Happy Thanksgiving!

Below, some of the View Staff share what they are thankful for this season: 

Today, I had to describe to my preschool classroom what it means to be thankful. I told them it was something that you love, appreciate, and something you wouldn’t want to lose. Then, I told them what I was thankful for.

I highlighted my family, describing my kids; then, I brought up where I lived; my job, how much I loved my students, and finally I brought up my friends. My friends, almost all of which I’ve made in my adult life, mostly became my friends through Realms. These friends, which are closer to me than some of my family, are the people I choose to hang out with and look forward to seeing at Realms, at Birthday Parties, and other social gatherings. All of these people I never would never have met were it not for Realms. I am so thankful to have these people in my life and that I have the opportunity to meet so many more new ones.

- Diana "Kiira" LaPierre

I am blessed to be a part of a community that loves so freely, cares for one another, and strives to be better every day. I cannot understate the importance of the support that I’ve received over the past decade of my time in the Realms. It has truly shaped me into the person that I am today. I am grateful to find beauty in both the small and large things in my life--a beautiful morning, an awe-inspiring storm, breaking into uncontrollable giggles with my friends and family, a nice stiff drink at the end of a long day, dancing my heart out, the look in a student’s eye as they finally understand a life-altering concept, reading stories to the babies in my life, sitting down in front of my sewing machine to tackle another project, watching the ones I love push themselves to be the best versions of themselves--these are the things that bring my life meaning, and I am certain that I would not be in a place to appreciate these gifts if it weren’t for the people of the Realms community. Thank you all, and Happy Thanksgiving.

 - Lani "Gwen"

If I’m thinking about the Realms and the many ways that I want to give thanks, there are certain things that immediately come to mind.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of this amazing community. All around me I see incredibly impressive things each and every day, year after year. I see people giving back to help the community grow and flourish and love every minute of doing it. I see people coming together to back each other up in hard times, like when we’ve had benefits or when we do charity auctions for good causes. People teach each other and help each other and push each other. I sometimes wonder where else in the world you can find a gathering of such incredible people who have the same purpose as each other and take care of one another so well. And as if that wasn’t enough, we have fun doing it too.

And because of this amazing community I’ve been able to build so many important parts of my own life. My country is made of my best friends and what we do together as a group is inspiring to me. When I first joined the Realms I never imagined myself being a part of something like Rhiassa or doing all of the things that we do as a nation but I’m so thankful to have found this group of people that has so readily accepted and embraced me. Of course Realms is also the reason that I met my husband and had a wonderful son together with him. Without this community none of that would be possible and I can’t imagine a life of family and friends as enriched as the one that I have now.

And finally, I have Realms to thank for the changes in myself over the years. Realms gave me a chance to come out of my shell. There are so many supportive people around me all the time and it helped me to become more outgoing and find my voice. I was able to learn lots of crafting skills through the help of people in the community and I got to develop and express my creative side in new ways. And becoming a part of the View from Valehaven staff has been an amazing challenge and experience that I’ve learned a lot from as well.

So I have a lot to be thankful for because of Realms. I met my friends and built my family. I grew in many ways and still see that there are new ways I can grow. I’m surrounded by a community of good people who care about one another. Realms has made me a better and more well rounded person. I owe a lot of who I am to this community and what I’ve learned here and I certainly wouldn’t have been here today without it. Thank you everyone.

- Jen "Areni" DeNardis-Rosa

Wherever you are or whatever you're doing today, please take a moment to reflect on the past year, both in Realms and out, and enjoy your food! Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at the View from Valehaeven!

Bardic Circle: Mouse's Bardic from Nedengiving 2

A Parody of Paddy Murphy for Neden

by Renee "Mouse" Booke

Oh the night that Lord Nymbous died, is a night I’ll never forget

Some of Neden got wicked drunk, and they ain’t got sober yet;

As long as the Siffy Sauce was passed around, every boy was feelin’ great

Syruss then broke out in song, til it was way too late

That’s how they showed their respect for Lord Nymbous

That’s how they showed their humor and their pride;

They said it was a gosh darn shame and they grinned at one another

And every glass in the place was raised the night Lord Nymbous died

As poor ole Sarix sat in the corner pourin’ out his grief

Priest Z and the boys came tearin’ down the street

They went back into the pub and a bottle of whisky stole

Then put the bottle with the corpse to keep that whisky cold

That’s how they showed their respect for Lord Nymbous

That’s how they showed their humor and their pride;

They said it was a gosh darn shame and they grinned at one another

And every glass in the place was raised the night Lord Nymbous died

Round two o’clock in the morning after emptying his mug

Jean Baptise opens up the box to see the poor dead lug

Naj then stopped the clock, so Dresden couldn’t tell the time,

And quarter after two they argued it was after nine

That’s how they showed their respect for Lord Nymbous

That’s how they showed their humor and their pride;

They said it was a gosh darn shame and they grinned at one another

And every glass in the place was raised the night Lord Nymbous died

They stopped the hearse outside the O’Leary Boys Saloon

They all went in at half past eight and staggered out at noon

They wandered to the graveyard, not knowin’ what they’d find

Found out when they got there, they’d left Lord Nymbous behind.

That’s how they showed their respect for Lord Nymbous

That’s how they showed their humor and their pride;

They said it was a gosh darn shame and they grinned at one another

And every glass in the place was raised the night Lord Nymbous died

Oh the night that Lord Nymbous died, is a night I’ll never forget

Some of Neden got wicked drunk, and they ain’t got sober yet;

As long as the Siffy Sauce was passed around, every boy was feelin’ great

Syruss then broke out in song, til it was way too late

That’s how they showed their respect for Lord Nymbous

That’s how they showed their humor and their pride;

They said it was a gosh darn shame and they grinned at one another

And every glass in the place was raised the night Lord Nymbous died

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I Can't Even

I Can't Even 

by, 

Sara 'Zarine' Jessop

Plating

A few weekends ago I attended Nedengiving, because someone finally understands that Sundays are better than Saturdays. It was indeed the fantastic time that was promised.

Games of chance were awarding tickets for the raffle quicker than the spread of the plague. Of course my gold did get stuck halfway down the Plinko board a few times, but I'll let that one slide because Plinko is clearly the easiest way to get a hand cramp from writing your name on hundreds of tickets.

The cheddar broccoli soup, while no Blackwood meatloaf, was delicious and I ate far too much of it. The sandwich buffet was excellent, and as we all know I am an excellent judge of meats. All of the food was quite delectable. And of course having a fully stocked tavern next door did not hurt the ambiance at all. In fact, I find having ample access to alcohol really improves my opinion of our social gatherings.

I was asked by some high muckity muck in Neden to give their gathering a good review. I have to say, I was well on my way to, and then I saw this...

Photo courtesy of Tucker 'Temorse' Noyes 

… and I like, literally could not. What even is this? “Zarine, that's cranberry sauce,” I am sure you are saying in your large empty head. I know what it actually is, you ignorant plebs. I mean, what kind of presentation is this? This doesn't say 'eat me, I'm delicious', it says 'throw me in the trash, I'm gross.'

Food plating is important. Why, you are undoubtedly asking? Because, (with the exception of that blind dude at the table next to us, who I am pretty sure won some sort of weaponry, which is highly concerning) we see food before we taste it and presumably you want people to want to taste it. People want to try things that look good, not like a cranberry-ish colored blob.

Now, plating something like cranberry sauce can be challenging, especially when you purchased the jellied kind in a can, and no matter what you try to do with it, still seems to resemble said can. So my first bit of advice is to acquire some real, homemade cranberry sauce. But if you find yourself with the canned stuff and need to plate it, I have some ideas for you.

Use the moldable nature of the jelly to your advantage: Use cookie cutters to turn your cranberry sludge into festive shapes. Garnish with an orange, as both the colors and flavors compliment each other well. 

http://www.oceanspray.com/Recipes/Corporate/Crafts/Cranberry-Sauce-Garnishes.aspx

Put it on an interesting plate. And no, a plain paper plate is not interesting. I get that we don't want to be spending a lot of time washing dishes, so I am sure if you look hard enough you could find some sort of disposable plate that fits the bill. Something that isn't too much bigger than your cranberry log and compliments its loggy shape would be preferable.

Garnish it with some for reals cranberries. 

Slice it. For some reason people respond to food that is already partially prepared for them. It's like they aren't sure where or how to cut it unless you've already started it. Add a fancy garnish for fancier fanciness. 

Don't serve it. Seriously. It's disgusting anyways.

This plating issue aside, it was quite an enjoyable feast. Will I attend in the future? I could maybe...

See you next Tuesday.

Zarine is the proprietor and Madam at Alchimia Lupanar, a magic marshal approved practitioner of medicine, an award winning author, and has 36 years of experience in giving her unsolicited opinion. 

Arc Sphere Distortions

Arc Sphere Distortions

by Steven "Therian" Matulewicz

Question of the Week

Question of the Week, Week 1

Welcome to an old feature that we're bringing back with some new life for this winter season. Every week we'll be asking our adoring readers to fill out the answer to a single question that we'll embed on the page, and every week we'll be posting everyone's answers. It's a great way to share some interesting information about your character with the rest of the Realms!

What You Missed - Nedengiving 2

by Cal "Syruss" Marsden

For the second year in a row, Lord Nymbous has opened up the halls to his friends and family across the realms.

  The hall was decorated with all the Green and Black grandeur that one comes to expect from visiting Neden. With the tables decorated for the upcoming feast and the Banner strung among the hall with precision by Priest Z, the people of the Realms were immediately hit with the smell of fresh popping popcorn as they entered the halls, followed by the soft sounds of carnival music. Siff had transformed part of the feast Hall into a miniature Carnival complete with Games, Prizes, Attractions and Pinatas and Popcorn. Adventurers competed for fragments of the Magic Ribbon the lands of Neden is being known to produce.

Soups were cooking in the main hall for all to smell and anticipate, there were plenty of finger foods to keep everyone satiated while waiting for the main course. There were four different kinds of soup including an authentic gumbo from our Newest Full member Gumbo, but the Broccoli Soup stole the show in this Duke's humble opinion.

For those not interested in Carnival Games but still interested in pageantry and wonder there was the return of Nymbous's SmithNEDian Museum which featured new artifacts all with unique stories and magical properties. After last year's heist of certain items, Nymbous was determined to have even more artifacts. This year he found Ancient Portraits of our more colorful O'Leary Clan, these portraits were embedded with magical properties that allowed them to speak as if they were alive. Nymbous was feeling so good about his Museum this year he even allowed some of his private artifacts to be purchased. With the magic CoP's power waning under stress from too many visitors Nymbous will be looking into a new way to protect the integrity of the museum.

If you wanted a chance at some coin then you were in luck because the New Eden Casino was up and operational, and when you were done making your money you were free to spend it at Vandoria's Vestments or with Neden's newest merchant to the New Eden Emporium running an Anthem Outlet in Neden, Xabi one of Priest Z's monks.

For those who wanted to get tickets without the risk of the Carnival games, there were multiple ways to do so. For starters, adventurers could test their mettle in the various someone comical tournaments. Each contestant had a chance at glory as well as tickets to gain special artifacts. IF fighting wasn't your desire there were magical roaming treasure chests that kept spawning throughout the hall. Miniature versions of the chest found during Neden's Monster roundup, filled with tickets and gold as well as items of wonder. But the most important way one could get tickets is by bringing a can tribute to the lord, which he donated to a very noble cause.

The food was amazing with ham, turkey, all your favorite holiday side dishes and four different pasta courses. All of which left players full, but not too full they couldn't raid Neden's dessert table.

While the players ate they also performed in many different styles of bardics as well as the first-ever Why I Am Thankful contest. They sang, played music, told stories but most importantly gave thanks for the past year's bounties.

With all the food and games done it was time for the Auction. We here in Neden have an aptitude for finding magical artifacts. Some more powerful than others but all with a rich history. It had seemed like the most popular item was an Ax forged by our very own Razmith, and enhance in magic by Priest Z, Sir Naj and myself.

All in all it was an amazing time spent with friends from all over the lands. We hope you enjoyed the atmosphere, we hope you left full on delicious food, we hope you didn't take too much of our money at the Casino and we hope you tell tales to your friends about the amazing time they missed.

With all that said it is time for one more Why I Am Thankful.

I am so thankful to our friends and family who showed up this past weekend to make this the most successful Neden feast to date and in doing so helped us nearly double our donations from last year. The charitable nature of this community never fails to impress.

I know this wasn't a Noir Mystery nor was this an Ask Syruss but allow me to leave you with wise words from my lord all the same.

"It is the giving nature of this community that is the true lifeblood. Their ability to set aside all personal difference for a greater cause is why I will always call the realms my home." -Lord Sir Nymbous O'Leary, First of his Name

I love you all and hope to see you all again next year.

Love and Respect,

Sir Duke Syruss O'Leary
Knight of the Potentium
Knight of the Blue Rose
Detective extraordinaire 

Look for the return of Detective Syruss in the upcoming mystery..."The Case of the Missing leftovers..."

Photo by Andrew Whitty

Photo by Cal Marsden

Photo by Andrew Whitty

Photo by Andrew Whitty

Photo by Cal Marsden

Photo by Andrew Whitty

Photo by Andrew Whitty

Photo by Cal Marsden

Photo by Andrew Whitty

Photo by Andrew Whitty