From Raistlin:

In the darkest of night the tap, tap, tap of dripping water could be heard echoing amongst the otherwise silent stone walls, as rain water found its way through holes in the masonry. There, curled upon a sleeping mat given to him by his captors, a young mage lay in fitful sleep. At his side lay chains wrought of iron and magically sealed so that no one of power could break them without the proper key. The chains clinked together as the young mage tossed in the throes of another dream. This dream was the same dream that had come to him many times before in his life, and as always, served as a doorway to the answers he sought.

A young boy, pale skinned, covered in grime stood before him with his hand outstretched. His eyes were bright blue and his hair the color of straw. As before the young mage took the boy's hand and allowed himself to be lead along a path through an ancient ruined city beneath a surreal night sky. The world was blanketed in perpetual twilight, with streaks of the deepest blood-crimson, and hues of elegant purple painted in feathery swaths across the skyline. Everywhere were bursts of fiery stars that seemed about to explode, and so close were they to the earth that the heat of each and every one could be felt faintly, like the sun's warmth through a clouded sky. Meteors left green streaks througout the cosmos, leaving the impression that some great beast had rent the sky with it's poisonous claws, and a fell wind blew amongst the debris of the ruined city, bringing with it whispers of ancient dread and terror. This was a place of horror and unnamed evil so old that no one on the mortal planes living could know it's name. Above the two travellers, standing as the only edifice daring enough to pierce the terrible night sky, was an ancient ruined temple.

As always the young boy lead the mage up the winding and broken path, past the shattered marble collumns of what must have once been a glorious highway of beauty built in tribute to some incredible power. Before them stood once again, the temple carved and formed of obsidian. This time however, the doors had been blasted open by some incredible force. The young mage hesitated in his ascent and the boy broke free, continuing to the steps. Standing there, his eyes pleading with the young mage, he beckoned for his companion to come forward. Complying without eagerness, the young mage came forward. It was here that the boy usually left him behind to face his fate alone within the dark confines of the temple walls, but this time the boy ran behind the mage, fear in his clear blue eyes, clutching at the mage's nightmare cloth cloak.

The young mage continued forward, into the black night of the temple's inner sanctum. There the same raised dais met him. Upon the dais stood the same low stone table, but here there was no black gate, as he had always met before. Here in his dreams he had struggled with some unknown power behind the gate, attempting to pull him in to some deathly pit of despair. Now there stood a gallows on the low stone table. And hanging from the gallows was his own body. His hair hung limply on his shoulders, and his eyes stared deep into the nothingness of the Eternal Void. The young mage stifled a cry that came to his lips as he looked upon his own corpse, as he felt the presence of another power in the room. Behind the gallows two pale eyes glowed with evident hatred and malice.

The young mage looked behind him, making sure the boy was still safe, and then stepped cautiously forward to further inspect this power behind the gallows. He could feel the baelful fury steaming from the stone table, but he caught a hint of something altogether different. A cool, refreshing wind began to blow upon him, and he felt himself coming awake slowly. His power was returning, bit by bit. He felt whole again, as though his soul had been made intact, that had previously been banished beyond his reach. He felt the power of magic course through his fingers, and the words of power swim through his mind as though he had never forgotten them. Looking back into the blackness he knew what he sensed in this presence that felt such hatred for him. It was an intense and burning fear. With a howl of rage and desperation the presence fled the inner sanctum, deep into the bowels of the temple to stew in some dark corner.

Looking upon his coprse one last time, the young mage felt himself stirring to full wakefulness. The boy standing behind him was no longer afraid, and a smile crossed his face as the dream blurred from the young mage's mind and his eyes opened fully.

He was still chained to the wall of one of the towers of the Order of the Silver Serpent on the island of Serpent's Hold. It had been three days since he had given himself up and surrendered to his greatest enemy. Due to his constant disbelief in the ways of Chaos, and his challenges to the god of his Cult, the mage's power and his soul had been imprisoned far beyond the mortal plane. In the Eteranl Void the Black One looked down on this worthless husk of a man and laughed. The mage could feel that laughter burn his skin. There had been no choice. He had to give himself up to one enemy or another.

But the dream had showed him all was not lost.

Stretching in the damp air of the tower he rose to his feet and walked to the book shelves on the other side of the room. Tearing out the blank pages of a few of them, he made his way across the room and took up a quill pen, beginning to write. More convinced than ever that he had chosen the right path, a grim smile crossed the young mage's face.

Raistlin had lost a battle with his god, but he would win the war.

Via BNN:

Far underground, among the soil and stone, two workers had been busy for an entire day. They considered their work within the gloomy cavern pleasant and distracting. The constant flow of warriors skittering by and the sounds of clashing swords and armor echoing down the rocky dirt hallways had stopped bothering the pair hours ago, not that such workers were easily distracted. They toiled under request of the Matriarch. Besides, the two workers had created their own distractions while they labored.

“… Your most embarrassing scientific moment?” Borvin asked Krett.

Krett looked up from the tall contraption he was building beside a large pool of water. He thoughtfully scratched his chin. “Most embarrassing… ah… that is a difficult one.” The tinker leaned forward again to reach inside the device with one of his tools, making a few squeaky adjustments. “That’s ah… hmm, that’s a difficult one.” Krett blushed slightly in the dim light. “There have been so many.”

“Just choose one!” Borvin sat on a small stool by the underground spring with alchemy equipment spread out before him. He leaned down with a small glass vial to gather another sample of the water. After dripping a few drops of a deep blue liquid into the vial, he shook his head and tossed the contents out. “I’ll go first if you like.”

“Please, ah… after you, by all means.” Krett’s voiced slightly echoed out from the device that he had stuck his head into.

Borvin looked towards the shy tinker and raised an eyebrow. “Are you certain that it is safe for you to have your head in that thing? There are quite a few moving parts in there. Aren’t you worried about losing an ear?”

Krett pulled his head out of the device and smiled at Borvin. “Only if I don’t move my head every seventeen and a half seconds.” The machine made an almost fierce swooshing sound, as if a blade were being swung. Krett stuck his head back inside and continued making adjustments. “It’s your turn.”

“Ah, yes, right, my most embarrassing scientific moment.” Borvin thought for a moment as he stared into a beaker. “That would have to be the day I blew up my alchemy instructor.”

Krett giggled from within his machine. “I… ah, I know I shouldn’t laugh at that, but you, ah… you blew him up? That sounds rather violent.”

“Oh he wasn’t hurt,” Borvin’s gut shook slightly as he chuckled, “although I’m still not sure how. I was nearly finished with my instruction from this particular professor my father had sent me to. The fellow didn’t seem to care for my prowess, thought I was too smart for my own good.”

Krett pulled his head out of his device again, just before a slicing sound came out. He grabbed another of his tinker tools and climbed back in. “I’ve, ah… I’ve had instructors like that before. They always thought I was too smart for my own good as… ah… as well.”

“Well this teacher was correct; I was slightly big for my own britches. Some things never change, eh?” Borvin patted his stomach. “It was my final project and I mixed a new potion that I thought was going to revolutionize alchemy. Unfortunately I had made a very simple mistake. When my instructor came to test it, the potion exploded and “revolutionized” him right through the wall of his house and halfway down the street.”

Krett’s laughter echoed inside his device.

“I was terrified. There I am standing blackened with soot in this shell of a house, with my instructor lying in the street looking rather dead. After I stood there in shock for ages, he slowly stood up, walked back to the house and told me very calmly to go home.”

“Go home?” Krett again dodged whatever horrible fate awaited those who did not move every seventeen and a half seconds. “That’s… ah, that’s it? Just go home? Oh, hello there.” Krett blushed slightly, realizing he had said hello to a passing Solen worker that was curiously inspecting the two men who had been made friends of the hive.

“Well, that day, yes. The next day I started working for him. It took a year and a half to help pay off the damage I had done.” Borvin combined two of his potions together, then poured a few drops of the spring water in the mixture. “Hmmm, I think Adranath was correct; their water supply does seem to have some effects of the decay in it. Probably turned them into their current form, but it could also kill them before too long.”

“I guess maybe they, ah… they came to the surface looking for water?” Krett asked.

“Could be, could be.” Borvin poured the mixture out and began packing up his bottles and potions. “Now it’s your turn. Your most embarrassing moment in science, what is it?”

Krett’s hand felt along the ground near his tools. He pulled his head out of the machine to look around. “Possibly right now, I, ah… I seem to have lost one of my wrenches.”

“That’s your most embarrassing moment?” Borvin asked.

“Well I… ah, I’ve never lost a tool before!” “That was a perfectly good wrench and… Krett looked nervously at the ground, then looked up to see the curious Solen worker a few steps down the tunnel trying to chew on his wrench. ”Ah, there! You!”

He ran up to the worker and gently tried to put his hands on the tinker tool to take it away. It was like watching a mother fight with a fussy baby. The worker squealed slightly and tried to brush Krett’s hands away. “I need that… ah, give me the wrench, please! You want me to, ah… to help your Matriarch, don’t you?”

Borvin walked up behind Krett with a small jar of a golden-looking clear substance and waved it in front of the upset Solen. “Mmmmm, doesn’t that smell good, yes?” The workers antennae shifted towards the jar. It suddenly let go of the wrench, causing Krett to stumble backwards into the pool of water with a yelp. Borvin held the jar out to the creature as it snatched it away and walked down the tunnel chirping to itself.

“What did you give him?” Krett asked spitting out water as he took Borvin’s hand to help him stand.

“Honey. I brought some for the bread I had with lunch.” Borvin grinned. “They may be six feet tall, with a talking Queen, but some things never change. Are you alright?”

Krett wiped the water off his face. “Yes, I’m fine.” He walked back over to his device, reached into the opening with his wrench, and made one twist. “And I’m, ah… I’m all done here.”

“Do you think it will work?” Borvin asked as he gathered up his things to leave.

“I hope so, if not it’s going to, ah…. Well it would be rather, ah… embarrassing.” Krett smiled.

The two examined their work with pride. The new device they had come up with looked strange, but it was the only hope for the Solen Matriarch and her people.

As the pair of scientists began the hike out of the tunnels, Borvin turned to Krett with a slight smile. “You never did tell me what your most embarrassing moment was.”

“You just saw it.” Krett said.

This just in:

The Grand Marshall of Virtue, Marquis Alazraham, has passed on today, after a freak gardening accident cut open a vein in his leg. The body was found by his neighbor, a blind man who reported the incident to the authorities.

Alazraham has no kin, and is survived by noone. As per his last will and testament, he will be entombed in the Britain Graveyard silently and without ceremony. His gravesite shall remain unmarked.

The next meeting of the High Council will be on Monday, October 7th at 8pm Central Standard Time. We will be meeting at Serpent's Hold in Felucca in the Serpent's Warriors building (the same location as we had previously met there).

On the agenda for the evening will be several proposals and, it goes without saying, a discussion on recent events which have taken place.

I would also like to remind everyone that the Office of the High Council Press and Publicity is accepting applications of those who are interested in establishing and running the Office. Applications can be sent to winski@redlow.net or posted on the public forum of the High Council webpage: http://64.94.44.84/council/index.asp



Look forward to seeing you all there!
-Dr. Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

Lord Jenner announces that he will run for the new Big Government seat for the City of Trinsic. Candidate Jenner stated that he would run on a platform of a strong local government and a weaker central government. He explained his belief that a central government has only 4 purposes: 1) Act as mediator when disputes arise between cities. 2) Protect the roads that link the cities, 3) Protect and hold the lands outside the cities in trust until Lord British’s return to his people. 4) To help the City Councils organize in a time of Crises.

Candidate Jenner further asks the people of Trinsic who can best to serve them? The People who are the direct representative of the people of Trinsic or the council of several cities, in which Trinsic has only 1 voice out of many?


Candidate Jenner is a long time resident of Trinsic and Grandmaster Bowyer, who fought during the undead invasion. He also supplied many defenders during that time with bows and arrows. Candidate Jenner’s Axe also bit deeply into the juka during their invasion of Trinsic.


Lord Jenner

I am proud to announce the upcoming marriage of Mona Barrington and Giorgio Armani.
On September 11th a blushing Mona said yes when Giorgio asked her hand in marriage. Even Uncle Pencils blessed the engagement.
The date of their wedding is set for Sunday October 13th at 10:00pm est. The location for the nuptials is Gargoyle City infront of the main fountain.
High Priestess will be presiding over the vows.
As the couple to be are both tailors this event should be a fashion affair.
Mona and Giorgio have requested that guests wear blue or shades of blue. And no mounts please.
May their love last for eternity.

Regards, Lava (tamer of beetles)

Announcing the Tales and Ales Tavern Ant Assmebly!

This Wednesday, October 2nd at 8 pm est Tales and Ales
will be hosting an Ant Assembly. This is where people
can share speculations, rumors, secrets and tips about
the upcoming scenario. Also, there will be space in
the back room for buying, selling and trading scenario
related items. This may become a weekly event, the
night before the new publish hits, it depends on the
turnout! We hope to see you there!

Nate Byrd
Tales and Ales Tavern
www.talesandales.com

The next meeting of the High Council shall be on Monday, September 30th at 8pm CST in the Magincia Parliment building of Trammel. Topics for the evening's discussion shall include news regarding new Town Councils being established, two or three proposals ranging from a royal city charter to be used by the High Council members who are spearheading the foundation of new city governments to a reformation proposal to lessen the chance of corruption in governments.

I also have a couple annoucements:

The High Council is now accepting applications for the head of the newly formed Office of the High Council Press and Publicity. The Office's duties would include bringing news of the High Council to the public via town criers in the cities of Britannia and also making official documents, laws, statements of the Council prior to each public meeting. Applicants should include their name, background, and reasons for wanting to start up this new office. The Council is looking for a serious minded person who isn't afraid of a fairly large undertaking, as the selected candidate's first duty would be the building of this office.

In addition, I would also like to mention that the High Council now has a site on the web. The site is incredibly well designed and includes almost anything you might need to know about the council. Its creator, Ra'Dian Fl'Gith did a wonderful job. My thanks to him. It can be viewed at: http://64.94.44.84/council/

As always, the public is encouraged to attend the meeting on Monday and I look forward to seeing you all there!
Doctor Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

Sorry for the short notice, but Lilly Thann and Nate
Byrd's wedding has been postponed due to real life
issues for many of the wedding party. We apologize for
this late notice and we will surely announce it as
soon as we set a new date.

Nate & Lilly

Hail Britannia,

By now, many of you have heard of the newest race to appear here in Britannia.. the Solen. Your military has been working around the clock to find more information on the solen in order to protect the citizenry of Britannia. As a result of our intelligence gathering, I am compelled to issue a Travel Advisory across the entire nation.

Solen antholes have appeared near roadways throughout Britannia, most prevalently near Vesper, Near Skara Brae, and on the North Road between Yew and Vesper.

The Solen are inherently hostile toward non-insect life, this means that they are a thread to Humanoids, Mounts, and Stablery pets. If you are planning a journey, we advise caution.

I have deployed the Royal Knights to help secure the roads, but there are so many Solen that we cannot guarantee your safety while travelling. We welcome freelancers, privateers, and fortune seekers to assist our efforts.

Thank you,

Marquis Alazraham
Grand Marshall of Virtue,
Britannian Military Force

You might notice a new feature over to the left there, the DS180 WebMail feature. This allows all of you out there with DS180 pop3 accounts to check your E-mail over the web, and you wont have to worry about Yahoo and Hotmail attaching ads to the bottom of your messages.

For those of you who don't have a DS180 E-mail, you can get one, but they're limited. For the moment, I'm restricting the number to 10 on a first-come first-serve basis. DS180 mail has the virtue that you can pick virtually any name you want, and it won't be taken.

If you're interested, send a mail to seafort@ds180.net using your present E-mail address, and let me know you'd like a spot in the WebMail program.

Hail readers!

I've removed the Automatic submit feature today due to the fact that nobody actually used it properly, which resulted in mashed up posts like the two below this one.

From now on, you'll need to use Manual Submit, or send your submission to seafort@ds180.net

From Nate Byrd:

Hear ye, hear ye, We would like to announce the joyous event of a wedding for all of Britannia to come and enjoy. Vesper Ambassador Lilly Thann and TAT owner Nate Byrd will be wed for all to witness on Saturday, September 28th at 8pm under the central skies. The location for the wedding is the top of Yew Abbey. Gates will be made available for about 15 minutes from before the wedding to the time of the beginning of the wedding from Skara and Vesper bank and Tales and Ales Tavern. Once again When: 8pm under the Central Skies, Saturday September, 28th Where: Top of Yew Abbey Gates available from Skara Bank, Vesper Bank and Tales and Ales Tavern. A reception to be held after the wedding at Tales and Ales. Lilly makes a request that no bloodshed occurs at the wedding and that if enemies are at the wedding to let them be unless they start something first. She says this is a happy event and that it doesn't need to be christened with the spilling of blood, no matter if the enemies are enemies of the state. If any trouble arises she will cordially boot the trouble makers off the top of the abbey.

Tales and Ales Tavern needs your help, whether it be you individually or your guild. My staff and I need to find guilds that are willing to host a night every week or every other week. Due to my schedule (don’t we all love college?), I am unable to host Tuesday and Wednesday nights. These are mainly the two nights we need a guild to host, whether it just be tending the bar or holding large, exciting events. Currently, Tales and Ales employs the help of the Yew Militia on Thursday nights, but other than that, it is our staff that does much of the work. Also, Tales and Ales Tavern is in need of some bartenders, barmaids and most other forms of help. Tales and Ales, as some of you know, has its own guild stone. This guild is an RP PvM/Merchant , mainly consisting of characters whom help tend the bar. We are in need of help at the moment, as many of us have grown busy with college and work. We are looking for dedicated, hard working people who enjoy talking and… ermm… serving drinks! If you or your guild is interested in either of these, please contact me via ICQ at 1743120, via our forums at http://pub89.ezboard.com/btalesandales or via e-mail, at williambirkin34@yahoo.com Thanks for taking your time to read this! Nate Byrd Tales and Ales Tavern www.talesandales.com

Just a reminder -- due to the chaos of the events last night, the High Council Meeting has been postponed until tonight, Tuesday the 24th at 8pm CST. The meeting will still take place at the same location -- the Skara Brae Town Hall in Trammel. Thank you.

Dr. Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

Affixed to lampposts throughout Britannia:

Minoc:
-Minoc Town Goverment is setting up and is looking for people interested in helping.
-Problems with Bregan's D'Aerth have sprung up since the installment of the new goverment.
-Minoc and its defenders, Highland Guard, asked the High Council to declare war on the Bregan's D'Aerth and have them removed.


Moonglow:
-Citizens of Moonglow, or well of the farmers of farmland south of Moonglow proper, have begun to riot over equal representation.
-Councilor Kellor, acting leader of the Moonglow Magus Council, ordered General Basil and Third Army into South Moonglow to quell the uprisings.
-General Basil and Third Army were investigating matters involving the Coven with the uprising, upon which they were attacked when they tried to bring Ariyana Sune in for questioning.


Skara Brae:
-Councilor Cornelius and Dark Fool have begun the initial process of setting up a town goverment in Skara Brae, see them for more details.
-Ranger Enforcers of Sosoria offered to protect Skara Brae for the new goverment.


Trinsic:
-The Trinsic Goverment tried to secede from Britannia.
-Duke Gurney is helping set up a new local and political goverment.
-Mayor Tyrone and Councilor Lotus have stepped down as the political leaders of Trinsic, but will remain as events coordinators.


Lore Denin and the Ankh:
-The Ankh is involved in creating a local community called Whispering Winds east of Skara Brae.
-Lore Denin continues his campaign to be Lord Regent of Britannia.


Crusader's of Virtue:
-Papas Alaric has been injured and left for death. His location is unknown and the Crusaders, especially Lisa LeVey, are in a panic.
-Knight Brothers Thunder andTym and Knight Maiden Gilhoa aid Storm in finding her baby taken from her shortly after birth.


Ranger Enforcers of Sosoria:
-Members Jasmine and Dark Fool were married, the wedding took place in Haven.


Coven of the Secret Shadow:
-Tempers continue to heat within the Coven towards the current goverment of Moonglow.
-Someone is seeking Ari's surrogate brother, Thunders.
-Just finished the Mabon Ceremony over the weekend at the Harvest Moon Festival
-Will be having the Samhein Festival around Halloween.


Temple of Mondain:
-Duran has returned from his quest, where a balron has agreed to grant him power.
-Duran is supposed to return soon to this Balron, with another.
-Trullivan has accused Jakob of the Highland Guard of murder for attacking Mondainites that were interfering in the war between the Guard and the Bregan's D'Aerth.


High Council:
-The High Council has at this time chose not to recognize Lore Denin as Lord Regent.
-Declared war on Bregan's D'Aerth for their attacks on Minoc.
-Are investigating the possibility of action agains the Coven for their apparent involvement in many different criminal plots.
-Will meet tonight (23rd) in the Skara Brae Town Hall at 8 Cst, in trammel.


Tales and Ales:
-Aislyn Byrd was apprehended after her infliction of pain upon Councilor Thann and the murder of her unborn child.
-Justicar Edguardo decided not to have Aislyn Byrd placed on trial for now.

As always, just a quick reminder:

The High Council of Great Lakes will be meeting on Monday, September 23rd, 8 CST in Trammel at the Town Hall in Skara Brae. An emphasis will be placed during this meeting for those seeking ambassadorship or representation on the council (such places as Germania and Newcastle). Leaders from these communities are encouraged to attend.

Look forward to seeing you there!
-Dr. Jerred Ghyss, Chancellor of Virtue

From Lore Denin:

Hail Citizens of Britannia,

For those who do not know me, I am Lore Denin, Paladin of the Virtues, and founder of the Ankh of Unity.

A few weeks ago, I stood before the High Council seeking support of my claim to be Lord Regent of Britannia. In the absence of our Lord, Lord British, I hope to take on the duties of King in his absence until his return or another Monarch named. It is not on the strength of documents which name me Lord Regent that I dare take on such responsibilities but the truth of my character, faith in our government and the love for the people and kingdom of Britannia.

This Monday, September 23rd, I shall begin an eight-week campaign throughout our magical and beautiful lands. The journey will take me through the many cities of Kingdom as well as the wilds. The purpose of this campaign is to hear the voices of the citizens, learn their thoughts and idea's and to reach people from all walks of life. It is my belief that with the support of the people, a Lord Regent can be successfully crowned and that with a Lord Regent and High Council, Britannia will be stronger and more closely united as it was in the days when Lord British sat upon the throne.

The Campaign will begin in the Southwest of the Kingdom in Trammel in the Bastion of Courage, the City of Serpents Hold. From there the path will head to Trinsic, Skara Brae, and then to Yew. From Yew we shall travel down to the cities of Cove, Vesper and Minoc. From where we shall set sail to Moonglow, Magnicia and Haven. The eight-week campaign will end in the Britain, the nation’s capital and city of compassion.

I shall travel without the use of transportation magics, with the hope no citizen is overlooked along the journey. Excursions will be taken into the wilds and even the dangerous dungeons. I will post a more detailed itinerary each week of the campaign detailing that leg of the journey, noting public meetings, events and hunts. These events are open to all citizens in the Kingdom.

I hope to see you in my travels, so that we may bring to life the dream that is Britannia,

Till All Are One,

Lore Denin, True Heart Seeker

From Jakob Covenant:

“Another rainy day in Minoc, and what do they have me doing?” asked Private McKinley, not caring who was listening, nor really expecting an answer. “I will tell ye what they have me doing,” continued McKinley, “digging ditches is what I am doing!” “I fripping joined the regiment to master the art of using a shovel, I did!” “When I left me home I told all the lads that I was going to realize me highest ambition in the Regiment: to be a master shoveler.” “And I swears to ye all that I will turn down any promotion that will part me from me dear shovel, and when I sees the enemy they will freeze in awe as they watch me dexterous manipulation of this fine digging tool!” continued Private McKinley as the soldiers digging with him got a good chuckle from the sarcasm.

“Nay laugh lads!” “This is high adventure.” More laughter ensues as McKinley keeps a stoic look on his face.

“That’s enough out of ye, McKinley, more work and less talk!” growled Corporal Nimn, “Ye should’ve been a bleedin’ bagpiper the way ye drone on, ye soggy lout!” “Now the sooner we get this ditch done, the sooner the construction squad can finish placing the wall here and we can go pursue McKinley’s type of high adventure at the tavern.”

Despite the complaining and the ribbing, the Black Watch soldiers of the Highland Guard worked at a fast pace, all eager to get out of the rain and into a warm shelter. The soldiers did not speak of it, but they all remembered the ambush at the Isle of Valor that took place just a few days ago. The Highlanders had all sailed to what was thought to be an uninhabited isle on a treasure hunting expedition. All knew that the mission was the last leg of a quest to recover the throne of the first Highland Chieftain, a relic of great historical value to them. And all the soldiers had hoped that there was also a large treasure of coin, gems, and jewels from which they would get a share. Most soldiers also knew that they would have had to contend with the large serpents and the usual cast of strong but slow monsters that normally protected treasure hordes. Ogre lords, demons, elementals, liches, would not have deterred the Highlanders from that expedition.

The patrol had worked its way through the thick jungle and arrived at the shrine of valor. The soldiers had froze as they saw a ghost dressed in traditional highland garb appear on the shrine. As the ghost had began to speak what seemed to be a warning, arrows streaked from behind some of the trees hitting various members of the patrol.

“It was the Drow that ambushed the patrol,” Lieutenant Marcus told the men that had remained at the garrison, “They rushed us with their dark blades dripping poison.” “Most dressed in strangely made armor which was as silent as they were, and their faces were black as the night which contrasted their snow white hair.” “If not for their obsidian skin, you would have thought them to be elves.” “And it was the Drow females that fought the fiercest, never underestimate them.” “The Drow caught us by surprise, they attacked with speed and ferocity, and in the end it was them that took the Throne and the spoils.”

The rain continued to gently torture the ditch squad. “I hears the veteran sergeants speak of how dangerous these Drow be,” piped up McKinley, “Fie I says!” “All elves be the same strange lot, be they pale and fey or dark and deadly, and I will knock their bleeding, pointy-eared, heads with me chuffing, eminently accurate shovel of vanquishing and ditch digging!”

“You will get your chance soon enough,” laughed Corporal Nimn, “The High Council approved the Commander’s proposal and we declared war on the Bregan D’aerth clan.” “But since you have finished this beautiful ditch, we will stop speaking of blood and war and go to the tavern to warm up!” “Aye, aye!” responded the squad as they beat soggy boots toward shelter.

From Kerowyn at UO.com:

Launched in 1997, Ultima Online stands as the longest-running, most successful online subscription-based game in the history of the interactive entertainment industry-and we're still growing!

Today, as we approach the 5th birthday of UO, Origin is proud to announce the opening of Lake Austin, our newest North American shard. The Lake Austin shard opens today, Wednesday, September 18th (CDT). It is the 12th North American Ultima Online shard, and is our 25th shard worldwide.

In honor of UO's 5th birthday, the new shard is being named after the twenty-two mile long body of water in Central Texas that runs right past the place where UO was born in 1997. The home office of Origin Systems, the central location for the creative vision of Ultima Online, overlooks the waters of beautiful Lake Austin from the high cliffs along its banks.

Initially, Lake Austin will be available only to players on new accounts (those created as of Sunday, September 15th, CDT) for a period of one month. This will ensure that players new to UO are given a period to learn the game and establish a solid foundation on the shard before it is opened to all players worldwide. For players interested in opening a new account and joining this shard, we are also featuring a special anniversary promotion, with 50% off the purchase of UO from participating games retailers Electronics Boutique, GameStop and Amazon.com during the period of September 20th - 30th, 2002! After 30 days, Lake Austin will be opened to all Ultima Online players, allowing the shard to develop the diversity and strong camaraderie found on other UO shards.

Please note that the Lake Austin shard will only be visible in the shard list to new accounts for the first 30 days.

From Mona Barrington:

I woke this morning in my Villa outside of Yew located in a peaceful part of the forest. What I woke to was not the sounds of the birds in the trees but a strange high pitched sound what was new to my ears. Leaping from my bed on the second floor I ran down the stairs to the livingroom to find a huge red ant at my front door. I said to myself " Mona Barrington, this is not an ordinary ant by any means".
Quickly I dressed and went to Brit to get help and it came in the means by Lord Fortubo. Together we tackled this hymenopterous insect of great stature. Knowing that ants exhibit social organization there would be more of these creatures nearby and indeed that was the case. I sent a pigeon to qtkat and she joined us. The three of us roamed the forest and killed many of these invaders, some stronger than others. So if you are feeling antsy get out there and hunt!
Fondly, Mona Barrington

Must... control... self... must... not... cuss...

*lips and an eye twitch*

Can't... be... for... real...

Even OSI... can't be this...

From Luke:

As the torch lit the way through the cavernous depths, Luke swiftly advanced, being only cautious enough as to not fall into one of the many rumored endless pits. He was getting closer, pushing cobwebs out of the way. He could feel it in his bones, ignoring the skeleton to his left. None other than greed was what drove Luke, for the pirate in him told him there was treasure to be found here. With the tattered map close at his side, and but a few lockpicks with him, the dastardly thief came to a rope suspended wooden bridge. Luke struck up another torch, then, tossing the first ahead of him, looked down and watched as it diminished into an ever shrinking light until, nothing.
This pirate was smarter than most, but one thing ever clouds a mans judgement such as him. That thing is greed, unpure, distorted, consuming greed. He quickly grabbed the brittle map from his pack and unfolded it ever so carefully. But, it did not matter, for the bridge is the last thing the map showed. "By de grave o' Cap'n Red Eye 'emself," the aging man cursed under his breath as he spit into that horrible darkness. "De tings I do fer dis wort'less plague beas *@#$," Luke thought to himself, "It'd betta be wort' an ale n' a wench." The pirate dug furiously into his leather pack again, clenching onto a rope. Tying one end of the rope to a stalagmite, and one end to his pouch of lockpicks, he slowly started spinning the coarse rope faster and faster. Then... *tttthhhhhHHWWAAAAAAAAAP!!!*
Luke felt a burning pain in his leg, spreading like lamp oil from a broken barrel, as he hit the cave floor like a falling rock. The pirate had been spotted by a gigantic black spider, with green fluid dripping like that same lamp oil from its fangs. He had to think fast as he was being drug. Luke whipped around his fiery torch as he held steadfast onto the rope, bashing the spider on it's head. The montrous black beast recoiled with the speed of a unicorn. Wounded, the pirate hastily drank a curing potion. The man was no good with a sword, nor very adept at magery. Using the heavy prickly rope, Luke began to whirl it around like an energy vortex, releasing it and letting it coil around the spider's hairy legs. He picked up a broken bone and thrust it forcefully into one of the black unforgiving eyes, killing the spider. That was that; the limping pirate took back his rope and left the vile creature, continuing back to the ledge of the endless drop.
Now completely enraged and the pulled by the lust of treasure, Luke hurled the weighted rope, hearing it hit vehemently onto the floor of the other side. He pulled it tight and made sure it could take the pressure, then headed across, having no light with which to see. Sweat and blood were dripping from the gruff man as he finally made it to the other side. Luke lit up another torch, much to his dismay, as he slowly lifted his eyes, for what he saw next was more than enough to cause most men to go insane with uncontrollable fear...

~continued later~

Sept 13/14/15 marked The Syndicate's 2002 World Conference in Washington DC. As one might expect from a guild of 550+ members, who's average age is 28+ years, turnout was huge with close to 100 people attending. On Saturday we held a large guild meeting. Another 50+ members participated in the meeting via a conference call.

via UO.com:

The follwing is an additional story for the FIRST week of scenario fiction. The fiction for week 2 will be published when the scenario gets back on schedule.

The Keg and Anchor in Trinsic was usually a calm place, where a weary traveler could stop in for cool ale and a hearty meal. The barkeeps always tried to keep the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant, with a good joke or an entertaining story. Most well-traveled adventurers knew they could find a night away from the rigors of battle and turmoil in a game of chess and a well-played round of dice-tossing in the warm setting of the pub.

Only one problem that occasionally broke the calm and that was Crazy Miggie. None of the Keg and Anchor regulars knew where Miggie came from, or what exactly had made him crazy in the first place. Truth be told, they found it hard to care after putting a few pints in their bellies. Miggie, like most famous beggars, was paranoid. He was convinced that every threat that had ever fallen Britannia was there to claim him for evil purposes too horrible to repeat.

Miggie fit the description of “crazy beggar” as if he had carefully researched it with a team of librarians and taken a “What do you consider to be an insane beggar?” poll across Britannia. His wild gray hair sloppily shot out in all directions, as if he has just had lightning bolt cast on him; his clothes stank as if he had washed them in a dead plague beast. His face was a maze of wrinkles with one eye that was nearly wrinkled shut. To say the least, Miggie was not a pleasant looking man. People avoided him whenever they could. Mongbats avoided him whenever they could.

Nevertheless, Miggie was familiar to those to frequented the Keg and Anchor and his heated ramblings had become more of an amusement than an annoyance, mainly out of necessity to those trying to enjoy themselves. Time and time again he ran into the pub screaming of danger when none was to be found. Miggie had a tendency to become very alarmed very late.

After Minax had laid siege to the entire city of Trinsic. things gradually returned to normal. The Keg and Anchor was no different. A fair number of patrons had returned on the pub’s reopening for an evening of drunken entertainment. Rodger the guard relaxed in his usual chair taking long gulps of ale in-between boisterous guffaws. Ledge the mage and his portly warrior companion Rul sat near Samuel the barkeep trading stories and taking turns buying rounds of drinks. They needed to relax after seeing the city overrun with undead and relaxing was something they could do professionally if there was money to be made in it. These men were so good at relaxing that they hardly batted an eyelash when Crazy Miggie burst in the door like some sort of Insanity Elemental.

“MINAX! She’s here! Run for your LIVES! She’s come to take over the entire city with her dead man friend! Do I smell bread? I swear I smell fresh brea…. SHE’LL KILL US ALL!!” Miggie grabbed Rodger by his tunic and tried to shake the man, but the burly guard was so strong that Miggie just seemed to flail about wildly.

Rodger nearly spit out his ale. “By the shrines, man! Minax was driven from the city two weeks ago! If you do not unhand me this instant I’m going to cut the stink off of you with my halberd!”

“That’s a good idea there, Rodger!” said Ledge from near the bar. “I’ve never seen a halberd of mongbat repelling, could be valuable!”

Rul laughed aloud and turned to Samuel the barkeep. “I think I’ll have to hold off on that next ale, Samuel. Clearly this Minax business needs to be taken care of. Take me to her, Miggie! I’ll tickle her out of town! She’s quite the looker.” He giggled.

“Why, Rul, what would your wife say if she could hear you?” asked Ledge.

“Wife? Wife! I knew I forgot something! Another ale, Samuel, I like what it does to me!” Rul and Ledge cackled loudly while Rodger did his best to shove Miggie away without touching him too much.

“I seen her! She’s outside right now! VIRTUES PROTECT ME; SHE’S GOING TO DESTROY US ALL!” Miggie screamed loudly and ripped part of his own shirt dramatically. The customers winced at his gravelly voice. The barkeep, Samuel, had heard enough.

“Alright then, Miggie, out we go. Let’s go see this horrible Minax. Goodness I’m glad you don’t drink. Here.” Samuel draped his dirty bar towel on Miggie’s shoulder and then clasped his hand on it to lead the beggar out of the bar. Practically using Miggie to push the door open, he led the man a few steps in front of the pub. He could hear chairs shifting as people inside gathered by the window to watch the fun. “Now where is she?”

“There! THERE! Oh Mistress Minax, spare me! Spare me, I beg of you! I’ll do anything you say, please don’t feed me to your dead man friend!” Samuel blinked as he looked into the streets. A grumpy old woman pouring her laundry water into the street stared back with a grimace on her face.

“Sorry there Mrs. Brinstein, just Miggie having a bit of fun with us. Give my regards to Mr. Brinstein.” The old woman let out a growl that would scare wolf pack leaders. “Go on, Miggie, stay out of the pub tonight, won’t you? And while we’re at it, stay out of my garbage.”

Samuel gave Miggie a little shove, leaving his bar rag on the man’s shoulder. Miggie looked up into the threatening eyes of Mrs. Brinstein. Throwing the rag at her and screaming for mercy he bounded into the night to the laughter of everyone inside the bar.

* * *

“Exodus! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! He’s sent his wicked metal men after me! They want to make me a metal man! His horrible, horrible gargoyles chased me for days!” Miggie collapsed into a jittering heap on the floor of the pub, covering his head with his arms. He shook as if someone had cast earthquake.

Samuel didn’t even look up from the mug he was polishing. “Defeated three weeks ago, Miggie.”

“No! NO! Big angry Bolems are after meeeee!” Miggie swatted violently at the air around him as if trying to spread his smell around the pub.

“Golems, Miggie, Golems.” Ledge said from his seat at the bar. “Exodus isn’t going to send anymore Golems after us, he doesn’t have any slaves left to make them.”

“Nice people those gargoyles!” Rul said before chugging the last of his beer. “Ledge and I saw their city, beautiful place. Not much to drink there though.”

Ledge quietly nudged Rul and gave Rodger a knowing look from across the room. “Say, Rodger, you’re the city guard here. Why don’t you… um… take Miggie outside and show him there’s nothing to be frightened of?”

“Because I still have some ale left in my glass and besides it’s Samu… Oh, Oh, yes I am a guard! I am a guard and it is certainly my duty to make sure this citizen is safe! Here we go, Miggie, I’ll show you that there’s nothing outside that’s after you.” Rodger poked the quivering beggar with the back end of his halberd and got him to his feet.

Ledge and Rul were nearly falling over each other trying to hold in their laughter. Rodger poked Miggie out the front door of the pub and within seconds a scream was heard that nearly shook the building. A stinky gray streak blurred past the two windows. Ledge and Rul were almost on the floor convulsing with laughter.

“Samuel, I owe Ledge an ale.” Rodger said grinning. “You were right. Building your own golem was useful.”

* * *

From outside, everyone could hear Miggie’s crazed rambling growing closer and closer until the door was opened by the shiniest set of armor, quite possibly, in the world. Inside the armor was a very young handsome warrior with a brightly colored sword and scabbard at his side. The man looked as if he had stepped out of a child’s bedtime story about heroes and dragons. Miggie bounced around the man, yipping like a small, excited dog.

“Ants! Giant ants the size of horses! HUGE, HUGE insects that could eat a man for supper! They were after me for their next meal I tell you!” Miggie almost seemed happy to have someone new to talk to. The more drunken of the Keg and Anchor patrons watched Miggies reflection bounce about on the man’s mirror-like armor.

“What can I get you today good sir?” Samuel asked the man. “Mug of ale for your pleasure this evening?”

“Ale would make me less alert. A simple drink of water is all any good knight requires.” The man said in a haughty voice.

“I think that’s the prettiest man I’ve ever seen.” Rul giggled quietly to Ledge. The armored warrior shot a look at the two of them as if he could hear what they were saying. They coughed their laughter away.

“I need saving good knight! The giant ants want to eat me! I seen ‘em try to eat two orcs stuck up in a tree! They’ll eat anything! I’d be eternally grateful to you my liege!” Miggie’s throat made a sound like logs being ripped in half and he spit on the young warrior’s armor. Using the ripped sleeve of his shirt he began to polish the spit into a nice smudge.

The warrior, trying to ignore the new stain on his breastplate, looked around the room. “Who shall be brave enough to accompany me to seek out that which threatens this good man?”

The silence in the room became deafening. The laughter that followed it was nearly explosive.

“Wait, wait… you believe Miggie? Giant ants?! That’s classic, that is!” Rul’s face was bright red with giggles. “Miggie’s finally making up his own monsters, I don’t know if he’s getting better or worse!”

The man’s face bent into a scowl. He looked down at Rodger who had his feet propped up and the last half of a mug of ale sliding into his throat. “You good sir, you are a city guard - are you not? Does virtue not bind you to protect this man with your life? Have you no valor?”

“Certainly I have valor!” Rodger said behind a half-drunken grin. “I drink Samuel’s ale don’t I?” More laughter boomed around the room.

“You, wise mage…” the warrior nearly spat the words out. “Have you no compassion for this poor wretch?” The warrior was trying to gently stop Miggie’s effort to soil his armor.

“I think I ran out of compassion about three pints ago.” Ledge flipped his mug upside down and set it on the bar. “Sam, one more glass of indifference for the road, please?”

Samuel handed a fresh mug to Ledge and brought a glass of water to the young warrior. “We mean no offense, sir. Miggie here is known for his… creative… stories. If he says he saw giant ants chances are he fell face first into an ant hill and saw some up close.”

The young warrior seemed disgusted with the entire room. “None of you have faith that this man speaks honestly?”

If people exchanging amused glances had a sound it would have been louder than an orc bomber being tossed on a fire in the pub.

“I shall slay these giant ants for you if these cowards will not! Come good sir, and lead me to this nest of fiends that you… stop touching my armor. Now.” Miggie followed the man out the door of the pub bouncing around and chattering again as if he had never told the story.

* * *

The next evening the man in shiny armor had become the talk of the pub. Ledge, Rul, and Rodger laughed for hours imagining the so-called knight stepping on ants all night. It wasn’t until the pub door opened and Miggie stood silently in the doorway that they were stunned into silence.

Miggie looked as if he had been run over by a stampede of balrons. Blood caked his hair and his clothes. He stood with a slight slump. These details were difficult to notice, however, due to the large ant heads clamped on to his body. The jaws of the heads clung onto him as if the ants were still biting him in death. One was locked around his neck, one around his right arm and one around his ankle. He looked as if he was wearing some sort of bizarre jewelry. In his left hand he carried the dented breastplate of the young warrior from the night before.

His footsteps seemed to echo in the room as he limped slowly up to the bar and leaned casually on it. “Ale, please?” he asked calmly. Samuel nodded silently and poured a drink and slid it down the bar into Miggie’s hand. Miggie casually pulled the giant ant head off of his wrist and set it on the bar so that he could guzzle the ale. He slammed the glass down on the bar and lifted the shiny armor, then dropped it with a clang in front of Samuel. “Will this cover the drink?”

Samuel nodded.

Miggie smiled and picked up the ant head from the bar and stuck it under his arm. As he shuffled out of the pub he looked at Rul and Ledge. “So… giant ants, eh?” The pair nodded, still to stunned to speak. Miggie stopped in the doorway and very slowly turned around to look at everyone.

“I almost forgot. That golem thing? Not funny.”

With that, he turned and walked into the night.

From Dugald:

Hail all citizens of Britannia,

It is with great pleasure that I, Dugald McTaggart, announce the formation of a new Minoc Town Council. The citizens of Minoc, after two weeks of organizing and discourse, have now elected Lord Golfile Orion as Mayor of Minoc. Here is an excerpt of Golfile Orion’s speech to the citizens:

“I was raised by my uncle, Moleif Orion. He taught me to mine, and make a living, and he also taught me to be proud of my town! Ever since I was old enough to convey thoughts, I dreamt of joining the Minoc council to make a difference, and now I have the chance. I will make Minoc a better place, and the proudest town in Britannia, if elected.”

The Mayor and councilmen have now formed a cabinet and appointed various officers:

Drakonis McBlade, Treasurer-Minoc
Dugald McTaggart, Spokesperson and Thane of Minoc
Ehud of Bucs Den, Justiciar of Minoc
Henry.Vezen, Sheriff of Minoc
Mission, Military Liaison

The councilmen and officers are currently occupied drafting a Charter for the Town of Minoc and other legal documents, and these will be published as early as is possible.

The Minoc Town Council invites all citizens of Minoc to participate in the development of the Council. The Town Council will meet again at 6 PM under the central skies on Saturday September 21, 2002, at the Minoc Town Hall.

From Duke Gurney Halleck:

There will be a public meeting this evening called by the Trinsic Town Council. It will take place at 6pm CST in the Town Meeting Hall.

From Kerowyn, UO.com:

Curious about the future of UO? Want to know more about the role and background of UO Live's Producer? Then head over to Stratics! Tajima recently took some time out to answer a few of their questions, including the following snippet:

Please tell us about your responsibilities on the OSI team. What is your role?

As Producer, my job is to coordinate the efforts of our development team and synch them up with our QA, Community Relations, Engineering, Operations, and Customer Support groups. I'm very, very fortunate to be working with great people in all regards, and that makes what can be a very difficult job much, much easier.

Want to read more? You can find the complete interview here!

From Alec DeLeon:

As a citizen of Trinsic, I cannot stand idle while members of my own local government make monumental decisions without the consent of the citizens. I list the following grievances in my petition:

1. A public Town Council meeting has not been held within the last 6 years. Nobody I have spoken with can remember when the last public meeting was, nor can I find a written record of such an occurrence. I contend that the Government of Trinsic has no clue as to what it's people want because they have not spoken to those people in at least 6 years.

2. The Town Council, specifically Mayor Tyrone and White Lotus, embarked on a covert plot to secede Trinsic from the rest of Britannia. This is a prime example of how out-of-touch they are with the populace.

3. I contend that the authority of being in power has corrupted both Tyrone and White Lotus to such an extent that they are more interested in their own fame than they are with serving the people of Trinsic.

4. The Town Council has disbanded the Trinsic Town Militia without the consent of the people. Again, the people were not informed, nor were they given an opportunity to express their desires on the issue.

5. When asked about these charges, and others.. the Trinsic Town Council refises to answer for it's actions, citing that it does not have to answer to the people, because we are merely citizens. In actuality, the reverse is true.

For all citizens of Trinsic who hold to these Grievances, or have additional grievances of their own, please respond here and show the High Council that the people of Trinsic speak for themselves because they are not allowed to do so by their local government!

Petition Link

The sound was soft, yet unmistakeable. He looked up from his desk, down the hall to the stairs, and called out, "Sol'ca'Yl sko'urhk'rec."

"I've come only to ask that ye cancel your meeting regarding the moongate Lord Denin claims to have gone through," came a voice that he knew well.

"It was you," he reminded the stone wall at the staircase, "who asked me to investigate."

"Aye, that I did. Nor did I expect ye to find answers so soon."

"Why the sudden change?" Valeryx asked as he stood and walked to the other side of the desk. He leaned upon it, staring at the nothingness before him. "You know I have the proof you need."

"Aye, ye do. Of that I am certain. It would change little though. Those who support him would support 'im stronger, and those against him would be further outraged. The voice o' those who should have say would become but pawns in a verbal war, for as long as it remained verbal."

A smile played across the Enforcer's lips. "So be it. I shall cancel the meeting."

"As long as his focus remains noble and upon the people, I care not where those papers came from," the voice said, growing softer. "And... Valeryx... Minax?"

"Anything is possible, Y'rec'dal. He could only travel to a facet of this shard to which we are bound, or by luck alone, to the Ter-Múr Ver, as some of the gargoyles have called it. We searched all manners of area, and while we found a facet as yet undiscovered as best we could tell, we did not find this 'Lineage' that the Sol'Kohn spoke of."

"Aye, Nemesis... but in the future, watch how many bees you may anger before you shake the nest."

"Ayn, Y'rec'dal."

He could hear the steps leading away, and he walked over to the stairs leading to the temple's roof. Climbing slowly, he lookd over the acolytes wandering around the seven moongates and smiled. "Recall our men," he called out. "We may close the gates."

Stepping forth to one, he looked into the depths one last time. There was a tinge he had not recently felt, one that made him feel he was being watched. And perhaps he was...

Turning away, he pulled a silver moonstone from his belt pouch. "It is a shame," he muttered. "I would have enjoyed seeing their faces..."

He returned to his desk and hastily scrawled a note.

Citizens of Britannia,

By request, we have decided our research into the moongates, particularly the one that Sol'Kohn Denin claims to have journied through, shall remain a closely guarded secret for now. It is our understanding that the Sol'Kohn has returned his focus to the people, and as long as he remains virtuous, we shall maintain our silence. Know that should his virtue prove false, we shall present our evidence for all to see.

He signed the note as usual, and sought an acolyte to deliver it...

The next public meeting of the High Council of Great Lakes will be held this coming Monday at 8pm CST in Trammel. The meeting will take place in the north western most room of the Lyceum (it is a class room, but don't worry, I've been assured our meeting won't impend on any young wizard's lessons).

Topics for up for discussion will vary from Lore Denin's quest to become accepted as Lord Regent of Britannia to a talk on the revelation that Trinsic is considering seceeding from Britannia. I urge all citizens concerned with Britannia's future to be in attendance of this meeting.

I also would like to remind everyone of my previous open invitation that still stands. If anyone else out there in Great Lakes is holding events of any sort on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc basis, please email me. I strongly feel that more events held on a regular basis are needed, as they bring the community together. Drop me a notice about your events, and I'll annouce them along side the High Council annoucements. You can email me at winski@redlow.net

As always,
Looking forward to seeing everyone at Monday's meeting.

-Dr. Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

By Nick Westendorf ('Redlowwinski' of Ultima Online)


I love this country, yes. I love the people, I love the land, I love the history, and I love the ideals for which we have generally made strides towards: peace, equality, liberty. Love it or hate it, there is no one who will deny that the United States of America is a great nation. For 'great' is a vague word with no reference to right or wrong and good or evil. People and countries make mistakes, including the U.S.A. Right now, I believe our leadership is beginning to make mistakes. But I do not wish to go down that route at this moment. I only wish to bring forth my current view points on the United States as it relates to this essay.

In the wake of the one year anniversary of the attacks on the United States on September 11th, America is remembering. America is paying respect to those who died and to their familes. America is looking back with new perspectives that only the passage of time can give us. Some are holding vigils. Some are collecting the various magazines and newspapers with specials on the anniversary to help them remember in the coming years
and perhaps, as they are passed down, the coming generations.

It is right to hold vigils, to pay respects, to pray (if one is religious and the religion includes prayer), to hope silently for a bright future for the victims of 9/11. These are good and natural things to do on the anniversary of a day in which thousands were killed in a matter of minutes.

However, the vigils and rememberances are crossing the border between the real and the unreal. Or, as easy to guess by the title of this essay, real life and computer games. This cross over, I believe, is not a good practice for several reasons. One, it is disrespectful to people who died in the attacks to attempt to remember them in a computer game. Two, it shows a general apathy and lack of effort. Three, the game worlds are not relevant to real life. And last, Americans should be stepping forward together, all across the nation -- not taking this introverted step of logging on to a computer world to remember the attacks. The only reason I might retract this statement would be if a person who attends or plans one of these rememberances has taken part in something similar in the real world or is physically incapable of attending one.

Coming together in a computer game to remember an event in which thousands were killed (with a potential for tens of thousands had events been more chaotic than they were) is disrespectful to those who died, those who survived, their families, and the nation itself. The game world is not the real world. If this is a hard concept to grasp, then picture it in this manner: Suppose a married couple lost their son in a horrific gun shooting. Now suppose that married couple logged on to a computer game to remember their son rather than attending his funeral. It may be an exaggerated comparison to what is happening now with the vigils on 9/11 -- or perhaps it isn't. Let's compare the two. In my example, one person was killed. In 9/11, it was thousands. In mine, only the son's immediate family and friends were affected. In 9/11, the nation and in some respects, the entire world was affected. In my example, no one risked their life to save the boy. On 9/11, hundreds risked their lives to save people and many of them died in the process. The process of which continued weeks and months even after those people who risked their lives knew full well that there were no longer any survivors. Consider these differences and understand the example of the family attending a rememberance in a computer game instead of a real life funeral is not so far off the mark on what is happening now

Holding or attending a vigil in a computer game to remember September 11th shows a general apathy and lack of effort and caring. How much effort does it take to log on to a computer game as opposed to driving somewhere and attending a mass or concert or meeting in rememberance of that day? Indeed, I have more respect to the person who chooses not to pay any remembrance to 9/11 than to the people who attend vigils in computer games. At least those who make no remembrance of the event are not hiding their lack of concern or effort.

The computer game worlds most who read this essay play in have no relevance to real life issues. They are completely and wholly seperate worlds. To attend a vigil in a computer game for 9/11 is akin to going to a wedding to mourn someone's death or going to a funeral to celebrate someone's marriage. The attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center as well as the sacrifice the passengers made in the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania happend in real life; they happened in America -- they did not happen in the computer games we play.

As I have said now numerous times -- the attacks on 9/11 happened in the real world. Perhaps on some basic level, it is at least something to attend a vigil regardless of where the vigil is. However, we as Americans need to come together in unity. Fleeing from the horrors of reality by logging in to a computer game is not the right thing to do. All across this great country we should be coming together on this day that notes that dark moment a year ago. We should not become introverts and sit in front of the computer. On this day, more than any other, we should be stepping outside of our homes, our appartments and smiling at each other, greeting each other, and shaking hands with brother, sister, and stranger alike.

via Stratics:

Animals of Justice Tournament Great Lakes
September 12, 2002 Nujelm City
Sign Up; 7:30 Pm Central (meet at the Nujelm Bank)
Tournament; 8:00 Pm Central (meet at the Nujelm Chessboard)
Under the guidelines of the R^C Drake Tournament all rules apply to the Animals of Justice Tournament. Entry fees for the Animals of Justice Tournament are 5k per Unicorn and/or Ki-Rin.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long ago there were myths of the white horned horse from the Northern Hemisphere and myths of a shimming rainbow horned horse from the Middle East lands. We will make them come alive for you today. What is their myth their legend?

The KiRin is the Unicorn of Middle East: Its since of life was a never failing Justice. It would appear in the courts of the elders in the Middle East to slay the guilty and free the innocent. When they do appear the elders viewed this as a good luck omen but only if that person was of a virtuous path. Welding in the lands the Ki-rin stands alone as the soul protector of Justice. It was honored as king of all animals and was said to bring peace and prosperity to all that are deserving.

The KiRin seen in the myths represented with fish scales, shimmering in every shade of the rainbow. It had the body of a deer, the hooves of a horse, the tail of an ox and on the forehead a horn curving to the back, with length up to 2 ft.

The Unicorn of the Northern Hemisphere: Its life was to represent the virtues of all women. Though it did stand for the valor and nobility of knights. Its duality of the twin virtues stood its ground of strength and purity, might and right of all. Even the men that it was held for the nobility found its weakness. Men discovered that their horns were absolute against the effects of poison. If wine was poured into a drinking cup fashioned from a Unicorns horn the poison became innocuous. Rulers of the kingdoms now paid great sums to know that their lives were never threatened by being poisoned by their enemies.

The Unicorn seen in the myths had the head and body of a horse, the legs of an antelope, the tail of a horse or a lion and the beard of a goat. The distinguishing feature was the long, sharp, twisted horn growing from the middle of the forehead.

____________________________________________________________________

"Perhaps the unicorn has judged us, and found us lacking, considering us unworthy of his friendship and beauty. Maybe the unicorn has merely gone into exile until a generation of philosopher kings reestablishes a reign of justice and truth that justifies his return."

---from The Cosmic Storyteller, a novel

via Stratics:

Come one Come all and celebrate this happy occasion!
All are invited to join our family of NOV in our joy as our guildmistress Kata Raudbok pledges her love to Artemis.

This joining of souls will take place on Sept 15th at 8pm CST at the Shrine of the Virtues in Ilshenar.

There will be escorts available from the compassion shrine starting at 7:30pm CST.

It has come to my attention that Lord Lore Denin so seeks the Throne of Britannia based upon papers that he returned from some farsical land with word from Lord British. He has so claimed to travel through a Red Moongate and thusly returned. At the behest of an aged friend of mine, I have investigated into the magical nature of this matter, and determined wholly that this Red Moongate could only have transported him to Minax's domain, and that Lord Lore Denin is currently engaged in a plot to take over the throne of Britannia, and then, once installed, may intend to announce Minax as his queen. I am certain he will deny such, but this coming Sunday afternoon (9/15/2002), at the hour of 12:00 noon, atop the Tower of Nexchronosis* in Dracona upon the Feluccan facet, we shall present our evidence to the public. All are invited to attend and learn the true nature of this man's "noble" quest. For I have, as other Draconans have, wondered why a man who so wishes to represent the people would argue so vehemently that he must be King to do so. We have the truth, and we intend to prove such is true.

Dor'eg-l'nar vi'ert o'nerin fa',


Valeryx
Famis Qalil'ut, Cult of the Azure Dragons
Leader of the Independent City-State of Dracona

* The Tower of Nexcronosis may be found by traveling East from Britain, past the swamp, south-east from Yew along the road, or northwest from Vesper or Minoc along the road -- it lies at the crossroads of the Britain - Yew - Minoc/Vesper roads, just north of the healer and guard tower that spans the road.

Form Lore Denin:

Lore sat quietly in his study, reflecting on last evenings High Council Meeting.

His support had been strong and even some of those who had come to stand against him, had changed their views. For those who believed the High Council vote was the end of this Campaign for Lord Regent, they did not understand motivation nor the character of Lore Denin.

The continuing manner in which the High Council conducted itself only further lent itself to the need for a Lord Regent. They could not be held accountable by the people, as they are elected among themselves not by the people they represent. They continue to censure people at their meetings, which were suppose to be public, where all citizens opinions and input should be welcome no matter the length required to hear them all.

The idea of holding city meetings to learn the opinions of the people was a great idea. However the application of it was rushed. Council members held spur of the moment town meetings, with only 24-hour notice, to learn the people’s opinion on the issue of the Lord Regent. With such short notice it would be easy to contact those who shared the council members opinions while others would not hear of the meeting until it was to late. Even further, these meetings were held without ever speaking to the one who would be Lord Regent to understanding the duties such a position would entail and accurately inform the people. These were meetings held in the Shadow of Truth’s Candle to further the Council’s own ends not to discover the truth of the people’s thoughts nor held with the best interests of Britannia at heart.

In a few weeks, Lore will once again stand before the High Council and once again seek their support. This time he hoped that those who attended would be able to speak. He also hoped town meetings would be announced at least three days in advance, and that the information of what a Lord Regent would mean to Britannia be accurately provided. The council should work to empower the people giving them accurate information so they could make an educated decision on the matter, not manipulated then into making a decision held by that city’s council member whether that be in support or against.

To answer the many questions about what it would mean to have a Lord Regent, I will outline the plan of action, I hope to work towards with the High Council and as the Regent of Britannia

1) To work towards creating stable town and local governments, that in time will have the power to hold elections for their own representatives rather then having them assigned by the current members of the Council. This process will not to be rushed but when a local town government has shown stability over time it may appeal to the High Council to be allowed to represent itself and hold town elections for their representative.

2) To aid the High Council creating the national law of Britannia, known as the King’s Law. Once the
King’s law is established to further make the laws of the land known and easily accessible for reference
and scrutiny by the people.

3) To aid the Grand Marshall in organizing the national armies of Britannia, to protect the people in Trammel as well as citizens residing in Felucca. (Creating Divisions of National Armies (protecting both facets), Homeland forces (Trammel), True Britannians (Fel Forces) and Town Militia’s.

4) To balance the powers of the High Council, as Lord Regent with the power of veto, if ever laws are passed that stand against the ideals of Britannia set forth by Lord British or infringe on the rights of the people. Reversible on appeal to the High Justicar.

5) To likewise, surrender the absolute authority of Lord Regent, and allow the High Council to balance the actions of the Lord Regent, deemed to be against the will of the people of Britannia

6) To aid the High Justicar in establishing the High Courts of Britannia.


Proposed Amendments to the current High Council Charter.

That the position of Lord Regent be added, to take on the duties of King in the absence of Lord British

The duties of the Lord Regent would be as follows:

*Article 1: Purpose

A. Grant of Power. The power of the High Council of Britannia ("the council") derives directly from the Throne of Britannia. As advisors to the king and in his absence the Lord Regent, the council is answerable to his person and the King’s Law, and is expected and authorized to speak on his behalf when he is unavailable.
B. Authority. The council assists and supports The King or in his absence the Lord Regent, in his daily management of the realm. Specifically, the council is authorized to pass laws that do not contradict the basic tenets set forth by Lord British. Additionally, the council may authorize and oversee the operation of local governments in any of the cities represented by its councilors.
C. Responsibilities. The council serves as advocate for the needs of Britannia's citizens, to uphold and support the rule of the King and in his absence the Lord Regent and to promote the eight Virtues. The council is also expected to preserve, promote, and enhance the unique cultural heritage and identity of the realm.

Clarification on Article 1:

A) National Laws of Britannia, known as the King’s law, must be ratified by ¾ of the Council and signed into law by the King(Lord Regent)

B) Local Laws that contradict the national laws can be deemed invalid by the Lord Regent or the High
Council and appealed to the High Justicar.

C) A law supported by ¾’s of the High Council but not supported by the King or Lord Regent, can be taken before the High Justicar, who will weigh the rights of the people, the ideals of Virtue set forth by Lord British and the will of the people.

D) The Lord Regent will have a royal cabinet consisting of the Grand Marshall, High Justicar and
Chancellor of Virtue.

3,066 people were killed a year ago in a disastrous attack, the remaining 288 million citizens of the United States honor their memory, along with others around the globe. Among this multitude is our small corner of society.. Great Lakes players, who have gone out of their way to construct mosaical memorials.

This Patriotic display was put up on the roof of the Bardic Conservatory in Britain.


This is the southern portion of Great Lakes' largest memorial in the streets of Moonglow.


This is the midsection of the same memorial, showing the Flag display.


As you can see, both tamers and dewds were in a patriotic spirit today. Also, not pictured were 2 tamed eagles named Liberty and Justice, and a sewer rat named "binLaden".

Trinsic, the city of Honor.. made completely of sandstone and wood. The city has undergone an invasion of Orcs, an invasion of undead, been capital of Minax' empire, and been invaded by Blackthorns Chaos Dragoons. The city has had 10 rulers, 8 of those being Mayors. At one point, the government bridged 5 guildstones and employed over 30 people. One is hard-pressed to find any city with as much corruption, scandal, and political intrigue as Trinsic.

Tonight, it happened again. Around 6 in the eve, the Trinsic Town Council assembled in a private session to vote on a serious issue: the secession of Trinsic from the kingdom of Britannia. In attendance at this meetihg was the entire Council, including Duke Gurney Halleck, Mayor Tyrone, and White Lotus. The secret measure for secession passed the vote, and Trinsic seemed set to secceed.

Two hours later in the evening, Duke Halleck chaired a citizens meeting which he had planned only hours before the Councils monumentous decision. His conscience grating, Duke Halleck publically announced the Town Councils intention to seceed, much to the astonishment of the local citizenry, who were in no way consulted.

Rightly outraged, the citizens of Trinsic did not riot, nor did they attempt to rampage. They demanded explainiation from the only council member present who voted in favor of seccession: White Lotus. Her responses: "You are only citizens of Trinsic when you want to be," and "I havent seen you in Trinsic often" did not go over well with the assembled denizens. "We didn't want to do what the High Council told us to do," was the answer when asked "Why would you want to seceed?"

We checked into claims of the Trinsic Town Council, and found that the High Council had never ordered the local government to do anything. Furthermore we discovered that such an action is, in fact, illegal as per the High Council's own charter.

At the conclusion of the meeting, and at the insistance of the citizens, Duke Halleck declared that he would bring the matter before the council post-haste, and that a solution beneficial to the citizens would be found.

More as it develops, here on the Herald!

Discuss your thoughts here!

Penned by the Acting Chancellor, Ra'Dian Fl'gith

Meeting Minutes from the 10th Public Meeting of the High Council of Britannia (9/9/02) held at Castle Britain in the North Dining Room.

Councilors present: Jakob Covenant (1st Seat), Duke Gurney Halleck (2nd Seat), Alex (3rd Seat), Ra'Dian Fl'Gith (4th Seat), Dunamis (5th Seat), Kellor (7th Seat), Cornelius (8th Seat), RavenMaster (9th Seat).

Ambassadors present: Lilly Thann (Vesper)

Officers present: Edguardo (High Justicar), Alazraham (Grand Marshall)

Introductions
Dunamis was introduced as the Councilor of Jhelom, and Lady Aureal was announced as the Adjutant for the Seat of Humility, working with Ra'Dian Fl'Gith.

Barrels in Yew, POS, BC Park Rangers
Nothing new on these fronts, with overall reports on POS and BC Park Rangers having been reduced significantly over the past week.

Clarity on Felucca
Dunamis rose question as to what our pervue in Felucca was, and it was explained that each Councilor was so responsible to decide on time spent in Felucca, and that the Council continues to meet there every fifth meeting.
Landmark Status of Buildings
Alex raised question on behalf of Nate Byrd and the Tales and Ales Tavern as to what it would take to become a landmarked establishment. It was decided that would be in the pervue of local governments.

News of a Prophecy in Yew
There was news from Alex that the Alaric family is experiencing difficulty and that the Yew Militia aids them in their quest to find a hermit. The quakes in Yew have becoming fierce, and a prophecy has arisen about a Red Queen and a Black Queen. Thunder, Alaric's Knight-Brother, confirmed much of Alex's tale, and mentioned the Order of Nelson.

Last of the Cult of the Black Dragon
Jakob inquired into the status of warrants for former members of the Cult of the Black Dragon, particularly Jacop. In addition, he asked for a Security Council meeting in regards to the Temple of Mondain.

The Issue of Lore Denin Seeking the Throne of Britannia
Aside from the chaos that ensued, many people wishing to speak their minds both for and against simultaneously, a vote was called based upon as to whether the High Council would recognize Lore Denin as King and Lord Regent of Britannia. The result was the the High Council does not recognize Lore Denin as Lord Regent of Britannia.
[6:0:2 - Vote against recognizing Lore Denin as Lord Regent of Britannia: Duke Gurney Halleck, Jakob Covenant, Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, Kellor, Cornelius, Alex - Votes against: none so recorded - Votes abstained: RavenMaster, Dunamis]

So adjourned the meeting of the High Council of Britannia.

From Gurney:

There will be a public meeting for the citizens of Trinsic at 8pm cst in the town meeting hall. Public will be allowed to voice concerns to the district High Council Representative.

Duke Gurney Halleck, Representative of Trinsic
High Council of Britannia

From Kerowyn of UO.com:

Ignatz recently participated in an interview with Videric of Tales of a Traveller and discussed a wide range of topics, including the following question about adding illustrations to scenerio fiction:

Videric: Gromm's stories are certainly excellent, but have you ever thought about illustrations or sketches with the weekly stories, just like in old Ultima manuals? Have you considered other approaches to tell the story?

Ignatz: Yes, I have personally suggested we add illustrations, sketches, or at least screenshots for use with scenario stories. The biggest obstacle there is time, but I would still like to see something like this added to future stories.

It was my duty this evening to act as the moderator for the High Council meeting as such responsibility has fallen to me in the absence of our Chancellor, Doctor Jerred Ghyss. As such, I've had the unique opportunity to be at the center of the goings on, and I certainly respect Doctor Ghyss's leadership in this regard. I want to begin with an apology to those who attended and witnessed the breakdown of the entire meeting... though I wish it could have been prevented, too am I not surprised such happened, as the final matter was a touchy one indeed.

I will be brief, as I have no desire to drag this out to undue lengths. I ask only that those who favor Lord Lore Denin as King understand the process that resulted in tonight's vote. Lord Denin had approached us with his claim, and it was by his timetable that we operated. To be truthful, as a Council, we could simply have said, "Those letters are false, we don't care that you think you're king, bugger off." We could have, and many of us did not. We held meetings in our respective towns, polled the people whom we represented -- maybe they weren't huge turnouts by comparison to a guild one-hundred-and-fifty members strong, but they did turn out.

Which is the point I wish to make, and ask all to consider. The fate of Lord Denin was in the people's hands. We knew many guildmembers who served with him would show on his behalf. Which is why we went to the street to find the other side of the story. We did not turn away those who came in support though. We were looking for a better feel. Those who have served with Lord Denin, who know him to be virtuous and true... with all due respect, that is an opportunity you have been afforded, and the rest of us have not.

Lord Denin's intentions may be well and sound. I personally have no reason to believe they are not. I do, however, have a duty to the Crown that I swore, and based on his claim by lineage to the letters, I could not support him. He then spoke of backing by the people, and to that, I salute, and respect. It was very possible many people would have supported him, but the voice of three or four guilds in the land does not make up even one percent of this land, and to judge based solely on that, we could not do.

Personally, if a day comes that people are obviously in support of Lord Denin, I too will back him as Lord Regent of Britannia. Until that day, I hope he will continue to be a voice to the Council as he has been in past, as his wisdom is often enlightening.

Thank you,



Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia

PS - In closing, I welcome anyone's opinion and thought on this matter, and welcome and encourage you to write me at radian@alterythem.com

The thoughts came slowly and randomly at first, like feathers drifting through an open window in a slight breeze. A consciousness was forming; one that, like a young child, started with small awkward steps that led to an unbalanced run and quickly dissolved into a clumsy fall. It was... frustrating, especially for a mind that was just becoming developed enough to be frustrated.

After what seemed like an eternity of struggle the mind could manage to maintain the thoughts in a crude order, but not so crude an order as to be incomprehensible. Brief moments of understanding came in bursts, full thoughts that would not dissipate into a mist of confusion again, but would freeze like ice into a solid memory. Every new thought that was born led to the creation of newer and more complicated works of thinking. Faster and faster the consciousness grew, building ever stronger and more solid until a full cohesive principle was formed, one that would have more impact than any other upon the intellect.

The being became self-aware. For the first time the intelligence had a grasp of the concept that it was an individual. No longer was it a simple arrangement of crude instincts and basic reactions, but a being capable of recognizing itself as a separate entity. A universe of possibility expanded in an instant.

The creature, the mind inhabited, examined its limbs in the darkness. They were important. They belonged to it; it controlled them because they were a part of itself. The very thought was fascinating for a mind so young. Self-recognition was almost startling; suddenly the universe and the self were torn apart. The world that was once merely a backdrop for instinctive routine now hung like a mysterious curtain hiding incomprehensible wonders.

Looking around the creature tried to recognize other things, slowly at first so the mind could have time to remember. If a thought was grazed over too quickly it could dissolve into distraction and forgetfulness. It reached out with a limb and touched the wall in front of it. The dirt crumbled away slightly in a familiar manner and the creature could see some remain on its appendage. This place was familiar. The creature belonged here. Primitive instinct swelled and grew eventually blossoming into clarity; this place was home. There was safety here. The... something was here, something important.

Sounds from behind the being made it spin around quickly in surprise. A creature, something the mind was sure was alive, stood there silently and unmoving. The two remained still for a few moments when another sensation sent the being's mind reeling. Smells. There were old scents that went straight to the core of the new intellect's world and exploded in bursts of memory. Instantly there was no doubt, this new creature was a friend, a fellow. This place was also its home. It also seemed to recognize the being as nothing threatening and soon turned it's attention to the walls and the soil.

Everything was so new and was coming so fast, but the creature's mind was expanding quickly to keep up. The consciousness continued to grow and elaborate; birthing fresh concepts with each new sight and scent. It was... pleasing, enjoyable to discover so much at once. Learn, discover - there was nothing else at the moment.

Suddenly it all stopped in an instant. A new scent, one so familiar... so powerful... it was undeniable. The creature did not have to see anything with its eyes to understand this scent. With every part of itself it knew what message was being sent.

Leader...

This was not just fresh knowledge, this was something more. This knowledge came with purpose, information with direction. The creature could see that others like it also understood. Worlds of communication came with the instantly shocking scent and spread throughout every consciousness that was capable of detecting it. Commands. Orders. Instructions.

The creatures within the space looked around as if to confirm with each other that what they all knew was true. As one they began to act and carry out the will of the single being they would allow to command them. With purpose and determination, hundreds of creatures had the same thought at once, a thought so clear and so familiar there could be no mistaking it.

Dig.

Greetings Citizens of Magincia,

I apologize, but due to issues beyond my control, the 8:00 to 9:00 PM CST meeting in Magincia will be postponed. In its place, I will hold two additional meetings for those who would like to voice their opinions regarding Lord Lore Denin's quest for the throne. They will be on:

Monday, September 9, 2002 from 10:00 AM CST until 11:00 AM CST (for anyone around in the morning)
Monday, September 9, 2002 from 6:00 PM CST until 7:30 PM CST (prior to the Council meeting in Britain)

Both of these meetings will take place at the Magincian Parliament Building on the southwest corner of the isle. Thank you to those who attended the Noon to 1:00 PM meeting earlier this day, and the meeting for Monday, September 9, 2002 from 2:00 AM CST until 3:00 AM CST will still be held as scheduled.

I am sorry for the last minute notice, but a matter of extreme urgency arose.

Thank you,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia

Hear ye, hear ye!

Tonight, Monday, September 9, 2002 at 8:00pm CST, shall commence the 10th Public Meeting of the High Council of Britannia, to be held upon the Trammel facet in the North Dining Hall at Castle Britain. The hot topic this eve is the support of Lord Lore Denin as Lord Regent of Britannia; he will speak before the Council and present his claim based upon the people of the realm. Many meetings have been held in the various cities throughout the past week, and tonight it all comes before the Council.

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. In addition to the Lord Denin's claim, there will be other issues spoken on by various Councilors, and as always, anyone from the realm who has issue that need be raised to the High Council will be given time to address the assembly.

Thank you,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Maginicia
On behalf of Dr. Ghyss, Chancellor of Virtue

By vote of the High Council, this notice is to be posted for all citizens of Britannia to see; that it has been reported, and thereby recognized as a threat to tamers of the lands who journey to the Feluccan dungeons, that members of the Black Company have been posing as "park rangers" and slaying tamed animals within the confines of the dungeons. They are known to do so mostly near the teleporters that lead between the various dungeons and around the altars that summon forth great leaders of evil forces. We of the High Council wish this danger to be known to all, that information of such activity be spread about the realm.

On behalf of the High Council,

Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia

Tailoring guilds are showing up all over the realm. Some are just BOD trading guilds while others are much more involved and involving, such as the TLC Guild.

The guild house is located just outside Vesper but the site of assembly for this guild is The Lords Clothier/ Brit / Trammel.
You cannot miss any of the members as they are attired alike, white skinned and dressed in gray/black and the shades of the sun.

The most active members, BloodstarX, Lord Gunner, Rusty, Deja Vu, JadaKiss, Lord MC Hammer and the handsome Giorgio Armani will be more than happy to help you with any tailoring questions you may have. Then there are the two high ranking females of the guild. the ravishing morgaine le faye and the unforgettable Mona Barrington.

The TLC Guild does not just tailor shoppe sit. Events like one this past week involved a journey to Sacrifice for bone collecting. The death of many shadow wisps and the sound of cutting bones excited everyone.

If you are interested in joining this fabric frenzied bunch approach Guildmaster Dobanth-tb.

A year ago this week, an amazing event occurred in UO:

From the High Council:

The High Council will be holding town hall meetings around Britannia this Sunday, Sept. 8th. The town hall meetings are for citizens of the cities having meetings, so it would be suggested if you are not a citizen of one of the cities having a meeting, that you would please allows those that are the ability to speak for themselves and their city.

These cities will be having Town Hall meetings.






Trinsic - Town Hall 8 CST - Trammel

Moonglow - Lycaeum 8 CST - Trammel







Skara Brae - Town Hall 8 CST - Trammel







Jhelom - Library 8 CST - Trammel






Magincia - Parliament Building 8 CST - Trammel

Here ye all citizens of the fair town of Magincia, whether thou be from Felucca or Trammel, hear this request for your opinion on the issue of Lord Lore Denin's quest to seek the Throne of Britannia as Lord Regent, successor to Lord Dovolick, heir to the throne of Lord Marcus, who was appointed Lord and King of Britannia by documents brought from a far off land, which are purported to be in the writing of and signed by Lord British himself. There has been much speculation and doubt cast upon the validity of these documents, however, Lord Denin seeks the backing of the people before he will assume the Throne, and as such, I now call upon the citizens of Magincia to voice to me their thoughts on support for Lord Denin. I am looking for those who would speak in favor of Lore Denin, as well as those who would speak against his claim.

To this end, I will be available at the Magincian Parliament Building (southeast corner of the isle) for the duration of an hour across three different times so that all may come to speak their thoughts (if there are still folks present at the end of said hour, I will continue to hear voice until all have spoken).

The times allotted are thus:
Sunday, September 8, 2002 from 12:00 noon until 1:00 PM CST
Sunday, September 8, 2002 from 8:00 PM CST until 9:00 PM CST
Monday, September 9, 2002 from 2:00 AM CST until 3:00 AM CST

Please come and share with me your thoughts on the succession of Lord Lore Denin to the Throne of Britannia. It is by the people's voice that he shall abide, and as the Councilor of Magincia, so too shall I abide by your wishes.

Yours in Humility,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia

From Nero and the Tales and Ales:

Word from the royal guard station near Yew reached Serpent's Hold with a request for the Order of the Silver Serpent. Nate Byrd, the owner of the Tales and Ale Tavern was in a panic... his wife, Lilly Than, the High Council Ambassador to Vesper, had gone missing, and Nate had just learned why.

His own daughter, Aislyn, had sent a note written in blood to the High Council Representative of Skara Brae, Cornelius of the Third Army, stating that within a fortnight, Lilly Than would be dead. Along with the note was a package containing her armor, her weapon and two fingers... when Nate had been shown the package, he knew exactly who the fingers belonged to.

Brother Nordal of the Order of the Silver Serpent arrived at the Tales and Ales Tavern, where Nate quickly told him the story... immidiately Brother Nordal sent word to the Order, the Highland Guard and the Yew Militia, who then quickly organized a search party to track down Lilly. The only clues they had to go on was that Lilly was last seen travelling the shrines of the Virtues, and that the kidnapper had ties with the Temple of Mondain.

And so the OSS set about searching the shrines in Felucca and the Temple of Mondain while the Highland Guard and Yew Militia went through all the shrines in Ilshnear and Trammel.

Nothing was found, not a single trace of Lilly nor her kidnappers. Both parties regrouped at the tavern to search the shrines in Trammel more thoroughly and as they were searching the Shrine of Humility, Brother Nordal's communication crystal began to shimmer..

The town guards of Haven were reporting that someone matching Lilly's description had been seen earlier that day being led around by another female. Immidiately the group gated to Haven and began the search. Not five minutes later BlackDawn of the Highland Guard broadcast a signal on his crystal indicating he had found them, but it was too late, when the group caught up with him they had gotten away.. but as luck would have it they had escaped to Skara Brae where there is always constant watch by the Virtue guilds, and all the forces congregated on the city and took back the kidnapped woman.. barely able to move she collapsed on the floor.

The knights, mages and rangers of the allied guilds quickly transported near the tavern to let Nate know his wife had been found, then teleported to the Highland Guard tower where Lilly was allowed to rest while her rescuers secured the area surrounding the tower should her kidnapper decide to try and finish what she had started. Strangely enough a group of Undead showed up very quickly, but they were vastly outnumbered and quickly put down.

The Order quickly set out a wanted notice for the arrest of Aislyn Byrd for the kidnapping and attempted murder of councilwoman Lilly Than of Vesper. Any information regarding her whereabouts is to be reported to the nearest guard station immidiately.

I know I know... Our fearless leader here at the Herald usually does the HOC coverage... but I was feeling a bit verbous this morning... so.............

Age of Shadows... and the ever popular topic ... HOUSING!

... In addition to the expanded availability of housing, a 'House Design Tool' will also be included....

That line is from the press release that came out July 16, 2002.

This is from last nights UOHOC Chat...

Lord-Xanthor - *Palinor* Will we be able to modify existing housing that is already placed in Trammel and Felucca after Age of Shadows is released?

Vex - Just to clarify, you won't be able to modify an existing house, but you'll be able to securely replace it with a "dirt lot" of the same footprint size and customize the walls, floors, etc. on that footprint.

Let me weigh my choices... keep two houses on GL and my third house on the other shard I occasionally visit... or dump two of them so I can re-design my house....

BLEH

That also means my tower... on my second account... would have to be completely emptied before I could play with this tool, yeah.... that's gonna happen.

Okay, moving on....

Lord-Xanthor - *Pali-Not_HERE* Will housing be included in the New land expansion that Age of Shadows is promising us?

Vex - Age of Shadows includes a new landmass. The new lands, called Malas, are specifically designed with space to place new houses. We estimate there will be enough space for around 1000 to 1500 new houses per shard.

OOO! OOOOH!

Lord-Xanthor - *Valeria|work* If you trade in your existing house for a customizable one, will it condemn all of the other houses on that account?

Vex - The precise details of how that will work have not yet been decided on. Sorry I can't give a better answer right now.

Okay, so they didn't come right out and say it.... they will.. it is coming.. I can feel it. **shudders**

Lord-Xanthor - *Sonol* when you place a AOS house and get the "foundation" and start to add rooms will it be ala carte? such as go buy steps and go buy the walls and windows?

Vex - Yes. You pick from the menu which floors you want to build, and then paint that floor down. Then you can go back and select a wall to draw, and draw the wall. Want a window? Select it and click a wall. You'll also be able to build staircases and teleporters for getting around your new digs.

mmm teleporters... that's kinda cool.

Oh yeah, remember that press release I mentioned earlier? Yeah... I talked to the PR Rep yesterday and nothing new has been put up for release yet. As far as she knows it is still slated for a early 03 release.

On a final note.. its Friday **smiles** .... and there's an auction tonight.... **goes to pick out something cute to wear**

Laterzzz

~Nols

Hail and Well Met People of Britannia,

Long has the throne of Britannia been vacant, Lord British our Liege for many years has been gone. It is with both heavy heart and great hope I relay this tale...

It began many years ago with a Quest to return Britannia's lost King. A Guild known as the Ankh of Unity, using the notes left by Nystul and a powerful artifact, opened a portal to another world, where Lord British was thought to have traveled. It is from this portal many months later a royal decree would come naming a new Lord of the Land.

This Lord and the document's validity were highly debated, and in the end the new Lord fell to murderous treachery. It was obvious that such papers alone would not satisfy the people and regardless of their validity, no king can arise without the support of the people.

It is with that knowledge I stand before you. I am Lore Denin, the Paladin True Heart Seeker and founder of the Ankh of Unity, Order Knight, True Britannian and a student of Virtue. I was named successor to the Throne of Britannia by Dovolick, son of Marcus. So name successor to the throne by his father's last Will and Testament. These papers mark me as King, but King in name alone. It is my belief in this decree that gives me the courage to stand and seek your support as Lord Regent of Britannia to do what is right for the people. I stand before the citizens of this great nation, your humble servant, seeking your support in bringing a new age to our beloved kingdom.

The men and women of Britannia will determine if a King shall ascend the throne, and so I am here before you seeking your support, not as King but as a man who has dedicated his life to Britannia and its people.

There is a void in Britannia, where a King once stood, a void that can be filled by the will of the people. There is great hope for our future. A future where the People, King and High Council work together for the good of Britannia. Where the actions of the King are balanced by the Council and will of the people, all working together to create a Unified Britannia. A Britannia that has long been lost, but never forgotten.

I ask that none support me blindly but neither similarly dismiss me outright. I shall travel to all the towns of Britannia and hold open court in Castle Britannia to meet all citizens and hear your views on Britannia and its future. Meet with me, learn of my character. Listen to my story and I shall do the same. I ask that you follow your heart, act with courage and seek the truth. For if you do these things whatever path you follow, it shall be the right one.

The High Council of Britannia will hold its meeting on Monday, September 9th at Castle Britannia(tram) I shall go before the High Council with all the people of Britannia and ask their endorsement as Lord Regent. It is on words of the citizens of Britannia the council's decision will rest and I hope that you will join us and voice your opinion, whether in support or against. All opinions on the matter are encouraged and welcome. For it is the truth of what lies in the heart of Britannia that is most important.

I will be holding open court in Castle Britannia(Trammel) to answer and meet with any citizens to discuss questions and concerns they may have. Days and times are:

Open Court:

Thursday: 12:00pm CST till 1:00pmCST and 10:00pm CST – 11:00pm CST

Saturday : 3:00 pm CST till 4:00 pm CST

The High Council Meeting:

Monday September 9th, 8:00 pm CST in Castle Britannia(Trammel)

May Virtue keep you, Till All Are One,

Lore Denin

From Ariyana:

The Coven of the Secret Shadow and the Fellowship of Outcasts are hosting A Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction this Friday, September 6th from 8 to 10 by the Central skies. Join us at the Skara Brae Fairgrounds in the Trammel Faucet.

Anyone that wishes to sign up to be Auctioned off should contact either Kimber of F@O at #29354621 or Ariyana Sune of Cvn at #1337405 by 5 pm on Friday.

All Auctionee’s will have a great date package auctioned along with them; some of the themed date packages include Inmate Date, Star Room Picnic, Lover’s Maze, and many many more creative date packages!

**hints, not all the ladies and gentlemen on the auction block need to be bought for dates!!**

Kicking off the evening will be an Archery Contest “Apple on the Wenches Head” Score a bulls-eye, but don’t hit the Wench! Entry fee for this contest will be 5k per person and the prize money will be split for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!

If your not much of an archer then browse and chat with the many Ladies and Gentlemen that will be on the Auction block that night, all of them will be designated with a brightly colored sash!

So We hope to see you all there to have a food and drink on us and get ready to open your pocket books!! This should be a night of fun and camaraderie.

I am going to start doing this weekly or bi-weekly, depends on how much time I have. I am gonna give the status of certain quests going on and the status of such organization as the High Council and Tales and Ales.


Moonglow: (this one will be a bit long since I haven't posted a thing)
-Basil was ressurected. It is suspected it was done so by the Coven.

-Kellor has created an army for potecting Moonglow called Third Army

-Basil now leads Third Army

-Highland Guard has been investigating Third Army. This has caused a state of uneasiness between Moonglow and Minoc.

-Edguardo was rescued by Third Army. Was found in the woods muttering something about the Coven. At first he couldn't remember who he was, but that was solved last night by Athelstan.

Yew:
-Reports of smugglers and the blackmarkets continue to fill the headlines in Yew.

-Barrels that were found were brought forth to the High Council for discussion.

-City Meeting coming soon, more information to come.

Temple of Mondain:
-Mordain and Fredrick have both disappeared, whereabouts unknown.

-Duran has taken control of the guild and debates within himself as to what he needs to do.

Highland Guard and Order of Silver Serpent:
-Both have been on active patrols in the Feluccan facet hunting for criminals that have committed acts of violence towards citizens of the crown.

-Highland Guard has been investigating the reappearance of Basil. Barbs of Honor and Honesty have been slung between the Councilor of Moonglow and the Councilor of Minoc.

Crusaders of Virtue:
-Quest continues. Book from the Order of Noson found on the remains of Alaric's wife telling them to seek a hermit.

The Coven of the Secret Shadow:
-Suspected to have been involved in the ressurection of Basil.

-Have been increasing their activity in the Moonglow area.

-Will be holding a Bachelor/Bachelorette auction Sept. 6th at 8 CST in the Skara Brae Fairegrounds.

Ranger Enforcers of Sosoria:
-Roxanne has been accused of murder by Minion. Minion decline to comment on who exactly was mudered.

Tales and Ales:
-Has reopened under new management.

-Every Friday night is roleplayers night. All are welcome to stop by.

High Council:
-Meets every Monday at 8 cst

-What was going on around Britannia was discussed at the last meeting, most of it focusing on Yew and Moonglow.

-High Council met with Lore Denin and heard his request to be supported for King. Final decision will be given at a later date.

-Next meeting will be at Castle British in Trammel.

And no, I can't cover the entire shard, so if you want to send me a little sentence blurb, send it to will@ds180.net.

Which is the more honorable thing to do? Go down with a sinking ship like an honorable captain, or be one of the rats that flees?

I guess thats the question alot of people are asking themselves over at the Quest for Britannia boards. You can already see some of the rats are scurrying away.

Oh my, I might have just gone and offended someone by saying that. I wonder if that means they will leave UO now?

I am gonna go against my better judgement and stick my nose into the QfB debacle, or wait, is my nose already in it because I am in QfB? I'll ponder that later.

When QfB originally began, I told Marcus it was a nice idea, but doomed to fail. That was when I actually thought Marcus was a good guy, before I found out what kind of jerkoff he was. I told Marcus, "people will never agree on Great Lakes, you don't change Great Lakes, it changes you." Of course he didn't believe me, then him and Nick got in a spat, and thus QfB was initially created to spit in the eye of the Herald.

Then Marcus messed up and blew a hole in QfB from the inside. She was sinking, and sinking very fast. Then a few people decided to get out the water buckets and try to keep her afloat. Up until a few days ago, it seemed they were able to do so.

Its amazing, incident after incident happened after Marcus's temper tantrem, but we still managed to go on. Who would have thought it would take dragging a personal grief public to start sinking the entire thing again.

Here, I'll give you a snippet of how things 'basically' happened.

The final straw with QfB was Saturday when I found out what Roxanne of RES had done. I'm sure many of you have heard about Wednesday's incident between BDA and RES. Different versions of what happened are circulating, but it basically started when an RES member or members killed BDA's Mistina after she won a duel. It escalated to the point where later Roxanne and other RES members killed three BDA members.

You know, I could have maybe believed this if it wasn't that the paragraph before hand was totally truthless. So now, I can't believe that what you said is 'basically' what happened.

Oh, pardon me, the paragraph before...

We were also involved in the formation of the Empire of Armageddon. It was fun, even when it seemed like every virtue guild on Great Lakes was lined up against us and the other evil guilds in EOA. The final battle was a free-for-all in Vesper where we experienced virtue guilds breaking just about every rule in the book. That was the final straw, so I pulled out.

First of all, being that I was Arch Mage of the EoA for a small time, then involved in moderating their siege of Serpent's Hold, I can clearly remember what happened. BDA didn't leave after Vesper, it didn't even leave after Serpent's Hold. Basically what happened was that EoA died due to inactivity after the log of their Council meeting leaked out. If BDA quit before that meeting, why were they in that log? Sorry Caleb, I think you are a good guy, and I know you probably won't like me after this rant, but draggin that entire thing out on the public board was pointless and stupid.

But now I am starting to stray, the core of this argument revolves around something I like to call, "Lack of participation."

Granted, RES did not know she wasn't wearing scale armor under her dress and neither she nor I knew it was against the "rules."

You should have known, you should have been reading the private boards, keeping up to date. This doesn't go for just Caleb, this goes for everyone that is in Quest for Britannia. I look at the list of QfB guilds, then I notice only about half of the GM's post on the private board, and then less than half of their other represenatives post.

Proof of this is only needed by the way others, like Lilly Thann, think in QfB.

I have been frequently ignored, bad mouthed (behind my back, and yes, it does get back to me), and most of all, in a community that is supposed to support RP, i've sadly seen little of it. I am sadly disillusioned by QfB.

There are lots of mouths in QfB, so many, that quite frankly I've stopped reading the General Board except when there is a good flame war going. I don't like checking the board and finding it being spammed with useless crap.

Don't believe me? Example of useless crap that spams the General Board.

Title:I have always wanted to say this hehe

Evil will always Triumph over good Because good is dumb...hehe (Spaceballs man its a classic)......There I said it now I am happy *Waves*

I am sorry, but I consider my time too valuable to have it wasted drudging through a message board for content. So dont be offended if I am not listening to you. People get too bent out of shape in this community about getting attention. If people don't listen to me, I could give a rat's ass. If you expect everyone to reply to you and pat you on the back everytime you say something, then you have come to the wrong place.

In all my time in QfB, and I have been the silent one, not saying anything because, well frankly, there are only a few people who's opinions mean anything on this board and their little clique who support them. They are the most vocal people and unfortunately, not the people I am friends with.

And we get the truth. As long as you view things this way, then things are going to be this way. I for one have no delusions, I know hardly anyone in QfB likes me, yet I somehow tend to get my point across on the private board.

I could go on with more and more quotes, but the sad truth is, the reason why QfB is dying is because its like five or six guilds that are really working hard for QfB, with about two or three more giving some help to them. The rest of them expect everything to come to them, which is why they hardly post on the Private forums.

So it all comes down to the lack of participation on alot of people's parts, including mine.

QfB is sinking, and this time its not going to be saved. People are getting political and quitting because someone is offended or because they don't like someone. I for one am not going to be a rat, I, and Third Army, will stay with QfB until its at the bottom of the sea. Yet, that doesn't mean I haven't opened my eyes to the truth.

Nothing like QfB will ever work on Great Lakes. People roleplay in too many different ways for it to ever succeed. I may get along with some people, but there are others I won't. Its like when I went to the Tales and Ales the other night, I met some great rp'rs, but I also met some really big kewl dewds that claimed ot be rp'rs.

Basically, all we can do is play the game, in the game, not out on some message board. Find people that fit with your roleplay, and play with them. That doesn't mean you have to ignore others, it just means you will have the most fun playing with like minded people.

Prepare the ship for dive!

"Aye Aye Cap'n!"

Say what you want here.

Monday night role around again and it is time for Tales and Ales Happy Hour! Drinks will be plentiful and events should be as well, pending any absences. This Monday won't be to celebrate our very very successful reopening. It won't be to celebrate the number of visits, ranging between 300 and 400, we have received IN A SINGLE WEEK. No, it will be to celebrate the fact that we have PURCHASED Tales and Ales, owning it in full now! (Special thanks to those who donated gold and items towards the cause) Monday night looks to be an excitingly busy night! Hope to see you there!

Let it be known the man known as Nate Byrd, the owner of the Tales and Ales Tavern, is to wed Lilly Thann, Ambassador to Vesper for the Britannia High Council, in these upcoming weeks! No date has been set, but an announcement should come as soon as Lilly has completed her journies to learn the virtues. The young couple is also expecting a small bundle of joy to grace their lives in the coming months, as Lilly is already expecting. The two are excited about this news that they share with the community, and Lilly promises that this will not affect her duties in any way.

The 9th public meeting of the High Council of Britannia is scheduled for Monday, September 2, 2002 at 8:00 PM (CST), on the Feluccan facet in the city of Serpent's Hold. It will take place in the Serpent Warrior's meeting hall near the Northeast corner of the isle. Items on the agenda so far are the discussion of the role of the military, and the Third Army in Moonglow; further discussion on the mobilization of forces in Felucca; and barrels placed on the Yew roads. All are invited to attend, and time will be given to any member of the public who has item or issue to present to the High Council.

Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, Councilor of Magincia
on behalf of Doctor Ghyss, Chancellor of Virtue

Friday nights at Tales and Ales are roleplayers nights! These nights are specifically designed for those who roleplay, for those who wish to roleplay and for those looking to meet some new poeple. A strict code of roleplaying will be enforced, complete out of character chat will get you tossed out for the night. However, there will be many events that happen on these nights and most of them will come as a suprise to our visitors! I hope that everyone can make it out for the first of what we hope will be a long line of roleplayers night! Also, I'd like to announce the opening of our forums! This is the best place for you to get in contact with the Tales and Ales staff and also a good way to find out whats going on at everyone's favorite Trammel Tavern! They are located at http://pub89.ezboard.com/btalesandales Thanks! Nate/Anduin

From Yew:

The City of Yew GL in haveing a city meeting in mid Sept. All people who call Yew their home are invited, both Trammel and Fellucca. The meeting will be held in the Court of Truth. More to come.

Tales and Ales Tavern, is soon to reopen its doors. After reading all the pleas for the tavern to be reopened, the task was taken up by Anduin. He has tirelessly worked to bring the old tavern to its legendary state. So citizens young and old, Brave and Bold.. Come one, Come all as we celebrate on Monday, August 26th, as Tales and Ales Tavern will be once again opening their doors to the public. Come share an ale and perhaps a tale, and meet the new manager of this community establishment. Tales and Ales is located just southeast of the Yew Moongate. In the near future, Tales and Ales Tavern will be holding a grand re-opening festival, with many fun events and activities sbonsored by guilds of the community. If anyone is interested in participating, contact Anduin at williambirkin34@yahoo.com or pigeon at 1743120. Thanks and hope to see you at Tales and Ales Tavern!

The next public meeting of the High Council will be Monday, the 26th of August at 8pm CST. This time we will be meeting in the Magincia Parliment Building of Trammel. We do expect to hear from the candidates who have applied for the Jhelom seat during this meeting. The public and council both alike will be able to listen to their thoughts and ask questions of them to better judge who will be selected.

While I personally will not be able to attend this meeting, I do hope everyone makes it! (I'm moving in RL and will be w/o internet that day and possibly that week) I have asked someone to fill in for me. I am sure they will do an excellent job.

-Dr. Jered Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

From Nate Byrd:

(This is an article to mention someone. I think it deserves posting) I was playing my long lost character, Phaedra, my little Sisters of Enchantment girl, for the first time in while, playing with random people. Me and Jacop adventured into Fellucca, I learned some Drow, but most importantly, I had a terrific RP expierience. It was with a group of three characters called "a mime", they were in Tram Skara at about 11 pm est. They were terrific players, enjoyable and funny. They played with Phaedra, and Phaedra had a fun time. What got me, was how much fun this simple and innovative idea was. I hadn't had fun like that, fun that kept me involved, for a while. Thanks mimes, for a good night of fun. Keep it up.

The merry fishers of the Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) wish to remind the citizens of Britannia of their on-going gift to the Great Lakes citizenry.

Aye, we speak of the continuing “prize” game at the FCB Trammel tower. Ask the fisher Elias about the “prize” and he shall give ye a clue as to which vendor holds the prize.

The prize changes constantly, but is worth anywhere from 1000 to 20000 gold—and you can get it for only 10 gold!

Visit the FCB Trammel tower—the prize changes constantly. We usually stock it daily!

Fer directions to the FCB Tower, take a look here.

---Gem, FCB Captain

Written By: Alaric Torquil and Lealla

The sun was beginning its downward journey into evening, when citizens began
to arrive for the festivities of the Mirth and Legend Faire. Arriving in
numbers great and small, the expectation for merriment and fun caused pin
pricks of excitement to grace the skin of all present. Papas, Alaric of C-V
walked to the stage and welcomed the early arrivals in a simple speech
before the faire officially began. In a flurry of movement men, women and
children ran to sign up for various events.

I sometimes frequent the room #blackcompany in IRC during the day to talk to the few people I know there. For those that I talk to I find I have an intelligent fulfilling conversation. But then I go there sometimes and I find a different sort of people, the stereotypical sort of people. The people that when you say I say BC you think of these fellows. One fellows name is Shux, Shux is an interesting fellow, I know nothing about him except how he presents himself in IRC. What role he plays anonymously in the world he chooses to. The fact he chooses to be tough and to ban me at his leisure, to call me names not appropriate for this forum or audience. In short Shux plays a role. Remember this because later you will see the main discord that most of the hardcore anti-RP group contains.

You have several groups of Elite roleplayers, I call them elite because they truly play the traditional UO roles. Warriors of noble virtue, dastardly thieves, these are the fellows speaking in complete sentences and placing restrictions upon themselves to further some activity or plot. These are the people putting on plays, quests and the sort. Then you have the sort-Rp group, those that will attend and RP at their leisure, a fine group if ever there was one. They do no harm and generally tolerate our beratting RP ways. Then you have the other crowd which generally ignores us. Then lastly you have the Kill-Roleplayers-And-Put-Them-On-A-Stick Crowd. Shux is one of these people.

Shux, in the chat room, asked me why I was there, I responded with that I liked to talk to a few people, inquiring further he determined that yes I was a roleplayer, and then proceeded to call me a Trammy and that I was "gay". Being neither, since I live in Felucca and in character/out of character I am a very hetereosexual fellow I corrected him, and seeing the moment challenged his reasoning. Why were roleplayers gay? He said because the are, they roleplay and are trammies. And even though I lived in Fel I was still a Trammy. Confused by this circular logic, I inquired further about why I was gay? Did blanket statements like that really apply? Is there a reason for this hatred towards me? Why is playing a role considered the ultimate act of heresy in the land of UO to this fellow? Before he responded I was banned. With the delightful message of "I dont have to take **** from a noname ***" Editted for the audience.

I dismissed it, I took no offense to it, and both me and Galrahn shared a few moments talking about it. I simply shrugged it off. Later I came to realize though the hypocrisy of such an action. While in IRC and such chat places I try to exercise control over my anonymity. I try to think if the person was in front of me, would I say or do that? I don't play a role in IRC I play myself.

Does Shux do the same? Or is he merely playing a role? If I saw him in a restuaraunt and we shared some common interest and I said I liked to play paintbal, which I do, and he thought that was gay, would he say I was gay and yet not back it up. Just proclaim it? Further would he tell me obscenities and then tell me to leave? He may, but I doubt it. So Shux is in IRC playing a role. He is Roleplaying whether he knows it or not, just in a different way.

Where does this convulated and meaningless story lead? The definition of roleplay is at best a sordid tale. Roleplay is something you have to look within yourself and find. Do borgs from another dimension bother me? Nope, as long as they don't claim something not within the game mechanics to do. I run improvisational quests and much of the fun is watching non elitists interact with us while we are acting out our roles, often they dream of things far beyond my imagination and it makes me realize just how much more brain power is in the middle crowds. The minority will always be under powered when it comes to imagination.

How many successful long plots have ran since the death of the Seers? I can count them on one hand and have fingers left over. How many have died in childbirth? How many, even now are struggling for life, for people and for numbers. We are looking within ourselves for a savior, but beyond in the masses is where the creativity lies. All my stories I tell seem like the same ones I have told before. All the battles and ballads have been told already. Stories are the heart of what makes people interact. Roleplaying is not about having your name in the headlines, accomplishing great feats or taking over a city, it is about interaction between people, beleive me, learn that that guy is in OSS while you are the Dark Lords Of Syndicates Forces, and I doubt you will want to break the rules when later on you PvP. Learn the character and learn the player of the character, and we become friends and not foes.

Roleplaying is about having fun, and having interactions, it takes effort and time but its goal is wonderful and the rewards are indeed good. I don't care how you roleplay, just enjoy it, whether it be in IRC like Shux, or like Belaying Pin Bob trying to find an army of pirates. Shux plays a role, not a very happy or nice one it would seem, but nonetheless a role. And for that I cannot blame him, if he wants to run with that logic than let him.

But to end, and since my English teacher always said end with something don't let the threads hang in the wind. To those people seeking to make a grand splash with a siege, hero saves world. Start small and start with four people, no more and no less. Why four, because it is a good number to work with, manageable and easy to work with, then add more. Start with something as simple as going from one town to another and seeing what happens along the way. And now because Basil needs a hug and this has been such a happy post *Azreal gives Basil a Hug*

And no...I am not gay...Just a nice person. Shux if you would like to give a rebuttal please do.

Az

Hail and well met people of Skara Brae.

Do you have something you would like your councellor to bring up at the next High Council meeting? Do you even know who your councellor is? These are questions that will be answerd tommrow at 6:00 by the Central Skies in the Skara Brae Town Hall. I will be holding Office Hours, from then, until the last person leaves. I hope that this will clear up alot of peoples problems.
Thank you, and I hope to see you tommrow.

Cornelius

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know that The Daily Herald has been added to the UO.com links page. It was added as a basic link site because of a few posts with profanity that were found. We're having to be really picky about the sites we give the Link Plus status to, and profanity is one of the things that'll affect the decision. Aside from that, you have a top-notch site, and it's one that I really enjoy visiting. :)

You're more than welcome to resubmit the site at a later time. We'll be happy to review it again and reconsider it for link plus status.

Let me know if you have any questions. :)

~Kerowyn


My feelings are hurt. We are top-notch, but because we aren't mindless fools that drool on everything that OSI dishes to us, we aren't top-notch 'plus'.

Cause frankly, the profantity is bs. I editted my posts so Klaitu wouldn't have to worry about the profantity. What they found was a writer that wasn't going to be 100% supportive.

Kerowyn, feel free to email me at will@ds180.net if you have a problem with my views.

The next public meeting of the High Council will be August 19th at 8pm CST in the town hall of Skara Brae, Trammel. On the agenda for the evening will be a short (I hope so anyway) speech delivered by myself, followed by general discussion with possible topics including the Jhelom position and a discussion on elections. The Jhelom position is still open, by the way. We have yet to recieve a sufficient number of applicants to vote. Bear in mind however, that time is growing short. If you wish to apply, please send an essay to winski@redlow.net that includes your name and a few brief thoughts on why you wish be a councilor for the city of Jhelom.

As always, I look forward to seeing you all there!

-Dr. Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

From Galrahn:

The following Journal Entry is an excerpt from the Journals of Lord Galrahn which can be found in Dragon Spyre for any who wish to read the full transcripts.





Day 16: The Age of Spawn

From all reports, Last night's Battle Chess event hosted by the Temple of
Mondain was a huge success. There were fears at the beginning that the sides
would be short "pieces", but the community pulled through and a full board
was soon set up.

The fires burned low on the open hearth, across it sat several figures lounging with an old warriors grace. Each one bore scars and marks of battle, and each one looked darkly at the fire remembering of times past and of battles fought.

A story tellers circle, a place where old men shared their most glorious battles. One stepped to the light, an old red apron across his chest and a jaunty topknot turned grey.

"Lads, let old Bob tell ye a tale of glory and splendor mates...Let me tell ye a strange tale.."

DOOM!

When the champ spawns first came to be I wasn’t sure what sort of character would be the best to have there. A tamer? Ughhh the horrors of controlling your animal amidst all that spawn! A mage? Feasible, but if you are into doing any major damage, you spend a lot of time meditating Oooh! Oooh! What about my hider/archer?!? Hide a little, shoot a little, hide a little more – sounded good to me!

So off went eternity to her first champ spawn. I think I lasted all of about 4 minutes. TOO MUCH SPAWN! CAN’T HIDE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!! OoOO Oo

Needless to say, I broke out the mage and went back. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I went with the mage and the tamer (its much easier to tame a dragon once you get there, then, well, if you are like me, and you lose it, you wont be cranky about losing your favorite pet :) But never again did eternity make the journey.

Until last night.

I was fiddling around, not really sure what I wanted to do, and decided why not give it another shot? It’s not like you lose anything.

So I cleaned up her pack a bit (in case I survived to the end, I wanted to be able to haul out her share of the gold!) and off I went.

I started in Fire dungeon working my way through the various teleports and promptly ran into POS. I am the first one to admit I do not know the dungeons that well – but I don’t think I was anywhere near the spawn they are supposed to be protecting (Protectors of the Spawn – POS) I giggled, and whether they like it or not, Peon and MrSparkles and I can’t remember the third ones name (sorry) didn’t get counts for killing me. They got a little over 900 gold (what I picked up from spawn thus far on my adventure). Enjoy it fellas, I hadn’t been PKd in a long damn time and it was fun! Thanks :)

Once the timer expired I made my way back through and actually made it clear to the Tera spawn where someone actually invited me into a group! GO ME! Complete strangers (at least I didn’t recognize the names) – I even asked if they meant to invite me, and they did! Thanks guys.

I sat up on the ledge and fired my bow at everything I could target and if someone close to me needed it, I healed them. At one point POS made a showing, and while some did perish – eternity lived! Barely. I think she had 2 hit points left after the fire fields and poison fields and whatever else they were tossing up to the ledge… BUT SHE DID LIVE! And shortly after they left, she received her first scroll. My first scroll. GO ME AGAIN! It was a +5 anatomy scroll. I ran off to the corner, hid, and promptly used the scroll! My night was going well, I had hopes of making it to the star room at the end – I didn’t want to worry about losing the scroll.

When the champ spawned – not long after this – I couldn’t even see it. Too many people wacking it. Too many dragons down there to see around. So I stood and watched the show, and when all was said and done, and the skies rained down gold, I hopped off the ledge with every intention of making it into that black gate. Alas, a lone matriarch thought eternity would make a fine snack, and before I could put a bandage on, I had perished once again.

I had a great night last night. Thank you to the people at the Tera Keep that worked together and helped each other out. Thank you to POS for adding an interesting twist to hunting the champ spawn.

~Nols

From anonymous:

Autumn's chill wind sang a haunting chorus among the rocks of the high mountain pass guarding the ruins of Thurisaz Monastery. Two figures stood facing one another there in the clearing amongst the crumbling structures. One was robed in clothes of the darkest night, his ebony skin shining in the light of the Feluccan moon. The other was smaller in stature, also dressed in regal robes of darkness, his skin was sickly pale, his eyes glazed and unseeing.



"Take one last look, Raistlin, at the world as you see it now," the dark skinned figure told the young mage.



Raistlin's gaze was fixed only upon the dark skinned one, his eyes still glazed, his face growing more pale.



"Your challenge of my authority brought ruin upon my followers. Where are they now? Dead... imprisoned... You have failed in your greatest task."



"It was, and still is my will to live without you, master," the young mage spoke softly.



"But that which has passed will never pass again, Raistlin. I have sent my most loyal follower back to do my bidding, in the way he sees fit... and you, will not relinquish your evil ways. YOu cannot be trusted to allow him to do his work unhindered. I cannot allow any more insolence from you."



The young mage's countenance fell yet again, but his gaze did not waver.



"Then what is it you wish of me, master?"



The dark skinned man spoke words of magic, and a great black portal opened before them. The very fabric of the night pulsed around it, as it sucked the essence of the world into a place where time means nothing, and no soul can ever return. The young mage looked at the portal with a sudden dread, remembrance, and finality.



The Black One stood before Raistlin once more as his master, and Raistlin knowing full well that his power came from this man, and that this man could easily take it away, could not resist him.



"You are banished, Raistlin, back to the Void where you will remain imprisoned for all time. Your failures are my weakness, and like any good tactician, I must purge this weakness."



Without another word, the young mage stepped forward into the portal, leaving behind only the darkened robe he had worn for so long. The robe of a Chaos Knight, and the rank he had fought to achieve among his master's followers, lay forgotten on the soil of the monastery ruins.



With his entry the portal closed, and only the Black One remained. For a moment he looked into the night sky, and shuddered a sigh of relief. The battle was over, and time had brought him victory. No man can stand alone against the world and hope to achieve victory. The young mage had brought defeat with him onto the mountain, and his master had seen it in his eyes. The Black One spoke words of magic once again and was gone, leaving only the biting chill of the autumn wind to tell the tale to ancient ruins which bear so many forgotten secrets.

The High Council would like to remind you that this week's Council meeting will be held in Moonglow at the Lycaeum at the usual time.

From Robraytuc@aol.com:

Lady Lickaretta was born in a small tower built by her parents nestled in the forest of East Brittania in the land of the Great Lakes. Twas a good childhood full of love and adventure. Upon the twentieth anniversary of her birth Lady Lickaretta yearned to make her own mark on the world so she set out for the new land. She traveled far and wide until she came upon the land of the Legends. The land was fat and a good place to start a new beginning. Within one years time Lady Lickaretta obtained much gold, many friends, and a Keep filled with rares and riches. One thing evaded her though, love....the love between a man and a woman.

From time to time she would hear rumors of an eligible man in her birthplace. When her childhood friend, Violet the Mute traveled from Great Lakes to Legends for a one month holiday the rumors were confirmed. The eligible man was none other than Shakespeare, General of the Trinsic Military.

One beautiful dew laddened morning as Lady Lickaretta sat amidst the lavender larkspur in her garden a carrier pigeon arrived with an invitation to a grand wedding, which was to take place in her homeland. The event would be the union of Lord Cristof and Lady Nolleens, the proprietress of the infamous Sandlewood Box Inn. Preparations were made for the journey and in two weeks time Lady Lickaretta, accompanied by her lady in waiting, Vivian Divine set forth for the land of the Great Lakes.

The wedding ceramony and reception were full of sentiment and great merriment. To Lady Lickaretta's surprise not only was Shakespeare one of the guests but also one of the groomsmen. She could not take her eyes off the honorable Shakespeare and it became very apparent not only to him but to many of the guests, which fueled much gossip. At the reception they exchanged a brief but amorous conversation. Not too brief as Shakespeare was able to set up another meeting with the blushing Lady.

Their next meeting was a picnic six days later. Shakespeare orchestrated the entire outing, from the tasty feast to the amazing setting which was on the edge of a waterfall in a lush country setting. Will Scarlet and Vivian Divine also attended, as a true Lady would never be alone with a man she just has met. Upon Lady's departure that day Shakespeare presented her with a bottle of the most rare champagne and two lovely pink goblets, eluding to the possibility that they may drink this delicious nector on their next meeting. After this blissful outing both knew the other was the one for them.

As the days, weeks and months went by the courtship intensified and Vivian Divine returned to the land of the Legends alone. The generous Shakespeare set Lady Lickaretta up in her own Villa. With the passing of time many things changed. For one, Shakespeare retired from his position in the military however still continues to protect the land when needed as many new beasts and monsters plague the land. Pressing matters that needed tending to back in Legends forced Lady Lickaretta to return for a short period of time. Shakespeare escorted her to insure her safe keeping. After spending time in Lickaretta's Keep, Shakespeare knew upon his return to Great Lakes he must obtain a larger home more befitting her ladyship. A large tower was the house of his choice and a grand place it is. With her expertise in horticulture Shakespeare asked Lady to create a rooftop garden in his new home. She put her heart and soul into the execution with spectacular results. Together they named the new house Terra Shakes. It has been the setting of many warm and intimate interludes between Shakes and Lady Lick, the nick names they call one another.

As the tower rooftop blossoms and buds with the promise of that rarest of all blooms, fulfilled love, Shakes and Lady Lick embark towards their union of devotion and promise of a shared eternity. What mysteries will unfold...what is their destiny???

From Lealla over at QfB:

Let all citizens that dwell in the great lands of Britannia come together for an afternoon of excitement, daring and adventure at the Skara Brae Fairgrounds. On Sunday August 18th the QfB community is hosting a faire.

Schedule of events:
Welcome and Announcements: 4:00 CST
C-V's Horse Race: 4:15 CST
TTC Archery Contest: 4:30 CST
UOSS Chicken Race: 5:00 CST
C-V's Taming Contest: 5:30 CST
RES Fishing Contest: 6:00 CST
TTC Magery Contest: 6:30 CST
C-V's Naked Dungeon Crawl: 7:00 CST
KOB Story and Poetry Contest: 7:30 CST

To sign-up for events please visit the QfB Forums

Buon Giorno!

todays TDU is a special edition because its on a friday! Well, okay, so I didn't do it at 3 AM last night and I have to do it today. did you miss it? Either way, here it comes!

1. The Herald toys with mens minds!

Check out the UO.com links page Where a dozen or so sites have been added as part of the fan program, but *sniff* no Herald. Not yet anyways. Our buds over at UOLS have made Links Plus status, so I can only hope goodness comes our way.

2. Is your name EdGuArDo?

Well, if you put in a silly name like "EdGuArDo" for your character when you created them, now you can have your name changed with OSI's official name change program No longer will you be plagued by alternating capital and lowercase letters. Of course, the service costs you 30 smackers, so maybe you should consider having them change it to "Lord Edguardo" might as well get the bang for your buck.

3. Professor Oaks

Comments from the Team has an article by Oaks this week. Probably tyhe most interesting part of the interview is where he states that he is working on the Age of Shadows expansion. He also talks about taming and fire steeds. Go have a look!

4. GGS Tidbits

Tuesday Q and A this week covers skill gain under GGS. It's a pretty good little document to read if you havent figured it out, or never played during the pre-powerhour days.

5. The most coherent UOHoC to date

It dosen't happen often, but this weeks UOHoC chat dosen't make your brain explode! UOHoC is of course the stratics chat where people come and pose questions of the Dev Team in the hopes that perhaps your question will get answered if youre lucky. This weeks topic was Champion Spawns. You will also see the witty comedic stylings of Hanse:

Lord-Xanthor - *Lambana* What are you views on making orange deaths being lootable in dungeons?
Hanse - Peeled or unpeeled?

Stratics IRC chatters have probably noticed that your favorite chat freezes up, disconnects you, and wont perform your perform list. Welcome to the new and improves Stratics IRC network!

Here are the present Stratics IRC servers:
- irc.frws.com USA - Colorado
- irc.truefear.net USA - Texas
- irc.glowfish.de EU - Germany
- irc2.frws.com USA - Colorado

If you are using a server not on this list, it will cease working very shortly (if it hasnt already). what has happened is that Stratics has dropped 2 domestic servers in order to obtain the one european server.. irc.glowfish.

The remaining domestic servers are theoretically capable of handling all the new traffic, but in actuality are having a rough go of it. For those of you experiencing problems with your perform list, you can use the /ping command to "kickstart" your perform list until they get the situation solved. you may also want to /join #IRC-help and tell them that your perform list will not function.

The council did decide not to oppose Basil or Kellor in their efforts to rid Moonglow of the new evil there. Once again, an uproar began. This time with demands from the public spectators for resignations should the council be wrong. Kellor had already agreed to resign his post should Basil fall back into his evil ways. To appease the public, I too, agreed to resign if Basil became the man he once was, as I represent the council. That seemed to be enough for them and the meeting soon ended after a brief annoucement from representatives from Black Company.

No doubt the discussion on Basil will continue during the next public meeting on the 12th of August at 8pm CST. The meeting will be held in Trammel at the Lyceum.

Also, I've been asked to make a couple annoucements:
The council now has a position open again. The council position for Jhelom is available for those seeking a seat. Should you wish to represent the city, feel free to send an application to winski@redlow.net with a short (at least 5 sentences) essay on your qualifications and why you wish to represent the city.

And lastly, after Monday's meeting, I was approached by a rather sad woman who was looking for members of her Amazon clan. She asked me to pass along this url: http://home.neb.rr.com/gotoward/ALH/index.htm
Hopefully she can find her missing sisters.

Hope to see you at the next meeting!
-Doctor Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

From Cornelius:

As Cornelius worked on the decoration of his new home, he felt an odd feeling something was going to happen that day. The
day went by relativley normal, mainly working at his house all day with his new wife. Also present was a good friend of both of them, Dala'Len of the Coven. The three of them worked to about 8:45 about 15 minutes before the start of the council meeting. Now, off the bat, this was not any old council meeting to Corne, no, this was the one where it would be announced who won the Skara Brae Council seat. When they get there, Cornelius sees Jakob and goes and sits down next to him. During the walk around the large council room. He notices a communication crystal. He speaks to Dr. Jerred,
"Who left the communication Crystal in here, I will remove it"
Someone spoke out
"Leave it, this is a public meeting, we have nothing to hide"

For the time, Cornelius was placated about the thing, although having an ominus feeling that something was not right. He expressed this with his wife, she only giggled and proclaimed herself protector of the crystal. Cornelius sighed and sat down.

The meeting started off boring with Alex of Yew discussing attacks by pirates in the Facet of Felluca. Then Malone spoke. Malone was asking about any type of lead on the Basil Stag Hare case I was leading. I unfortunatly had to say nay to having any new leads. Now, oddly, Kellor, a very quite man spoke out and said.

"I have information regarding that sirs"

I cried out,
"You do share it with the council, I would greatly appreciate it if you could help my investigation"

Now he started to speak about a new group called "The Hidden" That has made its presence known in Moonglow. Kellor then went on to say how he was creating an army, a Third Army to deal with these people that have been terrorizing his Town. Then he said

"And let me introduce the person that will lead this army"

And from behind Kellor you could hear our speech reverberated through the communication crystal that the person who opend the gate had on him. And out stepped a man.

The first feature you would see about this person, is that his hands are metal. Not like wearing gloves metal. But like Human Golem metal. You would then notice his bright white hair and Brown robe. Now, by this description you would not know who I am speaking off. But if I would even begin to hint at his deeds then you would be taken aback that the man just stepped out of a gate into our Council meeting.

Anyways, none other then Basil Stag Hare walked into our meeting. This was the most shocking thing that e'er happend to me. A person, who, for months has been tracking the man for this very same council. Who just steps out of a gate into our meeting. I was shocked beyond belief. What insued was near chaos. People yelling to arrest him others yelling to sit down. When Dr. Jerred finally regained control of the council. I found out that all my information was true that I gatherd about the Coven. He was resurrected by them, he was resurrected not evil, but good. The only thing I have not been able to find out, is if EdGuardo the last Dragon Knight was also resurrected along with Basil. If so, Basil says that he would be held with the Coven. But anyways, it was decided that since Basil died sacrificing himself to save India West from the liche Larcalin, then all charges should be dropped. Since if you think about it, Basil is a new man, the Basil that committed those crimes no longer lives, but a New Basil does. At that, Basil left the council building. Removing himself to the library extension of the Lyceaum in Moonglow.




Cornelius
Warrant Officer Highland Guard

This one is an oldie from the past, being reposted because of the increasing frequency of stratics netsplits.

Some of you readers out there are frequenters of Stratics IRC, where phenomenon known as netsplits are sometimes a common occurance. Netsplits have some very annoying side effects: 1. You are required to re-identidy your nickname (if you dont you wind up as guest12987360). 2. If you have Ops in a channel, you will lose it. 3. If you have voice in a channel, you will lose that as well.

If you use the mIRC chat client, you can program it to take care of these routine things automatically, and never be bothered by these trivial problems ever again, heres how:

Step 1
Click on Tools, then on aliasses. A large text box will appear. There may be things already in there.. thats okay. On the first blank line type in /id /nickserv identify (password) where password is your pasword (no parenthesis). When youre done here, click OK.

Step 2
Click on Tools, then Remote. This screen may be blank, or may have things in it. On the first blank line type the following (you may want to copy and paste)



on *:notice:*This nick*:*:{ if ($nick == NickServ) { /id } }
on 1:DEOP:#:{ if ($opnick == $me) { /msg chanserv op $chan $me } }
on 1:DEVOICE:#:{ if ($opnick == $me) { /msg chanserv voice $chan $me } }


Make sure that the word "on" is at the beginning of a line.

Thats all there is to it! your mIRC will now be on the lookout for when it needs to identify you and when it needs to reop you, it should totally eliminate the symptoms of netsplit!

I don't know, maybe the roleplaying community has passed me by. Maybe my style of roleplaying isn't what the community is comfortable with anymore.

I remember when the only stuff that was written about was stuff that actually happened in game.

Has the community sunken to a new low? Is roleplay really die'n? Are we just making up sh*t now that doesn't happen in game because we don't have the creative juices to do it in game?

Are we still even a roleplaying community? God, I feel like a dinosaur, and I didn't even roleplay in the first year and a half of UO.

Alot of these stories are floating around, maybe I should just quit UO now and let someone make up a half assed story about how I was killed by a midget.

Case Example Numero Uno: The 'Death' of Rath Stonesoul

Raths eyes opened in horror. Trapped in the clutches of Flight, his sacrifice was now a complete failure. Flights orcmask actually showed the sign of a grin. Rath let out a scream of horror.

Lord Stonesoul barely saw the muscles of Flight contract and flex...a sudden press upon his shoulder and opposite ribside completely tore the man in two, hurling the two trunksections to opposite ends of the room with sickening thuds. The book, now free fell to the bloodied floor, falling into the entrails of the would be King of Brittaina.

Flight picked up the book and roared with victory as the castle lay burning about him.

I suggest you go here to read the rest of them. They are well written, but that is all they are, well written.

I guess I am just tired of it, of everyone thinking Rath is dead. Yes, Rath was selling his account, but his account ended up not selling because I wouldn't give the guy selling the account for him the password. The whole situation struck me as fishy, so I didn't give them the password.

First of all folks, Rath isn't dead. Rath was working on a quest with Mordain and Nieves, the one about the fake Rath's. Then Rath just ups and quits, so stuff was thrown out of whack. To try and make things managable, Nieves posted an old pic of a pvp engagement before Rath quit and says that he is dead.

Now everyone thinks Rath is dead. He isn't dead, we don't have any proof that he was killed permanently by anyone.

Hell, he even hinted that he might return to me...

You have received a message!
I'm probably gonna turn it over to wiligan. You are the only one who knows right now. and I'm not gonna say I'm leaving for good cause we both know what happens to ppl who say that lol

So now we've made up that Rath is dead, he had no say in it what-so-ever. People are writing different stories about how he died, and using it as factual content. I asked some people why they posted this in the first place, I was told that it was for the 'good' of the community. How is it for the 'good' of the community when we make up something that didn't and couldn't actually happen?

I am sorry, maybe I just don't understand how we can make up that Rath died, when he didn't. Its time to clear this misconception up. Just because he is not playing now, doesn't mean he is dead. I have quit before, as have several others, like Mordain and Edguardo. Just because we weren't playing didn't mean our characters were dead (eventhough Ed killed off his main once when he quit).

Case Two: No, I Took Basil's Body, Thus He Can't Be Ressurected

This case comes from our lovely 13 year old community resident, Dovo-lick. This particular make-up story I managed to nip in the bud, thanks to Rath.

See, when we ran the Serpent's Siege, the victor would get Basil's body, and since we ended the siege in a peace treaty, the Cult got Basil's body in exchange for leaving the island.

A day later, Rath messages me saying something perplexing has come to his attention. He sent me a picture, and the picture showed a cut up body of Basil. I asked him what the hell this was.

He told me.

Seems Dovolick didn't like the idea that we had won. He thought it would be better for the community if we lost. He thought it would be better if the quest continued, even though it had already been going for a year. The Cult was tired of it, OSS was tired of it, we wanted it to be over, and the Cult had won it back fairly.

Now we got some '13' year old telling everyone he took the body and that we had a fake one.

I confronted Nero, and Nero told me it wasn't true. So I confronted Dovolick. After about 10 minutes, he fessed up that he had just killed an NPC named Basil and made up a story for us to roleplay. I don't mind a good story, but I don't like one that is made up on untrue stuff.

First of all, we got the actual body from Nero in game. The event actually happened, Nero actually went and fetched the body for us to take with us to the Temple. Dovolick's story of following Nero to a place where he had buried the body hadn't even happened in game, not to mention the fact Nero hadn't buried the body.

Here my guild was supposed to suffer because someone felt we should for the 'good' of the community. After talking with Rath, he felt the best thing to do was to can Dovolick's story since it wasn't true. He thought it would have been something fun, but he also agreed it was wrong to make it up.


So we have two stories that were made up for the 'good' of the community, eventhough they could inflict harm on others. One story was nipped in the bud, the other hasn't been.

I am sure someone is going to call me an asshole for posting about this, saying I shouldn't be attacking things good for the community.

Well guess what, I am a very loyal person, and before Todd quit, me and him talked daily and became very good friends. I will defend him, and I will defend his legacy.

Feel free to tell me how I should just quit UO and let someone write a sh*tty story about me here.

An Investigation into the Nature of the Dwarven Slayer Cult
By Dr. Wilhelm Koenig of Vesper

Slayers belong to a dwarvish cult whose members seek death in combat against overwhelming odds. They do not seek victory, nor do they simply seek death. If they were merely suicidal, jumping off a cliff would do just as well. If they sought martyrdom, walking unarmed into a troll's den would do the trick. It's not just death a slayer seeks, but a particular sort of death, a glorious death in battle.
This tells us something about the tortured nature of the dwarvish psyche. It also tells us something about the sort of dwarves who shave their heads and become slayers. Most of them claim to want to atone for some sin or crime, but they want more than that-they want to be remembered, and I suspect, in some ways they want to give their famous one fingered gesture of defiance to the society that spurned them, a subject of which I will write more later.

On the Nature of Dwarves
To see why Slayers behave the way they do, you need to consider more "normal" dwarvish psychology. Dwarves are a very clannish race who live in tightly knit, very regimented communities. They are, and they perceive themselves to be, a dying race surrounded by enemies on every side who seek to take what is rightfully theirs. Virtually every dwarvish settlement of any size is a fortress. Every dwarf knows everybody else in the community, and, dwarves being dwarves, they know the deeds of everybody's ancestors and relatives unto the umpteenth generation. A dwarf takes great pride in the deeds of his ancestors, and a deed that brings dishonor upon a dwarf also reflects upon his kin. This can result in ostracism from the very community upon whom a dwarf depends for his very identity.

From earliest childhood, every dwarf is subjected to near military discipline, and every dwarf knows his place in the great scheme of things to the smallest degree.

Age and experience are respected by dwarves, youth and innovation are not. They are a practical and hardheaded race and have a great respect for what works and, more importantly, has been proven to work over the centuries. They are also very commercially oriented, and prize gold and wealth. They value hard work greatly. Indeed one of the worst insults a dwarf can use is to call another lazy.
Hair, in particular in the form of a beard is greatly prized by a dwarf. A long grey beard is seen as a sign of wisdom, experience and having been tempered by the world. Give the violent nature of the world in which dwarves live, it's not a bad indicator. Although the natural span of a dwarvish life is considerably longer than that of a human, few male dwarves in this age of the world will live to die a death of natural causes. If a warrior has lived long enough to acquire grey hairs and a long beard, it is a fair indicator that he is very tough indeed.

Dwarf society is very hidebound, polite and ritualistic. Less senior dwarves have many ways to prove their humility to their elders. There are eleven different degrees of respect in the dwarvish tongue, and just as many variations in bows. Dwarvish etiquette is very complex, and difficult for an outsider to master, and woe betide any dwarf who makes a mistake in protocol. The incorrect use of the second person singular pronoun has resulted in many a battle between dwarvish clans.

Perhaps to counter-balance their naturally long lives, dwarves have a very low birth-rate. It is not uncommon for many dwarvish couples to be childless. A cruel Elvish joke states that this is because both sexes are so repulsive that they cannot endure to breed. (This is not a jest that you are advised to repeat in the presence of Dwarves-on matters of courtship and breeding they are extraordinarily touchy). In any case, children are prized when they come along, and family is everything to a dwarf. A clan's children are considered a blessing on all its members. Dwarves work long and hard to provide for their future. Many childless dwarves seem to take to commercial enterprise as a substitute for the close family they lack.

The Origins of the Slayer Cult
The origins of the Slayer Cult are lost in time. Many scholars have speculated that it is somehow connected with the death quest of the dwarven Ancestor God Grimnir who vanished into the Lost Lands before the dawn of recorded time. The dwarves themselves, as always, remain closemouthed on the subject. All that is known is that the primary shrine of the cult, at Karak Kadrin was said to be the birthplace of Grimnir.

On Becoming a Slayer
At its simplest level, becoming a Slayer is easy, assuming you are a dwarf. You simply decide to become one. You take the slayer's oath, and you shave your head, and perhaps your beard, as a sign that you have done so. The symbolic importance of this cannot be overstated. In a society where hair is considered an important symbol of status, such an act is supremely shocking.

Other aspects of the distinctive appearance that most people associate with slayers come later. It would seem that many slayers seek to draw attention to what they have become by acquiring tattoos, adopting the strange spiked-strip hairstyle and dyeing it orange that is common to slayers, by lowering their standards of personal hygiene and developing some new, and often repulsive personality quirks.
They also become far freer of speech, less respectful of authority and much more prone to aberrant behavior than most normal dwarves. If you look closely, you can see that in many ways they are turning themselves into the exact opposite of what is considered typically dwarvish. They stress their individuality not their membership of their community.

Most but not all Slayers choose to make a pilgrimage to Karak Kadrin to take their vow in the great shrine of Grimnir there, and ritually burn their hair, and acquire a few tattoos. From the city of slayers they normally leave by the east gate onto the so-called Slayer's road. Even if they do not head east, to fight the gobbos, this is the traditional route out of the city. Those slayers who have not made their pilgrimage but set out immediately on their death quest, will usually, if they survive, at some point try and make it to Karak Kadrin if only to boast about their battles to their peers, and renew their vows.

Now, having considered all of this, let us take a look at Slayers. In many ways a slayer can be seen as an affront to decent dwarvish society. They do not work, they rarely concern themselves with the accumulation of wealth (except what they can loot) and they do not seek to build a well-run business or a large patrimony they can pass on to their descendants. They are a rootless, restless crew who spend much of their time engaging in two of the other great passions of the dwarvish race, fighting and drinking. They show respect to no authority figure save perhaps the High Dwarven King, Slayer King, and the priests of the gods.

It would seem only logical that such figures would be ostracized by their fellow dwarves, as indeed they are, but that is not the whole story. Slayers can and do get away with a level of rudeness within their own society that would result in blood feuds, clan wars and mass destruction among the people, if the insults were perpetrated by any other dwarves. And they are in some ways, tolerated and even granted a great deal of respect by dwarves, far more so even than their formidable martial prowess would normally command. Indeed summoning the slayers is fairly normal practice for any dwarven king or clan lord before going into battle.

It might seem that providing a pool of formidably dangerous and fearless cannon fodder would be enough of a reason for dwarves to tolerate or even encourage the Slayer cult, but I suspect there is another reason.

In every society, even our own, there are malcontents and rebels. Many of these are drawn to the dark and the forbidden cults of Chaos and work tirelessly for the overthrow of our realms. As far as it is known, there are no similar cults among the dwarves. (The so-called Chaos Dwarves are a different matter, and demand separate treatment which they will be given elsewhere.) Given these circumstances, does it not seem possible, likely even, that one reason for this, is such naturally disruptive characters have been given a different outlet for their rebellious energies?

I contend that the Slayer Cult is one such outlet. It channels discontented young dwarves out of the mainstream of dwarvish society and into a short-lived but useful career removing threats to the clans, and fighting on their behalf. Of course, most of these dwarves have their own reasons for wanting to slay. Many have been crossed in love, becoming slayers when the dwarf woman of their choice chooses another. Even here we can see a purpose. In a society where men outnumber women by a large number, the cult may well provide a method of removing potentially disruptive rogue males. Other dwarves become slayers when they have lost face or honor. Given the nature of dwarven society, such an individual becomes all but useless anyway-for a dwarf who commands no respect can expect little from his fellows. The career of a slayer gives such people a way out, and a method of redeeming themselves and the good name of their clan, while ensuring they will not return and provide an embarrassment for their kin. I could go on, but I think the discerning reader can see by now the basic outlines of the picture I am painting. Far from being a leftover from a lost age of violence, the Slayer Cult represents a vital and useful part of dwarven society and one which demands much further study.

Readers should note that Doctor Wilhelm Koenig of Vesper was tarred and feathered by a passing group of dwarves when he presented this paper at the Faculty of Natural Philosophy at the University of Britain.

Hail readerfolk!

The Herald's July numbers are in, and once again we have set another record!

Last month, the Herald was visited 197,173 times by approximately 10,402 different people. Since my fancy little counter thing also counts search engine spiders and e-mail harvesters and other web-bots, I suspect the actual number of human visitors is slightly lower. The most popular day for you readers is Wednesday, more people read the Herald on wednesdays than on any other day. Seems most readers check us out around 4 PM Central time.

In case you were wondering, we dished out 2.7 gigabytes of news last month, which is less than 20% of our capacity.

So, now youre saying "Thats great Nick, why do we care?"

Well, to put it simply, The amount of visitors, and how much stuff they pull from the server determines how fast the site is. It also lets you folks who like to submit your news see how many people actually read this stuff!

Of course, theres always another reason. Our friend Kerowyn (or one of her equally-talented assistants) is going to be coming along and reviewing the Herald for the UO Fansite Link program. This post lets me provide her with factual statistics while sucking up to her at the same time! Everyone cross your fingers, because were looking to score "Link Plus" status. Now if only I could remember the number to 1-800-FLOWERS..

Wow, 5 birds with 1 stone, I am nothing if not efficient!
Nick "sellout" Seafort

Just a reminder, the High Council of Great Lakes will be holding a public meeting this Monday, the 5th of August at 8pm CST. We have begun rotating our meeting locations. This week, we are meeting again in Trammel at Castle Britain in the north dining room. Henceforth, rotations will take place as follows: Castle Britannia in Trammel, Moonglow in Trammel, Skara Brae in Trammel, Magincia in Trammel, and Serpent's Hold in Felucca. And then, of course, starting again back in the castle. I'd also like to take this time to offer the shard a service: Should any of you be running an event once a week on the same day and time such as the Council's public meetings are, I'd like to hear about them! I am currently only aware of one other event being run on a regular basis which is Happy Hour at Kazola's Tavern. Send information my way about your event, and I'll start including a summary of other events ran as well. I really feel that regular events like the council meetings and Happy Hour at the ol' tavern help strengthen the community and bring us together in-game more often. You can drop me a notice about your event if you'd like at winski@redlow.net As always, I look forward to seeing you at the meeting and around Britannia in general -

Dr. Jerred Ghyss, Chancellor of Virtue of the High Council

Allo allo!

Its tuesday! Its 3 AM! I haven't gotten much sleep! It can mean only one thing: time for another nail-biting edition of the TDU!

1. Jello, WAA HAA HAA!

Wondering about everyones favorite shard being inaccessable? Yeah, so is everyone else. It seems like GL has been running into some problems lately. Turns out that its not just GL. Check out the last several contiguous entries on UO.com's shard issues:

Log-in Servers Return
Log-in Servers Down
Great Lakes Returns
Great Lakes Shard Down
Napa Valley Returns
Napa Valley Shard

Conveniently "borrowed" from UO.com:

There’s an ancient Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." Though this may have been viewed as a curse back then, when it comes to UO and the future of Britannia, it’s a good thing!

As you may have recently learned, we’re hard at work on the Age of Shadows expansion. Hopefully this announcement in itself answers a lot of questions about the changes we’ve recently made, while also explaining why we’ve been pretty tight-lipped about our future plans. In other words, we really aren’t crazy, UO does have a bright future, and we really do listen to our players!

The past several months have been a real test of the development team’s self-control. We’ve been knee-deep in design and prototyping work for Age of Shadows, but haven’t been able to even hint at how exciting this expansion is shaping up to be. Just the marquee features, such as the two new professions, more housing space and the ability to design custom homes would make this the biggest expansion to date, but those are just the tip of the iceberg. Now that we can finally discuss what we’ve got up our sleeves, you can look forward to constant updates on our efforts over the coming months.

It’s fitting that the release of Age of Shadows converges nicely with UO’s fifth anniversary. While we could consider resting on our laurels at this level of achievement, everyone here is going all-out to take the game in exhilarating new directions. Our customers are immensely valuable to us, and we owe you all, veterans and new players alike, nothing less than our very best efforts in this regard.

But before we all get wrapped around the axle about the new features, landscapes, and monsters for UO, I’d like to let you in on a secret: There are a lot more people required to keep UO ticking than the handful of "reds" you see on the boards or in the game. The folks behind the scenes are just as vital to our efforts as any programmer, artist, designer, producer, GM, or tester. You may never meet someone from our Customer Service, Engineering, Operations, Facilities, Finance, Marketing, or Human Resources groups, but UO wouldn’t exist without them. We’re all on the same team, dedicated to providing you the most enjoyable experience possible.

In closing, I’d like to thank all of you for your feedback and support through the years. Because of you, UO has become more than a game. It’s an international meta-culture, a social phenomenon, and a fascinating convergence of real people and virtual lives. And this year, more so than any other, it’s going to be…interesting.

See you in the game!

Bryan "Tajima" Walker
Producer
Origin Systems

From Dusty:

About a year ago, the Great Lakes Player Seer Organization hosted a faire at the Skara Brae fairgrounds. The faire was a huge success thanks to the many guilds that participated. It is a year later and we wish to do it again. The faire is planned for August 24th at the Skara Brae fairgrounds. We hope that this year’s faire is even bigger. This is why we are asking any guild, organization, or player establishment that would like to participate e-mail me at Dusty_54665@hotmail.com. We are in need of one-time events that would take place at a specific time, and events that go on all day long. Thank you for your support.

Hail everyone!

If you use our automatic submit feature here on the Herald, you must must must put it in HTML format! (hence the giant "this form supports HTML format only" disclaimer on the automatic submit page)

If you use the automatic submit, and do not put it in HTML format, your post will be one giant paragraph. Case in point: The post below this one. I am sure that it had nice paragraphs at one time, but now it is just one large blob of text.

If you dont know HTML, you can always use the Manual submit feature, which is more traditional AND it preserves your paragraphs.

So, moral of the story: if you like paragraphs, use manual submit!

From Damon Omenborn:

Slayers Across the World of Britannia there are few race’s more ancient, or more defiant, than the dwarves. A proud people, they do not cope easily with failure or personal loss. A Dwarf Troll Slayer is a rare sight in Britannia. The Slayer cult is a strange one to most humans. A Dwarf, who is shamed by breaking an oath or failing in some duty, is driven by his honor to make his vows at the shrine of Griminir. He will shave his head leaving only a narrow crest and dye his hair and beard orange. He will renounce his former life and travel the World seeking death, now not just any death will do. It is a common custom amongst Slayers to adorn their bodies with tattoos or patterns of scars. Most of these are purely for show but Slayer heroes can have runic tattoos and scars added to their bodies. Now becoming a Troll Slayer is not a career willing entered by Dwarves. The Dwarven psyche, emphasizing honor and reputation, prohibits any Dwarf from entering this as a normal exit from any other career. Troll slaying is not so much a choice as it is atonement. If a Dwarf commits an act so dishonorable that he is disgraced, humiliated, or his clan disowns him and the only redemption is an honorable death against overwhelming odds. Such acts might include, but would not be limited to, failing on watch at an outpost (allowing a murderous enemy to slip through undetected), committing a serious crime (burglary, murder, etc.) against one's own clan, and continued cowardly acts when faced with an enemy of the clan. Shamed in the eyes of Grungni and the clan's ancestors, dishonored Dwarves join the ancient cult of Thorin the Slayer. They cover their bodies with ritualistic tattoos and dye their hair orange, spike it with animal fat, and become a Troll Slayer. These are the Troll Slayers most familiar to Human Society. In some cases, new Troll Slayers leave their clan to wander to embattled and besieged Dwarf-holds. Most, however, wander alone or with groups of adventurers seeking honor by hunting the most ferocious of beasts. The prey of choice, naturally, are Trolls and of course a Troll Slayer would never pass up combat with other foes, especially when the odds are greater than seven to one. As exiles from their clan, Troll Slayers suffer from periodic bouts of severe depression. The result is a tendency for Troll Slayers to indulge in frequent bouts of overeating, fasting, and alcohol. They also spend a great deal of time boasting of their exploits and showing off their numerous scars. Troll Slayers wear exotic jewelry such as earrings and nose plugs. Inquiries into their past (especially regarding the circumstance that brought them to Slaying) usually result in an uncontrollable rage which could erupt into a bloodlust. Dwarves, even those who live in Human settlements instead of the mountain Dwarf-holds, respect the clan less Troll Slayers' drive to redeem their honor. In contrast, Troll Slayers avoid other Dwarves; it reminds them too much of their clan less state, their disgrace and dishonor. Dwarven adventurers and Troll Slayers interact with a level of deference and will travel together so long as there are others (i.e., Humans) in the group to provide some separation between the two types of Dwarves. After all, wherever Dwarven adventurers or Troll Slayers travel, danger is sure to rear its head. Should a Troll Slayer have the misfortune of surviving combat, they may become a Giant Slayer. At this point, the Giant Slayer may journey into the Dwarf-holds to join combat units of like Dwarves (such as the Giant Slayer warrior castes of Karaz-a-Karak), but many continue their quest, alone or with groups of adventurers. Unable to meet a dignified death, the now Giant Slayer's shame is increased. They suffer more mood swings, bouts of depression and melancholy than Troll Slayers. This makes the Giant Slayer more vulnerable to dependency upon alcohol. Giant Slayers have set their sights on larger, more dangerous prey. Hence, their appellation. Dwarves in this career rarely survive their death quest. Survivors find that their tenuous hold on sanity is now stretched beyond their ability to cope. Dwarves who survive their careers as Giant Slayers become convinced of one thing; their disgrace is so heinous that honorable death is denied them. To atone for their failure and ever-increasing shame these Dwarves engage in a ritual that involves self-inflicted scarring. The patterns of these scars are as individualistic as the Dwarves themselves. This ritualized scarring and the impact of their failure takes a toll on all Giant Slayers' psyches. At this time, they become Dragon Slayers. So rare are Dragon Slayers that the cult was thought to be extinct. In fact, very few exist and they usually venture alone, away from any civilization. Due to the burden of their humiliation, Dragon Slayers shun any and all Dwarves, except in the most extreme of situations. Usually, only the most reckless and danger seeking of Humans are suitable companions for the Dragon Slayer. Dragon Slayers frequent mountains, swamps, and other remote wilderness areas. Basically, anywhere their favorite prey, Dragons, are known to lair. It is very rare that Dragon Slayers survive the wilderness and its dangers. Those very few Dragon Slayers that survive are further unhinged and become the mythical Daemon Slayers. If they haven't already, it is at this point that these Dwarves disappear from all knowledge of their race. The Island of Fire, namely the Dungeon Hythloth, calls the Daemon Slayer like a siren to a ship's captain. Daemon Slayers seem to have a sense where Daemons can be found. Some Daemon Slayers have been rumored to have located isolated holds of Demonologists and wizards and raze them to the ground. Of course, they usually eliminate the main occupant and any servants, natural and otherwise, of the hold first. The Daemon Slayer also hunts the most dangerous creatures of Britannia. The Daemon Slayers' mind is so enveloped in madness that only in the remote corner of their mind will they recognize any kinship with other Dwarves. Thus, Daemon Slayers do not feel the need to shun other Dwarves. At times Troll, Giant, and even Dragon Slayers will join a Daemon Slayer. This is usually a guaranteed method to find the death sought by all Slayers. Snorri's Story Pt I. "Ahh, krud.... Me poor nephew had to get himself killed. Blast that dammed demon spawned contraption of his... I thought helping him would get it finished faster, but instead it got the poor lad killed...." sighed Snorri to his wife. "Well, you might as well take out all o' your pain on the mine. You might actually get some Valorite out of there this time, and it might help soothe your sorrow." sympathized his wife, NalGrum. "Aye, it might...." replied Snorri. He picked up his trusty pick and shovels and walked off to the mines. After hours and hours of toiling in his mine, without even digging up a copper ore, never mind Valorite ore, he thought to himself, "I can't even mine properly, and I got my nephew killed...sigh.... I am a sorry excuse for a dwarf...." Then he realized what he must do. Snorri ran off to the forest and stripped off all his clothes except for a loin cloth, and took the Slayer’s oath. What he didn't realize before is how hard it would be to shave his beloved head of hair! He sat in the forest for hours going mad at the thought of cutting his precious hair. Finally he got so mad he started yanking on his hair. He pulled so hard he bled all over the place. His blood dyed his hair instead of the traditional Slayer dye. So much blood came out that if stiffened his hair into the Mohawk Slayer style hair. Then he fainted from blood loss. When he awoke there was something standing over him. He instinctively reached up and punched it square in the groin. It collapsed and Snorri got up and took its axe and sliced its neck. He heard the cackle of magic as the axe crunched through it's neck. The thing, he now realized was a troll, the biggest one he had ever seen!! The troll started to catch on fire then a mighty lightning blot arced from the axe into the troll just as Snorri was pulling the axe from the troll's splattered burning neck. "Blood and bloody flammin ashes!" Snorri cursed, "What in the name of Griminir?!?" He threw the axe down in fear of it. He stood a few paces from it fore a while, and then he gathered up his courage and examined it. "Ayuh! Its of dwarven make!" he mumbled to himself, "it says: Green Skin Slayer.... hmm..." He looked over at the troll's crispy fried body and realized that the troll was actually a half breed troll/Orc. "Nasty!! What could have possessed an Orc to have sex with a troll?!? Bloody Flamming Heck!!" Snorri walked over to the troll and pulled off its leg and started eating it. "I might as well get me belly full for breakfast. Oh well if this stuff is poisonous it won’t matter, It will just help me fulfill my slayer oath...." said Snorri to himself, "woo... This stuff tastes better'n me wife's cookin'!! Almost like roast goblins!!" Snorri sat there eating away at his new favorite food (next to ale and beer), for most of the morning. He found 10 Gold shillings in one of the troll's pouches, and a gourd of beer. He washed the roast troll flesh down with the beer. "Ahhh... mighten this be the best breakfast I've ever tasted!!" After Snorri finished picking his teeth with troll bones, he got up and stretched. "Oh krud! I've forgotten to tell me wife of me becoming a slayer...Oh well she won't miss me, I've been a failure all my life..." Snorri Thought to himself, "mighten as well forget me ol' life, I am a slayer now." Snorri started to walk south, while he walk he sang a dwarven folk song "there are 1000 kegs of beer on the wall 1000 kegs of beer, chug 1 down get all drunk, 999 kegs of beer on the wall. 999 kegs of beer on the wall 999 kegs of beer, chug 1 down, get all drunk, 998 kegs of beer on the wall......." When he finally finished his song, hours later, he was in sight of a small Orc village. "Damn Greenskins..." Snorri thought as he started charging into the village. His visage went red with rage and hatred as he chopped through greenskins, magical fire igniting every one of them, then bolts of lightning slamming into the already flamming Greenskins, that were running around like demented monkeys. When he finally calmed down the whole village was leveled and not a single Orc was left unscathed. He just stood there, his blood red beard shimmering in the sunlight. A half dead Orc croaked "Red Beard!!" then fell dead.

UO.com has come out with this fansite link program dojigger which allows fansites (like this one) to offer you readerfolks some more of the delicious chocolate-flavored content that I know all of you crave!

To this end, I signed up a couple minutes ago with Kerowyn to get into the fansite link program dojigger, and I suspect that an OSI representative will take a look here on the Herald to make sure I dotted my I's and crossed my T's.

Everyone smile and act happy, and for goodness sake don't tell them about Basil!... DOH, did I say that out loud?

The Hermits of Haven



The fire crackled. The hermit turned the spit slowly to get the ham done evenly. He heard cannon fire off in the distance and the sounds of battle in the forest nearby. The Haven Militia and Guards were fighting with the denizens of the valley again. He was one of the veteran citizens of Britannia that was allowed to enter that part of Haven, and he used it to his advantage. It was quiet there, relatively speaking. There weren’t that many people to deal with and those that did come were usually seeking his wisdom. His services as a Companion.

He thought about the time he’d spent in solitude there as he pulled the ham off the spit and began to take a bite out of it. How he enjoyed still having some bastion of privacy since the kingdom had opened Haven to all the citizens of Britannia. Before that time all of Haven was his sanctuary but now he was forced into a little valley. But it was a quiet home to him at least, having left the care of his estate to servants.

The hermit yawned and began to take another bite out of the ham when a crash sounded through the rattan walls of his hut. A golden katana flashed out from his robes as he went to the crude entryway to see what it was. With a grunt a heavy axe fell mere inches from his nose as he stuck his head out the doorway and the sound of excited orcs found their way to his ears. He leapt out of the hut and spun around, his katana snapping out as he moved and taking the large troll in its forearm, almost completely severing it. The hermit ran about the orcish party nipping at them with his blade as he went. The enraged snarls of the orcs stopped as he slew them one by one and they turned and fled from his hut. He considered himself lucky that the orcs in the area had no shamans, but instead chose to join with ratmen and lizardmen to terrorize the people.

The hermit sheathed his katana and unlimbered his bronze war hammer from his belt side and turn to finish off the troll. As he turned around he brought the hammer up just in time to stop the axe wielded by the troll’s good arm. He swung the hammer at the troll’s knee, shattering its kneecap with a crushing blow. The troll fell to the ground with a loud thud. The hermit brought the hammer up once again to come down on the troll’s neck, killing it instantly.

“Oh, great,” muttered Phoenix,”I’ve gotten blood all over my robe. I’ll have to go wash it in the lake again.” He sighed. Phoenix considered the need for others to live in the valley, and decided he would find someway to bring those like him together again to do their job once again. He decided to start gathering Companions to his cause.





The Hermits of Haven is a new grouping that will consist only of Companions. The purpose of the hermits is to help others, especially the youngs of Haven, but with a new twist: We will live on our own, practically alone, in an area where only youngs and companions can go, doing our best not to interfere with outsiders while living off the land on our own. The resources of the valley in Haven can support a rather large self sufficient group if properly utilized. Those interested should 1. Be a Companion, 2. Be a Companion on Great Lakes, and 3. Should be willing to live without many amenities that one takes for granted (such as banks), 4. Should contact me through the Hermits of Haven website at http://www.paladin-web-design.com/hermit/



Thank you,



Phoenix

Hermit of Haven

This news via Stratics:

Greetings Great Lakes!

The Great Lakes Alliance Community is hosting a huge Craft Fair August 3rd, Saturday 1pm CST. We will hold it in Haven at the bank area. The fair will feature crafters of all types to include blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors, tinkers, bowyers, scribes, alchemists, masons, and glassblowers. If you need anything hammered, sewn, written, repaired whatever come see one of the many grandmaster crafters that will be on hand. As an added bonus the first legendary blacksmith, Bob Vila, will be in person to give a blacksmithing lecture.

How will it work? Show up with resources in hand for the items you wish to be crafted or you may purchase the wares from those peddling their crafts. Anyone that is a self-employed professional is asked to attend the event. Set up a table and let the lines form. Pass out runes to your shop or provide gating service to your favorite business locale. If it is a lesson in a craft you wish to master then pull one of the elder craftsmen to the side and get your teaching.

The event is to have fun and do a little roleplaying of your favorite crafting profession. Come meet other players and make some new friends.

Take Care and God Bless!
www.GreatLakesAlliance.com

I awoke to a noise. A tree tapping on the side of my tower, the wind whistling through my window, the sound of thunder in the distance. But it was none of these that woke me. I opened my eyes slowly, and looked around, I could feel the presence in the room, but could see no one. I spoke the words ‘In Lor’ so I could look into the shadows, yet there was nothing there.

Accustomed to feeling the presence lately, as though someone were watching over me, I quickly got up, and turned to the table where I'd left my pouches. Peculiar. There was a book sitting beside my pouches. Quickly I strode to the table. Not recognizing the book, I opened it to the first page. The words, the writing, they were my own writing, yet I do not remember writing in this book.

After scanning through the pages, I could see it was almost a warning. But from who? How did someone get into my home without me knowing? Why was it my own writing? What was it the writing had said?

'The lands are changing quickly, though some things will always remain the same. To find the answers you seek: '

After this there were names in the book, which I could tell were various libraries, taverns, and homes throughout the lands.

I closed the book, stuffed it in my pouch and spoke the words 'Kal Ort Por', leaving my tower and the presence. Forgetting my plans for the day, I was off to the first name on the list.

Avalon
Death Scourge of Cvn

From Nate Byrd:

I apologize for the short notice of this, but the QfB meeting on Saturday is cancelled. We were not sure what the meeting would be about and I also won't be there to host it, so the meeting altogether wouldn't have served much purpose. Again, I apologize. Thank you.

The next public meeting of the High Council will be Monday the 29th of July at 8pm Central. We will be gathering in Felucca this time, in Serpent's Hold. The meeting will take place in the north east corner of the island in the meeting hall's roof (often used for weddings and receptions).

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

-Dr Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue

Salutus Maximus!

We've had a few weeks off with the lull surrounding publish 16, but now we're back in full swing with a full plate of tasty treats!

1. "Make your friends stop laughing at UO and we will give you a castle!"

Yep, they will.. maybe, you can check out the Ultima Online Buddy Program If you want to try to win a castle. All you have to do is convince a friend or two to join Ultima Online! Neat, huh? You guys are lucky though that I know a little trick to "sweepstakes". By law, they have to let you enter without a purchase. Check this out, a quote from the rules page:

You may also enter by submitting your user/screen name, email address, and date of birth to castlecontest@uo.com. No other methods of entry will be accepted. Each eligible entry will be considered a separate entry. You may be entered multiple times but are only eligible to win one prize.

(and later on)

3. Eligibility. This Program is only open to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 years of age or older at time of entry. Winners must have an active UO account to receive Prize. Employees of Origin Systems, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, representatives, advertising, promotion and publicity agencies and the immediate families of each are not eligible.

You want to win? go download ezmacros, turn on the record button, write an e-mail with the required into, then send it. Now all you do is set it to play 99999 times, and go to bed/work/whatever. Wow!

Then again, you could probably win the lottery if you bought like 11 million tickets. Heres the catch: sure, you might win a castle, but you have no control over what shard it's on. bummer!

2. "Oops, I Fertberted"

As if you didn't already have enough Dev Team members to kick around, now you got one more!

I'm the new server programmer. I work in C++ on various flavors of UNIX constructing the basic building blocks of the UO code base. Most of what the server programmers do isn't directly seen by the players -- a recent exception being the Publish 16 housing changes. Much of what we work on are new features that the designers need in order to be able to script new gameplay, and that the client programmers need in order to improve the user interface.

Yeah, his name is FertBert! This ones straight from UO.com Honest!

3. "Almost nobody likes pub16, Quick! Do something popular!"

"Okay, How about Stat Locks?" Hard to get any argument from anyone regarding Stat Locks.. people have wanted them ever since the skill lock was invented. Supposedly theyre coming "next week".. an estimate somewhat more specific than "sometime".

4. Beat stuff up, get.. to beat up more stuff?

Thats the idea behind the System of Valor. Yep, if you kill enough monsters at a chamopin spawn, you can use your special Valor Powers to activate an inactive champion spawn. Judging from spending 2 minutes at a champion spawn, this means that all champion spawns will be active all the time! Of course, the document isnt too detailed yet, so who knows?

5. "I loved the controversy of Pub16, can I please get that as a vet reward?"

Yes! The New 4 and 5 year vet rewards have been announced. Say goodbye to decoration kits, say hello to etherial ki-rins and swamp dragons! If youre lucky enough, you might just say hello to an extra 20 points of skill cap.

6. Just in case you didnt notice pub16...

OSI's done a nice little Review for you. Maybe now I can figure out what the heck a Fire Horn does.. maybe not.

7. My little FLAMING PONY!

I don't usually cover UO.com's spotlight section because it usually a story about some guy learning that a Pitchfork is a fencing weapon. This week's caught my eye though.. Behold!
Aside from wanting to be a fairy princess, owning Barbie dolls, and cooking pastry with a lightbulb.. All little girls want ponies. Its no secret. What OSI has done here is upped the ante, theyve analyzed the "girls want ponies" gene and made a calculated effort to exploit it in adult women. That's right! The fire pony is carefully calculated to make women go nuts and want one!

In related news, I have 50 gallons of leftover neon orange paint. All you guys having trouble getting dates send me an e-mail, and you can paint yourself.. the women will go for it.. trust me!

8. Thieves, you cant be uber yet, sorry

So sayeth Greywolfe:

It is true that stealth and stealing scrolls have not been added to the game. It is possible that stealth might be added in the future; we are looking at balance issues that the addition might have. Stealing scrolls are not possible at this time, due to the way that stealing is coded. Although adding the scrolls for stealing would have an effect on the thief's title, there would be no difference between what a GM thief and a Legendary thief could steal. We're looking at possible fixes for this issue, but it's not something that will be changed in the very near future.

9. Looking like a fish might be sooner than you think!

This one borrowed from UO Stratics:
Some of you might remember when they announced that you could look like a fish if you wanted to.. it was some time ago, before the last scenario even started. Well, dont fret, your new fish suit is still on its way according to Tajima.

Dont like fish? You can also look like a Disney Character or a guy that has to pee.

10. Better start saving that $30 now!

Age of Shadows is coming!
What is Age of Shadows?
Its the next UO expansion!
Why should you buy it?
Because you can design your own house!
What does this mean?
There will be thousands of poorly-designed neon-colored houses all over Britannia!

SCORE!

Thats about all I have for this week folks. Remember: Never write a TDU when you have been up for 22 hours straight!

From Damon Omenborn:

‘Come on lads’, Damon Omenborn shouted in the rain. ‘The city’s not far now’. Visible through the rain was a small band of dwarves. Burdened with heavy packs on their backs, following their leader, Lord Damon Omenborn, they continued on the path sloping up a small hillside. Through the rainy fog, a faint silhouette was visible in the distance. ‘Look lads! There it is. Can’t ya smell all that loot just waiting for us?’ a few of the dwarves cheered, the others grumbled something as they looked out from beneath their cloaks and stumbled on up the muddy road. Water washed around their boots as they marched on and left deep footprints in the ground. Soon, the prints were all washed away and nothing remained of the passing dwarves. Keran Blackstone looked up to where Damon had pointed a minute ago and what he saw did not raise a smile on his face. How did he ever get himself in to this? At first everything seemed interesting, but now this whole thing meant nothing more than another scar on his face. Silently he moved on. The rain seemed to increase the weight of the pack strapped on his back. It was probably soaking up the rain like a dry acre soaking up the first rain of the fall. He wondered if all the others were feeling this to. After a few hours marching they took a short rest under a few blackened tree stumps. The rain had cleared but for how long. The trees weren’t going to provide any kind of shelter and all they had to sit on were a few knocked down trees and a few wet rocks popping out of the ground. All of the dwarves were soaked to the bone and a few wringed their beards, hoping to get the water out. Another few were getting some rations from their packs and others were looking if there was anything the rain hadn’t soaked. ‘Well look at that lads. Were almost there. Tomorrow and we’ll be fingering that precious verite ore’ Kadrin laughed. ‘We’ll get stinking rich!’ he bellowed. The others looked out from beneath their brows and a few managed to grin faintly. The thought of getting their hands on some of that precious rock did seem good to them. And it would make them stinking rich. And then there was the thought of the gold from slaying all those fell beast that was sure to cross their path. Keran Blackstone had heard about the stories told by other adventurers who had dared to venture near Lord Blackthorns Castle and managed to get out again, that once you had passed the walls of the damned castle. Infesting the castle like so many rats, are the evil Juka, Juggernauts, Betrayers, and even Controllers. Only the brave and some would say foolish, dare risk this journey. But Keran gripped his crossbow with both hands and cranked the string. ‘What ya doing lad?’ Snorri asked. ‘Your not going to shoot at us are ya?’ he laughed. Keran hadn’t realized what he’d been doing, but quickly released the pressure and looked around. He wondered how long his mind had been away. ‘S-sorry’ he stuttered. Snorri laughed loud. Keran was shocked, thinking that anyone inside the city could hear him and knew it didn’t matter to the half mad Dwarf Slayer they were seeking death and what did it matter it him if here was the place to die. All these dark thought filled him with fear, but then he remembered what the old slayer had said to him. “Don’t worry lad,” Snorri had said, “Snorri not let anyone lay a hand on you if I can have something to say about it.” These words calmed the young dwarf and he managed to shut his eyes for a while. ‘Come on lad, wake up’ Snorri shouted at Keran as he pushed the dwarf over with his foot, another dwarf approached from the mist. “Do you mind keeping your voice down, who knows what’s hiding in this fog. There’s no honor about getting killed in an ambush.” Keran woke with a shock. He looked around but all he could see were Snorri standing next to him and that other dwarf, Durak, or something, just within sight range. ‘Where is everybody?’ Keran said standing up. “Everybody” Snorri said, is waiting for you! Your snoring kept all of us awake and since we couldn’t shut you up without killing you, we decided to move on. So how’s about it, are ya coming?” “ how long has this been going on and how old is he” asked Jerem as he slung a pack on his back and moved on, Keran quickly grabbed his things and with one last look around, followed after Jerem. A few yards ahead were the others but he could only see them if they were standing next to him. ‘Ya can barely see your own hand in front a’ your face!’ Mistral said as Keran came standing next to him. The thought of being ambushed in a fog like this one always discouraged Keran and he was sure there was evil around in the area, especially so close to the castle. Without a word the company moved on. Up front there were Damon and Jerem, the Dwarf ranger. Behind them were two Ironbreakers fingering their great hammers and peering out into the fog. Behind them walked Snorri and Gotrek with their magic axes over their shoulders and talking. They showed no sign of any fear, what did you expect of slayers. Then came Keran and Durak, peering into the mist as well and fingering their weapons while behind them a single dwarf was with the packhorse’s guarding the rear. They marched on and on for several hours and Keran was wondering if the fog wasn’t leading them away from the city, although that thought somehow didn’t displease him. But then another thought came to mind. If they weren’t going towards the city, where were they going? Snorri looked at him for a short while, as if he could read the dwarf’s mind, and then peered back into the mist again. Although it was a summer’s day and it should be about three o’clock in the afternoon, things were as dark as a mine without torches. Back home everyone would be working in the mines or in the fields with the goats, but here they were marching through a fog as thick as a brick wall, heading towards a evil stricken castle filled with treasure and evil monsters guarding it. Keran had never seen a Juka before but the descriptions that the old man in the tavern had given them was more than he wanted to know. He just hoped this was over soon. Finally they stopped. The fog had cleared up a bit about an hour ago, but Keran still didn’t feel right. Damon spoke: “all Right laddies, Jerem here says we should be in the castle in about an hour, maybe two. If we get there we should all keep our eyes out for baddies. We have a lot of verite ore to carry, and I don’t want to carry any of your corpses too, all right?’ he said. The dwarves looked at him with a sincere face. Lord Damon laughed out loud. The other dwarfs let out a short laugh, hardly worth mentioning and Damon continued. ‘Right then. If we’re to believe crazy old Azgul, the castle should be swarming with Juka’s. I don’t know if any of you’ve ever seen Juka before, but if they pop up, don’t worry. A good firm blow to their necks should remove their heads and, if they survive, they’ll not be bothering us again. Right then, any questions? No, then lets get going,” He turned around and walked on again, followed by Jerem and the others. ‘Do you think we’ll be running into those Juka in there?’ Durak asked. ‘Don’t know’, Keran said, too busy with his own thoughts. ‘I hope not, but then again, the practice do us good.’ Durak continued. He spoke all the way until the castle walls appeared within sight and all the dwarves fell silent and looked up with open mouths. They stared at its magnificent walls. ”I heard this castle just appeared from out a no where.” Dillon finally said. ”Well, if it did, there’s not much left to show what was here”, one of the Ironbreakers said. It was Ultan, and he hadn’t said a word all day. ”I wonder what’ll be waiting fur us inside.” Dillon said as he came up from behind. Damon checked his crossbow and made a practice aim. Snorri gripped his axe and seemed happy of sorts. He made a practice swing through the air and Jerem gripped his quarterstaff with both hands. Gotrek got his axe from his belt and the Ironbreakers shifted their hammers too. Keran check the war mace on his belt and moved his quarrel of bolts from his back to the front of his belt.. ‘Let’s get moving then’ Damon led ahead towards the castle. The road led them over a huge arched bridge, which foundations stood deep in the river that flowed under it. The end of the pillars disappeared in the fog deep below. It was an eerie fog. The bridge was a few hundred yards wide and the Dwarves moved cautiously over it, as if it was able to shift and fall any minute, but the bridge could have held another thousand over their number, so their caution was quite unnecessary. The great walls of the castle were filled with holes, probably struck by catapults of armies that had been her before. As they moved under its gate Keran did get the feeling he was being watched. Cautious he searched the walls, looking for anyone who was looking at him! He granted the others a quick view and he saw that they were examination the walls too. Slowly the company walked through the ruined gate. One of the two great doors was lying halfway into the ground and the second was hanging on its last hinge. Keran looked at it and realized that the hinge itself was three times larger than he was. He wondered how they ever found a tree large enough to make that door out of, not to mention two! Within the walls itself there seemed to be chambers. Whole stairways could be seen disappearing into the walls. ‘If this is only the beginning’, Keran thought, ‘I wonder how the rest of castle will look like’. The Dwarf’s moved on only slowly, because they were staring at the workings carved in the castle walls. Keran was looking high up over his head and suddenly he thought he saw something move. ‘Lads’, he whispered without turning his head, ‘Lads, look. Up there!’ He nodded in the direction he was looking. ‘What is it?’ Durak asked. ‘Do you think its Juka’s?’ He asked as he was standing next to the young Dwarf. ‘Don’t know I didn’t get a clear sight. It moved to fast. But there’s something there. I’m sure!’ The tone he said it with made the other dwarves shiver. ‘I suggest we move on quickly’, one of the Ironbreakers said as he looked up. The other dwarves only nodded their hairy heads. ‘I bet there’s lot of verite ore up there though’, Durak said with a greedy glint in his eyes. His eyes always glinted like that when he spoke of verite ore. ‘Yes, and I bet you there’s lots of death too!’ Snorri said. Keran could see what Snorri was thinking. Without a word the company took up their pace, cautiously looking for anything they might see up in the walls. The halls before them were filled with rubble and white bones. Bones of stupid adventurers who thought they could get in and out quickly, without getting into trouble. Now the dwarves were hoping for getting in and out without getting into trouble too, but they weren’t counting on it. Keran kept both hand on his crossbow at all times and the Ironbreakers held their hammers in their hand constantly. They moved in and out of ruined rooms all the time. Sometimes they didn’t even know they were in a room until they encountered a front door leading out. And everywhere they went were bones, some of humans and others of unknown origin. At first the dwarves were shocked to see so many dead bodies but after a while they forgot to care about it. They hadn’t encountered anything alive, except for a few small rats scuttling away as they approached, and a few black crows looking for carrion amongst the ruins. All flew away as the dwarves came closer. But the thing that puzzled the dwarves minds the most was that everywhere they found a corpse, there wasn’t a shred of Armour or weapon left. All they found were broken arrows and massive charred wounds covering the corpses. They had spent the entire afternoon searching the castle, and yet they’d only seen a very small part of the entire palace. ‘Some thing about this place spooks me’ Damon after they stumbled across another ‘naked’ corpse. ‘Who’s taking the weapons off of these bodies. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to enter with out even a dagger to defend themselves.’ And as he finished his sentence, a spear came whistling through the air and struck into a wooden doorway. The dwarves as one aimed their crossbows into the direction from where the spear was thrown, but nothing could be seen. Nervously Keran cranked his crossbow and placed a bolt in the firing slide. ‘All right lads, prepare for company’, Damon said as he crept on alone towards the place where the spear had been thrown from. The others followed him at a few paces. Tension was wrecking the Dwarf’s minds, except for the Slayers, who didn’t fear death; Damon had been in tougher situations, and Gotrek was excited to get into a fight. ‘Come on then, show yourselves’ he bellowed and immediately three large Juka’s leapt out of one of the rooms chittering in their foul kind of language and clutching their weapons. One was armed with huge claws made of iron and tied on to his hands, (if hands they were). The castle echoed with the clash of bolts on metal from the crossbows as two of three Juka’s were struck down by dwarves bows. The third jumped up into the air and straight for Damon, but the dwarf smacked the Juka in mid air with back of his crossbow, sending the Juka flying back into the ruined room. It didn’t get up again… To be continued

Next on 'When 13 Year Olds Attack'!
He was just a small boy, from a small town. A star football player, no one would have figured something like this could happen.

Crying Woman: "It's so horrible, I can't believe he did it! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

Old Man shaking his head: "Just a shame, a damn rotten shame."


What happened? Another 13 year turned violent, a violence that would only end a killing spree.


Ok, enough ripping off the lame FOX shows directed towards the red-neckism in all of us.

Nick was right, we witnessed history. We witnessed someone totally self-destruct and try to drag down the rest of the community with him in a temper tantrem. Then, when it seems as if the community is unphased and ready to move on, they get mad and go on a massive non-rp killing spree.

How many ways can you spell attention problem? I mean, come on, putting yourself as King is one way to get the spotlight, but then trying to trash the QfB page, then trying to PK the roleplaying community?

Since you don't want to be a part of the roleplaying community anymore, I'll treat you like the dewds you are. I was a dewd for three years, so I will put things in perspective for you, while giving you the dewd grief talk you give.

Dovolick (2:11 PM) :
frankly, i think its best that the QfB was halted.
it turned into a place, where the board was full of nothing but hate. i mean, all the incoming threads were bitter. i even found myself cought in the game. His ICQ is filled with hate mail. wouldnt you leave?

Yea, thats nice for you pal. I am glad to hear your little heart is broken. I am crying, no really, I am shedding a tear for all the sins of the world. I think god just killed a kitten, so sad.

Sorry, did you bother to think about us? The community. Yeah, big daddy started the community, but then again, he turned over the keys to that ferrari to us. When he gave us the keys, it was no longer his. It wasn't his decision to 'kill' QfB. Or did big daddy forget that?

So much for him stepping out of the way...

r0xxx0red

From Marcus

I took down this site, and the message boards for the community for many reasons. Undoubtedly many of you will feel that I should not have done so, and that somehow, that too was wrong of me. The difference this time, is that I won't have to listen to it, or be compelled to answer the charges.


You know, I remember when I told you that I wasn't posting ToM news when it was interferring with my quest, you turned and said, "Who made you god?"

Well Marcus, this was not your decision. This would have been a decision of ours. QfB should have taken all your mod powers and put up their own page before this to avoid your little temper tantrem. But yet again, I, as well as other QfB members, was hoping you might not pull a shit stunt like you did with RKB. But you made a decision for all of us by trying to kill QfB.

Who made you god Marcus?

j00 suck!

Yes.... This has come to my attention as well...Let it be known from this day forward the First Army Of Britannia and their hired mercenaries will not longer be considered allies to the Ankh. They were seen attacking an enemy guild in a dungeon and griefing their play, also have been seen trash talking and OOC kewl dood speak all over the world, including their hometown of Skara.

Geez, now you are running around res killing people? What the hell? People move on without you, now you are pissed and start trying to ruin their fun? Talk about childish. I am starting to wonder if big daddy is 13 years old too.

Is it just me that is noticing a bunch of little kewl dewds mad cause 'their' sandbox doesn't want them to play in it anymore?

Their solution? Screw roleplaying, screw war rules, lets just kill for the fun of it.

l0s3r5

But you see, alot of us here in the roleplaying community don't like it when you try to pick on us. Some of us, people like Zand of ToM, go and whoop the asses of little pricks that try to screw over the rp community.

What happens when you mess with us?

This





0wn3d



Say 'farewell' to Marcus here.

Hail Readers!

The Herald Banner Exchange has 107 organizations on it, many of which are not active. On August 1 I will be going around to the various sites represented and checking for appropriate coding, etc. I will also be removing inactive or defunct guilds which no longer exist from the rotation.

Those of you who have signed up for the exchange, but your banner is not in rotaton, please mail me and I will tell you what you need to do to get it fixed.

Thanks!
--Nick

From Lealla:

Well Folks the rumors are true The QfB message boards and main site have been deleted. Does that mean the end of the QfB? A resounding Hell no! was heard throughout the lands.. As my grandmother always said." One door shuts in front of you, open a window" New message boards and a New QfB web site will be up and operational soon! So stay tuned folks.. together we shall overcome! There will be a meeting Tomorrow evening at 9pm central for all QfB Gm's or their Representative. We will gather at the Serpent's Hold Councillor's Hall and then gate to the meeting location. We ask that each guild to please send only one representative.

I dont know if this counters the other meeting, or what the deal is what that. I suppose some confusion is to be expected after their ordeal.

This information taken from "The Kings Castle" site:

I wish you all well. I hope that somehow, in the future, someone will come to Great Lakes that can bring about real change. I am not that man, and will no longer walk this shard. I have made many friends here, and to them I bid a fond farewell.

I took down this site, and the message boards for the community for many reasons. Undoubtedly many of you will feel that I should not have done so, and that somehow, that too was wrong of me. The difference this time, is that I won't have to listen to it, or be compelled to answer the charges.

I removed the forum and the site because I strongly feel that what I founded here has done more harm than good. Many will now say, 'I told you so', and in fact they did. I chose not to listen because I have a naive faith in humanity. I was wrong. While there are good people among us who strive for the betterment of all, we also have detractors in our midst who will stop at nothing until all is lost.

For that reason, I have removed their voice, or at least the medium I created myself. It is my feeling that our only defense against their treachery is to not allow them a public forum to spread their poison. I built a stage upon which they stood and tainted us all. I apologize to you all for that gross error in judgment.

Be well my friends. Try not to listen to negative. Try not to be offended or distracted by attacks on your character, for they will surely come again. Ignore them if you can, and take your light to those who would appreciate it. Be well, ....enjoy.

Marcus

From Nate Byrd:

Quest for Britannia had recently gone through hard times... many know this.. This post is for all of the guildmasters that were involved with QfB. Lealla, Destiny, Lore Dennin, Lady Lust and I will be hosting a meeting SATURDAY, JULY 27TH at the SERPENTS HOLD COUNSELOR'S GUILD at 8 PM CST. This will be to discuss the future of QfB, as we know we can make it through these difficult times. Our pigeons are as follows - Lore Denin (96629882), Destiny (98868633), Lealla (46628339), Lady Lust (153898470) and Nate Byrd (1743120). Thank you for yer time!

Sometime during the first of May, there was a new roleplay community on the scene. They popped up beginning with Rath Stonesouls bid for king. It's leader, Marcus provided a webpage and forums for its members. It seems though that from the start "The Quest" was cursed.

Perhaps one of the more public problems the Quest encountered was the frustrations of Rath Stonesoul. Rath found himself caught in the middle of a sea of politics, he quickly burned out and quit UO altogether. The exact details of how and why Rath quit I leave to the rumor mill.

Another problem the Quest faced was a constant, droning adversary. Most people who didn't join QfB had very passionate opinions why they thought QfB was a bad idea. Some of these people went so far as to carry on personal attacks vs QfB founders and bigwigs. The founders and bigwigs tired of the constant barrage and resigned.

Not all of the dirision same from without, some came from the QfB's own members. It's no secret that many times people do not agree, and it is also common for these persons to express their opinions passionately, and sometimes scathingly.

Despite the vexing which QfB seemed stuck with, QfB did do some good. It brought together roleplayers of many different creeds. It encouraged those people with those creeds to work together.. and work together they did, for a time. They even managed to work out specific war rules, and siege systems. An impressive accomplishment.

Our own history has a similar parable: The story of the Tower of Babel. Long ago, men spoke the same language, and so they were united. They determined to build a tower which would reach into Heaven so that they could meet God. God destroyed the tower, and changed their languages so that they could never again collaborate on such a project. The moral being that doing the right thing for the wrong reasons will never allow you to succeed.

This Morning, the Quest for Britannia's forums disappeared, and one can only assume that with Marcus recently killing himself that he pulling out from the whole project. The future of QfB is certainly in peril.

We dont often post guest rants, but here is an exception to the rule. They say that knowledge is power, so please avail yourself of this opportunity to gain knowledge.

Hi.. I've never ranted before here, please be gentle with me. In fact, I think I'm a rant virgin, but here goes..

RIGHT! I have a few things to say, here. Firstly, there's some things in UO with regards to roleplaying that you can and cannot do. And it's not about physically being unable to do it, it's about being ethical in your roleplaying. What am I talking about? Well, I'll explain it:

1. You can't claim or roleplay something if it is incapable of being done or if it relies on another character you aren't in cooperation with. When this rule is broken, I call it Arbitrary Roleplaying. Let me give some examples:
A. You can't roleplay having a special power that allows you to fly. I'm sorry, but you just can't fly in UO, how can you roleplay it?
B. You can't roleplaying having a special sword that steals another player's soul when you hit them with it. If it was part of a quest, and the player you're hitting was PLAYING ALONG, then sure. But it's not possible to just go around hitting people with your sword and expect them to play along.
C. AHEM -- you cannot write up a letter from Lord British and give it to yourself and then say to the rp community "Hey guys, guess what? Lord British just gave me a letter saying I'm king!". There's some little guidelines you have to go by here. That's like writing myself a letter from Origin saying that I now have the power to ban people and anyone I say is banned shouldn't log in again.. even though they still can.

2. You cannot put words in to other people's mouth. Such as, I dunno, prime fiction characters. Let me give an example:
A. Writing yourself a letter from Lord British saying you're the new King. What if Origin places new Kings on each of the servers, appointed in a scenario? Suddenly, your story line is contridicted. What if Lord British comes back? Suddenly, your story line is contridicted. And LB is a real person, unfortunately. I doubt he would approve of someone writing a letter from him.

3. If you're going to do an event, make sure you give it some forethought. Let me give an example:
A. Say you've just pushed a player character to be the new King of Britannia and then have him kill himself. Here are some things to keep in mind when the body is discovered:
a. You can't discover the body if the person who died is in a locked room with the only key on his possession
b. if you do accidently do that, don't turn around and decide that the guard who discovered the body had a key after all
c. then after that, don't change your mind again and say that there are three keys
d. Then AFTER THAT, don't turn around and decide that the body isn't even IN the locked room; it is instead upstairs on a table
c. When your event comes to the point where the players need to see the body, try to have something to represent the body. Such as a pile of bones or some body parts. Don't just say the body is a table.

*loses his rant virginity*

Oh.. it feels so Gooooood!


-Redlow

Tell Redlow he sucks here!

My humblest apologies to everyone, but a serious issue has arisen in real life, and as such, tomorrow will not be conducive to a meeting. Instead, I am moving the date forward one week to next Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM CST at the Magincia Parliament building on the southeast corner of the isle (Trammel Facet). Again, I apologize for the short notice, but this was entirely unexpected.

Thank you,


Ra'Dian's player

From Dusty:

About a year ago, the Great Lakes Player Seer Organization hosted a faire at the Skara Brae fairgrounds. The faire was a huge success thanks to the many guilds that participated. It is a year later and we wish to do it again. The faire is planned for August 24th at the Skara Brae fairgrounds. We hope that this year’s faire is even bigger. This is why we are asking any guild, organization, or player establishment that would like to participate e-mail me at Dusty_54665@hotmail.com. We are in need of one-time events that would take place at a specific time, and events that go on all day long. Thank you for your support.

Hallu everyone!

You might notice the rant icon to the right side there, and then you notice my name on the headline and say "woah, Nicks ranting!" Well, sort of. This is probably the only time I will ever use the rant icon, so I suppose you could consider this to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.. but, I am not here to rant, I am here to make a very important request of all of you readers out there in.. er.. readerland.

You, the roleplaying community of Great Lakes, are about to experience history in the making. For those of you who have been around for awhile, you will experience history repeating itself.

So, this I ask of you.. young or old, good or evil, veteran or newbie.. pay attention, remember what happens, why it happens, and how it happens. In the future, this information will prove to be invaluable to you.

Thanks for reading, folks. Enough of that ranting baloney, back to the news!

Just a very brief annoucement...

The next public meeting of the High Council will be held Monday, July 22nd at 8pm CST in the parliment building in Magincia, Trammel. Look forward to seeing everyone there!


-Dr. Jerred Ghyss
Chancellor of Virtue, High Council

A press release direct from the Electronic Arts:

ORIGIN SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF
ULTIMA ONLINE AGE OF SHADOWS

For the First Time, UO Players Will Be Able to Design and Build Their Own Houses


AUSTIN, Texas, July 16, 2002 -- Origin Systems™, an Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) development studio, today announced the development of Ultima Online™ Age of Shadows, the most ambitious expansion in the award-winning Ultima Online™ (UO) series. In Age of Shadows, fans will be introduced to two new professions and an exciting new realm to explore and settle. In addition to the expanded availability of housing, a 'House Design Tool' will also be included in this latest version.

"Housing has been one of the key features of UO since its launch in 1997, "said Ben Noel, vice president and chief operating officer of Origin Systems. "We are continuously looking for ways to improve and expand the fun factor of owning a home in Britannia. Not only will Age of Shadows create more housing availability, but the new custom-design feature will allow all our players much more creativity when building a house."

The immersive nature of Ultima Online's world continues to expand through the introduction of the House Design Tool. This tool, accessible to anyone who owns a house within the game, will allow players to build new houses from scratch or modify existing ones with compelling new structures, spatial elements and textures.

In addition to building homes, players will have two new professions to master: a Paladin and a Necromancer. The chivalrous Paladin is a courageous warrior fortified with awesome new powers and the cunning Necromancer is wielder of the darkest magic and forbidden secrets. As players role-play either of these two opposing forces they will discover a large new landmass to conquer and to settle.

As players explore this new area within the game, they will be able to utilize an enhanced magic system featuring new spells and powerful items. Additionally, new combat techniques and weapons add more depth and challenge to the fighting experience, and will be useful when facing the dozens of new monsters roaming the dark realm.

Age of Shadows will debut in early 2003 and will offer continuing new intrigue through ongoing fictional scenarios in which players often determine the outcome.

Ultima Online has 225,000 subscribers and is played in more than 50 countries located in every time zone.

What do you think?

From Gem:

The stinky, friendly fishers of the Fishing Council of Britannia (FCB) have a public service for the citizens of Great Lakes. We have established a fleet of free ferries throughout the realm. Our stalwart new boatswains, Hunter and Alex, will be maintaining a free ferry for public use in each of the following Trammel towns: Britain, Maginica, Moonglow, Vesper, Skara Brae, Trinsic, and Minoc. Look for our ships at the docks (the plank will be down) in these fine communities. The Minoc boat will be west of Town Hall. Our swains will keep the boats refreshed, and sail them back to home port as needed. Use these sailing vessels for improving your fishing, taking your date out for a Sunday sail, or just to learn the allure of the sea. Please leave a note in the book in the hold and let us know if you enjoyed it.

Hail all citizens of the city of Magincia, and all who hold interest therein!

This coming Tuesday, July 23 at 8:00PM (CST), I wish to meet with those who are interested in the future of Magincia. The town meeting shall take place in the parliamentary building on the southeast edge of the isle. The topics of discussion are to include:

What issues, if any, you would like to see addressed to the High Council?
What can we do to bring interest to Magincia (such as craft fairs, treasure hunts, and other such events)?
What else would you like to see happening in Magincia?

I take my role as Councilor of Magincia seriously, and would like to see an increase in the trade and economic stature of the city, as well as see some interest returned to this fine isle. Any who are interested in such, I beg of thee to attend, that we might work together towards our common goals.

Yours in humility,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia, City of Humility
Priest of the Azure Dragons

From Jasmine and Dark Fool:

Stars glistened in the night sky like diamonds on a bed of velvet, as two young lovers strolled through the lush green fields of Haven. A gentle breeze whispered sweet nothings through the boughs of the ancient trees adding to the hushed beauty. He turned to gently kiss her, taking her hand he dropped to one knee. Staring lovingly into her eyes he asked her to forever bind her heart to his. With a tear of joy sliding down her cheek she replied yes.

Congratulations to Dark Fool and Jasmine!!!

No wedding date has been set.

From Zeph:

Unlike many of my former notices this note is not calling the people to action. The people of Britannia have lost their will to speak and act for themselves. The desire to change the land, to shape it into something great is there but they do not show it. I even lost my will to encourage people to stand up and fight for what they beleive. The people are the soul of Britannia. We talk of Lord British being the shaper of Britannia and of Virtue. Where would he have gone should the people not been there to support him? I hear people say that a people cannot exsist without leadership. Leadership also cannot exsist without a people. My point is simple, the High Council does not lead the people. The people lead themselves now, one defined Lord cannot cut it as it was shown. The Council had potential but now they too have failed. If this land is to have a defined leadership they must capture the hearts of the people. I will say this again, those who are labeled Rebels and traitors are for the most part agreeing with what I have wrote. As long as people blindly follow this Council freedom will never be truly attained. The cold fact is that the people have lost their voices. Millions of people are silenced because of lies, time, and propaganda. Please note that is is not a call to action but a call to the closed hearts of the people. Speak up on behalf of the people, of you and the ones you love.

Another hasitly scrawled note that indicates anger towards the newly elected High Council of Britannia. As one of the Councilors upon this new Council, I must wonder wherein this hostility lies. I knew in volunteering to serve the public in the name of Britannia that I would be subjecting myself to dangers and diplomatic problems and all other sorts of unusual events. We have been threatened by the Atalan, the Bregan D'Aerth have had issue with us (which is still under investigation), bandits, rogues, and rebels have all begun to form their own councils for fear that we would not give them their desired ear. True that bandits and rogues, if committing crimes against innocents, would not likely receive our ear as they would like, but even so, a council formed of bandits is not going to be recognized by innocents either without much prestidigitation.

Now we face an unknown. Who is here for reasons that we do not know. And he or she is angry. Angry at us because we are... old?

Maybe I've missed some of the activities of the other councilors, or perhaps I am blinded by my own faith, but I am certain that my ear is open to those who would like to avail themselves of it. We cannot work to correct issues if we are not made aware of them. There are a number of councilors, elected as a body because we would have differing opinions and differing ideas. If you have issue with one councilor, your best bet would be to approach another.

In with the old and out with the new... sometimes a valid cry; sometimes the old guard is jaded and corrupt. If such is the case, then change should be made. I do not believe such is the case currently, particularly as the council is itself not very old, and just begun rolling forth.

All of this said, I welcome anyone who would like to contact me to send me letter ((to radian@alterythem.com)) or to visit me at the Temple of Nexchronosis in Dracona. I will also soon be announcing regular hours that I may be found within the city of Magincia. All of this failing, you may post upon the bulletin board of the High Council, and seek audience.

I would much rather discuss what issues that people may have and work to correct them than to face another threat of war or expulsion or execution for being a representative of Britannia. Together we can affect great changes and great events. Continued threats to the High Council do nothing but show us that we must work harder, but without knowing what is at issue, we cannot correct anything.

Thank you,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councilor of Magincia, City of Humility
High Priest of the Azure Dragons

*a scratchy note was found signed by ???*



You people don't even know who I am or why Im here. The Old has to go and the New has to step up to the plate. The guys and me, were not the bad guys. Were not evil, were not demon worshiping wackos. Were just a little ticked off. Ticked off at this Council or whatever you call it. The Rebels well all I can say about them is that theyre a Joke. Sure you will all calls us rebels when the time arrives. Quite frankly we don't care what you think! Not only are we going to take over Britannia but were going to destroy everything that gets in our way! The new order is coming, be afraid... be very very afraid.

The second public meeting of the newly formed High Council brought startling news of the good and bad ilk. However, before I get to the potentially dreadful news, I'd first like to take a moment to thank the Brother Hood of Light for their valiant rescue of Vesper's council member, Lilly Than. You have our most sincere thanks.

As for the startling revelations.. After some general discussion about open positions in the council and voting soon to take place, information on the once-dead Basil Stag Hare was presented before the council.

What the council knows:
-Rumors almost certainly true are abound that Basil Stag Hare is alive once more
-A seer named Thanos confirmed that Basil's spirit was not among the dead
-The two reagents needed to ressurect Basil were in possession by Ariyana Sune

Despite this jaw-dropping, forboding news (although, the arguement was made that Basil could have been changed for the better by his time in the world of the dead), some good news was also presented. It would appear that one of the last - if not the last - Dragon Knight, EdGuardo, could perhaps be alive once more again as well. Which certainly brought the light of hope to a meeting otherwise filled with dread.

More was brought up as well, such as a supposedly authentic letter from Lord British appointing an heir to the throne.

The discussion will, of course, likely be continued again during the next public meeting. All are welcome to attend. Announcements regarding the meeting will be made soon.

-Doctor Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue of the High Council

I guess its part of moving up in the world of journalism. You make some noise at the lower levels by being a loud mouth, then you move up to where they actually expect you to be respectful.

So if you didn't know already, Stratics hired me to write articles for the World of Warcraft site. Ultima Online is still the greatest game out there, and I think the Herald is the best site there can be for giving roleplaying news to the community. Yet the fact is, eventually we are all going to leave UO.

Does this mean I am leaving the Herald or UO? No. So you can stop dancing Lotus, really, put yourself back in your chair and stop dancing.

I am still going to be here, giving my wicked and cruel view on the community of Great Lakes, but I will also now be writing at Stratics.

What kinda articles am I going to be writing for Stratics? Ones that apply more to game mechanics and what would be better for us, the players. I won't be able to drop any f-bombs or stuff like that, so my articles will be tamer. Yet at the same time, I really think I've taken the quality of them up a notch.

I'll give you a brief quote from it.

Take that chill and turn it into something that would scare us in a MMORPG. Let’s go back to the part of only being able to see six feet in front of our faces with a torch. Add the breathing and subtle heart beat of a dragon to the sounds that surround us. If possible, give it an echo effect that travels down the dungeon hall. Now the man next to us starts chattering about how the last person he heard that came down here got swallowed whole, all valuables were lost. Maybe they are now in the belly of the dragon? Now I am starting to get that thrill. Do I want to turn back and save my precious weapons and armor? Or, do I want to forge ahead for riches and glory?

You can read the entire article here. It is called 'Will We Find Adventure'.

If you want to comment on the article, go here.

I hope you all feel the same way about finding that sense of adventure in a MMORPG.

Via Stratics:

On July 20th at 1pm by the Eastern sky, the Carnival of Souls will be hosting our first PvP event! It's a throwback to the games of ancient Rome with the improvised gladiator games! Below are the rules and guidelines for all competitors... Anyone interested in competing should meet on the road in front of the East Britain bank at the designated time.

RULES:
1) There is an entrance fee of 5000 gp for this event with all monies going towards 1-3rd place prizes PLUS various other prizes thrown in as well!
2) All competitors will join Carnival of Souls PvP guildstone for this event. All competitors will be removed from the guild stone as soon as the event is over.
3) ALL competitors will begin the competition wearing only a loin cloth!
4) ALL competitors will begin with NOTHING in their backpacks EXCEPT a spellbook (Not even a Runebook will be allowed). We will have several folk on hand who will check everyone's packs to ensure everyone is on the up and up.
5) Pets of ANY type will NOT be allowed. This includes MOUNTS of all types, including ethereal mounts! However, if there are animals in the arena you may tame them and use them!!
6) Poison will be allowed IF you are able to acquire the necessary items to make them with once the competition has begun.
7) All competitors will meet at the East Bank in Britain 60 minutes before the competition begins and must pay your entry fee at this time. Once your entry fee has been paid then you will be gated to the guild stone location to be put on the stone for the event.
8) At the designated time we will have 2 of our Guild Mages open gates to the "arena". If you miss one of these gates we will open 2 more right after the first ones close but please keep in mind that those who DID make it through the first 2 gates WILL have a head start on you so PLEASE make sure you are there to go through the first pair of gates.
9) Once you go through the gates you will arrive at the arena. In the arena there will be various items of destruction placed around it on the ground. There will various weapons, reagents, bandages, crafting tools, crafting resources etc... for the competitors to use in order to prove triumphant. There will be something for every fighting class in the game to combat with (Including mages).
10) Items MAY be looted from fallen competitors.
11) Anything goes. However, we are highly discouraging hiding or invising. if you hide or invis and remain that way for more than ONE minute at a time then you will be removed from the competition.
12) Anyone leaving the Arena area will be immediately disqualified!!
13) The last person standing wins the competition.
14) We will have numerous folk there to bring fallen warriors back from the grave.
15) Once the competition is completed we will Gate all competitors back to the East Bank in Britain.
16) All rulings are in the hands of the event coordinator, Fate. That's right, your destiny is in the hands of Fate. If you are found to be abusing any of the rules then you will be terminated with great haste.
17) Please direct any questions regarding this event to CarnivalOfSouls@hotmail.com

NOTE: We would like to thank Guardians of the Undead Lords for their inspiration of this event!

They released some additional information on "Guaranteed Gain System Jul 11 2002 7:22PM CST"

Read it here....

~Nols

In case you missed it....

Publish 16 Schedule Jul 11 2002 6:38PM CST (GMT -06:00)
We are targeting to release the "Publish 16" changes, currently live on the Pacific and Test Center shards, to all remaining shards starting tomorrow, Friday, July 12th CDT. Barring any issues, each shard will have this publish active following their respective morning maintenance periods as per the schedule below (listings are in chronological order).

Each of the related maintenance periods may last around 90 minutes.

Publish 16 introduces a number of substantial changes into Ultima
Online, and we encourage all players to familiarize themselves with the latest documentation on these changes. Please click here for those Publish 16 details that pertain to the regular shards, and here for those details that pertain the Siege shards.

Chesapeake & Great Lakes
9:00 am CDT, Monday, July 15


So get those characters finished folks!

~Nols

Last night I had the opportunity to sit down and have a little chat with Oaks....

... Clothing Bless deeds are comin back!!!
... More pixel crack is on the horizon!
... Ever wonder why one animal is stronger than another - even though they are both fresh tames?
... I offered him the ability to blend time periods, things, people, and events into one days' grand adventure.....


Step inside and read the sordid details....

~Nols

From Trinsic:

The Trinsic Town Council shall be holding their first crossbow competition on Thursday July 18th at 7pm central time at the Clan Omenborn Training Compound (Trinsic Training Grounds). Once again NRA Rule set shall apply to this event, giving prizes to first thru third and last place contestants. First place shall receive a check for 50,000 gold.

Come show that you can shoot the apple of the Mayor’s Head or be the first to hit him in the Adams Apple before he shoots himself there

Trinsic Town Council

Greetings!

I'd just like to take a moment to inform everyone that the next meeting of the High Council will take place Monday, the 15th in Castle Britannia on the Trammel facet. The meeting will be held in the northern dining room at 8pm CST.

Also..


The council is currently seeking applications for the Britain council member position as well as a new opening in Skara Brae. If you wish to apply, please send your name and a short (7+ sentences) essay on why you think you'd make a good councilor to winski@redlow.net

-Dr. Jerred Ghyss,


Chancellor of Virtue, High Council

From Fishing Council of Britannia:


Fleet Captain Gem called the stalwart crew of the Fishing Council of Britannia together. “I have an important announcement. From this point forward, we have two new officers. They shall share responsibility for serving as our Events Coordinators. Please join me in welcoming FiFi LaForge and Leif.” The crew broke into loud applause.



“Their first event in their new positions will be to host this Sunday’s Public Net Toss. On the second Sunday of every month, the FCB donates nets worth thousands. We toss them out to sea from the Maginica docks (Trammel). All of the public is welcome to join us in fighting the kraken and other monsters. The public gets to keep the loot—even when it’s a rope or an SOS bottle.”



We hope you will join us this Sunday at the Maginica docks (Trammel) at 7:00 p.m. EST (6:00 CST). Come join us in welcoming Leif and FiFi by killing a few serps with us.

From Trinsic:

A new alliance is born. Let it be known thru out the realm that the fair city of Trinsic has made an alliance with the Clan Omenborn. The Mayor of Trinsic and his council, guarded by the AFT, met with Lord Damon Omenborn, King of the Dwarves in the Government House of Trinsic.

It was agreed upon that the Armed Forces of Trinsic shall patrol their city. The Mayor graciously gave their Rangers a barracks to live in while in Trinsic.

As a sign of friendship, Damon named Tyrone a *Dwarven Friend*, a great honor to a human. Tyrone is only the fourth human to gain that title. Trinsic gave Karak-Kol a lantern of Friendship to hang in their keep reminding them of Trinsic.

Please all welcome the C/O to Trinsic.

From Anonymous:

*a short note signed ???*

The new age of Britannia is apon us. The change is coming, its time for the old guys to leave and the new guys, the new blood to come in.


Very interesting, it seems dark forces are at work.

From Lydia:

The Dragon Academy has opened it's doors! We welcome all cadets with the desire to learn. The Academy teaches various kinds of roleplay and player versus player styles. Our dedicated professors are willing to help you!

For more information, visit http://peewee.darktech.org/dragon/htm

From Clan Omenborn:

The dwarves of Clan Omenborn have kept to themselves for many years now, living in their two remaining strongholds in the realm known as Britannia. They are Karak-Kol (Enduring Blackstone) and Karak-Grong (Enduring Anvil). There was a third named Thingaz-Valdhaz (Forest Brewery) but this hold near Yew was lost to the Orcs just over two years ago. The hold is now known as Zan-Grim (Harsh Blood), due to the loss. But in the halls of Karak-Kol they do not speak of this and consider it a stain on the clans reputation that they no longer live there.



The hold of Karak-Kol was resettled by the dwarves after the attacks by Minax on Yew. Some of the dwarves stayed to fight, others headed to Trammel and built Karak-Grong. Karak-Grong is located near Mt. Kendall in the land of Trammel, due north of Minoc. Many of Clan Omenborns craftsmen can be found here, for these mines are seen as some of the most profitable in all of Britannia.



Karak-Kol stands guard to the pass that leads to the shrine of Honesty on the southeast end of Ice Island in the territory of Felucca. It has a ring of snow globes lit on all its towers, which are used by the dwarves to aid their ships over the stormy seas and rocky coast of Ice Island and has prevented many disasters over the years. Karak-Kol is the most heavily defended hold of the two dwarven strongholds. Members of the elite guard the Hammers and are stationed on all of the towers, and two Gatekeepers stand at its massive gates. It has to be well defended because of the many Orcs, Frost Trolls and Murderers on Ice Island often attacking the stronghold. Because of this the hold is under constant protection by the most trusted and hardened of the dwarf warriors.



The dwarves of Karak-Kol have many mines. Due to their rich supply of ore, they have vast quantities of ingots for trade. The dwarves trade for miles around and traders come for their ingots from an even more wide-ranging area. They do trade on a regular basis with Skara Brae and Jhelom and have forged trade routes as far south as Trinsic. They trek to Trammel to hunt and visit with their kinsmen. Along these trade routes they manage to get in a bit of Orc hunting, as many of the routes pass through Orc country.



The dwarves of Clan Omenborn are considered to be some of the most adventurous clans in the dwarf kingdom. They are renowned for their ability to find large deposits of rich ore and granite. A perfect example of this would be the expeditions to the mountains of Ilshenar. The very nature of the clan is to be ferocious if provoked, but they mainly keep to themselves. The fighting styles of the dwarves of Clan Omenborn range from tactical fighting of the Hammerers and Ironbreakers, to hit and run strategies of the Rangers, as well as the mad battle rage of the Dwarf Slayers.



Lord Damon Omenborn is the first Omenborn to sit on the High Dwarven Throne in 500 years. His family, Clan Omenborn is one of the oldest of the dwarven lines and dates back to the ancestor dwarf gods themselves. Clan Omenborn originally came from the Frozen Mountains on Ice Island, and was driven to the Forests of Yew when the dwarf Stronghold of Karak-Kol and the mines on Ice Island first fell to the Undead. Damons father, Willen, set up a brewery and armory near Kazolas Treetop Keg and Winery. It was here that Willen set about to muster an army to retake Karak-Kol and the mines from the Undead. During this time Damon was making a name for himself as both a fine blacksmith and a stout warrior. After his fathers death, Damon expanded the smithy and acquired a considerable reputation for the fine quality of his weapons and armor. It was easy for Damon to ship his goods on ships across the globe to the great cities. Where he became renowned for his skill, soon Omenborns Brewery and Smithy had grown into a small dwarf settlement and other families came from all over Britannia to join him.



Within a few years, Damon became a prosperous merchant and a reasonably contented dwarf. With triumphs like this and the fact of him being a well-known warrior, his name was fast becoming recognized throughout the realm. His small community lay near the edge of Yew and was frequently attacked by Orc raiders rampaging through the region. It was during one of theses attacks that Damon met his first wife Willow; it was love at first site, yet the courtship was quick. All seemed going well for Clan Omenborn at this time. The army was growing and business was brisk.



One day Damon went with a shipment of Valorite armor and weapons to Britain, for this was to be a gift for Lord British. In the course of this trip Damon met Lord Alric Stonesoul and the two became fast friends. Damon found Lord Stonesoul to be a stalwart warrior and an gifted statesman, the two swore oaths to aid the other when ever the need did arise.



As he returned home he saw the smoke gently rising from his brewery among the trees and thought it was about time that the great chimney was swept. When his troop rounded the bend in the clearing, Omenborn saw the smoldering ruins of his settlement. For during his absence Minax had unleashed her assault on Yew and a Orc raiding party had found the Armory. All the forges had been smashed in an orgy of destruction, the anvils were broken, empty crates lay strewn about and there was no sign of any inhabitants. The Orcs had taken off with every last one of them to who knew what fate. Damon and his companions swore vengeance on Minax and the Orcs for this foul deed and resolved to hunt them down and rescue their kinfolk if they could. The posse trailed the Orcs across the Serpents Spine Mountains, rumors of the cunning ambushes and night raids on Orc camps became the stuff of legend.



During this time Lord Alric Stonesoul had heard of all that had happened to the dwarfs and had convinced Lord British to consent to give lands north of Minoc along the Mount Kendall to Damon and his clan to settle. This is known as the time of great sorrow for Damon, for his beloved Willow had perished during one of the raids to reclaim his lost kinsman. It was at some point in this time that the great Runelord of Clan Omenborn Quill Runebrand had convinced Damon that the moment in time had come, the time to reclaim Karak-Kol and regain her mines.



Within a few months enough ships had been readied and a great throng had been mustered, so along with Knights of the Order of Stonesoul, The magnificent army sailed, their hearts burning with thoughts of vengeance upon the undead. For a hundred days the rocks of our catapults made the walls and ground shake. Lord Damon led the breach at the gates with his with elite guard the Hammerers and fought his way to the throne room where he found the traitorous Lich Lord Jou'nar. Finally spurred by his predicament, the Lich Lord gathered his magic about him and he and Damon did duel. Long lasted that fight, for although a Lich, Jou'nar had been taught magery by the best of Moonglow. Yet Damon was no beardless whelp, and neither could land a blow upon the other. Finally as night began to draw its veil over the ruined stronghold, sturdy dwarf craftsmanship won over. Jou'nar cried for mercy, but the fires of retribution burned in Damons eyes, for he knew that the affront of the undead would never be cowed with leniency. His hammer ended it and Jou'nar was dispatched for you can never truly kill a lich. Great was the slaughter, many of the undead did regret their folly that day, but Clan Omenborn paid a high price in blood too. Thus the grip on Ice Island by the undead had been broken and they fled to the depths of Deceit. And yet there are still unnumbered entries in the Great Book of Grudges that must still be atoned for. On behalf of his heroics and his devotion to his people his war chiefs honored Damon with the title of High Dwarven King.



With this chapter in dwarven history closed the High King set about rebuilding Karak-Kol. With the blood of Kings flowing in his veins it is hardly surprising that Damon is deeply concerned with the fate of his race. It is that concern that Damon has formed many alliances and keeps the Dammaz Kron, the Great Book of Grudges at his side. Even though the dwarves are reluctant to go to war and risk lives of their diminishing number of warriors, the cause of honor and freedom is considered so just that they rally to Damon with eagerness and follow him wherever he leads.

The following was rec'd from Avalon, Death Scourge of CVN....

I sat silent, and still, looking out the window. Was it a shadow I seen creep by? Was it my imagination? Was someone finally coming to disturb me? How many hours had I been lost to my study, or was it days? Had I eaten? I felt famished. So many questions, so few answers, but I needed to know. But know what? I didn’t even know what it was I looked for as I scoured the contents of each text. And yet I continued on.

It started with a Grammer of Orcish, and continued with various texts, some about birds, some about dragons, some about weapons, one about dimensional travel which I found very interesting, and flagged to come back to when I had more time to fully study it, and even one on Virtues, which I very near threw out, if not for it being part of a collection. I read night, and day, had there been a night and a day? I did not remember.

When did such an unquenchable thirst for knowledge begin? I had always known I was looking for something, but now it seemed to have urgency, it seemed to force me to the pages. To read languages I hardly understood, to read literature long forgotten. What was it that pushed me to read of gods, mortality, monsters, and daemons. What pushed me to read of magical items, and the alignment of the moons.

As I continued to stare out the window, I realized my body would soon need rest, but how would I quench this thirst? I had to make it go away, it haunted my thoughts, yet I knew not what it was. It gave the feeling of someone watching over my shoulder, yet when I looked around I was alone. With this on my mind, my body finally giving into the urge, I quickly nodded off to sleep to let the thoughts haunt my dreams. . .

I had occasion to see Avalon on the eve of the Eeevil Cocktail Party.. and while many a less virtuous spoke of current events and enjoyed drinks Avalon saught out the solice of my library... He seemed interested in little else... Only in the books which I have collected... and a place to sit and read them. I am curious to see what drives such a thirst.......aren't you?

Laterzzz
~Nols

From Nate:

Attention all Great Lakers - I, Nate Byrd, am putting together a carnival for all of Great Lakes. We are in need of guilds, peoples, volunteers, slaves and trash picker-upers. We have some events planned so far, but not enough to span the proposed time. The date is looking to be Saturday July 27th from 12 pm to 12 am est.

There will be crafting events, games, contests, auctions and more!

If you are interested, ICQ me at 1743120 and leave a message regarding what you need to know. Thanks!

From Trinsic:

The Trinsic Town Council is pleased to announce a new writing contest for the month of July. All entries should be submitted in a standard ingame book with the authors name and contact details to a Trinsic city council member between 5 and 7pm on the 22nd of July at the Trinsic Branch of the Bank of Brittania.

The theme for your stories should be "what makes trinsic special" and all entries, will be reviewed by the council and the best 3 authors will be informed once all the submissions have been read.

These 3 authors will then get the chance to read their tales to the citizens of Sosaria at a date to be announced later once the initial process is completed, with great prizes going to all 3 winners!.

The final winners will be chosen from the players present for the reading.

Stay tuned for an announcment when the second stage of this interesting and exciting contest will take place.

The Trinsic Town Council

From Skara Brae:

Info on Ryth:


Name: Ryth
Age: 84
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 164
Birthplace: Vesper
Known For: Not much is known about this man. What he has told us has checked out so far. He was a good friend of Basil when they both were very young in Vesper. Ryth wasn't of noble blood like Basil, but he was of a rich family. Basil and him both studied together. About the same time Basil turned to Chaos and founded the Cult, Ryth disappeared. No records can be found of him. He re-appeared a few years ago after spending almost an entire 12 years in Ilshenar studying the land. This man was responsible for reuniting the Cult. Was found dead in cell.


Dear folks of Britannia, I bring good news, or well good news to some of thee. Ryth, the leader of the Cult of the Black Dragon, was found dead in his cell today. It appears that he took his own life because he didn't wish to be put to trial in a false court.

Lady Jasmine and Mawgwaine from the Ranger Enforcers of Sosaria found the body. Solomon alerted the Highland Guard, but Jakob didn't come to see the body. After a bit, it was decided that it would be best to search his body.

Besides some food and water, only a book was found on his body. The book seemed to mumblings from a man that had already assured himself that he was meant to die in his cell.

Did you ever elect a King? Do you prefer the things that scare those in the ‘other lands’?? Is ‘the man’ getting you down? Are you tired of dealing with people hiding behind the virtues??

Join Noleeens and Belayin Pin Bob at the Sandlewood Box Inn this Tuesday evening, 9pm under the eastern skies to discuss the good that plagues this land. Refreshments and food provided, mounts not recommended.

All evil-do’ers welcome, actively pickpocketing someone or attempted murder will be grounds for removal from the premises.

If ye need a rune to the Sandlewood, contact Nols at pigeon 26424082.

Once again, Carde has worked his magic with pencil and paper. Art lover rejoice, for today we unveil Carde's most recent masterpiece: Branwen!

Get your own Character art done with Carde's Ways of the World Gallery!

Hail Britannians! I will not reveal my true name until I am sure it is the right time. All I can say is I played a part in the Rebellion of Dorian DeLacey yet I did not play any part. I know that sounds confusing but it will be cleared in time. We are the people of this land, the citizens. We made this land into something great with the guidance of Lord British it became greater. We then lost him, the guidance which made us great was gone. People began to form groups to replace the leaders. We knew though that it could not be done. There is a group which was created by British, The Church of Britannia. Recently we have been confronted with the choice to follow the High Council or not. Some citizens have chosen their side but some have not. There is another group which is in its baby stage but soon it will rise to be one of the strongest powers in our history. This message is to the people of Britannia. It is not for nobles and council members. This is not intended as a declaration of war either so you fat council members can stuff your cakes down your throat again. From the smallest child to the tallest man, Rich and Poor. I am asking you, what side will you join. That of the Church and the new group or the Council? That of the side which represents the cause of freedom from oppression and corruption or the side which promotes it, the Council? I ask you to follow the side which represents your name.

Send your pidgeons to 157241886 Dragon Knight II.

Its been so long, too long maybe, either way, it feels good to be back in the saddle again ranting about some dumbass.

So here I am logging on this morning, was going to go fight some daemon's and work on Solomon's resist. I am at the bank, grabbing my magical weapons, setting macros, doing the usual to get ready for some dungeon diving.

I get a phone call, seeing as my mom just loves to annoy me when I am home, she has unplugged my headset and I have to leave the room to answer the phone. Its my friend, he has $10,000 to invest because he joined the military. He wants my advice on what to buy, he said he had already spent most of the money on AMD and Intel, but wanted to know what to spend the rest on. I suggested King Pharmaceuticals (KG). Before I knew it, I had spent about fifteen minutes on the phone.

I remembered that I had left UO running, so I told my friend that I would give him a call later on.

I come back to UO to find this guy telling me to leave town. I am thinking, "huh?" This guy, his name is Mephistopheles, told me that I had to leave town or he would kill me. I tell him this isn't his town, so he should get used to me being here.

Of course, it occurs to me after I said this that this guy is just looking for oranges at the banks. He tells me that I shall die then and starts to precast. Not being an idiot, I fight back. The guy is obviously used to fighting the rest of First Army, as he casts mind blast ten times and tries to chain poison. No, this guy wasn't used to having to fight someone that actually was semi-prepared. So finally he wisens up and takes advantage of my one weak spot, no paralyze pouches.

So he then proceeds to chain paralyze me, was nothing I could do about it, and thus, I die. All of this in the name of 'roleplaying'. Lets not mention his yells of me being a runner because I don't want to be chain paralyzed.

Past ICQ's float through my mind. I remembered Jasmine saying she was going to quit First Army because they wouldn't help her everytime this UFG group went looking for oranges at the bank. I remembered hearing how UFG killed her on the intent of looting her ring to sell/trade. I remembered how one of their members had tried to trade her for the ring (eventhough it sounded like a scam to me), and I also remember seeing one of their members chasing some HSS across the town after the HSS had just died.

I think back to the all the roleplaying stories I have heard from them. I remember how these stories all center around warring. Could it be these guys are just dewds looking for fresh game? Or are they just a guild that has no self control what-so-ever?

As much as I like Rath, he has been ignorant of most of the evil guilds he roleplayed with in the Skara Brae area. They were nothing more than blood thirsty mongrels seeking easy prey. These mongrels weren't stupid, they knew Rath tries to like everyone, thus they do their best to keep from pissing him off so that they can still have their sheep.

Many people in the community are tired of it, I am tired of it, and you picked the wrong person to go pick on today. No one wants to be your sheep anymore. Want to roleplay? Then I suggest you learn how. The roleplaying community isn't a place where you have an excuse to go tell someone to get out of town or you will kill them.

If you are roleplayers, then I challenge you to actually roleplay. First, you roleplay villans. A villan would be killed by the local guards as soon as he stepped in town. You wouldn't be in town standing next to a guard telling people to get out of your city, the guard would have cut you down before you could say it. Second, notice the part 'your' city. Its not your city, Skara Brae for one is a city of the crown, whether you like it or not, and if you are a criminal to the crown, its not your city.

Want it to be your town? Learn to treat others in the community with some respect. Then they will play with you. When they play with you, you can work on a quest scenario that could lead to you all getting the town if you win.

This bullshit of getting your jollies after being bored by trying to kill roleplayers is over.

In case no one has figured it out now, the guild is called Unforgiven.

This is your first and final warning as far as I am concerned. People will read this and they will ask questions. You want to roleplay? I suggest you start acting like roleplayers. Pull your looking for oranges at the bank shit on me again and I will not be as nice next time.

Comment here.

Update: I find it pretty damn odd that this guy just disappeared after the fight. If this was his town, why didn't he stay there? Guess there weren't enough oranges for him...

This is from Locke, he had some time on his hands earlier today in #dom, and this is what came of it...

Mordain: Its a disaster, Lord Rath we're after!
Fredrick: What if he could be turned to the dark side?
Mordain: Yes, he'd be a powerful ally, another dark mondainite
Fredrick: He will join us or die
WE GOT STONESOUL
WE GOT STONESOUL
WE GOT STONESOUL
WE GOT STONESOUL
and you know that we got it STONESOUL
and you know that we got it STONESOUL

Rath: Uncle Marcus, I know im on probation? Can I go to the Skara Station?
I gotta talk to the Skara Brae Rangers, but now you're treating me like a new stranger
Voice of Lord British: RATH, Kal Ort Por, and run, run to Highland Guard, run to Highland Guard
RATH, Kal Ort Por, and run, run to Highland Guard, run to Highland Guard

Jakop: I'm Jakop...I'm not naked....I'll make ya and shake ya, and then i'll save ya. Don't judge my size before you realize...you won't believe your eyes watch the Mondainites die
Rath: Jakop, why you treatin me in disdain, you know i still must confront Lord Mordain.
Jakop: But Rath, not ready are you.
Rath: But there's a temple in the desert where they're keepin my crew
A king's gotta do what a king's gotta do so now Mordy, i'm comin for you

Mordain: Impressive, now realease your Corp por, you must sense that your friends are being tor-tured
Rath: OOOOH, Why'd ya kick me in the sand.
Mordain: it's imperative that you understand....Jakop would never go in, to tellin you about your ori-gin.
Rath: I know enough, I know I'm a king
Mordain: Then it's imparative that you must see...You're a clone now, you're a clone now
YOU'RE A CLONE NOW, YOU'RE A CLONE NOW
YOU'RE A CLONE NOW, YOU'RE A CLONE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU'RE A CLONE NOW, YOU'RE A CLONE NOW
YOU'RE A CLONE NOW, YOU'RE A CLONE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

From Kellor:

Hello citizens of Britannia, some of you may recognize me, many of you won't. I was plucked from a list of people to represent the fine city of Moonglow, and now I stand here before you.

I read constantly of people with their complaints about us not doing this or us not doing that.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have been without a king for a long time, and the crime that has rooted itself into our society without him has grown strong. Time must be given to restore order.

I myself have to look around when I travel in Moonglow. People complain about Skara Brae. I was in Skara Brae the other day, your battles are not of cloak and dagger, nor amongst the shadows. In Skara Brae, you know who your enemy is. I welcome you to come to Moonglow where the enemy shall not show his face, but still manages to harm you.

You have to live with corpses on the street, the results of a formal war. I, and the others of Moonglow, have had to live with people striking at us monetarily, pyscologically, and physically. Do you know what its like to have worked hard for a miniscule ten thousand gold, only to find that the banker you banked with worked for these hidden fiends and funneled it to them?

Nay, you do not.

What I am asking of you all is to give us time. Things will be dealt with, and they will be dealt with one at a time to insure that we use the greatest care.

Thank you.

From Ambrosia:

The anticipation of home grew as she neared the huts outside Skara Brae, the place of her birth. Remembering the days spent lounging on the haystacks here, Ambrosia placed the spear given to her by her father carefully into her backpack.



Crossing the docks entering into town she froze. Amber did not recall this loud ruckus. It was not just the merchants hard at work, she heard loud screams of people falling to their deaths. It had turned into a battlefield! Taking cover behind the bank she quickly questioned the other citizens hiding there. They had told her of how powerful guilds had joined together for the common cause of protecting the town. This she had already known, they formed their alliances long before she had even left Skara Brae to care for her father.



Now she knew they were not helping the town at all, but disgracing it.



Angered, she vowed to rid Skara Brae of her destroyers

My apologies to anyone of Bregan D'Aerth who came to see me this eve at the Magincian Parliament building. It seems that I spent far too much time in meditation at the Temple, and missed my scheduled visit to Magincia. I will remain in Magincia on tomorrow's eve (((25 June))) from the hour of 7:00 PM (((CST))) through 8:30 PM (((CST))) to better make myself available. Again, I apologize, and look to speak with you regarding your problems, and for a safe and peaceful resolution to the current situation.

Yours in Humility,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith
Councelor of Magincia

From Kane:

Ramble this Ramble that, I am merely a common fisherman of Skara Brae. I tend to keep to myself and not get involved. Now however I have decided to speak because I have the right to my opinion. You are not a legal form of leadership but self claimed rulers who represent a form of tyranny very common in all lands. I may not be a noble, but my simple life of swinging out my pole every morning is all I need. My home has become a battle feild. Skara Brae is turned into a war ground a place of bloodshed. The Council allows this to happen? As I said you are not leaders but rich nobles hungry for attention. You oppose a peice of Lord British, that peice is the Church. You call yourselves men of virtue but you fight the creator of virtue in our land. Rumors run rampant like a pack of dogs in Skara and I hear them all. So many people claim leadership of my town but many of them should me thrown in jail. Again I am just one man but I am part of the people of Britannia. I for one place my allegiance in the Rebels, Sosarian Rebel Army, Rebels of Britannia, and the man who continues to fly the banner of DeLacey. They have my best of wishes and you have my worst, High Council.

Lord Damon Omenborn, the High Dwarven King sat atop his ridgeback and ran his stubby fingers though his long beard and smiled. He stared out across the ice and snow at the rows of armored dwarves. The great banners of Clan Omenborn fluttered in the arctic breeze, proudly his clansman sang as they marched. In one of his mighty hands rested the Dammaz Kron, The Great Book of Grudges, in the other was a magic warhammer. The warhammer named Doom Bringer; had been forged on the famed anvil of Justice and had been borne by Damon's father, and his father before him for untold ages. Damon had a great admiration for the hammer, the unbeatable craftsmanship of generations of dwarfs, and he silently gave thanks to the skills of his elders. Many of the evil beasts that plague Britannia had fallen to this great weapon. They had to come to respect and fear Damon's hammer.

Lord Damon had sent Mistral Omenborn and Keran Blackstone with a letter to request aid from Lord Rath Stonesoul of the Order of Stonesoul in Skara Brae and to Lord Jakob Covenant of the Highland Guard. These were old and trusted friends, for the moment in time had come to reclaim old Dwarven strongholds and mines. The first of these was to be Deceit, which had once been a great hall, home to countless generations of Clan Omenborn, and had now become home to the countless undead creatures that roam its halls. But word had been received that they would be unable at this time to send help. The trip from Karak Kol, the great keep that served as home for the dwarves of Clan Omenborn, had been a short one. It had been a long time since the world had seen the dwarves march to war. The snow swept all around them forming frost in their beards.

Although hopelessly outnumbered, the sturdy dwarf clansmen marched into the entrance of Deceit. Down the center of the halls went the stout dwarf warriors with swords and axes in hand, while dwarf crossbowmen held the flanks, thinning the undead masses with deadly bolts. With a thunderous roar, Lichs had unleashed their spells. As if on cue undead warriors sprang from the wall themselves and giant silver serpents, monsters capable of rendering a dwarf in two, slithered across the floor towards them. The Dwarf plan of attack had been a simple one, tried and tested throughout the ages, but it now seemed doomed, until two dwarven slayers leapt out to meet the silver beasts, sacrificing their own bodies for one clean axe stroke.

All would have been for naught had the Dwarf Longbeards not chosen that moment to charge into the fray, for these were oldest and most skilled of all the warriors in the dwarven force. The Longbeards crashed into the battle lines sending the evil Bone Knights, Skeletal Knights and Bone Magi routing and scampering away!

The dwarfs had reclaimed another piece of Deceit, one that was rightfully theirs from the days of old. Slowly, thought Damon, the dwarfs would re-establish their ancient realm, tunnel-by-tunnel, mountain-by-mountain. With a last look at the peaks of the Frozen Mountains, the doors of Deceit were closed behind him. Lord Damon Omenborn slung his warhammer into his belt loop and trudged off to bury the dwarven dead and continue the quest….

Someone did, because this room really cleared out quick. What do I mean by this? Just two weeks ago we had a lot of roleplaying situations going on out there in UO'land. Now I can count the ones that I know are still going on with only the fingers on one hand. Sure, Azreal is out there doing his random quests once a week, yes Nieves has got something going with an imposter of Rath, and finally it seems Temple of Mondain is behind every evil plot known to man at this time.

Before anyone says Neverwinter Nights, shaddup. Neverwinter Nights is a game you will play once or twice a week, if at all, after a month's time. If people are just taking a break from UO, thats fine, thats a viable excuse, because I have been taking one sorta since the beginning of June.

Why did I decide to take my break? For one, I've been working on a big quest that I didn't want to start until I knew I'd have time to put to it. Instead, I've just laid the ground work for it. I figured after seeing all these other quests gearing up, I could safely chill knowing that my friends would still be able to have fun quests.

While on break, that doesn't keep me from talking on ICQ a bit, or logging on IRC, or even dropping in game once in awhile. It probably won't be ti'll July that I get serious about reviving my quest juices. Yet when I log on, I see that almost everything that was gearing up is gone. What the hell is up with Quest for Britannia, is Rath even running for king anymore? If not, why hasn't Marcus updated the site to reflect this? The whole thing has seemed to be in a tailspin since Rath accepted a seat on the High Council.

Does shit die so easily on this shard? If everyone is taking a break, thats fine, but if everyone is letting these good quests die, then shame on you. I've heard the masses piss and moan about not having any rp before. Well, you had your chance, I couldn't count the number of things going on before June, now... well, I've already addressed that.

If you want to roleplay, then I suggest you start doing it. I think there is a call for a radical change in this community. I think all these different rule sets is what wears out and breaks down this community. Like last night, I am sitting in Skara Brae watching ToM fight OI-, Highland Guard, etc. Rules were being broken left and right, OI- entering before 15 mins up, then ToM would come back to the city to fight after their CoC says they won't. People still had fun, but not everyone, I saw a few off to the side bitching that this was boring and stupid.

Yet really, this is stuff for another rant about how people should work together and get some shit straight.

Comment at this post.

An open letter to Lady Lust and the Bregan D'Aerth,

The High Council have received your notice that Lilly Thann, Ambassador of Vesper, has been taken into your care. I welcome a dialogue with any of your organization who would speak with me with regards to the wrongs you believe have been comitted against you, and the laws which you believe will degenerate your current way of life.

While the High Council debates this situation, I would like to present further information on your behalf, that we may come to a peaceful solution to this.

I may be found tomorrow evening at 10:00pm (by the Central skies) at the Magincian Parliament building at the southeast of the isle. Should you wish to contact me prior to this, you may attempt to locate me at the Temple of Nexchronosis within Dracona.

Yours in Humility,


Ra'Dian Fl'Gith,
Councelor of Magincia

Whilst travelling Britain in Trammel, I came across an invitation, the exact contents of which are as follows:

Hail fair citizens of Sosaria and well met. I am Ian Goodknight, Justice Knight and Hero of Great Lakes, and I cordially invite you to a party in commemoration of the retreat of the Jukan army and Lord Blackthorn's Dragoons. It is also in commemoration of the recent alliance between the Meer and us.

I sincerally hope that you can come and celebrate our freedom! The party will be held at The Barnacle tavern (a tavern to the west of the horse stables in Trammel Minoc) on June 25, which is a Tuesday, at 8:00 o'clock (CST). The only requirement is that you do not bring a mount or pet and this is a role-playing event so break out your Old English books! Bring money for food and drinks but I will attempt to supply a lot of those though! Thank you!

PS- Devs, "Reds", GMs, and ALL are encouraged and invited. Thank you!

-Ian Goodknight (Knight of Justice, DOS)

Hail!

I have the somber duty of informing you that Galinda, the chosen candidate for the Britain position on the newly formed High Council has resigned due to personal reasons.

Of course, the good news is that the position is now open and the Council is once again accepting applications -- for the Britain Council member position only. If you have already submitted an application to this position, it is not absolutely neccessary for you to submit again. However, those who wish to may; your dedication and determination will certainly be noted.

Please include in your application:
- Your name (your character's name)
- A short essay (at least 5 to 7 sentences, though it may be longer, of course)

Applications may be sent to this email address: admin@redlow.net
I will then send them along to the other council members for review as soon as I recieve them. Once this position is filled, we will hold our first meeting as soon as possible. If you feel the new Council is not properly representing you, please be patient as we get things moving.

Walk in Truth, Love, and Courage

- Doctor Jerred Ghyss,
Chancellor of Virtue of the High Council

Konichiwa!

Psssst.. I got the goods bro.. the word on the street! The overlords have a big deal going down on Monday.. I think theyre bringing in a whole shipload of PUBLISH 16!

For those of you wearing concrete galoshes, or for those of you who are simply oblivious to your surroundings because of extended nightshade use, here is the complete and total scoop on publish 16, and what you can expect to see on Monday.

From Jakob Covenant:

I have been hearing from some disaffected people that the High Council only represents and is composed of the virtue aligned guilds, so therefore it has no legitimacy.

Bullocks! Since when does a government have to be representative of criminals, malefactors, and misfeasors?

One of the most important functions of a government is to protect its citizens. How can a government effectively protect citizens if the same government is composed of criminals and murderers who seek to exploit or wreak havoc on the citizenry? It would be ridiculous to have laws against thievery in order to protect citizens and commerce, when theThief’s Guild is part of the law-making and enforcing body.

The High Council represents the common, law-abiding, people of Britannia. We do not represent people who would kidnap an innocent and then sacrifice the poor innocent to some dark forsaken demon. We do not represent thieves. We do not represent criminals. So in this respect, there is no neutrality. Either a government promotes the well being and good of the people, or it does not. There is no middle of the road here. However, the High Council does maintain the Seat of Neutrality in order to prevent excesses made in the name of good.

You are a thief and you want a say in the government? That is what a thief’s guild is for. They have long bribed officials and guards to do what they please. Are you an outlaw? Then build connections with other outlaws as done before in history. I know corruption will exist at some level, no matter how hard we strive to stamp it out.

In a way, the High Council does a service to those that are evil or outlaw. For in a place without laws, then there would be no outlaws. So evil may shake its clawed and poisonous fist at the High Council all it wants, but we will maintain our duty to protect and promote civil society.

Yours in service,

Jakob Covenant
First Seat – High Council
Commander – Highland Guard

via Stratics:

Get ready...get set.......GO.
On Wednesday, June 19th at 7 pm of the Central skies, go Hog Wild in Trinsic. Hon the walls of Trinsic-Trammel.

Race your newly bonded Hog across the walls of Trinsic and become the winner of the race. Come early and scout out the Hogs. Bond with one and get ready for the race of your life.

50K for first prize. After the race, perhaps we can talk the Mayor of Trinsic into using his culinary arts to roast them for us and have a huge BBQ.

Race shall start at the bakery *Baked Delights* in the city of Trinsic.

Pictures of you and your Hog shall be available for a slight charge. See you there *SOUEY*

via Stratics:

We had so much fun at our first event ever that we are holding our second event already. This Tuesday, June 18th, C S will be holding an armor and arms repair and giveaway at the Haven smithy from 7pm to 8pm by the Central skys. We will have 4 Grandmaster smiths on hand to give new adventurers the best arms and armor in Brittania. Experienced adventurers will receive free repairs or 2 weapons of your choice.

Hope to see you there!

Harliquin
Guildmaster, Carnival of Souls

From Valeria:

Citizens of Britannia, hear the call to action. In recent events we have been handed unfair trials, fake judges, rumors about guilds lining their pockets with taxes, and even accusations of guilds working with the Cult. I am one of those who followed Dorain DeLacey, like Zeph I saw the corruption and the lies. What happens if you make a mistake and are put on trial? You will want a fair trial like any being in this land deserves. I stood by and watched the recent trials and I was stunned at how quick and wreckless they were. The judge should be a man from a neutral organization. Not somone who follows the cause of one side. Many people have been yelling out rebellion, and those shouts went unanswered. Hear the call now, rise to action rise and bring righteousness back into this land.

Hail Britannia!

Now that the High Council is selected, we are now able to accept applications for foreign and domestic ambassadors.

A foreign ambassador represents people from nations outside Britannia. They help to promote foreign relations between Britannia and the rest of Sosaria. To be eligable, a foreign state must establish an embassy in one of the cities which has a council seat. TheForeign state may then send its ambassador before the council, and the council will decide is the ambassador is acceptable. The ambassador must be agreed upon by both the Council, and the foreign nation.

A Domestic Ambassador represents people in Britannia who do not have direct representation already. The Ambassador to Cove, Ambassador to Vesper, and Ambassador to Serpent's Hold are all domestic ambassadors. In addition to these three cities, domestic ambassadors may also represent people from player-run cities. As always, the city and the council must both agree on the ambassador.

If you would like to be an Ambassador, contact your local leadership. If they approve, send your request to alazraham@ds180.net and include your Characters name, and the name of the place that you wish to represent on the council.

Thank you!

--Alazraham

Hail, by friends!

It is my pleasure to inform you that the selections for the members of the High Council is complete! Here are the results that you have all been waiting for:

Councilors

• First Seat - Jakob Covenant, representing Sacrifice and the city of Minoc
  
• Second Seat - Duke Gurney Halleck, representing Honor and the city of Trinsic
  
• Third Seat - Kazola, representing Justice and the city of Yew
  
• Fourth Seat - Ra'Dian Fi'Gith, representing Humility and the city of Magincia
  
• Fifth Seat - Admorel Twilight, representing Valor and the city of Jhelom
  
• Sixth Seat - Galinda, representing Compassion and the city of Britain
  
• Seventh Seat - Kellor, representing Honesty and the city of Moonglow
  
• Eighth Seat - Rath Stonesoul, representing Spirituality and the city of Skara Brae
  
• Ninth Seat - Ravenmaster, representing Balance
  

From Skara Brae:

Hands down it had to be the craziest night ever seen in Skara Brae. The trial started off without a hitch and much more organized than the one before it.

As said before, more than just Shaleen and Jacop could be put on trial, and it was proved true. Both Boromir and Infestus were put on trial with the two previously mentioned.

Rath started with Infestus, questioning him of his past and of his sanity. The man was clearly disturbed. The man claimed that he had been brainwashed by Eowen and thus was bound to serve the Cult now. Feeling Compassion, Rath felt this man needed help, not punishment. He ordered that the prisoner be set free and go seek immediate help in Moonglow.

With that, attention was turned on the vile Shaleen, known Mistress of Basil. Asked if she held the ear of Basil, she said no. Asked if she was the controller of his bed, she declined. She said she was his lover, not his controller. Yet to many, a lover is a controller, and this dark elven woman no doubtedly used her power for political gain. Rath spared her nothing and gave her a life sentence unless it was felt that she seemed fit to return to society.

Jacop, once known as an innocent citizen of Sanctuary, was questioned after this. Character witnesses were called for him, among them was White Lotus and Eternity. Eternity seemed like she wanted to turn this into a trial of Rath, not the Cultists, but she stepped back when asked to return to her seat. Rath, about to let Jacop go, found that Jacop would have no such thing, as he admitted to doing evil and many other things under sound mind. Rath, confused as to why this man wanted to incriminate himself, gave the sentence of two years in the Trinsic jail. Yet Jacop would have nothing of it, he said he would serve as long as his guildmates did.

Now, after having been gagged earlier, Mr. Boromir, as Rath fondly reffered to him as, was given the chance to speak. Immediately propaganda flowed from his mouth. He dodged the question of owning slaves for a mining company for several minutes before finally lying to Rath about how there were no slaves. Roxanne started to grumble in the corner, and finally she stood up and objected to the court. Trying to ignore her, Rath kept up his questioning of Boromir, about to give his verdict.

Finally, after much protest by Roxanne, he allowed her to speak. She asked Rath a question he could surely not answer, and then proceeded to accuse him of being a false Rath. Panic broke out in the room as many people became confused and Rath lost control of the court room. Immediately it was feared that this was a Cultist trick to escape, so the prisoners were immediately grabbed and tugged towards their cells. Among the cries of chaos, Rath managed to yell at Boromir who was demanding to be set free because no verdict had been given.

Boromir, you will not get away! You are guilty! Guilty I say! Life in prison for you!

Thats when the chaos really broke out. Followed by his guards, Rath started to leave the room. Roxanne was able to paralyze Rath Stonesoul without being noticed. Defending himself and trying to gather his troop in the chaos, Rath lunged at Roxanne, striking three heavy blows. Yet it was futile, as rangers from the Ranger Enforcers of Sosoria emerged from everywhere. Lord Stonesoul was put down easily by Roxanne and her guild, with Geoffrey of Cove following suit soon after. Civilians were running crazy as the forces of Highland Guard and House Stonesoul tried to figure out what was going on.

The next highest ranking soldier in the room obviously was panic'd, as Commander Dark Fool screamed for his forces to put their weapons down, even as they were being slain. It seemed evident that the prisoners would escape now.

Boromir made a run for it, but like a saving a hand, he was grabbed and dragged back into the building. The Order of the Silver Serpent had arrived. Syndar dragged Boromir back into the building as General Nero moved through the crowd with others to secure the rest of the prisoners. The Highland Guard and House Stonesoul fought valiantly against the Rangers, but without a proven leader and another commander screaming to put down their weapons, they were put down quickly.

Then, almost before Nero got to the prisoners, Dark Fool tried to set them free.

It was astonishing, why would a commander of First Army wish to set the Cultists free? Was it House Stonesoul that was in league with the Cult, or was it First Army?!?

The Rangers, whos intentions were not known, disappeared into the woodwork, but not before demanding that the prisoners be given a fair trial. Nero, not about to let these fools, who he had been chasing for the better part of his life, go free, decided to move them to Trinsic that day.

Shifting their way through the panic'd crowd, the prisoners were taken to Trinsic ahead of schedule where they will be held and serve their time.

Review of Verdicts:

Name: Infestus
Verdict: Not Guilty. Set free under the order to immediately head to Moonglow and seek help from the mages there. Was let go under the guise that he had only served the Cult because he had been brainwashed by Lady Eowen when she led the guild.

Name: Shaleen
Verdict: Guilty. Ordered to spend the rest of her life in the Trinsic jail unless it was seen that she was fit to return to society. She was given this sentence under the evidence that she had been a key planner in Basil's actions.

Name: Jacop
Verdict: Guilty. Ordered to spend two years in the Trinsic jail. Was originally going to be found not guilty, but incriminated himself right before the verdict was read. Out of compassion, his sentence was made short.

Name: Boromir
Verdict: Guilty. Was given the life sentence in the Trinsic jail without opportunity to rejoin society. It was also ordered that this propagandist have his room painted with key definitions of Virtue and Order so that he could learn of his faults during his long stay. A fitting verdict for such a villanous criminal.

Only one person is left to be put on trial, and that is Ryth. Trial date will be set forth soon. Raistlin is still wanted for questioning, please notify the authorities if you see him.

From Trinsic:

The Great Pumpkin smiled upon Trinsic tonight as people from across the land arrived to take part in a event sponsored by the Trinsic City Council. With the promise of great prizes and the chance to try there hand against the city council members themselves 26 Archers arrived to take part in the "Meet and Beat the Trinsic Town Council Archery tournament".


After explaining the rules of the tourny the score keeper No-One Important, handed over the crowd to Tyrone the Mayor of Trinsic. Tyrone thanked them for attending and then went on to introduce the Trinsic town council members made up of White Lotus, Isabella le Veaux, Karisma Novell, No-One Important and Gurney. After this he explained with a wry grin that anyone who beat him would be hanged in the town square and then let the contest begin.

It was a exciting and tense contest between the 26 contestants including a amazing tie break battle between Odin and Battle John Jr which took five extra shots to decide. In the end however Ebola Dragon came in 1st place winning the Grand Prize of 100k, Battle John Jr taking the second place prize of a Emminantly Accurate Crossbow of Vanquishing and Zeek winning a Converted Juka bow..

Thankfully nobody was hanged today also as Tyrone did win something and even though it was for the worst shot of the entire event, even he walked away with a smile.

The council would like to thank all the participants who attended this contest and would like to welcome everyone from Sosaria to take part in an event soon to come which is sure to bring a smile to everyones face.

So watch this space as details are soon to come or visit the *Trinsic Town Council website for more details

Well, since basically all of this is going around on ICQ and people don't have all the facts, I am going to lay them out for you.

Decide what you want about who is evil, who is a puppet, and who is here to destroy our fun.


Fact: I laid out this trial quest for B-D and for Rath Stonesoul.

Fact: Rath Stonesoul was going to be the judge at the trial.

Fact: Both the 9 B-D and Rath have real lives and have to attend to them.

Fact: Rath will be away from UO for several weeks soon, as will a few B-D.

Fact: The time for which people would have to be away from UO was drawing very close and we had still completed the trials.

Fact: Rath gave me his account information and told me to finish it since he couldn't make it.

Fact: It was done so because we wanted to play the game and quest.

Fact: No one was told that I was Rath, except for the B-D that were there, because I was in party with them during the trial.

Fact: Marcus interrogated Jasmine because of last night.

Fact: Jasmine asked me to come.

Fact: I went as Solomon

Fact: Marcus didn't ask me to leave. Dark Fool did, but he did nothing after Jasmine said for me to stay.

Fact: The interrogation was over when I logged Solomon.

Fact: I log on Rath, whom was logged out at the tower where the questioning was taking place.

Fact: They decided to ask more questions after I had left.

Fact: It was 15 minutes before the trial.

Fact: I went up to get them to see if they wanted to go to the trial.

Fact: When asked about Wiligan or Jasmine, I played stupid.

Fact: I finally said I am going to the trial, I will see them there.

Fact: The trials verdicts were not all pre-determined. Only those that asked to be killed off or be put in jail beforehand had pre-determined verdicts.

Fact: Nieves' actions were totally in character. He did nothing wrong. So don't blame him, like some would like to.

Opinion: I believe that he played the situation superbly and it was awesome. I don't believe his actions were meant to be harmful to Rath or House Stonesoul OOC.

Fact: Nieves did attack Rath Stonesoul.

Fact: Rath Stonesoul and Geoffrey of Cove were slain.

Fact: Without their leaders, both HSS and Highland Guard were put down rather easily.

Fact: After this, Nero went ahead and moved the prisoners with Rath to Trinsic.

Fact: Someone, and I am not going to name him, said somethings. If you know about this, you've probably already heard from him and thus know who I am talking about. Well this person went around telling House Stonesoul that Rath wasn't Rath, but Basil and always was Basil, and that House Stonesoul is the pawns of Basil.

Fact: Out of character information was used against a character.

Opinion: It was done so to ruin a character and his guild.

Fact: I played Rath only for the trials and one event involving it.

Fact: All Rath and I wanted to do was play the game.


Now the facts have been laid out for you. Rath and I would like to get back to playing the game. Thats all this quest was about, was about playing the game and having fun. One of the key people couldn't make it, and it was decided that we would rather people have a good time and roleplay rather than tell everyone that it was postponed ti'll further notice.

Now you have to decide for yourself. Was it really that wrong? Did you have fun? What? Personally I want the damn issue solved within the next two days. I've been having my fun in game and would like to get back to it.

Thanks.