THE HERALD

The Character and Guild Search feature should once again be updating your characters’ and guilds’ statistics! Please note that it may take several hours for the process to work its way through all characters and guilds so please check back later if you do not see your updated stats immediately.

Additionally, we have some new notes for the search feature:

• Search results will now include archived characters and servers.
  • A small icon will appear next to the name to denote an archived character.
• The cluster drop down now displays the servers contained in each cluster to help returning users find their characters.
• A link has been added to the bottom of the results to direct players to the Returning Players Guide.

The Guild Autopromote system has been disabled for the past several weeks. This system will be re-enabled on Thursday, July 9th. 

For more information on how this system functions and on our entire Guild Maintenance Policy, check the wiki article HERE.

Please note that when this system is re-enabled, emails will be retroactively sent out requesting inactive guild leaders to login their characters so that they are not demoted. If you receive one of these emails and have logged in within 30 days on the character(s) referenced, you can ignore the email.

Characters that have not been logged in recently will be immediately demoted when the feature is re-enabled. If you have a character that is currently a guildmaster that you fear may not have logged in within the past 30 days, we highly advise logging them on between now and Thursday to avoid demotion.
 

Traditional Oral Story, as originally told by Ciaban the Restless, a wandering bard

Good eve my children, listen close and I will tell you a tale of a most tragic love bonded and then severed…

Long ago, the beautiful and cunning Queen of the Fae, Cliodna, fell in love. No normal man was he that had stolen the queen’s heart; his hair curled and twined with shades dark as deepest night and his eyes glowed like brilliant stars, his skin was pale and fair as snow.  But it was not his beauty that so drew the queen’s eyes, for a fae of love and beauty has access to many beautiful things. It was the audacity of this mortal who returned to the queen night after night and woo’d her with song and gifts, such gifts that she had never received from a suitor before.  She often found on her balcony long beautiful ribbons for her hair, carefully crafted necklaces of  wood and seed, mountains of beautiful and rare flowers from lands beyond her reach in the Seelie Court. The queen would often marvel at these trinkets, and recline on her balcony listening to his gentle songs and poems dedicated to her beauty.

After many cycles this mortal’s charms had their desired effect on the queen and one long night she left the court, and bonded him as her consort. On returning to the court, she looked to all that saw her as if she had won some great prize, and the two lovers spent many a day wrapped in each other’s arms. Such a small distraction left her vulnerable to the machinations of the court and it wasn’t long before someone in the Seelie Court took advantage of this. Her honeyed words were believed to be false promises and dull praises that left many folk soured. So during this slight vulnerability, her enemies rallied and turned the court against her. It was soon after that she was banished across the veil to the Dreamworld, alone, forbidden to ever return to fair Hibernia.

But the rules of others often do not constrain the queen. She still had many agents throughout the land happy to do her bidding. In time, she gathered her forces and sought to return for her love. To guarantee success, she even joined with the Unseelie Court in the Dreamworld, and through her cunning began taking control. Alas, as her power in the Dreamworld grew with each passing year her longing for her lost lover yet outpaced it. Why should she be forced away from her lover, and forced to live away from beautiful Hibernia?  Hibernia should be hers. She should be free to be with her lover. The Seelie Court should be the ones banished. And so she attempted to break her exile. 

Intent on confronting the Seelie Court in Hibernia, she planned a small invasion into the Bog of Cullen as a base of operations. Many of the banished Siabra followed her into the bog to assist her while the rest of her forces continued to consolidate. Tragically, she underestimated the force with which she would be rebuffed. Alas, her vengeful return into the Bog of Cullen was met with force as the Seelie Court were ready.

Her melodic voice could warm the coldest heart and sway the most stubborn mind, but the wise and powerful of the Seelie Court knew well her tricks. They steeled themselves and met her on the battlefield with unwavering veterans, hardened troops who would not back down. Faced with an unrelenting force, she retreated back to the Dreamworld. Her plan ruined and her hidden retainers run out of the Seelie Court, she knew it was only a matter of time. Either she would inevitably return once again, or they would come after her. And so she took over the Unseelie Court once and for all, and began consolidating power.

Oh, but the Seelie Court is not one to leave things as they are. Instead they press forth, knowing that if left to her own devices, Cliodna will return and with a much larger invasion. And so they march, slowly at first as armies tend to do, through the veil and into the dreary night of the world of dreams. They will soon discover the Dreamworld is not merely a reflection of our world, but that it does not take kindly to mortal interlopers.
 

Friends and Realm mates,

Recently, an issue with the Relics has resulted in players being able to pick up and capture a Relic without completing the required unlocking process. This issue has been fixed, and to deploy the fix – all Relics must be reset to their home shrines. 

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. In an effort to make up for the adjust ment to the Relics – the July 4th Holiday bonuses set to end on Monday, July 6th will be extended until the following Monday, July 13th. 

Thank you for your understanding, and please enjoy the extended bonuses.

We’ll see you in the Frontiers!

We had a fantastic time during our Live-stream Developer Q&A last week where we talked about subjects ranging from the Otherworlds campaign, crafting, and Legendary Weapons to returning player tips,  the UI/UX plans, and the website revamp… plus many more!

In addition to the video, Carol and our Knights Shileah and Fugo have created a written summary of our answers in English, German, and French for you to enjoy below!