How to rouse the sleeping dragon? [The Return of the Knights of the Crux Ansata]

[Bennu]

In April we will bring the Knights of the Ankh back to activity after being virtually disbanded and tossed into disrepair by Dupre and his battles with Amandine.

Wondering how you folks would like to see the Crux Ansata return to activity?

Plot ideas, reward ideas, suggestions are all welcome.


Characters we currently have active:

Sage Nicosaen, a worshiper of Oblivion and Void.

Danica/Charlotte Amandine, called "Amandine" - Commandant of the Crux Ansata.

Adamu Wellings turned politician from Sage.

 

[Faeryl]

I really don't have any major ideas at the moment, but I will say that I'd really, really love to see more puzzles like the adgangskode books from back in the beginning... Something that could get us thinking and working together both in game and on the forums for the fun of it, like we used to, instead of everyone being secretive and keeping things hush hush and simply doing their own thing with the sole intention of reaping the reward. Or on the flip side, skipping over the whole story and gating everyone to the end...

And that's one thing that irks me... This is just me ranting (in general, meaning nothing against you Bennu), I tried to do the mini quest for the goose last night with some of my guild, and no sooner had we started speaking with the oracle than people began opening gates to the finish. I would love to see future oracles placed somewhere... less Luna. There's too much confusion there to follow what the oracle says, and it would be nice to be able to get through it without people spoiling the fun.

 

[Queen Arya]

One of your top events Bennu was when Addie was a lil boy and we helped nurture and watch him grow to an amazing mage (almost King)
The player interaction with that arc was amazing. ( bring an off spring from that big blue dragon into a story arc and lets protect it thru stages of its young life and watch it grow)
Helping Charlotte to be released from the demons grasp was next at being tops (my opinion)
I do believe there are still missing ouroboros members (love the clues being placed and interacting with UO history)
An idea with the sashes as a Crux Knight-have everyone start with a sash that has a timer on it (from a clicky) and going up thru the ranks by being present for certain period of time then change the Crux gear as promotions
I would love to see more pirates and boat usage (has to be some kind of UO history in that)
Of course every player has some sort of special animal-craft-gear-etc (this is where Toads come in for me) that they would love to see interact in the game
All thru October when gathering the Halloween masks is one of my favorite times of year-I love to wander the pumpkin patches for hours hoping to collect every mask.
That Court trial for Danica was truly difficult- but I recall the player interaction there was outstanding
Theres always the possibility of making teams (Crux regiments) giving each team a goal or point to reach
Of course having Mesanna pop in at any event adds to the excitement.
I do wish all the players would interact more here on the forums-One of the best events was that 5 or 6 page post we had going-Maybe add points for signing in here and interacting?
Just some thoughts-Did I mention Toads? :}

 

[Alexander of ATL.]

*you hear a mild scream coming from darkness*

Danica awakes in the dead of night, terrified of the many dreams that keep appearing to her. Distraught, she takes a midnight walk along the ocean side of Moonglow. She finds a comfortable looking rock, cooled by the ocean breeze. Taking a seat, she keeps thinking of the nightmare that keeps coming to her at night. Tears began to fill her eyes, as she knows what must be done but hates the idea of it.

Looking out into the sea, Danica notices a dolphin swimming in the cool summer waters. The Dolphin begins calling out to it's friends in a tone not most would recognize. Jumping, playing, splashing, all of them enjoying the many wonders of this cool summer night. Danica feels somewhat jealous; a life so free, free of all the wars, terrors, and nightmares. A life where you don't have to worry about dieing, or loosing a friend, or even the decision to take someones life. Somewhat sobbing now, she tries to recoup herself, but with little success. She knows what must be done.

"But can I do it?" she asks herself repeatedly throughout the night.

****


.... And Danica drifts off back to sleep, where she has a less terrifying dream.



"Lady Amandine Danica, why must you do this constantly. You have proven yourself many a time and yet you still torture yourself." a familiar voice says

"What... who.. who's there?" Danica asks

"You know who I am, Who I was, Who I am today" the person says

Danica, scared but somewhat at peace pulls out her sword, Caliburn. "Reveal yourself, or forever regret it!"



Moments pass and nothing happens. Danica swings back her sword and strikes the stranger. To her surprise, nothing happens. The man didn't budge, the blade didn't slice through, and the man says nothing. Moments pass, Danica confused as ever, until she herd a sound, something glass would make when broken. She looked at the man, his face hidden by a shroud made of silk. Then she looks down at her weapon, noticing cracks within the blade. Deeper and deeper the cracks begin to grow, and grow even more. Until, the blade shatters into hundreds of pieces, falling to the floor. Danica is more scared than ever, a since of danger sweeps over her and she begins to panic. She turns to run, but is unable to move. Time itself stood still, as if it didn't exist.

 

[Alexander of ATL.]

The man took off his hood, and revealed himself to Danica. Sudden tears begin covering her sleepless face. She felt a degree of relief, but at the same time fear.


"I..I..I'm sorry... My Lord" says Danica in a shaky voice, with tears flooding her face.

"Once more, you have proven to not trust anyone but yourself!"
"Open your eyes, Open your heart. You are being controlled by your sister, by Evil!"
"You know what must be done, now DO IT!" The Time Lord Bellows at her.

Danica looks up, speechless. She knows he right, but also disagrees with him.



"But She is MY Sister!!!!!!" She yells at him

"She WAS your sister. Not anymore. You inherited her earthly soul, not her spiritual soul. You are one with the demon, Sapkbreu." replies The Time Lord

"But... I can't!" Danica insists

"Then you will die... along with the rest of your knights"....... The Time Lord says, with a depressing tone in his voice.



****

Danica awakes once more, knowing the 'dream' she just had, was everything but a dream. A vision, if nothing else. Dawn is about to approach, the dolphins nowhere in sight. She sits up, Caliburn still at her side. She starts her journey back to her cabin, when out of no where, a letter falls from her chest onto the ground. Scared to open it, she tucks it into satchel and continues her journey. Approaching the town center, she notices a man being thrown out of the Tavern.

"Who would be in a tavern this early?" she wonders to herself

After picking up some parchments and some ink from the Town center, she continues to travel back to her cabin. Suddenly, she feels a great amount of pain and realizes she has just be knocked down by an on coming pedestrian.

"Figures... dealing with demons and Lords at night... and scums in the day" mutters Danica as she sweeps all the dust and twigs off.

Not realizing the letter that was addressed to her had fallen out onto the ground, she opens the door to her house, enters, then slams it shut.



*Later that evening, a stranger notices the parchment laying in the grass. He picks it up, noticing it belongs to a women named "Danica Amandine" from a weird sender he hasn't heard of before, "Charlotte". Knocking on the door thrice, the man has came to the conclusion no one is home. Deciding weather to leave the letter at the door, or opening it, the man takes a moment a thinks.*

"Maybe it contains a parchment for gold, or shillings." the man whispers

Being a broke fisherman, and holding a letter addressed to a Knight Captain could mean riches. He secretly opens the letter and begins to read. A terrifying stare crosses the mans face, as he quotes some lines written in this parchment.

"Comes by night, and by day.
We come to seek our pray.
My name is feared by most.
I'm coming to kill you, my host!
Hear me now, hear me soon.
For I come on the monthly full moon.
To kill you now, and forever more.
Here's a warning, don't open your door."

The man drops the letter, and runs for his life. For he has read the letter sent by Sapkbreu himself, to Danica Amandine....

What happens now... is a mystery..

 

[Alexander of ATL.]

Basically what I'm proposing is the final exorcism of Danica's twin sister, whom is inside Danica herself. Charlotte, whom is one with Danica, is still possessed by the demon, Sapkbreu. And is turning Danica evil too, which she is resisting. If he can't turn her evil, he wants to kill her so he can control her body fully, hence a full possession.

 

[Faeryl]

Hey, I reposted this over on the RP1/ETC boards in an attempt to get more feedback for you, and here's the response I got from Judas D'arc:

1) I wouldn't presume to suggest specific story ideas because I think Bennu probably has a million of his own, but I would love to see more stuff dealing with politics, and include more appearances from Blackthorn and the throne. I really enjoyed the initial wave of Blackthorn events, but feel that he sort of vanished after all of that effort to crown him. Either way, I feel like it's still up in the air what kind of king he's going to be. I'd also like to see the resolution of some outstanding story lines, such as the Humanist stuff that was started last fall, and I hope the current Oblivion stuff doesn't get sidelined.

2) Although I never had a character that joined the Crux Ansata, I would love to see them return to activity. I'm also curious to see how they evolve now that we're no longer under martial law, but with an actual king. Lastly, I'd love to see more consequences when Crux Ansata members do things like slaughter innocent time travelers. As knights and a force for good, they should have a certain code of conduct to live up to. Similarly, there should probably some sort of opposing group for more evil-inclined characters.

3) I don't care about rewards, my interest is in the story and interaction.

4) I miss random Bennu appearances that aren't tied to announced events. Danica and Adamu used to pop up at ARPC tavern night and it was cool. I remember running into Sherry the mouse one time in Britain randomly. And one of my favorites was when the Atalan gave Adamu, Judas, and Ditto a tour of their home area. It was totally unscripted and came about solely due to the character interaction, and I really enjoyed it. Sort of reminded me of the old seer/RPC stuff from way back in the day.

5) I'd also like to see less whining and idiots spamming at EM events, but I realize that Bennu has very little control over that