Happy New Year!

The View Staff would like to take a moment to wish everyone the happiest of New Years, may 2026 bring love, laughter and joy to you all. We'll be back with our regular tomorrow!

Rumors around the Realms January 1026

 

rumors around the Realms january 1026

Northeastern Chimeron, Southern Blackwood, Eastern Banecroft

A shrine to Aurora and its attendant priests were beset upon by a horde of undead thralls and their commanding vampire, who corrupted and killed hunters and herders from a nearby village.  Survivors report that the rampaging evil attacked the shrine, slaughtered innocent villagers, and compelled even the wild wolves to attack.

blackavar

With the cold months here in earnest, Baron Kurt Gautier and Wilma Wilmont’s temporary camp has been emptied. 

The sound of screams and deafening whispers can be heard for miles surrounding Archendell. The woods have otherwise gone silent.

Gautier and company have retained a garrison at a reclaimed fort known previously as ‘dragonclaw’.

What You Missed - Winter Revelry 2 [Newlyweds Edition]

Written By: Kai "LukeJohn" Yang & Charlie "Anton" Pottow 

Who would’ve thought so much could take place on the shortest day of the year! This past Winter Revelry had a little something for everyone. 

Saturday began with helping travelers on the high seas. Adventurers discovered the existence of a new group dedicated to the supposed deity “Thea Tara” that had been accosting seafarers and arguably forcibly converting them to their supposed deity. Luckily the heroes of the Realms were able to save at least one crew of survivors and managed to take down a Leviathan in the process! This was then led by the gutting of said Leviathan and certain members taking that flesh with them…waste not, want not I guess.

Shortly after that Sir Tychus sent for a call for aid in a murder investigation. The blacksmith of a small town had been murdered and it appeared they’d found the culprit in an open and shut trial. Turns out this was not the case and it was in fact, the main suspect’s long lost brother who’d committed the murder and framed his sibling. Fortunately, the call for aid was answered and true justice was delivered as the true murderer was found. 

Finally the questing ended with a helping an Auroran priest against monsters, bandits, and former acolytes possessed by evil spirits. A caravan needed to be safely escorted to and from various locations across what was a VERY icy field, and the heroes of the Realms successfully managed this time and again. I’m told Makhta was involved in some of the possession and may or may not have hurt some people, but go easy on her. She didn’t mean to and is looking to atone; and if ya ask me, the Realms is a place of rehabilitation and forgiveness over punishment.

Back in the tavern the Feast and Bar staff managed to throw a killer spread! I’m told the facilities weren’t the most equipped and yet the food was incredible. Personal standouts to me were the glazed ham, of which I may have eaten a comical amount of (extra special shout out to Nymbous who got me hooked on it) and the Beef and Barley Soup. Do I regret burning my mouth on it? Yes (entirely my fault). Would I do it again? Also yes (it was incredible). Unfortunately I did not get to try any of the special mixed drinks made by the bar staff, but everyone I asked said they were phenomenal.

The Hall itself also had a good mix of everything, various vendors/shops, a gambling area for people to test their luck, an “Ugly Sweater” themed dessert competition, gifts aplenty from the aptly named Monsieur LeTrappe, and a charity auction run by Twenaria!

But the highlight for me was the wedding between Anton and LukeJohn of course! We couldn’t be happier with how it went down. Our officiant, Kara and bridesmaids/groomsmen Bogen, Lupa, Umbra, and Killian waited patiently as we were walked down the aisle. Anton arm in arm with Trent and Temorse and Twenaria for LukeJohn. After some kind words from our officiant and squatting low to exchange circlets (much harder than it seems), we ended the ceremony in the most befitting way for Anton and LukeJohn I can think of, 1v1 fight outside in the cold with daggers Anton made (preceded by a kiss of course)!

On a more serious note, a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped Charlie and me pull off what was a 2 year long joke. Hannah B and Cam H for making the initial insinuation we were a couple during post-fight practice ice cream. Emily M for taking the wedding plans out of our incapable hands and running with it. Maria C for getting 2 beautiful, individualized circlets and Charlie’s wedding outfit. Justin T for the leather sheaths/frogs that actually make me want to use a dagger now. Sarah F for knocking it out of the park makeup wise and helping us look like “bad bitches”. Kelly P for making an actual banger of a wedding cake for us. Alyssa for both sticking around into the late night for the wedding and making the meatloaf cake Charlie and I joked about. And finally, everyone who was kind enough to give us the wedding gifts!

Why I Joined - Kai Yang of Ashenmark

Lots of players in our game are part of nations. This series gives them a chance to talk about why they decided to join and what it means to them. If you would like to talk about why you joined your nation, please fill out this form. 

Who are you? (IC and/or OOC)

Kai Yang

 

What nation are you in?

Ashenmark

 

How long have you been a member?

10+ years (since 2015)

 

Why did you join this nation?

Seeing both sides of the nation. Namely the goofy side paired with the serious side of serving the community, being good at combat, and throwing great events. Also the amount that everyone values each other.

 

What sets your nation apart from others?

I’d say we strike a good balance in everything that the game offers. We got excellent craftspeople, veteran event holders and staffers, strong combatants, decent RP’ing, and a sizable amount of feastocrats. Obviously other nations have this too, but in my opinion there’s no IC or OOC challenge Ashenmark can’t solve when working together.

 

What makes you proud to wear your nation’s colors?

I think it’s how we serve the community. It makes me really proud that Ashenmark consistently wins the View Award “Outstanding Group for Staffing and NPCing” year after year. But that we’d operate the same way even if we didn’t win that award.

 

What’s the most powerful moment you’ve experienced as a member of your nation?

Speaking for myself, it’d probably be winning QoH together (alongside Creathorne) in a friendly but fierce competition against the other team

 

How does your nation help you become the person you want to be?

It goes back to the diversity we have in skill sets. Anything I want to improve on, there’s someone I can speak to. I’ve got combat training partners to make me a better fighter. I’ve got feastocrats to improve my kitchen skills. We have a astounding amount of NPCing experience to draw from when I need to get better at that

 

What should someone do if they want to join?

Talk to any of member about it. We can all “pass it up the chain” if it’s a serious inquiry

 

Anything else you'd like to say about your nation?

No place I’d rather be than here!

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Shield Stories with Nixon Showalter

  Organized by James "Tao" Murphy

Please physically describe your shield; style, Heraldry colors etc? 

To get a close estimate, the shield is a wooden coffin punch shield. The edge is lined with black, blue runes debossed into the edge spell out the name of the shield. On the front, a scene of a beautiful river with trees and mountains surrounding it is wood burned onto it.

How long have you had your shield? 

This is a shield that was newly given to me to make use of before it's magic powers fade at the new Queen of Hearts, so I have had it for around a month now.

Is this your preferred shield style? 

I prefer punch shields, specifically coffin punch shields, because I feel like they are a great mix of versatility and coverage. I am able to move it dynamically to actively cover myself with very little effort. While I am still practicing and getting better as a shield fighter, I have found punch shields are more intrinsic to me and make more sense while I am fighting with them.

Have you ever tried a different style of shield? 

The other shield I have practiced with to any extend are round strap shields. As someone with a lot of leg exposed by a round shield, and a strap shield not allowing me to as easily move the shield to defend myself as freely has made the style fall into second place.

Who made it?

Justin B.H. (Grarr) was the one who made this shield for Queen of Hearts last year and was the winner of the shield crafting competition with it!

Have you ever had to fix/repair/refoam it since it's original creation?

I have not, it has held up extremely well.

What is your favorite move with the shield?

With safe distance, the flip up of the bottom of the shield to block my head and following up with the under swing up to their chest has always been my favorite move. It usually can catch people off guard if you use it off rhythm and for bonus points looks supeerrrr cool.

Do you have any interesting stories about the shield?

My favorite story I have about the shield is one utilizing it's magic power. The shield provides the wielder with 3 resist magics. So there I was fighting some mutated goblins in a cave. One of them had pulled my corpse over to their side of the line and at this time it just so happened that the cave collapsed around me, leaving me trapped with the goblins. With the mutations and growth being ongoing, the goblins formed into one amalgam, and it just so happened that I got sucked into that. While this was terrible in itself, and I was compelled to enjoy it which makes it even worse, but the adventurers I was just fighting beside were completely ready to take me out. Styx had walked to the front of the line and loudly cried out for a divine aid, which was promptly answered as a fireball began falling out of the sky ready to obliterate us. Without a second thought I quietly, and with little confidence, called out "..Resist Magic?" and forces the be dispelled the fireball and that was that. It felt really awesome but I do with that it was helping my friends rather than dispelling their magics. As is life I suppose!

Merry Christmas

The View Staff would like to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happiest of Holidays. We hope everyone has a day filled with love and joy. We'll be back to our regular content tomorrow!