Tarquinus

[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.

GlorDamar of the Soldiers of the Inner Sun requested to be present as a neutral obsever, as did Innocence of the Archives, and some councillors asked me to include them both in the opening of the Oak Tower. As I recall, the meeting had been of all the members of the Alliance, including the Eclipse, for Shadowseeker was also present, having been named acting Captain-General of Loreroot forces prior to the arrival of the superseding Knator Commander... whose precedence Captain Shadowseeker acknowledged, if I recall aright. This was not the first time an outsider had been invited to a general Loreroot meeting, as Peace of Necrovion had previously assented to attend one... Awiiya of the Archivists had attended that Council, also, and other neutrals were asked to remain silent but not asked to leave. Grido also requested to be present at the meeting with Knator Commander, and was ignored as a known hostile, despite his wearing the badge of the Savelite Church.

That is correct. Prior to being ousted from the Savelite Church, I believe King Bull also sat on the Council: he and I, as guild leaders, were permitted to sit as a courtesy to our respective guilds. Thus, by thy count, the council were 9 seats, or 7 seats in Council proper and 2 guild Councillors. Edit: Loreroot is currently considering a smaller council, newly elected in the wake of the crisis, and with consideration to the performance of the respective Councillors therein.

At the time of the meeting, Siala LoneWolf, BlackThorn, NelyaSetesh, Udgard, and Firsanthalas were also part of the Council. I am reasonably certain none of them was in attendance, but Siala might have been.

[quote name='XinHun' post='28659' date='Apr 11 2009, 10:39 AM']It sounded to me that you were looking for a war to prove yourselfs, that's why I asked, not to start a war.[/quote] None but a fool starts a war unless it were absolutely necessary. As do you, I speak for none but myself - I have naught to prove. I have a duty to fulfill, and I am no coward. I mean no more and no less than that.

Do the Legend Speakers seek affray with us, XinHun, or art thou merely curious? Loreroot is defended, period. My words are not hard to understand, I believe.

It can only be acknowledged the resignation of Raven is really a collective failure of leadership in Loreroot. Let there be no recriminations or further backbiting amongst those who once occupied the High Council or anyone else; let us confess our failure and turn to the building of a new, stronger structure, and if we do not do so as leaders but as servants, why, that were only just. Our greatest shame is that our incompetence, singly and as a body, were now no longer a matter of speculation but the laughing-stock of the entire realm. Let it not be imagined, moreover, that any slackening of vigilance in defense of this land, our land, were appropriate. Loreroot hath enemies beyond the shores of Golemus Golemicarum, and most were not near so visible as Guerrilla Golemicarum or the MRs' Fraternity. We must make appropriate haste in strengthening our leadership and securing our defenses, for the enemies of Loreroot shall exploit our obvious weakness if we do not act. Lastly, to those who imagine Loreroot to be nothing but a collection of cowards and wastrels, I say this: bring war to our land, and you shall find, at your expense, that there are many of us who will fight for the land, badge or no badge, title or no title; that there are many of us who do not fear death at all, much less in the defense of Loreroot. We are not always the loudest or most colourful; think not that every huntsman carries a bugle. The spirit of Daniel Raven stalks these woods still, and the magic of Helen Wasp is not diminished. Conquer Loreroot, if you think you can: but in the end, count your dead, and only then reckon the cost.

[quote name='Grido' post='28601' date='Apr 10 2009, 10:00 PM']''I have word that mine action caused the enemy some dismay.'' errm, from who? i ask, not expecting an answer on that, but after the Savelites were taken over, I personally expected both CotE and GotR to clean ranks immediately, and that thought was shared with others who were planning, so yeah....dismay....not so much.[/quote] My dismissal occurred [b]prior[/b] to thy little stunt, Grido. Thou'rt well pleased with thyself, as I see, so let me disabuse thee: think not that I paid more attention to thee than the dismissive treatment thou didst receive without the Defensive Quarters. By that time, in troth, I had begun to re-invite my followers. As to thy lack of scruple, Sieur, do not play the carnival fool and pretend thine interference in the Savelites' decline were anything but espionage of the lowest sort, and propaganda as well. Perchance someone believeth thee, somewhere.

[quote name='Burns' post='28582' date='Apr 10 2009, 04:35 PM']in my humble opinion, there was too much talking up to now and too little action... don't you see what happend to the Savelites? Take a look at Gridos loyalty, you can't take over an ally with 330 loyalty, he had help from inside ;-)...CoE have kicked all members who are not supporting Raven enough to go to war for him, and see what's left of them...[/quote] A specious assertion, but spurious in its logic. I dismissed the ranks of the Eclipse to avoid the same fate the Savelites suffered: and I have word that mine action caused the enemy some dismay. Yet I find it cold comfort. I have become what I beheld and acted as dishonourably as my foes, who have now shewn there were no depth to which they will not sink. Very well for them to say, all were fair in war: but I know better. I am a man, and whatsoever honour I have left after dismissing some of my most loyal followers - including two of my most trusted priestesses - I shall take to my grave. I should not have acted as I did, ruled by fear and love of a symbol. If any should take the Eclipse and demean it as Grido and his unscrupulous conspirators have done to the Savelites, all shall see that I am unbow'd. If any should carry a battle to Loreroot, all shall see that I am undaunted. [b]I am this land[/b], and it is I: we are one being. Kill me, if you can, for it shall take so much to silence my denunciation of thine aggression, a children's conflict o'er mere words.

I would like to add the Eclipse's profound regrets to the sentiments expressed by noble Firsanthalas. None should be persecuted for words, ever.

[quote name='Yami no Sakura' post='28517' date='Apr 9 2009, 02:12 PM']HOWEVER. I will make it known that I think this "war" is completely unnecessary and (from what I gathered to be the cause) childish. You are all acting like children on the playground who started fighting because one kid insulted another. Only...you have bigger and sharper sticks to hit each other with...[/quote] That were precisely the case. The war is completely unnecessary, and hath been sparked o'er naught.

I would like to know wherefore this war hath been declared. Yrthilian, an'if thou knowest not, we of the Eclipse are the shock troops of Loreroot, and are sworn to protect the Guardians, publicly, in the sight of the Goddess and a witness of our parent alliance. Shall mine oaths be taken for naught? Shall it be said Tarquin is a liar, and his followers cowards? Nay, Sieur: express thy regret to widows and widowers. We are a poor match for the might of the MR Fraternity: this I know. Yet we shall not suffer a foreign power to dictate to us how the affairs of Loreroot shall be governed. Surely thou canst understand that.

No, Yrthilian, I demand you state your reasons explicitly. Those jeopardised by thine action - those who stand to lose their lives - have every right to know why thou hast chosen to violate this treaty AND the treaty of Land Balance.

I regretted saying that almost immediately, and took it out. I apologise.

[quote]You don't think her strong showing had anything to do with the rewards she got the first time round, now would it?[/quote] Well, lightsage, an'if thou couldst evaluate her with anything like objectivity, thou mightst learn wherefore I say so. She had far less help this time around, and her skills as a duelist improved, not so much her reliance on credits or boosted statistics. [quote post='28257' date='Apr 5 2009, 09:51 AM']or with RPCs help, or with 'usage of game meachnics'... seriously, it has been done by almost every winner, i'm no exception to that, but two wins based on unfair means is just... well, it creates a feeling that's a bit weird at the very least -.-[/quote] With deepest respect, Burns, I find this implication distasteful. Aia did not 'use game mechanics' the way her opponents did, in either contest: that is to say, she did not cheat. That they stooped to such extremes to defeat Aia makes me think Clock Master and his loathsome accomplice feared her, which, in its perverse way, were quite the compliment; and they have sullied themselves, whether they acknowledge it or no. As for the help of RPCs, prithee, Sieur: do not make me laugh. Thou hast seen the outcome of too many head contests even to murmur of that, I believe. Thy complaint is with the decision of Muratus. Conflate not that resentment with unseemly jealousy of a much younger player. Thou'rt a better sort than that.