Tarquinus

God, precisely. The volume of shrillness only increases. Have you heard of the Savelite Church? It is something like, oh, I don't know, a religion. The Children of the Eclipse are a religious and military order, as is a matter of public record. Rescind my RPC status, as it is evidently a mistake. Everyone in MD knows what I was doing with the Eclipse, with the Sibyl, with Penelope Lightmoon. For months. Not possible in MD, you say? But it has happened. Stop it if you can. Ban me. Revoke my powers. Delete my posts. [i]There is still religion in MagicDuel, and there is nothing you can do to change that.[/i] [b]Edit: As it seems to be unclear, this is not a surrender of any kind; to the contrary, it is defiance. I am saying that if you believe my role to be inappropriate, take away my RPC status and powers, ban me, etc, you will still have failed to change my conviction. I intend to carry on leading the Eclipse and holding religious services as we have done from the outset. I will not stop. I will not discard service liturgy, some of which is original work and some of which has been used by another RPC (Khalazdad).[/b]

[quote name='Yrthilian' post='31066' date='May 14 2009, 08:36 AM']LOL i find this funny. When did i or even the MR's state we were working together? I beleve we never did.[/quote] You did not, and indeed you have not shown any evidence of doing so... except when it came time to go to war, when your so-called 'defense force' sprang to life, seeming highly interested in imperialism and espionage (which they will, of course, deny). Their "defense" of Golemus Golemicarum seems to have been a plan for shock tactics and assault. Let us not rehash the discussion of the Savelites' fate, or indulge in finger-pointing or laughable protests of innocence. You find it funny that you do not work together, that you sign a non-aggression agreement with which your "military arm" will not comply. I find it pitiable. We aim to do otherwise. [quote]If you wish to know things about Golemus i have already stated to other just ask and i will do my best to answer, this is how i have always worked.[/quote] Very well. Why did you choose to annul the Treaty of Land Balance? I suppose Renavoid's signature achievement was 'kept secret' from you? Or perhaps you feel you do not need to explain yourself. You do not. Nor do we. We have chosen to do so from courtesy, but between the shrill posting in capitals and puerile insults from people who ought to be able to manage at least a show of maturity, my patience is quite exhausted.

I am not at all offended, particularly when you do not try to belittle me. I see the truth in what you say; still, whether we band together from necessity or ideology, it is pertinent to Akasha's train of inquiry to explain how we co-ordinate and why, and to compare, and in some cases, contrast ourselves to other entities.

You tread a dangerous road to deny you share interest with Guerrilla Golemicarum, or that you co-ordinate with it. Whether you choose to continue to undermine your own credibility in that fashion is immaterial to me, since my point in this context is that we of Loreroot strive to avoid the kind of pick-and-choose "diplomacy" practised by your organisation, which is quite simply that you welcome warfare but not peaceful co-existence.

You are meant to defend Golemus Golemicarum, not invade other lands. Clarify further: your involvement in the "war" makes no sense according to your stated role. [quote]MR's were fighting because its our job, not because Yrth asked us to.[/quote] Yrth's bellicose behaviour and unilateral declaration of war effectively "asked you to" fight, whether or not he asked you in so many words. To assert otherwise is absurd on its face. The point is simple, and it stands: there is co-operation, though by your own admission scattered, between Guerrilla Golemicarum and the MR Fraternity. You lose no face by admitting what is plain to the meanest intellect.

Three other offices exist as support to the High Council structure: Tribunes, Censors, and Seconds. [list] [*] [b]Forest Tribune[/b] - Tribunes monitor the High Council and make sure it represents the interests of the people it serves. Consensus - unanimous agreement - among Tribunes can force a re-election of the High Council. Each alliance in Loreroot is allowed one Tribune. Tribunes can attend High Council meetings, but may not speak in the meetings. Tribunes are selected according to the custom of their alliance; for example, the Tribune of the Children of the Eclipse was named by the Sibyl. Tribunes cannot hold office on the High Council while they are Tribunes. [*] [b]Censor[/b] - Censors are volunteers who attempt to determine and catalogue the members of the electorate of Loreroot. This position has little power and no real reward, except that those who serve in this regard are marked and remembered by the Council for their efforts, and stand to gain prestige for later elections. [*] [b]Second[/b] - Seconds are designated assistants who act in the stead of Councillors who may be absent for whatever reason. This is an [i]ad hoc[/i] office that is appointed by individual Councillors, and all decisions made by seconds during emergencies are subject to later review by the Council. [/list]

Your clarifications are appreciated, MRD, but unnecessary - I do not feel anyone should be scrutinised in this fashion, and merely used Golemus Golemicarum as an [i]ad hoc[/i] example. I mean no reflection on your or your men whatsoever.

Asserting a thing does not make it so. The Children of the Eclipse conduct our own disciplinary reviews - no one else does. We have our own codes of conduct, by which no others are expected to abide. We choose to submit to the Guardians of the Root's leadership in terms of diplomacy and war, since part of our stated alliance role is to defend Loreroot and cooperate with the Guardians. We choose to coordinate our training efforts with the Guardians, and our religious services with the Savelites, so that redundancies can be avoided. In all other respects, our affairs are conducted like any other alliance, with jumping to leader, alliance chat, and so forth. The Savelites are approached for purposes of cooperation. We of the Eclipse have nothing to say about their internal affairs. How the Guardians conduct their internal affairs is up to them. They choose to involve other alliances in their affairs - very nice of them. They look around for help and leadership, and they get it, from us (the Eclipse) and others. I do not see where the line between wishes and realities has been crossed. These are the simple realities. Where is the problem?

Burns - I am referring to the treaty of non-aggression, which MRD refused to recognise because he hated the [b]Guerrilla Golemicarum[/b] ambassador, Lady Isolda, and no other reason. He admits it freely - MRD is very forthright about such things. We want to avoid such a situation. That's all. It's easily said, but not so easily done.

Yes. It is. And it has its own internal structure, which I believe is not the topic of the current discussion. The Guardians of the Root are symbolically/systemically led by Amoran, as you know well. How that fighting alliance conducts its own affairs is as of little concern to me as how the MR Fraternity conducts its affairs: I assume the MRs know what they're doing, and I leave MRD and the others alone about their business. We have created a super-structure for Loreroot, again according to the wishes of BlackThorn. We wish to cooperate with each other - Guardians, Eclipse, Savelites, and (if they want to) Crafters. This cooperation gives Loreroot as a land the seeming of being united, rather than just another place on the map. I wonder why the relationship between MRD and Yrthilian is not under scrutiny - it is EXACTLY the same sort of thing as this "super alliance", but simpler.

And I responded. Guerrilla Golemicarum displayed an inability to coordinate its diplomatic dealings with the MR Fraternity, making Golemus appear fractured and inefficient. I note that, when it came time to cease talking and thinking, but to start killing, the MRs suddenly were all loyalty and subservience to Yrthilian. No one commented on that [b]drastic[/b] change. Perhaps you will speak to it now? We in Loreroot wish for something better - we want a land that is not only well defended, but organised and justly governed. The elements of the big alliance - our alliances, as you call them - manage their own affairs internally. Go on, suggest LunarGoddess and I do not know how to run our alliance again. See who believes you. As to coordinating three separate alliances, or guilds, or whatever you call them, it is a complex and demanding task. No, we are not merging, for many reason, systemic as well as philosophical. Yes, we are attempting to cooperate in an organised fashion. You do know what cooperation is, I assume?

[quote name='Akasha' post='30988' date='May 13 2009, 03:35 PM']again ... : :crazy: :shok: Question: Is there a big change..DRASTIC one in Loreroot THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE (with a public vote AKA MAGICDUEL OFFICIAL FORUM THIS ONE) OR THE LOREROOT does not know how to use its alliances anymore? are all alliances merging into one?[/quote] This is not news. The organisations in Loreroot try to work together. Do not pretend to be shocked: it is unseemly. You saw us acting in concert during the "war", and you saw me responding to you over and over again. Do you think it only now appopriate to ask whence I received the authority to speak for the forces of Loreroot?

[quote name='Akasha' post='30984' date='May 13 2009, 03:22 PM']:crazy:'Guardians of the Root Alliance, which includes the Children of the Eclipse, the Savelite Church, and the Guardians of the Root guild.' :shok:[/quote] It is the legacy of BlackThorn. I have no further comment, other than to say that a consistent attempt has been made to unify the organised bodies in Loreroot, so that situations do not occur such as were seen not long ago in Golemus Golemicarum, where a treaty was adopted by one alliance (Guerrilla Golemicarum) but rejected by another (the MR Fraternity). I shall say nothing of the inefficacy of that arrangement, which I hold to be self-evident, nor of the tendency of certain organisations to disregard diplomacy wholesale as whimsy strikes them. As to the nomenclature of guilds and alliances, I do not care. There is a Tree-badged Guardians of the Root organisation, which exists to defend loreroot. It is supported by The Children of the Eclipse, and in the past, by the Savelite Church.

Does uncertainty persist in how the High Council was elected, what it does, and why? The High Council is the governing body of the Guardians of the Root [b]Alliance[/b], which includes the Children of the Eclipse, the Savelite Church, and the Guardians of the Root [b]guild[/b]. The Crafters are invited to participate in our general elections, and to select a member for the office of Tribune. The Council has seven (7) seats, four of which are elected, three of which are appointed by the Council itself. The elected positions were chosen by a general election of the members of all the alliance guilds, and though our censors worked very hard to tally all the members of the electorate, I fear the Savelites and the Crafters were inadvertently passed over. They are invited to vote in all successive general elections, however, including the one for Speaker of the Law, which shall be held in the next day or so.* Of the appointed positions, two of the current seats were appointed by the previous Council, though one (Captain-General) has since been vacated, and the other (President of Council) has been appointed by the sitting Council. Karak, as President of Council, is the leader of the Guardians of the Root [b]Alliance[/b]. He had been elected to the post of Speaker of the Law, which is now up for election once more. The wherefores of this arrangement should be self-apparent to any of those of you who understand the.... questionable**... practise of Republicanism. *Contact Mya Celestia, Gremlin, or any of the members of the High Council (Amoran, Firsanthalas, Ibruzu, Karak, or Tarquinus) if you belong to a Guardians of the Root Alliance guild and wish to cast a vote in the election. We shall be happy to tell you more about the position and the current nominees. **As one who has been a king and tyrant, and understands the efficiency of despotism, I find the practise distasteful in the extreme: an exchange of the efficient tyranny of one for the inefficient tyranny of a few, with the added burden of increased corruption. Sadly, the people in the Guardians of the Root Alliance seem to favour this practise, and as I swore to NelyaSetesh and promised BlackThorn many times, mine order, the Children of the Eclipse, owes fealty to the Guardians of the Root Alliance. We therefore abide by it for the purposes of our role in that alliance. With respect to our internal matters, the Eclipse is ruled by the Sibyl and her edicts carried out by me.

[quote name='Burns' post='30920' date='May 13 2009, 08:10 AM']and... oh my gosh, kill bystanders because they could be assassins? what a knightly thing to do =P[/quote] In mine estimation, there is not enough killing of bystanders in this realm; but perchance there are too few bystanders, at all. Something stays my hand. And death comes not easily in this realm, or I should have been silenced thrice over. At all costs, let us distinguish knighthood, which in my day meant a well-armed, wealthy thug on a horse, from chivalry, which came much later as a means to regulate the behaviour of such thugs when peace prevailed and bystanders to slaughter were less often hostile. Peace is hell on a warrior. I refer you also to the predicament of the elite warriors of the Tokugawa shogunate, trapped in a warless land, indolent, bored, and increasingly marginalised. Moreover, Burns, thou knave, you know full well that "kill bystanders" is not what the Code says. As much as bloody-minded fellows such as myself might approve of such an interpretation, I find upright fellows such as Karak and Sparrhawk, just to name two, tend to disagree, and insist that it is more an exhortation toward suspicion and caution. Even paranoids, as 'tis said, have real enemies. [quote]and i'm looking forward to the first New Moon-Guy i can get a hold off... let's RP-torture those spies a bit, shouldn't we? Or better real torturing?... ^^[/quote] Now this, truly, is a good idea. We should welcome a chance for the New Moon to demonstrate heroism and devotion. Looking about the realm, I see too many sell-swords, honourless brigands, and cowards. Perhaps we can show you something better?

[quote name='Rhaegar Targaryen' post='30774' date='May 10 2009, 03:45 PM']George Martin is the greatest writer of epic fantasy, in my opinion... check out "A Song of Ice and Fire" & "Hedge Knight"[/quote] My wife loves Martin, but I refuse to touch [i]Song of Ice and Fire[/i] until the S.O.B. finishes it.

Recently read: [i]Latro in the Mist[/i] and [i]Soldier of Sidon[/i] by Gene Wolfe. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and Hellenic myth! A selection of my must-reads: [list] [*] [i]I, Claudius[/i], Robert Graves. Funny, learned, and fascinating. [*] [i]The Book of the New Sun[/i], Gene Wolfe. Difficult and demanding; possibly the best work of sci-fi/Fantasy I have ever read. Sent me to the dictionary hundreds of times. [*] [i]The Chronicles of Amber[/i], Roger Zelazny. Fun, fun, fun. [*] [i]The Sandman[/i], Neil Gaiman. Graphic novel (comic) format - Gaiman, an excellent writer, has yet to equal the writing he did here. [*] The Aubrey-and-Maturin books, beginning with [i]Master and Commander[/i], Patrick O'Brian. This is literature masquerading as adventure stories, or vice versa. Superb. Can be read on any level, from surface to very deep. I read them with three dictionaries (English, French, and Latin) close at hand, though it is not necessary to to understand every word or get every joke to enjoy the hell out of this series. [*] [i]A Voyage to Arcturus[/i], David Lindsay. Strange and portentous; Gnostic mythology presented as Science Fiction. Impossible to read without going a little mad. [*] [i]The Gods of Pegana[/i], Lord Dunsany. Fans of Dunsany will also like [i]The Charwoman's Shadow[/i]. [*] [i]Eaters of the Dead[/i], Michael Crichton. Inspiration for the film [i]The Thirteenth Warrior[/i]; [i]Beowulf[/i] as you likely have not encountered it before. [*] Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, especially [i]Tigana[/i], [i]A Song for Arbonne[/i], [i]The Lions of Al-Rassan[/i], [i]The Sarantine Mosaic[/i], and [i]The Last Light of the Sun[/i]. Kay gets better as he goes, but [i]Tigana[/i] is absolutely marvelous. [/list] I can echo other recommendations I've seen on this thread. The [i]Dune[/i] books are quite good, though I would avoid the follow-up series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. If you don't like Harry Potter, you may not know how to have fun. If you think Tolkien is the grandmaster and R.A. Salvatore is any good at all, check out G.G. Kay, Lord Dunsany, and Roger Zelazny.

I post here on behalf of my friend Keith Arthur, known to many of you as Keith "Moon", a name he seems to think is funny in some way or another. Keith's remarks appear in italics. [i]For starters, I have to congratulate everybody with the guts to post their work here. It's very easy to criticize the work of others without doing any yourself, and posting your poetry in a gaming forum is almost begging to be abused and/or ridiculed by critics of that kind. As some of y'all know, my standards for poetry are very high, and I view poetry as the most difficult form of writing in any language. Those of you who have attempted to work with rhyme and meter can appreciate why I say so. I have met a few people in the realm of MagicDuel who seem to think poetry is easy or has easily broken rules. I could not disagree more. To cite one example, putting a pronoun in the wrong case to complete a rhymed couplet is not what I consider good writing. The exigencies, or rigors, of adhering to a poetic form are tests of writing skill. Breaking the rules is one thing if you look like you know what you're doing, and why. If you don't, you just look like a weak writer. The poetry I find in [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.php?showtopic=3802"]the other thread[/url] varies in quality from weak to really excellent, and falls along a standard bell-curve distribution where the extremes of being very good or very bad are comparatively rare, while the bulk falls somewhere in the middle. I'm not going to provide any negative criticism for the poems I find weak, but I will say that one thing I notice in the less outstanding work is a recourse to "obvious" metaphor. If you want to get my attention in a good way, surprise me. Show me something I haven't thought of or seen many, many times. So, without further pontification, or as we say in Texas, ramblin', the poets that stand out to me as excellent are Phantom Orchid, Dayredeemer, and zalabar. Phantom Orchid wrote [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.php?s=&showtopic=3802&view=findpost&p=29968"]"Secret Places"[/url], the only poem that speaks clearly to me as having a strong influence from the realm of MagicDuel. As such, and in light of the fact that the author manages a relatively fresh rhyme scheme without embarrassing herself, I consider it a completion of my Bard's Quest. She already has Luke Tarquin's spell document for one of [u]his[/u] quests, so if one of y'all fancypants RPC types would be willing to offer yours to Orchid as sponsorship for the quest, I'd be much obliged. Dayredeemer's [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.php?s=&showtopic=3802&view=findpost&p=29971"]"Mirth"[/url] is an all-around excellent poem, with strong, creative use of a metaphor that could easily have come off sounding very tired. Though Dayredeemer runs into typographical errors [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.php?s=&showtopic=3802&view=findpost&p=29976"]later on[/url], this guy is an attentive reader and his superior writing proves it. I'm a reasonably good judge of non-English poetry, which really deserves a category of its own, but the further a language gets from Latin, the more trouble I have evaluating it. I have to salute zalabar, among the English-as-second-language writers, for penning not only better-than-average poetry in English ("The song of Death's Love") but the beautiful [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.php?s=&showtopic=3802&view=findpost&p=30009"]"L'aria, il mio amore A lei. "[/url] Bravo! If I didn't single you out for praise, don't be discouraged. Read poets you like, learn why you like them, and write, write, write.[/i]

I do not write much poetry, but my friend Keith does. I have presented two of my works and two of his: some of you will have seen these before. [center]This is so much as I am: A scalloped coarse revenant Powder collapsed from smokeless fire. This is so much as I was: Imbecile vagrant, fever's fool Waltzing tip-toe with a phantom As faceless as the sky. This is so much as I shall be: Hermetic wastrel of hours Awash in spectral radiance Rootless as moonbeams Tarnished urn of wasted words Reflection of light unseen. [/center] The poem has no title. I thought of one, just now: half-life. Without Penelope LightMoon, without Aia del Mana, without Ennoia in one of her many guises, I am not much of anything at all. A friend recently and very bitterly remarked that I am less than a man - and though he meant it literally, as a comment on my deathless, lifeless nature, it is truer than he guessed, I think. I leave the metaphors for you to untangle yourselves. [center][b]White Planet[/b] She dances through the lightless sky And gleams to those who watch below: A pale, unwinking, flawless eye Whose drifting light will set aglow All darkened hearts deprived of hope. Those fearful in the looming night Whose shadows will confess no scope May gaze upon her steady light And warm their thoughts in love’s embrace. In all celestial pantomime, Amid the steps of stellar grace, I mark but one ‘til end of Time: The song to prise my soul from granite, The night’s first jewel, the bold white planet. [/center] This poem was written for my wife, Aia del Mana, now Aia Tarquinia, who, like Penelope before her, has fallen into a slumber from which she cannot awaken. One tires of hearing a love compared to a star or the sun, so I chose a different metaphor. Those familiar with the beauty of the planet Venus may understand why. As part of my vengeance against Keith, I now present to you two of his works. [center][i][b]Weightless[/b] Enfold me in a rush of cool About my limbs: a crisp embrace, The sweet shock of a swimming pool, A sapphire void, your sacred space. Then cast me skipping through the air, Now flip me up, now twist me down, A feather whirling here and there In boundless dance above the ground. Suspend me in a crystal haze Of sugar spun and lemon sweet: Your candy-colored paraphrase, A quirk of thought for you to eat. To kiss you is to levitate, For in your arms I have no weight. [/i][/center] Keith wrote this for his current paramour, Pamplemousse, whom I sometimes call the Brightest Star in Heaven. Keith explains that his affair with Pamplemousse is so effortless and so second-nature to both of them that he felt it deserved poetic expression. Those of you who know Keith also know he is the Bard of Darkness, mythographer, songster, and poet of the court of the Rajj Khalazdad. One of Keith's talents is extemporaneous composition, and he has written several poems/song lyrics for Khalazdad on the spot. I present my favourite such work here. [center][i][b]"Dirge for Khalazdad"[/b] The endless heat, the burning sun, The hollow, sunken loss of love, The sharp regret of what is done No less below than lost above. The dirge has only just begun; The desert raptor kills the dove; The sundering of what was one: The sacrifice not to remove. Fear and rejoice, for Black is King; Fear and rejoice - for everything.[/i][/center] As I say, Keith composed and performed this song, or poem, if you prefer, at the Rajj's command and without having prepared anything beforehand.

[quote name='Yrthilian' post='29020' date='Apr 17 2009, 03:15 AM']First after having talked with some of you in regards to things going on in LR and all the little plan making. I hear the Nelya AC is to be used for running the allaince and that 2 people have the user name and pass. this is not a good idea to be honest. Nelya left and in doing so she left her account to rest. It should not be used for such things.[/quote] Many of us feel precisely the same. Nelya shall be retired as early as is feasible, which is to say, in a matter of days. I am not one of those inhabiting Nelya's body and animating it, despite what my history as a necromancer might indicate, and as one of the practice's more vocal opponents, I wish to assure the entire realm that when Nelya is retired, she shall stay retired.

I can but reiterate mine apology on the archives: humbly, abjectly, I confess the wrong of mine Alliance in its treatment of its most storied and valourous warrior. Commander, whithersoever thou goest, may the Goddess bless and keep you; and Strength and Honour to you, Sieur.

I do understand. I have communicated privately to thee, attempting to answer thy questions to the best of mine ability.

As it doth seem, Madame, I am the only Councillor of Loreroot willing to face thy questions. I am a junior Councillor of Loreroot: BlackThorn made it painfully clear to Penelope LightMoon and me, when we applied to locate our alliance in Loreroot, that the Children of the Eclipse were to be a guild of the Guardians of the Root, and as such, subordinate to its decisions. My guild is but newly formed, as thou know'st full well. Being a junior Councillor, and standing alone as it doth seem, I am reluctant to answer some of these questions at all, let alone in public forum. I shall communicate to thee privately. I must ask, Madame, wherefore thou dost ask these questions, for having followed thy responses along this topic, it doth seem to me thou hast but little love for Loreroot in its current incarnation. I may be mistaken, as I hope and trust I am, in this case. I witnessed thy discourse with the Knator Commander outside the Defensive Quarters, and thus am inclined to believe thou mightst have, or once have had, some affection for Loreroot. If that be the case, thou shalt understand wherefore I decline to answer such questions in public forum. An'if thou dost not have any affection for Loreroot at all, then it were my duty as loyal servant of Loreroot and one sworn to obey its ruler and Council to decline to answer thy questions absolutely. None can read the last few responses in this exchange and say I have been anything less than forthright with thee and with the MagicDuel community.

The closed High Council meeting with the Knator Commander was very brief, and occurred in the chambre atop Wasp's Totem. I recall Innocence's presence there. I honestly do not recall whether GlorDamar attended that meeting, and if so, what the reasoning was. I do recall that many rank-and-file members of the Guardians and the Eclipse were asked to leave. The meeting wherein Knator Commander was offered egregious disrespect was a general meeting of the Guardians of the Root Alliance, and occured in the Oak Tower.

I am grateful for this explanation, Zleiphneir: I hope thou canst see whence came my skepticism of Grido's protests of altruistic intent, and wilt agree that such skepticism doth require no great exposition. It is mine inclination, knowing thee as I do, to welcome thee and the Savelite Church back into the Guardians of the Root Alliance: but I am but one Councillor, and a [i]pro tempore[/i] one at that, pending the coming election. The new Council shall be the arbiter of any such negotiation, and as Firsanthalas, the Guardians' general envoy, and meru chi, Celestial Emissary of the Children of the Eclipse, are both called away in the Realm of probabiLity for the next few days at least, I fear the matter shall have to await their return.