Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

What You Missed - Dying Light 1

By: Sawyer "Jericho" Judkins 

For days I had been seeing visions of spirits being trapped and needing to be put to rest. So I headed off to the village where this all went down. Upon beginning our quest, we were very quickly set upon by demons, hellhounds, and cultists. We shut down a portal and continued on. We passed by a pit that took us quite some time to traverse, as well as a deadly spider web. Eventually we made it to where several spirits were milling about. They appear to have all been killed by something. They all needed different ways to be laid to rest: some wanted to learn spells, one was looking for a lost toy and another a rabbit, and another needed an oath sworn to protect their lover. One final spirit seemed to actually remember how they died, but could not be put to rest that night. They would be able to lead a small group to help with that the next night. Having dealt with what we could that night, we headed back to camp and enjoyed a nice fire.

The next morning we set off again, this time with a much larger questing party in tow. Immediately, we were set upon by a group of warriors calling themselves Falling Star, Demon Hunters. They accused us of being demon lovers and consorting with demons and kept attacking us. We eventually made it known that we were in fact here to help them, and on the same side. Their leader, General Marcus, was an intense man, and made it well known what he thought of our group, only trusting a few that he felt deserved his time. He explained he had a ritual to finally seal Rixa. Rixa is a demon we have had some tangles with in the past, and we wanted to see put away. We convinced General Marcus to let us help, and he set us up with a staging ground, as well as the list of items we needed to complete the ritual. 

The first thing we went after was a set of manacles. We took a portal to hell, and chased off after a demon that had them. To get the manacles, he required someone to swear obedience to him, as well as a number of chunks of our souls. Through some ingenuity of some other casters, they were able to fool the demon into believing his demands had been fulfilled. This was done through some magic to Aurora, and if what I heard is to be believed, the use of one of her Tears. A few people also now owe the goddess favors. It didn’t take long for the demon to realize he had been duped, and chased after us. General Marcus caught up to us as we neared the portal out and helped defend us getting through.

The second thing we needed was a special spirit rope. To get this we traveled to the Spirit Realm. There were many angry spirits that we had to use our Ghost Bladed weapons to do anything against. One spirit was very helpful and promised to bless the rope once we got it. We got the rope and headed back to the spirit, only to find her attacked and under the effect of a Greater Soul Bane. I am not sure on how it was ultimately cured, as I spent that time defending those working on it. After completing this, we headed back to our staging area

The final thing we needed was a dark viscous liquid as well as a catalyst. We were recommended to be very careful with it as it was highly volatile. To get this, we ended up portaling to Ariland. I was a little late to the questing group on this one, but knew that a number from Chimeron had made it to the components fairly quickly. Something about moving statues and feigning death.

After gathering the final components, we went over the ritual and found a place to do it. As we were setting it up, Rixa showed up with a small army behind him. Everyone did an excellent job of keeping myself and the others doing the ritual safe. I don’t think a single demon got near us. We completed the ritual, and sealed Rixa within his lamp. General Marcus thanked us, and offered his shield and title to a single individual that we would pick from the group. The title and shield went to Sir Wil. General Marcus asked us to deal with two other demons while Falling Star took care of another one. Agreeing to do so, we broke for dinner and decided to go after the demons upon reconvening. 

After dinner, we grouped back up for the demon hunting. A small group split off to go find and deal with The Painter, I won’t go too into details on how that went, as it was very disturbing, but they managed to rescue a hostage, and killed the Painter. The rest of us continued on the hunt for the other two demons. Along the way, we realized that the demons were trying to bring about an everlasting night. To prevent this, we needed to have enough puzzles completed at the same time at the end of the night. Demons were going around undoing our progress as well. Since we were in a time crunch, tensions were a little high as Greater Demons roamed looking for specific individuals, puzzles to complete, and keeping everyone alive. We managed to make sure morning came, and headed back for some well deserved rest. I am unsure about what happened to the Greater Demons though.

The next morning saw us being approached by a very desperate cultist. She said they had tried summoning a demon, and now all the other cultists could not stop laughing. So we slogged through so many demons, hellhounds, and what seemed to be demonic cows to get through to a village. There, we were greeted by cultists and some kind of golem. It was a trap to lure us in since we had been causing them problems. After some sleuthing and seer magic, we determined how to deal with the golem and head cultist. The golem could only be damaged while it was moving its feet and the head cultists could only be dealt with after the golem was killed. After dispatching them all, we discussed how the item of power I recovered should be dispersed, and headed our own ways.

I am happy to give a more detailed breakdown on the Painter for those that wish to contact me about it. Did not want to put it all down in case younger eyes were reading this report.

Until next time,

Jericho Axelthorne

Lord of Arken

Watcher of the Skyless Sea

Squire to Knights of the Sable Dragon

Knight of Chaos

Shield Stories with Travis Wilcox

 Organized by James "Tao" Murphy

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

The shield I primarily use is all black. Black painted front, with black taped foam. The back of it is unpainted blue and it is a punch shield.

How long have you had your shield? 

I have had the same shield, that I made, unrepaired since 2012.

Is this your preferred shield style? 

I prefer punch kite shields over pretty much anything else. They just feel right.

Have you ever tried a different style of shield? 

I have tried a few different styles of shield ranging from bucklers, sled shields as well as the tear drop shields and coffin shields. I have used tower shields and the small 3' shields as well. Within those types have done both punch shields and arm shields.

Who made it?

I did!

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

No.

What is your favorite move with the shield?

My favorite move with the shield is the step wrap around after a faint. It is just fun.

Do you have any interesting stories about the shield?

My shield is wildly inconvenient to pack and yet it shows to 90% of the events I attend. I don't commonly fight with the shield anymore as I have moved over to the 5' and 6'6" as of late but I always pack it as it is almost like a comfort blanket, always there when you need it.

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Guess that Realmsie

Another in our continuing 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 social media if you think you know who it is! The answer will be revealed later in the day.  

Laughing Gods in the Eye: The Stapler of Kings

 

Technically this comic never happened, Strathmore didnt impale Dionin, but well, technically none of these comics happened anyway so why edit it?"

Humanizing the Realms - Cal "Syruss" Marsden

 

1. What do you do outside of the game? What would you like to be doing? (Work, school, projects, etc.)

"For work I am a school counselor. It honestly is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. In the course of my studies and then through some very different on job experiences I feal it has helped me evolve and grow. We are just entering summer vacation time for schools too and let me tell ya if you thought they were cool when we were kids in school they are even cooler when your an adult. As far as projects going, I have a few things running on the 3D printer now actually that I am excited about (Some future prizes). I have a really cool plasti dip pike I need to finish up as well as a few shields to make for Matthew Hewitt. But that is another benefit of summer it is my big crafting season lol."

2. What hobbies do you enjoy other than LARP?

I really have gotten into disc golf. It was another way of getting out in the woods doing a physical activity with friends. My little brother Jacob Ruggiero/ Mogar got me into it and I am addicted. I am also a fairly big wrestling fan and try to hit as many shows as I can :) That and I fancy myself a gamer both Table Top and videogames. Currently play Have a Nice Death Day and Hypercharge Unboxed

3. Favorite meal, dessert, and drink?

Favorite Meal is tough as I love all kinds of food. But my gut says its a toss up from good Southern BBQ or good stuffed manicotti or maybe a lasagna. Although if I am being honest probably pizza Dessert I am an Ice Cream guy specifically since I am blessed to live between 6 farms that do local creameries Drink. I am a big fan of water, diet coke for pizza and burgers, but if we are talking alcoholic bevy I enjoy a good whiskey preferably an ol fashion or more recently a big fan of Gin and Tonic/Seltzer specifically if you get the flavored seltzers.

4. If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would it be? Would you bring anyone?

I love to travel! I actually went to Bermuda with fellow Neden Boy Priest Z/ Alex Sokolowski. But I would love to do New Zealand with my Neden family and walk the Lord of the Rings trail. There are some cool guided 14 day excursions that look amazing.

5. Are you working on any life goals that you’re willing to share?

Professionally I am always looking at different phycology and counseling conferences.

Realms wise. This year dusting off getting back into event holding. Recently helped Ethan/JB with the Neden BBQ and Tournaments of the Blue Rose 1024 Welcome to the Shadowlands which was last October. This was a labor of love by Casey/Karmha and I am happy to have helped run the tournaments.  

6. Favorite outfit other than garb?

I do like dressing fancy but you can usually find me in cargo shorts and some nerdy tank top (Star Wars, Anime, Doctor Who)

7. Do you have any professional or personal skills you’d be willing to talk about?

Professional: As a licensed counselor I have a lot of great listening skills and coping mechanism and strategies for people who may need to chat or vent. Personal: I love writing one shot D&D campaigns and then 3D printing specific figs and building custom terrains to throw a little Razzle Dazzle on a one day session. I also really like being crafty and making props for events or plasti-dipped bottles/ water coolers, and boff weapons and shields.

8. What drew you to the realms, and what keeps you there?

Tom Johnson/Blade saw me dressed up for work on Halloween one day in my King Richards fair kit and asked if I wanted to hit people with foam bats. I went to fight practice that week and have never looked back. So the initial draw was this wild gateway into an awesome combat system that let me live out all my RPG fantasies (I never knew this outlet existed and wish I learned of it sooner). What keeps me here is the people. This game is a lot of things and some excellent things that make us unique. But, time and time again it is the community that consistently impresses me. I have seen fundraisers for fallen friends, veterans, food drives for children. I have seen us come together when of us where at our lowest and I continually watch people develop these new found families that they can thrive as their true self with like minded people. So our combat system, accessibility, and frequency are all top notch traits it is the people that makes the Realms what it is.

9. Favorite movies/shows/books?

I really like the Lord of the Rings Movies, I am a particularly HUGE Star Wars fan, and musicals have a special place in my heart. Shows I am an anime buff I am currently watching the Blood of Zeus which has been a fun ride. But I am always open to anime suggestions. I also dig Doctor Who, Evil, House of Dragons, The Boys, and I just finished the best show I have ever seen in my life Ted Lasso Books: I like anything spooky. But I really love the Dark Tower series.

10. If you happened upon 3 wishes, what would they be? (Wishing for more wishes doesn’t seem to work...)

1. Unlimited funds. Having that security and allowing me to do some awesome things for not only those around me but the world would be amazing. 2.To be able to speak every language. I married a Foreign Language teacher and as mentioned above love to travel. I think being able to really travel and communicate with the locals makes the traveling experience all the better. 3. This description might only be for a select few who seen the show Heroes. But there was a character Hiro Nakamura who was the master of space/time. I think having that ability to now not only travel seamlessly throughout the world but also through time itself would be wild....If not that superpower than a TARDIS and the knowledge on how to operate it lol..

11. Who would you like to see interviewed next?

There are a lot of people I think would make for some great interviews. Ed Drummond (Tuli/Murmur) My handsome prince Alex Sokolowski (Gavin/Priest Z) Paul Tilton (Sir Grindon) Sarah Fournier (Evie) [Check out Sarah's article here!]

12. Anything else you’d like to add? 

To quote two wild fellows "Be excellent to each other"

If you'd like to do one of these interviews, send Dani Lacasse (lilpotatogem on Discord) a message to let her know! 

Word From The West - Divine Intervention 3

 It was always cold in Gaol.

Heat rises after all, and there are few places lower than Gaol. So logically, Father Pontimulos Brimstone was in a perfectly reasonable situation. Of course he was, this was the same situation he was in for four years.

He glared at the pile of roots in front of him, snapping his fingers, trying again to will out Justari’s fire into his fingertips. As logical as the cold, it failed. Sure the sparks formed, that was a simple consequence of impaling steel in your middle finger and flint in your thumb. But the magic, the heat wasn't there and the spark always died in the cold. Realistically, he must’ve done something wrong to end up down here. But even if it WAS a mistake the sheer celestial distance would require a investiture on his gods part to eeke out even the smallest spark all the way down here. As usual, the logic was as comfortable as the cold was. Brimstone tried again, the effort did not bear fruit but the sound served a purpose in drowning out the wails of the cowardly squire bemoaning their ill fate. Idiots, only idiots chose life over honor, the Grey Man could only take one of those after all. In his day, the warm days, such sinners would burn. He had it to an art. He made the groves himself, they were his pride and joy. Hickory for the fire and scent. Hemlock for the post the profligate were lashed too. That way you could reuse the same post over and over. If you wanted to make an example it NEEDED to last after all.

Idly, a hand rubbed at his tie, the rope tie, bound into his skin as an eternal wound from when his neck snapped right under his hemlock tree. His students didn’t even burn him, that's how he really knew he failed them. Treason was treason and a mad teacher was as worthy as the torch as a traitorous acolyte, but if he WAS a heretic to Justaris name he would’ve burned in it. To show a so-called sinner mercy… it was obvious they learned nothing.

What a waste. His finger snapped again, another failure. How very fitting. All those years trying to teach them how all are redeemed under Justaris light, and they mistook that as some metaphor. Only Aurorans get those. Mortals had to make their own light, and that light is flame. But he had to die quickly, and in the cold. Just like today. Just like every day.

Well, not like EVERY day. Thin lips tilted upward at the memory of that flayed angel, the one who fell so low as to wind up here. A fitting end for Calladan, but, well he escaped it in the end. As he always did. Still, at least some of them were worthy of the torch, and he helped those torchbearers with that quest of theirs. Surely that counted for something.

He snapped his fingers, and then, a flame. A mere candletip at best, far from the blazes he used to command. But, it was warm.

With a well practiced flick of the hand, Pontimulous Brimstone cast the flame into the bundle of roots, and watched it slowly, ever so slowly, burn. Brimstone watched the flames dance, eating the offered hellwood. It was only the smallest spark, but that’s how fires start don’t they? A lot of preparation, and just the tiniest bit of prepared chaos. Brimstone watched the smoke rise up, joining the billowing clouds of the higher layers of hell. And for once, Brimstone didn’t think about his situation. Or the past.

For one blissful hour, Brimstone didn't think of anything at all.

~~~~~~~

Priva- apprentice Jonas Starblade wiped his dagger on his apron. Another failure. Idly, he kicked his failure into the pile with the rest of the heap. As Master N’s apprentice there were certain expectations. Jonas would have been find with simple manual labor but, well you cant serve a creation of some entropic god TWICE and not expect some overlap. 

Which would have been easier shoes to fill if the shoes were there TO fill. There was something off about the void here, quite unlike his old one. Or the one that was in every other dimension he invaded on his tour. Back in the era of conquest the void was like a lake. You cut it, drained it, and reaped the spoils. Flooded a field or two, bathed in the success, move on. Suddenly that lake was gone. Everything was gone. Last he was around the invasion of Chimeron was a low risk procedure determined primarily due to its proximity to the road he and the rest of the grunts had to drive through the local faerealm. Then a star attacked him and he was trapped in hell. Worst, it was their hell. After all those years praying to the Fallen King, his service wasn’t eternal after all.

Then again the King wasn’t either apparently. How long had he been dead? It should have only been nine years…

Of course there was a void here too… but it was violent and hateful and recoiled at his touch. The last time he tried to spin it he almost lost his arm. And not in the way he used to as an apprentice spinner, rather than infecting his arm, the void spun backwards, trying to swallow him whole. He was already lucky to be alive, he did not need to test that luck so often… but what else did he know? Road work? Since when did nobility care about that? Well, unless they needed to invade somewhere.

Rather it would be easier to just spin something else. Hence the knife, hence the mistakes. The lastest, death spinning, had a more interesting result. The body shifted, eating the elemental offerings, and then attacking. Much more formed then his previous efforts. Perhaps there was a history with the necromantic arts in this realm? 

Hardly worth showing the master at the moment. But well its like his mentor always said. A little bit of effort and a lot of hate could carve mountains. Well, Trystwater always did leave a little lie in his lessons, his ratios were never accurate, but the ingredients were sure to get him through the day, and the next one. Until it worked, until it warred. And then… and then what? Did Master N need a army of unmakers? Gi certainly always needed more fodder for the blenders, but WAS his new master at war?

With a shake of his head Jonas dispelled the silly notion. Of course he needed a army, of course they were at war. This was existence. There was always war. Since the named times, since the dragon, before the king, and even though he never thought he’d get to prove it, after the king. It was not a soldiers job to question the general, just to march. N will figure it out.

And if not, Stonewood was probably hiring. Hopefully. Hope got him this far, it’ll get him a little bit further. 

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed - Divine Intervention 3

Written by: Stephen “Laika” Sanford, Brianna “Margaret” Meisser, and Keith “Harkel” Palmer-Poirier

Where do I even start? This quest was the culmination of eight years of hard work. For a bit of background information I suggest reading my other What you missed articles on Divine Intervention: 

Divine Intervention 1

Storytellers VII/ Divine Intervention

Divine Intervention 2

Eight years ago, the Church of Aurora asked for trials to name the next Champion of Aurora. One of those trials was to quest for something that is hopeless. But she was unable to tell us what that is, for to her nothing is Hopeless. Aurora sent us to someone who could, which was Calladen. Inside Necron is a temple to Aurora that has been sealed off for hundreds of years. Calladen was to show us the way when the tie was right, and thus began the Quest for Hope.

Friday Night:

Friday night we gathered many heroes just outside of Necron. Rev showed up to guide us into Necron safely as long as we stayed near him as Necron had been enveloped in a Death Cloud. Rev revealed to us that due to using the Dagger of Sacrifice he gave up his lust for power. Rev would lead us to three works of Aurora which we would need to destroy to remove the wards keeping the temple invisible and reveal it to the world. 

Divinations before the event revealed that in order for us to reveal the temple there were 3 works of Aurora which would have to be undone. These 3 were: 

1. A prison for ones against the light.

2. A prison for ones against hope.

3. A prison for followers of darkness.

With this knowledge in hand, we went out into Necron, making sure to stay close to Rev, lest we get killed by the Death Cloud.

We went to our first destination and fought some undead who were carrying small gems. These undead were coming out of a large tile with a symbol of Aurora on it, which we disenchanted to help reveal the temple and stop the undead from attacking.

When we got back to the tavern we discovered several glass jars with the names of the gods on them. The gems we collected could be placed into these jars and if the jar was filled a boon to that god would be applied. The following gods were originally on the table: Aurora, Antioch, Chronos, Rawonam, Garm, Justari, Vandor, Gaia, Dionin, the Dark one, Rexan. Several other adventurers did add their own cups to the table later on like Vesta, Shadow, and Vesper.

After taking a quick break we went out into the plague filled forest where we were surrounded by vines. The vines kept swinging “root” and could not be hurt unless they were separated from their trees. We fought these vines until a large cursed tree ent showed up. We grabbed the only torch on site and killed it, getting the tile it had been hiding inside of it.

We then went to the field to fight some undead. These undead would constantly raise adventurers as undead and send them back to the group to kill them. In the middle of the field was the last work of Aurora. Once it was disenchanted it would teleport to a new location. 3 disenchants later it was taken care of and the temple was revealed to everyone.

In response to the temple being revealed Garm sent his Death Knights to protect it, claiming that no one should have the power inside. Margaret séanced Garm to try to solve things peacefully but Garm told us we had to prove ourselves worthy. We lined up for a large-scale battle against Garm’s Death Knights. Margaret did a ritual in order to have King Orion swing “sword of light", which allowed him to fight and kill two death knights on his own. He was rewarded with a 3’5” Sword of Light by Aurora.

With the temple being revealed and Garm’s deathknights no longer protecting it, we needed to open the door to the temple. Rorin, who was given the Staff of the Warmage to wield on Aelias’s behalf, stood before the door and proclaimed himself the strongest mage which allowed him to open the door. Once inside the temple we fought spirits within until we got to the altar. Inside the room were several artifacts of Aurora, one included the flower Garm proposed to Aurora with. The others were some geometric shape with unknown significance and a gorget of a Templar of Aurora.

In the center of the room was an altar with a candleholder with one of the four holders missing, the one for Hope. We used our personal candle to talk to Aurora and ask her what we should be doing. This altar combined with an ancient ritual could be used to transfer the power of the Temple into something. Aurora asked us what we were here to do. After much debate, and meditating on Aurora’s question, we decided to empower Tirvanel with the altar. Ultimately we came here to name a Champion, and Tirvanel stepped up when it was needed most. 

Our information told us the way to perform the ritual to transfer the power would involve three people standing upon the works of Aurora chanting in unison while one person sacrifices the three people standing and the one on the altar. After much hesitation and resilience Laika performed the ritual and with the stab to the heart Aurora appeared. She gave Laika a choice to save the child of Light or to save Calladen.

Aurora then took Laika and Tirvanel into her hands and sent them to the heavens with her. Due to Laika’s choices he was instilled with all of Calladen’s memories and sent 300 years into the past to redeem Calladen. He mentored and became a close friend of Calladen who grew up and died as a good and honorable King of Corona. Due to potential paradoxes messing with the timeline that had now been irrevocably changed Laika had to assume the persona of Calladen the Pretender. Using his ring to create major illusions he reenacted all the acts that the evil Calladen had performed for the past twenty years.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday:

Saturday morning came. Tirvanel returned safely with new powers, having spent the night in Aurora’s domain. Laika also returned, but he was different. He was wearing the ring that Calladen gifted to Swift around his neck, and mentioned that he was the one who had given it to Swift which I knew to be false. Discussion with Orion confirmed my suspicions that Laika was in-fact Calladen, or at least had taken on that mantle. Tir informed us that he had the ability to open portals to where we needed to go.

Upon the group reforming in the morning, we were transported to the village of Lost Hope, the town the Syruss invaded and killed the child of light within, and were greeted by the mayor. He immediately insisted that we move to ward off the incoming horde of demons. Preparing ourselves, the mayor began insisting that archers must go to the front, great weapons to the sides, short weapons behind the archers, and shields behind them. Upon winning the battle and the mayor being dead, we found ourselves back at the start of the fight. Repreparing ourselves, we managed to win, keeping the mayor alive this time, and managing to defeat the demons without being forced back again.

 Returning to the tavern, we were stopped by an investigator who mentioned a murder having occurred the day prior. While we did not know the circumstances of the murder fully, we agreed to help investigate. Going out, we found a variety of different challenges which we were required to complete to obtain clues including; defeating opponents in matched marn and matched florentine daggers, defeating an opponent using a weapon which they deemed ‘silly’, hitting a target with a specified bow and set of arrows, and grappling a specific opponent. It turned out that the murderer was the Plum Mystic.

            Following a short respite, we noticed a horde of enemies making their way towards the temple which we had fought our way into the prior night. The party began to split, creating two fronts depending on how individuals exited the tavern to make their way to the church, ending up in a division of the lines briefly as enemies appeared between the two groups, one escorting Sir Wilmot and the other making their way to the temple as quickly as possible. Present at the battle, most notably, was a banshee that had been killed by Grimlock. After being lay on hands-ed multiple times, Dame Faelinn’s lay on hands resulted in three Tears of Aurora and the banshee disappeared.

At this point, we did as all wise adventurers did and split the party in order to deal with several issues at once.

Upon leaving the tavern we saw the Stag of Morrow being chased by some hunters. Several adventurers had spoken to it and ensured its safety was upheld. 

One group went to help a blacksmith who needed it. When approaching the forge, we were greeted by a blacksmith. This individual claimed to make weapons that were sub-par. As the weapons were extremely wobbly, even on the part which was a blade, I believe I would agree with this assessment. The party was then challenged to beat the blacksmith’s proteges with these sub-par weapons, while his proteges used traditional blades. As we fought, the blacksmith iterated on his designs, eventually creating weapons that fused multiple blades that had won their battles to create superior weapons. Once we had triumphed a suitable amount, the blacksmith parted with his pride and joy, a very fascinating shield.

 Inside the library of Lost Hope were several statues holding books and a librarian behind her desk. Laika and Charis were tasked with reorganizing the library. With over 12 books and 5 slots we brute forced the combination and order of books. Every time the combination was wrong the statues reset. After about 10 tries we got the proper order and combinations rewarding us with a tear of Aurora.

Inside the Tavern in front of the jars with the names of the gods was a cursed mirror with 4 tears of Aurora which were embedded into it. The adventurers gathered 6 more of Tears and placed them upon the mirror. Shortly after placing the last tear the mourning mother of the child of light appeared and demanded we make things right. To appease her and the gods for the acts that Syruss did murdering the child of light adventurers needed to receive penance. We had to provide penance to the following gods: Antioch, Rawonam, Luna, Gaia, Vandor, Aurora, Absolution God, Justari, Dionin, Garm, and The Dark One. Each person received a unique penance and to name all of them would take far too much time. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Saturday Night

Leaving the Temple of the Sun, we found ourselves in a plane which I was informed is referred to as Hell. When venturing out, we searched for the essence of the child of light, which was scattered around Hell. Inside the temple upon the altar was the Sword of Kings and a new Sword of Light known as “Salvation”. Throughout our time there, the temple remained a bastion which our dead were able to return to themselves. At least until the party allowed some souls to return to the realms. Garm sent a death knight to guard the temple until we agreed to stop allowing these souls back. After some negotiations, as well Laika, Kovaks, and Magnus being rendered by their followers, Garm allowed us the use of the temple once more. With an hour remaining before we were pulled back to the temple for safe passage to the realms, we collected all the essences (that we are aware of) and returned to the realms in what I am told is a surprising quantity of triumph.   

Following a long night, there was only one thing left to do: Knight James Swift to the Knights of the Crown. Laika field knighted his former Squire because he completed his task to redeem Calladen.

____________________________________________________________________________

On Sunday afternoon, a very tired but content group gathered for court. 

It started with Auroran Court, where Sir Laika was announced as the High Priest of Aurora, with Dame Faelinn maintaining her position as High Priestess within Ivory. 

It was then proclaimed that although there were still some tasks left to be completed, by the Ascension War Tirvanel would be the Champion of Aurora. Tirvanel was also given the role as Head Templar and tasked with helping to grow the Order. 

Squire Margaret was recognized as a full Priestess of Aurora for her diligent efforts and leadership within the faith and the quest. She was also put in charge of the Church of Aurora within Kenkilit 

And finally, the Aurorans thanked everyone for their help in making this quest a success.

Following Auroran court was Open Court. 

Sir Rorin Akanar spoke about the worship of Luna in the realms, and how he had given up the role of High Priest in hopes that someone more active would be able to take up the mantle. In his absence, worship of Luna has nearly disappeared. He decided to pick up the title once more, until such a time that someone else is able and willing to take on that mantle. Rorin also gifted the Church of Aurora the candle stick holder that was recovered from the altar on Friday night. 

Dame Faelinn Shadowmoon chose to give her own thanks, both to the group and to two specific individuals, Lord Sir Elwin and His Majesty King Orion for their service on the quest.

Finally, the Knights of the Crown held Court.

Dame Faelinn stepped down as Knight Commander of the order, naming Sir Zula Darkwillow in her place

Zula then Knighted Tirvanel, stating that he was waiting for Tirvanel to step up which he absolutely did this weekend.

It was then announced that the Knights of the Crown will be naming Knight Errants at future gatherings, so to be on the lookout for that.

Sir Rorin was also Knighted by Dame Faelinn

Sir Laika also took on Harkel as his Page

Margaret: 

After Court, Tirvanel came up to me. He told me that he would need me for the tasks ahead of him. Tir asked for my hand in marriage, which I happily agreed. A fitting end to an emotional weekend. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I cannot put into words my gratitude for everyone who came out and helped out myself and the church in this long and arduous quest. We succeeded in redeeming Calladen, a great evil that plagued the realms for decades, laid to rest the Child of Light and did so with minimal risk and losses. I am deeply proud of all the work all of us have spent on the Quest for Hope and I look forward to what the next stories we make together and the next arc of Divine Intervention, which will likely be the Ascension War.

With our deepest thanks,

Sir Laika Knight of the Crown

Squire Margaret August, Lightbringer

Page Harkel

Why I Want To Go - Dying Light

By: Nixon "Jasper" Showalter 

Hello friends, foes, and otherwise,

As many of you have heard, there is a village in need of our help. While this is a tale we have all heard before, the subsequent terrors many of my compatriots have been dreaming about is.. unsettling. 

We know that there are demons invading the Realms. Though much of the information is unknown to me, this is not the first time we will have fought them. They have been taking deals, loans of power out on many people I consider close friends, thus I will ensure that I am there to help tip the scales in our favor. I, for one, have a debt to one of the demons we may encounter this weekend, a deal I made to free a trapped Soul. There are many webs that tangle and tie us all together, and I for one look forward to how we can pull on the right strings to help us succeed. 

Let those be warned, these demons are known for their cunning and seem to be able to offer more than demons we have faced before. If there is something you want, something you need, I would be surprised if there was not a demon there which could offer it to you. While advising you against making deals would be hypocritical and against my own morals, do what you think is right in the moment and the consequences will work themselves out accordingly.

Keep your friends close, keep an eye on those you care about, and make sure to come prepared. This is not going to be an easy bout by any means, and it will be up to us to secure victory.

Until the sun touches the sea,

Jasper Sherwood of Alifon

((OOC:

Dying Light has been an event I have been so eager to attend since the moment it popped on the calendar. While I am, of course, already involved because of my good decisions™, I know this is going to be a blast of an adventure for everyone who attends. Nate Carr is an amazing marshal who does a great job of balancing difficulty and enjoyment, as well as balancing allowing players to make choices and giving them fun, but just, consequences in return. Get ready for a hard event that is every bit as fulfilling as we earn a victory this weekend. I’ll see you all there!))

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 is an in-character moment you thought would go one way but took a wildly unexpected turn for better or worse?

(Bonus points if you share what you learned from it as a player!)

Head on back to Social Media to let us know!   

Shield Stories with Kyle Yazinka

Organized by James "Tao" Murphy

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

30” EVA Plasti-dipped punch shield. It has a wood panel motif and metal edging with rivets. The center of the shield has Ashenmark’s flame and sword.

How long have you had your shield? 

Pretty sure it came from the pandemic times. I’ve had trouble finding photo evidence on when it was received.

Is this your preferred shield style? 

It fits my mobile, agile form of fighting better than a strap shield. The ability to quickly adjust the distance/position of the shield on my body to change from a defensive stance to an offensive stance make it far superior to a strap shield of the same size.

Have you ever tried a different style of shield? 

As a dedicated fighter it would be poor form to not try all the different styles of shields. I was a 1 path for many years and loved the buckler. Strap shields are enjoyable and were the only real competitive option back in the days of heavy shields. Kite shields are way too defensive in my opinion so I’ll use mine for NPCing. And tower shields are the worst by far. My knees can’t handle tower shield walls.

Who made it?

Callahan “Syruss” “O’Leary” Marsden

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

It has held up amazingly for the amount of use and time I’ve had it. No repairs needed so far.

What is your favorite move with the shield?

I will say, during a full weekend event I can perform the move 6 times before my back gives out on me. You’ll just have to figure out the move and keep count yourself.

Do you have any interesting stories about the shield?

Cal asked for a set of Neden cornhole boards so we traded. I got my circle shield I always use and a kite shield I sometimes use for NPCing, and he got a set of Neden cornhole boards.

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed - Chimeron Questing XXX: Into the Felwood

Hi all, Irri here, reporting live after the fact on CHIM QUESTING INTO THE FELWOOOOOD

We began our day being accosted by some Gaian Ents who asked for our assistance in helping rebalance the forest. Some unforeseen force was making all the wildlife act hostile! 

We were also following a trail towards the supposed entrance to the Black City, an ancient, frozen civilization home to the Draconians, a group of us, along with Professor Mia, have been researching.

Through our travels in Felwood, we met several species native, including Perins, a cat-like creature that is extremely resilient and deadly. We had to sneak past them in order to traverse the rest of Felwood.

We had to make our way through the bird Sanctuary, led by the eagle Vision. We had to appease his flock to gain passage.

Then we had to travel underwater, fighting fish and frogs to reach a laser-activated pylon, sneak through a pride of Perins to activate a second, and convince a group of faeries what season it was to activate a third.

Then, Cressida was kidnapped! Oh no, not the bestie! I valiantly led the charge, then let others take the lead to save her. Golems were fought, rituals were done, puzzles were solved, and she was freed. Conveniently, her prison was the entrance to a cave system that seemed to lead to our desired destination. Just as we all had entered, suddenly, mercenaries were upon us, sieging the entrance, trying to cut us down. We were successful in our defense and continued into the caves. 

We came upon an ancient lab, with clues as to how draconian magics and technology worked. Once we figured out how to open the door, we were met with the darkest of dark caves, with golems ominously guarding the path. It was spooky.

After that, we entered a purple haze, only able to be illuminated by the power of topaz. There was a piece of technology in the middle, which several people attempted to activate. Once it was, a golem of amethyst appeared, creating duplicates of itself. 

We eliminated the assailant, unsure of where this tunnel would continue to lead. 

The next day, we regrouped, with Blackwood Joe making an appearance, saying he came in through the Ashenmark side of the tunnels. Professor Claudia arrived as well, ready to study crabs alongside her intern (me). We fought through countless waves of mole-crabs in pursuit of research. We eventually found a dark and very spooky evil draconian fellow who did not want to be friends, and we put him in an indefinite prison! I also got upgraded to a part-time employee! I’m very excited to pursue an education in crab-ology.

My time in Felwood was challenging and filled with adventure, but we learned more about the Draconian mystery, and in the future, hopefully, we will be able to help them more. 

Looking forward to the next adventure,

High Mage Irri of Blackwood

Part-Time Crabologist

Why I Want To Go - Divine Intervention 3

By: Maria "Liselle" Carr

I have known Tom and Matt for a long time. Back in the day I threw events as a co-event holder with Tom and was always impressed with the creativity and intricacy of his ideas and props. I always knew that someday I wanted to PC an event he threw so I could experience the other side of his ideas. Matt also has an amazing track record for events, especially when it comes to ending plot lines. Several of the events he has thrown have been my all time personal favorites. Now with these two coming together to throw an event, I truly believe this is going to be epic. This is the last event in a plot line that has gone on for many years and we shall see how it will end. There will be an ending, but will it be the one the players are hoping for? I don’t know…I do know that it won’t be easy; tough decisions will need to be made and consequences will be real. Tom and Matt are ready to tell an ending to a story that will be one for the ages. Are you ready to see how it ends?

Looking for some help

Cross-posted, per request, from Facebook via John Wrisley

Looking for some help. On June 19th, 2025, the home of Dave and Carrie Dolph was destroyed by fire. 

While there were no injuries to them or their pets, the house has been deemed unsafe for occupancy.

The good news is, they own the land, and don’t have an overhanging mortgage.

The bad news is, they lived in a very old mobile home, and the insurance company is unlikely to provide enough money for the loss to get the old home removed, put in a new septic and slab, and replace the home. There may not even be enough money from the insurance to do any one of those things, let alone all of them.

Some of you may know Dave and Carrie from the Realms (Sir Callin of Folkestone, and Sir Tetch), some from online gaming (Rael and Bael Krieg (of New World), Spiritrend and Shadowrend (of Everquest) or Skyhoof and Spirithoof (of World of Warcraft)), Queens Gambit Game store, or any number of other geeky related pursuits. Dave may also be known to you through his prolific writing of RPG material for both 5E and ToRG. Or you may know them as family or relatives, or from their working professional lives.

Friends and family have urged them to start a GoFundMe to help get them into a home. Others suggested a charity drive of sorts, tapping into Carrie’s current profession. They are going to do both.

For the charity drive, the goal is to hold an online auction through Replay Sales and Service/Auction Ninja where the profits go to help the rebuild. We’re looking for any kind of small, shippable items (preferably smaller than a breadbox or under 30 pounds) and of a geeky nature (such as, but not limited to: comics, board games, collectors figurines, cups, decor, CCG stuff, books, small electronics, funky art, LARP clothing or props, etc) though really, any item may be suitable. Generally, the item would need to be worth at least $10 to make it a good candidate for auction. There are going to be at least 3 donation collection areas, one at the Replay Sales barn (Newmarket NH), one at Camelot (Berlin MA) (sponsored/overseen by Clockwork), and at Realms events or practices, sponsored/overseen by James Murphy (TAO)). The goal would be to gather up all the donations by July 19th, get them to the Replay barn and post them for the Auction (probably launching in mid August and ending a week or so later). 

Dave and Carrie hope to launch both the auction and the GoFundMe at roughly the same time. The littlest they can come up with for an amount needed is $100,000 if they get another mobile home (not preferred), closer to $200,000 if they get a modular or similar home (better for the ecology, and also better for a host of other reasons). They are likely to need to take out a mortgage using the land as collateral.

How can you help?

*Spread the word. Cut and paste this notice, or a variation of it to your own contacts. The more people that know, the better the chances of reaching a goal or getting auction items. This can be spread through word of mouth, fliers, emails or social media. However you like, all of it is helpful.

*If you have collectibles or auction-potential items that you are willing to donate to the cause, please reach out to John Wrisley (email: johnwrisley@yahoo.com), James Murphy (email: Letheris@aol.com) or Clockwork to get directions and find a good time to drop them off.

James will be at “Divine Intervention 3”, the weekend of the 11-13 of July. as well as most upcoming events. He also usually attends Wednesday practice in Nashua NH, but for enough stuff (gas has to be worth it) He will hit any other practice to pick stuff up. Please reach out to him to arrange something. 

*If you have money but not time or collectibles, keep an eye out for the upcoming GoFundMe.

Please share this to Realms folk from back in the day.  You can call or text me at 603 553 1495,  contact me through facebook or email Johnwrisley@yahoo.com

Realmsle #25

                       

This custom Wordle-adjacent-puzzle features a 5-letter word that is particularly relevant to the Realms.

If the embedded page isn't working below you can click this link to get to the puzzle.

Like regular Wordle you can copy your result's (but only if you follow the link), so paste them or a screenshot onto social media to let us know how you did. But no spoilers!

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Happy 4th of July

The staff of The View from Valehaven would like to extend to all of you our wishes for a very happy 4th of July holiday! See you Monday with our regularly scheduled content.

Queen of Hearts XXX Programming Notes

Hello everyone, I’d like to make a couple programming announcements regarding the upcoming 30th installment of The Queen of Hearts Tournaments and War Maneuvers. First an announcement about Saturday night then one about Sunday morning.

—

I want to explain our plan for celebrating this notable three decade milestone. 

Normally after dinner break you are all accustomed to gathering around the stage for the crafting and presentation tournaments. This year we’ll be structuring our evening a little bit differently. 

We’ll be having a party!

We’ll be setting up tables and chairs near the site’s extra-large fire pit and celebrating thirty years of Queen of Hearts with a bonfire, elevated apps brought around by our staff, and a mocktail bar with refreshments for the summer heat! 

We’d also like to have a small opening ceremony at the beginning of the party so we’re asking all Queens and True supporters to have a prompt return from dinner break.

What about the non-coms you ask? Well, we’ll still be doing those presentations and performances, they’ll just be happening at the outset of the party as the beginning of the evening’s entertainment! After they are done we’ll also be inviting people up to tell stories they have of past Queen of Hearts, and we know there are a lot of great stories out there so get them ready to share!

And as the evening draws on we hope everyone will take the time to relax around the fire, enjoy the camaraderie of the evening, and help us reflect on the joy we all feel. Not only in having an event reach this milestone, but that we have a community that has endured so long and has so much history for us to be a part of.

—

On Sunday morning, we will be having a Breakfast fundraiser.

A great many of you know the Dolph family, Dave and Carrie, and you may have seen through social media that they tragically lost their home in a fire. Dave and Carrie both spent decades being invaluable contributors and paragons of service to the Realms community. I do not think its an exaggeration to say that they were instrumental to building this game into what we have today. We’d like to take this opportunity to try and help them out in their time of need.

This fundraiser is being organized by Angie and Jason Grey, and more information will be forthcoming as we put the details together.

So as you crawl out of your tents in the morning or you make your way back to site, skip the Dunkin’ line on Sunday and have breakfast with us to help our longtime friends.

—

Thank you everyone for your attention to these announcements. We look forward to seeing you this August at Queen of Hearts XXX.

In service,

Jason and the Queen of Hearts Staff

Monthly Toahscope - July 1025

 Hey everyone, it's that time again, your monthly Toahscope is here. I hear last month's predictions brought about some interesting results. Lets see if this month can compare.

Air
Strange creatures will have an effect on you this month

Fall will deal with demons
Spring will want to look for genies
Summer should watch out for vampires
Winter will find a humanoid animal

Day will find the creature antagonistic. Night will also be antagonistic, but they'll try to hide it

Earth
Regionals will behave unusual around you

Fall will see this with healing spells
Spring will have protective magics
Summer will find Seer magic to be impacted
Winter could see a change in any regional magic

Day will see the spells work better than normal, Night will find they are lacking

Fire
Elements will play a role in your future. This could take the form of actual elements, elementals, or even someone that falls into that element in their Domai runes.

Fall should be aware of water
Spring will see earth become important
Summer will find air very relevant
Winter should watch for fire

Day may find a new ally, while Night could find treasure

Metal
You may earn yourself a new nickname

Fall will be based on a physical characteristic
Spring will come from a talent
Summer may earn theirs from a combat skill
Winter will get theirs based on knowledge

Day will get a name based on a negative aspect. Night will earn a positive name.

Water
Weapons will have an important impact in your near future

Fall should keep an eye out for bows
Spring will want to find a dagger
Summer should look for pikes
Winter will see an axe become important

Day will be wielding the weapon when the time comes, Night will see someone else with it
 

Rumors around the Realms July 1025

 

Rumors around the Realms July1025

Shadowlands

A new species/creature has been found within the Shadowlands.  With the building of the sacred candle for the Church of Shadow, which some have seen at the Blue Rose Tournaments, the creatures seem to be coming from the wax dripping off it.  Queen Karmha has dubbed them Waxtons, being made of wax and all.  They are not hostile, in fact they tend to help out those who belong to the Church of Shadow.   They are tiny so perfect to get by things without being noticed and stand no more then 4’’ tall and look like tiny candles.  At Evie’s Midnight Festival that just past some of them may have been seen at Karmha Creations shop.  They helped Karmha set up and break down first thing in the morning so that the Queen could get back to the Shadowlands to work on her many orders that are coming in.  And as we all know Queen Karmha will never turn down good help.  More is being looked into on the origins and the motive of these new creatures.  As for now Karmha is using them as scouts to investigate the strange door that appeared at the Neden BBQ.  Archie has divined that the key found that day leads to people’s memories and that we are currently seeking to explore JB’s, as he was attacked by cultist at the bbq and they appear to have used the key on him for unknown reasons.  More information is coming back from the Waxton scouts as time goes by and honestly it is making no sense to anyone.  The only thing that we can think of is the cultist that have been seen within the lands did something to block certain information that JB might have obtained.  Queen Karmha and Jayce did send JB on an investigation on these cultists and have yet to hear that he has found anything.  Maybe that’s why they kidnapped him for the brief amount of time before the hero’s of the realms went and saved him?  What are they hiding?  Who are they?  

Realms

Desperate messengers from a small forest hamlet have been appearing at surrounding villages, begging for help or for a place to relocate.  Their own village can no longer keep livestock, as every animal is stolen, and the game in their forest has dwindled to near nothing.

East of Chimeron

Foresters claim that fall has come early to a long swath of the woods, where leaves have browned and fallen already.

Across the Realms

You lay down to sleep.  Your dreams are nice and pleasant and as your dream continues it gradually gets darker.  The moon which was full in the sky becomes covered by some clouds.  As you wait for the moon to reappear, it never d

oes.  You then notice that the stars have also disappeared.  The clouds are no longer visible as the entire sky is dark creating a shadow over everything.  You run and hide, knowing that the dawn will come, but as you wait it never does.

Unknown

Reports have come in from across the realms of corpses found exsanguinated.  Next to some of the bodies have been a jar of blood with a paintbrush.

Unknown

In the mountains of Blackavar, a resounding CRACK could be heard on a lovely Summer's day that was otherwise uneventful. It seems that both House Carnac and the Orc Tribe near Archendell have dispatched explorers to investigate. Preliminary reports seem to reflect that it originated from near the Ferret's Den, a naturally guarded area of the mountains near the River Archendale.

Meme Monday

by the Meme Team

 

What You Missed - The Gilded Lion and Silver Branch Summer Festival IV

By: Nixon "Jasper" Showalter

Hello friends, foes, and otherwise,

I have now returned from the land placed between Chimeron and Rhiassa with more stories to tell! I was highly looking forward to the summer festival this year. As the weather began to warm, I was looking for a nice place to lounge and enjoy some light activities while catching some rays!

As we momentarily crossed into Chimeron, there were some extremely fun and unique tournaments being run! The first was called Turtles vs Frogs, which ended up being equally silly and fun. One team were Turtles, being very defensive on their torsos but weak everywhere else. Frogs had to lose their legs before losing any other limbs or dying, so they were extremely strong. Teams took turns as each type, then a few rounds where the teams were matched animals.

For each tournament, we were given tickets that would later be used to spin the wheel. More on the wheel later, the people have thoughts.

The next two tournaments were Poison Ball and Kobolds vs Adventurers. Poison Ball is a tried and true game, honestly one of my favorites. It is so fun to have multiple chances to come back into the game and also allows you to be on the ground for a bit to catch your breath in the heat. Kobolds vs Adventurers pitted one adventurer against every other person in the tournament as a kobold. This was an interesting tournament to figure out how best to defend yourself against hoards of enemies. After these two, I was able to get some more tickets as well!

An important note, a new, extremely strong weapon combination has been discovered. It is mandatory that you use a five foot sword and have a cup, mug, chalice, or some drink receptacle in the other hand. It can be filled, it can be empty, it can be thrown in your enemies face, but purely having the cup in your hand greatly increases your combat effectiveness. If you win a tournament using this combo, you get to name it. Keep that in mind. Also if this already exists and has a name, no it doesn’t.

As the tournaments slowed, we were able to partake in some light questing as well as some delicious food. Throughout the day, Rhiassa was providing some amazing light dishes as well as finishing the day with an amazing dinner. Starting with a charcuterie board, then going into some other snacks like a variety of quesadillas, loaded french fries, and a dinner of sausages, coleslaw, corn, as well as a ton of toppings. Everything was delicious as always when Rhiassa is in the kitchen, and recounting it now has made me direly hungry.

While food was delivered throughout the day, I made sure to head out and help anyone that needed aid throughout the day! We first headed quickly to Stonewood to free some captured barbarians. Slavers had kidnapped them and tied them up, it was up to us to head into the woods and free them. There were magical bonds that were broken by solving puzzles as well as enemies that were extremely strong. At some point, one of them killed me and I believe enchanted me to first.. uh.. explode. And then to enter an unstoppable rage against my friends. I was told that LukeJohn kindly held me in a wrestling hold while I was dead to ensure I did not get up and attack my friends again which I am deeply thankful for. Believe it or not this was not the only time today LukeJohn wrestled me.

I then headed to the Western Flank! It was reported back to me that some adventures went off into the Fae wilds to recover some speaking crystals. I heard that everything went well and they were able to get all of the information from the crystals. Apparently in their way was a troll and some goblins, but apparently the troll was very easily tricked and they were able to grab the crystals right from under their legs. Very good work to the adventures that went on this trip!

We then went to a small village to help save a sheriff who had gone missing. Now, my dearerest reader, this quest ends up being very divisive so I will tell you my side of the story and allow you to make your own decision. 

To begin our adventure, a kind soul named Pierre Villi’Gere briefed us that some merchants reported strange creatures at a cave, the sheriff went to investigate, and then never returned. Now Pierre was convinced that these were just some goblins and the merchants were being dramatic, so we headed off with the mindset there may be goblins or more. The creatures we found were definitely goblins in a sense. They had been mutated, grown far more than they ever should’ve, bearing multiple heads and turning our limbs into natural growths which we had to rend off to be able to use them normally. At some point fighting the goblins, they tried to negotiate a deal with us. I, being the diplomat (see the amazing trade deal I did in Blackwood), attempted to negotiate but was quickly tricked and stabbed a bunch. With terrible timing, the cave collapsed between myself and my dear friends. During this time of being dead, I somehow became part of this goblin rat king and was convinced it was good for me. It was not. It sucked. Once I was chopped free of the amalgamation, I was able to help free the sheriff. The growth was too strong in this area to be broken off the sheriff who was absolutely covered in it. We dragged the sheriff out of the cave and to the village healer, who used some magics to destroy the growth and help the sheriff who was very happy to have this happen.

Now some important notes. While fighting the amalgamation, there was a divine aid called to Gaia which actually empowered the goblin rat king… strange right? Additionally, the village healer turned out to be my good friend Benoit of the Apostles of the End.

Flashback time: Some time ago we were helping ‘N’ destroy some creature who was messing with time and absolutely breaking the rules of time travel. We were able to kill the creature (I think? At least stop it) and during that time we met a group called the Apostles of the End. Now my friends had met them before and hated them, but this was my first time and I refuse to not form my own opinions, so I listened. And they spoke. The person I acquainted myself with was a man named Benoit. In the moment there was not much time to speak but in the time since we have exchanged multiple letters discussing the group.

While they may not have the most friendly name, the Apostles of the End are a group focused on freeing the world from corruption. I have agreed with all of the things they find corrupt thus far, things like tyrants enslaving their peoples, rulers killing innocent citizens, dragons destroying villages out of greed, all things that we as adventurers seek to stop as well, all things I agree with doing. So I have been attempting to become acquainted with the group and give them a chance to do the good they seek to do.

Flashforward time, back to the Summer Festival: Benoit tells us that Gaia’s power is causing this growth, and a shard of the Protogen Blade (a massive unwieldable sword that is capable of destroying planes) that is being protected by Gaia was channeling the energy from the divine aid and causing the growth to do more damage. This was all confirmed to be true via seer magic. I am personally not the biggest fan of Gaia. I love nature, love the earth, the ground, all of the things that Gaia tends to represent. What I do not like is the hatred of undead who choose to live their lives in peace, the disregard for free will, and the overall pompous attitude I encountered in my recent bout with Gaia in Blackwood. So when Benoit asked to be brought to the shard, in my head it was where the divine aid to Gaia was called, and I agreed to bring him there.

Another important note, I was wrong. The shard was not in the caves where Gaia’s power was called. The shard is under the Church of Aurora in Chimeron City. The Apostles of the End did not know this either, and wanted to. So when some of my friends charged at me, weapons drawn, threatening my life and Benoit’s, I was nothing if not confused. Benoit did not find the shard where I took him because to neither of our knowledges, it was not there. However, my friends screaming the actual location of the shard at me, in earshot of Benoit, did in fact give us both the knowledge of where it was. Benoit left upon learning where it was, I have sent him a letter and am waiting on its return. My friends are convinced that the Apostles seek to destroy the Church to get the shard, I find that hard to believe, especially as no one has made the claim they plan to do so. Only time will tell now.

With the moral quandaries and swords drawn on Jaspers out of the way, we get into one of the final adventures of the day, helping some dogs find their names. I am a bit fuzzy on what was happening, partially because I kept getting mauled. What I do know for sure is that a dog went and ate Lord Ferg a few times, absolutely not cool. Another dog tried to eat my sword, also not cool. I am not sure who these dogs belonged to but they really need to invest in a trainer. After some time, we were able to properly name all of the dogs with the proper name tags which calmed them down significantly. I guess I would be rowdy if I was missing my name too. 

The day ended off with a delicious dinner, as well as strawberry shortcake for dessert. King Orion began pulling the tickets we earned throughout the day and with each ticket you were given a chance to spin the wheel. The wheel was full of numbers and whatever you landed on you earned in gold! Now, the wheel was absolutely soooooooooo rigged, and everyone except maybe Aeston will agree with that. It was impossible to hit the highest two numbers, so with each spin the 2nd highest amount you could get was 25 gold, which was still very good. The 1st highest amount was of course hitting the 1 gold plus bonus spin an infinite number of times in a row but no one hit that space more than once, maybe next time.

I was able to go home with all of my parts still attached, my soul in my body, my body well fed, and a bunch of good stories to tell, so I would say the day was a success!

Until the sun touches the sea,

Jasper Sherwood

Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

THEY DIDN'T WANT YOU TO SEE THIS BUT WE GOT IT OUT AT THE LAST MINUTE!!

Court Mage of Chimeron - Announcement

Notice from the Court Mage of Chimeron

Hello, good people of the Realms! 

All permits for illegal magics within Chimeron are required to be renewed.

Pre-existing permits will be valid for up to one year after King Orion’s Coronation, under the assumption that you will get the permit renewed with the Court Mage as soon as possible.

Given the new changes in leadership and court advisors, permit records need to be remade, so I am calling for a renewal on all existing permits to create a new registry. Per the law, the following magics have and will require a permit: 

• Summoning

• Portals (Construction of planar gates)

• Necromancy 

• Embrace Death will no longer require a necromancy permit moving forward.

My process will require physical signatures from both sides - as such, it is highly encouraged to find me during an event for discussing and obtaining permits, and I will only be engaging in these discussions in person until after Black & White. The events that I will be at during this time will include, but are not limited to: 

• Chimeron Questing XXX: Into the Felwood*

• Rhiassa Presents: Queen of Hearts XXX

• Black & White 2025

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this process,

Court Mage YPNN

*I am one of the core staff for this event, so I will be an in-character NPC, but can handle permit matters during breaks.