Aia del Mana

I believe I will be meeting the Archive Elf at 11am Server Time this Monday, the 1st of April, for all who would be present.

As soon as feasibly possible, noting that the Elf must be awake at the time also. I am sure the Invisible Voice may advise when the elf were awake.

I am intending to speak with the Archives Elf when I am able. I invite all those who have signed to be present for the discourse. I would that diplomacy and mutual respect be observed, so please do not attend if thou thinkst it were otherwise - especially as the Elf is the one who may grant favours, not ourselves. I am aware that there may be others who also wish to ask favours of the elf, including favours of knowledge. As Aia of the other-realm is quite aware that her clock is shifted for inconvenience, if there were aught who would wish audience of the Elf, please post within this thread of thine intent, that I may ask the Elf on thy behalf if thou wert absent. Blessings.

I fear I may be absent for this, but fortune may think otherwise. 1. Hast thou knowledge of any beings who did place the presents within the Willow's Shop storage? If so, what were the identity of them, and what were the appearance? 2. Knowst thou of any motive of such beings? Did they communicate in any manner to thee and if so, what spake them to thee? Were there a reason that the location for the presents were chosen, and what wer't? 3. Knowst thou of the magic that renders the presents inert, or a remedy that may dissipate of their inertia without also affecting their contents? If so, what wer't? 4. How art thou? Were there aught we may do for thee in return for thine aid in this matter? 5. When may one expect Willow's Shop to receive new items, for one who hath previously purchased of the entire inventory?

So one would then assume from such results that either: 1. Thou didst not draw the correct sequence of cards (noting that one who is attempting to do so would first see the heat-death of the universe before completing all such combinations, if only one sequence is correct) 2. The "correct" cards are not in the deck that the elf will draw from 3. The hypothesis is false I wonder of thy thoughts upon this matter, but I would think an elf with enough time to perform the actions required for (1.) to succeed will also have sufficient time to contact Confused Santa, bring him to the realm, revive the other elf, unstick the presents, write the Adventure Log update, respond to all of Chewett's PMs, and still have the vast majority of eternity to test the hypothesis.

In light of recent events, let us maintain the sanctity of the dead (the elf should keep his clothing unless he willingly gives it while he is alive) - there must be another way. I strongly prefer revival of the elf, as it is the closest deed possible to annulment of the murder.

Although recent events are separate, in light of them, I must now think that it would be very much in poor taste to resolve this with death. Fyrd would certainly have wanted otherwise.

Wilt thou attempt this, and share of thy results? Or shall we arrange an event there such that many beings may make the burden of each rather lighter?

A brief summary of discourse that I have had with @jakubhi - posted with permission: Jakubhi's ideas: - Lifting the magic that sticks down the presents may also lift the magic within the present, rendering it without value. - The magic within the scene may be fueled by the heat-veins; perhaps temporarily pausing the flow may weaken the magic sufficiently to move the presents - Could it be possible that Memory Stones would absorb this magic holding the presents in place? Aia's ideas: - Agreeance that lifting all magic without limit would cause loss of the value of presents - Rather than attempting to lift the magic, one could attempt to merely cause the opposite effect - for example, a hypothetical potion of extreme unstickiness (which comes with its own issues such as how to get this potion to stick to the presents to cause the desired effect) - Worry about other temporary magic-weakening as mentioned above to also weaken the effect of said presents - Thoughts about Memory Stones not working in the above manner. If they did, however, what would prevent them from absorbing the magic inside the presents as well?

Some passing thoughts: The elf had been titled "Elf of Confused Santa who is not confused" - the intricacies and ambiguities of the common-tongue do not specify whether this did mean that the Elf was not confused, or if Confused Santa was not confused. If it were Confused Santa that were not confused, then it is possible the elf was indeed confused, in which case the title in question may have been an inaccuracy, especially since the Elf did show some sign of confusion in regard to the presents. In this case, if the Elf returns to life, the confusion may also require resolution. If Confused Santa is not confused, then perhaps the title had arisen from a time where he had been confused, although it is not yet clear what could have caused this confusion. It may be that it is Santa (and not Confused Santa) that is behind the gifts, again especially since one may consider to disregard the Elf's title if he had indeed been confused. In any case, I believe the ideal course of action would be to unconfuse all who were confused, otherwise, any remaining characters may be sufficiently unreliable to cause thoughts such as the aforementioned.

I have attempted to use this on a voting item without success; I wonder if this functionality is still working.

May I first request that Ledah aid in communication with the Elf at the Archives? I will need to deliver the Open Letter, and perhaps Ledah may be more... convincing than I in this matter.

As I have some number of signatories to this letter, let us ensure that Confused Santa should receive it. Presently, I have thought there to be several options to deliver this letter: 1. Parley with the elf at the Archives (if need be, one could perhaps ask Ledah to do this). This were where my attempts are currently focused. 2. Summon Confused Santa with realm-magic or at least with locating him such that one may deliver it in person. 3. Return the elf to the living (at which point the letter may no longer be required).

One could obtain this from the elf, surely?

Dear Confused Santa, We, the undersigned, write to express of our deepest condolences for the loss of thine elf, who was tragically killed by Ledah the Caretaker and his heavy shovel. We are truly sorry for this terrible accident, and hope thou canst find some comfort in knowing that thine elf were a loyal and hardworking member of thy team. We understand that this must be a very difficult time for thee - especially since thou hadst been busy preparing for Christmas. We appreciate all the joy and happiness that thou bringst to the realm every year, and hope that this tragedy will not affect of thy spirit or mission. Please know that thou standst not alone in grief, and that there are many who care about and support thee. We, the undersigned, are among them, and are here for thee shouldst thou have requirement. Do reach out to us if thou needst audience, or if we may be a shoulder to grieve upon. May peace and healing be upon thee in this dark time, and mayst thou remember thine elf with love and gratitude. He was a very special elf, and will be missed by many. We did think also to ask thee whether thine elf was covered by any warranty or insurance policy. We know that this might not be the most important thing right now, but receiving compensation or replacement for thy loss may help to continue the magiks of gift-giving this season. We mean not to sound greedy or insensitive, but rather to ask in solidarity with thee that the season may continue to be blessed with gift-giving - for that is what thine elf would have wished. Sincerely, Aia, Queen of Loreroot, on behalf of herself and all others who sign beneath

Would enlisting the elf at the Archives suffice?

306 gold, then.

303 gold, then, as I have noted the presence of silver coins also.

Chewett did state upon the discordant portal:

Ah, I have realised that I own notes also, so, I shall bid 301 gold.

One would merely make the player-name in this scenario "steven the cat", surely? In any case, I am sure that the population of MD will continue to amuse in unforeseen ways, and I will look forward to any such amusement.

Not a bid, but a question regarding the naming and custom tag. If one were to name the cat (for example if the owner named it "Ledah") then would the custom tag be allowed to be "Owner of Ledah"? I fear there may be some unforeseen repercussions if this were so.

I will commence the bidding, if I may, at one gold coin.

Mayhap, one would have a present which has a chance of awarding a wishpoint, and a chance of receiving something of this sort?

I am quite in agreeance that the creature pool should be altered significantly. Perhaps it would be reasonable to do so based on days of activity or some other similar measure of progress. I am happy for creatures whose creation I have been involved in to be added to the pool provided they are appropriately rare. Permanent buffs (Friend slots/Heat spheres/creature age/creature heat as the current examples) are reasonable provided they do not trivialise other methods of progress in these areas. I would suggest removal of the temporary combat buff and replacement with some temporary spell appropriate to the season. (For example, everyone clicking the tree gets three temporary casts of some spell that heals everyone in a certain location?) Of wishpoints: I am not opposed to a single wishpoint (or fewer - e.g. one per every two players) being granted given the paucity of them presently. I think it would also be interesting if one of the gifts bestowed some benefit to someone or everyone else who was present at the tree. This would promote staying present at the tree (as a combat target as well as being present for social reasons). Perhaps one of the gifts could be "everyone present receives 1 max AP", for example.