The History Of Origin

[Ghost_Writer]

History of Origin - Guide and Index Part 1

The History Of Origin is a collection of news articles, journal entries and commentary compiled by Ghost Writer, a member of the Origin Community from the birth of the Origin Shard, and a shard reporter from the summer of 2005 through February of 2009. I hope if you are reading this after 2009 it has been expanded by others, this will at least give someone a place to start, and maybe the motivation to pick up a quill and continue where I leave off.

Since retiring as a shard reporter I was looking through my old news articles and commentary and found I have a fairly complete collection of Origin's History. Since most if not all of them aren't even available anymore, I decided to use them to document the shard history in these volumes. Each volume is a separate news item covering each major event on Origin which I have records of, particularly those which are unique to Origin. I did not much history of the Sosaria Story Line that is common to all shards except in a few cases for historical reference points or when they had a particularly unusual effect on Origin. Most of these volumes had been edited from the original News post, reference to recent events have been explained in greater detail so readers at any time with or without knowledge of the references could better understand them. Some of these volumes are new, written for this collection to fill in events which happened before I became a reporter or just simply didn't cover at the time but should be noted in the shard history.

The following is a list of the volumes and their contents for those looking for specific events.

History of Origin - Guide and Index
This book.

History of Origin - Dec. 04 Development Of A New Shard, The Background Of Origin
This volume was written exclusively for this series to document the developers plans for the Origin Shard.

History Of Origin - Dec 04 - Birth Of A Shard Pt 1-2
This is from a Commentary I published on December 14, 2006 on Origin's Second Anniversary, it was not my first news article. I decided to make it the first volume because of it's relevance in the time line. (This Story took 2 books.)

History Of Origin - Jul 05 - Drax'veltos Invades Luna
This volume was written specifically for this series. I had not become a reporter for Origin yet and didn't really participate much in the invasion, but since this was EM run shard event I think it should be documented in our history. The event itself took place around July of 2005.

History Of Origin - Sept 05 - The Building Of The Luna Fairgrounds 1 & 2
From a news article Published on September 15, 2005. (This also took 2 books.)

History Of Origin - Sep 05 - Origin Donates to Gamer's Charity
From a news article published on September 27, 2005.

History Of Origin - Dec 05 - Development of Player Run Theme Towns
Excerpts from a news article published on December 10, 2005 along with commentary written for this series. This was intended to be the first in series of articles on the player run theme towns which could be found all over Origin at the time.

History Of Origin - Aug 06 - Origin Fills the Zoo for the First Time
From a news article published on August 7, 2006.

History Of Origin - Jan 07 - The Forming of The Origin Militia
A commentary and compilation of some notes I have from the first Militia meetings circa January 2007. The complete minutes from the first meeting are in a set of 6 books Titled "Assembly Minutes Pt 1-6".

That is about all I have that I can document, but that covers some of the main events and history of the first couple of years of Origin. You'll notice I titled this book Part 1, my hope is someone else will write Part 2.

Thank you,
Ghost Writer
April 2009

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History of Origin - Dec 04 - Development Of A New Shard, The Background Of Origin

I'm typing this from memory so forgive me if this isn't 100% accurate but I'll do my best.

It was around summer - fall of 2006 that the developers started talking about making a permanent test shard. We had special test shards for beta testing, and we had a shard named 'Test Sosaria'. TS was in perpetual upheaval because any time the Devs wanted to test new code they would wipe TS and apply it there. Some players loved to play there because they got to see all the new stuff before anyone else, however you couldn't rely on logging in and finding your house or characters at any given time either.

There was also a few issues with bugs causing major problems when released on production shards, not limited to but including, hacks, dupes, and loss of items. There were enough players on TS to really test releases. So a determination was made that a single shard would be the target of all publishes, and the inhabitants of that shard would know they were the first to get patches for better or worse. Rather than imposing this on a production shard they decided to bring up a new shard with a few minor rules.

So we got a notice, the plans were finalized. On December 17, 2004 at 6:00 PM PST Origin was born.
1. You must have the Samurai Empire Expansion to access the Origin Shard.
2. No shard transfers to or from the Origin Shard for the first 30 days. (later expanded to 90 days)
3. No advanced character tokens for the first 30 days.
4. Origin would receive all publishes and patches first, Origin Players accept the risk of bugs.
5. Shard transfers to and from Origin will be suspended during every patch and publish cycle until it is completed.

On launch day a hundreds players logged into Origin to start a new life on new shard.

Ghost Writer
April 2009

Footnote:
A big Thank You! to Sara Of Baja who was able to locate these 2 articles to add to this document.

I found this on UOGuide:

Origin

Origin is a North American shard and is named after the original game studio that developed and launched Ultima Online, Origin Systems Incorporated. Origin was launched a day late on December 17, 2004 to roughly coincide with the launch of Ultima Online: Samurai Empire expansion. As such, only accounts upgraded or bought with the expansion were allowed to create characters on the shard for the first month. Origin traditionally receives all publishes and updates before other production shards.
-----------------------
And this on uo.com

News & Support Archives
Origin is Live! Dec 17 2004 6:08PM
A new shard is born -- Origin. The Origin shard is now open to all Samurai Empire players. This shard is a place where you can get a fresh start, claim that prime piece of real estate you’ve always had your eye on, or just rediscover the lands of Britannia. Hurry and be one of the first to play Origin!

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin - Dec 04 - Birth Of A Shard Pt 1-2
Originally Posted on December 14, 2006

The Birth Of A Shard - Memories of a Ghost

'Twas 2 Years ago that Origin was born and I remember it like it was yesterday. That's not saying much, I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday. I've been around Sosaria quite a few years now, just a few months short of the birth of the first shard. I remember when the Lost Lands were found, and when it was discovered that there was a Trammel side to Felucia. I was one of the pioneers to help discover the lands of Ishnar and Malas and the Islands of Tokuno as well. None of those events of past nor even the more recent event of our Elvin brethren rejoining Sosaria can compare to that first month of playing Origin.

Origin was started mostly by veteran players. All of us had our reasons for starting anew on Origin. Some came for the challenge, and that they found. Some came for the vast open landscape in hopes of building small towns with their friends. Some came to be the first to dominate the Champ Spawns of Felucia. Some came just for a change and to meet new friends and get a fresh start. No one was disappointed.

There are two things that stick out in my mind the most about the first month on Origin, the challenge of starting a new shard, and the sense of community and everyone helping each other. You have no idea the little things that are just not available on a new shard. "Got Cotton?" is one of my favorite quotes. You also have no idea how quickly they can become readily available when a large group of players get together and put their minds to it.

I started on Origin as soon as the shard appeared as a choice to log on to, so within a few minutes of it's birth. I started a Paladin because they are an easy character to work with. Started the basic new player quests, again it was easy, and went to kill my 5 horde minions and realized that everyone else had the same idea. Time to start thinking more creatively. So back to the bank I went when I met the first person who was thinking creatively. Fifteen minutes or so after the server came up, someone walked up to the bank in Haven with tamed horses in tow. I'll bet he was very wealthy by the end of that day. With 100 less gold coins in my bank account I was off and riding towards the moongate and heading for a brand new unexplored shard.

Where to go? What to do? Need to build skills. Need some basic supplies. First stop - Yew Farms to shear as much wool as I can carry from those poor sheep. Second stop - Britain tailor shop, even a Paladin knows enough about spinning wheels and looms to make adequate cloth for bandages. Now off to the healer to learn how to use them. To the smith to trade this broadsword in on a katana, then the graveyard, and the realization that I needed to think just a little more creatively if I didn't want to wait in line for the next skeleton to spawn. Back to Yew, only one other person at that graveyard. We didn't talk much but we hung out for hours helping each other when needed but mostly leaving each other alone to gain skills and grab what little gold we could. I remember seeing him in my travels over the next month, sometimes fighting in some dungeon, other times just passing in town, and he always said hello.

That first day as I traveled around I saw not one single house on Origin. Even my first trips through the moongates of Britain and Yew there were none. The next day when I woke in Empath Abby I decided to take a trip back to Britain to use the tailors loom again and see if the city was becoming populated yet, to my surprise there were several houses around Yew moongate as well as along the road from the moongate to Britain. When I reached town I found people trading at the bank. Supplies were limited and most items were not even available yet, but there was a bustling trade of what ever people had to offer, and usually at reasonable prices. People were just being friendly and trying to make a little gold for what they did the night before, or looking to trade a good weapon for another more suited to their chosen skill.

Despise and Shame were where I settled in for the first few days, weeks maybe, all the ettins and earth els kind of blur together after 2 years. Those dungeons were crowded back then, no one had the skills to go into any of the harder dungeons or challenge a champ yet. We were all getting in over our heads most of the time, and that was half the fun of it. The big difference is there were no better players around to help us out, we were it, that Paladin next to you with 50-60 healing was the best you were gonna get. Everyone was helpful when needed, and yet people would leave you alone to work an area as much as they could.

Within a couple of days rune books became available at very reasonable prices and most people were very helpful when it came to marking a rune for you. People were always very helpful, period. At one point while trying to find a rune to Dagger Isle, someone offered to take a boat trip with me to mark one for me, fortunately we found someone else to gate us. Saved me the cost of a boat and a good 15-minute voyage. Another player came to my first house and marked a bag of runes for me. Mages would stop outside dungeons and mark runes for people before going down to fight.

In a week houses were sprouting up all over Britannia. I waited till I had enough to place an 18 and on day 7 up it went. Others were managing to put up castles by then. By day 7 there were also full rune books to all cities and dungeons as well as full spell books GM repair deeds for every skill. Power scrolls were also available at incredibly low prices. Vendors were popping up all over with all types of much needed supplies at prices that were little more than donations. Armor, weapons, jewelry, much of which would be thrown away on most shards, were for sale all over Britannia. We would scrap together the best we could and head off to battle, there was more gold in the dungeons than there was in our banks and we planned on changing that.

Origin wasn't a month old when some fool miner dug in the wrong spot in Despise and released the horde that invaded Britain. With as few people as we had, and the fact that no one had a fully developed character yet, we made a valiant effort to fight back the invasion. Night after night we met to fight off the onslaught, strangers from different shards helping each other survive in an untamed land. I don't believe we ever did completely fight back that invasion, but I do know we have higher numbers on our statue than some of the other shards. Not bad considering there were very few players on Origin with over 100 in any skill yet.

One side effect to the invasion on Origin was banking in Britain. We could barely muster an army big enough to drive the invasion out of town during peak hours, so trading at the bank was not safe. Being that the only one requirement you needed to meet to play on Origin was you had to have the most recent version with access to Malas, we migrated our banking and trading area to Luna. Unlike other shards, Origin has never traded at Brit Bank since.

There was a spell cast on Origin that protected it from the influence of other shards for one month, character transfers were not allowed. This was to give the original citizens a chance to build their characters, homes and their own economy on a level playing field without the influence of years of experience. At the end of a month we had accomplished that task. Our economy was slightly out of balance back then compared to other shards and the spell was renewed for a while. I had to leave our shard for awhile at that time, I was invited to a special shard where we made the first contact with the Elves of Heartwood and negotiated ways to bring them to all shards. But that's a story for another time.

Looking at Origin today and being a part of its community, I still see that spirit I saw in the first month on Origin. Anytime there is a cause the community steps up to answer the call. For such a sparsely populated shard we have made some great accomplishments. We've donated large amounts of gold to the Red Cross for Katrina victims, defeated Drax'veltos, filled the Zoo, and fought back the Ophidians. We helped each other build Origin, and we'll always stand together when it matters to Origin.

So to all of you that were there with me on the first day, and all those that have joined us since, and to Origin itself, Happy Anniversary!

Safe Travels,
Ghost Writer

Update: I first published this in December of 2006, I want to mention that I still believe what I wrote in the last two paragraphs still holds true today, 3 years after it was written.
GHost Writer
April 5, 2009

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin July 05 - Drax'veltos Invades Luna
Written specifically for this history series

It was summer of 2005, around July I think, just after the Britain Invasion ended, the origin had an invasion of it's own. I was testing the development of Mondain's Legacy at the time so I didn't really participate much in the invasion but it definitely needs to be noted.

This was Origin's first EM run event. Drax 'veltos brought with him evil mages, executioners, and a variety of monsters and held Luna under siege for about a month or so. You could do business in the bank and the guards tried to keep the invasion out of the vendor housing area but they would sneak in at times. You could not go beyond Luna walls without being prepared for a serious battle. Fighting went on night after night and many died many times trying to push back Drax and his minions.

Unfortunately I was many worlds away when the final battle took place. But tales have it that it lasted for hours and over 100 Originals gathered to defeat Drax and his army. The citizens of Origin, with a little help from our EM, built a fortress at the south gate and staged an attack on Drax and his minions. Eventually they defeated Drax 'veltos and he was banished from Origin for ever. There is little left on Origin to document these battles, no rewards or metals were even given to the brave soldiers who fought so tirelessly that long night. Sareck Baltos, the captain of the guard (our EM) soon after found himself unable to return to this world and the celebrations intended to mark the event were never held, (see the history of the fairgrounds for more information). I for one, will never forget the countless body that littered the area around Luna on any given night that I did make it to Origin. This volume is dedicated to those fought to free Luna.

My apologies for such short notes on Origin's first EM event. Crystal has told me that she still has her news report from Drax, hopefully you'll be reading her book not mine.

Ghost Writer
April 2009

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin - Sept 05 - The Building Of The Luna Fairgrounds 1 & 2
Originally Posted on September 18, 2005

After the defeat of Drax'veltos Origin's EM Telnarn (The voice of Sareck Baltos below) decided his next event would be a festival to celebrate. His plans were grand indeed, horse races, archery contests, dagger throwing, team chess, plays and story telling. It was supposed to a 4 day event culminating with a reward ceremony on Sunday.

Once the fairgrounds were completed and while plans for actual festival were being finalized, the Origin Shard became probably the least important thing effected by Katrina. Our Em at the time lived in the gulf area, he was fine but without power for almost a month. By the time he got stable internet access again, got caught up at work and on his real life, it was months, by that time the EM program was suspended. Origin never did have it's festival, but we did get the only fair grounds on any shard. Over the years I've managed to get Devs or more recently our current EM's to unlock all the stuff Telnarn intended for general player use after the festival. So some notes on what's available to use.

1. There is the Bag Ball Stadium which is common to all shards.
2. The Race Track. The complicated stairway entrance is to prevent anyone from interfering, you can actually make a lap quicker than you can negotiate those stairs and gates. There are 3 lanterns, red, yellow and green, to be used for starting a race, alternatively we discussed using a wall of stone, when it drops, run. There should be a judge to start and determine the winner and a judge at the far end to ensure each racer makes it completely around the hay bails at the far end.
3. The Stage is there for story telling nights or, if anyone is so inspired, put on a play.
4. Dart Boards - there is a tent with Dart boards to be used for a contest.
5. Archery Buttes - There are several again for contests.
6. Chess Board/Dance Floor, the green and white tiled floor is actually a chess board for player chess. Pit your guild against another and see who are the real strategist in the oldest strategy game in the world, or just have a dance...
7. The Bar - of course anyplace intended for celebrations needs alcohol.

Other items of note:
There are ants on the ground near the vendor shacks which I believe are unique to Origin.
There are 2 trees that require mention and some explanation. During the construction of the fairgrounds one of the Devs, um construction workers, left a chest unlocked with a couple of trees in it he planned on planting the next day. A couple of curious player poking around the construction site found the open chest and quickly appropriated the trees for there own houses. There was a request posted on Stratics and word of moth around the shard to please return the trees so nobody got in trouble, which the two players gladly did. For their honesty the Devs carved their names into the 2 trees. You'll have to hover your mouse over the tree trunks around the fairgrounds to see which ones they are and who's names are on them.

The following is the actual news post I made when the fairgrounds first went into construction. This news article was written when the construction of the fair grounds was just getting started. I have left the URLs of the pictures I posted on Stratics for this article since they are still available to view, simply type the link into your browser.

Strange Activity in Luna: Some type of Festival is on the Horizon

Hail and well met Citizens of Origin!

Twas Friday night after finishing up with the Charity Auction when I decided to go for a late night stroll as ghosts often do. I ran across Mei a neighboring mage I know who preferred to have me alive, she seems to understand me better that way for some reason. We were talking about the recent defeat of Drax'veltos and decided to go take a walk around the City of Luna where he staged his final attack.

As we exited Luna through the South Gate where the fierce battle began, much to our surprise the battlements that were built to protect Luna had already been removed. Soon after we found the beginnings of a stage just West of the gate. Just West of the stage I found a tunnel the workers had built through one of Luna Walls. Seems they've been sneaking out a night to work on this mysterious structure!

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/gw-fst-tnnl.jpg

These findings made us even more curious so we traveled just a bit further South. Just outside the Stadium we found a construction camp with some workers and a Watchman? "What kind of secret project is this", I asked my friend as I approached the workers? Knowing better than to expect an answer from her I asked the Carpenter and the Architect I found there. Neither would give me more than a grunt for a response. Just as Burt the Watchman caught me trying to sneak a peek at the blueprints for myself and was properly chastising me for doing so, the Great Lord Sareck Baltos himself showed up. After having a good laugh at my expense and kindly feeding what appeared to be an overworked pack horse he was kind enough to try and get some information for me.

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/gw-fst-cnst-hdq.jpg

I managed to capture some of the conversations in my journal:

Ghost Writer: *tries to sneak a peek at the blueprints*
Burt: Bad Ghost
Sareck Baltos: *chuckles*
Ghost Writer: hey it's my job
Sareck Baltos: *laughs*
Ghost Writer: I am a reporter after all
Sareck Baltos: *pets the horse*
a pack horse: *looks up at you with hungry eyes*
Sareck Baltos: Oh, hungry are you?
a pack horse: *the horse nods his head, sniffing in your pockets for food*
Sareck Baltos: Well I guess I can feed you a bit.
a pack horse: *sniffs at your offering, then munches it down indiscriminately*
Sareck Baltos: Greetings.
Augustin: Greetings.
Sareck Baltos: Their boss is Milton
Ghost Writer: I'll make a note.
Augustin: He's a slave driver, he is! Makes us work night and day!
Sareck Baltos: Yes, I am sure he is.
Sareck Baltos: I am trusting in the grandiose visions of the Architects for the general layout.
Sareck Baltos: but it should be very lovely.
Sareck Baltos: I hope to get a nice garden in as well.
Mei: Nice that it's Close to the Stadium
Sareck Baltos: *nods*
Sareck Baltos: Well I plan to use the Stadium as well.
Sareck Baltos: It wouldn't be a festival without a BagBall tournament!
Ghost Writer: I see the workers have already begun building a new stage
Sareck Baltos: *nods*
Sareck Baltos: There is so much I'd like to do, we'll have to see how much fits.
Mei: How long do you think the festival will be?
Sareck Baltos: Probably 4 days or so.
Sareck Baltos: Thursday through Sunday generally works best.
Mei: That sounds like there will be fun for all
Sareck Baltos: That is the general idea.
Sareck Baltos: A day for crafter events.
Sareck Baltos: A day for PvP events.
Sareck Baltos: A day for misc. events
Sareck Baltos: And then a wrap up day with awards, fun stuff for everyone and so on.
Sareck Baltos: Perhaps, now that we have a stage, we might even see some playwrites become inspired.
Sareck Baltos: *chuckles*
Sareck Baltos: Augustin, what do you think of Baldwin there?
Augustin: That Baldwin is a sluggard.... I'm always picking up his slack!
Sareck Baltos: *chuckles*
Sareck Baltos: How goes the work for the Festival?
Augustin: We are building the Festival grounds, but the longer you stand yapping, the longer it takes!
Sareck Baltos: Hrmph.
Ghost Writer: *laughs*
Sareck Baltos: Seems like you are taking a break to me.
Baldwin: Break! Hah! You think we get breaks?
Sareck Baltos: *chuckles*

At that point we decided to let the workers get back to work. We obviously weren't going to get any more useful information out them. I thanked Lord Sareck for his time and for what information he was willing to share with me and we parted ways. I was very anxious to see how these pictures came out and to make sure I got an accurate accounting of the night's activities and conversations.

Update Sunday Evening:

The pictures of the stage did not come out well unfortunately so I returned to the construction site tonight to take some more pictures. The workers have been busy indeed. The stage area seems it may now be complete. They have added seating, lighting and planted a few trees as well. Here take a look!

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/gw-fst-stg.jpg

Looks like there is a Festival coming soon to Origin! Keep an eye on the Origin Shard Calendar for details!

Ghost Writer
Origin News Reporter

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin - Sept 05 - Origin Auction For Gamer's Charity
Originally Posted on September 27, 2005

Origin Auction For Gamer's Charity: Virtual Actions with Real World Results

Hail and well met fellow citizens,
I have a tale to relate that should be of interest to all.

A few weeks ago the Avatar Himself Returned to Britannia. This time his mission was different then all the times he has come to help save Britannia. Instead of being summoned by our Great Lord British to help us in our time of need, this time the Avatar came requesting assistance for his world from us. The Avatar first came across Cassie Darksong and he told her about how one of the Great Cities in his world called New Orleans had been devastated by a fierce Storm called a "Hurricane", something we have never seen in our world. He then made a most unusual request. He asked that the citizens of Britannia collect as much Gold as possible and to take that gold to a man named Crazy Joe. That this man runs a special group called Gamer's Charity. He told her that Gamer's Charity had special magic abilities and could take that gold and turn it into food and supplies for the people in need in New Orleans.

Knowing how the Avatar had saved Britannia so many times Cassie Darksong got right to the task at hand. She decided the best way to raise gold was to gather all the items she could get all her friends to possibly donate and to hold an auction. She was somewhat disappointed that come auction time she only had 12 items to auction off and was afraid her efforts would be in vain. That changed quickly. By the time the auction actually did start the number had grown to 37 and by night's end there were 80 items auctioned off. I witnessed the generosity of the citizens of Britannia, some people paid 2-3 times the normal value of some items simply because they knew it was to help the people of the Avatar's world. Others got very good deals on some items which reflects the generosity of those donating the items. At the end of it all, some of those attending simply donated anything they could in the form of purchasing band aids for large amounts of gold. The final tally was 20 Mil in Gold coins that the Citizens of Britannia were able to raise for the people of New Orleans.

Plans were quickly put in place for a second auction which occurred this past Friday. Attendance unfortunately was low this time. Yet a valiant effort was made indeed. Another 2 Mil in gold was added to the effort. Cassie has also informed me that there has also been at least 2 Mil in donations placed at the Auction house. There are vendors available where one can purchase bandages for large amounts of gold deducted directly from bank accounts and donated directly to gamers charity. There are also piles of gold lying about on the floor, if you are in a generous mood just stop by and drop what you're carrying on a pile. Cassie hopes to raise 30 Mil by next week to give to Crazy Joe.

The effects of these efforts has already been felt in the Avatar's world. A reporter from His world by the name of Tom Loftus a columnist from MSNBC has published a report on one of the Avatar's World's more prominent news sites, confirming that gamer's charity has so far donated over $10,000.00 to the Red Cross, an organisation in the Avatar's world which supplies assistance to people in times of disasters and other emergencies. Proof that our actions in Sosaria can have an effect on the world called Earth and it's people.

Ghost Writer
UO Origin News Reporter

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin - Dec 05 - Development of Player Run Theme Towns
News Article portion originally posted on December 10, 2005

One phenomenon which took place due to Origin being started by a large group of veteran players at the exact same time with no advantages over each other was the house placement. If you watched you saw the smallest houses going up in the most prime locations the first day. You also saw guilds grabbing large areas with a bunch of small well placed houses which were to be later upgraded to castles, keeps and whole cities. By the end of the first year we had player run theme towns or guild cities all over Origin.

I had started to interview the towns folk and had planned to do reports on at some of the more well known towns, truthfully I don't remember why only one ever got published. It's truly a shame I didn't capture better records of some towns around Origin, the Dwarf Village in Snakes Pass, the Elf Village near Skara Brae, my own Guild's Justice Town near the Justice Shrine. The theme towns were the most fun because all the buildings followed some type of pattern. There are still patterns in the housing on Origin, you'll find large groups of houses all owned by the same guild. There are a few remanence of some of the theme towns around as well, but with 3-5 buildings left most are difficult to recognize from there former glory.

I did however capture one of the best displays of UO architecture I've ever seen the Vampires Town of Carafax. They took like 10 house and built them to give the appearance of them all being connected. Fortunately the pictures are still available on Stratics so I've left the URLs in the story, just type it in your browser to see them.

Here's the original news article, I have edited it down considerably to remove the conversations and the parts of the interview which were about the guild rather than the town.

Interview With A Vampire (actually a few of them)

It was about 2 weeks or so ago when I received a message sent to all Origin Reporters from Rahkshi of the V*C Guild (Vampires of Carafax), a Vampire and resident of our fair shard. My first reaction was excitement from the thought of other undead on our shard besides the NPC type, (I don't get along well with them at all). I also realized that the other reporters might be a bit hesitant about going to interview a group of vampires. Lets face it, if a Vampire invites a Human to dinner they usually become the main course.

The message was about a player run town on Origin that the Vampires had built. They wanted to let all of Origin know of it's existence and invite players to visit. I quickly set up an interview with a few of their covent and a tour of their town.

On Sunday I was greeted at Luna Bank by Black Feather who graciously opened a gate to the Town of Carafax. We were greeted there by Lord Slinker, Lord Skywalker, and the architect, designer and builder of most of the town, the Countess Deadly Desires. A fabulous architect she is too, this town is amazing. Located on Malas along the Broken Mountains right on the point of a peninsula bordering the Divide of the Abyss, nestled comfortably away from the traveled road behind an Orc Fort. Fitting place for vampires build a home I think. 41o 13'N x 5o 37'W are the map coordinates if you should like to travel there on your own which I highly recommend. There are no photos that can do this town justice, you should experience it yourself. Walk through the buildings and visit their Sacrifice Temple it is quite the spectacle to behold.

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/origin-carafax-map.jpg

Deadly Desires has built a town of 10 buildings that have the illusion of being connected to each other, so much so that you'll find yourself trying to walk from one building to the next, on the 2nd floor. The town is complete with stables, an Inn, Tavern, Bakery, Nursery, all manner of crafting shops, meeting halls and even training facilities where they teach the young vampires "skills other than drinking blood" and much more.

Seems that some of the Vampires wish to try to get along with Humans these days and do not want their only interaction to be consumption, as in the past. That is the reason for building this great town in Trammel, or the "Light Side" as they call it, a place that you humies can feel safe visiting the vamps in their homes. At this point I'll just quote our interview for convenience, at the end of the interview I'll include some pictures of Carafax to tempt you to Go Visit This Town, it is amazing.

I'll begin with my arrival in Carafax.

Ghost Writer: Hail, and well met.
Black Feather: Hello and welcome.
Ghost Writer: Thank you for the escort.
Black Feather: This is the town of Carafax
Black Feather: Built and created by whom you see here but mainly put together by The Countess Deadly Desires.
Deadly Desires: *giggles*
Black Feather: Now i would like to turn you over to the countess for a tour of her town.
Deadly Desires: Yes thank you Feather.
Ghost Writer: I thank thee for the history.
Deadly Desires: If you would follow me Ghost Writer.

At this point The Countess Deadly Desires took me on a tour of a town I'll not soon forget. I was so impressed I spent this last week working on an aerial photo of the town. (Braelynn who do I submit the bill from the Gargoyle whom I had to hire to take these photographs?) It took 163 screen shots to compile this photo, but I thought the work put into this town was worth the effort to report.

The Town of Carafax

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/origin-carafax.jpg

During our tour I did take an additional 50+ photos of the interior of these beautifully decorated buildings but they would not do justice to the work done so I'd rather just encourage you to go there for yourself and take a look around. You'll not be disappointed.

I would like to continue a series on Player Run Towns we have here on Origin. Small or large, no mater what the theme, send me a PM or email me at Not my job anymore dot com. I'm off to find a Dwarf village I've heard about in Snake's Pass and an Elf village that rumors to be near Skara Brae.

Bye for now,
Ghost Writer
Origin News Reporter

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin - Aug 06 - Origin Fills the Zoo for the First Time
Originally Posted on August 7, 2006

As much as I appreciate the plaque our current EM's put at the zoo for our Silver Steed, it is worth noting that we filled the once before, and we did it in a week. This is worth noting because, the fact that there was no possible way we could keep it full, was partially responsible for getting the zoo decay rate changed to what it is today. On the other hand, filling the zoo in a week took the entire shard's focus and a huge auction which filled several tiers including the Steed all in one night.

Here's the news post, again I've left links to pictures since they are still available on Stratics. Enjoy!

Origin Citizens Step Up To The Challenge And Fill The Zoo!

Hail and well met fellow Originals. Tis with great pleasure, pride and amazement that I bring you this news.

Twas but 8 days ago I reported that the Royal Britannia Zoo was in a serious decline and we were down to one lonely crane. That is no longer the case. Over this last week I have watched in amazement as we gained about a tier every night. The generous citizens of Origin have been donating animals and gold at a phenomenal rate. As of 6:00 PM PST this evening we had reached tier 8. We had added wolves, polar bears, dragon & drake, a wyvern, quagmire and other swamp beasts, a reptalon and a changeling to the crane.

Then along came Cassie Darksong and her idea for a "Save Our Zoo" Auction. While Cassie deserves the bulk of the credit, so do all those who donated and all those who showed up to bid. The auction began at 6:00 PM with a full house.

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/origin-zoo-auction.jpg

There were a few purchases made where one could say the bidder got a good deal. However most items sold were bought at over inflated prices in the name of "this is for a good cause". I watched as a dire wolf statue which could have been obtained by simply donating 4.5 mil to the zoo directly, sold for 9 mil at the auction. That's just pure generosity.

After 4 hours of auctioning Cassie finally had to call it quits. It was getting late and with the added annoyance of a few misbehaved and ill mannered participants she had enough. There was even a few items left which she promised to run again next week to finish up what we had started.

Then came the total for our efforts. The Origin community had raised a grand total of 60 million to donate to the zoo. Excuse my excitement but
WE HAVE A FULL ZOO!

http://uo.stratics.com/newspics/origin-zoo-ss.jpg

That's right, one of the lowest populated shards in all of Sosaria has stepped up and filled our zoo in just over a week. That is an amazing feat and we should all be proud. I know I am. And we should all thank Cassie for putting in so much effort to tonight's auction. I would also like to thank all the generous people who donated items for the auction as well as all those who generously purchased the items tonight. And not to forget all those who have been working hard all week donating animals and gold to help save our zoo.

Please don't forget to feed the animals. We all need to keep a steady flow of donations going to keep the zoo populated now. It should be much easier to maintain than to fill so just a few pets a days when you can should do it.

Thanks again to every one who helped, no matter how large or small your donation we couldn't have done it without you. You all make me proud to be a part of the Origin Community. Well done.

Until next time,
Safe Travels my friends,
Ghost Writer
Origin Shard Reporter

 

[Ghost_Writer]

History Of Origin Vol. 7 - The Forming of The Origin Assembly
A commentary and compilation of some notes I have from the first Assembly meetings circa January 2007.

Let me start off by saying this was pretty much a failed project. It never really got off the ground. The second meeting had a horrible turnout and the 3rd meeting was postponed and eventually canceled. That said, it is still worth noting due to effect on the community and Origin's interaction with the Devs.

Origin was a sparsely populated shard even then and smaller guilds consisted of 3-5 players and even the larger guilds had a tough time gathering enough players to fight off an invasion. We defeated the Ophidian Invasion by using Stratics to post plans for multiple large guilds to work different areas at the same time, all the smaller guilds and rouge players just followed the posted plans.

Around the time of Origin's second anniversary Daine and members of the A.V. approached me with the idea of forming what they called at the time a militia. The purpose was intended to be a place for the guilds of Origin to have a form of communication to use for fighting off invasions, smaller guilds to get together to do Peerless spawns, coordination of guild events, and possibly a channel of communications to the Devs. They hoped that if they could could a large enough portion of the population to sign on, the Devs might be willing to at least take our concerns if we were a majority of the shard. Two GM's did actually showed up at the meeting too.

Daine and A.V. wanted to sponsor the assembly but they did not want it to seem bias to their guild and wanted no more say than anyone else, they really did try to take a fair approach. They asked me to moderate the first meeting since I wasn't involved with any guilds and most new me as a fair moderator on Stratics. The plan was to allow the shard to vote on a permanent moderator at the first meeting.

Although the Assembly never materialized, it did accomplish a few things. It gave Origin a better sense of community and the realization that we are a small shard and need to cooperate with each other when it comes to things like invasions or filling the zoo. Guilds on Origin do try to coordinate events such as auctions or in recent history when the Silver Steed naming contest was schedules to coincide with the Taming contest. Players of Origin know that the Devs pay attention to the Origin forums, partially due to the fact the we get first published, but also because we are a vocal community.

The minutes from the first meeting are in the 6 books titled Assembly Minutes Pt 1 - 6

 

[Ghost_Writer]

Assembly Meeting Minutes Pt 1 - 6.

The following are the minutes from the first meeting, I was elected to continue moderating but Shinobi was chosen to take minutes at subsequent meetings so I don't have the minutes from the second/last meeting.

Date approximately January 20, 2007.

Ghost Writer: Welcome to the first Origin Assembly opening ceremony.
Ghost Writer: This meeting is now called to order.
Ghost Writer: First of all I would like to thank the Assembly for inviting me to moderate this meeting.
Ghost Writer: I am very honored. I hope I live up to your expectations.
Ghost Writer: Due to my role at Stratics I must state that I am here as a player, same as everyone else.
Ghost Writer: I am not here representing Stratics in any manner.
Ghost Writer: Since I am participating in this event I will not even report on it.
Ghost Writer: I'm hoping one of my co-workers will take the time, hint.
Braelynn Aria: Star Reporter to the rescue!
Star: *giggles* we are all here, one of us should be able to handle it
Ghost Writer: No casting of any kind, magic, chivalry, necromancy, anything.
Ghost Writer: No Drinking during the meeting.
Ghost Writer: No talking unless you are called upon by the moderator.
Ghost Writer: We want to keep the meeting minutes as clean as possible for posting.
Ghost Writer: Speakers will be asked to step forward and take a comm crystal from me before speaking.
Ghost Writer: The comm crystal will broadcast your comments throughout the shard to locations in Diane's post.
Ghost Writer: The agenda for the assembly as posted is:
Ghost Writer: Name of the Assembly
Ghost Writer: Name for the Representatives, what do you want to be referred to in posts and meeting minutes.
Ghost Writer: Moderator Duration of Term, Until moderator quits or gets fired is an option.
Ghost Writer: Selection of the Moderator, I will continue to moderate at your request, but you should have a choice
Ghost Writer: Selection of the Recorder, Shinobi will be recorder for this meeting. She will post the meeting
Ghost Writer: minutes
Ghost Writer: Spokesperson to EA/UO on shard issues.
Ghost Writer: Diane has done a great job so far, but again this is the Assembly's time to choose.
Ghost Writer: Meeting once a month, first Sunday of Month at 2:00 PM Central, or do you prefer a different schedule
Ghost Writer: Meeting dues of 25K per guild and 1K per individual.
Ghost Writer: What constitutes majority vote of the Assembly?
Aqua-Croft: *raises hand*
Ghost Writer: What shard Issues are important to your guild and would you like to discuss at the next meeting?
Ghost Writer: What type of Assembly run events would you like to discuss at the next assembly?
Ghost Writer: Please start writing your recommendations to those items in the book you received when your register
Shinobi: Aqua... Question?
Aqua-Croft: text color change please?
Shinobi: trying
Aqua-Croft: thank you
Ghost Writer: better
Shinobi: We can handle registration before the first vote
Dark Shade: much better
Ghost Writer: After introduction we will collect all your books and take a break for 15 minutes.
Ghost Writer: During the break Shinobi and I will compile the most popular choices.
Ghost Writer: After the break we will hold a vote on each item.
Ghost Writer: If we accomplish all of that today I'll be amazed.
Ghost Writer: Then again I'm already amazed we've gotten this far.
Ghost Writer: Well this is the end of my prepared opening comments.
Ghost Writer: You'll have to put up with my bad typing and horrible spelling from now on.
Star: *claps*
Ghost Writer: At this time I would like to invite the Representatives to step up and introduce themselves.
Ghost Writer: Please come up as you are called and take the comm crystal.
Ghost Writer: Then state your Name, Guild, and your position in the guild.
Ghost Writer: Then give a brief one or two lines as to your reason for coming.
Ghost Writer: Lets start this off with Raolin Darkbane
Raolin Darksbane: Raolin Darksbane, Emmissary for the town of New Dawn
Raolin Darksbane: The reason I have come is to represent my fellow towns people in their need for their opinions
Raolin Darksbane: to be heard
Ghost Writer: thank you Raolin Darkbane
Ghost Writer: Scriber Please step forward
Scriber: I'm Scriber of Revenants of Britannia
Scriber: I'm the leader and am here to represent 6 korean players at early stage of shard trasnfer
Scriber: Thank you
Ghost Writer: Welcome Scriber
Ghost Writer: Aqua Croft
Aqua-Croft: hail, I am Croft, a citizen
Aqua-Croft: here for observation, and to keep a record for members of the community
Aqua-Croft: thank you
Arcane: I'm Lord Arcane Leader of The Shooting Stars
Arcane: I'm hear to voice mine and my guilds veiws
Ghost Writer: Crystal Cannon
Ghost Writer: sorry I told you my typing is bad
Crystal Canyon: np
Arcane: hehe we see that now
Crystal Canyon: Im crystal CANYON...leader of the guild CCC
Crystal Canyon: Im here to see if there is anything that this organization can do to build the community
Ghost Writer: Anyone else who needs to register now would be a good time to see Shinobi
Ghost Writer: Braelynn
Braelynn Aria: Hail and Well met, I am Braelynn Aria of the Origin Reporters Guild, UO Stratics Staff
Braelynn Aria: I am here as a founding Citizen of Origin
Braelynn Aria: I come to help in any way possbile
Braelynn Aria: *smiles*
Ghost Writer: Cally of V
Cally: Cally, Representing Avatars of Virtue, I am on the guild council
Cally: We are here to promote shard concerns and work for the communities
Lessa: I need to register also Shinobi
Ghost Writer: Anyone else who needs to register now would be a good time to see Shinobi
Shinobi: please follow me to register
Ghost Writer: Shadow please step forward
Ghost Writer: name guild and why you came please
shadow: i am shadow of fff hear to represent my gild
Ghost Writer: thank you
Ghost Writer: Kiwi
Ghost Writer: At this point we'd like to get your topics listed in the books for voting
Ghost Writer: the topics for this meeting again are
Ghost Writer: Name of the Assembly.
Ghost Writer: Name for the Representatives, what do you want to be referred to in posts and meeting minutes.
Ghost Writer: Moderator Duration of Term, Until moderator quits or gets fired is an option.
Ghost Writer: Selection of the Moderator, I will continue to moderate at your request, but you should have a choice
Ghost Writer: Selection of the Recorder, Shinobi will be recorder for this meeting. She will post the meeting minutes
Ghost Writer: Spokesperson to EA/UO on shard issues.
Ghost Writer: Diane has done a great job so far, but again this is the Assembly's time to choose.
Ghost Writer: Meeting once a month, first Sunday of Month at 2:00 PM Central, or do you prefer a different schedule
Ghost Writer: Meeting dues of 25K per guild and 1K per individual.
Ghost Writer: Or when to collect them
Ghost Writer: What constitutes majority vote of the Assembly?
Ghost Writer: What shard Issues are important to your guild and would you like to discuss at the next meeting?
Ghost Writer: What type of Assembly run events would you like to discuss at the next assembly?
Ghost Writer: Please start writing your recommendations to those items in the book you received when your register
Ghost Writer: And turn them into Shinobi or myself
Ghost Writer: Please take some time to socialize while we go through the suggestions.
Ghost Writer: We will now take a break and resume the meeting in 15 minutes
Ghost Writer: after we have had a chance to look through the suggestions
Ghost Writer: thank you
Dark Shade: may I speak
Ghost Writer: yes
Raolin Darksbane: Ghost Writer
Raolin Darksbane: quick question
Dark Shade: I understood this was a way for some of the smaller guilds to be able to interact with each other
Raolin Darksbane: are these just suggestions in which will be voted on later
Ghost Writer: Yes Darkshade
Dark Shade: and accomplish things they did not have the personel to do
Ghost Writer: yes
KIWI: that is the objective
Dark Shade: I see
KIWI: it is the 1st time it has ever been tried on any shard
Dark Shade: had not seen anything about that yet
Dark Shade: and wanted to ask
Raolin Darksbane: my suggestions
KIWI: it will come
Dark Shade: thanks
Ghost Writer: The most common suggestions or topics will be voted on today. along with necessities like dues and
Ghost Writer: next meeting's moderator
Ghost Writer: the rest of the suggestions will be posted in the meeting minutes on the boards
Ghost Writer: to be discussed at future meetings

*15 minute break, socializing has been edited out*
Ghost Writer: Some great suggestions here, but long, this will take me a few minutes
shadow: its ok
shadow: better thurow than fast

*Meeting resumed*
Ghost Writer: Ok
Ghost Writer: We're back
Ghost Writer: anyone have any other suggestions to turn in
Perished: i have one
Perished: please
Ghost Writer: please
Perished: i think i speak for every one in the room when i say
Perished: getting to the point a little fast would be great
Perished: thanks
Ghost Writer:
Raolin Darksbane: these meetings take time
Ghost Writer: point taken
Ghost Writer: in order
Ghost Writer: Name of the Assembly.
Ghost Writer: the only 2 suggestions are Origin Assembly and Grand Origin Assembly
Ghost Writer: all who vote for Origin Assembly please say Yeah
Crystal Canyon: we were to answer all the questions with the books?
KIWI: Yeah
Crystal Canyon: I thought it was suggestions
Scriber: Yeah
Cally: Yea
Magdelena: yea
Arcane: yeah
Delphinus: yea
shadow: yeah
Lessa: yeah
Crystal Canyon: yea
Star: Yay
Ghost Writer: Anyone want to change to Grand Origin Assembly ?
Magdelena: Yes
Cally: no
Magdelena: Sorry.
KIWI: nay
Aqua-Croft: no
Crystal Canyon: nay
Raolin Darksbane: yeah
Perished: no
shadow: nay
Arcane: no
Star: nay
Ghost Writer: Origin Assembly it is
Star: *claps
KIWI: humility is good
Scriber: woo
KIWI: clap
KIWI: clap
Ghost Writer: Everyone has asked they they be listed as their char name and guild info as simply representative
Ghost Writer: me too I'm just getting through this list
Ghost Writer: No other Moderator was suggest so I will be honored to remain until further notice
Crystal Canyon: wait
Crystal Canyon: excuse me
Raolin Darksbane: Yeah
Ghost Writer: yes
shadow: yeah
Ghost Writer: Crystal
Crystal Canyon: im confused here
Crystal Canyon: may I ask
Crystal Canyon: i thought
Crystal Canyon: that the books were for suggestions
Ghost Writer: They were
Crystal Canyon: I was unaware that it was for anything else
Crystal Canyon: as in
Aqua-Croft: votes?
Crystal Canyon: yes\exactly
Crystal Canyon: I didnt know it was for voting ofr selections
Aqua-Croft: they should have been labled " Ballot"
Ghost Writer: exactly,
Ghost Writer: this si the vote
Crystal Canyon: they were blank
Dark Shade: well we will return and see how this develops , good luck
Crystal Canyon: there were no questions s such to answer
KIWI: well i propose GW to remain moderator for the coming assemblies can you call a vote on that GW
Ghost Writer: but if no one sugested another moderator there is not much to vote on?
Aqua-Croft: agreed
Perished: Maybe we should hold a vote on what u should be talking about?
Ghost Writer: So yes the books were for suggestions
Crystal Canyon: but sir
Arcane: the books were more for idea on what should be voted on i think
Raolin Darksbane: if you read the books before coming thats the second meeting not the first
Crystal Canyon: we were not aware of waht we were to "suggest
Crystal Canyon: yes
Perished: i have a question
Star: Ghost stated twice
Raolin Darksbane: the first is setting up protocal
Star: ocne at the biginning
Perished: How is interested in this meeting as of now?
KIWI: i understood we where to suggest on @real topics@
Star: and once at the end
Star: one what the books werefor
KIWI: for 2nd meeting
Ghost Writer: I listed the topics to todays meeting twice
Crystal Canyon: but sitr
Star: Ghost also stated taht the books were to be used to vote on todays topics
Crystal Canyon: your did not say that they books were for the topics you statef
Star: which he repeated twice
Raolin Darksbane: he also stated that the books are for suggestions on the topics
Crystal Canyon: sted
Scriber: i thought he said that
KIWI: well it is fairly unimprtant can we move on?
Aqua-Croft: these will go smoother each time we meet, i think
shadow: yeah
Ghost Writer: i think so too
Ghost Writer: moving on
Star: *laughs*
Ghost Writer: If anyone want's to offer more suggestions pass them along to Shinobi
Perished: As u can see half of the people have left
Ghost Writer: we'll get done what we can
Star: It matters not..this is for the good of the shard, if they don't want to see their home improve
Star: then that is on thier heads
Raolin Darksbane: The reason this is taking time is simply cause people are not reading
Cally: lets move on, changes can be made at next meetig if warranted
Star: Thank you dear
Perished: we have in the last 1.5hrs talked about nothing worth talking about
Ghost Writer: On the topic of Recorder and Liaison there were also no suggestions so for now we will keep Shinobi
Raolin Darksbane: your free to leave at any time
Ghost Writer: and Diane
Ghost Writer: In the issue of dues
Crystal Canyon: uhmm
Scriber: let's talk about dues
Crystal Canyon: i still contend that those are for votes...not suggestions
Ghost Writer: One suggestions was that no should be getting paid for this. I agree
Perished: Why do we have to pay anyways?
Shinobi: as do I
KIWI: so call a vote
Aqua-Croft: May I speak ?
Perished: Yes i want to hear what u have to say
Ghost Writer: That said both Shinobi and I are going to leave anything we are offered in the Assembly Fund
KIWI: ok
Perished: Speak Croft
Aqua-Croft: May I speak sir?
KIWI: may i speak afterwards?
Ghost Writer: This is for all of us and we are here to help not make a profit
Delphinus: may i not speak
Ghost Writer: Aqua
Delphinus: nm
Star: All of the proceeds as I understand should go to the militia for things that we do
Raolin Darksbane: I wish to speak as well
Aqua-Croft: It has become clear that there is no more important topic than getting through these meetings
Aqua-Croft: in A timely manner
Star: such as beating back the ophidians that still rage in Papua and terra keep
Aqua-Croft: i believe that at the start of a meeting
Perished: or small guild banding to do dread horns
Aqua-Croft: the preparer for the meeting should
Perished: and champ spawns
Star: Aye
KIWI: aqua has the floor
Aqua-Croft: prepare books of the meeting topics
KIWI: i understood
Aqua-Croft: and then pass them out
Raolin Darksbane: Peerless and champ spawns are not this commitees purpose
Aqua-Croft: we can easily do live votes
Ghost Writer: IN THE FUTURE WE WILL TRY TO DO THAT
Aqua-Croft: and be in and out
Raolin Darksbane: but event related topics
Ghost Writer: sorry
Star: This is just
Ghost Writer: hit cpa lock
Star: My goodness Ghost
KIWI: can i have the floor
Perished: Speak
Star: he's yelling now you've upset him! *laughs*
Aqua-Croft: i wouldnt want anyone to be turned off
Aqua-Croft: fromt his first meeting
KIWI: this 1st meeting
Raolin Darksbane: Perish you are not in charge of this meeting Ghost is
Aqua-Croft: because its not going well, yet a great idea
KIWI: is just to set the rules of how to proceed
Perished: Hmm forgot i dont have rights in this house
Ghost Writer: Perished you had something to say
Perished: such as freedom of speech
KIWI: at the end of this meeting as i understood
KIWI: we will now next meetings topics
Ghost Writer: yes future meeting topics will be posted on the boards
Raolin Darksbane: may i speak on the current topic
Ghost Writer: so back to dues.
Crystal Canyon: I dont believe there should be any
Ghost Writer: yes Raolin
Crystal Canyon: we are all here to help our shard
Crystal Canyon: not make money
KIWI: how do we support militia then?
Star: the money is for the militia yes
Perished: What more support do they need the us
Crystal Canyon: you support by dontating time
Raolin Darksbane: The only reason for the fee is to provide things for the assembly and for resources for shard ev
Ghost Writer: Crystal Shinobi and I will not be taking any pay
KIWI: insurance money
Scriber: I agree on donation.
Star: and what of the pots,bandaids..and other thigns
Raolin Darksbane: Not personal gain of the leading members
Star: insurance yes
Star: take the void shadow
Aqua-Croft: dues, no, volenteer donation yes.
KIWI: i died 80 times to void shadow
Star: we all lost
Raolin Darksbane: ie insurance for those sent to clear out invasions
Crystal Canyon: dont most players use thier own bandies
Star: ALOT of insurance money
Raolin Darksbane: aids
Raolin Darksbane: regs
KIWI: and i dont buy gold it really took a toll on me
Raolin Darksbane: books
Ghost Writer: The dues will be kept in an Assembly Fund and the totals will be posted in minutes
Crystal Canyon: and pay thier own insurance?
Citizen: i died 81 times
Perished: May i say 1 thing please
KIWI: sure
Star: this is for the whole shard...ppl with money and without
shadow: may i speek on the isheu at hand
Crystal Canyon: how will u devide the funds for each assembly person?
Crystal Canyon: devide?
Star: if a newbie char not scrolled out with all the arites in the game wants to participate
Perished: Giving money i do not mind for events and such but giving money for no reason i will not due
Ghost Writer: the dues will be used for assembly agreed purposed, you all have to agree
Star: we want that person to be able to do so
Raolin Darksbane: not like 25k is a hard sum to come by whats that like 25 monsters of not so hard difficulty
KIWI: YAY
Star: without saying oh I can't I don't have insurance or whatever
shadow: may i speek on the isheu at hand
Ghost Writer: maybe prizes in events etc
shadow: may i speek on the isheu at hand
Crystal Canyon: hmm..how many will say they dont have insurnce money?
KIWI: as long as the finances are clear i say yes to dues
Star: alot!
Star: trust me
Delphinus: stay calm people
Ghost Writer: but no one will be making money off this assembly, it is for the good of all
Star: if you belong to a union in real life
Star: you pay dues...rght?
shadow: may i speek on the isheu at hand
Star: for what?
KIWI: if they are posted we will know no one is making a gain
Ghost Writer: Yes Shadow
Perished: to keep your job
Aqua-Croft: representitives
Raolin Darksbane: Maybe the issue should be the ammount of the fee should be not if there should be one
Aqua-Croft: keep cool
black flash: Kal Ort Por - Recall
Crystal Canyon: I just dont see where they are neccessary
[Citizen]: GW take vote on dues
shadow: first i would like to say we will get nowair if everyone talks at once
Aqua-Croft: if you do not wish to help younger players who wish to join the militia, then say so
Star: I just think that you people are whining over a measly 25k that you can get killing 10 blood ellies
Star: is it really that big of a deal to better your shard?
[Citizen]: good discussion but repeating and Delphinous has tried three times to speak
Delphinus: Kal Ort Por - Recall
Star: That is what we are here for..to speak for our whole shard..our home
Ghost Writer: One reason given in suggestions for dues is to keep only interested people here
Aqua-Croft: your donations will go to assist in keeping the militia going, and events
[Citizen]: too late they left
shadow: secent i paid out of my own pocet and have no problem with paying the dews
Star: to help those who cannot help themselves nadm ake everyone feel like they are a part
shadow: it is a small amount
Crystal Canyon: please dont put words in my mouth Auqua
Arcane: *raises hand*
Aqua-Croft: i was not speaking to or about you, my dear
Aqua-Croft: i assure you it was a blanket statement
Arcane: may i take the floor for a sec please
KIWI: hey guys only speak if GW gives the floor
Perished: I think if every one simply worked with each other as 1 guild this meeting wouldnt be needed
Ghost Writer: So since this has gotten so complicated, We will make dues the hot topic of next weeks meeting
[Citizen]: nice call
Ghost Writer: The amount if any, it's use etc.
Aqua-Croft: is there anyone here who didnt get a book?
Raolin Darksbane: next week ? or next month?
Lessa: may I speak please?
Arcane: may i take the floor for a sec please
Aqua-Croft: a book that was at the moongates
Aqua-Croft: ?
Ghost Writer: next month sorry
KIWI: i got 3
Lessa: may I speak please?
KIWI: lol
Ghost Writer: Arcane
Arcane: ok about the dues
Ghost Writer: then lessa
Raolin Darksbane: what about if we just do donations?
Raolin Darksbane: will that solve
Lessa: perhaps if we fine those who speak without the floor
Arcane: i think we should have some kind of dues so that only people interest may vote
Perished: Writer simply tell people to ask to speak and only speak when spoken to its that simple!
Lessa: we would not need dues
KIWI: LOL
KIWI: id vote on that
Arcane: and those dues should be used for prizes maybe in shard events
Lessa: some of you shame me
Arcane: just my thinking here
Star: the original idea
Star: of the dues
Lessa: you are being excessively rude
Aqua-Croft: I second that--->
Ghost Writer: all those suggestions will go into next onths meeting
Star: was to have some sort of concrete
Star: like
KIWI: or to buy tiers to populate our zoo
Star: okay I want my voice heart
Perished: PLease every one shh for a bit let writer get on with this
Star: d\heard
Star: and I am serious about this
Ghost Writer: we are getting stuck on one topic here
Star: people are more serious about something when there is money involved, wheather real or otherwise
Star: as you can see *smiles*
Perished: QUIT! shhhhhhhhh every one let writer speak i wanna here what he has to say
You see: stone pavers
Star: so it's like...are you really serious about thi meeting and do you want your voice heard, yes? Well
Star: then pay dues
Ghost Writer: on the topic of voting rights and counts. since we have some reps of guild and some individuals
Perished: Writer how about a question/answer session periodicly though out these meeting
Perished: that would solve the problem
Ghost Writer: this will also be addressed next months because numbers are too hard to work out right now
Ghost Writer: ok will do
[Citizen]: one vote per rep like senate - or will never be balanced
Ghost Writer: but some suggestions were a guild gets 10 votes and an individual gets 1
Crystal Canyon: nay
Aqua-Croft: .........
KIWI: i think that is too much
Citizen: nay
Perished: i think every 1 person that votes should be 1 point
Aqua-Croft: that is obsurd
Ghost Writer: again all these suggestions will be posted in the minutes for future discussions
Raolin Darksbane: thats a bit overbalanced
Citizen: i agree
Perished: 1 vote 1 point any one AGREE?
Crystal Canyon: yes
Citizen: agree
Aqua-Croft: Aye
KIWI: aye
Ghost Writer: to give you all some time to think abotu them and come up with better ideas
Aqua-Croft: the citizens, should be able oto sway a vote
Perished: problem solved writer this is a militia gotta do what the people want
Raolin Darksbane: one vote per guild?
Arcane: if its 1 vote 1 person then a guild should only get 1 vote
Aqua-Croft: aye
Raolin Darksbane: not one vote per person
Raolin Darksbane: one vote per guild
KIWI: we need as the assembly to get more ppl involved
Perished: the guild factor should be taken out
Citizen: agreed
Perished: it should be just like in america
Raolin Darksbane: if you dont have a tag on an invite should be sent to make sure they are not in a guild
Perished: 1 person 1 vote 1 point
Aqua-Croft: we have i would have to bring 70 players in here to vote to counter act 7 guilds
Citizen: adn one vote per independent
Raolin Darksbane: exactly
Aqua-Croft: that is not possible
KIWI: agreed
KIWI: so 1 person 1 vote
KIWI: can u call a vote on that GW
Citizen: guild counts as one person
Perished: 1 person 1 vote no guild votes AGEED?
Aqua-Croft: aye
Raolin Darksbane: all a larger guild would need to do is bring their people here and over power the vote
Scriber: may I speak?
Citizen: no
Ghost Writer: All agree to 1 vote 1 person? say Yeah
KIWI: GW calls the votes
Citizen: aguild gets one vote
KIWI: Yeah
Perished: AYE
Raolin Darksbane: nay
Scriber: i agree that 1 person gets 1 vote
Scriber: but before all this, let's have some respect
Aqua-Croft: use a balot box
Scriber: for GW
Aqua-Croft: ballot box*
Arcane: nay i think it should be set more clear on how it works
Perished: Writer could i have the floor for just a moment?
Citizen: 1 vote per rep
Citizen: not person
Scriber: you've been talking without asking permission for awhile
Perished: so?
Scriber: why not just speak?
Arcane: if its one vote per person i could have everyone in my guild vote on what i think is best and is
Arcane: unfair to others
Perished: thats the only way to get anything out here
Ghost Writer: anyone wanting to seperate votes by guild or independant status say Yeah
Perished: ive been setting here for 2 hrs with out being able to speak
KIWI: NAY
Raolin Darksbane: yeah
Perished: NAY
shadow: yeah
Arcane: yeah
Scriber: nay
Perished: 3-3
Citizen: nay
Perished: sone one else vote
KIWI: we have aclose one here
Perished: 4-3
Raolin Darksbane: discuss this?
Perished: so fare the vote has passed
Ghost Writer: Perished I called you earlier, you must have missed it. Please speak
Perished: ty
Cally: Ghost, I believe we need more discussion here
Perished: please every one listen only for a second
Perished: no talking beside aye or nay
Perished: after the question
Perished: who agrees with 1 person 1 vote
Perished: aye or nay
Raolin Darksbane: nay
Cally: nay
shadow: nay
Lessa: NAY
Aqua-Croft: aye
Perished: 1-2
Perished: every one please vote
Raolin Darksbane: 4v1
Citizen: nay
Perished: 2-2-
Raolin Darksbane: 5v1
KIWI: NAY
Arcane: nay
Ghost Writer: this obviously need more discussion
Perished: 3-2
Perished: 4-2
Raolin Darksbane: Ghost may i speak
Cally: If I represent 15 players ean it be fiar for them to have only one vote?
Perished: so fare the has faild
Perished: simple writer
Perished: the vote faild
Perished: move on
Citizen: the senate
Arcane: i would like to take the floor here once perished is done
Citizen: it is fair
Ghost Writer: Yes Raolin
Raolin Darksbane: its not all cut and dry as 1 vote per person
Aqua-Croft: this is a brilliant idea, and the participation is appreciated much, but again, there are mechanics
Raolin Darksbane: a larger guild can simply come in and over power the system
Aqua-Croft: that need to be worked out
Perished: 10 per guild is pointless
Arcane: i agree would give to much power to a big guild
Aqua-Croft: aye
Raolin Darksbane: there should be some sort of agreement
Aqua-Croft: but a larger guild has more citizens
Arcane: 20 member guild would get 20 votes? thats not fair i think
Raolin Darksbane: i believe a rep of a guild should have more votes than an individual
shadow: may i sppek
Raolin Darksbane: but not anywhere near 10 to 1
KIWI: take korh they have 250 members
Raolin Darksbane: that would unbalance it
Raolin Darksbane: exactly
Aqua-Croft: the real dilima comes from this...
Citizen: guilds ahve two ppl here
Perished: whos to say they will all vote the same?
Aqua-Croft: and it s hard to say because i am a citizen
Aqua-Croft: but
Raolin Darksbane: korh could come in and pretty much overpower everything
Aqua-Croft: how about this
Aqua-Croft: all guilds get 1 vote
Aqua-Croft: no votes for citizens
Aqua-Croft: i know that sounds bad
Aqua-Croft: but
Raolin Darksbane: so simply put we need to agree on a system that willwork for the little guy as well as the guilds
Perished: its a militia man that cant work
Arcane: i think 1 guild one vote, not in guild 1 person 1 vote
Aqua-Croft: if we remove the public aspect, it gets more fair
shadow: may i speak
Crystal Canyon: may I speak
Ghost Writer: I've heard some good suggestions here and I'll compile all of them from my journal
Aqua-Croft: meaning me, unfortunately
Aqua-Croft:
Cally: lets take this back to our guilds and submit ideas
Ghost Writer: and next meeting we will hammer this out
Perished: we should simply take a vote on each thing said
KIWI: how about guilds get 1 vote for wvery ten members
KIWI: and independents get 1 vote
Ghost Writer: noted
Perished: large guild can over power
KIWI: not by that much
shadow: may i speak
Perished: honestly i think u should make this a guilded player event only
Crystal Canyon: 1 vote per person and 1 for guild
Ghost Writer: And I will also list oposing ideas and reasons
Scriber: -_-
Perished: each guild gets 1 vote the guild its self picks where there vote lies
Ghost Writer: Shadow
Arcane: we need to make it so no guild has more say then another and people not in guild still get their
Arcane: vote on the topic
shadow: there are many peeps in oregen
shadow: not all can be hear to vot
Citizen: *request to speak*
Aqua-Croft: do we have EM and GM support?
Perished: what about this each guild submits a vote AYE or NAY the guild its self picks where there vote
shadow: i agree for now thow that we should take this to uoer gilds
Ghost Writer: we have GM support but none were able to make it
[Citizen]: i am still number 6
shadow: to argue abought this in the maner in wich we are is geting no wair
Perished: I think my last idea would work perfect
[Citizen]: in the queue
Cally: please let us discuss this with our guilds
Ghost Writer: ah well I was just informed we still #6 in teh GM queue
shadow: we need orginizeation hear one person on the flor or we will get no wair
Ghost Writer: maybe need to start that earlier next month
[Citizen]: let them know they were trying to come in no in game issues to address
Ghost Writer: They (the GM's) were going to try to be here if there were no game issues to address
shadow: i agree but with a meens for one person to speek at a time
Citizen: *reqeust to speak*
Arcane: i still feel 1 vote per guild is fair and its up to guild what that vote is
Ghost Writer: if the queue is that long there must be game issues
Crystal Canyon: Aye Arcane
Ghost Writer: Citizen please
Arcane: and each person not in guild can have vote as well
Perished: EVERY ONE PLEASE I WILL AGREE TO ONLY SPEAKING WHEN SPOKEN TO BY WRITER
Citizen: All I ask aas a citizen of this shard
Citizen: when you talk to your guild
Citizen: consider all of the shard
Citizen: all the ppl
Perished: Please citizen take a seat u youve voice will be heard
Citizen: if one seems overwhelimg
Citizen: no one will bother to come
Perished: take a seat please
Raolin Darksbane: he was called
Perished: Writer alow 1 person to talk at once
Star: Perished you are not running this meeting please let Ghost speak only
Raolin Darksbane: by Ghost
Scriber: yup. he was called
Raolin Darksbane: you need to sit and read more
Ghost Writer: ok
Ghost Writer: we settled in again/
Ghost Writer: good
Star: Ghost you are doing a wonderful job, this was to iron out the details..we need more steam! *laugh
Perished: 1 thing writer do u mind?
Ghost Writer: That abotu covers the ropics for this week
Perished: just to simplify this
KIWI: what are the conclusions
KIWI: ?
Ghost Writer: Believe it or not we did accomplish a lot here
Perished: Ty Ty
Aqua-Croft: has it occured to anyone, that we are willing participants?
Arcane: alot of idea and views are out in open its good
Perished: *raises Hand*
[Citizen]: sumaarize
Aqua-Croft:
Crystal Canyon: yes
Ghost Writer: I think everyone will be pleased when they read teh minutes and next months topics
KIWI: i have a petition for the ppl that have showed here today
KIWI: Please
KIWI: Get ppl involved
Perished: Writer i would like to speak with u out side when u are finished
KIWI: it is their shard
Ghost Writer: k
KIWI: let them know that
Raolin Darksbane: hurry lock the doors while he is outside
You see: Lord Perished [E*R]
Angel: yes please
KIWI: lol
Angel: double lock
Raolin Darksbane: deadbolt
Star: *laughs*
Scriber: he had some valid points nonetheless
Raolin Darksbane: true
Ghost Writer: everyone has
Crystal Canyon: true
Raolin Darksbane: but we have elected/agreed that Ghost Writer is in charge not him
Ghost Writer: and there has been a lot more inpput than i expected
Arcane: now now every one has a say we just need to maybe use books next time write what we think th
Scriber: that's also true
Star: Yes it has been very enlightening to see how many people really do care about origin
Star: that makes me happy *smiles*
KIWI: and tell ppl to come next time
Ghost Writer: next meeting the books will be pre loaded with topics
KIWI: we cant represent origin with so few of us
Ghost Writer: agreed Star
Star: Ghost if you need me to help with those books let me know
Star: my Scribe is rusty and can use the work *winks*
Raolin Darksbane: it will also help if you think of things to say maybe put them up on a message board here
Ghost Writer: This is the first time to my knowledge this has been attempted in all of Sosaria
Star: *nods*
KIWI: in all of UO
Star: Origin has made a name for itself today
Ghost Writer: and I think we are off to a great begining
Star: this is history in the making
Raolin Darksbane: at least we arent in fel i think heads would have rolled otherwise
Ghost Writer: we will document this meeting in detail
Scriber: you guys did great job of distributing the books and runes, but should also promote this event on
Crystal Canyon: please do
Scriber: stratics origin news
KIWI: it was on stratics
Crystal Canyon: lol
Ghost Writer: and all the suggestions and topics
Scriber: was it?
KIWI: it was stickied
You see: bearkly
Ghost Writer: next mothns hot topics will be voting and dues
Arcane: ahh a gm
Arcane: welcome
Star: The shard militia has been in discussion for months now
You see: Sakinthlas
Ghost Writer: Hail and well met.
Star: Hail Bearkly!
KIWI: welcome we were about done
Scriber: not on the forum, but you know the main page
Ghost Writer: Welcome to the first Origin Assembly opening ceremony.
bearkly: Sorry we are fashinably late, we are very busy though.
bearkly: I fear we are not able to stay.
Shinobi: The minutes will be edited to remove off topic items as much as possible
Ghost Writer: Thank you for coming
Star: *laughs* better late then never I always say
Ghost Writer: that is ok at least we can report we have your attention
Ghost Writer: that will go a long way
You see: Sakinthlas
KIWI: it is very important and nice that you showed up
bearkly: We are always glad to help!
Ghost Writer: in establishing the assembly
Star: Very..thank you for taking the time
Star: And Sakinthlas as well! Welcome!
Ghost Writer: and giving it validity
KIWI: actually that red throne was for you
KIWI: is
Sakinthlas: Hello
KIWI: i mean
Star: Sorry need to get a screenie for my report *smiles*
Ghost Writer: we wer just wraping up
Shinobi: thak to GM Bearkly and Sakinthalas
bearkly: We must take our leave now, thank you for playing and be well
Sakinthlas: I apologize for not being able to stay longer, there are many who need us this evening.
Raolin Darksbane: Nice to see gms taking interests
Star: Thank you
Ghost Writer: Thank you for coming
Star: and thank you for all the hard work you are donkig as GM's
Citizen: thank you
Star: doing
Ghost Writer: we are honored
Citizen: for the grace
Sakinthlas: I may pop back from time to time invisible to take note of the situation.
shadow: ty for coming
Star: Have a great evening
Star: *smiles*
Shinobi: You are always welcome
KIWI: we will keep u informed
KIWI: we have things to address to you
Aqua-Croft: lol
KIWI: when we come to them
Sakinthlas: Take care all, hope you had a great holidays
Crystal Canyon: lol
Ghost Writer: and you
Raolin Darksbane: you as well
Aqua-Croft: aye
KIWI: you too
Citizen: you as well and thank you again for gracing us
Star: and to you as well Sakinthlas thank you
shadow: happy solstes
Raolin Darksbane: safe travels
Sakinthlas: Anytime =)
Star: *smiles*
Magdelena: *waves
Star: *writes this down in the UO History books*
KIWI: next meeting i hope we can tell them about the zoo
Ghost Writer: well i guess that makes us as official as we can get
Aqua-Croft: um, kiwi...
Ghost Writer: thank you all for making this a successful meeting
Star: And thank you Ghost for a wonderful job, I know this must not have been easy
Raolin Darksbane: you did great
Star: *is proud of her boss* *smiles*
Magdelena: Indeed you did!
KIWI: and wherever you are
Ghost Writer: This bring to a close teh first meeting of teh Origin Assembly
Scriber: yup. Thank you all for working so hard to come up with all this
KIWI: THANKS DAINE

 

[Viquire]

Development of a Shard- has dating inconsistency first para.(year)

 

[Viquire]

Building of the Fair Grounds- Line 7. The Bar any place spacing.

 

[Viquire]

Gamers Charity-

Last para-Red Cross, an organization(sp)

 

[Viquire]

Forming Origin Assembly-

They hoped that if they could could a large enough portion of the population to sign on, the Devs might be willing to at least take our concerns if we were a majority of the shard.

Redundancy

 

[Viquire]

Great JOB GW!

I have to say I got a real kick out of the minutes. I used to have to sit through that stuff on GL and vowed I'd never do it again unless it was absolutely necessary. I absolutely fell out of my chair when you hit caps lock and the ensuing comments.

I remember almost all the participants, some very fondly, some, well, not so much.

Anyway, thanks so much for all this effort. I'm looking forward to reliving some of the moments Crystal will report on.

Oh, about that therapist...

 

[Crystal Canyon]

August 3, 2005​

Luna Citizens Seek to Destroy the Magic Powers Protecting Lord Drax’veltros​

Last night a cry of distress was heard throughout the lands of Luna as the lanterns all turned a bright blood red, alerting the citizens of impending danger. Elminster Aumar and Lady Sounder were quick to try to enlighten those who were not in the immediate area, that something of great importance was indeed about to take place. Soon, a crowd of angry and blood thirsty town folk assembled in the city and we awaited instruction from Sareck Baltros, Captain of the Luna Guard.

Sareck, appearing to be quite excited as he mounted the stage, ordered us to “Gather the Troops” and proceeded to tell us the news of his potential “lead” on overcoming the treacherous, magic powers of The Demon, Lord Drax’veltros. “As the Lights blessings would show, there is a Mage who might posses the knowledge we need," he said. Of course this information excited the onlookers also and it became increasingly difficult to control the crowd.

“I would call all of you willing to aid Luna, to follow me to the Moonglow Lyaceum," he said, with a sense of urgency in his voice. “There we will speak with this mage and see if she can shed some light on this foul magic." A mighty vow of pending victory arose from the anxious crowd as we set out on our journey to Moonglow, promising to do whatever it may take to protect our precious city of Luna.

Sareck continued to give us details of this great mage as we started out on our quest to find this Mage in Moonglow. “I hear this Loremaster is a teacher of sorts,” he said, and warned us to be civil when we arrived in her classroom. Realizing the size of our troops as we passed by, he noted out loud, “all of these warriors might be something of a shock for a library." It was difficult to distinguish if he was making this statement out of fear of upsetting the Loremaster or with great pride as to the large amount of citizens that had come to his beck and call.

Upon arriving at the Lyaceum, we were a bit less than well met by Lady Alexia Yilvis, The Loremaster. “Can you not see that I have a full class tonight?" she scorned. Sareck immediately offered his apologies for disturbing her lesson. “But we hail from Luna, he said, and we were told that you were a Mage of considerable power." Have you, by chance heard of the Demon Drax’veltos?”he continued, “ We faced him in battle sometime past…but he was guarded by a strange magic. We have come to inquire if you might know of something that might break her powers?”

Having been given this information seem to mellow the Mages mood a bit and she became considerably more interested in our presence. “I can see where that would be troublesome and there might be a way…. but at the moment is not plausible," she exclaimed. “What can we do?”, Sareck pleaded, “it is only a matter if time before Drax’veltos returns to attack us once more.”

Still showing some animosity about our being there, she continued, “There is something we will require before we can break through this barrier of Drax’veltros. It is the Knowledge of the Arcane Tome…but I do not have faith in your uneducated lot." "They may surprise you Lady Alexia," Sereck shot back at her rather hastily. “Where do we find this Tome?”

Lady Alexia, now willing to grant us more information, advised us to seek out Callistra, the Dragon, in Destard. “She will poses the Arcane Tome,” she said. But, she also warned us that this dragon was one of the most fierce and irritable creatures around. “If you invade her territory, Callistra will make you pay … and your group lacks discipline…. they will not get the book.” Still more than willing to defend the honor of the Luna citizens, Sareck replied with conviction, “We shall prove you wrong M’Lady.”

As we all arrived at the entrance to Destard, eagerly awaiting our sign to go into battle, Lady Alexia addressed us once again. “We are going to do this right,” she instructed. “You will listen or I will feed you to the nearest thing with fangs.” Hanging on her every word, we all took this to be the truth and nodded in agreement. We surely had no intentions of upsetting this Mage, for she may very well hold the answer to eliminating the magic powers that have protected Drax’veltro for so long.

Entering the Dungeon, Lady Alexia issued one last warning, “Stay together…don’t run ahead and watch the backs of your fellows.” Seeing the massive amount of creatures that were posed there ready to eat us alive, I had no problem in following her instructions. I certainly did not want to wander far from my fellow comrades.

A battle cry rang out and the fight began. Hordes of dragon bodies littered the ground of the first level of the dungeon as we slowly descended to the next level in search of our foe. By the time we reached the bottom, there were also massive amounts of the bodies of fellow fighters buried beneath mounds of death robes and corpses belonging to ancient wyrms, shadow wyrms, and various Paragons.

At last, Callistra the Dragon, reared her ugly head, promising to make this a battle to remember. A sizable amount of warriors, still fighting off other demons, descended upon the creature, while others remained beside their fallen comrades. Spells lit up the darkness of dungeon, and swords clashed with mighty force and fury, until at last Callistra lay dead on the ground.

The cheers of victory echoed off the dungeon walls as we exited the battle ground and prepared to return home. Still excited, but weary, we returned to the stage in Luna to gather further instructions from Lady Alexia. “I must admit citizens,” she began, “I was impressed with your actions this evening. We fought fearsome foes and by organizing and staying together, you all rallied to the cause.” And then, in an almost jokingly, but honorable manner she attested to the fact, that she would “have to eat crow” for her previous remarks. Sareck politly thanked Lady Alexia and then added, “As I said, I have faith in the citizens of Luna.”

As Sareck presented her with the Tome of Arcane he had taken from the corpse of the dragon Callistra, he proudly remarked, “A tome you asked for…and a tome we have retrieved. Please Lady Alexia, take this tome and tell us what we must do to defeat Drax’veltros.”

Taking the tome from Sareck, she gently caressed the book in her hand. “This will take some time to decipher,” she says. “Oh yes, I see a correlation, but… I will have to let you know when it is finished.” With the knowledge that at least for tonight, there would be no definite conclusion as to the mystery of the magic powers, Sareck bid Lady Alexia farewell and thanked her for her time and knowledge.

Sareck Baltros, then turned his full attention to the citizens of Luna. “You all did well," he said, “but when we set Callistra to her doom, I found a heart such as this one at my feet. These are rare and dangerous artifacts and to have them loose in the lands could produce sorrows unknown. I would ask that if you found one, please give to the guard. Do any of you have a heart you will give into our safekeeping?”

Pagen dutifully stepped forward with the dragon heart he did indeed possess. In return he was rewarded with a surcoat bearing the colors of the Luna Guard and praised for his valor in combat. One by One, Sareck proceeded to reward various citizens with Tunics of the Luna Guard. As he inducted each one into the Luna Guard he praised their accomplishments and thanked them for their courage and generosity in the heat of battle.

Sareck then turned back to the crowd of citizens. “Walk with pride for what you have done this evening,” he said “and let me remind you that the Knights Tunic is not loot…it is earned and if you act as Paladins, someday I may offer “you” to wear her colors.”

With a victory behind them, the citizens of Luna returned to their normal duties knowing that they had indeed served their town well. And, in their hearts they vowed to uphold the Luna Guard and stand ready to fight with conviction, valor and even with their lives, if thats what it was going to take to protect their precious city.

Crystal Canyon
UO Origin News Reporter

 

[Crystal Canyon]

Aug. 9, 2005​

Yet Another Clue as to Overcoming Drax’veltos as the Battle Continues​

Once again, as in weeks past, the lanterns of Luna lit the darkened sky with blazing colors of red alerting the citizens that our valiant Leader, Lord Sareck was in need of our help. Folks immediately ceased their tasks at hand, and without question, rushed to the stage to eagerly await his arrival and to learn the importance of his calling.

The large, over anxious crowd that had gathered chattered gallantly until at last Lord Sarek made his appearance and took the stand. As he did this, a strange silence fell upon us and we all listened intensly as he began to speak. “Greetings, citizens and Guards of Luna,” he began, “ My thanks to you for your attentiveness. We have received word via courier, that the Meer Loremaster, Alexia has need of us…It appears she has deciphered some to the Tome of the Arcanist and she is expected here at any moment.”

The crowds excitement grew more intense as Lady Alexia suddenly appeared in our presence and dutifully took her position with Lord Sareck on the stage.

“Well, Lady Alexia, Lord Sareck hastily began, “What is this news you spoke of?” It was evident that our gracious Leader was as impatient to learn of her finding as we were. “I have been working on the Tome and have deciphered some of it,” she said. “It has been a tough job but I have pieced together some information thus far. And, as far as I can tell, Drax’veltos is using the magicks of the Yew woods to power his ability to shield against attacks.” The crowd stood in awe of the news and began pacing in anticipation of her next statement, hoping that she had indeed come up with a solution to our problem.

“I have spoken with the Council of the Mages on this subject”, she continued, “But, they too are at a loss to break this connection to the blight in Yew and to stop it. We can only surmise that if the blight in Yew were ended, Drax’veltros would lose his power to shield himself from attacks. But how to remove the blight is a question as of yet answered. We may need information and wisdom from another source.”

Lord Sareck did not hesitate in asking if this other source of information would come to them from Lady Alexia’s meer sister and brethren. “ Well, she replied, I have a thought that may or may not get us answers… Just north of the meet town, there live the Treefellows. They are ancient beings and their lore of all things that grow, is deep and vast.” “Treefellows,? Lord Sareck asked with a puzzled look on his face, “I do not know of their kind…do you think they can help?” “Yes, they may, Alexia replied, But…you must be careful not to insult them upon your first meeting. They care little for folks from other realms and may be reluctant to assist.”

Pondering her statement for a moment, Lord Sareck said that he indeed understood and then graciously thanked Lady Alexia for her council “We shall consult these Treefellows, he stated, now with a sense of hope in his voice. And with that being said, Lady Alexia bid us all good luck, reminded us to be courteous and polite, and then departed.

Turning to the crowd that had been anxiously awaiting his response to Lady Alexias news, he now addressed us. “What say you citizens of Luna? Will you come with me to consult with these Treefellows?”
A roar of agreement erupted the silence and the anticipation that had held us there to begin with. “Lead On then, Lord Sarek!, we cried, as we began running for the gate that would eventually lead us into our next battle to stop Drax’veltros!

Our first stop on our journey would take us to Ilshnar, where we were met by a strange looking creature that no doubt was the Treefellow that Lady Alexia had spoken of. As she had stated, he was not a very friendly type but, at the same time did not seem reluctant to at least hear us out. Our commander, approached the Treefellow with diligence, explaining our situation to him and the reason we had come to inquire of his knowledge. “We share a common foe… Drax‘veltro,” Lord Sarak informed him, hoping this would ease some of his doubts as to our motives.

This did seem to lessen some of the tension the Treefellow held for our presence there and he slowly replied, “Yes…I know this name…a great evil that threatens many.” Lord Sarek nodded in agreement and continued, “ Yes, and he has tapped into a strange magic that that prevents him from being attacked. A meer Loremaster by the name of Alexia has discovered that he is using the blighted forests of Yew to enable these abilities.”

The Treefellow thought for a moment before answering, “If I were to have a few samples of this blight from the swamp itself, I may be able to help,” he said. “Note, this blight must be true in form and must be young and new in its power.” “Samples?” Sareck asks now, looking somewhat perplexed. “Yes, the Treefellow replied, slowing his speech a bit so to be sure we all did understand , “Blighted Saplings… new growths is what I shall need as they will be the strongest in their magic. But you need to take note, these saplings are well protected and rare to find.” “And just where might we find procure these saplings?” Lord Sareck questioned. “ I have never heard of such!” “Well, if Yew is the source of this blight, then to Yew you must travel. When you find these sapling there, bring them to me and I will begin my work,” the Treefellow told him, but then cautioned, “This task may prove to be beyond your abilities, but try you must if I am to help you.” “We have accomplished much that was thought impossible,” Lord Sareck assured him, “and if these saplings CAN be found, they WILL be found.”

Turning back now to address the restless crowd that had been watching, Lord Sareck addressed us once more,“ We have our charge Citizens and Luna Guard,” he said, “Find these blighted creatures and slay them all!” Then with the mighty yell of command, he shouted, “Off to Yew!” and we were on our way.

The thundering sound of hoofs and the roar of the blood thirsty crowd was almost deafening as we made our way into the swamps of Yew in search of the blighted creatures. The battle commenced immediately upon arrival and the vast number of blighted creatures was almost overwhelming. Plague lord beasts, Boglings, and Reapers descended upon us as we sloshed our way further into the damp, putrid swamp. The eerie cries of injured creatures and fallen comrades filled the air around us as the battle continued. Our fearless leader, Lord Sareck, stepped into the heart of the battle and bellowed , “I don’t want one single bit of blighted scum left in Yew.” So true to our word, our determined army fought fervently and valiantly until at last every blighted creature lay dead or dying at our feet.

With the battle behind us, we retreated back to Ilshnar in seek of the The Treefellow, in order to present him with the saplings we had recovered from the blighted creatures. Seeing us emerge victorious, the Treefellow stepped up to greet our Leader, and with a sense of astonishment kindly said, “ It seems you were successful.” With the slightest of grins on his face, Lord Sareck, proudly proclaimed our victory and added. “ As I said Lord Treefellow, we are accomplished at accomplishing the impossible.” “ So it seems,” replied the Treefellow, “Yet I don’t see any saplings.” Turning his attention back to his faithful warriors, Lord Sareck instructed us to please give whatever saplings we had found on the foul creatures to the The Treefellow. The saplings were then presented to him by the honored warriors that had found them and the question imposed as to if it were enough to complete his task. The Treefellow, examining the saplings closely replied, “Yes, I do believe I can make these work…Thank you.”

Proudly aware that we had achieved our goal and honored the standings of the citizens of Luna and The Guard, we bid farewell to the Treefellow and returned to the homeland to obtain further comment from our leader, Lord Sareck.

Crystal Canyon
UO Origin News Reporter

 

[Crystal Canyon]

Luna Becomes One Step Closer to Freedom​

Panic once again spread through the city of Luna, as the laterns notified the Citizens and Guards of impending peril. And as the people in town rushed to congregate at the stage, Lady Sounder hurriedly attempted to notify those in surrounding areas, that we had been summonsed and needed to take immediate action.

Within minutes, a large number of Citizens and Guards surrounded the stage and enthusiastically awaited the arrival of Lord Sareck Baltros. While the crowd gathered they spoke of previous battles and began to speculate as to what they may be going up against this time. And even though they discussed these issues, they knew in their hearts that it didn’t matter what the request for their presence may be. They were there to fight for their freedom and would willingly abide to any orders their great leader, Lord Sareck might bestow upon them.

Lord Sareck soon arrived looking as eager as ever to relate his findings to the people and to give his command. However, this time, his words were a bit startling as he announced that the news would be delivered from Aile, the Pixie, and that we should wait for her to arrive with instructions. It seemed as though Aile had been in contact with Leyforinallia, the Treefellow that had helped us out last time, and he had given her his findings about the saplings we had gathered.

As we have grown accustomed to, Aile’s arrival and attempt at relating the news, left all of our nerves a bit unraveled. The sweet, innocent, but somewhat irritating Pixie, has an attention span of about five seconds and even though her constant jumping from one subject to the next did indeed keep us amused, it was also somewhat bewildering.

Although Lord Sareck made reference to the fact the he would rather be fighting Drax’veltos than to be trying to get information from Aile, he stood very calmly as she tugged his beard and he tried with all his valor to be understanding of her character.

“What are we doing?” the little Pixie asked, “Can I have a cookie?…I like shinies.” Lord Sareck, still quite composed answered, “Well if you would tell us what the Treefellow said we would surely know what we were doing.”

In a further attempt to retrieve information from Aile, Lord Sareck then offered her coins, at which she scoffed,” Shiny things!….not dirty Luna money…Aile not looney!” Understanding that this offer just would not do, he then offered her an emerald. This indeed impressed Aile and she blurted out that the Treefellow never tells her important things but did say that he wanted to see the “ugly old human.” “Ahhh…said Lord Sareck, “ So the Treefellow asked for us to come to him?” “Yep yep,” replied Aile, fluttering around in excitement.

With this, Lord Sareck thanked the Pixie, handed her another emerald and instructed her to go play. Aile was of course mesmerized with her new “shinies” and bored of conversation, so she dutifully flew off in search of new surroundings to amuse herself with.

Now turning his attention to his followers and emitting a sigh of relief, Lord Sareck instructed us to meet up at the Justice Moongate in Ilshnar, from there we would travel to the Giant Tree in Yew. It was evident at that point that we had a long night ahead of us, so off we trod in search of the Treefellow once more.

We were a bit more well met by the Treefellow this time and he immediately began conversation with Lord Sareck. “ I see that Aile made fair time…It only took a few days for her to find you.” he said.

“Aye” Lord Sareck replied, then hastily continued, “Were you able to use the saplings to derive a way to free Yew?” He was very anxious to hear of the Treefellows findings…as were we. We had already spent a significant amount of time trying to uncover our purpose in tonights calling and were becoming rather restless.

“Ahh yes, I believe we can overcome the blight of Yew. But it will require an enormous amount of energy and the efforts of many gifted creatures of nature. I believe the pixies will aide us... and I can ask the centaurs...their aide should be easy to acquire. But I am afraid we need the aide of the Etheral Warriors, we must have them unite with us in this cause.”

“Ahh, the Spirits of the Light!,” Lord Sareck exclaimed, “Then we shall journey to their citadel and ask of their aid. Now, is there anything else we might do to accomplish Yew's cleansing?”

The Treefellow assured us that there was nothing more we could do at the present time and so we descended, making our way to the citadel to ask of the aid in which the Treefellow said we must posses.

Lord Sareck lead us fearlessly south through the Meer Town and around the Spider Wood, through the Spider Dungeon, and eventually to the Ethereal Tombs. When we finally arrive, Nethaniel, the Guardian Spirit of Luna appeared before us. “Nethaniel” Lord Sareck began, “ As you well know our plight, we wish to overcome Drax'veltos and his horde. Please command us, we will do all that is required.”

Nethaniel assured us that although the Spirits of Light were willing to help, they would require certain artifacts to accomplish the Cleansing of Yew. “It will be no small feat” he warned, “it would require borrowing items from a certain gargoyle, who is their caretaker. You must get the Tome of Sorcerous Lore and the Book of Natural Truths.”

“And where might these be located,” Lord Sareck asked of Nathaniel, becoming increasingly anxious to get started.

“At the Terot Skitas, the temple of knowledge in Ilshnar, near the Shrine of Valor ,” he said, “They will be with the guardian gargoyle of the temple.”

Noting the information and giving thanks to Nethaniel, Lord Sareck then ordered us to meet at the Shrine of Valor. “We will overcome… the Spirit of Luna is strong
in her people!,” cried Lord Sareck, trying to reassure Nathaniel as we strode off in a fury of restless beasts and warriors.

Upon arrival, and much to our surprise, we were met at the gate of the dungeon by none other than our dreaded foe, Drax’veltos. And true to his character he begins his threats immediately, “If you seek to enter, you will find your own demise. Only your death awaits you on this path you walk,” he warned us.

Lord Sareck stood valiantly against his threats and showed no alarm as he verbally struck back at Drax’veltros, “Bring out your minions, we have no fears. We will destroy your horde and we will destroy you too.”

Drax’veltos then disappeared into a column of fire as he realized that his intimidation would not detour our fearless leader or our determined army. At that point his horde of minions descended upon us and the fighting began.

Lord Sareck lead us into the battle with great perseverance and determination. The battle was bloody, with a vast number of Balrons and Deamons threatening us at every turn. Bodies of comrades littered the ground and the noble among us yelled out to come and receive their aid. Deamons roared in fierce hatred and pain as we slaughtered even the vile they could produce. Finally, we managed to fight our way past the Veltic Horde, and into the dungeon, then through to the temple of Knowledge. There we encounter the gargoyle Priest, Beltano.

“We have come to humbly request your aid,” Lord Sareck informed the Gargoyle Priest. Betlano listened intensely and just as it seemed he was convinced that our cause was worthy of loaning the tomes to Lord Sareck, Drax’veltos suddenly reappeared. “ Prepare to die,” shouted Drax’veltos and he disappeared as fast as he had appeared, but not before setting his own shadow to attack us. Thus, another battle began as we attempted to destroy the shadow of our foe and protect the kind gargoyle Priest. Even though we were still a bit worn from our previous encounter, we fought with great power and eventually overcame Drax’veltos’s
second round of battle for the evening.

Seeing our own determination during the battle, Betano handed the tomes over to Lord Sareck. He had been convinced of the worthiness of our cause and was now more than willing to assist our army in our attempt to see Luna set free.

With tomes in hand and another victory under our belts, we returned to Luna only to be met with another surprise. As Lord Sareck was about to commend us for our efforts, Nethaniel suddenly appeared in our presence. He had come he said, to bless us for our victorious battle and to remind Lord Sareck to keep the tomes safe. Nethaniel, then flew to the top of the
battlements where he began to also bless the new fountain;

Your bravery has won through the night
Your skills all proven in bloody fight
So to Luna I do bless this spring
To know when ill tidings bring
When Luna's threat comes that day
My blessing will show all the way
The Light descend on water pure
So all prepare for evil's cure

After blessing the spring, he returned to Lord Sareck's side and informed us that the spring would glow with light when evil threatened the day, so that the brave citizens of Luna may prepare for battle! With his purpose being complete, he bid us farewell and retreated.

Lord Sareck returned his attention to us and replied with a great deal of pride in his voice, “Well done citizens and guard. We were able to successfully gather the tome of Sorcerous Lore and Book of Natural Truths. Soon we shall see Drax’veltos perish at our feet and Luna celebrate its freedom.”

“Understand that all of you have proven yourselves worthy and I wish to recognize you all for your efforts. But, for now, there are certain of you who have once again caught my eye on the field of battle.” he said, and he called each one of those citizens to the stage to receive a tunic and to be knighted into the Luna Guard. “Wear Lunas colors with pride,” he instructed each as they departed.

When our leader had finished his duties, he bid farewell and we all wearily, yet proudly, returned to our homes. Another day had past, another battle won, another plan in order….and we were one step closer to our freedom.

Crystal Canyon
UO Origin News Reporter

 

[Beldin Brightaxe]

Nae ter be tae rude lad, bar why dae yer huv tae quote everything in yer posts?

 

[Whiskey_Mystic]

My apologies if these bits have been already mentioned.

A few trivia items about Origin-

The idea for Origin arose from the fact that whenever a patch or new expansion was released, it created a chaos of broken features and new exploits across all shards. The simple idea was that if we can't keep from breaking stuff, let's contain the damage to one shard. This is one of the smarter moves that the UO dev team made.

The original plan was for Origin to allow transfers after a month, but the players made it clear that they wanted Origin to be free from the inflation and established power structures from other shards. It was Binky who got the dev team to postpone the transfers for six months and I have always thought that this made Origin a much better place.

The fairgrounds were created by GM Kalag.

The squirrel statue near Skara Brae moongate is unique to Origin and has an interesting story. At some point early in the life of Origin, a tamer left their pet squirrel standing there looking out to sea. The squirrels name was Chipper. Chipper waited and waited for his master to return. Chipper waited well beyond what any normal squirrel would wait. The loyalty ad patience of this little squirrel caught the attention of GM Wolf, who lived and played on Origin. After several weeks went by, GM Wolf urged Senior GM Spada to create a statue in honor of Chipper's virtuous example. The Chipper statue was created by GM Spada and stands today to remind everyone of the steadfast example set by this special little squirrel.

Thanks for Reading,

Whiskey Mystic
No One of Any Consequence

 

[DJ_Sandman]

I Love these Stories!!!!! Please come back and fill my void!!!