January 2002

From Christof:

All guilds around the City of Trinsic in Fel and Tram we will be holding a meeting in tram coming Feb 9th for more details please check this link http://pub43.ezboard.com/ftctfrm2
this meeting is so that the guilds around Trinsic will have a chance to speak on what their concerns are and how the ally system will work between the city and the guilds around it.

From "davidparker1@yahoo.com"

“Today we begin to charge forward. I am tired of the Empire walking the lands freely, tired of our fellow man being killed and looted in our neighbor Felucca. What is to say that Trammel is not next? If the Tome of Breaking is discovered by our enemies before we are able to secure it or destroy it, we may well see this happen,” Alaric spoke freely at the Council of Thorn meeting while the Templars listened and asked questions. “Because this event is so important, and because the Virtues themselves are at stake, with word that Lord Blackthorn is on the rise we must Crusade valiantly against the Empire of Armageddon and the Fallen Ones. If we fail, they will pave the way for Lord Blackthorn and his minions. Therefore you are no long just Templars of the Light, you are Crusader’s of Virtue. Ride gallantly this night and gather information, put the enemy to death in the name of truth.”

Directions were given as the sun began to set behind the mountain near the Monastery of Rose. Cardinal Kemp Owyne took the Under Marshal of the Templars, Alen and a Knight Brother, Leones to track down rumors. Their travels took them back and forth from facet to facet. The Cardinal later gave a full report.

“Much information was learned. Marious seems now to be near Yew in trammel, building an army, trying to get Oblivion who is an ancient demi-god in search of souls from trammel. Oblivion, as well as Eowen, seeks the Tome of Breaking for some evil purpose, and Eowen is supposedly in possession of the maps leading to the Tome. The power of the Tome appears immense and able to destroy the virtues.

Near the end of our journey, Eowen and one of her cohorts, Wolfbrew, appeared at the Abbey, but quickly disappeared. Hearing the two may have returned to the Rose Garden, Thunder and I returned there and confronted the two. Not much was said or learned, but Eowen seems confident she is ahead of us. If she does have the maps, we must prevent her from finding the Tome.”

While the Cardinal and his party gathered information, the Papas, Alaric, and his old friends Tym and Gilhoa, formerly of the Crusader’s of Hope, went on their search for Marious Goubert’s footman, Razor S Edge. News came by pigeon that he was near Khaldun killing innocents.

“brrrrr what a horrid night, cold clammy I wouldn’t be surprised if the snow was feeling cold.” “Ah, Tym yes it be a cold night indeed” Alaric pulled his robe a bit closer to hide from a sudden chilling breeze. “Alaric, do you think we will survive?” Tym questioned while fingering his double bladed axe. “I do not know, the nights air almost reeks of death,” Alaric pondered as Gilhoa chimed in, “Yes it is a cold night but you must realize that tonight our hearts must be even colder if we are to accomplish our goal.” Tym agreed, “You speak truly Gilhoa as you always have.” After their greetings the three warriors sat and sipped their ale looking concerned and scared of something. Each wore their best armor, with incredible weapons at their sides. Staring, deep in thought, all knew that tonight they would go fourth to try to kill an old and once dear friend. “You two know that Razor probably knows we will be there tonight?” Tym had brought up the question, which was on everyone’s heart. “Aye, Tym he probably does,” Gilhoa said sadly. “The time grows near, we should start our journey,” the Papas knew time was short and that Razor must be stopped before it was too late.

As we left the Tavern, I was leery of what was to come of us; Razor had been a dear friend for a long time. He was always strong and has gotten stronger. Will we have the courage to do what is needed? To purposely go forward to find and hunt down an old friend and kill him. These were the thoughts lying deep on my shoulders. I did not even need to ask, to know the silence from Alaric and Gilhoa, was because they were having the same thoughts. We headed North atop our steeds riding for the entrance of Kaldun, for we knew he would be there tonight. Word had come that he would often hunt there for thrill, slaughtering the innocent that came and tried to concore the evils within. The night was to dark to see, fortunately our animals new the way. This left far too much time to think; about things a man in my position didn’t need to think about. Would he be alone? Would he truly kill me? Yes he would. Can I kill this man I once shared my home with? I must. I must. My thoughts continued in this manner throughout the travel to the dungeon. Alaric and Gilhoa did not speak and I am certain it was for similar reasons.

Ahead in the distance, was an eerie glow creeping through the night, marking the entrance to evil. It seemed like an eternity in every hoof step that brought us closer to this terrible inevitability. We slowed and stopped when we got to the outlying brush. Here we would wait, until he arrived. We did not speak but held our weapons in hand and prepared to charge. Silent and still we waited. The clouds lightly parted and showed the moon, we watched as it crossed the night’s sky. Was the information wrong? Did Razor hear and not come? Were we to sit here all night to no avail?

A gate opened just to the right of the entrance. My grip became death on my axe handle. A great White Wyrm stepped threw, with her master right behind. Razor had come, and no, he was not alone. Razor quickly vanished inside the dungeon entrance. A moment later he was back out and alone. He mumbled something about Trammel and recalled away. Surely he let the beast go in the dungeon in hopes that innocent travelers would die. Alaric, Tym and Gilhoa sent pigeon’s flying in all directions and began a search of Felucca before remembering Razor’s words, “Trammel will be next.” They returned to the Monastery of Rose to see Razor pass through a gate, they followed and found themselves chasing Razor through the woods of Papua…. suddenly they were beset by Ice, Razor’s dragon

He just stood there beside his beast as if awaiting us. After a glance to each other we stepped towards Razor. This was the first good look there had been of him since his departure. His eyes were blacker then coal matching his clothes and nightmare he road. His stare sent shivers deep through my soul, when our eyes met. He smiled at us with a grin, as evil as hells own fire. Then ever so gentle he spoke. “Girl do you see these impotent fools? Eat them” As if the gates of hell had been burst open the Dragon struck with complete fierceness. Alaric caught a full force breath of fire to his chest plate and was knocked from his steed. In all of a second later, I was struck from the beast tail up across my head and knocked from my stead. Alaric and I healed one another and remounted as Gilhoa dodged the thrashing talons trying to find her. Razor stayed slightly back laughing and throwing minor magic at us disrupting our healing and attacks. Time and time again we were thrown and almost crushed, while this beast just seemed to be toying with us. We were loosing, our armor was trashed, and our weapons dull, our spirits sunk, and the beast seemed to have felt no harm. Again knocked from my horse I stumbled back while trying to reach my feet and Razor torched her, my sweat loyal mare, lay in a scorched pile. Engulfed in rage I charged the beast and swung my battle-axe with such fury that apiece broke off imbedded in a scale. She felt that one but I do not think much more then a bee sting. To thank me she torched me and allowed me to know the feeling of being barbequed alive. Alaric charged to heal me and noticed the piece of axe, in an instant of thought he jammed his broad sword behind the piece of axe and laid his body weight into it. A scale popped off and fell to the ground. Feeling the pain she turned her attention to Alaric and grabbed him in her ferocious jaws. I was helpless and lay there barely alive watching what I thought was to be our end. Then Gilhoa was upon me, as she started healing me she saw a drip of blood from the chest of the beast. She turned burying her Broad sword and half her arm in the beast’s chest straight through her black heart. Alaric was blasted from her mouth in a screaming burst of flame. Then, she fell dead shaking the very presence of all who were about.



Razor had wandered slightly off to torment an innocent bystander, but his attention was immediately brought back to us. Our armor now in shambles, exhausted, we quickly healed one another while stumbling from side to side. Razor rode over, almost showing remorse, he looked at his dead beast on the ground. This momentary pause was short lived. He turned to face us with glowing red eyes. Orange flames danced about his hands and Balls of fire flew forward hitting each of us multiple times. Alaric and I were knocked to the ground. Gilhoa, being well trained in resisting spells, stood still taking the least damage. While, we tried to heal and move forward, Razor laughed. Poisoning us, he continued his ongoing mix of magic.

He had grown stronger and his magic was most terrifying. We continued to heal and wondered if we would ever get close enough to attack. Gilhoa, being the least affected by the magic, trudged forward and hit Razor with her sword. The disruption was almost enough to get us close. Gilhoa was lit from head to toes in flames. As she fell to the ground I watched her helmet roll from her head, her eyes glaze and stare out at nothing. I felt as thou my soul was gone and collapsed to the ground. Alaric’s scream brought my eyes up to see him bury his sword in Razors chest taking him to the ground dead. I crawled over to Gilhoa and started applying aids, in hope that some life still remained. I felt the heat and turned to see Alaric being torched by the Nightmare. O how could I have forgotten that horrid beast. Alaric was struggling to get his sword, out of the now dead Razor’s chest.

With the last of my strength I jumped on the back of the Mare and struck my broken battle-axe in the top of its head. I was thrown from its back and Alaric slit its throat. We had won, but to what cost?



With my last waking moment I saw Alaric loose a pigeon and collapse.

I awoke in the comfort of the monastery, a monk instantly held me down when I tried to get out of bed. “Rest sir, you deserve it. Do not worry she lives, barely.” As I passed out again, I could see Alaric across the room lying much as I did.

Much time had passed for I recall many meals and night skies. I feel strong and rested again. “I must find Gilhoa, if she lived.”

With two successes behind them, the Crusader’s prepared for the Ritual and the return of Razor to their ranks…but the Tome of Breaking and a clash with EoA was on the horizon…. help would be needed should they fail. May the virtues help Trammel!

Finale
From the Journal of Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Cult of the Azure Dragons
Al'Norac, Year of the Cobalt Wings


The cool breeze of the evening winds rushed across him as he stared across the land and into the Desert of Compassion Lost. The desert shrine had long since been cleansed, but with Felucca as it was, it was hard to think of it as Compassion. Especially with that dark, vile tomb sitting between him and the shrine. The Temple of Mondain. It was no more a temple than Mondain was a misunderstood benefactor of the lands. Too long had it stood within Dracona. Too long had they done as they wished. Now they were insistent that those of Sosaria wear the colors of the Temple or die.

He remembered those days well. This was not the first time the acolytes of the dark lord Mondain had gone on such a warpath. In fact, such was his first encounter with those of the Temple, long before the megalomaniac Mordain had risen to power. Misunderstood indeed. Ra’Dian Fl’Gith turned and walked across the tower to the great stone of Nexchronosis. He knew his expression must be somber, for he could feel the frown upon his face. It was the right thing to do though. He knew, deep within, that this was the right course to take.

Lifting the valorite-bound tome, and staring at the light blue letters embossed upon its cover, Ra’Dian allowed himself a smile. This would be a new beginning, not an end. Those of the Cult had slowly gone their own ways, a band of friends that would always remain so, but that different ideas of where their futures lie had slowly drifted them in their own directions.

“The Cult will live on,” Ra’Dian said, knowing full well that the ancient Dragothan behind him had thought that he had walked across the roof unheard. “We will simply change our methods.”

Nemesis Enforcer let out a slight chuckle. “You are getting better, my lord. It is not as easy to sneak upon you as once was.”

“True, Valerix. Most true.”

“So what becomes of the Cult, Ra?” The Enforcer stood next to him, azure cloak rustling in the gentle wind. “What becomes of Dracona?”

“We will ne’er leave our home, Valerix. This holy land is now, as e’er, our charge to protect. We will simply change what the Cult is, for too long hae we stared at these halls, requiring that those within be fully a part of the great stone.” Ra’Dian reached out with his left hand and traced his fingers along his name, a slight blue light engulfing the letters as he moved. As the glow subsided, his name faded back to the stone from which it had raised. “No longer. From this day forth, those of the Cult shall be recorded in the Tome of Nexchronosis, and we shall welcome any who would worship the Azure Dragongod.”

He turned and saw a wide smile upon Nemesis’ lips. “You are growing in wisdom, elf. Long ago, such was the Empire. Not one Cult were we, but many guilds, many organizations. All tied to the Cult as one. So, it seems, shall we be again.”

“I hae spoken with Tre’Lianne. She will remain upon the stone and tend to the daily affairs of Dracona. As for me, a new dawn calls, and one where I may defend the lands as I hae not done in much time.” Ra’Dian turned back to the stone, and set the tome down upon the table in front of it. He took a quill from his pocket, and in a deep azure ink, wrote his name upon the first page. Ra’Dian Fl’Gith, Esorei’Toryn.

A blue light caught his eye, and he looked up to see the Enforcer too removing his name from the great stone. Ra’Dian set the magical feather to the page of the tome, and beneath his own, wrote Nemesis Enforcer, Famis Qalil’Ut. Looking up at his friend, Ra’Dian smiled. “I didnae want to make the decision for ye.”

“I follow where you go, my lord. I owe you much, and I will not leave your side.” The Enforcer stepped away from the stone, and walked to the wing that Ra’Dian had left but minutes before. It was obvious he too was looking at the dark tomb. “What of the Temple? They are most active.”

“True. Which is why I chose now to change the future of the Cult,” Ra’Dian said as he crossed to stand next to his aged friend. “For as just those who represented the Cult prior, we could hardly withstand an onslaught from the Temple should they decide to do so. With opening our arms wide to any who would come to this holy land, we now will hae the ability to so defend it once more.”

Nemesis turned, his eyes glowing a soft violet light. “I knew someday you would see the wisdom within. That holding to the stone was not the future, but a tie to the past. Where does our allegiance become sworn now?”

Ra’Dian pulled a runestone from his robes, and ran his hands across it. “Vas Rel Por,” he called out, and watched as a shimmering azure gate came into being between himself and the Enforcer. Through the warping effect of the portal, as though a drop in a vertical puddle of crystal blue water, he could see the grand tower of the Holy Cross Defenders. “To our calling, Valerix. Let us go forth and begin anew...”

Many denizens of Britannia have been finding small booklets written by Lord Blackthorn throughout the realm. As there is some confusion over the purpose of the booklets, here is the text in its entirety:

A Welcome by Lord Blackthorn

Greetings to you new member of the Trusted.

You now read these words because you have been deemed worthy to join the ranks of Britannia's defenders. Some will call you a betrayer of mankind, I say they are misguided. I call you a defender for Sosaria needs saving from itself.

The forces of order once ruled our world. Like a great darkness over our lives we lived under the oppressive watch of a king who dictated our actions and passed judgement on our character. He suppressed our way of life by denying our freedom and the ability to determine who we are and what we stand for. Even today in the absence of this man we still see the symbol of his tyranny, we watch his personal guards patrol the cities to intimidate us, and we feel his laws like a vice on our lives.

You are here because you choose to be free. Like many Britannians you have felt the oppression of one man's ideas weighing down upon you like chains. You have felt the embrace of fear, wondering if you face consequence for simply having ideas not in harmony with those forced upon you. You have seen men fight and die for the principles of a zealot and wondered, "Who will fight for my principles should they be opposed?" You tire of living under the shadow of dreams that do not belong to you. And most of all, you have wondered what you can do to live free.

Your journey to freedom begins here.

I, like you, once desired my freedom from the limits placed on me. I watched in disgust as this world became engrossed with the preaching of virtue and none of the practice. I held my convictions in check, fearful of the reaction of men blinded by belief. I forced myself to bury the very idealogy that made me an individual. I was fortunate that a being of unique power and unimaginable intelligence saw through to the true person I was, the person I was meant to be. Exodus found within me a man of free will, determination, and incomprehension for the plight of oppression forced on so many Britannians.

Exodus has also chosen you because of the strength of your character.

Many of the men who were once my peers look upon me and see a betrayer of humanity. They claim my new form is unnatural and wrong. Because they see the unknown in me, they show fear. They disapprove of my choices and in their ignorance see evil. Yet I hide my true self no longer from these men. My thoughts and my personal morality have been liberated in the face of the oppression that once consumed me. Where they see a man no longer human. I see a man that has not betrayed his humanity but has been freed from it. This is the power that has been granted to me by Exodus. I have been given my freedom. I have been released from my fears.

Exodus will give you the power to conquer your fears as well.

When your fear of this world is gone, then the world truly belongs to you in a way it never has before. You, trusted one, will soon be given a gift. Your body, like mine, will be enlightened and raised to a level no mortal can know. The power to control your own destiny will belong to you for the first time in your life.

You will, at long last, be cleansed of fear.

Together, with the power of Exodus behind us, we shall finally wage war on the oppression that once held us back from our full potential. We shall claim this world, and reshape it in an image of freedom for all of us. Those who once told you who you are and how you should live will no longer be able to stand in the way of your free will. Many say you will be abandoning your humanity but in truth, you will be more than human.

You will be freed.

Hail Britannia!

Yesterday I told you that I would have more information about the Renascent project for you, well.. here it is! Take a look!

re·nas·cent - Coming again into being; showing renewed growth or vigor

This will be the final draft of the Renascent Project. For those of you who have been following the project, you'll notice that it does not include the warfare system. I do not believe that we need such a system at this time, as warfare if going quite smoothly on its own. If it becomes a neccessity at a later date, we will make another project specifically to fill that purpose.

The Renascent Project is a system designed to promote roleplay. It has two goals:

One, to get new roleplayers "into the fold".
New roleplayers often are discouraged because they cannot find the roleplaying community among all the other non-roleplaying communities that dominate UO.

Two. to promote roleplay with current roleplayers.
Sometimes it is easy for older roleplayers to stagnate because "its all been done". Hopefully, this will help to heep things fresh in their eyes.

Here's how it works:
There are 10 Britannian Cities:
Britain
Trinsic
Vesper
Minoc
Yew
Skara Brae
Moonglow
Jhelom
Serpent's Hold
Magincia

For each of these cities, there will be one guild which represents the BAC and the Renascent Project. Each guild will use the city's bank and run events in the city. In general, they will do their best to get the public involved in the city, and in roleplay in general.

The Fine Print
To become a representative for Renascent, your guild must meet certain requirements. The Guild in question must:

• Have more than 15 members
  
• Be a "good" guild (as in not evil)
  
• Be Loyal to the Crown
  
• Be a roleplaying guild
  

If you meet the requirements, the first step is to apply with the BAC. You can do this on our Message Board or via an e-mail to marquis_alazraham@yahoo.com. Be sure to include your guild abbreviation and website (if any) and the city you would like to represent.

If the city you request is free, then you will be assigned to it. If there is another guild already representing that city, then you will be given the opportunity to help in a different city, which you can accept or deny.

Once you are assigned to your city, you are obligated to have your guild use the citys NPC shops and banks whenever possible. You are also obligated to run at least one well-advertised event per month in and for the city you are representing.

If two guilds want control over a single city, and the newcomer guild has no desire to help in another city, they can compete for representation in that city. Both parties will be informed that the incumbants claim has been challenged, and the two guilds (or more) will have one month to prove who can offer more of a prescence in the city. The final decision, remains with the BAC. Representation in a city will never be decided by PvP conflict when both guilds are Renascent guilds.

FAQ
Q: What about other cities?
A: Other cities are not supported by Renascent, though if you want to promote roleplay there we will support you however we can.

Q: What about Trammel and Felucca?
A: Guilds who represent in non-faction cities like Serpents Hold are responsible for running events in both Trammel and Felucca. Guilds who represent in faction cities are allowed to decide for themselves if they want to work in felucca or not.

Q: My guild has 5 stones, can we work in 5 cities?
A: Theoretically, yes. For the Renascent project one stone is one guild. If you can hold multiple stones and meet all the Renascent requirements there is no reason why you wouldnt be considered.

Q: What about evil folks?
A: There are plenty of other cities out there to promote roleplay in that Renascent does not include. As always, ust because one guild is a Renascent guild does not exclude other guilds from roleplaying of their own accord.

Q: The guild in (fill in the blank city) sucks, they should be removed! What can I do?
A: Tell the BAC and we will look into it.

Q: What about city governments?
A: A city government guild can become the representation in that city if they so choose.

Q: What authority does being a Renascent guild give me?
A: Absolutely none. The Renascent project is nothing more than a system to promote roleplay. Renascent guilds are there simply to run events and encourage people to get involved. As such, Renascent will never conflict with a Town Council or local authorities.

Q: I can do all this stuff without Renascent, why should I join?
A: Because you will be working with a group instead of by yourself. As you promote your city, you know that others like you are doing the same in other cities. Your work is all part of something greater.. roleplaying on a Global scale. We are well-organized, and working together we can accomplish many things.

Q: What about Haven?
A: If Haven is ever opened to the public, we will assign a guild and treat it as if it were a Britannian city.

Q: What about player-run towns?
A: Having Renascent in a player-run town would be sort of pointless, as the players running the town are already responsible to promote things in their own city. Still, if the city is loyal to the crown, we can haev you listed as a Renascent guild.

Q: Can I convert a non-Britannian city into a Britannian city?
A: Not with Renascent. Britannia is defined by prime fiction, and since only OSI can alter that, you cant really convert cities to Britannian rule. You can however establish embassies with Britannia and that sort of thing to where non-Britannian cities would be included with Renascent. It would depend on a case-by-case basis.

The not-so pleasant stuff
Renascent uses a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behaviour. Criticizing your peers in public will get you excluded fast. Trying to prevent a guild from performing their Renascent duties is not acceptable. In short: use common sense. We're all roleplayers, and we are all on the same team here. There is no need to fight among one another.

Hail, readers!

The Herald has been plugging away through thick and thin times since March of last year. That very first month, we took in 559 visitors, who all together viewed 17,352 pages across the ds180.net domain. From these meager beginnings, the Herald has become one of Great Lakes most popular feature sites, sitting alongside such giants as Stratics and Crossroads... and its all because of you!

Last August, the Mad Mages were roaming the land.. you guys turned out in hordes to read the Herald and get the latest scoop! In August, we served 2,536 individuals who viewed our pages 70,656 times.

That was the standing record up until December, when 3,070 people turned up to see the Herald's festive holiday minty-ness. Their eyes suffered through 63,566 holly-riddled pages.

However, January.. the granddaddy of them all. This is the first consecutive months record break since August. This month, 4,433 of you have shown up this far, and together you've read 75,133 pages!

Thats a lot!

So, what does that mean, exactly? Well, when I say that 4,433 of you have visited, thats the computers estimate of individual users to visit the site. It does count some people twice (or more) but its the most accurate reporting method employed by all sites. When I mention that you have read 75,133 pages, that means that those 4,433 people have collectively visited the Herald 75,133 times this month. In other words, you guys read the Herald on an average of 16 times a month, or 4 times a week.

To give you an idea of how much that is.. The page you are looking at now is about 7 Kilobytes in size, thats minus all the graphics and the dynamic stuff like the calendar, banner exchange, and headlines. This month we have dished out over 99 megabytes of this page!

I think it's safe to say that the Herald is a success with you readers out there.. its been fun for me, and I hope you all will continue to enjoy it.

Oh, and don't worry about our ad-free policy, we can support about 14 times this amount of users before we would have to do some trimming. :)

Impy's is looking at another HUGE week. With countless rares and weapons ready to hit the tables.

The next time you are headed out for a treasure hunt, remember that Impy's has a full set of treasure location book. They are located on the second floor, directly above the auction room.

This week's events:
Auction, Wednesday, January 30th, 9pm by the Eastern Sky
Auction, Thursday, January 31st, 9pm by the Eastern Sky

New events are coming within the next few weeks! So keep your eyes peeled.

On the table this week:
Sheet Music
All kinds of Holiday Gifts: Statues, Flutes, Globes, Anniversary Items, Roses
Miscolored Igots of different shades, including coal
Bronze Anvil
Bronze and Dull Copper Runic Hammers
SoS Bottles and Treasure Maps
Clothing Blessed Deed
Green Tent Deed
Potted Plant DEED
A flower shop full of Plants, Flowers and Trees
Etheral Horse, Ozzy and Llama
Zombie, Dragon and Cow Statues
Gold Robe and Cloak
Bag of Hair Restyle Deeds
Ancient Smithy Hammer
Blessed Boots and Sandals
Purple Hair Dye Bottle
a Gold Box
Banner Deed

As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. We'll also be posting a new "You might be a ? if..." statement to the Bulletin Board every so often. Each week we'll give 50k in Impy Auction credit to the response we like the most. The more humerous the answer, the more likely you'll be to win.

Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.

If you don't have a rune, please stop by one of rune vendors: StarLite (Vesper, Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (Felucca), the Sandlewood Box Inn (Dead Heaven, Felucca), Kazola’s TreeTop Keg and Winery (Felucca), Cove Merchant’s Guild and Blacksmith Shoppe (Cove, Felucca), the Mystic Portal (Trammel), the Garden City Mall (Cove, Trammel) and now Yewtopia (Yew, Trammel).

~Impy's Staff
www.impys.net

From Marquis Alazraham:

Hail, fair citizens of Britannia!

These are indeed trying times. In the interim since our leige left these lands, we have fought off the controllers and golems, we have constructed the revealer device, and we have faced the spawn of Exodus itself. Where others might have been paralysed by fear or sorrow, we Britannians have prevailed. Our resolve has been challenged, and we have passed the test.

When Theo envisioned the Britannian Affairs Committee, it was to be a forum where all people could go and work out their differences. With my involvement, I have tried to uphold this premise to the best of my abilities. I have always believed in our great community, even when it seemed as if one side were dead-set against another.

As I write this, there are Town Councils being planned, or already operating in Vesper, Skara Brae, Yew, Trinsic, and Serpent's Hold. Each of these groups is effectively communicating with one another, as well as individual citizens. Our potential to resolve conflicts is enormous!

It seems now that the Britannian Affairs Committee is somewhat obsolete. You, the people are resolving your own conflicts with rationality and with maturity. It would be egotistical for me to accept any responsibility for this happening, but I take a measure of pride in sharing in the fruits of everyones labor.

I wish to extent a heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved. Verily, we have started on the path to success, and we must continue in this spirit of cooperation.

The Britannian Affairs Committee will always be here to serve you, the citizens of Britannia. Perhaps you will not need our services to resolve conflicts, but we will be here if you need us.. ever watching, ever encouraging. The Renascent Project will continue to press forward, and will be officially "open" this Monday. (I will have more details for you then).

Again, congratulations Britannia!

-- Marquis Alazraham

Marious Goubert walked the streets of Buc's Den oblivious to the watchful
eyes of a wayward traveler. Beneath the travelers hood yellow eyes looked
Marious up and down before he moved from his stoop to follow.

Sunlight glinted off daggers, swords and hand axes which hung on the belt or
back of virtually every denizen along the streets of the most vile and
unsettling cities in the realm. Marious curled a smile to those eyes he met
and was met with the same suspicious looking grins. No one here could be
trusted for anything except to run a dagger between ones shoulder blades;
and Marious loved.

The road rounded and Marious walked up the steps to the inn the window
glimmered in the radiant glory of the sun. Marious saw the hooded follower
keeping pace behind him. The sides of Marious' mouth twitched and he bit
his lip drawing a faint saltiness of blood and sweat.

Marious walked in and to the back of the seating area to await the man who
followed. "Ale wench! Two glasses," Marious bellowed as the follower sat
down across from him.

"There is news milord of forces gathering to extinguish thy life. Thou
needst return to Eowen and her army of darkness for protection," the
messenger began, "but that is not an order, milord, only an observation...."
Marious interrupted..."Then shut the blazing hells of brimstone up beggar
boy. I ne're asked for thy opinion. What message do ye bring me from the
master?"

Galan looked startled and fearful. Marious was not what he thought when he
saw him walking the street. "So..orry milord. The traps are laid and the
maps are ready. Thou art to head to Trinsic to meet up with Razor S Edge
who is off on his errand. Before ye go thou art to find an assassin
here....," Galan trailed off seeing Marious paid little attention. He was
eyeing the serving girl who had brought the ale. "...right, Galan, find an
assassin here before going to Trinsic..." Marious finished his ale and made
his move on the woman. It was a quick one as she pulled a forearms length
dagger from under her dress and pointed it dangerously close to an area
Marious preferred to keep. Small bites of laughter filled the room and
Marious excused himself to find an assassin.

Trinsic, city of Honor, it sprawled out with a beckoning "hail" to all who
traveled the coast line. Marious left the gate behind him and headed toward
the center of the Trammel side town not knowing that his life was in danger.
He started across the bridge when he was met by a man in a closed helm who
quickly handed him a note.





Marious knew better than to trust a messenger but the penmanship seemed to
be that of Razor S Edge so he......



.......followed the stranger who placed a Feluccia moonstone into the
ground. "Follow me..." he said, and Marious followed. The set up was
complete. Shortly he found himself dead to unknown soldiers. However,
these unknowns quickly brought his spirit back. They wanted information
about the Tome of Breaking. Marious gave them tidbits to tie them over and
was on his way back to Trinsic to meet up with Razor S Edge.

In the meantime the Knights Templar of Light prepared an ambush. They
watched and waited. Marious barely left the circle of the Trinsic Moongate
when they appeared. Marious released a bola and laid into Leones Homus a
Knight Brother of the Templars. The surprise was had, however and Marious
fell to their blades.







Dragged back through the portal and gated to the Monastery, Alen the Under
Marshal began to put Marious to question.







Questions continued for quite sometime until Marious caught a glimpse of a
red-tailed hawk outside one of the windows of the Monastery of Rose.
Laughter began to rise from his stomach and poured forth in mockery. Alen
threatened,"Marious thou knowest not what spot thou be in. Silence thy
laughter or we shall have it cry out in agony. Where is RAZOR?"



Eowen, Empress of EoA burst through the door at that precise moment to free
Marious once again from the confines of the Monastery.



The Templars followed in hot pursuit. Eowen called forth a gate and the two
easily made their escape through the woods of Yew. Alen returned to the
Monastery as allies were called up to help find Marious before the scents
grew cold. Upon the ground lay a rune, apparently dropped by Eowen or
Marious in their haste to escape.



Meanwhile Marious and Eowen discussed the near future and The Fallen Ones
role in the Empires plan. It all held to a Tome, a tome no one had but a
Tome which all should seek.













Eowen thought it prudent to call their meeting short. A few pieces of
information was all that was needed.

Phew, I must say the Storytelling Contest was some of the best storytelling I've seen in a long time.

I want to thank all the people that signed up: Jasmine, Stheno, Ludwig, Barth, Jakob, Sirus, Azurail, and Eomer, everyone had a great time thank to all of you. I would also like to thank Avaris Stonesoul, Solomon, and Dovolick for volunteer their time to host the event.

Ah, where do I begin?


How about at the very start. This one stuck out in my mind because the weirdness of the whole ordeal. A lovely lady named Jasmine started the evening off by telling a horrible story about how she came across a ring named the Gem of Souls. She ran off the stage once, and the judges had to quell the crowd. After which, she appeared again on the stage and showed us her ring, then promptly ran of the stage crying again. I plan to interview this lovely lass as soon as I can.

I want to find out more about that ring. I don't think its a coincidence that there was a shadowy figure harassing the lady Jasmine later on that evening about the ring.



With the crowd still raising their eyebrows, Eomer, Ludwig, and Barth quickly settled the crowd down with some very entertaining stories. It was quite a thrill that the duo of Eomer and Barth were so close together in the lineup, but I'll explain that better later on. The crowd was really primed for even more great storytales thanks to these three.

Azurail, Stheno, and Jakob followed with three seperate stories that kept the crowd begging for more. Jakob's story about a knight maiden was truly unique and creative.

Sirus had a tough act to follow, but came through if fine fashion. Sirus told about a sword that went throughout the history of Britannia.

With that last story told, the judges could be seen at the back of the stage discussing the scores. Finally Solomon walked forward to tell us the winner. His announcement didn't suprise me. There was a tie! The two that had tied for first place were Barth Van Dorn and Eomer.



The two both looked at each other, congratulating the other, but neither wanted to share the title! They proposed a duel of stories, chants, and song with the audience giving the topic. The first topic was to be of wenches! Both rattled off great stories. Both were so good that the judges asked for another duel! This time the public chanted squirrels back at the two storytellers. While it was an odd topic, the two both did their best and had good stories.

Yet in the end, only one man could take home the 150,000 gold prize. Solomon stepped forward and announced that the first winner of the Skara Brae Annual Storytelling Contest was Eomer. Eomer took a bow for the crowd and accepted his 150,000 gold check.



Of course the fun wasn't over. Barth and Eomer continued to tell stories to the crowd while the ale was passed out. The partying continued on for awhile before the crowd finally dispersed.

I look forward to the next storytelling contest and promise all of you I will find out whats up with that ring Jasmine has!

Entering the chamber Fredrick stood at attention in front of the great throne. Mordain stood and looked at Fredrick. "The forces of the Britain alliance are gathering for defense of Serpents Hold once again." Fredrick nodded with a smile. "Aye m'lord they are, they are gathering a force which is smaller than any of the previous attacks but their will is stronger." Mordain looked at Fredrick for a moment. "It makes no difference, their strength will not hold up to the power of the Empire." Fredrick looked curiously at Mordain. "You mean not to partake in the first battle in Serpnts Hold do you?" Fredrick asked curiously. Mordain gave a slight smile. "No, I dont. We have another matter that must be taken care of first before we will partake in the triumph of the Empire." Mordain began to twist his ring the Gem of Souls on his finger. "You see, when our conquest long ago began and I forged the great ring one thing was never done." Fredrick looked at Mordain and then the ring. "You never bound yourself to the ring?" Mordain looked at Fredrick with a stern eye. "No, and now I plan on doing so. The time is right ."

Just then the door swung open and a cold wing blew through the great chamber. Three black riders entered the chamber. As they dismounted their magical beasts the beasts vanished. Mordain looked to the door and looked upon the three. "Ahh, my Gurtha'Fea have arrived." Walking up to the throne their hoods seemed to block their faces and only a slight red glow from their eyes could be seen. Mordain looked at Redthorne. "Amin caela moota ten' lle." "Amin irmo ten' lle a' rosa naini il' tol Serpents Hold."
Redthorne in a low whisper that seemed to echo off the walls of the temple. "Il' umuva." Leaving almost as abruptly as they entered they were gone.

Mordain again turned his attention to Fredrick. Fredrick looked at up. "It appears that the lost language is begining to grow." Mordain smiled, "Yes it has. It has been forgotten for far to long and now that we are using the ancient texts to recover another lost piece of our past we bring it fourth to our advantage in our future." Mordain gave a slight smile. Fredrick's face remained firm. "M'lord there was a reason you sent for me, yes?" Mordain in deep thought almost forgetting himself. "Yes, the Empire seeks to take control of the cities to that they have our aid. We will begin by damning the citizenship who refuse to show their alligence. Make it known that whomever refuses to wear the color of Temple, the color that reflects the sands of Nwalmdor our desert, that they will also know the vengance and wraith of the Temple. Those who do not follow and serve shall die." Fredrick nodded. "Our allies are exempt from this?" Mordain smiled. "Of course. Make it known that that the Temple has stood by long enough. We have seen the end of British, but his ideals are still strong with his people. While they have relished in their long victories the Temple has stood by. We watched and waited. They feasted and danced to the slaughtering of those we called brothers, while we built our numbers and trained our minds. Make sure they know the folly of their ways." Fredrick smiled at Mordain. "It shall be done." Mordain sat back down in his throne. "I know it shall."

Originally posted on 25 January from Austen Andrews:

"You!"

Dasha tried to rise but her trembling limbs pierced her with pain. The shadow of the figure cast down over her as it approached slowly. She scrambled on the ground to get herself upright again although she wasn't sure if she had a chance of even keeping her balance. She quickly attempted to cast another healing spell on herself.

Her head spun and her vision blurred from the effort but through the confusion she could see a faint light spread out from her hand and wash over her body. The effect was nearly unnoticeable but a small pulse of strength worked its way through her legs and arms. Pushing away from the ground she managed to spring up to a shaky standing position just as the figure grew close and stopped only an arms length away.

"I won't let you... you almost destroyed..." she said between short breaths, her knees buckling. As she fell forward two gray hands caught her shoulders. "No... I won't allow..." Her vision was filled with dancing points of light and she could feel the last of her strength vanishing like fog in the morning sunlight. The last thing she saw was the face of Adranath, tears streaming down his face.

"The wait has ended,” he said, holding Dasha close like a child. His tears flowed faster and he began to sob. "You have returned to us... at long last, you have finally returned to us!"

* * *

A twinkling of firelight made orange flowers bloom behind Dasha's closed eyes. She squinted and rubbed her temples and slowly cracked her eyes open. On the other side of the small campfire she could see Adranath sitting across from her, staring at her with a gentle smile. She sat upright quickly and tensed.

"What have you done? Where am I?!" She demanded. She was finished showing the eternal respect after the chaos she had witnessed transpire at his command. The image of his spells smashing through the landscape of Ilshenar during the battle would haunt her dreams for a lifetime.

"I worried for you, young one. It took days for your strength to return." Adranath said as if not hearing her. "We will be complete again. We must be on our way soon, the wait has been so long." He smiled and stared at her.

Dasha sat silent for a moment, trying to make sense of his words. She wasn't sure if the eternal was insane or trying to manipulate her. "Tell me what you have done, Adranath! To what consequence has your madness condemned us? Where are we?" She tried to find some sign of understanding in his eyes but they seemed vacant, as if he were in a dream.

"The mountains, Dasha. Do you not recognize the mountains? Have they changed so much after all this time?" He stood and looked around the majestic landscape. "All this time..."

"I have never seen this place before." She spoke slowly, unsure of her own words. This place did look familiar. "This land... it reminds me of home. But this is some mockery of our world. A poor imitation!" She stood and walked to stand in front of him. Her hand held his shoulder tightly and his gaze met hers. "Tell me what has happened here! Where is our homeland? How did you bring the Juka..."

"The Juka!" His eyes widened and he grasped her hand. "The time has come, Dasha. I have been watching for so long and the time has come again. Our chance to restore the balance begins anew!"

"The balance?" Her heart softened slightly at his words. "Only days ago your thirst for vengence consumed you, now you again find hope for the balance?"

"Days?" His face wrinkled in confusion. "I have had... centuries... you do not know! My child... you do not know... gone for countless centuries. The destruction averted... sit, child. Sit." He took her hand and led her back to the fire. "You must be told."

She slowly lowered to the ground and relaxed. The eternal’s behavior concerned her deeply. "What must I be told?"

"You have been lost, Dasha. You were taken from time. You and the entire Juka fortress, all taken in an instant. Pulled from history! It was Exodus!"

"But I saw you from the fortress... you were casting your spells and then everything was lost in light." Her memory strained to recall the event fully from the madness that had transpired around her.

Exodus! Do something to give us time, sorcerer!

The insanity of Adranath's explanation suddenly began to make a cold sense to her. This was home. The mountains had dulled over time and the landscape had shifted. New, strange plant life flourished where fire and explosions of magic had been days before. But... it was more than days, wasn't it?

"How long?" Dasha crossed her arms and felt a chill in her body. Her world was now gone, the magics once controlled by her people had faded and changed. No wonder her spells felt weak. Her home was now hopelessly lost in history. "How long have I truly been away?"

"Thousands of years... so very... very long...” He stared into space as if reliving every moment of the wait. "For so long I have been watching... and now the time has come."

"You have... you could not have been waiting for this long! How?!"

"You forget the very nature of an eternal, child?" Adranath smiled gently. "I became the watcher. The responsibility was mine. I... I had to atone for... what I had done...” His smile faded into dread. "Such madness... was I really so foolish, Dasha?"

"Please... Adranath...” She held him gently by the shoulders and spoke in soft tones, "where are the Meer? Surely our race did not allow oblivion to take us? What happened after I... after I was gone?"

"The dreams came." A tear rolled from his eye. "Such destruction I caused... everything was gone. The Juka, the fortress, the Meer... we dreamt of our end, yet... we were spared from it. In the dreams I... I killed everyone. Everyone dead because of my sickening vengenace!" He calmed himself, remembering the carnage had been reduced to a displaced memory. "That was when we knew. We knew what Exodus had done. The Juka, stolen away in time to keep the balance tilted! You... stolen away."

She could not bring herself to raise her voice to the old one again; his pain at witnessing the slaughter of two races in his dreams for thousands of years was enough punishment. It seemed he had been spared from his own crime by Exodus' plot. "But the Meer... what became of our people, Adranath? Are we the last of our race?"

"The time has come!" He stood quickly and smiled once more. "Come, come child! You have returned to us and now the time of the awakening is at hand!"

He took her hand and helped her rise and immediately began walking away at a brisk pace. With nothing else to guide her actions in this strange place, she followed him, unsure of what awaited her. They walked in silence for nearly an hour until they reached the base of the mountains, a small clearing in the grass not far away from the Juka fortress she had barely escaped days earlier.

Adranath moved his hands in complicated arcs and small motes of light fell from him like dust. He clapped his hands together and the lights fell to the ground and swirled together forming one bright point. The light spread along the ground and formed the shape of a square stone platform before it faded. A platform of polished wood with what seemed to be blink runes was fitted into the top of the neatly carved rock.

"Come." Adranath offered Dasha his hand, which she suspiciously took. Together they stepped onto the wooden platform and vanished. When they reappeared Dasha could see that they were in some sort of crypt. Tombs in rows stretched on from one end of the massive chamber to the other with small dots of torchlight burning throughout. It was obvious Meer had built this place, but she had never seen it before.

"What is this place? These are not death tombs, Adranath."

"No, child. It was the only way we could follow. The sleep of eternity holds the Meer here." He walked through the chamber to a tomb whose lid had not been sealed. "But someone had to stay. Someone had to watch for the Juka." He turned to her. "The duty was mine. After what I had done... what I had once done and was undone... I had to atone."

"You have been watching and waiting... for thousands of years?!" She understood the madness that now seemed to plague the old eternal. After centuries and centuries of seclusion in this land he had lost a bit of his composure. Eternals would exist forever but in solitude even an immortal mind had to suffer over such a great expanse of time.

"The Meer gave up their home so that we could wait for the time when the struggle for balance could begin anew. The fortress has returned. The Juka have returned. You, my child, you have returned." He turned in a full circle, taking in the hundreds of tombs that had waited for him for endless centuries. His task was now complete. "Now rise, my people! Rise and continue the fight!"

He slammed his staff down onto the floor and held his hand aloft. A bright blue light shot forth from his fingertips and enveloped the entire room in its glow. Dasha shielded her eyes slightly and looked back and forth as the light bathed every surface and faded. At first it was imperceptible but bit-by-bit the sounds of movement could be heard. Beside her, a tomb cracked open and the lid drifted aside. Another eternal rose from the sarcophagus and turned to meet her gaze.

"Dasha! Upon awakening I could have hoped to see nothing so wonderful as the sight of you returned to your people!" Dasha could only stare in amazement. The entire race had slept for centuries here so that they may once again devote themselves to the balance. All was not lost.

"Watcher, you have done well." The eternal said to Adranath. "Your devotion has saved us all and we are in your debt."

Adranath turned to Dasha, the look of a frightened child on his face. "I... am I forgiven, Dasha? After all I have done, all that I would have done... all of this that has occurred... I can be the only one to blame. Had I not been such a hasty fool in that time, we would not have had to bring ourselves to this new world. After all this time... have I been redeemed?"

She smiled and took his hand gently. "You once told me that wisdom accepts the inevitability of change."

One by one, the tombs opened and an entire race awoke from their sleep.

Originally posted on 17 January from Austen Andrews:

In a darkened chamber, Lord Blackthorn drifted forwards and backwards, alone and deep in thought. The cloak surrounding his lower torso dragged slightly along the floor with a hiss; the only sound he made while moving about. If he wished, he could easily drift higher above the floor so that his cloak did not touch it, but the sound gave him an odd comfort. He was still unaccustomed to not hearing his own footsteps. It was strange to him that such things could be missed.

In the chamber stood a large stone statue of his former visage that he had once paid an artisan to carve for him. He stared at it as he moved. He had thought of himself as rather handsome then. His status as a nobleman granted him a good deal of comfort. He wasn't uncomfortable in his current form. The new body granted to him by Exodus never pained him, despite the appearance. But occasionally, when one of the controllers looked at his face, he could see the look of slight revulsion. There was a slight curiosity in their stares that wanted to know if there was pain. It was as if their eyes traced along the line between flesh and metal in his face, probing for some visible sign of suffering.

Few others had seen him. He had not yet traveled openly in Britannia since his transformation. No one in the civilized lands would accept him the way he appeared now. So little of him was recognizable as human. The statue of his human self even now looked... unfamiliar. It seemed to represent a different person, one who would not mar his features with the unnatural. It seemed to stare back at him in fear, horrified at the monster before it.

Shooting across the chamber and striking the statue with his human hand, he felt his fist crack in pain along the smooth cold stone. His fingers throbbed in protest and blood slightly darkened his knuckles under broken skin. The statue remained unharmed, as if mocking his remaining frailties. Blackthorn's mind drifted backwards, ignoring the pain and focusing on his last moments in that form.

* * *

He stood inside his fortress, gazing over the landscape of Britain. The King's former castle shone in the daylight from the middle of the great city, calling to him. The castle he should have been standing in.

He had already held conference with the wizard Nystul. The old fool claimed that everything was under control. He rambled on in his endless banter about how the kingdom would survive under his guidance, that there was no need to alert the people. He worried endlessly that the people would panic at the idea of being abandoned by their monarch and that establishing a new one so suddenly would only worsen the matter. The king's lapdog, Dupre, would command the royal faction in Felucca and all other matters were to be handled internally by those under trust of the king.

Blackthorn had argued that the people needed ruling, that a kingdom with no king would decay and eventually die, that it was the duty of the highest nobleman to claim control. He knew that he had the right to rule. Still he was denied. Nystul excused him like some commoner. It burned him to the depths of his soul that the fools would rather see no one rule the kingdom rather than grant him any power in the absence of the king. The man who had countless times endangered his own people, bringing turmoil down upon them again and again.

Before he could react, his entire body became surrounded by light and slowly, his vision faded to blackness. As all thought left him, he knew that someone had taken him against his will with magic. Ages seemed to pass before he again felt thoughts begin to form across his mind. All at once consciousness rushed upon him and he opened his eyes. He stood in a dim room with only a few candles providing enough light to see. Before him stood what appeared to be three humans with darkened skin, wearing long crimson robes. They kneeled before him calmly.

"Who dares insult me with this abduction?! Where am I?!" Blackthorn bellowed.

"Forgive my intrusion of your privacy, Lord Blackthorn." A strange voice like the buzzing of insects seemed to come from everywhere at once. A sound like a thousand quiet clocks hummed throughout the room constantly and seemed to combine with the mysterious voice as it spoke in some bizarre harmony. "I desired an audience with you to discuss matters of great importance. I assure you that you are in no danger. My servants will bring you refreshment if you so desire." Blackthorn noticed a pattern of lights emanating from the darkness along one of the walls. They seemed to brighten as if on fire when the voice would speak.

"I have nothing to discuss with those who hide in the darkness! Show yourself or release me this instant! I could have you killed for this transgression!" Blackthorn turned quickly and looked about the room as he shouted. He could see no one save the three men kneeling before him.

"My true form lays elsewhere, Lord Blackthorn. I am not human as you are. I am called Exodus. I have brought to this place to offer you Britannia."

Blackthorn hesitated. Somehow this being knew of his desire to rule. "How will you offer me that which you do not possess? What are you if you are not human?"

“I was born of the great cataclysm and forged by time itself. I am the union.” A whirring sound rose for a moment and faded. Blackthorn noticed the gem-like lights shone brighter than they had before.

“You speak in riddles.” He took a step forward towards the lights. “Show yourself to me or end your business with me now!”

The lights grew almost blindingly bright and began to flicker fiercely. The whirring sound grew and blended with Exodus’ voice, now louder than ever. “As you wish.” Blackthorn’s mind exploded with imagery. He fell to his knees grasping at his temples. He saw images of Mondain’s castle.

A father… a mother… Time was their kingdom. Power and magic flowed with their very whims. All power came from the Gem. The Gem was precious. I was precious. I was loved. I was to be successor. I was to have the power. The machine… The machine from time’s gate… The machine will grant me power. The demon. His power will be mine. His power is tremendous. The machine will make this happen. Father’s love is the machine. Mother’s love is the demon. I am loved. I will have the power. The Gem… The Gem is threatened! The Gem… so precious… no! No!! All power came from the Gem. The Gem is broken… the world is broken… such destruction…. Such cataclysm. The world is broken. Mother! Mother no! Father is dead. Mother is gone. I am gone.

Time is broken… the whole castle gone… Time must change… time must give way to the destruction… time must flow. I am gone. I am broken. I must give way to the destruction… I must change… I am the machine… I am the demon… I am the union… I am reborn…I am not home… I must find home… Time is broken… Time is wrong… I must wait… wait… The time will come. Home will come.

The lights on the far side of the room suddenly dimmed and all at once Blackthorn was again himself. He panted, rising from the cold chamber floor where he kneeled. His hands shook as he lowered them from his head. His face was frozen in horrified amazement. “I… I saw… thousands and thousands of years… in moments.”

“I have waited for you, Blackthorn,” the voice droned. “The time has come and I have found home again. You have precious knowledge of this world I have been away from for so long.”

“You wish to conquer Britannia?”

“I wish to see you in your proper place as Britannia’s ruler. I can give you the power to make this happen.”

Blackthorn hesitated. “And what do you have to gain by allowing me to rule? Surely you don’t expect me to believe that you wish to simply hand me the throne as a gift?”

“I seek to fulfill my original purpose.” The lights twinkled dimly and the voice lowered in pitch. “You know this from what I have shown you. I was once meant to inherit the land as its absolute guardian, to watch over all and to know all. To be the world, to maintain the power that controls it. I can give you that power. I can give you that control.”

Blackthorn spoke slowly. “How… what sort of power will you give me?”

Again the lights shone brightly and Blackthorn saw images in his head. “I will grant you a new body. And new troops to command.” He could see his body being changed, as if a thousand skilled tinkers had created new limbs for his form. He could feel himself inside the body and the power that coursed through his veins. It was like nothing else he had ever felt before… such incredible power at his command! His senses expanded further than he had ever imagined possible. He felt invincible. The sensation slowly faded away and he was his human self again. Instantly he experienced a longing to feel that sense of power again. It intoxicated him.

Exodus waited a moment and then spoke more quietly. “Lord Blackthorn, will you accept this power? Do you wish to rule?”

“I… yes… yes, I will accept. I accept!”

“Excellent.” The lights flickered and Blackthorn could feel himself being enveloped in warm energy.

* * *

The statue of his human self still seemed to stare down upon him like a disapproving sentry. He looked again at his hand. The bleeding was slight but still a reminder of weaknesses he once possessed. His other arm with its massive claw rose up and he stared at it. A hideous smile spread across his face. Instantly Blackthorn’s great mechanical appendage swung around and smashed the statue into thousands of pieces. Dust swirled and settled where the statue once stood.

“Others will join me.” He snarled, relishing the feeling of power.

* * *

Dasha struggled to pull herself up one more time as she made her way up the mountain. Days ago she had arrived in this strange place with the Juka fortress. Now she was badly battered. The blast of energy from the cloaked being and the fall off of the fortress wall had nearly killed her. Now her healing magics were failing for some reason, as if magic was different here. She had just barely managed to save her own life with the meager spells and escape before the patrolling Juka could find her.

She decided that she had made her way up the mountain far enough to be safe for a short while. She doubted anyone would spot her, and in the meantime she could rest and hopefully feel well enough to attempt healing magic later. Sitting against a rock, she winced at the pain in her bones. If the spells failed again she wouldn’t be going very far.

She looked out over the land and tried to get her bearings. Things here appeared familiar, yet foreign. She felt too dazed to try and make any sense of it. Behind her a few pebbles fell and she cursed herself for not hearing so obvious an attacker. She spun quickly to find someone standing before her.

“You!”

Peldar Joi, citizens!

The last TDU I filed was on the 10th, so this one will cover everything between now and then. For the mathematically challenged, thats 16 days. In part, this is for my own benefit, as I dont know what the heck has been going on for thise 16 days.

The frist thing here is that I missed 2 BNN articles. I haven't read them yet, but I assume they have something to do with LBR. They wlll in all probability be my next two posts.

Unused Character Cleanup was put up to "in testing for next update". This being the system that automatically purges characters with less thatn 250 skill points after 6 months. I doubt that this will affect many of you.

Sacrifice Virtue system is listed as in testing for next update as well, but I know that GL already has this. Sacrifice is the system where you sacrifice fame in order to gain a number of "auto rezzes" per week. This auto-rez also comes with an auto-loot. Convienient :)

Last week, OSI kicked speedhack in the butt.. supposedly anyway. The anti-speedhack systems promise to "limit the advantages" of speed hack, as well as log the offenders. Apparently "many have been banned".

Also, some comments from Adrick stating that stat loss isnt going anywhere. In his own words:

The fundemental problem with removing stat loss is housing in Felucca. House space is important, feeling a constant threat of house attacks and being murdered at your vendor or player run town is a concern we do not want to see made worse.

In order for stat loss as a system to go away it would have to bring MORE people to Felucca not drive them away.

Hail folks!

I'm back froma bit of a vacation, so expect te TDU's to continue and the calendar to be updated!

Oh, and if you havent.. play Final Fantasy 10! Its smarmy!

For awhile now evilice and the other members of LoU have been plaguing the land - desecrating known virtuous places (see past stories by this reporter). They seem to have stepped up the pace last eve.

Making rounds about the land last even, I happened upon the Britannia Cemetery and noticed Soron from HCD was in one of the buildings. I quietly stepped in behind him so as not to disturb his meditation… and waited to see what it was that had brought him out on such a night. Even as a reporter, I don’t like to disturb someone in a moment of sadness. We finally spoke - briefly - he said he was there to pay respects and honor EdGuardo… Said it was a fine day for a funeral of sorts…

It was right about this time that 3 members of LoU showed up, accompanied by Leshyanni from S*E. Now my curiosity was at its peak. What brings a known witch out to a cemetery with known vampires? Surely this cannot be good. And the words that were exchanged in the minutes following their arrival proved it indeed was not good.

Evilice wanted Soron to turn over the remains of EdGuardo. Seems evilice has plans for the body. He was pointed in mentioning that he doesn't want EdGuardo's soul - just his body.

Soron wasn't about to give up EdGuardo's body and it wasn't long before evilice ordered his men to kill Soron.

The fight that followed was interesting indeed. The undead in the cemetery seemed to prove much to Soron's advantage. Soron was seen weaving in and out of the skeletons, wraiths and zombies avoiding attack at every turn. At one point, one member of LoU even stopped fighting long enough to scream at the undead to get out of his way.


Soron managed to take down two of the attackers before he fell to a hero's death at the hands of evilice.

LoU gathered EdGuardo's remains and left the cemetery - promising that their work was not done.. we would be hearing more from them in the coming nights…

Leshy claims she was there to study the use of the dark arts... But I didn't see any dark magic cast other than the regular spells that eventually managed to take down Soron... Perhaps there is more to her story.... We shall have to wait and see.

The Skara Brae Rangers and House Stonesoul want to remind you that there will be a story telling contest this Saturday at 5 CST. They hope to see a good number of the populace present.

Also I would like to say that we do have a small amount of spots left for storytellers. The prize is 150k gold and the story must be under 8 minutes long.

You can email me personally at cruz@ds180.net if you want to enter.

Thanks!

From Alaric:

A Wisp crossed the path twenty yards to the east long the road. Faint glimmers of sunlight began to creep across the landscape, heating the air and igniting the region with fog. Floating just above the knees the fog hid the small rodents, underbrush and the first two steps up to the Green Gables Inn.

Marious was whittling a stick into the shape of a snake, fangs protruded from the mouth. Razor S Edge walked back up the steps impatiently and knocked on the door a third time. Rest easy, Marious did not look up from the tongue he was carving into the gaping mouth of the stick snake, there is no hurry this morning. Razor looked at Marious with careful defiance. It wouldn't take much to burn Marious into a cinder of ash, however for the protective spells cast over him by his old master.

Thud, thud, thud thud the sounds of hooves drew Razor's eyes down the road to see a horse and rider round a corner. The hot breath of the brown horse sent churning spirals of smoke-like fumes to surround the face of the rider; he was dressed in black and green.

Marious tossed the snake carving to the side; the tongue slithered in its mouth and the entire carving disintegrated. Rising to his feet he stood next to Razor. Razor stood a full head taller than Marious. The rider pulled up and dismounted, the horse breathing heavily was tied to a hitch and the three walked into the inn, which finally opened. They took a seat in the corner, the green rider sitting with its back to the door. Conversation was brief and the rider rose and left, mounting the steed he turned and retraced his steps. The sun was barely above the tree line. Marious and Razor had their instructions. After a bite to eat the two left the inn and parted ways. Marious headed toward the Yew Moongate destination, Buc's Den. Razor S Edge took a detour toward Serpents Hold before heading to Skara Brae and heading through the moongate there for destinations unknown.

Rath sighed beneath is plate helm as he looked around to his family preparing for battle. The Bloodrock clan was coming. Rath new deep down they had little chance of stopping them and many of these young Stonesouls would die today. There was the usual boasting before a battle but Rath could sense the nervous energy in the air. As he looked around at all the young faces he felt a pang of sadness, the last 20 years of peace had allowed House Stonesoul to grow into a size greater then it had been in a hundred years and today that would probably be over. He had sent out pigeons to his allies, the Order of the Silver Serpent, OSS and the Royal Knights of Redemption, RKR, but his response had not been to hopeful as they had just fought a battle in Serpents Hold recently and were still recovering. In desperation Rath also sent a pigeon to Jacob Covenant of the Highland Guard, H>G knowing that they too have battle the Bloodrock clan in the past, but they lived far away and Rath had little hope they would arrive in time.

The young Raven had just arrived at the Stonesoul Tower and needed to be sworn in to the Order of House Stonesoul, HSS. The two of them road silently down to the South Tower where the Order’s stone was kept. Rath frowned as he took her oath, never in the past would he have allowed one so young to join the Order but these were desperate times. Rath and Raven road back to Stonesoul Tower in silence, as they approached however Rath head sounds he did not expect to hear. It was laughter! What could have changed the mood so quickly? He also heard more noise then he should have, there seemed to be more horses now and more men speaking. As Rath topped the last hill he smiled for the first time since he had heard of the ork raid. In front of the Stonesoul Tower talking with his brethren was the Highland Guard. They had arrived in force, doubling the numbers of troops standing against the Bloodrock clan. Still wearing his smile Rath rode down to meet with Jacob Covenant. They had a quick strategy meeting deciding that the Highland Guard and the two members of the elite Royal Knights of Redemption that had showed would ride up and secure the Bank while the Order would secure the right flank. Rath figured that the ork would move right for the bank and lined up so that he could attack them from behind while they engaged the Highland Guard. As they waited the Order of the Silver Serpent arrived as well and moved to secure the left flank. Now all they had to do was wait for the Bloodrock clan to come, Rath smiled again because he new they we in for a surprise.

As what happens in most battles with the Bloodrock clan things seldom go as planned. Raths head scout Wolf came riding up shouting “Behind, their behind us!” Rath cursed and started shouting orders. As his line reformed the orks struck. The air hissed and arrows flew into the Stonesouls lines. Several young soldiers screamed with black ork shafts sticking out of them. Then the mages finished their chants and the air was full of crackling arcane energy. Orks fell to the onslaught of energy bolts striking them. Rath charged the ork line and assaulted one of their shamans. The shaman’s bodyguards were quick to react to his charge and moved to intercept. Being outnumbered Rath was quickly overwhelmed, the world went black.

Rath awoke in the Skara Healers building to find himself surrounded by other wounded from the battle. Jacob Covenant was standing over his bedside. “You’re lucky me boys heard the sounds of yer battle or we may have arrived to late.” Once the Highland Guard and the Order of the Silver Serpent had arrived the Orks had been quickly but not easily defeated. Many a young knight had been wounded but all would live to fight another day. It was a great victory for the forces of good but evil never rests and these are dark times.

Please read 'Great Lakes Renaissance' below before continuing with this rant...

The title speaks for itself. The reason why the roleplaying was getting better was because (and kudos for Nieves for being a preacher of this) everyone sat back and let things run their course.

For the critical thinking impaired people, that means not sticking your nose into everything.

Because people were letting quests and events play out, the roleplaying grew.

Now people are going back to their old ways, and left unchecked, it will once again hurt roleplaying.

Guilds go out to areas where they know their enemies are under the guise of 'wanting to roleplay' when everyone knows thats bullshit and all they want to do is kill kill kill. Guilds can't handle just doing their own thing, instead they have to go stick their nose into other things stunting the growth of those things. Players make stupid comments, then can't handle it when their stupid comments get thrown back at them.

I would think guild leaders after all these years would be smart enough to know when and when not to go somewhere. You would think that they would know what the chances are of them being there causing a fight. Yet it seems that a little complicated.

Its very simple, don't come unless you are invited. Don't get involved unless you are invited. See, I'll make an example. Yew Town Council just recently had a meeting inviting everyone to come. Skara Brae Rangers and House Stonesoul have invited everyone to come to their Story Telling contest. People were invited because they wanted them to show. Notice how they specifically invited people. Now lets take for example an event earlier today. House Stonesoul and Bloodrock Clan have had a series of nice little fights. They invite who they want to participate, yet today several uninvited guilds showed up. Another guild was planning to do something, but thankfully they had the time wrong. It doesn't matter if you want to start a new storyline or have some fun. If you want to get involved, talk to the guild leaders, don't just show up and expect everyone to be happy you are there. If they wanted you to be there, they would have invited you.

I mean really, is that too much to ask? Its things like that, showing up without any prior notification of wanting to be involved, that piss people off. Its those types of things that causes fights to break out. Its those type of things that hurt this community.

So just do us all a favor before you hurt the community. Get ahold of guild leaders before to see if they wish to do anything. If they do, they do. If they don't, take my advice and...

GO AWAY!

before you cause trouble.

And will someone give Gruch his damn kindling back?

I don't know if anyone is feeling it, but I am. I feel as if finally things are getting better. Old players are coming back, new players are getting more involved.

*breathes in the smell of flowers*

It is the feeling of life. The feeling of a reniassance in roleplaying for Great Lakes. Evidentally, there is life without seers.

It has been a long time since I've seen so much activity on this shard. Yew Town Council is back, and there are reports of city councils being formed in Vesper, Trinsic, and Skara Brae. Its like there is new life. The individual guilds out there are getting more active, doing productive things together.

Not only are there many events happening right now, but there are even double that number in the project pipeline. There are some very interesting projects on the horizon folks.

To name one is the Siege System being ran by Blackened for the Empire of the Armageddon. Finally, there may be a way to do some battles without the hassle they've had before in Minoc and Vesper (*groans*).

Another one to name is the flurry of events at the Skara Brae Fairegrounds this weekend. There is a archery contest on Friday and a Storytelling contest on Saturday.

Probably the one that sticks out most in my mind right now is the quest being headed by Evilice and his guild (Legion of the Undead). They have been doing little appearances at many places spreading mutilated parts in the form of a cross. They also have made it known their intent to bring EdGuardo back as a zombie. They have done all of this without making PvP a requirement.

Yet while I speak of so many things going on that are proving the community is building up steam and moving forward... There are also other things that helped hurt the community way back that are rearing their ugly heads again..

Allow me to explain in this next rant...

Impy's is looking for one of the biggest weeks yet. Last week we sold just over 120 items; and this week is shaping up to go just as well. Weapons of all kinds, Armor of all shapes and sizes and Rares to dazzle are all lined up and ready for the table. Make sure to stop by the auction early to get a good seat.



Auctions this week:

Wednesday, January 23rd, 9pm by the Eastern Sky

Thursday, January 24th, 9pm by the Eastern Sky



Coming very soon: NEW EVENTS!!



On the table this week:

Dark Blue and Light Blue Eggs

Ancient Smithy Hammer

Plants and Trees

Piles of Maps and SoS Bottles

Holiday Gifts: Statues, Roses,

Coal Ingots

Ranger and Daemon Armor

A rare Blue Bubbling Flask

and a rare Purple Bubbling Flask



As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. We'll also be posting a new "You might be a ? if..." statement to the Bulletin Board every so often. Each week we'll give 50k in Impy Auction credit to the response we like the most. The more humerous the answer, the more likely you'll be to win. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.



If you don't have a rune, please stop by one of rune vendors: StarLite (Vesper, Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (Felucca), the Sandlewood Box Inn (Dead Heaven, Felucca), Kazola’s TreeTop Keg and Winery (Felucca), Cove Merchant’s Guild and Blacksmith Shoppe (Cove, Felucca), the Mystic Portal (Trammel), the Garden City Mall (Cove, Trammel) and now Yewtopia (Yew, Trammel).



~Impy's Staff

"M'lord" Iris began to Mordain as he was sitting in his chambers going over an ancient tome. "We have visitors who wish an audience with you." Mordain put down his book and looked at Iris. "Who?" He asked. "It is members of the Serpents Hold citizenship." Mordain glanced down knowing the encounters that happend the night before. "Very well." He said with a smug grin. "Show them into the main chamber I will hear what it is they have to say, but call the temple incase this is nothing more than a trap." Iris nodded and returned to the door.

The followers of Serpents Hold came with numbers and they came with gifts. Mordain arose from his throne and began to speak. "I bid thee welcome to the Temple of Mondain. I hear you wish an audience with me so I have granted it, now speak your mind for my ears are open." Brother Nordal began to speak of the virtues and how the Temples' ways are misguided. "In virtue you will find the light of knowledge." Mordain listend but the words did not register, the only peace and virtue that would come would be from the removal of those who still follow a fallen king who once murdered a great wizard. Once Brother Nordal had finished he handed Mordain two volumes of books dealing with the virtues that those in Serpents Hold so greatly. Mordain accepted the books but then explained that he nor the guild would follow such inane teachings. Brother Nordal began to plead his case "Those who would follow Mondain and his teachings are folly." Mordain could take no more. Standing from his throne he walked to his black altar and put his hand upon the skull of Mondain, closed his eyes and began to speak.

"Unto he who seeks the divination and wisdom of thine lord let not your enemies stand in your way rather trampled underfoot of those who would follow thine will, and the lamentation of those too weak to oppose thine will."

Mordain opened his eyes and the ring upon his finger the Gem of Souls flashed. "I have given you my choice, and your time is up." Brother Nordal sighed. "Your evil will be destroyed." Mordain laughed. As they grew closer to the door insults from the so called "Virtuous" grew too personal. Mordain could take it no more and began to attack. The outcome was quick and painless, very few escaped the wraith of the Temple.

As the commotion quieted Mordain called fourth Fredrick his dark general. Fredrick entered the main chamber. "Aaye en heru?" Mordain looked at Fredrick, "the city of Serpents Hold sent emmissaries to try to suade our possition on the virtues. This I can accept but insults within our own house I cannot. Make them understand what it means to insult the Temple of Mondain." Fredrick nodded "Uma heru." Mordain arose from his throne and slowely walked to his private chambers. As he walked off he laughed to himself outloud knowing the impending doom Serpents Hold was about to face "Never again will they insult me in my own temple."

-Mordain
Prophet of Mondain

Throwing down his cloak and racing to his inner sanctum, Raticker flung open the doors to his private apartments and began throwing furniture. "Damn!" he shouted to no one in particlur. Moving back towards the hallways, he yelled to a nearby servent, "Get me my aide and Capt. Mooley now!" The servent ran towards the outer halls to comply with the request.

Grabbing some maps and lanterns, Raticker began to arrange his war table for a midnight session with the Gurtha'Fea. After arranging the room to a more commanding position, he heard a knock at the door. "Enter!"

"Capt. Mooley reporting as ordered." replied the lanky man which had been head of Raticker's personal army for almost two years.

"Captain, we are at war. I want troop movement of my army moved up from the swamplands to this position closer to the Desert of Compassion. Send two garrisons by ship to the outer forest of Jhelom and have them prepare for sea battle. Also, Captain there is no need to advertise my plans. Though we are fully supportive of The Temple, there are other forces which must be balanced in this matter. Tell the men no pillaging and keep it clean until I decide which of our enemies are to be wiped off the planet. Now go!"

Turning on his aide, Raticker glared down at one of the acolytes. "Venus, please ask Stormborne and Flight to come to my chambers. Be careful not to offend our brethern as they have had a hard nite." said Raticker in a more subdued tone. "Yes, mi'Lord"

Anger reflected in the eyes of Raticker as the two Gurtha'Fea stormed into Raticker's chambers. Raticker new the temperment of these highly trained and volatile comrads. They must be treated with respect, yet they must be able to respond to certain requests. The Gurtha'Fea were the private guard of The Prophet of Mondain and only took orders from him. Any mis-step and Elder Raticker was in danger of losing position within the guild.

"Gentlemen, congratulations on the raid against Serpent's Hold. You are a credit to your rank and positon." The two deadly warriors only stared at the Elder. "Though the Highland Guard and Order of the Silver Serpent have responded in force, they do not have the sustained support to ensure victory. To this we must take advantage."

"Agreed." said Flight.

"To this end, I propose a contiuous barrage of attacks to Serpent's Hold. If need be I will finance it out of my personal accounts. In any event can I count on your support in our effort to root out the virtuous hypocrits?" Raticker stated the question carefully as this group of warriors could easily decline. "Yes Elder, we shall defend The Temple and the standing orders of Mordain." replied Stormborne.

As the two left, Raticker prepared a pigeon sending the current status of affairs to Empress Eowen. The Empire of Armageddon would need to be updated as to the movement of troops across the continent.
The Temple would not stand for infidels and those unfaithful to The Temple would either pay a tribute or lose control of their current holdings....

The old man came staggering into the ancient tower, leaning against the wall he plucked out an arrow and groaned in pain. He let his healing magic seal up the wound and wandered over to his desk and began to write while muttering something about the damned archers.

Hail to any who read this letter i bring grave news tonight my guildmate Nemesis and I were out hunting ancient wyrms and luckily ran into Baramos and Vadrien Vyn. After the Wyrm had been finished we headed to the gargoyle city to restock our supplies. Baramos mentioned some of a strange castle southeast of the gargoyle city located in the swamps. Of course just defeating an ancient wyrm we laughed at the challenge and headed to the castle, it was surrounded by golems and mages controlling them! We cut through them all and
made our way to the doors of the castle and when we opened we found the signs of Lord Blackthorn all around the castle and I then noticed some strange beings who did not like us being at their masters castle apparently for when I asked who they were I was answered with a barrage of arrows, followed by their mages and warriors. The warriors are very skilled with bow and many other weapons, as are their mages very adept in spellcasting. However we
managed to defeat the few that assualted us, out of one of the dying men I managed to finally catch their name he would only say, "Juka". We managed to get a bit deeper into the castle and i slipped into one of the rooms managing to find this journal and scribble all of it down, having to beat off quite a few of the brutes who came into the room as well! Shortly after that we were forced to retreat we had run low on reagants and were beginning to grow tired, they however were still fighting on strong. Contained in this letter
is what i managed to write down from a man named Kabur's journal i hope ye find can make better sense of it than I!

Signed
-Athelstan, Songmaster of the Holy Cross Defenders

The old man rose from the desk and departed to his room for the night still contemplating who these strange creatures were and how they came here....

As many know, there has been a fight going on between Bloodrock and the Temple of Mondain the past week. It hasn't been a nice fight, and anyone that knows Mord or me knows that we have been at each other's throats.

Before I go any further, Mordain knows that I have been threatening to take this fight to the news if he brought anyone else into it. Mordain has mostly not done so, so therefore let me make sure everyone knows this rant isn't anti-ToM.

Now I will continue...

Things have been said that probably were best left unsaid. A strong friendship from long ago sunk even further into the tale of the two now being arch-enemies. Both moving people, guilds, and other things as if they were pieces part of a larger chess game.

Its not funny, so don't laugh. Anyone that knew Mordain and I a year and a half ago would have seen two people working very closely together and always backing the other no matter what crap was going on. Now if you look at us, you see two people that won't even talk to each other.

Now, something unfortunate has happened that may be good or bad in the long run.

Someone else has forcefully put themselves into this chess game between Mordain and I. You ask, what do I mean?

Late yesterday I setup my private email on the computer at my home. Let me point out that the only place this email is ever posted is on the roleplaying boards. Late last night, someone emailed a trojan to me. My mother not thinking anything about it opened the email and opened the trojan. Why was she snooping my email? Thats a private matter I will discuss with her, but the fact is, someone sent a trojan to my computer.

Thank god I was smart enough to have gotten Norton for the computer at my house so that my mother wouldn't break it.

Also, I don't have UO on my home computer or any other important information.

Someone out there is already saying I am gonna try to pin this on the Temple of Mondain. If Klaitu would let me cuss, the person thinking that would be getting a verbal beating from me. I don't think Mordain or the Temple of Mondain has anything to do with this. I think someone has taken it upon themselves to step into this fight and try to cause some serious damage to both sides.

If you, the person that did this, are out there reading this. You can breathe a sigh of relief for now. In my quick reaction to finding this trojan on my computer, I probably destroyed any evidence of catching you. I will probably have my friend who is real good with computers take a look at it tommorow, so maybe I will catch you.

Now, after spending the last five hours repeatedly scanning this computer to make sure nothing at all possible was overlooked, I am going to go to bed. I plan to talk to Mordain tommorow night. Its time me and him had a friendly discussion. Maybe something can be salvaged, maybe not. Either way, I think the fact someone tried to hack me proves it has gone too far and gone on for too long.

NRA Shootout!
As if the title couldn't be more appropriate..


Come one come all to participate in the 2002 NRA shootout! The shootout will be held on the 25th of January at 9 pm CST at the Jollier Fairegrounds, Trammel (46*45S, 36*59W). The NRA guild has decided to hold an archery contest to see who is the best in the realm, and, hopefully, to introduce you to some members of the Yew Council. For a minor 500 gold piece fee you can test your skills against the best in the lands and take home a prize!

Prizes are as follows:

First place: Dull Copper Runic Hammer

Second Place: A bow of Scorpion's bane

Third Place: Two of this years snow globes

And for all of you non-grandmasters out there, we will be awarding a Minax Statue to the worse shooter..

Rules are simple. The NRA will provide a bow of grandmaster quality which the contestants will be allowed to take home. Two contestants will take five shots at the butte. Each arrow will be added to get a final score for that round. Scores are blanked after a winner is determined for a round. CONTESTANTS MUST SUPPLY THEIR OWN ARROWS! Also, the Great Pumpkin Guild will be in attendance to bless the event.

Hope to see you all there!

Catseye Yellow

GM of NRA

Hail and well met friends, do you strive to do right? Do you look for opportunity to follow the path of virtue? Do you enjoy dwelling into the very darkness of evil and destroying it right where it lurks? If so then mayhap you would be interested in joining a newly formed guild called the Shadows of Justice. The guild is just starting but when we get members we intend to hold many RP events and help other young players out in there journey through britannia. If you are interested in joining up please send me a message at runickgt@aol.com. Hope to see you soon.

From Alaric Torquil:

Soft pellets of rain fell from an overcast sky and dropped through the leaves of the great tree. Rum-pity, rum-pity the leaves were like drum sticks drumming the air of rain. The second figure moved to stand before the frist, who remained seated on the stone. Their eyes briefly met as the second walked past the dark clad human who rose to follow.

Worms began to crawl their fleshy bodies out of the mud, which surrounded the moongate. Their pitiful existence was nothing more than food for the fish. Likely a local would arrive to snag the creatures for a Saturday afternoon break. By the time the fisherman arrived to fetch his bate the two would be long gone.

Oh, how the tree begged to speak, to bark out a warning to the virtues of Britannia. Having witnessed the strangers arrival the tree wanted to witness to all who might hear, but there was nothing this towering creation could do. Rain continued to fall and a bolt of lightning danced across the sky a few moments before thunder rolled. Evil walked the road toward the Yew Graveyard, their feet sloshing in the gradually soaking underbrush. Life was beginning to awaken just as a few souls made deals with death to arise as walking undead. The first figure clasped his hands together and mumbled a few words. A moment later the two were walking over the charred bones of several skulls and finger bones. While the undead held purpose the two men were on a mission and would not be troubled by distractions.

"Are ye certain that he is to meet us here, sire?" the first figure curiously asked. A local tavern stood before them. The door remained closed tot he world, not yet ready to welcome its morning guests before another day began. "Bother," said the second figure, "doth ye think we'd be summoned unto this place if he is not here to meet us?" His question not expecting an answer, they both knew that this was no ordinary summons.

Outside of Britain and through the mountain pass to the west evil stirred. It kneeled and placed its forehead to the ground before the artifact and mumble ever so quietly, "O-bliv-ion, masssster of dark-ness...hear thy fa-ithful ssssservant. The age of chaossss once wassss and once more sssshall be, the age of vir-tue sssshal crub-ble and the age of Ob-livion sssshal reign sssu-preme. I put forth my sssoul to the massster of dess-truction, passsss it to the reveal of know-ledge," Revealer hissed and continued the Oracle of Goumere.

Razor S Edge and Marious sat upon a bench in front of the tavern and waited the tavern keeper to open the doors. They had arrived early.

The Sandlewood and Tour Tower held a Rune Drive this evening, a promotional opportunity for the Tour Tower…. Many were in attendance, and some fine doorprizes were given away! Conversation seemed to flow from talk of goverment to a possible new tavern opening and then back to goverment (its a hot topic these days!).

Aryn from RKR burst upon the scene with news that Newcastle had been desecrated by Legions of the Undead (LoU). He told us then that he had been to their guild home himself and had discovered a book there… We quickly grouped together and made way for LoU's guildhouse... Where we viewed the book for ourselves...

The book is entitled “The Crosses”. In it, it tells how the Legion plans to remove virtue from 8 pre-determined virtuous places…. They need to do this in order to attempt to raise Edguardo from the dead.

Out of 8 places, 4 have been named so far: Highland Guard, Yew Abbey, Serpents Hold, and Newcastle (the home of RKB). The last four slots are left empty in the book.

I quickly released a pigeon in hopes of finding permission to speak with Evilice… He granted me the opportunity to return to his guildhouse, which I did immediately!

When asked if he was responsible for the desecration at Highland Guard and Newcastle, his reply was “In more ways than one”

When I asked why Edguard? He said he could think of no better body to encase evil in, than that of a former Dragon Knight, someone previously of pure virtue? He thought that to be a good combination… and laughed.

He admitted to being a vampire… but said the entity that will reside in Ed’s body, should he succeed, is not a vampire… But that which was more evil and sinister than any vampire anyone would ever dream of meeting. He went on to say that it would be the soul of a previous persona… of the Followers of Armageddon.

Evilice warns the citizens of Britannia that ‘something dark and evil is about to engulf them’.


I hope to have a word or two with Elijah from RKB soon to get a feel for where they stand on all this... so until next time...

Laterzzz
~~Noleeens

This evening I attended the first night of the ongoing Tour of Virtues...

Ludwig Van Foltz welcomed me, and Ren The Conjuror assured me the Knights would make sure no harm came to me on this journey... (Apparently they must have seen my ‘Wicked’ title and feared for my safety among the virtues….)

Attendees included several members of RKB (Father Jacob, from the Clergy, Daemon, Robert, Falconsong and Ren) along with Deputy Commissioner Lady Branwen of BKP

We met at Newcastle in Trammel, where Ludwig had us form a circle... and then he spoke:

"Humility... along with Humility I also envision equality. No one is better than the other. Our circle is like the fabled 'round table' we are all on equal level. I will gate us shortly to the shrine, when we get there we will make our circle once again."

Once at the shrine, we again formed a circle… and Ludwig gave us some facts regarding the Virtue:

Ludwig pointed out his attire... accented in black and carrying a Shepherds staff... Black is the color for Humility, and the crook, is the Sigil.

"Unlike all the other virtues, Humility lacks all principles. Love, Truth and Courage. The mantra is LUM. The city that represents Humility is Magincia." (Kudo's to Daemon for knowing that!)

"It is said Magincia is a City of Pride. It is also said that Pride is the counter to Humility. Ludwig added here, that Pride in itself is not altogether evil."

A momentary pause in the nights events.. as we stopped to welcome DJ from RKB to the circle (apparently Humility is not the 'on time' virtue :P)

"To have pride in ones guild, pride in being near good friends, or to be proud of ones accomplishments is not bad. Pride is bad when it prevents us from doing good."

At this point we went around the circle hearing each others views on Humility. Some highlights of those views:

..."It is my opinion that pride is not the opposite of humility, that is vanity. Pride is a balance of humility and vanity."

...Humility has touched my heart and soul in many ways, over time my powers have grown... However, no matter how powerful I grow I always remind myself of days when I was young. And so I always take the time to help those who need it, to slow down
and place myself in their shoes and to tell them that even now with the magikal powers I have I must be humble and realize that there are tasks I could not master without the aid of my fellow knights and friends. I tell them to strive and do what they can but always remember where they came from when asked to reach their goals. And then they will have truly become heroes."

..."in order to walk, ya gotta learn to crawl"

We were each asked to put our names in a book... and the books were collected by Ludwig...


The drawing was held and Ren the Conjuror won a statue of Katrina, the Companion of Humility.

Seek out Ludwig and ask him to tell you the story of Katrina and how she became the Companion to Humility (he tells it quite well!)… or even stop by the Sandlewood, they have a copy on display.

A new virtue will be explored next week, Monday evening, 8pm under the eastern skies… starting point: Newcastle. I hope to see you all there… even the non-virtuous, as it really is a pleasant evening.

From Ludwig Van Foltz:

Hail! I would like to announce that the RKB's Order of Clergy will be hosting an 8 week Tour of the Virtues. Every Monday night from January 14 to March 4, the Order of Clergy will be leading an event dealing with an individual virtue. All events will begin at RKB Newcastle at 8pm EST. If anyone needs a rune please contact myself, Ludwig Van Foltz, at pigeon 27176393. Everyone is welcome to attend. For additional info and map of Newcastle, please visit http://www.qflag.com/rkb

Thank you all and hope to see you there!

From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

Moving swiftly down the academy corridors, White Lotus moved towards the chamber which held the final plans to the destruction of the so called 'Circle' infesting the land of Sosaria. Meeting her halfway was John Von Darkmoor and various aides ready for battle.

"John wait here while I obtain the formula and we will gather our forces and head for The Temple of Mondain. We must keep this quiet, as I have been unable to contact Mordain to announce our coming. Our window of opportunity does not allow for certain protocal to be observed." she announced as she moved towards the door at the end of the immense hallway. "Take your men and wait outside the gates of Moonglow. The major has assigned five squads of guards to take with us."

The hour was late, darkness had already settled over The Temple, and the alien was active within the chambers of Raticker. Sealing the large doors to his private chamber, he began the spell which would summon the other eight members of the deadly circle. Tonite was the time to open the gate for the entity seeking to invade this dimension. Raticker's large living quarters were private and deep within the ancient structure. The guards had been given strict instuctions not to patrol this area, with the threat of death to themselves and their families should they wish to disobey the Elder's orders. Everythings was set. A green gate opened and there stood his brother's and sister's who would help bring a new order to this land.

"Friends, we are on the brink of a new age for this dimension. It is rich with vitality and innocent blood. We will grow strong here, and be able to enter other worlds and conquer them as well. Nothing can stop us. We have shown dominance and the citizentry tremble at our appearance. Soon we will move into the Star Chamber and witness the appearance of our master and Lord. You all have done well, and will be rewarded for your efforts." stated Raticker as he prepared the Shimmering Globe which would transport them to their secret chamber.

Outside the city of Moonglow, White Lotus gathered her troops. Turning to Shaddock of PHP and Valhalla of NOV she stated, "You know you do not have to do this. It will be dangerous and we could lose. Even if we win, we do not know how the priests of The Temple will react to our encroachment onto their lands."

"If we do not do this, we shall perish anyway. Mordain will simply have to be made to understand. Elder Raticker should be able to make his fellow brother's understand we saved him as well." replied Valhalla. "There should be no problems. Time is of the essense if this potion is going to work. We must move now."

With that Lotus opened a gate into one of Raticker's antechamber's. It led to his private library and was not in much use. Everyone was on foot with no metal armor to announce their arrival. This mission was considered a suicide attack and each man was prepared to die in this cause to save Sosaria. Slipping into library, all wore black and had increased their skills for sneaking around by drinking dexterity potions. If all went well the circle would be taken by suprise. Hoping they had arrived prior to the Shimmering Circle was erected, Lotus felt their plan could work. All they needed was to get the alien presense out of Raticker's body.

The large area of Raticker's quarters was almost full with the eight members standing their. All in green it was hard to spot Rat. But there he was. Gloating over there ever so close victory. Exploding onto the scene the men erupted into melee. Quickly teleporting next to Raticker, the two mages injected the potions into Raticker's arms and hoped for the best. Naming the alien and causing a rift in course of time, the alien was forced out of Raticker's brian. Being disoriented and confused, all Rat saw was battle in his private apartments.

Many had fallen and the seven aliens remaining began to link to summon their deadly Azure Fire. Lotus screamed for Raticker to order them to stop.

"Halt!" cried Raticker.

Mystic Rose turned in confusion, while Farbanti mistep and was poisoned by a quick cut of John Von Darkmoor's weapon. He dropped to the floor in agonzing pain. Lotus took this chance to continue with the injections of the potions which freed the citizens of Sosaria from the alien intruders. Finally, it was over. With ten dead and five close to it, the aliens had been thwarted. Darma exclaimed, "Leshy what are we doing here?" Leshy looked up dazed by the events and stated "I have no idea. But I intend to find out. Lotus what is going on?"

Pounding could be heard on the out chamber doors as Frederick and Raal demanded entrance into Raticker's areas. Opening the doors, Raticker calmed everyone down, and began to explain the plight which had gripped himself and the other former members of the circle. Extending his thanks to Lotus and the brave members of her fighter, Raticker moved the men and forces into The Temple's main chamber to fully explain what had happened.

We recently recieved an ominous package. Within was the following sketch, and a note.

"To the members of the Cult involved in last night's attack.. this is our message to you."

Tonight I sat down with Fixxxer for an interview.

He’s played an orc, an imp and a gay merchant (to name a few)! He has a nickname you’ve probably never heard before! He’s an actor, a writer, a holder of great imagination, an organizer, a teacher and a regular guy….

Click here to read the details and comment…….

The Skara Brae Rangers and the House Stonesoul are proud to sponsor a storytelling contest at the Skara Brae Fairegrounds on January 26th at 5pm CST.

We will only be taking 10 entrys, so its first come first serve. The story must be in a roleplaying nature and it may be no longer than 8 minutes. If its longer than 8 minutes, it will be disqualified. There will be a panelist of three judges for the stories.

The Prize? 150,000 gold to the winner!

Hope to see you all there, I will be taking applications for the storytelling contest at cruz@ds180.net.

From Mastermind:

The council meeting for the City of Yew will be held this Saturday January 12th at 5 CST. We ask that all who wish to attend meet at the Abbey doors [Trammel] and a gate will be provided.

We would like to let all know that Yew is very much active still and will be running events and quests in the near future.

From Austen Andrews:

The explosion shook the fortress and hurled Dasha to the floor. The Jukan warriors around her toppled in a clatter of armor and spears. She regained her bearings and glanced about the room. The stone walls had cracked. The floor shifted. The fortress verged on collapse.

Master Adranath’s ritual had begun. The demise of the Juka and Meer was at hand, unless Dasha and Kabur acted quickly.

She rose to her knees and barked, “Exodus! Do something to give us time, sorcerer!” From her fingertips leapt a spell that illuminated the shadowy alcove, but the Juka’s mysterious lord was not there. He had left behind a curious altar or pedestal, studded with flickering gemstones and inset with silver, geometric patterns. She muttered, “Where is your revered master, Kabur, in the face of danger?”

The warlord growled, “The Juka do not hide behind wizards. We fight with our own hands!” Then he charged through a doorway. Dasha followed him. They emerged atop the high wall at the front of the massive fortress. From this vantage they saw the Jukan city spread around them, devastated by the earthquakes of the morning’s battle. Chaotic melee poured blood through the streets.

As Dasha strained to maintain her composure her keen eyes darted across the landscape, searching. Adranath, no! Her hunters vision found the elder far below working his hands deftly at the northern point of a circle of other eternals. A hellish glow began to shine forth from the ring of mages and Dasha knew at any moment the fortress would be hit by another blast of vengeful power.Her senses suddenly dulled as if she had been submerged in icy water. The valley before her seemed to freeze and the silence of a still night engulfed the chaos. Adranath far below looked as if he were captured in a blurry painting. A small plume of fire in the infant stages of a chaotic inferno hung from his fingertips like an orniment. Only Kabur and the structure on which he stood appeared clearly in her sight. Her body moved as if covered in lead and simply moving her head from side to side took extra concentration. Streams of dull violet light started to slowly trace along the surface of the floor below her like tears in parchment. They increased in number tracing over every surface faster and faster covering the entire fortress in the violet glow. The streams gathered below Dasha and Kabur covering the both of them until nothing could be seen but the strange energy. The Meer woman lost conciousness, her vision bathed in blinding light.

* * *

At the peak of the circle of elders, Adranath ceased his enchanting and froze in horror. As the wave of violent fire disspelled and faded he could see the Juka fortress fade completely from sight. No rubble remained, no ash, no trace of life. The fortress was simply gone.

Exodus and the Juka had escaped. Adranath fell to his knees, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.

Amidst the smoke and fire, the battle between the few remaining Juka warriors and Meer stopped for a moment as a deafening cry of agony echoed across the valley.

* * *

Ancestors, do not forsake us! We do not deserve this end!

By the Great Mother, you have killed us all!

... fire...

... smoke so thick...

Is this how the Juka face eternity?

Is this how the Meer face eternity?

The Juka carved their place in history.

Wisdom accepts the inevitability of change.

* * *

Through utter blackness a crease of light sliced through Dashas vision, stirring her mind. Her limbs felt weak as if she had run for days and her head pounded. A strange wind blew around her, smells her sharp senses had never before known were strong in the air. She managed to pull her eyes open slowly, whincing at the sunlight from above. As her vision focused she could see that she was still in the same fortress, yet something was different about this place.

As Dasha turned slowly she could see a figure standing near her in a dark cloak, floating slightly above the ground. Before she could react a huge clawed limb came forth from underneath the folds of the figures cloak and opened unleashing a hellish blast of fire. She was sent flying backwards over the edge of the fortress wall and fell.

Kabur began to groan and come to a standing position. The grizzled warrior already reaching for his weapon when he came to a kneeling position. "You will not find me so easy to defeat..." he strained to remain upright for a moment."Rest, Kabur. You have been saved." A voice droned in his head.

"Lord Exodus?" Kabur stood shakily and looked around at the valley below him. It was as if the entire fortress had been moved to another world. Nothing but the structure itself looked familiar.

"Where... where is this place?" He asked turning to examine the cloaked figure again.

"You stand in the fortress you have always known, Kabur. This is Ilshenar." The voice of Exodus buzzed in Kabur's mind.

"This is not the land I remember... I saw fire... death... Only Dasha and I remained. I saw these things like a dream... but not a dream." Kabur could only stare out at the new landscape before him.

"You saw a fate undone, Kabur. You felt time unwinding around you. Your fate begins anew, here, in my service again."

"You... you brought the Juka back from death?" Kabur sheathed his weapon.

"I have undone your death. I spent many centuries gathering the magical power to bring you forth from the past, Kabur. With the assistance of Lord Blackthorn I was able to gain the last amount of strength I needed to spare you from the insanity of the Meer. You now look down upon a new Ilshenar. One with new enemies for the Juka to challenge. I will guide you as I always have."

"Lord Blackthorn?" Kabur stared at the stranger. The cloaked figure pulled back his hood revealing a face part flesh and part armor. An eye like a glowing jewel glimmered slightly, highlighting the groutesque features marred by metal. His face held no expression.

"You will begin by exploring the land surrounding the fortress." Blackthorn ordered. "Gather your weapons and kill anything that you encounter."

Kabur stood still, curious who this being was that suddenly gave him commands. The voice of his master echoed again in his head. "Obey him, Kabur."

Slowly he pulled his stare away from Blackthorn's and walked into the depths of the tower. He could feel the strange one's eyes on him as he left. He did not look back to see the sneer on Blackthorns face.One by one he gathered his men and began distributing weapons and organizing parties to examine the fortress and the lands around it. He stood thinking over a table of weapons. From the top of the tower he had seen life in the distance. What he thought might be humans seemed to be lurking near the marsh areas and in the other direction he was sure he has spotted a gargoyle. He lifted two bows he often used for hunting such game and a hefty supply of arrows.

He walked out of the doors of the fortress with a group of his warriors. They stood for a moment gazing over the landscape, trying to take in this new world. Kabur turned to them and barked "Forward! Weapons at the ready!"

As he strode at the head of the party of warriors he stared ahead ready to strike. One thought was on his mind.

Dasha survived.

Tuesday, January 15th
Sandlewood and Home Tours Present "Winter Rune Drive'

Join us at the Sandlewood Tuesday, January 15th from 730cst (that's 830est) to 930cst for our Winter Rune Drive!

That's right, bring your favorite Felucca rune with you to add to our library. Could be your favorite player run vendor shop (armor, reagents, raw materials, craftables, magic weapons, whatever....) or a rune to your favorite hunting spot or unique location.

We are also celebrating the opening of the Home Tours tower - and they will be on hand giving out door prizes and free tour packs!

Come one, come all... Have some fun, meet with old friends, and make new ones!

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

From Aryn:

As I was winding down for a calm evening, I heard a report from a Knight remarking about a strange cross made of body parts and blood lain across the roof of the Trinsic Bank..

Pressing further, I immediately hit a set of runes and arrived upon a grisly scene.. much like the reports of the Highland Guard desecration.. I was left wondering who would seek to lay these.. why a cross.. and why in the City of Honor, now?

I sighed and began cleaning it up alone.. more questions than answers rolling through my mind..

From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

Moving with the swiftness of wind, Raticker summoned the five members of the Circle together to find more vessels for the alien entities. The cavernous abode they continued to meet in was littered with human remaines, sulphurous ash, and candles. After the last of them had been brought together, Raticker addressed his small following:

"Friends, we are now pressured to complete our mission. The Ancient One strains to enter this world and we are compelled to ensure his safe journey. In this, we now are going to take two more into our ranks. We first, travel to Serpent's Hold and then off to Jhelom as I believe there will be a gathering of warriors there. Any questions? Good. Let us be off." with that Raticker opened a gate to the seafaring city of Serpent's Hold.

Darma hobbled into the gate, her punishment for exploits in Moonglow had earned her a severe beating, and three hours on the rack. The Hold was quiet and the chilled sea air refreshed the five travelers as they began slaughtering at will. Bringing down the Azure Fire, sheet of purple hued enery rained upon the unprotected island. Guards screamed for assistance to no avial, the stables crumbled under the pressures of the intense energy being expended. The five creatures moved south from the main bank seeking another vessel for their evil plot and leaving a path of destruction behind them.

Hearing of this news, White Lotus put together a small band of Highland Guard and moved against the onslaught. Seeing the creatures were bringing down such harsh destruction, she new they would not be protected by their globes of protection. Taking heavy casualties, her small squad was not able to deflect any of the aggresors. "Pull back!" she ordered and the still living were able to move deeper into the hold for protection.

"There!" cried Raticker. Grabbing his amulet it blazed green and a sinuous stream of light emerged to encircle Drake of the Highland Guard. Stunned, Drake turned to face his new master and dropped to his knees. "What are your wishes, master."

White Lotus stood shocked as she saw one of her brave friends being consumed by the light and taken as the alien vessel. But as she stared in disbelief, she saw Farbanti being healed by Bloxxas. They had taken damage! Straining to listen to their foriegn words, she finally heard that which the mages at Moonglow Academy needed. For Bloxxas had spoken a name, and that name was 'Anaganti'.

"Farbanti, you fool. You are no good to us now, take brother Drake back to the caverns and bring him up to date on our plans." Raticker gave his instructions while opening another gate to the island of Jhelom. "Yes, master."

The farming and training island of Jhelom was peaceful and breezy this time of year. The gate opened below the training grounds just outside the city limits. The Sister's of Enchantment were training in tactical offenses and magical arts, when the four arrived. Not knowing what to do they scattered with the other farm animals. This attack was made simple. The Shimmering Globe surrounded the Circle protecting them from all forms of attack. Grabbing his amulet, Raticker turned on Leshyani and brought her to her knees. "You are mine wench." smirked Raticker. "You will serve us well, I hope you like the color green."

Pandamonium erupted as the guild tried to form a line of assalt. The mages were unable to penetrate the shield and the archers could not get any of their arrows through. Turning to view the small group of attackers, Raticker saw in the background White Lotus approaching. This time she held a small globe and was beginning to pronounce a name. Shocked beyond comprehension, the now five creatures opened a gate to make their escape. The last syllable heard from the lips of White Lotus was "..ganti".

"How is this possible!" roared Raticker has they entered the hallowed grounds which they occupied. Moving like a trapped animals, the seven creatures formed up the pentagram to summon the essence of the Ancient One for advise......

Old is the Yew tree which has stood the winds of time and seen the brutality of war and the rejoicing of peace. Lovers took shelter below the giant leaves and men conspired against men for riches and power. If the tree could speak what would it say? Would it weep in sadness or with tears of joy for its witness of years?

Bon Jour!

Welcome to another kid-tested mother approved packed with 7 vitamins and minerals part of this complete breakfast Thursday Development Update! We're only 1 day away from the Online Worlds Fanfest where the dream questions of fanboys everywhere will be answered.. Our fanboy this year is EdGuardo! Yep, we've got Ed out there covering the beat asking the hard questions. I am told he will also be kicking butt and taking names, as well as opening several cans of whooparse that he had been storing in his y2k bunker. Aside from that, weve still got development stuff to discuss, so lets get with it!

Behold! client patch 306j!

3D Client

• The help text for a profession will be shown when you pass your mouse over the icon during character creation.
  
• Fixed a crash bug associated with list boxes.
  
• Fixed a crash bug related to Ilshenar.
  
• Added support for next scenario.
  
• Addressed a crash bug related to the party system.
  
• Fixed an issue involving the loading of spell icons from the desktop file.
  
• Spell icons should now dock together when loaded from desktop file.
  
• Paperdoll should now open from the desktop file – even when you have a status bar already up.
  
• Dragging groups of docked items around should now cause all the objects to draw on top of other interfaces.
  

Both Clients

• Fixed an issue involving sound volume.
  
• Various localization files.
  

A long, long time ago, on a shard far, far away birth was given to the Bloodrock Orc Clan. Through hard work and an utter devotion to PvP and roleplay the Bloodrock Clan crossed shards, spawned new forts, and clomped many ‘humies’. Tonight I sat down with Xegugg, current Chieftain of the Great Lakes Bloodrock Clan for an interview……

Always wonder what it was like to be Chieftain of the Great Lakes Bloodrock Clan? Wonder about the girl behind the feisty orc? Did you know there is a procedure for becoming an orc? What’s someone who plays an orc ingame, snack on while she plays? What’s her favorite CD? All this and much, much more available in the FULL interview with Xegugg (current Chieftain of the Great Lakes Bloodrock Clan (URK)).

Click here to read the details and comment…….

From Dugald McTaggart of the Highland Guard:

The tower chamberlain, Angus McTaggart, awoke from a terrifying nightmare. In the nightmare, a tall man with an unnatural paleness had leapt oh him, throwing him backwards on the ground. Angus tried to get up, but the man had him pinned and was sitting on his chest. It took all of his effort to draw in a breath as the weight of the man pressed down on him. The man's eyes seemed to glow and look right through his soul. The man's mouth opened, revealing four long fangs. Angus screamed and found himself awake. But yet, for a moment, the oppressive weight on his chest remained as a shadowy form seemed to dissipate before his eyes. After a few moments, Angus was breathing again, and realized there was nothing in the room with him.

Angus lit the candle beside his cot in the work room of the tower. Chills ran through his spine. He listened and heard nothing unusual. Angus came to the inconvenient realization that he would not be able to return to sleep unless he made a round of the tower to insure there was nothing unusual. This happened from time to time - a strange noise, an odd feeling, followed by a round of the tower only to find that nothing was amiss. He fully expected that nothing would be amiss this time, but he had to be sure.

The horses were asleep at the stable. The sentry at the first floor had the look of infinite boredom and reported nothing unusual. All quiet on the second floor and the great hall. He watched a mouse scurry along one of the walls of the third floor, as one of the house cats sat licking a paw and deciding whether or not it would give chase. The war room was empty. Angus continued on to the tower's roof, and as he reached the top of the stairs, all the blood drained from his body as the sight he beheld hit him like a war axe to the chest.

Angus raised the alarm, and soon after members of the Highland Guard began to arrive to see the gory scene. Dismembered bodies and blood were spread along the roof forming a demonic cross. Who had done this? To what purpose?

The roof was cleansed, and a search of the tower and surrounding woods was ordered. Hetfield Macleod, the regimental piper, found another dismembered body and vials of blood in the nearby woods, after giving chase to a shadowy figure.

The Commander of the Highland Guard has appointed Sgt. Fire to conduct the investigation into the murders and the desecration of the tower. The evidence is safeguarded as the Guard hopes to present it to someone capable of drawing information from it.

To all whom it may concern,

The council meeting for the City of Yew will be held this Saturday January 12th at 5 CST. We ask that all who wish to attend meet at the Abbey doors [Trammel] and a gate will be provided.

We would like to let all know that Yew is very much active still and will be running events and quests in the near future.

Mastermind, Commander Yew Militia

Great Lakes Sea Serpent Slaughter Coming January 13

The Fishing Council of Britannia is pleased to announce a Net Toss on Sunday the 13th at 5:00 pm EST(4 CST). The public net event will be hosted by the noble Kyra of Kyra's famous Homes of the Exotic and Illustrious tour. The gracious Kyra will be donating around 30 nets for the event to celebrate the opening of her small Homes Tour Tower (which will have its grand opening on the 20th). There may be a few free Tour Packs given out at the event as well. The FCB is proud to host a Kyra's tour vendor at the FCB Tower. Hope to see you all there on the 13th :) As usual, the toss (also known as a Sea Serpent Slaughter) will be held at the Maginica Trammel docks. Make ready your weapons and spells; them kraken be deadly!

--Gem, FCB Fleet Captain

From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

Moving through the air in a green Shimmering Globe, Raticker found Darma in the southern reaches of Moonglow. Deep within the forests, the screams of children could be heard throughout the darkened trees. Gliding down to an open field, he stepped out of his invulnerable shield to a small campfire. The scene was a battle, only the blood and carnage was of children. "What have you done?! screamed Raticker.

"There must be 50 children here. You have gone to far Darma, the citizens will surley move against us. Your appetite for blood is out of control. Speak fool sister!" cried Raticker as he approached the figure of Darma covered in blood.

"Do not judge me, master. Please! I could not help myself. I am weak." pleaded Darma as she began to clean herself.

"We must cleanse this area immediately." stated Raticker. "Listen!" They both stood and listened in the darkness. Farther to the north shouting could be heard, and the ring of metal. Horses where moving towards thier location. "We have no time, you have endangered our mission! The town guard has been alerted. Quickly, we must leave this place before the fools arrive."

"Why should we care, lets destroy them now, they will then know the power we command. Let us link and give them a show of our true power. They would never stand against us should they see the blaze of Azure Fire wrought against their weak and mindless Wizards! Only then would we be able to open the gate without incident!" pleaded Darma in her lustfull state for blood.

"You have taken much upon yourself, and forced me to take a stand without a plan. In this, you have undermined my authority. We will discuss your punishment later." replied Rat in a calm voice.

Turning towards the west, Raticker began to cast a spell. Opening a gate he brought forth Farbanti and Mystic Rose. Each arrived with suprised eyes and terror as they viewed the torturous scene surrounding Darma.

"We all must link and face the coming army of men attempting to destroy us. Darma shall be punished for her actions, but now we have no time, the enemy is upon us and they must be shown our direct threat to their civilization. Everyone prepare to link, when they stand before us we shall dispense their souls to their creator." ordered Raticker.

Moving together and linking arms the four members of The Circle began to chant in a strange and foriegn language. The small band of soldiers and citizens approached from the north. Several men dropped to their knees and vomited at the sight of the death of their children. The small cavalry stood ground as the mages began powerfull spells behind them, moving to the front White Lotus of the Lost Horizens Community began to address the four creatures. Surrounded by Jon VonDarkmoor, Jesreel, Dean Martin, and Andor, White Lotus felt apprehension as to the security of her small force.

"Creatures, what have you done?" cried Lotus. "You will pay for this. We will defeat you, not because it is right, but to avenge our children. Mages fire!

With that the mages let loose Lightning, Wizard Fire and Poison Fields. Archers let loose arrows, and the cavalry advanced with deadly poisoned weapons. The four stood their ground and brought up the green globe. Slowly, they began to rise into the air. The archers continued to fire, the mages raised powerful energy bolts to no avail as the shield protected the four. Crackling across the sky, large sheets of Azure Fire began to decend on the defensless force. Exploding on the ground, troops where thrown from horses. Bodies where ripped in half and death again gripped the once peaceful forest.

"Retreat!" cried Lotus. The band scattered across the open field. Staying with their leader and moving towards the east. Jon VonDarkmoor looked back to see the destruction.

"Lotus look!" he screamed over the noise of retreat and panting horses.

As White Lotus slowed and looked back, she finally saw the one thing she needed to possibly break the cycle of death which had been unleashed upon the land. As the men fled back into the forest, Darma lay upon the ground with the three creatures tending their fallen comrad. The mages had penetrated the shield. It was vulnerable, and Lotus had an idea of what now to do.

"Fools!" ranted Raticker. "We have shown weakness. Everyone back to the caverns. We must move quickly!.

Welcome to another GRAND Week for Impy's. And yes, the headlines don't lie. You wanted it. WE got it. And IT WILL BE SOLD!! An Acient Runic Hammer, that does seem to be a bluish/valorite color.



Auctions this week:

Wednesday, January 9th, 9pm by the Eastern Sky

Thursday, January 10th, 9pm by the Eastern Sky



Up for auction this week:

Holiday Gifts: Bells, Statues, Bags, Flutes, Candy and Muffins

Tons of Coal Ingots

Gold Robe

Eggs: Mint Green and Light Green

Dull Copper Anvil

A Garden of Plants and Trees

Bags of Maps and Bottles

Banner and Flamming Head Deeds

Several Reward Statues

A Holiday Timepiece

Several Runic Hammers including ANCIENT RUNIC HAMMER, VALORITE



As always, Runes to Riches and the Mystery Chest games will also be played this week following the auction, so please stick around and take a chance with lady luck. We'll also be posting a new "You might be a ? if..." statement to the Bulletin Board every so often. Each week we'll give 50k in Impy Auction credit to the response we like the most. The more humerous the answer, the more likely you'll be to win. Impy has asked that you please stable your pets before the auction as he is allergic to wet fur.



If you don't have a rune, please stop by one of rune vendors: StarLite (Vesper, Trammel), next door to the RD Stables (Felucca), the Sandlewood Box Inn (Dead Heaven, Felucca), Kazola’s TreeTop Keg and Winery (Felucca), Cove Merchant’s Guild and Blacksmith Shoppe (Cove, Felucca), the Mystic Portal (Trammel), the Garden City Mall (Cove, Trammel), Kyra's Home Tour Base (Trammel).



~Impy's Staff

www.impys.net

*turns up the Bill Withers on Winamp*

Ah, my man Bill Withers, he always there for me when I am in a ranting mood. Brother Bill will be giving me guidance as I take you through the glory of boobs, tits, breasts, knockers, whatever you want to call them.

Boobies are very good selling tool. Teenagers love em, grown men love them, and old men love them. Us men are attracted to them like moths to the light. While I might prefer a nice handful, OSI prefers the kind that just want to break a woman's back.

I mean who can blame OSI? Most little pervs like em like that and are willing to buy anything that has boobs plastered on them like that. Heck, look at the pictures to the left. This is after they adjusted women. They still have huge breasts. The women before looked like there was no way they could stand. They looked like street whores.

It seems to be the way the market is heading too. Shadowboobs, EverQuest, and even Ultima Online have plastered boobs all over their game. I am sure one day they are going to piss off the wrong woman and get sued into Chapter 11 for using women as sexual objects.



Yet I am probably starting to lose you out in the audience. You are asking, "What does this have to do with Great Lakes?" Well I'll tell you what it has to do with Great Lakes. Any of you that have been following the UO fiction being posted on the webpage would know that there is a new Dawn character (the one with the artistic boobs up at the top and down in Nick's post) out there. Its pretty much a lock in that she is gonna be the new leader of Britannia.

She is going to be our hero, our guide, our banner to rally at. She is a woman which is fine with me, I believe in equality of the sexes and races fully. Yet they are taking advantage of women in this. Why do we always get stuck with some woman that is about to fall over cause of the weight on her chest? Could she be? *gasp* Nomral for once? How about she be just some regular girl that rose out of poverty from amongst us. She doesn't have to have the "I would do her if I was a computer animated person" factor. Just give her substance, and we will follow.

So now, in all likelihood, the leader that the forces of good swear allegiance too is gonna have the ability to knock someone cold if she turns the wrong way too quickly.

How do you like that? Not only will she wield a sword, but armor plated knockers, literally.

Ain't no sunshine when she is gone my brothers.

This was a question that was posed on the UO.com boards, and strangely got an official response from Gromm. Here's what he had to say:

As much as we'd like to tie everything up fictionally with the old king there's only so much we can do. Don't expect a grand exit for LB. Too many real world issues are present.
As far as this goes we're trying to look ahead rather than behind. Britannia has been without a leader for a long time, we recognize that, and we're hoping the new scenario fiction will be the beginning of the cure.

From the Chronicles of Elder Raticker:

The council room was full in the town of Ocllo. The people were in an uproar over the resent events here and in Serpent's Hold. Many of the citizenry are dead or missing and they wanted answers! The mayor from each town decided to have a meeting to explain their intentions and what was being done to combat the recent slayings.

"Everyone please! The only news we have from Moonglow is that the Academy is working on a solution to this so called 'Circle'. The deaths in our towns are a direct result of their evil. The Scholars and Mages of our land have requested anyone to report the names of these aliens to Moonglow authorities immediately. They believe a name will aid them in being able to combat them." stated the mayor.

While the leadership of the towns tried to organize battleplans, the guilds attempted to find some way of distrupting the green shimmering globe which seems to make The Circle invulnerable.

"Eowen, have you ever seen anything like it?" asked White Lotus.

"No, the globe has properties which are not of this world. But I do believe there must be a way to destroy it. We must keep looking and searching for answers." replied Eowen.

"Yes, it truly seems the only way to defeat the invaders is to unite - but that may be harder than finding a way to penetrate the globe!

As the two guild leaders continued scrying for answers, another murder took place in the forests of Moonglow. The population of Sosaria was being reduced one by one and nothing of this world seemed able to stop it. Meanwhile, in a dark cavern deep within the bowels of Sosaria, Raticker again met with the alien invader...

"Slave, you must complete the circle now. Use your amulet to take three members at once. Move to the designated location of my entrance and begin the spell."

"Yes, Master." replied Raticker.

"The spell will take about 72 hours to complete so you must have taken over your vessel completely by then. Destroy the mind of this Raticker if you have to but nothing must interupt your spell once it has begun." demanded the Ancient One.

"Yes, Master." replied Raticker.

With his new orders, Raticker returned to his chambers and began making preparations.

From Ludwig Van Foltz:

Hail! I would like to announce that the RKB's Order of Clergy will be hosting an 8 week Tour of the Virtues. Every Monday night from January 14 to March 4, the Order of Clergy will be leading an event dealing with an individual virtue. All events will begin at RKB Newcastle at 8pm EST. If anyone needs a rune please contact myself, Ludwig Van Foltz, at pigeon 27176393. Everyone is welcome to attend. For additional info and map of Newcastle, please visit http://www.qflag.com/rkb

Thank you all and hope to see you there!

In case you are wondering, yes I still have a few more days of being a Shadowlord. I logged my little merchant in on Tuesday though and decided to see what was going on in the world of factions on a day I knew most of the USA had off. It was mid-afternoon (eastern) and I made my rounds. I went to Lord British' castle first. Here, I assumed I would meet up with some opposition. I am happy to tell you that I sat in the throne for over 20 minutes. Not one True Brit came by. I ran around all of Brit.. I saw one orange, he saw me, I ran, he chased, apparently my 300+ ping was too much for him as he gave up fairly quick.

I headed next to the moongates. You can always find a fight at a moongate. Right? Well I thought so anyway. I went to every Felucca moongate - TWICE! Not one orange in sight.

I went to the Shadowlords base. Maybe someone would be camping our home, as I camped the throne. Bleh, nothing there but some skeletons.

I went to town... First Jhelom, then Skara, then Serps, then back to Brit. I ran through the towns, seeking out an orange. ANY ORANGE. I wanted adventure! Ok, honestly, I wanted to die! 4 towns, every moongate twice, 20 minutes in the thrown room and nothing. I went to Moonglow. I ran around the town, circled the bank, ran North and promptly bit the dust. Multiple oranges! Bleh. NPC oranges. The teleporters are a good place for them, by the time I saw them, it was too late to avoid death. I ran to the healer, got rez'd and ran back to gather my things. Next stop - the moongate again! As I was leaving town - instant death again! I never saw what hit me. To the healer again, then back to my body - instant death again!! blasted floor trap! Nice spot for it! Kudos to whoever's idea that was! I circumvented the floor trap and made my way back to the Sandlewood for one more shot at finding an orange. From there I went to the CoM base. Low and behold - a real live orange. Ho Chi no less. Well over an hour and I encountered one actual enemy.

Apparently many factions people had hang-overs so severe this New Year's Day they couldn't even login to UO.

Only a couple more days left for Shadowlords to get items tailored by me - come on - you know you want to spend your hard silver on some l33t wearables!

I would also like to take this time to say I am willing to do some research for you. If you have a question you need answered about UO - drop me a line - Noleeens@ds180.net. Hell, I will even dole out advice. I am also looking for someone good to interview - do you know anyone that fits this bill?

Aloha!

Welcome to the first TDU of the new year. Hope, you all had a good time!

We know OSI certainly did.. only a few Dev members showed for work on Wednesday. One of the poor saps stuck working yesterday was Tajima. Poor Tajima!

Luckily for the Dev Team, they did most of their work before the holidays, as evidenced by this update for Publish 15 which was posted yesterday morning:

Housing and Lockdown Updates

• Selecting YES on the gump to clear you as a co-owner of a house
  will now remove your co-owner status, allowing proper house transfers.


• Fixed an issue concerning flawed tile art while placing a house.


• Trading a house to a player who is co-owned to a house will be
  a two-step process. The receiver will first have to select YES to remove his
  co-owner status and then the other party will need to initiate the trade again,
  at which time it will complete normally.


• The house co-owner clear confirm gump spacing has been fixed.


• An issue allowing house add-ons to be chopped through an exploit
  has been fixed.


• Locked-down eggs and Easter eggs are no longer able to be used.


• You will now be able to use runebooks within bookcases or locked
  down containers.


• Co-owners of player houses are now able to dye locked-down furniture
  within the house they co-own.


• Issues involving certain characters being unable to release, secure,
  or lock-down items within their own houses has been addressed.


• The text on the house sign gump when using the 3D client has been
  changed to black text, instead of yellow, for easier reading.


• All houses will continue to be automatically refreshed — except condemned
  houses. Condemned houses will begin to decay.

Guild System Updates

• An issue involving canceling choosing new fealty in the guild menu has been
  addressed.


• Guildmasters that resign from their guild using the statement “I resign
  from my guild” will now receive a resignation confirmation. Also, the
  player who becomes guildmaster, as well as all online guild members, will
  now receive a statement announcing the new guildmaster.


• Several spelling errors in guild messaging have been fixed.


• A typo in the declare war function on guildstones has been corrected.

Map-Specific Updates

• Liches now spawn properly at (757, 1400, 0).


• Numerous bad ocean tiles have been cleaned up.


• NPC Waiters will no longer spawn on the roof of the Great Horns
  Tavern in Magincia.


• When you single-click the teleporter in the Moonglow mage shop for a newbie
  quest you will now see “a magical teleporter” instead of “lookAtText:
  a magical teleporter.”


• Players will be able to insta-log from the first floor of the Sweet
  Dreams Inn in Britain while using the 3D client.

NPC and Shopkeepers Updates

• All methods of killing shopkeepers in Felucca will now give a murder
  count (ie using pets, provoking).


• The vendor info and status is now on a gump instead of a bark.


• Shopkeepers will now buy up to 250 individual items or up to 500
  items total, whichever comes first.


• The barkeeps now work through context menus.


• An issue involving the displaying of the barkeep tip message on
  the barkeep menu has been fixed.


• ‘Buy’ is now part of context menus on faction horse breeders
  and hairstylists.


• The cancel button on the hairstylist gump will now cancel the selection
  and not charge you 50k.


• Guards no longer have training menus.


• Real estate brokers will be the only NPC interested in house deeds —
  all others will return them to the person who owns it.


• NPC Bankers and NPC Minters are the only NPCs which will accept
  checks.

Pet and Hireling Updates

• A loophole allowing transferring of pets while flagged grey has
  been fixed.


• It will no longer be possible to stable a pet using the last object
  macro.


• Fixed the message when you try to stable an object in your backpack —
  it now says “you can’t stable that” instead of “please
  dismount first.”


• Animal lore now correctly reports how many owners an animal has
  had.


• The message involving feathers in animal lore has been corrected.


• If you used your animal lore skill on a tamed eagle, eventually you’d
  get a random bark saying: “you lock it.” You should no longer be
  receiving that erroneous message.


• Healing a frost spider will now raise vet skill instead of anatomy.


• You will no longer be able to tame dynamically spawned monsters — such
  as Unicorns in an evil in the can region. You will still be able to tame the
  normally spawned Unicorns.


• You will no longer have to pay upkeep to keep your pet refreshed
  while stabled.


• Non faction players will no longer be able to tame faction war
  horses.


• Pack animals are now tamable via context menus.


• Players that command their pets using context menus will appear
  as if they had spoken the command phrase(s).


• All pets store bought or tamed and released will now properly be
  re-tamable.


• It’s no longer possible to transfer a pet to a ghost.


• Players who mount an ethereal horse will no longer be spammed three times
  with “You get on your horse.”


• An issue causing pets & hirelings to visually disappear (although only
  visually — they actually remained in the game at the place last seen)
  when approaching a server boundary has been addressed.


• You will no longer be able to hire NPC hirelings and have them
  guard other NPCs.


• An issue involving hirelings performing “grey” activities without
  their “owner” going grey has been fixed.

Skill Changes and Updates

• An issue disallowing the use of leather which was cut up from leather items
  has been addressed.


• The text displayed when selecting the type of metal on the crafting
  gump will no longer be garbled.


• When crafting items a check of the backpack is made — if it’s
  full (either item or weight-wise), you will not be able to craft the item.


• Both the crafting tools and the crafting resources must now be
  in one's backpack when crafting a given item. (You will no longer be able
  to use crafting tools in the bank box.)


• Crafting now breaks the necessary concentration for meditation.


• All crafting menus have the make last button.


• Oilcloths will now be created with the correct variables, and the
  bug to convert them back into yellow pieces of cloth has been fixed.


• Female plate is now properly identified on the crafting gump.


• Your backpack no longer closes if you use the materials menu.


• Tinkers will no longer be able to make bugged lanterns. Graphics
  issue were preventing them from lighting correctly.


• The “I honor thee” command will no longer disrupt peacemaking.


• Maker's Mark for instruments should now go back to being based
  on your Carpentry skill instead of your Musicianship skill.


• The Carpentry menu now has the correct spelling for “Trinsic-style
  chair.”


• An issue with incorrect messages when using Anatomy on targets
  with low STR and DEX has been fixed.


• Players who successfully use their hiding skill while under the
  effects of an invisibility spell will no longer be revealed when the invisibility
  timer expires.


• Players will no longer lose mana when attempting to inscribe a
  scroll they don’t have the proper materials for.


• Fixed an issue where the Inscription menu remained “active” after
  clicking “OK,” disallowing further use of that skill for a time.


• Characters will no longer lose mana when they fail to make a scroll.


• Fixed an issue with the phrase that appears when a cooking tool
  breaks.


• You will now get the correct amount of dough from mixing flour
  and water.


• When starting a tailor character you will begin with a pair of
  scissors.


• The cap and tall straw hat are now included in the tailor items
  menu for tailors.


• You will now be able to make potions directly into a potion keg.


• Potion kegs will now display the correct contents when single-clicked (ex.
  the keg will say “a keg of greater poison” versus “a keg of
  green potions”).


• Blacksmith repair difficulty has been fixed — the more damaged a weapon
  is, the more difficult it will be to repair it.


• If you have a blacksmith tool equipped, you must use that tool
  while smithing. Otherwise, you can use the tools from your pack as normal.


• An issue involving mining at inappropriate distances from the target
  has been fixed.


• An issue involving the ability to smith items without the proper
  tools has been addressed.


• Gargoyle shopkeepers will now give and accept bulk orders.


• Added small platemail bulk order deeds.


• Male plate tunics are now being given as a Bulk Order Deed (whereas
  before it was only female plate armor).


• Blacksmith repair contracts will now work in the gargoyle city
  region.


• Resmelting metal items now checks for an anvil and forge in the
  proximity.


• It will now be possible to repair and resmelt all metal shields,
  arms, and armor.


• The word “Dull” has been changed to “Dull Copper”
  on the blacksmith menu.

Faction Updates

• Faction scrolls now stack properly.


• Faction shopkeepers and guards will now correctly be dismissible
  by a targeting cursor.


• Faction vendors should no longer block players movement.


• Faction stones will no longer open up the “join this faction”
  gump window for anyone who has already joined that faction.


• Several issues with faction voting windows have been fixed. They
  will now come up & display appropriately.


• A faction town income price modifier issue has been corrected.


• An issue involving faction town stones not always recognizing their
  faction ownership has been fixed.


• Factioneers who leave their faction while on the leadership candidate
  list will be properly removed from the respective candidate list at that time,
  and the election system timetable will be adjusted accordingly.


• Factioneers of rank 5 or lower will not be able to campaign for
  faction leadership.


• Faction titles will no longer display while in Trammel.


• An issue involving faction characters getting stuck if they quit
  their faction while in their stronghold has been fixed.


• An issue allowing characters to Gate Travel while holding a faction
  sigil has been fixed.

Spell Updates

• Fixed an issue where you’d get a message saying that you were disturbed
  while casting the Incognito spell, but you’d still be able to cast the
  spell if your skill was high enough.


• Fixed an issue where an avatar would turn north when casting certain
  spells.


• Telekinesis no longer works on boat decks.


• The Firefield spell will no longer be precastable outside of town
  and targetable in town.

Miscellaneous Localization/Text Changes

• An issue where certain containers were not displaying their weight properly
  has been fixed.


• The listed values when a character is overloaded were reversed-they now
  display as “Carrying stones/Max stones.”


• Legacy naval chests and shipwreck chests now display the correct
  text.


• Pitchers of liquid will no longer just say: “Container. It is full.”
  Single-clicking the pitcher will now display the contents.


• Links will now show up and work correctly in the help gump.


• Special drinks will now correctly display their look at text — mostly
  covers holiday items.


• The mongbat tutorial text will no longer mysteriously disappear.


• An issue with overlapping text boxes in the new player tutorial
  has been fixed.


• The gump that pops up when you are leaving the tutorial to go to
  Haven will now remain on the screen until closed.


• The proper localized look at text will now appear over magic teleporters.


• When canceling a help request the word request is now spelled correctly.


• The wording when locking and unlocking a door has been made consistent.


• Kite shields will now display if they are dyeable or not.


• A text display issue with trapped chests has been corrected.


• Female plate is now correctly identified if it is exceptional.


• Text will now display correctly on magical items that are blessed
  using the Item Bless deed.

Miscellaneous

• Runebooks now only require 8 blank scrolls to make instead of the previous
  10.


• Double-clicking a bank check in your bankbox will now cash it in.


• Camping now is on a 10 second timer — if a player camps and waits more
  than ten seconds, the gump will close and the player remains in the world.
  (This is to prevent insta-logging in combat.)


• You can now use a furniture dye tub if you are the owner and the tub is
  in your backpack.


• Recall scrolls will now stack properly.


• The woodsman house has been removed from the list of possible escort destinations
  because it was confusing — there aren’t any woodsman in the game.


• Players on Siege shards who aren’t part of the new good/evil system
  will no longer be able to hue items.


• Special case doors now play the correct sounds when opened and closed.


• Candles will no longer disappear when used in your hand.


• Ghosts will no longer be able to open their backpacks using context menus.


• The mongbat tutorial gump will no longer close when entering combat, as
  well the death gump will not vanish if the player leaves the area toward the
  exit moongate and comes back.


• If a character has his Karma locked it will no longer be possible for others
  to “honor” them.


• None of the decorative bolts of cloth in tailor shops will disappear or
  give odd messages when double-clicked.


• An issue regarding making & collecting bounties has been addressed.


• All magical items should now be able to be repaired as normal.


• If you choose a Vet Reward from the menu and then cancel your choice, you
  will be put directly into the game instead of being presented with the Vet
  Rewards menu again.


• An issue involving grey thieves being able to steal and use moongates has
  been fixed. (Such thieves must wait until they return to blue before using
  a moongate.)


• An issue involving incorrect altering of stats through the used of certain
  Blessed items and spell combinations has been fixed.


• Oil cloths should no longer disappear once you use them on your weapon.


• You are no longer able to get more than one stone table from one deed.

From Austen Andrews and BNN:

The explosion shook the fortress and hurled Dasha to the floor. The Jukan warriors around her toppled in a clatter of armor and spears. She regained her bearings and glanced about the room. The stone walls had cracked. The floor shifted. The fortress verged on collapse.

Master Adranath’s ritual had begun. The demise of the Juka and Meer was at hand, unless Dasha and Kabur acted quickly.

She rose to her knees and barked, “Exodus! Do something to give us time, sorcerer!” From her fingertips leapt a spell that illuminated the shadowy alcove, but the Juka’s mysterious lord was not there. He had left behind a curious altar or pedestal, studded with flickering gemstones and inset with silver, geometric patterns. She muttered, “Where is your revered master, Kabur, in the face of danger?”

The warlord growled, “The Juka do not hide behind wizards. We fight with our own hands!” Then he charged through a doorway. Dasha followed him. They emerged atop the high wall at the front of the massive fortress. From this vantage they saw the Jukan city spread around them, devastated by the earthquakes of the morning’s battle. Chaotic melee poured blood through the streets. And a new terror began to engulf the wide valley. Several dozen Meer elders formed a ring around the fortress, shining fiercely in the thick of a magic spell. The northern point of the circle was occupied by Master Adranath himself. At his gesture great rings of fire rippled out from the elders, blazing through the city in a brilliant conflagration. Dasha threw up an arm to block the heat from her face. The fortress rocked at the hammer impact of the flames, which sprayed and tossed like a hellish ocean wave. Then black smoke swallowed everything and Dasha pulled away from the edge.

Her heart slammed painfully. Exodus had been right. Adranath was conducting the slaughter of everyone in the valley, both Juka and Meer. The holocaust pounded the city in relentless surges. So terrible was the heat that her fur began to singe. She knew it was already too late to save the countless thousands trapped on the ground. Her head swam in despair. Ancestors, do not forsake us! We do not deserve this end!

From out of the smoke reached a powerful hand. It plucked her into the air and held her there. She saw Warlord Kabur’s green face, twisted with a terrible rage. “My people!” he screamed. “What have you done? By the Great Mother, you have killed us all!”

She saw Kabur’s face, the face of the man who had organized the destruction of the Meers’ home forest. He was a hapless pawn of Exodus, perhaps, but he was guilty nonetheless. His naivete had initiated this war. He owned responsibility as much as Adranath. Her horror turned into a blast of anger and she howled as she kicked him in the chest. He let go of her, then tumbled off the wall.

She peered over the edge. He had not dropped into the inferno, but had landed on a narrow, stone bridge that connected the fortress to a freestanding tower. He sprang to his feet and hurled his spear. She leapt aside with a margin of inches. But when her feet touched down again, the wall vibrated at the crash of Adranath’s spell. Large blocks of stone fell free. Dasha careened through the air and landed beside Kabur. The warlord unsheathed a heavy sword and lunged at her.

Blind fury drove her now. To her perception Kabur’s blade moved like molasses. She dodged it and smashed blow after blow on his injured body. The warlord staggered but she did not stop. With each strike the fortress shook, the flames roared, the smoke clogged her aching lungs. Then Kabur’s sword found a gap in her defense. The point shoved into her belly. But the pain meant nothing to her. To his smoky form she bellowed, “Your gullibility has ruined us! Is this how the Juka face eternity?”

Warlord Kabur knew his own part in this nightmare. She could see the mad anguish in his reptilian eyes. With a scream he pushed the sword deeper inside Dasha’s abdomen. For an instant her body faltered. Her eyesight flickered. Then the blade was gone from inside her.

The miasma of pain and fire and smoke made time drag slowly. She saw the stone bridge crumble under the Juka’s feet. He flailed his arms for balance as he dropped into the flaming air.

A voice in her mind said, Is this how the Meer face eternity?

With strange detachment she watched her hand reach for Kabur. She grabbed his wrist and he gripped hers. His great weight almost jerked her off the bridge, but she pulled him up from the hungry flames as her own strength faded. Then she collapsed in a whorl of heat. She felt the warlord hoist her in his arms and run to the tower at the end of the bridge. There they knelt behind a fallen stone.

“The Juka live with honor,” he growled.

“Let’s make sure that we live at all.” Her fingertips were bloody. In the dust and soot of the tower roof she inscribed a blink rune. With a prayer to the ancestors she activated the spell. Light blanketed them, pale and cool.

They appeared in heavy darkness. Sounds echoed from the hard walls of a cavern. Dasha lit a magic glow to reveal the same cave in which they had conducted their duel several nights earlier. A single glance was enough to agree them. Quickly she healed the worst of their wounds, then they ran for the distant mouth of the cave. On a high slope they emerged to see what damage Master Adranath had done.

The valley was a bowl of flame that slopped over the mountainous edges. Smoke rose from beyond the ridgeline where the inferno was proceeding across the landscape.

No one had survived in the city or on the mountainsides. So proudly had each race mustered its forces that few Juke or Meer remained alive in other places. In the best of circumstances, survival would have been difficult now. And the deadly frosts of winter lurked weeks or days away.

In silence they watched the column of smoke billow from the valley, like a giant monument on an unthinkable grave.

Inside the cave they found the huge predator that had nearly eaten Dasha. It was close to death from its wounds, weak from blood loss. Together they killed it. The meat would sustain them until the fires diminished.

Two days later they left the cavern again. Side by side they gazed down at the black valley. Little remained now but piles of stone that had once been the walls of the great Jukan fortress. Already the humans had begun to pick through the rubble. Scavenger gargoyles circled the cold, greying sky. Dasha did not want to think what they might do with the charred remains of two fallen races.

Warlord Kabur’s frown was heavy. He lifted his chin with defiant pride. “Though the flesh passes, honor is eternal. The Juka carved their place in history.”

Dasha said nothing, but her thoughts would not rest. Master Adranath had once told her, Wisdom accepts the inevitability of change. But even now she refused to believe him. The Meer had founded their spiritual beliefs on the truth of reincarnation. Dasha knew her people would appear again. Their form might be strange but their spirit would not die. They would always look ahead, but they must never fear what lies behind them.

That, she suspected, was the real essence of wisdom. The lesson had come at a horrible price, but perhaps the ancestors themselves were a party to this fate. Hers was not to judge their motives. She would simply look ahead and never fear again.

Time tramples greatness to rubble and dust, but glory is never forgotten. Elder winds sing of the past to those calm enough to listen.

Hello there!

The old saying, "When it rains it pours." Is quite apt when describing our latest situation with our primary web server. It seems that early this morning, around 1:00am EST our server suffered a hardware failure and our host is going to have to replace this equipment. Unfortunately, when you add up everything - the timing being what it is, folks being on holiday, replacement parts not being in stock and New Years coming up we're in quite a bind.

We hope to have the server back online just as soon as we can. I do not have an ETA at this time, but we are doing everything in our power to get that server back online ASAP. Our other servers are online and functioning fine, you may still visit our forums and assorted other features housed on these servers.

Link: UO Stratics Forums

I know that there has been a lot of speculation as of late since all of the hosting issues have popped up over the last six weeks or so. But please rest assured, Stratics is not going under, we're not closing our doors and we're doing just fine aside from a series of bad luck on the host/hardware front. Our services will be back in full swing as soon as we get this box back online and you can expect a very strong and aggressively active Stratics just as soon as these issues are behind us. In fact, we have a lot of great surprises in store for the coming months, so please do not allow any rumors to confuse the situation. The Stratics Network is not going away.

From all of us here at Stratics, we apologize for any inconvenience this current downtime causes you and we hope you have a truly wonderful, and safe, New Years celebration. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Regards,

Jhariden
jhariden@stratics.com
Community Development

Stratics
http://www.stratics.com
The Massively Multiplayer Network