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Sam was created to join the alchemy guild. That was pretty much it. A medicine man barbarian that could mix herbs and do archaeology. She ended up being a little bit more and less at the same time.

She came from a small farming village somewhere in the lost rings, she couldn't recall which one exactly, if she ever knew. She missed the simple days before the ring wall but found she had an affinity for fighting with her hammer. Her hammer would end up being her prized possession. She succeeded in being a fly on the wall and would ferry rumors and tidbits of info she heard back to Gers, thinking she was helping keep a friend safe and innocent that he was doing any wrong. She became an active member of the alchemists guild and was even managed to get to voiced status.

I had more fun playing Sam and barbarian than I expected I would and will miss playing her.  I'd post screenshots but have no clue how to on this new forum page

To Mr. Gers,

We had spoken at the Soulk briefly about herbalism and you said you would be able to help me learn where to acquire ingredients for the craft.  I would still like to speak with you more at length about these matters and learn how to craft herbs with the ingredients of the desert. Unfortunately it seems that our paths haven't crossed since then.  Please write me back to let me know when an ideal time to meet with you would be.

Toodles,
Sam

Dear members of the order,

I have cleaned up my notes from the second moot.  Notes on the history of  Mt. Kulkund still in process. If at any time you wish to see my current notes let me know.

Kali Qingwyn

[Attached to the letter is lengthy parchment of notes from the meeting]

Dear Arterian Lunesco,

I read about your need for research assistants. I am a licensed archaeologist with expert treasure finding skills and trained archaeology skill.  I am proficient in identifying and reading several ancient languages as well.  Other skills include bow proficiency, ability to identify and use magic scrolls and devices.  Willing to toss water should the venture become dangerous.  Please let me know if you wish to meet. I would off course like to know what you are studying before I sign any agreements.

I thank you for your consideration,

Kali Qingwyn

[the pages of the journal are pages of notes, and sketches, mostly of the various ruins of the desert]

Dear Aji,

I have seen your notices seeking others for an expedition. I am not sure I have exactly the skill you seek but I am interested for sure.  My main skill is in archaeology. I have trained long and hard to be able to notice things in the dust that most would miss. I am also proficient in ancient languages, and an archer.   I am a licensed archaeologist from the scribes as well.   

Feel free to meet with me or call for me should you go out for an expedition again. 

Archaeologist  Kali Qingwyn

Flyers start to go up around the Well in prominent locations

ARCHAEOLOGIST SEEKING LIKE MINDED FOLKS
I seek to find others who wish to explore this strange land,
find lost and ancient knowledge and relics,
and to share the spoils and stories of adventures with good folk.

I have highly trained and keen elven eyes, and am proficient at several ancient languages.

If you similarly wish to uncover the mysteries of this place,
feel that knowledge should be freely available to all who seek it and not guarded behind walls of academia,
or are just looking for good company to travel with
send for or write Kali Qingwyn

Throughout the city a short thesis starts to appear. The text is accompanied by numerous sketches of obelisk and glyphs

On the Nature of the Obelisk

A thesis on the architecture of Ephia's Well
by scholar and archaeologist Kali Qingwyn

All throughout Ephia's Well obelisks can be seen.  To the humble observer these four sided pillars that come to a point at the top could be mistaken as merely a part of the vernacular architecture or decoration, but I would like to assert that they are clearly more than that. 

The obelisk is a four sided pillar that has two discernible parts, a bottom section that makes up the main body  and a smaller pyramid point at the top. Freestanding obelisks tend to be about 6- 8 meters in height with the top portion being anywhere from a half meter to two meters. There are two different types of freestanding obelisks in the Citadel. The first has a slanted pyramidal base with a smaller top portion, made of a soft yellow stone and almost completely covered in glyphs. The other has more square base made of a harder grey stone and has sections of glyphs. The pyramidal ones appear to be more weathered. Perhaps these were built first from a softer sandstone, and then the shape was improved upon when harder stone was found and sourced.

While the construction of these monuments in and of themselves is fascinating one must wonder if they have purpose. The prominence of the obelisk to the dwelling cannot be denied. They are some of the first examples of the city's architecture one sees as they flank the overlook to the city. Then when one enters the city through the pyramid in the main lobby four obelisks form a courtyard in the center, and with  similar arrangement around the statue of the Pilgrim in the Plaza.  They are built onto the roofs of the city buildings and seen all over.

   Perhaps the most interesting ones are the multiple obelisks that line the way to the Eagle Mount and the halls of the Q'Tolip. One who is verse in glyphs and pictographs will recognize that these obelisks are carved with constellations and stars. At the very top of the stair to Eagle Mount upon the platform there are three Obelisks arranged in a triangle. The prominence of the obelisk, especially at the astronomer's university, and the glyphs carved into the sides of the obelisk suggest that the obelisks are built towards the celestial, that they are an attempt to reach the stars. It is possible that they go further though, that these monuments actually harness the magic of the stars.

Greetings. I figured I would make this little thread to gush about all the iconography drawn from Real world ancient cultures on the new server for any others who are fascinated by them like I am. And so I don't break anyone's immersion by breaking into long winded ooc gushing about it.  As many of you probably know I am a real world museum professional who studied archaeology so this current iteration of EFU is like catnip to me.

I plan to go into more detail about some specific buildings in the main hub. To avoid spoilers I will only be talking about areas that are easily accessible to all PCs, and not go into anything that is in quest areas or in areas where you might need to be higher level to go. 

My initial observations:

The setting textures are heavily ancient Egyptian but there is iconography drawing inspiration from other middle eastern, Mediterranean and eastern cultures.  The main wallpaper of the setting features a series of Egyptian hieroglyphs. I have not yet spent enough time look at them to see if they repeat or if they are unique, and if they are taken from actual Egyptian text. The hieroglyphs on the obelisks feature cartouche that would indicate a name of a specific person. The lion mosaics around the buildings in the main plaza are a bit baffling to me at the moment. They look very familiar. They are similar to roman style mosaics but not quite, maybe Aegean? I need to do some research to say for certain.

Lalena Steele began life in the rings as an awoken with no memory of where she came from or her life before, only a desire for knowledge.
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  In order to gain this knowledge she knew she would need aide and sought an apprenticeship, and was soon taken into one by Fabian Winespill and brought into House Velstra.   In the house she gained many friends and grew her magic, fought in two wars under the house's banner, and even tried to lead the house for a time.
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From the beginning though it became clear that she was a woman of divided loyalty often feeling pulled between her love and loyalty to her house and housemates and her friends outside the house. More often than not her friends won out, and she spent much of her early days in Velstra avoiding responsibility and house meetings in favor of goofing around with friends, more often than not with fellow awokens Diethard Cholers, who was banned from the vale, and Mebril Keteel.  Lalena and Diethard eventually started a courtship that would evolved into a engagement that would lead to her requesting a release from Velstra to join her closest friends in House Blackhearth. 

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Lalena did a lot, a lot more than I ever expected from a first PC. She was part of four different ringrunning crews, the velstrans, the foragers, the band of the broken groat, and blackhearth, starting back when 88 was the first ring to solve and getting all the way to Ba'zeel eventually.  She competed in the kings tournament, finding a natural talent (due to my ineptitude at clicking red at the time) for jousting. She was part of more groups than can be listed both as I can't remember them all and spoilers. Some I can list include the two houses, and she was Runekeeper for the Skratti for the time, after following the religion loosely for most of her existence in the rings.
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The most important thing and the reason I kept her around for ten months despite all the road bumps, and changes for her, was the friends. Lalena was rich in friends thoughout her life. Friends that inspired her, protected her, and even sometimes told her when she was being an idiot. Eventually though all the trauma's she'd been through-- being kidnapped three times in her life, losing a part of soul, losing countless friends, and just constant violence witnessed defenseless to stop it-- took a toll on her (and my) soul, and so it became time to retire her.  I imagine now that she has reached Ba'zeel she is likely working with Fabian to finish her magical studies or has gone to find wherever Diet lingers in the rings to spend time with him, possibly running through the rings between the two forever divided by her desire to gain more knowledge and to be with her beloved.  Thank you to everyone who helped to make my first PC a good one. Special shout outs to Ramc and Moth for being her partners in crime and just about everything else,  Karpie and Ecthelidel for taking Lalena under their wings at first and showing me the ropes, and to Diablo of course for introducing me to this strange world. 

[hide=Time with Friends]






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So there is a problem: the major houses have gone from inactive to effectively dead.  I know I am certainly part of the problem (deflecting to join a minor house).   So I'm posting this thread to brain storm ways to revitalize the major houses and the ward.  Maybe we are just generally in a slump right now and when summer winds down and people have more time for video gaming things will pick back up, but in case they aren't I would like to brainstorm various player and possible DM assisted avenues to inject new life into the main social and shopping hub for the server.  A vibrant and active ward is one of the most sure ways to ensure people are engaging with DM and player plots  in my experience.

Possible solutions:

1.  A Peerage prelude:  Some sort of house exclusive plot where those who sign-up get their house gear for free, maybe even some special piece of house gear.  I would imagine the prelude for each house would be and should be exclusive to each house and play off mysteries and intrigue in the house.  For Vesltra it could be that Lord Norbert is dying and time for the heir to be decided must come. Will it be his favorite daughter? Will it be the Red Lion? Or maybe the power mad Ruul will try to murder his siblings to claim the title of lord for himself.  You could have retainers have to pick a side and cause internal house strife as the ward anxiously watches the power struggle.   
Don't have as strong of ideas for the other houses as I am not as familiar with them, but you get the idea. 

2. Maybe activate the lands each of the houses hold more.  I think all the major houses, outside of maybe Moonspear, hold some sort of lands outside the ward.  These could be activated to create interesting house plots or new ways to engage with the houses and possibly tied into the first suggestion.  Also giving perks for these lands exclusive to retainers, like Orzans  not needing to pay to sleep in 92, or Velstrans not needing to pay to stay at the Velvet, might draw people in.

I am getting stumped on ideas for more player driven ways to increase house activity.  If I was good at recruitment and creating house plots I would probably still be in a major house. If people have ideas post them.

Ultimately the setting is most fun when there are lots of active factions all playing off each other.