999January 999To all the Knights of the Realms, I seek your help in retrieving the bodies of my slain comrades. The cowards of my own Order are afraid to move against our enemies, I hope that you will show more backbone than they. - Sir Argus Aarram Sir Shean, Lord of Creathrone, I enjoyed the Elven Bible that you gave to me. I was interesting to read but I found it was lacking in many areas. Most important I believe was its lack of information about the Mistress of Leaves. I will be sending you a package with the appropriate information and I would appreciate it if you would include this information the next time you print more of your Bibles. - Sir Celon Amon, Lord of the Ardell Forest Eric Crow (the PIGEON), You have journeyed to our island several times. Your next time will be the last time! - Bo'gel of the Red Clan Goblins Jellybean Welcome to Creathorne! I hope your membership is as rewarding as you want it to be. It is my pleasure to be your sponsor. - Addarok Falon Sabbath of the Crystal Hall, In answer to your recent letter as to the whereabouts of Addarok on Saturday of 'The Crimes of the Fallen'; Addarok was on Work detail. He showed disrespect to another Creathorne member and he also took the law into his own hands by placing a bounty on Talon and his friends. That bounty was quickly removed. Disciplinary action was needed, and he needed to know Creathornians do not do things that way. I placed him on Work detail to ensure he had our ideals placed firmly in his mind. Also to ensure these sort of digressions would not happen again... - Sir Shean O'Quinnlin To the warriors, mages, healers, and heroes of the Realms, I ask that you all again join me in Drachmar. We live in a dangerous time, as you know, and our plans for the future must be solid! Please attend a meeting with me in the city of Drachmar on the 9th of the first month of the coming year. The armies of the queen could use your skill at arms and the knowledge which you keep. The following of the Dark One, the threats of the Spirit-Bringers, and the vampires who kill at our feasts are a danger to us all. Please meet with me so we can formulate a plan to deal with these problems. - Lord Deroth Tholak-Oth'Shar, Military Advisor to the Queen Greetings to you, my friends, As the days grow slowly longer, and the longest of the winter months still lay before us, I find my mind wandering, and my thoughts dweling upon memories of home. The winter of the Far North has, by now, already begun to show its fiercest side to travelers, and I am saddened by the fact that I will not have any contact with my family again until the spring thaws begin. The winters in my homeland are especially cold and harsh. The winds relentlessly blow steady and hard, and the snow accumulates to twice the height of a man. In these months, we have little choice but to remain shut up in our homes, each fending for ourselves off our own supplies and stores. It is not uncommon for death to visit the elderly, or the very young, and a general mood of despair and sorrow is almost tangible on the chill breeze. As the cold begins to set in, fisherman put away their poles, and farmers lock their long-haired cattle in their barns. Firewood is stacked three cords high outside every cottage, and smoked meats and fish fill every store-room. The preparation for the long winter takes near two weeks to complete, and when the routine is finished, there is one duty left before all retire to their homes to wait out winter's fury. A tradition that does not fill our pantries, or provide fuel for our fireplaces, but is nonetheless vital in our people surviving the winter. The Feast of Leviathan. During this celebration, the entire village comes together in the great hall. We eat our fill of the ocean's bounty and laugh and sing and tell stories until late into the night. It is a chance to come together one last time before closing our doors for the winter. One last chance to see friends that may not make it to see next spring. An opportunity to warm that part of ourselves that no fire can reach. Back home, I'm sure the feast has come and gone. And with the passing of that event, I feel now an emptiness in my heart. Perhaps it is nothing more than homesickness, maybe more so, the grief of not being there to see friends and family for what could be the last time. My desire to return thee, to see my loved ones and to be with them throughout this hard time, weighs heavily on my chest, and I think that I, myself, may not survive this winter with a solace to my grief. And, to that end, I have stumbled upon an idea. Giving thanks, rejoicing with friends, reflecting on the year past, and preparing for a hard future by casting off our burdens, if only for a single day. These are the purposes of my people's celebration, and the more I think about life here in these Realms, the more I marvel about how very much it is like my simple fisherman's life, back home. We have many things in our life that bring us happiness, many friends with which we can share stories and songs by the fire. We sometimes forget that our pasts have been filled with joys as well as the sorrows, and our futures, as hard as they may turn out to be, can still hold any number of wonders. We too, have a reason to celebrate. Therefore, I would like to invite you all to attend my own Feast of Leviathan. Come to sing, and laugh, and tell stories by the fire. Come to give thanks, to which ever gods you honor, for all the things we hold dear. And above all, come to be with your friends and families, as we so often neglect to do, and forget, if for only a day, that the future will be hard. Wishing you well, - Aeston Stromgate Greetings, I am missing a companion of mine, a small, flying, glowing ball. She is unpredictable, and easily enraged or confused. I would dearly like to know where she has gotten to. She is generally green, but sometimes blue, silver, or white. She is sometimes very small, like a marble, and rarely gets much larger than a tennis ball, but has been known to be as large as a basketball. If you find her, please don't touch her; she sometimes reacts poorly. If you have a lead on where I can find my friend, who I and others call Glow for convenience (She doesn't have an easily pronounceable name), it would be greatly appreciated. Glow really shouldn't be wandering along; it could prove disastrous. If you have some information, please contact Joffery Grey of Tuath Fasach. He knows how to get in touch with me. - Black Fury, Hunter of the Forest King (Tho most o'y'all know me as Fury, that big ass, bad-mouthed, badass, green eyes, unpredictable, cigar smokin', scrappin' wolf.) Results from In Winter's White Another Yuletide has passed, and with it the House Phoenix Yule Feast, commonly known as In Winter's White. We were fortunate to share our feasting hall with a large contingent of our friends from the Kingdom of Miller's Reach, come from beyond the Storm Gate portal to our domain. Many brave souls, knights of the Reach and their comrades among them, dared the ruins beneath Mirador Keep to scour it of the thieves of the Black Cardinal, and while they were not completely successful, a blow has been dealt that will make southern Gwenethlin all the more peaceful for quite some time. The Black Cardinal himself (herself? itself?) was not known to be apprehended, and perhaps we have not seen the last of him. The major tournament held was the 6th annual House Phoenix Championship of Magic, and as it has been every year, hotly contested. Khylumn from Miller's Reach bested the field in all the trials, as well as ably standing his ground in a final duel arcane against Prince Morgil himself. He shall be Champion of the Phoenix and High Mage of Gwenethlin for a year, joining past luminaries Marquis Voltric of Thorne Valley, Lady Willow Brightsong, Princess Allassandra Ravenswing, Baron Diamond of Banecroft, and Lady Savyne of Banecroft as victors. Lady Savyne aptly defended her title, finishing second, while Foxglove of Miller's Reach was third, Baron Diamond was fourth (for the second year managing to compete without possessing any innate arcane ability), and Zanek of the Reach fifth. Congratulations to all contestants! Here are the other tournament winners: Bardic Story: Adan Dunedain Bardic Music: Sir Lysis Florentine: Sir Lysis Three Man: Sir Lars of the Hearth/Sir Constantine of the Eternal Watch/Adan Dunedain Single Short: Khylumn of the Reach First Blood: Sir Lysis One-Man Unlimited: Trent Best Female Garb: Lady Jasmine Vespertine Best Male Garb: Baron Sir Diamond Banecroft Royal Seamstress: Lady Julia of Silverport I'd like to single out some people for praise. Amanda Dion is my right hand [many hours lugging groceries, sewing up props and garb, running the Phoenix Shop]. Lisa Evans cooked a fine feast with zero hitches. Josh Kranz [marshalled multiple game systems, lugged dungeon to Springfield]. Jeff Masloski [Head NPC, great actor]. Rob Settembro, Dan Rust, and the great people from Dragon's Breath [NPC'd set-up/take down dungeon, cleaned up hall, ran dungeon parts back to Easthampton]. Lastly, holding a joint event between Realms and Game Bob players [happily endorsed by GB president Jeff Lawrence]. I hope stronger ties result. In any event, one thing I'm thankful for this Yule season is the degree to which people were patient over misunderstandings ("What did you hit me with?" "Petrify. You're supposed to be a statue now." "I'm what?"), and I do hope you're all here again next year to do it all again. Goddess bless - Bob Traynor |
Created by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 04-07-21 03:21 PM
Last Modified by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 04-07-21 03:56 PM