Elder Scrolls Online is losing a key developer: Loremaster Lawrence Schick, the man whose fatherly drawl and broad knowledge of the Elder Scrolls franchise captivated pretty much everyone every time ZeniMax gave him a stage.

“For family reasons, I am leaving ZeniMax Online Studios and my role as The Elder Scrolls Online’s Loremaster after a long and happy tenure in the position,” he says. “The Community team asked me to write a farewell letter about my time wrangling the lore of Tamriel for ESO.” He doesn’t do that, however. Instead, he uses his farewell letter to discuss the way the lore in Elder Scrolls works: specifically, that it was written by dozens of people over dozens of years, all from various shifting points of view of the characters inhabiting the space. Including ours.

“I hope you can see how important the community’s contribution is to ESO and our collective world of Tamriel. The lore of the Elder Scrolls is a vast mosaic scattered with colorful story-stones, and over time the game devs and the players, in an ongoing dialogue, fill in the space between with new stories and experiences that interconnect with the old ones and make the world richer and more complex. So be the person in Tamriel whom you want to be, coming from the culture you want to role-play, with the belief system that best expresses your character’s personality and background. Whoever you want to be, there’s a place for you here. The lore is yours.”

Pure class.

In other ESO news this week, ZeniMax is kicking off another ESO Plus Free Trial event tomorrow morning; players need only log in and select the “free trial” option in the cash shop. Through February 12th, the trial will unlock all the game’s DLC – and that includes Morrowind. “If you don’t have access to the zone to participate in the recently announced Morrowind Celebration Event, you’ll get free access to it during the ESO Plus trial period,” says the studio.