April 29, 2011 Issue
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Note from the Editor
UPDATES FROM THE STAFF:
LegendMUD Calendar of Events
The Nth Coffee Cup with Maharet
PLAYER NEWS:
XP Achievements
The Pkill Front
Description Change: Ariah
Player Submissions:
A Trial of Compassion
Death Becomes You
Lover, Don't Leave Me
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
"In springtime, the only pretty ring time
Birds sing, hey ding
A-ding, a-ding
Sweet lovers love the spring-"
So, up until about 3 days ago, I had absolutely nothing to publish. Then,
suddenly, out of nowhere, I get several things. With that, here's your LT. It
is full of player submissions (Serpentarius, Nadia, and Ariah's description),
as well as some memories from Maharet about her mort days in the world of RP.
Also included, of course, are pkill stats.
Be sure to kick back, relax, and enjoy this issue.
-Lamia
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/__| Updates from the Staff |__\
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LEGENDMUD CALENDAR OF EVENTS
[All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
April 2011
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Friday, April 1 ALL DAY Coupon Rain - Cause Tricks are Lame <3
DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR EXPIE NOMINATIONS, VOTING, AND CEREMONY
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The Nth Coffee Cup with Maharet
I found myself pondering my RP origins, prior to assuming the 'C'. I relate my
nostalgia here.
Beckoning embrace
Traipsing fate, tremulous smile
A lifetime of strife
*
Maha-smiles. Bouncing on Uncle Rowane's shoulders, we floated to the shores of
Malia's island. She could be such a grumpy sometimes. Uncle Row had a plan, but
he called it his... umm... strata-gem. Silly Uncle always liked the really long
words.
Auntie Malia had a really nice bureau. I don't know why it's called a bureau--
I mean, it's just a bunch of drawers. The wood smelled nice though, because the
sun was out, and the waves were playing on the shore. It was all blue, and the
air smelled really salty. Kind of like Daddy's breath in the morning. But
Daddy's is a little less sweet, though.
Uncle Row had uncle-smiles. "I wonder what's in here," he asked, after we'd
entered Auntie's shack. I knew! Malia and Mommy must be sisters, because Mommy
puts her untellables in the top drawer, too!
But then a little birdie flew through the window. Uncle Row is really good with
the magicks, you see. He was investigating-- he said-- a really cute untellable
when he looked at the birdie, thought for a moment, and then put it back in a
big hurry. "Time to go, kiddo," he rumbled. Uncle Row has such a deep voice.
So, I thought real hard, and made myself float a bit, and then Uncle Row took
me up, oofing, and gave me a big uncle-hugs. Then I rode on his shoulder as he
took off, soaring over the happy shore, leaving Auntie's shack behind.
*
Any views expressed in this installment do not necessarily reflect those of
the immortals of LegendMUD.
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/__| Player News |__\
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XP ACHIEVEMENTS
Brook has reached 100 million experience!
Kullervus has reached 100 million experience!
Ariah has reached 200 million experience!
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THE PKILL FRONT
So, I pretty much pwned all of you guys. Get to it, or I'm going to claim the
title of "Best PKer EVAR" for 2011. =P
Anyway, here are the wins from 3-8-2011 to 4-28-2011:
Alias had 3 wins.
Divine, Falcos, Meue, Royce, and Zoroaster had 2 wins.
Dazzel, Krista, Mors, Psylin, Quint, and Zxassi all had 1 win as well.
The immortals, on the other hand...
Lamia shot 6 poor souls.
Mertjai shot 3 poor souls.
Natalia shot 2 poor souls.
-Lamia
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Description Change: Ariah
Officer Ariah, as most of you know, has been working as a medical student for
almost two years to the date. She enjoys helping others and late night
conversations all while aiding her friends. One night after a long day of
work, Ariah had encountered the most sick character that she has ever operated
upon. Ariah being as tired as she was, performed the surgery. Several hours
later, the patient passed away from internal bleeding.
A shocker it was for Ariah; It changed her way of life. No longer does she
devote her time to pretending to be a savior. Instead of healing others
continously, she decided to pack up her belongings and move from home. Never
staying in one place for too long, Ariah walks around scouting out new areas.
Once seen as:
a gentle sweetheart
A cherished treasure softly treads here, seeking the duties of an intern.
Ariah can now be seen as:
a beautiful, doe-eyed crusader
Seeking out adventures and andrenaline rushes, a crusader scouts out the area.
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______________________
/ \
o O | Wonder what folks are |
`\|||/ |doing over at LegendMUD?|
(o o) \_______________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
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__|_____|_____|_____|_____|__PLAYER SUBMISSIONS___|_____|_____|_____|_____|
A Trial of Compassion
With Aquarius dead, every drop of water left on the Realm began to disappear;
and having absorbed her power, Serpentarius managed to endure the entire ocean
bearing down on him until it had evaporated completely, all from within the
relative comfort of his cocoon of ice. After a few days asleep, he woke up to
find himself in a small desert where the ocean floor had once been. It was all
that was left of the once-glorious Realm of the Zodiac.
The landscape was completely devoid of anything but sand.. except for one
small figure who had been watching over him. A young girl comprised entirely
of water, the last of the Zodiac: Pisces.
"Ought you not flee in terror, child?" asked Serpentarius with a slight grin.
"I do not fear you, Serpentarius," Pisces replied calmly.
Serpentarius sighed. "Then I suppose I should work on my reputation," he
muttered.
Pisces smiled at him. "It's good to see you again," she said warmly.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," replied Serpentarius. "I get the feeling you
should've killed me when you had the chance."
"I won't kill a defenseless opponent," stated Pisces, leaving Serpentarius
somewhat puzzled.
"So.. you'd kill me if I was awake?" Serpentarius wondered aloud.
"Yes. Draw your weapon," Pisces replied, a dagger of ice forming in her hand.
Serpentarius stared at her for a few moments to try to see if she was serious.
She didn't appear to be joking.
"Why?" asked Serpentarius. This certainly didn't seem to be the selfless and
compassionate Pisces he remembered.
"It doesn't matter. You need revenge," said Pisces.
Serpentarius simply shook his head.
"Then I should reiterate. I need you to have revenge," continued Pisces.
Serpentarius stared at her, sensing her spirit in turmoil, and began to
understand how she felt. He certainly knew what guilt felt like.
"You were on my side. You tried to stop what happened. Maybe you did fail,
and maybe all you did was watch as I was torn apart, and maybe you've spent
all this time feeling guilty about it. But you still tried. That meant more
to me than you will know," Serpentarius said gently.
"Maybe it was enough for you.. but before you died, I saw the look in your
eyes. You tried to put on a brave face and your usual grin, but I could see
it. It wasn't anger, rage, fear.. it was sadness. A look of such sorrow that
I could never forget. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the
pain my inaction had caused.." Pisces explained.
"I'm still not going to kill you. Sorry," Serpentarius stated.
"So you are a coward after all.." muttered Pisces.
"Please stop. You're going to hurt my feelings," said Serpentarius
sarcastically.
Pisces sighed and turned away, clearly upset.
"There's no need to get so emotional," Serpentarius said gently, though he
couldn't stop himself from grinning slightly.
"That's easy for you to say," Pisces replied coldly.
"Please don't cry," implored Serpentarius, his grin now plastered across his
face.
"I'm not-" Pisces started to say, but stopped and sighed instead. "Why do you
always say that?"
"Well, you are made up entirely of tears," replied Serpentarius, trying to
keep a straight face as Pisces turned back to him.
She tried to stare angrily at him, but she couldn't stop her scowl turning
into a smile. "You've used that one before," she muttered.
"I'm sorry. It seems bad jokes are the worst I can allow myself to inflict
upon you," grinned Serpentarius.
After a few moments, Pisces was back to her normal self. "I'm sorry too. I
shouldn't have... gotten like that," she said softly.
Serpentarius shook his head. "It was fully justified. I have essentially
ruined your life, after all," he replied. "And besides.. it was rather
telling. You cannot hate that which you cannot love, as they say," he teased.
Pisces froze. Figuratively speaking, anyway. "You knew?" she asked quietly.
Serpentarius froze too. "No.." he stated, equally quietly.
"Oh... well.... oh well!" giggled Pisces. "Anyway, what will you do now?"
she asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, I'm due a visit to the past," Serpentarius replied cryptically.
"Look.. I know how much you must want to undo things that have happened, but..
you can't," Pisces said softly. "You know that as well as I do.. you were
actually awake for that lesson."
"You needn't worry. I have a plan," said Serpentarius with a grin and a look
of mischief in his eye.
"I see.. and what will that change?" asked Pisces gently.
"If it works? Absolutely nothing," Serpentarius replied.
Pisces stared at him for a few moments to try and see if he was serious. He
didn't appear to be joking.
"Brilliant plan," Pisces muttered. "How will you get there anyway?"
"I'm.. still working on that," admitted Serpentarius. "Presumably, I just need
more power."
"So you do need my power after all!" Pisces teased.
"Well, I never said I didn't. Just that I won't take it from you,"
Serpentarius replied. His words seemed to have an effect on Pisces, who went
silent for a few moments.
"There's something I need to ask you," said Pisces, lowering her gaze.
"Something we all wondered but couldn't bring ourselves to talk about. Back
before you died, when everyone was standing against you.. why didn't you
defend yourself?"
Serpentarius lowered his gaze too. "I did.." he said quietly. Pisces didn't
buy it.
"You had the strength to split the stars in two. You could've ended the war
with just a twitch. But you didn't.. I mean, you didn't even use your true
form. Why?" Pisces asked.
Serpentarius sighed and looked away. "You already know," he muttered.
"I want to hear it from you," Pisces said simply.
After a long silence, Serpentarius finally spoke. "They wished for my death,
but I could not wish the same for them," he said quietly.
"Serpy.." Pisced said sadly.
"I know," said Serpentarius. "That all changed when I woke up. I lost so much
of myself that I didn't care anymore. But it seems that I'm now back to my old
self: paralyzed by my own heart, unable to do what I know I must. You were
right. I am a coward," he said as he began to walk away.
"No.. you are something far greater," attested Pisces. "You have passed the
trial of Compassion and I will give you my power."
Serpentarius stopped suddenly. "I don't want your power. I want you to live,"
he implored, turning back to face Pisces.
Pisces smiled at him. "There is no life left for me here, you know that. Even
if there was.. I can think of no better fate than giving you the strength to
make your dreams come true," she said as she began to disappear.
Though the guilt was overwhelming, Serpentarius didnt want to waste Pisces'
last moments by looking down. "Give my regards to the others," he said with
what composure he had left.
Pisces nodded at him. "Goodbye, Serpentarius.." she said as she faded out of
existence.
"May I live forever in your memory.."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Death Becomes You
Nadia watched as Lethe carefully set her broken and bloody body on the table.
He had brought her to their cottage, where they'd lived when they were
married. The woman could have laughed. She was dead and he brought her to
where she first loved. Why not to Razael? There was nearly-dead and then there
was all-dead; There could have been time for her Saint to save her.
"Why am I here?" the spectre of the witch cried to Lethe, who ignored her, his
jaw tense as he smoothed the dark shroud that had been placed over her. "Take
me home! Take me to my husband, Lethe," she wept. "He can fix me. We both know
it. It was just the demons." He paid her no attention, his gaze upon her
corporeal form which lay upon the table. "Please."
Several moments passed before either of them moved. Lethe stood, and Nadia's
spirit watched, silvery tears streaming down her translucent cheeks. It was
only when the door opened and Setheus strode in that Nadia sniffled and
stepped back. "You can hear me, right?" she whimpered, staring at the
blue-eyed man. He didn't even glance her way.
"Bone devil," Lethe said, still staring at the body. "Poisons, you know... She
didn't even tell me she was going in." Nadia could have hit him.
"I had my reasons," she started, taking a step towards him, but Setheus cut
her off.
The fallen angel nodded. "It was foolish," he said, moving to the table. "She
should have known better."
"I did," she breathed.
"There have been rumors of stray groups for months." Seth rested his hands on
the table, his eyes wet with un-shed tears. "Her husband and daughter?" he
asked, not looking at Lethe.
The man didn't look up. "I told him," he said, and Nadia wailed.
"Then why didn't you take me home?"
Seth's right wing twitched, a black feather drifting lazily to the floor. "How
vicious were they?" he asked, reaching for the top of the shroud, intending to
pull it back. He had to see her, one last time.
"Not very, when they saw me to come collecting," Lethe answered. "Ran, with
their tails between their legs." Setheus pulled the shroud away, uncovering
Nadia's face, shoulders, and chest. He would have kept pulling, too, and all
the while he would have wished she would sit up and laugh at them, call them
fools, and make a snarky comment about the entire situation.
Ghost Nadia snorted, the sound thick from her tears. "Not very? You should
have taken me home." She clenched her jaw for a few seconds before her anger
took over. "You let me die, Lethe! If you'd taken me home, I'd be alive!" She
was sobbing again, no longer paying attention to the men before her.
"Those she was meeting should have sent an escort," Setheus said, brushing
hair from the dead Nadia's face. His hand lingered on her cheek, cold and
pale. "They knew." After a moment he turned his gaze to Lethe.
"I'll be going back," Lethe said. Setheus nodded.
"I'm going to start in Dis," Seth said as he covered Nadia's body. "It won't
bring her back, but it'll feel damn good." He gulped, his eyes watering more.
"She gave me a son," he whispered.
The spirit looked at him. "I gave you a son and love," she spat, "And yet you
keep me from my husband as well. You're both bastards."
Seth rolled his shoulders, which caused his wings to twitch again. "Are you
taking out generals? The whole lot?"
"Whatever I deem necessary," Lethe answered. "I don't think there's anything
left in Hell that isn't afraid of me, but if there is, I intend to know its
name."
The angel rolled his eyes. "They should have smelled you on her. They should
have known better." He stepped away from the table, away from her. "Rowane
needs to know, as do the witches."
Nadia's spirit sank to her knees. "Rowane," she whimpered quietly. "Oh, God,
Rowane."
"I'll handle Rowane," Lethe said. "He'd. . . want to hear it from me, I
think."
Nodding, Setheus said, "I'll try to find Malia. My best bet would be to find
Alexander. He either already knows, or has become so lax in his duties that
he's utterly useless." Setheus looked away, his eyes closed for a moment. "Is
anybody with her family right now?"
"My son." Setheus glanced at Lethe after the man had given that answer.
"Where is his mother?" Setheus asked, and Nadia's gaze snapped to Lethe.
'The mother,' she thought. `Albina: The bitch who stole my son. She knows
things, she would have known. She killed me, just as much as you did.'
Lethe shrugged, and Setheus merely nodded. "I'll find her myself."
"She already knows," Lethe said.
It was Seth's turn to shrug. "I don't plan on informing her."
Silence passed between the pair, Nadia's crying and muttering unheard. After
a time, Lethe moved from the table, turning toward a wall. He lifted his
hands, palms towards its surface. His face contorted as he gripped the air,
pulling it aside. Tearing the plane apart, he revealed a rift leading into
Hell.
Nadia stared at it, shaking her head. "Not yet," she whimpered, trying to grab
hold of something. "I need to stay here," she yelled at the rift, at whatever
she felt pulling her into Hell. "I was supposed to be saved from you," she
cried at it as she was dragged to the rift, ankle first. "Seth said I was
going to be safe and pure and not of Hell." She heard something laugh at her,
a deep voice in the back of her mind. Nadia was pulled through before Lethe
and Setheus finished talking. She saw Lethe seal the rift, though, and as he
did so, whatever was pulling her released her, and Nadia lay in the dusty
street of Dis, the very place where she died.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lover, Don't Leave Me
Albina finally found her lover, her searching having lasted longer than she
ever would have liked it to. She brought him to his castle, naturally,
leading him into his chambers, and he followed quietly, numb to everything.
The Oracle led him to the bed before returning to the door to close it. "Sit,
Lethe Aurion," she said quietly, moving back to the father of her youngest
son.
He moved fast, and Albina hated that he was so absent from her Sight. Lethe's
hand was around her throat, pressing her against the wall. He stared into her
odd gray eyes, his own cold and lifeless. "Did you know?" he asked quietly.
The witch struggled, her hands tugging at the one so firmly around her neck,
scratching and clawing as she squirmed. "No," she hissed, Lethe's grip cutting
into her ability to breathe. "And yes. Yes. There were... there were two
paths." She scratched more, pleading silently with her lover. "She had you and
she had luck."
"And you didn't think to tell me of the possibility?!" he shouted at her,
causing Albina to still. "That I might have looked after her, maybe even go
with her?"
Albina was close to tears. "It wouldn't have changed things," the healing
goddess whispered. "You would have been there instantly, rather than moments
later." She closed her eyes for a moment before looking into Lethe's eyes
once again. "She would have lived or died that day, and none of us could
change that."
Lethe released Albina, disgust evident on his features, and walked to the
other side of the room. He stared at the wall as Albina rubbed at her neck,
trying to forget the pain. "It could not be avoided, I promise you. There were
two paths, and I thought her safe." Albina swallowed her sorrow, for both
Nadia and Lethe. "I am sorry, but nothing would have changed, even if I had
told the world."
The man lowered his head, his eyes closed. "The world and Lethe Aurion are two
very different things, Albina."
She shook her head. "No," she said. "They are one in the same. You were her
world, just as Razael Valentine was, as Jaina and Caden were, as Kendrew was."
Lethe put a hand on the wall, leaning forward, the fire inside gone.
"Don't. Just don't."
Albina watched, hurt. "Don't what, Lethe Aurion? Come close? Say things you do
not wish to hear? I wish I had not Seen. I wish I were pregnant again. It was
a relief, not seeing any of it." A tense moment of silence hung between the
pair. "She was of my blood, and I am mourning, too."
Lethe finally turned to look at Albina, contempt etched on his face. His mouth
opened for a moment, then closed again. He shook his head, and with a
concussive `thump' on the air, he was gone.
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The Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send
replies, additions, or corrections to our address at [email protected] for
inclusion in the next edition. All subscription options are now handled at
this url: http://www.legendmud.org/lists/listinfo/legendarytimes For RP
submissions, copyright ownership remains with the author. We do reserve the
right to moderate the forum and edit or reject any submission.
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