Caption This

Here's a photo from a Realms event lacking any specific context. Go on back to Facebook and comment with the best caption you can think of.

Why I Want To Go: Tournaments of Artemis

The energy of a good fight could easily be my favorite part of the game. It gets me into my flow state, where the world opens up for my understanding. All the pieces come together for me, and it’s a sort of real world magic that I wish everyone could experience. 

For me that’s why events like Tournaments of Artemis are so important. They  create a way for people to get access to that experience. For me it’s about giving that magic to the community, and I love that. 

Tournaments of Artemis, in the past an event about small team tournaments dedicated to spotlighting the women in our community, is changing up the format a little bit, and turning towards war tournaments. I think this is a smart shift because it will give more options for people to showcase their talents on the field. Also, I love a good war tournament, and I know that for many people it will have been years since they were able to fight in one. 

People coming to the event will get the option to participate as a fighter for the day whether they are a caster or not. And for our friends new to the game, they may also do this while learning spells, so long as they don’t use those spells within the tournaments. I think that’s an important distinction because it will get a lot more people playing while also working towards their goals. 

Honestly I can’t wait. I can’t wait for the moments that will happen, and I get to see them. 

I’ll see you on the field, 

Keith “Saegan” Cronyn

A Brief Primer of the History of Darkvale and Its Occupation by the Aspis

The following information has been collected by various scholars around the Realms and paints a brief but true history of the 30-year long saga that was the occupation of Darkvale by the forces of Rexan. 

The Early Era

• In the mid 990s a species of humanoid called the Aspis left their ancestral home in the Aspis Nor mountains and started a wide-scale invasion across the entire Realms. They were led by Illgoth, Rexan’s Avatar, and their army was commanded by a great champion. Aspis as a species were bound by the will of Rexan and executed this war under his bidding.

• The heroes of the Realms were largely outmatched in this war and lost more battles than they won. Many areas of Chimeron, the Borderlands, and Banecroft were lost.

• At the apex of the war, Sir Blade of Folkestone slew the enemy’s great champion in honorable combat. This blow to the Aspis was enough for them to treat for peace. This treaty allowed most of the Realms nations to stay intact. Darkvale, a vassal state of Chimeron, was ceded to the Aspis as a part of the negotiation for hostilities to end.

• Heroes that called Darkvale home were not present for that treaty. In the aftermath it became known that many of them refused to abandon their land or their people and had taken to the crags and cliffs to become a resistance army. Much of the eventual fate of those heroes is unknown. Of those that refused to abandon the country was Sir Lars of Chimeron who was initially lost as he stayed behind to help safeguard Darkvale.

• In the years after the war, in a series of quests in the Aspis Nor mountains, Sir Shane of Chimeron slew Illgoth with the Sword of Kings. Rexan was now without an Avatar. Illgoth would live again in the future but would no longer have a direct impact on the Aspis.

The Ascension War and the Aftermath

• In the Ascension War, champions of many of the gods of the pantheon fought with supporters to attempt to ascend to become Avatars of their patrons. At this time Lars joined the fray as the champion of Rexan, having been turned into an Aspis. This was the first time people began to realize that Aspis had that transformation ability.

• Sir Shane, champion of Rawonam, won the Ascension War. He became Rawonam’s Avatar but also allowed other entrants to that war to become Avatars of their gods in the process, including Lars who was compelled to ascend to become a lesser Avatar of Rexan.

The Middle Years

• At some point in the years that Darkvale was in Aspis control, the demon known as Soultaker used the faerie-connected nature of the land to begin something called The Twisting. Among other effects, The Twisting mutated many of the natural born Aspis into a new species called Aspis-Fae. These creatures, warped by magic, were much stronger than their mundane cousins. They were also insane, savage, and more terrible than any Aspis or Fae that had ever been known.

• Darkvale was always the home to many monstrous species as well as humans. Going back as far as the 980s, heroes of the Realms often engaged with those monsters in questing and sport. When the Aspis first took control it had little effect on the trolls and goblins and such that made Darkvale their home. They continued their lives in the caves and cliffs mostly unbothered by the serpents. After The Twisting this changed.

• The Aspis-Fae being stronger and more cruel than normal Aspis quickly rose to the position of leadership. In 1007 it became known that the other monstrous species of the land were suffering under their lash. Many of them were being forcibly turned into Aspis. Heroes of the Realms led by Sir Owen had quested into Darkvale to help cull the Aspis-Fae threat. There the king of the goblins asked for their assistance in saving their people.

• The Aspis-Fae were neutralized and the king of the goblins proposed allying with the heroes for the safety of the monstrous species. He proposed a trial to allow one of the heroes to become their leader. Sir Chan was selected by the heroes to undergo this trial and bested it. He signed a treaty that involved non-interference in the affairs of the monstrous species. This effectively put at least some of the lands back under the banner of Chimeron.

• In time, Sir Chan left Chimeron but remained recognized by the monstrous species as the Treaty-Boss. This effectively ended the monstrous species' willingness to admit the lands in any way were part of Chimeron.

The War of Shadows and the Aftermath

• While it was known that many refugees had escaped Darkvale during the early and middle years, it was also deeply suspected that many original citizens were killed or in captivity.

• The Aspis, led by a high priest named Solomon and his acolyte, an ogre-magus known as The Disciple, began a new offensive against Chimeon in 1011. The reason why was unknown at the time.

• As a part of this new offensive, under the cover of night, Aspis sowed disease through neighboring Chimeronian villages that turned the humans there into Aspis; many of whom immediately fell under the sway of Rexan and fled into Darkvale. It was easy to conclude that this transformation was the fate of all of the people who had never escaped Darkvale all of those years ago.

• Chimeron and her allies met the Aspis on the fields of battle. They were joined by Sir Shane, still the avatar of Rawonam and an effective foil for the Shade of Rexan, a mortal extension of the serpent god’s power that also joined the fray. This was a hard-fought war and Chimeron lost several battles, but was able to push forward all the way to Fern Grove during the full course of the campaign.

• It was then discovered that the entire war was a scheme instrumented by The Disciple, a pact between him and Rexan that excluded Solomon. The deaths in the war acted as the blood sacrifice to power a ritual. The final step of that ritual occurred when The Disciple tricked the heroes into using Garm’s blessing to obliterate Solomon. When that occurred, The Disciple was able to ascend to become an Avatar of Rexan.

• At the conclusion of that war, Chimeron had won back and held the eastern half of Darkvale. Between the heavy losses sustained in the war and the blood sacrifice, the last of the Aspis-Fae were killed. The remainder of the country was held by the natural born Aspis following the will of Rexan and The Disciple who was now their leader.

Since the War of Shadows

• The Disciple was unwilling to give up his claim to the eastern half of the country and for months engaged in guerilla tactics and raids to weaken Chimeron’s presence there. Eventually Chimeron determined that it was unsustainable to hold half the country while the Aspis were still willing to fight. Chimeron decided to withdraw rather than sustain continuous losses.

• In 1012 the Disciple made an alliance with The Shadow King after he took the throne of the Shadowlands, giving him authority over Darkvale. This alliance did not last long, however, as the Shadow King was ultimately defeated in 1014. The Disciple retained full sovereignty over the nation.

• In 1019 on the quest to free Garm the heroes completed trials in order to gain the aid of Justari in their mission. At that time the Avatar of Justari, The Red Knight, pledged to Ser Kovaks his aid in retaking Darkvale from the Aspis.

• Later in 1019 Ser Kovaks met a priest named Brother Warren who was fulfilling a mission from Justari to build a temple just miles from the southern border of Darkvale. They helped Brother Warren build that temple, perhaps not entirely understanding that it would be the place that everyone would gather when it was time again to make war.

Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! We're trying out a new feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

What's the most heroic you've ever felt as your character? The thing that you did that stands out as the biggest deal? Even if it was only a big deal to you.

Head on back to Facebook and let us know in the comments!

Meme Monday

 By the Meme Team

Guess That Realmsie!

Another in our new series! In the below picture there is a Realmsie-shaped black hole. Can you figure out who it is based only on the profile? Tell us on Facebook if you think you know who it is! The answer will be revealed later in the day.

The Aspis – Fey War, A History

As remembered by Baron Diamond

On August 1st, 997: The Aspis invaded the Realms. My first notebook, relatively new, only recorded one line, “Banecroft falls to the Aspis.” I failed to mark it in the public document of Baronial History: http://banecroft.knotaffront.com/history/index.php?year=997  But that was a grave oversight, back when I was not the chronicler I endeavor to be now. An oversight I will now correct. Forgive errors, memories a quarter century old are all I have to go on. But first let me set the scene. Back then, nations did not co-operate so well as we do now. Our widely understood but never explicitly codified understanding of working together against the constant threats that nip at civilization’s throat was a lot more fragile back then. 

We learned that the Aspis, possibly empowered with Fae magics and definitely directed by their god Rexan, were marching an army north from their lands in the far south to invade the Realms entire. The varied nations of these Realms converged and mustered in the Borderlands, the Aspis’s first target. An election was held to choose a general, and Sir McKrie was our choice that day.  The first test of strength was to decide the fate of the Borderlands, a powerful faction in that era. That day they were the second most numerous Realms nation on the field. We had to hold two different strongpoints, and the loss of either inevitably meant the fall of that nation. We did our utmost, but we had yet to learn the tactics which worked on the combination of arms and powers which the Aspis employed. Massed pikes were made for meat grinding the doorways of strong points, and their healers employed “Dissention Bolts” which would control the mind of any hero they touched and turn them instantly against us. One of the strongpoints fell, and the land overrun with Aspis. The Borderlands army were understandably shocked and angry, and they elected to fall out of the army to see what could be done, covertly or magically, for their occupied home. 

They were sorely missed as the Aspis army marched north to threaten Chimeron. This large land had three strong points (one of which was Darkvale) which must be held. Even worse, the Aspis simultaneously threatened Banecroft, so our much-reduced coalition army had to be split into four parts. Someone briefly raised the idea of concentrating our army by failing to defend one of those two nations, but as the idea of such a sacrifice was an anathema to many, and the rest could not agree on which nation to sacrifice, I led a portion of the army to defend Banecroft. I did not lack for support, as the smaller nations of the Realms were sympathetic to my plight. Unfortunately, I made two errors, one strategic and one tactical. I could have got away with one of those errors, but both were together were fatal.

Lord Voltric, mage leader of Thorn Valley, vouchsafed to me that his Intervention allowed him to completely and perfectly protect one single point from being overwhelmed. As we had only one to defend, he suggested it was most efficient that we use it here. Unfortunately, he told me this after we had already split the army and irrevocably marched to our strong points. Had I known he had that before it was too late, I would have accepted only him and his offer but left behind the rest of the portion of the army currently with me to defend Chimeron. I hoped we could yet save this resource to help the next land, and I told him to cast his spell only if the battle went against us. We would try to win through force of arms first. That was the strategic error. 

We formed in the gateway of Banecroft tower, our line centered on Sir Pyr Thalax, me firing my bow over his shoulder. The powerful Aspis army concentrated a thicket of pikes into the gap. Sir Pyr’s shield was the anchor of our line. Their pikemen were vulnerable to our arrows, but their snake skins were armored enough to keep that from being decisive. Too late, I realized that the narrow gateway fit their fighting style better than ours. In the open, the pikes could be run down and closed with. But the narrow gateway had a dense hedgehog of pikes towards which a charge was futile. I should have met them in the open field where we could flank them. That was the tactical error, but one which we had all been making up to that point.  

The battle was now desperate for us. The Aspis ground forward slowly but implacably. Once I drew my sword to repel an overrun. Then a dissention block rolled underneath Sir Pyr and I. He jumped it, I danced around it, and instantly again drew my sword as he turned on me and we simultaneously yelled, “Did it hit you?” After a beat to realize we were untouched by dissention, we turned back to the common enemy. One of our flanks was now caving in. I called to Lord Voltric to “Cast it!” but I was already too late. Although he had pre-placed the components, he could not even begin as we were overrun. Banecroft fell to the Aspis, and when we slipped free to join the rest of the army, we learned that Chimeron had fallen as well. Meerkat was in Darkvale when it fell, and he relates that “we just didn't have the numbers and spells to carry the day - there wasn't any one thing that did us in. What I remember the most was the chaos of that battle. Our line broke near the end and we were just pockets of combatants in a giant dust cloud.” The Aspis sweep was so far complete. Things looked bleak.

Chimeron and Banecroft stayed with the army. Meerkat remembers two heroes stayed to hopelessly defend Darkvale and were lost to us. We were defending Thorn Valley next, but that may have been a part of defending Blackwood. I believe we had two points to defend, but we had learned the right tactics by now. Lord Voltric may have cast his spell on one of the points, leaving us to concentrate defense on the other point. Even better, we did not fall to the temptation of the fort and met them in the open where we could flank their pikes, or face loose formations were our shield or Florentine bearing warriors could run down their pikes. Thorn Valley was safe. There may have been one more battle, but our revised tactics were correct. No more nations fell to the Aspis that campaign.

While these battles captured the lion’s share of our attention, a handful of clever people learned what had caused the normally isolationist Aspis to bestir themselves to invade us. Their general had won the right to lead the Aspis north through force of arms in a duel. We could gain the right to lead the Aspis on a less invasive course through the same means. After a parley, a few of our champions met theirs in a series of single combats. The Aspis champion was heavily empowered from Rexan and possibly some fey pact, although that was speculation on our part. He was a mighty specimen indeed, with amazingly heavy armor and four arms which wielded two pikes. Of those who failed to defeat this Aspis Champion, Sir Adyan came the closest to victory. His shield allowed him to crowd in close, and he cleaved off a flurry of scales. But the nimble Aspis broke away to wound Sir Adyan’s leg, and then that was over.

However, in that age the mightiest single warrior was Sir Blade (unless you favored Sir Eldritch, not available to us that day). Sir Blade bore in and blocked every move that Aspis made. Sir Blade might have been using an early appearing marn. He was not only able to parry and close, he was also more nimble than his foe. With brutal precision, Sir Blade won the day and could now set policy to the Aspis. The fate of the Borderlands, Chimeron, and Banecroft were in his hands. 

Sir Blade returned all those lands from Aspis control, save Darkvale. The Aspis “deserved something for their efforts” according to him. It is possible Sir Blade feared a limit to what he could enforce, that the Aspis might revolt if left with nothing. I thanked him gratefully for Banecroft’s return. There was a condition: ever since, Aspis have been protected by Baronial law, not covered by the “foe of the Realms” clause. I only dimly remember the cool forest and craggy cliff of Darkvale. The heroes of Darkvale, once numerous, had largely retired by this point. Most prominent of Darkvale’s heroes were Sir Quick and Lord Highrider, and I don’t think they were present to complain. The common people of Darkvale were not so lucky. I am told that ten years ago, it came to light that Darkvale commonfolk who escaped the fang or sword were being turned into Aspis. We now have a chance to save what was lost a quarter century ago. This May, we march back to Darkvale. The fate of more than the people of Darkvale is at stake, as this ties into a crisis of the Greater Gods of the Pantheon. A crisis which was much on the mind of the legendary and much missed Sir Vawn, as it was dealing with that crisis which was his last stop before the eternal Summerlands. There are no greater stakes, and the next legend will be written by either our blood or the blood on our swords.   

Tug of War

Welcome to a new occasional feature here at the View. Tug of war. Like a Coffee Break we'll be asking you a question below. But other than just giving us your answer in the Facebook comments we'd also like you to decide if you're going to be tugging to the left or to the right on a poll that is with the comment. Here we go!

TUG LEFT A full weekend of eventing with awesome stuff to do throughout both days, fun night quests each night and multiple amazing meals. A complete escape from the real world for the entire weekend.

TUG RIGHT A single-day event that goes through the evening with a solid amount of fun content and an early-ending night quest so you can go home afterwards and have the rest of your weekend to spend on other activities.

Obviously some of you will want to say "both!" to these options, but the game is to choose one or the other. Feel free to make an argument for choosing both in the comments, though.

Head on back to Facebook to vote and let us know why you tugged the way you tugged!

Caption This

Here's a photo from a Realms event lacking any specific context. Go on back to Facebook and comment with the best caption you can think of.

Meme Monday

 By the Meme Team

Guess that Realmsie!

And now for something new! In the below picture there is a Realmsie-shaped black hole. Can you figure out who it is based only on the profile? Tell us on Facebook if you think you know who it is! The answer will be revealed later in the day.

What you Missed - The Clontarf Shuffle

by Tim "Jerrickiv Jerrikson" Suitor

Oh gosh, what a lovely spring day it was this past weekend. A bit of rain, a bit chilly at times, but a nice day! As Lord Sir Elwin rode south to Blackwood he actually found me at the Stonewood border. The guards were checking some of the deviled eggs I was bringing for contraband or something, but Lord Sir Elwin spoke to them, and let me tag along and travel with him (What an honor). 

When we got to the castle we saw so many friendly faces outside, gosh it was nice to see everyone again after a long winter. I set up my donation bin and the eggs in the dining hall with a small letter explaining that I was trying to raise money for the new farmers moving North back home, and I entered the main hall. 

At the entrance I was given a bag of green coins and was explained to that the green coins could be spent for tickets for raffle prizes, but it was also nice to have something to play the games with that wasn't just gold. Turns out gold is expensive. 

Well I found my good friend Mister Vesper, who I spent most of the day with, and we sat down for some blackjack. I bought in with twenty five, and like a good gambler I managed to lose pretty slowly over the next while. And I don't know if you know this, but the Jinx bet is kind of a trap. Well, until you get heckled by a farmer to go big, put a green chip ten piece on it, and come out one hundred and ten ahead! I got me my buddy's ten piece he put up on that, ya know, for a consultant's fee. After a while, Lord Sir Elwin joined the table, and gosh! Twenty-one after twenty one! And several of them were Blackjacks! After five twenty ones in a row, Lord Sir Elwin excused himself. That was right fascinating. Shortly after, my other good friend, Miss Kara took over dealing, and gold disappeared quicker. 

I took a break to go into the dining hall, where Miss Kyomi had been working hard and making an amazing assortment of food. I heard that it was one of her first times doing so, but what an amazing spread! 

Then it was time for roulette! Roulette is one of my favorite games, and we started off with a decent crowd, and my strategy was working very well for a good right while. I mostly bet on two places, red, and the middle column. Red is a 50/50 chance, and the middle column is supposedly a one in three, so I would put the same amount on both, ten, and when the 50/50 pays out it covers losing on the middle column and when the middle column pays out it puts me ahead. 

Now here's the secret though, the columns are supposed to be a one in three chance but the middle column is actually more than that, but doesn't pay out any less. Because it's the column in the middle, so it's more likely to be landed on. Ya know, Sir Trent is a wise man, but I guess that was to much for him to wrap his mind around. He came, hung out for a while and put money down once, won pretty big and pulled out. He doesn't much have a good mind for strategy like me, or Mister Vesper's castle plan (OH GOSH, OH GOSH, I AM SO SORRY SIR, MISTER VESPER SAID IT WAS OKAY TO TEASE YOU, I'M SORRY) 

Well after going in with thirty-five at this table, I made back about 40 of what I lost overall. Roulette shut down, and Luck of the Lion started up. It was a fun game, but at that point I was committed to only losing the green chips, and I broke even for a little bit there before moving on to craps. I spent some time at the craps table next to Madame Zarine (gosh, she was so pretty) but the dice took the last of my green chips and I didn't want to dip more into gold. It's no roulette after all, craps is a game of chance!

From there I had a seat and talked with another friend, Mister Magus Prime Rosetta, and… ya know, I don't really know what we talked about. Everything's a little bit fuzzy and we must have gone outside for some fresh air because I really don't remember too much of our chat, I just know I had a bit of a headache after, so he was probably explaining something really neat and magicy. I may have a bunch of elemental magic spirit friends, but at the end of the day I am just a good old simple farm boy. 

By then the day was coming to a close. In the Stacked Deck Tournament, 1st place went to Avendar, 2nd place Sagart, 3rd place Baledor, and 4th place to Fansy. Zatara won the no-points poker tournament. Everyone gathered around for the raffle, and final announcements, then we all worked together to pack up the chairs and tables and made our way out. 

It was such a wonderful day, and I had such a nice time. I saw friends, I raised some money for my neighbors, the Realms came together and donated to a very good cause [Fuck Putin], and before I knew it, no seriously, before I even realized, Lord Sir Elwin and I were in Stonewood Proper.

Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! We're trying out a new feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

Where did you get your character name from? Did you make it up out of nowhere? Is it from some kind of art or literary work? Did someone else come up with it and give it to you? Tell us all about it!

Head on back to Facebook and let us know in the comments!

What You Missed - The Clontarf Shuffle - Photo Edition

 photos by View staff

Playing roulette. You're not supposed to sit while playing roulette.

A busy hall with lots of gaming going on

Blackjack, at a table that ran all day non stop with a dealer who absolutely rocked.

Craps! Lets roll them bones!

The last stages of the Stacked Deck main event

A friendly game of chess.

Look at all those fabulous prizes!

Delicious snacks!

More blackjack. There was lot of blackjack.

The picturesque hall.

Awarding raffle prizes.

Rhiassa Cub Care prizes.

Meme Monday

 By the Meme Team

Retrospective - Tao's Dealing School

Tomorrow is The Clontarf Shuffle! We are absolutely certain that it is going to be a fantastic day for everyone who has the time to come out to Clontarf Castle. Good times, good food, good friends, and of course many, many games of chance.

Some of you are experienced gamblers with many years of success under your belts, and some of you are new to the pastime. But whether you are card shark or a guppie there's bound to be be some valuable information for you here in these educational articles that Sir Tao once wrote about the most popular table games in the Realms.

The Basics of Poker - Published Thursday, February 6, 2020

Blackjack - Published Thursday, June 25, 2020

Shooting Craps - Published Thursday, July 9, 2020

Letting it Ride - Published Thursday, September 24, 2020

Good luck to everyone at the casino tomorrow! All the blessings of Tyche upon you!

Rumors for April 1022

[Chimeron]

Construction site northeast of Chimeron City: as the arrival of True Spring becomes more certain, work around the site is starting to pick up. It seems that the current priority is a network of deep trenches which are being dug up and lined with stone bricks. In other areas, surveyors have been marking out plots of land which seem large enough for farming operations.

[Darkvale]

There are those who deal in secrets and who are unconcerned with the nature of whom they work for as long as the pay is good. And there are those who keep a close eye on such mercenaries to make sure those secrets are exposed before it is too late. Those tasked with exposing such secrets have learned that a party in Darkvale is offering extremely substantial amounts of gold for someone to find and retrieve the hilt of a dagger that is very important to them.

[Rhiassa]

Rumors coming out of the small southern mining-town, Oregoth, are that an extremely high-quality vein of iron was discovered. Thoughts are that the iron from this new discovery, once smelted and forged in the next few months, may create some of the most spectacular weapons the Realms has yet to see.

[Stonewood]

With spring coming into bloom many of the farmers are starting to get their lands ready. Many have been seen migrating north from Stonewood Proper to Jerrick Farms. They seem to be resettling there. Along with the farmers there have been a group of undead following behind them. They seem to be carrying lumber and other building supplies.

~~~

Rumors of a deep sense of dread washing over northern Stonewood a short time ago. No one could quite explain it. Some said it was completely out of nowhere. The hair on the back of their necks would stand up and they all of a sudden felt either fear, dread, or a deep sadness depending on who you asked.

~~~

Stonewood Proper seems to be in process of making some changes. The villagers who were spoken to said that they have been asked to complete a census involving quality of life and asking what they would like to see changed. These pamphlets were handed out by the town guard as well as some volunteer citizens. It also is said that some of the pamphlets were handed out by the lord of the lands. This has not been verified though.

~~~

With the warmer weather coming in, the Copper Mine has been working at full. The ringing of picks can be heard clear to the road, travelers say. It seems as if more supplies have been moved into the camp to bolster the working efforts there.

I Want YOU For the Battle of Darkvale!

Poster credit: Kelly "Fern" Perfetto

WPI Fight Practices are open to the public every Monday from 7:30pm to 10:30pm in Institute Park! Non-students must pre-reg for contact tracing purposes, but there is no limit to the number of people who may attend.

https://www.realmsnet.net/events/1855

Caption This

Here's a photo from a Realms event lacking any specific context. Go on back to Facebook and comment with the best caption you can think of.

WIWTG: Clontarf Shuffle

The Clontarf Shuffle is set to be a great event for gambling. I have a weird relationship with the casino, in that I can almost guarantee my friends will be in there, but I ritualistically have terrible luck. So I don’t really play casino games. Occasionally, over the years, Tao has managed to get me to turn some cards or another, but the amount of times I've said that it’s not for me, far out weighs his successes. 

So why do I want to go? Well I miss my people, and as I’ve already said it’s easy to find them in a casino. The games are set up to be novice friendly, in that you don’t have to gamble with your own gold, gold isn’t stealable, and there are newbie tournaments for certain games. 

There is the promise of delectable foods. And I love a good tasty treat. 

There is a raffle, where the proceeds will go to a charity aimed at bringing relief for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. 

I’ve heard whisper of a magic cloak. 

And it’s a great opportunity to update your spell book in the pseudo safety of a casino, as the new rules have been released.  

Basically I think the Clontarf shuffle is a good time to play some cards with some people you may have missed while you were away, and why would you skip out on that opportunity? 

I’ll see you at the table,

Keith “Saegan” Cronyn

Meme Monday

 By the Meme Team

Flashback Friday - Pictures from 2011

 

Feast of Folkestone XII - photo by Casey Lemay

Feast of Folkestone XII - photo by Casey Lemay

Feast of Folkestone XII - photo by Casey Lemay

Feast of Folkestone XII - photo by Casey Lemay

Feast of Folkestone XII - photo by Casey Lemay

Feast of Folkestone XII - photo by Casey Lemay

Rock and Roll - photo by Dustin Mack

Rock and Roll - photo by Dustin Mack

Rock and Roll - photo by Dustin Mack

Rock and Roll - photo by Dustin Mack

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

North South War - photo by Robyn Nielsen

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Demonic Invasion 2 - photo by Casey Lemay

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

Folkestone Questing - photo by Robyn Nielson

The Oaken Guard Invitational - photo by Casey Lemay

The Oaken Guard Invitational - photo by Casey Lemay

The Oaken Guard Invitational - photo by Casey Lemay

The Oaken Guard Invitational - photo by Casey Lemay

The Oaken Guard Invitational - photo by Casey Lemay

The Oaken Guard Invitational - photo by Casey Lemay