As support has gotten a bunch of form letters (why a form letter would
persuade anyone is beyond me) asking for Gaia's return, I'll just be OOC
and lay it out for you here.

We didn't kick the player behind Gaia out. She left, of her own free
will. She threw a tantrum when it was suggested that perhaps the
frequent problems she's had with the forest folk are at least partially
her problem and said something along the lines of, "Find someone else to
play Gaia. I'm out of here." I emphasize that she left, and was not
kicked out. Of course, there's no way we'd let someone back after that
kind of behavior, especially as it wasn't the first time she'd
demonstrated that kind of attitude when working with the rest of the
Garden.

We understand many of you were fond of Gaia, and perhaps the person who
played Gaia, but the person who played Gaia is definitely not going to
be returning, and Gaia has already sacrificed herself to the forests.
OOCly, not letting her back wasn't a difficult decision. From an IC
standpoint, there's really nothing to discuss, as what happened
happened, and complaining about it is like complaining that an
earthquake just shook your house down. You can complain, or you can just
accept that's what happened.

I also want to point out that from a roleplaying perspective (and many
of you like to say you'd like more roleplaying) it is -horribly- out of
character to talk about Gaia "not being Gaia" and that sort of thing.
Anything Gaia does is, by definition, done by Gaia. Whether it's done by
the same person behind the character is really irrelevant, as the person
behind the character is not Gaia, but playing Gaia (as multiple people
have before).

In any case, you all live in Achaea, which we try to run as a world, and
in a world, you don't get to dictate how your life will turn out, and,
more importantly, how the circumstances around you will turn out. Half
of roleplaying is dealing with what happens to you in a manner
consistent with your character.

So, in the end, while we (and I) appreciate your attachment to her, life
is full of changes, and if you're interested in roleplaying, I'd suggest
this is an -excellent- opportunity to do some. If not, then I question
why you care, as Gods are only gods in a roleplaying sense.

Penned by my hand on the 16th of Phaestian, in the year 305 AF.