Fyrd Argentus

The scarab symbol on the right edge of the screen has two projections.  The one to the left shows Vital Energy, the one to the right shows Winertia.  Both are slider bars that show percentage of max in bright orange.  Black numerals above the bars show current and max values.
This is clear on a computer, I do not know about mobile interface.

Click on the scarab to the right of the screen.  It shows progress to date, win/loss balance, heat scars and honor, and some other stuff.

The Dock is the first scene in from the beach, and that is WHERE you got the map.  The map opens other places on the island.  The Aramor Fenth opens more.

Go to your Items Inventory and click on the Correlations button at the top.  This will show you what your various resources can be used to make.  To find out what tools do, you need to find a place that they can be used in-game, to harvest the appropriate resource - or just ask someone.

MP1 is a player not yet launched into the game.
MP2 is something used by Admins, never seen on the loose.
MP3 is the true starting point in the full game.  MP3's can only be fought by MP3's.
MP4 is the next advanced level.  It allows you to get into alliances.  MP4's can only be fought by MP4's.
MP5 is the fully developed combat level.  This is where the majority of players end up if they stick with it.  MP5 and above can only fight among themselves.
MP6 is a "Protector" and gains powers to help their followers.  They need the support of enough adepts, and our population only supports 2-3 right now.
MP7 utilizes some advanced powers to morph their character - very mysterious (meaning I don't know much).  They are few.
 
 

There is one in each land, and one in No Man's Land.  However, access to the ones in lands may well be restricted by the rulers of that land.

Why bother?  You can always get a fresh start with a new character.  The only rule is - you're not allowed to have your different characters, or alts, interact.  If you start fresh, you start at the bottom and are not allowed to benefit from the wealth of previous characters.
People can even go back and forth between multiple characters, but the rule about using alts to help each other is pretty solidly a NO!
Never log in again as the old character, and it will remain inactive in limbo.

Items in the "roleplay" section of the shop are meant to inspire you to develop a character.  They give both ideas and justification for the things that you describe your character doing in chat.  For instance, saying you crash a zeppelin onto the Gazebo of Equilibrium is going to be dismissed by the other players as ridiculous, but if you say "*covers his head with a handkerchief.*" or "*tickles him with her blue parrot feather.*" these things will be believable, and accepted as real by the other players, ESPECIALLY if you actually have a handkerchief or feather in your inventory.  You might also want to work on a collection of things that you fancy, or that define the character you are stepping into.

Most sets of armor do not include all the elements.  Most are missing one element.  The more you match, the bigger the bonus, but you'll likely have to use a mix of pieces from different sets.  Pay attention to the actual things given by each element because sometimes the quality of a piece outweighs the effect of having a matched set.

Very few, high level characters can create custom items.  Generally, you must ask one of them for something specific, including a title and a description.  Usually these would be given to you as a reward for some task you perform.  This will vary tremendously with how much the item supports your role.  If you have been acting consistently in a certain way that presupposes a special item, you are more likely be given that item, more easily.

First, you and your trading partner must get the CTC, or Creature Transfer Code, for the creatures you wish to trade.  Do this by scrolling to the bottom of that specific creature's page and enter the non-robot verification code.   The CTC will then appear and you can copy and paste it into chat, in-game private message, or forum PM.  The person who is to receive the creature then goes to the top of the page that shows all your creatures.  There is a link that says transfer creatures here.  Click that and paste the CTC into the entry field.  If you do not check the tiny box to allow use of one sc (silver coin) the creature will be demoted, losing age, experience, won fights, etc.  If you want to preserve the abilities of a developed creature, spend the coin!  If it is an infant, uncheck this box to save coin.
Beware, if you paste in chat, anyone can see it and use it.  That CTC will be valid until it is transferred to someone else, whoever claims it.  A new CTC is assigned whenever a creature is transferred.
There is a limit to how many creatures you can have.  If you have no more slots, you can buy more in the shop or give away a creature to open one up.
Also, make sure you trust your trading partner, or a neutral third party.  There is no such thing as a simultaneous trade.  Somebody has to go first.

(21 if American!).  So, if giddy role play is not your thing, there are many "items" that are for more than just show.  Using them will cause your chat speech to be slurred for several minutes.  These items include beer, wine, liquors, but also something nasty called Grassan Ferment.  Consuming such will cause them to disappear, though many have a specified number of uses. 
These alcoholic items can be picked up in special locations, fabricated in others, or traded for with other players.

There are two types of PM, or Private Message.  If the character is not logged into the game, the only way to begin to contact them (unless you know them in the "other" or "dream" world) is via a PM on the forum.  This functions much like regular e-mail.  If you know their forum name (which may not be an exact match to their game name) you can send a forum PM any time.
There is also a forum on Discord, again with possibly different.
In-game, you have 3 options to initiate a PM.  If you see a character, or a grey-ed out footprint of where they have been, you can click on their name, then find where it says "Send Message" where their game profile is displayed.
In the same place, you may see the ability to "Add Friend".  If not, you can increase the allowed size of your Friend's list via the shop, or eliminate another name from your list.  You can send messages to people on your Friends list, by clicking on it (below the chat) and clicking on the name.  Messages launched this way do not require the player to be online; again it works just like e-mail.
Finally, if you have already established communications, you can either reply to a message in your INBOX that they sent you, or add another note to a message they have not received in your OUTGOING box.  You can also cancel messages still in your Outbox.

There is a spell called "Acoustic Remains" that some people have.  You must have enough "heat" to cast the spell, and have already set up the words you will use in your Magic menu.  You then say the magic words in chat followed by your exact player name, with no period at the end.  This causes a pop-up window to appear showing the last 12 hours of dialog in that spot.  It can be cut and pasted in the normal fashion.
Be sure your browser is allowing pop-ups, or it won't work.  Sometimes the pop-up window is not "to the front" of your browser, and you have to check your browser's "Window" menu to find it.
If you are hosting an event but don't have the spell, ask a veteran player to catch the Acoustic Remains afterwards so you can post a transcript of the event on the forum.  If none are available, the Admin may be willing to give you a limited number of casts of the spell for that purpose.

This is a matter of etiquette, rather than rules.  Click on the "More Info" button for explanations of the different levels.  This shows what level of roleplay is expected at each scene.  The more public the place, the more you should conform to what your characters can actually do, with the tools at hand, or things shown in the scene.  Failure to conform might change what people think about you, and reputation in this game is sorta the whole point....  Worst thing that can happen is -- Public Humiliation.  At any rate, the point is to have fun!

Get into the game and ask somebody there, of course!  Nearly everybody likes to show off what they know.  Spoilers may not be given, if the discovery of the answer is part of the fun, but you should be able to at least get some hints.

Solving puzzles and winning contests can get you rewards.  Sometimes these rewards are "wishpoints".  The glowing stars in the lower left corner of your browser window shows how many wishpoints you have.  These can be traded in for wishes that increase your power, give you magic spells, access to secret places, or other special things.
Click on the compass and select Wish Shop from the menu.  The wishes available to you, if you have at least one wish point, will be displayed.  As you use  wishes off the list, new and more powerful ones may appear.

This is not something you can do.  You could petition the Admins to do it for you, and if you made an excellent case, in raw occasions (rarer than rare) they might be willing to do it for you.  Some momentous in-game event that would explain the name-change might improve your odds of being heard, as compared to a casual whim. 
Of course there is nothing preventing you from using nicknames in chat, and asking to be addressed in a certain way by other players.

Winertia is another name for Value Points, and has nothing to do with money.
Winertia is more like karma or emotional state - you gain it by moving around (and finding it by LUCK), by resting, and by winning combat.  There is a maximum value, that can be increased over time or in the Shops.  The ability to recruit certain creatures depends on your current level of Winertia or value points.
Money is represented by physical items in your inventory, gold and silver coins, and bank notes of higher value.  These are used for trading with other players.

If you can get people interested in listening to you, you can run a quest.  There are many ways to advertise your quest, and raise awareness - chat, mood panel, forum post, quest docs, and if you nag the Admin - getting into the announcements.
If you run a good (read: entertaining) quest, people will want to participate in your next one.  Start simple and work up.  Don't try something too big to manage, or you could flop and lose people's interest.  You might get help, playtesting, copyedits, ideas, etc. by talking with other people
You can offer prizes to raise interest, of course.  These need not be from your own inventory, and probably couldn't be if you're just starting.  Solicit donations from older players and the Admin.  If you can convince them you know what you're about, you can probably get a sponsor or three.

If you enjoy building up your character and creatures, then grinding forever is for you!  You might be forced to move to higher Mind Power levels and contest with stronger opponents, but there is no limit to your growth.
However, there are many other facets of the MD realm.  Role play, puzzles, contests, and quests, to name a few.  If one of those areas attracts you more than combat, you don't need to worry about combat at all.  No worries.

You have a certain number of "action points" you can use to initiate combat, spells, or move around.  These points slowly come back with time, although there are other special ways to get ap boosts.  You can increase maximum AP through the shop.
If you mouse-over an arrow and see numbers, that is the action point cost to make that move.  The first number is the base cost, and the second cost is the current viscosity add-on.  Very high base costs occur at gates and similar barriers.  Viscosity builds up to a maximum of +20 if the area is untravelled, but falls off as more and more people move through an area.  Even if this results in a negative number, it will still cost a minimum of 1 ap to make any move.
Other things not shown can also affect the AP cost of a move.  For instance, Cartography skills reduce it.  Land loyalty, which is gained by being in that specific land when the server hits 0:00, reduces movement cost in that land only.

Buy more creature slots in the shop for credits.  This can be money, but there are other ways to get credits (read up on that in the shop).
But buying things in the shop does help support the realm.  At present the MD realm is mostly run by unpaid volunteer effort, so every penny counts!

If you put your words in parenthesis (like this) it will come out in gray italics.  This is used for Out-Of-Character chat, to ask questions about how the game works or things in the other (dream) world.  There is a little box below the chat that you can check to make all your words come out this way, until you uncheck the box.
If you put your words inside asterisks *like this*, your player name will be added and and it will all come out as blue italics.  For instance, if you type " *throws the ball.* " it comes out Yourname throws the ball.  This is generally used to show actions, rather than spoken words.
If you add words after your actions, it does not add on your name, and makes the asterisks and the stuff between into blue italics.  For instance, if you type " *throws the ball.*  Gotcha! " what you get is " Yourname: *throws the ball.*  Gotcha! ".  Obviously this is a combination of action and spoken words.