March 8, 2011 Issue
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Note from the Editor
UPDATES FROM THE STAFF:
Code and Area Updates
LegendMUD Calendar of Events
PLAYER NEWS:
XP Achievements
Clan News
The Pkill Front
Lady Caja's Tip
Player Submissions:
A Trial of Ambition
A Trial of Fortitude
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Time just flies, doesn't it? One night, I'm celebrating my 21st birthday at
a casino in northern Michigan, and now I'm finally sending out another LT,
over 2 months later. I don't have an excuse, I know, but hopefully you all
haven't forgotten about the wonderful LT (and I say it's wonderful, if only
because of the player submissions. They're awesome, kids.) and all that is
included in it: PK stats, updates, and player submissions.
-Lamia
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/__| Updates from the Staff |__\
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AREA & CODE UPDATES
Area Updates (2-3-11)
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* lots of development on Titanic
* typo fixes and internal maintenance
* bug fixes in Tartarus, Pyramid
* prize machine update
Code Updates (2-3-11)
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* internal reorganizing
* bug fixes, some crashing/hanging
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LEGENDMUD CALENDAR OF EVENTS
[All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
March 2010
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 31
DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR EXPIE NOMINATIONS, VOTING, AND CEREMONY
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/__| Player News |__\
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XP ACHIEVEMENTS
Lumpy has reached 100 million experience!
Raghnall has reached 100 million experience!
UberMortis has reached 100 million experience!
Divine has reached 400 million experience!
Baharroth has reached 700 million experience!
Serpentarius has reached 1000 million experience!
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CLAN NEWS
1 Shot 1 Kill has been formed. (PK Clan)
The Druid Emergency Response Team has been formed. (RP Clan)
Kamikaze has been formed. (RP Clan)
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THE PKILL FRONT
Wins from 12-29-2010 to 3-7-2011
Divine with 79 wins.
Dazzel had 32 wins.
Meue had 30 wins.
Reddeath had 26 wins.
Royce had 26 wins.
Zoroaster had 15 wins.
Rav had 13 wins.
Brystal had 12 wins.
Ambrosuis & Poetry had 10 wins.
Bremyn had 9 wins.
Also, I had a nice 10 wins, so with that, watch out for my bow. ;D
-Lamia
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Another tip from Lady Caja Niemeyer von Kleinstadt:
Educate yourself in culture. Stay on top of the arts, theatre, music, fashion,
news and all things fashionable and stylish. Don't appear dimwitted. Men will
like it when a lady can converse about varied topics.
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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 Ambition
With so few lives left to hold the Realm together, it fell further apart.
Serpentarius tried venturing further to the north, but he soon reached the
edge of the world. The forest ended at a cliff, overlooking the countless
stars of space and the Earth far below him. He sat on the edge of the cliff,
and was soon lost in thought.
He'd given up on revenge, but was still tasked with defeating the Zodiac.
Even though the one who'd tasked him was a Zodiac as well. It didn't make any
sense, and now that Serpentarius' mind was no longer gripped by vengeance, his
curiosity now had free reign.
"You look lost, traveller. Need some directions?" asked a voice coming from
the forest behind him.
Serpentarius didn't bother turning around. Capricorn's tone was unmistakable.
"Perhaps, if you could include why I should follow them," Serpentarius
muttered.
A few moments passed, and then something landed next to Serpentarius. It
appeared to be a book of some sort.
"It appears to be a book of some sort," Serpentarius stated dryly.
"You may want to try reading it," advised Capricorn, equally dryly.
Serpentarius opened the first page and realized from the handwriting that this
was one of Libra's many journals. Intrigued, he started reading:
'Virgo visited me today, for the first time in ages. Asking once more for a
way to free Serpentarius. I'm not sure which surprises me more; that she still
hasn't given up on him, or her arriving right before we were to set the plan
into action. As if someone had told her exactly what needed to be done, and
yet Capricorn swears he hadn't. Regardless, I finally told her how to break
the seal, and now I simply have to wait until we fall into the jaws of the
Serpent King. We all have our parts to play.'
"I should've figured you were in on this," muttered Serpentarius. "You realize
this plan requires your death as well, right?"
Capricorn nodded solemnly. "Check the last page," he said quietly.
Serpentarius flipped through the pages, noticing that the last entry was dated
only a few days before his encounter with Libra:
'His wrath is incredible. Five Zodiac so far have encountered him, and none
have returned. Six if you consider Virgo, but she somehow knew all along what
would happen, and went willingly. The more I wonder what must've happened, the
more I realize that this is exactly the way it must be. He would never strike
her down intentionally. I can only hope that she and the others.. no, I could
not ask for your forgiveness. I only wish you will one day understand..'
"I hope Virgo's death wasn't part of your plan.." Serpentarius said coldly.
"Do you still not see, my friend? It wasn't our plan," Capricorn explained.
"It was yours."
Serpentarius slowly stood up, turning to face Capricorn at last, whose current
form was that of a gigantic golden goat, towering over the forest like some
colossal statue.
"Mine?" Serpentarius asked blankly, his thoughts suddenly racing. "I'm
impressed. You're making even less sense than Libra."
"I understand that this is difficult to believe. If you need proof, try
reading the letter," said Capricorn calmly.
Serpentarius looked down at the journal; there was something in between the
pages. A chill went up his spine as he examined it - it was a letter to Libra
written in the Serpent King's own unmistakably macabre handwriting, yet he had
no memory of writing any such thing.
"Well," Serpentarius muttered, clearly dumbfounded. "Fancy that."
"It all began with you," Capricorn said quietly. "And so it shall end."
Serpentarius read the letter several times over. It told him everything he
needed to know, and then some, and he didn't like any of it.
"As if the guilt was bad enough already," sighed Serpentarius.
"Don't feel guilty over this," Capricorn implored. "You're simply doing what
has to be done. We trust you."
Serpentarius lowered his gaze as the reality sank in, dropping the journal and
letter on the ground. He wished he didn't have to do this, but he knew he had
no choice. Besides, Capricorn was essentially offering his life to
Serpentarius. It would've been rude to refuse.
"Very well.. it's time to meet your maker," grinned Serpentarius after a
lengthy silence, his scythe forming in his hand. "Any last requests?"
"Only one. Do not disappoint me," Capricorn replied, looking for one last duel
with his friend.
Serpentarius lept forward in a flash, flying past Capricorn and sliced his
scythe through the air. He swung with such force that it tore through the
fabric of reality itself, cutting clean through the ground and tearing a large
chunk of land off the Realm which began to float off by itself. Capricorn then
charged forward, but instead of getting crushed by the horns, Serpentarius
grabbed one with his hand, flew up into the sky and then threw Capricorn down
onto the island, which then began to plummet down towards the Earth.
Serpentarius flew down to the island to continue the duel, the two Zodiac
fighting more for enjoyment than survival. The island itself was set alight as
it fell faster with each passing moment, becoming a blazing meteorite as it
entered the Earth's atmosphere.
Down through the sky they fought, slicing and stabbing through the flames
until they couldn't help but notice the crowd gathering on the Earth below,
watching in horror as a giant fireball headed straight for them. Standing on
the back of the fireball, Capricorn felt the need to comment on the situation.
"You realize this will have... consequences if we continue?" he asked.
"All according to plan," replied Serpentarius with a grin. Capricorn looked at
him, and if goats could raise an eyebrow, he surely would have.
"Observe," said Serpentarius at the last minute. He flew beneath the fireball
and focused all his strength into one single swing of his scythe, which
obliterated the fireball into a flashy display of fireworks, much to the
delight of the crowd below. And Capricorn, whose physical body was destroyed
in the explosion.
"Impressive.." spoke Capricorn's disembodied voice. "You have passed the trial
of Ambition and I will give you my power."
"Thank you. I imagine it'll be appreciated at some point," Serpentarius
muttered dryly, clearly feeling quite uneasy about the whole affair.
"Rest assured, my friend.." replied Capricorn as his voice faded into
nothingness.
"Everything happens for a reason.."
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A Trial of Fortitude
Serpentarius' wandering was almost over. Back he flew to the Realm of the
Zodiac, though most of the land had crumbled away - only a single shoreline
remained, and beyond that laid the vast ocean at the end of the Realm... and
beyond that, the endless sea of stars.
The waves crashed onto the beach with incredible ferocity, as if controlled by
someone lashing out in agony. Serpentarius wisely chose to remain on land for
now, and went for a walk along the beach.
It didn't take long to discover the one controlling the waves; a faint figure
sitting on the beach, dressed in flowing blue robes, gazing lifelessly out at
the ocean. It was none other than Aquarius, who had been sentenced to an
agonizing death by Serpentarius' venom during their encounter a few months
earlier.
Serpentarius tentatively approached her. He wondered if he should just finish
her off now to end her suffering, or if he should try to make peace with her.
In the end, he had to go with his conscience.
"Aquarius.." Serpentarius said quietly. "I'm... not going to insult you by
saying sorry, though I do wish things could've worked out better. I know you
probably hate me, but.."
"Hate you..?" Aquarius asked, turning to look at him. The pain in her eyes was
matched only by the sorrow. "No.. even now, I could not.."
"I almost wish you did," Serpentarius sighed. "It would make this so much
easier."
"I've come to terms with it by now.. this wasn't your fault. It was mine.."
said Aquarius as she looked down at herself.. and through herself. She'd faded
so much that she was practically a ghost. She reminded Serpentarius of Virgo,
as if he needed to feel any worse about it.
"Not my fault..?" wondered Serpentarius, still clearly tortured by guilt.
"Look at yourself! How could this be anything but my fault?"
"You have to stop blaming yourself," Aquarius said with almost
uncharacteristic gentleness. "Back then.. I couldn't accept that you and Virgo
were in love. How could I? We are simply power given form. I didn't believe we
were capable of that.. so instead I chose to believe that you were
manipulating her. And you were so stubborn.. we all were. But now I've
realized... all you did was follow your heart. And we killed you for it."
A tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm the one who is sorry.."
Serpentarius looked away, out at the ocean. The waves had stopped, and the
water level seemed to be rapidly diminishing. "You are making this
increasingly difficult to accept," he muttered.
"I know.." Aquarius replied with a sad smile. "We had sixty-five million years
to reflect on what we did. But you didn't... that time simply stopped for
you. You awoke in the same condition we killed you - infuriated by the
injustice, and heartbroken by the betrayal. You needed revenge.. no.. you
needed justice. And so much time had passed that I saw that as an act of pure
malevolence. And so I sought to stop you.. instead of trying to understand
you. I am.. glad, that you won. You deserved to."
Serpentarius kept looking away, trying to maintain his composure. The
shoreline had receded all the way to the horizon by now.
"When Sagittarius said he would find me a cure or die trying, I told him it
was hopeless, but still he went. I didn't understand why.. but after he was
gone, I realized.. there are things worth more to us than our own lives,"
Aquarius sobbed. "He loved me, so he followed his heart, and died trying to
save me.. just like you followed your heart, and died trying to hold onto the
one you loved. All this time, I'd been wrong about you. And it took no less
than Sagittarius' sacrifice for me to see that. I am so sorry..."
"Stop!" cried Serpentarius. "You've done nothing wrong.. you don't deserve
this. And it breaks what heart I have to be given such power and yet no way to
heal the wounds I've caused. So if it isn't my fault, then it isn't yours
either.. just don't blame yourself."
Aquarius smiled warmly. "Thank you. Now I only have one regret.. that I never
told him how happy he made me."
Serpentarius looked down at her at last. She'd faded away so much by now that
he could barely even see her. "Don't worry... he knew," he said gently.
He looked back at the horizon. The sea level was now somewhat higher than he
remembered. And seemed to be getting higher with each second. The entire ocean
was rising up into the form of a giant wave that stretched hundreds miles into
the sky. And it seemed to be heading straight for them.
"You must leave," Aquarius pleaded. "My life is at its end. The ocean comes to
reclaim its master.."
Serpentarius simply stepped in front of her, as if to shield her. "Then I will
save you from this, as I could not save you from myself," he replied
adamantly. The wall of water rushed towards them at blinding speed, and the
sheer scale of it was difficult even for Serpentarius to comprehend. He
couldn't even see the top of it. A few more moments and it would reach them.
"What are you doing? Don't throw your life away to save what little is left of
mine!" Aquarius begged.
"None of us deserve to die alone!" cried Serpentarius as the wave struck,
crashing down on them from both the front and above. With every ounce of
strength he could muster, Serpentarius turned the surrounding water into ice,
forming a shield around them through which he tried to hold the entire ocean
back.
It was a losing battle; Serpentarius could feel his soul being destroyed with
every moment he resisted, yet he refused to give in. Through sheer force of
will, he held the ocean at bay for as long as he could. And then, when all
hope seemed lost, a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, and his strength
was renewed.
"You have passed the trial of Fortitude and I will give you my power,"
whispered Aquarius. "There are none who deserve it more. Serpentarius.."
She then disappeared completely, leaving behind enough power with which
Serpentarius could save himself, and her last words:
"Thank you for everything.."
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