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A Salty Saturday Slaughter

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January is more than half over. Where does the time go ? November and December were such busy months on Great Lakes with the holiday game and player run events not to mention happenings. Last night I entered the realm in the evening with the General Chat full of chatter. Some days there is more trash talk than helpful advise and gathering of forces but if one is in the mood it can be entertaining in small doses. Last nights chat seemed to stem from boredom, at least in the case of Lord Razor S Edge. Razor was calling out for all to join him at the Buc’s Den docks as he wanted to end his boredom with a net toss. This was not any net toss but a white net toss in hopes of bringing Scalis from the deep sea.

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Many replied to Razor’s call including guild members from APEX, W-R,  -Y-, DC*, -420 and WTO guilds. Five nets were tossed and only one brought Scalis to the surface and fierce he was.

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As with any good net toss there was death including Razor S Edge himself. Remember folks if you are looking for something to  do ask in General Chat, one never knows what the fine people of Great Lakes are up to.

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This evening, Sarah Paumera and Royal Spymaster Magnus Grey announced that several of the Royal Spies had been granted honors that are recorded upon the . These honors currently consist of three different Orders and Honors: The Most Noble Order of the Ivy, the Most Ancient Order of the Trail, and the Most Honourable Order of the Bloodhound.

According to Spymaster Grey, the Most Noble Order of the Ivy is bestowed upon those who have handled among the most difficult of spy missions, the infiltration of the enemy. The Order of the Ivy has four ranks: Knight Grand Sword of the Ivy, Knight of the Ivy, Commander of the Ivy, and Officer of the Ivy. The Most Ancient Order of the Trail is awarded, according to Spymaster Grey, to those Royal Spies who have performed activities in the arena of scouting and other activities. The Order of the Trail has four ranks which are, from highest to lowest, Knight Grand Ankh of the Trail, Knight of the Trail, Commander of the Trail, and Officer of the Trail. Finally, Spymaster Grey noted that the Most Honourable Order of the Bloodhound is granted upon those who have excelled at investigation and detective work. The four ranks of the Order of the Bloodhound are Exalted Bloodhound, Distinguished Bloodhound, Accomplished Bloodhound, and Recognized Bloodhound.

Spymaster Grey indicated that these honors are for “activities above and beyond normal spy missions,” often taking place “between missions.” Grey added that there are likely to be future honors added to the list, but that these three distinguishments are in line with the most recent activities of the Royal Spies. Among those honored, there are a few who have, according to Grey, “gone above and beyond the call of duty, time and time again,” and have been recognized with higher ranks and multiple honors.

Distinguished names on the honors list presently are: Galen, CI, OT, RBH; Malag aste, CI, OT, RBH; Martyna Z’muir, CI, OT, RBH; and Neptune, OI, OT, RBH. Galen, Malag aste, and Martyna have each achieved the second rank in the Order of the Ivy, and first rank in both the Order of the Trail and Order of the Bloodhound. Neptune has achieved the first rank in all three orders. Several others recognized have achieved ranks in two of the three orders.

The Royal Spies meet on most Tuesdays at 8:00 PM (Central) beneath the Britain Counselors Hall in West Britain (near the bridge leading to King Blackthorn’s Castle). Everyone is invited to attend these events. The next meeting of the Royal Spies will be on 22 January 2013 at 8:00 PM (Central).

Royal Spymaster Magnus Grey summoned the Royal Spies this evening to follow up on a prior adventure to locate the remains of a blackrock prism that had crashed into Fire Isle near the Demon Temple.  “While the prism didn’t seem to cause any permanent harm when it returned to Britannia, the King believes this is a problem, and has tasked you with working with an expert to repair it,” Grey told the assembled crowd.  When the expert was revealed to be one Damion, a necromancer of ill repute, several of the spies seemed to question the wisdom in relying upon him.  Grey acknowledged that Damion’s Umbran roots were the source of trust issues, he also noted that King Blackthorn believed working with him was “a necessary evil.”

The assembled spies proceeded to Blackthorn’s Castle, and met up with the necromancer.  After a lengthy conversation with initial suggestions of time travel or hundreds of years searching Fire Isle for the remaining fragments in order to restore the prism, Damion finally noted that he had an idea that seemed to be of merit.  Experimenting with a small piece of blackrock, Damion noted, “For a moment, the blackrock [prism fragments] on the table seemed to transfer the spell to this other piece.”  While that piece eventually exploded, it gave Damion hope that were a new prism grown from crystalline blackrock and formed in the appropriate shape, the spell within that prism might transfer into the new one.

With that information in hand, the Royal Spies were tasked with accompanying Damion into Malas to locate a pure heart from a greater crystalline elemental or two.  Although the task seemed daunting, the spies quickly performed the task, and then accompanied Damion to Minoc in order to secure a mining claim for blackrock.  Vas-Lap-Lem, the gargoyle in charge of claims in and around Minoc, responded to the request for a blackrock claim, noting, “That is unusual and restricted.”  However, learning that the assembled spies were a part of the Ministry of Security, Vas-Lap-Lem acquiesced to the request.  Damion seemed excited to be owner of a blackrock mine, but Martyna Z’muir, a member of the spies, reminded him, “You do not [own the mine].  You are an agent of the crown.”

The mine itself was located through the Minoc pass into the Lost Lands, where a huge deposit of crystalline blackrock was found.  Damion quickly realized that something was eating the deposit, and in short order, huge, mutated beasts returned for another meal.  With coordinated effort, the Royal Spies easily dispatched them, and Damion recovered the necessary blackrock components.

The last stage of the mission turned out to be locating a tinker who could build a mold to shape the crystalline growth.  Vas-Lap-Lem suggested reaching out to Krett, a local tinker at Gears and Gadgets, who seemed at first challenged by the problem, but then came up with an potential solution.  “Did you ever grow crystals as a kid?  From salt or sugar?” Krett asked, “And notice how they grow on everything?”  Noting that power crystals used by creatures inhabiting the Exodus dungeon were likely grown, Krett indicated the method to make them had never been closely studied because getting ahold of them was so easy.  However, a special process was certainly used in creating them, and so an excursion to the home of Exodus was the final step in order to find a device used to create power crystals.  Quickly making their way to the dungeon, the Royal Spies readily dispatched Crystal Growth Overseers within who had exactly the devices that Krett felt necessary to institute his plan.

With everything in hand, Krett set about to work on the device to form the crystal, which Damion will then use to create a duplicate prism.  Work for the evening done, the Royal Spies returned to their base to report in to Spymaster Grey.  The spies reported the details of the mission, with Galen adding “Damion will betray us before this is over,” prompting Grey to set additional guards to watch over Damion’s actions.  Though the future is uncertain, the plan to restore the blackrock prism is well on its way.

The Royal Spies meet on most Tuesdays at 8:00 PM (Central) beneath the Britain Counselors Hall in West Britain (near the bridge leading to King Blackthorn’s Castle).  Everyone is invited to attend these events.  The next meeting of the Royal Spies will be on 22 January 2013 at 8:00 PM (Central).

Lord Magnus Grey and Lady Sarah Paumera convened a special meeting of the Royal Spies in the throne room of King Blackthorn’s castle for the purpose of recognizing the active members of the Royal Spies in a promotion ceremony.  The first order of business was the reading of a declaration from King Blackthorn regarding the Royal Spies.  “By order this day in the year 484,” Lord Grey announced from a royal scroll, “I approve the new charter for the Royal Spies and promote its provisional leader, Magnus Grey, to Royal Spymaster.  May they continue to protect Britannia from all of our enemies.  Signed, King Blackthorn.”

With the announcement out of the way, Royal Spymaster Grey and Lady Paumera began calling forth the members of the Royal Spies for promotion.  Each promoted member recieved a special token — a pair of leather ninja pants in the color of the Royal Spies — emblazoned with each member’s individual rank.

After the ceremony concluded, Royal Spymaster Grey and Lady Paumera invited the Royal Spies back to their base located beneath the western Counselors Hall in Britain (reached by secret passage opened via the suit of armor) to discuss some of the great things expected in the days to come.

The Royal Spies meet on most Tuesdays at 8:00 PM (Central) beneath the Britain Counselors Hall in West Britain (just outside of the bridge leading to King Blackthorn’s castle).  Everyone is invited to attend these events.  The next meeting of the Royal Spies will be on 15 January 2013 at 8:00 PM (Central).

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Dear Citizens of Great Lakes,

It is time for my annual year end letter and here it is. It has been a crazy year full of drama, floods, a man chews off another mans face, senior actor Clint Eastwood talks to an empty chair for twenty minutes, a spanish fresco is ruined by good intentions, Chick-fil-A gets nasty, Fifty Shades of Grey and of course the Presidential election. Now there was some drama !

Needless to say there was a lot of drama in the realm and no I am not just talking about bank sitting and general chat drama. Though there is bad drama I prefer the good like the type our EMs bring us, roleplay drama. We saw the return of a powerful and friendly King.

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We saw other new and exciting things including revamps of popular dungeons. The Void Pool was a popular place for many months bringing many people together. Sadly it is a deserted place now. Hopefully in the near future something will be added to bring life back to this location. Despise was another place reborn and one can still find a group hunting there daily. It appears it is all about the newest and hottest and that would be Exodus, a fun and challenging boss to defeat.

2012 saw the departure or down sizing of several large guilds. Some left for other shards and others to try their hand at another game. The shift changes when this happens and new guilds grow, new friends and alliances are made. It is all part of the ongoing history of Great Lakes.  On a sad personal note, two ten year vets that I have played with since the beginning of their time left the realm for good and willed me all that they had. I am happy to say the homes, pets and belongings I tried hard to find good homes for and I think I have.

The old Mayan calender has ended and a new one has started. Our calender is starting anew also and I look forward to what 2013 will bring in and out of the realm.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. STAY HEALTHY AND BE HAPPY !

Fondly, Lady Lava

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P.S. EM Elizabella has recently updated the Rewards Hall so be sure to check it out.

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Princess Amara, Obit Centerfold, Highlights Last Column of 2012

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OBITUARY COLUMN

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Looking For A Last Minute Bargain ?

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It is indeed starting to look a lot like Christmas all over the realm. As in years past this year a rune was dropped in my mailbox to a very special location. This player run plot is set up as a Christmas give and take system for the holiday. On all floors the packages and stocking, which are hung with great care, are accessable to all. This is great if you are on a budget or a last minute person. Also you can drop items/ gifts for others in these containers. The cords to this location are  42o 22’N, 40o 55’E

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL !

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It Is Starting To Look A Lot Like Christmas

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It has been a very busy holiday season already in and out of the realm. This past thursday was MOA’s annual holiday bash and visit by Santa. This was the first year I was not able to attend as I had a party to attend in real life. I have heard through the grapevine it was action packed and well attended. MOA knows how to do it right and has for years.

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Last week I featured a lovely holiday plot decorated by Chalmai. This time of year I take long rides all over the land to check out plots in hopes that I can find holiday cheer and deco inside. The EMs have been busy with the holidays in mind also. No doubt you have seen the Hall in Brit not to mention the Brit and Luna Bank areas festooned in the season. If not be sure to get out and about. Below are a few screenshots of 2012 holiday plots.

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Several Memorials for witch

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Earlier this week I posted an article about the real life passing of a long time Great

Lakes player by the name of witch. This week there were several memorials held in

her honor and I attended one of them as many people did.

Not only was the attendance high including such Great Lakes notables as, Lady FiFi

LaForge, Skye, Lady Watson, Drinyill, Lady Nadeshiko, Tossdsalads, Krasusus, Lord

Captain Murphy, Hannah, Lord ZuKa, WILLIAM WALLACE, Lord Cire, Princess

Amara, Veronica Lynn, Lord Rebelknight, Lord Thorreain. Lord CrEaPoR, Guinevere,

Tye Weatherlight, Lord Harris, Goldie, Night Striker, Jenny, Tiggermcat, her

cuteness..Lady Clair, Lord Flash, Padre, SAGARA, but also witch’s family was

watching the entire event on TV live. One of my favorite folks on the Great Lakes

shard, Charlatan A, was instrumental in making this tribute happen. witch’s real life

grandson on, B*R guild character named Star, was there to represent the family and

spoke elequently about if grandmother.

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Many people, including myself, spoke of memories and insights they had about witch.

Not everyone that attended actually knew witch or dealt with her in game but wanted

to make an appearance. One such person was ONYX of the -Y- Guild. She told me, ” I 

never met the woman but wanted to be respectful. ”

Even our wonderful EMs attended the event to show compassion and support.

Below are a few screenshots from the service.

The permanent memorial display is near the home/plot witch once resided in. The

cords to that location are 123o, 51’N, 82o, 32’E if you want to show your respect. It is a

peaceful and beautiful location perfect for meditation.

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Chalmai Rings In The Holiday Season Loudly and Proudly

It is that time of year again where we deck the halls in real life and in game. I have asked on the Great Lakes boards and in General Chat to have marked runes to holiday decorated plots dropped in my Luna Manse mailbox. Yesterday to my delight there was a rune marked for cords, 29 o, 22″ N, 35 o 17″W. It is a joyous location indeed decorated with the skilled hands of Chalami.

Each and every floor is dressed to the nines in Christmas cheer. A red elf greets you at the entrance of the home. If you say ” Merry Christmas ” to him a gift appears in your pack!

There is a beautiful tree on the first floor with presents abound under its limbs. If you are to open them sweet treats are yours for the taking.

I highly recommend visiting this plot which is open to the public. Be sure to check out each and every floor. There is a festive feast , an amazing snow globe collection and of course Santa and his crew on the roof !

What a way to start the holiday season !