December 28, 2010 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
The Pkill Front
InSaNiTy
Lady Caja's Tip
Player Submissions
Starlit Guidance
A Trial of Honesty
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Well, obviously I fail at sending out an LT every two weeks. I don't really
have any excuses, besides the standard one that I've been lacking ambition. I
mainly blame winter for this, though. It's always been tough to finish up a
winter term then start up again in January. Wouldn't it be awesome if people
could hibernate? I totally would.
Anyway, for the American Thanksgiving, we had the turkey hunt slash cornucopia
hunt, then for Christmas, Retsu handed out shoes for St. Nicolas day. Players
ran various games, one of which was a player-run CTS (complete the sentence).
For Christmas there was candy gardening in the Candy Clouds, as well as the
Candy Land area being open for killing.
I'm still looking for winter-y strings from players. I've only received
suggestions from a couple of players, and that certainly isn't going to refill
the entire prize machine!
-Lamia
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/__| Updates from the Staff |__\
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AREA & CODE UPDATES
Area Updates (12-1-10)
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[Tartarus]
+ Megaera should stand her ground better.
[In The Works]
+ Retsu has made a bunch of progress with New Orleans. Creole anyone?
+ Titanic has also seen many commits lately.
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LEGENDMUD CALENDAR OF EVENTS
[All times are system time unless otherwise specified]
January 2011
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
Tuesday, January 4th All Day Lamia's 21st Birthday (Expect Booze)
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/__| Player News |__\
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XP ACHIEVEMENTS
Fierin has reached 100 million experience!
Divine has reached 200 million experience!
Divine has reached 300 million experience!
Dairos has reached 400 million experience!
Zierath has reached 400 million experience!
Baharroth has reached 600 million experience!
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THE PKILL FRONT
With the wide span of time from the last update, the PK scene has been quite
active. From November 9, 2010 through December 27, 2010, more than 30 people
participating in PK. Alias leads the pack with 22 wins, while Poetry, Psylin,
Barbarossa, Dazzel, and Zoroaster wrap up the top 5 pkers. Poetry had 11 wins,
Psyin had 10, Barbarossa and Dazzel tied for 4th place with 9 wins, and
Zoroaster had 8 wins.
Don't let these numbers discourage you from participating, though. It seems as
though anybody who participated had at least one win, and when it comes down
to it, 1 win is pretty darn good. (A majority of the 30+ wins were people with
only 1 win.) See? So 1 isn't the lonliest number that you ever knew.
-Lamia
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InSaNiTy's Fearless Leader
On the account of the plight of Clan InSaNiTy and the loss of our leader
Psylin:
Our beastly marauder has returned from the underworld. He was discovered
roving aimlessly about just south of the Dewe Droppe Inn. We were unable to
determine anything coherent from him regarding his disappearance or
whereabouts in the past few months. While he mentioned couches in Hell,
everything else was swearing and jibberish. Of course now that he's back you
can ask him yerself. We are very happy to have him back and will leave his
story to him whenever and to whomever he chooses to tell it. Thanks all for
your words of concern and rest assured he survived with his physical body
intact ( we are not sure if his mind was ever intact so who knows on that
account).
P.S. Remember.....your brains are slushy, and taste good with catsup.
-Lord Soth of Dargaard Keep
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Beauty tip from the Lady Caja Niemeyer von Kleinstadt, divorcee
Pick clothes that flatter your body, but don't go too far. People get the
wrong impression if you show too much skin.
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/ \
o O | Wonder what folks are |
`\|||/ |doing over at LegendMUD?|
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ooO_(_)_Ooo________________________________________________________________
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Starlit Guidance
Fate. Destiny. Two things of which Serpentarius had never really paid much
mind; he believed he'd gotten this far from his own choices and decisions, and
refused to believe in such nonsense. So of course, to hear some of his Zodiac
friends, particularly the wise and respected Libra imply his path was
predestined was frankly unsettling to him.
Serpentarius was back on the mortal world, having escaped the Realm for the
time being. He'd returned to his Tomb and transformed the cave into a lair
where he could rest in some modicum of peace. He'd even summoned a few pet
dragons to guard the place during his absence. He was seated on the cliff edge
at the entrance of the cave, his feet dangling over the edge, and his fire
dragon nuzzling his arm for some attention.
The night sky was unclouded, offering a perfect view of the constellations,
though most of the Zodiac's had been extinguished while one grew brighter with
each passing day. Was this really 'the way it must be'? While Serpentarius
refused to believe it, his contemplation awoke one particular memory from the
depths of his mind, and whether he wanted to or not, soon found himself
billions of years in the past...
It was a scorching day in the Realm. Several Zodiac were gathered in their
usual meadow: the twins of Gemini were sat before their teacher, Libra, while
Serpentarius was leaning against a nearby oak tree to watch over the
youngsters' learning. It was one of his many duties as the Zodiac's leader,
though for now he was gazing at the ground, and his worries were elsewhere.
A young naiad stepped into view. 'Um.. m-may I join?' Pisces asked timidly.
Serpentarius nodded at her, and she sat down next to the twins.
'Right then, let's begin,' Libra said. 'Who can tell me what 'destiny' is?'
Gemini, or at least the girl twin, raised their hand instantly. The boy just
rolled his eyes at her.
'It's... what will happen to you in the future?' she asked.
'Correct. An event, or chain of events that will inevitably happen, generally
in the future,' Libra said, before turning to Serpentarius. 'Though not
always.'
Serpentarius raised an eyebrow, but paid it no further mind. Pisces raised her
hand until Libra nodded at her. 'If you know your destiny, can you prevent
it?' Pisces asked.
'No, my child,' Libra said. 'Even if you could somehow change your destiny,
then your destiny was to make that change; and that was how it would have
always been.'
Gemini, or at least the boy twin, raised their hand. The girl just braced for
a facepalm moment. 'What about, like, if your destiny happens but then you go
back in time and do something differently?' the boy asked.
'Destiny overrules time travel, I'm afraid,' Libra sighed. 'Even if you do
find a way to go back in time, and change something in the past, all that
would mean is that you fulfilled your destiny: the change was meant to happen,
and has always happened. The event that you believed to be destiny would
simply be one in a chain of events that had already been determined.' He
looked over at Serpentarius again. 'No one can change their fate.'
Serpentarius raised an eyebrow again, and this time he was slightly annoyed at
the attention. All this talk of fate simply sounded like an excuse to him; an
excuse to not make decisions yourself, or question them, or try to find
another way.
'What is my fate, then?' asked the Serpent King.
'You will die, alone and powerless,' Libra replied. 'But you will have no
regrets.'
'Sounds about right,' Serpentarius muttered, clearly not believing a word, his
focus returning to other concerns.
The lesson continued as normal, as did life for all the Zodiac for billions of
years after that. Libra's words were soon forgotten... until now.
Serpentarius had already died once, though given the numbers he faced, he was
far from alone. And though greatly weakened, he wasn't rendered entirely
powerless. And he'd probably had a few regrets too. Perhap's he'd proven Libra
wrong about fate after all. But he couldn't help but wonder... what if his
true death had not happened yet?
Serpentarius pushed the thought aside. He'd already gained the strength of
eight other Zodiac, and a mere four remained. He would soon have more power
than he could know what to do with, and if destiny sought to take that power
from him, then it would be destiny who died, not him. He would not be struck
down again.
The Serpent King opened his eyes, his determination reaffirmed. He nudged the
fire dragon awake, who'd fallen asleep snuggling up against him, and flew off,
ready to meet the new dawn.
For there was still work to be done.
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A Trial of Honesty
Serpentarius tore through the Realm's sky, searching for prey. The Zodiac's
numbers were dwindling, and the power holding the Realm together seemed to be
weakening; already Serpentarius could see parts of the land crumbling away.
Fortunately for him, he didn't really care. The Realm was no haven to him
anymore, and his throne was destroyed long ago. Unfortunately for him, he was
too busy being bitter to notice the volley of arrows approaching him from the
forested mountains beneath him. They tore through his wings, sending him
plummeting down through the sky.
As he fell between the knife-like peaks, Serpentarius drew his scythe and
sliced it into the rock face, somehow managing to slow his descent enough to
land safely by the time he reached the ground. He landed in a wintry forest,
largely devoid of life, though anyone could've heard the thunderous hooves
approaching.
'Impressive recovery,' commented a giant golden centaur: Sagittarius, as he
stepped into view. 'But will you not grace me with your true form, or will I
have to settle for a duel with the Human King?'
'I think I'll stay like this, where you have at least the illusion of a
chance,' Serpentarius calmly replied.
'As honest as ever..' Sagittarius muttered. 'Then first, I must ask you: is
there a cure for your venom?'
'If there was, Virgo would still be with us,' Serpentarius said coldly,
checking his wings to see if they'd healed yet.
Sagittarius sighed. 'Then one of us has to die today.'
Serpentarius looked somewhat amused. Though his human form was many times
smaller than the towering centaur of Sagittarius, they both knew who would be
the victor. 'It took eleven of you to kill me last time. Five of you tried and
failed. Are you sure you want to try it by yourself?' Serpentarius asked
bluntly.
Sagittarius nodded. 'Aquarius is dying because of you. So if I can kill you,
perhaps the venom coursing her veins will dissipate; if it doesn't, at least
she will be avenged.'
He then summoned his weapon - a longbow with blades along the limbs, and as
tall as he is. He wouldn't be pulling his punches this time. 'And should I
die, at least I won't have to wait long to see her again.'
Serpentarius lowered his gaze, suffering a stab of guilt. Sagittarius was just
following his heart, even if it led to his death. Just like Serpentarius had
done, all those years ago. It wounded him to think that he was now subjecting
others to the same fate. And made him realize that he was becoming what he
feared; that his mission of vengeance was turning him into a villain.
He had to stop. For his own sake, let alone anyone else's.
'We don't have to do this,' Serpentarius stated calmly, as if a great weight
had been lifted from his shoulders.
'I wish that were true, my friend..' replied Sagittarius. 'But I have to save
her, no matter what. I know you understand.'
Serpentarius nodded, clenching his scythe so hard it almost snapped. 'Then
don't you dare hold back!' he cried as he leapt through the air, slicing at
Sagittarius with his scythe with so much fury that the nearby trees themselves
ended up sliced in half from the force of the blow. Sagittarius narrowly
managed to avoid it by leaping over Serpentarius, summoning several arrows out
of nothing and firing them at the Serpent King. Though they were fired with
such force that they tore right through Serpentarius' body, he didn't even
flinch.
The two Zodiac struck again and again, slicing and parrying and dodging faster
than lightning. They fought for hours, but it soon became apparent that it was
Serpentarius who was holding back this time, refusing to land a killing blow.
'Just kill me!' screamed Sagittarius, growing increasingly frustrated. He
didn't really care if he won or lost, he just wanted it to be over so he could
rejoin Aquarius, in this life or the next. And it wounded Serpentarius that he
would have to slay his friend so soon after deciding to rescind his mission of
revenge.
'You'll find no salvation in death!' yelled the Serpent King, angered by the
injustice of the situation.
'Don't tell me you didn't want the same when Virgo died before your eyes,'
growled Sagittarius.
Serpentarius shook with fury, for he knew Sagittarius was right. For weeks he
begged for death if it meant he could just see her again, but a Zodiac can
only be killed by another.
'Please!' yelled Sagittarius, with all the strength he had left.
Serpentarius realized he had no choice. He had to kill his friend, for he'd
have wanted the same thing. Finally being honest with himself, but decrying
his fate nonetheless, Serpentarius let out a scream of anguish and struck one
final fatal blow, his scythe piercing the centaur through the heart.
Sagittarius fell to his knees, welcoming his death, and smiled at his friend.
'You have passed the trial of Honesty and I will give you my power. I've no
need of it...' Sagittarius said as he faded out of existence, his last words
wounding Serpentarius far deeper than any blade could:
'For what use is power when you can't even save the one you love?'
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