Phantom Orchid

[center][size="5"][font="Arial Black"]Magic Herb Spiral[/font][/size] [img]http://www.ebsqart.com/Art/12947/344071/SpiralPentacle_275_275.jpg[/img][/center] The outer border of the herb garden is set with a circle of memory stones inscribed with runes(advanced magic), and interspersed with plantings of red flowers (geraniums, nasturtiums, etc.) for protection against outside influences. The inside border is a mound of Lorerootian soil with herbs planted in a spiral and inlaid with crystals (for energy). And at the peak of the spiral is an alter to the Goddess of the Moon. [img]http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq169/lunasantini/goddess.jpg[/img] The following are planted in lower, most frequently harvested/highest yielding, portion of the herb spiral: [list] [*] Angelica - Enchantments and potions [*] Thyme - Used in ritual to produce trance/illusion. [*] Rosemary - Memory, sleep air, intellect, purification, love, power, healing [*] Sage - Fertility, vitality, wisdom [*] Vervain/Verbena - For love potions. It shall be dug only with a gold coin or a stag's horn [*] Catnip - Maintaining healthy relationships and setting boundaries [*] Basil - Carried to attract coins; gives one courage [*] Mint - Vitality, luck, briskness [*] Yarrow - Used for a wound poultice with plantain leaves [*] Dill - Culinary spice. Medicine for colic [*] Cumin - Used for love potions [*] Feverfew - Used for relieving head aches [*] Parsley - Culinary herb. Parsley seed goes 9 times to the Underworld and back before it comes up, which is why germination is less than one hundred percent [/list] For protection from spells: dill, garlic, leek clovers, mugwort For ritual cleansing and purification: Mugwort, Nettle, Plantain, Fennel, Chamomile, Water cress The middle layer is made up of potentially toxic flowers and herbs, suitably used for advanced magic: [list] [*] Henbane - Love potion; poisonous plant - use with caution. A close relative of Thorn Apple and nightshade, henbane is used in the preparation of flying ointments. [*] Rue - Protection, health, clarity of thinking, performing rituals, mindfulness [*] Hemlock - Dig under moonlight. deadly poison. Fool's Parsley [*] Monkshood - Beautiful purple flower spikes. Used with belladonna to make a flying ointment, and in combination with water parsnip, cinquefoil, and deadly nightshade to make an ointment of the imagination. Used to contact the dead (and others in the Underworld) [*] Mandrake - The twisted, elaborate roots look like a human, and the plant screams when pulled out of the ground (it shall always be harvested with a special scythe. Used for astral projection [*] Opium Poppy - Sleep / dream magick [*] Deadly Nightshade / Belladona - It has purple/red flowers and poisonous berries. Used to dilate pupils for beauty and seduction [*] Thorn Apple / Jimson Weed - This plant has hallucinogenic effects. The juice from these fruits is used to make a deadly poison [*] Morning Glory - Wrapped around a person 9 times to bind a spell. Strongest under a full moon [/list] The top layer is made of up flowers and herbs used in advanced ritual practice and best suited for moonlight*; evening primrose, moonflower, and white rose. [i]* The planting, care, and use of these plants is strictly guarded by the clergy of the Children of the Eclipse.[/i] [b]Harvesting yields:[/b] It is best to collect an odd number of sprigs from each plant, (ie. 3 for few branches sprigs, 7 for many branching ones. When roots are harvested, permission must be requested, and offerings shall be made, to each plant taken. [b]Processing needs:[/b] Pruning knife, scythe (advanced harvesting), digging stick or antler to harvest roots. Fiber may be used for to tie bundles of herbs for drying purposes (preferably in the shade under a tree with maximum ventilation). Soapstone mortar and pestle to grind herbs. [b]To brew potions:[/b] Three kinds of wood and the proper amount of heat shall be used to boil the water in the cauldron. Other materials may be required depending on what is being concocted. [img]http://www.themagickeeper.com/bmz_cache/a/a4d2d091f68cdd69df056021a90081fc.image.220x195.JPG[/img] Also, periodic soil amending will be necessary, requiring the import of fertile Lorerootian soil once every year. Alternatively, or additionally, composted material may be used for soil enrichment, and soil from various lands may be used to influence the energetics of certain plants.

The Tribunal lands extension was the most significant development that has been announced during stage X. Reasons: [list] [*]Further discovery/research of this new land, bigger than all others combined [*]It is the setting for the last part of the adventure log (the seed/opening of gate/the Traveler, etc.) [*]Shift of balance/counterbalance [*]Home of Knatty's retirement home [*]Difficulty to navigate/explore [*]Mur's status change to demi-god, rulership of East lands. [*]Still so much more there left to uncover, for newbies and veterans alike [*]Insanity [i]and[/i] adventure!!! [/list] [quote]Ann. 1789 - [2011-04-14 03:47:11 - Stage 10] A new extension of the tribunal landS is up. The race to find the end of the road of this new area was won by : Rendril Revant, Pipstickz, AmberRune, Familiar Face, Paracelsus, Ravenstrider, lone wolf pup ...hmm not really 5 people...oh well.. I can't count too well so...its 5! - Each got a new Aramor. Explore the new land, find its secret places, most of the areas in it are not restricted or not configure fully right now so you can see them. At this point there are more locations in md than active players... some might consider it insanity, some a true adventure..you obviously know how I consider it! This was the surprise for day one of the MD birthday party, it will take you a lot more than one day to familiarize yourselsf with the new land.[/quote]

The outer border of the herb garden is set with a circle of memory stones inscribed with runes(advanced magic), and interspersed with plantings of red flowers (geraniums, nasturtiums, etc.) for protection against outside influences. The inside border is a mound of Lorerootian soil with herbs planted in a spiral and inlaid with crystals (for energy). And at the peak of the spiral is an alter to the Goddess of the Moon. The following are planted in lower, most frequently harvested/highest yielding, portion of the herb spiral: Angelica - Enchantments and potions Thyme - Used in ritual to produce trance/illusion. Rosemary - Memory, sleep air, intellect, purification, love, power, healing Sage - Fertility, vitality, wisdom Vervain/Verbena - For love potions. It shall be dug only with a gold coin or a stag's horn Catnip - Maintaining healthy relationships and setting boundaries Basil - Carried to attract coins; gives one courage Mint - Vitality, luck, briskness Yarrow - Used for a wound poultice with plantain leaves Dill - Culinary spice. Medicine for colic Cumin - Used for love potions Feverfew - Used for relieving head aches Parsley - Culinary herb. Parsley seed goes 9 times to the Underworld and back before it comes up, which is why germination is less than one hundred percent For protection from spells: dill, garlic, leek clovers, mugwort For ritual cleansing and purification: Mugwort, Nettle, Plantain, Fennel, Chamomile, Water cress The middle layer is made up of potentially toxic flowers and herbs, suitably used for advanced magic: Henbane - Love potion; poisonous plant - use with caution. A close relative of Thorn Apple and nightshade, henbane is used in the preparation of flying ointments. Rue - Protection, health, clarity of thinking, performing rituals, mindfulness Hemlock - Dig under moonlight. deadly poison. Fool's Parsley Monkshood - Beautiful purple flower spikes. Used with belladonna to make a flying ointment, and in combination with water parsnip, cinquefoil, and deadly nightshade to make an ointment of the imagination. Used to contact the dead (and others in the Underworld) Mandrake - The twisted, elaborate roots look like a human, and the plant screams when pulled out of the ground (it shall always be harvested with a special scythe. Used for astral projection Opium Poppy - Sleep / dream magick Deadly Nightshade / Belladona - It has purple/red flowers and poisonous berries. Used to dilate pupils for beauty and seduction Thorn Apple / Jimson Weed - This plant has hallucinogenic effects. The juice from these fruits is used to make a deadly poison Morning Glory - Wrapped around a person 9 times to bind a spell. Strongest under a full moon The top layer is made of up flowers and herbs used in advanced ritual practice and best suited for moonlight*; evening primrose, moonflower, and white rose. * The planting, care, and use of these plants is strictly guarded by the clergy of the Children of the Eclipse. Harvesting yields: It is best to collect an odd number of sprigs from each plant, (ie. 3 for few branches sprigs, 7 for many branching ones. When roots are harvested, permission must be requested, and offerings shall be made, to each plant taken. Processing needs: Pruning knife, scythe (advanced harvesting), digging stick or antler to harvest roots. Fiber may be used for to tie bundles of herbs for drying purposes (preferably in the shade under a tree with maximum ventilation). Soapstone mortar and pestle to grind herbs. To brew potions: Three kinds of wood and the proper amount of heat shall be used to boil the water in the cauldron. Other materials may be required depending on what is being concocted. Also, periodic soil amending will be necessary, requiring the import of fertile Lorerootian soil once every year. Alternatively, or additionally, composted material may be used for soil enrichment, and soil from various lands may be used to influence the energetics of certain plants.

[quote name='Shadowseeker' timestamp='1311450774' post='88704'] Yes- I want to encourage people to post though [/quote] you asked for it...! [url="http://magicduel.invisionzone.com/gallery/image/1771-gimme-some-wookie/"]gimme some wookie![/url]

Using alts to help a main character is a big, huge, gigantic no-no in MD. The real issue here is, like you said, the inability to recall harvesting tools that have become lost to inactive (and I would also add ex-communicated) guild members. Kings/Queens and/or resource guild leaders should have the ability to recall tools from their respective land/guild.

[center][size="5"][font="Impact"]Something from Nothing[/font][/size][/center][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"] There is an inherit problem with an enclosed, perpetual energy, because that violates the first and/or second laws of thermodynamics. The closest I came is to utilize energy from the attraction/repulsion of magnetism and from splitting Aether - that creates more positive energy needed to initiate and maintain the flow of negative energy from Aether (for Aether contains energy) Spinning magnetic bubbles in a magnetic field is one way to split Aether and release negative energy (ie. source of negative photons and so-called ‘cold’ electricity). Both have energy / force gradiants which may be released (similar method as splitting atoms for atomic bomb). This creates a darkening of sorts, antigravity (since it cancels gravity field), and cooling. Basically, there are small magnetic bubbles and magnetic rolling tracts within the main magnet. When you spin said magnets (see picture below, not my picture but there to show the idea), it splits the Aether and dark/negative energy is created/released - which repels or cancels gravity. [img] http://www.transproducts.net/ag/large_seg.jpg[/img] Like an atomic bomb, and probably more dangerous, it releases energy from a closed system. Again, the magnetic bubbles are on rollers and roll around center ring at high speed. This releases negative energy out of Aether and causes negative entropy – which perpetuates and speeds up the rollers even faster (closest I can come to perpetual energy). [img] http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Logarithmic_Spiral_Pylab.svg/220px-Logarithmic_Spiral_Pylab.svg.png[/img] [img] http://wikicompany.org/wiki/images/Hopf_map_001hor.gif[/img] Switch #1 – the initial ‘push’ to get this device going, let’s call it the ‘on’ switch, would require heat fusion to initiate the spinning of the magnetic bubbles. Switch #2 - The ‘off’ switch would be a spell to stop its movement (ie movelock spell). Amplifier – depends on intention. SoS would probably want to ‘grease’ the rollers with black water. Emergency switch – [s]This would be… well, I honestly have no idea. This is a really scary device and should probably not be constructed in the first place because of how dangerous it is. But, if one were to be made, then an emergency off switch would be essential – even if ultimately futile, it would give the person trying to stop it an illusory sense of control in a hopeless/powerless situation.[/s] [b]Mur's red button![/b][/font] [center][sub]“I made one great mistake in my life,” Albert Einstein said on the morning of November 11, 1954, “...when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification - the danger that the Germans would make them.” Disclaimer: I do not know how to resize images in forum posts. sry. Also, I draw crap pictures so the ones posted are only to give you an idea/framework of device[/sub][/center]

[quote name='Chewett' timestamp='1311366548' post='88629'] The Water Dowsers are spending their own time voluntarily to get the resources and draw no salary and expect no reward for their work. We are not focussed on getting rich, but being able to give the water that people need. [/quote] You set a fine example for resource gatherers across the realm! Thank you.

[quote name='Muratus del Mur' timestamp='1311365693' post='88628'] I need a good name for useless unidentified herbs, basically field flowers and grass that becomes hay, sort of. Its not hay..i cant find a word for it. In this way you could waste very large quantities of gathered plants to find a rare herb (need a name too) for gathering you will need a tool , at least to hold them. There will be baskets, unless better idea comes up. [/quote] Useless unidentified herbs = weeds. However, the term 'weed' is highly subjective. Many consider dandelion a prolific weed and go at great lengths to poison the soil in futile attempts to get rid out it. But is a remarkable medicinal plant - the roots are used as a natural diuretic (to lower blood pressure) and liver protection. The leaves are good to stimulate digestion. It has other magical powers too. Tools = digging stick, knife, scythe to harvest; basket to collect; drying rack/potion/solution to preserve.

Dream Quest - Act 1 Results I received some fabulous entries for this quest, which was one of research, self-exploration, creativity, and thinking within and outside of the box. There were over 30 participants in this quest, and overall it was a great success! The WP winners' submissions were simply phenomenal! WP winners are: Sephirah Caelum lashtal Zleiphneir Ailith Bonus prize (invisibility stone) winner for most creative part 2 entry: Zleiphneir Rewards will be given within the next few days. Thank you.

[quote name='Muratus del Mur' timestamp='1311348592' post='88589'] Toxic covers halucinogenic and healing is a property of many including tea leaves aromatic but also of the toxic in some cases (yeah) [/quote] I work with herbs in RL, and this makes perfect sense - for the only difference between medicine and poison is dosage. Paracelsus, sometimes called the father of toxicology, wrote: "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous." One other suggestion for 'bases' is to break it down by parts of plants: Roots Bark Leaves Flowers Fruits

Quest ended. Winners will be announced soon!

How can you have an enclosed, perpetual power source? That would violate the first and/or second law of thermodynamics. I am not convinced this is possible, but I eagerly await to have my mind blown by a successful entry!

I have 4 Tormented Souls (250+ days and 68,000+ heat each) I'd like to sell for coin and/or Resource item(s). Post offers here or PM and include how many you are bidding for. I also have aged heretic archers and elementals - PM if interested.

[quote name='Firsanthalas' timestamp='1310673812' post='87941'] Well I have to say that I find it interesting that the king isn't even a citizen of his own kingdom. So, yeah, I do believe there is a certain relevance. But maybe that's just me and Darigan by the looks of things. [/quote] and me. I have also heard many others question this in-game.

Happy Birthday Akasha!!!

i know i'm late. but happy b-day!!!

Not many are aware, but I am a member of the Crafters. However, I do have my limitations as a Crafter, that is, I mainly craft items of divination with non-human made raw materials. Perhaps my skills will grow in Time, perhaps not. [i]Background[/i]: Before I came into this realm I was a Druid trained in the arts of divination. As a people, we were of the woods; naturalists, healers, protectors and defenders of the wild. The priesthood of the Druids have a rich history in practices of divination. Scrying, using images seen in crystals or other mediums such as bodies of water, is used to make meanings clairvoyant from what otherwise appears to be cloudy, unreachable planes of existence. Due to its transparent nature, a gemstone called beryl is often used for divination. This gemstone in particular has the ability to cut through either external, environmental noise, or internal noise contained within a frazzled mind. Information obtained from these readings may then be used to make decisions concerning those affected. I have listed some examples of my abilities as a Crafter to give you an idea: [b]Crystal Ball[/b], 6 inches in diameter [b]Dream journal[/b] - Made from Oak leaves bound by winderwild hair. [b]Divining Rods[/b], hand-crafted of durable copper (if there are metals to be had in this realm - otherwise, maple or cherry wood may be used) and rubbed with Lavender oil. [b]Broom[/b] - Oak handle with native straw grass The simplest use of the broom is to use it to sweep and purify a sacred space before performing a ritual. More advanced magic involves its use for protection, fertility and prosperity. (teleportation?) [b]Oak Wand[/b] As above, so below. The mighty Oak, a symbol of strength and protection, is the keeper of knowledge. Teaching both persistence and endurance, its roots extend to the underworld; its branches touch the cerulean sky. [i]Runes (3 of 13)[/i] 13 stones, each representing one of the 8 Sabbats [b]Crescent Moon Stone[/b] Sabbat is Samhain Gender is female Meaning is Femininity. The flow of the tides, both internal and oceanic. Knowledge and wisdom, psychic awareness. [b]Snake Stone[/b] Sabbat is Spring Simple answer is "no" Gender is Male Move away from your present environment. A journey, or possibly just change. [b]Nature (leaf) Stone[/b] Sabbat is Summer Gender is male The blossoming of something new, possibly a friendship. Indicates happiness and the natural flow of nature. [b]Elemental Stones[/b] (3 of 5) Elemental stones are an expansion of five further stones to add to a set of divination stones. [b]Earth Stone[/b] Triangle pointing downwards. Top side has another parallel line inside triangle. Security and fertility. [b]Air Stone[/b] Triangle pointing upwards. Base has another parallel line inside triangle. The intellect. It stands for intelligence, strength of will and organizational skills. Mental energy and bravery. [b]Spirit Stone[/b] Double triangle joined at the base Ether, spirit / soul. All things have a common element; all things are connected. [b]Moon Stones[/b]: Used for divination by Children of the Eclipse clergy. 4 white and 4 black moonstones.

Why the Sun? Because the Sun likes to play hide-and-seek. But, since it shines so brightly and burns too hot for others to come very close to it, it has nobody but itself to play. So, in order to overcome this, it must pretend it is not itself. But how does it do this? The Sun dreams. It dreams that it is each and every being in the universe; the stars, the stones, the animals (including humans), and the plants. In the Sun's dreams it has many wonderful adventures. It likes it so well, that it sometimes cannot recall where and how it hid itself. But, that's also just what it wants to do - for if it found itself to quickly, the game would surely end. That is why it is hard for us to find it; the Sun is hiding itself in us. In this game of hide-and-seek, the Sun always finds it fun to find new ways of hiding, and to seek for someone who doesn’t always hide in the same place. However, if it went on and on forever, it would get very tired of itself. Therefor, there are times when the Sun is, and then there are times when it is not. It is like one's breath - in and out, in and out. If one tries to hold it in all the time, one would feel terrible. Eventually, the game is over, all of us will wake up and remember that we are all one single Sun - the One that is all and lives forever and ever. Just like a circle. And as the Sun goes around like a circle, there will be no particular place where it 'begins.' There is night as there is day; there is waking as there is sleeping; there is living as there is dying; there is summer as there is winter. You cannot have any one of these without the other - for what is darkness unless you had seen it side by side with light, or light unless side by side with darkness? As a circle, it moves from an inner dynamic of cyclical patterns as it carries forth the four seasons in its yearly round. Within this web of relationships and change, [i]its entity can be defined only by its function, and its significance only as part of the whole pattern.[/i] Likewise, all of life goes through the four stages of birth, maturation, decline, and death. The Sun is also the Self of the world, but it is too 'bright' to directly be seen - and that is for the similar reason that one requires a mirror to see one's own self. This is why many dominating religions are dogmatic and divisive, for they depend on swapping this view for one that separates the believers from the heretics - even though we are all cut from the same cloth. Their institutions demand loyalty to their cherry-picked definitions of 'purity.' Furthermore, no 'creator' would wreck the human mind by making it so rigid and unadaptive such as the ones who depend on any one book, such as the bible, for all of *the* answers. Words can only, at best, point beyond themselves to a world of life and death and experiences that are so much more than words in and of themselves.

[quote name='Rumi' timestamp='1310533949' post='87790'] In many cultures, stones are sacred ancestors, treated with reverence. Stones are not organic matter, yet they degrade and become the dust from which all organisms are borne and to which all return in death. Dust is infused with life and becomes rich soil and every other living thing. The stones we so often see as inanimate objects are the link between a living planet and its constituent organisms; literally, the building blocks. These memory stones are new to us and we know little about them. We have learned that our thoughts and memories can be transfered through the stones, and we know little else. Before a stone is harvested and our thoughts are transfered, it's possible that a memory stone gathers its own memories. Perhaps it remembers our conversations. Perhaps our prayers. Perhaps it remembers the rain. Leaving a single stone remaining would ensure the continuation of those memories and possibly prove to be to our benefit. Thank you for your consideration. [/quote] So eloquently said! One can look at a stone and see only an immutable object Or one can look at a stone and see a mutable object [i]Or[/i], one can look at a stone and see inside the Source of all things/creator/pure energy/vital force (whatever you want to call it)

[quote name='Muratus del Mur' timestamp='1310474939' post='87718'] they behave the same both in realm and in the outer world. if you deplete a place of water, it will come back eventually. letting resources stay forever at zero would cause a big mess over time. one thing i can do is to make a huge delay till they start over from zero [/quote] In the outer world, deserts have been created in several places due to the exploitation of 'natural resources.' And I don't think that the water will ever come back... In realm, in the spirit of the 1/2 rule of resource regeneration, I think that a delay from zero is a good idea.

It looks like this is happening tomorrow, and if I am online I will participate.

[quote name='Fyrd Argentus' timestamp='1310327396' post='87537'] On 11/07/11 03:19:12 was at 1_-5x4_2 --- Last known location! This is in the future about 6 hours. [/quote] *erases Fyrd's future memory and whispers* That was just a dream...

[quote name='chirobitz' timestamp='1310258501' post='87484'] wow it sounds a little scary. never gone to the labirinth myself. a lot of players warn me not to go since i can get lost easily.. i may try it with my dummy account so i would not waste my main if i could not get out. xP [/quote] Whew, that was a close one. Lucky for me Sephirah guided me out safely. Also, I have priestess duties to attend to - so don't forget that patience is one of the requirements for this quest. It may take Time to get back to you, but I will.

i'm in! i'm not interested in leading a team. who is? i'll join whichever team is offering the most cookies!

[quote name='lashtal' timestamp='1310239753' post='87455'] This is very interesting... Any deadline to find you in-game? [/quote] Its duration and ending will be unpredictable, as dreams are - so no deadline. Which is a good thing for you, because I just got lost in the labyrinth!