Volume Eight Issue One
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............./ / THE LEGENDARY TIMES
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..../ /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
.../________________/ running on mud.legendmud.org 9999
64.7.5.163 9999
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http://www.legendmud.org/ ftp://ftp.legendmud.org/pub
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VOLUME EIGHT, ISSUE ONE January 12, 2001
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
New Year's Musings from Kaige
Calendar of Events
NEWS, REPORTS, & UPDATES
Legends of the Past Application Process
ASSASSIN!
Recent Updates!
Did You Know?
Q & A Topics
December Connection Analysis
LEGENDITES
Announcements
RPS 2001: Match of the REAL new Millennium!
The Scale Shifts
The Story Of Wijf
A Mother's Confession
A Letter to the Teacher
On the life of Gondar Radnog
Horoscopes by Mme. Decara
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New Year's Musings
One year ends -- another begins. Many pause taking personal inventories,
making resolutions, reflecting on the past 12 months. Others plan for the
future trying to improve the status quo. I'm no different.
People say communication of plans and reasons why changes are made or even
notice about upcoming changes are lacking. I'm going to try to improve how I
handle this. In my perpetual quest of becoming organized (stop that
laughing!), I find that things not incorporated into my weekly to do list
fall by the wayside.
I've been updating my webpage (www.legendmud.org/kaige) with vague and
jumbled notes about Legend and its community. In addition to my regular
projects, I'm going to try to turn that collection of thoughts into something
coherent and useful to the rest of the community.
At the last Q&A session, while talking about the Legends of the Past (LoP)
and what makes "legendary" characters, the subject of reading old LT issues
came up. Some said, "interesting" and others said, "boring." Myself, I like
rereading them for perspective and the shared history.
If we want the LT to be more than a notebook for RP stories, we _ALL_ need to
put a little more of ourselves into it. The old issues contain all sorts of
tidbits: birthdays, graduations, birth announcements, as well as get together
invites. There are also articles about various aspects of the game -- by
players, for players.
I'm going to set aside some time to write up something weekly beyond the
laundry list type items. I find it hard to ask others to do things I'm not
willing to do myself. I'm finding lots of things along these lines that I've
let slip for too long now.
So, if you don't see anything here that interests you, WRITE something that
does. This whole thing started out as an easy way for the imms to get
information to the playerbase, but I've seen it be much more. It belongs to
all of us now.
I've also been doing a lot reflecting upon past events and accomplishments
here over the last 7 years. And all I can say is 'Wow. We sure aren't the
rough, tiny, disjointed place that opened to the public on February 14th,
1994.' So thank you to everyone who has made that possible.
Speaking of February 14th, I'm really looking forward to the annual Expies
Awards this year and I hope you'll take the time to help make them a success
by participating in the nomination and final balloting processes as well as
by joining us for the actual anniversary celebrations coming up in February.
Wishing us all a happy and prosperous New Year,
-Kaige
___ ___
\ |----------------------------------------------------------------------| /
/__| LegendMUD Calendar of Events |__\
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
[All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\January/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*/\*
Sunday, January 14th, 4:30 pm Trivia with Siachet
Thursday, January 18th, 7:00 pm Q & A in the OOC Auditorium
Saturday, January 20th, 9:00 pm Trivia with LadyAce
___ ___
\ |----------------------------------------------------------------------| /
/__| News, Reports, and Updates! |__\
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Legends of the Past Application Process
The application for Legends of the Past is now up on the website at
http://www.legendmud.org/Community/lop_app.html, or you can get to it from
the Community section link for Legends of the Past.
The application will remain up, and open constantly. You may apply at any
time, however, voting only takes place the first 3 weeks of each month.
The 1st of every month is the deadline for that month's applications. During
the first week, the Legends of the Past Committee will review each
application received, and decide whether or not the application moves onto
the second phase. If this is the case, a poll will be placed on Legend's
polling system for the applicant, for all players to vote on. This poll will
remain in place for 2 weeks. Its the result of this poll that count as to
whether or not the character applying will be admitted into the area.
In the case of multiple people applying, in order to cut down on the number
of questions put into the polling system, we may put one or two characters
off until the following month.
-Sandra
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ASSASSIN!
Tired of the same old style of dueling pk? Tired of not getting
jumped? Ever pictured yourself as a stealthy assassin who sweeps in on
your target, makes a clean kill and leaves no witnesses?
The idea of running regular games of "Assassin," came up at the last
Q&A. The game is played by group of people who put their names in a
hat and each draw one, and the goal of the game is to kill your mark
without witnesses and be the last person alive. There are several ways
that this could be organized and several variations exist on the game.
If you're interested in either helping to organize something like this
or are interested in joining a game, please drop Kaige mudmail or
email ([email protected]).
/\ RECENT UPDATES
/ \
/ \ CODE UPDATE for Jan 5 and Jan 12, 2001
/_ _\
| | Misc Changes
| |
| | o You can now add the system time to your prompt
|__| o Allwords now lists the number of practices remaining
o Query door now explicitly says when a door can't be locked
o Spelltools now cause lag to the user
o Getting help on a social or mood will now give you the
helpfile for "moods" or "socials" as appropriate
/\ Balance Changes
/ \
/ \ o Entrance should be harder to break out of
/_ _\
| | Bug Fixes
| |
| | o Paralysis should no longer being lasting extra long
|__| o Induct no longer incorrectly sets inductee's last pkill time
o When charmies land killing blow, you no longer get all the xp
o It is no longer possible to parry while stunned or asleep
o It is no longer possible to ride indoors
/\
/ \ AREA UPDATES for Jan 5th & 12th 2001
/ \
/_ _\ Updates were made to the following installed areas:
| |
| | 1802 Alaska, St. Denis Abbey, Ancient Greece,
| | Celtic Ireland, Legends of the Past, Hospitaller
|__| Malta, and 17th Century Salem, The Alhambra, Nazca,
Arabia, Aztecs, Beowulf, San Francisco, Legends of the Past,
Port of London, Malta, Pittsburgh, Sherwood, Tortuga,
and Viceroyal Peru.
/\ As part of the HP/MA/MV changes, the following items have been
/ \ changed in the area files: black horseshoe, skull-headed ring,
/ \ garnet ring, the Kraken trophy belt, a silver arcane symbol on
/_ _\ a blackened leather thong, an iron broach, an amethyst ring, a
| | swan cloak, and a beautiful bouquet of wild roses. Note that
| | these are only areafile changes at this time. All versions of
| | these items will be updated to the current one two weeks AFTER
|__| the accompanying code changes go in.
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_____ DID YOU KNOW ... Madame Decara's Horoscopes attempt to
/ _ \ provide sparks for RP elements, hints about game play as
/__/ \ \ as well as entertain?
/ /
/ / While based on widely accepted descriptions of the signs,
/__/ the horoscopes attempt to apply the various traits, colors,
__ gems, numbers and other aspects of the signs in terms of
/ \ LegendMUD. Feel free to use them for RP inspiration or see
\__/ if you can find the hints hidden within them.
_____
/ _ \ DID YOU KNOW ...you can search LegendMUD's web pages
/__/ \ \ and be notified in email when a specific page is updated?
/ /
/ / If you access Legend's web pages so you see the book motif
/__/ with the red ribbon menu on the left hand side of the page
__ (http://www.legendmud.org/firstpagecontents.html) there is
/ \ a text box beside a button that says SEEK. Enter keywords
\__/ to search for and hit the button. You'll get a list of all
the pages that contain those keywords on Legend's pages.
_____
/ _ \ Another handy feature that goes hand in hand with this
/__/ \ \ search box, is the ability to have email sent to you when
/ / a page is updated. On the search results page, you will
/ / notice entries consist of the link for the pages, a quick
/__/ summary of the page, the words "Monitor page:", and
__ the url for the page. Simply click on the Monitor page
/ \ link and enter your email address in the text box to
\__/ activate the page monitoring.
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_______ ____ _______
/ ___ \ / __ \ / ___ \ 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
| | | | / \/\ | ___ | listed on the sitemap page or you can get a
| | /\| | / /\ / | / \ | 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 Expies Ballots? o Group Level Limits?
o Influencing Polls o Freedom of the Forest Quest
o How do Strings get Nominated o Why not use more color?
for Expies? o Why not damcap everything?
o What about SkillTrees? o Not all LOP mobs have items?
o Changes to Create Healing o What's the deal with old eq now?
Roots? o Skilltrees revisited?
o Music Channel? o Found the Dex Problem?
o Quickdraw Bug? o Yank the Main Gauche? - How
o Weapon Variety/Choices about Dual Wield?
o HP/MA/MV & Old Gear o How do the imms feel about
o Changing Eq in Playerfiles PKOK now?
o Items Changing Posted o Help with Trees?
o See invis Spectacles Clone? o Is there going to be a bonus
o Decent Staff? for con?
o New Amethyst Ring and Delays o Is Rufus still working on
on Spelltools & Wands Trees Stuff?
o More See_Dark Items? o Lag on Spelltools
o How are attacks figured? o More PK wanted & how can we
o Hitting harder when sitting? get it?
R o Why Does Strength Suck? o Polls & Voting
E T o Are changes not thought through? o Polls & Builders
C O o Comment on Newbies o Isn't LoP going to get Crowded?
E P o A Last On Command? o Choices in Weapons?
N I o HP/MA/MV Gear o Paralyze Bug, Huh?
T C o Create Weapon & Charms o Player Restring Command?
S o Custom Spell Messages? o HP/MA/MV Code Changes Too?
LegendMUD Connection Analysis
December 2000
Peak Mortal Players 63
Average Peak was 46
Peak PKOK Enabled Players 34
Pkokenabled Characters represent approximately
45% of active players.
Peak Accept All Characters 12
Accept All Characters represent approximately
9% of all active characters and 21% of active pkok enabled characters.
The first two tables below show the Average Mortal Players, Average
PKOK Enabled Players, and the number that were "Accept All" connected
to Legend by hour of the day as polled approximately on the hour
system time during the period noted above.
The third table shows the same averages calculated by the day of week.
hour 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
------------------------------------------
avg 31 27 22 18 16 14 14 16 19 22 26 27
pke 14 13 11 9 8 6 6 6 8 10 11 12
aas 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
hour 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
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avg 31 34 38 40 37 38 38 36 39 41 37 34
pke 12 15 17 18 16 17 17 16 18 19 17 16
aas 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 4 4 3 4
day MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
------------------------------------------
avg 29 30 30 29 28 30 28
pke 14 13 13 14 12 12 12
aas 3 2 3 3 2 2 2
________________________
/ \
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 |__\
'------------------------------------------------------------------'
Announcements
The Antipaladins clan was formed by Igor. Dude disbanded the 'Chicks Dig
This' clan.
Keith has reached 100 million experience!
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
RPS 2001: Match of the REAL new Millennium!
Rock, Paper, Scissors are the only words you need to fight this battle of
quick thinking and anticipation. Can you defeat the best of them?
A Little History on How It All Began:
A Cabbit loving Tobias and I were debating who had rights to the Trade Mark
of "Yoink". We had both claimed that the rights to the TM was our own, I
threatened to sue, claiming that the rights were rightfully mine, and NOT
Tobias'. He suggested a game of RPS, Rock-Paper-Scissors. In the mood for
fun I agreed, using Remo as our judge we told to him our choices. We decided
that the first with two wins will win the rights to the TM "Yoink". Round
one was a tie. Soon after Tobias won a round, celebrating in his victory.
But I soon caught up with a win of my own, and after another tie or so we
told Remo our choices for the final round and after few minutes of intense
waiting Remo declared me as the winner of the rights to the TM, "Yoink".
Shortly after Tobias suggest a PK like tourney of RPS, sounding like a lot
of fun we both agreed.
How To Join The RPS 2001: Match of the REAL new Millennium!:
Want to join the RPS tourney? Send a bunny, it can be blank, to Tobias, who
in turn will send you a note on how to join the tourney.
What If I Win?:
The winner of the RPS 2001: Match of the REAL new Millennium! will win a
mundane. Runner-up-prizes, will be decided on at a later date, and there may
be prize upgrades if Tobias or I get generous enough.
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The Scale Shifts
In the Hall of Judgment, the scale is shifting back and forth rapidly,
flailing its arms like a demented scarecrow. One moment my heart weighs
heavier, the next moment it is the feather. The god stands up from his
throne. He passes a sheaf of wheat across a pool of water and motions me to
look. Images flicker across the surface of the pool. I kneel at the edge and
peer in.
It is a church, one I never saw while alive. Nuns and choir girls huddle by
the altar while a strange woman kills them one by one, drinking their blood.
A second woman is crawling beneath the pews, sobbing to herself. This woman I
recognize. She is the soulless monster than inhabits my corpse, while I wait
in the Hall of Judgment, waiting to be judged by a scale and a feather.
Her clothes hang from her emaciated frame, torn and ragged. There are dark
circles beneath her haunted eyes. She looks as though she has not fed in
days. 'If this continues, she will die,' the god states harshly. Despite what
she has put me through, I feel pity for the vampiress and am saddened by her
state. 'It is your best hope.' The god indicates the scale. 'It will rest
only when she dies.'
Yet I cannot help but hope that the vampire will not come to so tragic an
end. I look in the pool again, and see that a nymph has entered the church.
She and the strange vampiress are deep in conversation with my corporeal
self. Snatches of their speech drift in the hall, voices echoing off the
walls.
A voice as familiar as my own says painfully,'...before I was cursed, I never
would have felt like this!'
'..The curse just helped you see...' says another voice, with a slight French
accent.
'...all these horrid things,' my corpse says with great effort. 'My heart
hurts, my stomach trembles....'
'...It's love dear, love... I know the feeling...' I hear the
Frenchwomans voice again.
'No!' my corpse protests painfully. 'I can't be in love--I'm soulless!'
'...Rosaline's right, you are very much in love,' a watery nymphean voice
says.
I watch in the pool as my corporeal self crawls out of the church,
leaving the voices behind. In the light of a waxing moon, she stumbles
through a town, and then down a path through the forest. But near a clearing,
she pauses, hiding behind a tree and crying even more. A tall, pale-skinned
beauty struggles in from the west, exhausted. I can hear her voice, as she
speaks to my corpse. 'Why not go to him?' she asks.
'He makes me hurt,' my corpse replies, face drawn with pain. I watch their
conversation through the pool, until the pale skinned beauty convinces my
corpse to kill the man she loves.
'This does not look good for you,' the god tells me, his rough voice louder
than the soft echoes from the pool. The scale has stopped its hectic
shifting; my heart is falling steadily down.
A harsh scream rises from the pool. I can hear a man's voice, calling
'Darla! Wait, come back!!...I need you.' My corpse reluctantly enters the
clearing. A tall man with a dopey grin stands there, evidently waiting for
her. She collapses into his arms, but draws back when he embraces her, and
crawls away into the underbrush. He convinces her to come out from the
bushes, offering his own blood. She sinks her teeth into his neck, and drains
his blood.
'She will not die yet,' the god remarks, no trace of impatience on his
infinite face. I watch in horror as she cuts her own neck, and tries to make
the man drink her blood. My heart on the scale sinks even faster. But she
changes her mind, and tries to stop him from drinking. The scale begins to
slow.
She says painfully to the man. 'I don't want this to happen to you as
well, Chaykin. I...I love you.'
'You...you said you love me.' He says, looking unsure, 'say it again.'
'I do, but it makes me hurt so,' she says with great effort. 'Why must it
hurt?'
Chaykin claims, 'We will end your curse and all the pain will go away.
They embrace, confident in the future, and I watch my heart on the scale
slowly rise.'
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The Story Of Wijf - die vrouw met de grote borsten.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our scene opens upon the small, yet surprisingly eventual German town of
Klienstadt. The Dutchman Paulus de Vries and his lovely french wife
Suzette are schooling their daughter Petra in the many languages she may
need to know should she grow up to become what they have always envisaged
for her - a royal messenger.
Petra grew up quickly, as her parents were foreigners, she was considered
to be one also even though she'd never left the town of Klienstadt all her
life let alone Germany. The children at her school taunted her mercilessly
and learning a Dutch word to insult her by, she gained the nickname "Wijf".
Sports and physical activities were her only true release at school, as
the academics (with the exception of language) quickly bored her and she
had quickly come to learn that only by being 10 times better at something
than the others could she gain any respect from her peers.
One day as she walked home from school, some local ruffians came at her
with the clear intention of beating her senseless. "Wijf, Wijf, Wijf" they
taunted as they closed in.
"'WIJF' YOU CALL ME ?! THEN 'WIJF' I'LL BE !!!" she screamed and threw
herself at the nearest thug. Grabbing a stone from the ground she pounded
it again and again on his skull hearing the sickening thud and crunch of
his skull giving way to the impact.
The other bullies ran off as fast as possible not daring to come near
this apparently psychotic young girl.
As Wijf's first ever battlerage cleared from her head she found herself
standing over the corpse of the boy, bloodied stone still in hand and a
Ritter who had come to investigate the noise staring at her wide-eyed with
his hand on his sword-hilt. It was then she passed out from the shock of
it all.
Awakening at home in her own bed, Wijf believed for a moment it may all
have been a dream - until she found she had been restrained to her bed by
tight ropes. She heard the voices of her parents talking to the Ritter who
had been at the scene of the fight.
"You can't take her away, she's just a little girl !"
"Your 'little girl' killed a boy 3 years older than her this afternoon
ma'am. I'm truly sorry, but she's going to have to be locked away."
Wijf spent the next few years under constant surveillance in the young
offenders section of the local prison. She developed quickly from a
strong, athletic girl to a stronger, quicker, beautiful young woman. She
had learned that as she started developing, she could use her feminine
charms to get special privileges from the guards that otherwise she
shouldn't be allowed.
On her 17th birthday, Wijf was finally given permission to reenter
society on a probational basis. After so many years behind bars however,
at such an important developmental stage of her life Wijf found herself
unable to cope with society in general and took up with a band of ruffians.
Living with her parents again was a hard thing for Wijf, but she tried
her best to pretend all was 'happy families'. Looking back on it today,
she wished she hadn't. An opposing gang burnt her parents house to the
ground within a month and all that was left of her childhood was smoking
ashes and charred bones.
Wijf shed a tear. Not for her parents. Not for her past. She cried,
for now Petra de Vries was truly gone and all the remained was WIJF.
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A Mother's Confession
Okay, I didn't exactly mean to lie to Mertjai. Actually, I prefer to think of
it as filtering. No one needs to know everything, right? But if I had known
that Our Lord of Blue Light Specials would announce his paternity to her, I
would explained it all much sooner.
You have to understand, he didn't LOOK like a Dark Lord. He certainly didn't
have a little label that said "DL" on his forehead.
I met him at one of Gertrude Stein's salons. He got thrown out for chanting
"A cabbage is a cabbage is a cabbage." Actually, we both got thrown out. I
liked him immediately. He was so different than my medical student friends,
with their bourgeois desires to become successful little practitioners. Me, I
wanted to travel around, see the world, have adventures. And medicine looked
like the ticket. Everyone everywhere needs a doctor some time.
Of course, my medical student friends didn't like him. But I was sure that
they were only jealous.
After I realized that I was pregnant, I had to drop out of medical school. I
hadn't expected to get pregnant. I wanted to end it, but he begged me not
to, and then said that he would take care of the birth, that he would take
care of everything.
And when the time came, he did. Most of my memories of it are very hazy, but
I vividly remember the pain. I thought it would kill me. And then I clearly
remember him telling me that he could take the pain if I gave it to him. "But
you must clearly state that you wish to," he told me, "it must be a conscious
choice." And I did, and it was all gone, all of it.
Now, I knew at the time that I was making some kind of bargain. By then, I
had realized that he was bad. Oh he was still charming and clever and
thoughtful, but there was something very wrong about him. You might say that
he smelled bad.
He vanished soon after the birth. In a curious way, I decided that he was
dead, that taking my pain had killed him. Or rather, I hoped that he was dead
so that he would not come back to collect on our bargain.
I tried to forget everything that had happened. But there were so many odd
things in Mertjai's childhood. The teeth that we had to file down. Her
curious craving for packaged fish food when she was a baby. All the times
that I would find her floating six inches off the ground. And surely the
strangest, the fact that she never felt any pain. Not even when she burned
herself on the stove, or broke her arm jumping off a swing.
And now the he has seen fit to announce himself to her. A fine time to
embrace fatherhood, after I had already done all the work of raising her! But
maybe, just maybe, she is clever and wily enough to be his match!
- Qemtay mac Duncan
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Dear Ms. Faraday,
I want to thank you for our meeting yesterday. I would thank you in person,
but I see that you have left some very burly guards instructions to keep my
daughter and me off your school's premises. Under the circumstances, I can't
say that I blame you. I know that this is Gwajeth's third offense in as many
months and you consider her, in your words, 'wild and completely out of
control.'
I want to apologize again for the troubles Gwajeth has caused your school and
the events of last week's Christmas party. I don't know where she got that
big sword, honest. I'm sorry your Christmas tree met its untimely demise as
a result of Gwajeth's exuberance and obvious mastery of the weapon.
(Honestly, I do wonder about that. How can a little girl not yet five wield
and swing a sword?) As for 'George,' I had no idea my daughter had a demon
of her own, although I do have an idea who might have loaned him to her. I
know that George promptly ate the class hamster, Howard, and I apologize for
that. Demons eat hamsters, who knew? And have you found that little boy yet?
It's odd for a young child to suddenly disappear in the middle of a Christmas
party. I asked Gwajeth about it, but she claims to know nothing. I think
your theory that Gwajeth sacrificed the boy to some dark deity is a little
far-fetched myself.
Again, I truly apologize for my daughter's behavior. I want you to know that
I understand that she is permanently suspended from your school, and I have
no intention of fighting that decision. Instead, my husband and I have
decided to send Gwajeth away to a boarding school in a month. The mac Duncan
family has a history of sending our daughters to the prestigious LaRue School
for Girls in Paris. This school has a good curriculum of reading, writing,
arithmetic, and religion. Although I sense Gwajeth won't get much from the
religious instruction, she is a very bright child and will probably flourish
in a solid academic environment. (This is, of course, assuming that her
behavior will improve.)
Sincerely,
Cenja mac Duncan
P.S.I have enclosed a pouch of gold coins to help with the costs of repair to
your school. I realize my daughter took out several windows and a few tables
during her time there, and I hope this money will enable you to fix and
replace these lost furnishings. I have also included a little extra so that
your kindergarten class might have a new hamster.
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On the life of Gondar Radnog
As I sit here, looking back on my life, I begin to think I should write my
memoirs. I am not a young man (I think sometimes that I was born old), and
the demands of Godhood are taking their toll on me.
Forgive me if I ramble, sometimes my thoughts jump about, and one memory
triggers another which I must put down before it, like a small bird, flits
away and is gone.
---------------------------------------------
In the beginning. . . I was born in Agrabah of a tempestuous love affair
between a wandering scholar (my Mother told me he was from somewhen else),
and one of the Sultan's harem girls. He spent a few years before my
conception and birth there (so I was told). studying the ways of Majick.
They met one day when my mother was sent out into town to dance as punishment
for being insufficiently pleasing. He followed her around for hours,
mesmerized by her beauty and grace. She gave him her bangles and such as
remembrances. After that day, she would sneak out of the palace at every
opportunity, or arrange to get herself sent on errands just so she could
spend time with him (she never told me his name).
They had been having these clandestine meetings for about 3 months when they
finally had the chance to consummate their love. Needless to say, I was the
result. My Mother hid her condition as long as she could of course, not being
desirous of bringing the Sultan's Wrath down upon my father. Eventually she
was found out , as you might imagine, becoming great with child. As a result,
my father was beaten and exiled, and my Mother had her feet removed and was
sent out into the streets to beg.
As I grew, I began to have these feelings of wander-lust. My mother, who had
grown haggard with life, used to tell me how much like my father I was in
that respect. She also said I looked remarkably like him too, almost as if he
was my only parent. *shrug*
I was never very good at begging, my mind being preoccupied with other
thoughts, mainly those of getting myself out of Agrabah. To that end, on my
8th birthday, I apprenticed myself to the Court Magician, who began my
Majickal education.
The next 9 years were hell on Earth. The magician used me for the most
dangerous castings, channeling his energy through me, using me to insulate
him from the worst effects in case of a spell backlash. The stresses of such
work did its damage to me, the pain causing me to scream such that I have
never been able to speak in a normal voice since. But, all in all, it was
worth the cost, as it put me on the path to becoming one of the greatest
causist mages in the Three Worlds.
----------------------------------------
Upon reaching my majority at 17, I started taking short excursions into the
desert around Agrabah. I can't remember the number of times I got lost out
in that damn desert, and had to find a guide. Hell, I still get lost out
there, guess I'm just a city kid at heart.
I had a wonderful time though, testing my new spells against the denizens of
the desert. I traveled extensively during this time, almost exclusively in
caravan with other traveler of the Three Worlds. Mostly, it was in search
of new Majickal Words. Although the Words I learned will forever be incised
into my mind, many of the places and peoples have become blurry with age, and
I fear that to find them again would take more exploration than I really care
to make.
When I was in my middle 20's, I moved to the land of Eire. There, I
discovered the beauty of nature. I spent time learning of herbs, and how to
bandage wounds, and wandering the forests. Though I learned these things, I
never could get the hang of the Druidic skills. It was during that time that
I also learned how to clear my mind, focus my breath. I spent many years
there, Staying at the inn in Tara, and running around Eire and Brittania One
day, I met up with a young adventurer who, like myself, was studying the Art
of Majick. He was questing to increase his agility, and wondered if I would
be willing to help him obtain a particular amulet that he needed to complete
his quest. In return, he said he would share with me the secret of Travelling
to the Second of the Three Worlds, from whence he had come. I jumped at this,
as the knowledge of this Time Travel might be the key to finding my father,
whom I had dreamed of someday meeting. . .
It was Love at first sight. The Forests of Sherwood were breathtaking, with
wide, airy boulevards and sun-dappled meadows. I spent some time living at
the Royal Stag, rambling through the woods, and eventually finding my way not
only to London, but across the English Channel, and into Germany. I spent a
short time in Germany, becoming a Ritter, and learning what Majick I could.
But the beauty of Sherwood beckoned me again, and I returned to its fair
embrace, building a tiny shack to live in.
I soon tired of living in such a hovel, so I tore it down, and moved to the
northern edge of the forest, building a cozy little cottage. I lived there
for a long many years, while continuing my Majickal studies, eventually
learning all the Words that a causist mage can learn.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
.+'''+. .+'''+.
Horoscopes by Mme. Decara
'+,,,+'
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| CAPRICORN (Dec 22 - Jan 19) | AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 19) |
| | |
| Follow a Capricorn on that next | Water bearers don't hesitate to |
| big run. They use resources for | change things that don't serve |
| group security and integrity. | the group's best interests. |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20) | ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19) |
| | |
| Focus on spirituality in order | Pace yourself. Shooting stars |
| to magnify occult powers. Don't | burn hot & bright, but not long.|
| let empathy stop direct action. | Relax & put others 1st Tuesday. |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20) | GEMINI (May 21 - Jun 20) |
| | |
| Stable is good. Immutable isn't.| Explore the environment to make |
| Beauty catches your eye -- maybe| sense of it. Don't forget to go |
| a new emerald necklace will too?| back periodically for updates. |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| CANCER (Jun 21 - Jul 22) | LEO (Jul 23 - Aug 22) |
| | |
| A self-sufficient survivor, the | Secure in your self image, show |
| crab relies on webs of contacts | the world how you see yourself. |
| to meet known emotional needs. | Get a description or update one!|
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sep 22) | LIBRA (Sep 23 - Oct 23) |
| | |
| Put efforts toward improving | Libras are able to project over |
| things for those around you with| the horizon in their quest for |
| a modest, industrious approach. | Balance, Order, and Justice. |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 22) | SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 - Dec 21) |
| | |
| Transformation, death & rebirth | The experimental archer will be |
| play a key role. Secrecy abounds| rewarded with growth to adjust, |
| as tip of iceberg is revealed. | and fuller a sense of identity. |
+---------------------------------+---------------------------------+
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