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The Shattering: one year later; Opinion: Deadlies and You

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  CoD Issue 75                          ||                      Sep 2003
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Table of Contents |
                  |
                  | Desk Of The Editor
                  | CoD Feature: On This Anniversary of the Shattering
                  | Deadlies, PKilling and You               
                  | Rants From The Ethereal Plane - Whining
                  | What if You Lived in Mertown?
                  | A Guide to Killing Magus
                  | News From Around The Realms - IGQC - August
                  |                             - IOQC - August
                  |                             - The Symposium: August
                  |                             - Guild/Order News
                  | Funny Bones - Player Titles
                  | The CoD Quest: August Answers
                  |                Room Description Quest
                  | From the Quill of Alysira
                  |
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  Editor: Juliana                             Immortal Sponsor: Alysira 
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  Staff: Angelea, Ganemanoimu, Khaimran, Qaulorn, Sarakin, 
         Severin, Simone, Wiglaff, Wutanali

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  Desk of the Editor                                       by Juliana

========================================================================

 By the way, it occurs to me to state something that should have been rather 
 obvious from the beginning. Each article is written by a person, either a 
 staff writer or a member of the public. Duh. 

 *** Any opinion expressed is solely theirs, unless a quote has been credited
 to someone else. (In which case, it's that someone else's opinion only.) ***

 To make it doubly clear, I label articles whose sole content is persuasive 
 writing of one kind or another as 'Opinion'. Take them for what they are. One 
 person's subjective point of view.

 And of course, if you don't agree, and strongly feel you need to say 
 something, write in with your own opinions. I'm ecstatic when I receive 
 public submissions. You can mudmail me, Alysira or any other staff member 
 with these, it'll all get to the proper place in the end. 
 
 There is also a Cry of Despair board in Darkhaven and one in the Town Hall. 
 I'd love to see stuff that's actually addressed to us, instead of the regular
 mistaken mudmail post. :)

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  CoD Feature: On This Anniversary of the Shattering        by Angelea

========================================================================

 August 17, 2002. The Realms as we knew them were no more. Broken, bleeding,
 the Immortal Gods took what was left and rebuilt it. Everything was new, 
 confusing and yet so exciting. Places to explore, new mobs to challenge in 
 battle, new equipment to discover. 

 Now a year has gone by...

 I took it upon myself to go out and talk with people about the Realms, before 
 and after the Shattering. When I asked people to rate realms on a scale of 1 
 to 10 pre and post-Shattering, the following results were achieved.

 Both the pre and post-Shattering received an overall score of 8!
 
 Anebethany:  The thing that people neglect is that -- people make the game, 
              and we lost a lot of peeps during the Shattering, and it's not 
              quite the same without my fellow adventurers.
 
 Mephie:      There's lots of new things to be explored, newer quests and 
              things to benefit people. You just have to get used to it. 
              Everything needs to be changed and updated every now and then,
              that's what the Shattering did.

 Xone:        After the Shattering, it is a big jump compared with Pre- 
              Shattering. Many new areas were added and that even till this 
              day, not everything has been explored. Hope after a few years, 
              I can see realms becoming even better.
 
 Muiren:      That's really tough to rate, because there are facets of pre and 
              post I like a lot. It's a shame we couldn't put all those things 
              together.
 
 Kayrlis:     New Realms rocks! New areas, new equip, new commands.
 
 Zilensko:    Realms to me is the same, always a challenge, always fun. Post 
              and Pre didn't rock my world too much, just gave me more to do.
 
 Taanmaya:    While the game was great pre-Shattering, it was becoming far too 
              easy, a large chat room. Areas were expanded and new ones added, 
              a complete overhaul of most classes added a "newness" to the game 
              that was needed, but it created new flaws to replace the old ones.

 Relark:      Old leveling was great, new leveling sucks. Some of the changes 
              to classes seem a bit lame. I really don't like the new 
              experience thing. I do however realise that a lot of work has 
              gone into the Shattering, the classes, and everything else. This
              is just my opinion, not meant to put anyone down.

 Skaphia:     I wouldn't still play the game eight years in if I didn't find 
              something enjoyable about it.
 
 Douget:      Coming from someone who has been here for a while, I do agree 
              that the realms required a much needed facelift. The Shattering 
              brought with it many changes. Obviously, not everyone can be 
              satisfied, but I do acknowledge every one involved with the 
              Shattering for their hard work.
 
 Ororo:       The realms have changed and either we change with them or 
              wither into oblivion... Now that the realms have entered a 
              new age, feel free to try pkill. Contact Kologo if interested!
                                                                  <3 Realms!
 In the words of author Douglas Niles quoted from 'The Kagonesti'. 

 "The dream is gone, but the sleeper refuses to wake and thus another dream 
 has come to take its place. A dream of the past. A dream of the glories of 
 the days that have gone. I do not blame them ... I, too, love to think upon 
 what has gone and long to regain it. But those of us who fought alongside 
 your father know that the past can not be recovered, nor should it be. The 
 world has changed, and we must change with it. We must become part of it, 
 else we will sicken and die in the prison house in which we have locked 
 ourselves."

 I have been playing Realms since 1999. People have come and gone over the 
 years. A lot of good friends have moved on to other interests during this 
 time. 
 
 I hear so many people saying "Realms is dying." Why are people saying this? 
 They see friends and run mates leave for various reasons since the 
 Shattering. The obvious is to blame what is new instead of looking at what is 
 really going on. 

 People have left for various personal reasons over the years. So why blame it 
 on the Shattering... Yes, the Shattering was hard on older players, those who 
 did not wish to learn the game anew, those who felt lost in the new Realms, 
 who felt they did not belong here any more. 

 But, the Shattering brought us adventures, new challenges. Of course, along 
 with all the new fun things to do, comes new things to be unhappy about. 
 Those of you who have been here for years, think of what made you start 
 playing, think of what kept you coming back. It was the challenge of the 
 game, the friends, the possiblities of meeting new people. All these things 
 are still here, improved even!

 Nothing in this world is more constant than change. The Shattering brought us 
 this change, in large measure, but still much needed change. It is up to us, 
 the players, to embrace and adapt to the changes. That is the only way Our 
 Realms of Despair will continue to grow and flourish.

 The people who effected this change had nothing but the good of the players 
 in mind. Their ideas were to keep the game fresh, to give it new life. Let's 
 face it, it was growing stale. The same mobs, same areas/equipment. We could 
 go from point A to Z with our eyes closed. Where was the challenge in that?

 I have nothing but thanks and kudos for all those who worked so hard to renew 
 Our Realms, the place we call home every day, the place we come to, to escape 
 reality, to escape whatever beasts chase us in our own realities. Let's all 
 join together in thanking all those who worked so hard to give us this 
 alternate reality, one year after it all came down around our ears.

 Happy Shattering Realms!

 Thank you to all those who worked so hard making it a reality for us all to 
 enjoy.

 Angelea Endymion

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  Deadlies, PKilling and You                             by Wutanali

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 Deadlies in the game seem to get a bad overall image, people roll the dice 
 and decide to take a chance at levelling a deadly. Then once they reach age 
 and level to be on the who deadly list, they get killed and looted.

 They then seem to get turned off by that and then they go back to peacefuls 
 with a stereotype that seems to prevail in most minds about the deadly life. 
 Key people on deadly do get joy out of killing levelers.

 Most, on the other hand, are nice and willing to answer questions, but it is 
 hard to answer continuous questions from new deadlies when they might be gone 
 tomorrow.

 People fear looting, so they stay away. That is why Vodikem was put in order 
 to be a safehaven for new deadlies so they can adjust to the new lifestyle 
 and have no fear of looting. Vodikem leadership does a good job in helping 
 new players get used to the ways of the pkiller.

 But overall while pkilling on deadlies isn't for everyone, those interested 
 shouldn't hesitate to give it a shot. Who knows you might like it?

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  Rants From The Ethereal Plane - Whining             by Ganemanoimu

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 My apologizes for my absence, I've been working to fit myself into the niche 
 that lies between what I want to write, and what my editor will allow me to 
 write. Anyway I'll attempt to continue to write keeping certain new 
 restrictions in mind, but if my writing suddenly seems to make illogical 
 jumps, there is a good possibility that a paragraph or two has been censored 
 out. Of course, there is also a good possibility that my writing is just 
 illogical and incoherent, use your own judgment in either case.  

 There have been a lot of changes to the realms recently and some of them are 
 for good, some of them are for bad. And that generally tends to be like life 
 is, a little bit of one, a little bit of the other. Mostly you just have to 
 learn to deal with it, or just quit the game if you don't like it. However, 
 these changes have seemed to stir up an disproportionate amount of whining.  

 Yes, whining, whining, whining, much like this article. Except this article 
 is whining about your whining. Now having issues with a change is fine, 
 making attempts to change it through the appropriate forums, and discussions 
 with immortals is also fine. There is a significant emphasis on appropriate 
 and discussions.  

 Appropriate does not mean archives, there is a gameplay board for a reason. 
 People who constantly post complaint notes on the archives greatly annoy me 
 as the notes there really serve no purpose. If you were really making an 
 attempt to do something about the problem, you would talk the people that 
 matter, not the few hundred players that wander by and flick through the 
 articles. Posting on the archives is like standing on a box in the middle of 
 a street and yelling that the taxes are too high or something to that effect. 
 It's noisy and serves no purpose.  

 Discussion is also an important word that should probably be more defined. 
 I've seen problem players and their 'discussions' with immortals. Mostly it 
 just seems to be them yelling at the immortals that this or this sucks, 
 rather than laying out what the problem is, and what possible solutions 
 should be offered to resolve them. There is a difference between whining and 
 constructive criticism.  

 Another issue that comes into play under whining is the concepts of the 
 spirit of the law, and the letter of the law. The spirit of the law is what 
 kind of behavior the law is attempting to enforce, while the letter of the 
 law is what the law actually says. There are many instances in when the 
 spirit and the letter of the law differ. However, one would hope that players 
 would be mature enough to use their common sense and not attempt to argue 
 semantics. Give up and move on, it only takes one little change in the help 
 files and you have no argument. 

 Lastly, let's move on to the most important part of why whining is generally
 pointless and useless. Firstly, let's look at the system of administration 
 and government, in one word, dictatorship. The immortals act as the judge, 
 jury and executor. So while you can rail on against the injustices being laid
 against you, or the basic principles of morality and equality that are being 
 horribly violated, no one has to care. They only care if they want to care. 

 Think of it a benevolent dictatorship if it makes you feel any better, but 
 it's still a dictatorship. So cater to that and give reasons which will 
 benefit them as to why things should be changed. And if certain people are 
 set in their minds about how things are going to be, I guess you're screwed. 

 And yet, somehow, life goes along. If some 450 other players can continue to 
 play the game, so can you.

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  What if You Lived in Mertown?                           by Sarakin

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 Coral Depths, just a short hop, skip and a plunge away from Darkhaven seems 
 to be quite content as an isolated sanctum for the fishy kind, but in reality
 its economy and very social fabric is at the risk of being torn apart at the 
 gills. The threat, you ask? The constant harassment of its citizens by 
 levellers and gold harvesters!

 Yes, friends, unfortunately it's true. King Neptune might appear to be all 
 powerful from the splendour of his palacial estate, but beneath the mask is 
 the truth: the daily massacre of generations of merfolk and the looting of 
 the kingdom's wealth. It's true that the palace guards are well paid for their 
 service, and the various royal family also enjoy their status, but must we 
 take our swords to them in the hope of realising our dreams of wealth and 
 glory? 
 
 NO! The crab guards are getting crabby, Neptune is nervous and we could be 
 facing an all-out revolt by our brothers and sisters, the merfolk!

 Imagine, if you will, a typical day with you on your way to Zelah to buy 
 those well earned mana potions when all of a sudden ...  a cry rings out from
 the guards on the battlements! 

 You perk up your ears and start to comprehend the growing madness around you 
 as your friends and family run in cover from the great merfolk, riding proud 
 on their crabs and seahorses to TAKE YOUR GOLD AND MASSACRE YOUR FAMILY!!!! 
 Yarrr!

 Is this just the by-product of one too many kegs of that sweet, sweet 
 moonshine? With its smooth taste and .. er that's right folks, this is not a 
 drunken fantasy! Haven't you noticed lately the odd sideways glances from 
 merfolk, the quiet whispering of the children in the streets, the occasional 
 wet brick that penetrates your apartment window? It's slowly growing, day by 
 day, more merfolk are joining the conspiracy to overthrow our beloved Duke 
 Luther and take revenge for decades of poor treatment by us terrestrial 
 types.

 So to conclude, the next time you begin to sneak up on a poor mermaid girl 
 with a concealed dagger, or yell 'death from above!' and summon a lightning 
 bolt on a friendly palace guard, take a moment to think .. what if YOU lived 
 in mertown?

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  A Guide to Killing Magus                           by Ganemanoimu

========================================================================

 Magus is an underkilled mob because of the long-ish repops at Seth's 
 Fortress. And given that the fight takes about 30 seconds, it isn't really 
 worth the wait of an hour. But when doing jade or something else, if you got 
 time you can always sneak in for some magus kills to grab a matrix of 
 desolution and an staff of chiseled obsidian. The matrix is the key to Lord 
 Seth's room and is a great hold item for evil manausers and evil/neut tanks. 
 The staff is decent for evil mages.  

 Firstly you only need like 2-3 non-mana-using characters to kill this mob. 
 There is no IP limit. However he is immune to spelldowns and most magical 
 attacks except for room attacks like abolition. He does minimal damage each 
 round and is really a cinch to kill. The most annoying part is just to get to 
 him.  

 I'm not going to explain how to map the chaos maze, because that's another 
 article by itself, but I'll assume you know how to get through. Once through 
 the maze, you just go east along the corridor and then all south. When you 
 open the south door, there are 3 adept mobs, each with a different shield. 
 They are all aggressive but weak so you can kill them easily. Sometimes you 
 might have to circle 2.adept or 3.adept to make circle work. Loot the key 
 from one of the corpses and unlock the door to the west. Magus has a damage 
 prog when you enter the room but is not aggressive. You should still be 
 spelled up from the adepts and the magus will be an easy kill.  

 This kill is really straightforward and there isn't much to it. Magus pretty 
 much ranks on a difficulty of Artemis, just a bit harder to get to. So next 
 time you need a matrix/staff, go get it yourself, don't spend your precious 
 gold! 

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  IGQC/IOQC Report - August                               by Wiglaff

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 The Inter Guild Quest for this month was hosted created by GoT. 

 There were 4 teams of 7 players who were each set the quest of recreating the 
 weapon necessary to defeat an entity that was somehow influencing the 
 citizens of Realms to squander their money in casinos. 

 The quest was enjoyed by all the participants spoken to. 
 
 ---
  
 The August IOQC was hosted by Inconnu, and resulted in Arcanes, Ascendere, 
 Baali, Maidenstone and Ringbearers going forth to attempt to contact some 
 elder vampires and defeat a most rude individual called Sakten.

 In the end all the orders who took part had fun and complete the quest in 
 their own individual styles. Everyone spoken to who was there said they had 
 fun; and the next IOQC quest which will be hosted by Baali is eagerly 
 awaited.

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  IGQC/IOQC Report - August                               by Wiglaff

========================================================================

 As you may have noticed I have started giving a brief summary of the Inter 
 Order and Inter Guild Quests; I can only give the briefest of accounts, the 
 reality of what the quests are like really has to be experienced to be 
 appreciated, every team and indeed every player taking part will have their 
 own, often differing experience.  Quests encompass all elements of realms 
 knowledge (and before anyone says anything, yes these quests do occasionally
 involve pkill) from problem and riddle solving, to exploring and realms 
 knowledge.

 There is almost alway some killing involved, danger and usually several funny
 stories of what went wrong, or even what went right beyond all expectation. 

     (Note clans have their own seperate inter clan quests) 

 Mortal players from the participating organisations are responsible for 
 designing each of the quests, which the IOGC and IGQC sponsoring Immortals 
 (and other helpful immortals too) build and supervise. 

 Whilst these are not the only quests available, they are the most regular 
 team quests, if you think they sound fun and wish to take part it is yet 
 another good reason to join a Guild or Order.

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                                                                  (17)
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  The Symposium: August                                   by Wiglaff

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 In August the following proposals were placed before TS,
 and after consideration, voted on as follows -
 
 Passed by TS :
 Peaceful instead of Non-deadly in whois.
 Coloring of organization tags in where.
 Reliquary of the Ancients (like a lowbie Deck of Many Things).
 New DH Potion - 2x cure critical potion, to cost less than the heal.
 Shops reverting to old state (players can buy all).
 Increase in general economies for some of the more gold used areas.
 Chest of gold, similar to the deck of many things.
 
 Failed by TS :
 Lowered cost of arena heals.
 Adding a tax/rent charge to houses and apartments.
 Making illegal pkill impossible.

 During the month the following feedback was received 
 concerning proposals previously passed by TS -
 
 Passed :
 Shop list command to have arguments to display different items.
 Lower experience on death.
 
 Denied :
 Prompt/score to show number of connected characters.
 Changes to password command.
 Raising the max level of chardelete.
 Undevotion with glory.
 Area prompt token.
 Changing potions in forested arena.
 Command to create a chat group.

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  Guild/Order News - GoA                                  by Angelea

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 The Guild of Augurers has gone through a number of exciting changes within 
 the last month, including the electing of new leaders Taanmaya (GM), Adaez 
 (1st), and Dhaulagiri (2nd).  Congratulations to the newly appointed, and the
 Guild extends many thanks to Kinux for temporarily running the guild during 
 the election process.

 The change in leadership did not go event-less, however.  Taanmaya began with
 a small trivia quiz, and the Guild also got a chance to take a stab at the 
 Catoblepas, defeating the fearless foe!  We also welcome Jarrok, a returning 
 member, back into the guild.

 These are exciting times in the guild. If you are a young, new augurer, or an
 old-timer who wonders how augurers perform, please feel free to apply to the 
 Guild - contact Taanmaya, Adaez, or Dhaulagiri.

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  Guild/Order News - GoN                                 by Angelea

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 The altars of the Wyrm, the Wyld, and the Weaver have collected more young 
 souls for its Chaos. GoN sends a big evil welcome to Echinu and Khzad. For 
 any other young, or possibly old, nephlings wishing to seek acceptance 
 amongst our madness this path will lead you there: 4n, 3e, 2n from Darkhaven 
 Square. Read the noteboard in the Stone Room and following the instructions 
 accordingly.

 Though it seems with the summer coming to an end, last minute moves, 
 vacations, and extended holidays have made the halls of our home quiet ones. 
 Yet the guild and their slaves have still been able to get out and about to 
 take down Bahamut, Khiurn'hai, Legba, Sir Percival, McManus, Danbala, and 
 many others.

 Rikkath and Melindora strutted out for the July IGQ, we hope to see more 
 participants in the future as the quest was (and normally are) enjoyable, 
 challenging, and not to mention -- rewarding.

 And a congratulations to Melindora for taking over the CoD Represenative job. 
 And a big thank you to Owyn for doing a great job with his new TS position!

 For any other information concerning applications, quests, PKs, etc. contact 
 leaders/IT members/or whoever is on at the time, or you may refer to 
 http://www.guildofnephandi.org

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  Guild/Order News - GoR                                  by Angelea

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 This month the Guild of Rangers would like to welcome our new pledges: Calon 
 and Mirrelyn, and another old face in a new guise, Laurent. We hope you have 
 lots of fun and enjoy your time in the tree.

 We'd also like to thank Ardyce for her work as Head Mentor. We wish you the 
 best in your future endeavors.

 If you're looking to join the guild, follow the northeast path from DH[] and 
 visit the tree to pick up a guide and speak to an RQC member.

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  Guild/Order News - GoT                                  by Angelea

========================================================================

 August saw the guild doing some more runs, S/O, Jade, BR and Corsterix were 
 amongst the favorites. We also had Zilensko complete ARC I and ARC DP, 
 congrats to you are in order.

 Guihutee, Galeneo, Merthwyn and Aldara passed their one month review and are 
 now full members of the guild. Well done guys.

 A GoT welcome to Tamerois, Irvine, Renlaw, Tancof and Knivel who joined the 
 guild this month. Let us hope this place becomes your home like it has for 
 many thieves in the past.

 Galeneo joined the ranks of IT becoming a full IT. Aldara has also joined the 
 IT council and is now working hard of making full IT soon. Congratulations to 
 both of you.

 The guild had to deal with Zilensko's stepping down from leadership this 
 month due to rl circumstances. We hope he will continue devoting his time to 
 promoting runs within the guild. Thank you for all the work you have done as 
 a Leader.

 Nominations are now open for a new 2nd. Good luck to all those who will be 
 running for 2nd and may the best thief win.

 Thieves are always busy figuring out new things, testing runs, discovering 
 fun things to do. Any thief level 20 or higher interested in joining the fun 
 can come see us 3s, 2w, 1n, 1w from DH square or send an IT or Leader a tell 
 anytime.

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  Guild/Order News - GoV                                  by Angelea

========================================================================

 Greetings from the Guild of Vampires!

 The biggest news from GoV this month is without a doubt, the leadership 
 change.  Aleir decided to step down from GM to 1st and the able Zya has taken 
 over the role of GM.

 The following Chylder were corrupted: Kjeldon, Temon, Varyx, Ariez and Dinop. 
 Leaving the ranks of Chylder for full membership were: Tonitrus, Vladavostok, 
 Evrae and Maq.  May Aalakab have mercy on their souls.

 Runs have gone well. Guilded vampires can join the Shadow Council for more 
 information. This month, we have also enjoyed in-guild quests and trivia 
 contests.

 If you are a vampire level 20 or higher and are looking for a home, why not 
 stop by our recruiting board (help map) and fill out an application today? 
 Visit our web site at:

                         www.guildofvampires.com

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  Guild/Order News - Arcanes                              by Angelea

========================================================================

 First and foremost, everyone put your hands together for Anthon, Sarakin, and 
 Tatyana, who have each passed their 30-day Mentorship periods, graduating 
 from 'janitor' status to 'food preparation'.  ;)  Congrats, guys!

 And finally...

 Although our summer (in the northern hemisphere) approaches its end and sends 
 us scurrying back to school for another semester of pain, torture, and 
 general discomfort, the Arcanes' Most Extreme HouseLeagues Tournament 
 Challenge (tm) rages on!

 Phriendly Pheayre, Arcanes' phavorite and bestest of phriends, regularly 
 updates the scores. So the leading team can taunt the otheres with 'your 
 momma' jokes!  ;)  Though by no means final, the scores are as follows:

      Major kudos to Jexia for the design of this scorecard. =)
 
          . .----/\----------------------------/\----. .
           |+|___/  \____  *   *  *   *  * ____/  \___|+|
           |+\ REQUIEM  /*  * *  /\ *   *  \ RHAPSODY /+|
           |+|\        /  * ____/  \____  * \        /|+|
           |+|/   124  \*   \ OVERTURE /*   /   126  \|+|
           |+/___    ___\  * \        /  * /___    ___\+|
           |+|* *\  / *   *  /   119  \*   *   \  / * |+|
           |+| *  \/   *   */___    ___\*    *  \/*  *|+|
           |+|                  \  /                  |+|
           |/                    \/                    \|
           |        Requiem    Overture    Rhapsody     |
           |                                            |
           | Runs      43         35           50       |
           | Quest     47         32           32       |
           | ArC        4          2            4       |
           | Lead      28         48           38       |
           | Pkill      2          2            2       |
           | Other      0          0            0       |
           | =======================================    |
           | Total    124        119          126       |
           |                                            |
           |                                            |
          . .----------------------------------------. .

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  Guild/Order News - Baali                                by Angelea

========================================================================

 This month in Baali has seen a huge increase in activity. There have been 
 plenty of runs happening and it's only bound to increase as we get more new 
 members. 

 Many thanks go to Myra for creating a new three-room visitor's area in the 
 Cathedral for our victims, err, non-ordered members to visit us at. 

 A long-time order member Langtoly Devir has retired, best wishes go to him in
 his life's endeavors, and many thanks for the generous gold, character, and 
 equipment donations. Also best wishes go to Morgane who has also retired, 
 good luck to you both, remember the withdrawals are the toughest part of 
 quitting.

 Congratulations to Amorthan, our new member, and also to Azhdeen, the new 
 leader of Childer Di Sciame (Baali's Induction Sect.) Please note that Baali 
 applications open once a month and only five applications are processed per 
 month. For any information on Baali inductions, read help baali_apps, speak 
 to any Baali member with CDS in his/her title, or with a Baali leader. 

 For information on the Baali, check out:

 http://www.thebaali.info            as well as             help baali_apps

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  Guild/Order News - Ringbearers                          by Angelea

========================================================================

 This past month has been a huge month in the Order of Ringbearers. With the 
 former leaders stepping down elections have taken place and the new leaders 
 of RB are:

 Leader - Helicus 
 First  - Ghordan 
 Second - Sumitra

 As with any new shift in leadership it takes a few weeks to get everything 
 running smoothly again.  As for right now we have just reopened the Induction 
 Team to applications. Currently there are quite a few applicants questing. We 
 wish them the best of luck.

 This months' new Acolyte is Vendora, please give him a warm round of applause 
 on a job well done.

 The Order of Ringbearers wishes to Welcome its newest Immortal, Tical, may he 
 be able to fill the huge shoes that Elisabet left for him.  Although he is 
 doing a great job so far.

 Thats it this month folks, for more information on becoming a Ringbearer 
 please visit the web page at: www.ringbearers.info

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           |___ |  | |\ | |\ |  \_/     |__] |  | |\ | |___ [__
===========|    |__| | \| | \|   |      |__] |__| | \| |___ ___]========

  Funny Titles                        Contributed by Aeriel & Amalia

========================================================================

 Abelard, your friendly Wallyworld greeter :) {BOT} 
 Ahhl mighty.
 Amalia Ravenyze : Word of the Day : Con-de-scend-ing 
 Angelea Endymion favored chew toy of mobs far and wide.
 Brecconary stormshadow: Cookin' MC's like a pound of bacon. 
 Bruchev lives! (metaphorically speaking)
 Bruxelles puts the romantic in necromantic. 
 Daerell Starscream Internal organ refitter..(MI-5) 
 Ein de Winter Unsheathes His Deadly...Mandolin? NC:OFF.
 Flaez bravely ran away.
 Jasminolie Ai'Kori is hooked to dragonlance books. DARN!
 Lermontow has strange monkey magic.
 Melindora, making nephs look good for over 1900 years.
 Merf is a monkey in a merf costume.  (Huntmaster)
 Milani"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere.
 Raskolnikov feigns left and right without consequence.
 Rennard laughs at angels who fall and can't get up.
 Tagith: Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
 Tarqal: Sex on TV can't hurt you, unless you fall off.
 Yamkelev lives in a pineapple under the sea.

 Amalia pretends to be VERY busy just to avoid you.
 Kacy pretends to be VERY busy with Amalia to avoid you!
 Aesia pretends to be VERY busy with Kacy to avoid you!
 Rasukonza pretends to be VERY busy with Aesia to avoid you!

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================|___ |__| |__/    |_\| |__| |___ ___]  |================

  August Quest Answers                                    by Alysira

========================================================================

 Well, we didn't have a lot of entrants for this month's quest, in fact the 
 two winners are the only two entrants! Congratulations to...
                           Kelgan and Jexia!
 They correctly answered the needed amount of questions each. Please see me 
 for your prizes, guys!
  
 For all you at-home questors who for some reason, didn't get your entries in,
 here are the answers.

 1. Split Pea     3. Scrambled Eggs       5. Small world       7. Green eggs
 2. Split Level   4. E = MC^2 (Squared)   6. Right after you       and ham
                                                 OR
                                            Right next to you

 Good luck in the next quest!

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                |    |  | |  \    |  | |  | |___ [__   |
================|___ |__| |__/    |_\| |__| |___ ___]  |================

  Room Description Quest                                  by Alysira

========================================================================

 I hope many of you found last month's quest to be quite a good challenge! Any 
 feedback or ideas for quests? Just let me know either in tells or mudmail =)

 And now, for this month's quest!

 Your task is to design your own room. This may include mobs and objects, and 
 be sure to include a description of the area (real or made-up) that it's 
 coming from. Your room can be about anything you like, and contain any 
 mobs/objects you like! The two most creative entries, judged by myself and a 
 few other Immortals, will be rewarded and shown in next month's Cry.

 Good luck!

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                    |___ |  \ |  |  |  | |__/ | |__| |
====================|___ |__/ |  |  |__| |  \ | |  | |___===============

  From the Quill of Alysira                                 by Alysira 

========================================================================

 Greetings, readers.

 A few new aspiring journalists have joined our staff this month, a big
 welcome to Sarakin and Wutanali =) I'm very glad to have them both join
 us, as I'm sure we'll see great things to come of them both. Although
 that's a very cliche thing to say, I truly mean it!

 So, my first quest was too easy, and the second too hard, or just too
 boring? If anyone wants to give me input on the quests I make, or if
 you'd like to submit your own quest to the Cry, just send me a mudmail!
 Remember, it's YOU who will be actually doing these quests, not me ;)

 Hope you enjoyed the Cry of Despair this month, and I'm looking forward
 to reading your own personalised room descriptions and your feedback!

 -Alysira

------------------------------------------------------------------------