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________________________________________ 5 June, 1999 ___
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Table of Contents
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1. Editorial by Dizzy
2. The Disturbance by David Zhou
3. Lord Run #561 by Annastasia
4. Diversions and Pasttimes by Dekon
5. Clan Advertisement by Unforgiven
________________________________
1. Editorial by Dizzy
________________________________
The old magician was ready to retire. He told the immortals of his plans
to leave the magic business and live a more leisurely life with his
Half-Elf wife, enjoying their extended family. He would miss the
excitement, but he needed to retire. They could get by without him easily.
His immortal friends were terribly sorry to see this good worker go and
together they asked if he could create one final incantation to build a
beautiful castle as a personal favor. The elderly magician said yes, but
in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted
to poor research, inarticulate phrases, and used inferior materials. It
was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the magician finished his work and the immortalscame to inspect the
castle, the chief immortal handed the gate key to the magician and said,
"This is your house, our gift to you."
What a shock. What a shame. If he had only known he was building his own
castle, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in
the home he had built none too well. And so it is with us. We build our
lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up
less than our best. At important points we do not give the job our best
effort. Then, in a state of shock, we look at the situation we have
created and find that we are now living in the castle we have built. If we
had realized that, we would have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the magician. Think about the castle you are
building. Each day you place a board or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is
the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day,
that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.
The magician discovered a plaque on the gatehouse wall which read, "Life
is a do-it-yourself project." What could say it more clearly? Your life
today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life
tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make
today.
-- Author Unknown, adapted to MUD-reality by Diz
________________________________
2. The Disturbance by David Zhou
________________________________
AVATAR series #1
The windswept towers stretched over the city below. Multi-hued banners
fluttered in the air atop and dark-gray smoke arose from many houses. It
was a lively city, with children playing in the streets and merchants
selling their goods. The city stood in a clearing, surrounded by forest
and joined by four roads in four directions. A steady stream of traffic
was present, farmers coming to sell their crop, workers seeking jobs and
even vagabonds and drifters coming to beg or steal. A man could be se
en within that crowd. Taller than the people around him, he is wrapped
in a large flowing cloak. Glancing up occasionaly, it is clear that he
is heading towards the city ahead.
Drenin has always hated cities. Those putrid centers of human
civilization made him sick. However, it wasn't his idea to come to
Midgaard -the biggest city in the known world- rather it was Aelmon's,
the renowned Healer of Midgaard. He should have known there was trouble
brewing when he recieved
the message. Aelmon NEVER summons anyone for a
social visit. Forcing himself to concentrate upon the task ahead,
Drenin stoically strode into the city. Trying to resist the urge to run
away, he almost walked over the man who was furiously beckoning to him.
"Sorry friend, I was a little distracted there."
"Are you Drenin? Aelmon sent me," asked the short man as he led Drenin off
into a side alley where they could talk without the risk of wayward
peasants
eavesdropping.
"Aye that I am friend. What's the problem? Why am I here?"
The messenger shrugged and looking around said, "He didn't tell me but if
you want my opinion, it seems serious. ALL the leaders of the world are
here. Sol, Nom and even a representative of Ofcol, Solace, Thalos and
Kerofk. I can't imagine what sort of trouble would bring those type of
people together but it sure does seem serious."
Drenin sighed. He KNEW it there was trouble. He just KNEW it. "Alright
friend. Lead on to Aelmon." Following the messenger, he soon arrived at
the gate of the massive Keep of Midgaard. Legend has it that no army has
ever gotten past its huge stone walls. Inside, Aelmon was waiting at a
small table. While the Keep was usually filled with resting travelers
and adventurers -heck even Drenin has stayed here on his journeys- today,
it was empty except for the aforementioned people. Upon his arri val the
men already inside stood up. Aelmon, a weathered old man, introduced him
as Drenin the Archmage of the Kingdom of Didd. Nodding to Sol and Nom,
both healers like Aelmon, he took his seat.
"Ahhh Drenin, we were expecting you." smiled Aelmon.
"What's wrong?" Drenin said, raising his eyebrows in a question. Aelmon
sighed and motioned to Sol.
"Well, it's a tad complicated lad," explained Sol, "Hmmm...Do you know
about the Energy Matrix and Mana? Yes, of course lad, you're a mage.
Well frankly the trouble is that the Energy Matrix is simply being
de-energized. It is losing its energy at a constant rate."
"And so," continued Aelmon, "the magic of the World is getting weaker and
weaker. Soon, magic will cease to exist. Of course this means that
mages like you will be out of work. But a far more bigger problem is
that of the various enchantments and wa rds designed to keep out monsters
from Hell."
"Hell?" asked Drenin incredulously.
"Hell as you know is not what those religious people in Arcadia want you
to believe. It is not some place deep underground where you get punished
for your so-called sins. Rather it is another plane of existence. We
don't know what the Hellions call it but we call it Hell. Currently
powerful spells and enchantments are keeping the dimensional barrier
apart. But with magic in this weakened state, the barrier is coming
closer everyday. Soon it will be gone and then unimaginable hordes of
monsters will invade. That's why we called you here. Drenin, you are
the most knowledgeable person currently alive upon the subject of magic.
We -Nom, Sol, the Representative and I- are right now at this very moment
asking you for help."
"Help? But I thought you were the most powerful Wizards and Magic-users in
the World."
Nom answered, "We are Drenin. However, the pact we made with the gods long
ago forbade us from interfering directly with mortal affairs. For as you
know, our powers are not merely the result of long years of study.
Rather, most of our power comes from the Gods who gave them to us.
Therefore, we need a mortal who will do the task. The task before us is
this. You must seek out the source of this disturbance. Destroy or stop
it. That is all. Of course, we will be here to guide you."
"I see. Will I get any help in this? Or am I supposed to solo this?"
"A group will be assembled from most of the classes of the land. Mage,
Cleric, Monk and Warrior shall be the party. The others in your group
have been briefed about this. However all depends upon you. For without
you, the quest shall not succeed. Your knowledge of magic is essential."
said Aelmon.
"I guess I don't have any choice in this do I? No don't answer that.
Alright then friends, I accept. Where do I start? I have no idea what we
are looking for."
"You shall start by visiting the MasterMage of Thelia in the North. He of
all people in this world knows more about the Energy Matrix and the inner
workings of Magic. He should have some idea about what's wrong." said
Aelmon.
"Also by the way," the Representative cut in, "rest assured that you shall
be well prepared financially. Ofcol, Kerofk, Solace and Thalos are
behind you. You shall have unlimited access to our resources."
"Thank you friend," smiled Drenin, "Ok, let's get started. How will I
contact you, my friends?"
"Just think." grinned Nom.
"Think?" gaped Drenin. Think about what, thought Drenin. What am I
supposed to think about? Dogs? Pink Panthers?
Aelmon chuckled. "No Drenin not Dogs or Pink Panthers, just think Aelmon!
or Nom! or Sol!. We will hear you, if you concentrate."
"Ok..." agreed Drenin dubiously.
"In that case, lets get rolling!" shouted the Representative.
********************************************
Far to the North of where the group had been meeting, within the snow
blasted mountains of Northern Ofcol, someone smiled. It wasn' t a warm
smile, rather it was colder than the winter air. "Scarpa! Come here!"
A thin, pale man came running to the voice. "Y-yes master?" he said,
shivering in the frozen snow.
"They have met. And they are coming. The
Time is come. Quickly, summon the others to Lloth's Peak. We must plan
our action." The person smile again, this time with grim anticipation at
what he thought would be total and utter victory.
********************************************
"I've already told you. We must go to Prospero, the MasterMage of Thelia.
He might know what is disturbing the Energy Matrix." sighed Drenin.
Another person, a woman, shook her head. "But why? I've already told you
that I can pinpoint where the disturbance is. It's like a ripple in a
lake. Just go towards the center and you'll find the source." Walking
over to Drenin, she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Drenin, I know that
Aelmon told you to go to Prospero. But, however, he is NOT a cleric. He
can not have known that we possess the skill to determine where the
disturbance is originating from."
"Alright Sarah. You win. We'll follow you. But, the moment you lose the
trail, we go visit the MasterMage. Agreed?" sighed Drenin, shaking his
head in resignation,
"Agreed." Said Sarah, grimly nodding.
At that moment, a door leading to the room the two were in opened. In
stepped a man covered from head to toe with armor. Full plate armor
covered what appeared to be chain mail. Heavy metal boots clanged on the
stone floor.
"If you two are done, shall we get going? Dear God, Drenin, half the
people in Kerofk must have heard you, even past the Great Wall."
Drenin sighed, "Alright Geren. We're following Sarah to the source."
Geren smiled. "Good, maybe now we can go somewhere. Jinx and I are
getting restless."
"You've got that right," shouted a voice from beyond the open doorway.
Jinx stepped in, wearing formal monk's robes. Lean, wiry and seemingly
fast, he was the classic example of a monk.
"Alright then. Let's go!" said Drenin, with finality. The party however,
did not journey immediately. It was early the next morning that they
started.
"Where is the ripples leading to?" asked Drenin curiously.
"Somewhere South of Midgaard, past Thalos. Past the Great Sea, possibly
farther. I'm not sure exactly, I just know that it's south." sighed
Sarah.
"Hmm...it isn't exactly teeming with civilization," said Drenin.
The party journey on for sometime, until they had about a day to go before
they would be at the gates of New Thalos. The original Thalos had been
abandoned after lamia -beggars and rogues- took over. Killing the King
and the entire royal family, they had driven all but the toughest
citizens out. Thus was New Thalos born. Geren suddenly stopped.
Motioning for the others to do likewise, he slipped off into the woods of
the path. Moments later he came back. He was disturbed. "Someone is
followi ng us."
"Do you know who?" asked Jinx. Shifting to a fighting stance, Jinx
invoked an ancient monk technique that heightened his senses so that his
hearing, sight, smell and innate intuition were sharper. With this
increased awareness, he could even detect i nvisible and hidden
creatures.
Drenin muttered an oath. Peering around he could see nothing. "Well,
until our friend decides to show himself lets get going. He'll have a
harder time in the city."
Nodding in agreement they continued ahead, albeit more cautiously.
Suddenly, a thing thrashed out from the left of the path. The only word
that Drenin COULD think of to describe it was "Thing". Shouting in
surprise, Drenin leapt back. The others followed suit. The "Thing"
stood there looking at them. It was insectile, that was certain.
Covered in a shiny exo-skeleton, it seemed a gargantuan upright
cockroach. However, what are usually harmless legs were replaced by
gleaming steel scythes. W ith a howl of inhuman madness, it literally
flew at Jinx. However, Jinx was a monk. With lightning speed, he
flipped over the "Thing" and kicked it from behind. It staggered
forward, so that it was just in reach of Geren's outstretched sword. The
" Thing" did not so much as slow down. The sword stuck fast and
furious. However, the exo-skeleton doubled as thick armor and very soon,
the blade simply shattered. Throwing it away in disgust, Geren pulled
out an huge battle-axe (since any warrior worth his salt would carry
more than one main weapon). With the axe in hand, he spun and slashed at
the carapace of the insect with all his might. At the same time, Jinx
spun and kicked the "Thing" in the head, and then kicked it again while
still in the air in the neck and yet again in the center of the back. The
"Thing" staggered forward once more. Geren's axe WAS more effective than
his sword. The first slash opened a deep gash in the "Thing"'s side.
Green blood oozed out. Or rather slime, it was quite thick and stuck to
the axe like goo.
"Jinx! Geren! Out of the way!" shouted Drenin, "I'm casting a spell, move
to the side!" Jinx immediately rolled to the right and Geren jumped and
ran back
next to Drenin, soon Jinx joined him. "I don't want to hurt
you. Its area of effect it quite large, you might be caught inside."
So warned, Drenin started the motion for the spell. Spreading his hand,
a deep blue ball formed between them. Shifting rapidly from different
shades of blue, some icy, some dark the ball expanded bigger and bigger.
"Alahaza Dreniera Alarila". With the shout, the ball exploded into
smaller fragments. These fragments instantly hardened into what seemed
to be ice. Eerily, all of the fragment sped towards the "Thing" and
imbedded itself deep in the carapace. Be llowing in rage and pain the
"Thing" charged at Drenin. It didn't get far. Faster than the eye could
blink, Jinx lashed out with his fists and knocked the creature back.
Geren followed him with his axe and promptly began the grisly task of
chopping the "Thing" up on the ground. Sarah turned ghostly pale and ran
behind Drenin and threw up. By the time Geren and Jinx were done, the
"Thing" was no more than a pile of freshly carved meat.
"What was that that you did Drenin?" asked Geren curiously. Jinx nodded
and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Drenin.
"It's called an Ice Storm. Those fragments were solid pieces of ice. Its
area of affect is quite unpredictable so that's why I asked you to move,"
Drenin explained. Carefully comforting Sarah he spoke quietly to her.
"It's what warriors do dear. T hey kill and make sure what they killed
stays dead."
"But that? Drenin, it was awful what they did. That thing was helpless on
the ground." Sarah said, still pale and stunned.
"Its necessary Sarah," Drenin said soothingly, "Otherwise it would have
hurt or even killed us." Sarah sighed and nodded. Suddenly, without
warning, she flung herself at Drenin and cried.
"It was AWFUL though," she said, between short sobs. Wiping her tears
with her sleeves, she tried to gain control. Drenin held her, patting
her back to calm her down.
"I know dear. I felt horrible when I first saw something like that. You
just have to steel yourself to accept it"
"Oh Drenin," she sobbed, "I don't think I EVER will get used to that sort
of thing. Maybe I shouldn't have come. I'm just a hassle. I'll just
slow you down." Detaching herself from Drenin, she gained control of
herself and took a deep breath. Howev er, small tears did occasionally
escape from her eyes.
"Nonsense, everyone feels that way at first. I promise you, you're a
vital part of this group," said Drenin. Jinx and Geren, who had stayed
back during the incident, nodded their agreement as they came near.
Sarah nodded somewhat weakly and straight ened herself. Taking a deep
breath she said, "Ok. Let's go."
After a second of uncomfortable
silence, they continued the journey into Thalos.
Thus ends the first
part of the AVATAR series. In the next part, Drenin and the group shall
finally reach Thalos. What awaits them there, and in the future can only
be danger. They shall continue the search for the Disturbance of
magic.
________________________________
3. Lord Run #561 by Annastasia
________________________________
One day at Thorn, we decided to hit Kzin for eq
but, alas!, groupies we had so few.
So we begged and pleaded til the cows came home
(Still no luck -- that's why I'm writing this poem.)
Oh! Look! Someone to help us out!
And then we cast away our silly doubt,
and began to exclaim "Spell up!" happily
when everyone began to twiddle me!
I couldn't seeing anything but twiddling for ticks on end -
so much so my ears began to shrivel and bend.
Finally, the twiddlin' torture was so blissfully over..
So lucky to still have ears that I felt I found a four leaf clover.
"Shift in," the leader joyously said.
"But sir," one of the tanks replied, "The denizen hasn't been fed!"
"Well, we'll just have to fix that," the leader said with a laugh,
so off we went, me grasping my typhus staff.
All I can tell you as I clutch this tattered notebook,
is do not type scan or even look!
And yet, even as things looked their worse-
(I mean geez, don't you see above us this evil curse?)
-we're still alive; every last one of us is still thankfully here,
even our little cute buddy fear!
Even Taragul is here amidst this confusion!
After everything was said or dead, I made this little resolution:
"Next time we come here so quick and fast
and maybe might sorta perhaps just even cast!"
________________________________
4. Diversions and Pasttimes by Dekon
________________________________
There are often times when groups are hard to come by, or maybe even times
when you don't feel like grouping. That doesn't mean that you can't do
things here. Don't let yourself get bored. This article can help you
think of ways to pass the time. Her e are some of my own personal
favorites.
- Do money runs. Although Mages and Clerics can go further with this than
others, there are still decent sources of money within reach of everyone,
if you know where to look for them. This can also include mobs that
steal. Patience will literally pay o ff.
- If you can enchant equipment, keep doing that. You just might make the
next Excalibur, Gungnir, or Aegis. Warriors are encouraged to sharpen
things, if they can.
- If you have mana to burn, consider sitting invis at Nom, Sol, or Aelmon,
and give spells. Even if you don't know the three macro spells, you can
still probably give a sizable ac boost to a newbie, so they can get that
golden feather, bonk hat, or linen
robe.
- If you are of high enough level, and have the room for it, collect
equipment to give out to others. If not that, they can be spares if the
one you are using is destroyed (this is a good practice for the upper
crust.)
- Do CRs. You don't have to make the newbies jump through hoops of
course, but if you simply mercy and then gurney/summon, then give them
firm advice to compensate. Maybe tips on how to do their own CRs.
- If you are feeling bloodthirsty, why not start a Crusade? Select a
certain type(s) of mob to target, and kill every single one you come
across. I don't think I need to tell you to be reasonable with this.
Don't make it impossible for newbies to have things to kill.
- Learn how to use aliases, if you don't already. This will prolong the
time in which Carpal Tunnel Syndrome will set it. ;-)
- Learn how to use colors, if you don't know how to already.
- Write a description for your character, if you don't have one already.
- Identify things for free at the healers. Think of it as a learning
oppourtunity.
- Explore areas that are low enough level not to kill you.
- Run a quest.
- Compile your accumulated knowledge and write articles like this one. ;-)
Obviously, many of you people probably don't need to be told much of this,
but others could potentially benefit from this advice. Remeber, knowledge
is power.
________________________________
5. Clan Advertisement by Unforgiven
________________________________
[Ed: Avatar neither forbids or endorses clans. Generally we think that
clans are devisive and cause more problems than they are worth.
Occasionally, a clan forms that IS beneficial to both the MUD and the
players, in that spirit....read on -- Diz]
[TANK] This message is to all the Tanks out there that are looking for a
good clan to join. I'm (Unforgiven) starting a clan for good Tanks that
want their presence as a Tank to known at fist sight. There are only two
requirements. 1. You have to be able to Tank, fairly well. 2. You need to
put [TANK] in your title. On Avatar, that would be bright red, and dark
blue... And thats it! All I ask is that you please send me a personal note
informing me that you are in on the clan. The first 2 people that apply
will get two high ranking positions. Thanks!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Avatar Gazette is what you've just been reading, and it is the
official newsletter of Avatar, it is published weekly by Dizzy, in
conjunction with The Avatar Staff.(Original concept by Asamaro).
The Gazette is written in plain vanilla ASCII text to ensure that
everyone can enjoy it regardless of computer type.
To subscribe to the Gazette, send internet e-mail to
gazette-request@avatar.walrus.com. In the body of your
email put:
subscribe username@hostname (MudName - RealName)
eg subscribe snikt@walrus.com (Snikt - Kevin Jagh)
Your real name is optional for the Gazette list.
eg subscribe snikt@walrus.com (Snikt)
You can FTP back issues of the gazette from ftp.walrus.com in
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If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, criticisms,
compliments, or (best of all) articles that you've written for the
gazette, please send them to Dizzy via my e-mail address:
dizzy@walrus.com.
You can also view the latest issue of the Gazette while playing
Avatar by typing 'help newgaz' anywhere in the game, or by surfing
our web site!
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