Volume Nine Issue Forty-Two

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VOLUME NINE, NUMBER FORTY-TWO                              October 26, 2002
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                           TABLE OF CONTENTS
                           The Editor's Note

                         NEWS, REPORTS, UPDATES
                           Calendar of Events
                 The PR Outlook -- Next Week & Beyond
                             Recent Updates
                           Recent Q&A Topics

                              LEGENDITES
              New Immortals Announced: Cipherz and Piccolo
                   Meet the New Immorts: Cipherz
                        History of Halloween

                              Clan News
                       Knights Templar Recruiting
                          Infernals Recruiting

                             The PK Front
                           Infernal Affairs

                  A Tall Poppy is Cut Down to Size
           Zoom's Guide To Successfully Be A Incompetent Intern
              Nothing Newsworthy or Burnout of a Journalist?
                     The Coming of Something Sinister

___                                                                   ___
\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                      The Editor's Note                          |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'

One cool thing about Halloween is that you get to be someone else for the
night. It doesn't matter how sick and twisted your costume looks, or even
how contrary it is to your usual personality. People don't hold most things
you said or did that night against you, they chalk it up to the character
you were pretending to be.

Mudding is similar to dressing up for Halloween every time you log in. You
step into a role, and it can be completely different from the real you if
you want -- or not. Your choice. However, the biggest difference is while
you're still mostly anonymous, every time you log in, you're joining a
community of other people who enjoy doing the same thing and if you log in
as the same character regularly, you begin to establish a reputation for
that name and things you've done or said all work to build that reputation
-- good or bad -- and the bad will be held against you by the others in
the community.

So even though you may not be a jerk in real life, it isn't hard to gain
the reputation as one in an online community where your persona persists.
And while some might be of the opinion, that a MUD is just a game and
everything you type is just words and that they can't hurt or offend
someone else, think again.

LegendMUD is a community of people that have a collective memory that
spans nearly nine years now. And it's a community of people who may not
put the same value on words as you, but who have decided to engage
themselves in a world where they have to use their imagination a lot and
words are the only medium to convey actions, information, opinions and
conversation. So, while it might not mean much for you to speak a certain
way, don't count on the idea that everyone will feel the same way and not
hold your words and inferred attitudes against you.

If you're looking for more info on roleplaying the first meeting of the RP
Club will be held this afternoon. The RP Club events are open to everyone,
not just those who consider themselves RPers, but even hardcore PKers
could benefit from seeing how they present themselves affects their
relationships with others especially if they're having trouble getting
people to accept them.

Have a great week!

-Kaige
___                                                                   ___
\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                   LegendMUD Calendar of Events                  |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'
          [All times are system time unless otherwise specified]

               OCTOBER                             NOVEMBER
         Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa                Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
                1  2  3  4  5                                1  2
          6  7  8  9 10 11 12                 3  4  5  6  7  8  9
         13 14 15 16 17 18 19                10 11 12 13 14 15 16
         20 21 22 23 24 25 26                17 18 19 20 21 22 23
         27 28 29 30 31                      24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Saturday,  October   26th   3:00 pm          RP Fan Club - First Meeting
Tuesday,   October   29th   8:00 pm          Flag Hunt
Thursday,  October   31st   all day          Annual Halloween Elf Massacre
                            all day          Pumpkin Hunt
   No Q&A scheduled         Time TBA         Ptah's Storytelling
                            Time TBA         Costume Contest
                                 -=-=-=-=-
Saturday,  November   2nd    3:00 pm         RP Fan Club - 2nd Meeting
Thursday,  November   7th    7:00 pm         Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Saturday,  November   9th    3:00 pm         Lizzie's Lit Salon
Thursday,  November  14th    7:00 pm         Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Saturday,  November  16th    3:00 pm         RP Fan Club - 3rd Meeting
Thursday,  November  21st    7:00 pm         Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Tuesday,   November  26th    8:00 pm         Autumn Casino
Thursday,  November  28th                    Thanksgiving - U.S. - No Q&A

___                                                                    ___
\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|             The PR Outlook -- Next Week & Beyond                 |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

It's nearing the end of October, but it's not too soon to be thinking
about the Expies! The Expies are our annual awards ceremony, held as part
of the mud's birthday celebrations on or around February 14th each year.
The Expies are a reflection of what was best and funniest and most amazing
about Legend during the last year -- check HELP EXPIES when you're online
or visit http://www.legendmud.org/Community/expie.php for more info.

Even if you've voted in the Expies before... did you sit down to fill out
your ballot, only to find you couldn't remember that one really great thing
that you saw over the summer? Or worse yet, during the spring?  It's time to
start thinking about what you've seen and enjoyed the most over the entire
last year, and writing down the best stuff so you can remember when voting
time comes around.

On to the more immediate events! Don't forget to join us today at 3pm for
the first-ever meeting of the RP fan club. Like RP? Have opinions, advice
and ideas to share? Want to help yourself or others with roleplay? Join us
at 3pm system!

This week in PR also brings a series of truly classic LegendMUD events -- a
Halloween celebration complete with an Elf Hunt, a Pumpkin Hunt, storytelling
with Ptah, and a costume contest. Whether you're feeling bloodthirsty,
intrepid, creative, or just like to join in on all the fun, we've got
something for you. Come by and see us on Halloween!

-LadyAce
___                                                                   ___
\  |-----------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|                          Recent Updates                         |__\
   '-----------------------------------------------------------------'

    /\                         CODE UPDATES
   /  \     
  /    \    MISC CHANGES
 /_    _\     o the blank line after banner in events removed
   |  |     
   |  |     
   |  |                      HELP FILE UPDATES
   |__|     
    /\      GENERAL INFO:
   /  \          ABBREVIATIONS, ARCHIVING, DROP, HOUSING-FAQ,
  /    \         INTERFERENCE, MOODS,MULTIPLE, PKILL, RECRUIT, UPDATE
 /_    _\   
   |  |     Thanks to all the immorts and players who made this possible.
   |  |     
   |  |     
   |__|                         AREA UPDATES
    /\      
   /  \     If you want to suggest specific improvements or new additions
  /    \    to existing areas please don't hesitate to submit them with
 /_    _\   the idea/bug/typo commands or drop mudmail to the builder
   |  |     currently responsible for the area (use AREAINFO to find out!)
   |  |     
   |  |     The OOC
   |__|          The Prize machine updated. New offices for Cipherz and
    /\           Piccolo.
   /  \     
  /    \    ANCIENT GREECE
 /_    _\        The wooden lyre now has a limited number of charges. The
   |  |          "might blow to the head" -- typo fixed.
   |  |     
   |  |     BEOWULF
   |__|          Dragon won't just put up walls of flame upon arrival.
    /\      
   /  \     FRENCH & INDIAN WAR
  /    \         Going up from Lake George gives a message if you can't go
 /_    _\        that way.
   |  |     
   |  |     PORT OF LONDON
   |  |          The industrial economy is booming and the locals are
   |__|          prospering.
    /\      
   /  \     ROMAN BRITAIN
  /    \         Leenan sidhe disappears in a brilliant flash, NOT who
 /_    _\        she's fighting. Various bugs and typos fixed.
   |  |     
   |  |     VIKING SCANDINAVIA
   |  |          Curing the trout works again - if you can't find it, look
   |__|          closer.
    /\      
   /  \     1802 ALSAKA, THE ALHAMBRA, ANCIENT NAZCA, BENGAL, 
  /    \    HOSPITALLER MALTA, and TORTUGA
 /_    _\        Various minor bugs and typos fixed.
   |  |     
   |  |     
   |  |                    In Progress Area Updates
   |__|     
    /\      This section is intended to share what builders are working
   /  \     on behind the scenes. It is not a perfect record of progress
  /    \    as all builders do not commit updates every week. Badgering
 /_    _\   builders about their progress will get you flogged. 
   |  |     
   |  |             Cheyla        Zanzibar Expansion
   |  |             Kae           Larderello (Dante's Hell)
   |__|     

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  _______   ____    _______
 /  ___  \ / __ \  /  ___  \  Logs of Q&A sessions are available on the
 | /   \ | \ \/ /  | /   \ |  web pages for those who are unable to attend
 | |   | |  \  /   | \___/ |  or had to leave early. The most recent ones
 | |   | |  /  \/\ |  ___  |  are listed on the sitemap page or you can
 | | /\| | / /\  / | /   \ |  get a complete list on the Q&A index page
 | \_\ \ | \ \/  \ | \   / |  at the url below.
  \___\/_/  \__/\/ \_/   \_|

     http://www.legendmud.org/Community/lectures/QandA/QA_index.html

                              RECENT TOPICS

 o Code Changes                      o Magic Sink Bug?
 o Affects & Regen Over Renting?     o Do All Immorts Fly?
 o Player Run Shops?                 o Tinyplot Write Up?
 o Klein Bonus & Hometown Discussion o What Affects Damage Done?
 o Other Perks to Arabian Hometown?  o Immorts can have Mortals?
 o Studying Spellbooks?              o General Suggestions/Questions

___                                                                    ___
\  |------------------------------------------------------------------|  /
/__|      LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World   |__\
   '------------------------------------------------------------------'

              New Immortals Announced: Cipherz and Piccolo

Please congratulate Cipherz and Piccolo who have joined the imm staff!

Cipherz will be working in the coding department and Piccolo will be
working on a medieval China area (Ming Dynasty, 1643) for the building
department.

Give 'em a break when asking them for stuff, they're still learning all
those new commands and got a TON of info dumped on them so their heads
are probably still swimming.

And thanks to those who took the time and put in the effort of submitting
a proposal this round. The next round of applications have a March 1st
deadline. Reading HELP APPLICATION online will give you more information.

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                     Meet the New Immorts: Cipherz!

A few years ago a friend of Cipherz showed him Legend and soon he started
playing and has done so ever since. Some years before he started playing,
he started programming. So he guesses you can call him a nerd, although
he might not be online much during friday and saturday nights because
he's at some party. He'd like to contribute to make Legend the greatest
mud along with all the other immortals so here he is. If he doesn't
respond right away he's sorry but it happens that he falls asleep or his
boss calls or something. Cipherz lives in Denmark, where it is 7 hours
ahead of system time.

   Next week, we'll pin down Piccolo and let you know more about him!

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                        History of Halloween

Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries.
The ones listed below are just a few that I have learned of during my
travels, wandering through time.

In the 5th Century BC, the Celts, living in what is now Great Britain and
northern France, held a celebration at the end of summer and the beginning
of cold weather on November 1. This festival called Samhain (said sow-en)
celebrated the new year and lasted 3 days. They wore the skins and heads
of animals.

Pomona Day, named for the Goddess of fruits and gardens, was celebrated in
Roman Britain after the first century when the Romans invaded, bringing
their customs with them. Pomona Day was also around November 1. Over
hundreds of years, the two celebrations mixed together.

In 835 AD, the Catholic Church declared  November 1, a holiday honoring
all the saints. This holiday was known as All Saint's Day or All Hallow's
Day. Years later, the Church made November 2nd, a holy day called All
Soul's Day to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires,
parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils. In time, All
Hallow's evolved into All Hallow's Eve and then finally Halloween over many
years as the customs of these three celebrations mixed.

In 1840, the custom of Halloween was brought to America by Irish
immigrants, fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the
favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and
unhinging fence gates.

The custom of trick-or-treating seems to have begun with a ninth-century
European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early
Christians would walk from village to village begging for 'soul cakes'.
'Soul Cakes' were made out of pieces of bread with currants. In exchange
for soul cakes, the beggars would promise to say prayers on behalf of the
dead relatives of the donors. At that time, it was believed that the dead
remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by
strangers, would help a soul's passage to heaven.

The Jack-O-Lantern began because of an old Irish legend about a drunk
named Jack. One day, Jack was out in the woods, he tricked Satan into
climbing a tree to throw down some fruit. Once Satan had helped him but
was still up in the tree, Jack carved a cross into the tree and trapped
Satan there. Jack then struck a deal that Satan would leave his soul
alone when Jack died. Unfortunately, this backfired when Jack died since
heaven would not take Jack either. When Jack kept bothering the Devil to
let him in, the Devil gave Jack a burning ember instead. Jack carried the
ember in a hollowed out turnip to light his way as he wandered through
eternal darkness. Eventually the turnip was replaced with the pumpkin in
America and became the modern Jack-o-Lantern.

Halloween as celebrated in modern times is a mixture of all of these
influences. Pomona Day had apples, nuts, and harvest Festival of Samhain
had black cats, magic, evil spirits and death All Saint's Day and All
Soul's Day had ghosts, skeletons and skulls.

Happy Halloween!

Finlay, the Wanderer
     ___                                                          ___
     \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /
     /__|                      Clan News                         |__\
        '--------------------------------------------------------'

The following was posted on simple parchment outside our offices:

         @*******************************************************@
         *                                                       *
         *           By Order of the Grand Master                *
         *                                                       *
         *   Let is be known that the fair Order of the Poor     *
         *    Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon of      *
         *     Jerusalem now seeks initiates to join in its      *
         *    crusade - to shed light where there is darkness    *
         *   and bring hope, through Him, where there is none.   *
         *                                                       *
         *   Those wishing further information are encouraged    *
         *   to submit inquiry to Sister Trinity d'Arpajon, or   *
         *   to seek counsel with any Knight of the Temple.      *
         *                                                       *
         *                     Deus Vobiscum                     *
         *                   (God be with you)                   *
         *                                                       *
         @*******************************************************@

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                          Infernals Recruiting

          We, the Infernals, believe in the saying "Live and let
          your enemies burn in Hell". If you are strong enough to
          master your fear of conflict with your fellow man,
          contact us. You need not be a master of the battlefield,
          only one interested in fighting. Experience comes in
          time to those who strive to attain it.

          Your Lord,
  
          Barabas BoneCrusher Infernals GM

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There are currently 13 RP clans and 9 PK clans. This leaves open slots for
ten (10) more clans to form. For more information, read HELP CLAN and see
the clan information list via the CLANS command while logged into the
game. For a basic handbook and reference guide for players interested in
starting and running a clan, we recommend that before you even type FORM,
you visit: http://www.legendmud.org/Reference/gm.html.

     ___                                                          ___
     \  |--------------------------------------------------------|  /
     /__|                    The PK Front                        |__\
        '--------------------------------------------------------'

                           Infernal Affairs

        Evil is again out in force and we the Infernals give
        congratulations to the Grendels for not hiding under their
        beds like the frightened 'warriors' of the Light.

        An ambush in the land of shadows turned out poorly for
        Grendel Reaper, although the intended target Delandel
        suffered death as well. I also ventured in the land of
        shadows to take revenge on Shivan, however my bad habit of
        firestorming led Skatha to become quite annoyed with me and
        she slaughtered me easily. Shivan then decided to kill me
        once more for my slaying of his newly dead comrade, Reaper.

        A quick note on this for the education of those learning
        the world of pkill: if you recently die, don't wake your
        friends unless you want someone to assume you have decided
        to participate in the combat again. Shivan might not have
        known he was being woken by Reaper, if he did then his
        retribution was poor form.
        
        Your Lord,
        
        Barabas BoneCrusher
        Infernals GM

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

With roughly 80% of their members active this week, the Infernals and
Grendels have been seen leading the action this week, both in terms of
jumping and being jumped back. The Secretives saw about half their members
on the fields of battle this week. Several Knights of Legend have also
been seen fighting for justice and to protect the innocent. The Coven
seems to have gathered some power and energy and have been seen striking
out against the chaos. The IRA and Syndicate have also sent a few members
out in the field, but seem to be holding back their full forces. In the
meantime, classes seem to be rather leisurely paces and attendance not
considered mandatory for the School of Hard Knocks and the Hermetic Order
seem to have fully retreated to the confines of their tower.

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There were 167 pkill-related deaths involving 75 different characters in
the last week. Of those 75 characters, 37 of them were accept all at the
time. So come on, let's get YOUR name up in lights! We can't report on it
if you don't tell us about it!

If you have you witnessed or committed any glorious or nefarious deeds,
send a short report to us at the LT. If you are looking for a fight,
recruiting, or anything else related to PK (not necessarily PK Clan
related), send it in! It's free AND you'll get a prize token! Be a
celebrity, the envy of all your friends! Tick off your enemies or just
tell your side of the story! The possibilities are endless -- act today!!
 
              _______________________
             /                       \
        o O | Wonder what folks are   |
  `\|||/    | doing over at LegendMUD?|
   (o o)     \_______________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|___
__|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|

                  A Tall Poppy is Cut Down to Size

'Oh dear, what am I doing here,' thought Poppy Hamilton-Smythe, as she
gazed at the Maltese goodwife in front of her. She didn't hold out much
hope for her quest to return to her own time. She had searched time and
space but had been able to go no further forward than the 1940s. During
her quest she had sought out many fortune tellers, magicians, gypsies and
mediums. Maria was her last hope.

Tears started to well in her eyes, against her upbringing, which
encouraged a 'stiff upper lip' in public.

The fortune teller leaned forward and hugged the distressed young woman. 
'Tell me,' she said in her thickly accented English.

The unexpected comfort from a stranger was the last straw and Poppy's
inbred reserve broke. The story tumbled out of her.

She'd been preparing for her exams in her final year of high school, at
the best private girl's school money could buy. Everyone had expected her
to be dux of the school, the exams merely a formality before University
and a brilliant career in law, then politics. Tall, pretty, and talented,
with wealthy parents, her 'friends' were more like rivals envious of her
ability to succeed.

One day, a group of girls from her class had gone to the fair, an exotic
event with fake fortunes, fun rides and plenty of sideshows, as a break
from their intense studying. She'd been so busy having fun, she hadn't
noticed her so-called best friend slipping a sum of money to a swarthy,
colourfully dressed, earringed man. Her friend had then suggested she
have her fortune told, pointing out the clearly fake gypsy. Laughing,
she'd entered the tent. Suddenly everything went black, and the next
thing she knew she'd woken up in a place called the Agrabah Camela Inn.

How she longed to go home...

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

           Zoom's Guide To Successfully Be A Incompetent Intern

The three following will help you become the best incompetent intern, if
you bother to follow it at all I mean...

1. 'Well, if you didn't...'

    - That is the first thing you should know about being a
    successful incompetent intern. You must learn to blame it on
    your patient. If they are bleeding all over the place, blame
    it on them for not staying still. Or their foul body odours,
    telling them that it is because of it that you can not
    concentrate.

2. 'Oh, don't listen to his gibberish, he is officially insane...'

    - The second thing you must master to be a incompetent intern
    is to stop all the bad remarks against you. If some how you
    accidentally cut out the wrong parts, and there is no way to
    fix it, well then, cut something else also that is important
    to their body function. Hopefully 'your job will be finish',
    if you know what I mean *wink wink*, they aren't telling
    anyone else about your bad performance now. And if some how
    they do slip out words about you in a bad way, just state the
    person that started the so call 'rumour' is officially insane
    by the Medical Board.

3. 'Was I -not- suppose to do that?....'

    - Heck, if you do make a mistake and there is no way out of
    it, either through permanently silent them or other mean.
    Then just blame if on your intern status, say how because you
    are a intern that is why you didn't get it, etc... Work every
    time *grin*...

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

              Nothing Newsworthy or Burnout of a Journalist?

Paparazzi pushed open the door of the Dew Droppe Inn, and dragged his feet
over to a vacant table. Plopping himself down, he managed a dejected sigh
before Mistress Quickley bustled over, beaming and clucking. 'Ooh, Mr.
Paparazzi,' she gushed, clasping his arm, 'What's the latest news? You know
I love hearing about the latest exploits of the rich and famous. Imagine -
being able to galivant across the world, no ties, no job to hold you
back...' she finished, staring off into space, dreamily. A few workers
seated nearby subtly leaned back to listen in.

'Ohh, I've scrounged a bit here and there but getting them published is
proving a real chore,' he winced, and plucked a stray rose thorn from a
scrawny buttock. He pulled a crumpled catalog from an overflowing pocket
and gazed longingly at a circled item. It was the latest model imp-powered
iconograph, a polished leather-covered box with a large shiny lens. The
tiny imp was shown holding a beautifully coloured picture in one hand
whilst waving a paintbrush with the other as he peered from the open hatch
on top. 'Being an iconographic journalist is certainly limiting when I
don't have an iconograph,' he muttered. 'The compromising position has
been untangled, cigarettes lit and awkward goodbyes exchanged before I
even get the preliminary sketch finished - not to mention how damn
difficult it is to lug the easel up the damn tree into the first place...'

'There, there' comforted Mistress Quickley, 'Now tell us the goss!'

Paparazzi sighed and whined 'Look, it's not proving that easy. The
glitterati can get so awkward when I poke into their private lives.'

'Tsk! The nerve of them!' tutted Mistress Quickley, 'I mean, you can't
live the high life at the expense of us little folk (mobs they call us - I
mean really, how derogatory is that, I ask you) without giving something
back. We want details!' There were murmurs of approval from the
surrounding tables.

'Right then!' nodded Paparazzi, stirred into action. He pulled a couple of
tattered notepads from another bulging pocket. 'Ooh, how about this...' he
looked around conspiratorily and lowered his voice, 'Chef Nietzsche
doesn't wash his hands...' he nodded and waggled his eyebrows. The room
remained quiet and shifted uncomfortably, glancing at their own grubby
appendages before shoving them into their pockets or out of sight under
the table.

'Ohh-kay then, erm - how about this then? He pulled out this and passed
it around.

__________________________________________________________
|  _____________________________________________________  |
| |                  __---=======-                      | |
| |                _/              )                    | |
| |               /   *             \--_v__             | |
| |             (                          \_           | |
| |            / (                      )    \          | |
| |           |                             ) )         | |
| |          ( (   *            x            )          | |
| |           |                             /           | |
| |            \                            )           | |
| |             \   (                   )  /            | |
| |              (__     __        _     _)             | |
| |                 ---_______________-/                | |
| |_____________________________________________________| |
|_________________________________________________________|

'It's a potato.' said Mistress Quickley doubtfully.

'Yes!' enthused Paparazzi,'but not just any potato. If you look carefully
you will notice it bares an uncanny likeness to McDougan!' he finished
proudly. The room stayed motionless for a moment and there was another
awkward silence. Someone in the back coughed.

'I seeee,' nodded Mistress Quickley carefully, 'I think you've been
working a little too hard lately - perhaps you need a good lie down...?'
She took the little reporter by one shoulder and guided him gently
upstairs to one of the rooms, all the while nodding and smiling as he
prattled on happily about the remarkable mimicry displayed by various root
vegetables.

               =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                     The Coming of Something Sinister

In the deep dark recesses of the world lie in wait a man of the purest
evil. He sits around most of his days thinking of new ways in which to
torture and kill those who live on the surface. He is alone with this
thoughts, imprisoned so to speak with this inner turmoil, for boredom had
truly set in and ripping out each hair one by one from the live bodies of
the surface dwellers is only fun after a few bottles of blood wine, and
since the stout vanished, blood wine was hard to find. On this day he was
especially bored because the passageway to the surface had been block by
an astral storm for days. No one to maim, no one to torture, no children
to hang upside down until blood oozed from their noses. Life for him had
truly come to a stand still. 'Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh,' he screamed at the
empty cavern walls and then took comfort in the resonating scream that
followed, even if it was his own.

With a slight flick of his finger, more an involuntary movement really; he
summoned forth a pale dull black light to illuminate a small area around
him. The bones of his victims now shadowed by the light lie strewn about,
as if chewed upon by an animal and long forgotten for something fresher.
'I am tired of being the puppet of my surroundings,' he whispered at a
skull that was clearly not paying much attention. 'Astral storm or not, I
must leave this place and find amusement with the surface dwellers' he
spoke aloud again. The empty sockets of the skulls lying about him
reminded him of the emptiness currently plaguing his existence.

Bringing
his hands out and curving them together to form a perfect circle he began
chanting in a strange rhythmic language, 'Meue....Dyn....RUDH! A great
void began to open in the air before him, gathering strength with each
passing moment of time. Wisps of white and black light poured through
racing around the cavern playing tag with one another. A strange purple
hue all of a sudden flew from the void and tour a gash along side his
head, causing a searing pain and momentarily breaking his concentration on
where he wanted to go.

Rage sprang up and pounded through him, making him
bring forth even more power then he intended, nearly doubling the size of
the void he had created. MEUE..DYN.. RUDH!! He screamed again and like a
wisp of air, he was engulfed by the void leaving no trace of him in the
cavern. The hundreds of lights that played with each other around the
cavern raced toward the void presenting a brilliant effect of light on
light. Then as suddenly as they came, the cavern returned to its
darkness, leaving the bones to play with one another again.

On a rocky outcrop alongside side a stream a black ball of energy exploded
on the scene of a squirrel placing a piece of seed into its mouth. The
squirrel blinked and instead of the void stood a torn dirty-cloaked dark
figure, covered in fresh and old blood. The very ground around the figure
began to wither and die. A low chuckle escaped from the figure as it
looked around. Instantly he knew he was not in the right place. This was
not his world, it was to young and the magic here felt renewed and alive
with potential. No this was not his world but he would enjoy very much
bringing his torment here. Yes a new place to show the true nature of the
beast.

        -- An account of the beginning as told by the unknown. --

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