a way of making one more chaotic, as you'll see in my case!) Unfortunately, while she popped down the stairs to DL5 this time, a werejackal then killed her while she was helpless on DL4. In each case, she didn't survive the day. Poor girl. That kind of finished her, since there's no Lawful Wizards.

Fate was the next to try, on Feb 14, 2007, with Chaotic alignment. She had more luck, albeit mixed, ending up with three pets by Minetown (Signum to start, then Vita and Shamal), but polymorph traps in the mines turned Shamal into a rust monster, who proceeded to eat things in the arms store back at mine's entrance. Herding the pets was awkward, and ultimately, on DL8 (max 11, from the mines), Fate died on Feb 22nd when, while approaching a store, she couldn't run away from a leocrotta fast enough.

Fate redescended a month later, March 22, still Chaotic (she just couldn't go as Neutral, she's always been like that - nice girl, nonetheless). However, one day later, she suffered YAAD on DL10 in the Mines, when a gnome stepped on a polymorph trap, turned into a Jabberwock, and started pounding on her. The annoying part was, when Fate went to pray to recover her HP, the beast clocked her "while helpless" before the gods could intervene. So in defiance of that unfair fate, Fate restored her file from a backup. (Yes, it's evil, but as I said, she's quite chaotic.)

Her first trick once back was to use her magic resistance and a pickaxe to turn the polymorph trap into a pit. She then merrily went on her way through the rest of the mines and regular dungeon, creating a cache, IDing items, discovering Medusa's level, and even getting as far as the Quest. (Before her, only Mulder had reached Medusa, and s/he hadn't got through the Quest!) She completed the Quest in part because, when the Dark One summoned nasties and teleported away, Fate teleported after him and chucked daggers until he died. But then she got sloppy.

She went back down to get rid of the nasties; one was a minotaur, and she found they hit hard and fast. Perhaps too fast, or perhaps Fate was feeling guilty over her earlier restore... either way, she didn't invoke teleportation, and despite 104HP, Fate died at DL20 (in the Quest) on April 5. Rest in peace, little blonde Enchantress. *sniff*

With both Nanoha and Fate suffering double deaths, it came to me. My Neutral self descended on April 20. However, despite the fact that I don't map an entire level before descending, my alternate had found no food by DL4. None! Even MONSTERS were scarce!! (No, really! It was baffling.)

Prayer can only help once, and doubling back to the shop on DL3 proved useless since Neu-Hayate had barely any money either. Eventually she passed out and was bitten to death by Rein, her own kitten, who hadn't found any monsters to eat either. Her score barely surpassed that of the first Nanoha.

To be honest, that pissed me off. I immediately redescended as a Chaotic.

This is my story.