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Orcs Really Do Cry

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A large group gathered last night in the fair city of Brit to help a small very smelly orc that goes by the name of Nubgruk. This was a very generous act as most humans and other creatures stay clear of orcs as they never bath and roll around in their own poo, a thing they are very proud of . Karek, JINX, Zindool, Octavian, Bellarrix, Juanita, Lord Servious, Mhari, Olive Isbane, Lily, Brill, Sul, Allista Laleyan, Captain Murphy, Holy Moses, Sentinal, mafia, Skye, Alex, Lord Thorreain Baron, Zhana, Imara, Tom Pope, Donegal, Wolfe, ONYX, Martyna, Malag aste, Lord Flash, Qat, Lady Twoburntfouryou, Venekor, Zlynn and Lord Barrow were just a few of the many  that gathered to help the sad little orc.

Nubgruk upon walking into the Counselor Hall began to cry. It appeared he had lost his dog and none of his fellow orcs would help him find it. There is always a communication problem when orcs try to speak English. Nubgruk went on and on about what a great pet ” doggi ” is. Orcs have been known to kill humans as we all know. Nubgruk promised to never hurt a human again if we helped him find his dog. All he knew was the last time he saw his dog it was in a place of red and fire. Orcs often are lured to fiery places so he opened a magical gate to the first place he could think of and the crowd followed.

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Hot Hot Hot Fire Dungeon was the spot and greeting us were Fiery Hellcats and Magma Steeds. They needed to be killed before we could even start to look for the ” doggi “. Once we were free of the heat we started to look and no dog was to be found. Several of the woman folk noticed a soft meowing from behind a rock formation. It was a tiny hellkitten. This small creature started following everyone around. No doubt all the petting was part of the reason.

The next location was Fire Temple. It does not get much hotter than that. No dog was to be found there however a very large Incandescent Hellbeast, relative of The Slayer, was there. Many deaths took place in this location sadly. The third and last location we visited was a success. This was the Chaos Shrine but to reach it we had to fight our way through White-Hot Fire Elementals and Basalt Elementals. Below are a few images from this adventure.

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Upon reaching the Shrine we see towering over everyone including the dragons an old friend. It was none other than the child demoness Beezlebetsy. We had not seen this two toned creature in more than two years.  Knowone can forget that scandal when she kidnapped Sparky and forced him to attend her tea party. It seems as though Beezlebetsy has always been fond of animals and creatures of all types. Looking about we see puppies and kittens asleep on cots covered in bandages. The crowd found this rather odd and Beezlebetsy was quick to point out she had decided to become a veterinarian. Nubgruk starts making very strange noises and jumps up and down. One of the puppys on the cots is his ” doggi”. He picks it up and swirls with joy. The crowd rather speechless looks at each other with brows raised. Nubgruk is holding up a ferret. Then people start yelling that it is a ferret not a dog! Nubgruk replies, ” Has four legs, is furry and is not cat. Is dog “. Beezlebetsy was more than happy to give the orc his pet back but she wanted another of fill the void. The hellkitten from Fire Dungeon that was following the crowd around would do just fine.

Appearing as though she was Glenda the Good Witch, Lady Artemis, (the Moonglow Zookeeper) showed before us. She raises a crooked weathered finger at Beezlebetsy and praises her for how well she has taken care of the puppies and kittens. She then pointed out that Beezlebetsy was not yet a veterinarian and could not keep that many animals at once. Lady Artemis then gathers most of the animals and takes them to the Moonglow Zoo informing the crowd these pets will be available for adoption after they have been spayed and neutered.  Many were hoping these pets would be ready for Valentines day as gifts. The day of hearts and roses is only four days away so lovers young and old start visiting your favorite vendors and shops for that special something for your special person.

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January Obituary Column

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Car’ a carn

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Devlin

Divinity

Halaster

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Josephine Stone

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Miss Frenchy

NightStriker

Pasty

Rathgar

Sentinal

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This Just In From EM Elizabella……..

Brialla of the Seven Tears was the first to chart the mysterious north lands of Britannia. Brialla set out from Yew, in her humble brown monk’s robe and bare feet, to push back the dark corners of the map. Her journals are rich with illustrations and detailed descriptions of the terrain, its plants and animals, and the nomads she met along the way. She even found the mineral deposits in the mountains by what would become Minoc.

Every year, in late January, the people of Britannia celebrate Brialla’s journey by donning monks’ robes and walking barefoot from Yew to Minoc. There, they toast to her memory in the tavern.

Meet Louisa Clark in front of Empath Abbey on Friday, January 31st, at 8 p.m. CST. This year, journeyers are asked to be armored and armed under their robes.

Of late, there have been mysterious mists upon the road. It is thought that the mist somehow attacks travelers, because several groups have been found dead, ripped to shreds while walking, sitting around a campfire, or huddled in a tent. The memorial journey will still go on, but with safety precautions. Journeyers will stop frequently along the way to rest and regroup. Participants are invited to tell their stories during these pauses. All are encouraged to tell whatever legends they’ve heard of Brialla’s journey or to describe their own adventures.

Your story may come to life, if it features monsters of these types:

• Dragons
• Demons
• Fan Dancer
• Liches
• Maddening Horror
• Minotaur

The best tales will be added to the Award Hall.

A Letter from Coco to Lady Lava……

Over my many years as a Stratics Reporter for Great Lakes ( Catskills and Baja in the past ) I have received many letters, most pleasant and a few unpleasant.  In my mail box today was a letter from a polar bear ! This being my first note from a polar bear I wanted to share it with our readers. I have a feeling we will all be invited next winter to swim with the bears again.

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Dear nice human lady,

Thank you for your article. I’ve never been in the newspaper before!

I’m so glad you and your friends visited Pepi and me and played in our
lake! I hate hibernating and having lots of new friends around helps
keep me awake through the winter. We really didn’t trick you. Ok, I
did know there were monsters under the water, but they’d been nibbling
at my toes for months and I was kind of hoping you all would kill
them. Which you did! I knew you could! Hooray!

I hope you’ll come swim with us again next winter, when the water is
cold enough.

Love,

Coco

P.S. You all might want to consider growing fur for next year. You’ll
be much warmer. Xoxoxoxo!

Bones Float On Icy Winter Waters

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Last night was a wet and cold one I say.

A large group gathered for this winter adventure including Ang, Winter, Bellarrix, Ginsu, Tanieren, Lola, Dongegal, Cady, Martyna Z’muir, Malag Aste, JINX, Skye, Agilaz, Blade, Trina Forest, Lord Hennessy, Sant Francis, Deavous, KENT, Miss Frenchy, Lord Sigma, and Rosemary to name just a few.

Coco and Pepi were our guides for the night. I found it rather odd these two were not in hibernation this time of year. Even stranger was a rant Pepi went on about tamers and his extreme dislike and distrust of most of them. Tamers have been know to use and abuse bears. Regardless this group followed the two for a long winters swim.

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A refreshing lake is was that we were transported to. Jack Frost, a good friend to Coco and Pepi, set up a snow statue next to the lake. This statue produced snowballs for throwing about when touching it. A huge snowball fight took place, a wild cold fight it was.

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Just when everyone’s legs and arms were numb from tossing snowballs about and swimming in the frigid waters monsters of all types stirred from the depths rose to the top to kill many of the swimmers. A large number of the swimmers were tamers. It appears these two polar bears took revenge for all polar bears and were heard giggling as each tamer died! Beware of bears out of season I say.

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The weather is… freezing cold. Let’s go to the beach! We can splash about and freeze our toes off! We’ll ignore all those reports of monsters under the ice…

Meet at the Counselor Hall on Saturday, January 25th, at 8:00 p.m. CST

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It Is Derby Time !

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How exciting is this ~?!? The very first Trans-Britannia Derby. All riders planning on being part of this historical event need to register prior to 12PM CST on January 25th. Even if you do not plan to ride ( I ride side saddle as all real ladies do and would never win ) attending and cheering on the riders will be exciting. Plus this gives you ladies and gents a showplace for your latest fashions. I am heading to my chests right now to decide on which fabulous hat to wear. See you there.

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Greetings and Happy New Year …..

It is that time of year again when I post my annual year end letter and what a year it has been !

There were a lot of things that happened in 2013 that made us want to escape into the realm, from a marathon bombing to the government shutdown. Crazy politics and spy scandals were just a tip of the iceberg with abductions, shootings, deadly weather, meteors exploding over Russia and aggressive wild fires. I live in southern California and know all too well about wildfires. For several days my condo, car and garden were covered with ash this past summer. In the evenings I could see the fire from my kitchen window which was rather scary. Thank goodness that is behind us with twerking and blurred lines right along with them.

There were a few lets downs also in the realm for me in 2013 and sadly the top of that short list is that I was not able to attend the MOA annual Christmas/Holiday event. MOA is such a strong part of the Great Lakes community and has been since I can remember going back to the days of Impy. 2012 was the first year I could not attend the event as I was taking a class on Thursday evenings and now I am teaching a class on Thursday evenings. No doubt Pratt and his gang did a grand job decking the halls and entertaining the patrons. Of course Santa always plays a big part in the MOA holiday bash. Lady Lava has even helped Santa in the past hand out presents.

Class was not the only thing that kept me away from the realm more than usual. Vivian is the name of the culprit. She is my new dog which I adopted in March as a puppy. Above is the photograph I took of her in December and it was my holiday card this year. As all new puppy owners know time, much time needs to be given to the training of a new dog. By summers end I was able to spend more time in the realm which was great as Halloween was right around the corner.

Training a new skill is something I had not done in years but with a fresh return I decided to develop begging in time for Halloween which I did with the help of many of Great Lakes finest. Thank you again for all that helped and those that gave me pinkies. I spent so many hours trick or treating my hands went tingly. My drive was the amazing art that was created for the heads on a spike.  For me they were the most exciting visual thing in years and looked perfect in my dungeon. Sadly as we all know for some reason the art was changed to a lesser unexciting version. I was somewhat upset mainly because of all the hours I put into collecting them. As we all know we cannot control everything in the realm nor the real world so it was best to move on which I did.

The city invasions started and the heads on a spike were history. It was so great to see so many people doing the invasions and the shard had a feel of vibrance. General chat was ablaze and everyone was helping everyone with very little bickering or drama. I logged on every day of the invasions and fought for hours, many hours long into the night. When the new dungeon appeared it was a treat to see that we can still invade on a smaller scale in the same fashion.

No year end letter can be written without stating how I appreciate all my friends on Great Lakes, some I know in real life and most I do not.  Friends and community is what make this game what it is. Also for many of us the two amazing EMs we have add to the positive experience. May you all have a healthy new year and find the things that make you smile the most each day.

Fondly, Lady Lava

* Lady Lava waves from her Luna Manse *

November / December Obituary Column

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Adam

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Veronica Lynn

Lev

Kraven

Illeria

Miss Kitty

Blood Rose and Barak

Dahlia Sapphire

Dworkin

Rose Red

Storm Chaser

RAVEN

Watson

Tigress

Lady Nadeshiko and Kathrina

NightStriker

Malag Aste

Olive Isbane

Chrono Dragon

Krick

Jerry Garcia

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Anniversary Tour and a Look Into the Holiday Toy Chest of the EMs

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Tonight was a special night on Great Lakes and an extra special night for our EMs Elizabella and Malachi as is was their anniversary on Great Lakes. Malachi has been our EM for five years and Elizabella four years. Now this is indeed something to celebrate!

I was not the only person to arrive early. I sat with Tye Weatherlight, Agilaz, GimmieSomaDat and blanc De blanc admiring the holiday décor of the Hall. It is filled with angel decorations, poinsettias, nut crackers, candles, holiday garland not to mention Christmas trees and eggnog to drink. Strange as it may seem there was also a partial clothed Santa in a bathtub with a big fluffy towel by his side. Who takes a bath with their hat on ? I guess Santa.

Our talented and dedicated EMs arrived greeting all warmly and announced they were taking us on a tour. It was to be a tour of their personal history as Great Lakes EMs and our shard history. What a combo ! Before the tour started Malachi gave a well versed speech and also announced the Royal Spy Vault would be unlocked for the next few days for all to visit.

The first stop on our tour was the Awards Hall which has recently been re decorated. Malachi was quick to point out that Elizabella is the one that updates the Awards Hall. (For those that may not know the PVP Awards Hall is displayed inside the Brit Bank in Felucca). After a look around the newly revamped Awards Hall and lovely colorful gardens we headed to the original Counselors Hall which Messana moved to a new location after a past upset in the realm. This building holds many interesting things including items from old EM Programs and those of Seers.  Then onto the Village Of The Dawn. I remember being in this location several years ago. It is the former home of The Fellowship. Next we were transported to strange place I had never been before full of secret doors, libraries, tunnels and a mage room. This location is steeped in Gargoyle history and really needs a revisit to spend more time. Then it was onto the Ethereal Void, a place I know well from recent adventures, as I am sure many of you do. This acid colored locale is the place between all worlds in Ultima lore. It is also where many of the dangers to our world enter.

Our final destination was to visit those dang cute baby dragons  Princess Mirendel and Selkestral in Yew. We were lucky enough to find them near their home and playground. As they often do when humans are near they popped from dragon to human form then back again. This may be because they are so small people step on them. Those two babies love to tease and joke with each other and we witnessed this banter which was highly amusing. They were so happy so have company stop by during the holiday season they opened up their toy box and shared with everyone giving them each a tin holiday toy guard figure/doll. Both Elizabella and Malachi signed the toy guards as a reminder and keepsake of this joyous event and holiday season.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND THANK YOU MALACHI AND ELIZABELLA !