Volume Six Issue Two
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............./ / THE LEGENDARY TIMES
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..../ /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
.../________________/ running on mud.sig.net 9999
199.1.78.16 9999
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http://mud.sig.net/ ftp://mud.sig.net/pub
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VOLUME SIX, ISSUE TWO January 9th, 1999
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The Editor's Note -
- Upcoming Calendar of Events -
ARTICLES
- Did You Know... -
- The Immortal Report -
- Dominic's Science & Invention Grand Trivia Extravaganza! -
- Survey Says.... -
LEGENDITES
- The Conjurer's Guild: Part I -
- Tales from the Stag -
- A Return from the Brink -
- Parting Words.. -
- Doomsday? -
- Mad Hedgehogs! -
- Story of Life and Death -
- Call For Justice -
- A Declaration of War -
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/__| EDITOR'S NOTE |__\
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Hello All,
As many of you know, the immortal staff is currently in the process of
discussing immortal applications. My intention is to give you some
information about the process, in case you have not witnessed it in the
past, or if you did not notice.
To become an immortal on LegendMUD, one must fill out an application.
That application, plus your conduct as a mortal, are the basis by which
the immortal staff casts their votes on your candidacy -- and they may
votes yes, no, or abstain. After a period of discussion, these votes
are cast privately, and the votes are tallied, and weighted depending
on each immortal's department and their immortal status.
It's quite possible that you may not know the people we select as new
immortals. That may be due to different time zones and different
playing times, or perhaps you haven't noticed them. You might be
surprised, some players have been around forever, interacting on the
ground and doing great things, but since they travel in different
places or social circles or don't frequently speak on chat, you may not
notice them. In some cases, the person may have a special well-known
alt they don't want to give up, and chose a lesser-known alt to
immort.
When we've finished our deliberations and announce our selections to
the mud, I hope you'll welcome them. In the meantime, how about
checking the who list and making an effort to meet that quiet
somebody? You might not meet a potential immortal, but you might make
a great new friend.
Love to all,
LadyAce
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/__| UPCOMING CALENDAR OF EVENTS |__\
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[All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
<-^-><-^-><-^-><-^-><-^->January<-^-><-^-><-^-><-^-><-^->
Thursday, January 14, 7:00 pm - Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Saturday, January 16, 7:00 pm - Dominic's Science & Invention
Grand Trivia Extravaganza!
Thursday, January 21, 7:00 pm - Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
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/__| NEWS AND REPORTS |__\
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_____ DID YOU KNOW ... that if you're one of those forgetful
/ _ \ people who just can't remember how long you've had that
/__/ \ \ timed item and are constantly worried about it going poof
/ / on you and always seem to be wasting mana preserving the
/ / item, there are two spells that can help you immensely.
/__/
__ The spells TIMESIGHT and MAGICAL HOURGLASS were designed
/ \ for just this situation. Any mage with the proper words
\__/ can cast timesight, and your friendly local create mages
can cast the magical hourglass for you.
_____ DID YOU KNOW ... that there are some new kinds of
/ _ \ coupons available? Some of you are familiar with the
/__/ \ \ add-a-color coupon, it allows you to add color to an
/ / existing string, or to make an unstrung item colorized.
/ / Brand new on the coupon scene is the 'mundane' coupon.
/__/ This coupon lets you rename one of your items to look
__ like any nonstat item which already exists on the mud.
/ \ The mud is filled with items which go unused because
\__/ they have no +stat, even though they have great
descriptions. I think you'll find the builders have made
an incredible variety of items -- go explore!
_____ DID YOU KNOW ... that you get get a prize token
/ _ \ just for writing for this very journal? The Legendary
/__/ \ \ Times is a great place for spreading the word about
/ / your new RP idea, sharing stories of your adventurers,
/ / or simply offering other players a few helpful
/__/ suggestions.
__
/ \ Remember, your submissions, if accepted, will garner
\__/ you a prize token AND the envy of all your friends.
Particularly impressive articles will earn you a coupon.
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The Immortal Report
The Admin Department is gearing up for yet another change in the
description approval process. Starting January 10th, we will be
changing the description process once again. All FULL PR and FULL ADMIN
immortals will be able to check and then immediately register a
description (if it qualifies as approved) on the spot. It should take
probably about 5 minutes to check and register a description (depending
on lag of course). With this process, we've had to become a bit more
strict regarding some of the rules of descriptions. Others may seem a
bit more lenient. Please see the welcome board post titled
"Descriptions- Please Read" for more information.
The Building Department has been working on new areas and making
updates to some old one. Crusades is looking closer to completion and
Alaska is coming along nicely. Rufus has been making great progress on
the pirate expansion and Wraith just put in an update to the Somme.
The Coding Department has been working on minor updates recently, and
larger projects behind the scenes.
The Player Relations Department is gearing up for this years Expies --
the nominations ballots have been sent! They're also preparing to
revamp the OOC. Please provide any comments or suggestions you might
have, on the discussion board.
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Dominic's Science & Invention Grand Trivia Extravaganza!
Dominic will run a lengthy trivia session on Saturday, January 16th, at
7:00 pm! He has worked long and hard to devise a giant list of
questions, and hopes everyone can attend.
Topic will be inventions! Do you really know who invented what, and
when? There will be many surprises -- this game will really test your
knowledge of the ancient, medieval, and modern world of gadgetry,
ideas, and wonders.
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________________________
/ \
o O | Wonder what folks are |
`\|||/ | doing over at LegendMUD?|
(o o) \________________________/
ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
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/__| LEGENDITES: Information Regarding the People of Our World |__\
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The Conjurer's Guild
(Part I - At the beginning)
The order - called 'The Conjurer's Guild' - was founded by two evil
mages nearly 3500 years b.c. Those mages wanted to become the most
powerful men of the world, of the Universe ... of the Galaxy. Their
army, which numbered a few hundreds of men and women who were able to
use magic in different ways, was powerful and frightened nearly the
whole world.
Using their forces they fought many battles and they extended their
lives for ages and soon -- which means about 2000 years later -- they
realized that the world they populated wouldn't have enough mana to
open the veil to the stars. This discovery brought restlessness into
the troops and many mages left the army to find their own life.
But ...
... only a few of them survived the wrath of their leaders.
Other members were upset because suddenly they had to kill their own
friends and even family members. And then the day came when the son of
Rhygol - the favorite pupil the old masters had - wanted to leave the
guild. The old masters forced Rhygol to hunt his son and to kill him.
Rhygol - nearly as powerful as his masters - began to despair. He
followed his orders and he brought back the severed head of his son.
Nights, weeks and months followed and Rhygol wasn't able to sleep. He
used magic to stay awake, because he was afraid of meeting his son
while dreaming.
Secretly meeting with other important persons and strong mages of the
guild, Rhygol began to organize a revolt. A few decades after, Rhygol
counted most of the family-heads as his companions and decided that the
time has come, and that their old masters had to die ...
... the old masters knew that something was wrong and so they gathered
the loyal members of their council, to defend their throne room. While
they worked to deny entrance to Rhygol and his followers, the old mages
were able to form a portal that transported them to a place far away.
Rhygol entered the chamber and saw only a glimmer of light. They were
gone. He swore to find them and to call the old men to account for the
death of his son.
Leaving a bloody trail on his journey, and hunting down all loyal
members of the old, evil guild, Rhygol reached a magical forest. While
he was trying to reach the heart of the forest, many of his companion
died to the enchanted plants and animals. When the survivors of the
party reached the middle of the forest, they found the old mages, and a
horrible fight began. Hundreds upon thousands of creatures from all
over the world were summoned...
To Be Continued
told by Andrea, Guildmistress of the new 'Conjurer's Guild'
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
TALES FROM THE STAG
One night, Ronnie, Deicide, and I were sitting around, telling "your
momma" jokes, in the Stag, when all of a sudden, I felt a chill run
down my spine. I looked up, and scanned the room, but no one was there.
Ronnie stood up and rented a room for the night, so it was just me and
Deicide. We talked for a minute, and then he stood up to go. I stood
up, kissed him, and he did the same, and left. I sat back down,
forgetting about the spine thing. Then I heard a glass shatter from
behind me, and I turned my head around to the darkest corner of the
room. I heard rustling, like the creature was running. I wasn't scared,
just annoyed. I drew my sword, and held it with both hands.
"I'm tired and I don't want to play games," I said. "Show yourself."
The creature gave a menacing laughter, and ran to the front of the
Stag, where the door was. I followed it with my sword, piviting
lighting on my heel, as a warrioress at heart is prone to do. I stared
down the shadows, and nothing seemed to be there, but my senses knew
better. Suddenly, the door flew open. My head jerked up, and I saw
Avialon and Darkangel standing there.
"Shut the door!" I screamed. Avialon pulled Darkangel inside and
immediately shut the door. The creature gave another shot of laughter,
and Darkangel looked at me with fearful eyes. I nodded at her.
"Darkangel, can you make some sort of mage light that I can see the
creature by? I can't see it while its dark." I said. Darkangel nodded,
bowed her head, lifted her hands, and muttered a few words. Suddenly a
crackling ball of light appeared from her and she jerked her head up.
She sweeped her hands across the room and the ball broke into pieces
and followed.
"There's nothing there!" Avialon exclaimed. My senses led me to the
corner of a room.
"Darkangel, give me your dagger." I said. Darkangel, never questioning
anything I ask of her, drew out her dagger and gave it to me. The
creature was running again, and I followed it. I signaled to Darkangel
to do a binding spell, and she did. The creature cried out with anger.
I aimed the dagger, and instantly the creature exploded into a
exuberance of light. It faded and died away. I grinned at Avialon and
thanked Darkangel for her work. Then, I rented a room, and they walked
off, seeking another job. The creature of the Stag hasn't been seen
since.
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
A Return from the Brink
The edge was very, very close. If she even peeked over it again, she
would surely fall...fall from the tiny ledge which had caught her when
she attempted to hurl her body into the abyss. If she tried to look at
this miraculous ledge, she knew that she would see that there was
nothing there. She hung in empty space.
But something, something inside herself had reached out, at the last
possible second, preventing her annihilation. Some kind of magical
field, suspending her here, delaying oblivion. It was all very
confusing....
She had had nothing further to live for, no joys or passions remained
to keep her on this plane. Her husband had cheated on her, and then
died mysteriously within hours of their subsequent divorce. Her father,
angry about her divorcing the man he chose for her, and blaming her for
his death, had turned away from her. He was a hard man, filled with
severe, irrevocable feelings. She had already dismantled most of
herself to please the two men in her life, and without them, nothing
remained.
And so she chose to end it all...or at least most of her did. But some
part must have wanted to live. She tried to revive that split second of
salvation, to give it some kind of name.
A cruel, obnoxious figure was suddenly etched in her mind...yet
somehow, a charming, and even kind-hearted face. Intriguing...
conflicted....attractive...and yet annoying! How could it be him? Why
did it have to be him? Or was this some wicked trick. Only time could
tell.
Suddenly recovering her senses after a time she could not measure,
Aisha wondered what in the Goddess's name was she doing halfway down a
big black hole...!? She tossed together a few spells, twisted up a
magical rope, and climbed hand-over-hand, out of the darkness.
Bloodlust filling her half-atrophied limbs with new purpose, she dashed
off to figure out what that Ronnie fellow might be up to these days.
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Parting Words..
Today my wife died. I had known she would leave me for some time now,
I knew she could not go on with what had happened to her, but I still
hoped that she would.
FireHorse was a magnificent woman, her two 'official' nicknames, Lady
Sainglend and Purple People Beater, were well chosen and all who knew
her will miss her witty and agile mind. It is not only the warbabe I
will miss, I will also miss the woman FireHorse, my wife and companion
for almost an entire year. The one who refused to accept me dying every
day at level 45 and got me to level 50 so I would be worthy of her. I
still had doubts about my worthiness, but I did love her with all of my
being, and there was never anyone more worthy of love, admiration and
lust as my lithe dominatrix.
The day she agreed to marry me I was so happy I could not describe it
to you now, and today when she left me alone again, I am too sad for
words. I wept a single tear over her, and I have made it into an
earring by my own efforts, and will wear it always on my ear as: a
glittering onyx teardrop with the initials FH inlaid in gold
Jen-Jen of the Awooga.
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Doomsday?
Tick, tick, tick, hssssssssss. *CRASH*
"Grrrrr, DAMNIT!" mutters a man hunched over a rather small box, its
dark sides absorbing the sparks from a crude welding torch. He pauses
to life the primitive mask form his face, revealing a frowning face
framed with bluish hair. "Crappy ancient technology stand-ins, oh well,
almost done". He puts the mask back down over his face for protection,
and continues his work.
Crck, crck, crck, SNAP! "Errrr, not again"
Finally, quite a bit later, the worker stands back from his
masterpiece. A gleaming silver rod poking from the top of a finely
worked golden pyrmamid, which itself sits snugly in a custom welded
frame of steel. Almost directly under the pyramid, a bowl made of some
smoky-red transparent material lays over a silver mirror.
"Genious!" The man exclaims, "And what else from me?" he announces,
sharpening his nails on his shirt in a flrgrant display of pride. How
anyone could be proud of this ramshackle piece of junk is amazing, but
proud he is. Heels clicking as he walks out of the vaulted ceilings in
this dark cavern, he whistles some sort of nonsense to himself
triumphantly, even in his pride remembering not to trip on his cloak
for once. Once more, he displays his own self worth and confidence by
leaving a large sign on the way out form these dark caves, reading
'Home to the DOOMSDAY MACHINE! Tours runs from 9-5, weekdays only'
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Mad Hedgehogs!
TARA - Blood infected with Mad Cow disease has spilled from a corpse
left misteriously at the crossroads near Tara, spurring bizarra and
aggressive behavior in the native hedgehog population.
"Usually, the hedgehogs prey on smaller fare, rats, voles and the
occasional moth but with all this blood everywhere, they've just gone
crazy," said hedgehog spokesperson and crackpot folklorist Aphelion.
"Small children will be their first victims, I would imagine. My best
advice is to lock them up and keep them out of school for awhile."
Aphelion offers these tips on how to know if your child has been bitten:
1) The child starts to grow small, brownish spines on his back
2) The child constantly cries for the fresh blood of small mammals
3) The child develops a habit of hiding under planks in huts.
When asked what to do for a child bitten by a hedgehog with mad cow
disease, Aphelion looked sombre and said: "Well, there wouldn't be too
much you could do actually. Just love them, I guess."
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Story of life and death.
Someone said that if the Gods want to destroy you, they make all
your wishes come true. He probably doesn't know how right he was. I know. I
had my wishes come true.
I was once a priest, a chief servant of Anubis, the Jackal-headed, the
God of the afterlife. It seemed natural to ask our deity for favors
unavailable to other people. Immortality. Eternal youth. Life after
death. All the usual stuff. How naive we were. Of course, our pleas
remained unheard. We thought it's because we didn't please our deity,
but no sacrifice seemed to be big enough. Our God didn't listen. Later,
when it was way too late, I realized our god was too merciful to
listen.
One day while digging in the library trough some old letters I found a
description of an ancient rite of invocation. It was hid there by one
of my predecessors, too dangerous to be put in more public place, and
yet too important to be destroyed. It didn't just send an invitation to
the deity, it put the RSVP on it. It had to work.
The rite, surprisingly, was not very complicated. I had to wait for the
first night of the new moon in the summer to strangle the cat. I don't
recall the rest of the rite, but it's not important. Of course, before
I did it I learned the instructions by heart and destroyed them. Nobody
will ever be able to repeat it and get the reward I wanted just for
me. Anyway, I followed the instructions, and asked, of course, for
immortality. Nothing happened.
Dissapointed by yet another failure, I went to bed. Perhaps i didn't
decipher the instruction correctly, but now it's too late. I'll try
again in the morning.
Somewhere around midnight, I woke up in sweat. I couldn't move a
muscle, I couldn't make a sound. I could only look in the darkness of
the room and listen to my heart beat. And then, it didn't beat
anymore.
I wanted to scream. I couldn't open my mouth, or make my lungs do the
necessary work. All I could do is stare in the darkness, and listen to
the silence. Silence interrupted by buzzing of the flies drawn here by
smell of dead body in the warm night.
In the morning, my servants found me. There was no grief, no crying, as
I wasn't very kind to them when I was alive. And my fellow priests were
happy to see my place empty, because empty places need filling, and my
place brought power and wealth with it. They didn't lose any time, and
they started with preparations for the funeral right away. Of course,
important man as I were wouldn't be just burned. He would be embalmed
and burried following the rules and rituals.
I was able to see embalmers sharpen their tools and hear thier jokes
about the work they were about to do. I could feel too. The pain.I
could feel their knives cutting into me, feel my organs being removed
and my brain extracted trough my nose with a sharp hook. It was
somewhat a relief when they removed my eyeballs and replaced them with
garlic bulbs. At least I couldn't see them anymore.
Later, when I was laid into my stone sacrcophagus deep in a grave dug
out in a mountain side, I had time to think. I don't know how, since
all my thinking organs were removed and stored separately. But, I
always knew there is more to this life than flesh and blood. I was
thinking about my wish, and the way it was fulfilled. Tragic thing is,
it was exactly what I had asked for. My spirit didn't leave my body
when it died.
I thought embalming process was the worst thing that can happen to a
man. I was wrong. I was lying in my coffin, feeling the cold of the
stone, without any idea about the time. I only knew it passed. Day
after month after year after decade. I was lying in void. I would go
insane if I could, but I could not. That was a bodily disorder, and there
was not much of my body left. All I could do is despair.
Time passed. And passed........
And one day, I felt the massive stone slab being removed from the
top of my grave. I don't know how, but I saw the lid of the sarcophagus
being lifted. I don't know how, but I raised and grabbed the person who
ended my suffering. I tore him apart, together with the rest of his band.
Probably just the grave robbers attracted by jevelry that was buried with
me, they were too horrified to run. Even to scream.
I don't know what gave me the power to rise again. Perhaps the curse my
fellow priests put on my grave to protect it from the robbers. Whatever
it was, it worked. And what am I to do with it, now? Not alive, but
undead, now I have to walk the world, restless. All I can do is do what
I've done while I was alive: serve. Serve my deity. What will his will
be, I do not know.
Rehetep, still the First Servant of the Jackal-faced Anubis
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
Call for justice
As we have seen of late, 'twould seem that once more, the insane
vampire prince, Ronnie Valthalas, has crawled out from under his rock
somewhere. I personally regret that I have not yet discovered the
location of aforementioned rock that I might make certain that it never
be lifted again by man mortal or immortal. However, 'tis a time for all
who claim that they serve justice and mankind, in one religion or form
or other, to rally now, lest the rumors of said vampire's doomsday
device is indeed true.
Time has not granted me space to learn the details of this. I merely
have received word that with Monseigneur Valthalas' device, Creation as
we know it will cease to exist. Mayhaps 'tis finally time for us all to
put aside our differences for at least a while. To cease arguing
whether God sent us his Son or not. Whether God is black, white, male,
female, a dog, or even a Scot. And merely go forth in unison to once
and for all drive these undead from our world.
Tancred de Gisborne,
Master of the Temple.
/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\*/*\
A Declaration of War
My love for her..
In my love for the beautiful Xanthea, I have once again decided to
enter the realm of pkill. I have but one intention, which is to kill
Sterling. I have realized that I can not have my one true love if this
man exists, so he will no longer exist.
Sterling - you had your warning, snd now I'm coming for you, watch your
back.
This man disgusts me, and I will stand for it no more.
-Conspiracy.
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Legendary Times is published by the immortals of LegendMUD. Please send all
replies, additions, or corrections to our address at [email protected] for
inclusion in the next edition. We, however, reserve the right to moderate
this discussion, and may object to some submissions.
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