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24.8 The First Edition of the First Age Herald.
THE FIRST AGE HERALD
1st Edition
November 1st 2004
A yearly newsletter for past, present and future Avalonians.
Website address: http://www.firstage.net/
Telnet address: firstage.net, port 23
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
This newsletter is divided into two sections, detailing the in role and
out of role aspects of the Land's recent developments.
Section
1. Introduction
2. Recent Additions and Changes to the Realm
3. Political and Social History between 918 and 939 (the year 2004)
4. Business Opportunities with First Age
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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the first edition of the First Age Herald. Future additions are
likely to be more weighty with a number of contributors. Remember to keep
your e-mail address up-to-date on Avalon by registering your details or
typing EMAIL followed by your new address. You will find a copy of this
newsletter on the website and within the game. If you do not wish to
receive this newsletter via e-mail, then all you need to do is let us
know. Include REMOVE in the subject heading and you won't receive another.
Since the year 918, the Land of Avalon has been shaken with change time
and again. It has seen wars followed by revolutions, the Long Night
followed by the comforts of day again, the power-struggles of the Pantheon
lighting up the sky, the reopening of the Underworld, countless additions
to the realm, and the greater attention of the Gods on the lives, nurture
and safety of mortals. This and more has taken place in these meagre 18
years. Great, once-thought unassailable balances have been shattered and
replaced by yet firmer foundations, on which, both mortal and divinity
hope, a refreshing golden age will be built for all Avalonians.
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SECTION 2: ADDITIONS & CHANGES
The Good Samaritan has returned. Read Public Post 2321.
The constant stripping, harassment and killing of both young and old will
no longer be tolerated by the Pantheon. In addition, the return of dormant
mortals will find the active protection of any deity present in the realm.
The Underworld may now be reached by mortals by the original means. Read
HELP UNDERWORLD to discover more. Here you may exist without the loss of
equipment or experience. The honour quests of certain Guilds that require
the Underworld may now be fulfilled.
Alessandria and the Long Night quests have been undergoing extensive
debugging and require willing players to help with this debugging process.
A new 'combat prowess' system has been put in place, giving those who are
fighting-oriented a way to gauge their skill and consistency in combat.
Only those who persevere will rise to the top, yet the slaying of those of
lesser prowess will profit nothing.
A new ability has been added to Scholarship called 'Drugging', which uses
the furglewort herb to make enemy men happy to march wherever you please
and therefore to be conscripted.
A host of minor fixes and additions: ordering someone to BB or LOREROBES
MELTING now breaks reality. The stagecoach may now be driven after it is
hijacked. First Age now provides 256 internal macros instead of the
original 128. Troops altered. Flames Ritual improved. Treaties BB now
readable. New 'visible' special items. Cities may now buy commodities from
their citizens, lessening the burder of the barons; citizens may sell
commodities to their cities, providing another means of acquiring gold.
Many minor bugs have been fixed and new ones actively pursued.
A number of new help files have been added and a new section for recent
history created for the enjoyment of both young and old. Submissions for
unrecorded events are encouraged. In addition, another section not yet
released has been created for legendary mortals. Contact a deity to
discover whether you are one of them and to have a hand in writing your
own special help file.
The First Age website (http://www.firstage.net/) has undergone the first
of its two transformations, making it easier to navigate and read. A
second, which is to add the graphics and appeal of the site, will be ready
within the next month. Player Sites submissions are rewarded.
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SECTION 3: HISTORY
Avalonian life between 918 ADW and 939 ADW
Between the years 918 and 923: The cities of Thakria and Parrius ended
their bloody war with many years of Thakrian stalling and word-twisting,
Parrian annoyance and frustration. With the help of their patron,
Archimedes, the god of wisdom, Teresa, Anakin and Dante thrust out against
the tiring negotiations, thwarted time and again by Steel and Zaifoglu.
The loss of hope coincided with the return of Solontus, god of the stars,
who immediately and unexpectedly flew in a rage. Not against the
Thakrians, but the Parrians for forsaking him as patron. With only the
help of his Priest, Ategenos, Parrius was thrown into revolution and
subsequently smitten by his omnipotence -- an act for which he would atone
later. The treaty, under the preliminary new government of Parrius, was
signed swiftly and the matter of war ended by an agreement to almost fifty
years of peace. Mercinae, by the guidance of their patron Lycoris, the god
of light, and the barons Mishkal, Lanfear, Eva, Telal and Jahad, drew the
line which would prevent any encroachment of this new Parrius on her
territory. Her citizenry grew and her wealth expanded, untouched by the
war of her two neighbours.
Between the years 923 and 928: Those who were ejected from Parrius by
Solontus, among whom were Teresa, Dante and Cassandra, were forced to find
a new home. They ventured the Land under the guidance of Archimedes and
finally settled in the town of Coriona. From there, they mounted a secret
operation to bolster the troops of that modest town into an army to defeat
a city -- the city which they had built and fortified. Knowing the
defences and weaknesses of Parrius so well, and having maintained their
ranks as Guildmasters many of them, they waged a swift war against the
unsuspecting Parrians. The troops of the Artisans beating it from the
inside and the troops of Coriona from the outside, the regime in Parrius
instantly crumbled. The second revolution was at hand and Archimdes, the
god of wisdom, took his rightful place as patron of Parrius once again.
Between the years 928 and 933: With Parrius rebuilding from all the
energies wasted on revolutions, Thakria under the guidance of Thanatos,
god of darkness, created a resolute plan to retrieve the items of the Long
Night from the Order of the Sun and Moon. With secret pills, palantir
influence, cunning and thievery, the Thakrian horde burst through the
treasure chambers and stole the dreaded objects. Lycoris, the god of
light, was already beginning to withdraw his presence from the Land when
Mercinae was hit with the first of three Long Nights. Mishkal and Teresa
consolidated the forces of the Order of the Sun and Moon, despite the
passing of Light, and brought down the dreaded Long Night, yet were foiled
twice by the dishonesty of the Thakrians.
Between the years 933 and 938: It took five years for the treasure
chambers to be secured and the cursed objects to be returned so that they
may gather dust for another hundred years. With libations and prayers by
the Order of the Sun and Moon, the Pantheon agreed to seal away the
blackened axe, crucial to the dark ritual. The time of day was back in the
Land just in time to herald the return of the Good Samaritan, who has
brightened the Land with his enthusiasm, and the shaking of the Pantheon
when Solontus, god of the stars, divested himself of his own omnipotence
in penance for his earlier actions. The Pantheon realigned itself as the
Mercinae, without its guiding light, valiantly resisted decay and Thakria
and Parrius continued to strengthen. Now is the year that Mercinae and
Thakria, bringing itself into unprecedented power, ready themselves to
wage bloody war.
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Recently, Genesis has reduced the number of barons in each city to three.
Mercinae's last barony is still being decided.
The Barony of Mercinae is as follows:
Sir Bedivere, Knight of Mercinae is a Baron of Mercinae.
Sir Telal, Crusading for the Light is a Baron of Mercinae.
Hen Gwiddon Eva, Aig Gwrach is a Baron of Mercinae.
The Barony of Thakria is as follows:
Sinister Minister Pryrates, the Vicious One is a Baron of Thakria.
Kinamic the man-slayer is a Baron of Thakria.
Poseidon, the Enosichton is a Baron of Thakria.
The Barony of Parrius is as follows:
Furialis Phalant, Oriundum Divinem Lumen is a Baron of Parrius.
Apprentice Anakin, Learning the Art of War is a Baron of Parrius.
Agarwain, the Firebrand is a Baron of Parrius.
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SECTION 4: Business Opportunities with First Age
Avalon offers a number of business opportunities, mostly centred around
publicity and the World Wide Web.
- Reviews or coverage in the press, internet or printed, are both
appreciated and rewarded, depending on the extent of the effort involved
and the coverage obtained.
- We are always interested in reciprocal advertising with other popular,
well-linked sites (via search engines, advertising banners, relevant
sites).
- There is an associates programme in its beta phase at the moment where
people are rewarded for referrals who become customers; the referrer will
receive a fixed dividend of the person's subscription for as long as the
person is subscribed. This process is anonymous for both sides.
- We are keen to discuss with any prominent, well-positioned, well-used
web sites the possibility of distributing JAvalon. This may be rewarded
either in-game or by a fixed dividend per customer. These should be major
sites with thousands of regular hits.
- Contributions to Avalon in the form of fully-fleshed out ideas,
additions, creative work such as quests and events, are always appreciated
and may be rewarded.
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Thanks for reading!
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