Dear Siege,

News from EM Aurora!

If you are interested in participating in the Siege Historical Homes and Towns Society, please meet Cora at the Reward Hall in Malas this Thursday, February 7th at 4pm EDT.

This will be the first of many meetings so if you cannot make it this week there will be more opportunities in the near future, at least once a week for the time being.

The Historical Society will discuss ways to record towns that are unique to Siege from a historical standpoint. There are many areas too that while not considered towns, have been established as an important part of the community.

There are also homes that have been awarded a Historical plaque for being a long term (currently 10+ yrs) part of Siege. Not everyone may want to opt in to have their personal home cataloged and this will be factored in with record keeping at the Reward Hall.

I hope this is a great start to sharing our history with new and returning players as they find themselves on Siege with us. Last edited by EM Aurora, Today at 6:56 PM

More from EM Aurora – A great chance for the players new to Siege to get to meet her!

EM Aurora needs your input:

Without getting too complicated I’d like to start arranging monthly player on player battles.
I also do not want to interrupt good fight nights with champs or factions.
Help me out a bit by answering the following if you are interested in duels and battles hosted at the Aurora’s Pit.

From EM Aurora!

2013 brings the continued Treasure Hunting Competition against other shards. I believe the next competition will be Izumo and Europa (date to be announced).
If there is interest in participating this year we’ll need representatives from Siege to come forward with treasure hunting skills. I will have the rules outlined here and on Siege’s EM site. We will also set up some discussion and practice dates to prepare as a team. I have included a poll for 7 days for your input.
I hope there is enough interest to accept the challenge in the near future!

This past Saturday the Miss Siege Pageant was held at the Moonglow Lyceum.  The Master of Ceremonies for the event was Hoffs, and the current Miss Siege, Sara Dale, was also in attendance.

The imminently qualified impartial judges were Kahlan, the Manager of UOforums and Associate Editor of UOguilds; Rupert Avery, of UOForums, Ultima Auctions, Ultima Gallery, and UOguilds fame; and . . . ; Ug Rankbreath, an orphaned orc who was taken in and raised by Tazar, Senior Moderator at Stratics:

The fabulous contestants were:

An amazing pool of gifts were graciously donated by the CEO of the Malnurished Corporation, Mr. Famine.  It was announced that all contestants would receive a prize.

As the event progressed, the crowd began to grow, and even our EM, Aurora, stopped by to watch!

After the evening wear competition, the talent competition began!  Tanager demonstrated special flower arranging techniques.

Ariana displayed her taming talents and also recited a poem.

Lady Raja demonstrated how she is so recognizable – on all shards.

Branwyn of Errol had some special brew for the judges which she had made herself!  (It was labeled Miss Siege 2012…. hmmm, trying to bribe the judges?)  Leawyn performed tricks for the judges.

And finally, Feja demonstrated how she commands mortals to follow her commands and serve her.

Next was the combat wear competition, followed by questions from the judges.

And Lady Raja had a special form of ‘combat wear':

Then began the scientific process of choosing who would be the next Miss Siege. . . .

And the decision was, in reverse order…..

Third Place:

Second Place:

And finally, First Place:

CONGRATULATIONS to the NEW Miss Siege!

presents:

Santa Claus is Coming!

To Siege Perilous

On Saturday the 22nd of December!

He will be visiting off and on throughout the day.

Watch for him in general chat!  He will give you hints so you can find him as he traverses our great lands.

He will bring a bag of small gifts for all the people of Siege.

From the Siege EM board:

Hi everyone!

I’ve been reading on Siege forums about  your requests for events and want to assure you more are coming!

When I came aboard Siege last February, I wanted to take the time and get to know your community and for you all to get to know me. Siege is not an easy shard but that has always been the lure for me. It’s challenging no matter what event or storyline you come up with to factor in a 24/7 Felucca ruleset.  (If you could have seen my smiles and nods during the Siege Olympics where at least a 10 minute break was required between events for everyone to gather their belongings *smiles*)

I believe in being up front and honest with discussion, especially after Siege had a bit of a turnover with EMs. After all, this is the 13th seat, the perilous one. 

As far as holiday decorations go for Siege banks and areas, I was able to put some up at the Reward Hall and the Counselor’s Hall in Britain, but I’m subject to the same gift boxes each year as everyone. That will change over time or special requests to be made in advance. I’ll keep that in mind for you.

The Community Garden was a way to have an ongoing ‘event’ that mattered with everyone able to put their stamp on Siege in a personal way. The other events were more in line with the story arc and we’ll see a continuation of that in the coming months.
The Aurora’s Pit has been tested from some key pvp’rs to help me make sure it actually works. Mesanna put in a rez ankh and changed the exit locations last month for us.  January will see some fun pit events.  Alrdic and Cora are always ready for adventure too, both in their own RP ways so look for their updates to follow in 2013.

The end of the year is always a good time to reflect and question what’s next.  I welcome those questions as well as suggestions for what works on your shard because it is, overall, your history. I’m just here to enhance it. I look forward to the coming year and know 2013 will bring more adventures for us all. 

From the EM Board:

A cool breeze blew ashore as I traveled quietly along the coast of New Magincia.  My heart pounded.  This would be my first interview as a reporter and I had been granted an interview with the leader of I4NI!  The distinguished house was well known in these parts – a wide assortment of vendors stood along one long side of the guild house, ready to sell their wares to any who needed them.

You have been made a friend of this house.

Inside, the guild house was well appointed – an ankh to resurrect those who might need it stood ready.   As long as I don’t need it, I thought. But the gargoyle Gladiator Sprago graciously welcomed me into his abode.  I took a deep breath, and began to ask my questions.

“When was I4NI founded?  Were you the founder?” I asked.

“It was founded about 2 years ago by my brother and myself,” he replied.

“Ah,” I replied, jotting down my notes. “And your brother is named . . . ?”

“T.K.”

At that moment, near the back wall, I spied an elf named T.K.

“Ah!  Okay.”

“Was there some guild or player who inspired you to start the guild?” I asked.

“Well, it was a group decision,” Sprago replied.  “Soon after we moved to these lands, our [rl] family decided to follow.  Even my aunt lives here now.  Before, we lived on Lake Superior, and the guild had first existed there.  When we moved here, we decided to continue it.”

“I see,” I replied.  “That’s very interesting.  Was there any particular reason why you chose to join the Council of Mages faction?”

“Well at the time it was the smallest faction,” he replied.  “We didn’t want to join a zerg – we just wanted to live our lives here, in our own way and in our own style.”

“What would you say has contributed to the success of I4NI here on Siege?” I asked.  I could see the great gargoyle think a minute before answering.

“Unity and working as a team,” he replied.  “I feel we are all like-minded people who enjoy all aspects of our world – from crafting and hunting to defending the Council of Mages base.”

“Do you think there is anything that particularly distinguishes I4NI from the other guilds on the shard?” I asked.  Can a gargoyle blush? I thought.  And if they do, how could I tell?  Both Sprago and T.K. seemed at a loss for words.  Finally, after taking a deep breath, Sprago began.

“I feel that we are very close-knit.  We stick by each other, no matter how perilous the battle.  I am humbled by the courage that everyone in the guild shows – no matter what.  And we try to fight with honor – indeed, we try to bring honor to all that we do.  You’ll not hear us whining in the markets or town squares.”

Nodding, I scribbled down my notes.  “I must say that I had noticed this, before our interview.”

“Have you had any challenges – say, recruiting, desertions, or spies?” I asked.

“Recruiting like-minded individuals has always been a challenge.  We are always looking for more to join us.  We will help those who are still young, but there is also plenty of fighting and challenges for those who are older.  To my knowledge we’ve not had any spies.  We have had a few quit to join other guilds.”

“Do you have any events planned for the future?”

“We keep a calendar,” Sprago replied.  [www.i4ni.abyssportal.com]

I knew that the interview was winding down – I just didn’t want to miss anything!

“What do you feel is your greatest challenge?”

“Lag,” T.K. supplied.

Laughter echoed around the room.

“Just getting all of our guildmates on at same time,” Sprago answered.

I glanced around the room.  By now, there were four members of the renowned guild in the room.

“I see,” I said.

The interview at an end, I carefully packed my notes away.  Those in the room all waved goodbye to me as I left.

“Bye, welcome back anytime,” Baby Doll called after me.