First Edition 08/29/2010
The Chronicle
Contents
Letter from the Editor
I'd like to first thank every player on Chronicles of Ivalice: Emberstrand for being so patient with our development team this last year as we've tried to get things up and rolling. It's not easy playing on an alpha game in which there are barely systems to tinker with, information still being posted as quickly as it can, and of course real life interfering with a lot of Dev Team's lives'.
Secondly, I'd like to thank my fellow staff members for being patient with me and not considering me a complete lunatic for creating a newsletter for our game. I pitched the idea to them, wanting players to be able to submit fiction pieces, fan art of Emberstrand, interviews with our staffers, and even just friendly reminders for players to keep a look out for.
As our Public Relations guru and Adjudicator of Chronicles of Ivalice: Emberstrand, I want to welcome everyone to the game and wish you all many great stories to add to our great book. Enjoy the plots that may come, the characters' lives growing and changing, and most of all, enjoy having fun with each other.
--Rebecca
rebecca@coimuck.com
Calendar of Events
2 Sep 2010: Q & A Session
9 Sep 2010: Q & A Session
16 Sep 2010: Q & A Session
23 Sep 2010: Q & A Session
30 Sep 2010: Q & A Session
Meet the Staffer: Minion
You'll be seeing these every week of publication, readers. If you have questions for your staffers, drop me a mail and I'll sit them down in an interview for them. --Rebecca
Rebecca: I'd like to say thank you for sitting down for this 'Meet the Staffer' interview.
Minion: Always a pleasure, Becca.
Rebecca: So when did you start playing and what made you first decide to start playing text-based games?
Minion: I was actually at community college at the time, and a couple of people I'd met in a psych class were talking about MUDs. They showed me where it was from the library terminals, and it was all downhill from there. I like the format because you're not pegged in by preset looks for characters. You make who you envision in your mind.
Rebecca: What made you want to become a staffer on Chronicles of Ivalice?
Minion smirked a bit. The story, or the summary?
Rebecca: A summary. We know -what- caused us all to come here, but to clarify, what made you stay on as a staffer?
Minion: I stayed on because I wanted to see what it was like for a place like this to go from the ground up. To be someone there to actually help shape it. To have some pride in it, and to know I helped create something other people enjoy. I also stayed because once things get going, I want to play here... it's like helping to build a playground, and I'm not going to just sit back and watch. I'm going to try out the slide and the swings for myself. There's a lot of good players out there on the grid already... and I don't want to lose that feeling they'll get, I hope, from being here.
Rebecca: In recent weeks, Chronicles of Ivalice has seen an influx of players. How has that changed your style of handling both players and staff tasks?
Minion: It's put a lot more emphasis on getting the work done. On theme issues, generating Abilities for Jobs to be tested and vetted... but also it's a great reminder of why we started this place. Fun.
Rebecca: And with that, what is your current project that you're working on in staff? Could you describe it for our readers?
Minion: I'm actually juggling a few different project right now. My main one is with the Abilities and Jobs design team, which consists of Kioshi, Legion, and myself. We're working on getting all the Abilities codeable, and with descriptions on the wikipage so that when it comes time for it to be input, half the work is done. On the Theme side of things, I've been working on technology theme. As was seen with the posting on Firearms, I'm hoping to collaborate with a couple players to generate the theme for Airship technology.
Rebecca: So, what advice do you have for our players on Chronicles of Ivalice?
Minion: Your input is always appreciated. If you have an idea, don't be afraid to send it to one of us. We're not the type to point and laugh, or make you feel dumb. Because there are no bad ideas. Some of them might even get into the game depending on how good it is. That's the great thing about a MUCK in development. There's a chance for anyone to make their mark.
Laws of Old
His breath was hot, in the darkness of the night. His skin, clammy, garments soaked with sweat, the smell of fear and pain and terror, evident even to her relatively dull nose, overpowering the pervasive coppery tang of blood.
"Please... just... please... it hurts..."
"Sssh..." His agony was palpable, and she hurt for him. Never mind that it was her fault he lay dying in the filth of the dimly lit alleyway. Nevermind that he'd sprang on her with a blade of his own, seeking to murder her, loot the corpse, as he'd done so many times before. Nevermind that the pool of blood had long since spread around where she sat, his head pillowed in the robes above her lap, stroking his hair like a child, begging to make the nightmares go away. None of it mattered.
He was dying, and he was terrified.
"It won't be long, now," she whispered to him, cupping a hand against an ashen cheek. "Soon it'll stop hurting. Soon everything will stop hurting, and you can rest."
"I know," he said, gulping in a breath as the chill began to seep into his bones, "I know I wasn't... no good guy... but... I wanna... wanna make it right..."
"That's why I'm here," came the answer on her breath, warm and tender. "I can make it right for you... just tell me how."
"I... robbed a lot... lotta folks... then I killed a couple... left'm there t'rot... wanna make it right... like the old days... 'n... the old ways..."
"Sssh... I understand." And she did understand, and she saw the need for absolution. Leaning to one side, she picked up the wide-bladed, crude dagger he'd dropped when she'd laid him open. "Close your eyes, now... it'll all be over soon. That's the way..." As the dying killer's eyelids fell, there was a flicker of... something. Wings, perhaps, the color of dark ash. A blackly glowing symbol, on the hand that soothed away his terror. "Close your eyes," she said, her voice taking on the resonance of something beyond the world.
What he didn't see, was the hand that held the knife. He never saw the knife change, somehow, thinning and sharpening, becoming a thing of cruel beauty. He never saw the point dip beneath his throat.
And when the blade was sent upward into the killer's head, he would never see anything ever again.
The Judge was unused to being sought out. The grim task of the Judges, of upholding the Ancient Laws, didn't often lead to being sought out by a stranger, and with an unworried smile like this frail little blonde wore. Her eyes were as blue as the skies of the Estersand, unburdened by guilt or fear. He turned fully to face her, and she dipped a small curtsy, holding
up a bloodstained sack as she rose.
"His name was Julio Lanford," she said, offering the sack up to the Judge. "He tried to murder me, and rob me. His last wish, was that he die as the Ancient laws proscribe. He said he'd been caught before, but I only saw the mark on his head. So... it's important that I be sure." As the Judge took the bag, her hand remained upraised, palm turned upward as though she expected him to take it. "And just in case... you should probably know I was the one to kill him. It's the lash, right?"
And as she was led to the post to receive her due punishment, she could only feel satisfaction blooming in the pit of her heart. As the Ancient Laws proscribed; a thief five time, his hand shall be taken. A thief six times, his eyes. A thief seven times, death. She knew, now, that his soul would be at peace. That there was nothing more tying him to this world, and he could find his dreamless sleep in the Abyss, with all the others.
The sting of the lash was painful, but her mind was far away, already looking to the next soul who needed her help to find peace.
Engagement Announcement
News in Emberstrand is that long standing member of the Religious Community Moiraine McLeod, High Priestess of Mog has announced her engagement to Airship Captain Leetle. Apparently the Moogle Captain of the Doodlebug has announced he will be ceasing to fly to open an engine repair/design workshop here in Emberstrand so he may settle down and start a family with his beloved moogle.
If you have a fiction piece or fan art item that you would like to see submitted to The Chronicle, please send it via email to rebecca@coimuck.com. Please note that fiction pieces must be no longer than 1,000 words, and fan art must relate to this game and must have the express permission of the artist in order to post.
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