Memo: Message to Uuger HourGlass

Document: Message to Uuger HourGlass
Found in: Acess Foyer, Basement, Temple of Ages

'Esteemed colleague Uuger HourGlass,

After having a look at your calculations a few moments ago, I have come to the conclusion that your work at the Temple is nothing short of a joke. I admit I was foolish in thinking your research would pose a threat to my problems. You should stick to what your people know, HourGlass: more or less useful machinery, occasionally tripping on something that can actually revolutionize the world as we know it.

To show you I hold no grudges towards you, I will even correct one of your mistakes. You have made a cross error in calculating the time process in the Temple. It is not T-25+25; instead, it is T=infinity(+25-25). I do not blame your for your mistake, your folk is known to have this sort of miscalculations. I am only glad nothing can explode in the sort of research you are undertaking.

Leave it alone, HourGlass. In a few weeks, I will have the correct formula needed for halting a given subject in time. Your work is not needed.

Best wishes,

Yoshida Kai.'

Memo: Letter to Uuger HourGlass

Document: Letter to Uuger Hourglass by Albin Madoka

Found in: West Sitting Room, Ground Floor, Temple of Ages

'Mr. HourGlass;

Since you are taking a trip to our abandoned temple, please observe these pointers during the time of your stay. While it isn't overly dangerous to stay at the temple, there are some things you should know.

Those who stay in the temple are halted in time in the same 25 minute span. This means those indoors will always hold the same age, however, outside the temple walls, time goes by normally.

In this sense, my advice would be that you didn't spend much time inside. Those who have been know to do often feel sick for long, as their bodies age faster than they were supposed to.

The distortion itself was contained in one of the rooms at the basement of the temple. While it is safe to walk everywhere around the place, I wouldn't advise you to enter the distortion room. When the Temple was first raided by terrorists, the distortion swallowed almost every single staff member inside, and although it has retreated back to its original size, the effects are still active. The Gods only know what would happen or where you would end up if you got sucked inside.

Because it has been abandoned for so long, some beasts have gathered inside, we reckon. Be careful.

Best regards,

Albin Madoka.'

Announcement

Here's an announcement: I know I said I would place session summaries here, but I think I bit more than I could chew. This is a campaign in constant planning and, as you know, I have my own personal blog. It's hard to keep track of everything at once. I'll have to stop doing the summaries.

I would still advise everyone to keep record of what happens. Memos will be posted, as well as maps and any important information I find worth of posting, as well as any information you request (pantheon details, Honshu history details, NPCs bio, the works).

Memo - Mana Timberstick Interviews: The Krynn Ibushin

Document: Newsboard, February 13 1049
Found in: any place where it is distributed

- MANA TIMBERSTICK INTERVIEWS -

'The Krynn Ibushin'

'The Krynn Ibushin are a party which has become well-loved and respected in the capital of Tree Realm. Currently composed of only two members, Segare Masaru and Beinion "Huevo Splash" Randír, have accepted at this point to concede our publication an interview.

Mana - The Krynn Ibushin were almost a household name last year. What happened for you guys to vanish so quickly?

Masaru - I think each of us had some personal issues to take care of. I went away for training, Utsutsu started his family, Huevo got married too.

Beinion - A lot of things happened, really. After we took care of those runaway criminals, we all figured it was time for a break, and each of us followed their own path. Masaru and I, at least, are now coming back.

Masaru - We are keen on bringing the Ibushin name back to business!

Mana - Do you take specific kinds of mission, or whatever comes along?

Beinion - We never refused any mission so far, but it doesn't mean it'll never happen. We always review what we're being asked to do before we accept.

Masaru - We won't go against our principles for a mission, but so far we had no problems with the jobs we were offered.

Mana - What was your most dangerous deed?

Beinion - Any of the ones that got Masaru killed...

Masaru - I'd have to go either with the fight against Shijima or the time we captured the spy in the orphanage.

Mana - How much gold do ppl have to spend in order to hire you?

Masaru - Depends on the kind of mission...but if someone really needs a hand, we won't turn our backs on them.

Beinion - The payment is surely important, but we usually give more importance to the goals, than the reward.

Mana - So people can hire you for change sometimes.

Masaru - I mean...what good would freelancers be if we only took high paying jobs...

Mana - You seem to have settled for Leaf Town. Why Tree Realm?

Beinion - Victims of circumstance. We just happened to settle here, and it became our home now.

Mana - I understand you have a lady love each...

Masaru - Yeah, I pretty much have my life here so...why change? I have the people I know here, Ai, my bro...'sides, it's a nice place...

Beinion - I'm already married, true. Coming to this town was really a fortunate event.

Mana - How is it like, working with the old ball and chain?

Masaru - On my side, it'll still be a while 'til Ai and I get married, so it's still pretty easy to balance both sides.

Beinion - We'll see how things go from here onwards... while I'd like to be able to help more at the inn, there's only one of me to go around. That's the only issue. My marriage won't be compromised.

Mana - What about kids?

Masaru - I suppose that would change things a bit...too soon for me at least. Ai and I are still discussing the marriage details, we'll have enough time to think about building a family in the future.

Beinion - No children yet, but it's a possibility.

Mana - How many?

Beinion - We didn't plan that far...

Mana - Many freelancers claim a difficulty to find resting time. Do you relate to this?

Masaru - As long as you enjoy the missions you accepted, it's not that hard. So far, rest was never an issue

Beinion - It really depends on what we're doing. Should we really need time to rest, we can always let out that we're having a break and not accepting requests until further notice.

Mana - Do you have an answer for the rumour that you are the people who murdered Dark Realm's former leader, Laughing Shijima? The darkling folk would like to have some answers. The Krynn Ibushin name pops up very often as this is concerned. You were sighted in Black Waters the day Laughing Shijima was murdered.

Masaru - We're not going to feed gossip.

Mana - Still you do not deny involvement in it...

Masaru - We weren't the only freelancers with missions in Dark Realm while Shijima was in charge I'm sure. People only decided to start that rumour 'cause we were making a name for ourselves.

Mana - Actually, you never took missions for Laughing Shijima either. You seem parcial.

Masaru - I think we already answered that same issue a few times now.

Mana - Segare Masaru, you are currently engaged to be married to Hyuga Ai, the sole daughter and currently only heiress to Grass Realm, isn't that so?

Masaru - Yup, we're engaged.

Mana - Upon recent news that Hyuga Hizashi has remarried and rumours his new queen is awaiting the birth of a child, how do you stand as the dispute for the throne is concerned?

Masaru - What about the throne...I'm marrying Ai, not some throne. As long as I'm with her and she's happy, I'm happy. I couldn't care less about it... I've been away in training, so I'm not that up to date with the latest events. If the recent events are Hizashi getting married and having a kid on the way, then good for him, may the chibi keep him awake at night and healthly use up a lot of diapers. Hizashi can get cramps from the throne for all I care. Ai and I have our life here. What happens there doesn't exactly concern us. If she happens to wish to discuss something about it, I'll be by her side, but 'til then, our life is here, and that's where it'll be.

Mana - Beinion Randir. You live amongst the humans, you married a human, most of your friends are humans and you came straight for a human town when you arrived. is there a grudge between you and the elves?

Beinion - You got the facts wrong. I just happened to have arrived at a human town instead of an elven when I reached this continent, and got a good enough job to decide to settle here. It could've easily have happened on an elven town. As for marrying a human instead of an elf, two things: first, I love my wife because of who she is and not because of the shape of her ears. Second, it's not like I'd have any luck marrying an elven girl if that was my intention, since the only other elf I know of in this town is a male.

Mana - The two main elven communities in Honshu, Ice Realm and Fellyn Woods keep to themselves. The elves in Fellyn denied the jurisdiction of Bamboo, even. In your view, is there a reason for all this secrecy?

Beinion - That's just how most elves are, I guess. Many of us just won't deal with the outside world or other races. That's elven xenophobia for you... there are still many exceptions, of course, or I wouldn't be here.

There you have it, folks - the Krynn Ibushin, whom you will recall from several important events last year, are back in business and meaning business. I am Mana Timberstick, interviewing.

Memo - 'Jirou's Note'

Document: Jirou's Note
Found in: Kirie's notebook

'Dear Kirie;
Sensei said your last homework assignment was a disgrace of epic proportions. These were the very words he used, and after I had a chance to take a look at it, I sadly couldn't but agree. I'll leave this here to help you out on your next one. There are only a few dates you need never forget. They are not as hard to memorize as you think. I'll write them down for you:

Fall of Darkness = February 10, 1050
Overture Battle = March 4, 1050
Battle of the Three Armies = September 16, 1059
Sunshine Morning = July 24, 1060
Armies of Darkness Civil War = January 4, 1063 - March, 1066
Battle of the Goddesses = June 20, 1067
Battle of Tears = November 7, 1075
Battle of the Dead = July 14, 1077
Here are also a few pointers you should observe when writing your paper:

Iron Realm and Below Fero don't have "kings" or "rulers". They call the country leader a "regent" ever since Liaison Rock and the Rock lineage took over, since Liaison would supposedly fill in for a proper king of royal blood, which was never found. Largo Rock, LaShaka Rock and Goro Rock are all regents (and don't forget: even though his name is officially Hellias, regent Goro took his mother's name when he rose to power in 1068). They are not the only people in charge: a People's Parliament also used to exist, composed of members of every major trade in the realm. One could not act without the other's consent (I know History shows things differently, but you should know regent Largo never really cared much for what the Parliament said).

Rice Realm also didn't have "kings". Oromaru-sama and his kin are known as "emperors" of Rice. In fact, their original title was "Emperor of the Five Waterfalls and Lands of the Rice."

Before their breakup in 1048, Grass Realm had a triumvirate (a government composed of three people), not a "trio".

Dark Realm has leaders, not "dictators", even if their political organization is a lot like a dictatorship. And we call "darklings" to the inhabitants of Dark Realm infected with the plague, but this is just a nickname. We do not go about calling people from Tree Realm "teelings", people from Bamboo Realm "bamboolings" and people from Iron Realm "ironlings". Even I raised my hands to my head when I read this nonsense.

In any period in History was Ice Realm ruled by two leaders. Ridvia and Selspar Tyrnea Timmorn were "lords of Heasi" (and it is not spelled R-E-A-S-Y either - it's the Wild Elven dialect and it means "those above"), but Ice Realm was and is ruled by shamans. The Tyrnea Timmorn brothers are entitled "lords" (in elven "lan"), because they are to interpret the shaman's wills and warnings, and act accordingly. They never held the same power either: the elder brother Ridvia ranked above the younger, Selspar. Hence their disagreement in 1056.

There were two separate and independent governments in Bamboo Realm. The humans were under ruling of lady Yoshino the Hummingbird throughout the whole 1040-1050 decade. The elves were under ruling of the Order of Druids. One was not superior to the other and they hardly ever contacted, let alone be allies.

Incidentally, druids and shamans are not the same thing. Ice Realm, Bamboo Realm and the Free Lands had plenty of druids and they are common figures among the elves. Only Ice Realm had shamans. Ask Luca about that, he knows plenty about the elves and their traditional way of life. He can explain to you the difference between a druid and a shaman better than I can.

Hachi had (and has) a government of plutocracy, not "plurocracy". It means only the people belonging to the aristocracy are allowed to vote when picking a leader for the following four years.

Never bother to write "the government of Indestructible Town" did something. Strange as it might sound, IT never had a government. The gnomes of Honshu have no ruler, and in IT they abide by a sort of odd guidelines... most of us have long given up on trying to understand how they do things. Just write "the gnomes of Indestructible Town". Please don't ask any gnomes to help you with this. They'll keep you for hours.

Samurai clans have heads of clan, not "clan's heads". That expression implies something else and is highly offensive. Never forget samurai tend to pay a lot of attention to these things and so must those who deal with them. Sadly enough for me, the Manako clan was never among the top five samurai clans in existence. The most powerful ones were, from the strongest to the weakest, Issun - Makimura - Kurosawa - Oono - Nagaka.

The Resistance has leaders, not "commanders". They are not a military organization. The Kyushu militia, on the other hand, has "captains". They are a para-military group and use the same ranks as navy officials.

There is a very important difference between a "High Priest" and a "Head Priest". The Head Priest, or Head Cleric, is the maximum superior of a church. For instance, the last great Head Priest in existance was Hyuga Hiachi - he was the leader of the Church of Mishakal in Honshu until he gave away the charge in 1049. A High Priest is the leader of the Church in a given place. For instance, Amano Elina was the High Priestess of Sanctuary - in Sanctuary, the was the top ranked cleric. I know it's confusing and they all sound alike, but they're very different things, don't confuse them!

A group of sorcerers is a Conclave. A group of Druids isn't: it's called an "Order". In the past, there were various Orders of druids. When all the Orders join up, they form a "Congregation". An Order of druids ruled over Fellyn Woods. A Congregation of shamans made rules in Ice Realm. Everyone in Fellyn Woods was of the same Order. The people in the Congregations belonged to different Orders. Again, Luca knows a lot more about that than me.

The Green Shuriken was a House, not a "guild". A guild is a group of people who practice the same trade and may or may not work for the same person: merchants, bankers, miners, thieves, rangers, they all have guilds. The House of the Green Shuriken used to be a major ninja clan, who came to be Bamboo Realm's special OPs.

The Visionaries were also special OPs for Rice Realm, by the way. Not a "secret police".

Hammaren was a dwarven newspaper. Not a dwarven army.

Pax Arcana is not a "government", it was an academy of arcane practices. Tarth Moorda is not considered an academy because it trains archmages and warlocks. It follows military ranks, so it should be called "training grounds".

Clerics don't do "godly magic". They do "divine magic" (you seem to confuse divine spells and divination - there's nothing in common!). And "black magic" doesn't refer to the magic done by the black robes. "Black magic" or "dark practices" is what we call drow magic unrecognized by the Conclave. Their clerics still do "divine" magic.

And speaking of Conclave, the Conclave of High Sorcery is an institution, not a "group of deans". They run, but are independent from the Pax Arcana academy. Some people in the Conclave were deans in the academy. Some were in the military ranks of Tarth Moorda. Some were neither.

The leaders of the Conclave are eight. One per school of magic. Not ten. The deviant types of conjuration do not count, the whole school is represented by one person.

Honshu had only eight separate realms. The following are independent, out of general jurisdiction or free: the Southern Seas Isles, the Free Lands of Northwest, Greyswulf Mountain and surrounding area, Dwarven Hills of Iron Realm, Indestructible Town, Fellyn Woods, and any darfellan or dargonesti community set over 15 miles of the shore. Kyushu Isles were disputed between Grass Realm and Dark Realm while fighting for its independence, and after 1050 they were pretty much left alone, and thus are considered "free".

Only the drow say "Lolth in All Her Grace". We do not. Under any circumstance. In fact, we often refer to their Goddess with other epithets you shouldn't write on essays either. This would be like writing "the Dragon Rider Paladine" or "Majere, the Weaver of Dreams" every single time you needed to refer to either deity.

And finally, Luca can help you a lot in essays and I find it very kind of him to. But when it comes to the Armies of Darkness, don't believe a word he says. We do not call them "the shades", "tints", "critters" or "scourge". When referring to them on an essay you must use "the drow" for people, "the Darkness" for their whole and "Armies of Darkness" or "Armies of House X" for their military. Their religion is the cult of Lolth, not the "church" of Lolth - Lolth is a minor Goddess. Never EVER read the second L in Her name either, like you did last week. Plus, "drow" is a genderless word, it does not have a plural form (we do not write or say "drows", the correct form is "the drow") and it's not like "elf" or "dwarf". Something belonging or relating to the drow is not "drowen", "drowing" or "drowling".

Best Regards,
Jirou'

Memo - 'New Song'

Document: New Song
Found in: Kirie's notebook

'And so once again, my dear ally my dear friend,
And so once again you are fighting us all.
And when I ask you why, you raise your sticks and cry
and we fall.
Oh my friend, how did you come
to trade the fiddle for the drum.

You say I have turned, like the enemies you've earned,
but I can remember all the good things you are.
And so I ask you, please,
can I help you find the Peace and the Star?
Oh my friend, what time is this?
To trade the handshake for the fist.

You say we have turned, like the enemies you've earned,
but I can remember all the good things we are.
And so I ask you, please,
can we help you find the Peace and the Star?
Oh my friend, we have all come
to fear the beating of your drum.'

Tell me what you think later!
XXXX
Luca