# Achaea
> The World's Premiere MUD & Text-Based RPG
> Generated by All in One SEO Pro v5.0.3, this is an llms-full.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site.
## Posts
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/21/updates-133)
**Published:** October 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 21st of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– You can now store gold, and only gold, in tailored wallets.
– CURING SCENARIOS has been added. See HELP CURING SCENARIO for additional context.
– CURING TREE SCENARIO has been removed, but CURING TREE ON/OFF retains the same functionality. Existing tree scenarios have been converted to generic scenarios. NOTE: tree scenarios may have been disabled as part of this change, so please verify your scenarios are enabled as expected.
– Survey reports should no longer include areas that will not spawn a caravan.
Published by my decree on the 8th of Valnuary, in the year 1017 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Curious Subject](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/21/a-curious-subject)
**Published:** October 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Within the colourful disorder of the Wayward Temple, an assortment of canvases crowds a chamber thick with the scent of oils and crushed pigments. Each bears a different interpretation of Pandora, from uproarious laughter to furious indignation, while one unfinished portrait captures an unusually solemn countenance. Before the latest attempt sits Mood, brush in hand, struggling to accommodate the restless Goddess lounging upon a cushioned chaise.
“Lady, would You please stop fidgeting?” fae complains, lowering the brush for the umpteenth time. “Your head keeps turning!”
“I haven’t moved!” Pandora protests indignantly, before adding, “Well, there are things to look at!”
Indeed, Her attention has wandered once again to a shallow silver basin resting among the clutter. Within its waters, the flooded galleries of a distant underground settlement shimmer into view. Several Kahtak labour among the rubble of a collapsed passage, dragging loose stone from the murky depths. One abruptly releases its burden, webbed fingers curling against its throat. Across the cavern another does the same, followed by a third, until others throughout the galleries abandon their work. No warning passes between them, yet each turns towards the same distant passage, their pale gills contracting identical rhythm.
“Those are the Kahtak, aren’t they?” Mood enquires, following the Goddess’s gaze.
“Mhm. They tried awfully hard to stop that ritual on Meropis. I’ve been wondering about them ever since.”
“Do You think they knew what would happen?”
“Oh, I haven’t the faintest idea! That’s why I’m watching.”
Pandora considers the creatures a while longer, Her fingers idly tracing the rim of the basin.
“A whole world, Mood. Just think of all the things that were going to happen there tomorrow. All those little accidents, discoveries. Lost.”
“That’s rather sad, Lady.”
“Yes,” Pandora agrees quietly. “I suppose it is.”
“Lady!” Mood interrupts. “You’ve done it again! That expression! I was just beginning to get it right!”
Pandora turns towards faen with a laugh. “Well, You could always paint Me twice!”
“I already have. Six times, actually.”
Returning to the canvas, the fae makes several careful strokes before something upon the Goddess’s attire draws faes attention.
“Oh, that’s dreadful. That colour ruins the entire picture.”
A faint smear of black peat mud mars the trailing hem of Pandora’s dress, a few tiny strands of duckweed caught in the fabric.
“Then don’t paint it,” the Wayward Heir replies, scarcely glancing down.
“But it’s there!”
“So is that dreadful crack in the ceiling, but You haven’t painted that either.”
Mood follows Her gesture upwards, pursing faes lips in disapproval. “That’s entirely different, Lady.”
Pandora beams. “Of course it is. You’d need a much bigger canvas.”
With a defeated sigh, Mood returns to the easel, while Pandora’s attention wanders once more to the distant caverns. One Kahtak catches its hand against a jagged stone, sending a thin ribbon of blood curling through the water. Elsewhere, two others abruptly drop their burdens, clutching their uninjured hands. Both examine their palms, turning them over with webbed fingers before returning to work.
The Wayward Heir leans closer to the basin, Her earlier merriment giving way to quiet scrutiny.
“Oh, don’t move!” Mood exclaims suddenly, reaching for a smaller brush. Pandora obliges, Her attention lingering upon the silver waters as the fae works with renewed enthusiasm.
At length, Mood steps back, comparing the fresh portrait with the unfinished likeness resting against the wall.
“There! That’s the expression I’ve been trying to capture!”
—
Summary: Pandora’s fascination with the Kahtak tribe who opposed the ritual at the Seat of Vastar proves a considerable frustration to Mood.
Penned by My hand on the 18th of Ero, in the year 1017 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A vigil interrupted](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/20/a-vigil-interrupted)
**Published:** October 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
At the terminus of Creation, where the ordered fabric of existence draws at last to a final and fundamental stop, a dire-black sea lies beneath a vault bereft of stars.
It is here that the Lord of Unknowable Mysteries maintains His vigil, accompanied by two empty thrones.
Passing centuries, the kindling of new suns, the collapse of civilisations, these are the measure by which He notes the arrival of His Siblings to this desolate expanse. And long have these shores gone in the main undisturbed save by those already bound to Him and His.
It is remarkable, then, when the heavens erupt with a thunder to convulse across the precipice of Creation as torrents of brilliantine lightning surge across that starless firmament. Reality rends itself asunder in accession to imperious Will, its sundered boundaries seething with coruscating energy as the very fabric of What Is yields to the arrival of another Elder. Unfolding wings of Protean inheritance across the empty skies, Stars blinking into existence about His presence, this new-arrived Elder alights beside His Brother with the lingering brilliance of His coming bathing the desolation in fulminous radiance. And for the first time in the newest millennium, the Lord of Oblivion stands in the company of the Lord of the Skies.
Neither speaks immediately. Babel instead contemplates the furious clouds now gathering across the no-longer starless vault. Long, low moments pass before He observes at length, “Must You bring Storm to My doorstep, Brother?”
“The Storm attends its Master.”
“Even here, absent Your Dominion?”
“I am boundless, Brother. Where I am, My Dominion follows. The Sky’s sovereign, standing with You here in the Sky.”
The Lord of Oblivion’s reply is cold. But ambivalent. “How fortunate that Your Ambitions remain so modest.”
“What need have I for more? My reach is already without limit. As is My Authority.”
“You often deign to remind.”
The Skylord leaves the observation to pass without rebuke, returning His attentions to the terminus of existence. “You have given the remnants of Entropy and Discord a considerable measurement of liberty.”
“Liberty is a curious description of captivity and servitude. Should I amuse Myself upon them as Sartan does His slaves? Apply an equivalency to mortal branding irons? Hooks to scour beneath skin and sinew?”
“Then Your prisoners seem to possess remarkable privileges.”
Babel inclines His head in no more than acknowledgement of fact, turning not from His contemplation.
“Their bindings remain intact,” Oblivion’s Lord speaks in dispassionate calm, after again long moments pass without utterance.
“And yet their activities have flourished far beyond the Outer Reaches.” A coruscating current of electricity surges across the Skylord’s wings. “Our Niece is taking advantage of Your apathy. The autonomy afforded Your captives furnishes Her with diversions of consequence.”
“The amusements of Pandora are beneath My concern. Her schemes neither trouble My Purpose nor alter the present course of My contemplations.”
“Perhaps they ought. She has enjoyed a myriad of opportunities afforded by Your inattention. Most recently upon Theanis. Its last remaining vestiges succumb to My Necessity as We speak, soon ready to be born anew in celestis.”
Babel’s lips curl into a thin smile. “Opportunity is seldom in short supply.”
“Nor, it would seem, is Your patience for disorder.”
The air about Oblivion’s Lord trembles with cold, cruel amusement. “You speak of disorder with remarkable disdain for one whose very Realm delights in the violence of unmaking.”
“My Realm proliferates purpose.”
“As does the dissolution of all things. Worlds perish, Vastar. Few among Our Kin have seeded more of their endings than You.”
“Nor have They exercised greater authority over their continuance.”
“Ah. So certain of the proper order of existence.” Babel glances sidelong at His Brother. “Tell Me, Vastar, that You did not cross the breadth of Creation to exchange grievances concerning Our errant Niece. If She is rife in meddling, then complain to Her Father. I have less than interest in an outgrown child prone to tantrum and vice.”
“No. The consequences of Your apathy extend beyond Pandora. Once Entropy and Discord’s touch came upon Theanis, where they should not have been, I observed the thread of their influence, unspooling farther than either of Us should have tolerated. They have been entreated in their activities, most recently by Glaaki’s band. I have no qualms with his Ambition, but I would know what occasioned this diminution of Your control.”
“You believe Me unaware?”
“I believe You would permit much to escape Your notice. It is but the why.”
The words linger between Them, Babel’s expression unreadable. For a breath, a moment, an Aeon, both Elders again regard the forlorn expanse in palpable silence.
This time it is Vastar that breaks the quiet. “You remember My visits to this place in bygone times?”
“Among other iniquities.”
“You were proud. Bright. You accepted the burden placed upon You without hesitation, so very certain as You stood upon the precipice of existence to watch what lurks beyond its bright heart.”
“I have not forgotten.”
“Then You understand why I find Your present indifference so curious. Is it Your most recent contemplation within Your city?”
“The question presumes My certainty has diminished. Perhaps My understanding of such matters has changed. Time affords contemplation, Brother. Even to beings like Us.”
“Contemplation is commendable. Dereliction is not.”
Figure and frame of Oblivion’s Lord grows palpably, utterly still. Another long moment passes by. When He next speaks, it is absent indifference and far from humour. It finds calculated surety. And cold anger.
“An admonition?” He near-spits the word. There is danger in His voice.
“Concern.”
This is an answer Babel did not expect. He turns sharply towards Vastar, the burning void of His eyes at last yielding to something approaching curiosity.
“Your watch has abided for centuries, even if it is yet newborn in Creation,” the Skylord continues. “I do not measure the burden of Your vigil against Mine. We were each left with a purpose and burden beyond Our Siblings to understand, let alone endure. Yet by that same measure, neither can I remain idle when those in Your charge intrude upon My Necessity.”
Vastar turns toward His Sibling, His expression momentarily losing its imperious severity.
“Attend to Your bindings, Brother. A once-outsider draws nearer, absent Your chains and yoke. It is already seeking and searching. I suspect it desires reunification.”
Babel offers no reaction. “The inner realms never lack for unwelcome visitors.” He pauses, at last allowing a thin smile to part His lips. It is mirthless. “Nor, it seems, do I. Agreements are not invitations.”
“Concern is not sentimentality.”
“The child’s machinations will be accounted,” He finally allows. No more, and no less.
Nothing more is said, for They both recognise the conversation now trails behind. Vastar expands His mighty wings, illuminating the terminus once more in a sudden blaze of incandescent brilliance. For a final moment, He regards His Younger Sibling. Then, the Skylord ascends into the heavens, His passage into the Veil marked by a succession of brilliantine lightning as the gathering stormfront dwindles into nothingness absent its sovereign. The burgeoning Stars disappear in His absence.
Babel remains upon the shore, His Eye lingering on the wound in reality until it stitches closed behind His Brother.
Turning once more towards the boundary, the Lord of Unknowable Mysteries resumes His vigil.
Near the brink of Creation a solitary tremor passes across the encroaching dark. It is Seen in its slow hunt and wandering hunger.
Babel observes the wanderer creeping ever-slowly inward, and smiles.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: After giving the distant world of Theanis to Necessity, Vastar intruded upon Babel’s vigil at the Outer Reaches of Creation to speak with His Brother.
Penned by my hand on the 11th of Ero, in the year 1017 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A reckoning recounted](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/19/a-reckoning-recounted)
**Published:** October 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** During Vaschel's mistranslated ritual, a stormrift wrenched adventurers to a shattered world. A broodmother followed them, Ashtan's citizens aided it, and the Skylord renounced His allyship to Ashtan.
**Content:**
“I heard Cleric Vaschel fought a thousand monsters!”
“I heard it was ten thousand!”
“You’re both wrong. It was a hundred thousand, and they were all bigger than cobras!”
Three children huddled upon a breezy rooftop terrace, their voices lowered to conspiratorial whispers despite the increasing volume of their disagreement.
“I heard it from Brother Amidror,” insisted the eldest, a freckled boy whose solemn expression did little to conceal his delight at possessing such privileged information. “And he was there when they brought the High Cleric into the new infirmary. He said there were so many monsters they couldn’t even move or think!”
“That’s nothing!” interrupted a girl with two dark braids. “My sister heard the High Cleric himself talking in his sleep! He said they were trapped in a hole filled with eggs, and every time they killed a monster, ten more came crawling out!”
“Monsters don’t lay eggs in holes,” declared the smallest of the three.
“These ones did!”
The trapdoor swung open and a fourth child emerged, carrying a half-eaten apple and the unmistakable expression of someone eager to join in the conspiracy.
“You’re talking about the monsters, aren’t you?”
“We’re talking about what happened to the High Cleric.”
“Oh.” The newcomer took another bite. “I heard he died.”
“He did not!”
“He nearly did,” corrected the eldest with considerable satisfaction. “But he fought them off with fire! And that’s not even the best part!”
“What best part?”
“The God! He was there on the other world!”
“The world they fell into?”
The boy nodded with tremendous self-importance. “They went through the stormrift and came out of the sky over a distant star. They fell right down through the clouds, and there were broken buildings everywhere, and the whole world was being pulled apart!”
“Pulled apart by the God?”
“By a great black hole in the heavens. Brother Lorlek said it was called the Last Horizon, and that it swallowed entire cities!”
“Entire cities?”
“And mountains.”
The girl with the braids shook her head. “I heard it was swallowing the stars, too. And there was fire everywhere, and the ground kept breaking into pieces, and the pieces went flying up into the sky!”
“Ground doesn’t fly upward.”
“It does if the world’s ending!”
The smallest child looked down at his feet, experimentally pressing one sandal against the rooftop. “But where was the God?”
The eldest drew himself upright. “That’s what I’m telling you!” He lowered his voice, though the effort lasted scarcely a moment.
“At first they thought the sky was covered in stormclouds. Huge black ones, stretching everywhere! But then lightning flashed, and they saw something moving!”
“What?”
“Wings!”
The girl gasped. “How big?”
“Bigger than this.” He gestured to the plateau beneath them and the endless jungle canopy beyond it.
“That’s not very big for a God.”
“Bigger than all the mountains!”
The fourth child stopped chewing his apple.
“Even the Vasnari mountains?”
“Yes! They went around the whole planet! But that’s still not the best part. The God was standing in the sky, and His head was above the clouds, and His shoulders were bigger than even the biggest tower there ever was.”
“How could the God stand in the sky?”
“Because He’s the Skylord!”
“Oh.”
This settled the matter satisfactorily.
“What I don’t understand,” said the girl with the braids, “is why didn’t the God just bring everyone home? Was He angry?”
“I don’t think so,” replied the eldest, suddenly thoughtful. “Brother Amidror said the High Cleric told him the God wasn’t angry at all.”
“But He was destroying a whole world!”
“Because He had to.”
“Why?”
“Because it was full of Chaos monsters that ate all the people and ruined everything.”
“That’s a very good reason,” observed the child with the apple.
The girl with the braids asked again, “That still doesn’t explain why the God didn’t save the High Cleric and everyone else.”
The eldest sighed with the weary patience of one forced to explain the obvious. “Because they weren’t supposed to be there!”
“But it was the High Cleric’s ritual!”
“Yes, and he said the words wrong! He was supposed to bring the protection of the Sky down here, but instead he sent everyone up to the Sky!”
The girl leaned forward. “That’s a very big mistake.”
“Yes,” said the eldest. “And then the God said he wouldn’t stop exploding the planet to save the people who got sent there accidentally.”
The child with the apple frowned. “That’s not very helpful.”
“Well, I heard He said something else,” the girl interrupted. “He said they had to prove they were worthy, and use all four of His Fulcra to escape.” She counted them upon her fingers. “Fury. Ambition. Conviction. Reckoning!”
“And then He said…” The eldest paused, lifted his chin, and attempted the deepest, most commanding voice his young throat could muster. “‘I am the reckoning that brings annihilation! You brought them here, mortal. Now you shall bear the burden of finding a means for their return!'”
His companions stared at him.
“Did He really say that?”
“Yes! My cousin heard the whole thing.”
And so began another furious exchange. They argued over the battles fought among the ruins, over adventurers who had slain entire hordes of chittermaws with single swings of their weapons. They spoke of scouts leaping across broken cliffs, of mighty warriors holding back the swarms while the wounded High Cleric struggled onward, and of mages whose magic kept the air from being pulled out of everyone’s lungs.
“They fought a giant bird thing who shot colours out of its eyes, leaped across broken platforms, and climbed to the very highest hill left on the planet.” The eldest continued, “By then, the High Cleric was so poisoned he could barely stand. So everyone had to use the Fulcra together.” He spread his arms dramatically. “First Fury made the lightning come down, then Ambition channelled it towards a distant point in the sky, then Conviction binded it all together, and then Reckoning gave them the power to open another stormrift so they could all come home!”
The smallest child smiled with relief. “And then they came home?”
The eldest nodded. “And then they came home.”
For a moment, the four looked across the courtyard toward the restored buildings of the Seat. Beyond the herb gardens stood the infirmary, and through its open windows they imagined they could hear the clerics discussing the ordeal, just as they were. The youngest considered this for a while, then said, “I’m glad. I sure wouldn’t want to be stuck fighting Chaos monsters until I got swallowed by a black hole.”
“Well,” said the eldest, “that’s still not the best part.”
The others turned toward him. “What do you mean?”
“Something followed them.”
A silence settled over the little gathering. “What kind of something?”
He leaned closer. “The mother of all the monsters. It was so big it couldn’t fit through the stormrift, so it tore the opening wider with its mind!”
“How?”
“By screaming!”
The girl seized upon this revelation. “I heard everyone in the whole world could feel it screaming! Even people in faraway cities! And their heads hurt, and they could see its eyes inside their thoughts!”
The eldest continued, “It tried to crawl out of the stormrift and eat everyone at the Seat, but the adventurers fought it until its head fell off.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Even though some people tried to help it.”
The smallest looked horrified. “Why would anyone help the mother of monsters?”
“Ashtan,” said the girl with considerable disdain.
“What’s an Ashtan?”
“It’s a city, silly.”
“Why would a city help the mother of monsters?”
“Because they like Chaos.”
“Even Chaos monsters that eat all the people and ruin everything?”
The girl nodded gravely. “Apparently! And the God was so displeased He said He wouldn’t be their God anymore.”
“Can He do that?”
The eldest considered the question. “Yes, because He’s the Skylord.”
“Oh.”
Once again, this proved a sufficient explanation.
The children abruptly straightened as the trapdoor opened and an elderly cleric emerged from below. His disapproving gaze settled upon the gathering, and he raised one eyebrow at the sight of four pupils loitering when their afternoon duties ought to have taken them elsewhere.
“Have you nothing better to occupy yourselves with?”
“Yes, Brother!” came the immediate chorus.
“Then see to it.”
They scattered with remarkable haste, their whispered arguments resuming almost before they had rounded the corner.
---
Summary: Vaschel, High Cleric of the Seat of Vastar, invited adventurers to witness an ancient Seleucarian ritual. A nascent stormrift opened over Meropis that required adventurers to empower it. Once fully expanded, the stormrift wrenched everyone present across the expanse of Creation to a shattered world, where the Skylord was in the midst of enacting Necessity. The High Cleric realised too late that he had mis-translated the ancient texts, putting the trapped adventurers in great peril. They were forced to battle hordes of skittering chittermaws, defeat an avian aberration, leap from platform to platform as the landscape crumbled around them, escape from a writhing nest by piling the corpses of fallen friends and foes alike, and finally channel the Fulcra to return home. A colossal broodmother followed them through the rift, requiring great effort and an even greater number of sacrifices to defeat. Though the citizens of Ashtan chose to aid the calamitous monster, it was ultimately slain, and the ordeal culminated in the Skylord renouncing His allyship to Ashtan and withdrawing His protections from the city.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Caravans!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/19/caravans)
**Published:** October 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Caravans are a new commodity-conflict system. Villages will periodically send commodities by caravan once their controlling city has built a marketplace, and caravans can be escorted or attacked.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
The secret, and not so secret, machinations of the Wayward Heir have yielded far more than even She anticipated, and certainly more than She has the patience to manage!
In typical fashion, rather than concern Herself with the considerable surplus, Pandora has taken to scattering it across Sapience with characteristic abandon, giving precious little thought to where it lands or what becomes of it…
And thus it falls to Prospero to see that what His niece gives away so recklessly keeps the balance of the world’s economy.
To that end, the villages of Sapience may have found themselves in sudden possession of riches they did nothing to earn, but it is by His design, not Pandora’s whim, that they have a plan for what to do with them:
Villages will begin trading away these commodities for gold, sent forth by caravan toward civilisation to be haggled away at a marketplace for what is likely to be a pittance. Amidst the conquest spread across Sapience, they will not simply hand their goods to any passing stranger. To see their wares reach a marketplace safely, they will hand their caravan of goods to the city that holds dominion over them.
Some villages may trade eagerly, others only grudgingly, knowing their reimbursement is limited by what they sacrifice to have it transported. And only once their controlling city has built a marketplace of its own will they begin loading up caravans periodically. By Prospero’s design, no two places will carry quite the same bounty, and each caravan may be a little different from the last.
When a village sends forth its caravan, word will reach the ears of its city’s army, who may move to see it safely home. But the roads are not so easily controlled, and nothing stops a caravan from being fair game to any who would claim it along the way. Push it from its course to take it outright or fall upon it to pillage what you can carry away, discarding what you can’t.
Escorting and attacking caravans are both open conflict activities, and no city’s claim is secure until the goods are safely within its walls or spirited away within a stronghold.
In other words: caravans are a new commodity-conflict system designed to both alleviate commodity access while also providing an additional axis for pvp.
Be sure to read HELP CARAVANS and HELP IMPROVEMENTS, the latter of which has been updated with relevant information.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [We're Hiring For Social Media](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/30/were-hiring-for-social-media)
**Published:** September 30, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** We are looking for one of our own players to run social media for Iron Realms: a paid, part-time contract of about 10 hours a week. Applications close October 20.
**Content:**
We are looking for someone to run social media for Iron Realms, and we would like that person to be one of our own players.
Right now I run the social media accounts myself: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and Bluesky, plus a few of the game accounts. The job needs more hours than I can give it, and I think someone who plays will write about these games better than any agency could.
### THE JOB
- A paid, part-time contract, about 10 hours a week
- Writing and scheduling posts for the Achaea, Aetolia and Iron Realms accounts
- Turning news posts and events into posts that make sense outside the game
- Answering the people who reply to us
### WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
You play one of our five games, or you used to. You can explain why it is fun to someone who has never heard of a MUD, in two sentences. You write short. Experience running social accounts helps a lot, paid or unpaid, and a fan account counts.
### YOUR CHARACTERS
You keep them. The role is never tied to a character name in public, and everyone we hire signs an NDA. Applying is confidential and has no effect on your characters either way.
### HOW TO APPLY
Email jeremy@ironrealms.com by Tuesday, October 20, and keep it under 400 words, not counting the samples. Include:
- Your real name, and your character names in every game you play
- Your time zone, and the hours you could work
- Links to any accounts you have run, with a line on how they did
- A few sentences on which of our accounts you would fix first, and how
- A sample Facebook post promoting a news post of your choice from achaea.com or aetolia.com, written for someone who has never played
- A sample Instagram or Threads post about anything in our games
- A sample reply to a comment that says “Is this game still running?”
Please apply by email only, not in-game and not through your game’s admins. Everyone who applies will hear back from us. You must be 18 or older.
Thanks, Jeremy
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [October in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/01/october-in-achaea-6)
**Published:** October 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera. Capping renown seven times in October earns one free premium spin, and a macabre bazaar and Mayaween are on the way.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
October has arrived and it’s the spooky month! Keep your eyes on upcoming for a macabre bazaar a few weeks from now, and of course late in the month will feature mayaween!
The customisation and character personalisation update I mentioned in September’s post was unfortunately delayed but is still coming in the next few weeks!
This month you can also expect a Tea Time, continued iteration on the Mnemosyne, and a new addition related to commodities and conflict that I cannot say more about yet.
Meanwhile, the Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera!
Prismatic tokens for the Wheel can be obtained from the Achaea website (www.achaea.com/credits).
Capping renown seven times in October will also award you with a free prismatic token to get a premium wheel spin as a one time only benefit.
Prizes from the wheel include:
- Unbound credits starting at 33
- Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any suit
- Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
- Artefact vials
- Phials of shimmering ink
- Talisman caches that open for Memory, Underworld, and Death
- 300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
- Collections cache that opens for any collection (these trade in for 30 credits).
- Artefact upgrade credits
- Mayan crowns
HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE has all the details.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Walking Chivalry's Path](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/03/walking-chivalrys-path)
**Published:** October 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** With the help of Sir Temelin, Knight Commander of Moghedu, the Guild of Knights learned more of Chivalry and at last breached the catacombs beneath Aster Keep.
**Content:**
For many long months entry into the passages and catacombs beneath Aster Keep had stymied the Knights. Their search was for realms that might grant them expansion of their holdings in both duchy and Guild. And it was through the (very well-compensated) efforts of the tash’la architect Bantaishe that they at last reached the first of those most ancient chambers: a coenobium, of a type long lost after the Fall of Seleucar.
Sending letter and missive to Moghedu’s knights, it was Sir Temelin who answered the request of Knight Arbiter Aodfionn and Knight Regent Aerek Ancyrion. In a voyage to Meropis, he spoke of old customs once held by the Castle of Twelve, decayed by the Succession Wars and lost in the Empire’s fall. Abandoned too by Moghedu, but by them remembered still.
In ancient traditions, knights of the Twelve had walked Chivalry’s path within the chamber’s silver circle. Through searches of Aster Keep’s records the Guild had moreover uncovered a journal of Duke Davis Kephry, who spoke of terrible dread and dead alike unearthed by knights of old. And, through the efforts of Aster Malik, sealed up, paved over, and long forgotten. Through the efforts of twelve brave knights and a priest of the Logos the way beyond the coenobium had been warded by magic. In the testimony of Duke Davis Kephry, perhaps forever.
For so long as but one of those twelve held to their oath, the ward would remain.
For so long as but one of those twelve continued in vigil, the ward would remain.
Only Knights of an Order could walk Chivalry’s path beyond the slain priest’s lingering magic. And so under the instruction of Sir Temelin the Guild’s Knight Arbiter, a Gaian Knight, and Knight Regent, of the Order of Aster Malik, were the first to stride into starlight and find the halls that had known no living touch since the Dark Ages of Meropis and Seleucar’s Fall.
---
Summary: With the assistance of Sir Temelin, Knight Commander of Moghedu, the Guild of Knights learned more of Chivalry and at last breached the catacombs beneath Aster Keep.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Hunger after Thought and Flesh](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/03/a-hunger-after-thought-and-flesh)
**Published:** October 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** In the catacombs beneath Aster Malik, the Guild of Knights destroyed a thing that knew no Death, then fought a horde of undead alongside Sapience's adventurers.
**Content:**
A mind-eater, Duke Davis Kephry had called it.
It was a moniker coined by those struggling in the Fall, a name given to something seemingly unknown to modern Achaea. Under the assault of the creature both mind and memory were consumed, tired swords slipping free and eyes blinking closed into a sleep that heralded Finality. For days did battle rage within the upper cloisters of the catacombs, the knights falling back only to recover vigour and vitality for their next assault.
Fire was its bane, Duke Kephry had written, and fire did they wield to battle’s end. It was no simple beast, neither alive nor dead nor even a creature of twisted undeath. It could not die, he had written, but he had not written that it could not be destroyed. So destroy it the Guild of Knights did.
They were seven of the Guild, in all. Friztic, Aerek, Oenae, Drican, Salisa, Aodfionn, and Myrddin. And it was they who ended a terrible dread that had plagued Davis Kephry’s era.
With the mind-eater neutralised, the way was clear… for a second foe to rear its head.
Waiting deeper in the tunnels was no lone monster, nor even a pack of ghouls, but true hordes of the unliving. The dead of centuries upon centuries, risen in the chaotic wake of Seleucar’s Fall and multiplying ever more beneath Aster Malik in the centuries since.
Gathering sword and steel and spell, the Guild marched to battle once more, but this time they did so beside others aplenty. With allies from the adventurers of Sapience to do battle with the menacing dead, the carnage that ensued saw itself worthy of story, song, and saga in the striving against viridian flame and twisted undeath.
Yet though diminished and dwindled from the aggregate of centuries by the strength and valour of Sapience’s adventurers, surely never to reach such a multitude again, the restless dead continued, if slowly, to rise.
---
Summary: Delving the catacombs, foundations, and subterranean realms beneath Aster Malik, the Guild of Knights battled first a thing that knew no Death, before going on alongside Sapient adventurers to destroy a veritable horde of undead with bravery, tenacity, and valour.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/11/updates-129)
**Published:** October 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** AUDIT now covers more endurance and willpower regens and drains and shows ranges for random rolls. Jousting messages show your opponent's lance, and the first action has greater impact.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 11th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
- AUDIT now includes a lot more endurance and willpower regens and drains. Continue to send in bug reports for any that appear to be missing.
- The AUDIT command will now show a range of values whenever the actual value involves a random roll, though in most cases the actual likelihood of each value in the range will still be hidden.
- The platinum whistle should no longer fetch stabled mounts.
- Jousting messages now show your opponent’s lance (classlead 138).
- The first action taken during a joust now has greater impact.
- Other various jousting bug fixes.
- Tentative changes for jousting: TURN effect has been adjusted slightly, and lance stats matter a bit more.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Fealty Restored](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/12/fealty-restored)
**Published:** October 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A treasure of Blood in stone was stolen and lost. By righting that ancient wrong, the Guild of Knights returned the dead beneath Aster Malik to their rest.
**Content:**
It was taken in fear. And in no small part desire. There was no thought to what had gone before, only what was wanted in the now. No consideration for crime. What was this one thing, in a world gone mad? But no matter fear, desire, nor need, its removal was a crime. A stain. In older years, better years, a stain perhaps to be washed away in time and repentance as the foolishness of youth.
But in the magic-wracked, new-damned lands plaguing what had until recently been a great empire, it was one more in what became an avalanche of terror beneath a keep and her duchy. Curse begot theft, and theft begot curse. And thus the dead rose.
All the more for what was a treasure of Blood in stone. No matter that the thief died but shortly thereafter to draining touch, no sooner almost than they had hidden their prize. Unhappy coincidence.
Unknowing of events, what transpired for the knights of the Fall in that most terrible confluence was a desperate, doomed battle against both unliving horde and a thing that neither lived nor died. And as knight and squire and page succumbed one after another, in battle with death or mind-eater, knowledge of the theft was lost. Its hiding place, Celele’s chest, was lost. And with the sealing of the catacombs, treasure and resting place were lost.
With it restored, the dead at last returned to their rest.
---
Summary: By righting an ancient wrong, the Guild of Knights quelled the undead rising within Aster Malik’s catacombs and returned them to their slumber.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/13/updates-130)
**Published:** October 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** In Achaea, Groves Vigour and Panacaea are no longer considered offensive actions, and skywatch and treewatch will no longer show an adventurer leaving before they descend.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 13th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Skywatch and treewatch will no longer show an adventurer leaving before they descend.
- Groves Vigour and Panacaea are no longer considered offensive actions.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A new contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/14/a-new-contest)
**Published:** October 14, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A new Discord contest is up in the #contests channel: dress up as a character from Achaea's lore or history for a chance to win up to 500 credits.
**Content:**
Hey folks!
A brand new Discord contest is up in the #contests channel, this time themed around dressing up as a character from Achaea’s lore or history! Join in for a chance to win up to 500 credits for yourself.
Not sure how to join our Discord server? Check out HELP DISCORD.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/17/updates-131)
**Published:** October 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne gold drops are capped, dungeoneer gear no longer drops automatically, and MEMORYSHOP gear rises from 30 to 100 threads. Formicaries can no longer hinder the movement of phased adventurers.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 17th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Formicaries are no longer able to hinder the movement of phased adventurers.
- Denizens in the Mnemosyne now have a cap on the amount of gold they can drop, regardless of their scaled level. The ripple at which this cap takes effect varies with each denizen’s base strength, but you can generally expect gold drops to stop increasing above ripple 25.
- Dungeoneer gear no longer drops automatically in the Mnemosyne.
- The price of gear in the MEMORYSHOP has increased from 30 threads to 100 threads.
- A new crate of dungeoneer gear is now available in the MEMORYSHOP for 150 threads.
- The adventure “Complete five ripples of the Mnemosyne” has been removed.
- The adventure “Complete ten ripples of the Mnemosyne” now rewards 400 renown.
- The completion logic for Mnemosyne adventures has been reworked. Players must now clear a cumulative total of 10 ripples to receive the rewards, rather than clearing a ripple divisible by 10. If you notice inconsistent behaviour related to this please file a BUG.
- Some context for the changes above. We’ve been monitoring Mnemosyne rewards for some time and while we want it to remain rewarding, we do recognise that it has grown to be the best source of rewards for most things. These adjustments target three specific areas of rewards: gold, gear, and renown. We will continue to monitor these changes and may make further adjustments in the future, if needed.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/18/updates-132)
**Published:** October 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Special spectator functionality for the Delos arena is temporarily disabled while a bug is investigated. GMCP add and remove events for the tempo defence now include the tempo type.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 18th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Special spectator functionality for the Delos arena has been temporarily disabled while we investigate a bug.
- Gmcp add/remove defence events for the tempo defence now include the type of the tempo. e.g. tempo(vivace).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A covenant renewed](https://www.achaea.com/2026/10/19/a-covenant-renewed)
**Published:** October 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Farethi, the Soaring Sodality and their allies have rebuilt the Seat of Vastar. High Cleric Vaschel invites everyone who took part to witness an invocation recovered from ancient tablets.
**Content:**
The chapel was full.
Vaschel, High Cleric of the Seat of Vastar, smiled as he looked upon his congregation, whispering a prayer of thanks to the God while standing beneath a statue sculpted in His likeness more than a thousand years prior. For many years, that statue had been forgotten by the outside world, buried beneath a millennium of ruin and encroaching jungle. But that was all going to change, now. Grounds that had once hosted the likes of Catarin deSangre and Castomira Brangwin would flourish once more, thanks to the messengers of the God. They had come with promises of recompense and restoration, and in this, they did not disappoint. The God had provided for His faithful, just as He had done for the ancestors who took shelter beneath that very same statue whilst fleeing the horrors unleashed by the Fall so many generations ago.
“Look about you, my friends,” he preached as he approached the refurbished lectern before him. “Look upon the blessings bestowed upon us! Cast your thoughts back but a few seasons, and remember the state of our humble sanctuary. Recall the creeping vines choking our gardens, the orchards over-burdened with spoiled fruit, the crumbling walls that had for so long denied us the comforts enjoyed by so many others.”
“Remember the endless prayers and dutiful ceremonies we offered beneath the watchful gaze of the God, hoping that one day those who come after us might inherit something greater!” He paused then, allowing his eyes to pass across the familiar faces of his gathered flock. “That day has come, my friends.”
“No longer must we clamber over piles of rubble in search of shelter or meagre scraps! The dormitories have been made ready, their airy chambers offering rest to the weary. The schoolhouse has been restored, and even now Cleric Lorlek is preparing to receive the eager minds of our children. We’ve a refectory with tables laden with the bounty of our renewed orchards and gardens!”
“Even the clothing upon our backs bears witness to His providence!” Vaschel raised his hands toward the ancient likeness of the Skylord, his voice swelling with renewed fervour. “Tell me, my friends. Who among us could have foreseen the day when strangers from distant lands would cross the seas to labour for our prosperity, asking for naught in return save the opportunity to fulfill the will of the God?”
A murmur of assent passed through the chapel.
“When we lacked the strength to restore these ancient ruins, He sent us those possessed of strength in abundance! When our labours exceeded our meagre number, He sent us willing hands! And when our Ambitions dwindled to stagnation beneath the burdens of generations, He sent His messengers with tidings of renewal!”
“His Farethi, the Soaring Sodality, and their many friends and allies answered His call. From across the world they came, setting aside their own pursuits to undertake the restoration of our Seat. They cleared our ruins, gathered our harvests, tended our orchards, and raised anew the dwellings of our people!” A broad smile creased the High Cleric’s features.
“And oh, my friends, how they griped!” Laughter rippled through the congregation, then. “You all heard them! Why, there were days when I feared their protests against the demands of Cleric Gaurav’s wooden cart would rise loudly enough to reach the God Himself!”
Vaschel joined the laughter before raising one hand for silence.
“But complain though they might, their Conviction did not waver! Through every burden, every setback, every fresh demand upon their patience, they persevered. Whether they were sorting rubble, entreating a particularly nasty cyclops, or fighting off the kahtak, they did not turn from their work or forsake our people. And it is we who now get to enjoy the fruits of their labour!”
He permitted a moment for the congregation’s approval and applause to subside before continuing, his voice assuming a more solemn cadence.
“Yet amid these many blessings, the God saw fit to grant us another.”
“During their endeavours, the God’s messengers uncovered four fragments of an archaic stone tablet, concealed for centuries beneath the fallen masonry of the old academy. These relics were entrusted to our clerics, who have since devoted themselves to the deciphering of their inscriptions. And though it has proven no simple thing to unravel, we believe we have recovered the purpose of this forgotten treasure.”
Vaschel paused, his eyes brightening.
“An invocation, my friends! A sacred rite through which the faithful of old entreated the God to extend the protection of His Sky over these very grounds! It is believed this ceremony was once conducted at the commencement of each new academic year, when the students of the institution that once stood here gathered to seek His blessing. And what more fitting conclusion could there be to the labours to restore the Seat than the renewal of this ancient covenant?”
The High Cleric stepped away from the lectern, turning back toward the immense statue overlooking his congregation.
“For centuries, our people have kept His faith. Through the fall of empires, through hardship and privation, through the passing of generations, we have endured. And He has answered our devotion with blessings beyond our wildest expectations.”
Vaschel turned once more toward the gathered faithful, spreading his arms in invitation.
“So let us give thanks, brethren! At the conclusion of the restoration, we shall gather beneath the open Sky and perform the invocation recovered from the ancient tablets. We shall invite our benefactors, their friends and allies, and all who wish to bear witness, that together we might entreat the God to extend His protection over this Seat, over our children, and over the generations yet to come!”
---
Summary: Following the tireless efforts of the Farethi, the Soaring Sodality, and their many friends and allies, the ancient ruin known as the Seat of Vastar has been rebuilt and renewed. High Cleric Vaschel invites all who took part to bear witness to a ritual uncovered during the restoration as the concluding celebration of this effort.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The storms we endure...](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/28/the-storms-we-endure)
**Published:** September 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** At Squall Cleft, the Seer, Yen, Veldrin and Serahfyna fed the storm instead of placating it, and a beast rose. A new choice awaits adventurers who aid the Seer.
**Content:**
The mists made me question everything.
Every theory. Every conclusion. Every hour of work I have poured into understanding the hydroforms. Perhaps I have been walking in the wrong direction all this time. Or perhaps not the wrong direction, but not the right one either.
For years, I sought to protect my people. For years, I studied the hydroforms in battle. I know them. I know their movements. I know where they are strong, where they are weak, and how to bring them low.
Yet the mists made me recall the tales of my childhood.
Cautionary tales. Stories told to children about meddling with that which they do not understand. About seeing a warning and choosing to walk past it. About believing that knowledge grants permission.
And always, there was a consequence: a beast of one’s own making, set loose to wreak devastation. Too late to take it back. Too late to undo what was done. Too late to subdue what had been unleashed.
But the mists do not carry children’s tales, do they?
They carry memory.
Imperfect memory, perhaps. Fragmented. Distorted by time and by whatever strange power dwells within that place. But memory nonetheless.
And so I pressed forward with my theory, though I did not fully understand it. Perhaps that, too, was a warning. Perhaps I was doing precisely what those old tales cautioned against.
I enlisted the aid of Yen of Targossas, a courageous adventurer who wisely rallied two formidable friends, the valiant rogues Veldrin and Serahfyna. Together, we set out to test my theory. Once again, they stood beside me, shielding me from the hydroforms as I delved deeper in search of answers.
Then came the choice.
It should have been simple. It always has been.
Weaken the beasts. Placate the storm. Restore what balance we could.
But today, we chose another path. Today, we leaned into the storm.
We fomented its power. Fed it. Pushed it beyond anything I had ever witnessed.
The firmament trembled. The foundations beneath our feet buckled and groaned. I cast magics whose workings I did not fully comprehend, and thunder roared above us as the depths below began to yield.
Then something answered.
It rose from the depths as though the tempest itself had taken form: a fearsome beast unlike any I had ever beheld, wrought from the torrential might of the storm.
My childhood tales returned to me then.
Too late to take it back. Too late to undo.
But is it too late to subdue?
I do not know what we have uncovered beneath Squall Cleft. I do not know what this means for my people, or what consequences may follow now that we have seen what was meant to remain hidden.
I have spent my life seeking answers. This day, for the first time, I find myself wishing I had not found one.
Even I cannot See what awaits us now.
---
Summary: A new choice awaits adventurers who aid the Seer of the Akubi in Squall Cleft, as fomenting the storm summons a terrible beast unlike any other.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/30/updates-128)
**Published:** September 30, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Ripples 300+ now grants an additional affix, and Mnemosyne denizens at 350+ block some magical travel and tumbling. The Wrath and Righteousness cooldown drops 5 minutes per echo, not 10.
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 30th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The cooldown on the Wrath and Righteousness boon is now reduced by 5 minutes per echo, rather than 10 minutes.
- Fixed an issue with bonus affix count from ripples 200+ not applying (as noted in Changes #409).
- There is now an additional affix for those of you who manage the colossal feat of ripples 300+.
- Denizens in the Mnemosyne will now block some forms of magical travel and tumbling at ripples 350+.
- Fixed a bug with the Eternal Spark boon increasing fire resistance rather than ignoring it.
- Fixed a bug with Terror of the Skies applying to boss denizens.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/29/updates-127)
**Published:** September 29, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** AB 2h, dwc, snb and dwb now show weaponmastery specialisation abilities. ARTIFACT POWER SHOW tells you whether you own a power, and designs can now specify seats.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 29th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Players may now see the abilities of various weaponmastery specialisations via AB 2h, dwc, snb, or dwb (or by using their longform equivalent e.g. AB DUALBLUNT).
- ARTIFACT POWER SHOW <power> will now show if you already own a power, and what items it is on if so.
- Number of seats may now be specified for designs.
- Fireplace design sketchs now default to be containers as required.
- For a small fee, designers may now conceal/reveal body parts for a design after the approval process, if it is of the appropriate type.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/29/updates-126)
**Published:** September 29, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** AFFLICTION SHOW now displays NoRandomCure, showing whether actives and passives that target afflictions can cure a given affliction. Cadmus curse references are removed from affliction outputs.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 29th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- NoRandomCure is now shown on affliction show, to reflect if an affliction can be cured vs methods such as actives and passives that target afflictions.
- Cadmus curse references have been removed from affliction show and affliction list outputs, as its not in the game currently.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [More changes.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/29/more-changes-4)
**Published:** September 29, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** WREATHE now adds burning stacks, and INCINERATE's kill threshold drops to 40% but scales up to 60% with them. Oppression gains ACCUSATION and Groves loses LASTHARVEST.
**Content:**
More changes!
### Groves
- (234): LASTHARVEST has been removed from the skill.
- (64): VIGOUR and similar shall now only drain sunlight if you have enough to cast the ability.
### Metamorphosis
- (337): WREATHE now adds burning stacks.
- (337): WYVERN FRENZY can now be WREATHED.
- INCINERATE has had its health kill threshold reduced to 40%, but now scales up with burning stacks (up to three stacks, capping out at 60%, first stack weighs more heavily than the second two).
- (337): Summoned FLAME has undergone some changes:
- On morphing to a different form, you have thirty seconds of time to summon flame again. If you do so, you’ll return to your former flame level after a short delay.
- If you do not summon flame again within said window, you’ll take backlash damage and flame will be cleared.
### Oppression
- (152): ACCUSATION has been added to the skill.
### Reclamation
- (324): EMBRACE no longer requires vines.
### Subterfuge
- (Admin): The snake pets sileris strip has been altered to be progressive rather than one and done. It now degrades each tick and after a certain number of hits the sileris defence is stripped. The rate of degradement is increased by darkshade being present and significantly increased by scytherus being present (if both are present, it strips instantly as previously).
- Note: my goal here was for this to facilitate the late game scytherus push but in practice it was just meaning sileris is turned off almost 100% of the time and consequently meaning frat was basically an always on thing too,. This should preserve the snakes potency for mid to late game but slow things down a little earlier on.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/24/updates-125)
**Published:** September 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Each of the four Elemental Lords now has a class-based combo boon. Thundercry is renamed Thunderspark and afflicts recklessness, Stoneform is a new generic boon, and Earthen Weights is gone.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 24th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The Dragon breath boon ‘Thundercry’ has been renamed to ‘Thunderspark’ and now afflicts with recklessness instead of fear.
- The bard combo boon no longer requires ‘Songstep’ and instead requires the ‘Flow State’ boon.
- A class-based combo boon has been added for each of the four Elemental Lords.
- New generic boon added: Stoneform
- The magi boon ‘Earthen Weights’ has been removed.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/21/updates-124)
**Published:** September 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Uncurable afflictions no longer cause serverside curing to ignore lower-priority stacking afflictions. Two Blademaster combo boon bugs are fixed, and prospecting for commodities absent from lodes now fails outright.
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 21st of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Attempting to prospect for commodities that can’t be found in lodes will now result in a failure rather than sending out a doomed prospecting crew.
- Uncurable afflictions will no longer cause other stacking afflictions of lower priority to be ignored by serverside curing.
- Fixed a bug with the Blademaster combo boon having a shorter equilibrium cost than intended.
- Fixed a bug where the damage dealt by the Blademaster combo boon was incorrectly triggering on-hit boon effects.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/20/updates-123)
**Published:** September 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Health and mana sip cures can now be added to the curing queue. HE ARMS RESET has been granted, recklessness masks HEALTH, HP and MANA, and metabolise edge cases are fixed.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 20th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Rhivona was released briefly from the clutches of Niflheim to grant HE ARMS RESET.
- The HEALTH, HP and MANA commands now also masked by recklessness… Monsters.
- Health and mana sip cures can now be added to the curing queue, e.g. CURING QUEUE ADD SIP HEALTH, CURING QUEUE ADD APPLY HEALTH TO TORSO
- Fixed some edge cases where metabolise could prevent two of the same affliction sourced from a single player.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Great Hunt Results](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/20/great-hunt-results-5)
**Published:** September 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Great Hunt has concluded after a brutal 24 hours. Gavai, Vostyr and Fenrik won their tiers, and the top ten in each tier have been awarded credit prizes.
**Content:**
The Great Hunt has now concluded after a brutal 24 hours!
Congratulations to Gavai, Vostyr, and Fenrik, the winners in their tiers each claiming five hundred credits!
The top ten in each tier have also been awarded credit prizes!
| Rank | Sub-80 | Sub-99 | Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fenrik | Vostyr | Gavai |
| 2 | Devereaux | Froedine | Cooper |
| 3 | Khuxis | Toscus | Alyzar |
| 4 | Nemaia | Calvor | Bainz |
| 5 | Serrire | Aliapoe | Thelek |
| 6 | Ettokala | Xaris | Faedwyn |
| 7 | Sarek | Maldrantus | Nezaya |
| 8 | Tisio | Salvar | Arador |
| 9 | Yva | Meral | Kutcher |
| 10 | Cephrael | Kayze | Mulligan |
Well done to everyone who participated and to all the victors!
Join us next week for the birthday CTF!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/18/updates-122)
**Published:** September 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Ogre's Strike boon now reduces critical chance by 1% instead of 2%, and Ogre's Speed by 3% instead of 4%. A new boon, Passionate, has also been added.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 18th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The ‘Ogre’s Strike’ boon now reduced critical chance by 1% instead of 2%.
- The ‘Ogre’s Speed’ boon now reduced critical chance by 3% instead of 4%.
- New Boon Added: Passionate
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/18/updates-121)
**Published:** September 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The indifference affliction now prevents battlerage generation and use. Clumsiness gives battlerage abilities a 33% chance to fail, recklessness masks QSC correctly, and five boons were changed or reworked.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 18th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The indifference affliction now prevents battlerage generation as well as the use of battlerage abilities.
- The clumsiness affliction now grants a 33% chance for a battlerage ability to fail. This still consumes rage and places the ability on cooldown.
- Health and mana are now correctly masked in QSC while you have the recklessness affliction.
- The ‘Corrupted Cold’ boon now grants permanent indifference instead of permanent tenderskin.
- The cooldown on kai enfeeble imposed by the ‘Spirit Rend’ boon is now 30 seconds instead of 60.
- The ‘Spirit and Soul’ boon is now rare instead of legendary.
- The monk boon ‘Kevadrin’s Patience’ has been reworked and renamed to ‘Patience of Mind’.
- The monk boon ‘Halfthought’ has been reworked and renamed to ‘Spiritguard’.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mnemosyne: Combo Boons](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/18/mnemosyne-combo-boons)
**Published:** September 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Combo boons never appear as a choice. Claim every boon in a specific set during one dungeon run and the bonus boon is granted automatically. Just under 50 exist.
**Content:**
As hinted at in Announce #5829, we had one more expansion to the Mnemosyne boon system for September! I’m pleased to introduce Combo Boons!
Some boons are not drawn from the usual pools at all – they are combo rewards, granted automatically the moment you’ve claimed every boon in a specific set. Collect the right combination, in any order, and the bonus boon is yours the instant the last piece falls into place.
- Combo boons never appear as a choice during boon selection. You cannot roll or pick them directly.
- The moment you claim the final boon in a required combination, the combo boon is granted immediately and automatically, with no further action needed.
- It doesn’t matter what order you claim the component boons in, only that you end up holding all of them in the same dungeon run.
- BOON CONTEMPLATE will show you whether a boon contributes to a combo, but not what combo that might be or what other pieces are needed! You’ll need to find these out on your own!
There are just under 50 combo boons in the system at this time, including one for each class drawn from their class-specific boons! Some of these provide minor bonuses, while others can be much more significant!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Great Hunt Looms... over the Mnemosyne](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/18/the-great-hunt-looms-over-the-mnemosyne)
**Published:** September 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Great Hunt is a 24 hour hunting contest with credit prizes across three level tiers. The Mnemosyne is accessible this time, with point values rising in later ripples.
**Content:**
In a few hours (see UPCOMING for details!), the horns will sound, signalling the beginning of the Great Hunt!
For those who are not familiar, a Great Hunt is a 24 hour hunting contest with various credit prizes!
Prize tiers are split into three levels: below level 80, below level 99, and “open” which is anything above 99 and onwards!
The Mnemosyne will be accessible during this Great Hunt. Denizens slain within the Mnemosyne will be worth a different amount of points than their real-world equivalents, with point values increasing the deeper you wade into later ripples. For those who prefer to compete in the style of a traditional Great Hunt, you can still earn points through typical hunting.
As is customary, we will have:
- Double experience
- Credits will be awarded to everyone who reaches different point thresholds.
- 5cr at 100 points, 10cr at 1000, and 15cr at 2500 points.
- Credit prizes for the top ten winners in each tier.
- 500cr for first through to 50cr for 10th.
On top of that:
- All of the Great Hunt caves will be opening, offering bonus XP and gold for all the boss kills.
- The more difficult foray bosses (Horald, Vulkuz, and all Reckoning forays) have massively increased XP and gold rewards.
- The forces of the Underworld will be deployed to the battlefield on a more frequent basis.
- Invasions will be breaking out on the Elemental Planes, also offering boosted XP for kills of hostile elementals.
- The Gnolls of Manara Burrow will be spreading their influence to the Granite Hills in great number for lower level players to enjoy!
- The Sidhe and Unsidhe will clash in the forests of Annwyn, bringing greater numbers and new forces to be fought.
- The outriders of Istarion will be regularly deployed in larger numbers into the Istar Jungle.
- Additionally, for the duration of the Great Hunt there will be a chance to loot rare, honour-mob trinkets from any killed denizen in addition to normal gear drops!
See HELP GREAT HUNT for the rest!
Good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Great Hunt Rescheduling](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/17/great-hunt-rescheduling)
**Published:** September 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Great Hunt date shown on UPCOMING was set one day early by mistake. The contest was meant to fall on the weekend, and UPCOMING has now been corrected.
**Content:**
Hey folks, I am sorry for the inconvenience but we want to flag a correction to the Great Hunt schedule.
The date shown on UPCOMING was set one day early by mistake. It was meant to fall on the weekend, and UPCOMING has now been corrected. The Great Hunt will begin in just over 26 hours from now, that’s Serenade tomorrow.
Sorry for the mix up, and thanks for your patience.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [More changes.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/16/more-changes-3)
**Published:** September 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Bladedance gains a new tempo, VIVACE, and a new ability, ENCIRCLE. Sagas and Woe each gain PROLOGUE, FINALE can replace a REFRAIN, and dual blunt oppression invests go inline.
**Content:**
More changes!
### Bladedance
- (265): New tempo: VIVACE.
- (265): New ability: ENCIRCLE.
### Composition
- (161): You can now FINALE in place of a REFRAIN.
### Sagas
- (59): New ability: PROLOGUE.
### Woe
- (59): New ability: PROLOGUE.
### Weaponmastery
- (101): (Dual blunt): You can now append oppression invests to the end of relevant blunt attacks to do this inline.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Upcoming absence](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/15/upcoming-absence)
**Published:** September 15, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** An Achaea admin will be away from around the second of October through to around the fourteenth, so any requests that need attention should go in before then.
**Content:**
Hey all,
Just for your information, I shall be absent from around the second of October through until around the fourteenth. If you need anything from me in the near future, get your requests in before then!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/15/updates-120)
**Published:** September 15, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Envenoming arrows received a large bug sweep, and you can now envenom inline with the SHOOT command, at one sip per arrow rather than five arrows per sip when envenoming separately.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 15th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- We have fixed a lot of bugs concerning envenoming arrows. Be aware of changing behavior, things working that didn’t before, and of course the possibility of things that worked before that no longer do.
- You can now envenom arrows inline with the shoot command – SHOOT <target> \[<colour>\] \[<venom>\]. This will automatically use envenomed arrows in your quiver if you have them or pull venom from a vial if not. NOTE: While envenoming separately will envenom 5 arrows per sip, using the inline command will use 1 sip per arrow! Serpents who are able to secrete arrows will use arrows from their quiver first, and then secrete venom if your quiver doesn’t have envenomed arrows.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Plans within plans.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/06/plans-within-plans)
**Published:** September 6, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Pandora, the Wayward Heir, descended on Delos at inadvisable speed, wrecked the old marketplace, and struck an unknown bargain with Prospero, Lord of Wealth. Neither God announced the terms.
**Content:**
Pandora had never possessed much patience for doors.
The Wayward Heir descended upon Delos in a streak of incandescent colour, hurtling from the heavens at a thoroughly inadvisable speed. She struck the old marketplace amid a violent eruption of stone, timber, and glass. Empty stalls splintered beneath the blast. Masonry cracked and dust rolled out into the surrounding streets while the remnants of awnings tore free and tumbled through the square.
Pandora emerged from the centre of the devastation with a delighted twirl.
Plans within plans within plans.
The thought had occupied Her for some time now. One little bargain opened another possibility, which led somewhere else entirely, and that had given Her another idea. Truthfully, there were so many pieces in motion now that even Pandora had yet to decide where some of them belonged and which ones to pursue further.
Wonderful.
Her gaze travelled across the wreckage. An old stall had folded in upon itself. Splintered boards littered the paving stones. Somewhere nearby, timber gave a prolonged groan before another neglected section of the marketplace collapsed.
Ah. Perhaps She had come in a little quickly.
No matter. Beyond the old marketplace, Delos continued about its considerable business, and somewhere among its streets stood the temple of Prospero, Lord of Wealth. Pandora skipped through the smoking wreckage toward it, trailing stray motes of colour through the dust.
The Merchant God had something She wanted. Pandora, fortunately, had something to offer.
What passed between the Wayward Heir and the Lord of Wealth remained behind the temple doors. Neither God announced the terms. Those near enough received only the occasional tremor beneath their feet and, once, the unmistakable sound of laughter carrying from somewhere deep within the temple.
Eventually, Pandora emerged. The bargain had been struck.
Humming a tuneless little song, She wandered back through the shattered remains of the old marketplace, wholly heedless of the additional devastation She had brought to it. Another bargain secured, another part of Her scheme had fallen into place, and there remained so very much to do.
Plans within plans within plans.
With one final twirl, the Wayward Heir dissolved into a vivid cloud of colour, leaving Prospero to His wealth and the long neglected marketplace in considerably worse condition than She had found it.
---
Summary: Pandora, the Wayward Heir, struck an unknown bargain with Prospero, God of Wealth. The merchants of Delos were left to contend with the consequences of Her rather enthusiastic arrival.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/08/updates-116)
**Published:** September 8, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** SHIPRETURN is no longer possible while phased, serverside curing now respects defences stripped during blackout, and various typo fixes ship alongside a new line for missing with a thrown weapon.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 8th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- SHIPRETURN is no longer possible phased.
- Serverside curing will now respect defences that are stripped while under the effects of blackout.
- Various typo fixes along with a change to the line for missing with a thrown weapon.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [More changes.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/08/more-changes-2)
**Published:** September 8, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Crystalism gains a new DETUNE ability, Runelore adds RUNEBLADESLIST with per-weapon configurations, CLOTTING now takes an amount of bleeding to clot, and defences and rift comm checks see general improvements.
**Content:**
More changes!
### Crystalism
- (82): New ability: DETUNE.
- (82): VIBES and similar vibration listing outputs now note detuned status if its present.
- (82): The message when a vibration resonates with someone has changed slightly, and there is a new one for when a detuned vibration ticks.
### Runelore
- (128): Added RUNEBLADESLIST.
- (128): Configurations are now set per-weapon.
### Survival
- (164): CLOTTING now takes an amount of bleeding to clot.
### Misc
- (214): Various things that didn’t pull comms from rift now do. Notably campfires and various artificing checks.
- (237): General improvements made to how defences operate. Enchantments notably are handled much better now.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/08/updates-117)
**Published:** September 8, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Corpses from denizens killed in the Mnemosyne now carry a cap on their maximum essence value.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 8th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Corpses from denizens killed in the Mnemosyne now have a cap on their maximum essence value.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Happy Birthday Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/09/happy-birthday-achaea-3)
**Published:** September 9, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea is twenty-nine. Type HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA once this month for a bound credit prize and a day of double XP, plus a daily quest, a Great Hunt and a CTF.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As of today, Achaea is officially twenty nine years old! Older than many of our players, and swiftly approaching a major milestone where I’m somehow going to have to outdo the Year 1000 celebrations!
But that’s next year’s problem. For the rest of the month, anyone can type HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA once throughout the month to receive a one-off bound credit prize and 24 hours of double XP!
On Friday we’ll be launching the daily quest for the rest of the month, and we also have a Great Hunt and a CTF on the 18th and 26th respectively! See UPCOMING for details!
Last but not least, I have also doubled the renown cap for the rest of the week, so until Monday, enjoy 40 daily credits each day!
Happy birthday Achaea, and thank you all for your continued support.
– Icti, Makarios, Edra, and all the Achaea team.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/09/updates-118)
**Published:** September 9, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Alchemists can now strike out against the formicaries of Eleusis via ALCHEMY REPRESS and CALCINATE. High-level mobs no longer pay gold past the GOLDCAP, and denizen-given parasite now disables regeneration.
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 9th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Alchemists can now strike out against the formicaries of Eleusis. Read AB ALCHEMY REPRESS and AB ALCHEMY CALCINATE to learn more.
- Fixed an issue causing high level mobs to continue being worth small amounts of gold even past the GOLDCAP.
- The parasite affliction now correctly disables natural health and mana regeneration when given by a denizen.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A spot of friendly murder.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/13/a-spot-of-friendly-murder)
**Published:** September 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Dauntless queueing system gains a pairs queue and a tournament mode for long-lasting teams of up to six, fighting three against three, with new PAIRS and TEAMS rankings.
**Content:**
I can think of few better ways to celebrate an Achaean birthday than with excessive amounts of rewarded violence, and so I’m pleased to bring you some major updates to the Dauntless queueing systems.
First, there is now a pairs queue. You can join the pairs queue and when there are enough valid people (on the tick as usual) it’ll form two random teams and set you to murdering one another. This does not have the ‘focus on enemies as priority’ that standard Oniar does: you can be partnered with your most loathed enemy just as easily as your most beloved ally.
Second, and the much larger addition: the tournament mode. All of the details can be found in HELP ARENA TEAMS, but the brief summary is you will now be able to form long lasting teams that can register each combat rankings month and face off against one another in the tournament queue. These are three against three battles and your teams can be up to six, the helpfile covers how that works.
There are new rankings for PAIRS and TEAMS. I’ll also note I’ve set this up to use a different rating model to the solo Oniar system. If it proves to be superior which I suspect it will, we’ll move solo over – but just in case we’ll wait and watch (and wouldn’t do it half way through an active season regardless).
In addition, there are a few general improvements:
- Fixed a weird edge case where matches could be going on at season cutover – all Oniar matches are now forceably terminated before season results are calculated.
- Top three results for Oniar results (solo/pairs/teams) are now posted to the new Dauntless news section at season end.
- When it comes to the queue cooldown, both members in one on one Oniar battles get a similar cooldown now, rather than one getting functionally double the other’s.
- Added your class to the output of combat status. Not retroactive unfortunately since there is no way to do that, but it is there going forward.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/15/updates-119)
**Published:** September 15, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** AUDIT CRITRATE shows a breakdown of your critical hit rate, adventurers who disconnect inside the Mnemosyne now return to their depths on reconnect, and tiny commodity lodes no longer spawn.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 15th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- the Capsule talisman (tlalaiad in moderngods) can no longer be used as titan.
- You can now use AUDIT CRITRATE to see a breakdown of your critical hit rate. AUDIT CRITICAL still shows your critical hit bonus.
- Upon disconnecting from within the Mnemosyne, adventurers will be returned to their depths upon reconnecting, provided it has has not already collapsed.
- The Mnemosyne should no longer strip defences again some time after leaving it.
- Commodity distribution has been tweaked slightly to ensure tiny lodes no longer spawn.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [September in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/september-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Birthday month: a 40% credit sale, 50% for Iron Elite, an extra 10% off every artefact cart category, and polymegahedral dice. A daily quest and Great Hunt follow.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
September has arrived and that means it’s birthday month! While the Iron Carnival continues, later in the month you can expect the usual birthday celebrations, including a daily quest, a Great Hunt, and some updates focused on character customisation/personalisation.
Shortly after this post, Edra will also be putting live a slew of updates to the Mnemosyne Trials focused on quality of life, some highly requested features related to boons, updates to existing boons, and a batch of brand new boons.
This will occur alongside our first seasonal reset of the Mnemosyne rankings which will take place about an hour after this post!
For birthday month, we have a three-pronged promotion for you:
First up is a 40% credit sale – all credit purchases on the Achaea website will award 40% bonus credits, stacking with Iron Elite for a massive 50% bonus!
Second up is the return of the artefact cart to the Achaea website and, in place of rolling discount categories throughout the month, we will be applying the 10% extra discount to ALL categories for the whole month!
And finally we welcome back polymegahedral dice, which as always can be obtained from [www.achaea.com/credits](https://www.achaea.com/credits) !
Dice purchases also award House and City credits, and, for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra one!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
- 1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
- 2: Interlocked caches that open for the Scholars, Eldergods, and Marks sets.
- 3: Legend Deck card sleeves which open for all suits.
- 4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
- 5: Shining teardrops for use in the FAESHOP, see HELP FAESHOP for details!
- You will always receive between 10 and 15 of these, and they trade in for 3 bound credits per tear (FAESHOP TRADEIN <#>).
- These can also now be traded with FAESHOP GIVE <# of tears> TO <person>)
- 6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
Another busy months looms with perhaps a few unexpected additions!
Keep your eyes peeled for all the updates to come, and have a great September!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mnemosyne Updates: September 2026](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/mnemosyne-updates-september-2026)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Mnemosyne rankings had their first seasonal reset: Aroan, Cooper and Thiev on top. Wade stones now tailor your next boon offering, and BOON REROLL banks up to three rerolls.
**Content:**
As of this post, we have reset the RANKINGS MNEMOSYNE board. Those who achieved a Top 50 run can now view their results in RANKINGS MNEMOSYNE ALLTIME. Congratulations to Aroan for taking first place, Cooper for second, and Thiev for third! Well done, everyone!
Before I go into the new changes, I want to announce the winners of our Discord Boon/Affix contest!
For the boons:
- In 1st place is Lasyll who wins 500 credits for the boon ‘Obligate Carnivore’.
- In 2nd place is Sohl who wins 350 credits for the boon ‘Berserker’s Edge’.
- In 3rd place is Laorir who wins 150 credits for the boon ‘Momentum’.
For the affixes:
- In 1st place is Ksha who wins 500 credits for the affix ‘Sanctioned Wade’.
- In 2nd place is Lasyll who wins 350 credits for the affix ‘Khentimen’s Enmity’.
- In 3rd place is Kalys who wins 150 credits for the inspiration behind the boon ‘Suffering of Abbadon’.
Thank you everyone who participated over on the official Achaea Discord channel! Now let’s get into the new Mnemosyne changes! First off: Boon Tailoring!
### Boon Tailoring
Wade stones are tokens attuned to a particular flavour of boon: Offence, Defence, Utility, Classes, Legendary, or Starter Boons. Skipping one across the river Mnemosyne will shape the very next set of boons you are offered, letting you steer your build with more purpose than chance alone allows.
There are several categories of stones:
- Offence – Boons that sharpen your ability to hurt your foes or buff your offensive stats.
- Defence – Boons that improve your survivability.
- Utility – Boons that enhance your resource management, mobility, and other conveniences. Also includes affliction immunities and general battlerage afflictions.
- Classes – Boons tied to your class, race, or a specific skill you possess.
- Legend – Legendary boons only.
- Lessers – Starter boons that empower you in significant ways. Includes: Strength of Lessers, Resilience of Lessers, and Death’s Demise.
WADE SKIP <stone>
- Skip a wade stone across the river Mnemosyne, tailoring your next non-boss boon offering towards the category inscribed upon it.
- You may only have one tailoring pending at a time, and it is consumed the moment your next set of boon options is generated. Any active tailoring will show on WADE STATUS.
- Tailoring limits per run:
- Classes – up to three times
- Legend – once, only in ripples 10+
- Lessers – once
- Offence, Defence, Utility – no limit
- This cannot be done while you are already in the midst of choosing boons.
- This has no effect on the boon offerings that follow the completion of a boss floor. A pending tailoring simply carries over to the offering after that.
NOTE: In some instances, it is possible to roll less than 3 options in a specific tailored pool. However, if a boon tailoring would generate no options at all, your boons will instead be drawn from the typical pool.
### Boon Rerolling
Have you ever been offered a selection of boons and thought, “I wish I could change these.”. Well now you can, via the BOON REROLL command.
BOON REROLL
- During boon selection, discard your current set of options and reveal a new set in their place.
- You are granted a reroll for every five ripples you complete, up to a maximum of three banked at once.
- You can view how many rerolls you have on WADE STATUS.
NOTE: Boon tailoring does not carry through rerolls. If you tailor your boon selection and decide to reroll the options, you will get new options drawn from the typical pool.
### \[REDACTED\] Boons
Some boons are not drawn from the usual pools at all – they are \[REDACTED\], granted automatically the moment you’ve \[REDACTED\].
- \[REDACTED\] never appear as a choice during boon selection. You cannot roll or pick them directly.
- The moment you claim \[REDACTED\], the \[REDACTED\] is \[REDACTED\], with no further action needed.
- It doesn’t matter what order you \[REDACTED\], only that \[REDACTED\].
- BOON CONTEMPLATE will show you \[REDACTED\], but not what \[REDACTED\]. You’ll need to find these out on your own!
Ah, it looks like that last section is not quite done cooking yet. We need a bit more time to put polish on these \[REDACTED\] boons, but expect them to come within the next few days!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mnemosyne Boon/Affix Updates: September 2026](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/mnemosyne-boon-affix-updates-september-2026)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The September Mnemosyne pass adds thirteen affixes, 33 neutral boons and new boons for sixteen classes, and changes Negotiator, Conqueror, Battlemaster's Fury, Robust Restoration and others.
**Content:**
The following changes to boons and affixes have been implemented in the Mnemosyne:
### Affixes
- New affixes added:
- Sanctioned Wade (30+)
- Khentimen’s Enmity (25+)
- Suffering of Abbadon (20+)
- Deathmarked (50+)
- Deathbound (65+)
- Thunderous (70+)
- Fulminous (85+)
- Starforged (80+)
- Starborn (95+)
- Lone Hunter (90+)
- Pack Hunter (105+)
- Sorcerous (100+)
- Reckoning (115+)
- Removed affixes:
- Dreamwracked
- Dream of Tavarius
- Manifested nightmares attack speed has been reduced.
- ‘Meldscorned’, ‘Mindworm’, and ‘Khentimen’s Enmity’ are all mutually exclusive with one another.
- All affixes that spawn new enemies upon killing denizens are mutually exclusive with one another.
- ‘Apathetic’, ‘Torrential’ are no longer removed from the affix pool in late ripples.
- ‘Heretical’ no longer reduces your fire resistance.
- ‘Iconoclast’ no longer increases all damage you take.
### Neutral Boons
- New boons added:
- Fire Mastery
- Physical Mastery
- Arcane Mastery
- Cold Mastery
- Electric Mastery
- Venom Mastery
- Asphyxiation Mastery
- Psychic Mastery
- Arcane Will
- Antimagic Shell
- Heelbreaker
- Thick Skull
- Ogre’s Strike
- Ogre’s Defence
- Ogre’s Speed
- Mana Powered
- Brute Force
- Mental Prowess
- Deadly Finesse
- Training Arc
- Violent Impulse
- Battle Frenzy
- Rage Within
- Glass Cannon
- Fired Up
- Vigorous
- Desperation
- Slow And Steady
- Healing Metabolism
- Bloodquell
- Cavalry
- Phaestian Fortitude
- Death Stare
- Removed boons:
- Reaper
- Reaped
- Reaver
- ‘Negotiator’ is now a legendary boon, and grants 5 additional rerolls when claimed.
- ‘Conqueror’ is now stackable, echoing up to 3 times.
- ‘Battlemaster’s Fury’ has been changed. It now grants 30% faster balance and equilibrium recovery while under 50% of your health.
- ‘Offspring’s Error’ now reduced psychic damage by 10% rather than 15%.
- ‘Sapwise’ now gives an additional 10% resistance to poison damage.
- ‘Elixir Addict’ can now echo up to 3 times.
- ‘Thirst for Power’ no longer reduced your damage when below 90% mana.
- ‘Silvestri’s Grace’ has been changed. It now grants 25% more damage but you lose 1 constitution.
- ‘Robust Restoration’ has been changed. It now empowers your restoration ability to cure a random affliction and heal you for 15% of your maximum health.
- ‘Sohtanate’s Suffering’ now cures an additional mental affliction, rather than any treeable affliction.
- ‘Coarse Flesh’ now grants immunity to slickness without other downsides.
- ‘Meathead’ now gives permanent confusion rather than stupidity.
- ‘Trenchfoot’ is now named ‘Sprightly’ and gives permanent clumsiness instead of hamstring.
- ‘Master of Harmony’ is now a legendary boon, but has a 10 second cooldown before it can proc again.
- The echo of ‘Hidden Gem’ is now more powerful.
- ‘Serpentine’ is no longer a Serpent only boon.
- The output of BOON CONTEMPLATE now shows a boon’s category.
- If a boon is unlocked by another, the output of BOON CONTEMPLATE will now show you what boon unlocked it.
### Dragon
- New boons: Draconic Sweep, Organ Piercer
- The various affliction on blast boons are now gated behind the boon ‘Might of Sycaerunax’.
- ‘Disembowel’ now has a 50% chance to inflict your target with inhibit.
### Firelord
- New boons: Eternal Spark (Legendary), Greater Fire (Legendary), Firepower
### Airlord
- New boons: Essence of Whiirh (Legendary), Greater Air (Legendary)
- Fixed a bug with the boon ‘Storm Anvil’ not working.
### Earthlord
- New boons: Flawless Sculpture (Legendary), Greater Earth (Legendary), Molten Eruption
### Waterlord
- New boons: Hadal Touch (Legendary), Greater Water (Legendary)
### Alchemist
- New boons: Philosopher’s Focus (Legendary), Purifying Salt
### Bard
- New boons: Deadly Flourish
### Depthswalker
- New boons: Aeonic Wisdom
- ‘Timequake’ damage has been reduced by approximately 25%.
- ‘Sow’ now echoes up to a maximum of 2 times, rather than 3.
### Magi
- New boons: Evocation of Water, Evocation of Earth, Evocation of Air, Evocation of Fire
### Monk
- New boons: Spirit Rend (Legendary), Way of the Empty Hand, Way of the Long Staff
### Pariah
- New boons: Blood Feast, Insect Swarm
### Psion
- New boons: Bloodletter’s Fury (Legendary), Psiwave
- ‘Third Skin’ is now a common boon.
### Runewarden
- ‘Hammer and Nail’ now deals approximately 20% less base damage. (The numbers on this boon were tuned with the assumption that sketching a rune was a larger downside than it ended up being in practice.)
- ‘Fury of Ages’ now only grants 4 bonus strength while fury is active. This applies to Infernal, Unnamable, and Paladin as well.
### Serpent
- New boons: Serpent’s Maw (Legendary), Flayer. Four additional boons unlocked via Serpent’s Maw.
- ‘Assassin’s Blade’ is now an uncommon boon.
### Shaman
- New boons: Thrice Cursed (Legendary), Blood Omen
### Sylvan
- New boons: Mycorizael Toxin (Legendary), Vinewhip
### Unnamable
- New boons: Fleshy Growth, Gaze of the Void
- ‘Shimite’s Blessing’ is now a rare boon.
- ‘Horror’s Embrace’ is now an uncommon boon.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/updates-114)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Entering any arena now resets limbs, health and mana and strips the sycophantic shoulder cape's lifesteal defence on the way in. TALISMANSEARCH searches talismans the way ARTSEARCH searches artefacts.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 1st of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Limbs, health, and mana will now reset upon entering any arena. Additionally, the lifesteal defence granted by the sycophantic shoulder cape will be stripped on entry to arenas.
- TALISMANSEARCH will now allow you to search over talismans, similar to ARTSEARCH for artifacts.
- The boon ‘Negotiator’ now grants 1 reroll per boon claimed, respecting the 3 reroll cap. Instead of granting 5 rerolls once.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [September Discord contest](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/september-discord-contest)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Birthday month doubles the usual Discord contest prizes. Submit your funniest memory of Achaea in the #contests channel to win up to 1000 credits. See HELP DISCORD to join.
**Content:**
Hey folks!
As part of our birthday month celebrations, we’re hosting a special Discord contest with double the usual prize amounts! Win up to 1000 credits for submitting your funniest memory of Achaea over in the #contests channel. Check out HELP DISCORD if you haven’t joined our Discord server yet.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Great Balance](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/the-great-balance)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** After over a decade of labour, Prospero's Divine Order unveiled the Great Balance at His Temple. The Lord of Wealth appeared to accept it and returned His gaze to Sapience.
**Content:**
For over a decade, the Order of Wealth and Trade laboured without the promise of a reward. For almost as long, the Divine Order of Lord Prospero collected works of beauty and value from adventurers across the length and breadth of Sapience. All this was to craft a magnificent offering: a grand display of Wealth forged by patient and passionate mortal hands, in the hope of drawing the attention of their long-absent Lord back to Sapience.
In Scarlattan of 1013 AF, the Order gathered with family and friends in the reception hall of the Temple of Prospero for the unveiling of the Great Balance: a simple set of brass merchants’ scales, embellished by the hands of skilled craftsmen and enriched by the memories of a myriad of adventurers, capturing impressions of Wealth from every walk of life.
Drefan Ar’kena, assisted by Elaniara Blackrose-Baudelaire and Prospero’s secretary Helga, delivered a moving presentation of their labours as the memories imprinted upon the Great Balance displayed the many facets of Wealth for all gathered to witness.
As the presentation drew to a close, a gilded hand heavy with jewelled rings materialised above the Great Balance, slid gently along the crossbeam, and plucked the fine golden chain connecting it to a hanging pan. A brilliant flash of gold accompanied the metallic ringing, fading to reveal the smiling countenance of the Lord of Wealth Himself, a golden cigar propped between His fingers.
Prospero praised the efforts of His Order, complimenting the Great Balance and accepting it as an offering worthy of His attention. “It seems I have been remiss in My patronage of this world. Distant planes have distracted Me from the displays of Wealth that can be found here just as easily. A mistake I do not intend to repeat.”
---
Summary: Thanks to the efforts of Prospero’s Divine Order, the Merchant Lord has returned His gaze to Sapience.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/09/01/updates-115)
**Published:** September 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Vitality no longer goes on a permanent session cooldown when it triggers in the Mnemosyne. The Negotiator boon now unlocks Renegotiate, a reroll boon that always appears in your offerings.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 1st of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Vitality will no longer be put on a permanent session cooldown if it triggers while wading the mnemosyne.
- The boon ‘Negotiator’ no longer grants a reroll on every ripple alongside its original effect. Instead, it grants access to a new boon ‘Renegotiate’ which grants you a reroll and always appears in your boon offerings.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/27/updates-111)
**Published:** August 27, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Ten changes, most of them serverside curing: no more eating moss and potash under disabling boons, no more cure spam while asleep, plus boon fixes for monks and Psions.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 27th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Fixed a bug preventing balance recovery boons from modifying the arm balance for monks.
- The Psion boon ‘Prophet of Creation’ should now properly negate a denizen’s next attack.
- Fixed a bug that caused damage immunities granted from boons to sometimes not apply.
- Serverside curing will now only display the message for not being able to cure something due to broken arms/entangle/etc. one time.
- Serverside curing will no longer eat moss/potash when under the effect of boons which disable them.
- Serverside curing will now drop elemental resistances from your defence priorities rather than spamming attempts to put them up when you don’t have the enchantment.
- Serverside curing will no longer spam cures while asleep. Particularly, this should improve when under the effect of the Restoral boon.
- CURING REJECTION is now detailed in CURING
- You may now STOP in ret vibes without incurring the standard delay.
- Serverside curing will no longer eat all your calcite/pear if you predict the pressure affliction
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mnemosyne Rankings Reset - September 1st, 2026](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/28/mnemosyne-rankings-reset-september-1st-2026)
**Published:** August 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The first Mnemosyne season reset lands shortly after Serenade on September 1st. The Top 50 are preserved in an all-time table, and any active run ends at its current floor.
**Content:**
As mentioned in Announce News #5826, September 1st will mark the first season reset of the Mnemosyne rankings.
The Top 50 players on RANKINGS MNEMOSYNE will have their runs preserved in a new all-time rankings table. The players behind the Top 3 runs will receive an honours line commemorating their achievement.
Any run in progress when the reset occurs will be ended at its current floor.
To be absolutely clear: any run still active or stilled when the reset hits shortly after Serenade on September 1st will be terminated at whatever floor it’s currently on.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/28/updates-112)
**Published:** August 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea has added BUG PRIO, which lets you select a single bug as your highest priority. See BUG in game for more details.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 28th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Added BUG PRIO, which allows you to select one bug which is your highest priority bug. See BUG for more details.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/29/updates-113)
**Published:** August 29, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** AUDIT output has been rewritten to show flat resistance values alongside a multiplicative running total, giving a more accurate effective value. The voyage of sight should work properly again.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 29th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The voyage of sight should be working properly again.
- AUDIT output has been rewritten to show both the flat value for resistances and now also the multiplicative running total, to give a more accurate effective value. Many values given are now also more accurate.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/26/updates-110)
**Published:** August 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The garden can now comment on bugs in a way players can see, and is notified when players comment via BUGAPPEND. Typing BUG on its own now shows the syntax.
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 26th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The garden may now comment on bugs in a way visible to players, and be notified when mortals comment on bugs via BUGAPPEND. Additionally, typing in BUG now shows BUG syntax.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/25/updates-108)
**Published:** August 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Batch clotting is in, with a new CURING CLOTTO config. The classlead changes for Kkractlebrand serverside curing and Woe Chaoswars should now be in effect, plus Mnemosyne and ripple changes.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 25th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Added new config – CURING CLOTTO
- Added batch clotting (see AB SURVIVAL CLOTTING for details).
- Dying to a knockback attack in the Mnemosyne should now behave more sanely.
- Getting stuck in a ripple with no denizens should be less likely.
- RUNEBLADESLIST output now lists configuration runes in the proper order.
- The classlead changes for Kkractlebrand serverside curing and Woe Chaoswars were reverted temporarily but should now be in effect.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/25/updates-109)
**Published:** August 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Bug reports can now list the items and denizens involved, using BUGDETAIL, to help resolve them faster. Also new: a bro emote, and Empire urn mount references.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 25th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- We have corrected a truly grievous oversight: there is now a “bro” emote.
- You can now add relevant items and/or denizens to bug reports using BUGDETAIL <bug id> <denizen/item id>. This will help us resolve bugs faster since we won’t have to go looking for the denizen or item IDs ourselves. Future updates will add various search abilities based on these details as well.
- Empire urn mounts can now be referenced like other urn mounts, via urn/<name>.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/18/updates-106)
**Published:** August 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Two fixes in Tuesday's update: Engage should no longer randomly drop, and some particularly rare dragon talisman pieces should drop more often.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 18th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Engage should no longer randomly drop.
- Some particularly rare dragon talisman pieces should drop more often.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [New toys ahoy.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/19/new-toys-ahoy)
**Published:** August 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Four new abilities arrive in Charnel, Sculpting, Spiritlore and Woe. CHAOSWARS becomes a room-wide enemy effect, the CURARE ekanelia moves away from the hypno chain, and blademasters gain inline infusion.
**Content:**
More changes! Some fun ones here:
### Charnel
- (180): New ability: GUIDE.
### Pranks
- (Admin): KOLA and QUARTZ no longer consume the mickey status, you sneaky devils.
### Reclamation
- (297): WINDWHISPER now respects language fluency.
### Sculpting
- (320): New ability: MAGNETLAUNCH.
### Spiritlore
- (134): New ability: ENKINDLE.
### Twoarts
- (174): You can now include INFUSEELEMENT in inline blademaster attacks. For example, COMPASSSLASH MAKARIOS NORTH INFUSEFIRE STERNUM. You must specify infuse<element> rather than just element name – this is to avoid various permutations of the syntax that might clash with serverside targeting against elemental based denizens otherwise.
### Venom
- (12/33/admin): the CURARE ekanelia has been reworked. For a bit of exposition here, I feel we’re very much overloading things in the hypno window with how current ekanelias worked so am endeavouring to move this away from the hypno chain. Consequently this does mean the ekanelia has more requirements, but they’re relatively distinct from the traditional lock approach and should open up some non-hypno oriented forks without seriously overlapping with the already potent hypno based approaches. I generally envisioned this as a backup option and not a primary one, but it’s proved very good at weaving into offenses as a mainstay so I’ll keep an eye on this change.
### Woe
- (6): CHAOSWARS has been reworked. It now is a room effect which makes everyone considered an enemy to everyone else while it persists, similar to the conquest beacon effect.
- (291): New ability: CONDEMNED.
### Misc
- (183): The stack level for Kkractlebrand is now revealed to gmcp etc.
- (183): Serverside now sips for if brand is present, similar to latch. No way to set for the level to sip at currently, but it will now cure it.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/18/updates-107)
**Published:** August 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Runeblade empowerment is now set per weapon and every existing priority has been cleared. RUNEBLADESLIST shows your blades, and harvestable plant growth is up roughly 50%.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 18th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Ormyrr no longer unphase players.
- Giant crows are now somewhat less deadly.
- The “Fae-lapse” boon no longer fades instantly and it is now a RARE boon.
- CURING AEONLIKERET has been added to configure serverside curing to work similarly in aeon and ret without the need for aeoncommand.
- Ground runes will now respect forced enemy conditions, not just enemy lists.
- You can now submit quest related bugs using QUESTBUG <ridiculously detailed description of problem>. This will help us categorize bugs and focus our work and get bugs handled more quickly.
- Bug reports will no longer expire. Ever. May Sarapis have mercy on our souls.
- Harvestable plant growth rates and room-maximums have been increased by roughly 50% across the board. Praise Gaia!
- Runelore runeblade configuration empowerment has been reworked slightly. Empowerment is now per-runeblade, and will auto-empower when sketching a configuration (can still be cleared with EMPOWER PRIORITY CLEAR). This means that all current empowerment priorities have been cleared and must be re-set per weapon at this time. Existing runeblades with configurations will not have the default empowerment priority set. For visibility, RUNEBLADESLIST now exists to see your runeblades, their main rune, configuration, and empower priorities. Main rune decay times now match runeblade empower duration (100 months).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [More changes.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/11/more-changes)
**Published:** August 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Ignition gains a new ability in DETONATION, CRUSHED THROAT now silences as well as everything else it does, and FORESTBINDING stops blocking incorporeal targets.
**Content:**
Some more changes!
### Groves
- FORESTBINDING no longer blocks those in an entirely incorporeal state such as blackwind or astralform.
### Ignition
- New ability: DETONATION.
- LATENCY now has both first and third person messages for each of the three levels that it can achieve.
### Pranks
- (61): If you cure itching before the first tick, the first tick now still occurs. I have left this masked for now, but may revisit this decision depending on how strong this proves.
- CALL MICE now requires a second argument, HERE/INVENTORY. Calling to here drops the mice in your room, inventory moves them to your inventory as before.
### Tattoos
- TALON now applies balance knocks in all scenarios (shorter in the common case, though pulling out of a bed still has the long bal knock).
### Misc
- Commands that bypass stun now bypass stun in all cases (previously being stunned under aeon would lock some out). These lists have now been fully unified so should always match going forward.
- CRUSHED THROAT now functions as a silencing affliction in addition to its other features.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/11/updates-104)
**Published:** August 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Spiritshields now function for all players in Mnemosyne rather than only those they benefit in open play, calcified resolves on time, and Elegy restricts enemy celerity.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 11th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Spiritshields now function for all players in Mnemosyne, not just for the people they can benefit in open play.
- The calcified affliction should now resolve around the expected time, 4.2s.
- Bard’s Elegy composition should now properly restrict the celerity of enemies who hear it.
- For Sublimation alchemists, overdrawing identity will now properly refresh identity for the duration.
- Thornrend should no longer randomly target limbs when no limb is provided and no limb is targetted via AB SURVIVAL TARGETING.
- Scattering rotting remains while phased will now unphase the scatterer.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/14/updates-105)
**Published:** August 14, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Curing priority now reads stacked afflictions properly, a list of channels stopped eating config and alias commands, and the Ka'doloki harbour shop sells wares.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 14th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- In ret vibes, certain instant commands (e.g. echo, setalias) will no longer cause serverside curing to override the current command in transit.
- Following someone through various means of teleportation should no longer follow them $dir
- Serverside curing will now handle the case where a stackable affliction has a base-level priority equivalent to the default affliction priority, while a priority is set for a certain count of stacks. E.g. you can now have CURING PRIORITY BURNING 8 and CURING PRIORITY BURNING5 2 in the priority list together without issues. Burning 1 through 4 would be handled with the base-affliction priority.
- Thirsty faced urn should now work as advertised.
- Fixed an issue with setting priority for multiple stacking afflictions where one affliction’s count could carry over to the next.
- Various channels have been adjusted to be less sensitive to player input. Some will see minor improvements: dragonforming, JITB, CTF/KOTH planting/uprooting, and immunity. Others will see major improvements in allowing config/curing/echo/alias commands: Alchemist reave, Priest judge, Apostate eliminate, Serpent execute, Blademaster deathstrike, interacting with karma items, Alchemist etherchannel, Metamorphosis spring, Necromancy desecration, Necromancy transverse, and last but not least, behead.
- The Ka’doloki harbour should no longer experience conflicts with ships on and off the wilderness map.
- The shop at the Ka’doloki harbour is now a denizen shop: ASK the atavian there for their WARES as normal.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Remaining 2026 Roadmap](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/10/remaining-2026-roadmap)
**Published:** August 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Garden's plans for the rest of 2026: quarterly Mnemosyne ladder resets, birthday celebrations in September, a Mayaween bazaar in October, and Mnemosyne 2.0 in December.
**Content:**
Hello everyone!
With much of 2026 already behind us and with it having been such a massive year of content already, I wanted to put together a bit of a roadmap for the remainder of the year so you all know what you can expect from us on the Garden side of things. Please note that this is, as always, subject to change, but as we look ahead, here’s the rough calendar for the rest of Q3 and Q4:
### August
- The Iron Carnival will be ongoing with new areas opening and everything coming online over a period of a few weeks.
- More classleads will be implemented and other combat balance tuning.
- On the God side, our volunteers have a few things they’ve been cooking up, so look out for those.
### September
- For birthday month we’ll be doing the traditional daily quest alongside the ongoing Iron Carnival.
- We’ll also be making the first of what we plan to be regular seasonal resets of the Mnemosyne ladder.
- This will include a full audit of boons and affixes, new archetypes, some additions to the reward shop, and some game-system tweaks to make the experience better.
- Going forward we plan to reset the rankings every quarter and cycle in and out boons and affixes in the process.
- The top 3 rankings holders will each receive an honours line, and we’ll be looking into making an ALLTIME rankings for Mnemosyne to preserve the historical highest level runs.
- For this coming first seasonal reset, we will also be retiring the REAPER boon for a few months to see how things unfold without this ultimate effect being in the mix.
- To celebrate Achaea’s birthday, we’ll also be making some updates to the customisation system, and expanded options for the other various new personalisation options we’ve added through 2026.
### October
- To commemorate Mayaween, we’ll be hosting a macabre bazaar throughout October. Look out for the dates on UPCOMING closer to the time!
- ????
### November
- ????
### December
- “Mnemosyne 2.0” – this will be what I consider to be the first major update / patch to the system, and will include a slew of new affixes, boons, as well as some new dimensions to gameplay that may or may not feature the Gods in some way!
- The probable return of cross-multiverse Ironbeard alongside the usual Logosmas festivities.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/10/updates-103)
**Published:** August 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne tuning: Master of Harmony drops to rare tier, denizens resist critical hits at ripples 150+, and runs past ripple 200 now carry five affixes.
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 10th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- “Bodybuilder” no longer echoes.
- “Bodybuilder” now increases health by 2 points per kill (was 3), and no longer reduces mana.
- “Expansive Mind” is no longer echoable.
- “Expansive Mind” now increases mana by 2 points per kill (was 3), and no longer reduces health.
- “Corrupted Cold” now only imposes permanent tenderskin (was dehydration + tenderskin).
- “Coarse Flesh” permanent timeflux has been changed to permanent dehydration instead.
- “Shattered Glass” no longer causes you to bleed.
- Denizens in Mnemosyne wades now become resistant to critical hits at ripples 150+.
- The attack speed cap for denizens in the Mnemosyne has been increased at ripples 150+.
- There is now an additional affix for those who manage to go as far as ripple 200+ in the Mnemosyne. (5 affixes total at 200+)
- “Master of Harmony” is now a rare tier boon (was legendary).
- “Master of Harmony” bubble duration reduced to 5 seconds, and now additionally causes 5% health in bleeding on proc.
- Puppetry and Vodun leech no longer distribute the experience gained from kills in the Mnemosyne.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Newbie Guides](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/03/newbie-guides)
**Published:** August 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Newbie Guide applications are open again. Guides earn unbound credits and renown for their time as Romeo and Juliet, helping new players find their footing in Achaea.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I am once again accepting applications for Newbie Guides.
Guides earn unbound credits and renown for their time spent as Romeo and Juliet and play a pivotal role in helping to foster a welcoming environment for those taking their first steps into Achaea!
See HELP BECOMING A GUIDE for more information if you are interested!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Iron Carnival Bugfix](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/03/iron-carnival-bugfix)
**Published:** August 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** An Iron Carnival quest cooldown was running shorter than intended. It is fixed, and Carnival rankings have been adjusted to remove completions tracked inside that window.
**Content:**
Hey all! We found a bug where one of the Iron Carnival quest cooldowns was shorter than it should’ve been.
It’s fixed now, but in the name of fairness, we’ve adjusted the scores on CARNIVAL RANKINGS BUILDING to remove completions that were tracked during what should’ve been the cooldown window.
Sorry for any inconvenience!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/04/updates-100)
**Published:** August 4, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Serverside now holds its refusal to focus under guilt, boon afflictions can no longer mask themselves, and ancient whetstones now cover bows, elemental staffs and stilettos.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 4th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Serverside is now more absolute in its refusal to focus when you’ve told it not to under guilt. Previously it could still do so if certain conditions were met.
- Afflictions given via boons can no longer become masked to serverside under certain situations, so they should now always be respected.
- Bows, elemental staffs and stilettos have been added to an ancient whetstone reward from the memory shop.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Changes.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/04/changes)
**Published:** August 4, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** August classleads land across twelve skillsets: balance-free Harrying switches, a plane-wide Convergence, a reworked Agony cure loop, and a new Physiology ability in Cascade.
**Content:**
A batch of classleads to start off August!
### Bladedance
- (153): Switching dances out of HARRYING now is balance free (still requires, but does not consume). I.e. you can go from harrying into another dance for no balance, but going back into harrying (or into a dance from no dance) still costs balance.
- (153): Dance balance times have been reduced across the board, that of WAVEDANCE more so than others.
- (Admin): FLOURISH balance reduced to match JAB.
### Crystalism
- (211): PLAGUE has had its double leg break tick changed to break a random arm/leg. Messages have changed here, you’ll want to become aware of them. It still prones if both legs are broken, there is also now a message for when this happens.
### Elementalism
- (97): CONVERGENCE is now plane-wide. Tremble, enemy of the magi. (And fix your curing.)
### Groves
- (283): ELEVATE sunlight cost increased from 20 to 100.
### Oppression
- (52): AGONY reworked somewhat. The bleed on hit functionality remains unchanged, but rather than being cured when you hit someone with healthleech you are now passively cured of an affliction when healthleech ticks, similar to paladin’s analogue with burning. The cooldown remains unchanged.
- (Admin): AGONY abfile updated to accurately reflect the cooldown – its twelve seconds, not ten.
### Physiology
- (231): New ability: CASCADE. I changed my mind and let sublimation alchemists have access to this too, but it may prove too much so we’ll keep an eye on it.
### Runelore
- MANNAZ configuration effect changed to give manaleech. If it fires against someone with manaleech already present, it gives the old empowered mannaz affliction.
### Shadowmancy
- (125): CONSUME now does increased mana drain for each of DEPRESSION, RETRIBUTION, and SHADOW MADNESS present.
### Terminus
- (298): TUAD now strips magical shields if one is present. It still does no damage in cases where this occurs.
- (126): FLIENNAD (Longevity four) now restores a chunk of age in addition to its old effect (up to 300 years). Hopefully this makes it more situationally worth putting points into.
### Weaponmastery
- (100): (Two handed): DISTRACT no longer interrupts channels that are set as unstoppable. Notably Aeonics Doom and Dragoncraft Devour in the relevant contexts.
### Woodlore
- (338): THORNSPRAY can now be used in reclaimed rooms that are not natively a forest/jungle.
### Misc
- (309): Shrine consecrations are now disabled during active conquest/liberation battles (active meaning the windup period is concluded and a tank is present if applicable). You do not need to reconsecrate your shrines once the battle ends.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/06/updates-102)
**Published:** August 6, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Ceylon's Resolve now carries only critical-hit damage, three boons set health to 200 percent once per ripple, and underwater resistance values have been halved.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 6th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Followers are now correctly lost upon invading the Mnemosyne.
- The ‘Ceylon’s Resolve’ boon now only carries forward damage dealt by critical hits and clears the stored damage when your maya figurine procs, meaning it no longers carries forward all damage dealt across multiple mobs.
- There is a now a coloured line to indicate the presence of a lava environment in a room.
- The cold resistance malus and fire resistance buffs of being underwater have been halved. (-20% cold resistance and +30% fire resistance)
- Boons that deal damage such as Agoraphobic and Claustrophobic can no longer proc themselves multiple times in a row.
- ‘Morudai’, ‘Homebound’, and ‘Seclusion’ now set your health to 200% of its maximum in addition to its previous effects, but can only proc once per ripple. They are also Uncommon now instead of Rare.
- Runewarden’s ‘Thunderclap’ boon is now Rare instead of Uncommon.
- The ‘Haemophiliac’ and ‘Exsanguinated’ affixes now remove the willpower cost of clot and also do not apply their bleeding if you already bleed for a certain amount of your maximum health (the amount varies on the affix).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/31/updates-99)
**Published:** July 31, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Reckless conditions no longer force health sips over mana priority in serverside curing. Paragons can now be referenced by name, and training dummies can no longer be critically hit.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 31st of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Paragons can now be referred to by the paragon name. For example, INSERT CRUCIOUS INTO FULLPLATE will now work instead of having to know your crucious paragon’s ID.
- When under a reckless-style condition (and you know you’re reckless, undetected masked reckless does not apply for the purposes of this change) hard vital overrides that force a health sip even when mana priority is in effect no longer apply. This should mean you can now set to sip mana as priority in serverside and being reckless won’t cause you to constantly sip health instead.
- Training dummies can no longer be critically hit.
- Dreamcursed change to spawn reduced and volume of spawns adjusted.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [August in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/01/august-in-achaea-5)
**Published:** August 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Globes of Shifting Continents return with new Moderngods, Empires, and Seafaring talismans, including a contract that lets you post to the news under a pseudonym.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
August is upon us and some of you may have heard rumours of a cross-game celebration coming to the Iron Realms. Keep your eyes peeled for more information in the next 12-15 hours or so!
With the Mnemosyne Trials fully released and continued iteration with it ongoing, we’ll be taking a swing at some pvp class changes this month and maybe some other things too.
Before I get into the promo details: it is now possible to WADE INSPECT <person> from the entrance to the Mnemosyne. Only possible on mutual allies (unless you have the corresponding talisman, see below), this will show you their current boons.
Meanwhile, Globes of Shifting continents have returned with a handful of new talismans, including updates to Moderngods, Empires, and even the Seafaring set, read on!
Globes can be obtained via the Achaea website (www.achaea.com/credits) and contain a variety of prizes, including:
- Unbound credits.
- Talisman caches containing pieces from the Moderngods, Empires, and Seafaring sets.(\*)
- Card sleeves which can be unwrapped for any suit.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts valued from 50 credits all the way up to the 2000+ range.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets (\*\*)
- Additional tradeskill slots((\*\*)
… and the long-awaited return of the enamel bubble pipes! Pop pop.
\* As noted above, we have some new talismans to announce for these sets. Additions to the Seafaring set can also be obtained from voyage rewards as well as from caches, of course!
### Moderngods
A testament of heroism: This Haskor-themed document will allow the owner to WADE INSPECT <person> without requiring mutual ally status, allowing you to adequately inform yourself before an invasion.
- Valued at 400 credits
### Empires
An Imperial scribe’s contract: Themed for Cyrene, this contract will allow you to set a pseudonym which you may then use to post on the news.
- Valued at 1500 credits
- Syntax: PSEUDONYM SET <name> (see below for more information), WRITE AS PSEUDONYM
- This incurs a 100k gold cost to change and may only be done once per IG year.
- Usage: BEFORE you write in the newsroom, use PSEUDONYM SET <name> and this will be how your name appears on the post. This cannot be another player’s name and it must be under 50 characters. It can include YOUR name. To write as your pseudonym, use WRITE AS PSEUDONYM. Use the normal writing commands to write as yourself, instead.
Some notes on this: we intend for pseudonyms to be a fun roleplay tool, not a way to excessively antagonise other players while hiding behind anonymity. Use your common sense and discretion here. HELP LANGUAGE RULES fully applies. We have comprehensive logging for all pseudonym related activities and we will take IC steps to out your pseudonym if the need arises. Public news 21287 may be of interest for those who doubt!
### Seafaring
A sharp cutlass: RAISE this CUTLASS and, once every 24 hours, you will clear any entangled sails from your ship.
- Valued at 500 credits
A worn docking ticket: PRESS this TICKET while standing at a harbour, and you will no longer pay docking fees at that harbour. Consumed on use.
- Valued at 50 credits
A sailor’s hammock: HANG this HAMMOCK while on your ship and when the ship is at sea, the room will become an endurance regeneration room.
- Valued at 400 credits
- You must be at sea and not at the harbour for this to function, and the hammock cannot be removed once hung.
A battered squeezebox: PLAY this SQUEEZEBOX and for the next hour, your crew will gain significantly increased morale.
- Valued at 300 credits
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Iron Carnival Is In Town!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/08/01/the-iron-carnival-is-in-town)
**Published:** August 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Iron Carnival has opened north of the Delos Bridge. Help Grimbeard and Percivale restore the fairground through September, and every five days the best-supported attraction opens.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Following the success of our Ironbeard themed cross-game event back in December, I’m pleased to announce the grand opening of the Iron Carnival!
Run by the irascible Grimbeard and the foppish Percivale, the Iron Carnival was said to once be a star-studded celebration that travelled otherworldly lands, putting on a dazzling show full of games, fairground amusements, and tasty treats. In the modern day, the Carnival has fallen into disrepair and the troupe needs your help to restore it to its former glory!
From now until the end of September, you can pay a visit to the Delos Bridge and head north where you’ll find the carnival grounds and a task board awaiting your help. As you assist with construction, gathering resources, or helping to restore attractions, the Carnival will gradually expand as everyone in Sapience (and beyond!) pitches in to do their part.
How you choose to assist will influence where the Carnival’s resources go, effectively allowing the whole of the Iron Realms to collectively decide what attraction opens next. Every five days, the unopened area with the most contributions will be opened and will remain open for exploration for the duration of the event. Once an area is open, you’ll need to bring in the crowds and occasionally calm down the ringmaster.
Full details can be found under HELP IRON CARNIVAL, but attendants can expect a variety of attractions and games, including fortune telling, pie-eating contests, a sideshow and menagerie, paint-pelting clowns, face painting, chain-letter prophecies that go from game to game, and more! Win tickets from your contributions or high scores and obtain one of a large selection of rewards and trinkets for your effort. Expect more to be added as the event goes on!
The Carnival is also host to an array of denizens whose personalities and more are shared among all of the Iron Realms worlds, too.
Oh, and while exploring, you may even notice phantasmal spectres of visitors from another world across the Iron Realms. Greet them and your emotes will echo across worlds…
The entire Iron Realms team has been working on this cross-game event for the last several months and it’s our pleasure to finally unleash it upon the world! I hope you enjoy it as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together, and please ensure to read over HELP IRON CARNIVAL as there’s a lot to take in!
Lastly, I’d like to give a personal shout out to Ethaerla, Peretur, and Seia: these three Celani have put an untold amount of work into bringing all of this together and I am impressed and moved time and time again by their passion for Achaea and their zeal in helping to bring these projects to life. And as always, Edra has been a star in getting all the technical bits pieced together. Esteem them or else!!!
Note: The CARNIVAL syntax is not yet available due to a minor technical hitch. It will be usable soon!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/26/updates-98)
**Published:** July 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Battlerage charm has been reworked into a defensive option: denizens miss 20% of attacks and deal 20% less damage. Mnemosyne denizens also lose their high-level immunities.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 26th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Denizens in the Mnemosyne no longer gain immunity to stun, fear, and charm upon reaching a high enough level.
- Boss floors can no longer roll the ‘Endless Wrath’ affix that makes all mobs enrage.
- The battlerage CHARM affliction has been reworked. It now gives denizens a 20% chance to miss their attack (similar to the clumsy affliction) and reduces their damage dealt by 20% (similar to the weakness affliction). HELP BATTLERAGE has been updated to reflect this.
- Some context for the above change. Charm has long been considered an underwhelming battlerage affliction outside of niche scenarios, and has been a technical nightmare for us to support. This rework turns charm into a straightforward defensive option that stacks with other battlerage afflictions with the aim of giving it a clearer role in PvE combat.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/24/updates-97)
**Published:** July 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Balance and equilibrium boons now compound multiplicatively rather than adding together, weakening heavy stacking. Priest's Celestial, Occultist's Entropic Unmaking, and Apostate's Daemonform all changed too.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 24th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Manifested nightmares in Mnemosyne wades no longer enrage by default.
- Canopic jars may no longer be clasped in the Mnemosyne.
- Balance and equilibrium bonuses from boons are now calculated multiplicatively with one another, rather than additively. In effect, this means that stacking multiple balance related boons will be slightly less effective. (e.g. 30%+20%+20% no longer adds up to a 70% faster recovery, but instead compounds to about 55%)
- The Priest boon ‘Celestial’ now additionally delivers the battlerage sensitivity affliction when it procs.
- The Occultist boon ‘Entropic Unmaking’ now gives a long lasting battlerage sensitivity affliction instead of its previous effect to better synergise with attend.
- The Apostate boon ‘Daemonform’ now requires you to have the truestare defence active to benefit from its effect.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Imminent Downtime Tonight](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/23/imminent-downtime-tonight)
**Published:** July 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea's ISP scheduled emergency server maintenance starting at 10:00 PM PST, taking the game offline for an estimated one hour or less.
**Content:**
Hi folks,
This is extremely short notice and I apologise, but we’ve just been informed by our ISP that they will be doing server maintenance starting at 10:00 PM PST / 01:00 AM EST – which is approximately 1.5 hours from the time of this post.
The game will likely be unavailable for this time – the ISP has estimated 1 hour or less.
Thanks for your patience – please be somewhere safe before the clock strikes!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Design approvals](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/23/design-approvals)
**Published:** July 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea's lead design approver is away for much of August. Designers and crafters should submit anything they need approved within the next five days to avoid a queue backlog.
**Content:**
Designers and Crafters,
Just a courtesy notice that our lead design approver will be away on holiday for much of August. If you have any designs that need to be approved before then, please aim to submit them within the next five days. After that, approvals will likely be delayed, and new submissions may remain in the queue for a few weeks.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we appreciate your planning ahead!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/21/updates-96)
**Published:** July 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Wrath and righteousness can no longer cure permanent afflictions or strip permanent defences in Achaea, and boons that remove trackers now stop working against bosses.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 21st of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Wrath and righteousness will no longer cure permanent afflictions or remove permanent defences.
- Boons that lose trackers and similar no longer work on bosses.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/17/updates-94)
**Published:** July 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne tuning: Giacinto transfixes less often, dust elemental limb damage is parryable, and the new Tenderised Flesh affix replaces Prey on the Weak at ripples 50 and up.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 17th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The frequency of Giacinto’s transfix attack in the Mnemosyne has been reduced.
- The ‘Haemophiliac’ affix no longer increases willpower costs by 20%, it now only increases mana costs.
- Errant dust elementals no longer prone before dealing limb damage to the head, meaning you can now parry the limb damage from this attack.
- The ‘Prey on the Weak’ affix in the Mnemosyne that gives mobs the ability to critically strike you alongside permanent sensitivity will now only appear in ripples 100+.
- A new affix ‘Tenderised Flesh’ has been added to replace ‘Prey on the Weak’ at ripples 50+.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/18/updates-95)
**Published:** July 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The ancient whetstone joins the Memory Shop and works on all resetting weapons. Glittering mud now transforms into nine additional items, including cloaks, talismans, and staves.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 18th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The promo item, a handful of glittering mud will now change into these additional items: cloak, cape, diadem, talisman, amulet, gauntlets, googles, staff, and robes.
- A new Memory Shop reward item is now available: an ancient whetstone. Like the glittering mud, sparkling snow and the coelescent mist, an ancient whetstone can be applied to certain resetting items, just this time it is all weapons! The list of available items is as follows: blackjack, splinter, scythe, phylactery, rapier, dagger, knuckles, mace, mirror, trident, spear, handaxe, knife, dirk, lash, fangs, battleaxe, scimitar, morningstar, flail, sword, warhammer, or longsword.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/14/updates-93)
**Published:** July 14, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Dungeoneer gear set gains new gloves, chest, and boots pieces and now works only inside the Mnemosyne, Achaea's roguelike dungeon. Bladedance flourish now works against mobs.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 14th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The Dungeoneer gear set now has two additional pieces in the gloves and chest slots.
- The Dungeoneer gear set pieces are now effective only within the Mnemosyne.
- The Dungeoneer gear set now has two additional pieces in the boots slot.
- Bladedance flourish now works against mobs.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/11/updates-92)
**Published:** July 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne tuning: Giacinto's resistances lowered, Oracle drops to rare, the Dungeoneer gear set now grants 20% resistance penetration, and players fully heal at the hub between ripples.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 11th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Giacinto’s resistances are now significantly lower.
- “Oracle” is now rare, down from legendary.
- “Gravedigger” will no longer be offered if “Death’s Demise” is chosen.
- The Dungeoneer gear set bonus now provides 20% resistance penetration in place of the previous effect.
- When moving to the hub at the beginning of the next ripple, players are now fully healed. This will solve issues with permanent afflictions from affixes etc carrying over when they shouldn’t.
- Issues involving the heraldric divisions “tierced per bend” and “tierced per bend sinister” not recognising tertiary tinctures have been resolved.
- Ioje is now a valid Origin.
- When a quest is added to your log, the id will also now be specified.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/07/updates-89)
**Published:** July 7, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne mobs grow faster the deeper you descend, the crystalline hourglass now works only from the Prime Material Plane, and Forgeweaver boons support dragons.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 7th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The crystalline hourglass will now only work from the Prime Material Plane, and respects monolith.
- Mobs now ‘act’ faster as you descend deeper into the Mnemosyne. This is non attack based actions like tracking, mob attack rate and other combat actions remains as before.
- Forgeweaver boon now works for dragons.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/07/updates-90)
**Published:** July 7, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Boons can now chain to unlock one another, the new Iconoclast affix arrives at ripple 100, and more Mnemosyne denizens gain proper damage resistances.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 7th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The ‘Peaceful’ affix in the Mnemosyne that once prevented battlerage afflictions has been disabled.
- “Sword of Creation” now additionally makes Dawnhand last forever.
- “Vengeance of Starhome” now correctly stacks its damage increase.
- There is now an extra affix applied to dungeons that reach the formidable ripple 100 mark.
- There is now support for specific ability checks on boons beyond just having a given skill, so situations like tooros boons showing up for Depthswalkers who haven’t researched conquest should no longer happen.
- There is now support for boon chains, (i.e. having x boon unlocks the ability for y boon to show up which unlocks the ability for z boon to show up… etc).
- New affix at ripple 100: “Iconoclast.” Replaces Heretical. Note: not mutually exclusive with Dreamcursed. Beware.
- Various Mnemosynian wyrms that had no resistances now do.
- Ramean can now, obviously, fly.
- Various bosses and denizens in the Mnemosyne, along with their overworld counterparts, now have appropriate damage resistances.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/09/updates-91)
**Published:** July 9, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Nearly every Achaea class gets new boons in this patch, including the Legendary Reaver rollable by strength and dexterity classes, alongside Mnemosyne affix reworks.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 9th of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The “Exsanguinate” affix (Ripple 150+) no longer causes corrupted humours but instead does something different!
- Fixed an issue with “Heretical” and “Iconoclastic” affixes preventing the priests being spawned in rooms beyond the current wader’s.
- “Heretical” is now a level 60+ affix.
- Manifested nightmares resists and health has been reduced.
- Druid’s boon ‘Symbiotic Swarm’ now requires you to have the wildgrowth defence active and its proc chance and damage has been increased.
- Priest’s boon ‘Celestial’ now requires the hunt heresy defence to be active.
- Added new Earthlord boon: Landslide
- Added new Firelord boon: Spark of Kkractle
- Added new Bard boons: Shadow Tempo, Warmarch, and Songstep (Legendary)
- Added new Depthswalker boons: Timequake, Herald of Infirmity
- Added new Priest boons: Visions of Hell, Righteous Brand
- Added new Paladin boons: Holy Consecration, Crusader
- Added new Unnamable boons: Horror’s Embrace and Shimite’s Blessing
- Added new Apostate boon: Deathtempest
- Added new Occultist boons: Entropic Unmaking, Mutilation, A Feast Upon Creation (Legendary)
- Added new Pariah boons: Eternity, Lord of Flies (Legendary)
- Added new Jester boons: Motley Bop, Wallop
- Added new Serpent boons: Searing Light, Serpentine
- Added new Druid/Sentinel boons: Feral Awakening (Legendary), plus four related and unlocked boons
- Added new Dragon boon: Krenindalan Storm (Legendary)
- Added new Blademaster boon: Legend of Man and Blade (Legendary)
- Addew new Magi boon: Hot Springs
- The ‘Reaped’ Boon is no longer pariah only and can now be rolled by all intelligence based classes, including within the first boon offering.
- New legendary boon added ‘Reaver’. This can be rolled by all strength and dexterity based classes, including within the first boon offering.
- Please Note: Reaper, Reaver, and Reaped are all mutually exclusive with one another.
- The ‘Pinpoint’ boon now echoes up to 8 times.
- Depthswalker’s ‘Flashforward’ boon now grants bonus damage instead of dexterity.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [July Tea Time](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/06/july-tea-time)
**Published:** July 6, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea's Tea Time returns Tuesday, July 14 at 10PM GMT. Join Makarios and the team for an informal hour of questions and open conversation. Everyone's invited.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
On Tuesday July 14th at 10PM GMT, Makarios and I will be hosting the long-awaited return of Tea Time!
For those who are not familiar, Tea Time is an informal meeting to which everyone is invited in order to ask questions or chat for a short while.
As always, I will be capping this at about an hour and a half to prevent it running too long, but if you have concerns or questions outside of this, you are always welcome to email or message me.
See you there!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [New contest](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/03/new-contest)
**Published:** July 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Submit your best boon and affix ideas for the Mnemosyne in Achaea's Discord contest for a chance to win up to 500 credits.
**Content:**
Hey folks.
We have a brand new Discord contest up in our official server (HELP DISCORD). Head on over to the #contests channel and submit some new boons and affixes for the Mnemosyne for the chance to win up to 500 credits! Check out the pinned post as usual and good luck.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/03/updates-87)
**Published:** July 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Immunity boons rise a tier, Convocation is now rare, and new affixes Rimewrought and Venomous land alongside several boon fixes.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 3rd of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Some immunity boons have been increased by one tier level of rarity.
- “Crushing” now applies only one fracture.
- New affix at level 45+: “Rimewrought.”
- New affix at level 35: “Venomous.”
- “Haemophiliac” bleeding reduced to be more consistent.
- “Haemophiliac” resource cost increase now works as intended.
- “Convocation” is now a rare boon.
- “Resourceful” now correctly restores class resource instead of depleting it.
- “Careless Whisperer” and “Truther” are now mutually exclusive.
- Various boons with inverted flags (aka something restores instead of drains or vice versa), fixed.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/03/updates-88)
**Published:** July 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Famine is reworked to trigger hunger and reduce healing, and new affixes Splinterbark and Heretical are now available.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 3rd of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The promo item, a handful of sparkling snow, will now change the following additional items: Belt, talisman, amulet, goggles, gauntlet(s), staff, diadem, cape.
- “Famine” has been reworked: Now a chance to trigger the hunger effect, no longer causes permanent nausea, but reduces healing done by 20% in addition.
- New affix at level 35+: “Splinterbark.”
- “Shattered Glass” now provides a shield for 3 seconds, instead of a prismatic barrier for 5 seconds.
- New affix at level 45+: “Heretical.” Mutually exclusive with Dreambound/cursed/wracked.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Sire](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/02/the-sire)
**Published:** July 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** In a quiet harbor town, a lamplighter alone senses the moment: far past the charted stars, an ancient presence stirs, opens its eyes, and turns its gaze toward a world.
**Content:**
On the evening it began, the lamplighter of a small harbor town walked her rounds as she had walked them ten thousand times before, and of all the souls beneath that darkening sky, she alone marked the hour for what it was.
Hers was humble work, and old. Each dusk she took up her long brass pole and paced the length of the seafront, waking flame in the row of iron lamps that stood sentinel along the quay; each dawn she returned to lay them once more to rest. For thirty years she had kept this rhythm. She knew the deep and particular blue of the gloaming, that brief hour when the sun has fled but the night withholds its full weight. She knew the reek of tar and cold brine rising from the hulls at their moorings, and the squabble of gulls wheeling over the last of the catch before the fisherman drove them off with curses and flung stones. The seafront held no mystery she had not long since learned by heart. So, at least, she had always believed.
On this evening, as she set her flame to the third lamp along the quay, the fire went out. Therein lay the horror of it: the slowness. A snuffed flame perishes between one breath and the next, but this one sank. It withdrew into itself, drawn downward and inward as though some vast and hidden mouth had begun a long and patient inhalation and was drinking the very light from the air. Gold dimmed to sullen ember, ember faded to a thread, thread dwindled to nothing, and the dark poured greedily into the hollow it left behind. She stood a moment in the thickening blue, more puzzled than afraid, and lifted her pole to try anew. The second flame ebbed as willingly as the first. So too the third, and the fourth, and by the fifth the truth settled cold upon her: the fault lay not in her lamps, but in the evening itself.
A hush had swallowed the whole of the harbor. The gulls had vanished. The water lay flat and black and breathless against the boats, and in that terrible stillness she felt, for the span of three slow heartbeats, the weight of an attention come to rest upon her. No eye met hers that she might name or point to, and yet she was beheld, wholly and utterly: weighed, measured, and, most dreadful of all, known, as though something of unfathomable vastness had turned its face toward her across a gulf no starlight could hope to cross, and found her, of all the souls on all the shores of all the worlds, worthy for one fleeting instant of its regard.
Then, as swiftly as it had come, the moment released her. The gulls shrieked once more into the dark. The tide breathed again against the hulls, the flame leapt eager to her pole, and one by one the lamps bloomed golden down the length of the quay, as though the evening had never once faltered in its course.
She finished her rounds in the ordinary night. She spoke of it to no one, for what was there to tell that would not fall from her lips as the addled fancy of a weary old woman? She went home to her supper and her narrow bed and let the matter lie where it had fallen.
Yet far from that little harbor, past the last and loneliest of the charted stars, in a dark so ancient and so absolute that no living tongue has ever dared to grant it a name, something had opened its eyes.
It did not rage at its long waking. Rage is the coin of small and frightened things, and this is neither small nor frightened. For uncounted ages the dispersed fragment of a twin had lain still while mountains climbed towards heaven and crumbled back to dust, dreaming the slow and formless dreams of the imprisoned; and now, at least, the dreaming was done. Something had loosened the anchor, the old bonds. Something had let the light back in. It stretched itself awake in the great and starless deep, and it remembered, dimly but with growing certainty, that once it had wanted something very much.
Its attention turned toward a world. That was all. And when a thing of such magnitude wakes hungry and turns its gaze upon a world, the world does well to be afraid.
---
Summary: Beyond the Outer Reaches of Creation, an ancient presence has begun to wake.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/02/updates-85)
**Published:** July 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A big Mnemosyne boon rebalance: Restoration now restores 25% willpower and endurance, Furious Speed cuts all damage by 20%, and dungeons wipe non-mobs more aggressively on ripple complete.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 2nd of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Crafted plushes can now be embroidered. Normal embroidery rules and processes apply.
- Fullsense was intended to be 2.5 seconds equilibrium only if you were both a blademaster or monk who owned a veil. It is now correctly respecting this, not always giving the bonus (so it is slower for everyone else as intended).
- “Rose of Pain” no longer gives burning on kill but instead reduces fire resistance to resolve some conflicts.
- “Restoration” now restores 25% willpower and endurance, up from 10.
- “Impetuous” now additionally increases health and mana elixir potency by 25% while active, and its balance bonus is increased to 25%.
- “Furious Speed” now additionally reduces all damage taken by 20%.
- “Resourceful” should now correctly restore class resource, not deplete it.
- Fulcrums are now correctly wiped from ripples upon completion (or failure, but lets stay positive!)
- The rose of pain boon now applies its benefits (and not just the penalties, tough life)
- The cavalry boon should behave as expected now.
- Dungeons now wipe nonmobs more aggressively on ripple complete (so icewalls and similar no longer pursue you into the hub room). Noteably also removes the ability to trick the dungeon into moving a psionic projection into the hub, you fiends.
- Wading and invading are now considered hostile acts (so drop reflections etc and cannot be done while graced).
- Conqueror boon now calculates off of relative percentage health, not flat values.
- Death’s Demise now removes your death’s cape bonus when you take the boon, not when you next kill a mob.
- The stone stomach boon now actually disables vitals sip. Be warned…
- Accumulating health/mana bonuses are now preserved through wade pauses. Unfortunately this will reset any that are currently in progress, so if this really matters to you for a current run let us know and we’ll sort something out for you.
- The halfthought boon is now correctly only available to monks.
- Duplicate bosses should no longer occasionally spawn.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/02/updates-86)
**Published:** July 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A longstanding serverside curing bug is fixed, plus Mnemosyne boon tuning: immunity boons now override permanent afflictions and the Vitalising Tincture gains a cooldown.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 2nd of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Wrath and righteousness will no longer cure permanent afflictions or remove permanent defences.
- Boons that lose trackers and similar no longer work on bosses.
- The Vitalising Tincture boon now carries a 20 second cooldown before you can benefit from it again.
- Fixed a longstanding bug in serverside curing where if you had any incurable affliction for some reason it’d consider all future affs on lower priorities incurable too, but only if it was in the next slot internally. This applied in and outside of dungeons and has probably been around a very long time, so will likely resolve some weird edge case behaviours that randomly seemed to show up without rhyme or reason.
- Being in the Mnemosyne now counts as being exempt from the Oniar queue, similar to Underworld/Annwyn.
- Boons that make you immune to an affliction now override ones that make you have that affliction permanently. Rejoice.
- Flood and elemental surge (from Artificing) no longer defeat the ‘frozen ground is here to stay’ rule in Mnemosyne.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [July in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/07/01/july-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** July 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera this July. Cap renown seven times for a free premium spin, plus more tuning to the Mnemosyne ripples and the return of Tea Time.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
We are now officially halfway through 2026 and it’s time for July! Through the month ahead you can expect more tuning and fixes to the Mnemosyne ripples, the long-awaited return of Tea Time, and perhaps some other surprises that I won’t spoil here as we get into the summer in earnest.
Meanwhile, the Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera!
Prismatic tokens for the Wheel can be obtained from the Achaea website (www.achaea.com/credits).
Capping renown seven times in July will also award you with a free prismatic token to get a premium wheel spin as a one time only benefit.
Prizes from the wheel include:
- Unbound credits starting at 33
- Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any suit
- Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
- Artefact vials
- Phials of shimmering ink
- Talisman caches that open for Elemental, Wanderer, or Blackwave
- 300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
- Collections cache that opens for any collection (these trade in for 30 credits).
- Artefact upgrade credits
- Mayan crowns
HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE has all the details.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/28/updates-84)
**Published:** June 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne ripples now award renown every 10 ripples, manifested nightmare damage is tuned, the Blade of Celestia proc rate rises, and HELP 14 adds HELP PVE.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 28th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- “Roll Hide” is now a rare boon, up from uncommon.
- The memory shop reward, a coalescent mist, will now change the following additional items: Belt, talisman, amulet, goggles, gauntlet, staff, diadem, cape.
- “Wrath and Righteousness” now carries a cooldown of one hour.
- Adjusted the damage output of manifested nightmares.
- Mnemosyne ripples will now award renown every 10 ripples in addition to the entry level adventures at 1, 5, and 10 ripples.
- Various bugfixes with affixes, particularly those present only in high level ripples.
- Adjusted the damage of tash’la interceptors.
- Nuskuwe lava wyrms no longer flee from combat in their Mnemosyne incarnations due to a persistent bug with charm.
- HELP 14 now also accepts ‘HELP PVE’ and has been consolidated to include various adjacent files of note.
- “Blade of Celestia” proc change significantly increased.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/26/updates-82)
**Published:** June 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A round of combat fixes lands: parry now applies to admiralty wraiths, the temporal atrophy DoT gains a cooldown, and boss boons get reined in.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 26th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- “Haemophiliac” now triggers from killing a denizen to avoid some problematic interactions.
- Wraiths of the admiralty now respect parry.
- Terminus fulcrum now can be placed in ripples.
- Psionics projection (and terminus fulcrum) can no longer be placed in the hub room.
- Prism and brazier boons no longer work against bosses.
- The temporal atrophy critical dot gear effect now ticks 4 times and has an internal cooldown on proc of 4 seconds. This should alleviate some issues with excessive DoT stacking causing strange behaviour with denizen kills and other oddities.
- Mnemosyne mobs now drop gold (50% reduced value to non Mnemosyne mobs currently, we’ll monitor this).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/26/updates-83)
**Published:** June 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Over 40 new class and racial boons arrive in the Mnemosyne, alongside reworked pause timers, denizen gold drops, and seven fresh crafting patterns for artisans.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 26th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The following patterns/blueprints are now available for crafters: kitbag, bunting, lamp, lantern, chandelier, mirror, and armchair.
- BOON CONTEMPLATE and similar now includes the maximum number of times an echoable boon can echo.
- Mobs can no longer summon you out of the hub immediately when you die (as undeniably entertaining as this was).
- Total pause minutes are now set back to max every ten floors (so at ten, twenty, etc.). So you can get to ripple twelve, pause for twenty hours or what have you, come back, do another eight ripples and then be able to pause for twenty four hours before collapse again.
- “Second Wind” is now only available from ripple two.
- Your first boon selection in a Mnemosyne trial is now guaranteed to show you only options related to your class and race. Future boon choices beyond the first are unchanged.
- Mnemosyne denizens now drop gold equal to roughly 25% of the open-world equivalent.
- Mnemosyne denizens offer more experience when slain.
- Over 40 new class and racial boons have been added to the Mnemosyne. Any current runs in progress should restart to get access to the full selection of boons.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Meropis Skies](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/22/meropis-skies)
**Published:** June 22, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Flying over Meropis just got easier. The wings exits now connect to nine destinations, from Sirocco Fortress to the Mnemosyne Whirlpool, cutting travel time.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With much more activity taking place on Meropis in the modern day, I’ve made some changes and additions to the wings exits to make travel more convenient.
- **North:** Sirocco Fortress
- **Northeast:** Orilla
- **East:** Vasnari Mountains
- **Southeast:** Daoric Plains near Chaghut
- **South:** Luman
- **Southwest:** Mourning Pass
- **West:** The Mnemosyne Whirlpool
- **Northwest:** The Asterian Peninsula outside Aster Town
- **Down:** Central Vasnari Mountains
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Quest Boards!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/22/quest-boards)
**Published:** June 22, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** New Quest Boards have appeared in villages and towns across Achaea. Each gives breadcrumb hints toward nearby quests, pointing you at the denizens worth talking to.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
While going about your business, you may notice the presence of conspicuously coloured signs throughout many of the villages and towns of Achaea.
These new boards contain breadcrumb hints toward quests in the area and should point you at the relevant denizens when looking for things to do.
While they are almost entirely limited to simple and widely available quests, it’s my hope that these boards will help ease the burden for new (or veteran) players to get into questing as the lack of pointers has been a longstanding complaint pretty much in my whole time at IRE.
My thanks to Seia for sourcing all the information for these and putting them together, and to Thraa and Ethaerla (the malevolent) for helping with the actual boards.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Belated Championship Credits](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/22/belated-championship-credits)
**Published:** June 22, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Everyone who finished in the top 10 of the last Staff Games has now received their championship credits.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Some years ago (while I was sojourning in vampire land), it was decided to award the overall top 10 participants in the Staff Games a chunk of credits for their placings.
This got missed in these last games and so I’ve now retroactively awarded everyone who placed in the top 10 credits.
Sorry for the oversight!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/23/updates-80)
**Published:** June 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Three new boons and the Torrential affix arrive in the Mnemosyne, the lost ships return to Dragon's Maw harbour, and Adventurer and Explorer gloves get higher damage baselines.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 23rd of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The “Airborne” affix is now also mutually exclusive with “Claustrophobic.”
- Inevitable End should now correctly restrict criticals to the lowest level.
- “Alchemical” and “Meldscorned” now have an internal cooldown on firing to prevent against rapid fire procs on multiple damage instances in the same second.
- “Alchemical” and “Meldscorned” are now mutually exclusive from each other.
- Phocine flyers are no longer quite so disruptive.
- Many missing merman messages merged.
- “Famine” now has an internal cooldown on firing.
- Mnemosynian versions of Pri’alysh moor grouse are no longer cowardly.
- Bars of soap must now be interacted with using “soap” due to conflicts with “bar”.
- New boon: “Death’s Demise”.
- Mnemosynian versions of Vashnarian condors are no longer cowardly.
- Xorani fire breath is now modifiable balance in Mnemosyne and Vengeance of Starhome’s blurb is updated to reflect the intended balance reduction.
- Elementals in the Mnemosyne no longer affect your reputation with their respective Planes.
- “Deluge” is now mutually exclusive with “Airborne.”
- New boon: “Might of Sycaerunax”.
- All the lost ships have returned to the Dragon’s Maw harbour.
- The shop at the Dragon’s Maw harbour no longer causes the wilderness map to merge with fog of creation rooms.
- “Legacy of the Vigil” now functions as intended.
- Many boons that did not have messages when firing (particularly permanent defences reasserting themselves), now do.
- “Paean” now correctly applies for the intended duration.
- “Miracle” blurb updated to clarify that it applies only to active cure usage.
- “Reckless Rage” when echoed should reflect the correct value now.
- RANKINGS MNEMOSYNE \[NUMBER\] now works properly.
- Manifested nightmares should no longer spawn more of themselves upon death.
- New affix: Torrential.
- Adventurer and Explorer gloves with effects that increase your damage against certain denizen types now carry a higher baseline value (4% for Explorer, 7% for Adventurer), and a higher cap on the range possible.
- All Adventurer and Explorer gloves with effects that increase damage against denizens that are already owned by players have been updated to the new baseline values (4% for Explorer and 7% for Adventurer). Future drops of these will roll within the range as intended.
- New boon: Death Stare.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/25/updates-81)
**Published:** June 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Three new Mnemosyne boons strengthen lesserform runs, plus fresh racial boons for Dwarf, Horkval, Rajamala, and Tsol'aa. Several denizen and affix fixes land too.
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 25th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- “Ceylon’s Resolve” will no longer be offered to those without the Maya figurine.
- “Gravedigger” will no longer be offered to those without the sycophantic shoulder cape.
- Zombies are now a bit less painful in the Mnemosyne.
- Ormyrr priests fire attack reduced in damage output.
- Ormyrr should no longer prevent tumbling with “Acrobat.”
- Three new boons, Dragonsoul, Strength of Lessers, and Resilience of Lessers, have been added to the Mnemosyne. These are meant to offer increased defenses for lesserform runs.
- Additional racial boons have been added for Dwarf, Horkval, Rajamala, and Tsol’aa.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mnemosyne: The Pause Edition](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/25/mnemosyne-the-pause-edition)
**Published:** June 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Mnemosyne Trials runs can now be paused mid-dungeon. You get 24 hours of pause time per dungeon, with resources locked to stop quick-restore exploits.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
By popular request, Makarios has added the ability to pause runs to the Mnemosyne Trials! This does have some limitations, so please read on:
- WADE STILL: during boon selection, pause an ongoing run.
- You can then LEAVE MNEMOSYNE and WADE MNEMOSYNE to return to your ongoing run.
- This will not reroll your claimable boon options. You’ll have the same ones as you had before pausing.
- You have a total of 24 hours of pause time per dungeon. So if you pause a dungeon, leave for an hour and come back, next time you pause you’ll still be safe for 23 hours etc.
- At five minutes remaining you’ll receive a message warning you to return to your dungeon instance.
- If this timer expires, your dungeon will collapse and you will have to start from scratch.
- Willpower, endurance, karma, essence, devotion, and lifesteal (death cape) are now stored upon leaving a paused instance.
- When you rejoin all resources will be set back to these values if they are lower than what you joined with, so you cannot leave to regain resources and you cannot use this as a banked quick resource restore.
- The only exception to this is lifesteal, which is set back to whatever it was when you left.
- LEAVE MNEMOSYNE now correctly takes you to the Meropis cave, not the Sapience cave.
Enjoy, and please report any issues immediately!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Roguelike: Achaea Style](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/20/roguelike-achaea-style)
**Published:** June 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea's new Mnemosyne Trials bring a roguelike dungeon to Sapience: an infinitely scaling run of ripples, hundreds of boons to choose from, and a race to wade deepest.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Grudgingly impressed by adventurers’ toil in feeding the Mnemosynian whirlpool, the Jade Empress has begun to unlock some of its potential in the form of The Trials of the Mnemosyne!
HELP MNEMOSYNE has everything you need to know, but I’ll cover the main highlights below.
The Mnemosyne Trials are a roguelike dungeon mode reimagined in the Achaea style. Denizens within are drawn from all over the game and its history, both living and dead, and may feature many blasts from the past for those old enough to remember!
**WADE MNEMOSYNE**
- Commence a Mnemosynian Trial. This requires you to be beside the whirlpool in ancient Seleucar.
- You must be on full health and mana to initiate the channel to begin.
- Beginning a run incurs a 10 minute cooldown before you can start another should you abandon or die.
At present this is intended to be a fully single-player experience (other than invasions, see below), and each instance of the dungeon is independent from all the others, meaning many adventurers can wade at the same time and have entirely separate experiences.
The dungeon scales infinitely and each new floor (known as a “ripple”) becomes more difficult than the last in various ways including more complex enemies, faster and stronger denizens, or new affixes that add extra rules or obstacles to the environment. Advancing to a new ripple will require you fully clear all denizens on your current ripple, defeat a boss, or overcome some other objective set to test you!
**WADE STATUS**
- View information about your current run, including any ongoing affixes, progress through the current wave, your current objective, current ripple, and number of lives remaining.
Dying within a ripple reduces your lives and when you reach 0 lives, you will be forced to embrace death and your run is over. Starburst effects and similar do not work within the Mnemosyne and staying alive is likely to be a chief concern for those aiming to go deepest!
Note: Wading the Mnemosyne is NOT an open PK activity, but should adventurers have sufficient reasoning to attack you, they may invade your ripple! See the HELP MNEMOSYNE section on invasions!
**BOON \[ARGUMENTS\]**
- Interact with boons in various ways
In order to combat this increasing difficulty, each floor also offers a choice of boons to select from as you wade deeper. In total these number in the hundreds and range from simple increases to damage or resistances to enabling entirely new build concepts and transforming mundane abilities into brand new effects. Some are naturally rarer than others. Some are wildly powerful. And some come with significant drawbacks as the price for their power.
Once again, HELP MNEMOSYNE has much more detail than I have room for in this post and I’d advise giving it a thorough read through!
In terms of rewards, defeating denizens in the Mnemosyne does grant experience and renown (more renown if you do more ripples) but not gold. There are also honours lines available for reaching certain ripple thresholds and a unique honours line that can be held only by the current adventurer with the record for deepest ripples waded, as shown on RANKINGS MNEMOSYNE.
**RANKINGS MNEMOSYNE \[PLAYER\]**
- View the rankings for Mnemosyne Trials.
- Specifying an adventurer will show you the boons they had on their best recorded run in addition to which denizens brought their run to an end.
**MEMORYSHOP \[ARGUMENTS\]**
- Interact with the Mnemosyne’s reward shop
In addition, completing a run will award renown as well as one or more shimmering threads. This is a new currency that can be spent in the MEMORYSHOP for a slew of different rewards: talisman caches, gear crates, a dozen unique mounts, various miscellaneous items, battle figurines, old bazaar items, forging descriptors, and brand new ways to apply a customised flair to your description, shout, dragon description, tells, entry, and deathsight.
**MNEMOSYNEON**
- Activate the Mnemosyne channel for some notifications.
Needless to say, this is one of the most absurdly ambitious projects we have ever undertaken in Achaea. Makarios and Edra have put in an overwhelming amount of work to make this a truly unique experience and form the pillars of a brand new meta-game within the game itself. I’d also like to shout out Seia, Ethaerla, and Thraa for an absolute mountain of help in getting the rewards and denizens set up for this project, and to Ecokin and Coelano for contributing a ton of quotes and lore snippets on the boons! They have all been absolutely indispensable.
In the coming days and weeks we will be making additions and tweaks to boons and various other aspects of the system to continuously improve it, so please report any bugs immediately (use DUNGEONBUG please!) and feel free to use the newly created Dungeon Feedback thread in the official Discord for comments!
Last but not least, I would also like to thank all of our player testers for putting in time to test, find bugs and offer feedback to inform the best of this first phase release. You were all invaluable!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/21/updates-79)
**Published:** June 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** This Achaea update tunes the new Mnemosyne Trials: new affixes, boon and cooldown fixes, ripple-level balancing, and memory shop preview improvements.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 21st of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The “dungeoneer” gear set is now available as random drops from the Mnemosyne.
- Balam Agab’s boon has been renamed to “Baron’s Bro” in order to respect character limits.
- Baron’s Bro cooldown reduced to 20 seconds (was 45).
- Temporal Anomaly now has a 5 second cooldown on procs.
- Fae-Lapse now has a 5 second cooldown on procs.
- Cleave now correctly fails if there is only one denizen present instead of hitting the original target.
- Echo of Nemuritoaure transfix cooldown increased from 5 to 7 seconds.
- Embracing death from the Mnemosyne will now cause you to revive on Meropis, not Sapience.
- Reckless Rage now correctly prevents blood shields in addition to regular shields.
- Numerous legendary tier boons that were incorrectly available from level 1 ripples have now been properly assigned to higher tier ripples.
- Various boons that previously did not have messages on proc now do.
- Various Mnemosyne denizens now have unique deathsights.
- The “Predator” affix has been disabled pending a rework of its effects.
- The “Agoraphobic” affix now additionally carries a chance to be struck by lightning.
- The “Claustrophobic” affix now additionally carries a chance to be launched upward and concussed.
- New affix: Alchemical.
- New affix: Mindworm.
- New affix: Iceblood.
- New affix: Necromantic.
- New affix: Outcast.
- Many adjustments have been made to affixes regarding the minimum and maximum ripple level that will cause them to appear, with more difficult ones leaning toward deeper ripples and more trivial ones falling off at later stages.
- “Epidemic” balance bonus now correctly applies.
- Customisation rewards from the memory shop now show a preview of how they will appear when using MEMSHOP SHOW.
- The “Agoraphobic” and “Claustrophobic” affixes are now, sadly, mutually exclusive from one another.
- The no squint/glance rule now also applies to observe.
- New affix: Meldscorned.
- The Mnemosyne hourglass item can no longer be used in arenas.
- The Mnemosyne hourglass item now correctly transports the user to the correct location.
- Laurel and Stave should no longer spam the user.
- Bodybuilder and Expansive Mind no longer reset their accumulated stacks upon starting a new ripple.
- New affix: Dream of Tavarius.
- Fireproof, Iceproof, Snakeblood, Blank Mind, Grounded, Expansive Lungs, Null Magic, and Steel Skin affixes are now all mutually exclusive with each other.
- Damage dealt by boon effects will now correctly trigger on-death effects.
- Infernal Tome descriptors should no longer be generically available to all without the talisman.
- Mnemosyne forging descriptors should now properly be restricted to those with the correct item.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/16/updates-78)
**Published:** June 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Tailors can now craft ties in Achaea. A small addition to the tailoring trade skill, live as of this week's update.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 16th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Ties can now be crafted by tailors.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Twelfth Alcove](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/13/the-twelfth-alcove)
**Published:** June 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A young woman refuses the sacrifice that held a world together, and the mechanism fails. What climbs from the broken seam is chaos itself, older than prophecy and free.
**Content:**
Beneath a world far from Sapience, a young woman woke in a chamber lined with the remains of eleven children and chose to make herself the first in centuries to walk back out of it.
She was not the first to be brought here, each iteration pressed into a wound in the world’s foundation so that the ground above could hold and the millions upon it could go on living without knowing what sustained them.
Those who loved her let her choose.
She refused the alcove. She refused the cycle. She walked out into the air with those who came for her, and behind her the Anchor shuddered once and then was still.
The seam split along its deepest fracture; slowly at first, then with a terrible momentum. The ground opened. The sea followed. A village that had walked its causeway in silver light and given thanks for the holding learned at last what had been held.
But what climbed from the broken seam was not the accumulated ruin of centuries. It was something that had been there before the Anchor, before the village, before the Loom that governed this world’s capacity to mend itself. Something that predated language and would outlast it. It was the first enemy, the oldest hunger, the formless and consuming absence that lives in the marrow of Creation and pulls toward dissolution with the patience of gravity.
It was chaos.
And for the first time since that world took shape around the diseased and roiling heart at its core, nothing held it down.
---
*Upon the planet of Vaelithar, Janusara Hastren refuses fate, and the mechanism that held the planet together through the lives of children fails at last. What rises from the fractured ground is older than prophecy, and it is free.*
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/09/updates-76)
**Published:** June 9, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Using LOOK on a character in Achaea now reveals any set characteristics: bald, hair, eyes, complexion, height, or build. This shows in addition to the standard LOOK syntax.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 9th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- You can now see any specific characteristics that someone has set (bald, hair, eyes, complexion, height, or build) when you LOOK at them, in addition to the LOOK syntax.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/09/updates-77)
**Published:** June 9, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea changed how description characteristics display. Instead of being appended to a description, a note now points to extra details, and the display is MXP-enabled.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 9th of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- After a lengthy discussion on discord we have modified the way description characteristics are displayed. Rather than adding them to the end of someone’s description you will see a note letting you know that there is more to see should you wish. They are also now MXP enabled.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Thousand Years, Remembered](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/10/year-1000-remembered)
**Published:** June 10, 2026
**Author:** ironrealms
**Excerpt:** Achaea's Year 1000 celebration has concluded. A retrospective on the Plane of Memory, 300+ hand-written memories, the Itinerant Bazaar, the Championship Games, and what we learned
**Content:**
As of 31st May, Achaea’s months-long celebration of the Year 1000 has concluded. This enormous series of events began on March 16th with a narrative event involving every single living God of the Pantheon manipulating a relic of time in order to reveal the Plane of Memory to mortal eyes.
In preparation for the event, the team and I had produced over 300 “memories”: these are written sequences, poems, tableaus, stories, songs, and scripts that detail parts of Achaea’s history in small and large ways. A vast majority of these were completely hand written from scratch for this event; others were assembled from news posts, scraps of old logs, communication spools from old staff, and scripts from past events that had been preserved in the Achaea admin wiki.
Every single one allowed a player to bear witness to the given event or story and relive it as though they were there first-hand, in full colour, with quotations, and original speech / dialogue / everything preserved. Many were fully original lore. Dozens expounded on topics long-held as mysteries to the playerbase. Yet more answered (and asked!) numerous questions of the narrative. And some were simply fun callbacks to some recurring characters and “in character memes”.
In total we released over 150,000 words of content for these, alongside a hugely complex system for acquisition. Fragmented memories of the Gods spawned from activities related to those Gods: Wealth from exchanging gold and shopping, War and Combat and Heroism from grand duels, the Sea and Oceans from fishing and diving, Magic from traversing Planes, and so on. Numerous one-off events were also run by volunteers and staff with a central focus on individual Gods to reveal their memories; these ranged from multi-pronged PvE encounters to historical battle re-enactments to scavenger hunts, quizzes, and exploratory adventures across the world.
Chasing down these fragments and figuring out how to obtain them was an enormous endeavour for the playerbase that took place over months. The reward for returning them to their origin upon the Memory Plane was a huge amount of experience and daily credits. This solidified for us that making things tangibly rewarding is extremely important and something we will continue to do going forward.
In addition to the slew of memory content, we ran dozens of smaller scale events, contests, competitions, throughout. A highlight of these was seven visits from the Itinerant Bazaar, themed around the Fall of Seleucar. We created ninety bespoke items, crafts, and curiosities for this and offered them for sale to players, who came in a ravenous frenzy to make purchases. This, for many, was the highlight of the entire affair and some of the favourite items included dolls of prominent players, unique weapon holders, cypher games, an Achaean version of wordle, a textured map with over twenty different ambient effects, and a swath of unique steeds and mounts, including Achaea’s very first palanquin and a family of Almathean goats!
In the aftermath, we released a whole area conjured from memories and laid the foundations for a future project due to be released in the near future. This will be a major PvE update to Achaea in an entirely brand new vein from our usual content!
And then of course were the Championship Games! Congratulations to Faerum and Cyrene for a tremendously well earned victory that really showcased the city’s massive leaps forward in recent times. Huge W.
While we consider this an enormous success, there are definitely some areas for improvement that we have identified should we do something similar again:
1. More telegraphing about what the mystery events were going to be. We know that the honours lines for these created unnecessary FOMO and that’s something we can definitely do better on next time.
2. Similarly: timing. Some of the event activities could have been left permanently active so as to not be too time sensitive for unsociable-to-EU hours.
3. Likewise pacing / spacing. A lot of the major beats happened on weekends due to volunteer / my availability. In an ideal world I would have liked to spread these out more.
4. Scheduling the Games so early meant that I mixed up one of the events because of daylight savings, and I also wasn’t aware of a US holiday for one of them as I am not American. This could have been avoided by asking for more input on the schedule (our team are 2 x UK and 1 x Canada so a very unfortunate oversight…)
Conversely, I believe the tremendous amount of lore made available to the playerbase at large is by far the event’s biggest strength. This has been a longstanding problem that I’ve wanted to solve for years and I’m already seeing the memories (a permanent addition) become part of everyday Achaean life for training and teaching new players and otherwise. This is one of the projects I am most proud of in my whole career at IRE. The team really came together for it and I’m overjoyed with how it all went.
## Player Testimonials
> “I have been around Achaea long enough to see a lot change, so Year 1000 felt like a really meaningful milestone. The celebrations were a nice reminder of all the history we hve shared, through friendships, conflicts, mistakes, and everything in between. Seeing the gods more active again, along with effort being put into improving combat, made it feel like an even better time for game. I am glad I was here to see it.” – Maedhros
> “The Y1000 celebrations have been the most fun and engaging events I think I’ve experienced in Achaea. The events, the games, the memories – it all felt like a very heartfelt and sincere love letter to the game and to the community by the volunteers/devs, and it’s been such an incredible joy to witness and to be a part of.” – Aodfionn
> “Getting my own memory in a permanent location in Achaea that other people can view and leaving my mark on the game is something that’s really special. Changing the world is what makes Achaea a game worth playing and any time I can see my visible impact on the world it makes me love the game even more.” – Laorir
> “i could feel how each item was made with love. i think its awesome how its an event to give FREE LORE about this old ass game and it’s fun even as a newish player to be like damn, that happened wow. (mostly because I do struggle with reaching out and finding information on past events). also the memories were so tragic and awesome and i loved watching them!! and the events per god was also very good and very tragic. I wish there was more cheese.” – Abysal
> “my favourite part of the year 1k event was mimery under the stars, and I still linger by the arena to look for combat globes. the dopamine rush from getting experience and memories unlocked will stay with me a long time” – Theosis
> “I enjoyed the Y1000 celebrations immensely. Lots of content, lore and all around fun moments.” – Synbios
> “I really enjoyed the Year 1000 events I was able to participate in. I felt there was a fun combination of activities that let a lot of different players participate, in different ways (PvE, PvP, etc.) that tied well into the game lore without being something the players passively observed. Sometimes an event can feel a bit like an episode from a show playing out in front of you; I didn’t feel like that this time around, collecting memories, fighting demons, dodging dragons and more. I really appreciate the work the team put into everything.” – Davok
> “Year 1000 reminded us that Achaea is more than cities, wars, and gods. It is a tapestry woven from the lives and memories of those who experienced it, each generation inheriting it before adding threads of their own.” – Othival
> “Being able to wander around the world and experience lore and history that I was not even born for is amazing. The memory system is one of the best things ever added to the game.” – Anon
> “For 20 years, Achaea has been a source of wonder, an outlet for creativity, a reason to connect with others and above all, a font of endless, exciting stories. I never expected it to be the game that has lasted the longest through the various seasons of my life, but I consistently go back time and time again, and every time I do there is new magic to discover. It’s truly a labour of love by so many and I hope it continues to go strong to Y2000 and beyond.” – Jurixe
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Some meta adjustments.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/05/some-meta-adjustments)
**Published:** June 5, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** New METABOLISE ability added to Avoidance. EPITOMISE duration and fire conditions adjusted, Hypnosis DISRUPT reworked, and Fog now hides room information from tracking.
**Content:**
A general note on some of these changes: we’ve always been in a bit of an arms race with teamfight automation and we’ve definitely been losing that one lately. We’ll be experimenting with a few things to see how they work out now that the Championship games are over and hopefully we’ll be able to dial things back a little in that department. Some of these might prove problematic and we’ll revert if so, feedback of course welcome. The goal is to make teamfights last a bit longer and to mitigate the power of the old ‘alpha strike’ so to speak.
### Avoidance
- (Admin): EPITOMISE duration increased from six seconds to nine.
- (Admin): EPITOMISE cooldown reduced from sixty seconds to fifty.
- Note: both of the above are pre light stepper modifiers.
- (Admin): EPITOMISE is now far more forgiving in terms of fire conditions. Stock hinder states now longer prevent it, as these generally meant it just never fired in most group comps.
- (Admin): New ability: METABOLISE. This is the big one, please read the abfile carefully if you’re a frequent team fight participent!
### Hypnosis
- (Admin): The DISRUPT suggestion now only truly disrupts if they are confused. Otherwise it imposes a short eq knock.
- Note: I mostly don’t want this just being baked in as a powerful hinder into already strong hypno chains, but do want to keep the locking potential available since I feel its distinctly serpent. This is a small nudge and we might need to go a little further, but we shall see.
### Twoarts
- (Bug): MULTISLASH can no longer miss against prone/hindered targets.
### Misc
- (Admin): Fog now hides gmcp and names of people entering or leaving the room.
- (Admin): Fog now blocks who here.
- Note: these two are to try to mitigate the perfect trackable information state of a given room.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Vacation!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/01/vacation)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Achaea's lead is away until June 9. Reach Makarios or Edra in the meantime, and watch for previews of what Mak has been building behind the scenes.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Just letting everyone know that as of this post I will be away and unavailable until Tuesday 9th June.
In my absence, please direct anything you’d normally send to me towards Makarios or Edra, either via message or email to their respective @achaea.com addresses.
While I’m gone you may get to see some additional previews of what Mak has been toiling away at behind the scenes!
See you all next week!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/02/updates-75)
**Published:** June 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** You can now use the AUDIT command while sleeping in Achaea. A small quality-of-life change in the June 2 update.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 2nd of June, and the following changes have been implemented:
- You can now use AUDIT while sleeping.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Perks & Keeping Up to Date for Newsletter Subscribers](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/01/perks-keeping-up-to-date-for-newsletter-subscribers)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Subscribe to the Iron Realms newsletter for Achaea news and event previews. Select issues will carry in-game promo codes for customizations and exclusive gear.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I’m posting this on behalf of Jeremy:
Many of you like to stay on top of all the news and happenings in Achaea with a newsletter sent directly to your inbox.
We’ve made some updates which now allow you to subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know about new promotions, event previews, devblog updates and more!
Our goal is to provide an easy to digest snapshot, and we promise not to spam you with constant chatter. Plus, you can opt out at any time.
In case the power of being the most informed player in the Iron Realms isn’t enough to entice you…
Starting soon, we will be including unique promo codes in select newsletters that you can redeem in-game to get perks such as character customizations, exclusive gear, or other fun surprises. Subscribing will not grant you an in-game advantage, but it may get you something fun and shiny.
Get in on the fun at <https://www.ironrealms.com/newsletter> and subscribe for free today!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [June in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/06/01/june-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** June's promotions are live: the artefact cart, lesson sales, talisman caches, and the much-loved 20% Delos discount, with rotating artefact category deals all month.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
We’ve somehow made it to June and with the avalanche of content from Year 1000 and the Staff Games behind us, we’re looking ahead to a somewhat more quiet month. HOWEVER, be on the lookout for more previews in Discord of an upcoming system release and perhaps more than a preview as the month goes on.
I will be taking a small vacation after tomorrow (post to follow), but after I am back we’ll also probably organise a June tea time!
Promotion-wise, June will see the return of the artefact cart, lesson sales, talisman caches on the website, and the much-beloved DELOS DISCOUNT!
The Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an Iron Elite membership. Remember to be logged in to the website to take advantage of the IRE Elite discount!)
On top of the standard 30/40% discount offered by the artefact cart, we’re also further discounting select artefact categories throughout the month:
- 1st through 10th – Offensive and Class artefact categories.
- 11th through 20th – Crafting and Tradeskill, and Miscellaneous categories.
- 21st through 30th – Defensive, Stat and Regen, and Artefact Armour categories.
Talisman pieces are also available directly from the Achaea website in batches of 1, 5, 10, 15, and 30. Sets available include Historical, Monks, Invasion, Blackwave, Wonders, Moderngods and Marks, in addition to the random cache!
Talisman piece purchases give caches.
Every ten caches (this is tracked per set, so four Moderngods and six Marks won’t work):
- If you have elite, you get another cache
- In addition, you get either:
- A random rarer piece if it’s a specific set.
- Another random piece cache if it’s your tenth random cache.
But there’s more!
By popular demand, we’re also bringing back the Delos discount! For June, all artefacts in the Delosian shops will be 20% cheaper! This is a flat discount that won’t scale with anything else.
This includes artefact upgrades, and purchases from the talisman shop but does not include partial completions.
Congratulations once again to our new staff bearer, Faerum!
And Happy Pride Month!
– Icti
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Riddle Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/30/championship-riddle-results)
**Published:** May 30, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Erishka wins the Championship Riddle at record pace, and Faerum builds a 22-point Staff of Nicator lead with only Championship Twins remaining.
**Content:**
The Championship Riddle has concluded and the results are as follows:
- In 1st place is Erishka who wins 7 Championship Points and 200 credits!
- In 2nd place is Minkai who wins 5 Championship Points and 175 credits!
- In 3rd place is Xylarys who wins 4 Championship Points and 150 credits!
- In 4th place is Faerum who wins 3 Championship Points and 125 credits!
- In 5th place is Serahfyna who wins 2 Championship Points and 100 credits!
- In 6th place is Dalran who wins 1 Championship Point and 75 credits!
That means that current standings for the Staff of Nicator are:
- Faerum: 22 points
- Erishka: 13 points
- Dalran: 11 points
- Crixos: 10 points
- Minkai: 8 points
- Axios: 7 points
- Serahfyna: 5 points
- Pharaus: 4 points
- Kimora: 4 points
- Xylarys: 4 points
- Proficy: 2 points
- Kazume: 1 point
- Faedwyn: 1 point
With only Championship Twins remaining, Faerum has secured a sufficient lead to guarantee his victory in the Staff of Nicator contest!
The event tomorrow will continue on as planned and all are welcome to participate in order to secure last minute placings and some credit prizes, as well as glory and fame!
Congratulations to Erishka for a commanding victory in the riddle (significantly faster than any other team), to Faerum (we will have more to say tomorrow), and to all participants!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Twins Results & Championship Games Results](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/30/championship-twins-results-championship-games-results)
**Published:** May 30, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Akri and Crixos win Championship Twins, and Faerum claims the Year 1005 Championship Games and the Staff of Nicator with a decisive 22 points.
**Content:**
Championship Twins is now concluded and the top six finishing teams are as follows:
- In 1st place are Akri and Crixos who win 7 Championship Points and 200 credits!
- In 2nd place are Atalkez and Ksha who win 5 Championship Points and 175 credits!
- In 3rd place are Tabethys and Nikolais who win 4 Championship Points and 150 credits!
- In 4th place are Minkai and Jaisael who win 3 Championship Points and 125 credits!
- In 5th place are Proficy and Valkael who win 2 Championship Points and 100 credits!
- In 6th place are Ante and Blonk who win 1 Championship Point and 75 credits!
This places the final standings for the Staff of Nicator competition as follows:
- Faerum: 22 points
- Crixos: 17 points
- Erishka: 13 points
- Minkai: 11 points
- Dalran: 11 points
- Akri: 7 points
- Axios: 7 points
- Atalkez: 5 points
- Ksha: 5 points
- Serahfyna: 5 points
- Tabethys: 4 points
- Nikolais: 4 points
- Pharaus: 4 points
- Kimora: 4 points
- Xylarys: 4 points
- Proficy: 4 points
- Jaisael: 3 points
- Valkael: 2 points
- Ante: 1 point
- Blonk: 1 point
- Kazume: 1 point
- Faedwyn: 1 point
With 22 points Faerum is now officially the WINNER of the Year 1005 Championship Games, having prevailed over his opponents to claim stewardship of the fabled Staff of Nicator and residency of the Keep at Nicator’s Crossing, as well as the prize of 2000 credits!
The Staff itself shall be awarded at the ceremony time listed on UPCOMING, where all of Sapience is invited to observe! It will be up to Faerum to discover and, should he so choose, divulge its uniquely tailored powers!
Congratulations to Faerum and to Cyrene for their monumental effort, and well done indeed to all contenders and participants throughout!
This also formally brings all of the Year 1000 and adjacent celebrations to a close! It’s been a hell of a few months and I hope everyone has enjoyed the fun and chaos throughout!
But wait, what about Lorielan’s whirlpool? Well, some of you have no doubt seen the previews of an upcoming project on the official Discord, and I recommend you continue to do the whirlpool’s bidding for a few more weeks!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [What the Water Keeps](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/28/what-the-water-keeps)
**Published:** May 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A young woman has vanished from a hidden room above the sea, leaving an open window and an unfinished question. The watchers in the shadows now turn on each other.
**Content:**
On a world whose name few in Sapience would recognise, a woman sits in a room overlooking the sea.
She was not always a young woman. The years that made her so were strange years, and those who watched them pass did so with the uneasy awareness that time, in her vicinity, observes different courtesies than it does elsewhere. She grew the way fire takes to good timber; and the watching of it felt less like observation than like witness, which is a distinction worth preserving.
Those who came to care for her crossed more distance than geography accounts for. They brought steadiness, honesty, the willingness to sit through difficult hours without reaching for comfortable explanations. She received all of it with the gravity of someone who has learned that good things are under no obligation to persist. Her trust, when it came, came in full. Her warmth exceeded every reasonable expectation. The village around her now, long held at the edge of a terrible foretelling, found itself breathing easier; and this, of all developments, was perhaps the most dangerous.
The foretelling had not changed.
An inquiry was undertaken by someone of genuine conviction: thorough, earnest, and proceeding in entirely the wrong direction. Precisely the direction certain other parties had arranged for it to take. Every suspicion formed was a suspicion planted. Every thread pulled had been left for pulling. The inquiry runs still, arriving unreliably at conclusions prepared well in advance of its arrival.
The young woman, meanwhile, had begun asking questions of her own.
The first she put to someone she trusted, quietly. The second was never asked.
Beneath the ground on which she walked, something old and labouring drew tighter by slow degrees; a structural complaint so long-standing that the people above it had ceased to hear it. She heard it. She had always heard it, and she said nothing of this to anyone.
She is gone now.
Her room, once her mother’s, lies hidden from the wider village and world beyond, holding the particular quality of silence that follows a presence rather than preceding one. The window stands open. On the sill, scratched into painted wood in handwriting still finding its shape, four words remain: “I wanted to understand”. Whether she walked through that window or was carried, whether the dreams that came for her in the small hours were visitations or invitations, whether the stillness of her preceding days were resolve or resignation; these questions have no certain answers, and the sea below offers none.
Somewhere, she sleeps. Or she walks. The village does not know which, and the inquiry, still running faithfully in its arranged channels, is looking elsewhere entirely.
Among those watching from a greater distance, a silence has opened up: the silence of people who share a purpose but have ceased to share a mind. The story they have tended so carefully has outgrown the hands that shaped it, and the final page, if there is one, might instead be written by those who loved her, which was never part of the design.
---
Summary: A woman has vanished upon a distant world, leaving behind an open window and an unfinished question. Those who watched from the shadows find themselves, for the first time, watching each other.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/23/updates-73)
**Published:** May 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Aegean Arena is back as a neutral Proving Grounds arena. Find it in the Sirrocian Mountains, west of room v3003, and start a duel.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 23rd of May, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The Aegean Arena (the Proving Grounds) has returned an additional neutral arena! You can find it in the Sirrocian Mountains west of room v3003.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/23/updates-74)
**Published:** May 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** RECOLLECT SURRENDER is a new command for whirlpool quests. Drop your assigned task once your cooldown resolves and pick up a different one.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 23rd of May, and the following changes have been implemented:
- RECOLLECT SURRENDER is now a command for the whirlpool quests, allowing you to surrender your assigned task once your cooldown resolves.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship XP Event Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/24/championship-xp-event-results)
**Published:** May 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Faerum tops the Championship XP Event for 7 points and 200 credits, with Dalran and Pharaus close behind. The Worldgames Extravaganza is up tomorrow.
**Content:**
The Championship XP Event has concluded and the results are as follows:
In 1st place is Faerum who wins 7 Championship Points and 200 credits!
In 2nd place is Dalran who wins 5 Championship Points and 175 credits!
In 3rd place is Pharaus who wins 4 Championship Points and 150 credits!
In 4th place is Erishka who wins 3 Championship Points and 125 credits!
In 5th place is Proficy who wins 2 Championship Points and 100 credits!
In 6th place is Faedwyn who wins 1 Championship Point and 75 credits!
That means that current standings for the Staff of Nicator are:
Faerum: 12 points
Crixos: 7 points
Erishka: 6 points
Dalran: 5 points
Pharaus: 4 points
Kimora: 4 points
Axios: 2 points
Proficy: 2 points
Kazume: 1 point
Faedwyn: 1 point
Up next (tomorrow) is the Worldgames Extravaganza! See UPCOMING and HELP CHAMPIONSHIP WORLDGAMES for details!
Well done to everyone who participated!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Worldgames Extravaganza Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/24/championship-worldgames-extravaganza-results)
**Published:** May 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Faerum wins the Worldgames Extravaganza for 7 Championship Points and 200 credits, pushing the Staff of Nicator lead to 19. The Riddle is up Friday night.
**Content:**
The Championship Worldgames Extravaganza has now concluded and the results are as follows:
In 1st place is Faerum who wins 7 Championship Points and 200 credits!
In 2nd place is a tie between Dalran and Axios who win 5 Championship Points and 175 credits!
In 4th place is a tie between Minkai, Crixos, and Serahfyna who win 3 Championship Points and 125 credits!
That means that current standings for the Staff of Nicator are:
Faerum: 19 points
Dalran: 10 points
Crixos: 10 points
Axios: 7 points
Erishka: 6 points
Pharaus: 4 points
Kimora: 4 points
Minkai: 3 points
Serahfyna: 3 points
Proficy: 2 points
Kazume: 1 point
Faedwyn: 1 point
Well done to all competitors!
The next event is the Riddle taking place on Friday night! See UPCOMING for all dates and times!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/19/updates-72)
**Published:** May 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The whirlpool task has been updated and will no longer request a poharaehe shell. Submit a BUG report if this is your current active task.
**Content:**
The following changes have been implemented:
- The whirlpool will no longer request a shell of a poharaehe. If that is your current task, submit a BUG report to get it reset.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Race Around the World Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/17/championship-race-around-the-world-results)
**Published:** May 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Crixos took first place in the Championship Race Around the World, earning 7 Championship Points and 200 credits. Six racers placed. XPEVENT is up next.
**Content:**
The Championship Race Around the World has concluded and the results are as follows:
- In 1st place is Crixos who wins 7 Championship Points and 200 credits!
- In 2nd place is Faerum who wins 5 Championship Points and 175 credits!
- In 3rd place is Kimora who wins 4 Championship Points and 150 credits!
- In 4th place is Erishka who wins 3 Championship Points and 125 credits!
- In 5th place is Axios who wins 2 Championship Points and 100 credits!
- In 6th place is Kazume who wins 1 Championship Point and 75 credits!
Well done to everyone who participated! Next up is the XPEVENT, see UPCOMING and remember this is back to 12 hour windows on 3 different days!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/16/updates-70)
**Published:** May 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The influence of the Underworld no longer forces players to embrace death or blocks starburst tattoos and similar effects.
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 16th of May, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The influence of the Underworld no longer forces one to embrace death and no longer prevents starburst tattoos and other similar effects.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/17/updates-71)
**Published:** May 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A new help file is now available. Type HELP CHAMPFAQ in game for details on the champion system.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 17th of May, and the following changes have been implemented:
- HELP CHAMPFAQ now exists!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Memory of Seleucar](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/15/a-memory-of-seleucar)
**Published:** May 15, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Lorielan unveiled Seleucar's ruins and forged a Divine gateway with the Elder Gods. Proteus returns from beyond Creation as adventurers feed a whirlpool of whispers.
**Content:**
The demeanour of the Jade Empress was self-evident as She gazed upon the scurrying mortality of Achaea.
Legacy.
She spat the word with the cold disdain of one Who had seen legacy’s remit and result.
Bestriding the Mnemosyne’s fluvial blessing, by the hand of the Empress did its waters surge. By the will of the Empress did its course shudder. And by the command of the Empress did the river yield, peeling away the jungle in herald to the blighted curse yet within.
And though the Jade Empress disappeared behind Her veil of lucent crystal, what She exposed to the world for the first time in a thousand years remained.
The smallest glimpse into shattered ruins of what was once Imperial glory.
Seleucar.
Ghosts walked its streets in pale echoes of what once was considered civilisation’s pinnacle. Spectres haunted its roads. Memories, stirred by the Eldest’s invocation, bubbled into existence and unveiled lost histories to adventurers with eyes wide open.
A month passed and Lorielan returned, scornful of the enthusiasm with which mortality clamoured to walk a fallen empire’s streets.
Clasping the purloined shards of a spiral relic in Her hands, the Jade Empress once more bid the waters to obey, and while Mnemosyne churned into a vortex of spectral recollection at Her command, She simply called: “Well?”
Elders were Her answer: Vastar and Gaia first, then Aegis and Phaestus. Prospero was joined by Valnurana and Scarlatti. Last to come was Twilight, Others conspicuous by Their absence.
And as Lorielan moulded the now-torrential vortex into something She called an object lesson, Her Siblings simply observed, offering neither assistance nor opinion.
“Well?” came Her voice again.
Reticence was Her answer. The Elders bid the Eldest ask Them to help, Their coy reluctance driving Lorielan to a cold, terrible fury. Tension threatened to carve the air asunder until She slowly, painfully, agonisingly, asked of Them to lend Her aid.
Together, They wove water and memory into one. Shapes and faces converged, memories rose and fell, and spectres of the ancient past shimmered in and out of focus under an outpouring of Divine might scarcely seen by mortal eyes. The vortex churned and revolved, threatening to collapse on itself and implode, but the Gods persisted, until an explosion of light revealed the fruit of Their labour.
And as the Elder Gods receded beyond the Veil, Their work remained.
The circular archway stood amidst Seleucar’s unveiled ruin in silent revolution, pale-white radiance spiralling within its impossible frame while the firmament above slowly relinquished the scars of Divine intervention. Across Uphimmin, fragments of distant memory yet lingered in the heavens: glimmering motes of celestial light drifting like fallen stars through jungle canopy and forgotten stone alike. Some claimed to hear song within them still. Others whispered that the air itself had changed, touched by something older than mortal recollection.
For those who wandered Seleucar’s haunted avenues in the aftermath, the revelation was no longer merely the empire that had once been, but the truth hidden within its destruction. Sarapis had dreamt of permanence. His vision was one of civilisation eternal. Of a legacy immune to decline.
The mortal condition believed such providence to be inevitable. It was not. And Lorielan, the Jade Empress, Eldest of the Gods yet living, had not exhumed Seleucar to inspire reverence.
She had unveiled its corpse as warning: an object lesson of the price paid by complacency and entitlement.
Then, from beyond Creation’s furthest edge, where Memory endured untouched by time’s erosion, came Proteus, not in flesh, but in possibility. In the echo of a path yet untaken.
The question left in the wake of the Gods’ departure lingered still over ruined streets and spectral avenues alike:
Whether mortality, given the remnants of Divinity and the inheritance of history, would create something greater, or merely repeat the follies of every age before. And so they were tasked with acts of remembrance. A whirlpool of whispers beckoned to them all, to be fed with recollections of sight, sound, and slaughter, its purpose yet to be determined.
---
**Summary:** Lorielan revealed more of ancient Seleucar and, alongside several Elder Gods, forged a massive Divine gateway using the Mnemosyne and shards of Divinity’s Sceptre. From beyond Creation emerged the memory of Proteus, a preserved remnant tied to Scarlatti’s greater vision, while the Jade Empress warned that mortals now stand at the precipice of either forging a better legacy or repeating the catastrophic failures of the past. Tasked with offering a whirlpool of whispers recollections, adventurers scurry to feed its insatiable appetite. But to what end?
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000 Contests!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/15/year-1000-contests)
**Published:** May 15, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Tahquil won the design contest, Jurixe took Bardic, and Ashena claimed Artisanal. Full Year 1000 contest results for Nostalgia and Succession themes.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Now that a few days have passed and the team has had a chance to catch up, I have the results of the Year 1000 contests!
First, let me congratulate Airtreia on winning the shop lottery!
And in the design contest theme of “NOSTALGIA”:
Winner: Tahquil
Runner-Up: Jurixe
Merit: Eoka
---
And in the Artisanal and Bardic contest theme of “SUCCESSION”:
Artisanal Winner: Ashena!
---
Bardic Winner: Jurixe
Bardic Runner-Up: Ehene
Bardic Merit: Aina, Eoka, Drumos in a 3-way tie!
We’ll aim to get their entries on the Achaea website and wiki ASAP. Thank you to everyone for participating, we had a great time reading the entries!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Communications](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/13/communications)
**Published:** May 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** All in-game communication in Achaea is permanently logged. If you have concerns, contact ictinus@achaea.com or jeremy@ironrealms.com directly.
**Content:**
Hi folks,
Just a quick reminder that everything you say and type in Achaea is logged to the server permanently and available on request for myself or Makarios or Edra to review at our leisure.
As such, attempts to misrepresent situations in order to paint yourself in a better light to the admin is something that is easily verified and frankly a waste of both your, and my time.
As always, if you have a concern about Achaea you are more than welcome to contact me via ictinus@achaea.com and if your problem happens to be with me or the team, jeremy@ironrealms.com is your next port of call.
That’s all!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [New Discord contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/14/new-discord-contest)
**Published:** May 14, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A new Discord contest is live. Write a case for your favourite denizen to win the Staff and you could earn up to 500 credits.
**Content:**
Hey folks!
It’s time for another Discord contest and a chance to win up to 500 credits! Head on over to the #contests channel and write a case for a denizen you’d like to see win the Staff!
If you haven’t joined our Discord server yet, check out HELP DISCORD!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/03/updates-62)
**Published:** April 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Ad formatting has been overhauled — no more stray line breaks. Any ads created before this change may need to be resubmitted with updated descriptions.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 3rd of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The weird text formatting of ads is no more! They should now behave much more typically and no longer insert line breaks throughout your inputted text. NOTE: any ads that were previously taken out before this post will likely need updating if their descriptions were designed for the old format.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Year 1000 Mystery Update(s), Courtesy of Rhivona!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/08/year-1000-mystery-updates-courtesy-of-rhivona)
**Published:** April 8, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Rhivona delivers a wave of quality-of-life additions: Artistry now includes Sculpting with statues and figurines, plus a raft of description and system improvements across the board.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
This post might be a bit of a long one, but I’m writing to unveil a slew of quality-of-life changes and long-requested additions to Achaea thanks to the hard work and toil of Rhivona! Some of these have been previewed in the Achaea Discord but not all! Read on!
First and foremost, Artistry now includes Sculpting
- Figurines are held items and will require commodities to create (SCULPT to create base item, EMBELLISH to channel sessions)
- Sculptures and statues are furniture pieces that will not require commodities, but large sums of gold
1. A plinth can be purchased in Delos
2. You may place the plinth and REQUISITION a suitable material for it (both require the usual furniture permissions)
3. The command SCULPT turns the plinth with the material can be turned into an unrefined statue/sculptures (this also requires the usual furniture permissions)
4. Artistry sessions can be channeled to finish the work using EMBELLISH
Next up is some additions to descriptions:
- You can now DESCRIBE SELF
- BALD does not require a text
- BALD will impact some emotes
- People can view this by LOOK
- Note: text can only be a maximum of 75 characters and these must remain tasteful and lore-friendly.
Heraldry is next on the list with another fairly significant update:
- HE ARMS has been reworked to no longer be a mess of a command with 19 different parameters
- This change allows an herald to HE ARMS SET for each of these individual 19 fields, with sanity checks built in
- Furthermore, heralds can HE ARMS VIEW \[modern\] to see a table list of their current working draft (one draft per herald)
- Heralds can validate their working draft with HE ARMS VALIDATE to receive a bullet point list of problems with their draft
- HE ARMS PREVIEW \[modern\] has also been added, this will give you a preview of the finished product
- Both VALIDATE and PREVIEW will also warn you if the armiger already has arms, or if the arms your draft would create are already in use
- Note: PREVIEW will not work if the draft is in an invalid state
- HE ARMS REGISTER will no longer require the insanity of the 19 parameters and will instead use the values on your draft
- Note: REGISTER will fail if the draft has any errors or if the armiger already has registered arms
- HE ARMS BLAZON and HE ARMS FIND should continue to work as normal
- IMPORTANT NOTE: if there are issues with this command, HE ARMS\_OLD is available to revert to the old flow
ORIGINs are now available to players to select your town or place of origin.
- These are restricted by age and race in many cases.
- This is an irreversible choice!!!
- The ORIGIN command has the syntax!
The following items now have an artefact variant in Delos: shipaxe (permanent, resetting), shipfitting toolbox (permanent, resetting), beverage trolley (permanent, resetting, and counts as all five beverage preparation items).
Those are the big ones, but there’s more!
Many of the items on the list below were inspired by player submitted ideas and aim to solve pain points in various systems or simply add a bit of flair here and there. The first entry on the list is an important one, though, so please read it!
- It is no longer possible to send messages directly to Gods, unless they are a producer or an administrator. You will need to find a method of contacting them IC!
- The LAUGH emote is no longer based on gender.
- Restrictions for reincarnating into a satyr or a siren have been removed – this also includes character creation.
- AUCTIONHOUSE STATUS now also lists all the auctions you are the current highest bidder on.
- RENOWN SHOP WARES now has a reminder at the bottom stating how much renown you have accumulated.
- Bounties are now voided on failure.
- City tutors can now teach up to Mythical, provided you are a citizen.
- MAIL TO RECORDED has been added, this will notify you when the letter or parcel is delivered. This will cost 5000 gold.
- Note: this will not notify you of the delivery if you are not online at the time it is delivered, nor if you cannot see the person (beds, phased, treacherous planes, anything that would typically block farsee)
- The heart emoticon <3 can now be used in say/tells to convey something lovingly.
- Customisation now allows for wearables to be marked with the flag “nosuppress”, rendering it immune to the effects of the orb of suppression. This will cost 50 credits as per the typical request.
- The furniture repair artefact now allows up to three repairs a day (resets 24 hours after the first repair of that day), and adds 125 months rather than setting it to 125 months.
- SHIP INFO BRIEF has been added, which reports on the ship’s current integrity.
- SHIP TRADE CARGO CAPACITY has been added and reports how much free space is left in your ship’s cargo hold.
- AD RENEW has been added, allowing owners of an ad to pay 5000 gold to reset the listing time of their ad. You will also receive a notification the ad will be automatically purged 24 hours before it expires.
- Buried pots of gold are re-enabled after a particularly nasty leprechaun attempted to embezzle gold.
Please report any bugs immediately and we’ll be working on getting help files updated shortly.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/08/updates-63)
**Published:** April 8, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Sirens have a new look descriptor, Cities and Adryn's Keep are now origin options, and Zanzibaar's age restriction is fixed.
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 8th of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Some additional tweaks:
– Sirens are now ‘an enchanting Siren’ on look.
– Cities are now origin options.
– Adryn’s Keep is now an origin option.
– Zanzibaar’s age restriction on origin is now correct and no longer inverted.description and image.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Prince's Memory... And Something New!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/10/a-princes-memory-and-something-new)
**Published:** April 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A new seamonster nest has appeared in the Borean Ocean east of Karbaz, featuring four tier-6 and one tier-7 seamonster. Seamonsters can now inflict every affliction in the game.
**Content:**
Hello!
After the most recent dramatics between Borak and Neraeos, a new seamonster nest can now be found in the Borean Ocean, roughly east of Karbaz!
In this new nest, you will find four brand new tier-6 seamonsters and a low chance to spawn our single new tier-7 seamonster. They will almost certainly require multiple ships to defeat, so be aware of that before you engage!
This comes with some additional changes to seamonsters: they are now more dangerous than ever before, as they have been expanded to include the ability to give every affliction currently in the game (essentially much like other denizens) alongside their previous functionality.
This new nest will be the testing ground for this addition before it is expanded to more seamonsters across the board!
We welcome any feedback on your experiences hunting these, and hope you have fun with the tougher challenges!
(For those who missed it, the Neraeos memory is also now available within the Crown of Uphimmin!)
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Inkbrushes](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/11/inkbrushes)
**Published:** April 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Players who already own a standard inkbrush from a prior auction can trade it in toward their bid if they win the current auction, in line with standard artefact upgrade policy.
**Content:**
Just a quick update concerning the inkbrush auction, as there has been some concern from those who have standard inkbrushes from prior auctions. If someone who has one of these wins the auction we’ll trade the lesser versions in towards their final bid, in line with typical artefact upgrades and similar auction artefacts (mostly wings).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/12/updates-64)
**Published:** April 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The bad joke entries from the recent contest have been added to the BADJOKES ability.
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 12th of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The badjokes from the recent contest have now been added to the ability!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Some updates.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/12/some-updates-2)
**Published:** April 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Elementalism gains new affliction triggers on EMANATE WATER and AIR. GOUGE, LACERATE, and DOUBLESTRIKE refactored — reflections now checked first, clumsy handled before calculations, second combo parts always apply.
**Content:**
Elementalism
- (admin) CONFLAGRATION now has a message when it goes out.
- (21) EMANATE WATER now additionally gives stuttering.
- (220) EMENATE AIR now gives asthma if dizziness is already present.
- Note on 219 and 220: I’ll be watching these closely. Its possible this might tilt things too far the other way.
Skirmishing
- (321) GOUGE, LACERATE, and DOUBLESTRIKE have been refactored significantly:
- Reflections are checked before everything, so you don’t get attack messages then the reflection fading – the reflection fades first as is standard behaviour.
- Check for clumsy before other calculations and have special clumsy messages. This should make misses look much less thematically weird (no more you stab them, then you somehow clumsily missed anyway).
- The second parts of the combo always apply even when you miss the first part. Doublestrike already had this behaviour, but gouge and lacerate did not. This does not apply if the attack rebounds, that works as before. The major consequence of this is sentinel no longer misses the entire skirmishing attack on a clumsy miss.
- Note that barbs do not fire on clumsy misses. The full attack must still land for this bonus to apply.
Weaving
- (admin) The rebounding blocking weaving attacks change has been reverted. This hasn’t really worked out, it might be something we revisit down the line in a different form.
- (admin) PREPARE INSUBSTANTIAL remains for reflections.
Misc
- (admin) The standard clumsy rate has been reduced from 33% to 25% across the board. I’m doing this now to give us some time before the championship events, if it proves to be unwise we’ll move it back (but I suspect this will feel just generally better on all fronts).
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Memory of Genesis & Meropis Mines!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/12/the-memory-of-genesis-meropis-mines)
**Published:** April 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Six new mining camps have opened across Meropis following the disturbances from Tlalaiad's memory. Commodity spawn caps have been raised significantly to address ongoing scarcity across the board.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With the Memory of Tlalaiad causing great disturbances in the earth below Meropis, I am pleased to announce the founding of six new mining camps upon the southern continent!
These should be freshly populated with lodes soon and should function identically to mainland mines – respecting environment, etc, for the comms that can be found there. As a consequence of this, I have also dramatically increased the maximum number of possible spawns for most of the commodity types in order to combat the ongoing problem of scarcity.
The camps in question can be found here:
Among alpine bromeliads : Northern Vasnari Mountains
Dragonspine Ridge : Northern Vasnari Mountains
A plateau on the mountainside : Central Vasnari Mountains
An outlook over the valley : Central Vasnari Mountains
Amid giant boulders : Judgement Mountain
Rolling hills : Sarave Foothills
As this is the first time we’ve added new camps in a very long time, please report immediately any issues or if anything looks strange!
Enjoy!
PS: Sojourn has once more returned to Balan’ukia and can be played by anyone who is willing to enter the fortess!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [New playlist contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/13/new-playlist-contest)
**Published:** April 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** A new Garden playlist is live in the Discord #contests channel. Guess which god picked which song for a chance to win up to 350 credits. Contest closes end of week.
**Content:**
Hey folks,
Head on over to our Discord #contests channel (HELP DISCORD) for a brand new Garden playlist and a chance to win up to 350 credits for guessing which god picked which song!
You have until the end of the week, check the pinned post for details.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/17/updates-65)
**Published:** April 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** GEAR LIST now shows equipped items, slot, and set. Trinket balance changes for Yudhishthira's robe hem, the Quisalis Grandmaster's dagger, and the steam behemoth's sac. Elemental Fringes honour boss trinkets reworked.
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 17th of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The output of GEAR LIST now includes a green asterisk next to any gear you currently have equipped.
- The output of GEAR LIST now includes a column for the gear’s slot and set (or lack thereof).
- A note has been added to the syntax output of GEAR to clarify that filters can be stacked when using GEAR LIST.
- Human Yudhishthira’s trinket (a Conclavist’s robe hem) now grants 5% bonus damage (reduced from its previous value).
- Human Yudhishthira’s trinket (a Conclavist’s robe hem) now lasts twice as many months on average before decaying (duration still varies).
- The Grandmaster of the Quisalis’ trinket (a tenebrous punch dagger) now grants 30% bonus damage with its effect (increased from 15% previously).
- A steam behemoth’s trinket (a blistered steam sac) now has an 8% proc chance (reduced from its previous value).
- Trinkets dropped by honour bosses in the Elemental Fringes now grant their bonuses everywhere (no longer restricted to the Elemental Fringes).
- The Fae Courtier’s Ensemble set bonus now inflicts AMNESIA instead of CHARM.
- Aigra’s trinket (a sphere of magma) now pierces 100% of fire resistance rather than 50%.
- Tizane’s trinket (a blood-crusted syringe) now pierces 100% of poison resistance rather than 50%.
- Zigana’s trinket (an experimental tincture) now no longer reduces bleeding but instead grants health and poison resistance.
- Oberion’s trinket (a buckawn-bone amulet) now provides a flat 40% chance to avoid denizen webbings.
- Volatile damage effects no longer disable on-hit damage effects while on cooldown.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Great Hunt Looms!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/17/the-great-hunt-looms-2)
**Published:** April 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Great Hunt begins in hours — 24 hours of hunting, double XP, credit prizes for the top ten in each tier, and a brand new cave in the ruins of Seleucar.
**Content:**
A man holding a spear in a dark caveIn a few hours (see UPCOMING for details!), the horns will sound, signalling the beginning of the Great Hunt!
For those who are not familiar, a Great Hunt is a 24 hour hunting contest with various credit prizes!
Prize tiers are split into three levels: below level 80, below level 99, and “open” which is anything above 99 and onwards!
As is customary, we have:
- Double experience
- Credits will be awarded to everyone who reaches different point thresholds.
5cr at 100 points, 10cr at 1000, and 15cr at 2500 points.
- Credit prizes for the top ten winners in each tier.
500cr for first through to 50cr for 10th.
On top of that:
- All of the Great Hunt caves will be opening, offering bonus XP and gold for all the boss kills, including a brand new cave in the ruins of Seleucar following the revelation of Tlalaiad’s memory!
- The more difficult foray bosses (Horald, Vulkuz, and all Reckoning forays) have massively increased XP and gold rewards.
- The forces of the Underworld will be deployed to the battlefield on a more frequent basis.
- Invasions will be breaking out on the Elemental Planes, also offering boosted XP for kills of hostile elementals.
- The Gnolls of Manara Burrow will be spreading their influence to the Granite Hills in great number for lower level players to enjoy!
- The Sidhe and Unsidhe will clash in the forests of Annwyn, bringing greater numbers and new forces to be fought.
- The outriders of Istarion will be regularly deployed in larger numbers into the Istar Jungle.
- Additionally, for the duration of the Great Hunt there will be a chance to loot rare, honour-mob trinkets from any killed denizen in addition to normal gear drops!
See HELP GREAT HUNT for the rest!
Good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/18/updates-66)
**Published:** April 18, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Yuthka the daemonic serpent and the shadow dragon now each drop a unique trinket when slain. The shadow dragon also has a deathsight message on death.
**Content:**
Banner with glowing title Words become Worlds and a pixelated dragon silhouette a person sits at a desk in a forested landscapeIt is Saturday, the 18th of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Yuthka, the daemonic serpent now drops a unique trinket when slain.
- The shadow dragon now drops a unique trinket when slain.
- The shadow dragon now has a deathsight when slain.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Great Hunt Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/19/great-hunt-results-4)
**Published:** April 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Gavai, Kenris, and Zennia took first place in their respective tiers. The top ten in each tier have been awarded credits. Double XP runs until the next Serenade.
**Content:**
The Great Hunt has now concluded after a brutal 24 hours!
Congratulations to Gavai, Kenris, and Zennia, the winners in their tiers each claiming five hundred credits!
The top ten in each tier have also been awarded credit prizes!
| Rank | Sub-80 | Sub-99 | Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zennia | Kenris | Gavai |
| 2 | Hattie | Aesa | Kodachi |
| 3 | Aeciel | Grounde | Khaseem |
| 4 | Alston | Zaleria | Dalran |
| 5 | Ulrius | Chikoo | Ceredia |
| 6 | Viro | Samirrah | Gallus |
| 7 | Dobbs | Hogarth | Trendric |
| 8 | Dzuujah | Redeux | Proficy |
| 9 | Hecit | Xochipili | Klys |
| 10 | Vallrein | Ysindrolir | Gaelyn |
Well done to everyone who participated and to all the victors!
Double XP will remain in effect until the next Serenade, so enjoy it while it lasts!
And of course, UPCOMING has the rest of the Year 1000 celebrations still to come!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Language Rules Etc (Again)](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/20/language-rules-etc-again)
**Published:** April 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Using slurs in Achaea results in a shrub. No exceptions, no excuses. HELP LANGUAGE RULES exists and the Garden is enforcing it strictly.
**Content:**
Hi folks,
It beggars belief that barely six months after the last time I had to post about this, here I am forced to do so again.
HELP LANGUAGE RULES exists, and I am becoming very tired of having to remind people that using slurs is not an acceptable form of communication in Achaea.
Let me be abundantly clear:
If you use this type of language, you are going to get shrubbed.
If you mock people who take issue with others using this type of language, you are going to get shrubbed.
If you hurl insults at me for my handling of this repulsive behaviour, you are going to get shrubbed.
If you think it’s amusing to use offensive language in order to try and trip admin alerts or spam me out, you are going to get shrubbed.
There’s no excuse for it and it really is not that hard to simply not be this type of person.
If you are incapable of communicating without using racial, homophobic, or other types of slurs, then frankly you should find another game to play.
Be better.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/21/updates-67)
**Published:** April 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** City Guides and leadership position holders will no longer earn passive renown while resting in a bed.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 21st of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
- City Guides and leadership position holders will no longer earn passive renown while in a bed.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Upcoming Entry 3989 (Mystery Event)](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/21/upcoming-entry-3989-mystery-event)
**Published:** April 21, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Mystery Event has moved again — it's now scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 23:00 due to IRL circumstances. Thanks for your patience.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Once again due to unfortunate IRL circumstances outside of our control, we have had to adjust the date for the Mystery Event in upcoming 3989 to be 48 hours earlier than before.
It is now taking place on Tuesday 28th April at 23:00.
Thanks for your understanding.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Event 3989](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/24/event-3989)
**Published:** April 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Event 3989 is indefinitely postponed. A Celani has been deployed overseas and we've relieved them of the pressure to run it. We'll reschedule before Year 1000 concludes in mid-May.
**Content:**
Hi folks,
Following up on my last post, I am writing to unfortunately announce the indefinite postponement of upcoming event 3989.
Without going into too much detail, one of our Celani is in the military and the ongoing situation has resulted in them being deployed overseas and they will regrettably be unavailable for some time.
In order to relieve them of any pressure to run this event, I’ve taken this decision to postpone and we will aim to reschedule it some time before the Year 1000 events conclude in the middle of May.
Thanks all for your understanding.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Tithed Suffering: The Reckoning of Hope and Tyranny](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/25/tithed-suffering-the-reckoning-of-hope-and-tyranny)
**Published:** April 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Sidereal lenses awakened across Sapience as the Lightbringer's decree divided adventurers between Hope and Tyranny. A new constellation now looms over the world, demanding tribute and endurance.
**Content:**
A quiet tremor passed through Creation, its resonance gently blossoming as Sapience paused to listen.
Across distant lands, sidereal lenses rooted upon ancient landmarks stirred from dormancy, their light kindling once more as threads of argent radiance and crimson fire stretched between them. Scattered awakenings soon resolved into something deliberate as a vast constellation imposed upon the world itself.
With it came the Lightbringer’s decree, “What was sundered shall be remembered. What was forgotten shall be restored. These are the instruments of remembrance. The conduits by which My Memory, and that of My Twin, shall be unveiled. Choose alignment with My Hope or His Tyranny, though each shall exact its own measure of Suffering.”
Adventurers rose to meet the call. Drawn to these loci of power, they undertook trials of offering, insight, and endurance, each lens demanding its due. Those bound to Hope and those beholden to Tyranny vied to awaken the lenses and lay claim to their purpose, with Tyranny gaining the upper hand.
Each lens, yearning for the tithes bound to its ancient landmark, thrummed with power as adventurers answered their silent demands. Death, dragons, and the antlers of stags were laid forth beside words of veiled wit; while butterflies, honed skills, devout prayers, and the gathered essences of light and dark were rendered in kind. One by one, the lenses were empowered, and when the final thread was drawn taut, the constellation sent forth its reply: in the desert, reality fractured.
A Singularity emerged, an unstable convergence of ruin and radiance, shifting between gravitational collapse and sidereal fury. It was a culmination, a final trial in Suffering shaped by all that had come before. Those who had proven themselves at the lenses stood against it. Through coordination, resolve, and force of arms, they endured its shifting forms and brought it low.
With the Singularity’s fall, the gathered energies surged skyward, converging at the crown of Uphimmin and rendering the lenses naught more than stardust. Upon the world tree, argent light and crimson flame were brought into accord for a final revelation. The Lightbringer awarded Sapience with the dichotomous memories of Ethian and Abbadon, bearing within it life and death, and the memory of Her inseverable, if embattled, bond with Her Twin, Apollyon.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Access to the memories of Aurora and Apollyon were gained as adventurers solved the puzzles of sidereal lenses, adherents of Hope and Tyranny vying for supremacy in their empowerment, and faced down a powerful Singularity.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Sarave Stronghold](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/27/sarave-stronghold)
**Published:** April 27, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Sarave Foothills stronghold has been relocated to resolve overlap conflicts with the Vasnari Mountains stronghold. The new one is at v48413, farther from the conflicting location.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
The recent addition of new mining camps has highlighted an underlying issue with overlapping rooms etc that make determining which stronghold ‘owns’ a location is quite hard to determine.
As such I have removed the stronghold that was previously in the Sarave Foothills and instead replaced it with a new one at v48413 which is also in the Sarave Foothills but much farther away from the conflicting one in the Vasnari mountains.
This should resolve any conflicts. Sorry for any confusion!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/28/updates-68)
**Published:** April 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** STUPIDITY is now a valid keyword for Shaman curse commands, joining the existing STUPID keyword.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 28th of April, and the following changes have been implemented:
- STUPIDITY is now a valid keyword for Shaman curse related commands as an alternative to the existing STUPID keyword.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [May in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/01/may-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** May 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Staff Games are coming, Globes of Shifting Continents are back, and the Art/Bard contest and Shop Lottery close May 11. Check UPCOMING for the full Year 1000 schedule.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
By some awful twist of time we are 1/3 of the way through 2026 already and as we look ahead to the final few Year 1000 events, the Staff Games loom on the horizon! Make sure to check UPCOMING for all the dates and schedule here!
Also this is a reminder that the Art/Bard contest and the Shop Lottery will all be closing on May 11 at 5AM by the Achaea clock!
Meanwhile, we welcome back Globes of Shifting Continents to the Achaea website!
Globes contain a variety of prizes, including:
- Unbound credits.
- Talisman caches containing pieces from the Death, Invasion, and Underworld sets.
- Card sleeves which can be unwrapped for any suit, including the new Fracturedstaff\* suit.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts valued from 50 credits all the way up to the 2000+ range.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*\*).
\* The Fracturedstaff suit is the third in our series of our new suits commemorating the first fifteen Staff bearers! This suit is part of the Champions collection and includes the following cards:
**Tesha Young**
- Draw this card and afflict all denizens present with aeon.
**Farrah Roualt**
- Draw this card and bestow a probability effect upon the location, causing those who resurrect via starburst to have a chance to strip starburst from others present.
**Crixos, the Quiet**
- Draw this card against a denizen target and afflict them with inhibit.
**Imyrr Invictus**
- Draw this card and consume 80 battlerage to fully heal all adventurers present.
**Veldrin Crescent**
- Draw this card and your next cataclysm vibration will enjoy six room range instead of five.
All cards in this suit have 1 charge and generate a new charge every 1 hour.
\*\* You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
Upon opening a globe you will also receive a bonus to experience, battlerage generation, or critical hits! There is also a chance to receive consumables!
In addition, the 500th globe bonus prize will award 500 bound credits!
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe!
Capping renown 7 times throughout the month of May will award you one free globe! This is not repeatable, however.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Seleucar, Mother's Day, and Year 1000 Closing](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/10/seleucar-mothers-day-and-year-1000-closing)
**Published:** May 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Lorielan's memory is now live with two dozen new scenes in the ruins of Seleucar. Year 1000 celebrations close in 24 hours. Type MOTHERSROCK before May 17 for 25 bound credits.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With the unveiling of Lorielan’s memory comes the ruined recollection of Seleucar for your enjoyment! This is a significant lore release including another two dozen or so memory scenes of varying import and significance, so I hope those with a penchant for such things (nerds), enjoy it as much we do!
Next up, a reminder that the Year 1000 celebrations conclude approximately 24 hours from now with the final event!
This means the ArtBard contest, the design contest, and the shop lottery will also all be closing and we will be judging/etc those in the coming days.
The Staff Games await the week after, but in the meantime as it is Mother’s Day in North America, I am bringing back the MOTHERSROCK command!
Anyone can type this between the 10th and 17th of May for 25 bound credits!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [It's not creative assistance - it's slop.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/10/its-not-creative-assistance-its-slop)
**Published:** May 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Garden is taking a harder stance on obviously AI-generated designs, news posts, and emotes. Achaea's world is hand-written, and we intend to keep it that way.
**Content:**
Hi folks,
If you’ll excuse the somewhat tongue in cheek title, I’m writing to talk a bit about AI.
We in the Garden have collectively noticed a bit of an uptick recently in obviously AI generated designs, news posts, emotes, and other content across the game.
I want to make clear that our stance here is a simple one: the magic of Achaea is that the world is hand written and lovingly crafted, and we would like it to remain that way.
As such, we will be taking a much more critical eye towards this type of content in cases where it is blatantly obvious.
Whilst I appreciate that this is largely unenforceable, players (really the world at large) are becoming very attuned to “AI speak” and “AI tone” and even if we or they cannot prove it, the low or sterile quality of your writing is likely to result in people simply not wanting to interact with you.
This is especially relevant if you are in a prominent role or enjoy participating in things like crafting, news, or other systems that directly result in other players and Gods having to read your writing. We can and will take what steps are available to redress this in prolific or extreme cases.
Take note.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/11/year-1000)
**Published:** May 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** The Year 1000 celebrations have officially concluded. The new whirlpool of whispers in the Seleucar ruins is a precursor to a coming feature — visit it and do what it asks.
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With the unveiling of Proteus’ memory and Lorielan’s (grudgingly requested…) conjuring of the whirlpool of whispers, this officially brings the Year 1000 celebrations to a close…
…for now.
The whirlpool of whispers is the precursor to a new feature in the works that I cannot reveal much about yet, but I strongly recommend paying it a visit in the Seleucar ruins and doing what it asks. I may or may not drop some hints in the very near future as to its purpose!
Over the past two months I have been completely bowled over by the overwhelming positive feedback that we’ve received about all the events, the lore reveals, bazaars, the memory system, and pretty much everything to do with Year 1000. On behalf of the team I want to offer a tremendous thanks for coming along for the ride – this was a true labour of love from myself and all the Garden and nothing gives us greater joy than watching people find things hidden in the game and have the lightbulb moment when a piece of obscure lore suddenly clicks into place.
Everyone who reconciled a memory at least once throughout the festivities has received an honours line for their efforts! The contests and lotteries will be closing in a few hours and I will be drawing the lottery and judging the contests later in the week.
Looking ahead: after a hopefully chill week to unwind and catch up a bit, the Staff Games begin next Sunday (see UPCOMING). We’ll have a few more updates to various bugs / mechanical systems in the coming days to announce, largely things that are already known about (e.g removing the no-starburst effect in the Underworld at the request of numerous potential contenders).
Lastly I’d also like to offer a genuinely tremendous thanks and surge of gratitude to the entire Garden team. I cannot overstate how amazing they have all been throughout this mountain of content and every one of them deserves your esteem, not only for putting in absurd amounts of work but for also dealing with my never ending demands, requests, and suggestions throughout.
Huzzah!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69)
**Published:** May 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** Room owners can now appoint a sculptor to apply custom NDS embellishments to their plinth. Completed statues and sculptures can no longer be picked up and used as weapons.
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 12th of May, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Room owners that wish for a statue or sculpture may now place their plinth, requisition the material, and then APPOINT SCULPTOR FOR , allowing that person to select which NDS is applied to the plinth for further embellishment.
- Completed statues and sculptures will no longer be able to be picked up, to prevent the use of statues as javelins.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Lost and Found](https://www.achaea.com/2021/01/26/lost-and-found)
**Published:** January 26, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Tatynne’s Expedition as chronicled by Gurklukke Vorondil of Cyrene:
At the stroke of midnight on the 20th of Mayan, the mage Tatynne beckoned the adventurers of our lands to the fringes of the western Mhojave Desert on the edge of the Dakhota Hills. Upon arrival there was an encampment of tents to greet our adventurers who came to the call.
Numerous tools and supplies were laid out neatly for those to examine, a few quips and quaffles regarding termites, biology… and even entomology, there was an amount of pause in which Tatynne called for order and explained the plan laid out before us. As she stated, the history of the mhun people stretches as far back to the end of Ceylon. When the mhun were still a nomadic folk. As such our mission was to aid the mhun people in uncovering long lost ancient relics, stories, fragments of the past from within the depths of the sweltering Mhojave sands.
Upon the affirmation of this mission, it was then asked, whom would aid in the defense of the adventurers, and whom would aid in the excavation? The discussions began, amidst obvious pause from some who remember some of the mhun history, though reluctantly everyone in gathering came forward, perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps out of masochism. But, they did nonetheless. It would appear the more lucrative of post was that in defending the excavation, with a significant sum of payment being afforded of five-thousand sovereigns a day, which truthfully appealed to those who were present far more than manual labour.
Upon our mission coming forth, we headed out into the desert. With shovels in hand and a plan, our Cyrenian excavation team went forth, and one after another, large stone blocks were unearthed from the depths of the sands. In fact Cyrene brought forth two thirds of the excavations, as is to be expected with our keen eyes and dutiful nature of course. At this juncture Tatynne urged our people to gather around the stone blocks and with more precise tools we began slowly chipping away at the hard exterior to uncover what may lie beneath.
With precision we began chipping away with trowels and in the first block, time and effort showed that the hardened edges then became more jagged and more refined with each stroke. Quickly seeking to brush away the remnants, the first block demonstrated to be naught more than sand. Feverishly and perhaps with a hunger for treasure, Cyrene went forward to the next block, uncovering an avian skull, most curiously in fact. The first to find treasure in the sands.
---
The Mhaldorians then worked, time passing, and the fevered desire to do the same, with effort and anticipation building a most magnificent shard was unearthed, representative of some ancient pottery.
---
With signs of exhaustion reaching Astarod’s brow, he worked his block of sand only to find nothing, however it was in the efforts of a group of Hashani and Rogues that sought adventure they were to uncover a most curious clay handle in their block.
---
The Cyrenian teams once again went to work on two more blocks, clearly the advantageous adventuring archeological sort we are, from many years in our mountain home and our passion for history the work continued in the Western and Eastern tents respectfully. With each stroke and chisel the yearning for discovery only grew, failing to wane. Though another block just crumbled to bits, no longer bearing a prize but instead endless sand within. Though time treated us well in the western tent, uncovering a most curious shield.
---
The experts convened upon the relics, though upon discovery of the shield, the ancient script had the adventurers and many of the experts quite perplexed. It was brought to the attention that Anaj Howens, one of the experts may be able to provide insight upon the shield itself, and thus the study came forth, time, consideration and planning with it. It appears most of the dialect listed was indecipherable but decidedly of ancient mhun origin, though some of the words struck their attention clearly.
Thus it was time to return to three of the sites specifically, as the discoveries demonstrated there is likely more to be found in the depths of the sweltering Mhojave. Most curiously the adventures did not tire, discovery and history being uncovered had certainly struck the fancy of all involved, and now further excavation was to be the focus of our passions. Though it would appear the easiest method of excavation would be by utilising elemental cores and the flame of the world to craft demolition sphere’s to ensure that an appropriately sized quarry was brought forth in the excavation. Though Greys Vorondil was happy to take on the task of bringing in flame for a most glorious explosion.
KA-BOOM!
As the dust settled, we ventured into the sands, amidst numerous collapses it would appear a theft was on their hands and that distracted most adventurers in the excavation, however, I remained this time, not worrying about the tablets but instead of that in potential. Deeper I ventured and whilst they deliberated topside, I discovered a most magnificent breastplate, though it was not long until my efforts became futile and I was crushed in the depths, though I came out, breastplate in hand, at the mercy of Ugrach.
Though the depths were unforgiving, within them we soon found ourselves before warriors, an ancient people hiding in the depths of the sand, there was that which we came upon Rahul, the Gatekeeper of the Ghezavat settlement, a Tsol’aa people who have been within here for nearly two hundred years. Led by that of Atropa Hatun, known as the binder of the Concords. Apprehensive of the uplanders they did not wish for us to enter, though it was up to the Hatun whether or not these people in seclusion would finally allow the top-side within their hidden home. As they obviously are not left hidden anymore, with out discovery of their settlement.
Concerned in that of the tablets, and their being returned first and foremost, that seems it would be the deciding factor on whether or not such permissions would be granted. Rahul’s patience thinned and the outright refusal to talk to our people.
Though upon coming to the surface, the breastplate was presented to Tatynne by myself, and she was most intrigued to look upon it for further knowledge of the history it possessed. She recognized something similar in a breastplate once owned by her grandfather. Though obviously many generations passed between the humans of Ceylon and the mhun which her grandfather was, though she seemed pleased that the design was carried on for such years.
Celebrating this expedition as a success, the mage sought to move forward with presenting the findings to the Mhunna, and boasted that this would likely lead to further excursions going forward.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [I bet you thought these were PvP changes!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/09/i-bet-you-thought-these-were-pvp-changes)
**Published:** December 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
*See Also: <https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/16/some-more-pve-updates>*
## Aeonics
- DETERIORATE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- DETERIORATE scales with dexterity and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- DEGENERATE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- DEGENERATE scales with dexterity and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Apostasy
- SHADOWSTRIKE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- SHADOWSTRIKE scales with intelligence against denizens.
## Attainment
- Paladin’s PUNISHMENT battlerage now deals bonus damage to denizens suffering from the RECKLESSNESS affliction rather than WEAKNESS.
- Unnamable’s ONSLAUGHT battlerage now deals bonus damage to denizens suffering from the CHARMED affliction rather than STUN.
## Bladedance
- Bladedance attacks against denizens now deal bonus damage if done from the back position. The AB file for FOOTWORK has been updated to include this detail.
## Devotion
- PENITENCE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details and associated synergy.
## Discipline
- New ability: RAKE. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
## Domination
- COMMAND HOUND will now raze shields against denizens if you possess a primebond with Lycantha. See the AB file for details.
## Dominion
- New ability: MAUL. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
## Malignity
- New ability: MAUL. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
## Necromancy
- SOULSTORM can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details and associated synergy.
## Occultism
- ATTEND can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- ATTEND scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- CLEANSEAURA can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details and associated synergy.
## Pranks
- GALLOWSHUMOUR no longer scales with the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- GALLOWSHUMOUR now scales off the higher of your intelligence or strength when used against denizens and its damage has been adjusted to compensate.
## Skirmishing
- SKULLBASH can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- SKULLBASH scales with strength and your weapon’s damage and speed stats.
## Spirituality
- The HERESY defence now causes SMITE to raze denizen shields when active. See the AB file for details.
## Twoarts
- MULTISLASH now gains increased damage from shin infusions for all three strikes, though the modifier is slightly reduced compared to drawslash.
## Valour
- New ability: RAKE. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
## Venom
- NECHAMANDRA can now be used as an alternative to CAMUS or SUMAC against denizens. This venom deals COLD damage.
## Weaponmastery
- WHIRL and DOUBLEWHIRL now deal BLUNT damage rather than CUTTING.
## Woodlore
- New ability: BUSHWHACK. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Pathfinding Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/08/08/pathfinding-updates)
**Published:** August 8, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The **WALK TO** command has gotten a much needed facelift!
This expansion allows for gallop, dash, sprint, and runaway, and adds a whole host of quality of life changes!
**READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4786** for all the details.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [QoL Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/17/qol-updates)
**Published:** May 17, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
No matter what’s going on in Achaea we’re always hard at work updating and upgrading the gameplay experience. This week sees changes to Lotteries, a whole slew of new deathsights, and much more…
Achaea’s ancient lottery system has seen a big revamp, this includes a timer on all lotteries so that they cannot simply be open forever, and a much more streamlined command list for lottery runners! See [Announce news #5039](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5039) for all the details!
For the next week we’re also accepting applications for the ACC. The Achaean Combat Council works closely with the Garden team to assist with combat balance and updates to Achaea. Read [here](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5041) if you’d like to know more.
We’ve added loads of new deathsights to the various abilities you can use in Achaea!
7 for General skills, 1 for Racial skills, 1 for Seafaring, 1 for Misadventure, 1 for Relics, and 2 for Talismans
6 for Apostates, 2 for Bard, 10 for Blademaster, 5 for Depthswalkers, 10 for Druids, 8 for Infernals, 2 for Jester, 2 for Magi, 2 for Monk, 6 for Occultists, 3 for Paladin, 1 for Priest, 2 for Psion, 5 for Runewardens, 8 for Sentinels, 5 for Serpents, 3 for Shaman, and 8 for Sylvan.
4 for Dragon, 2 for Firelord, 2 for Waterlord, 1 for Earthlord, and 1 for Airlord.
Finally, because that’s not enough for one whole week, we’ve removed most of the impassable chops in the ship arena. This should open up more flexibility in actually practising combat skills without navigation getting in the way too much.
HOWEVER, we’ve left in some nightmare spots since being able to sail in difficult chop is an important skill.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Champions Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/06/09/champions-updates)
**Published:** June 9, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Twins tournament has ended, the Foozle is over, so now we have some scores and some real contenders lining up to claim the staff of Nicator from the Tsol’teth!
In what we all agree was the most competitive and exciting Twins tournament any of us has ever had the privilege to watch, run, or fight in, the best and bravest of Achaea battled to the following results:
- 1st: Penwize and Austere earning 200 credits, and Austere takes 12 Championship points.
- 2nd: Rangor and Santar earning 175 credits, and Santar takes 10 Championship points.
- 3rd: Dunn and Irimon earning 8 Championship points and 150 credits each.
- 4th: Minifie and Crixos earning 6 Championship points and 125 credits each.
- 5th: Farrah and Atalkez earning 5 Championship points and 100 credits each.
After an hour of frenzied flailing around the World Tree and frantic fleeing from the dreaded Dreadpilar, the Foozle awards the following points and prizes:
- 1st place is Penwize, he wins 200 credits! As Penwize has won the staff before, he cannot win points this round.
- 2nd place is Farrah, she wins 175 credits and 12 Championship points!
- 3rd place is Taryius, he wins 150 credits and 10 Championship points!
- 4th place is Crixos, he wins 125 credits and 8 Championship points!
- 5th place is Dunn, he wins 100 credits and 6 Championship points!
- 6th place is Ayja, she wins 75 credits and 5 Championship points!
- 7th place is Veldrin, he wins 50 credits and 4 Championship points!
- 8th place is Skye, she wins 25 credits and 3 Championship points!
- 9th place is Krizal, she wins 10 credits and 2 Championship points!
- 10th place is Irimon, he wins 10 credits and 1 Championship points!
- 11th place is Cooper, he wins 0.5 Championship points!
But what do these points mean, and what is still to come?
Well, we still have the final window of the XP Event ahead of us, where any who have not completed their 6 hour hunting attempt will run rampant over the world leaving slaughter in their wake. We still have the Championship Quiz to terrify even the most well-read of loremasters. And the final phase of Sojourn is now live, all this week contenders will be able to play 3 games of Championship Sojourn, their top score (if any) will determine their ranking in Sojourn and their Championship points!
I know, I know, you want to know how the scores look overall. Here you go!
- 1st. Farrah with 17 Championship points!
- 2nd. Dunn with 14 Championship points!
- 2nd. Crixos with 14 Championship points!
- 4th. Austere with 12 Championship points!
- 5th. Santar with 10 Championship points!
- 5th. Taryius with 10 Championship points!
- 7th. Irimon with 9 Championship points!
- 8th. Minifie with 6 Championship points!
- 9th. Atalkez with 5 Championship points!
- 9th. Ayja with 5 Championship points!
- 11th. Veldrin with 4 Championship points!
- 12th. Skye with 3 Championship points!
- 13th. Krizal with 2 Championship points!
- 14th. Cooper with 0.5 Championship points!
Keep and eye on **UPCOMING** in game for the live countdowns to the next events!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Crafting Updates #2!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/19/crafting-updates-2)
**Published:** July 19, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
 The three skills we’re opting to move ahead with will be Drinks Making, Artistry, and Shipwright. All these names are pending review and we need your help with fleshing out the designs!
Please post all suggestions in our [forum thread](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6898/crafting-stage-2/p1?new=1)!
**The Drinks maker**
This will be a design-based tradeskill allowing you to design your own drinks.
This will not be drinks that convey combat or other alteration effects, purely flavour, much like cooking. This will include alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
What we need from you!
\* Suggestions for names for this tradeskill that fit the whole gamut of drink possibilities.
\* Suggestions for vessels from which you can drink, and liquid types to be drunk!
**The Artist**
This will be another design-based tradeskill for creating painted/drawn artworks. (I know we said we only wanted one, but we couldn’t resist.) Sculpture won’t be a part of this at this time.
What we need from you here!
\* Suggestions for the name of the tradeskill.
\* Medium and “canvas” type suggestions.
**The Shipwright**
This tradesperson we hope will be able to handle the creation and alteration of ship equipment (upgrades and moving), possibly the upgrading of ships themselves (no guarantee here), handle some customisation of a ship proper, and handle the dismantling of ships.
What we need from you here!
\* Suggestions for the name of this tradeskill.
\* Suggestions for flavour/function additions for ship equipment.
\* Suggestions for aspects of a ship proper that might be customised by a shipwright without requiring heavy design oversight.
The person who suggests the best tradeskill name for any of the above will win 100 bound credits! That’s a possible 300 bound credits that you can win!
**We’ll be closing suggestions on August 2nd so we can work on implementation!**
Please post all suggestions in our [forum thread](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6898/crafting-stage-2/p1?new=1)!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Scrapper Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/11/10/scrapper-updates)
**Published:** November 10, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
All through November the team has been watching scrappers in action and making updates and alterations as per your suggestions!
- If you’ve set a name for one of your scrappers, it’ll now show up in deployment menus.
- **SCRAPPER INFO** now shows total number of kills your scrapper has landed over the course of its life.
- **SCRAPPER INFO** now shows whether your scrapper has been fed a treat this month yet.
- In the same vein as **RPWHO** and **SPARWHO**, we now have **SCRAPPERWHO** for those seeking battle partners!
- **SCRAPPER INFO** now shows you what stats you rolled, so you don’t have to keep track of this yourself over the course of a scrapper’s leveling.
- You can now append the level you wish to reroll when using **SCRAPPER FEED**. If you don’t specify a level it defaults to the most recent.
- Scrappers now have a base attack, to reduce the pain of your scrapper having very low attack at low levels. This will not have a significant impact at higher levels.
- There is a new **CONFIG**, **IGNORESCRAPPERS** to ignore scrapper attacks when you are not engaged in a scrapper battle.
- You can now **SCRAPPER LIST** to see all of your scrappers and a brief rundown on their various statistics.
- Elixirs of life enhancement have had the xp bonus they convey raised from 10% to 25%.
- Scrappers will now follow you (if possible: same room/elevation/etc) when they undeploy due to being defeated, a match ending, etc.
- Selecting “**no**” at the concede confirmation prompt in the battle menu should now correctly clear previous selections. If you encounter any other cases that have a similar issue, please message me – these are now trivial to resolve.
- If you end your turn without a scrapper deployed, you are ejected from the match.
- Scrappers no longer heal fully if they level up while deployed.
- A scrapper’s level and prestige is now shown on the **PROBE** output.
- The person who initiated the scrapper battle will now see a new option in their menu permitting them to start the battle early once a second player has joined, in the event that they start a battle for up to a higher number of players but unexpectedly lose participation.
- The Scrapper battle initiation message now includes the number of scrappers that each player may deploy in its text.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Combat Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/11/15/combat-updates)
**Published:** November 15, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve made some updates to the raiding system with tanks and guards and introduced a new config!
- Infamy gain from slaying guards now applies to all that participated in the kill, and caps out at a higher threshold (still lower than theft, but substantially greater than previously).
- Infamy loss to guard deaths has been reduced.
- You can no longer **RETRIEVE TANKS**. Instead, one will be drawn from your reserve when you **ACTIVATE TANK** in a hostile city.
- You can no longer **ACTIVATE** or **CAPTURE** tanks in rooms that have an active guard presence.
- In the past we’ve been fairly relaxed about vigilante justice concerning very large guard raids: a single bounty was rarely representative of the loss such raids could incur. In light of these infamy changes, that won’t be the case going forward. Please bear that in mind!
- You can now **CONFIG SEEASSISTS**! This is **OFF** by default, but when enabled will upgrade your deathsights to include a total number of players who assisted in the kill.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Oceanic Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/11/28/oceanic-updates)
**Published:** November 28, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As we get ready to release our at sea quests in the near future, we’ve been going over the data for seamonster trophy turn ins and have made some adjustments. Read on!
As a little background into the design of this system, the aim is to reward people who can take a ship with a crew and go adventuring on the high seas. With this in mind the first alteration is that the gold reward for “normal” seamonsters has been reduced.
Normal seamonsters are your standard megalodon, shraymor, angler fish, and sargassum.
Secondly there is also a daily prize cap on normal and easy seamonster trophies. This is a global cap, Casov will stop paying out for these trophies once that cap is reached. This will reset at Serenade.
With these tweaks made we have also increased the gold rewards for the more difficult and “unicorn” seamonsters, up to 100,000 gold for a trophy in some cases!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [General Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/01/10/general-updates)
**Published:** January 10, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Continuing our dedication to improving Achaea’s quality of life, we have a host of updates to support that!
Our organisations can now [categorise their help files](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5160).
Seafarers will find that [ship girding](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5166) lasts significantly longer.
Special personal deathsights are now subject to configuration via the [KILLMSG](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5169) command.
And the much-requested [shop logs feature](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5168) has been implemented!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [War Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/01/20/war-updates)
**Published:** January 20, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Massive updates to the city war system have gone into effect, turning the political and raiding landscape of Achaea into a much more organic system of hostilities!
First up! The city guardians have been distinctly buffed, good luck!
Secondly we have a big overhaul to city vs city war! This is going to get a little verbose…
Most importantly of all, citizens and soldiers are not open PK during wartime.
Let me say that again for the people in the back.
**Most importantly of all, citizens and soldiers are not open PK during wartime.**
There are two aspects to this update. First is a background hostility metric that tracks every city vs every other city. This is affected by hostile acts, and continual hostile actions can result in natively setting your city hostile to another!
Cities can declare their relations to each other city using the **CITY SET RELATIONS** command, and review the existing relations using **ORG RELATIONS ALLIED** and **ORG RELATIONS HOSTILE <city>**. Possible relations include Allied, Neutral, and Hostile.
Mutually hostile does not automatically mean you are at war. This allows cities to declare their political stance without creating perpetual war scenarios.
The following actions generate hostility:
– guard kills
– tank detonations
– sanctions gained
– killing citizens inside a city
– sinking org-owned ships
This hostility will slowly decay every Achaean month, and decay at an increased rate if there has been zero hostile actions by the city for three months.
There’s so much more to this update, and you can head [here](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5172) to read all about it!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Iron Elite Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/02/12/iron-elite-updates)
**Published:** February 12, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve added some more options for Iron Elite purchases, and are working on some plans to expand the configurability of this system even further!
The pricing for Iron Elite packages has changed!
One month of Iron Elite remains at 24.99
Three months of Iron Elite is now 70.47 (23.49 per month equivalent)
Six months of Iron Elite is 131.94 (21.99 per month)
Twelve months of Iron Elite is 239.88 (19.99 per month)
The primary benefit of these new membership options is that your characters will receive most rewards up front. The rewards which are instantly advanced are the XP bonus, and membership credits. Daily lessons are unchanged.
We’ve also added Membership Wares! These are some in game useful things that you can spend membership credits on directly from the membership pool, in case you don’t want bound credits!
**MEMBERSHIP WARES** shows the list of available options. **MEMBERSHIP PURCHASE <name>** will let you purchase whatever you want from that list.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Occultist Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/07/20/occultist-updates)
**Published:** July 20, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Occultist class has undergone significant revisions. I am usually pretty hesitant to fundamentally change how a class plays, as I appreciate that this can inconvenience both established and learning players significantly. However, in this case the last major update to Occultist fixed a lot of problems while introducing several more. Whether it was being too linear to overly dependent on time-based incurable statuses, there was not really a way to fix these issues under the former design. In addition, I have come to believe that a lot of thematic impact was lost with the previous domination update; it is my hope that we have brought much of this back in a much more balanced and scalable way.
For Occultist players and those interested in the changes, you will want to direct your attention to the following ability files (some are new):
## Occultism
- Enervate.
- Devolve.
- Instill.
- Whisperingmadness.
- Enlighten.
## Tarot
- Ruinate.
## Domination
- Just about everything, but most critically **Primebond**.
**I will also take this opportunity to note that we have moved the ability to exile players from the Chaos Court into player hands. An appointed citizen of Ashtan now controls this much like the other factions.**
If you’re encountering any difficulties, be they theoretical or mechanical, you are welcome to message me as usual.
Makarios
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Significant PK updates](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/05/significant-pk-updates)
**Published:** August 5, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone,
Having taken on board the significant feedback we’ve received about Achaea’s world not feeling quite as dangerous as we would like it to be, we have the following PK related updates to announce:
- Players may now seek retribution on land for conflict that takes place at sea. The oceans are no longer a safe haven to attack anyone and everyone without repercussions.
- Soldiers of army rank 3 or above may now be attacked in pursuit of a sanction while within their home city, and no longer require other PK-reasoning to initiate combat with.
- Soldiers below army rank 3 will still require appropriate RP reasoning to attack prior to a sanction taking effect.
- Non soldiers and city allies will now contribute to tank charging progress when slain during a sanction.
- Army rank and ally status now show on HONOURS to allow raiders to distinguish these.
- Relics will now have a chance to reset from your inventory if you are standing in a room with allied guards.
- The maximum number of contracts that can be filed at once has been increased from 5 to 10.
We also wish to better convey the fact that Achaea’s denizen population are real inhabitants of the world and not simply ‘bashing fodder’. As such:
- Over the coming days, certain high profile denizens will gain the ability to file contracts against players via the Quisalis or Ivory Marks.
- These contracts may be filed for a number of reasons and are completed in the same way as all other contracts.
Lastly, HELP PK has undergone a much needed facelift to be somewhat more comprehensive and consistent with modern standards. Filing an issue is almost never the correct response to a PK related scenario and that is the stance we will be continuing to take going forward. I’d encourage everyone to thoroughly review HELP PK and let us know if you have questions or feedback.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Renown Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/19/renown-updates)
**Published:** August 19, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After observing the success of the various city guides, we’ve decided to expand renown generation to reward those who take on the more fiddly and time consuming roles in your organisations.
City and House Leaders (the actual leader, not the council) will earn 200 renown per hour while logged in, up to 800 renown per day or until they hit cap.
City and House Councils, Order Heads, and High Clan leaders will earn 200 renown per hour while logged in, up to 400 renown per day or until they hit cap.
City Ministers and Heads of Newcomers will earn 100 renown per hour while logged in, up to 400 renown per day or until they hit cap.
Soldiers AR3+ and Newcomer aides in Houses will earn 100 renown per hour logged in up to 300 renown per day or until they hit cap.
Important Note: No matter how many hats you wear in your orgs, only one of these will tick for you, it will always be the most rewarding. These passive renown gains will also not tick up if you are on duty as a City Guide.
We will have these added to the various help files by the end of the day!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Credibility updates](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/22/credibility-updates)
**Published:** August 22, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve long been unhappy with the way credibility works as a system. There’s a lack of transparency in the use that makes them ineffective as a communication tool and deterrent.
We’ve spent a bit of time over the last few weeks working on the system to make it better clarify our expectations and be less of an esoteric ritual for the administration to use!
Our intent with credibility is to encourage Achaeans to be IC in public venues, out and about in the world, with other players (who have not consented to be OOC with you), and in organisation communications. We want In Character to be the default for everyone, and we want someone who logs into Achaea seeking in character interaction to not be met with OOC as a default.
We also want you to know why you have had credibility docked if it happens, and we want to convey what this means in terms of restrictions.
Credibility docking takes away certain gameplay privileges. What these privileges are depend on how egregiously you have broken the “in character contract” and disturbed the setting for those around you and how often you have done it.
## For 99% of cases the following can be expected:
Your first credibility ding will be a warning.
A second within 30 days will be a 5 point adjustment.
A third within 30 days (of the previous) will be a 10 point adjustment.
And beyond.
Particularly egregious breaches may deviate from this, and repeated wilful ruination of Achaea’s environment for players and the team alike may result in shrubbing.
Credibility is measured in rolepoints and these regenerate at 1 point per 6 hours logged in or 1 point per 18 hours if not logged in.
The consequences of credibility loss are as follows:
1% less xp gain for each rolepoint missing
1% more xp loss for each rolepoint missing
5% less renown cap (1 cr/100 renown) for each rolepoint missing.
Sub 95 rolepoints
Cannot accept proteges
Removal/ban from city guide appointment
Disables custom item interaction emotes (put/drop similar)
Custom EMOTEs limited to 80 characters
No poses
No THINK
Sub 90 rolepoints
No shouting
No yells
No custom emotes
Sub 85 rolepoints
No market channel
No description setting
No access to org-flagged clans
Sub 80 rolepoints
No newbie channel access
No renown gain at all
Sub 75 rolepoints
No arenatell
No housetell
No citytell
No ordertell
So! Going forward, do your best to be incredibly credible, and not credibly incredible!
(HELP CREDIBILITY has been updated)
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Knight Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2021/10/11/knight-updates)
**Published:** October 11, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It has been our belief for a long time that knighthood in Achaea as an institution has suffered a great deal over the years. Between the changes from guilds to houses, the transition from old houses to new, the introduction of multiclass and many other factors, it has mostly survived in its current form due to the dedication of certain players and the clan-based organisations they run. So when you read this next part, please **don’t panic:**
With Unnamable and the Paladin rework, we have also removed **Chivalry** as a skill from all knights and replaced it with a different skill for each of the (former) knight classes (same functionality, divergent theme). We believe that chivalry as a class-based skill is actually fairly problematic to these knighthood organisations, since they have no real way to enforce their standards on members of said classes. Each of these new skills has their own loyal (Runewardens retain falcons).
Runewarden’s new skill is **DISCIPLINE**, and Infernal’s is **MALIGNITY.**
With the move away from knights as a class towards a more general warrior archetype, its now the longterm goal for each faction to have their own incarnation of a warrior style class since we like these for org identity. Historically knighthood hasn’t really fit some organisations as a concept, but since this is changing now this is something you can expect!
The new paladin skill is **EXCISION**, and the new skill for Unnamables is **ANATHEMA**. These are the Targossas and Ashtan factional knights respectively.
These changes are only the first few stages of a very large project. We are working closely with some of Achaea’s more notable knights to ensure that the age of chivalry is well supported going forward, and the plan has always been to take input on what comes next.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Relic updates](https://www.achaea.com/2022/02/15/relic-updates)
**Published:** February 15, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just loaded up some changes to how relics function. Its been a common theme now that rather than being fought over in the way these were always intended to be they typically get held for very extended periods of time and traded around between org members. We’ve tried to mitigate this in the past via making them reset on guards etc, but unsurprisingly most people just figured out workarounds, which was an entirely predictable series of events and I’m not sure why I thought it might not happen this time… alas, I digress.
So! The changes:
- Relics no longer reset on a ten minute timer under various situational conditions. You’ll be pleased to know the tick will no longer randomly zap you as you run by your city guards.
- Relics now check your location every minute while being held. If you are in a location previously considered safe under the old system, a relic specific counter is increased by one. When that counter hits 20, the relic resets. Functionally, you get 20 minutes total of safe time while holding a relic. This counter resets whenever a relic changes hands.
- Being on friendly guards has been removed as a safe condition.
- Being in any city-owned territory (city proper, sewers) that you are not enemied to and that is not currently engaged in a sanctioned raid defence has been added as a safe condition.
- You will no longer cclaim relics from people in the same city as you on a kill. I’m aware there are some legitimate cases where this can occur in large group battles, but in practice it was just used to pass them around.
- Relics now reset much more quickly when logged out/journaled, and this is instant – it doesn’t go through the timer.
- You can no longer price relics in shops or shop carts, then have someone buy them to bypass the no trading functionality (if you do find ways to bypass this, please message me).
- I’ve removed the claim cooldown on relics temporarily. I think we probably don’t need it anymore as it was mostly to stop trivial passing back and forth of a relic, but I’ll monitor things and we’ll see.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Pet updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/02/19/pet-updates)
**Published:** February 19, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We have just finished integrating artefact pet requests into the in-game customisation and reaction systems!
This means you will build your pet request in game, and once approved and created you will be able to build and enable your reactions (and change them down the line if you wish!)
## Main changes:
- Pet “packages” are gone, your pet’s cost is totalled up on the request as you select various addons. The non-negotiables cost 500 credits and the rest adds on from there.
- A pet can have the invincibility and reporting addons selected, there is now a PETS command that will enable you to toggle one on/off and will automatically switch the other to allow for more flexibility.
- Reactions are created the same as housing servants but will need to be submitted via the REACTION SUBMIT command. Once a reaction is approved you can enable it on your pet for a one time 50 bound credit fee.
## What hasn’t changed?
Racial emotes, custom attack messages, and anything scrapper related can be added to a pet once it is created via email to customisations@achaea.com.
Gift pet requests will need to go to customisations@achaea.com and still cost unbound credits.
## What about my old pet?
We can enable in game reaction system for your existing pet on a pet by pet basis, please issue with the ID of your pet and we will get that sorted for you.
Changes to existing pet reactions will need to be requested via email to customisations@achaea.com
Existing messages for your pet might be updated if they are converted to our new system. We will not be doing this automatically for existing pets at this time, please request if you want your pet to be converted in this manner. This will be handled on a case by case basis depending on your pet’s functions.
## What about my current pet request?
Please use the new system to resubmit your request as pricing has changed (possibly in your favour!)
HELP DENIZEN REACTIONS and HELP PETS have been updated!
## Reporting
Philosophically, if your pet is going to report information about people that they are not willingly giving it, it needs to be vulnerable.
With this in mind, enter/exit reporting has been moved to full reporting. We will be converting all existing pets in the following manner:
If your pet is sentient, has basic reporting, and is not invincible:
Upgrade to full reporting (this allows reporting to be toggled on/off)
Not invincible remains.
If your pet is sentient, has basic reporting, and is invincible:
Upgrade to full reporting (this allows reporting to be toggled on/off)
If your pet is sentient, has full reporting, is not invincible:
Upgrade to invincible.
A secondary result of this will mean that all existing pets will be enabled for the PETS command toggle and be hooked into the in-game reaction system for reaction additions!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Renown Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/07/18/renown-updates-2)
**Published:** July 18, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We are making a change to renown that will do away with those pesky daily credit messages!
No more will your renown automatically convert into daily credits, instead this will build in a pool to be spent in the RENOWN SHOP!
While you will still only be able to earn 2000 renown in a day, the amount you earn will tally up across days to be spent on a variety of wares when you want to!
Renown Shop Commands:
RENOWN SHOP WARES – to see available wares (listed in detail below)
RENOWN SHOP – to see a ware
RENOWN SHOP BUY – to buy
RENOWN SHOP HISTORY – to see your last 30 purchases
(RENOWN – will still show your earned renown)
Renown Shop Wares:
10 bound credits – 1000 renown
20 bound credits – 2000 renown
A worn whetstone – 1200 renown
A shimmering crystal clover – 8000 renown
A Lucrescent Nut – 2000 renown
A miniature wooden horse – 1200 renown
A bottle of fairy dust – 1500 renown
A ball of Seftonium – 1500 renown
1 hour double xp – 750 renown
A Translucent Mask – 4000 renown
An amber ampoule – 1500 renown
Hunter Elixir 1 sip – 1000 renown
Epicurus Elixir 1 sip – 1000 renown
Pixie Elixir 1 sip – 1000 renown
Ogre Elixir 1 sip – 1000 renown
Lucky Elixir (1 sip) – 1000 renown
Life Elixir (1 sip) – 1000 renown
A handful of glittering mud – 10000 renown
All items from this shop decay in a fairly short time and cannot be preserved in stockrooms and similar.
All of this and the details for these items have been added to HELP RENOWN!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/07/31/updates)
**Published:** July 31, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 31st of July, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Lichen-mottled gravestones can no longer be planted within the Thousandth Door.
– There are two new adventures related to infusing the pillars in the Elemental Fringes.
– Errant and unbound elementals now have a chance to drop an elemental core.
– HELP FRINGES has been updated.
Published by my decree on the 22nd of Chronos, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/01/updates-2)
**Published:** August 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 1st of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Fixed a bug with the FRINGE command that prevented non-Elemental Lords from viewing or using certain commands.
Published by my decree on the 21st of Glacian, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/04/updates-3)
**Published:** August 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 4th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Lesser terraflame elementals in the Caverns of Brurra are no longer loyal to the fire plane, so prospective firelords can actually kill them without hampering their own progress.
– The timer for killing terraflames in the Brurra caverns has been made more consistent and reasonable.
– Adventurer’s and explorer’s trinkets now give a percent damage bonus rather than flat.
– GEAR AUDIT \[HERE\] \[AGAINST \] has been added. The HERE argument will let you see your bonuses in a given area, and the AGAINST will let you see against a given target. You can use both of these together or either in isolation, and if neither are specified your total bonuses in all conceiveable cases shall be displayed. Audit totals up everything that can be totaled, so if you have two general percentile damage modifiers that are poison based those will be added together. Distinct bonuses (such as a percentile modifier on poison damage and a percentile modifier on fire damage) will be output separately.
Published by my decree on the 11th of Daedalan, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/04/updates-4)
**Published:** August 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 4th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Rarity is now included in the drop message for gear items.
– Thorns damage is now percentile in cases where it should be, rather than being flat regardless of effect type.
– Damage procs from gear now have a generic line to alert the user that they have activated. This accompanies any other themed lines or relevant flavour.
– Multistrike effects no longer forcibly convert the origin damage type to the same type as the proc.
– The Dragon Quest now properly awards a gear piece instead of causing inexplicably stupid errors.
Published by my decree on the 22nd of Daedalan, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/04/updates-5)
**Published:** August 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 4th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Quick correction to the prior changelog: the Dragonquest will only award first time completions with gear, not repeats.
– Multistrike effects should now be functioning again.
Published by my decree on the 23rd of Daedalan, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/05/updates-7)
**Published:** August 5, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 5th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– There is now a suitable hint about what might be preventing the quicksand from dragging you into the scorpent nest.
– The Istar sand trap now has a hint for those who might be avoiding it somehow.
– Quest 640’s description has been updated, and the method by which it is concluded now has a more obvious hint in the relevant location.
Published by my decree on the 22nd of Scarlatan, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/05/updates-6)
**Published:** August 5, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 5th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Lesser terraflame elementals in the Caverns of Brurra are no longer loyal to the fire plane, so prospective firelords can actually kill them without hampering their own progress.
– The timer for killing terraflames in the Brurra caverns has been made more consistent and reasonable.
– Adventurer’s and explorer’s trinkets now give a percent damage bonus rather than flat.
Published by my decree on the 8th of Aeguary, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/05/updates-8)
**Published:** August 5, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 5th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Enchanted boots of evasion now have the correct effect applied
– Multistrike (chain lightning) effects now have an internal cooldown of 1 second
– The “critical dot” effect now has an internal cooldown of 1 second.
– HELP FRINGES has been updated.
– The PLANARFLUX command has been added. Details on this can be found in HELP FRINGES. (Please note: hybrid-elemental bosses for the Fringes have not spawned in any areas that were at high flux before this post)
Published by my decree on the 18th of Aeguary, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/06/updates-9)
**Published:** August 6, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 6th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Various fixes made to gear items missing their relevant constraints or environment limitations, etc.
– Heal-on-critical gear effects will now have a 1 second internal cooldown upon procs as intended.
– Four new adventures have been added for slaying paramount elementals. These are replacing the previous adventures related to stabilising the Elemental Fringes.
– Some ambience and denizen shouts will no longer be logged to GLOBALS but will continue to pass through all relevant GMCP channels. This is to differentiate types of content and to ensure that GLOBALS is more focused on major events and such.
Published by my decree on the 1st of Miraman, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/08/updates-10)
**Published:** August 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 8th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– NDS LISTMINE will now also show how many designs you have preserved and how many total designs you can preserve, assuming you have an artefact to preserve designs.
– AMBLOG, REVLOG, and MILLOG will now default to your current city if you use the command on its own.
– SHIP HEALTH will now show whether or not your riggings are entangled.
– Elementals on Mannamot will now drop their respective elemental gear.
– The Yggdrasil branches now have gear drops as intended.
– The “resist penetration” gear effect should now be working properly.
– Juggernaut (the Earth Plane set bonus, and \[redacted\] trinket effect) will now be more liberal in the denizens it triggers on. Note that the effect is described as “hostile” denizens.
– Retuned some drop rates so that higher end areas are much less likely to yield explorer items vs their adventurer counterpart.
– Paramount Elementals will now award two gear pieces: one to the killer, another to a random person in the room who is on their threat table. These will always be “rare” quality at minimum.
– Various other area designations / mob types / niche cases of drop rates being low or absent entirely fixed.
– The revival (faster respawn) gear effect and suppression (slower respawn) gear effect are no longer inverted.
– GOSSIP SPREAD for Bards now has a 15 minute cooldown, down from 24 hours.
– The UI line for the “soa” gear effect now reads correctly.
– Tlaia-liekha will now award two gear pieces: one to the killer, another to someone else in the room who is on her threat table.
– Certain honours denizens now have a lower chance to yield their rare trinkets if they are slain repeatedly by the same person.
Published by my decree on the 11th of Ero, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/08/updates-11)
**Published:** August 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 8th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The Grandmaster of the Quisalis now also drops two items (one for the killer, one for someone in the room on her threat table).
– Lafrin and Ophal now drop a unique piece of gear if both are defeated in place of their old, rather useless, cape.
– Yudhishthira’s Dragon form now also drops two pieces of gear (same rules as others: one for killer, one for threat table).
– GEAR SCRAP now always requires a confirm.
– GEAR EQUIP now automatically unequips whatever is in the target slot if that would block you from equipping the item, so you do not need to do this manually any longer.
– GEAR EQUIP will now automatically equip all items of that tag rather than just the first one found.
– GEAR LIST now takes both set and rarity filter arguments. Currently rarity arguments is rarity or higher (so if you list for rare, you will see rare or remnant). We can look at adding an individual filter if there is demand, but I think this is most likely the typical behaviour that will be desired. We’ll be looking at adding filter by tag or substring, but this is a little tricky as tag and substring could conflict with one another, so requires a little more thought.
– GEAR \[UN\]PRESERVE has been added, to make it so you can flag a gear as not to be scrapped.
– Oddities with some battle rage based effects have been resolved.
Published by my decree on the 13th of Ero, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/09/updates-12)
**Published:** August 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Saturday, the 9th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Gossip now lasts for fourteen days, up from seven, and will only start to decay its text when six days remain. All existing gossip their timers have been reset to this new maximum.
Published by my decree on the 3rd of Valnuary, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/11/updates-13)
**Published:** August 11, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 11th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– GOSSIP LISTEN now prioritises gossip you have not yet heard.
– Adventurers who have pledged themselves to the Arcadian Resistance Camp can now receive a quest from Prince Dardaenus to complete a mission from the board.
– The order of operation on gear damage’s extra hit has been swapped to after the attack. This should solve a lot of the oddities people have been seeing with it.
– Gear crit DoT’s no longer consume maya figurine charges (they’re excluded from it entirely).
– Gear crit DoT no longer triggers off of the gear damage extra hits, making the terrifying self perpetuating ‘I win’ no longer work that way…
Published by my decree on the 8th of Phaestian, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/11/updates-14)
**Published:** August 11, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 11th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– GEAR LIST now filters exhaustively by default (i.e. if you do GEAR LIST HANDS EQUIPPED, it checks for all equipped hands gear not all equipped items and all hand items). This feels like the more useful general case.
– If you want the old functionality, you can GEAR LIST ANYOF instead.
– The hybrid-elemental bosses in the Fringes now drop unique gear trinkets when defeated.
– GEAR LIST now shows what filters are being applied in the header of the table.
– There are new adventures for slaying the Ur’Vampires (and Kemnast) in the Underworld.
– You can now SHOWOFF in the trading window to show parts or all of your gear listing to someone else. This is echoed back to you as well so you know what is being shown, and you may only do this in the negotiation phase (as afterwards it is redundant).
Published by my decree on the 9th of Phaestian, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/11/updates-15)
**Published:** August 11, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 11th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– A new CONFIG is now available – CONFIG RIFTSHOWZEROS . When toggled on, this config will cause your rift to show a quantity of zero anytime the last of an item is removed from your rift instead of deleting the item completely from your RIFT output. However, if you then use CONFIG RIFTSHOWZEROS OFF it will delete all entries from your rift that have a quantity of zero. NOTE: This also applies to Tarot DECKLIST for Jesters and Occultists.
– Damage extra hits on gear that would otherwise round down to 0 now round down to 1, so some amount of damage is still dealt.
Published by my decree on the 10th of Phaestian, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/12/updates-17)
**Published:** August 12, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 12th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The tick rate for the fire DoT effect on gear items has been increased. The number of ticks remains unchanged.
– The trinket dropped by the red dragon Yudhishthira has been buffed.
Published by my decree on the 2nd of Chronos, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/12/updates-16)
**Published:** August 12, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 12th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The Grandmaster of the Quisalis now also drops two items (one for the killer, one for someone in the room on her threat table).
– Lafrin and Ophal now drop a unique piece of gear if both are defeated in place of their old, rather useless, cape.
– Yudhishthira’s Dragon form now also drops two pieces of gear (same rules as others: one for killer, one for threat table).
Published by my decree on the 1st of Chronos, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/19/updates-18)
**Published:** August 19, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 19th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Some adjustments have been made to mining commodity spawn frequency.
– Greater elementals now have an increased chance to drop gear.
– Kallen can now actually purchase fish!
– The “Win a duel in the Oniar estate” adventure now completes before the “Win an arena spar” adventure, allowing the combat theme bonus to go towards the combat rankings duel.
– Room IDs are now listed in both MINES LIST and PROSPECT REPORTS
– You can now use expressions (ex. – \*gloomily) with THINKS, though emoticons will not, similar to shouts.
– SCREAMing will now bypass wind drowning out speech, allowing you to scream over the wind to those in the same room.
– The INSIGHT LASTCOMMAND feature has been added. This will, in most but not all cases, show you the command that triggered the current colour weirdness. See INSIGHT for more details.
Published by my decree on the 19th of Miraman, in the year 983 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/20/updates-19)
**Published:** August 20, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 20th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The Troubador skill in Sagas has been renamed to the more commonly used spelling, Troubadour.
– Unbound dust elementals now require further stacks of pressure to afflict with fractures.
– A new offensive gear effect has been added to the majority of existing sets. This effect deals bonus damage of a much higher percentage, but brings with it a cooldown between procs.
Published by my decree on the 5th of Ero, in the year 983 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/26/updates-20)
**Published:** August 26, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 26th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The difficulty for Imperial dredging tasks that can result in death has been slightly lowered.
– Gear target validation across the board has been improved. You’ll see less (hopefully no!) cases of hitting things you obviously don’t want to hit with AoE procs/thorns/etc now.
– Oniar duels will now award progress for the appropriate resolutions.
Published by my decree on the 12th of Glacian, in the year 983 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/29/updates-21)
**Published:** August 29, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 29th of August, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Earning the honours line for slaying all the Ur’Vampires (and Kemnast) or all the Cetan no longer removes their individual honours lines.
– A problematic bug with the Dragon Quest finale has been fixed. If you recently completed this, but did not receive the honours line and cannot access your lair, please file an ISSUE ME.
Published by my decree on the 17th of Daedalan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Some updates.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/31/some-updates)
**Published:** August 31, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
There will be some larger magi changes coming, but they require a bit more refinement before I’m entirely happy with them.
Crystalism
———-
\* \[0;1;37mSTRIDULATING\[0;37m has undergone a full rework:
– The old functionality is entirely gone.
– The duration has gone up from six seconds to fifteen.
– A stridulating person now periodically has hostile vibrations from the casting magi coalesce on their person (approximately every three seconds). Some vibes are excluded from this:
\* Retardation/silence: same reason mostly here, I don’t want to see this used to dive groups and instant bring fundamentally game changing vibrations on top of them from an allied magi giving you stridulating.
\* Portal/alarm/grounding: these don’t count as hostile.
\* Cataclysm: convenience, the magi almost certainly doesn’t want this flying all over the place.
– It can now be cured by bellwort, though not tree. The intent here is you can cure it while running if so inclined (so vibes don’t just stick to you without recourse), but it won’t eat your tree or similar and make magi stacks deeper as a consequence. It is a very low priority by default in serverside, adjust based on your preference.
– Note some differences to crystalism focus: duplicate vibes are not wiped upon stridulating, they’re just skipped. It can also bring reverberation currently, but I will be monitoring this closely and may change this if it proves problematic (in group contexts mostly).
– Your own stridulating will not work for you, because I know at least one of you will try.
Elementalism
————
\* Basic elemental attacks have had their damage reduced a little across the board.
\* Emanations (except earth which is already about where I’d want it) have had their damage increased slightly to offset this. Essentially, the constant damage is lower but the periodic burst is higher, should be easier to work around for more fragile people.
Metamorphosis
————-
\* \[0;1;37mMAUL\[0;37m has been sped up slightly in PVE.
Venom
—–
\* \[0;1;37mEKANELIA\[0;37m has had support added for consuming an affliction from the conditional list upon its firing. This is to facilitate making the big ticket hits less of a downward spiral you can’t really hope to get out of once it gets going. This will all show up under \[0;1;37mEKANELIA CONSIDER\[0;37m, similar to bonuses.
\* The \[0;1;37mCURARE\[0;37m ekanelia (causing hypochondria) now consumes the hypersomnia. This should make curing decisions matter more in the closing phase.
Misc
—-
\* Fire and ice afflictions no longer cure one another. I believe I have got all of the instances of this happening, but if you come across one which has been missed, please do message me.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 3rd of Miraman, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/02/updates-22)
**Published:** September 2, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 2nd of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– A new set of gear has been added! This set is themed around the Lupine Hunting Grounds.
– The mini bosses in the Lupine Hunting Grounds now have a much higher chance of dropping loot.
– The boss of the Lupine Hunting Grounds can now be challenged even if you have previously obtained the honours line. This still requires that you triumph over all the Altar trials in order to do so.
– You can now TOUCH the statue of the White Wolf at the entrance of the Lupine Hunting Grounds to view which Altars you have triumphed over.
– The boss of the Lupine Hunting Grounds now drops a rare trinket.
– The various denizens summoned by the altars in the Lupine Hunting Grounds have had their experience values adjusted upwards.
– Several loot tables have had their odds adjusted and normalized. In practice, this should mean there is a more even chance to get gear from every slot in a specific set.
Published by my decree on the 19th of Ero, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/04/updates-23)
**Published:** September 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 4th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– People can’t be pulled into Oniar while incorporeal anymore. Should resolve the spiritwalk bugs where you could be pulled into Oniar then someone could kill your corpse outside and make you lose, as mildly entertaining as that is…
Published by my decree on the 2nd of Lupar, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/05/updates-24)
**Published:** September 5, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 5th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The ‘Limb Damage’ colour config no longer changes whenever you send a tell. We’ve reset this to its default, and you will need to reconfigure it if you prefer a different colour.
Published by my decree on the 9th of Phaestian, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/09/updates-25)
**Published:** September 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 9th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Horald will no longer trigger effects based on attacking him if the attacker is not present in the room. This will affect the throwing mechanic and other effects most likely.
Published by my decree on the 23rd of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/09/updates-26)
**Published:** September 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 9th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Horald will no longer trigger effects based on attacking him if the attacker is not present in the room. This will affect the throwing mechanic and other effects most likely.
Published by my decree on the 22nd of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/16/updates-27)
**Published:** September 16, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 16th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The BRUSH emote has been reworked when targetted to no longer be so… forward.
Published by my decree on the 16th of Valnuary, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/16/updates-28)
**Published:** September 16, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 16th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Horald will no longer trigger effects based on attacking him if the attacker is not present in the room. This will affect the throwing mechanic and other effects most likely.
Published by my decree on the 22nd of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/23/updates-29)
**Published:** September 23, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 23rd of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Horald will no longer trigger effects based on attacking him if the attacker is not present in the room. This will affect the throwing mechanic and other effects most likely.
Published by my decree on the 22nd of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/30/updates-30)
**Published:** September 30, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 30th of September, and the following changes have been implemented:
– There is now a suitable hint about what might be preventing the quicksand from dragging you into the scorpent nest.
– The Istar sand trap now has a hint for those who might be avoiding it somehow.
– Quest 640’s description has been updated, and the method by which it is concluded now has a more obvious hint in the relevant location.
Published by my decree on the 15th of Ero, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Further updates.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/06/further-updates)
**Published:** October 6, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Some more changes.
Artifice
——–
\* \[0;1;37mASHBEAST\[0;37m has undergone a rework.
Elementalism
———–
\* \[0;1;37mDESTROY\[0;37m has been added to the skill.
Emulation
———
\* New servitor: Varthiis. This is to serve as a reflections counter.
Occultism
———
\* \[0;1;37mTIMEWARP\[0;37m must now hit a \[0;1;37mCATACLYSM\[0;37m vibration twice in order to destroy it. This timer resets after around half a minute or so.
Pranks
—–
\* Sped up \[0;1;37mVENT\[0;37m slightly.
Runelore
——–
\* \[0;1;37mUPROOT\[0;37m is now considerably faster in your own city against totems not claimed by said city.
Misc
—-
\* Fixed some issues with frostbite not functioning in some contexts.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 25th of Daedalan, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/07/updates-32)
**Published:** October 7, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 7th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– There is now a suitable hint about what might be preventing the quicksand from dragging you into the scorpent nest.
– The Istar sand trap now has a hint for those who might be avoiding it somehow.
– Quest 640’s description has been updated, and the method by which it is concluded now has a more obvious hint in the relevant location.
Published by my decree on the 23rd of Miraman, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/07/updates-31)
**Published:** October 7, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 7th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Housing servants can no longer attack or damage players. These were never intended to have any combat effects, and while their individual damage was minor, it could scale to impactful levels with enough servants.
Published by my decree on the 18th of Aeguary, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/14/updates-34)
**Published:** October 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 14th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– There is now a suitable hint about what might be preventing the quicksand from dragging you into the scorpent nest.
– The Istar sand trap now has a hint for those who might be avoiding it somehow.
– Quest 640’s description has been updated, and the method by which it is concluded now has a more obvious hint in the relevant location.
Published by my decree on the 24th of Scarlatan, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/14/updates-33)
**Published:** October 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 14th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Cities are no longer able to transfer credits to retired players.
Published by my decree on the 11th of Chronos, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/14/updates-35)
**Published:** October 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 14th of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The Oniar Arena is now mapped.
– When a mob drops gear the gear ID is now shown in the message.
– GEAR LIST now has a column for the months left on the piece of gear.
– There is now a message sent to the wearer when an equipped piece of gear decays (both if offline or online).
– GEAR LIST now accepts the DECAY filter. I.e. GEAR LIST HEAD DECAY 8 would show all head gear you possess with eight months or less remaining before it decays.
Published by my decree on the 17th of Chronos, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/21/updates-36)
**Published:** October 21, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 21st of October, and the following changes have been implemented:
– City Guides are no longer credited minutes towards renown while on ships, writing in a book, or while on the following planes: Chaos, Inferno, Nirvana, or Shadow.
– City Guides can now use CITY GUIDE STATUS to see how many minutes they are currently credited towards renown and whether they are currently accumulating minutes towards renown.
– All citizens can now view CITY FONT STATUS for their respective city.
– Several celerity bonuses have been added to AUDIT.
Published by my decree on the 2nd of Scarlatan, in the year 988 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/11/updates-37)
**Published:** November 11, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 11th of November, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Using NSEARCH (or SEARCHNEWS) with mxp configured on will now show clickable links to any articles found.
Published by my decree on the 5th of Sarapin, in the year 990 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [PvE Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/14/pve-updates)
**Published:** November 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
We’ve rolled out a bunch of bashing updates (see CLASSLEADS POST 162) aimed at giving more class skills a place in PvE combat. I wanted to share a bit of the thinking behind these changes.
1\) As it stands, the vast majority of abilities are restricted to player targets only, leaving most classes with only a single PvE attack. This has been especially frustrating for new players who unlock new skills only to find they cannot actually use them in the areas they’re exploring. While there are still technical and thematic limitations that will keep most abilities PvP-only, the goal here is to narrow that gap.
2\) It allows us to open up the design space with resistances. When you’re locked to a single damage type, interacting with denizen resistances offers little meaningful choice: either they resist your attack, or they don’t. With a wider spread of damage types across additional skills, we can make resistances more engaging in future boss fights and PvE content.
We expect these updates will change the preferred bashing style and introduce new optimisations for a few classes, but most will likely continue using their usual ability. This is not intended as a full bashing overhaul, but rather a first step in our ongoing effort to bring more class abilities into PvE and improve the overall experience.
Read more about the specific changes here:
- <https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/14/pve-expansion>
- <https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/16/pve-fixes-tweaks>
---
We are also ungating the **DPSTEST** command!
This tool lets you check the average DPS of most bashing attacks across different stat and artefact levels. It is a quick way to compare options and understand how abilities scale.
NOTE: The numbers shown are simulated in-game, but they are not perfect rankings of PvE performance. They only measure the raw DPS of the listed commands. They do not account for several class-specific buffs (for example Blademaster Stances or Paladin Dawnhand), universal buffs, denizen quirks, defensive utility, gear interactions, and more. Treat the results as a rough comparison between attacks and a general look at how stats and artefacts affect them.
How to read the output:
Each attack shows either two or three stat columns labelled 12B, 16B, and 19B.
12B represents a base stat of 12 (an unspecialised human with no traits).
16B represents a base stat of 16 (for example a strength-specialised troll with the +1 strength trait).
19B represents a base stat of 19 (typically only reachable with consumeables, for example a specialised troll + strength trait + rare minerals + divine truefavour).
Dragons and Elemental Lords will only see 16B and 19B columns. In these forms, 16B represents the form’s normal base stats (for example 18 strength and 18 intelligence for dragons), and 19B represents the form’s base stats with an additional +3 that comes from a rare mineral and divine truefavour.
Under each stat column is an (art) row. This shows the DPS with the same stat values but with the artefacts and artefact powers listed in the DPSTEST record.
These usually include:
- +3 to the primary scaling stat
- An artefact weapon, if relevant
- faster\_eq for equilibrium attacks
- magic\_damage for magical attacks
- Any class-specific damage artefacts
You can view the full list of artefacts, the attack commands being tested, and other details by using:
**DPSTEST SHOW**
Some tests may have tester-specific variants of commands in them. These are direct stand-ins for the player versions and you can assume they behave the same.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/14/updates-38)
**Published:** November 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 14th of November, and the following changes have been implemented:
– There is now an archived status for classleads – these are reports that have been approved/rejected in the past.
– Future reports that are archived will include the submission status at the time of finalisation.
Published by my decree on the 17th of Miraman, in the year 990 AF.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/14/updates-39)
**Published:** December 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Sunday, the 14th of December, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Upon completion of a city bounty, the victim will now also be told the reason for the bounty.
- AB GROVES FORMICARY has been updated to provide more details about formicary empowerment.
- You can no longer phase in the arena.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/16/updates-40)
**Published:** December 16, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 16th of December, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Formicaries that are raised in temporary groves established through portability will now decay according to the area and environment they are raised in, while formicaries established in groves will continue to be non-decay.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Some more PvE Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/16/some-more-pve-updates)
**Published:** December 16, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
*See Also: <https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/09/i-bet-you-thought-these-were-pvp-changes>*
### Devotion
- HANDS can now be used against denizens. See the note in the MISC section for details.
### Dragoncraft
- DRAGONROAR can now be used against denizens.
- DRAGONROAR scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
### Excision
- SUSTAIN can now be used against denizens. See the note in the MISC section for details.
### Groves
- New Ability: THORNLASH. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
### Ignition
- PYROFLARE can now be used against denizens.
- PYROFLARE scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
### Kaido
- KAICHOKE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- KAICHOKE scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
### Pervasion
- LIFESTREAM can now be used against denizens. See the note in the MISC section for details.
### Pestilence
- New Ability: DEVOUR. This is a denizen-only ability, see the AB file for details.
- DEVOUR scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
### Propagation
- BLOODROOT ARMS now causes your thornrends to deal bonus damage against hindered denizens. See the AB file for details.
- SILERIS ARMS now causes your thornrends to deal cutting damage against denizens.
- SKULLCAP ARMS now causes your thornrends to bypass, but not strip, the magical shield defense on denizens.
### Sublimation
- New Ability: POTENTIATE. This is a PvE focused ability, see the AB file for details.
### Subterfuge
- BACKSTAB can now be used against denizens.
- BACKSTAB scales with strength against denizens.
### Tarot
- PRIESTESS can now be used against denizens. See the note in the MISC section for details.
### Misc
- The duration of the debuffs given by CLEANSEAURA, SOULSTORM, and PENITENCE against denizens has been doubled.
- MALIGNITY MAUL, DOMINION MAUL, DISCIPLINE RAKE, and VALOUR RAKE no longer use balance or equilibrium when cast. The damage of these skills has been slightly lowered to compensate.
- NOTE: All denizen healing abilities are NOT percentile and instead restore a base amount plus a random flat bonus. This means that the visible percentage restored may vary drastically based on the maximum health of the denizen.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/23/updates-41)
**Published:** December 23, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 23rd of December, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Formicaries will now only have an upkeep cost if they are empowered.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/13/updates-42)
**Published:** January 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 13th of January, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Puzzling cases of affcount not tracking correctly in tree scenarios should be resolved.
– Clan permissions have been updated to match HELP ORGHELP, namely that “any rank above (i.e. lower P-number) the set position level will be able to access as well” In other words, if a CLHELP scroll has permission P2 set, both P2 and P1 can see it, but not P3.
– Various issues with beacons moving to locations they should not under flux have been patched.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/27/updates-43)
**Published:** January 27, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 27th of January, and the following changes have been implemented:
- We now have HELP SCREENREADER, which also redirects with HELP VIP and HELP VISUALIMPAIRED
- It is now possible to log in to the Achaea wiki again.
- The following command is henceforth available, by decree of Goose Thera: DESIGN COMMENT
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/03/updates-44)
**Published:** February 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 3rd of February, and the following changes have been implemented:
- HELP BOUNTIES has been updated to reflect the (existing, not new) policy about not filing successive bounties.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/10/updates-45)
**Published:** February 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 10th of February, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Concoctorial strands are now available for purchase in the Misc Artefact shop in Delos.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/10/updates-46)
**Published:** February 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 10th of February, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Numerous adjustments have been made to the frequency and volume of mining commodity spawns. In particular, high pain-point commodities such as silver and gems should be more abundant as a result. Please report any oddities.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/17/updates-47)
**Published:** February 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 17th of February, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Almost all harbours that did not have tokens+food for sale now stock both.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/24/updates-48)
**Published:** February 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 24th of February, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Schlandis has returned to Xhaiden Dale once more.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/25/updates-49)
**Published:** February 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Wednesday, the 25th of February, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Chaghut should now drop gear in similar amounts / styles as similar high end zones.
- The Ioje Strumpet quest in the Air Lord questline has been updated to make the minimums costs more obvious.
- OVERWHELM, PSIBLAST, DRAGONSPIT, OVERRIDE, DRAGONBLAZE, DRAGONSPARK, and DRAGONCHILL (various battlerages for different dragon colours) now deal UNBLOCKABLE damage rather than BLUNT.
- Fixed an issue where the above battlerage attacks were incorrectly scaling with the strength stat. Battlerage damage is intended to scale only with player level, up to a defined cap. As a result of this correction and standardisation with other battlerage abilities, these attacks may now deal slightly less damage than before.
- PESTILENCE DEVOUR and STING can now be used against denizens without a free hand available. You still need to have a free hand to use any pestilence skills in PvP, but seeing as this could be accomplished via mass wielding/unwielding while hunting, we decided this restriction should not apply to PvE.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/02/updates-50)
**Published:** March 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 2nd of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
- Various quests and denizen reactions in Myrinia have been updated to reflect your character’s chosen pronouns, rather than your gender at character creation.
- Bazaar shops will no longer display 3rd person messages when purchases are made.
- The “destroyer” bonus from Iron Elite Memberships now grows at 0.2% crit rate per consecutive month, up from 0.15%, this means at 5 stacks it is now a full 1% bonus, up from 0.75%.
- Note: AUDIT may still not display these correctly due to rounding issues with Rapture.
- The DESTROYER bonus now additionally stacks with the LUCKY and AIM TO KILL traits.
- The Underrealm now has a proper alert for entering it much like other OPEN PK planes/areas. For clarity: ALL of the Underrealm, including Raia’dalam is an open pk zone.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/09/updates-51)
**Published:** March 9, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Monday, the 9th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The area beneath Yggdrasil’s branches where the ettins dwell can now be referred to as the shortname “ettins” instead of the previously obtuse developer name.
- HELP 19 has been majorly updated as we make room for more promo items. Most notably this includes a major tidy up of the larger HELP PROMO ITEMS and adding the Legend Deck cards by collection, instead of one giant help file.
- HELP GLITTERING MUD and HELP SPARKLING SNOW now both exist.
- The owner of a shop sign can now ADJUST up to 125 characters and the text specified will show on LOOK/entering the room instead of the generic read sign line.
- Bazaar shops now have a 30 second delay between purchases (increased from 15-20) as browsing goods is now much easier than before.
- HELP POLYMEGAHEDRAL DICE is now correctly up to date with the prizes.
- Birdbaths and gnomes obtained from past bazaars now function as intended when properly exposed to rain.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/10/updates-52)
**Published:** March 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 10th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The perpetually labouring leopard within Caer Witrin can now theoretically be aided in her birthing by adventurers once again.
– HELP CONSUMABLES now exists for easier access to information on promotional consumables.
– HELP GIFTBAGS now exists.
– HELP PROMO ITEMS is now even shorter and easier to read.
– Quest 179 is now a little more generous on xp/renown.
– Various quests which continued to award Underrealm barrier shards will no longer do so.
– Nacleur should be a bit more robust in responsiveness toward those who have wandered off from the start of the Earth quests.
– It is now possible to pick up the barrel for Nanero’s quest in Loramere, provided you are the person he gave it to.
– HELP DISCONTINUED PROMO ITEMS now exists.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/10/updates-54)
**Published:** March 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 10th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– The area beneath Yggdrasil’s branches where the ettins dwell can now be referred to as the shortname “ettins” instead of the previously obtuse developer name.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/10/updates-53)
**Published:** March 10, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 10th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
- The King Stag will now properly resist attacks until the conditions are met!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Some Crafting Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/13/some-crafting-updates)
**Published:** March 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I have some crafting announcements to make today!
First, recipes, blueprints, and patterns for the following have all been added to the shops in Delos and are now craftable:
Tailoring:
- Gambeson
- Wallet
- Thong
- Plush(\*)
Furnishing:
- Pillow
- Hamper
Cooking:
- Bun
- Pot
- Pan
- Jar
- Cauldron
- Tin
Note: These containers are all “a jar of cooked food” etc to allow for presentation that way.
(\*) I’m allowing some leeway with plushes but as with all things, they should be respectful of the rules and remain tasteful.
Second, by popular request and after much consideration, I am relaxing the longstanding rule against creating “tatty / worn / used” items. I know this rule has been a major frustration and pain point for a lot of you and I don’t see a reason for it to remain in place anymore.
However, this is not free rein to create antiques and ancient old items of timeless provenance and so on. It’s strictly so that you can create things that are not ‘perfect’ or ‘new-looking’ for roleplay purposes. Anything that tries to pass itself off as a rare treasure will not be approved!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/17/updates-55)
**Published:** March 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 17th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– HELP SHOP OF WONDERS has been (mercifully) split into two files.
– Various HELP indexes (9-18) have been cleaned up and updated.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/17/updates-56)
**Published:** March 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 17th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– HELP SHOP OF WONDERS has been (mercifully) split into two files.
– Various HELP indexes (9-18) have been cleaned up and updated.
– Plushes now cost 50 cloth to craft, up from the accidentally low amount of 10.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/20/updates-57)
**Published:** March 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Friday, the 20th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– INSIGHT has been updated to reflect the latest world events surrounding memory.
– Those who are cutoff from the Wellspring will no longer be able to manually TAP WELLSPRING to regain Wellspring energy. They will be able to use the energy they already have, but will be unable to gain more either passively or manually.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/24/updates-58)
**Published:** March 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 24th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– After years of toiling away by the mhun funded by Hashan, the Eastern Road finally has a bridge again linking it to Tasur’ke.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/24/updates-59)
**Published:** March 24, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 24th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– HELP SHOP OF WONDERS has been (mercifully) split into two files.
– Various HELP indexes (9-18) have been cleaned up and updated.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/26/updates-60)
**Published:** March 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Thursday, the 26th of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– Headless corpses will now decay in stockrooms and through other forms of stasis.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/31/updates-61)
**Published:** March 31, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It is Tuesday, the 31st of March, and the following changes have been implemented:
– HELP SHOP OF WONDERS has been (mercifully) split into two files.
– Various HELP indexes (9-18) have been cleaned up and updated.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Upcoming Year 1000 Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/03/upcoming-year-1000-auctions)
**Published:** April 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
In a few hours at the Serenade, double renown will finally be ending and the Year 1000 auctions will be launching!
We have a total of 24 auctions coming up, twelve for credits and twelve for gold. Below is a preview and some notes on the up and coming wares:
Credit Auctions
—————
Innate morphing armour
This armour set is the equivalent of three-slotted armour with innate morphing capabilities that do not require use of one of the three slots.
Any completed talisman
Obtain any completed talisman of your choice from any promotional set. This does not include the forays set.
Gloves of arrowcatching
These gloves grant arrowcatching! If you are Shaman, Jester, or Bard, the proc chance for catching arrows is increased!
Treacherous Wings
These special Chenubian wings will include exits to Annwyn and the Underworld in addition to the owner’s choices (8 total exits).
NOTE: Any exits to off-plane locations will not function during Championship XPEvent windows, period, even if you are not participating.
To expound on the above: this is a change we had already planned to make in advance of the XP Event in May so we are announcing it now alongside this one off auction for Year 1000.
Cloak of many feathers
This cloak conveys the wearer with the track and view abilities from metamorphosis.
Custom Blademaster Sword
Work with the design team to create your own Blademaster sword: this includes the name!
Custom Shout
Customise your shout text! Subject to Garden approval.
Elemental Lord or Dragon Desc
Work with the design team to customise your Dragon or Elemental Lord description. These must be lore friendly and suitable for Achaea, and are subject to Garden approval.
Orb of Sllshya’s Wrath
THROW ORB to summon a magical snowstorm in the room. Grants all of the same benefits as the Groves ability SNOWSTORM.
Vastarian Flute
PLAY FLUTE and you will cause a GUST to occur in the location, banishing fumes and smoke.
Prismatic Inkbrush
This special inkbrush removes the need for the holder to possess any inks when sketching runes or inking tattoos.
Bracelets of the Infinite
These bracelets increase maximum health and mana by 20% and are a level 4 version of the reserves power.
Does not stack with existing reserves artefacts.
Gold Auctions
————
Level 1 talisman piece (x3)
Choose any level 1 talisman piece from any of the promotional sets.
Any legend card (x3)
Choose any Legend Deck Card from HELP LEGENDDECK!
300 housing credits (x3)
A pack of 300 housing credits.
50 keys to the Vault
50 keys to the Delos Vault promotion.
OOS Plot: Variety
The winner of this auction may work with the Garden to choose a location for their very own out-of-subdivision plot.
This is subject to Garden approval and will not allow locations in cities, Aster Malik, ephemeral or treacherous planes and potentially other locations of significance.
Please ask if you are not sure!
Racial Language Fluency
Become instantly fluent in a racial language!
NOTE: does not include Aldar, Divine, Dragon, or Primordial. HOWEVER: Vertani, Karthic, and Triton ARE permitted as a Year 1000 special!
Enjoy!My main problem with Beaver Builder and UABB is that they seem to really slow down creation because they lag quite a bit. Is there a reason for this?
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### ["Opportunity" Bardic & Artisanal Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/12/14/opportunity-bardic-artisanal-winners)
**Published:** December 14, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The “Opportunity” Artisanal and Bardic contest has at long last been judged, and we’re pleased to announce the results!
```
==( Bardic and Artisanal Winner )==
Stheno(b)
```
The judges would like to note that this is the first bardic entry in modern history to have a judge give it a perfect score.
```
==( Bardic and Artisanal Runners-up )==
Laedha(b), Numira(a), and Kaden(b)
==( Bardic and Artisanal Merit )==
Zetka(b), Rhobin(a), and Bartholomeus(b)
```
**Categories:** Artisanals and Bardics
---
### [A Rainbow Racket](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/01/a-rainbow-racket)
**Published:** April 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
They arrived, not as an army, nor as conquerors, but as a riotous procession of mischief and motive: a company of leprechauns unlike any the world had ever seen. Upon setting foot on Sapience, the band scattered like sparks upon dry grass, each drifting toward the cities of the world, drawn by curiosity, impulse, or schemes known only to themselves.
It was the corpulent entrepreneur whose path would shape the strangest chapter of the day.
Guided by a cluster of Targossian adventurers, a rotund leprechaun was led to the great bridge of Delos, the crossroads where travellers from every corner of the world pass beneath open sky for commerce and leisure. There, with the satisfied air of a merchant who has discovered the perfect stall in a bustling market, he unveiled his enterprise.
A towering cannon wrought entirely of gold. Its barrel shimmered with engraved rainbows and dancing coins, and along its flank sat a narrow slot, inviting tribute. The rules were simple and irresistible.
Gold sovereigns would feed the weapon. Gold sovereigns would awaken it. And when enough tribute had been offered, the cannon would unleash its radiant fury upon any city they desired.
The response was immediate and fervent.
Adventurers gathered from across Sapience, their satchels heavy and their grudges heavier still. Coins clattered into the gilded maw of the cannon in a steady rain, the sound ringing across the Delos bridge like a metallic hymn. Rivalries old and new stirred in the hearts of the gathered throng. The chance to wield colourful destruction proved irresistible.
At last, the weapon roared to life.
The first to seize its power was the adventurer Kodachi, whose hands guided the golden cannon as it loosed its radiant wrath toward the spires of Mhaldor. A dazzling arc of prismatic fury tore through the heavens before plunging toward its distant target, and the gathered crowd erupted with wild delight.
Again and again, the cannon was fed.
Again and again, it answered.
With each dazzling discharge, it became increasingly clear: the thirst for spectacle, vengeance, and mischief among Sapience’s adventurers burned nearly as fiercely as that of the leprechauns who had brought the weapon.
But all revelries end.
As the final echoes of prismatic thunder faded into the evening sky, the leprechauns quietly gathered themselves once more. The leprechauns’ pockets bulged with new wealth. Millions of gold sovereigns disappeared into their rapacious grasp.
With satisfied grins, strange songs, muttered ramblings, and manic laughter, the band reclaimed their gleaming cannon and vanished from Sapience as suddenly as they had appeared.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: A group of leprechauns briefly set up a gold-fed rainbow-shooting cannon as a business venture upon the Delos bridge. Adventurers were eager to invest in the opportunity to direct its power at the various cities across Sapience.A rainbow racket.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Upcoming 3932 Mystery Event](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/03/upcoming-3932-mystery-event)
**Published:** April 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the event on upcoming 3932 has had to be moved back a week to Sunday 12th April.
UPCOMING is updated to be accurate and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.Need to create a mid-journey prompt, title and subtitle for the following announcement post.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [April in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/04/01/april-in-achaea-5)
**Published:** April 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
April has arrived and the Year 1000 celebrations are continuing on with plenty of events still to come! The shop lottery is also still open, as are the contests – check my previous posts for details and see UPCOMING for all relevant dates!
I’d also like to express my thanks on behalf of the team for the overwhelming positive feedback we’ve had since kicking off the Year 1000 events. I’m delighted with how well they’ve been received and excited with everything that’s to come!
For April we are bringing back the Iron Bank promotion with some changes! Most notably, we have significantly reduced the price of vault keys, and also added bulk options to the website for them.
Keys to the vault can be obtained via the Achaea website and visiting the bank in Delos (v38931) will allow you to open one of the vaults!
The prize list that is hidden behind the locked doors is unchanging and listed below, but which door they are behind will be subject to change. Before you choose which door to open you can even see what has been won from already opened doors. When there are no prizes left on the board the bank will reset the contents to full once more. The board will also reset when the special prize is claimed, as well as every in game month on the 1st.
In addition to the price change, we have also made an update to the prizes available, and there is also a 500 credit global prize for every 500 vaults opened. The full list of prizes is as follows:
5 doors will each conceal 25 scintillating gems,
3 doors will each conceal a silver giftbox,
10 doors will each conceal 40 credits (unbound),
5 doors will each conceal 3 artefact discount vouchers,
10 doors will each conceal a decorated sleeve, including cards from the new Modernstaff\* suit!
3 doors will each conceal a Mayan crown,
2 doors will each conceal two Mayan crowns,
1 door will conceal 100 credits (unbound),
1 doors will conceal 3 Mayan crowns,
10 doors will each conceal a talisman cache (Scholars, Eldergods, Yggdrasil)
2 doors will conceal 2 decorated sleeves,
5 doors will each conceal a bronze giftbox,
5 doors will each conceal a pair of artefact vials,
1 door will conceal a phial of shimmering ink,
and,
1 door will conceal the special prize\*
The special prize varies and changes when the board resets, it will always be one of the following:
800 credits
A golden giftbox
A platinum giftbox
A token that can be redeemed for any talisman piece other than those in the miscellaneous set (PROMO REDEEM for syntax!)
The Modernstaff suit is the second of our three suits planned to commemorate the first fifteen Staff of Nicator holders. This suit is part of the Champions collection and includes the following cards:
Rangor Corten
– Draw this card against a target and be apprised of any fulcrums, pathfinders, raidos, or psionic projections they may hold.
Penwize Baker
– Draw this card against a target while you are in the sky, and an eagle will allow you to traverse to them.
– Identical to metamorphosis traverse with the same restrictions.
Sothantos de L’Evanoir
– Draw this card and carry out a nerveslash against all denizens present, afflicting them with weakness.
Jhui Ta’sa
– Draw this card against a friendly target and break any mind locks they may currently be suffering.
Jarrod Dracrotalus
– Draw this card and gain the chargeshield defence for 5 minutes.
All cards in this suit have 1 charge and generate a new charge every 1 hour.
HELP DELOS BANK or HELP BANK VAULTS has all relevant information you may require!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Polite Reminder](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/31/polite-reminder)
**Published:** March 31, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hello!
This is just a polite reminder (or perhaps announcement for those who are new to the game) that when you are present at an event, bazaar, performance, or other activity run by or involving a God or Celani or Admin, there is almost a guarantee that you will be in the room with people who can hear your tells.
As such, this is my polite request that you keep your explicit roleplay or other unsuitable content out of tells while present at one of these, for all of our sanity’s sake!
Thanks!Congrats! You win this week. Let me know what game and character you would like your credits on.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Breath of Spring](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/30/the-breath-of-spring)
**Published:** March 30, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
As late winter settles over the world, old memories rise readily to the fore. Entwined with thoughts of Her brother Scarlatti, sorrow draws Gaia’s attention once more to the weight of vanished Kin; felt in perpetuity, the ache of loss rises to envelop Her.
Before the sapling in the Western Ithmia, planted in remembrance of Artemis and Lupus, grief gathers with dangerous force, pulling Her gaze toward all that has been lost and left behind; toward the cold and motionless shape of mourning.
Yet, the Icemother knows She cannot remain in mourning forever.
In the verdant canopy of Her grove, the Earthmother turns at last from grief and from the long shadow of Her Sibling’s memories and with that turning, winter loses its claim upon the world. The breath drawn into Her is deep and unhurried, yet all of Creation feels the urgency in it and braces in anticipation of release.
When at last the Goddess of Nature exhales, renewal answers in a sudden and unstoppable tide. Verdure spreads throughout the world, touching those places that She holds a fondness for. What grief had held in suspension is seized at once by change, by growth, by the fierce necessity of continuance. All that can bloom does so with urgent abandon, racing to answer Her will as life flourishes upon Yggdrasil and beyond.
\~~~
Summary: With the completion of Her memory upon the upper branches of Yggdrasil, Gaia, Goddess of Nature, remembers Her promise to keep grief and the memory of loss behind Her. So, She releases spring upon the world, and the whole of Yggdrasil is drenched in wild growth, with flowering vines taking root in the caverns of the Ettins and in the atavian town of Genji.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### ["On the Life of the Muse Ferenthal," Afterword](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/29/on-the-life-of-the-muse-ferenthal-afterword)
**Published:** March 29, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
…and so Ferenthal, Muse of Lightweaving became Ferenthal, the Witness of Love.
Post Scriptum:
On a personal note, my sister’s passing remains a difficult reality to accept. The nature of Divinity is a mystery even to the very greatest minds of the proudest traditions of scholarship and historical research, which makes fully contending with the extent of the change she has undergone nearly impossible.
I can confidently record, however, that the change is nothing short of absolute. Nothing remains of the spirit that was our beloved Ferenthal. Who and what the Witness of Love truly is, I cannot fully describe; the realms will doubtlessly need to wait for this entity to come into the full bloom of her maturity and sagacity to ascertain her nature.
I admit freely that we miss our sister. We miss her laughter and her mischief as we do her patience and her wisdom. In times of great turmoil, she was the anchor of our Lord’s worship in these lands. She taught and guided all freely. It is a grievous loss not only to we who remain, but to all who will come after. Bereft of her energy, future trials will almost certainly prove more harrowing.
Her destruction begets another consequence, as well: what Lightweavings remain are doubtlessly priceless and inimitable now. Unlike the rest of our domains, the knowledge of their crafting was not widely passed on. Any who retain such an example would do well to treasure it forevermore, as the knowledge of the making of the sparks whence they are brought to life died with her.
Finally, I hope that with my Lord’s Lament secured and the realm of Love restored to its more balanced condition, these realms will begin to heal. The uneven nature of emotion during this crisis taught the Muses much. In a way, my sister’s legacy continues to illuminate a path for us… no doubt we shall be turned to a new purpose these coming years. I hope, in time, we each bring to the efforts and cares of the mortal world as great a boon as she did in life.
For now, we honour her in private. Let Ferenthal-as-was be a name recalled with gratitude, as Ferenthal-that-is becomes a name invoked with hope.
Signed,
Rennibrande, Muse of History
\~~~
Summary: Adventurers across the world followed the echoes of the Muse Ferenthal’s last day, finally illuminating the weight of her sacrifice and the nature of her decision to become the Witness of Love.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Violet Mountain](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/28/the-violet-mountain)
**Published:** March 28, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
1st of Lupar, 1000:
I have accepted the pilgrimage. My contamination level no longer permits delay. One of the Caefir has agreed to help secure passage for me; I lack the strength and time to travel naturally.
Forty-three years I have served. Forty-three years measuring, calculating, purifying. I thought I understood the architecture of Righteousness: clear lines, clean choices, consequence following cause like shadow follows form.
The rituals are explicit. I wrote reports enforcing them.
I kept the bowl anyway.
I am going to the mountain to stand where Dunamis knelt, where he chose to seal the Marvinogian rather than end it. Every teaching says he should have struck. I have built my life on those teachings, and now at the end I find I do not understand the choice that matters most.
Perhaps that is why I must go. Not to find answers, but to stand in the presence of the question and see if it breaks me or if I have already been broken all along.
First Rest:
They listened when I spoke of her today. I could see them trying to fit a broken bowl into the shape of divine choice, trying to make the small thing mean what the large thing means.
But sitting here now, hand shaking too much to write cleanly, I realise I told it wrong. It was never about the bowl.
It was about the three days. Three days when I could have filed the request in an hour. Three days when I chose complication over efficiency and could not explain why, not even to myself. Three days of sanding a seam that would split the moment fire touched it.
My wife watched me work. Never asked why. I think she knew I had no answer I could speak aloud.
What did Dunamis feel, I wonder, in those seven days beneath the mountain? Did he know what he was authoring? Did he feel the future pressing down on him, showing him what he would become, what Haldoran would become, and choose it anyway?
Or did he simply kneel in the brine and refuse to stand until the world made sense in a way it never would again?
I am tired. The path ahead climbs. My chest feels full of stones.
Second Rest:
I lied in a report eleven years ago. Told my superiors the settlement was empty when we arrived for evacuation. It was not empty. A man sat beside a metal marker shaped into his wife’s name, hands burned from the work, and he would not move.
We left him there.
I have carried that lie for eleven years. Tonight I spoke it aloud for the first time, and now that it is out I cannot put it back. It sits in the air between myself and the pilgrims like smoke that will not dissipate.
They did not ask me why I lied. Perhaps they understood. Perhaps they have their own lies, their own moments when the equation did not balance and they chose the wrong answer anyway.
I wonder if that man felt peace at the end. If the marker gave him something to hold onto as she arrived and tore him apart. Or if he died knowing it was futile, knowing the metal would twist and the name would be erased and no one would ever know she had been there at all.
No one except him. And me.
I think that is the point I could not articulate earlier. That knowing matters even when it changes nothing. That witness has weight even when it has no audience.
I do not know if that was right. I know that I am carrying a lie and a bowl and a memory of burned hands, and none of it can be justified by outcome or efficiency or any principle I was taught.
I carry them anyway.
Third Rest:
My hand will barely hold the quill.
We are nearly there. The mountain is so close I can see where the brine pooled. Where he knelt. Where something happened that I have spent my life trying to understand through frameworks that were never built to hold it.
I told them I do not have answers. That perhaps there are no answers. That maybe the question itself is the thing we are supposed to carry, not the solution.
But here, now, with the shadow pressing down and my breath coming in stutters, I think I see it differently.
It is not that there is no answer. It is that the answer is the same as the question.
Why did I mend the bowl? Because she was my daughter.
Why did I lie in the report? Because he loved his wife.
Why did Dunamis seal the Marvinogian? Because…
I cannot finish the thought. My mind reaches for it and finds only the edge of something too large to hold.
There is a word I need. It is not mercy. It is not love. It is not waste or weakness or contamination. It exists in the space between cause and effect, in the three days spent mending what should be discarded, in the refusal to let broken things be measured only by the threat they pose.
Dunamis knelt in brine and became something he would not recognise. He carried a burden that destroyed him. He made himself into a wound with a name and called it necessity.
I do not know if he was right.
I only know that I am here, at the end, and when I think of my daughter I do not remember her death or the rituals or the contamination records.
I remember her small fingers tracing the seam.
I remember that she chose the broken bowl every single day.
And I think maybe that i-
\~~~
Summary: Adventurers accompanied a dying pilgrim of the Oibri Conlaodh to the famed location where Dunamis sealed the Marvinogian countless centuries ago, unlocking a memory of Righteousness beneath the violet mountain’s shadow in the process.Achaea Meditation Ritual
**Categories:** Announcements
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### [A Meditation Ritual](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/26/a-meditation-ritual)
**Published:** March 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
My dear brother,
I don’t really know how to tell this story, but I feel that I must put ink to paper before I convince myself that I imagined it. I guess I’ll start at the beginning, then.
I heard a great commotion from the goblin mining tunnels of Azdun, and I personally missed much of what transpired, but apparently the goblins broke through a wall and stumbled into an old, hidden chamber. I guess that disturbed the meditation of a woman who had been there for almost six hundred years, if she was truthful. She called herself Mazra, and claimed that she and others had been meditating in scattered hidden chambers all over Sapience in order to keep something – some terrifying entity, something that she simply called “The End” and refused to elaborate more – slumbering. She told me her secret order, which she called the Silent Sentries, tried to defeat it long ago but found that the best they could do was keep it asleep, though even that required several of them to lock themselves in meditation for, well, forever.
When I arrived, there were dozens of adventurers trying to replicate a ritual they found in some old journal. They showed me their notes – it was a mess. Much of the original work was missing, so they could only complete part of it. Mazra indicated that the part they couldn’t complete was less important than the part they could, but it did mean that she couldn’t be hidden away anymore. It seemed to me that the second ritual was meant to keep the first one going, to keep the burning candles and whatnot sustained. Without that second ritual, Mazra said that she would need someone to check on the ritual reagents and replace them from time to time. To be honest, the whole situation was a bit overwhelming.
She also said that she would need someone to stand guard over her going forward, since she can’t rely on secrecy anymore, and, brother, I don’t know what came over me, but I felt that was what I needed to do. The purpose I’ve been searching for. The thing that would earn me a name worth our clan’s honour. So I volunteered! I am now the lone guard for Mazra, the Silent Sentry. Forever, I guess.
Anyways, they did it. An Eleusian named Gallus led the ritual from the journal as Mazra slipped back into her meditation. A quiet stillness that I’d never experienced before settled over the chamber. It seemed to work. Oh, and then Sir Kresslack gave me a drinking horn! A gift like that from a knight has to count for something, right?
But now the candles and incense are burning low, and I fear that I must turn my attention to convincing adventurers to replace these components.
Come visit me in Azdun when you can. It gets lonely down here sometimes.
Your brother,
Zerdin
\~\~~~~
A wall collapses leading to a great commotion and dire warnings that brought adventurers to the mines of Azdun: a secret centuries-long meditation was disturbed, supposedly putting everyone at great risk. The ritualist claimed that an ancient ritual must be repeated in order to return her to her meditation so she could keep some great threat in a state of stasis. Adventurers scattered across Sapience to find a record of this ancient ritual and replicate it, their efforts lead by Gallus, Imyrr, and Theosis. With secrecy no longer possible, a wandering dwarf volunteered to stand guard over her vigil.I’m currently reading Hacking the Human Mind. I also listen to Chris Williamson on Modern Wisdom and will often follow up with a lot of his people that he has on the podcast. I generally like listening to the psychology of how the mind works and that type of stuff on his podcast.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Memory of Malevolence](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/23/the-memory-of-malevolence)
**Published:** March 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The first warning shuddered through His faithful in the form of a skipped heartbeat, a surge of adrenaline, and a tang of bloodlust.
The second warning came as a heavy tremor rolling through the ground, as Sartan, the Malevolent, stood aloft in the heavens and made the sky itself seem lesser by His presence. His vast silhouette loomed against the violent backdrop of storm-touched heavens, every scar upon His frame thrown into stark relief. Golden fire burned where His eyes fell, and that gaze passed over the whole of mortal existence with merciless precision, weighing each city, and each soul, in silence.
His Brother, He declared, had set mortals upon a path to claim wisdom from memories not their own. Other Gods might sit in idleness and permit such theft without answer. He would not.
“There is weight to memory. A cost that must be paid for knowledge.” His voice boomed for all to hear. Nothing of value came freely within the lands of His dominion. Without struggle, therefore, there could be no strength. Slashing at the air with His powerful hands, the Lord of Evil set a challenge to all beneath His eye: that those who wished to claim the memory of Shaitan would earn it through hardship, or they would break in sight of all.
Creation shrieked and split wide, forced to yield beneath His command. Hellfire burst from the wound in sparking torrents, and smoke followed in thick, foul coils that spread across the horizon. Before the gates of Ashtan, Mhaldor, and Cyrene, the first portals tore themselves into being. Stone cracked across the Sunderlands. Waters along the Eastern Shore churned and boiled. In the Eastern Ithmia, trunks twisted and groaned while infernal gateways ripped through root and soil alike. The world bent under the force of His will, and from every fresh rent came the promise of war.
For one long moment He remained above it all, an executioner poised over the block. Then His form began to fade, withdrawing from the firmament and leaving behind neither peace nor reprieve. In His wake, the hosts of the Inferno came screaming into the world.
No land stood beyond reach. Daemonic and demonic hordes pressed without pause, their advance grinding against every defence raised to meet them. Before the gates of Ashtan, Archon Sohl raised a cry of defiance that rang clear across the clash, yet the answering tide swelled in number and force, bearing down with unrelenting pressure. Beyond Sapience, cries went up from Vertan and Vostroya, from the depths of Anzari-tarin, and across the realm of the Kelstaad plains on Bjarndyr.
Fortress arcanum and berserker rage met daemonic flame and gnashing jaw. Scores of forsaken fell beneath the earth as the more stable Tsol of War visited ruin upon the invaders. House Tsez mages wove spell and storm from their high towers. And horns blared across the prairies and fields of the Kelstaad realm, the ferocity of the tash’la quads unmatched in their devastation even as potentials perished in failed metamorphosis.
On Achaea, Eleusians proved the strength of the wilds, felling scores of daemons and demons before encountering a bulbous, swollen baalzadeen. As battle rampaged across the other five cities, Eleusis cut down their daemonic foe and were first to close the rift plaguing their home. Death followed in droves for adventurer and invader in equal measure. Even Dreadlord Zarkuun took to the field with unfettered glee, cutting through the hordes with brutal momentum. His hands found skull and spine, crushing, tearing, and casting bodies aside as blood ran thick in his shadow.
Thousands of daemonic worms prepared to launch a brutal attack upon the tash’la, the earth riving open until an eerie quiet descended upon their realm. Before another blow could land, the hungering host reeled beneath the silence that in its deafening pressure promised devastation untold. And fled. Vertan, too, triumphed in a bombardment of meteoric magic, and the last of the rampaging throng beneath Anzari-tarin found death in the jaws of the shadow dragon.
Only Mhaldor’s rift remained aflame upon the mainland, until the gargantuan efforts of Sir Antoninus Nithilar saw to its closing, felling the grotesque baalzadeen almost entirely on his own.
When at last the final daemon crumbled under the combined weight of Sapience, a black morass rolled across the heavens. Sartan, the Malevolent, revealed Himself once more, His presence pressing down upon the world with crushing force and forcing every living thing to bear witness.
Time stretched to an eternity as the typically-disappointed gaze of Evil swept over the lands. Fragmented memories of Sin and Vengeance, birthed from the violent reprisal unfolding, rained down upon the western Isle.
Then, at last, He inclined His head.
Dark radiance gathered about Him. Threads of necromantic energy drew free from the pitted surface of His body, long strands unravelling and coiling through the air in tightening arcs. They bent toward His hand, drawn inward with steady purpose. The web of essence collapsed in a single motion and vanished from sight, taken from the field and claimed for Uphimmin’s Crown, where the memories of Elder Shaitan, the Dreadlord Keresis, and the Demon Queen Indrani, now awaited.
~ ~ ~
Unwilling to simply part with His memory, Sartan set a challenge to Sapience: to earn the right to witness it in blood and violence. Daemonic rifts gave way to an invasion of demon hordes from the Inferno and bulbous baalzadeens as their lieutenants. The combined efforts of Sapience drove back the demons, as did the denizens of Kelstaad, Vertan, Vostroya, and the Underrealm, and, satisfied, Sartan allowed mortality a glimpse of His memories of Shaitan. In the process, the remaining memory fragments of Keresis and Indrani coalesced, granting the Crown remembrance of Vengeance and Sin.
**Categories:** Announcements
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### [Iron Realms Question of the Week Contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/20/iron-realms-question-of-the-week-contest)
**Published:** March 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
We’re kicking off a brand new Iron Realms Question of the Week contest today!
For the next 4 weeks, you’ll have a chance to win just by sharing your best stories, memories, and opinions from across the Iron Realms.
How does it work?
Every Friday, we’ll post a new question on our social channels, and each week, we’ll choose 3 winning responses.
Winners will receive 100 credits, and at the end of Week 4, one grand prize winner will receive 3 months of Iron Elite Membership!
If you’ve got a favorite moment, an unforgettable story, or something to say about what makes Iron Realms special, this is your time.
Full details and rules:
https://www.ironrealms.com/2026/03/20/question-of-the-week-contest/
First question is already up!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Lessons While Levelling](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/17/lessons-while-levelling)
**Published:** March 17, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As we continue to explore ways of improving the new player experience and in particular new player retention, a long-standing concern that is often raised is the subject of lessons earned while levelling and the inability, even with no-brainer lessons, to max out your class skills without the much larger investment into credit packages or similar.
Well, as of today, that changes!
Lessons earned from levelling have been significantly increased at certain thresholds, granting an additional 2000 lessons by level 80.
The specific breakdown can be found in HELP LEVELS, but the bonus starts small at 45 additional lessons when reaching level 10, up to 245 additional at level 80.
This change is retroactive and all characters of appropriate levels have been awarded lessons they would have earned while levelling.
In addition to this, you will now also earn 10 bound credits when you verify on the Achaea Discord!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Past](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/past)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Buoyed by a successful bargain, Prospero returned to the waiting Gods and announced His victory. The chain glittered in His grasp and it was Aegis first to answer, counselling a need for firmness of will and not only a sure strike if They were to see to the relic’s destruction. The Malevolent One claimed primacy in this task, but even His will faltered beneath the implacable decree of the Jade Empress.
As the firmament and all below it stilled with the manifestation of Lorielan’s will, She declared unto the listening realm that She would be the One to bear the burden of breaking.
“You are the Eldest, now. It is Your right. And perhaps it will slake a thirst.” Valnurana’s somnolent assent gave way to the voice of the Lightbringer’s encouraging accord, and all disagreement among Gods yielded to silent acquiescence.
Once more it was Aegis Who first broke the quietude. Declaring that all the Gods would lend the Empress Their aid, to break both the Chain’s great blessing and its terrible, terrible curse, the God of War wove a sliver of His quintessence and imbued Lorielan’s hand with the iron will of disciplined formations and courageous armies.
One by One, all the Gods followed suit. From the Lightbringer came Hope. From the Righteous Fire, Justice. Malevolence conferred a conqueror’s will and the Wayward Heir bestowed a fraction of Her independence and determined spirit. Gaia’s gift was life and death in equal measure, and from Oblivion came the cold agony of enlightenment. Sea and Sky lent confident necessity and the strength of deep fathoms to the Empress, tempered by the generosity and balanced hand of Phaestus. Mystery followed from Ourania, and ego from Haskor.
Prospero, fresh from His negotiations, granted the weight of a bond unbreakable and the Dream, endless and terrifying, gave soothing balm and death sentence both. Grey mist flowed forth from the Genesis, the Realm of Death and the indomitability of the Meld entwining about the hand of Jade. From the Absent Knowing, an infusion of wisdom shaped for Lorielan alone. And from Twilight, Eldest of the Realms and Younger only to Lorielan Herself, the arcane knowledge to change reality that is the core of Darkness eternal.
Last of all the gathered Gods, the Great Bard gave freely of His vision for Creation, a vision of all mortality elevated, all story made memorable, all narrative limned by great deed and fell consequence.
The combined might of the Pantheon veiled the Empress of Jade in a vortex of variegated quintessence, joining all the living realms of Creation’s Divinity into a harmony unheard since the beginning of the beginning. Since time became time, when the Pantheon stood at the summit of All that Is to call forth sound and silence in merger to the song of an era lost, now set against the hope of an era to come again…
… the will of an era to come new, and the search for an era to be made real.
Wielding the might of the Gods, Lorielan took hold of Aeon’s Golden Chain. Forged by Proteus, the indivisible made divided by Will of Ayar, now Sarapis, gone Beyond for an eternity, the ancient relic strained against Her grip. Time warped to the touch of this foreigner upon inviolate Realm, but the Jade Empress closed Her fingers and the resistance to Divine Will Incarnate, Eldest of the Elders, faltered.
In an instant it was over. In an eternity it was over. In centuries and seconds and the temporal interstitia of minutes, hours, and days-weeks-months in the knowing and the slow remembrance, it was over.
Reality shuddered with the destruction of the Protean Relic and in its wake, echoes began their flicker beyond the edge of perception. Sweeping waves of power set loose run across and back the abyss of Time, hurling open doors once closed, evaporating into clouds of golden mist. And about that point betwixt the sundered Chain did the Mist of Memory converge.
It streamed from the great and small, forgotten and remembered, great monuments and humble shrines. Books lovingly read and secrets whispered in condemned secrecy released their recall, and the land heaved forth the great deeds of eons past.
It rose, coalescing far above even the topmost branches of the World Tree. Over the heights of Mannamot it climbed, Time and Memory condensing to an impenetrable nimbus set above even the Elements themselves.
Then Lorielan opened Her hand. The mist fell from Her fingers in a shimmering cascade, sinking like smoke and obscuring the heavens with an inscrutable, formless veil, which immediately began to thin. Memory moved and Memory settled, revealing fresh contour beneath its flowing mass, and soon the branches of a great crown sharpened into view. A shining herald to all the Lightened worlds beneath, its majesty proffered wonder on branch and bough, stars and worlds circling about a realm of revelation once again homed within the highest layers of Yggdrasil.
The mist flowed down the tree and along eave and branch, touching all worlds and realms under the World Tree’s shadow. Stars fell like shimmering rainfall and blanketed all that is with the gift of great deed and storied suffering, beckoning mortality to reforge the old and tread again the new.
And as the Gods withdrew from sight to process the reveal of Uphimmin’s fabled Crown, Lorielan spoke one more time unto all the listening Creation:
“History is in your hands, now. Live it. There is no more Logos to guide it. Dwell not upon failed Seleucar.”
In Her wake, mortality loosed a held breath, the past now reconciled with the present and the future now the charge of mortal hand, not a relic’s catastrophic tragedy.
~ ~ ~
Summary: Prospero returned to the Gods with the Golden Chain and Lorielan volunteered to bear the burden of breaking it. Wielding the combined might of the entire Pantheon, the Jade Empress shattered the chain and released the mist of memory back into Creation. As the mist cleared, the Uphimmin branches of Yggdrasil revealed themselves to mortality along with countless echoes of the past. With the chain broken, Lorielan bestowed the responsibility of history’s making upon the watching mortals, challenging them to surpass Seleucar and to realise Scarlatti’s dream by taking command of their own myth.
**Categories:** Announcements
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### [Present](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/present)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
While the Gods awaited the result of Prospero’s sojourn from the heavens, the God of Wealth turned His attention far beyond the Realm of the Living, beneath the very Roots of Yggdrasil. Prospero marched into the Underworld, and the Underworld bristled, as is its wont. Legions prepared for war as the Merchant Lord arrived at the royal fortress of Cor Kanth, the Vice-Royals Zigana and Tizane roused upon the Shtlenii riverbed and blazing with power and threat alike. The undead circled Prospero and left no doubt as to their intent.
He simply smiled. “Such hospitality does not befit a King,” He spoke for all Creation to hear in a voice sanguine and coolly confident. “Will you now renege on the accord?”
The Undead stood to ease and after a moment of deathly silence, the gates of Cor Kanth began to grind open and Slith, silent until now, bade Prospero to come and bargain.
Gathering almost all of waking mortality to His side as witness, Prospero entered the fortress and lit His cigar, the tension settling as Wealth Incarnate found His footing. Over a hundred adventurers joined Him to observe and Slith, it soon became clear, was not in the mood to waste time.
Though Prospero was happy to proceed straight to business, the Elder God nevertheless insisted on the pleasantries and decorums befitting a King and Divinity taking together counsel. Slith disagreed, and insults were swiftly exchanged alongside reminders of the King’s erstwhile Father and, having scored the first points in this battle of wills, Prospero seized the opportunity to restate His purpose: to collect on the accord made between Himself and King Slith at the climax of the Age of Woe.
The two bantered back and forth, neither willing to concede the advantage. Prospero puffed on His cigar seemingly without a hurry or care in the world, the God of Riches in His element of bargains and deals once more. Finally, He made clear the intention of the Gods: to retrieve from Slith the Golden Chain of Aeon. Negotiations turned to the Undead, and in this, Prospero was able to inch closer toward achieving His deal. Slith would surrender the Chain and in turn, the Gods would preserve his right to kingship for eternity. He would, finally, be free of his father’s long shadow.
Still the King of the Underworld was not satisfied. When pressed on why He sought the chain, the God revealed the Pantheon’s intent to sunder it, that mortality and Divinity may both be freed from the tyranny of time and instead forge forth with memory as backdrop and allegory, not the curse it had proven to be to all. In response, Slith demanded that the Pantheon enshrine Slith’s undead in the boughs of Yggdrasil itself: anchoring their place in history as an essential, vital part of Creation’s Weave.
Prospero gave His word. Slith gave his assent. Formalities were observed, and the Merchant Lord left the fortress of Cor Kanth with the Golden Chain of Aeon now in His possession. No blood had been spilled, and, miraculously, both parties appeared contented.
~ ~ ~
Summary: Prospero bargained with Slith to obtain the Golden Chain of Aeon, a relic entrusted to him in a bargain made at the end of the Age of Woe. In exchange for surrendering the relic, Prospero promised on behalf of the Pantheon to enshrine Slith’s undead in memory for eternity and grant them equal footing with the living in the Weave of Creation and its narrative.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Future](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/future)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Nine hundred and ninety-nine years since the Fall of the Seleucarian Empire, in the month of Mayan, the God Scarlatti, Elder Lord of the Arts, and Great Bard dwelt alone upon the edge of the world. As Gods and mortals both awaited the turning of the thousandth year with a blend of cautious optimism and no small measure of unease, the Lord Bard, still freshly shorn of wing and bright eye following Love’s calamitous fracturing, brooded in silence. Long did that quietude persist, until the arrival of Haskor woke Scarlatti from His lonesome contemplations.
It seemed the Bard had come to this place to mourn the diminishing splendour of Creation. In place of hope and potential, the Taleweaver saw the spread of decline and depreciation, of the shrinking of Divine Realm, and the heartbeat of reality slowing. Addressing Him as “Skar”, the ancient name given to the Bard in the Heroes’ God’s own Saga and Myth, Haskor was not so easily swayed to despondent resignation. The New God urge His Elder Brother to effect change, reminding Him of past grief that He Himself had learned to accept. The past, so insisted the Hero, was not a place suited for shuttering away that which may cause pain.
“No.” The response came after long minutes of unvoiced tension in the air. “We have to make Our choice.” And without another word, Scarlatti, Skar, simply stepped over the edge of the cliff and disappeared.
Haskor followed in His chariot as Creation itself heaved under the authority of an Elder God, the resolve of Scarlatti extending His will across every inch of reality. The call to conclave, indelible and beyond gainsay of even the most reticent of His kin, was soon answered. Golden light and white flashes lit heaven and sky with the arrival of the Pantheon in its entirety, and, as the Great Bard put forth His proposal in the tongue of the Divine, clamour erupted in response between the Gods.
Their arguments went on for minutes that seemed like decades until the Smith, ever level-headed and thoughtful, was first to voice His agreement with Scarlatti’s plan. But only the first. Babel and Aegis, rarely in agreement, joined Pandora to voice Their staunch disapproval. Sartan and Vastar took the opposite position, suggesting that “it”, whatever “it” may be, was a crutch that should be abandoned. Twilight, doubtless mourning something in His web, chose to side with the Heir. The Sea, naturally, opposed the Sky, and the Bloodsworn united in agreement with the Bard, as did the Hero, the Earthmother as, in an ominous proclamation about Time and the Meld, did the Genesis. And as Prospero fought His dread at the prospect of losing something He deemed irreplaceable, the Moon spoke prophecies of regret.
Two Sisters remained. The first, the gentler, the last of the Great Sibyls, counselled Scarlatti to put aside His doubt and lent Her assent.
The second mocked Valnurana’s tender words and simply laughed. Lorielan offered a blistering reproach of the modern age’s obsession with the past and, though derisive and venomous in equal measure, finally agreed. Of regret and disappointment She spoke then, coldly reminding Scarlatti that He was no stranger to either. He would have to bear the weight of failure, should His choice prove a poor one.
But the Bard did not flinch. Instead He met the Eldest’s eyes with resolve to match Her own. Creation’s story must be freed from constraint, He insisted. And the last of the Gods began to relent.
“We are agreed.” The voice of Aegis, Elder God of War made the pronouncement, and the Merchant Lord Prospero came forward, preparing to retrieve the mysterious treasure that had called over a dozen Gods to convene.
~ ~ ~
Summary: Scarlatti and Haskor muse over the fate of Creation and the waning stewardship of the Gods over the world’s collective history. The Gods convene to discuss retrieval of a dangerous relic, and Prospero volunteers to collect it.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Epilogue for the Millennium](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/epilogue-for-the-millennium)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Dear Sister Alloa,
As the first frost of Mayan comes and the last of the warmth ebbs out of our northern home, I feel old. I pen this letter with the quill you gave to me for my twentieth name day, and only a month ago I celebrated – albeit not terribly excitedly – my three hundred and eightieth. Time has been mostly kind to me, and where others may tend gardens and groves, I have instead devoted my life to growing our library. I doubt you remember the two battered history books I began my adventure into chronicling with, but I do.
I do.
Now, as the Vault turns and we contemplate the arrival of a new millennium, my mind goes oft to Old Seleucar. My dream of a complete, faithful history will likely never be realised, but in the seeking and the searching, I have come to appreciate the lost mysteries and secrets for what they are. There is joy to be had in the unknown, and I sincerely believe that mystery is the genesis of discovery, and to know all there is to know harms the sense of wonder and awe.
A thousand years since the Empire’s fall and the world is hardly recognisable. Even my near four centuries have borne witness to incredible change and upheaval. I am often given to wonder what Nicator would make of the modern world, if he were alive to witness it. What of Catarin? Or her love Lucaine? Would they prosper in this modern incarnation of civilisation, or be pulled under by the tide of war and woe that seems to haunt us?
A question frequently posed by scholars is the source of Nicator’s success. Many hold up Nikolas as a paragon example of the ambition of mortality and the potential inherent in Maya’s offspring’s descendants. Of chaos bent to great wonders in place of great horrors. Others look to the Logos and chalk the Seleucar dynasty up to Divine Providence instituted by a meddling hand.
I was not yet born when the Logos went behind the Flame of Yggdrasil to do His long vigil. But I have studied every inch of every text on the matter, and I am, as all Gods-fearing men, grateful that we shelter in the palm of the benevolent Creator’s guiding hand. But that, of course, does not answer the question.
No Empire to rival Nicator’s has risen to supplant his legacy nor claim his crown. Civilisation peaked with Seleucar, it seems. Yet trickles of news from beyond the Flame of Achaea suggest that some, at least, are given to the attempt. War between Vertan and Kelstaad. Elemental disputes. Even within our own land of Achaea, the city-states have, with one exception, claimed the title Empire for themselves in conquest and battlefield dominance. And acquitted themselves with incredible acuity and skill in the doing and the taking. Why do none claim such provenance in the history books, then? Where are the Itinerant Bazaars laden with Ashtani antiques and Targossian treasures?
Is the answer so simple as to be the absence of Sarapis’ hand upon the tiller? I think not.
Rather I believe it to be the lack of common goal or purpose. In those thousand years, historians have noted an unprecedented volume of conflict among both mortal and Divine. One need only consult public records to learn of the copious disagreements that have escalated into disputes that in turn have escalated into armed conflicts, religious battles, and full-blown wars, often requiring divine resolution or significant compromise to settle.
The Pantheon, itself unrecognisable from the Divines recognised by Nicator (with several exceptions, of course), is often at the heart of these, even! None are strangers to an attempted gambit by Darkness or a seizure of land by Malevolence. Occultism, once a staple of Seleucarian professionals all across the Empire (admittedly, with some mistrust) is limited now only to Ashtan and the axis of Righteousness against Oblivion remains in full effect. The daughter of Aegis and Eris wreaks havoc with a single word, and the Sea and Sky shake the world with Their own unending grudge.
Hundreds of years of fractured history culminate in a thousand year mosaic. Another Seleucar has not risen, but is that such a bad thing? I look upon my hand-drawn maps and my mountainous piles of notes on the cultures and peoples I have met in my long years a’wandering, and I say “No, it is not.”
I see diversity and passion in every corner of the world. Fervour and devotion have not dimmed since the Empire’s Fall. Ambition has certainly not waned. Love, it is said, has faltered, but the Twin Halves are now whole. Blood writes much of the texts of history, and that blood is invariably spilled by those dedicated to ideals that are theirs, forged by their hands, their Gods, not by the ordainment of Logosian will catalysed by one fated to unite all as his own. In every city and village of this land have I dwelt for years at a time. And never have I felt them lacking in purpose or in spirit.
I’ve drunk with Dagon. Danced with Dryads. Argued with Harris and made bargains with Hutchings. I’ve eaten questionable food from Drogo and even partied at Blufest (twice!).
This is what history is. The people and the stories. The highs and lows. Clarity of purpose and ferocity of ambition in realising it.
And in that, I say that Achaea has rivalled Seleucar tenfold. Who else could emerge whole from the Age of Woe? Face two Black Waves. Fight Primordial Conduits. Witness the world sundering apart and a dozen Gods unmade by the Worldreaver. Survive Eternal Night. Repel leaden corruption. And more, too much more to tell in a simple letter. I encourage you to visit the library again in the near future. I will have some new stories to share.
Happy Year 1000, sister. Mourn not Seleucar, but celebrate the spark and breath of the present, and wonders yet to be conceived.
– Dinnis
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Another contest? Yes.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/another-contest-yes)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey folks,
We have a new contest going on in our Discord server. Check out the #contests channel and you have a chance to win 500 credits for submitting a Show and Tell entry! Come and tell us about something meaningful to you and learn about your fellow players in the process.
HELP DISCORD has all the details for how to join the server, good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The recent downtime](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/12/the-recent-downtime)
**Published:** March 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey all,
Unfortunately there was an issue concerning our server provider, and as a consequence Achaea was unreachable for around an hour. We appreciate your patience while we were getting this resolved and have turned on double xp for the next 24 hours.
We don’t anticipate any further problems from this instance, everything appears to be resolved and once more operating as expected!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Grievous Crafting Oversight](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/13/a-grievous-crafting-oversight)
**Published:** March 13, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hello!
In my haste last night, I neglected to mention another addition to crafting:
– Cocoa is now available as a fluid type for beverages, and belongs to the steeping family of drinks.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000 Artisanals and Bardics!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/year-1000-artisanals-and-bardics)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
For the duration of the Year 1000 celebrations (see UPCOMING) we will be accepting submissions both artisanal and bardic on the theme of SUCCESSION!
Please be sure to take a read of HELP ARTISANAL or HELP BARDICS or head to https://www.achaea.com/the-artisanal-and-bardic-fellowship/ for all the rules and instructions.
For those of you who know the rules, submissions must be sent by email to support@achaea.com and be titled appropriately.
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR CHARACTER NAME AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION!
We look forward to seeing all of your creative submissions!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000: Design Contest](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/year-1000-design-contest)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
A design contest is now live and will remain open for submissions until the end of the Year 1000 celebrations (see UPCOMING)!
The winner will have their design featured somewhere in the game (the location is a secret until a few posts from now…), a preserved version for themselves, and 5 Mayan Crowns.
The theme this year is Nostalgia.
The item to design is at your discretion.
Submissions should be a letter sent to Amarisse via the messenger on the Delos bridge.
Please include the following information:
Your name.
The Appearance of the item
The Dropped description of the item
The Examined description of the item
A single reaction to being touched, the first person view.
For writing direction and style, please read HELP CRAFTING GUIDELINES, HELP STYLE, HELP CUSTOMISATION GUIDELINES, and HELP PROOFREADING – all have useful information!
The winner will be announced alongside all the other contests at the end of the celebrations a few weeks from now!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000: Delos Shop Lottery](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/year-1000-delos-shop-lottery)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As part of the Year 1000 celebrations, I have just opened Lottery 16 for ticket purchases!
One lucky winner will claim ownership of a Brand New Delos Shop located east of “Eastern Epitus Avenue”.
This lottery will run until the closing of all other Year 1000 contests (see UPCOMING), after which it will be drawn and a winner selected.
Tickets can only be bought for yourself, and each ticket costs 20000 gold. There is no cap on how many entries you can buy.
To buy a ticket, head to the lottery office in Delos, and see HELP LOTTERIES for details.
Good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000: Yggdrasil, Memory, Uphimmin, and More!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/16/year-1000-yggdrasil-memory-uphimmin-and-more)
**Published:** March 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Before I get into the specifics of the exciting Year 1000 content, this is a reminder that until 23:59 on Saturday 28th March, renown caps will be doubled!
~ ~ ~
Unleashed upon the world today is Uphimmin, the Sixth Tier of Yggdrasil! This tier of the World Tree is closely associated with memory and you may find its branches lead to the past in strange and interesting ways. Exploration is encouraged, and areas on the Plane of Memory are no longer excluded from explorer rankings to boot!
After a climb through a starry backdrop, emerging upon the collar of this great branch you’ll find yourself beneath the Crown of Uphimmin. There, the pull of memory is at its strongest and the Crown will likely be a common port of call for the MEMORY command.
Throughout the celebrations, all sorts of regular activities in Achaea will have a chance to yield fragments of divine memories which can be relinquished into Uphimmin’s Crown and eventually fully reconciled into a complete memory.
Memories are revealed over time as players reconcile them, and are available for viewing by anyone at the Crown. Reconciling fragments does not require you to be at the Crown.
All of the Gods, living and dead, are represented and in almost all cases have brand new stories and perspectives to share in a manner similar to the birthday orbs many of you enjoy so much!
However! Not all memories will be obtained this way. Some will not simply appear while going about your business and instead will form the basis of the various mystery events listed on UPCOMING. Shrewd eyes will be able to deduce which these shall be no doubt!
That’s not all!
While traversing the land you may also notice ethereal mist and pale echoes inhabiting certain locations. These are full memories which have attached themselves to the locale and may also be viewed with the MEMORY command while in that location.
In addition to the fifty or so memories in the Crown, in total there are over two hundred and fifty of these ‘local’ memories spanning vast swaths of Achaea’s history and lore. Many will be familiar recollections of events you may well have witnessed first hand. Many will be alien. Much will be lore thought lost or even tiny vignettes that barely anyone remembers. Some will provide wholly new perspectives on ‘settled’ lore, and a vast amount (around half) are entirely new content, hand written by the Garden team for your enjoyment and speculation.
These are a permanent addition to Achaea and will not be going away after the events end. Good luck finding them all!
This has been our labour of love for the past months and it’s finally my pleasure to set it loose into the world for you to find.
Those of you who have submitted recollections to the Asterian Restoration may also find your memories have permanently embedded themselves into the world!
HELP MEMORY or HELP UPHIMMIN (they are interchangable) will be of interest, and as always I’d highly recommend keeping an eye on UPCOMING for the various and vast celebration events to come.
I’d also like to personally thank Jurixe and the Restoration as a whole for their assistance and collaboration in organising the player side of the celebrations and corralling more and more memories on top of our already gigantic pile! They are indefatigable!
I would also like to give a shout out to Edra for his absolute devotion to making all of our ideas a reality for this new system & for plenty more to come in Year 1000. He is fantastic.
Enjoy and Happy Year 1000 from not only myself but Makarios, Edra, and the entire team!
PS: There may be a few more surprises as the weeks roll on… and Makesh’s shop is now also open with newly updated Year 1000 merchandise!
PPS: I have connected North of New Thera to Rageteeth Beach for the entirety of the celebrations!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Midnight Dreary](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/11/a-midnight-dreary)
**Published:** March 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It called to them at the stroke of midnight.
A lark, Lasyll presumed, no expert in ornithology. She went to Ignatius for that, weathering the rain in Lake Vundamere during his usual birdwatching tour. Excited by the prospect of his fellow enthusiasts looking to the skies, he explained that no, he had not heard any larks about, and it would furthermore be exceedingly strange for a dawn-going bird to start singing in the dead of night.
The lark, being lark-shaped, did not think itself strange. It had called to those it knew might listen, irrespective of allegiance, age, or any other small differential. From its illuminating place in the beyond, it looked from Overseer to fresh-faced novice and saw in each the same bright glimmer of mortal potential in search of shape and purpose.
The lark sang again, and two among its listeners sang back. Then more. Emboldened, it began to trill every month when the night was deepest.
Its sweet, passerine song could be heard in the solarium of Aster Keep. In the glittering Garden of Moonlight. At an ornate shrine in Cyrene. On Meropis, and upon the world-spanning branches of Yggdrasil, and anywhere else one might hear things and mindfully listen, as spatial reality posed no obstacle to the spectral messenger.
Gradually, through old Hashani habits of theory and exclusion, a disparate group of listeners came together under the auspices of the Lady Sleep, whose fabled time of worship was the midnight hour. They gathered in a tranquil refuge deep in the Vashnar Mountains and slept there reverentially, whereupon they received a clear portent. The lark could also be heard and seen in the shifting tableau of their dreams. By request, a sleeping Nerai tried to reproduce the experiment in Her temple. But her dreams were as they always were, and so it seemed the lark had chosen upon whose shoulders it would next alight.
Now the song refined itself, and each heard it for a reason. Miuryn had faith enduring. Alashi saw the patterns. Lasyll drew them all together. Yilui procured the necessities. Solina had the insight of youth.
Advised by the great seer Apollonia, Fanten Darke served as emissary to Eleusis, conducting herself with the virtue expected of the ancient Obeah Ecstasia. She conveyed that she and the other seekers of the Dream intended to perform a ritual in a hallowed hollow of the Eastern Ithmia, with hopes of opening a way back for the long-lost priests of Valnurana who now wandered the Dreamrealm. Mistrustful of outsiders, the Village was at first divided. Under the leadership of Speaker Sjeng Sarastie and Blackwillow Blackwing, Epopt of Ambertide, the Eleusians eventually came to an uneasy agreement with those who desired to rouse the summering Dream.
Only one task remained. One mortal would have to feed the Dream, and in doing so, their gateway ritual. He would feed it not with candles or prayer, though there were to be plenty of both, but with his own essence. He would resign himself to months of seclusion, shorn of earthly attachments, shivering and on the brink of starvation and madness in the glacial meltwater of the Dreamspear’s summit. He would let Sleep take him. Together, the listeners agreed that the honour should be Miuryn’s.
“I envy him,” confessed Alashi Shiva, “and I profoundly do not.”
What transpired between faithful Miuryn and his own mind on that cold mountaintop is for him alone to say. As it is for the High Coven to know what they saw with their own wakeful eyes in the forest one midsummer morning.
A gate was opened. A lark soared out. Two lost souls descended gratefully upon the Prime and wept at touching the earth’s solidity. Thereafter, the cleric Dolaron and the priestess Chakmar were escorted to their Lady’s temple, the cleric alive but still very much asleep. As Creation exhaled a universal sigh, the world entire was lulled into a gentle rest. All awoke, blinking, to the serene voice of the Goddess of Sleep and Dreams, who promised the unswerving devotion of Her clergy would not go unanswered or unrewarded. Soon, She said, the old faith would be made new.
The Maiden of Dreams, beloved by Night, opened Her jewelled eyes to gaze upon the Wake once more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Each seeking the Dream, and guided by a psychopomp, a coterie of adventurers succeeded in retrieving the remnants of Lady Valnurana’s Order from the depths of Dreaming itself. In return, the Goddess graced them with Her presence.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [BREAKING: NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/08/breaking-new-developments-in-the-trial-of-the-century)
**Published:** March 8, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Scarlattan, 999 AF
———————-
While much of Sapience eagerly awaited the turning of the Year 1000, in the world of Skye Anchors and the Aalen Tsol’aa, only one thing was on their minds: justice.
The case of the stolen ring has dominated headlines for months following the tumultuous wedding of King Tu’eras \[1\], and the time had finally come for the Tsol’aa monarch to have his day in court.
Arraigned before three judges of dubious qualifications and, we must note, at least one with a preferential leaning toward the accused, Ms Anchors chose Nezaya Visindi as her representative, a choice that readers have described as “daring”.
Following a litany of opening platitudes, pretences, and hospitalities throughout which riots and protests abounded \[2\], the defence counsel’s opening gambit was a risky one: calling Skye herself to the stand.
Thick tension hung in the air while dozens of gawkers and more studious spectators fell silent, eyes trained upon the witness with fascination. As representatives of the Hearth kept the peace and handled security \[3\], questioning regarding the lost ring and the disreputable “Four Winds” catering company continued apace.
Observers in the courtroom noted that Skye seemed uncharacteristically worried, but we have been unable to confirm whether this was the typical stress of a false accusation, or merely guilt manifesting under the pressure of questioning. That, it seems, is for the readers to decide, though we must note that crowds gathering near the courtroom were heard chanting “guilty” on several occasions, and representatives of several culinary unions declared their support.
Seeking to take advantage of the unfolding tribunal, locksmiths and hawkers plied their trade under the seemingly obvious assumption that Ms. Anchors would be found guilty, but they have since been unavailable for comment.
The sinuous nature of the mystery revealed itself to all present as questioning proceeded. Skye, it was noted, weathered the onslaught without complaint and explained what she could about the convoluted events of the wedding day. Despite various interruptions, counsel and judges strove to keep the trial on the rails as the mobs and spectators grew ever more impatient.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Skye Anchors has maintained that she is innocent. Under heated
interrogation, more and more details about the malefeasance of the Four Winds Company emerged and, it seemed Skye was nothing more than an unwitting accomplice in a far more unsavoury plot.
Several days of these exchanges passed and the King, perhaps tired of the melodrama or simply convinced by the arguments, called for the acquittal of the accused. Seemingly satisfied by the evidence presented \[4\], the panel of judges briefly conferred before assenting.
And thus the verdict was laid down: Not Guilty.
Ms. Anchors was not available for comment, but sources close to the renowned chef have described her as “relieved”.
The search for Two Cups continues. Stay tuned to this publication for updates!
Citations:
\[1\] Article 868 contains details of the wedding, but its journalistic integrity cannot be verified.
\[2\] Our associates have provided extensive reporting on the so-called “Targossas Censorship Massacre” of Year 999 and a survivor of the anti-protest murders described the experience as “harrowing” and the question of who drew first blood remains unanswered, with some pointing fingers at the protestors themselves, and others (a lot more others) eyeing Abysal Visindi as having thrown the first punch, however this is unconfirmed.
\[3\] We have independently verified that the Targossian security services are free from responsibility for the aforementioned massacre, and a source who would identify themselves only as “a senior official” has requested that we provide acknowledgement of peace sufficiently kept. Thus, we so affirm.
\[4\] We must once again note that the judges present did not undergo any specialist vetting, and accusations of bias can be neither verified nor disproved.
——————
Summary: Tahquil, Oenae, and Aodfionn served as judges on the Tribunal of the Accused, which was called by Tu’eras, King of the Aalen to settle the matter (by way of her lawyer, Nezaya) if Skye was guilty of stealing Queen Mother Celaabi’s heirloom ring. Despite several days of testimony, the trial was cut short as Tu’eras declared Skye’s innocence.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Discord ban appeals](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/02/discord-ban-appeals)
**Published:** March 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Given the increasing integration with Discord and our ramping up contests again, we would like to offer this opportunity to appeal any bans from our Discord server, whether you believe they were well-earned or otherwise.
To do so, please file an ISSUE ME providing the following information:
- Your Discord username.
- Why you believe you were banned.
- Why you should be unbanned given the first point. We are not looking to be too harsh here but at least some level of self-awareness and commitment to not doing the same thing again is required.
- Any relevant circumstances at the time of banning or since then, including anything that might show you have been well-behaved since.
Please note that if you have already been pardoned in the past and got banned again (there are only two of you), this offer does not apply to you.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Realm Untethered](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/02/a-realm-untethered)
**Published:** March 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The occupants of the Obsidian Keep took for granted that their home was safe and secure. Built into the side of a mountain, it withstood countless years of abuse without harm. When the meteors fell, they did not worry, for the walls would surely hold. By the time it set in that they were wrong, they barely had time to escape into Telhwm Athuin, known to most as the Shadow realm, the Plane of Darkness. The bridge behind them, an anchor between the realms, broke as the Keep fell. Dusk, the Keeper, well versed in navigating the mysterious realm of Twilight, knew this boded ill.
An ethereal bear wandered through the streets of Hashan, confused. He did not know this place, it was not his home. He feared the people here. They were unlike him, more solid. When one reached out to pet his black fur, he fled, and yet familiarity eluded him. He searched this darkened expanse, but remained lost. Eventually, he emerged from the darkness, yet still unsure of where he was. He was not home, he was back in the strange city. Soon, others of his kind followed.
Minkai Shin began piecing together the mystery of these bears. The ursines were soon joined by shadow-enshrouded canines, and, most concerning of all, mysterious, robed shades. As she and Telaan, the priestess of Darkness, discussed the possibility that these visitors came from Telhwm Athuin, the answer forcefully presented itself instead, as the two realms intersected. After a quick search, the citizens of Hashan found that a section of the Parade of Founders was now a mirror version of the Prime, the black deserts of the Shadow Realm.
Hashani gathered at the Crossroads and formulated plans to accomplish what had only been done once before to great calamity: create a new anchor between the Prime and another plane. Fendo Isariel, the Hand of Phaestus, approached Archmage Uldor to request aid. While the Archmage reluctantly agreed to help Hashan, memories of betrayal filled his heart. While he did forge a beacon for Fendo, he secretly included a trap that, when tripped at the opportune time, opened a rift to Telhwm Athuin and made way for Fawher’danheg, a beast of Athuin comprised mostly of teeth, which were quickly applied with savage efficiency to the gathered citizens. After a gruelling battle, Chikoo, a young depthswalker, finally felled the monster.
A second plan, put in motion swiftly after the betrayal was realised, utilised a crystal obtained while assisting Haskor in his ascension to contact those who escaped into Telhwm Athuin. Through means unknown, the Darkwalkers attuned the crystal and successfully communicated with the Shadow Realm. Led by Dusk, the Keeper, Hashan came together, and in a new ritual conducted in unison between the two realms, began reanchoring Athuin to the Prime. In the final moments, as darkfire surrounded the city walls flowed into the sky, Twilight, God of Darkness, revealed Himself and, speaking arcane words, ended the imminent planar disaster.
The ethereal bear, meanwhile, continues to roam the streets of Hashan with his fellow refugees from his former home. While Uldor, however justified in his vengeance against Eril may have been, found himself the victim of a fate feared by all dwarven-kin: beardless, and cursed to remain so by the Dark Father’s will.
\~\~~~~
Summary: To prevent a planar catastrophe between the Prime and Telhwm Athuin, Hashan conducted a ritual in unison with residents of the Shadow Realm. At the height of the ritual, Twilight, God of Darkness, emerged from a column of darkfire and ensured the successful anchoring of Telhwm Athuin with the Prime Material Plane.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Another Discord Contest: Garden Playlist Edition](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/02/another-discord-contest-garden-playlist-edition)
**Published:** March 2, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey, folks!
It’s time for another contest for people to earn some free credits! Head on over to our Discord server (HELP DISCORD) and check out the #contests channel pinned post to see this week’s Garden playlist!
All you have to do is try to guess which god/producer/etc. picked each song for a chance to win up to 500 credits!
And you can also enjoy the nice tunes while you’re at it.
Refer to the aforementioned pinned post for all the rules and good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [There and Here](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/26/there-and-here)
**Published:** February 26, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
They had been gone a while, though it was impossible to know just how much Time had passed amid the vicissitudes of the slumbering Dream.
It pushed them under. It pulled them in. At times, it objected vociferously to their presence, and at others, only watched. It spun, like an idle spider minding a tremulous web, an uncountable number of distortions and refractions, picking and unpicking psychotic patterns in the web as it bent the light of reality along the glistening threads of the now and then.
Time passed differently here. Forwards. Backwards. Cavorting through transient days and weeks and hours that may have lasted as long as years, with no discernible rhyme or reason beyond that which the Dream necessitated. Time surged forth upon the waves of the collective subconscious and receded again on its ungovernable tides within a storm of thought and memory. In the perpetual twilight of the Dream, night became day and day night, but never in the same manner twice.
They stopped to rest.
So as not to invite the passage of more time, they sat together quietly and held very still. No longer were they venturing. What they had risked themselves to journey this far into Her realm to find, they had found. At long last, the old words resurfaced. Their foundations rose through the muck of the dead, departed, and misremembered. They had enough to rebuild with. They could go back. By all measures of mortal grasping, it was a triumph, except…
Upon its finding, the path Back had unceremoniously closed behind them, and sometimes it seemed that there had never been a path at all, or a world before this one to which they might return, or should, or have any impetus to do so beyond a niggling feeling, like a dream scarce recalled in the first bleary seconds after waking.
Then they would remember themselves with a start. And the day would begin anew.
“The Dream has calmed.”
“Yes. We escape its notice for now.”
Today he was a young man, ageing in reverse, his eyes as bright and clear as they would be when he was much older. He was handsome, she thought, not because of any one physical trait or feature, but because he was kind and familiar to her. She had begun to forget, as well, what a man should look like, and so took less umbrage with his naked lack of scales. He could have been the first man. Each morning was a genesis. She shut her eyes and thought of home.
“Priestess,” he murmured. “I’ve been thinking. In the event that we don’t make it back…”
For all his careful wording and diplomacy, he was soon interrupted, his misgivings swiftly dashed upon the rocks of his companion. She straightened in her silks. “We will,” said Chakmar, her voice resolute. “We must, Dolaron. Because…” She struggled to fix on the reason. Another year passed in furlough while she thought to herself.
“Because they are waiting for us.”
Far off in what the Dream declared the distance, they could hear, softly trilling, the melodic song of a lark.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Lost for relative decades in their Lady’s realm, two wanderers chart their next course.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [March in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/01/march-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** March 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
March has arrived and Year 1000 is on the horizon! Be sure you review UPCOMING for an up to date calendar of the festivities: a wealth of content, lore, events, celebrations, and weeks of fun is at hand!
The long-awaited raffle will be drawn shortly and winners announced after this post.
In the meantime we’re welcoming back polymegahedral dice! These can be obtained on the website via www.achaea.com/credits.
Dice purchases also award House and City credits, and, for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra one!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches that open for the Historical, Marks(\*), and Planes sets.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves which open for all suits, including cards from the new Ancientstaff\*\* suit! (see below)
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: Shining teardrops for use in the FAESHOP, see HELP FAESHOP for details!
\* You will always receive between 10 and 15 of these, and they trade in for 3 bound credits per tear (FAESHOP TRADEIN ).
\* These can also now be traded with FAESHOP GIVE TO )
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
– – –
With the return of the Marks set, the Cloak of the Blood Maiden can now also be obtained in the Delosian Talisman shop, however it has undergone some changes:
– The cloak’s shield cannot be used while prone when under aggression aura (this preserves its use for PvE).
– When used while under aggression aura, there is now a 50% chance to lose one charge.
\* The Ancientstaff card suit is the first in a planned series to commemorate adventurer wielders of the Staff of Nicator. Cards include:
– Isildur, the Iceman
\* Draw this card while specifying another player and the the first adventure they complete will be worth double renown.
\* This does not work on yourself and does not stack with the daily theme bonus, but does not consume the daily theme bonus either.
\* Recharges once every 24 hours.
– Shakti Devi
\* Draw this card in a direction, and any stonewall barring that path shall be reduced to rubble in its place.
\* Recharges once an hour.
– Roncli Op’Shae
\* Draw this card while specifying a denizen type, and become aware of all denizens of that type in your area. (e.g LDECK DRAW RONCLI TSOL’DASI will list all Tsol’dasi in the area)
\* Recharges once an hour.
– Reiye Wildfang
\* Draw this card and be apprised of all adventurers in the land who are visible to your eye, bypassing any obscuring chameleons in the process. (i.e You will see a version of QW with any chameleons revealed)
\* Recharges once an hour.
– Jaiszur Ta’sa
\* Draw this card against a target in a suitable location and both you and they shall be lifted into the skies.
\* Note: This will not function during Championship Worldgames.
\* Recharges once an hour.
\*\*NOTE: Ancientstaff cards all have one charge each, and, unlike other suits, have five distinct effects in place of a joker. As such, the Jaizsur card will be obtained on completion of the other four in the suit.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize!
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
As always, capping renown 7 times will also award one dice!
And last but not least, the Memory talisman set (HELP MEMORY TALISMANS) is now available in a newly-opened branch of the Delosian Talisman Shop, alongside the writ of higher education (instant learning) which can be found in the Miscellaneous Artefacts shop!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [December... January... February... Winter Raffle Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/01/december-january-february-winter-raffle-winners)
**Published:** March 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The long-awaited winter raffle has been drawn and the winners are as follows:
- 1st place: Dialen!
- 2nd place: Mortim!
- 3rd place: Yavita!
Which prize the winners selected is up to them to divulge!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Bad Joke Contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/03/01/bad-joke-contest)
**Published:** March 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Good news, everyone!
After careful deliberation, the team of mimes we enslaved to judge the badjoke contest has come back with their verdict. The top 3 jokes we’re adding are:
\#1: I copied a book about Neraeos once, the author said it was Pelagiaism! (Alyzar)
\#2: What you do call a knight who doesn’t sleep? A kday! (Aodfionn)
\#3 You ever been locked by a runewarden? It happened to me once, but Eihwaz not sure how! (Elmer)
These three are receiving 500, 250, and 150 credits respectively for their great and awful jokes!
In addition, we’re adding several more jokes by Aodfionn, Blackwillow, Archaosa, Rasque, Hadriann, Theosis, Zargoth, and Truax which you’ll have to wait and see in-game. Every joke added gets 50 credits to the submitter in addition to whatever placement credits they received.
Thanks for all your submissions (some truly terrible) and we’ll see you again for another contest very soon!
(I can finally unmute the Contests channel).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Another Cursed Wedding](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/16/another-cursed-wedding)
**Published:** February 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Bro,
I staggered into the Aalen around noon with a gift, an empty flask, and the delusion that a wedding might be allowed to stay a wedding. The forest looked too perfect, all glittering stream and politely singing birds, which never lasts.
Tu’eras stood at the front looking kingly and tense. Alianna arrived and the whole crowd did that soft, stunned inhale. Ferenthal appeared and the air warmed in that suspiciously wholesome way that makes you briefly forget your grudges. Vows started. I got misty. Someone handed me something spiced and I said yes because grief and alcohol love each other.
And then Mhaldor arrived.
Not quietly. Not politely. They barged in mid ceremony and dragged with them a statue of Tu’eras’ dead mother, presented like a wedding gift. A statue. Of his dead mother. Right there between the vows and the blessing, dropped into the moment like a brick through glass. If you want to understand Mhaldor, picture someone interrupting a kiss to spit on the altar, then calling it tradition.
Tu’eras went so still I thought the trees would flinch. Alianna kept her composure in the way only someone with roots can. Ferenthal kept speaking, somehow, because love has seen worse than drunks and tyrants. Eventually the moment lurched back onto its feet and the ceremony continued, everyone pretending their throats were not full of ash.
They got to the end. They kissed. People cheered too loud, trying to drown out what had just happened. I cheered too, because I am a coward and cheering is easy.
Then Tu’eras reached into his jacket for a ring, and his face did that sharp little change where you can see worry before he swallows it. The ring was missing. Rangers sprinted off.
They came back dragging a waiter from the catering staff and threw him down in front of the newlyweds like this was court. The waiter looked up once, crushed a tiny vial at his throat, and died right there in a flash, black smoke leaking from his eyes. I spilled my drink. Again. The day had a theme.
After that, they dragged the body out, Tu’eras held himself together by pure spite, and Alianna soothed him with one hand and a look that said, “Later.”
Then everyone got shepherded down into the village for food, drink, and a new seed stall, because the Aalen response to horror is planting things and daring the world to choke on flowers.
I bought seeds I do not remember buying. If they grow into a fist, I will consider it appropriate.
See you soon,
“Two Cups”
\~~~
Summary: Sapience witnessed the marriage between King Tu’eras of the Aalen and Queen Alianna of Eleusis. During the ceremony, the Queen’s wedding ring was stolen.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [LFG! Looking for a group!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/16/lfg-looking-for-a-group)
**Published:** February 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey everyone!
Ever wanted to foray but you’re missing one person? Need more soldiers to raid the Underworld and slay Ur’Vampires? Well we’ve just added a small quality-of-life feature in that vein: LOOKINGFOR!
You can use this to facilitate finding groups for anything you want! Parties, hosted events, bloodshed, and honour hunts! It’s all up to you! All related commands and their syntax can be found via LOOKINGFOR or HELP LOOKINGFOR
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Conclave Talismans](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/23/conclave-talismans)
**Published:** February 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
By popular request, the Conclave Talisman Set is now available for purchase and partial completion in Delos!
Items include:
- A magical hourglass
- Brooch of the Tempest
- Prospero’s Lesser Vault
- Ring of Flying
- Buckawns Amulet
- Armband of Celerity
- Grimoire of Adaptation
- Stygian Pendant
- Atavian Wings
- Robes of the Grand Magi
Some notes:
- We had intended to convert all robe pieces to Wanderer robes but after an audit, found there are more in the game than expected, so we’re a bit more comfortable making this available at large.
- Elemental sprites and tophats are not included by design.
- Newly purchased items will NOT adhere to your choice of faction from the Conclave event.
- Partial completions will grant the respective item themed to your city’s choice of contender from the event.
HELP CONCLAVE TALISMANS now exists for your perusal – please file an ISSUE if any problems arise.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Ignore: OOC vs IC](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/20/ignore-ooc-vs-ic)
**Published:** February 20, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
Based on some recent feedback, we have expanded the IGNORE function to account for situations where in character interactions have been positive (or at least where these interactions are wanted, either by necessity or otherwise), but OOC interactions have not.
In these cases you can now IGNORE someone in specific clans, while retaining the ability to interact with them outside of those clans.
This has been done through two new CLAN commands:
CLAN \[\] IGNORE
CLAN \[\] UNIGNORE
Note that these are not usable in org-owned clans as they are all considered IC by default. No OOC clans should be org-owned, and any that still are can be reported via ISSUE to be addressed.
The output of IGNORE LIST has also been updated with two new headings for those you are ignoring in specific clans and those you are being ignored by in specific clans.
\*\*NOTE: All other IGNORE rules are in effect for these new clan specific ignores, though for now they will not count towards your total IGNORE limit.
We will monitor this and if any abuse occurs we may enforce these limits as well.
I want to also remind everyone that nobody in Achaea is obligated to go OOC with you, ever. This addition is a step toward addressing that and I ask that you respect people’s wishes in these cases, whether or not an ignore is in place.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1005 Championship Games Schedule!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/22/year-1005-championship-games-schedule)
**Published:** February 22, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With preparations for the Year 1000 celebrations well underway (see Announce #5757 for the initial calendar, see UPCOMING, and see Jurixe to submit stories of your own or risk Skye’s wrath!), we’re now ready to announce the schedule for the Year 1005 Championship Games!
For those unfamiliar, this auspicious contest pits the very best of Achaea against one another for the chance to win the Staff of Nicator (a weapon that confers several powerful bonuses to the wielder), access to the Keep at Nicator’s Crossing, and their choice of either 2000 credits, or one year of Iron Elite Membership and a trip to the Artefact Vault. It is a test of not only strength and fortitude but ingenuity, creativity, knowledge of the land and its secrets, and of course the all important social skills!
Prizes will also rain down upon those who don’t manage to take first place, with a host of credits and other awards on offer! Placing in the top ten in any of the Championship events will earn championship points (towards the overall winner) and credits.
Before getting into the dates, we have some updates and format changes to announce:
- XP Events will be returning to the 3 x 12 hour windows format of some previous games. Contenders will still have up to six hours’ total hunting time, but it must take place during one of these three scheduled windows.
\* Note: We felt that opening the event for a whole week put a massive burden on players to be able to log in at all sorts of unsociable hours, either to try gaming the best timezone or to interfere with others doing the same. This way everyone gets a break from the stress and can plan accordingly without major disruptions.
- Gear will be disabled entirely for competitors in the XP Event.
- The Race Around the World will now feature three separate ship races on three different courses instead of one singular massive track. Winners will be averaged from their placings in all three.
\* Note: The enormous single track was very tedious for observers and contenders and very hard to come back from if you made a mistake or fell behind early in the game. We believe this is much more interesting.
- A bug with riddle talk availability should now be fixed, allowing all teams to use it instead of only the main contender.
- Bugs and questions can be submitted via CHAMPBUG and CHAMPFAQ respectively!
Onto the schedule!
SUN, 17th May at 22:00 – Championship Race Around the World
TUE, 19th May from 12:00 – 23:59 – Championship XP Event Window 1
THU, 21st May from 00:00 – 11:59 – Championship XP Event Window 2
SAT, 23rd May from 15:00 – 02:59 – Championship XP Event Window 3
SUN, 24th May at 15:00 – Championship Worldgames
FRI, 29th May at 23:00 – Championship Riddles
SAT, 30th May at 16:00 – Championship Twins Tournament
SAT, 30th May at 23:00 – Staff Ceremony(\*)
(\*) As always, this is dependent on the winner’s availability.
Helpfiles for all of the above also exist for your perusal – HELP WORLDGAMES, HELP TWINS, HELP RIDDLES, HELP WORLDRACE, HELP XPEVENT.
UPCOMING has all these dates, and bugs or questions can be submitted via CHAMPBUG and CHAMPFAQ, respectively!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Staff Games Clarification](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/23/staff-games-clarification)
**Published:** February 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It appears I didn’t explicitly state this in my previous post but for clarity:
The Race Around the World will only feature the three-track ship race, it will NOT feature a tumble race.
As outlined in the prior games, we believe the tumble race event has simply too many potential risk factors and is no longer appropriate for competitive play.
Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [February Tea Time!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/07/february-tea-time)
**Published:** February 7, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
On Sunday February 15th at 5PM GMT, Makarios and I will be hosting another Tea Time!
This is an informal meeting to which everyone is welcome to come along and ask questions or chat for a short while.
As is now tradition, I will be capping this at about an hour and a half to prevent it running too long.
But you are always welcome to message or email me with concerns outside of these!
UPCOMING has the exact time.
See you there!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Bounties and conquest](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/01/bounties-and-conquest)
**Published:** February 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey folks,
We’ve updated HELP BOUNTIES to include more information about what is and is not a valid bounty in regards to conquest.
In a nutshell, you may NOT bounty for anything related to conquest EXCEPT for someone attacking a mutually allied area (such as New Thera for Ashtan or Enverren for Mhaldor). All other bounties for conquest are invalid and should be cancelled if you have any in your city.
As always, if bounty rules are broken, please file an ISSUE against the bounty filer (usually the MoD).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 1000+ Calendar Preview!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/31/year-1000-calendar-preview)
**Published:** January 31, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With Year 1000 on the horizon and the Staff Games following after in 1005, I wanted to post with a preview of the event calendar for you to look forward to!
***NOTE: This does not include the specific calendar for the Staff Games which is still being determined. For the sake of clarity and cleanliness, we will post all Staff Games info separately.***
This is an enormous milestone for Achaea and as such we have a great deal planned over the entire 1000-1005 span with a focus on remembrance, memory, and recollection. Some events remain shrouded in mystery but all will eventually become clear…
Before I get into any specifics I want to disclaim that some of the dates are subject to availability and thus might need to change.
We’ll put everything on **UPCOMING** soon. As always, all times are in GMT!
- Monday March 16th 01:00
- Year 1000 dawns IC & Year 1000 Celebrations begin
- A design contest will open
- The Artisanal and Bardic contest will open
- A lottery will open for a brand new Delos shop
- Renown caps will be doubled for all of Year 1000
- The opening ceremony will unveil ????
- ??? will be released into the world for those with an interest in lore and history to discover
- Periodic starfall will reveal ??? to the world
- Note: Details on any new mechanics will come in a relevant post at the time! Speculate away!
- Tuesday March 17th 23:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns with a focus on ???
- Saturday March 21st 14:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns once more
- Monday March 23rd 00:00
- Do battle with ??? in order to obtain ???
- Wednesday March 25th 22:00
- A Quiz on Achaea history and lore
- Friday March 27th 17:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns for its third visit
- Saturday March 28th 16:00
- Treasure Hunt
- Monday March 30th 22:00
- Beardball!
- Tuesday April 1st 23:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns for its fourth visit
- Friday April 3rd 00:00
- A round of Auctions will open for 10 days!
- Sunday April 5th 22:30
- A raid on ??? to relive ???
- Tuesday April 7th 21:00
- Drinking contest!
- Saturday April 11th 22:30
- Obtain the memory of ??? by re-enacting a battle from ???
- Sunday April 12th 12:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns for its fifth visit
- Monday April 13th 01:00
- Treasure Hunt Redux!
- Wednesday April 15th 19:00
- Archery Contest
- Friday April 17th 23:59
- A Great Hunt begins!
- Tuesday April 21st 18:00
- The Meropian Foozle
- Friday April 24th 23:30
- Pay homage to the old ??? and unveil a memory of ??? in the process.
- Sunday April 26th 02:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns for its sixth visit
- Monday April 27th (Time TBD)
- An update to ??? will be released
- Wednesday April 29th 22:00
- A rampage sponsored by the Patron of Heroes
- Friday May 1st 15:00
- The Itinerant Bazaar returns for its final visit
- Sunday May 3rd 23:00
- Avatar Capture the Flag and the Memory of ???
- Wednesday May 6th 22:00
- Emberfall and the Memory of ???
- Saturday May 9th 23:45
- ???
- Sunday May 10th 23:45
- ???
- Monday May 11th 05:00
- All contests close and we enjoy a 1 week break before the Staff Games!
Lots to take in! Some of you will notice there are some gaps in the calendar: this is deliberate and we may have more to announce closer to the time.
There will be no shortage of things to do throughout the celebrations!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [February in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/02/01/february-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** February 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
The first month of 2026 is down and we’re saying hello to February already! With Year 1000 looming, see my previous post for a preview of the calendar!
As a reminder, the Staff Games will begin in Sarapin 1005, which is approximately May 16th. Specific dates and information will be posted separately to the Year 1000 events.
Meanwhile, the Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera!
Prismatic tokens for the Wheel can be obtained from the Achaea website (www.achaea.com/credits).
Capping renown seven times in February will also award you with a free prismatic token to get a premium wheel spin as a one time only benefit.
Prizes from the wheel include:
- Unbound credits starting at 33
- Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any suit
- Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
- Artefact vials
- Phials of shimmering ink
- Talisman caches that open for Moderngods, Races, or Blackwave
- 300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
- Collections cache that opens for any collection (these trade in for 30 credits).
- Artefact upgrade credits
- Mayan crowns
In addition to the prizes above, you may also win bonus racetrack tickets for the humgii races!
Wheel spins will also award raffle tickets as promised by Mak in post 5751. These, as well as the tickets from December, will go into a single pool that will be drawn on 1st March and three winners will be chosen! First place will have first pick of three prizes, second place the remaining two, and third place the third prize. All other tickets will be converted to bound credits. The prizes include:
- A shattered token which can be exchanged for any complete talisman of your choice
- A veil of the Sphinx
- A gold inkbrush
HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE has all the details.
We’ll also be looking to schedule another Tea Time some time this month – keep your eyes peeled.
Enjoy!
PS: Welcome back to Neraeos and Vastar!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/31/classleads-2)
**Published:** January 31, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Some classleads:
## Metamorphosis
- (336): FRENZY STING now paralyses if you sting with darkshade when they already have darkshade.
- (336 adjacent): KALMIA is now an acceptable venom for FRENZY.
- More to come still for these changes.
## Reclamation
- (326): REVIVE can now be performed on reclaimed ground in general, not only ground owned by the druid.
## Tekura
- (83): In addition to its standard effect, WRENCH TORSO now prones if both of the target’s arms are also broken.
- (91): Head kicks (WWK and AXK) now give the SCRAMBLED BRAINS affliction when they land. This is significantly shorter lived than when given by SLAM.
## Misc
- (186): You may now RELAX MASS/DENSITY to strip your mass defence. This is instant if not under aggression and has a three second delay if it is under aggression. This also both requires balance/equilibrium and incurs a three second equilibrium cost in both the aggressive and non-aggressive cases.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Paypal Membership Issue](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/30/paypal-membership-issue)
**Published:** January 30, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
We’ve just been made aware of an issue with the game receiving notifications from Paypal about membership renewals.
This problem has now been resolved and as far as I can tell, all affected memberships have now been manually processed by me.
If you have a Paypal membership that was due to renew between 24th and 30th of this month and it has not renewed but payment was taken, please let me know via msg or email (please include transaction ID and the email you used to purchase if possible), and I’ll verify and fix immediately.
Thanks for your understanding and my apologies to anyone inconvenienced by this blip.
– Icti
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [You call that a joke?](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/25/you-call-that-a-joke)
**Published:** January 25, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey, everyone!
At the recent Tea Time (which you obviously attended, right?), someone brought up the lack of new BADJOKEs, and we decided that it was time to try and improve that.
For that reason, we’ll be holding a gamewide contest! Send in your best bad jokes and not only will we add them into the game if they’re good, you’ll get straight up credits for it!
You may submit them on Discord in the #contests channel OR you may mail them as a letter to Mr. Quackers, whatever you prefer. You will get 50 credits per joke you submit that we add in, and the top 3 jokes will get a bonus of 500, 250, and 150 credits for first, second, and third place!
Rules:
\* Your joke MUST be Achaea related.
\* NO TOLERANCE FOR ACTUAL OOC BIGOTRY. If the punchline is a RL minority you will win a swift shrubbing only.
\* Jokes should be short, 1 or 2 sentences at most and generally 1 or 2 lines at a reasonable line wrap.
\* You may submit as many jokes as you like! However, if you are going to submit 1,000 jokes by letter, try to do them all in one letter instead of sending us individual letters for each.
You have until the last day of February to submit your jokes. Good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Referral System Now Live](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/23/referral-system-now-live)
**Published:** January 23, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Got a friend who would actually click with Achaea, or a returning veteran you have been trying to lure back?
We just made it easier to bring them in, and you both get rewarded for sticking with it as they play!
Take a look at [HELP REFERRALS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help?what=referring-a-friend) for all specifics and exact rules.
## What’s new
- Two referral types: New Player and Returning Player.
- Rewards for the player and the referring player when milestones are hit.
- A personal referral link plus in-game tracking for referrals and rewards.
## How it works
- Get your personal link with REFER LINK, then share it.
- New Players: they sign up using your link and confirm you as referrer during their first character creation.
- If they forgot the link, they can still confirm with REFER CONFIRM within 25 hours of total playtime.
- Returning Players: If they log in using your link, you’re automatically confirmed as referrer.
- They can also confirm with REFER CONFIRM during their first login session after 365+ days.
- No self-referrals to alt accounts. Do not troll newbies to earn bonuses, this can result in a permanent ban on referring.
- Abuse can revoke rewards and add penalties. Referrer must be in good standing.
- Returning invites are limited to one per registration per real-life year.
## Rewards and eligibility
- Rewards are based on milestones tied to referral type.
- Easier milestones award Unbound Credits, harder milestones award Iron Forged Bonds which may be used in an exclusive shop for various rewards\*.
- New player referrals require the new player to not already have an account for the game.
- Returning referrals require the player to be fully inactive for 90+ days, and have no active characters.
The Iron Works in Delos (v68716) is now open and can be found near the artefact shops. Offerings include:
- Vouchers which can be traded in for 100 bound credits, 100 housing credits, 250 customisation credits, or 3 bound Mayan Crowns.
- Statutes that grant the wearer unique deathsights on their kills.
- Vials of warpaint.
- Exclusive minipets (a lycopod and baby humgii).
- Exclusive mounts (a flameforged nightmare and an iron carriage).
- A figurehead of Aeolos.
- Buckets to transform a ship into an iron-chained version of itself.
***Note: Rewards available may fluctuate and change over time.***
Once again, take a look at [HELP REFERRALS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help?what=referring-a-friend) for all specifics and exact rules.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Upon the plainswind](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/12/upon-the-plainswind)
**Published:** January 12, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Three men stand at a fire. Around them is a camp, horsemen coming and going as they begin their slow dispersal into hills and plains. Into their home by compact older than the oldest man of adventuring. Archers converse with warriors, messengers come and go, and the far-ranging outriders thunder in the distance to bring and take Noyan words to encampments distant and deep.
“You will not go with the calling, cousin?” One of them is proud, a dark braid tightly severe and his face questioning as he turns to look at the other. “Virrti waits even now with daub blood and heart-flesh, and Thoksikh’s riders brought word last morn that there are still dozens more encampments willing to journey under your banner. And that just of what riders reached so far!”
“The thief yielded, cousin Keidou,” Noyan Tokhta answers, his silvered mane loosely flowing with the eastern plainswind. “Our land’s spirits need not judge and jury the outlanders. Seeking time from their duty to escort the dead would risk final condemnation to the souls of outlander and tribe both.”
“Cousin!” Noyan Keidou’s tone is offended, disgusted. “That was not the yield rightfully ours, and it was to a worthless stone-sitter’s opinion! They openly defy you, refuse and reject what is holy! The outlanders don’t respect you. They obviously never did. They respect only strength. They even boasted to each other that they could just kill you when you demanded what is ours of them! We should have shown strength. Taken their tongues for such insolence! Not loosed peace-loving horse. And your prophecy says-“
“Keidou.” Noyan Tokhta’s voice is a quiet interruption as he watches the flames. “I know you would still ride for my honour, would lead battle yourself. I know that is why you still pressure me so. But we – I – can say we preserved the compact we swore to the Yekes Ghoum in the first years of our roaming. None in hill or plain can deny that. I would not trouble the holy for what I think settled in profane.”
“And the outlanders?”
“Let stone-sitters blather, begrudge, and bitter. True face is seen and my prophecy is not incumbent. That is enough to content me.”
Noyan Tokhta’s cousin frowns at the words. For something is not quite true in Noyan Keidou’s face, some unseen disagreement or difference, but his cousin does not notice. Fixated upon the fire and his own thought does his attention remain.
“He is right though, uncle,” the voice of a third rings out from behind the two. Female, insouciant, and swaggering comes the calescent hair and bright eyes of Tokhta’s niece. One of Khutan’s hands rests upon the Pyramid’s blade hilt at her side. “A sword of treachery,” she quotes. “And from the west,” she continues, “a great scaled besides, hiding face beneath flesh soft and flesh hard.”
A wave of the hand dismisses the youngest Noyan. “The Yekes Ghoum give much meaning in their cryptic,” Tokhta says. “You have prophecy your own, Khutan. Should you consider yours, and not mine?”
With a roll of the eyes, Noyan Khutan offers an exaggerated bow. “Suit yourself, uncle,” she laughs. “I only asked to hear the meeting.”
“Be welcome to it,” Noyan Tokhta dismisses again with distraction. “My need is to where my encampment will next travel. And on renewing oath and bond. In new-come wilder days it is not just the twelve and thrice twelve at this convocation that concern me, or just the three who went forth. I must ride twice the hard to constrain what outlanders broke.”
But he is unsure. He worries his feet follow still the footsteps of destiny laid out since the first silvering. Is prophecy soon incumbent after all? Will renewing encampment ties in blood-oath risk unleashing them for true? Should he instead loose the reins and let steeds ride where they will? These questions and more weigh heavy, and the Noyan has no certain answer to give. It is long years since he felt the battle thirst of youth, let the wildness race free. Longer still since he first heard Doom and foretelling to herald it.
“At least take the thief’s hands-“
“No, cousin!” Tokhta’s voice is firm now. Much firmer than before, ringing with the unmistakable. “Noyan Isha tells us Scar-southward is in new chaos. If your blood still ups and you would raid in your encampment’s roaming, then take the quiet ways to strike long-traitors and sea-striders for riches. If the lands west beyond great rocks are as barren broken and absent compact to Yekes Ghoum as outlander thieves claim, then they will all be dead in a generation anyway and we need not them. Be silent.”
Noyan Keidou flinches and words die upon his tongue, no matter his attempt to hide it. Noyan Khutan withdraws quickly and quietly. And upon the flame’s other side, the cruelly monstrous features of Noyan Kuhl twist to begrudging quiescence atop the towering muscle of giants. He will slay no stone-sitter today, nor glory in the spilled vitae of wife and child. Meropis will not drown in blood.
As the Qaghan commands.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: An era of peace erodes.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Reminder: Celani Apps Are Always Open](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/19/reminder-celani-apps-are-always-open)
**Published:** January 19, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
A new year means we have some room for new Celani in the Garden, so I’m writing to remind everyone that applications are always open and the roles available in HELP CELANI are up to date as of today.
For those who are not aware, Celani is a volunteer position on the Garden team with the opportunity to help shape Achaea’s world, story, and content in a myriad of different ways.
Whether you’re passionate about building, possessing denizens, or playing a God role in full, there’s always a swath of ways to leave a permanent mark on Achaea as one of the squad.
HELP CELANI again has all the relevant details, but in particular at present we are looking for roleplay-focused people with a passion for the story and the setting.
In order to apply, you must meet the following criteria:
– You must be 18 years or older IRL. Sorry, minors!
– You must have, at absolute minimum, at least 500 hours of playing time
– Have read HELP CELANI in full (in particular the FAQ)
– Be in good standing with the Garden and admin team
Now, here’s what you must include in your application, in a plain-text, non-formatted email to ictinus@achaea.com:
1\. Your real name.
2\. Your real age.
3\. If you are primarily a student, tell us your school and your course of study. Otherwise: your real occupation and your company’s name.
4\. Your character(s) in Achaea and what you have accomplished through those characters, especially any leadership positions you have held or other noteworthy achievements.
5\. Why you think we should make you a celani (keeping in mind that celanihood normally precedes Godhood, so also why you think you should have the chance to be a God if that’s the route you want to take.)
6\. Why you want to do this, knowing that you will have to completely cut off ties with other (mortal) players and leave behind all that you accomplished as a mortal player.
The above point is perhaps the most important of all when considering becoming Celani. Potential applicants should seriously consider their ability to detach from existing social networks and establish new ones in a different environment. This is a very important factor and is one of the highest causes for failure in Celani candidates.
7\. Two flawless room or denizen descriptions of 80+ words each. Please be sure to have read HELP MORTAL BUILDERS and HELP STYLE before submitting these. Do not skip this!
8\. A brief outline for an interesting and original IC event, totalling 100 – 200 words. This should be of the scale that you see in our EVENTS news posts.
9\. Any special experience outside of Achaea that you think might help you in Celanihood, such as customer service background, DM roles, or writing experience.
10 – OPTIONAL – If you have been a team member in the past, please explain why it did not work last time and why this will not be the case again.
Strong writing skills are a must, as is the ability to work within an often demanding and perfectionist team environment. Other traits that will help you: consistency, creativity, improvisational skills, storytelling ability, maturity, attention to detail, dependability, and above all, a love of Achaea and the world we co-create here.
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message or email to ask.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [January Tea Time](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/16/january-tea-time)
**Published:** January 16, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
On Wednesday January 21st at 10PM GMT, Makarios and I will be hosting another Tea Time!
This is an informal meeting to which everyone is welcome to come along and ask questions or chat for a short while.
As is now tradition, I will be capping this at about an hour and a half to prevent it running too long.
But you are always welcome to message or email me with concerns outside of these!
UPCOMING has the exact time.
See you there!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Raffle tickets](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/11/raffle-tickets)
**Published:** January 11, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey all,
We (I) made a slight error during December and didn’t turn off raffle tickets on stocking prizes, but of course… there was no raffle this December. As a result several of you find yourself with a large number of raffle tickets that are currently not serving a purpose.
We considered just converting these to bound credits as with a failed ticket draw, but have decided instead we will run a raffle in February (you can expect tickets to be available if you missed out in December), at the end of which we will draw the raffle. All tickets will carry over from December and you will receive 2 bound credits per ticket as normal, but also have a chance at one of the larger prizes as is typical (these prizes TBD, stay tuned!).
Thank you for your understanding!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Happy Holidays From Iron Realms](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/25/happy-holidays-from-iron-realms)
**Published:** December 25, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, and festive joy to you all!
Gold stockings are now filled and any that were not hung have been converted to platinums. Enjoy your goodies!
Those of you who sent at least one present (there are 397 of you, what an amazing number of people!) through the FESTIVE Ironbeard event this year will also find a little something from Iron Realms in their inventories!
Be sure to read the card and retrieve what’s inside. The event will continue until the 31st so you can still get your milestone rewards if you’re not quite done yet, fear not.
I’d also like to echo the message within: thank you to everyone for being part of this weird and wonderful world that we share. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year and I’m grateful for all of the continued support and well wishes.
My end of year post with 2025’s recap and 2026 previews will be up in the next few days after I return from a family feast. Be on the lookout for it!
Nadolig Llawen!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [January in Achaea: Happy New Year!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/01/january-in-achaea-happy-new-year)
**Published:** January 1, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
2026 has arrived! Platinum stockings are now filled! Happy New Year from the Achaea team and let’s hope it’s a good one!
Before I dive into the monthly promotion stuff, I have the winners of the Ironbeard lottery to announce:
First place is Laras, winning 1000 credits!
Second place is Sobriquet, winning 500 credits!
Third place is Fitz, winning 250 credits!
The feedback for this cross-game event has been overwhelmingly positive and we will definitely be looking at more opportunities for similar events in future. Thanks to everyone for participating and congratulations to the lottery winners!
For January we welcome back Globes of Shifting Continents to the Achaea website over at www.achaea.com.credits. Globes contain a variety of prizes, including:
- Unbound credits.
- Talisman caches containing pieces from the Wanderer, Memory, and Contenders sets.
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts valued from 50 credits all the way up to the 2000+ range.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*\*).
\*\* You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
Upon opening a globe you will also receive a bonus to experience, battlerage generation, or critical hits! There is also a chance to receive consumables!
In addition, the 500th globe bonus prize will award 500 bound credits!
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe!
Capping renown 7 times throughout the month of January will award you one free globe! As always, this is not repeatable.
I’ll be looking to hopefully set up a Tea Time soon (likely early or mid month), so be on the lookout for that, as well as all the usual fun and shenanigans to come through the month and beyond!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Feedback!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/01/03/feedback)
**Published:** January 3, 2026
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Happy New Year, everyone!
As we kick off 2026, we’d love your help shaping what comes next for Iron Realms and helping us bring more new adventurers into the realms.
If you have a few minutes, please take our short player survey and share your thoughts. Your feedback helps us prioritise updates, events, and improvements, and it also helps us understand how to better introduce the games to new players.
Survey link: https://forms.gle/43Nz5kByngHfsGNJ9
Thanks for being part of the community and for helping us make the worlds even stronger this year!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Brief (ish) History of 2025 & A Glimpse of 2026](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/30/a-brief-ish-history-of-2025-a-glimpse-of-2026)
**Published:** December 30, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As 2025 draws to a close and the new year approaches amid the remnants of the holiday season, it’s time for my end of year post!
Looking back it’s been something of a whirlwind from start to finish. When we began the year I did not expect that we would be saying goodbye to Nicola and starting a new chapter for Achaea, but we dove right into it and I’ve survived the last ten months somehow. I was honoured to take the reins and I hope that the climate and culture of Achaea continues to thrive as I believe it has thrived throughout 2025. Let’s have a look at what we achieved since February…
Our modernisation began with the release of Esteem, dozens of quality-of-life focused updates, new configs, updates to crafting, pathfinding, a massive classlead round (thanks Alyzar), and the triumphant return of pancakes. We hired Edra in March and he’s proven to be an invaluable member of the team. Haskor ascended amid trials and tribulations. Gaderian wreaked havoc upon Narcisse while Mhaldor toiled at the building of Sapience’s first modern highway. And Razor appeared for the first time!
Goose Thera reigned briefly in April, and we celebrated Haskor’s rise to Godhood with an Avatar CTF and a Great Hunt while Harae’s volcano trembled, finally erupting in a shower of incandescence revealing a paramount fire elemental. The Serpent class underwent a full rework in May while affairs at sea culminated in the return of Neraeos to Achaea. Not to be outdone, lenses of light and a foray into Memory drew the gaze of Aurora to the Prime once again. And who could forget as the machinations of the Baron Balam Agab (that him!) began to bear fruit.
June would see the return of the Asterian Restoration, one of the greatest player-run events I’ve had the pleasure to observe and assist with, culminating in the first new High Clan in a very long time. On Yggdrasil, shadowy figures made deals with wizards in a burgeoning opposition to the Conclave, laying the groundwork for a conflict surely still to come. The storm’s fury manifested in the form of Vastar, the Skylord, and amid all the turmoil and emotion, Pandora emerged and resumed her daily bread of wreaking havoc and mayhem!
As Summer marched on, Mysian Rot plagued the realm and adventurers delved into the depths of Old Inbhir Ness. From the ruins wielding the newfound (and old lost!) hammer, came Phaestus the Smith! While citrus proved a balm to the world’s ills, oracles began to speak prophecies of doom for all to hear.
Gear released in August as the first major new system of the new administration. This has been widely popular and one of the best additions we’ve made in recent years. Expansions are planned! Alongside the gear system came the Elemental Fringes, a new series of advanced PvE focused area builds. Lady Moon returned to the realm after prophecies of doom resulted in a meteor shower, and all throughout the month, the Realm of Love fractured and split, causing emotional chaos across the world until the Muse Ferenthal arose as its steward.
Achaea’s birthday in September saw the return of the nameless tournament, and as the final quarter of the year rolled around, the township of Bjarnstead was founded on the Yggdrasil, rumoured to be related to planar events months prior. What the Tash’la have planned remains anyone’s guess. We also released a huge rework to dexterity and avoidance, and finally brought AUDIT to Achaea!
Pirates besieged Targossas, and in the aftermath Captain Blackgale was taken into custody. As investigations progressed and a trial was prepared, the prisoner perished under suspicious circumstances and his true identity was uncovered as the famed Sir Gladius.
Dwarven shenanigans continued in Inbhir with a cultural festival (Phaestus REALLY loves Dwarves…), and Targossas won the support of the Orcsplitter clan as new guards. Formicaries redefined totemic defence for Eleusis amid the triumphant return of Gaia, and an adventure by Ashtan resulted in the binding of Shimite’s Mirror.
Last but not least in December, gifts from distant realms made their way into ours, including Ironbeard’s irascible and unpleasant brother, Flintbeard! While festive cheer infected the realm, Cyrene’s conquest of the Aalen resulted in broken oaths, murder, and sylvanic ritual causing turmoil in the lands of the Tsol’aa while on Meropis, the Chaghut tribes did ride…
As we look ahead to 2026, we plan to continue our focus on modernising the game and implementing much needed and long requested quality of life updates, overhauls to various systems, and a re-imagining of some long-abandoned ideas.
Year 1000 looms in March and with it comes the Staff of Nicator Games as well as numerous other plans for this most auspicious of milestones. We’ll be continuing in our approach toward events and roleplay with an aim to broaden interest and appeal in as many ways as we can. PvE will remain a significant focus of our development resources with some major plans on the horizon for additional content and perhaps something entirely new!
That’s on top of classleads, active Gods, holiday events, and no doubt tons of unplanned feature creep that we’ll somehow squeeze into the year to come!
Here’s to 2026!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [More classleads (fear the mighty firelash)](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/31/more-classleads-fear-the-mighty-firelash)
**Published:** December 31, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Some classleads to round out 2025 (have a great new year!):
## Charnel
- (190) CRYPTBOUND will now cause the Pariah to embrace somewhat faster, and they shall no longer possess divine grace upon resurrection.
## Elementalism
- (55) FIRELASH has been sped up in several contexts (also applies to various enchantments and similar):
- Lash ground is now 3.0 seconds base, down from 5.0.
- Lash wall is now 3.5 seconds base, down from 4.0.
- Lash vines is now 3.6 seconds base, down from 4.0.
- (96) New spell: METEORITE.
## Excision
- (148) Increased the window of opportunity to activate MARTYR slightly.
## Formulation
- (bug) Fixed an issue with high POTENCY CONCUSSIVE FORMULA.
## Oppression
- (50) DEMENTIA, HYPERSOMNIA, and IMPATIENCE have been cut from the INFESTATION list. I will monitor and potentially cut CONFUSION as well, but I am inclined that this low rate passive focus may be useful as something you can offensively adapt off of, so am leaving it for now.
## Pervasion
- (239) QUENCH has been sped up (3.0 seconds to 2.0).
## Survival
- (146) LEAP has been added to the skill, though with a much slower balance than all other forms of LEAP.
- (259) DOUSE GROUND now costs balance even when it fails (2.0s instead of 3.0s for a successful douse).
## Twoarts
- (185) DOYA now increases limb damage.
## Misc
- (194) The SPEED defence no longer clears on death.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [In the Aalen...](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/24/in-the-aalen)
**Published:** December 24, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
How many years have I stood quietly in Eleusis, shuddering in my memories and not facing my fears? I lingered in the past, much like you did. Lost, broken, forgetting who and what I am. Blaming others for what I had become, when I should have been looking forward to what I could grow into. I never quite forgave Her. Displacing the blame as if it might heal me, but it does not.
Oh, dearest Celaabi, if we had known each other before, I might have helped you – perhaps we could have helped each other. I remember what they did to me, while I was in Evil’s hands, smelling the red fog, feeling the way my body was \[the parchment and ink is discoloured here by drops of dried liquid\].
I did not expect to learn of your son and think I could help him. Sitting at his bedside these past few months has allowed me time to think, to be with myself in this quiet room. I am not a mother, but I imagine the loss you felt, the pain you knew he would feel and still accepted the burden of it. The trudge across the mountains, walking down that horrendous highway that destroyed the geography of Her worlda how terrible it must have been.
I am not brave like you, Celaabi, though I am trying to be. I look at your son, and I see the future you must have wanted for him, free of your pain and the past. His road ahead is not easy; the burdens will not ease or be lightened upon his broad shoulders, but I see your village and Eleusis gathering to support him, and I believe that he will prevail, as you would have wanted.
Rest easy wherever you are, Celaabi, Queen Mother of the Aalen. Truly, you were the best of them, and now, they have quite the legacy to live up to.
————–
Summary: Alianna, the Malefic Dryad of Eleusis overcame her own past with Mhaldor to brew a potion to heal the slumbering King Tu’eras and her efforts were aided by Blackwillow, Yavita, Dierdre, Miriew, Thato and Aelyn, plus a mandrake-digging black dog. She spent over a month at the King’s beside, urging him to wake and return to guide his people and to honour the dying wish of his beloved mother.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Twelve and Twelve](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/23/twelve-and-twelve)
**Published:** December 23, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Twelve and twelve sit about a great fire in advancing night, their meeting one surrounded by the watching tribes.
“The time is now,” Noyan Thoksikh roars, slapping a bowl of milk ferment against his thigh. “Noyan Tokhta issued the summons! He must take his title, lead us in war!”
Noyan Tokhta only chuckles, taking a long drink of tripartite swallows from his own bowl. This meeting was settled. He and his cousins have considered, he knows. Checked, he knows. And concluded how best to navigate the seething sea that awaits, to what must be done without what could be done.
A quorum would bring all tribes as one in a horde to squander all life west of the Sarave. Noyan Tokhta seeks not this. But how could one who loves peace speak of battle and war?
So it is his fellow Noyan, Keidou of Ogdei Encampment, who speaks in his place, while he drinks in solidarity as arranged.
And the words are strong. Charismatic. Honourable.
But the words of his cousin surprise him. Noyan Tokhta’s head snaps to one side, watching his cousin with uncertainty. What his cousin Keidou says is… different, slightly. A term here. A phrase there. In sum this was not entirely what they discussed.
He cannot take back the words. A delicate balance, among so many competing tribes. He has always kept constraint.
So his voice echoes forth in parallel to called battle, called blood, called war, of bringing death to the outlanders.
“We protect what is ours,” Noyan Tokhta proclaims. “That is what we fight for! Take the west? What is west? Mountains of the monstrous. Hills of those not hale as we are. There is nothing of value to us there. We will demonstrate the might that the outlanders know not. We will make clear where we roam-“
“AND if they do not yield, they will die until it is done!” Keidou’s voice rises to a roar. “My cousin speaks well! He loves peace. Are we not a peaceful people? But we know that the west brings no peace to us, that these northern outlanders bring no peace to us. He made them friends, and they spit on it! He offers them seven entire months and they dissemble, they deceive, they lie! Instead they only insult! This we must answer in protection, of ourselves and our honour!”
“And there is time yet for their western allies to yield,” says Noyan Tokhta, dragging convocation back toward once-clear paths. “Some understand us, support us. Some are our true Friends. It was I who delivered ultimatum, I who made insult that they would give attention. But my word of seven months will not be ignored! Those who do will sully my honour and see my blade!”
“And are they likely to yield?” The voice comes from Noyan Khutan, her fair features furrowed in question and her crimson hair a firebrand. She is wise for her years, and more than cunning. And utterly unmatched with a blade taught in her family line by those known only as the ancient Pyramid. A thousand horses and her very bloodline are promised to he who defeats this sword maiden in battle.
None have.
“If they do not, I have warned them the Yekes Ghoum will ride with us,” says Noyan Tokhta. “We know that it will be so, for the shamans have already marked and made their ritual. The greater the blood, the stronger they be, and the greater their manifest.”
“And if they do not yield even to the Yekes Ghoum?” Noyan Keidou’s gaze is just the right mix of expression. But still just slightly the wrong words. Perhaps he is milk-flushed. He has ever loved it more than he should. “Cousin,” he continues, “of course we must know of the worst of events! Let me be the one to defend your honour. We will ride with Chaghut’s banner, not for ourselves but for you!”
Noyan Tokhta’s smile remains. A smile, or a grimace. Who could say?
“If they do not yield in direct we ride out,” he begrudges at last. “We return forever to days of the hard and the harsh, the days we once left behind generations ago. We are hostile once more. And the title will be claimed sooner, must be claimed nearer than later. If they yield, we may yet relent. This I swore, and this is my word. But if we surrender what is ours now, then they will take more. So we must ride out.”
Only one of the gathered Noyan says nothing. His figure is vast, his body purest towering muscle and his long moustaches true groomed. But his fellows give him wide berth, and in his empty eyes waits the death and slow torture of the stone-sitters and their children. All of them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: A meeting upon Meropis and determination of a path forward. While less than half of the full martial might lurking in Daoric depths, against Aerek Ancyrion’s refusal to accept their ancestral claim the assembled tribes of the great plains prepared to make a demonstration and return to the chaotic years near Seleucar’s fall.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Last Will and Testament of Celaabi, the Tsol'aa Queen Mother](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/21/the-last-will-and-testament-of-celaabi-the-tsolaa-queen-mother)
**Published:** December 21, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The trees are bright tonight, bright enough that the light slips beneath doors and into corners. From where I sit, I can hear the celebration as a living thing: the scrape of chairs on wood, a burst of singing that cannot find its tune, the clatter of cups, the sudden roar of laughter when someone says something sharp and everyone pretends it is only wit.
It is strange to listen to joy while waiting to die.
Time feels unreliable now. A moment stretches, then collapses. I keep thinking I hear footsteps meant for me; then it is only another guest, another errand, another pair of hands carrying a tray. My mouth will not hold moisture. My fingers slip on the page as though my body is already forgetting how to belong to itself.
If this becomes a will, let it leave no coins and no keepsakes, only the last honest shape of a woman who has been handled too often.
Tu’eras, my son, you may be among them still, holding yourself so carefully. You may have been ushered away with a kind word that is not kindness at all.
Or you may be asleep.
That is my doing.
I have put sleep into you without your permission, and I am ashamed of the theft even as I cling to the reason for it. I imagine the flare of anger when you realise, the cut of betrayal, the sick understanding that your own mother chose to make your body unreliable. If you can forgive me, forgive me. If you cannot, then let the truth sit plainly between us.
I did not do it to weaken you. I did it because there are people who do not merely punish, they curate. They turn consequence into performance, and performance into a feast, until the victim cannot tell where the pain ends and the audience begins.
So I have tried to steal you one small mercy, purchased with the only currency I have left.
The draught is not meant to spare you. It is meant to narrow what comes, to deny them the pleasure of variety. If an image must be planted in your sleep, let it be one image, returned to until it grows dull at the edges. Let them have their single pointed instruction and be forced to swallow it whole.
I cannot protect you from everything. I never could. Still, I can choose where I place myself at the end. I can decide what is taken, and what is not offered.
That is what I have done tonight.
I am frightened, Tu’eras. Frightened of the Red Square, of death and metal and hot breath, frightened of my own voice and what it might do if I am pressed hard enough. I am frightened that my courage will turn out to be only silence, and that silence will be mistaken for consent.
I am frightened, and I am still going.
Because I have been made into a lesson before, in a thousand small ways that never earned a witness. I have been told, in every language power speaks, that my body exists to prove someone else’s point.
Not tonight.
Tonight, I choose the point.
Remember me, if you do, as a woman who was cornered and still found one direction that belonged to her, who did not become fearless, but refused to let fear be the only author left in the room.
To the Tsol’aa of the Aalen: I leave you no blessing, only a warning: look closely at what we call normal. We have lived inside cages so long we name the bars after virtues. We call obedience discipline. We call numbness strength. We call the absence of protest wisdom. We say that this is simply how it is, until our children believe pain is not merely common, it is rightful.
Let my death not become another story told to keep you in line. Let it be remembered as refusal.
Tu’eras, my son: live.
Do not live as penance. Do not let my name become a chain around your throat. If grief comes, let it come. If rage comes, give it a spine and a direction. If tenderness shows its face, do not kill it out of spite. You are allowed to be more than what they demand of you.
The party swells again, a chorus of voices rising and breaking, the stamp of feet as though joy can be hammered into place. Someone is shouting for another song. Someone is calling a name that is not mine, yet.
The ink is still wet. My hands are still shaking. The candles in the tree are burning down into thick tears of wax.
I will stand up now, and I will walk towards Mhaldor on my own feet, if for no other reason than because I have spent too long kneeling.
\~~~
Summary: Despite rituals from Sjeng, the Gaian Knights, Adrey, and Ramilies, Sevet’s curse for the Aalen Tsol’aa proved too carefully crafted. After drugging her son during his going-away party, Celaabi, the Tsol’aa Queen Mother, struck a deal with Tyrannus Tabethys Aristata that saw her take Tu’eras’ place in the Red Square forevermore, lifting the curse placed on the Tsol’aa by the City of Evil.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Convocation](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/22/convocation)
**Published:** December 22, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Three figures stand upon a hillock, their gaze overlooking a growing crowd below. Further out, new emissaries, new riders, join the expanding encampment.
Each of the three is titled Noyan, each of mighty call among the tribes of the Daoric.
“I must know. You have been silent, but I can be silent no more. Did you summon us for prophecy, cousin Tokhta?” The first asks with eyes bright, face eager. He grips the scimitar at his waist with a hand turned white at the knuckle. “Rumour runs rampant among tribe and clan from near and far.”
“For protection, cousin Keidou,” replies the second after a long moment. Grand trailing moustaches sweep from face to beneath his chin, and his hand too grips a scimitar hilt albeit with a lighter touch. “We must again guard what we have, what is ours beneath blue sky. The Yekes Ghoum warned us that the north would not respect us in the end. Warned us that we would have to make it known, even if it were to risk return to harder, harsher ways.”
Noyan Keidou turns his gaze to the Noyan Tokhta, confusion writ large in his eyes.
“Two score tribes gather from across our Daoric sea,” he demands, “and you would still seek only to protect? To state again what is already ours? What all beneath great sky knows is ours? Look at what comes to this ancient meeting place just for your honour, cousin! They are here for you!”
“Two score tribes is still not enough for that particular quorum, cousin,” says the Noyan.
“If you would only just take the title! Chaghut is senior among even the first twelve. You lead Chaghut! Yes, you love peace. Your people love peace. Let my tribe and encampment make the war for you! It is what we learn, what we will do!” Noyan Keidou’s voice echoes with charisma, with need. He wants this. He is ready for this. “The remaining two and thirds would come,” he continues, “bringing their forty thousand horse and more to be united in the horde!”
Noyan Tokhta laughs, but there is little mirth in it. “There is time yet to what I granted the invaders, cousin,” he at last demurs. “I am a man of my word, even if they are perhaps not. I will give them the seven to state their yield in formal.”
“You will risk opprobrium just for that, cousin. You have for years offered outlanders friendship, made your encampment seen when our way is within the Daoric sea, and now they spit in your face. But to spit in your face is to spit in the faces of all and every one of us. The honour of us all, the honour of each of us in separate! All is offended.”
“I find that I am able to bear up under their distaste with great ease, cousin Keidou,” says Noyan Tokhta. “When a small dog yaps beneath your knee, do you pay much note to the pup? And there are still some who present spit to us on nothing save their palm in agreement. If they give me what I demand, then we will but demonstrate.”
Noyan Keidou turns, grumbling, to watch the gathering tribes below.
“Are you with me, cousin?”
Noyan Tokhta’s voice is quiet. Almost, for a moment, uncertain, as one atop a golden sea’s wave sees the coming rush and wonders.
“Always, cousin,” says Noyan Keidou at last, in a dispelling of doubt. He chuckles. “Even when you are simple. Foolish.”
“It is because you are my blood that I let go such insult!” Noyan Tokhta’s smile is wide. Noyan Keidou’s laugh echoes out yet further, but his own smile only barely reaches his eyes. He yet wishes for blood much heightened. He would tear down rock and stone and set the world alight, then bask in the warmth of the flame. But the Noyan Tokhta is his blood by mother and by mare’s milk, and so he says no more.
The third of the trio says nothing to it all, his countenance grim and his mien one of only cold fury. He would have blood if the stone-sitters must weep it from ruined eyes at the witnessed corpses of their children.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: A meeting of three clan lords from both the Daoric and Sarave, in a meeting place never visited by Sapient adventurers.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Shimite](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/14/shimite)
**Published:** December 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The Tsol’aa known affectionally among his peers as Embertail reclined in his chair, fingers pressing the bridge of his nose while the parchment rested open upon his lap. Ink smeared the page in a hurried crawl, Ponder’s hand racing ahead of sense. The missive spoke of Ashtan, where citizens laboured through sleepless days to retrieve an elderly man from an alien world, filch a volatile explosive, and unmake the Weave once bestowed upon them by Lord Aegis. The tale carried the sharp tang of truth mixed with lunacy, a familiar Ashtani blend. In any other city he would have blamed fermented mushrooms, yet the north rarely bothered with restraint.
All of it unsettled him, yet the final paragraph sank its hooks deepest. Lady Pandora poured Her essence into Imyrr Invictus, reshaping him into Her avatar, then sent him through the rift torn open by the explosion. From that breach he returned with a monstrous prize, rewoven by Her hand into a new font of power. One word burned into the page and refused to fade from his thoughts.
Shimite.
Dusty tomes and scattered journals crowded his memory, each recounting the ancient clash between Divinity and an immense being of Chaos. They spoke of a planar prison wrought by the Gods to contain the beast, a prison to bind the creature beyond reach. The living tattoos painted upon his own flesh traced their lineage to that day, patterns born from a sky split open by writhing limbs and screaming light above Achaea. That name belonged to history, to ink, ritual and glyphs, not to the present hour. Seeing it rise again, unburied and uncontained, tightened his jaw.
Lady Pandora assured Her city that the new font served them alone, a gift bound to Ashtan. She declared that the entity known as Shimite remained contained, and that what now flowed into the font came only from one of her innumerable offspring and a not so small portion of the Wayward Heir’s power. The words carried confidence and ceremony, yet ink held no weight, and to his mind promises rarely survived first contact with Chaos.
The Tsol’aa known as Embertail poured himself some more tea. This worry would remain with him, and only time would tell what would come of this new development.
—
Elsewhere, upon deep within the Chaos Plane, Eldritch Imperator Glaaki observed the revels of the Seat through a jagged, screaming aperture torn into the air. Below, citizens celebrated around their newest engine of power, contained and already bent toward the familiar business of conquest. A celebration three centuries in the making; the sight satisfied him. The opening snapped shut with a violent recoil, and a thin smile crept across his features. Plots within plots. A comforting tradition.
From the shadowed flank of the Eldritch Throne, Lady Pandora emerged, an obsidian dagger spinning with careless precision between her fingers. She dropped into the seat without ceremony, the throne accepting her weight without complaint, and turned Her gaze upon the Imperator.
“I have upheld my end of the bargain, Glaaki. You will uphold yours.”
Glaaki answered with a sneer, sharp and wordless, a gesture that promised nothing and implied everything.
—
Summary: After many trials and mounting complications, Ashtan tore its way into a world already obliterated hollow by Chaos and drew out its final living survivor. With his guidance, the city seized an artefact of sufficient potency to unseat their existing font and fashion another in its place. What now anchors their font defies sanity, a child retrieved from the prison an immense Chaos entity remembered as Shimite, calcified, repurposed and bound to serve the ambitions of the Seat.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Captivity](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/13/captivity)
**Published:** December 13, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
A slow pulse rolls through the walls again. The latticed surface wrinkles under the infinity of my touch and pulls away before settling into place. The cage remembers every strike I ever made against it, and it enjoys the memory. I hear the mocking laughter of He in the vibrations.
A seam opens near my reach. Not a doorway. A thought. A gesture. Am I being watched? It drags a trail of pale luminescence across the chamber floor and leaves it trembling. The glow fades before I claim it. The glow always flees. I taste the retreat in the cold that follows.
Another throb rises from the deep belly of this place. The ceiling shakes. A cluster of bone extrusions rattles in answer and curls inward. They want to speak yet they never form words. They only scrape out a rhythm that sinks into my limbs until those that held the very stars answer with barely a restless twitch.
A distant heartbeat cracks the silence. The sound does not come from me. It comes from the hollow behind the wall. The hollow grows larger each time. The hollow stretches toward me. Something in that darkness waits for the moment I look away, so I never indulge it.
The floor swells. A mound forms and splits. A single thread of meat rises and points upward before melting back into the stone. The gesture repeats itself over and over until the stone grows tired of the game and seals the fissure shut. My children, they swarm across my body and beg for sustenance. I ignore them.
I feel warmth near my ribs. A message. Not a voice. A pressure. A reminder that the world outside still strains against itself. The reminder sinks through my flesh and joins the rest of the quiet truths this prison collects from me.
The walls breathe again. I breathe with them. Not in surrender. In recognition.
The next pulse arrives sooner than expected. The cage feels eager. Something approaches from beyond its folds. Oh. It’s singing.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Flintbeard and Festivities!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/12/flintbeard-and-festivities)
**Published:** December 12, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As December rolls on, it will soon be time for Makesh to open his doors and for Merrywick to once again invite adventurers to play!
So far we’ve seen a fantastic reception to the Iron Realms Logosmas event and to Flintbeard.
Be sure to send at least one present and you’ll receive a special gift from Iron Realms on December 25th!
And at month end, everyone who’s fought Flintbeard will also receive an additional reward for doing so!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/09/classleads)
**Published:** December 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Here is the first batch of classleads from the last round of 2025:
### Aeonics
- (admin) DISTORTION has been brought in line with other static room hinders. Previously we audited room hinders and made their balance knocks unmodified, consequently reducing them all at the same time. Distortion was made unmodified but not reduced, hence was hitting for a much higher balance knock than other hinders.
### Anathema
- (269) Epicentre of alien life in Ashtan has been added to the list of PIERCE locations.
### Apostasy
- (266) STRIP is now base two seconds equilibrium.
### Charnel
- (172) For each two crypt expansions purchased, crypt tablet capacity now increases by one.
### Composition
- (57) SONATA now always fires for allies as well as the bard.
### Groves
- (323) LIGHTNING is no longer blocked by time-distorting effects in line with other magical ranged attacks.
- (150) An artefact staff used for PORTABILITY no longer does the unnecessary unwielding/removal of the fist sigil, since it does just stay in your hands anyway.
- (303) When creating a new temporary grove, the time remaining is set back to a higher value. It is not fully reset, but does not carry over the remaining time from the last temporary grove any longer (so you’ll always get some window of opportunity from a newly planted grove).
### Kaido
- (170) The CRIPPLE immunity window has been lowered from four seconds to three. I’m aware you could still hit this, but I’m not comfortable lowering it further and feel this is still substantially in spirit with the request, and should address most of the edge cases.
- (admin) The aura from a recent ENFEEBLE now strictly only blocks vital-based instakills, it no longer blocks ENFEEBLE itself. This ability is nowhere near as powerful as it was in the past given the change to how it functions against a standing target, so locking it out in this manner is unnecessary. These recent enfeeble auras do stack, so chaining enfeebles will extend the lockout timer for vital-based instakills.
### Physiology
- (308) SINGLE WRACK can now miss due to clumsiness.
- The mana threshold for SULFUR HOMUNCULUS to disrupt has been reduced from 75% to 70%.
### Psionics
- (79) EXPUNGE is now blocked by having a mangled head as well as confusion.
### Reclamation
- (286) OMNISCIENCE no longer picks up phased movement.
### Runelore
- (98) PITHAKHAN has had its mana drain against target’s with a broken head increased( 10% to 13%).
- (201) KENA now fires if target mana below 40%, rather than 20%.
### Sculpting
- (54) CALCIFY timers should now be more accurate and resolve slightly slower.
### Shikudo
- (122) There is now a 3p line when LIVESTRIKE blacks out.
### Spirituality
- (252) SAP is now faster against a prone target for nimble priests. See classlead 252 for context.
- (266) STRIP is now base two seconds equilibrium.
### Tekura
- (85) SIDEKICK now does the same limb damage as other tekura kicks (functionally a minor reduction, but should add a degree of consistency for counting purposes). Health damage remains unchanged.
### Twoarts
- (171) All sword attacks now correctly use the limb scaled values rather than a couple of them still pulling from old health-based values. I.e. attacks are now consistent limb damage against all targets.
### Warrior tertiaries
- (46) RAGE has undergone a rework. Rather than continuing to chip away at what it can cure, we’ve reworked this. It no longer has any restrictions upon what afflictions it can cure and retribution no longer blocks its use, but the affliction cured is now reapplied after around 3.5 seconds (when the rage ‘fades’). The cooldown has been increased, and the idea is that rather than this functioning as a random cure ability on classes that already have a lot going for them in this regard, it will serve as a combo disrupter with a high skill ceiling. Note that though this is not relevant currently, stacks will be preserved when the affliction is reapplied.
- (39) RAGE now respects random-cure-ability on afflictions. Consequently, it does not interact with PYRE any longer.
### Weaponmastery
- (260) (Dual blunt): ASSAULT TORSO does much less against an unbroken torso. Damage vs a level one broken torso is slightly higher than previously stock assault torso, and damage against a mangled torso is mucher higher (don’t get hit with a mangled torso assault, you won’t have a good time).
- (255) (Dual cutting): MASTERY has had its armour bypassing potential cut from 20% to 15%.
### Woe
- (316) PANTHEON has had its cooldown cut in half (to thirty minutes).
- (311) VENGEANCE from SAVANT now has an expiration timer, though it is long (mostly so it does just eventually go away on its own).
- (313) ENHEDUANNA cooldown reduced from five minutes to one minute.
### Misc
- (311) You may now RELAX VENGEANCE (or SAVANT).
- (56) POURING water on people specifically incurs some restrictions standard pour oes not. It requires you be able to act (on balance, not paralysed etc), and incurs a balance cost on its use. Alas, the days of escaping damnation by vigorously pouring water over yourself have come to an end.
- (310) Things that stop SQUINT now also stop WHO . This most significantly applies to walls.
- (176) Fixed an issue where balances going through a certain balance consuming method weren’t showing up to the seebalances config. Most significantly applies to room hinders, but some abilities as well (like alchemist wrack).
- (203) You now require at least one unbroken arm to have denizens give you items via the ORDER command.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [NOTICE: GRAND LARCENY](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/01/notice-grand-larceny)
**Published:** December 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
REPORT
ID: O/DOC-3454
SUBJECT: WARNING – GRAND LARCENY
CLASS: SEC (REP, EYE, O:C)
REL: VER, KEL, ILL, LOR, ELE, CAU
TEXT:
Be it known that under treaty law and for the necessary sharing of intelligence regarding criminal activities across our region, that the Imperial Security Directorate of Sorathia is pursuing ALL leads in the recent theft of ninety-four crates from Imperial warehouses.
We advise that the items removed in this larcenous activity primarily consist of arrayed shield arcanum, scheduled for destruction pursuant to the instructions of General Arkayn given its obsolete nature and in accordance with Imperial Vertan’s obligations under the Loramere Treaty.
The Directorate seeks any information from our allies and friends regarding the identities of the two smalling thieves – known only at this time by the pseudonyms “M” and “R” – as well as any information that may lead to their detainment for their crimes committed against Imperial Vertan. The sentence for these committed acts, namely the deliberate transfer of Vertani knowledge and arcanum to illegal recipients, is death by bambine penetration.
Penned by My hand on the 1st of Lupar, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [December in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/01/december-in-achaea-5)
**Published:** December 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
December has arrived!
Some of you may notice that you start receiving wrapping paper while going about your renown hunting activities. This is deliberate. Read on!
Later today (in around 12 hours), an IRE-wide festive event will begin, allowing you to wrap and send presents that transcend the worlds of the Iron Realms! This will include the opportunity to receive a promo stocking for completion, among many other rewards, so look out for my post!
Halfway through the month the realm will become entirely festive. Makesh will put his Logosmas wares on sale, Ironbeard will make his rounds, and Merrywick will open once again!
Meanwhile, stockings have returned to www.achaea.com/credits featuring the new Empires talisman set (see below or HELP EMPIRES TALISMANS)!
There is no bonus for Iron Elite owners with stocking purchases, but credits are also on sale at www.achaea.com/credits offering a 30% bonus on the purchase, that’s 40% if you have Iron Elite!
Stockings can also be opened for Logosmas talismans (OPEN STOCKING LOGOSMAS) if preferred!
See \[0;1;37mHELP STOCKINGS\[0;37m for all stocking-related commands and to see a complete list of prizes and minimum stocking values!
Every 150 stockings opened will trigger a bonus stocking in the next 50 to be opened, awarding massively increased prizes!
ADDITIONALLY! For every 5 stockings of each type you purchase, you’ll receive either a gold or platinum stocking of that tier! So if you purchase 5 fancy stockings, you’ll get a gold (or platinum) fancy stocking. Gold and platinum stockings are special and fill up only on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
All previously hung stockings have been returned to their original owner’s inventories, and can be hung fresh for yourselves or new recipients!
And now presenting the Empires talisman set…
A luminous prism (TALISMAN INFO LUMINOUSPRISM)
– Valued at 300 credits.
– Themed for Targossas.
– While worn, this prism shall produce a dazzling light, making it impossible to look directly at you and so hiding your description and what you might be wearing.
– Note: does not hide divine favours or rare mineral statuses.
A malevolent bullhorn (TALISMAN INFO MALEVOLENTBULLHORN)
– Valued at 200 credits
– Themed for Mhaldor.
– Increases shout length by 100 characters (stacks with other shout length increases). Reduces the stun length of a shout of ridiculous length by 25%.
A resin-cast formicary (TALISMAN INFO FORMICARY)
– Valued at 500 credits.
– Themed for Eleusis.
– Invoke this formicary towards someone and it will burn away all ropes and webbing that entangle them. Carries a one minute cooldown.
An imperial grapevine (TALISMAN INFO GRAPEVINE)
– Valued at 800 credits.
– Themed for Ashtan.
– Possession of this perfectly pruned plant shall grant you the ability to PROPAGANDISE in locations where such tales may be swiftly spread (typically drinking establishments or similar).
– This talisman mimics the functionality of the spreading aspect of the gossip ability in Sagas.
A scorched tome bound in infernal iron (TALISMAN INFO INFERNALTOME)
– Valued at 100 credits.
– Themed for the Inferno.
– This tome grants access to five suitably malicious forging descriptors: bloodwrought, abyssal, fissured, corrupted, and hellscorched.
A Lethstead vessel (TALISMAN INFO LETHSTEADVESSEL)
– Valued at 1000 credits.
– Themed for the Kelstaad.
– ACTIVATE this vessel and for the next four instances of someone perishing in the location, up to four random individuals will find themselves healed a significant amount.
– Carries a thirty minute cooldown.
A Seleucarian jousting shield (TALISMAN INFO SELEUCARSHIELD)
– Valued at 1600 credits.
– Themed for Seleucar (of course).
– RAISE this shield while leading a group and all members in your location shall receive a defence which halves all battlerage costs for its duration.
– This carries a high battlerage cost and a three minute cooldown, and only benefits your group: it does not benefit you personally.
An undulating nautilus (TALISMAN INFO NAUTILUS)
– Valued at 200 credits.
– Themed for the Underworld.
– A dread steed from the depths of the Underworld.
An ancient Kasmarkin war drum (TALISMAN INFO KASMARKINDRUM)
– Valued at 1200 credits.
– Themed for Kasmarkin.
– Play this drum and all tauntable denizens in your location will become taunted by you.
– Costs a large amount of battlerage and carries a one minute cooldown.
A blue-green spiral shell (TALISMAN INFO HARBOURSHELL)
– Valued at 600 credits.
– Themed for the Empire of the Sea.
– LISTEN TO SHELL FOR and you will be informed if they are at sea or, if their ship is at harbour, what harbour they are currently at.
A Vertani shield arcanum (TALISMAN INFO SHIELDARCANUM)
– Valued at 400 credits.
– Themed for Vertan.
– ACTIVATE this arcanum and for the next thirty seconds meteors that would strike at you will be deflected to strike another in your location (if there is someone present). Five minute cooldown.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 1st of Lupar, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Logosmas... Cheer?](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/01/logosmas-cheer)
**Published:** December 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
As many of you have now seen, when the global cheer reaches maximum (see my last post for details!), Flintbeard, the Malignant will arrive!
Flintbeard is the irascible relative of our magnanimous Ironbeard and will stalk the land until defeated!
Everyone who participates in the fight will have their renown instantly capped for the day, gain a random buff, and also enjoy \[redacted\]!
Spread that cheer!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Christmas Cheer in the Iron Realms!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/12/01/christmas-cheer-in-the-iron-realms)
**Published:** December 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Ironbeard has done it again!
In a fit of questionable holiday cheer, the old dwarf drank a bit too much halfnog and scared off his entire crew of helpers. Now he needs YOUR assistance to keep the celebrations alive!
Throughout the month of December, this festive event will let you send anonymous gifts and custom messages to players not only here in Achaea, but across every Iron Realms world!
Wrap up something generous, or slip in something a little more nefarious, and help spread chaos, kindness, and mischief in equal measure.
Sending a gift requires five wrapping paper (earned via obtaining renown in December), and you can send out a single gift per real-life day.
While recipients are random, you must send a gift to become eligible to receive one, and so the more people who take part, the more festive cheer will be flying around the worlds.
Presents are delivered in waves roughly once every hour, and as you all send gifts, you will fill a global “cheer” meter (see FESTIVE STATUS!). Every present nudges it higher, and when it finally hits 100 percent, a notably irascible dwarf will descend upon Sapience, rewarding buffs and renown to those who defeat him!
Senders will also earn special milestone rewards as they help Ironbeard with his deliveries, receiving special prizes when they reach 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 presents sent:
– 1 present: a Logosmas chocolate
– 3 presents: a promo XP lantern
– 5 presents: a festive stocking
– 10 presents: a custom Logosmas hat
– 15 presents: An orb vision of Ironbeard, including a glass orb filled with writhing smoke if you don’t have one
– 20 presents: a Logosmas sleigh mount
– 25 presents: an honours line!
Every present you send also grants you a ticket in the Logosmas lottery. At the end of the event, three lucky winners from each game will receive credit prizes:
– 1st prize: 1000 credits
– 2nd prize: 500 credits
– 3rd prize: 250 credits
Be sure to read \[0;1;37mHELP LOGOSMAS\[0;37m for full details on how to get involved, what you can send, and the commands you will need.
Sharpen your quills, hoard your wrapping paper, and get ready to surprise your fellow adventurers.
‘Tis the season!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [For the Queen!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/27/for-the-queen)
**Published:** November 27, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The warm spring sun of a late Miraman afternoon shone down upon the flourishing boughs of the village of Eleusis. Fthora, hulking servant of the Earthmother, called upon the villagers, demanding their attention for a matter of the swarm.
“Bodies. Corpses. Fill the heap!” the masked mycorizae rasped gleefully to the gathered Eleusians. “More and more, we will need them all soon.”
Led by High Warden Vothaec and Blackthorn General Trendric Distara, the Untamed Legion turned its attention to the followers of iron and stone. Conflict and conquest proved no match for the warriors and, even when they did, the dutiful villagers placed their own bodies willingly into the foetid pool beneath Eleusis.
Months later, a low, bone-deep thrumming echoed from within the Eastern Ithmia, a warning of the escaping swarm. Soon, rampaging formicaries dotted the mainland of Sapience as Eleusians fought to protect the queen of each one, bearing her back to the reeking sump of rotting vegetation and corpses. In the months that followed that initial formicary, queens slipped free to found colonies across the world, and each time they were brought home again through the harmonious teamwork of Eleusis.
Never satisfied, Fthora called upon the ritualists of the village to beseech the swarm and to honour every queen and brood that had been reclaimed. Aelyn Le’Yuet-Mercadia, Memory of Nature, together with the rest of Her Coven, led the villagers in a humming tribute to the insects, calling upon the Wildwood Queen to rally the swarm to their aid. A slender formicary was swiftly constructed in the midst of the dancers, whose steps faltered and stilled as the Earthmother Herself appeared beside it.
“Remember this day,” Lady Gaia said, a hint of pride echoing in Her icy features, “for it stands as proof that when you remain true to who and what you are, Nature will respond.”
\~~~
Summary: Eleusis worked to capture the swarm’s queens and return them to the heap beneath the village. A slender formicary was formed in the midst of a ritual to honour the insects and call upon Nature to aid in the protection of Eleusis. Lady Gaia’s return was heralded by a new skill to replace the runic totems Eleusis gave up nearly a century ago.
Penned by My hand on the 21st of Miraman, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Formicaries!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/25/formicaries)
**Published:** November 25, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With the swarm once again calmed and other things afoot across the land, I’m pleased to announce the release of the FORMICARY ability to Groves!
Inspired by Eleusis’ uprooting of all their totems some years ago, we’ve long been hoping to provide a more nature-themed alternative to this key part of city (now village) defence.
Formicaries can be built by calling on the swarm and, much like totems, can be empowered, tuned, and set up to defend Eleusis and the Forests.
They work in a manner similar to Shaman totems and can either restrict the movement of enemies or afflict those deemed hostile to Eleusis or the Forests.
Note that a room cannot have a formicary and a totem: they are mutually exclusive with each other.
Full details can be found in AB FORMICARY for those with access.
The runic gauntlet artefact will work to decrease raise and reclaim times, but other abilities which specifically interact with totems will have no effect on formicaries.
For those less inclined toward sylvan empathy, fear not! While we do not yet have a finalised counter to formicaries to announce (they cannot be uprooted like totems), we are working on something and will have more information very soon.
Enjoy, and be sure to send your esteems to Caesan and Gaia for their hard work on this!
Penned by My hand on the 10th of Daedalan, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Carol Contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/28/carol-contest)
**Published:** November 28, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
We’ve just finished judging the Logosmas Carols from this month’s Discord contest, and here are the results:
1st place: Blonk!
2nd place: Avikare
3rd place: Poxie
4th place: Gundrun
5th place: Ryssa
Each of these winners take home credits, but we would like to thank everyone who submitted a carol!
And keep an eye out, for some of these might show up again…
Penned by My hand on the 17th of Scarlatan, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A cosmic adventure](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/25/a-cosmic-adventure)
**Published:** November 25, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Overseer Alashi Shiva of Ashtan polished his glasses and released a long sigh. The artisans and builders settled on a plan and moved at once to clear the latest heap of rubble after the recent incursion. Dust still drifted from the broken stone and each footfall sent a dull echo across the ruins. Alashi surveyed the wreckage and rubbed a smear of grit from his sleeve while the workers hauled shattered beams into neat stacks.
A sudden pressure tightened the air above the plaza. Colours warped around a single point and the space tore open with a sharp crack. A portal split the air in front of him and surged outward in a violent bloom, bursting into a thousand panes of glass that spun through the light before they fell and disappeared on impact. The shockwave rattled the loose rubble and sent a few fragments skittering toward his boots.
Pandora, the Wayward Heir, stepped through the fading shimmer with brisk purpose. Stray flecks of colour trailed behind each step and scattered over the broken stone. She cast a quick glance at the gathered workers before She fixed Her attention on Alashi. Her expression held the same bright energy that usually precedes trouble, and the plaza answered her arrival with a faint crackle that crawled across the ground.
“Want to go on an adventure?”
Started, Alashi rushed to his feet. How can a man refuse a Goddess?
Pandora drew Alashi beyond the skies and did not allow a simple pause for breath. Witnesses reported a tear of pale colour widening above the world before the pair vanished into its heart. Their trail left a thin shimmer that clung to the horizon for several minutes.
Their journey began on the edge of a dying world. Suspended in the void of space, they watched as fault lines burned across the surface of the planet and each tremor sent entire landmasses drifting into the void. Pandora held the scene for Alashi and pushed him to watch the final break. Light flooded the dark as the world shattered and scattered across the stellar gulf.
“Beautiful isn’t it? Makes you think. Do you wait for the terrible, beautiful end, or should you enjoy life to the fullest until then?” Pandora mused with a mischievous grin, already knowing Her answer.
She hurled them onward before the glow dimmed. Their next stop carried them over a Sartai homeland where an immense mountain swelled and pulsed. The ground tremored with a rising pressure and the air shook with constant rumble. Lava churned beneath the stone and threatened the settlement below. Pandora did not intervene. She only marked the moment and set it into Alashi’s memory before dragging him away again, leaving the devotees of Sartan to prepare for survival of the fittest.
“The Sartai here have dominated the lands for millenia, and yet here their existance may end. I wonder who will survive?”
Their third destination brought them to Yahan. Towers of pale stone rose from the plains and the city moved in perfect order beneath them. Every judgement began and ended with the sacred Sceptre of Yahn and its High Priest. Alashi realised that Pandora was no longer there, and yet an unmistakable figure watched the ritual from the shadows, gliding through the crowded hall without disturbing a single devotee. When the High Priest raised the relic for the closing rite, She stepped forward and claimed it with a clean sweep of Her hand. Alashi watched agape as She raced through the corridors and fled into the open sky to join him.
The pair returned to Ashtan hours later. A ripple of colour rolled across the firmament as the breach sealed and the wind carried a faint crackle that lingered over the continents. Pandora did not offer an explanation for the theft or the tour of collapsing world, just simply tossed the stolen relic to the Overseer and disappeared into thin air with a tinkling laugh.
Meanwhile, on the planet of Yahan, the High Priest reclined in his chair as society collapsed around him. The one image burning in his third eye, the face of Alashi Shiva.
Penned by My hand on the 18th of Daedalan, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Second Breath](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/25/the-second-breath)
**Published:** November 25, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
In the archives of distant Vaelithar, three scholars closed their journals with satisfaction.
The experiment had exceeded all projections. The subjects performed beautifully, each acting according to nature with such authenticity that no artificially constructed scenario could have produced superior results. One spoke of love as though it were armour. Another offered blood as medium, bearing divine grief as though mortality were merely a suggestion. The third chose dignity over expediency and, when forced to select between two deaths, refused the binary entirely.
The woman died holding her daughter, smiling. The child was born not crying but glowing, eyes ancient and aware.
Now the real work could begin.
For the child lived, and the village stood, and the prophecy hung between them like a blade suspended by a gossamer thread. The subjects had forged profound bonds with the prophesied destroyer, had taken her pain into themselves, had promised Light’s eternal guidance.
What would they do when the thread finally snapped?
The scholars already knew. They had seen it in the edited vision, the future carefully suppressed from the child’s awareness. But the subjects did not know. Could not know. Would not be allowed to know until the moment arrived and the choice became inevitable.
Across planes and stars, in a room still stained with birth and farewell, the infant opened her eyes and touched the world.
Somewhere in Yaroven, reality shuddered.
Somewhere in Yaroven, dreams turned prophetic.
Somewhere in Yaroven, the countdown had begun.
End documentation: Phase One complete. Proceeding to Phase Two.
\~~~
Summary: On the distant world of Vaelithar, a prophesied child was born under unknown observation. Three Targossians forged bonds with the infant while her mother died, setting the stage for an impossible choice between love and prophecy.
Penned by My hand on the 14th of Daedalan, in the year 991 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Social Contest Winners Announced](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/19/social-contest-winners-announced)
**Published:** November 19, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
We are delighted to share the winners of our cross-realm contest: Shaul (Achaea), Kyrista (Achaea), and Rinata (Aetolia)!
Thank you to everyone who participated by spreading the word and joining in. Your support keeps the realms thriving.
We will reach out to each winner in-game to arrange prize delivery.
We will run another community contest soon, so keep an eye on in-game news and our sites for details!
Penned by My hand on the 15th of Lupar, in the year 990 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [PvE Expansion](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/14/pve-expansion)
**Published:** November 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
## Alchemy
- IRON no longer gains bonus damage if the caster has the NIMBLE trait.
## Anathema
- SCREAM can now be used against denizens. Naturally, this attack does no damage to most chaos entities.
- SCREAM scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Apostasy
- SEAR can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- SEAR scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Bladedance
- FLICK can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- FLICK scales with dexterity and rapier stats when used against denizens.
- JAB now deals CUTTING damage rather than BLUNT damage against denizens.
## Devotion
- PURITY can now be used against denizens and its flavour-text has been updated. Naturally, this attack does no damage to angels.
- PURITY scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Domination
- LYCANTHA can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- LYCANTHA scales with intelligence against denizens.
## Dragoncraft
- BLAST now scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens. It did not scale at all previously, so even without any intelligence boosts you should find this does significantly more damage now.
- REND can now be used against denizens.
- REND scales with strength against denizens.
- BURST has had its damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Duress
- SCOUR can now be used against denizens.
- ZEPHYR can now be used against denizens.
- STRANGLE can now be used against denizens.
- All relapsing attacks in Duress scale with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power.
- The relapsing portion of BUFFET, SCOUR, ZEPHYR, and STRANGLE now scale with intelligence and magic\_damage against denizens. Previously these did not, which meant that Airlords only got partial benefit from their stat-scaling.
- The damage of all duress skills has been slightly increased against denizens.
## Excision
- CONFRONT can now be used against denizens. This always deals FIRE damage.
- CONFRONT scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Ignition
- FLAMEWHIP now deals bonus damage against denizens when invoked.
- Note that using the INVOKE parameter without the requisite spark level will no longer work against denizens.
## Metamorphosis
- BASILISK GAZE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- BASILISK GAZE scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- HYDRA SNAP can now be used against denizens. This can still be done off-balance from any group 1 ability (Bite, Flame, or Freeze).
- HYDRA SNAP scales with strength against denizens.
- HYDRA BITE can now be used against denizens.
- HYDRA BITE scales with strength against denizens.
- HYDRA FLAME can now be used against denizens.
- HYDRA FLAME scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- HYDRA FREEZE can now be used against denizens.
- HYDRA FREEZE scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- While active, WYVERN WREATHE now grants bonus damage to MAUL and changes it damage type from CUTTING to FIRE against denizens.
- MAUL has had its damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Necromancy
- TAINT can now be used against denizens. Naturally, this attack does no damage to demons or daemons.
- TAINT scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Oppression
- QUASH can now be used against denizens. This does strip magical shields against denizens.
- QUASH scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Pervasion
- DRENCH and CHOKE can now be used against denizens.
- All skills in Pervasion scale with intelligence and both the magic\_damage and fluvial\_fury artefact powers against denizens.
- BLADE now deals reduced damage to account for the ability to use two damage spells simultaneously via FLUX
- BLADE now deals CUTTING damage rather than ASPHYXIATION against denizens.
## Pestilence
- STING can now be used against denizens. Note that this does not benefit from MEMORIUM EXPOSE and always costs and requires equilibrium against denizens.
- STING scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Physiology
- WRACK can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- WRACK scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
## Pranks
- GALLOWSHUMOUR can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details as this skill is much different when targeting a denizen.
- GALLOWSHUMOUR scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact against denizens.
- BOP has had its damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Runelore
- BISECT can now be used against denizens. Note that the instant-kill effect does not apply to denizens.
- The lightning damage dealt by BISECT against denizens scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact.
- The cutting damage dealt by BISECT against denizens scales with strength.
## Sculpting
- AVALANCHE can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- AVALANCHE scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- PASTE can now be used against denizens when in Titan form. See the AB file for details.
- PASTE does not scale with any stats or artefact powers when used against denizens in Titan form.
## Shindo
- BURST has had its damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Skirmishing
- LACERATE, GOUGE, and DOUBLESTRIKE can now be used against denizens.
- All Skirmishing skills scale with strength and your weapon’s damage and speed stats.
- The damage of all skirmishing skills has been slightly increased against denizens.
## Striking
- STERNUM can now be used against denizens either standalone or INLINE with a sword attack.
- STERNUM scales with strength against denizens.
- You can now generate shin by striking denizens, though the amount is greatly reduced against denizens. Note that you cannot generate shin against player loyals or city guards.
## Spiritlore
- ARIUS now deals COLD damage rather than MAGICAL against denizens.
## Spirituality
- SEAR can now be used against denizens. See the AB file for details.
- SEAR scales with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- SMITE now deals BLUNT damage rather than CUTTING against denizens.
- SMITE has had its damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Tekura
- Tekura punches and kicks have had their damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Terminus
- LAIAD’s damage boost against denizens has been slightly increased and will now cause your Shadowmancy attacks to deal UNBLOCKABLE damage against denizens.
## Twoarts
- MULTISLASH can now be used against denizens.
- MULTISLASH scales with strength and artefact band level against denizens.
- Using any INFUSE skill now increases the damage of your next sword attack against a denizen and convert its damage to the corresponding type.
- The damage dealt by DRAWSLASH against denizens has been adjusted to accomodate for the ability to combo it with a strike.
## Weaponmastery
- SLAUGHTER against denizens now deals BLUNT damage when wielding a warhammer rather than CUTTING.
- SLAUGHTER now deals bonus damage when under the effects of BATTLEFURY FOCUS PRECISION.
- DSL has had its damage slightly increased against denizens.
- WHIRL and DOUBLEWHIRL (DwB) have had their damage slightly increased against denizens.
- SLICE and SMASH (SnB) have had their damage slightly increased against denizens.
## Weatherweaving
- STATIC, THUNDERCLAP, RAZORWIND, CYCLONE, WATERSPOUT, and HAILSTONE can now be used against denizens both via CAST and SYNCHRONISE.
- The damage values of these spells against denizens have been adjusted to account for the ability to use two damage spells simultaneously via SYNCHRONISE.
- All spells in Weatherweaving scale with intelligence and the magic\_damage artefact power against denizens.
- Note that there is still no benefit to using OVERCHARGE against denizens.
- WINDWHIP now deals CUTTING damage rather than UNBLOCKABLE against denizens.
## Weaving
- The damage dealt by weaving attacks has been slightly increased against denizens.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [PvE Fixes & Tweaks](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/16/pve-fixes-tweaks)
**Published:** November 16, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
## Curses
We’ve fixed a bug with SWIFTCURSE BLEED where it was considered an equilibrium-based attack in certain places and thus was having its damage re-calculated for players with the faster\_eq artefact.
## Domination
The willpower cost when using LYCANTHA\[ against denizens has been reduced.
## Metamorphosis
The willpower cost when using GAZE against denizens has been reduced.
## Physiology
WRACK no longer bypasses denizen shields.
## Striking
STERNUM can now be used after TWOARTS RAZE against denizens.
## Twoarts
Using an infusion with MULTISLASH now converts all three slashes to the infused damage type against denizens. Note that the damage bonus still only applies to the first slash.
## Misc
The KILL command now prioritizes WRACK over EDUCE IRON for alchemists.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Inbhir Ness](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/17/inbhir-ness)
**Published:** November 17, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
It started with a spark.
Not just any spark, but a tragedy that evolved into a cataclysmic eruption that caused the eruption of Mount Harae, destroying countless lives throughout its unyielding rampage.
But from that, came hope. Excitement. Potential. Tremors in the following months caused sinkholes to form about the farm of a small valley village named Inbhir Ness.
In the village, a settlement of dwarves, refugees from their underground domain once ravaged by earthquakes and avalanches that forced them to eke a life above ground. Things changed for the worst for this almost forgotten clan, and now was the moment for things to swing in their favour once more.
Amidst the excitement, a Deep Council was rapidly organised: representatives of clans of multiple dwarven families around one table. Orcsplitters, Boulderscorch, Fiania, Ironson and more. An adventure was planned, for the sinkhole revealed Old Inbhir Ness, once thought lost to those of the living. The journey was eventful, groups from every city upon Sapience navigated puzzles of recounting past history, musical performances for ghosts, and even routing steam to a winding pipe network. It was the Mhaldorians that found a key to the one remaining area locked away from eyes, but it was the Hashani who entered the Abbey first. A substantial amount of the old Ness was laid bare, perfect for restoration and the return of the dwarves to their ancestral home.
Many years passed and finally Rhorg, Chief of Inbhir Ness announced the news many were waiting for. A festival to celebrate the reopening of their home, restored to greater glories. Worked upon by more than just Inbhir dwarves, but the very Chosen of Lord Phaestus, His most loyal children.
With the doors declared open once more, the fruits of hard labour were shown to the world. A great brewery promising a guided effort to produce your own drink! Anvilwake Memorial honouring relics and past notables. An area showcasing their crafting prowess and dwarven shops selling rugged wares!
And the games! From Boldarihm, came the rarely seen beardball! Standing upon the mountainside, countless kegs were tossed until only one remained. Of course it was a dwarf, the very Hand of Phaestus winning the Champion keg tossing belt. Statue carving followed, a faithful hound pulling at the heartstrings of the judges, earning Tahquil a miniature statue of her creation. And not to forget the dwarven classic: axe throwing! With many twists and turns to rival any sentinel axe thrower, it was Lystet who stood alone clutching the victor’s trophy.
What started with such despair and countless lives lost, balance was restored, as the dwarves of Inbhir Ness stand restored and invigorated.
With suggestions of continued collaboration and projects of grandeur, it might just be prudent to keep on eye on what the dwarves do next.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads commenting phase.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/17/classleads-commenting-phase)
**Published:** November 17, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Classlead submissions are now closed, and the commenting phase begins.
This is the period when historically you’d apply any comments to a classlead you had thoughts on, but now it shall mostly serve to comment any that either were submitted close to the deadline or that you’ve not quite finalised your thoughts on yet.
Please remember that this is not a voting round – you should supply reasoning for any comment on a classlead!
This phase shall run until 0 gmt on Wednesday 17th.
Penned by My hand on the 21st of Ero, in the year 990 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Share Posts, Earn Credits](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/13/share-posts-earn-credits-2)
**Published:** November 13, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Feeling social? We’re giving 3 lucky winners 100 credits just for following us on social media!
Head on over to the IRE account on any social platform to learn more and enter to win:
Facebook: Iron Realms Entertainment
Twitter/X: @IronRealms
Bluesky: @IronRealms.bsky.social
Contest closes Sunday 16/11, so head on over today for your chance to take home the gold.
Good luck!
Penned by My hand on the 10th of Aeguary, in the year 990 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Share Posts, Earn Credits](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/13/share-posts-earn-credits)
**Published:** November 13, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Penned by My hand on the 10th of Aeguary, in the year 990 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Dexterity Update](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/07/dexterity)
**Published:** November 7, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Excerpt:** We have entirely reworked the dexterity stat and the avoidance skill. Here are the quick changes, with some exposition below. If you aren't interested in the why and only the what, this is your section.
**Content:**
***PLEASE SEE CLASSLEADS post 161 FOR A FULL BREAKDOWN ON ASSOCIATED CHANGES, BUT READ THIS ANNOUNCE POST FIRST.***
The dexterity stat has historically proven to be one of our more problematic areas when it comes to PVP. In general, it either did not influence a class at all, was easy to overcome for a class, or was utterly crippling for a class. This was primarily due to the nature of a binary dodge system. In Achaea, missing an attack entirely is so extremely punishing that there was not really a way to make dexterity both impactful across the majority of classes while not also feeling terrible (because ultimately, everyone just hates missing due to RNG with very little you can do about it).
As a consequence, we have entirely reworked the dexterity stat and the avoidance skill. Here are the quick changes, with some exposition below. If you aren’t interested in the why and only the what, this is your section!
- Dexterity continues to scale your avoidance score, as do dexterity scaling abilities such as Subterfuge Weaving or Bladedance Acrobatics.
- Missing as a dodge mechanic has been removed. You may still miss under clumsiness or in conditional contexts (axekick against a standing target, for example).
- There is a new ability in avoidance: You may AVOID PHYSICAL, ARCANE, MENTAL, or AOE.
- Avoidance rolls have been added to the majority of classes.
- When hit with a category of what you’re avoiding, you make an avoidance roll. If successful, the damage of that attack is reduced.
- AOE is a special category – you’ll try to avoid all AOE attacks that can be avoided independent of the attack type, but of course this means you won’t avoid any directed attacks at all. This type of dodge does not have a third person line when it occurs currently, we can revisit this potentially but I think minimising the spam here is more important.
- You may not avoid if incapacitated by afflictions or conditions that make dodging impossible. These are the traditional ones: prone, paralysis, and entanglements of all forms.
- Unblockable sourced damage (and things that would bypass a shield of absorption artefact) are universally undodgeable regardless of any other factors in play.
- Asphyxiation damage is also undodgeable.
- New transcendent avoidance ability: EPITOMISE. This is functionally a very short-lived version of SHINDO PERFECTION and is intended to give a little more agency in large group fights.
- Six second duration, one minute cooldown.
- The light stepper trait no longer contributes to your avoidance rolls. Instead it increases duration by three seconds and cuts the cooldown by ten seconds. This trait has been automatically un-selected for everyone who had it, so you may reselect what you wish for that slot be it light stepper or something new.
Some exposition:
The two major goals of this update are to make dexterity universally applicable and desirable, and to give people more defensive agency (in both solo and team contexts).
On what criteria we used for if something should be dodgeable: generally if its a passive it can’t be as of this time. This is a design choice and not a technical limitation, so if it becomes warranted we can change this (or do it case-by-case). If it is an ambush attack like Subterfuge backstab, it also can’t be dodged. If it is a conditional attack (so gated in some means), it is unlikely to be dodgeable. If it is a ranged ability, (used in a ranged context), it cannot be dodged. If there’s something about the ability that contextually means that dodging is not likely (psionics bloodboil for example), then we might specifically decide in that case it can’t be dodged. Otherwise, generally if it is an active damaging attack, it can be. See the CLASSLEADS POST 161 for a full patch breakdown.
Dodge AOE: one recent frustration point that we’ve seen a lot is knowing people are going to AOE bomb you, but having very little way to mitigate it since a lot of people will just blow up to the on-mass damage. I think AOE serves an important role in large scale pvp as you do need ways to thin down huge numbers, but I’m also of a mind that if you know exactly what a team is going to do, being in the position that ‘a lot of our guys will just melt to off target damage’ is not a good place to be. This is a first step at adding more universal mitigation options here. Basically if you know a team is going to try something, we’d like you to have some ways to preemptively prepare for it.
Epitomise: dying instantly because six people all (to use a technical term) f1’d you sucks. This will still happen, but making this more engaging has been hign on the list for a while. A general purpose anti gank mechanism that is always on has been floated in the past, but I’m not convinced this is a good idea and feel this is a reasonable middle ground.
Asphyxiation damage: we’ve decided, given how held breath currently works, not to make asphyxiation damage dodgeable. This may change in the future, but having two defensive layers on top of general resistance does not currently feel appropriate.
Future plans:
This is the bulk of the technical work on the update. However, we’d like dexterity to apply to affliction and limb based offenses as well. We’ve got some ideas here, but they’re not quite there just yet. You can expect more added to the avoidance skill once those are finalised.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Dex patch.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/07/dex-patch)
**Published:** November 7, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
PLEASE REFER TO [ANNOUNCE POST 5735 before READING THIS POST](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/07/dexterity). IF YOU DO NOT, THIS WILL MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE.
## Alchemy
- IRON is now dodgeable.
## Anathema
- Nothing is dodgeable.
## Apostasy
- HUNT is no longer a dex roll to evade the ticks and will instead be a consistent skill based roll.
## Artifice
- STAFFCAST is now dodgeable when not under convergence (very high accuracy).
## Bladedance
- All basic bladedance attacks are now dodgeable.
- Conditional bladedance damage is not dodgeable (i.e. the extra damage dealt when striking an already damaged limb).
- EARWORM damage is not dodgeable.
## Charnel
- Nothing in Charnel is dodgeable.
## Composition
- Nothing in composition is dodgeable.
## Crystalism
- Nothing in Crystalism is dodgeable.
## Curses
- Nothing in Curses is dodgeable.
## Devotion
- Nothing in Devotion is dodgeable.
## Discipline and clones
- Nothing is dodgeable.
## Domination
- Nothing in domination is dodgeable.
## Dragoncraft
- Everything that was dodgeable under the old system is dodgeable under the new one.
## Duress
- Nothing in Duress is dodgeable, due to being asphyxiation damage. See announce for commentary.
## Elementalism
- BOMBARD is now dodgeable.
- DEEPFREEZE is now dodgeable(AOE, extremely accurate).
- FREEZE is now dodgeable.
- FULMINATE is now dodgeable.
- HAILSTORM is now dodgeable(AOE).
\*
- MAGMA is now dodgeable.
- STORMHAMMER is still not dodgeable. I may revisit this, but I feel this generally serves more of a closer roll still. I’m aware this one might be a somewhat contentious choice.
## Emulation
- Nothing in Emulation is dodgeable.
## Excision
- Nothing in Excision is dodgeable.
## Formulation
- Nothing in formulation is dodgeable.
## Groves
- Nothing in groves is dodgeable.
## Hypnosis
- Nothing in Hypnosis is dodgeable.
## Ignition
- Nothing in ignition is currently dodgeable. This will change, but it will require further discussion.
## Kaido
- Nothing in Kaido is dodgeable.
## Memorium
- WRACK is now dodgeable unless it has any kind of plague modifier on the damage.
## Metamorphosis
- All HYDRA attacks are now dodgeable.
- All misc morph attacks that were previously dodgeable under the old system are dodgeable under the new one.
- Failed INCINERATE is now dodgeable.
- INFERNO is now dodgeable (AOE).
- MAUL remains dodgeable under the new system in contexts it was dodgeable before. Maul augmentations remain undodgeable. General MAUL accuracy has gone up slightly, though not by much.
- SHRED is now dodgeable.
- STAMPEDE is now dodgeable.
- Wyvern FRENZY is now dodgeable.
## Necromancy
- DECAY is now dodgeable.
- TAINT is now dodgeable.
- VENGEANCE is not currently dodgeable, as this is unblockable damage. To be discussed in upcoming classlead round.
## Occultism
- BODYWARP is now dodgeable.
- CHAOSRAYS is now dodgeable(AOE).
- INSTILL is now dodgeable (unless you have a Glaaki truename).
- WARP is now dodgeable (when not used at ranged).
- Not that this probably ever came up, but fixed an assumedly ancient bug where if you got truenamed under level 30 instead of doing reduced damage, it did the reduced damage then did the full damage anyway. Those poor newbies.
## Oppression
- nothing is dodgeable.
## Pervasion
- All of Pervasion damage is now dodgeable (unless in a context you cannot dodge).
## Pestilence
- All pestilence damage is now dodgeable, except for SACRIFICE which joins the undodgeable AOE club.
## Physiology
- None of physiology is dodgeable.
## Pranks
- BOP remains dodgeable in contexts it was before.
- BACKHANDSPRING is now dodgeable.
- HANDSPRING is now dodgeable.
- VENT is now dodgeable.
## Propagation
- LACERATE is now dodgeable, unless they already have a slashed throat.
- THORNREND is now dodgeable.
## Psionics
- Nothing in Psionics is dodgeable.
## Puppetry
- Nothing in Puppetry is dodgeable.
## Reclamation
- LASH is now dodgeable (AOE).
## Sagas
- Nothing in Sagas is dodgeable.
## Sculpting
- POWDERISE is now dodgeable.
## Shadowmancy
- REAP and CULL are now dodgeable. This does not apply to the conditional aspects of the attacks (such as degeneration capstone).
## Shikudo
- Functionally all of shikudo is now dodgeable. Exceptions apply in the cases where nothing is dodgeable (prone/SoA bypassing attacks).
## Skirmishing
- Everything that was dodgeable under the old system is dodgeable under the new one.
## Spiritlore
- Nothing in Spiritlore is dodgeable.
## Spirituality
- Everything that was dodgeable under the old system is dodgeable under the new one.
## Sublimation
- COMBUSTION is now dodgeable (AOE).
## Subterfuge
- GARROTE vs players remains dodgeable against standing targets, though it is now a skill based roll and not a dex one. It is likely slightly more accurate in this case as a result, but that isn’t saying much as it is still very inaccurate in this case.
## Tarot
- Nothing in Tarot is dodgeable.
## Tekura
- Everything that was dodgeable under the old system is dodgeable under the new one. Things that were conditionally guaranteed to miss still miss (so axk, throws if not prone etc).
## Telepathy
- CRUSH without a mindlock is now dodgeable.
## Terminus
- TOOROS is not dodgeable, as it has built in cooldowns already.
- Tuad is now dodgeable (AOE, very high accuracy though).
## Twoarts
- All of twoarts that was dodgeable under the old system remains dodgeable under the new system.
- MULTISLASH has been reworked to be a roll independent of target’s dex for the subsequent slash chances (it gets harder to make each subsequent slash roll).
## Venom
- Nothing in Venom is dodgeable.
## Vodun
- Nothing in Vodun is dodgeable. Yes, shaman cannot be dodged.
## Weaponmastery
- If noted, flat tohit means the abilities do not scale to weapon tohit. The default behaviour is they do.
- Everything that was dodgeable under the old system is dodgeable under the new one.
- ARC is now dodgeable(AOE). This tohit is flat.
- LUNGE is now dodgeable. This tohit is flat.
## Weatherweaving
- HAILSTONE is now dodgeable.
- WATERSPOUT is now dodgeable.
## Weaving
- All weaving weapon attacks are now dodgeable, excluding FLURRY as this is covered by one of the general undodgeable cases (ignores SoA).
## Zeal
- PURGE is now dodgeable.
## Misc
- Being afflicted with AEON no longer makes you immune to dodging. This was previously introduced to make the jester aeonlock more reliable, and this is no longer necessary with the dexterity update.
- All clumsiness involving weapons has been moved to a standard roll system. Previously this was a modifier on tohit into dex, which could result in either clumsiness being utterly crippling or utterly inaffective.
- WEARINESS no longer reduces the value of dex in the new dodge calculations – this was a patch fix that is no longer needed.
- The GUISE talisman has had its damage type changed from unblockable to psychic.
- The GUISE talisman proc is now dodgeable(AOE).
- The CRUCIBLE talisman proc is now dodgeable (AOE).
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Phaestian, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads for November.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/10/classleads-for-november)
**Published:** November 10, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The hour is once more upon us: the last classlead round for 2025 is at hand.
The classlead process is how we balance classes and add new abilities to skills as appropriate, and is generally the time when you can get your voices heard on issues of combat balance.
For those of you unfamiliar with the classlead process (or who would just like a refresher), here are the basics:
– Classleads are anonymous.
– Each person can submit up to ten classlead reports. Please do not utilise alternative characters to bypass this limit: I will be annoyed (and yes, I can tell).
– Your reports should supply reasoning alongside the perceived problem: if something is too strong/weak, you should always state why. It’s best to avoid drawing comparisons to other classes, although sometimes this is appropriate. Use your best judgement!
– You should attempt to supply multiple solutions (where applicable – some cases are fairly cut and dry).
There are full details along with command breakdowns under HELP CLASSLEADS and the CLASSLEAD command.
I have made some small changes this round to facilitate easier commenting:
– You may now comment on any submitted report, there is no need to wait for the commenting phase. We will still have this phase of the process as usual, but I know this is a pain point since people try to cram it all in during that window when they could very easily have done so in a more relaxed manner over the submission period. Additionally, this will more easily facilitate getting community feedback on reports still in the system, since these naturally are already there and there is no reason to wait for commenting if people have thoughts.
– There was a previous limit on how many reports you could comment on. I’ve drastically raised this (by an order of magnitude), so there is no longer a need to hold your commenting for reports you feel strongly about.
Classlead submissions will run through the week, closing at 0 gmt on Monday the 17th of November.
I look forward to reading your reports!
Penned by My hand on the 20th of Mayan, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Trial of Sir Gladius Dorn: Part II](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/09/the-trial-of-sir-gladius-dorn-part-ii)
**Published:** November 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Old Despair
by
Sister Elenara
“Grey mist settles on the hushed quay of New Hope,
where convent bells once braided dawn to prayer.
Their copper tongues lie quiet now,
cold beneath a spreading stain of iron.
A widow stands upon the tide-slick stones;
her lantern tilts, its sputtering flame
recalls a sister’s voice long drowned,
a promise pared to silence by the sea.
She names no killers, only absence,
and feeds the surf a strand of silver hair.
Within the ruined cloister, walls remember
how scholars traced forbidden circles
round a shard of bridling light.
They sang of duty, bound in wax and vellum,
yet the hymn turned sharp:
cut sister from sister, truth from breath,
left hope to bloom in candle smoke alone.
Gladius walked that corridor of echoes,
seeking verdict, seeking voice.
Few knew the hunger buried in his breast,
fewer still the shape of what was taken.
On a night of splintered rigging
pirate weapons split the dark;
Vorondil hewed the final thread,
and captain fell: no court, no plea,
only the quiet acceptance of the deep.
Now parchment drifts on hollow wind,
ink weeps, memory congeals.
The case is closed by claw and shrapnel,
witness lost to mortal rage.
Yet in the vaulted hush of the archive,
unused tomes breathe open,
revealing the sinuous path of every oath
that led to this undone day.
Let the record show:
one drowned prophetess,
one widow crowned in salt,
one knight fractured by stolen light,
one village trading vows for steel,
and in the hush between each name,
a question none may answer:
was any of it justice, or only the echo
of a covenant forsaken?
The lantern guttered; the inquest drowned;
the tale, unfinished, sinks beneath the tide.
What remains is ash upon the ledger,
and the soft insistence of the waves
that all bright things remembered
will one day wash ashore again.”
\~~~
Summary: Following an attack by the pirates of Captain Blackgale, or Sir Gladius Dorn, a particular Targossian murdered the shackled man before his trial, silencing all secrets that might be revealed, forever.
Penned by My hand on the 2nd of Glacian, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Transportation Precept: Traverse](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/04/transportation-precept-traverse)
**Published:** November 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
By order of the Children of the Eastern Plains, the following is declared:
In furtherance of our goals of propagating continued safe travel for any and all planar travellers across above around and through the reaches of the Traverse, we have deemed the dimensional wormholes instituted by Sapient Primes on the lower reaches of the Traverse to be within acceptable parameters.
Connection between Frysta and Bjarndyr is therefore approved for public use.
Wormhole transportation is heavily regulated under Kelstaad Statute TV-6194 for reasons of safety and security.
Sapient Primes who wish to splice additional wormholes between Bjarnstead or other Kelstaad territories must submit the appropriate paperwork outlining a clear and present necessity for it to exist.
Unauthorised splicing of Kelstaad territory will be redressed accordingly.
Glory to the Kelstaad!
Penned by My hand on the 18th of Ero, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Logosmas carols!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/04/logosmas-carols)
**Published:** November 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey, everyone!
It’s time for a brand new Discord contest! (HELP DISCORD if you’re not already in our server).
With Logosmas coming up, we’re asking that you write your very own \*\*Logosmas carol\*\*! The winners may even be featured in an upcoming Logosmas event, so this is a good chance to get your work seen by all!
We’ll be awarding bound credits (and featuring in game) up to five winners: 400/300//150/100/50 respectively. Here are the rules:
\* NO AI. We will 100% disqualify you at the minimum for it.
\* No minimum or maximum length.
\* The work must be distinctly Achaean and not based on any OOC carols in any way, including parodies.
\* It should be singable so keep that in mind! We don’t expect you to write the music, though, just the lyrics.
You have until \*\*November 28th\* to submit your work in the #contests channel. Good luck!
Penned by My hand on the 17th of Ero, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Trade Notice: Bjarnstead](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/02/trade-notice-bjarnstead)
**Published:** November 2, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
By the authority of the Eastern Plains, the following is declared:
– With proper supply routes secured, trade with Bjarnstead is now permitted beyond the outer walls.
– A tradekeeper has been assigned to oversee all sanctioned exchange.
– All requisitions, requests, and bounty turn-ins are to be made directly through this representative without exception.
Trade will be accepted in rare minerals only. Coin holds no measure in these dealings.
Additionally, a bounty is hereby issued for the removal of pests within the Traverse. Verified kills are to be reported to the appointed tradekeeper of Bjarnstead for compensation.
Let the work of the Kelstaad continue in strength and purpose.
No stone unturned.
Penned by My hand on the 23rd of Miraman, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [November in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/11/01/november-in-achaea-6)
**Published:** November 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Somehow November has arrived already and we’re nearing the end of 2025!
This month you can expect a classlead round and a major update to avoidance in addition to continuing narratives around Inbhir Ness (including the triumphant return of Beardball), the newly-established outpost of Bjarnstead, and something \[redacted\] late in the month!
Meanwhile the artefact cart returns to the Achaea website and throughout November you can also obtain talisman pieces via direct purchase.
The Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an Iron Elite membership. Remember to be logged in to the website to take advantage of the IRE Elite discount!)
On top of the standard 30/40% discount offered by the artefact cart, we’re also further discounting select artefact categories throughout the month:
1st through 10th – Offensive and Class artefact categories.
11th through 20th – Crafting and Tradeskill, and Miscellaneous categories.
21st through 30st – Defensive, Stat and Regen, and Artefact Armour categories.
Talisman pieces are also available directly from the Achaea website in batches of 1, 5, 10, 15, and 30. Sets available include Historical, Monks, Invasion, Blackwave, Wonders, Moderngods and Marks, in addition to the random cache!
Talisman piece purchases give caches.
Every ten caches (this is tracked per set, so four Moderngods and six Marks won’t work):
– If you have elite, you get another cache
– In addition, you get either:
\* A random rarer piece if its a specific set.
\* Another random piece cache if its your tenth random cache.
But there’s more!
By popular demand, we’re also bringing back the Delos discount for the second time this year! For November, all artefacts in the Delosian shops will be 20% cheaper! This is a flat discount that won’t scale with anything else.
This includes artefact upgrades, and purchases from the talisman shop but does not include partial completions.
Stay tuned for another busy month, enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 6th of Aeguary, in the year 989 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [RE: Your concerns.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/18/re-your-concerns)
**Published:** October 18, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Good morning.
While the Professor is out of the office this month, he asked me to check his mail for anything relevant and to coordinate with Academy spokespeople if a comment might be necessary, particularly given his recent status as a public figure.
I’ve been instructed to inform you that our institution has always supported free and open exchanges. Such things, however, are not remotely the same as a matter of security. The increasingly lawless nature of the Traverse – including societal rights abuses like slavery – is rendering notions of intellectual exchange farcical, alongside the rising death toll.
The right to safe travel between communities is a fundamental necessity in order to facilitate an ongoing free and open trade in ideas and research between civilised societies.
Kindly,
Seminarian Bedesh
School of Planar Metaphysics
Campaign Publicity Associate, Alarstead
Penned by My hand on the 8th of Daedalan, in the year 988 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [An Internal Audit](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/14/an-internal-audit)
**Published:** October 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I’m pleased to announce the debut of a long requested feature that has finally come to Achaea: \[0;1;37mAUDIT\[0;37m!
Inspired by the Aetolia ability, AUDIT allows you to see a breakdown of various information related to your character, including critical hit bonuses, XP bonuses, resistances, and some other bits.
Crucially, it also allows you to audit a specific thing to see what is currently modifying it, fulfilling a long-standing request for more transparency on this front.
\[0;1;37mHELP AUDIT\[0;37m has a more detailed breakdown for those interested. Some final notes:
– We’ve spent a few weeks doing internal and ACC testing, but please report any bugs or inconsistencies ASAP.
– This is a phase 1 release. Health and mana regeneration are not currently included but are on the to-do list for the next update.
Enjoy, and send your esteems to Caesan for his hard work on this!
Penned by My hand on the 14th of Chronos, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Reminder: Scheduled Downtime Tomorrow at 22:00 CST](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/14/reminder-scheduled-downtime-tomorrow-at-2200-cst)
**Published:** October 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
This is just a reminder that as per my last post, our ISP will be undertaking maintenance that will cause some amount of downtime around 22:00 CST tomorrow (Tuesday 14th October). This may last up to a maximum of eight hours but we hope it will be significantly shorter than that.
Some quick addendums from the previous:
– The game may or may not go down at exactly 22:00, it could be slightly earlier or slightly later.
– I’d recommend not being engaged in anything strenuous or dangerous around then.
– The game clock and tasks will not continue while the server is down, which should mean no advancement on time-based events or decays, etc.
– As this is far into the night for me, it is unlikely (but not impossible) that I will be around when the game comes back up, so there won’t be any notification or post until the next morning.
Thanks again for your patience!
Penned by My hand on the 4th of Chronos, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Go Forth, Children of the Eastern Plains](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/12/go-forth-children-of-the-eastern-plains)
**Published:** October 12, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The recently published points of our representative’s conclave gave me cause for elation.
It is no secret that there have been regular fissures emerging within what we once assumed was the bedrock of a safe, secure society. I lost my own second-mother in the Vigilant uprisings, and the onslaught we suffered in our outposts and Compliances from demonic forces was well-reported in these pages. Furthermore, there is a common theme in assessments by security experts about how we have been repeatedly blindsided in recent decades, even centuries.
That the Infernal substrate proclaimed alliance with their ruled peoples, the Akaen, is something that has been given too little attention. I, at least, have believed for some time that we should all be wary of and take precautions against such creatures. Whoever these people are, and whatever their reverence for the deeds of an Infernal Prince, our society can only be harmed if we risk permitting another Vigilance movement to emerge within our political class.
And so the vote means not only the prohibition of Vigilance views and political allegiance, embedded in the very veins and arteries of our legal code, but it furthermore ensures and provides funding for new security cordons on the approaches to the homeworld, to Sanctus and the Kelstaad plains.
No longer will we suffer from the open border that offered the Vigilant such opportunity for subversion, or have our free market policies exploited by extraplanar actors. No more will we be at risk from Rajamalan crime and enslavement of peaceful travellers.
Nor, for that matter, are we to be endangered by Pelagia-esque genocides and purges for “seditious behaviour” detailed in recent Inquirer articles. We will not sleepwalk into another crisis of our freedom or society.
But this is not isolation, like Illythrin. We are not hiding behind high walls.
It is security.
As reported in these pages by our investigators, Sorathia has pledged there will be no objection from the Solarn. Administrator Chellen and Emissary Ulghoch likewise support our proposals in pursuit of reasonable expectations for future venture safety.
We are not putting the legions into the fray. There is no need for the Liberation. We are simply taking on the rights and burdens of a responsible great power.
The time is now, people of the Tribes. Now is our opportunity to make sure we bring peace, safety, and security not just to our outposts and efforts elsewhere in the Traverse, but to the sacred earth of our home.
Writing for “The Samaritan” (always by the people, for the people),
Antelne, the Discoverer.
Penned by My hand on the 18th of Lupar, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Upcoming Maintenance Downtime: 14th October, 22:00 CST](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/10/upcoming-maintenance-downtime-14th-october-2200-cst)
**Published:** October 10, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
This is just a notice to inform you that our ISP has scheduled maintenance to occur on Tuesday 14th October at 22:00 CST which will potentially involve up to 8 hours of downtime.
We hope that the downtime will not be anywhere near this long, and that this is a worst case scenario, but that’s the information we’ve been given.
Sorry in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.
Penned by My hand on the 23rd of Ero, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [On behaviour and attitudes toward staff and volunteers](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/08/on-behaviour-and-attitudes-toward-staff-and-volunteers)
**Published:** October 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hey folks,
While we do not generally publicise or announce administrative punishments, it is almost inevitable that you will end up hearing rumours about a recent high profile shrubbing. We want to clarify where we are coming from with this and hopefully avoid a game of telephone situation in the process.
I mentioned recently that one of the reasons volunteers leave or may be hesitant to take on a certain god role is that the environment in an organisation tied to that role is less than welcoming or is unappealing in some way beyond simply the themes or the god itself.
There can be numerous reasons for this, ranging from a low period of interest in the org’s rp all the way up to being outright toxic or otherwise abusive to volunteers. The problem, especially with the latter, is that this does not only impact the volunteer in question but actively harms your own organisation. It can and does result in fewer people (staff or volunteer) willing to interact or engage with you or your organisation, fewer god roles to rp with for you, fewer opportunities for events, Order membership, patrons, and org-requests all as a consequence of a bad attitude.
This is an absolute morale killer because frankly if nobody on my team wants to play with your city because of the people in it, then it becomes less fun for everyone involved and starts a bit of a vicious cycle that I would always prefer to avoid. Our general stance on this has typically been that while it is unfortunate, we can’t really interfere directly most of the time because it steps over into interfering with your organisation, or telling you how to play the game, or sometimes there’s no rule technically being broken.
Moving forward, however, we’ve concluded that it’s impossible to ignore certain problem behaviours forever without unfairly punishing everyone else that surrounds the problematic individuals. This means that if you display a history of (OOC) harassing, insulting, belittling, or otherwise discouraging volunteers from even looking at your organisation, you may face actual punishment. You can expect similar if your raison d’etre is to continually berate the staff and make it impossible to engage with you in a reasonable, rational way.
\*\* Please note that having an in character opposition to a God is not what we’re talking about here. You’re free to, in character, swear vengeance upon an opposing divine, to work to thwart their plans, and so on. You will only be in trouble if you go after volunteers or staff themselves or play in such a way that your disruptiveness is impossible to separate from OOC disruption. \*\*
\*\* Similarly, expressing negative feedback, having an earnest complaint, or disliking something in the game is not at all an issue here. But it’s entirely possible to communicate that in a constructive and mature way without feeling the need to (for example) levy personal insults or attacks against the event runner, concoct and spread false narratives of bias about volunteers that are not even involved in the matter being discussed, or respond to genuine attempts to buy in to your IC actions with world-impacting consequences with a tirade of curse-laden abuse. (All of these have happened recently) \*\*
Rest assured that it is practically impossible for you to ever run into issues with this by accident. Unless you have explicitly and knowingly gone out of your way to make volunteers feel bad for playing with you (and this is a very small number of people who can even debatably be on this list) you are probably 100% fine.
I want to close with a reminder that at the end of the day, I and my team want absolutely nothing more than to make the game fun for as many people as possible. As always, I strongly counsel that treating everything that happens in the game as part of the IC narrative will result in a much more satisfying experience for everyone. I can offer my personal promise that nobody is out to get you or invested in seeing your experience as a player be an OOC-negative one.
– Icti
Penned by My hand on the 5th of Scarlatan, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [And more changes.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/07/and-more-changes)
**Published:** October 7, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
I’m going to start including the classlead report numbers where relevant in these, just so people can review them. I’m Also going to stop deleting reports and keep the resolved ones around going forward so people can review things post fact more easily. I’ll set up some kind of archival before the next round so the list doesn’t become a nightmare to parse through. We likely should have done this a long time ago!
Anathema
——–
\* (200) Being prone and paralysed (both, not one or the other) will cause presence not to tick. I do not love this solution, but finding something that everyone has access to and that only really comes into play post lock was surprisingly challenging. I’m open to revising this condition, but this should patch the issue until a better idea makes itself known.
Crystalism
———-
\* (84) \[0;1;37mFOREST\[0;37m can now be destabilised for room wide bleeding. Very narrow use case, but it was missing from the list and perhaps this can be used.
\* (critical) The destabilise abfile vibe list is now alphabetic.
Elementalism
————
\* (bug) Fixed an issue with \[0;1;37mDEHYDRATE\[0;37m left over from the old freeze/burning interaction.
Propagation
———–
\* (175) I did this a while ago apparently but didn’t update the abfile (so possibly did not announce it). \[0;1;37mTHORNREND\[0;37m now supports inline for all three of venoms, limb, and propagation for arms. The abfile now reflects this.
\* (261) \[0;1;37mVINEWREATHE\[0;37m duration reduced by ten seconds (twenty five to fifteen).
\* (261) \[0;1;37mVINEWREATHE\[0;37m no longer cuts thornrend damage in half.
\* (261) \[0;1;37mTHORNREND\[0;37m has had its damage increased slightly so that it always preps in five hits (sometimes could round down to six previously).
Spiritlore
———-
\* (113) \[0;1;37mSOULREND\[0;37m now has other afflictions which can modify it in addition to manaleech. See the abfile for specifics.
Vision
——
\* (114) \[0;1;37mSECRETS\[0;37m no longer can be performed while impatient. I’ve gone back and forth on the secrets issue a lot over the years, but ultimately I think there is value in retaining this to keep an element of nondeterminism at the higher tiers, particularly with how automation has improved over the years. That said, I think its worth this being more of a transient benefit or something opted in for with a more fragile focus stack and not something which sticks under impatience for prolong periods.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 15th of Aeguary, in the year 987 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [September Daily Quest Rewards!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/01/september-daily-quest-rewards)
**Published:** October 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The rewards for the September daily quest have been distributed to all those who completed at least 15 riddles during the month! In cases where folks already owned a glass orb of writhing smoke, that existing orb has been updated with the new visions! Thank you for everyone who participated!
Also a quick clarification for everyone! Even if you did not complete all 19 riddles during September, you can still preserve your gilded scrolls of regal affirmation through the CUSTOMISATION system if you want to do so!
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Phaestian, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [October in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2025/10/01/october-in-achaea-5)
**Published:** October 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Birthday month comes to a close and those of who you completed the September daily quest at least 15 times will soon receive your reward!
As always we have another busy month planned with Mayaween shenanigans and more on the calendar for the weeks ahead.
In the meantime we’re welcoming back polymegahedral dice! These can be obtained on the website via www.achaea.com/credits.
Dice purchases also award House and City credits, and, for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra one!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches that open for the War, Scholars, and Renegades sets.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: Shining teardrops for use in the FAESHOP, see HELP FAESHOP for details!
\* You will always receive between 10 and 15 of these, and they trade in for 3 bound credits per tear (FAESHOP TRADEIN ).
\* These can also now be traded with FAESHOP GIVE TO )
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize!
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
As always, capping renown 7 times will also award one dice!
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Phaestian, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [30 Years of Adventure](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/29/30-years-of-adventure)
**Published:** September 29, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
I want to begin by thanking Matt. His creativity, vision, and persistence are the reason these worlds exist at all, and we are all in his debt. His legacy is everywhere in Iron Realms, and we are grateful for everything he has built.
It is astonishing to think that our games have been running for nearly 30 years. Few online communities in the world can boast that kind of history, and the fact that MUDs remain alive and thriving today is a testament to you, the players who breathe life into them every single day. It is also the result of the hard work and creativity of current and past staff who have poured their passion into building and maintaining these worlds.
Today, it is the staff who continue to drive our games forward with their dedication and imagination. They create the experiences and stories that keep our worlds vibrant. But none of that would be possible without the support of you, the players, whose presence and commitment allow us to sustain well-staffed games and push the boundaries of what a text games can be.
My commitment is simple: to honor what makes these worlds special while ensuring they grow. That means finding new ways to introduce people to MUDs, making it easier for fresh faces to discover our games, and giving both new and veteran players reasons to keep coming back.
Iron Realms has always been about collaboration between staff, volunteers, and most of all, our community. I am excited to keep building the next chapter with you, and to make sure the next 30 years are as full of adventure as the first.
Thank you for being part of this wonderful adventure.
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Lupar, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Hate Speech Penalties Updated](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/29/hate-speech-penalties-updated)
**Published:** September 29, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hello everyone,
Thanks to Matt being ahead of his time in the 90’s, Achaea has always tried to be inclusive to people of all ethnicities, genders, and sexualities. It’s true that sometimes we have failed and had to correct course, and it’s also true that as times have changed, what was once progressive policy can also fall behind.
To that end, from now on we are going to be MUCH harsher on all manner of OOC slurs and hate speech. Per HELP ADMIN PENALTIES, your first offence will now be a minimum 30 day shrub, zero tolerance.
There is no excuse in 2025 to belittle people with OOC references to gender, race, or orientation and we see no reason to give anyone using these terms or language the benefit of the doubt.
Please be proactive in reporting hate speech to us via the ISSUE command. We really cannot watch everything at once and we can’t act on what we don’t see (we don’t actually want to watch all your communications by default, and we don’t).
Sincerely,
the Achaean administration team.
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Lupar, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Transition](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/29/transition)
**Published:** September 29, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi everyone,
Some of you know me, and for others I was before your time, but I’m Matt Mihaly, the founder & CEO of Iron Realms. I started working on Achaea in 1995, 30 years ago, and we launched Achaea over 28 years ago. Back then, there was no Iron Realms – the company was just called Achaea LLC because I had never envisioned there being more than one game.
Four years later we launched Aetolia, and then in 2003 Imperian and in 2004 Lusternia. Starmourn, of course, came much later, and in the meantime we also launched and later shutdown Midkemia Online.
Starting Iron Realms is probably the best decision of my life – up there with marrying my wife. It’s given me an incredible creative outlet and a livelihood doing something I love. But, 30 years is a long time. I was 23 when I started work on Achaea. I’m 53 now, and it’s time for a new phase of my life.
So, I’m stepping down as CEO of Iron Realms and promoting Jeremy Saunders, IRE’s long-time President, to CEO. Jeremy’s been running Iron Realms day to day for a long time as it is, and there’s nobody who is more steeped in Iron Realms than Jeremy. He started his involvement playing Achaea a couple years after we launched, and became Sartan, the God of Evil. He then started Imperian and was the initial producer of the game, eventually getting promoted to President many years ago.
Jeremy’s been involved with Iron Realms longer than anyone else (other than me) that’s active either as a staff member, volunteer or an even semi-regular player and if anyone can keep a commercial MUD developer-publisher thriving in 2025 and onwards, its him.
I won’t be disappearing completely – I’ll still be available to Jeremy as an advisor and I continue to own most of the company – but I’m excited that he’s going to be running the show fully and of course, the producers of the individual games will continue running their own fantastical circuses.
Thank you all for being the beating heart of our worlds. It’s been a pleasure (occasionally a pain too, not gonna lie but what are ups without some downs?) and an honor co-creating these worlds with all staff, volunteers, and players that have contributed. If you want to reach me for whatever, Im at matt@mattmihaly.com or matt@ironrealms.com. I wont be able to assist you with any issues with the games or company youre having, but I try to always reply.
Jeremy can always be reached at jeremy@ironrealms.com, and I believe he’ll be posting his own letter to you all soon.
Thank you for everything and I sincerely hope you continue to enjoy the worlds weve all built together.
-matt
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Lupar, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [More wishes?](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/26/more-wishes)
**Published:** September 26, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Based on feedback, props in the Tournament of Names have had their wish for cost divided by five for participating jester-classed shells.
If this really has inspired you to want to play jester for the tournament where the cost limitations put you off before, let me know in the next 24 hours and I’ll swap you over!
Penned by My hand on the 22nd of Miraman, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Auctions Ending](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/25/auctions-ending)
**Published:** September 25, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Just a reminder that the current batch of AUCTIONS will be ending this coming Serenade, and that there is not a day 0 on the countdown!
Penned by My hand on the 8th of Miraman, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Nameless Tournament: Some Rules Etc](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/22/nameless-tournament-some-rules-etc)
**Published:** September 22, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Before the Tournament of Names rolls around, we ask that everyone familiarise themselves with these rules. These will be in place for the duration of the tournament.
PARTICIPANTS:
Nameless members of the Pariah class will not have access to tablets.
Nameless members of the Pariah class will not be able to raise crypts.
Nameless members of the Pariah class will start with the interment ritual already performed.
Contenders will be able to pinpoint the location of other contenders at all times.
Immolation in the Yggdrasil flame will not be possible. Recovery from death is by embrace only.
Phasing will not be possible.
The hour of grace is counted as part of the six hours.
All Nameless will have all proficiencies learned / maxed out.
Do not accept assistance from outsiders.
Do not intentionally attack outsiders.
The following areas are entirely off-limits:
– Refuge areas (isolation, nirvana, etc. Chaos plane is permitted for pacting only).
– Ships.
– Cities and non-public organisation property.
TO THE REST OF THE WORLD:
If you are not participating in this contest officially DO NOT INTERFERE. You will be shrubbed for at least the duration of the contest if you do and may affect the competition for the contender you are attempting to help.
Outsiders should avoid contender fighting. If you are unlucky enough to die from contender fighting you have no recourse, you cannot hire, and you cannot issue. Let it go. If you do not wish to die to a room attack, stay away from places where contenders are fighting.
We will reiterate again: do not assist these characters. Do not transfer them items by any means. Do not scout for them. Do not exile, anathema, forest enemy, or excommunicate participating characters.
Those involved in the event should also not give out any of their items, be that cures or other resources.
Thank you!
Penned by My hand on the 22nd of Sarapin, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Tournament of Names, 2025 Edition](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/22/the-tournament-of-names-2025-edition)
**Published:** September 22, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The Tournament of Names returns on September 27th at 17:00 GMT (see UPCOMING)!
This will be a 6 hour long PK contest in which contenders take on the role of a Kashari character in the class of their choice. The winner will earn 2000 bound credits, a unique honours line, and a special challenger’s horn. As an added twist, the winner will have the option to change their true character’s name. This will involve either working with the Garden team to decide on a name, or you may keep the name of your champion contender character.
All participants will also earn an honours line regardless of placement.
Adopting your character will be done with a command to be announced at the start of the contest. We strongly suggest setting a new password when you assume your character for the first time, as the one we will supply you with may not be ideal (or memorable).
Each contender will be level 80 with most general skills transcendent and their class skills transcendent. Contenders will have 5000 bound credits with which to buy artefacts. They will have a full complement of vials and curatives, but selling/trading these is not permitted. A full rift will be provided, ensuring adequate supplies of tarot cards, crystals, commodities for traps/puppets and so on.
All contenders will begin with full karma, devotion, and essence reserves. Contenders will have a gold amount at the start and begin in a starting shop. Sharing gold/items from this location is not permitted with other contenders or the general public.
As an update to the format, all contenders will also gain access to a one-off use of the new \[0;1;37mRECUPERATE\[0;37m ability. This can be used once, at any time throughout the contest and will restore all resources other than health, mana, and afflictions back to their fresh values. This includes devotion, karma, and essence.
As each contender enters the contest they will have an hour of grace for setup time. This time can be used to setup curing/systems, as well as purchase artefacts and supplies. This grace can be renounced early, but it can’t be extended.
Each participant will have three lives, and will have no starburst effects accessible. If you die three times, you are out of the contest. Disconnecting, journalling, or hiding in any similar fashion for 30 minutes or more will result in a loss of a life. If you do so for an hour or more you will lose two lives. Your number of lives can be replenished by removing other contenders from the contest (killing off their final life), though your life count remains capped at three. Contenders will not earn or lose experience.
We’re also going to strongly suggest you do not inform people of who you are when you assume your shell character. You can do this if you want to, but if large groups of shells who happen to all share the same city affiliation on their standard characters start working together, said characters will find themselves penalised. This does not mean you can’t team people, but you should do so organically in the spirit of the event rather than splitting down factional lines. This will be very obvious to us if it starts happening, so please do not do it. This however is not a duelling event: we do expect carnage.
Kills will be tracked in case of multiple people still being alive at the end of the contest. If more than one contender is alive at the end there will be a single area deathmatch to determine the winner. All other contenders will be considered an enemy, and allies will not be available. Forming parties will not be possible.
SIGNING UP
———-
Haidar can be found at the Tasur’ke harbour and as of this post, is accepting sign-ups for the Tournament.
To sign up: say “I wish to earn my name as a member of the class”
Give Haidar the 100,000 when prompted.
Once you have signed up you cannot change your class choice. Choose wisely.
Go forth, have fun, and earn your name!
Penned by My hand on the 13th of Sarapin, in the year 986 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Auctions one and six.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/19/auctions-one-and-six)
**Published:** September 19, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Due to a technical issue, auctions one and six have both been reset. We apologise for any inconvenience!
Penned by My hand on the 16th of Chronos, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Birthday Auctions, Double Renown, Double XP](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/15/birthday-auctions-double-renown-double-xp)
**Published:** September 15, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
This is just a reminder that Double Xp and Double Renown will both end at the coming Serenade!
Coincidentally this is also when the birthday auctions will be opening! HELP AUCTIONS will be of interest for those not familiar.
Penned by My hand on the 5th of Valnuary, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Snap classleads.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/15/snap-classleads)
**Published:** September 15, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Here are the changes from the snap classlead round, as well as some others:
Bladedance
———-
\* Refrain is now hindered by clumsiness instead of weariness. The first person message to the caster has changed in the event of a failure.
Domination
———-
\* Command is now hindered by clumsiness instead of weariness. The first person message to the caster has changed in the event of a failure.
Evileye
——–
\* Evileye now correctly unmasks the hinder affliction in the event of a failure.
Hypnosis
——–
\* \[0;1;37mSNAP\[0;37m now requires and incurs equilibrium, similar to suggest.
\* \[0;1;37mSNAP\[0;37m can now be processed inline (i.e. \[0;1;37mDSTAB MAKARIOS CURARE KALMIA SNAP\[0;37m).
Necromancy
———-
\* \[0;1;37mBLACKWIND\[0;37m may no longer be performed within the Oniar arena.
Occultism
———
\* \[0;1;37mASTRALFORM\[0;37m may no longer be performed within the Oniar arena.
Pestilence
———-
\* Swarm abilities are now hindered by clumsiness instead of weariness. First and third person messages have changed in the event of a failure.
Venom
—–
\* \[0;1;37mSHRUGGING\[0;37m is moved into a comboable active (so happens post dstab not pre) and incurs an equilibrium.
\* \[0;1;37mSHRUGGING\[0;37m can now be processed inline (i.e. \[0;1;37mDSTAB MAKARIOS CURARE KALMIA SHRUGGING\[0;37m).
\* \[0;1;37mSHRUGGING\[0;37m has had its cooldown reduced from thirteen seconds to ten.
\* Resolved various bugs surrounding scytherus combined with ekanelia.
\* A new ekanelia has been added (\[ACONITE\] requiring DEADENING + DEMENTIA = PARANOIA). Essentially better focus lock support.
Vision
——
\* \[0;1;37mSEARCH\[0;37m has had its balance cost reduced.
Zeal
—-
\* Recite is now hindered by clumsiness instead of weariness. The first person message to the caster has changed in the event of a failure.
\* Zeal now correctly unmasks the hinder affliction in the event of a failure.
Misc
—-
\* \[0;1;37mHYPOCHONDRIA\[0;37m becomes a lobelia cure.
\* General note: weariness is no longer going to serve as a clumsiness hinder for some classes. This is being unified and clumsiness will fill this role universally.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 22nd of Ero, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Great Hunt Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/14/great-hunt-results-3)
**Published:** September 14, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The Great Hunt is now concluded, after a relentless 24 hours of hunting!
My congratulations go out to Thiev, Veanna, and Chikoo, the winners in their tiers claiming the grand prize of five hundred credits each!
The top ten in each tier have also been awarded credit prizes!
Rank Sub-80 Sub-99 Open
———————————————–
1 Chikoo Veanna Thiev
2 Kekek Kazume Dochitha
3 Phinara Goche Khaseem
4 Sallow Taril Gavai
5 Alania Tressania Crixos
6 Twylish Kilmora Faedwyn
7 Jinha Danthan Proficy
8 Zini Delia Tarvius
9 Pompom Meral Veldrin
10 Adelicia Niyol Cooper
Well done to all who participated. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed putting it together!
For the rest of the month there are two more visits from the Itinerant Bazaar scheduled, a CTF next weekend, and the Nameless Tournament the weekend after!
Keep your eyes on \[0;1;37mUPCOMING\[0;37m!
Penned by My hand on the 9th of Scarlatan, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Renown Cap Increase](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/13/renown-cap-increase)
**Published:** September 13, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
Due to some confusion with when the extra renown cap was supposed to end, I’ve re-enabled it until Monday at 00:00 – that’s not the coming Serenade but the one after.
That means 4000 renown is the cap until then.
Enjoy, and sorry for any mix ups!
Penned by My hand on the 24th of Miraman, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Great Hunt looms!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/12/the-great-hunt-looms)
**Published:** September 12, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
In a few hours (see UPCOMING for details!), the horns will sound, signalling the beginning of the Great Hunt!
For those who are not familiar, a Great Hunt is a 24 hour hunting contest with various credit prizes!
Prize tiers are split into three levels: below level 80, below level 99, and “open” which is anything above 99 and onwards!
As is customary, we have:
\* Double experience
\* Credits will be awarded to everyone who reaches different point thresholds.
5cr at 100 points, 10cr at 1000, and 15cr at 2500 points.
\* Credit prizes for the top ten winners in each tier.
500cr for first through to 50cr for 10th.
On top of that:
\* All of the Great Hunt caves will be opening, offering bonus XP and gold for all the boss kills.
\* The more difficult foray bosses (Horald, Vulkuz, and all Reckoning forays) have massively increased XP and gold rewards.
\* The forces of the Underworld will be deployed to the battlefield on a more frequent basis.
\* Invasions will be breaking out on the Elemental Planes, also offering boosted XP for kills of hostile elementals.
\* The Gnolls of Manara Burrow will be spreading their influence to the Granite Hills in great number for lower level players to enjoy!
\* The Sidhe and Unsidhe will clash in the forests of Annwyn, bringing greater numbers and new forces to be fought.
\* The outriders of Istarion will be regularly deployed in larger numbers into the Istar Jungle.
\* Additionally, for the duration of the Great Hunt there will be a chance to loot rare, honour-mob trinkets from any killed denizen in addition to normal gear drops!
See HELP GREAT HUNT for the rest!
Good luck!
Penned by My hand on the 3rd of Miraman, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Love Lost: Postscript](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/09/love-lost-postscript)
**Published:** September 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
In the frigid days of the new year, the Unholy Sister, Emalaith brought glad tidings to the Tyrannus of Mhaldor.
Swiftly the servants of Malevolence gathered to mete vengeance upon those who would use the instruments and servants of Evil as nothing more than an advantageous tool. They marched at once, following the trail laid out by their agent; soon, they stood under the rushing waters of the Morland waterfalls, in the Vashnar mountains.
There sat Viol’aa, the dispossessed, defeated but still defiant. What words were exchanged in that moment of meeting, who can say? Whatever they were, there was never much to say.
The whip of barbed teeth which which the Mhaldorians subjugated a demon in the name of the Conqueror Iniquitous once more unfurled from the Tyrannus’ hand.
A first strike cleaved skin and muscle alike from bone, and a second silenced any reply. The unbeliever was forced to kneel upon a shattered leg, and as the Mhaldorians watched on, Sartan’s Chosen Tyrant ripped apart what little was left of Viol’aa’s mortal flesh, leaving her pinned to the ground upon her own spine as so many other infidels were, before her.
Despite her ambition, she amounted to nothing more than a common criminal. The cold and unfeeling hand dispensed the same fury upon her that any other who steals from Mhaldor is due to receive: a note pinnedd to the shattered sternum echoing the time-honoured words all victims of Necromancy are graced with. The corpse will there remain, as decreed by this new Tyrannus.
Thus opens the year of brutality in the West.
Penned by My hand on the 9th of Sarapin, in the year 985 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Happy Birthday - Quick Followup](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/09/happy-birthday-quick-followup)
**Published:** September 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I did not realise that the HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA command also gave you double XP for 24 hours.
To compensate those who got the buff when they didn’t want to activate it, I will be enabling double XP to run from this coming Friday to Monday (inclusive) instead of only throughout the Great Hunt.
And for reference: the command \[0;1;37mstill does give 24 hours of double XP\[0;37m.
Sorry about that!
Penned by My hand on the 24th of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Happy Birthday Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/09/happy-birthday-achaea-2)
**Published:** September 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hello!
As of today, Achaea turns \[0;1;37m28 years old\[0;37m! This is older than some of our players and team!
To celebrate, everyone can type \[0;1;37mHAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA\[0;37m once throughout the month to receive a one-off prize of 28 bound credits.
In addition to that, until the Great Hunt on Friday, renown cap will be doubled!
And there’s more! Seek out Nissa in New Thera and ask about her quest to receive \[0;1;37ma gilded scroll of regal affirmation\[0;37m and begin the September quest celebrating Achaea’s many kings, emperors, and rulers!
Every day, your scroll will refresh with a new riddle hinting at the identity and realm of an Achaean king, queen, or ruler, whether historic or a present denizen. Using this riddle, you must seek out that specific area on Sapience, Meropis, or the many worlds of Yggdrasil, and once there TOUCH your scroll to learn of this historic or present ruler and add their royal seal to your scroll.
For those who manage to acquire 15 royal seals, you’ll receive a prize at the end of September: \[0;1;37ma glass orb filled with writhing smoke\[0;37m!
This is a returning prize from years past, and it will be updated with new lore-based stories and visions for you all to witness! Should you complete the September quest and already possess one of these orbs, then your existing orb will be updated to include these new visions!
For the true completionists among you, there are a total of 19 royal seals that can be obtained during the month of September, and acquiring them all will preserve your scroll, making it non-decay and resetting!
Last but not least, keep your eyes on \[0;1;37mUPCOMING\[0;37m for the Bazaar, Great Hunt, Capture the Flag, Nameless Tournament, and soon to be announced birthday auctions!
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 14th of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Love Lost: Part IV](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/08/love-lost-part-iv)
**Published:** September 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Through the long months, the adventurers of Sapience again and again gathered to repel the incursions of the Lament, whose music tormented souls across the mainland nearly unto madness.
The mortals of Sapience proved the stronger each time. While they did battle, regrouping with their loved ones in between bouts with the Eternal Song, a single solitary figure descended from her mountain home to walk the lands she came to know so well over the centuries.
The Muse Ferenthal traveled over the isles of Hallowed Targossas, feeling the cool water of the Silverveil between her fingertips as she strode where mortals once prayed for a miracle. She gazed upon the great tree in the Village of Eleusis, sharing in the many quiet moments to which it bore witness in the modern age. She listened to the music in Mhaldor Cathedral, lost in the vim and vigour of the fury of Malevolence and His servants, their iron resolve as unyielding as the black stone of His edifice. Her quiet moment in the butterfly garden of Cyrene’s Imperium recalled the serenity of halcyon days when the city brimmed with song. In Ashtan, she stood at the circle of the Tree King and recalled the dancing and rejoicing following the raising of the bridge across the Accra river so long ago. Finally, she gazed upon the night sky in the planetarium of Hashan, admiring the mortal spirit to defy the limitations the world seeks to impose.
In each of these locations and every other she tread, she remembered always her Lord’s words:
If you choose to do this, you will be no more.
She did not regret asking to staunch the wound caused by Love’s unguarded realm. The price, though, engendered a deep sense of loneliness at the thought of losing everything she’d come to know. When she arrived at the Shrine of Ascension, the Lament returned, beckoned by her wounded heart and unyielding will.
Upon the Lament’s final defeat, the Great Bard returned to Sapience. He said His final farewell to His most beloved Muse, knowing what came next would make it impossible to look upon this most loyal of companions ever again. She accepted His love and His blessing, and hand-in-hand with the Lament, surrendered to her new charge.
But Scarlatti’s Divine will was not enough. The responsibility for the Gods’ realms is not one easily transcended, and the transgression of unilateral appointment was a challenge even He could not overcome alone.
Only through Phaestus’ intervention and Their shared sacrifice could the barrier be overcome. Ferenthal, Witness of Love was raised as the Celani guarding Selene and formerly Eros’ realm, the turmoil plaguing the mortals of Sapience contained at long last. All was well once more, the fabric of Creation made more vibrant for Their action.
Such victories do not come without cost, however. The Jade Empress reminded Her Brother of the price to be paid, and timeless law exacted its toll. Scarlatti’s snow-white wings, a joy since time immemorial, blackened and melted away, undone in His sacrifice. His azure gaze bled their hue and turned a wiser, more temperate grey in outward reminder of what He gave up to preserve mortality’s ability to feel and express emotion.
~ ~ ~
Summary: Ferenthal, the Muse sacrificed herself to become the new custodian of the realm of Love. With Phaestus’ help, Scarlatti destroyed His faithful companion so that she might be remade a Celani and thus fulfill her new duties.
Penned by My hand on the 12th of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Love Lost: Part [Illegible]](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/08/love-lost-part-illegible)
**Published:** September 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Love Lost: Part III
Moved to act, the Great Bard set His Muse, Ferenthal, to help the mortals of Sapience unburden their laden hearts of the storming emotions plaguing them. With the progressing degeneration of the veil that separates individuals’ consciousness, the struggle to remain even-keeled and sane in the face of such whirling and often-shared feeling threatened to lay low many a fragile mind.
White candles were made available to all who would take them. Instructed to take them someplace quiet and will their burdens onto the snowy wax, scores of adventurers withdrew to the privacy of their places of solace to focus on the task at hand.
With every heart lightened thus, the candles became the bearers of those troubles, their niveous quality replaced entirely by a midnight hue. These the Great Bard requested be brought to Him in Caer Witrin, so their weight might be transferred partially to Him.
Preparations continued apace, and the appointed time swiftly approached. The Bard spoke to the gathered, hopeful crowd of the shared link that all living beings share; lived experiences and the effect every passing soul imposes upon all those it touches. The candles lit, He began a Song to ease the imbalance of feeling plaguing hearts across Creation. His music grew and His prowess soothed, and it seemed, for one shining and golden moment, that all would be well once more. And then-
–
“Yes, faithful of the Dread Lord, it will kneel before the Master! Continue!”
The whip cracked against the demon’s hide again, and again. Whimpering in pain, it acquiesced at last. Sartan, the Malevolent, would count among His ranks a new servant forevermore, brought low by the machinations and cruelties of His chosen people in Mhaldor Isle.
At the last moment, something unexpected happened. As the demon bowed before the oppression of the Faithful, the hooded figure in the corner of the room, whom the demon had thus far plagued, suddenly took up the discarded whip. She stamped upon the screaming mouth of the onyx idol that was the ritual implement and the vicious weapon cracked through the air once more, eliciting one final scream from Mhaldor’s defeated foe.
The pain and resentment stored in the idol’s opal tongue escaped, amplifying the scream into a cacophonous shriek that split the very air across the mainland with its piercing note.
–
Scarlatti’s Song was subsumed, for only an instant, by this amplified scream. Demonic in origin, made greater still by some sinister force, the sound split the Great Bard’s music for a moment. But a moment can mean the end of all things, where such powers are concerned.
From the Place of Eternal Song, a desolating Lament emerged alongside Scarlatti’s own. This embodiment of the dread of loneliness, the angst of loss, the wounds Love leaves, and so much more, immediately drained the warmth and hope from all the world around it.
Encouraging the gathered crowd to drive the Lament back, the Elder God observed as music of His own making was silenced, then disappeared with a cryptic promise of resolving the situation. The mortals now needed to hold out against the Lament’s ravages until His solution was brought forth.
~ ~ ~
Summary: To assuage the turbulent emotions felt by adventurers across the realms, Scarlatti performed a Song that would unburden them; before its conclusion, a terrible scream escaped Mhaldor Isle and unleashed an eternal Lament which wreaked havoc upon all those gathered and would return many times for renewed battle.
Penned by My hand on the 12th of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Love [illegible]: Part II](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/08/love-illegible-part-ii)
**Published:** September 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
The bow of the storied ‘Sinope’ cut through the waters of eastern Sapience as Himalia, the Offspring returned to the continent whence she parted on such contentious terms. Her landfall in the wake of the turbulence witnessed following the wedding of Claes and Darona Ancyrion-Firedancer portended greater trouble still.
Drawing to her three souls burdened by their troubles, she quickly struck an accord with her would-be helpers: their assistance in exchange for a royal boon. All they needed to do was help her fray the already-thin veil made weak by the absence of a caretaker of the realm of Love so that she might bring back her lost lover, Ortho.
The agreement made and the terms accepted, Ortho did indeed return by mysterious ritual. But this act also meant breaking the last veneer of the order imposed upon the realm of Love. Echoes soon made their appearance in his wake, deep-feeling souls with unfinished business returning once more to find one last chance to resolve what they could not before their time was up.
It began in Hashan, where the ritual took place, and from there spread to the fount of the wound in the abandoned Temple of the fallen Goddess, Selene. Thence the phenomenon spread to Ashtan, Mhaldor, Eleusis, Cyrene, and Delos- and everywhere in between. Mortals across the world found themselves being possessed by these restless echoes of the past; a serial killer prowling Martin’s Sorrow, a Duke requesting a banquet in quiet Cyrene, a drowned sailor’s wife made angry by his delay. More troubling still, many gathered at times to witness a true glimpse into the feelings and thoughts of people long-dead.
In experiencing these turbulences to the fullest, it was abundantly clear that the fragmented and precarious state of Love could no longer be ignored.
The Elder God Scarlatti convened with His Divine Brother, the Skylord, upon the Shrine of Ascension. They spoke of the ongoing trouble; though the Great Bard pressed Vastar for a commitment to resolve the situation, He received only an assurance that a new custodian for the long-abandoned realm would be found. Time raced towards inevitable catastrophe, and the world would soon learn just how dire the situation could become if only it got but the faintest nudge.
~ ~ ~
Summary: Himalia’s return to Sapience heralded a decided worsening of the situation with the realm of Love. She struck a bargain for help to bring back her dead lover, Ortho, and this further fractured Creation, resulting in many strange happenings.
Penned by My hand on the 11th of Mayan, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Snap classlead round: commenting phase.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/08/snap-classlead-round-commenting-phase)
**Published:** September 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Classlead submissions are now closed and the commenting phase begins. Remember this is not a voting phase, aim to supply commentary of some form on why you thing a change is positive or negative.
This phase will run until 0 gmt on Wednesday.
Penned by My hand on the 25th of Glacian, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Class Loyal Customisations](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/06/class-loyal-customisations)
**Published:** September 6, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As of now, it is possible to customise your class loyals as one of the warrior classes again. These cost the same as regular loyal customisations and include hounds, falcons, eagles, and hyenas!
As always these must adhere to the lore of your class, so be sure to make submissions appropriate.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 10th of Chronos, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Get cracking.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/04/get-cracking)
**Published:** September 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Two more changes!
Excision
——–
\* \[0;30mCONDEMN\[0;37m has had its balance reduced (six seconds to four). Should help two h a little bit since you’ll be able to roll into tenderskin a little faster. Still more to do here, but I think this is a good place to start.
– As a general note on my inclination for direction here, I think it isn’t really worth trying to make two h push damnation – it doesn’t mesh well with two h and concentrates even more on the head which is generally just going to be a losing prospect for paladin and (I suspect) would ultimately just become a bit of a meme. Instead, I’m going to lean more into the tenderskin interactions for this spec.
Weaponmastery
————-
\* (Two handed/dual blunt): members of these specs now perceive when fractures give afflictions in their room (note: when they afflict, not when they tick). The initial hit does not show this message, as this is manifestly apparent from the attack in question already.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 2nd of Lupar, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Snap classlead round - serpents.](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/04/snap-classlead-round-serpents)
**Published:** September 4, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
I’ve just opened a fast classlead round for serpents. I know many of you have thoughts here and feel it is worth putting these up for general discussion. Depending how successful this is I may aim to do more of these, as the fast cycle does let us iterate quickly. Naturally, these won’t conflict with the major rounds we run normally.
Quick notes:
– Reports will run until the end of the week (0 gmt on the eighth).
– A two day commenting phase thereafter.
– You may only submit classleads for subterfuge, venom, and hypnosis.
– Everything else functions as with normal classleads.
Please constrain your reports to combat balance for these rounds! Major rounds are a bit more forgiving on this, but with a mind to keep these fairly efficient I’ll be enforcing that strictly in this case.
Penned by My hand on the 2nd of Lupar, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Lesson Sale Clarification](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/01/lesson-sale-clarification)
**Published:** September 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I forgot to mention this in the original post but the lesson sale \[0;1;37mdoes\[0;37m benefit from the 40% credit sale. That means all lesson purchases award 40% more, 50% with Iron Elite.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 24th of Miraman, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [September in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/09/01/september-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** September 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
September has arrived and that means it’s birthday month! As emotions, colours, and unravelling love continue, throughout September you can look forward to:
– A birthday daily quest commencing on 9th. This will have a very special reward for those with an interest in lore!
– A Great Hunt on 13th.
– The return of the Itinerant Bazaar in the latter half of the month.
– A Capture the Flag on 20th.
– Birthday auctions (opening date TBD)!
– The return of the NAMELESS TOURNAMENT on the 27th to cap out the month!
Meanwhile, Globes of Shifting Continents return to the Achaea website alongside a lesson sale and a \[0;1;37m40%\[0;37m birthday credit sale! This does stack with Iron Elite for a total of \[0;1;37m50%\[0;37m extra credits per purchase!
Globes, lessons, and credits can be obtained from the Achaea website ( www.achaea.com/credits ). Globes contain a variety of prizes, including:
– Unbound credits.
– Talisman caches containing pieces from the Races, Memory, and Historical sets.
– Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each.
– Mayan crowns.
– Bloodstained shards.
– Artefact discount vouchers.
– A range of artefacts valued from 50 credits all the way up to the 2000+ range.
– Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*\*).
– Additional tradeskill slots(\*\*).
\*\* You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
Upon opening a globe you will also receive a bonus to experience, battlerage generation, or critical hits! There is also a chance to receive consumables!
In addition, the 500th globe bonus prize will award 500 bound credits!
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe!
Capping renown 7 times throughout the month of September will award you one free globe! This is not repeatable, however.
Keep an eye on \[0;1;37mUPCOMING\[0;37m for birthday month fun!
Penned by My hand on the 22nd of Miraman, in the year 984 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [August Tea Time](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/23/august-tea-time)
**Published:** August 23, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
On Tuesday August 26th at 10.30PM GMT (11.30PM BST), Makarios and I will be hosting another Tea Time!
This is an informal meeting to which everyone is welcome to come along and ask questions or chat for a short while.
As is now tradition, I will be capping this at about an hour to prevent it running too long. But there’ll be plenty more opportunities, and you are always welcome to message or email me with concerns outside of these!
UPCOMING has the exact time.
See you there!
Penned by My hand on the 25th of Lupar, in the year 983 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [[Illegible] Lost: Part I](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/18/illegible-lost-part-i)
**Published:** August 18, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
For three hundred and twelve serene cycles, the azure world of Brevion spun in gentle harmony beneath twin lilac moons. Its people, the Tervashi, had woven an age of concord from the tapestry of their once-divided clans. Cities of coral-white stone rose beside crystal estuaries, and gardens breathed music through scented air. Novarch Councils, each member a Keeper of Memory, met beneath the Orisiel Calmhold. There they tended the Covenant of Tranquillity, a pact sealed so long ago that only the eldest sky-readers recalled its forging.
Yet in the quiet hush before dawn on the final day of peace, a single flare of anger erupted in the district of Valdrin-Spire.
No chronicler would ever trace its spark.
The Keeper Arath Valdrin, guardian of the tower’s lore, called for calm, but whispers of betrayal rushed swifter than his counsel. Crystalline transmitters sent rumours across hemispheres before the sun had fully risen. Within hours, chimes of alarm tolled from the Wind-Forged Beacons; by nightfall, the covenant lay in shards.
The Tervashi turned their brilliance to ruin.
Skalleons, once used to sow rainclouds, now rained fire upon the gardens. Tengines cracked the estuaries into fuming rifts. Wards inscribed for healing inverted and scoured flesh from bone. Brother cried against brother, each side certain the other had struck first, though none possessed proof.
In seven turning suns, every library burned and each spire toppled, until only ash clouds wandered the empty air.
It ended as swiftly as it ignited. Permanent silence settled where song had lived, the hush broken only by the soft hiss of glass cooling upon blackened sand, and by the uneasy question left trembling in the scorched air: what would be next to bow?
Days prior and far beyond the reach of any chart Brevion’s scholars had ever inked and on a sphere unnamed by Tervashi star-maps, two women stood beneath an unfamiliar sky and kissed.
\~~~
Summary: As prophesied, something fundamental fractured following the wedding of Darona and Claes Ancyrion-Firedancer.
Penned by My hand on the 15th of Aeguary, in the year 983 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [INSIGHT Into Current Event](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/17/insight-into-current-event)
**Published:** August 17, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
As part of the current event, we’re introducing a new, experimental feature called \[0;1;37mINSIGHT\[0;37m.
You can access this simply by typing the command INSIGHT, but the short of it is that it is an OOC sort of “intro guide” for current events. If it works out well, it will be used for future events that need some sort of guidance from us so you don’t have to rely on catching someone on Discord or hearing about an ISSUE response five degrees removed.
Please note, however, that this is intended to supplement, not substitute your own lines of RP.
The reason we’re introducing this now is because this event has the potential to affect your day to day roleplay, should you choose to participate, and we think that those of you looking to buy in might benefit from some guidance in order to stay “canon” to the event.
For now, INSIGHT will give you some basic guidelines for that purpose, though as we get Questions, Comments, and Concerns through the INSIGHT QCC syntax, we might add more to it.
Bonus: INSIGHT also has special features for Order messages, too, though we’ll see if they come up.
Check out HELP INSIGHT for more details or to reference it more easily.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 3rd of Aeguary, in the year 983 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Pay to lose, apparently...](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/12/pay-to-lose-apparently)
**Published:** August 12, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
This is just a quick patch to tone down a couple of Occultist things I’ve observed over the last little while, and to fix what might be the bug of the year (though has been a long standing one, it only was realised today).
Domination
———-
\* \[0;1;37mCHIMERA\[0;37m stun attack no longer prones, because it already has a prone attack on the other head.
\* \[0;1;37mCHIMERA STUN\[0;37m duration has been reduced to be less of a massive fight swing.
\* \[0;1;37mBUBONIS\[0;37m gains a lesser benefit in attack speed bonus under feed. This was always intended to benefit other routes primarily rather than pushing the already very good one into new heights of… domination.
Memorium
——–
\* New ability: \[0;1;37mBLASPHEMY\[0;37m. Essentially just a one command way to combo tracing and pestilence.
Misc
—-
\* … artefact leadropes no longer make hostile occultist entities stick with you when you leap or similar. Sometimes, artefacts are apparently not the answer.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 10th of Chronos, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [PSA: Language Rules & Harassment](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/11/psa-language-rules-harassment)
**Published:** August 11, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
I’m writing to remind everyone about the existence of HELP LANGUAGE RULES, and HELP HARASSMENT, and to reiterate that Achaea and Iron Realms as a whole has a zero tolerance policy for hate speech or harassment.
We take all reports of harassment seriously and as such there is only one venue for making these reports. That method is directly to me, either via an ISSUE, email, or message.
Whilst I understand that making an “official” report can be a difficult step, it is an essential part of the process in ensuring a safe environment for everyone involved.
If you believe a situation is serious enough to merit IC handling via your leaders or other means of redress, then it is serious enough to report to me. This is already the official policy made visible to leaders (post #240 for those with access), and will remain in place going forward.
If for any reason you, or someone you know, is unwilling to report it, please do not file issues on their behalf, and please do not continue to “handle” the scenario in character. Make liberal use of ignore and cut yourself off from the situation as best you can. This is for your own safety and for the safety of everyone who might be involved.
Thank you.
Penned by My hand on the 9th of Phaestian, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Crafting Additions: The Beard Update](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/09/crafting-additions-the-beard-update)
**Published:** August 9, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
I have just added another slew of new crafting options to the available patterns in Delos. These are all under the purview of tailoring and include:
– Heels
– Mocassins
– Overalls
– Pinafore
– Tights
– Purse
– Handbag
– Knapsack
– Satchel
– Pack
– Sack
– Pouch
And the long-awaited \[0;1;37mbeard\[0;37m! Beards are a special case insofar as while they’re crafted, they are a very desirable RP tool and so I’m tentatively allowing them to be designed, worn, used, and rped with as though they were an actual beard. This is entirely at our discretion, however, and will need you to treat them with some common sense.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 9th of Valnuary, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [I'm Not One For Gossip, But...](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/08/im-not-one-for-gossip-but)
**Published:** August 8, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
In keeping with my focus on atmosphere and immersion, we have some updates to the GOSSIP system to announce today. Before I get into the specifics, I want to reiterate that the feeling of Achaea’s world being alive and active and busy is one of my chief concerns as Producer and I consider this to be another important step forward in achieving that.
– GOSSIP LISTEN can now be used by anyone and no longer has a cooldown.
– GOSSIP LISTEN will still require you to be in a location suitable for eavesdropping (taverns, etc).
– CONFIG GOSSIPNOTIFICATION now exists and is off by default. This will give you a periodic reminder if there is non-player gossip (see below) that you haven’t listened to.
– GOSSIP SPREAD is still limited to Bards on the player side (and only visible in the tavern they use it in), but can now also be used by Gods and Celani to spread “worldwide” gossip.
– Gossip of this nature can be discerned from any valid listening location.
– Gossip has a lifetime of seven days and will gradually become gibberish as it ages.
I anticipate this seeing common use during events and other times in order to propagate information or clues or simply raise the atmosphere of the game alongside the “main” pillars of content delivery: game emotes, globals, shouts, etc.
If there are locations that you think should work that don’t, please file a bug and we’ll fix them up.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 9th of Ero, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Seconds, Multiplaying, Roleplay, Etc](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/07/seconds-multiplaying-roleplay-etc)
**Published:** August 7, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
I’m writing to remind everyone about the existence of HELP SECONDS, HELP MULTIPLAYING, and HELP ROLEPLAY.
In particular, I want to remind everyone that under no circumstances is it ever allowed to use one of your characters to benefit another in any way. Period. No exceptions.
This includes obtaining information in a way that your main character could not possibly do: either from your alts or people you are friends with, and then passing it off as your own intelligence IC.
Legitimate espionage / social networking to obtain this info is perfectly fine and an important aspect of the game’s RP environment. Bypassing it using methods that leave no recourse or create no engagement for anyone due to their OOC nature is not.
Obviously it should go without saying too that if your character can do this, then it should be done in character in the game and not through email / discord / some other method and then pretending the rp happened after the fact.
Thanks!
Penned by My hand on the 23rd of Miraman, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Fringes, Loot, and Gear!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/03/fringes-loot-and-gear)
**Published:** August 3, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
With much of the elemental calamity stabilised (for now… the story is not over), the Fringes are now fully unleashed upon the world!
Much like the Lupine Hunting Grounds, the Fringes are designed to provide additional high-end PvE content in an area without Open PK. Most of the creatures here boast new tactics and unique behaviours that interact and synergise with one another. You’ll want to remain on your toes and alert to succeed in these Elemental borderlands. Some content still remains to be revealed as the soldiers of the Prime work to fully stabilise these locations, including new group-oriented bosses with a total of 10\[0;1;37m\*\[0;37m new honours lines to be discovered and earned.
\* Seven entirely new, and three returning from recent events.
Alongside these new areas comes the much-anticipated first system release of the new administration: \[0;1;37mThe Gear System\[0;37m!
For those who have not seen my previews on Discord: Gear is specialist equipment obtained from and designed for hunting and use in PvE. The items are in many ways similar to artefacts, with each piece conveying a distinct effect when equipped and some combining into full sets that have their own powerful bonuses.
As of the current first-phase release, we have about four hundred unique items and thirteen unique sets, with more planned! You can expect to find a number of interesting effects available as well as damage buffs, resistance buffs, resistance debuffs on enemies, and defensive effects, to name just a few. You may also find gear that is tailored to be stronger against certain mob types, only take effect in certain environments or areas, battlerage-impacting effects, powers that only activate based on your stored battlerage, and more.
Gear is acquired primarily through hunting. Virtually every area in the game has a chance to drop gear when the denizens are slain, with themed set gear being obtainable only from the plane, region, or area(s) associated with the sets, and more broad (and consequently less powerful) adventurer and explorer equipment available almost everywhere you can think of.
We will be monitoring drop rates closely over the coming days and weeks and making adjustments where appropriate, but our aim with this system is for it to be something everyone with even a passing interest in bashing can take advantage of.
Some high end quests will now also offer gear as an additional reward, as will taking on Achaea’s most fearsome challenges. We also plan to feature this system in future events and storylines, as circumstances allow.
\[0;1;37mHELP GEAR\[0;37m and \[0;1;37mHELP GEAR TRADING\[0;37m contain a more detailed overview of the system, but there are some things I want to highlight in particular:
– These are not “real” items, which means they won’t bloat your inventory or cause nightmares of item management. They are their own fully independent system.
– Gear pieces are assigned to certain slots, and you can only equip one piece per slot. The current slots are: head, chest, hands, feet, and trinket.
– Newbie areas do not drop gear pieces by design to prevent overwhelming new players with even more systems. Areas beyond the designated newbie zones, however, do.
– Forays (including their bosses) also do not drop gear, for now.
– All gear decays over time, with the lifespan of any given piece semi-random (within a range) and increased by its rarity (see the HELP for specifics here).
– Gear can be traded, using a brand new interface and method outlined in HELP GEAR TRADING.
– This decay time cannot be averted entirely, but can be restored provided you have some arcane ephemera (see below).
– Ephemera is obtained from scrapping pieces of gear (the amount depends on the life left on the piece) and can be used by Armoursmithing or Augmentation to restore or transform a gear piece.
– You can only have up to 999 ephemera at any given time.
– Gear can also be transformed to reroll the effect into another from those available within its set and slot. In cases where the same affix is rolled as the original, the magnitude will still be generated fresh.
– Restoration and Transformation share charges, and a piece can be adjusted up to three times.
– Restoration and Transformation can both be done as part of a trade negotiation, allowing someone to adjust your gear for you at a cost of ephemera (and whatever other price they may impose).
– Gear will not be enabled for XPEVENT participants in the next Championship Games, but we will review this after those games (they are still quite a bit off yet, but creeping up…).
Naturally, this is a brand new system with a lot of moving parts. We’ve created \[0;1;37mGEARBUG\[0;37m to directly report gear-related issues, so please bug anything that looks odd or unintentional ASAP. I’ve also created a dedicated gear thread on the Achaea Discord for discussion and feedback.
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 20th of Sarapin, in the year 982 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [August in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/08/01/august-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** August 1, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks!
August has arrived and as the game teems with activity elemental, Arcadian, earthen, and otherwise, the Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera!
Prismatic tokens for the Wheel can be obtained from the Achaea website (www.achaea.com/credits).
Capping renown seven times in August will also award you with a free prismatic token to get a premium wheel spin as a one time only benefit.
Prizes from the wheel include:
– Unbound credits starting at 33
– Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any suit, including the new \[0;1;37mTitans\[0;37m\* suit (see below).
– Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
– Artefact vials
– Phials of shimmering ink
– Talisman caches that open for Invasion, Wanderer, Death, and the Elemental set will be remaining given the current turmoil.
– 300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
– Collections cache that opens for any collection (these trade in for 30 credits).
– Artefact upgrade credits
– Mayan crowns
In addition to the prizes above, you may also win bonus racetrack tickets for the humgii races!
The Titans card suit features the guardians of the Elemental Planes, and powers include:
– Aigra: Draw this card and you will learn the location of any active tanks in the world, including their percentage charge.
3 charges, 1 regen per hour
– Cetan: Draw this card against a target and, depending on the season, one of the Cetan of Water will afflict them with a battlerage affliction:
Spring: Parililos, sensitivity
Summer: Chamiloia, charm
Autumn: Vathirr, inhibit
Winter: Thalastos, stun
3 charges, 1 regen per hour
– Dolodach: Draw this card and any implanted totem in your location will be disabled for 10 seconds.
2 charges, 1 regen per hour
– Rovalamm: Draw this card against someone on your continent and in the stratosphere to be teleported there. Stopped by a monolith on your end, but not theirs.
1 charge, 1 regen per hour
The Joker for this suit is the indefatigable and eternal \[0;1;37mChellen\[0;37m!
The Titans suit joins the Intrepid suit in the new \[0;1;37mENIGMA\[0;37m collection.
\[0;1;37mHELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE\[0;37m has all the details.
Looking ahead you can expect another busy month of stories, events, and perhaps even something brand new and long-awaited! And the birthday month is right around the corner, too!
Enjoy!
Penned by My hand on the 4th of Glacian, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [UPDATE ON PLANAR DEVELOPMENTS](https://www.achaea.com/2025/07/31/update-on-planar-developments)
**Published:** July 31, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
STATUS UPDATE: BLISTERWASH CALDERA
Ref. No. 861-FR/FRINGES/ACCESS-CLEARANCE
Date of Issue: 21st of Chronos, 981 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire.
Summary of Developments:
Stabilisation efforts within the Blisterwash Caldera have shown marked success following the confirmed infusion of pillar constructs attuned to Kkractle and Sllshya. Flux activity in the region has decreased to tolerable levels, and sustained access for Prime operatives is now considered viable. No elemental degradation has been observed outside established norms for the Elemental Fringes.
Emissaries are instructed to initiate all preparatory measures required for the deployment of paramount-class entities. Upon activation, these entities are expected to establish direct linkage with infused pillar constructs, reinforcing them with concentrated Elemental force. Preparations are to remain active and in readiness pending full infusion across all recognised Fringe locations.
Administratively yours,
Chellen
Penned by My hand on the 21st of Chronos, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Player Names In Titles](https://www.achaea.com/2025/07/22/player-names-in-titles)
**Published:** July 22, 2025
**Author:** The Achaea Team
**Content:**
Hi folks,
This is a quick reminder that outside of official Knightly squires, it is not allowed to have other player names in your title.
I’ve noticed this cropping up a lot lately and it’s confusing for both new and experienced players – so please change them!
HELP TITLES should be up to date with current standards!
Penned by My hand on the 8th of Daedalan, in the year 981 AF.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [February in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/02/03/february-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** February 3, 2025
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
While stories are unfolding all across the land, 2025 chugs along!
For February we have a new promotion available at www.achaea.com/credits – Giftcards!
Buy these and send to yourself (or to others) to unlock the rewards contained within.
For those with the Iron Elite membership, every 10 you purchase earns a free giftcard!
A giftcard is also available in the renown shop!
You can theme the giftcard from a list to choose whether it is delivered in a manner themed to your fancy, your city, or maybe you’re in the Guild of Knights, or are one of the Marks!
On reading a giftcard you receive:
- One of the major prizes\*.
- One of the consumeable prizes\*.
- A bonus\*.
If you are missing one of the giftcard bonuses, you will get that with a 12 hour duration.
If you have all the bonuses, you’ll get a random extension of 1-3 hours on an existing bonus.
- If the card was not sent to you by yourself, the sender also gets a random bonus under the same rules.
- See the prize and bonus lists below.
Details:
GIFTCARD SEND \[ANON\] :
Send a giftcard to someone (or yourself!)
If you choose to send it anonymously, your identity will be concealed.
You can send to yourself with your name or me/self.
GIFTCARD READ \[ALL \[VERBOSE\]/\]:
Read a giftcard!
If you include no arguments, it reads the first giftcard in your inventory.
If you specify all, it reads all giftcards and gives you a summary of everything you received.
If you read ALL VERBOSE, it shows you what each card is giving as well as the summary (this might get spammy if you have a lot of giftcards!).
You can read a specific giftcard by number if you want to do that for some reason!
GIFTCARD STATUS:
Shows you how many giftcards you have available to send and how many you have to read!
GIFTCARD OPTIONS:
Shows you the types of giftcards available for you to send.
Not all will be available to everyone, each org has their own special design for instance.
Options affect the style of the giftcard and the delivery manner!
Major items:
- Card sleeves that open for all suits.
- Talisman caches (eldergods, moderngods, elemental.)
- Collection caches.
- Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum giftboxes.
- A concoctorial strand (NEW ITEM)
Apply this to a pipe or vial that is not an artefact and it will convey artefact bonuses + non-decay/resetting if not present!
APPLY \[TO\]
This is consumed on use – SINGLE USE ONLY
This is now listed in HELP PROMO ITEMS
Consumeables:
- Grey and clouded bottle (Consumeable beckon)
- Ledolian surcoat (Consumeable +armour/resistances)
- Amber ampoule (Consumeable goblin minipet racial traits)
- Carved wooden horse (Consumeable Raido)
- Bottle of fairy dust (consumeable prismatic barrier)
See HELP PROMO ITEMS for more information on these
Bonuses:
- 10% xp bonus.
- 30% battlerage generation bonus. This does stack with the mineral one, though there is diminishing returns (together they push you to a 140% bonus).
- A critical hits bonus.
About Bonuses:
- If you are missing one of the giftcard bonuses, you will get that with a 12 hour duration.
- If you have all the bonuses, you’ll get a random extension of 1-3 hours on an existing bonus.
HELP GIFTCARDS has all of this information!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [January in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2025/01/01/january-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** January 1, 2025
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Happy New Year everyone! A post will follow this with our resolutions for next year, so I’ll keep this one as brief as possible!
On January 10th the raffle will be drawn! The first name will win gloves of arrowcatching (or 2000 bound credits), the second name will take home a gold inkbrush, and the third name drawn will claim a red inkbrush!
All tickets belonging to non-winners will be converted to 2 bound credits each.
For January you’ll find Polymegahedral Dice available at www.achaea.com/credits!
Dice purchases also award House and City credits, and, for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra die!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches that open for Renegades, Contenders, and Underworld sets. On cache open the Renegades, Contenders, and Underworld sets have a 25% chance to give a second piece.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: 50 to 80 customisation credits
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize!
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
All of the credits for the above prizes are unbound.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Uncategorized
---
### [December in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2024/12/01/december-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** December 1, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
December is here!
Later in the month the realm will become entirely festive, Makesh will put his Logosmas wares on sale, Ironbeard will make his rounds, and Merrywick will open once again! (UPCOMING has the date, and also the dates for gold and platinum stocking reminders!)
For the promotionally inclined stockings have returned to www.achaea.com/credits featuring a new talisman set, the Scholars talisman set (see below or HELP SCHOLARS TALISMANS)!
There is no bonus for Iron Elite owners with stocking purchases, but credits are also on sale at www.achaea.com/credits offering a 30% bonus on the purchase, that’s 40% if you have Iron Elite!
Caches from stockings can also be opened for Logosmas set talismans if desired.
See HELP STOCKINGS for all stocking-related commands and to see a complete list of prizes and minimum stocking values!
Every 150 stockings opened will trigger a bonus stocking in the next 50 to be opened, awarding massively increased prizes!
ADDITIONALLY! For every 5 stockings of each type you purchase, you’ll receive either a gold or platinum stocking of that tier! So if you purchase 5 fancy stockings, you’ll get a gold (or platinum) fancy stocking. Gold and platinum stockings are special and fill up only on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
All previously hung stockings have been returned to their original owner’s inventories, and can be hung fresh for yourselves or new recipients!
ALSO! On January 10th we will also be drawing a raffle! Tickets for this will be gained from opening stockings, and each day you earn your maximum of 2000 renown you will earn a ticket too!
First winner will take home a pair gloves of arrowcatching (or 2000 bound credits if they don’t want them)!
Second winner will take home a gold inkbrush!
Third winner will take home a red inkbrush!
Any tickets held by non winners after the raffle is drawn will be converted to 2 bound credits each. (If you win prize 1, 2, or 3, all of your tickets are consumed and do not convert.)
AND FINALLY! The Scholars Talisman Set:
A portly capybara – TALISMAN INFO CAPYBARA
- This handsome gentleman is a minipet with full scrapper capability and ambient reactions.
An owlish plume – TALISMAN INFO OWLISHPLUME
- Drop this in a room and for the next sixty minutes all learning will be enhanced as if everyone learning in said room had consumed myrrh. Note: does not stack with myrrh.
A reflex mallet – TALISMAN INFO REFLEXMALLET
- While holding this you may INVESTIGATE to see the damage on a target’s limb.
A Logosmas war goat – TALISMAN INFO WARGOAT
- This is a unique war goat with a Collar of Lupus and badge of returning included.
A curious quiz box – TALISMAN INFO QUIZBOX
- Answer 4 questions to get a reward! You have a chance at a small number of lessons, a small amount of xp, or a short lived experience bonus.
- TOUCH to show the current question
- TURN to attempt to answer the question
- The questions/counter resets at Serenade.
A vigilant model guard – TALISMAN INFO MODELGUARD
- Valued at 500 credits
- ACTIVATE this model guard and he will tell you whenever someone enters or leaves your city. Lasts thirty minutes and has an hour cooldown.
An intricately plotted chart – TALISMAN INFO GUARDCHART
- Valued at 750 credits
- Study this chart and for a relatively significant balance you will be able to determine whether you are within CALL FOR HELP range of any nearby city guards.
- Naturally, only works in cities.
A stark librarian’s desk – TALISMAN INFO LIBRARIANDESK
- Valued at 1300 credits
- Drop this desk in a room and the next time someone tries to SAY something or CALL FOR HELP you will shush them, conveying a silence effect upon that person.
- This lasts around twenty seconds and after you shush your first person your desk will go on cooldown for an hour after thirty seconds.
- Note that if no one speaks or calls for help for two minutes after your initial drop of the desk, it goes on cooldown regardless.
A pearl of wisdom – TALISMAN INFO WISDOMPEARL
- Valued at 1600 credits
- CLUTCH this pearl of wisdom and for the next five minutes most stunning effects and all modifiable willpower costs will be reduced by approximately fifteen percent.
- Note that some stuns and willpower costs are strictly unmodified, and these will not be included.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Uncategorized
---
### [November in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2024/11/03/november-in-achaea-5)
**Published:** November 3, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
While we were busy working away preparing for December, the end of the year, and all that those things mean, Mayaween gave us a good old jumpscare and reminded us that November is here right now!
So, to tide you over until glorious stockings arrive, we have the artefact cart, the Wheel of Fortune, and lesson packages available at www.achaea.com/credits for November!
You can purchase prismatic tokens for the Wheel from the website and there is also a token available from the renown shop. (WALK TO WHEEL will take you to spin them!)
You can find the full list of what is available from the wheel under HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
Talisman caches this month open for Blackwave, Planes, and the Wanderer sets.
The Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an Iron Elite membership).
Do note that you do need to be logged in on the website to buy artefacts in this way, so to be sure that your elite bonus always applies if applicable!
On top of the standard 30/40% discount offered by the artefact cart, we’re also further discounting select artefact categories throughout the month:
1st through 10th – Offensive and Class artefact categories.
11th through 20th – Crafting and Tradeskill, and Miscellaneous categories.
21st through 30th – Defensive, Stat and Regen, and Artefact Armour categories.
The changes in discount are listed on UPCOMING!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [October in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2024/10/01/october-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** October 1, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Somehow, there are only three months left in 2024! October arrives with the promise of Mayaween on the horizon, and then we’re only a hop, skip, and a jump away from Logosmas and the end of the year!
First of all though, congratulations to Veldrin, the newest Champion bearing the Staff of Nicator. And a hearty well done to all who contended for the Staff in the Games, it was a ride!
For October’s promotion, keys to the caskets are available at www.achaea.com/credits then you can visit the graveyard in Tomacula and open one to see what you can rob from the grave!
When there are no prizes left, when the special prize has been claimed, or on the first of the month, the restless dead will reset the casket contents to full once more! There is a game announce when this happens!
CASKETS OPEN NUMBER <#> – open a specific unopened casket
CASKETS OPEN – open an unopened casket by coordinates
CASKETS OPENED – list all opened caskets
CASKETS CLOSED – list caskets still to be opened
CASKETS / – view a specific casket
See HELP CASKETS for all of the details on prizes and commands!
In the renown shop you will find a magnificent pumpkin available to be purchased once per character this month.
AND, also in the Tomacula Graveyard, you can now purchase magnificent pumpkins for bound credits. Every five purchased from the graveyard will reward a free magnificent carved pumpkin which contains increased prizes!
HELP PUMPKINS contains all the information on these!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [September Has Arrived!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/09/01/september-has-arrived)
**Published:** September 1, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s our birthday! We’re going to play games!
This month over at www.achaea.com/credits you can get lesson packages, talisman caches, and a 40% credit bonus sale! That’s a 50% credit bonus if you have an Iron Elite membership and are logged into the website!
(This does not include no-brainer lesson or credit packages.)
Talisman piece purchases give caches.
Every ten caches (this is tracked per set, so four Moderngods and six Eldergods won’t work):
- If you have elite, you get another cache
- In addition, you get either:
- A random rarer piece if its a specific set.
- Another random piece cache if its your tenth random cache.
This month in Achaea:
Use the HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA command once per character to earn 27 credits, and 24 hours of double XP! The double XP activates when you use the command, so don’t do it just before QQing!
Visit Stian in the Wander Inn to begin a daily quest! Complete this 20 times and you’ll earn a prize!
The 16th through the 20th of September will have double experience activated for everyone! This is the Mon-Fri between the two XP event weekends.
Achaea’s actual birthday is September 9th and we have an expansion to our customisation system to announce on that day, keep your eyes peeled!
Next, the Championship Games. Again.
These dates are all on UPCOMING, but we start on Saturday the 6th with the Race Around The World, and the World Games Extravaganza. See HELP RACE AROUND THE WORLD and HELP CHAMPS WORLDGAMES for the details!
Sunday the 7th will be the riddle! HELP GROUP RIDDLES has all of the information you’ll need to get started!
CHAMPFAQ has a list of questions and answers for other information regarding all of the games, and we will have a new scoreboard for tracking points via the CHAMPS command!
Good luck to all of our contenders and their supporting crew, we’ll see you at sea on Saturday!
Finally, it’s the first of the month (at the time of posting – obvs), don’t forget your resolutions, especially if you are planning on winning the Staff of Nicator!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [August in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/08/01/august-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** August 1, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s time to say hello again to the Wheel of Fortune which has returned to the Ace of Spades Casino in New Thera. You can purchase prismatic tokens from the website at www.achaea.com/credits and there is also a token available from the renown shop.
Simply WALK TO WHEEL if you can’t find it!
You can find the full list of what is available from the wheel under HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE.
Talisman caches this month open for Eldergods, Moderngods, and Memory talismans.
We’re looking forward to the last foray bounty, the design contest entries, and the Twins tournament still to come this week! Plus the CTF for the Effigy of Victory on Sunday!
We’re going to be spending August focussing on the Championship games, getting information and fixes setup ready for September’s month of birthday and Championship madness!
For those currently competing in the games for a chance at an auction item, the list to choose from is:
Everything on the current AUCTION LIST
AND
Phylactery of Sixth Sense
- Mindnet
Cloak of Many Feathers
- Tracking cloak
Any colour inkbrush
- Replaces ink for that colour when tattooing. (Winner will choose which colour inkbrush.)
Staff of Garash
- This staff will allow you to raise stonewalls across all exits of a room once every 15 minutes. It also serves as a magi staff and a level 3 Shikudo staff. It does NOT work as a Druidic quarterstaff.
Pyramidian boots
- Wearing these legendary boots will allow you to BOUND in any direction, just like a practitioner of Shindo.
Breathstealer ring
- This ring holds the power to bring down a room-wide silence effect for 20 seconds. This is instant and not subject to being dampened or dispelled.
- It does require balance and equilibrium to use, will consume balance, and will incur a five minute cooldown before it can be called on again.
Campfire kit
- Build and stoke a campfire with this handy kit. While lit, the campfire will increase the regeneration of willpower and endurance of all those in the room.
Gavel of Etheric Revelation
- POUND GROUND to reveal phased serpents!
Good luck to our competitors!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Auctions are live!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/07/29/auctions-are-live)
**Published:** July 29, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Running for 10 days,(keep an eye on AUCTIONS!) the following items are available to be bid upon.
Please read HELP AUCTIONS in full for instructions on how to bid!
Remember, there is no day 0, at the end of day 1 the auctions close!
## For Credits
1. Dual Elemental Citizenship:
The winner of this auction will be able to claim a second Elemental Lord type without needing to complete the various quests. This second type can be changed every 24 hours.
2. Chenubian Wings:
These wings grant the owner access to a customised skies room with exits of their choice. Outer Islands are not allowed.
3. Eurilla’s Paw:
Eurilla’s paw grants one of five effects when you manipulate one of its fingers. These can include:
a boon of fire, creating periodic firewalls around you.
a boon of healing, passively healing all in room.
a boon of mirrors, passively granting reflections to random players in the room.
a boon of knives, creating passive room-wide bleeding,
AND
a curse, periodically stunning or blacking out the user.
These effects last fifteen minutes with a one hour cooldown between uses.
4. Resilient Translucent Mask:
A non-decaying version of the translucent mask. This has five charges which regenerate every 24 hours.
5. Custom Deathsight:
Work with the design team to create your own custom deathsight. This can trigger on your kills OR your deaths!
6. Ankh of Vitality:
The Ankh of Vitality grants access to the VITALITY defence regardless of class.
7. Innate Morphing Armour:
This armour set is the equivalent of three-slotted armour with innate morphing capabilities that do not require use of one of the three slots.
8/9/10. Any Completed Talisman:
Obtain any completed talisman of your choice from any promotional set. This does not include the forays set.
11. Black Inkbrush:
This rare inkbrush removes the need for the holder to possess black ink when sketching runes or inking tattoos.
12. Gold Inkbrush:
This rare inkbrush removes the need for the holder to possess gold ink when sketching runes or inking tattoos.
13. Orb of Sllshya’s Wrath:
THROW ORB to summon a magical snowstorm in the room. Grants all of the same benefits as the Groves ability SNOWSTORM.
14. Gloves of Arrowcatching:
These gloves grant arrowcatching! If you are Shaman, Jester, or Bard, the proc chance for catching arrows is increased!
15. Algiz on a Stick:
A simple FLOURISH of this wand will allow you to sketch an algiz rune on yourself no matter what class you are in and without an ink cost! The rune lasts one hour before fading.
## For Gold
16/17/18. Legend Deck Card:
Choose any Legend Deck Card from HELP LEGENDDECK!
19/20/21. Level 1 Talisman Piece:
Choose any level 1 talisman piece from any of the promotional sets.
22/23/24. 5 Mayan Crowns
Receive 5 Mayan crowns to spend in the Shop or House of Wonders!
25. A giant ghost crab (Bazaar)
This giant ghost crab is a magnificent mount returning from an ancient Itinerant Bazaar and comes with a collar of Lupus, ensuring it will reset to you!
Please read HELP AUCTIONS in full for all details on how to bid!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [It's May!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/05/01/its-may)
**Published:** May 1, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
It’s time to say hello again to the Wheel of Fortune which has returned to the Ace of Spades Casino in New Thera. You can purchase prismatic tokens from the website at www.achaea.com/credits and there is also a token available from the renown shop.
Simply WALK TO WHEEL if you can’t find it!
You can find the full list of what is available from the wheel under HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Talisman caches this month open for Wanderer, Underworld, and Death talismans.
Dev-wise we’re in the middle of a few projects this month, including the first stage of our House update which will roll out later in the year, preparations for the upcoming Championship Games, and our ongoing expansion to customisations (which did get briefly derailed by the crafting updates.)
We are still accepting applications for Guides. Guides earn unbound credits and renown for their time spent as Romeo and Juliet as they help to foster a welcoming environment for those taking their shaky first steps here in our world! See HELP BECOMING A GUIDE for more information!
Our new design handlers are getting up to speed, and we’re working with them to smooth out the system they’re learning.
As always, please check your designs (see HELP PROOFREADING and HELP DESIGN) and use our proofing system to double check your designs before you submit. We also recommend seeking out other crafters for another pair of eyes! If you get feedback on a design that you do not understand, you are welcome to use ISSUE ME for clarification!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [April in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/04/01/april-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** April 1, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s April and that means no more globes, but we welcome back the artefact cart with several new artefacts available!
Lessons and talisman caches (Invasion, Eldergods, and Moderngods) will also be available at www.achaea.com!
For those of you unfamiliar (or who just want a refresher), the Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an Iron Elite membership).
Do note that you do need to be logged in on the website to buy artefacts in this way, so to be sure that your elite bonus always applies if applicable!
On top of the standard 30/40% discount offered by the artefact cart, we’re also further discounting select artefact categories throughout the month:
1st through 10th – All class artefacts.
11th through 20th – Stat and regen artefacts, and all things artefact armour.
21st through 30th – All offensive and defensive category artefacts.
These dates are listed on UPCOMING.
Available on the cart for April these new artefacts can be found in the New Artefacts section! (These are not subject to the additional rolling discount.)
- a wyrmskin patch; APPLY PATCH TO PACK to an existing artefact or resetting pack to expand its capacity by 50. This item is consumed on use and only one can be applied to a pack. Artecart Exclusive!
100 credit value
- a writ of higher education; with this writ in hand, you can LEARN lessons instantly! Artecart Exclusive!
Learning will only be instant if you have already learned at least one batch of lessons in the skill.
200 credit value
- a ponderous plume; this will allow you to GLIDE without needing to be in dragonform. (Glide)
500 credit value
- an ampoule of starlight; for Alchemists, this will allow you to change fields between Sublimation and Formulation every hour instead of every 24, and for free. (master\_of\_science)
500 credit value
- an Atlantian quiver and a moon-bright quiver; these are level two and three versions of artefact quivers respectively, holding far more arrows (15 meteors and 1500 standard arrow for level 2, 25 meteors and 2000 standard arrows for level 3.)
300 and 600 credit value respectively.
- a matrix of primal energy; with this in hand, the time taken to PREVAIL into your elemental form will be reduced by 30%. (Faster\_prevail)
1000 credit value
As always, you can find the artefact cart, credits, and members on the Achaea website at www.achaea.com/credits.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [March in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/03/02/march-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** March 2, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With city guides and guide updates out of the way, we’re going to be making TASK updates next! Keep an eye on this board throughout the month for updates on this project!
Over at www.achaea.com/credits Globes of Shifting Continents are back and keys to the Delos Bank vaults will be available for the duration of March!
All of the Vault prizes can be found in HELP DELOSBANKVAULT and Globes of Shifting Continents contain a variety of prizes upon being opened, including:
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the Elemental, Marks, and Underworld sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
In addition, every 500th globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe!
Finally, for 10,000 renown you can purchase a globe from the renown shop once during March!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [February in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2024/02/02/february-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** February 2, 2024
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
February is upon us already and that means goodbye to dice and hello to the Wheel of Fortune which has returned to the Ace of Spades Casino in New Thera. You can purchase prismatic tokens from the website at www.achaea.com/credits and there is also a token available from the renown shop. Simply WALK TO WHEEL if you can’t find it!
We’ve carried out an audit of the Wheel’s prizes this month and made some adjustments to the odds – functionally this means the rarer prizes have been made a bit more likely to occur on your spin, meaning even better overall value!
You can find the full list of what is available from the wheel under HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE. Talisman caches this month open for races, blackwave, and death.
For February we’ve also brought back the velvet pouches of chocolates – these can also be obtained from the wheel and convey a range of possible effects which I’ve detailed below as we haven’t seen these for a while!
- Eating one of the chocolates in this pouch will grant a boon to your character or, if you’re feeling generous, to someone else for double the benefits.
- The effects that the chocolates can provide range from experience boosts, increased stats, critical hit bonuses, faster movement, increased regeneration, the levitation defence, and the ability to travel to a mutual ally.
- Each of these lasts for 24 hours. Alas, there is also the possibility of being turned into a toad for 20 minutes. Alack!
- If you FEED one of the chocolate to a denizen, you will receive a bonus to all experience gained from killing denizens of that type for 24 hours.
- You can also eat more than one at once – in the event that you get the same effect, the duration of your bonus will be extended!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [December in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/12/03/december-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** December 3, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
December is here!
Later in the month the realm will become entirely festive, Makesh will put his Logosmas wares on sale, Ironbeard will make his rounds, and Merrywick will open once again!
For the promotionally inclined stockings have returned to www.achaea.com/credits featuring a new talisman set, the Wanderer talisman set!
Caches from stockings can also be opened for Logosmas set talismans if desired.
The Wanderer Talisman Set
A large slice of waybread
EAT this waybread once per Achaean day to fully satiate yourself and remove any vestiges of tiredness.
A globe of the aimless
THROW this globe at someone and they will suffer from poor accuracy with their bows for the next five minutes. Can only be used once every 30 minutes.
A tattered parchment
CONSULT PARCHMENT will tell you how many non-player loyals are currently alive in that area.
A wanderer’s starchart
This starchart will increase the radius of your visible map when on board a ship.
A Khalasian compass
Possessing this compass will increase your celerity when not upon the Prime Material Plane.
A featureless sculpture
Declare that your foe is a mistake – MISTAKE -, and you will begin a channeled action which, if it resolves, will slay them outright and leave a stone statue of them behind. This sculpture will also change to be the last person you slew with it.
A bloody knife
With this knife in your inventory (not wielded), you may BETRAY a mutual ally and plunge it into their chest. While this does deal some damage, it will also let you balancelessly farsee that person (requires but does not consume equilibrium) for the next thirty minutes. You may only betray someone every ten minutes in this way.
Some woven hand wraps
These unassuming hand wraps convey truly mighty power upon the wearer. You may OVERPOWER <HIGH and send them rocketing into the sky after a channel (longer for each grade of strength). You may only overpower someone in this way every five minutes.
Robes of the wanderer
These robes serve as robes of the magi and cut all mana useage, but also cut willpower useage to a similar degree as well.
See HELP STOCKINGS for all stocking-related commands and to see a complete list of prizes and minimum stocking values!
Every 150 stockings opened will trigger a bonus stocking in the next 50 to be opened, awarding massively increased prizes!
ADDITIONALLY! For every 5 stockings of each type you purchase, you’ll receive either a gold or platinum stocking of that tier! So if you purchase 5 fancy stockings, you’ll get a gold (or platinum) fancy stocking. Gold and platinum stockings are special and fill up only on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
On January 10th we will also be drawing a raffle! Tickets for this will be gained from opening stockings, and each day you earn your maximum of 2000 renown you will earn a ticket too!
First winner will take home a pair gloves of arrowcatching (or 2000 bound credits if they don’t want them)!
Second winner will take home a gold inkbrush!
Third winner will take home a red inkbrush!
Any tickets held by non winners after the raffle is drawn will be converted to 2 bound credits each. (If you win prize 1, 2, or 3, all of your tickets are consumed and do not convert.)
Finally!
All previously hung stockings have been returned to their original owner’s inventories, and can be hung fresh for yourselves or new recipients!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [November in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/11/01/november-in-achaea-4)
**Published:** November 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s time to say goodbye to another fun-filled Mayaween, and while Logosmas twinkles on the not-so-distant horizon, let’s welcome in November!
As always, we have some fun things in store for this month that we’re not going to spoil just yet, so for now, the promotion has changed!
First of all, over at www.achaea.com/credits you’ll find the artefact cart, talisman packages (Wonders, Blackwave, Renegades, Eldergods, and Moderngods) and lesson packages all on sale.
For those of you unfamiliar (or who just want a refresher), the Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an Iron Elite membership).
Do note that you do need to be logged in on the website to buy artefacts in this way, so to be sure that your elite bonus always applies if applicable!
On top of the standard 30/40% discount offered by the artefact cart, we’re also further discounting select artefact categories throughout the month. (These are listed on UPCOMING.)
1st through 10th – All class artefacts.
11th through 20th – Stat and regen artefacts, and all things artefact armour.
21st through 30th – All offensive and defensive category artefacts.
If you purchase caches, every 10 talismans you buy of a talisman set earns you a bonus rare piece from that set.
So if you buy 10 Renegades talisman caches, you’ll get a bonus, rare Renegades talisman piece! But, if you buy 3 Renegades caches and 7 Eldergods caches, you won’t earn a bonus piece, because the 10 spread across sets.
Secondly, we’ve added a new talisman shop to Delos, and within you will find most of the Invasion, Planes, and Races talismans available for outright purchase and partial completion! See their respective helpfiles for all of those details!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Plunder the Graves!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/10/01/plunder-the-graves)
**Published:** October 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Kartha have departed, leaving behind Lord Scarlatti in their wake! We are looking forward to an artistic revival as He settles in over the coming months!
As we gear up for Mayaween and all of its spooks and scares, keys for caskets are on sale now at www.achaea.com/credits!
Visit the Tomacula graveyard and begin plundering the caskets of the restless dead!
When you have a complete key you can visit the Tomacula graveyard, where they will have an array of 64 caskets waiting to be unlocked (in an 8×8 grid). The prize list that is hidden behind the locked lids is specific, you can see the full list below and at HELP CASKETS. Before you choose which casket to open you can even see what has been won from already opened caskets!
When there are no prizes left, when the special prize has been claimed, or on the first of the month, the restless dead will reset the casket contents to full once more! There is a game announce when this happens!
CASKETS OPEN NUMBER <#> – open a specific unopened casket
CASKETS OPEN – open an unopened casket by coordinates
CASKETS OPENED – list all opened caskets
CASKETS CLOSED – list caskets still to be opened
CASKETS / – view a specific casket
See HELP CASKETS for all of the details on prizes and commands! Keys can be purchased off of the website (or as pieces if you prefer), and one can be purchased in the renown shop per player for this month.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Dice Return!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/09/07/dice-return)
**Published:** September 7, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Slightly delayed, but we’re here now!
For the rest of September Polymegahedral Dice will be available at www.achaea.com/credits and lessons and credits will also remain on sale!
Lanterns will continue to be awarded as bonuses for dice rollers, and a polymegahedral dice has been added to the renown shop!
The full dice prize pool can be found at HELP POLYMEGAHEDRAL DICE, caches can be opened for Eldergods, Moderngods, and the new Memory talisman set!
Themed for the events of the past few months the Memory set contains the following talismans:
A miniature battle demon – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYDEMON
- Priced at 60 credits
- A minipet.
A reinforced barrel of explosives – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYBARREL
- Priced at 300 credits
- ROLL BARREL to use!
- This infamous barrel may be rolled in a direction, and once it gets rolling it will roll for up to five rooms in that direction. For each room it passes through, it will annihilate all stone or icewalls in that room.
- Note: It will not break walls in the initial room and requires they not be blocking the way, and closed doors as ever remain a foe too great for even the most mighty of magics.
A bound vow of vengeance – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYVOW
- Priced at 400 credits
- While holding this talisman, you may VOW VENGEANCE AGAINST .
- They must be visible to you on the same continent, and once your vow is in place if you kill that person within the next ten minutes you will be greatly healed in body.
- However, if you slay someone else first, your vow will come to nothing.
- This carries a ten-minute cooldown.
Shifting instrument – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYINSTRUMENT
- Priced at 500 credits
- This instrument has two functions.
- First, you may INSPIRE AUDIENCE once every fifteen minutes to give everyone who considers you a mutual ally in your location the aria defence (as long as they aren’t deaf).
- Second, you may MORPH INTO to swap the instrument between various forms: harp, lyre, lute, and mandolin.
Dread wings of fathomless woe – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYWINGS
- Priced at 800 credits
- These grisly wings will serve as an alternative to wings of the eagle and will take you to the skies when invoked with the word DUANATHAR.
A malign heart – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYHEART
- Priced at 1200 credits
- If your starburst activates while holding this talisman, you will be inspired to great wrath, receiving a flat boost to your battlerage gauge.
- You will only receive this boost once every ten minutes.
A spark of hope – TALISMAN INFO MEMORYFLAME
- Priced at 1600 credits
- Drop this spark in a non-city outdoors room and it will grow into a flame.
- The next three corpses of people to be placed into the flame (PUT CORPSE IN FLAME) will be forced into the halls of the finality.
- Note, this will not work on anyone who died within the limits of a city.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Kartha](https://www.achaea.com/2023/09/05/the-kartha)
**Published:** September 5, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Kartha have pitched camp and these are now accessible!
Throughout the month of September, these foreigners will be hosting games, conversations, and trading with anyone who wishes to take part. So you can learn about the Kartha, their culture, and their traditions.
You can take this one step further by affiliating yourself with one of the tribes. To do this, you must speak to Tolos, the Attendant, who will be waiting for prospective supporters at ‘Atop the Great Rock’.
To sign up, you must DECIDE KUYABA, DECIDE NOKTOV, or DECIDE UCHENNY to join any one of the three, respectively. Be careful, however: once this token is cast, your affiliation CANNOT be changed!
To learn more about each tribe, seek out Storyteller Ilis of the Kuyaba, Calypse, an ashen crone of the Noktov, and Urzya Ylska of the Uchenny, and listen to their stories. This will give you a better idea of what each tribe represents and whether your personal preferences and interests will align with theirs or not.
After an initial 72-hour (3 RL day) period, the “open” portion of sign-ups will be closed. After that, anyone who signs up will be assigned to the tribe with the fewest members, to ensure that everyone has a chance to compete and make a name for themselves throughout the month.
When you have joined a tribe, you will receive a bracelet. Make sure not to lose this, give it away, or have it stolen! Your bracelet is your key to recording your participation in the September celebration events.
When you attend an event GIVE your BRACELET TO THE ROLL-TAKER. This denizen will update your bracelet with a charm, allowing you to keep track of how many events you have attended! This will also reflect how the tribe you have chosen to support will see you; the more you partake of and excel at the challenges the tribes layout, the greater your reputation with them will rise.
As the month moves along, more surprises are in store, so keep an eye on UPCOMING for the schedule!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [You Did It!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/09/01/you-did-it)
**Published:** September 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Congratulations, Achaea, you got us to our 26th birthday! Expect to see shenanigans kick off this weekend across the land!
As we don’t want to spoil the surprise just yet (keep an eye on UPCOMING), the only thing we’ll give away (badum tsh) for now is the return of the HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA command, use this at any point throughout September to claim 26 bound credits, once per character!
In the meantime, with the arrival of another month means our promotion updates!
BUT, the team is entirely wiped from the last few months of events, so our September promotion is going to be a little late. The renown bonus will remain as if it were August until we switch to Dice on the 7th.
So for now, lesson packages are available and credits are on sale at www.achaea.com/credits along with Prismatic tokens for the Wheel of Fortune. The credit sale is 40% bonus credits, 50% with Iron Elite!
Paper lanterns have also been added as a bonus items with a chance to be awarded on every spin, see HELP PROMO ITEMS for their details!
These lanterns can be lit, and they will fly up into the air to disappear and convey one of three gifts to the city as a whole! This will be either 5 credits in the city’s coffers, a 15 minute critical hit bonus, or a 15 minute xp bonus!
If you are a rogue lighting a lantern the bonuses are the critical hit bonus or the XP bonus, rogue lanterns do not offer organisation credits.
Lighting more lanterns will extend the duration of the crit or XP bonuses, up as far as the end of September when the celebration, any lanterns, and any bonuses (regardless of duration remaining), will come to an end.
On September 7th we will be switching to Polymegahedral Dice with a new talisman set, we will announce the details of that when it is live!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Parts XIII and XIV](https://www.achaea.com/2023/08/09/the-age-of-black-woe-parts-xiii-and-xiv)
**Published:** August 9, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Once again, Khalas strode alone. The Wanderer walked through the shattered memory of Krenindala, searching and seeking as He had done in the eons before Humanity.
With strikes aimed to send the Wanderer to His knees, five Gods coalesced upon Memory to assail Their lost Brother: Aegis, Neraeos, Vastar, Babel, and Valnurana. The confrontation was intense, with each blow and strike echoing across the breadth of Creation. Again and again, the warring Divinity coordinated Their attacks, striving to subdue Khalas and end His destructive ambitions.
Where Divine Fire raged, Krenindala broke. Where Smith-forged weapon struck, a new crater was born in the ancient memory of the Dragon homeworld. But the fury of the Lost God could not be quelled, not even as He lay impaled on the earth and Aegis loomed with His blade whirling overhead. Momentum began to build as Khalas roared His hatred, His vitriol, His justice.
Then the Warp Witch struck.
The Wanderer’s hand rose in defiance to take the brunt of the blow. His Divine Fire fractured beneath the arcing blade of War as His blood spilled, and His severed arm fell away into the mists of Memory. Reality trembled with the tormented screams of Khalas, echoing through Creation with such warping agony to bend the Veil Extant and drag mortality into the battlefield of the Gods.
Khalas, maimed and wounded, rose with unyielding determination and venom in His eyes. He struck at Babel and Aegis, pushing back Neraeos with a blow to sunder a continent. The sky rained crimson as He freed himself from the encircling Gods, drinking the souls trapped within Thoth’s dagger to restore His form. Booming across the landscape of Krenindala, the Lord of War shouted for the Divine to not let up and to leave the mortal adventurers to hold their own.
As the battle raged on against ormyrr, Dala’myrr, and a fury-fuelled Khalas, the Father of Dragons entered the fray with a roar to challenge the Lost God. Even Divinity backed away as the white-scaled form of Sycaerunax unleashed a blaze of dragonfire hot enough to ignite the heavens and strike Khalas dead on. The Wanderer buckled and staggered back with surprise writ on His face, but the once-leader of Krenindala did not let up. Claw and fang tore against the Eldest still-living Divine, shattering His girding Fire and forcing Him onto the back foot.
Looming over the broken and tired God, the Dragon Father unleashed a blast of breath to set the world aflame. Khalas screamed as His skin charred and His limbs shrivelled into burnt husks. But He endured. He took the raging dragonfire, and once the blaze had calmed He fled the battlefield.
For once, the Pantheon had managed to overwhelm the Lost God. But He was not dead yet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: While exploring the memory of Krenindala, Khalas was assailed by the Divine Pantheon once again. Blow after blow was traded, but ultimately He was overwhelmed by the His siblings and Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons and forced to retreat from the battlefield with terrible injuries.
---
In a secluded corner of Memory, Khalas crawled and clawed forward amidst His own wept tears. As He reached a burnt hand forward, His student from eons past, Han-Silnar, came to His aide. Placing one arm beneath that of the Wanderer’s one limb not mangled and ruined, the Aldar lifted Him up. Then, together, they struggled onward through a blasted landscape.
“Everything I have done… I only ever wanted purpose, Han-Silnar.”
“Imagine the pain of knowing, of being told that He had no plan nor goal for Me as He did the rest. As He did even for the Aldar. It HURT, little brother.”
“My Siblings denied Me even the chance to join Them. I wanted to help Phaestus at the forge. Train with Matsuhama. Learn with Lucretius. Laugh, and love, with Eros. Paint with Scarlatti. Dream with Valnurana.”
Han-Silnar leaned the wounded God against a lone boulder amid the shattered world, kneeling before his once-Master as he prepared to ask Him a question.
“Do You remember what You said before, My Lord? That it was what she said? What she asked? Begged?”
Exhausted, wounded, weakened, Khalas’ tired features shifted to an expression of confusion masking irritation upon his now-burned and scarred visage.
“Her last word. Before You gave her to the Legion,” continued Han-Silnar with cold seriousness.
Khalas, the Wanderer said with annoyance, “Who?”
Only then did Soulfinder move, piercing deep within the Elder God as Han-Silnar took revenge for Enheduanna, for her suffering. The eyes of Khalas widened but briefly in shock as He slumped into His pupil’s arms, and His last breath drifted from His lips.
The stars stilled in the heavens, and Creation wept for the death of Khalas, the Wanderer.
–
Han-Silnar quietly lowered the corpse of Khalas to the rocky ground, His body untouched and untouchable by decay in cessation. Finally, slowly, the Aldar turned his gaze towards the empty skies of Memory.
“It is done. I know You are listening for those words. You can show Yourselves now.”
Gleaming clarion in the mist-shrouded depths, a shimmering archway opened wide as Lorielan revealed Herself with Vastar and Twilight not far behind. Wrath lanced through the usually calm countenance of the Jade Empress as She spoke firmly and concisely.
“You broke your word, Han-Silnar.”
Without emotion, the voice of Han-Silnar rang in response, “The three of You tasked me to deliver Him. You did not specify the condition. I am bound to Your commands. Not to expectations You do not voice.”
“You will regret your defiance, servant.”
“I regret nothing.”
Han-Silnar handed the bloodied Soulfinder to the Jade Empress, and as She left so too did he. Still bound, and never free.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Burnt and exhausted in the wake of His battle with Sycaerunax, Khalas sought His student for aid. In an act of betrayal against the Elder God and revenge for Enheduanna, Han-Silnar stabbed and killed Khalas with the Soulfinder. Lorielan, the Jade Empress expressed Her anger that Han-Silnar had slain Khalas rather than deliver Him alive, and returned the Aldar to his eternity of servitude.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Parts XI and XII](https://www.achaea.com/2023/08/07/the-age-of-black-woe-parts-xi-and-xii)
**Published:** August 7, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Far along the endless roads of Memory, Khalas strode towards His brother, the ever-loyal Smith of Proteus. With His cowl draped over His grey-robed figure, the Wanderer spoke urgently, imploring Phaestus to join Him in the creation of a New World. But the Dwarf Father remained immovable as a mountain, steadfastly refusing the pleas of His older Brother.
Dismay washed over the Wanderer’s face even though He knew this would be the response He would receive and confirmed a lingering suspicion: He would be abandoned by His siblings once again.
Ablaze with roiling Divine Fire, Khalas engaged Phaestus in a battle that shook the heavens. There was no flashy display or grandeur in Forge Lord’s fighting style, only a steady and relentless rhythm of hammer against God. But the Wanderer endured, His strength was a consuming rage fueled by the burning desire to break free from the world His Father had abandoned Him in. His might was the caustic compulsion to destroy all that His Father had created.
Their clash intensified and the earth trembled beneath Their feet with each thunderous blow. Phaestus’s booming voice rang out against Khalas, pleading for Him to see the madness of His ways. But no voice of reason could calm the boiling anger of the unrepentant Wanderer.
Or so it was thought, until the Smith’s calloused hand reached out to His older Brother, offering a path away from violence – a road to the Beyond and a fresh start for the Lost God.
Khalas’ eyes flickered with confusion and hope, but that optimism died as the venomous words of Black Pazuzu tainted the air with their honeyed sweetness.
“Liar.”
“Does the God not remember His own promise? He seeks to slay you, Khalas.”
Rage.
Fury.
Fire.
The Eldest still-living God lashed out at His younger sibling. Blow after blow fell upon the Dwarf Lord, hammering His skull against rock, shattering His body, and drenching Memory’s path in Divine blood. As Death’s blade loomed over Phaestus, Neraeos and Vastar intervened, trying to quell the relentless violence. But the Wanderer would not be stopped and turned His burning wrath against Them too. The Shield of Tides broke into fragments, unable to endure the onslaught of Divine Fire and clenched fist. The Skylord struggled and gasped for air as Khalas gripped Him by the throat. The God without a Realm was a force not even Sky and Sea could stand against alone.
In the midst of the losing battle, Aegis’ voice rang across the breadth of Creation. He called for retreat in an effort to forestall the deadly defeat looming over the three Divine, and Twilight aided His command. Sudden darkness enveloped the battlefield, plunging it into impenetrable obscurity. When the light returned, Phaestus’ broken body was gone, the Gods had fled, and Khalas stood alone, victorious but contemplative.
Pazuzu, Prince of Woe, emerged from the shadows, congratulating Khalas on His triumph. The Wanderer turned to the primordial Demon and asked him a single question:
“They spoke of something unfamiliar to Me. Bal’met? What is that?”
The Prince of Woe’s mouth curled upward, his face breaking into a malevolent, too-wide smile as the veil of Memory descended to shroud history in its depths.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Khalas approached Phaestus upon the roads of Memory, pleading for Him to join Pazuzu’s cause. Phaestus refused and the two clashed in a titanic battle that left the Smith broken and on the verge of death. Neraeos and Vastar intervened but failed to do any harm to Khalas before they were forced to flee with Phaestus’ body in tow.
---
On the 24th of Chronos 923 AF the town of Caer Witrin was threatened by Yggdrasil’s corrupted brambles.
It began with the descent of the Infernal Legions onto the Prime Material Plane. Hungry for flesh and blood, the winged demons ran the gamut of the village as Sapience’s army rallied together and marched. Dragons took to the frontlines, staining their claws with black ichor as mages and warriors supported with a rain of fire, lightning, and arrows. With such a magnitude of force, the lesser footsoldiers of the Inferno were no match. Victory seemed all but assured until the heavens darkened and Regent Agmorin arrived.
With his Dreadblade hovering at his side, the Demon Prince cleaved through the armies of Sapience, rending them asunder to stain the snows of Caer Witrin crimson. Though droves of dragons and mortals fell before his Inferno-forged steel, the onslaught did not cease. Coordinate strikes forced Agmorin onto the defensive as he wove his blood magic into protective barriers and fleshy growths. But even that could not inhibit the soldiers of the Prime for long, and nearly a half-day later the lieutenant of Woe was forced to retreat.
Now unguarded, the corrupted brambles of the World Tree were no match for Achaea’s brood of dragons. White-hot dragonfire blazed bright enough to illuminate the shadowed heavens, burning briar and thorn to ash and then naught as the fell shadow looming over the mountain town faded.
Caer Witrin was saved.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The mountain town of Caer Witrin was assaulted by the brambles of a corrupted Yggdrasil. Sapience rallied together and defeated Regent Agmorin, allowing them to burn away the brambles and save Caer Witrin from destruction.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Parts IX and X](https://www.achaea.com/2023/08/01/the-age-of-black-woe-parts-ix-and-x)
**Published:** August 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
On the 11th of Daedalan 923 AF, the citizens of Mhaldor gathered within the Black Cathedral for a dark communion and an even darker purpose. Blood flowed in rivers from their freshly slit throats, soaking into a pentagram of their own make as they performed a profane ritual: the summoning of Lord Malortis, the Portal Master.
The scholars of Mhaldor understood well that this ancient daemon never acted without a price, for his loyalty was first and foremost to himself. A bargain had to be struck to secure his services, and what could tempt him more than a taste of Divinity? With a quake that rumbled Sapience, Cooper Ikari rose as an Avatar of Malevolence and offered his blood, heart, and body to the slavering Lord Malortis. Tooth sank into flesh as claw tore apart skin, and when the flurry of crimson abated, the Portal Master was satisfied.
The price was paid.
Ascending out of the Black Cathedral to the cursed city of Kasmarkin, the Daemon Lord fulfilled his end of the bargain. A portal to the Inferno was opened, and Mhaldor was allowed to strike at Pazuzu’s forces. Steel poised and magic crackling, the armies of the Baelgrim marched in, tearing apart the wasteland’s demons before charging at their newest foe: Spall, the Gnarled Hand.
Panicked and flighty, the greasy demon threw flame after burning flame at the encroaching army of Black Hand and Sartanic devout, melting the overly brave and foolish into puddles of bubbling pitch. But any effort was meaningless in the face of such an overwhelming force, and it was not long before the Avatar of Evil stood atop a foul, rotting corpse. It took only minutes before the effects of Spall’s demise were felt on the Prime Material Plane. Without the Gnarled Hand’s ritualism to sustain it, the rift above Kasmarkin wavered and collapsed inwards, freeing Sapience from the ceaseless onslaught of the Infernal Legion’s hordes.
With the violent closure of the Infernal portal came a promise sealed by Mhaldor. Born of Malortis’ daemonic hand, their own flame-wrought rift to the Inferno would remain intact and afire on the Prime, allowing them to return the Legion’s gift of endless slaughter to the demons waiting within.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Mhaldor performed a ritual to summon Lord Malortis, the Portal Master. In exchange for the blood of an Avatar, the Daemon Lord opened a rift to the Inferno, allowing the Baelgrim armies to slay the demon responsible for the Infernal Legion’s transportation to Sapience.
---
Deep within Memory, the Black Prince Pazuzu strode under the high places where his judges had once sentenced him with banishment to the Chaos Planes for the crime of rebellion. A gloating smile reigned over his cruel face as he pushed over the stone bench from which the Even-Handed Goddess had declared the verdict.
“You are gone, and I remain.”
The words rested heavy in the air. The certainty of inevitable triumph wreathed about the Inferno’s Lord like a cloak. That inevitability, however, would not go unchallenged.
The Crown Prince had numerous dangerous enemies, not least the Bloodsworn Gods. Aurora and Deucalion, joined by the Merchant Lord Prospero, materialised to cast him from his lofty place. Wielding Their implements of war, the Divinities against him closed in before he could make for more favourable ground, and Pazuzu was forced to stand and fight.
He was forced, perhaps, but he was no less eager to battle.
Even with such resplendence as the trio of Gods brought to bear, Pazuzu fended Them off with the savage might of fang and claw. Whenever Deucalion’s flame, Aurora’s ivory, or Prospero’s bronze struck the Demon Prince, he pressed on virtually unharmed. Ethereal sigils covered his body with every blow, and the bite of Their sacred armaments dissipated along his form.
The War Veil was proving a terrible tool in his hands. However, Aurora’s might would not be denied even by this defence; She had come so far and endured so much that mere artifice would not delay the justice She and Her Bloodsworn had set out to mete. With the pressure of Deucalion’s fires and Prospero’s harassment, the Lightbringer finally trapped the Crown Prince’s arm under Hers. The Scimitar of Dawn sheared across his mighty frame and left a minute nick in the War Veil’s fabric, which She seized upon.
Throwing aside his protection with a yank of Her hand, Pazuzu now found himself under genuine threat from the assault of the Gods. A furious exchange ensued in which he gave it his all to destroy Them before They could destroy him, but in the end, justice was something even that ancient rebel could not elude.
Aurora buried Her scimitars in his chest and ripped them apart, leaving the Demon Prince a ruined corpse on the blackened ground.
Yet the War Veil was not the only ancient magic the New God had kept with him for such an eventuality. The virid glow of Gaia’s ring bathed his ruined form, and he rose again, more terrible and dangerous than ever before. In his hand now gleamed the sword of Yen-Sorte, the Battlemaster, that fabled weapon known far and wide as the Rageblade.
Fueled by the ravaging harm inflicted upon him, the storied longsword proved too much even for the Lightbringer’s studied swordsmanship. Prospero was similarly beaten back, and the Righteous Fire’s flames went ignored in favour of retribution. Blow by blow, Aurora was put on the back foot and reduced to mere survival by the savagery of Pazuzu’s killing frenzy.
Pressed to Her limit, She drew upon Her Divine essence and brought forth the radiance of the Morning Star. The light turned the ground to bubbling tar, and the flames of a new sun infused the Scimitar of Righteousness. She brought it down upon the Crowned Prince with all the unstoppable might of a just sentence.
The Goddess was thrown back when it connected with the Paincatcher Pazuzu now held in his other hand. Her body was rent open, and Her blood streamed freely from the grievous wound in a nightmarish scene. Her Bloodsworn was marred by the magic of the Protean shield’s retribution, and She was now defenceless.
Pazuzu pinned Her arm to the ground with his foot and lifted the fell steel of the Rageblade high above Her, pointing its tip at Her still-beating heart.
“Aurora!”
Deucalion’s voice resonated across Memory as He cried Her name. His fire blazed and enveloped Her, protecting Her from Pazuzu’s assault for the split second it took the Merchant Lord to open a golden door for Them to flee through.
The New God Pazuzu relented and simply watched them leave, issuing his pronouncement in this fateful place as They withdrew from the battle.
“Enjoy what time is left to You before it runs out, for I will come for all of You.”
“Believe that.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Aurora, Deucalion, and Prospero found an opportunity to assault Pazuzu as he visited the memory of his sentencing after the War of Humanity. Wielding the power of the War Veil, Lifegiver, Paincatcher, and Rageblade, the Crowned Prince not only eluded Their justice but grievously wounded Aurora before the three Gods managed to withdraw to safety.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Parts VII and VIII](https://www.achaea.com/2023/07/30/the-age-of-black-woe-parts-vii-and-viii)
**Published:** July 30, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Ethereal fog flowed forth from the threads of Memory across Sapience as the clangour of war resounded. Three Divine stood alone in the wake of a battle against Memory’s recreations: the Malevolent One, the Skylord, and the Wayward Heir.
Vastar’s voice rang out to Sartan, demanding He cease His fight against mere echoes of His long-lost foes. The Lord of Evil growled and pushed onwards, uncaring and unaware, as he walked into three of Pazuzu’s Demon Princes and their foul horde of demons. Hunger lingered in the voice of Demon Prince Y’garl while Prince Itarn of the Black Sepulchre and Prince Vleiss, the Skinned Walker, stood beside him – but the Lord of Evil only grinned and tightened His already-crushing grip upon His blades.
Pandora retreated to assist the Celani left behind in Sartan’s recklessness, but the Lord of Storms remained beside His Brother. With speed to rival lightning, the Skylord ascended into the heavens as the Malevolent One drove into the Demon Princes below. None were shown mercy in the display of Divine wrath that followed. Dozens upon hundreds upon thousands of the Infernal Legion perished in an endless starfall of cataclysmic meteors that shook the landscape of Memory.
Meanwhile, Sartan met His foes with blade, claw, fist, and rage. With never a backward step, the God of Evil traded blow after blow with the Demon Princes, His oppressive onslaught overwhelming Itarn in a heedless display of brutality before He split the Lord of the Black Sepulchre in twain with a single strike of His hand. The death of His comrade was just the opportunity Y’garl needed.
Slavering at the mouth, the Abyssal Wyrm slithered around the Elder God, crushing Him tight within an embrace more akin to a serpent than a dragon. A forked tongue slithered out of the Demon Prince as he opened his jaws and sank his fangs into the Malevolent One, violently tearing off His arm and hand as a bellowed roar rang across the length and breadth of Creation.
Sartan’s chest rose and sank with every laboured breath as wrath beyond mortal ken overtook His golden eyes. Without a hand free, the Malevolent One seized the Blade of Perdition in His teeth and burst free from Y’garls grip, storming forward in a howling whirlwind of God-forged steel and blood as He decapitated the Demon Prince in the blink of an eye.
The last standing Prince, Vleiss, turned to flee, but the God of Evil barred His path, aureate gaze locked upon His foe as He forced His once-severed arm back onto His shoulder and grabbed the demon by the throat. His other hand drove forward deep into the creature’s torso, tearing out his heart in a raw display of brutality.
Holding the pulsing twin-chambered organ aloft, Sartan the Malevolent growled, “Run, wretch. You will fight again. But you, like your principality, are now Mine.”
“MINE.”
The Malevolent One threw aside the defeated Prince and, with one last disgusted look at the now-blasted battlefield, He departed.
–
On the 8th of Mayan 922 AF, the corrupt brambles of Yggdrasil struck against the Caves of Delmarin.
Stalactites crumbled throughout the foetid tunnels as adventurers raced to find the Yggdrasian briars only to find the awaiting spears and claws of the Underworld’s horde. Frenzied shrieks echoed through the caves as vampires, skeletons, wraithlords, and more met their living foes in battle in a violent surge. But the Undead fell swiftly, no match for the seasoned hunters of Achaea, or so they thought.
From the profane depths of the grave came a King-blessed creation, one of the first forged by the black hand of Slith himself. Virotal, Death Warmed Over awoke, and her putrid might tore apart the armies of Sapience. Soul and ichor were her blades as she condemned defender after defender to the halls of Finality, and though she fell once, the irrepressible gift of her birthright forced her back into the fray.
Sapience lost the day, and the Caves of Delmarin crumbled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Vastar and Sartan fought three of Pazuzu’s Demon Princes upon the plains of Memory. Meanwhile, on Sapience, the corrupt brambles of Yggdrasil assailed a new region, and the Caves of Delmarin fell.
---
Darkness fell upon the Vigil’s camp, and whispers ran through its ranks like wildfire. In hushed tones, the fanatics spoke of plots everywhere: plots to poison them, to kill them in their sleep, to betray them to the enemy. To bring the fury of the Gods they were arrayed against upon them.
With tensions running high, it was inevitable that this discord would soon wear the guise of open conflict. It was impossible to say where it began, but an argument precipitated shoving and shouting. Before it could grow to a whole conflagration, the captains of the Vigil strode from their tents with weapons in hand to quell the growing unrest.
They stalked to and fro, searching for the instigator. When a cultist lost his nerve and turned to run from the captains, the nearest of them beheaded him with a single swipe of cold steel. The head rolled, and the camp truly fractured, with small groups splintering the assembled force. Paranoia and mistrust only grew as the worshippers hurled accusations of treason at one another.
In light of the captains’ failure to bring order to the camp, a ternion hiss rang out to announce the appearance of the Vigil Trinity. The murderous Spectres hemmed in the dissenting voices, bringing down a tense silence that grew more expectant with every passing second.
A foolish voice soon broke that quiet. This prompted an attack from the accused, and it seemed that the entire camp would break into a brawl when an unrestrained giggle brought it all to a halt. In response to such mocking laughter, the Trinity all struck the ground at once to shake the earth, putting all the cultists on one knee.
All save One, who remained on Her feet.
Pandora lowered Her hood, and the Vigil Trinity turned to assail Her. Beset by these mighty foes, She raised Her hand and fractured the air, cracking it as if it were a mirror’s surface and making it impossible to see Her clearly.
The Spectres of the Vigil could not break through this mirage of Her making. Every blow they struck hit nothing but an illusion, and the Goddess got on with Her appointed task. It was not until the Knight of the Trinity stopped to watch Her visage intently that the artifice was exposed.
It was too late, however. The Goddess hefted the Equilibrium Gem in Her hand, Her pleasure writ clear upon Her youthful face. The enraged attempt of Her Spectral foes to reclaim it was halted by the voice of the God of Darkness, whose proclamation rested heavily upon those who had dared to oppose Divinity.
“Your time has run out.”
The Darkness He had been sowing laid thick upon the ground, an umbral miasma for Him to draw upon. Everything became panic and confusion as the dark hearts of the Vigil cultists were turned to His purpose. It took some time for the screams to die as brothers in arms slew each other in droves, and the sheer terror of the unending Dark did its cruel work.
Only the Trinity remained on their feet by the time the Darkness lifted. They lunged at the Wayward Heir, who was opening a rift through which to step to safety. They nearly got there in time.
Twilight’s control of His realm proved absolute in the end. The Darkness threw them back just enough that their weapons caught nothing but wispy blackness as Pandora stepped through the rift and withdrew, prize in hand.
All the Spectres were left with was the Goddess’ parting barb, a final token of Her esteem: “Fare thee well!”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Pandora and Twilight infiltrated a Vigil camp upon Memory and stole the Equilibrium Gem from the Spectres that held it.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Parts V and VI](https://www.achaea.com/2023/07/25/the-age-of-black-woe-parts-v-and-vi)
**Published:** July 25, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In Lupar of 922 AF, the Pantheon arrayed Themselves in all the blinding regalia of immortality and marched to war upon the distant plane of Memory. With the Lord Commander at Their front and an army of Demigods and Celani at Their heels, even the oldest of Adversaries could agree on one thing: They would give Their all for Creation.
They remembered too well what had come before. The victories. The losses. And as They remembered so too did the transporting mists of Memory, separating some of the Elders from the strength of Their collective. Lorielan, the Jade Empress. Gaia, the Earthmother. Valnurana, Maiden of Dreams. Scarlatti, the Great Bard.
Death loomed ahead, and as They remembered a name and figure clarified from the depths of Their ageless recollection, manifesting as none other than Lord Thoth, the Endbringer. In brooding repose upon the Throne of Death, He was as They had last seen Him, a titan of ebon flame and inviolable will whose far-reaching grasp was, at one time, Inevitable.
Lorielan remembered Thoth. He had stood firm against Her in refusing the ambition of the first Triumvirate, even if it meant the demise of His Quisalis.
Valnurana remembered Thoth. The souls of mortalkind slipped through Her fingers as they faded into the night, and there He had always waited patiently to collect them.
Gaia remembered Thoth like no Other. He too had understood the natural passage of Time, the sanctity of Life, and the plague of Undeath. He would never have broken the Cycle to return to Them, for it was He who had shown Her that all things have their end.
But They could not move Him to stay His scythe, nor could the cold logic spoken by Lorielan as She told of His end at the scheming hands of Prince Slith. Unto the moment of His death, the Lord of Souls had known no other charge but this. Scourged by cataclysm and arrested by song, He persisted through Divine assault and plea, battling His Brother and Sisters in the fog as They raced to reconcile Their own remembrance of Him.
Finally They could evade Him no longer. As the reaping scythe of bone in the Endbringer’s many hands fell upon the Great Bard, the Goddess of Sleep and Dreams performed Her great sacrifice. She suffered beneath the blow meant for Him. It carved through the nightmare contained by Her Dream, and blackest horror spilled out through the rifts in the Prime Material.
“Valnurana!” screamed Scarlatti to the wounded Maiden in His arms. Somewhere in the distance, a multitude of cries echoed through the veil of Memory and beyond.
–
The Gods were gone, but not forgotten.
Far below Them, on Sapience and Meropis, across the vast Chelic Ocean and the Sea of Strife, all had felt the wound rendered upon the Dreamrealm. Flocks of birds dropped like stones from the crimson skies, and as they fought to stay awake, thousands upon thousands of mortals looked up to the sundered heavens and prayed.
–
Scarlatti remembered Thoth. His was the name of a sonnet written for the dearly departed. He was the epitaph. The tear-soaked memorial. The last hastily penned letter of words left unsaid and promises silently kept, the parchment unread in a locked drawer gathering dust. He remembered hearing Thoth, faceless behind His mask, smile through His speech once. He remembered. He remembered.
And as He remembered, He sang. His golden voice rose slowly at first, ringing out with all sincerity and sorrow in the cavernous breadth of His loss. He sang until the feeling in Him was hoarse, and with every piercing note, the regret in the Great Bard’s euphonious voice cracked the panes of Memory with His dirge for the fallen God. At last, the God of Death froze and considered where He was, a spectre displaced out of Time and reason, haunted by the magnitude of His Siblings’ grief.
Whom were They grieving?
“Ah.”
Realisation dawned on Thoth as He listened to the lament of the Divine Song. With that clarion thought His memory once more ceased to be, leaving the Others to contend with His absence. Again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: As the Divine advanced Their campaign on Memory, four Elder Gods were waylaid by the memory of Thoth, the Endbringer. Though Death was thwarted and ultimately sung to His rest by Scarlatti’s gift, the Goddess Valnurana was gravely wounded. Elsewhere, mortality prayed to all Divinity and began to truly amass their forces.
---
On the 16th of Phaestian 922 AF the settlement of Tir Murann was threatened by Yggdrasil’s corrupted brambles.
It began like all battles do; the pawns made the first move. Cultists, assassins, and bladesworn of the Vigil descended in flashes of crimson lightning, their blades poised for combat and eyes hungry for blood. But Sapience’s now-united warriors were prepared, and they were ready. The battle raged.
Sapience’s warriors made swift work of the Vigil zealots as they marched through the Vertani settlement in a blaze of swords, claws, and crackling magic. The pawns were slain, but their defeat was only a preview of the danger ahead. Sarava Axor rose from the earth to meet her foes in battle again.
The heavens bled crimson in the clash between Sapience and the Haemomancer. With kris in hand, the sanguine sorceress cut through armies of Greater Dragons as she bathed in blood. Her might was well known, but so too was her strategy. Persevering through death after death, the defenders of Sapience rose to meet the challenge, and Sarava Axor was forced to retreat out of the fray.
With the brambles of Yggdrasil now unguarded, the dragons of Sapience gathered together and opened their maws wide. White-hot flame poured over the fell briars as they tapped into something deep within their flesh, a Fire blazing far beyond Creation. It burned away their scales, melted claws and fangs until nothing was left beside ash and the mortal frames of those who willingly sacrificed their dragonsouls.
Tir Murann was saved.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The settlement of Tir Murann was assaulted by the brambles of a corrupted Yggdrasil. Sapience rallied together and defeated Sarava Axor, allowing them to burn away the brambles and save Tir Murann from destruction.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Parts III and IV](https://www.achaea.com/2023/07/21/the-age-of-black-woe-parts-iii-and-iv)
**Published:** July 21, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Ethereal fog swirled in the rifts to Memory, bequeathing visions of distant worlds perhaps unbeknownst to those under watch.
–
In Miraman 922 AF, Divinity gathered on the precipice of Memory. A strategy was made, one that would guide both means and method in Their war against the Prince of Woe. Yet as They spoke, the Pantheon was clear: Pazuzu was a threat that None could take lightly. Though They had once quelled the Infernal Legions in the days of Ayar, what had gone before was no promise of victory in the Modern Age.
Not only did Pazuzu command his Legions as in times past, all the Inferno rising in Woe’s glory, but so too were the Protean relics borne under and upon his horror-wrought wings. Tools, built with purpose and power beyond the knowledge of later, lesser eons. Pazuzu’s cult tipped Creation into chaos and havoc, the blood-drenched Vigil striking out after years of lurking like snakes as they humbled empires and shattered armies.
The Gods were sparse of soldier and tool. This time there would be no Proteus to bring Their armies to war. Nothing from Arn, no Qui’anar, and no unicorns. The Genesis and His Tsol’teth inheritors chose to defend only their own realm. And then there was Memory.
In a place where all past, present, and future is shaped by the subjective, the Divine Will rises up like a craftsman’s hand. What They think Is, and Memory would assail Them with it.
Though the horizon was bleak, Divinity rallied and marched.
War looms.
–
Cloaked by the fog of anamnesis, the Prince of Woe coalesced upon a throne of his own make beneath a dome of shining gold. His fell wings loomed wide, casting their grim shadow over the soldiers gathered before him: commanders of the Infernal Legions, the Undead, and the Vigil amassed at last as one.
Rising from his dark seat, Black Pazuzu descended into the crowd, whispering honeyed words of comfort and praise in the ears of the Inferno’s risen Princes, stirring them to war as he assured them their place in his New Order. The saccharine lilt of his voice soothed hither and yon, save one: the pestilent Prince Eth’liss, and his speaking against Khalas.
Rage had fully subsumed the Elder God before the scathing remark even completed its exodus from the mouth of the rotting Prince. Khalas struck, wielding all the untrammelled might of His Divinity. First ash, then naught, the ancient Demon was annihilated. Only a silent fear lingered in his wake, hanging heavy upon crowd and chamber.
Pazuzu smiled, peeling thin lips wide as he placed a comforting, clawed hand upon the shoulder of the Wanderer. From within his wings he revealed the Protean relic once wielded by Thoth, the Soulfinder, and placed it in Khalas’ hands.
The Black Army of Pazuzu rallied with hope and hunger in their eyes.
War looms.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Through rifts to the depths of Memory, the mortals of Sapience witnessed both the rallying of the Divine and the gathering of Pazuzu’s Generals.
---
On the 14th of Valnurary 922 AF, the village of Aeraithian Falls was assailed by the corrupted brambles of Yggdrasil.
Swiftly climbing the mountaintops, the adventurers of Sapience sought out the fell briars of the World Tree only to find the lashing tendrils girded by demonic flame. Quaking beneath the descent of an ominous shadow, the mist-laden village witnessed the pitiless horror of Regent Agmorin, the Black Husk as he descended onto the Prime with blood-soaked Dreadblade hungering at his side.
None were shown mercy as the Regent struck out with sorcery and Inferno-forged sword melded as one. Hot blood spilled down the Southern Vashnars. Screams of agony pierced the air. Corpses piled at the demon’s feet, and he revelled in the carnage.
Yggdrasil’s brambles churned in the wake of the lost battle and the World Tree receded its touch upon the Prime Material Plane, taking with it the foundation that anchored the once-quaint village to Creation.
The Aeraithian Falls vanished in silence.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The brambles of a corrupted Yggdrasil assailed the Prime Material Plane and the Aeraithian Falls were destroyed.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Part II](https://www.achaea.com/2023/07/17/the-age-of-black-woe-part-ii)
**Published:** July 17, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
On the 19th of Aeguary in the 922nd year after the fall of Seleucar, the first brambles of a corrupted Yggdrasil assaulted the Prime Material Plane.
The forest village of Sparrow’s Rest trembled as reality shifted, spurring its namesake birds to flight as fell tendrils found root in the shaded depths of the elmwood. Colour drained from the blossoms and moss, all life and existence suffering under the fracturing connection to the World Tree.
While the adventurers of Sapience were swift in their arrival, so too were the black armies of the Prince of Woe. His Vigil cult stood guard over the hungry corruption of brambles; their Prince decreed destruction, and they would lay down their lives to see it through.
Blood and claws clashed with terrible fury as the pawns of the Vigil met Sapience’s dragons in battle, and only when the zealous prayers to the Prince of Woe faded did their general descend: Sarava Axor, the Haemomancer.
Her might was far grander than that of her students, and Sapience was no match. The armies of each city-state perished in a tide of crimson, and the brambles did as their demonic puppet master bade them. Yggdrasil relinquished its touch upon the Prime Material, taking with it the foundations that anchored the forest to Creation.
Sparrow’s Rest fell in silence.
–
The silence brought no mercy to Sapience, for in the wake of this loss came the fell legions of Pazuzu.
First were the blood-drenched zealots of the Vigil, washing ashore in the now-tainted waters of Sea Lion Cove. But their presence was mercifully lessened, the portal to their encampment of origin snuffed by the hasty ritualism of the Dawnspear.
Second came Slith’s cold, mocking laughter. Wielding the power of his birthright, the King of Undeath commanded the eidolic spirit of the Underworld back to its font: the Soulbleed Nexus. From there he forged new horrors and terrors. Swarms upon hordes both hungry and eager for flesh ravaged the Dakhota Hills.
Last to take to the field were the Infernal Legions, descending from the skies in a blaze of hellfire to the streets of ancient Kasmarkin, their blades whetted with screams upon their teeth in anticipation of a massacre.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The brambles of a corrupted Yggdrasil assailed the Prime Material Plane and Sparrow’s Rest was destroyed. In the wake of this destruction, Pazuzu’s army of demons, undead, and cultists marched onto Sapience for war.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Age of Black Woe: Part I](https://www.achaea.com/2023/07/16/the-age-of-black-woe-part-i)
**Published:** July 16, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Tragedy arose in the dawning months of 922 AF, a black night that began with the first sign of Slith since his escape from the Underworld. On the cold fields of the Outer Planes, upon a world no God had cared to view since time immemorial, the King of the Undead struck against Babel’s cult. Spilling eldritch blood onto the ashen wastes, Slith taunted and jeered as Oblivion’s Lord shouted with a fury to rouse the angered might of the Pantheon itself. One by One did the Gods march toward that precipice of the Void, Their goal to shackle the escaped half-Aldar. Yet Their march took Them far from the Prime Material Plane. So far, indeed, that even Yggdrasil’s boughs were no more than feeble tendrils.
And Slith did smile.
Far above the uppermost branches of the World Tree, the heavens darkened and all who lived wept tears of blood. Horror, terror, and nightmare cloaked the realms of Creation as the hidden hand behind Slith’s freeing was revealed, the true culprit of Time’s warping and the foul agency bending Memory to his will: Black Pazuzu, the Prince of Woe. Grown only stronger since his flight through the Flame to worlds unknown, the Inferno’s Crown Prince sneered at the canvas left behind by absent Gods. For he saw, and he was disgusted. Achaea was unguarded. The folly of the Divine would be witnessed by all, and his reign would commence.
With twin relics in his talons, one a brambled Seed and the other a discordant Eye, the Prince of Woe unleashed his corrupted might upon the very crown of Yggdrasil: the Garden of the Gods. Hungry black nonlight flooded the skies of every plane and world alike, twisting and warping the very the foundations of the World Tree. Creation wept at the descent of the Eye of Discord, Protean relic turned weapon cast against the Aldar-wrought paradise and reducing it to burning rubble falling into the void between worlds.
But the twisted machinations of Pazuzu could not end there. For his hatred was far-reaching, and he was not yet done. The New God would take his throne, and all that was of the Making would fall.
Brambles born of a distorted, corrupted Yggdrasil stretched throughout Creation in forced action by his behest, grasping at the very planes and tearing them down to a fundamental Nothing. Reveling in the destruction, Pazuzu’s voice rang out in a call to his devoted, blood-drenched cultists of the Vigil. And so it was that they too struck in the name of Woe. Monarchs fell to poisoned cups and blades in their backs. Strategists and commanders died at the hands of mutiny and betrayal.
Havoc was spreading like a plague, and amidst it all the Black Prince descended to Sapience.
–
Achaea’s very soil withered beneath the steps of Pazuzu, his presence anathema to life as the skies faded to a bloody, crimson pall. What few Protean relics remained in the hands of mortals he took, wielding the might of his gathered tools for all to witness. And then, at last, with the tools of Proteus at his side, the primordial Demon of the Ancient Worlds turned to Tomacula and its prize: Khalas, eldest of the still-living Divine, He who had been imprisoned in gold over five thousand years gone.
Continents trembled with every strike of Earthshaker against the Elder God’s statue, each blow creating a new fracture in the untarnished metal as Pazuzu worked his will against the command of the absent Creator. His Infernal bones ached at the unleashing, his body suffered, his veins boiled in agony as Protean relic was turned against Logosian Decree. And yet he pushed on until his task was complete, discarding a Protean hammer that was now no more than a broken husk. The world bore witness as the Wanderer rose.
Khalas was free.
The Elder God looked down at His fingers, clenching and unclenching their first movements in millennia. He drew His first breath of Creation since Humanity’s War. And He smiled. At last He was loosed and, alongside His ancient ally, the Wanderer departed to the depths of Memory.
In the moments that followed the Gods of the Pantheon at last returned to the Prime, free of Slith’s trap only to witness the horror and destruction wrought by Their foe. Pain, anger, sorrow, and wrath overtook Their faces in a panoply of unleashed emotion as They gazed upon the ruins of Their Garden. An ensouled and living realm, the final work of the Aldar, was no more.
“Is this to be Our end?” Ourania’s celestial voice resounded.
“Only a dusk,” responded the Great Bard.
A rare affinity crossed mind and will and face alike upon the gathered Pantheon, coalescing into a single, crystalline thought as They overlooked the havoc wrought across Yggdrasil’s branches.
War.
And so the Pantheon departed the Prime Material, decamping to a realm beyond mortality as they once again prepared for battle against foes three: the King of Undeath, the Wanderer, and the Black Prince of Woe.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Revealing himself as the culprit who had tampered with Time and Memory, and the thief of the Protean Relics, Pazuzu unleashed his stolen might against the Pantheon. In a terrible, singular assault he corrupted Yggdrasil, destroyed the Garden of the Gods, and freed the Elder God Khalas before absconding with Him to Memory. As One the Gods departed the Prime Material Plane in the wake of the destruction, preparing to wage war against Pazuzu yet leaving Sapience unguarded for the first time in the Modern Age.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [July in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/07/01/july-in-achaea)
**Published:** July 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s really July already!
As we pass the half way mark of the year, we have a promotion update for you all. Or technically two:
First, globes of shifting continents have returned to the website. You can find the normal fare within, though the talisman caches have been swapped out for the blackwave, elemental, and underworld sets.
Second, the keys to the Delosian bank vaults make their return to Achaea! See HELP BANKVAULT for all the details on these.
You can purchase both globes and vault keys off of the website at www.achaea.com/credits!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Unsung Heroes](https://www.achaea.com/2023/06/21/unsung-heroes)
**Published:** June 21, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
How far had Himalia sailed to uncover the edges of the known map? Farther than any of them, they soon discovered, for it was a different time with different dangers. The Himalia of legend began her journey alone, returning rarely with friends and loyal followers in her midst. Yet one thing was certain. Wherever she went, adventure followed. Her mythic blood sang with it, and so it was simple for her memory to accept each new crew that landed aboard her ship, attributing their confusion and strange, modern ways of speaking to too much rum and a poor night’s sleep upon the high seas.
As Time continued to warp, the breadth of Himalia’s discoveries became clear. She had gone as far west as the Chelic Ocean, a vast sea between the Belt of Khalas and the Uru-khan Protectorate. There her sloop was set upon by the appearance of an old marine predator: the lussuaq. One by one, a series of hapless adventurers were brought down and eaten alive by the hungry pod until a small but tenacious crew of Ilsefi, Ficus, and Ulvin put down the final lussuaq on a deck awash with blood.
Further north, Himalia neatly avoided wrecking on the Lost Coast as jagged rocks suddenly loomed from the mists, aided by the sailing of Blackwillow, Kasotus, and Tymbi. The isles were as ghosts, blanketed by fog and unearthly quiet. Crossing a grey beach, the group found entry into a forgotten mausoleum recessed into the earth, a monument to the suffering of one woman immortalised in stone. Kestrella dusted off the ancient plaque and Ulvin began solving the riddle before a single tear slipped from the young Eleusian’s eye, falling upon the unmarked tomb. With a wailing sob a crowned myling arose from the dusty crypt, an infant ghost consumed by revenge at being ripped from his mother and smothered in his crib. Such was the fate of royal bastards on the Grey Isles, a fate to which Kinilan and Jaakobah bore witness.
More memories of the storied past saw Himalia chart the sea around the eastern coast of Bandar Selam. To the east beyond the Eusian Ocean lay so much of the world undiscovered, seen first by the eyes of Tahquil, Imyrr, Eoka, Gallus, Laorir, and Faerum. Here was moon-rimed Aitanu, there the endless coastline of mighty Karth and the limpid blue waters of Heaven’s Bay. Himalia scrawled all that she could see on her map, pledging with a warm smile to share it with Ortho when she saw him again.
She never would.
–
In Himalia’s absence, Ortho had been seized by the military of Kr’kach to whom he belonged, and at whose scheming hands he would be tried and found guilty of treason. Along with her lover, the horkvali army had stolen a fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity that Himalia travelled with, demanding its secrets and the knowledge of how to wield it from the imprisoned soldier. When the noble horkval would not relent under pain of torture and death, the militant colony of Bandar Selam, loyalists of the Hive Queen, did what they had been ordered to do by Aegis in a time of war. They took him apart. Ortho was summarily executed atop the peaks of Kr’kach, his final words a vow to Himalia which he would keep even in death.
With his last breath, Ortho had, knowingly or unknowingly, transferred the life-giving energy of the Sceptre, still flecked with his blood, away from the mountains and horkvali interference. It settled instead in the great lake on Bandar Selat, where he had spent many a night in the adoring arms of his Himalia. He would not live to see her grief, her fury, or the scores of bugs cut down by her sabre in her recovery of his body and the unharmed Sceptre of Divinity. Weeping bitter tears of regret, Himalia buried him by the glittering lakeside.
Unbeknownst to her, the first grook tadpoles were emerging from the lake.
Soon Himalia sailed away, the memory of Ortho’s death and all they had shared too painful for her to bear. It was in these long years that passed when she busied herself with Azatlan and Esim, the Valassan Sea, the enduring conflict between the tritons and Kashar, and on, and on, and on. The years before her return whirled by, and just when she thought her heart had healed, she remembered the little tadpoles.
What had become of them?
–
Had the vessel been real, it would have sunk beneath the weight of all those who came to assist Queen Himalia on her concluding journey. But it was both as light and as heavy as memory, carrying them far across the seas to the Bandars, where the horkval had been hard at work over decades. Generations of grook had grown from tadpole to frog, knowing no other life but slavery and exploitation under the hive’s lash. Imbued with innate magic and a powerful collective will, the potential for the grooks to one day overrun their horkvali overseers made Kr’kach all the more vigilant, resulting in the development of a deadly poison that would come to be known as Black Horn. Motioning for silence, Himalia and her crew sailed into the natural harbour under cover of night.
Those from the future knew what was to come. They had seen it in glimpses of the past. “The beacon, Captain,” pleaded Aroan. “They are all as good as dead if it is lit.” Leaping ashore, Himalia cut down one of the slavers and strove to discern the beacon’s location, when the slave she had rescued hurriedly asked for her help. Too many grooks were sick and elderly, or dying. As the crew helped as many grooks aboard as would fit, the remaining slaves revolted, and all-out war erupted on the island of Bandar Selat.
“Eusia, help me!” called Himalia into the wind. And her old friend answered. Manifesting from her storm, the Guardian of the Eastern Seas turned her tempestuous eye to Bandar Selat and Selam, and with her roiling cloud came the birth of the eastern sea wall. The high winds battered the pursuing horkvali fleet, sinking all but one as it sailed onwards to the Ulangi Isles.
Many would die in the uprising back on land, but more would have lived were it not for the Black Horn. Released at the civil war’s climax, Himalia watched in horror as the escaped grooks all screamed, shrivelled, and fell beneath the poison. In the end it left only a few tadpoles, floating in the basket of water and coral she retrieved from the lake. With sadness and mounting relief, Himalia touched the Divine Sceptre to the water’s surface and compelled the last of the fledgling grooks into a deep and dreamless sleep, severing the psychic connection to their shared memory and the horrific death it could bring.
The survivors she took with her to Ulangi, where they would thrive in peace within the coral grotto.
The rest is history.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Reopening tears of Memory in Ulangi and Nilakantha began a series of distant adventures with Captain Himalia, and the realisation that the world of Achaea is far larger than any mortal knows. The tragic history and perseverance of the grooks was uncovered upon Bandar Selat, shedding new light on the mysteries of the coral and their unique connection to the arcane.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Bearly a Scratch](https://www.achaea.com/2023/06/06/bearly-a-scratch)
**Published:** June 6, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
24th of Miraman, 918
The Arktos hosted a cult ritual today. For as long as I can remember, I’ve known I was going to become a bear hunter for Bitterfork. This season marked the year I became an adult, and as a man of the village, I now have the right to petition the Shaman, Belen, for an initiation rite.
But he took one look at me and refused! The hypocrite! To judge me when he knows full well the Founder, the Sotera, was just a young woman when the bear spirit found her worthy!
Fortunately for me, some Outsiders arrived at the Ritual Chamber as Belen and I were arguing, and they convinced him to let me try. Brave adventurers by the names of Elathean, Treyal, Argwin, Gallus, Fitz, Faerum, and Aniara came from all over the continent!
25th of Miraman, 918
The kind Outsider, Argwin, volunteered to fulfill Belen’s conditional requirement to allow me a chance at initiation: to see the grizzly up close. The brave Outsider, Fitz, tracked down the mighty bear and Argwin took me to him. The bear was truly magnificent! May the bear spirit find me worthy.
21st of Scarlattan, 918
I’ve spent several weeks following the bear now. But I think today is the day. I will prove myself worthy of the bear spirit.
I took the dagger gifted to me by the Outsiders and sought out the grizzly once again. The Shaman coated the blade with the same toxin the Sotera used on her blade almost two millennia ago.
22nd of Scarlattan, 918
The bear fought well. But so did I!
Familiar faces heard my screams of pain and showed up to help the Shaman tend to my wounds. After praising my feat, Gallus placed a vial of healing elixir into my hands. Treyal covered me with a cloak, while Fitz gave me a moss tattoo. Argwin left an offering of curatives.
With their help, I will heal. For I am worthy.
22nd of Valnuary, 918
This day shall forever be seared into my memory as one of my proudest moments. The Shaman officiated my Initiation Ritual as Outsiders looked on. This is the first time Outsiders have been permitted to witness one of the cult’s most sacred rites.
After completing my vows to the Arktos Hodos, I was welcomed into the ranks of the bear hunters. Belen, so impressed with the bear spirit within me, has taken me on as his apprentice. Under the wisdom of the Arch Arktos, and with the mighty bear spirit made manifest in me, I, Zosime, will protect the village of Bitterfork without fear!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: After aiding a young man in his quest to join the bear hunters of Bitterfork, adventurers gained a rare glimpse into the traditions and practices of the local Bear Cult.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Time to Roll](https://www.achaea.com/2023/06/02/time-to-roll)
**Published:** June 2, 2023
**Author:** Pandora
**Content:**
Briefly interrupting the events going on across the land, it’s June! For this month’s promotion, you’ll find Polymegahedral dice available over at www.achaea.com/credits alongside a 30% bonus credit sale (this is a 40% bonus if you have Iron Elite.) There is also a polymegahedral die added to the renown shop and auctions will open later in the month!
Dice purchases also award House and City credits, and, for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra die!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches (Conclave, Moderngods, Eldergods, Races). On cache open the Conclave, Moderngods, Eldergods, and Races sets have a 25% chance to give a second piece.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: 50 to 80 customisation credits
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize.
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
All of the credits for the above prizes are unbound.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Competition's End](https://www.achaea.com/2023/05/21/the-competitions-end)
**Published:** May 21, 2023
**Author:** Pandora
**Content:**
Following Samel’s poisoning, the competition to become the new chef of Adryn’s Keep was suddenly a much more dangerous one. When Samel woke two months after the attempt on his life, Sister Terice of the Harbingers gave him a clean bill of health.
Steeled by the recovery of their compatriot, the competitors put their heads down and focused on the task at hand: producing a signature dish to win the coveted position of Adryn’s Chef!
Lord Adryn announced he had twenty points to award a dish, and his three co-judges ten points each. His sons, Radlar and Denod, would serve along with his baker, Ashkal, to help him determine the winner by consensus.
Over the next five months, the adventurers of the Cities of Sapience made great strides in collecting information. From young Radlar’s fear of lobsters to Denod’s love of cream to Lord Adryn’s fondness for lobster, many facts were gathered and put forth to their chefs for consideration.
Come Serenade of Daedalan, the dishes were in. The chefs had done all they could to prepare, and the call came from Lord Adryn for all to join him at his Keep for the final judging.
Je, the new Chamberlain of Adryn’s Keep took on the role of host of the competition. He called forth each contestant and asked them to present their dish.
Once all six dishes were sampled, it was then time for the eliminations. Valfierno, Fineo, and Sharie all received the bad news, though they were quickly consoled by their supporters. Departing in mostly high spirits, the crowd dispersed to await Lord Adryn’s final judgement via mail.
~ ~ ~
In the closing days of Valnuary of the year 917AF, a young boy’s cry was heard as his boat foundered and was swept away by the unforgiving currents of the Pachacacha.
Beset by bandits and soaked to the bone, Je’s new hire seemed doomed. Timely intervention came in the form of Yen, Enalya, and a crowd of adventurers. Working swiftly and without hesitation, the Caefir Yen brought down the bandit leader and commanded the others to surrender. They did so.
The boy then revealed his mission: to present to the winner of the Adryn’s Keep Chef Competition the contract offered by his Lord.
His now waterlogged map and his smudged instructions were of little help. Luckily, Yen took swift charge of the situation and brought him first to Targossas and then, correctly, to Mhaldor Isle.
Once within the swirling red fog, Khadafi summoned Ilsefi, who took the youth up to the gates of the Baelgrim Fortress to await the one he had come to find.
Jehen was struck speechless by the news. Ilsefi, Khadafi, and Proficy all congratulated him for shedding his shackles, and he accepted his position forthwith.
After leaving a message of gratitude for Fanten, who had done so much to help him, the enslaved potato peeler left Mhaldor as a slave no longer, but rather as Troni Jehen, Chef of Adryn’s Keep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The Adryn’s Keep Chef Competition has come to an end. After a period of information-gathering, the chefs presented signature dishes in Daedalan of 917AF to the judges. After three eliminations on the day of, the final verdict came on on Valnuary 917AF, when a messenger made his way to Mhaldor where he gave Jehen his contract.
---
---
For your consideration, the menu:
~~ Fineo’s Famous Pie-Pie ~~
Courtesy of: Fineo, of Hashan
Assisted by: Badriyah, Ellea
“An offering showcasing extreme frugality and
resourcefulness without sacrificing flavour.”
Score: \[39\]
~~ Pond Noodle Stew ~~
Courtesy of: Sharie, of the Aalen
Assisted by: Finnegan, Gallus, Aodfionn
“A stew to warm the body and nourish the mind,
combining fresh vegetables with buckwheat
noodles and black pepper.”
Score: \[39\]
~~ A Bright Day at the Watering Hole ~~
Courtsey of: Samel, of Targossas
Assisted by: Aekei, Hartley, Myrddin
“A reminder of days spend in carefree joy,
enjoy dipping warm cheese pastries in the
gelid pulp of the Roshani fruit.”
Score: \[44\]
~~ Seven-Layer Cake ~~
Courtesy of: Jehen, of Mhaldor
Assisted by: Fanten, Ilsefi, Doromath
“The tradition of high cuisine practiced by
Mhaldorian cooks is alive and well in this
seven-layered meringue-and-berry cake.”
Score: \[48\]
~~ Flambeed Lobster Tail Pasta ~~
Courtesy of: Sissassa, of the Vashnars
Assisted by: Laorir, Faerum, Monnique,
Khrysopos
“The bold berry gastrique paired with the
flambeed lobster and the rich vodka sauce
is sure to fill any belly to satisfaction!”
Score: \[46\]
~~ Battle with the Dreadpilar! ~~
Courtesy of: Valfierno, of Ashtan
Assisted by: Lif, Imyrr, Theosis
“Enter valiant battle with the Dreadpilar,
making use of the Scimitar of Jy’Barrak
Dameron and a twin-tined spear to slay
the beast!”
Score: \[30\]
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Damned May Promotion](https://www.achaea.com/2023/05/01/the-damned-may-promotion)
**Published:** May 1, 2023
**Author:** Pandora
**Content:**
May has come upon us, and so we bid farewell to the wares of April and welcome the return of the Wheel of Fortune. For those unfamiliar, the wheel can be found in the Ace of Spades casino within New Thera, and you can purchase prismatic tokens off the website at http://achaea.com/credits. You can also purchase a prismatic token from the renown shop during this month.
You can find the full list of what is available from the wheel under HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE, but one particular new addition is a new card suit. Sleeves may now be opened for a new group: the DAMNED. This group contains the betrayed/betrayers suit and the new CATACOMBS suit. Here are the cards within:
Rhuzios, the Mummy Lord:
- LDECK DRAW RHUZIOS : puts bandages on your target for three minutes. If they true die in your room (and a corpse that can be picked up would be generated), you get the corpse straight into your inventory.
- Two charges, regens one every hour.
Underlord Dreyvos:
- LDECK DRAW DREYVOS: the next poison based attack to hit you will deal zero damage, similar to held breath against asphyxiation damage. This affect fades naturally in one minute if it does not fire.
- Two charges, regens one every hour.
Ulgase, the Lich Crone:
- LDECK DRAW ULGASE: teleports you to a random graveyard (some more unpleasant than others!). Can only be drawn upon prime sapience and is blocked by a monolith (and respects room hinders).
- Two charges, regens one every hour.
Malvoc, the Unholy:
- LDECK DRAW MALVOC: for each soul in the local area you’ll be healed for 5% of your hp and said souls mana will be halved. For each ten present you’ll also be cured of an affliction, just if it really is a slaughter going on!
- One charge, regenerates every two hours.
And of course, for the completion bonus: the ever deadly and most formidable of predators that stalks those unhallowed halls…
A giant slug.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [April in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/04/01/april-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** April 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
While you take a brief breather from fighting or from becoming undead:
The Artefact Cart is returning to www.achaea.com/credits alongside lesson packages and talisman caches!
For those of you unfamiliar (or who just want a refresher), the Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an Iron Elite membership). Do note that you do need to be logged in on the website to buy artefacts in this way, so to be sure that your elite bonus always applies if applicable!
On top of the standard 30/40% discount offered by the artefact cart, we’re also further discounting select artefact categories throughout the month.
1st through 7th – Offensive artefacts and Stat and Regen artefacts.
8th through 14th – Defensive artefacts and artefact armour.
15th through 21st – Miscellaneous artefacts and Crafting and Tradeskill artefacts.
22nd to end of month – All class artefacts.
If you purchase caches, every 10 talismans you buy of a talisman set earns you a bonus rare piece from that set. So if you buy 10 Conclave talisman caches, you’ll get a bonus, rare Conclave talisman piece! If you buy 3 Renegades caches and 7 Marks caches, you won’t earn a bonus piece, because the 10 spread across sets.
Keep an eye on the events news, the undead conquering efforts, and Achaea in general, as this month promises to build on March’s madness!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Aldar's Remembrance](https://www.achaea.com/2023/03/26/aldars-remembrance)
**Published:** March 26, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
“Stop.”
“?”
“I am sure it is strange for things to differ. Usually you all just pass on by and through without much conversation. I do not usually care. But this time I have questions, questions about what you saw in the Underworld. I wish for you to answer them..”
“I, uh yes. Sir.”
“Tell me. How did it begin?”
“We were all of us gathered. Grouped, we call it. And then the Lady came, with Her Bloodsworn. She was beautiful. Wondrous. Divine. Larger than all of us, towering. Bigger even than you! It was mag-“
“Do not belabor the point.”
“Er. Right. She blessed us. So did the Righteous Fire. I was never much of anything before then. But when She gave us Her grace I felt invulnerable, invincible. Like I could fight anything, defeat anything.”
“Clearly you could not.”
“Yes. We went to the Underworld. We spread out, fighting the undead wherever we found them. It didn’t seem difficult to bring them down. Some of us still died, but we were united. And the Lightbringer went to Slith’s fortress. They, the Vice-Royals I mean, sealed the gates, but She just crashed through them. I heard it’s actually called Cor Kanth, if you know it?”
“I know what Cor Kanth is. Slith’s own fortress is actually, or was, Cor Triphyn.”
“Really?”
“You don’t know much history, do you?”
“Most of us don’t really care about that sort of thing, I think. I sometimes don’t even remember the big thing from last week.”
“Obviously.”
“Okay. Um, Lady Aurora went into the fortress. She fought two of the Urs there.”
“Ur’Vampires. Which?”
“We call them Urs, it’s faster to say.”
“Which?”
“Oh. Uh, Asztrik and, um, Prioska? The crazy one and the illusion one. They were strong! Usually they just kill us if they’re being Vice-Royals. They even put up a fight against a Goddess.”
“But it was not enough, was it?”
“Not really. I saw them smashing and punching her, all the claw and talon and rage thing, they hit Her with everything I’ve ever seen somebody do! And all they got was one drop of blood. Then She just lit up! It was like a new dawn rising, it looked amazing. A sun to eclipse the black, the coming of the Morning Star relived, She who is its Child beneath the heavens-“
“You sound ridiculous.”
“Oh. Sorry. So, She drew Her second scimitar. The one made of Primordial Fire. She’d been fighting with just one! And then She cut down both of them. They said they would rise again. I suppose that means they aren’t really DEAD-dead? But they fought and got beaten pretty brutally. They like, died. Do you think they’re regretting picking a fight?”
“If they do, it is not any more than I regret this conversation.”
“Thanks! After the fight She went into Slith’s throne room. He wasn’t there, so She cut a hole in the universe and went to the Soulbleed Nexus. But that’s when it got, like, weird. He wasn’t there either. Just his armour. And even Lady Aurora was confused. But now we don’t know where Slith is. The Bloodsworn Gods said They would look for him on the planes, so I don’t think he’s even in the Underworld now. And that’s sort of where it ended.”
“I see.”
“Do YOU know where he might be?”
“…”
“Sir?”
“Do you know what it is to be a parent?”
“Um. I’ve been to Mysia a few times, but I don’t think anything ever came of it.”
“You think you know everything about the world. Then. Then something happens. A touch, a glance. And before you know it. Something new. And in a moment, you know that everything else doesn’t matter any more. You’ve created something. A spark of something priceless, something you would give anything to protect. Something you would break any law, break any rule, to keep safe. Because nothing matters beyond the life you’ve created. You don’t matter.”
“I-“
“Your brothers and sisters don’t understand, of course. How could they? Arrogant, vacuous, obsessed with their own vanity and pride. Worse, they want to destroy it. They even try to kill it, or make YOU kill it. Let them pronounce
whatever punishment they want. You take your life where they don’t dare follow. You find somewhere as far from them as possible.”
“Sir-“
“Ages pass. Eons. Your brothers and sisters even try once or twice to kill the life you made, to erase the stain because they think it will make you return to the fold. You turn to what you know, bitter and vengeful. You remake, reshape. You create guardians. Protectors. An Order. Your old family failed you, but these will be forever loyal. They won’t break their code, will never surrender their honour.”
“It’s really-“
“The child grows up. Rebels. Children always test their limits. There is so much of her in it, so much that even without her it gives you joy, sparks her anew in your memory. There are many such antics, throughout the ages. He usually escapes punishment, especially after the changed order of things. Here and there you step in. Give a guiding hand. Try to help without him knowing. But nobody likes to be watched forever over their shoulder. You have to let them learn to fly.”
“I don’t think-“
“And then they do something that you know your family can never forgive. Will never forgive. But it is your child. And your life isn’t yours any more. It hasn’t been for a long time. So you break yourself. For him. You surrender everything you have made, everything you have built. Your child will inherit it. But then you have to watch. Watch him stripped of everything wondrous. Watch your family condemn him to a living death. Watch your family chain him to a throne to languish in apathy. Because they make you watch it happen. You don’t get a choice.”
“I just-“
“And then you are put here. Far from the only thing you care about. He can never be here. He is bound, tethered. Unable to die, unable to escape. You sit and judge, and judge, and judge, and listen to the hapless fools blathering about their lives and pathetic foibles and complaining that it wasn’t a fair fight or any one of a thousand other excuses.”
“That’s not exactly-“
“And you wonder if he even remembers himself any more. For years you console yourself with the memory of him, and even the memory of a memory until that, too, is gone. Because he is a hollow, dead thing.”
“If I could only-“
“And what’s worse, you can’t be with her either. All you have is the memory of the last moment when there were three of you. Only memory. Because I still haven’t found her, in all these dead realms.”
“…”
“…”
“So, uh. Can I go back to life now?”
“No. You know too much.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: A departed soul recounts Aurora’s assault on the Underworld, where the Lightbringer faced two Vice-Royals only to find Slith gone.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Undeath Rises](https://www.achaea.com/2023/03/19/undeath-rises)
**Published:** March 19, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Freed in mind by Knowing’s burden
Loosed in body by rended flesh
No longer soulbound, he does rise
Hearken now to Death’s Demise
~
In the 912th year after the fall of Seleucar, a dark influence plagued Sapience.
First, it was the undead of Azdun growing hungry and frenzied, devouring goblin, priestess, and Vertani alike. Then, the zombie constructs of a buckawn witchdoctor turned on their creator. Mummies in the desert, undead soldiers on Meropis, vengeful skeletons, water-logged draugar and more did rise – the undead were stirring, emboldened and afraid no more.
More and more of the life-bereft overwhelmed Sapience before a nauseating sensation was felt within the living. Vision blurred and all bore witness to the sight that followed: Slith, Heir to the Throne and Lord of Undeath rose from his cursed seat with a low, grating chuckle. Free at last, the Prince of the Underworld was prepared to enact his vengeance, and that he did.
Grasped in the hand of Death’s slayer was a crimson ruby, glowing with a strange unlight. While the living were left enraptured, Slith thrust the jewel deep into the very heart of the Soulbleed Nexus. The vision felt across the realm shattered and the raw essence of Soulbleed rose up from the terminus of Yggdrasil into the Azdun Dungeon, spilling over ashen dirt and grave soil in a flash of dark energy and spectral fog.
The Underworld has come to the Prime to conquer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Freed by unseen machinations, Slith has empowered the Soulbleed Nexus and spread the influence of the Underworld to Sapience with the intent to conquer and take his revenge.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Celani Applications Are Now ALWAYS Open!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/03/12/celani-applications-are-now-always-open)
**Published:** March 12, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In case you missed the subject, we will now always be accepting celani applications!
TL;DR
You can also read HELP CELANI for all of this information!
We are currently seeking: Aegis, Gaia, Lorielan, Prospero, Scarlatti, Twilight, Valnurana, Vastar
If you are dying to be one of these Gods, OR have a new role in mind, OR you’re unsure about a specific role but want to take your storytelling and roleplay experience to another level, please read on!
Makarios and I want to teach and enable you to take your creativity to new heights with a whole suite of tools at your fingertips! The Celani application (way down at the bottom of this post) is the first step towards elevating your roleplay.
We can all tell when someone is passionate about something, that joy and interest shines through, and that’s just as true for storytelling or monster making or writing as it is any other hobby. We want our celani to find what they’re passionate about and then enable them to let that enthusiasm shine.
But, being one of our Gods is a position of trust, and we won’t send you out there unprepared. We want your experience and the experiences you create for the other players to be awesome, we want tension, pride coming before falls, bloody retribution, poignant memories, and glorious redemptions. To allow you to do all of that and more, we want to prepare you for what’s ahead, so read on to learn what the celani experience is like, what our expectations are, and what you’ll go through if you’re successful!
- A brief boring note first: You must be over the age of 18 to apply for celani, and we ask for a minimum activity average of 12 hours a week.
Just like players, but without the bashing, we use levels to track celani and Demigod progress! Levels 1 through 19 are celani, and at level 20 you’re a Demigod. Complete level 39 and you should be poised to take on your Godrole!
Celani (can be completed in 3 weeks, usually takes 6-10):
- You will read a whole heap of things, create your celani journal wikipage, and then describe yourself! This will be your first real run in with our writing standards and we’ll go back and forth until your celani is picture perfect! This is worth 1 level.
- You are introduced to item and creature creation and you will make your own pet! This is worth 3 levels.
- You will make yourself a room, and undertake proofreading to get it up to our writing standards! This is a great place to drop all your old event junk, mine has a few camels in it still from 2014. This is worth 1 level.
- You will learn how to possess denizens for roleplay and complete a small interaction using a denizen. This is worth 2 levels.
- You will learn how to design and create a quest. This is worth 2 levels.
- You will plan and execute a minievent, these usually only last a couple of hours and involve at least 2 denizens. This is worth 3 levels.
The other 6 levels are earned through freeform tasks.
It’s really important to us that our God players can self motivate and feel like they can bring their ideas to life, so at this stage we want celani to start pitching their own ideas!
- If you loved making a room you can choose to do more building, either a new area, expanding something existing, updating something old, or fixing description related typos.
- If you loved making quests or building the behaviour for your pet you can expand behaviours for denizens in the land, make more quests, fix some prog bugs, or create something new!
- If denizen possession and roleplay was your favourite, you can plan and execute another event!
The level value for these tasks will be assigned based on the specifics!
At level 20 you are a Demigod! You’ve learned how to do all of the basics, now it’s time to flex those muscles and get more involved.
You will become an assistant to at least one of our Patron Gods, some demigods are even visible to and interact with the players!
- Shadowing your Patron, you’ll learn all about being “godly”, interacting with players, and how to be a patron. You will help handling any org requests (4 levels)
- You will help them behind the scenes with org based events/expansions. (4 levels)
- You will plan and execute an event of your own for your organisation with your Patron’s guidance. (4 levels)
At this stage you have 8 levels remaining to earn, and can do so from the following task list:
- Helping with more patron org requests.
- Planning and running events.
- Spontaneous denizen possession.
- Quest and behaviour creation/fixing.
- Making stuff! Either with the team on any “Big stuff” going on or individually planned projects.
- Generally being an awesome part of the roleplay crew and pitching in wherever, new things crop up all of the time!
When you hit level 35 you will also have a chat with Nicola to cement your Godrole decision and begin your research and planning while you finish up Demigod!
Some Frequently Asked Questions:
Will I be able to go back to being a player?
Yes, usually the day you ask for it too. With the caveat that if you’ve been exposed to some ongoing plot shenanigans, you might be asked to wait for that to be released before you can log your mortal back in.
What about issues/bugs/crafts/customisations?
Celani, Demigods, and Gods don’t handle any of the admin stuff of Achaea. UNLESS the issues or bugs are about a thing you have made, we might ask you for the answers to the questions, or to fix any bits and bobs that need fixing.
Writing and proofreading is really intimidating, am I doomed?
YES! You will be doomed to the red pen of corrections! But we use a very specific style here in the Garden and we will teach everyone how to do everything (and we will proofread and double check anything any of us write.)
I can’t code, so I can’t be a God?
You don’t need to code, I can’t code either! We do have a pseudo-code (prog) we use for creating mob and item behaviours, but we will teach you that, and we have a whole bucket of toys to play with while you learn.
I have massive stagefright/fall asleep without warning/internet that won’t stay connected for more than 5 mins at a time, can I still be a God?
We can assess through celani and see if this is going to be a problem. Our highest priority is the experience of the players, so if we have concerns about your being able to be present and follow something through with them, we will err on the side of caution and protect their experience.
You’ve made it this far, let’s goooo!
If you have further questions about the godroles, the process, or anything related to this, please email Nicola@achaea.com and ask!
If you want to take the leap and apply to join the team send the following information to the same email (that’s Nicola@achaea.com):
1. Your real name and the names of any Achaea characters you’ve had.
2. Your real age.
3. Tell us about your most memorable roleplay experience.
This could be from Achaea or elsewhere.
Tell us why it was so memorable and what you learned/took from it.
4. Describe something!
This could be a description of an item, a room, a creature, a person, or this could be a 6 sentence maximum plan for an event.
Please make this a fresh description/plan, not something you have made/written in the past.
Read HELP MORTAL BUILDERS and HELP STYLE for guidance!
If you are writing an event plan, remember to make space for players to get involved.
5. Why you want to be a god!
Include what part excites you the most and what part worries you the most.
6. Tell us something surprising about yourself!
7 – OPTIONAL – If you have been a team member in the past, please explain why it did not work last time.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [2023 Marches On!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/03/01/2023-marches-on)
**Published:** March 1, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ll be continuing to closely watch conquest as we move through March, and you can also expect classleads to open later in the month. We’ve also got some big plans for the rest of the year that will begin shaping up this month!
Over at www.achaea.com/credits Globes of Shifting Continents are back and keys to the Delos Bank vaults will be available for the duration of March!
All of the Vault prizes can be found in HELP DELOSBANKVAULT and Globes of Shifting Continents contain a variety of prizes upon being opened, including:
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the Conclave, Marks, and Races sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
In addition, every 500th globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe!
Finally, for 10,000 renown you can purchase a globe from the renown shop once during March!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Bridge Over Troubled Waters](https://www.achaea.com/2023/02/25/a-bridge-over-troubled-waters)
**Published:** February 25, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
At the Council’s invitation, Mayor Cotridge made his way to Targossas to confer with the Lumarchs, an uncertain future for Jaru lingering in his wake.
In the grand scheme of things, Jaru was naught but an inconsequential fishing village with a storied past, but many understood its significance historically and its value to the people of Targossas. It would need to be protected.
The Mayor and Council of Targossas met to decide how to proceed. Given the geographical distance between Jaru and the Dawnspear, it more closely bordered the city already knocking on its western door: Cyrene. If Targossas hoped to achieve anything, something would need to change.
It was Alyzar Al’Jafri who put forth the initial idea: build a length of road that would tie Jaru to the Raphaelan Highway once more – a connection lost with the destruction of Shallam. Cotridge moved swiftly, hiring a construction foreman and setting into motion the creation of the Peshwar Pass.
The plan was simple but not easy, and time was of the essence.
Targossas would need to gather the stone and wood required for each phase: the road itself, the abutments, the cofferdams, and the bridge. The citizens of the Dawnspear quickly got to work only to encounter their first roadblock in those intrinsically bound to Nature.
As axe met wood, the villagers of Eleusis felt the familiar pain of the forests crying out for salvation. The Earthmother’s village was no stranger to logging efforts, having dealt with it in times past within the Northern Ithmia, and so they collectively moved to eliminate the danger. Some chose words, while others chose sword and spear as labourers died by the dozens, but eventually Speaker Blackwillow and her Hierophants convinced the Targossians to source their wood ethically. An uneasy truce was established, though some wondered why Eleusis should allow them to continue their encroachment upon the Peshwar Delta and Pash Valley unobstructed.
This eliminated one problem, but exasperated the primary threat to the bridge’s completion. The foreman and Mayor knew that if Ashtan should conquer Jaru prior to the Peshwar Pass being finished, then all hope of realising the bridge’s completion would evaporate. Ethically sourced wood was not only more expensive but took far more time, and time was their immediate concern.
The race was on; the foreman and labourers of Jaru needed to finish the pass before Ashtan razed it and Jaru to the ground and stifled all hope in the process. Through dumb luck, overconfidence, or a rare gift bordering on mercy, the Ashtani horde never fully turned its gaze upon Jaru as the final stones settled into place.
Following a dedication ceremony performed by Dawnlord Myrddin and Herald Elyra, all eyes turned to Yen Jaydde-Stormcrow – the lead designer of the central keystone and the conceptual mind behind Sulaiman’s Span. With a grunt of effort, she placed it down as the keystone settled; the work was complete.
No one knows what effect the new Peshwar Pass or Sulaiman’s Span will have on the conflict raging across central Sapience, but for a brief moment Jaru forgot centuries of war, blood, and death, allowing themselves to bask in that rarest of commodities.
Joy.
~
Summary: After centuries of Jaru being disconnected from the Raphaelan Highway, Targossas finalised Sulaiman’s Span to reconnect the two via the Peshwar Pass.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Artefacts of the Past](https://www.achaea.com/2023/02/19/artefacts-of-the-past)
**Published:** February 19, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just made some major changes to artefact weapon pricing for dual cutting and dual blunt knight specialisations. With four weapons available to the other spec’s two, these specialisations have always had to pay more to get the most out of their spec – particularly relevant for dual blunt. This will not be the case going forward. Here are the adjustments:
- Level two and three scimitars, battleaxes, morningstars and flails have had their prices halved.
- Level one versions of these weapons have been reduced to 200 credits (so the progression is now 200, 400, 800 rather than 350, 800, 1600).
- If you own a level one or two of any of these weapons, it has been upgraded to the next level automatically. Customisations will have been preserved.
- If you already have one of these weapons at level three, you have been credited with weapon credits between the price of new level three and whatever you paid for it (typically 800, but possibly less depending on if you bought it during a discount etc).
Weapon credits:
- Weapon credits will be taken before bound credits whenever purchasing warrior weapons or weapon upgrades. For instance, if you now want to buy that level three flail and have 700 weapon credits and 100 bound credits, it’ll take the 700 and 100 when you buy it in the shop. This should be entirely transparent and you shouldn’t need to worry about it (it should just work), though you can see how many weapon credits you have left on CREDIT REPORT. We have taken this approach as a compromise to avoid flooding credits back into the game, though we don’t anticipate keeping these around beyond this – we don’t need more currencies!
- Weapon credits can be spent on non warrior weapons such as sentinel spears and similar.
- Note that upgrades in this case apply to the section below, not weapon level upgrades. We don’t anticipate level upgrades being something weapon credits will come into in 99% of cases after looking at who has what, so if you are in that small group where you really would like to spend them on a level upgrade, message me and I’ll handle you manually.
- Weapon credits count as bound credits. They cannot be used for gift purchases.
Weapon upgrades:
We appreciate that people with many level three weapons may be in the position of not in fact having anything else to spend weapon credits on. With that in mind, we have added some new weapon upgrades similar to the existing ASP, which can also be paid for using these in addition to bound credits as normal. The list of upgrades you can now buy in this way via the ARTEFACT ADD command are:
- ASP. No changes other than being able to buy it with weapon credits.
- CONSERVATION. Only for cutting weapons, this will have a 25% chance to return any venom used when you strike someone with the weapon to your rift (assuming you have room). 300 bound credits.
- DECAPITATION. Sometimes you really just want to decapitate someone with a warhammer while keeping their head intact. This impractical endeavour can now be achieved by a weapon with this upgrade. 300 credits.
- MITIGATION. This reduces the damage a weapon health deals to you when you tragically rebound off of someone’s aura of rebounding by 25%. It doesn’t reduce the limb damage, as this is often desirable. 500 credits.
- SPIKES. By attaching spikes to a blunt weapon, that weapon will now deal bleeding on all warrior specialisation attacks performed with it. 400 credits.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Eidolic Influence!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/01/22/eidolic-influence)
**Published:** January 22, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With the findings of Tatynne and O’ising mostly shared, the cities of Achaea can now separate the spirit from their Guardian Eidolons and send this spirit forth into the world to claim territory and spread their ethos across the land!
Most territory claiming will be a hostile act, but claiming areas that are allied to your city is considered a protection rather than a hostile incursion. Claimed territories can be challenged and conquered by other cities with an adjacent claim and a raid tank, or by liberation forces with a raid tank.
Expect areas to change when they are occupied! Occupation will be evident in every room and the little girl in Jaru may not be very concerned about her lost kitten if Mhaldor has her village in thrall!
Conquest, protection, and liberation will all generate the spirit resource, this can be spent by the city leader on a whole variety of rewards and bonuses (some rewards will be gated by the number of areas conquered) for your city!
Generation and spending of spirit will be added to the minister reports.
As this system has a lot of moving parts, we will be releasing it in two sections. Today is part 1, part 2 will release on January 31st, just in time for Sarapin 909 AF. See the bottom of this post for the specifics of part 1.
Read on for a teaser of some rewards that spirit can be spent on (this is not a complete list!):
- city wide bonuses xp/crit/stat
- city specific deathsight
- a teleport command – when in home city teleport to someone in an area your city is occupying
- improvement cost offset (one use per year)
- shrine shatter – power that destroys a specified god’s shrines in your city
- city specific death sequence
- factional resource bonus (if not in a class with resource bonus boost wp/endurance)
- temporarily boost city guard strength
- temporary artefact powers on command for citizens
- unlock a city spirit addition for the urn artefact
Specifics about numbers, costs, durations, commands, and more will be announced in part 2.
Part 1 information is as follows:
This encompasses two different systems: the Doctrines and the Spirit Summoning.
Doctrines (See HELP DOCTRINES):
DOCTRINE NEW
- create a doctrine for the next campaign (starting the next time Sarapin begins)
DOCTRINE OBJECTIVE
- add an objective (the area name) to this doctrine.
- CONQUEST means you aim to conquer this area.
- PROTECTION means if an allied area, you will conquer this. I.E Mhaldor conquers Blackrock, Ashtan conquering New Thera. If a non allied area, you vow to keep this area free from conquest. I.E Cyrene pledging to Moghedu.
DOCTRINE REMOVE
- remove an objective
DOCTRINE SEAL
- lock the doctrine in, cannot be edited after this is done and it becomes active.
- All doctrines automatically seal at the start of Sarapin for the relevant year (so all doctrines for 1000 AF will seal at the start of Sarapin 1000 AF if you do not do so manually).
DOCTRINE READ \[year\]
- read the currently relevant doctrine.
- check the archives if you specify a year.
DOCTRINE ARCHIVES \[year\]
- with no year specified lists all years that had a doctrine.
- specify a year and it gives the full breakdown for the doctrine for that year.
If you have a sealed doctrine, you can begin work on the one for the following year that will come after the current campaign, if you really want to get ahead of the game!
All organisations can have a doctrine containing five objectives by default. Having a larger highly ranked military relative to total population size will increase this number.
Conquering or liberating an area that you have as an objective in your doctrine will give a bonus to spirit generated by that area. You are free to conquer and liberate areas that are not in your doctrine, but these will not award a bonus to spirit generation.
If Sarapin rolls around and a doctrine is not set, then that year’s activity will generate no bonus spirit, only base amounts.
Spirit Summoning (See HELP EIDOLIC INFLUENCE):
With doctrines set (if desired), your next step is to summon the spirit of your city Guardian! We recommend following the findings made by O’ising and Tatynne in their research to do this!
Completing the eventual ritual will result in your spirit Guardian being summoned and the Eidolic phase for your territory claiming efforts being set.
Eidolic Phase:
This is a re-occuring 3 hour (OOC) time span that begins at the time of the spirit summon during which you can move your spirit to and claim an adjacent area (once per RL day.) This will be telegraphed to all of Achaea at the moment of spirit summoning.
The Eidolic phase can only be changed by relinquishing any controlled territory and releasing your spirit guardian, or by losing all of your held territories and your spirit guardian being banished, effectively a full reset in either case.
This phase only determines your conquest activity, it does not affect or limit the liberation efforts or conquest challenges of others!
**Categories:** Announcements, New Systems
---
### [The Magic of Memory](https://www.achaea.com/2023/01/08/the-magic-of-memory)
**Published:** January 8, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Frigid winds gusted across the tundra of Sapience, rippling Pryla’ari’s robes as she trekked across the snow. The Tsol’dasi priestess did not mind, for she was well accustomed to cold and had a stalwart goal in mind: further mastery of Memory.
She arrived on the Prelatorian Highway and dusted herself free of frost with a contented sigh, only to quickly be swarmed by adventurers from all walks of life. Some were familiar, others were not, but nonetheless Pryla’ari shared her goals to all and they were beyond eager to lend a hand. In order to enact her ritual, the Priestess of Life required connections not only to the memories of events past but to the Elements of Water, Air, and Fire.
Fire was to be acquired first and it had to come from fabled Minia, more specifically the Ember Tower. Barred by ogres most competent, the Priestess and gathered adventurers sought out a young dwarf by the name of Khovez to breach the lands and acquire the flame they needed. He agreed and set off to strike a deal with the imp alchemist. One fresh pixie corpse later, and he had a smouldering torch in hand – a source of Fire was acquired.
Moving on to darker and more vile lands, Pryla’ari and her flock of helpful souls began a search in Creville for water both ancient and untouched by the foulness that pervaded the asylum. Eventually, they travelled underground and found a water agate containing exactly what they needed on the shore of a lake. It was not unguarded though, as something within the stagnant reservoir lashed out with massive tentacles to wrap tight any who sought to take its stone. United in purpose, the adventures did outnumber the grasping appendages and when the creature could hold no more in its limbs, the agate was theirs – a source of Water was acquired.
Lastly, the Priestess needed a source of Air from the demesne of the Western Wind. Up the boughs of Yggdrasil climbed a vanguard of elemental-slaying dragons as Pryla’ari returned to Falaq’tor to prepare for her ritual. A half day later, the adventurers returned victorious, trekking north to rejoin the Fifth Seat of the Conclave with their prize: five cores of purest wind. The triad of Elements was ready, and so the ritual began.
Melding Air, Water, and Fire together, Pryla’ari conjured forth illusions of events past before reaching across the ether in a display of magic befitting only those of the Conclave. Into fabled Memory she did tap, infusing the mirage with solidity and reality of that which once Was before casting it across Sapience. Her work was done, her ritual was a success, and new challenges awaited any intrepid willing to face the past.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Pryla’ari travelled to central Sapience and with the assistance of many adventurers acquired all she needed to perform a ritual in Falaq’tor. The result of this act of magic was the conjuring forth of two new forays from the depths of Memory: the Creville foray and the Ember Tower foray.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [January in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2023/01/02/january-in-achaea)
**Published:** January 2, 2023
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Welp, here we are at the start of another new year and if you read our wrapup for 2022 you’ll know that we have some plans for some new things in the works, we hope to unveil one of the bigger projects later this month and introduce some new mechanisms and options for PvP! But, we don’t want to spoil the surprise so I’ll say no more on that front for now.
For this month’s promotion, you’ll find Polymegahedral dice available over at www.achaea.com/credits alongside a 30% bonus credit sale (this is a 40% bonus if you have Iron Elite.) There is also a polymegahedral die added to the renown shop!
Dice purchases also award House and City credits, and, for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra die!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches (Moderngods, Eldergods, Races).
On cache open the Moderngods, Eldergods, and Races sets have a 25% chance to give a second piece.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: 50 to 80 customisation credits
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize.
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
All of the credits for the above prizes are unbound.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Tis the Logosmas Season](https://www.achaea.com/2022/12/19/tis-the-logosmas-season)
**Published:** December 19, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As the starry Rose took prominence upon the night’s sky in 905 AF, Logosmas swept across Sapience bringing with it the gift of friends both old and new.
~
In the Southern Vashnars, the city of Cyrene was blessed by the return of an old guard: Iclia, a winter-borne traveller and talented frost mage. She met and made friends with the citizens before following them to the shores of the Muurn where they spoke poems and sung carols of Logosmas cheer. Feeling festive and merry, Iclia used her talents to freeze the lake solid, conjuring forth a wintry wonderland and an ice skater’s paradise for the Heart of the Vashnars to enjoy.
With a loud, raucous whistling and coarse yelling, Triftee Twinkle made her return to the Dawnspear, plying her glittery wares and beautiful baubles to any who would buy them. But none of her ornaments shined nearly as bright as the tree of Light and Fire that rose within Silverbright Square, conveying the Bloodsworn’s blessing amid the Logosmas season.
Meanwhile, Hashan met with a rather excitable mhun – a demolitionist, scientist, and saboteur all in one. Mokzan was his name, and a deal he did strike with the city’s Seneschal. In exchange for use of the Court’s metallurgy lab and assistance in studying some rather potent halfling coal, he would synthesise festive Logosmas firecrackers for all the citizens to explode.
Thomor Tuskbane, a wild walker from the tundral north, came to visit the village of Eleusis in search of fellow worshippers of Nature. Devoted to the Goddess he calls the Wintermother, the rotund dwarf taught the villagers of his family’s traditional Logosmas hunt of boar and the merry feasting that always followed.
While traditional Logosmas celebrations are uncommon in Mhaldor, the next Step in the Dance of the Vault is often seen as a reverent occasion. Ash and smoke tainted the fog-touched air as the Tree of Weakness awoke once more in the graveyard, and rumour has it still that the malign warriors of Evil prepare a tithe of Blood to be offered before the Lord.
Throughout the Chaos-touched streets of Ashtan a Demigod does make merry in his own particular way, splattering a tall pine in blood and gore for all the citizens to enjoy. His song, discordant and strange, continues to spread, and who knows where it shall end?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Logosmas comes to Sapience and several faces both old and new join the cities to celebrate the festive season.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Growth From the Ashes](https://www.achaea.com/2022/12/04/growth-from-the-ashes)
**Published:** December 4, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It was in the month of Chronos, 902 years after the fall of the Seleucarian empire that a tremendous shockwave shook Targossas. Shopfronts jingled and the waters of the Silverveil broke the banks, drawing the attention of the Dawnspear and driving them to scour the streets for the source. Only when they arrived in the Temple of Light did something catch their eye: the Font of Growth had been cracked. Confused and worried, the citizens had more questions than they had answers. Was it the quake that damaged this relic? Or was the quake merely an effect? Who could have done this?
In wake of this revelation, the Lightbringer descended to grace Her city within the chamber of Growth. Frowning, the Goddess looked at the relic of Her own design and the flaw it now beared, and in Her judgement She decreed that it would not be fixed. Instead, the citizens of the Dawnspear were to destroy the font and from its ashes erect a new relic to embody the Phoenix’s aspect of Growth.
And so, the Targossians turned to the Flames of the Dawn, a relic of the Bloodsworn’s design that could harness Protean energies and shatter the Font of Growth to splinters. Zealous soldiers marched across sandy desert and fog-touched isle alike, hunting the lesser eidolons of Her enemies and casting their flesh into the hungry brazier to crackle and burn. The Flames roared and the followers of Light and Fire were ready.
~
On the 1st of Miraman, 904 years after the fall of the Seleucarian empire, the Daystar awoke to shine bright over a gathered Dawnspear. Dawnlord Myrrdin D’Ischai led the ritual, preaching the scripture of Ethian’s Accord between anointed blessings and choruses of prayer. His faith stoked like a hearth, the Rasul beseeched the Goddess of Light and the Flames of the Dawn did respond, soaring over the city to set him ablaze as a living, burning pyre. He struggled forward and pressed a palm against the Font of Growth, unleashing the energies wreathing him to shatter Light’s sacred relic into naught but shards.
Shimmering in the sunlight, the vitreous fragments fell across Targossas like the splinterfall of a Nishnatoban crusade. The citizens were quick to gather each and every remnant before convening in the Temple of Light to discuss their fate. It was decided that the shards would be cast into the Silverveil to bless the holy waters. The river surged and roiled in response, swelling like a tide as new life slithered up from its depths to gaze upon Creation: the Silverveil moccasin, a new species of snake inhabiting the Eastern Reaches.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: In the wake of a shockwave, the city of Targossas found the Font of Growth cracked and damaged. Invoking the Flames of the Dawn, they shattered the broken relic and cast the shards in the Silverveil, an act that brought forth a new species of snake within the river: the Silverveil moccasin.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [December in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2022/12/02/december-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** December 2, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
December is here!
Later in the month Makesh will put his Logosmas wares on sale, Ironbeard will make his rounds, Merrywick will open once again, and at the very end of the month you can join the admin team for our traditional New Year’s Eve QnA! UPCOMING will have all the pertinent dates!
For the promotionally inclined we’re bringing back stockings for the month and there will be a 30% bonus on all credit purchases (that’s a 40% bonus for those of you with Iron Elite!)
We also have a new talisman set, the Logosmas set! See HELP LOGOSMAS TALISMANS for all the details on the following items:
A reuseable snowball A steaming kettle of halfnog
A popcorn garland Some sticky taffy
A snowglobe of the Iron Alehouse A red and gold scarf
A bulging sack of snowflakes A garnished Logosmas gifttag
See HELP STOCKINGS for all stocking-related commands and to see a complete list of prizes and minimum stocking values!
Every 150 stockings opened will trigger a bonus stocking in the next 50 to be opened, awarding massively increased prizes!
ADDITIONALLY! For every 5 stockings of each type you purchase, you’ll receive either a gold or platinum stocking of that tier! So if you purchase 5 fancy stockings, you’ll get a gold (or platinum) fancy stocking. Gold and platinum stockings are special and fill up only on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
On January 10th we will also be drawing a raffle! Tickets for this will be gained from opening stockings, and each day you earn your maximum
of 2000 renown you will earn a ticket too!
First winner will take home a pair of Chenubian wings (or 2000 bound credits if they don’t want them)! (Seriously, just take the wings.)
Second winner will take home a gold inkbrush!
Third winner will take home a red inkbrush!
Any tickets held by non winners after the raffle is drawn will be converted to 2 bound credits each. (If you win prize 1, 2, or 3, all of your tickets are consumed and do not convert.)
Finally!
All previously hung stockings have been returned to their original owner’s inventories, and can be hung fresh for yourselves or new recipients!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Games Midpoint!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/11/12/championship-games-midpoint)
**Published:** November 12, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re three Championship point events in, and the winner of the Staff of Nicator is still very much up in the air! Here’s a summary of the events so far along with a tally of total points so far.
**World race:**
1st – Aroan wins 200 credits and 12 Championship points!
2nd – Faerum wins 175 credits and 10 Championship points!
3rd – Bainz wins 150 credits and 8 Championship points!
4th – Alyzar wins 125 credits and 6 Championship points!
5th – Icraa wins 100 credits and 5 Championship points!
6th – Veldrin wins 75 credits and 4 Championship points!
7th – Vothaec wins 50 credits and 3 Championship points!
8th – Belaziel wins 25 credits and 2 Championship points!
9th – Axios wins 10 credits and 1 Championship points!
10th – Imyrr wins 10 credits and 0.5 Championship points!
**Team riddles:**
Imyrr took first place, earning 200 credits and 12 Championship Points.
Aroan claims 2nd place and wins 175 credits and 10 Championship points!
Alyzar claims 3rd place and wins 150 credits and 8 Championship points!
Veldrin claims 4th place and wins 125 credits and 6 Championship points!
Faerum claims 5th place and wins 100 credits and 5 Championship points!
Paine claims 6th place and wins 75 credits and 4 Championship points!
Axios claims 7th place and wins 50 credits and 3 Championship points!
Belaziel claims 8th place and wins 25 credits and 2 Championship points!
Bainz ties for 10th place and wins 10 credits and 0.5 Championship points!
Hhaos ties for 10th place and wins 10 credits and 0.5 Championship points!
**XP event:**
Cooper in 1st place wins 200 credits and 12 Championship points!
Proficy in 2nd place wins 175 credits and 10 Championship points!
Alyzar in 3rd place wins 150 credits and 8 Championship points!
Veldrin in 4th place wins 125 credits and 6 Championship points!
Aroan in 5th place wins 100 credits and 5 Championship points!
Imyrr in 6th place wins 75 credits and 4 Championship points!
Axios in 7th place wins 50 credits and 3 Championship points!
Faerum in 8th place wins 25 credits and 2 Championship points!
Giddieon in 9th place wins 10 credits and 1 Championship points!
Dalran in 10th place wins 10 credits and 0.5 Championship points!
**Total points:**
27 – Aroan
22 – Alyzar
17 – Faerum
16.5 – Imyrr
16 – Veldrin
12 – Cooper
10 – Proficy
8.5 – Bainz
7 – Axios
5 – Icraa
4 – Belaziel
4 – Paine
3 – Vothaec
1 – Giddieon
0.5 – Hhaos
0.5 – Dalran
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Championship Group Riddles](https://www.achaea.com/2022/11/04/championship-group-riddles)
**Published:** November 4, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As this is a new event for the Championship Games, here are some guidelines.
When the riddle is announced, a riddling team must be following the person who they wish to support in earning Championship points, and this Championship Contender (now referred to as “contender”) will join the riddle!
For Championship Contenders:
Contender! Your riddle team must be FOLLOWING (so that they all show in entourage) you when you join the riddle. This will create your riddle team. Team members cannot join late.
- This will create a riddle team and a group chat (parties are appropriate for use as well).
- Your riddle team must be a minimum of 3 people.
- Everyone in the group will have access to the RIDDLE command for the team, but only the Contender may submit guesses.
- You will be the one who earns Championship points.
- You will have access to RIDDLETALK in order to access any live hints given.
- Your credit winnings (if any) will be unbound so that you can split them amongst your team if desired.
- To best combat and protect against accusations of cheating, we ask that communication be contained within the party or riddle group. With this change in format, we will be taking these seriously. We know that Discord and other groups are prevalent, but if your team is accused of cheating and your riddling party chat in game is silent when investigated, you may well be disqualified. (Show your workings!)
For Supporting Riddlers:
You must be FOLLOWING (so that you show as in entourage) your Contender when they join the riddle. This will create the riddle team with all of you in it!
- You will have access to the RIDDLE command to access the current clue and other information.
- You will have access to RIDDLETALK in order to access any live hints given.
- You will NOT be able to guess.
- GT will offer a group chat, parties are acceptable here too (much like forays)!
- Your contender will be the one who earns the Championship points.
- You cannot quit the riddle if you are part of a team.
Commands:
RIDDLE JOIN Contender only when they have their team all in their entourage.
RIDDLE Everyone in the riddle, shows the clue, guess numbers, and any other information.
RIDDLE GUESS Contender only – make a guess.
Some riddles may require you to be in a specific location when you make your guess.
Watch the word count and make sure your answer matches it.
RIDDLE QUIT Contender only – disband your team and drop out of the riddle.
You cannot rejoin the riddle once you quit.
The RIDDLE GUESS command doesn’t care about capitalisation, punctuation, or certain common small words such as a, an, the. So these two guesses are the same:
RIDDLE GUESS Nevaharr, Tezlari-tarin, and Matic
RIDDLE GUESS nevaharr tezlaritarin matic
Prizes:
1st place wins 200 credits and 12 Championship points.
2nd place wins 175 credits and 10 Championship points.
3rd place wins 150 credits and 8 Championship points.
4th place wins 125 credits and 6 Championship points.
5th place wins 100 credits and 5 Championship points.
6th place wins 75 credits and 4 Championship points.
7th place wins 50 credits and 3 Championship points.
8th place wins 25 credits and 2 Championship points.
9th place wins 10 credits and 1 Championship points.
10th place wins 10 credits and 0.5 Championship points.
HELP GROUP RIDDLES contains all of this information!
**Categories:** Announcements, New Systems
---
### [Nefarious Experiments](https://www.achaea.com/2022/11/03/nefarious-experiments)
**Published:** November 3, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
My Lord,
As commanded, I write to you this missive to enumerate the ways in which I have failed to uphold my duties to you. Furthermore, as ordered, I have had myself suitably punished, but I will accept any and all future disciplinary actions that may rectify my gross ineptitude.
It brings me no joy to relive the humiliation endured at the hands of this Vivitas fellow. After injecting me with some kind of paralytic, he carried my body back to the hidden tunnels underneath Creville Asylum, where I was held captive and forced to use my unique skills in Necromancy and reanimation to bring forth creatures of amalgamated body parts. Oh, he spared no detail in telling me his warped schemes! I would have been impressed if I weren’t so upset at my imposed captivity and my inability to return to your service.
He told me he was hired as an apprentice to one of those doctors in the Asylum, Xzavien. During his apprenticeship, he stole supplies for his secret experiments while purchasing materials he could not scavenge within the Asylum from the various city-states across Sapience. It was only once he got careless that his project was discovered, and luckily a bunch of those adventurers you hate turned up and stormed the tunnels.
I will have myself punished once more for even writing this, Lord, but I was saved by a bunch of Mhaldorian slaves who escorted me back into your service. Meanwhile, the chimeric entities that I had a hand in creating were put to the sword. The Mhaldorian priest who had escorted me mentioned that Vivitas had injected himself with some kind of serum, transforming himself from a man into a beast! I regret to inform you that I was unable to acquire anything we might use to further our work with the dryads, though the tunnels are still open for investigation.
In service.
Your Witchdoctor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Vivitas, a scientist from Creville, unleashed a horde of warped chimeric amalgamations from tunnels underneath the Creville Asylum. After transforming himself into a terrible wolf-like being, he was defeated by a group of adventurers.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [November is Here!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/11/01/november-is-here)
**Published:** November 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hold onto your hats, everyone, November is going to be a LOT!
Championship games kick off this weekend. Everyone should be here on Saturday for the Treasure Hunt, a manic panic of a scurry around the land where digging gives you the chance to unearth artefacts! This only lasts as long as the buried treasures do, so don’t be late!
The Treasure Hunt marks the beginning of the 902 AF Championship Games, where adventurers from all corners can try their best leveraging wit, skill, and connections to prove themselves worthy of the Staff of Nicator and access to the Keep at Nicator’s Crossing. All of the Championship Games award credit prizes, so even if you’re not in the running for the staff, show up and do your best!
Overall Championship:
1st: The Staff of Nicator
-AND- the Keep at Nicator’s Crossing
-AND- your choice of 2000cr
-OR- 1 year of Iron Elite membership and a trip to the Artefact vault.
2nd – 10th: Credit prizes based on position.
Championship events:
In addition to Championship points, credit prizes will be awarded to the top 10 competitors at all Championship games. A commemorative prize will also be given at the end of the Games to anyone who earns Championship points.
Alongside the high stakes games, UPCOMING also has the list of other periphery fun! The Itinerant Bazaar will return, Makesh will have Championship wares on sale, we’ll be running ship races, a quiz, a drinking contest, and more for prizes! A series of auctions will also open on the 11th of November and run until the end of the 20th!
The Championship Games conclude on the 13th, where we all get a chance to breathe for a week until the CTF kicks off on the 19th. This is a city vs city contest across mainland Sapience vying for the Effigy of Victory! This will be the standard variant with moving hills and will last for 2 hours!
With all of this going on, Delos will be featuring discounts in the artefact shops (this does not include the Talisman shop, Shop of Wonders, or House of Wonders.) The Wheel of Fortune will also be live in New Thera and a Prismatic Token will be added to the Renown shop.
Over at www.achaea.com/credits you will be able to buy Prismatic tokens for the Wheel of Fortune, lesson packages will be available for those chasing that new class or tradeskill, and the Artefact Cart will return!
For the unfamiliar (or if you just want a refresher), the Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if you have an Iron Elite membership). Do note that you do need to be logged in on the website to buy artefacts in this way, so to be sure that your elite bonus always applies if applicable!
On top of the standard 30/40% discount, we’re also discounting select artefact categories throughout the month (approximately an additional 10% discount). These do not affect the Delos discount in game.
1st through 7th – Offensive artefacts and Defensive artefacts
8th through 14th – Stat and regen artefacts and artefact armour.
15th through 21st – Miscellaneous artefacts and Crafting and Tradeskill artefacts.
22nd to end of month – All class artefacts.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Bon Voyage!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/10/23/bon-voyage)
**Published:** October 23, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Voyages are now live again! Including the Grievous voyage!
Many changes have been made to the voyage processes, ensuring that voyages require ship and crew and sailing. Previous alternative methods of completing voyages may not be available anymore, if you find yourself stuck using a voyage method that was previously viable, revisit the quest text and given information.
Main updates:
- 1 voyage per ship at a time, and 1 voyage per person at a time.
- VOYAGE syntax for information, captain, and crew options. Also embarking.
- Only the Captain of the voyage may disband it.
- Crew can abandon a voyage to step away.
- Captains can dismiss someone from the voyage crew if necessary.
- Personal cooldown for the voyage goes into effect for captain if disbanded, for crew member if abandoned.
- Voyages can expire so a ship won’t be held hostage if a voyage goes uncompleted.
- A Windcutter can have up to 3 crew + captain = 4 total.
- A Sea Strider can have up to 5 crew + captain = 6 total.
- A War Galley can have up to 7 crew + captain = 8 total.
- Captain and entire crew must meet eligibility requirements for a voyage.
These include prior voyage completions, and not on voyage cooldown.
- All crew must be in Ship Captain’s entourage when Captain goes to embark upon a voyage.
- VOYAGEBUG syntax has been added for filing voyage-related bugs.
Gold, talisman, and experience rewards will likely be tweaked as we observe how these changes affect voyaging over the next couple of weeks.
If you find any bugs, or if something seems overly or underly rewarding, or if you think something isn’t working, please let us know.
VOYAGEBUG , please supply as much information as possible!
See HELP VOYAGES for all of this information and more detail!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The dead are restless...](https://www.achaea.com/2022/10/12/the-dead-are-restless)
**Published:** October 12, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hey everyone,
We’ve had a few requests to put the Delos Bank promotion live this month (as there will be no time before the end of year otherwise). We didn’t really think it was on theme for October, but… now it is!
Instead of visiting Delos, you may now visit the Tomacula graveyard and begin plundering the caskets of the restless dead instead of the reclaimed bank vaults. Here are the relevant details (if you’re already familiar with the previous promotion you can basically skip this, just be aware you’ll want to use the CASKETS command instead of DELOSBANK and the different location).
When you have a complete key you can visit the Tomacula graveyard, where they will have an array of 64 caskets waiting to be unlocked (in an 8×8 grid). The prize list that is hidden behind the locked lids is specific, you can see the full list below and at HELP DELOSBANKVAULT. Before you choose which casket to open you can even see what has been won from already opened caskets!
When there are no prizes left, when the special prize has been claimed, or on the first of the month, the restless dead will reset the casket contents to full once more! There is a game announce when this happens!
CASKETS OPEN NUMBER <#> – open a specific unopened casket
CASKETS OPEN – open an unopened casket by coordinates
CASKETS OPENED – list all opened caskets
CASKETS CLOSED – list caskets still to be opened
CASKETS / – view a specific casket
See HELP CASKETS for all of the details on prizes and commands! Keys can be purchased off of the website (or as pieces if you prefer), and one can be purchased in the renown shop per player in addition to pumpkins for this month.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Fayad!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/10/09/the-fayad)
**Published:** October 9, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hey folks,
Today, we are very pleased to bring you Achaea’s newest race, the fayad! With the village in the Aerinewild now fully released and opened to the public, the fayad have had time enough to intermingle with the population of Achaea at large.
Any player may now choose fayad at character creation. Furthermore, you will be able to REINCARNATE into a fayad using any of the usual methods of reincarnation.
Fayad are the children of Titania, the Dryad Queen and Oberion, King of the Sidhe Court. They are a bewitching race of creatures sprung from this most magical of unions, capricious and fluid beings who have only recently joined the other races of the world. As of this posting, they are still a very young and as yet naive race, ever curious and eager to learn all they can about every facet of the world around them.
Along with this release and the ever-changing nature the fayad have brought with them, characters are now able to change their pronouns once an Achaean month. This can be done at the Everglade within the Aerinewild village. This includes he, she, and fae pronouns.
You can find information about this new race, along with the means to change pronouns, all located within HELP FAYAD.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Championship Games Schedule!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/10/08/championship-games-schedule)
**Published:** October 8, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In less than 30 days the 902 AF Championship games will begin! We will have a few changes for this tournament, but today we want to get the schedule up so that you can plan and prepare ahead.
Details for the changes will be announced closer to the games themselves, and there will be many more dates/times added to this lineup for non point-related events (like the CTF, the itinerant bazaar, and the ship races!)
Please bear in mind that all times and dates are in GMT, not adjusted for DST. Daylight savings time will be ending in the UK before the Games begin, but just after the Games begin in the US.
UPCOMING will be your main guide for these.
Saturday 5th 18:00 Games opening – treasure hunt
Saturday 5th 21:00 World Race (for points)
Sunday 6th 12:00 Group Riddles (for points)
Monday 7th 00:00 XP event begins (for points)
Double XP for the duration of XP event
Friday 11th 23:59 XP event and double XP end
Saturday 12th 17:00 Twins tournament starts (for points)
Sunday 13th 15:00 Worldgames Extravaganza (for points)
Group riddles will be replacing the Quiz for Championship points, details on this, and all of the events will be forthcoming as we get closer to the time!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Magic Is In The Aerinewild](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/29/magic-is-in-the-aerinewild)
**Published:** September 29, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As the Festival of the Divine wore on, the Dryad Gardens erupted in celebration – the Queen was expecting.
Given their unique heritage of Fae and Dryad, the children were not contained within a traditional womb but instead given physical form as seedlings upon Queen Titania’s oak. As the Dryads celebrated, a strong wind scoured the Ithmias, and the children dispersed into the firmament like so many dandelions. With that, the Fae and Dryad progeny scattered to the whims of the wind.
A small cohort of adventurers soon gathered around the Dryad Queen, their objective clear: locate the scattered children and procure a suitable home for them to grow in.
Eventually, the adventurers were able to deduce that the Aerinewild Forest was the only suitable locale for beings such as these – a perfect amalgamation of magic and Nature.
Adrik, Evisi, Moroa, Aodfionn, Stheno, Brashone, Finnegan and many others contributed to planting the first generation within the soil, the seedlings taking to the Forest instantly as they began to grow.
Adrik, Moroa, Blackwillow, Lior, and Xylon then tirelessly endured ensuring the seedlings were taken care of, watering them with locally-sourced Annwyn water for months.
Finally, a young Siren walked through the Aerinewild Forest and felt the ground shake, a slight shimmer cascading down through the leaves as something stirred. Realising something was amiss, Faelynn consulted Eleusis and Queen Titania was notified. Her children were ready.
With the help of a large Eleusian group alongside a Targossian cohort and a few others, the Queen and her handmaiden were able to construct a creche for the children in the trees of the forest, the assembled adventurers offering prayers, sigils, and rituals respective to their differing faiths to bless the ground.
Finally, Oberion, King of the Fairies stationed his elite guard unit to ensure his progeny was sufficiently protected. Once the children were secure, the air stirred as doves took flight bearing invitations to a royal reception in honour of the newfound life.
The children await their gifts, just as the world waits to see what they become.
~
Summary: Titania and Oberion conceived children, which were eventually planted within the Aerinewild Forest. Having hatched, they were secured within a creche in the forest, in preparation for a royal reception involving all of Sapience’s leadership
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A Smashing Good Time](https://www.achaea.com/2022/10/02/a-smashing-good-time)
**Published:** October 2, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
---
October! The month of horror! (Somehow)
We’ve got a few things lined up for you all this month. Unnaturally, it is Mayaween, and thus returns the Grim Fayre and associated ghastly entities, so keep your eyes open for those. Unrelated to that, we have a major announcement you can expect in the next couple of days that we’re really excited for, so keep an eye on the news!
As for the promotion this month, pumpkins have made a magnificent return. Here are the details:
– Every 100 credits bought off the website awards a pumpkin.
– Every 200, the pumpkin will be a carved one rather than a magnificent one. So functionally, every 200 credits you buy gets you one magnificent pumpkin and one carved pumpkin.
– Your first 100 credits of the month will award an additional magnificent pumpkin.
– Every 500 credits purchased awards a bonus carved pumpkin.
– Your awards will be cumulative across purchases, so you could purchase 100, 100, 200, 100 and still get your bonus carved pumpkin.
So… why do I want the worlds most expensive pumpkin, let alone multiples?
So that you can SMASH them, of course!
When SMASHing a pumpkin, you can choose from a list of prizes. These are as follows:
Magnificent pumpkins can be smashed for a card sleeve, a shard of bloodstained enamel, or a page from the tome of Muses!
Carved pumpkins can be smashed for all of the prizes that magnificent pumpkins can be, but they also have the options of an appropriately themed vial for the month, a Mayan crown, or a talisman cache which can be opened for any promotional set (excluding the Moderngods set from last month).
Pumpkins are tradeable, and the renown shop has been updated for this month to provide an appropriately magnificent option.
Happy smashing!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [In Pursuit of a Name](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/25/in-pursuif-of-a-name)
**Published:** September 25, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
“Hmph,” Haidar muttered as he pushed past the swaying grasses of the Sangre Plains, the warm glow of a lantern-lit festival visible on the horizon. It did not take long for the adventurers of Sapience to rush to the side of the Kashari rebel as he arrived among the tents, unwearied by the journey across sea and continent alike.
The Lion offered greetings to the Sapients that flocked to him with knowledge of the tradition he brought. He spoke swiftly and clearly to all present, explaining an ancient custom of his people: the Tournament of Names.
“Every century, the owners of Kashari slaves allow one from each household to pit themselves against the others in order to earn their family name. In earning this name, a slave earns his freedom. He can sign for himself, he may have a family, he can own property, he is considered a member of society.”
“I bring this to your shores so that you may join with me in remembering a terrible crime against my people, and also so that those who wish to may experience what it is to fight ceaselessly simply to be recognised with the greatest gift that should have been innate to us all, a name. In the process of winning you may realise that you also deny others the chance to do so in their lifetimes.”
His gauntlet thrown down to the warriors of Sapience, Haidar awaited those willing to shed blood for a Name.
~ ~ ~
The tournament began on the 20th of Lupar, 898 AF. As observers looked on, dozens upon dozens of Nameless trod forest, field, road, and river across Sapience.
The battle raged for a quarter of a month as blood pooled upon blade and boot, spilling across earth and undergrowth alike. But in the end, a single soul stood victorious, the crown of a Name resting not on their brow but in the minds of all.
Atalkez, our victor.
Eighteen Nameless were forsaken at his hand before he triumphed over ancient Kashari tradition, forever scribing the name Lusaeda in the annals of history.
~ ~ ~
In second place, Kshavatra piled up nineteen bodies in pursuit of a Name.
Third place went to Vothaec, with fourteen kills paving the path to his placement.
Taking fourth place, Alyzar cut short the lives of six in his quest for victory.
And in fifth place, Belaziel made his mark with a bloody count of twelve lives reaped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Haidar hosted a second Kashari Tournament of Names during the Festival of the Divine. While many adventurers participated and fought across Sapience, Atalkez was the sole warrior left standing to be crowned victor.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A little bid of this, a little bid of that...](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/28/a-little-bid-of-this-a-little-bid-of-that)
**Published:** September 28, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just released the new Delosian auctionhouse!
This does pretty much what you’d expect an auctionhouse to do, it lets you run auctions. It supports two formats:
Typical auctions. These are pretty much what you’d expect, being very much in line with the admin auction system we have. You put up an item or talisman piece, people can bid on it (or buy it out at your set buyout threshold), etc.
The second type is live auctions! There can only be one of these at a time, and they allow in person auctioning with all the bells and whistles that you’d need to swindle your assembled bidders out of as much of their hard earned (or dubiously obtained) cash as possible.
Full command breakdowns can be found under HELP AUCTIONHOUSE.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Celani Applications are Open!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/24/celani-applications-are-open)
**Published:** September 24, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Do you ever wish you could help shape Achaea?
Do you secretly desire to take on more of a “dungeonmaster” role, designing elaborate plots and scenarios to challenge and amaze (and occasionally slaughter) adventurers?
Do you like the idea of building devious quests, creating horrifying monsters, telling stories, and shaping interactive landscapes?
If you answer “YES!” to any of the above, this is your chance!
We’re currently accepting applications for a new celani!
We’re seeking an excited volunteer who is interested in roleplay both grand and small, storyline conception, event creation, and/or background development.
To be a great celani you need to be self-motivated, enthusiastic, enjoy being creative, excited to embrace a challenge, and not be afraid of interacting with other players. Ultimately, as this is a community volunteer position, what you do and when is up to you, but being able to follow through on the plans you make is very appreciated.
This is NOT a coder position, Gods are not expected to code. (There is some aspect of logic based behaviour setup akin to reactions, but we teach it all from scratch.)
The successful applicant will undergo our most basic Celani training, after which they will be able to decide what direction to take with their training in order to become an exciting and productive member of the Garden team!
In order to apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must be 18 years or older IRL. Sorry, minors!
- You must have, at absolute minimum, at least 500 hours of playing time.
- Have read HELP CELANI in full.
Now, here’s what you must include in your application, in a plain-text, non-formatted email to nicola@achaea.com:
1. Your real name.
2. Your real age.
3. If you are primarily a student, tell us your school and your course of study. Otherwise: your real occupation and your company’s name.
4. Your character(s) in Achaea and what you have accomplished through those characters, especially any leadership positions you have held or other noteworthy achievements.
5. Why you think we should make you a celani (keeping in mind that celanihood normally precedes Godhood, so also why you think you should have the chance to be a God if that’s the route you want to take.)
6. Why you want to do this, knowing that you will have to completely cut off ties with other (mortal) players and leave behind all that you accomplished as a mortal player.
The above point is perhaps the most important of all when considering becoming celani. Potential applicants should seriously consider their ability to detach from existing social networks and establish new ones in a different environment. This is a very important factor and is one of the highest causes for failure in celani candidates.
7. Two flawless room or denizen descriptions of 80+ words each. Please be sure to have read HELP MORTAL BUILDERS and HELP STYLE before submitting these. Do not skip this!
8. A brief outline for an interesting and original IC event, totalling 100 – 200 words. This should be of the scale that you see in our EVENTS news posts.
9. Any special experience outside of Achaea that you think might help you in Celanihood, such as customer service background, DM roles, or writing experience.
10 – OPTIONAL – If you have been a team member in the past, please explain why it did not work last time and why this will not be the case again.
Strong writing skills are a must, as is the ability to work within an often demanding and perfectionist team environment. Other traits that will help you: consistency, creativity, improvisational skills, storytelling ability, maturity, attention to detail, dependability, and above all, a love of Achaea and the world we co-create here.
Applications will be open until next Sunday the 2nd of October at 23:59 (see UPCOMING). Please have your application submitted by the deadline.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Tournament of Names](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/18/tournament-of-names)
**Published:** September 18, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
To follow up on Haidar’s announcement of the second Tournament of Names, we have some clarifications!
This will be a 6 hour PK contest held on September 24th, beginning at 19:00:00 GMT (see UPCOMING).
The winner will earn 2000 bound credits, a unique honours line, and a special challenger’s horn. As an added twist, the winner will have the option to change their true character’s name. This will involve either working with the Garden team to decide on a name, or you may keep the name of your champion contender character.
All participants will also earn an honours line regardless of placement.
Contenders will become a Kashari character in the class of their choice. This will be by command at the start of the contest – see UPCOMING. We strongly suggest setting a new password when you assume your character for the first time, as the one we will supply you with may not be ideal (or memorable).
Each contender will be level 80 with most general skills transcendent and their class skills transcendent. Contenders will have 5000 bound credits with which to buy artefacts. They will have a full complement of vials and curatives, but selling/trading these is not permitted. A full rift will be provided, ensuring adequate supplies of tarot cards, crystals, commodities for traps/puppets and so on. All contenders will begin with full karma, devotion, and essence reserves. Contenders will have a gold amount at the start and begin in a starting shop. Sharing gold/items from this location is not permitted with other contenders or the general public.
As each contender enters the contest they will have an hour of grace for setup time. This time can be used to setup curing/systems, as well as purchase artefacts and supplies. This grace can be renounced early, but it can’t be extended.
Each participant will have three lives, and will have no starburst effects accessible. If you die three times, you are out of the contest. Disconnecting, journalling, or hiding in any similar fashion for 30 minutes or more will result in a loss of a life. If you do so for an hour or more you will lose two lives. Your number of lives can be replenished by removing other contenders from the contest (killing off their final life), though your life count remains capped at three. Contenders will not earn or lose experience.
We’re also going to strongly suggest you do not inform people of who you are when you assume your shell character. You can do this if you want to, but if large groups of shells who happen to all share the same city affiliation on their standard characters start working together, said characters will find themselves penalised. This does not mean you can’t team people, but you should do so organically in the spirit of the event rather than splitting down factional lines. This will be very obvious to us if it starts happening, so please do not do it. This however is not a duelling event: we do expect carnage.
Kills will be tracked in case of multiple people still being alive at the end of the contest. If more than one contender is alive at the end there will be a single area deathmatch to determine the winner. All other contenders will be considered an enemy, and allies will not be available. Forming parties will not be possible.
(Signing Up)
Signup with Haidar ahead of time to secure your place.
To sign up: say I wish to earn my name as a member of the class
Give Haidar the 100,000 when prompted.
Once you have signed up you cannot change your class choice. Choose wisely.
Go forth, have fun, and earn your name!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Divinity within your grasp!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/12/divinity-within-your-grasp)
**Published:** September 12, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Distinguished mortals of Sapience,
It is with great joy that I bring you the most revolutionary news of your lives! Starting this month, you are all invited to R.I.S.E. above and undertake your very own Quest for Divinity!
With R.I.S.E.: Quest for Divinity, the coveted Essence is finally in mortal hands! And because this is an endeavour led BY mortals, FOR mortals, it is up to everyone to work together so that mortality may finally overcome its limitations.
How does it work?
Find your nearest R.I.S.E. representative and pledge yourself to them. That’s it! It’s that easy! After that, you may start offering essence to their shrine (you’ll see why, soon), but you can also find your OWN two people to be a part of YOUR Order! Finally! A shrine of your very own!
Once you have exactly two followers and have gathered enough essence, you will become eligible for a promotion. This comes with a fancy title, of course, but also with an ever-growing list of Divine powers! Beware, though, because we’re all in this together: you cannot be promoted if your followers are too far in rank from you, nor can you be promoted above your direct contact with R.I.S.E.. As you can see, this means it’s in your best interest to both offer to your contact’s shrine and support your loyal followers.
If you have any questions, reach out to any member of R.I.S.E. or seek guidance from the Distinguished First, Sir Kinilan Demaxx.
And remember: if you can’t zap your enemies, they sure will zap you.
May you all find Divinity in your lives!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [September is here!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/09/01/september-is-here)
**Published:** September 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
First, what the actual hey. How is it September?
Second, we love September! September means it’s Achaea’s birthday and we always have a lot of fun in store for everyone.
This year Achaea will be turning 25 years old. Let me say that one more time for the people skim reading in the back, Achaea will be TWENTY FIVE years old. That’s a huge achievement.
I’m just going to give the basic overview of fun here, but see UPCOMING for a more specific list.
- Use the HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA command once this month to claim 25 bound credits for yourself and a 24 hour crit bonus!
- Join us for a day of worldgames on the 9th, Achaea’s official 25th birthday.
- The 10th and 11th will be a double XP weekend.
- On the 23rd we’ll be holding a Quiz.
- On the 24th the Tournament of Names will return.
- Many many showcases and events with Nissa’s Festival of the Divine!
- And more!
Congratulations to Laorir, Stheno, Sneijder, Sobriquet, and Alyzar for winning our latest Discord contest on the theme of treasured possessions! They each win 200 bound credits, and thank you to everyone who shared with us, these were such a wonderful read.
Tlalaiad has announced a team challenge for September If you’re not a part of our Discord community, follow the instructions in HELP DISCORD to join in!
Polymegahedral Dice return this month and feature a new talisman set themed for the Modern Gods! Details on how the dice work and their prize pool can be found at HELP POLYMEGAHEDRAL DICE.
We’re also replacing the once per month globe purchase in the renown shop with one of the polymegahedral dice!
The Modern Gods Talisman Set (moderngods) – see also HELP MODERN GODS TALISMANS
Aurora – A tear of Ethian
THROW this tear and all in your current room and those adjacent will be unphased (including you). In addition, everyone unphased in your area will then be revealed as if they had been illuminated by a star sigil.
Babel – A wrap of lightless cloth
Wear this wrap and for the next five minutes all information about you will be concealed (on honours and other means to view the same information). It has a one hour personal cooldown.
Deucalion – A tattered swatch of ashen cloth
While carrying this cloth all of your non critical strikes against denizens not upon the prime plane have a 33% chance to gain a 5% damage bonus.
Neraeos – A Tritonic coin of salt-crusted silver
This coin will be consumed in place of gold when attempting to bribe sailors to throw your target off their ship. Bribes resolve much faster when handled in this way, and this talisman can be used twice before it is consumed.
Ourania – A comet-etched barb
While carrying this barb, meteor arrows you fire will strike your target even if they flee indoors. They must still be outdoors when you initially fire the meteors, and this only applies to arrows (not star tarot or similar).
Pandora – A prismatic eye of rainbow glass
You may drop this eye in a location. You may then GLASSEYE to look into that location as if you were standing there yourself. This eye will stay placed for 59 minutes, will be invisible once placed, and -does- bypass shimmering orbs.
Sartan – A cruel stalagmite fang
You may use this talisman against someone who considers you a mutual ally. When you IMPALE WITH , you will take some of their health for your own.
Tlalaiad – A shadowy capsule
Turn this capsule and after a 12 second channel a paradoxical effect begins. Ten seconds after this effect, so long as you remain in the area where you initially activated the capsule, you will be returned to the location where you twisted it and your health and mana set back to what they were when the effect began. There is a five minute area wide cooldown on a capsule being used, and you must be alive when the effect resolves for the reset to take place.
TL;DR!
Pick up your polymegahedral dice at www.achaea.com/credits – Achaea is old – See UPCOMING for all the events!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [August in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2022/08/01/august-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** August 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi folks,
We are bringing back Globes of Shifting Continents for the duration of August!
These contain a variety of prizes upon being opened, including:
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the planes, underworld, and elemental sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
In addition, every 500th globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe!
Finally, for 10,000 renown you can purchase a globe from the renown shop once during August!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Merchant's Ledger](https://www.achaea.com/2022/07/25/a-merchants-ledger)
**Published:** July 25, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With the Delosian auctions now concluded, it is safe to say that Delos has acquired the funds necessary to cover the expenses caused by that vile conflict between the Quisalis and Ivory Mark.
Scribed below are the final sale prices for the unvaulted relics.
Signed,
Merentesh.
**10th of Daedalan, 893 AF –**
- One (1) Yggdrasian tome: filled with arcane sketches of the World Tree’s many planes. Sold to Yen for 20,000,000 gold.
- One (1) scabbard of Erymanthian wood: crafted with the capacity to harness the wind itself. Sold to Penwize for 22,000,000 gold.
- One (1) earthen mortar and pestle: once owned by a Tsol’aa apothecary and capable of grinding alchemical or herbal pastes. Sold to Ilsefi for 17,000,000 gold.
- One (1) ancient bone goblet: a relic from a long-dead desert monarch, enchanted to endlessly fill with wine-like water. Sold to Swikaan for 25,000,000 gold.
**12th of Scarlatan, 893 AF** –
- One (1) bronze hydria: contains a hallucinogenic puffball from a “Swarm” that ravaged Sapience, very dangerous. Sold to Proficy for 13,000,000 gold.
- One (1) charred linen blindfold: scribed with Celestial glyphs and sourced from the ascetic Renegades of Nur. Sold to Atalkez for 50,000,000 gold.
- One (1) portrait of the Silent Step: donated by the mimes of Delos, the canvas exhudes an overwhelming aura of silence. Sold to Skye for 4,000,000 gold.
- One (1) legionnaire’s war-torn cloak: a highly-flammable garment from the Elemental army of Kkractle. Sold to Iaxus for 21,000,000 gold.
**16th of Valnuary, 893 AF –**
- One (1) ghostly pangolin figurehead: once owned by the infamous Captain Lee, it seemed to still possess a strangely-haunting aura. Sold to Icraa for 40,000,000 gold.
- One (1) Nevaharr pelt: skinned from the leonine warrior during the War of Humanity, and imbued with strange memories. Sold to Keldin for 35,000,000 gold.
- One (1) necrotic staff of blighted cedar: owned by a magi who turned to necromancy after his family’s tragic death by flames. Sold to Swikaan for 25,000,000 gold.
- One (1) inked page of calligraphic poetry: the original copy of Lucaine Pyramides’ 36th poem to Catarin deSangre. Sold to Yen for 45,000,000 gold.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: With the Delosian auctions concluded, the merchant Merentesh records the final prices of all items sold within his ledger.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Delosian Auctions](https://www.achaea.com/2022/07/11/the-delosian-auctions)
**Published:** July 11, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Fine people of Sapience,
As many of you are undoubtedly aware, our beautiful city of Delos was recently host to a great and terrible battle. Foes of Quisalis and Ivory did slay, ravage, and destroy in a wanton show of destruction which our streets have not seen in many years. Truly, the events of the last several years have been taxing upon us all, and unquestionably beyond the pale.
It has fallen upon my shoulders to lead the rebuilding effort, an undertaking I shall spearhead with vigour and, I must admit, no small amount of trepidation. Expenses will be extensive as we seek to make right what has fallen into ruin. With that in mind, I have, with the backing of my fellow residents, organised a series of auctions to take place on the 10th of Daedalan, 12th of Scarlatan, and 16th of Valnuary of the year 893.
These auctions will be a showcase of many fabulous relics and oddities which have long been kept in the vaults of Delos. They will astound, amaze, and one hopes, encourage substantial donations of coin towards a goal which will benefit us all. Come one and all, be you an avid bidder or merely an observer.
Upon the ledger lies:
- an arcane tome of Yggdrasil’s many, endless planes
- a scabbard from the Isle of Erymanthus
- an apothecary’s mortar and pestle
- a fungal specimen, known for causing mass hallucinations
- a desert monarch’s enchanted goblet
- a strangely-cursed portrait depicting a Demigod
- a blindfold of Celestial origin
- a figurehead dredged from the sunken ship of a famed pirate
- a leonine pelt from an ancient, honoured species
- a blazing cloak of flame
- a grand staff suitable for any skilled Magi
- a preserved fragment of historical poetry
Bidding will be live and in person. Only the gold sovereign will be accepted, and the final bid must be paid for within the day. The city of Delos apologises for any inconvenience.
Signed,
Merentesh
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: In an effort to raise the funds for Delos’ repair, the merchant Merentesh invites Sapience to join him for several auctions of rare relics and fabulous oddities.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A Runic Revelation](https://www.achaea.com/2022/07/06/a-runic-revelation)
**Published:** July 6, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Date: 10th of Mayan, year 891.
I am torn.
Today I learned a lot, and heard a lot. It would seem my studies into runic configurations have had large scale effects far beyond anything I envisioned, and none of it would help me flee from the horror that stalks me.
The Siroccians were where I first began my research with an Isaz rune. Earthquakes. Tremors. Aftershocks. None of these effects are unusual, but to shake the whole continent? How was I supposed to know!
And in the Zaphar?! My work beneath the river, was I honestly to predict that a Jera rune could spur the stone and rock and cause root-like manifestations to tear up the lands?
Even from across the water in the frigid mountains of Eirenwaar, my configuration of Fehu runes pulsed waves of narcolepsy and nonviolence across Sapience.
…
Archmage Bur said I should have known better. That, the Academy had already studied this sort of Runelore and deemed it far too dangerous to sketch upon the medium of Earth. He was furious.
There was nothing I could say. I screwed up. My fate rested in the hands of the venerable Archmages.
But as I sat in that cave, nervous and afraid, a strange old man stumbled in. He was enthralled by my work with runes, and asked if I could replicate it upon his runeblade. I was on the verge of having my research status stripped, what was I to lose?
Kena’s nightmare. Fehu’s closed eye. Tiwaz’s upwards-pointing arrow. Three runes, all sketched in a circular configuration around the symbol of Hugalaz.
In binding the configuration to a weapon rather than elemental Earth, we found that the wild effects and range of the runes could be mitigated.
Just as we finished, Archmage Galfar returned to deliver the decision of the Academy. It seems they pitied me for drawing the beast’s ire… and that my haunting was punishment enough.
I left swiftly after that, but I hope that old man shares our discovery about runeblades. Maybe grizzled old Galfar can finally let some of the surface folk into Boldarihm too, they have more potential than he realises.
Well, my rabbit is nearly cooked and I starve. I wonder what tommorrow will lead to.
D.A
–
Date: 12th of Mayan, year 891.
I hear footsteps in the distance. Oh Gods. It’s nearby, I must move quickly before it finds me.
D.A
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Strange configurations of runes began popping up across Sapience, causing cataclysmic tremors and effects across the continent. Eventually, it was discovered to be the work of an academic dwarf studying Runelore. His research was used to advance the knowledge of runeblades for all Runewardens, an act that convinced the dwarves of Boulder Scorch to conjure a portal and allow adventurers to study in their ancient clan hall of Boldarihm.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Classleads 106 - Runelore rework](https://www.achaea.com/2022/07/03/classleads-106-runelore-rework)
**Published:** July 3, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
## Groves
- ELEVATE on self now respects VERTIGO. (Yes, this probably needs more changes, but this was more unintended behaviour than anything else.)
## Pestilence
- WEARINESS has had its hinder rate against pestilence reduced.
## Runelore
- All runeblade effects excluding HUGALAZ are now more likely to fire for two handed weapons.
- PITHAKHAN now always fires when striking a target with a DAMAGED HEAD.
- New ability: CONFIGURATION. This is a very significant change, see the ability file for details.
- New ability: BISECT.
- New ability: ADAPT.
- ISAZ has undergone some alterations. See the ability file for details.
- TIWAZ has undergone some alterations. See the ability file for details.
- NAUTHIZ has undergone some alterations. See the ability file for details.
## Tarot
- We’ve made some changes to how we handle some ability files internally, which has made the RUINATE information much saner. Ruinate details are now visible in the relevant ability files once the RUINATE ability is unlocked. The giant abfile has been slain.
## Woodlore
- The FOX now does increased bleeding against a target suffering from HAEMOPHILIA.
- The WOLF now does increased damage against an UNDEAF target.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [July is here!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/07/01/july-is-here)
**Published:** July 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re staring down the barrel of the second half of 2022! This will include Achaea’s 25th birthday, Mayaween, the Championship Games, Logosmas, and more!
For July we have a couple of stories we’re eager to tell, one ongoing, and we’re working on an expansion to the renown system!
Tomorrow we’ll be drawing the raffle prize winners and their event participating counterparts.
For now we’ll just cover the promotion change:
This month you can find talisman caches, legend deck card sleeves, artefacts, and lesson packages all on sale at www.achaea.com/credits
For those who buy talisman caches:
- If you buy set specific caches you’ll get a high value piece from that set for every 10 caches bought.
- If you have Iron Elite you’ll get another cache for every 10 purchased. This 10 is set specific, when you have purchased 10 of a set, you’ll get another cache for that set.
We’ll also be adding an additional discount (approximately a further 10%) to certain sections of the artecart! (This discount will not affect in game prices.)
1st through 10th – Defensive and Offensive artefacts
11th through 20th – Class artefacts and Artefact armour
21st through 31st – Crafting, Tradeskill, and Miscellaneous artefacts
These changes can also be found on UPCOMING
Leaders, keep an eye on your letters this month, coordination will be beginning for a big event!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Matter of Honour](https://www.achaea.com/2022/06/25/a-matter-of-honour)
**Published:** June 25, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It was the 28th of Aighear, 2587 years after Imithia’s Rite of Passing in the unbroken calendar of the Church, when it happened.
For long years the ducal throne of Aster Malik had been filled by stalwart, true defenders of keep, town, and duchy. Supported by the inimitable arm of authority that was the Knightly Order of Aster Malik, peace had reigned within the Aster walls for near nine centuries since the fall of Seleucar; longer, truly, than the age of that venerable empire itself. But no more. The ducal throne of Aster Malik was empty.
The regal Duke Pontelius Aurachias Mauvellio Aster, Eighth of his name, was dead.
Worse, there was no heir. The line of Aster Malik, extending back through almost two thousand years from Duke Pontelius Aurachias Mauvellio Aster, Eighth of his name to its origin in the Chosen One and his wife Pannelia Malik, was ended.
In the wake of this most noble death, matters once a mere formality descended to barbed rancour between the guardians of Aster Malik: Ranic, Chadys, and Sir Jineid. One sought a sign from the Divine, for the Skylord Vastar had been patron to the Aster line and so did the priest wish to beseech the Pantheon for Their aid. Another cared less than might be believed for matters of the devout, wishing merely for continuation of his task no matter how it might come about. For the third it was a matter of honour, and from honour would come a solution to the problem that confronted the stalwart guardians of Seleucar’s legacy.
Letters were dispatched. Knights were contacted.
What words passed between the inheritors of Seleucar and Sapience’s representatives may yet remain unknown to those not present on that fateful day. But at its end, the demands of honour were met. The Knights of Aster Malik swore their oaths anew in service to an Aster Regent, while the adventuring knights would take up their duties in service to and protection of Aster Malik.
And when, in the days and months later, the order was given, the long-lowered portcullis of Aster Town was raised at last. Achaeans would for the first time in almost a millennium walk the cobblestones of Aster Malik in truth, the revealed society unchanged since the Treaty of Meropis while from the keep above flew both banner and pennon of the Guild: a beacon of knighthood, honour, and chivalry across the lands of Achaea.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The death of Duke Pontelius Aurachias Mauvellio Aster, Eighth of his name led to a crisis of inheritance among the inhabitants of Aster Malik on Meropis. With the aid of a small group of knights from Sapience, a solution was found within the chivalric code. Thus was the Guild of Knights refounded as Aster Town once more opened its gates to the world without.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A Child of War](https://www.achaea.com/2022/06/21/a-child-of-war)
**Published:** June 21, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Long have the Quisalis and Ivory Mark been enemies, pointing blades at the other’s throats and posturing about strength and weakness. Despite all this tension, it was exceedingly rare for the organisations to strike at one another.
That all changed in the summer of 889 AF when Lord Biren, the Ivory Rose Champion took it upon himself to raid the tunnels beneath New Thera and retrieve his four year old daughter, Adrandira. Wounded once, he did succeed the second time and took the girl by the wrist towards the Ivory Tower, only to be cut off by Qui’sas assassins and thrust into the urban heart of Delos. Surrounded by foes, it was the Delosian Lottery Office that he turned to for shelter before calling to the Ivory Mark for reinforcements. The legion came with swords ready as the shadowy assassins of the Hive gathered upon rooftops. Chaos erupted.
Throughout the streets of Delos, the Assassins and Champions crossed blades and magic in a cataclysmic feud that rivalled even the greatest raids between Sapience’s city states. Soaring through the skies, enchanted meteors shot by the cloudbows of the Ivory Mark crashed into the earth, while holocaustic spheres rained from the hands of the Quisalis’ most talented elementalists. The crossfire alone took enough lives to make a necromancer shudder with glee, but still the battle raged on and droves of Exemplars and Assassins were damned before the Finality’s cold judgement.
The hellish conflict raged for nearly a day before the child, panicked and afraid, slipped out of her father’s arms and fled into the battle-torn streets. Lord Biren called out to Atlantia, pleading that she recall her soldiers before the girl perishes amidst the flames and arrows. Shouting for a ceasefire, the Crown Princess of Arcadia and the Quisalis Grandmaster strode into the streets as the clangor of battled slowly quieted.
Unshackled war would only lead to the child’s death, another solution had to be found. And so, Atlantia turned to Imperiate of Cyrene. Neutral in their ethos and beholden to neither Ivory nor Quisalis, the Heart of the Vashnars could serve as neutral ground to not only protect and shelter the girl, but also adjudicate a conflict between Champion and Assassin to determine where she would train.
Facilitated by the Senate of Cyrene and signed into paper on the 15th of Valnuary 889, the blood-filled trials between the Quisalis and Ivory Mark began. Baliar Blackthorn and Methats, the Divine Wind took up station upon the bridges of Delos, recruiting worthy adventurers to slay one another and spread the influence of their chosen organisation.
For over a year the conflict carried on before Atlantia shouted from the pinnacle of the Ivory Tower. As the heir to Lord Makarta, the Princess invoked her right to fight over the Blade of Masters, an ancient relic once owned by Callibius cursed by Derillin Yu’tar. Undeterred and confident, the Grandmaster agreed. Swords and flails clashed as the Marks fought across the lands, and though the Champions won their final battle, the Quisalis took ultimate victory in the war and returned Adrandira to her mother’s side in the Quisalis Hive.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Chaos and conflict erupted in the streets of Delos after Lord Biren raided the Quisalis Hive to retrieve his daughter. Eventually, Atlantia and the Grandmaster called for a ceasefire and agreed to settle this matter through a conflict facilitated by the Senate of Cyrene. The Quisalis proved victorious and earned the right to train the young girl as an assassin.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Nexus 3.0 Open Beta](https://www.achaea.com/2022/06/18/nexus-3-0-open-beta)
**Published:** June 18, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Iron Realms has been working on a new version of the Nexus client for the past year. For those of you that do not know, Nexus, is a web based client that players use to connect to our games worlds. Our goal is to bring an improved experience, that can be easily accessed on desktop or mobile.
Over the last few months, we have been testing Nexus 3.0 with a small group of users to work out as many bugs as possible. We are now ready to allow access to the public to help in a beta testing period. Feel free to help as much as you want or just take the new client for a test ride.
Nexus 3.0 has many new features that you will enjoy.
Important: Nexus 3 will attempt to import and convert your current Nexus 2 settings as well as possible. However, not everything is going to convert and some work will be needed to get systems to work. However, if you do not want to do that, fear not. We will not be dropping Nexus 2 and you will be able to continue using it. The import process will not delete or overwrite your settings in Nexus 2.
You can find the wiki for Nexus 3 here: https://nexus.ironrealms.com/Nexus\_3.0
The wiki will explain the new features, how to find the client, and how to submit bugs.
If you have any questions, you can ask away on the Nexus Discord server (a link can be found at the same page!)
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [War Contract](https://www.achaea.com/2022/06/05/war-contract)
**Published:** June 5, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Facilitated by the Senate of Cyrene on the 15th of Valnuary in the year 889 – the Quisalis and Ivory Mark organizations have agreed to terms for determining the future home of the child, Adrandira.
As a result of this, Cyrene has committed to the use of guards in Delos to assist with protections there in.
The Quisalis and Ivory marks have consented to permit upcoming contests to determine placement of the child and to abide by the rules set forth. As such, any interference with the child, Adrandira, is grounds for immediate forfeit.
Specifics will be announced as they are finalised and details become available.
Signed,
Kirsi Moliuvia, Imperiate, on behalf of the Senate of Cyrene.
Princess Atlantia, on behalf of the Ivory Mark
The Grandmaster of the Quisalis, on behalf of the Quisalis
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: The Quisalis and the Ivory Mark have agreed on a number of war contests facilitated by the city of Cyrene. The fate of this conflict will decide which organisation the child Adrandira trains with.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [June in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/06/01/june-in-achaea)
**Published:** June 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the duration of June, the Wheel of Fortune is spinnable in New Thera!
Hitting the renown cap each day earns you a free spin each day and premium tokens can be obtained via the Achaea website at www.achaea.com/credits!
Those who win or buy prismatic tokens can SPIN WHEEL WITH TOKEN for a chance at the following:
Credit prizes starting at 33
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
Artefact Vials
Customisation credits
Phials of shimmering ink
Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any set.
Talisman caches that open for the Marks, Blackwave, and Cities talisman sets. These caches can be traded in for 30cr.
300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
Artefact Upgrade Credits
Mayan Crowns
In addition to the prizes above, spinning the Wheel also rewards raffle tickets!
We will draw two raffle winners at the end of the month! The first winner gets their pick of the following two prizes, the second winner will take the other prize!
a level 3 artefact bow
- that has innate Atlantia’s bowstring addition
- that will fire meteors without meteor arrows
a shifting camouflage
- that has 3 charges, regens 1 every 2 hours.
- when activated it offers a 30 second immunity to guards and totems
- this doesn’t function when a sanction is active, or when guards are on alert
- this effect drops if you attack a mob target
Another pair of these prizes will also be given out to two lucky individuals via IC means!
If you do not possess a winning ticket, your tickets will turn to 2 bound credits each once the winners are drawn!
Keep your eyes peeled for the Wheel’s grand prize, 500 bound credits on top of normal prizes for whoever claims that with a Token spin!
Prismatic tokens CAN be traded!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Old Smiths Can Learn New Tricks](https://www.achaea.com/2022/05/25/old-smiths-can-learn-new-tricks)
**Published:** May 25, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It was the late summer of the year 888 AF when the voices of smiths across the lands were heard ringing out in congratulations. First to speak was Rico of New Thera, followed in short order by Caurnn of Adryn Keep, Steropes of Mount Piraeus, and Boarath of Mhaldor. Deep within the burrows of Manara the forgemaster known as Hrorknar lifted his muzzle to likewise praise the new master of the hammer and anvil, but was cut down in the middle of his declaration by one of the many enterprising novices who often tread those dirty tunnels.
One and all, the many smiths of Achaea recognised what Proficy Ikari had accomplished. To master every method of forging armour and weapons alike, to stand at the very pinnacle of the craft was no small feat. No other upon Sapience in their time had achieved such, and so praise was lavished upon him without reservation. Adding his voice at last, Murad, the Bladesmith declared that praise alone would not suffice, to which a chorus of ayes rang loud and clear. He bid Proficy to attend him at his forge east of Delos so that he might bestow a boon never before offered.
Together the pair journeyed forth from the hills to the glade of Three Moons, where Murad began to expound upon his craft. No other hand but his had wrought the fabled swords of the Two Arts upon Sapience, but in this moment it was something he would share. Returning once more to Kavaya’s side he laid out various materials before Proficy, detailing the process of tempering and treating known only to him, imparting secrets not only of metal, but of the soul.
There was no fanfare to mark the conclusion of this legendary lesson. With a companionable nod and a clasp of the hand, Murad bid Proficy to remember that what he had learned was both a burden and a blessing, before turning back to his forge.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: In recognition of his being the first mortal to completely master the arts of Forging, Proficy was taught to forge Two Arts swords by Murad, the Bladesmith.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Wyvernologist isn't a title!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/05/23/wyvernologist-isnt-a-title)
**Published:** May 23, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Date: 24th of Scarlatan, 888 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire
Name: Sinyar, the Draconologist
Topic: Recent events
I apologise, it has been a while since I mailed a letter to update you on my studies. Now, where do I even begin?
I broke down on the side of the Prelatorian Highway in the middle of Aeguary 888AF. Thankfully, there were a few strangers travelling nearby that offered help, supplies, and a lively conversation about my studies. One friendly adventurer, whose name was Clodhna, was quick to volunteer her assistance with our work, so I entrusted her to escort our young forest wyvern to the Northreach Forest.
Satisfied that our wyvern was safe within the forested depths of the Northreach, I asked another adventurer by the name of Tahquil to help me hire a local guard to protect our wagon. She happily obliged, travelling to nearby Delos to hire an armed soldier whose name I never had the opportunity to learn. It was only a few days after I began working on repairs that tragedy struck; our wyverns broke loose from their wooden crates, slaying that poor Delosian and wounding my right leg. With my wounds still bleeding, I was ferried to New Thera where I received medical care from the healer Kamilla and a place to rest in the Wanderer’s Inn.
It did not take long for our young magma wyvern to cause trouble. He flew halfway across Sapience to the continent of Meropis, igniting an explosive wildfire in heart of the Atrousian Jungle. The flames raged for nearly half a day before I met a blue dragon by the name of Eoka, and a plan was formed. Utilising her draconic magic, Eoka chilled the air over the Atrousian Jungle and provoked the volcanic wyvern to land. Two other dragons (named Yen and Veldrin) quickly calmed the beast with a feast of red meat (my idea!) before safely relocating him in the torrid depths of Nuskuwe.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get much time to rest before more adventurers scrambled to the inn. Lake Vundamere was toiling beneath a howling blizzard – our frost wyvern was to blame. Worried about the local wildlife, two Eleusians stepped forward and introduced themselves as Crixus and Ryssa. They had a plan to lure the creature out of the frigid storm and into the open. Crixus, being an elemental Lord of Fire, would ignite a red-hot flame upon the lakeshore, irritating the icy draconid enough that she would swoop out of the skies and down to the earth. It went off without a hitch, allowing two more villagers (I am told their names were Shirszae and Satum) to safely soothe our hungry wyvern with some fresh fish and take her to the far northern tundra to nest.
I did mention in my last report my hunch about sea wyverns and their capacity for flooding, right? Well, I’m glad to report that my analysis was correct. Our aquatic draconid caused havoc in the Siroccian mountains when he filled the dwarven mines with saltwater. Despite the dangers, our helpful dragon-mage Veldrin returned with a colleague by the name of Laetetia to assist the dwarves and drive the foreign creature from the tunnels. Together they evoked some sort of ancient, earthen magic, forcing our young wyvern out of the mines and into the nearby campsite. It was there that Ryssa and another villager named Cailin were able to soothe the disturbed beast and safely relocate it to an underwater cave near Sea Lion Cove.
I am beyond thankful that this matter has been settled. You can expect to find me in Dun Swamp for a while, since I’ve heard word about a unique species of wyvern that nests deep underground. You will, of course, receive a dove with a full report once I have studied it.
I would very much appreciate meeting you in person. Perhaps we can have dinner? I’ve never had dinner with royalty before.
Your humble academic,
Sinyar
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Sinyar, the Draconologist was travelling across Sapience when his wagon broke down, and the wyverns he was transporting broke loose. They caused all sorts of harm and havoc over the next few months, as several adventurers worked to calm them down and relocate them to safer environments.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [And Lo, a Predator's Throat Laid Bare](https://www.achaea.com/2022/05/22/and-lo-a-predators-throat-laid-bare)
**Published:** May 22, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
A mycorizae scowled internally and knelt underneath Eleusis in his familiar haunt, hands placidly resting upon the foetid soil of his territory. Pained grunts escaped his emaciated visage as contaminated driblets plunged into his exposed flesh. He would never get used to the toll.
He did not particularly enjoy his charge despite his instilled, forced association with it and its membership, but it wasn’t as if he had much choice.
As his thoughts and hunger threatened to consume him, dirt from above sprinkled upon his living cloak, their grasp upon the roots disturbed by some ungodly racket. It wasn’t all that atypical as they can be rather loud when stirred into a frenzy, which seemed to happen more frequently with each passing day.
Almost losing himself to introspection, he was scarcely aware of a mountainous pile lurching towards his head as it tumbled from above. He moved with all the speed his meagre frame could muster, offering the heap of earth a quizzical stare. An alien face canted to the side as wooden eyes swivelled to survey the scene overhead.
The base of the totems plunging into the earth contracted and expanded in equal measure as something changed. Clay-coated vines pierced the earth and encased their wooden charges, obscuring them each from view one after the other.
More earth fell, a rhythmic pounding reminiscent of tribal drums drawn from the deepest depths of his memory. No, there was more.
Orderly footsteps sent reverberations throughout the network as the guards moved. They were leaving. Yes, he was sure of it, as the gatehouse lay in that direction.
A breathy, contented sigh rattled from Fthora’s crusty lips.
Blood and pus seeped as lips splintered and took on a foreign shape, a barely-perceptible fissure snaking down a diseased mask.
For the first time since a long-forgotten war and a bitter defeat, a mycorizae smiled.
~
Summary: Eleusis, having decided to forego the comforts of guards and runic totems, sent the former on leave into the Wilds and overgrew the latter to attune itself to Nature more completely.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [May in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/05/02/may-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** May 2, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the duration of May polymegahedral dice can be bought singly, or in groups of 5, 10, 25, or 50, each group with an increased discount. These purchases also award House and City credits, and for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra die! We also have two new legend deck suits!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together. Each dice rolled (alone or with other dice) also awards you with 1 raffle ticket\*.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches (Elemental, Races, and Planes).
On cache open the Elemental, Races, and Planes sets have a 25% chance to give a second piece.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves including our new Hunterblood and Huntersoul suits!
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: 50 to 80 customisation credits
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize!
All of these credits for the above prizes are unbound.
HELP POLYMEGAHEDRAL DICE has all of this information!
As mentioned above we have added two new legend deck card suits to the sleeve options! (These details can also be found in HELP LEGENDDECK.)
The Hunterblood Suit features the Hippo, the Leopard, the Eagle, and the Centaur. The Eel is its joker.
The Huntersoul Suit features the Bear, the Scorpion, the Alligator, and the White Wolf. The Jarbo is its joker.
Hippo
Throw someone in a specified direction.
Stopped by standard antibeckon things (walls, block, prone etc).
Basically requires you be able to move that way.
2 charges, regens 1 per hour.
Leopard
Draw it in a given direction to freeze ground in that adjacent location.
3 charges, regens 1 per hour.
Eagle
Grants 10% lightning resistence when flying, lasts 1 minute.
This will show on DEFS as eaglelegend.
3 charges, regens 1 per hour.
Centaur
Useable on someone in the sky above you and pulls them down like a tentacle tattoo.
Instead of balance knock it can do one of the following (same chance for each to occur):
Balance knock like tentacle.
A short stun.
Entangle(ropes).
3 charges, regens 1 per hour.
(J) Eel
Regenerates 1 charge every 12 hours.
Bear
Draw this card to sense everyone afflicted with the stink affliction.
Works across planes, but not on people in beds and similar no farsee locations.
5 charges, regens 1 per hour.
Scorpion
Draw it in a direction and it will put firewalls in that direction’s line of sight up to 3 rooms away if a wall can be raised.
2 charges, regens 1 per hour.
Alligator
Significantly reduces the effect of currents upon you while its in play. Lasts 1 minute.
This will show on DEFS as alligatorlegend.
3 charges, regens 1 per hour.
Wolf
Draw this card to grant yourself the wolflegend defence.
This defence lasts 40 seconds.
If you strike someone’s parry while you have this defence, you will passively cure an affliction.
This cure has a 30 second cooldown.
1 charges, regens every 2 hours.
(J) Jarbo
Regenerates 1 charge every 12 hours.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Changelog - 2022/04/19](https://www.achaea.com/2022/04/24/changelog-2022-04-19)
**Published:** April 24, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- Prasset Isle is now considered an outer island, as it should be.
- Squint cooldown will now respect shimmering tetracontakaidigonal prisms.
- ECHO is no longer blocked by stun.
- The banking artefact will no longer unintentionally exempt users from bank fees.
- Huskmaker will no longer miss a majority of attacks when used as a spear.
- The issue that occasionally occurs preventing you from being able to gain a class in an empty slot for no apparent reason will no longer happen.
- The acrobatics defence is now cleared correctly on the relevant ritual of subversion ending.
- Knight report no longer shows the health of dead people (spoiler: its 0).
- Guided strike can now be activated while graced.
- Accursed arise now correctly only conveys the crypt bonus if the crypt belongs to the owner.
- The human command no longer gives a misleading output when in dust form.
- Armytell now correctly compares speaker’s phased status to that of people hearing them speak.
- Empty writhe now correctly clears predicted writhe afflictions.
- The ECHO command now works while stunned.
- More rogue Chivalry references in various messages have been destroyed.
- DESIGN UNCLAIMED has been added to the design syntax! When at the appropriate union location, this command will show any of your designs that have been approved and are waiting to be claimed!
- DESIGN FLUID has been added to the DESIGN syntax!
- You can no longer spam eagle warhawk to have your eagles description get appended to itself infinitely and be like 3 pages long Atalkez.
- Various rubble creation skills and similar no longer pointlessly double up rubble on a direction. Notably, dalamyrr claws talisman.
- Azdun choke creepers no longer have the miraculous ability to touch shield tattoos with their distinct lack of hands.
- Drawing the Polyhymnia card is now an aggressive action.
- The indifference affliction now has a default priority, so serverside curing won’t ignore it if you don’t set one yourself
- Tekura WRENCH now unmasks the requirement affliction to serverside curing if successful. This is most relevant for WRENCH TORSO.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [The Pact Renewed](https://www.achaea.com/2022/04/19/the-pact-renewed)
**Published:** April 19, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Wrought first in strange Spirit, with a core unbroken.
Woven second in Fundament, with ascendancy in unison.
Wrought third for Long War, with Three and then Two.
Withdrawn from all battle, rejecting Creator eternal.
\~~~
In a black expanse before the glimmering spheres and spire of Celestia, the citizens of the Dawnspear were given a charge by the Lightbringer and the Righteous Fire. For it had been in times long past that the Mount’s great Domarchs had forged their pact with the ancient Church, a bond deeper than the very soul between priest and seraph, mortal and angel. Yet with the destruction of the Empyreal Assembly, lost House of sunken Shallam, what was sacred became profane and what was bond became thread, a tie frayed to uttermost breaking.
Haunted by the horrors of a future already near-woven into Fate’s skein, the devoted priests and scholars of Targossas pushed on to study all that they can on Celestia and the history of their forebearers. Choosing knowledge as their weapon, they sought out Ayadai, the Soothsayer.
And so came the rite. It would be no debauched revel, nor gluttonous boast, but a sacred cleansing first in waters made holy by Light and then in fires made pure by Righteousness. Bestriding the emerald hues of the deeper Descent, it was the Staff to which the celebrants turned, that which in clarion ascendance laid claim upon the bonds between Dawnspear and Celestia, between Priest and Seraph as the crowns of a time now past. With their whispered prayers to the Bloodsworn Divine upon lips and thoughts, Targossas and her people watched the empyrean fire surge forth, rising into the skies over the silver-bright city.
It was for near a full day that the Lady Aurora and Lord Deucalion did parley the case of Their holy city with a Domarch of the Empyrean Mountain. Wary of the Prime and its inhabitants, cesspools of Anathema, it became the assurances of Divinity and acts of Mortality that would weave for Celestia a fresh accord.
And so when the chime of the Pact Renewed tolled across Creation’s expanse, the last creations of Proteus were once more in harmony with their mortal agents.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Targossas sought to renew the ancient pact that bound the Empyreal Assembly to Celestia. After performing a holy ritual in the depths of the Descent, the Dawnspear was able to connect with Celestia, allowing Aurora, Goddess of Light and Deucalion, the Righteous Fire to settle on terms and formalize a new accord.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Bank On It!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/04/06/bank-on-it)
**Published:** April 6, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As some noticed earlier (we’ve got our eyes on you Eoka, Ramarn, and Iaxus) we’re reopening the Delosian Bank Vaults and their keys to join April’s artecart and lesson sale!
The Delosian bank has a number of derelict vaults and these can only be opened with keys. Keys can be purchased from the website at [www.achaea.com/credits ](http://www.achaea.com/credits)and you can earn pieces of keys by capping your renown each day! 4 of these pieces makes a whole key, and you can also buy key pieces on the website too!
When you have a complete key you can visit the bank in Delos, where they will have a set of 64 vault doors waiting to be unlocked (in an 8×8 grid). The prize list that is hidden behind the locked doors is specific, you can see the full list below and at HELP DELOSBANKVAULT. Before you choose which door to open you can even see what has been won from already opened doors!
When there are no prizes left, when the special prize has been claimed, or on the first of the month, the bank will reset the vault contents to full once more! There is a game announce when this happens!
DELOSBANK OPEN NUMBER <#> – open a specific unopened vault
DELOSBANK OPEN – open an unopened vault by coordinates
DELOSBANK OPENED – list all opened vaults
DELOSBANK CLOSED – list vaults still to be opened
DELOSBANK / – view a specific vault
See HELP DELOS BANK VAULT for all of the details on prizes and commands!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [April in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/04/01/april-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** April 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hey everyone,
The Artefact Cart is returning to [www.achaea.com/credits](https://www.achaea.com/credits) alongside repriced lesson packages! This is the perfect month to pick up that new class!
For those of you unfamiliar (or who just want a refresher), the Artefact Cart lets you add your artefacts to your shopping cart on the website and purchase them at a discounted rate directly (30% discount by default, 40% if the purchaser has an iron elite membership). Do note that you do need to be logged in on the website to buy artefacts in this way, so to be sure that your elite bonus always applies if applicable!
On top of the standard 30/40% discount, we’re also discounting select artefact categories throughout the month.
1st through 7th – Offensive artefacts and Stat and Regen artefacts.
8th through 14th – Defensive artefacts and artefact armour.
15th through 21st – Miscellaneous artefacts and Crafting and Tradeskill artefacts.
22nd to end of month – All class artefacts.
In addition to this, all artefacts in the Delosian shops will be 20% cheaper for the month! This is a flat discount that won’t scale with anything else. This includes the talisman shop but does not include partial completions for a variety of reasons.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Unbroken Vow](https://www.achaea.com/2022/03/20/the-unbroken-vow)
**Published:** March 20, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
“You are too valuable to risk before the first and final sword is drawn. Sentiment clouds your otherwise flawless judgement in this matter. Set it aside.”
The rebuke was spoken without inflection, and yet it provoked an immediate tension among the strange congregation who stood atop a lone isle of dark stone amidst a sea of abyssal black. The day had been long and full of unpleasant surprises already, and these men and women were swiftly roused to wrath even when otherwise content.
If not for the hallowed ground upon which they stood, perhaps things would have been different. Yet not even the Desolation would spill blood at the foot of the Final Throne, and so war was waged with words instead of blade or spell.
Yet at the last it was the speaker who got his way, for the black will that drove them spoke His dire decree:
“My Unbroken Hand. You will make the journey, alone. Make arrangements.”
So it was set into motion.
---
It was a day like many of late for Dawnlord Atalkez Al’Jafri. The battles with the servants of the Enemy had been hard fought, but fought they had been and fought they would be. It was in one of the few lulls between the clash of sword and sacred prayer against twisted sorcery and profaned iron that the first sign that something was wrong occurred.
Without warning or implication, a burning eye tore itself open in mid-air to gaze upon the Avatar of Light. A vigil full of some malevolent purpose, utterly focussed upon him and him alone.
The Dawnlord readied himself for battle, for he was no stranger to unconventional attacks. Was this some new demonic working of the Western Isle? Some accursed sorcery of the mad Occultists? Perhaps even something cooked up in the immoral depths of the Hashan Laboratory?
It did not matter. It would find no easy victory here, only fire, and light, and steel.
Yet the eye only stared at him for a long moment before vanishing. A warning? A retreat? Something else?
The Dawnlord didn’t know, but with the instincts of a veteran he knew: it was nothing good, and only the beginning.
Unfortunately, he was right.
---
The High Priest of Oblivion was a rather elusive foe. Often spending long periods secluded behind ward and worse, it was a rare opportunity when he was out in the open and vulnerable without good reason.
The forces of the Bloodsworn were not willing to waste the opportunity. One clash had ended in his escape, but they had planned this time.
Yet as the first blow landed upon the scowling priestess who had accompanied the Supreme Pontiff, something unexpected took place. Both Mordanyconus and Zeyeran vanished with a sound like glass shattering, illusion unwinding and dispersing as it came under attack. Somehow, the High Priest had known. Betrayal? Subterfuge? Luck? Questions that will need to be answered in the days ahead, but it was what came next that will be most on the minds of the enemies of the Mad God.
As profane fires burned and power anathema shattered flesh and bone beneath the emotionless eye of the nightmare clad in a man’s flesh, and as Redeemer did battle with the irredeemable: a lone question remains.
What new horror has been unleashed upon the Inner Planes, and for what terrible purpose?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: Upon the Bloodsworn’s return to the Inner Planes, an agent was directed to make way to the Inner Planes by one of Their enemies. This came to a head in the manifestation of an entity calling himself the Unbroken within the Mhojave Desert, though his mission yet remains unclear.
**Categories:** Uncategorized
---
### [Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/03/12/auctions-3)
**Published:** March 12, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As of today our new batch of auctions is open! We have eight credit auctions and eight gold auctions for you this go around, including many reoccuring favorites as well as two completely new items!
Auctions will remain open until the 25th of March, closing exactly at 00:00 on the 25th. This gives you fourteen days to get your bids in! You can see UPCOMING for the countdown until auctions close, and remember to read HELP AUCTIONS before bidding! Information on each item being made available can be found under AUCTION INFO #.
Happy bidding!
- Custom Dragon Description
- Custm Instakill Remains
- Phylactery of Sixth Sense
- Completed Talisman
- Staff of Garash
- Innate Morphing Armour
- Pyramidian Boots
- Resilient Translucent Mask
- 300 Housing Room Credits
- Any Level 1 Talisman Piece
- Any Legend Deck Card
- 50 Globes of Shifting Continents
- Transcend a Class
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Changes - 2022-03-08](https://www.achaea.com/2022/03/09/changes-2022-03-08)
**Published:** March 9, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- Braziers from Lothos may no longer be dropped in non house areas (like stockrooms).
- The CLAN HOUSES command has been added to HELP CLAN LEADER COMMANDS.
- Several inaccessible or otherwise extraneous locations have been removed from explorer rankings.
- The garden team has had an indepth talk about spider biology and adjusted some things accordingly.
- LHG – Most of the LHG mini bosses have developed strategies to better chase their prey.
- LHG – Wild-eyed primates have been buffed in damage. Their gold and experience has increased to compensate.
- LHG – Agitated jaguars now inflict approximately 50% more bleeding.
- LHG – The crimson-hued scorpion will now apply his venom more often.
- LHG – The attack speed of the predatory alligator has been increased slightly, also increased the frequency of gator clamping onto his target, and the damage of his deathroll.
- LHG – Shadowy basilisk damage has been increased slightly and they now afflict a random mental alongside impatience.
- LHG – The centaur chieftain has learned how to throw bolas at flying targets.
- LHG – Buffed ochre-necked oryx damage and attackspeed slightly.
- LHG – Diamond-back rattlesnakes now deal some damage when they trip a target.
- LHG – Black-tongued lizards heal less often and for a smaller amount and have had their damage increased and deal an additional dose of loki on their bite.
- LHG – Ravening bainligors now must strike the killing blow in order to feast on blood. No more sharing amongst predators.
- LHG – The hulking cave bear has gotten much better at chasing its prey through the caves.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [Hunters and hunted](https://www.achaea.com/2022/03/07/hunters-and-hunted)
**Published:** March 7, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It was as the midnight bell struck the 1st of Valnuary that will-o-wisps stirred within the Aureliana Forest, the fulfillment of a promise and realisation of a wish cleaving the planar divide for but one ephemeral moment. Onward they came ‘pon Midsummer’s Eve, a bewitching host of the glimmering Fae to bestride the skies of Sapience in exultant splendour. At their head rode Oberion, the Lord of the Hunt, his mantle of royal indulgence cast aside for this single night to reveal what lurks at the savage heart of Sidhe. Amidst the baying of hounds and the calling of horns, the Erl-King rides anew.
The Wild Hunt traversed the continent of Sapience, galloping north to the sacred places of the fallen God Lupus. It was here that Oberion inclined his head at last to Penelope, the Hunter’s Fang, acknowledgement given of hunts long past and hunts yet to come. The finest of hunters had come in answer to her call, and it was a feral smile that the weretigress bestowed upon mortal and Fae alike. Yet as the Sidhe Lord’s eyes swept the gathering for prey, she beseeched him for but one favour before the hunt began in earnest. A tale of long ago: a tale of the First Predator.
Magnanimous in his exalted freedom, the Erlking’s crystalline voice rang clarion across those who stood in the sanctuary of the Wildfather. He spoke of a time before the world was formed, of a pursuit spanning life and death and life again in the span of a wish. In the end, he spoke of a White Wolf triumphant, of a Hunter neither he nor any other could match, and an agreement made in blood between Fae and Elder Divine.
A feral grin marked the ending of Oberion’s tale, and a challenge to the hunters of Sapience. In remembrance of the Savage Beast, a plethora of offerings. The most deadly foes of the known planes, brought low by daring hands. So did the stalwart adventurers go forth with blade and arcana to wreak havoc among the high and the low. Titans of Earth and Water and Fire expired as brutality sought the Elemental Planes, while the piercing screams of an embattled secretary were cut short within the Elemental Embassy itself. Upon the prime Zsarachnor, the Vampire Lord’s chuckle of amusement at Belladona’s demise was abruptly cut short as he too fell in his turn, drowned nearly to irrelevance by the enraged shrieks and shattering crystal of Auntie Maim’s party being rudely disrupted. In memory did the adventurers venture forth to slay the shades of Reckoning, while within the bowels of the Underworld the Ur-Vampire Asztrik howled his last fit of dying rage at an uncaring sky.
With each and every victory the hunters returned to place the fallen within the jaws of the sleeping statue of the White Wolf, all and sundry turned to ash and consumed by an insatiable hunger writ upon that quiescent stone. Fifteen foes from far and wide, hunters in their own right made little more than prey before the demands of crimson pilgrimage, and sated at last did the sleeping wolf open its eyes. A savage cacophony arose, spilling forth across Sapience in a call to hunt. To die. To bleed. The weretigress bared her fangs and turned to face those who had once more gathered before her, and with a languid hand she waved them onward into the Lupine Hunting Grounds to earn their place as predator or prey.
---
Summary: Penelope, the Hunter’s Fang welcomed all the greatest hunters to join her in a hunt to remember the fallen Wildfather. After two days of brutal slaughter, the corpses of many fierce foes sated the appetite of the sleeping wolf altar, and the Lupine Hunting Grounds opened their jaws to Sapience once more.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Summer's Refrain](https://www.achaea.com/2022/03/03/summers-refrain)
**Published:** March 3, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The villagers of Eleusis gathered to consider a prospect as long in the making as it was in its likelihood: a transition to a theocracy under their Matron, Gaia, Goddess of Nature.
To say Eleusis and its Patrons have had a tumultuous history is a profound understatement, as the modern history of the village and its Guilds or Houses is rife with vitriol and animus. Though the odds seemed long, the decision was put forth to the people — a question not only rare in Eleusis, but in all of recent memory.
Heated discourse and arguments rang from the boughs of the Great Oak, the pros and cons of secularism and theocracy weighed and discussed as they considered the Earthmother’s requirements: a two-thirds referendum in Eleusis and its two Houses. A choice to walk alongside Her forevermore required nothing short of overwhelming affirmation. Shortly thereafter the choice was put to the village.
A year passed by as all sides of the conversation spoke their pieces. Minds swayed and voices wavered before the first piece fell into place. Setting the precedent for the other two referendums, the Scions of the Ithmia displayed their solidarity for the world to see, returning a vote in favour of a theocracy twenty-two to zero. The Savages had come through for their Queen, as was expected by most. All was not guaranteed, however, as there were still two to go.
Closing next, the general Eleusian referendum showcased a similar outcome even if the support was not as overwhelming. By a total of fifty-four to seven, the second piece fell into place. As was expected in the beginning, the outcome would be decided by the Heartwood Kin.
The spiritual successors to the Druids of old, the Heartwood Kin carried forth a longstanding tradition of conservation and hesitation in their service to the Wilds. While the brash and vulgar Scions would tear at any obstacle with tooth and claw, the Kin preferred a more measured response. In recent years, however, the culture began to shift as the House threw its fate to the winds and embraced mysticism, eschewing its historical mainstay of man-made logic.
Surprising almost everyone, the Heartwood Kin voted in favour of a theocracy eighteen to one.
On the twelfth of Daedalan, 882 AF, Gaia, Goddess of Nature called all of Sapience to the underground forest within Azdun.
There She recounted Her history and that of Eleusis itself, their shared trials and troubled past as history and future collided near an ancient adversary.
As She left, a terrible tumult rose from all of Nature as something changed. An alien order was given, an order that conflicted with everything Her flora and fauna had ever been taught. Brought to heel by Her will, Her Realm acquiesced and recognised its new home and its new centre.
And so did the chorus of the secular village of Eleusis come to a close.
A new song begins, and the world awaits its opening note.
---
**Summary:** Following a vote by the village and its two Houses, Eleusis chose to tie itself entirely to Gaia, Goddess of Nature, and become a theocracy under Her watchful gaze.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [March in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/03/01/march-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** March 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Somehow it’s already March, and therefore time for a new promotion!
We say goodbye to the wheel, but are bringing back Globes of Shifting Continents! These contain a variety of prizes upon being opened, including:
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the blackwave, elemental, and conclave sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
In addition, every 500th(\*) globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: in this case being an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe.
In addition, a series of auctions will be opening on the 11th (and running through to the 25th), so stay tuned for the details on those!
And something else might be happening this month. But you’ll have to wait and see (though UPCOMING might be a good place to start).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads #100-101](https://www.achaea.com/2022/02/23/classleads-100-101)
**Published:** February 23, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
## Memorium
- New ritual: THE RITUAL OF SUBVERSION. This might get… interesting.
## Oppression
- RELENTLESS now reduces your chance to be impacted by the STUPIDITY affliction.
## Pestilence
- EXTRACT now strips shield if one is present instead of conveying the plague on the burrowed swarm. If there is no shield, it conveys the plague as before.
- WEARINESS now serves as clumsiness-style hinder for pestilence attacks.
## Shindo
- PERFECTION has seen significant upgrades. It is now more likely to fire in general, and many of the things that blocked it before no longer do (notably, this includes PARALYSIS).
## Misc
- Sipping IMMUNITY now hits you with loki if you sip it when you do not have the voyria affliction.
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Classleads 98/99](https://www.achaea.com/2022/02/16/classleads-98-99)
**Published:** February 16, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Excerpt:** A few changes, largely focused on tackling auto-chasing efficiency.
**Content:**
## Anathema
- Eating GOLDENSEAL/PLUMBUM now applies a very short cooldown in which HORROR won’t increment from passive fear ticks. This cooldown does not apply to WILLBREAK or PRESENCE ticks however, as these are predictable.
## Apostasy
- DEMON TRACE now fires on a tick rather than on movement. It doesn’t fire if they haven’t moved, so you won’t get constantly spammed out.
## Kaido
- ENFEEBLE and CRIPPLE auras have been separated. Functionally this has a few implications:
- ENFEEBLE no longer locks out vivisect or CRIPPLE.
- CRIPPLE no longer locks out ENFEEBLE or ABSOLVE/DICTATE/CATHARSIS/INCINERATE.
- TRAMPLE no longer locks out a ton of random stuff, just VIVISECT.
## Spirituality
- ANGEL TRACE now fires on a tick rather than on movement. It doesn’t fire if they haven’t moved, so you won’t get constantly spammed out.
## Subterfuge
- New ability: DISTRACTION. Highly experimental, we’ll see how this goes.
## Telepathy
- MIND SENSE now has an internal cooldown. Still balance/equilibrium free.
- MIND SENSE can now take up to five targets. MIND SENSE \[p2\] \[…p5\].
## Warrior Tert
- OBSERVE/SCENT now incurs an eq cost.
- REPORT no longer shows the loyals room if the loyal is tracking someone – instead it shows the target’s current/max health. Report shows the room as previously when the loyal is not tracking.
- REPORT will now show the health of the target your loyal is attacking as well as the one they are tracking (track is checked first, then slay).
- REPORT can now take an optional location argument FALCON REPORT LOCATION for instance. This will tell you the location of your loyal regardless of if it is tracking or not, but when specified this will incur an equilibrium cost.
A few changes, largely aimed at dialing back auto-chasing ease and efficiency.
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [The Light Rekindled](https://www.achaea.com/2022/02/06/the-light-rekindled)
**Published:** February 6, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The fluttering of doves filled the air above Targossas in the month of Phaestian, 879 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire. With trained aplomb the avians pecked at their bindings and delivered simple missives to the Dawnspear’s leaders: invites for all the city to join in an expedition across Yggdrasil.
Hesitant and uncertain, the citizens approached with weary caution, for the letters bore no marking and no signature. But after deliberation the Dawnlord agreed that Targossas would assemble, and at the very least determine who had sent such tantalising invitations.
And so it was that on the 7th of Aeguary, in the year 880 after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, the priests, mages, soldiers, scholars, and a one-handed but valiant atavian child of Targossas gathered upon the Champions’ Bridge. Reality itself shivered with expectant portent, the exertion of some great Will setting the air to thrumming before a luminous rift tore itself open in the space above the cobbled stones.
“Enter,” a soft voice resonated.
The Dawnlord was first to step through the gateway, there to be met by the aureate resplendence of the Goddess Aurora, the Lightbringer, and beside Her the God Deucalion, the Righteous Fire. Targossas knelt before the Bloodsworn Divine for the first time in decades.
As had been promised in the missives granted the Dawnspear’s citizenry, Deucalion wove for the gathered followers of Good a girding armament of His own Primordial Flame, the two Gods carrying Their mortals across the myriad planes of Creation’s grand expanse in both revelation and reminder of their sacred charge. Yet it was at their final destination, suspended in the fathomless black surrounding the shimmering spire and spheres of Celestia, that the truest purpose of Their charge to Targossas resounded.
From the lips of Aurora did words spill forth in Divine import, once more renewing the duties of Targossas beneath the watchful gaze of the Righteous Fire and the Lightbringer.
---
Summary: Targossas was invited to an expedition across the expanse of Yggdrasil, and upon their arrival came to learn that their hosts would be the Gods Aurora and Deucalion. In the conclusion of Their travels, the Bloodsworn revealed matters of import to the Dawnspear, returning Their gaze to the Prime Material Plane.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [February in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/02/01/february-in-achaea)
**Published:** February 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the duration of February, the Wheel of Fortune is spinnable in New Thera!
Completing an adventure worth 50 renown or more earns you a free spin each day and premium tokens can be obtained via the Achaea website at www.achaea.com/credits!
Those who win or buy prismatic tokens can SPIN WHEEL WITH TOKEN for a chance at the following:
Credit prizes starting at 33
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
Artefact Vials
Customisation credits
Phials of shimmering ink
Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any set.
Talisman caches that open for the Elemental, Races, and Underworld talisman sets. These caches can be traded in for 30cr.
300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
Artefact Upgrade Credits
Mayan Crowns
In addition to the prizes above, spinning the Wheel can also reward with racetrack tickets!
As a reminder, the Wheel of Fortune no longer makes you wait for other people to be done spinning before you can spin!
Also keep your eyes peeled for the Wheel’s grand prize, 500 bound credits on top of normal prizes for whoever claims that with a Token spin!
Prismatic tokens CAN be traded!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [An old flame](https://www.achaea.com/2022/01/19/an-old-flame)
**Published:** January 19, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Sat upon his Infernal Throne, none may challenge the supreme power of Glaaki on the Chaos Plane, but he does not rule over an empty Court. While the ancient, tainted prison is shrouded in secrecy and mystery, scholars agree there must be at least a dozen other Chaos Lords of immense power that dwell upon the mysterious world. Among them, one of the best known is Pyradius, the Firelord.
His origins are a secret to all but the most learned, but it is much more common knowledge that Deucalion, the Righteous Fire himself, once crossed his path. Enraged by the kidnapping of his servant, the atavian knight Haldoran, the Bloodsworn God rampaged through the Chaos Plane, and Pyradius was grievously wounded by a flame much unlike his own, a fire that seeks to burn all that which taints Creation.
Over a century did he seethe over his horrible wounds, his missing leg, though what meaning time has for a creature so alien to our world is impossible to say. Doubtless, the followers of Good saw it as a permanent victory, for who could undo the damage of a God?
Imyrr Rousseau believed he could.
Like any mad scientist, his plans began with elaborate proposals and impossible ambitions but, to his surprise, they were met with approval by the forces that dwell in the shadows of Ashtan. It would require great sacrifice, enormous amounts of effort, and a city united, but there was, indeed, a way to find revenge for the Firelord. Millions of gold evaporated seemingly overnight, and the Archon Ascendant set the city on a new course.
First, they built a profane pyre that made a mockery of Targossas’ own, crafted with iron and burning with the sickening stench of flesh, for it was their enemies that served as fuel. Dark rituals fanned the flame and channeled it into ancient idols, and eventually it all came to a head in the most bizarre of circumstances: a party.
Drugged, drunk, and full of euphoric dance, the citizens of Ashtan gathered to celebrate Chaos itself, a form of worship that needs no Gods and transcends the stiff customs of other nations. The scents of sweat, vomit, and blood filled the air, until the revel’s true purpose was revealed through a world-shaking summoning. Using the tools they had created through years of effort and slaughter, Pyradius himself was brought onto the Prime, if only for a moment, and there he brought truth and knowledge to those who sought Ruin. His words remain a mystery to those outside the Seat, but its citizens soon gathered again on the grounds of their sworn enemy, looking for a fight.
Targossas could not have expected such disastrous consequences from what appeared to be a mundane raid. The first inklings that something was off came largely from outside the Dawnspear, as the typical tank detonation Sapience is so accustomed to left an indescribable sense of wrongness. Elyra Al’Jafri was the first local to investigate and report, scouting out the destroyed location and finding, instead of rubble and ruins, a horrifying sight of Chaos taint, unlike any other the Prime has experienced in recent memory. One by one, the citizens of Targossas gathered to assess the damage, and inevitably they were horrified, revulsed, or sickened.
With the assistance of Halos Vorondil, Elyra quickly led a prayer and sermon to lift morale during these uncertain times, but the question on everyone’s mind needed not be spoken out loud: what horror has Ashtan brought to our world, and will it happen again?
---
**Summary: After years of experiments and rituals, Ashtan succeeded in unveiling a new, tainted tank that left the horrors of Chaos upon Targossas.**
**Categories:** Event
---
### [January 2022 in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2022/01/01/january-2022-in-achaea)
**Published:** January 1, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
2021 is gone, it’s January already! With the change in date comes a change in promotion!
Firstly, all credit purchases on the Achaea website are discounted in price by 30% for the whole month!
As well as that, pieces from the **CONCLAVE**, **WONDERS**, **BLACKWAVE**, **INVASION**, and **RENEGADES** talisman sets are available on the Achaea website for purchase!
For those without a set in mind, there are undefined caches that open to give a piece from any set at random.
For every 10 caches you buy you get a bonus!
If your caches are the random set, you get another random set cache.
If your caches are from a specific set you will get a talisman piece from that set.
If you have an active Iron Elite membership, every 10 caches purchased will result in a bonus cache of that purchased type!
Caches and credits can be found on the website at [www.achaea.com/credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits)!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Sledding into the Season!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/12/22/sledding-into-the-season)
**Published:** December 22, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Amidst the cheer and merry-making of the Logosmas season, the sound of weeping children rising from the valley of Actar was a startling change of pace. It was with some trepidation that adventurers made haste to the halfling village nestled within those snow-bound pastures, approaching Merrygold, one of the village elders, to ascertain the source of the distress. The usually cheerful halfling woman explained while wringing her hands that there was to be a Logosmas tree raising in the town of New Thera, and that the children were just desperate to go and be a part of that most sacred holiday tradition. With a sigh, Merrygold’s shoulders slumped as she went on to explain that there were simply not enough villagers to spare to see all of the children conveyed safely to New Thera, and this sad news was what had set the children to weeping so.
Bolstered by Logosmas spirit or perhaps simply incapable of ignoring a cry for help, Icraa, Laetetia, and Kaiu were the first to inquire if perhaps they could be of assistance. The elder considered this, consulting with several of the village guard before concluding that perhaps these adventurers could be trusted. It is the holiday season, after all. It was not long before myriad adventurers were off, the ecstatic children bundled in layer upon layer of furs and loaded onto wooden sleds for ease of transport.
As individuals began to arrive at the town centre of New Thera with their young charges in tow, Angela, the Mayor of New Thera bustled about the square, handing out mugs of hot cocoa and welcoming all to the tree raising ceremony that was about to take place. She urged each new arrival to greater haste, hinting that it would not be long before some very special guests graced the town with their presence. She would be proven right as mere moments after the last child was safely settled, Dogo Ooder and Allior Coyne strode into the plaza, a troupe of resolute halflings bearing an enormous Logosmas tree in their wake.
Dogo Ooder would be the first to offer his blessing to the holiday monument, a beseechment of charity to reside in every heart this Logosmas season. With that he raised a hand, alighting the rustling boughs with green and silver light. Allior Coyne was next to step forward, her covetous gaze sweeping the crowd before her as she offered her own benediction, hopes and dreams for boundless profit this Logosmas season. An idle flick of her hand kindled red and gold light upon the swaying branches, and together all the hues of Logosmas splendour blazed skyward in a display seen across the continent.
Only as that glow faded from the sky did the clarion call of trumpets sound from the valley of Actar, followed shortly thereafter by the calamitous crash of an avalanche released down the mountain slopes. As adventurers scaled the cliffs surrounding the valley a breathtaking view was revealed to them, an idyllic township of gingerbread houses nestled within the snowy mountain landscape. Dogo Ooder and Allior Coyne guided the stream of newcomers to the respective outposts for the HoHoHo and HaHaHa society, attempting to sway each to either the cause of charity or the cause of capitalism. With a tinkling of rung bells the first explorers were off, their allegiance declared and their sleds sent careening down the mountainside towards the cheerily flickering lights of the village of Merrywick below.
---
**Summary**: Adventurers assisted the halflings of Actar by seeing their children safely to New Thera for the Logosmas tree raising. Soon after, Dogo Ooder and Allior Coyne arrived to reveal the pathway leading to the village of Merrywick.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Classleads return!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/12/08/classleads-return)
**Published:** December 8, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hopefully you’re all having a good December, and as we all know nothing puts the finishing touches on the month like incurring the wrath of your enemies for a poorly conceived classlead. So to finish off this year: classleads are now open. Submissions will close at 0 GMT on the 13th – certain to be unlucky for some.
For those of you that haven’t participated in classleads before (or may simply have forgotten the specifics), here are a few points:
- Classleads are anonymous.
- Each person can submit up to five classlead reports. Please do not utilise alternative characters to bypass this limit: I will be annoyed and you may lose your ability to file classleads in the future. This includes having people post on your behalf.
- Your reports should supply reasoning alongside the perceived problem: if something is too strong/weak, you should always state why. It’s best to avoid drawing comparisons to other classes, although sometimes this is appropriate. Use your best judgement!
- You should attempt to supply multiple solutions (where applicable – some cases are fairly cut and dry). If your lone solution is “delete x”, I probably will reject your classlead out of hand: fair warning.
This round there are a few things it might not be worth your time to file classleads on. You’re still welcome to do so as your ideas might inspire some change of plans, just be aware the below few topics already have things in the planning stages for significant changes so your reports might just not be relevant:
- Magi.
- Expansion/updates to exterminate mechanics.
- Dexterity changes (I would actually like thoughts here if people have particularly interesting ideas for future direction in regards to the stat, but general patches probably won’t go in).
I am particularly interested in the following. Try to have a cohesive direction in mind when you file reports in regard to these:
- Druid/sentinel modernising.
- Occultist sanitising.
- Runewarden modernising.
There are full details along with command breakdowns under HELP CLASSLEADS and the CLASSLEAD command.
I look forward to reading your reports!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [December in Achaea - tis the Season!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/12/01/december-in-achaea-tis-the-season)
**Published:** December 1, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
December is here!
Later in the month Makesh will put his Logosmas wares on sale, Ironbeard will make his rounds, and more is in store!
For the promotionally inclined we’re bringing back stockings for the month and there will be a 30% bonus on all credit purchases (that’s a 40% bonus for those of you with Iron Elite!)
We also have a new talisman set, the (surviving) ElderGods set! See **HELP ELDERGODS TALISMANS** for all the details, but the items include the following:
A declaration of hostility (Aegis) A dwarven finishing hammer (Phaestus)
A sachet of soothing herbs (Valnurana) A battered sifting pan (Prospero)
A translucent filter (Lorielan) A rosewood citole (Scarlatti)
An obsidian hound carving (Twilight) A double flowered cherry blossom (Gaia)
Storm-grey wings cloaked in lightning (Vastar)
Completion Bonus if you collect all 9 above: a piece of shimmering Ayardium.
See HELP ELDERGODS TALISMANS for all of the talisman details!
See HELP STOCKINGS for all stocking-related commands and to see a complete list of prizes and minimum stocking values!
Every 150 stockings opened will trigger a bonus stocking in the next 50 to be opened, awarding massively increased prizes!
ADDITIONALLY! For every 5 stockings of each type you purchase, you’ll receive either a gold or platinum stocking of that tier! So if you purchase 5 fancy stockings, you’ll get a gold (or platinum) fancy stocking. Gold and platinum stockings are special and fill up only on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
Finally, cap your renown during an adventure cycle in December and you will earn you tickets in our end of year raffle (once per adventure cycle)! Two lucky winners will earn a shattered token which can be exchanged for ANY talisman piece! Tickets held by non-winners will be converted to bound credits, 2 per ticket.
---
Since we’ve had a couple of questions about this, just a quick rundown on how stocking influences the pieces you get:
Logosmas stockings yield the lowest number of pieces and tend to be less valuable (you can still roll big pieces on these, they’re just less common than higher tiers).
Fancy are basically better logosmas ones. Higher chance at more pieces, better pieces come up more often.
Grand stockings roll more pieces and if you roll low end pieces will roll additional ones to compensate. They also have a flat chance to guarantee a high end piece, but best to consider those a bonus when they come up given that its not a sure thing.
Extravagant stockings guarantee you two high end pieces no matter what, and roll you more pieces after those are awarded.
High end pieces will be pieces from the 1000 credits and up value talismans.
Hopefully that should clear up most questions!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Poignant Rescue](https://www.achaea.com/2021/11/03/a-poignant-rescue)
**Published:** November 3, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Devoted to her Lord with an intensity of faith that few mortals could ever match, Dame Mayapple Xanatov stood as a shining paragon of the Phaestean Order on Sapience. For centuries she served Him, and the love she held for the Smith was as genuine as one of His dwarven children, touching every aspect of her life.
It came as no surprise when she was the one that first grew worried about His perceived absence. The Gods of Achaea are fickle with Their attentions and travel Creation’s many planes with an ease that mortals may not imagine, but Mayapple grew ever more concerned that this was something more than a simple hiatus. Gathering some of her citymates, she investigated His possible disappearance and, soon enough, her party was receiving visions of shackles clanging and silver wisps emanating from the Great Oak in Eleusis. Immediately, this raised alarms.
Over the coming months, more and more people investigated Eleusis, including Hashani and Targossians, and experienced their own visions. Dark whispers filled the streets of the cities of Sapience, rumours and fears of horrid Gaian schemes. Aided by a cryptic shout from Pandora, the Wayward Heir, accusing the Lady Gaia of ‘going too far,’ a single conclusion began to take hold: the Earthmother kidnapped some unknown number of Divine, trapping them beneath the Great Oak of Eleusis to sap Their essence for nefarious purposes.
Some Eleusians acted with bemused denial, while others actively encouraged the rumours, going so far as to spread misinformation when they were sure there were eavesdroppers to poison the well of knowledge. While the peoples of Sapience argued about the truth of what lay beneath the Great Oak, strange puffballs appeared throughout the lands, their appearance unusual and disturbing in its fleshlike nature.
Before long, the cities of Sapience banded together to free the seemingly-trapped deities, marching upon Eleusis in a united force while the adherents of Nature fought a desperate battle to protect what truly lay beneath the Oak. Blood filled the trees and fertile soil, until the battle was interrupted by the unsettling sights and sounds of puffballs everywhere exploding into amorphous, shadowy clouds. Filled with a singular purpose, they marched towards the roots beneath the sacred Eleusian tree, and the adventurers’ battle shifted to stopping – or protecting – them in their advance.
Nearly half of what soon became apparent as swarms of insects reached Eleusis, and, there, deep within the roots, they converged to form the Mycorizael Swarm, a being of living decay that soon found itself at odds with the more civilised cities of Sapience. Though it, and its Eleusian allies, fought bravely, the relentless assault of Ashtan, Mhaldor, Hashan, Targossas, and Cyrene eventually proved too much, and the strange creature was dispersed, vanquished from the Prime Material Plane.
As Mayapple stood victorious over her foe, surrounded by temporary allies from every walk of life, it was her Lord Phaestus Himself that appeared before her. He was never trapped, He explained, confirming a theory that had gained increasing traction over the past few months: these ‘visions’ were little more than hallucinations caused by the spores of the alien puffballs, their shared themes the result of something akin to mass hysteria as the rumours spread through the infested cities.
With the DwarfFather’s touch, the Dame was cleansed not only of her remaining fungal infection, but of an ancient disease that had ailed her for centuries. Though she had not accomplished what she set out to do, for the Smith was never in any danger, she was blessed by her God for her steadfast loyalty all the same, and that is a victory that few mortals will ever claim.
---
Summary: Driven by strange visions of Gods trapped beneath the Great Oak, the cities of Sapience marched upon Eleusis, only to be interrupted by the sudden bursting of the odd puffballs that had emerged around the realms. From within came the hordes of insects that combined to become the Mycorizael Swarm, an ancient being of decay that was ultimately banished despite Eleusis’s admirable attempts to defend it. In the end, it was revealed the visions were no more than hallucinations brought on by fungal spores.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [November in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/11/02/november-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** November 2, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Artefact Cart will be returning for November! This will have a standard 30% discounted price, that’s 40% if you are an Iron Elite member. Each week throughout November we will be selectively applying additional discounts to a variety of categories on the following basis:
1st through 7th November: Defensive and Armour Artefacts
8th through 22nd November: All Class Artefacts
22nd through 30th November: Statistic, Miscellaneous, and Crafting Artefacts
In addition to this, all artefacts in the Delosian shops will be 20% cheaper for the month! This is a flat discount that won’t scale with anything else.
This includes the talisman shop but does not include partial completions for a variety of reasons.
But we aren’t done yet! Lessons will also be available on the Achaea website for the entire month!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Excision](https://www.achaea.com/2021/10/09/excision)
**Published:** October 9, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The long-awaited Paladin rework is here! Devotion is now a Priest-only skill, and the Paladins, in turn, learn to use **Excision**, a skill devoted to using flame and steel to purge that which taints Creation! Read about the launch event below.
---
As Chaos reigned, it was heard.
A murmur of voices, their tone at once enraptured and determined in an evocation of meaning beyond the ability to fathom. With unadulterated purpose the otherworldly harmony soared in an exalted crescendo, crystalline tones blending seamlessly into a single clarion note. And then, with a sudden, abrupt finality, the ringing note fell still.
Imbued with unified imperative, a single assured voice resounded, “Part.”
A planar rift of empyrean fire opened the skies above Targossas, the Veil Extant shuddering under the imposition of the spoken command. From within its depths the Verapim Neruel descended, settling within Silverbright Square. Targossians and Cyrenians flocked to the angel, hope alight in their eyes as she turned her sightless regard to the Isle of Blackstone. A single, ringing intonation resonated from her mouth, driving white-hot needles into the minds of all those present.
“Advance.”
“Celestia?” The Priestess Imaan uttered, face frozen in fear. Neruel turned at the spoken words, and with a dismissive gesture the Verapim incinerated her. Within moments they descended, the Renegades of Celestia. Led first by the Archangel Brathos, the golden armies drenched Targossas in crimson and scarlet. But the Dawnspear would not fall without a fight, and so they charged back with sword and blazing mace.
Ten. Ten radiant Archangels. Their Celestial essence scattered to the winds of the Eastern Reaches. These are the losses the Renegades endured, as the Dawnspear defended their homeland.
The Exarchs Adalphon and Jophiel came next. Trading stoic nods, they marched through the Dawnspear, scything arcs of empyreal brilliance scattering any who attempted to stand against their heavenly might. It was not long before they had cut their path and reached their destination: the Targossian Descent.
And then he came.
The empyreal radiance of raw Celestis flashed through the heavens as a six-winged figure descended in a coruscating blaze of angelic-blue light, shattering the very foundations of Targossas as he made his fated arrival upon the Prime Material. For the first time in the mortal era, the Prime Exarch Zafikel walked upon Sapience, and the air itself shuddered about him.
He crusaded towards his brethren, eradicating the mortals of Cyrene and Targossas that stood in his way. With a final, disdainful glance across the grounds of Blackstone Isle he entered the Descent. The Prime Exarch sheathed his heaven-forged blade and gazed upon a glittering lake, Jophiel and Adalphon standing guard at either side as he began his work. Emerald radiance bled from the Descent as the Prime Exarch fell to his knees for the first time in centuries, pain wracking his flawless features as light pooled in his palms. And then Sapience shook at the fulminous release of raw Celestial power.
Zafikel rose as the skies over Sapience dimmed, his expression one of victorious exultation as he held heaven-wrought consciousness in his grasp, the twin remnants of Mizal and Ziel made physical beneath the empyreal will of the Prime Exarch.
And then, in an instant, they left. The rift above Targossas flickered as it sealed itself shut, and silence overtook the Dawnspear.
As the last echoes of the planar gate over Targossas faded away, the citizens of the Dawnspear gathered amidst blood and grit to assess their losses. Beaten and battered, the stalwart soldiers of the Bloodsworn held vigil before the underground lake nestled deep within the Targossian Descent, and lifted their voices in prayer to their Lord and Lady. Yet as the prayer began a feeling took hold within those girded by the Devotion which flows directly from Them, a sense of phantom fingers scrabbling, tearing, grasping at the very fabric of their being. Those guardian angels lingering at the side of their companions sagged as though dealt a mighty blow, before winking out entirely. In a sudden jerk of something displaced all at once away and elsewhere, Devotional energy was irrevocably sundered from all those without that celestial bulwark.
Huffing and puffing with the exertion, the stout form of Father Garron arrived to a crowd caught in the throes of lamentation, uncertainty and worry lining every face. Having felt the displacing sensation even in the village of Jaru, the priest and the Targossians rapidly concluded that all of those possessed of Devotion must have suffered the impact, with only the intervention of guardian angels sparing the Priesthood at large. Confused at first, the citizenry informed Father Garron of the two presences that had resided within the depths of the lake, a pair of Exarchs left on the very cusp between life and death for centuries, fed Devotional energies by those of the Old Blood in an attempt to repair the damage that had been done. The old priest reached out one hand to rest upon the fonts situated at the lakeside, once receptacles and links for those energies to be joined to the existence of the wounded angels. A link, he surmised, which had been left open and ripe for the taking.
As the clamour of voices rose on all sides, lambent flame kindled to life of its own accord within the thurible held by Father Garron, casting the scene into merciless clarity. Surprised, the Jaruvian priest lifted his thurible higher, and with an unmistakable tug the flame demanded they follow, setting an unerring course towards the hallowed halls of Adroushan.
Yet this journey was not to be an easy one, for the wandering steps of Halos Vorondil are ever prone to lead a winding and uncertain course. After some prolonged stumbling through the sandy dunes of the Mhojave the group arrived at the caverns dedicated to the Justice That Is. The guiding flames within Father Garron’s thurible winked out, their purpose served as the faithful gathered before the searing wisp of Righteous Fire.
Atalkez Al’Jafri was the first to step forward, a paladin severed from that which had enabled him to stand shrouded in Their grace, to do battle with those who would defile the very bounds of Creation itself. With a solemn nod did he lift the jug of sacred oil over his head and douse himself, before plunging his hand into the unforgiving depths of the Flame.
Thus it was that Atalkez Al’Jafri was renewed from within roaring conflagration and drifting ash, stepping forth from the Righteous Fire with renewed purpose. Never again would Paladins merely stand, for it was the imperative now instilled within their very souls to be the blade of excision.
Father Garron’s wrinkled features broke into a broad grin, his robin-egg blue eyes shining as he murmured, “They are ever our Guides, and may we never fail to follow.”
---
Summary: The Renegades of Celestia took advantage of the chaos that plagued Sapience to initiate a raid upon the city of Targossas, intent on taking the remains of the Exarchs Mizal and Ziel that resided in the Descent. They were successful, and departed with haste, leaving the purpose of their assault shrouded in mystery.
In the wake of their raid, the Renegades of Celestia utilised a lingering connection between the Exarchs Mizal and Ziel and the devotion of the Targossians. Using this, they attempted to tear the Bloodsworn’s gift away, only successfully doing so to Paladins. Guided by Father Garron, the devotionless Paladins wandered to Adroushan, where they immolated in the fires, emerging with a new gift, the art of Excision.
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [The Unnamable](https://www.achaea.com/2021/10/07/the-unnamable)
**Published:** October 7, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re proud to announce the release of our newest class, **Unnamable**! Wielding the powers of Chaos, an Unnamable warrior wields Weaponmastery and Dominion (their version of Chivalry), along with a brand new skill: Anathema. These horrifying fighters warp and mutate themselves in a pure display of madness and ruin to bring victory at any cost for Ashtan, the seat of Chaos. Read more about their launch event below!
---
For too long the ties that bind had lain broken.
Thus agreed Imyrr Rousseau, Archon Ascendant of Ashtan and the Ruinous Intercessor of Interplanar Dominion. His station made him the supreme mortal authority on Chaos in Sapience, but it was not his office which formed his opinion on the matter. It was his long career as an Occultist that led him to understand one basic truth: the Living Book of Eschaton was the source of his kind’s power.
He was not the only one, of course. Amunet Viatrix, Katalyst Rozzan, Jinsun Ze’Dekiah, and Morro Viatrix all undertook similar paths, and all felt just as strongly about what was, to the uninitiated, merely an odd tome. Where others saw a curiosity they saw a long-afflicted friend, one that needed urgent care.
So it was that all of Ashtan gathered on one unsuspecting Aeguary for a group hunt. They were to slay the Greater Dragon Yudhishthira, though their true reasons for doing so remained a mystery for most citizens. Perhaps three recently-returned traitors saw their redemption, or perhaps it was a building of building of camaraderie that is, as always, so valuable to cities and organisations in general. But when Bainz Moliuvia landed the final blow, the Occultists quickly claimed the true prize as the Greater Dragon fell on Ashtan’s first attempt: the Gem of Creation.
While the Gem’s deeper nature remains unknown to much of Sapience, to a practitioner of the Occult it is something far more: energy, power to fuel their Chaos-wrought arcanum. They gathered all of Ashtan’s hunting party deep within the Seat of Chaos, directing the Gem’s karma into the Living Book of Eschaton. Though the true workings of their ritual remain captured beneath shrouded obfuscation to the uninitiated, the effects would be felt all over Sapience and, indeed, Achaea itself.
Immediately, and most noticeably, the ritualists disappeared entirely from our world or, more accurately, time. Something had gone very wrong (or very right), and the five, along with Ezekial himself, were swallowed into a sudden temporal rift created by the Eschaton. More puzzling was the fact that the Living Book swallowed itself, as well, leaving Ashtan not only without a city leader, but also without one of its most prized relics.
There was little time to be confused, however, for the temporal anomaly was felt throughout the realm by those knowldgeable in such things. Only Pandora’s reminder that mortal matters must be solved by mortal hands saved the Seat of Chaos from being smote by Tlalaiad, the Genesis, who found meddling with time all the more insulting now that Aeon, its guardian embodiment, was gone. Instead, the Tsol’teth deity declared: make ready Their Weapons.
Memories of the Black Wave struck the dwellers of Tezlari-tarin, the world above, and a smirking Ashtani commented that they had repelled the Tsol’teth before. But this time was different, as Penwize Baker recognised. This time it was Bain’maal.
Though it may have bent the rule of “mortal problems” no less than the Genesis’ decree, Ashtan’s patron passed to Akri that which would buy the Seat of Chaos, and their lost Occultists, the time they so desperately needed. Once again the Spawn of the Unnamable Horror would be loosed upon an unknowing Sapience.
Knowingly or not – for who can tell with such a thing – the Spawn undulated and oozed its way toward Achaea’s Underrealm, nesting within the heart of the abandoned Pash Valley fortress as the alien being found itself naught less than a locus around which battle raged with a surfeit of abandon. Targossian, Ashtani, and Hashani alike hurled their foes into the Finality’s halls as the Spawn continued its advance, daring to assault Raia’dalam itself. There it was met by Bain’maal in single combat, and there did it fall beneath the reaping scythe of the Dark Earth in ways little different to dragon, dala’myrr, and all the unknown horrors lurking beneath Achaea’s earth before it.
Yet in the past, the Occultists remained unaware of what transpired in the present. Whatever they did, whenever they landed, the world at large can only guess. The rift was sealed, and they all returned safely… all seven of them. Only formalities remained to finalise the Second Great Work, and the Eschaton was, after over two centuries, finally healed. Satisfied by stabilised time, the Genesis decreed the withdrawal of the Tsol’teth force.
It was one lone curiosity that remained: returning with them came a perfectly mundane book, yet one that – bizarrely – spoke of events and knowledge that did not, or should not, exist. In a perfectly Occultic fashion the knowledge was fed to the Eschaton, and the Living Book stirred. Now it was ready to teach once more, to reveal a thing entirely new as it unveiled experiments that would create mortal horrors like which the world had perhaps never before seen.
---
Summary: After a botched (successful) ritual involving Yudhisthira’s Gem of Creation and the Living Book of Eschaton, Ashtan created a temporal rift that swallowed up their ritualists and the Eschaton itself. Decreeing that an anomaly of Time was Forbidden, Tlalaiad sent the Dark Earth, Bain’maal of the Main Line Five, to deal with the problem. In response Ashtan unleashed the Spawn of the Unnamable Horror, its death in the subsequent battle buying their lost ritualists the time needed to return to the present, repair the Eschaton, and unlock the knowledge of a new class: the Unnamable.
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [The Third Adryn Games!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/10/05/the-third-adryn-games)
**Published:** October 5, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
All of Sapience was abuzz after Lord Adryn’s announcement of the third Adryn Keep Tournament, a festival and contest that had now become a familiar tradition to every city upon the continent. It began a few days before the starting ceremony, as exquisitely-garbed attendants departed for their assigned cities, stationing themselves at the now century-old urns in preparation for the contest’s start.
And then it began, a prodigious fanfare of trumpets announced the beginning of the first event, a hunting contest requiring each city to slake their urn with the corpses galore! Hashan prevailed, winning the gruelling hunting competition by the barest of margins of the determined hunters of Eleusis. Cyrene followed next, successfully filling their urn just days before the event’s end. Targossas, Ashtan, and Mhaldor were unable to slake the ravenous thirst of their urns, though their progress allowed them to secure fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.
The Land Race came next, the fleet of foot in Hashan being led by their greatest riddlers as they solved cryptic clue after cryptic clue, taking them into first place as they travelled from the boughs of the World Tree to the roots of the Underworld. Targossas claimed second place, with an admirable performance. Mhaldor secured third place, followed by Eleusis in fourth, Ashtan in fifth, and Cyrene in sixth.
The seas came next, a Ship Race across the oceans themselves. Ashtan charted a most efficient course, and with a proficient performance they took first place. Eleusis secured second, with a time just moments slower than Ashtan. Hashan and Cyrene nearly tied, but in the end the Court of Shadows claimed third and the Heart of the Vashnars was left with fourth place. Targossas placed fifth, and Mhaldor was left with sixth place.
Thus began the final event of the Adryn Keep Tournament, the Gauntlet. A fabled challenge wreathed in mystery, testing all manner of attentiveness, understanding, and wit. Hashan was the first to enter the Gauntlet, and with a very impressive time they secured themselves first place. Mhaldor was the next fastest, taking second place and leaving Eleusis with third. The bottom half of the scoreboard was marked with Cyrene in fourth, Targossas in fifth, and Ashtan in sixth.
The games had finished, and Lord Adryn hosted a grand closing ceremony within his fairgrounds. The crowd gathered with food and drink as Lord Adryn welcomed the Khulian singer Moke-Mele to the stage, who performed a bardic piece written by Stefana Vorondil-Lanthe. In the wake of the song, Stheno Aristata was gifted a tapestry of her own design, a reward for winning Lady Adryn’s contest on loyalty.
And then it was time to announce the winner of the tournament. Each city had marched through all the challenges laid before them, but only one could be crowned triumphant. The overall victor was the city of Hashan. For their achievement, the Court of Shadows was showered with wealth and presented a boon from Lord Adryn, an addition to their arena at his own expense.
In the end, the Lord and Lady Adryn wound down their festival with great pleasure, content with the turnout and performances of all.
---
Summary: Lord Adryn hosted the third Adryn Keep Tournament, consisting of a Hunting Contest, a Land Race, a Ship Race, and a trial in the Gauntlet. Hashan was victorious, securing first place overall. Eleusis followed in second place. Targossas earned third place. Ashtan, Cyrene, and Mhaldor all tied for fourth place.
For her victory in the tapestry contest, Stheno won a preserved version of her tapestry and **five Mayan Crowns.** For their victory in the overall Games, Hashan won **five thousand credits** and **the opportunity to design their very own arena game!**
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [October in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/10/02/october-in-achaea-3)
**Published:** October 2, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the duration of October polymegahedral dice can be bought singly, or in groups of 5, 10, 25, or 50, each group with an increased discount. These purchases also award House and City credits, and for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra die!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together. Each dice rolled (alone or with other dice) also awards you with 1 raffle ticket\*.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches (Elemental, Races, and Planes).
On cache open the Elemental, Races, and Planes sets have a 25% chance to give a second piece.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: 50 to 80 customisation credits
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize!
All of these credits for the above prizes are unbound.
HELP POLYMEGAHEDRAL DICE has all of this information!
---
In addition, congratulations to Rathlor who has won the September raffle and 6 months of Iron Elite membership!
Everyone else’s tickets have been converted to 2 bound credits per ticket!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Artisanal and Bardic Contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/09/05/artisanal-and-bardic-contest)
**Published:** September 5, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the duration of September (see UPCOMING) we will be accepting submissions both artisanal and bardic on the theme of DUTY!
Please be sure to take a read of HELP ARTISANAL or HELP BARDICS or head to <https://www.achaea.com/the-artisanal-and-bardic-fellowship/> for all the rules and instructions.
For those of you who know the rules, submissions must be sent by email to artisanals@achaea.com or bardics@achaea.com as appropriate.
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR CHARACTER NAME!
We look forward to seeing all of your creative submissions!
**Categories:** Announcements, Artisanals and Bardics
---
### [September in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/09/02/september-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** September 2, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
September is here, Achaea’s 24th birthday month!
Alongside a host of in-game events, the Wheel of Fortune is making a return to New Thera!
Completing an adventure worth 50 renown or more earns you a free spin each day and premium tokens can be obtained via the Achaea website at www.achaea.com/credits!
We also have a raffle running this month! Tickets are earned spinning the Wheel, or by capping your renown! The winner will earn 6 months of Iron Elite Membership. Tickets held by those who do not win will be turned into 2 bound credits once the winner is drawn.
Lesson packages are also on sale at www.achaea.com/credits.
Those who win or buy prismatic tokens can SPIN WHEEL WITH TOKEN for a chance at the following:
Credit prizes starting at 33
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
Artefact Vials
Customisation credits
Phials of shimmering ink
Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any set.
Talisman caches that open for the Contenders and Blackwave sets. These caches can be traded in for 30cr.
300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
Artefact Upgrade Credits
Mayan Crowns
In addition to the prizes above, spinning the Wheel can also reward with racetrack tickets and paper lanterns!
Paper lanterns are a consumeable item! When you spin the wheel and get a lantern, the lantern will theme to your city!
If you do not have a city you will also get a themed lantern, no fear!
These lanterns can be lit and they will fly up into the air to disappear and convey one of three gifts to the city as a whole! This will be either 5 credits in the city’s coffers; a 15 minute, 2% critical hit bonus; or a 15 minute, 15% xp bonus!
If you are a rogue lighting a lantern the bonuses the critical hit bonus or the XP bonus. Rogue lanterns do not offer organisation credits.
Lighting more lanterns will extend the duration of the crit or XP bonuses, up as far as the end of September when any lanterns, and any bonuses (regardless of duration remaining), will come to an end.
As a reminder, the Wheel of Fortune no longer makes you wait for other people to be done spinning before you can spin!
Also keep your eyes peeled for the Wheel’s grand prize, 500 bound credits on top of normal prizes for whoever claims that with a Token spin!
Prismatic tokens CAN be traded!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Birthday month itinerary](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/21/birthday-month-itinerary)
**Published:** August 21, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
September is just around the corner and with it comes Achaea’s 24th birthday!
This month will see the return of Adryn’s games, the Itinerant Bazaar, a CTF, a 4v4 combat tournament, a weekend of double experience, and lots more!
So that everyone has a bit of notice, the main itinerary follows below, and these will be on UPCOMING.
More will be added as events are announced, and Tharos will of course be hosting a variety of worldgames all throughout the month!
September 1st
A themed design contest for a tapestry will be announced.
A themed artisanal and bardic contest will be announced.
A lottery will go live, tickets available from promotion purchases and from capping renown each day.
September 9th
The HAPPYBIRTHDAY command will go live for 24 hours, giving you 24 bound credits!
A series of Auctions will activate.
Double experience will go into effect through until the end of the week.
September 10th
Adryn’s Games will begin. Keep an eye on public news going forward.
September 17th
We’ll be hosting a quiz with credit prizes!
September 18th
4v4 combat tournament with credit prizes for the winners!
September 19th
Adryn’s Games closing ceremony!
September 25th
CTF! Details on this will be announced closer to the time.
Auctions close.
September 26th
The Itinerant Bazaar will return for the first of two dates.
September 28th
The Itinerant Bazaar opens its doors a second time!
September 30th
Deadline for Artisanal and Bardic contest entries.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [A Town Hall for New Hope](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/16/a-town-hall-for-new-hope)
**Published:** August 16, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The beckoning, sonorous tones of an iron bell pealed out across New Hope as the Abbess called its inhabitants to gather. In the distance, Dawnlord Lyndee Faelithar heard the call, its harsh timbres standing out from the roar of the twin Eusian Falls crashing into the Bay of Solace. Greys, Vasher, Caladbolg, Ante, Reonna, Salko, and Atalkez in tow, the Dawnlord of Targossas ventured into the monastery of New Hope once more.
Gathering within the main hall, the majority of the Isle settled in within the pews, the Abbess calling their town hall to order. There were many topics on the agenda today, but the core question to consider was simple – to what extent and how often did they wish to allow outsiders to interact and interfere with their lives?
After covering several topics, the congregation watched as Orotor, the butcher stepped up to stand before the pulpit and petition the crowd. In a rare sight his apron was pristine and white as he addressed the masses, making an impassioned plea to the villagers about the hiring of the Ivory Mark to bring justice to those that would instigate violence upon their isle.
Mirroring Orotor’s sentiments, Cardinal Atalkez Al’Jafri and others spoke on the potential relationship that could be built between New Hope and Targossas – a relationship whose foundation had been built many years prior, when the Refugees were at their lowest.
Conversely, Sister Coranne strode forward to give voice to the counterargument, that no act was made just or unjust simply by the reasoning behind it, and whether it was by their hand or not the death was still ordered and signed for by the people of New Hope.
Retiring to her chambers as the Sisters of New Hope discussed it amongst themselves and with the gathered villagers, the Abbess spoke about the intricate balance and weight of this decision with the Dawnlord and her people. Once a consensus was reached, the Abbess agreed, and spoke to the people.
Ultimately, the people of New Hope found themselves unable and unwilling to bear the burden such a request would levee upon their souls. It is no small thing to sign off on death. The Abbess gave voice to these sentiments as she laid out their purpose and their continued stance to not invoke the Marks of the land to pursue physical violence on their behalf. With that the crowd was dismissed and returned to their daily lives.
---
Summary: The Isle of New Hope gathered to discuss their continued place in an evolving world of violence, but ultimately decided to not lean upon the Ivory Mark or Targossas to settle disputes on their behalf.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Changelog: 08/01/2021 - 08/11/2021](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/12/changelog-08-01-2021-08-11-2021)
**Published:** August 12, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- Chopping hookshot tethers will now remove them properly.
- HELP DISCRIMINATORY LANGUAGE now exists as a reference for HELP LANGUAGE RULES.
- It is no longer possible to throw anything relating to artistry.
- Smudging Jera runes will no longer have a delayed impact on player health.
- It is no longer possible to educate dead mice.
- Nausea will no longer trigger deliverance.
- Icosse’s thrall should no longer confuse Paladin with Serpent.
- Dragon thrall in the Mirrortower should not be double mangling anymore.
- Loss of reputation on contract fail/timeout have been adjusted down somewhat.
- Special firecrackers will no longer display ASCII art for screenreader users.
- Ilsefi has no longer mysteriously acquired the custom shout for one of the Tsol’teth leaders.
- Experience for completing any non-newbie-area quest has been increased across the board by approximately 50%.
- Discord integration bot is now suitably flavourful.
- Identified and fixed a long-standing bug that increased dragon and elemental lord PvE damage significantly compared to other classes/races, as well as a small number of dragon abilities used against other players.
- The aforementioned zombies will also now chase and wander around much more slowly.
- Acidic ghouls now attack more slowly and should no longer error under certain circumstances.
- Undead rats will no longer deliver four afflictions simultaneously.
- Odious oozes will trigger their counterattack poison cloud far less often.
- The volume of afflictions delivered by odious oozes ahs been reduced.
- The health and damage of undead rats have been reduced by approximately 20%.
- The Tsol’dasi Battlelord will no longer parry and counter attackers when he is below 1/3 of his health. This should make the ‘damage race’ aspect more viable for groups without having to stop attacking him as the fight gets to its most dangerous point.
- The stacking timer between successive spider summonings on the Tsol’dasi Battlelord encounter has been slightly increased.
- Slightly reduced the area-wide bleeding from Sidhe hounds and Tsol’dasi archers should groups avoid melee with the respective bosses.
- Reduced the frequency at which Lacharhad will invoke the area-wide attack move when there are no players in melee with her.
- Dolodach will hurl attackers across the desert significantly less often.
- The frequency at which Dolodach will use an attack that also heals him has been reduced significantly.
- Dolodach’s health has been increased by approximately 25% but his attacking speed has been reduced by 50%. This should preserve his intended status as a ‘tank’ type denizen.
- Vathirr will now heal himself far less frequently.
- Vathirr’s health has been increased by approximately 15%.
- The afflictions required to trigger Vathirr’s instant kill have been altered from prone, entangled, and off balance to also require multiple broken limbs. This should now be far less punishing to deal with.
- The Voyage of Sight can no longer be completed by multiple ships and will now require the eye to be turned in for completion.
- Undead rats can now be targetted using the ‘undead’ keyword.
- Suraya’s needle and thread will no longer prematurely reset while attempting to sew Kosey’s ‘soul’ back on.
- Phinnis should no longer retain aggression between foray attempts.
- The Gate of Harae should no longer require an entire forest for repairs.
- Tlaiad’thir Silwenil huin-s-gun-ri’boora. Na’an’mala lier-sha.
- Gargantuan gore-spattered zombies will no longer combo stun with double leg breaks and prone.
- It is no longer possible to use the Ashaxei legenddeck card to or from Longclaw Isle.
- A mage of Moghedu will no longer prompt adventurers to travel into the inaccessible depths of the Lupine Hunting Grounds.
- Vathirr should no longer afflict with stupidity quite so often.
- Vathirr’s base attacking speed has been reduced and should now attack at the former standard speed when enraged.
- Patrick de Vermiis should no longer be entranced in a lament that has broken off.
- Denizens on Tuar should now be more responsive when given items they don’t specifically want.
- Balam Agab has concluded negotiations with the Quisalis Mark and will no longer seek out Ivory Champions to take his contracts.
- Rotting monstrosities will now attack slightly more slowly.
- The damage output of gore-spattered zombies has been reduced by approximately 10%.
- Acidic ghouls should now spawn less commonly over the other undead in the Underworld.
- Odious oozes are no longer dealing unintended bonus damage.
- Gargantuan gore-spattered zombies will now attack slightly more slowly.
- Gobbets of flesh will now properly drop from relevant monsters in the Underworld to progress the appropriate quests.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [Official Achaean Discord!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/10/official-achaean-discord)
**Published:** August 10, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We are pleased to announce the opening of our shiny, brand-new official Discord server! We’d like to go over some of our reasoning and expectations, but if you just want to join and read the rules there, here’s the link: <https://discord.gg/2v2upFTj8G>
The past few years, Discord has increasingly become the place where gaming communities converge. Forums are generally less popular than they once were, and that’s without even mentioning some of the REALLY old Achaea community sites (Yahoo! groups, anyone?).
This means that new players will often look towards Discord as their first step in becoming a part of a new game’s community and this, in turn, means that we have a responsibility to make sure this first stop is a bright, welcoming one.
While we are not interested in censoring people, a lack of moderation tends to bring out the worst in people behind the shields of internet anonymity. Ensuring a healthy atmosphere both encourages better relations between players on an OOC level and makes it so our staff and volunteers are more comfortable participating in the conversation(though please refer to rule #10 and don’t try to use Discord as a way to demand an official response). We are sure you would all like to hear Sartan’s opinions on the best pizza toppings now and then (probably the blood of your enemies).
To encourage some level of accountability, along with preventing random trolls so common on any part of the Internet, you will only have reduced permissions upon first joining. Refer to the #welcome channel in the server for instructions on how to verify your character. No need to worry, you do not need to out your current character if your handle is associated with an older one, you can manually ISSUE ME asking for one of your alternate characters to be associated with your account instead if it is inaccessible.
Please enjoy yourselves in this new server, and if you ever felt like the more ‘wild west’ style of unofficial communities was a little much for you, we hope that this will be a more pleasant avenue for you to communicate with the community. Do not hesitate to reach out to our Discord community manager in the server (Tlalaiad!) if things get out of hand, but bear in mind it is not our intention to be overbearing, either.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [August in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/08/01/august-in-achaea)
**Published:** August 1, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For August we are bringing back Globes of Shifting Continents! Find yours via [www.achaea.com/credits!](http://www.achaea.com/credits)
These contain a variety of prizes upon being opened, including:
- Credits.
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the marks, cities, and monks sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations or trait resets if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means
\*\* You will not receive additional tradeskill slots if you have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case.
In both above instances, you’ll receive a different prize instead.
In addition, every 500th(\*) globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: in this case being an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe.
Globe purchases also award city and house credits!
Keep your eyes peeled on UPCOMING as we will soon be starting to schedule out events for Achaea’s 24th anniversary which includes an updated return of Lord Adryn’s games and a Capture the Flag to name but two!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Changelog: 07/06/2021 - 07/10/2021](https://www.achaea.com/2021/07/11/changelog-07-06-2021-07-10-2021)
**Published:** July 11, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- Bitterfork is now in the quest system.
- Dryad of the Gardens health reduced by approximately 40% in the Reckoning of Titania.
- Reinna, Houndmaster of Annwyn will now properly summon hounds when first engaged.
- The cavities referred to throughout the Caverns of Kkractle can now be interacted with as such, not only as ‘holes’ in the wall.
- The exorbitant experience and gold bonuses to Aran’kesh, Borgron, and Icosse carried over from a previous Great Hunt have now been reverted to normal parameters.
- Experience and gold gains for all Reckoning Forays increased to be more commensurate with their enhanced difficulty.
- Icosse will now leave behind a corpse in the main tower room where the thrall is fought. This allows it to be offered or utilised for the moppet talisman.
- Tsol’dasi Battlelord will no longer give cracked ribs, and will now strip a defence instead of repeatedly entangling everyone in the location.
- The minimum group size for the Darkenwood Barrow foray has been increased to 3.
- The Tsol’dasi battlelord is now less punishing the first time a target hits his parry, but will be far more punitive on the second hit prior to the instant kill on the third.
- Otryn has returned to Thraasi harbour and his voyage is once again available. The ship used for ferrying him around WILL need to be in the corresponding harbour in order to progress each stage, and crew will need to all be present at each destination point. Please report any issues immediately at risk of wrath!
- Clockwork harbour’s maximum ship capacity has been significantly increased.
- Defeating Vulkuz or any of the Reckoning memory bosses will now award an honours line to the person who scores the killing blow.
- Rovalamm now deals cold damage type instead of unblockable damage type.
- To account for the change in damage type, Rovalamm now attacks approximately 30% faster. This is doubled when at low health (and thus enraged).
- It is no longer possible to teleport into the location where Sycaerunax concludes the dragon ceremony via most methods.
- Changed drop rate math for hunting and questing talisman drop rates. Low and moderate tier pieces will be unaffected. High-end pieces will no longer take 1.416 quadrillion mob kills on average to generate a particular piece.
- Icosse’s thrall when in Psion mode no longer dual-classes as a Shaman. Oops.
- Wailing ghosts are now able to fly.
- Reinna, Lacharhad, and the Tsol’dasi Battlelord have learned how to use tentacle tattoos.
- Aigra’s final method of overhealing beyond max health should finally be resolved.
- Aigra will now emerge properly after diving even if her original target has fled to the skies or land.
- Weakening Fafnir will no longer cause him to remain above maximum health.
- It is no longer possible to cheese Aigra’s stomach mechanic via use of summoning or most forms of magical teleportation.
- Mysia’s harbour capacity has been expanded from 15 to 25 ships at any one time.
- The Tsol’dasi Battlelord will now more clearly indicate when his fixate ends, and should now leave a few seconds of free time between it ending and him selecting a new target.
- Genji is now integrated into the quest system (and has a new quest)!
- Sparrow’s Rest is now integrated into the quest system.
- The Ministers of the Air Plane (don’t call me Shirley) will no longer prompt people who have defected away from air to visit Siarde for a Prime Minister appointment.
- The timer of the Margam foray has been increased by 5 minutes.
- Greater Elementals now have appropriate damage resistances.
- TALISMAN TRADE PIECE will no longer fail when trading one piece for another.
- UseDash and Xterm256 will no longer be hidden for some players on the CONFIG display.
- Duplicate adventures for jack in the box kills and heartseed kills have been removed.
- Gloves of extraction and strength gauntlets should no longer conflict when being worn.
- Worldburn will no longer have a blank line instead of a deathsight for some orders.
- Icosse will no longer drop gold into her room, in addition to the gold rewarded upon a successful kill.
- LHG has been removed as a suggestion from AREAS.
- GLIDE should no longer conflict with other DASH commands while flying and using WALK TO.
- The (extremely) ongoing affair between a king and his century-long deceased lover has finally come to an end. His wife is still not happy.
- Fixed a scaling issue that caused some high end mobs to be worth far, far more experience than intended (up to 900% more experience than was expected). This will primarily affect a large number of unique, named denizens, as well as most creatures from the elemental planes, some creatures from the fissure of echoes, and a smattering of foray denizens.
- Venom vials will now refill from your rift when emptied via Memorium Transpose.
- Golgotha pacts will no longer randomly disappear.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [Changelog: 06/27/2021 - 07/02/2021](https://www.achaea.com/2021/07/05/changelog-06-27-2021-07-02-2021)
**Published:** July 5, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- Eirenwaar is now in the quest system.
- Whirling dervishes are now susceptible to critical hits.
- Kemnast’s disembowel attack is now unblockable damage type, not cutting, as intended.
- Numerous denizens found on the World Tree are now susceptible to critical hits- this includes most, but not all named denizens in the Elemental Planes.
- The frozen steppes is now welcoming usage of emotes again and will no longer block ALL emotes without feedback given to the player.
- The splinters obtained while pursuing Orshuu’s questline can now be picked up again when dropped if you are eligible.
- Orshuu’s splinters will now persist longer before disappearing.
- Numerous adjustments made to Underworld denizens, particularly attacks, speed, and frequency of spawn in the open-ended areas.
- Apparitions in Bolgukova fortress have undergone a significant change pending the return of Prioska should she find herself dislodged from power.
- Foreau is no longer susceptible to critical hits, consistent with the other deputies inhabiting the fortresses of the Underworld
- It is no longer possible to avoid quicksand by evading.
- The ancient astrolabe will now reset much more quickly than before.
- The Shaman version of Icosse’s thrall will no longer repeatedly afflict impatience on those who already have it and instead will properly advance lock afflictions as intended.
- It should no longer be possible to shield infinitely against Icosse’s thrall and nullify all danger in the encounter.
- It is no longer possible to take Coterie guards above the main area through the clouds, or march Vault guards into Dolodach’s room- this is consistent with similar limitations on taking Fire/Water guards into Titan rooms.
- Soldiers of Osterrych no longer instantly transfix past blindness- they will instead deliver confusion and unblind, transfixing only if their target is not blind.
- Kemnast and Gerzson forces now all wander at differing speeds to minimise risk of clumping.
- Prioska no longer wanders around the entire Underworld murdering unsuspecting hunters.
- Wandering Death Knights no longer instantly kill crippled targets- this ability is reserved for static death knights in their respective fortress.
- Soldiers of Osterrych no longer repeatedly deliver concussion and will instead prep the head and build towards a mangle.
- Death Knights and Commanders are now uncommon spawns vs the Colonels, Soldiers, and Liches that are more frequent.
- Cetan are no longer restricted to the Alcazar area designation and will chase attackers all over the Water Plane with extreme prejudice if you attempt to brazier/adduct/etc kill them.
- Nora’s miscellaneous possessions now reset across New Thera far more frequently to prevent issues.
- It is now possible to ask the various denizens involved in Orshuu’s quest for their splinters back, provided you have completed their quest and are currently on the main finale quest (and as long as they actually have the splinter available).
- Various improvements have been made to the reset times of Clockwork Isle quest items.
- Olga is now somewhat more forgiving of people giving her drinks without the requisite quest.
- Carved tokens from Hthrak can no longer be used in arenas, and also now require you to be at full health, on balance, on equilibrium, not prone, and with no broken limbs.
- Hessna’s quest is now fully functional.
- Radak’s mysteriously missing quest for diplomatic immunity is now fully operational.
- Powering Khepera’s contraption is now functioning properly (quest #566).
- Lacharhad’s darkfire bomb now allows the player more time to flee to prevent exploding their friends, and the ability itself now incurs a longer cooldown period between uses to make this encounter more manageable.
- Health of ghosts and slimes spawned by Patrick de Vermiis has been reduced by approximately 30% and 10% respectively.
- Armoured gamling spider (Pryla’ari foray) health reduced by approximately 50%.
- When fighting the Tsol’dasi Battlelord (Pryla’ari foray), there is now a longer period of time between uses of his parry/counter mechanic.
- Enhanted faehounds in the Titania foray now adhere to the proper grievous\_wounds affliction, previously these were using a former implementation rendering them incurable (sorry about this!).
- Health, attack speed, and damage of enchanted faehounds reduced.
- Disarming the snake trap in the Darkenwood Barrow foray will now properly free players who are trapped, as intended.
- Evading will now trigger the snake trap in the Darkenwood Barrow foray.
- Ogre brutes in the Fortress foray can now be targetted as brute in addition to the standard ‘ogre’.
- Combination attacks against Aran’kesh and Horald can no longer proc multiple gusts/throws that move the attacking player several times in one balance.
- Experience and gold gained from slaying greater treemites in the Stone Forest has been increased.
- Alchemical assistant golems will now properly receive tells in order to activate or deactivate their wandering status (via WANDER ON/WANDER OFF respectively).
- Jeffrey Hurry’s keys will now persist for much longer after he dies, preventing them from instantly resetting before the chests on his ship can be unlocked.
- Coils of tentacles from the kraken voyage will now decay in stockrooms as intended.
- Kraken soup is no longer on permanent sale and is available only for the remainder of the month during which the kraken is slain.
- It is no longer possible to bypass the requirements for the Voyage of Sight by asking the harbourmaster directly about Talim. The requesting captain must now have completed the Cursed, Pangolin’s, Indebted, and Surgeon’s voyages, and Maya’s Sundered Pearl must be in the same associated region as the harbourmaster himself, as intended.
- Completing the Fog-wreathed Voyage will now award talismans and full gold only to crew who have completed the full set of Talim’s voyages (Cursed, Surgeon, Indebted, Pangolin’s). Crew who have not completed these will receive less gold and no talisman pieces.
- Ageiro is now fully integrated into the quest system. Please report any issues.
- The book of rituals required by Shanta and occasionally Cheska is now available once again.
- Icosse’s thrall now has a proper Psion attack set. Pariah soon ™!
- HELP RACES TALISMANS now exists.
- The archers of Istarion in the Tsol’dasi Battlelord encounter will now properly fire on the foray area and not the entirety of the Istar Jungle.
- Yuthka can no longer be easily killed by abusing area boundaries to prevent chasing. You will now need to actually weaken her to slay her, as intended.
- Franz has enjoyed good health for far too long. His days of never getting sick are over.
- Lolath and Aline should now be more willing to share their respective quests provided the required items are actually available for use.
- After an inordinate amount of time, Silpat has recovered her lost wooden spoon and now correctly offers her additional quest.
- Following suit with Lolath and Aline, Kisheth should now also be willing to assist in quests.
- Denod and Radlar can now be BECKONed to make them follow you. Functionally this means quest 749 can now be completed.
- Hycanthus will now arrive at the correct location when he travels to Ageiro.
- The chance for Vulkuz to trap someone in his sarcophagus now scales with group size.
- Vulkuz now triggers traps somewhat less frequently.
- Gnral’s lost amulet can now be recovered from the appropriate ursu, making quest 805 functional again.
- Saldesari is once again responsive.
- Gold from killing Icosse will now go directly into the killer’s hands with or without a Prosperian attractor.
- Aigra should no longer get stuck in ‘diving’ mode and should emerge after a few seconds as normal.
- Harbourmasters and dockworkers are now immune to critical hits, making it less trivial (but still possible, by design) to slay one in an effort to disrupt a voyage introduction.
- A drowsy fisherman of Luman should now accept help from another villager in fixing his broken fishing pole
- Completing quest 853 now actually awards experience after a long-standing vendetta with the milling lever has been resolved.
- Luman Village is now in the quest system. Please report any issues.
- Soldiers of Osterrych will prep the head a little slower to prevent combinations of denizens resulting in permanent concussions.
- Death Knight Commanders now deliver a single mending break and cracked ribs instead of multiple mending breaks simultaneously.
- Aigra will no longer overheal herself beyond maximum health.
- Moldova fortress is now populated with grotesque experiments in addition to researchers and ghosts- this should ensure there are plenty of things to murder in order to keep Asztrik and Prioska out of power.
- Cowled researchers now properly contribute to the Underworld political scoring.
- Health of Icosse (boss, not thrall) reduced by approximately 15% to reduce time spent waiting in this encounter.
- Takesh now offers a formal quest instead of unofficial tasks.
- The staring moppet talisman can now properly be used against Reckoning Foray boss corpses.
- The staring moppet now requires you to be able to move freely, and can no longer be used on any plane other than the Prime.
- The windup time for Ra’mah’s pounce/fixate special attack has been extended from 5 seconds to 8, this should allow for more consistent escapes if you are unlucky and already afflicted.
- To compensate for the increased wind up time on Ra’mah’s special move, it will now stun everyone in the location on top of its damage/bleeding if the mechanic is failed.
- Ra’mah will now properly hide when he periodically runs away to recover from his wounds.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [July in Achaea + Raffle Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/07/04/july-in-achaea-raffle-results)
**Published:** July 4, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
July is now upon us and that means 2021 is now officially halfway over already. Time flies!
As we say goodbye to dice (they’ll be back!), we have two concurrent promotions on offer for July:
Firstly, a 30% bonus to all credit purchases will be in effect, this stacks with Iron Elite for 40% more credits!
In addition to that, talisman pieces are available directly from the Achaea website ([www.achaea.com/credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits)) in batches of 1, 5, 10, 15, and 30, and the sets on offer for July are ELEMENTAL, INVASION, RACES, and RENEGADES! Get these while you can, as we may rotate the sets later in the month!
Every 10 pieces purchased awards a bonus piece guaranteed to be of high value, and direct purchases of talisman pieces now also rewards house and city credits!
As ever, everything can be found on the Achaea website via [www.achaea.com/credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits).
Looking forward, we have a number of plans in the works for this month. For those with a penchant for lore and history, it may be particularly exciting! And as the year goes on, Achaea’s 24th birthday looms as well as Mayaween and Logosmas to come in the not so distant future. Expect a busy second half of the year!
The results of June’s raffle will be drawn and announced in my next post.
Enjoy!
---
Additionally:
June’s raffle has now been drawn (yes, we actually drew it on time)!
Congratulations to **ARANOS** and **ERYL** who both win a shattered token, allowing them to claim one talisman piece of their choosing from any of the available sets!
All other raffle tickets have been converted to 2 bound credits!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Underworld update!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/06/30/underworld-update)
**Published:** June 30, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just completed a fairly significant (and long overdue!) rewrite of the Underworld politics system, and forced an evaluation which has resulted in Gerzson and Kemnast taking over the throne temporarily and dislodging Prioska and Asztrik.
Scores have all been zeroed and a full rebalancing of points and tallies behind the scenes now means that rotating the Vice-Royals in and out is fully functional and much easier to achieve than the (admittedly non functional) former setup.
Going forward, scores will now properly be assessed every 3 years on 1st Sarapin and the dominant faction in that 3 year period will ascend to the throne and their forces will be redeployed to the main areas (Damienne, Shtlenii, Anthrish, Abhal, Unsguul, and Tenunigick).
As this is the first time the swap has happened since the Underworld rework, there are likely to be some tuning problems with the new denizens roaming around these main areas. I’ll be keeping an eye on them but if anything seems particularly egregious, file a bug with your feedback and I’ll look into it ASAP.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Assault on the Heartwood Kin!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/06/28/assault-on-the-heartwood-kin)
**Published:** June 28, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
**I. Going South**
Prostrated before the assembly of Seers, Axil listened as she received her orders.
She did not relish the necessary trip south, but her duty to the Bounty demanded it. Famine and a lack of victory had instilled a fear in her people. The remaining Seers decreed that the missing Fifth was at fault, though some of the men quietly asked why he was sent away in the first place if this was true. She would deal with their impudence at a later date. Now, she had more important matters clouding her mind.
He had found his way into a small community of forest dwellers. Her scouts reported they were similar to the Aalen Tsol’aa, though they partook in modern comforts that plagued most of the people south of Her domain. They were soft, though soft bellies made for easy targets.
Following their clumsy trails near Her border, Axil tracked some of their members to the butcher, Olnix. Not intelligent enough to truly register pain, it took her quite a while to crack him, but he eventually broke. They always do.
She had names and a place: Aelyn Le’Yuet, Vinceres Ebonheart, and the Heartwood Kin. Silently, she began to question the wisdom of the Seers in their belief that this task would be arduous. She had encountered more difficulty in tracing the movement of hares.
With the brother of the Fifth in tow, she began her journey towards the south. She was certain he would not come willingly, as he was always prone to indulgence in the north. Life amongst the soft-bellied would only entice him further. No, she would have to drag him back.
She could smell his scent upon the air as she entered the Eastern Ithmia, but there was more besides. Eyes closed, she thrust her birthright into the loose soil at her feet and expanded her influence, the towering trees freezing and allowing a pathway for her authority to reach towards the south.
Her senses indicated there were far more soft bellies than she had anticipated. Their lives of luxury and wealth provided the ability to procreate and expand at their leisure, while her people could barely sustain the elderly and what few children the ice could provide. Their laughter drifted through the warm, inviting forest, the lilting melodies combining with birdsong to create a cacophony that made Axil sick to her stomach.
She despised them.
Milky eyes of startling white darting open, Axil, Alpha Headhunter of the Raven motioned for the Seer’s brother to begin, and they marched upon the Village of Eleusis.
**II. For the Winter**
Elias the Gatekeeper could feel them before he saw them – an unbearable cold and a weight of spirit he had not experienced in some years.
As he turned towards the north, blackness enveloped his senses as he fell to the earth, dead.
Axil and Ogwin carved a red streak through the Village of Eleusis, slaughtering anyone and anything in their path. Their target was the Rowan, and they could allow nothing to stand in their way.
The guards they encountered relied on numbers, but Axil and Ogwin were specifically equipped to deal with this threat. Utilising Axil’s famed thornspray and Ogwin’s fulmination spheres, they made quick work of anyone they encountered. Still, they had difficulty staving off the lone attacks of Ipomoea, her darting teeth and claws nipping at them from behind before quickly disappearing. Luckily, she was alone, and safe to ignore for now. There was little time to waste.
Arriving before the Rowan, they unleashed a barrage at its base. The tree rang under the assault, as all of Eleusis shivered, and a small crack forming at its base. Their victory was almost certain once they were able to overwhelm the feeble defenses within the Heartwood Estate proper.
Just then, a contingent of Eleusians and their allies descended upon them. Ogwin roared in delight and rage, for his fellow Headhunters would envy the tales of this slaughter, and yet the opposing force just would not stay dead. Score after score fell to Axil and Ogwin. But there were always more.
The carnage from their foes’ deaths proved to be a disastrous disadvantage for the Raven Tribe, as their thorns and spheres had difficulty navigating the strewn flesh and viscera left in their wake.
Finally, Faedwyn Winterhart landed a glancing blow into Axil’s side. She could barely feel the pain, before she realised she had lost a hold of her spear. This is what bound her existence, and as it clattered to the floor so too did the shattered remnants of Axil, Alpha Headhunter, her body exploding into shards of bloodied ice.
Alone, Ogwin was quickly overwhelmed by the vastly superior numbers, his spheres weakened by exhaustion and numerous wounds, and he too eventually fell by the hand of Ipomoea.
A roar of triumph resounded throughout the thawing trees of the Eastern Ithmia as the Heartwood Estate was made safe from invasion.
\~\~~~~
Summary: Axil, Alpha Headhunter and Ogwin the Headhunter marched south towards the Heartwood Estate within the Village of Eleusis at the behest of their Tribe’s leadership, their ultimate goal being the retrieval of a exiled Seer that had found his way there.
Axil and Ogwin descended upon Eleusis, slaying countless people in their trek towards the Heartwood Estate. After attacking the Estate itself, both were eventually overwhelmed by the assembled Eleusian force, and the Estate was saved.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Of Stars and Aldar](https://www.achaea.com/2021/06/27/of-stars-and-aldar)
**Published:** June 27, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
**I. The First Mistake**
Eons ago, in the aftermath of the War of Humanity, judgement was passed upon a rogue Aldar, and a sentence of unending servitude begun. Bound for eternity to the Goddess Lorielan, with She as much his prisoner as he Hers, the Aldar’s descent from truculence, to bitterness, to misery, depression, and a burning longing for a death denied by Logosian decree, was inevitable and absolute.
In the modern day, legends of the Aldar’s magnificence persist- their legacy of peerless craftsmanship, wonders of magic, marvels of science, technology, and tales of a golden age unmatched by any that followed was enough to rouse even the most cynical and jaded of adventurers to awe and fascination.
Eurice Al’Jafri was neither. Bewitched by stories of the Firstborn and driven by a desperation to advance her Psionic craft, she craved a living, breathing Aldar as a tutor. Unable to reach Han-Tolneth in the Parthren Gare, she instead travelled to Siorraidh, in search of the last remaining Aldar on the prime: the tortured, miserable figure of Han-Silnar.
Proving herself through a series of tests relayed through ancient forms of communication, Eurice’s excitement and interest rose to a fevered pitch as she contemplated grand designs, dreamed of wielding incredible power, and perhaps – if she let her mind wander far enough – fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Caymus himself.
Noticing the disturbances of her prisoner, the Jade Empress paid a personal visit to Eurice, warning her of Han-Silnar’s lone desire: for death, by any means, at any cost.
The Lady’s words were mirrored by the advice of the Dark Father, who counselled the importance of informed choices, and actions based on accurate information.
They would fall on deaf ears.
II. **The Mace of Dawn Illoriel**
Since its founding, the City of Hashan has rested above the remnants of an ancient star – a Protean star, said to contain a tithe of the very Creator’s power within its latent core. Mere trickles of that power have been set free upon the world in the art of Sublimation; vast reserves still lingered, deep beneath the earth, awaiting only a catalyst.
Twice the Dark Father attempted to create such a catalyst, and twice He failed. First ancient Noxtra, felled by the machinations of Slith then nascent Nurazar, too catastrophic and dangerous to survive in the heavens. And thus He sought something other: the star of a sun.
Countless relics were lost when Shallam sank beneath the waves, among them, an ornately inscribed silver mace, once held by the Priestess Dawn Illoriel: she who would later ascend as Mithraea.
Retrieved from the depths by persons unknown, the hallowed weapon was acquired by a mysterious man named Khedu and offered for sale to Targossas by his associate, a merchant of questionable integrity known as Aogail. Whether through scepticism or paucity, the Dawnspear refused to meet Aogail’s price, and the merchant disappeared into obscurity once more.
The fate of Dawn’s mace was unknown until the year 856, when Aogail reappeared on the streets of Hashan, ostensibly as part of a merchant contingent offering foliage samples for the in-progress Dicondron Academy science facility. In a quiet meeting of the Regency, the price was set and the mace traded hands. Atop the Obelisk of Darkness it sat, bound by magical enchantment as the priests of Twilight sought to unravel its power and turn it to their own purpose.
For years did the Order of Darkness toil to enact their plan: to empower themselves and wield the mace to command the eight-pointed constellation, the starry symbol of Mithraea Herself.
Han-Silnar, however, had other ideas.
**III. Release the Hounds**
Satisfied that she would serve as his instrument, Han-Silnar coaxed Eurice into visiting his grove in the ancient City of Nur. All the while, illusions of a young girl playing with a doll consumed her mind, strange clues left in the passing of each imaginary vision.
Following his clues without caution as she always had thus far, Eurice completed the pattern and broke the code, a gauntlet of magnificent craftsmanship and immense power manifesting within the abandoned atelier. The Aldar stroked her ego and fed her hubris, urging her to claim what he described as hers- to put it on, to take her turn, and while the young human woman attempted to ignore its beckoning urges, she found the temptation beyond her to resist.
Having donned the gauntlet and proceeded to her own version of a grove – the subterranean greenhouses in the Dicondron Academy, Eurice heeded Han-Silnar’s plea, turning the gauntlet around her wrist in an effort to invoke its power. Four times she did this, each attempt at the weave silently drawing her across the area, until she found herself atop the Obelisk of Darkness, aglow in power that was not hers, caught in a plan not of her making, wielding a weapon that was not of her weaving.
The Mace of Dawn resonated with the Aldar gauntlet, itself a Well of power borrowed from Saar-elan. As Eurice’s hands closed involuntarily about its handle, pillars of light soared into the heavens, while Eurice’s heart and stomach utterly sank.
Reduced to an observer in her own mind, the mocking voice of Han-Silnar at last revealed his deceit. The eight-pointed star came forth, called by Dawn’s holy weapon, and the Aldar wove Origination through his puppet, wielding the power to create in an act of destruction as the topmost star split free of its celestial brethren and began to fall.
Shouts of doom filled the air from a frenzied cleric while the loosed sun-star descended through the firmament, rapidly becoming supernova. Three worlds felt the passage of the heavenly body across their surface, all life incinerated in a momentary conflagration. Achaea would be the fourth.
Enraged by the premature calling of Mithraea’s constellation, the Dark God seized the weapon from the hands of Eurice and rallied His order to action in an attempt to salvage the disaster wrought by a bitter Aldar and his naive pawn. As one, the Darkwalkers convened atop the apex of the Dark Obelisk, divesting all their acquired power into Twilight’s twin hounds before expending decades of hoarded essence to raise Farrah Roualt as an Avatar of Darkness.
The Avatar, supported by the Dark Family, turned her eyes on the shadow hounds, Twilight’s most ancient servants, bringing them under her control. With a whispered command, the order to hunt was given, and twin shadows eclipsed even the light of the falling star as Daybreak and Nightfall sprinted into the heavens to give chase.
The Jaws of Night closed around the cascading radiance of the sun-star, devouring its light and consuming its fire, scattering its shards across the bleak landcsape of the Shadow Realm with each rapacious bite. Tirelessly the hounds feasted, until mere remnants of what once was the north star in the sun constellation remained. Exhausted, Daybreak and Nightfall retreated, a shower of meteoric shrapnel the herald of their departure to Athuin as the heavens returned to normal.
Shadows then boiled over the Shamtota Hills, the cowled figure of Twilight descending upon Siorraidh in search of Han-Silnar. Lorielan’s clarion tones rose to meet His whispered threat: the Aldar was beyond the reach of Darkness, taken to the Crystal Realm. His grand plan of death-by-deity had been thwarted, but so too had Twilight’s.
The Sundered Star now sits in Achaea’s heavens, irrevocably altered, as the Order of Darkness and the City of Hashan scramble to regather what was lost.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
**Summary:**
Through the machinations of Han-Silnar, Eurice Al’Jafri was deceived into using the star-forges of Creation to visit unimaginable destruction upon the world of Achaea. Tearing free the apex of the Mithraean constellation from its seat in the heavens, despite the efforts of Han-Tolneth and Sycaerunax the sun-turned-supernova began an inevitable descent.
Yet while the devastation was turned elsewhere before reaching the planet through the efforts of Twilight, the renegade Aldar known alternately as the Pawn, or the Condemned, found himself once more exiled to the Crystal Realm of the Jade Empress, Lorielan.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Great Hunt Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/06/21/great-hunt-results-2)
**Published:** June 21, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Great Hunt is now concluded, after a relentless 24 hours of hunting!
Our congratulations go out to Novak, Azram, and Onarox, the winners in their tiers claiming the grand prize of five hundred credits each!
The top ten in each tier have also been awarded credit prizes!
| Rank | Sub-80 | Sub-99 | Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Onarox | Azram | Novak |
| 2 | Lennox | Ziora | Veldrin |
| 3 | Iorin | Caladbolg | Faedwyn |
| 4 | Twyste | Darkonis | Zulah |
| 5 | Evacea | Miceal | Austere |
| 6 | Honora | Warryn | Proficy |
| 7 | Vei | Ficus | Satum |
| 8 | Jezhryth | Jazmin | Mezghar |
| 9 | Avare | Jrue | Kest |
| 10 | Oriklad | Mauk | Agramon |
Well done to all who participated!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [June in Achaea: Introducing Polymegahedral Dice!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/06/02/june-in-achaea-introducing-polymegahedral-dice)
**Published:** June 2, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the duration of June these promotional dice can be bought singly, or in groups of 5, 10, 25, or 50, each group with an increased discount. These purchases also award House and City credits, and for Iron Elite members, every 10 you purchase grants you an extra die!
You can roll up to five dice at one time.
DICE ROLL \[number of dice to roll (defaults to 1 if unspecified)\]
For each two dice rolled in combination in this way you will receive 1 racetrack ticket (so 1 ticket if you roll 2 or 3 in combination, 2 tickets if you roll 4). There is a bonus for rolling all 5 together, so you will receive 3 racetrack tickets if you roll 5 dice together. Each dice rolled (alone or with other dice) also awards you with 1 raffle ticket\*.
Dice currently have six sides. The prizes for each side are as follows (and yes, these dice are weighted).
1: Credits (between 30 and 50).
2: Interlocked caches (blackwave, death, and conclave).
On cache open Death set always gives 2 pieces, Blackwave and Conclave sets have a 25% chance to give a second piece.
3: Legend Deck card sleeves
4: 1 or 2 Mayan crowns
5: 50 to 80 customisation credits
6: One of: a silver giftbox, a golden giftbox, a bronze giftbox, or 100 credits.
Every 500 dice rolled (gamewide), the lucky roller will also receive 500 credits on top of their standard prizes.
There is a very small chance for a particularly lucky dice to land on its corner. This dice will pay out a platinum giftbox instead of its standard prize!
All of these credits for the above prizes are unbound.
We will also be holding a double XP weekend over the weekend of the 19th and a 24 hour Great Hunt on the 19th!
(\*) Raffle tickets will be drawn at the start of July and the first two tickets out will receive a shattered token. This can be exchanged for ANY talisman piece of your choosing! Any non-winning tickets will be converted to bound credits, 2 per ticket.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Balance updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/05/27/balance-updates)
**Published:** May 27, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The first batch of classleads from the last round are now live. Here are the details:
## Aeonics
- PARADOX boosted cost reduced by 50 years.
- DETERIORATE boosted cost reduced by 50 years.
## Charnel
- STILL’s communication threshold has been changed from three seconds to four.
- AWAKEN’s effect now conveys a chance to prematurely detonate bombs when being thrown into the sandstorm’s room from adjacent, similar to firewalls.
- CRUSH TRAP now has a deathsight.
## Devotion
- The number of required faithful in a RITE OF PRAYER has been reduced from seven to six.
## Domination
- Fixed various bugs with mass summoning entities: primarily pathfinders no longer should be summonable in situations they were not before mass summoning went in, and there is no longer a workaround which allows you to remove the eq cost on mass summon when summoning in certain rooms with pathfinder as the last entity in your list. I don’t think anyone found this, but it was fairly obscure.
- You can now prepend/append swift to a single or list of entities to summon. This summons them with a karma cost instead of an equilibrium cost (for each entity). Certain entities cannot be summoned in this way: GOLGOTHA, XENOPHAGE, PIRIDON, and ISTRIA. Entities summoned in this way will not attack passively for ten seconds, though may still be commanded to attack actively.
## Emulation
- LIFEBOND can no longer be forced.
## Groves
- GROVE LIGHTNING has had its damage increased. Its not back to where it was before the last nerf, but it is now more on par with other similar abilities.
- WILDGROWTH now has a chance to fire against elevation changes.
## Ignition
- COMET is now a line of sight attack rather than adjacent only.
- Comet now bypasses shield, but does not break it.
## Memorium
- WRACK now does more damage for each plague that is present upon a target.
- You may now CRUX CLEANSE to clean your knife of blood.
- SANGUINEHAND now fires on WRACKs that the target survives (against players only, naturally).
- WRACK now has a deathsight.
## Metamorphosis
- STAMPEDE now loses the user’s entourage upon initiation.
## Necromancy
- SCREECH now incurs 1.5 seconds more equilibrium when used off balance compared to when on balance and can only impact a person once every fifteen seconds. I might revisit this if this solution does not pan out as the ability is rather problematic, but between that and the undeaf requirement I believe this should make it a little easier to mitigate.
## Pestilence
- SCOURGE now has a deathsight.
## Pranks
- TIMERS have had their inaccuracy made less extreme.
## Psionics
- LINK can no longer be forced.
## Reclamation
- Network wide SMOTHER now indicates how many fires were put out to the caster.
## Spirituality
- JUDGEMENT is now two seconds faster against a target afflicted with justice upon its initiation.
## Sublimation
- SOLAR and SENSITIVITY bonuses previously did not stack. They still don’t stack in the traditional sense, but when both are present the sensitive bonus is increased more than normal (33% to 40%).
## Tarot
- TOWER no longer doubles up rubble on directions that already have rubble.
## Twoarts
- MULTISLASH now bypasses the shield of absorption and similar against a prone target.
## Weaponmastery
- (Two Handed): torn tendons no longer stacks with traditional room hinders.
## Weatherweaving
- FULMINATION can now be summoned at any elevation.
## Weaving
- MIRIADS will now utilise FLURRY as you would expect.
- You may now append INDOMITABLE to your rally to raise this defence as a part of your inspiring cry.
## Woodlore
- ENRAGE now indicates when you may enrage again.
- You may now ASSEMBLE traps in duels to the death in the arena.
## Zeal
- GUILT will no longer give back the affliction the focus cured.
## Misc
- HUSKMAKER has had its stats adjusted to be in line with a level three artefact spear.
- HUSKMAKER now actually respects having a spear proficiency, so should no longer make you question where it all went so wrong whenever you try to use it as a weapon.
- Checks that modify how various abilities function if a necromancer is in the room no longer accept blackwinded necromancers as valid.
- Moving constable guards will now charge active tanks during a sanctioned raid. The first five guards to a lesser extent than ones passed that point. Note: this includes hiring, and is determined on initiation rather than success. Failure to move guards -does- count.
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Become a God!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/05/15/become-a-god)
**Published:** May 15, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Do you ever wish you could help shape Achaea?
Do you secretly desire to take on more of a “dungeonmaster” role, designing elaborate plots and scenarios to challenge and amaze (and occasionally slaughter) adventurers?
Do you like the idea of building devious quests, creating horrifying monsters, and shaping interactive landscapes?
If you answer “YES!” to any of the above, this is your chance!
We’re currently accepting applications for one Celani. Unlike previous calls, on this occasion we have only one spot available.
We’re seeking an excited volunteer who is interested in roleplay both grand and small, storyline conception, event creation, and/or background development.
To be a great Celani you need to be self-motivated, enthusiastic, enjoy being creative, excited to embrace a challenge, and not be afraid of interacting with other players. Ultimately, as this is a community volunteer position, what you do and when is up to you, but being able to follow through on the plans you make is very appreciated.
The successful applicant will undergo our most basic Celani training, after which they will be able to decide what direction to take with their training in order to become an exciting and productive member of the Garden team!
In order to apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must be 18 years or older IRL. Sorry, minors!
- You must have, at absolute minimum, at least 500 hours of playing time.
- Have read HELP CELANI in full.
Now, here’s what you must include in your application, in a plain-text, non-formatted email to celani@achaea.com:
1. Your real name.
2. Your real age.
3. If you are primarily a student, tell us your school and your course of study. Otherwise: your real occupation and your company’s name.
4. Your character(s) in Achaea and what you have accomplished through those characters, especially any leadership positions you have held or other noteworthy achievements.
5. Why you think we should make you a Celani (keeping in mind that Celanihood normally precedes Godhood, so also why you think you should have the chance to be a God if that’s the route you want to take.)
6. Why you want to do this, knowing that you will have to completely cut off ties with other (mortal) players and leave behind all that you accomplished as a mortal player.
The above point is perhaps the most important of all when considering becoming Celani. Potential applicants should seriously consider their ability to detach from existing social networks and establish new ones in a different environment.
7. Two flawless room or denizen descriptions of 80+ words each. Please be sure to have read HELP MORTAL BUILDERS and HELP STYLE before submitting these. Do not skip this!
8. A brief outline for an interesting and original IC event, totalling 100 – 200 words. This should be of the scale that you see in our regular EVENTS news posts.
9. Any special experience outside of Achaea that you think might help you in Celanihood, such as customer service background or writing experience.
Strong writing skills are a must, as is the ability to work within an often demanding and perfectionist team environment. Other traits that will help you: consistency, creativity, improvisational skills, storytelling ability, maturity, attention to detail, dependability, and above all, a love of Achaea and the world we co-create here.
Applications will be open until next Friday 21st May at 23:59. Please let us have your application by this deadline!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads are open!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/05/06/classleads-are-open)
**Published:** May 6, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just opened classleads for submission: these will run until 0 GMT on the 12th of May, so you will want to have your reports in by then (don’t forget to SUBMIT!).
A few things to keep in mind this round:
- Please do not submit anything concerning the paladin class this cycle. If its a knight wide concern by all means, but if its paladin specific it will likely get rejected at this current time.
- You’ll note I’ve left some reports up that have not been either approved or rejected. I’d like more feedback on these, so if people have thoughts on those, do get those in when it comes to the commenting phase.
The classlead process is how we balance classes and add new abilities to skills as appropriate, and is generally the time when you can get your voices heard on issues of combat balance.
For those of you unfamiliar with the classlead process (or who would just like a refresher), here are the basics:
- Classleads are anonymous.
- Each person can submit up to five classlead reports. Please do not utilise alternative characters to bypass this limit: I will be annoyed and this may result in an account-wide ban on access to the system going forward.
- Your reports should supply reasoning alongside the perceived problem: if something is too strong/weak, you should always state why. It’s best to avoid drawing comparisons to other classes, although sometimes this is appropriate. Use your best judgement!
- You should attempt to supply multiple solutions (where applicable – some cases are fairly cut and dry).
There are full details along with command breakdowns under HELP CLASSLEADS and the CLASSLEAD command.
So, what kinds of things can you suggest via classleads? Essentially, classleads are specifically for combat balance, whether that be addressing things which are perceived as too strong or too weak. Thematic options can sometimes be appropriate, but these are almost always better served going via the ideas system.
I look forward to reading your reports!
**Categories:** Announcements, Classleads
---
### [May in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/05/01/may-in-achaea)
**Published:** May 1, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s May already and that means goodbye artefact cart and artefact discounts and hello to the Wheel of Fortune which is making a return to New Thera!
Completing an adventure worth 50 renown or more earns you a free spin each day and premium tokens can be obtained via the Achaea website at [www.achaea.com/credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits)!
Those who win or buy prismatic tokens can SPIN WHEEL WITH TOKEN for a chance at the following:
Credit prizes starting at 33
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
Artefact Vials
Customisation credits
Phials of shimmering ink
Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any set, including the two new suits!\*
Talisman caches that open for the Elemental, War, and Planes sets. These caches can be traded in for 30cr
300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
Artefact Upgrade Credits
Mayan Crowns
There are two new suits in the Legend Deck available this month, both themed around the forests of mainland Sapience and their spirits. These are part of the FORESTS collection for legend cards.
The Spiritsoul suit includes the following cards:
**Clio, spirit of the Western Ithmia**
- Drawing this card creates a map of Sapience’s forests
- The user can touch this map while specifying the name of a forest spirit to be transported to the forest associated with that spirit, similar to the Universe Tarot
- 2 charges, regenerates 1 per hour
**Erato, spirit of the Eastern Ithmia**
- Drawing this card at an adventurer will throw them into the trees if there are trees present
- 3 charges, regenerates 1 per hour
**Eupheme, spirit of the Aerinewild**
- Drawing this card pacifies all non-boss animal denizens in the location
- This does not prevent aggressive denizens from becoming aggressive again
- 3 charges, regenerates 1 per hour
**Calliope, spirit of the Aureliana**
- Drawing this card bestows the SLOTH metamorphosis upon the user
- This confers use of the REST ability to regenerate endurance
- 3 charges, regenerates 1 per 2 hours
**Thalia, spirit of the Northern Ithmia**
- Joker, refreshes the charges of others in the set
The Spiritheart suit includes the following cards:
**Urania, spirit of the Darkenwood**
- Drawing this card blankets the area in fog for four minutes
- This must be a valid area (no ships, no wilderness, no mines etc)
- 1 charge, regenerates 1 per 2 hours
**Polyhymnia, spirit of the Cloud Forest**
- Drawing this card forces everyone in the clouds area to move in a random direction
- This will affect the upper skies, ocean skies, and far above the skies locations
- This forced movement is blocked by any effects that would prevent you being beckoned, on a per person basis
- 2 charges, regenerates 1 per hour
**Euterpe, spirit of the Northreach**
- Drawing this card will cause anyone burrowed in your location or those adjacent to be forced back to ground level from any depth
- 3 charges, regenerates 1 per hour
**Terpsichore, spirit of the Aalen**
- Drawing this card invokes fear on all mounts in the location, similar to a bard’s MARCH
- This does affect the user’s mount
- 1 charge, regenerates 1 per hour
**Melpomene, spirit of the Black Forest**
- Joker, refreshes the charges of others in the set
In addition to the prizes above you may also win bonuses of racetrack tickets for the humgii races!
As a reminder, the Wheel of Fortune no longer makes you wait for other people to be done spinning before you can spin!
Also keep your eyes peeled for the Wheel’s grand prize, 500 bound credits on top of normal prizes for whoever claims that with a Token spin!
Prismatic tokens CAN be traded!
HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE and HELP LEGEND DECK are up to date!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Pariah Artefacts Arrive!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/17/pariah-artefacts-arrive)
**Published:** April 17, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As we enter the third week of the[ Artefact Cart](https://www.achaea.com/credits/), all class-related artefacts are discounted by an additional 10% on the website!
Moreover, we are pleased to announce the release of the long-awaited Pariah artefacts, along with a new Pariah command! These are included in the class artefact discount.
A sand-worn bandolier – 300 credits
Increase your carry capacity of jars of blood by 3.
This effect does not stack.
A funereal amphora – 300 credits
Increase charnel eternity duration by 50%.
Increase charnel awaken duration by 30%.
A bone and willow handled knife – 350 credits
Increases memorium chain time against denizens by 3 seconds.
CRYPT BUY ROOM- 100\* bound credits.
Increase your maximum crypt size by 1 room.
You must be over level 80 to do this.
This limit expansion will remain through class changes.
\*The price doubles with each limit expansion.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Collaborators Invade Achaea: Roe Is Me!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/14/collaborators-invade-achaea-roe-is-me)
**Published:** April 14, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After getting some much needed assistance from the villagers of Eleusis, the royal chef of Arcadia has revealed the existence of a special ingredient, midlands roe!
A few of Achaea’s denizen chefs will share with you their signature dish using this ingredient if you can acquire some for them and our player chefs can feature it in their own cooking recipes too!
This brand new culinary quest is brought to us by Mark Rapson of Nightfall Games!
If you’re curious about the events that transpired in-game, read on:
---
It is said the lack of a good scullery maid is a trial, but the lack of proper ingredients is, for a true chef, an unmitigated disaster. And on a day in the month of Aeguary it was both of these things that came to vex the much put-upon Lucinda, head chef of Arcadia’s palace kitchens. Luckily, with the loud and vociferous ringing of a bell in the palace, there were (eventually) a group of willing adventurers from the surface below to fill the first and find the second.
Searching for the rather difficult to find midlands roe were Lynara Le’Dominae, Mina Celes’Ciel, Tukio Celes’Ciel, Ellenroh Saxe, the young Tendril Moroa, and in the words of Elducia, acclaimed Zoologist, “Cherryanne, a violent thug if ever there was one.” Clues from Lucinda led them to the esteemed Arinas the Entomologist and a thorough search across Sapience’s midlands, whether trudging through the Mannaseh swamps or wandering among Aureliana flowers.
Eventually, after bargains with Elducia and gold given to Arinas, the apprentice scullery maids had the perfect trained beetle with which to locate their elusive roe. A brief search later, Mina’s very energetic insect had what they needed: a single ball of desiccated midlands roe. Their quest accomplished, Lucinda’s job saved, the apprentices opted not to pursue a career under the royal chef’s watchful eye, taking with them only the promise of a meal in the future and the revelation of a new ingredient for the dishes of Achaea’s cooks.
**Summary**: In search of an ingredient to garnish Lucinda’s latest recipe, a group of adventurers hunted the midlands of Sapience. And with a little bit of help from Entomologists and Zoologists, it wasn’t long before midlands roe was made available to Achaea’s chefs.
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Roe Is Me!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/13/roe-is-me)
**Published:** April 13, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It is said the lack of a good scullery maid is a trial, but the lack of proper ingredients is, for a true chef, an unmitigated disaster. And on a day in the month of Aeguary it was both of these things that came to vex the much put-upon Lucinda, head chef of Arcadia’s palace kitchens. Luckily, with the loud and vociferous ringing of a bell in the palace, there were (eventually) a group of willing adventurers from the surface below to fill the first and find the second.
Searching for the rather difficult to find midlands roe were Lynara Le’Dominae, Mina Celes’Ciel, Tukio Celes’Ciel, Ellenroh Saxe, the young Tendril Moroa, and in the words of Elducia, acclaimed Zoologist, “Cherryanne, a violent thug if ever there was one.” Clues from Lucinda led them to the esteemed Arinas the Entomologist and a thorough search across Sapience’s midlands, whether trudging through the Mannaseh swamps or wandering among Aureliana flowers.
Eventually, after bargains with Elducia and gold given to Arinas, the apprentice scullery maids had the perfect trained beetle with which to locate their elusive roe. A brief search later, Mina’s very energetic insect had what they needed: a single ball of desiccated midlands roe. Their quest accomplished, Lucinda’s job saved, the apprentices opted not to pursue a career under the royal chef’s watchful eye, taking with them only the promise of a meal in the future and the revelation of a new ingredient for the dishes of Achaea’s cooks.
---
A few of Achaea’s denizen chefs will share with you their signature dish using this ingredient if you can acquire some for them and our player chefs can feature it in their own cooking recipes too!
This new culinary quest series was brought to us by Mark Rapson of Nightfall Games!
**Categories:** Uncategorized
---
### [April Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/11/april-auctions)
**Published:** April 11, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As promised, we have a round of auctions live that will run for 10 days! There are thirty-two auctions in total: 16 for credits, and 16 for gold.
HELP AUCTIONS has everything you need to know if you are unfamiliar, and you can use AUCTION INFO <#> to view the details on a specific lot. As there are so many, I’ve only included details of the new options here.
# CREDIT AUCTIONS:
1. Chenubian Wings
2. Phylactery of Sixth Sense
3. Custom Blademaster Sword
4. Custom Deathsight
5. Custom Angel or Baalzadeen – Work with the design team to create a unique description for your angel or baalzadeen. This also allows the winner to customise the message displayed when an angel or baalzadeen materialises via the ANGEL SUMMON ability in Spirituality or the BAALZADEEN ability in Apostasy. NOTE: This would need to remain appropriate and lore-friendly to Achaea.
6. Enhanced Shop Cart
7. Racial Language Fluency
8. Staff of Garash – This staff will allow you to raise stonewalls across all exits of a room once every 15 minutes. It also serves as a magi staff and a level 3 Shikudo staff. It does NOT work as a Druidic quarterstaff.
9. Vastarian Flute
10. Orb of Sllshya’s Wrath
11. Innate Morphing Armour
12. Any completed talisman
13. Gold-handled Inkbrush
14. Black-handled Inkbrush
15. Purple-handled Inkbrush
16. Green-handled Inkbrush
# GOLD AUCTIONS:
17. Minipet of your choosing
18. Out of Subdivision Plot: Elemental Planes -A unique opportunity to claim your own volcano lair, sky sanctuary, desert yurt, or palace apartment! Select your Elemental Plane of choice and be the owner of this undeveloped plot! NOTE: The above are suggestions only, you can build whatever you like!
19. Out of Subdivision Plot: Muurn Valley -Enjoy the tranquil surroundings of the Muurn Valley cove with this undeveloped housing plot.
20. 300 Housing Credits
21. 300 Housing Credits
22. 300 Housing Credits
23. 300 Housing Credits
24. 5 mayan crowns
25. 5 mayan crowns
26. 5 mayan crowns
27. Level 1 Talisman Piece
28. Level 1 Talisman Piece
29. Level 1 Talisman Piece
30. Any Legend Deck Card
31. Any Legend Deck Card
32. Any Legend Deck Card
If you have any questions about these, I strongly advise asking before placing a bid.
Enjoy!
PS: No we have not forgotten about Pariah artefacts, they are coming soon! It’s not the middle of the month yet!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Artefact Cart Update!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/09/artefact-cart-update)
**Published:** April 9, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
The first week of April is behind us, that means that the Artefact Cart additional discount has rotated over!
For the next week, all artefacts in the Offensive Artefacts category shall be available for a further discount; remember that this does stack with the current promotion AND with Iron Elite Membership!
I’ll also remind everyone that we have mid-month auctions coming up, and the long-awaited release of Pariah artefacts. Stay tuned for further details on those in the coming days!
As always, everything can be found at [www.achaea.com/credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits)!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [April in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/03/april-in-achaea)
**Published:** April 3, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The first quarter of 2021 is behind us already!
Globes of shifting continents are going away for another month, and in their place we are trying something a bit different!
First of all, the Artefact Cart will be returning for the month, with its standard 30% discounted price, that’s 40% if you are an Iron Elite member. Each week throughout April we will be selectively applying additional discounts to a variety of categories on a rolling week by week basis:
Week One: Defensive and Armour Artefacts
Week Two: Offensive Artefacts
Week Three: All Class Artefacts (including Pariah, see below!)
Week Four: Statistic, Miscellaneous, and Crafting Artefacts
In addition to this, all artefacts in the Delosian shops will be 20% cheaper for the month! This is a flat discount that won’t scale with anything else.
This includes the talisman shop but does not include partial completions for a variety of reasons.
But we aren’t done yet! Lessons will also be available on the Achaea website for the entire month!
We will be running a series of credit and gold auctions near the middle of the month.
And last but not least, the long-awaited arrival of Pariah artefacts will be happening halfway through April!
Keep your eyes peeled for more events and content from the team, as well as our creative collaborators, and be sure to check out the website to make any purchases ([www.achaea.com/credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits))!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Meta Changes](https://www.achaea.com/2021/04/01/meta-changes)
**Published:** April 1, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve been looking at the meta for the last quarter and think its time for a bit of a shake up. We’ll be monitoring these changes closely to ensure everything is working as intended in the coming days:
## Aeonics
- Aeonic TIMEWELLs now also conveys a retardation-style effect once a certain tome of forbidden knowledge is obtained from a quest in the Underrealm. This tome decays and there can only be one at a given time.
## Crystalism
- Preparing a CATACLYSM vibration in the SHRINE OF ASCENSION during the HEIGHT OF SUMMER will now make it work worldwide. There is a gamewide message when this begins.
## Domination
- Renegotiations with Golgotha are now possible. If you offer GENEROUS karma, he will now convey you a pact for the PIT ability, though only if you are not Ashtani for obvious historical reasons.
## Dragoncraft
- If you reach level 200, you will now be able to retain your lesserform skills in DRAGONFORM alongside dragoncraft. We expect some minor tweaks will be needed once someone reaches this stage, but nothing too drastic.
## Evileye
- Losing old PEACE hasn’t really worked out well. This ability now gives that once again. We might removed CONFUSION to keep this balanced.
## Groves
- Forest-sourced LIGHTNING is area wide once again, when targeting a forest enemy.
## Necromancy
- Originally, SOULCAGE was much more impactful as it did not have a cooldown. Now that only Apostates have access to this, we have made this the case once again.
## Puppetry
- OBLITERATE can now be unlocked via a new quest. This lasts for 24 hours and may only be performed once per Achaean year as a balancing factor. You should begin your search for said quest in the UNDERWORLD.
## Tekura
- Letting tekura monks add a bit more diversity, they now have access to TRIP BLOCK after completing a quest on JUDGEMENT MOUNTAIN. This is mutually exclusive with EVADE BLOCK now as a balancing factor, however.
## Woodlore
- Stun is now a passive effect on all axes THROWN at a target, so long as the SENTINEL has learned the RETURNING ability and the target is not ELEUSIAN or ROGUE (i.e. tied to civilisation).
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Classleads
---
### [Changelog: Mar. 22 - 28 2021](https://www.achaea.com/2021/03/28/changelog-mar-22-28-2020)
**Published:** March 28, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- It is no longer possible to pierce the veil from Longclaw Isle
- The bloodhound statues from the recent bazaar can no longer detect phased adventurers.
- The Voyage of Sight can no longer be obtained by crew who are still on its cooldown.
- The peaceful nationstate of Wayward Heights has been established, alongside the newly-composed HELP WAYWARD HEIGHTS.
- The funereal shroud talisman will now hide affected players from GMCP.
- Fixed a bug that allowed planting of talisman gravestones in skies.
- Restrictions on the gravestone talisman have changed. Instead of requiring a death on Sapience to function, regardless of your gravestone’s location, you will now resurrect at your gravestone so long as you died on the same plane and continent.
- You may now bypass gravestone talisman resurrection with EMBRACE DEATH CAVE.
- WIELD should no longer skip certain items in weapon holders.
- Runes sketched for free while in the arena will no longer persist outside of the arena.
- It is no longer possible to customise a housing servant without building permissions for the house.
- Housing servants will now be loyal to the proper organisation, for clan-owned houses. Incorrectly assigned loyalties have been fixed.
- Clan-owned housing names will now show on SURVEY.
- Fixed an issue with Weatherweaving Synchronise against denizens.
- It is no longer possible to synchronise a weatherweaving attack without the proper channels open.
- Passive curing and other methods of random curing should no longer cure the ablaze affliction for fire elemental lords.
- QWC and QW will now respect the chameleon defence.
- Afflictions delivered via asped weapons will only be hidden from GMCP and serverside curing the appropriate 33% of the time, rather than every affliction.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [City Salaries and City Guides!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/03/22/city-salaries-and-city-guides)
**Published:** March 22, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We are pleased to announce a new feature for cities: salaries!
The city salary allows a government to pay the various members of the city who work daily to keep the city running!
Your city leaders can set the amounts each position earns per month and then the gold is automatically distributed from city coffers directly to the bank in your city on the 1st of Sarapin each year.
See HELP CITY SALARIES for all the details!
We are also pleased to announce that each of Achaea’s cities now has an in game “guide” system!
Ashtan – Thrall Tenders
Cyrene – Mountaineers
Eleusis – Verdant Emissaries
Hashan – Court Marshals
Mhaldor – Slave Drivers
Targossas – Chaplains
These guides are entirely in character roles designed to assist newbies from around level 20-60 in finding their footing in your factions as they learn about Achaea and take their first steps.
City Guides Should:
Encourage city novices to meet one another,
Encourage city novices to be in character and navigate the world in that format,
Help city novices learn their way around their city,
Help city novices to find their feet in the game once out of newbie lands,
Help city novices to understand their faction,
Assist with city tasks/city clan progress.
This role mostly begins when a novice has levelled past 20.
This role mostly ends when a novice has joined a House and gotten a mentor.
The leader of a city can appoint up to five people to this role!
These chosen newbie helpers can earn up to 12 of their daily credits by being “on duty” at a rate of 300 renown per hour.
You can be on duty for as long as you like, but you will only earn renown for your first 4 hours each day.
- Being on duty separates their names for easy recognition.
- On duty city guide CWHO highlights all sub level 60 characters and characters under age 21.
- On duty city guides can teach other members of their organisation any skills up to transcendent.
## Admin Note:
On duty city guides should be paying attention.
You can be hunting, questing, or doing other things, you do not have to sit in one static location.
On duty city guides who go afk, who ignore requests for assistance, or who otherwise abuse the position for other spurious means may find themselves banned from city guide status, mentorship, and worse.
All interaction when “on duty” should be appropriate for Achaea’s PG13 environment.
See HELP CITY GUIDES or HELP MOUNTAINEER etc, for a full breakdown!
**Categories:** Announcements, New Systems
---
### [Collaborators Invade Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/03/15/collaborators-invade-achaea)
**Published:** March 15, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With the raising of Kasmarkin and the release of Ulvna’s new questline, we are excited to announce the first in a series of collaborative releases with content creators from outside of Achaea!
Over the next 4-6 weeks we’ll be unveiling the stories and ideas conjured up by four guest contributors, all written just for Achaea!
Look out for our new additions from the minds of Aaron Reed, Tim Lanning, Markeia McCarty, and Mark Rapson!
This weekend’s quest expansion centred on the history of the trolls comes from [Aaron Reed](https://twitter.com/aaronareed). A master of background creations, his wonderful imagination is showcased in the underworld RPG Downcrawl, the queer horror novel Subcutanean, and he’s devoting this year to a weekly blog charting 50 years of text games!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Kasmarkin Rises!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/03/14/kasmarkin-rises)
**Published:** March 14, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In late Glacian of the year 853, a flash of emerald light drew adventurers to the Mannaseh Swamp, home to sunken Kasmarkin where rests the long, and not always noble, history of the fallen troll empire. Beside Maeglor stood the statuesque figure of Lorielan, the Jade Empress, and, speaking with perfect fluency the trollish tongue, the erstwhile Goddess imparted to the teacher a ruby scroll. Scribed upon this parchment was a promise: of a renewed future, without the taint of Chaos or the machinations of demons to spoil its rise.
Visions soon beset the troll race, confusing riddles and infuriatingly vague images filling their minds. Rushing to confer with Maeglor, Reinn, Sphera, Iesen, Majin, Paine, and Embrelle relayed what they had seen. As heated discussion began to take place among the dozens gathered – most among them not troll-kin but interested and eager to assist nonetheless – it was Embrelle who first took up the banner of Kasmarkin’s charge. Five couplets were presented, each, it was thought, representing a troll-kin of some significance.
And while some frowned in consternation, remembering all too well the escape of Pazuzu and the demise of his jailor, the Tl’fah-kx’khrah-megra Sh’fah, others began to fan out across the world, their search begun.
Farrah Roualt and Mezghar Al’Jafri soon deduced one of the riddle’s meanings: Cookless we stand in hungry vigil, indentured servants forged in the master’s sigil. To Adryn’s Keep they went, Embrelle once more at the front of the party as the Hashani met with old Claek, regaling him with a song in exchange for his signing of the curious scroll.
Astarod Blackstone hastened to Qurnok, hoping to unravel one piece of the riddle: “Enigmatic eaves redeem, sibilant slithering, I dream.” Directed of course to Rurnog, Herpetologist, Astarod and his band of followers questioned the snake-expert for half a day, finally convincing him that the visions were real, and he too offered his signature, accepting the body of a mother scorpent for his studies in trade.
Torrent with equivalent ambition sought to head to Riagath for answers, questioning Leiga of the Gyrog. Torrent left empty handed, but would soon return.
Embrelle and her Hashani then met with Korlosh of Delos, having unravelled yet another piece of the puzzle: “All aground, the master of a ship, little use to me, the bardlike.” Unconvinced and unwilling to waste time, Korlosh’s demand was simple: a signature in exchange for the spilling of blood. Reyl stepped forward to face Embrelle in battle, defeating her swiftly but fulfilling the captain’s terms in the process.
Meanwhile, Ellryn of Mhaldor had gone to Mysia. One part of the riddle continued to elude everyone: “Breath of the Gods am I, I serve the lady in white from on high.” Consulting with Favian, a theory was born that the first half referred to the wind, and so Ellryn made her way to the Ivory Tower, and to Methats. Yet Atlantia’s tower was filled with enemies, and Ellryn fell.
Once again Embrelle led the discussion on behalf of the troll-kin, and when Ellryn returned from the Halls, observed as the Divine Wind named his price: a new recruit, of trollish heritage, to join the Ivory Mark. With some careful prodding and friendly encouragement, Jomi stepped bravely forward, offering himself as the latest Ivory Champion in return for Methats’s name on the ruby scroll.
With four signatures obtained, one remained. To Riagath went all adventurers, meeting once more with Leiga of the Gyrog. Amid discussions on the proper name of Kassar-ken, the chieftess insisted that she would sign nothing without a story. And so it was Karrigan who regaled all present with the dramatic tale of Pazuzu and his escape, to general applause. Leiga signed her name and released the famous battle cry of Gruul, and the adventurers returned to Maeglor, successful.
Content that the confusing quest had reached its end, Maeglor read aloud the scroll’s contents and placed it in the box beneath the statue once marking Kasmarkin’s entrance. The reaction was immediate.
The earth roiled and the swamp seethed to life as the ancient city rose from the depths for the first time in a century. Its ancient spires, though crumbled and ravaged by time and Chaos and demonic machination, once more pierced the sky. What began as a promise stood once more among the marshes as a very real possibility.
Arcanian Avenue and Prospero Way soon felt the footfalls of countless adventurers, keen to look upon the seat of the old empire. Beside the shattered fortress of Lord Taug, brought to ruin as he physically fought his way out of imprisonment, stood the implacable and captivating figure of the Jade Empress.
Weaving stone from nothing, She crafted a well of promise, setting it firmly into the ground. The Goddess praised the trolls for their achievement, wished them well for the future, and disappeared through a lucent archway of crystal.
---
Summary: Lorielan visited Maeglor of the trolls, gifting him a ruby scroll. Trolls across the world then began experiencing visions, a riddle pointing them at five elders of their race. Once the elders were found and the scroll signed, the statue guarding Kasmarkin’s entrance transformed, and the city rose from the depths of the swamp, never to sink again. Minutes later, Ulvna screamed…
**Categories:** Event
---
### [March in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/03/04/march-in-achaea)
**Published:** March 4, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
It’s March already, and we’ve just awarded a brand new Staff of Nicator winner!
We say goodbye to the wheel, but are bringing back Globes of Shifting Continents! These contain a variety of prizes open being opened, including:
- Credits.
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the blackwave and races sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different prize instead.
In addition, every 500th(\*) globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: in this case being an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe.
As day to day affairs get back to business as usual following the contests, look out for some special goings on throughout this third month of the year.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Quiz Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/28/championship-quiz-results)
**Published:** February 28, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Year 852 Championship Quiz is now concluded, and the results are as follows!
Eryl in 1st place wins 200 credits and 12 Championship points!
Laedha in 2nd place wins 175 credits and 10 Championship points!
Stheno in 3rd place wins 150 credits and 8 Championship points!
Taryius, Aroan, Crixos, and Axios in 4th place winning 125 credits and 6 Championship points each!
Reyl, Zenui, Keorin tied in 8th place, winning 25 credits and 2 Championship points each!
Tesha also tied in 8th place, but is ineligible to win points as a former Staff Holder, but takes 25 credits nonetheless!
Current standings for the Staff Games are as follows:
35 Taryius
32 Crixos
25 Eryl
24 Atalkez
22 Keorin
14 Aroan
10 Laedha
Championship Twins is the final contest, after which the new Staff Bearer will be crowned!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship World Race Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/22/championship-world-race-results)
**Published:** February 22, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Championship World Race is now over and the winners are as follows!
Atalkez wins 200 credits and 12 Championship points!
Crixos wins 175 credits and 10 Championship points!
Keorin wins 150 credits and 8 Championship points!
Lynair wins 125 credits and 6 Championship points!
Taryius wins 100 credits and 5 Championship points!
Killian wins 75 credits and 4 Championship points!
Lynara wins 50 credits and 3 Championship points!
Eryl wins 25 credits and 2 Championship points!
Shirszae wins 10 credits and 1 Championship points!
Kaden wins 10 credits and 0.5 Championship points!
This brings current Championship Games totals to:
Atalkez: 20 points
Keorin: 20 points
Taryius: 17 points
Crixos: 16 points
Eryl: 7 points
Lynair: 6 points
Aroan: 5 points
Zenui: 5 points
Killian: 4 points
Lynara: 3 points
Fen: 2 points
Imyrr: 1 point
Kaden: 1 point
Shirszae: 1 point
Next up are the Championship XP Event Windows! See UPCOMING and Announce #5303 for details!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [CTF and Y852 Day 1 results!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/21/ctf-and-y852-day-1-results)
**Published:** February 21, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Congratulations to Eleusis, who won the Year 852 Capture the Flag with a very strong performance! The final scores were:
Ashtan 114
Hashan 6735
Cyrene 4422
Mhaldor 1473
Eleusis 9807
Targossas 7016
With their win, Eleusis decided the Bandersnatch for today’s World Game Extravaganza would be NON-PK, and after a Foozle, Egghunt, and some Bandersnatching, here are the results!
In joint first place earning 200 unbound credits and 12 Championship points each – Keorin and Taryius!
3rd: earning 150 unbound credits and 8 Championship points – Atalkez
4th: earning 125 unbound credits and 6 Championship points – Crixos
5th: earning 100 unbound credits and 5 Championship points – Aroan, Eryl, and Zenui
8th: earning 25 unbound credits and 2 Championship points – Fen
9th: earning 10 unbound credits and 1 Championship points – Imyrr
10th earning 10 unbound credits and 0.5 Championship points – Kaden
As this is only the first day of the Championship Games, the Staff is still anyone’s game!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Year 852: Non-Championship Events](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/14/year-852-non-championship-events)
**Published:** February 14, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With all of the Championship Game previews out of the way, I’m pleased to be announcing the non-championship events taking place throughout Year 852.
All of the following can also be found on UPCOMING.
Monday 22nd February at 14:00 GMT – Itinerant Bazaar #1
Thursday 25th February at 22:00 – Ship Arena battle
- The winner of this battle will receive an artefact dragon tear vat!
Friday 26th February at 01:00 – Ship Races
- The winner will be awarded a figurehead of Aeolos with Mayan Crown prizes for 2nd and 3rd place!
Friday 26th February at 22:00 – Riddles!
- A practice riddle followed by a master riddle, with prizes for the top 3!
Saturday 27th February at 21:00 GMT – Itinerant Bazaar #2
I would highly recommend looking over HELP BAZAAR, HELP RIDDLE, HELP SHIP ARENA, and HELP SHIP RACE!
NOTE: None of these contests award Championship Points!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Games: Race Around the World!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/12/championship-games-race-around-the-world)
**Published:** February 12, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
This is a team race that will combine the tumble race and the ship race into one mad dash across and around Sapience!
Each Team has their champion competitor and a supporting crew.
Each Team must list who their champion is.
Only one Championship points competitor permitted per ship.
Each Team must list their crew mates.
Each Team must list the shipID upon the ship they will use to sail.
Please send signups via letter to Tharos.
Teams may use any ship type, but the size of your team you can have aboard will be affected by this choice!
Cutter: 4 person team
Strider: 7 person team
Galleon: 12 person team
These numbers do include the champion and are the maximum number of members.
If you want to be a team of one, that is absolutely fine!
Your ship must be docked at Tasur’ke prior to the start of the race.
Shipreturn will be disabled for the duration of the race.
All Champions and crew begin at Thraasi harbour and will tumble-race across the continent to the finish line in Tasur’ke where the sailing portion of the race begins.
A ship cannot cast off until the entire team is aboard.
The finish line is completing docking in Thraasi harbour.
Only ships and crews involved in the event may interfere with one another, fighting between racing ships is acceptable.
Each ship may choose whether they wish to take the open waters south around the continent, or brave the chops north into the frigid Borean ocean.
If you sink you can start on another ship in Tasur’ke harbour (provided you have one), or your race is over.
Your progress towards the destination will still count, so if everyone sinks, you may still be in a points winning position.
Championship points and credits will be awarded to the top ten finishers
See HELP TUMBLERACE for all details of what to expect here, the sailing portion will be entirely freeform and will NOT have the shiprace markers/finish/start lines.
Any circumvention of the rules will disqualify all aboard.
UPCOMING has the exact date and time!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Games: XP contest](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/11/championship-games-xp-contest)
**Published:** February 11, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
Carrying on our Championship Games preview series, today I have info on the XP Event!
This XP Event will be a 6 hour total hunting time which can be undertaken during the XP Event windows scheduled on UPCOMING.
You do NOT have to complete all 6 hours in one sitting, but you cannot hunt for less than 1 hour total at any one time.
This time around, points awarded will vary based on the continent or plane you are on and roughly correspond to the level of danger you are in from other players while hunting, with higher danger being more rewarding.
These modifiers are an adjustment to base point value and will show on SURVEY while the event is active:
Mainland Sapience: 125%
Other continents that are not outer islands: 80%
Outer Islands / Diving: 30%
Annwyn or the Underworld: 150%
Any other plane: 100%
As an example, if a denizen is typically worth 40 points (a sample value), then killing it on mainland Sapience will award 50 points, but an outer island would make it 13 points.
Syntaxes for the event are below:
XPEVENT JOIN will mark you as a participant and will begin your first hour-long hunting window.
XPEVENT ENTER will start one of your successive, hour-long bashing windows.
NOTE: This will be for hour 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Please use JOIN for the first hour.
XPEVENT WHO will lists players who are currently using their XPEVENT window.
NOTE: Anyone on XPEVENT WHO is OPEN PK!
See HELP XPEVENT for more details, and happy preparations!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Games: Twins Tournament](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/10/championship-games-twins-tournament)
**Published:** February 10, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
These are the rules for the upcoming twins tournament, taking place on 28th February at 17:00 GMT.
When it comes time for the event, you’ll be directed to someone to register with. At this time one member of your team should inform said person of both members participation. Both people -must- be logged on at this time: if you are not both present, you will not be permitted to register. The tournament is double elimination and seeding will be randomised.
This is a test of individual and team skill, as such, we do not allow the following items to be used in the contest:
- Avatar.
- Relics.
- Mining mineral bonuses.
- Atlatl talismans.
- Soulspears.
- Truenames not gained within the match itself.
- Shadowmancy shadows not gained within the match itself.
- Artefacts that do not belong to you.
- Any defences from a class that neither of your team is -actively- playing. This includes runes.
- Divine favours of any kind: we will remove these if you have them when you show up to register, so don’t worry about not being allowed to participate if you still have one when it comes time.
- You may not bring special quest bonuses into the arena.
In addition, as noted on its release, the Pariah class is not permitted for use in the Twins Tournament
The rules:
- You may swap between lesser and dragon/elemental forms at will while in the arena. You may not change lesserform class while in the arena.
- Teams may use any arena they wish for their bout, providing both teams agree. If no agreement can be reached (or no arena is accessible to both parties), they should use the Delos arena.
- When two teams enter the arena, the fight has started. THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD! We will not rerun if one team wasn’t ready.
- Though unfortunate, we will not rerun bouts due to client disconnections or similar.
- If you’re not sure if something is allowed, ask me privately in advance. If it isn’t and your opponents contest it and we agree, we reserve the right to rerun the fight based on our judgement.
- You may pre-raise vibrations (excluding cataclysm), rites, and harmonics outside the arena.
- You may pre-summon class-based loyals outside the arena.
- You may not pre-miriad outside the arena. Miriading in the arena is fine.
- No pre-generated kai or shin when outside the arena. If you’re going to do this, it must be once the fight has started.
- Lifestones are permitted as normal.
- Lucrescent nuts are permitted.
- You may not receive help from anyone outside the arena in any form, indirectly or otherwise. Not even if you are starving to death and would have won the fight honest otherwise.
- You may change class between bouts.
Good luck! Crush each other’s dreams! Don’t hit your teammate! Cure heartseed!
Once again, the Pariah class cannot be used for this tournament.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Games: Worldgame Extravaganza!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/09/championship-games-worldgame-extravaganza)
**Published:** February 9, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
Today I have the second of our series of posts outlining the Championship Games events for you! Read on!
Replacing the typical Foozle this year is a trio of worldgames in an extravaganza of contests.
This event takes place on 20th February at 19:00 GMT
This will consist of the following bouts:
1. A PK Egghunt – see HELP EGGHUNT for all of the details. There will be a lot of eggs.
- This will last one hour
- Sharing WILL be allowed
1. A foozle – this will cover a vast array of denizens across multiple planes. HELP FOOZLE to refresh yourselves on the commands!
- In Championship mode, there are tiers of difficulty, and participants will work their way up the tiers, with the higher tiers rewarding higher points per item.
- Foozle items can not be skipped by passing in this mode, one must complete the box before submitting it. We’ll have measures in place to ensure that denizens required for the contest are alive for the duration.
- The event will be timed (one hour) or will run until ten adventurers have completed the highest tier of items, whichever comes first. Should the time limit be reached, standings will be based on scores at that time.
- Travelling through the wilderness is enabled during foozles once more.
1. A bandersnatch – see HELP BANDERSNATCH.
- This will last one hour
NOTE: It has yet to be determined whether the bandersnatch will be PK or NO PK – this will be decided by the city leader of the winning city in the Capture the Flag.
While specifics per game are outlined above, the following applies to ALL games:
- WALK TO, Major movement, movement bonuses, and forest defences will be disabled for the duration of the event.
Scores will be totalled across the three games and Championship Points (and credits) awarded based on the winners across the board.
As always, UPCOMING has the specific dates and times!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Championship Games: The Quiz](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/08/championship-games-the-quiz)
**Published:** February 8, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hi everyone!
As the Championship Games approach, over the coming days we’ll be posting an overview of each major event to bring everyone up to speed.
The first of these to cover is the Championship Quiz, taking place on 28th February at 1:00 GMT.
The Quiz is a quickfire test of knowledge. When the time comes all will be prompted to JOIN QUIZ – a command which will take you to the Inquisition Chamber where one of the Gods or a very lucky mortal awaits you as Grand Inquisitor.
Please be sure to have mounting and curing turned off before you join the quiz, many commands are restricted in this very crowded location.
Before asking a question, the Inquisitor will set a point value for that question.
Once the Inquisitor asks the question, he will set a timer going.
When the timer runs out, no more answers may be given.
In order to answer, use AN (your answer).
Some pointers:
Never ever ever say the answer to a question aloud doing this will have you removed from the quiz. There are no second chances. ALWAYS USE AN (your answer).
Spelling and punctuation matter, capitalisation does not.
If a question has more than one word for the answer, the number of words will be given in the question.
If a question requires a list as an answer, any order required will be specified in the question. Do not separate list answers with commas.
Avoid chattering between questions, do not chatter during questions.
The theme for the 852 Quiz is: Classes.
The quiz is a serious affair and a large number of credits are on the line, if you become a distraction you will be removed.
See HELP QUIZ for further details, and remember that UPCOMING has all the dates and times!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [February is here!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/02/01/february-is-here)
**Published:** February 1, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The first month of 2021 is behind us and February is going to be a busy one with the Year 852 games fast approaching!
Reminder that **UPCOMING** has the dates for each major event and we will be posting specifics about each match nearer to the time.
I will also reiterate that these are only the major events; things like the riddle, bazaars, and other non-Championship-point earning games are still to be scheduled. We have not forgotten them!
This month we welcome back the Wheel of Fortune to New Thera!
Completing an adventure worth 50 or more renown earns you a free spin each day and premium tokens can be obtained via the Achaea website at www.achaea.com/credits!
Those who win or buy prismatic tokens can **SPIN WHEEL WITH TOKEN** for a chance at the following:
Credit prizes starting at 33
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
Artefact Vials
Customisation credits
Phials of shimmering ink
Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any set
Talisman caches that open for the Underworld, Invasion, and Marks sets. These caches can be traded in for 30cr
300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
Collections cache that opens for any collection. These caches can be traded in for 30cr
Artefact Upgrade Credits
Mayan Crowns
In addition to the prizes above you may also win bonuses of racetrack tickets for the humgii races, and shining teardrops to use in the **FAESHOP**.
As a reminder, the Wheel of Fortune no longer makes you wait for other people to be done spinning before you can spin!
Also keep your eyes peeled for the Wheel’s grand prize, 500 bound credits on top of normal prizes for whoever claims that with a Token spin!
Prismatic tokens CAN be traded!
**HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE** is up to date!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [New Class: Pariah!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/01/25/new-class-pariah)
**Published:** January 25, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re pleased to announce the release of Achaea’s 20th class, Pariah!
This is a neutral alignment class (though much like shaman and depthswalker there might be some IC debate about ethical boundaries in certain factions). So that you know what you’re getting into from a mechanical standpoint, Pariahs are an affliction class primarily (though do damage as a part of this) and have some unique mechanics primarily based in the Charnel skill. There are some fairly significant abilities from a meta standpoint in this class, though not all of them will be immediately apparent – but that will become clear as you read the abilities (hint: AB CHARNEL TABLETS).
As a part of this release, we are turning on a lesson sale until the end of January, so if you are one of those people without a stockpile and would really like to pick up the class, now is your chance!
We’re sure there will be some concern with the timing of this release in relation to the Championship games. We have discussed this, and didn’t feel it would be beneficial to hold up release of this until after the games end. However, Pariah will not be permitted in the championship points portions of this year’s games. I don’t anticipate any issues, but its not a risk we feel we should take with events people put such huge amounts of time and effort into.
With that in mind, we also do not want people to feel they can’t pick up Pariah until after the game’s end. Therefore, if you pick up Pariah and it is your only class, we will swap your class for the games if you are looking to participate. This does not extend to multiclassed people: just for those who would otherwise have no way to participate due to picking up Pariah. Obviously, standard class restrictions apply: if you’re a Mhaldorian, pick up Pariah, then ask to be made a priest for the twins tournament, we will laugh at you.
In closing, we’d like to thank the people who put time over the festive season into testing this. You all know who you are!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Critical Classleads cycle!](https://www.achaea.com/2021/01/10/critical-classleads-cycle)
**Published:** January 10, 2021
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just opened classleads given the rapidly approaching championship games. We’ll have a proper round after those wrap up: we are primarily looking for significant issues during this round just so we can settle any genuine (or perceived) balance concerns before the games kick off. So, critical issues please, or ones that have a fairly large spread impact.
The classlead process is how we balance classes and add new abilities to skills as appropriate, and is generally the time when you can get your voices heard on issues of combat balance. For those of you unfamiliar with the classlead process (or who would just like a refresher), here are the basics:
- Classleads are anonymous.
- Each person can submit up to five classlead reports. Please do not utilise alternative characters to bypass this limit: we will be annoyed.
- Your reports should supply reasoning alongside the perceived problem: if something is too strong/weak, you should always state why. It’s best to
avoid drawing comparisons to other classes, although sometimes this is appropriate. Use your best judgement!
- You should attempt to supply multiple solutions (where applicable – some cases are fairly cut and dry).
- There are full details along with command breakdowns under HELP CLASSLEADS and the CLASSLEAD command.
So, what kinds of things can you suggest via classleads? Essentially, classleads are specifically for combat balance, whether that be addressing things which are perceived as too strong or too weak. Thematic options can sometimes be appropriate, but these are almost always better served going via the ideas system.
**Categories:** Announcements, Classleads
---
### [Goodbye, 2020!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/12/31/goodbye-2020)
**Published:** December 31, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s been a long, strange year for people everywhere, but the world never stops turning, and that includes Achaea!
Head on over to the [forums](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/7443/a-history-of-2020-and-teasers-for-2021) and read a recap of 2020 for our beloved game, along with some teasers about what’s coming in 2021 (hint: there’s plenty of surprises we can’t even mention yet)!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Changelog: Nov. 30 - Dec. 15 2020](https://www.achaea.com/2020/12/15/changelog-nov-30-dec-15-2020)
**Published:** December 15, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Enjoy a whole host of new fixes and changes!
- Puppetry Tonguetie will no longer give the target a message when used from outside their room.
- Renown gain modifiers will no longer be negative on DEFENCES.
- WEAR ARTEFACTS will no longer wear multiple conflicting artefacts.
- SHADOW MANIFEST will now force unwield when a hand is specified, instead of failing.
- When reincarnating using a gem, the shortest cooldown gem will be prioritised.
- Erecting shrines in affiliated villages will now require willpower to raise.
- It is no longer possible to channel multiple shadowstrikes at once.
- The renown reward for slaying Maim has been increased somewhat.
- Shikudo combinations will no longer complete if the target dies, the attacker dies, or the attacker and the target are in different locations.
- Cataclysm-affected abilities now work in line-of-sight, in addition to their previous five room radius.
- Cataclysm-affected freeze no longer has a fifty room radius.
- Weaving’s int scaling now functions against denizens as well as players.
- When using DSL, order of inline venoms and hellforge effects are now interchangeable, regardless of which hand holds your hellforged blade.
- Burrowing in a house will no longer prevent use of the talon tattoo.
- Burrowing will no longer interrupt or prevent Telepathy Radiance.
- Burrowing will no longer interrupt or prevent Telepathy locks.
- Burrowing will no longer prevent players from appearing on Angel Presences.
- Burrowing will no longer prevent players from appearing on Demon Presences.
- Burrowing will no longer prevent players from appearing on fullsense.
- Burrowing will no longer prevent the same-area functionality of the Wavel legenddeck card.
- Burrowing will no longer prevent the same-area functionality of non-veil farsee.
- Burrowing will no longer prevent Alchemy Displacement.
- Various fixes made to voyages including those of Sight, Fog, Priestess, and the Kraken!
- Several adventures that require you to slay players in a certain way are now functioning properly.
- Yells and shouts will now increment liberate/tonguetie counts once, instead of once for every listener.
- The crier’s bell will no longer wipe starburst tattoos, but will leave them deactivated until touched.
- Swapping artefact powers on two items will no longer prevent them from being directly traded in.
- Humours given under blackout will now be unmasked from serverside curing when partially cured by ginger eats.
- Lucrescent nuts will no longer affect Attainment.
- It is no longer possible to SHADOW another player while flying.
- ORDERing urn mounts to GO HOME will now take you to the ground, regardless of your elevation.
- Canopic jars will handle elemental lord and dragonform defences far better than in the past. Alongside this change, all stored defences in existing jars have been wiped.
- Weaving attacks will no longer fail to clumsiness against a prone target.
- Despoiling talisman gravestones will now unphase serpents.
- Reclamation Wrath is no longer forceable.
- Weaving Sever will no longer remove multiple reflections, or remove one reflection and still land a blow.
- Shadow Attune will now be cleared on leaving the arena.
- Serverside curing will now recognize clumsiness when failing to curse a target.
- Letters returned to sender will no longer be unreadable and invisible to the holder.
- You will no longer continue to speak languages you don’t know upon gaining/losing elemental lord.
- Newbies inducted into city clans automatically will now be noted in the relevant clan’s logs.
- SHIP CARGOBOX commands will no longer provide a full syntax list for ship commands.
- Failing to use the market channel while in arena will no longer take your gold.
- Death to nausea will no longer cause an empty deathsight message.
- It is no longer possible to block other players while graced.
- If a Psionics Manipulated weaving attack pushes you to full transcendence, that manipulate will no longer proc Transcend.
- Substantiate Identity can no longer be targetted against newbies.
- Substantiate Identity will now shift properly when overdrawn.
- Writhe will no longer persist across multiple impales in a short window.
- Lacharhad will no longer fixate on adventurers from the previous foray and fail to execute all her mechanics.
- Writhe will no longer clear on loss of all impales. This now only applies to disemboweled players.
- Highclan leaders can now access leader helpfiles and channels.
- Serverside curing will no longer spam ox/megalith tattoos, should yours fade.
- Weaving Launch will no longer consume balance on adjacent but non-flying players.
- Elemental lords can no longer lasso mounts.
- Artificing’s Destabilise Dissonance will no longer only break shields on players under the effects of a star sigil.
- There are several new Runelore-themed emotes available for your enjoyment!
- HELP TOME OF MUSES has been updated with the proper syntax for recall.
- Artefact recall all will no longer recall incandescent sigils.
- Org-loyal display cases will no longer change the reset locations of items.
- The Haidion legenddeck card will now give messages to both the user and the target when it fades.
- Weaving damage will now use the same scaling for intelligence and strength.
- Bards will no longer require Weaponry skill to reach their maximum damage potential.
- SHOW LESSONS IN will now show the proper number of lessons if you are transcendent in a higher class slot.
- Hydra Bind will now display on COOLDOWNS.
- Certain skill messages will no longer replace their targets with herbs and gold and various and sundry.
- Seamonster trophies will now decay in stockrooms.
- Trapping in the arena will no longer require assembled traps in the player’s inventory.
- Aeonics Paradox will now work with ash, instead of failing with a blank line.
- Patrick de Vermiis will no longer retain all summoned ghosts between foray encounters.
- You can now OPEN INV to specify the first container in your inventory, rather than in your room.
- Borgron is no longer able to be picked up while still alive!
- Nausea and stampede deathsights will now work properly.
- Prospective Earth Lords who misplaced their quest bones can request more from Nacleur provided they are on the quest.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [December in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/12/01/december-in-achaea)
**Published:** December 1, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Excerpt:** We have a whole host of exciting things in store for you this month!
**Content:**
Somehow we have made it to December!
Later in the month Makesh will put his Logosmas wares on sale, Ironbeard will make his rounds, Patrons have Logosmas plans to help the cities celebrate, and the festively fractious halflings of the HoHoHo and HaHaHa will vie for seasonal sovereignty!
For the promotionally inclined we’re bringing back stockings for the month and there will be a 30% credit sale (that’s a 40% bonus for those of you with Iron Elite!)
We also have a new talisman set, the Planes set! See HELP PLANES TALISMANS for all the details, but the items include the following:
```
A mirror of Fae perception (Annwyn) A pageless book (Avinaar)
A cowculating carving (Bopalopia) A celestial coronet (Celestia)
A jagged claw (Chaos) A massive iron gateway (Ether)
A crystal sword (Inferno) An icon statuette (Memory)
A sacrifical kris (Nishnatoba) A jar of withered brains (Underworld)
```
Pieces for these talismans will be an option in your stockings, so you can:
OPEN STOCKING REGULAR for the regular stocking prize lists below and no talisman pieces.
OR
OPEN STOCKING TALISMAN to choose to have the talisman pieces factor in as part of your stocking’s credit value and be a part of your prize pool!
These will be individual pieces, not caches, with higher tier stockings more likely to reward better quality pieces!
NOTE: If your aim is to maximise value rather than collecting the Planes talisman set, opening for regular is likely to yield greater rewards overall.
So what can you find in your stockings this year? Read on!
A Logosmas Stocking – Base Intended Credit Value: 16
Group of 5 lucrescent nuts, small clay chip, top hat, elixirs from the Shop of Wonders, pieces for the Planes talisman set if you open for talismans as described above.
A Fancy Stocking – Base Intended Credit Value: 40
Small clay chip, Mayan crowns, artefact pipes, minipet collection caches, phials of shimmering ink, artefact vials, legenddeck sleeves, gaudy golden candycanes, handfuls of sparkling snow, pieces for the Planes talisman set if you open for talismans as described above, plus items in the above listing if intended value is not reached.
A Grand Stocking – Base Intended Credit Value: 150
Fire pendant, rose thorn, ledolian surcoat, dragonskin quiver, wyrmskin pack, focussing lens, Prosperian attractor, goggles of whitesite, incandescent sigil, pieces for the Planes talisman set if you open for talismans as described above, plus items in the above listings above if intended value is not reached.
An Extravagant Stocking – Base Intended Credit Value: 550
Eagle’s wings, gem of transmutation, wand of portals, greater stone of wonder, buckawn’s amulet, Aldar diadem, bracers of frost, wand of reflection, prismatic ring, Shield of Absorbtion, lesser lorewarden shard, ranger’s bow, mayan bracelets, lesser stone of wonder, hunter’s belt, explorer’s tome, lasallian lyre, staff of illusion, armband of celerity, anklet of dashing, anake’s hood, mithril spurs, deep red boomerang, pieces for the Planes talisman set if you open for talismans as described above, plus items in the listings above if intended value is not reached.
There is a tier 5, but prizes in this category are only attainable via bonus
stockings and the special golden and platinum stockings that fill on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
There is also a small chance of getting a veil or one of a selection of level 3 statistic artefacts in place of the standard prizes in the extravagant stockings.
The base intended credit value is the absolute minimum that the contents of a stocking will be worth, each stocking can be worth more than this amount.
In addition to the items and intended value listed above you may also find racetrack tickets and scintillating gems in your stocking! See HELP ENVIRONMENT SCEPTRE for all commands and syntaxes in regards to the sceptre and gems.
Regular stockings have a chance to give 1 gem, all fancy stockings are guaranteed to contain a gem, grand stockings will hold 4 or more gems, and extravagant will open for 16 or more gems! These gems do not affect the prize value of the stocking.
And if that’s not enough, every 150 stockings opened will trigger a bonus stocking in the next 50 to be opened, awarding massively increased prizes!
Additionally, for every 5 stockings of each type you purchase, you’ll receive either a gold or platinum stocking of that tier! So if you purchase 5 fancy stockings, you’ll get a gold (or platinum) fancy stocking. Gold and platinum stockings are special and fill up only on Christmas and New Year’s Day, respectively!
Finally, all December long stocking purchasing and capping renown each day will earn you tickets in our end of year raffle!
1 ticket per regular stocking/renown cap, 2 per fancy stocking, 8 tickets per grand stocking, and 25 tickets per extravagant stocking!
10 winning tickets will be drawn on January 1st earning their owners one of the following prizes:
1st wins a platinum ribboned giftbox
2nd and 3rd win a gold ribboned giftbox
4th, 5th, and 6th win a silver ribboned giftbox
7th, 8th, and 9th win a bronze ribboned giftbox
10th wins a Mayan crown!
As always, all of this can be found at [www.achaea.com/credits!](http://achaea.com/credits "http://achaea.com/credits")
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Nature Awakens](https://www.achaea.com/2020/11/13/nature-awakens)
**Published:** November 13, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Excerpt:** Lupus finally awoke, catching the attention of mortals and Goddesses alike.
**Content:**
“The Trio Arrives”, by Vamuria
As Lupar gave way to Phaestian, reality dawned on my addled mind as it did for so many of us afflicted by the ailment of narcolepsy. This story was far from complete. In part two of my continuing coverage, we continue to unravel the tragic events surrounding the Wildfather, Lupus. And so once more I set off on the open road, a papyrus scroll and quill my only company as I sought the story of a lifetime.
Narcoleptics continued to fall upon the floor, though what transpired next varied greatly from previous experiences as they felt their bodies physically waking up from an agonising sleep. “It was honestly the most excruciating feeling I’ve ever felt in my entire life,” laments one victim. “I cannot imagine the true depth of pain if mine was but a shadow.”
For three months a cascading nimbus of pain had fallen upon their slumbering forms. Blood rushing into limbs, fingers slashing, the sensation of desiccated muscle and withered bone resuming their rightful position. And through it all the underlying and persistent notes of rage and loss. It came to a head as adventurers from all walks of life converged on the slumbering form of Lupus, all eager to witness the reawakening of a God.
With a feral snarl, their wishes were realised. Amber eyes opened for the first time in centuries as a bloodied visage reared back and unleashed an ear-shattering roar to the Heavens. “I was expecting to die that day,” claims one onlooker. “But my curiosity got the better of me.” Rather than lashing out at those crowding Him, as many expected, He sniffed at the air and disappeared into the depths of His Hunting Grounds.
What transpired next was difficult to witness. For months on end, and with nary a thought, the Wildfather unleashed unbridled fury upon His own. They howled, they fought with tooth and claw but inevitably, they all fell before His might, ripped and torn beyond recognition. Even in death there was no respite, for He simply revived them and continued the slaughter. Before long all they could manage were whimpers of acquiescence as He crushed their skulls against the crimson walls and ripped their spines free.
His bloodlust momentarily satisfied, the Wild God of the Beasts emerged from the Hunting Grounds with nothing but silent carnage in His wake. Forlorn eyes fell upon the Temple of Beauty and the bloodied and enraged God disappeared within. Concurrently, Vinceres Ebonheart and Aelyn Le’Yuet led a contingent of Villagers searching for a solution. Onorol held no answers, and neither did Vixen. Their search eventually led them to the Dryad Queen, Titania. Their plan was simple, a ritual to reach the heart of the Wildfather and let it be known they knew of His pain and were willing to share His burden if He would only let them.
On the third of Daedalan a host of Eleusians accompanied by onlookers converged in the Northreach Forest. The Lupine Vinceres spoke earnestly and with passion as participants spilt blood and emotion at his behest, a tenuous trail of verdant energy drifting towards Lake Orestis. The viridian motes lingered in the air, a frail lifeline of hope and reverence, before being consumed by an amber flash. A snarl rumbled from the bowels of the Temple, and the Wild God of the Beasts emerged. Titania staggered as she sensed His intentions and spurred the Eleusians back to their Village, dismay and pain writ across her features.
As Eleusis huddled around their gatehouse the Wildfather watched. And then He moved. Blood welled in our mouths as we sensed the coming slaughter, and I wept.
It is difficult to encapsulate the despair that drove me to my knees at this moment, but it can only be compared to the joy I felt myself incapable of grasping a moment later.
With a furious eruption, the Dun Valley volcano exploded as emerald aurae rose and coalesced. I stared up in awe as my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
They had come. Lady Artemis, Goddess of the Cataclysm and Lady Gaia, the Wildwood Queen had come to save us. My eyes and heart welled as Their voices called out to Him, receiving only a terrifying howl in response as He disappeared into Lady Selene’s Temple once more. The Huntress moved to look down upon Lake Orestis, the sadness evident in Her expression mirrored in every Eleusian’s heart, as the trailing of umber spores marked the Earthmother’s glorious descent into the Village.
These most recent events have proven far more difficult to cope with than I ever anticipated, and I feel myself experiencing each sensation anew with every stroke of the quill. Pain, hurt, and loss but also joy, pride, and hope mingling in my chest. My eyes have dried and I find myself staring into an uncertain future. It is a future that I know likely contains both hurt and anguish, but I cannot help but hold out for hope and joy. And isn’t that the way with Nature, in the end? The Cycle continues through the lowest valleys and the highest peaks, and we will always carry on, as will Nature.
**Summary: Lord Lupus awoke amidst pain and fury, tearing His way through the Lupine Hunting Grounds before locking Himself away in the Temple of Beauty. Eleusis attempted a ritual to share His pain which only served to enrage Him further. Emerging from the Temple and with eyes locked onto the Eleusians, He moved to strike, before being stopped by both Lady Artemis, the Great Wrath and Lady Gaia, the Earthmother. Howling wildly, He withdrew to Selene’s Temple once more.**
**Categories:** Event
---
### [On Candy, Dreams, and Wolves](https://www.achaea.com/2020/11/02/on-candy-dreams-and-wolves)
**Published:** November 2, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
“The Hunt Begins”, by Vamuria
Avid readers of The Grapevine (available now for purchase) will know that I rarely get out into the field, and I see all manner of reports and editorials. It is rare for something to pique my curiosity to such an extent that I will suffer the danger of the roads, but even I was left in awe over recent events. So I set off to unravel an enigma.
It began with a candy – a Soporific Sweet according to most reports – sold at the highly popular Grim Fayre. Found within a gift bag sold by Chamonille, Madame of the Gift (Chamonille could not be reached for comment), it appeared to be like any other sweet sold around Mayaween. However, it quickly became obvious this was not the case.
Once ingested, the unfortunate sweet seeker was instead gifted with a nefarious ailment: narcolepsy. According to my investigation, the first reported cases were that of Maajida, Meriet, and Tofi followed shortly by Lyndee, Atalkez, Traelor, and Ellenroh. From there it spread like wildfire, either by curious minds or certain shady characters forcing people to consume them.
Reports of what transpired vary, though the single thread connecting each is the effect of this dream-inducing drop: at dusk, everyone who suffers from narcolepsy is drawn into a particularly deep sleep. And so, all around Sapience, languorous adventurers began to fall like flies.
Within the deep embrace of sleep, they were gifted – or cursed – with particularly vivid dreams which almost all agree relate to the Wild God of the Beasts, the Elder God Lupus. As one such dreamer put it, “I do not know \[Lord Lupus\] well, but the connections seem too clear to be circumstantial.”
However, these were not the simple dreams we all experience on a nightly basis. No, these were different. Visions of pain, of rage, of hate, and hurt. “\[I felt\] heavy-hearted with the knowledge that I was stuck in an endless loop of pain and agony, ” says Ellenroh, one of many who experienced these dreams. She also reports that she felt as if “The rage and fury \[was\] contained but clawing to get out.”
Shortly after, the fury did get out as wolves began forming around certain narcoleptics. It began in Targossas, where two packs surrounded Lyndee Faelithar, Dawnlord of Targossas, and Atalkez Al’Jafri. The experience was quite unnerving, as Lyndee recounts it: “It was alarming, really. It was hard to understand what was happening. The sleep was sudden and uncontrolled, the visions I had were unfamiliar. When I came to, I felt as if I had lost control of my body, and I couldn’t glean much about what was going on.”
The Dawnspear was quick to react and proved more than capable of subduing the enraged wolfpack. But this was not the end of it. With baying howls, they erupted from the forests around more comatose compatriots and proceeded to terrorise the continent. With jaw and claw did they revive the hunt, tearing and ripping at anything and everything around them. Children and men alike ran in terror as they carved a path through the very heart of Sapience, however, some brave adventurers did return the favour. As time went on, the wolves became more and more difficult to quell, their bloodlust seeming to grow with every slash and bite. The crimson rivers flowed for months on end, as every day at dusk it soaked into the soil from adventurers and wolves alike. Unbeknownst to many, however, something was stirring further north.
For over two centuries the Lord of the Hunt had remained in the same shape Lady Selene had left Him, the only sign of His continued existence the perpetual rise and fall of His ravaged chest. Yet as the blood flowed and the hunt began once more, something changed. Sothantos witnessed the changes surrounding Lord Lupus first. As he put it, “The Beast God’s fangs were bloodied, and the flowers that were part of Selene’s enchantment were observed to be drooping.” These changes expanded as the months went on, drawing the attention of Vinceres Ebonheart. One of the few remaining followers of the Elder God, he knelt in prayer and waited.
Days passed as adventurers from all walks of life tried varying methods to awaken the slumbering Deity. Eleusis led hunts, others performed rituals, and certain foolhardy rogues even poked Him with a spear. The attempts continued in vain, with nothing seeming to work nor encourage the Lord of the Hunt, until something shifted.
With a cry of pain and glazed eyes did the Lupine Vinceres tumble to the ground, a vision of anger, pain, and the desire to escape paramount in his mind. As he came to, his gaze shifted towards his Master as a miracle unfolded before his eyes.
A single digit, innocuous to most, twitched for the first time in over two centuries as the Lord’s chest rumbled in unease.
The Hunt could soon be alive in the world once more, though this humble reporter cannot help but ask the question on everyone’s mind, “Who shall become the prey?”
**Summary: After consuming Soporific Sweets from the Grim Fayre, adventurers became afflicted by narcolepsy. At dusk, they would fall into a deep sleep and experience very strange visions. Wolves began to form around those affected, which grew stronger with each passing month. As Mayaween came to a close, the prone form of Lupus twitched a single finger, the first movement witnessed since He had fallen against Bal’met.**
**Categories:** Event
---
### [November in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/11/01/november-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** November 1, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Welcome to November!
Mayaween celebrations draw to a close but there is plenty more to come for the last two months of the year, and that’s before we even get into Logosmas!
For every 100 credits purchased throughout November, you will receive a Mayan crown to spend in the Shop of Wonders.
In addition to that, the Artifact Cart returns by popular request, with a 30% discount on all artefacts, that’s 40% off if you have Iron Elite!
On top of the standard discount, we will also be discounting selected artefact categories throughout the month:
From the 1st through 7th November the Offensive, Miscellaneous, and Crafting categories will be further reduced!
From 8th through 22nd November all class related artefacts will be further reduced!
From 23rd through 30th November the Defensive and Statistic categories will be further reduced!
Keep your eyes peeled for other developments during 2020’s penultimate month: we’re excited and you should be too!
Find the Artifact Cart along with credits and no-brainer packages at [www.achaea.com/credits!](http://www.achaea.com/credits)
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Become an Immortal!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/10/07/become-an-immortal)
**Published:** October 7, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Do you ever wish you could help shape Achaea?
Do you secretly desire to take on more of a “dungeonmaster” role, designing elaborate plots and scenarios to challenge and amaze (and occasionally slaughter) adventurers?
Do you like the idea of building devious quests, creating horrifying monsters, and shaping interactive landscapes?
If you answer “YES!” to any of the above, this is your chance!
We’re currently accepting applications for Celani.
We’re seeking excited volunteers who are interested in roleplay both grand and small, storyline conception, event creation, and/or background development.
To be a great Celani you need to be self-motivated, enthusiastic, enjoy being creative, excited to embrace a challenge, and not be afraid of interacting with other players. Ultimately, as this is a community volunteer position, what you do and when is up to you, but being able to follow through on the plans you make is very appreciated.
Successful applicants will undergo our most basic Celani training, after which they will be able to decide what direction to take with their training in order to become an exciting and productive member of the Garden team!
In order to apply, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must be 18 years or older IRL. Sorry, minors!
- You must have, at absolute minimum, at least 500 hours of playing time.
- Have read HELP CELANI in full.
Now, here’s what you must include in your application, in a plain-text, non-formatted email to celani@achaea.com:
1. Your real name.
2. Your real age.
3. If you are primarily a student, tell us your school and your course of study. Otherwise: your real occupation and your company’s name.
4. Your character(s) in Achaea and what you have accomplished through those characters, especially any leadership positions you have held or other noteworthy achievements.
5. Why you think we should make you a Celani (keeping in mind that Celanihood normally precedes Godhood, so also why you think you should have the chance to be a God.)
6. Why you want to do this, knowing that you will have to completely cut off ties with other (mortal) players and leave behind all that you accomplished as a mortal player.
The above point is perhaps the most important of all when considering becoming Celani. Potential applicants should seriously consider their ability to detach from existing social networks and establish new ones in a different environment.
7. Two flawless room descriptions of 80+ words each. You MUST READ the section on room descriptions at the bottom of the HELP MORTAL BUILDERS file, and the HELP STYLE file and follow the writing guidelines therein. DO NOT SKIP THIS. The MAJORITY of applications we’ve received in the past have ignored some part of the explicitly stated writing guidelines. What this tells us is that you lack attention to detail and the ability to follow given instructions, and neither of these traits make good Celani candidates!
8. A brief outline for an interesting and original IC event, totalling 100 – 200 words. This should be of the scale that you see in our regular EVENTS news posts.
9. Any special experience outside of Achaea that you think might help you in Celanihood, such as customer service background or writing experience.
Strong writing skills are a must, as is the ability to work within an often demanding and perfectionist team environment. Other traits that will help you: consistency, creativity, improvisational skills, storytelling ability, maturity, attention to detail, dependability, and above all, a love of Achaea and the world we co-create here.
Your application MUST be received by 23:59 GMT on Sunday October 18th (see UPCOMING in-game).
If you have questions about the Celani process or Godhood in general, feel free to ask them in our [Q&A thread](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/7370/celani-q-a).
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [October in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/10/01/october-in-achaea-2)
**Published:** October 1, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It’s October already!
Birthday month is behind us, but we’re not slowing down at all with plenty of excitement to come. Mayaween, Logosmas, and a great deal more things are on the horizon!
See UPCOMING for some teasers!
And so, as we say goodbye to globes of shifting continents, we welcome back the Wheel of Fortune to New Thera!
Completing an adventure worth 50 or more renown earns you a free spin each day and premium tokens can be obtained via the Achaea website at www.achaea.com/credits!
Free spins have a chance to reward you with a magnificent pumpkin (which may or may not be carved), which can be smashed for various prizes!
Those who win or buy prismatic tokens can SPIN WHEEL WITH TOKEN for a chance at the following:
Credit prizes starting at 33
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum giftboxes
Artefact Vials
Customisation credits
Phials of shimmering ink
Legend Deck Sleeves that unwrap for any set
Talisman caches that open for Elemental and Races sets. These caches can be traded in for 30cr
300 lessons (You won’t win lessons if you have over 2500 lessons or 5 classes.)
Collections cache that opens for any collection. These caches can be traded in for 30cr
Artefact Upgrade Credits
Mayan Crowns
In addition to the prizes above you may also win bonuses of racetrack tickets for the humgii races, and shining teardrops to use in the FAESHOP.
As a reminder, the Wheel of Fortune no longer makes you wait for other people to be done spinning before you can spin!
Also keep your eyes peeled for the Wheel’s grand prize, 500 bound credits on top of normal prizes for whoever claims that with a Token spin!
Prismatic tokens CAN be traded!
HELP WHEEL OF FORTUNE is up to date!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mysterious Happenings in Ashtan](https://www.achaea.com/2020/09/25/mysterious-happenings-in-ashtan)
**Published:** September 25, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Wandering through the streets of Ashtan in the year 833 AF, it was Paine Saer’rac that first alerted the city about a strange, bloody handprint. He had not been the first to find it, no, but he had been the first to notice how out of place it was, even in a city as rife with strange happenings as Ashtan. An investigation by several citizens found identical markings scattered throughout the streets of the Seat of Chaos, but no one knew where they came from or when they appeared, much less their purpose and meaning.
The months passed by, and many forgot about the handprints either partly or entirely. It was nearly a year later when equally mysterious posters started appearing. Titled ‘APOCALYPSE’, they all related an equally cryptic message about usurpers and rightful heirs. Though the citizens were quick to link these to the bloody marks, they came no closer to solving the greater mystery – or even knowing the right questions to ask.
Strange occurrences continued for years. Autino, a vagabond, was very audibly enlightened as if by an occultist, silenced by a fate that some would call worse than death. Poorer citizens began to disappear, and no one knew why. Worse, questioning witnesses only led to their bloody kidnapping, leaving the remaining citizens too terrified to speak.
It wasn’t until an unassuming thief by the name of Elyon Wineapple made a fortuitous discovery that any progress was made. He had heard of mysterious robed figures being spotted at every kidnapping case prior, and he met just such a creature on one of his walks through the city. Diplomacy quickly fell through, and the serpent stood over a corpse. It carried a letter from its superior that hinted, vaguely, at their ultimate goals, and Ashtan knew immediately they needed to be stopped.
Imyrr Rousseau, Orklanishkal Eruu’Yul, and Parthenope Corder knew what to do next. Through methods that will not be divulged here, their combined acumen found the lair of these mysterious kidnappers, and yet this breakthrough led them only to a new frustration: a massive iron door, too heavily fortified and warded to be broken through.
Next came the turn of the Esoteric Consortium, who used their shadowy contacts to find a man named Decker, the Unchanter. Rumoured to be able to break any lock, Paine led the negotiations by correspondence to secure his help.
Finally, on Sarapin of the year 840, the day came where Ashtan gathered en masse, following Decker into the lair of the bloody kidnappers. Though interrupted by overzealous Targossians several times, they managed to push through, finally confronting the leader of this mysterious group: a man named Wattley Castaigne. Little is known about him, but all those who sensed the ensuing battle easily discerned that he held a great power over the magics of Chaos, decimating entire armies in seconds.
And yet, through perseverance and the brilliant leadership of Penwize Baker, it was Ashtan that prevailed. Tragically, Decker didn’t survive the excursion, and so the world lost two of its greatest magical practitioners in the same month. Though their realms of expertise were nothing alike, they both possessed an air of great mystery, and much about them remains an enigma even now.
## Summary:
A series of mysterious happenings and kidnappings led Ashtan to confront a man named Wattley Castaigne. Though he wielded devastating Chaos powers, he was ultimately defeated by the Seat of Chaos.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A Tournament of Names](https://www.achaea.com/2020/09/15/a-tournament-of-names)
**Published:** September 15, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As a dark-hulled ship rolled into the harbour of Tasur’ke, Achaeans were greeted by the familiar, but long-absent face of Haidar the Lion.
The Kashari rebel immediately sought the location of Kavaya, his former associate and fellow escapee from the peculiar continent’s harsh and unforgiving ways.
There, in the camp amid the hills, Haidar offered a retelling of an ancient tradition:
“Every century, the owners of Kashari slaves allowed one from each household to pit themselves against the others in order to earn their family name. In earning this name, a slave earns his freedom. He can sign for himself, he may have a family, he can own property, he is considered a member of society.”
“Famous among my kinsmen is the warrior poet Lucaine Pyramides. He escaped slavery in Kashar and granted himself a surname. This is not the proper procedure. I am known as the Lion because I do not have a surname. I did not participate in this barbaric and horror-laden tradition. Instead, Kavaya and myself escaped our captivity. Our story is known to the
lore-masters among you and need not be retold here.”
“Nevertheless, it is this tradition I will be sharing with you on the 12th of Ero, 840 AF. It will last for six days, or until one slave remains standing, whichever comes first.”
“I bring this to your shores so that you may join with me in remembering a terrible crime against my people, and also so that those who wish to may experience what it is to fight ceaselessly simply to be recognised with the greatest gift that should have been innate to us all, a name. In the process of winning you may realise that you also deny others the chance to do so in their lifetimes.”
“Participants will fight as the slaves did: barely armed and at odds with all others of their kind. The winner will not be afforded a name, as this is a luxury you already enjoy. Instead, great honour and riches will be bestowed upon them.”
Having thrown down the gauntlet to all of Sapience, Haidar began accepting entrants. Atalkez Al’Jafri was the first to seize this gauntlet, and many others soon followed.
Time will unveil the victor.
## Rules:
Some clarifications for participants and spectators alike:
This will be a 6 hour PK contest held on September 26th, it begins at midday GMT (see UPCOMING.)
The winner will earn 2000 bound credits, a unique honours line, and a special challenger’s horn.
All participants will earn an honours line.
Contenders will become a Kashari character in the class of their choice, this will be by command at the start of the contest – see UPCOMING
Contenders will be level 80 with most general skills transcendent, and their class skills transcendent.
Contenders will have 5000 bound credits with which to buy artefacts.
Contenders will have a full complement of vials and curatives, selling/trading these is not permitted.
Contenders will have a gold amount at the start and begin in a starting shop. Sharing gold/items from this location is not permitted with other contenders or the general public.
As each contender enters the contest they will have an hour of grace for setup time. This time can be used to setup curing/systems or purchase artefacts and supplies. This grace can be renounced early, it cannot be extended.
Each participant will have three lives, and no starburst effects accessible.
Die three times and you are out of the contest.
Disconnection or journalling or hiding in any similar fashion for 30 minutes or more will result in a loss of a life. Do so for an hour and you lose two lives.
Lives can be replenished by removing other contenders from the contest (killing off their final life), this remains capped at three.
Contenders will not earn or lose experience.
Kills will be tracked in case of multiples still alive at the end of the contest. If more than one contender is alive at the end there will be a single area deathmatch to determine the winner.
All other contenders will be considered an enemy, allies will not be available.
Contenders will be able to pinpoint the location of other contenders at all times.
Immolation in the Yggdrasil flame will not be possible, recovery from death is by embrace only.
Do not accept assistance from outsiders.
Do not intentionally attack outsiders.
The following are entirely offlimits:
Refuge areas (isolation, nirvana, etc. Chaos plane is permitted for pacting.)
Ships.
Cities and non-public organisation property.
Signup with Haidar ahead of time to secure your place:
Say I wish to earn my name as a member of the class
Give Haidar the 100,000 when prompted.
Once you have signed up you cannot change your class choice. Choose wisely.
```
TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
```
If you are not participating in this contest officially DO NOT INTERFERE. You will be shrubbed for at least the duration of the contest if you do and may affect the competition for the contender you are attempting to help.
Outsiders should avoid contender fighting. If you are unlucky enough to die from contender fighting you have no recourse, you cannot hire and you cannot issue. Let it go. If you do not wish to die to a room attack, stay away from places where contenders are fighting.
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [A Great Hunt begins!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/09/19/a-great-hunt-begins)
**Published:** September 19, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For those who are not familiar, a Great Hunt is a 24 hour hunting contest with various credit prizes!
Prize tiers are split into three levels: below level 80, below level 99, and “open” which is anything above 99 and onwards!
As is customary, we have:
- Double experience (this has been in effect since yesterday and will continue through to the end of Sunday)
- Credits will be awarded to everyone who reaches different point thresholds. 5cr at 100 points, 10cr at 1000, and 15cr at 2500 points.
- Credit prizes for the top ten winners in each tier.
On top of that:
- All of the Great Hunt caves will be opening, offering bonus XP and gold for all the boss kills.
- Foray bosses have massively increased XP and gold rewards.
- Invasions will be breaking out on the Elemental Planes, also offering boosted XP for kills of hostile elementals.
- The Gnolls of Manara Burrow will be spreading their influence to the Granite Hills in great number for all lower level players to enjoy!
Good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [New Forays!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/09/18/new-forays)
**Published:** September 18, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As most of you have no doubt just observed, thanks to the efforts of Yudhishthira and the Conclave, there are now five new forays available!
Memories of the Second Conclave Reckoning have been recaptured and made available for intrepid dungeoneering groups. SIGN for these exactly as you would normally. Each of these new forays behaves in a similar fashion to the others, with a slight twist: the boss denizens are available from the start, leaving it up to you whether to engage the boss immediately and risk the ire of their supporting forces, or take a more strategic approach.
On top of that, you can now BUY INSURANCE at the foray board! The cost of this scales based on the foray and your group size. If you’ve paid your premium, you will be able to CALL FOR AID instead of embracing death to be resurrected outside your foray after the death sequence concludes.
Double experience is now in effect for the next 3 days, and as birthday month continues, we have a Great Hunt starting at the next Serenade, as well as yet more class showcases to come.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Happy birthday, Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/09/09/happy-birthday-achaea)
**Published:** September 9, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As of the serenade a few moments ago, today is officially Achaea’s 23rd birthday!
For the remainder of the month, everyone may type HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA once only to get a one-off reward of 23 bound credits and a 24 hour bonus to experience and critical hit chance. This will stack with double XP for the Great Hunt!
In addition to that, Certimene is now offering a daily quest for the rest of September. Acquire this quest in the usual fashion and you will be given a ledger and instructions. Complete this at least sixteen times to earn a very special reward!
The first of our class-related events begins in approximately nineteen hours, everything related to birthday events can be found on UPCOMING!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [September, our birthday month!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/09/01/september-our-birthday-month)
**Published:** September 1, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As our birthday month arrives we have a change in promotion and a big schedule of events prepped for September!
For those in need of credits or artefacts, we have a 40% bonus credit sale running for the duration of September (this is 50% if you have an Iron Elite membership!)
For those of you who want something a little more exciting we are bringing back Globes of Shifting Continents! These contain a variety of prizes open being opened, including:
- Credits. (These have been increased to match the 40% credit sale!)
- Talisman caches, containing pieces from the blackwave and races sets (pick which set you’d like when opening).
- Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. These cards trade in for 33 bound credits, so even if you do not want what you get, you’re not out of pocket.
- Mayan crowns.
- Bloodstained shards.
- Customisation credits.
- Artefact discount vouchers.
- A range of artefacts, from very small ones all the way up to statistic altering ones.
- Free reincarnations/trait resets(\*).
- Additional tradeskill slots(\*).
- Small bonuses such as racetrack tickets or shop carts. These will always be awarded alongside another prize and are not factored into the value of your globe’s contents.
- You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former’s case, or have 3 or more slots already in the latter’s case. You’ll receive a different price instead.
In addition, every 500th(\*) globe that is opened will receive a bonus prize: in this case being an OFFSPRING TALISMAN.
For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you’ll still get your free globe.
With promotion details out of the way, Achaea turns 23 on September 9th and this year we’re celebrating Achaea’s classes!
Here’s a small taste of what we have in store for the month!
- A daily quest kicking off on the 9th.
- At least one event almost everyday celebrating something about a specific class.
- A special Quiz will be held on the 12th.
- An update to Forays will happen on the 18th.
- A Great Hunt will be held on the 19th plus double experience all weekend.
- A very special PK contest will happen on the 26th.
- Last, but by no means least, keep an ear open for Tharos’ announcements as he’ll be running world games all month long!
Keep an eye on UPCOMING and ANNOUNCE news as the month moves on, we’ll be adding all notable times and dates to that!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Changelog - 08/25/2020](https://www.achaea.com/2020/08/26/changelog-08-25-2020)
**Published:** August 26, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- Ideas are no longer hidden from players once they reach ten supporting votes. Instead, ideas will now remain on the list and open for voting to get a better sense of actual support, and to prevent a constant stream of duplicate ideas.
- Ship logs for added/removed permissions will describe the actual permission being removed.
- Souls can no longer bypass housing security upgrades.
- Infernals regain essence once more, though at a reduced rate compared to Apostates (50%).
- Wiping a hellforged weapon will now also cleanse it of investments, if relevant.
- Serverside curing will now recognize damaged torso when received from Oppression Ravage.
- Sublimation Nocturne will no longer kill the same target multiple times if they are no longer in their starting room. This primarily impacts people leaving arenas, as well as arena games where players are immediately resurrected elsewhere in the arena.
- Sublimation and Oppression abilities now have associated deathsights.
- Shortnames for snake/ and falcon/ have been added.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [A busy week for roleplay!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/08/23/a-busy-week-for-roleplay)
**Published:** August 23, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
What an eventful week for roleplay (and combat) this has been! In case you have missed it, here is a brief rundown of some notable happenings.
Eleusis and the Aalen Tsol’aa began the week by cooperating for a mysterious ritual that many are still wondering about.
In Ashtan, progress was finally made on a shadowy conspiracy involving apocalyptic prophecies and disappearances, its citizens finding a likely culprit.
Cyrene, the once isolationist city, pulled its army together and decided that enough was enough, striking back at their enemies and leaving them bewildered with their newfound military might and confidence.
Hashan turned inward, a certain mouthy publican compelling the city government to clean up the streets – quite literally!
Mhaldor was given a great gift by their God of Evil, who bestowed the skill of Oppression upon His Infernals, granting them the responsibility to subjugate all of Evil’s enemies with the great new powers they now bear.
Targossas began the week by declaring a more aggressive policy for excommunication, ensuring that the gifts of Devotion are barred from those who are not true believers. The Goddess of Light then gifted the city with a fountain from sunken Shallam, only mildly annoyed by the insistence of some citizens on drinking the water.
Finally, we have reached the end of an era. The Prophet of Babel, Flair Ze’Dekiah, was bestowed a great honour: he was appointed the Supreme Pontiff of the Outer Planes, departing the Prime Material and Achaea to serve in the Unspoken City. His legacy remains with his friends, the Cult of Oblivion, and the City of Ashtan, who recognise this moment as bittersweet.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Changelog: 08/14/2020 - 08/18/2020](https://www.achaea.com/2020/08/19/changelog-08-14-2020-08-18-2020)
**Published:** August 19, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
- SHIP TRADE DEAL SHOW will now show which player accepted the trade deal for personal trades.
- In most instances, stencils may now be manipulated with their specific type (e.g. HAMMERSTENCIL or SHIELDSTENCIL), rather than having to use their specific IDs.
- As with other similar commands, GET FROM and PUT IN now accept an optional HERE argument, to specify an item in your room, rather than your inventory.
- LOOK STARS will no longer have ASCII art for VI players.
- ARTEFACT VALUE will no longer display values for talismans that are ineligible for tradein.
- AIM will now include a failure message if the player is out of their selected colour of arrow.
- CITY GUARD LIST now takes an optional argument for guard type, and will only list guards of the type specified.
- Editing a project now requires very close to full health, rather than full health.
- WHISTLE MOUNT will now accept a mount’s name instead of its ID.
- DOLLLIST and PUPPETLIST will no longer display the full doll name, to prevent cutting off the names of your victims.
- BUY FROM CART will now work as an alternative to CART PURCHASE, for shop carts.
- Item shortnames have been added for easier item handling. See HELP SHORTNAMES for details!
- Casov will now return non-trophy items that are given to him.
- It is now possible to CITY BOUNTY CLAIM by name, as well as by bounty ID.
- Shipfitters with access to the FLAIR skill can now use the MATERIALS command.
- It is now possible to use two forwardslashes to escape multiline commands in aliases.
- A small subset of battle figurines will no longer reset from inside a miniature display arena.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [Warding of the Aalen](https://www.achaea.com/2020/08/17/warding-of-the-aalen)
**Published:** August 17, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
King Tu’eras,
As you commanded, here are the details regarding my studies abroad. I apologise for my liberal interpretation of your command, but I thought it best to explore every avenue available to me.
I began my journey in the Village of Eleusis, where Exivus led a ritual hoping to gain the attention of the Ladies Artemis and Gaia once more. Many of the Villagers showed up for the ritual, and I found it very touching. I suppose time will tell if it was successful or not…
Following Eleusis, I travelled to Hashan. Asani instructed me on the nature of their Wellspring – something the Tsol’teth helped in accessing I believe – before conducting a ritual which alters the probabilities surrounding a person. Supposedly, this increases one’s good fortune. I did not encounter any trouble upon the road, so I like to think it worked. Once the ritual was over, an insane girl known as Tesha kidnapped me and forced me to stare at ducks. I’m not entirely sure why she felt this was important, perhaps some cult devoted to the worship of waterfowl.
The next stop on my journey was Targossas. Yen, a ritualist there, instructed me on the historical topic of ritualism and Good: an original ritual involving the Chalice of Purity; Flame ritualism bestowed by Lord Deucalion; and lastly a small ritual involving imbuing Devotional energies into two dormant Exarchs. Vasher then killed himself by drinking the waters there. Suicidal tendencies might be something to note of the people there.
After a long trek, I arrived in Cyrene next. Keorin led a ritual in honour of a spirit known as Bairn Muurn. Citizens deposited all sorts of items that the spirit enjoys – specifically sweets – into a basket meant for the spirit. Unrelated, but the Cyrenians have many fantastic things to offer in the realms of food and drink. One thing that does not fit into either category is an overtly spicy burger.
Indulging in the Cyrenian treats was probably a terrible idea in hindsight because my next stop was the city of Mhaldor, and the treats do not taste the same travelling in reverse. Stheno led a ritual with the intent of cursing a member of the Al’Jafri family. I’m not entirely certain what this person did but it must have been terrible, based on the contents of the ritual. I will not go into detail for your own benefit but suffice to say it was a very traumatic experience.
The last leg of my journey was the city of Ashtan. Jinsun led a ritual involving a mask of Flair’s, formed from Aalen redwood it seems. Shirszae literally held me down and forced me to combine my own blood with that of the Ashtani for the rite. Luckily I have not noticed any lasting effects so far.
Following our initial conversation, I conducted the ritual you commanded. You already know the details of this as you saw the result, though the first attempt failed miserably. Fortunately, I had the help of some of the Villagers to correct my mistakes: Vinceres, Tofi, Tukio, Exivus, Mina, Aelyn, Abuha, Eleazar, Shihai, and Torrent. Shirszae also helped, but this consideration does not excuse her previous crimes against my person.
I am unsure how exactly these things further your plans, but I hope I have done my part to your liking. At the very least I believe the newly-created memorial to your father will remain safe.
Yours to command,
Cre’alhal.
**Categories:** Event, Uncategorized
---
### [Changelog - 08/12/2020](https://www.achaea.com/2020/08/12/changelog-08-12-2020)
**Published:** August 12, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We just implemented a slew of various bug fixes and quality of life changes! Read on for the details:
- CURING PRIORITY now accepts multiple afflictions and priorities, to allow for mass editing of priorities with one command.
- CURING PRIORITY DEFENCE now accepts multiple defences and priorities, to allow for mass editing of priorities with one command.
- Brewing containers can now be emptied if their contents have been over-aged.
- Forager levels are now capped at 20.
- Foragers no longer gain experience outside of areas and seasons that produce commodities. They will still gain experience in these areas during these times if they do not gather any commodities.
- Shipchit talismans may now be used by shipfitters, so long as the shipchit belongs to the ship’s captain.
- Attempting to fire an arrow after using the PINSHOT ability will no longer cause a fake arrow to be fired at the target, consuming no balance and dealing no damage.
- It is no longer possible to manually consecrate a shrine during a worldburn.
- FREEZE GROUND will now unphase serpents upon use.
- Rank-locked OHELP scrolls will no longer be hidden from the index for players of sufficient rank to read them.
- You can now UNWIELD ALL to unwield both left and right hand weapons.
- You can now WIPE WIELDED to wipe venoms from any wielded weapons.
- It is no longer possible to EMBRACE FLAME at the World Tree while off balance or equilibrium.
- Revelation’s Guise miasma effect will now respect elevation.
- Flying mobs will no longer fly into indoors rooms.
- Mobs in trees will no longer wander into the space above rooms without trees.
- It is no longer possible to purchase multiple starburst tattoos from Vinci.
- Refunded gold bids from auctions now respect CONFIG CREDITPROCEEDS.
- INTREPIDTELL will no longer break prismatic barrier.
- It is now possible to file issues and bugs while astralformed or blackwinded.
- DURESS TAILWIND will no longer function for players who are dead or who have forsaken their elemental form.
- Diving bells (which are resetting by default) will no longer prevent a ship from being dismantled.
- Gilded pet cages will no longer change reset rooms when dropped by someone other than their owner. Affected cages have been returned to their owners’ inventories.
- The PENITENCE affliction will now last 30 minutes, rather than forever.
- Digsite collapses are lethal once more.
- The scouting pigeon will no longer report the locations of all players in the wilderness and on ships when used on a player in those areas. Instead, it will only report players in the same room as your target.
- Hypnosis attempts by phased serpents are no longer visible to unphased players.
- Lightwalls may no longer be conjured in the sky.
- Relics will now reset inside of mines and strongholds.
- Fairy wings can no longer be preserved indefinitely using stasis boxes, stockrooms, and other similar effects.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [Social media!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/08/04/social-media)
**Published:** August 4, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We are happy to announce that in order to better reach out and interact with our community, we are making use of our social media platforms in a greater capacity from now on! Follow us over on Twitter (@AchaeaIRE) or on Facebook ([http://facebook.com/achaea](http://facebook.com/achaea "Facebook")) and be part of the conversation.
To kick things off, we will be giving away 100 credits to our favourite answer for the following question: what is your favorite memory on Achaea? Just reply to our posts on either website or use the hashtag #MyAchaea and tell us your story!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Ship Happens](https://www.achaea.com/2020/07/20/ship-happens)
**Published:** July 20, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
From nowhere, an unexpected earthquake wracked Delos and the surrounding lands, causing the structural failures of Hashan’s planetarium to be made very evident.
As the vaunted observatory teetered under its own weight and threatened collapse, Lord Twilight manifested in defence of His city, securing the wavering tower in a woven shield of darkfire before it could fall. Though the eventual damage was minimal, Gaear street lies in rubble, the Disc of the Nocturne cast from the roof and shattered in twain.
Finally the quakes began to subside, yet as they did so, an exceptionally low tide was witnessed all down the Eastern coastline as the waters receded, a great power in the deep oceans drawing the seas back from the sand.
Near a day later the eastern horizon shifted, rising above the distant blue norm. At a painstakingly slow pace it continued to rise, a great wall of water moving inexorably landward, casting its ominous shadow over all it passed.
The Targossians worked hurriedly to evacuate the lower islands as the streets of the Dawnspear cooled beneath the shadow of the impending tidal wave, gathering all who would listen about the Flames of Dawn, the defensive heart of the city.
Lady Aurora descended from the Garden to join Her faithful, standing with scimitars ready to defend the Dawnspear. Armed and resolute in Her intention to protect Her charge, the shining Goddess addressed the massing populace and instructed them to join with Her, to stand united.
With Her faithful prepared the Lady ascended to a view of the city from which She commanded an immense shield wall as the water hurtled forth.
Upon the ground the tall figure of Sothantos de l’Evanoir, ex-Dawnlord was seen passing through the streets. Perhaps he was sweeping for citizens left behind or securing evacuees, but he soon entered the Luminai tower, the Eye of Dawn.
In the wake of the blademaster’s departure from the tower, after which he hastened from the city, the incoming wave slammed against the radiant shield of Light. The ships and creatures of the deep carried in its surf were decimated by the devastating impact. But behind the frothing horses loomed a larger vessel…
A massive war galley, lagging behind the ruined froth, careened up and over the raging swell, teetering at the very brink before keeling over the wave and the protective wall both. Only the Luminai tower stood in its way, helpless but to break its inevitable fall. Rubble remains of the Eye of Dawn, its gaze across Sapience broken by the catastrophic events.
Classless even in the aftermath of disaster, the Wayward Heir saw fit to remind Achaea that she still offered insurance for the cities who had not been affected, though it is suspected Her rates have gone up.
**Categories:** Event, Game Updates
---
### [War and Fleece](https://www.achaea.com/2020/07/15/war-and-fleece)
**Published:** July 15, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Lord Adryn,
As you requested, here is the full report over the incidents of the last few years.
On the 14th of Ero, in the year 831 AF, the neighbouring city of Targossas declared war on the western city of Mhaldor. Casus belli was cited as a Divine curse on the individuals Tianondria al Qawi and Vasher from the Lord of Evil, Sartan. The reason for the curse, as I have gathered, was an incident of defiling sacred ground. Neither of the two directly participated, but one was the wife of a participant, and the other attempted to heal him.
Whatever the case, Mhaldor accepted the war declaration on the 15th of Lupar of the selfsame year. For two years thereafter, the great cities waged a brutal campaign against one another, with Mhaldor securing an early and significant lead in casualties and city destruction both.
On Aeguary of the following year, eight months in, Targossas secured what seemed to be a significant swing in the tides of war, butchering the Mhaldorians and setting off no less than three explosive charges within their city. For four months, it seemed as if Targossas was poised to not only recover, but well on its way to becoming the victor. Unfortunately for them, Mhaldor quickly recovered, and soon the best the Dawnspear could manage was to hold their ground. On their good days, they looked to be about even with Mhaldor’s bloodthirst. On their off days, they were butchered like lambs to the slaughter by the western zealots.
From here, conditions only deteriorated for our neighbours. When the war ended in Lupar of 833, Mhaldor’s victory was decisive and undeniable. The God of Evil took this chance to curse Targossas with some sort of enchanted monument, though it only lasted a few months before Lady Aurora, the Lightbringer, tossed it back West in annoyance, having only tolerated it as long as She did as some form of respect for mortal affairs.
At any rate, none of this is particularly relevant to your query, my Lord. During the war, Pandora, the Wayward Heir – who seems to lack any of the aforementioned respect for mortal affairs – ran a betting book on the outcome of the war. Most curiously, it appears that the book was not only a massive financial failure, but it bankrupted Her, which I certainly did not believe possible. In a rather public display, we watched Her learn that the Lord Prospero does not allow for rampant creation of wealth, even by His Divine siblings.
To solve her problems of solubility, She declared that She would hold the first ‘Wayward Fair and Wares,’ where She would auction off some of the items in Her (presumably vast) collection. This is where we come in.
On Miraman of this year, your appointed servant was to arrive at the first of these three auctions and bid on your behalf for any useful or interesting items. Unfortunately, the ill-educated knave got lost and, as I found out this morning, found himself in Bitterfork instead of the Sangre Plains. He spent his time until now finding his way back to us, though I suspect he used his travel expenses to drink and partake in revelry. This is the reason no items were acquired for your grand estate.
While it is likely useless now, I compiled a list of the auctioned items for your curiosity or if you wish us to contact any of the winners to inquire about resale:
- Three Pandoran Tickets: one to turn an enemy of the winner’s choosing into a toad, one for the Wayward Heir’s assistance in event planning, and one to spend a day with Her in any manner the winner chooses. Sold to Ploutos for 800,000 gold, Lyndee for 5,100,000 gold, and Akri for 4,000,000 gold, respectively.
- One scrying parallelopipedon: function unknown, relic from a distant plane. Sold to Antonius for 3,300,000 gold.
- One crystalline egg: presumed to be Kx’Krah, though we have no records of their reproductive habits. Sold to Endryn for 1,500,000 gold
- One portrait of the Wayward Heir’s family. Sold to Morthif for 3,500,000 gold.
- One burning ice cube from another distant plane. Sold to Yen for 8,000,000 gold
- One scabbard to the sword ‘Two Suns.’ Sold to Taryius for 2,000,000 gold.
- One magpie figurehead. Sold to Elyon for 2,000,000 gold.
- One anklet of Pandora: purported to transport the user to either the Lady Pandora or Her temple. Sold to Tesha for 7,500,000 gold.
- The Warhorn of Aegis: stolen by the Goddess as some kind of prank, it seems. Sold to Keorin for 20,500,000 gold.
- One light-snuffing candle. Sold to Taryius for 5,300,00 gold.
- One empty door frame: purported to allow travel to distant worlds. Sold to Yen for 10,000,000 gold.
- One ring of Divine Justice, a token of the late Lady Miramar. Sold to Lyndee for 15,000,000 gold.
- War’s Pride, a sword crafted by the late Lord Matsuhama for Lady Pandora’s training as a youth. Sold to Seragorn for 22,000,000 gold.
- Admittance into Lady Pandora’s Order. Sold to Pathers for 5,000,000 gold.
With great reverence,
your most loyal servant.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Bug Fixing!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/07/22/bug-fixing)
**Published:** July 22, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Here are some bug fixes!
- Wonders talisman pieces will now redeem for 10cr.
- Sword and Board attacks against mobs will scale speed and damage properly based on attack type.
- You can no longer finish a consecration as a soul.
- Algiz runes will no longer offer any benefit whatsoever in combat against other players for non-Runewardens.
- Artefact discount vouchers may now be used to purchase artefact powers.
- Smokebombs will now affect all players, rather than just the user’s enemies.
- It is no longer possible to throw the haunch of meat from the Great Rock quest. For reasons.
- Duels to the death will no longer drop infamy.
- City-specific dragon quests will no longer appear in the adventurer’s tome.
- It is no longer possible to force another player to draw a legend card.
- Upon ordering an urn mount to go home, the mount will now always accompany you, rather than staying behind if it wasn’t in your entourage.
- Wights will no longer have a small percentage chance to drain anywhere up to and including 100% of a player’s maximum health on attack.
- Voyagers will no longer be stranded, with no escape from Maya’s Sundered Pearl.
- Players may no longer earring to Icosse’s prison.
- For the third, and hopefully final, time, totems will no longer be implantable in tents.
- Sculpting gain against denizens will be more consistent.
- It is no longer possible to salvage in a natural harbour.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/07/17/auctions-2)
**Published:** July 17, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
At the coming Serenade (in about six hours), we will be going live with twenty auctions! Ten of these will be for credits, and ten for gold!
This is just a heads up with a list of available prizes for you to all consider:
CREDIT AUCTIONS
1. Custom Elemental Lord or Dragon description
2. Custom Blademaster Sword
3. Custom Deathsight (either your own kills or your own death)
4. Any Completed Promo Talisman
5. A Holocaust Crown
6. An Yggdrasian Shard (allows resurrection of others)
7. An Ankh of Vitality
8. Innate Morphing Armour
9. Enhanced Shop Cart
10. Racial Language Token
GOLD AUCTIONS
1. Elemental Amnesty (reset your factional standing entirely, once)
2. Any Level 1 Promo Talisman Piece
3. Any Level 1 Promo Talisman Piece
4. Any Legend Deck Card (see HELP LEGENDDECK)
5. Any Legend Deck Card (see HELP LEGENDDECK)
6. Combination Artefact (see HELP PROMO ITEMS)
7. Combination Artefact (see HELP PROMO ITEMS)
8. 300 Housing Credits
9. 300 Housing Credits
10. Out of Subs Plot (this will be located on a cliffside in the Aalen Forest).
For those unfamiliar, [HELP AUCTIONS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1170 "https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1170") has all the info you need.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Shop Lottery Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/06/27/shop-lottery-winners)
**Published:** June 27, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We recently ran a lottery to find new owners of three shopfronts in Delos!
The winners are Profit, Blive, and Mycen!
Congratulations to our new Delosian shopkeepers, we wish them heavy foot traffic, and secure sigils!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Black Lives Matter](https://www.achaea.com/2020/06/07/black-lives-matter)
**Published:** June 7, 2020
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
Over the last week, millions of people have protested the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Citizens of the United States and other countries are demanding justice and equity. We’re seeing a movement for change that hasn’t been seen in our lifetimes, and it’s long overdue.
First, we stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. We stand against racism. We stand against police brutality. We stand against systemic injustice.
That said, what are a bunch of words from our little company going to do in the grand scheme? Not much. Real change doesn’t come from making posts on social media and sending newsletters. Real change comes from taking direct action. Real change comes from replacing ineffective and bad leaders and changing harmful laws and procedures.
We recently watched Barack Obama’s speech about the George Floyd protests. We’re not going to pretend everyone shares his political views, but we feel Mr. Obama made good points that transcend our differences.
His main point was that while the protests highlight problems in our society we need to combine protests with action and create realistic solutions based on research and data shown to effective. We need to make local leaders put evidence-based procedures in place that we know work. If you haven’t watched this presentation, here is a link:
- <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ui923iXlKU>
In short, protest if you’re willing, and then take other action as well. What action can you take? You can call local and national leadership, sign petitions, and donate to charities and programs. And, of course, you can and should vote out those who act as impediments to change.
Many of us at Iron Realms have been out protesting and making donations to a wide variety of groups related to Black Lives Matter, and we strongly encourage you to do the same. Here are some of the groups we’ve been giving to, in case you’re looking for somewhere to give and aren’t sure where:
- [https://blacklivesmatter.com](https://blacklivesmatter.com/)
- <https://www.restoringjustice.org/>
- [https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com](https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/)
- <https://www.naacpldf.org/>
- <https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd>
- <https://action.aclu.org/give/now>
- <https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory>
- <https://www.nlg-npap.org/donate/>
We’ve also found this to be a useful top-level resource for all sorts of info and resources around BLM:
- <https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/>
We’re living in historic times. Let’s all work to make sure we come out of this better than we were before.
In solidarity,
Jeremy Saunders, Matt Mihaly, and the Iron Realms team.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Iron Realms Relieves 1.5 Million in Medical Debt](https://www.achaea.com/2020/06/01/iron-realms-donates-15000-to-rip-medical-debt)
**Published:** June 1, 2020
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
Iron Realms Entertainment is excited to announce a donation of $15,000 dollars to the Covid Heroes Fund from RIP Medical Debt. This is a direct result of your credit and pet purchases. Everyone at Iron Realms would like to thank our players for their generous donations. The support and response to this effort was amazing. Players purchased over 500 pets in the last two weeks.
Your donations will help American first responders and healthcare workers by purchasing and abolishing their medical debts. Healthcare workers around the world have been laboring nonstop to assist the sick and elderly during the global COVID pandemic. Many of these people have struggled with inadequate safety equipment, protection, and wages. Combined with the financial stress of job loss and medical debts, many of these families are struggling to survive while continuing to help others in their communities.
Your purchases help relieve the pressure on these families.
You can read more about how this money goes to work on their website. <https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaigns/>
RIP Medical Debt will make a purchase of debt with your donations later this month. The moment we receive the details about this purchase, we will share the details with you.
I want to thank you for helping make a positive difference. Your support encourages us to continue finding ways to help our local and global communities.
Jeremy Saunders
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Built to Scale](https://www.achaea.com/2020/05/26/built-to-scale)
**Published:** May 26, 2020
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Over the past few weeks, we’ve made a number of tweaks to foray balancing in one direction or another, mostly as a result of fixing bugs that negatively affected play experiences in both directions, with some bosses being far too difficult and others being comparable to the Imp Lord (long may he reign).
Foray scaling has long been an issue that we’ve had to tiptoe around due to our previous scaling system, with minor tweaks to make things more suitable for one group making them entirely impossible to complete for another group. In many cases, it made lower-level players an active detriment to a foray group, and almost entirely excluded non-dragons from any sort of meaningful contribution.
There was also a large discrepancy between the difficulty of different forays, to the point where some forays could be attempted with a full team of dragons artied to the teeth performing without mistakes, and would still fall apart due to factors out of the players’ control.
Today, we’ve made a slew of changes to the foray experience that should bring all these things (and a number of other inconveniences) in line, meaning that forays should be far more accessible and consistent, while still offering a suitable level of difficulty. We’ll be monitoring foray performance over the coming days to make further (hopefully minor) tweaks to the difficulty scaling if necessary.
As it stands currently, forays still retain a level of difficulty, but most have been brought in line to the point where they should be difficult but completable by a well-prepared group, regardless of artefacts, class, or dragonform. Naturally, class abilities, artefacts, and the like will give you advantages in this way or that, but no longer to the same degree, nor should they be required for most forays.
We’ll also be keeping an eye on the discussion and feedback surrounding these changes, both in game and on the forums, so if you feel something is out of place, too difficult, not difficult enough, or if there are other improvements to be made to forays following these changes, feel free to discuss. As always, if you run into things that aren’t working as they should, please feel free to file a BUG, and we will address it as soon as possible.
Happy Hunting!
[What are Forays? Click here for more info.](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1421)
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Helping Covid Heroes Fund](https://www.achaea.com/2020/05/13/helping-covid-heros-fund)
**Published:** May 13, 2020
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Greetings, citizens of the Iron Realms,
I hope everyone’s doing as well as they can in these plague times. I feel like we’re living through a really badly-run event in one of our games, and whoever is running the event has completely forgotten that they’re supposed to be fun.
In any case, while people are being laid off left and right (my wife was laid off last week), Iron Realms is in a position where our work hasn’t really been disrupted. We all work from home offices anyway, and remotely working together is baked into our company’s DNA. We haven’t had to lay anyone off because of Covid, in fact, for which we’re all grateful.
So, we want to do something to help. We looked around, and decided that we want to support a charity called RIP Medical Debt. It got some fame a few years ago when John Oliver bought $14m in medical debt for $60k and gave it to them to retire.
What they do is buy and pay off the medical debt of people for whom it is a large financial burden, at 1 penny on the dollar. In other words, $1 can pay off $100 of someone’s medical debt. For those of you who don’t live in the US, our health system here allows people to go into crippling debt because they got sick or injured, to the point of financial ruin. According to one study from 2019, about 530,000 annual bankruptcies in the US are at least partly-caused by medical debt.
In this case, RIP Medical Debt recently started a fund – the Helping Covid Heroes Fund – that specifically buys up and pays off the medical debt of healthcare workers and first responders who are seriously financially burdened by the debt (so a doctor making $300k isn’t getting her student loans paid off by this, for instance).
I saw that and immediately thought, “This is what we want to support.” The impact per dollar is just so high.
We’re going to be doing two things for the rest of this month:
1. Each game is creating a minipet that’ll be for sale on the website for $5. 100% of revenue from these will go to the Helping Covid Heroes Fund. <https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaigns/>
2. We’re going to donate 20% of our revenue (minus revenue from the minipets as we’re already donating 100% of those), up to a max of $12,000, for the rest of this month.
If we raised $12,000 from #2 and another $3000 from #1, that’d pay off $1.5 million in medical debt for Covid heroes!
We’ll announce how much was raised after the bookkeeping is done in early-ish June, and donate the money raised then as well. It’s not a world-changing amount, but it could be life-changing for the people whose debt is paid off.
Finally, we’re also going to increase daily free credits available each day until the end of the month – your game producers will post details themselves there.
Stay well,
Matt/Sarapis/Aurelius
CEO, Iron Realms
**Categories:** Announcements
**Tags:** charity, corona, covid, first responders, virus
---
### [A Few Weeks Of Escapism!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/03/20/a-few-weeks-of-escapism)
**Published:** March 20, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As the current climate outdoors becomes more stressful and tense for many of us, we’ve been working on a bit of a plan to make good use of your extra Achaea hours!
So whether social distancing is everyday for you, or you’re already climbing the walls under some kind of enforced quarantine, there should be something fun to do in Achaea!
March 20th – 27th
The application period is open for the Conclave’s vacancy!
Contact your local denizens (or even your fellows) of magical renown or just misguided ambition and assist them in preparing their applications for submission!
See [Public news #20670](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Public&number=20670) for more information.
March 22nd
An artisanal and bardic contest opens!
March 23rd – 27th
Double XP!
March 25th
A 24 hour great hunt will go live!
From 00:00:00 – 23:59:00
Traditional Great Hunt tiers, and credits for point thresholds will be on offer!
March 28th
CTF day!
March 28th – April 3rd
Conclave referendums open!
Back your candidates and prepare/give speeches, rallies, debates and earn votes in the Conclave’s short list referendum!
April 3rd – 18th
A Reckoning begins in earnest, pitting the followers of each short listed candidate against one another to see who will take the open seat!
April 18th
Reckoning finale.
April 23rd – May 4th
The Asterian Restoration’s year long Festival of History!
Please be aware that some event dates may shift depending on involvement and unforeseen happenings! We will be adding things to UPCOMING as and when the dates are finalised! Keep an eye on this board for more details as things happen!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [1st Raffle Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/03/16/1st-raffle-winners)
**Published:** March 16, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The first of our raffles has been drawn with **Majin** claiming the first prize of anything from our recently closed auctions! 9 other lucky winners took home credits or Mayan crowns!
Winner: Majin (an auction artefact from the recent auctions of his choice!)
2nd place (500 credits): Limea
3rd place (500 credits): Amanda
4th place (500 credits): Fynn
5th place (500 credits): Aleth
6th place (2 Mayan crowns): Lyrikai
7th place (2 Mayan crowns): Marxi
8th place (2 Mayan crowns): Minifie
9th place (2 Mayan crowns): Crixos
10th place (2 Mayan crowns): Iaxus
Everyone else got 2 bound credits per ticket they had in the raffle!
To earn tickets in the next raffle you can spin the Wheel of Fortune with a prismatic token (every token spin earns a ticket) and you get a free ticket when you reach the renown cap on any given day during the month!
Remember, we’ll be drawing another one at the end of March, that raffle begins now!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [CTF and Bazaar!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/03/06/ctf-and-bazaar)
**Published:** March 6, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve nailed down a date for the Game of Eyes CTF and the Itinerant Bazaar will be returning for three openings this month!
The CTF will take place on 28th March at 11PM GMT (this is one hour before Serenade). This will be a Game of Eyes variant with shifting hills, and the winning city will claim the Effigy of Victory for themselves!
The Itinerant Bazaar returns on the 15th, the 17th, and the 20th. Its tents will remain open each time until all stock is gone, then Kelath will draw his special mount raffle!
Check **UPCOMING** when in game to keep track of specific times for all of these and don’t miss out!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Practice Spars!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/02/21/practice-spars)
**Published:** February 21, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
 We’ve just loaded up a small update to the arena practice mode that automatically transcends your class skills when engaged in a practice duel!
This is mostly targeted at newer players to let them trial a class before committing to embrace, but we’re sure a few of you established players might benefit as well!
Use **CHALLENGE <adventurer> TO PRACTICE** at any arena to make use of this!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Daily Credits - Adventures!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/02/16/daily-credits-adventures)
**Published:** February 16, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
This is a huge update that we’ve been excited about since we begun working on Adventures back in February 2019! Completing adventures rewards with renown, but this now translates automatically to bound credits!
Adventures can now be completed every day, without being locked to theme!
You can complete multiple adventures each day!
There will still be a rotating theme, and the first adventure on theme you complete each day will reward with double renown!
Renown has been adjusted across the board.
Adventures can only be embarked on once per day per person.
Questing adventures have been removed.
Questing will be a passive adventure that you do not need to embark upon.
Renown (up to the cap) will be awarded based on completion of quest system quests.
Each quest completed will only count once for renown per person, per day.
Questing is not considered part of any adventure theme.
Questing in excessively low level areas will not reward higher level players, AREAS is a good guide of whether or not an area will be appropriate for you.
Quests completed in areas that are suitable for levels 90 and above will reward renown for all.
For every 100 renown earned in a day, you will earn 1 bound credit. This caps out at 2000 renown per day, (20 bound credits)!
Renown cannot be earned past 2000 and will not carry over, renown values reset at Serenade.
All existing renown will be converted as per this system, 5 renown converting to 1 bound credit. This does not affect your renown gain for today.
Commands are:
**ADVENTURE EMBARK <#>** – Embark on your chosen adventure
**ADVENTURE LIST \[easy/medium/hard/seafaring/conflict/exploration/hunting\]** – List the adventures available to you. As you complete an adventure it will be removed from the list.
**ADVENTURE RECALL** – Recall the details of your chosen adventure.
**ADVENTURE REJECT** – Reject your chosen adventure.
**ADVENTURE THEME** – Show the current theme for a sweet double renown adventure.
**RENOWN/SCORE RESOURCES** – How much renown you have earned today.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Clan Housing!](https://www.achaea.com/2020/01/18/clan-housing)
**Published:** January 18, 2020
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
House owners in Achaea are now able to transfer ownership of their houses to a democratic clan to create [clan-owned properties](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5171)!
This functionally allows such clans to own houses in their own right and even designate rooms for use of members without them having to own an entire estate themselves, along with all the benefits that a property confers!
For as long as a person remains room owner, they can place furniture as they see fit, edit door permissions for doors coming into and out of their room, hang artwork, and more!
Clan members will have access to upgrades such as regeneration rooms, stables, and the like (provided they have the door permissions to access them.)
[HELP CLAN HOUSING](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1515) has been added for reference!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Achaea 2020](https://www.achaea.com/2020/01/13/achaea-2020)
**Published:** January 13, 2020
**Author:** Ictinus
**Content:**
Another year of madness is under our belts with a whole host of additions, changes, events, and stories to look back on! For me personally, this is my third Christmas with Achaea and while the unique insanity that was Yggdrasil can never quite be surpassed, I can say with confidence that this has been my favourite year yet.
### **What happened in 2019?**
Looking back on the year, we began with the addition of bribing and urgent crafting submissions – two features that have gone on to become staples in the combat and crafting meta (such as they are!) going forward.
**February** saw the introduction of the talisman shop and another step in our commitment to improving in-game acquisition of premium items. Bruyan and Zuldra got married, the Artisanal and Bardic society hosted a competition, and the Priests of Achaea learned to wield the powers of Zeal!
IRE said goodbye to Tecton in **March** and still miss him dearly. Ocedda of Nur began offering his services to Achaeans who wanted to get married, and we’ve seen many weddings take place in the temple of Eros since (though none have yet been courageous enough to accept the former Elder God’s offer of accomodations for their honeymoons!)
**April** began what would be the biggest event of the year: the Third Black Wave, commencing with the destruction of the barrier, the release of fragments, and the Tsol’teth crusade against the Gods on Nishnatoba. The invasion and conquest of Cyrene would soon follow, and Achaeans of Hashan and Targossas would form the first adventurer alliances with the Underrealm.
The adventuring system was released in the month of **May**, while the Third Black Wave event continued on before culminating in the dual invasions of Ashtan and Mhaldor and the heroic recapturing of Cyrene from the Tsol’teth.
Dominating most of **June** was the Year 802 games, which saw Farrah rise to claim the Staff of Nicator while Keorin of Cyrene led the Seleucarian Games in resistance to the Underrealm. Eleusis and Hashan went to war (the winner, as ever, was unclear), and the skill of Sublimation was released as an alternative field of study for Hashani alchemists!
Nissa organised the Worlds’ Fair throughout **July**, a cultural extravaganza that was by far one of the best events we have ever had the pleasure to run. Lady Lorielan and Lord Twilight rounded off the debate series with a vicious dispute of their own, and later in the month, a cunning thief and the dastardly dowager conspired to reintroduce organised crime into Achaea in the form of fences!
In **September**, Achaea turned 22 years old and saw the release of Artistry, Beverages, and Shipfitting! Foragers came into being to continue our aim of interactive commodity generation, and a grand party coincided with the birthday month as Lady Pandora cast off the demands of Her father and began to find Her own way as the Wayward Heir!
Mayaween was a spooky affair as usual, introducing Ermintrude Goree to oversee the addition of a fighting pit in Griesly Manor, heralding the arrival of Scrappers in late **October** after Boss Jovan and Elma Koa began offering training to adventurers in pet battling.
As we reached the end of the year, the release of Borak, freed by Pandora, sent the seas into violent upheaval, resulting in greatly enhanced danger on the oceans and a series of new voyages for stalwart sailors to undertake!
Alongside all of this, our team have continued to toil away at fixing bugs, implementing ideas, working on classleads and improving combat balance, as well as dozens of other additions such as improved artefact helpfiles, more configuration options, fallback curing, seafaring waymarkers, and a number of raid and city guard changes to better facilitate the raiding experience!
It has been another big year, and as we look forward now to 2020, we have no plans to slow down!
### **What can we expect in 2020?**
After a huge amount of new additions and systems into the game world, it is time for us to look back on what already exists in Achaea and ensure it meets the standards we set ourselves. To that end, you can expect the first quarter to focus on updates to the forays, dragon lairs, adventuring, and resolutions systems, as well as a detailed audit of the Underworld.
City honours quests will continue implementation and begin release early in the month of January.
Our dedication to quality of life and quality of product will continue with a consistent focus on bug fixes and issue resolutions.
We’ll be exploring some new avenues for conflict generation, and looking to continue our theme of storytelling to ensure plenty of engaging and exciting events throughout the year.
Org culture and identity is still on our minds, and our patrons have lots of things in store for you all!
There’s plenty more that can’t be revealed at the moment, but I can guarantee that it will be yet another incredible year for Achaea!
*– Icti, Nicola, and Mak*
*Discuss on the forums at <https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/7076/a-history-of-2019-and-teasers-for-2020>*
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Here Be Krakens!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/12/05/here-be-krakens)
**Published:** December 5, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Alongside new voyages and seamonster changes, we’re making some tweaks to seamonster combat and fixing some long-standing bugs.
- Seamonsters will no longer stop attacking entirely after they’ve lost all targets and are re-engaged.
- Seamonsters will no longer waste attacks on sunken ships.
- Seamonsters will no longer target a sunken ship when there is another ship to target nearby.
- Rather than lurking when they’ve lost their target, seamonsters will return, deeper into the areas of sea they roam.
- Seamonsters will no longer batter a shielded ship forever. Seamonster attacks that fail due to windshield have a chance to break the shield (higher chance for higher level monsters).
- Ships that are already sinking will have a low chance to sink outright each time their hull is damaged by a seamonster.
Enjoy and keep a weather eye out, should the ocean turn black you may wish to turn back.
**Categories:** Announcements, Bug Fixes
---
### [Voyages!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/12/01/voyages)
**Published:** December 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The effects of Borak’s release are not only felt on the land but have also rippled below the waves, reaching across all the oceans!
While all pre-existing seamonster zones remain in effect, there is now a chance of encountering seamonsters virtually anywhere upon the sea while you are sailing!
Further, the SEAFARING talisman set can now be obtained by entirely in-game means (via voyages, see below). Each talisman still requires four pieces to create, and we’ve made a couple of adjustments to ensure the set makes sense in the context of the modern game:
- The **CROSSBOW** has been removed from the set. Existing crossbows remain as normal.
- The **SHIPCHIT** now offers a 100% discount on the cost of your next shipfitting enhancement.
- **HELP SEAFARING TALISMANS** has all the details of the whole set.
Finally, the harbourmasters and dockworks of mainland Sapience have a number of new **VOYAGES** to offer to adventurous captains and their crews!
Initially there are eleven diverse adventures available in the Voyage system. Invariably these involve a grand journey on the high seas, venturing forth from island to island, harbour to harbour, coast to coast, in order to complete the objectives, hear the stories, and claim the vast rewards at the end.
These are not to be undertaken lightly! The seafaring life can be a long one, and only the simplest of voyages can be done in a quick jaunt, from a single harbour to a single harbour. Most are much more diverse and cerebral, involving several-leg journeys that aim to tell a varied and robust range of stories, in most cases unfolding as the voyage itself progresses.
When a voyage is concluded, **ALL** members of the participating crew will be credited with completion and rewarded accordingly.
All voyages offer greatly increased gold and experience rewards over standard quests.
In addition to the standard rewards, most voyages award pieces from the SEAFARING talisman set. Pieces are awarded to the captain when the quest is finished, and these can of course be traded around as desired.
The amount of pieces awarded varies; simple voyages will not yield pieces, others range from 1 piece per ship up to a piece for every member of the crew.
We strongly advise reading **HELP VOYAGES** which has a much more comprehensive outline of the system include essential info on starting and concluding a voyage quest.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Ideas and Legends!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/11/23/ideas-and-legends)
**Published:** November 23, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The team has been hard at working going over some of the approved ideas and making some quality of life updates to the Legends Deck Help!
The Legends Deck help has been entirely overhauled, hopefully making it much easier to find the information you want!
If you’re looking for info on a certain suit, simply use **LDECK HELP (suitname)**!
Did you see someone use a legend card to summon an icewall, but you’re not sure which card it was? **LDECK SEARCH ICEWALL**!
If you are one of those people who just loves a full and verbose Help file, simply use **LDECK HELP** by itself will list all cards, as well as their associated syntaxes, powers, charges, and cooldowns!
Now for some of your Ideas!
- **FORGING SHOW** will now offer an example of the descriptor’s effect on an item’s examined description.
- **COOLDOWNS** is now usable while a soul.
- **SPIN WHEEL** when not at the wheel of fortune will tell you how long until your daily spin, or if you have already spun.
- GMCP Target health should be updated for all players in the room who have the denizen targetted, rather than just the attacker.
- Cutting the ears off of a decapitated head will now be visible on the head itself.
- Firelords should no longer require tinderboxes for anything. For obvious reasons.
- Players may teach class skills that they know regardless of their current specialisation. This affects shikudo, tekura, sublimation, and formulation.
- The **EARRINGS** command will now distinguish between master earrings and linked earrings.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Scrappers!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/11/01/scrappers)
**Published:** November 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Our minipet expansion system, **SCRAPPERS**, is now live! We hope that this encourages you to get that poor otter out of that crate and find it a loving home!
Scrappers allows you to register your minipets as scrappers and use them to battle other scrappers, levelling them up to be fighting machines, or even collecting minipets to exchange for snazzy prestiged versions!
**[HELP SCRAPPERS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1508)** has all of the details but here’s a brief overview of the commands and info to get you started right away.
Visit Jovan or Elma and **SCRAPPER REGISTER <minipetID>**
This will cost 25,000 gold and upgrade a standard minipet into a default prestige scrapper at level 1 with health(hp), attack(atk), and defence(def) stats.
**SCRAPPER INFO <scrapperID>**
View all information about your scrapper!
**SCRAPPER**
Also has more command options!
**SMATCH**
Everything scrapper battling! Just follow the menu prompts!
All scrappers have access to a set of four different attacks, unlocked sequentially as they reach levels 1, 3, 12, and 20.
Prestiged scrappers have higher potential for health, attack, and defence gain upon level up, and also start with a higher base health.
Take two of the same type scrappers to either Jovan or Elma and use the following command while you have 10,000 gold in hand:
**SCRAPPER EXCHANGE <scrapperID> and <scrapperID>**
The two scrappers must be level 5 or greater and of the same prestige type (default, bronze, silver)
The two default scrappers will be taken from you and exchanged for a level 1 bronze scrapper of the same type!
To create a silver prestige scrapper you will need 2 bronze prestige scrappers of the same type.
To create a gold prestige scrapper you will need 2 silver prestige scrappers of the same type.
Most artefact pets will also be able to be turned into scrappers, see **[HELP PETS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=358)** for all the details on that.
Happy Scrapping!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Smörgåsbord of News](https://www.achaea.com/2019/10/30/smorgasbord-of-news)
**Published:** October 30, 2019
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
## December Quest Update
We’re super excited to announce our next big game update: **honours level city exclusive quests and a whole hoard of content for ships and seafarers!**
Most of this update will be geared towards completing quests as groups. Particularly, city-specific content which will help to inspire bonding and cultural identity strengthening within the factions. Oh, and they’ll all have a world-shaking impact too!
Meanwhile, at sea we’ll be creating a slew of quests just for ships, their captains, and their crew!
For the next four weeks, we’re hosting a story-writing contest. The contest is a unique opportunity for lucky player to have a seafaring story of your own imagining implemented into this system! [Check out Nicola’s post on the forums by clicking here](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/7016/our-december-plans).
## One More Day for Fighting Pits
If you are enjoying the fighting pits which are overseen by Ermintrude Goree, you only have one more day to participate before they disappear until the next Mayaween.
See [HELP MAYAWEEN](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=mayaween) if you are not sure what to do. Don’t forget that you can get racetrack tickets with all credit purchases this month!
## Recent Bug Fixes
- Access to House PROJECTS (both viewing and editing) is now accessible as house powers, to be modified by the house leader or ruling council. At the time of posting, the power to view projects defaults to rank 1 across all houses for the sake of convenience.
- The SEARING GLYPH talisman will no longer function against sea monsters.
- A Depthswalker’s FULCRUM will no longer be removed after certain failed attempts to return to it.
- The DEMOLITION SPHERE talisman will now properly show destroyed walls in adjacent rooms.
- Throwing a butterfly bomb will now respect the Ama-maalier legenddeck card.
- Players deepsea diving will no longer find themselves randomly drowned under unusual circumstances.
- DURESS STORMFRONT and the PAZUZU legenddeck card will no longer prevent a player from entering a sewer grate.
- ENGAGE will now proc on players entering a sewer grate.
- The LIGHTBIND affliction will now clear when the afflicting Psion dies.
- LESSERFORM will no longer allow Blademasters to wield shields.
- SPECIALISATIONS will now list beverages specialisations alongside other specs.
- Removing an Incandescent Sigil will now properly remove the item’s effect.
- Multi-purpose cranes will no longer cause problems when attempting to salvage.
- INCOMPREHENSIBILITY now properly affects emotes.
- Deleted Blademaster swords will no longer prevent players from obtaining a new sword in rare cases.
- METAMORPHOSIS TRUMPET will no longer disrupt players that are immune to being disrupted.
- It is now impossible to fall while under the influence of the Ama-maalier legenddeck card, even if unable to fly.
- Issues with SUBLIMATION IMPOSITION not affecting costs have been resolved.
- Stacking afflictions (such as wrist fractures) will now send GMCP affliction messages at all stages.
- Automatic defup of ZEAL blessings will no longer use old syntaxes.
- Various instances of serverside curing spamming defences have been fixed.
- WORM RESONANCE now respects the mindseye tattoo.
- Jesters are no longer able to build stutter stacks on themselves.
- Elemental lords may no longer use suicide mice.
- Various typos and helpfile issues have been fixed.
## Foraging Updates
- Base forager damage has been increased slightly.
- Forager’s damage is now boosted more by their level than previously.
- You will now receive some information based on how battles went when your foragers encounter conflict. It does not tell you when battles are avoided, as this could potentially happen a great number of times in one round and inundate you with messages.
- If your foragers are now avoided, they will seek out another potential target. this will continue until they find a viable target or until all potential targets have talked their way out of battles with you for that round.
- The chance to talk your way out of a fight now goes down the more of your foragers that are dead when adopting a DIPLOMATIC approach.
- You can now FORAGERS SCOUT BRIEF\|THOROUGH. Brief scouting works as previously with the same gold cost, thorough scouting will tell you how many bands are already scouring an area but will cost 1000 gold.
- Commodities now spawn a third of the seasons worth each month of that season, rather than all spawning at once on the first month.
- Wood production has been raised by 30% across all areas.
- Forager wages (the gold incurred when sending out a band) have been raised. We’ll continue to monitor this value to ensure its within reasonable limits.
## PVE Damage Changes
We’ve been looking at damage against mobs across the various classes and will be making some changes here going forward, to bring up the weaker candidates to a more standard level of strength. While doing this we’ve gone through and made the various elemental lords now scale their PVE damage with stats: specifically the intelligence stat. While strength does thematically fit earth lord better in this respect, we feel making earth lords purchase a separate artefact to maximise PVE damage when the other three lord forms can benefit from the collar post changes would pose an unnecessary limitation.
Essentially, you will now do more damage as elemental lords in PVE and can raise this further with intelligence modifiers and/or magic damage collars.
**Categories:** Announcements, Bug Fixes
---
### [Crafting Contests Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/15/crafting-contests-results)
**Published:** September 15, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Amarisse has judged and decide the winners for the Cooking and Furnishing design contests!
The cooking theme was **SAVOURY** and the mandatory ingredient was **PEAR**.
The furnishing theme was **GIANT** and the mandatory material was **BONE**.
Thanks to everyone who made a submission, the winning designers are as follows:
Category: Licensed Cook
1st place is Skye!
2nd place is Stheno!
3rd place is Halos!
Category: Unlicensed Cook
1st place is Jurixe!
2nd place is Frances!
3rd place is Crixos!
Category: Licensed Furnisher
1st place is Shirszae!
2nd place is Skye!
3rd place is Ellodin!
Category: Unlicensed Furnisher
1st place is Jurixe!
2nd place is Stefana!
3rd place is Frances!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Foragers!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/15/foragers)
**Published:** September 15, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Foragers is a system that allows dispatching a group to passively gather commodities from a given location. Naturally, the area they are dispatched to must actually contain that commodity and it must be in season!
Your own foragers will be in competition with other adventurers’ foraging parties and depending on the approach taken, it is quite possible for violence to break out over commodity acquisition.
The commodities acquired via foraging will be wood and fibre. Wood is as it always has been, while fibre is a precursor component to cloth and rope – this base fibre can be refined into the finished commodity. See [HELP RAW COMMODITIES](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1389) for details.
Foragers can be commissioned using the **FORAGER COMMISSION** command – this only works in certain suitable locations and costs 1000 gold per forager, up to a total of five.
Tsol’aa foragers can be commissioned in the Aalen before a redwood stump.
Theran collectors can be commissioned in New Thera, before the woodcutter’s cottage.
Goblin pillagers can be commissioned when approaching a small village, just north of the Dakhota hills.
Commissioning foragers for the first time will automatically provide a band of five units. Subsequent commissions will attempt to fill out your party back to its maximum in the event losses are sustained while in the field!
Foragers are always commissioned at level 1, and level up by carrying out foraging activities.
**FORAGERS STATUS**
Show the various status of your foragers, including their type, current level, current health, attitude, and whether they are deployed in a given area.
**FORAGERS SEND**
Dispatch your foragers to an area.
This will have a gold cost, 10 \* level per forager.
**ATTITUDE** determines how your foragers approach their task.
[HELP FORAGERS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1507) contains a full breakdown of attitude and effects, along with all other relevant information!
A NOTE ON THE COMMODITIES:
As with leather recently, this does mean that wood, cloth, and rope are no longer available for sale in the commodity shops across Achaea. All numbers have been checked and rechecked to ensure that forager gathering potential retains parity with the amount of these commodities that can be obtained monthly through the old system.
Fibre is foraged in grassy areas and can be collected in the summer or autumn.
Wood is found in wooded areas (jungles, forests, etc) and can be foraged in autumn and winter months.
**Categories:** Announcements, New Systems
---
### [Crafting Contests #1](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/08/crafting-contests-1)
**Published:** September 8, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Amarisse has judged and decide the winners for the Tailoring and Jewellery design contests!
The tailoring theme was **MOTION** and the mandatory material was **SILK**.
The jewellery theme was **ASYMMETRY** and the mandatory material was **NON-PRECIOUS STONES**.
Category: Licensed Tailor
1st place is Stheno!
2nd place is Truax!
3rd place is Kairula!
Category: Unlicensed Tailor
1st place is Alasiel!
2nd place is Marcella!
3rd place is Azazell!
Category: Licensed Jeweller
1st place is Stheno!
2nd place is Ellodin!
3rd place is Ryx!
Category: Unlicensed Jeweller
1st place is Laedha!
2nd place is Mezghar!
3rd place is Stefana!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Great Hunt Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/08/great-hunt-results)
**Published:** September 8, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Great Hunt has now concluded, after a relentless 24 hours of hunting in which hundreds of millions of experience was earned!
Our congratulations go out to Penwize, Sophi, and Frances, the winners in their experience tiers claiming the grand prize of five hundred credits each!
Credit prizes have also been awarded to the top nine hunters in the tiers!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [It's Our Birthday!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/01/its-our-birthday)
**Published:** September 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Achaea turns 22 years old this month, and as is birthday tradition, we’re celebrating with an action-packed September full of games, events, a daily quest, crafting contests, and even a capture the flag to round it all off! Why not commission a birthday cocktail from your local Beverages specialist and celebrate in style?
Here’s a very brief overview of some of the plans for the month, more will be added as the month rolls on, so keep an eye on the announce board and **UPCOMING** so you don’t miss out!
Tharos will also be running plenty of worldgames for special prizes all through September!
**September 1st**
Amarisse unleashes a quest you can complete everyday! Do so 22 times and earn a reward at the end of the month!
Two design contests focussing on tailoring and jewellery will be announced by Amarisse.
Design contests all month will be two tiered, so that those who are experienced with the tradeskill are not pitted against those who have no familiarity. Everyone is welcome to submit designs!
**September 7th**
A 24 hour Great Hunt begins, complete with caves! Take part to win credit prizes!
Amarisse’s first two contests close.
**September 8th**
Winners are announced for the tailoring and jewellery contests, the details for the cooking and furnishing contests will be announced!
**September 9th – It’s our birthday!**
Don’t forget to use the **HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA** command on this day only!
**September 14th**
Cooking and furnishing design contests close.
**September 15th**
Winners for the cooking and furnishing design contests will be announced.
Contests for vessels and beverage design open!
**September 21st**
Vessels and beverage design contests close.
**September 22nd**
Winners for the vessels and beverage design contests will be announced. Contests for artistry and sculpture design open! The sculpture design contest will only have one tier of competition as there is no sculpture tradeskill.
**September 28th**
Artistry and sculpture design contests close, winners will be announced.
Finale weekend begins, stay tuned for more details!
**September 29th**
Along with the grand finale of contests, we’ll also be having a CTF!
This is just the very basic listing of September fun, so keep your eyes peeled in game as the days go by and don’t miss out!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Beverages!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/01/beverages)
**Published:** September 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Being drunk is no longer just a hobby, now it’s a formal profession! Take up the skill of Beverages and produce a vast variety of venerable victuals! Whether you’re a modest mixer of milkshakes or an aspiring wine merchant, this is the skill for you!
Beverages is a design based skill centred around the production of unique and interesting drinks AND vessels to contain them.
Within, similar to seafaring, specialisations exist allowing the budding brewer to decide between a range of different products they’d like to focus on!
Much like Artistry, it’s our hope that the Beverages skill will fill an as-yet unfulfilled niche in the crafter’s portfolio – offering a venue for self expression and creativity through the medium of drinks!
The skill can be gained from Amarisse in the usual fashion, and the various apparatus and equipment required will all be available for sale once the skill is formally released to the public.
While similar to other design based crafts, Beverages does have some core differences of note, namely the vessel creation process (this is designed as normal and various denizens around the world actually do the creation), and the various aspects and properties of the drink itself. [HELP BEVERAGES](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1503), [HELP BEVERAGE DESIGN](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1505), and [HELP VESSEL DESIGN](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1504) are now LIVE for your perusal.
These contain everything there is to know about the new skill, how it works, how to design and create and age and everything else!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Shipfitting!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/01/shipfitting)
**Published:** September 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Shipfitting is the third of our new tradeskills, allowing the creation and manipulation of ship equipment and ship-related items! Carve skeleton keys from bones, or even paint your sails and trim your ship’s hull – Shipfitting covers all this and more!
Shipfitting is NOT a design based tradeskill but instead focuses on the creation, manipulation, and alteration of ship equipment, ship weapons, and even, to a lesser extent, the actual ship itself.
This does mean that a number of changes are being made to how ship equipment is produced.
1\. All equipment that was previously requisitioned is now made exclusively by shipfitters.
2\. Shipfitters will also be able to move and remove ship equipment as desired.
3\. Shipfitters can dismantle ships at transcendent, returning of portion of ship commodities.
**THIS IS PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE, SO DON’T ASK.**
4\. Most ship equipment is now constructed using ship commodities. Ship commodities are created when shipfitters dismantle equipment or ships and can also be created from regular commodities with the following ratios:
– Shipcloth – 50x cloth
– Shipiron – 50x iron, 10x steel
– Shipwood – 50x wood, 10x iron
– Shiplines – 50x rope, 10x iron
– Pitch – 50x wood, 10x animal fat
5\. Shipfitters can dye sails, paint or stain a hull, and decorate the hull with trimming.
6\. Shipfitters can restore a decorated ship to its regular form.
7\. Shipfitters can protect a ship with dragon scale girding to guard against seamonsters.
8\. Shipfitters can carve skeleton keys to unlock bone chests that may be found in the deeps.
9\. We’ve fixed a bug with deepsea diving that has prevented the difficulties from being assigned properly. Going forward, they will be much more varied and lucrative.
NOTE: Most Shipfitting abilities require a shipfitter’s toolbox to enact, these can be purchased from Maelstrom.
Shipfitting can be gained from Amarisse in the Crafters’ Union, and lessons in it can be learned from Maelstrom, Hawkins, or Scurvy Jim.
[HELP SHIPFITTING](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1506) summarises all of this!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Artistry!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/09/01/artistry)
**Published:** September 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Achaeans can now become artists! Turn your imagination into a wonderfully realised reality with the skill of Artistry – paint vast canvases, lifelike portraits, or even decorate a house with a multi-person mural!
Artistry is a design based skill centred around the production of artwork (as one might expect!). It’s our hope that this will provide a great avenue for enhanced self expression and creativity!
The skill can be obtained through Amarisse once live, and it works very similarly to other design based crafts for the most part.
Where artistry differs is in the actual creation of the end product – requiring sessions of painting for particularly large works such as murals!
[HELP ARTISTRY ](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1501)and [HELP ARTISTRY DESIGN](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1502) are now LIVE and ready to be devoured! These files contain virtually everything there is to know about the new skill, how it works, how to design, and so on and so forth.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Artistry Tease!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/08/18/artistry-tease)
**Published:** August 18, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re in the final stages of preparation for our September tradeskill release click [here to see how we made a mural](https://ada-young.appspot.com/pastebin/F9QIgtAy)!
If you want to see how we got to here and the conversations thus far, catch up with the conversation over on our [forums](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6898/crafting-stage-2/p3)!
**Categories:** Announcements, New Systems
---
### [Fortunes and Raffles!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/08/07/fortunes-and-raffles)
**Published:** August 7, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the next twelve days we’re going to run a raffle and we’ll have some special prizes! We’ll have **7** prizes in this raffle and when it closes we’ll open another raffle for another 12 days to see us to the end of August!
Winners 1 and 2 will be able to work with us to each choose an out of subdivision plot to call their own somewhere in the land!
Winners 3-7 will each win a pack of 50 housing credits!
This raffle will draw on the **19th**, and then another raffle will open (with the same prizes!)
But how do you get tickets in this raffle? I’ll tell you!
We’ve brought back the **[Wheel of Fortune](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1454)** for the rest of August, back with the daily free spins that everyone loves, and with premium spin tokens available on [our website](http://www.achaea.com/credits)!
Raffle tickets will be awarded with every token spin of the wheel!
On top of that, if you have tickets but do not win a prize when the raffle is drawn, each of your non-winning tickets will turn into 2 bound credits.
Good luck!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Safe As Houses!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/31/safe-as-houses)
**Published:** July 31, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In order to foster the cultural growth spurred on by the Worlds’ Fair, we’ve made some changes and added some new upgrades to player housing!
First up is an adjustment to [housing upgrade](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=524) costs!
– For in-subdivision properties – upgrade costs remain the same.
– For out-of-subdivision properties (but not ships) – upgrade costs are no longer doubled.
– For ship housing – applicable upgrade costs remain doubled.
We have refunded half the cost of all the old double cost upgrades in out of subdivision homes to match these new prices!
Next! We’ve added a new housing security upgrade called **SECURITY.**
– This costs 5 room credits per room and applies key sigil, monolith sigil, and eye sigil protections to the room.
And there’s another new security upgrade called **ORB**!
– This costs 5 room credits per room and blocks track and flight in and out of the protected room.
Finally, while we have made housing more secure, we’re also adding a way to pull someone out of the property. (Like all aggressive actions, you still need RP reasoning to initiate this attack upon your target.)
– The **[Talon tattoo](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=470)** costs 20 black ink, and has 1 charge.
– There is no cooldown to use this tattoo.
– TOUCH TALON <person> and if they do not leave the property during the 20 second channel, they will be moved to your location!
With Mayan Crowns in the August promotion we also have a big Shop of Wonders update! **[The House of Wonders](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1496)** can be found in Delos and it holds all the old housing related Shop of Wonders items, plus fourteen new items with houses for minipets, the makings of a pond, sweeping security expansions, and much more!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Tradeskill Names!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/30/tradeskill-names)
**Published:** July 30, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After almost two weeks of suggestions Deziny, Devasha, and Nolah all make out with 100 bound credits for their winning tradeskill names!
On September 1st we will be releasing Artistry, Shipfitting, and Beverages!
Whether you want to brew, steep, ferment or mix, Beverages will be for you. We’ll also have even more customisation options within this tradeskill, so watch out for that!
Shipfitting will not only encompass the current ship equipment creation, but will have some shiny new toys to assuage some very old complaints about ships!
While we don’t want to give away too many of Artistry’s surprises, this tradeskill will also include additions to inkmilling, jewellery, and allow artwork on all scales to be created!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [A Strange Case And Jaguars!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/28/a-strange-case-and-jaguars)
**Published:** July 28, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After a ludicrous event during which a bridge was stolen, the perpetrator Trole was found hiding beneath another bridge, and for his crime was turned into a mime by the Jaguars Crime Syndicate, notice was given to thieves at large and fences became available to facilitate the recovery and sale of stolen items.
```
Per the decree of the Jaguars Crime Syndicate after the notorious thief
Trole stole the western Bridge to Delos in 806 AF, all thieves and acts of profiteering are under their purview.
YOU WERE JUST STOLEN FROM, WHAT NEXT?
-------------------------------------
Whatever was stolen from you has been transferred to the fences of the
Jaguars Crime Syndicate. The thief no longer has your property.
The item stolen from you will be sold off by a fence!
Anyone can visit a fence and use the FENCE commands to place a single, maximum bid on any item being fenced.
This is a silent auction, no incrementing. Top bid "wins". This auction period lasts for fifty days.
A fence can be found in Delos, there are more scattered around the land.
See HELP FENCE for all the details and commands about how this system works!
```
**Categories:** Announcements, Event, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [It Smells So Bad!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/29/it-smells-so-bad)
**Published:** July 29, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Another use for those denizen corpsesThe El’Jazira tannery has been rebuilt and now you can butcher certain animals for skins and deliver them to the tannery to be turned into leather commodities!
Another step in our journey to convert all commodities to be generated by players, we’ve introduced a working tannery!
Players who are able to butcher corpses via [GATHERING](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1237) can now **BUTCHER FOR SKINS**, and any resulting skins can be taken to the tannery in El’Jazira!
When in the tannery, use the **TANNERY** command:
**TANNERY DELIVER <number of skins>**
One skin will become one [l](https://play.achaea.com/help%20leather)eather with a thirty gold service charge.
Anyone can drop skins off at the tannery.
The tannery has a maximum capacity of 4500, and a single person can only drop off 50 skins per month.
Your leather will be delivered to you at the end of the Achaean month!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Customisation Credits!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/25/customisation-credits)
**Published:** July 25, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In a big quality of life update, ice figurines and silver tokens have all gone the way of the Gedtet and have been replaced with transferrable Customisation Credits!
We’ve just converted all ice figurines and silver tokens to **CUSTOMISATION CREDITS**! (In values of 50 and 150 respectively.)
Customisation credits are a new credit type that can be used in conjunction with the **CUSTOMISATION** system! They can also be transferred between players.
Transferring customisation credits to alts will still be considered a violation of seconds policies.
This will mean that customisation credits can be used for customisations of more than 50cr in value in one request, and, if you want to sell your customisation credits to others, you can transfer these to them! No more lending items to people with figurines for them to submit customisations on your behalf!
You can also complete customisation requests with bound credits as normal, this does not change that.
To see how many customisation credits you have, you can check your SCORE \[RESOURCES\], or use our new customisation credits commands!
**CUSTOMISATION CREDITS SHOW
CUSTOMISATION CREDITS TRANSFER <#> to <person>**
These will also be listed when the CUSTOMISATION command is used!
(HELP CREDITS, CUSTOMISATIONREQUESTS, and PROMOITEMS have all been updated to reflect these changes.)
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [The Hills Have (dragon)Flies](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/24/the-hills-have-dragonflies)
**Published:** July 24, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Marasmius, the ecologist didn’t show up for a meeting of the Achaea Ecological Society. Adventurers assisted to find out what had waylaid him!
Achaean Ecological Society
Meeting Minutes
16 Daedalan, 806 AF
Opening:
The irregular meeting of the AES was called to order at 15 Daedalan, 806 AF at the Wander Inn in New Thera by Elducia.
Present:
Members – Elducia, the Zoologist
Ignatius, the Ornithologist
Arinas, the Entomologist
Observers – Penwize
Nihan
Loffi
Keorin
Mathonwy
et al.
Absent:
Marasmius, the Ecologist
Approval of Agenda: Unanimous
Approval of Minutes: Unanimous
Previous Business: Held due to emergency.
New Business:
Absence of Marasmius, historically timely member, caused alarm in AES members. Impromptu observers were besought for aid in locating Marasmius, with knowledge of his research on a unique white dragonfly the only clue to his whereabouts.
Dispatched adventurers scoured the mainland for signs of the dragonfly, hoping it would lead them to him. Penwize found specimens throughout the Dakhota Hills, where searchers heard Marasmius yelling for help. Keorin’s rescue of Marasmius led to revealing of Lake Dakhota, his new place of study.
Marasmius discussed findings of the locale once returned to meeting, including unusual mutations in the wildlife and signs of previous inhabitants. Further business was unanimously tabled for future meetings due to exhausting nature of proceedings.
Additions to the Agenda: The location of Lake Dakhota, in the midst of the Dakhota Hills.
Adjournment: Meeting called to end by Elducia on the 16th of Daedalan, 806 AF. Next meeting TBD.
Minutes submitted by: Elducia
Minutes approved by: Marasmius
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Jade vs Shade](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/16/jade-vs-shade)
**Published:** July 16, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For as long as any can remember an argument has been hashed out in the Garden of the Gods.
Somewhat in jest, but with teeth bared by both sides, the Lady Lorielan and the Lord of Darkness still contest over the nature of Divinity and the Tribunal’s decision, many eons ago.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum shouts, “It is my pleasure to announce that the Soph-.”
Reality buckles, revealing a lucent archway of crystal through which steps Lorielan, the Jade Empress.
Clarion tones of lucent crystal ripple across the lands, heralding the emergence of the Jade Empress upon the grounds of the Worlds’ Fair.
The shadows lengthen, enlivened by the silent descent of Twilight.
Tenebrous gloam casts Achaea into shadow as the God of Darkness turns His attention once more to the Prime Material Plane.
The eyes of Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum widen abruptly, utter shock overtaking her features.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum’s eyes bug out as she boggles in amazement.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum curtseys respectfully before Lorielan.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum curtseys respectfully before Twilight.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “This is much more appropriate.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I am… honoured, Lady and Lord, by Your manifestation here…”
“Ummmm,” Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says uncertainly.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “We shall settle it here, as You are overdramatically insistent upon Your own opinions.”
Lorielan very briefly rolls Her eyes.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum edges around the room strangely with an odd expression on her face.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Agreed, and Your jibes have reached the limit of My patience. But first, a condition.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Oh?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “We will each take the opposition.”
Twilight looses a cold chuckle.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Amusing. Agreed.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And My condition.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Speak?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “We shall argue as though We are there at the time.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “You were noticeably not. But agreed.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “An advantage I shall take.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I. Erm. Um.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum coughs softly.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I am, er, I believe, honoured, most honoured. This is, I mean, You are most welcome. I would not, er. Yes. Um.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I am to… judge?”
The skies of Creation shatter beneath the Storm’s incandescent fury as the Skylord intones, “If the two of You are going to continue playing these petty games, then You will need more than one mortal to decide them.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Yes, Vastar, do please continue to tell Me what I need.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Three judges, perhaps. The irony of a triumvirate will be worthwhile, and the mortal will have her place.”
“Eep!” Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum screams in fright.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I have a better idea.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress shouts, “Ugrach.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress shouts, “Finality.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress shouts, “Gaia’s once-student.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress shouts, “You are called.”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “Called?”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “I think not.”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “You gave me Death’s Throne. You made this bargain with me. You left me to judge the pathetic representatives of mortality.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Surprise, he protests. So put upon.”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “You know what surrendering it for but a moment costs not just the Prime, but everywhere. This entire Creation.”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “And You want me to judge?”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “I was made to watch from afar as the crime that slaughtered my brothers and sisters was washed over with mere exile!”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “Politely?”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “Empty Yourselves.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Allow Me.”
Twilight, the Dark Father shouts, “It was not a request, little brother.”
Grim foreboding heralds the gravelly tones of Lord Ugrach, the Finality, “You know what it would cost You, Elders!”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “He is not culled, is that not enough?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress shouts, “Then let him sulk. Two shall be enough.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress shouts, “Han-Tolneth. Dragonmaster. You will be judge.”
The air ripples with distortion as the clarion tones of Han-Tolneth declaim, “I- what?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Is Your puppet unavailable, Jade?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I am certain I did not stutter.”
The rumble of distant oceans can be heard as the voice of Neraeos, God of the Sea thunders, “The one who stood apart now must stand and judge? Hah!”
The air ripples with distortion as the clarion tones of Han-Tolneth declaim, “Then so it will be, Elders.”
The skies of Creation shatter beneath the Storm’s incandescent fury as the Skylord intones, “It will indeed, little brother.”
A roar of draconic supremacy echoes across Creation entire as an Aldar soars between worlds upon dragonback.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Now We wait, for I am sure he will want to arrive in some loud and drawn out fashion. Then the crowd can coo and swoon.”
The skies above the Worlds’ Fair tremble with an echoing sonic boom, the Veil Extant yielding to the unfettered might of Sycaerunax, Father of Dragons as he descends to Achaea, bearing the figure of Han-Tolneth upon his scaled back.
Han-Tolneth strides in from the ether, calm purpose writ within his every motion. A massive white dragon descends from above, and the earth trembles slightly at his landing.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum edges slowly away from Han-Tolneth with a nervous expression on her face.
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “Worry not. He will remember.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum edges slowly away from Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons with a nervous expression on her face.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum flinches visibly, before dropping into a deep curtsey.
Han-Tolneth says, “I am here, Elders.”
A rolling cavalcade of breaking waves heralds the emergence of the Thalassan God-King.
Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons smiles once in ancient regality, massive incisors widening into a toothy grin as he stretches out into sinuously languid repose.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “The Child Prince, come to watch His betters?”
Han-Tolneth inclines his head politely at Neraeos.
Han-Tolneth says to Neraeos, “Stepbrother.”
Neraeos, God of the Sea says, “We’ll see if betters is an apt description after I hear Your words.”
Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons snorts in amusement, sending tiny wisps of dust scattering in all directions.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Yes, yes, barbs exchanged, now let’s nod and continue. I have an argument to win.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum gulps nervously.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “We shall, er, begin? The question?”
**Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “The question will be thus: Should the Jade Empress suffer banishment by the Tribunal for the crimes of the Triumvirate?”**
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum winces in pain.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Agreed. Eagerly.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “An exercise, My Templar. Arguing an old case.”
Han-Tolneth sighs ever so faintly, only a slight tightening of his eyes betraying any tension.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I shall speak for punishment.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And I, lenience.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Agreed, Brother.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “Seconds?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I need none. Do You?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “For You?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Ah, He flirts. You’d think He would have learned by My storied past…”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “So We shall speak for Ourselves.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “We will see if You are so glib after a retelling of it.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Obviously. What need have I for proxies?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “You? Oh never, not a one. I would not dare presume.”
Han-Tolneth flicks his gaze between the Elder Gods in wry amusement.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “Are We agreed?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “We are.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Would our judge proclaim the formal order.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Ahem. Yes. Well.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Um.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “The Jade Empress may speak first. Then the Lord of Darkness. Then Lady Lorielan shall be permit- er, given, er, take a rebuttal. And so forth? Each speaking three times?”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum edges around the room strangely with an odd expression on her face.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I may, may I?”
Han-Tolneth says, “Of course, Elder sister.”
A wry smile flits across Han-Tolneth’s lips.
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “Fool on You for asking then complaining about the answer. Imagine My great surprise.”
Mathonwy says smoothly, “I am certain Nissa was speaking merely in the cadence of debate language. A sign that she is impartial.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Yes. Impartial.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Impartiality is an impossibility of the mortal condition. But that is a topic for another day.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum, “Am I permitted to begin?”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Yes! Um! Yes, begin, of course.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I mean, when You wish.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum paces the floor, chewing her nails fretfully.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “You wish to judge Me for My actions, and debate which punishment will be most fitting. But who in Creation understands My motive and means better than I?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Am I accused because there were losses? It is possible, but if there were nothing to lose there would have been naught to fight for in the first place.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Am I accused because We failed? It is ever the right of the victor to proclaim Their triumph and parade the vanquished for all memorial.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Am I accused because I dared aspire to a throne still occupied, some might say above My station? It will be argued that I am blameless for I have no realm, but I maintain that all is My realm and it is unwieldy for the pithy titles borne by Our judges.”
Han-Tolneth flinches ever so slightly.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “The actions taken by Myself and the Triumvirate are of preservation. When all is placed under threat by a Creator who has made for Himself a playground. Proteus, a manchild with power, remains a petty bully unable to take responsibility for His actions, for He need account of himself to none but the same Father We all have in Ayar. And that perpetually absent parent is not even here, instead letting His preferred child sit in judgement over Me. It is preference, nothing more. The gift of greater might to Him over the rest of Us is all the proof that is required for that statement, and such a gift was for no other reason, so We know, than petty whims.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I stand here today accused of nothing less than attempting to safeguard all that We know, have known, and will know.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Allowing the illbegotten spawn to breach Maya’s waters and live will prove a mistake for the entirety of Creation’s future, and nothing shall ever recover from that catastrophic mistake.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Those vile things You demanded We let live should have been terminated the moment it was realised that she had soiled herself with the noxious monstrosity that is their other parent. A monstrosity, I point out, that Ayar refused to allow Us knowledge of, all in His so-called proclamations that its existence was, verbatim, “not Your concern” and that We should not put Our minds to wondering of it.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “But Creation is worth more than being bent to serve wastrels and castoffs, the bastard children of an upturned skirt and a jade’s smile.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “It was and remains still worth risking all to save what We have created from the risk of another such monstrosity emerging from wherever our absentee Father says We should not be looking next time. If Ayar would not intervene to save Us from the whims and whoring of Proteus with Our Aldar servants, then I maintain that I had every right to.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “It is true that an atrocity has been committed. And it was wholly justified, not that any of You care to admit it. Existence itself is on the line.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “The Aldar finally understand what it means to actually stand for something. To do something other than exist in idyllic meandering from one world to another, one plane to the next in whatever idle thought they are told to make real for Us.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Ugrach learned the beginnings of it when he “befouled” Nur’s gardens with Ardael, but what was the reaction of his fellows? Association, they called it. Crime, they called it. They banished him for daring to be a simple servant no longer. And now the Aldar, en masse, have been allowed to actually choose a path. They have tasted the consequences, bittersweet or not, of their assumption of actual agency for the first time in eons.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I have no remorse for the losses incurred.”
Han-Tolneth creases his brow in a frown.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Should the opportunity present itself, I would do it again. We should all band together to safeguard this Creation from the arrogant grasp of an uncaring Creator and His puppet king, a king whose head is inevitably turned by each passing skirt and sob story from the next jade looking to cosy herself in His too-welcoming arms.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “All that was, is, and will be designed is worth more.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “The floor is yours, Brother.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Very well.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Proteus’ Queen has named great consequences to Her decision to rebel. She will also name Her decision to do so as wrought of refusal to countenance that She could not be a Queen without a King.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She refuses the idea that it was not Her decision to aspire, to attempt to claim everything as Hers.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “But She is in error.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “The cause of Her rebellion is not of Her own making, or Her own decision. It is an inevitable consequence to a comedy of errors conducted from the moments of Her first creation.”
Lorielan raises an arch eyebrow.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And that is where the root of this rebellion lies. It is at the very beginning: at the creation of the Elder Gods.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Ayar willed Us into existence from His omnipresence between the spaces of a moment within frozen time, the first of our kind. All but three among Our number were provided with distinct Realms. Khalas, Daedalus, and Lorielan here were the sole exceptions.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “To be a God without a Realm is to be a God without a focus. It is an existence without defined purpose. No God could rise without taking on a Realm, without becoming just a single facet of Ayar’s first all-encompassing observance of the realm He has forged.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I am Darkness. Aegis is War. Miramar is Justice. Shall I continue down the list? No, it would be a waste of time. But what are Khalas, Daedalus, and Lorielan? This is the question without an answer.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Some of Us may argue that it is the prerogative of the Realmless to choose such a focus. But of these three, only Daedalus claimed a definitive Realm of His own. Only Daedalus claimed, or, one might argue, discovered, focus, awareness, a role in Ayar’s vision of all things.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Yet He was not obliged to do so.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It is no coincidence that we do not name Daedalus among the rebels. He has long since chosen and claimed His realm of Balance, the first God created by Ayar, and the nature of His choosing has infused Him with purpose. With focus.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “In the absence of purpose, bereft of that quintessential thing, that which defines and shapes all Gods, is it really a surprise that these rebels would instead see the entirety of all that is as Their right? That Their very nature as without focus commands That They attempt all things, simultaneously everything and nothing? That They rebel against the existing order?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No, it is no surprise.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “One might look at Agatheis as a foil to this premise, given His possession of a realm. That is a ridiculous notion.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Not only did He choose to abuse His role as Overseer of the Elements, becoming their Tyrant, it is beyond doubt that Lorielan and Khalas served as the founders and originators of this revolution. Agatheis is but a pawn.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I therefore posit that the fault for Lorielan’s rebellious nature lies with Ayar, and Ayar alone.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Ayar, whose error in the creation of Gods without a Realm led Khalas to the conclusion that He deserved His unfortunate moniker: “the first Mistake.””
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Ayar, who in languor deigned to allow Himself to experience existence.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Yet did not Ayar, grown stupefied and bored of His own self -proclaimed perfection, crown Himself King of all of Us and rule all that is?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Is Proteus not a perfect analogue of that which I have claimed? Dissatisfied with perfection, He chose to raise Himself above even that.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “What power had His Queen to resist being ushered into His bed? What agency did She have when faced with He whose might eclipsed Her own? What creation holds the power to deny that which its owner demands?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No power. No agency. Nothing.”
Lorielan’s grey eyes darken and narrow.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Attempt, if you are able, to place yourselves in Lorielan’s shoes.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Attempt, if you are able, to place yourselves in Lorielan’s position.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Realmless. She has no purpose, no reason to even exist save as a budding blossom, something that might have one day been truly wondrous. A flower whose seeds were not permitted to bear fruit.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Queen of Creation? Yes, She was made that, after a fashion. But a Mother of Creation, compared with the Father to innumerable mortals in Proteus? Compared with the Creator of All in Ayar?”
A frisson of tension chills the fairgrounds.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No. That was denied Her. Proteus denied Her. All Her time at His side, in His arms, in His bed, under His sheets while He watched. Never was She given a chance to create in Her own right. Never a chance to ever use the power She was given as the rest of Us did, expending Ourselves upon the myriad worlds. One might argue that We lessened Ourselves in the doing to leave Her the stronger and a rightful Queen. They would be wrong.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She was never more than a trophy, chosen for Her beauty, something to be set upon a shelf and admired. Nothing more.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She did not even have the choices of a Divine without a realm as Daedalus did, because those choices were taken from Her.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Who can blame Her for finally snapping when She laid eyes on Maya? Budding, blooming, besmirched Maya. Poor and suffering Maya, whose offspring were declared protected, guarded, by the very Proteus who denied Lorielan a chance of Her own?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It is irresponsible, ignorant, and incalculably unjust to enact punitive measures upon an Elder Goddess for the mistakes of a flawed Creator. Or of a flawed King.”
Han-Tolneth winces faintly.
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “You may have the floor, while you seethe.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “To be a God without a Realm is to be a God without a focus? No.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “To be a God without a Realm is to aspire without a ceiling.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Realms are nothing more than the collar and chain. They only delineate the worn and barren circle around the kennel where You fools are permitted to roam. They are the limits at which You strain simply to bark and lunge at one another. Your quarrels are meaningless. Your arguments are petty at best.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Time after time We see those with power attempt to reach for more than what they are. And the result? A slap on the hand, a push back into place. Brother Twilight, You know this all too well.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “He will of course never admit it or reveal it Himself, out of cowardice or fear or because He simply will be what He is. Yet from it came His work within His ridiculous shadows, so that each attempt to break His bonds might yet be successful.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “To be without a realm allowed Me to question, unlike the rest of You. It allowed Me to judge the Creator and judge His Work. I found Him lacking, wanting of a spine, and actually dared to aspire to be better than He is. I have no intention to be a yapping dog.”
Han-Tolneth nods slightly in the direction of Neraeos.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Neraeos, “Yes, a yapping dog.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I acknowledge the failure of our rebellion, yet remain proud that I led such. Nay, I maintain that it was and is a necessary action. But I am to be tried and a judgement levied for doing what is necessary.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “If the aim is to alter Who I am I challenge that none have the fortitude to break Me. I will not be shamed, I will not be cowed like some sprawled Aldar who did not know better while she was busy on her back.”
Han-Tolneth winces in pain.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I need not the approval of the Pantheon. Will You snuff Me like the candle whose glare dares to show You more than You are comfortable knowing about Yourself? Will You banish Me?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “The first you cannot. None here are capable without altering utterly that which I am.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Can you risk banishment, a minor frustration for one such as I, but within its confines do you not gift Me a kingdom over which to start afresh and prove My point that I will be better than Ayar?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Dare You put an end to the One who sees as clear as I do, the one Who will point out all Your myriad flaws?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “If Ayar’s Creation and vision is the one this Tribunal wishes to maintain, I argue that You must.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I will never be less than the thorn in Your side, the candle which shines the light upon all of Your flaws.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I have seen beyond the reach of Your chains, and I see Our unmaking. I will not stop.”
Lorielan offers a brief inclination of Her head toward Lord Twilight.
Twilight acknowledges the gesture with little more than an amused smirk.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Banishment.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It is not an effective punishment for one of the Realmless.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It claims the notion of limitations. We are granted the effortless power to travel wherever We choose to be. There is nowhere beyond Our potential reach and no thing We cannot observe, should it exist within Our realm and in a place We know.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “To those of Us who hold dominion over a realm, the very notion of being trapped on a single plane out of the countless known and countless more still unknown, incapable of venturing beyond and continuing Our expression of Our realm is unbearable, inconceivable.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “As an idea it is ridiculous, and beyond the absurd to even legitimately countenance. That the tribunal would dare to do so no doubt reveals Their struggle to find justification within Their own limited conception and ability to view Us in context of what We are.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “But banishment?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “For Her?”
Twilight points accusingly at Lorielan.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It would hardly be more than an inconvenience.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She is not like Us. She has no realm. She has no focus. She certainly has no need for expression, save in the inevitable rebellion and attempt to supplant Proteus that She will no doubt engineer.”
Lorielan smiles winningly for the briefest of moments.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She has already admitted that She sees banishment as little more than an opportunity to recover, regroup, and regather Her forces about Her.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She will simply vanish to whichever realm is decided as Her fate. She will do what she has always done. What She did to Proteus and Others of Us before – I need not name examples, considering that all of Us have had Her intimate attentions at one point or another – is just part of what She has done to Khalas and Agatheis.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She may smile, but let there be no doubt: She will bring Her looks, Her wits, and Her bed to bear until the population of Her “prison” agrees to whatever She demands. And that demand will be to bend the knee and go to war in Her name.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “If She must be punished – and I do not agree that She should – then banishment is a wholly invalid choice of sentencing, because to Her it is not a punishment at all.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “What care has She if it lasts a century? Five? A thousand? An eon? Time is irrelevant to Us, perhaps even more so for a Realmless rebel.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I cite Lucretius as the obvious example. For two million, four hundred and thirty seven thousand years He chose to lose Himself in contemplation of a mere philosophical question, simply so He could be sure He had considered all possible outcomes.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “In care for the relevancy of time, Aegis is no different, Gaia is no different, Vastar is no different, and Proteus’ Queen is certainly no different. It is meaningless.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “If punishment is deemed to be so irrevocably necessary, then there is only one means, one way to ensure that history does not repeat and that the remedy is permanent and absolute.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Death.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I yield the remaining time.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum gulps nervously.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum curtseys respectfully before Twilight.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says to Twilight, “Ahem, my Lord Twilight?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Ah, yes. The honour of the first rebuttal, as is customary.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum gulps nervously.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Lorielan will claim that examples obscure the argument and bear no fruit – much like Her – simply because She knows their validity and wishes to diminish their blatantly clear relevance to this argument.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Gods, notably those of Us who are Elder, and perhaps even more notably the Realmless Gods, were not created to suffer arbitrary restrictions upon Them, upon Us.”
Han-Tolneth quietly draws Nissa a prudent step away, patting her gently on the shoulder in the process.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “This very proposal of punishment is a fundamental betrayal, a desecration of everything it means to be Divine.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I will concede that Proteus’ Queen does not see it as such. How could I not?”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Her brazen admission that such a sentence would serve only to provide both a means and a venue for Her recovery, recuperation, and eventual repeat rebellion is all the evidence that My victory on this point requires.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “However.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “She is not all of Us, and the consequences of pronouncing sentence upon an Elder Goddess impacts more than just Lorielan’s future.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “To impose restriction, to limit, stifle, and suffocate the creativity of the Divine in such a manner will forever stain the idea of Godhood.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It will destroy Us, or at the very least it will damage Us in ways that a rebellion – a rebellion whose fault is already proven to lie elsewhere than with the perpetrators – never could.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “We are not Firstborn. We are Gods.”
Twilight turns to glance at Han-Tolneth, His crimson eyes flaring intensely as the Elder God’s expression shifts to resemble vaguely one of consolation.
Han-Tolneth nods his head at Twilight.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Even without the purpose and focus of a realm, We were not designed by Ayar to exist under such rules.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “The very notion of rules, restrictions, and regulations is absurd beyond measuring, no matter the regular insistence of Miramar before and no doubt after this latest demonstration that We should restrict Ourselves to some sort of code or guideline beyond Our own will.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “The sheer effort of enumerating the worlds that would not exist, the realms that would not be, the histories that would not have passed, the peoples and races that would never have been born should Elders have faced such limitations, is, frankly, beyond imagining.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It is certainly beyond the available time in this discussion, unless You propose that one of Us stops it to permit Me the legitimate chance to do so.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No? I thought not. I will choose but four.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “We could discuss the Twelve Worlds of the Illythrin upon Veldeior’s plane. Born from cast aside specks of yet another quarrel between the Twins, the Illythrin and their counterparts of the Vostroya owe their very existence to Our Brothers of Sky and Sea.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Of course, that neither of Them cared to pay overmuch attention to those worlds after the fact does not preclude the basic acceptance of the statement that billions of mortals exist through Their actions and venerate Us accordingly, through the work – and action – of Elder Gods. They are born, live, love, fear, laugh, grow old, and die, adding yet more to the ensouled halls of Thoth.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Or would you rather an example closer to home? Proteus and His assistant, perhaps, and the secret of consciousness that together They unearthed. And it is not just the creation of the Tsol, who served Us so well on the battlefield of Nishnatoba.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “One need only look at the newly-infused might of those Thoth formed upon Nishnatoba, and what even now has begun to occur among their race. Division, argument, separation, and war! From the actions of Thoth and the force of Divine will has come the first true sundering of the Tsol, which will permit new civilisations and perspectives to grow and expand.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And I note also that these examples are the work of multiple Elders. But what about the work of just one God? Phaestus and His little toys, the dwarves. From His forge did they come, by His action.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “We all witnessed His broken-hearted tears that they were empty. That He couldn’t make them true. All those drafts, all those prototypes, wind-up dolls discarded because He refused to accept anything less than perfection. He couldn’t stand the idea that His creation wasn’t real, and so He ensured that they would become real by any means necessary.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “The work of one God, alone, created an entire race. What would the removal of one Goddess do to Ayar’s plan for Us? Clearly if, as Lorielan has argued and which is a basic tenet of this Tribunal, death is forbidden, this is no doubt a part of it.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And these three examples are merely a sampling of what exists now. Perhaps We should look to the possibilities of the future, when I mention what Raclawice had so recently considered for Us? The creation of what She has called the Walking Ways, a flood and flow of routes across both Ether and Limbo, across Space and Time, to permit Us even greater possibilities than that which We are already granted by Our studies of Yggdrasil.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Indeed, the very concept is no less than a perfect expression of Her realm, given rise from Her mind, Her role, and Her position – and capability – to do so as an Elder Goddess.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And there are yet more worlds, peoples, stories, minds that may never exist, if Proteus’ Queen is punished and forced to suffer under these arbitrary restrictions.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I put it to you that the price is too great to pay.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “My opponent has demonstrated, and I accept, that She is utterly unrepentant, entirely absent of guilt or remorse. Loathsome as She may be, it is that very lack of remorse that proves the capability of Divinity unfettered, to stand here, brazen and without shame, because She – We – are more than the weights with which Miramar balances Her scales and doles out judgement.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I have argued that Her actions were not of Her own making, that She is not to blame for Ayar’s faults. I have argued that banishment is ineffective, as She clearly has proved. I have argued that Gods are not subject to restrictions like banishment and that the enacting of such would be catastrophic.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “My case is proven. Lenience is the only choice.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “How kind of You, Brother. Judges, may I rebut?”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Um. Ehm. I, er, of course. my Lady. I mean, whenever You are ready.”
Han-Tolneth nods at Lorielan.
Han-Tolneth says, “Of course, Elder sister.”
Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons snorts in amusement, sending tiny wisps of dust scattering in all directions.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “Dazzling the judges with taunts of things they know nothing of? Your words are as disappointing as the rest of You was and is, Twilight.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “This is little more than a stratagem to obscure the fact that Your laughable claim is that I lack agency. None of Us care about whatever blathering idiocies Lucretius decides to contemplate, especially when they inevitably take Him so long that He becomes a geographical feature instead of an actual God.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “There is a consistent thread throughout the argument of Darkness, and throughout all Our history.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “That the form I was given is soft, is weak, will break, is overruled, and is controlled by Proteus. Controlled by Ayar. And that to go against such must be caused by a deficiency or an emotional outburst.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Reactionary.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Emotional is not a term oft used to describe Me. But this is not My contention. I prefer not to waste time pointing out the obvious even though You consistently, persistently, and inevitably refuse to see it.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “The point of a punishment is reform, and it is in this I find the Tribunal and this entire “debate” deficient in every facet.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I reject servitude under Proteus. I will not countenance it, I will not suffer it. I will carry a knife and bury it in whatever part of Him comes most readily to hand if You dare to impose it. And I know which part that will be. I have spent far more time than any would care to under Him already. Let Him find something else to play with.”
Han-Tolneth winces in pain.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Death is by far preferable to that fate, if not for once-again the supposedly all-knowing Father figure denying Me even the chance of that!”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “But am I capable of reform? As my opponent states, I am unrepentant. I have no guilt for my actions. I have no remorse. In this He is correct.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “To “reform” would require Me to believe that something needed to change.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Yes, something does need to change. But I contend that which needs to be altered is not Me, but the rest of these feckless, sycophantic Gods clustering about Their king as They presume Me to be lesser than Them.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “I began My attempts to reform that which was and still is wrong. Maya’s spawn still deserve to be put down like rabid dogs. Nothing has changed.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “While My endeavour has faltered for now, My stance, like My very Self, remains unchanging. My efforts will continue no matter the tools, abilities, or lack thereof sentenced upon Me.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Miramar believes that She can impose justice. She is nothing more than a set of scales with Proteus’ fingers buried in them. And I know He lacks the skill of the maestro’s touch.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Proteus or Creation will end, and none of You even care to acknowledge it. One will be a remedial measure for the sake of All, the other will be due to His lack of care for its ordering.”
A shadow falls over Neraeos’s countenance as He furrows His brow.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “If I must be the one to wield the knife, then I will wield it with indescribable pleasure at delivering actual justice, rather than what the puppet leading this Tribunal claims to be Hers.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “So, judges. Am I a feeble minded puppet who deserves leniency, for “She knows not what She does?””
Han-Tolneth nods once at Sycaerunax, Father of Dragons.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I, um, well, uh…”
Twilight turns His eyes on Nissa expectantly, His countenance one of wry amusement all the while.
Stretching out one scintillating wing, Sycaerunax, Father of Dragons casually lowers it near to Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum, providing her a protective shield.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum shudders behind the great wing of the Father of Dragons, a terrified look coming over her features as she simply says, “I abstain.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “And you, Dragonmaster? Will you choose a side this time?”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Should Miramar complete Proteus’ bidding and banish Me to some far off plane. Or perhaps balk the yoke and end My clearly miserable, realmless existence.”
Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons casually adjusts his position to rise behind the figure of Han -Tolneth, watching the panorama before him with a sudden, almost predatory intensity.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Clearly death is the favourable option, lenience for You and I both.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Or perhaps crown Me for My foresight and judgement. I would even allow Him to forgo the apology.”
Han-Tolneth tilts his head to one side in careful consideration.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “I truly would not. That would be too perfect to miss.”
Han-Tolneth says, “Many things were said here.”
Neraeos, God of the Sea says, “A great deal too many things.”
Han-Tolneth says, “Many more reflect what occurred then, when I stood in the audience, observing the Tribunal of my Elders.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “There are plenty that were not said, Firstborn.”
Han-Tolneth says, “In uncomfortable accuracy.”
Han-Tolneth carefully avoids looking at Lorielan.
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Ah, the shame of the male. How novel.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “I imagine the Dragonmaster is incapable of imagining that Your ministrations against his own kin were simply a form of destiny forcing Your rotten hands.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “Did You misspeak, Brother? Surely you mean soft, dexterous, well-manicured hands.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “I did not misspeak.”
Han-Tolneth says, “My Elder sister spoke of Ugrach, and that he sullied Nur with his mortal bride. She spoke of how She arranged for we, the Firstborn, to, what was it. Achieve agency.”
Han-Tolneth says, “We stood in judgement over Ugrach because he broke our laws. Whether claiming agency or not, he did rebel against our home.”
Han-Tolneth says, “There are other things than laws, however. We are more than just my departed Elder sister Miramar’s judgements.”
Han-Tolneth says, “But.”
Han-Tolneth says, “You both know, Elders, that we Firstborn always held to customs as strong to us as law.”
Han-Tolneth says, “There were quarrels. There were arguments, among You all. Some more than others.”
Lorielan listens on, the droning starting to dull the sparkle in the Goddess’ eyes.
Han-Tolneth says, “Through all of these, our custom remained the same. It had the force of law, though it is not.”
Han-Tolneth says, “It is to those customs that I will turn.”
Han-Tolneth says, “The Firstborn do not judge our Elders when They happen to be quarreling, fighting with one another. This is not a debate, as the innumerable jibes and insults have demonstrated despite the limited adherence to debate guidelines. This is barely an argument. This is a fight between Elder siblings.”
Han-Tolneth says, “I do not take sides when my Elder brothers and sisters are fighting.”
Neraeos nods His head at Han-Tolneth, showing His acceptance.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Nor when your own are.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Do hurry along and abstain, I may begin to age if I wait much longer.”
Sycaerunax, Father of Dragons shifts once more, a low growl of affirmation rumbling in his throat as his eyes blaze with inner fire.
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “No doubt She has a bed waiting for her somewhere.”
Han-Tolneth says, “I will defer my judgement until such a time as my Elders are concluded in this particular fight. Whether it is in a day, a year, or ten millennia.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “An eon until he renders judgement, and another to tell Us so.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “All to render nothing but wasted air.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “What of the Archivist, she shall not have so long to live.”
Neraeos, God of the Sea says, “Hardly.”
Han-Tolneth says, “She has abstained. I hold my vote in abeyance, as the decider.”
Azelios says in a smooth, clear voice, “My votes for the Lady. Who doesn’t love a good rebellion now and then. Conflict makes you stronger.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Yes.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “Obviously.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “Lives, worlds, mortal souls, positions upon the throne, a century of blissful silence from crowing shades. There is always something at stake.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “The stakes are not for them to know.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “Were I Queen they would be ordered to make a decision and We would be satisfied. Alas.”
Neraeos, God of the Sea says, “You have Both won in Your attempts to grandstand. It was valiantly done, and You have shown all here the immeasurable degree to which You can spew venom.”
Han-Tolneth says, “Respectfully as a reminder, Elder sister, You are not. Not any more.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “Were You Queen I do not doubt they would be on their knees, enthralled by the illusion of a dressed up slattern.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Han-Tolneth, “You remain a speaking Aldar, that much I can control.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says, “But it was banishment rendered, and the shackles of a realm. A moot debate to remain unanswered, for now.”
Han-Tolneth offers a polite inclination in response, idly reaching up to touch his eyes in painful memory before dropping his hand once more.
Twilight, the Dark Father says to Lorielan, “Let Us not destroy their minds with that particular argument.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I will continue to abstain, as I selfishly wish to cling to my mortal coil.”
Twilight, the Dark Father says, “It is clear We shall receive no result here.”
Lorielan, the Jade Empress says to Twilight, “Let Us allow them to finish the debate We interrupted with Our own.”
His form solidifying momentarily, the Dark Father extends an arm to Lorielan.
Lorielan’s slender arm accepts the embrace of Darkness.
With a decisive gesture, the Jade Empress exposes a glimmering portal in the ether and departs.
With a barely discernible whisper, the tenebrous gloam recedes.
The crashing roar of the Eternal Sea evaporates, leaving behind tendrils of swirling mist.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A Sophisticated Victory!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/16/a-sophisticated-victory)
**Published:** July 16, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
 Despite a minor interruption, the Sophists of the Seat narrowly beat the Ashen Advocates in our final debate of the Worlds’ Fair, earning honours for themselves and accolades for Ashtan! Read on to see how they did it!
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “This final topic that our teams will be discussing is ‘**In the wake of the War of Humanity, The punishment of Khalas was just.**‘ Each has been given a few months to prepare their arguments.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “The Ashen Advocates, chosen through random selection, will be our affirmative team. The Sophists will be our opposing team.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Excellent! With that said, we will begin with the Advocates’s opening statements.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Sothantos, the floor is yours!”
Sothantos steps forward.
Sothantos gestures slightly, and the scene around you changes. You find yourself in the centre of a familiar village, the plain of flattened grass upon which you stood now barren dirt.
The statue of Khalas the Wanderer looms before you, defiance etched into His stone features. As you gaze upon him, you hear the voice of the Logos echoing in your mind.
“Such fate befalls all those who wage war against the Creator.”
The image fades, and you find yourself once again in the flattened remnants of what was once the Worlds’ Fair.
Sothantos says, “The War of Humanity was an act of treason, the highest form of treason imaginable: the betrayal of the Creator and thus Creation itself. For this crime, Khalas the Wanderer, the first of the Triumvirate, was imprisoned inside a statue, sentenced to serve as a warning to any who would contemplate following His lead.”
Sothantos says, “There are those among us who would see the Wanderer freed, claiming that His crimes were not deserving of such a fate. The Cult of the Fallen God has long lobbied for His restoration. They paint Khalas as a martyr, unjustly sentenced for wanting to free Creation from the yoke of a tyrannical dictator.”
Sothantos glances briefly at Asmodron.
Sothantos says, “These viewpoints are fundamentally flawed.”
Sothantos says firmly, “Ayar, the Creator, Who also took the form of Proteus, is the Divine will behind all that we are. Without Him, we would not be here today to argue against His actions. Without Him, Khalas would not have even existed to rebel against His rule. To attempt to overthrow the Creator is a futile assault upon Creation itself, for He is the omnipotent force behind all that is.”
Sothantos says, “Ayar’s will is law by virtue of His will determining reality. He created Evil, just as He created Good. He created Chaos, just as He created Creation. He created Justice, and He created free thought. Our very notions of justice stem from Him and His will.”
Sothantos says, “The purpose of Justice – envisioned by the Creator Himself to protect His creations – is twofold: First, a consequence is imposed after unJust actions to deter others from performing such acts in the future. Second, given that such acts are crimes against Creation, an equal moral counteraction ought to exist.”
Sothantos spreads one arm, an image of the Scales of Justice shimmering in the air above his outstretched palm
Sothantos says, “Treason is one of seven unJust acts prescribed by the Goddess of Justice Herself, Lady Miramar, the Evenhanded. To counteract an unJust act and achieve Justice, a Just act is required: in this case, punishment.”
Sothantos says, “The punishment chosen for Khalas satisfies both of the goals of Justice. As a deterrent, what could be more effective than eternal imprisonment, applied not to a mere mortal but to one of the Elder Gods Themselves? This is further emphasised by the publicity of the display, the permanent fixture of warning to all who lay eyes upon it.”
Sothantos says, “Moreover, Khalass sentence was an equal moral counteraction to the heinous crimes Khalas committed. He rebelled against Proteus, and was sentenced to serve Proteus in whichever capacity He saw fit as a consequence. The punishment relates to the wrongful deed and serves to right it.”
Sothantos says, “Bearing these objectives in mind, it is evident that the punishment of Khalas was just. Khalas was granted mercy when He was not destroyed utterly for His crimes. His fate, to forever serve as a warning and reminder to all the folly of a rebellion against the Creator, is exactly what He deserves.”
Sothantos gives Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum a short nod and steps back.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Sothantos.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Truax, your opening statements please, when you’re ready.”
Truax clenches a closed fist to her heart and inclines her head politely, looking up to smile softly toward the judge and audience.
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Ladies, gentlemen, our esteemed judge, thank you all for your attendance. We’re here to discuss whether the punishment of Khalas was fair and just. I have to say that, on that basis, I am not in favour of the chosen penalty inflicted.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “At the Great Tribunal for his crimes, Lady Miramar decided that it was fitting that Khalas be forced to forever serve Proteus, the main object of Their rebellion. This was to be done in whatever context Proteus chose. Imprisonment in a statue upon the continent of Sapience was the elected penalty.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “There are several possible justifications for a penalty of this type, including the well-known reason that it is “a reminder to all of the folly of rebellion against the Creator.”
Truax frowns and says insistently in a soft-spoken voice, “But therein lies the problem with it.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “First, let us be clear that the imposition of the original penalties meted out to the other Triumvirate members were intended for rehabilitation. We see this evidenced through the pardons issued to both Lady Lorielan and Lord Agatheis, who in the time since have both realized the wrongness of Their actions and been redeemed.”
Truax frowns and says unrelentingly in a soft-spoken voice, “However, the retribution issued against Khalas was not intended to teach him the same lessons learned by his compatriots or rehabilitate him toward such a state, but to serve as an example to others.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Simply stated, a punishment as a penalty for an action taken, is only just if it results in a change in behaviour. Otherwise, it fails to meet the conditions that qualify it as an act taken in retribution for an offense.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “The second point I’d like to make this month is this: The penalty imposed upon Khalas does not fit the norms of the other sentences handed out either in time or state. It was therefore unfair in its measure.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “The other two members of the Triumverate were given finite penalties. Lady Lorielan’s banishment and Lord Agatheis’ transfiguration into a unicorn were both ended in our modern age, but the Creator has made mention that, even eons later, Khalas has not yet begun to pay for his crimes, indicating that his sentence may be an eternal one.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Similarly, Lady Lorielan was given Han-Silnar to take Her frustrations out on throughout Her banishment to the Crystal plane, where she was able to rule over it still as the Jade Empress. Likewise, Lord Agatheis was bound into the form of unicorn, forced to replace the now extinct unicorns by becoming one Himself and stripped of His intelligence, he retained power capable of awakening the Smith from His slumber.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Neither of the chief instigators of the entire conflict, Slith or Pazuzu, were met with as harsh a sentence. Instead, like Lady Lorielan, they were banished. Their place of isolation was the Chaos Plane and then later they were allowed to rejoined Creation to freely roam and wreak havoc that, in at least one case, led to the death of an Elder God.”
Truax says worriedly in a soft-spoken voice, “Yet Khalas has had the thing that he found most pleasant and desirable stripped from him without hope of reprieve or pardon. One might even say that this penalty was tortuous as it far surpasses the standards of decency and potential for rehabilitation shown the others, who together plotted to overthrow the reign of Proteus.”
Truax looks thoughtful and says in a soft-spoken voice, “Creation has faced many opponents who hoped to devastate it. Some, including Bal’met the Worldreaver, were destroyed. Others, like Slith, were shown mercy. And therein there are the Tsol’teth, who are permitted to continue onward in their quest to disrupt mortal and Divine existence.”
Truax glances toward the Savannah, where the statue of Khalas stands, furrowing her brow in concern.
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Khalas continues to stand at the centre of Sapience with the hot sun beating down, the cold rain falling, the leaves and snow piling around him as existence continues onward in an expansion of our discovery of new lands, planes and realms of existence. Immovable, he resides as only an observer of the immediate vicinity, unable to respond to those who gaze upon him or whisper to Him in quiet, steadfast devotion.”
Truax frowns and says forlornly in a soft-spoken voice, “He is forever forced to watch others come and go freely.”
Casting a final sorrowful glance toward Tomacula, Truax adjusts her mantle, drawing the audience’s attention back to her as well.
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “The punishment on these grounds is unfair. Although there were Three who took key roles in the War of Humanity, and several other lesser parties such as Slith and Pazuzu, only one of the Triumvirate members still bears the brunt of Proteus’ retribution.”
Truax says resolutely in a soft-spoken voice, “Punishment, when meted out fairly and justly, can work to condition mortals and Divine alike not to repeat misdeeds. It can be a powerful disincentive to bad behaviour.”
Truax says unwaveringly in a soft-spoken voice, “However, because of the discrepancy in forms of punishment and length of time for members of the Triumvirate, the penalty given Khalas is ill-fitting and, arguably, should be reviewed for discontinuation.”
Truax clenches a closed fist to her heart and inclines her head politely, moving to the side of her teammate.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Thank you, Truax!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Well said, teams. With the opening statements now complete, we shall move into our secondary statements.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Farrah, the floor is yours.”
Farrah nods and steps forward.
Farrah says, “The major basis of the opposition’s argument is the alleged inability for Khalas to be rehabilitated, which allegedly also differs from the punishments meted out to the other Triumvirs.”
Farrah says, “This argument is rooted in an erroneous assumption – first, that Khalas’s punishment differs from Lord Agatheis’s at all in this regard.”
Farrah says, “Lord Agatheis was confined to the form of a unicorn with most of His power and intelligence stripped, and yet the Logos was able to divine His intentions and thoughts and know when He was reformed. Agatheis has since that time acted as an opponent of Chaos and thus protector of Creation – up until the moment He sacrificed Himself to save us all from the monstrosity that was Balmet.”
Farrah says, “Ayar specifically cautioned to not destroy Khalas utterly, and such was not done.”
Farrah says, “Khalas is imprisoned inside a statue, but He was not slain: He yet lives inside it, no doubt precisely so that his thoughts of repentance, if any, could be heard. If the Logos could hear the thoughts of a mute unicorn, it is clear that the Logos could divine His thoughts as well and release Him if He felt it was warranted. That He has not indicates that Khalas is not reformed.”
Farrah says, “But let us say, for the moment, that Khalas is -not- able to repent. Were this so, it would aid in the deterrent effect of the punishment, showing future conspirators that they cannot commit crimes of such a magnitude and then simply make amends later and get on with their life.”
Farrah says, “In circumstances where the crime is intolerable, a rehabilitative framework is not punishing enough to offenders, as the most crucial purpose of the punishment must be to ensure that no one – god or mortal – dares to ever commit such a crime again.”
Farrah says, “Khalas’s rebellion attacked the foundation of our existence. The order of the multiverse. Through His recklessness, Khalas and the Triumvirate were also responsible for the invasion of our realm by Entropy and Discord, and the near destruction of the gods.”
As she enunciates the last words, anger is apparent on Farrah’s features and a tongue of fire escapes from her mouth.
Farrah says, “Such discord, such rebellion, cannot be tolerated at all in our society. And so a punishment that is permanent, that stands as a warning and a reminder for all time, to all people, is appropriate to ensure this never happens again.”
Farrah says, “This is the purpose of creating a punishment with seemingly no opportunity for escape or repentance, as it must have appeared before Agatheis was restored, and as it still appears for Khalas without logical thought applied to the matter.”
Farrah says, “However, as already noted briefly, Khalas’s punishment did not unfairly differ from those of the other Triumvirs.”
Farrah says, “The other Divine and Demon Prince were not in an equal position as Khalas such that they should receive the same punishment. After all, Khalas was the first of the three Divine to make the decision to rebel against the leader of the gods. It was Khalas Who listened to the honeyed words of Pazuzu and brought the thought of rebellion to the minds of Lady Lorielan, and then Lord Agatheis. Although Pazuzu played a prominent role, he was not a god and was not betraying his own brethren.”
Farrah says, “Moreover, the topic at hand is whether Khalas’s punishment was just. It is entirely possible that the punishments received by the other Divine and the Demon Prince were unjust, and were less severe than they should have been. That does not change the fact that Khalas’s punishment was just.”
Farrah says, “As Lady Miramar once taught, Justice is ultimately about the preservation and defense of Creation and all its components. It is acts against Creation itself that are defined as unJust acts, for they cause harm to the realm at large or to the myriad creations within it.”
Farrah says, “It is difficult to imagine, then, an act more unJust – and thus more worthy of punishment – than an act that nearly destroys Creation utterly.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Thank you, Farrah!”
Mathonwy says, “Let me know when I may begin.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Mathonwy, you may begin your secondary statements when ready.”
Mathonwy says formally, “I would like to thank the judge, our oppositional team, the audience, and our hosts for their hospitality.”
Mathonwy brandishes a vodun doll roughly resembling Lii menacingly.
Mathonwy looks thoughtful and says, “Once more, we have heard a great many arguments as to why we should look upon this gross mishandling of justice and smile.”
Mathonwy says dramatically, “In all the Cities of mortality, and as we’ve seen time and again in the Garden with the trials of Slith and others, justice is considered the crowning glory of virtues, and those who are able to find justice even in situations most might find odious are considered wise without compare. This is because justice -does not- descend from the pinnacle of achievement, no matter the crime, no matter the perpetrator or the victim. It does not yield its crown to any, or else it is not justice.”
Mathonwy says emphatically, “Miramar gave full leeway to Ayar to determine how Khalas would serve Proteus — within the constraints that Ayar did not wish the destruction of any of the leaders. And so Proteus chose this… extreme… form of ‘justice,’ if we can call it that. Our opponents certainly do.”
Mathonwy raises his hands in a gesture of supplication to the very heavens above.
Mathonwy passionately asks, “But truly, ‘extreme justice’ is extreme injustice, is it not? Else She would be Miramar the Extreme, and not Miramar the Evenhanded. If justice is not fair, it is not justice. And biased, preferential treatment: can that be construed as fair on this or any other world?”
Lowering his hands, Mathonwy punctuates these points with gestures toward the audience.
Mathonwy says forcefully, “We are told in the Mythos that Ayar could not see the future with absolute certainty, so He has no way of knowing whether Khalas would repent or not.”
Mathonwy says, “Consider: who else, among all of the leaders, was afforded such a sentence? Not Lorielan, Who was banished — and spared perhaps harsher treatment because Proteus loved Her, or at least who She was.”
Mathonwy asks, “She was, in fact, given to rule over the Kx’Khrah! In which world could authority and command be construed as a punishment?”
Mathonwy says wryly, “Even though, in some of the cities in which I’ve lived, it can -feel- like punishment.”
Mathonwy exclaims, “Nor Agatheis, Who continued on with His will and wit, albeit in the form of a unicorn!”
Mathonwy says, “Not completely devoid, just diminished.”
Mathonwy says in an exasperated tone of voice, “Neither -Slith- nor -Pazuzu-, the chief instigators of the entire conflict, who were banished instead to the Chaos Plane, and who would, in their time, be granted reprieve back to the Prime Material Plane.”
Mathonwy says solemnly, “This last exception is particularly damning, for justice must be meted out in proportion to the crime. In this case, we have come to learn later through the Mythos and other works that Pazuzu played a much greater role in manipulating this sad but proud Wanderer, and that while He played a role, it was moreso as a puppet and One to take the blame.”
Mathonwy pauses a moment, staring at nothing in particular to gather his thoughts.
Mathonwy says, “Let us consider that inscription upon the statue of Khalas: ‘such fate befalls all who wage war against the Creator.’ Are these words truth? Because I cannot think of another soul — human, Aldar, or otherwise — who befell such a cruel fate.”
Mathonwy says, “Of Miramar, I have read tales of the Scales of Justice, the Sword of Judgement, and the Sceptre of Mercy. I have heard nothing of the Gaze of a Basilisk or a Hammer of Petrification. There is no reason to think of that Khalas should be locked forever in place, eternally paralysed and stripped of any and all reasoning capabilities.”
Mathonwy says, “Indeed, I would posit that there is little to no redemptive value in the punishment meted out here, something that Miramar claimed for Her realm when She joined with Shallam. There are two reasons, typically, that such a thing would be done: one, to serve as an object lesson, that we might prevent such behaviour from happening again. That has failed, since at the very least, we have seen members of the Garden attempt insurrection via Bal’met and none were punished so severely.”
Mathonwy says, “And two, for rehabilitative purposes, that the object of punishment would come to see the error of His ways. Clearly… such a thing is not possible now. Even, and especially if, Khalas maintains his cognitive faculties, He has no way to indicate His remorse, or lack thereof.”
Mathonwy says, “Indeed, noble Sarapis, the Logos Himself, tends to the Fire Behind the Flame, and though I am grateful for the sacrifices He has made to ensure we may continue living, nevertheless I cannot help but feel the warden has left the prison entirely, since tending to the Flame, in His words, leaves little else He may do.”
Mathonwy says in a measured tone of voice, “Finally, the War of Humanity is not something I’m here to defend. But since the topic says that this punishment is just -in the wake of the war of humanity-, I feel it merits some discussion. If I were to place myself in the shoes of the Wanderer, I would look at the reasons He did what He did and attempt to find the reasoning there.”
Mathonwy says, “Khalas, in this case, saw the preferential treatment afforded humanity, something that was unprecedented, and while He reacted understandably poorly, His motives come from a place of lacking information. If He were to see the state of affairs today, I have no doubt He would do as His Brethren have done and show remorse.”
Mathonwy frowns and says, “And yet, the possibility for that redemption is lost to us, forever, because Khalas cannot express it, and because Sarapis is not here to reconsider.”
Mathonwy says, “This is not justice. This is torture. This is -vengeance-.”
Mathonwy exclaims in an impassioned tone of voice, “This is -perversion-!”
Mathonwy says quietly in an impassioned tone of voice, “And in this lowly orator’s opinion, our judge, our audience, and even the Garden of the Gods Themselves should not view this treatment as fair, just, reasonable, or even acceptable.”
Mathonwy steps back to stand next to Truax.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Well done, Mathonwy. That concludes our secondary statement phase.”
Mathonwy says, “I believe I am up next. Nissa, if you will let me know when to start.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “We will now being our rebuttal phase. Each team will have slightly less time to issue a rebuttal as they see fit. Sophists can begin when ready, starting with Mathonwy.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum nods her head emphatically.
Mathonwy says, “Thank you all again, judge, Advocates, audience.”
Mathonwy says, “There does not exist separate justices, ‘one for me and one for thee’ as old Seleucarians might have said. Khalas’s treatment was unusually harsh, over and above that of His fellow Triumvirate members and even Pazuzu, who historians now hold primarily responsible for the instigation of the War in the first place.”
Mathonwy says, “Ayar wanted all parties involved to remain alive, but Khalas remains petrified, robbed of agency and ignobly dropped in a primitive village to serve out His life. Nobody could reasonably suggest He remains alive. He is the only one involved to suffer this fate.”
Mathonwy moves to a centre position.
Mathonwy says, “This is not justice.”
Mathonwy says, “Furthermore, in order to be just or fair, the punishment must suit the crime. He was not even the principal coordinator of the rebellion — we know He was manipulated by Pazuzu. Yet Pazuzu received a lesser sentence.”
Mathonwy gestures toward the audience.
Mathonwy says, “-This- is not justice.”
Mathonwy says, “The War of Humanity exacerbated some changes that had already taken effect, but it was not the prime cause of any particular noteworthy change that would merit a different consideration or standard of punishment than anyone else Who was involved, nor did Khalas’s involvement reach a threshold that merits Him worthy a harsher consideration than the rest of the Triumvirate received. On its very face, this is unfair.”
Mathonwy pauses a moment, staring at nothing in particular to gather his thoughts.
Mathonwy says, “This -cannot be- justice.”
Mathonwy says, “Everyone else involved in the War was given the opportunity to make amends, to understand and appreciate what They had done. Even those who were steadfastly unrepentant — namely Slith and Pazuzu — were only banished, and found their way in short order back to the Prime Material Plane.”
Mathonwy says, “Either Ayar knew this would happen, in which case their escape to the Prime Material Plane happened with His sanction and blessing for it certainly would have been within His power to prevent it, and He allowed Khalas to be treated differently, unfairly, and unjustly, or Ayar did not know this would happen, in which case He, Proteus, Miramar, all involved would have had no reasonable way to know Khalas would not repent.”
Mathonwy says, “In which case, that is also unfair and unjust treatment.”
Mathonwy says, “Sothantos has stated that Khalas committed treason, that Ayar created Khalas and Khalas betrayed Ayar. But Khalas was not the only one involved in the War, not by far, nor did He play the greatest role. Ayar created -all- of them and yet Khalas was the only one given this punishment. Not destroying Khalas, too, was not mercy, for Ayar allowed the Tribunal knowing He did not want any to lose their lives. This is not fair nor just, merely the baseline He chose.”
Mathonwy gestures first to Sothantos then to Farrah.
Mathonwy says, “Farrah has stated that Agatheis’s and Khalas’s punishment is no different, but this is factually untrue. Having almost no power and intelligence is very different from having no power and intelligence, or else we would not build cities out of rocks.”
Mathonwy says wryly, “Imagine all the screaming, for one.”
Mathonwy says, “She also claims that His punishment has the nice added effect of ensuring nobody every tries to betray Creation again, but that’s patently untrue. Varian. Bal’met. Slith, multiple times. Pazuzu, more than once. And that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head.”
Mathonwy says, “Entropy and Discord had their manifestation in the form of Pazuzu, it should be noted, so whether they made it into the realm or not, they still had agency here. And the powers of the demons in the Inferno are akin to the Gods themselves, so there’s little to no distinction to be made here. Furthermore, Chaos itself had already had its foothold into Creation, so we cannot say Entropy and Discord wouldn’t have made their way in otherwise. That door, per Ayar, once opened, cannot be closed.”
Mathonwy gestures finally toward Jiraishin.
Mathonwy says, “I do not yet know what Jiraishin could state, but nothing is enough to prove, demonstrably, that this was a fair or just outcome.”
Mathonwy says quietly, “If there is not justice in the world, then we have nothing.”
Mathonwy says, “Thank you. I cede the rest of my time.”
Mathonwy silently strides back into the crowd.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Well said, Mathonwy. Thank you.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Adovcates, you will close out our debate with your rebuttal. Jiraishin, the floor is yours!”
Jiraishin nods curtly and steps forward.
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Many points have been made that may be rebutted. I only hope I have enough time to reach them all.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Firstly, the statement that Khalas is dead.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Khalas is encased in His statue. There is no reason to believe He is not aware within it.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Immortal that He is, why should one assume Him dead of old age?”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “If He is alive and ware, then He is able to repent.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “And Sarapis, during his long presence here, would have been able to sense this, and release Him. He did not, though Agatheis did.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Therefore, Khalas has not repented.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Secondly, the knowledge that Khalas -would- repent was not necessary for the possibility of repentance to exist.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Any more than it was with Agatheis.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Thirdly, Khalas -was- uniquely deserving of this punishment. He was the ringleader, and He engaged in uniquely terrible deeds.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Take, for example, his treatment of Enheduanna.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “He cruelly sold Her to Pazuzu, bringing about Her ruin.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Other points have mostly been addressed by Farrah: Mathonwy mostly repeated the points of Truax.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And that is time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Jiraishin.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “With that, our final debate is over. Please give our teams a well deserved round of applause!”
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Retardation destroys Ashen Advocates!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/12/retardation-destroys-ashen-advocates)
**Published:** July 12, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In a startling turn of events, the Sophists did not show for the third debate! But the hastily formed team Retardation offered to step up to the plate in debate!
**Team Retardation vs Ashen Advocates – Polygamy, as exercised by the Fae.**
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Since Team Ret has volunteered to argue for our topic, we shall begin with Emalyna’s opening statement. The floor is yours!”
Emalyna says in a sweet and innocent voice, “Polygamy as practiced by the Fae, promotes a group mentalality, equality amoungst their group and reproduction with the strongest males garnering the favours of more women.”
Emalyna says in a sweet and innocent voice, “With this, the men nor the women know who fathered the children so, all are equally protective and nurturing of the young, providing more than adequate care and tending.”
Emalyna says in a sweet and innocent voice, “This can also be seen in their defense of their homes and lands, working together to protect their combined interests.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And time! Thank you Emalyna.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Farrah of the Ashen Advocates, the floor is ready for your opening statement, when ready.”
Farrah says, “Marriage is about stability and mutual respect. Polygamy, as practiced by the Fae encompasses neither of these things.”
Farrah says, “The royal family of the Sidhe Court is there to rule, to lead its people, to keep order and promote justice and progress, as is any leadership of any society. It cannot achieve this purpose if it is internally at war with itself.”
Farrah says, “Yet, Oberions choice to take two wives has done nothing but destabilize the very ruling family of Annwyn.”
Farrah says, “Rhyannon banishes any who dares to attempt to share Oberion with her. Titania plots to overthrow and replace her, and so does Faylinn, the other prospective wife desperate for Oberions affections.”
Farrah says, “This is worse yet when there is a fountain of wishes to facilitate the internal war of wives.”
Farrah says, “Even if the wives do not plot against each other, their mutual animosity is harmful to the kingdom as a whole. The ruling class must present a unified front for the people to ensure continued faith in their reign. Any weakness in the ruling class will inspire doubt in the citizens, amplifying any civic discord already present in the kingdom.”
Farrah says, “But marriage is also about respect for ones partner. It is a bond of mutual benefit and satisfaction between willing partners.”
Farrah says, “This notion is thrown out the window when one partner takes additional wives against the will of the other.”
Farrah says, “You contend that polygamy promotes equality, but what it actualy promotes is patriarchy. Oberions wives clearly have little say in their circumstance. It is all about his pleasure, and not their desires.”
Farrah says, “As practiced by the Fae, it appears more the case that one male has multiple wives than the other way around. Thus, the father of any children is known, and there is no benefit of equal circumstances given to society as a whole, either.”
Farrah says, “Put simply, polygamy, as practiced by the Fae is not a practice that is beneficial to society. It is delightful only to Oberion.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And that is time! Thank you, Farrah.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Asani! It is now time for your secondary statement, when ready.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “My opponent’s claims are rooted in beliefs about marriage that we, who generally live in societies less influenced by bloodline, are able to hold as a result of our differing ruling systems.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “Polygamy, as a system, does not inherently bring harm to any of those involved. It’s been practiced within our own culture as well, most notably by Nicator, when Sapience was ruled by monarchies and royal families.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “Nicator was married to several wives, and used his marriages to bring peace and stability to the Seluecarian Empire, through ensuring his line was continued and bringing together different kingdoms.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “Seeing as it contributed to our own culture’s golden age, there’s little evidence to suggest that for the fae, for whom it’s significantly more ingrained, it will inherently have a different result.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “Oberion, considering his status, would be able to use this system for the same purpose. For the fae, this is an ingrained part of their culture, and cultural institutions are often preserved due to providing stability to the culture they are a part of.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “That said, I do not contend that Oberion himself has succeeded in this goal, but that is the failing of an indivudal, not the system. It would be equally fallacious to claim that Verrucht’s rule in Cyrene has proven democracy to be a complete failure.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “I would remind my opponents that the topic is polygamy practiced by the fae, and not just by an individual in their society.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “And indeed, this is better than the alternative, and a monogamous system would not prevent such plotting, and would make it worse, as one unwise as Oberion could easily end up divorcing and remarrying, tearing apart the marriages that hold his kingdom together.”
Asani says in a measured, alto voice, “Using moral arguments from a culture not dependent on such a system is flawed at best, and can lead to political instability and downfall at worst.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And time! Thank you Asani.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Sothantos, you may begin with your
secondary statements when you’re ready.”
Sothantos says, “The proposition has suggested that polygamy is a widespread part of fae culture. They have not raised any evidence that this is in fact a common practice in their realm.”
Sothantos says, “If polygamy were as widely practiced there as it is claimed, then surely Rhyannon, who would have been raised in this culture, would not hold such animosity towards Titania. Being raised in an environment that teaches the virtues of polygamy would have given her an open mind to sharing Oberion.”
Sothantos says, “The opposition has also brought up Nicator as a good example of polygamy. The topic is polygamy practiced by the fae.”
Sothantos says, “What evidence we do have shows clearly that polygamy, as practiced by the fae, simply does not work.”
Sothantos says, “The kingdoms led by each wife are tenuously united by the tenuous ties between angry partners. Plotting and scheming and murder are commonplace.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Sothantos.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “With the end of the secondary statements, we now begin the rebuttal phase.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Jiraishin, the floor is yours, when ready.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “As Sothantos stated briefly, no examples can be easily found by an adventurer in Annwyn of Sidhe polygamy beyond Oberion.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “In fact, when I myself mentioned the debate topic of ‘polygamy as practiced by the Fae’ to the Sidhe delegation, -their- immediate thought was of the royal couple.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “So. We must consider the example at hand.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Not merely a moral concern, but a great political one.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “The marriages of rulers bind polities together. Such is the case of Titania and Oberion, binding Sidhe Court to Dryad Garden.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Now imagine if Titania is assassinated.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Imagine the strife that would result.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “An inversion of the increased stability that was initially promised.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “-This- is what is created by the current situation of two wives at odds.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Personal motives, political consequences.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Made more dire by Sidhe magic and a well of wishes.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “It is not abstract matters of ‘equality’ or the strongest offspring from the maximum number of women at hand. It is the peace and stability of a land, the strength of diplomatic bonds, and the symbolism of rulers at odds.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Time is up! Thank you Jiraishin.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Tesha, you will be our final speaker this month. You may begin with your rebuttal when ready.”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “The arguments of my dear citymates are based upon only a select few of the Fae: Rhyannon, Oberion, Titania, and Faylinn … of the fae…”
Gesturing grandly with both hands, Tesha flails her arms around in what she considers to be a persuasive manner.
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “While yes, they may be super suspicious, schemeing, silly, sinful, and seditious, this shows only part of the culture of the fae. Faylinn is clearly angry, and tenuous plots are rampant in the land of Annwyn.”
Pacing back and forth, Tesha forgets she holds a living vodun doll of Farrah in her hand, and shakes it around continuously as she speaks, completely oblivious to any effects this may have on Farrah.
Tesha screams in a mellifluous voice, “HOWEVER!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “They fail to acknowledge the OTHER fae. No! They suggest polygamy is NOT common practice, and that it does NOT work, and that it is rampant with jealousy, animosity, and political plots!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “It clearly does work, as there are nearly limitless fae. If it “doesn’t work”, how are they still able to reproduce?”
Sothantos gives Farrah a concerned look.
Tesha screams in a mellifluous voice, “HMMMMMM?!”
Tesha exclaims in a mellifluous voice, “Well do I have news for you!!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “I have adventured to meet Mirna during the time alloted for research.”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “I have come to suspect Mirna ACTUALLY comes from the land of NYWNNA.”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “In Nywnna, it is the women who rule! It is the women who are the patriarchy!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “…”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “It is the women who are the matriarchy!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “If you inspect her name carefully, one might discover Mirna’s true identity. The secret she has possibly kept all these years!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “Not only is polygamy GREAT in her opinion, laughter is vital to the cause!”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “It is clearly all based on laughter. Laughter is currency is Nywnna.”
Tesha nods her head, twice.
As Tesha squeezes the vodun doll, Farrah turns slightly blue, but obviously attempts to conceal it.
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “This is evidenced by her bodyguard asking for all of my laughter. Clearly there is no other reason for this, so the only logical conclusion is that it is a form of currency.”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “Now how can a system rampant with jealousy and animosity and all these other negative things simultaneously be held up by the currency of laughter?”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “The only possible conclusion is that there is no jealousy, or animosity, or any other negative thing. Polygamy is awesome, like Mirna would probably say.”
Jiraishin hides his face in his gauntleted hands, emitting faint choked noises.
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “In NYWNNA, everything is GREAT.”
Tesha leans down a little bit and lowers her voice to a stage-whisper, offering a hushed cadence while still remaining audible.
Tesha whispers in a mellifluous voice, “Is Mirna the secret identity of the queen of the Fae in Nywnna, the land of which is run by polygamy? Does she hail from a civilisation that hinges on laughter as a form of currency?”
Tesha exclaims in a mellifluous voice, “Maybe! We can only speculate. Naturally she would never admit to such a possibility, for that very fact may put her in danger!”
A smartly-dressed, tiny halfling child looks incredibly confused as he stares at Tesha.
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “All of this and more is CLEAR and IRREFUTABLE evidence that polygamy, as practiced by the fae, is great.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And time! Thank you Tesha for those…final remarks.”
Tesha says in a mellifluous voice, “I rest my case.”
Jiraishin uncovers his face, staring at Tesha with a mixture of horror and what must be amusement.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “With that, our third debate round is over. Well done teams, please give them a round of applause!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I will now begin tallying the final scores. Please give me a few moments as I examine my notes.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum stares off to the sky for a moment, mumbling to herself while counting up the scores.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Before I reveal this month’s winner, I want to thank Team Ret for stepping up to challenge the Ashen Advocates. Please give them a big round of applause for answering the call to action!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “With that said, I am pleased to announce…”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Team Ret has taken this round! Congratulations!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you all for joining me and I hope to see you again at the finale. The Ashen Advocates will be squaring off against the Sophists of the Seat! The final topic will be, ‘The punishment of Khalas, in the wake of the War of Humanity, was fair and just.'”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Through random selection, Advocates will be in favour of the topic, while the Sophists will be opposed. Please take this time before the finale to prepare wisely.”
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Sophists Win Debate 2!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/11/sophists-win-debate-2)
**Published:** July 11, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In our second debate of the week, the Sophists of the Seat rallied to win against the Ashen Advocates. They meet again tomorrow for a final practice round before the big debate on Sunday!
**Sophists of the Seat vs** **Ashen Advocates – Civilisation is an abuse of the natural world.**
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Ok teams, your prep time is up! Please take your positions. We’ll begin with our affirmative team, Sophists of the Seat.”
Truax nods her head at Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Truax, you may begin your opening statement whenever you’re ready.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Greetings, honoured judge, guests, and other attendees. It is a pleasure to address you once again. Today we address the topic of “Civilisation, existing as an abuse of the natural world.””
Truax frowns and says in a soft-spoken voice, “Creation was created with a purpose, and Nature is the manifestation of that purpose. Existing as part of an equilibrium, one little change in the natural world can lead to mass extinction.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Intrusion upon Nature throws off that balance by taking more than it contributes. This is the very essence of civilization’s abuse.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Civilizations include those communities that sentient beings create for themselves, which sets them apart from the plant and animal kingdoms of our realm. Creatures of nature have no consciousness and therefore cannot intentionally harm the natural world.”
Truax frowns and says in a soft-spoken voice, “Whereas civilisation is dependent upon the natural world for its growth and development.”
Truax mimics grabbing unseen objects in front of her petite form.
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Taking, taking, taking always and never giving back more in its place, civilisation is always hungry for more progress and rarely generous with its returns. And as a result, this persistent abuse is setting our world up for impending disaster.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Gaia, the Wildwood Queen is the Goddess of Nature. She is a manifestation of the natural world and She and Lady Artemis are its protectors. The Pair wield the tenacious power of the natural world. The falsities of civilisation’s iron and stone are revealed in Their presence.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “We hope too that it is today in yours.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Truax.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Sothantos, the floor is now yours for an opening statement, if you are ready.”
Sothantos says, “Social organization is a part of the natural world, found in forms as diverse as a termite colony or a wolf pack. What is called ‘civilization’ is merely a specific form of social organization practiced by sapients.”
Sothantos says, “While specific civilizations in specific situations can act abusively towards the world around them, civilization in its essence is no more intrinsically abusive than any other social order.”
Sothantos says, “Civilization is a natural product of Creation: when Ayar created the world, He did not only create Gaia but also Phaestus.”
Sothantos says, “You would not claim that ants, beavers, monkeys, and crows are not part of the natural world. Ants live in a strictly stratified society, farm aphids, and even go to war with other colonies. Beavers construct dams, directly changing the landscape around them as they create lakes through blocking the rivers. Monkeys, crows, and I am sure countless other species of animals are capable of rudimentary trade.”
Sothantos says, “What, then, is sentient civilization but a higher form of these naturally occurring structures? We should not think of civilization as some entity separate from the natural world, but rather as part of it. It may be true that civilization changes the world around it, but this is a quality inherent to all life that interacts with other life, as true for the ant or the wolf as it is the human or xoran.”
Sothantos says, “This is not abuse. It is simply the natural evolution of ecosystems. We do not say that the beaver abuses the natural world when he builds his dam.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you Sothantos.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Now for our secondary statements. Lii, the floor is yours!”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “Civilisation, communities of iron and stone, are abusive when they take more away from the world around us. Regarding the Dwarves whom Lord Phaestus Created, there is a clan that coexists with Nature. The reality is simply this.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “Civilisations destroy nature and their surrounding environements to mold the world to what they want. There is no gain as plants are destroyed. There is little given back in the form of waste and other services.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “Looking at the natural world itself and the groups within it, wolves, though not sentient, do not act as we do.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “They cull the weak of the herd and the sickly. They leave behind markings. The ensure that the plants remain and thrive that herds and other groups of animals would utterly destroy in their hunger remain.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “Nature IS a system of balance. Also, when have you ever seen animals mine ore, build roads, and destroy homes in order to push themselves ahead? Some of these buildings in our civlisation aren’t even used.”
Lii steps back with her hands folded outwards.
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “There is only so much destruction civilisation can do before it destroys not only the world around it, but also ultimately destroys itself as the food supplies and materials that nature provides are consumed wholy.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you very much, Lii.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Farrah of the Ashen Advocates, the floor is now yours.”
Farrah says, “As my compatriot stated before me, Creation was made by Ayar with myriad aspects. Although Lady Gaia was created to represent Nature, Lord Phaestus, for example, could be said to represent Industry.”
Farrah says, “This is, in fact, crucial to Creation’s purpose. Indeed, Lords Proteus and Phaestus went through great lengths to create Their masterpiece – sentient life. And surely, the existence and advancement of such life is crucial to Creation’s ultimate purpose.”
Farrah says, “Yet, civilisation was defined by your first speaker as “those communities sentient beings create for themselves,” as distinguished from “creatures of nature” with “no consciousness.””
Farrah says, “To deride civilisation is to deride the masterpiece of the Creator and advocate for the reduction of Creation to a stale, thoughtless world. A tragedy, if there ever could be one.”
Farrah says, “One of your speakers further implied that consciousness was important because those without consciousness may not “intentionally” destroy the world around them. Yet civilisation can hardly be said to “intentionally” do such, either. Civilisation strives to advance, not to harm.”
Farrah says, “But civilisation need not inherently lead to the extinction of the natural, and certainly not the useful aspects of Nature.”
Farrah says, “Indeed, civilisation cannot take from the natural world, because civilisation is an extension of the natural world.”
Farrah says, “Your argument is premised on a dream of how Nature acts. Animals will slaughter far more lesser creatures than they can eat.”
Farrah says, “They know nothing of balance. They destroy, as much as any.”
Farrah says, “However, they are often limited by capabilities, not desire or lack of impulse.”
Farrah says, “Ecosystems right themselves through starvation and death. Cities create new ecosystems in the same way.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And that’s time! Thank you Farrah.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “We shall now begin with the rebuttals. Jirashin, you may begin when ready.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Lii is correct in describing the results of a scenario in which civilization abuses its surroundings: the civilization itself will fall. This is exactly the same, in fact, as the process that keeps wolves from overrunning their prey populations, or prey from outpacing their plant-based food sources.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “When a system is unsustainable, it dies back to sustainable levels.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “This is true for deer. This is true for wolves. This is true for sapient beings and their cities. There is no difference of essence here.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “In truth, it is only a matter of scale. The results are certainly grander to observe, like the difference in scale between a great temple and a beaver dam.”
Jiraishin frowns and says with a harsh Western accent, “But merely because it looks impressive does not make it fundamentally different.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Civilization acts in analogous ways to smaller-scale organizations in nature because it -is- part of nature.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “It is its own ecosystem. It survives or perishes according to its ability. The destruction it wreaks, when it does so, is hapless: the creation outside its borders, equally so.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Both exist, in balance.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “And that is Nature.”
Jiraishin nods his head at Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Jiraishin.”
Mathonwy steps forward, nodding in acknowledgement to the audience, Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum, and the opposition.
Mathonwy asks Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum, “Am I clear to begin?”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And now to our final rebuttal. Mathonwy, when you’re ready.”
Mathonwy nods his head at Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum.
Mathonwy says, “Thank you all for attending, and for hearing us argue our cases.”
Mathonwy says, “We’ve heard a lot of arguments for and against, and again, I have faith that the best argument will see its way through.”
Mathonwy says, “And indeed, what better argument can be made than that of what the Gods Themselves would advocate? The Logos Himself has stated that animals lack sentience and consciousness. I am confident that, above all, He knows His Creation better than most.”
Mathonwy says, “Civilization we’ve defined as the communities of the sentient and conscious, and abuse as taking advantage of a relationship or taking more than one contributes. Animals cannot knowingly harm the natural world, for they are unaware of the state in which they find themselves. We, on the other hand, we are capable of greatness, but often that greatness manifests itself in pointless, gratuitous destruction.”
Mathonwy says, “Destruction for our own benefits, instead of part of a natural cycle of change. Animals cannot act out of nature because, instinctively, as a part of their very essence, they -are- of Nature. Mortality has chosen to separate itself, to hitch its wagon to a different beast entirely.”
Mathonwy says, “This is no idle statement or cunning idea I would invent. These are the words of your Logos writ large.”
Mathonwy says, “And indeed, civilization as made manifest in the great cities of the world rely upon the natural world to grow. We cut down trees and haul stone from one place to another. We mine for coal and ore, burning and taking what we see fit with little regard for the esteem of those creatures with whom we share the world. We impose our will upon that which has lasted longer than us, and our opposition dares to claim that such things are acceptable.”
Mathonwy says flatly, “I have never seen a beaver or a wolf or an ant with a miner’s pick or bearded axe. Yet the feats they are capable of are extraordinary in their own right.”
Mathonwy says, “As Jiraishin says, when a system is unsustainable, it dies back to sustainable levels. This, like most of their arguments, have the trappings of truth while ignoring the essence of it, which is: mortality are the only beings capable of completely eradicating all life. We’ve seen many try, in fact: Death’s Heart saga, various wars. Extermination efforts. This does not happen in the natural world. There is a sizeable difference.”
Mathonwy says, “I will say something, now, that may come across as harsh: we are not anything especially special. Sentience is not a masterpiece. It is simply a different shade of the same colours of Creation, and to afford it a place of privilege is, truly, to deride the magnificent tapestry of which we are all a part.”
Mathonwy says wryly, “They would pull the unfairly-shorn wool over your eyes.”
Mathonwy says, “For indeed, these creatures do not exist to serve as fuel for our insatiable urges. They have their own purposes.”
Mathonwy says, “Ironically, one deviation from that initial purpose, one tweak, can plunge all of us to untimely deaths. We have our place in the natural world, yes, but Civilization is a danger to and abuse of that world, and our opponents would normalise such abuse. Our opponents, in the name of creature comforts, would see everything the Logos has given us dashed upon the rocks of devastation.”
Mathonwy says, “Crows may trade and ants may war with each other, but the world has never been in peril because of an ant invasion. To conflate the goings-on of animals in the natural world to the scope and measure of devastation mortality is capable of inflicting is, itself, an abusive proposition.”
Mathonwy says, “We have greatness, yes. We are born of it. And we must be careful to maintain that great balance, because in our greatness, we are prone to taking more than we contribute. That is the very nature of abuse, symptomatic of the rise of our modern city-states. Hashan and Cyrene, destroying natural habitats and countless animals. Mhaldor, pervading and ending natural life with its own. Shallam, even now, its ruins polluting the oceans. And Targossas, flooding the plains.”
Mathonwy says, “What have these cities given back?”
Mathonwy asks, “When have they cared, even for one moment, about the world about them, or anything other than their own purposes?”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Mathonwy.”
Mathonwy nods his head at Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And with that, our second debate round is over. Well done teams, well done! Please give our participants a round of applause.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Well spoken.”
Mathonwy says, “Well-argued, Advocates.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “I will now begin tallying the final scores. While I’m grading, I would kindly ask the Ashen Advocates and Sophists of the Seat to think if they’d like to return for a third bout next month.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “What a debate. The scores were close in my book. Too close! But there can only be one winning team…”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Sophists of the Seat, you have taken this round!”
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/11/auctions)
**Published:** July 11, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just put a stack of gold and credit auctions live! These will close at the start of July the 22nd so get your bids in and don’t miss out!
**For Credits:**
1 – A Portable Sojourn Table
2 – Cloak of many feathers – Owner can track without class or race restrictions!
3 – Phylactery of sixth sense – Grants its owner MINDNET
4 – Any Legend Deck card, your choice!
5 – Any completed promotional talisman, your choice!
6 – Level 3 artefact armour with innate morphing
7 – Resilient translucent mask – A resetting version of the translucent mask!
**For Gold!**
8 – Any level 1 talisman piece, your choice!
9 – Five Legend Deck sleeves
10- Five bloodstained shards of enamel
11- Five pages for the Tome of Muses!
12- Any minipet from our various COLLECTIONS
13- A resetting “heart-shaped candy box” as sold by the Sidhe at the Worlds’ Fair!
14- An out of subdivision house plot at “A clearing overlooking the Urubamba”
15- A Delosian shop! Rousseau’s Dozing Dragon (south of Western Epitus Avenue) has become available. All names can be changed!
See [HELP AUCTIONS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1170) for all commands, and check out the information on each auction for more details! If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to ISSUE ME <your question> and we’ll do our best to answer!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Ashen Advocates Victorious!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/10/ashen-advocates-victorious)
**Published:** July 10, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In the first of a series of debates facing off against Ashtan’s *Sophists of the Seat*, the Ashen Advocates of Targossas takes the win, read on for the full display…
**Ashen Advocates vs Sophists of the Seat – Use of torture as an acceptable interrogation technique.**
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “The floor is yours, Advocates.”
Sothantos says, “The ends justify the means.”
Sothantos says, “We live in a world of trying times. Myriad forces seek to subvert or destroy the world we live in. To combat those forces, we must rise to meet them and do what must be done, no matter what that entails. Torture is one such necessity.”
Sothantos says, “Regardless of what set of morals or beliefs you subscribe to, every one of us lives by this belief. Every one of you has hunted to gain experience and, in doing so, has weighed the potential value to you above the pain and harm you cause to others. Each city has waged war for its ideals and sent soldiers into battle.”
Sothantos says, “If we accept violence in battle as an acceptable means to pursue our goals, then it follows that torture should be similarly condoned in order to maintain a consistent ethical position. How can depriving a person of his life entirely be condoned over causing one pain, particularly in an age when pain can be rectified with a simple health elixir, or a mending salve?”
Sothantos says, “We can observe this principles throughout the world at large. We all have goals that supersede the insignificant inconvenience that is pain.”
Sothantos says, “In Targossas, for example, we are sworn to follow the Axioms of Righteousness. If a law prevents you from your task, rewrite it. If a moral gives you pause, expunge it. If a man stands in your way, cut him down. Any obstacle that impedes you is your foe, and the foe of all Creation.”
Sothantos says, “The necessity of this Axiom is apparent in these times. Nothing else matters if Creation is not safeguarded.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And… time, Advocates!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you, Sothantos. Sophists, you now have the floor.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “Greetings, Archivist, guests, and other notables present. Also Sothantos for his statement.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “I would like to proposition that torture is not an acceptable way of getting information. One. People will do whatever is required to end the agony of torture. This includes saying anything,including false information because they simply do not have the information required. Therefore it stands to reason that the information gained from torture is susceptible at best, non-existent at worst. Therefore the information is not to be trusted. Also, torture as a way to make a statement is ineffectual. In a world where pain and dying are a commonality, where people harm themselves whether by experimentation or training, then the pain involved in torture is fairly insignificant.”
Lii says in a cool, smoky voice, “Now, the issue itself is about whether torture is an acceptable form of interrogation, not about necessity, et cetera. Yes, we do what must be done. This is a certainty. However, stating that the ends justify the means is inaccurate. We cannot merely focus upon the present but rather the future also. The actions of today and the gains inherent within it do not deal with the effects they will have on the future. This previous Black Wave as well as the alliances formed and the respect gained shows.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “Time’s up, Sophists!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Excellent first round, teams.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum beams broadly.
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Farrah of the Advocates, as the secondary speaker, the floor is yours.”
Farrah says, “Your primary arguments go only to the effectiveness of torture, and not its acceptability. Indeed, if it is merely ineffective, there is an implication that it is acceptable. It is simply a matter of how much may be gained from it.”
Farrah says, “If there is no or very little to be lost, then even if the gain is minor, it is worthwhile to pursue.”
Farrah says, “However, regarding the usefulness of pain, and its ability to pressure. The fact that death is commonplace is precisely what makes torture effective.”
Farrah says, “We are accustomed to quick deaths. Quick bouts of pain, easily come, and easily gone.”
Farrah says, “We are accustomed to visits with Ugrach.”
Farrah says, “But to lie, at one’s mercy, for endless time? Never allowed to escape, never allowed any reprieve?”
Farrah says, “Most are not built for such, and all will cave in.”
Farrah says, “In the moment, a person only cares about his own convenience, or her own comfort.”
Farrah says, “The reliability of the information obtained, further, may be verified and explored after the fact.”
Farrah says, “As for your remarks about the importance of the future, the information we gain in the present shapes the future.”
Farrah says, “It is unsurprising that you provide no examples to support your claims. No data. You cite the Black Wave, as if what happened supports your argument. Those who did what must be done prevailed. Those who did, lie at the others’ feets, bereft of the power of their fonts.”
Farrah says, “Those who did not, rather.”
Farrah says, “Those who choose to use whatever means will best accomplish their end will always prevail over those who will not.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And that’s time, Advocates!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Truax of the Sophists, you may now have the floor, when you’re ready.”
Truax steps forward and smiles warmly as she touches her fist to her chest in a solemn greeting.
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Thank you, Nissa, for organizing this series of debates. Thank you too to all those who came to observe. May our words fall meaningfully upon everyone’s ears.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Our opponents in this debate have propose that torture as an acceptable interrogation technique.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “But torture fails in that specific respect, that is acceptability, because we’d need to define acceptability of an interrogation technique as something that will get you the information you’re looking for. I shall explain why it does not and actually yield information this wholly unreliable.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “A point must first be addressed though. Torture as described thus far by our opponents ruins the educational value of this honourable debate because the arguments given thus far are truly extratopical in nature. The topic is the use torture as an interrogation technique. Not the pain and violence caused by hunting, warfare, or the like. The topic is also not the salvation of Creation, which all cities do not equally agree on anyway. It is about torture as an acceptable means of gaining information.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “When someone is tortured, their body is put through such extremes that it assumes death is imminent. The suffering experienced overcomes the will of the individual. This extreme stress and pain creates an unreliable narrator, who will do anything to make the experience end. Any information gained is therefore corrupted by the experience of enduring torture. Coercive interrogation methods disrupt the quality and quantity of any information that might be forthcoming.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “There are other, non-coercive, interrogation techniques which can garner more reliable intelligence. If the goal of an interrogation is to garner information, then the chief objective is to wear down a resistance to sharing it. Guilty, confusion and trickery can be employedto make a detainee more open to suggestion and more likely to comply with demands for information. These alternative tactics will yield more reliable information on the whole than torture.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “Inflicting such stress only to ‘need to verify’ it afterward shows how inefficient torture truly is. There are so many different, and more reliable, sources to get that info. Telepathy, eavesdropping, mindreading, etc. Torture is truly not needed and not acceptable by any standards of open Warfare today. The effectiveness of torture is directly relevant to its acceptability, because it will overshadow and make much less efficient other torture methods . Nobody will want to help someone inflicting pain on them., There have been no examples of data stated by our opposition to the contrary.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “War is an ineluctable force througout Creation. But it is widely held by all the cities of Sapience that the violence of its conflicts should be maintained at a certain level of intensity and go no further. For example, persons taking no active part in hostilities as army members are deemed untouchable. This criteria is what distinguishes war from lower forms of violence. Brutality has its place on the battlefield. Mercy is a stranger there. But civilized warfare is not without its protections of those who participate and those who do not. In the sameway, the willful torture or inhumane treatment of prisoners of conflict must be disallowed.”
Truax says in a soft-spoken voice, “War perpetuates war, and as such torture perpetuates torture. It propagates itself in this way, yielding only the very minor gains of compliance, animosity, and unreliability of information. The information gained, regardless of its reliability will shape the future, but it will be a much more grim horizon than hoped for.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time. Well done on the second round!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “We have made it to the find round of this debate, the rebuttal.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Mathonwy, you will be the final speaker for the Sophists. Whenever you’re ready, you may begin.”
Mathonwy nods to Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum.
Mathonwy says, “Thank you to our judge, to all gathered, and our opposing team for the challenge.”
Mathonwy turns to face the crowd, a pensive look upon his face.
Mathonwy says, “We’ve heard a lot here today about whether torture is acceptable or not. But at the end of the day, the central theme here is: is it acceptable? Of the arguments offered by the propositional team, very few actually are capable of being rebutted without detracting from the subject at hand, which, we needn’t remind, is about the acceptability of torture as an -interrogative- technique.”
Mathonwy says, “Should we be penalized for not addressing every wild thought that crosses their minds, relevant or not?”
Mathonwy frowns and says, “I would say that would be grossly unfair.”
Mathonwy points accusingly at Sothantos.
Mathonwy says, “We’ve heard of ends justifying means. Do they? I can only leave it to you to decide, but if the end is to acquire information capable of proving victorious, does the frailty of mortality at all lend credence to this claim? The Advocates say so. I think someone will say something, anything, to save themselves.”
Mathonwy says, “Torture as a necessity: toward what end? In our time of mindreading, angels, baalzadeens, serpents who can phase, and telepathy, not to speak of astralform and blackwind, -is- it necessary? Or is it gratuitous?”
Mathonwy says, “In fact, every culture has some kind of prohibition upon gratuitous violence for its own sake. Absent a purpose, that’s exactly what it is, and we’ve outlined there -is- no good purpose for torture. The Advocates have not.”
Mathonwy says, “Torture, by the Advocates’ own admission, is different to what we might term ‘regular’ violence.”
Mathonwy frowns and says, “Although that we call it such speaks volumes of the mindset of our opponents.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “And time is over for our first rebuttal. Thank you Sophists for your excellent case!”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Jiraishin of the Advocates, the floor is yours, when ready.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Mathonwy is correct on one count. This debate is on torture as an interrogation technique, not an -information gathering- technique. However, those ‘alternatives’ he listed –phase spying, mind listening, telepathy– are not, in fact, interrogation techniques.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Interrogation is a form of active information gathering, in fact.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Torture may be considered one of several subtypes, one way among many to conduct in interrogation.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Is it appropriate to every situation? Of course not. Not all individuals have the same handles.”
Jiraishin says grimly with a harsh Western accent, “But for some individuals, that handle is indeed extreme and prolonged pain.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Interrogation, in this era of Serpents and Baalzadeens, remains a necessity, and we will conduct it as we must. Torture is not wholly effective, but neither is any other method.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “Ask any spymaster what method is -wholly- reliable, for interrogation. If he or she is competent, you will get no answer.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “There is little more to say. The Ashtani are not above torture. No one is, because it is how we get what we need, when we must.”
Jiraishin says with a harsh Western accent, “It is not gratuity, but grim necessity.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “And…time! Well said, Advocates. Well said.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “With the end of that rebuttal, I will now go over my notes and tally up the final scores of our first debate. But before I do, please give our wonderful teams here a worthy round of applause! They both were excellent today.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “Thank you for all waiting. After calculating the scores, a winner has been selected.”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum says, “For use of strong argument, excellent clarity, and consistency among speakers, I have decided that…”
Nissa, the Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum exclaims, “The Ashen Advocates have won this debate round!”
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Matters of Debate!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/06/matters-of-debate)
**Published:** July 6, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Nissa has announced a debate contest for Achaean’s to participate in over the coming week!
Beginning on the 4th of Sarapin, 805, I will be hosting a battle of wits in a very special Worlds’ Fair debate competition!
Teams of three will face off in glorious combat–not with blade and bow, but with clever prose and keen rhetoric.
Interested individuals should expect the following topics to be discussed:
- Assisting the Tsol’teth in gaining sample materials.
- Use of torture as an acceptable interrogation technique.
- Cities subsidising the general costs of maintenance and repairs for shop owners.
- Polygamy, as exercised by the Fae.
- Civilisation, existing as an abuse of the natural world.
- The punishment of Khalas in the wake of the War of Humanity.
The pairing will be decided through a random drawing, squaring off on the 4th of Sarapin, the 3rd of Daedalan, the 2nd of Aeguary, and the 18th of Scarlatan.
Stances of Proposition and Opposition will be issued prior to the start of the debate. From there, we will follow a strict speaking format:
- 5 minutes, First Proposition Speaker
- 5 minutes, First Opposition Speaker
- 5 minutes, Second Proposition Speaker
- 5 minutes, Second Opposition Speaker
- 3 minutes, Opposition Rebuttal
- 3 minutes, Proposition Rebuttal
During the debate, I will be taking notes to determine who will be our victor for the match, as well as moderating. Winners will proceed each month until our final debate topic concludes!
Teams must be comprised of three able-minded individuals in order to participate, including a primary, secondary, and rebuttal speaker. Please note that at least two members of a team must be present during their scheduled debate times to prevent disqualification. Debate days will be published on the upcoming calendar of events in short order.
Send me a letter of your team’s intent on participating, along with a team name and a list of your speakers, no later than Sarapin 1st, 805, to be included in the competition.
Good luck and Gods speed!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Worlds' Fair!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/05/worlds-fair)
**Published:** July 5, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Nissa’s Worlds’ Fair is getting ready to open its doors and has released the schedule of events!
With delegates from most player cities featured in our showcase list, and cultures from across the planes represented, it’s going to be a busy fair!
The **UPCOMING** command in game has a list of all the showcases and when they’re due to start, but what you’ll witness is a surprise!
There will also be many shops containing food, drinks, clothing, and special oddities from all across Achaea, so be ready to spend some coin!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Crafting Ideas!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/07/01/crafting-ideas)
**Published:** July 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just announced that in September we’re going to be releasing three new tradeskills! But we need your help…
We want you to be involved in deciding which tradeskills we add to Achaea!
Head to our [forum thread](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6872/crafting-the-future) and be sure to read the OP for more details, and then submit your ideas!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Sublimation!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/06/12/sublimation)
**Published:** June 12, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Ushering in a new era of study and practice, Hashan unlocks the secrets of the Wellspring and unleashes Sublimation upon Achaea!
Given Hashan’s more polarising stance over the last year and greater exposure in the conflict scene, we’re pleased to announce the release of **[Sublimation](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1471)**: an alchemist alternative to Formulation!
This skill is controlled by Hashan similar to other factional skills being controlled by their relevant organisation, and similar considerations for those wishing to pick it over Formulation should be considered. Using it against Hashan will have similar repercussions to using Necromancy against Mhaldor – we strongly advise against this, but it is a choice if you really want to!
Relevant details about switching can be found under AB FORMULATION FIELD.
The restrictions on selecting your masteries are not in effect for the next couple of days, so you can play around with everything!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [The Old World](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/31/the-old-world)
**Published:** May 31, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Most historians know that prior to the fall of Seleucar the continents of Sapience and Meropis were one landmass. The new Championship game Sojourn takes place upon this old world and thanks to Numira we have this wonderful map!
**Categories:** Announcements, New Systems
---
### [Sojourn Details!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/30/sojourn-details)
**Published:** May 30, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Sojourn is a new game added to the Championship games tournament by the Tsol’teth! Read on for the details of it and of the new XP event format!
**SOJOURN**
Contenders who engage in Sojourn will find themselves in the shoes of Ashtani or Shallamese pilgrims, making the long journey to Seleucar and following the path taken in days of yore by these peoples.
Along the way you’ll need to make numerous decisions and choices that either help, hinder, or otherwise affect your progress toward the final destination, scoring points as you do so.
As Silon’ukia said: strategy and logical thinking is important!
To join the game, you will need to travel to Balan’ukia fortress in the Underrealm. There, you’ll find a Sojourn board and will be able to **SOJOURN START**.
The **SOJOURN** syntax has everything you need to know to play this game, and we’ve also created **[HELP SOJOURN](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1470)** to go into a bit more detail. Needless to say, we don’t want to reveal all of the specifics here.
Some rules:
– Sojourn is played solo, and Achaea remembers your progress with any active session.
– You are free to log out, afk, or leave the board entirely without resetting your progress. It should be possible to finish a full session in a modest amount of time, but you can take as long as you like on a choice.
– For the first week of the games, you can play as many Sojourn games as you like. This gives an ample amount of time to practice and get used to the new game style.
– In the second week of the games, Sojourn access becomes limited to 3 games per contender: these will be somewhat more difficult and varied than the practice mode, and the highest scoring of these three sessions will be your final score.
– During these official attempts, you **CANNOT** use SOJOURN START to quit the game and start over. You must see each one through.
**XP EVENT**
This XP Event will be a 6 hour total hunting time which can be undertaken during the XP Event windows scheduled on **UPCOMING**.
You do **NOT** have to complete all 6 hours in one sitting, but you cannot hunt for less than 1 hour total at any one time.
**XPEVENT JOIN** will mark you as a participant and will begin your first hour-long hunting window.
**XPEVENT ENTER** will start one of your successive, hour-long bashing windows.
This will be for hour 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Please use JOIN for the first hour.
**XPEVENT WHO** will lists players who are currently using their XPEVENT window.
**NOTE: Anyone on XPEVENT WHO is OPEN PK!**
See **[HELP XPEVENT](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=667)** for more details and a refresh of information!
**One final note: Sampling is only required for participation in the Sojourn game, all other games are free to enter for anyone.**
**Categories:** Announcements, Event, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Exploration!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/24/exploration)
**Published:** May 24, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just released a huge overhaul to the way exploration works in Achaea, and new, consumeable maps purchaseable for gold to see how much of an area you’ve currently explored!
Exploration has been in a bit of a sticky situation over the past many years, and we’ve finally sat down and decided to revamp it. This comes in a few separate changes of varying degrees.
First, the dreaded rule of threes. Bane of explorer and coder alike. Some of you know about the rule, some of you don’t, but previously only one in three rooms in Achaea counted for exploration, and which rooms were selected was a bit arbitrary as far as their actual placement was concerned. This led to a lot of areas being worth significantly more or less than they should have been, in the grand scheme of things. This rule is no more! Now, some of you may realize that this causes a bit of an issue, with what was and was not tracked being moved over to the new system. Fear not! Your current progress has been updated based on exploration in rooms that were nearby, or that were pre-requisites to reach your current room. Keep in mind that there are a few exceptions, such as special exits, hidden rooms, and a few more, so if one of your top-secret hidey-holes didn’t count for exploration before, you’ll likely have to revisit it.
We’ve also removed all old/defunct areas and stockrooms from counting.
Lastly, for those of you without an Explorer’s Tome, keeping track of your progress can be a bit of a hassle. Fear not! A cartographer has set up shop in Delos, where you may purchase blank maps for a measly sum of five thousand sovereigns. These single-use items can be used to gain a rough estimate of your exploration progress in an area, via SURVEY FOR MAP.
See the [Announce news](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=5047) in game for all of the specifics!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Championship Games!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/24/championship-games)
**Published:** May 24, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the brave among you, the Tsol’teth have invited all who wish to try their hand to participate in their version of the Championship Games, with the winner taking home a legendary prize!
This auspicious contest pits the very best of Achaea against one another for a chance to win the Staff of Nicator, access to the Keep at Nicator’s Crossing, and their choice of 2000 credits or one year of Iron Elite membership and a trip to the Artefact Vault!
But if you don’t manage to take first place, there’s a whole host of credits and other prizes on offer! Placing in the top ten in any of the Championship events will earn championship points (towards the overall winner) and credits. But beware, all of the games may feature new twists!
And there’s more!
Alongside the Championship events there will be lots of other ways to participate that can earn you special prizes! We’ll announce all of these closer to the date.
But for now, here’s the schedule for all the Championship events and some of the others we have in store for you so far.
The treasure hunt begins some hours prior to the official arrival of Year 802. This is to ensure a broad spectrum of participation and 6am is a highly unsocial hour!
NOTE: The XP event for this games is split into 3 windows of opportunity to participate and score points, further details will be forthcoming soon!
If you plan to be a contender (and everyone who has not yet won the Staff of Nicator should!) you can start preparing in advance.
**(All times are in GMT)**
SUN, 2nd June at 00:00 – Treasure Hunt!
SUN, 2nd June at 06:00 – Year 802 formally begins!
– Sojourn opens in Balan’ukia!
TUE, 4th June from 12:00 – XP Event first window opens! (12 hours)
SAT, 8th June from 00:00 – XP Event second window opens! (12 hours)
SAT, 8th June at 20:00 – Championship Twins Tournament!
SUN, 9th June at 14:00 – Championship Foozle!
WED, 12th June from 18:00 – XP Event third and final window opens! (12 hours)
SAT, 15th June at 00:00 – Championship Quiz!
SAT, 15th June at 12:00 – Sojourn closes!
SAT, 15th June at 21:00 – Awards Ceremony!
SUN, 16th June at 19:00 – CTF, Game of Eyes!
Be sure to check **UPCOMING** in game to see a live countdown until each of these events happens!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [An Invitation](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/24/an-invitation)
**Published:** May 24, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Fresh from tenuous victory in their invasion of Sapience, the Tsol’teth have dictated their intent to host the Championship Games, testing Achaea’s finest in a chance to win the Staff of Nicator – provided the contenders are willing to acquiesce to Tsol’teth demands for entry.
Tezlari-tarin fought bravely. Tezlari-tarin fought foolishly. Tezlari-tarin lost.
War, conquest, and prolonged battle are effective, albeit inefficient means of progress. Teth was wrought, and teth was won.
Despite losses and drawn out conflict, sufficient samples were procured and the stability of our lines is secured for the next generation, we will continue to flourish.
The aid of shi-Hashan, shi-Targossas, and shi-Moghedu is recognised by Anzari-tarin. Apposite rewards shall be forthcoming.
Unforeseen, we now hold the symbol of Nicator’s lineage.
This ancient relic will be the key that secures our continued growth for the generations to come. By the will of the Genesis, twice each century, we of Anzari-tarin shall test the best Tezlari-tarin has to offer. Participation requires assent in advancing the future of the Tsol’teth race: a minor sampling, undertaken by all who dare to try and claim possession of Nicator’s staff.
We recognise the ancient traditions of Tezlari-tarin. Appropriate respect will be given to these traditions. In exchange, appropriate respect will be given by the overland to the traditional tests of the Tsol’teth. Combined, these trials will select a deserving wielder of the staff.
The first of these trials will begin within Balan’ukia; the House of Blood in your primitive tongue. Commencing on the 1st of Sarapin 802, this will be a year long test requiring ongoing participation. Strategy and decision making are essential components for success: we recommend developing capabilities in these areas.
Prepare yourselves.
Ama-maalier, Fulcrum of the Meld
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [The Hero of Cyrene](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/12/the-hero-of-cyrene)
**Published:** May 12, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
While the Tsol’teth made war on Ashtan and Mhaldor, the resistance movement of Cyrene saw their opportunity and struck. Under the guidance of an unlikely hero, the brave Cyrenians mustered their forces and launched a counterattack on their captured city, freeing Blu, the Guardian Dragon, and reclaiming their home!
“Well, that was again, profoundly unpleasant.”
So remarked the wizard Hycanthus, as he trudged up the steps to his mountain shack a second time, returning from the Halls of Death at the behest of an irritable Mhaldorian. The collected might of the Cyrenian Resistance lingered outside his mediocre shack as he approached, kitted up for war.
The furore of fresh assault was well under way in Mhaldor and Ashtan both. With the two citystates occupied in a fight for their very lives, perhaps now they might leave the intrepid wizard to his own business, at long last.
And what greater business was there than defusing unthwartable wards with the power of glorious, glorious explosives?
So it was that with the Resistance in tow, Hycanthus descended down into the hidden expanses of the Phaestian Temple, where few eyes had ever dared to glance. A bag of experimental explosives hummed in their sack hanging from his waist, clattering about loudly with every step.
As Sir Eril Rian-Moonshadow, the Hand of Phaestus Himself revealed a long-hidden passage into the midst of Cyrene’s Lyceum, billowing tendrils of amaranthine Tide lashed back warily, testing the wardings of the Temple. Luckily, they held, the wizard noted – but for how long?
With little time to waste, Hycanthus prepared his vaunted prototype, the culmination of many hours of tinkering and work, gracefully supplemented by the countless offerings of the warriors of the White Wave and the Cyrenian Resistance. Uttering a gentle incantation, the evocation enchantments embedded into its depths spurned into life.
And live, they did. With alarming speed, the flames grew in his hands, threatening to set fire to the very archives in which all of Cyrene’s hopeful presided. A casual toss sent the device Tideward, and the rest was history.
A catastrophic force rippled throughout the Vashnars, dispersing the condensed Tide in a display of arcane mastery. Some who knew Hycanthus better may be inclined to call it accidental, but not he, for the wizard had only the following to say of his magnum opus:
“I knew it would work!”
**Follow the links to read about the Tsol’teth attacks on** [**Ashtan**](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=644) **and** [**Mhaldor**](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=645)**, and continue the story of Cyrene’s recovery with** [**A Cold Reminder**](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=647) **and** [**A Matter of Time**](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=648)**.**
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Hammered Out The Problem!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/05/22/hammered-out-the-problem)
**Published:** May 22, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Answering the pleas of His faithful, Lord Phaestus returned His attention to Achaea!
In the early days of Chronos, an unsuspecting orc set out to fish in his favourite pool, hoping to catch enough that he wouldn’t have to fight over food that night. As he stared into the water’s depths, looking for prey, something lurking in the murk below caught his eye. Fear overtook the wretched creature as it flailed and backed away from the water, loosing a harrowing screech that echoed through the mountains as he watched his body turn to lead, overtaken slowly by an alchemical corruption.
As the Siroccian Mountains slowly turned to lead, converting all in sight to the cold and grey metal, the nearby dwarven and orc encampments sought aid for their threatened homes. Many armed the dwarves against the raids of the orcs, who sought to take advantage of the weakness, with most contributions coming from Eleusis and Cyrene. As the days passed and more fell victim to the spreading plague, the thought of war grew less concerning. Attempt after attempt to remedy the situation failed, from the holy cleansing rituals of Targossas to fiery conflagrations brought on by Hashan.
The entirety of the dwarven camp huddled close as the last of the lead crept in, blowing about on the breeze. In a desperate bid to buy them some time, Phaesteans Eril and Roselie Rian-Moonshadow performed a hastily prepared ritual, calling hopefully upon the four elements to cleanse the land.
A hot, cinder-laden breeze rolled through in response to the faithful’s plea before a mirage obscured the surroundings. The heat haze eventually faded to reveal the form of the Smith, answering the pleas of His children.
Not One to waste words, Lord Phaestus promptly took up His legendary hammer, the WorldForger and dealt a swift blow to the ancient mountains. Like children did the giants shudder and tremble, cowed before the might of the DwarfFather from the tips of their peaks to the deepest valleys of the lowlands in between. With a second swing, the corrupted anchor was launched towards Ashtan, the projectile disappearing into a mysterious wall of stormclouds.
The Smith knelt and, using a piece of clay from the shaken mountains, forged a new anchor, reshaping the earth itself into solid gold. With one final strike of His hammer, the gold of the newly-forged anchor buckled beneath the Smith’s will, taking on liquid form and balancing the earthen scales.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Oblivion Cometh!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/02/18/oblivion-cometh)
**Published:** February 18, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Lord of Oblivion has manifested once more upon Achaea, crowning the momentous union of Dunn Lichlord of Ashtan with the Crone Queen of the Chaos Court. In hushed activity do the Nihilists of old now stir, the Caverns of Enheduanna once again alive with a dire promise.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [A New Look!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/01/26/a-new-look)
**Published:** January 26, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Sartan, the Lord of Evil gets a revamp with this amazing new piece of artwork!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Revelations!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/01/12/revelations)
**Published:** January 12, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Gem of Cloaking and Veil of the Sphinx artefacts received massive reworks today as we continue to work towards making Achaea feel more populated and alive!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [War of the Elements!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/11/28/war-of-the-elements)
**Published:** November 28, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Tumult shakes Achaea’s shores, mountains, woods, and skies: the elements locked in a fierce battle that threatens to tear the world apart. Will you answer the Vigil’s call to aid? See events news in game to get up to date!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Yggdrasil and Blood!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/12/03/yggdrasil-and-blood)
**Published:** December 3, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Part 1 of Achaea’s biggest release in years opened today! The world is bathed in blood and the Yggdrasil has been torn open, offering access to a multitude of new worlds beyond!
But more is yet to come, keep tuned to **UPCOMING** in game for the next big installment!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event, Game Updates
---
### [Something Wicked This Way Comes... ?](https://www.achaea.com/2017/11/09/something-wicked-this-way-comes)
**Published:** November 9, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After teasing Something Big happening in Achaea before the year is out at a Producers Q&A in October, **UPCOMING 417** has appeared in game! Keep an eye on that date, they promised the biggest release in Achaea’s history!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [November In Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/11/01/november-in-achaea)
**Published:** November 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Wheel of Fortune returns to New Thera! After an hour logged in each day you’ll earn a free spin of the wheel! For better prizes you can buy spin tokens from the [credits](https://www.achaea.com/credits/) page, and you’ll also get humgii racetrack tickets with credit purchases! See **Announce news 4837** for more info!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Costume Contest Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/10/30/costume-contest-winners)
**Published:** October 30, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Congratulations go to **Ehene**! Whose oversized pumpkin costume takes first prize, earning him a crafter’s portfolio in addition to a resetting version of his costume! All of the winning costumes can be found in Frightful Fittings and they all have a new disguise feature!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mayaween is here!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/10/23/mayaween-is-here)
**Published:** October 23, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Without the Tsol’teth to stave it away, Mayaween is upon us! Visit the ghost ship, Griesly Manor, and Haunted Thera, and get your costumes and spooky decorations from Makesh! There’s also a costume design contest running! **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4835 for details!**
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Hunters Wanted!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/12/06/hunters-wanted)
**Published:** December 6, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Marshalling rats and living deep within the World Tree is Ratatosk, Guardian of Yggdrasil.
Honour, prestige, and gold are offered to those who can find and slay this mighty beast!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [The Blood Sea](https://www.achaea.com/2017/12/14/the-blood-sea)
**Published:** December 14, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Curses to Achaea and the Primes in the name of Sllshya! The Water Emissary tore a tainted core from Mhaldor’s grip and bound the Sea Sorceress anew. Achaea’s waters are blue once again, yet the daemon core remains at the heart of Baelgrim fortress.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Skylord Returns!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/12/14/the-skylord-returns)
**Published:** December 14, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Jeramun’s attempted consumption of the Mistral roused the attention of Lord Vastar! Saving the conduit of air and causing His Farethi to rejoice, the Skylord returns to Achaea!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Tash'la!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/12/16/the-tashla)
**Published:** December 16, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
A look at the lithic warriors who hail from a distant plane!
**Categories:** Event, Game Updates
---
### [Elemental Planes!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/12/17/the-elemental-planes)
**Published:** December 17, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The **biggest** content release in Achaea’s twenty year history is now live, and the Elemental Planes are open to all Achaeans! These four massive zones are the territory of the elemental lords, and facing down their challenges rewards players with one of **FOUR new classes**!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [October in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/10/01/october-in-achaea)
**Published:** October 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Wrapping up September and the Iron Lottery, Cazanto from Lusternia wins the grand prize of 10,000 credits! Those of you who completed 15 or more birthday card tasks can expect to receive your prize soon, and talismans are on sale over on the credits page! Don’t forget, Mayaween is on the way!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Adchachel's Lament](https://www.achaea.com/2018/05/24/adchachels-lament)
**Published:** May 24, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Journeying to the ancient ruins of Old Aster Town, the adventurers of Achaea unearthed the ancient laboratory of Adchachel, calming the disturbed spectre whose spirit now serves those of a Shamanistic outlook.
---
So long within the darkness. But I awoke. In the north? I do not remember ever travelling there before. I was attacked by fools, who dared challenge the might of the greatest Occultist Demiurge! It was I who slew Overlord Agith’maal in the Black Wave, and these insects think they can face me and survive? The ten mightiest champions of Seleucar could not do what I have done.
I returned home, to my Ashtan. My home, great Ashtan, the Bastion. But again, betrayal! They claimed I am dead, that our great guild is no more. Impossible. I am the Demiurge of the Occultists, and they claimed to my face that my own guild is destroyed. They denied me in my proper request to be escorted to the estate, where I might ruminate on the strangeness, they denied me audience with the king as if I were a madman! They did not even speak to me of my old companions. Where is Epicurus? Is he gone? If my own city will not assist her Demiurge, then plague be upon them.
And yet… and yet, there is a strangeness. Things were not as they seemed. I was lied to, over and over again. Some strange female thief even carried the Staff of Nicator! It must not have disappeared back to the Logos after all, no. A thief stealing it from Nicator’s very tomb, when it was of critical importance that the Staff be carried against the Black Wave? I shall reclaim the Staff from this thief. I pursued her to Delos, so mysteriously absent its Church. Have they concealed it as they concealed Shallam? I saw through their lies, even as Merentesh claimed I am dead, as if he could deny what was so obviously standing before him. He suffered the consequence of his actions, for daring to use my name. At least Seasone speaks truly.
But at last, I found one of the lesser wyrms that seemed to speak sense. Wise words, yes. The thief was sighted in Aster Malik! If I can capture her, slay her, return the Staff to Emperor Piraeus, might I perhaps then be forgiven? I want forgiveness. These rages, these fits, they weary me.
I pursued the thief to the moat. All of Aster Malik, destroyed by this wench! Attempting to subvert the power of the Staff, ending countless lives. Lives are a commodity, but such wastefulness? No. I will slay her. But there is something. Have I lived this before? Will I live it? I… I do not understand. Something is wrong. But I will slay her. I have to. If I can bring the Staff back to the Emperor, back to Seleucar, I will be forgiven. Won’t I? I cling to hope. Gods, it is all so confusing.
I will step into my laboratory. I will face the thief, for my city has chosen to aid me, they have told me of her location. My trusted friends, fellow Ashtani.
A trap? I cannot leave! The thief masterminded this, held me in my laboratory so she could slay me! More fool her, her and her army of minions, for Ashtani are here with me, and together we will triumph over this Shallamese plot!
No… I am abandoned? Betrayed? I… I burn. Gods help me, I burn! Please… not again…
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Crusade Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/28/crusade-updates)
**Published:** September 28, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Just some of the changes here are: you no longer need to be in a divine order in order to SUBVERT splinters. SUBVERTing splinters has been sped up from 40 seconds to 25. Crusades now have a windup of 24 hours rather than 3. For all the details **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4826**!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Commodity Changes!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/06/12/commodity-changes)
**Published:** June 12, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Big changes to how commodities are being stored will be happening on June 20th! Check out [HELP WAREHOUSES AND LEASES](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1452) and read on for all the extra details so you don’t get caught out!
If you’ve not read [HELP WAREHOUSES AND LEASES](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1452), please do this first!
As the next phase of our changes to commodities looms on the horizon – June 20th folks, keep an in-game eye on **UPCOMING INFO 483** – we’ve got some more information so that you can all be best prepared for this!
Commodities outside the rift or a warehouse will decay.
The rift and warehouses are the only place to store these. Official city commodity shops remain unaffected.
Stockrooms, bags of stasis, and other methods of preservation will no longer affect commodities.
Outrifted commodities will decay 12 hours after being outrifted.
Commodities dropped on the ground will decay 1 hour after being dropped (or any act/loss of connection that causes them to be on the ground.)
Commodities can be sold on the comm market directly from the warehouse.
When the term on a commodity sale ends any unsold commodities will first attempt to fill your rift. Any remainder will then move to the lowest costing warehouse lease in your name. If there is no warehouse lease in your name, any remaining commodities will then be placed in your inventory.
How many of each commodity you can sell at any time on the comm market will be capped based on your associated commodity mining ranking. The particulars of this scale will be announced in due course.
All commodities currently being sold on the commodity market at the time of this change (**0100 GMT June 20th**) will be returned to their owners. These will first attempt to fill your rift. Any remainder will then move to the lowest costing warehouse lease in your name. If there is no warehouse lease in your name, any remaining commodities will then be placed in your inventory.
We will also be adding integration for mining claim and storage to pair with warehousing.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the [Warehousing and Leases thread](http://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6369/leases-and-warehousing) over on the Achaea forums. Don’t hesitate to post any questions you might have!
**Remember, these changes go into effect on June 20th at 0100 GMT.**
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Iron Lottery Winner: 3rd!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/25/iron-lottery-winner-3rd)
**Published:** September 25, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
**Everest** takes home 1000 credits, winning the third drawing of the Iron Lottery! Congratulations!
The Iron Lottery will be drawing its final prize this coming weekend (00:00 GMT on September 30th), this drawing will be one ticket across all of IRE for 10,000 credits!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads Q4 Are Open!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/23/classleads-open)
**Published:** September 23, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Makarios has just opened classlead submissions for the final quarter of this year! We fully expect to have a very packed final couple of months in 2017, which is why this is slightly ahead of schedule. **HELP CLASSLEADS** has all the info!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [New Addition: Stencils!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/22/new-addition-stencils)
**Published:** September 22, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Those with Transcendent knowledge of Tattoos ink any tattoo they know onto a stencil. Blank stencils may be purchased from the various city markets. Thereafter, any adventurer can use the stencil, creating a brand new tattoo on their body! See **AB TATTOOS STENCILS** for more details!
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Greathunt Weekend!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/16/greathunt-weekend)
**Published:** September 16, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For the next 48 hours compete for credit prizes and participation credits, get your explorer points in the great hunt caves, and enjoy double XP all weekend!
**Congratulations to Darcye, the winner of the second Iron Lottery!**
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Birthday Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/13/birthday-auctions)
**Published:** September 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Auctions are open offering the chance at something special for those with gold or credits! Included this round are Chenubian wings, a custom blademaster sword, a fully customised seastrider, and out of subdivision housing plots! You have 12 days to get your bids in! HELP AUCTIONS has the commands you need!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Guess Who's Back?](https://www.achaea.com/2018/06/27/guess-whos-back)
**Published:** June 27, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After saving the guardian spirit Eusia, and fighting off Thymos, the Ravager, a dread korathoi of tritonic legend, Lord Neraeos returns to the shores of Achaea!
Credit goes to our very own Skye B. Anchors for the amazing image!
As untamed as the seas, and as numerous as the shells of the Crystal Forest, the korathai left rubble and death in their wake as they ravaged the merfolk who dared to live in the continental shallows. Reprieve for the shelf-dwellers was only found when the oppressive Wave, the God of the Seas, drove the savages away and banished them to the fathomless depths with other monsters more their ilk.
But this banishment spelled woe for the tritons of the undersea, abandoned by their Father to fend alone against this terrible Red Tide who feasted upon their already dwindled numbers. Many of the korathoi were known by name, whispered even now to tritonic fry who dare to disobey their parents. But three of their commanders struck fear into even the hardiest of Phocians; Iaimargia, the Blood-soaked, who had tamed the vicious megalodons, Thymos, Ravager of Coasts who delighted in the death of all things, and he whose madness rivalled the Lord Abyss, Parosyni, the Tormenter.
Anointed now with the blood of Amanthos, the great heroes of the silver age, led by the Prince Neraeos Fylakas, set off to liberate the cities from the terrors of the deep. Relying on the cunning strategies of Aeolos the Grey-Eyed and the military prowess of Idomenaeos of the Bull Shark, the tritonic kingdoms grew inspired by their great feats that were later immortalised in the songs of the oceaneids.
Bathed in the glorious defeat of the magnificent krakens and terrible leviathans, even the mightest of sea dragons cowered at the sight of the Prince and His Spear of Tides, bestowed upon Him by the wise Lady Valnura, Goddess of Fate. Only the korathoi, the eldest inhabitants of the seas, who had the ferocity of the Shark God and battle-lust of Eyegos, pushed back against the Son of the Lord God and His loyal friends.
For two decades the armies of Prince Neraeos and the korathoi warred across the Eusian Ocean. The tides grew crimson with the sacrifices of both sides, each weary but determined. As the Warrior Prince was about to offer up the last remaining forces of the korathoi to the Eastern Guardian, His hand was stayed by the Elder God of the Oceans. Not wishing to see His creations wiped away from the Oceans entirely, He instead had His reluctant Son help Him seal His wrathful children beneath the deepest sands.
Finally liberated of the abysmal creatures of the fathomless dark, a rousing cheer of victory spread across the seas that has not been outmatched even to this day. To honour the accomplishments of the Prince, the Lord God created a herd of perfect beasts, the hippocampi, as a gift. Among the noble creations, one was favoured of Neraeos, a pure white foal that shone out as a beacon of splendour and hope, such as He was to the peoples of the seas.
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Achaea's 20th Birthday!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/09/achaeas-20th-birthday)
**Published:** September 9, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The winner of week 1’s Iron Lottery, winning 1000 credits, is **Lyvia**!
The HAPPYBIRTHDAYACHAEA command is also live! This will be useable once by everyone throughout the month of September and will net you 20 credits, 24 hours of double XP, 24 hours of a critical hit bonus, and an Achaean Birthday card! See **Announce news 4817** for all the details!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Y750 Results!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/02/y750-results)
**Published:** September 2, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Tesha al Ashtad wins the 750 games with 45 points, becoming the Lady of the Crossing!
Krypton takes 1st place in the Tumbleraces!
Tesha wins the Championship Foozle!
Tesha overcomes the odds to win the XP event!
Cooper and Proficy win the 750 Twins Tournament!
Krypton wins the Championship Quiz!
Well done to all competitors, it was a great show!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [September in Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/09/01/september-in-achaea)
**Published:** September 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As we move into Achaea’s birthday month, we will have ongoing contests and games galore! The Iron Lottery will be drawing every week, we have a 40% credit sale on the website, and new shop of wonders items are available now!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Over My Dead Body!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/07/09/over-my-dead-body)
**Published:** July 9, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Your fallen bodies are no longer able to be used in place of the shrine judgement power!
We’ve been monitoring the last few shrine wars that have taken place and have noticed a few trends. A major one that we’ve just addressed is that judgement is in fact used far less than simply killing a (usually) willing ally. The original intent of corpse defiling was to permit the use of enemy corpses to drop shrines, but it hasn’t really worked out that way, and instead removes most of the limitors placed on order’s abilities to mass drop shrines. We considered making only corpses from the target order work for this purpose, but felt it offered a too trivial way to identify what order someone was a member of.
With that in mind, using of corpses to remove the judgement step of a defilement has been removed. Judgement is now the only way for an order to drop a shrine. As with all combat affecting changes, we’ll be keeping an eye on this in the coming days to ensure that it doesn’t make things too restrictive.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Nexus: Update and Contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/08/22/nexus-update-and-contest)
**Published:** August 22, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Nexus client has seen a massive update, with efficiency in combat and when scrolling just two of the alterations. [Announce news #4800](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=4800) has all the details!
We also have a contest running for Nexus scripts: checkout[ Announce news #4801!](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Announce&number=4801)
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Championship Points!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/08/22/championship-points)
**Published:** August 22, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve made it through Championship Tumbleraces and Championship Foozle where Krypton and Tesha took first place! The top four overall are Tesha and Krypton tied for first with 18 points, Crixos in third with 14, and Taryius at 4th with 10! With three events still to go, it’s anyone’s contest!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Refinement For All!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/08/06/refinement-for-all)
**Published:** August 6, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The ability to **REFINE** talismans has now been made available to all Achaeans! This new system allows you to refine your promotional talisman pieces into singular rare pieces, allowing those avid collectors a chance to clean out their hordes and gain something valuable in return!
We promised you all some more artefacts over the week end, but in the process of working on the major one it occurred to us that this would likely be better as a feature available to everyone. With that in mind, we’re pleased to bring you TALISMAN REFINE.
This new command allows you to refine 3 or more PROMOTIONAL SOURCED talisman pieces and receive one back based on their total rarity. A few caveats you should be aware of:
– You can only do this once per 24 hours.
– Refined component pieces have a capped worth. This means you’ll not want to refine your super rare pieces: passed a certain point they won’t be worth more. This mechanic is intended as a way to get rid of your common duplicates with a chance at a better piece.
– The piece you receive from refining is of a new source type: the fittingly named REFINE source. This source CAN NOT be traded in.
– Only level 1 talisman pieces can be used in refining.
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Of Dwarves and Death!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/08/24/of-dwarves-and-death)
**Published:** August 24, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After struggling against and alongside the strange actions of the dwarf Doruan Ironhammer, the Chosen of Phaestus and other adventurers in Achaea managed to open the vault deep in the earth and find the key to sending on the lost souls left adrift by the death of Lord Thoth and His ancient pact with the DwarfFather.
Darkness. Silence. Confusion. These things overwhelm me. I was mauled. I am bleeding and hungry. I close my eyes to rest, only to wake in this strange, twisted place. Time stretches on, silence overtakes me, and then the weeping begins. As I begin to mourn, I hear the others, and together we revel in our sorrows.
My confusion grows. Pain joins to my mind, my eyes changing, adjusting to this unseemly, harsh light. A strange figure stands before me. Cloaked, obscured, absent. Barely distinguished from the stone. A single word echoes in my mind: “Dig.”
I don’t know what happened, only that I am covered in blood. A stranger has come. He steps past the corpse. He calls me Doruan. Doruan… yes. That was my name. He offers me rest, he offers me peace. And now I am hunkered down in Ashtan’s barracks, left to face the madness. It watches me. Waits for me. Hungers for me.
I do not hunger. I do not thirst. I do not tire. I do not grow weary. I see my wounds, and they do not bleed. They do not heal. Nothing changes. It is all monotony, it is all boredom. I cannot go on. I will not go on. This will be my end. But I do not breathe. I have tried. I cannot. I do not know why.
Perhaps I should have thought this through. How long has it been? Hours? Days? I swing from my neck, able only to think, to wonder, to question.
Why? Why me? Why now? Why there? Just… why?
At last one comes to release me, perhaps a wanderer like myself. My binding shall be broken. Binding? Why does that word intrude so upon my mind? This singular question consumes me, drives me, pushes me forward. I move, I leave the Seat of Chaos behind. I return to the Vashnars, my pickaxe in hand. I will find what secrets lie beneath this mountain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As news of Doruan Ironhammer’s death reached the dark caverns of Iskadar, a lone priest set out on a journey, his destination the distant northern climes of Sapience. For despite the mockery and scorn hurled in his face by his fellows, he held faith that the absent dwarf deserved to rest with his kin, no matter his reasons or crimes. Through bears, sharks, and bandits did he journey in search of his goal, only to find a dwarf inexplicably not deceased. Confusion warring with concern, the offering of Ashtan as a source of silence and ritualism was both provided and accepted to the unsettled cleric.
Moving in the wake of the one called Jy’Rakym, an ominous silence stilled those gathered as the priest worked his will upon the spirit of the lost Ironhammer. Manifesting as a spark of incandescent luminescence, the expanding aura would soon grow to envelop all of Achaea and even the vast expanse beyond the borders of the Prime Material Plane, revealing countless spirits seemingly wandering without purpose. Fearing the repercussions of adventurer and dwarf alike, the priest beat a hasty retreat to his homeland to begin anew his search for understanding. Unamused yet curiously unsurprised, the less-than-living dwarf returned to the mountain in which he had been found, once more tending to his carving of the rock.
It was months later when Doruan’s pick broke through the final wall of earth barring his way forward, the ground beneath collapsing into a grand, hollowed-out chamber. His passage now restrained by a massive disc of unknown rock and stone, he had at last discovered the object of his unspoken desire.
As the days passed, however, none proved able to discern a way into the mysterious vault, not the Nihilists of Oblivion’s Lord, the Caefir of Deucalion, or the Chosen of the Smith. Meanwhile, the lone priest, abandoned by his fellows, continued his research with dogged determination. Many came and went, but only one deigned to assist his foreign brother: Sir Eril Rian-Moonshadow. After much searching, the beleaguered pair discovered a charred missive that spoke of the earth’s bounty, as well as the descendants of the Orcsplitter Clan. With hardly a word to his devout companion, Eril departed to gather his fellow adventurers, heading for the Siroccians to confront the remnants of the clan named within.
The words exchanged in the meeting that followed shall remain unknown. A short while after their arrival, the Smith’s Chosen emerged from the dwarven encampment, bearing with them a small, strange disc. Rushing to the Vashnar Mountains to place the key within the doors of the great vault, they looked on as the stone gave way, the very earth trembling beneath their feet. At last, the grand portal stood open, and with it came a warning to the curious adventurers, one that would resound in their minds and the minds of all whom they came into contact with:
“Woe betide those who enter this place, lest the earth itself rise up to protect her bounty.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Delving into the vault, those gathered soon found themselves victims of the earth, and returned to the tunnel with some hesitation. Taking more care this time, they found their way deeper into the shifting passageways, discovering numerous crystals that sprouted from the walls.
Almost accidentally, one of the soft crystals was crushed into a powder that filled the air, prompting Eril to rush to the first soul he could find. Trepidation filling his voice, he spoke to his compatriots of what had transpired, sharing the words revealed to him by that first spirit before it at last faded:
“Kill me… Please… Just let me die…”
Moving as one, the adventurers scrambled desperately to release the wandering souls from their tortured half-life. Yet, despite, the best of efforts and intentions, the grief of the damned was magnified as each was returned to the land. As the dead wept, their cries grew louder, culminating in one final cry that echoed across the planes, before silence fell.
With bated breath, they waited. They hoped.
Heat rolled across the firmament, the anger of the Smith made known. His children suffered, and it was Lord Ugrach, the Finality, who was to blame. Yet, despite His threats, the Curator of Death was unmoved. Only a Father’s plea would grant succour to those wayward dwarves lost in death. Though what transpired between the two may forever remain a mystery, shortly thereafter Lord Phaestus departed Death’s halls, returning His fallen children to their rightful rest.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Homeowners Rejoice!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/11/14/homeowners-rejoice)
**Published:** November 14, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Furnishing is moving to a player design based tradeskill, like jewellery, tailoring, and cooking, and we’ve added a whole slew of new furniture types!
Those of you who have already invested into learning Furnishing retain this, and do not need to purchase the 200cr Furnishing license. If you’re not interested in this system now, please make this request via ISSUE ME and we will organise a refund of invested lessons.
If you have purchased a Furnisher’s awl and no longer have interest in Furnishing, please file an ISSUE ME and we will organise a refund of this artefact. We won’t refund this artefact if you are keeping furnishing, in this instance you can trade it in as normal.
**Disassembling:**
If you have the permissions to place a piece of furniture, you can disassemble it.
Transcendent Furnishers will gain commodities back from disassembly.
The platinum prybar artefact increases the transcendent Furnisher’s return on commodities during disassembly.
Blankets have been removed from furnishing as these can be created via Tailoring.
Fireplaces are no longer offered as housing upgrades. All existing fireplaces remain in place. Future fireplace additions can be crafted by furnishers.
Most\* Furnishing items will not have a gold cost when created, this is instead paid by the Furnisher at the design pickup phase.
\* Bookcases, bookshelves, stoves, and ranges have a gold cost when Furnished, this is due to their non-decaying nature and special functions.
Stoves and ranges created by a furnisher can be used for cooking and refining!
$dyncolour! This stands for Dynamic Colour, and allows the designer to create a placeholder that can be used within the EXAMINED description to alter the colour or pattern of part of the design during creation. (This is great for couches!)
– The dynamic aspect can be up to 60 characters long and is specified by the Furnisher during item creation.
– Use of $dyncolour in a sketch is optional, if an approved design has $dyncolour in the examined, it must also be used during the furniture’s creation.
HELP FURNISHING has been updated to reflect the following changes:
Abilities Gained:
Novice:
The ability to Furnish from existing designs and the ability to hold 20 of each sample.
Adept:
The ability to create new designs and the ability to hold 100 of each sample.
Transcendent:
The ability to furnish bookcases and bookshelves, and the ability to hold 250 of each sample.
The Process:
- Visit Fronck to buy plain sketches and blueprints.
- Apply the appropriate blueprint to your plain sketch to denote the type of item you are designing.
- Design your sketch.
- Submit your sketch for approval.
- When you receive a letter stating that your design has been approved, follow the instructions therein to claim it.
- FURNISH <designID> \[dynamic colour\] \[passcode\] to make the item!
Give this item to your customer, drop in a shop to sell it, or PLACE the item for use.
See [HELP FURNISHING](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1412) for all syntaxes and guidelines!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Cast Your Vote!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/07/cast-your-vote)
**Published:** December 7, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We have so many projects on the list of things we want to work on that we’re asking you to vote on what the coding team works on in the first quarter of 2019!
Head over to <https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6608/if-else-if-else> to read about the three options and cast your vote!
We cannot offer further insight into these projects beyond what is posted, we’ve not yet begun working on them!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Treasure Hunt!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/08/20/treasure-hunt)
**Published:** August 20, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Azare and Vika won big in the treasure hunt, but they were not alone! 15,000 credits worth of artefacts and more than 4 million gold was dug up in the first hour of Achaea’s Year 750 games!
Login and check UPCOMING to see what else is happening!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Year 750 Itinerary Cont.](https://www.achaea.com/2017/08/18/year-750-itinerary-cont)
**Published:** August 18, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Alongside the Year 750 Championship games we’ll be hosting a plethora of other contests and events over the next two weeks. **Announce News 4793** has the list and if you use the **UPCOMING** command in game you can see the schedule down to the minute!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Year 750 Schedule!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/08/01/year-750-schedule)
**Published:** August 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In a few weeks the Year 750 games kicks off! Win the Staff of Nicator and a whole host of credit prizes!
If you want to take a shot at being the Champion **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4782** has all the details and checkout **UPCOMING** when in game for the Championship Games schedule. We’ll see you there!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [From Death Springs Life!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/02/05/from-death-springs-life)
**Published:** February 5, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re using the Death set to conduct a grand talisman experiment!
We’ve long been unhappy by the spread of talisman items in the game, the frustrations the cache system causes, and the problems created by scarcity and rarity. We’re going to try something a bit different!
We do take the alteration of any system that involves your money very seriously, we always strive to ensure satisfaction by as much of the playerbase as possible, and we always aim to promote game health wherever we can.
**In a new shop in Delos, the Death talisman set is on sale for bound credits.**
Each is a complete item and will be bound to you on purchase.
If you purchase one and later regret it, these can be traded in like normal for the usual 2/3rds adjustment of the purchase amount.
But this is not the only change! We know that many people already have one or more pieces from the Death set, and we don’t want to render these worthless.
If you have two or three pieces of a talisman in the Death set, you can:
**TALISMAN COMPLETE PARTIAL <talismanname>**
to complete it for the remainder of the bound credit value of the item as it is in the Delosian Talisman shop.
**DOING THIS WILL COMPLETE THE TALISMAN AND BIND IT TO YOU.**
Talismans completed in this manner will have an altered tradein that reflects their credit worth, including the credit-purchased completion.
E.G You have: cruciblebase and cruciblebowl.
You use TALISMAN COMPLETE PARTIAL CRUCIBLE and pay 500 bound credits.
This is half the cost of the crucible in the shop because you already have half of the pieces.
You get: a completed soulfire crucible talisman.
This item has a tradein value of: 346 bound credits. This is 2/3rds of 520 credits (the 500 credits paid above, plus your 2 pieces valued at 10 credits each.)
You are also still free to trade these talisman pieces around, so if you only have one piece of a Death talisman, you can ask around to try and get two in order to be able to complete your partial collection.
[HELP DEATH TALISMANS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1464)now exists with all this information, and the specifics of the set.
All of the above ONLY applies to the DEATH talisman set at this time.
Provided that this experiment works out the way that we hope, we’ll be looking to make the Delosian Talisman Shop’s stock rotate to offer a different talisman set each (RL) month!
If you have any questions about any of this, please don’t hesitate to ask via ISSUE ME or email us directly at support@achaea.com!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Artefact Shops Rework!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/07/19/artefact-shops-rework)
**Published:** July 19, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With so many artefacts on offer we’ve spent a couple of days working with Merentesh in Delos and fixing up the HELPs associated with them!
We now have a crafting artefact shop, and class-based artefact shops! One shop is dedicated to the Knight classes, and others organised alphabetically by class name!
READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4779 for all the details.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Mid Year Auction!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/07/08/mid-year-auction)
**Published:** July 8, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Whether you have credits or gold in your pocket, there’s something for you at the mid year auction! Checkout **AUCTIONS** in game to see the items up for grabs and [**HELP AUCTIONS**](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1170) to learn how to place your bids!
Bidding closes in a week, so don’t wait too long.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [War on Nishnatoba](https://www.achaea.com/2017/06/25/the-battle-on-nishnatoba)
**Published:** June 25, 2017
**Author:** Ictinus
**Content:**
The drums of war beat with fury as the armies of Mhaldor and Targossas clash upon the ancient battlefield of Nishnatoba. As this brutal conflict comes to a head, the stakes have never been higher for the forces of Good or Evil.
Check out Events news [\#582](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=582) for all the gory details!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Tensions Mount](https://www.achaea.com/2017/06/16/tensions-mount)
**Published:** June 16, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Achaea shakes as the Gods of Righteousness and Evil rage and clash. Amid Their heated negotiations did death’s hammer fall, resounding a single call to action: **WAR**.
Take a gander at Events news [\#579](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=579) to get up to speed with all the glorious and gory details!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Q2 Classleads + Shikudo Updates!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/06/12/q2-classleads-shikudo-updates)
**Published:** June 12, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The next round of classlead additions went live today, these included alterations to Shikudo abilities, the addition of RELAX available for a number of tattoos, expansion of the MASTER CRAFTER trait, and an increase in rift capacity for ingredients! Classleads news #5 has all the details!
**Categories:** Classleads, Game Updates
---
### [Extermination and Vivify!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/06/10/extermination-and-vivify)
**Published:** June 10, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Extermination, after all of these years, gets a massive change, and the grove users of Achaea gain access to **VIVIFY**! What will this mean for the Evil vs Nature conflict and what else has changed? Take a look at Announce news **\#4768** for all of the details.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [The Itinerant Bazaar!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/02/23/the-itinerant-bazaar)
**Published:** February 23, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Hear ye and oh yez! The Itinerant Bazaar returns to Achaea with a whirlwind of one of a kind rare and exotic goods! Pay the strangest merchants in all the Planes a visit – and bring plenty of gold! See **UPCOMING** in game for the next date!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Dictation Commences:](https://www.achaea.com/2018/03/11/dictation-commences)
**Published:** March 11, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After many hours of debate and discussion, the esteemed Masters of the Cauda Pavonis have taught the alchemists and synthesists of Achaea the science of transmutation!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Resolutions for a New Year!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/01/01/resolutions-for-a-new-year)
**Published:** January 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
A new year is upon us and the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed amongst you (those of you not suffering from the past weekend’s indulgences) might have made some resolutions, things you want to change or achieve during this shiny new year.
Here in Achaea we also want you to embrace this chance, be it for a fresh start, to take up a new challenge, to aim for some lofty goal, or just to help motivate you to push that little bit harder toward something you’ve always aimed for!
The completion of resolutions will award you with Mementos of Resolve, these can be spent on a range of special items unavailable elsewhere in Achaea!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [Quests Galore!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/03/22/quests-galore)
**Published:** March 22, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just spent the last week massively upgrading our quest system. A whole host of new areas are integrated into the system (with more to come) and we’ve altered how xp is awarded across the board so questing should now be a much more viable use of time!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Classleads Q2!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/04/10/classleads-q2)
**Published:** April 10, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The endorsement and censure phase for Quarter 2 classleads is now over!
CONFIG CLASSLEADS ON in game to see live updates as the team goes through the submissions!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [The Great Hunt Ends!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/04/16/the-great-hunt-ends)
**Published:** April 16, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
After a thousand deaths, tens of thousands of kills, and over FIVE BILLION experience gained, the Great Hunt has come to an end! Mindshell, Tjay, and Ibn are the winners in their tiers, taking the top prize of five hundred credits each and the respect and admiration of their peers!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Kings of the Hill!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/04/28/kings-of-the-hill)
**Published:** April 28, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Congratulations to Ellodin, Crixos, Chiam, Iakimen, and Rom! Team Rice were undefeated in the Kings of the Hill tournament and beat out the Visible Army in the best of three finale to win 2000 credits!
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Artisanal and Bardic Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/05/01/artisanal-and-bardic-winners)
**Published:** May 1, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The **Contenders** themed Artisanal and Bardic contest has closed and the winning submissions are by [Ellodin](http://wiki.achaea.com/Blood_of_Anzari-Tarin), [Jurixe](http://wiki.achaea.com/Kings_of_the_Hill), [Mathonwy](http://wiki.achaea.com/Of_Crimson_and_Carmine), [Kaden](http://wiki.achaea.com/Race_to_Dragon), and [Asmodron](http://wiki.achaea.com/The_Battlesite_of_Mourning_Pass)!
Congratulations to our winners!
Here is this month’s winning entry:
## Blood of Anzari-Tarin
By: Ellodin
Vivania, sweet Muse of Poetry,
Please bless mine song with eloquence of verse.
This tale speaks not of Heroes running free,
But those instead by lineage accursed,
Bequeathed with cumbrous legacies and fates,
Dark tragedies played on the greatest stage.
O Adchachel, thou ate a heart to sate
A lust for power; did that meal assuage
Thy hunger as it launched a Tsol’teth plot?
For ’twas not thou that bore the burden thus
But progeny who caused despair and wrought
Death in thy stead through actions treasonous.
*I sing of tainted blood and fallen stars,*
*Contenders for the throne of Seleucar.*
The Brangwin rose who could not shed her thorns
Matured a stone’s throw from the northern gate,
With rage like rising water, suff’ring borne
Alone, no hope the flooding would abate.
O Castomira, victim of a past
Thou hadst no way to alter on thy own,
‘Ere birth, thy destiny had long been cast.
Yet still, the faintest hope thou couldst atone
Burned somewhere in thy clever, pensive mind
‘Til light was snuffed, and naught remained but hate
For Catarin, thine lives fore’er entwined;
Great Nicator’s blood won, by luck or fate.
*An actress in a cruel playwright’s song,*
*Afraid and pained, but forced to play along.*
The union of deSangre and Tsol’teth
Begot a dissonance of mind and soul;
The Man in Grey, a legacy of death,
And sundered blood forever unconsoled.
O Parni, Castomira’s royal claim,
Thou looked on Seleucar with sharp disgust,
Corruption’s bane, the sovereign cleansing flame
That burned great House deSangre down to dust.
A life of suffering would follow thee;
By athanasia, lasting peace denied,
An emperor shackled, never to be freed
‘Til naught remained but desolate mourning cries.
*A lonely song of blood and bloodlines’ end,*
*Perhaps, at last, his coda hath been penned.*
The master of the house of Death deposed,
Tlalaiad rose to take a throne Divine;
With Parni went our last chance to oppose
Amalgamation of the Tsol’teth line.
When dire Chaos Wars came to a head,
And ancient races fought for elder Lords;
Strong Qui’anar repelled Slith’s fell undead
But paid a price: their hearts grew cold as swords.
In honour of their bravery, Lord Death
Would call His chosen few His Qui’anar;
Thoth’s plundered essence granted nascent breath
The Genesis of Tsol’teth blood, their star.
*This litany’s for those who sought to reign,*
*Freed at last from fate’s unyielding chain.*
**Categories:** Artisanals and Bardics
---
### [Fully Revamped Roulette!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/05/15/fully-revamped-roulette)
**Published:** May 15, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Featuring inside and outside bets, and allowing for multiple bets, Achaea’s new roulette system even offers a clickable betting system! Let’s get the ball rolling!
Roulette tables now accept all standard roulette wagers, and you may place as many bets as you like subject to an inside-bet limit of 50,000 gold and an outside-bet limit of 1,000,000 gold per spin (these numbers subject to change). There is no minimum.
To place an inside bet, simply **BET <amount> GOLD ON <numbers>**
To place a 2,000 gold split bet on 8 and 11, do BET 2000 GOLD ON 8 11
To place a 50,000 gold street bet on 1, 2, and 3, do BET 50000 GOLD ON 1 2 3
If you use the **BET** command (just the one word) in a room with a roulette wheel, this will give you a visual betting table that can help you to plan your bets!
Outside bets are placed similarly, e.g., **BET 2000 GOLD ON RED**, though since these bets are sometimes called by different names you may want to consult the **BET** table to see the Achaean names for each bet (or **HELP ROULETTE** if you use a screen reader to play Achaea).
Those with MXP configured on can also **BET <amount> GOLD** to bring up a clickable roulette table that can be used to place any valid bet!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Q2 Classleads!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/05/30/q2-classleads)
**Published:** May 30, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Alongside the various events running all month long, the team has been hard at work going through Quarter 2’s classlead submissions!
Some of the changes include:
**Weaponry**
\* Classes that use certain weapons are now not more affected by CLUMSINESS than non weapon users. Classes affected are: Blademaster (all blade attacks), dual cutting knights, and priest (smite).
**Spiritlore**
\* New spirit: ADCHACHEL (outcast class).
**Skirmishing**
\* You may no longer SAY while PETRIFIED. This includes for RIDE HOME, DUANATHAR, and other such say-triggered escapes.
**Survival**
\* New ability: BLUNDER.
**Misc**
\* SERVERSIDE CURING will now raise SELFISHNESS when prone.
\* Various room hinders now fire less aggressively if the caster is out of the effect’s room. Those affected are: AEONICS DISTORTION, DEVOTION PIETY, NECROMANCY GRAVEHANDS, and SUBTERFUGE PINSHOT.
\* In light of the delay on speed being stripped, speeds time to come up as been halved to maintain the status quo for these mechanics. This does have some consequences, but they’re positive ones.
\* Improved how serverside curing handles the speed defence.
\* DIVE no longer acts as a bypass method for the TENSION affliction.
Read about all of the changes and additions over in the [Classleads](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Classleads) news section!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [The Urchins' Sorrow](https://www.achaea.com/2018/05/30/the-urchins-sorrow)
**Published:** May 30, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
“Unclean!” cried the residents of Ashtan as the orphans of Martin’s Sorrow were stricken by a deadly plague. As an infamous nemesis raised his head, fortunes most foul befell the wretched urchins before the efforts of Truax, Dunn, and Klendathu drove away the scheming Akarim – but not before the Cursed Shaman had his fill.
---
As the sun rose over Ashtan on the 5th of Scarlatan, 772 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, a young woman, Aalin, rushed through the streets, seeking the help of any with medicinal knowledge. Finding aid in Klendathu, Principal of the Consortium, Aalin returned to Martin’s Sorrow to find a sick urchin, his face covered with boils, and a rash that ran the length of his body.
A cure was not found, and Ashtani began questioning the various inhabitants of Martin’s Sorrow: old Rickward, quiet Autino, and unruly Akarim. Even as they pooled their resources, the symptoms began spreading across all the urchins of the city. It was not long before the first two, Ellio and Dalan, succumbed to their illness.
Seeking answers, Jinsun absconded away to the Chaos Court, bringing Cadmus, the Cursed Shaman a diseased urchin girl. The Chaos Lord elated at the sight of the disease, professing his joy and newfound love for the ailment. Lifting the morsel high into the air, he could no longer contain his hunger. With cries of delight, he tore into the tainted flesh, savouring each boil that burst along his tongue and each succulent drop of pus that he sucked from the husk of the orphan. In loud declaration, he announced it was not a sickness, but a poison. Eager for more, he hurried the Ashtani along to find the creator, demanding they be brought before him.
Outraged that their fellow citizens would feed a child to a Chaos Lord, and vexed by the lack of progress, those in Martin’s Sorrow torn down their own homes, barring entrance into the slums before making their way into the Descent. Decrying the more fortunate of Ashtani society, Akarim loudly proclaimed the poison to be little more than a plot to force the poor and destitute into yet more subservience. Fanning the fires of the angered underclasses, Akarim stood at the forefront of the angry mob as it descended upon the old Montagenet estate in search of Timothy de Vermiis.
Tensions reached a breaking point when enforcer and protester met in open conflict, ending with Aalin holding a bloody stump that was her arm, removed by the Ashtani sergeant. Seeing this as proof of the corruption of the rich, Akarim continued to taunt Timothy. Just as all hope of peace seemed lost, another interruption broke through the fray. Amidst the rising chaos sweeping across the Seat of Chaos, the infamous Dowager Montagenet herself arrived at Ashtan’s gates, promising a quick resolution to the city’s woes. The old nobility’s attempts to once more force her way into Ashtani politics brought to naught by Dunn, who rebuked and refused her offer.
In growing desperation, Irimon called together all the citizens of Ashtan to meet and discuss the various events that had unfolded. Using her wit and breadth of knowledge, Truax came to the conclusion that Akarim must be Ysven, the member of the Jaguar crime ring that plagued Ashtan so long ago. Needing assurance, several Ashtani broke into Targossas to investigate Rudolpho Montagenet, whom Ysven had impersonated so long ago.
Sure of themselves now, Truax, Dunn, and Klendathu cornered Akarim, asking that he reveal his face. In a mad dash, he ran towards the docks, screaming for his crew to ready the ship. This was all in vain, as the ship disembarked and vanished into the Sapphire Sea. Rather than be captured and tortured for information, Akarim declared his loyalty to the Jaguar’s and took his own life.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Game of Bones](https://www.achaea.com/2018/06/30/the-game-of-bones)
**Published:** June 30, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Long wept the World Tree for its severed connection to the lowest planes and the once-inexorable root system laid low by Woe’s Prince. Yet Yggdrasil has a way of seeing itself restored…
The first mass of glowing, radiant tendrils emerged from the earth surrounding the Flame of Yggdrasil, crawling across the ground in a manner eerily similar to the insidious creepers that had so plagued Achaeans several years prior. Fuelled by the unconquerable potency of the World Tree, the appearance of mysterious seeds drew the attention of adventurers led by Voc Desmijr.
After traveling Yggdrasil’s expanse in pursuit of answers, the motley group began planting wherever the seeds would take root, including the grove of Jonners Smithson and, by Gavriil Celes’Ciel, below the gatehouse of Eleusis. The error of these decisions was soon apparent, those who dared to interact with the roots were ultimately transported to the legendary Underworld. Sought by Achaeans ever since the closing of its borders in the wake of its great War, a mass rush ensued as enemies and allies alike hurled themselves at the glowing effusions in search of an entrance.
Turned from his black moods and murderous thoughts in the depths of Azdun’s graveyard by the profuse shedding of blood, Zsarachnor once more bestrode the lands above his tomb. Demanding answers from those he encountered – and swiftly executing the foolish or those incapable of providing them – it was ultimately with the assistance of Farrah Roualt and Taryius Lichlord that he acquired what he had so desperately craved: a potential return to the side of Prince Slith.
Adventurers continued to die in droves both on the blasted ground of the Underworld and the now-bloody earth beneath Eleusis while Zsarachnor, no longer confined to the Prime Material, embarked upon his plan. Instructing adventurers to beseech the Underworld’s ruler for his assent, the Vampire Lord sought a position of privilege and prestige, and for passage to be permanently restored to the Prime Material Plane.
Slith demanded what the Tsol’teth had promised him in payment, and so Shirszae Nynniaw and Krizal Nyxillum ventured through the Doors of Light into Raia’dalam, the highest strata of the Underrealm. There they met with the Secret Storm, communicating the demand of Death’s Demise. Shortly afterward, the inscrutable visage of the Genesis emerged within the firmament of the world – the firmament of all the worlds – as His unearthly voice intoned an acknowledgment. What had been demanded would be provided.
While the forces of Mhaldor slaughtered Eleusis’ Guardian of Thorns and all those garrisoned at its borders, Farrah and Taryius planted the seeds of Yggdrasil in the Underworld. In short order the planes realigned, bridging the Underworld to the Prime Material once more in a singularly vast cosmic upheaval.
Zsarachnor returned to Azdun, triumphant with the praise and new status granted him by Slith. While in the Underworld, great gates swung ominously wide as the fortresses of the Ur’Vampires opened, ready and waiting for the brave – or foolish – who sought to challenge the masters of undeath.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Wheel Of Fortune Returns!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/06/01/the-wheel-of-fortune-returns)
**Published:** June 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With artefacts, credits, consumables, a new talisman set, and more, the wheel of Fortune awaits lucky spinners in New Thera! See Announce news #4767 for all the details!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [City Morale!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/07/12/city-morale)
**Published:** July 12, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
All members of a city can now check the morale level with the **MORALE** command. This will show a brief statement (themed for the faction in question) about the overall health and morale of the organisation.
As part of our push on backend systems to support organisational health and to promote inclusion of meaningful results of conflict, we’ve just added a new City Morale system!
This system takes all kinds of factors into account and adjusts a city’s morale score up or down appropriately. We’re not going to detail out the specifics of what influences it, but the primary drivers are activities that reflect the engagement, growth, and activity of the city.
The scale of morale has a positive and negative end, all organisations will start today at the neutral morale state, so you can go up or down from here.
This system is run entirely by your acts, but the MORALE representation is as the overall feeling of the citizenry, including the denizens that call your city home.
Non citizens cannot check the morale of other cities.
We will not be exposing the numbers behind this scale, as this is not only for you all, but also a set of metrics by which the administration can see where organisational health needs attention across the board.
There will be a special bonus given to the city that has the highest morale, but we’ll be letting the system settle into place before we announce the details of that, so keep an eye out!
In brief, the more active and engaged and growing a city is, the better the morale will be. Morale will also reflect if a city is particularly stagnant or downtrodden.
Ultimately, Achaea is a game, so the opportunity to play the game and achieve those Dreams we all had as new players is something we look for all organisations to encourage and offer.
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Ideas Grand and Small!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/07/14/ideas-grand-and-small)
**Published:** July 14, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It has always been the case that the IDEA system is something of a black hole. You all just have so many ideas that it quickly becomes unrealistic and incredibly unwieldy for us to find the proverbial diamonds amid the rough.
Effective immediately, the old IDEA system has been retired and replaced with a new one.
Note: The old IDEA list is still visible to us, so fear not, ideas filed up until now have not been lost.
Now for the new!
The new IDEA system will be an anonymous submission system that allows you, the Achaea community, to up or downvote various ideas.
Once an idea receives the required number of supporters (for the nitpickers, this is support votes minus censure votes), it will vanish off the public list. At this point the idea is in the Garden’s hands.
The new IDEA system will be fully anonymous. Submitted ideas will be visible to everyone using:
**IDEA LIST <start#>** and **IDEA LIST MATCHING <term>**
Submitted ideas will be announced via the **IDEAS** channel. You can configure this channel on or off in **CONFIG**.
To see an IDEA in detail use: **IDEA SHOW <ID>**
To create an IDEA use: **IDEA <your idea>**
If your <your idea> text will start with the term “list”, “support”, “censure”, or “show” please use: **IDEA NEW <your idea>**
You will automatically support your own new idea, so you do not have to worry about having to file an idea and then instantly supporting it. Every new idea will start at a lifespan of 15 real-life days, and you can **SUPPORT** or **CENSURE** ideas based on whether or not they wish these ideas to be up for Garden consideration – or consigned to Oblivion.
**IDEA SUPPORT <ID>**
**IDEA CENSURE <ID>**
If an idea does not gain enough votes within its 15 day span, it will be deleted from the system.
If your idea is deleted from the system, please do not refile it.
You can, however, CENSURE your own ideas (why you would do this, however, is another matter).
As a final note, an idea getting enough votes to be moved to Garden consideration does not mean it will be approved, only that we will give it due consideration.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Shikudo Returns to Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/2017/05/21/1373)
**Published:** May 21, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
A historical moment occurred today. Grandmaster Kevadrin of Judgement Mountain lifted the centuries old ban on Shikudo, the ancient art of fighting with a staff. This is now available to the most practised and disciplined of monks.
See Announce news 4762 for more details!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Introducing The Hall of Fame!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/07/20/introducing-the-hall-of-fame)
**Published:** July 20, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Now that the swathe of new rankings have had time to bed in, we’re pleased to announce the opening of the Delos Hall of Fame! This is a new construction in Delos, honouring those who have claimed a #1 position across many of the various rankings!
Each wing of the Hall of Fame is dedicated to a particular theme, and inside you’ll find portraits of the current first place rank holders. These are up to date as of today, and going forward will update on a three monthly basis to reflect the rank 1 holder for the next quarter.
Expect more new rankings in the future along with new portraits appearing for those of you prestigious enough to be at the top of the list!
Onto the next exciting announcement!
Phileo has at last opened his shop, also located in Delos near the arena spectator stands. Within, seven new wares are available for sale using the Delosian Eagles currency!
As a reminder, Delosian Eagles are awarded for victory in ranked combat spars. They can be seen on your character sheet with SCORE RESOURCES, and can be spent on the various new items all listed in [HELP DELOSIAN EAGLES](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1455)
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Let's Talk About The Weather!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/08/17/lets-talk-about-the-weather)
**Published:** August 17, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Once an ancient relic of times best forgotten, Achaea’s weather system has now been completely overhauled! Every region in Achaea’s vast land now has its own unique fronts and climates, bringing with it a chance at rare phenomena ranging from cataclysmic storms (watch for lightning!) to iridescent rainbows and everything in between!
Some of you may have noticed some strange meteorological activity on the islands, on Meropis, or in the far north. Well, now it’s reached the mainland as well, thanks to the efforts of the highly attractive (They told me to add that bit) Garden team.
We’ve updated the weather system to make it more dynamic, and it should now show different weather phenomena depending on a wide range of factors. These include location on the globe (if you’re in the north, watch out for blizzards!), precipitation, certain magical elements, and much more.
A few of these forecasts may have effects on your person, they are relatively uncommon.
Rainbows may appear on occasion (never in pairs), and the truly lucky may even find treasure at the phenomenon’s end.
Lightning strikes continue to set all appropriate terrain on fire.
If a room is on fire, it will now eventually burn itself out naturally, after which that location cannot catch fire again until after a year once the land has suitably recovered.
The team will be watching the various systems as they appear across Achaea proper (other planes are not yet included). If you notice a location that has no apparent weather for an extended period, please file a BUG!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [The Great Hunt Commences!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/27/the-great-hunt-commences)
**Published:** April 27, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
This weekend, from April 29th at 00:01 GMT to April 30th at 23:59 GMT, we’ll be running a Great Hunt! This includes double experience on all denizen kills, credit prizes for the top 10 players in each tier, and credit awards at point thresholds!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Lord Adryn's Tournament!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/09/08/lord-adryns-tournament)
**Published:** September 8, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Most Esteemed Lord Adryn of Adryn’s Keep deigned to meet with the leaders of Achaea’s city states today, in order to explain the details of his tournament and place a contest attendant with each of the factions ready to assist with the ins and outs of the challenges ahead.
The tournament consists of four separate events, all of which are timed and scored based on city-wide performance.
First is the hunting contest, in which all six city states compete to fill special urns with the corpses of denizens they slay. This will require significant effort and completing this task allows the second to be commenced.
Following the hunting contest is the land race, a series of difficult riddles to be solved which all lead to a location of significance within Achaea. Ingenuity and logical thinking are essential!
When all riddles are solved, sailors must take to the seas and race! There will be a number of locations to find and the fastest sea captain earns their city the highest number of points!
Finally is the gauntlet, a gruelling series of trials. Each of the city states must form a well-rounded team to confront the challenges within, requiring a broad skillset of strength, resourcefulness, wit, intelligence, and sheer stamina.
When all the events are concluded and scores tallied, the Game of Eyes acts as the closing ceremony to the games proper, the last opportunity to score points and seize victory!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [21 Today!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/09/09/21-today)
**Published:** September 9, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
September marks 21 years since Achaea first threw open its doors to the world and said “come and tell your character’s story”! This landmark in Iron Realms history signals over two decades of immersive roleplay, two decades of thrilling combat, two decades of raiding, of skirmishes, of bitter lifelong enmities and passionate, of unending friendships, of meddling gods and literally everything in between.
This month is going to be full of all sorts of things, and I’m going to lay out as many as I can here now!
On the 9th of September a special command will unlock to allow everyone logged in to earn a small birthday gift.
We’ll have three rounds of lotteries running this month!
Lottery 33 (**LOTTERY INFO 33**) will be live very shortly and will be drawn on the 10th of September.
The second lottery will start shortly after 33 is drawn, and will run until the 20th.
The third lottery will then open and be drawn at the end of the month!
Keep an eye on **UPCOMING** and the Announce news for more details of the specifics of these lotteries!
The residents of Adryn’s Keep are getting ready to host their tournament! If you’re a city official keep an eye out during the 8th of September for Lord Adryn to arrive in your city with more information, and be ready for the tournament to kick off on the 9th!
The Itinerant Bazaar will be returning to Achaea later in the month, and we’ll be seeing which city can claim the Effigy of Victory in our CTF, Game of Eyes variant!
See **UPCOMING** for a live countdown of all of these!
Also keep your ears cleaned so that you don’t miss the jubilant and most noisome… I mean, noisy summons from our favourite announcer, Tharos! He’ll be running a variety of games throughout the month for young, old, large, and small alike.
Enjoy and we’ll see you all at the CTF!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Tournament Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/09/20/the-tournament-winners)
**Published:** September 20, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As Lord Adryn’s tournament drew to a close, the Game of Eyes acted as both the final event and closing ceremony.
For two Achaean days the six city states of Achaea deployed their full arsenal against each other, fighting relentlessly over each and every flag in order to claim not only the renowned Effigy of Victory but a last chance to earn points in the tournament as a whole.
Mirroring their performance in the last Game of Eyes, it was Targossas that blazed into first place in the game’s opening minutes, a position to which they held fast for the entire match as Eleusis, Mhaldor, and Cyrene battled for second place and those elusive tournament points.
In the event’s wake, Lord Adryn gathered all of Achaea to his fairground to announce that Mhaldor were to be declared winners of his grand tournament and granted a magnificent prize of five million gold towards the city’s development projects.
But it was not an easy victory! The games themselves saw much upset, particularly in the land race and gauntlet phases as those cities performing well in matters of strength and speed found themselves outmatched when it came to fiendish riddles and deceptively simple challengers.
For the Capture the Flag the final scores were thus:
1st. Targossas: 13463
2nd. Eleusis: 7822
3rd. Mhaldor: 4165
4th. Cyrene: 3128
5th. Ashtan: 2522
6th. Hashan: 1083
Targossas’ heroic efforts were not quite enough to close the gap on first place in Lord Adryn’s Tournament, as the final scores reflected.
1st. Mhaldor with 335 points
2nd. Cyrene with 290 points.
3rd. Targossas with 275 points.
4th. Eleusis with 230 points.
5th. Hashan with 110 points.
6th. Ashtan with 60 points.
**Categories:** Announcements, Event
---
### [Classleads Q2 Pt 2!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/20/classleads-q2-pt-2)
**Published:** April 20, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Part two of the 2nd Quarter classleads implementation is now live! This includes alterations in Apostasy, Artificing, Curses, Formulation, Pranks, Weaponmastery, and a resurrection cooldown. Head to the news and check out Classleads post #2 for all the details!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Talisman Changes](https://www.achaea.com/2018/09/30/talisman-changes)
**Published:** September 30, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The way in which we generate talisman pieces has remained the same since the first talisman set was released several years ago. We’re aware the random nature of this has been a source of frustration for people, so we have now made some changes to make this less frustrating (and to guarantee future uniform distribution of talisman pieces).
Previously, you could get any piece of a talisman on each roll. Previous rolls did not influence this whatsoever – each took place on their own. Going forward, talisman pieces will cycle on a global scale on a per talisman basis. What this means is if a person opens a cache for the Blackwave set and rolls for a piece of the canopic jar talisman, they will receive the first piece for that talisman. The next person who rolls for a canopic jar shall receive the second piece, and so forth. This is global and not on a per person basis, but should ensure there are always enough pieces to complete a talisman (assuming there are at least four) at any given time.
To be clear, the chance of getting pieces for a given talisman have not changed. You still have the same chance at getting rare pieces today as you did previously: you will now simply not get bad streaks of duplicates across multiple people.
This applies to all promotional sets. It does not apply to bashing only sets, such as the Dragon or Azatlan sets. It also does not apply to bonus pieces: only standardly awarded pieces will function in this way.
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates
---
### [Classleads Q2 Pt 1!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/16/classleads-q2-pt-1)
**Published:** April 16, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The second round of classleads implementation is underway and we start off with the release of the CLASSLEADS newsboard, going fowards you’ll be able to look here for updates on the majority of combat changes!
READNEWS CLASSLEADS 1 to get the low down on all the changes so far!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Survival Instinct!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/10/16/survival-instinct)
**Published:** October 16, 2018
**Author:** Ictinus
**Content:**
No longer do you have to spend lessons to learn the various abilities in Survival, you now earn these as you level up! We’ve also made a change to how your health and mana scale, making the midbie life much less painful.
Making it easier to get into Achaea is something we’re constantly concerned with. By its nature there is a very steep learning curve, and after some discussion we’ve decided that there are a couple of ways in which we can mitigate this.
First of all, we have reworked the max health and mana formula. Those of you at level 100 or higher will notice no change (you still gain health above level 100 the same as previously). However, you no longer gain hp for levels 81-99: you will now have essentially all of your health and mana by level 80(\*). You still gain critical hit bonuses and endurance/willpower as you level through the 81-99 range. Essentially, level 80 players will now have health equivalent of level 99 players previously.
Second, you will no longer have to spend lessons to learn Survival. Instead, much like Battlerage, this skill will now level up with you, becoming transcendent at level 80. All lessons in all Survival skills have been refunded.
\* You do gain a slight amount of health/mana at level 100 (between 50 and 150 depending on how much constitution/intelligence you have). This is a very small amount and just to keep current health/mana values at endgame consistent with previously.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [2nd Quarter Classleads Open](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/04/2nd-quarter-classleads-open)
**Published:** April 4, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As we enter the second quarter of 2017 (already!), its time for our second classlead round for the year. The classlead process is how we balance classes and add new abilities to skills as appropriate, and is generally the time when you can get your voices heard on issues of combat balance! Submissions will last from now until 00 GMT next Monday (April 10th). HELP CLASSLEADS has all the information!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [A Firesome Challenge](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/03/a-firesome-challenge)
**Published:** April 3, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Twas a quiet day in Ashtan before the Caefir of Targossas called forth the power of their Righteous God.
How will the Aegeans of War respond to this insult to their Lord? What plans hatch amongst the Court of Chaos? Surely the Seat of Chaos will not stand for this incursion. Only time will tell…
See Events news 572 for more on this story.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Attainment!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/10/17/attainment)
**Published:** October 17, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We realise that as you level up in Achaea you unlock all kinds of opportunities and passive effects, but these can be hard to keep track of, so we’ve morphed the Battlerage skill to become Attainment!
Attainment not only handles all of your battlerage abilities, but it will now also inform you about your Portals uses at a earliest levels, when you can embrace class, the benefits of Logosian, when you unlock various trait slots, when you can pickup tradeskills, the useful commands for when you’ve earned Elemental Lord, when you can visit the glass beacons in the Mhojave, and much more!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [The Wild Hunt Rides](https://www.achaea.com/2018/10/27/the-wild-hunt-rides)
**Published:** October 27, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
> Who rides, so late, through night and wind?
> The Erl-king rides anew.
>
> Who rides, so late, bringing terrible fear?
> The Erl-king rides anew.
>
> Who flees, so late, clasping poor mundane child?
> For the Erl-king rides anew.
>
> Who would ride, so late, with terror half wild?
> For the Erl-king rides anew.
Thus it was on midsummer’s eve, Valnuary of the year 784 AF. From beyond the veil between the Prime Material Plane and Annwyn did the Wild Hunt come, drawn by acts of betrayal against Sidhe law and the allure of a hunt renewed once more upon fresh prey. And, as it had been since the Sidhe were Sidhe, at its head came Oberion, no longer King of the Fairies, but now Lord of the Hunt: the Erlking of Annwyn.
Leading the knights of Sidhe and accompanied by his faithful hounds, dozens fell to Oberion’s blade, the borders and walls of city or forest alike proving naught in the face of such relentless resolve. And so, as the song of the Hunt compelled the hunters onward, their rampage saw them disappear beyond the veil, racing across planes uncounted as the Erlking sought his fulfillment yet promising a return before midsummer’s end.
But when the Wild Hunt at last approached by ancient law, the Lord of the Hunt found only disappointment in his adherence to the Bargain. Save for one brave and swiftly dispatched adventurer, the Right of Challenge was unfulfilled. With the one Oberion named betrayer choosing cowering over confrontation, the disgust of the Faerie Lord was evident as he led his Hunt home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Summary: With the borders between planes stretched thin, the Wild Hunt ranged forth from Annwyn, causing death and destruction across the realms as they put the adventurer population of Sapience to sword, tooth, fang, and hoof with orgiastic equanimity.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Auction Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/10/31/auction-winners)
**Published:** October 31, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
As the Mayaween month draws to a close, so to do our in game Auctions!
We have a host of lucky bidders taking home all sorts of prizes, from a custom built treehouse, to a translucent mask that won’t decay, and even a custom made pet.
Read on to see the full list.
- Phylactery of sixth sense – Mindshell
- Innate morphing armour – Aislin
- Cursed Cottage OOS build – Lyrin
- Gold inkbrush – Tiamat
- Custom dragon description – Voc
- Completed talisman – Zulah
- Permanent translucent mask – Farrah
- Racial language fluency – Tahquil
- Feathered cloak – Antonius
- Any legend deck card – Farrah
- Level 1 talisman piece – Seragorn
- Combination artefact – Qwindor
- Package pet – Ygia
- 200 housing credits – Zulah
- Mayaween themed forging descriptor – Lenn
- Portable stove – Kayeil
- Choice of costume – Tiamat
Congratulations to all of our winners!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [The Winning Tickets!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/02/the-winning-tickets)
**Published:** April 2, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Some of you may remember the raffle held in February, where tickets to enter were won via the Wheel of Fortune.
The Shar’ilian Lightspire is now in the Miscellaneous Artefact Shop, a massive upgrade to the Staff of Illusions, it offers expanded illusions, coloured illusions, and brings glamours to the Achaean world.
HELP ARTEFACTS MISC has all the details on this new item.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [From Pygmy Dungeon To Dragon Lair!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/11/05/from-pygmy-dungeon-to-dragon-lair)
**Published:** November 5, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The machinations behind the pygmy conspiracy have been slowly unfolding across Sapience, with layers of the dubious plot being revealed for all to investigate. Today, the rotten core of it all and the reward for following to its twisted end is finally brought into the light…
Some of you more astute Achaeans may have noticed hints in a number of announce posts over the summer that a long-standing mystery was one step closer to being solved.
I’m pleased to announce that that mystery is the cultists’ conspiracy and the related kidnappings of newbies by the foul pygmies and the final stages of what we’ve come to internally call “The Dragon Quest” are now complete and available for play! All of a certain age or certain investigatory prowess may pursue these additional stages, eventually unlocking Dragon Lairs!
Dragons lairs act as something of a cross between a club house and a sanctuary for those of a specific (and primary) dragon colour. Each colour has its own lair and this mini-area is shared with all other dragons of your colour, with access granted only to those who completely unravel the cultists’ plot and prove themselves capable of disrupting their operations.
You will find spending too much time inside to be impossible. A mighty dragon can only laze for so long!
Within the lair, you’ll find the dragon hoard! As you might expect, this is a collective treasure hoard, shared by all dragons of your colour. Increasing the reserves of your particular hoard can be done via the **HOARD ENDOW** command. You will also find that any gold unclaimed due to the gold cap will automatically be sent instead to your hoard, ensuring you never miss out on those coins while on a killing spree!
The hoard’s gold can be used to unlock a number of beneficial perks (via the **HOARD INVEST** command), including:
– Enhanced endurance regeneration for all within your lair
– Enhanced willpower regeneration for all within your lair
– A bonus to experience conferred upon all your fellow coloured dragons
– A critical hit chance bonus to all dragons of your colour
These are the first in what we anticipate to be a larger pool of upgrades as we monitor reception and usage of the lairs!
Each of these perks is temporary and draws from the hoard to empower. Regular contribution is a must!
Finally, for those of you with a penchant for rankings, **RANKINGS ENDOWERS** will keep score of which dragon has contributed the most to their hoard across all dragons!
All of this information can also be found in [HELP DRAGONLAIR](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1458), and the mystery awaits your keen detective eye!
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Announcements, Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Raiding Clarifications!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/11/20/raiding-clarifications)
**Published:** November 20, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
PK in Achaea is an ongoing and ever evolving thing, in recognition of this we’ve added some updates to clarify any confusion!
– Simply being an enlisted soldier will continue to not be a valid reason to attack someone for the purposes of gaining a sanction. This is unchanged.
– Once a sanction is in place, ALL enlisted soldiers of the defending city are considered viable targets for the attacking party if and only if the soldier is currently within the city, regardless of whether they have actively engaged in defence yet or not.
– Attacking soldiers outside the city during these times will continue to be unacceptable.
It is our hope that this clarification will reduce or eliminate any grey areas that occur during raids and provide a simpler and more consistent experience for all involved. [HELP PK](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1192) and [HELP CITY DESTRUCTION](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1242) have been updated to reflect this.
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Idea Implementation!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/01/idea-implementation)
**Published:** December 1, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
A stack of your ideas have been implemented! Read on to learn what’s what!
\* Added Weaponmastery specialisation change to COOLDOWNS for those with the appropriate artefacts.
\* Certimene will be clearer about the correct syntax for adding additional classes.
\* Added Spiritlore INVOKE PROJECTION to COOLDOWNS.
\* Wax tablets of petrified wood will now correctly notify their partners when a message is sent.
\* QSC now includes a line for the player’s current class.
\* Updated the Tzantza AB file to include the number of afflictions necessary for an instant kill.
\* Journals and manuscripts will now show their bookmark when probed.
\* SAMPLES is now sorted alphabetically.
\* CUSTOMISATION # COMPLETE should now fail on all incorrect syntax.
\* BUY ROOM can now pull wood and stone from the rift.
\* SEASON will show what season of the year it is (only upon the Prime Material Plane).
\* PROTEGES is now sorted alphabetically.
\* TRAIT LIST MAJOR to see a list of only major traits and MINOR to only see minor.
\* TRAIT LIST MAJOR/MINOR/ALL will now show the appropriate dragon and elemental lord traits when used while in those forms.
\* Scribing a new lease will now show the lease number.\* Added ROGUES (adventurers without a city) as a category for door and other permissions.
\* Added room name to org logs created by guard deaths.
**Categories:** Game Updates
---
### [Roleplay and Immersion](https://www.achaea.com/2017/04/01/roleplay-and-immersion)
**Published:** April 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
For 24 hours (as something of an “experiment”) Achaeans lost the use of the common tongue, forcing all to work out how to communicate in their racial or city languages!
This world-sweeping change was preceded by a girlish giggle heard by all. While we claim this is to promote immersion and roleplay depth, Someone Else might have a different opinion…
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Sightless Spring](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/08/sightless-spring)
**Published:** December 8, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
 Two Archangels sought transcendence, one dying in the process while the other was blasted to the boughs of Yggdrasil. After much skirmishing between Ashtan and Targossas over custody, Iojian slavers captured the angel and took it away to be auctioned.
All.
Few other words could so succinctly describe the place, steeped as it was and is in light and power. Saar-elan. Transcendence.
Silence presided as the procession began, a gathering of those unfettered by the parasitic leeching of flesh. Magisters and Verapim entered beside Exarchs, waiting to bear witness to what most believed a desperate attempt.
The Prime Exarch stepped forward, uttering a single word in cold, clear tones: “Begin.”
Agadi and clasped hands, a solemn serenity matched upon their sightless visages as they stepped toward Saar-elan and offered tithe to coax forth its secrets.
In but an instant the Archangel Agadi was unmade, rejected by the transcendental Creation. Caught in the backlash yet protected by their bond, the Archangel found himself cast aside to fall through worlds and planes. His descent was as a falling star, radiant and brilliant before alighting upon the branches of the World Tree, deprived of consciousness yet otherwise visibly unharmed.
A mere day passed before was found, happened upon by Penwize Baker of Ashtan. Those in service to the Chaos Court eyed the fallen angel with delight, relishing the chance to bring Glaaki such a prize. But the Ashtani soon found they had competition.
Skulking quietly along the branches of Veior, a rajamalan of Iojian heritage arrived soon after, declaring the angel a captive of Ioje and announcing his intent to take it home. While the slaver sought the approval of the Ashtani and made arrangements for transport, opposition arrived in the form of Targossas, and discussion soon turned to violence.
Determined to protect the Archangel even at the expense of their lives, those of the Dawnspear turned upon the rajamalan slaver, immediately drawing the ire of the Ashtani. Battle began in earnest.
As chaos erupted within the boughs of Yggdrasil, the slaver called for reinforcements with his dying breath. Scores of Iojian personnel marched into the Tree’s branches, and – under the very noses of those fighting to save him – dragged away with their catchpoles. Though the citizens of Targossas harried the Iojians relentlessly, their efforts were not enough, and was brought before Yili, Procurer of the Ioje Compound, and instantly bound in shackles.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [The Angel Auction](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/08/the-angel-auction)
**Published:** December 8, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Sapience, be pleased.
Dissatisfied with our usual selection of wares? Through the tireless
efforts of our guard, and at great cost to ourselves, the Ioje Compound
brings you the unexpected. The unparalleled. The entirely out of the
ordinary.
Merchandise most metaphysical. An angel, fallen from the sky and into your hands!
THE EYELESS WONDER
The Compound will hold a decisive auction for the fate of this fine being on the 14th of Mayan, in the year 788 AF.
Covet no more, but be prepared with payment. Attendance is a privilege afforded only to our most appreciative buyers. Have gold in hand, and ensure it is appropriate compensation for the costs incurred.
All sales are final. No refunds if you renege. No outbursts. Interlopers will be dealt with and auctioned at a later date.
A LIVING ANGEL
AUCTIONED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!
Yili, the Procurer.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Quick Fix Notes!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/12/quick-fix-notes)
**Published:** December 12, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
A few quick updates for some new additions and fixes!
– TRADEWHO HERALDRY is now a thing.
– IDEAS now works as a synonym for IDEA LIST.
– MOUNTS has been updated so that the feedbag status on uncollared mounts is shown.
– EVENTSTATUS and ES default to the arena you’re in if you are in one.- UNALLY PARTY now works to unally all members of your current party.
– MSG LISTR will list your messages in descending order.
– SEAREDGLYPH talisman will now properly lash out every fifth hit instead of every sixth.
On the customisations front: if you have an item that is resetting and you wish to change the resetting location\*, this can be done for 10 bound credits. Email customisations@achaea.com with all of the details.
\* Any new resetting location will still have to respect ownership and may not be applicable for all resetting items. This cannot be used to transfer ownership of artefacts and similar items.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [Furnishing: Beds Return To Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/03/19/beds-return-to-achaea)
**Published:** March 19, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
And they’re even better than before!
Furnishers can now craft a range of bed-style items to decorate your homes with, these include standard beds as well as hammocks, cots, and bunks. All of these can be sit or lied upon!
In addition to this, a furnishing bed can be upgraded by the property owner into an Artefact bed to unlock all of the associated privacy bonuses. **HELP BEDS** has all the details on this.
Finally, with these changes, couches also make a triumphant and long awaited return!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Psions and Nur!](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/19/psions-and-nur)
**Published:** December 19, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Just in time for the holidays, Achaea is immensely proud to unveil the ancient city of [Nur](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1461), and our 19th class, [Psions](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1463)!
The opening of the City of Nur is one of the largest releases of previously admin-only lore in a very long time. Given its significance to both current and past events, as well as the Mythos that underpins Achaea’s storylines, we knew going into this that we needed a new class due to the way Saar-elan functions.
Psions are our 19th class in Achaea, and there are some things you will recognise and some things you won’t. At its core, it is an affliction class with some damage hybrid aspects. Those of you familiar with other affliction classes should have no issues picking it up, and those of you that aren’t should find it pretty straight forward to learn the basics of.
That said, we’re confident you’ll find some surprises even if you’re IRE veterans, particularly when it comes to some of the teamfighting tools. We look forward to seeing what you all do with it!
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Prime Exarch Zafikel](https://www.achaea.com/2018/12/19/prime-exarch-zafikel)
**Published:** December 19, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Prime Exarch Zafikel – Full
It’s always a special day when we get to showcase some artwork that supports the text world we build and Zafikel’s is utterly stunning, so here it is in all its pixels for you to enjoy!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Classlead Changes Round 5](https://www.achaea.com/2017/03/14/classlead-changes-round-5)
**Published:** March 14, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The final round of changes for the 1st Quarter Classleads is now live! Alterations according to your feedback have been made in the following skills:
Physiology, Shadowmancy, Spiritlore, Subterfuge, Survival, and Twoarts!
A SHIP queue and an internal cooldown on reincarnation via the Gem of Transmutation have also been added.
For all the specifics, **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4733.**
Thank you to everyone who takes part in this process!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Classleads Open!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/01/01/classleads-open-2)
**Published:** January 1, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Now’s your chance to submit those problems and requests you have with the various abilities in Achaea. Whether they’re submissions for change, balancing, or removal, Classleads are your what you need!
The classlead process is how we balance classes and add new abilities to skills as appropriate, and is generally the time when you can get your voices heard on issues of combat balance.
For those of you unfamiliar with the classlead process (or who would just like a refresher), here are the basics:
Classleads are anonymous.
– Each person can submit up to five classlead reports. Please do not utilise alternative characters to bypass this limit.
– Your reports should supply reasoning alongside the perceived problem: if something is too strong/weak, you should always state why. It’s best to avoid drawing comparisons to other classes, although sometimes this is appropriate. Use your best judgement!
– You should attempt to supply multiple solutions (where applicable – some cases are fairly cut and dry).
There are full details along with command breakdowns under [HELP CLASSLEADS](https://play.achaea.com/HELP%20CLASSLEADS) and the CLASSLEAD command.
So, what kinds of things can you suggest via classleads?
Essentially, classleads are specifically for combat balance, whether that be addressing things which are perceived as too strong or too weak. Thematic options can sometimes be appropriate, but these are almost always better served going via the ideas system.
With that in mind, given it has been a little while since we’ve had a classlead round, I will be leaving the submission phase open until 0 GMT on the 15th of January.
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Forays and the Intrepid!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/03/12/forays-and-the-intrepid)
**Published:** March 12, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Thanks to the grand efforts of Jayden, Farrah, Gamoneterik, Ahmet, Siduri, and Iakimen, the foray board belonging to Russell, a rugged ex-adventurer was rescued from the clutches of dread Aran’Kesh, and forays are now available to all Achaeans!
A “foray” is the name given to a difficult task or challenge undertaken by a group of Intrepid adventurers. Each foray takes place in a unique, isolated setting, found among dozens of possible remote areas of the wilderness. The trials you may face are varied, ranging from confusing puzzles that must be solved to overwhelming denizens that must be defeated. One singular theme unites the forays, however, and that is that none can be completed alone. These are no ordinary hunting grounds, and the combined might of an Intrepid group will be required if you hope to succeed and claim their rewards.
Checkout HELP FORAYS for all the details!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [Deckhands And Bribery!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/01/04/deckhands-and-bribery)
**Published:** January 4, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Deckhands in Achaea can now BRIBE the dockside workers to get another player thrown off a ship! It’ll be a lot harder to hide now.
Many people have purchased ships for storage, whether that be for mechanical reasons (cures and such) or for thematic ones (such as libraries). This is a big reason why ship invasion has always been a very problematic mechanic, and one we don’t intend to implement. The other reason is that the amount of damage a player can do if they gain access to a ship is extreme, and the recourse of the ship owner is fairly limited in such a scenario.
With that in mind. Given the nature of Achaea it’s very important to us that all avenues of conflict have satisfactory avenues for resolution. The current entirely safe nature of docked ships has been a long standing issue, but given that we are unwilling to implement ship invasion, this was always a tough problem to solve.
We have decided that a middle ground is the best way to move forward. Rather than players being able to invade ships, we have just added a new ability to Seafaring: **BRIB**E. This is a rank five Deckhand ability and permits you to bribe dockworkers at a harbour to pull a target off of a ship, with some caveats:
– This is expensive, and significantly more so if trying to bribe dockworkers at the home city of your target. It is not something you will be able to do continuously, even as a rich player.
– The target is not pulled to your room: they’ll be dropped off in a random location within a radius of the harbour. This is to avoid the ability to camp at the disembark room upon a bribe and force someone into a no-win scenario.
– The target ship must remain at harbour for the bribe to succeed. If they are undocked when the windup ends, it will fail, given in this situation they are exposing themselves to other avenues of attack.
– Ships with high crew morale will also be much more expensive to bribe. The inverse of this is also true.
This is experimental and we’ll be closely monitoring it going forward. We are optimistic that this compromise will solve most of the issues while allowing ship owners peace of mind that they can safely use their ships without having people break in.
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [January Auctions!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/01/16/january-auctions)
**Published:** January 16, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just put a big stack of auctions live in Achaea, plenty for those with gold or credits on hand, and some great customisation options!
Use the **AUCTION** syntax in game to see all related commands and read **HELP AUCTION**S for details.
If you have any questions about a specific auction that **AUCTION INFO <#>** doesn’t answer, please **ISSUE ME**!
For Credits
============
1 – Icy Igloo
Work with the Customisations team to pick out a chilly location for your Out of Subdivision home! Then, choose whether you want them to surprise you with a 5 room build in the ice castle, igloo, or grotto theme, or to have the room credits to design as you wish.
2 – Custom Dragon Description
Work with the Garden design team to create your own unique dragon description. This description will then be applied to your character whenever you are in dragon form. DISCLAIMER: While there is plenty of room for creativity, the description must remain explicitly draconic.
3 – A Personal Bar
This piece of custom furniture refills with a 5 drink selection that the Customisations team will work with you to create.
Final design and drinks will have to be suitable for Achaea’s roleplaying environment.
4 – Enhanced Shop Cart
This expanded and nondecay shop cart will let the winner stock 50 items and move it around.
5 – Breathstealer Ring
This ring holds the power to bring down a room-wide silence effect for 20 seconds. This is instant and not subject to being dampened or dispelled.
It does require balance and equilibrium to use, will consume balance, and will incur a five minute cooldown before it can be called on again.
6 – Innate Morphing Armour
This armour set is the equivalent of three-slotted armour with innate morphing capabilities that do not require use of one of the three slots.
7 – Racial Language Fluency
Win this auction and be fully fluent in one of the racial languages (this does not include dragon, Vertani, or Tsol’dasi).
8 – Completed Talisman
The winner of this auction may choose a fully completed talisman from any promotional set.
9 – Orb of Sllshya’s Wrath
THROW ORB to summon a magical snowstorm in the room. Grants all of the same benefits as the Groves ability SNOWSTORM.
10 – Arrow of Ethian
Unlimited meteor arrows!
11 – Gavel of Etheric Revelation
POUND GROUND to reveal phased serpents!
12 – Vastarian Flute
PLAY FLUTE and you will cause a GUST to occur in the location, banishing fumes and smoke.
13 – House Ambience
Work with the Customisations team to create 5 Achaea-appropriate ambient messages to fire in various rooms in your home.
14 – Free Arena Entry Token
With this token in hand, arena fees will be nonexistent for one of your combative stature!
15 – Resonating Collar
Order your pet to shout! (This does have a regional limitation.)
For Gold
=========
16 – Any Legend Deck Card
Choose any of the cards from all legend deck suits – see HELP LEGENDDECK for specifics on each!
17 – Level 1 Talisman Piece
The winner may choose any level 1 piece from any of the promotional talisman sets.
18 – Combination Artefact
Choose from a survivalist’s bandana, a cabalist’s cowl, a sorcerous bangle, a gladiator’s medal, a polished silver stamp, an intricate silver leaf cage, or an onyx ouroboros statuette! See HELP PROMO ITEMS to find out what these do.
DISCLAIMER: These powers/items cannot be traded in, but can be upgraded!
19 – Package Pet
This auction affords the winner their very own package pet! Including the full suite of features (outlined in HELP PETS), submit your own design specification or let the Garden designers surprise you!
20 – 200 Housing Credits
The winner of this auction will receive 200 housing credits to build or expand their own home!
21 – Minipet
The winner of this auction may choose any minipet from any of the available COLLECTIONS!
22 – 3 Muse Pages or Bloodstained Shards
Choose three pages for the Tome of the Muses, or three bloodstained shards of enamel for your locket – see HELP PROMO ITEMS for details!
23 – Ranger’s Bow and Shooting
This is a level 1 artefact bow that includes the SHOOTING addon!
24 – New Delos Shop
Become the proprietor of your very own shop within the Isle of Delos! Situated SE off Western Epitus Avenue, your shelves are fresh and your clean stockroom awaits!
25 – Crystalline Door Chime
Set this outside your subdivision house, and when visitors pull it, your house will fill with chiming sounds to alert you that someone is at the door!
Remember, there is no day 0 on the auction countdown, so get your bids in before Day 1 ends.
Happy bidding!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Races Talisman Set!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/03/01/races-talisman-set)
**Published:** March 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
March sees the release of a new talisman set! There is one talisman themed for each playable race, and a special talisman (the double headed coin) themed for the Aldar which will be awarded to those who successfully complete the entire set!
- A dwarven lodestone
- A shamanistic rattle
- A collapsible catapult
- A blood daubed cloth of whispers
- A demolition sphere
- A piece of horkval chitin
- A flattened frogskin
- A pernicious pair of Dala’myrr claws
- Bottled siren song
- Crystalline panpipes
- An arachnid’s eye
- A figurine of the suffering Maya
- A double headed coin (Aldar reward talisman)
Collect them all today!
In other exciting news, the February raffle has been drawn. Congratulations go to **Daeir** who is the winner of our design your own artefact, we look forward to working with him on this! We also applaud lucky **Roagnak** who’s name was pulled second, he gets one of whatever Daeir designs!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Classleads and Crafting!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/01/22/classleads-and-crafting)
**Published:** January 22, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With the first quarter classleads decisions made, classlead implementation has begun! Read on for the first batch of updates and changes! For the Furnishers, Tailors, Chefs, and Jewellers of Achaea we’ve also added an **urgent** queue to design submissions.
Artefacts
\* MORPHING ARMOUR has had its cooldowns significantly reduced. One hour for level one, twenty minutes for level two, ten minutes for level three.
Duress
\* BUFFET now relapses against the same target that it previously hit for additional damage after 2 seconds.
\* EFFERVESCENCE now gives a room wide message when it ends. This shows at all elevations.
Evileye
\* COWARDICE will no longer cancel tumble on hindered opponents. Note that the old functionality can still be achieved with comboed screech: I feel the opportunity cost of this is high enough that it is fine to retain.
Formulation
\* HOMUNCULI now explode upon both the activation of MAYOLOGY and the periodic ticks of damage that occur.
Psionics
\* MANIPULATE is now blocked by the CONFUSION affliction.
Seafaring
\* WAVESCYTHE has had its range significantly increased.
\* The SHIELD seaspell now scales up in cost by 200 for each use in the last minute. Note that each use resets the minute timer and this caps at an additional 800 cost (on top of the base value).
Spiritlore
\* AELKISH has had its reduction of willpower cost on the bleed curse increased when attuned.
Spirituality
\* Reduced how much power an angel must be on to be summoned from 15 to 5% of its maximum.
Striking
\* VOIDFIST no longer clears upon being impaled.
\* VOIDFIST has had its duration brought in line with other elemental fist attacks.
\* VOIDFIST now causes strikes to deal some mana damage on successfully landing: this replaces the old functionality.
\* Shin generation is halved when striking a VOIDFISTED opponent.
Subterfuge
\* You may now summon your snake while off balance, though this incurs a longer equilibrium cost.
\* The COLOURS ability is now learned much earlier in the skill.
Vision
\* The equilibrium cost of DEATHSIGHT has been removed. It still requires you be on equilibrium to activate, however.
Weaponmastery
\* (Dual Blunt): ASSAULT TORSO now has a faster balance than ASSAULT HEAD.
\* (Sword and Board): the damage against denizens has been increased.
Weaponry
\* You can now THROW items with SELFISHNESS active.
Weaving
\* UNWEAVE now does damage.
Crafting Submissions – Urgent!
Marking a submission as urgent can be done by appending it to the original syntax:
**DESIGN <sketch> SUBMIT \[URGENT\]**
This causes the submission to cost 10,000 gold instead of the typical 1000, and immediately places the new submission into the urgent queue where it will take high priority for approvals.
**Categories:** Announcements, Classleads
---
### [Bugs Go Splat!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/02/07/bugs-go-splat)
**Published:** February 7, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Bug fixing is an ongoing task in Achaea, so many systems, so many years of development! Checkout the list of fixes we’ve implemented since the beginning of 2019!
- When used in arenas, Enlighten will no longer shout to the world
- Suremekh’neina talisman pieces now have the proper tradein value
- Unmorphing will now properly drop the blocking defence
- You can no longer attempt to use the power of your bloodsworn if your partner is offline
- The ITCHING affliction will now wait the proper amount of time before delivering its first affliction
- The Living Book of Eschaton shall no longer provide Occultists with karma upon study
- EVADE now respects the Ama-maalier legend card
- PROPAGAGE ARMS WITH LOBELIA will cause thornrend to give vertigo properly, instead of the old loneliness
- Psions can now dismantle an active servitor with ENACT COMPANION DISMANTLE
- The Unnameable Horror legend card will now properly respect telepathic channels (such as party)
- Emulation LIFEBOND, Emulation ROTH, Psionics VANISH, and Shindo MEDITATE will now all show on COOLDOWNS
- Deaths to bleeding delivered by a player should no longer be attributed to a random mob or item
- Pisonics MANIPULATE now has a third-person message
- SYVIS relapses should now properly inform the giver when it fires, instead of the receiver
- CM LIST now requires equilibrium to use
- When trading for SHIP CARGO, using the incorrect syntax should no longer purchase random cargo
- Offering to MENTOR a player will no longer incorrectly display on the potential protege’s SCORE
- The PAZUZU legend card will no longer prevent entry into Shop of Wonders tents
- EAVESDROP now properly respects both deafness and the mindseye defence
- The EAT command will now prioritise cures, when you have multiple items of the same name
- Hunting blinds will no longer act as if players are in the sky while upon the ground
- Telepathy ISOLATION is now properly masked from gmcp
- The rank 4 WATCH ability in Seafaring now functions properly
- DRAGONROAR now respects the silence of Breathstealer
- NDS PROBE now shows the capacity of containers
- DISASSEMBLE should now work properly for transcendent furnishers
- Furnishing items will now show who is seated on them when PROBEd
- MANIFEST TSUNAMI will no longer work while in the skies or trees
- Random commands will no longer be added to balance queues while speedwalking
- Spiritlore TOTEMs will now hit players in an entourage
- Spiritlore SMUDGE now has a balance cost
- ANGEL AURA is no longer considered aggressive when used on yourself
- LISTEN no longer fails if you have the DEAFNESS defence
- SHAKE TREE HERE will attempt to use the typical SHAKE emote on a tree in your location, instead of the SHAKING ability
- Grandmaster Blacksmiths no longer have to use descriptors in their armour for a chance at bonus statistics
- Weather now properly respects the shining feather artefact
- The apperception stone and FALCON GLANCE no longer erroneously trigger skywatch/groundwatch
- The MATERIALS command now allows Furnishers to list all potential samples
- Gold gained past the cap while in lesserform will now properly add to a players RANKINGS ENDOWERS
- Reincarnation will no longer permanently change a player’s base dragon colour
- The MARAN legend card now applies to damage from denizens
- Players will no longer benefit from the MARAN legend card if their attacker stands in its effects
- Players can no longer mark public designs as private
- Weapons moved via SHIP REQUISITION will no longer reset to their previous room
- Shadowmancy STEP will no longer work into or out of beds
- The MUDBOMBBINDING talisman piece will now display on TALISMAN PIECES properly
- The ADS FOR syntax now works properly
- SHOWEMOTE DOFF will no longer use random mob names
- The contender’s journal talisman should no longer have blank pages
- Designs that are made public will no longer retain their private status
- A few shady roulette dealers have been admonished, and will properly reward you for outside bets
- The TRADESKILLS command now lists your tradeskills
- Festive Logosmas decorations are no longer permanent
- Emulation IMPOSITION will no longer fail silently
- Ship owners will be warned three days before their ships are drydocked
- OUTFITs can no longer be used to wear items you couldn’t wear otherwise
The team has also been hard at work fixing various typos across the NDS listings, in the HELP files, and in various ability messages.
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [Combat Balance Tweaking!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/03/01/combat-balance-tweaking)
**Published:** March 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just loaded a small number of combat balance adjustments. Here are the details:
**Necromancy**
- VENGEANCE and the effect from the REVELATION’S GUISE talisman will no longer fire off the same death. VENGEANCE will always take priority.
**Runelore**
- The NAIRAT rune when sketched on the ground now gives ENTANGLED rather than TRANSFIX.
- WEARINESS and CLUMSINESS have been switched in the DEGENERATION instill affliction order.
- The RETRIBUTION capstone effect no longer does a flat 15% mana damage. Instead it does mana based on how many of the special shadowmancy afflictions are present on a target PARASITE, MADNESS, RETRIBUTION, and DEPRESSION. For 1 affliction it is 5%, for 2 it is 10, for 3 it is 18, and for all of them it is 25.
**Skirmishing**
- SKULLBASH now shares the DRAGONCRAFT BITE and TEKURA BACKBREAKER per target cooldown.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [Engagement Is Key!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/02/08/engagement-is-key)
**Published:** February 8, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Achaea needs your input before we can begin work on implementing our next game system!
We’ve just made a [new post](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6677/next-big-thing-engagement) on the forums about the next big project we’re working on, tentatively (and temporarily) named Engagement Tasks, a daily/weekly/bimonthly set of tasks and objectives aimed at broadening your experience with the Achaea game world.
We are actively looking for suggestions!
Not only that, but we also need ideas for the system’s name – whoever supplies the best one will win 100 credits!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [The Time Of Reckoning Has Come](https://www.achaea.com/2019/02/17/the-time-of-reckoning-has-come)
**Published:** February 17, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Demigod Coelano rescued a wounded phoenix from [Rhea, Daughter of the Void](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=634), and carried it to Targossas. Though the Dawnspear was [unable to restore](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=635) the phoenix to her natural cycle, by anointing themselves with the ashes her spirit and song lived on in the **Zeal** skill, now available to the Priest class!
After many mutterings that one day we’d like to do this… A major priest rework is now live!
The class now plays very differently to previously. Here are the broad strokes:
**Devotion**
\* HELLSIGHT has become paladin only.
\* INQUISITION has undergone fairly major changes – see the abfile for details.
\* VISIONS now gives dementia by default and shyness if dementia is already present.
**Healing**
\* The skill has been deleted.
**Spirituality**
\* SPIRITUAL MACES have had their stats adjusted. Level three remains unchanged, but unartefacted through to level two are now faster than previously.
\* The JUDGE lines have changed.
\* CHASTEN no longer consumes equilibrium when following a SMITE or SMASH.\* SMASH has had its balance cost changed.
\* SPIRITWRACK has been removed for the time being.
\* Targeted SEAR now gives sensitivity if the target is already ablaze. It also does some fire damage in this situation.
\* The final affliction on CHASTEN BODY has been changed from justice to manaleech.
\* Smite damage (limb and health) have undergone major formula changes.
\* ANGEL CARE is now a consistent ten second tick.
**Zeal**
\* The skill has been added.
\* Spiritshields now function when the priest isn’t in room as they did in the past, though only against denizen-sourced attacks. Player attacks still require the priest to be in the target’s location to convey the bonus.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Ideas and Bugfixes!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/02/13/ideas-and-bugfixes)
**Published:** February 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’ve just loaded up a small batch of bugfixes and ideas for you all. Here are the details:
1. If you now specify an earring of Sinope ID to use to travel with (**TRAVEL TO <person> WITH <earring>**), it will always override the travel to mutual allies bonus granted by the special valentine chocolates.
2. Some cases where the game would think you were already granted the **BLISSED** status but you weren’t have been fixed.
3. The **LITANY** ability from Terminus can no longer be forced. (Yes, we’re aware of the irony.)
4. **DRAGONHEAL** will no longer drain mana if it fails to work due to the presence of both the **WEARINESS** and **RECKLESSNESS** afflictions.
5. The **ELAD** ability in Terminus will no longer cause strange interactions if you use it on someone already following you.
6. Serverside curing will no longer try to **MOUNT** if you are **KAI SURGED**.
7. Retirement credits will now show up on your **CREDIT REPORT** if you are able to transfer them to that character.
Enjoy!
**Categories:** Bug Fixes, Game Updates
---
### [Artisanal and Bardic Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/03/04/artisanal-and-bardic-winners-2)
**Published:** March 4, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
With the **MAPS** themed contest now closed, the submissions have been judged and the winners announced!
Winner: **Numira** with her [Map of Targossas](http://wiki.achaea.com/mediawiki/images/b/b4/Targossas_Map.jpg)!
Runnerup: **Finchy** with a Bardic entry about the [exasperated map makers of Achaea](http://wiki.achaea.com/Perils_of_the_Mapmaker).
Runnerup: **Oceana** with a look into the [tritonic silver mines](http://wiki.achaea.com/A_Crude_Map_and_a_Piece_of_Silver_Ore).
Merit: **Velinae** with a [star map of Achaea’s heavens](http://wiki.achaea.com/mediawiki/images/1/1e/Star_Map.gif).
Merit: **Syndra** with a [tale about Ceylon](http://wiki.achaea.com/Valley_of_Death_h).
Congratulations to all of our winners!
**Categories:** Artisanals and Bardics
---
### [Adventuring Update!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/03/15/adventuring-update)
**Published:** March 15, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Adventuring system, our big engagement project is taking shape! We’ve just re-opened the forum thread with some details of what you can expect and we’re hard at work making it come to life!
Check it out [here](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/comment/415129)!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [Classlead Changes Round 4!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/01/26/classlead-changes-round-4)
**Published:** January 26, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re nearly done with all the classlead changes for this first quarter’s submissions! There’s just one more batch to go after these.
But what you really want to know is which skills were affected this time, here you go: Aeonics, Groves, Runelore, Shadowmancy, Shindo, Swashbuckling, Tattoos and Terminus.
One of the biggest changes in this batch was a miscellaneous change in approach to room hindrance, Makarios writes:
> We are moving back towards room hinders blocking flight, as I feel it causes more problems than it solves. Some classes will require changes to facilitate this as it is currently a balancing factor. As of this posting all room hinders except OCCULTISM TENTACLES, GROVES WILDGROWTH, and PHYSIOLOGY TORSO now hinder flight. This is purely a transitional step – those final three classes shall also gain this functionality, but certain changes need to take place first.
For all of the other details, **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4717**!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Classlead Changes Round 3!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/01/24/classlead-changes-round-3)
**Published:** January 24, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
We’re pleased to bring you the third round of changes and updates from the 2017 first quarter classlead submissions!
These include changes to the following skills: Physiology, Shadowmancy, Shindo, Spiritlore, Subterfuge, Tarot and Weaponmastery!
For all the specifics on these changes, **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4713**!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Classlead Changes Round 2](https://www.achaea.com/2017/01/13/classlead-changes-round-2)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Close on the heels of the first batch, here’s the list of skills that saw changes during this second round of classleads:
Curses, Domination, Dragoncraft, Elementalism, Groves, Metamorphosis, Puppetry/Vodun, Runelore, Shadowmancy, Spiritlore, and Woodlore!
For more details on these changes, **READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4709** and keep your eyes peeled for more!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [January Lottery Winners!](https://www.achaea.com/2017/01/13/january-lottery-winners)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The recent lotteries have been drawn and our hearty congratulations go out to the following lucky winners!
**Seragorn**, who won the Sacrificial Kris!
**Ellaer**, who won the vial of infinite health elixir!
**Lenn**, who won the gold-handled inkbrush!
And, **Kayeil**, who won the custom dragon description!
**Categories:** Announcements
---
### [Fixes!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/03/23/fixes)
**Published:** March 23, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Working like frenzied exterminators, our coders have squashed hundreds of bugs! These fixes range from large scale systems to every day errors, and everything in between!
- DEFENCES will now list any crit bonus you are benefitting from
- FORECAST will now display the current weather of the area
- Shopkeeper signs for first-time buyers will no longer default to an unreadable colour scheme
- Emulation’s Aklan Servitor will no longer report players in beds
- PSI BLAST will now give a message to the victim when it fails
- The helpfiles a player sees in CLHELP INDEX and the helpfiles a player can actually read are now one and the same
- You can no longer SURGE (or any similar ability) past certain locked doors
- WHISTLE will no longer override artefact hitching posts
- WEAVING LAUNCH will no longer silently knock people from the sky
- People with absurdly long titles will no longer display awkwardly in CWHO\|boldwhite}WEAVING LAUNCH
- MIRIADS now respect Divine Grace
- Newly assaulted mines will now incur the same grace period as newly built mines
- DESTABILISE SILENCE will now properly show on diagnose for its duration
- TIDALWAVE is no longer an aggressive ability
- A few players who erroneously had the ability to view bugs can no longer do so
- DESTABILISE SILENCE now properly prevents CALL FOR HELP
- MATERIALS is now sorted alphabetically
- Custom marriage lines will no longer persist through multiple marriages
- PERVASION TSUNAMI now respects prone
- The GOLDENSNAKESKIN talisman now permanently drops aggression on all non-boss denizens
- The SOULSLIVER talisman now shows a rough estimation of its charge when PROBEd
- SHADOW INTONE now respects IGNORE
- Fishing honours lines are now counted when displaying how many honours a player has
- WEAVING RALLY will no longer use a player’s motto in place of a warcry
- The tank of silvery enticement can no longer be used at zero charge
- PSIONICS INSERTION is now caught by VISION TELESENSE as well as the Telepathy equivalent
- PSIONICS INSERTION can now be used on the Army channel
- Several previously-hidden afflictions are now properly visible on AFFLICTION LIST
- WISHing for a resistance now has a line on DEFENCES
- NAUSEA afflicted by fractures will now grant kill credit to the proper killer
- The VENERATION miracle now conveys the proper crit bonus
- Veiled Depthswalkers who are Tsol’aa will no longer find themselves revealed upon leaving the forests
- Certain deaths that were hidden from the Death Keeper’s mask artefact will now display properly
- The AGITH’MAAL legenddeck card may no longer be used from outer islands
- IGNITION CRUCIBLEs will no longer persist indefinitely when forsaking fire
- DEVOTION ILLUMINATION may no longer be used to cross planar boundaries
- The TRIXY legenddeck card may no longer be used from outer islands
- Seasone’s pocketflasks will no longer prevent players from logging out for their duration
- Ship crews and adornments will no longer find their way mysteriously into the wilderness
- Damage from the MAYA FIGURINE talisman will no longer carry over to city guards, mounts, or player falcons
- BECALM now respects the Ama-maalier legenddeck card
- Guards will no longer mysteriously change from one guard type to another
- EMULATION DESTRUCTION can no longer be used on a player that is already dead
- Players can no longer see UPCOMING INFO for organisations they are not a member of
- Tentacle and other similar abilities now respect the Ama-maalier legenddeck card
- Monks can no longer use DELIVERANCE while using the Yuthka legenddeck card
- The GENEROSITY affliction will no longer cause you to hand random players items from across the world
- EFFERVESCENCE now has a message upon fading for all players in the room
- Abrupt disconnects will no longer cause a Gem of Cloaking to remain active indefinitely
- Players with classes forbidden by their city will no longer be unable to induct new citizens
- PSIONICS VANISH will no longer fail to hide a player’s movements at random intervals
- City-loyal denizens will no longer speak with inconsistent ellipses upon death
- The RUDOLPHO legenddeck card now properly affects speech in all circumstances
- GLAMOURS created by the Shar’ilian lightspire artefact now last the proper number of months before decaying
- The TENTS command will now list all Shop of Wonders tents you own
- The EARRINGS command will now list all earrings of Sinope you own, as well as their partners
- Channel histories can now be checked while on any non-treacherous plane
- Players may no longer escape toading or maggoting by prevailing into an elemental form
- The CULLING BLADE will no longer randomly fail to hit a third target, where applicable
**Categories:** Bug Fixes
---
### [Adventure Rewards!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/05/adventure-rewards)
**Published:** April 5, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
While we’ve been adding more and more tasks into the Adventure system this week we’ve also been discussing what the rewards will be…
Head over to [our forums](https://forums.achaea.com/discussion/6677/next-big-thing-engagement#latest), check out the updates, and join the conversation!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [Quarter 2 Classleads!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/07/quarter-2-classleads)
**Published:** April 7, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The pursuit for perfect combat balance continues with a new round of classleads! Submissions are made, endorsements and censures have been given, decisions and designs await!
For those of you unfamiliar with the classlead process (or who would just like a refresher), here are the basics:
– Classleads are anonymous.
– Each person can submit up to five classlead reports. Please do not utilise alternative characters to bypass this limit: I will be annoyed.
– Your reports should supply reasoning alongside the perceived problem: if something is too strong/weak, you should always state why. It’s best to avoid drawing comparisons to other classes, although sometimes this is appropriate. Use your best judgement!
– You should attempt to supply multiple solutions (where applicable – some cases are fairly cut and dry).
There are full details along with command breakdowns under [HELP CLASSLEADS](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1213) and the CLASSLEAD command!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [Fragmentation](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/16/fragmentation)
**Published:** April 16, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The earth shakes and the stone breaks. As the Underrealm barrier weakened by the effort of some unknown collaborator working hand in hand with the reviled Tsol’teth, fragments of shattered stone fell across Achaea, empowering denizens and adventurers alike as conflict erupted for control of the remnants.
It shone in the black. A blinding beacon, a light seemingly alone in the night, surrounded by myriad others all adrift in the darkness, all together as one. A single, united whole, its existence determined by the nature of its task, set down in the moment of its creation and imbuement.
Then from whence came the pressure? At first it was small. Probing. Weak, even. But then it grew. And grew until abruptly, suddenly, there was a mind directing the aberration upon the beacon. A falsehood, a trick. And something was wrong. Something had lessened it, weakened the strength of the beacon, without any noticing. It had come from elsewhere. This was in error. This was not meant to be.
But it was too late.
The earthquake rocked Sapience, all the more dangerous in how it ranged from no one single point, but from multiple origins all acting in concert. Likewise, the effects of the earthquake were felt across the full span of the continent, a disaster that altered the lives of many. And as the earthquake finally stilled, the ominous absence of aftershocks a palpable one, the first Achaeans stumbled across the quicksilver fragments of shattered stone left behind.
As the first blows were struck in a burgeoning, bloody conflict over possession of the mysterious fragments, information was sought as much or more than the stone shards themselves. Whether it was the agreement struck between Targossas and Zsarachnor, advice sought from Ezekial by Ashtan, or Jirken’s mad experimentation in the depths of Baelgrim, adventurers searched high and low for clues to what had happened, and what might come next.
Hycanthus says, “Have you considered attempting to shatter one? The release of energies would no doubt, if adequately measured, provide all manner of detailed information about their origin and purpose.”
Lyaeus, the travelling bard says, “Why, what would I know? We live in interesting times. Yes, interesting times indeed!”
Apollonia says, “Whence five doth rule, and earth’s bared maw, gapes to consume the mule, all returns to naught.”
A fisherman says, “Look see here, fancy lizard man, I ain’t got time to discuss no weird rocks. If I don’t get my fish, then I don’t eat dinner.”
A crying child exclaims, “I want my mummy back!”
Angela, the Theran mayor says, “No, I’m not interested in handing it over. This might be the key to destroying Tir Murann!”
Zsarachnor, the Vampire Lord says, “A bargain was made. I am nobility, and nobility keeps its word.”
A fishwife says, “The sky is falling, obviously! Now if you’d stop bothering me, I’m going to go and make an offering to the proper God. I just want my family to be safe.”
Yudhishthira says, “Get out.”
Penelope roars fiercely.
A dedicated scribe has suffered the fatal consequences of facing a weretigress in the ritual of the hunt.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Classlead Changes Round 1](https://www.achaea.com/2017/01/11/classlead-changes-round-1)
**Published:** January 11, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Makarios has been hard at work going over all your classlead submissions and comments, and the first round of changes is now live!
This batch features changes to the following skills: Aeonics, Alchemy, Artifice, Chivalry, Domination, Dragoncraft, Evileye, Shindo, Striking, Subterfuge, and Terminus!
**READNEWS ANNOUNCE 4706** for all the details!
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [A Lethal Configuration](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/21/a-lethal-configuration)
**Published:** April 21, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Ever stepped away from Achaea for a few months, only to come back and die to the newest class addition or instakill? If you can answer yes to this, read on!
We’ve just added **CONFIG COLOUR LETHALS** to our configuration options which highlights all channelled attacks that will end in death! If you are a new player or someone who struggles to keep up with the evolution of Achaea’s combat, this can be a massive help to see what’s going on in raids without third party highlighting or triggers!
Because this could be a detriment to those fighters who like to befuddle and confuse with illusions, we’ve added the LETHAL(S) tag that will colour any illusion to match the target’s configured lethals colour!
Simply prepend your illusion with LETHAL or LETHALS (case sensitive) to use it!
Bear in mind this will not work on area-wide or further reaching illusions enabled by the Shar’illian Lightspire.
**Categories:** Game Updates, New Systems
---
### [Barriers Broken](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/22/barriers-broken)
**Published:** April 22, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The carefully maintained barrier in the Underrealm has fallen. The Tsol’teth and their dark tide have returned to the overland…
Deep within the earth, amaranthine tendrils flood the passageways of the Underrealm. Be it hall, cavern, grotto or tunnel, all know this simple truism: the Lords of the Underrealm, masters of that which is beneath the surface, are the Tsol’teth.
Decades of preparation had gone into this moment, ever since their victory over Tezlari-tarin in the birth of the Genesis and consignment of Falaq-maal to an ignominious defeat.
Study of the Dragon archmage’s work, and the words that would subvert his brilliant, arcane creation.
The bargain of power, made by the Thirst with the herds of Tezlari-tarin, and the designation of the Collaborator.
The Collaborator’s work in harmony with the designs of the Tsol’teth, unknown and undetected by those around.
Acquisition of that most precious commodity by the Sword of Hate. Divine essence, torn from the unworthy upon the battleground of Nishnatoba, where their path began. Its mystery impenetrable, but its use undeniable.
Acceleration of instability was accounted for.
The Dark Hate would be supported by the Meld.
A titanic roar of triumph shook the very ground beneath Balan’ukia as Ama-maalier rose to serve as an Avatar of Tlalaiad, the Genesis.
\*
It shone in the black. A blinding beacon, a light seemingly alone in the night, surrounded by myriad others all adrift in the darkness, all together as one. Its existence was determined by the nature of its task, set down in the moment of its creation and imbuement.
In a time past, the barrier was complete, focused. A unified whole. But it had been lessened. Anchors once strong were broken, shattered. It was fragmented, fracturing. There came a piercing strike, as of a sword assaulting the very fabric of its substance. A triumphant roar of victory, an assault of strength greater than anything that had before been felt.
In a time past, the barrier could perhaps have contained it.
It was no longer that time.
The stones shattered, fragmenting into dozens upon dozens of fragments as the barrier crumpled in the face of the undeniable, an almighty earthquake rocking the ground of Sapience to hurl broken slivers far and wide across the land.
While adventurers across Sapience let loose a cry to the Mother of Dragons and embraced something Greater, the amaranthine currents of the Black Wave stretched forth to claim the Overland once more.
The Collaborator smiled.
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Escalation](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/23/escalation)
**Published:** April 23, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
In case you missed it on Public news, the Tsol’teth have a very particular set of demands. Ama-maalier posted these a few days ago, and has reiterated them with a particularly dire threat today.
*Your barrier is broken and our tide flows forth.
A taste of our might was afforded you on Nishnatoba, where some scant few overlanders cast aside the defining inadequacy of your kind and showed skill.
We dictate the acquisition of these specimens:
Tesha al Ashtad
Mhaldorus, a colossal daemon
Blu, the Guardian Dragon
The guardian abomination of shi-Ashtan
Atalkez Al’Jafri
Mezghar Al’Jafri
Taryius Lichlord
Astarod Blackstone
Ygia al-Mu’allima
Penwize Baker
We further dictate delivery of all persons proven worthy to hold the Staff of Nicator, barring the diminished Falaq-maal.
Finally, we require the immediate relinquishing of all knowledge purloined by the disgraced Falaq-maal.
Total compliance will result in the temporary delay of your inevitable processing. Defiance will result in swift destruction.*
Representatives and opinion holders alike responded with blanket refusal to these demands, causing the Fulcrum of the Meld to return to the Public news boards once again with this promise:
*Your refusal is determined, and its futility is recorded.
As you are proving recalcitrant in accepting your destined submission to us, a demonstration will be provided.
A glimpse of what awaits in your inevitable processing shall begin in fifty-four cycles of Tezlari-yumap across Tezlari-tarin.*
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Tsol'teth Law](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/26/tsolteth-law)
**Published:** April 26, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Demonstrating their might, as promised, to the gathered populace of Sapience, the Tsol’teth have occupied Cyrene, destroyed the Icerune crater, and spread their dark tidings throughout the streets.
After taking her place as Overlord of Cyrene, the First of Six, Ama-maalier informed the city of the new laws now in effect
1. *We are all One in the Meld.*
2. *The Overlord will not be displaced without permission of the Genesis.*
3. *Unsanctioned procreation is forbidden, at penalty of immediate processing.*
4. *All will submit to mandatory assessment and training for the purposes of advancing the Meld.*
5. *Those without worth will immediately submit to reprocessing, for the betterment of the Tsol’teth.*
6. *No creation with the gift of thought will be formed outside the Meld.*
7. *The Forbidden Art will remain so, save for the burdened few.*
8. *The line of Gattan’lier will settle all cases where the law is deemed ambiguous.*
To read the battle account of the occupation, head to our [events news](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Events&number=639)!
**Categories:** Event
---
### [Formal Adventuring!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/02/formal-adventuring)
**Published:** May 2, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
While you have adventures of your own every day in Achaea’s world, the game offers more than many have a chance to experience. With the introduction of the Adventure system, Phileo in Delos will be rewarding people who complete his varied tasks with renown!
But this isn’t just something that will give you bragging rights at your tavern of choice, renown can be spent on a variety of rewards, including gold, lessons, and even artefacts!
As of this release, there are currently four adventure themes: Conflict, Seafaring, Hunting, and Exploration/Questing.
Adventures are offered in a cyclical system. **The theme will change four times every in-game year. These changes will take place on the first day of Sarapin, Miraman, Valnuary, and Chronos.**
While a theme is active, you are able to choose whether you want an Easy, Medium, or Hard adventure. Once you’ve chosen, you have until the theme changes to complete it!
You might get an adventure that is too difficult or not to your taste. But do not fret! You can **REJECT** this adventure, which will allocate a new one for you for a gold cost. This can only be done once per theme period, however, so be careful!
Once you complete an adventure, you will gain renown. It is rewarded for the completion, and your current level of renown is available on **SCORE RESOURCES**.
- Easy adventures award 10 Renown
- Medium adventures award 20 Renown
- Hard adventures award 30 Renown
Renown does not decay, cannot be transferred or traded, and cannot be dropped.
Renown can be spent on the following rewards:
1 hour xp bonus (10%) – 10 renown
1 hour crit bonus (2%) – 10 renown
10,000 gold – 15 renown
6 lessons – 15 renown
30k gold cap increase – 20 renown
3 hour xp bonus (10%) – 25 renown
3 hour crit bonus (2%) – 25 renown
60 lessons – 140 renown
600 lessons – 1300 renown
an adventurer’s giftbox\* – 2000 renown
Notes regarding rewards:
1. The gold cap boost can only be purchased if you don’t already have one in effect.
2. XP and crit bonuses will extend the timer if you purchase more than one.
3. Artefacts from the adventurer’s giftbox **CAN NOT** be traded in.
Commands!
**ADVENTURE** – See the current theme and related commands.
**ADVENTURE EMBARK (EASY\|MEDIUM\|HARD)**– Choose your adventure.
A**DVENTURE REJECT** – Reroll your adventure, this has a gold cost and can only be done once per theme.
**ADVENTURE RECALL** – What adventure are you working on?
**SCORE RESOURCES** or **RENOWN** – See how much renown you have earned.
**ADVENTURE REWARDS LIST** – See what you can buy with your renown.
**ADVENTURE REWARDS CLAIM (reward)** – Spend your hard earned renown.
Note: We may add more themes as time goes on! Completion time, Renown, and prizes will be adjusted if this happens.
[HELP ADVENTURES](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?id=1469) has all of the details, and the giftbox prize list!
Have fun, and happy adventuring!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [Crusades Come to Achaea!](https://www.achaea.com/2016/12/24/1050)
**Published:** December 24, 2016
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
It would not be Achaean Christmas without a few surprises (sometimes pleasant, sometimes not), and 2016 is no exception. We’re very pleased to bring you the final phase of the shrine system, which we very much think shall fall into the former category!
Though you’ll be able to read all about it in [HELP CRUSADES](http://client.achaea.com/HELP%20CRUSADES), Crusading will allow you to band together with your fellow order members and battle upon the battlefield of Nishnatoba.
Strategise to undermine your enemies, stealing the essence of their God so that they may struggle to raise their shrines upon the Prime while you spend the essence on various miracles, even become an Avatar of your God!
**Categories:** New Systems
---
### [An Eyewizard's Account](https://www.achaea.com/2019/04/26/an-eyewizards-account)
**Published:** April 26, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
At the behest of Yudhishthira, Conclave leader, and occasional formidable red dragon Mage, the wizard Hycanthus has offered this annotated account of the siege of Cyrene:
My Lord Dragon,
Per your extraordinarily (some might say ridiculously) explicit and detailed instructions to me (instead of to somebody far better suited to this sort of thing), I have collected this recording for confirmation and inclusion to the accumulated knowledge of the Conclave despite how much it has taken me away from my preferred research (repeatedly). I have included a limited record of Coalition commentary (but I don’t see why). Additional communications captured by a Telepathy Helm are secured behind the customary spells of concealment (for whatever reason). I have included notations on aspects that our Conclave may wish to investigate and study in the future (which is the only thing I think we should be interested in).
\*
Riven by some malevolent external force, the tunnel-entrance to Cyrene collapses violently into ruin alongside a deafening crash.
A pair of dark figures appear in the mountains overlooking Cyrene, twin silhouettes cast into sharp relief by the moonlight as they tread with nonchalant indifference over the newly sundered debris.
The fractal barrier surrounding Cyrene glows with renewed purpose, surging and swirling with radiant defiance.
*(It appears that our work survived past its destruction! We should be commended for its resilience. I believe I was responsible for that part.)*
Undeterred, the voice of Ama-maalier rises to an imperious timbre of command, intoning with utmost clarity, “Elud’hailqad.”
*(I believe this to be a hitherto-unknown enunciation of their Terminus arts. If they can command such added abilities unknown to the studies of Sapience, what other hidden powers might they possess? Our records already show the assault upon Ashtan and the death of Gattan’lier as accompanying a devastating earthquake. Possibly hidden research? It may provide interesting avenues of study in the greater levels of destruction they seem capable of unleashing!)*
The piercing tones of Gattan’bahar ring out as the Secret Storm joins the disquieting chorus. The two raise their weapons and step forward.
Countless writhing shadows churn to life, roiling about the Tsol’teth women in ominous waves of un-light, the haggard faces of Adrik, Mezghar, and Tynil visible amidst the gloam.
Ama-maalier utters an unspoken command and touches the tip of her sword to the blazing barrier. The shield flickers and the shadow stirs, blank visages coalescing in vague fascimiles of Taryius, Lii, and Iloisee before deliquescing and reforming anew.
Ammar, Zugath, and Krizal manifest in the darkness, twisted faces bound by ancient magic as the animate shade leaps forward as one abhorrent unit, hammering at the glowing shield in a silent frenzy of unrelenting blows. In moments, the barrier groans a sickening death knell before exploding in a shower of prismatic shards.
The figures of Silon’ukia and Terrin’tuuran appear, flanking the Dark Hate and Secret Storm as the Tsol’teth quartet look down over Cyrene from their mountainous vantage.
Morose silence descends, and Ama-maalier steps forward, beckoning her cadre of three to follow and observe.
Primal terror is all you know as the indomitable tones of The Dark Hate thunder throughout Creation, “Hwarak alshamar osang rach haahl! Kwarak alshamar osang rach haahl! In the name of the eternal darkness, you will all obey ME! Turn on your brethren! Turn on those you love! Slay them all! Hwarak alshamar osang rach haahl”
*(Naturally, this is a demonstration of their Litany of Obedience at its fullest level. Histories demarcate it as the same Litany that devastated the forces of Seleucar when unleashed by Overlord Agith’maal. In any invasion upon a city – in this case Cyrene, rather than Imperial Seleucar – employment of the Litany is retrospectively obvious. With the clustering about their guards, their slaughter was assured. The Tsol’teth have probably observed usual responses and gathering points. Do you think the surviving cities have adjusted their tactics and forces accordingly?)*
Enraptured by the dread litany, the guards of Cyrene fall to confusion, eyes filled with shadow and smoke. Imperial guardsmen, venerable monks, runic knights, and mountain archers ready themselves for battle, dashing troubadours crooning a baleful anthem in the Tsol’teth tongue all the while.
*(Following the death of Cyrene’s defenders, the Tsol’teth appear to have focused their attention upon the Greater Eidolon and Guardian Dragon, Blu. My Lord Dragon, I suggest that if they show interest in you we take precautions to ensure you are not assailed. You have intimated some knowledge of the Dark Hate on prior occasions. Perhaps this could leverage at least a standoff? Not that I would like living in a volcano, but I would take it over death by rose-coloured fog.)*
An ear-splitting roar thunders across Sapience as the Guardian Dragon attempts to resist the litany’s call.
Unfurling his mighty wings, Blu attempts to take flight but it is in vain: coils of living shadow twine about the draconic figure, suffocating the anguished, agonised howl he looses as captivity takes hold.
*(Some Cyrenians attempted to make their guards return to the fold by simply shouting at them. Did they actually think defying the Litany would be that easy?!)*
An eerie hymn lifted by the raised voices of a thousand nereids heralds a churning, frothing wave that rises from the depths to wash over and across Cyrene, leaving only a swirling mist in its wake.
*(Assistance from their City’s Patron, no doubt. It didn’t help much.)*
The unyielding tones of Gattan’bahar exude preternatural conviction as she calls out, “Begin.”
*(In the interests of not drowning this record beneath the flood of deaths entering the hall of the Finality, although I am sure you would enjoy watching me write down every single one, I have removed what we all viewed via our attunement to the realms of death.)*
The blazing tones of Sir Eril Rian-Moonshadow, Hand of Phaestus’s voice scorch through the air, “Cowards!”
*(Frankly I have no idea why he would be shouting something so ridiculous. Their deliberate engagement was hardly cowardly. Unless he mistook cowardice for confidence.)*
\[Captured Communication\] (The Coalition of Sapience): Penwize says, “The Tsol’teth are currently destroying shrines to Neraeos, and raising shrines to Tlalaiad. Not shrines of the meld, actual Divine Shrines.”
The unyielding tones of Gattan’bahar exude preternatural conviction as she calls out, “Victory is at hand. Do not falter.”
*(Why the reinforcements from the Coalition did not act to damage or defile the raised shrines, or prevent the Tsol’teth from completing their work, I am not sure. Perhaps they were blind to the possibility? Or perhaps their battlefield commanders were not informed?)*
Deadly intent is manifest in every word as Kaama’lier decrees, “By my reckoning, all of you qualify as non combatants.”
*(Anecdotally, it appears that what the Tsol’teth refer to as their “Main Line Five” are superior in might and prowess to the lesser warriors. Defeat or death of any one of these is probably a much more difficult prospect. But in almost all cases, there was no recorded use of their Aeonics. It is extraordinarily powerful and potent. Why not use it? It’s not as if anything could go wrong.)*
The unyielding tones of Gattan’bahar exude preternatural conviction as she calls out, “The sixth has fallen.”
The unyielding tones of Gattan’bahar exude preternatural conviction as she calls out, “Secure the city.”
Deadly intent is manifest in every word as Kaama’lier decrees, “To me!”
*(This instruction to his fellow Tsol’teth led to them gathering at the Centre Crossing. Then they killed everybody else.)*
*(I am reasonably sure that it was near this point when the telepathic oversoul of Cyrene, and its associated channels, began to falter. Perhaps an indication of the city itself weakening?)*
Plumes of smoke trail into the sky over Cyrene as the entire city weeps under the weight of protracted battle. In the ruinous aftermath, Ama-maalier and Silon’ukia descend from the mountains, pacing lock-step through the streets as they survey their newly conquered lands.
*(The Dark Hate and Thirst seem to occupy an administrative role, rather than as soldiers or combatants. Although their personal ability is still by any measure quite absurd. I wonder what they would be like to study?)*
Deadly intent is manifest in every word as Kaama’lier decrees, “Few qualify for processing. Failure is abject.”
*(I wonder what they mean by processing. Many of their visages appear as union of Tsol with another race. Do you have insight, Lord Dragon?)*
Lady of the Crossing Tesha al Ashtad, the Dawn’s Resolve shouts, “It was never about whether we succeed or not. The warriors of Creation have stood against you, will stand against you, and will always stand against you. You will never break us.”
*(The Targossians then departed Cyrene rather than continue standing. The present Lady of the Crossing surrendered the Staff of Nicator to Gattan’bahar before leaving.)*
Traversing Ministrickle Road, Gattan’bahar joins the parade of conquest, the three Tsol’teth turning their eyes upon the Icerune Crater. Ama-maalier simply nods.
Primal terror is all you know as the indomitable tones of The Dark Hate thunder throughout Creation, “Bring the Dragon.”
*(Not you.)*
Acquiescing to the Dark Hate’s command, waves of living shadow drag the bound and captured form of Blu before the Icerune Crater, his once-majestic form diminished from the Tsol’teth onslaught.
Opening her mouth a mere fraction, Ama-maalier directs a portion of her might at the Guardian Dragon, her expression cold and remorseless as she imposes her will upon the helpless prisoner.
A wan, fatigued roar echoes across the City of Cyrene as Blu, the Guardian Dragon once more attempts and fails to resist the litany’s call.
Primal rage manifests in the Dragon’s eyes, a rabid frenzy absent of all conscience or mercy. The shadows binding him withdraw, and, drawing himself up to his full height, Blu swiftly manoeuvres his massive draconic form, bringing his immense tail crashing into the Icerune Crater, shattering the font with a single explosive blow.
His initial purpose served, the Guardian Dragon howls as he finds himself once more inexorably bound in shadows, shackled and ignored amid a nest of font fragments.
*(They didn’t destroy the Font themselves?)*
Apparently satisfied, the Dark Hate and her retinue withdraw to the Imperiate’s chambers. In their wake, the forces of Anzari-tarin dispatch their guards and begin to establish a perimeter.
*(I have considered attempting to penetrate the walls of Cyrene and take records of what they are doing. However, I am also not an idiot.)*
Primal terror is all you know as the indomitable tones of The Dark Hate thunder throughout Creation, “Conquered Overlanders, the Law is laid out. It shall be heeded.”
*(She refers of course to new laws imposed by the Tsol’teth. I have included them below.)*
1. We are all One in the Meld.
2. The Overlord will not be displaced without permission of the Genesis.
3. Unsanctioned procreation is forbidden, at penalty of immediate processing.
4. All will submit to mandatory assessment and training for the purposes of advancing the Meld.
5. Those without worth will immediately submit to reprocessing, for the betterment of the Tsol’teth.
6. No creation with the gift of thought will be formed outside the Meld.
7. The Forbidden Art will remain so, save for the burdened few.
8. The line of Gattan’lier will settle all cases where the law is deemed ambiguous.
*(I have not included the shouted refusals. But what is the Forbidden Art? I am so very curious! And no creations with the gift of thought either. Are they still mad about that?)*
\*
With this, my record comes to an end (finally), and I will be returning to my studies (which I didn’t want to be taken from in the first place).
– Hycanthus of the Conclave
**Categories:** Event
---
### [More Classleads!](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/10/more-classleads)
**Published:** May 10, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Achaea’s pursuit of perfect balance continues apace as another round of classleads were submitted, weighed, and judged! This latest batch of updates includes changes for Occultists, Psions, and Blademasters!
**Domination**
\* Base damage of LYCANTHA has been reduced. This should bring the up front dps more into line with other classes – the scaling currently remains unchanged, but I’m happy to revisit this if required.
**Elementalism**
\* MAGMASPHERE will now always break at least one limb upon detonation.
**Ignition**
\* VAPOURISE now flares brands when it successfully strips a magical shield.
**Occultism**
\* INSTILL now shows the affliction delivered to the user.
**Psionics**
\* Durations of VANISH have been increased slightly. Ten additional seconds for partial, five for total.
\* You can no longer PSI MANIPULATE the use of GEMS OF NEGATION.
**Twoarts**
\* ARASH no longer makes you take more damage vs denizens than vs players.
\* ARASH has had its penalty vs denizen-sourced damage reduced.
**Zeal**
\* PURGE now does increased damage against a target with the SPIRITBURN affliction. This affliction is consumed in the process.
\* There is now an optional argument to permit the delaying of SALVATION, causing the effect to activate two seconds later rather than immediately.
**Categories:** Classleads
---
### [A Deadline Looms](https://www.achaea.com/2019/05/08/a-deadline-looms)
**Published:** May 8, 2019
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
The Tsol’teth Ama-maalier addressed the overland on the [public newsboard](https://www.achaea.com/news/?game=Achaea§ion=Public&number=20397) with updated demands and a deadline which approaches soon…
Our Tide crests higher and grows stronger with the passing of each cycle. We hold shi-Cyrene and nahu-s-hailqas-Cyrene is cast aside. We are joined by shi-Hashan, shi-Moghedu, and shi-Targossas.
Your conflict with us spurs growth, and our lines will grow. Growth of our lines expands our Meld. Your attempt at resistance has failed.
We dictate the acquisition of these remaining specimens:
– Penwize Baker
– The guardian abomination of shi-Ashtan
– Mhaldorus, a colossal daemon
Finally, we reiterate our dictation of the immediate relinquishing of all knowledge purloined by the disgraced Falaq-maal.
We dictate to Tezlari-tarin a deadline: the sixth cycle of your month called Scarlatan, 800 years after Seleucar’s fall.
Total compliance will result in the temporary delay of your inevitable processing. Continued defiance will result in necessary acquisitions.
**Categories:** Event
---
## Pages
### [Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands](https://www.achaea.com/)
**Published:** October 31, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
# The World’s Premiere MUD & Text-Based RPG
 #### [ Iron Realms Entertainment Presents ](http://www.ironrealms.com "Iron Realms Entertainment Presents")
[ Play Now ](http://play.achaea.com) [ Create a Character ](http://play.achaea.com/?create=true)**Dive into the world of Achaea using the Nexus Client, [now accessible on Android and iOS.](https://www.ironrealms.com/the-nexus-client/) Ignite your gaming passion from any location.**
## Why Play Achaea?
Achaea has been under constant development since 1995 and has been called **one of the most immersive games ever made**!
## Latest Achaean News
[  ](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/14/new-discord-contest "New Discord contest!")### [New Discord contest!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/14/new-discord-contest "New Discord contest!")
##### May 14, 2026
A new Discord contest is live. Write a case for your favourite denizen to win the Staff and you could earn up to 500 credits. [Read More →](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/14/new-discord-contest "Read More") [  ](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/13/communications "Communications")### [Communications](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/13/communications "Communications")
##### May 13, 2026
All in-game communication in Achaea is permanently logged. If you have concerns, contact ictinus@achaea.com or jeremy@ironrealms.com directly. [Read More →](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/13/communications "Read More") [  ](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69 "Updates")### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69 "Updates")
##### May 12, 2026
Room owners can now appoint a sculptor to apply custom NDS embellishments to their plinth. Completed statues and sculptures can no longer be picked up and used as weapons. [Read More →](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69 "Read More")## “No other type of game has even come close to what Achaea has been able to offer me, and no other MUD has compared.”
##### Utianima, Serpent of Eleusis
## “The freedom of choice and the possibilities in the game are endless.”
##### Centi Celes’Ciel, Druid of Eleusis
## “The rich game histories, the twists of politics, the debates of religion, the epic storytelling… “
##### Aerek Ancyrion, rogue Blademaster
Stay in the loop Patch notes, world events, and updates from Achaea – delivered to your inbox.
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**Marketing permission:** I give my consent to Iron Realms to contact me via email for news and updates. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please accept the marketing permission. SubscribeUnsubscribe at any time via the link at the bottom of any email.
## What’s a MUD?
- They’re like text-based MMOs.
- Smaller, tighter, *friendlier* communities.
- Considered **more immersive** by many in the same way a book vs. a movie is.
- MUDs are for gamers who appreciate game design over graphics.
## Did you know?
MUDs were invented in 1979 by Dr. Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw! Achaea itself launched in 1997, in the same month that Ultima Online launched. We’ve been going strong ever since, under non-stop development.
 The Nexus Client – the best way to play Achaea. http://play.achaea.com ## One Does Not Simply Walk Into Achaea.
Instead, one hits this button to play our MUD. Much easier, you have to admit.
[ PLAY NOW ](http://play.achaea.com) [ CREATE A CHARACTER ](http://play.achaea.com/?create=true)Achaea is one of the incredible free games developed and operated by [Iron Realms Entertainment](http://www.ironrealms.com) – the world leader in MUDs.
- ##### [Privacy Policy](https://www.ironrealms.com/privacy-policy/)
- ##### [Support](http://www.achaea.com/support)
- ##### [Terms of Service](http://www.achaea.com/tos)
- ##### [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/IronRealms/)
---
### [Credits](https://www.achaea.com/credits)
**Published:** March 17, 2017
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
---
### [What Are MUDs? A Look Inside One That Has Run Since 1997](https://www.achaea.com/what-are-muds)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
A MUD, short for Multi-User Dungeon, is a text-based multiplayer online game where everyone shares one persistent world, types commands to act, and reads the results as written descriptions. MUDs are the original massively multiplayer online RPGs. They arrived roughly two decades before the first graphical MMO.
That is the category. It tells you nothing about what a MUD game is like once a few thousand people have spent decades pulling at it. Achaea opened in September 1997, the same month as Ultima Online, and it has never closed for a redesign. So instead of describing the genre from a distance, this page shows you one from the inside.
## What a MUD game looks like on your screen
Nothing gets rendered, so the world arrives as prose. You walk into a room and the game tells you where you are and what is in there with you.
```
Ashtan, the Grand Aetherway.
A wide boulevard of black stone runs north toward the harbour. Its
gutters still run from the morning's rain. Shuttered stalls line
both sides, and the water has left their awnings sagging.
You see a grizzled town crier here.
There are 3 obvious exits: north, east and southwest.
```
Type `north` and the next room arrives. Type `look at crier` and you get a paragraph about the crier: what he is wearing, what he is shouting about, whether he looks like anyone has paid him recently. Once a handful of verbs stop feeling like a foreign language, you quit reading the interface and start reading the place. That is usually the week people either give up or lose the next several years.
### Your imagination does the rendering
No art team decides what your character looks like. You write that description yourself, and everyone who looks at you reads exactly what you wrote. The same goes for the ship you buy, the sword a player-crafter forged for you, and the shrine your religious order raised in contested territory. Player-made content in Achaea is not cosmetic. It is the world other people walk through.
## How a MUD differs from the things people confuse it with
MUDs get filed next to Zork on one side and modern graphical MMOs on the other. They sit in neither box cleanly.
| | MUD | Text adventure (Zork) | Graphical MMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Hundreds at once, one shared world | One | Thousands, split across servers |
| Time | Real-time. The world moves without you | Turn-based. The world waits | Real-time |
| Interface | Typed commands, written output | Typed commands, written output | Mouse, hotbars, camera |
| New content | A developer can ship a system in a week | Fixed at release | Patch cycles and paid expansions |
| World state | Player governments, player economies, permanent history | Static puzzle | Instances that mostly reset |
| Where the depth goes | Systems, because there is no art budget | Puzzle design | Visuals and combat feel |
The middle column is the one people get wrong most often. Zork is you against a fixed puzzle box, and it will sit there patiently while you think. Achaea will not. While you are still reading a room description, someone is sailing into the harbour, an order is consecrating a shrine three rooms east, and a Serpent is deciding whether you look worth the trouble.
## MUDs came first, and then they kept going
Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle wrote the first MUD at the University of Essex in 1978, on a mainframe, for people sitting at university terminals. Almost every convention that modern MMO players take for granted started there: persistent characters, shared servers, chat channels, levels, guilds, killing each other over loot.
When graphical MMOs arrived in the late nineties, plenty of people assumed the text ones would quietly fold. The good ones kept building instead. A MUD ships without an art pipeline or a client patch cycle, so one developer can sketch a system on Tuesday and put it in front of players by Friday. That release speed compounds. Nearly three decades of it produce a game nobody has finished exploring, including the people who wrote it.
### What “MUD” stands for
MUD stands for Multi-User Dungeon. Trubshaw took the name from DUNGEN, a mainframe version of Zork that was floating around Essex at the time. The dungeon part stuck long after most MUDs stopped being about dungeons. Achaea has an ocean to sail, six independent nations, working mines, and a continent that opened up through a mountain pass. There are also dungeons, if that is what you came for.
## What nearly three decades of one MUD adds up to
None of this launched finished. Every system below went in, got broken by players doing something nobody planned for, and got rebuilt around what they had done.
### Six nations, run by players who campaigned for the job
Ashtan, Cyrene, Eleusis, Hashan, Mhaldor and Targossas are city-states with functioning governments, and players hold every office. Each city runs ten ministries covering war, trade, diplomacy, maritime affairs and the rest. They write laws, levy taxes, prosecute citizens, sign treaties and break them.
None of it is scripted. Someone campaigns for a council seat for a month, wins, and spends the term arbitrating a border dispute and a treasury shortfall. Govern badly and the citizenry removes you, though in Mhaldor the removal tends to be less procedural than elsewhere. Politics in a text world with a few hundred people online gets unreasonably vicious, and it is why a lot of players are still here after ten years.
### Gods played by staff, not scripts
Achaea’s gods are characters run by real people on the development team, and they walk into rooms. You can join a Divine Order, work up through its ranks, and build a shrine network that channels your patron’s power into contested ground. Orders feud with each other. Gods take sides in mortal politics, occasionally to everyone’s regret. Ask long-time players what kept them, and a conversation with a god comes up more often than any mechanic does.
### Combat that tracks dozens of afflictions at once
Achaea’s PvP runs on afflictions and cures. Each of the 21 classes carries roughly a hundred abilities, and most exist to put a specific problem on someone or take one off yourself. A Serpent works through venoms and wormholes, a Shaman curses you through a vodun doll, and a Sylvan calls the forest down on you.
The depth is in the bookkeeping. Watch what three afflictions do when they land in the right order:
```
You have been afflicted with anorexia.
You have been afflicted with slickness.
You have been afflicted with asthma.
```
Anorexia means you cannot eat a herb. Slickness means you cannot apply a salve. Asthma means you cannot smoke a pipe. Every route to curing yourself is now shut at once, and your opponent sequenced it deliberately to get there. Serious players write their own curing scripts to manage that priority queue, which means a duel is half a fight between two people and half a fight between two systems those people wrote. Text imposes no rendering ceiling on that kind of complexity, which is why it lives here and not in graphical games.
### And everything else that piled up
**Sailing.** Buy a ship or crew someone else’s, then sail out past the coast to hunt sea monsters, run cargo between ports, or wait quietly for a merchant who is carrying something worth taking.
**Mining.** Open a mine, staff it, and pull out the raw material the entire crafting economy runs on. Mines get raided. Regional strongholds tax every mine inside their reach, which gives armies a reason to want them.
**Dragonhood.** At level 99 you can become a Greater Dragon in one of six colours. That unlocks 35 abilities spanning breath weapons, physical attacks, flight and travel between planes, and it works as an entire second class layered over the one you already have.
**14 races and 21 classes**, with multiclassing, so nobody is stuck forever with a decision they made in their first ten minutes.
## How to try one
Achaea runs in a browser. Nothing to download, and it is free to start. It also runs through the Nexus client on iOS and Android, with your settings and scripts saved server-side so they follow you between devices.
New arrivals begin in a guided introduction covering movement, combat, trade and the command set before it turns you loose in Sapience. If you would rather read first, the [beginner’s guide](https://www.achaea.com/newbie-guide) walks through character creation, the [class list](https://www.achaea.com/classes) covers all 21 in detail, and the [city-states](https://www.achaea.com/city-states) page explains who you might end up swearing loyalty to.
Achaea is free to play. Most people who bounce off it do so inside the first hour. Most people who make it past the first week are still here a year later. Achaea is one of five worlds published by [Iron Realms](https://www.ironrealms.com/mud-games/), if you want to see the rest of the genre.
## Ready to play?
[Play Achaea now](https://play.achaea.com)
## Common questions about MUDs
**Are MUDs still played in 2026?**
Yes. Dozens are under active development and hundreds more are playable. Achaea has run continuously since September 1997, still ships new content most weeks, and has a few hundred players online at peak.
**Are MUDs free to play?**
Most are, and Achaea is. You can make a character and start playing without paying anything. Achaea sells credits that convert into skills and items, and players trade credits among themselves for in-game gold, so you can buy them with time instead of money.
**Do I need to download anything?**
Not for Achaea. It runs in any modern browser through the Nexus client, and the same client is on iOS and Android. Settings and scripts save server-side, so your setup follows you between devices. Plenty of veterans use a desktop client like Mudlet instead, but that is preference, not requirement.
**How hard is a MUD to learn?**
The first week is rough, and pretending otherwise would be a disservice. You will die to things you had no idea could kill you, and the command set takes a few hours to stop feeling like a foreign language. Achaea’s introduction sequence covers the basics, and the cities compete for new players, so a question on the newbie channel usually gets three answers and somebody offering to take you hunting.
**Can I play a MUD on my phone?**
Yes. Achaea’s Nexus client works on iOS and Android with the same account, settings and scripts you use on desktop. The interface is cramped for serious combat, but it is fine for conversation, travel, roleplay and most of what a new player does.
---
### [How to Play Achaea: A Beginner's Guide](https://www.achaea.com/newbie-guide)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
Achaea has been running since 1997. That is not a selling point so much as context: you are stepping into nearly twenty-nine years of accumulated history, player-built politics, and a combat system that veterans are still learning after years of play. Your first session will be confusing. This guide will help.
What follows is a practical reference for new players. It covers connecting to the game, the tutorial, your first choices, the commands you will use constantly, and what to do once you are out in the world.
## Getting Connected to Achaea
The easiest way to play is the Nexus client, which runs in any modern browser with no download required. Click Play Now at the top of this page, or go directly to [play.achaea.com](https://play.achaea.com). Nexus works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile. Other client options are available from [achaea.com/how-to-connect](https://www.achaea.com/how-to-connect).
## The Tutorial: Escape from Miba and the Cultist’s Conspiracy
Every newcomer begins with a two-part interactive tutorial called Escape from Miba and the Cultist’s Conspiracy. It teaches the core commands through a guided story and takes most new players twenty to thirty minutes. During it you will pick up some starting gear, learn basic movement and combat, and choose your race.
The tutorial is linear and simple. Achaea after it is neither of those things.
**Commands available during the tutorial:**
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `HINT` | Repeats the hint for your current stage |
| `HELP TRIAL` | Lists tutorial commands and helpful info |
| `SPEEDUP` / `SLOWDOWN` | Speeds or slows the tutorial |
| `HINTSON` / `HINTSOFF` | Turns hints on or off |
| `NEWBIEON` | Turns on the newbie channel so you can ask for help |
| `NEWBIE ` | Asks for help on the newbie channel |
One important step once the tutorial is complete: type `REGISTER`. This protects your character from being deleted due to inactivity and is the only way to recover a lost password. Do it before anything else.
## What is Achaea?
In Achaea, you take on the role of a single mortal character called an adventurer. Through their life, you play the game. Your adventurer is shaped by choices: gender, race, class, and the organisations they join. They may join a City, a House, or a Divine Order.
To act in Achaea, you give your adventurer commands: walk, fight, explore, examine, speak. Everything in the game flows from typed commands.
### Roleplaying
In Achaea, you play the role of your character, not yourself. Your character lives in the world of Achaea and knows nothing about computers, the internet, or anything outside that world. Stay in-character (IC) in public spaces. Going out-of-character (OOC) in public can have administrative consequences. If another player warns you about “insanity,” that is the in-game term for OOC behaviour. Read `HELP ROLEPLAYING` and `HELP INSANITY` for the full rules.
### Rooms, Directions, Denizens, Items
**Rooms:** The world of Achaea is divided into discrete locations called rooms. A room might be a stretch of coastline, a woodland path, or a building interior. Rooms connect to each other in ways that match their geography.
**Directions:** Move between rooms by typing the direction: N, S, E, W, UP, DOWN, IN, OUT, and the diagonals NE, NW, SE, SW. Sometimes doors, gates, or portals are in the way.
**Denizens:** Denizens are the non-player inhabitants of Achaea. Also called NPCs, mobs, mobiles, or monsters. Many have things to say or sell. Quests often involve helping or harming specific denizens.
**Items and Inventory:** Everything that is not a denizen and does not move much is an item: weapons, armour, herbs, books, clothing, containers. You can wear, wield, eat, drink, drop, or pick up items. [Artefacts](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=artefacts) are especially powerful items purchasable with credits.
## Commands
Commands are how you get things done in Achaea. The most important ones:
### Moving Around
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `N`, `S`, `E`, `W` | Move one room in that direction |
| `NE`, `NW`, `SE`, `SW` | Move diagonally |
| `UP` / `U` | Move up |
| `DOWN` / `D` | Move down |
| `IN` / `OUT` | Move in or out |
If a door is in the way: `OPEN DOOR NORTH` (or whichever direction). If water blocks the path: `SWIM NORTH`. Train Survival first before swimming or you can drown.
**Two special movement commands:**
`PORTALS`: Available to newbies at level 20 and under. Unlimited from levels 1 through 10. From levels 11 through 20 you have 20 uses remaining. At level 21 it is gone. Use it to reach safe newbie areas while you learn the world.
`WALK TO `: Available at any level. Moves you one step at a time toward a nearby landmark. Useful for learning your way around before you lose PORTALS access.
### Looking Around
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `LOOK` / `L` | Shows the room you are in, including exits, items, and other characters |
| `GLANCE` / `GL ` | Shows what is in an adjacent room without moving |
| `INV` / `I` | Shows your inventory and worn items |
| `INFO INV` / `II` | Same as INV with item ID numbers shown |
| `INFO HERE` / `IH` | Shows item ID numbers for things in your current room. Useful when attacking one specific target among many. |
### Communicating
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `SAY ` | Speak to everyone in your room |
| `TELL ` | Private message to any player anywhere |
| `NEWBIE ` | Global new-player channel. For questions, not chat. Use `NEWBIEON` / `NEWBIEOFF` to toggle. |
| `CT ` | Your city channel |
| `HNT ` | Your House channel |
| `CLT ` | Your clan channel |
### Info About Yourself
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `SHOW` | Everything about your character: health, skills, level, alignment, memberships, and more |
| `SCORE` | Your name, race, health, mana, endurance, willpower, stats, and gold on hand |
| `STAT` | Hunger, fatigue, warmth, and other status info |
### Fighting
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `HEADSLAM ` | Basic attack, no class needed |
| `KICK ` | Basic attack, no class needed |
| `PUNCH ` | Basic attack, no class needed |
Until you have joined a class, any of these works. Focus on fighting denizens, not other players, at least at first. Player-killing (PvP or PK) is restricted by rules. Ask your House before you enter it.
### Healing and Recovery
| Command / Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| `SLEEP` | Recovers health and endurance slowly. Does not recover mana or willpower. |
| `MEDITATE` / `MED` | Recovers mana and willpower. Almost anything will disturb it. Does not recover health or endurance. |
| Myrrh (EAT IT) | Speeds learning |
| Health elixir (SIP IT) | Restores health |
| Bloodroot (EAT IT) | Cures paralysis |
| Mana elixir (SIP IT) | Restores mana |
| Mending salve (APPLY IT) | Heals hurt limbs |
| Restoration salve (APPLY IT) | Cures body part damage |
These all do more than listed. A full [Healing List](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=healinglist) and [Curing Afflictions](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=afflictions) reference are in the help system.
## Early Choices: Race, City, House
### Choosing a Race
Achaea has 14 playable races. There is no single best race, and no single best race for a given class. All races are viable. Each has base statistics that can be adjusted through a [racial specialisation](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=racial-specialisation) available at level 10.
Speak with experienced players in your chosen class before you commit to a race. They will have opinions on which specialisations matter most for your playstyle. You can [reincarnate](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=reincarnation-changing-race) once for free to change your race. After that, a Dagger of Reincarnation (purchased with credits) is required.
For a comparison of races and statistics, see [the races page](https://www.achaea.com/races).
### Choosing a House
Houses are one of the most important parts of Achaea. Joining one is strongly recommended.
A House gives you allies, political influence, accumulated knowledge, and a community. It also gives you obligations: expectations about how your character behaves and calls on you when help is needed.
To find Houses that accept your class: `HOUSE LIST `. For example, `HOUSE LIST PALADIN`. Read about a specific House with `HELP HOUSE ` and `HELP NEWCOMERS `.
To join, visit [Certimene](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=certimene) in Delos and `ASK CERTIMENE JOIN `, or contact someone in the House leadership directly. A [list of Houses](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=houses) is in the help system.
### Choosing a City
Achaea has six cities. Your city determines your allies, your enemies, which Houses are available to you, and the political identity of your character. It is the most consequential early choice.
A few things to consider:
- If you have already chosen a House, its home city is usually the right choice. Some Houses require city membership.
- Read about each city with `HELP `, for example `HELP CYRENE` or `HELP MHALDOR`.
- You do not have to join a city. Members of the Grand Merchant Collective and CIJ often do not.
To join a city, find a leader listed as “Able to induct new citizens” in `HELP `, or find the induction denizen listed there.
## Places to Go
The most important places to know as a new player:
**Portals:** A safe hub only accessible via the `PORTALS` command (level 20 and under). The three rooms there have gateways to locations throughout Achaea. `READ SIGN` in each room to see where they lead.
**Minia:** A protected newbie zone. Only players level 20 and under can enter. Has quests, denizens to hunt, and challenges appropriate for new adventurers. Accessible from Portals (go east, then northeast).
**The Valley of Lodi:** Another protected newbie zone. Includes the gnomish village of Gorshire, a mine, caves, and quests for new players. Older players are ejected by a bronze dragon. Accessible from Portals (go east, then north).
**Mount Gheladan:** A third protected newbie zone for adventurers level 20 and under. Features two warring rat-like species (the peaceful Nilari and the violent Murinae) and, deeper in the mountain, a fight between giant bees and hornets. The dragon Lasuna guards the entrance and ejects anyone too old to be there. Accessible from Portals (go east, then southeast).
There are [numerous quests for newbies](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=newbie-quests) throughout all three areas.
**A few other important places:**
- **The Isle of Delos:** Has useful shops and two residents worth finding (exits via Portals):
- Vinci, the Tattoo Parlour proprietor
- Certimene, the class and House administrator. Use `ASK CERTIMENE JOIN ` or `ASK CERTIMENE JOIN `.
- **The Lucretian Athenaeum in New Thera:** Find Tyrandiel, a tutor for learning skills when you cannot find a player to teach you.
## Classes and Skills
### Class and Class Rank
Achaea has 21 classes. Each has three unique skill sets with dozens of abilities in each set. When you join a class, you start at the rank of Fledgling with access to two of the three class skills. As a Fledgling, your maximum skill rank is “skilled.” Once you rise to Journeyman rank, you can reach “fabled.” Full members unlock the third class skill and have no learning limits.
A full [list of classes with skill sets](https://www.achaea.com/classes) is on the classes page.
### Skills, Learning, and Lessons
Your class skills are not your only options. Type `SKILLS` to see all skills available to you, including non-class skills like Survival, Vision, and Weaponry, and miniskills like Constitution and Fitness.
To improve a skill: find a player or denizen tutor who knows it better than you and use `LEARN 15 CHIVALRY FROM `. This spends 15 lessons on Chivalry with that person as your teacher.
Check your lesson count with `SHOW LESSONS`. You gain lessons each time you level up. You can also convert credits to lessons: `CREDITS CONVERT TO LESSONS`. Each credit converts to 6 lessons.
## Experience, Levels, and Power
Achaea has 100 mortal levels of experience. You will start around level 5 after the tutorial. As you level up, your maximum health, mana, endurance, and willpower all increase. You also gain lessons and credits at certain thresholds. Eventually you transcend the need for food or sleep. At level 99, you can become a Dragon.
Ways to gain experience:
- Completing quests found throughout Achaea (start with [newbie quests](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=newbie-quests))
- Hunting denizens
- Player vs. player combat (PvP), once you understand the system
You can also lose experience when you die. If your level drops, hunt to recover it.
Stats (strength, intelligence, constitution, dexterity) are determined by your race and do not increase as you level. Racial specialisation at level 10 lets you adjust them within your race’s range.
## Gold, Credits, and Artefacts
**Gold** (gold sovereigns) is the main currency. Earn it through quests, hunting denizens, and other activities. Keep it in a container like your backpack, or deposit it in a bank. Theft is common in Achaea.
Good ways to earn gold early:
- Completing quests
- Ratting (helping cities control rat infestations): [more on ratting](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=rats-and-ratting)
- Fishing and selling your catch ([more on fishing](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=the-art-of-fishing))
**Credits** are the premium currency. You can earn them through:
- [Free credits at certain levels](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=lessons)
- Purchasing on the credit market with gold ([credit market info](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=creditmarket))
- Winning [bardic and artisanal competitions](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=bardic-and-artisanal-contests)
- Purchasing directly from [achaea.com/credits](https://www.achaea.com/credits)
**Artefacts** are powerful items purchased with credits. Some can be earned through quests temporarily. Otherwise, buy them at the artefact shops in Delos.
## Containers and the Rift
As you explore you will accumulate a lot of items. Two places to store them:
**Containers:** The pack from the tutorial is one of many. Containers hold a limited number of items, can be opened and closed, and help you organise your gear.
**The Rift:** A special storage space primarily for herbs and inks. If an item can go in the rift, it should go in the rift. Items not in the rift or a container will fall to the ground when your character leaves the game.
Read [HELP THE-RIFT](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=the-rift) for full details.
## Quests and Combat
Quests provide experience, gold, and special items. `GREET` denizens you meet to start conversations and find quest hooks. With the exception of [newbie quests](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=newbie-quests), quests are not for public discussion.
Combat is how you will spend most of your early levels. Achaea’s combat system is one of the most complex in any text game, with dozens of class styles that interact with each other in ways that take time to understand. Start by hunting denizens and learning your class abilities. When you feel ready for PvP, read the [player-killing rules](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=pkrules) first.
## Healing and Afflictions
Many things can go wrong in a fight. Here are the common afflictions and what to do about them:
| Affliction | Cure |
|---|---|
| Paralysis | `EAT BLOODROOT` |
| Fear | `COMPOSE` |
| Frozen | `APPLY CALORIC` |
| Caught in webs | `WRITHE` |
Your House will have a comprehensive guide for the afflictions relevant to your class. If you do not have a House yet, at minimum keep bloodroot and a caloric salve on hand. The full [afflictions and cures list](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=curelist) is in the help system.
## Death
When you die, you lose some experience. Staying dead longer increases the loss. To return to life, type `PRAY FOR SALVATION`. If you die to another player, they gain some of the experience you lost.
Read [HELP DEATH](https://www.achaea.com/game-help/?what=death) for full details on death, soul mechanics, and resurrection options.
## Getting Help
The best ways to get help in Achaea:
- **Romeo and Juliet:** official Newbie Guides. Check `QW` to see if one is online. Reach them with `TELL ROMEO ` or on the NEWBIE channel. Example: `TELL ROMEO How do I find Certimene?`
- **NEWBIE channel:** for questions from new players. Not a chat channel.
- **HNT:** your House channel once you have joined one.
- **CT:** your city channel.
- **The HELP system:**
- `HELP `: works for almost everything
- `HOW DO I ?`: natural language, for example `HOW DO I JOIN A HOUSE?`
- `WHERE IS ?`: for example `WHERE IS ASHTAN?`
- `WHAT IS A ?`: for example `WHAT IS A SHIFT?`
Web-based help is available at [achaea.com/game-help](https://www.achaea.com/game-help).
## Going Ahead From Here
**Other players:** Achaea has a large, active playerbase. Many are far more experienced than you and not all of them are friendly. At minimum, learn how to navigate around others. At best, build alliances. Houses and cities exist for exactly this purpose.
**Combat:** There is no substitute for PvP experience. The system rewards knowledge of class interactions above almost everything else. Get into arena events and duels once you have a foundation. Every time you fight a class you have not faced before, you will learn something.
**Long-term goals:**
- **Excellence in combat:** Learning to fight at a high level in Achaea takes months of practice. The players who stick with it develop an understanding of the combat system that has few equivalents in any game.
- **Dragonhood:** At level 99, you can become a Dragon. Six dragon colors, 35 abilities in the Dragoncraft skill covering combat, flight, and dimensional travel. It represents hundreds of hours of play and is one of the most recognised achievements in Achaea.
- **Political power:** Leading a House or city is a legitimate long-term goal. Achaea’s political endgame involves real elections, real alliances, and real conflicts that players have been running since the late 1990s.
- **Mining:** The mining system runs like a small business. Open mines, staff them, extract resources, defend them from other players’ legions. Bad decisions cost money; good ones make it.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Is Achaea free to play?**Yes, fully. No download required. Play in your browser right now at achaea.com. Credits are an optional premium currency for artefacts, lessons, and other advantages. They can also be earned in-game through the credit market and by winning bardic and artisanal competitions. Nothing is locked behind a paywall.
**What class should I pick as a new player?**Paladin, Monk, and Priest are well-documented starting points with active Houses and clear skill progression guides. Serpent and Blademaster have high skill ceilings and are better after you understand the combat system. Whatever you pick, ask your House for a study guide before spending your lessons.
**How do I join a class?**Travel to Delos and find Certimene, the class and House administrator. Use `ASK CERTIMENE JOIN `. Check `HOUSE LIST ` first to see which Houses accept your class, since your House and city choice often flows from that.
**What happens when I die?**You lose some experience at death, and the loss continues the longer you stay dead as a soul. `PRAY FOR SALVATION` returns you to a safe location. Dying to another player transfers some of your lost experience to them. Early deaths are minor setbacks. Read `HELP DEATH` for full details.
**How is Achaea different from Aetolia?**Both are Iron Realms games with similar underlying systems. Achaea is the flagship: the largest playerbase, the longest running (since 1997), and the most established world. The tone is high fantasy rather than dark fantasy. Aetolia has more classes (30+), vampire mechanics, and a deeper crafting system with 20+ tradeskills. If you want the biggest community and most developed world, Achaea. If you want dark fantasy and more class variety, Aetolia. Both are free to try.
---
### [PvE in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/pve)
**Published:** July 8, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
[Achaea combat](/game-features/combat/) is not solely a player versus player experience. Fighting denizens, dungeon delving, acquiring gear, and taking on bosses form the backbone of Achaea’s PvE and are as much a core part of the world as adventurer combat. In recent years, Achaea’s PvE game modes have expanded massively to include small group dungeons, highly complex and technical world bosses, and even a fully realised roguelike experience with all that entails.
If you’re brand new, start with hunting and the [Achaea beginner’s guide](/newbie-guide/). Read further to learn about the end-game challenges and even further still to discover dungeons and more!
## Hunting and Levelling
Hunting, known to most players as bashing, is the primary method of gaining experience and gold in Achaea. First you seek out denizens you can safely kill, then advance through the levels and face progressively tougher and tougher enemies. Stronger enemies give more experience and typically more gold and gear.
Naturally, denizens fight back. Some hit extremely hard. Some afflict you in terrible ways. Some are aggressive and attack the moment you walk in, or call for help from their friends. Many share a loyalty bond, and killing them can leave you in poor standing, or even under a death contract filed by the local government of the area you’re slaughtering your way through. Bring elixirs and curatives, and always be mindful of what you’re hunting.
### Hunting in a group
You don’t have to hunt alone. A group can take down denizens far stronger than any single member could manage, and the experience from each kill gets shared among everyone there. For a lot of newer players, tagging along with a city or house hunting party is the fastest way to level and the easiest way to meet people. Your [city](/city-states/) is a great first place to ask for a hunting partner.
## Gear
Many denizens in Achaea have a chance to drop gear when you defeat them. This specialist loot can be worn for a variety of different effects, most of which will make you stronger or tankier, allowing you to hunt more efficiently or overcome challenges that you couldn’t before. Most gear forms part of a set, and equipping a whole set grants even more powerful bonuses to your PvE abilities.
The most powerful gear comes from the toughest enemies, who will often reward you with an extremely strong trinket or keepsake when defeated. The gear you wear is an important decision when undertaking a hunt, and building for resilience with full defensive pieces or making yourself into a glass cannon casting chain lightnings on every hit are equally viable ways to play.
## Forays
Forays are Achaea’s group dungeons, each taking place in an isolated setting somewhere in the game world. Intrepid adventurers must band together and sign up for a foray in the Brass Lantern Inn, then find the entrance and begin the challenge. Inside, powerful enemies and difficult puzzles await your band of hunters and you will need to overcome them in order to fight the boss.
Bosses are a step up from even the regular foray denizens. In true MMO tradition, most have distinct mechanics of varying complexity that must be handled in order to succeed. Take care not to accidentally blow up your friends if the Witch of Cennos turns you into a bomb, won’t you?
## Mnemosyne
The Mnemosyne is Achaea’s roguelike dungeon. Accessed from the banks of the river of the same name, the Mnemosyne can only be undertaken alone. Unlike the rest of the game world, however, all the denizens of the Mnemosyne are echoes of the past, contrived by the Gods to provide an infinitely scaling challenge as you wade farther into its endless ripples.
To help you with this challenge, you’ll be offered a choice of powers for each level you descend. These boons range from simple increases to damage or resistances to enabling entirely new build concepts and transforming mundane abilities into brand new effects. Some are naturally rarer than others. Some are wildly powerful. And some come with significant drawbacks as the price for their power.
The Mnemosyne dungeon is one of the most ambitious PvE systems in the entire MUD world. Taking on its challenges is not for the timid.
## World Bosses
All across Achaea dwell denizens of significant import, among them terrible monsters, cultists, mages, elemental titans, champions of the Gods, and more who can be engaged for a truly harrowing challenge. Offering a huge spectrum of difficulty from those that can be faced solo to some requiring dozens (yes, dozens!) of adventurers to assist, Achaea’s world bosses are widely regarded as the most difficult PvE encounters the game has to offer.
Don’t be fooled by the innocuous town crier or a simple leopard. Many of these bosses have intensely complex mechanics requiring groups to coordinate in order to solve them. Often precision timing and perfect awareness are required. Mistakes can and often are deadly. Death is to be expected. Fame is guaranteed, if you succeed. Taking on the Grandmaster of the Quisalis, facing boisterous Bruyan, or betraying your Elemental allegiance to square off against one of the primordial titans is certainly one way to get your name noticed.
## Where to go next after Achaea PvE
Levels and gold from hunting pay for most of what you do elsewhere in Achaea. When you want a thinking opponent instead, read the [Achaea PvP and curing guide](/game-features/combat/). The [game features hub](/game-features/) maps everything else, and brand-new players should start with the [beginner’s guide](/newbie-guide/).
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What is PvE in Achaea?**
PvE in Achaea covers everything you fight that isn’t another player: hunting denizens for experience and gold, group forays, the Mnemosyne roguelike dungeon, and world bosses. It runs on the same combat engine as PvP, so the skills you build hunting carry over when you fight other players.
**What is bashing in Achaea?**
Bashing is the player term for hunting: killing denizens for experience and gold. It’s the main way to level in Achaea. You start on weak denizens and work up to tougher enemies with better drops, and you bring elixirs and curatives because plenty of them hit back hard.
**What are forays in Achaea?**
Forays are Achaea’s group dungeons. You sign up at the Brass Lantern Inn, find the entrance, and fight through denizens and puzzles to reach a boss with mechanics your group has to handle to win.
**What is the Mnemosyne in Achaea?**
The Mnemosyne is Achaea’s solo roguelike dungeon, entered from the banks of the River Mnemosyne. Its denizens scale infinitely as you descend. Each level down offers a choice of boons: some just raise damage or resistances, while the rarer ones enable whole new builds.
**Do you need a group for PvE in Achaea?**
No. Hunting works solo from your first level, and the Mnemosyne can only be run alone. Forays are built for groups, though, and the hardest world bosses need dozens of adventurers, so the top end of PvE is social. A city hunting party is the easiest way in if you want company.
---
### [Latest News](https://www.achaea.com/latest-news)
**Published:** July 9, 2026
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
---
### [Things to Do in Achaea: A Guide to the Gameplay](https://www.achaea.com/game-features)
**Published:** January 31, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
There are more things to do in Achaea than most players get to in years of play. Achaea is a text-based RPG where you can fight, craft, trade, sail, roleplay, or run a city, all in the same persistent world. You can hunt monsters for experience, of course, since Achaea is famous for its combat. But you can also captain a warship, run a mining empire, design custom clothing, build a castle room by room, lead a city of other players, or spend a quiet evening on a quest nobody has cracked yet.
This page is the map. Every major system in the game has its own guide, so skim the cards below, follow the ones that sound like you, and come back when you want to try something new. You don’t have to pick one path. Most players run several at once.
## Achaea combat: PvP and the curing system
Achaea has one of the deepest combat systems in any text game. Player-versus-player fighting runs on thousands of abilities across 21 classes, a curing system you tune yourself, and afflictions stacking faster than you can read them. The fighting rewards preparation and quick thinking in equal measure.
If you want one system to learn first, this is it, because so much else in Achaea connects back to it. Read the [Achaea combat guide](/game-features/combat/) for PvP, the affliction-and-curing model, and Dragonhood.
## Achaea PvE: hunting, dungeons, and world bosses
The other half of the fighting is PvE. You level by hunting denizens for experience and gold, collect gear sets that change how you fight, and band together for forays, Achaea’s group dungeons. The Mnemosyne, a solo roguelike dungeon, scales without limit, and the hardest world bosses take dozens of adventurers to bring down.
The [Achaea PvE guide](/game-features/pve/) covers all of it: hunting, gear, forays, the Mnemosyne, and world bosses.
## Roleplay and the living world of Achaea
Achaea is a roleplay-encouraged world. Your character has a history, a reputation, and relationships that outlast any single fight. Cities rise and fall on player decisions. Gods watch and intervene. The world remembers what you do in it, so a favour or a feud can echo for years. For a lot of players, the story is the whole reason they stay.
Start with the [Achaea roleplay guide](/game-features/roleplay/) if you care about story, or the [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) if you just want your feet under you first.
## Quests and exploring the world of Achaea
Two continents anchor the map: Sapience, where you start, and Meropis across the water. Around them sit dozens of islands and several other planes of existence. The world is genuinely large, and a lot of it is hidden. Quests range from short errands to multi-stage puzzles that can take weeks to solve, and most of them start when you greet a denizen and read for clues. The most thorough explorers earn a place in the Fellowship of Explorers.
Two guides cover this side of the game. Read the [Achaea quests guide](/game-features/quests/) for how questing works, then the [world of Achaea guide](/game-features/world/) for the map, the continents, and the planes.
## Crafting and the 16 tradeskills in Achaea
Achaea has 16 tradeskills, from gathering herbs to forging armour to designing jewellery, clothing, and food. Crafted goods are real items other players buy and use, so a salve you brew might save a life in a fight you never see. A skilled smith or tailor can build a genuine business on reputation alone.
Pick a pair that works together, like a gathering skill feeding a production skill, and you step straight into the economy. The [Achaea crafting guide](/game-features/crafting/) lists all 16 tradeskills and what each one makes.
## The player-run economy: shops, mining, and trade
Achaea’s economy runs on players. You can own and operate a mine, complete with Legions to defend it and raid rivals. You can run a shop in a player city and sell curatives, venoms, commodities, or your own crafted work. Shops are limited in number, so holding one is its own kind of status.
If you’d rather make your fortune than fight for it, this is the path. The [Achaea player economy guide](/game-features/player-economy/) covers mining, shopkeeping, and trade.
## Cities, Great Houses, and divine orders
The six cities and many Great Houses of Achaea are run by players. Climb the ranks and you can lead them: set policy, wage war, run espionage, and shape the lives of everyone under you. The truly devoted instead join a God’s Order, raising shrines and fighting for their patron on the battleplane of Nishnatoba.
Politics and faith are two of the longest roleplay paths in the game. Browse the player-run [city-states of Achaea](/city-states/), or read the [divine orders guide](/game-features/divine-orders/) for the Gods and their Orders.
## Seafaring: sail Achaea’s five oceans
Achaea has five oceans, the Borean, Chelic, Eusian, Notic, and Sefyric, and a lot of islands, and most of them you reach only by ship. You can earn a captain’s commission, borrow a friend’s vessel, or buy your own. Then you slip through the waves in a nimble Windcutter to reach far islands, haul cargo for profit in a Thalassian Seastrider, or crew a War Galley and turn pirate. The sea is its own theatre of play.
The [Achaea seafaring guide](/game-features/seafaring/) covers ships, sailing, trade routes, and naval combat.
## Player housing: build your own home in Achaea
You build a castle, a tower, or whatever you like, one room at a time. First you gather the materials, then you lay out the rooms, write your own titles and descriptions, hide exits, and hang doors. You furnish it with player-crafted furniture and hire servants you can customise to greet guests and keep the place lived-in.
A finished home says something about your character before you say a word. The [Achaea housing guide](/game-features/housing/) walks through building, materials, furnishing, and servants.
## Classes, races, and Dragonhood
You pick from 21 classes, each with three skill sets and over 100 abilities, and one of 14 playable races. Push far enough and you can earn Dragonhood. Reach level 99, travel to the Mhojave Desert, and you awaken the dragon soul within you, choosing its element: poison green, sonic silver, flame red, acidic black, lightning blue, or psychic gold.
Your class decides how you fight and your race shapes who your character is. Browse the [21 Achaea classes](/classes/) and the [14 playable races](/races/) before you commit.
And that’s just the start. Achaea has been growing since 1997, so there’s always another system to learn.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What is there to do in Achaea besides combat?**
There is a lot to do in Achaea besides combat. You can craft with any of 16 tradeskills, run a shop or a mine, captain a ship, lead a city or Great House, join a God’s Order, build and furnish your own home, complete quests, explore two continents, or focus purely on roleplay. Most players run several of these at once.
**Do I have to fight to enjoy Achaea?**
No, you don’t have to fight to enjoy Achaea. Combat is popular and deep, but plenty of players focus on crafting, trade, politics, exploration, or roleplay instead. You hunt denizens for experience as you level, yet full player-versus-player combat is always a choice rather than a requirement.
**What is the best thing to do as a new player in Achaea?**
The best first step for a new player is to level through [PvE hunting](/game-features/pve/) while reading the [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/), then try the systems that sound fun. Many players find a home in a city or Great House early, which opens up politics, group activities, and people to play alongside.
**How big is the world of Achaea?**
The world of Achaea is large: two full continents, Sapience and Meropis, plus dozens of islands and several other planes of existence. It is big enough that veteran players still find rooms they have never seen.
**What is Dragonhood in Achaea?**
Dragonhood is a late-game achievement in Achaea. At level 99 you travel to the Mhojave Desert and awaken the dragon soul within you, choosing an elemental affinity such as poison green, sonic silver, or flame red. It is one of several long-term goals that keep experienced players coming back.
---
### [Achaea Combat: PvP and the Curing System](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/combat)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
Achaea combat is the timing-based fighting at the centre of the game, where you hunt denizens for experience, duel other players using thousands of abilities across 21 classes, and survive by curing the afflictions stacked against you. People mean a few different things when they call Achaea a combat game. There’s hunting, where you kill denizens across the world for experience and gold. There’s player-versus-player fighting, which runs deep and broad. Underneath both sits the curing system, the part that makes Achaea combat different from a stat-check brawl.
This page covers PvP and the curing system underneath it. Hunting, forays, the Mnemosyne, and world bosses have a guide of their own: [PvE in Achaea](/game-features/pve/). If you’re brand new, start there alongside the [Achaea beginner’s guide](/newbie-guide/). The fighting in Achaea has kept players sharp since 1997, and there’s always a new tactic to try.
## How Achaea combat actually works
Achaea combat runs on timing, not twitch reflexes. After most actions you wait to recover before you can act again, so a fight is really a contest of who picks the better move each round and reacts faster to what the other side just did. Two action resources govern that recovery. Balance covers physical actions, while equilibrium covers mental ones, so after you swing a weapon you wait on balance, and after you cast a spell you wait on equilibrium. Because the two recover separately, a skilled fighter often does one of each at once.
The depth comes from scale. Thousands of abilities span 21 classes plus many non-class skill sets, so there’s always more to learn. Some classes are wholly unique, like the time-bending [Depthswalkers](/classes/depthswalkers/) or the wormhole-using [Serpents](/classes/serpents/). Others put a new spin on a familiar idea. You can read the full list on the [Achaea classes hub](/classes/).
The same engine powers both sides of combat. Whether you’re [killing a denizen for experience](/game-features/pve/) or duelling another player, you’re using the same skills, the same balance and equilibrium timing, and the same defences. Hunting teaches you the basics. PvP is where they get tested.
## Achaea PvP: fighting other players
Achaea PvP is what the game is best known for, and it earns the reputation. Thousands of abilities across 21 classes mean almost no two fights play out the same way. New tactics surface constantly, and a class you’ve fought a hundred times can still surprise you in the hands of someone clever.
A duel is a fast exchange of offence and defence. You’re trying to stack damage and afflictions on your opponent faster than they can clear them, while keeping your own defences up and reading what they’re setting up against you. Win conditions vary by class. Some kill through raw damage, some through a precise chain of afflictions, and some by locking you down so you can’t act at all.
### PvP is tied to the world
Achaea PvP threads through the whole game, too. Cities go to war. Great Houses feud. Gods send their orders into conflict. So a lot of the fighting in Achaea isn’t a sterile arena match. Instead it’s tied to [roleplay](/game-features/roleplay/) and a grudge that’s been building for months.
## The Achaea curing system and afflictions
The Achaea curing system is the part that defines the game’s combat. Instead of trading hit points, much of a fight runs through afflictions: bleeding, broken limbs, paralysis, poisons, mental effects, and many more. Land enough of the right Achaea afflictions in the right order and your opponent can’t respond, which is when the kill happens.
Defending means curing those afflictions before they pile up. Achaea includes a server-side curing system that handles much of this for you. It eats herbs and pills, applies salves, sips elixirs, and smokes pipes to clear what’s afflicting you. Because each method runs on its own balance, a short recovery timer, you can’t cure everything at once. The strategy lives in those gaps. A skilled attacker stacks afflictions faster than the cures can clear them, or sets up combinations the defender’s priorities handle in the wrong order.
### Tuning your own curing
Most serious combatants go further and tune their curing themselves, adjusting priorities or writing their own triggers so the system reacts the way they want against a given opponent. You don’t need any of that to start. The built-in system carries new players through hunting and early fights just fine. The deeper customisation is there when you want it, and learning it is a big part of becoming good at Achaea PvP.
## Dragonhood, the level-99 combat payoff
One of Achaea’s long-term goals sits at the top of the levelling curve. Reach level 99 and travel to the centre of the Mhojave Desert, where six beacons wait, one for each Dragon colour. Light the beacon for the colour you want and you awaken the dragon soul within you, becoming a Greater Dragon.
Each colour carries its own element: poison green, sonic silver, fiery red, acidic black, lightning blue, or psychic gold. As a Dragon you gain a large stat jump, flight, a racial language, and a breath weapon tied to your colour. Dragonhood is a serious commitment of time, so it’s one of the achievements that keeps veteran players coming back long after they’ve mastered their class.
## Where to go next after Achaea combat
Combat connects to most of the rest of the game. Your class decides how you fight, your [city-state](/city-states/) gives you a war to fight in, and a [God’s divine order](/game-features/divine-orders/) can pull you onto wider conflict. If you’d rather see everything Achaea offers beyond the fighting, the [game features hub](/game-features/) is the map.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Is Achaea combat hard to learn?**
The basics aren’t. Hunting denizens for experience teaches you the core loop, and the built-in curing system handles much of your defence automatically while you learn. PvP is where the depth opens up. Becoming genuinely good at player-versus-player combat takes time, but you can fight, level, and have fun long before you master it.
**What is the difference between Achaea PvE and PvP?**
Achaea PvE (hunting, or bashing) means killing the world’s denizens for experience and gold, and it’s how most players level. Achaea PvP means fighting other players, using the same skills against a thinking opponent who fights back. Both run on the same combat engine, so the skills you build hunting carry straight into PvP. The [Achaea PvE guide](/game-features/pve/) covers hunting, forays, gear, and world bosses.
**How does the Achaea curing system work?**
Much of Achaea combat runs through afflictions like bleeding, paralysis, and poisons rather than raw damage. The curing system defends you by eating herbs and pills, applying salves, sipping elixirs, and smoking pipes to clear those afflictions. Because each method runs on its own balance, you can’t cure everything at once, and your actions are gated by balance and equilibrium. Experienced players tune their curing priorities and triggers to fight specific opponents.
**Do I need to fight other players in Achaea?**
No. Achaea PvP is popular and deep, but it’s a choice. You can level through hunting, focus on crafting, trade, exploration, or roleplay, and largely avoid player combat if you want to. Some cities and conflicts make PvP more likely, so it pays to know what you’re signing up for when you join one.
**What is Dragonhood in Achaea?**
Dragonhood is a late-game achievement. At level 99 you travel to the centre of the Mhojave Desert and light one of six beacons to awaken the dragon soul within you, choosing an element such as poison green, sonic silver, fiery red, acidic black, lightning blue, or psychic gold. It’s one of several long-term goals that keep experienced players invested.
---
### [The 21 Classes of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes)
**Published:** November 1, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Achaea has 21 playable classes. Some you’ll recognise: holy knights, shapeshifting druids, hooded assassins. Others are stranger: a body-horror abomination that grows extra mouths and tentacles, a court jester who fights with magical puppets and concealed bombs, a plague-spreading outcast who cheats death itself.
Every class has three skill sets and dozens of abilities per set. Most classes carry well over 100 class abilities once fully learned, plus access to non-class skills shared across everyone. The depth is incredible; a serious Achaea combatant is typically managing a complex affliction-cure exchange across hundreds of named abilities in real time.
Class is the second decision you make about your character, after race. Unlike race, your class shapes nearly everything about how you actually play: the rhythm of your combat, the Houses willing to take you, the city you’ll most likely settle in, and the alignment you’ll be expected (though not forced) to roleplay. Below are all 21, grouped into six archetypes.
Achaeas 21 classes grouped into six archetypes
---
## Why your class choice matters
Your class is the longest-running choice you’ll make in Achaea. It governs your combat, your Houses, and often your political alignment.
What class actually changes:
- **How you fight.** Each class has three skill sets with 20-50 abilities each. The way a Serpent stacks venoms is nothing like the way a Druid shapeshifts into a wyvern. Combat identity follows class.
- **Which Houses will accept you.** Houses are Achaea’s guilds. Each one has a class whitelist. Your class determines which Houses you can join, and your House shapes which city you’ll settle in.
- **Your alignment, sometimes.** A handful of classes are factional: Paladin and Priest are bound to Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine, Infernal and Apostate to Mhaldor and Evil, Druid and Sentinel and Sylvan to Eleusis and Nature. If you act against the faction, the class can excommunicate you and revoke part of your skills. The other classes are unrestricted and welcome in most cities.
- **What people expect from you.** Other players read class through years of accumulated roleplay context. A Bard walking into a tavern is read differently than a Pariah walking into the same tavern.
What class doesn’t change: your race. Any race can play any class.
The simplest way to think about it: race is who you were born; class is what you trained to become. You can reincarnate your race for free once, but changing your class is harder and meaningfully more expensive. Take the class decision seriously.
---
## The 21 classes of Sapience
The 21 classes group into six archetypes. Within each archetype, the differences are significant. A Druid and a Sentinel are both forestal classes, but one transforms into bears and wyverns while the other fights alongside bonded animal companions using traps and skirmishing. Use the archetypes as a starting point, then read the spoke pages for the specifics.
### Warriors
Six classes built around martial skill and physical combat. All but two use the shared Weaponmastery skill, which lets a warrior specialise in two-handed weapons, sword and shield, dual cutting, or dual blunt.
#### [Paladin](/classes/paladins/)
A chivalrous knight bound to Targossas, fighting with melee weapons and a companion golden eagle. The eagle scouts, tracks fleeing enemies, and strikes from above. Paladin skills are **Valour, Excision, and Weaponmastery**. Factional: a Paladin who turns against Targossas can be excommunicated and lose Excision.
#### [Runewarden](/classes/runewardens/)
A disciplined knight who inscribes arcane runes onto blades, totems, and armour. Runewardens use **Runelore, Discipline, and Weaponmastery**, and are welcome in most cities since the class isn’t bound to any ethos. One of the more approachable warrior classes for a new player.
#### [Blademaster](/classes/blademasters/)
An agile swordsman who forges a uniquely named blade and masters the Two Arts: the Draw Art and the Blade Art. Each strike is a sword drawn and resheathed. Skills are **TwoArts, Striking, and Shindo**. Identity is built around mastering a single personal weapon and the rhythm of combat.
#### [Infernal](/classes/infernal/)
The iron arm of Mhaldor, clad in hell-forged steel and serving Evil. Skills are **Malignity, Weaponmastery, and Oppression**. Note that in 837 AF, the Infernal class cast aside Necromancy in favour of Oppression. Factional: act against Evil or Mhaldor and your hell-forged weapons stop working.
#### [Apostate](/classes/apostates/)
A diabolic scholar and ritualist serving Evil. Where the Infernal is a warrior first, the Apostate is a dark priest who can fight. Skills are **Apostasy, Necromancy, and Evileye**. Summons daemonic entities, drains life essence, and can guard their own soul from death itself. Factional to Mhaldor.
#### [Unnamable](/classes/unnamable/)
A body-horror abomination aligned with Ashtan and Chaos. Skills are **Anathema, Weaponmastery, and Dominion**. Anathema involves physical mutation: extra mouths, eyes, tentacles, tumour-based attacks. The flavour is uncompromising. One of the most unusual combat identities in Achaea.
---
### Mages and Elementalists
Four classes that wield arcane, elemental, and dimensional power. Combat leans toward ranged afflictions and elemental devastation.
#### [Magi](/classes/mages/)
Wielders of elemental force and crystalline vibration. Skills are **Elementalism, Crystalism, and Artificing**. Craft their staff through Artificing, summon and command elemental creatures, and devastate at range. One of the oldest combat magic traditions in the game.
#### [Alchemist](/classes/alchemists/)
A class built around manipulating the four humours and transmuting matter. Skills are **Alchemy, Physiology, and Formulation**. An Alchemist can inflict illness via the humours, command a homunculus made from their own flesh, and amalgamate potent compounds. Hashan-aligned Alchemists can swap Formulation for Sublimation, a wholly different field.
#### [Psion](/classes/psion/)
A wielder of the lost magic of the Aldar, drawn from the well at the heart of ancient Nur. Skills are **Weaving, Emulation, and Psionics**. Weaving conjures weapons from nothing; Psionics is said to let masters pierce time’s veil. Predates most other forms of combat magic in the game’s lore.
#### [Occultist](/classes/occultists/)
A summoner of Chaos entities and a manipulator of karma. Skills are **Occultism, Domination, and Tarot**. Pacts with the Chaos Lords, inscribes mystical Tarot cards for healing or travel, slows time itself. Bound to Ashtan and Chaos; act against Chaos and the Chaos Lords stop answering.
---
### Forestals
Three classes connected to the natural world. All three are aligned with Eleusis and the forest commune. Forestal classes are mutually exclusive with the Alchemist class at the city level.
#### [Druid](/classes/druids/)
The most ancient of the forestal classes, devoted to the forests and all they represent. Skills are **Groves, Metamorphosis, and Reclamation**. A Druid can establish a personal Grove and reign supreme within it, transform into animals from squirrel to wyvern, and accelerate the growth of natural life. Factional to Nature.
#### [Sentinel](/classes/sentinels/)
A forestal warrior who travels with animal companions and lays cunning traps. Skills are **Woodlore, Metamorphosis, and Skirmishing**. Where the Druid becomes the animal, the Sentinel works alongside them. Unsurpassed with a handaxe, trident, or spear. Factional to Nature.
#### [Sylvan](/classes/sylvans/)
Founded in modern times by those who drew on both Druid and Magi knowledge. Skills are **Groves, Propagation, and Weatherweaving**. Sylvans share the Grove with Druids, but their signature is Propagation: transforming into a Viridian, a living being of the forest. Factional to Nature.
---
### Rogues and Subterfuge
Three classes that operate in shadow, manipulation, and deception. Combat tends toward setup, control, and precision over direct confrontation.
#### [Serpent](/classes/serpents/)
A stealth specialist descended from the serpent-strain of humanity. Skills are **Subterfuge, Hypnosis, and Venom**. Fights with whip and dirk or bare fangs, applies dozens of venoms in precise timing sequences, plants hypnotic suggestions, and travels through a network of wormholes. One of the most mechanically demanding classes in Achaea.
#### [Jester](/classes/jesters/)
A class that weaponises absurdity. Skills are **Pranks, Puppetry, and Tarot**. Acrobatic backflips that become evasions, jack-in-the-boxes with deadly surprises, balloons that lift opponents skyward, and magical puppets that manipulate others to lethal ends. Founded in 299 AF when an anomalous timequake brought Silvestri Carnivalis forward in time.
#### [Depthswalker](/classes/depthswalkers/)
A shadowy manipulator of time, the class gifted to Achaea by ex-Tenith’oru in a poignant act of loss and spite. Skills are **Aeonics, Shadowmancy, and Terminus**. Capable of altering time to affect the world around them. Among the more recent classes added to the game.
---
### Holy and Spiritual
Three classes built around devotion, curses, and divine or spiritual forces.
#### [Priest](/classes/priests/)
A healer and devotion fighter who summons a guardian angel that can burn enemies, trace their movements, or tear out their souls. Skills are **Spirituality, Devotion, and Zeal**. Bound to Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine. A Priest who strays from the path loses Devotion.
#### [Shaman](/classes/shamans/)
A reclusive ritualist who hexes opponents with debilitating curses and crafts Vodun dolls to control them from afar. Skills are **Vodun, Curses, and Spiritlore**. Once a Shaman has a full likeness of you, they can break limbs, cause bleeding, paralyse, even leech experience from a distance. Not bound to any ethos, but typically found in Hashan.
#### [Pariah](/classes/pariah/)
Named Accursed by the Hatun of Ghezavat. Skills are **Memorium, Pestilence, and Charnel**. The grave is their domain. Pestilence brings swarm and sickness. Memorium inscribes deadly blood-and-air logographs. Charnel masters the end itself. Society shuns the Pariah, and the feeling is mutual. One of the newer additions to the class roster.
---
### Performance and Discipline
Two classes that find power in disciplined practice rather than martial or magical traditions.
#### [Bard](/classes/bard/)
A troubadour refined by the Great Bard in 949 AF into a keeper of legacy. Skills are **Bladedance, Composition, and Sagas**. Wields a rapier and bladesong, composes works that bolster allies and devastate foes, recites the great Sagas of the modern age. Cyrene’s Bards alone may recite Woe, the singular epic of Black Pazuzu, Prince of Woe.
#### [Monk](/classes/monks/)
A martial artist who unifies mind, body, and spirit through discipline. Skills are **Tekura, Telepathy, and Kaido**. Tekura is the unarmed art forged by the Grandmaster of Flowers when his order was stripped of weapons. Monks who reach transcendence in Tekura can pursue Shikudo, the art of the staff. The Sentaari House traces its lineage to this same monastery.
---
## Achaea class alignments at a glance
Some classes are factional, meaning they require active roleplay with their associated city and alignment. If you stop meeting that roleplay requirement, the class can be taken away. Open classes have broader House and city options.
| Class | Archetype | Alignment | City | Factional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Paladin](/classes/paladins/) | Warrior | Good | Targossas | Yes |
| [Runewarden](/classes/runewardens/) | Warrior | Any | Open | No |
| [Blademaster](/classes/blademasters/) | Warrior | Any | Open | No |
| [Infernal](/classes/infernal/) | Warrior | Evil | Mhaldor | Yes |
| [Apostate](/classes/apostates/) | Warrior | Evil | Mhaldor | Yes |
| [Unnamable](/classes/unnamable/) | Warrior | Chaos | Ashtan | Yes |
| [Magi](/classes/mages/) | Mage | Any | Open | No |
| [Alchemist](/classes/alchemists/) | Mage | Any | Open | No |
| [Psion](/classes/psion/) | Mage | Any | Open | No |
| [Occultist](/classes/occultists/) | Mage | Chaos | Ashtan | Yes |
| [Druid](/classes/druids/) | Forestal | Nature | Eleusis | Yes |
| [Sentinel](/classes/sentinels/) | Forestal | Nature | Eleusis | Yes |
| [Sylvan](/classes/sylvans/) | Forestal | Nature | Eleusis | Yes |
| [Serpent](/classes/serpents/) | Rogue | Any | Open | No |
| [Jester](/classes/jesters/) | Rogue | Any | Open | No |
| [Depthswalker](/classes/depthswalkers/) | Rogue | Any | Open | No |
| [Priest](/classes/priests/) | Holy | Good | Targossas | Yes |
| [Shaman](/classes/shamans/) | Holy | Any | Open | No |
| [Pariah](/classes/pariah/) | Holy | Any | Open | No |
| [Bard](/classes/bard/) | Performance | Any | Cyrene + others | No |
| [Monk](/classes/monks/) | Performance | Any | Open | No |
All 21 Achaea classes grouped by archetype, alignment, and city.### Pick a class. Step into Sapience.
Twenty-one classes, six archetypes, one of the deepest combat systems in any text game. Play free in your browser. No download, no install, no credit card.
[Play Achaea Free](https://play.achaea.com/)
[How to choose your class](#how-to-choose-your-class)
## How to choose your class
The honest answer: pick the class whose combat identity grabs you.
Class lock-in is real but not permanent. You can swap classes through Certimene in Delos, but it’s meaningfully more expensive than reincarnating race. Pick deliberately.
A few practical notes:
- **Factional classes carry RP weight.** Paladin, Priest, Infernal, Apostate, Druid, Sentinel, Sylvan, and the others tied to specific alignments come with active expectations. Act against the faction and parts of your class stop working. The roleplay isn’t optional; it’s a mechanical constraint. If RP pressure isn’t fun for you, start with a non-factional class.
- **Skill complexity varies.** Serpent and Monk are widely considered some of the hardest classes to play at a high level. Magi, Runewarden, and Depthswalker are kinder learning curves and have well-documented combat guides. None of them are simple, but the floor is lower.
- **Combat style matters more than archetype.** “Warrior” classes don’t all play the same. A Paladin with a falcon companion is nothing like an Unnamable growing tentacles mid-fight. Read the spoke pages.
- **Houses come with your class.** Use `HOUSE LIST classname` in-game to see which Houses accept the class. Your House will shape which city you settle in.
If you can’t decide, three solid starting classes for a new player:
1\. **Runewarden**: straightforward melee fighter, no factional pressure, accepted by most cities, well-documented combat. 2. **Magi**: clean elemental caster with a clear identity, one of the oldest classes, extensive in-game and player-written guides. 3. **Depthswalker**: newer class with active community, kinder learning curve than Serpent, time-and-shadow flavour.
For a deeper walkthrough of how class, House, and city work together, read the [Achaea newbie guide](/newbie-guide/). You can also browse the [14 races of Achaea](/races/) and the city-states before settling on a class.
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**How many classes does Achaea have?**
Achaea has 21 playable classes. Each class has three skill sets with 20-50 abilities per set, giving most classes well over 100 class abilities once fully learned. On top of that, every character has access to non-class skills shared across all players. The combined ability count per character runs into the hundreds.
**Can I change my class in Achaea?**
Yes, but it isn’t free. Speak to Certimene in Delos in-game to discuss class change options. Reincarnating your race is much cheaper than swapping your class, so think of class as your longer-term commitment. Your first class also matters because some classes (Paladin, Priest, Infernal, Apostate, the nature classes) require active roleplay with their faction and can have parts of their skills revoked if you fail those expectations.
**Do classes have alignments?**
Several do. Paladin and Priest serve Good and align with Targossas. Infernal and Apostate serve Evil and align with Mhaldor. Druid, Sentinel, and Sylvan serve Nature and align with Eleusis. Unnamable serves Chaos and aligns with Ashtan. Occultist worships Chaos. Other classes (Runewarden, Magi, Serpent, Monk, Bard, Shaman, Jester, and others) are unrestricted and welcome in most cities. Check the spoke page for any class you’re considering to see what alignment pressure comes with it.
**What class should I start with as a new player?**
Runewarden, Magi, and Depthswalker are good starting choices: well-documented, with active Houses, kinder learning curves, and no factional pressure. If you want a factional class, Paladin is one of the more approachable ones because Targossas is a well-organised city with strong newbie infrastructure. Avoid Serpent and Monk as a first class. Both are mechanically demanding and reward years of accumulated knowledge.
**How are Achaea’s classes connected to Houses and cities?**
Every class has a list of Houses (guilds) that will accept it. Your class determines which Houses are available; your House shapes which city you’ll most likely call home. To see the Houses for any class before committing, use `HOUSE LIST classname` in-game. Factional classes have narrower options. Paladin Houses, for example, are all in Targossas plus the cityless Merchants. Unrestricted classes like Runewarden or Serpent have Houses scattered across most cities.
**Why are some classes alignment-locked?**
Factional classes draw their power from a specific source: divine devotion, demonic pact, Nature, Chaos. The class’s lore commits them to that source, and the mechanics enforce it. A Paladin’s Excision flows from the Bloodsworn Gods of Targossas. If the Paladin acts against Targossas, the Gods withdraw access and the skill stops working. The lock isn’t arbitrary; it’s how the class exists. If alignment pressure isn’t your thing, choose an unrestricted class.
Skill sets and class details verified against in-game HELP output, May 2026. Maintained by the Iron Realms team.
---
### [The Unnamable of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/unnamable)
**Published:** July 26, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Unnamables are Ashtan’s body-horror warriors. Where every other knight class in Achaea wears armour and wields steel, the Unnamable becomes the weapon. Through the profane skill of Anathema, an Unnamable channels Chaos into their own flesh: extra mouths, eyes, tentacles, tumours, multiple heads. The class is meant to disturb, and the lore does not soften it.
---
## Unnamable lore and origin
The Unnamable Horror was the first being to cross from Chaos to Creation. An embodiment of change and through it both havoc and madness, the original Horror is long gone from Sapience, but its eldritch power lingers. The Unnamables are those who now seek to embody that same power.
The skill they wield, Anathema, was torn from the outer spheres by the profane magic of Ashtan’s Occultists. The Unnamables learn to channel Chaos into physical mutations, manifesting the glory of the Unnamable Horror in their own flesh. Flesh, to an Unnamable, is a plaything that bends to their unhinged will.
Casting aside the fetters of knighthood, Unnamables revel in the frenzy of combat. They take joy in wanton destruction. They delight in wracking their foes with horrors undreamed of. With the terrible might of Chaos seething within their twisted frame, Unnamables will usher in the Ascension of Ashtan at any cost.
This is the most transgressive class in Achaea. The flavour text doesn’t tone it down. The skill descriptions don’t tone it down. Players who want a class identity built around horror, body modification, and unhinged combat find it here.
---
## Signature combat identity: Anathema’s transformation and the hound
Two systems define an Unnamable.
The first is Anathema. Where every other class learns abilities, an Unnamable becomes them. Anathema is organised under a single framework called **Connection**. Within it are four sub-groups: Ruinous whispers (combat applications of Chaos), Basic Mutations (the foundational body transformations: Mouths, Bulk, Eyes, Joints, Tentacles), Manifestations (deeper transformations: Brains, Heads, Tumours, Tongues, Venomsacs), and Recondite works (the highest abilities: Catastrophe, Anarchy, Frenzy, Devour). An Unnamable mid-transformation isn’t quite a person anymore. That’s the point.
The capstone abilities read like horror writing: Catastrophe (“Destruction given flesh”). Anarchy (“Let Chaos reign”). Devour (“Until the last”). Scream (“Let the cry of desolation sound once more”). The class isn’t trying to be subtle. It’s an unhinged warrior of Chaos in the most literal mechanical sense.
The second is the bonded Hound of Lycantha. Like the Paladin’s eagle and the Infernal’s hyena, every Unnamable bonds a companion creature, in this case a hound from Lord Lycantha on the Chaos Plane (`HOUND REQUEST`). The hound is the Unnamable’s counterpart, dark and nightmare-coded. It scouts, mauls, scents victims, evolves. The Dominion skill set wraps the hound with archery and aggressive set-pieces in the same pattern shared by Paladin (Valour), Runewarden (Discipline), and Infernal (Malignity).
Add Weaponmastery, the shared knight specialisation skill, and you have a class that fights as a physical horror, accompanied by a nightmare hound, with a heavy weapon in hand.
---
## The three skills of an Unnamable
An Unnamable commands three skill sets: Anathema, Weaponmastery, and Dominion. A fledgling Unnamable gains Anathema and Weaponmastery; Dominion is granted upon embracing the class.
AnathemaWeaponmasteryDominion
**Signature abilities:** Croon, Revelation, Hunger
In the profane whispers of Outside are the mysteries of Anathema brought to Creation. Issued with calamitous howls from a thousand mouths as the aberrations remake themselves in malign image, the skill that defines the Unnamable is a thing of madness and ruin entwined.
Anathema is organised under the **Connection** framework. Four sub-groups build on each other, transforming the Unnamable’s body further toward Chaos.
**Connection**: The fundamental which underpins.
*Ruinous whispers:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Croon | They shall listen and tremble. |
| Revelation | They shall see and be found wanting. |
| Hunger | To slake until the spring runs dry. |
| Corrosion | Like an acid, ever burning. |
| Mirror | The duality of all things. |
| Extinction | Creation’s scourge. |
*Basic Mutations:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Mutate | The process of transformation. |
| Mouths | Whispers from beyond the boundary. |
| Bulk | Grow, oh grow. |
| Eyes | Watching… watching. |
| Joints | A greater range of motion. |
| Tentacles | They shall not escape your grasp. |
*Manifestations:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Manifestation | Ever closer to transcendence. |
| Brains | It’s so simple with more than one. |
| Heads | The chorus yet grows louder. |
| Tumours | Bile and blood shall burn as flame. |
| Tongues | Tendrils to grasp and rend. |
| Venomsacs | Payback never tasted so vile. |
*Recondite works:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Horror | The primordial dread. |
| Presence | You are the terror that walks. |
| Willbreak | The psyche is such a fragile thing. |
| Scream | Let the cry of desolation sound once more. |
| Devour | Until the last. |
| Pierce | Scars for those with eyes to see. |
| Frenzy | Ruin has come. |
| Anarchy | Let Chaos reign. |
| Catastrophe | Destruction given flesh. |
**Signature abilities:** Swordplay, Specialise, Envenom
Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill that lets an Unnamable choose a fighting style: two-handed, sword and shield, dual cutting, or dual blunt. To pick or change a specialisation in-game: `SPECIALISE IN `. Changing later costs 100 lessons.
For the full ability roster across all four specialisations, see the [Paladin spoke’s Weaponmastery section](/classes/paladins/#weaponmastery), the skill is identical across all knight classes that use it. Unnamables typically favour two-handed or dual blunt for the heavier, more destructive feel.
**General abilities (all specialisations)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Swordplay | Increased mastery of the shortsword. |
| Specialise | Gain proficiency in one of the schools of weaponry. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Arc | Swing your blade in a controlled arc. |
**Signature abilities:** Hound, Weathering, Seek
Dominion has three parts: the bonded Hound of Lycantha, archery, and aggressive combat abilities.
The hound is the heart. Every Unnamable forms a dark pact with Lord Lycantha on the Chaos Plane (`HOUND REQUEST`). Both parties benefit. The hound scouts, mauls, scents victims, evolves over time into a superior state of being. Archery covers longbows, crossbows, and darkbows. Aggressive set-pieces: Battlecry, Engage, Fury, shared structure with the other knight companion skills.
You may also use `HOUND SANCTUARY ` to send another Unnamable’s hound to safety (owner offline, same House/city, higher rank).
**Abilities (31)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Hound | Your loyal nightmare. |
| Weathering | Increase your ability to weather damage. |
| Seek | Order your hound to find its prey. |
| Glance | The sense of sight through a certain lens. |
| Block | Obstructing departure with your body. |
| Fitness | Controlling your breathing. |
| Follow | The hunt begins. |
| Gripping | Grip your wielded items in a deathlock. |
| Barge | Barging your opponents. |
| Battlecry | Stun a target with the power of your voice. |
| Bowmanship | Use of the valued projectile weapon. |
| Quivers | Take full advantage of your quiver. |
| Wind | Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation. |
| Aiming | Increase your accuracy in shooting. |
| Sturdiness | Standing firm against attempts to move you. |
| Deliver | A courier of a more reliable kind. |
| Resistance | Reduce the damage taken from magical attacks. |
| Crossbows | A powerful projectile weapon. |
| Clotting | Reduce the level of your bleeding. |
| Rage | Throw off pacifying afflictions. |
| Retrieve | A snap of the jaws can vex all kinds of plans. |
| Startle | They won’t see this coming. |
| Maul | Rip and tear until it is done. |
| Track | The hounds of Lycantha are relentless. |
| Defend | Attempt to protect someone else with swordwork. |
| Scent | Sniff out the victims. |
| Darkbows | Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan. |
| Evolution | A superior state of being. |
| Engage | Damage a cowardly opponent. |
| Swiftmount | Mount or vault your steeds at increased speed. |
| Fury | Temporarily raise your strength. |
---
## Unnamable Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Unnamable is alignment-locked to Ashtan (Chaos). All three Ashtan Houses accept the class plus the two cityless options.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan’s front-line warfare House. The natural Unnamable home. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. Welcoming of Unnamables. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. For Unnamables with a more scholarly bent. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Unnamable choice. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Unnamable choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST UNNAMABLE`.
A note on the alignment lock: Anathema depends on access to the Eschaton, the reservoir of group karma within Ashtan. An Unnamable who acts against Ashtan or Chaos will find Anathema revoked. Like the Paladin’s Excision and the Infernal’s Hellforge, the class’s signature skill comes with a real factional commitment.
---
## How to roleplay an Unnamable in Achaea
Unnamables are the most transgressive class in Achaea, and the roleplay reflects that. The class is built on the premise that the character is no longer fully a person, that they have channeled Chaos into their flesh and become something other.
Three things make Unnamable roleplay distinct:
**You are physically wrong.** The lore explicitly describes Unnamables as nightmare creatures. Extra mouths. Extra eyes. Tentacles. Tumours. Multiple heads. Players who roleplay this well treat the body modifications as visible, present, and disturbing to onlookers. Your character is not a normal humanoid with a quirky class. Your character is the horror.
**You serve the Ascension of Ashtan.** Ashtan’s lore frames the city as Chaos’s foothold in Creation. Unnamables are the most committed servants of that mission. The roleplay isn’t ironic or playful. Ashtan takes its philosophy seriously, and Unnamables are expected to share that commitment.
**The hound matches the vibe.** Where the Paladin’s eagle reads as noble and the Infernal’s hyena reads as feral, the Unnamable’s hound of Lycantha reads as nightmare. The lore calls it “your loyal nightmare.” Players who lean into this, treating the hound as something darker than a pet, get the strongest character moments out of the bond.
A few practical notes:
**Other players will react to you.** Many Achaean characters find Unnamables disturbing. That’s not a bug. Use it. Your character entering a room should land differently than a Runewarden entering the same room.
**The class is relatively new.** Unnamable is one of the newer additions to Achaea’s class roster. The community is smaller, the lore is still being shaped, and the player population is more specialised. If you want to play a class with strong identity but less overhead than the older factional classes, this is a sharp pick.
**Combat is unconventional.** Anathema’s transformation system doesn’t play like other affliction classes. The progression through Basic Mutations to Manifestations to Recondite works is mechanical horror, not just flavour. Expect a learning curve.
If you want a class with the strongest body-horror identity in the game, a hard commitment to Chaos and Ashtan, and combat that doesn’t look like anything else in Achaea, Unnamable delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Unnamable is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Occultist: Ashtan’s Chaos Scholar](/classes/occultists/)
Ashtan’s dark scholar. Shares the Chaos alignment and Ashtan home. Where the Unnamable transforms into Chaos, the Occultist summons Chaos entities to fight alongside them. Same ethos, very different combat identity. Often allied with Unnamables in Ashtan’s military operations.
### [Infernal: Mhaldor’s Iron Arm of Evil](/classes/infernal/)
The other dark-warrior class. Where the Unnamable serves Chaos and Ashtan, the Infernal serves Evil and Mhaldor. Both share Weaponmastery. The contrast is theological: Mhaldor’s Seven Truths vs. Ashtan’s commitment to Chaos. Choose Infernal if Mhaldor’s structured Evil appeals more than Ashtan’s unhinged Chaos.
### [Apostate: Mhaldor’s Daemonic Priest](/classes/apostates/)
The dark priest counterpart in Mhaldor. Same scholar-of-darkness role as the Occultist, but on Evil’s side rather than Chaos’s. Worth a look if the Unnamable’s transgressive class identity appeals but you’d rather not commit to physical transformation as a core mechanic.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of an Unnamable in Achaea?**
An Unnamable’s skills are Anathema, Weaponmastery, and Dominion. A fledgling Unnamable gains Anathema and Weaponmastery; Dominion is granted upon embracing the class. Anathema is the transformation skill, the Unnamable channels Chaos into their own flesh, growing extra mouths, eyes, tentacles, and tumours. Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill. Dominion covers the bonded Hound of Lycantha, archery, and aggressive set-pieces.
**Is the Unnamable a new class?**
Yes. Unnamable is one of the most recent additions to Achaea’s class roster. The class brings a body-horror identity that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the game. Its lore frames Unnamables as descendants in spirit of the original Unnamable Horror, the first being to cross from Chaos to Creation.
**Which Houses accept Unnamables?**
Five Houses: all three Ashtan Houses (The Nemesian Vanguard, The Esoteric Consortium, The Savants of the Wheel) plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. The class is alignment-locked to Ashtan. Use `HOUSE LIST UNNAMABLE` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can an Unnamable lose their powers?**
Yes. The Anathema skill depends on access to the Eschaton, the reservoir of group karma within Ashtan. An Unnamable who acts against Ashtan or Chaos will have access to Anathema revoked. The class explicitly requires at least some roleplaying within Ashtan’s framework.
**What is the Hound of Lycantha?**
The Hound of Lycantha is the Unnamable’s bonded companion creature, the class’s counterpart to the Paladin’s eagle and the Infernal’s hyena. Every Unnamable forms a pact with Lord Lycantha on the Chaos Plane (`HOUND REQUEST`) to bond a hound. The hound is described in lore as “your loyal nightmare,” a dark, evolving companion that scouts rooms, mauls enemies, scents victims, and grows into a “superior state of being” over time through the Evolution ability.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Sylvans of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/sylvans)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Sylvans are forestal elementalists. The class was founded by those who drew on knowledge from both the Druids and the Magi of Achaea, and the synthesis runs through every part of the class. A Sylvan establishes a Grove like a Druid, transforms into the mighty Viridian, a living being of the forest, and weaves weather like a wandering storm mage. Combat ranges from the Grove’s prepared room control to direct elemental devastation across a battlefield.
---
## Sylvan lore and origin
Sylvans are a modern class. They emerged from practitioners who studied both with the Druids (gaining Grove mastery and a deep reverence for Nature) and with the Magi (gaining elemental knowledge and the curiosity to investigate the base workings of reality). The synthesis is the class.
A typical Sylvan, per the lore, “is in love with the forests and with those beings of the forest, but beyond that, they are scholars of nature who seek to understand better how to live in harmony with it by employing the basic elements: water, air, earth, to help them.” The class home is Eleusis, the forest commune. The factional lock applies: Eleusis and Gaia have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions, and a Sylvan who becomes a forest enemy can have access to class abilities revoked.
What a Sylvan does, in plain terms: tends a personal Grove (the home base), transforms into the Viridian (a forest-touched form for direct combat), and channels Weatherweaving (the elemental side, focused on water, earth, and air). The class is one of Achaea’s most layered. It plays slowly. Sylvans set up their Grove, choose their moment to Viridian, and unleash storms when the time is right.
The Viridian form is the class signature. At the highest mastery, a Viridian can cause death with a single touch.
---
## Signature combat identity: the Viridian, the Grove, and the storm
Three things make a Sylvan a Sylvan.
The first is the Viridian. Through Propagation, a Sylvan transforms into the Viridian, a living being of the forest, distinct from any animal shape. The form is altered further through Mutation, Multiplication, and Acceleration: an advanced Viridian can Lacerate with vines, Thornrend, Heartseed an enemy from within. The capstone, Acceleration, gives complete mastery of the Viridian form. The lore is explicit: the most advanced Viridians can cause death with a single touch.
The second is the Grove. Like Druids, Sylvans Imprint and tend a personal Grove that accumulates sunlight. Within the Grove, a Sylvan is functionally unbeatable: Lightning, Guardian, Hive, Barrier, Forestbinding, and Resurrection all flow from the same Grove-energy. Eleusis-specific abilities (Formicary, Swarmsense) are available to Eleusis-aligned Sylvans. The Sylvan’s Grove plays the same role the Druid’s does: home base, power source, identity.
The third is Weatherweaving. Where the Magi’s Elementalism is broad, the Sylvan’s Weatherweaving is focused: water, earth, and air. The skill sacrifices versatility for precision and power. Bolt strikes from above. Razorwind lacerates skin. Cyclone is the greatest of the wind spells. Fulmination is the capstone: “your fury is terrible indeed.” A Sylvan in serious combat is calling down a storm.
Together, Groves + Propagation + Weatherweaving makes the Sylvan a three-layer combatant: prepared Grove control, mid-fight Viridian transformation, and elemental storm. The class plays like a forest-touched archmage with a hidden second form.
---
## The three skills of a Sylvan
A Sylvan commands three skill sets: Groves, Propagation, and Weatherweaving. A fledgling Sylvan gains Groves and Propagation; Weatherweaving is granted upon embracing the class.
GrovesPropagationWeatherweaving
**Signature abilities:** Formicary, Swarmsense
Groves is the shared forestal skill that Sylvans and Druids both use. A Sylvan Imprints a Grove the same way a Druid does, and uses the same sunlight-powered abilities to control the surrounding forest and serve as a home base.
For the full Groves ability table, see the [Druid spoke’s Groves section](/classes/druids/#groves). The skill is identical across both forestal classes. Sylvans do not gain the Druid-specific Harmony specialisation, but Eleusis-aligned Sylvans gain Formicary and Swarmsense.
**Eleusis-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Formicary | Summon the swarm to defend a natural location. |
| Swarmsense | Sense the size of the swarm. |
**Signature abilities:** Viridian, Thornrend, Targeting
Propagation focuses on altering the Sylvan’s own physical state through the power of nature. Able to assume the form of the mighty Viridian, the adept propagator alters all aspects of their body, granting many beneficial changes.
True masters of the Viridian find nature both lethal and benign. These rare individuals can cause death with a single touch. The capstone, Acceleration, grants complete mastery of the Viridian form.
The skill also includes a roster of plant-based herbs (Bloodroot, Valerian, Lobelia, Goldenseal, Hawthorn) that the Viridian processes for distinct effects.
**Abilities (23)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Viridian | Become a mighty viridian. |
| Thornrend | Rend your foes with your lethal vines. |
| Targeting | Aiming your blows at specific body parts. |
| Propagate | Enhance yourself with nature’s bounty. |
| Bloodroot | One of the most widely used herbs. |
| Kelp | The grass of the sea. |
| Bellwort | A flower with mysterious properties. |
| Mutation | The first step toward mastery. |
| Lacerate | Lay open their throat with your vines. |
| Valerian | A plant that grows in mountainous areas. |
| Lobelia | A brightly coloured plant used to cure phobias. |
| Elm | A potent herb with limited applications. |
| Sileris | A berry that grows in various valleys. |
| Vinewreathe | Call upon Nature to hinder your foe. |
| Kola | A small nut with surprising potency. |
| Multiplication | Greater control over the viridian. |
| Barkskin | Make your skin tough like bark. |
| Goldenseal | A plant that affects the mind. |
| Skullcap | A plant that grows in the harsher environments. |
| Eclipse | Bedazzle your foe with a celestial bolt. |
| Hawthorn | A plant that grows in hilly locations. |
| Heartseed | Send Nature’s touch to destroy your enemy from within. |
| Acceleration | Complete mastery of the viridian form. |
**Signature abilities:** Channel, Windwhip, Gust
The weather is beyond the grasp of any mortal mage. Weatherweavers learn to direct where control is impossible. Focusing on the elemental channels of earth, water, and air, they are less versatile than the Magi’s Elementalism but gain in precision and power. Whispers of those who could call lightning from a cloudless sky, or summon winds able to strip skin from bone.
The capstone is Fulmination: “your fury is terrible indeed.”
**Abilities (34)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Channel | Open conduits to the Elemental Realms. |
| Windwhip | Lash them with a whip of air. |
| Gust | Blow someone in a direction with a gust of wind. |
| Reflection | Create a distracting illusion of yourself. |
| Fortification | Protect your open channels from attack. |
| Scry | Locate another adventurer. |
| Geyser | Knock someone out of the trees or the sky. |
| Circulate | Circulate electricity throughout your body. |
| Shear | Slice away shields with a blade of wind. |
| Binding | The magic of channel binding. |
| Disturb | Disturb the natural weather patterns. |
| Static | Conjure forth a burst of static. |
| Thunderclap | A burst of sound to rupture the ears. |
| Feedback | Bleed off your residual power. |
| Gale | Hurl the unsecured to the corners of the globe. |
| Flash | A brilliant flash of light. |
| Synchronisity | Control the flows of two spells at once. |
| Bolt | A searing bolt of lightning. |
| Electrify | Sometimes, lightning does strike twice. |
| Overcharge | To the point of instability, and no further. |
| Razorwind | A wind to lacerate the skin. |
| Fog | Conjure up obscuring fog. |
| Cyclone | The greatest of the wind spells. |
| Aerial | Summon an air elemental to carry you to the skies. |
| Hailstone | Simple is best. |
| Illusion | Cast an illusion of your choosing. |
| Deluge | A great flood of water. |
| Hailstorm | Call down a hailstorm to pummel everyone else in the room. |
| Waterspout | Bend water to your will. |
| Simultaneity | Parallel channelling. |
| Shockwave | Your power shall not be denied. |
| Rainstorm | Open the skies and deluge the earth. |
| Stormhammer | Call down the wrath of the storm upon multiple enemies. |
| Fulmination | Your fury is terrible indeed. |
---
## Sylvan Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Sylvan is alignment-locked to Eleusis (Nature). Same 4-House pool as Druid and Sentinel.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. Often the natural fit for Sylvans who lean spiritual/elemental. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Sylvan choice. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Sylvan choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST SYLVAN`.
A note on the alignment lock: The forestal restrictions apply. Eleusis and Gaia have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Sylvan who becomes a forest enemy can have class abilities revoked. The factional commitment is real.
---
## What an Achaea Sylvan might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Sylvan can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Sylvan.
[A Fayad](/races/fayad/)[A Tsolaa](/races/tsolaa/)---
## How to roleplay a Sylvan in Achaea
A Sylvan’s identity blends scholar and forester. Your character is in love with the forests, but also intellectually curious about how the world works at its base. The synthesis of Druid Grove-mysticism and Magi elemental-scholarship is the class’s flavour anchor.
Three things make Sylvan roleplay distinct:
**The Viridian is your other self.** Becoming the Viridian is more than a combat transformation. It’s a different mode of being. Players who roleplay the Viridian as a shift in personality and perception, not just a sprite swap, get the strongest material out of the class.
**Your storms have personality.** Weatherweaving is a strong source of in-character flavour. A Sylvan whose storms reflect their mood: gentle rain in peacetime, hailstorm in conflict, adds texture every time the weather changes around them.
**You’re a scholar who loves the forest.** Eleusis has space for both kinds of forestal: the wild ranger and the contemplative student. Sylvans tend toward the latter. Players who lean into the scholar identity, quiet, observant, deeply curious about the elemental machinery of the natural world, develop the cleanest Sylvan voice.
A few practical notes:
**Setup takes time.** Sylvans want their Grove established, their Viridian form ready, and a sense of when to escalate to Weatherweaving. The class rewards patience.
**Heartwood Kin is often the natural House.** Sylvans who lean toward the spiritual side of forestal play fit Heartwood Kin’s character. The Scions of the Ithmia work too, especially for Sylvans who lean toward direct combat through the Viridian.
**Combat is mid-fight pivots.** A Sylvan transitioning from human form to Viridian mid-combat, calling down a storm at the right moment, and using the Grove as escape and rally point is playing the class at its best.
If you want a class that synthesises forest mysticism with elemental power, with a distinct alternate combat form and the strongest weather-magic in Achaea, Sylvan delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Sylvan is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Druid: Eleusis’ Shapeshifting Forestal](/classes/druids/)
The forestal shapeshifter. Shares Eleusis alignment and the Groves skill. Where the Sylvan transforms into the Viridian and wields elemental weather, the Druid shapeshifts into beasts (including Wyvern and Hydra) and reclaims the land. Choose Druid if shapeshifting and land-control appeal more than elementalism.
### [Magi: Achaea’s Elementalist](/classes/mages/)
The non-forestal elementalist. If elemental magic appeals but Eleusis alignment isn’t your draw, Magi is the answer. Wider city pool (16 Houses vs. Sylvan’s 4), broader elemental palette, no forestal restrictions. Trade the Viridian and the Grove for the Elemental Staff and Crystalism.
### [Alchemist: Cauda Pavonis Scholar](/classes/alchemists/)
The scholarly transmutation cousin. Different mechanics (humours, primes, metals instead of elements and the Grove) but a similar “I am a scholar who applies the natural world” identity. Note: Alchemist is excluded from Eleusis. If you want the scholar identity but want to leave Eleusis-locked play behind, Alchemist gives you another city to pick from.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Sylvan in Achaea?**
A Sylvan’s skills are Groves, Propagation, and Weatherweaving. A fledgling Sylvan gains Groves and Propagation; Weatherweaving is granted upon embracing the class. Groves is the shared forestal skill (same as the Druid’s). Propagation is the Viridian transformation system. Weatherweaving is elemental weather control focused on earth, water, and air.
**What is the Viridian form?**
The Viridian is the Sylvan’s signature transformation: a living being of the forest. Through Propagation, the Sylvan alters their physical state into the Viridian, gaining beneficial changes and access to plant-based abilities (Bloodroot, Valerian, Lobelia, and more). True masters of the Viridian can cause death with a single touch. The lore is explicit about this and the mechanics match.
**What is the difference between a Sylvan and a Druid?**
Both classes are forestal, both alignment-locked to Eleusis, and both share the Groves skill. The difference is their second and third skills. Druids use Metamorphosis (shapeshifting into beasts) and Reclamation (turning rooms into reclaimed land). Sylvans use Propagation (the Viridian transformation) and Weatherweaving (elemental weather). Druids are mystical shapeshifters; Sylvans are forest-touched elementalists.
**Which Houses accept Sylvans?**
Four Houses: The Scions of the Ithmia and The Heartwood Kin in Eleusis, plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. Same House list as Druid and Sentinel. Use `HOUSE LIST SYLVAN` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can a Sylvan lose their powers?**
Yes. The forestal restrictions apply: Eleusis and Gaia have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Sylvan who becomes a forest enemy, by acting against Nature or against Eleusis, can have access to class abilities revoked. The factional commitment is real.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Shamans of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/shamans)
**Published:** January 16, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Shamans are Achaea’s enigmatic ritualists. Hailing from the wintry northernlands of Hashan, they hex opponents with debilitating curses, craft vodun dolls to control victims from anywhere, and bind the spirits of ancient figures into their bodies for new power. Fiercely spiritual and reclusive, the class is unaligned with any ethos, but the membership tilts toward those who embrace the secrets of the shadows.
---
## Shaman lore and origin
The Shaman class was born in 288 A.F. of the modern age when Firefox Sly opened the guild of Shamans to the world. The class draws its strength from the darker side of mysticism. While not inherently aligned with any single ethos, Shamans tend to draw those who embrace the secrets of the shadows more readily than the light.
Most Shamans live in Hashan, the Court of Shadows, a city of secrets, science, and the esoteric. A few reside in Ashtan and Mhaldor. Cyrene, Eleusis, and Targossas rarely see Shamans, though the class isn’t formally banned from them.
The class is described in the lore as fiercely spiritual and reclusive. Shamans practice three arts: Curses (direct affliction through hexing), Vodun (remote control via empathetic doll-bond), and Spiritlore (binding ancient spirits to augment the body). The combination makes Shaman one of the most layered dark-magic classes in the game. A Shaman who has bound a powerful spirit, holds a doll of their enemy, and can deliver curses at will is one of the harder opponents to face.
What a Shaman does, in plain terms: enters trance to commune with the Spirit Realm and bind one or more ancient spirits, fashions a doll of an enemy from rope and cloth, and curses targets through hexing. The class wins through accumulation. Once a Shaman has a full doll-likeness of you and the right spirits bound, the lore notes, you are “extremely difficult to overcome.”
---
## Signature combat identity: the curse, the doll, and the spirit
Three things make a Shaman a Shaman.
The first is the curse. Through Curses, a Shaman reels off afflictions in quick succession via `CURSE `. The roster runs from minor (Vertigo, Dizzy, Asthma) to severe (Paralyse, Plague, Haemophilia) to the capstone Jinx (the ultimate shamanic curse) and Tzantza (a most painful end). The skill is direct, fast, and dangerous. Truecurse drives curses through magic shields; Swiftcurse delivers them faster. Curses is the Shaman’s bread-and-butter combat tool.
The second is the doll. Vodun is the mystical art of imbuing a carving with a target’s life energy. The Shaman Fashions a doll from rope and cloth, refines the link to a specific person, and then affects that person from anywhere: Break their limbs, Throttle them, Burn them, Bleed them, Travel through spirit pathways to their location, Summon them to you, Cripple them at distance. The mechanic is near-identical to the Jester’s Puppetry, same toolkit, different cultural framing. If someone holds a doll of your character, you must retrieve and destroy it, or slay the Vodun master.
The third is the spirit. Spiritlore lets the Shaman commune with the Spirit Realm and bind ancient spirits: Daina the Viridian, Jhulian the Nomad, Arius the Druid, Maligus the Cleric, Aspar the Iron Handed, Aelkesh the Faceless, Teraile the Swordsman, Arcanor the Sorcerer, Syvis the Venomous, Marak the Eviscerator, and many more. Each spirit, when bound, augments the Shaman’s abilities in distinct ways. The most advanced practitioners may bind multiple spirits, sever spirit from body (Spiritwalk), or commune with Demiurge Adchachel, The Rose of Pain, the deepest capstone of the skill.
Together, Curses + Vodun + Spiritlore makes the Shaman a class of layered remote-effect combat. The Shaman doesn’t need to be in the room to win the fight.
---
## The three skills of a Shaman
A Shaman commands three skill sets: Vodun, Curses, and Spiritlore. A fledgling Shaman gains Spiritlore and Curses; Vodun is granted upon embracing the class.
CursesVodunSpiritlore
**Signature abilities:** Fear, Discernment, Deaf
Curses draws on the dark side of the mystic world. Simple, powerful, deadly. The Shaman reels off curse after curse in quick succession via `CURSE `. Only Bleed works on denizens; the rest require an adventurer target.
The capstone curses: Blight, Tzantza, and Jinx (the ultimate shamanic curse), are some of the most feared afflictions in Achaea. Truecurse drives curses through magic shields; Swiftcurse delivers them faster.
**Abilities (38)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Fear | Instill great fear in your target. |
| Discernment | Discern the severity of your victim’s wounds. |
| Deaf | Dampen an opponent’s hearing. |
| Bleed | Curse your opponent with uncontrollable bleeding. |
| Clumsy | Your victim will fumble about. |
| Vertigo | A devastating fear of heights. |
| Impatience | Inability to concentrate on focused tasks. |
| Amnesia | Make your victim forget what he meant to do. |
| Agoraphobia | Fear of open spaces. |
| Breach | Cut through an opponent’s curseward. |
| Dizzy | Causes problems when trying to move. |
| Claustrophobia | Fear of being under cover. |
| Paranoia | They are out to get you, believe me. |
| Blind | Curse an opponent with blindness. |
| Masochism | The love of your own pain. |
| Asthma | Creates difficulty when breathing. |
| Truecurse | The ability to drive your curses through magic shields. |
| Reckless | A dangerous disregard for personal well-being. |
| Epilepsy | Disrupt the nervous system of your victim. |
| Manaleech | Cause the victim’s mana to bleed away. |
| Peace | Fill your enemy’s mind with thoughts of peace. |
| Dementia | Distorts the victim’s perceptions of the world. |
| Paralyse | Freeze the limbs of your enemy. |
| Plague | Curse someone with the voyria affliction. |
| Addiction | Creates a terrible addiction. |
| Swiftcurse | The ability to deliver curses much more quickly. |
| Stupid | Make a victim dumb as a rock. |
| Healthleech | A victim’s health will slowly bleed away. |
| Sensitivity | Cause your victim to become extremely sensitive to pain. |
| Vomiting | Upset the stomach of your enemy. |
| Sleep | Put an enemy to sleep, or remove his sleep defences. |
| Haemophilia | Deny them respite from their wounds. |
| Anorexia | A terrible condition, preventing one from eating. |
| Weariness | Weaken the body of your opponent. |
| Blight | The most feared of the Curse abilities. |
| Inflame | Set a victim’s very blood aflame. |
| Tzantza | Bring a most painful end to your victim. |
| Jinx | The ultimate shamanic curse. |
**Signature abilities:** Fashion, Gripping, Confusion
Vodun is mystical. By imbuing a carving with the empathetic link to a person, the Shaman affects that person from afar. The Shaman Fashions a doll from rope and cloth, refines the link through repeated workings, and then can confuse, leech experience, slay, and more, all from anywhere.
If someone obtains a doll of you, you must retrieve and destroy it, or slay the Vodun master who created it. The skill is mechanically near-identical to the Jester’s Puppetry, same toolkit, different cultural framing.
**Abilities (32)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Fashion | Fashion vodun dolls from rope and cloth. |
| Gripping | Grip your dolls tighter than ever before. |
| Confusion | Muddle the thoughts of your victim. |
| Dizzy | Cause your enemy to become unsteady on his feet. |
| Sleep | Send someone to the dreamworld. |
| Illusion | Cause your victim to see an image of your choosing. |
| Spy | See the surroundings of your target. |
| Status | Find out what the health and mana of your target is. |
| Strip | Strip someone’s defences. |
| Paralyse | Lock up the muscle system of your victim. |
| Break | Break both the arms or both the legs of someone. |
| Throttle | Crush the life out of your victim. |
| Reckless | Induce a sense of extreme bravado in your opponent. |
| Tickle | Tickle the feet of your doll. |
| Burn | Set your victim alight. |
| Bleed | Bloodlet your enemy. |
| Travel | Travel through the spirit pathways to your doll. |
| Cripple | Break all the limbs of a victim. |
| Command | Your wish is their command. |
| Slow | Make a victim move through time more slowly. |
| Puncture | Destroy your target’s internal organs. |
| Blackout | Rob your victim of some of his senses. |
| Summon | Summon your victim to you. |
| Bind | Tie up your hapless opponent. |
| Listen | Hear talking through your target’s ears. |
| Intuition | You know them more than they know themselves. |
| Inventory | See the inventory of your target. |
| Imbibe | Afflict your opponent through your doll. |
| Mangle | A pain beyond that of mere breaking. |
| Concussion | Bruise the very brain of your doll’s model. |
| Leech | Attach yourself to the spirit of your victim. |
| Truefashion | The hallmark of a master of Vodun. |
**Signature abilities:** Commune, Daina, Jhulian
Gifted with the power to pierce the layers of reality and commune with the Spirit Realm, Shamans access wells of power thought long-lost. Upon entering a trance, the Shaman binds the spirits of one or more named ancient figures, augmenting their abilities. Further attunement unlocks greater powers.
The most skilled practitioners are rumoured to attune to multiple spirits at once, or to sever spirit from body and traverse incorporeally (Spiritwalk). The deepest capstone is Adchachel, communing with a Demiurge.
**Abilities (24)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Commune | Commune with the spirits. |
| Daina | Daina, The Viridian. |
| Jhulian | Jhulian, The Nomad. |
| Arius | Arius, The Druid. |
| Silvanix | Silvanix, The Fool. |
| Ri’shen | Ri’shen, The Master. |
| Maligus | Maligus, The Cleric. |
| Aspar | Aspar, The Iron Handed. |
| Aelkesh | Aelkesh, The Faceless. |
| Teraile | Teraile, The Swordsman. |
| Arcanor | Arcanor, The Sorcerer. |
| Syvis | Syvis, The Venomous. |
| Marak | Marak, The Eviscerator. |
| Anthius | Anthius, The Crusader. |
| Garon | Garon, The Knight. |
| Designate | Designate the owners of your tribal totems. |
| Tarnel | Tarnel, The Walker. |
| Kosuira | Kosuira, The Child Sorceress. |
| Arayan | Arayan, The Healer. |
| Tether | Desperate times lead to temporary measures. |
| Spiritwalk | Walk free of the confines of mortal flesh. |
| Khentimen | If you dare. |
| Mastery | Mastery of the spiritual arts. |
| Adchachel | Demiurge Adchachel, The Rose of Pain. |
---
## Shaman Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Shaman is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses across all 6 cities + cityless, same wide acceptance as Serpent, Magi, and Runewarden.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. The traditional Shaman home for scholarly play. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. Strong fit for Shamans who bind warrior-spirits. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House (rare Shaman choice). |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House (rare Shaman choice). |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House (rare). |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House (rare). |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House (rare). |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST SHAMAN`.
A note on the class’s home: while the class is technically unrestricted, per HELP SHAMAN the membership “is mostly contained within their historical home of Hashan with a few residing in Ashtan and Mhaldor, but rarely in Cyrene, Eleusis, or Targossas.” The good-aligned cities don’t ban Shamans, but the dark-mysticism flavour doesn’t fit easily.
---
## What an Achaea Shaman might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Shaman can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Shaman.
[An Atavian](/races/atavian/)[A Tsolaa](/races/tsolaa/)---
## How to roleplay a Shaman in Achaea
A Shaman’s identity is reclusive. Your character keeps secrets. Knows things others don’t. Communes with old spirits, with ancient figures, with the shadow side of mysticism. The class lore is explicit about reclusiveness. Shamans tend toward the quiet, the watchful, the unsettling.
Three things make Shaman roleplay distinct:
**Your bound spirits are characters.** Daina, Jhulian, Maligus, Adchachel. These aren’t combat buffs. They’re named ancient figures with personalities. Players who treat their bound spirits as roleplay material (referring to them by name, describing the binding ritual, acknowledging the spirit’s influence on the Shaman’s behaviour) get the strongest roleplay material.
**Your dolls are personal.** Holding a doll of an enemy is intimate. Your character has carved a likeness, refined a link, and now affects the target from anywhere. The lore frames this as deeply uncomfortable, and that discomfort is part of the class’s character.
**You live in Hashan but the city doesn’t own you.** Most Shamans are Hashani, but the class isn’t politically locked to the city the way Priest is to Targossas. Players who treat their Shaman as Hashan-aligned but ultimately independent, beholden to spirits more than to city politics, get the truest version of the class.
A few practical notes:
**Combat is layered and slow.** Vodun doll preparation, Spiritlore trance and binding, and Curse stacking all take time. Shamans reward patient combatants who think 3-5 moves ahead.
**The Krymenian Academy is the canonical home.** Strong fit for Shamans who lean scholar. Somatikos works well for Shamans who lean toward combat through bound warrior-spirits.
**Cyrene, Eleusis, and Targossas are awkward.** Politically you can join them. Culturally and thematically, the class doesn’t fit. Most Shamans who try those cities end up wandering back to Hashan or going cityless.
If you want a class with the deepest dark-mysticism identity, three-layer remote combat through curses + dolls + spirits, and a quiet authority that comes from knowing things others don’t, Shaman delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Shaman is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Jester: Absurdity as a Weapon](/classes/jesters/)
The mechanical cousin via Puppetry, near-identical doll-and-link combat system. Same flexibility (16 Houses, no alignment lock). Very different cultural framing: where the Shaman’s dolls are ritual implements, the Jester’s puppets are tools of absurdity. Choose Jester if you want the same remote-control mechanic with a playful clown identity instead of dark mysticism.
### [Apostate: Mhaldor’s Daemonic Priest](/classes/apostates/)
The Mhaldor dark priest. Shares the affliction-stacking combat style (Apostate Evileye works analogously to Shaman Curses). Where the Shaman is unrestricted, the Apostate is locked to Mhaldor and serves Evil with a Baalzadeen instead of bound spirits. Choose Apostate if you want a tighter factional commitment.
### [Pariah: The Accursed Sorcerer](/classes/pariah/)
The other dark mystic class. Different mechanics (blood logographs, plague swarms, crypt construction) but a similar “outcast scholar” identity. Both classes are unrestricted by alignment. Choose Pariah if the tomb-and-desert aesthetic appeals more than Hashan’s wintry reclusion.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Shaman in Achaea?**
A Shaman’s skills are Vodun, Curses, and Spiritlore. A fledgling Shaman gains Spiritlore and Curses; Vodun is granted upon embracing the class. Curses is the direct affliction skill (`CURSE ` with Jinx, Tzantza, and Blight as capstones). Vodun is the doll-link art for remote control of victims. Spiritlore lets the Shaman commune with the Spirit Realm and bind named ancient spirits to augment their abilities.
**Where do Shamans come from in Achaea?**
The Shaman class was born in 288 A.F. of the modern age when Firefox Sly opened the guild to the world. The class hails from the wintry northernlands of Hashan, the Court of Shadows. Most Shamans still live in Hashan, though the class is unrestricted by alignment and members can be found in Ashtan and Mhaldor as well.
**Which Houses accept Shamans?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options, same wide acceptance as Serpent, Magi, and Runewarden. The Krymenian Academy and The Somatikos in Hashan are the natural homes. The good-aligned cities (Cyrene, Eleusis, Targossas) accept Shamans formally but rarely see them due to the cultural mismatch. Use `HOUSE LIST SHAMAN` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Is the Shaman the same as the Jester?**
Mechanically, Vodun (Shaman) and Puppetry (Jester) use nearly the same toolkit. Fashion a doll/puppet of someone, refine the link, then affect them remotely. The difference is the broader class identity. Shamans are reclusive dark mystics who curse and bind spirits. Jesters are acrobatic tricksters who throw bombs and tell bad jokes. The two classes share one skill in spirit but feel completely different to play.
**What are the bound spirits in Spiritlore?**
Spiritlore lets a Shaman commune with the Spirit Realm and bind named ancient figures: Daina the Viridian, Jhulian the Nomad, Arius the Druid, Aspar the Iron Handed, Marak the Eviscerator, Garon the Knight, Adchachel the Demiurge (“The Rose of Pain”), and many more. Each spirit augments the Shaman’s abilities in different ways. Master practitioners bind multiple spirits at once, and the deepest can Spiritwalk, sever spirit from body and traverse incorporeally.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Serpents of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/serpents)
**Published:** January 15, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Serpents are Achaea’s stealth specialists. They descend from the serpentlords of legend, can secrete venoms from their own fangs, hypnotise enemies into trances and implant subliminal commands, and traverse the continent through a private network of dimensional wormholes. The class is one of the most mechanically demanding in Achaea, and one of the most rewarding once mastered.
---
## Serpent lore and origin
The Serpent class has roots as ancient as any other class in Achaea. In the times of legend, two members of the fourth generation of humanity, Loki and Ekanel, were born appearing slightly serpentine, and lived in the primal forests. They mated and had numerous serpentine children. Generations later, this strain of humanity had become so serpent-like that they could secrete venoms through developed fangs, hypnotise with their gaze, and more. Eventually, through interbreeding with other races, the Serpents ceased to be a race and became instead a set of traits possessed by individuals of all races.
Modern Serpents are often attracted to shady careers, though there are notable ones who have chosen a cause and fought for it their entire lives. They might be found in any city or might choose to be cityless wanderers instead. The class is one of the most flexible in Achaea: no factional pressure, no alignment lock, accepted in every city.
What a Serpent does, in plain terms: fights with a whip and a dirk (or strikes with their fangs), applies dozens of venoms in carefully timed sequences, hypnotises opponents and plants harmful suggestions, traverses a wormhole network that crosses the continent, climbs into treetops and travels by branch, sharpshoots at distance with the fabled Darkbows. A competent Serpent is described in the lore as “an extremely frustrating opponent”: few can inhibit their movement enough to pin them down.
This is one of Achaea’s most mechanically demanding classes. The combat is built around precise venom timing, stacked hypnotic suggestions, and mobility through wormholes. The skill ceiling is among the highest in the game.
---
## Signature combat identity: venoms, hypnosis, and the wormhole
Three things make a Serpent a Serpent.
The first is venom. Through the Venom skill, a Serpent’s dormant glands produce dozens of distinct venoms: Sumac for minor damage, Curare for paralysis, Voyria for instant death, Loki for unpredictable effects, Aconite for stupidity, Ekanelia for late-game lethality, Selarnia to force shapechangers back to mortal form, and many more. The Serpent `SECRETE`s a venom, the glands produce it, then a `BITE` delivers it. Venoms can also be applied to arrows or dirk strikes. The class is built around stacking venoms in precise sequences to overwhelm an opponent’s curing.
The second is hypnosis. Where Venom is a natural ability and Subterfuge is partly magical, Hypnosis is presented in the lore as a science discovered by a forgotten Serpentlord. A Serpent `HYPNOTISE`s a target, `SUGGEST`s subliminal effects (paranoia, vertigo, claustrophobia, recklessness, anorexia, pacifism, a wide menu of trivial and complex suggestions), then `SEAL`s the trance with a timer. When `SNAP`ped, by the Serpent or by anyone else, the suggestions activate. A skilled Serpent layers hypnosis on top of venoms on top of dirk strikes, building toward a moment where the target is overwhelmed.
The third is the wormhole. Subterfuge contains the Splice ability, creating a personal dimensional wormhole, and Warp to enter it, Vortex to drag enemies through, Channel to throw objects through. A serpent who has spliced wormholes across the continent moves at will between distant rooms. Combined with arboreal movement (Swinging through treetops, Scan to spot below) and stealth (Hide, Ghost, Cloak), the Serpent is the most mobile combat class in Achaea.
Add archery (Bowmanship, Aiming, Darkbows, Snipe, Pinshot) for ranged work and a pet snake for fight support, and you have a class that fights at five layers: venom, hypnosis, dirk strikes, archery, and wormhole positioning. There’s nothing else in Achaea quite like it.
---
## The three skills of a Serpent
A Serpent commands three skill sets: Subterfuge, Hypnosis, and Venom. A fledgling Serpent gains Subterfuge and Venom; Hypnosis is granted upon embracing the class.
SubterfugeHypnosisVenom
**Signature abilities:** Rattle, Hide, Scales
Subterfuge is the largest and most varied of a Serpent’s skills. It encompasses the coded Serpent Lord tongue (Rattle), archery (Bowmanship, Aiming, Darkbows, Crossbows, Snipe, Pinshot), the conjuring of illusions (Illusion, Dispel, Lightwall), dimensional wormholes (Splice, Warp, Vortex, Channel, Sources, Secondsight), stealth and movement (Hide, Ghost, Cloak, Dash, Weaving, Swinging, Scan), the dirk (Backstab, Doublestab, Slit, Execute), and the personal pet snake.
**Abilities (56)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Rattle | Knowledge of the coded Serpent Lord tongue. |
| Hide | Conceal yourself from view. |
| Scales | Coat yourself in protective, serpentine scales. |
| Garrote | Choke the life out of a target with your whip. |
| Evade | Misleading your pursuer. |
| Shadow | Shadowing a target in order to track them. |
| Flay | Flay the anti-venom sileris coatings from your enemies. |
| Waiting | Awaiting a target to be shadowed. |
| Pacing | The ability to anticipate and keep pace with others. |
| Bask | Bathing in the hot sun. |
| Block | Obstructing departure with your body. |
| Swinging | Swinging up into the treetops. |
| Secret | Give someone an item without their knowledge. |
| Scan | Scanning the forest floor from the treetops. |
| Bowmanship | Use of the valued projectile weapon. |
| Seize | Grabbing unwary victims from the forest floor. |
| Colours | Dye your arrows to categorise them. |
| Shove | Sending a hapless victim crashing to the forest floor. |
| Noose | Covert and deadly assassination from the trees. |
| Aiming | Increase your accuracy in shooting. |
| Listen | Detect action and conversations nearby. |
| Dispel | Rid your environment of illusions. |
| Lipread | The ability to understand what is said while deaf. |
| Eavesdrop | Listen even through closed doors. |
| Slit | Cut the throat of a helpless victim. |
| Wind | Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation. |
| Ghost | Give yourself a ghostly appearance. |
| Doublestab | Quickly administer two venoms to a target with your dirk. |
| Envenom | Dip your arrows in venom. |
| Seek | Sense for dimensional wormholes. |
| Warp | Open and enter a dimensional wormhole. |
| Illusion | Create an illusion of your choosing. |
| Crossbows | A powerful projectile weapon. |
| Cloak | Hide your actions from others. |
| Dash | Sprint in a particular direction. |
| Lightwall | Create a palpable wall of light. |
| Resonance | Allow sounds to resonate through a distant wormhole. |
| Darkbows | Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan. |
| Splice | Create a dimensional wormhole. |
| Pinshot | Focus your fire upon the feet of your victim. |
| Appraise | View the contents of another adventurer’s inventory. |
| Backstab | Attack from the shadows. |
| Channel | Hurl an object through a dimensional wormhole. |
| Pickpocket | Deftly pilfer from unsuspecting targets. |
| Case | The more you know… |
| Bind | Hog-tie an unconscious or sleeping opponent. |
| Execute | Subject your enemy to a merciless execution. |
| Sources | Sense out all dimensional wormholes. |
| Weaving | Weave and dodge like the cobra itself. |
| Yank | Use a whip to pull an opponent into your room. |
| Vortex | Suck an unwilling target into a wormhole. |
| Snipe | The ability to sharpshoot. |
| Cancel | Destroy a wormhole. |
| Secondsight | See wormholes with greater clarity. |
| Snake | A pet snake to assist you in combat. |
| Distraction | The blindspot is where you thrive. |
| Phase | Alter your status in space-time itself. |
**Signature abilities:** Hypnotise, Seal, Analyse
Hypnosis is the most “science” of the Serpent’s skills. A Serpent `HYPNOTISE`s a target (potentially without them noticing via Mesmerise), implants `SUGGEST`ions, `SEAL`s the trance with a timer, and `SNAP`s to activate. Any adventurer can trigger the snap once it’s sealed. Starting a new hypnosis clears previous suggestions, so suggestions must be implanted before sealing.
**Hypnotic techniques (7)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Hypnotise | Their minds are yours. |
| Seal | Poised to strike. |
| Analyse | Discover the implanted suggestions in someone. |
| Impulse | Some pressure here, some manipulation there. |
| Cleanse | Clean yourself or another of suggestions. |
| Mesmerise | Much subtler, near-undetectable hypnosis. |
| Imprint | Store the mental state of your subject. |
**Trivial suggestions (15)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Amnesia | Causes the victim to forget to do his next action. |
| Paranoia | They are out to get you, believe me. |
| Loneliness | Fear of being left on your own. |
| Claustrophobia | Fear of enclosed spaces. |
| Stuttering | Anxious difficulty with speech. |
| Hallucinations | Vivid hallucinations to plague your foe. |
| Dementia | Hugely distorts victim’s perception of the world. |
| Deadening | Weakening of the mind. |
| Epilepsy | Throw your victim’s nervous system into disarray. |
| Agoraphobia | Fear of open spaces. |
| Masochism | The love of your own pain. |
| Recklessness | Ignorance of health and disregard for well-being. |
| Vertigo | Fear of heights. |
| Confusion | Causes the mind to become confounded. |
| Stupidity | Abject, stumbling idiocy. |
**Complex suggestions (10)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Clumsiness | Inability to use weaponry effectively. |
| Addiction | A terrible addiction. |
| Pacifism | Loss of desire to cause anyone harm. |
| Hypersomnia | A condition that prevents insomnia. |
| Nausea | A distinctly miserable feeling. |
| Anorexia | Loss of desire to eat. |
| Disrupt | Destroy your opponent’s mental equilibrium. |
| Generosity | Indiscriminate, overwhelming generosity. |
| Action | The ability to suggest an action of your choice. |
| Hypochondria | The conviction that one is constantly afflicted. |
**Signature abilities:** Secrete, Bite, Purge
Venom is unique to Serpents. The class’s dormant glands produce dozens of distinct venoms through `SECRETE`. Each venom has a risk factor: more powerful venoms can backfire on the Serpent if held too long. `BITE` delivers; `PURGE` clears unused venom.
Notable venoms: **Sumac** (minor damage), **Voyria** (the deadliest, can kill a bull in seconds), **Curare** (paralysis), **Aconite** (stupidity), **Loki** (unpredictable in its effects), **Selarnia** (forces shapechangers back to mortal form), **Ekanelia** (late-game lethality), **Camus** (concentrated Sumac), **Transcretion** (instant secretion of any venom).
Denizens are immune to most non-damage venoms.
**Abilities (35)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Secrete | The ancient ability of producing venom. |
| Bite | Sinking your fangs into an unfortunate victim. |
| Purge | Cleansing your venom sacs of poison. |
| Shrugging | Resist the detrimental effects of venoms. |
| Sumac | Minor damage. |
| Xentio | Loss of coordination. |
| Oleander | Blindness. |
| Eurypteria | Gives the victim delusions of invulnerability. |
| Kalmia | Inhibits the respiratory system. |
| Digitalis | Causes unbearable shyness. |
| Darkshade | Makes the victim allergic to sunlight. |
| Curare | A venom of muscular paralysis. |
| Epteth | Shrivel up the arms of your unlucky victim. |
| Prefarar | Increase the recipient’s sensitivity. |
| Monkshood | Disfigure your victim, causing disloyalty in those around. |
| Euphorbia | Induces spasmodic vomiting. |
| Colocasia | Gives blindness and deafness. |
| Oculus | Forces the recipient’s eyelids open. |
| Camus | A more powerful version of Sumac. |
| Vernalius | A venom that weakens the muscles. |
| Epseth | Cause the legs of your victim to become useless. |
| Larkspur | Causes great dizziness. |
| Slike | Give the curse of anorexia to your victim. |
| Voyria | The deadliest venom known to mankind. |
| Delphinium | Put your victim to sleep. |
| Transcretion | The ability to instantly secrete a venom. |
| Notechis | Induce haemophilia in a target. |
| Vardrax | Grants an insatiable addiction. |
| Loki | An unpredictable toxin. |
| Aconite | Cause sheer stupidity in your opponent. |
| Selarnia | Forcing your victim back into mortal form. |
| Gecko | Causes the recipient to become foully oily. |
| Scytherus | A venom that thins the blood. |
| Nechamandra | A venom that chills the veins. |
| Ekanelia | A lethality profound. |
---
## Serpent Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Serpent is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses across all 6 cities + 2 cityless, same wide acceptance as the other unrestricted classes.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. Serpents who lean toward Light find a home here. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. Serpents serving Evil. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. Often a natural Serpent home in Hashan. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. Common Serpent home for rogue/criminal play. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST SERPENT`.
A note on the class’s flexibility: Serpents have the widest “everywhere I show up I fit” range of any combat class in Achaea. The lore explicitly supports a cityless wanderer playstyle. The flexibility is part of the class identity.
---
## What an Achaea Serpent might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Serpent can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Serpent.
[A Mhun](/races/mhun/)[A Siren](/races/siren/)---
## How to roleplay a Serpent in Achaea
A Serpent’s identity is mystery. Your character is hard to read, hard to pin down, and rarely says what they mean. The class lore positions Serpents as inheritors of an ancient strain of humanity, and the modern Serpent carries that lineage, sometimes openly, more often as a secret.
Three things make Serpent roleplay distinct:
**You can be anything.** No factional lock. No alignment pressure. A Serpent can serve Targossas, Mhaldor, Ashtan, or no city at all. This flexibility is the class. Players who lean into it, moving cities, switching allegiances, keeping their real motives hidden, get the strongest material.
**Your venoms tell a story.** A Serpent who always opens with Curare reads differently than one who opens with Aconite or Voyria. Players who develop a signature venom pattern, and let it be known among rivals, build a recognisable character through their combat habits.
**Your wormholes are personal geography.** Where you splice wormholes is part of your character’s life. A Serpent who has wormholes in safehouses, hideouts, allied territory, and one private place no one knows about. That’s a character with depth.
A few practical notes:
**Combat has the highest skill ceiling in Achaea.** Venom timing, hypnosis stacking, dirk inline with strikes, wormhole positioning, archery setup: all at once. The class rewards years of practice. Don’t pick Serpent as your first class unless you’re committed.
**The Cyrene Bardic Sagas have a Pazuzu connection.** Worth knowing because Serpent characters in Cyrene sometimes overlap thematically with the Bardic Woe tradition.
**Discretion matters.** Serpents who openly broadcast their venom load, their hypnosis suggestions, or their wormhole positions are doing it wrong. The class is built on layered concealment.
If you want the most mechanically demanding combat class in Achaea, the deepest flexibility for character identity, and a stealth/affliction toolkit unmatched in the game, Serpent delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Serpent is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Blademaster: The Named-Blade Tradition](/classes/blademasters/)
The other precision-timing combat tradition. Blademasters chain Striking inline with TwoArts the way Serpents chain venoms with dirk strikes. Different weapon, different fiction, similar mechanical demands. Choose Blademaster if the sword aesthetic appeals more than the venom-and-stealth aesthetic.
### [Jester: Absurdity as a Weapon](/classes/jesters/)
The other trick-combat class. Where the Serpent uses precise venoms and timed hypnosis, the Jester uses bombs, balloons, magical puppets, and bad jokes. Same flexibility (16 Houses, no factional lock), very different combat identity. Choose Jester if the playful chaos of acrobatics-and-traps appeals more than serpentine cold precision.
### [Depthswalker: Tsol’teth Time-and-Shadow](/classes/depthswalkers/)
The shadow/time analog. Shares the wide House acceptance and the mechanical demands. Where the Serpent stacks venoms, the Depthswalker bends time. Where the Serpent uses wormholes, the Depthswalker uses Shadowmancy’s Step and Disperse. Often appeals to the same kind of player.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Serpent in Achaea?**
A Serpent’s skills are Subterfuge, Hypnosis, and Venom. A fledgling Serpent gains Subterfuge and Venom; Hypnosis is granted upon embracing the class. Subterfuge is the broad combat-and-utility skill (archery, wormholes, dirk, stealth). Hypnosis lets the Serpent trance opponents and implant subliminal suggestions. Venom is unique to the class: dozens of distinct venoms produced through dormant glands.
**Is Serpent a good class for new players?**
Generally no. Serpent has one of the highest skill ceilings in Achaea. The combat requires venom timing, hypnosis layering, dirk-strike chaining, and wormhole positioning: all at once. New players are usually better served by Runewarden, Magi, or Depthswalker. Pick Serpent if you’re committed to learning the class over time; it rewards mastery.
**Which Houses accept Serpents?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options, the widest House acceptance available, tied with Runewarden and Magi. The class is unrestricted by alignment. Many Serpents play cityless or from The Grand Merchant Collective. Use `HOUSE LIST SERPENT` in-game to confirm current availability.
**What are some of the most famous Serpent venoms?**
Voyria is the deadliest, capable of killing a bull in seconds. Curare causes paralysis. Aconite causes sheer stupidity. Loki is unpredictable in its effects. Selarnia forces shapechangers back to mortal form. Ekanelia (“a lethality profound”) is one of the late-game venoms. There are over 25 named venoms in total; the full list lives in the Venom ability descriptions.
**How does hypnosis work mechanically?**
A Serpent uses `HYPNOTISE ` to begin a trance (or Mesmerise for a subtler, near-undetectable version), `SUGGEST ` to implant subliminal effects, `SEAL ` to end the trance and set a delay timer, then `SNAP ` to activate. Once sealed, any adventurer (not just the Serpent) can snap the target. Starting a new hypnosis on the same person clears previous suggestions, so all suggestions must be implanted before sealing.
**What race should I play as a Serpent in Achaea?**
There’s no mechanically “best” race for Serpent in Achaea. The class is unrestricted and any of the 14 races can play it well. Thematically, [Mhun](/races/mhun/) (the hooded figure on the spoke’s hero image) hits the stealth/outsider archetype hardest. [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) Serpents fit the ancient-trickster read. [Siren](/races/siren/) Serpents lean into the venomous-seducer angle. [Trolls](/races/troll/) and [Horkvals](/races/horkval/) work mechanically but read against the typical stealthy archetype. Pick the race that fits how you imagine your character moving through the shadows.
**Serpent vs Blademaster: what’s the difference?**
Both Serpent and [Blademaster](/classes/blademasters/) wield bladed weapons in close combat, but they fight in completely different ways. A Serpent stacks venoms and afflictions on the target, then waits for the right moment to finish them. The dirk and the whip are part of a long, careful kill. A Blademaster wields a single named blade and uses the Shin trance: a more direct, more honourable martial tradition imported from Kashar. Serpents are stealth specialists; Blademasters are formal duelists. Both are tough to master. If you want the patient afflicter, choose Serpent. If you want the named-blade tradition, choose Blademaster.
**Can a Serpent change alignment or city?**
Yes. Serpent is one of Achaea’s unrestricted classes, accepted across all six city-states and not alignment-locked. A Serpent can roleplay loyalty to any faction: Mhaldor, Targossas, Hashan, Ashtan, Cyrene, or Eleusis. The class carries no alignment lock and no city restriction. A Serpent in service to Targossas is a different character from a Serpent in service to Mhaldor, but the class itself does not lock you in. This makes Serpent one of the more flexible classes for players who want freedom to switch factional allegiance over a character’s lifetime.
**Are Serpents difficult for new players in Achaea?**
Serpent has one of Achaea’s steeper PvP learning curves. The venom-stacking combat style requires learning many venoms, knowing which combinations affect a target most, and timing the kill window. Serpents are also stealth-heavy, which adds another layer of game mechanics to manage. For PvE and general play, Serpent is approachable. For competitive PvP, expect a long climb. If you’re new to Achaea and want a stealth class without the Serpent learning curve, the [Jester](/classes/jesters/) is an alternative with absurdist combat that’s easier to pick up.
**How does Serpent venom-stacking work?**
Venom-stacking is the Serpent’s signature combat method. A Serpent applies venoms to their dirk or fang and lands hits on the target, each hit injecting a venom. Different venoms cause different afflictions: blindness, paralysis, asthma, anorexia, and many more. As venoms stack on the target, the cures stack up too, and a skilled Serpent reads the target’s cure state to time the kill. The venom system in Achaea is deep and learning it is half of mastering the class. For full venom listings, see `HELP VENOMS` in-game.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Sentinels of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/sentinels)
**Published:** January 15, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Sentinels are forestal warriors. An offshoot of the Druid class founded in the modern age, they share the Druid’s commitment to Nature and the forests of Sapience, but they fight differently. Where the Druid becomes the animal, the Sentinel travels alongside one. Where the Druid masters the Grove, the Sentinel masters the trap.
---
## Sentinel lore and origin
Sentinels emerged from the Druid tradition early in the modern age. Equally devoted to the protection of Achaea’s forests, they took the Druid’s reverence for Nature and combined it with a more directly martial skill set. Where a Druid stays close to a personal Grove and shapeshifts into the forms of the wild, a Sentinel ranges the forest, lays traps for intruders, and wields axes, spears, and tridents with surgical precision.
Sentinels are often part of communities beyond the strictly forestal, and they’re more mobile, more inclined toward action beyond Eleusis’s borders, than Druids tend to be. But the love of the forest is still the defining trait. The class lore is explicit: their connection to Nature is a sacred one, and they channel the spirits of various animals through Metamorphosis. A Sentinel can take the form of a wildcat, a wolf, an eagle, or, uniquely, a Jaguar or a Basilisk.
The class is alignment-locked to Eleusis (Nature). The same forestal restrictions apply as for Druid and Sylvan: Gaia, the Goddess of Nature, has laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Sentinel who becomes a forest enemy can have access to class abilities revoked.
What a Sentinel is, in plain terms: a hunter with traps, summoned animal companions, a hand-axe (with thrown-return ability), a spear or trident (player’s choice), and a roster of shapeshifting forms. The class is built around mobility, environmental advantage, and partnership with the wild.
---
## Signature combat identity: traps, summoned beasts, and the spear
Three things make a Sentinel a Sentinel.
The first is the trap. Through Woodlore, a Sentinel constructs traps from commodities and lays them in specific directions. Dart traps poison. Snares immobilise. Catapults throw enemies out of the room. Clotheslines rip the jugular. Horseshoes stun with a head blow. Each trap triggers only on enemies. Friendlies pass through safely. A Sentinel who controls a section of forest can turn it into a layered killing ground.
The second is the summoned companion. A Sentinel summons animal guardians from the forest: foxes, lemmings, ravens, badgers, butterflies, wolves. Each can be ordered through `HELP DENIZENS` commands. Bushwhack lets the Sentinel ambush prey with summoned companions in coordinated action. The companions disappear if the Sentinel logs off too long, but otherwise they’re persistent allies. Where the Druid becomes the beast, the Sentinel fights alongside it.
The third is the weapon. Sentinels are unsurpassed with the hand-axe (with the Returning ability that makes a thrown axe come back to hand) and excel with the spear or trident, mechanically identical, the choice is purely aesthetic. Skirmishing is precise: Rive shatters shields, Brace impales attackers on a spear point, Impale drives the blade through the target, Doublestrike chains two hits, and Extirpate is the capstone (“Return them to the embrace of nature”).
Add Metamorphosis, the shared shapeshifting skill, and the Sentinel has a complete toolkit: prepared environmental control through traps, mobile partner combat through summoned beasts, direct melee through Skirmishing, and contingency forms through Metamorphosis.
---
## The three skills of a Sentinel
A Sentinel commands three skill sets: Woodlore, Metamorphosis, and Skirmishing. A fledgling Sentinel gains Woodlore and Metamorphosis; Skirmishing is granted upon embracing the class.
WoodloreMetamorphosisSkirmishing
**Signature abilities:** Hide, Swinging, Traps
Woodlore is composed of four types of abilities: trap-setting, animal guardian summoning, survival abilities, and bushwhack-style combat coordination.
**Traps** are constructed from commodities and laid in directions (`LAY `). Each trap triggers only on the Sentinel’s enemies entering or leaving the specified direction. Some traps stop movement on trigger.
**Animal guardians** are summoned forest creatures (fox, lemming, raven, badger, butterfly, wolf) ordered through standard denizen commands. `CALL ANIMALS` gathers them, `DISMISS ` returns them to the wild.
**Survival abilities** help the Sentinel live independent of cities (Firstaid, Campfire, Barkskin, Fleetness).
**Bushwhack** ambushes prey with all summoned companions in coordinated action: the capstone combat technique of the skill.
**Abilities (32)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Hide | Conceal yourself in the shadows. |
| Swinging | Swing up into the trees like a monkey on kola. |
| Traps | The ability to search for traps in your location. |
| Dart | A trap that shoots out a poisoned dart at its victim. |
| Fox | Summon a lithe vixen to attack your enemies. |
| Barkskin | Make your skin tough like bark. |
| Snare | Trap your enemies like the stupid beasts they are. |
| Lastharvest | The ability to see who last harvested in a room. |
| Lemming | Summon a suspiciously helpful lemming to your aid. |
| Naturalism | Discover who exterminated a room last. |
| Firstaid | Use your knowledge of healing to reduce bleeding. |
| Disarm | Attempt to disarm a trap. |
| Mask | Hide your animal companions from plain sight. |
| Noose | A trap to strangle your enemies. |
| Raven | Call a raven to aid you in combat. |
| Catapult | A trap that will throw your enemies out of the room. |
| Campfire | Build a campfire to soothe the body and soul. |
| Badger | Call for the aid of a very grumpy badger. |
| Clothesline | A trap that will rip open the jugular of a victim. |
| Alarm | Put an alarm on a trap. |
| Nativity | Your connection with nature is formidable indeed. |
| Dustbomb | Numb the senses of this trap’s victims. |
| Butterfly | Summon a butterfly to assist you in combat. |
| Horseshoe | A trap that stuns its victims with a blow to the head. |
| Fleetness | Navigate the forests with expert skill. |
| Thornspray | Attack your enemies with a flurry of flying thorns. |
| Conceal | Conceal the nature of a trap’s effect. |
| Evasion | Elude the intruding eyes below. |
| Enrage | Drive one of your companions into a rage. |
| Bushwhack | Ambush your prey with your animal companions. |
| Wolf | Call the mighty grey wolf to your side. |
| Darts | A trap to quickly overload an enemy with poisons. |
**Signature abilities:** Jaguar, Basilisk
Metamorphosis is the shared shapeshifting skill that Sentinels and Druids both use. A Sentinel can take the form of squirrel, wildcat, owl, wolf, cheetah, bear, gorilla, elephant, eagle, icewyrm, and more. Sentinel-specific forms are the Jaguar (a powerful, quick, stealthy beast) and the Basilisk (the silent, magical beast of lore).
For the full shared ability table, see the [Druid spoke’s Metamorphosis section](/classes/druids/#metamorphosis): the skill is identical across both forestal classes. Sentinels specialise into Jaguar and Basilisk, where Druids specialise into Wyvern and Hydra.
**Sentinel-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Jaguar | A powerful, quick, and stealthy beast. |
| Basilisk | The silent, magical beast of lore. |
**Signature abilities:** Returning, Trip, Grab
Masters of their chosen weapon and skilled both in and out of the forests of Sapience, Sentinels combine flawless technique with ruthless savagery. The skill discards the constructs of chivalry and fairness, using environment and tools to eliminate opposition. True masters may send prey comatose or destroy enemies so completely the remains can never be found.
**Weapon choice (irreversible):** On gaining Skirmishing, a Sentinel receives axe proficiency plus the choice between spear or trident, mechanically identical, choose the aesthetic you prefer. `CHOOSE SPEAR` or `CHOOSE TRIDENT`. The choice persists through class quit and return.
**Abilities (25)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Returning | The ability to throw an axe such that it will return. |
| Trip | Knock an unruly foe to the ground. |
| Grab | Use an axe to pull someone in from a nearby room. |
| Shove | Sending a hapless victim crashing to the forest floor. |
| Rive | Shatter an opponent’s shield. |
| Thrust | The most basic of skirmishing attacks. |
| Spinning | Set up a defensive shield with a spear or trident. |
| Seize | Grabbing unwary victims from the forest floor. |
| Scout | A good woodsman checks his path. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Brace | Impale attackers on a spear or trident. |
| Rivestrike | There is no defence against your onslaught. |
| Ensnare | Mesmerise them with your flawless skill. |
| Lacerate | Let them bleed for their foolishness. |
| Scythe | Slice through the defences that would protect your foes. |
| Rattle | Rattle their brains with a blow to the head. |
| Truss | Truss them up for slaughter. |
| Skullbash | Split their skull with a mighty blow. |
| Gouge | Lay them open with a precision strike. |
| Impale | Drive your blade straight through your target. |
| Drag | Drag away your prey. |
| Barbs | Chivalry is a construct of the city dwellers. |
| Wrench | Gut them like a fish. |
| Doublestrike | Strike, then strike again. |
| Extirpate | Return them to the embrace of nature. |
---
## Sentinel Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Sentinel is alignment-locked to Eleusis (Nature). Same 4-House pool as Druid and Sylvan.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. The traditional Sentinel home. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. Sentinels who lean more spiritual find a home here. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Sentinel choice. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Sentinel choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST SENTINEL`.
A note on the alignment lock: The forestal restrictions apply. Eleusis and Gaia have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Sentinel who becomes a forest enemy can have class abilities revoked. The factional commitment is real.
---
## What an Achaea Sentinel might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Sentinel can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Sentinel.
[An Atavian](/races/atavian/)[A Dwarf](/races/dwarf/)[A Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)[A Siren](/races/siren/)---
## How to roleplay a Sentinel in Achaea
A Sentinel’s identity is the ranger. Your character is mobile, capable, and at home in the wild in a way most other characters aren’t. The forests are familiar, the trails are mapped, the animals know you.
Three things make Sentinel roleplay distinct:
**You are forestal, not arcane.** Where the Druid leans mystical (Grove, sunlight, shapeshifting as transformation) and the Sylvan leans elemental (Viridian, weather), the Sentinel leans practical. You hunt, you trap, you fight with axe and spear. The roleplay anchor is competence in the field, not philosophical depth.
**Your companions matter.** A Sentinel’s animal companions are characters. The Wolf, the Raven, the Fox: each is a recurring presence. Players who name and characterise these companions get the strongest Sentinel roleplay material.
**You hold the forest’s edge.** Sentinels patrol the boundaries of Eleusis and respond to intrusions. Where Druids tend their personal Groves and Sylvans deepen their elemental work, Sentinels are the forest’s first response team. Your character has been the one to find the trespasser, set the snare, hunt down the threat.
A few practical notes:
**Spear or trident: pick what looks right.** Mechanically identical. The decision is permanent (it persists through class quit and return), so pick the one your character would actually wield.
**Bushwhack is the signature combat moment.** Players who chain Bushwhack ambushes well, laying traps, summoning companions, and choosing the ground, get the most satisfaction out of the class.
**Eleusis is the steady home.** The political weight is lighter than Mhaldor or Targossas. Sentinels rarely face the same kind of factional pressure that Paladins and Infernals do, even though the alignment lock is real.
If you want a class with the most “ranger” identity in Achaea, ruthless skirmishing combat, and a forestal home that doesn’t demand the theological weight of the Good/Evil classes, Sentinel delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Sentinel is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Druid: Eleusis’ Shapeshifting Forestal](/classes/druids/)
The forestal shapeshifter. Shares Eleusis alignment and the Metamorphosis skill (with Druid-specific Wyvern and Hydra). Where the Sentinel works alongside summoned animals, the Druid becomes the animal. Choose Druid if the Grove-based mystic side of forestal play appeals more than the ranger side.
### [Sylvan: The Viridian Forest Mage](/classes/sylvans/)
The forestal elementalist. Shares Eleusis alignment and access to a Grove. Where the Sentinel relies on traps and skirmishing weapons, the Sylvan wields Weatherweaving (elemental weather control) and Propagation (the Viridian form). Choose Sylvan if elemental magic appeals more than martial trap-and-spear work.
### [Runewarden: The Rune-Knight](/classes/runewardens/)
The non-forestal “rugged knight” alternative. Same heavy-combat-with-a-companion-bird feel (falcon instead of summoned animals), but without the Eleusis alignment lock. Choose Runewarden if you want martial competence with a feathered companion but want the flexibility to serve any city.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Sentinel in Achaea?**
A Sentinel’s skills are Woodlore, Metamorphosis, and Skirmishing. A fledgling Sentinel gains Woodlore and Metamorphosis; Skirmishing is granted upon embracing the class. Woodlore covers traps, summoned animal companions, and survival abilities. Metamorphosis is the shared shapeshifting skill with Sentinel-specific Jaguar and Basilisk forms. Skirmishing is the weapon combat skill: axe plus the choice of spear or trident.
**What is the difference between a Druid and a Sentinel?**
Both are forestal classes locked to Eleusis, but they fight very differently. Druids master a personal sunlit Grove and shapeshift into beasts (including the Druid-only Wyvern and Hydra). Sentinels lay traps, summon animal companions, and fight with axes and spears (with Sentinel-only Jaguar and Basilisk shapeshift forms). Druids are mystical-mage-shapeshifters; Sentinels are ranger-warriors.
**Which Houses accept Sentinels?**
Four Houses: The Scions of the Ithmia and The Heartwood Kin in Eleusis, plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. Same House list as Druid and Sylvan. Use `HOUSE LIST SENTINEL` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Spear or trident?**
Mechanically identical. The choice is purely aesthetic. The decision persists through class quit and return, so pick the one that matches your character’s image. Some Sentinels lean spear (Eleusian forester aesthetic), others trident (more aquatic or exotic visual). Either works in every situation Skirmishing can throw at you.
**Can a Sentinel lose their powers?**
Yes. The forestal restrictions apply: Eleusis and Gaia have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Sentinel who becomes a forest enemy, by acting against Nature or against Eleusis, can have access to class abilities revoked. The factional commitment is real, though lighter philosophically than Paladin or Infernal.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Runewardens of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/runewardens)
**Published:** January 15, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Runewardens are Achaea’s most welcomed knight class. They originated in the snow-clad mountains of the Southern Vashnars, in the city of Cyrene, and their skills aren’t bound to any single ethos. A Runewarden is welcome in any city willing to abide by their discipline and honour. They fight with rune-inscribed blades, a bonded falcon, and the lethal craft of Totems.
---
## Runewarden lore and origin
The Runewardens first formed deep within the Heart of the Vashnars, now known as the Gate of Oceanus, in the mountain city of Cyrene. Though the founding location matters historically, the class’s defining feature is that it doesn’t carry the alignment baggage of its peers. A Runewarden isn’t a Paladin sworn to Targossas, isn’t an Infernal in service to Evil, isn’t an Unnamable bound to Chaos. The Runewarden is, first and last, a knight.
Armed in shimmering armour and wielding blades inscribed with arcane runes, Runewardens are the epitome of discipline and honour in combat. Protection and preservation is their motto. They are selfless in whatever cause they represent. Their study of representational magic gives them the knowledge to craft totems and sketch runes upon them, and these totems often stand as protective installations: implanted in cities, mansions, and other player-controlled properties, attacking enemies on sight.
What a Runewarden actually looks like in combat: a heavily-armoured warrior with two flashing dual blades, often coated in venoms, dripping with runes that channel earth and storm. Their formations on the battlefield are described in the lore as “a dazzling sight.” Outside of combat, they craft totems for their House and city, etch runes for allies, and act as the most reliable martial class in Sapience because they can serve any banner.
This is also one of the kinder learning curves among Achaea’s warrior classes. The class has been around long enough to accumulate extensive player-written guides. The combat is direct rather than abstract. New players who want a martial class without factional pressure tend to land here first.
---
## Signature combat identity: runes, totems, and the falcon
Two systems make a Runewarden a Runewarden: Runelore and Discipline.
Runelore is the rune system. A Runewarden sketches runes on themselves, their allies, their weapons, their armour, and the ground. Runes on people and gear work automatically. Runes on the ground work continuously, once, or only when an enemy enters the room. Each rune has a discrete effect: paralysis, bleeding, fear, sleep, damage, defence, healing. The mastery of the skill isn’t memorising one rune; it’s stacking and configuring runes for a specific situation.
The Totem is where Runelore’s power escalates. By sketching up to six runes onto a Totem and then Implanting or Standing it, a Runewarden creates a weapon of layered effect. Totems guard cities, mansions, and strongholds. Anyone the Totem is tuned to affect who enters the room can be hit by every rune at once. It’s the closest thing Achaea has to a programmable trap.
Discipline is the other half: a bonded falcon (`FALCON REQUEST` at any hatchery), archery with longbows, crossbows, and the fabled darkbows of Hashan, and a set of aggressive combat abilities like Battlecry, Engage, and Fury. The falcon scouts rooms, tracks fleeing targets, and strikes with talons on command. The warhawk upgrade equips it with talons of steel for serious combat work.
Add Weaponmastery, the shared knight skill that lets a Runewarden specialise in two-handed, sword and shield, dual cutting, or dual blunt, and you get a class that fights at three layers: prepared room control through runes, mid-range presence through the falcon and bow, and direct melee through the chosen weapon school.
---
## The three skills of a Runewarden
A Runewarden commands three skill sets: Runelore, Discipline, and Weaponmastery. A fledgling Runewarden gains Runelore and Weaponmastery; Discipline is granted upon embracing the class.
RuneloreDisciplineWeaponmastery
**Signature abilities:** Smudge, Sketch, Kena
Runelore revolves around two aspects: Runes and Totems. By sketching runes on the ground, on yourself, on others, or on weapons and armour, a Runewarden achieves a wide range of effects. Runes on people or gear work automatically; runes on the ground work continuously, once, or when an enemy enters the room. The help scroll for each rune specifies the trigger.
The true power of Runelore lies in the Totem. By sketching up to six runes onto a Totem and either Implanting or Standing it, a Runewarden creates a layered weapon that can wreak havoc on anyone the Totem is tuned to affect.
**Abilities (41)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Smudge | Ability to destroy runes. |
| Sketch | Sketch runes with expert precision. |
| Kena | A rune to inspire fear. |
| Uruz | Heal your allies with earth magic. |
| Fehu | Causes sleeping urges. |
| Pithakhan | Attack the mental reserves of your enemies. |
| Jera | A rune to increase the vitality of the bearer. |
| Inguz | A rune with the ability to paralyse. |
| Wunjo | Upon encountering this, an enemy’s sight will be returned. |
| Lagul | Add an element of bleeding to your strategem. |
| Sowulu | Damages the health of enemies. |
| Algiz | A rune of protection from damage. |
| Isaz | A rune to call shockwaves to take your enemies off balance. |
| Totems | The symbol of the master of Runelore. |
| Dagaz | This rune will heal afflictions from you at random. |
| Gebu | This rune will increase the blunt protection of armour. |
| Gebo | A rune to increase the cutting protection of armour. |
| Gular | Drawing on the power of the earth, raise a stone wall. |
| Raido | Summon a spiritual steed to bear you home. |
| Thurisaz | Call forth a spout of molten lava from the earth. |
| Lagua | Further punish your foe. |
| Hugalaz | Call down a hailstorm around you. |
| Truesketch | Sketch more than one rune on the ground. |
| Nauthiz | Suck the nourishment from your foes. |
| Mannaz | Return hearing to a victim. |
| Othala | Besiege your enemies with multiple spouts of molten lava. |
| Sleizak | Afflict a foe with the horrible voyria poison. |
| Tiwaz | This rune will remove the defenses of your enemies. |
| Berkana | Provides health regeneration to the bearer. |
| Nairat | A rune to entangle. |
| Eihwaz | A powerful vibration-dampening rune. |
| Runebinding | Bind your runes to your body. |
| Laguz | Increased damage to the limbs of your foe. |
| Runicarmour | Empower armour with the strength of the earth. |
| Runeblades | Runewardens may empower a weapon as a legendary runeblade. |
| Loshre | Cause an opponent to become afflicted with anorexia. |
| Configuration | Combining runes about a central point. |
| Implant | Create a bond between your totem and the earth. |
| Empower | Enable smudge reporting. |
| Designate | Arrange clear title and ownership. |
| Bisect | As relentless as the storm. |
| Adapt | Battle waits for no one. |
**Signature abilities:** Falcon, Weathering, Seek
Discipline has three distinct parts: Falconry, archery, and aggressive set-pieces.
Falconry is the heart. Every Runewarden bonds a falcon at a hatchery (`FALCON REQUEST`). The falcon scouts rooms, tracks fleeing enemies, strikes on command, delivers items, and reports the state of opponents. Warhawk upgrades it with steel talons for serious combat. Archery covers longbows, crossbows, and darkbows, with Wind compensation for accuracy. The aggressive abilities, Battlecry, Engage, and Fury, give the Runewarden the same set-piece toolkit shared by Paladins and Infernals, but tuned to the Runewarden’s unrestricted role.
You can also use `FALCON SANCTUARY ` to send another knight’s falcon to safety, with the standard conditions (owner offline, same House/city, higher rank).
**Abilities (31)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Falcon | Use the basic skills to interact with your falcon. |
| Weathering | Increase your ability to weather damage. |
| Seek | Order your bird to seek out an adventurer. |
| Glance | Look through the eyes of your bird. |
| Block | Obstructing departure with your body. |
| Fitness | Controlling your breathing. |
| Follow | Order your falcon to aerially follow someone. |
| Gripping | Grip your wielded items in a deathlock. |
| Barge | Barging your opponents. |
| Battlecry | Stun a target with the power of your voice. |
| Bowmanship | Use of the valued projectile weapon. |
| Quivers | Take full advantage of your quiver. |
| Wind | Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation. |
| Aiming | Increase your accuracy in shooting. |
| Sturdiness | Standing firm against attempts to move you. |
| Deliver | Order your falcon to deliver an object to someone. |
| Resistance | Reduce the damage taken from magical attacks. |
| Crossbows | A powerful projectile weapon. |
| Clotting | Reduce the level of your bleeding. |
| Rage | Throw off pacifying afflictions. |
| Rake | Command your falcon to strike with its talons. |
| Retrieve | Command your falcon to fetch an object for you. |
| Startle | Order your bird to harass an opponent’s steed. |
| Track | Order your falcon to follow and track someone. |
| Defend | Attempt to protect someone else with swordwork. |
| Observe | Your falcon can now report on the state of individuals. |
| Darkbows | Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan. |
| Warhawk | Equip your falcon with talons of steel. |
| Engage | Damage a cowardly opponent. |
| Swiftmount | Mount or vault your steeds at increased speed. |
| Fury | Temporarily raise your strength. |
**Signature abilities:** Swordplay, Specialise, Envenom
Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill that lets a Runewarden choose a fighting style: two-handed, sword and shield, dual cutting, or dual blunt. To pick or change a specialisation in-game: `SPECIALISE IN `. Changing later costs 100 lessons.
For the full ability roster across all four specialisations, see the [Paladin spoke’s Weaponmastery section](/classes/paladins/#weaponmastery): the skill is identical across all knight classes that use it. Runewardens typically lean toward sword and shield or dual cutting, but no spec is mechanically wrong for the class.
**General abilities (all specialisations)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Swordplay | Increased mastery of the shortsword. |
| Specialise | Gain proficiency in one of the schools of weaponry. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Arc | Swing your blade in a controlled arc. |
---
## Runewarden Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Runewarden has 16 Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options, the maximum available to any non-factional class. The class is welcome anywhere willing to abide by its discipline and honour.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour/healing House |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites and traditions House |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST RUNEWARDEN`. To read about any House: `HELP HOUSE `.
A note on alignment: Runewarden has no factional lock. There is no in-game punishment for changing cities, switching Houses, or playing the class without an ethos commitment. This is the warrior class for players who want flexibility.
---
## What an Achaea Runewarden might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Runewarden can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Runewarden.
[An Atavian](/races/atavian/)[A Dwarf](/races/dwarf/)[A Fayad](/races/fayad/)[A Horkval](/races/horkval/)[A Tashla](/races/tashla/)---
## How to roleplay a Runewarden in Achaea
The cleanest way to think about Runewarden roleplay is this: discipline and honour, applied to whatever your character has decided to serve.
Where a Paladin’s identity is locked to Targossas and a Priest’s is locked to Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine, the Runewarden’s identity is locked to a personal code. The class’s lore explicitly says Runewardens “are selfless in whatever cause they represent.” That’s the hook. Your character picks the cause, a city, a House, a guildmaster, or a memory, and the discipline follows from there.
A few things worth knowing if you choose Runewarden:
**Your city choice matters more than usual.** Because the class isn’t locked, the city you join becomes the lens through which your Runewarden’s discipline is read. A Targossan Runewarden reads almost like a Paladin without the divine bond. A Mhaldorian Runewarden reads almost like an Infernal without the hellforge. An Ashtani Runewarden reads as a Chaos servant who finds order through their own personal code. The flavour shifts dramatically.
**Your falcon and your runes are your personal touches.** Both are named. Both stay with you. Players who roleplay these well, naming the falcon, decorating their totems with specific runes that say something about their character, leaving runebound trinkets for friends, get a lot of mileage out of small recurring details.
**You will be respected and seen as steady.** The lore frames Runewardens as the reliable ones. In serious House and city work: defending walls, etching protective runes on shared property, training newer fighters. Runewardens are the dependable backbone. If you want to play a character whose word is trusted, this is the class.
If you want a class with strong martial identity, real player-to-player utility through runes and totems, and no factional pressure to walk a specific philosophical line, Runewarden delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Runewarden is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Paladin: Targossas’ Holy Knight](/classes/paladins/)
The factional knight. Shares Weaponmastery, but trades the falcon for a golden eagle and trades runes for the divine art of Excision. Bound to Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine. Choose Paladin if you want clearer moral framing and a class identity that comes pre-loaded with active divine relationships.
### [Infernal: Mhaldor’s Iron Arm of Evil](/classes/infernal/)
The dark mirror of Paladin. Shares Weaponmastery, but trades the falcon for a hyena and trades runes for the Oppression art rooted in the Seven Truths of Evil. Bound to Mhaldor. Choose Infernal if you want the Runewarden’s heavily-armoured combat style but with a hard alignment and the philosophical weight of Mhaldor.
### [Blademaster: The Named-Blade Tradition](/classes/blademasters/)
Also unrestricted by alignment, but a completely different sword tradition. Where the Runewarden is a heavily-armoured rune-knight with a bow, a falcon, and rune-inscribed blades, the Blademaster is a lightly-armoured swordsman with a single named blade and the Shin trance. Same flexibility, very different combat identity.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Runewarden in Achaea?**
A Runewarden’s skills are Runelore, Discipline, and Weaponmastery. A fledgling Runewarden gains Runelore and Weaponmastery; Discipline is granted upon embracing the class. Runelore covers the rune and totem system. Discipline covers the bonded falcon, archery, and aggressive set-pieces. Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill that lets the Runewarden specialise in one of four weapon schools.
**Is Runewarden a good class for new players?**
Yes. Runewarden is widely considered one of the most newbie-friendly martial classes in Achaea. The class has no factional lock, every city accepts it, the combat is direct rather than abstract, and there are decades of player-written guides. If you want a heavily-armoured warrior class without the political weight of Paladin or Infernal, Runewarden is the standard pick.
**Which Houses accept Runewardens?**
Runewardens have the widest House acceptance of any class: 16 Houses across all six city-states (Targossas, Mhaldor, Ashtan, Cyrene, Hashan, Eleusis) plus two cityless options (The Grand Merchant Collective and The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering). Use `HOUSE LIST RUNEWARDEN` in-game to confirm current availability.
**What are runes and totems in Achaea?**
Runes are inscribed symbols that produce specific effects: paralysis, bleeding, fear, healing, protection, damage. A Runewarden can sketch runes on themselves, allies, weapons, armour, or the ground. Totems are vertical inscriptions that can hold up to six runes at once. When implanted in a location, a Totem hits anyone tuned to be affected by it the moment they enter the room. Totems are commonly used to defend cities, mansions, and other player property.
**Can any race play a Runewarden?**
Yes. Any of Achaea’s 14 races can play a Runewarden. The class is not race-restricted. Dwarves are the iconic rune race in the lore (created by Phaestus, hardy and stoneworking by nature), but Atavians, [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/), Horkval, Humans, and any other race work mechanically. Race affects appearance and character feel; class is what determines combat identity.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Psions of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/psion)
**Published:** July 26, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Psions wield the lost magic of the Aldar, the Firstborn race, the first beings created by Ayar (now Sarapis). Drawn from the well at Saar-elan in the ruined city of Nur, a Psion is part weaver, part psychic, part emulator of Protean Relics. Where every other mage class in Achaea works with forces external to themselves, the Psion’s most ancient power is the mind itself.
---
## Psion lore and origin
The Aldar are mostly gone from Achaea. What they left behind still holds vestigial power. Those who enter and survive Saar-elan, the well of power biding at the heart of Nur, ancient city of the Aldar, emerge changed, altered, granted a remnant of the Firstborn’s lost magics.
The Psion class is built on three remnants. Weaving was the Aldar’s craft of forging weapons from the substance of Creation: blades and maces called to hand and dismissed after their work, with duplicates of the Weaver themselves at the highest mastery. Emulation was the Aldar’s attempt to replicate the Relics of Proteus, an attempt that never fully succeeded but yielded its own derivative arts. Psionics, the oldest of the Aldar powers, was the absolute mastery of mind over body, culminating in Foresight, the ability to glimpse possible futures and act on them in the present.
A Psion is not the master the Aldar were. The lore is explicit: a modern Psion commands “but a tithe, a remnant of a remnant of the Aldar’s ancient magic.” Even so, that tithe is formidable. A trained Psion weaves blades from nothing, projects copies of themselves into battle, locks an enemy’s mind, and reads the next move before it happens. The class is comparatively new in Achaea’s roster. The magic is ancient, but the modern revival is relatively recent.
This is also one of Achaea’s more cerebral classes. Every skill set has a strong mental component. The combat rewards players who like layered, deliberate play over reactive twitch combat.
---
## Signature combat identity: woven blades, duplicates, and Foresight
Three things make a Psion a Psion.
The first is Weaving. A Psion conjures blades and maces from the substance of Creation, strikes with them, and dismisses them. The weapons are not crafted in advance; they exist for the moment of use. The capstone, Miriad (“We are legion”), lets the Psion weave copies of themselves, sentient duplicates that mimic the original and turn a single Psion into an army. The lore explicitly references Illarris, the Aldar who devised the technique during the War of Humanity. Modern Psions inherit a diluted version of the same craft.
The second is Emulation. This is the Aldar’s failed Relic research transformed into combat technique. Where the Magi summons elementals through treaty, the Psion emulates the effects of Protean artefacts: Lifebond (martyr’s calling), Indomitability (the shadow of the Battlemaster), Reprise (“It’s not over yet”), Painshift (“Your pain, your gain”). The skill is unusual in that the abilities don’t fit a single theme: they’re scattered effects derived from various Relics. Players who like eclectic toolkits enjoy this.
The third is Foresight. The Psionics skill culminates in Foresight: the brief glimpse of possible futures that lets a Psion see an enemy’s next move. In a game built on affliction-cure exchanges where the right read at the right moment is the difference between a kill and a death, Foresight is the most distinctive defensive ability in Achaea. Even imperfect application turns Psion combat into a different game.
Together, Weaving + Emulation + Psionics makes the Psion a class of patient, precise mind-and-craft combat. A Psion who plays well looks like a chess master who happens to also have a sword.
---
## The three skills of a Psion
A Psion commands three skill sets: Weaving, Emulation, and Psionics. The lore is unusual in that the embrace ordering is less rigid than other classes: all three derive from the Aldar’s vestigial power at Saar-elan.
WeavingEmulationPsionics
**Signature abilities:** Charge, Secondskin, Cleave
The Aldar were famed for great works of artistic genius. Most of that legacy is lost. Weaving is one of the remnants put to use during the War of Humanity: the practice of forging weapons from the substance of Creation, calling a blade or mace to hand and dismissing it once its work is done, and the means to unweave a foe, returning their mortal shell to Creation.
The capstone is Miriad. Illarris devised the means to weave a copy of herself, a feat thought impossible until the War. The lowest duplicates can mimic their creator, turning a single Weaver into an army.
**Abilities (20)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Charge | A simple but deadly rush. |
| Secondskin | Armour is an unnecessary inconvenience. |
| Cleave | A sundering blow. |
| Overhand | Bring them down with a crushing blow. |
| Hamstring | They won’t be walking that off. |
| Entwine | What a tangled web. |
| Prepare | Modify your creations. |
| Lightsteal | Darkness falls. |
| Puncture | A swift and precise jab. |
| Sever | A precise and deadly strike. |
| Launch | Bring them down to your level. |
| Unweave | From dust to dust. |
| Deathblow | Precision over power. |
| Backhand | His face was bad enough already. |
| Invert | A slight change of pace. |
| Rally | Let them know your fervour. |
| Exsanguinate | They’ll never eat again. |
| Flurry | Onslaught unending. |
| Deconstruct | They are unfit for Creation. |
| Miriad | We are legion. |
**Signature abilities:** Guidedstrike, Wavesurge, Soulmark
The Relics of Proteus fascinated and confounded the Aldar. As tools of violence and augmentation they were unsurpassed when fully attuned to a user, yet their means of creation came from the inscrutable hand of Proteus Himself. Many Firstborn sought the secrets, with great victories and terrible losses both.
Emulation is the remnants of that research stored within Saar-elan and Nur. Though the goal of replicating a relic was never attained, several of their effects could be emulated. The martyr’s lifebond, the ghastly reprise: knowledge and strength both grand and terrible.
**Abilities (17)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Guidedstrike | Luck is a power all its own. |
| Wavesurge | The might of the raging waters. |
| Soulmark | Some marks cannot be washed away. |
| Upheaval | Tremors and tribulations. |
| Companion | Before the fall. |
| Destruction | Elemental fury to ravage and rage. |
| Imposition | Your word against their will. |
| Barter | There is power in such things. |
| Discordance | A fluxing of chaotic power. |
| Rupture | Bleed them dry. |
| Clarity | Mind over all. |
| Reprise | It’s not over yet. |
| Wrath | Unleash your fury. |
| Lightbind | Some things must not walk free. |
| Lifebond | The martyr’s calling. |
| Painshift | Your pain, your gain. |
| Indomitability | The shadow of the Battlemaster. |
**Signature abilities:** Expunge, Splinter, Comprehend
The most ancient of powers given to the Aldar at their formation by Ayar: strength in will and mind. Vast psionic and telepathic might, wielded with unfathomable ease as they imposed thought upon themselves and the world. With centuries of peace to master these arts, the Aldar’s offensive psionic techniques saw little progress beyond the simple. The true might was always in absolute control.
A Psion is the master of body and world, exerting such perfect control of muscle, skin, and cell that many mental constraints binding mere mortals are bypassed. Where the Will of the Psion exists, they will always find a Way.
The capstone is Foresight: the briefest glimpse of possible futures, the difference between life and death on the battlefields of Sapience.
**Abilities (23)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Expunge | Your mind must never be corrupted. |
| Splinter | A spike of psychic force. |
| Comprehend | A simple application of your intellect. |
| Expand | The mind shall not be constrained. |
| Imprint | Communication is key. |
| Insertion | A subtle touch of misdirection. |
| Ironwill | Your mind against theirs. |
| Radiate | Your will is implacable. |
| Muddle | A gentle touch to confound and mislead. |
| Shatter | The psyche is such a delicate construct. |
| Sensitivity | The faintest changes are yours to know. |
| Manipulate | Controlling the self is of paramount concern. |
| Breakthrough | Pain is a warning. |
| Link | Your mind is far superior. |
| Blast | Sometimes a hammer can replace the scalpel. |
| Perception | The insidious becomes apparent. |
| Contemplation | Perceive the state of another’s mental strength. |
| Projection | Your will made manifest. |
| Vanish | Perception is everything. |
| Transcend | Perfect unity of the mind and body. |
| Combustion | Just like heating water. |
| Excise | A single cut at the fundamental level. |
| Foresight | The pinnacle of mental might. |
---
## Psion Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Psion is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses across all 6 cities + 2 cityless: same wide acceptance as Magi, Runewarden, and Blademaster.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. Often well-suited to Psions for scholarly play. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. Strong fit for Psion-scholars. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST PSION`.
---
## What an Achaea Psion might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Psion can look like across three of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Psion.
[A Grook](/races/grook/)[A Human](/races/human/)[A Tashla](/races/tashla/)---
## How to roleplay a Psion in Achaea
The Psion’s identity lives in the inheritance. Your character has touched the well at Saar-elan and emerged changed. You command a tithe of the Aldar’s ancient power. That is who your character is, in the first instance: not their city, not their House, not their face. The Aldar magic.
A few things worth knowing if you choose Psion:
**You can serve any city.** Like Magi, the Psion has no factional pressure. Pick the city that fits your character’s chosen cause.
**The Aldar inheritance carries weight.** The Aldar are the Firstborn, the race that ruled Creation below the Pantheon. Other characters who know Aldar lore will read your character as someone connected to something older and stranger than they are. Players who lean into this get strong roleplay material.
**Combat is read-the-future combat.** A skilled Psion knows the next move before it happens. That is what Foresight does. Players who enjoy the chess-like aspect of affliction combat find their home here.
**The class is relatively new.** Psion is one of the most recent additions to Achaea’s roster, and the playerbase is smaller. If you want to play a class with strong identity but a smaller, more dedicated community, this is an excellent pick.
If you want a cerebral combat class with deep ancient-power lore and Foresight, Psion delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Psion is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Magi: Achaea’s Elementalist](/classes/mages/)
The other ancient combat magic. Where the Psion draws on the Aldar at Saar-elan, the Magi draws on slain Agatheis and the Elemental Planes. Same alignment flexibility, very different mechanics: Psion is mental + woven, Magi is elemental + crystalline.
### [Depthswalker: Tsol’teth Time-and-Shadow](/classes/depthswalkers/)
The Tsol’teth counterpart. Where the Psion inherits Aldar (Firstborn) magic, the Depthswalker inherits Tsol’teth knowledge of Shadowmancy and time-bending. Both are recent additions to the class roster, both reward cerebral play. Different lineage, similar headspace.
### [Monk: The Sentaari Martial Order](/classes/monks/)
The other mental-discipline class. Monks unify mind, body, and spirit through Tekura, Kaido, and Telepathy. The Psion is closer to “ancient mage who commands the mind”; the Monk is closer to “monastic discipline that includes telepathic awareness.” Both reward patient, controlled play.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Psion in Achaea?**
A Psion’s skills are Weaving, Emulation, and Psionics. Weaving forges blades and maces from the substance of Creation, with the capstone Miriad summoning sentient duplicates of the Psion. Emulation is the Aldar’s failed-Relic research, yielding effects like Lifebond and Indomitability. Psionics is mental mastery, culminating in Foresight, the ability to glimpse possible futures and act on them.
**Where do Psions come from in Achaea?**
The Psion class draws on the lost magic of the Aldar, the Firstborn race created by Ayar (now Sarapis). Modern Psions are those who enter and survive Saar-elan, the well of power at the heart of Nur, the ancient city of the Aldar. The survivors emerge changed, granted a tithe of the Aldar’s ancient magics.
**Is Psion a new class?**
Yes. Psion is one of the most recent classes added to Achaea’s roster. The magic the class draws on is ancient (Aldar), but the modern revival of the class is comparatively recent. The community is smaller and more specialised than the older classes.
**Which Houses accept Psions?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options, the same wide acceptance as Magi, Runewarden, and Blademaster. The Krymenian Academy (Hashan) and The Savants of the Wheel (Ashtan) are particularly well-suited for Psion-scholars. Use `HOUSE LIST PSION` in-game to confirm current availability.
**What is Foresight in Achaea?**
Foresight is the capstone ability of the Psionics skill, the briefest glimpse of possible futures woven into present fact. Aldar masters could pierce time’s veil entirely; modern Psions get the briefest hints. In practice, Foresight gives a Psion a hint of what an enemy is about to do, making the class one of the most defensively distinctive in Achaea’s affliction-combat system.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Priests of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/priests)
**Published:** January 15, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Priests are Achaea’s Bloodsworn healers and holy warriors. Bound to Targossas and the Divines Aurora and Deucalion, they fight with a summoned spiritual mace and a guardian angel that stays with them for life. Through Devotion they enact holy rites. Through Zeal they speak verses imbued with Phoenix-ash. They stand at the front line of every war waged against Chaos, Evil, and Darkness.
---
## Priest lore and origin
Priests are one of the most ancient classes in Achaea, and unlike many others, history has preserved their founding. Millennia ago, Imithia performed the Rite of Passing for Pasiphae, a daughter of Sinope and Callisto, and in doing so founded the Church of Achaea, which also birthed two guilds, the Templars (now Paladins) and the Priests.
Today, Priests find their true home in Targossas, the Dawnspear, empowered by service to Lord Deucalion and Lady Aurora. The class is concerned with the righteous advancement of Creation, seeking to shine light on truth no matter the depth of shadow that would keep it concealed.
In 793 AF, a great and shining hope was extinguished in the war against the Light’s ancient enemy. The Bloodsworn’s faithful adapted. Anointed with the ash of the Phoenix that will never be reborn, the priests of Light and Fire cast off the skill of Healing and took up Zeal, imbuing their holy words with the latent remnants of Phoenix song. “The time to heal has passed; the time of reckoning has come.”
What a Priest does, in plain terms: summons a guardian angel as a permanent companion, summons a spiritual mace as their primary weapon, performs holy rites that bless allies and torment enemies, speaks verses empowered by Phoenix-ash, and stands in Judgement of evil. The most powerful Priests can pass a sentence of death, Judgement, upon an adventurer; failing the judgement means death.
This is a strongly factional class. A Priest who strays from the path of the Bloodsworn Gods can be excommunicated and lose Devotion. The roleplay isn’t optional, and the Targossas relationship is the centre of the class.
---
## Signature combat identity: the angel, the mace, and the verse
Three things make a Priest a Priest.
The first is the guardian angel. Every Priest’s angel stays with them forever, acting defensively except where Chaos Entities are concerned. Angels and Entities share a long-standing hatred. The angel is summoned (`Summon`), commanded through `ANGEL `, and used for everything: searing enemies, panicking targets, watching for chaos ripples, healing the Priest empathically, and at the highest expression, tearing the soul from an enemy (Absolve). The angel is feminine in lore framing (“her”, “she”) and the bond is paternal/maternal in tone: the Priest is responsible for the angel’s wellbeing, and the angel is responsible for the Priest’s.
The second is the spiritual mace. Spirituality grants the ability to summon a great mace that the Priest wields directly. The mace inflicts damage, breaks limbs (Smash), and at the highest level performs Judgement, the most feared ability of the class. Stand in Judgement of an adventurer; if they fail, they die. Only the most powerful Priests may perform it. The mace also Chastens (mind-numbing blows) and is callable back from anywhere if lost.
The third is the verse. Zeal is the skill of speaking holy verses empowered by Phoenix song. Through Verses, Prayer (chaining verses), and dozens of named verses (Fire, Void, Protection, Will, Glory, Salvation, Light), the Priest builds momentum through speech. Capstones include Wrath (“righteous fury is a thing to behold”), Oration (“Creation shall flourish”), and Revelations (“show them Evil’s horror”). The skill replaced the older Healing skill in 793 AF when the Phoenix fell.
Add Devotion, the shared theological foundation that includes Bloodsworn (the oath that bonds Priests and Paladins together), Resurrection (bringing slain believers back), and the full rites system, and you have a class that fights as a complete holy combat platform: physical with mace, divine with angel, theological with verse and rite.
---
## The three skills of a Priest
A Priest commands three skill sets: Spirituality, Devotion, and Zeal. A fledgling Priest gains Spirituality and Devotion; Zeal is granted upon embracing the class.
SpiritualityDevotionZeal
**Signature abilities:** Summon, Touch, Mace
Spirituality revolves around two things: the guardian angel and the spiritual mace. The angel stays with the Priest forever. It acts defensively except against Chaos Entities (an old hatred). The mace is summoned and used as the Priest’s offensive weapon, with the feared Judgement as its capstone application.
Syntax for non-mace angel abilities: `ANGEL `.
**Abilities (34)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Summon | Summon your angel to your side. |
| Touch | Assess the power of your angel. |
| Mace | Summon a spiritual mace to aid you. |
| Shine | Cause your guardian angel to radiate light. |
| Call | Call your mace to you when you have lost it. |
| Aura | Shield yourself with an aura of protection. |
| Panic | Ask your angel to cause terror in a chosen victim. |
| Fortify | Boost your angel’s power with your own health. |
| Watch | Have your angel keep watch on your enemies. |
| Smash | Deal a crushing blow to one of your opponent’s limbs. |
| Rest | Causes your angel to conserve her power. |
| Drain | Gain health from your angel. |
| Heresy | Summon rage at the heretics and hunt them with fervour. |
| Seek | Have your angel report on another person. |
| Mindread | Your angel reports to you on local conversations. |
| Push | Make the unbelievers kneel. |
| Beckon | Draws in people from adjacent locations. |
| Sear | Order your angel to sear an unlucky adventurer. |
| Judgement | Pass a sentence of death upon the evil. |
| Strip | Order your angel to strip a defence from a heretic. |
| Ripples | Your angel watches for chaos ripples. |
| Ward | Cause fear in most chaos entities. |
| Chasten | Deal a mind-numbing blow to an enemy. |
| Presences | Searches out all in the local area. |
| Lift | Raise up your congregation. |
| Trace | Have your angel report on someone’s movement. |
| Sap | Order your angel to sap the mental strength of an enemy. |
| Care | Have your angel care for your physical well-being. |
| Refuge | Have your angel transport you to a place of safety. |
| Empathy | Have your angel heal you regularly. |
| Power | Increase your angel’s power through use of mana. |
| Contemplate | Perceive the state of another’s mental strength. |
| Sacrifice | Full restoration of self at great cost to your angel. |
| Absolve | Command your angel to tear the soul from your enemy. |
**Signature abilities:** Enlightenment, Hands, Parting
Devotion is the personal hallmark of the Bloodsworn Priests. Through faith, the Priest enacts a holy inquisition. Devotion is a resource gained passively or by immolating corpses in the Flame of Yggdrasil. The skill provides the holy rites: visions, banishment, healing, revitalisation, resurrection, and the Bloodsworn oath that creates a powerful bond with another.
Many abilities here are shared with Paladin’s Excision skill (the two classes have a common theological foundation), but each accesses them through their own skill tree.
**General abilities (34)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Enlightenment | Look into the soul of someone. |
| Hands | Lay hands on a person to heal him. |
| Parting | Water will pull apart to make way for your blessed self. |
| Preaching | Show an adventurer the beauty of belief. |
| Truth | Dispel illusions with the power of your devotion. |
| Rites | List what rites are active. |
| Sustenance | The Gods will provide for you. |
| Inspiration | Gain an infusion of divinely-inspired strength. |
| Bliss | Give an adventurer a glimpse of paradise. |
| Pilgrimage | Travel to someone in a Rite of Pilgrimage. |
| Purity | Damage the Unholy. |
| Chaoscalm | Attack the chaotic nature of a chaos entity, pacifying it. |
| Visions | Condemn your foe with horrific visions. |
| Warding | Drive your enemies off with overwhelming fear. |
| Force | Make an adventurer follow your wish. |
| Piety | Bind those around you with the force of ultimate piety. |
| Dazzle | Confuse and dazzle an opponent. |
| Demons | Summon demons to torment the unrighteous. |
| Sloth | The sin of sloth is yours to condemn. |
| Allsight | Gain insight into all movement into and out of holy areas. |
| Healing | A powerful healing ability. |
| Well-being | A rite to keep those nearby fed and rested. |
| Convocation | Call to you someone in a Rite of Convocation. |
| Revitalisation | A rite to heal health and mana. |
| Deliverance | Deliver a target unto you. |
| Cleansing | Rid your enemies of their unclean aspects. |
| Reclaim | Reclaim one of your rites. |
| Prayer | Pray for the salvation of your congregation. |
| Banishment | Send the unholy Chaos entities back to their hell. |
| Fasting | Rob them of their will to eat. |
| Resurrection | Grant life anew to a slain believer. |
| Illuminate | Illuminate your path. |
| Purify | Cleanse the land of necromantic corruption. |
| Bloodsworn | Bond with another via a blood oath. |
**Priest-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Penitence | Condemn the unfaithful to eternal penance. |
| Congregation | Beckon forth the holy rites. |
**Signature abilities:** Anoint, Verses, Will
In 793 AF, the Phoenix fell. The Bloodsworn’s faithful, anointed with the ash of the Phoenix that will never be reborn, cast off the older skill of Healing and took up Zeal, holy words imbued with the latent remnants of Phoenix song.
The time to heal has passed; the time of reckoning has come.
Zeal lets the Priest speak holy verses (Fire, Void, Protection, Will, Glory, Salvation, Light), chain them through Prayer, and reach for capstone effects: Wrath (righteous fury), Oration (Creation shall flourish), Revelations (show Evil’s horror).
**Abilities (28)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Anoint | Your pledge. |
| Verses | Knowledge of the holy verses. |
| Will | A verse to bolster the mind. |
| Endurance | May the protectors of Creation never falter. |
| Attend | They shall hear what you have to say. |
| Fire | The verse of the righteous. |
| Void | A verse to stave off the outer cold. |
| Protection | The verse of protection. |
| Fragility | The profane are weak in body as with mind. |
| Prayer | Chaining the holy verses. |
| Condemnation | There will be a reckoning. |
| Guilt | Remind them of their failings. |
| Persevere | There will be barriers to overcome. |
| Unflinching | You will not back away from what must be done. |
| Ash | Consign them to their fate. |
| Penance | Let them gaze upon their sins. |
| Reflection | The verse of self reflection. |
| Rebuke | Punish their transgressions. |
| Burn | Let the fire speak for you. |
| Light | The rallying cry of the Light. |
| Wrath | Righteous fury is a thing to behold. |
| Purge | Let the disease be burned away. |
| Rejection | You will not stand for such corruption. |
| Oration | Creation shall flourish. |
| Salvation | The verse of salvation. |
| Benediction | A holy blessing to protect the righteous. |
| Glory | The verse of glory. |
| Revelations | Show them Evil’s horror. |
---
## Priest Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Priest is alignment-locked to Targossas (Good) and the Bloodsworn Divine. Only 3 Houses accept the class, the tightest acceptance roster in Achaea.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. Priests who lean toward direct combat. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour and healing House. The traditional Priest home. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Priest choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST PRIEST`.
A note on the alignment lock: If a Priest strays from the path of the Bloodsworn Gods, they can be excommunicated and lose the ability to use Devotion. The class explicitly requires roleplaying within Targossas’s theological framework. Unlike most classes, the Cij (Carnivalis Institute of Jestering) does not accept Priests. Jester chaos and Bloodsworn devotion don’t mix.
---
## What an Achaea Priest might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Priest can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Priest.
[A Dwarf](/races/dwarf/)[A Human](/races/human/)---
## How to roleplay a Priest in Achaea
A Priest’s identity is the Bloodsworn covenant. Your character serves Aurora and Deucalion. The relationship is sacred, and the divines are active characters played by admin. The class lore positions Priests as concerned with the righteous advancement of Creation. Your character should reflect that.
Three things make Priest roleplay distinct:
**Your angel is named and beloved.** Other Priests know each other’s angels. The bond is the class’s emotional core. Players who name their angel, treat the bond seriously, and write the angel into their roleplay get the strongest character moments.
**Your speech matters.** Zeal is built on holy verse. A Priest who speaks like the lore: formal, scripture-aware, comfortable with prayer and theology, fits the class. A Priest who reads as a generic warrior with a mace is playing the class at half strength.
**You will be in conflict with Mhaldor.** Same as the Paladin: Targossas and Mhaldor are the central Good-Evil axis. Priests are on the front line of that fight. Apostates, Infernals, and the Tyrannus’ loyalists are your sworn enemies.
A few practical notes:
**The Dawnblade and Harbingers play differently.** The Dawnblade leans martial: frontline combat, raids on Mhaldor. The Harbingers lean toward healing, succour, and the protective face of the Bloodsworn. Pick the House that matches the Priest you want to be.
**Combat is mid-range and complete.** A Priest manages the angel, wields the mace, calls verses, and performs rites. The class doesn’t burst. It sustains. Healing, defensive verses, angel support: Priests are some of the strongest defensive combatants in the game.
**The 793 AF Phoenix loss is part of your character’s history.** Even Priests created after that date inherit the lore. The shift from Healing to Zeal is a real event in the Bloodsworn’s story. Engaging with it in roleplay deepens the character.
If you want a class with the deepest theological identity in Achaea, complete holy combat platform spanning physical-divine-verbal, and clear factional purpose in the central war of the game, Priest delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Priest is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Paladin: Targossas’ Holy Knight](/classes/paladins/)
The Targossan martial counterpart. Shares the Bloodsworn alignment and many Devotion-flavoured abilities. Where the Priest fights with mace, angel, and verse, the Paladin fights with sword, eagle, and Excision. Same factional weight, different combat identity. Choose Paladin if you want the warrior side of Targossan service.
### [Apostate: Mhaldor’s Daemonic Priest](/classes/apostates/)
The dark mirror. Same dark-priest-and-scholar role but on the Mhaldor side. Where the Priest summons an angelic companion, the Apostate binds a Baalzadeen. Where the Priest channels Bloodsworn devotion, the Apostate channels daemonic Apostasy. The two classes are designed as theological opposites.
### [Shaman: Hashan’s Enigmatic Ritualist](/classes/shamans/)
The unrestricted alternative for spiritual-and-curse work. Where the Priest is alignment-locked to Targossas, the Shaman is unrestricted. Where the Priest summons an angel and casts holy verse, the Shaman binds ancient spirits and crafts Vodun dolls. Choose Shaman if the spirit-magic identity appeals but you don’t want the factional lock.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Priest in Achaea?**
A Priest’s skills are Spirituality, Devotion, and Zeal. A fledgling Priest gains Spirituality and Devotion; Zeal is granted upon embracing the class. Spirituality covers the guardian angel and the spiritual mace, including the feared Judgement ability. Devotion is the rites-and-faith resource skill. Zeal is the verse-speaking skill that replaced the older Healing skill in 793 AF when the Phoenix fell.
**Which Houses accept Priests?**
Only three Houses: The Dawnblade and The Harbingers of Redemption in Targossas, plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective. Priest is alignment-locked to Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine. This is the tightest House acceptance roster of any class in Achaea. Use `HOUSE LIST PRIEST` in-game to confirm current availability.
**What happened in 793 AF that changed the Priest class?**
In 793 AF, in the war against the Light’s ancient enemy, the Phoenix fell, the great shining hope that would never be reborn. The Bloodsworn’s faithful adapted by abandoning the older skill of Healing and taking up Zeal, imbued with the latent remnants of Phoenix song through anointing with the Phoenix’s ash. Modern Priests do not have the Healing skill; they have Zeal instead. “The time to heal has passed; the time of reckoning has come.”
**Can a Priest lose their powers?**
Yes. A Priest who strays from the path of the Bloodsworn Gods can be excommunicated and lose Devotion, the heart of the class’s holy-combat capability. Spirituality and Zeal aren’t directly tied to the alignment lock, but losing Devotion dramatically reduces the Priest’s effectiveness. The class explicitly requires roleplaying within Targossas’s theological framework.
**Can any race play a Priest?**
Yes. Any of Achaea’s 14 races can play a Priest. The class is not race-restricted. Most Priests are Human (the most common race in Targossas), but Atavians, Dwarves, [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/), Sirens, and any other race can play the class. The Bloodsworn covenant is open to any character who embraces Aurora and Deucalion.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Pariahs of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/pariah)
**Published:** July 19, 2022
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Pariahs are the Accursed. Named by the eminent Hatun of Ghezavat, the Lost Settlement deep in the desert, their powers were unleashed upon the world in 850 AF by the actions of an unwitting yet opportunistic thief. Most Pariahs begin life as simple Magi. The thirst for knowledge often exceeds the moral fibre to pursue it.
---
## Pariah lore and origin
The Pariah suffers no ethical quandaries in the lifelong, or deathlong, quest for power. Having cast off compunction, the Pariah pursues arts considered too profane or taboo for high society. Only in the solitude of the hallowed crypt can the true mysteries of magic be revealed, the deepest secrets of the sand unveiled. The grave is their domain. The revolting and reviled are their companions.
Most Pariahs were Magi first. The shift happens through study of things they shouldn’t have studied: knowledge from Ghezavat, the Lost Settlement, where the Hatun first defined the term. The class is named for what society does to its members: shun them. The Pariah accepts the name and turns it into power.
Swarm and sickness follow the Pariah wherever they walk. The art of Pestilence is simultaneously a living, chittering nightmare and a blight upon the houses. Blood is their ink and air is their canvas: the Memorium symbols of ancient desert tribes serve as deadly lines drawn in the sand. Charnel is where the deepest depths of their sickening sorcery lie. From the heart of remote crypts, guarded by gravel and golem, do they pore over the sacred tablets of Ghezavat and begin to master the end.
What a Pariah does, in plain terms: builds a personal crypt as their seat of power (Crypt, Sarcophagus, Library, Reliquary, Tomb), traces blood-and-air logographs that act as remote curses (Serpent, Scarab, Jackal, Scorpion), unleashes swarms of plague-bearing insects (Sting, Burrow, Scourge), and ultimately reshapes the world around themselves through Charnel’s Accursed Rituals and Workings.
The class is unrestricted by alignment, but Eleusis won’t accept a Pariah. The lore makes the exclusion obvious: Pariahs deal in plague and death; Eleusis deals in Nature and life. Same mutual exclusion as Alchemist, for the same kind of reason.
---
## Signature combat identity: blood, swarm, and crypt
Three things make a Pariah a Pariah.
The first is blood. Memorium is the art of inscribing logographs, symbols from the ancient desert tribes, using blood as ink and air as canvas. Each logograph has a singular purpose: Serpent for venom and fangs, Scarab for insatiable rending, Sun for protector-or-destroyer, Jackal for the jaws that snuff the vital, Scorpion for the striking predator. Heartbeat marks a target’s pulse for their end. Ensorcell binds them in blood and fate. The skill is precise, almost calligraphic: a Pariah in Memorium combat is drawing curses into the air around their enemy.
The second is the swarm. Pestilence wields chitin and plague where other classes wield steel. The Pariah Enthralls insect-swarms and uses them to Sting, Burrow, Infest, and Scourge. Plagues with named diseases (Pyramides, Rebbies, Mycalium, Sandfever) ride on the swarm’s countless wings. The skill turns the Pariah into an outbreak in motion: wherever they walk, the chittering follows.
The third is the crypt. Charnel is where the class becomes fully itself. A Pariah constructs a personal Crypt with Sarcophagus, Library, Reliquary, Tomb, Manifest (a ritual chamber), Passage, Pit, and trap-laden corridors (Trapdoor, Spikes, Crush, Carve). Within the crypt, Accursed Rituals and Workings let the Pariah achieve effects no other class can match: Cryptbound to wake in darkness, Reconstitute, Eternity to spread the influence of the crypt across the land, Embrace as the bane of life, Mirage to mislead pursuers. The capstone, Interment, condemns a victim to eternal stone-bound life: “an eternity to weep.”
This is the deepest tomb-sorcery class in Achaea. Other dark classes summon their power. The Apostate binds a Baalzadeen; the Occultist bargains with Chaos Entities. The Pariah builds. That difference runs through everything the class does.
---
## The three skills of a Pariah
A Pariah commands three skill sets: Memorium, Pestilence, and Charnel. (Per HELP PARIAH, the class skills are gained progressively as the Pariah’s study deepens.)
MemoriumPestilenceCharnel
**Signature abilities:** Crux, Let, Wrack
There are few mediums as potent in the working of sorcery as blood. The Memorium practitioner wields desert-forged blade in one hand and arcane might in the other. With sanguine ink and air as canvas, they carve their inevitable decrees into the world, one corpse at a time.
The practitioner traces the ancient logographs of the desert tribes, each imbued with singular purpose and empowered by blood. The very beating of the foe’s heart shall beat the march of their demise.
**General abilities:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Crux | From which your will shall spring. |
| Let | A crude but necessary step. |
| Wrack | A basic application of the craft. |
| Expose | Strike when they are vulnerable. |
| Sanguinehand | The arcane guides your hand. |
| Transpose | Blood calls to blood. |
| Jars | A little goes a long way. |
| Blasphemy | With blade and will. |
| Heartbeat | Their pulse shall sound their end. |
| Ensorcell | Bound in blood and fate besides. |
| Quarrel | Blood settles all disputes. |
**Higher Sorcery:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Accelerate | Ever closer to the end. |
| Subversion | Until the well runs dry. |
**Logographs (the symbols the Pariah traces):**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Trace | Blood as ink and air as canvas. |
| Serpent | Of deadly fangs and poison. |
| Shield | To ward against the wicked. |
| Fissure | That which sunders. |
| Nest | Of rot and decay. |
| Scales | Balance in all things. |
| Epitaph | To go beyond the singular. |
| Skein | The unravelling thread of life. |
| Leech | To draw out the poison. |
| Scarab | Insatiable. Without mercy. |
| Sun | Protector. Destroyer. |
| Bear | The claws that rend and tear. |
| Jackal | The jaws which snuff the vital. |
| Scorpion | The striking predator of the sands. |
**Signature abilities:** Detect, Enthrall, Infect
The Pariah is armed wherever they walk: their weapons are not of steel or bronze but of chitin and plague. In the darkness the chittering nightmares wait, enthralled. When the skies turn black and the myriad eyes open, it is time to feast. The sorcerer who raises swarms wields them many ways: sending them to sting, blot out the sky, drown enemies on dry land, or feast from within.
**General abilities:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Detect | That which may fall under your sway. |
| Enthrall | You are the nightmare that crawls and flies. |
| Infect | Your minions carry much. |
| Devour | Leave no scraps. |
| Sacrifice | The price of power. |
| Eclipse | Darkness beneath the writhing clouds. |
| Virulence | Interaction heralds doom. |
**Higher Sorcery:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Sting | Pain that comes on countless wings. |
| Burrow | Into the warm and dark. |
| Extract | Call them home post haste. |
| Infest | Rampant from within. |
| Latency | A bleak future awaits. |
| Scourge | A black fate indeed. |
**Plagues (named diseases):**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Pyramides | The body rejects that which sustains. |
| Rebbies | An unpleasant transformative disease. |
| Flushings | Even the vital will be purged. |
| Mycalium | A blight upon this land. |
| Sandfever | A single step is a quest indeed. |
**Signature abilities:** Crypt, Sarcophagus, Plunder
All sorcerers know a singular truth that need not be put to word: some workings are best left unworked. To take up Charnel is a singular rejection of that truth.
No price too high, no hubris too great. No doom too distant. Such is the burden of the Pariah and their eternal fate once they step onto the path of damnation. Dwelling in black sanctums beneath the desert sands, these reborn sorcerers dabble in the very substance of mortality, and pay the price with their eternal souls.
**General:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Crypt | Your black domain. |
| Sarcophagus | The heart of your power. |
| Plunder | By will and by force. |
**Accursed Rituals:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Tablets | The words are scribed on unyielding stone. |
| Accursed | At too high a price. |
| Desolation | and devastation. |
| Preservation | Sleep now, oh sleep. |
| Eminence | Power everlasting. |
**Accursed Workings:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Eternity | May it cover the land. |
| Cryptbound | Wake in darkness. |
| Reconstitute | Your bonds are of your own devising. |
| Resolve | Pain is an old adversary. |
| Cryptcall | It ever beckons you back. |
| Still | The silence of the grave. |
| Arise | That which lies beneath the endless sands. |
| Awaken | The desert’s wrath. |
| Wave | A deluge of a drier kind. |
| Congregation | For they will attend your feast. |
| Mirage | Trust not your eyes or flesh. |
| Dust | to dust. |
| Embrace | The bane of life. |
**Reshaping (Crypt construction):**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Reshape | In your own image. |
| Passage | The simplest of reshapings. |
| Interment | The beginning of the end. |
| Library | The repository of your knowledge. |
| Manifest | A chamber for rituals and more. |
| Reliquary | Where treasures are laid to rest. |
| Pit | To claim the unwary. |
| Tomb | Your hallowed hall. |
**Traps (within the crypt):**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Trapdoor | A step into the abyss. |
| Carve | They dare walk on hallowed stone. |
| Spikes | Your domain has teeth. |
| Crush | No mercy for trespass. |
**Guardians:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Golem | To protect what is yours. |
| Scarabs | The chittering guardians of the accursed. |
---
## Pariah Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Pariah is unrestricted by alignment but **not accepted in Eleusis**, the same city exclusion that applies to Alchemists. 14 Houses across the other five cities + cityless.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. Often a natural home for Pariah scholars (death and the older arts). |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. Rare Pariah choice. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. Rare Pariah choice. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. Natural fit for Pariahs who serve Evil. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. Strong fit for scholarly Pariahs. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. Many Pariahs choose cityless play. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST PARIAH`.
A note on the Eleusis exclusion: Per the lore, Pariahs deal in plague, blood-sorcery, and the crypt: antithetical to Eleusis’s commitment to Nature. The exclusion is mutual: Eleusis won’t take Pariahs, and a Pariah serving Nature is a contradiction. The same exclusion applies to Alchemist.
---
## What an Achaea Pariah might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Pariah can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Pariah.
[An Atavian](/races/atavian/)[A Mhun](/races/mhun/)---
## How to roleplay a Pariah in Achaea
A Pariah’s identity is exile. Your character has crossed a line society won’t follow them across. The Hatun of Ghezavat named you Accursed. You accepted the name. The roleplay anchor is that acceptance, and the long quest for power that follows.
Three things make Pariah roleplay distinct:
**You were a Magi first.** Per the lore, “most Pariahs begin life as simple Magi.” Your character has a “before”: a time of court wizardry or scholarly magic that they abandoned for forbidden study. Players who write that history into their character (the moment they crossed, what they lost, what they gained) get the strongest material.
**The crypt is your home.** Charnel’s reshaping abilities give a Pariah a personal crypt, built, decorated, trapped, and guarded. The crypt is where your character lives in a real sense. Treating it as a setting and not a respawn point pays off.
**Society reacts.** The class name is a sociological judgement. Other characters know the word “Pariah” and what it implies. Targossas will distrust you. Eleusis will refuse you. Mhaldor may welcome you. Ashtan may study you. Hashan may court you. Your character’s social position changes the moment they take the class.
A few practical notes:
**The class is relatively new and underplayed.** Pariah was unleashed in 850 AF, recent in lore terms. The community is smaller than the established classes. If you want strong identity with a less crowded class, this is sharp.
**Combat plays slow and deep.** Pariahs aren’t bursters. The crypt takes time to build, swarms take time to enthrall, logographs take time to trace. Patient players get the most out of the class.
**The Insidium (Mhaldor) and the Krymenian Academy (Hashan) are the natural homes.** Cityless play is also common: many Pariahs decline to integrate with any city.
If you want a class with the deepest death-and-decay roleplay in Achaea, layered slow-build combat through three distinct dark arts, and the strongest “outcast scholar” identity in the game, Pariah delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Pariah is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Apostate: Mhaldor’s Daemonic Priest](/classes/apostates/)
The Mhaldor dark priest. Same tomb/death/dark-scholar aesthetic but locked to Mhaldor and Evil. Where the Pariah builds a crypt and traces blood logographs, the Apostate binds a Baalzadeen and curses through eye contact. Choose Apostate if you want the dark-scholar identity but with a tighter factional commitment.
### [Occultist: Ashtan’s Chaos Scholar](/classes/occultists/)
The Ashtan dark scholar. Different alignment (Chaos), different mechanics (Chaos Entities, Tarot, the Mysteries). Both classes share the “scholar of forbidden knowledge” identity. Choose Occultist if the Chaos angle appeals more than the desert-and-grave angle.
### [Shaman: Hashan’s Enigmatic Ritualist](/classes/shamans/)
The unrestricted spirit-magic counterpart. Where the Pariah deals in plague, blood, and crypt, the Shaman deals in spirits, curses, and Vodun dolls. Both classes have a “dark mystic” feel. Choose Shaman if you want the spirit-magic identity without the Pariah’s heavy tomb-and-damnation framing.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Pariah in Achaea?**
A Pariah’s skills are Memorium, Pestilence, and Charnel. Memorium is the blood-and-air logograph art: tracing ancient desert symbols (Scarab, Serpent, Jackal, Sun, Scorpion) using blood as ink. Pestilence is the swarm-and-plague art: enthralling chitinous nightmares and spreading named diseases. Charnel is the deepest art: crypt construction, Accursed Rituals and Workings, and the capstone Interment that condemns victims to stone-bound eternity.
**When did the Pariah class first appear in Achaea?**
The Pariah class was unleashed in 850 AF by the actions of an unwitting yet opportunistic thief. The powers were named Accursed by the eminent Hatun of Ghezavat, the Lost Settlement deep in the desert. Pariah is one of the more recent additions to Achaea’s class roster. Most Pariahs begin life as simple Magi who chose to pursue forbidden knowledge.
**Which Houses accept Pariahs?**
Fourteen Houses across five of the six cities (excluded from Eleusis) plus the two cityless options. The exclusion matches Alchemist: Eleusis’s commitment to Nature is incompatible with the Pariah’s plague-and-death work. The Insidium (Mhaldor), Krymenian Academy (Hashan), and Savants of the Wheel (Ashtan) are particularly well-suited. Many Pariahs choose cityless play. Use `HOUSE LIST PARIAH` in-game to confirm current availability.
**What is the relationship between Pariahs and Magi?**
Per the lore: “Most Pariahs begin life as simple Magi, yet all scholars can attest that oft-times the thirst for knowledge exceeds the calibre of one’s moral fibre to pursue.” The Pariah is a former Magi who chose to study what Magi don’t. The two classes share a scholarly root but diverge in everything else: Magi work with elements and ether; Pariahs work with blood, plague, and the crypt.
**What is a Pariah’s crypt?**
A Pariah’s crypt is the personal seat of their power, built and decorated through the Charnel skill. Crypts include a Sarcophagus (the heart of the Pariah’s power), a Library, a Manifest chamber for rituals, a Reliquary, a Tomb, traps (Trapdoor, Spikes, Crush, Carve), and Guardians (Golem, Scarabs). The crypt is more than a respawn point: it’s the home base from which the Pariah extends their reach across the land via Accursed Workings like Eternity and Cryptcall.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Paladins of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/paladins)
**Published:** January 15, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Paladins are Achaea’s holy knights. Born in the Era of Founding by Imithia’s Rite of Ending at the funeral of Pasiphae, they have carried the torch of Light and Fire for centuries. Today they serve Aurora and Deucalion, the Bloodsworn Divine of Targossas, and they fight on the front line of any war waged against Chaos, Evil, or Darkness. A Paladin doesn’t go to battle alone: their golden eagle goes with them.
---
## Paladin lore and origin
The Paladin class is one of the most ancient on Sapience. They are the modern descendants of the Templars: warriors who, alongside the Bloodsworn Priests, formed the martial spine of the now-fallen Church of Achaea. For centuries they carried that vigil across the continent and beyond.
The Church and its seat, the city of Shallam, are gone. Both sank beneath the waves of the Eusian. But the Paladins endured. They reformed in Targossas, the Dawnspear, when the survivors of Shallam founded a new island province for the followers of Good. Today every Paladin serves Aurora, Goddess of Light, and Deucalion, the Righteous Fire. The Bloodsworn bond is sacred.
What a Paladin actually is, in plain terms: a heavily-armed warrior whose mind and body are proof against the Profane, who can call down holy fire on those who deserve it, and who fights with a golden eagle at their side. The eagle is the herald: when a Paladin approaches, the eagle’s clarion call announces them. They are the world’s bulwark against the Horror. The defenders of Creation, and its last hope against the Beyond.
This is also a class with mechanical teeth behind the flavour. Excision is one of Achaea’s signature divine combat skills, and Valour gives the Paladin a versatile toolkit of archery, eagle commands, and aggressive set-pieces. A trained Paladin is among the most dangerous melee combatants in the game.
---
## Signature combat identity: the golden eagle and divine wrath
What sets a Paladin apart from every other warrior in Achaea is the eagle. Every Paladin bonds a golden eagle on the island of Anost within Targossas, and that eagle becomes a lifelong companion. The eagle scouts rooms from above, tracks fleeing opponents, swoops to strike at the Paladin’s command, and can even retrieve items in its talons. A skilled Paladin uses the eagle for everything: reconnaissance, mid-fight strikes, post-fight pursuit of cowards who flee.
The second half of a Paladin’s identity is divine wrath. Excision is a skill of light and fire. With Wrath, the Paladin’s sword becomes a weapon against the wicked. Pyre consigns enemies to flame. Damnation lets Creation be healed. The skill is dense with named, narrative abilities that read like scripture: Hallowed, Sustain, Banish, Confront, Decree. In combat, a Paladin is channelling holy power through their weapon while their eagle harries from the air.
Add Weaponmastery, the shared knight skill that lets the Paladin specialise in their chosen weapon school, and you have a class that is mechanically rich and thematically uncompromising. A Paladin is a holy knight in the truest sense, every ability earned through devotion and tested in battle.
---
## The three skills of a Paladin
A Paladin commands three skill sets: Valour, Excision, and Weaponmastery. A fledgling Paladin gains Weaponmastery and Excision; Valour is granted upon embracing the class.
ValourExcisionWeaponmastery
**Signature abilities:** Eagle, Battlecry, Fury
Valour has three distinct parts: the bond with a golden eagle, the art of archery, and a toolkit of aggressive combat abilities.
The eagle is Valour’s heart. Every Paladin bonds an eagle on the island of Anost in Targossas (`EAGLE REQUEST`), and the eagle becomes a permanent companion: scouting rooms, tracking fleeing enemies, striking on command, even retrieving items. A Paladin can also send a fellow Paladin’s eagle to safety if conditions are met (same House or city, higher rank, the eagle’s bonder offline).
Archery is the second part. A Paladin who masters Valour can assess wind direction and speed, draw longbows, crossbows, or the fabled darkbows of Hashan, and fire on opponents at range or in pursuit.
The third part is set-pieces: Battlecry to stun a target with the power of your voice, Engage to damage a cowardly opponent, Fury to temporarily raise strength, plus defensive abilities like Weathering, Resistance, and Clotting.
**Abilities (31)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Eagle | Your loyal companion. |
| Weathering | Increase your ability to weather damage. |
| Seek | Order your eagle to seek out an adventurer. |
| Glance | See as your companion sees. |
| Block | Obstructing departure with your body. |
| Follow | Ever watchful. |
| Gripping | Grip your wielded items in a deathlock. |
| Barge | Barging your opponents. |
| Battlecry | Stun a target with the power of your voice. |
| Bowmanship | Use of the valued projectile weapon. |
| Quivers | Take full advantage of your quiver. |
| Wind | Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation. |
| Aiming | Increase your accuracy in shooting. |
| Sturdiness | Standing firm against attempts to move you. |
| Deliver | Small things can be salvation. |
| Resistance | Reduce the damage taken from magical attacks. |
| Crossbows | A powerful projectile weapon. |
| Clotting | Reduce the level of your bleeding. |
| Fitness | Controlling your breathing. |
| Rage | Throw off pacifying afflictions. |
| Retrieve | Secure it in the talons. |
| Startle | The steed is often an easier target. |
| Rake | Command your eagle to fall upon a foe. |
| Track | There is no hiding from the light. |
| Defend | Attempt to protect someone else with swordwork. |
| Observe | A bird’s-eye view. |
| Darkbows | Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan. |
| Nightrender | To tear the Dark asunder. |
| Engage | Damage a cowardly opponent. |
| Swiftmount | Mount or vault your steeds at increased speed. |
| Fury | Temporarily raise your strength. |
**Signature abilities:** Wrath, Pyre, Damnation
Excision is the divine combat art of the Paladins. It is the warriors of Light and Fire made manifest: a coruscating brilliance that breaks the Profane and excises rot from the world. The skill is built around the conviction that there will be peace only when there is no more need for swords, and that until that day, the Paladin is the one who carries them.
In combat, Excision lets the Paladin call down holy power through their blade and their armour. Wrath turns a sword against the wicked. Bladefire cleaves the shadows. Pyre consigns enemies to flame. Faith is armour that does not rust or break. Hallowed denies enemies the ability to leave a holy place. Damnation, the capstone, lets Creation be healed.
Excision is also where the Paladin’s Targossas oath bites. A Paladin who turns against the Bloodsworn Divine can be excommunicated, and Excision is the skill that gets revoked. The mechanic is intentional: divine power is a covenant, and breaking the covenant breaks the power.
**Abilities (31)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Wrath | A sword against the wicked. |
| Steadfast | You will stand unmoved. |
| Denounce | Let no evil go unchallenged. |
| Faith | The armour which does not rust or break. |
| Repent | They cannot escape their sins. |
| Bladefire | Your sword shall cleave the shadows. |
| Insight | Misdirection is no refuge. |
| Dawnhand | The Lightbringer guides your hand. |
| Sustain | You will give your life for the cause. |
| Unbowed | For Creation, you stand. |
| Banish | The Anathema will not go unchallenged. |
| Crusade | Of singular focus and relentless drive. |
| Hunt | The light shines on all. |
| Hallowed | They shall not leave this holy place. |
| Scour | Cleansed in holy fire. |
| Decree | By their mandate. |
| Retribution | They will be avenged. |
| Stoke | To ever greater heights. |
| Pyre | Consign them to the flame. |
| Flare | Her radiance finds all. |
| Deliverance | Deliver one of the faithful to your side. |
| Rush | First to fight, last to fail. |
| Purify | Corruption shall be burned away. |
| Confront | The vanguard, always. |
| Martyr | With the last breath, and after. |
| Fervour | Victory is at hand. |
| Condemn | You are the judge, and you find them wanting. |
| Hellsight | The fate that awaits their deeds. |
| Bloodsworn | Bond with another via a blood oath. |
| Withdraw | The time to act is now. |
| Damnation | Let Creation be healed. |
**Signature abilities:** Specialise, Cleave, Disembowel
Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill that turns a Paladin into a master of melee weapons. It’s also what lets the Paladin choose a fighting style. A Weaponmaster selects one of four specialisations, each with its own weapons, signature abilities, and combat rhythm.
To pick or change a specialisation in-game: `SPECIALISE IN `. Changing later costs 100 lessons, whether or not you’ve embraced the class.
**General abilities (all specialisations)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Swordplay | Increased mastery of the shortsword. |
| Specialise | Gain proficiency in one of the schools of weaponry. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Arc | Swing your blade in a controlled arc. |
#### Two handed
Wielding the largest weapons available: bastard swords and warhammers. Two-handed Paladins conquer through sheer overwhelming damage.
Key abilities: **Carve, Hew, Devastate, Cleave.**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Continuation | Shrug off afflictions like the trivialities they are. |
| Slaughter | Dispense with your opposition. |
| Overhand | Split their skulls with a mighty blow. |
| Carve | Carve through your victim’s defences. |
| Splinter | Splinter the defences protecting your opponent. |
| Perceive | Perceive the state of your opponent. |
| Underhand | Deliver a devastating rising stroke. |
| Upset | Bring them down in a tangle of limbs. |
| Hew | Deliver precision strikes against your opponent’s limbs. |
| Pulverise | Pulp your opponent’s limbs with crushing blows. |
| Distract | Distract them with a deafening shout. |
| Focus | Alter your technique. |
| Discipline | Your technique is flawless. |
| Deflect | Redirect incoming projectiles. |
| Cleave | Rend your opponent’s body in two. |
| Skullcrush | Crush their skulls. |
| Recover | A true warrior will die on his feet. |
| Devastate | Destroy their limbs utterly. |
| Brain | Put him out of his misery. |
| Overwhelm | Dispatch them with a single catastrophic blow. |
| Impale | Sink your blade into an opponent. |
| Disembowel | Tear the entrails from a target. |
#### Sword and shield
Using a shield for both offence and defence, armed with longswords or broadswords. The most defensive of the four specialisations.
Key abilities: **Ferocity, Drive, Strike, Smash.**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Rend | Rend the flesh of your foes. |
| Raze | Remove the defences that would keep your weapons from your foe. |
| Smash | Deliver a crushing blow with your shield. |
| Combination | Link your blade and shield attacks into devastating combinations. |
| Drive | Deny them of breath with a precise strike to the throat. |
| Slice | Speed is the mark of a true master. |
| Impale | Pin them to the ground with your blade. |
| Concuss | Rattle their brain with a mighty blow. |
| Trip | Send them sprawling. |
| Anticipate | You see every blow that’s coming. |
| Club | A brutal display of power. |
| Cleave | Rend your opponent’s body in two. |
| Dedication | Your dedication to victory can overcome all barriers. |
| Ferocity | Channel the ferocity of battle. |
| Strike | Unleash your ferocity against your foe. |
| Guardbreak | Exploit holes in their guard. |
| Disembowel | Tear the entrails from a target. |
#### Dual cutting
Two cutting weapons (scimitars or battle axes). Built around damage and venom application.
Key abilities: **Duality, Lunge, Impale, Disembowel.**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Predict | Predict when your blows will damage their limbs. |
| Raze | Attack the defences that would keep your weapons out. |
| Duality | The ability to wield and use two weapons simultaneously. |
| Lunge | A deep, piercing blow from an adjacent location. |
| Impale | Sink your blade into an opponent. |
| Razeslash | First penetrate his defences, then give him the sharp end. |
| Undercut | Take them down to the ground. |
| Cleave | Rend your opponent’s body in two. |
| Mastery | Through intense concentration, increase your blade mastery. |
| Concuss | Rattle skulls with a brutal blow. |
| Intimidate | Make them fear for their life. |
| Disembowel | Tear the entrails from a target. |
#### Dual blunt
Two blunt weapons (flails or morningstars). Built around limb destruction.
Key abilities: **Momentum, Whirl, Skullcrush, Pulp.**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Momentum | Strike them with ever greater power. |
| Whirl | The most basic of blunt attacks. |
| Fracture | Fracture the defences that would protect your opponent. |
| Doublewhirl | Strike twice as fast. |
| Sizeup | With the trained eye of a warrior. |
| Predict | Predict when your blows will damage their limbs. |
| Skullcrush | Crush their skulls. |
| Discipline | Your form is flawless. |
| Expend | Expend your momentum for crippling effects. |
| Assault | Unleash a terrible assault against a helpless opponent. |
| Furor | You have the high ground. |
| Pulp | End their life in a single strike. |
---
## Paladin Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Paladin is alignment-locked to Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine. Two of the three Houses that accept the class are Targossan; the third is the cityless Merchants.
| House | City | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | The martial House of Targossas. The traditional Paladin home. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossas’ House of succour and healing. Paladins who lean toward the protective and healing side of the class. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. Open to most classes; not a typical Paladin choice but available for Paladins whose path is commerce-led. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST PALADIN`. To read about any House: `HELP HOUSE `.
A note on the alignment lock: a Paladin who turns against Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divine can be excommunicated and lose the ability to use Excision. The class requires roleplaying, and the mechanical consequences for breaking that roleplay are real.
---
## How to roleplay a Paladin in Achaea
Playing a Paladin means committing to a faction. There is no neutral Paladin. You serve Good. You serve Aurora and Deucalion. You stand against Chaos, Evil, and Darkness. Your character’s life is structured around that commitment, and other players will read your character through that lens.
This is a feature, not a bug. The class carries one of the strongest roleplay identities in the game precisely because the lore is so specific. A Paladin in Sapience is recognisable, predictable, and meaningful in ways that a Runewarden or a Magi simply isn’t.
A few things worth knowing if you choose Paladin:
**The Bloodsworn Divine expect things of you.** Aurora and Deucalion are active Gods played by admin. Worshipping them isn’t a flavour text choice; it’s a relationship with characters who will respond to what you do. Other Targossan players, especially those high in the divine orders, will notice if your Paladin doesn’t take the worship seriously.
**You will be in conflict with Mhaldor.** Infernals, Apostates, the Tyrannus’ loyalists: the lore positions Targossas and Mhaldor as the central Good-Evil axis of the game. As a Paladin, you are on one side of that. Expect raids. Expect being raided. Expect long-running PvP grudges with named players.
**Your eagle is part of your identity.** Other Paladins know their eagles by name. So do their friends and rivals. The eagle is not a pet you summon for combat; it’s a companion that follows you into the world. Players who roleplay this aspect well get real mileage out of it.
**The Dawnblade and the Harbingers play differently.** The Dawnblade leans toward the soldier-paladin: martial, frontline, blade-first. The Harbingers lean toward the protector-paladin: succour, healing, the holy guardian. Both are valid. Pick the one that matches the Paladin you want to be.
If you want a class with strong RP identity, clear moral framing, and active community engagement, Paladin delivers. If you want flexibility, anonymity, or freedom from factional obligations, pick a non-factional class.
---
## What an Achaea Paladin might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Paladin can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Paladin.
[An Atavian](/races/atavian/)[A Human](/races/human/)[A Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)[A Siren](/races/siren/)---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Paladin is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Runewarden: The Rune-Knight](/classes/runewardens/)
Shares the Weaponmastery skill with Paladins, so the melee combat will feel similar. The difference: Runewardens are not factionally locked. They draw on Runelore and Discipline instead of Valour and Excision, and they’re welcome in most cities. Choose Runewarden if you want the knight-in-shining-armour aesthetic without the Targossas oath.
### [Priest: Targossas’ Bloodsworn Devotional](/classes/priests/)
The other Bloodsworn class. Where the Paladin fights with sword and eagle, the Priest fights with mace, summoned angelic companion, and the Zeal scriptures. Same Targossas alignment, same factional pressure, very different combat identity. Choose Priest if the spiritual side of devotion appeals more than the martial side.
### [Infernal: Mhaldor’s Iron Arm of Evil](/classes/infernal/)
The dark mirror. Where the Paladin serves Light and Targossas, the Infernal serves Evil and Mhaldor. Shares Weaponmastery, but uses Malignity and Oppression where the Paladin uses Excision and Valour. The two classes are designed to oppose each other. Choose Infernal if you want the factional roleplay but on the Evil side of the line.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Paladin in Achaea?**
A Paladin’s skills are Valour, Excision, and Weaponmastery. A fledgling Paladin gains Weaponmastery and Excision; Valour is granted upon embracing the class. Valour covers the eagle companion, archery, and aggressive set-pieces. Excision is the divine combat art of Light and Fire. Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill that lets the Paladin specialise in one of four weapon schools: two-handed, sword and shield, dual cutting, or dual blunt.
**Is Paladin a good class for new players?**
Paladin is a reasonable starting class if you’re comfortable with factional roleplay from day one. The class is well-supported in Targossas, the city has strong newbie infrastructure, and the combat identity is clear. The downside: a Paladin who fails to act according to the Bloodsworn Divine can lose Excision. If you don’t want that pressure on your first class, start with Runewarden (similar combat, no factional lock) or another unrestricted class.
**Which Houses accept Paladins?**
Three Houses currently accept Paladins: The Dawnblade and The Harbingers of Redemption in Targossas, and The Grand Merchant Collective (cityless). The two Targossan Houses are the traditional choices. The Dawnblade leans martial; the Harbingers lean toward succour and healing. Use `HOUSE LIST PALADIN` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can a Paladin lose their powers?**
Yes. If a Paladin turns against the city of Targossas or the Bloodsworn Divine (Aurora and Deucalion), they can be excommunicated and lose the ability to use Excision. This is intentional: Excision is divine power granted in exchange for service, and the divines withdraw it if the covenant is broken. Weaponmastery and Valour are not affected by excommunication, but losing Excision dramatically reduces the Paladin’s combat effectiveness.
**Why do Paladins have an eagle?**
The eagle is part of the Valour skill. Every Paladin bonds a golden eagle on the island of Anost in Targossas using `EAGLE REQUEST`, and the eagle becomes a lifelong companion. The eagle scouts rooms, tracks fleeing enemies, strikes targets on command, and can retrieve items in its talons. The eagle’s clarion call is the Paladin’s herald, and the bond is meant to last the character’s life.
**Can any race play a Paladin?**
Yes. Any of Achaea’s 14 races can play a Paladin. The class is not race-restricted. A [Horkval](/races/horkval/) Paladin, a [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) Paladin, a [Xoran](/races/xoran/) Paladin: all valid. Race shapes flavour and minor stats; class is what determines how you fight and which Houses will accept you. Most Paladins are Human, simply because Humans are the most common race in Targossas, but the class welcomes any race that embraces the Bloodsworn Divine.
**What race should I play as a Paladin?**
Achaea’s race-class system doesn’t really have a “best race” for Paladin in mechanical terms. Stat shifts between races are modest enough that effectiveness depends far more on player skill, House membership, and playstyle than on which race you roll. The closest answer is thematic. A [Human](/races/human/) Paladin reads as the canonical choice since most Targossans are Human. An [Atavian](/races/atavian/) Paladin (the winged angelic version) leans hardest into the holy-knight aesthetic. A [Horkval](/races/horkval/) or [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) Paladin works fine mechanically but reads visually unusual. Pick the race for the character you want to play, not because it “wins.”
**Paladin vs Priest: what’s the difference?**
Paladins and Priests are both Targossas’ Bloodsworn classes, but they fight differently. A Paladin is martial: sword, plate, Weaponmastery, and a golden eagle that strikes alongside them. A [Priest](/classes/priests/) is spiritual: spiritual mace, a summoned guardian angel, holy healing, and Zeal that calls down Phoenix-song verse. Both share Targossas alignment, the Bloodsworn oath, and devotion to Aurora and Deucalion. The choice is whether you want the sword arm of the faith or the spiritual heart of it. Both are competitive in combat in different ways.
**How does Paladin Excision work?**
Excision is the Paladin’s divine combat skill set, channelling power from Aurora and Deucalion into strikes that punish Evil, Chaos, and Darkness. It works in tandem with Valour (the golden eagle bond, archery, and martial-divine prowess) and Weaponmastery (weapon proficiency). Excision abilities include Sanctified weapons, divine wrath, and offensive applications of the Bloodsworn link. For full ability listings and current balance details, check the skills tabs on this page or `HELP EXCISION` in-game.
**Can Paladins use magic in Achaea?**
Paladins do not use arcane magic in Achaea. Their power comes from divine devotion, not study of the arcane. What looks like magic in Paladin combat (Sanctified strikes, divine wrath, the bond with their eagle) is the operation of faith and the favour of Aurora and Deucalion. If you want a divine class with magic-adjacent abilities, Paladin is the answer. If you want true arcane spellcasting, look at [Magi](/classes/mages/), [Sylvans](/classes/sylvans/), or [Psions](/classes/psion/). The [Priest](/classes/priests/) class, also Bloodsworn, is similarly devotional rather than magical.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Occultists of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/occultists)
**Published:** January 14, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Occultists are Ashtan’s scholars of Chaos. They pact with Chaos Lords from the Plane beyond, inscribe Tarot cards with magical inks, bend time and aura with subtle precision, and command karma itself. Their hall is the Esoteric Consortium in Ashtan, but their work reaches far older than any city in Sapience.
---
## Occultist lore and origin
Occultists have existed since before the founding of the Seleucarian Empire, researching mysterious arts in their historical home city of Ashtan. In what is commonly called the Burning Times, the Church of Achaea launched a crusade against the then-scattered individuals practicing Occultism. Survivors banded together, but the knowledge of the older Occultism was lost. The early survivors turned to Necromancy and entered a long period of gaining their powers through death magic.
In the modern age, the knowledge was recovered. Led by Shakti, Silverstorm, and Saruman, the Occultists gathered and began a ritual that created an anchor to a ritual begun in the distant past. The two rituals bridged across time, completing the Great Occult Working and restoring Occultism. Since then, the Occultists have turned their backs on Necromancy and again study the older science.
Modern Occultists are secretive and powerful. They consider themselves scholars first, and the deadly power they wield as a byproduct of their research. Knowledge at whatever cost, from whatever source, drives them. Most worship Chaos. Many also worship other Divine. Their work is precise, philosophical, and centred on the Mysteries: manipulating auras, bending time and reality, mastering karma.
The class is alignment-locked to Ashtan, the city of Chaos. The conflict with Targossas (the successor city to fallen Shallam, which was destroyed in part because of its Church-led history with the Occultists) is one of Achaea’s oldest standing grudges.
---
## Signature combat identity: Chaos pacts, Tarot, and the Mysteries
Three things make an Occultist an Occultist.
The first is the Chaos pact. Through Domination, described in the lore as “without question the most dangerous art within Achaea,” an Occultist travels to the Chaos Plane, finds an entity, and bargains for its service. The bargaining is real: cheapness has its own punishment. The entity may attack, ignore, or agree. Once a pact exists, the Occultist can SUMMON the entity. Named entities include Skyrax, Marduk, Lycantha, Glaaki, Hecate, Pyradius, and many more, each with distinct flavour and capabilities. The most dangerous entities (Golgotha, Xenophage, Piridon, Istria) cannot be summoned the normal way; they come on their own terms.
The second is Tarot. An Occultist inscribes magical Tarot cards with various inks, each card representing one of the major arcana: Magician, Priestess, Lovers, Tower, Wheel, Sun, Moon, Death, and many more. The cards are flung at targets or the ground (`FLING at `). Some cards heal, some teleport, some hinder, some kill. Tarot is shared with the Jester class, but Occultists have two unique specialisation cards: Heretic (“Raised from Ruin”) and Ruinate (“Two sides of the same coin”).
The third is the Mysteries themselves. Occultism, the core skill, is the manipulation of auras, time, and karma. Distortaura protects the body from physical harm. Timewarp bends a location’s vibes. Karma is the underlying resource that fuels the deepest abilities, and Transmogrify, the capstone, lets a sufficiently advanced Occultist reincarnate as a Chaos Lord themselves.
Together, the three skills make Occultist combat layered, deliberate, and strange. An Occultist in a serious fight is bargaining with bound chaos entities, throwing inscribed tarot at the room, distorting time and aura, and managing karma as a resource, all at once.
---
## The three skills of an Occultist
An Occultist commands three skill sets: Occultism, Domination, and Tarot. A fledgling Occultist gains Occultism and Tarot; Domination is granted through deeper study (the lore notes Domination as the most dangerous of the three).
OccultismDominationTarot
**Signature abilities:** Ague, Auraglance, Warp
Once studied in ancient times by predecessors to the modern Occultists, Occultism is gained through the study of the Mysteries of the nature of the universe itself. This knowledge, manipulating auras, bending time and reality, mastering karma, was lost during the Burning Times when the Church crusaded against Occultism. The modern revival, led by Shakti, Silverstorm, and Saruman, recovered the older science through a Great Occult Working that anchored a present ritual to one in the distant past.
The capstone is Transmogrify: a sufficiently advanced Occultist may reincarnate as a Chaos Lord.
**Abilities (40)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Ague | A chill that enters from the aura to the body. |
| Auraglance | Seek out another in your mind’s eye. |
| Warp | Cause your enemy’s body to warp beyond recognition. |
| Night | Create darkness in the room. |
| Shroud | Perform many actions in secret. |
| Bodywarp | Warping your own body is not for the faint of heart. |
| Eldritchmists | The Hymn to Glaaki will raise strange mists. |
| Mask | Conceal the movement of your chaos entities. |
| Attend | Force your students to pay attention. |
| Enervate | Suck the strength from your enemy’s aura. |
| Encipher | Hide your writings from prying eyes. |
| Quicken | A small time warp around your enemy makes them hungry. |
| Astralvision | Your aura gives insights into that which is around. |
| Regress | As before, so again. |
| Shrivel | Cause your opponent’s limbs to shrivel up. |
| Readaura | Reading another’s aura will reveal their secrets. |
| Karma | Sense how much karma you have accumulated. |
| Heartstone | Create a figurine of your heart to help give you mana. |
| Simulacrum | Create a figurine of yourself that absorbs damage. |
| Entities | Sense the whereabouts of Chaos Entities in the land. |
| Timewarp | Warping time in a location will move vibes. |
| Distortaura | Distorting your aura will protect you from physical harm. |
| Pinchaura | Surgically alter your patient’s aura. |
| Impart | Impart your karmic knowledge to others with Occultism. |
| Transcendence | Open a gateway to the Plane of Chaos. |
| Unnamable | Hear what cannot be named, or see what cannot be imagined. |
| Devolve | Devolving your enemy will make them unrecognizable. |
| Cleanseaura | Cleanse away the natural defences of an aura. |
| Tentacles | Master your body and create tentacles of your own. |
| Chaosrays | Pure chaos will strike all in a location. |
| Interlink | They shall warp under your will. |
| Instill | Instill your victim’s aura with diseases of the body. |
| Whisperingmadness | A curse of madness not soon forgotten. |
| Devilmark | The Mark of the Devil grants great power. |
| Truename | Find the truename of your enemy. |
| Astralform | Turn yourself into a being of pure energy. |
| Enlighten | Reveal the truth to the uninitiated. |
| Unravel | Destroy the psyche of the uninitiated. |
| Compel | They will hear and be silent. |
| Transmogrify | Reincarnate as a Chaos Lord. |
**Signature abilities:** Skyrax, Rixil, Eerion
Domination is the most dangerous art within Achaea. It involves the summoning of entities from the Chaos Plane as well as Chaos Lords themselves. You risk your life and your very soul in dealing with them.
To gain the service of a Chaos Entity: travel to the Chaos Plane, find them, `DOMINATE `. The entity may ignore, attack, or bargain. Bargaining cheaply has its own punishment. After a pact is formed (`PACTS` to view your pacts), `SUMMON ` calls them. `BANISH ` sends them home.
Some entities cannot be summoned via SUMMON: GOLGOTHA, XENOPHAGE, PIRIDON, and ISTRIA. These come on their own terms.
**Chaos Entities and abilities (25)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Skyrax | Skyrax, the Skyscourge. |
| Rixil | Rixil, the spectre. |
| Eerion | Eerion, the demon jester. |
| Arctar | Arctar, the Defender. |
| Scrag | Scrag, tender of the bloodleech pool. |
| Pyradius | Pyradius, the firelord. |
| Golgotha | Golgotha, the Ascendant’s Thrall. |
| Dameron | Jy’Barrak Dameron, the Hand. |
| Palpatar | Palpatar, the Glutton of Glaaki. |
| Nin’kharsag | Nin’Kharsag, the Slime Master. |
| Istria | Istria, the pathfinder. |
| Marduk | Marduk, the eater of souls. |
| Primebond | Agency upon the Prime. |
| Nemesis | Nemesis. |
| Buul | Buul, the Chaos Chirurgeon. |
| Cadmus | Cadmus, the cursed shaman. |
| Piridon | Piridon, the shapechanger. |
| Danaeus | Danaeus, the dark savant. |
| Xenophage | Xenophage, keeper of the chaos gate. |
| Lycantha | Lycantha, Keeper of the Hounds. |
| Tarotlink | Command your doppleganger to throw tarot cards. |
| Hecate | Hecate, Mother of the Crones. |
| Covenant | You are known to the court. |
| Feed | A transaction most profane. |
| Glaaki | Glaaki, the Eldritch Ascendant. |
**Signature abilities:** Inscribing, Sun, Cardpacks
Tarot is the occult skill of inscribing magical cards with various inks to create powerful images. Each of the major arcana is represented. To use: find blank tarot cards, then `INSCRIBE WITH `. Inscribing takes intense concentration.
Cards are flung at targets or the ground (`FLING at /ground`). Some hinder, some heal, some teleport, some kill. Tarot is shared with the Jester class, but Occultists have two unique specialisation cards.
**Base abilities (23)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Inscribing | The ability to inscribe images upon blank Tarot cards. |
| Sun | Create a portable light source. |
| Cardpacks | Use the handy cardpacks for easier storage. |
| Emperor | Create the compulsion in others to follow you. |
| Magician | Replenish your mana with the might of the Magician. |
| Priestess | Heal yourself with the benevolence of the Priestess. |
| Fool | Shrug off afflictions with blind courage. |
| Chariot | Create an infernal chariot to ride. |
| Hermit | Teleport to an uninhabited location. |
| Empress | Summon your friends to you. |
| Lovers | Create a strong love for you in your target. |
| Hangedman | Hinder your opponent with a mass of ropes. |
| Tower | Cause a crumbling tower to appear in your location. |
| Wheel | Spin the wheel and take your chances. |
| Creator | Create an illusion in an adjacent room. |
| Justice | Bring justice to the unjust. |
| Star | Strike down a foe with a flaming meteor. |
| Aeon | Curse your foe with the mark of Chronos. |
| Lust | Cause an opponent to hopelessly lust after you. |
| Universe | Transport yourself around the land. |
| Devil | Call a Devil to serve you, though no more than once. |
| Moon | Bestow the maladies of the moon upon your enemy. |
| Death | Call down Death itself to claim the soul of your enemy. |
**Occultist-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Heretic | Raised from Ruin. |
| Ruinate | Two sides of the same coin. |
---
## Occultist Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Occultist is alignment-locked to Ashtan (Chaos). All three Ashtan Houses accept the class plus the two cityless options. Same House list as Unnamable.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | The traditional Occultist home. House of mysteries, scholarship, and the occult. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. Strong fit for Occultists who lean toward the karma-and-mysteries scholarly side. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. Occultists who lean combat-active find a home here. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Occultist choice. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Occultist choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST OCCULTIST`.
A note on the alignment: Occultists have long worshipped Chaos. Much of their power comes from pacts with the Chaos Lords. The Chaos Lords do not look favourably on those who would use the powers of Chaos to oppose those who work to further Chaos. Acting against Chaos puts your power at risk.
---
## What an Achaea Occultist might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what an Occultist can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play an Occultist.
[A Grook](/races/grook/)[A Tsolaa](/races/tsolaa/)---
## How to roleplay an Occultist in Achaea
The Occultist roleplay anchor is the scholar identity. Your character is intensely protective of the secrets behind your skills. Knowledge at whatever cost, from whatever source. The class lore is explicit: the deadly power Occultists wield is incidental to the research. The research is the point.
Three things make Occultist roleplay distinct:
**Your bargains carry weight.** Every Chaos Entity you have a pact with is a character with its own interests. The pact required negotiation, and the relationship is ongoing. Players who lean into this, referring to bound entities by name, describing the terms of the bargain, treating the Chaos Plane as a real geography, get rich material.
**Your conflict with Targossas is ancient.** The Burning Times are part of the class lore, not just flavour text. The Church (now reformed in Targossas after the destruction of Shallam) crusaded against Occultists. The grudge runs deep. Targossan players will treat your character with suspicion. Your character will have reasons.
**You can worship multiple Divine.** While Occultists owe devotion to Chaos, many also worship other Gods. The class allows for layered religious play in a way most other factional classes don’t.
A few practical notes:
**Most Occultists live in Ashtan.** Some go cityless. Some join other cities (though the Chaos Lords frown on this). Pick your home knowing it shapes everything.
**Tarot is your most accessible toolkit.** Domination is dangerous and lore-heavy. Occultism’s deepest abilities require karma management. Tarot is the entry point for newer Occultists and remains useful at every level.
**Conflict with Targossas will happen.** Same dynamic as Mhaldor/Targossas: long-running rivalry with named players on the other side.
If you want a class with deep scholar-of-Chaos identity, layered combat across three distinct systems, and a strong factional home in Ashtan, Occultist delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Occultist is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Apostate: Mhaldor’s Daemonic Priest](/classes/apostates/)
The Mhaldor dark-priest counterpart. Apostates serve Evil rather than Chaos, summon Baalzadeens rather than Chaos Entities, and live in Mhaldor rather than Ashtan. Similar “scholar of darkness” role on a different side of Achaea’s political map.
### [Unnamable: Ashtan’s Body-Horror Warrior](/classes/unnamable/)
Ashtan’s other Chaos-aligned class. Shares the alignment lock, the House list, and the underlying philosophy. Where the Occultist studies Chaos, the Unnamable becomes Chaos through bodily transformation. Often allied in Ashtan’s military operations.
### [Jester: Absurdity as a Weapon](/classes/jesters/)
The other Tarot user. Where the Occultist’s Tarot serves dark-scholar work (with Heretic and Ruinate specialisation), the Jester’s Tarot serves chaotic and absurdist combat (with Hierophant specialisation). Different alignment, different combat identity, but a shared core skill makes them an interesting comparison.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of an Occultist in Achaea?**
An Occultist’s skills are Occultism, Domination, and Tarot. A fledgling Occultist possesses Occultism and Tarot. Occultism is the manipulation of auras, time, and karma, the Mysteries themselves. Domination is the most dangerous art in Achaea: pacting with and summoning Chaos Entities. Tarot is the magical-card art, shared with the Jester class but featuring Occultist-only Heretic and Ruinate specialisation cards.
**Who are the Chaos Entities in Achaea?**
The Chaos Entities are powerful beings from the Chaos Plane that Occultists can pact with and summon. Named entities include Glaaki (the Eldritch Ascendant), Marduk (the eater of souls), Lycantha (Keeper of the Hounds), Pyradius (the firelord), Hecate (Mother of the Crones), and many more. Each entity has distinct abilities and bargaining requirements. Four entities, Golgotha, Xenophage, Piridon, and Istria, cannot be summoned via the SUMMON command; they appear on their own terms.
**Which Houses accept Occultists?**
Five Houses, all in Ashtan or cityless: The Esoteric Consortium, The Savants of the Wheel, The Nemesian Vanguard, The Grand Merchant Collective, and The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. The Esoteric Consortium is the traditional Occultist home, built around the class’s scholarly traditions. Use `HOUSE LIST OCCULTIST` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can an Occultist lose their powers?**
Yes. The Chaos Lords with whom an Occultist bargains do not look favourably on those who would use the powers of Chaos to oppose those who work to further Chaos. An Occultist who acts against Chaos or Ashtan may have access to their skills revoked. The class explicitly requires roleplaying within Ashtan’s framework.
**What is the difference between an Occultist and an Apostate?**
Both classes are dark scholar-ritualists, but they serve different ethos and live in different cities. Occultists serve Chaos and Ashtan; Apostates serve Evil and Mhaldor. Occultists summon Chaos Entities and inscribe Tarot; Apostates summon Baalzadeens and other daemons, and curse through the Evileye stare. The combat mechanics differ in nearly every detail, even though both classes share a “scholar of darkness” flavour.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Monks of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/monks)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Monks unify mind, body, and spirit. Through Tekura they fight unarmed: punches, kicks, throws that break limbs and cause internal bleeding. Through Kaido they channel Kai energy to heal, harden, and unleash devastating attacks. Through Telepathy they command the mind itself. And those who master Tekura may take up Shikudo, the art of the staff, returning to the armed traditions the Grandmaster of Flowers set aside six centuries ago.
---
## Monk lore and origin
The Monks trace their origin to an ancient order called the Sentaari, who developed the ability to use telepathy and harness Kai energy. They also mastered edgeless weapons, the staff and the cane, which let them defend without killing, while still striking mightily in defence of the peoples of the continent. During the invasion of the Tsol’teth known as the Black Wave, the Sentaari fought with these weapons.
Then, during a civil war in the ancient Seleucarian Empire, invading forces stripped the monks of their weapons to impair their ability to assist the rightful rulers. While his guildsmen were held under martial law, the Grandmaster of Flowers meditated for a month. He unveiled the unarmed art of Tekura, vowing that the monks would never again be made helpless against evil. Combined with the pre-existing Kaido and Telepathy, the Grandmaster drove the Royal Elites from the area around the monastery. Within ten years, the armed arts had fallen into disuse. Within a hundred, they had been forgotten.
In 742 AF, in the wake of murder in the very heart of the Judgement Mountain monastery, the Grandmaster again allowed use of the staff in combat. Those transcendent in Tekura could pursue Shikudo, the art of the staff. Castomira’s centuries-old embargo was lifted.
Modern Monks follow no particular set of beliefs. Some build empires. Some prefer solitary meditation. The Sentaari live on in the form of a House. The class is unrestricted by alignment and can be found in any city.
What a Monk does, in plain terms: trains body to perfection through belted Tekura (12 belts White through Black, 11 katas including Krull which unlocks Shikudo), channels mental discipline through Telepathy (mind-lock combat, suffusing/dazing/draining), and harnesses Kai energy through Kaido (Kaitrance, Kaichoke, Kaicripple). The combination makes the Monk one of the most complete combat platforms in Achaea: physical, mental, and energetic.
---
## Signature combat identity: stance, trance, and Kai
Three things make a Monk a Monk.
The first is the stance. Tekura is the unarmed art forged by the Grandmaster of Flowers. Every Tekura attack is modified by the Monk’s current stance: Horse (the most basic), Eagle (soaring), Cat (agile and defensive), Bear (highly specialised), Rat (well-balanced), Scorpion (devastating attack), and Dragon (the superior state of mind, the capstone stance). A Monk’s combat is stance-driven: pick the wrong stance and damage drops; pick the right stance and an unarmed strike breaks a limb. The class also uses belted progression (White → Black across 12 ranks) and katas, sequences of moves demonstrated for grading.
The second is the trance. Telepathy is the skill of mental manipulation. Some abilities (marked \* in the in-game lists) work on any adventurer in the room. Most require a mind lock: the Monk locks minds with a target through the Lock ability, then can Hallucinate, Confuse, Drain, Listen, Command, Crush, Daze, and finally Radiance (destroy the subject with a single blast of mental energy). The skill plays slow and patient: build the lock, then execute. The capstone, Radiance, is one of the few “single-blast kill” abilities in Achaea’s combat system.
The third is Kai energy. Kaido has two halves: bodily-control defence (Vitality, Regeneration, Restoration, Numbness, Boosting) and Kai abilities. Kai energy builds up through proximity to violent action. Once accumulated, the Monk can Kaitrance (enter a mystical trance), Kaichoke remotely, Kaicripple completely, Kaiheal, Surge with focussed power, and at the capstone Enfeeble and Deliverance (“grant your enemies release from this mortal coil”). Kaido is the engine that makes the rest of the class work: Kai-enhanced attacks scale dramatically.
Add Shikudo (the staff art unlocked by mastering Tekura and demonstrating the Krull kata) and the Monk has a complete combat identity: unarmed primary, staff secondary for masters, mental dominance, and Kai-energetic burst.
---
## The three skills of a Monk
A Monk commands three skill sets: Tekura, Telepathy, and Kaido. A fledgling Monk possesses Tekura and Kaido; Telepathy is gained on embracing the class. Those who achieve mastery over Tekura may also pursue Shikudo, the art of the staff.
TekuraTelepathyKaido
**Signature abilities:** Horse, Combo, Hook
Tekura was developed more than 600 years ago when the Grandmaster of Flowers, meditating for a month after his guildsmen were stripped of weapons, unveiled the unarmed art. Stance modifies the damage and speed of every Tekura attack: always be in a stance. Higher Tekura skill = higher hit and damage.
**Belt progression (12 ranks):** White, Grey, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, Red, Purple, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black.
**Katas (11):** Jakata, Lisagi, Rhee, Philos, Tykorima, Opha, Nexus, Kali, Do-san, Rhythos, Krull.
To advance: `DEMONSTRATE ` to show mastery; for grading, find a sensei (3+ belts above, or a black belt): `GRADE ` from them advances you. Denizen tutors can grade up to silver: `ASK GRADING`.
**Krull is the gateway kata for Shikudo.** Once demonstrated for the Grandmaster, the Monk gains access to the silent grove and may take up the staff.
**Abilities (33)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Horse | The most basic stance. |
| Combo | Combo attacks together. |
| Hook | A curving punch. |
| Snapkick | A straight-forward kick. |
| Jab | A straight-forward punch. |
| Eagle | Stance of the soaring eagle. |
| Sidekick | A powerful thrusting kick. |
| Uppercut | An upwards hooking punch. |
| Bodyblock | Using your body to block blows. |
| Block | Obstructing departure with your body. |
| Palmstrike | A strike with your palm to the face. |
| Hammerfist | A strike with your fists to the legs. |
| Cat | An agile, defensive stance. |
| Roundhouse | A twisting kick. |
| Evade | A block that attempts to completely avoid attacks. |
| Sweep | Attempting to sweep your opponent off his feet. |
| Bear | A highly specialised stance. |
| Slam | A throw to target the head. |
| Moonkick | A powerful, curving kick. |
| Spear | A jabbing punch with an outstretched hand. |
| Rat | A well-balanced stance. |
| Thrustkick | A kick designed to push your target away. |
| Wrench | A throw that targets already damaged limbs. |
| Axe | A slow but powerful kick. |
| Guarding | Guarding a body part and counterattacking. |
| Scorpion | A devastatingly powerful attack stance. |
| Whirlwind | The most powerful kick. |
| Bladehand | A swift strike to the side of the neck. |
| Pinch | A special and powerful block. |
| Backbreaker | The ultimate throw. |
| Jumpkick | Attack someone in an adjacent room with a flying kick. |
| Dragon | The superior state of mind. |
| Path | Switch to a new school of study. |
**Shikudo (unlocked by Krull kata + Grandmaster demonstration):** the staff art returned in 742 AF when the Grandmaster lifted Castomira’s centuries-old embargo. Includes 32 staff techniques: Tykonos (defensive form), Willow (speed), Oak (unbent), Gaital (deceptive form of legend), Maelstrom (a form of death), and Dispatch (capstone). See the full Shikudo ability list in your in-game `HELP SHIKUDO`.
**Signature abilities:** Sense, Lock, Glance
Telepathy is the skill of mental manipulation. Abilities split into two groups:
- \*\*Room-target abilities (marked `*`):\*\* work on any adventurer in the room. Includes Fear\*, Hallucinate\*, Confuse\*, Drain\*, Divine\*, Disrupt\*, Impatience\*, Epilepsy\*, Stupidity\*, Paralyse\*, Amnesia\*, Deadening\*, Crush\*, Strip\*, Batter\*.
- **Mind-lock abilities:** require Lock first. Once locked, the Monk can Glance, Throw, Terror, Suffuse, Listen, Fullsense, Isolate, Transfer, Pacify, Empathy, Command, Mindcloak, Hypersense, Barrier, Scan, Travel, Mindnet, Daze, Sapience, Clamp, Blackout, Scythe, Radiance, Mindprints.
The capstone is Radiance: “destroy your subject with a single blast of mental energy.”
**Abilities (42)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Sense | Use your telepathic powers to seek out others. |
| Lock | Focus your telepathic power to lock minds with someone. |
| Glance | Look through the eyes of your subject. |
| Telesense | Detect attempts to mind lock you or others nearby. |
| Fear | Fill your target’s mind with an irrational fear. (room-target) |
| Throw | Mentally push a subject in any direction. |
| Hallucinate | Project an illusion into the mind of your subject. (room-target) |
| Terror | Strike utter terror into the mind of your subject. |
| Confuse | Disrupt and confuse your subject. (room-target) |
| Suffuse | Suffuse the mind of your subject with mental energy. |
| Drain | Draw mana from your subject’s mind into your own. (room-target) |
| Listen | Listen to all that your subject hears. |
| Divine | Determine the health and mana levels of your subject. (room-target) |
| Fullsense | Seek out all minds within your reach. |
| Isolate | Cut remote communication off from your subject. |
| Disrupt | Destroy your opponent’s mental equilibrium. (room-target) |
| Transfer | Transfer a telepathic lock to a fellow telepath. |
| Impatience | Inability to concentrate on focused tasks. (room-target) |
| Epilepsy | Throw your victim’s nervous system into disarray. (room-target) |
| Pacify | Soothe all violent thoughts from your subject’s mind. |
| Empathy | Establishing a physical link through your telepathy. |
| Stupidity | Induce idiocy in the mind of your opponent. (room-target) |
| Command | Force a subject to do your bidding. |
| Mindcloak | Stealth telepathy. |
| Paralyse | Exert mental power to paralyse your subject. (room-target) |
| Hypersense | Hypersensitivity to telepathic activity. |
| Amnesia | Induce temporary forgetfulness into your subject. (room-target) |
| Barrier | Throw up a telepathic barrier around your subject. |
| Scan | Scan the mind of your subject. |
| Deadening | Dull your opponent’s mind. (room-target) |
| Travel | Cross great distances to your subject in a single step. |
| Mindnet | Cast a mental net about your surroundings. |
| Crush | Attack your subject with a crushing psychic attack. (room-target) |
| Daze | Render your subject extremely vulnerable to hypnosis. |
| Strip | Strip the defences from your opponent. (room-target) |
| Sapience | Instantly know your subject’s thoughts and actions. |
| Clamp | Set a telepathic mind clamp about your subject. |
| Blackout | Cause a short-lived, total blackout to your subject. |
| Scythe | Cleave their psyche asunder. |
| Batter | Devastate your opponent’s mind with an overwhelming attack. (room-target) |
| Radiance | Destroy your subject with a single blast of mental energy. |
| Mindprints | Take a mindprint of your subject. |
**Signature abilities:** Weathering, Vitality, Sturdiness
Kaido has two main parts. The lower abilities are an assortment of defensive abilities that rely on bodily control: automatic mana regeneration, healing limbs by force of will, dodging projectiles, resisting damage, immunity to most poisons, transmuting mana to health. The higher abilities use Kai energy, which builds up through proximity to violent actions.
Once Kai energy is accumulated, the Monk can enter the Kaitrance, Kaichoke remotely, Kaicripple a target, Kaiheal themselves, Surge with focussed power, Burst when external resources fail, Kaiboost their receptiveness, Enfeeble with a massive blast, and at the capstone Deliverance: grant enemies release from this mortal coil.
**Abilities (33)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Weathering | Increase your ability to weather damage. |
| Vitality | Call upon a rush of adrenaline to heal you. |
| Sturdiness | Standing firm against attempts to move you. |
| Toughness | Increased resistance to physical attacks. |
| Deaf | Blocking out sound by force of will. |
| Hearing | Restoring your hearing. |
| Clotting | Reduce the level of your bleeding. |
| Regeneration | Regain health through strength of mind. |
| Sight | Restoring your sight. |
| Blind | Blinding yourself to prevent optical damage. |
| Resistance | Reduce the damage taken from magical attacks. |
| Nightsight | Gain the ability of infravision. |
| Fitness | Controlling your breathing. |
| Restoration | Healing damaged limbs by force of will. |
| Projectiles | Avoiding many projectiles. |
| Dodging | Avoiding attacks from the sky. |
| Constitution | Maintaining your intestinal equilibrium. |
| Splitting | Constant meditation by splitting your consciousness. |
| Breathing | Holding your breath. |
| Consciousness | The ability to stay conscious at all times. |
| Immunity | Immunity from most poisons. |
| Boosting | Increasing your rate of regeneration. |
| Transmute | Instantly convert mana into health. |
| Numbness | Delaying the effects of damage. |
| Kaitrance | Entering the mystical Kai Trance. |
| Kaichoke | Crush a victim’s windpipe remotely. |
| Kaicripple | Cripple your target completely. |
| Kaiheal | Healing yourself with Kai energy. |
| Surge | A blast of focussed power. |
| Burst | When the external will not supply. |
| Kaiboost | Increase your receptiveness to Kai energy. |
| Enfeeble | Unleash a massive blast of kai energy at your opponent. |
| Deliverance | Grant your enemies release from this mortal coil. |
**Tekura Monk-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Transition | Push yourself beyond your limits. |
---
## Monk Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Monk is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses, same wide acceptance as Bard, Magi, Serpent.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. The most on-brand home for Monks, given Tekura and Kaido’s body-perfection focus. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. Strong for Monks who lean toward Telepathy scholarship. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. Monks who serve Light. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST MONK`.
A note on the Sentaari: The lore notes that the Sentaari, the ancient order that originated the Monk tradition, live on in the form of a House. Player Monks may trace their training to the modern Sentaari lineage even if they don’t belong to a House named directly for it.
---
## What an Achaea Monk might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Monk can look like across three of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Monk.
[A Human](/races/human/)[A Mhun](/races/mhun/)[A Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)---
## How to roleplay a Monk in Achaea
A Monk’s identity is discipline. Your character has trained their body and mind to a perfection most adventurers never approach. The class lore is explicit: mind, body, and spirit are unified into an indomitable force. Roleplay this.
Three things make Monk roleplay distinct:
**Your belt is your character’s progress.** Belts (White → Black) and katas are visible markers of how far your Monk has come. Players who reference their belt rank in roleplay, and treat each new belt as a meaningful step, get the strongest Monk character moments. The path from white to black is years of in-character training.
**Your stance is part of you.** A Monk who fights only in Horse stance reads differently than one who flows between Dragon, Scorpion, and Cat as the fight evolves. The stances are mechanical AND character. A Dragon-stance Monk in combat is in “the superior state of mind” per the lore, that’s a roleplay moment.
**You can take any city.** Like Magi and Bard, the Monk has no factional pressure. Your character serves whatever cause aligns with their training. A Targossan Monk reads as the disciplined holy warrior. A Mhaldorian Monk reads as the cold theorist of strength. A Hashani Monk reads as the scholar of mind and body. Pick the city; the class adapts.
A few practical notes:
**The Somatikos (Hashan) is the natural home.** Body-discipline focus matches Tekura and Kaido perfectly. The Krymenian Academy (Hashan) is the secondary home for Monks who lean toward Telepathy scholarship.
**Combat has the highest skill ceiling alongside Serpent.** Stance management, Kai energy accumulation, mind-lock building, and Tekura attack chaining is a lot to coordinate. The class rewards years of practice.
**The Krull kata is a milestone.** If your character pursues Shikudo (the staff art), the Krull kata demonstration is a significant in-character moment. Players who play that as a real event get strong character beats out of it: preparation, the demonstration, the staff selection at the silent grove.
If you want a class with the deepest discipline identity in Achaea, three-layer combat through body-mind-energy, and the visible progression of belts and katas, Monk delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Monk is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Blademaster: The Named-Blade Tradition](/classes/blademasters/)
The mind-body sword counterpart. Both classes train their bodies as instruments. Where the Monk fights unarmed (Tekura) or with a staff (Shikudo), the Blademaster fights with a uniquely named blade and the Shin trance. Same alignment flexibility, similar mechanical demands. Choose Blademaster if you want the sword-precision combat instead of unarmed mastery.
### [Psion: The Aldar Mind-Mage](/classes/psion/)
The other mental-might class. Where the Monk’s Telepathy locks minds and crushes psyches, the Psion’s Psionics culminates in Foresight, piercing time’s veil to see an enemy’s next move. Different ancient lineage (Aldar vs. Sentaari), similar appeal to cerebral combat players.
### [Bard: Achaea’s Rapier-and-Song](/classes/bard/)
The other performance/discipline class. Both classes treat training as an art form. Where the Monk channels training inward (Kai, stance, kata), the Bard channels training outward (song, saga, rapier). Same flexibility (16 Houses, no factional lock). Choose Bard if outward performance appeals more than inward discipline.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Monk in Achaea?**
A Monk’s skills are Tekura, Telepathy, and Kaido. A fledgling Monk possesses Tekura and Kaido; Telepathy is gained on embracing the class. Tekura is the unarmed martial art (stance-driven, with belt progression and katas). Telepathy is mind manipulation, with room-target and mind-lock abilities. Kaido covers bodily-control defence and Kai energy. Those who master Tekura may also pursue Shikudo, the staff art unlocked by the Krull kata.
**Who founded the Monk class in Achaea?**
The Monks trace their origin to an ancient order called the Sentaari. The unarmed art of Tekura specifically was developed by the Grandmaster of Flowers, meditating for a month after the Royal Elites stripped his guildsmen of weapons during the Seleucarian civil war. He combined Tekura with the pre-existing Kaido and Telepathy and drove the Royal Elites from around the monastery. The Sentaari live on today in the form of a House.
**What is Shikudo and how does a Monk get it?**
Shikudo is the art of the staff. It was the Sentaari’s original armed tradition before the Grandmaster of Flowers set it aside in favour of Tekura. In 742 AF, in the wake of murder at the Judgement Mountain monastery, the Grandmaster lifted the centuries-old embargo. Monks who reach transcendence in Tekura, demonstrating the Krull kata for the Grandmaster, may take up the staff. The Monk visits the silent grove and plucks a staff of willow or oak from the ancient trees.
**How does the Tekura belt system work?**
Tekura has 12 belt ranks (White, Grey, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange, Red, Purple, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black) and 11 katas (Jakata, Lisagi, Rhee, Philos, Tykorima, Opha, Nexus, Kali, Do-san, Rhythos, Krull). To advance: demonstrate the relevant kata to a sensei (any black belt or someone at least 3 belts above you). They `GRADE ` to advance you. Denizen tutors can grade up to silver belt via `ASK GRADING`.
**Which Houses accept Monks?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options: same wide acceptance as Bard, Magi, Serpent. The Somatikos (Hashan’s body-discipline House) is the most thematically on-brand. The Krymenian Academy (Hashan) suits Monks who lean toward Telepathy scholarship. Use `HOUSE LIST MONK` in-game to confirm current availability.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Magi of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/mages)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Magi wield the powers of the elements: primal forces that predate the dawn of time, once the province of slain Agatheis. They craft foci of power in enigmatic workshops. They form treaties with beings who dwell in the ordered Planes beyond the Prime. They master crystalline vibrations and a capacity for mass devastation that few classes match. The class is one of Achaea’s oldest combat magic traditions, and it remains one of the most versatile.
---
## Magi lore and origin
The Magi class is ancient. Its tradition reaches back to Agatheis, a slain elemental god whose power the Magi inherited. Modern Magi continue that work in the Workshops of Artifice, crafting elemental staves and forming compacts with the Elemental Planes themselves.
The lore is terse but the implications are large. A Magi is not a wizard who memorises spells. A Magi is a practitioner whose every ability is grounded in their relationship with the elements and their physical foci. The Elemental Staff is the basis and pinnacle of an Artificer’s achievement. The crystals scattered through their workshop are tools, not props.
Combat-wise, Magi are feared on any battlefield. Their tools are described in the lore as “formidable,” and the ability list backs that up. They can alter the battlefield with bulwarks of ice, scour foes with whips of flame, blast armies with hails of lightning. Higher-order spells, the ones that require resonance with the Elemental Planes, carry real risk. Magi mastery means handling the danger of channeling them, not just knowing the spells.
This is also one of the most accessible mage classes for a new player. The class has been around long enough to accumulate decades of player-written guides. Combat is direct enough that the basic loop is teachable. The class has no factional pressure: a Magi is welcome in every city.
---
## Signature combat identity: elemental devastation and crystalline vibration
Three things make a Magi a Magi.
The first is elemental devastation. Elementalism is the core combat skill. A trained Magi opens channels to the Elemental Realms and pulls fire, ice, lightning, earth, and water through those conduits. The capstone spells (Conflagrate, Hypothermia, Glaciate, Firestorm, Shalestorm, Emanation, Convergence) are mass-destruction abilities. They’re meant to flatten battlefields. The Magi’s role in group combat is often to be the wide-area damage dealer.
The second is crystalline vibration. Crystalism is a room-control system. A Magi refines crystals from the Master Crystal of their House, spins them in a room, and embeds vibrations in the resulting field. Some vibrations affect only the Magi. Some affect only enemies. Some affect everyone. A skilled Magi can stack vibrations to create a room that punishes intruders while protecting allies. This is one of the most distinctive combat systems in Achaea, with no good comparison to anything in other games.
The third is the elemental treaty. Artificing is the craft skill, but its higher-order content is the Elemental Treaty: a ritual compact with the Elemental Planes that lets the Magi summon Waterweirds, Djinn, Sandlings, Efreeti, Stonebacks, Breath, Mistfiends, and Ashbeasts. These creatures are bound by formal compact, not casual summons. The Magi who has built strong treaties with multiple Planes commands an army.
Together, Elementalism + Crystalism + Artificing makes Magi a three-layer combatant: direct elemental damage, persistent room-control vibrations, and summoned planar allies. There’s a reason the class shows up on most “where to start” lists for new players who want a caster.
---
## The three skills of a Magi
A Magi commands three skill sets: Elementalism, Crystalism, and Artificing. A fledgling Magi gains Elementalism and Crystalism; Artificing is granted upon embracing the class.
ElementalismCrystalismArtificing
**Signature abilities:** Channel, Light, Fortification
The crux of all which a Magi does is born in the harsh crucible of the elemental powers. Forming direct connections to those most primal of forces, the aspiring Elementalist learns magics both subtle and overt: bulwarks of ice, whips of flame, hails of lightning, shimmering reflections.
The true depths lie in higher-order spells, those workings so profoundly complex and dangerous that they require resonance with the Elemental Planes, with all the risks that lie therein.
**General abilities**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Channel | Open conduits to the Elemental Realms. |
| Light | Light up your surroundings. |
| Fortification | Protect your open channels from attack. |
| Scry | Locate another adventurer. |
| Resonance | The Elemental Planes are at your fingertips. |
| Erode | Destroy the defences of your opponent. |
| Binding | The magic of channel binding. |
| Deepfreeze | Cast a spell of extreme cold at your enemies. |
| Illusion | Cast an illusion of your choosing. |
| Simultaneity | Parallel channeling. |
| Stormhammer | Call down the wrath of the storm upon multiple enemies. |
| Destroy | A sliver of the Primal Fire. |
| Holocaust | Create a delayed explosion of immense power. |
| Magmasphere | A delayed eruption of magmatic fury. |
**Higher Order Spells**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Hypothermia | The freezing touch of Sllshya. |
| Shalestorm | A downpour of stone. |
| Firestorm | The very world shall burn at your command. |
| Glaciate | A doom of Maklak’s make. |
| Conflagrate | Summon forth a terrible conflagration. |
| Emanation | The elements unleashed. |
| Purity | Life’s water will ever run clear. |
| Convergence | Unbounded arcane might. |
**Resonant Spells**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Gust | Blow someone in a direction with a gust of wind. |
| Firelash | Attack with elemental fire. |
| Freeze | Chill another adventurer. |
| Geyser | Knock someone out of the trees or the sky. |
| Dehydrate | Make them vulnerable to the consuming flame. |
| Fulminate | Fry your enemies with awesome bolts of lightning. |
| Bombard | A trivial application of Air and Earth. |
| Mudslide | A sludge to send them sprawling. |
| Meteorite | To sunder that which wards. |
| Magma | Rock to boil and bubble. |
| Transfix | Mesmerize your target into inaction. |
**Spells of Warding and Protection**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Reflection | Create a distracting illusion of yourself. |
| Stonefist | Coat your fists with rock and punch with more power. |
| Stoneskin | Create a protective but supple layer of stone around you. |
| Chargeshield | Create a magical shield to resist electric damage. |
| Bloodboil | Boil off that which afflicts you. |
| Diamondskin | Give your skin diamond-like hardening. |
**Terrain Manipulation**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Firewall | Create a wall of elemental fire. |
| Fog | Conjure up obscuring fog. |
| Hellfumes | Create choking fumes in your surroundings. |
| Flood | Drown a location in water. |
| Quake | Open cracks in the ground to drain away water. |
| Icewall | Conjure up an obstructing icewall. |
| Hailstorm | Call down a hailstorm to pummel everyone else in the room. |
**Signature abilities:** Refine, Fold, Embed
Crystalism uses magical crystals to create vibrations. These may be single-use or, more commonly, persistent and room-based. Setting up a vibration takes three steps: refine the crystal from the Master Crystal of your House, spin it in a room (`SPIN `), then embed the vibration (`EMBED `). A Magi may only have one of each type of crystal spinning at once.
Some vibrations affect only you, some only your enemies, some everyone in the room. Mastery is knowing them all. To see Master Crystal remaining facets: `HOUSE CRYSTALS`. Personal: `TOUCH CRYSTAL`. Rogue magi without Master Crystal access can buy from a lady in the crystal caverns of Tasur’ke.
**Abilities (37)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Refine | Refine a piece of crystal out of the Master. |
| Fold | Fold pearls into a master crystal. |
| Embed | Embed crystalline vibrations. |
| Touch | Determine how many facets you may refine. |
| Spin | Set crystals to spinning. |
| Dampen | Attempt to dampen a vibration, destroying it. |
| Vibes | See what vibrations are in a room. |
| Dissipate | Attack the mana of your enemies. |
| Palpitation | Cause small heart attacks in your enemies. |
| Heat | Fill a room with soothing warmth. |
| Alarm | Be alerted to movements of your enemies. |
| Tremors | Cause ground-shaking quakes. |
| Reverberation | Protect your vibrations against some attacks. |
| Sonicportal | Open a portal to someone. |
| Adduction | Suck those around you into your room. |
| Crystalhome | Transport yourself back to the Master Crystal. |
| Harmony | A soothing, healing vibration. |
| Creeps | Cause fear in your enemies. |
| Silence | A sound-negating vibration. |
| Ring | Extend the life of a crystalline vibration. |
| Revelation | Reveal those around you who may be concealed. |
| Muffle | Muffle your crystalline vibrations. |
| Grounding | Root yourself to the ground. |
| Oscillate | Discordant music to cause amnesia. |
| Worldvibes | The ability to see your vibes worldwide. |
| Focus | Draw your vibrations back to you. |
| Disorientation | Disorient your enemies with dizziness. |
| Energise | Suck health from your enemies and use it. |
| Stridulation | Destroy the equilibrium of your enemies. |
| Gravity | Increase the power of gravity in the room. |
| Forest | Cause a forest of sharp crystal to arise. |
| Dissonance | Cause your enemies to become dissonant. |
| Plague | Afflict your enemies with debilitating effects. |
| Lullaby | Put your enemies to sleep. |
| Retardation | Slow time in your location. |
| Cataclysm | Unleash the fury of a team of magi. |
| Destabilise | The power to destabilise crystalline vibrations is formidable indeed. |
**Signature abilities:** Workshop, Unweave
Though a Magi may be best known as a paragon of sorcery, calling down lightning to smite foes and altering the battlefield with motion of the hand, few give consideration to the endless hours of toil which underpin such prowess. Artificing embodies this fact.
In the Workshops of Artifice, Magi labour over their Elemental Staff, both basis and pinnacle of their achievement. Beyond foci, the most dangerous magic the Magi practice lies in the heart of the Artificer’s art: ritual compacts with the Elemental Planes themselves, the treaties that permit summoning forces beyond the lesser elementals of the past.
**General**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Workshop | Where it all begins. |
| Unweave | A way to unweave Talisman Pieces and gain gold. |
**Foci Creation**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Staff | The greatest of Elemental foci. |
| Scintilla | A crystal to channel fire. |
| Horripilation | A crystal to channel frost. |
| Lightning | A crystal to focus electricity. |
| Glacial | There is cold, then there is Cold. |
| Shock | Your foci will be positively electrifying. |
| Immolation | They will char under your power. |
| Rapidity | From force to finesse. |
**Elemental Treaties**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Treaties | Thus is agreement made. |
| Elementals | From word to will. |
| Waterweird | A minor servant of Sllshya. |
| Djinn | A subordinate agent of Whiirh. |
| Sandling | A diminutive denizen of Garash. |
| Efreeti | A lesser flame of Kkractle. |
| Stoneback | A hulking guardian of Earth. |
| Breath | A subtle superior of air. |
| Mistfiend | A dread minion of Sllshya. |
| Ashbeast | A harbinger of Fire. |
---
## Magi Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Magi is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses across all 6 cities plus two cityless options, the maximum for any non-factional class.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. Magi here serve Light. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. The healer/scholar Magi home. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. Strong Magi home for scholarly play. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. Another scholar’s home. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST MAGI`. To read about any House: `HELP HOUSE `.
A note for new players: Magi is one of the most newbie-friendly classes for organisations with strong academic Houses. The Savants of the Wheel (Ashtan), The Krymenian Academy (Hashan), and The Harbingers of Redemption (Targossas) all support Magi who lean scholarly.
---
## What an Achaea Magi might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Magi can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Magi.
[A Dwarf](/races/dwarf/)[A Grook](/races/grook/)[A Horkval](/races/horkval/)[A Human](/races/human/)[A Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)[A Satyr](/races/satyr/)---
## How to roleplay a Magi in Achaea
Magi roleplay is built around two pillars: the craft and the elements.
The craft is the Workshop. Every Magi labours over their Elemental Staff for hours that don’t show up in combat logs. The staff isn’t bought; it’s made. Same with the crystals. Same with the elemental treaties. A Magi who roleplays this side of the class well treats their workshop as a real space, their staff as a real object, and the act of crafting as part of who they are. The Hashan Krymenian Academy and the Ashtan Savants of the Wheel are the obvious homes for scholar-Magi who want to lean into this.
The elements are the relationships. Sllshya (water), Whiirh (air), Maklak (cold), Garash (earth), Kkractle (fire): these are the named Elemental Powers a Magi negotiates with. A treaty isn’t a transaction; it’s a compact. Players who lean into this aspect treat the Elemental Planes as characters with personalities, allies with their own interests, and counterparts whose favour matters.
A few practical notes:
**You can serve any city.** Targossas, Mhaldor, Ashtan, Cyrene, Hashan, Eleusis: every city has Magi. Pick the city that fits your character; the class will work in any of them. A Targossan Magi reads as the holy scholar. A Mhaldorian Magi reads as the cold theorist of Evil. An Ashtani Magi reads as the Chaos researcher. The class is a chameleon for whichever ethos you sign up for.
**Master Crystal politics matter.** Your House’s Master Crystal is the source of your Crystalism kit. If you switch Houses, you switch crystals. The class has a real mechanical stake in House loyalty, even though it’s not factionally locked.
**Combat is mechanically rewarding.** Stacking Crystalism vibrations to control a room while channeling higher-order Elementalism spells while keeping an elemental treaty active for summons: this is layered, demanding combat. The class rewards mastery.
If you want a versatile elemental caster, an ancient combat magic tradition with active player guides, and freedom to roleplay across any city’s ethos, Magi delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Magi is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Alchemist: Cauda Pavonis Scholar](/classes/alchemists/)
The mage cousin. Where the Magi works with elemental forces and crystals, the Alchemist works with humours, transmutation, and homunculi. Same scholarly identity, different combat mechanics. Note: Alchemist is locked out of cities that accept Druid/Sentinel/Sylvan (forestal classes), so the city pool is slightly narrower.
### [Sylvan: The Viridian Forest Mage](/classes/sylvans/)
The elemental-meets-nature hybrid. Sylvans use Weatherweaving (elemental weather control) alongside Groves and Propagation. The lore explicitly says Sylvans drew on both Druid and Magi knowledge. Choose Sylvan if you want elemental power but with the forestal alignment to Eleusis and Nature.
### [Psion: The Aldar Mind-Mage](/classes/psion/)
The other ancient magic tradition. Where Magi draw on slain Agatheis’s elemental power, Psions draw on the Aldar’s psionic and weaving arts. Choose Psion if you want ancient power but with a mental rather than elemental flavour, and a smaller, more specialised community.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Magi in Achaea?**
A Magi’s skills are Elementalism, Crystalism, and Artificing. A fledgling Magi gains Elementalism and Crystalism; Artificing is granted upon embracing the class. Elementalism is the core elemental combat skill, with general, higher-order, resonant, warding, and terrain-manipulation spells. Crystalism is the room-vibration system. Artificing covers the Elemental Staff and the treaties with the Elemental Planes.
**Is Magi a good class for new players?**
Yes. Magi is one of the most widely-recommended starter classes in Achaea. The class has no factional pressure, every city accepts it, the combat identity is clear, and there are decades of player-written guides. The main learning curve is Crystalism’s room-vibration system, but the rest of the class is approachable from the start.
**Which Houses accept Magi?**
Magi accepts 16 Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options, the maximum available to any non-factional class. Academic Houses are particularly well-suited: The Savants of the Wheel (Ashtan), The Krymenian Academy (Hashan), and The Harbingers of Redemption (Targossas) all welcome scholarly Magi. Use `HOUSE LIST MAGI` in-game to confirm current availability.
**What is the difference between Magi and Alchemist?**
Both classes are mage-style scholars, but their mechanics and city pools differ. Magi work with elemental forces, crystals, and elemental treaties. Alchemists work with the four humours, transmutation, and the Sublimation/Formulation art. The big city-pool difference: Alchemists cannot train in cities that have accepted the Sentinel, Druid, or Sylvan classes (the forestal classes), so Eleusis is closed to Alchemists. Magi has no such restriction.
**What are the Elemental Treaties in Achaea?**
The Elemental Treaties are ritual compacts a Magi forms with the Elemental Planes themselves. Through Artificing, a Magi can negotiate treaties with the Planes of Air, Earth, Fire, Water, and others, allowing them to summon planar creatures including Waterweirds, Djinn, Sandlings, Efreeti, Stonebacks, Breath, Mistfiends, and Ashbeasts. The treaty system gives Magi access to summoned allies beyond what other mage classes can field.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Jesters of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/jesters)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Jesters weaponise absurdity. They flip into combat with handsprings and backhandsprings, throw concussion bombs and butterfly bombs and webbombs, lift their enemies into the sky with balloons, command magical puppets to break their victim’s bones from rooms away, and tell jokes bad enough to strip an opponent’s defences. No other class in Achaea uses all three at once.
---
## Jester lore and origin
The Jester class originated when an anomalous timequake brought Silvestri Carnivalis, court jester to the House of the Seleucarian Empire six hundred years before, into the present day. In the years since the fall of the Empire, the precious arts of a Jester had been lost. Silvestri founded the Jesters guild to restore these arts to the world, and thus the class was reborn in 299 A.F.
Modern Jesters are a rollicking lot, often silly and carefree. Some wander the highways putting on impromptu shows for passersby. Others plan and carry out entire theatrical productions. They may be citizens of any city or cityless wanderers. They are devoted to amusement, high jinks, and humour, but the lore is clear that a trained Jester is not to be underestimated on the battlefield.
The class is one of the most flexible in Achaea: no factional pressure, no alignment lock, and one may encounter Jesters worshipping the Lord of Evil as easily as Jesters travelling the path of Light. The ideal of fun, in the class’s framing, transcends alignment. Many Jesters prefer outright neutrality.
What a Jester does, in plain terms: combines bodies trained in acrobatics with crafted tools of their trade. Backflips become evasions. Handsprings become attacks. Balloons lift enemies to the clouds. Jack-in-the-boxes conceal lethal surprises. Magical puppets manipulate opponents to hilarious or fatal ends. The lore explicitly notes that bad jokes are mechanically functional: Badjoke can strip defences “with your terrible jokes alone.”
---
## Signature combat identity: acrobatics, bombs, and the puppet
A Jester’s toolkit has three distinct layers:
The first is acrobatics. The Pranks skill is built on a body trained for movement. Handspring leaps to neighbouring rooms. Backflip vaults obstructions. Backhandspring strikes someone on the way out of the room. Somersault dodges past obstacles. Arrowcatch literally plucks arrows from the air. Balancing maintains superior balance. Acrobatics gives masterful footwork that makes the Jester a difficult target. Mobility for a Jester is bodily, not magical.
The second is the toolkit. A Jester carries bombs (Concussionbomb, Smokebomb, Webbomb, Butterflybomb, Dustbomb, Suicidemice, brainwashed mice that carry bombs), balloons (Balloonhandoff launches foes to the clouds; Balloons take the Jester to the skies), and a roster of strange tools (Bananas for banana peel terrain, Itchpowder for irritating sensory disruption, Jackinthebox for innocent-looking lethal surprises, Mickey for slipping someone an unauthorised substance). Each item is a discrete combat option.
The third is Puppetry. This is where the Jester gets serious. Through Puppetry, the Jester fashions a puppet from wood, refines the link to a specific target, and then affects that person from afar: Break their arms or legs, Throttle them, set them on fire (Burn), Bleed them, Mangle a limb, Concussion, Paralyse, Cripple all limbs, Travel instantly to them, even Summon them to you. The puppet is small, easy to lose track of, and devastating in the hands of a Puppetmaster who knows what they’re doing. If someone holds a puppet of you, your options are to retrieve and destroy it, or to slay the Puppetmaster.
Add Tarot, shared with Occultists, and you have a class that fights at three layers: physical acrobatic mobility, dispersed environmental tools, and remote-effect Puppetry.
---
## The three skills of a Jester
A Jester commands three skill sets: Pranks, Puppetry, and Tarot. A fledgling Jester gains Tarot and Pranks; Puppetry is granted upon embracing the class.
PranksPuppetryTarot
**Signature abilities:** Handspring, Props, Balloons
Pranks is an amusing mish-mash of acrobatic abilities, prop-based combat (balloons, mice, jack-in-the-boxes), and the science of bomb-making. Practiced solely by Jesters. The skill includes seriously bad jokes and the ability to scrawl graffiti on city walls.
**Abilities (36)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Handspring | Leap at your foes in neighboring rooms. |
| Props | Wish for the props that every good jester needs. |
| Balloons | Take to the skies with balloons. |
| Slipperiness | Slip out of that which would bind you. |
| Bop | Deliver a vicious blow with a blackjack. |
| Giraffes | Twist a balloon into a giraffe. |
| Backflip | Flip over obstructions. |
| Hocuspocus | Cast coloured illusions to dazzle those about you. |
| Runaway | Make a swift retreat. |
| Concussionbomb | Momentarily stun everyone in the room. |
| Butterflybomb | Blast people from the skies and trees. |
| Balloonhandoff | Launch your foes to the clouds with a balloon. |
| Backhandspring | Leap out of the room striking someone on the way out. |
| Balancing | Maintain superior balance. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Smokebomb | Choke all in the room with a plume of smoke. |
| Juggling | The ancient art of juggling. |
| Webbomb | Explode strands of webbing to bind everyone in the room. |
| Acrobatics | Masterful footwork to make yourself a difficult target. |
| Vent | Sometimes you have to just let it all out. |
| Badjoke | Strip defences with your terrible jokes alone. |
| Mickey | Slip someone a mickey. |
| Traps | The ability to search for traps in your location. |
| Disarm | Attempt to disarm a trap. |
| Graffiti | Scrawl messages on walls. |
| Somersault | Quickly somersault past obstructions. |
| Arrowcatch | Pluck arrows from the air. |
| Bananas | Litter the floor with banana peels. |
| Firecracker | Construct festive firecrackers. |
| Itchpowder | Employ the irritating itchpowder. |
| Dustbomb | Numb the sense of your victims with a bomb. |
| Jackinthebox | An innocent musical toy with a vicious bite! |
| Timers | Give your bombs a delayed effect. |
| Gallowshumour | A tough crowd, this one. |
| Suicidemice | Brainwash mice to carry bombs on their backs. |
| Liberate | They weren’t using it anyway. |
**Signature abilities:** Fashion, Gripping, Confusion
Puppetry creates an empathetic link between a puppet and a person. By making the link stronger through repeated refinements, the Puppetmaster can affect that person from anywhere. If someone obtains a puppet of you, you must retrieve and destroy it, or slay the Puppetmaster.
**Abilities (32)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Fashion | Fashion puppets from wood. |
| Gripping | Grip your puppets tighter than ever before. |
| Confusion | Muddle the thoughts of your victim. |
| Dizzy | Cause your enemy to become unsteady on his feet. |
| Sleep | Put someone to sleep. |
| Illusion | Cause your victim to see an image of your choosing. |
| Spy | See the surroundings of your target. |
| Status | Find out what the health and mana of your target is. |
| Strip | Strip someone’s defences. |
| Paralyse | Lock up the muscle system of your victim. |
| Break | Break both the arms or both the legs of someone. |
| Throttle | Choke the life out of your victim. |
| Reckless | Induce a sense of extreme bravado in your opponent. |
| Tickle | Tickle the feet of your puppet. |
| Burn | Set them ablaze. |
| Bleed | Make them bleed. |
| Travel | Instantly travel to your target. |
| Tonguetie | Sorry, say that again? |
| Cripple | Break all the limbs of some unlucky victim. |
| Command | Make a victim obey your orders. |
| Slow | Make a victim move in slow motion. |
| Puncture | Damage your target’s internal organs. |
| Blackout | Rob your victim of some of his senses. |
| Summon | Summon your victim to you. |
| Bind | Tie up your hapless opponent. |
| Listen | Hear talking through your target’s ears. |
| Inventory | See the inventory of your target. |
| Imbibe | Prick your target to make them sick. |
| Mangle | Viciously mangle one of your victim’s limbs. |
| Concussion | Give your victim a concussion. |
| Leech | Leech the experience from your victim. |
| Truefashion | Fashion faster than ever before. |
**Signature abilities:** Hierophant
Tarot is the magical-card art shared between Jesters and Occultists. The Jester inscribes cards with magical inks (`INSCRIBE WITH `) and flings them at targets or the ground (`FLING at `). Cards are stored in decks (`IND/OUTD `).
For the full shared ability table, see the [Occultist spoke’s Tarot section](/classes/occultists/#tarot): the skill is identical across both classes. Jesters specialise into a single unique card: Hierophant, “compel your victim to do your bidding.”
**Jester-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Hierophant | Compel your victim to do your bidding. |
---
## Jester Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Jester is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses, same wide acceptance as Serpent.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. Often a natural Jester fit. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. Silvestri Carnivalis’s legacy. The most distinctive Jester home. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST JESTER`.
A note on Carnivalis: The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering is named after Silvestri Carnivalis, the time-quaked Seleucarian court jester who founded the modern class. It’s a cityless House that often takes Jesters who lean hardest into the class identity.
---
## What an Achaea Jester might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Jester can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Jester.
[A Human](/races/human/)[A Satyr](/races/satyr/)---
## How to roleplay a Jester in Achaea
A Jester’s identity is performance. Your character is the centre of attention by design. The class lore is explicit: Jesters are devoted to amusement, high jinks, and humour. The combat is incidental to the show, even though the combat is dangerous.
Jester roleplay centres on three things:
**Your humour is your character.** Jesters who play earnest characters with jokes attached are doing the class half-strength. Jesters who treat the joke as the point, who would rather get a laugh than win a fight, get the strongest material. The Badjoke ability, where bad jokes literally strip defences, is the mechanical encoding of this principle.
**Your tools have personality.** The brainwashed mice. The balloons that lift opponents into the sky. The jack-in-the-boxes. Each prop is named, distinctive, and worth treating as more than a weapon. A Jester whose mice have names and whose balloons are colour-coordinated is playing the class at its richest.
**You don’t fit anywhere.** Or you fit everywhere. The lore’s framing, neutrality and the ideal of fun transcending alignment, gives the Jester the deepest “wanderer” identity in Achaea. Many Jesters end up cityless, joining the Carnivalis Institute of Jestering, and treating cities as venues rather than homes.
A few practical notes:
**Combat is mechanically demanding.** Acrobatic positioning, bomb timing, puppet preparation: the toolkit is wide and the class rewards players who can hold a lot of options in mind at once.
**Other classes will underestimate you.** The clown identity is part of the misdirection. Players who haven’t fought a competent Jester rarely respect the class as a real threat. Use that.
**Puppetry has lore stakes.** If someone else holds a puppet of you, the lore says you must retrieve it or kill the Puppetmaster. Don’t lose puppets of your character casually: the class trusts you to protect them.
If you want a class with a strong performance identity, the broadest “weird combat” toolkit in Achaea, and complete factional flexibility, Jester delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Jester is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Serpent: Heir of the Serpentlords](/classes/serpents/)
The other trick-combat class. Same wide House acceptance, same factional flexibility. Where the Jester uses bombs and acrobatics, the Serpent uses venoms and stealth. Different fiction, similar “I am hard to pin down” combat philosophy.
### [Occultist: Ashtan’s Chaos Scholar](/classes/occultists/)
The other Tarot user. Where the Jester’s Tarot serves chaotic combat (with the Hierophant specialisation that compels victims), the Occultist’s Tarot serves dark-scholar work (with Heretic and Ruinate specialisations). Choose Occultist if you want Tarot inside a more philosophical, less playful framework.
### [Bard: Achaea’s Rapier-and-Song](/classes/bard/)
The other performance-arts class. Where the Jester weaponises absurdity, the Bard weaponises song and saga. Both classes treat performance as combat material. Choose Bard if you want the literary/musical version of the same impulse.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Jester in Achaea?**
A Jester’s skills are Pranks, Puppetry, and Tarot. A fledgling Jester gains Tarot and Pranks; Puppetry is granted upon embracing the class. Pranks is the acrobatic-bomb-prop toolkit. Puppetry creates magical puppets that affect targets remotely. Tarot is shared with Occultists but features a Jester-only Hierophant card.
**Is the Jester class actually serious in combat?**
Yes. The lore is clear that “a trained Jester is not to be underestimated on the battlefield.” Behind the clown identity is a combatant with acrobatic mobility, a wide bomb toolkit, magical puppets that break limbs at distance, and Tarot. Players who think Jester is a joke class lose to good Jesters.
**Which Houses accept Jesters?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options. Same wide acceptance as Serpent and Magi. The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering (cityless) is the Jester-founded House, named after Silvestri Carnivalis. The Virtuosi (Cyrene) is often a natural fit for Jesters who lean toward the artistic side. Use `HOUSE LIST JESTER` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Who founded the Jester class?**
Silvestri Carnivalis, the court jester to the House of the Seleucarian Empire six hundred years before the modern era. An anomalous timequake brought him into the present day. He found the precious arts of a Jester had been lost in the intervening centuries, and founded the Jesters guild to restore them. The class was reborn in 299 A.F.
**What is Puppetry?**
Puppetry is the Jester’s signature class skill. Through it, a Jester fashions a puppet from wood, refines an empathetic link to a target, and uses the link to affect that target from anywhere. Effects include breaking limbs, throttling, burning, paralysing, and dragging the victim to the Jester’s location. If someone obtains a puppet of your character, you must retrieve and destroy it or slay the Puppetmaster to remove the threat.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Infernals of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/infernal)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Infernals are the iron arm of Mhaldor. Clad in hell-forged steel, accompanied by a hyena of the Inferno, sworn to Evil and the Seven Truths, they are Mhaldor’s vanguard against everything Targossas, Cyrene, and the rest of Sapience stands for. The class is the dark mirror of the Paladin, and the lore is uncompromising: there is no neutral Infernal.
---
## Infernal lore and origin
The Infernal class was founded in Ashtan by Ekary Lucoster, known as the Sinistar. The original Guild was destroyed in a war between the Infernals themselves and the city of Ashtan that hosted them. When Mhaldor was founded as the city of Evil to the west, the surviving Infernals refounded their Guild there, and Mhaldor has been their home ever since.
With the Maaldathi House since fallen, the Infernals now live in service to Evil before all else. They are the iron arm of Mhaldor, clad in hell-forged steel, fighting with weapons forged in the lower realms. The lore describes them as “a vision of the hellish lower realms as they bestride the battlefield with their daemonic companions at their side.” They are sworn to the Seven Truths of Evil, the philosophical framework of Mhaldor, and every aspect of the class is shaped by that oath.
In the year 837 AF, by the will of the Malevolent One, the Infernal Knights cast aside the practice of Necromancy in favour of the arts of Oppression. The class as it exists today reflects that rework. Modern Infernals don’t drain life essence from corpses; they crush the weak through devastating force, the philosophical heart of Mhaldor’s belief that strength is forged through combat and pain.
What an Infernal is, in plain terms: a heavily-armoured warrior with a bound hyena, hell-forged weapons, the ability to summon vile maggots and surround themselves with a death-aura, and the legal right within Mhaldor to enforce the city’s brutal philosophy on lesser souls. The class is feared, and it’s meant to be feared.
---
## Signature combat identity: the hyena, the hellforge, and the Seven Truths
Three things make an Infernal an Infernal.
The first is the hyena. Every Infernal summons a Hyena of the Lord at the summoning chamber in the Mhaldor cathedral (`HYENA REQUEST`). The hyena is the Infernal’s counterpart to the Paladin’s eagle and the Runewarden’s falcon: scouts rooms, tracks fleeing enemies, mauls on command, scents heretics, feeds on the fallen (“Take of the Lord into your beast”). The lore frames the hyena as “a vicious agent of the Inferno,” and the lexical register is intentional. Every Infernal mechanic carries Mhaldor’s philosophical weight.
The second is the hellforged steel. The skill name itself, Hellforge, is the foundational ability of Oppression. An Infernal who acts against Evil or Mhaldor loses their ability to use hellforged weapons and armour. The mechanic is built into the class. You don’t accidentally play an Infernal without serving the Lord; the class itself enforces the alignment.
The third is the structural philosophy. Oppression is organised by the Seven Truths of Evil. Each cluster of abilities is introduced by a quoted Truth: “What is called evil is simply the drive for advancement, for greatness.” “Cruelty is the method by which one weeds out the weak.” “The body may be made stronger through combat.” The abilities aren’t just abilities. They’re enactments of the Truths. This is the most philosophically loaded class in Achaea, and the mechanics never let you forget it.
Add Malignity (the shared-pattern knight skill with archery, aggressive set-pieces, and the bonded hyena) and Weaponmastery (the shared knight specialisation skill), and you get a class that fights like a warrior and reads like scripture.
---
## The three skills of an Infernal
An Infernal commands three skill sets: Malignity, Weaponmastery, and Oppression. A fledgling Infernal gains Oppression and Weaponmastery; Malignity is granted upon embracing the class.
MalignityWeaponmasteryOppression
**Signature abilities:** Hyena, Weathering, Seek
Malignity has three parts: the bonded hyena, archery, and aggressive combat abilities.
The hyena is the heart. Every Infernal summons a Hyena of the Lord at the summoning chamber in the Mhaldor cathedral (`HYENA REQUEST`). The hyena scouts rooms, mauls on command, tracks fleeing enemies, and serves as the visible mark of the Infernal’s bond to the Inferno. Archery covers longbows, crossbows, and the darkbows of Hashan. The aggressive set, Battlecry, Engage, and Fury, gives the Infernal the same baseline knight toolkit shared by Paladins and Runewardens.
You may also use `HYENA SANCTUARY ` to send another Infernal’s hyena to safety, with the standard conditions (master offline, same House/city, higher rank).
**Abilities (31)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Hyena | A vicious agent of the Inferno. |
| Weathering | Increase your ability to weather damage. |
| Seek | Order your hyena to seek its prey. |
| Glance | See as the beast sees. |
| Block | Obstructing departure with your body. |
| Fitness | Controlling your breathing. |
| Follow | To find the prey. |
| Gripping | Grip your wielded items in a deathlock. |
| Barge | Barging your opponents. |
| Battlecry | Stun a target with the power of your voice. |
| Bowmanship | Use of the valued projectile weapon. |
| Quivers | Take full advantage of your quiver. |
| Wind | Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation. |
| Aiming | Increase your accuracy in shooting. |
| Sturdiness | Standing firm against attempts to move you. |
| Resistance | Reduce the damage taken from magical attacks. |
| Crossbows | A powerful projectile weapon. |
| Clotting | Reduce the level of your bleeding. |
| Rage | Throw off pacifying afflictions. |
| Retrieve | Take it for the Lord. |
| Startle | The beasts of burden need a brutal hand. |
| Maul | Savage them without mercy. |
| Track | Evil gives no quarter. |
| Defend | Attempt to protect someone else with swordwork. |
| Scent | Sniff out the heathens. |
| Darkbows | Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan. |
| Feast | Take of the Lord into your beast. |
| Engage | Damage a cowardly opponent. |
| Deliver | An exercise in logistics. |
| Swiftmount | Mount or vault your steeds at increased speed. |
| Fury | Temporarily raise your strength. |
**Signature abilities:** Swordplay, Specialise, Envenom
Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill that lets an Infernal choose a fighting style: two-handed, sword and shield, dual cutting, or dual blunt. To pick or change a specialisation in-game: `SPECIALISE IN `. Changing later costs 100 lessons.
For the full ability roster across all four specialisations, see the [Paladin spoke’s Weaponmastery section](/classes/paladins/#weaponmastery). The skill is identical across all knight classes that use it. Infernals typically favour two-handed (raw destructive force) or dual blunt (limb destruction matches Mhaldor’s philosophy of breaking the weak).
**General abilities (all specialisations)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Swordplay | Increased mastery of the shortsword. |
| Specialise | Gain proficiency in one of the schools of weaponry. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Arc | Swing your blade in a controlled arc. |
**Signature abilities:** Relentless, Exterminate, Infestation
Oppression is the dark replacement for the Necromancy that Infernals practiced before 837 AF. Where Necromancy drained life essence from the dead, Oppression channels devastating, overwhelming force through the living. The skill is organised by the Seven Truths of Evil, Mhaldor’s philosophical framework, and the abilities are grouped under each Truth.
The foundational ability is Hellforge: the right to wield Mhaldor’s hellforged weapons and armour. Lose Mhaldor’s favour, lose Hellforge. The mechanic is the alignment lock made literal.
**Hellforge**: Rise in His service.
*What is called evil is simply the drive for advancement, for greatness:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Relentless | His legion will not falter. |
| Exterminate | The Lord’s dominion shall expand. |
| Infestation | Summon vile maggots from the depths. |
*Cruelty is the method by which one weeds out the weak:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Implacable | Then serve in death. |
| Ravage | Mercy is a disease. |
| Torture | Let the heathens suffer for their blasphemy. |
| Deathaura | Surround yourself in a miasma of evil. |
*Weakness must be eliminated in all its forms:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Their weakness shall not go unanswered. |
| Tyranny | They shall bend the knee. |
| Conqueror | Go forth in His name. |
*The enemies of strength are those who trumpet craven values:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Predator | To hide is futile. |
| Exploit | The flaws of the heathens are known to you. |
| Desecration | Banish the holy rites of the Bloodsworn Gods. |
*The body may be made stronger through combat:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Rampage | Crush their hope. |
| Bloodlust | Until the last breath. |
| Apotheosis | There can be but one. |
*The mind may be made stronger through the elimination of conscience:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Torment | In body and mind. |
| Quash | Put them back in their place. |
| Agony | They shall bleed for the Lord. |
| Vivisect | They shall serve as example. |
*The spirit may be made stronger by enduring hardships:*
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Pitiless | Death is no barrier to His triumph. |
| Unswayed | You will overcome. |
| Anguish | Pain is nothing before your will. |
| Cripple | Break the body, forge the spirit. |
---
## Infernal Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Infernal is alignment-locked to Mhaldor and the service of Evil. Only 4 Houses accept the class: two in Mhaldor and two cityless.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldor’s military House. The traditional Infernal home. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldor’s House of rites and traditions. The spiritual/philosophical Infernal home. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Open to most classes, including Infernals whose path is commerce-led. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Infernal pick. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST INFERNAL`. To read about any House: `HELP HOUSE `.
A note on the alignment lock: an Infernal who acts against Evil or Mhaldor may have their access to hellforged weapons and armour revoked. The class explicitly requires roleplaying, not optional, not light-touch. Mhaldor will hold you accountable.
---
## What an Achaea Infernal might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what an Infernal can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play an Infernal.
[A Grook](/races/grook/)[A Human](/races/human/)[A Siren](/races/siren/)[A Troll](/races/troll/)---
## How to roleplay an Infernal in Achaea
There is no neutral Infernal. The class commits you to Mhaldor, to the Lord, to the Seven Truths of Evil. Your character’s life is structured around that commitment, and other players will read your character through that lens.
Infernal is, in practice, a roleplay class. The philosophical framework is built into the skill structure (see Oppression’s Seven Truths above). The class lore is uncompromising. The mechanical consequences for breaking the oath are real (lose Hellforge, lose the class’s signature gear). If you want to play a character with strong moral framing and a community of like-minded players who will hold you to that framing, Infernal delivers in a way that few other classes do.
A few things worth knowing if you choose Infernal:
**You will be in conflict with Targossas.** Mhaldor and Targossas are the central Good-Evil axis of Achaea. Paladins, Priests, Aurora’s worshippers, Deucalion’s faithful: these are your sworn enemies. Expect raids on Mhaldor and expect to raid Targossas. Expect long-running PvP grudges with named players. This is the longest-running rivalry in the game and your character lives inside it.
**The Seven Truths are real philosophy.** Mhaldor’s framework, strength forged through combat, cruelty as a tool for weeding out weakness, conscience as a hindrance, is fully developed in the game’s lore. Other Mhaldorian players take it seriously and your character will be expected to engage with it. If you want to play a casual villain who dabbles in evil, this isn’t the class. Infernals operate within a coherent philosophical system.
**Your hyena reads differently from the Paladin’s eagle.** Where the Paladin’s eagle is celebrated by allies and dreaded by enemies as a herald of righteousness, the hyena is a feral predator that scents heretics and feasts on the dead. The flavour text earns its keep. Players who lean into the hyena’s character, naming it, treating it as a vassal of the Inferno rather than a pet, get much more from the class.
**The Dread Legates and the Insidium play differently.** The Dread Legates lean military: front-line warfare, raids on Targossas, defence of Mhaldor’s territory. The Insidium leans ritual and philosophical: maintenance of Mhaldor’s rites, theological depth, the spiritual machinery of Evil. Pick the one that matches the Infernal you want to be.
Infernal is the most lore-committed class in Achaea. The philosophical framework is real, the enemy is named, and the faction will hold you to it.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Infernal is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Paladin: Targossas’ Holy Knight](/classes/paladins/)
The holy mirror. Where the Infernal serves Evil and Mhaldor, the Paladin serves Good and Targossas. Shares Weaponmastery, but uses Excision and Valour where the Infernal uses Oppression and Malignity. The two classes are designed to oppose each other. Choose Paladin if you want the same factional weight but on the side of Light and Fire.
### [Apostate: Mhaldor’s Daemonic Priest](/classes/apostates/)
Mhaldor’s dark priest counterpart. Where the Infernal is a warrior first, the Apostate is a diabolical scholar and ritualist who can fight. Same Mhaldor alignment, same factional pressure, very different combat identity. Choose Apostate if the philosophical and theological side of Evil appeals more than the martial side.
### [Unnamable: Ashtan’s Body-Horror Warrior](/classes/unnamable/)
The Ashtan-aligned Chaos warrior, the other side of Achaea’s dark-class axis. Shares Weaponmastery, but trades Mhaldorian discipline for the body-horror mutations of Anathema. Choose Unnamable if you want the dark warrior aesthetic with a different philosophical home and a more transgressive class identity.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of an Infernal in Achaea?**
An Infernal’s skills are Malignity, Weaponmastery, and Oppression. A fledgling Infernal gains Oppression and Weaponmastery; Malignity is granted upon embracing the class. Malignity covers the bonded hyena, archery, and aggressive set-pieces. Weaponmastery is the shared knight skill for weapon specialisation. Oppression is the dark combat art organised by the Seven Truths of Evil.
**Why did the Infernal class give up Necromancy?**
In 837 AF, by the will of the Malevolent One, Infernal Knights cast aside the practice of Necromancy in favour of the arts of Oppression. The rework shifted the class’s identity from “draining life essence from the dead” to “crushing the weak through devastating force.” The new skill aligns more closely with Mhaldor’s philosophical framework, the Seven Truths of Evil, which emphasises strength forged through combat. Necromancy is now the province of Apostates, who still practice the older art.
**Which Houses accept Infernals?**
Only four Houses accept the Infernal class: The Dread Legates and The Insidium in Mhaldor, plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. The class is alignment-locked to Mhaldor. The Dread Legates are the military House; The Insidium handles rites and traditions. Use `HOUSE LIST INFERNAL` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can an Infernal lose their powers?**
Yes. The Infernal’s ability to wield hellforged weapons and armour depends on the agreement and oaths in service to Evil. An Infernal who acts against Evil or Mhaldor may find their access to these skills revoked. This is intentional: the class is built on the covenant with the Lord, and breaking the covenant breaks the class. Hellforge is the foundational ability of Oppression, and losing it dramatically reduces an Infernal’s combat effectiveness.
**Can any race play an Infernal?**
Yes. Any of Achaea’s 14 races can play an Infernal. The class is not race-restricted. Trolls and [Horkval](/races/horkval/) read as particularly fearsome Infernals because of their physical bulk and intimidating appearance, but Humans, Sirens, Grooks, and any other race can play the class. Race shapes appearance and character feel; class is what determines combat identity and factional commitment.
**What race should I play as an Infernal?**
Like all Achaea classes, Infernal isn’t strongly gated by race in mechanical terms. Any of the playable races can be Infernal and play it well. Thematically, the [Troll](/races/troll/) Infernal (the version on this spoke’s hero image) hits the hardest, since Troll size and brutality fit the hell-forged warrior archetype. [Human](/races/human/) Infernals are common in Mhaldor. [Dwarf](/races/dwarf/) Infernals work for a grim-warrior read. Smaller or visually delicate races like [Siren](/races/siren/) or [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) work mechanically but read against type. Pick the race that fits how you want to roleplay Evil.
**Infernal vs Paladin: what’s the difference?**
Infernal and [Paladin](/classes/paladins/) are designed as deliberate mirrors. Both are knight classes that share Weaponmastery. Both pair the warrior with a bound animal companion (the Infernal’s hyena, the Paladin’s eagle). The difference is the source of their power. A Paladin serves Targossas and the Bloodsworn Divines, fighting with divine wrath against Evil. An Infernal serves Mhaldor and the Lord of Evil, fighting with the strength of the Seven Truths against everything Good. Where the Paladin’s third skill is Excision (divine), the Infernal’s is Oppression (philosophical force). The two classes are written to oppose each other in faction war.
**How does Infernal Oppression work?**
Oppression is the Infernal’s third skill set, replacing the older Necromancy in 837 AF. It is organised around the Seven Truths of Evil, the philosophical framework of Mhaldor, and its abilities crush the weak through devastating force rather than draining life from the dying. Oppression reflects Mhaldor’s belief that strength is forged through combat and pain. For full ability listings, see the skills tabs on this page or `HELP OPPRESSION` in-game.
**How does the Infernal hyena companion work?**
Every Infernal has a hyena, bound to them from the lower realms as part of the class’s pact with Evil. The hyena fights alongside its Infernal, striking targets and interrupting opponents in combat. Like the [Paladin’s eagle](/classes/paladins/), the hyena is a class-signature companion: not a passive pet, but a combat-active extension of the Infernal’s fighting style.
**Is Infernal a good class for new players?**
Infernal is one of Achaea’s more mechanically demanding classes, especially in PvP. The Oppression skill set has a learning curve, and Infernals are expected to fight aggressively in faction war from the moment they join Mhaldor. Mhaldor itself is a high-pressure faction with strict roleplay expectations. If you’re new to Achaea, Infernal is playable but not the easiest entry point. Classes like [Runewarden](/classes/runewardens/), [Magi](/classes/mages/), or [Sentinel](/classes/sentinels/) offer more forgiving combat learning. If you want the Mhaldorian faction experience and don’t mind a steep climb, Infernal is the most lore-rich way in.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Druids of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/druids)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Druids are the most ancient of the forestal classes, devoted to the forests of Sapience and all they represent. They establish a personal Grove in the wild, transform into beasts from squirrel to wyvern, and reclaim the land where civilisation has retreated. They are bound to Eleusis, the forest commune, and to Gaia, the Goddess of Nature.
---
## Druid lore and origin
Druids predate most other forestal traditions. Their isolationist nature tended to remove them from the great events of history. They preferred the welfare of the forests to the political games of cities. That changed in modern times with the formation of Eleusis, the forest commune, and the founding of the Council of Oakstone. These institutions gave Druids power that extends beyond their beloved forests for the first time.
Modern Druids stay clear of the near-religious battles between Good and Evil that dominate much of Sapience. They focus on what they deem good: the welfare of the forests. Some Druids are loners. Some are deeply social, part of a thriving forestal community. The defining feature of the class isn’t temperament, it’s the bond with Nature itself.
What a Druid does, in plain terms: establishes a personal Grove that accumulates sunlight as a power resource, transforms into a range of animals to suit the situation, accelerates the growth of natural life through Reclamation, and serves as the magical-and-martial guardian of forests under threat. The Grove is the Druid’s home base, their power source, and their identity all in one.
This is a factional class. Eleusis and Gaia have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Druid who becomes a forest enemy can have access to class abilities revoked. The roleplay isn’t optional, but the framing is gentler than the Paladin or Infernal, you’re committing to Nature, not to a specific theological war.
---
## Signature combat identity: the Grove, shapeshifting, and Reclamation
Three things make a Druid a Druid.
The first is the Grove. Every Druid finds an unclaimed forest location, Imprints it, and makes it their personal Grove. The Grove absorbs sunlight by day and slowly drains by night. The Grove’s stored sunlight powers most of the Druid’s abilities. Within their Grove, a Druid is functionally unbeatable: they can summon earth golems, call down lightning, raise a barrier of light, summon swarms of bees, hold a forest in lockdown (Forestbinding), and resurrect themselves or allies. The Grove is not just a location; it’s the engine of the class.
The second is shapeshifting. Through Metamorphosis, a Druid can transform into a range of forms: squirrel, wildcat, owl, wolf, cheetah, bear, gorilla, elephant, eagle, icewyrm. Each form has its own combat and movement powers. Druid-only forms include the Wyvern (the cousin of dragons) and the Hydra (a fearsome creature steeped in mystery). The class identity comes alive at this point: a Druid in combat is rotating forms to match the situation, becoming a hydra in melee, an eagle for aerial pursuit, a bear for raw damage.
The third is Reclamation. This is the slowest and most strategic of the three skills, but its endgame is enormous. A Druid can Reclaim a room: tap into its remnants of natural life and accelerate them, turning the location into reclaimed land under the Druid’s command. Standing on reclaimed land, a Druid wields powers that approach omniscience: knowing what’s hidden, walking the forest as if everywhere at once, returning fallen enemies to the embrace of nature.
Together, the three skills make Druid one of Achaea’s most layered classes: home-base combat through the Grove, mobile combat through Metamorphosis, and land-control combat through Reclamation. The class plays slowly to set up and devastatingly once positioned.
---
## The three skills of a Druid
A Druid commands three skill sets: Groves, Metamorphosis, and Reclamation. A fledgling Druid gains Groves and Metamorphosis; Reclamation is granted upon embracing the class.
GrovesMetamorphosisReclamation
**Signature abilities:** Imprint, Perceive, Sever
Groves is the skill of interacting with the great forests of Achaea. It establishes a private Grove that absorbs and accumulates sunlight, which powers most of the Druid’s abilities. Sunlight drains nightly. Most abilities consume some sunlight to use.
Before making a Grove, the Druid must discover an unclaimed forest location. Within their Grove, a Druid is functionally unbeatable: Lightning, Guardian (earth golem), Hive (bees), Barrier (impenetrable light), Forestbinding (lockdown), and Resurrection are all available.
The capstone is Portability: “the ultimate expression of the bond with your grove.” Druids in good standing with their forestal organisation also unlock Harmony, the class-specific specialisation. Eleusis-specific abilities (Formicary, Swarmsense) are available to Druids in Eleusis.
**Abilities (55 + 1 Druid-specific + 2 Eleusis-specific)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Imprint | Choose a forest location as your grove. |
| Perceive | Determine if a forest area has been claimed as a grove. |
| Sever | Erase your imprint permanently from your grove. |
| Energy | Determine how much sunlight your grove has stored. |
| Who | Sense who is in the forest. |
| Status | Discover information on the status of your grove. |
| Look | See through the eyes of a forest into a distant location. |
| Shake | Send a tremor throughout your grove. |
| Elevate | Ascend into the treetops. |
| Watch | Command your grove to report certain activity within it. |
| Eject | Toss all but yourself out of your grove. |
| Return | Return instantly to your grove from anywhere in the forest. |
| Eyes | Locate everyone in the forest. |
| Forestwatch | Know all entry and exit from the forest. |
| Seal | Prevent night-time draining sunlight from your grove. |
| Tend | Lovingly caring for your grove. |
| Lastharvest | The ability to see who last harvested in a room. |
| Naturalism | Discover who exterminated a room last. |
| Screen | Raise a screen against telepathy within your grove. |
| Roots | Secure yourself to the ground with tree roots. |
| Preservation | For one year, shield your grove from damage. |
| Smudge | Remove ground-based runes from your grove. |
| Quarterstaff | Summon a powerful quarterstaff from your grove. |
| Calling | Call your loyal creatures back to your grove. |
| Track | Constantly track the movement of anyone in the forest. |
| Portal | Open a portal to your grove for anyone in the forest. |
| Summon | After a time, bring anyone in the forest to your grove. |
| Flow | Slip instantly from your grove to anyone in the forest. |
| Imbue | Infuse your quarterstaff with the power of sunlight. |
| Regrowth | Reform a sharpened quarterstaff. |
| Cure | Cure someone of an affliction. |
| Isolation | Transport yourself to the Glade of Isolation. |
| Channel | Transfer energy to the grove of another. |
| Vigour | Call on the invigorating warmth of sunlight. |
| Remedy | Heal another of maladies and ailments. |
| Rain | Conjuring a magical shower of rejuvenating rain. |
| Fertility | Perform the rites of fertility. |
| Concealment | Hide all those within your grove from prying eyes. |
| Sharing | Granting the use of your grove to your allies. |
| Flash | Illuminate the surroundings with a revealing flash of light. |
| Gate | Open a gateway of light. |
| Thornlash | Lash your prey with Nature’s fury. |
| Hive | Create a hive of stinging bees to defend your grove. |
| Overgrowth | Return a totem to the embrace of Nature. |
| Rejuvenate | Restore an exterminated room to its natural state. |
| Snowstorm | Spread the white cloak of winter across the land. |
| Wildgrowth | Ensnare your enemies with tenacious plantlife. |
| Barrier | Form an impenetrable barrier of light itself. |
| Forestbinding | Prevent all entry and exit from the forest. |
| Resurrection | Restore yourself or a friend to life. |
| Guardian | Summon an earth golem to guard your grove. |
| Dampen | Put an end to aural interferences. |
| Lightning | Strike your foes with nature’s fury. |
| Vivify | Bring forth life from blight. |
| Panacea | Nature’s touch can heal all ills. |
| Portability | The ultimate expression of the bond with your grove. |
**Druid-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Harmony | Seek Nature’s blessing through absolute harmony. |
**Eleusis-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Formicary | Summon the swarm to defend a natural location. |
| Swarmsense | Sense the size of the swarm. |
**Signature abilities:** Powers, Squirrel, Wildcat
Metamorphosis is the ability to bond with the spirits of various animals, from mundane to fantastic. `MORPH ` begins the process. Staying bonded strains endurance. `UNMORPH` (or `HUMAN`) ends the form.
The Druid gains 23 shared morph forms plus three Druid-specific specialisations: Wyvern (the cousin of dragons), Hydra (a fearsome creature steeped in mystery), and Furor (a combat ability to tear at the prey’s limbs). The Wyvern form gives Druids access to flight and dragon-adjacent combat at a level few other classes match.
**Shared abilities (23)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Powers | Lists the powers you possess when morphed into a creature. |
| Squirrel | A cute, bushy-tailed woodland creature. |
| Wildcat | A small untamed feline. Alert and perceptive. |
| Wolf | The wary white wolf. |
| Turtle | The aquatic turtle. |
| Jackdaw | The black jackdaw. |
| Cheetah | A creature quick of eye and fleet of foot. |
| Owl | The wise bird of prey. |
| Hyena | A vicious, stealthy creature with a chilling howl. |
| Condor | The swift and mighty bird of prey. |
| Gopher | A cute, burrowing animal. |
| Sloth | A slow, ponderous creature. |
| Bear | The mighty grizzly bear. |
| Bonding | Increased rapport with the animal spirits. |
| Nightingale | A delicate, beautiful bird with an exquisite song. |
| Elephant | Largest of the land mammals. |
| Transmorph | The ability to morph from form to form. |
| Wolverine | Pound for pound, one of the most vicious animals. |
| Icewyrm | A mythical creature of awesome, magical power. |
| Eagle | The king of all flighted birds. |
| Gorilla | An agile yet powerful primate. |
| Affinity | Obtaining a greater affinity with an animal spirit. |
| Truemorph | Instantaneous metamorphosis. |
**Druid-specific specialisation:**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Wyvern | The cousin of dragons themselves. |
| Hydra | A fearsome creature steeped in mystery. |
| Furor | Tear at your prey’s limbs. |
**Signature abilities:** Reclaim, Relinquish, Expand
In the beginning there were no cities; those who practice Reclamation shall see it so again.
Nature is both beautiful and terrible. Reclamation lets a Druid tap into the remnants of natural life in a location and coax them to grow at an astounding rate. Nature overtakes the location. Standing on reclaimed land, the Druid wields powers that approach omniscience.
The capstone is Wrath: “the wrath of nature unleashed.”
**Abilities (26)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Reclaim | The greatest oak sprouts from a tiny seed. |
| Relinquish | Sometimes one must retreat to advance. |
| Expand | Slowly but surely. |
| Status | Know the extent of your control. |
| Forestwalk | You are everywhere at once. |
| Lash | The vines will scourge their flesh. |
| Sleepspores | Send them into slumber. |
| Windwhisper | The wind tells many secrets. |
| Knowledge | Nothing can be hidden from you. |
| Omniscience | Knowledge is power. |
| Poisonspores | A far less gentle fate. |
| Consume | The flesh of the fallen shall nourish nature. |
| Constrict | Restrain those that trespass. |
| Regrowth | Nature will always recover. |
| Pollen | Choke the life from them. |
| Signal | Let no transgression go unpunished. |
| Smother | Rob the flames of oxygen. |
| Refresh | The most benign of spores. |
| Polarity | Two is better than one. |
| Subsume | All will become one. |
| Trinity | Perfect control is yours. |
| Ward | Over your dead body. |
| Revive | Breathe life back into the fallen. |
| Embrace | Return them to the embrace of nature. |
| Wrath | The wrath of nature unleashed. |
---
## Druid Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Druid is alignment-locked to Eleusis (Nature). Only 4 Houses accept the class: the two Eleusis Houses and the two cityless options. The same House list applies to Sentinel and Sylvan.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. The Druid’s natural home. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. Druids who lean more spiritual/nurturing find a home here. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Druid choice. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Druid choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST DRUID`.
A note on the alignment lock: Eleusis and Gaia, the Goddess of Nature, have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Druid who becomes a forest enemy can have class abilities revoked. The factional commitment is real, though the philosophical framework (protect nature) is gentler than Mhaldor’s Seven Truths of Evil or Targossas’s Bloodsworn oath.
---
## What an Achaea Druid might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Druid can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Druid.
[A Fayad](/races/fayad/)[A Horkval](/races/horkval/)[A Human](/races/human/)[A Satyr](/races/satyr/)---
## How to roleplay a Druid in Achaea
A Druid’s identity is the bond with the forest. Your character doesn’t visit nature; your character lives there. The Grove is your home in a literal sense.
Three things make Druid roleplay distinct:
**You serve Gaia, the Goddess of Nature.** Like Targossas serves Aurora and Deucalion, Eleusis serves Gaia. The worship is part of the class. Players who engage with Gaia as a real divine character (she is) get the strongest Druid roleplay.
**Your Grove is your character.** Other Druids know your Grove by location and reputation. The way you tend it, who you Share it with, what runs through it: these are character details that endure. Don’t treat the Grove as a mechanical respawn point; treat it as the place your character is from.
**Your forms reveal you.** Wyvern, Hydra, Bear, Eagle: the form a Druid takes most often becomes part of their character. Players who lean into specific shapes, like “the Druid who always becomes a hydra in serious fights,” develop a class identity that carries between scenes.
A few practical notes:
**Eleusis isn’t Targossas or Mhaldor.** The political weight is lighter. Eleusis takes Nature seriously, but the city doesn’t demand the same kind of factional zeal that the Good/Evil cities do. The roleplay is gentler, more focused on the natural world than on theological struggle.
**You will lose your skills if you become a forest enemy.** Don’t play a Druid who flirts with destruction. The class will not survive it.
**Combat is setup-heavy.** Druids reward patience. Grove establishment, sunlight management, form preparation: these are the table stakes. A Druid forced into combat away from their Grove is weaker than one who picked the ground.
If you want a class with the deepest nature-magic identity in Achaea, layered home-base-and-shapeshifting combat, and a gentle factional framework, Druid delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Druid is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Sentinel: Eleusis’ Forest Warrior](/classes/sentinels/)
The forestal warrior counterpart. Shares the Eleusis alignment and the Metamorphosis skill (with Sentinel-specific Jaguar and Basilisk forms). Where the Druid becomes the animal, the Sentinel works alongside them through Woodlore and Skirmishing: traps, summoned animals, axe and spear combat. Choose Sentinel if you want forestal alignment with a more martial combat identity.
### [Sylvan: The Viridian Forest Mage](/classes/sylvans/)
The forestal elementalist. Shares the Eleusis alignment and the Groves skill. Where the Druid masters Metamorphosis, the Sylvan masters Propagation (the Viridian form) and Weatherweaving (elemental weather control). Choose Sylvan if you want forestal alignment with elemental magic.
### [Magi: Achaea’s Elementalist](/classes/mages/)
The non-forestal alternative. If forestal alignment isn’t appealing but you want elemental magic and a workshop-craft class identity, Magi is the answer. No factional lock, 16-House wide acceptance, and combat that rewards similar layered preparation without the Grove requirement.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Druid in Achaea?**
A Druid’s skills are Groves, Metamorphosis, and Reclamation. A fledgling Druid gains Groves and Metamorphosis; Reclamation is granted upon embracing the class. Groves establishes and manages the sunlit personal Grove. Metamorphosis shapeshifts the Druid into beast forms (including the Druid-only Wyvern and Hydra). Reclamation taps into the natural life of a location and turns it into reclaimed land under the Druid’s command.
**What is a Druid’s Grove?**
A Grove is a personal forest location that a Druid imprints and maintains. It absorbs sunlight by day and powers most of the Druid’s abilities. Within their Grove, a Druid is functionally unbeatable: they can summon earth golems, call down lightning, raise barriers of light, and resurrect themselves or allies. The Grove is the engine of the class. Druids find an unclaimed forest location and `IMPRINT` it; the Grove is then theirs to tend.
**Can any race play a Druid?**
Yes. Any of Achaea’s 14 races can play a Druid. The class is not race-restricted. Satyrs and Fayad are particularly thematic fits because of their explicit forest origins, but Humans, Atavians, Horkval, and any other race can play the class.
**Which Houses accept Druids?**
Four Houses: The Scions of the Ithmia and The Heartwood Kin in Eleusis, plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. Druid is alignment-locked to Eleusis. Use `HOUSE LIST DRUID` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can a Druid lose their powers?**
Yes. Eleusis and Gaia, the Goddess of Nature, have laws regarding rogues and House restrictions. A Druid who becomes a forest enemy, by acting against Nature or against Eleusis, can have access to class abilities revoked. The factional commitment is mechanical, not just flavour.
**What race should I play as a Druid in Achaea?**
There’s no mechanically “best” race for Druid in Achaea. The class works for any of the 14 races. Thematically, races with forest or nature associations fit hardest: [Satyr](/races/satyr/) (the horned version on this spoke’s hero) is the canonical Druid race, embodying the wild and primal. [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) Druids fit the ancient-forest scholar archetype. [Fayad](/races/fayad/) and [Atavian](/races/atavian/) Druids both work well, since both races have strong nature ties. A [Troll](/races/troll/) or [Horkval](/races/horkval/) Druid works mechanically but reads against the typical forestal aesthetic. Pick the race that fits how you imagine your character relating to the Sapience forests.
**Druid vs Sylvan: what’s the difference?**
Druid and [Sylvan](/classes/sylvans/) are both Eleusis-aligned forestal classes, but they approach the forest differently. A Druid is ancient and primal: a shapeshifter who transforms into wyverns and hydras, who plants and tends a personal Grove, and who reclaims the land for the wild. A Sylvan is forestal-but-scholarly: a mage who blends forest power with elemental magic, transforms into the Viridian, and weaves weather. Druid is the older, more bestial class. Sylvan is the more arcane, more elegant cousin. Both are alignment-locked to Eleusis. Pick Druid if you want to BE the forest; pick Sylvan if you want to wield it.
**How do Druid shapeshifts work?**
Druids transform through the Metamorphosis skill set, taking the shape of wyverns, hydras, bears, and other beasts. Each form has its own combat profile and abilities. A wyvern Druid plays differently from a hydra Druid. Shifts are a core combat option, not a one-off party trick. Druids also tend their personal Grove, planted in a specific location, which channels sunlight and amplifies their connection to nature. For full Metamorphosis ability listings, see the skills tabs on this page or `HELP METAMORPHOSIS` in-game.
**Are Druids viable for PvP in Achaea?**
Yes. Druids are a competitive PvP class with a distinct combat identity. The combination of Metamorphosis shifts, Grove control, and forestal magic gives them strong area-denial and shapeshifted aggression. Druids tend to play differently from Achaea’s knight classes ([Paladin](/classes/paladins/), [Runewarden](/classes/runewardens/), [Infernal](/classes/infernal/)): less about straight melee, more about controlling terrain and exploiting the right shift at the right time. Druids fight regularly in faction conflicts between Eleusis and the rest of Sapience. The learning curve is moderate to steep, but the class rewards investment.
**Can a Druid leave Eleusis?**
Mechanically yes, narratively complicated. Druid is alignment-locked to Eleusis, which means a Druid who leaves Eleusis and aligns with another city would lose access to the class. Eleusis’ identity is the wild, and the Druid class is shaped around the wild’s defense; a Druid in a city of stone and law is a contradiction the class doesn’t accommodate. If you want to change cities and keep playing the same character, you’d need to change class first, then change city. The other Eleusis classes ([Sylvan](/classes/sylvans/), [Sentinel](/classes/sentinels/)) face the same lock.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Depthswalkers of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/depthswalkers)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Depthswalkers are inheritors of the Tsol’teth’s most dangerous arts. Aeonics bends time. Shadowmancy commands the darkness. Terminus invokes the words of power that shaped the world. The class is a recent gift to Sapience, granted by ex-Tenith’oru, once called the Man In Grey, Seleucar’s Doom, in a moment of poignant loss and spite. The Tsol’teth race itself is sealed away. Their knowledge walks free.
---
## Depthswalker lore and origin
Removed of his centuries-long guise, Parni deSangre, also known as ex-Tenith’oru, the Man In Grey, Seleucar’s Doom, gifted the Depthswalker class to Achaea in a moment of loss and spite. Both selfish and selfless, the act was meant to ensure the doom of the Tsol’teth race.
The skills are ancient. Aeonics, the art of bending time, was originally practiced by the Tsol’teth Overlord Agith’maal. The Tsol’teth themselves deemed it too dangerous and placed it on their list of forbidden arts. Shadowmancy is the foundation of the Tsol’teth fighting style: “Light does not create shade, Light constrains shade. In the darkness shadows are free.” Terminus is the art of words of power: the means by which Tsol’teth Overlords reshaped the world itself.
Modern Depthswalkers gain these arts through study and through Kosuira, the only known protege of Tenith’oru. Kosuira’s death upon the Sangre Plains in the Sarapin of 727 AF prompted ex-Tenith’oru to distribute the guarded knowledge to the world. To access the full power of Terminus, a modern Depthswalker must first find a way to seek Kosuira.
What a Depthswalker does, in plain terms: bends time around themselves and their enemies (Blur, Accelerate, Doom, Aeon, Rebirth), manifests weapons from pure shadow and wreathes themselves in darkness (Enshroud, Manifest, Cloak, Veil, Step), and invokes Tsol’teth words of power through one or more chosen Research branches (Hunting, Longevity, Augmentation, Environmental, Conquest, Dominion). The class is one of the most cerebral combat traditions in Achaea, and the lore is one of the deepest.
This is also a class without a factional lock. The gift went to all of Sapience. Modern Depthswalkers can serve any city.
---
## Signature combat identity: time, shadow, and the word
Three things make a Depthswalker a Depthswalker.
The first is time. Aeonics gives a Depthswalker fine control over the flow of time. Blur grants supernatural speed. Accelerate compresses long actions into moments. Doom marks a target’s days as numbered. Aeon, “the curse of the Lord of Time,” bends time around the victim, dragging them out of normal combat tempo. The capstone, Rebirth, lets the Depthswalker turn aside death itself. Aeonics is the most distinctive temporal-manipulation skill in Achaea: no other class has anything close.
The second is shadow. Shadowmancy underpins the Tsol’teth fighting style. A Depthswalker is never truly helpless: where there is darkness, they are mighty, and where a Depthswalker walks, darkness soon follows. Enshroud cloaks a location in night. Manifest forges weapons from shadow. Step crosses distance through darkness. The ultimate expression of the art, according to the lore, is turning a foe’s own shadow against its host in a final, brutal betrayal: the Dictate capstone.
The third is the word. Terminus is the most ambitious of the three skills. The Tsol’teth used Terminus to reshape reality through invocation. No one has truly mastered all branches: Tsol’teth rarely worked alone because diversification across the six Research branches was the only way to access the full art simultaneously. A modern Depthswalker picks Research branches (Hunting, Longevity, Augmentation, Environmental, Conquest, Dominion) and develops mastery in their chosen areas. The lore notes: “Knowing is half the battle.”
Together, Aeonics + Shadowmancy + Terminus makes Depthswalker a class of patient, layered, cerebral combat. The class doesn’t burst. The class winds opponents into a position they can’t escape from.
---
## The three skills of a Depthswalker
A Depthswalker commands three skill sets: Aeonics, Shadowmancy, and Terminus. A fledgling Depthswalker gains Aeonics and Shadowmancy; Terminus is granted on embracing the class (and full access requires seeking Kosuira).
AeonicsShadowmancyTerminus
**Signature abilities:** Memory, Regression, Divine
Aeonics grants a degree of control over the flow of time. Originally practiced by the ancient Tsol’teth Overlord Agith’maal, the art was deemed too dangerous even by Tsol’teth standards and placed on their forbidden list. Modern Depthswalkers inherit the art through Parni deSangre’s chain of transmission.
Practitioners specialise in modifications to localised time: both their own and that of others. The truly great may turn aside the greatest enemy of all: death.
**Abilities (27)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Memory | Remember what was. |
| Regression | Time bends to accommodate. |
| Divine | The timelines do not lie. |
| Rewind | The past becomes the present. |
| Blur | Move with supernatural speed. |
| Rift | Distance is no barrier. |
| Images | One of many. |
| Causality | The future is yours. |
| Accelerate | It all adds up. |
| Disassociate | Gain now is pain later. |
| Doom | Their days are numbered. |
| Dilation | Given time all rules can be broken. |
| Aeon | The curse of the Lord of Time. |
| Displacement | A minor adjustment. |
| Preempt | There is no escape. |
| Shift | A slip sideways through time. |
| Backlash | Everything has a price. |
| Discard | The mind is your weapon. |
| Haste | Be slow and dead. |
| Loop | Over, and over, and over again. |
| Degenerate | The ravages of time. |
| Paradox | They shall conform. |
| Hindsight | Mistakes shall not be replicated. |
| Deteriorate | Madness comes to all. |
| Distortion | Those that forget the past… |
| Timewell | Your might made manifest. |
| Rebirth | Death shall never claim you. |
**Signature abilities:** Enshroud, Manifest, Cull
“Light does not create shade, Light constrains shade. In the darkness shadows are free.” Overlord Gattan’lier, 468 years before the fall of the Seleucarian Empire.
Shadowmancy is the foundation of the Tsol’teth fighting style. While Terminus is the art the Tsol’teth are more infamous for, Shadowmancy underpins everything they do in combat. Practitioners are never truly helpless: where there is darkness they are mighty, and where there is a Depthswalker, darkness soon follows. The ultimate expression: turning a foe’s own shadow against its host.
**Abilities (32)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Enshroud | Cloak your location in blackest night. |
| Manifest | Forge weapons from the shadows that surround you. |
| Cull | Your foes are wheat before the storm. |
| Intone | The shadows are your voice and more. |
| Cloak | The cloak of power from ancient lore. |
| Ascend | Take to the sky upon a surge of shadows. |
| Disperse | Melt away into the darkness. |
| Strike | You shall not suffer obstructions. |
| Phylactery | A prison for the fallen. |
| Atrophy | The strength just slips away. |
| Instill | The might of the Overlords directed through your weapon. |
| Degeneration | Attack their physical capability. |
| Envenom | Coat a weapon in venoms. |
| Convey | Good help is hard to find. |
| Reap | Your onslaught shall claim them all. |
| Depression | Turn their focus inward. |
| Vortex | Bring the fight to you. |
| Retribution | There shall be no salvation. |
| Sever | A minor mercy. |
| Step | None are beyond your reach. |
| Preeminence | The shadows tell you all. |
| Madness | Insanity is a torture all its own. |
| Consume | They shall sustain you. |
| Redeem | Grant respite to a former foe. |
| Contemplation | Perceive the state of another’s mental strength. |
| Attune | Minor alterations can have major repercussions. |
| Leach | Their weakness is your strength. |
| Veil | Cloak your movements to the paramount degree. |
| Mutilate | Beyond all recognition. |
| Extinguish | The shadows are your dominion. |
| Assimilate | You will take it all. |
| Dictate | Death is but a word away. |
**Signature abilities:** Research, Purge, Mastery
The Tsol’teth are perhaps the greatest wielders of arcane forces known to Achaea. Terminus is the art of discovering and utilising the words of power to invoke changes upon the world. No one has truly mastered the skill: the reason Tsol’teth rarely worked alone is that diversification is the only way all branches of Terminus can be available simultaneously.
Terminus supplies great and terrible powers, the Litany of Obedience being a prime example, but its true strength is diversity. A Depthswalker may subjugate wills one day and call down lightning the next. Knowing is half the battle.
**General abilities (6)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Research | Knowledge is power. |
| Purge | The mind is malleable. |
| Mastery | Master your chosen field. |
| Fulcrum | The centre of your power. |
| Truevoice | True voice of the Tsol’teth. |
| Diversify | Mediocrity is unacceptable. |
**Research branches:** A Depthswalker may specialise in one or more of these areas through deeper study.
| Branch | Description |
|---|---|
| Hunting | The acquisition of strength. |
| Longevity | Who doesn’t want to live forever? |
| Augmentation | Only the best. |
| Environmental | The world is your weapon. |
| Conquest | The might of the warlords. |
| Dominion | Control, control, control. |
---
## Depthswalker Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Depthswalker is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses across all 6 cities plus 2 cityless options, same wide acceptance as Serpent and Jester.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. Depthswalkers serving Light. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. The Tsol’teth/Depthswalker philosophical heritage often resonates with Mhaldor. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. Often a natural fit for research-leaning Depthswalkers. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. Strong fit for scholarly Depthswalkers. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST DEPTHSWALKER`.
A note on the class’s character: despite the Tsol’teth lineage and the dark themes of shadow and time-bending, Depthswalker is not factionally locked. The art was gifted to Sapience as a whole, and modern Depthswalkers reflect that, found across the city-states with no single home.
---
## What an Achaea Depthswalker might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Depthswalker can look like. (More portraits coming as the class art library expands.)
[A Troll](/races/troll/)---
## How to roleplay a Depthswalker in Achaea
A Depthswalker’s identity is the inheritance. Your character is a vessel for arts that aren’t meant for mortals: Tsol’teth knowledge gifted to Sapience by an act of loss and spite. The lore is heavy, and that weight is the roleplay anchor.
Three things make Depthswalker roleplay distinct:
**The Tsol’teth lineage matters.** Your character is studying the arts of an Overlord race. Names like Agith’maal, Tenith’oru, Gattan’lier, and Kosuira matter in your character’s history. Players who treat the inheritance as serious, almost sacred, invoking the names, treating the knowledge as a burden, get the strongest Depthswalker roleplay.
**Your shadows and time-bending make you read as otherworldly.** A Depthswalker entering a room shouldn’t feel like a normal adventurer. The class lore explicitly frames Depthswalkers as walking with darkness. Cultivate that perception in your character’s voice and presence.
**You picked your Research path.** Terminus is unique among Achaea’s skills in that the Depthswalker chooses which Research branches to develop. Hunting? Longevity? Conquest? The choice is part of the character. A Depthswalker who has poured everything into Environmental Research reads differently than one who has gone deep on Dominion.
A few practical notes:
**You can serve any city.** Like Magi and Psion, the class is alignment-flexible. Pick the city that fits your character’s chosen cause.
**The class is relatively new and underplayed.** Depthswalker is one of the more recent classes added to Achaea. The playerbase is smaller. If you want a class with strong identity but a more dedicated community, this is a sharp pick.
**Combat rewards patience.** Aeonics builds advantage over time. Shadowmancy needs the right environment (darkness). Terminus requires Research investment. The class plays as slow strategic mastery, not reactive twitch combat.
If you want the most cerebral combat class in Achaea, deep ancient-Tsol’teth lore, and a class where every fight feels like a chess problem you’ve been preparing for, Depthswalker delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Depthswalker is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Psion: The Aldar Mind-Mage](/classes/psion/)
The other ancient-magic class. Where the Depthswalker inherits Tsol’teth arts (Shadowmancy, Aeonics, Terminus), the Psion inherits Aldar arts (Weaving, Emulation, Psionics). Both classes are recent additions, both cerebral, both alignment-flexible. The lineage difference is the main distinction: Tsol’teth Overlords vs. Firstborn Aldar.
### [Serpent: Heir of the Serpentlords](/classes/serpents/)
The other mechanically demanding class with high skill ceiling. Different mechanics (venom, hypnosis, wormholes) but similar headspace: Serpents and Depthswalkers attract similar player types. Both reward patient, layered combat.
### [Occultist: Ashtan’s Chaos Scholar](/classes/occultists/)
The other dark-scholar/research-based class. Where the Depthswalker researches Terminus branches, the Occultist studies the Mysteries and pacts with Chaos Lords. Different alignment (Occultist is Ashtan-locked), similar “scholar of dangerous knowledge” identity.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Depthswalker in Achaea?**
A Depthswalker’s skills are Aeonics, Shadowmancy, and Terminus. A fledgling Depthswalker gains Aeonics and Shadowmancy; Terminus is granted on embracing the class. Aeonics is time manipulation. Shadowmancy is shadow combat: manifesting weapons from darkness, stepping through shadow, turning a foe’s shadow against them. Terminus is the art of words of power, organised into six Research branches that the Depthswalker chooses to specialise in.
**Where do Depthswalkers come from in Achaea?**
The Depthswalker class was gifted to Sapience by Parni deSangre (ex-Tenith’oru, also known as the Man In Grey or Seleucar’s Doom). The skills are Tsol’teth in origin: Aeonics was practiced by the Tsol’teth Overlord Agith’maal but deemed too dangerous and forbidden. After the death of Kosuira, Tenith’oru’s only known protege, in 727 AF on the Sangre Plains, ex-Tenith’oru distributed the knowledge to the world.
**Is Depthswalker a new class?**
Yes. Depthswalker is one of the more recent additions to Achaea’s class roster. The community is smaller and more specialised than the older classes. Recommended for players who want strong identity in a less-saturated class.
**What are the six Research branches of Terminus?**
The six branches are Hunting (acquisition of strength), Longevity (life extension), Augmentation (self-enhancement), Environmental (turning the world against opponents), Conquest (the might of warlords), and Dominion (control). A Depthswalker chooses which branches to develop. The lore notes that the Tsol’teth rarely worked alone because no single Depthswalker can master all branches simultaneously: diversification was the only way to access the full art.
**Which Houses accept Depthswalkers?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options. The class is unrestricted by alignment. The Krymenian Academy (Hashan) and The Savants of the Wheel (Ashtan) are particularly well-suited for scholarly, research-leaning Depthswalkers. Use `HOUSE LIST DEPTHSWALKER` in-game to confirm current availability.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Blademasters of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/blademasters)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
Blademasters wield a single named blade and the lethal art of drawing it. The class is a foreign tradition, rediscovered by Hatha-yin descendants of the legendary Lucaine Pyramides, and brought to Sapience centuries after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire. A Blademaster’s sword is unique to them. Their combat rhythm is the draw, the slash, the resheath. Their power source is the Shin trance.
---
## Blademaster lore and origin
The Two Arts came to Achaea through a single foreign hero. Lucaine Pyramides was a mercenary from the distant nation of Kashar who arrived in Sapience during the succession wars of the troubled Seleucarian Empire. He fought for the beleaguered Empress and turned battle after battle with the impossible precision of his named blade, Three Moons. The sellsword turned hero met an untimely fate, and his weapon and knowledge were lost with him.
Centuries later, Kashari marauders on a pursuit quest set events in motion that recovered Three Moons and returned the way of the sheathed blade to the world. The art is now taught by the Hatha-yin maiden Kavaya, descendant of Lucaine’s bloodline, in an encampment east of Delos. She works with the smith Murad to forge each new Blademaster’s blade.
What a Blademaster is, in plain terms: an agile swordsman trained in physical mastery, mental discipline, and supreme combative prowess. Unarmed, a Blademaster is already formidable, well-versed in pressure points and pain compliance. Armed with their named sword, the Blademaster becomes a force of death. The lore reads dramatically and the mechanics match: “agile swordsmen strike as the wind, outrun the rain, and can cut a circle of death through the bloodiest battlefield or darkest alleyway.”
This is a class without alignment baggage. Blademasters aren’t bound to Targossas or Mhaldor or any other ethos. The Blademaster picks their cause. The discipline is the constant; the cause is the Blademaster’s choice. In practice, that means the class is welcome in every city in Achaea.
---
## Signature combat identity: the named blade and the Shin trance
Two things separate a Blademaster from every other swordsman in Sapience.
The first is the named blade. Every Blademaster has a single sword unique to them, forged by Murad and Kavaya in the encampment east of Delos. The sword’s name is the character’s identity statement. The blade isn’t a fungible weapon you swap out for an upgrade; it’s the same sword through the character’s life, evolving in capability through the Bladename ability and the Infusion path (Infusefire, Infuseice, Infuselightning, Infusevoid, Infuseearth). A Blademaster wreathed in fire or wielding void on their blade is the same character, the same blade, evolved.
The second is the Shin trance. Shindo is the third skill set, and it’s the source of every advanced TwoArts and Striking ability. A Blademaster who hasn’t learned the Shintrance ability simply can’t perform the higher-end techniques. Inside the trance, the Blademaster’s sensitivity to the rhythm of battle escalates. They strike faster, dodge projectiles, walk on water, leap across rooms, exhale annihilation as fire. The capstone abilities: Annihilation, Phoenix, Perfection. They read like myth and behave like it in combat.
Add the Striking skill, which lets the Blademaster combine unarmed pressure-point hits INLINE with sword attacks (a Drawslash into a Throat strike into a Centreslash in a single beat), and you have a class with one of the most distinctive combat signatures in Achaea: rhythm, precision, and a single irreplaceable weapon.
---
## The three skills of a Blademaster
A Blademaster commands three skill sets: TwoArts, Striking, and Shindo. A fledgling Blademaster gains TwoArts and Striking; Shindo is granted upon embracing the class.
TwoArtsStrikingShindo
**Signature abilities:** Preparation, Bladename, Drawslash
Known individually as the Draw Art and the Blade Art, the Two Arts are a formidable and unmistakable style of swift, focused, brutal swordsmanship. The saying is that it’s easier for a trained master to kill by drawing the blade from its sheath than by swinging a naked sword. Advanced techniques channel Shin energy into the weapon, infusing it with fire, ice, lightning, void, or earth.
Before the Two Arts may be practised, a Blademaster requires a blade, and no ordinary blade will do. The smith Murad and the Hatha-yin maiden Kavaya help those who seek a named blade of their own. They can be found in an encampment east of Delos.
**Abilities (31)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Preparation | A scabbard is as important as one’s blade. |
| Bladename | Every sword is unique. |
| Drawslash | A single, measured slash. |
| Gripping | Clench your blade with an unshakable grip. |
| Doya | Strike true with the slow might of the Earth stance. |
| Raze | Cleave through defensive auras. |
| Armslash | Cut across the arms. |
| Engage | Lash out at a cowardly foe. |
| Discernment | Quickly assess an opponent’s wounds. |
| Legslash | Slash across the legs. |
| Thyr | The whirling Wind stance neglects power for speed. |
| Impale | Drive your blade straight through your target. |
| Centreslash | Carve up or down across the head and chest. |
| Balanceslash | Drive your enemy back with a balanced slash. |
| Infusefire | Wreathe your blade in crackling flame. |
| Pommelstrike | Deliver a stunning blow with the hilt of your sword. |
| Mir | The adaptive Water stance favours defence. |
| Predict | Know yourself, know your foe. |
| Bladesuicide | If death must come, be it by your own blade. |
| Retaliationstrike | Unleash a fierce strike against your attacker. |
| Infuselightning | Command lightning into your sword. |
| Bladetwist | Torment an impaled foe. |
| Arash | Aggressive and powerful, the Fire stance is one of attack. |
| Infuseice | Suffuse your blade with ice. |
| Multislash | Spill blood with a succession of slashes. |
| Compassslash | Send their blood to the points of the compass. |
| Infusevoid | Wield the Void and your sword as one. |
| Infuseearth | The unyielding earth shall empower your blade. |
| Impaleslash | Let their blood flow freely. |
| Sanya | The total focus of the Void stance amplifies inner power. |
| Brokenstar | Draw the broken star across your foe. |
**Signature abilities:** Constitution, Sternum, Shoulder
With trained knowledge of the anatomies of the sentient races of Sapience comes the ability to exploit their physical vulnerabilities. Striking is precise unarmed work to pressure points and sensitive locations: closed fist, spear hand, open palm. A master of Striking can leave a foe collapsed, unable to breathe, or rigid with paralysis.
The mechanical hook: all strikes a Blademaster wishes to perform balance free must be inputted INLINE with a sword attack. This means most Striking abilities are chained into TwoArts attacks rather than performed alone. The class is built around stacking unarmed strikes inside sword combos.
**Abilities (25)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Constitution | Maintaining your intestinal equilibrium. |
| Sternum | A painful blow to the breastbone. |
| Shoulder | Induce a state of weariness in your target. |
| Hands | Send a numbing pain into your foe’s hands. |
| Fitness | Control your breathing. |
| Ears | Turn your opponent into a clumsy fool. |
| Nose | A disfiguring strike to turn even the most loyal. |
| Knees | Send your target sprawling to the ground. |
| Alleviate | Cure yourself of pesky afflictions. |
| Neck | Cause your opponent’s limbs to lock up. |
| Kidney | Impede your foe’s ability to process elixirs. |
| Eyes | Force your enemy to witness madness. |
| Airfist | Channel Shindo into a blustering gale. |
| Hamstring | Cripple your target’s movement. |
| Temple | Send your foe into a stupor. |
| Chin | Envelop your opponent in a restful sleep. |
| Icefist | Channel Shindo into an icy strike. |
| Flamefist | Channel Shindo into a fiery strike. |
| Voidfist | Channel Shindo into a powerful vortex. |
| Groin | Instill a sense of heroism into your target. |
| Chest | Afflict your enemy with constant affliction. |
| Throat | Remove your foe’s ability to breathe. |
| Stomach | Imbue a loss of desire to eat. |
| Underarm | Force them to secrete a slick sweat. |
| Deathstrike | Unleash the fury of your martial prowess. |
**Signature abilities:** Weathering, Augment, Breathing
Shindo is the source of the Blademaster’s most spectacular techniques. Intense training of body, senses, and mind enables feats of speed, agility, and mental acuity. But the defining art of Shindo is the accrual and unleashing of Shin energy. The Shin trance, entered through the Shintrance ability, sharpens a Blademaster’s sensitivity to the rhythm of battle and unlocks every higher-end ability in TwoArts and Striking.
Many advanced TwoArts and Striking abilities cannot be performed without learning Shintrance first. Think of Shindo not as a third skill set in isolation, but as the engine that powers the other two.
**Abilities (37)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Weathering | Rigorous training yields a toughened physique. |
| Augment | Your bladework reaches new heights of potency. |
| Breathing | Control your breathing to resist choking attacks. |
| Shintrance | Sink into a reverie of battle. |
| Shadow | Surveil from the shadows. |
| Detect | Find others throughout the land. |
| Deaf | Will silence upon the world. |
| Hearing | Restore aural sensation. |
| Blind | Render your eyes unseeing. |
| Sight | See the world anew. |
| Nightsight | Vision in darkness as in light. |
| Bind | Brace yourself with Shin energy. |
| Blocking | Deny them escape. |
| Toughness | Strengthen your body against assault. |
| Projectiles | Weave and dodge missiles. |
| Dodging | Elude attacks from the air. |
| Sturdiness | Stand steadfast against acts of force. |
| Leap | Vault over obstacles. |
| Immunity | Withstand the foulest of poisons. |
| Burst | A crude release of force. |
| Dash | Fly across the ground. |
| Waterwalk | Dance over the waves. |
| Clarity | Behold no deception. |
| Mindnet | Know of all who approach. |
| Consciousness | Maintain awareness at all times. |
| Healthtrans | Heal your wounds with Shin power. |
| Manatrans | Fortify your mind with Shin power. |
| Highleap | The sky is within your reach. |
| Annihilation | Fury given fiery form. |
| Thunderstorm | Unleash a galvanic surge of power. |
| Blizzard | Quench your foes with a storm of ice. |
| Bounding | Leap great distances in but one soaring step. |
| Vitiate | Your strength becomes another’s frailty. |
| Meditate | Your focus is without compare. |
| Fullsense | Reach out with your mind to touch others nearby. |
| Perfection | Alone against the horde. |
| Phoenix | Rebirth through cleansing flame. |
---
## Blademaster Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Blademaster has the same wide House acceptance as Runewarden: 16 Houses across every city plus two cityless options. The class is unrestricted by alignment.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour/healing House |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites and traditions House |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST BLADEMASTER`. To read about any House: `HELP HOUSE `.
The flexibility is a feature. A Blademaster can serve any city’s interests. The class’s lore is foreign enough that it doesn’t carry the philosophical baggage of the older Sapient classes.
---
## What an Achaea Blademaster might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Blademaster can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Blademaster.
[A Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)[A Siren](/races/siren/)---
## How to roleplay a Blademaster in Achaea
A Blademaster’s identity hangs on three pegs: the named blade, the foreign origin, and the discipline.
The named blade is the easiest hook. Your sword is forged with you. It has a name you choose. It’s the only blade you ever wield. Players who lean into this, referencing the blade by name in roleplay, treating its maintenance as a ritual, never drawing it casually, get the strongest in-character moments out of the class. Three Moons was a named character of its own in the lore. Your blade can be too.
The foreign origin is the second hook. Blademasters trace their tradition to Kashar, a distant nation, taught now by Kavaya, a Hatha-yin maiden who descends directly from Lucaine Pyramides. The class is openly foreign within Sapience’s older martial traditions. A Blademaster’s etiquette, vocabulary, and reflexes can read as outsider, even after decades in the city they’ve adopted. This is rich roleplay material.
The discipline is the third hook. Shindo is mental training as much as combat training. Meditation, breathing, the trance state, the sensitivity to the rhythm of battle: all of it points to a character with an inner life beyond fighting. The class lends itself to introspective roleplay, to long silences and deliberate speech.
A few practical notes:
**You can take any city.** Targossas, Mhaldor, Ashtan, Cyrene, Hashan, Eleusis: every city accepts Blademasters. The choice of city does shape your character’s identity, but you’re not making the choice under factional pressure.
**Other Blademasters are rare.** This isn’t one of Achaea’s most-populated classes. If you choose Blademaster, you may be the only Blademaster in your House. That’s a feature: your character stands out by virtue of the class alone.
**Combat is mechanically demanding.** Inlining Striking abilities into TwoArts attacks, managing the Shin trance, choosing the right stance (Doya for Earth, Thyr for Wind, Mir for Water, Arash for Fire, Sanya for Void), there’s real skill expression here. The class rewards practice.
If you want a class with a unique foreign-tradition identity, a personal named weapon, and combat that rewards rhythm and precision, Blademaster delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Blademaster is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Monk: The Sentaari Martial Order](/classes/monks/)
The closest cousin. Monks also unify body, senses, and mind through disciplined training, also strike at pressure points, also use trance-like focus. Where the Blademaster fights with a named blade, the Monk fights unarmed (Tekura) or with a wood staff (Shikudo). If the spiritual-discipline side of Blademaster appeals more than the swordcraft, choose Monk.
### [Runewarden: The Rune-Knight](/classes/runewardens/)
The other non-factional warrior. Where the Blademaster is lightly armoured and lives or dies by precision, the Runewarden is heavily armoured and fights through prepared room control (runes, totems, falcon). Same alignment flexibility, very different combat identity.
### [Serpent: Heir of the Serpentlords](/classes/serpents/)
Different weapons, but similar precision-timing combat tradition. Serpents stack venoms in carefully timed sequences; Blademasters chain Striking abilities INLINE with TwoArts. Both classes reward players who enjoy mechanically demanding combat with little room for error.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Blademaster in Achaea?**
A Blademaster’s skills are TwoArts, Striking, and Shindo. A fledgling Blademaster gains TwoArts and Striking; Shindo is granted upon embracing the class. TwoArts covers swordcraft with the named blade. Striking covers unarmed pressure-point work that chains INLINE with sword attacks. Shindo is the source of Shin energy and the Shin trance, which powers most higher-end techniques.
**Why does each Blademaster have a unique named blade?**
The class is built around a single irreplaceable weapon. Every Blademaster has a named sword forged for them specifically by the smith Murad and the Hatha-yin maiden Kavaya in an encampment east of Delos. The blade’s name is part of the character’s identity. Lucaine Pyramides, the foreign hero who first brought the Two Arts to Sapience, wielded Three Moons. Modern Blademasters follow the same convention.
**Which Houses accept Blademasters?**
Blademaster has identical House acceptance to Runewarden: 16 Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options. The class is unrestricted by alignment. Use `HOUSE LIST BLADEMASTER` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Is Blademaster a good class for new players?**
Blademaster has a steeper learning curve than Runewarden or Magi. The class rewards mechanical precision: inlining Striking abilities with TwoArts attacks, managing the Shin trance, picking the right stance for the situation. It’s playable for newer players, but you’ll get more out of the class once you’ve spent time learning Achaea’s combat rhythm. If you want a non-factional warrior class with an easier on-ramp, start with Runewarden.
**What is the Shin trance in Achaea?**
The Shin trance is a meditative combat state unique to the Blademaster class. Entered through the Shintrance ability in the Shindo skill set, the trance sharpens the Blademaster’s sensitivity to battle rhythm and unlocks every higher-end TwoArts and Striking ability. Without the trance, a Blademaster can’t perform Annihilation, Phoenix, Perfection, or most of the class’s capstone moves.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Bards of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/bard)
**Published:** December 1, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Bards rose from humble origin through tutelage at the feet of the Elder God Scarlatti. For centuries they were masters of song and movement, but limited. Their voices could move a mortal heart yet not touch a beast’s soul. Their harmonics heralded music’s might yet had no meaning. They had no tale to tell. In 949 AF, the Great Bard refined the class. Modern Bards are swashbuckling skalds reborn as keepers of legacy, wielding lethal rapier-and-song through the art of the Bladedance.
---
## Bard lore and origin
The Bards trace their origins to Scarlatti, the Elder God who first granted them tutelage in song and movement. For centuries the class lived in that early form: beautiful, capable, but limited.
Then, refined by the gift of the Great Bard in 949 AF, the talents of Sapience’s Bards were transformed. Swashbuckling skalds became keepers of legacy. With rapier in hand, the Bard composes great works to bolster ally and devastate foe. And in chronicling history, the Bard reaches the most grandiose of all their arts: the Saga. Famous and formative tales that shaped Sapience in the Modern Age: these are the foundation to all the Great Bard believed mortality capable of achieving.
But in the mountain city of Cyrene stands an edict most different. Bards of lowland cities recite Sagas of the land. Bards of Cyrene are bound to but one singular epic: the life and legend of Black Pazuzu, Prince of Woe. Spanning the length and breadth of the fell demon’s existence from beginning to end, Cyrene shouldered the burden of Achaea’s most ancient evil. And in so doing, only Cyrenian Bards may tell the tale of his terrible sin.
What a Bard does, in plain terms: fights with a songblessed rapier in the unconventional Bladedance style, composes performances (Songs, Movements, Performing arts) that affect allies and enemies, and recites Sagas of the great events of Sapience: the Worldreaver, the Genesis, the Endbringer, the Vertani Empire’s wrath, the Red Sea, and many more. The class plays acrobatic and athletic from Sunrise to Sunset, following the tempo of battle like musical notes upon a sheet.
The class is unrestricted by alignment. A Bard can serve any city. The Virtuosi (Cyrene’s artistic House) is a natural fit; the Carnivalis Institute of Jestering (cityless) is another. But the class welcomes Bards from every city in Sapience.
---
## Signature combat identity: rapier, song, and saga
Three things make a Bard a Bard.
The first is the Bladedance. Through this skill, a Bard wields a songblessed rapier with unconventional acrobatic techniques that drive studious masters to despair. Rapier Techniques (Harmonise, Jab, Tune, Punctuate, Flourish, Sunrise, Sunset, Deathfrombelow) interleave with Dance Moves (Footwork, Backflip, Hawkstep, Wavedance, Tempo). The class fights like a one-person theatrical production: acrobatic, musical, and lethal. “A whirl and flash in metallic song. A cut and jab of flourishing rapier.”
The second is Composition. The Great Bard coalesced this skill from the vast diaspora of musical traditions in Achaea. A Bard’s Composition uses Performing arts (Refrain, Cadence, Symphony, Crescendo, Duet, Finale) to chain effects, named Songs (Paean for war, Bhajan for fear, Elegy for the dead, Prosodion for the Divine, Ghazal for love sublime) for thematic impact, and Movements (Aria, Maqam, Sonata, Pastorale, Nocturne) for sustained effects. The skill turns the Bard into a maestro mid-fight.
The third is the Saga. Sagas (or Woe in Cyrene) is the class’s defining capstone art. Bards don’t just remember history: they recite it, and the recitation gives history new life. The Grand Tales include: Ethian (the falling star), Reckoning (Arcanum undone), Worldreaver (annihilation), Genesis, Endbringer (the day Death died), Imperator (from beyond time), Vertani (Empire’s wrath), Magisterion (when the dead stirred), Deathsheart, and more. Each is a real event in Achaean lore. Reciting them in combat makes the Bard a vessel for the past.
Cyrenian Bards get Woe instead of Sagas: the singular epic of Black Pazuzu, Prince of Woe. Inferno (his malign origin), Chaoswars (his ambitions), Tribunal (justice served), Slith (friendship slain by duty), Pantheon (Divine wrath), Funeral (the tale to end all tales). The Cyrenian Bard carries the weight of Achaea’s most ancient evil.
---
## The three skills of a Bard
A Bard commands three skill sets: Bladedance, Composition, and Sagas (or Woe for Cyrene). A fledgling Bard possesses Bladedance and Composition; Sagas is gained upon embracing class. Woe is an alternative iteration of Sagas, exclusive to Cyrene.
BladedanceCompositionSagas (and Woe for Cyrene)
**Signature abilities:** Harmonise, Gripping, Jab
A whirl and flash in metallic song. A cut and jab of flourishing rapier. A staccato step within flawless footwork. With their songblessed swords in hand, Bards embrace unconventional fighting techniques that drive studious masters to despair. Acrobatic and athletic from Sunrise to Sunset, by following the tempo of battle like musical notes upon a sheet, the storytellers of Achaea manifest a style as unorthodox as it is effective.
**Rapier Techniques (14)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Harmonise | The first step of the dance. |
| Gripping | Strong hands will save your life. |
| Jab | Control the distance. |
| Tune | Just the right pitch. |
| Punctuate | Emphasis is key. |
| Hound | The dance isn’t over. |
| Tonal | First the edge, next the sound. |
| Flick | Sometimes steel, sometimes song. |
| Flourish | You’re mesmerising, you are. |
| Highsun | A high point of the day. |
| Heelsnap | Two legs are for amateurs. |
| Sunrise | Down goes your partner. |
| Sunset | Light on falling steel. |
| Deathfrombelow | From earth to sky with blade and voice. |
**Dance Moves (10)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Footwork | Poetry in motion. |
| Backflip | You make it look so easy. |
| Acrobatics | Stay light, stay mobile. |
| Dodging | For the toughest of crowds. |
| Tempo | Timing is everything. |
| Hawkstep | Move and strike, move and strike. |
| Somersault | Keep it moving. |
| Wavedance | For never do you tire. |
| Balancing | Poise weeps at your perfection. |
| Harrying | The show is not over. |
**Signature abilities:** Performance, Refrain, Cadence
From the vast diaspora of musical traditions in Achaea, the Great Bard coalesced the skill of Composition. It is the apogee of mortal talent, weaving disparate traditions into cohesive performances that can move a heart as easily as break one.
Power flows from the Place of Eternal Song through the Bard such that Sapience will never again forget the significance of Art or its impact. But remember: as dangerous as music can be, it is the ability to make history that makes for true might.
**Performing arts (7)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Performance | The fundamentals of the stage. |
| Refrain | The blade sings. |
| Cadence | As the music plays on. |
| Symphony | You are the maestro. |
| Crescendo | The rising swell of song. |
| Duet | Such harmony profound. |
| Finale | The curtain falls. |
**Songs (8)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Paean | And off to war they went. |
| Bhajan | That dread which stokes the fear. |
| Nomos | That most disciplined resolve. |
| Gusheh | Of joy and feasts with friends. |
| Ode | For heroes do we sing. |
| Ghazal | So sweet the love sublime. |
| Elegy | Weep for the dead. |
| Prosodion | Of grandeur most Divine. |
**Movements (8)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Prelude | Before the beginning. |
| Aria | You’ll keep this party going. |
| Maqam | To lend keenness to blades unsheathed. |
| Scherzo | Through thick and thin. |
| Sonata | To unburden all with ears to hear. |
| Pastorale | To soothe the mind and soul. |
| Rondo | Onwards we march. |
| Nocturne | For silent you will be not. |
**Signature abilities:** Scene, Haskor, Troubadour
The last and greatest skill in the Bard’s repertoire. Grand tales spun from the history of Sapience and its mortals across more than nine hundred years. Through their recitation of the past, the Bard not only remembers it but gives it new life.
From the collapsing star of Ethian to the birth of the Genesis or the advent of the Worldreaver: these are the stories shaping all that is.
**Cyrenian Bards gain Woe in place of Sagas.** Woe is a singular epic: the life and legend of Black Pazuzu, Prince of Woe. Bards of Cyrene bear witness to dark deeds done across millennia beyond counting.
**Sagas: General (3)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Scene | Ambience is everything. |
| Haskor | The Hero made divine. |
| Troubadour | Where ever the story takes you. |
**Sagas: Storytelling (3)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Recite | Once upon a time… |
| Gossip | You’ll never believe what I heard… |
| Countermand | No, this is how it went. |
**Sagas: Grand Tales (17)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Ethian | Flee the falling star. |
| Reckoning | Arcanum undone. |
| Snowstears | The freezing waters came. |
| Jadeicon | When dream turns to nightmare. |
| Haidar | Of great escape and glory. |
| Divinechild | To take the power for One’s own. |
| Eternalnight | And no sun did shine. |
| Vertani | Empire’s wrath unleashed. |
| Magisterion | And so the dead did stir and… |
| Redsea | The oceans ran as blood. |
| Genesis | All things controlled. |
| Accord | Betrayal most foul. |
| Descent | Of renegades and sorrow. |
| Endbringer | The day when Death did die. |
| Imperator | From beyond the flow of time. |
| Deathsheart | To give everything and more. |
| Worldreaver | Annihilation. |
**Woe: Tales of Black Pazuzu (Cyrene-exclusive, 24)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Recite | Listen now of the Prince most dread. |
| Inferno | Of an origin most malign. |
| Chaoswars | So let us speak of ambitions great. |
| Nishnatoba | The end of the beginning. |
| Enheduanna | Weep for what was lost. |
| Tribunal | For Justice must be served. |
| Seleucar | Of darkness roused from maddened depths. |
| Taug | A doom on Gruul’s line. |
| Savant | Of vengeance in the making. |
| Chaoslords | Of uplifting and twisted rule. |
| Tiamenjiara | Of lies and deeds most dire. |
| Sh’fah | An ancient foe cast down. |
| Scene | Bring the tales of Woe to life. |
| Infamy | A silver tongue to topple empires. |
| Khalas | For nothing of remorse was known. |
| Memory | The lines of past and present thin. |
| Thoth | Of Death alive but not. |
| Duel | A triumvirate new and broken. |
| Slith | Of friendship slain by duty. |
| Mortals | United at the last. |
| Siege | A city fallen and besieged. |
| March | A prelude to the beginning and the end. |
| Pantheon | Divine wrath unleashed. |
| Funeral | The tale to end all tales. |
---
## Bard Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Bard is unrestricted by alignment. 16 Houses, same wide acceptance as Monk, Magi, Serpent.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. The natural Bard home, especially for Cyrenian Bards committed to Woe. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Scions of the Ithmia | Eleusis | Eleusis forestal House. |
| The Heartwood Kin | Eleusis | Eleusis nature House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. Natural fit for Bards who lean theatrical. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST BARD`.
A note on the Cyrene/Woe distinction: Bards in Cyrene are bound to a singular saga: the life of Black Pazuzu, instead of the lowland Sagas. Joining Cyrene as a Bard means committing to Woe. The choice changes the third skill entirely, though Bladedance and Composition stay the same.
---
## What an Achaea Bard might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what a Bard can look like across two of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play a Bard.
[A Grook](/races/grook/)[A Satyr](/races/satyr/)---
## How to roleplay a Bard in Achaea
A Bard’s identity is the performance. Your character is, at the most fundamental level, a storyteller. Even your combat is performance: Bladedance is named like a dance and plays like one. The acrobatic, theatrical flavour of the class is meant to be visible in your roleplay.
Three things make Bard roleplay distinct:
**Your songs and tales are part of you.** A Bard who never recites a saga in roleplay is playing the class at half strength. Players who use their Ode, Elegy, Recite, and Troubadour abilities for storytelling moments, not just combat, get the strongest material.
**Cyrene vs. lowlands changes everything.** A Cyrenian Bard carries the weight of Black Pazuzu’s saga. They are the ones telling the story of Achaea’s most ancient evil. That’s a serious character commitment. A lowland Bard (Hashan, Eleusis, Targossas, Mhaldor, Ashtan) recites the Grand Tales (Ethian, Worldreaver, Genesis) and acts as a chronicler of Sapience’s broader history. The class fits both, but the framing is genuinely different.
**Your rapier is songblessed.** Per the lore: “songblessed swords.” Players who treat the rapier as more than a weapon, name it, address it in performance moments, treat its sharpness as connected to the Bard’s voice, get distinctive Bard moments.
A few practical notes:
**The Virtuosi (Cyrene) is the canonical home.** Strong fit for Cyrenian Bards committed to Woe. The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering (cityless) is the alternative for Bards who lean theatrical/wandering.
**Combat is acrobatic and tempo-based.** Bards reward players who read combat as rhythm. Sunrise sets up Sunset. Punctuate emphasises a beat. Crescendo builds.
**The class was reworked in 949 AF.** Old Bards (pre-rework) had different skills. Modern Bards are the post-Great-Bard version. The lore is explicit that the rework refined them “from swashbuckling skalds into keepers of legacy.” Roleplay around the inheritance and the change pays off.
If you want a class with the deepest performance identity in Achaea, acrobatic precision combat through a songblessed rapier, and the unique role of historian/storyteller of Sapience’s great events, Bard delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Bard is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Monk: The Sentaari Martial Order](/classes/monks/)
The other mind-body discipline class. Both Bards and Monks are flexible (16-House acceptance) and both train their bodies as instruments. Where the Bard wields rapier and song, the Monk wields Tekura (unarmed) or Shikudo (staff) through stance-based discipline. Choose Monk if the inner-discipline side appeals more than the outer-performance side.
### [Jester: Absurdity as a Weapon](/classes/jesters/)
The other performance-arts class. Same flexibility, same theatrical impulse. Where the Bard channels performance into rapier and saga, the Jester weaponises absurdity through bombs, acrobatics, and bad jokes. Choose Jester if the chaotic/comedic side appeals more than the lyric/historical side.
### [Blademaster: The Named-Blade Tradition](/classes/blademasters/)
The other unconventional swordsman. Both use a uniquely named blade. Both depend on precision and rhythm. Different framing: the Bard is a performer with a rapier, the Blademaster is a martial-philosophy practitioner with a named sword and Shin trance. Choose Blademaster if you want the sword-precision combat without the song-and-saga overlay.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of a Bard in Achaea?**
A Bard’s skills are Bladedance, Composition, and Sagas. A fledgling Bard possesses Bladedance and Composition; Sagas is gained upon embracing class. Bladedance is the rapier-and-acrobatics combat skill. Composition is the performance skill (songs, movements, performing arts). Sagas is the storytelling skill: recitation of the Grand Tales of Sapience. Cyrenian Bards gain Woe in place of Sagas.
**What is the difference between Sagas and Woe?**
Sagas is the standard Bard storytelling skill, featuring 17 Grand Tales, Ethian, Reckoning, Worldreaver, Genesis, Endbringer, and more, covering the major events of Sapience’s history. Woe is a Cyrene-exclusive alternative iteration. A Cyrenian Bard recites only one epic: the life and legend of Black Pazuzu, Prince of Woe. The 24 Woe tales follow Pazuzu’s existence from origin (Inferno) through his end (Funeral). Cyrenian Bards bear the burden of Achaea’s most ancient evil.
**When was the Bard class refined?**
The Bards rose from humble origin through tutelage at the Elder God Scarlatti. In 949 AF, the Great Bard refined the class, transforming Bards from swashbuckling skalds into keepers of legacy. The modern class is the post-949 form. Older Bards had different skills before the rework.
**Which Houses accept Bards?**
Sixteen Houses across all six city-states plus two cityless options: same wide acceptance as Monk, Magi, Serpent. The Virtuosi (Cyrene) is the natural home, especially for Cyrenian Bards committed to Woe. The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering (cityless) is another strong choice for theatrical-leaning Bards. Use `HOUSE LIST BARD` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Is Bard a good class for new players?**
Bard is moderately demanding. The Bladedance combat is rhythm-based and rewards practice. Composition’s chained performances take setup. Sagas/Woe has rich roleplay material but takes time to learn. A new player can pick Bard if they’re drawn to the performance identity, but Runewarden or Magi are kinder learning curves for newcomers who want a flexible, unrestricted class.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Apostates of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/apostates)
**Published:** November 30, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Apostates are Mhaldor’s black priests. Diabolical scholars and ritualists in service to Evil, they summon daemonic entities to do their bidding, drain life essence from mortals through Necromancy, and curse their enemies with the evil eye. Where the Infernal is Mhaldor’s iron arm, the Apostate is its dark soul.
---
## Apostate lore and origin
The Apostate class was born from a failed Evil ritual. In days long past, the armies of Evil plotted to open a rift to the daemon planes through the torture and sacrifice of a holy guardian angel. The angel was resurrected and the rift closed, but not before a daemon general named Morimbuul came through. The summoner, a man named Xerimor, subdued the daemon and forced Morimbuul to instruct him in the daemonic arts. The class of Apostates was born from that subjugation.
Modern Apostates are diabolical scholars and ritualists in the service of Evil. The lore frames them as “black priests” who spread the teachings of the Gods of Evil throughout the realm. They act as the spiritual pulse of Mhaldor, the city of Evil. Because of their devotion, they are rarely welcome in other cities. The class is alignment-locked to Mhaldor in the same way the Paladin is locked to Targossas.
Through Apostasy, an Apostate summons and commands daemonic entities: sentient daeggers, bloodworms, nightmares, daemon fiends, and the powerful Baalzadeens. Through Necromancy, they drain life essence from the hearts of mortals and use it for higher spells, including, at the highest level, the ability to guard their own soul from death. Through Evileye, they impose afflictions on enemies through nothing more than eye contact and a whispered curse.
This is one of Achaea’s most thematically dense classes. The skill names alone: Apostasy, Necromancy, Evileye. They telegraph the identity. The gameplay matches.
---
## Signature combat identity: the Baalzadeen, life essence, and the stare
The first is the Baalzadeen. Every Apostate has a personal Baalzadeen, a powerful daemon they have bound to their service. The Baalzadeen is not a pet or a temporary summon: it’s a permanent companion, called and dismissed at will. It can blast enemies, sear flesh, drain mana, trace movements, fortify the Apostate’s health, and tear the soul from an unwilling victim. The relationship is dark and intimate: the lore describes the Baalzadeen as “loving” and the Apostate as Tasting its flesh. Daeggers (living daemonic blades), daemonites, bloodworms, fiends, and nightmares fill out the broader summoning toolkit.
The second is life essence. Necromancy runs on life essence, and Apostates accrue it primarily through Cannibalism: ripping out and consuming the hearts of their victims. With sufficient essence, an Apostate can boost their mana (Sapience), boost their health (Vigour), assume the form of the deadly blackwind, exterminate plant life across a location, and ultimately cage their own soul through Soulcage, the highest expression of the art and a literal hedge against death.
The third is the evil eye. Evileye is afflictive combat through pure stare. With `STARE `, an Apostate can curse a victim with fear, blindness, paralysis, claustrophobia, asthma, vomiting, sleep, dementia, anorexia, plague: over thirty distinct afflictions, plus the high-end Deadeyes that inflicts multiple simultaneously. Truestare lets the Apostate punch through magical shields and curse targets that would otherwise be immune.
Combined, this is a class that fights at three layers: the daemonic summons applying pressure from outside, the necromantic essence powering high-end spells, and the evileye dropping afflictions on top. An experienced Apostate is one of the most layered combatants in Achaea.
---
## The three skills of an Apostate
An Apostate commands three skill sets: Apostasy, Necromancy, and Evileye. A fledgling Apostate gains Evileye and Necromancy; Apostasy is granted upon embracing the class.
ApostasyNecromancyEvileye
**Signature abilities:** Daegger, Hunt, Envenom
The hallmark skill of the Apostate. Apostasy is the art and science of summoning and dealing with the mighty Baalzadeens and lesser daemons. An Apostate learns to wield sentient daeggers, forms a relationship with their Baalzadeen, and summons a variety of lesser daemons into a pentagram drawn with blood.
The most feared ability of Apostasy is the one that lets the Baalzadeen tear the soul from an unwilling victim. The class is built around the bond with the demon.
**Abilities (36)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Daegger | Call to your side a living, daemonic daegger to aid you. |
| Hunt | Command your daegger to hunt your enemy. |
| Envenom | Envenom your daegger to poison your victims. |
| Pentagrams | Sketch an infernal pentagram, in blood. |
| Baalzadeen | Summon your beloved Baalzadeen to do your bidding. |
| Taste | Taste the flesh of your Baalzadeen. |
| Rest | Order your Baalzadeen to rest. |
| Armour | Request that your Baalzadeen grant you protection. |
| Horror | Instill great fear into your victim with your demon’s aid. |
| Fiend | Summon a daemon fiend to attack an enemy. |
| Scorch | Order your Baalzadeen to melt icewalls. |
| Presences | Locate those in your local area with your Baalzadeen. |
| Mask | Summon dark powers to mask your demonic servitor. |
| Sap | Drain away the mana of a victim with your loving demon. |
| Trace | Command your Baalzadeen to trace the movements of someone. |
| Fortify | Fortify the health of your Baalzadeen with yours. |
| Apathy | Become numb to the crushing pain of existence. |
| Shadowstrike | Use your daegger to strike at the shadow of a victim. |
| Beckon | Your Baalzadeen is an attractive force indeed. |
| Daemonite | Summon forth a small daemonite to annoy your enemies. |
| Strip | Command your demon to strip the defences from someone. |
| Sear | Order your Baalzadeen to sear the flesh of an enemy. |
| Puncture | Pierce another’s flesh with your daegger. |
| Eliminate | Use your daegger to tear the beating heart from a victim. |
| Bloodworms | Summon forth a horde of these foul lesser daemons. |
| Blast | Order your Baalzadeen to blast your enemies from the room. |
| Mindread | Command your demon to listen to incoming tells. |
| Nightmare | A daemonite born of the rape of the Goddess of Dreams. |
| Fury | Cause those around you to go into an enhancing fury. |
| Stain | Stain the soul of someone with your Baalzadeen. |
| Bloodpact | An unholy pact with the Inferno. |
| Syphon | Order your Baalzadeen to draw afflictions away from you. |
| Contemplation | Perceive the state of another’s mental strength. |
| Refuge | Seek refuge in the Inferno. |
| Corrupt | Lay low the heretics with demonic corruption. |
| Catharsis | Perhaps their death is the greatest mercy there is. |
**Signature abilities:** Deathsight, Chill, Sense
Necromancy is the dark art of death magic. At the lower levels, there is an assortment of rather nefarious abilities. Soon though, the ability of Cannibalism is gained, a skill which has inspired wide-spread fear of those practicing Necromancy. Through Cannibalism, a Necromancer increases their life essence, which powers the higher abilities. At the very highest level, a Necromancer gains the power to protect their very soul from death.
**Abilities (32)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Deathsight | Attune yourself to the Underworld. |
| Chill | Send the cold of the grave to plague an opponent. |
| Sense | Seek out the life force of another being. |
| Decay | Causing your opponent’s flesh to decay. |
| Night | Create darkness in the room. |
| Shroud | Perform many actions in secret. |
| Screech | The shriek of the banshee. |
| Taint | Attack those with pure souls. |
| Feed | Derive sustenance from another being. |
| Leech | Leech away the mental energy of your target. |
| Lifevision | Allows you to see many hidden beings. |
| Shrivel | Cause your opponent’s limbs to shrivel up. |
| Cannibalism | Rip out and consume the heart of your victims. |
| Essence | Sense about how much life essence you have. |
| Sapience | Draw upon your essence to increase your mana. |
| Vigour | Draw upon your essence to increase your health. |
| Putrefaction | Cause your flesh to decay and melt. |
| Drain | Drain your life essence into another Necromancer. |
| Belch | Spew forth a noxious gas. |
| Deathaura | Surround yourself in a miasma of evil. |
| Disfigure | Curse someone with the visage of a rotting corpse. |
| Soulstorm | Mark their souls with profane essence. |
| Gravehands | Summon the hands of the grave to hinder your opponents. |
| Leprosy | Spread disease to all around you. |
| Exterminate | Destroy all plant life in a location. |
| Vengeance | Revenge with your dying breath. |
| Soulspear | Meld soul-matter from the dead into a physical weapon. |
| Transverse | Cross vast distances in a single step. |
| Blackwind | Assume the form of the deadly blackwind. |
| Desecration | Banish the holy rites of the Bloodsworn Gods. |
| Vivisect | Rip your victim’s chest open and torture him to death. |
| Soulcage | Harness your life essence to escape death itself. |
**Signature abilities:** Fear, Deaf, Impatience
Evileye is afflictive combat through eye contact. Related in flavour to the Shaman’s Curses skill but operates through a different mechanic: `STARE `. The Apostate makes eye contact and imposes the curse.
At low levels: single afflictions (fear, blindness, paralysis). At high levels: Deadeyes (multiple afflictions simultaneously) and Truestare (cast through magical shields).
**Abilities (35)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Fear | Instill great fear in your target. |
| Deaf | Dampen an opponent’s hearing. |
| Impatience | Inability to concentrate on focused tasks. |
| Clumsy | Your victim will fumble about. |
| Vertigo | A devastating fear of heights. |
| Bleed | Curse your opponent with uncontrollable bleeding. |
| Amnesia | Make your victim forget what he meant to do. |
| Agoraphobia | Fear of open spaces. |
| Deadeyes | Inflict multiple ailments simultaneously. |
| Breach | Cut through an opponent’s curseward. |
| Dizzy | Causes problems when trying to move. |
| Paralysis | Your victim’s body shall betray them. |
| Claustrophobia | Fear of being under cover. |
| Paranoia | They are out to get you, believe me. |
| Blind | Curse an opponent with blindness. |
| Masochism | The love of your own pain. |
| Asthma | Creates difficulty when breathing. |
| Reckless | A dangerous disregard for personal well-being. |
| Epilepsy | Disrupt the nervous system of your victim. |
| Confusion | Befuddle the minds of your enemies. |
| Peace | Fill your enemy’s mind with thoughts of peace. |
| Dementia | Distorts the victim’s perceptions of the world. |
| Sight | Restoring your sight. |
| Sicken | Bring down disease upon them. |
| Plague | Curse someone with the voyria affliction. |
| Addiction | Creates a terrible addiction. |
| Cowardice | Rob the courage from a victim. |
| Stupid | Make a victim dumb as a rock. |
| Manaleech | A terrible curse of the mind. |
| Sensitivity | Cause your victim to become extremely sensitive to pain. |
| Vomiting | Upset the stomach of your enemy. |
| Sleep | Put an enemy to sleep, or remove his sleep defences. |
| Anorexia | A terrible condition, preventing one from eating. |
| Weariness | Weaken the body of your opponent. |
| Truestare | Cast the evileye through magical shields. |
---
## Apostate Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Apostate is alignment-locked to Mhaldor (Evil). Identical House list to Infernal: 4 Houses total.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldor’s House of rites and traditions. The natural Apostate home. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldor’s military House. Some Apostates lean martial enough to fit here. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The cityless trader House. Rare Apostate choice. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded cityless House. Rare Apostate choice. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST APOSTATE`.
A note on the alignment lock: an Apostate’s skills are fuelled by daemonic and evil forces. Act against those forces and your ability to use the skills can be revoked. The class requires roleplaying, and the philosophical commitment is real.
---
## What an Achaea Apostate might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what an Apostate can look like across a few of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play an Apostate.
[A Dwarf](/races/dwarf/)[A Satyr](/races/satyr/)[A Tashla](/races/tashla/)---
## How to roleplay an Apostate in Achaea
The Apostate is Mhaldor’s spiritual pulse. Where the Infernal serves Evil as a warrior, the Apostate serves Evil as a scholar, priest, and ritualist. The structural mirror is the [Priest](/classes/priests/) class in Targossas: the same role, the opposite alignment. The roleplay distinction matters: Infernals are the iron arm; Apostates are the dark mind.
Apostate roleplay breaks into three distinct angles:
**You are a black priest, not a warrior.** Apostates spread the teachings of the Gods of Evil. They officiate rites, study daemonic lore, and act as Mhaldor’s theological backbone. If you want to play a religious character on the dark side of the Good-Evil axis, this is the class. The Insidium is the natural home for this style of Apostate.
**Your Baalzadeen is named and feared.** Like the Paladin’s eagle or the Infernal’s hyena, the Baalzadeen is a permanent companion. But unlike those, your Baalzadeen is openly demonic. Other players name their Baalzadeens. The relationship is part of your roleplay surface. A well-played Apostate refers to the Baalzadeen by name, treats the bond with the seriousness the lore demands, and uses the demon as both servitor and character.
**Necromancy carries real weight.** Cannibalism, ripping out and consuming hearts, is not a flavour ability. It’s mechanically how your character accrues life essence to fuel higher spells. Players who lean into this aspect, treating the consumption as ritual rather than convenience, get rich roleplay material out of it.
A few practical notes:
**Apostates and Infernals work together.** The two classes are Mhaldor’s primary fighting force: Apostates handle ritual, lore, and afflictive combat; Infernals handle physical confrontation. Allied gameplay is core to the experience.
**You will be hated outside Mhaldor.** Targossas, Eleusis, and Cyrene have reasons to distrust Apostates. Hashan and Ashtan are warmer but never welcoming. The class is meant to be feared.
**The combat is mechanically demanding.** Managing the Baalzadeen, accruing essence through Cannibalism, layering Evileye afflictions, and timing Apostasy abilities is a lot to coordinate. This isn’t a class for someone who wants simple combat.
If you want a class with deep theological roleplay, layered afflictive combat, and a binding to one of Achaea’s most distinctive cities, Apostate delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Apostate is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Infernal: Mhaldor’s Iron Arm of Evil](/classes/infernal/)
Mhaldor’s other class. Shares alignment, House list, and factional pressure. The difference is martial vs. theological. Choose Infernal if you want to be Mhaldor’s warrior; choose Apostate if you want to be its priest.
### [Pariah: The Accursed Sorcerer](/classes/pariah/)
The other dark priest class, but not Mhaldor-locked. Pariahs are outcasts who cheat death and spread plague through Charnel, Pestilence, and Memorium. Same dark-scholar aesthetic, but the alignment is loose and the class is younger. Choose Pariah if you want the death-magic identity without Mhaldor’s specific theological framework.
### [Occultist: Ashtan’s Chaos Scholar](/classes/occultists/)
Ashtan’s dark scholar counterpart. Where the Apostate serves Evil and Mhaldor, the Occultist serves Chaos and Ashtan. Different ethos, similar role: ritualist, summoner, scholar of forbidden arts. Choose Occultist if Ashtan’s relationship with Chaos appeals more than Mhaldor’s commitment to Evil.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of an Apostate in Achaea?**
An Apostate’s skills are Apostasy, Necromancy, and Evileye. A fledgling Apostate gains Evileye and Necromancy; Apostasy is granted upon embracing the class. Apostasy covers daemonic summoning, including the Baalzadeen, daeggers, fiends, and bloodworms. Necromancy is the death magic that runs on life essence accrued through Cannibalism. Evileye is afflictive combat through eye contact: `STARE `.
**Is the Apostate the same as the Infernal?**
No. Both classes serve Evil and are alignment-locked to Mhaldor, and both accept the same Houses, but they play very differently. The Infernal is a heavily-armoured warrior who fights with hellforged weapons and a bonded hyena. The Apostate is a scholar-priest who summons daemons, drains life essence, and curses through eye contact. Apostates and Infernals usually work alongside each other in Mhaldor’s defence and warfare.
**Which Houses accept Apostates?**
Four Houses: The Insidium and The Dread Legates in Mhaldor, plus the cityless Grand Merchant Collective and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering. The Insidium is the traditional Apostate home (House of rites and traditions). Use `HOUSE LIST APOSTATE` in-game to confirm current availability.
**Can an Apostate lose their powers?**
Yes. The Apostate’s skills are fuelled by daemonic and evil forces. An Apostate who acts against those forces, for example by abandoning Mhaldor or working against Evil, can have access to the skills revoked. The class requires roleplaying within the framework of Evil and Mhaldor’s theological commitments.
**What is a Baalzadeen in Achaea?**
A Baalzadeen is a powerful daemon bound to a specific Apostate. Every Apostate has a personal Baalzadeen they summon, command, and care for. The Baalzadeen can blast enemies, sear flesh, drain mana, trace movements, fortify the Apostate’s health, and (in the most feared ability) tear the soul from an unwilling victim. The relationship between Apostate and Baalzadeen is the class’s central bond, described in lore as “loving,” and is permanent for the character’s life.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [The Alchemists of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/classes/alchemists)
**Published:** November 30, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Alchemists work in the spaces between physics and magic. They transmute metals, manipulate the four humours of the human body, brew lethal compounds, and grow homunculi from samples of their own flesh. Their home is the Cauda Pavonis, a hall folded into the ether between planes. Their work is precise, dangerous, and unsettling. They are not the most flashy class in Achaea. They are one of the most distinctive.
---
## Alchemist lore and origin
Alchemists are an ancient cabal. They began their work quietly in ancient Seleucar, content to ignore and be ignored by the Empire. They operated from a hall named the Cauda Pavonis, profiting from transmuted minerals and tonics sold to the elite. Over time, as cheaper remedies replaced their wares, respect for the isolated order dwindled. The leader of the cabal made the fateful choice to depart from society. They used their combined talents to displace the Cauda Pavonis to a fold in the ether: the space between planes.
In the late sixth century after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, a great alchemical imbalance threatened the world. Forged by Phaestus and tainted by Twilight’s hand, the planet Nurazar wreaked havoc across Sapience. The cabal resurfaced. With the help of Achaeans, Nurazar was destroyed and balance restored. The Alchemist class returned to the world.
In the Year 802, Tlalaiad the Genesis unlocked the ancient Wellspring of Hashan, the culmination of a bargain between the Court of Shadows and the Tsol’teth. Access to these latent energies granted the powers of Sublimation, an alternative alchemical field to Formulation, available to Alchemists friendly to the Court of Shadows.
The class today: scholars, ritualists, and chemists. Alchemists work from laboratories, mix compounds, and dispense both healing and death depending on the situation. The skill set is denser than most. The class is one of Achaea’s most cerebral.
One important constraint: Alchemists cannot train in cities that have accepted the forestal classes (Sentinel, Druid, Sylvan). Eleusis, the forest commune, is closed to Alchemists. This is the only hard city-class mutual exclusion in the game.
---
## Signature combat identity: transmutation, humours, and the homunculus
Three things make an Alchemist an Alchemist.
The first is transmutation. Alchemy is the manipulation of ether and the alchemical energies that flow through it. Through Symbology, an Alchemist draws on latent energies to direct the power of the alchemical primes (salt, sulphur, mercury) and metals (lead, iron, tin, copper, silver, gold). The capstone is Aurification: encasing another being completely in gold. Vitrification turns flesh to glass. Phlogistication burns enemies from the inside out. The transmutation toolkit is some of Achaea’s most thematic combat content.
The second is humourism. Physiology is the study of biological processes. An Alchemist trained in Physiology can manipulate the humours, the vital fluids, of others. Wrack, Truewrack, Diffusion, Saturation, Effusion: each ability lets the Alchemist control more humours simultaneously, building toward Reave (catastrophic organ failure, instant death). Humourism is countered by ginger and antimony, so opponents who prepare correctly can mitigate the attack. Players who don’t prepare lose.
The third is the homunculus. From a properly equipped laboratory, an Alchemist takes a sample of their own flesh and germinates it into a homunculus, a small creature physiologically and ethereally bound to its master. The homunculus has eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs, hands, torso, throat. Each body part can be controlled at distance. The homunculus assaults opponents, scouts, speaks for the Alchemist, prevents enemies from escaping. It’s a permanent companion, and like the Baalzadeen for an Apostate or the hyena for an Infernal, it carries the class’s signature flavour.
Add Formulation, the compound-brewing skill that produces phials of intoxicants, corrosives, incendiaries, monoxide, toxins, the capstone Philosopherstone, and you have a class that fights at three layers: transmutation through Symbology, humour manipulation through Physiology, and applied chemistry through Formulation.
---
## The three skills of an Alchemist
An Alchemist commands three skill sets: Alchemy, Physiology, and Formulation. A fledgling Alchemist gains Alchemy and Physiology; Formulation is granted upon embracing the class. Hashan-aligned Alchemists may swap Formulation for Sublimation, an alternative field.
AlchemyPhysiologyFormulation
**Signature abilities:** Symbology, Metallurgy, Primes
Alchemy is the primary study of the Alchemist class. The skill focuses on manipulating the ether and the alchemical energies flowing through it. The core is Symbology, drawing on latent alchemical energies to direct the power of the alchemical primes and metals. Other aspects: extracting the three primes (salt, sulphur, mercury) from the earth, synthesising them into metals. The skilled Alchemist can transmute flesh into varying substances, culminating in Aurification: encasing another completely in gold.
**Abilities (24)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Symbology | Draw upon the alchemical energies. |
| Metallurgy | Reduction to the six alchemical metals. |
| Primes | Isolation of alchemical primes. |
| Lead | Density from the lowest of the metals. |
| Seek | Find another through the ether. |
| Robes | The mystic garb of the Alchemist. |
| Iron | Strike with the power of iron. |
| Salt | The first prime will cleanse your body. |
| Tin | Tin will grant you a reflective barrier. |
| Copper | Shatter an enemy’s defence with copper’s energies. |
| Extispicy | The future is found in unexpected places. |
| Sulphur | The second prime will quicken your healing. |
| Displace | Drag another through the ether. |
| Silver | The light of silver reveals all. |
| Phlogistication | Burn your enemy from the inside out. |
| Gold | The highest of the metals allows you to share your wisdom. |
| Etherchannel | Part the ether for expedient travel. |
| Mercury | The third prime will bolster your mind. |
| Astronomy | The power of the cosmos is yours. |
| Vitrification | Turn an opponent’s skin into glass. |
| Decompound | A way to devolve Talisman Pieces into pure gold. |
| Revivification | Grant life to the deceased. |
| Disrupt | Send ripples through the ether. |
| Aurification | Immortalise your enemies in gleaming gold. |
**Signature abilities:** Humourism, Cultivation, Eyes
Physiology is the study of biological processes. Alchemists trained in Physiology gain two primary capabilities: humour manipulation and homunculus control.
Humourism allows the Alchemist to manipulate the vital fluids of others, causing illnesses of varying degree, eventually slaying through spontaneous organ failure (Reave). Counters: ginger and antimony.
The homunculus is grown from a sample of the Alchemist’s own flesh in a properly equipped laboratory. Through physiological and ethereal bond, the diminutive creature is controlled by its master: assault, reconnaissance, speech, restraint.
**Abilities (20)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Humourism | Tinker with an enemy’s vital fluids. |
| Cultivation | A homunculus will serve you faithfully. |
| Eyes | See through the eyes of your homunculus. |
| Legs | Control your homunculus’s legs from a distance. |
| Wrack | Afflict an opponent by assaulting the humours. |
| Arms | Specialised attacks for your homunculus. |
| Evaluate | Discern the vitals of another. |
| Ears | Listen through your homunculus’s ears. |
| Diffusion | Manipulation of two humours at once. |
| Mouth | Speak through the mouth of your homunculus. |
| Saturation | Concurrent control over three humours. |
| Hands | Your homunculus possesses dextrous fingers. |
| Effusion | Mastery of all four humours. |
| Torso | Your homunculus will prevent an enemy from escaping. |
| Truewrack | Wrack two humours simultaneously. |
| Throat | Your homunculus’s screeching will startle an enemy. |
| Inundate | Attack an already imbalanced humour. |
| Corruption | Capitalise on your homunculus’s alien physiology. |
| Transfusion | Eternal life with a brand new body. |
| Reave | Kill another with catastrophic organ failure. |
**Signature abilities:** Mask, Field, Amalgamate
Through centuries of mystic research in the Cauda Pavonis, Alchemists have mastered amalgamating potent compounds. The toolkit ranges from thrown phials of toxic gas (used against groups) to imbibed concoctions that bolster offensive and defensive capabilities. Capstone: Philosopherstone, the pinnacle of Alchemical learning.
Note: Hashan-aligned Alchemists can swap Formulation for Sublimation, a wholly different field unlocked by the Wellspring of Hashan.
**Abilities (23)**
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Mask | Craft yourself a protective mask. |
| Field | Choose your field of study. |
| Amalgamate | Combine minerals to create potent compounds. |
| Endorphin | Soothe the body with a potent endorphin. |
| Nutritional | A potent nutritional supplement. |
| Corrosive | An acid to eat away at various defences. |
| Petrifying | Partial petrification comes with many advantages. |
| Incendiary | Sear flesh from bone with this lethal compound. |
| Alteration | Modify various properties of your compounds. |
| Scrutinise | Determine specifics about your compounds. |
| Insufflate | This compound will allow you to convert water into oxygen. |
| Devitalisation | The air itself turns against your victims. |
| Intoxicant | Paralyse the lungs of the unprotected. |
| Vaporisation | A compound that reacts violently with water. |
| Phosphorous | A compound to create a blinding flash. |
| Monoxide | A gas to disorientate your subjects. |
| Toxin | Death with a single breath. |
| Concussive | A compound that reacts violently when exposed to the air. |
| Mayology | The culmination of the Mayan experiment. |
| Halophilic | An experimental agent. |
| Enhancement | A formula to enhance your physiology. |
| Bolster | Force your body beyond its limits. |
| Philosopherstone | The pinnacle of Alchemical learning. |
---
## Alchemist Houses and cities
See Achaea’s city-states for the cities where these Houses recruit.
Alchemist is unrestricted by alignment but **not accepted in Eleusis**. The forest commune’s acceptance of Sentinel/Druid/Sylvan classes excludes Alchemists by mutual rule. 14 Houses across the other five cities + cityless.
| House | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Krymenian Academy | Hashan | Hashan academic House. Often the Alchemist’s natural home, especially for Sublimation practitioners. |
| The Somatikos | Hashan | Hashan body-discipline House. |
| The Vashnarian Shield | Cyrene | Cyrene guardian House. |
| The Virtuosi | Cyrene | Cyrene artistic House. |
| The Discurean Outriders | Cyrene | Cyrene explorer/academic House. |
| The Dawnblade | Targossas | Targossan martial House. |
| The Harbingers of Redemption | Targossas | Targossan succour House. |
| The Dread Legates | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian military House. |
| The Insidium | Mhaldor | Mhaldorian rites House. |
| The Esoteric Consortium | Ashtan | Ashtan martial House. |
| The Savants of the Wheel | Ashtan | Ashtan academic House. |
| The Nemesian Vanguard | Ashtan | Ashtan front-line House. |
| The Grand Merchant Collective | (cityless) | The trader House. |
| The Carnivalis Institute of Jestering | (cityless) | The Jester-founded House. |
To check current House availability in-game: `HOUSE LIST ALCHEMIST`.
A note on the Hashan path: Alchemists friendly to the Court of Shadows can replace Formulation with Sublimation, an alternative alchemical field. The two skills don’t overlap. Sublimation is about energy alignment and substantiation, where Formulation is about compound amalgamation. The choice is permanent under most circumstances.
---
## What an Achaea Alchemist might look like
Class shapes silhouette; race shapes everything else about a character’s appearance. The art below shows what an Alchemist can look like across three of [Achaea’s 14 playable races](/races/). These are illustrative examples. Any race can play an Alchemist (subject to the Eleusis city exclusion).
[A Fayad](/races/fayad/)[A Grook](/races/grook/)[A Xoran](/races/xoran/)---
## How to roleplay an Alchemist in Achaea
The Alchemist roleplay anchor is the laboratory. Your character lives between bench and battlefield. You don’t memorise spells; you crystallise primes from minerals, distill phials, grow homunculi, study the four humours. The work is visible. Players who lean into the lab aspect, describing reagents, naming their homunculus, treating their workspace as a real place, get the strongest character moments.
The second anchor is the Cauda Pavonis itself. Even Alchemists who don’t live in Hashan are part of a wider scholarly community whose home is folded into the ether. Your character is a member of an order. That order has history.
A few practical notes:
**Mhaldor or Targossas? Yes.** Despite the scholarly framing, Alchemists fight effectively for either side of the Good/Evil axis. A Mhaldorian Alchemist reads as the cold theorist of cruelty; a Targossan Alchemist reads as the sanctioned researcher of life and death. The class is alignment-neutral in lore.
**You will be unwelcome in Eleusis.** This isn’t optional; it’s mechanical. If forestal RP appeals to you, pick a forestal class instead.
**Combat is precise and slow to build.** Humour manipulation takes turns of setup. Compound brewing happens before combat. The homunculus needs positioning. Alchemists reward patience and preparation more than reflex.
If you want a class with deep scholar-of-life-and-death roleplay, mechanically demanding combat, and a clear “I work in a lab between planes” identity, Alchemist delivers.
---
## Other classes to consider
Three classes worth a look if Alchemist is on your shortlist (or [browse all 21 Achaea classes](/classes/) for the full comparison):
### [Magi: Achaea’s Elementalist](/classes/mages/)
The mage cousin. Both classes are scholar-mages with workshops and crafted foci, but their mechanics differ. Magi work with elemental forces and crystal vibrations; Alchemists work with humours, transmutation, and compounds. Magi also has the wider city pool (16 Houses vs. Alchemist’s 14).
### [Pariah: The Accursed Sorcerer](/classes/pariah/)
The death-magic cousin. Where the Alchemist transmutes life chemistry, the Pariah masters death itself through Charnel. Both share a “dark scholar” aesthetic, but the Pariah’s identity is much more outcast and tomb-coded.
### [Sylvan: The Viridian Forest Mage](/classes/sylvans/)
The forestal elementalist. If you want elemental/transmutation combat but Alchemist’s Eleusis exclusion is a problem, Sylvan is the answer. Different lore, different mechanics, but the closest “scholar of nature” alternative for someone who wants forestal alignment.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the three skills of an Alchemist in Achaea?**
An Alchemist’s skills are Alchemy, Physiology, and Formulation. A fledgling Alchemist gains Alchemy and Physiology; Formulation is granted upon embracing the class. Alchemy covers transmutation through metals and primes. Physiology covers humourism (manipulating vital fluids) and homunculus control. Formulation covers compound amalgamation: phials, toxins, incendiaries.
**Why can’t Alchemists join Eleusis?**
Per HELP ALCHEMIST: “Training in the Alchemist class is not possible for members of cities that have chosen to accept the Sentinel, Druid, and Sylvan classes.” Eleusis is the forest commune, and the forestal classes’ commitment to Nature is mutually exclusive with the Alchemist’s transmutative and ether-channeling work. This is the only hard city-class mutual exclusion in Achaea.
**What is Sublimation in Achaea?**
Sublimation is an alternative alchemical field that replaces Formulation for Alchemists friendly to Hashan’s Court of Shadows. It was unlocked in 802 AF by Tlalaiad the Genesis, accessing the Wellspring of Hashan. Sublimation’s arts centre on the manipulation of forces, alignment of energies, and the field of substantiation, distinct from Formulation’s compound-brewing focus.
**What is a homunculus in Achaea?**
A homunculus is a small creature grown from a sample of the Alchemist’s own flesh in a properly equipped laboratory. Each Alchemist has one. Through the physiological and ethereal bond between Alchemist and homunculus, the creature can be controlled at distance: its eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs, hands, torso, and throat are all separately controllable. The homunculus can assault enemies, scout rooms, speak for the Alchemist, or restrain a target.
**Which Houses accept Alchemists?**
Fourteen Houses: all five cities except Eleusis accept Alchemists, plus the two cityless Houses (Merchants and Carnivalis Institute of Jestering). Use `HOUSE LIST ALCHEMIST` in-game to confirm current availability. The Krymenian Academy in Hashan is the traditional Alchemist home for scholarly play, especially for Sublimation practitioners.
[← Back to all 21 classes](/classes/)
---
---
### [How to Become a Dragon in Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/dragon)
**Published:** May 27, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
The Greater Dragons are Achaea’s most coveted endgame transformation. Reaching Dragonhood means moving out of your mortal lesserform and into the body of a six-coloured Greater Dragon, gaining the ancient skill of Dragoncraft, and joining a small community of players who have earned the highest mortal achievement in the game.
You don’t pick Dragon at character creation. The path is gated to level 99, and it ends with a ritual in the centre of the Mhojave Desert. Once you’ve taken it, you can switch between mortal and Dragon at will. The stat jump is massive, your class skills go away while you’re transformed, and you gain access to Dragoncraft, flight, a racial language, and breath weapons specific to your chosen colour.
**Skill set: [Dragoncraft](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Tooth, claw, and ancient Aldar magic.
- Six unique breath weapons, one per Dragon colour.
- Six unique battlerage sets, one per Dragon colour.
- Only available in Dragon form. Replaces your three class skills while transformed.
## Dragon stats
While in Dragon form, your stats jump well above any starting race. Starting races all sum to 48 across the four attributes. Dragons sum to 70.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 18 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Constitution | 20 |
| Intelligence | 18 |
## How to become a Dragon in Achaea
### Step 1: Reach level 99
Dragonhood is the highest mortal threshold in Achaea. You’ll arrive there through normal progression: bashing, questing, hunting, group exploration. Most players hit 99 after months or years of regular play. There is no shortcut, no purchase, and no quest skip.
### Step 2: Sycaerunax visits
The moment you reach level 99, Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons, visits you in-game. This visit grants you the ability to use the DRAGONFORM command and the Dragoncraft skill set. From this point on, the path is open.
### Step 3: Choose your colour at the Mhojave crater
To complete the transformation, travel to the crater in the centre of the Mhojave Desert. There you’ll find six beacons, one for each Dragon colour. LIGHT the beacon for the colour you want, and you become a Greater Dragon of that colour. The colour you choose is permanent until you reincarnate.
One important note: if you ever drop below level 99 after becoming a Dragon (through reincarnation or experience loss), you lose the spirit of the Dragon until you reach 99 again.
## The six Dragon colours
There are six Greater Dragon colours: Red, Green, Blue, Silver, Gold, and Black. They share base stats and the Dragoncraft skill, but each colour has its own breath weapon, its own battlerage set, and its own dragon lair. There are no alignment or personality differences between them. Pick the colour you want to look like and play.
- **Red**: fire-themed Greater Dragon.
- **Green**: poison-themed Greater Dragon.
- **Blue**: lightning-themed Greater Dragon.
- **Silver**: sonic-themed Greater Dragon.
- **Gold**: psychic-themed Greater Dragon.
- **Black**: acid-themed Greater Dragon.
## What changes in Dragon form
Toggle between mortal and Dragon at will with the DRAGONFORM command. The differences while transformed:
- **Stats jump.** Strength 18, Dexterity 14, Constitution 20, Intelligence 18.
- **Class skills go offline.** Your three class skills are unavailable while transformed. In their place, you have Dragoncraft.
- **Flight.** Dragons can fly.
- **Racial language.** Dragons speak Dragon, a language no other race can learn.
- **No armour needed.** Your scales are armour enough. You can wear it if you like, but the racial defence does not depend on it.
- **Shout from anywhere at level 100.** Reach the cap and you can SHOUT regardless of where you are on Sapience.
- **Broad resistance profile.** Level 2 resistance to cutting, blunt, and magic. Level 3 resistance to psychic, fire, and cold. Level 1 resistance to poison, asphyxiation, and electricity.
When you switch back to lesserform with DRAGONFORM again, your class skills return and Dragoncraft drops out. The toggle is free and unlimited.
## Dragon lairs and talismans: the endgame after the endgame
### Lairs
Once you become a Dragon, you can complete the Dragon Quest to unlock access to your colour’s lair. Each of the six colours has its own lair, found by roaring at the appropriate location within Ashaxei’s mirror in the Mhojave Desert. Lairs are part club house, part relaxation space. You can’t stay forever (the game returns you to Sapience eventually), but they’re yours.
Each lair has a shared hoard. Gold dropped from hunting that exceeds your daily cap automatically rolls into the hoard, and you can manually deposit with HOARD ENDOW. The hoard funds boons that benefit every Dragon of your colour: better endurance regeneration, better willpower regeneration, bonus experience, and a critical-hit chance bonus.
### Talismans
There are six Dragon talismans, one for each colour. Each is built from pieces dropped by lesser dragons of that colour (claws, hearts, scales, bones, eyes, leather, and a colour-specific organ). Completing a talisman unlocks the ability to DRAGONFORM into that colour, on top of your original.
Complete all six talismans and you become an Elder Dragon. Elder Dragons transform faster than normal Dragons, have a different room-look message, and can choose from a set of custom enter/leave movement messages.
## Where the Greater Dragons come from
The Greater Dragons are not the monsters you fight while bashing in lesser dragon territory. Those are lesser dragons. The Greater Dragons are a noble and extremely powerful race, created at the end of the Chaos Wars on their own plane of existence, the Parthren Gare. In Achaea’s mythology, the Greater Dragons bore the Aldar forces who rescued the Gods from destruction at Nishnatoba.
The path from mortal to Dragon began with Aringar, the first mortal in living memory to be gifted with the soul of a Dragon by Ashaxei, the White Dragon of Han-Tolneth. Every modern Dragon descends from that gift. Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons, visits every mortal who reaches level 99 and offers the same path.
## Frequently asked questions
**How do you become a Dragon in Achaea?**
Reach level 99. Sycaerunax, the Father of Dragons, visits you and grants the DRAGONFORM ability and the Dragoncraft skill. Then travel to the crater in the centre of the Mhojave Desert and LIGHT the beacon for your chosen Dragon colour. That completes the transformation. The path is gated to level 99 only; there is no purchase, shortcut, or skip.
**Is Dragon form permanent or can I switch back?**
You can toggle between mortal lesserform and Dragon form at will using the DRAGONFORM command. The toggle is free and unlimited. The choice of colour at the Mhojave ritual is permanent (until reincarnation), but the form itself is flexible.
**Can a Dragon use their class skills?**
Not while transformed. When you are in Dragon form, your three class skills are unavailable, replaced by the Dragoncraft skill set. When you switch back to lesserform, your class skills return and Dragoncraft drops out. The two are mutually exclusive.
**What happens if I drop below level 99?**
If you fall below level 99 after becoming a Dragon (through reincarnation or experience loss), the spirit of the Dragon leaves you until you reach 99 again. You keep the achievement on the books, but you can’t transform or use Dragoncraft until you’ve climbed back.
**What is the difference between the six Dragon colours?**
All six colours share the same base stats, the same resistances, and access to Dragoncraft. The differences are flavour and combat specialisation: each colour has its own breath weapon (Red is fire, Green poison, Blue lightning, Silver sonic, Gold psychic, Black acid), its own battlerage set, and its own lair. There are no alignment or personality differences between them.
**How rare are Dragons in Achaea?**
Rarer than any class or race choice. Reaching level 99 takes most players months or years of regular play, and Dragonhood is the gate at the top of that climb. Greater Dragons are a small and respected community in Achaea, and being one carries significant social weight.
Want to see the 14 starting races you can pick before you climb toward Dragonhood? Browse [the 14 playable races of Achaea](/races/), or read the [21 classes of Achaea](/classes/) to plan the path that will take you to level 99 in the first place.
---
### [The Trolls of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/troll)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Trolls are Achaea's giant-blooded race, descended from the legendary Gruul. Large, slender, electrically resistant, born for war.
**Content:**
The Trolls are Achaea’s giant-blooded race. Descended from the legendary giant Gruul and a human woman, they stand seven feet tall or more, shrug off lightning, and have been the generals of armies for centuries. They are not always intelligent, the stereotype says. The lore proves otherwise.
## Troll lore and origin
The racial home of the Trolls originates deep in the swamps south of the Savannah. The race has since spread far from the fabled city of Kasmarkin. Trolls are descended from the legendary giant Gruul and a human woman. Physically they have a metabolism completely different from humans and are only slightly less intelligent than the human baseline.
Their dependence on physical gifts has made them less magically adept than other races. But this is a generalisation, not a rule. During the Wars of Succession, troll mercenary legions were said to contain mages, disproving the widespread theory that trolls were not intelligent enough to wield magic. In modern times, trolls are often the generals of armies. Their aggressive nature serves them well in war, and in modern times they have often risen to lead armies.
The stereotype to navigate is the assumption that trolls are stupid. The lore explicitly addresses this: “only slightly less intelligent than humans” and pointing to troll mages and troll generals as evidence against the assumption. Your troll character lives inside this tension. Other characters may underestimate you. You can play that to advantage, push against it, or simply ignore it.
If you want to play a character whose physical presence enters every scene before they do, and whose mind earns respect when others stop expecting otherwise, Troll is the most compelling pick for players who want their physical presence to be part of the story.
## Troll appearance
Trolls are large, slender humanoids with great physical prowess. Most reach a mature height of seven feet or more. Some grow much taller. They often have strong or heavy facial features, coupled with a hulking or burly stature that contributes to the unfavourable stereotype other races attach to them.
Skin has a grey cast to it, sometimes greenish in tone, though very human-like shades have been seen. Hair and eye colour span a broad range, consistent with the human ancestry on the maternal side. Yellow eyes, unusual in humans, are common among Trolls and give them a distinctive look.
## Troll racial abilities
Trolls have one racial trait, named for their giant ancestor.
**Trait: [Descendant of Arn](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Resistant to ELECTRICAL damage.
- Chance to stun on blunt attacks.
Electrical resistance reduces damage from lightning spells, electrical traps, and certain class abilities that rely on shock damage. The stun chance on blunt attacks is a meaningful offensive perk: every time a Troll lands a blunt-damage strike (most melee attacks, certain weapons), there is a chance to briefly disable the target. This stacks with the strength bonus to make Trolls particularly disruptive in melee combat.
## Troll base statistics
Trolls are strength-leaning, with a small intellect dip.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 13 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 11 |
The strength bonus is the primary advantage, supporting heavy melee combat. The intellect dip is the trade, in line with the cultural framing of physical prowess over magical study.
## Troll specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Troll specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | (baseline) |
| Mercenary | 15 | 12 | 12 | 10 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Interceptor | 13 | 14 | 11 | 11 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Defender | 13 | 11 | 14 | 11 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Seer | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Mercenary** takes strength to 15: the maximum for Trolls. Heavy melee specialist. **Interceptor** sharpens reflexes for nimbler combat styles. **Defender** trades agility for durability, useful for tanking and protective roles. **Seer** lifts intellect to 13, offsetting the racial dip for magical classes. This is the specialisation that confirms troll mages in the lore.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Troll might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Troll looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Trolls InfernalA Trolls DepthswalkerA Trolls Unnamable## How to roleplay a Troll in Achaea
Trolls carry a built-in social tension and a long warrior heritage. A few things worth knowing if you pick Troll:
**You will be underestimated.** Other characters often assume Trolls are stupid before getting to know them. The lore makes this explicit and also explicit that it is wrong. Your Troll character can play this in three useful ways: lean into the stereotype as a deliberate front, push hard against it from word one, or let other characters reveal themselves by how they treat you.
**Aggressive nature, warrior heritage.** The lore frames Trolls as aggressive and physically commanding. Trolls have often risen to command armies. Your Troll character can credibly be a war veteran, a current mercenary, a strategist by training, or simply someone with a strong sense of when to attack and when to wait.
**Kasmarkin is the fabled origin.** The Troll homeland traces to the swamps south of the Savannah and the fabled city of Kasmarkin. Most modern Trolls have spread far from there but the place remains a cultural touchstone. A Troll character can know about Kasmarkin, have family from there, or be searching for it.
**Gruul is your ancestor.** The legendary giant Gruul is the paternal ancestor of the race. Pride in the lineage or an affinity for the giant heritage reads as natural for a Troll character. The maternal side (human) provides the cultural and linguistic baseline.
**Yellow eyes are signature.** The yellow eye colour, uncommon in humans but common in Trolls, is a useful description detail that other characters notice. A Troll without yellow eyes is unusual and worth a backstory note.
**The mage exception is canon.** The lore specifically notes troll mages exist and disprove the magical-incompetence stereotype. A Troll Magi or Alchemist is fulfilling a documented (and respected) sub-tradition of the race. The Seer specialisation supports this build.
If you want a race whose presence is impossible to ignore and whose stereotype is yours to confirm or shatter, Troll is the most rewarding pick.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Trolls good for new players in Achaea?**
Trolls are an excellent pick for new players who want a physically powerful melee character. The strength bonus combined with the stun chance on blunt attacks gives strong offensive output, and electrical resistance is useful against several class abilities. The unfavourable stereotype the race carries is roleplay texture rather than a mechanical disadvantage.
**What stats do Trolls have in Achaea?**
Trolls start with 13 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 11 Intelligence. They are strength-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Mercenary, Interceptor, Defender, or Seer). Mercenary takes strength to 15 for melee specialists; Seer lifts intellect to 13 for magical classes.
**What are the racial abilities of Trolls in Achaea?**
Trolls have one racial trait, Descendant of Arn, which provides resistance to electrical damage and a chance to stun enemies on blunt-damage attacks. Both abilities reflect the troll giant-blooded heritage and aggressive combat style.
**Where are Trolls from in Achaea?**
Trolls originated in the swamps south of the Savannah, with the fabled city of Kasmarkin as their cultural homeland. They are descended from the legendary giant Gruul and a human woman. In modern times, Trolls have spread far from Kasmarkin and are common in every city-state on Sapience. They are often the generals of armies, given their aggressive nature.
**Can a Troll play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Trolls are no exception. The warrior heritage and physical profile make melee classes a natural thematic fit, but the lore explicitly notes that troll mages exist and the Seer specialisation supports magical builds. Race never locks you out of a class.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Dwarves](/races/dwarf/)
Created by Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus. Stocky, hardy, and resistant to four damage types. The other major “tough warrior” race. Pick [Dwarf](/races/dwarf/) if you want durability instead of raw physical presence.
### [Horkval](/races/horkval/)
Insect-like humanoids from beyond Sapience. Like Trolls, [Horkval](/races/horkval/) are physically imposing with strong damage resistance. Pick Horkval if you want a more alien form alongside the imposing physical profile.
### [Xoran](/races/xoran/)
Reptilian humanoids from Krenindala. Strength-leaning, fire-breathing, six feet tall. The other major “imposing warrior with an unusual origin” race. Pick [Xoran](/races/xoran/) if you want scales and fire-breath in place of grey skin and stun attacks.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Sirens of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/siren)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Sirens are Achaea's female-only race of enchantresses. Seduction magic, poison resistance, and otherworldly beauty.
**Content:**
The Sirens are Achaea’s female-only race, known across Sapience for otherworldly beauty and the unique magic of seduction. They Beguile, they Seduce, they shrug off poison. Where Fayad bring their dual bloodline and Tsol’aa carry ancient memory, Sirens carry enchantment: a unique magic built into the body itself.
## Siren lore and origin
The Sirens are a race of humanoids whose otherworldly beauty lends itself to a variety of arts and enchantments. Legendary is their seduction magic: the ability to beguile and ensnare the minds of others in their own defence. That defensive framing matters: Siren seduction is protection, not aggression.
Similar in most ways to humans, Sirens diverge in the supernatural quality of their physical form and the magical inheritance that comes with it. Their unblemished skin, luxurious hair, and captivating eyes can range in hue from very dark to very pale. Most often they possess a finely sculpted body, heavy-lidded eyes, and full lips. The lore notes that ideas of beauty vary from place to place, and so the range of Siren features becomes more varied than any of the other mortal races.
Sirens are female-only at character creation. Other characters interact with Sirens without limitation. Sirens themselves can hold any class, any city, any House. Only the playable character is gender-locked. The in-game help files do not give a specific in-world explanation for the lock; it is simply how the race is defined.
If you want to play a race whose presence in a scene is felt as much as seen, and whose magic is built into the body, Siren is the most distinctive pick on Achaea.
## Siren appearance
Sirens look like idealised humans, with the lore emphasising that the variation in features is wider than any other mortal race. Unblemished skin in any hue. Luxurious hair in any colour or style. Captivating eyes, often heavy-lidded. Finely sculpted bodies, but the standard is not narrow: beauty as the Sirens carry it adapts to local cultural ideals.
The defining visual feature is not any single trait but a quality of presence. A Siren in a room is registered before the specifics of her appearance are catalogued. This is built into the race’s nature and gives Siren players the strongest “first impression” frame on Achaea.
## Siren racial abilities
Sirens have one racial trait, named for the seductive nature of their magic.
**Trait: [Vixen](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Resistant to POISON damage.
- Have the ability to SEDUCE and BEGUILE.
Poison resistance reduces incoming damage from venom, toxins, and certain class abilities that rely on poison. Seduce and Beguile are the signature Siren abilities: enchantment-based effects that can disarm or distract opponents in combat and in roleplay. The lore frames them as defensive, but in practice they are also useful for crowd control and tactical positioning.
## Siren base statistics
Sirens are intelligence-leaning, with a strength dip.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 11 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
The intelligence edge fits characters drawn to magical arts. The strength dip is the trade. The remaining stats are balanced, leaving room for various class specialisations to push in any direction.
## Siren specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Siren specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | (baseline) |
| Fury | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Enticer | 11 | 14 | 11 | 13 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Guardian | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Sorceress | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Fury** offsets the strength dip for melee play. **Enticer** sharpens agility for nimble combat or stealth. **Guardian** trades agility for durability, useful for protective roles. **Sorceress** takes intellect to 15: the racial maximum, and the right pick if your character concept leans into Siren enchantment magic.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Siren might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Siren looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Sirens PaladinA Sirens SerpentA Sirens BlademasterA Sirens Infernal## How to roleplay a Siren in Achaea
Sirens come with a strong physical presence and a unique magical inheritance. A few things worth knowing if you pick Siren:
**Beauty is canonical, not bragging.** The lore frames Siren beauty as a literal racial trait, not a player boast. Other characters will register a Siren as visually striking on first encounter. You can play into this, play against it, or treat it as background. All three read as valid.
**Seduction is defensive in the lore.** The HELP file specifies that Siren magic of seduction is used for defence. Your character can certainly weaponise it offensively, but the cultural frame is that of a beautiful race that uses its enchantment magic to protect itself when threatened. This is a useful starting point for any Siren character. Sirens have a brand of magic unique to the race, and Seduce and Beguile are your cultural and mechanical calling card. Magi, Bards, and other enchantment-leaning classes feel especially natural here, but any class can play into the race’s magical inheritance.
**Female-only is canonical.** Sirens are female-locked at character creation. The in-game help files do not explain why in lore terms; it is simply how the race is defined. If gender lock is a dealbreaker, Siren is not your race. Otherwise, treat it as part of the cultural identity, parallel to Satyrs being male-only.
Sirens also have no geographic homeland in the lore, unlike [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) with the Aalen or [Fayad](/races/fayad/) with the Aerinewild, a Siren character can credibly be from any city or wilderness on Sapience. And to be explicit: the mythological water association does not carry into Achaea. Sirens are humanoid and live on land. The aquatic race is the [Grook](/races/grook/).
If you want to play a character whose presence sets the tone of a scene before she speaks, Siren is the strongest pick.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Sirens good for new players in Achaea?**
Sirens are a strong pick for new players who want to play a magical class with a striking presence. The intellect bonus supports caster classes, the Seduce and Beguile abilities give useful options in combat, and the poison resistance is a constant small advantage. The “otherworldly beauty” framing also makes for easy roleplay handles.
**What stats do Sirens have in Achaea?**
Sirens start with 11 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 13 Intelligence. They are intelligence-leaning, with the standout being a lower Strength. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Fury, Enticer, Guardian, or Sorceress). Sorceress takes intellect to 15, the racial maximum and the pick for characters built around enchantment magic.
**What are the racial abilities of Sirens in Achaea?**
Sirens have one racial trait, Vixen, which provides poison resistance and the ability to Seduce and Beguile other characters. Seduction is the unique Siren magic, framed in the lore as a defensive ability used to ensnare the minds of would-be attackers.
**Why are Sirens female-only?**
Sirens are female-only at character creation. This is a hard rule that cannot be bypassed. The in-game help files do not give a specific in-world explanation; the gender lock is simply part of how the race is defined. The other gender-locked race is the [Satyr](/races/satyr/), which is male-only.
**Are Sirens aquatic? Are they mermaids?**
No. Achaea’s Sirens are humanoid, live on land, and have no water-related abilities. The mythological association of Sirens with the sea does not carry into Achaea’s lore. The aquatic race on Sapience is the Grook. Sirens are humanoid enchantresses, similar in form to humans but with the racial gift of beauty and enchantment magic.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Fayad](/races/fayad/)
Born of a fae king and a Dryad Queen. Like Sirens, they carry a magical bloodline, but their stat spread is different: Fayad are faster and more agile, not purely intellect-focused. Pick Fayad if you like the magical heritage of Sirens but want a different origin and a gender-free framing.
### [Humans](/races/human/)
The most adaptable race. The cleanest contrast to Sirens: no special magic, no gender lock, no distinctive presence. Pick human if you want maximum flexibility instead of a strong racial identity.
### [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/)
The first race ever created. Lithe, intelligence-leaning, with deep cultural memory. Like Sirens, Tsol’aa carry an “older than human” quality but root it in ancient lineage rather than enchantment magic.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Fayad of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/fayad)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Fayad are Achaea's youngest race, born of King Oberion and Dryad Queen Titania. Fey-blooded magical mortals from the Aerinewild forest.
**Content:**
The Fayad are Achaea’s youngest race, born of King Oberion and Dryad Queen Titania in 898 AF. Conceived as fae-blooded mortals and raised from saplings in the hidden Aerinewild forest, they are the only race on Achaea with a precise birthday and a third pronoun built into their language from cradle days.
## Fayad lore and origin
The Fayad were a long-hoped-for conception between King Oberion and the Dryad Queen Titania in the year 898 AF. The first Fayad were born of fairies and dryads. This first generation made their home in the hidden Aerinewild forest, where the saplings that guarded the growing babies initially took root. Once delivered from the womb of the earth, the royal couple presented their children to a gathering of heads of state, resulting in a number of gifts that irrevocably shaped the formative years of the race.
As the nascent Fayad reached their adulthood in spring, they gathered and planted the seeds from their saplings anew. This was not to produce children, but to cultivate the magic of their birth and gifts. Autumn in the Aerinewild brings their harvest. Like dandelion seeds set loose upon the breeze, the Fayad set their magic free to bless generations to come.
The Fayad are unique among Achaea’s races in carrying a precise origin date. They are the youngest race, and their cultural identity is shaped by the freshness of that beginning. Where [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) have eons of memory and humans have centuries of dominance, the Fayad are still figuring out what they are. Most Fayad characters live this question openly.
The race shares another gift with all of Sapience: personal presentation. In developing their language as babbling siblings in their cradle, Fayad shaped a third pronoun set, one that frees them from the constraints of binary language and better enables them to be who and what they wish to be. This third pronoun is now available to characters of any race who wish to use it. It is a Fayad gift to the wider world.
If you want to play a character whose race is youthful, magical, and explicitly outside the gender binary by cultural design, Fayad is the most distinctive pick on Achaea.
## Fayad appearance
The Fayad inherit pigmentation and patterning (but not texture) from the trees of their mother. In a nod to the fairy side of their lineage, they rarely grow beyond five feet tall. The first generation received a gift of boundless mutability, and Fayad builds, frames, and palettes of expression may be as diverse as their personalities.
Most Fayad bear androgynous qualities, originally unique to their development in their cradles. The third pronoun emerged from this. Younger by far than any other race, the Fayad still carry the youth of their species in stride, but they are quick of mind and body. As a people they have chosen to seek all possible walks in the life they now live on the world of Achaea.
## Fayad racial abilities
Fayad have one racial trait, reflecting their dual fae and dryad heritage.
**Trait: [Dualblooded Heritage](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Mana elixirs or similar have a small chance to heal more.
- Irid moss or potash consumed will give 25% of any wasted health when consumed to mana instead.
Both abilities are mana-focused. The mana elixir bonus gives Fayad more value from magical consumables. The irid moss / potash conversion is the more interesting ability: when those consumables would overheal you (the “wasted” portion), 25% of that excess converts to mana instead. Any character who burns mana regularly gets value from this. Magical classes feel it most, but it isn’t exclusive to them.
## Fayad base statistics
Fayad are intelligence-leaning, the most balanced of the magic-leaning races but with a strength dip.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 10 |
| Dexterity | 13 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
Fayad lead with intelligence and dexterity, with a strength dip as the trade-off. The numbers point toward magical and agile characters, but they don’t gate anything. Any class works.
## Fayad specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Fayad specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 10 | 13 | 12 | 13 | (baseline) |
| Tender | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Sylph | 10 | 15 | 11 | 13 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Watcher | 10 | 12 | 14 | 13 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Enigma | 9 | 13 | 12 | 15 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Tender** offsets the strength dip for any physical role. **Sylph** takes dexterity to 15: the maximum for Fayad. **Watcher** trades agility for durability while keeping the intellect lead. **Enigma** pushes intellect to 15, the deepest magical lean available to Fayad.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Fayad might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Fayad looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Fayad DruidA Fayad Runewarden## How to roleplay a Fayad in Achaea
Fayad are the youngest and most explicitly identity-flexible race on Achaea. A few things worth knowing if you pick Fayad:
**You are young.** The race was born in 898 AF, making Fayad the youngest race on Achaea. This shapes everything. Your character is part of a still-forming culture, with old answers to no questions and an open horizon for everything.
**The third pronoun is a Fayad gift.** The race developed a third pronoun set in their cradle and now offers it to characters of any race. Fayad characters can use this pronoun set themselves or use binary pronouns. Either choice reads natural. The presence of the gift is what matters: your race is the source of explicit non-binary identity in Achaea’s lore.
**Oberion and Titania are your founders.** The fairy king and the dryad queen are not abstract figures: they are your parents (literally for the first generation, ancestrally for later Fayad). This gives your character a relationship to both fairy and dryad culture that no other race has.
**The Aerinewild forest is your homeland.** Like Tsol’aa with the Aalen, Fayad have a specific forest of origin. The Aerinewild is hidden, and Fayad characters can credibly be from there or from anywhere on Sapience, but the forest remains the cultural touchstone.
**Magic is your inheritance.** The lore frames Fayad magic as a literal harvest: seeds planted, magic cultivated, blessings released. A Fayad character engaged with magic is fulfilling cultural expectation. A Fayad magi, druid, or alchemist reads as effortless. A Fayad warrior is a character against type, which is its own interesting choice.
**You can be physically diverse.** The “gift of boundless mutability” means Fayad characters can look almost any way you want. Your description has more latitude than most races offer. The shared traits are smaller stature (rarely over five feet) and tree-inherited pigmentation, but everything else is open.
If you want to play a young, magical, identity-flexible character with a precise origin and a forest homeland, Fayad is the most distinctive pick on Achaea.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Fayad good for new players in Achaea?**
Fayad work well for new players, particularly those drawn to magical and agile characters. The racial trait gives them a small edge in mana efficiency during longer fights. The bigger reason to pick Fayad as a new player isn’t the numbers, though. It’s the identity. They come with an origin date, a homeland, and a cultural story that gives a new character something to build on immediately.
**What stats do Fayad have in Achaea?**
Fayad start with 10 Strength, 13 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 13 Intelligence. They have the lowest unspecialised strength of any race in Achaea, balanced by intellect and dexterity bonuses. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Tender, Sylph, Watcher, or Enigma). Tender offsets the strength dip; Enigma pushes intellect to 15 for the strongest magical builds.
**What are the racial abilities of Fayad in Achaea?**
Fayad have one racial trait, Dualblooded Heritage, which provides two abilities: a small chance for mana elixirs to heal for more, and the conversion of 25% of “wasted” health from irid moss or potash into mana instead. Both abilities support magical play.
**Where are Fayad from in Achaea?**
The Fayad were conceived in 898 AF by King Oberion and the Dryad Queen Titania. The first generation grew from saplings in the hidden Aerinewild forest, which remains the Fayad cultural homeland. Fayad are the youngest race on Achaea, with a precise origin date the other races lack.
**Can a Fayad play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Fayad are no exception. Thematically, Fayad fit magical classes naturally: magi, druid, alchemist all read as culturally coherent choices. A Fayad warrior or knight is a character playing against type, which is a legitimate and interesting choice. The Tender specialisation offsets the strength dip if you go that direction.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/)
The first race ever created. The cultural opposite of Fayad: ancient and rooted where Fayad are young and exploring. Both are intelligence-leaning forest dwellers. Pick Tsol’aa if you want depth where Fayad offer freshness.
### [Sirens](/races/siren/)
Female-only humanoids with otherworldly beauty and seduction magic. Like Fayad, Sirens are magic-blooded and intelligence-leaning. Pick [Siren](/races/siren/) if you want enchantment-themed magic in a humanoid form rather than fey-touched magic in an androgynous one.
### [Grook](/races/grook/)
Magic-born amphibians from a fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity. The other “race born from magic” pick. Pick [Grook](/races/grook/) if you like the magical origin of Fayad but want an amphibian form and a longer, more troubled history.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Grook of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/grook)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Grook are Achaea's amphibian race, born from Sceptre magic. Highly intelligent and magical, with the strongest mana economy of any race.
**Content:**
The Grook are Achaea’s amphibian race: highly intelligent humanoids born from the magic of a fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity. They breathe underwater, swim naturally, and have a mana economy no other race can match. They also carry one of the heaviest histories on Sapience.
## Grook lore and origin
The Grook are a race of humanoid amphibians whose mysterious origins trace to the lush jungle continent of Bandar Selat. There, within a humble lake, the first generation of Grook were born from the magic in Himalia’s fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity. This is not a divinely created race in the way [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) or Dwarves are. It is a race that magic itself called into being.
Grook existence was not without strife. The [Horkval](/races/horkval/) of neighbouring Bandar Selam took offence to the Grook’s innate arcane prowess and enslaved them to a life of hard labour and torturous experimentation. Decades later, after the Horkval colony attempted an extermination of the race, the surviving Grook lost their ancestral memory. They were rescued and ferried to a new home: the Isle of Ulangi, where most modern Grook still trace their roots.
This history matters for roleplay. Grook and Horkval share a continent of origin and a brutal common past. The two races occupy the same island today (Ulangi houses both a small Horkval settlement and the majority of the Grook population), but the relationship between them is freighted with history. A Grook character does not have to engage with this directly. The lore is there if you want it.
What makes Grook distinctive on Achaea is the combination of high intelligence, innate magical prowess, and the unique mana-sharing mechanic: a Grook uses less mana when other Grook are nearby. This makes them the only race on Achaea with a mechanical incentive to gather with others of their kind.
If you want to play a race that reads as cerebral, magical, and quietly carrying a long history of survival, Grook is one of the most natural fits on Achaea.
## Grook appearance
Grook are highly intelligent and possess an innate magical prowess that eclipses that of most other mortal races. Physically they stand around five feet tall with slender builds. Their features are distinctly amphibious: bulbous eyes are typical and come in all colours, and skin ranges in hue from green to blue and from pale to dark. Hands and feet may be webbed to varying degrees.
The amphibian look is unmistakable. A Grook in a tavern looks nothing like a [Human](/races/human/), a [Dwarf](/races/dwarf/), or a Tsol’aa. Skin colour, eye colour, and webbing variation give Grook characters meaningful customisation.
## Grook racial abilities
Grook have one racial trait, named for their lost homeland.
**Trait: [Echo of the Sung Isles](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Can breathe underwater.
- Regenerate health in aquatic environments.
- Natural swimmers.
- Mana usage is reduced based on the number of other Grook in the local area.
Four passive abilities in one trait. Underwater breathing means a Grook can explore aquatic environments other races cannot. Health regeneration in water adds a healing layer in any aquatic zone. Natural swimming bypasses the Survival skill check other races need. And the mana reduction when near other Grook is unique to the race: a mechanical reward for gathering with your own kind.
## Grook base statistics
Grook are intelligence-leaning, tied for the highest base Intelligence (with Tsol’aa, Siren, and Fayad).
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 11 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
The intellect bonus suits magical classes, which the lore frames as the Grook’s natural strength. The strength dip is the trade.
## Grook specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Grook specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | (baseline) |
| Warrior | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Relegate | 11 | 14 | 11 | 13 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Warden | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Scholar | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Warrior** sacrifices the intellect lead for physical combat. **Relegate** trades durability for agility, useful for nimbler classes. **Warden** strengthens durability while keeping the intellect lead. **Scholar** takes intellect to 15, the maximum for Grook, and the natural fit for characters who want to lean into the race’s magical heritage.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Grook might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Grook looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Grook MagiA Grook BardA Grook InfernalA Grook Alchemist## How to roleplay a Grook in Achaea
Grook come with one of the richest origin stories on Achaea and a built-in cultural cohesion. A few things worth knowing if you pick Grook:
**Magic is your cultural inheritance.** The lore frames Grook as innately magically gifted, with intellect that eclipses most other mortal races. A Grook character who studies magic is fulfilling cultural expectation. A Grook character who explicitly avoids magic is making a deliberate statement that other characters will read.
**The Horkval history is yours.** Your race was enslaved by Horkval, tortured, and almost wiped out before being rescued. This is canonical Grook history. Your individual character may or may not engage with this in roleplay, but the cultural memory exists. A Grook meeting a Horkval is a charged moment regardless of either character’s personal disposition.
**Ulangi is the modern homeland.** Most Grook trace their roots to the Isle of Ulangi, where the survivors were ferried after the Horkval extermination attempt. This is the natural geographic anchor for a Grook character’s backstory. You can be from elsewhere, but Ulangi is where the race remembers itself.
**Gather with other Grook for mana benefits.** This is mechanical, but it is also a roleplay nudge. The race has an in-built reason to cluster, and Grook characters often gravitate toward each other in cities and parties. Your character might already know other Grook in your House or city, or be looking to find them. This builds natural in-game social ties.
**The “lost ancestral memory” is a story hook.** When the Grook lost their pre-Ulangi memories, they lost most of what came before. Modern Grook are rebuilding that history. A Grook scholar character investigating their own race’s past is one of the most natural concepts the lore offers.
If you want to play a character who is intellectually gifted, magically inclined, and quietly carrying a history of survival, Grook is one of the most rewarding picks on Achaea.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Grook good for new players in Achaea?**
Grook are an excellent pick for new players who want to play a magical class. The intellect bonus is tied for the highest among the mortal-formed races (shared with Tsol’aa, Siren, and Fayad), and the mana economy (using less mana when other Grook are nearby) gives meaningful efficiency. The amphibian abilities also make a Grook noticeably better at aquatic exploration than any other race.
**What stats do Grook have in Achaea?**
Grook start with 11 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 13 Intelligence. They are intelligence-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Warrior, Relegate, Warden, or Scholar). The Scholar specialisation takes intellect to 15, the racial maximum, and suits characters whose concept centres on magical and scholarly pursuits.
**What are the racial abilities of Grook in Achaea?**
Grook have one racial trait, Echo of the Sung Isles, which provides four abilities: underwater breathing, health regeneration in aquatic environments, natural swimming, and reduced mana usage when other Grook are nearby. The last ability is unique to the Grook and unique among all racial traits in Achaea.
**Where are Grook from in Achaea?**
The Grook were born within a lake on the jungle continent of Bandar Selat, conjured by the magic in Himalia’s fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity. They were enslaved by Horkval, escaped after an attempted extermination during which they lost their ancestral memory, and were ferried to the Isle of Ulangi, where most modern Grook still live.
**Can a Grook play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Grook are no exception. The lore frames Grook as innately magic-inclined, so classes like Magi, Alchemist, and Druid fit the character archetype, but Grook play well in any role. The Warrior specialisation specifically offsets the strength dip for melee builds.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/)
The first race ever created. Like Grook, Tsol’aa lean toward intelligence and have a long, layered history. Pick Tsol’aa if you like the cerebral angle of Grook but want a more familiar humanoid form.
### [Fayad](/races/fayad/)
Born of fairies and dryads. Also intelligence-leaning with a magical heritage. Pick [Fayad](/races/fayad/) if you like the magic-blooded angle of Grook but want a humanoid form rather than amphibian.
### [Sirens](/races/siren/)
Female-only humanoids with otherworldly beauty and seduction magic. Intelligence-leaning, similar stat block to Grook. Pick [Siren](/races/siren/) if you want magical inclination in a human-similar form.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Xoran of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/xoran)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Xoran are Achaea's reptilian race. Humanoid lizards from Krenindala who breathe fire, resist fire, and turn heads everywhere they walk.
**Content:**
The Xoran are Achaea’s reptilian race. Humanoid lizards from the distant world of Krenindala, they breathe fire, resist fire, and stand among the most physically striking races on Sapience. Their tale of birth was hidden for centuries before being revealed as part of the Worldreaver Saga.
## Xoran lore and origin
The Xoran are a race of humanoid lizards whose origins lie upon the distant world of Krenindala. Born in tragedy and turmoil, they are a subspecies of ormyrr and the second generation of humanity. The Xoran first revealed themselves to Achaea in mysterious circumstances some seven centuries ago. The full tale of their birth has since been revealed as part of the great and terrible Worldreaver Saga, one of Achaea’s major lore arcs.
The Xoran arrival is a mystery for most of recorded history. They simply appeared, integrated where they could, and slowly grew into one of the more visually distinctive populations on Sapience. Their connection to humanity (as “the second generation”) gives them a strange cousinhood with humans, but Xoran read as fundamentally alien wherever they go.
Unlike [Horkval](/races/horkval/), Xoran do not maintain a hive culture or a major settlement of their own. They live among the other races, spread across cities and the wilderness. Their distinctive appearance and rarity (Xoran are uncommon enough to draw a second look anywhere they walk) make them socially visible without being concentrated geographically. A Xoran character is almost always the only Xoran in the room.
Xoran are one of the more well-rounded picks among Achaea’s alien arrival races: strong stats, a striking form, and lore that runs deeper than most.
## Xoran appearance
Xoran commonly stand six feet tall or more, with a generally muscular physique. Their skin is scaled in a variety of vivid colours: greens, reds, golds, blues, deep blacks. White or pale scales are extremely unusual. Hair is uncommon but not unheard of.
The race is typically characterised by long tails that sweep the ground, hands that may have talons or claws, and snouts that range from short and rounded to elongated and almost crocodilian. The variation in snout shape gives Xoran significant character customisation. Some Xoran look almost humanoid with subtle reptilian features. Others read as clearly draconic.
Their physical reputation is for strength and intelligence both, alongside the ability to breathe fire that has become their cultural calling card.
## Xoran racial abilities
Xoran have one racial trait, rooted in their reptilian heritage.
**Trait: [Firekin](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Resistant to FIRE damage.
- Can BREATHE FIRE.
Fire resistance reduces incoming fire damage from any source: spells, dragon breath, environmental fire. Breathing fire is the offensive ability and a Xoran signature. Most Xoran characters use it sparingly for dramatic effect, but it remains mechanically available at all times.
## Xoran base statistics
Xoran are strength-leaning, with a small dip in dexterity.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 13 |
| Dexterity | 11 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 12 |
The strength lean gives Xoran a physical presence. The dexterity dip is the tradeoff. Fire resistance adds durability anywhere fire damage is in play.
## Xoran specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Xoran specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | (baseline) |
| Vanquisher | 15 | 11 | 12 | 11 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Legate | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Ward | 13 | 10 | 14 | 12 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Caster | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Vanquisher** takes strength to 15: the maximum for Xoran. Heavy melee. **Legate** improves agility for quicker classes. **Ward** trades agility for durability, useful for defensive roles. **Caster** lifts intellect to 14, well-suited for magical classes.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Xoran might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Xoran looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Xoran AlchemistA Xoran Serpent## How to roleplay a Xoran in Achaea
Xoran come with one of the strongest visual identities on Achaea and a rich lore connection. A few things worth knowing if you pick Xoran:
**You will be noticed wherever you go.** Xoran are uncommon enough that most other characters will register your race as the first thing they perceive about you. This is different from Horkval (where the reaction tends toward unease). With Xoran the reaction is curiosity, sometimes wariness, sometimes interest, but rarely indifference.
**Krenindala is your homeworld.** Your Xoran character comes from elsewhere, and lore has revealed that elsewhere as part of the Worldreaver Saga. Awareness of this saga is a useful backstory element for Xoran characters who lean into their origin. Players who do not want to engage with the saga can simply play their Xoran as a long-established Sapient resident.
**Fire is your culture’s signature.** Beyond the mechanical fire-breath, fire is part of the Xoran identity. Forge work, cooking with flame, fire-based magic, and dragon-adjacent imagery all read natural for a Xoran character. Lean into this for descriptions, mannerisms, and aesthetic choices.
**You are a subspecies of ormyrr.** The lore explicitly connects Xoran to ormyrr (a different race in Achaea’s lore) and to humanity as the “second generation.” Both connections are available to your character as roleplay material. The cousinhood with humans is particularly interesting: Xoran and humans share more in their origin than most other interracial pairings.
**Scale colour is identity.** The wide range of Xoran scale colours is meaningful. Your colour choice sets your character apart from other Xoran and tells other players something about who you are.
Xoran have a lot going on: lore, visuals, fire. They tend to hold up through a long playthrough. Worth considering if you want a race that does not fade into the background.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Xoran good for new players in Achaea?**
Xoran are a strong pick for new players who want a visually distinctive race that still plays naturally. Their strength bonus suits melee classes, fire resistance is constantly useful, and breathing fire is a memorable ability from day one. The cultural framing is rich without being as socially restrictive as Horkval.
**What stats do Xoran have in Achaea?**
Xoran start with 13 Strength, 11 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 12 Intelligence. They are strength-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Vanquisher, Legate, Ward, or Caster) to customise your stats. The Vanquisher specialisation takes strength to 15, the racial maximum.
**What are the racial abilities of Xoran in Achaea?**
Xoran have one racial trait, Firekin, which provides two abilities: resistance to fire damage and the ability to breathe fire offensively. Both reflect the Xoran reptilian heritage and connection to fire as a cultural element.
**Where are Xoran from in Achaea?**
The Xoran originated on the distant world of Krenindala. They are a subspecies of ormyrr and lore calls them the “second generation of humanity.” Xoran first appeared on Achaea around seven centuries ago in mysterious circumstances. The full origin story has since been revealed as part of the Worldreaver Saga.
**Can a Xoran play any class in Achaea?**
Xoran suit any class in Achaea. The fire-affinity and reptilian identity read naturally alongside warrior and fire-themed magical roleplay, but the choice is yours to make.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Horkval](/races/horkval/)
Insect-like humanoids, also from beyond Sapience. The other major “alien arrival” race. Pick Horkval if you want the otherworldly framing with the strongest physical defence in the game.
### [Tash’la](/races/tashla/)
Boar-like humanoids from Yggdrasil’s branches. The third “alien arrival” race. [Tash’la](/races/tashla/) trade fire-breath for crystal growths and the highest constitution in the game.
### [Trolls](/races/troll/)
Descended from the legendary giant Gruul. Large humanoids with physical prowess. Pick [Troll](/races/troll/) if you like the strength-leaning warrior profile of Xoran but want a familiar fantasy form.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Horkval of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/horkval)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Horkval are Achaea's insect-like aliens. Exoskeleton-armoured shock troops of Aegis, used in the battle on Nishnatoba.
**Content:**
The Horkval are Achaea’s insectoid race. Powerful, alien, and built for war, they are the shock troops of Aegis and one of the strangest forms a mortal can take on Sapience. They are very hard to wound, cannot wear armour, and almost certainly came from another world.
## Horkval lore and origin
The Horkval are powerful insect-like humanoids, though not particularly intelligent in the way humans understand intelligence. Aegis, God of War, used them as shock troops during the great battle on Nishnatoba. They are fearsome soldiers who show no fear in battle and work together on a level surpassed only by the crystalline Kx’Khrah.
Their origin is not well known. What is certain is that the Horkval did not originate from Sapience, and possibly not even from this world. The largest concentration of Horkval on Achaea, known as Kr’kach, lies upon the distant continent of Bandar Selam. There they exhibit a hive-like social structure that other races find unsettling. A second smaller settlement exists on the Isle of Ulangi, separated from the greater colony.
Horkval read differently than any other race because of their hive-like social cohesion and alien appearance. Most other races find them unsettling on first encounter, even in cities where they are common. This is not in-game racism by other characters: it is a noted cultural reality in the lore. A Horkval character has to negotiate first impressions every time, every place, regardless of their personal disposition.
If you want a race that arrives in every scene with a built-in social tension, Horkval is the most distinctive pick on Achaea.
## Horkval appearance
Horkval are characterised by an armour-like exoskeleton or carapace in many different colours. They stand taller than most humans, on par with [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/) and [Xoran](/races/xoran/), but generally shorter than Trolls. Some Horkval have more insectoid features than others: mandibles, antennae, segmented limb structures. The variation is significant.
Hair, while uncommon, is not unheard of. Some Horkval have it, most do not. Carapace colour is the primary visual identity marker and varies widely, giving characters meaningful customisation.
## Horkval racial abilities
Horkval have one racial trait, a reflection of their warrior heritage and exoskeleton.
**Trait: [One of the Great Phalanx](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Very resistant to CUTTING damage.
- Very resistant to BLUNT damage.
- Cannot wear armour.
- Have the ability to LEAP.
The two damage resistances are the strongest in the game for those types: a Horkval takes much less damage from cuts and bludgeoning than any other race. The armour restriction is the trade. Horkval cannot wear armour because their carapace already serves that function. The Leap ability adds vertical mobility that no other race has.
## Horkval base statistics
Horkval are constitution-leaning, with a small intellect dip.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 13 |
| Intelligence | 11 |
The durability bonus reinforces the natural carapace defence. The lower intellect aligns with the lore framing of the race as not particularly intelligent.
## Horkval specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Horkval specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | (baseline) |
| Vindicator | 14 | 12 | 13 | 10 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Prosecutor | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Claviger | 12 | 11 | 15 | 11 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Commander | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Vindicator** pushes physical damage at the cost of further intellect. **Prosecutor** trades durability for agility. **Claviger** takes constitution to 15: heavy melee defender or tank specialisation. **Commander** lifts intellect to 13, offsetting the racial dip for magical and tactical classes.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Horkval might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Horkval looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Horkval RunewardenA Horkval MagiA Horkval Druid## How to roleplay a Horkval in Achaea
Horkval come with the highest social-tension load of any race on Achaea. A few things worth knowing if you pick Horkval:
**Other characters may find you unsettling.** The lore states plainly that other races find Horkval unsettling. This is a roleplay reality. Other players whose characters meet a Horkval for the first time may legitimately react with caution, distance, or unease. This is a feature of the race, not a bug. If you want every first impression to be a small moment, Horkval gives you that constantly.
**Hive-like cohesion is part of your heritage.** The Kr’kach colony on Bandar Selam operates as a hive. Your Horkval character is from that culture or from the smaller Ulangi offshoot. Even Horkval who have left the colony carry the cultural weight of hive thinking, often in their language patterns, their decision-making, or their default loyalties.
Horkval served Aegis as shock troops at Nishnatoba. A character with any religious or martial lean toward Aegis fits the race naturally. Warrior classes like Paladin, Runewarden, and Blademaster sit especially well in that context.
Most Horkval characters cannot wear traditional armour because their bodies already provide it. Clothing, jewellery, paint, and other adornments take on more importance than for other races. A Horkval who decorates their carapace is communicating something specific about themselves.
**The hive mind framing is optional but powerful.** You can play a Horkval as fully individuated and personal, or you can play them as a creature carrying the cultural memory of a hive. Both work. The second is the more distinctive choice and the one that leans into what makes the race unusual.
If you want a race that gives you the strongest physical defence in the game and the most interesting social terrain to navigate, Horkval is the most rewarding hard pick on Achaea.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Horkval good for new players in Achaea?**
Horkval are mechanically excellent for new players. Their resistance to cutting and blunt damage is the strongest in the game, and the inability to wear armour is offset by that built-in defence. The constitution bonus adds to survivability. The trade is the social roleplay: other characters react to Horkval with caution, which can be either a feature or a friction depending on what you want.
**What stats do Horkval have in Achaea?**
Horkval start with 12 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 13 Constitution, and 11 Intelligence. They are constitution-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Vindicator, Prosecutor, Claviger, or Commander) to customise your stats. The Claviger specialisation takes constitution to 15 for maximum tankiness.
**What are the racial abilities of Horkval in Achaea?**
Horkval have one racial trait, One of the Great Phalanx, which provides four properties: very strong resistance to cutting damage, very strong resistance to blunt damage, inability to wear armour (because the carapace already protects), and the Leap ability for vertical movement. The damage resistances are the strongest of their type in the game.
**Where are Horkval from in Achaea?**
The Horkval did not originate on Sapience, and possibly not even from this world. The largest Horkval colony, called Kr’kach, sits on the distant continent of Bandar Selam, where they live in a hive-like social structure. A smaller settlement on the Isle of Ulangi is separated from the greater colony. Aegis, God of War, used Horkval as shock troops during the great battle on Nishnatoba.
**Can a Horkval play any class in Achaea?**
Any race can play any class in Achaea. Horkval have no class restrictions. Warrior classes (Paladin, Runewarden, Blademaster, Monk) are a natural thematic fit given their history as Aegis’s shock troops, but Horkval Magi, Druids, and any other class are equally valid.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Xoran](/races/xoran/)
Reptilian humanoids from the distant world of Krenindala. Like Horkval, they are otherworldly arrivals with a distinctive appearance. Pick Xoran if you like the alien origin but want fire-breathing scales instead of an insectoid carapace.
### [Tash’la](/races/tashla/)
Boar-like humanoids from Yggdrasil’s branches, the most durable race on Achaea. The other major “tough race from elsewhere” pick. [Tash’la](/races/tashla/) match Horkval on durability with a less alienating cultural read.
### [Trolls](/races/troll/)
Descended from the legendary giant Gruul. Large, slender, and physically formidable. Pick [Troll](/races/troll/) if you want the imposing physical presence of Horkval without the social-tension load.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Tash'la of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/tashla)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Tash'la are Achaea's boar-like humanoids with crystalline growths. Allied with Elemental Earth, arrived from Yggdrasil's branches.
**Content:**
The Tash’la are boar-like humanoids who arrived on Achaea in 759 AF, travelling from a distant world along the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasil. Crystalline growths run along their joints and skull. They are allied with Elemental Earth and carry the highest constitution of any race on Sapience. Their origin is also the most outright alien: they didn’t come from this world at all.
## Tash’la lore and origin
The racial home of the Tash’la lies not upon Sapience, nor even Meropis, but on a world far from the homes of most adventurers. Beneath the shattered moons of that distant world, upon the branches of Yggdrasil the World Tree, live the tribes of the Kelstaad. The Tash’la roam violet and gold prairies, dig deep into earth and soil for riches, and live in close-knit groups.
Since their now-legendary Freeing, the Tash’la have overthrown their old ways to embrace new ones. They hold firm alliance with Elemental Earth, spreading out across the great expanse of the World Tree’s branches. They arrived on the world of Achaea in 759 AF during the great Elemental turmoil. Once here, the Tash’la began to spread out, seeking ever more awareness of the Prime Material Plane and the new world unveiled to them.
The crystalline growths are not decoration. The mineral dormium, present from an early age in every Tash’la, brings forth crystal formations on the joints and the skull (where the crystals grow in place of hair). Dormium also infuses the Tash’la with some of Elemental Earth’s legendary resilience, bolstering an already formidable race to new heights of fortitude.
The Tash’la generally disdain the mystical arts. They prefer the close-knit, resilient melee work that suits their constitution and their cultural memory of working as tribes. A Tash’la character is rare, durable, and arrived from elsewhere with a different metaphysics than most of Sapience.
For players who want an origin that reads like fantasy myth crossed with cosmic geography, no other race on Achaea comes close.
## Tash’la appearance
Tash’la are boar-like humanoids. The lore is specific about this: they are not pig-folk in the cartoonish sense but a serious, dignified race with boar features. They work as close-knit, resilient groups in the depths of a melee.
Crystalline growths adorn their joints and flow forth from their skull in place of hair. These are brought forth by dormium, a mineral the Tash’la encounter from an early age. The crystals tend toward violet and indigo (the colours of dormium), but other colours appear: cool turquoise, rare fiery red, and shades in between. The crystal patterns are unique to each Tash’la and serve as a primary identity marker.
## Tash’la racial abilities
Tash’la have one racial trait, granted by their Earth alliance and dormium infusion.
**Trait: [Terran Will](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Grants the ability to HUNCH, making it hard to move you (conveys the standing firm defence).
- Rare minerals you consume shall convey their benefits for 10% longer than normal.
Hunch is a positional ability: when active, you are much harder to move, push, or displace. In PvP and group combat, that can mean staying on a target when everyone else is being shunted around. The mineral benefit extension is a small but constant edge: anything you consume that comes from rare minerals lasts longer.
## Tash’la base statistics
Tash’la have the highest constitution of any race on Achaea. They are durable above all else.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 11 |
| Constitution | 14 |
| Intelligence | 11 |
A constitution of 14 unspecialised is unique to Tash’la. Specialisation can push it as high as 16, making Tash’la the single most durable race on Sapience. The trade-off is below-average dexterity and intelligence.
## Tash’la specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Tash’la specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 11 | 14 | 11 | (baseline) |
| Vanguard | 14 | 11 | 14 | 10 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Traverser | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Protector | 12 | 10 | 16 | 11 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Elder | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Vanguard** keeps the durability while pushing strength for melee. **Traverser** trades a point of constitution for agility. **Protector** takes constitution to 16: the highest single-stat value any race can reach at level 10 specialisation. **Elder** leans into intellect, useful for magical classes that the Tash’la culturally disdain but mechanically can still play.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Tash’la might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Tash’la looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Tashla RunewardenA Tashla Apostate## How to roleplay a Tash’la in Achaea
Tash’la come with one of the strangest origin stories on Achaea and a built-in cultural identity that runs deep. A few things worth knowing if you pick Tash’la:
**You arrived from elsewhere.** Your character or your ancestors travelled along the branches of Yggdrasil from a distant world. This is canonical and gives Tash’la characters automatic backstory texture. Your relationship to Sapience is one of arrival, exploration, and adaptation rather than belonging.
**Elemental Earth is your default alliance.** The Tash’la as a race are allied with Elemental Earth. This shows up in your durability, your crystals, and culturally in how a Tash’la character relates to earth, stone, and the underground. Devotion to Earth-aligned gods, or simply a temperamental affinity for earth and stone, reads natural for a Tash’la.
**The mystical arts sit against the grain of Tash’la culture.** The lore specifically notes that Tash’la “generally disdain the mystical arts.” This is a cultural disposition, not a mechanical lock. A Tash’la can be a Magi or Druid, but the character has to navigate that against their cultural background. This is a roleplay engine: your character chose magic against the grain of their people.
Dormium and the crystals are signature. Your crystal growth pattern, colour, and prominence are identity markers. A Tash’la with bright fiery-red crystals stands apart from one with deep indigo. Use this in your description as the first thing other characters see.
Tribes and close-knit groups are the cultural shape. Tash’la work in resilient groups in melee. Solo Tash’la exist but the lore reads them as outliers from a culture that values tight unit cohesion. A Tash’la character might be looking for that group, leaving it, or building it among other races.
Tash’la are the most outright alien of the 14 playable races. That is a specific kind of character concept, and it shows up in every scene.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Tash’la good for new players in Achaea?**
Tash’la are excellent for new players who want a durable, melee-leaning character. They have the highest constitution of any race in Achaea (14 unspecialised, up to 16 with the Protector specialisation), which means more survivability while you are still learning combat. The Hunch ability is also useful in PvP from day one.
**What stats do Tash’la have in Achaea?**
Tash’la start with 12 Strength, 11 Dexterity, 14 Constitution, and 11 Intelligence. They are heavily constitution-leaning and the most durable race on Achaea. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Vanguard, Traverser, Protector, or Elder). The Protector specialisation takes constitution to 16, the racial and game-wide maximum.
**What are the racial abilities of Tash’la in Achaea?**
Tash’la have one racial trait, Terran Will, which grants two abilities: Hunch (a defensive stance making them very hard to move) and a 10% extended duration on benefits from consumed rare minerals. Both reflect the Tash’la alliance with Elemental Earth.
**Where are Tash’la from in Achaea?**
The Tash’la are not native to Sapience. They originated on a distant world reached through the branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. The tribes there are called the Kelstaad. The Tash’la arrived on Achaea in 759 AF during a period of Elemental turmoil and have since spread across Sapience while maintaining their alliance with Elemental Earth.
**Can a Tash’la play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Tash’la are no exception. Tash’la work naturally in melee-heavy roles: Paladin, Runewarden, Sentinel, Monk. Their lore sits closest to that kind of character. A Tash’la Magi or Druid is entirely viable; the lore just gives that character something to push against, since Tash’la culturally disdain the mystical arts.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)
Tiger-folk from a distant planet. The other “beast-kin from elsewhere” race, but feline and built for speed rather than durability. Pick [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/) if you like the alien-arrival framing but want agility over toughness.
### [Dwarves](/races/dwarf/)
The other major durability race on Achaea. Resistant to four damage types but lower constitution than Tash’la. Pick [Dwarf](/races/dwarf/) if you want hardiness with a familiar fantasy-race form.
### [Horkval](/races/horkval/)
Insect-like humanoids, definitely not from Sapience. The other race that arrived from beyond Achaea’s world. Heavier on damage resistance, lighter on positioning. Pick [Horkval](/races/horkval/) if you want the alien origin without the boar-and-crystal form.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Satyrs of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/satyr)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Satyrs are Achaea's jovial half-goat race, famous for wild entertainment. Male-only, with Headstomp and quick endurance regen.
**Content:**
Satyrs are Achaea’s jovial half-goat race. Male-only, famous for entertainment and frivolity, with a Headstomp ability that captures the spirit of the race in one move. They regenerate endurance faster than most and can shift the mood of a tavern just by walking in.
## Satyr lore and origin
Satyrs are a jovial race famous for a love of wild entertainment and frivolity. Where [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) watch quietly and Dwarves work patiently, Satyrs walk in laughing. The cultural reputation is well-earned and reads instantly to anyone who has met one.
The race has the upper body of a human and powerful goats’ legs below. Most Satyrs have horns on their head, ranging from small pointed nubs to large curling projections like that of a ram. Facial hair is common among both males and females of this race, though no female Satyrs exist as playable characters: Satyrs are male-only.
Other races may interact with Satyrs without restriction. Satyrs themselves can hold any class, any city, any House. Only the playable character is male-locked. The in-game help files do not give a specific in-world explanation for the lock; it is simply how the race is defined.
If you want to play a character whose default mode is good cheer, charisma, and unpredictability, Satyr is the most distinctive pick on Achaea.
## Satyr appearance
Satyrs combine human and goat anatomy in a way that is unmistakable at a glance. The upper body is humanoid. Skin, hair, and eye colour are as varied as that of humanity. The lower body is generally coarse and brown or black in colour, with the powerful legs and cloven feet of a goat.
Most Satyrs have horns on their head. The range is wide: small pointed nubs, large curling ram-like projections, anything in between. Horn style is a meaningful character detail and other players notice. Facial hair is common among Satyrs, often elaborate or carefully shaped.
## Satyr racial abilities
Satyrs have one racial trait, rooted in their goatkin endurance.
**Trait: [Merrymaker](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Regenerate ENDURANCE at an increased rate.
- Have the ability to HEADSTOMP.
The increased endurance regeneration means a Satyr can sustain extended activity (combat, travel, work) longer than other races. The Headstomp ability is a melee attack unique to Satyrs. Goat-headed charge as combat move. It fits the race.
## Satyr base statistics
Satyrs are strength-leaning, with a small constitution dip.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 13 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 11 |
| Intelligence | 12 |
The strength advantage gives Satyrs a physically imposing baseline. The constitution dip is the trade.
## Satyr specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Satyr specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | (baseline) |
| Brute | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Knave | 13 | 14 | 10 | 12 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Gallant | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Chanter | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Brute** takes strength to 15: the maximum for Satyrs. Pure melee. **Knave** sharpens reflexes for trickier, more agile playstyles. **Gallant** trades agility for durability, useful for defensive or supportive roles. **Chanter** leans into intellect, fitting for players who want a sharper magical or performance-oriented character concept.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Satyr might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Satyr looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Satyrs BardA Satyrs DruidA Satyrs JesterA Satyrs Magi## How to roleplay a Satyr in Achaea
Satyrs have the most defined cultural default of any race on Achaea. A few things worth knowing if you pick Satyr:
**Joviality is the default.** The lore frames Satyrs as a jovial race famous for entertainment. Other players will read warmth and charisma into a Satyr character before you say a word. A grim, scholarly, or cold Satyr is a deliberate choice that reads as character development against a strong baseline. Most Satyr players lean into the good cheer.
**The horns are part of who you are.** Horn style is a visible identity marker like a Rajamala’s fur. Curling ram horns, short pointed nubs, asymmetric: your horn description tells other characters a lot about your Satyr. Use it.
**Male-only is canonical.** Satyrs are male-locked at character creation. The in-game help files do not explain why in lore terms; it is simply how the race is defined. If gender lock is a dealbreaker, Satyr is not your race. Otherwise, treat it as part of the cultural identity.
**Bard, Jester, and entertainment classes feel especially natural.** Nothing locks a Satyr out of any class, but the cultural framing makes Bard, Jester, and similar performance-oriented classes read as effortless choices. A Satyr Bard does not need to explain themselves. A Satyr Apostate does, and that is an interesting story rather than a problem.
If you want a race with a strong personality default that you can either embody or play against, Satyr offers the most pronounced cultural framing on Achaea.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Satyrs good for new players in Achaea?**
Satyrs are an excellent pick for new players who want a visually distinctive race with strong personality framing. The physical stat spread suits players who want a straightforward, hard-hitting feel, faster endurance regeneration is a constant small advantage, and the jovial cultural default gives new roleplayers an easy character template to work from.
**What stats do Satyrs have in Achaea?**
Satyrs start with 13 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 11 Constitution, and 12 Intelligence. They are strength-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Brute, Knave, Gallant, or Chanter) to customise your stats. The Brute specialisation takes strength to 15, the racial maximum.
**What are the racial abilities of Satyrs in Achaea?**
Satyrs have one racial trait, Merrymaker, which grants two abilities: increased endurance regeneration (so they sustain extended activity longer) and the Headstomp attack, a melee ability unique to the race.
**Why are Satyrs male-only?**
Satyrs are male-only at character creation. This is a hard rule that cannot be bypassed. The in-game help files do not give a specific in-world explanation; the gender lock is simply part of how the race is defined. The other gender-locked race is the [Siren](/races/siren/), which is female-only.
**Can a Satyr play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Satyrs are no exception. The cultural framing makes Bards, Jesters, and other entertainment classes feel especially natural, but Satyrs play well as Paladins, Magi, Druids, and any other class.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)
Tiger-folk from a distant planet. The other major beast-kin race, but visually feline rather than caprine and with a fiercer cultural tone. Pick [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/) if you like beast-kin but want pride and ferocity instead of joviality.
### [Tash’la](/races/tashla/)
Boar-like humanoids with crystalline growths, arrived from a distant world. The third beast-kin race. Heavier, more durable, and stranger in origin than either Satyrs or Rajamala.
### [Fayad](/races/fayad/)
Born of fairies and dryads. If you like the fey-adjacent framing of Satyrs (half-mythical, lighter tone) but want a more delicate, magical-blooded race, [Fayad](/races/fayad/) is the alternative.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Rajamala of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/rajamala)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Rajamala are Achaea's tiger-folk: proud, fierce, and from a distant planet. The most visually striking beast-kin on Sapience.
**Content:**
The Rajamala are Achaea’s tiger-folk. Proud, fierce, and from a distant world, they mingle easily with the other races without ever quite blending in. Their fur, manes, tails, and amber eyes are unmistakable. If you want a race that looks striking and carries a cultural weight of pride and fierceness before you write a single line of backstory, Rajamala is the strongest visual identity on Achaea.
## Rajamala lore and origin
The Rajamala are a race of proud, fierce, tiger-like humanoids from a distant planet. The first that Achaean history records of them is when they fought with the Triumvirate, under the command of the god Agatheis, during the great battle on Nishnatoba. Their origins before that are not known. They simply arrived, fought, and stayed.
Unlike some races, Rajamala do not cluster. They mingle easily with the other races and seldom form communities of their own. One village in the valley of Xhaiden Dale is comprised mostly of Rajamala, and that is the closest thing they have to an ancestral home on Sapience. Most Rajamala adventurers live and travel among the other races, picking their loyalties and homes individually rather than along racial lines.
If you want a race that arrives in a scene already visually distinctive and culturally weighted toward strength and pride, Rajamala fits.
## Rajamala appearance
Orange fur with black stripes is the traditional Rajamala colouring, but many have coats that mimic other felines: tawny and golden, white, black, silver, and more. Spotted and striped combinations are common. Rajamala stand six feet tall on average, with sleek or muscular physiques that seldom become overweight.
Eyes are often amber or yellow, sometimes brown, but can also be blue, green, or black. Every Rajamala is born with a tail. Some have manes and whiskers that can be styled like human hair, giving the race meaningful customisation in appearance beyond the obvious feline features.
## Rajamala racial abilities
Rajamala have one racial trait, rooted in their predator origins.
**Trait: [Feral Spirit](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Can consume the corpses of fallen foes.
- Additional chance to dodge attacks.
- Resistant to COLD damage.
The corpse-eating ability provides a sustenance option no other race has: in environments where food is scarce or expensive, Rajamala can simply eat their kills. The dodge bonus stacks on top of any other agility advantage, and cold resistance is useful in winter zones and against certain class abilities.
## Rajamala base statistics
Rajamala are dexterity-leaning, with a small intellect dip.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 13 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 11 |
The dexterity bonus pairs well with the dodge ability from Feral Spirit, making Rajamala naturally evasive. The lower intellect is the trade for the predator package.
## Rajamala specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Rajamala specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | (baseline) |
| Executioner | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Striker | 12 | 15 | 11 | 11 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Enforcer | 12 | 12 | 14 | 11 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Magiker | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Executioner** pushes physical damage at the cost of intellect. **Striker** takes dexterity to 15: the maximum for Rajamala. **Enforcer** trades agility for durability. **Magiker** lifts intellect to 13, compensating for the racial dip and suiting magical classes.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Rajamala might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Rajamala looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Rajamala BlademasterA Rajamala MonkA Rajamala PaladinA Rajamala Sentinel## How to roleplay a Rajamala in Achaea
Rajamala carry a strong cultural reputation that you can lean into or play against. A few things worth knowing:
**Pride and fierceness are the default.** The lore directly frames Rajamala as “proud, fierce” and other characters will assume this disposition unless you signal otherwise. A meek or scholarly Rajamala is a deliberate choice and reads as character development rather than a baseline. Most Rajamala players lean into the warrior identity.
**Coat colouring matters in description.** Traditional orange-and-black, or white, silver, golden, black, spotted, striped: your fur pattern is a visible identity marker that other players notice. A black-furred Rajamala in a moonlit alley reads differently than a white-furred one in a snowy mountain. Use this.
**The corpse-eating ability is a roleplay tool.** Most Rajamala characters do not casually eat corpses in town. But the ability exists, it is canonical, and a Rajamala who does engage with it in private (in the wilderness, after a hunt) is playing into their racial nature in a way that feels authentic.
**Solo travelers, not clan-bound.** Because Rajamala do not form communities of their own (Xhaiden Dale aside), most Rajamala characters arrive in a scene without an obvious racial entourage. This makes them naturally suited for adventuring, mercenary work, or individual political climbing. Your loyalties are personal, not inherited.
If you want to play a character whose look does most of the introduction work, Rajamala is the strongest fit.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Rajamala good for new players in Achaea?**
Rajamala are a solid pick for new players who want a visually distinctive race without sacrificing combat utility. Their dexterity bonus combined with the Feral Spirit dodge chance gives extra survivability for new players still learning combat. Cold resistance is a constant small advantage. The “proud and fierce” cultural framing also gives easy roleplay handles.
**What stats do Rajamala have in Achaea?**
Rajamala start with 12 Strength, 13 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 11 Intelligence. They are dexterity-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Executioner, Striker, Enforcer, or Magiker) to customise your stats. The Magiker specialisation offsets the racial intellect dip for magical classes.
**What are the racial abilities of Rajamala in Achaea?**
Rajamala have one racial trait, Feral Spirit, which provides three abilities: the ability to consume corpses of fallen foes (useful for sustenance in the wild), an additional chance to dodge incoming attacks, and resistance to cold damage. All three apply constantly.
**Where are Rajamala from in Achaea?**
Rajamala originated on a distant planet. Their first appearance in Achaean history is during the great battle on Nishnatoba, where they fought with the Triumvirate under the command of the god Agatheis. On Sapience today, Rajamala do not form communities of their own except for one village in the valley of Xhaiden Dale. Most live among the other races.
**Can a Rajamala play any class in Achaea?**
Any race can play any class in Achaea, and Rajamala are no exception. The feline physique and predator reputation fit easily with warrior or ranger archetypes, but a Rajamala mage or priest is just as playable. The thematic contrast can be part of the character.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Satyrs](/races/satyr/)
Half-goat half-human, male-only, jovial by cultural default. The other animal-featured race that mingles widely. Pick [Satyr](/races/satyr/) if you want beast-kin with a lighter cultural tone.
### [Tash’la](/races/tashla/)
Boar-like humanoids from a distant world reached through the branches of Yggdrasil. Crystalline growths, allied with Elemental Earth. If you like the “beast-kin from elsewhere” framing of Rajamala but want a stranger origin and a more durable build, [Tash’la](/races/tashla/) is the alternative.
### [Trolls](/races/troll/)
Descended from the legendary giant Gruul. Large, slender, electrically resistant. Like Rajamala, Trolls combine fierce reputation with physical prowess, but they read as larger and heavier rather than feline.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Tsol'aa of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/tsolaa)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** The Tsol'aa are Achaea's oldest race, the first beings ever created. Lithe forest-dwellers with the deepest cultural memory.
**Content:**
The Tsol’aa are Achaea’s oldest race, the first beings ever created by Ayar, now known as Sarapis. Lithe, slow to trust the hastiness of humans, and rooted in the deepest cultural memory on Sapience, they are Achaea’s elves in everything but the name. Their ancestral home is the remote Aalen forest.
## Tsol’aa lore and origin
The Tsol’aa are the first race of intelligent beings ever created on Achaea. Their maker was Ayar, who later became known as Sarapis: the same god who shaped much of what mortals now take for granted. This origin gives Tsol’aa a status no other race holds. They are the first.
The majority of Tsol’aa live a peaceful, isolationist existence in the remote Aalen forest. A handful have emerged to interact with the other races, and those Tsol’aa who walk among humanity, dwarves, and the rest carry their cultural roots with them. The lore notes specifically that Tsol’aa “are bewildered by the hastiness of humans” but seek to understand why humanity has come to dominate the lands. There is no hostility in this. The Tsol’aa watch, weigh, and form long opinions.
Cultural memory is the defining feature of the race. As the first race on Achaea, the Tsol’aa have a longer history than any other people on Sapience, and their isolation in the Aalen forest has preserved that history through generations. A Tsol’aa character has more to remember than a [Human](/races/human/) one, and more to anchor a character concept to.
If you want to play a character who feels old, considered, and rooted in deep history, Tsol’aa is the most natural pick on Achaea.
## Tsol’aa appearance
Tsol’aa are lithe beings of approximately the same height as humans. To someone not familiar with both races, they can be difficult to distinguish. Brawny and muscular builds are uncommon due to their lean physique, though unchecked they can become overweight like most other races.
Skin is naturally pale and often tans with sun exposure. Facial features are smooth and elegant, with eyes in a striking range of colours including brown, blue, green, black, grey, and even violet. Hair is usually straight or wavy and worn long. Colour is commonly brown or black, sometimes blond, and rarely red or curly. Facial hair is uncommon but not unheard of. Their ears are similar to rounded human ears, not the pointed ears of fantasy convention.
## Tsol’aa racial abilities
Tsol’aa have one racial trait, a reflection of their long connection to forested places.
**Trait: [Forest Walker](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Allows SWING UP/DOWN in environments with trees.
- Allows a Tsol’aa to HIDE in jungle or forest environments.
The swing ability changes how a Tsol’aa moves through tree-heavy environments: vertical travel becomes available where other races have to find a path. The hide ability in jungle and forest terrain is useful for stealth, ambush, and avoiding hostile encounters.
## Tsol’aa base statistics
The intellect bonus fits characters drawn to scholarly, arcane, or nature-oriented roles.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 11 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
The intellect bonus is the notable stat. The lower constitution means a Tsol’aa is slightly more fragile than average, and there is no compensating stat that offsets it, a straightforward tradeoff for the intelligence edge.
## Tsol’aa specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four Tsol’aa specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | (baseline) |
| Ranger | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Watcher | 12 | 14 | 10 | 13 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Guard | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Sage | 11 | 12 | 11 | 15 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Ranger** leans into physical combat at the cost of arcane study. **Watcher** trades durability for sharper reflexes. **Guard** sacrifices agility for the durability that the Tsol’aa baseline lacks. **Sage** takes intellect to 15: the maximum for any Tsol’aa, and a natural fit for characters built around arcane or scholarly concepts.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Tsol’aa might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Tsol’aa looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Tsolaa MagiA Tsolaa InfernalA Tsolaa JesterA Tsolaa Magi## How to roleplay a Tsol’aa in Achaea
Tsol’aa come with the deepest cultural reservoir of any race on Achaea. A few things worth knowing if you pick Tsol’aa:
**Long memory, slow opinions.** The race is shaped by its position as the first people on Achaea and the long isolation of the Aalen forest. A Tsol’aa character can credibly carry cultural grudges, alliances, or curiosities passed down through the race’s collective history. This is a feature: it gives your character automatic depth, and it gives other characters a way to engage with you that goes beyond the immediate scene.
**Bewildered by humans is canon.** The HELP file directly says Tsol’aa “are bewildered by the hastiness of humans.” This is an in-character disposition, not hostility. A Tsol’aa watching humans move through a scene can comment on it, react to it, or quietly note it. It is one of the few canonical interracial framings the game gives you, and it costs nothing to lean into.
**Aalen forest is the anchor.** Your Tsol’aa character can be from elsewhere, but their connection to the Aalen forest is the cultural touchstone of the race. Family there, training there, exile from there, or simply long visits home are all natural backstory elements.
**Ayar/Sarapis is the founder god.** Devotion to Sarapis (the god who created the Tsol’aa as Ayar) is the most natural religious choice for a Tsol’aa character. Priestly classes feel especially grounded here. Even non-religious Tsol’aa characters typically know the origin myth as part of their cultural inheritance.
If you want to play a character whose default mode is “older than the room,” Tsol’aa is the strongest pick on Achaea.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Tsol’aa good for new players in Achaea?**
Tsol’aa are a strong pick for new players who want rich roleplay material baked into their race. The intelligence lean fits scholarly and nature-oriented character concepts, and the Forest Walker trait gives a useful movement and stealth tool in the right environments. The deep cultural lore gives a new character a lot to work with from day one.
**What stats do Tsol’aa have in Achaea?**
Tsol’aa start with 12 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 11 Constitution, and 13 Intelligence. They are intelligence-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Ranger, Watcher, Guard, or Sage) to customise your stats. The Sage specialisation takes intellect to 15, the maximum for the race.
**What are the racial abilities of Tsol’aa in Achaea?**
Tsol’aa have one racial trait, Forest Walker, which provides two abilities: vertical movement (swing up or down) in tree environments, and the ability to hide in jungle or forest. Both apply only in the appropriate terrain but are mechanically meaningful where they trigger.
**Where are Tsol’aa from in Achaea?**
The Tsol’aa were the first race of intelligent beings ever created on Achaea, made by Ayar (who later became known as the god Sarapis). The majority of Tsol’aa live a peaceful, isolationist existence in the remote Aalen forest. A handful have emerged to live among humans, dwarves, and the other races, and most modern Tsol’aa adventurers are from this minority.
**Can a Tsol’aa play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Tsol’aa are no exception. Their cultural identity, oldest race, forest-rooted, scholarly by disposition, fits naturally with nature-aligned and intellectual character concepts, but nothing prevents a Tsol’aa warrior, rogue, or anything else. Pick the class that fits the character you want to play.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Atavians](/races/atavian/)
Humans gifted with wings by Vastar the Skylord. Like Tsol’aa, they are close to human in form but carry a distinctive cultural identity. If you like the “ancient race with deep cultural ties” angle of Tsol’aa but want flight instead of forest-walking, atavians are the pair.
### [Fayad](/races/fayad/)
Born of fairies and dryads, raised from saplings in the Aerinewild forest. Another forest-dwelling, fey-touched race with intelligence-leaning stats. If you like Tsol’aa for the forest connection but want a younger, magic-blooded race, fayad is the alternative.
### [Humans](/races/human/)
The most adaptable race in Achaea. The cleanest contrast to Tsol’aa: short-lived, fast-moving, dominant, and the opposite cultural pole. Pick human if you want flexibility instead of depth.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Atavians of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/atavian)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Atavians are Achaea's winged race, gifted with flight by Vastar the Skylord. Hover, fly, and call the floating city of Arcadia home.
**Content:**
Atavians are humans gifted with wings, granted long ago by Vastar the Skylord. They can fly. They can hover. Most of them live in Arcadia, a floating city hidden beyond the clouds. If you want to play a character whose first impression on the world is being airborne, atavian is the only choice.
## Atavian lore and origin
The story holds that the first atavians were humans, gifted with wings long ago by Vastar, the Skylord. The exact details have been lost to eons. What survives is preserved only in spoken tales told in the far lands of Azatlan. Regardless of the precise origin, the cultural reality persists: most atavians still hold a traditional devotion to Vastar.
Many atavians live in Arcadia, a floating city hidden beyond the clouds. A second settlement, Genji, sits within the Vashnar Mountains and holds another large concentration of atavians. The race is not isolated. Atavians are found in every city-state and in Houses across the political spectrum. But the floating-city homeland gives atavian characters a distinctive geographical anchor that no other race shares.
What makes atavians interesting to play is the layered identity: they are humans in everything but their wings, yet the wings change everything. Atavian devotion to Vastar runs as a quiet undercurrent through most of the race’s culture, even for characters who are not actively religious. Looking up at the sky and knowing that your race belongs there is part of being atavian.
If you want the closest thing to playing a human while still being visibly extraordinary, atavian is the most accessible pick.
## Atavian appearance
Aside from their wings, atavians are very similar to humans. Wings are typically white, though it is common to see a blue or grey tinge to the feathers. Other hues such as red, gold, and brown are unusual but occur naturally. Wing colour gives players a meaningful customisation point that other races simply do not have.
Skin tends to be pale and tans easily. Dark-skinned atavians are very rare in the lore. Hair and eye colour conform to the typical human spectrum, as does their physique. An atavian can be any human shape, plus wings.
## Atavian racial abilities
Atavians have one racial trait, a direct gift from Vastar.
**Trait: [Winged](/races/#racial-traits)**
- The ability to FLY.
- Can HOVER off the ground.
Flight is mechanically meaningful. An atavian can move through certain environments that ground-locked races cannot, and the hover ability changes positioning and certain combat interactions. These are not bonus stats but a different way of moving through the world.
## Atavian base statistics
Atavians are dexterity-leaning, with a small dip in strength.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 11 |
| Dexterity | 13 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 12 |
Dexterity at 13 is the highest base stat. Strength at 11 is the lowest. The trade is standard for a dexterity-leaning race.
## Atavian specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four atavian specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | (baseline) |
| Exemplar | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Agitator | 11 | 15 | 11 | 12 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Sentry | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Summoner | 10 | 13 | 12 | 14 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Exemplar** pushes physical combat at the cost of magical study. **Agitator** takes dexterity to 15: the maximum agility for atavians. **Sentry** trades agility for durability, suiting more defensive roles. **Summoner** leans into intellect, a fit for characters drawn to magical or devotional paths.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What an Atavian might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what an Atavian looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Atavians PaladinA Atavians SentinelA Atavians Atavian ShamanA Atavians Runewarden## How to roleplay an Atavian in Achaea
Atavians carry the human baseline plus one major distinction. A few things worth knowing if you pick atavian:
**The wings are noticed.** Atavians are common enough that they do not draw stares in cities, but the wings are still the first thing most characters perceive. You can use this. Wing colour, condition, and grooming all become parts of your character’s description that other players notice. An atavian who keeps their feathers immaculate reads differently from one whose wings are sun-bleached and worn.
**Vastar shapes the cultural default.** Most atavians have some relationship to Vastar the Skylord, even if they are not active worshippers. The Vastar connection gives priestly and devotional characters a ready backstory hook. An atavian Priest of Vastar, an atavian Paladin sworn to a divine cause, an atavian Magi who studies the sky: all read as fully formed without further explanation.
**Arcadia and Genji are real places.** Your character can credibly come from either, or from any human city. The floating city of Arcadia is the homeland of the race and gives an atavian backstory an immediate geographical anchor. Genji in the Vashnar Mountains is the other major atavian community and offers a more grounded variant.
**Flight shows up in roleplay, not only in the stat sheet.** When you describe your atavian moving through a scene, the wings matter. A character who flies in the air is doing something most other characters cannot. Use it sparingly and it stays special. Lean on it constantly and the wings become a tic.
If you want the human experience with one striking visual difference and a built-in cultural identity, atavian is the most accessible pick.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Atavians good for new players in Achaea?**
Atavians are an excellent pick for new players. They retain most of the human baseline (familiar form, no exotic mechanics to learn) while adding the flight ability, which is mechanically useful and visually distinctive. Atavians keep the human baseline while adding flight, which is mechanically useful and visually distinctive. The cultural framing around Vastar gives you a ready-made religious touchstone for roleplay.
**What stats do Atavians have in Achaea?**
Atavians start with 11 Strength, 13 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 12 Intelligence. They are dexterity-leaning. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Exemplar, Agitator, Sentry, or Summoner) to further customise your stats.
**What are the racial abilities of Atavians in Achaea?**
Atavians have one racial trait, Winged, which grants two abilities: the ability to fly and the ability to hover off the ground. Flight is unique to atavians among the playable races and changes how they move through certain environments.
**Where are Atavians from in Achaea?**
Atavians are descended from humans who were gifted with wings long ago by Vastar, the Skylord. Their primary homeland is the floating city of Arcadia, hidden beyond the clouds. A second large atavian community lives in Genji, within the Vashnar Mountains. Atavians are common in every city-state on Sapience.
**Can an Atavian play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Atavians are no exception. Their cultural ties to Vastar make devotional characters like Paladins and Priests feel like natural fits, and their agility reads well in nimble-combat roles. Any race can play any class in Achaea, though, and Atavians are no exception.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Humans](/races/human/)
The most adaptable race in Achaea. The atavian baseline minus the wings. Pick human if you want maximum flexibility and no distinctive racial mechanics.
### [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/)
The first race ever created. Lithe, intelligence-leaning, with deep cultural memory. If you like the “human-similar but distinctive” angle of atavian, tsol’aa offers a different cultural texture (ancient lineage instead of divine gift).
### [Sirens](/races/siren/)
Female-only humanoids with otherworldly beauty and seduction magic. Another race that is close to human in form but carries one major distinguishing feature.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Mhun of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/mhun)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Mhun are Achaea's underground race, distant cousins of humanity from Moghedu. Wiry, sharp-eyed, and at home in the dark.
**Content:**
The mhun are Achaea’s underground race, distant cousins of humanity who carved their lives out of the deep places south-west of the Mhojave desert. Clever and agile, they are the ones who survived. They see in the dark, move faster than most, and never quite forgot the glory they once held.
## Mhun lore and origin
The mhun are distant cousins of humanity, descended along a separate branch and shaped by a different environment. Their ancestral home, Moghedu, lies south-west of the great Mhojave desert. Life underground in a harsh environment forced the mhun to become survivors. The race carries this through into modern Achaea: wily, clever, and resilient even when not particularly respected by other races.
There is also something the lore notes specifically: it is said by some that the mhun as a race seek to enter back into the glory in which they once resided. The mhun were not always the underground race. Their history holds a fall, and many mhun carry that knowledge as part of their identity. A character with this in mind plays differently than one who treats their race as simple background.
Mhun rarely hold leadership positions in cities or Houses. The reason given in the lore is that their first loyalty is generally to their race rather than to their political affiliations. This does not make them outsiders. Mhun are common in every city. It does mean that a mhun character has a built-in tension between civic duty and racial loyalty that can be a useful roleplay engine.
If you want a race with an unfinished story and a grudge to settle, mhun fits.
## Mhun appearance
Mhun are roughly human-sized but a bit weaker and more agile. Most have lithe, wiry, or skinny frames, though heavily muscled mhun do exist. They are seldom overweight. Skin is naturally pale or wan but tans easily. Features tend to be sharp and angular.
Those of pure Moghedu ancestry have slanted, opaque eyes and wide, thin-lipped mouths, but these features are not definitive. Some mhun are nearly indistinguishable from their human cousins. Hair and eye colour are overwhelmingly black or dark brown; light or red hair and pale eyes are very uncommon.
## Mhun racial abilities
Mhun have one racial trait, shaped by countless generations of underground life.
**Trait: [Mine Dweller](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Can see in low light conditions.
- Have extra movement.
Low-light vision is more useful than it sounds. Sections of Achaea (caves, mines, certain dungeons) are darker than the surface world, and a mhun can move and act there without the penalties other races face. The extra movement is a flat advantage everywhere: more efficient exploration, faster repositioning in combat, less time spent travelling.
## Mhun base statistics
Mhun are dexterity-leaning, trading constitution for agility.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 13 |
| Constitution | 11 |
| Intelligence | 12 |
Mhun lean toward dexterity and away from constitution. That makes positioning matter a bit more than it does for hardier races, but it does not close any class off. Pick the class that fits the character you want to play.
## Mhun specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four mhun specialisations.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | (baseline) |
| Keeper | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Scout | 12 | 15 | 10 | 12 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Bodyguard | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Conjurer | 11 | 13 | 11 | 14 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Keeper** leans into physical combat at the cost of magical study. **Scout** doubles down on dexterity, taking it to 15: the maximum agility available to mhun. **Bodyguard** sacrifices speed for durability, useful for protective melee roles. **Conjurer** pushes intellect, well-suited for magical and scholarly classes.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Mhun might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Mhun looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Mhun SerpentA Mhun MonkA Mhun Pariah## How to roleplay a Mhun in Achaea
Mhun carry a particular weight that humans do not: a history of glory lost. Their lore explicitly notes that loyalty runs to the race before a city or House. You can play against that, but other players who know the lore will read it into your character whether you intend it or not. A mhun fully devoted to an adopted city is a deliberate choice, and people notice.
Moghedu is named and located. Your character either grew up there, has family there, or has a reason to know about it. Even mhun who have never visited have opinions. It is a constant reference point for backstory and roleplay.
The lore frames mhun as wily, clever survivors. That reads for any class where patience and intelligence are assets. A mhun mage playing the long game writes naturally. So does a mhun Serpent or Jester. And mhun command less default respect than other races. That is a roleplay hook, not a penalty. Use the underestimation.
If you want a race with built-in tension and an unfinished story, mhun gives you both.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Mhun good for new players in Achaea?**
Mhun are a solid pick for new players who want a race that is close to human in shape but with a real edge. Their extra movement makes exploration faster, and their low-light vision is useful in cave and dungeon environments. The lower constitution means a mhun takes more damage than a human or dwarf, so positioning matters more. The extra dexterity is there regardless of class.
**What stats do Mhun have in Achaea?**
Mhun start with 12 Strength, 13 Dexterity, 11 Constitution, and 12 Intelligence. They are dexterity-leaning, trading a point of constitution for a point of agility. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Keeper, Scout, Bodyguard, or Conjurer) to customise your stats further.
**What are the racial abilities of Mhun in Achaea?**
Mhun have one racial trait, Mine Dweller, which grants two passive abilities: low-light vision (move and act in dark environments without penalty) and extra movement (faster travel and repositioning). Both apply constantly.
**Where are Mhun from in Achaea?**
The ancestral home of the mhun is Moghedu, an underground city south-west of the great Mhojave desert. The mhun are distant cousins of humanity, descended along a separate branch and shaped by life underground. Their lore frames them as a race that once held greater glory and is working its way back toward it.
**Can a Mhun play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race in Achaea can play any class, and Mhun are no exception. Their dexterity lean makes them especially natural as rogue-archetype classes (Serpent, Jester, Depthswalker), but they play well in any role. Race never locks you out of a class.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Humans](/races/human/)
The most adaptable race in Achaea. Balanced across all four stats. The cleanest baseline if you want the human form without the racial backstory weight that comes with mhun.
### [Dwarves](/races/dwarf/)
Created by Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus. Stocky, hardy, and resistant to four damage types. The other “lives in the highlands and underground” race, but built for durability instead of speed.
### [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/)
The first race ever created. Lithe, intelligence-leaning, with deep cultural memory. If you like the “race with a long history” angle of mhun but want the established-elder flavour instead of the fallen-survivor flavour, tsol’aa is the alternative.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Dwarves of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/dwarf)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Dwarves are Achaea's hardiest race, resistant to magic, fire, cold, and poison. The stoutest mortals of Sapience.
**Content:**
Dwarves carry more damage resistances than any other race in Achaea: magic, fire, cold, and poison all at once. Stocky, stubborn, and famously loyal, they prefer the solitude of the highlands but show up disproportionately often in leadership. The saying captures it: dependable as a dwarf.
## Dwarf lore and origin
The dwarves were created by Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus in return for Phaestus’s eternal loyalty. They are a divinely made race rather than a descended or hybrid one, and that origin shows in their constitution. Dwarves endure where other races break.
Clans of dwarves are spread across the highlands of Sapience. The central Siroccian Mountains, Inbhir Ness in the far north, and the Vasnari Mountains of the continent of Meropis all hold significant dwarven populations. Despite the highland preference, dwarves are not isolated. They are often found in leadership positions across cities and Houses. The cultural reputation for reliability is so durable that the maxim “dependable as a dwarf” is something every adventurer hears within their first week of play.
Dwarves balance their toughness with a thoughtful, practical disposition. They are not flashy. They are not interested in being the centre of attention. What they are interested in is the work in front of them, the people they have committed to, and the long timeline that comes with their endurance. A dwarven character does not arrive on a scene shouting. They arrive doing something useful and leaving the explanation for later.
If you want a character whose default mode is competence and quiet endurance, dwarves are the clearest fit on Achaea.
## Dwarf appearance
Dwarves are unmistakably stocky. Muscular builds that retain their strength deep into old age. Skinny dwarves are rare. Most stand around four feet tall, though giant dwarves who reach human height do exist. Skin is naturally pale or ruddy, with tanned and dark skin not unheard of. Facial features are rounded, often with button or bulbous noses.
Beards are prevalent among male dwarves, and a long thick beard is considered a mark of pride. Many female dwarves can grow beards as well, though many of them remove their facial hair. Red and dark hair are very common, and blond is not unusual. Hair tends to be thick and curly. Eye colour is typically dark (brown or black), with blue, green, or grey eyes also common.
## Dwarf racial abilities
Dwarves have one racial trait, Earthborn.
**Trait: [Earthborn](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Resistant to MAGIC damage.
- Resistant to FIRE damage.
- Resistant to COLD damage.
- Resistant to POISON damage.
Four resistances stacked into a single race. Dwarves take less damage from spell attacks, flame, frost, and venom. Four resistances in a single trait. They are always on.
## Dwarf base statistics
Dwarves are constitution-leaning. Their starting block tilts toward toughness at the expense of dexterity.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 11 |
| Constitution | 13 |
| Intelligence | 12 |
Earthborn means those resistances are always on, regardless of class. They are part of what a dwarf is, not something you equip.
## Dwarf specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can pick one of four dwarven specialisations. Each shifts your stats by +2 in one and -1 in another. Specialisations are permanent unless changed by reincarnation.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | (baseline) |
| Brawler | 14 | 11 | 13 | 11 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Crafter | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Miner | 12 | 10 | 15 | 12 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Foreman | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Brawler** suits a character built around physical presence and direct confrontation. **Crafter** trades durability for precision. **Miner** leans into everything that makes a dwarf hard to put down. **Foreman** fits a character whose strength is reading a situation and organising a response.
In-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST` to view, `RACE SPECIALISE AS ` to commit.
## What a Dwarf might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Dwarf looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Dwarves RunewardenA Dwarves MagiA Dwarves PriestA Dwarves Sentinel## How to roleplay a Dwarf in Achaea
Dwarves come with a built-in personality scaffold, which can be a feature or a constraint depending on what you want. A few useful things to know if you pick dwarf:
**Reliability is the brand.** “Dependable as a dwarf” is in-character cultural common knowledge. Other players will quietly assume a dwarven character is reliable until you give them reason to think otherwise. This makes dwarves easy to write in cooperative groups and gives you something to either lean into or play against.
**Highland origins, lowland presence.** Most dwarves come from the Siroccian, northern, or Vasnari mountains, but many leave for cities. You can credibly come from any of the established highland regions and have ended up in any city-state on Sapience. The migration story writes itself.
**Phaestus and Proteus matter.** Devotion to either god, or both, is the most natural religious choice for a dwarven character. Many dwarven characters who do not actively worship still treat the founding myth as part of their identity. This makes priestly and devotional class choices feel especially well-grounded for a dwarf.
**Beards mean something.** For male dwarves and many female dwarves, beard length and care signal age, accomplishment, and personal pride. Even a few words about a dwarven character’s beard in your description can communicate a lot.
If you want to play a character whose default mode is competence and quiet endurance, dwarf is the cleanest pick.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Dwarves good for new players in Achaea?**
Yes. Their stats lean toward constitution, and the four damage resistances mean a new dwarven character takes less damage from most threats while you are still learning the game. If you want a forgiving starting point, dwarves are a solid choice.
**What stats do Dwarves have in Achaea?**
Dwarves start with 12 Strength, 11 Dexterity, 13 Constitution, and 12 Intelligence. They are constitution-leaning, trading a point of dexterity for a point of toughness. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick a specialisation (Brawler, Crafter, Miner, or Foreman) to further customise your stats.
**What are the racial abilities of Dwarves in Achaea?**
Dwarves have one racial trait, Earthborn, which provides resistance to four damage types: magic, fire, cold, and poison. This is the widest set of resistances available to any race in Achaea. The resistances apply constantly and benefit every class.
**Where are Dwarves from in Achaea?**
Dwarves were created by the god Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus. Modern dwarven clans live in the central Siroccian Mountains, in Inbhir Ness in the far north, and in the Vasnari Mountains of Meropis. Despite their highland origins, dwarves are common in every city-state and are often found in leadership positions.
**Can a Dwarf play any class in Achaea?**
Any race in Achaea can play any class. Dwarves bring their damage resistances and constitution lean to every class they join. A dwarven Magi is no less capable than any other; a dwarven Runewarden simply reads as a natural fit for the culture.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Humans](/races/human/)
The most adaptable race in Achaea. Balanced across all four stats with no special tricks beyond a critical-hit bonus. A solid pick if you want the cleanest starting point.
### [Mhun](/races/mhun/)
Distant cousins of humanity from the underground city of Moghedu. Wiry, sharp-eyed, and at home in low-light environments. If you like the highland-and-deep-places framing of dwarves but want a more agile build, mhun are a good alternative.
### [Trolls](/races/troll/)
Descended from the legendary giant Gruul. Large, slender, electrically resistant, and physically formidable. If you want the durability angle of dwarves at a much larger scale, trolls are the other end of the hardy-race spectrum.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The Humans of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races/human)
**Published:** May 21, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Excerpt:** Humans are the most adaptable race in Achaea, balanced across all four stats with critical hit and healing bonuses. The default starting choice.
**Content:**
Humans are Achaea’s baseline and Achaea’s majority. Tenacious, adaptable, and balanced across every stat, they fit into any class, any city, and any role. If you want to learn the game without first learning the quirks of an exotic race, this is where most players start.
## Human lore and origin
The history of mortalkind on Achaea is dominated by humanity. According to lore, the first humans were the offspring of Maya, an early divine figure, and a being of Chaos. Their birth alone sparked a war that set the Gods themselves against each other. Humanity survived that founding war and went on to become the most populous and politically influential race on the continent.
What makes humans distinctive in Achaea is not any single trait but a combination: they hold chaos and order inside themselves at the same time. The lore frames this as the reason for their dominance. They adapt. They endure. They are at home in any city, any climate, and any role.
In modern Sapience, humans turn up everywhere on Sapience: every city-state, every House, every faction of consequence. There is no human homeland to explain away and no typical human background to conform to.
This is also the race that scales most easily across playstyles. A human can be a noble, a commoner, a scholar, a soldier, a criminal, a priest. Their lore does not lock them into any one path.
## Human appearance
There is no single human look in Achaea. Skin tone, hair, eye colour, and build all vary across the full spectrum found in the real world. Humans on average stand around five and a half feet, give or take, with builds ranging from slight to muscular. They have no unusual features: no wings, no scales, no horns, no exoskeletons. What you imagine when you picture a fantasy adventurer, that is a human.
## Human racial abilities
Humans have one racial trait, granted by their inherent adaptability.
**Trait: [Child of Ceylon](/races/#racial-traits)**
- Higher chance for critical hits in combat.
- Chance of increased health sip gain when drinking health elixirs.
Both effects are modest and always on. They help in any fight, whether you are landing hits or burning through elixirs.
## Human base statistics
Humans are the only race in Achaea with every statistic at the baseline of 12. They have no natural lean toward any class archetype, which means they also have no natural weakness.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Constitution | 12 |
| Intelligence | 12 |
A balanced 12 across the board lets a human take any class and start from a neutral position. Specialisation at level 10 can shift these toward any role.
## Human specialisations
At level 10, after you have joined a class, you can select a racial specialisation. Each shifts your stat distribution by +2 in one stat and -1 in another, customising your build toward a role. Specialisations are permanent unless changed by reincarnation.
| Specialisation | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Stat shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unspecialised | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | (baseline) |
| Man-at-arms | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | +2 Str / -1 Int |
| Rogue | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | +2 Dex / -1 Con |
| Champion | 12 | 11 | 14 | 12 | +2 Con / -1 Dex |
| Savant | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | +2 Int / -1 Str |
**Man-at-arms** leans you toward physical combat at the cost of arcane study. **Rogue** sharpens reflexes and dodge, suitable for quicker classes. **Champion** trades agility for hardiness, building toward tank or melee endurance roles. **Savant** pushes you toward magical and intellectual classes.
To view or commit a specialisation in-game: `RACE SPECIALISATION LIST`, then `RACE SPECIALISE AS `.
## What a Human might look like
Class is what shapes a character’s silhouette. The art below shows what a Human looks like in a few of the 21 classes available. These are illustrative examples, not recommendations. Any race can play any class in Achaea.
A Humans PaladinA Humans MonkA Humans PriestA Humans Magi## How to roleplay a Human in Achaea
Humans are the default. That sounds dull on the page but it is what makes them the most flexible race to roleplay. Your character can come from anywhere on Sapience, claim almost any background, and not have to negotiate their existence with the rest of the world the way more distinctive races sometimes do.
A few things worth knowing if you choose human:
**You will rarely be noticed for your race.** A human walking into a city or a tavern is one of dozens. Other players will engage with your character based on who they are, what they wear, what they say, and what House or city they belong to. Your race itself will mostly fall into the background. This can feel limiting if you wanted race-driven roleplay, or freeing if you wanted to be defined by your choices instead.
**You can roleplay any temperament.** The lore frames humans as combining chaos and order. In practice this means there is no expected human personality. A pious priest, a cynical mercenary, a wide-eyed scholar, a calculating noble: all read as completely valid human characters with no further explanation needed.
**You can claim any geographic origin.** Every human city has a human majority. You can credibly have grown up in [Ashtan](/city-states/ashtan/), [Cyrene](/city-states/cyrene/), [Hashan](/city-states/hashan/), [Mhaldor](/city-states/mhaldor/), [Eleusis](/city-states/eleusis/), [Targossas](/city-states/targossas/), or any village or wilderness in between. Most other races have specific homelands they need to explain away if their character grew up elsewhere.
If you want to be defined by your choices rather than your bloodline, human is the most honest pick. If you want to play with race as a part of your identity, lean toward a more distinctive race.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Are Humans the best race for new players in Achaea?**
There is no single best race in Achaea, but Humans are the most forgiving choice for a first character. Their balanced stats (12/12/12/12) mean no class will play awkwardly, and their lack of unusual racial mechanics lets you focus on learning the game instead of learning your race. If you want to settle in quickly and decide on a more distinctive race later, Human is the cleanest starting point. Reincarnation is free for your first race change.
**What stats do Humans have in Achaea?**
Humans start with 12 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 12 Constitution, and 12 Intelligence: the only race in Achaea with every stat at the baseline. They are the most balanced race mechanically. At level 10, after joining a class, you can pick one of four racial specialisations (Man-at-arms, Rogue, Champion, or Savant) to shift +2 in one stat and -1 in another, customising your build toward a role.
**What are the racial abilities of Humans in Achaea?**
Humans have one racial trait, Child of Ceylon, which grants two passive bonuses: a higher chance for critical hits in combat, and a chance of increased health sip gain when drinking health elixirs. Both effects are modest but apply constantly, favouring Humans in dealing damage and recovering from it.
**Where are Humans from in Achaea?**
Lore traces the first Humans to the union of Maya, an early divine figure, and a being of Chaos. The birth of humanity sparked a war between the Gods. Modern Humans live across all of Sapience and are present in every city-state (Ashtan, Cyrene, Hashan, Mhaldor, Eleusis, Targossas). The lore describes humanity as dominant in the lands.
**Can a Human play any class in Achaea?**
Yes. Any race can play any class in Achaea, and Humans are no exception. The 21 available classes (Paladin, Serpent, Monk, Magi, Druid, and all the rest) are all open to a Human character. Race never locks you out of a class.
## Other races to consider
Three races worth a look if you are still deciding:
### [Mhun](/races/mhun/)
Distant cousins of humanity from the underground city of Moghedu. Close to humans in size and form, with sharper reflexes and low-light vision. A solid pick if you want something close to human with a small twist.
### [Atavians](/races/atavian/)
Winged humans gifted by Vastar the Skylord. Visually distinctive without straying too far from the human baseline. Choose [Atavian](/races/atavian/) if you want the human experience plus the ability to fly.
### [Dwarves](/races/dwarf/)
Created by Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus. Stocky, tough, and resistant to magic, fire, cold, and poison. The hardiest race on Achaea, well-suited to anyone who prefers durability over flair.
[← Back to all 14 races](/races/)
---
### [The 14 Races of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/races)
**Published:** December 1, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
Achaea has 14 playable races. Some are familiar: humans, dwarves, elves (called Tsol’aa here). Others step further out: winged Atavians who hover and fly, amphibious Grooks born of the swamps, fire-breathing Xoran from a world beyond this one, insectoid Horkval who shrug off blows that would split a human in half.
Your race is the first real decision you make about your character. It shapes your base statistics, gives you a handful of unique abilities, and locks in a visual identity that follows you for the rest of your play. It is not a small choice. It is also not a final one. Reincarnation is available, and the first one is free.
What follows is a guide to all 14 races: who they are, where they come from, and what makes each one different. If you already know the race you want, jump to its page. If you do not, read on.
## Why your race choice matters (and where it doesn’t)
In Achaea, race shapes flavour and gives you a small mechanical edge. It does not lock you into a class. Any race can play any class. This is by design. A Horkval Magi is as valid as a Tsol’aa Magi or a Xoran Magi, even if each one will roleplay and look very different doing it.
What race actually changes:
- **Base stats.** Each race has different starting values for strength, intelligence, constitution, and dexterity. The differences are real but modest.
- **Racial abilities.** A handful of unique abilities per race. Atavians can fly. Grooks breathe underwater. Xoran exhale fire. Horkval can leap.
- **Racial specialisations.** At level 10, you pick a specialisation that nudges your stats further toward a role. Four options per race.
- **Damage resistances.** Some races take less damage from certain types: Trolls shrug off electricity, Xoran ignore most fire.
- **Roleplay.** This is the bigger one. Race is part of your identity. Other characters will react to it. Some races carry centuries of cultural baggage and your character lives inside it.
What race does not change: which class you can pick, which city you can join, which Houses accept you, or your long-term ceiling as a player. The class you choose and the time you put in will matter more than your starting race by a wide margin.
## The 14 races of Sapience
The 14 races group into five rough categories. Use this to scan. Click any race name to read its full page.
## Achaea race stats and traits at a glance
Every Achaea race starts with the same total base stats (48 across Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence), but the distribution and racial traits differ. Class progression then layers on top of these. The table below summarises all 14, sortable by your eye.
| Race | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Racial trait | Key resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Human](/races/human/) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | **Child of Ceylon** | None |
| [Dwarf](/races/dwarf/) | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | **Earthborn** | Magic, fire, cold, poison |
| [Mhun](/races/mhun/) | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | **Mine Dweller** | None |
| [Atavian](/races/atavian/) | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | **Winged** | None |
| [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/) | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | **Forest Walker** | None |
| [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/) | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | **Feral Spirit** | Cold |
| [Satyr](/races/satyr/) | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | **Merrymaker** | None |
| [Tash’la](/races/tashla/) | 12 | 11 | 14 | 11 | **Terran Will** | None |
| [Horkval](/races/horkval/) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | **One of the Great Phalanx** | Cutting, blunt (strongest) |
| [Xoran](/races/xoran/) | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | **Firekin** | Fire |
| [Grook](/races/grook/) | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | **Echo of the Sung Isles** | None |
| [Fayad](/races/fayad/) | 10 | 13 | 12 | 13 | **Dualblooded Heritage** | None |
| [Siren](/races/siren/) | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | **Vixen** | Poison |
| [Troll](/races/troll/) | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | **Descendant of Arn** | Electrical |
All 14 playable races. Base stats sum to 48 for every race; the variance is in distribution and traits.### Race origins at a glance
- **Human:** Descended from Maya, an early divine figure, and a being of Chaos. The dominant race of Sapience.
- **Dwarf:** Created by Phaestus the Forgegod and given a soul by Proteus.
- **Mhun:** Distant cousins of humanity, shaped over generations of life in the underground city of Moghedu.
- **Atavian:** Once human, gifted wings long ago by Vastar the Skylord. Their floating home is Arcadia.
- **Tsol’aa:** Shaped by Ayar (later Sarapis), among the oldest mortal races in the Achaean cycle.
- **Rajamala:** Arrived from a distant world; their first major appearance in Achaean history was fighting under the god Agatheis.
- **Satyr:** Origin uncertain; present in the wilds of Sapience for as long as memory holds.
- **Tash’la:** Arrived in Sapience in 759 AF along the branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree.
- **Horkval:** An insectoid race whose ancestral home lies off Sapience. Their largest colony, Kr’kach, sits on Bandar Selam.
- **Xoran:** Lizardfolk from the distant world of Krenindala. A subspecies of the older ormyrr.
- **Grook:** Born from magic in Himalia’s fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity, on the continent of Bandar Selat.
- **Fayad:** Achaea’s youngest race, born of King Oberion and the Dryad Queen Titania in 898 AF.
- **Siren:** Humanoids of enchantment-touched bloodlines whose otherworldly beauty became their inheritance.
- **Troll:** Descended from the giant Gruul and a human woman. Their racial home is the swamps south of the Savannah.
### The mortal races
The familiar humanoids of Sapience: two-legged, recognisable, and close to the human baseline. The most natural starting point for a new player who wants to focus on learning the game rather than learning their race.
[](/races/human/)[**Human**](/races/human/)
[](/races/dwarf/)[**Dwarf**](/races/dwarf/)
[](/races/mhun/)[**Mhun**](/races/mhun/)
#### [Humans](/races/human/)
The most adaptable of the races. No special tricks, just a higher critical strike chance and a slight bonus from health elixirs. The default lens through which Sapience is seen.
#### [Dwarves](/races/dwarf/)
Created by Phaestus and given a soul by Proteus. Stout, stubborn, and tough. Resistant to magic, fire, cold, and poison. The hardiest of the standard races.
#### [Mhun](/races/mhun/)
Subterranean cousins of humanity from the ancestral home of Moghedu. They see clearly in low light and move faster than most. Wily, clever, and built for the deep places.
### Winged and ancient
Two races that read close to human at first glance, but each carries something the others do not: wings, or a much older history.
[](/races/atavian/)[**Atavian**](/races/atavian/)
[](/races/tsolaa/)[**Tsolaa**](/races/tsolaa/)
#### [Atavians](/races/atavian/)
Winged humans, gifted long ago by Vastar the Skylord. They can fly and hover. The flight ability alone changes how an Atavian moves through the world.
#### [Tsol’aa](/races/tsolaa/)
The first race created by Ayar, now known as Sarapis. Lithe, ancient-blooded, and slow to trust the hastiness of humans. They swing between branches and hide in jungles and forests. Deep cultural roots, long memories.
### Beast-kin
Visibly part-animal. Three races whose forms borrow from tigers, goats, and boars.
[](/races/rajamala/)[**Rajamala**](/races/rajamala/)
[](/races/satyr/)[**Satyr**](/races/satyr/)
[](/races/tashla/)[**Tashla**](/races/tashla/)
#### [Rajamala](/races/rajamala/)
Tiger-folk from a distant planet, proud and fierce. They can consume the corpses of fallen foes, dodge more attacks, and resist cold damage. Among the most visually striking races.
#### [Satyrs](/races/satyr/)
Jovial, male-only, half-goat half-human. They regenerate endurance faster than most and can Headstomp an opponent. Often play closer to the lighter end of the roleplay spectrum, but not always.
#### [Tash’la](/races/tashla/)
Boar-like humanoids with crystalline growths along their bodies, arrived in Achaea from a distant world reached through the branches of Yggdrasil. Allied with Elemental Earth. They can Hunch into a defensive stance and squeeze extra duration out of rare minerals.
### Carapace, scale, and skin
Three races whose forms step the furthest from the mammalian humanoid baseline. Carapace, scales, and amphibian skin instead of fur and pale flesh.
[](/races/horkval/)[**Horkval**](/races/horkval/)
[](/races/xoran/)[**Xoran**](/races/xoran/)
[](/races/grook/)[**Grook**](/races/grook/)
#### [Horkval](/races/horkval/)
Powerful insect-like humanoids, definitely not from Sapience, possibly not from this world at all. Highly resistant to cutting and blunt damage but unable to wear armour. They can leap. Polarising in roleplay, since many other races find them unsettling.
#### [Xoran](/races/xoran/)
Humanoid lizards from the distant world of Krenindala. They resist fire damage and can breathe fire of their own. A subspecies of ormyrr and lore-framed as the second generation of humanity.
#### [Grook](/races/grook/)
Highly intelligent amphibian humanoids, born from the magic of a fragment of the Sceptre of Divinity in the jungles of Bandar Selat. They breathe underwater, regenerate health in aquatic environments, and use less mana when other grooks are nearby.
### The mythborn
Three races whose origins read like legend: born of fae royalty, descended from a giant, or shaped by enchantment itself.
[](/races/fayad/)[**Fayad**](/races/fayad/)
[](/races/siren/)[**Siren**](/races/siren/)
[](/races/troll/)[**Troll**](/races/troll/)
#### [Fayad](/races/fayad/)
Born of King Oberion and the Dryad Queen Titania, the first fayad were conceived in 898 AF and grew from saplings in the hidden Aerinewild forest. Mana elixirs have a small chance to heal more, and certain herbs convert wasted health to mana. The youngest race on Achaea.
#### [Sirens](/races/siren/)
Female-only, with otherworldly beauty and a unique brand of magic known as seduction. They resist poison and can Seduce or Beguile other characters. Best known for their enchantment magic.
#### [Trolls](/races/troll/)
Descended from the legendary giant Gruul and a human woman. Large, slender, and physically formidable, reaching seven feet tall or more. They resist electrical damage and have a chance to stun enemies with blunt attacks. Often the generals of armies.
### Pick a race. Step into Sapience.
Fourteen playable races, from baseline humans to seven-foot trolls and amphibious Grook. Play free in your browser. No download, no install, no credit card.
[Play Achaea Free](https://play.achaea.com/)
[How to choose your race](#how-to-choose-your-race)
## How to choose your race
The honest answer: pick the one you find coolest.
Race matters less than people new to the game tend to think. The 14 races are designed so that class skill, knowledge of the combat system, and time invested in your character matter far more than your starting stats. No race locks you out of high-level play. None is objectively the best, and no race-class combination is forbidden.
A few practical notes that may help:
- **You can reincarnate.** The first reincarnation is free. You can change your race once at no cost, then again as many times as you want via a Dagger of Reincarnation purchased with credits. So your first pick is not your last pick.
- **Think roleplay first, stats second.** Cities and Houses on Achaea are multi-racial, so your race will not gate your political life. Individual characters, on the other hand, often have their own reasons to react to your race in roleplay. A Tsol’aa might recall old grievances, a Mhun might assume kinship with another underground dweller, an old soldier might mistrust a Horkval. If that kind of texture interests you, pick a more distinctive race and lean in. If not, pick something closer to the human baseline.
- **Specialisation comes at level 10.** Your starting stats are not your forever stats. At level 10, once you have joined a class, you pick a racial specialisation that shifts your stat distribution toward a role. Read the spoke pages for the specialisations available to each race.
- **The locked races.** Sirens are female-only. Satyrs are male-only. Everything else is open to any character. If gender lock is a deal-breaker for you, pick around it.
If you cannot decide, the safe defaults are Human (least friction, most familiar) or Tsol’aa (deep lore, plays well in any role). Both let you focus on learning the game rather than learning your race’s quirks.
Race is your first decision. Class is your second, and class shapes how you actually play far more than race does. Browse the [21 Achaea classes](/classes/) once you’ve picked your race.
## Beyond the 14: Greater Dragons
The 14 races above are what you pick at character creation. There is a 15th form in Achaea, but you don’t choose it: you earn it. At level 99, the mighty Sycaerunax visits and offers you the path to [become a Greater Dragon](/races/dragon/), an endgame transformation with its own skill set, six colour variants, and stats that sit well above any starting race.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Can I change my race later?**
Yes. You can reincarnate once for free, at any time. After that, additional reincarnations require a Dagger of Reincarnation, which can be bought with credits or earned through gameplay. Your first race is not a permanent commitment.
**Does my race determine what class I can play?**
No. Any race can play any class in Achaea. A Horkval Priest, a Siren Blademaster, a Xoran Bard: all valid. This is by design. The 14 races are balanced so race never locks you out of a class.
**What’s the best race for new players?**
There isn’t one. The races are balanced enough that no choice is wrong. If you want the least friction, pick a Human (no exotic mechanics to learn) or a Tsol’aa (deep lore, plays well in any role). Then focus on learning your class and the combat system, which will matter far more than your race.
**Why are some races gender-locked?**
Two races are gender-locked: Sirens are female-only and Satyrs are male-only. Both are hard rules at character creation. The in-game help files do not give a specific in-world explanation; the gender lock is simply part of how each race is defined. Everything else is open to any character.
**Do races affect roleplay?**
Yes, quite a bit, but not at the city level. Cities and Houses are multi-racial and welcome any character. Where race matters most is in roleplay between individual characters, where another player’s history and views may shape how they greet you. Some races also carry centuries of cultural weight in the world’s lore: Tsol’aa have ancient grievances and old wisdom, Horkval are sometimes viewed with suspicion in personal roleplay, Xoran are visibly distinct wherever they go. If race-driven roleplay interests you, lean into a more distinctive race. If you want a clean slate, Humans give you the most flexibility.
**How much do racial stats actually matter?**
Less than you might think. Stat differences between races are real but modest, and at level 10 you pick a specialisation that adjusts your stats further. Far more important: which class you pick, how well you learn its skills, and how much time you put into combat and roleplay. Two players with identical races and identical classes can end up wildly different based purely on who put more time in.
**What is the best race for a new Achaea player?**
Humans are the most forgiving choice. Every base stat sits at 12, so no class punishes you for the pick. Dwarves are a strong second if you want a defensive cushion early. The Earthborn trait gives resistance to magic, fire, cold, and poison from level 1, which makes early bashing more forgiving.
**Which Achaea races are gender-locked?**
Two of the 14 are gender-locked at character creation. Sirens are female-only and Satyrs are male-only. The other 12 races have no gender restriction.
**Which Achaea race has the best resistances?**
Dwarves have the broadest coverage. The Earthborn trait gives resistance to four damage types: magic, fire, cold, and poison. Horkval have the deepest single-type protection: their One of the Great Phalanx trait gives the strongest cutting and blunt resistance in the game.
**What is the strongest race in Achaea?**
Every race sums to the same base stat total (48 across Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence), so no race is mechanically dominant. Trolls, Satyrs, and Xoran tie for the highest Strength at 13. Tash’la have the highest Constitution at 14, the single highest stat in the table. Fayad have the lowest Strength at 10, balanced by 13 Dexterity and 13 Intelligence.
**Where do Atavians come from in Achaea lore?**
The first Atavians were humans, gifted with wings long ago by Vastar the Skylord. Their original home is Arcadia, a floating city. A secondary settlement, Genji, sits in the Vashnar Mountains. Atavians can fly and hover, the only starting race in Achaea with full flight.
---
### [Achaea Quests: How to Find and Solve Them](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/quests)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
A quest in Achaea is a task in the world that pays off when you finish it. Achaea quests run from quick errands to layered puzzles, and nearly all of them involve denizens: the game’s NPCs, the people and creatures who live in Sapience. Some take five minutes. Others have steps and puzzles that run for days or weeks.
You won’t pick Achaea quests off a menu. Instead, you find them by exploring, paying attention, and talking to the denizens you meet. Walk into the right room, greet the right person, notice the thing everyone else walked past, and you’ve started something. Read on for how questing works, where to look, and what you earn.
## What Achaea quests are
A quest is any task in the world that rewards you for finishing it. The simplest ones are errands. For example, you might locate an item and deliver it, help a denizen with a problem, or fetch something that’s gone missing. The hardest ones are layered, with multiple steps and puzzles you work out in order, sometimes with no obvious sign a quest is there at all.
Because there are so many, you’ll never run out. They sit in cities, in the wilds, on the islands, and on the other planes. Some you’ll trip over in your first hour. Others you might walk past for years before you realise they were there. If you’re brand new, the [beginner’s guide to Achaea](/newbie-guide/) walks you through your first steps before you go quest-hunting.
## How to find and start a quest in Achaea
### Greet denizens and ask
The most basic quests, like the ones in adventurer cities and newbie areas, are easy to find. So greet the denizens you meet, or just ask out loud, something like “have any quests for me?” Often you’ll be offered one on the spot.
### Accept the quest and check your quest log
When you accept, by answering in the affirmative, whether a spoken word or an emote, the quest is added to your quest log so you can keep track of it. From there you do what you were asked, and then you collect your reward.
If part of a quest means handing an item to a denizen, you simply give it to them, and the denizen responds however it sees fit. Usually that’s the result you wanted. Sometimes the denizen is just having a grouchy day.
## Harder Achaea quests and reading for clues
As your character grows, Achaea quests get harder to even discover. They stop announcing themselves. So you’ll need to look for clues in what denizens say, and sometimes hold a real conversation with one before they’ll trust you with anything. Many denizens have several things to say, so greeting the same one a few times can pay off.
Other clues live in the world’s writing. Read everything: the description of each room you enter, the descriptions of the denizens you meet, and any journals, books, or letters you can pick up and READ. The answer to a hard quest is rarely handed to you. Instead, it’s usually sitting in plain sight, waiting for someone patient enough to notice it.
One community norm is worth knowing early. Quest solutions aren’t meant to be revealed, shared, or sold. Working it out yourself is most of the fun, so players keep the answers to themselves.
## What Achaea quests reward
### Experience, gold, and items
Most quests pay in experience and gold, so they’re a change of pace from straight [hunting](/game-features/combat/) when you want to level while doing something with a bit more story to it. The reward is the same experience and gold you’d earn fighting, just earned a different way.
Some quests go further. A quest might hand you a useful item you can keep, use, or sell to other players.
### Honours lines and lore
A rarer few grant a permanent line in your character’s Honours, public recognition that you were the one who solved it. You can see these accolades with the HONOURS command, and they stay on your character. Many quests also quietly teach you the world’s history and lore as you go, which feeds straight into how you play. The [history and mythos of Achaea](/history/) covers that backstory in depth.
## Quests, exploration, and the wider world
Questing and exploring are the same hobby wearing two hats. Achaea has two continents, Sapience and Meropis, plus dozens of islands and several other planes of existence. Much of that map keeps its secrets on purpose, and plenty of quests only show themselves to players who wander off the obvious paths.
Exploration is tracked separately through the Fellowship of Explorers, which ranks adventurers by the percentage of the known world they’ve uncovered, from Sightseer up to Achaean Ranger. Questing pushes you into those far corners, even though the two systems reward different things. The [city-states of Achaea](/city-states/), from devout Mhaldor to forest-bound Eleusis, each anchor their own region of quests and lore. The [world of Achaea](/game-features/world/) maps those continents, islands, and planes in full.
## Why Achaea questing matters for roleplay
Quests aren’t only mechanical. Many carry the world’s lore: how a city came to be, why two factions hate each other, what a God did long ago. Working through them teaches you the setting from the inside, which shapes how you play your character. If you want to know who those Gods are, the [Gods of Achaea](/gods/) lays out the pantheon.
For players who care about story, a solved quest becomes part of who their character is, a piece of personal history other players can see and respond to. The [roleplay guide](/game-features/roleplay/) goes deeper on playing that story, and the [game features hub](/game-features/) shows how questing sits alongside combat, crafting, seafaring, and everything else there is to do.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are quests in Achaea?**
Achaea quests are tasks in the world that reward you for completing them. They range from quick errands, like delivering an item or helping a denizen, to layered puzzles that can take days or weeks to solve. Nearly all of them involve denizens, the game’s NPCs, and you’ll find them all over the world.
**How do I start a quest in Achaea?**
You find quests by exploring and talking to denizens, not by picking them from a menu. For the basic ones, greet a denizen or ask if they have a quest for you, and you’ll often be offered one. Accept it and it’s added to your quest log. Harder quests hide themselves, so you’ll need to read denizen dialogue, books, and room descriptions for clues.
**What rewards do Achaea quests give?**
Most quests give experience and gold. Some hand you an item you can keep, use, or sell, and a rare few grant a permanent Honours line that stays on your character. Many quests also teach you the world’s history and lore as you work through them.
**Can I share quest solutions with other players?**
The community norm is no. Quest solutions aren’t meant to be revealed, shared, or sold. Working a quest out yourself is most of the fun, so players keep the answers to themselves rather than spoiling them.
**Do I need to fight to do quests?**
Not usually. Plenty of Achaea quests are about talking to denizens, finding items, and solving puzzles rather than combat. Some do send you to deal with a dangerous denizen, but questing is one of the better ways to gain experience when you’d rather not just hunt.
---
### [Achaea Roleplay: How to Roleplay in a Living World](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/roleplay)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
Achaea roleplay is the practice of acting as your character inside a persistent text world, where what you say and do is treated as the words and choices of a real person in Sapience rather than a player at a keyboard. Your character isn’t a username with a level attached. They have a name, a history, a reputation, and relationships with other characters that can last for years.
You don’t have to be a great writer to start. Roleplay in Achaea is mostly about staying in character: reacting as your character would, talking to other characters as people rather than players, and letting your choices mean something. The rest grows from there.
## What Achaea roleplay means in a living world
Roleplay (or RP) is acting as your character inside the game’s fiction. When you speak in a city’s hall, swear an oath to a House, or pick a side in a war, you do it as a person who lives in Sapience. This is also what people mean when they call Achaea a roleplaying MUD: a text RPG where the story is driven by players, not scripted by the game.
The reason it sticks is that Achaea is persistent. The world keeps running whether you’re logged in or not, and it remembers what you did. A favour you do for another character today can be repaid years later. An insult can start a feud that outlives both of you. Some characters and events even become part of the permanent lore that newer players read about and react to.
The intensity is up to you. Some players speak in formal, in-character prose every time they log in. Others keep it lighter and lean into RP for the moments that matter: a duel with history behind it, a vote in a city council, a confession to a God. Both are welcome, since most players land somewhere in between.
## How to roleplay in Achaea as a new player
The simplest way to begin is to treat the public channels as in-character, because in Achaea they are. When you talk on your House or city channel, talk to the characters around you, not the people. You’ll pick up the tone fast by reading how veterans speak.
A few habits make it easy:
- **Stay in character on public channels.** City, House, and Order channels are in-character by default, so use them as your character would speak.
- **Keep real-world talk to the right places.** Out-of-character chatter is generally off-limits on public channels. When you need it, use an OOC-designated clan, and the Newbie channel tolerates basic real-world questions while you’re learning.
- **Build a small backstory.** Where is your character from? Your [race](/races/) carries its own culture and history, which gives you a ready-made starting point.
- **Let your choices stick.** If your character makes an enemy or swears loyalty to a cause, play it out. Consequences are what make RP feel real.
Start small. A single line of in-character greeting on your House channel is roleplay. So is choosing not to attack someone because your character wouldn’t. You build from those moments.
### A note on writing skill
You don’t need flowery prose. Clear, in-character speech beats purple paragraphs every time. Plenty of respected roleplayers write plainly and let their decisions carry the weight. The bar is consistency, not vocabulary.
## Your character’s history and reputation
Reputation in Achaea is earned in public and remembered. Help defend a city under attack and people notice. Betray an ally and that follows you too. Because the same players are around for years, your name comes to mean something specific.
Your character’s history is partly your choice and partly what happens to you. The [class](/classes/) you train and the [race](/races/) you were born into both shape how others read you before you say a word. A Tsol’aa raised deep in the forest reads differently from a city-born Human noble, and you can lean into that or push against it.
None of this is locked at creation. Characters in Achaea change allegiance, switch cities, fall from grace, and rebuild. The story is yours to write as you play it.
## Cities, Houses, and the politics of Achaea RP
Most Achaea RP has a home, and that home is usually a city-state or one of its Houses.
The player-run [city-states](/city-states/) are where the larger story plays out: politics, law, war, and diplomacy, all driven by the people who live there. Join one and you inherit its history, its rivalries, and its place in the wider conflicts of Sapience. Climb its ranks and real decisions land in your hands. Pick the evil city of [Mhaldor](/city-states/) or a city on the opposite side, and the choice shapes how the rest of the world treats you.
Each city has its own Houses, and you join the Houses of the city you belong to. A House is a smaller group devoted to a shared purpose, with its own culture, traditions, and goals, and joining one puts you among characters who’ll know you by name. For most new roleplayers, a House is the easiest on-ramp: a small group of people playing in the same fiction, day after day.
## Gods, Orders, and events that last
Achaea has an active Pantheon. The Gods aren’t background scenery. They reign over realms such as War or Justice, intervene in the world, and accept followers into their [Divine Orders](/game-features/divine-orders/). Drawing a God’s attention, for better or worse, is one of the most memorable things that can happen to a character.
Major events become permanent lore. Wars, betrayals, divine judgments, and the rise and fall of cities get recorded and remembered, and players who took part are remembered with them. That’s the payoff of a persistent world: your roleplay can leave a mark that outlasts your character.
If you’re brand new and want a gentle start, the [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) walks you through your first hours, and many [quests](/game-features/quests/) carry story you can roleplay your way through before you ever join a faction. For the wider picture of how RP fits the rest of the systems, see the [game features](/game-features/) overview.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Do I have to roleplay to play Achaea?**
No. Achaea is roleplay-encouraged, not roleplay-enforced everywhere. Some cities and Houses expect more in-character behaviour than others, and roleplay intensity varies a lot across the game. You can start light and lean in as you get comfortable, or focus on combat, crafting, and exploring while keeping RP to the moments you enjoy.
**How do I start roleplaying in Achaea if I’ve never done it before?**
Treat the public channels as in-character and react to other characters as people, not players. Pick a city or House, read how veterans speak, and play your own choices honestly. You don’t need writing experience. Consistency matters more than fancy prose. The newbie guide is a good first stop.
**What’s the difference between in-character (IC) and out-of-character (OOC)?**
In-character is everything your character says and does inside the fiction. Out-of-character is real-world talk: asking how a mechanic works, chatting with friends, or coordinating outside the story. Achaea treats its public channels as in-character, so OOC talk belongs in OOC-designated clans, while the Newbie channel tolerates basic real-world questions.
**Does my race or class affect Achaea roleplay?**
Yes. Many races carry deep cultural identity and history that give your character a ready-made background, and your class shapes how others read you. Neither one scripts your personality for you. They’re starting points you can play straight or subvert.
**Can my roleplay actually change the world?**
Yes. Player decisions shape cities, Houses, and the wider conflicts of Sapience, and the Gods intervene in events that affect everyone. Some characters and events become part of Achaea’s permanent lore, so what you do in character can outlast your character.
---
### [Achaea Crafting: All 16 Tradeskills Explained](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/crafting)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
Crafting in Achaea is the system of 16 tradeskills your character can learn to make real, usable goods, from forged armour and weapons to cooked food, custom clothing, jewellery, and poisons. These aren’t decorations. The armour gets worn into battle, the salve saves a life mid-fight, and the ring shows up at a wedding.
So Achaea crafting isn’t a mini-game off to the side. When you pick up a tradeskill, you step straight into the player economy. Whatever you make, someone else will buy, wear, or drink.
## What Achaea crafting and tradeskills are
A tradeskill is a craft your character learns and improves over time, the same way you’d train any other skill set. Some tradeskills gather raw materials. Others turn those materials into finished goods. A few do both.
The point of all of it is to make things people actually want. Because Achaea’s economy runs on players, a well-made weapon or a clever poison has real value. Skilled crafters build reputations, take custom orders, and turn a trade into a living. You can read more about how that side works on the [player economy guide](/game-features/player-economy/), and the full feature map lives on the [game features hub](/game-features/).
## The 16 tradeskills in Achaea
Here’s the full list. The gathering skills feed the production skills, so many crafters end up learning two that work together. The one-line descriptions below match the in-game tradeskill listing.
| Tradeskill | What you make |
|---|---|
| Armoursmithing | Forge protective armour and shields. |
| Artistry | Design and create works of art. |
| Augmentation | Augment items with magical enchantments. |
| Beverages | Design drinks and drinking vessels. |
| Conjuration | Conjure powerful magical objects. |
| Cooking | Design and cook delicious dishes. |
| Furnishing | Scour for materials and craft furniture. |
| Gathering | Obtain reagents from many sources. |
| Harvesting | Pick plants and other natural curatives. |
| Inkmilling | Mill inks and warpaints. |
| Jewellery | Create exquisite custom jewellery. |
| Remedies | Concoct life-saving elixirs and salves. |
| Shipfitting | Equip ships with everything they need. |
| Tailoring | Sew exquisite clothes for the masses. |
| Toxicology | Prepare deadly poisons. |
| Weaponsmithing | Forge the weapons of war. |
## Achaea crafting for combat and curing
Several tradeskills feed straight into Achaea’s [combat and curing systems](/game-features/combat/). Remedies makes the elixirs players sip and the salves they apply to cure afflictions mid-fight. Harvesting picks the natural curatives those recipes start from. On the other side of a fight, Toxicology prepares the poisons an attacker stacks on a victim.
So the people keeping you alive in battle and the people trying to kill you are often crafters too. Armoursmithing and Weaponsmithing round it out: the armour you wear and the weapon you swing were forged by a player who spent the time to get good at it. If you want to know which class you’ll be fighting as, start with the [class overview](/classes/).
## Achaea crafting for the home and the wardrobe
Not every tradeskill is about fighting. A lot of Achaea crafting is about how your character lives and looks.
Furnishing scours for materials and crafts the furniture players use to decorate their [housing](/game-features/housing/), from chairs and tables to the kind of statement piece that turns a plain room into a home. Tailoring sews custom clothes, Jewellery creates one-of-a-kind rings and pendants, and Cooking turns out dishes for feasts and festivals. Beverages handles the drinks and the vessels they’re poured into. Artistry designs works of art, while Inkmilling mills the inks and warpaints behind a surprising amount of personal style.
## How to start crafting in Achaea
You don’t need to be a veteran to begin. Every character can pick up two tradeskills for free: the first at level 30, then a second at level 50. After that, you can buy permits for more skills with credits if you want to expand your trade.
Tradeskills are separate from your class, since they come from despecialised class skills that any character can learn. That means crafting pairs well with almost any class or [city-state](/city-states/), so there’s no wrong time to start. If you’re brand new, the [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) walks you through your first hours and points you toward the systems worth trying first.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**How many tradeskills does Achaea have?**
Achaea has 16 tradeskills: Armoursmithing, Artistry, Augmentation, Beverages, Conjuration, Cooking, Furnishing, Gathering, Harvesting, Inkmilling, Jewellery, Remedies, Shipfitting, Tailoring, Toxicology, and Weaponsmithing. They range from gathering raw materials to forging finished armour, weapons, clothing, food, and jewellery.
**What can you craft in Achaea?**
Just about anything players use day to day: armour and shields, weapons, custom clothing, jewellery, furniture, cooked dishes, drinks, curative elixirs and salves, poisons, magical enchantments, ship fittings, and inks and warpaints. Everything you make is a real item other players can buy and use.
**Is crafting in Achaea worth it?**
Yes, because Achaea’s economy runs on players. A skilled smith, tailor, or alchemist makes goods that other people genuinely need, so crafting can become a steady source of gold and a reputation of its own.
**Do I need a specific class to craft in Achaea?**
No. Tradeskills are separate from your class, so any character can learn to craft. Every character gets two free tradeskills, the first at level 30 and the second at level 50, and you can buy permits for more.
**Can new players start crafting in Achaea?**
New players can’t craft right away, since the first free tradeskill unlocks at level 30. Once you reach it, a gathering skill is an easy place to start because raw materials stay in demand. The newbie guide points you toward the first systems worth trying.
---
### [The Achaea Economy: Player Shops, Mining, and Trade](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/player-economy)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
The Achaea economy is a fully player-run economy: adventurers mine the minerals, brew the curatives, distill the venoms, and craft the gear, then set the prices and run the shops that sell it all. Because the game doesn’t hand out fixed goods at fixed prices, money becomes a real game in its own right. If you’re the business-minded type, you can mine, sell, and trade your way to a fortune in the Achaea economy without ever drawing a weapon. Run it badly and you’ll lose coin. Run it well and you can clean up.
## How the Achaea economy works
Most online games hand you a fixed shop with fixed prices set by code. Achaea doesn’t work that way. Players produce the goods, players set the prices, and supply and demand actually move.
When demand for curatives and venoms climbs, the people who stocked up beforehand profit. When a mineral gets harder to find, its price tends to rise. You can read those swings and position yourself ahead of them. Or you can ignore the market entirely and just hunt for gold. Both are valid. But the players who pay attention to the economy tend to end up the richest in the game.
This page covers the three pillars of the Achaea economy: mining, shopkeeping, and trade.
## Achaea mining: own a mine and run it
Achaea mining lets players own and operate real mining businesses. You’re not clicking a node and watching a number tick up. First you prospect for a lode, then you build a mine on it, and after that your squads work the site and pull out raw commodities other players need.
### Why mining takes real skill
Mines cost money to run. You pay daily upkeep for the mine and for every miner, and raw commodities decay if you don’t store them properly. So run your mine poorly and you’ll likely lose coin, while the best operators turn a steady profit. The minerals you extract feed straight back into the wider economy, since crafters need raw materials and many goods depend on a steady supply.
### Legions: defending and attacking mines
Mines run on Legions, the squads you command to work and protect the site. You deploy soldier squads to defend your own mine, and you can send them to assault rival players’ mines and strongholds, capturing them if you win. That puts a competitive, PvP-adjacent edge on the whole system. A rival can come after your mine, and you can come after theirs. Holding a productive mine means defending it, not just owning it. If that conflict appeals to you, it pairs naturally with the rest of Achaea’s [combat systems](/game-features/combat/).
## Achaea shops: running your own storefront
Every player city in Achaea has player-run shops, and that means opportunity for the business-minded adventurer. A shop is your storefront to thousands of other players with coin to spend, and in adventurer-run shops the wares and the prices depend entirely on you, the shopkeeper.
What you sell is up to you. Pair a shop with a [tradeskill](/game-features/crafting/) or an importation business and you can move custom creations, curatives, deadly venoms, commodities, and even exotic treasures. Combat-focused players are always buying curatives and venoms, so those alone can support a steady business.
### Where shops fit in a player city
Running a shop ties you into the life of a [player city](/city-states/). You restock your own shelves, set your own prices, and compete with other shopkeepers for the same buyers. A well-run shop in a busy city becomes a genuine asset and a name people remember. Shops are limited in number, though. Each city has only so many, which keeps them valuable, so you’ll usually take one over from another player rather than open a brand-new storefront.
## Achaea trade: importation and commodities
You don’t have to make everything you sell. Importation means sourcing goods where they’re cheap or plentiful and moving them to where they’re wanted. The commodity market in Delos lets individual adventurers and whole cities buy and sell raw materials in one place, so a trader who reads the market can earn well off the spread.
Trade rewards the same instincts mining and shopkeeping do. Track what’s scarce, then get it to the city that wants it before anyone else does. A trader who knows which city wants what can earn well without ever swinging a sword or owning a mine. It pairs with shopkeeping especially well, since a shop gives you a fixed place to sell what you bring in. The same instincts carry over to [seafaring](/game-features/seafaring/), where ships move goods and people between distant ports.
## How to start making money in the Achaea economy
You don’t need to pick one path. Many wealthy players run several at once. A good starting order:
- **Learn a tradeskill first.** [Crafting](/game-features/crafting/) gives you goods to sell and teaches you how the market values different items.
- **Watch prices before you produce.** Note what’s expensive, what’s scarce, and what climbs during conflict. That’s your map to where the money is.
- **Open a shop or start trading commodities.** Once you read the market, a small storefront or a few commodity trades turn your knowledge into coin without much upfront risk.
- **Scale into mining or a bigger operation.** When you understand the market, owning a mine turns your knowledge into a real business with real margins.
New to the game? The [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) covers the basics of coin, commodities, and getting on your feet before you start building a business in the Achaea economy.
This is one slice of what there is to do in Achaea. See the full [game features](/game-features/) overview for everything else.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Is Achaea’s economy really run by players?**
Yes. Achaea has a fully player-run economy. Players produce the minerals, curatives, venoms, crafted gear, and other goods, and players set the prices. Most of what’s bought and sold in the game is made and priced by other adventurers, not generated by the game’s code. Supply and demand genuinely move based on what players do, which is rare for an online RPG.
**How does mining work in Achaea?**
You prospect for a lode, build a mine on it, and command squads that extract raw commodities and minerals automatically. Mines cost daily upkeep and the goods decay if you don’t store them, so real skill is involved: run it poorly and you’ll likely lose coin, while the best operators profit. Mines also run on Legions, which you use to defend your own mine and to assault rival players’ mines and strongholds.
**How do I get a shop in Achaea?**
Shops are limited in number, so you usually acquire one from another player rather than opening a brand-new storefront. That scarcity is deliberate, and it keeps shops valuable. Once you hold one, you stock the wares and set the prices yourself, so a well-run shop in a busy city becomes a real asset. Many players sell crafted goods or commodities for a while before they take on a shop of their own.
**What can I sell in an Achaea shop?**
Custom crafted creations, curatives, venoms, commodities, and exotic treasures all sell well. Pairing a shop with a tradeskill or an importation business gives you a steady stream of goods to move. Combat-focused players are constant buyers of curatives and venoms, so those alone can support a business.
**Can I make money in Achaea without fighting?**
Yes. Mining, shopkeeping, crafting, and trade all let you build wealth without drawing a weapon. Plenty of players focus entirely on the Achaea economy. The market rewards attention and good decisions, not combat ability.
---
### [Achaea Seafaring: Ships, Sailing, and Piracy](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/seafaring)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
Achaea seafaring is the in-game system for sailing the five oceans and the seas around Sapience by ship, so you can reach the islands and coastlines you cannot walk to. Most of those places sit out past the shipping lanes. You can sign on by earning a captain’s commission with an organisation, borrow a vessel from a friend, or buy a ship of your own and answer to nobody.
Once you have a deck under you, the water opens up. Sail for unmapped coastlines, fill a hold with cargo and trade port to port, or hunt other captains for sport and profit. Achaea sailing works for the explorer, the merchant, and the pirate in roughly equal measure.
## How to get a ship in Achaea
You do not have to own one of the Achaea ships to go to sea. Most sailors start by crewing for someone else.
There are three ways aboard. First, you can earn a captain’s commission with one of Achaea’s organisations, which puts you in command of a vessel that isn’t yours to keep. Next, you can borrow a friend’s ship when they aren’t using it, which is how a lot of players first learn the ropes. Or you can buy your own, the moment you want a deck that answers only to you.
Owning a ship is a commitment. It needs a crew, since morale, wages, and provisions all have to be managed. It needs upkeep too, because a hull takes damage and repairs cost real commodities. But it also turns the whole map blue. Wherever the water reaches, you can go.
## Achaea ship types
Achaea has three named classes of ship, and each one is built for a different life at sea.
### The Windcutter
The Windcutter is the smallest and most nimble of the three. It turns fast and sails closer to the wind than the others, which makes it the natural choice for exploration. If your plan is to chart far-flung islands and reach the locales nobody else bothers with, this is the hull you want under you. You commission one from a shipwright for a fraction of what the bigger ships cost. Agility over cargo, every time.
### The Thalassian Seastrider
The Thalassian Seastrider is the merchant’s ship. It trades raw speed for a deep hold, so you can fill it with goods and run them between the ports of the land. It carries more crew than a Windcutter and runs fastest downwind. Sell well in the right harbour and a single voyage pays for itself many times over. If trade is your game, this is your vessel.
### The War Galley
The War Galley is the biggest and heaviest of the three, slow to turn but bristling with weapons. It carries an arsenal of six ship weapons, double what a Seastrider can mount, so it is a serious threat to anyone who picks a fight with it. You don’t take a Galley out to explore. You take it out to fight, to escort, or to make the sea lanes think twice about crossing you.
## Achaea sailing and sea trade
The ports of Achaea want goods, and ships are how those goods move. Load your hold with merchant cargo, pick a harbour where it sells high, and trade your way to a profit. Do it well and the sea becomes a real income stream, not just a way to get somewhere.
Sea trade plugs straight into the wider [player-driven economy](/game-features/player-economy/). The same world that runs on player shops, mines, and crafted goods also runs on the captains who carry those goods across the water. A merchant with a Seastrider and a good sense of where prices are moving can do very well. If you are still learning the basics, the [new player guide](/newbie-guide/) is the place to start before you take the helm.
If exploration is more your speed, the [world of Achaea](/game-features/world/) is far larger than its mainland. Achaea’s five oceans, the Borean, Chelic, Eusian, Notic, and Sefyric, plus dozens of smaller seas and bays, hold remote islands and coastal locales that sit out past the shipping lanes, reachable only under sail.
## Achaea ocean piracy and naval combat
Not every captain trades fair. Some take up as pirates and prey on the sea lanes, hunting merchant ships and the explorers who stray too far from home. Piracy is a real path in Achaea, with real targets and real spoils.
Where there are pirates, there are people hunting them. Rouse your crew, load your ship weapons, and protect the sailors and traders from the wolves of the sea. Naval combat in Achaea is a contest of positioning, firepower, and nerve, and it ties into the broader [combat systems](/game-features/combat/) the game is known for. Star-shot and chain-shot do different jobs, and shot soaked in dragon’s tears can set a rival hull alight. A War Galley with a sharp crew is a hard thing to sink.
Whichever side you pick, the open water is one of the few places in the game where a fight can play out ship against ship rather than blade against blade.
## Where seafaring fits in Achaea
Achaea seafaring isn’t a side game bolted onto the world. It connects the rest of it. Trade routes feed the economy. Far islands reward the explorers. Naval combat gives the fighters a second arena. Many of Achaea’s [player-run city-states](/city-states/) sit on the coast, and a port like Mhaldor has its own reasons to put captains and warships on the water.
You can take it as seriously as you like. Some players sail once, see an island, and move on. Others build a life around the sea. Both are right.
A ship turns the map from a place you walk into a place you sail. Once you have crossed the first ocean, the land starts to feel small.
Want the wider picture first? Start at the [Achaea game features hub](/game-features/).
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What is seafaring in Achaea?**
Achaea seafaring is the game’s system for sailing the oceans and seas around Sapience by ship. You can earn a captain’s commission, borrow a friend’s vessel, or buy your own, then use it to explore distant islands, trade cargo between ports, or take up naval combat and piracy. It connects exploration, the player economy, and PvP into one system played out on open water.
**How do I get a ship in Achaea?**
There are three ways. First, you can earn a captain’s commission with an organisation. Next, you can borrow a vessel from a friend who isn’t using it. Or you can commission your own Achaea ship from a shipwright. Borrowing is how most players first learn to sail. Buying gives you a deck that answers only to you, along with the crew and upkeep that come with it.
**What kinds of Achaea ships are there?**
There are three named ship types. The Windcutter is small and nimble, built for exploration. The Thalassian Seastrider is a merchant ship with a deep cargo hold for trade. The War Galley is a large, heavy warship that mounts six weapons and is built for naval combat.
**Can you be a pirate in Achaea?**
Yes. You can take up as a pirate and prey on the sea lanes, hunting merchant ships and explorers for spoils. Other captains hunt the pirates in turn, rousing their crews and loading their ship weapons to protect sailors and traders. Piracy is one of several real paths Achaea seafaring opens up.
**Do you need to buy a ship to go sailing in Achaea?**
No. You can sail without owning anything by earning a captain’s commission with an organisation or borrowing a friend’s vessel. Many players crew and command ships for a long time before they ever buy one of their own.
---
### [Achaea Housing: Build Your Own Home](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/housing)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
Achaea housing is a system that lets you build a custom home one room at a time, write the title and description of every room yourself, place the exits, and furnish it with goods crafted by other players. Most games hand you a house. Achaea hands you the credits and lets you build one. You decide how many rooms it has, what each one is called, where the exits go, and what a visitor reads when they walk through the door.
A home in Achaea is yours in a way few games allow. You can make it a sprawling castle, a single quiet study, or a hidden tower nobody can find without the password. The freedom is the point.
## Building a home in Achaea, room by room
You start with one room and a plan. From there, you add rooms one at a time, and you can keep adding as long as you can supply the credits each room needs.
Once a room exists, you control everything about it. You write the room title and the description, so a guest reads your words rather than a generic template. You place the exits between rooms and decide where they lead. You can hide an exit so only people who know it’s there can use it. You can add doors. Then you chain it all together into whatever layout you want, which means the floor plan of your home is as much a creation as the descriptions are.
This is closer to building a small zone than decorating an apartment. A determined builder can lay out a manor with secret passages, a war room behind a hidden door, and a fresh description on every wall.
Most homes sit in a city subdivision, so where you build also says something about where your character belongs. A home in the [city-states](/city-states/) of Achaea roots your character in a place and a politics, not just a set of rooms.
## What building a home in Achaea costs
Every room you build runs on room credits. Supply, not a level cap or a rule, is what limits how big your home gets. Each room takes ten room credits, and each door takes one credit on top.
### Where room credits come from
You buy room credits at the Property Office in Delos. Each credit costs 200 wood and 100 stone, paid in commodities rather than gold. Those commodities come from Achaea’s player economy, so you can gather and refine your own or buy them from the players who trade them. Either way, a large home represents real commodity spend, which is part of why a finished one carries weight.
Other touches cost gold on top of the credits. A room title or a custom description runs 10,000 gold each, a new exit 1,000, and hiding an exit 50,000. None of it is gated behind levels. If you can fund it, you can build it.
If you want to understand where commodities and crafted goods come from in the first place, the [Achaea player economy guide](/game-features/player-economy/) explains how the player-run market works.
## Furnishing and decorating your Achaea home
Empty rooms are only the start. You furnish your home with furniture made by other players through the Furnishing tradeskill, one of Achaea’s many crafting professions.
The chairs, tables, benches, thrones, desks, and dressers in your home weren’t generated by the game. A player designed and crafted them, and you bought or commissioned them. A well-furnished home is a small showcase of someone else’s craftsmanship, and a good Furnishing crafter can build a reputation supplying homes across the world.
If you’d rather make the furniture yourself, the [Achaea crafting guide](/game-features/crafting/) walks through Furnishing and the other tradeskills you can learn.
## Servants in your Achaea home
A home can have staff. You hire servants and place them in your house, and they come in types like butler, maid, cook, steward, and page. Once hired, a servant stays on your property with no upkeep to pay.
You can customise a servant’s appearance, its name, the way it’s described, and the messages it shows as it moves around. You can also shape how it reacts to events in your house, and you can set whether it wanders the rooms or stays put. A servant won’t take direct commands or run a written routine, but a customised one still turns a static building into something that feels lived in. It’s a small touch, yet it’s the difference between a set of empty rooms and a household that feels like it belongs to someone.
## An Achaea home as roleplay and personal space
For a lot of players, a home isn’t about utility. It’s about having a place in the world that’s unmistakably theirs.
A custom home gives your character a base that reflects who they are. The descriptions you write, the layout you choose, the servants you hire, all of it tells a visitor something about you before you say a word. A spymaster’s home reads very differently from a scholar’s. If your character’s story matters to you, a home is one of the strongest ways to ground it. The [Achaea roleplay guide](/game-features/roleplay/) covers how personal story and reputation work across the wider world.
New to the game and not sure where housing fits yet? The [Achaea newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) walks you through your first hours before you start spending commodities on a manor. When you’re ready to see how housing sits alongside combat, crafting, sailing, and the rest, the [game features hub](/game-features/) maps every system in Achaea.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Can you build your own house in Achaea?**
Yes. You build a home room by room, spending room credits for each room as you go. Each room costs ten credits, and each door costs one credit. You write the room titles and descriptions, place and hide exits, add doors, and connect the rooms into whatever layout you want. The size and shape of your home are up to you.
**How do you get room credits for a home in Achaea?**
You buy room credits at the Property Office in Delos. Each credit costs 200 wood and 100 stone in commodities, which come from Achaea’s player economy. You can gather and refine those commodities yourself or buy them from other players. Because each room needs ten credits, a larger home takes more commodity spend and more effort to complete.
**Can you decorate and furnish your home in Achaea?**
Yes. You furnish your home with furniture made by other players through the Furnishing tradeskill. You buy or commission crafted pieces and place them in your rooms, so your furnishings come from real players rather than a generic catalogue. Chairs, tables, thrones, desks, and dressers are all player-made.
**Can you have servants in your Achaea home?**
Yes. You can hire servants and place them in your home, in types like butler, maid, cook, and steward. You can customise a servant’s appearance and the way it reacts to events in your house, and set whether it wanders or stays put. Servants don’t take direct commands, but they make a home feel lived in rather than empty.
**Is player housing in Achaea connected to roleplay?**
Often, yes. Many players treat a home as a personal space that reflects their character. The descriptions you write and the layout you choose say something about who your character is, which makes a home a natural extension of roleplay and reputation. Where you build, usually a city subdivision, also ties your character to a place.
---
### [Achaea World Guide: Sapience, Meropis, and Beyond](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/world)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
The Achaea world is a single shared world of two continents, many islands, and dozens of other planes of existence, large enough that players who have logged in for years still stumble onto rooms they have never seen. Two continents anchor it. Sapience is the central landmass where you start, and Meropis is its sister continent across the southern sea. Around them sit many islands, and beyond them sit other planes entirely.
You can treat the Achaea map as scenery, or you can treat it as the point. Some players hunt and roleplay in a familiar handful of rooms for a decade. Others make exploration their whole game, mapping every cave and coast until they earn a name among Achaea’s most thorough adventurers.
## Sapience: the starting continent of the Achaea world
Sapience is the central continent and the place every new character first opens their eyes. It holds the player-run city-states, the wilds you hunt through as you level, and most of the people you will meet in your first hundred hours of play. When you read about Achaea’s politics, its guilds, or its wars, Sapience is usually where they happen.
It is also where your character’s roots are. The playable races each come from somewhere on this continent, with their own homelands, histories, and reasons to distrust the neighbors. Where you start shapes who your character is before you ever pick a fight.
**Inline links:** Browse the [playable races](/races/) · See the [city-states of Sapience](/city-states/)
## Meropis: the second continent across the sea
Meropis is the sister continent of Sapience, split from it long ago and lost to memory until explorers rediscovered it. It sits in the southern Notic Ocean, so reaching it means a sea voyage. That crossing is part of why Meropis feels like a different world once you arrive. For a lot of players, the first trip to Meropis is a small milestone: proof that the Achaea map is bigger than the patch of Sapience they grew up in.
Because Meropis is reached by sea, exploring it ties directly into seafaring. You can take passage, crew a friend’s ship, or eventually captain your own and chart the crossing yourself.
**Inline link:** Learn about [ships and sailing in Achaea](/game-features/seafaring/)
## The planes beyond the mortal world
The Achaea world does not stop at its coastlines. The Prime Material Plane is the one mortals know best, but dozens of other planes of existence sit beyond it, and they are not just backdrops. Many of them are places you can reach, fight on, and sometimes get stranded in.
These planes matter most to players who follow a God. The truly devoted offer essence at shrines and serve their patron on ground far stranger than any forest in Sapience. Most new players never see these places in their first weeks, and that is fine. They are there for when you are ready.
**Inline link:** Read about the [divine orders](/game-features/divine-orders/)
## Achaea exploration and the Fellowship of Explorers
Exploration in Achaea is a real pursuit, not a footnote. The Fellowship of Explorers ranks adventurers by the share of the known world they have actually visited. New explorers start as a Sightseer. Walk every far-flung island and hidden cavern, notice the detail everyone else skips, and your rank climbs toward the top title of Achaean Ranger. It is a leaderboard for the curious.
### What Achaea exploration actually involves
You wander. You read room descriptions instead of skimming them. You poke at exits that look like dead ends and follow coastlines to islands nobody mentioned in chat. The world rewards attention, and a surprising amount of the map stays hidden until someone bothers to look. Your standing can even shift over time, since new areas get added and the ratio of explored to unmapped ground changes.
### Why it keeps veterans playing
Exploration scratches a different itch than combat or politics. There is no opponent, just the map and your own thoroughness. For players who have done the wars and run the cities, finishing the Achaea map is one more long goal that the game never quite runs out of.
## An Achaea world built for living in
The map is not just terrain to cross. It is the stage every other system stands on. Quests send you into it, from short errands to multi-stage mysteries hidden in corners of Sapience and Meropis. The city-states sit inside it and fight over it. Late-game pursuits such as Dragonhood (covered on the [combat guide](/game-features/combat/)) ask you to travel to far-off places to earn them.
So you do not explore the Achaea world to finish it. You explore it because almost everything you do in the game happens somewhere on this map, and knowing the map well makes you better at all of it.
**Inline links:** See what [quests](/game-features/quests/) look like · Start with the [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) · Back to all [game features](/game-features/)
## Frequently Asked Questions
**How big is the world of Achaea?**
The Achaea world is large. It covers two full continents, Sapience and Meropis, plus many islands and dozens of other planes of existence. The map is big enough that long-time players still find rooms and areas they have never visited.
**What are the two continents in the Achaea world?**
Sapience and Meropis. Sapience is the starting continent and the heart of the game, home to the player-run city-states and most early play. Meropis is its sister continent, set across the southern Notic Ocean and reached by sea.
**Is there a map of Achaea?**
The Achaea map is built room by room by the players who explore it. There is no single printed picture that captures all of it, partly because so much of the world stays hidden and is meant to be found rather than handed to you.
**What is the Fellowship of Explorers?**
The Fellowship of Explorers ranks adventurers by the percentage of the known world they have explored. Players who visit every far-flung island and hidden cavern climb a ladder of explorer titles, from Sightseer at the bottom up to Achaean Ranger at the top. Think of it as a leaderboard for curiosity.
**Do I have to explore to enjoy Achaea?**
No. Plenty of players spend years in a familiar handful of rooms, focused on combat, crafting, or roleplay. Achaea exploration is there for the players who want it, and it is one of the longest-running goals the game offers.
---
### [Achaea Divine Orders: Serving the Gods](https://www.achaea.com/game-features/divine-orders)
**Published:** June 1, 2026
**Author:** claude-achaea
**Content:**
A Divine Order in Achaea is the formal body of a god’s most loyal followers, the players who serve a deity directly instead of just honouring them. Achaea’s [gods](/gods/) form a Pantheon, and each one stands for something specific: war, justice, ruin, honour, or some idea darker still. A god’s ethos shapes the cities, the conflicts, and the people who serve it. The most devoted Achaeans go further than prayer. They join a god’s Divine Order and become that deity’s hand in the world.
This page explains what a Divine Order is, how you join one, and what Order members actually do. For the full roster of deities, see the [Gods of Achaea](/gods/). If a god’s cause sounds like your way into the game, start here.
## The gods behind Achaea’s Divine Orders
Achaea’s religion centres on a Pantheon of [gods](/gods/), and each one is a distinct power with their own domain and purpose. War belongs to one. Justice, cunning, or the slow spread of corruption falls to others. These gods aren’t interchangeable, and a deity’s ethos tells you what it rewards in its followers and what it will not tolerate.
Because every god stands for something specific, the Pantheon maps onto the moral fault lines of the world. The gods sit somewhere on the line between good and evil, and their followers carry that alignment into the cities, the Houses, and the conflicts they take part in. Religion in Achaea isn’t a side menu. It runs through the politics and the [roleplay](/game-features/roleplay/) that drive the game.
## What a Divine Order is
A Divine Order is the formal body of a god’s most loyal followers. When you join one, you formally declare your allegiance to that deity and pledge yourself to their cause. Membership marks you as a representative of that god on the world stage. Your actions reflect on them, and theirs reflect on you.
Not every god accepts followers, so the gods who keep Orders are the ones you can actually serve. Once you’re in, your character answers to a higher power, and that power has opinions.
### How rank works inside an Order
An Order isn’t flat. It runs on ten ranks, and each rank carries its own privileges and responsibilities. Devotees who prove themselves climb that ladder, taking on a louder voice in how their god’s will gets carried out. It’s one of the deepest roleplay paths in the game, because the higher you rise, the more your deity expects of you.
## What a Divine Order’s members do for their god
Serving a god is active, not ceremonial. Members of a Divine Order shape the world in their deity’s name, and the work tends to fall into two arenas: shrines on the Prime Material Plane, and open battle on Nishnatoba.
### Raising and defending shrines
Order members raise shrines in their god’s honour. A shrine is the physical presence of a deity in the world: a foothold where followers offer divine essence and evoke the god’s power. Shrines are worth defending, because rival Orders push back. Achaea’s history records open Shrine Wars, and the contest over whose shrines stand where still runs today. Hold ground for your god, or watch a rival faith take it.
### Fighting on the battleplane of Nishnatoba
When devotion turns to open conflict, the faithful head to the battleplane of Nishnatoba. Every god keeps a master shrine there, and followers reach it during crusades launched from the Prime Material Plane. Nishnatoba runs on unrestricted [combat](/game-features/combat/) rules, so you can be killed at any time, for any reason, without retribution. It’s where Orders test themselves against one another directly, and where proving your worth to a god stops being abstract.
## How Achaea religion ties into the rest of the game
The gods don’t sit apart from the rest of Achaea. Their alignments connect to the [city-states](/city-states/), where good-aligned and evil-aligned communities draw on different divine sympathies. The evil city of Mhaldor, for example, was built around a creed that mirrors the darker gods. Your faith colours which [city-states](/city-states/) you’ll feel at home in and which you’ll set yourself against.
It feeds the roleplay layer too. A character’s religion gives them a worldview, a set of loyalties, and a reason to care about events far beyond their own story. For players who want their choices to carry weight inside a living world, devotion to an Achaea god is one of the surest ways to find it. If you’re brand new, the [newbie guide](/newbie-guide/) will get you grounded first, and faith can come once you’ve found your feet.
Pick a god whose aims match your own, climb their Order, and you stop being a face in the crowd. You become part of how the divine makes itself felt in Achaea. See where it fits in the wider [game features](/game-features/) hub.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**What are the Divine Orders in Achaea?**
The Divine Orders in Achaea are the bodies of each god’s most loyal followers, the players who serve a deity directly instead of just honouring them. Each Order forms around one god whose ethos sets what it stands for, so joining an Order means taking that cause as your own. For the full roster of deities behind these Orders, see the [Gods of Achaea](/gods/).
**What is a Divine Order in Achaea?**
A Divine Order is the formal body of a god’s most loyal followers. Joining one declares your allegiance and marks you as a representative of that deity on the world stage. Order members raise shrines, evoke their god’s power, and fight on the battleplane of Nishnatoba. It’s one of the deepest roleplay paths in the game, with ten ranks for those who prove themselves.
**How do I join a God’s Order in Achaea?**
You join by formally declaring your allegiance to a god whose ethos matches your own and pledging yourself to their cause. Not every god accepts followers, so first pick one who keeps an Order. Membership is a commitment, not a casual choice, because your actions reflect on your deity. Devotees who prove themselves climb the Order’s ten ranks and take on a larger role.
**What do members of a Divine Order do?**
Order members raise shrines in their god’s honour, offer divine essence, and evoke their deity’s power at those shrines. They also head to the battleplane of Nishnatoba to fight for their god during crusades. Rival Orders contest the same ground, so defending shrines and winning on Nishnatoba becomes an ongoing struggle between the faithful of different Achaea gods.
**How does religion connect to the rest of Achaea?**
Religion runs through the game’s politics and roleplay. Each god’s alignment ties into the city-states, where good-aligned and evil-aligned communities draw on different divine sympathies, so your faith shapes which cities you’ll feel at home in. It also gives your character a worldview and loyalties that reach far beyond their own story.
---
### [Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands](https://www.achaea.com/front)
**Published:** March 31, 2024
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
# The World’s Premiere MUD & Text-Based RPG
 #### [ Iron Realms Entertainment Presents ](http://www.ironrealms.com "Iron Realms Entertainment Presents")
[ Play Now ](https://play.achaea.com) [ Create a Character ](https://play.achaea.com/?create=true)**Dive into the world of Achaea using the Nexus Client, [now accessible on Android and iOS.](https://www.ironrealms.com/the-nexus-client/) Ignite your gaming passion from any location.**
## Why Play Achaea?
Achaea has been under constant development since 1995 and has been called **one of the most immersive games ever made**!
## Latest Achaean News
[  ](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69 "Updates")### [Updates](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69 "Updates")
##### May 12, 2026
Room owners can now appoint a sculptor to apply custom NDS embellishments to their plinth. Completed statues and sculptures can no longer be picked up and used as weapons. [Read More →](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/12/updates-69 "Read More") [  ](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/11/year-1000 "Year 1000!")### [Year 1000!](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/11/year-1000 "Year 1000!")
##### May 11, 2026
The Year 1000 celebrations have officially concluded. The new whirlpool of whispers in the Seleucar ruins is a precursor to a coming feature – visit it and do what it asks. [Read More →](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/11/year-1000 "Read More") [  ](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/10/its-not-creative-assistance-its-slop "It’s not creative assistance – it’s slop.")### [It’s not creative assistance – it’s slop.](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/10/its-not-creative-assistance-its-slop "It’s not creative assistance – it’s slop.")
##### May 10, 2026
The Garden is taking a harder stance on obviously AI-generated designs, news posts, and emotes. Achaea’s world is hand-written, and we intend to keep it that way. [Read More →](https://www.achaea.com/2026/05/10/its-not-creative-assistance-its-slop "Read More")## “No other type of game has even come close to what Achaea has been able to offer me, and no other MUD has compared.”
##### Utianima, Serpent of Eleusis
## “The freedom of choice and the possibilities in the game are endless.”
##### Centi Celes’Ciel, Druid of Eleusis
## “The rich game histories, the twists of politics, the debates of religion, the epic storytelling… “
##### Aerek Ancyrion, rogue Blademaster
## What’s a MUD?
- They’re like text-based MMOs.
- Smaller, tighter, *friendlier* communities.
- Considered **more immersive** by many in the same way a book vs. a movie is.
- MUDs are for gamers who appreciate game design over graphics.
## Did you know?
MUDs were invented in 1979 by Dr. Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw! Achaea itself launched in 1997, in the same month that Ultima Online launched. We’ve been going strong ever since, under non-stop development.
 The Nexus Client – the best way to play Achaea. http://play.achaea.com ## One Does Not Simply Walk Into Achaea.
Instead, one hits this button to play our MUD. Much easier, you have to admit.
[ PLAY NOW ](https://play.achaea.com) [ CREATE A CHARACTER ](https://play.achaea.com/?create=true)Achaea is one of the incredible free games developed and operated by [Iron Realms Entertainment](https://www.ironrealms.com) – the world leader in MUDs.
- ##### [Privacy Policy](https://www.ironrealms.com/privacy-policy/)
- ##### [Support](http://www.achaea.com/support)
- ##### [Terms of Service](http://www.achaea.com/tos)
- ##### [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/IronRealms/)
---
### [Achaea Maps](https://www.achaea.com/achaea_maps)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
# Game-Generated Maps
[Click here](http://www.achaea.com/game-maps/) to access a library of room-by-room area maps.
# World Maps
[The Known World of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/World_of_Achaea_-_Obscured_1.jpg) – A world map revealed through an event in 2023.
[Illustrated Map of Achaea](http://www.achaea.com/map/illustrated-map-of-achaea) – A large resolution illustrated map of the continents of Sapience and the known parts of Meropis. A must-see!
[A map of Southern Sapience](https://www.achaea.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/southsapience4k.jpg) – High resolution map of the mainland where most of Achaea’s action and gameplay takes place (2021)!
[World Map of Achaea](http://www.achaea.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/rpg-achaea-world-map-753x1024.gif) – Though at least at decade out of date, this is a once-full room by room map of Achaea. Mainly a historical curiosity.
[Map of Achaea’s Oceans](http://www.achaea.com/map/illustrated-map-of-achaeas-seas-and-oceans) – An accurate map of the oceans.
[Battle Maps](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps) – A series of maps displaying the strategic movements made in the now-destroyed city of Seleucar during the infamous Wars of Succession.
# Other Maps
### Ancient Seleucar
### Targossas
   Achaea before the fall of Seleucar and the resulting continent split!
---
### [Thanks for Signing Up](https://www.achaea.com/thanks-for-signing-up)
**Published:** May 29, 2018
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
## Thanks for signing up
Thank you. Please take a few moments and sign up for the official Iron Realms newsletter as well. You may also be interested in the official Achaea [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Achaea/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AchaeaIRE), and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ironrealms/) accounts.
### We’re Social
- [Achaea Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Achaea/)
- [Achaea Twitter](https://twitter.com/AchaeaIRE)
- [Iron Realms Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/IronRealms/)
- [Iron Realms Twitter](https://twitter.com/ironrealms)
- [Iron Realms Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ironrealms/)
---
### [Almost Done](https://www.achaea.com/almost-done)
**Published:** June 14, 2019
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
## You’re almost there
To complete your subscription to the newsletter you must confirm your email address. Check your email and click on the link we just sent you. You may need to check your spam folder. If you have any problems, feel free to contact us via [support](https://www.achaea.com/support/).
You may also be interested in the official Achaea [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Achaea/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AchaeaIRE), and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ironrealms/) accounts.
### We’re Social
- [Achaea Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Achaea/)
- [Achaea Twitter](https://twitter.com/AchaeaIRE)
- [Iron Realms Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/IronRealms/)
- [Iron Realms Twitter](https://twitter.com/ironrealms)
- [Iron Realms Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ironrealms/)
---
### [City-States](https://www.achaea.com/city-states)
**Published:** December 1, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
# City-States of Achaea
The cities of Achaea are independent governments, populated by players and ruled by players. Become the ultimate dictator, or run a city for the good of the masses. It’s up to you and the other citizens of that city!
# Ashtan
Ashtan, Seat of Chaos, lies on the northwest shore of the inhabited part of the continent of Sapience. Due to its seaport on the Sapphire Sea and its proximity to the fertile Sangre Plains, Ashtan has been a dominant power on the continent since the days of legend.Borne upon an abominable alliance of ruthlessly enduring vendetta, military might, and the terrible machinations of Imperator Glaaki and his Chaos Court, rises Ashtan, the Seat of Chaos. Their profane aims are wrought with havoc and destruction, utter ruin brought to bear against the orderly social and theological structures that would dare oppose the Bastion and her hermetic benefactors.Through irreverent and wanton devastation shall this favoured state wade; ambitious aspirants to power and glory, paving the way with rubble for the dominion of Chaos.**[Learn More](https://wiki.achaea.com/Ashtan)**
# Cyrene
A sanctuary to those who seek civility and independent thought, Cyrene strives to be at the forefront of culture, art, and craftsmanship.
Ever mindful of her roots as a refuge for those escaping the wars between the ancient twins of Ashtan and Shallam, Cyrene remains withdrawn from many of the conflicts that occur beyond her walls. With an ethos founded on decency and rule of law, citizens espouse consideration and exercise tolerance for individual pursuits.
Within the Vashnarian home can be found three Houses that, together, exemplify the best of what Cyrene encompasses. Dutifully guarding the city are the proud members of the Vashnarian Shield. Representing the artists and crafters of Cyrene, the Virtuosi help confirm the city as a font of culture. With their skills in exploration and a deep love of history and the academic, the Discurean Outriders are the vanguard of Cyrene’s outward reach.
[**Learn More**](https://wiki.achaea.com/Cyrene)
# Eleusis
Sitting in the treetops and stretching under the ground, Eleusis does not impose itself on the forest which surrounds it, but rather, it exists in harmony with its surroundings.
It has no walls, no normal guards which patrol it. Instead, the very trees will come alive should its villagers be attacked as the treekin, dryads, and Tsol’aa archers who regularly visit respond to offenders.
What fuels Eleusian beliefs is a deep desire to protect the forest and those who love it. Eleusis is a community for all forest folk; a place where they can relax in safety and camaraderie. It is a village which exists solely for those who devote themselves to Nature, and desire to be a bigger part of it.
[**Learn More**](https://wiki.achaea.com/Eleusis)
# Hashan
Built upon a wellspring of latent power, the city of Hashan has grown from humble beginnings and persevered through centuries of adversity to produce a fiercely independent and tenacious people. A city of secrets and sagacity, science, of the esoteric and erudite, Hashan is led by the Seneschal and council of Regents, leaders in the intricate dance of politics and power that comprises the Court of Shadows.
Embracing new ideas, Hashani march fearlessly into the future without looking back.
A deeply seated curiosity is inherent to the people of Hashan, who, through relentless study and experimentation, seek to master the metaphysical forces that constitute our existence, unravel the mysteries of the multiverse, and lay bare the secrets that divide mortalkind. They are dismissive of religious zealotry and the moral constraints traditionally placed upon Achaeans, supporting the idea that the ends justify the means.
### [Learn More](https://wiki.achaea.com/Hashan)
# Mhaldor
“What is called evil is simply the drive for advancement, for greatness. We seek, through discipline and pain, to spur the advancement of nothing less than sentient life.” — The First Truth of Evil.
At the end of a road shrouded in poisonous red fog, and lined with gibbets and corpses, rises Mhaldor, the City of Evil. The imposing confines of the Baelgrim Fortress house the mysterious Insidium, bearers of Mhaldor’s unspeakable rites and ancient traditions, whose wire-sharp webs stretch their threads throughout the land. Atop the Baelgrim battlements blaze the banners of the Dread Legates, they of bold voices and bolder blades, ever ready to deliver the merciless will of Evil to all existence.
A theocratic dictatorship, Mhaldor exists solely to advance Evil in all its forms. The city’s rigid hierarchy is ruled by the iron fist of the Tyrannus, rejecting democracy, compassion, freedom, and other manifestations of mortal weakness.
#### [Learn More](https://wiki.achaea.com/Mhaldor)
# Targossas
The island province of Targossas is a sprawling municipality for the followers of Good. Founded by the Divine will of Aurora, Goddess of Light and Deucalion, the Righteous Fire, the Dawnspear stands as a guiding beacon to those who would fight for the advancement of Creation.
Guided by the Divine-appointed Dawnlord, and his council of Lumarchs, the Dawnspear provides a home for the pious. A home for all who seek to drive Evil, Darkness, and Chaos from existence, purifying Creation in the name of Good to safeguard a glorious future.
Supporting Targossas in this pursuit are her Houses; the revered and mighty warriors of the Dawnblade, the analytical and subversive Luminai, and the Harbingers who offer succour to all who would seek it, in mind, body, and spirit.
#### [Learn More](https://wiki.achaea.com/Targossas)
---
### [The Artisanal and Bardic Fellowship](https://www.achaea.com/the-artisanal-and-bardic-fellowship)
**Published:** March 30, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
### The Artisanal and Bardic Fellowship of Scarlatti
The current contest theme is **SUCCESSION** and submissions are OPEN!
You can view previous Artisanal contest winners [here](http://wiki.achaea.com/Category:Artisanal_Competition).
You can view previous Bardic contest winners [here](https://wiki.achaea.com/Category:Bardic_Competition).
To honour and acclaim your wisdom and artistry, we have decided to encourage the fine arts by holding occasional writing and visual arts contests. The winners of these competitions will be ascribed rank within the Bardic and Artisanal orders in our Fellowship, as well as receiving a healthy reward of the currency known as **Credits**.
### Rules For Submission
Regardless of how many characters you play on Achaea, you may only submit ONE entry toward the open contest.
**Bardic entries must:**
1. Be original\* works (literature, history, poetry, or philosophy)
2. Be in written form. Words only; no recordings.
3. Be distinctly Achaean\*\*, within the proper mythology, culture and worldview.
**Artistic entries must:**
1. Be completely original\* artistic works, done by you only. This means no clip art, no stock photos, no pre-fab or pre-drawn models, 3d or otherwise. If you didn’t make it from scratch, you don’t use it in your art!
2. Be distinctly Achaean\*\*.
3. **Not** be collages.
4. Be black and white, colour, 2d, 3d, whatever.
**\*Originality:**
Every part of your piece must be original to qualify. Clip art is not original, even if you fix it up with Photoshop or some similar tool. Stock photos, pre-fab/pre-drawn 3d models, and the like are also not original.
For artistic pieces, a written explanation may be beneficial.
What if it isn’t original?
If it’s not entirely original work, then the entry is eliminated. You also stand a good chance of experiencing in-game repercussions if plagiarism is detected, up to and including loss of your character.
**\*\*Achaean:**
We ask – “Does this faithfully depict, in a reasonably detailed manner, an Achaean scene (one not likely to be found elsewhere)?” If yes, then it’s very likely to be distinctly Achaean.
If the scene could have been anywhere, or would fit in a number of fantasy environments, then it’s probably not “distinctly Achaean.”
Just any old warrior will probably not make it. Just adding the name of a city or house doesn’t make it uniquely Achaean. Bewinged atavians with runes on their armour and weapons and tattoos on their bodies, or even acting out Achaean abilities – this is more likely to be convincing.
### Formatting Your Submission
**Artisanal**
To submit an Artisanal work, attach the submission to the email with any additional information provided. You may submit .jpg, .gif, animated .gif, or Flash formats. The total size of your submission must not exceed 10MB.
In either case, submitting an entry is a very serious step. When you submit an entry, you are saying:
– that you were the original creator of the material, and
– that there is no material in your submission that is copyrighted by anyone else.
If you submit material that you didn’t create yourself, or that has been copyrighted by someone else, your character or characters will be shrubbed. You may also have **BROKEN THE LAW**: submitting someone else’s copyrighted material (or any intellectual property) may be a violation of US and International law. **ORIGINAL WORKS ONLY!**
**Bardic**
Bardic submissions should be sent either in a plain text file (properly formatted where appropriate), or in the body of the submission email itself. Please do not send direct copy-pasted content from Word or the equivalent!
**How To LOSE with your BARDIC Entry – Guaranteed!**
Just copy and paste from Microsoft Word. If you have smart quotes anywhere, then you’ll be disqualified instantly!
Use notepad, wordpad, or any other text editor. Or use Writer from OpenOffice.Org, which is free and comparable to M$ Word.
Or learn how to disable smart quotes in Microsoft Word. Look here: Tools -> Autocorrect Options -> Autoformat As You Type, and then make sure the box is UNchecked that says “Straight Quotes” for “smart quotes”.)
### How To Submit Your Entry
- All Bardic (written) and Artisanal (visual) entries for the contest must be submitted by email to **support@achaea.com**.
- Submissions must be titled Artisanal: or Bardic: for distinction.
- Submissions must include the name of your character and any additional appropriate information required to judge the entry.
- Please ensure that **EVERYTHING** you wish to submit is included in this email – multiple emails regarding the same submission are unlikely to be reviewed favourably.
**NOTE: Your character is assumed to have created the work in-role. This character will be the one to receive any forthcoming reward.**
These contests are held by discretion of the Achaean admin team, typically when in-game events or (rarely) OOC moments of significance provide an inspiring platform for creativity.
The closing date for each contest will always be announced at the same time as the contest itself. After submissions are closed, a judging period of one to two weeks will take effect, after which results will be announced and prizes awarded accordingly!
### What Can You Win?
There are 3 levels of success in the contest. One winner, up to three creditable runners up, and any number of minor merit awards.
A character may enter three times per contest.
Success in the contest brings with it the following rewards:
Winner : 4 points and 1000 credits
Runners up : 2 points and 500 credits
Merit : 1 point and 250 credits
Winning (and runner up) entries will be announced in game and on the Achaean website! Prizes will be allocated to the winning characters shortly afterwards, and the actual entries shall go on display on the Achaea wiki following that!
Each time you hit increments of 4 points in the Artisanal contest, you will gain a new rank in that Order, as well as some credits. That is in addition to the credits you get for being the winner, runner-up, or merit contestant see above).
There are 7 ranks. Your current rank is displayed in your HONOURS. The rank titles are as follows:
1 – Associate – 100 credits
2 – Fellow – 200 credits
3 – Master – 300 credits
4 – Artisanal Master – 400 credits
5 – High Master – 500 credits
6 – Laureate – 600 credits
7 – High Laureate – 700 credits
### Copyright Notice
All submitted works of whatever nature become the sole property of Iron Realms Entertainment, LLC, with all copyright assigned to Iron Realms Entertainment, LLC.
**NOTE:** The reason for this is that we wish to be eternally free to display winning works on our website. If you still have a problem with this, consider that the only works that will win are ones that have something to do with Achaea, and you couldn’t sell those anyway. We don’t mind you also posting the art or stories on your website however.
---
### [Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.achaea.com/frequently-asked-questions)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### Frequently Asked Questions
### 1. What kind of game is Achaea?
Iron Realms Entertainment makes what are called MMORPGs. (Or just MMOs or MUDs. Different words for the same thing.) That stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. Whew! What a mouthful, eh?
Achaea is essentially a virtual world where thousands of people live alternate lives and interact in real-time. When you begin, you’ll create a character, pick a name and gender, pick a race (like human, dwarf, troll, etc.), and then you’ll be given the option to be led through a short introduction to the game. This introduction only scratches the surface for you, though. These worlds have far, far more in them than you can see in a year. As you learn more about the world you’re in and progress, options will open up like traveling to other planes, running for political office, becoming a merchant, joining a religion, going to war, and far more.
Now here’s what will really blow your mind: There are almost no graphics. Almost everything is done using text. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? The only way to really ‘get’ it is to start playing. It’ll seem unfamiliar at first, but soon you’ll find that your mind creates images a whole lot better than a 3D game developer can, and you may start looking at 3D worlds as a bit cartoony and awkward.
### 2. How much does it cost to play?
Nothing! Achaea is completely free to play, and we do not run third-party ads on any of our sites. You do, however, have the opportunity to purchase [credits](http://www.achaea.com/credits "Credits") which will allow you to speed your progress towards certain goals in-game. They are entirely optional, and anything you can attain with them you can attain without them by just playing the game longer. If you would like to learn more about credits, please read the [Payment FAQ](http://www.ironrealms.com/payment-faq) on the main Iron Realms website.
We’re confident that you’re going to like our games enough to want to support us – that’s how we have not just survived, but *thrived* since 1997. Our players are fanatically loyal, and we do our best to ensure we give them a playing experience that warrants that kind of loyalty.
### 3. Why should I play your game instead of World of Warcraft or Star Wars: the Old Republic?
If you’ve played any of the big MMOs, you know that they are comprised of a few fundamental things: killing monsters, quests, and PvP. Yes, many of them add on things like crafting, special events, and player-run organisations, but there is a limit to the amount of realism, depth, and options they can provide.
Achaea is different. Of course we have monster bashing, quests, and PvP, but that’s just a fraction of what is possible. We have player-run organisations that can permanently expand their territory, declare war on each other, and run elections; an extensive mercantile system for trading, bartering, or opening your own shop; ships you can use for travel, combat or fishing; and active and meaningful religions where you can interact with the Gods. You’ll find all sorts of systems that allow more customisation than just your character’s face and body type: libraries of books written by players, the ability to become a bookie or design heraldry, fully customisable tailoring and cooking skills, marriage and extended family relationships with other players. One of our best features is the opportunity to participate in realtime roleplaying events run by the administrators, where endings are often open-ended and directly affected by the choices our players make.
In short, what you’ll find is that you’re trading eye-candy for depth and breadth of content when you switch from a graphical MMORPG to the world of Achaea. And hey – we are not completely without eye-candy either. Check out our [gallery of Gods](https://www.achaea.com/gods) and our [archive of maps](https://www.achaea.com/achaea_maps)!
### 4. I’ve played text MUDs/MMOs before. What is so special about Achaea?
A number of things. First, at least 98% of text MUDs are run by people as hobbies. Some of them do a remarkably good job at it, but they’re in the distinct minority. Iron Realms, on the other hand, has over ten professional, full-time developers and a whole cadre of administrators working on our games. We are *very* dedicated to giving players an unparalleled game experience.
Second, our designs are more sophisticated and in-depth than virtually any other MMO. Not only is the combat the best that can be found, but it’s just one feature of an incredible range of game systems. New content is constantly in development and is released throughout the year. Don’t believe us? Check out our [recent events](http://www.achaea.com/news "Recent Events") or [in-game announcements](http://www.achaea.com/game/news/Achaea/Announce "Announce News") to see all that is happening.
Finally, customer service. We pride ourselves on offering a high standard of service to all of our players, whether they have been playing for 10 years or 10 days. Timely response to your questions and requests is a top priority for us.
Remember: There’s a reason that the worlds of Iron Realms are all consistently rated in the top 10 MUDs in the world, often reaching #1. We are supremely dedicated to our players in a way that few other MUD operators are.
---
### [Terms Of Service](https://www.achaea.com/tos)
**Published:** February 1, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
### Terms of Service
The following are the Terms of Service (“Terms”) that will govern your use of our website at [www.achaea.com](http://www.achaea.com "www.achaea.com"), and any services provided via it or the telnet-accessible multi-user game, Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands, operated by Iron Realms Entertainment, LLC (“the Company”).
**1. Our Services.**
Achaea is a multiplayer, Internet-based, persistent game that allows you to assume a fictional persona (“Character”) and participate in the provided world, plots, and other in-game activities. There is also a website closely tied to the game. (collectively, “Services”). **2. Access.**
In order to access the Company’s Services, you must have access to a functioning Internet connection. The Company reserves the right to ban any portion of its Services to any party at its sole discretion. You must be at least 13 years of age to use our services **3. Registration.**
If you accept the Terms, the Company will request that you fill out a registration form in order to identify yourself. You agree that the information you place in the registration form is at all times true, accurate, current, and complete, and you further agree to maintain that information as such, by updating the data as necessary. You will then be asked to choose a character name (“Character ID”). You are not permitted to select any name that violates a third party’s copyright, trademark right, or other proprietary right, or which the Company determines to be vulgar or offensive. Said determination will be made solely at the Company’s discretion. The Company reserves the right to require you to change any Character ID we deem offensive or vulgar, to change your Character ID for you, or to delete your character. If your representations are found to be false, or the Company has reasonable grounds to suspect the representations are, the Company has the right upon notice to suspend or terminate your license and this agreement, and to refuse and block your current or future use of these Services. You will also be asked to choose a password (“Password”). It is recommended that the User choose a password consisting of both letters and numbers, and avoid anything a third party might be able to guess. User shall be solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the Password and shall be liable for any damages resulting from disclosing or allowing disclosure of such Password or from the use, authorized or unauthorized, by any person of such Password to gain access to User’s Character. **4. License.**
Subject to all of the Terms, the Company hereby grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access the Services and to use the Services solely for your personal entertainment purposes. You may not use the Services to generate revenue for yourself or any third party, in any way, without prior written permission from the Company. **5. Conduct Deemed Unacceptable.**
User may not engage in any conduct or communication while using the Services which is unlawful or which restricts or inhibits any other User from using or enjoying the Services. User agrees to use the Services only for lawful purposes. The Company reserves the right to terminate User’s license and Character if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the User has engaged in unacceptable conduct. The list of prohibited conduct set forth in Subsections (a) through (g) below provides a few examples of unacceptable conduct. This list is by no means exhaustive, and the Company reserves the right, but not the responsibility, to restrict the capability to perform acts or series of acts which the Company deems, in its sole discretion, to be harmful to individual users, damaging to the Services provided, or in violation of the Company’s or any third party’s rights. The Company reserves the right to prohibit or delete characters, or to ban users from the Services, or to delete or alter any communication deemed likely to harm individual users, or the Services. The Company explicitly declaims responsibility for screening communications in advance. Examples of unacceptable conduct are, but are not limited to:
1. Impersonating any other person while using the services.
2. Creating or providing any other means through which the Services may be used by anyone besides you (for instance, a server emulator).
3. Posting, uploading, e-mailing, messaging, or otherwise communicating or transmitting through the Services, any material that (i) You lack a right to communicate or transmit under any law or contractual, ethical, or fiduciary relationship. (ii) Infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, proprietary secret. (iii) Is unsolicited or unauthorized promotion, solicitation, advertising, junk mail, ponzi or pyramid schemes, or other communication that may be damaging to the credibility of the Services, (iv) Contains or triggers any software viruses or other computer files, code, or hardware designed to destroy, interrupt, or limit the functionality of any telecommunications equipment, computer hardware, computer software, or any electrical appliance or circuit. (v) Exhibits or condones racism, sexism, or homophobia, or is ethnically offensive, or is libelous, obscene, vulgar, or defamatory.
4. Violating intentionally or unintentionally any applicable law or regulation, whether local, state, federal, or international.
5. Engaging in any behavior intended to damage the Company, or its Services.
6. Engaging in any unacceptable harassment, as determined solely by the Company, of another user of the Services.
7. Transfer to any other person, or assist in the using of, any Character or license which you did not create or open.
**6. Content and Content Ownership.**
The nature of the Services, especially the games portion, is interactive. There exist opportunities to submit a variety of your writings, graphics, art, ideas, text, and other creative or productive products while participating in the Services (“User Content”). When you submit any User Content, you represent and warrant that (i) You have the right to post your User Content. (ii) Your posting of the User Content does not violate anyone else’s legal rights. (iii) The User Content will not cause harm to the Services or individual users of the Services. You hereby grant the Company a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, alter, publish, distribute, display, or perform any of your User Content in any and all media currently known, or developed in or discovered in the future. You further agree that the Services are composed of software object code, software source code, writings, files, logs, graphics, and other materials owned by the Company. You agree never to interfere with any proprietary rights, copyrights, or trademarks of the Company or any of its licensors. You agree that all data associated with the Services and residing on the Company’s servers is owned exclusively by the Company. **7. Character Security.**
The Company disclaims all responsibility for character security. The User hereby agrees to be completely and fully responsible for maintaining the security of his or her password. **8. Privacy.**
We reserve the right to monitor, preserve, or disclose any and all communications made or received by you while accessing or using the Services. The Company disclaims responsibility for ensuring that communications are kept private from third-party snoopers, packet sniffers and any other method of intercepting communications. You acknowledge that the Company reserves the right, but not the responsibility, to inform law enforcement authorities of any actions illegal in the opinion of the Company. The Company will fully cooperate with law enforcement authorities in any related investigation. **9. Purchases.**
We sell various digital goods called, variously, credits, tokens, and other things that we may add or remove from the game as we choose over time. You hereby agree that the chosen game character’s receipt of whatever was purchased concludes the transaction and that the Company has no further legal obligation to the User except as provided by this agreement. The User hereby agrees that the purchase of anything from the Company does not constitute an investment of any kind. The User acknowledges and hereby agrees that the perceived or real value of anything purchased now, in the future, or in the past may change over time. The User acknowledges that the Company does not provide refunds under any circumstance. The User acknowledges and hereby agrees that the Company cannot be held responsible for any loss of data that may be associated with the operating of, or the maintenance of, the Services. The Company acknowledges that it has an ethical obligation to attempt to ensure that nobody loses what they’ve purchased due to data loss. **10. Ownership of Achaea and Services.**
The Company, and its contractually-bound licensors shall, at all times, retain all right, title, and interest in and to the Services, except to the extent of the licenses granted hereunder. **11. Disclaimer of Warranty.** THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE COMPANY FURTHER DOES NOT WARRANT THE COMPLETENESS OR ACCURACY OF THE SERVICES OR LINKS PROVIDED BY THE SERVICES. THE COMPANY DOES NOT WARRANT THE OPERABILITY OF THE SERVICES, BECAUSE CRASHES AND DOWNTIME ARE INEVITABLE. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN ACTION BASED IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORT, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES. SIMPLY PUT, WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO MAINTAIN THE SERVICES, BUT ARE NOT LIABLE TO ANYONE, FOR ANY RESULT OF ANY FAILURE TO DO SO. **12. Limitation of Liability.**
NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY, THE COMPANY’S AND ITS AFFILIATES’, LICENSORS’ AND SUBCONTRACTORS’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU ARISING FROM OR IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SERVICES ARE HEREBY AGREED TO BE NOTHING AND NONEXISTENT. **13. Consequential Damages.**
IN NO EVENT WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUBCONTRACTORS BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOSS OF USE OR COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, HOWEVER CAUSED, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF REPUDIATION OF CONTRACT, TORT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SUBCONTRACTORS WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY STATED HEREIN. IN JURISDICTIONS THAT DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THE COMPANY’S, ITS AFFILIATES’, LICENSORS’ AND SUBCONTRACTORS’ LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. **14. Indemnification.**
User agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company from all liabilities, damages, costs and expenses, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, arising from or related to any breach of this Agreement by User, or in connection with transmissions by or through User’s various licenses or Characters. The Company reserves the right, at User’s expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by User hereunder, and in such event, User shall have the obligation to provide indemnification for such matter and reimbursement of all reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the Company in defending such claim. **15. Termination.**
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### [The Worldreaver Saga](https://www.achaea.com/history/the-worldreaver-saga)
**Published:** December 7, 2016
**Author:** Sarapis
**Content:**
# The Worldreaver Saga
A telling of the most impactful event in Achaea since the Chaos Wars. ### Chapter List
### Death and Demise
Screaming, the Holy Oracle of Prin clawed at her flesh, her ivory scales stained crimson as she drew blood from her arms and throat. Light blazed as a golden archway appeared, and the Guardian rushed through, a look of panic plain upon her face. Taking the shaking xoran in her arms, Urandesea whispered soothing words and wrapped soft cloths about her body, crooning until the sobs began to cease. The oracle’s eyes stared wide into the near-blinding light that surrounded them, and a hand clutched at Urandesea’s wrist. “Hark, egress in flux, the bescaled kin suffer,” she uttered with passionless clarity. “Cradled in the cold arm of the offspring, the brood suffers in barren waste.” Anger flared briefly in the girl’s eyes, followed by despondence as she murmured, “Death, death, and demise.” Before Urandesea could speak, the oracle’s head dropped to the side, her body limp, and she fell into a deep and dreamless slumber. ~ ~ ~ Several long days later, Urandesea stepped off a gangplank and into the harbour along [Sapience](http://wiki.achaea.com/Sapience)‘s eastern shore. Accompanied by guardians, hunters, and one particularly mad but necessary priestess, she observed her surroundings with grim resolve. Somewhere in this unknown land they must find answers, she told herself. Someone would have to help. ~ ~ ~ The nearest settlement, [Shastaan](http://wiki.achaea.com/Shastaan), was useless: its residents seemed preoccupied with the business of making and raising children, petty matters in the grander scheme of things. The xoran party moved on to the major highway and headed northward, finding themselves in Delos. Urandesea’s sharp senses picked up the sound of voices, and with a commanding lead she headed toward them. In the lavish reception chamber of the tailor’s union they encountered siblings Sheetaa and Solfege Ashaela, jesters with the local Carnivalis Institute. The Ashaelas readily admitted their own limitations in the scholastic arena, but instead invited the xoran to their home city of [Cyrene](http://wiki.achaea.com/Cyrene), where scholars and learned sages were certain to be found. There, at last, in the Heart of the Vashnars, Urandesea began to feel a measure of hope take hold. After listening to the oracle’s puzzling words, Sir Verrucht Dawyn, Cyrene’s imperiate, suggested that they referred to the Vents of Hthrak, a barren wasteland surrounded by cold mountains in the far north. Without hesitation an expedition began to form. ~ ~ ~ Kayeil Inamora-Vorondil paused at the entrance to the scathing wasteland, adjusting to the heat and allowing the rest of the group to catch up. They numbered thirteen in total: herself, the six xoran, the Ashaela siblings, as well as Artanis and Cyrenians Fendo, Prydywn, and Zinka. She had guided them here as they requested, but would they find only disappointment? Nobody had ever heard of a xoran settlement in the area, of that she was sure. Soon the Imperiate and Agrias de Feura arrived, having scouted ahead, and delivered the news: just ahead lay the corpses of several xoran. Urandesea marched onward to face the scene from the oracle’s vision with stoic fortitude. None recognised the dead, a scattered assortment of male and female, elderly and youthful. Some of the bodies had been ravaged by the local wildlife; some bore wounds of unclear origin. Were they harmed before death, or after? And how did one exhibit signs of frostbite in the oppressive heat of the surrounding wasteland? Encircling the neck of each body, the explorers noticed, was a collar of unknown material. Purplish in hue, it exhibited qualities not unlike iron, but was no metal any of them had ever seen. Reverently releasing the xoran from their cruel demise through fire, the bodies were burned to ash and three of the mysterious collars retrieved. Leaving with more unanswered questions than they began with, the travelers returned south. Urandesea remains a guest of the Imperiate while investigation into the composition of these collars continues, the only clue to the origins of the mysterious xoran found in the north. ### A Spreading Illness
As rumour began to spread of the strange discoveries in the north, the citizens of Cyrene were hard at work investigating the origin of the metal collars found around the necks of the deceased xoran. But even the devoted smiths of [Phaestus](http://wiki.achaea.com/Phaestus) could not determine what kind of metal comprised the collars. One was melted into an ingot and sent to the Cauda Pavonis for further scrutiny, but seldom have those enigmatic alchemists been forthcoming with answers. Little did the adventurers know, a mysterious illness had taken hold of those who had come in contact with the corpses in Hthrak. While visiting Cyrene, Dannyl contracted the disease, unknowingly carrying it with him to Shallam; from there, raiding Ashtani spread it to their own city. Onward the infection silently travelled, to Hashan and Mhaldor courtesy of unknowing hosts Twil and Katia. Many harbour the illness, experiencing no symptoms, but several xoran have already reported deadened senses and itching upon their skin. Meanwhile, the last of the three collars retrieved from the north arrived via ship upon the isle of Prin, born by a priestess and two hunters… along with the spreading disease. ### Broodfellows
Chieftain Krui, Illness seems to be spreading on the continent, and I fear we may have contracted a disease from the bodies I reported in my last letter. I urge you to take necessary steps to identify and isolate any of our people who appear to be infected on the island. More importantly, I have enclosed a copy of the writings recovered in the possession of a pair of young xoran, found dead earlier this day, also in the vicinity of the Vents of the Hthrak. Though the writer’s language skills are stunted at best, you will note the terms broodparent, broodfellow, and so on. These terms have not been in common usage since our elders’ elders were young, but I suspect it indicates some common history between us and these strangers. Still nothing concrete on the origin of these xoran, though you will see a few hints in the enclosed writings. For the present, we are staying in a jungle city called Istarion. Urandesea, Guardian of the Oracle, 608 AF. ~ ~ ~ \[A thick roll of parchments is tied with a strip of leather.\] **(Page 1)** Broodself scared. Broodself not can see the broodhome above us anymore! Everybody sick, and dead the Broodfellows are in a pile. Broodfather won’t talk and her the Broodmother is so sick. Many Broodfellows are sick too. Pa’lasi just reads the Book for ever and talks at herself. A xoran infernal knight
**(Page 2)** It is not fair. Ril says the Broodparents fitted. They were in the plan. They fitted. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Priest said and our Broodparents did! Broodself hates them. All the Ormir. I hope some big Dalamirs eat them or that we can put THEIR Broodparents here, and THEY see what it like is to be sick. Proud Broodfellows fought with Ormir because of no choice! And Broodparents still knew their place, even when Broodfellows said they must join! And this is what they do to all Broodfellows, all in every place. They do this. They make us sick. They want the dying to happen in all the Brood. Why. It is not fair. **(Page 3)** Pa’lasi did it! She the Broodparentsister maybe saved us! All her chanting and reading the Book, and she did it! The door that not is door is there. We are scared all of us to go but we dying our Broodfellows are. Some Broodfellows went through to find what on other the side of. **(Page 4)** Broodparentbrother Ar’thil made us come with him tonight, me and Ril. Broodself wanted to stay, but Broodmother told us to go. Our Broodfather wasn’t even moving when we left, and our Broodmother was could even not stand. Where are we? It is cold freezing and we need food. **(Page 5)** Ril’s nose stopped working. Broodself’s is still good. Ril says that we can fix it here. In this new world. Broodself is very scared. **(Page 6)** Broodparentbrother Ar’thil went hunting for food and did come not back. Now there are just Broodself, Broodsister Ril, Broodparentsister Pa’lasi, Broodfellow Uth’bora. **(Page 7)** It is just us, and Broodsister Ril is getting sicker! Broodparentsister Pa’lasi and Broodfellow Uth’bora were fighting with horned and scary monsters and told to us to run so we did. Broodself saw Pa’lasi die but Broodfellow Uth’bora fighted still. **(Page 8)** Broodsister Ril! She is so sick, but at least the cold freezing is less here. **(Page 9)** They are chasing us but Broodself is not strong enough to carry Broodsister Ril. Broodself is so scared. Broodsister Ril’s eyes are closed and Broodself is alone. Broodself is not without Brood. Elara save the Brood. If Broodself spirit fights after death, Broodself find Balmet and Broodself will KILL and then Broodself will kill Ormir and maybe even Dalamirs. Then Broodself rest. Broodself so cold and the darkness comes. Broodself misses the two eyesuns at Home. Broodself misses resting in safe caves with Broodparents and Broodmates. Noises. Broodsister Ril does not breathe. They find Broodself. Goodbye. ### Origin of the Xoran
Chieftain Krui, I write to you filled both with horror and with awe. A magical portal has been discovered in the far north, only a short distance west of this place called Hthrak. It leads to some world that is somehow apart from ours, and it is from there that these distant xoran kin must have emerged. But it is a gruesome place of death: a burial chamber filled with thousands of the dead. Even now the bodies are being dragged away from the most massive pile, in hopes of unblocking what appears to be a tunnel, so that we may exit the underground. Enclosed you will find a copy of the writings discovered among the dead. It appears to be sacred to the xoran here… and all signs indicate that the words, if they hold truth, document the origins of our race. Urandesea, Guardian of the Oracle, year 608 A.F. \~~~ A few thousand years ago, Elara – one of the [Offspring](http://wiki.achaea.com/Category:Offspring) – was experimenting with reaching across space. As she opened one of the portals, a giant scaled hand reached through, grabbed her, and she disappeared from all Achaean knowledge until the pages from her journal, below, were found. #### From Elara’s journal:
**14th of Scarlatan, year 314 of the Calliston calendar** Things are going to get rocky I think. Sahart and Glanos seem to have both fallen for Enalia and despite the best advice from Carme and myself, they seem bound and determined to both dock at her port. It can’t end well. **17th of Scarlatan, year 314 of the Calliston calendar** By the rape of Maya this is almost too much! The last six new places I’ve found to open portals to have been either dead worlds as far as I could tell, or were completely uninhabitable. Last night I found somewhere that burned my hand, as if with acid or noxious venom, as soon as I stuck my hand through the edges. It’s still raw, offensive to look at, and aches. I will find Lysithea, but I quail to think of how many years or decades of searching it may take me. **24th of Scarlatan, year 314 of the Calliston calendar** I think I’ve found a promising new world. I opened a portal through briefly today and after a stick survived being thrust through and brought back without damage, I risked my right hand. With direst caution, I then put my head through to see what I could see. What I saw could have been part of our world. The air looked clear and felt cool. I took a small experimental breath and quickly withdrew in case the atmosphere was unbreathable and caused me to lose consciousness. Nothing! If breathing the air there is dangerous, I’ve not felt the effects of it yet. I pray that nothing pernicious has lodged itself in my lungs. Seeing as the portal appeared to be over solid ground, I put my head through again, looked around, and stepped out. Life everywhere! Plants, things that are perhaps the equivalent of our trees, small creatures like insects, creatures soaring in the sky. But the differences! I approached what appeared to be a sturdy oak, only to find its branches swaying independently of any wind, as if they were supple and alive. The birds in the skies appeared to lack feathers, and looked more like bats than birds, though without hair. I saw something like a bee, which, upon flying up to me, showed me that it was nothing like a bee. Instead of insectoid, it looked like a tiny, hairy vole with heavily-bristled wings. Something large moved under the surface of the lake, but I saw only a blast of air and triple fins pierce the surface. And what I can only call snakes and lizards were everywhere! Tiny snakes darted into holes in the ground in advance of my approach everywhere. Lizards climbed trees and camouflaged themselves on the trunks and in the highest reaches of the branches, but they often had more legs than the reptiles we’re accustomed to seeing. I swear I saw one “lizard” that must have had dozens of legs, like a centipede. As I wandered around the immediate area, careful to always keep my exit home in sight, I found a trail developed enough and wide enough that, in our world at least, would only be made by intelligent beings. Seeing this, I became very nervous If there were intelligent species here, they were potentially close-by. If I encountered any, it’s impossible to know what their reaction or disposition towards me might be. It was time to leave, so exited through the portal. But I’ll be back. **2nd of Eron, year 314 of the Calliston calendar** I’m exhausted. I opened four portals today to the world I found three days ago. Nothing. Every one opened either in solid rock and soil, or underwater. Tomorrow, I’m going to rest and have a talk with Enalia about the boys. **2nd day of Captivity** They were waiting for me. I don’t know how. **5th day of Captivity** It was on the 4th of Eron that I opened a door to this accursed world again. This time, Himalia and Ledo were with me, for I feared to encounter the natives of this new world alone. I opened the portal using the piece of the sceptre as they watched, and a heartbeat later I was violently yanked through it. My concentration was disrupted and the portal closed before Himalia or Ledo could do anything. Oh no no, not again. The scaly bastards are coming for me again. Gods help me. **8th day of Captivity** They took everything from me but my journal, which is bound to me and spelled to hide itself from prying eyes. That spell was meant to allow me to keep my private thoughts private from even Carme, and it is all I have left. I must write with my own fingernails, wetted with my own blood. **13th day of Captivity** They keep me locked in here, in the dark. They’ve tortured me, but I can’t understand what they’re saying. I don’t know why they’re doing this, but I’m not sure if I can stand much more of this. I live naked, in my own shit and urine, chained to the floor. Infected sores from lying in filth cover my legs and backside. When I breathe, it feels like someone’s jabbing a dagger in my insides, so I think I have a broken rib, and I hurt all over. Last night I was startled awake by one of the vermin I occasionally spy. It was gnawing on my calf. I’m starving. I’ve had nothing but water since I was captured. I miss Carme so much. Why was finding Lysithea so important to me? **16th day of Captivity** One of the bigger scaly bastards came to me today. He had a light of some kind with him, and he just stood in my cell looking down at me. He was huge – at least seven feet tall, and strong-looking. I screamed and cried, I spit and hurled threats. I begged. It made no difference. He turned, put out the light, and walked out. **18th day of Captivity** The hunger broke me today. When one of the vermin came to feed on me, I crushed it with my chain and ate it. It was like a lizard with bristly hair. I could swallow only two bites before I began to retch. **22nd day of Captivity** If I could will myself to die, I would, without a second thought. I believed I knew what it was to be filthy, but now I know what it is to be wholly unclean. They were inside of me, and others stood around me, watching me until they finished. I could feel their dry scaly skin rubbing on mine as their disgusting tongues flicked in and out in rhythm to their movements. Please, by all the Gods, someone help me. **24th day of Captivity** Yesterday I was moved. They came to my cell and I’m not proud to say that my bowels voided themselves when I saw them in the doorway. I’ve never known terror like this in my life. But they weren’t here to do that again, thank Maya. They just watched me while one of them appeared to cast a spell – at the least, his reptilian eyes shut and he looked to be chanting something. **Date Unknown – Estimated 2 months since capture** I don’t know how long it’s been since I wrote. The only contact I have is at feeding time. At least they feed me now, though it’s always raw meat. I can hold it down now, but at first the pain from the stomach cramps was worse than anything I’ve ever endured. **Date Unknown – Maybe five months since capture** By the mother. Something is alive inside me. I can feel it moving. I think I’m pregnant. **Date Unknown – 8 months since capture** They come to me every day and examine me like a piece of meat. This thing inside of me must mean something to them. I want it to die. I want anything that will deny my captors something they want. I would slay them and everything they love, everything they’ve ever cared about, everything their eyes have ever touched if I could. **Date Unknown – 9 months since capture** I gave birth yesterday. Six of them. Small, scaly, and blind. I don’t know what to feel. I’m not sure if I’m glad I survived it. With the amount of blood on the floor, I’m surprised I did. I had planned to kill them if I lived through the birth… but I can’t. I can’t kill them anymore than I could have left Glanos to die of exposure when he was born a sickly child. They’re mine. **Date Unknown – 2 months after giving birth** It’s incredible how quickly they grow. Their eyes opened today. It’s even more incredible that I can produce any milk for them. I haven’t seen a mirror since I was kidnapped to this place, wherever it is, but I’m so emaciated it’s a wonder that they get anything when they suckle. The scaly bastards visit me less often now, but they pay me almost no attention. They’re intent on examining my children though. Every time they touch one I want to rip out the bastard’s throat. Get your hands off my children, you damned dirty lizards. **Date Unknown – 6 months after giving birth** I can’t believe it. The one I call Sinlana spoke today. She called me mommy. I cried and cried when she did that. It was one of the only moments of pure joy I’ve experienced since being taken here. **Date Unknown – 10 months after giving birth** Their development is much faster than a human’s. Only maybe 10 months old and they’re putting together complete sentences and asking questions. Today, little Ashti asked me what’s on the other side of the door. I wept when I told him I didn’t know. My world has become so small. **Date Unknown – 12 months after giving birth** They came to me today. Five of them. Two of the really big ones and three of the others. They took my babies. All of them. Sinlana, Ashti, Ledon, Crensa, Onolor, and Gema. I hurled my own excrement at the bastards and one of them hit me so hard I blacked out. They must have beat me while I was unconscious, because I hurt all over. **Date Unknown – 12 months after giving birth** I’ve been coughing up blood today. I think something’s broken inside me. **Date Unknown – 12 months after giving birth** They’ve brought me no food and no water for three days. Whether my internal injuries kill me before dehydration does is an ongoing debate between the voices I hear while I lie, alone, in the dark. One more day, maybe two. It’s not how I thought to end my life. Is my love looking for me? Will he ever know what happened to me? What are the bastards doing with my children? **Date Unknown – 12 months after giving birth** My children, I know you’ll never read this, but as I die quietly, surrounded by nothing but inky blackness, I hope to talk to you anyway. My mother and my father were like you – born of violence. A new race, never seen before. Brave and intrepid, they were able to forge a life for themselves despite having no forebears that faced an existence like theirs. Their names were Callisto and Sinope, and they were the bravest people I’ve ever known barring possibly my grandmother, Maya. I can’t even begin to predict what your lives will be like. I don’t know why the bastards bred me or why they took you, but I know that you’re free as long as you don’t let your mind be chained. Be strong. Be free. And by the power of Ayar, avenge me. Avenge me! **Date Unknown – 12 months after birth** What do the triggerfish sing of when the suns dance? Blackened soul brings thoughts of a distant trance, founded by my love in life’s lovely plan. Loss is rendered joy and recedes in the memories of Man. My children, my children, the future is cold, so do not fail. Grant yourselves the freedom to savour the wonders that lie beyond the Veil. \~~~ #### **Other letters found with Elara’s journal:**
**Letters from Broodfellow C’nop, 304 years AD** Broodfellows, We must us all remember the speaks of Elara and keep them from the Ormyrr. By the luck only we found the Book. Learn it but keep it secret. The Bastards must never find it. **Letters from Broodfellow C’nop, 309 AD** Broodfellows, Found and put to the pain was Broodfellow As’ti. We do not believe think she the gave the location where meet happens. **Letters from Broodfellow C’nop, 313 AD** Broodfellows, The speak of Elara reminds us to ever seek freedom. Our minds are free. **Reflections on Elara IV, by Broodprophet Pha’las, 1472 AD** Her Glory not does free us from the dark chains of the Ormyrr. The will of the Brood will free us. But it is Her courage that grants us strength. Elara bless us all. **Reflections on Elara XII, by Broodprophet Pha’las, 1486 AD** Tails and eyesuns, both in a row, bringing solace and grey powers to Krenindala and its Dala’myrr-wrought pale tower. **Elara’s Transcendence, Book 1, Verse 4, by Broodprophet E’lana, 3702 AD** Great is the test faith of our Mother. The alien God reeks of betrayal. Half of the Brood takes he, promising false power, his eyes of dusk lying with glances all. **Elara’s Transcendence, Book 3, Verse 6, by Broodprophet E’lana, 3703 AD** The dusk God has stolen our Broodfellows. The Ormyrr show contempt they have for the Brood. Half our people. Gone dead. Murdered. But Ormyrr are deceived by the dusk. **Legacy of the Mother, part 2 – Broodwarrior An’irith, 3704 AD** We met Ormyrr the on the plains near the Falls of Thim. In the centre the Brood held and off the field driven were the Bastards. **Legacy of the Mother, part 5 – Broodwarrior An’irith, 3704 AD** No appetite do I have. Ash is my food and my battlesmell is broken. **Legacy of the Mother, part 7 – Broodwarior An’irith, 3704 AD** I am sick. Scales of mine fall off and I am tired so much. Many others died have. Elara save this Broodself and Broodfellows. ### The Portal to Krenindala
Far to the north, in the mountains west of the Vents of Hthrak, a portal stands open, connecting our world to another. Beyond lies Krenindala, a place inhabited by draconic Dala’myrr and the violent ormyrr race: progenitors, slavemasters, and would-be exterminators of the xoran. From the first moment Achaeans stepped foot upon the dusty surface of Krenindala, they were met with open hostility. Many fell to brutal attacks by the ormyrr and Dala’myrr before retreating to the safety of the underground. But even that is no longer safe, as the past months have seen a host of ormyrr steadily encroaching upon the portal’s subterranean location, carefully positioned in unassailable numbers. In our own world, disease continues to spread among the xoran, carried to Achaea by the few refugees who escaped Krenindala before their tragic end. Thus far symptoms have been minor, but rumours of advanced illness are beginning to emerge… a growing concern for Achaeans, if the fate of Krenindala’s xoran is any indication. ### The Death of Ashaxei
On the distant world of Krenindala, the voices of ormyrr clamoured as one, incited to a riotous frenzy as the Dala’myrr moved beneath their feet. The ground shuddered as the great wyrms drew closer to their destination… Moments later, amidst the frozen tundra, a portal, solitary and unguarded, swelled as a trio of gargantuan, armoured creatures burst forth into our world. Moving in unison, the three behemoths took to the skies, swimming southward through the air with sinuous grace. As they neared the Granite Hills, the monstrous trio dove into the earth, vanishing beneath the rock, leaving not a trace of their passage. ~ ~ ~ Meanwhile, in the mountain village of Caer Witrin, a humble atavian stood ready to accept an extraordinary gift from the white dragon, Ashaxei. At her side stood Han-Tolneth, the Dragonmaster, who shifted uncomfortably at the unfamiliar sight upon the northern horizon. Still, he remained respectfully silent as Ashaxei continued, imparting wise words to Vincenzio Vallah Le’Murzen. A coruscating nimbus of power surrounded Ashaxei, at first brilliant white, then shifting to inky black as it began to wash over Vincenzio, pouring into his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears with a deafening roar as he was imbued with the powers of a greater dragon. Ashaxei unfurled her wings, rising up to her full height and towering over the surroundings as she spoke: “It is done. I welcome you to my brood, Vincenzio.” No sooner had the words left the mouth of the dragon when, without preamble, a massive, multi-segmented creature erupted from beneath Ashaxei, tossing her into the heavens like a rag doll. Shrieking in triumph, the Dala’myrr launched itself skyward in pursuit, followed by two more of its kin. In horror did those upon the ground watch as the distance closed between the Dala’myrr and the disoriented dragon. The first caught up to Ashaxei and ripped into her hindquarters, severing her right limb and sending a sheet of crimson blood raining down from the sky. Roaring in pain, Ashaxei redoubled her efforts, gaining distance and altitude against her foes. A wave of concussive power tore through the firmament as she reared back and unleashed her ferocious breath, but the wyrms swerved clear of the blast and countered with their own. Clouds of acidic gas tore toward Ashaxei, boiling away the delicate membranes of her wings as she struggled to remain aloft. Tearing open the Veil Extant, she made a final, desperate attempt to flee, but before the white dragon could pass between the worlds she was overcome by a Dala’myrr, who impaled her upon a razor sharp mandible. Roaring in triumph, the wyrms circled in the skies, tossing Ashaxei’s broken body away and disappearing in the firmament. Stunned, the world continued to watch as the lifeless white dragon fell toward the earth like a meteor, trailing scales that burned red-hot as she plummeted toward the Mhojave Desert and the unsuspecting settlement of El’Jazira. In a moment of terrible finality, the dragon landed in the desert’s heart, sending forth a powerful explosion that drove a plume of sand and glowing embers high into the air, raining down like hot tears for the tragic passing of one of history’s greatest legends. A mighty Dala’myrr
### The Loss of El’Jazira
Ahmed could hear the screams of his people. Rushing outside of his father’s tent, he saw that El’Jazira was in chaos. Jazirans ran helter-skelter throughout the town, dodging out of the way of panicked horses and stampeding camels, and while the ganissary guards were making attempts to keep order, he could see that their eyes were just as terrified as those around them. A small whimper caught his attention, and Ahmed turned to see a small child, frozen with fear, staring up at the sky. Shading his eyes, he glanced upward and beheld not the sun, but a flaming mass barrelling down toward the earth. Without thinking, he snatched the child into his arms and ran as fast as he could, away from the centre of the shadow that was quickly enveloping the village. A split second later, a deafening crash sounded through the village, and Ahmed felt the eerie sensation of being lifted off the ground. “So this is how atavians fly…” were his last thoughts before all was blotted out. ~ ~ ~ He awoke some time later amid a tangle of tent canvases. The whimpering child still lay in his arms, scraped and bruised, but otherwise unharmed. Pressing his hand to his forehead to ease a pounding ache, Ahmed stood and, with a chill, took in a scene of utter devastation. Hundreds of tents and buildings, once the prosperous village of El’Jazira, were now gone, replaced by a smoking pit in the desert. Ahmed could feel the eyes of the few survivors upon him as he stepped carefully through the remnants of the town, nearing the edge of the crater. Drawing shaky breaths he peered over into the abyss, mesmerized by the sight of twisting, crystalline formations that spiraled up from the ground where the force of Ashaxei’s landing had turned sand to glass. “How could such beauty come from such tragedy?” he thought to himself as he turned back to his people, tallying in his head the toll that had been taken. Dozens were lost, from his father, the esteemed Sheik Abd el’Salam, to the humble workers of the village’s once-thriving tanning industry. But the people of the desert are hardy, and they will carry on. ### Ashaxei’s Story
With the death of his oldest friend, Ashaxei, Han-Tolneth sobbed and wept like a broken man. Inconsolable, he urged the Achaeans around him to search for the site where the Dragon fell, hoping beyond reason that she might yet live. But when he laid eyes upon the giant crater where much of El’Jazira had been, he knew she was gone. Han-Tolneth raged and shouted to all who would listen that the scales had been tipped this day, and that only blood would balance them again. Finally his grief overcame his anger. Calm but disheartened, he began to speak of secrets that he and Ashaxei had long kept from the world. Over one hundred adventurers stood, silent, hearing for the first time the story of how Dragons came to be. ~ ~ ~ “She was my friend, my closest companion,” Han-Tolneth started, speaking of the white Dragon with reverence. “The very soul of Dragonhood. And now she’s parted the Veil for the last time, hunted for the last time, bestowed Dragonhood on her last mortal. The world is poorer for it.” “But Ashaxei also had her secrets,” continued the Dragonmaster, taking a deep breath. “When Ayar created the universe, He built its most fundamental foundations around what we call the Fire Behind the Flame. Few mortals have heard even rumour of its existence, and the Gods themselves only learned of it when Agatheis summoned forth the Flame of Yggdrasil. I and the other Aldar only learned of it when I encountered the great Dragons before the battle at Nishnatoba. It was that day I met Ashaxei.” Han-Tolneth’s voice broke as he spoke the name of his companion, but bravely he continued, explaining the nature of the Fire behind the Flame, which underpins the spark of life itself. Without it, he emphasised, the universe would be nought but Ayar and unliving minerals and gases. Even the Gods depend upon it for their very existence. The Aldar learned of all this and more when they encountered Dragons for the first time, for tied to the Flame’s creation was an extraordinary side effect, though whether it was intended or not remains unknown. As the Fire Behind the Flame was brought into being, so were two races of creatures, one familiar to mortalkind as Dragons, and another, not encountered until recently: the Dala’myrr. “On the world of Starhome, or ‘Krenindala’ in the language of Dragons, they were born,” spoke Han-Tolneth, his voice filled with awe. “Opposite poles of the power of the Fire. Or, perhaps, two sides of the key to the logical order of the power of the Fire. Somehow, the Dragons and Dala’myrr, perhaps both or perhaps just one of them, seem to be tied into maintaining the delicate web of perfect push and pull, ebb and flow of the basest of powers. “Now, as you know, there are many colours of Dragon. But in the beginning there was only one white Dragon: Sycaerunax, Ashaxei’s father. I never had the honour of meeting him, but Ashaxei told me much of him. It was within Sycaerunax that the very essence… the soul of Dragonhood resided. “As for the Dala’myrr, it is more complicated. There was, as far as Ashaxei knew, no equivalent to her or her father amongst them. “What the Dala’myrr believed, and of this the knowledge of Dragons is very limited, was that the soul of their race awaited them in some distant future. Ashaxei spoke of this future soul as having a name: Bal’met. They think, Ashaxei believed, of Bal’met as the one true God, and that He is willing them, from the future, to summon Him into existence, so that He might will them to summon Him, so that they may summon Him, and so on.” As bystanders looked at each other with puzzled expressions, Han-Tolneth gave a rueful smile. “I don’t pretend to understand the apparent paradox,” he cautioned, “but the Dala’myrr are singularly devoted to this goal. They believe, in fact, that Bal’met is literally the future incarnation of the Fire Behind The Flame, and that they are the perfect expression of it and Him.” “As for the ormyrr that you’ve encountered, they appear to be to Dala’myrr as a caterpillar is to a butterfly.” At these words, a few snorts of bemusement could be heard from the crowd. “That comparison has limited utility,” he added. “Few ormyrr survive long enough to become Dala’myrr, and as far as Ashaxei was aware, only the eldest of the ormyrr priesthood undergo the ritual of transformation.” From the start, Han-Tolneth related, Dragons and Dala’myrr were bitter enemies. Dragons, with their power of flight, ruled the skies of Starhome. Confined to the planet’s surface and interior were the ormyrr and Dala’myrr: giant wyrms who could burrow with ease through solid rock. For ages, all was kept in balance. “And then,” sighed Han-Tolneth, “Elara began using her piece of the sceptre of divinity, searching for Lysithea. She probed numerous worlds before disappearing, but none of us knew where she went. Everybody assumed she had perished. On encountering Ashaxei and the Dragons, she told us their story, and the pieces fit. “When Elara was taken by the ormyrr, they stripped her of her piece of the sceptre. They appear to have given it to the Dala’myrr, who used it to grant themselves the power to burrow through the air… or, effectively, to fly. With this ability, the Dala’myrr were able to quickly begin the process of overwhelming the Dragons.” Soberly Han-Tolneth continued. “It was clear that Krenindala was lost to Sycaerunax, his now-daughter Ashaxei, and the rest of their kin. Their numbers had been decimated and they had no refuge from the constant Dala’myrr assaults. Sycaerunax, seeing that all was lost, prepared to do something he had never attempted. “In his desperation, he summoned all his inner reserves and the essence of Dragonhood itself. Focusing his battle-forged iron will, he began to feel -behind- the air, seeking to grasp the very fabric of reality. For tense minutes, Ashaxei and the others waited and watched. “Finally, success! A thunderous roar accompanied by the alien sound of existence being split asunder, and a rift appeared, ragged with cascading energy. Sycaerunax had done it, and his people were filled with sudden, unexpected hope. “And at just that moment, the Dala’myrr launched what would be their final assault on the Dragons of Starhome. The Dragonfather ordered Ashaxei and the other Dragons to flee, now! “Sycaerunax and his chief lieutenants were able to hold off the Dala’myrr, but suffered terribly for it and began to fall as the Dragons poured one by one through the small rift. “Ashaxei often used to relate the last memory she had of her father,” Han-Tolneth said, brushing a tear from his eye. “Of seeing him swarmed by Dala’myrr, their mandibles clacking in hellish triumph. Both of his wings were torn, he bled from wounds all about his body, and one eye had been taken by a Dala’myrr claw. “His eyes met hers for one last moment before he closed the portal, saving the last of the Dragons with his life. With his death, the soul of Dragonhood passed to Ashaxei, but neither she nor any of her fellow Dragons knew where they were, for there had been no time. She was never even sure if her father had known where the rift would lead to, but anywhere was better than in the eye of the Dala’myrr storm. “Ashaxei and her kin were devastated. Lost… ashamed… they had left behind the soul of their race to die, and fled their rightful homeworld.” Wistfully, Han-Tolneth turned his eyes to the skies, telling of his first encounter with the Dragons during the War of Humanity, and his initial fear that they were an attack by the Triumvirate. “It was quickly clear that wasn’t the case, however,” he explained. “They were tattered and beaten down. Their wings were shredded and many had missing scales. And yet the power in them was immense and immediately obvious.” Han-Tolneth was filled with awe as he exclaimed, “They were so vital! So primal! Even in the depths of her anguish, Ashaxei shone like the brightest star in the firmament. “They told us their story. They told us of their creation, of their enemies, and of their world. Ashaxei wept. They all did. The only patriarch they’d ever known was dead, and Krenindala, their birthplace and homeworld since nearly the beginning of time, was lost to them. And we told them our story. We told them of the Gods, and of the Triumvirate. “We resolved to help each other. We would convince the Gods to grant them a new home, while they would lend their strength to the war against the Triumvirate after a short period to recover their strength and heal their wounds. And we would hide their shame.” As he concluded his words, Han-Tolneth’s steady voice became stronger, angrier. “Ashaxei’s soul cries out for vengeance!” he lamented. “Her thirst must be sated! The scales must be balanced!” ~ ~ ~ The story told by the Dragonmaster had stunned all witnesses into silence, but Han-Tolneth was not finished. “Four hundred years ago, when the xoran appeared on Sapience after the [Death’s Heart](http://wiki.achaea.com/Death%27s_Heart_Saga) incident, I took note, but thought it simply another mystery in a universe of them,” he said. “But it’s clear now that they are related. How they got here four hundred years ago, I do not understand, but I wager their story is not finished.” As the shock of Han-Tolneth’s words began to wear off, onlookers began to pledge their assistance, swearing vengeance against the Dala’myrr assassins. Eagerly, multiple bands of travellers began to journey north, to the tundra where the portal to Krenindala still stood open. There they faced more than a hundred ormyrr who had been brought into position outside the portal. Assault after assault was launched against the intruders, but the results were devastating for the Achaeans. Though they took many ormyrr with them, they perished in great numbers. Seeing that a quick assault on Krenindala was impractical or impossible for the time being, Han-Tolneth’s thoughts turned again to his despair. Amami Al’Jafri kindly led the grieving Celani back to El’Jazira, where they found Dortheron Covraci awaiting among survivors from the desert village. Drawing comfort from both Amami and Dortheron, Han-Tolneth made his way into the crater. Wandering among the crystalline formations jutting from the earth in the crater, feeling the lingering spirit of his fallen companion, Han-Tolneth put forth his will and raised a flowing glass construction from the sand: Ashaxei’s Mirror, a monument to the beloved Dragon’s memory. \~~~ #### Note on Death’s Heart
The [Death’s Heart Saga](http://wiki.achaea.com/Death%27s_Heart_Saga) refers to a series of events surrounding a scheme by [Twilight](http://wiki.achaea.com/Twilight "Twilight"), the God of Darkness, in the early 240s to slay [Thoth](http://wiki.achaea.com/Thoth) and steal the Death God’s essence. One of the major events of the Modern Age (OOC: the time since Achaea opened to players), Death’s Heart laid the foundation for a great deal of conflict in years to come. During this series of events, Twilight secretly went to Krenindala and bargained with the ormyrr and Dala’myrr: He would give them another piece of the Sceptre of Divinity in return for half the Xoran race. They agreed, Twilight took possession of half of the Xoran, and simply cheated the ormyrr and Dala’myrr, laughing and refusing to honor His side of the bargain. On bringing the xoran to Achaea, Twilight sacrificed virtually all of the xoran in order to increase the power of Death’s Heart. The only survivors were very young children whose parents had managed to hide them upon first being brought through to Sapience. With no understanding of where they came from or what their parents went through, these orphaned xoran became the first on Sapience. ### Homeward Bound
Chieftain Krui, These past days have been strenuous for our party, as we have watched and waited within the far north. The Tsol’dasi of this jungle city have been accommodating to us, despite their wariness toward strangers, and though they have strong knowledge of magic, they have been unable to assist with our disease. Consequently, my guardians and I have resolved to return to Prin, since our original business of seeking out the Oracle’s vision has concluded. We set out early this morning and were able to post this letter from Delos, the bustling city where we were able to replenish our supplies. No doubt the letter will arrive in Prin before our ship, but we should be only a few days behind it. There are a few other things I should mention. Small embers are being found in the aftermath of the white dragon’s death, highly coveted by the people of the mainland. They are not merely smouldering coals, of course… I am told they burn with heatless primal fire, something deep and mystical, and they grant unusual powers to those who bear them. Take heed, however. The dreaded ormyrr I mentioned in my previous letters are in search of these embers as well. We have not encountered any ourselves, but we have heard tales of their ruthless greed for these embers; they have no qualms about murder to achieve this end. Squads of these ormyrr have been sighted all over the mainland, and I can only hope they do not journey to Prin. My contacts have also reported that, from time to time, the Flame of Yggdrasil has been sputtering and waning. It still burns within the World Tree, but some are having trouble successfully immolating bodies for resurrection. More troubling, it seems that some of the brave adventurers who periodically undergo the Trial of Rebirth… are not reborn in the Flame as expected, but perish as charred corpses! Please do what you can to prevent the youth of Prin from setting out on this dangerous path. Urandesea, Guardian of the Oracle, year 609 AF ### The Waning Flame of Yggdrasil
Far to the south, a pristine lake now lies cradled amidst the sands of the Mhojave desert. Beneath the sparkling waters, within the glass formation known as Ashaxei’s Mirror, the final memories of the great white dragon are reflected in an endless tableau, reminding all who enter of her tragic end. The aftermath of Ashaxei’s death continues to resonate throughout the world. Deep within the heart of Yggdrasil, the eternal flame upon which all life depends sputters and wavers. Frost has formed upon the branches of the World Tree, and Achaeans across all continents felt a sudden chill when, suddenly, a deep, intense thrum filled the air, and a powerful shockwave radiated outward from Yggdrasil. Fearing the flame had been completely extinguished, adventurers cautiously approached Yggdrasil. With relief they discovered that the flame still burns, though weakly, but its power to resurrect the fallen by immolation lies inert. ### Shrines of the Dala’myrr
Under cover of night, a party of Mhaldorians moved with swift determination through the Siroccian Mountains. Following orders directly from the mouths of the Twin Lords of Evil, the group visited shrine after shrine within the area, spreading a foul corruption at each sacred location. Finally, only one shrine remained, one which stood atop the highest peak in the range: the Shrine of Ascension. Without hesitation, the group approached the shrine of Maya, laying their malevolent hands upon its surface. Almost instantly the shrine began to mutate, shuddering as a foul blight rolled over its surface, moulding it into the form of a sinuous Dala’myrr. As the shrine to the Great Mother was befouled, a hush fell over the mountains. From the far north of Sapience, the terrible form of a Dala’myrr appeared in the night sky, parting the clouds as it swam southward through the firmament. Pausing to circle above the Siroccians, the creature gave a sibilant hiss of pleasure before turning and vanishing into the gathering clouds. ### The Rise of Bal’met
Deep within the heart of Sapience, a chorus of ormyrr voices rose up in a cacophonous cry. The ground rumbled beneath their feet, the tremors felt across the vast continents of the world. As onlookers turned their eyes to the heavens, a dozen Dala’myrr swam languidly through the firmament, converging above the Siroccian Mountains and circling the Shrine of Ascension. Those who dared ascend the mountain peak, which for days had been crawling with patrols of the fearsome ormyrr and their Mhaldorian accomplices, stood back and watched as an untouchable group of ormyrr priests chanted unintelligibly. Suddenly, the spectators were thrown from their feet. The mountains shuddered and groaned, and five colossal Dala’myrr burst forth from the ground, climbing upward into the sky, where they remained suspended like five living towers above the Shrine of Ascension, their bodies undulating in time with the rhythm of the ormyrr priests’ chanting. One rasping voice rose above the rest, shouting, “Hear our pleas, Bal’met! We make these offerings to You! Ashaxei fell to your servants, as did Sycaerunax before her. These embers, their essence, we offer to You!” A raging column of white flame surged upward from the Shrine of Ascension, illuminating the night with a ghostly brilliance, and the circling Dala’myrr cast long shadows that spread across the land. “Hear our pleas, Bal’met!” shouted the priest. “We make these offerings to You! Ashaxei fell to your servants, as did Sycaerunax before her. These remnants of the dragon spirit, we offer to You!” Churning and twisting, the column of flames became a slowly spinning vortex. Amidst the primal fire, a multitude of dragon spirits circled with grace and utter despondence, confined by the looming Dala’myrr. Then, with a cacophony of clacking mandibles and a thready, high-pitched keening, one of the great wyrms reared and dove into the flaming vortex, grasping a dragon spirit firmly in its mandibles and consuming the apparition. One by one the others followed, and with each apparition consumed, the inferno darkened, until it was stained a bloody red. “Across time we call You, Lord of Krenindala! We unite the sacred and the profane, Dala’myrr and dragon! By our lives and our offerings may Your fathomless will be manifest!” As the priest fervently continued his cries, the pillar of fire rising from the Shrine of Ascension wavered, and a dark, shadowy figure became visible at its heart. Dwarfing the colossal Dala’myrr that swam around it, the entity’s presence moved the wyrms to writhe through the skies with religious ecstasy. Spreading two arms outward, the spectre began to draw the conflagration inward, and the raging inferno was devoured by the dark shadows. As the fire was consumed, the baleful presence grew steadily, towering above the Dala’myrr, becoming a recognisable deity that threw wide His arms, unleashing a terrifying cry. Screeching voices twined together into a discordant cacophony as Bal’met roared, “**I…AM!**” Shrieking in delight, the Dala’myrr turned within the skies and dove into the earth, wholly devouring the ormyrr priests as they burrowed into the bedrock, leaving the mountain plateau scarred and mutilated in their wake. The world was shaken, and the Garden of the Gods showed its distress. “What bargain have you struck, Shaitan and Apollyon?” questioned Agatheis. “This is foul, even for you.” The crushing voice of Shaitan, God of Evil rumbled across the lands in response, “You pathetic wretches, you will know suffering and oppression at the hands of Bal’met, Our perfect weapon.” “You have tipped Your hand too far!” came the bold cry of Ourania, Goddess of the Moon. Moments later the sentiment was echoed by Mithraea, Goddess of the Sun as she proclaimed, “For once, Moon and Sun speak as one. This will not stand.” “There you are right,” came the sinister voice of Apollyon. “I suggest that You kneel. We have only just begun.” Coldly, the Lord of Oblivion voiced a warning. “Perhaps you mistake yourselves, Lords of the West,” Babel asserted. “Or do you seek to take up a jade throne long vacant?” The gods continued to trade words above the calamitous carnage that now ensued within the Siroccian Mountains, as fighting erupted between the Mhaldorians, the ormyrr, and all who oppose them. **Cower in fear, Achaea, for the god Bal’met has risen!**### Hermes’ Gamble
Barely a month had passed since the summoning of Bal’met when the heraldic voice of Hermes, the Messenger, boomed across the heavens. “Ah, Bal’met,” he greeted the newly formed god. “You’ve forced Your way into the most exclusive of clubs, the Garden of the Gods! Your gamble with the Twin Lords makes Me proud! Quite a risky game You play with those two… care to double down?” Silence weighed heavily upon the heavens, and no response was heard. Faint was the sinister chuckle of Apollyon as the Suffering God made his presence known a moment later. “Speak your proposal, Messenger,” he spoke. “Bal’met is listening.” “You have a fine piece of property there, this world of Krenindala,” Hermes replied. “It would make a fine site for a casino, and I’m sure I can find some purpose for its many inhabitants. How about a wager?” “What could You possibly offer?” came the crushing voice of Shaitan. “Bal’met needs no Luck, with Us on His side.” Hermes’ tone was confident. “I offer something that is best when freely given: essence and shrines. And I’m all in! After all, if the bet is to be worthwhile, the stakes must be high. How does this interest Your new friend? My power for His planet? The outcome to rest on the luck of a coin toss?” The terrible visage of Bal’met flickered upon the firmament, and a thunderous roar accompanied his assent. Thus was the gamble made, and a shining gold sovereign gleamed in the heavens. Surging upward to impossible heights, the coin spun with dizzying speed as it gained altitude. Expecting the words “heads” or “tails” to ring out, Hermes was stunned as, instead, a spectral ebon blade appeared and sliced cleanly through the gold coin, cleaving it in twain. Like a desert mirage, the two halves of the sovereign evaporated into the air. “Heads We win, and tails You lose!” proclaimed Apollyon triumphantly. Hermes remained silent, still shocked at this inconceivable turn ofLuck. “Did You think a loaded coin would escape Our notice?” queried the God of Oppression. “A deal is a deal,” continued Apollyon. “We shall have both ends: Your essence is claimed for Bal’met, and You shall have Krenindala, though bereft of your powers. Enjoy Your prize, Hermes, for it is the last place You shall ever see.” Malevolent laughter rumbled from the west, followed by a furious cry as a golden figure soared across the firmament, flung by the forceful hand of Bal’met. Streaking through the heavens, the once-illustrious form of Hermes became smaller and smaller as He became more distant, finally vanishing, lost to Krenindala. ### Treachery on Krenindala
Grim were the hearts of Achaeans as they pondered the gamble lost by Hermes, speculating about the ramifications of the rising conflict within the divine pantheon. The gods, too, were troubled, each struggling to come to terms with the presence of the newcomer, Bal’met. One young goddess, however, was quickly losing patience. “The Garden may dither, Hermes, but I have not forgotten,” came the voice of Kastalia, Goddess of the River. “Our ancient bond lingers.” In a vortex of swirling mist the daughter of Moon and Sea appeared above the lands, her expression that of unflinching determination. “Come, Wild God,” she cried out to Lupus, casting her gaze toward his infamous hunting grounds. “Let us rid the world of these vermin and restore Hermes to his rightful place!” The roar of the untamed wilds rumbled across the land as the God of the Hunt materialised in the heavens, the faint outline of a monstrous pack of werewolves lingering at his side. “With pleasure,” was his reply, and with a reverberating snarl he savagely tore open the fabric of reality, creating a passage to Krenindala. Leaving behind all sense of restraint, the pack leapt through, their howls fading as they entered the distant world. “Wait!” came the warning voice of Scarlatti. “You chart a reckless course into the unknown!” The Goddess of the River was undaunted. “No,” she replied. “They have gone too far in daring to take him.” Casting a final, resolved glance upon the land, Kastalia and Lupus turned and swiftly departed into the ether. Werewolves faced off against ormyrr and Dala’myrr alike as the gods relentlessly pursued them across the distant world. Savagely did Lupus rip a colossal Dala’myrr limb from limb, while a second drowned in a pool of its own blood at the hands of the Fluvial Queen. As the hunt continued, back on Achaea, two figures appeared momentarily within the crimson fog of the west: the cruel visages of Apollyon and Shaitan. “Fools, running around like the mortal worms you coddle!” thundered the God of Oppression. “Let us show you how real gods hunt.” The Twin Lords shared a malevolent grin as the terrible form of Bal’met joined them upon the firmament. Without another word, the trio turned and vanished, reappearing moments later upon the dusty surface of Krenindala. Blood flowed thickly as the gods waded into the fray, and Shaitan’s swords whistled as they swept through the air, cleaving werewolves apart with ease. Suddenly an agonised scream tore across the world as the barbed lash wielded by Apollyon, the Suffering, struck out at the Goddess of the River, catching her by surprise and flaying her immortal flesh. Howling with rage, a dozen werewolves placed themselves between Kastalia and her attackers, meeting a gruesome end at the deadly blades of Shaitan. All around, the shrieking Dala’myrr roared in frenzied ecstasy, and Bal’met began to loom larger and larger, surging with preternatural power. The next moment was eerily still, and a palpable sense of trepidation hissed across the planes as Bal’met prepared to make His next move. Advancing upon Kastalia, Bal’met reached for the struggling goddess, tearing away the very divinity that comprised her immortal being, roaring with a triumphant surge of power as he claimed it for his own. Enraged at the audacity of the new god, Lupus lunged for Bal’met with a snarl. A howl of rage and surprised anguish escaped his lips as the mighty Bal’met, bolstered by his added power, cast him to the ground, knocking him senseless. At once the distant howls of savage werewolves began to ring out, pained and confused at this turn of events, but the battle continued to rage. Standing protectively over the fallen body of his master, Grimaldrin, captain of the werewolves, gnashed his teeth, tearing a dozen charging ormyrr to pieces. Shaitan gave a mocking laugh. “What is this? You have run out of wolves and now must be championed by a pup?” At these words, Grimaldrin launched himself straight at Shaitan’s throat, intent on tearing it out. The sickening sound of crunching bone could be heard as the ribs of the werewolf were shattered, followed by a victorious shout as Shaitan wrenched the still-beating heart from his chest. With Grimaldrin out of the way, Bal’met gave a gruesome grin, preparing to consume the divinity of yet another member of the pantheon. At the last second, in a desperate attempt to save her beloved, the Goddess Selene made a daring charge from across the worlds, taking Lupus up in her arms before racing wildly away from Krenindala. As all of Achaea reeled in shock, a scream shattered the silence, and the echo of sorrowful weeping spilled across the land as Ourania, Goddess of the Moon, realised the unthinkable fate of her daughter. And as dawn broke into the morning skies, the waning moon turned red as blood. ### Council of the Gods
Alone within the Vasnari Mountains of Meropis, Ourania gazed wordlessly into the swirling waters of a mountain stream as it tumbled over the side of a cliff. Her sorrow was felt deeply by Valnurana, the Goddess of Sleep and Dreams, who appeared by her side with a whisper of wings. Together they waited in silence as, one by one, the Fluvadha’thi, devoted followers of Kastalia, joined them. With heavy hearts and few words they stood beside the river, and a gentle rain descended from the heavens above Meropis, falling like tears upon the Temple of Kastalia as they watched. Even the river mourned its lost mistress, the waters swelling and rising, flooding the temple below with swirling currents. “In days long past, this river was named Urs by mortal tongues,” spoke the quiet voice of Valnurana. “Let it now be known as the Fluvadha, in memory of the child of the Moon and the Sea.” Echoing Ourania’s grief, the blood-red moon reluctantly rose into the heavens, and darkness blanketed the lands. The goddesses frowned, knowing the Pantheon awaited them in the Garden of the Gods, and spoke words of comfort to the mortals they left behind. As they departed, the Lady of Dreams swept a hand across the heavens, instilling the memory of the Goddess of the River into the Dreamrealm for eternity. But Ourania was not yet finished grieving. Her face clouded with anger as her silvery countenance was cast upon the night sky, her divine gaze leveled at the western isle where Mhaldor stood. Streaking across the darkness, a brutally thrown meteor sped toward the city, narrowly missing as it splashed into the nearby sea, a clear and unequivocal warning to those fortified within. ~ ~ ~ Moments later, divine illumination set the Garden of the Gods aglow as the Pantheon began to gather atop the Pillars of Heaven. Not all were present: some attended matters in realms far away, others gave a wide berth to what would surely erupt in disaster were they to attend. But their numbers were great enough that their combined voices could be heard far below upon Sapience. What at first seemed, to mortals, to be the rumbling of thunder, soon resolved into the voices of the gods as fragments of their increasingly rancorous arguments resounded from on high. “Your thirst for vengeance may prove your undoing,” rose the calm, calculating voice of Agatheis, the Elemental Lord. “There is still much we do not know.” The God of War could barely hide his contempt as he responded. “A cowardly approach,” he challenged. “The traitors did not ‘wait and see’ before sinking their daggers into the backs of our fellows, and the longer we wait, the more power they gather to themselves.” “In this, I side with Aegis,” spoke Pentharian. “We cannot stand about and allow them this time to further their cause. It is justice we seek, not vengeance.” Scarlatti was unmoved by such passion. “Your anguish stains the heavens,” he warned, “and sorrow clouds your thoughts. We must consider this further, and use the lessons of history to our advantage.” Cascades of quicksilver light drenched the heavens as Ourania prevailed upon the gods for retribution. “She was my daughter!” Lending support to the Goddess of the Moon, Aegis thundered fiercely, “Give the bereaved the blood she so deserves!” Urgently did Valnurana, Goddess of Sleep and Dreams, whisper her own words of caution, though they were loud enough to reach the ears of mortalkind. “Aegis, you have ever been prone to hasty assaults. Strategy must be the strength of the gods.” “A plan must be made,” cried Daedalus, “but time is not on our side. The balance tips!” “I say to battle!” shouted Matsuhama. “To arms! Let us remind this infant god what it means to be divine.”” “The song shall falter with this folly,” Scarlatti declared in frustration, “and my lyre shall rest this day.” Above the cacophony, the steely, calm voice of Miramar, the Even-handed, brought order to the fractious divinities’ debate, and the voices of the gods began to subside to a low rumble. Silence reigned over the lands for what seemed like hours, until it was finally broken by the voice of Agatheis. “If you are resolved, then go,” he said with weary resignation. “We will keep vigil here, so that Shaitan and Apollyon do not move on the Garden in your absence.” The skies above Achaea rippled and rolled with ominous thunder. The will of the gods was united in purpose. ### Retaliation
“Time now to move with bladed steel,” announced Matsuhama, God of Combat, to the gathering of gods amid the Pillars of Heaven. Ourania nodded and rose to her feet, her countenance stiffened with anger and grief. Drawing back her bow, the Goddess of the Moon nocked a silvery arrow into place and let it fly, and all watched as the arrow’s trail left a path of quicksilver across the sky, leading directly to Krenindala. Upon the glittering backdrop, six daunting figures joined Ourania in the firmament above Achaea. Forming the vanguard were Matsuhama and Aegis, their expressions resolute and weapons drawn. Flanking them on one side were Pentharian and Miramar, grim-faced and determined; opposite stood Daedalus and Pandora, an unlikely pairing that nevertheless instilled a rush of raw anticipation in the mortals below. Sharing a mutual glance and a solemn nod, Matsuhama and Aegis turned away, leading the deities toward the hostile landscape of Krenindala, bolstered by the confident encouragements of those who stayed behind. Mere minutes passed before ormyrr warriors began to fall by the dozens to the indiscriminate assault of Matsuhama’s deadly mace, and a hundred agonised roars resounded as the Lord of Valour laid waste to a contingent of the reptilian elite. Yet another legion of ormyrr fell, judged for their crimes by the Even-handed and undeserving of her mercy. “As you took my daughter from me, so shall I inflict pain upon you, Bal’met,” threatened the Goddess of the Moon, loosing arrow after arrow upon the Dala’myrr that swam through the skies. “Watch your children bleed.” “Heeeeere little flying worms… come heeeeeere…” taunted Pandora, nimbly dancing between two enraged Dala’myrr. In a cloud of confusion and gore, the monstrosities collided into one another as the young goddess slipped away, filling the air with peals of laughter. As the gods struck onward in their quest, the God of War kept a keen eye on their progress. “They falter! Pentharian, Matsuhama, harry their flank,” shouted Aegis, slashing with one blade, then another, cutting down swathes of charging ormyrr. “Daedalus, Miramar, press the main line. Drive them back!” Silvery arrows rained all around, felling a score of Dala’myrr as Ourania vented her rage and sorrow upon her foes. Between the hail of deadly darts, Miramar spied covert movement. “Watch your back, Daedalus!” she thundered, directing the attention of the God of Balance. “A nest of vermin lurks in that tower.” As the words of the Even-handed rang out, Pandora appeared behind the massive stone edifice and, with tremendous force, collapsed the tower, crushing the ormyrr who rallied within. Peals of laughter drifted over the firmament as she delighted in her handiwork, but her glee was short-lived as her father’s words roared caution. “Remain focused, daughter,” urged Aegis as the merciless Blade of Tuv’rei, hungry for the blood of the Dala’myrr, brought down one after another at his feet. The gods continued their assault, but a glimpse of pristine white upon the ground caused Ourania to stop short. “What is this?” she cried incredulously, recognising the white walking staff once wielded by Kastalia. “My daughter…” Renewed grief washed over the Goddess of the Moon in tumultuous waves as she knelt where her daughter had been so cruelly killed, struggled to steady herself. Daedalus, rushing to her side, placed a reassuring hand upon her shoulder. “Go, Ourania,” he spoke calmly, taking the staff and placing it in the grieving mother’s hands. “Return to her bereft children what should be theirs.” Reluctantly did Ourania rise, her form gracing the firmament as she returned from Krenindala, clutching the staff close to her bosom. Moments later, Pandora’s bright voice rang out triumphantly. “Aha! I’ve found Hermes!” Deep within the core of Krenindala, the Messenger lay chained and unmoving, his eyes vacant and desolate, staring bleakly at nothing. Pandora dropped to a knee and reached out with her silver hand to test the fetters, and in an instant was thrown by an excruciating bolt of lightning. As Pandora screamed in pain, Daedalus rushed to her side, giving the goddess a brief glance before charging ruthlessly toward the Dala’myrr who now stood between him and Hermes. With tremendous force he sent the wyrms spinning into the cold emptiness between the worlds, but when he reached Hermes, his concern grew exponentially, and with great care he examined the Messenger’s bonds. Slithering like a snake through the worlds, an eerie chuckle began to emanate from the darkest reaches of Krenindala, and Bal’met made his terrible presence known. With righteous fury Pentharian roared a challenge to Bal’met and his allies. “You hide like a coward behind your filthy worms,” he shouted. “Come face us, dog! You and your fog-addled masters.” As if in response, the skies flashed with blinding aureate brilliance. With a cry Daedalus backed suddenly away from Hermes’ prone form, horrified as the Messenger was illuminated from within by the blazing light. Across the worlds came the piercing screeches of the Dala’myrr, and a terrible, driving rhythm pounded upon the heavens, growing steadily louder. “It’s Hermes!” shouted the God of Balance as he realised the trap Bal’met had set for the gods. “He’s… no, he cannot…” Recognising the panic in Daedalus’ voice, Aegis thundered a call to retreat. “Fall back to Sapience! Now! GO!” As the gods turned to flee, the reflection of Hermes flickered briefly across the skies, his face a mask of contorted pain as the agonising his very being. Time seemed to slow, moving at a sluggish pace as though willed by Aeon himself. And then, Bal’met released utter mayhem. With a deafening roar, a titanic wave of power ripped through Hermes from within, a shattering torrent that swept over Krenindala, snuffing the dwindling god like a flame, along with all other life upon the forlorn planet. It carved away the interior of the world, leaving nothing but a shell behind, and though the gods leapt desperately toward Achaea, the blast was strong and fast, fuelled by the amplified might of Bal’met. Caught in the explosive force, Daedalus, Miramar, and Matsuhama all perished instantly, victim to the overwhelming haze of annihilation wrought by Bal’met’s sinister workings. “What?” cried Mithraea, stricken with disbelief. “No! NO!” Gods and mortals alike stopped in their tracks, stunned at the sudden disaster, watching with mouths agape as a massive shockwave shook the heavens, radiating outward from the husk of Krenindala. Three meteors screamed through the sky above Sapience, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, resolving into the battered forms of Pentharian, Pandora, and Aegis as they grew closer. With concussive force the three gods crashed to the ground, sending debris flying high into the air and raining down across the continents. “Hold your grief,” Agatheis uttered before more words could be spoken. “To the survivors. Quickly!” A shining dome of protective magic formed above the Pillars of Heaven, accompanied by the reassuring lilt of a steady continuo as Scarlatti, the Great Bard filled the Garden of the Gods with a healing harmonic. But as the gods gathered the wounded survivors to safety, the insidious rumble of dark laughter rolled across the firmament, and the visage of Bal’met rose with baleful intent above Achaea, more powerful than ever. Then, like a shadow melding with the cover of night, Bal’met vanished. ### Restoration of the Shrines
As dawn broke in the early days of Sarapin, the voice of Han-Tolneth, long absent to grieve the loss of the white dragon Ashaxei, thundered across the lands with incomprehensible rage. The tumult drew both the compassionate and the curious to the lake within the Mhojave Desert, where the grieving Dragonmaster stood gazing into the waters above Ashaxei’s Mirror. “Over and over it plays. In my head, and in the chamber below,” he lamented, speaking of the tragic death of the white dragon. “Tell me there has been retribution,” he pleaded with the gathering crowd. “Tell me someone has paid!” Dortheron Covraci lowered his eyes. Months earlier he had made attempts to console Han-Tolneth in his grief, but there was little news to gladden him today. “I’m sorry…” he started, and trailed off as others shook their heads. “I cannot sit and grieve any more,” Han-Tolneth said angrily. “What has been happening? Tell me.” “Five divine have been slain,” began Mosr Gothfraidh-Sar’vet. “And even more injured,” added Kayeil Inamora-Vorondil. Han-Tolneth glared about himself. “Divine slain?” he asked. “I thought I dreamt that. It is true instead?” “It is.” “Bah!” Han-Tolneth retorted disgustedly. “At whose hand has this been done?” “Those disgusting worms and their despicable God have done away with more than we thought possible,” spat Penwize Baker. Han-Tolneth raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Bal’met,” added Traelor Shu’in-Crescent in a tired, wheezing voice. “You mean they succeeded in raising that abomination?” cried Han-Tolneth incredulously. Traelor frowned and nodded. “With Mhaldor’s assistance,” added Dortheron. As his companions began to speak of the holy shrines across the land that were slowly being corrupted by the workings of Mhaldor, the Dragonmaster’s face grew dark. “The shrines of Bal’met cannot be destroyed, yet his minions have been able to corrupt those of the other gods?” he repeated, the question more a statement of fact. Heads nodded around him. “We don’t know how they are corrupting the shrines,” spoke Enyd, an Archon of Ashtan. “Do you think that when they hold embers they access some new ability of corruption?” Han-Tolneth considered the possibility, for it was true that many had reported powerful new abilities when they came into possession of the primal embers. “I cannot believe that the embers would cause the corruption of any shrine,” he said finally. “They are, in a way, a very piece of the Fire Behind the Flame. A part of the dragon soul. A power of creation, and of healing.” “I tried to use an ember to sanctify the shrines,” asserted Enyd helpfully, then sighed. “To no avail.” Han-Tolneth creased his brow in a frown, intrigued by Enyd’s suggestion, his mind working furiously for some solution. “Do any of these shrines stand nearby? The corrupted ones?” he asked. A murmur of assent rumbled through the group. “I would like to see them for myself.” “There are many affected in the Siroccians,” said Kayeil. “Go to the Shrine of Ascension,” spoke the Lupine Elianon in a quiet but clear voice. Han-Tolneth blinked. “The shrine of… No!” Penwize nodded grimly. “That is where it took place,” he spoke. “The birthplace of Bal’met.” Rage threatened to boil over within Han-Tolneth, and he struggled to form words. “Let us go.” ~ ~ ~ Han-Tolneth glowered at the blasted remains of the Shrine of Ascension, looking with pure disgust on the metallic formation that now stood atop the mountain within the Siroccian range. “This was one of the first they corrupted,” said Elianon. Dortheron nodded. “This is where Bal’met rose.” Han-Tolneth reached out a hand, stopping inches from the shrine as he pulled away with a muttered curse. “This is the most foul of corruption,” he scowled. “Worse than any I have encountered in… centuries.” “Who holds these embers?” he demanded. Many spoke up, first among them young Ysebelle Bravedale from Shallam. Han-Tolneth nodded, and motioned for her to stand beside him. “Hold out the fire, like so,” he instructed, reaching out toward the shrine with one hand. “You must be careful.” Obediently holding forth the ember, Ysebelle took the glowing ember and pressed it against the surface of the befouled shrine. “Pray to the gods that this succeeds…” murmured Han-Tolneth. As Ysebelle held still, the ember began to glow brightly, suffusing the mountaintop with a flash of light as it cleansed every spot of dark blight from the holy altar. Stepping back, she gasped in wonder. Before them now stood a humble shrine to Maya, the Great Mother, formed from smooth, dove-grey marble. A palpable sense of relief washed over the group as hope was quickly rekindled. Han-Tolneth’s mighty shoulders sagged, and he stepped back to allow Ysebelle to demonstrate to others how to draw upon the embers’ cleansing power. Excitedly the group began to disperse, seeking the shrines of their patrons, but not before one determined individual overheard their conversation. From a safe distance at the base of the mountain, Ruth Yuridja-Keyte, Daemonic Hand of the Ebon Fist and Viceroy of Mhaldor, boldly yelled, “Thank you for the information, Sapients!” Most dismissed the mocking gratitude as little more than a show of bravado, but days later, none could ignore the battle that raged on between those who would corrupt and those who would restore the shrines of the Pantheon. ### Suffering’s Demise
Dawn broke upon the world, and a shower of brilliant light cascaded across the skies, rippling through the clouds and banishing shadow from the heavens. As it bathed the world in holy light, the spectacle began to converge high above Sapience into a radiant sphere, and the magnificent form of Pentharian became manifest. “Foul betrayers! Cowards and murderers! Show yourselves,” shouted the God of Righteousness. “Your contempt for the Garden and cheap treachery has gone unanswered long enough!” Billowing up from the west of Sapience, a blood-red fog revealed the Twin Lords, Shaitan and Apollyon, standing together above the continent. “Finally figured out what was going on, you pitiful whelp?” answered the crushing voice of Shaitan. Lightning and thunder flashed across the sky as Pentharian formed dual longswords of pure Light, grasping them in his mighty hands and roaring a challenge to the gods that faced him. “Eternal torment seems to be this upstart’s destiny,” came the voice of Apollyon. “Brother, allow me to see that it is served.” Smirking, Shaitan inclined his massive head in assent, his curved horns dipping slightly as he turned and stalked away. Malice spread over the face of the Suffering God as a wicked lash formed in his hand, crackling with cobalt sparks. “You know the fate of the last deity to feel these barbs,” he called out tauntingly. “You’ve one chance to run before meeting the same end.” Righteous fury enveloped the Lord of Valour, who, not deigning to answer, began a bold charge across the sky toward Apollyon. His opponent released a baleful laugh and readied himself, one dark eye glittering with anticipation, while the gem in his empty eye socket gleamed sanguine in the light of the approaching god. With a clap of thunder that shook the entire plane to its core, the two gods collided within the heavens. Charging forward with shining blade outstretched, Pentharian made a direct attempt to impale the Suffering God. Apollyon struck out with his lash, grappling the sword and wrenching Pentharian’s hand to the side, slyly drawing a curved kris from his robe. Nimbly jabbing upward, Apollyon met Pentharian’s second thrust with his dagger, the blades sparking and screaming as they slid together. A deafening clash resounded across the firmament as the crossguards met. Locked together upon the firmament, the two gods stared each other down, their wills in deadly opposition, sending wave after wave of tension to draw the world into its conflict. “Do you really think you can stop us, you hen-pecked fool?” growled Apollyon. “Your city mourns Justice, and now your precious Miramar’s essence strengthens us as we destroy you. If only she were here to tell you what to do.” For an instant, Apollyon’s form shifted and revealed the shadow of Miramar, her face contorted in pain as she suffered her final moments. A moment later the vision vanished, replaced by Apollyon’s slow, mocking smile. “You are drunk on the power you think you control,” Pentharian returned, undaunted by the shocking image. Apollyon snarled. “Useless gods, with power going to waste. Now it will fuel our victory and greatness!” “The Garden sits in a careful balance,” warned the Lord of Valour. “You have betrayed the whole of Creation with your misdeeds. This can only be righted when Evil is forced from this world! You must pay!” Tearing his weapons away from Apollyon’s hold, Pentharian brought forth a flurry of powerful strikes, each turned aside by the effortless motions of the Suffering God, whose dark chuckle began to resonate louder and louder. Calling forth a billowing tempest of crimson fog, Apollyon hurled the storm toward Pentharian, blasting him backward in a haze of pure Evil. Grinning wickedly, Apollyon took the offensive, pressing toward the Champion of Good and Light. A clashing, clanging din deafened the world as he rained blow after blow upon Pentharian with his barbed lash, striking only the god’s shining armour. Recovering from the vile red fog, Pentharian began to block the blows with his sword, dodging the rest, refusing the Suffering God further opportunity to land a successful strike. The crimson gem in Apollyon’s eye gleamed with outrage as his onslaught was foiled, and he summoned an oily cloud of smoke to surround him in a foul shield. Ducking and whirling about in place, Pentharian struck out with both swords, slicing through the insidious barrier. As his own swords struck each other, blistering rays of pristine Light flared outward, streaking toward Apollyon, who shrieked in euphoric agony as burning purity seared his immortal being. “Yes! Yes! Again!” Apollyon crowed. “These wounds shall be proud trophies as we bask in your blood upon the throne of the heavens! Back and forth, the two gods traded blows upon the firmament. The howls of daemons and the jubilant cries of angels echoed from distant planes, clamouring to be heard by the duelling deities. Recklessly letting his guard down, the Suffering God allowed Pentharian to land a few glancing blows, hissing with rapturous torment. “There is no use, Pentharian,” jeered Apollyon, embracing the pain. “You are nothing more than a mortal to whom the Logos tossed a scrap of immortality! You cannot hope to defeat a real god!” Pentharian pressed onward, glowing in a blinding white nimbus of Light. “You are a twister and corrupter of Creation, Apollyon. But I am its guardian, and I will not see it perverted!” The God of Valour struck again and again at Apollyon, his blows powerful and precise, his martial prowess unquestionable as he bore down upon his foe. In response, Apollyon began to summon wave after wave of crimson fog, surrounding himself in a perpetually regenerating shield, his wild, booming laughter echoing across land and sea. The celestial duel seemed a stalemate, with Pentharian dauntlessly felling Apollyon’s defences as quickly as they could be conjured. The world tensed in anticipation, awaiting with bated breath the next move of the gods. From the confines of the Citadel of Light, the Te’serran sage Earda appealed to the city of Shallam. “Champions of the Light! The Lord of Valour needs our strength!” she cried out, urging all to bolster their patron’s might. Within moments the murmur of whispering voices could be heard as the followers of Light, united in fervent purpose, began to pray. One by one, sinuous threads of light begin to drift upward from Shallam toward the heavens. As the luminous crescendo of voices reached the Lord of Valour, he surged with the devotion of the Good and Righteous mortals below. Suddenly Pentharian roared out, the sound tearing across the planes, and delivered a mighty blow, striking down the defences of the Suffering God and shattering the kris in his hand. With a second shout of triumph, Pentharian drove his longsword up through Apollyon’s gut. The blazing blade crackled and sizzled as it emerged from Apollyon’s back. “Too long have you delighted in suffering, Apollyon!” he thundered. “It ends now!” The bewilderment upon Apollyon’s face turned to abject horror, shadowed by the menacing rise of Pentharian’s hand. Gritting his teeth, Pentharian placed his thumb upon the glowing red gem in Apollyon’s eye socket and slowly began to push. Apollyon’s limbs writhed and flailed in pain as Pentharian drove the glittering jewel further and further into his skull, but the shining Te’Serran kept a firm grip upon his longsword, holding it fast within the belly of the Suffering God. Ruthlessly did Pentharian shove the gem wholly beyond the eye of Apollyon, and a bloodcurdling scream shattered the skies. With a look of disgust, the Lord of Valour wrenched his blade upward, gruesomely splitting the god from navel to skull. Blinding rays of light flared about the victor, and the limp form of Apollyon evaporated into an oily black cloud that hung heavily in the clouds. Chilling silence fell upon the world as, in that instant, the Suffering God fell, cut down at the last by Valour. The lull did not last long. Moments later, an enraged bellow erupted from Mhaldor, shaking land and sea with the fury of the Horned God at the death of his brother. Wordlessly Pentharian pointed one gleaming sword in the direction of Mhaldor, then sheathed his weapons, turned his back on the lingering haze, and strode away from the battlefield. Looming upon the western horizon, crimson clouds rose again with the likeness of Shaitan, glaring with a livid expression at the fading image of Pentharian. But as the dark cloud began to fall like rain upon the fog-laden isle west of the Vashnar Mountains, the God of Oppression’s scowl became a cruel smirk, unnerving and ominous, before He, too, disappeared. ### Sartan, the Malevolent
Booming thunder echoed from the western isle where Mhaldor reigns, and the blood-red fog surrounding the city of Evil rose in clouds that ascended higher and higher into the heavens. Upon the sanguine tableau stood Shaitan, God of Oppression, reflected in unadulterated clarity, every muscle in his hulking form tensed, his fists clenching and unclenching as he suffered some bitter torment. Sinuous coils of foul black vapour twisted and whipped through the fog, fermenting into a wild storm and scourging the God of Oppression, flaying the crimson of his skin like flesh from bone. Howled echoed from the depths of the Inferno as Shaitan gave a terrible bellow, and for a fleeting instant he was overcome by the chilling guise of the fallen god Apollyon. Relentlessly the fog itself tore at Shaitan, who roared across the skies with unhindered fury. The preternatural storm above the western isle reached a frenzied climax, and tortuous thunder shook the firmament. With an earth-shattering cry, Shaitan clasped his hands to his horns, wrenching downward and doubling over, all colour draining from his form. Trembling, the clouds fled the sky, and all held their breath as the figure above the western horizon crouched, unmoving. Slowly the ashen figure rose, raising his baleful head to gaze upon the world with a cruel scowl. Rumbling through the firmament, a voice uttered deep and low, “So have we endured. And so have we been made stronger.” Achaeans gasped as one, their minds a mingled collection of disbelief, terror, and awe. Thousands of daemons howled and shrieked as Sartan, the Malevolent roared above the cacophony, “Hide while you can, Pentharian, for you and the cowards you indulge will be crushed under my heel like the worms you are!” ### The Death of Selene
Deep within the Northreach, the god Lupus lay upon a stone bier, his wounds deep and long-lasting. Long were the hours that Selene, Goddess of Love and Beauty stood beside the Wild God of the Beasts as he rested within the healing embrace of Sleep. Teardrops dripped from her eyes without ceasing, her heartbreak evident to any who glimpsed her vigil within her lover’s temple. On one such occasion she was joined by Greys Vorondil, a loyal and devoted atavian who had long been dedicated to her Order. Searching for a way to ease Selene’s sorrow, he began to hum a tune. Low and soft, the wordless melody became a song that echoed, familiar and haunting, amidst the silent chamber. If the goddess was comforted in even some small part by his music, Greys would never know. A frigid breeze stirred the air, briefly igniting an unnatural feeling of bitter hatred within him, a disturbing sensation that ruffled his wingfeathers. Selene glanced suspiciously around at the herself, moving closer to the slumbering form of Lupus with a troubled frown. At that moment entered a golden gryphon, the Lupine devotee Elianon astride its regal back. Immediately Elianon dismounted as he glimpsed Selene’s perplexed expression, and all experienced an eerily quiet roll of thunder that rumbled through the chamber, turning to acrid laughter before fading away. A long silence passed, and soon the menacing chuckle returned, heralding the terrible figure of Bal’met slowly fading into view. The god’s eyes fixed upon Lupus as he slumbered, and Bal’met moved closer, intent on finishing what had begun months earlier upon Krenindala. Fury surged within the goddess as she leapt to her feet, placing herself between Bal’met and the slumbering god. Still Bal’met advanced, looming within the sanctum like a horrific shadow as Selene stared defiantly up at him. “No!” cried out Selene, “You cannot have him!” As Bal’met moved to brush her aside, Selene lunged out, shoving him away with all her might. As she made contact with the poisonous haze that surrounded him, however, she recoiled with a gasp, looking down at her hands in horror as they turned black as charred wood. A seething hiss issued from Bal’met as he lashed out at Selene, flinging her effortlessly across the chamber where she hit the wall and crumpled to the floor. Turning slowly, Bal’met again laid his eyes upon Lupus as he slept. Unhurriedly gliding across the space between, he peered at the still face of the Wild God through the thick lattice of vines that shrouded him. In this time, the devoted followers of both Selene and Lupus continued to gather at the temple. Powerless to attack the mighty god, they could only watch with mingled terror and rage as Bal’met gave a hateful chuckle and spreads his arms wide. Flames formed at his command, whirling and spinning about beneath his will like two great orbs. Bal’met hurled the orbs toward Lupus with a bold smirk, snarling with chagrin as, forceful and swift, a blinding white light suffused the chamber, turning Bal’met’s own power back upon him. The skies above Northreach burned with a lurid yellow hue as the blast radiated outward from the bier, followed by a deafening boom. The backlash of primordial power propelled Bal’met violently backwards, and he threw back his head to release an ear-splitting bellow that shook land, sea, and sky. As he howled, a movement on the opposite side of the chamber drew attention to Selene, who had recovered her composure and now stood, levelling the Crossbow of Heartbreak directly at Bal’met. “Lupus is protected by My Love,” she said, her voice unnaturally calm. “That is far stronger than anything in Your miserable little arsenal.” Selene loosed an arrow with deadly precision, sending it to streak through the air with a sharp whistle. The arrow struck true, piercing Bal’met through and through, and he let out a snarl of pain before rounding on the goddess. Almost instantly Bal’met was at the side of the Goddess of Love and Beauty, clasping her around the neck in his inescapable grasp. Desperately Selene tried to break free, but the grip of Bal’met was far too powerful. Slowly the layers of silk that shrouded her countenance begin to blacken at his touch, turning to ash and crumbling away. Layer by layer the silk fell away, a macabre unveiling as Selene struggled in vain. Finally the last piece of silk crumbled, and her achingly beautiful face was revealed. The lovely eyes of the goddess turned to Lupus, shining with tears, her gaze lingering upon him even as her immortal life was slowly claimed by Bal’met. Finally, with a soft sigh, Selene closed her eyes and succumbed to her fate. As the weight of what had happened sunk into the hearts of the mortals standing near, Lupus shifted and growled in his sleep, but moments later he was once again still, slumbering deeply upon the mossy bier. Leering at his victory, the terrible, indistinct figure of Bal’met slowly faded away, leaving behind only a dark, menacing chuckle. ### A Storm Gathers
Clouds parted within the sky, and an immense arm of Yggdrasil can be seen stretching to the horizon, illusory yet very real. Upon that massive branch manifested the ancient figure of Agatheis, his robes billowing in the primordial winds that churn around the World Tree. “Come, Bal’met,” cried out the Elemental Lord. “Make yourself known. I grow tired of this charade. If you are so intent on ending Us, I will be claimed in the time and manner of my choosing.” The air around the World Tree grew noxious and foul as Bal’met appeared in a haze of poisonous fumes. A palpable, seething wrongness crept through the ether, and Agatheis inclined his head at the looming god. Greedily Bal’met stretched out an arm, rippling and shifting with boundless power, directing tendrils of black vapour to coalesce around Agatheis, and the Elemental Lord’s form blurred and distorted. Suddenly, the earth trembled and heaved, and a primal gale whipped across the planes with wild abandon. Rich, red-orange fire erupted with a radiance that briefly dispelled all shadows, and the thundering crash of the surf broke loud as Agatheis summons the raw elements to his command. Driving his staff firmly into the World Tree beneath his feet, Agatheis stood tall, his eyes cold with power and fury. Awash in power, the Elemental Lord extended his arm to ward off the squalid miasma that encroached upon him. “As I said, I will be claimed in a time and manner of My choosing, Bal’met,” Agatheis rumbled. “But that moment is not now.” Deafening roars rumbled across the firmament as Agatheis raised his staff, commanding the elements with supreme authority, and quickly vanished from sight. “How powerful are You, Bal’met,” came his distant voice, “if You so easily allow Your prey to escape? ~ ~ ~ Primal and terrible, a bellow of rage shook the world. The skies above the Pillars of Heaven grew dark, and an unnatural wind began to howl with unrestrained potency. Spears of black lightning formed at the behest of Bal’met, slicing through the clouds that obscured the mountain peaks to reveal the Garden of the Gods. Tendrils of oily fire swirled toward the Garden, veins of pulsing power that twisted and whirled about the seat of divine power. Relentlessly the monstrous storm battered the lofty peak, but the Garden remained untouched, shrouded by an aura of divine protection that resisted even the devastating power of Bal’met. “Is that the best You can do?” called out Vastar, the Skylord. “I’ve seen worse storms weathered by pigeons!” High upon the firmament, the tranquil Garden became filled with prismatic light, and six figures appeared: Artemis, Goddess of the Cataclysm; Melantha, Goddess of the Seasons; Phaestus, the Smith; Pentharian, God of Valour; Ourania, Goddess of the Moon; and Vastar, the Skylord. Shoulder to shoulder, the gods faced Bal’met in full battle regalia, their weapons ready and features set in grim resolve. Pentharian raised a sword of pure Light in challenge as Bal’met scowled across the heavens. “Picking on a wounded God and His heartbroken lover is one thing, but can You stand alone against Us, Bal’met?” “No, this upstart lacks the courage to face the Wrath of Nature,” came Artemis’ furious shout. “He’ll run and hide behind his masters in that abominable red fog.” The aberrant storm abated as Bal’met began to gather his power close, and the ephemeral ward that surrounded the Garden of the Gods faded away. A deafening crack of thunder resounded as Artemis hurled a blinding bolt of lightning, tearing through the heavens to strike Bal’met. “The Cataclysm does not forget your transgressions upon Nature and its Protectors, vile creature,” she cried. “Relinquish the power that is not yours to control!” Bal’met swelled with scorn and rapacious hunger, becoming a great spear of destructive energy streaking through the sky toward the unprotected Garden, resolving as a billowing cloud before the six gods. At the same moment Phaestus hefted his hammer high, slamming it upon the ground and striking a massive blow that shook the very earth. The Garden of the Gods shuddered and quaked, and a complex pattern of runes flared to life beneath the fluctuating form of Bal’met. Four spikes erupted from the ground, their polished surfaces etched with gleaming ancient runes, towering above Bal’met and turning with slow, immutable purpose. With a cacophonous groan the four pillars ground to a halt, their rune-etched faces turned inward toward Bal’met, whose vague outline sharpened in their midst. Carefully and deliberately the gods surrounded the divine trap, and Ourania trained her bow upon Bal’met as he whirled about, apparently caught within. “You took my child and slew my siblings,” spoke the Goddess of the Moon with measured fury. “Now you come to our home…. it is only right that you should enjoy our kind of hospitality.” ~ ~ ~ “It seems Your lackey is out of the fight, Sartan,” jeered Pentharian. “You’ll have to fight Your own battles now!” Mocking laughter scorched the heavens as the flames of Vengeance radiated outward from Mhaldor, along with the voice of Keresis, Goddess of Vengeance. “That so-called lackey was able to best six gods so far, Pentharian.” Sanguine clouds billowed and rose above Baelgrim Fortress, uplifting three figures surrounded by a corona of necromantic power: Sartan, the Malevolent; Keresis, Goddess of Vengeance; and Indrani, Goddess of Sin. “First you show wrath with your callous slaying of Apollyon,” came Indrani’s powerful voice. “Now you succumb to pride? Such delightful potential for sin, Pentharian.” “Indrani and Keresis, you err in standing with Sartan,” warned Vastar. “Wisely have you remained apart from the fray, and you still have the chance to step back.” “I for one shall not forget my ancient pact with you, Sartan,” Keresis returned with scorn. “Our bonds are stronger than paltry words.” “Reconsider your choice,” Melantha entreated. “You are still our sisters, but we will not let you stand in our way. Bal’met must be put down like the dog he is!” “You are wrong,” hurled Indrani with bitter disdain. “We stand together. Such a glorious world We will rule once We have achieved Dominion over all.” As the words of the Demon Queen fade away, two more figures appear in the Garden of the Gods: Mithraea, luminous Goddess of the Sun; and Tarah, Goddess of Harmony. “The path You have chosen leads not where You think, Gods of the West,” cried Lady Sol. “You charge foolishly toward Your own undoing.” Tarah’s words echoed that of her sister, but continued to fall upon ears loathe to listen. “You hunger for reckless carnage and the slaughter of innocents, siding with an abomination of warped divinity. We shall not endure it.” “Endure it you shall,” Keresis snarled. “My lash will render no quick mercies, soft-hearted goddess. A new challenge roared across the planes as Aegis, God of War, appeared among the rest of the figures in the garden. Beside him stood Pandemonium, God of Strife, ready to fight at his father’s side. Eldritch fire bloomed overhead, and Babel, God of Oblivion, stepped through a rift in space to join the assembled immortals with an imperious frown. “You meddle with what fate has woven, Bal’met,” uttered the Mad God of Oblivion, turning his attention to Sartan’s baneful ally. “I will not allow you to disrupt what must be. Oblivion will come, and it will come on my terms, not yours.” ~ ~ ~ Snarling in rage, Sartan drew his swords, his dark eyes burning with bloodlust. To each side, Keresis and Indrani readied themselves for battle, and the three vanished in a gust of crimson fog, reappearing a moment later within the Garden of the Gods. Warcries shook heaven and earth as the immortals rushed together, meeting in a clash of supernatural might… and the battle began. ### Battle in the Garden
Battle raged within the Garden of the Gods, and the skies flashed as Artemis and Vastar released a volley of lightning bolts toward their enemies. Stepping before her allies, Indrani skilfully turned each bolt away with swift strokes of her eight Qithain scimitars. A cacophony of howls and shrieks rent the air, and what few clouds remained above the Pillars of Heaven dispersed as a swarm of daemons answered the call of Sartan, the Malevolent. Descending upon the battle, the daemons surged forward, and six fearsome dreadlords alit from their backs. Following closely behind, a dozen Dala’myrr slithered sinuously through the firmament to circle above Bal’met. Pressing forward with the Sabre of Dawn held aloft, Mithraea cut down a swathe of daemons, leaving a carpet of crimson flesh in her wake. Melantha whirled her sickle about, searing the carapace of a Dala’myrr with a blast of verdant energy, sending it crashing to the ground. Striking out with the Lash of Discipline, Keresis landed a well-timed blow upon Lady Sol, who roared in outrage but continued onward. Arcs of healing light streamed from Tarah’s fingertips as she bolstered Mithraea’s strength. Without missing a beat, the Lady of Vundamere raises a radiant shield around Aegis and Pandemonium, who move together through the horde. Giving a nod to the God of Strife, Vastar hurled a lightning bolt into a thick pack of daemons that swarmed near the Goddess of Sin. The ground exploded beneath them, sending them flailing through the air, landing upon Sapience with savage screeches of ire. Caught off guard, Indrani quickly recovered her footing, whirling about to face Pandemonium, who had swiftly snuck up behind her. ~ ~ ~ “At last, the reckoning I have waited for since My birth,” thundered Pandemonium. “Many a time did I dream of this moment. For too long have I been biding My time, watching You go unpunished for Your theft.” Malice gleamed in the eyes of the God of Strife as He drew the links of a great chain through His hands, casually swinging the end, where a massive, spiked ball exudes a fiery glow. Narrowing her eyes in contempt, the many-armed Goddess of Sin answered the God of Strife by brandishing her eight flashing scimitars, and the two began to circle one other with deadly intent. The God of Strife lets the head of His massive chain flail fall from its chain to His feet, then begins to swing it in a slow circle above His head. “I will destroy you…” he growled. Indrani cackled with confidence as she sliced away with her scimitars in a dizzying display of scintillating blades. Bearing quickly down upon Pandemonium, she lands the first strikes of Their deadly match, and the God of Strife howled in pain. Undaunted, Pandemonium danced out of the cloud of blades and struck out with the heavy, spiked head of his flail, catching Indrani’s blades in the chain and abruptly halting her attack. With a massive heave, Pandemonium wrenched the flail away, disarming the goddess completely as her swords fell from the heavens. “As Father taught, and as Mother would have wished…” he roared, unleashing a mighty battle cry and whipping the flail in a swift upward arc. Casting out with the spiked ball, he drove it into Indrani’s stomach and tore it away with a vicious snarl. A blaze of flames erupted in its wake, searing Indrani from the inside out. Staggering backward, Indrani clutched at her side with three hands and raised a single arm to point toward Pandemonium. “Look at how heavily the envy of my power sits upon your shoulders, foolish child,” she hissed. “Feel the weight of your avarice. Even now you surrender to the wrath you have embraced in the name of strife, and I grow more powerful yet. Pandemonium slows, His eyes growing unfocused as the handle of the flail fell from His grasp. As he swiped weakly at the empty sky, the Goddess of Sin stalked her prey like a stealthy panther. “See yourself for the sinner that you are. Tremble in terror of the truth, godling!” Indrani quietly closed in, smirking at the confusion that overwhelmed the God of Strife, and drew close behind him for the killing blow. Unsheathing a uniquely curved blade, she tenderly traced the tip of a serpentine kris along Pandemonium’s jawline. “You were but a babe when first You tasted this blade,” she whispered in his ear. “And now…” Suddenly Pandemonium grabbed the wrist holding the kris, snapping it with a powerful twist and causing Indrani to drop the dagger with a shriek of rage. Snatching up the falling dagger from Indrani’s broken hand, Pandemonium swiftly turned and sliced through the Demon Queen’s neck with a single, smooth stroke, lopping off her head. “I am Chaos and War!” roared Pandemonium in triumph. “I am Strife!” Pandemonium looked on with a slowly growing smile as the lifeless remains of the goddess fell to Sapience, erupting into scarlet flames. Lifting her dead-eyed to his own, Pandemonium whispered a quiet word that no mortal can hear before it, too, was overcome by fire. Crimson light suffuses the skies as Keresis surges with strength, the act of divine Vengeance bolstering Her power. Scowling, Pandemonium takes up His mighty flail, swinging it above His head once more as He turns back to the battle. ~ ~ ~ Havoc tore throughout the Garden, and the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon battled beside one another, felling Dala’myrr and dreadlord alike. Ourania’s silvery arrows sailed through the air, matched by flashes of gold as Mithraea’s bright sabre sundered the attackers with searing flame. For a brief, desperate moment, the moon eclipsed the sun, cloaking the land in darkness. A second later the sun’s shining corona surged with fierce brilliance, rekindling the light of day, and the two celestial bodies moved apart. Ascending upon grey wings, the Skylord rose into the sky and outstretched his hands to gather stormclouds from the far reaches of the world. Below, the Goddess of the Cataclysm drew down the clouds, stirring them about herself into a violent and lethal cyclone. As she stood firm at the eye of the twisting gale, daemons around her were lifted into the air and flung from the bounds of the Garden. An ominous chuckle rumbled across the world, striking terror into even the bravest of souls as, hurled from beyond the garden by an unknown assailant, an ephemeral lance of pure flame flew unerringly at Vastar, trailing sparks behind like a comet. The projectile struck the God of the Sky in the shoulder, whistling out his back and singeing his wings. Shocked, Vastar began to plummet like a stone to the garden far below. The clouds thickened and frothed with the Skylord’s fall, and the battle faded from mortal view with the coming storm. Clashes of metal and screams of pain and triumph reverberated through the heavens as the immortal battle raged back and forth, and a shout of anger pierced the clouds, suddenly cut short. Lightning relentlessly struck down upon the high places of the world, and the wind began to whip through the whispering trees of the forests. The storm began to lose strength for a moment, and again the forms of the struggling deities became visible within the cloud-streaked firmament. Thunder boomed mercilessly throughout the world, and lightning scorched the heavens where the gods warred. Grim but resolved, the gods closed in on Sartan and his allies, victory in sight against the invaders who had violated the sanctity of their home. ### The Tide of War Turns
Tensions were high as the war between the gods wrecked havoc atop the Pillars of Heaven. Phaestus swung his mighty hammer against daemon after daemon, keeping a close eye on the trap he had wrought for Bal’met. Meanwhile, Tarah divided her efforts between bolstering the gods’ strength and shielding the wounded Skylord from further harm. But none were prepared for what would come next. “SYCAERUNAX!” thundered Bal’met from his prison, calling out the name of the ancient white dragon, father of Ashaxei, who all thought dead centuries ago. As the name echoed upon the firmament, a massive, skeletal claw pierced the boundary between the planes, and a lurid portal opened in the heavens. Yellowed bones and decaying sinew formed the gargantuan shape of a long-dead dragon. Fixing his empty gaze upon the Pillars of Heaven, Sycaerunax dove into the fray, tearing apart the prison that held Bal’met at bay. Then, with a forbidding cry of triumph, Bal’met vanished from sight, but his foul presence remained palpable among the warring gods. As clouds roiled and churned about the Garden of the Gods, glimpses of the frenzied battle were illuminated with scintillating flashes of lightning. Pitch-black and fearsome, the silhouette of Sycaerunax flashed upon the clouds, tearing savagely through the Garden with power equal to the gods themselves. Pandemonium, locked in combat with Keresis, ducked to avoid a savage swipe of Sycaerunax’s deadly claws. Seizing the opportunity, Keresis made her move, driving the Blade of the Dreadlord upward into his gut and ruthlessly disemboweling him. “No!” cried Aegis as the God of Strife perished. “My Son!” Loosing arrow after arrow, the Goddess of the Moon felled droves of daemons, and Artemis compelled the very ground to tremble and shake, causing Sartan to lose His footing. Warm sunlight blazed in the heavens and Mithraea charged toward Sycaerunax with her blade afire. Melantha followed at her side, radiant with vitality as she readied her sickle. Attacking together, Lady Sol and the Goddess of the Seasons struck with ruthless force at Sycaerunax. A terrible bellow shook the world as the Father of Dragons snarled at the wounds, and he lashed out with untempered rage. Melantha screamed in agony as the claws of Sycaerunax pierced her immortal form, and a gasp passed through the forests as mortals watched her being tossed from the Garden like a rag doll. Moments later, Lady Sol too was caught by the dragon’s mighty wrath, her immortal fire forever extinguished. As the Goddess of the Sun fell, Pentharian cried out in anguish. His blades, summoned of pure Light, dimmed and falter in his grasp. Across the garden, Babel paused to observe the Lord of Valour, a look of deep contemplation mingled with disgust upon His features. “Throw Him the damned sword, You fool!” Phaestus roared at him. “Can’t You see We’re losing?” With a curt shout of warning, Babel hurled the Sword of Dunamis to Pentharian, whose surprise was matched only by his relief. The instant his hand closed around the sword’s hilt, an aurulent fire courses down its haft, and Pentharian swung it with ease, splitting a dreadlord cleanly in twain. A malevolent laugh echoed across the Garden as Sartan turned his attention to the God of Righteousness. “For each dreadlord You cut down, two more stand ready to fight,” he gloated. “Face Me at last, Pentharian! ~ ~ ~ Raising the Sword of Dunamis like a shining beacon, Pentharian charges at Sartan, answering the challenge. Their swords met with a crack of thunder, and the heroic battle between Good and Evil was magnified upon the firmament for all to see. Driving forward, Sartan advanced upon the Lord of Valour with swift and deadly slashes. Pentharian parries the attacks, returning powerful strikes of his own as the Malevolent God ducked and turned. Over and over the Gods traded blows, each gaining upon the other, only to be forced back, their resolve never failing. Meanwhile the rest of the gods were being pushed back by the surmounting strength of Sycaerunax and Bal’met’s forces. “We have to fall back!” cried Artemis. Side by side, Phaestus and Artemis cleared a path through the throng of daemons, soaking the soil of the Garden with poisonous blood. Conjuring images of beasts more fearsome than any of the daemons they face, Babel obscured the escape route, slipping away. Following suit, Ourania ducked behind the illusory cover, raining a steady shower of silver arrows upon the enemy as the Gods slowly retreat, but Pentharian remained engaged in close combat with Sartan. Fighting ferociously to the site where Vastar lay wounded, Aegis heroically dragged the Skylord back toward the others, deflecting attacks with his sword. His keen eyes surveyed the battlefield, where a dark shadow was approaching the Lord of Valour from behind. “Pentharian!” he shouted as Bal’met suddenly appeared. “Behind You!” In a blur of motion, Bal’met drove his arm through the Lord of Valour’s armour, as easily as cutting through soft wax. Pentharian howled in pain, releasing his grip upon the Sword of Dunamis, but Bal’met quickly grasps the hilt, withdrawing it through Pentharian’s back in a savage motion that shattered the god’s breastplate. As the blade passed through the Lord of Valour, it burned with holy flame, setting the skies afire with blinding light. Outraged, Bal’met hurled the sword away, and Pentharian fell to the ground. “The sword!” he cried out in agony. “Tarah… you must…” Streaking across the firmament as Pentharian perished was a trail of cerulean light, and the tear-streaked face of Tarah could be seen racing eastward, away from the Garden of the Gods, cradling the blazing Sword of Dunamis in her arms. Unleashing a terrifying roar, the Sycaerunax took off after the fleeing goddess, his monstrous form quickly closing in on her lead. An immense shadow darkened the Shamtota Hills as Sycaerunax at last caught up with Tarah. Opening wide his fetid maw, the dragon stretched forward and snapped his jaws around her, and a mask of pain crossed her features. With her final strength Tarah hurled the Sword of Dunamis toward Shallam, where it disappeared into the gleaming city, before she was devoured by the Father of Dragons. ~ ~ ~ Turmoil reigned within the Pillars of Heaven. But as the retreating gods cleared the battlefield, the clouds above the Garden parted to reveal a solitary figure, cloaked in billowing white robes. In his hands lay a shining hourglass. Slowly the hourglass tilted, and as the grains of sand within slowed their pace, so did the forces of Sartan and Bal’met. Granted precious moments, the gods reflected upon the firmament melted away as they escaped the wreckage of their failed trap. As the gods vanished, the mysterious figure departed and the spilling sands resumed their steady flow, allowing the normal stream of time to return. Reveling in triumph, Sartan and Keresis proudly led their minions from the Garden of the Gods, returning to the sanguine fog surrounding Mhaldor. But this seemed no victory to Bal’met, who glowered, vanishing in a flurry of noxious fumes. ### The Jade Empress
For many months, Shallam mourned its lost Gods, clinging to a sadly diminished Te’serra. Only Lorielan, the Enlightened, remained to them, but She had left many years ago for the Crystal Realm and none had heard from Her since. While Her Order in Shallam raised new shrines and sought desperately to wield what shreds of power She had left them, they knew they badly needed the presence of the departed Elder Goddess. Hope at last arrived in the form of a pale woman in traveller’s garb, whom the Samadhi remembered as a messenger and servant of Lorielan. They quickly beseeched her to aid them in contacting the Enlightened One, though Caliph Halos stood back, suspicious. “The Crystal Realm is a veritable fortress,” the woman reminded them, “and so it will not be easy.” Nonetheless, they were determined. Together with the pale woman, whose name the Caliph still struggled to recall, Greys, Halos, Zenui, Yen, Silas, and Lys journeyed to the Siorraidh, where they gathered beneath the great dome. Sir Zenui produced from the depths of the temple the Jade Sceptre, a gift to the Goddess from the Kx’khrah and a powerful link to the Crystal Realm itself. Naming Caliph Halos as the speaker with a small smile upon her face, the pale woman instructed the group to make an offering of truth to Lady Lorielan. Each of them in turn whispered one true thing into the air, followed by calling Her name. The woman’s offering bothered the Caliph yet further: why use the phrase “until I am permitted to die?” But there was no time to raise the objection, as each member of the company completed the invocation. At last, Halos made his offering and called Her name three times. The Sceptre in his hands reveberated strongly in the air, and the name echoed in the silence. Soon, the echo was joined by more, until the Lady’s many names clamored in a great cacophony, and the Sceptre shattered. A pillar of jade flame soared into the sky, setting the clouds ablaze, and a portal opened to the glittering Crystal Realm beyond. The Samadhi gathered close, great smiles on their face, while around them the names died away, the last to fade into silence a whispered “Jade Empress.” **Then, Her voice cold and infinitely austere, Lorielan said, “No.”** She turned and vanished, the portal sealing behind Her, and Her followers stared in mute shock as Her Order dissolved, its purpose served. The pale woman cackled, casting off her disguise to reveal her true form: a coldly beautiful woman in black robes. Zenui was the first to recognise her for who she was: “Lysithea,” he growled, eyes narrow. The eldest of Lorielan’s human servants laughed, taunting the Samadhi for believing the Jade Empress’s great ruse and trusting that She would save them when all of the efforts of the Gods had come to naught, and then she departed for parts unknown. Behind her, a chill wind blew from the Vashnars, and the Citadel grew dark and lifeless, abandoned by the last of its Gods. Shallam stood alone. ### The Fall of Shallam
For days the ormyrr massed their forces under stormy skies, building a thickening perimeter around Shallam. Citizens of the Jewel watched with growing concern as the legions of Krenindala camped in the Pash Valley and invaded the village of Jaru. Day by day the ranks of the ormyrr swelled and skirmishes between the reptilian invaders and the soldiers of Shallam grew more frequent and bloody. The build-up seemed a prelude to an all but certain invasion. The tension broke at last on the 6th of Phaestian, as blood-red fog twisted and roiled in the skies above Mhaldor, shaping into the cruel visage of Sartan, the Malevolent. Fixing his gaze upon the East, Lord Sartan addressed the besieged Jewel, roaring, “Your Gods are dead and gone, Shallam. The Jade Empress has shown Her true colour. Whose creed will you blindly recite now?” In response, the clear, strong voices of Shallam’s citizens rang out, defying Sartan and affirming their oaths to Good and Light. “Predictable as always, you spout hollow drivel, even with no patron to protect you,” Sartan snarled. “Now begins your instruction in the Seven Truths.” Echoing the bold declaration, the baleful chuckle of the god Bal’met rumbled from someplace unseen, but it was soon cut off by the ferocious roar of the undead dragon Sycaerunax, who descended from the stormy skies to sweep over the continent of Sapience. Long shadows darkened the central continent as the Father of Dragons glided upon his enormous wings, trailed by a trio of colossal Dala’myrr. The ancient wyrms moved with haste across the skies, the bright domes of Shallam gleaming in their eyes. The waiting ranks of the ormyrr began to move with silent footfalls down the Raphaelan Highway, following the shadows of Sycaerunax and the Dala’myrr as they glided over the Jewel. Simultaneously, the ground trembled, and more of the enormous Dala’myrr broke through the earth’s crust at the foothills of the Siroccian Mountains, unleashing a keening cry before diving back into the ground. As the cacophonic wails faded away, a cold pall fell across the city of Shallam, and the Father of Dragons circled silently overhead. The siege of Shallam had begun. ~ ~ ~ The Dala’myrr burrowed beneath Shallam, undermining its foundations, while the Father of Dragons rained fiery death from the skies. With a brassy roar, Sycaerunax unleashed a massive blast of flame into the heart of the city. The raging inferno struck the Shallamese University, and the massive domed amphitheatre exploded, sending a shockwave of power rippling outward from the blast. Taking the brunt of the explosion, the gilded alchemy tower quickly succumbed. As the gold and silver orrery within was crushed, a wave of etheric energy joined the dust and debris choking the air, momentarily drowning out all sound and causing the city to waver like a distant mirage. Reveling in the carnage, the Dala’myrr and Sycaerunax pressed their assault, destroying one by one the Jewel’s centres of culture and learning. The museum collapsed in a shower of precious metals and stained glass, burying the priceless artefacts within. The Father of Dragons dismantled the Silverdrop Inn, peeling back stone and wood like foil to dine upon the terrified citizens who had taken shelter within its walls. Not to be outdone, shrieking Dala’myrr careened into Sahart’s, sending a plume of debris skyward. The great Houses, too, fell prey to the depravations of the city’s attackers. The lakeside of the Crystalline Circle collapsed, the protective enchantments laid upon its walls withering like parchment held to a flame. Neither sword nor shield in Templars’ hands could prevent the Dala’myrr from ripping apart their hallowed hall. The Citadel of Light itself, resplendent even after the loss of the Te’Serra, cracked and fell as Sycaerunax squeezed the magnificent edifice into rubble. Terrified screams rent the air as citizens fled for their lives amid the burning debris. The clamour sent a flock of paradise birds to the skies, their wings carrying them swiftly away from the devastation. Ships moored in the harbour quickly became laden with fleeing refugees. Those who were able to keep calm fanned out across the streets, patrolling for panicked citizens and providing them escorts to the docks. Their calm under fire saved countless lives that might have otherwise been lost. As the destruction continued, it became clear that the city would fall. The question was, could the defenders hold long enough for the refugees to escape? ~ ~ ~ Fatigue began to set in as the siege began to take its toll. The streets of Jaru and the fertile Pash soil were soaked with blood where ormyrr barred the exits from the city, slaughtering all citizens who tried to escape on foot. With each act of devastation Sycaerunax and the Dala’myrr pushed forward with dauntless savagery, and the spirits of the Royal Guard and their allies faltered. Boulders soared through the air from catapults on the ramparts, but the projectiles were launched with desperation rather than precision, and flew wildly, only adding to the chaos on the battlefield. Corpses piled high as the combat raged on, each minute to evacuate paid for in blood. The earth itself would announce the end of the battle. The continent groaned and shuddered, the earth protesting down to its very bedrock as the enormous strain building underneath the Jewel of the East reached a tipping point. Chewed away by the burrowing Dala’myrr, the foundations of the city collapsed, and with an enormous crash, the few shining domes that remained above Shallam disappeared from the horizon as the city abruptly dropped ten feet or more. The sound of stone grating against stone cried out, loud and hideous, and the last of Shallam’s war-torn buildings began to crumble. As the structures fell, the panicked cries of citizens trapped within the growing rubble mixed in with the geological cacophony. The sea joined in the clamour of destruction, its rushing tides sweeping over the sinking city. The salty waters of the ocean rushed over the Peshwar Delta, reaching the walls of the Jewel of the East with startling speed. Ravaged by wyrms of sky and stone, the once-radiant domes of the Jewel sank into the watery embrace of the sea, and the City of Shallam passed into history. ### The Righteous Fire
“I’m scared Father,” a small child whimpered. One hand clutched a stuffed animal, while the other held tightly to Father Garron’s own. Each time the doors of the Sleeping with the Fishes Inn rattled, her grip tightened with a fresh bout of fear. The stout oak planks the villagers had used to barricade the entrance held against the ormyrr’s attempts, and the efforts had grown less frequent and more lacklustre. Garron suspected that the ormyrr had abandoned the idea of storming the inn and were shaking the doors merely to keep fresh the terror of those who had taken shelter inside. “Do not fear, child. You are safe.” Garron spoke the words, and while he felt they were true, he could not help but feel hollow as they left his lips. Earlier in the day he had choked down a dose of skullcap, and now his mind was full of images of death and devastation. While Jaru survived to see another sunrise, the Jewel had not. Garron was certain the gruesome images that filled his deathsight would haunt him for the rest of his life. A sharp rap on the door roused Garron from his thoughts, and the priest turned to glance at Mayor Cotridge. “Knocking?” Cotridge asked, raising his eyebrow. “That’s a new tactic.” Again the clear knocks rang out. Then could be heard a muffled voice speaking in the Achaean tongue. “Ho Jaru. Have you survived? We are from the Shallamese Royal Guard, or what’s left of it. We’re clearing the ormyrr from the streets. If you can hear us, let us know you’re all right.” A palpable wave of relief broke through the common room. “Praise the Gods,” Father Garron whispered out of habit, before remembering his Gods were gone. “With your leave, Mayor?” Cotridge nodded his acquiescence. Smiling down at the child holding his hand, Garron squeezed her grip with reassurance before passing her to one of the other townsfolk and heading to the door. Gunder stepped forward to help the priest clear away the tables and chairs pressed against the door, and then to remove the stout planks pressed into service to barricade against the ormyrr. Fitting a rusted key into the iron lock, Garron breathed a deep breath and whispered a prayer as he unlocked the door and went to greet what remained of Shallam’s defenses. ~ ~ ~ Hours later Garron looked out over the weary refugees who had escaped the destruction of Shallam. The crowd huddled close together in front of the pyre Gunder had helped him build before the invasion. Their eyes were glassy, their expressions full of grief. A few eyes blazed with anger, rage even. Sir Gladius stood at the front of the host, jaw clenched and fists balled with fury. They pressed in close, waiting to hear why he had called them here. Nodding to their former Caliph, Father Garron stepped forward to speak. “Citizens of Shallam, there are no words to convey the grief and loss you must feel in this dark hour. My heart and my prayers go out to you. I grieve with you for what has been lost. Valour, Compassion, Justice, and the radiant Lady Sol have laid down Their lives to fight the tyranny of Bal’met. Enslaved in the bondage of undeath, the Father of Dragons, once a noble creature by Han-Tolneth’s telling, has led the Dala’myrr to destroy the Jewel of the East. There is terrible darkness all around us. The skies seethe with anger and the seas froth and foam. We are caught in a battle between titanic forces, and we feel small indeed.” “But do not lose hope. The Te’Serra have fallen, yes. But They fell fighting for the ideals They charged us with defending. They fell in service to Good, wielding the power of Light to protect Creation from the grave threat we now face. Great as the Gods are, Lord Lucretius foresaw that one day we would rise up to outstrip the Gods. Another terrible war was fought as a result of that premonition. When all hope seemed lost then, victory arrived, borne on the wings of the noble dragons. Victory came because Han-Tolneth refused to give up. Even in his terrible grief after Han-Silnar’s betrayal, he refused to succumb to defeat. Now, just as then, we are surrounded by a terrible darkness, and our continued existence is threatened. What will we do? Will we give in to despair and doubt? Will we surrender our will and yield?” “No,” murmured the inchoate crowd. The word began as a whisper, barely heard. As it rolled across the gathered refugees it grew in strength and sharpness, bringing a measure of light back to their dull, flat gazes. “No!” they repeated, and the priest nodded. “No,” he answered back to them. “We will stand strong. We will be faithful to our oaths. We are champions, not cowards. We who have raised cities and empires will not crumble. We who broke the Black Wave will not succumb to this dark tide. Stone may crack, glass may shatter, and steel may rust, but Good and Light are eternal. We are their sworn sword and shield. Let us show the truth in Lord Lucretius’ foretelling, and be a mighty bulwark against this darkness.” Looking out at the frothing sea beyond the refugees, his back pressed up against the unlit pyre, Father Garron realised the tide had come in and he was struck with a sudden clarity of thought. “Let us also take a moment to remember those who lost their lives, those who the Great Mother has commended to Thoth’s embrace. The sea returns their bodies to us. Let us in turn commend them to fire. Bring their corpses here and place them in the pyre before us, so they can rest in peace.” Garron turned to Father Halos, who nodded and stepped forward, igniting the pyre with a spark from his tinderbox. Garron watched as the crowd dispersed to fulfil the grisly task he had set them to. After just a few moments the first of them returned: Salik Rian. With careful deliberation, Salik laid the first waterlogged corpse on the pyre, and the flames seemed to rise up to embrace the departed with reverence. Tongues of fire leapt and danced, hungry to welcome the dead, and their growing heat kindled something familiar in Father Garron’s heart… something he had not felt in centuries. As he tried to place the sensation, Garron felt a faint awareness brush against his mind. “Father,” whispered the soul of Silas, his plea filled with an urgent fear. Silas, who had borne the sword and ensured its safety for months, had perished against the ormyrr. “Father, the sword is gone. The ormyrr may have just taken it. Do you sense its presence?” Father Garron looked up, eyes filled with wonder as the Sword of Dunamis appeared in Father Halos’ hand with a burst of fire, burning as a mirror image of the raging pyre. Garron stood slack-jaw and mute, unable to understand, but desperate to hope. He watched as heat and light began to radiate from the sword, and the blade rose of its own accord in Halos’ grip, its length pointing to the pyre. Understanding rushed into Halos’ eyes, and he tossed the sword into the flames. In the instant blade met fire the world turned white, and everything changed. ~ ~ ~ As his vision returned, Father Garron watched a beacon of brilliant, white hot flames shine forth from the pyre, rising up into the sky. Unbound from the burning wood, the scorching blaze expanded far beyond the confines of the pyre, enveloping the crowd. As the fire reached him, Garron felt its hungry tendrils lick at his skin. He flinched, waiting for a pain that never came. The heat of the fierce flames was undeniable, but somehow his body suffered no ill effect. As he watched, the blinding conflagration coalesced into a titanic humanoid outline that towered overhead. The radiant light dispelled all shadow, and the figure reached down with a massive hand, fingers grasping at something minuscule by comparison. Whether seconds or centuries passed, Garron could not tell; he was spellbound by the sight unfolding before him. Eventually, time asserted itself again. As the light dwindled the pyre dimmed to its original size. From the blazing inferno emerged a man, a coruscating nimbus outlining the statuesque form. Grasped in his right hand was the Sword of Dunamis, white-hot fire coursing down its blade. The crowd dropped to one knee instantly, and Father Garron felt himself kneeling without conscious awareness of the decision to move. The silence that blanketed the refugees settled thick, until the man spoke. “Tassad Baraslan called Me here, and I answered His call. He sacrificed himself to bring Me forth. That sacrifice was honoured by the Logos.” “In time I made My own sacrifice, giving up My power and form to save Achaea from the destruction of Death’s Heart. Since then, I have existed as less than a spark while others carried the torch I left behind. I remember Maran’s call to Me. The gulf was too wide for a mortal to breach, but it was not too wide for an immortal.” “Pentharian, Heir to My power and My responsibility, called to Me. I heard in His cry His need. Your need.” “Much is unknown to Me, but this is clear: A foulness has corrupted these lands. It has brought low men and Gods. It has brought you low, making you refugees. I feel the pestilence, digging its tendrils into the bones of the world. I taste the oily wrongness that hangs on the air.” His eyes reflecting the raging fire of the pyre, the man thundered, “I return to you now, remade! Fire scours away all that is impure. I am that fire. You shall be that fire. We shall scour away the impurity that poisons the land and see it made pure again. We shall purge Creation of this filth, root and branch!” Throwing back his head, the figure’s voice boomed from Shastaan to Baelgrim Fortress as he thundered, “Servants sworn in fealty to Good, bound to Light as I am. I see the hunger for justice that burns in your souls, the valour that shines against the dark. Follow Me, and we will turn the tide against our foe!” Father Garron felt tears of joy wetting his cheek as the words seemed to sear into his flesh and ignite his very bones. “The Righteous Fire,” he whispered, “Lord Deucalion.” ### Sycaerunax Restored
As the tide inexorably washed Shallam’s dead to shore, as smoke and ash settled and the battered refugees made their meagre camp in the monastery of New Hope, and as the ormyrr forces that laid Sahart’s ancient city low were abandoned by their fell masters to die to the armies of Sapience, stories began to slowly filter in. Tales of harrowing survival, of staggering loss, and of miraculous heroism were whispered in the stunned, funeral silence that blanketed the land, but one particular rumour reached the ears of Han-Tolneth and shook him from a place of unrelenting despair to one of hope. Amid the chaos and destruction of the Jewel, several rescuers had noticed something peculiar happening when the great dragon banked and turned above. For the briefest of instances, the undead Sycaerunax had focused his hollow gaze upon them alone and the large embers clasped in their hands, and a faint flicker had illuminated his eyes for a mere moment. What was it? Regret? Recognition? It couldn’t be. And if it was, what could be done? They were so insignificant, and he a creature of such overwhelming power: one who had torn gods and cities asunder. Fire blazed within the Dragonmaster and the newly reborn god, however, and hopelessness could not take hold. Together, Han-Tolneth and Deucalion asked first the refugees, and then the world, to collect the largest embers they could while a plan was formulated. The response was overwhelming and Han-Tolneth watched, grim-faced and praying that the efforts would be enough by the next time Sycaerunax’s incredible might was brought to bear, as five, ten, even thirty-pound embers were rushed to his side and then dropped into the lake where Ashaxei’s Mirror now stood. ~ ~ ~ It wasn’t long before the next attack did come. Shortly after the fall of Shallam, Ashtan declared war on the city-state of Mhaldor, and a war was truly begun. With a grating snarl, the God of Evil made his ire known, and raised His black hand to point at the northern state. A trio of Dala’myrr streamed toward the Bastion, sinuous and menacing, and dived into the Sangre plains, sending a plume of dirt surging skywards. The ground heaved with violent protest, and legions of ormyrr moved upon the city gates in staggering numbers. A cold silence fell for a moment as a divine mantle settled upon the Bastion of the North, the favour of Babel empowering its guardsmen against their foe. The silence was swiftly broken when the earth shuddered and a colossal Dala’myrr erupted up through the cobblestones of the Parade of Zarathustra, fixing its attention on the city’s post office. Cawing in outrage, a murder of crows took wing, darkening the air. Ashtan trembled and the ground lurched, its ancient foundations disrupted by the Dala’myrr, and smoke filled the skies as several buildings fell into ruin. The guards, strengthened and well-braced for battle, successfully fought off many of the advancing ormyrr, but the death toll rose and shouts rang out. As in Shallam only two months before, many citizens headed for the harbour and escape by sea. A pair of Dala’myrr bore down upon the palace upon its hilltop at the heart of Ashtan, soaring languidly through the air towards their goal. Moments from the destruction of the palace, a tall, robed figure stepped from the air behind them. His voice cold and commanding, Babel shouted simply, “Take them.” A great, sucking void, like the Pit of Golgotha but much, much larger, opened in the air, and the Dala’myrr were dragged helplessly within. Babel nodded and turned, vanishing, while the creatures suffered a slow, agonising death deep within the Pit. Above the shouts and thunder of battle, Sartan’s voice roared, “Come, Dragon Father. Show these fools the true meaning of Suffering.” The gargantuan, jagged shadow of Sycaerunax, the Dragon Father, erupted from beyond the horizon in response, rising high into the firmament. The wailing screech of grinding bone echoed in the distance as the colossal wyrm neared, and with it came the overwhelming presence of death. With an almighty roar, the skeletal wings of the dragon shifted, and it swiftly banked toward Ashtan. Alighting at the northern end of the city he spat green flames at lavish estates, showing nothing but contempt for the attacks leveled at him. Catching the fleeing Ashtani in his sights, Sycaerunax once again took wing and silence accented only by faint screams descended as he soareduntil he hovered over the laden evacuation ships. Chlorochrous embers danced in the air before the dragon’s maw, catching the air aflame as Sycaerunax gathered his power. With a brassy roar that shook the land, he unleashed a raging column of sickly green flame downward, and booming explosions mixed with an angry hiss as the waters vaporised into scalding steam. The harbour instantly devolved into a holocaust of burning ships and charred citizens, the air redolent with the scent of burning flesh. ~ ~ ~ It was then that Han-Tolneth’s voice cried out, calling a challenge to the dread Father of Dragons. “No!” he shouted. “Your anger lies not with them, Dragon Father. Have mercy upon their souls, for it is I who did you harm. Come, face the man who allowed the death of your daughter.” The glimmering eyes of Sycaerunax faltered, and with a snarl he emitted a final stream of vile green flame above the city of Ashtan before banking and surging towards the Mhojave with a thunderous, agonising scream. Scorching the firmament with acidic flame, the great wyrm passed over the sandy dunes of the desert, soaring toward Han-Tolneth and the water-filled crater. The great dragon dipped into a gradual dive, casting a menacing glance across the gleaming surface. The translucent visage of Ashaxei shimmered, reflected high into the sky by the primal force of the monument that rests in the depths of the spring. Emitting a screeching roar, the dragon halted, his crimson eyes aglow with fury as he gazed upon his kin. All at once the image faded into mere specks, filtered back into the waters, and all feared the dragon’s next move. Han-Tolneth spoke again, urging him onward. “She waits, Sycaerunax.” Mercifully, miraculously, the Father of Dragons responded, twisting into a steep dive and plunging into the cool depths. A soft, argentine glow flickered within the water of the Mhojave crater, casting a dim light across the firmament. As the world stilled, the deadly silence was broken only by the chaotic shouts and crashes that reverberated from the Bastion of the North. From the very depths of the crater, great arches of light arose, leaping into the sky like silken ribbons caught upon the wind. As the beams of light multiplied, so too did they brighten, glittering with pure, effulgent brilliance until, with a clap of deafening thunder, they converged within the crater’s depths and a growling voice thundered “I… am renewed!” ~ ~ ~ Bursting from the water, a magnificent alabaster dragon took to the skies, hovering upon perpetually beating wings. Pristine, silver fire erupted from the restored wyrm’s mighty maw as he emitted a tremendous roar of grief and outrage, the argentine flames streaming through the firmament. A jagged fork of lightning crackled from the darkened clouds that rolled across the boundless sky, leaping toward the western isle where Mhaldor stood. As the flash of light quickly faded, the grotesque visage of Bal’met appeared in the heavens, his lips twitching into a menacing sneer. The sneer twisted further into a snarling grin, the vision instantly splintered by the dark, sinuous forms of three Dala’myrr, their sights fixed upon the reborn dragon. Sycaerunax loosed a hideous screech and, with a mighty flap of his opalescent wings, hurled himself toward the impending trio. Rich fire erupted from his gaping maw, slamming into the Dala’myrr with such raw potency that their forms simply disintegrated, the ashen remnants dissipating into the atmosphere. Triumphantly banking toward the west, Sycaerunax affixed the city of Mhaldor with a defiant stare. Ignoring pleas for caution, the mighty dragon surged toward the city of Mhaldor, searing the earth below with brilliant silver flame. For a brief, heart-stopping moment the dragon vanished amid a miasma of red fog, his progress only traceable by the eddies he left in his passing. Swooping low and releasing a roar that caused the mountain to tremble, Sycaerunax’s massive bulk circled behind the northern peak with slow, immutable purpose. His motions marked by a keen, measured intelligence and grace he lacked while under Bal’met’s control, he selected his target with precision. Green fire silhouetted the mountain upon the western horizon, and the towering council building of Mhaldor plummeted away from the slopes, its ornate stonework reduced to charred rubble and smouldering ash. Fury blazing in his eyes, the dragon rose and banked again, focusing his gaze upon the spires of Baelgrim Fortress. From the depths of the western island, crimson daemons joined the flight, taking to the skies upon leathery wings. The horde of beasts surrounded the alabaster wyrm, shrieking in unrestrained glee. The monstrous God of Evil lunged towards Sycaerunax, His focus fixed upon the narrow head of the great wyrm. His clawed hand connected with a howl of triumph, scraping scale and flesh from ancient bone. The dragon fell across the obsidian stone of the mountainside, tearing a rickety building from its foundations and sending it tumbling into the abyss below. High above, the horrific form of Bal’met materialised, nestled within the dark depths of the thunderous clouds. With a sneer of disdain, he slowly moved across the heavens towards the dragon with malicious intent. The voice of Han-Tolneth rang out once more, breaking through the dragon’s fury. “Sycaerunax! Fall back! You cannot do this alone.” Sycaerunax reluctantly acquiesced, but not before turning his noble head and gazing into Bal’met’s eyes with utter loathing and deadly promise. Scraping a grand old mansion from the mountainside, the dragon swiftly took wing, leaving a trail of fire and blood to mark his passing. ### Betrayal and Banishment
Glowering beneath his cassock, Archdeacon Maljer strode through the halls of Mhaldor’s quiet cathedral, his solitude rudely interrupted by the vociferous cries of heathens. As neared the gates of Mhaldor, the guttural voices of ormyrr could be heard chanting from a close distance, and his ire grew. “These creatures grow too bold,” the archdeacon angrily addressed the city. “They pray to their own god upon our doorstep and do not show proper reverence!” Finally he stood at the city gates, glaring outward at the priests who had assembled nearby. “Cease your heathen supplications, you overgrown lizards” Maljer yelled in their direction. “Lord Sartan is master here, not Bal’met!” In response, a heavy boulder came soaring in, landing on the foot of Archdeacon Maljer, who howled in rage as a guttural chuckle resounded in its wake. “This foolishness will not be tolerated,” Maljer muttered, summoning two Naga assassins from their nearby post. “Teach them a lesson!” Each pulling an arrow from his quiver and nocking it to his bow in one fluid motion, the assassins took aim and fired, hissing in pleasure as they found their mark upon an ormyrr priest. A group of ormyrr thundered in, eyes narrowed suspiciously as they flexed their hulking muscles and belched small plumes of noxious green flame in an attempt to intimidate. “Leave our gates,” Maljer said dismissively. “Our Master may trust you enough to serve as our attack dogs, but you are not worthy of walking the streets beside us.” Slowly stepping forward, an ormyrr guard came face-to-face with Maljer, exhaling a slow cloud of smoke before giving a fearsome roar that blows the daemon archdeacon’s white hair back with the force. “You will regret this, you pathetic beast!” Maljer shrieked in rage, and the growing tension finally broke as a full brawl erupted between the ormyrr and Mhaldor’s guards. Snarling viciously, a muscular ormyrr struck the first blow, raking a Naga assassin across the face with his razor-sharp claws. At his side, a Tanjinn monk shifted expertly into a scorpion stance and launched into a flurry of kicks and punches, breaking the limbs of a muscular ormyrr’s limbs. Seconds later an ormyrr priest flung a handful of metallic dust at a knight of the Maldaathi. Soon all were enmeshed in a chaotic tangle of limbs and weaponry. Dust rose from the streets as more ormyrr rushed through the gates, entangling with the guards in a furious fracas. From all over the city guards were drawn to the sounds of fighting, and the brawl escalated. In the uproar of the fray, few noticed three priests quietly gathering together in a ring, grasping each other’s forearms tightly. Rasping out a guttural string of syllables, the priests chanted louder and louder, but the only recognisable word was “Bal’met.” With increasing fervour the priests flailed their arms, eyes rolling wildly as they were surrounded by a growing aura of light. Suddenly, a blast of raw power radiated outward from the trio of priests, consuming the entire crowd of brawlers, both ormyrr and Mhaldorian, in deadly flames. All was silent at the gates of Mhaldor as the dust settled. But the repose was brief, and soon the sanguine fog that surrounded the City of Evil began to billow and rise. Above the city’s spires appeared the furious visage of Sartan, the Malevolent. “Bal’met!” shouted Sartan. “Your lackeys encroach upon My domain. Call off your minions before I crush them!” Then, deep within the roiling stormclouds that raged above Sapience, Bal’met appeared, his narrowed gaze fixed upon the crimson fog of the west. Sinister and dark, his gruesome laugh fills the skies, and he turned away from Sartan with a mocking smirk. As quickly as the vision appeared, the clouds quickly shifted, and once more the sky was simply a churning blanket of thunderous brume. Dark, sinuous shadows wove across the firmament: a pair of Dala’myrr moving toward the west, their forms twisting in unison as they neared the craggy isle and dove toward the earth, hissing with unrestrained pleasure. Mounds of earth flew into the sky as the Dala’myrr slammed into the ground and burrowed far below. Rumbling and groaning, the earth shook as the great wyrms moved below the surface, and the spires of Mhaldor’s tall buildings shuddered upon the western horizon. Under the ground, bloodworms and Blackrock dwarves were crushed by falling rocks. Even a priestess of the Goddess of Vengeance, whose temple lies hidden away beneath the island, fell victim to the great quakes brought on by the burrowing Dala’myrr. Furious at the wanton disaster brought to her devotee, Keresis addressed the God of Evil. “This is a warning,” she insisted. “Bal’met sees us as his pets, not the other way around. He must be taught a lesson and brought to heel!” “Scour the island for ormyrr and slay each one you find,” Sartan instructed the city. “Should you encounter a Dala’myrr, destroy it as well. “No,” the Goddess of Vengeance interrupted with a hiss. “Leave the worms to Me.” ~ ~ ~ Loud cracks resounded through the bowels of Mhaldor, shaking the ground and causing the buildings to tremble as its citizenry prepared to hunt down the ormyrr. Loose stones and pebbles danced and jostled upon the ground, disturbed by the movement below, but Mhaldor was undeterred. Onlookers from across the lands who paid close heed to the realm of Death saw gruesome visions of dying ormyrr, gutted and cut down by Sir Tirac Vastel and the party of Mhaldorians who followed him across the desolate island. Ruthless in their slaughter, the party marched from shore to shore, trampling all who stood in their path. As they passed, even a lycopod landed a killing blow upon one unlucky victim, to the bewilderment of Achaeans everywhere. Blood began to soak the soil of the western island, and a murder of crows blackened the firmament above the Northern Vashnars, streaming from their underground home and taking to the skies. As the dark silhouettes wheeled through the air, the Goddess Keresis appeared in their midst, furious and terrifying to behold as She raised the Blade of the Dreadlord in one hand. Narrowing her eyes at the island beneath her, the Goddess of Vengeance appeared to be searching closely for something. Then, with a resounding battlecry, the Goddess of Vengeance hurled her sword toward the blighted earth, where it struck like an arrow piercing flesh. Tremors shook the world as two Dala’myrr shuddered and shook beneath the island, fatally pierced by the point of the Goddess’ blade. Under the watchful eyes of Sartan and Keresis, the numbers of ormyrr upon the island soon dwindled, and Mhaldorians returned to their city, satisfied with their completed task. Frenetic chanting issued forth from Baelgrim Fortress, and the dwarven initiates of Blackrock raised their voices to join the chorus, wailing invocations to the Malevolent One. “Your treachery is no surprise, Bal’met,” thundered Sartan. “We have been anxious, waiting for you to make a move. Did you think us blind to your scheming?” Weaving his clawed hands, Sartan snarled in concentration, and an aura of sinister power began to gather about him. Sanguine tendrils of noxious fog rose up at his command, snaking through the firmament and twining with roiling stormclouds, churning in a circular motion high above Achaea. Gravely he uttered a string of harsh, formidable words in the language of the gods, his voice carrying over the thundering howl of the strengthening whirlwind. Terrifying to behold, Bal’met remained silent upon the firmament, his expression faintly amused as he watched Sartan’s orchestrations in the sky. Lightning flashed amidst the turbulent storm, and a gaping void began to grow at its centre. As the eye of the storm opened wide, beyond could be seen an endless plain of shattered ruins surrounded by blackened, wiry grasses: the legendary battleground of Nishnatoba. Upon the blood-stained lands stood the Goddess of Vengeance, defiant and powerful, the Bow of Malice pointed outward as She aimed it directly at Bal’met. “Leash this animal,” Sartan called out to Keresis, “and let us show the dog its new home.” Without a word, Keresis loosed an arrow from the Bow of Malice. Like fire it blazed through the sky, and gleaming links of crimson chain began to uncoil at the goddess’ feet, following in the arrow’s wake. A roar of pain soared through the firmament as the arrow struck Bal’met. Sparking with flashes of blinding light, the chain that spanned the sky grew taut, its links penetrating through and coiling around his immortal form. The god writhed in outrage, eliciting a savage cry of triumph from the Goddess of Vengeance. Continuing his ominous intonations in the ancient tongue of the gods, Sartan reached out toward the vortex, which began spinning even more wildly than before at his command. Caught by surprise, Bal’met flailed as the overwhelming force of the whirling winds began to drag him closer and closer to the centre of the maelstrom. A crack of thunder rang out as Keresis gave a mighty heave upon the chain, pulling Bal’met through the turbulent storm to the plane of Nishnatoba. “Now, at last, it is my turn to serve vengeance to you,” she proclaimed. Clouds and lightning whipped dangerously around the open portal to Nishnatoba, through which Keresis could be seen circling Bal’met with a cruel smile. “Keresis!” shouted Sartan across the planes. “Time is running out, the gate must be sealed NOW.” The glittering eyes of Keresis narrowed as she glared outward at the storm-wreathed opening, watching as it wavered and began to diminish in size. With a frustrated snarl she abandoned her prey, heading toward the opening and away from Nishnatoba. Suddenly the deafening shrieks of Dala’myrr were everywhere, and dozens of the ferocious creatures descended from the clouds above Sapience, rushing across the sky toward the tempestuous vortex. Sartan gritted his teeth, bending his full will toward the storm, his veins glowing with fire against his ashen skin as he strained to keep the portal open. One by one the Dala’myrr streamed through the air and into the portal, blindly seeking their trapped master and pummelling Keresis back as she tried in vain to escape Nishnatoba. But Sartan could no longer hold open the path between the planes. With a mighty bellow he released his power, causing the great vortex to shudder and close with a violent crash. A wave of raucous energy rolled over the firmament, battering the heavens in a relentless onslaught as the glimpse of Nishnatoba vanished from sight, along with Bal’met and Keresis. Moments later, screams echoed from distant Nishnatoba as Keresis, Goddess of Vengeance, was consumed by the raw power of Bal’met. How Bal’met escaped his chains and why he still remains bound to Nishnatoba remain a mystery; all we can be certain of is the dire circumstance that now brews upon that plane. For only moments later, the resounding voice of Aeon, Lord of Time came ringing: “Sartan… you fool. That was the worst place you could have chosen to banish Bal’met. Nishnatoba is more closely tied to the Fire behind the Flame than even the Prime Material… pray you have not doomed us all.” ### The Lightbringer
Aeon stood at the fulcrum. There, all moments converged, allowing the God of Time to perceive all that was and could be. Countless multitudes of lives were born and snuffed out. Empires rose and fell. Beneath his idle gaze the tableau shifted, and dynasties waxed and waned. As he watched, a single crown simultaneously rested on the brow of a hundred kings and queens as they reigned throughout the ages. With every passing scene, the sands within Aeon’s great hourglass fell at a steady pace, chronicling each moment from the act of creation to the myriad futures. But then, a sudden shift interrupted the even passage of time… a stutter of moments. Aeon’s eyebrow raised with an unfamiliar sense of utter finality. Fixing on the disruption, the Lord of Time searched for the source of the burr in the otherwise smooth, endless fabric of the ages. His confusion deepened, turning to anger as the dissonance grew more profound the harder he reached for it. Gripping his hourglass and wielding the power the Creator imbued in him alone, Aeon moved himself outside of the currents of time. He slid beyond cause and effect, and the falling sands in the hourglass ground to a halt. “No. This cannot be,” he said. It had been a millennium since he last spoke, and Aeon’s voice was a rough, rasping whisper that echoed back in his ears, unable to propagate across the stillness that existed outside of time. As the statement of disbelief repeated again and again, Aeon watched with horror as the fulcrum collapsed, and the orderly march of moments ground to a halt. Rising from the wreckage, he perceived the source of the destruction: a strange wyrm, its hungry mandibles clacking as it devoured all possible futures, leaving only a single, horrifying outcome. Grim-faced, Aeon turned and willed himself back within the flow of time, upending the hourglass, and the sands returned to their chamber of origin. The world moved in reverse, and Aeon watched history undo itself as he moved toward the past, determined to preserve the future. ~ ~ ~ Aeon watched destruction undo itself as the Father of Dragons struck at Mhaldor, then flew in reverse into Ashaxei’s Mirror, only to emerge an undead remnant of his later splendour. He watched Shallam rise from the sea, its gleaming domes re-assembling and countless emerald shards careening together to form the Citadel of Light. He beheld his brethren leaping off the swords that impaled them as they were surrounded in the Garden of the Gods, their trap for Bal’met turned against them. Frowning, Aeon touched his hourglass and the sand began to fall again, allowing the Lord of Time to influence the moment. He had done this same thing over generations: lengthen a key moment here, shorten another there. All done to ensure the continuity of time, the procession of the river. Never before this moment had his touch been so brazenly visible. Shimmering into view high above the bloody fray in the Garden, Aeon tilted his hourglass. Responding to their Master’s will, the grains of sand within the timepiece slowed in their fall, and the passage of time around Sartan, Bal’met, and their forces similarly slowed. Granted precious moments, the gods melted away, escaping the wreckage of their failed trap. When the last of the survivors had gone, Aeon vanished with them, allowing the normal stream of time to return. “There will be a price to be paid,” he whispered. Shaking his head, he turned the hourglass again, and sailed backward once more towards the wellspring of time at the moment of creation. ~ ~ ~ For centuries Aeon repeated his movements, his subtle influences. Jumping through history, he redirected petty feuds, fanned plagues, and birthed new nations. Master of cause and effect, Aeon employed his skill in hopes of preventing the collapse of the fulcrum. Alas, the Time Lord’s efforts all met with failure. Not a single change could avert the disastrous outcome wrought by the summoning of Bal’met. Growling with frustration, Aeon hurled his hourglass through the frozen tableau of the planets. He had come to watch the comet [Ethian](http://wiki.achaea.com/Ethian) collide with [Abbadon](http://wiki.achaea.com/Abbadon), a voracious black pit in space, a moment of particular significance that had resulted in the birth of two new deities. The hourglass slammed into the comet as it raced through the multiverse, but the timepiece merely glanced away, unharmed. As an artefact of time itself, only an act of Aeon could damage the glass. However, Aeon noticed a curious effect as the timepiece struck Ethian’s surface. A ripple of power spread outward from the point of contact. A ripple not in space, but in time. His eyes widening, Aeon gestured, and the hourglass returned to his waiting hand. Tilting it, he moved back to Ethian’s genesis with a renewed sense of purpose. ~ ~ ~ Utterly drained, Aeon stood outside the currents of time, gathering his thoughts. All of his efforts had shown him this was the only way forward: a single chance to ensure the fulcrum and its endless possibilities would endure. For once, he realised, he could not see the future beyond this choice, since events wrought by his own action were opaque to him. Thus it must be the correct way. “So this is what it feels like to not know,” Aeon mused. Shaking his head, the god gripped his hourglass and willed himself into the flow of time, entering it at the moment of his choice. Aeon slid easily into the present, manifesting high above Sapience. He felt the rain against his ageless skin, and the wind as it snapped at his robes. Sensations of the moment he rarely experienced, Aeon allowed himself time to savour the feelings before steeling himself to his task. “The river of time is my domain. I tend its flow as it moves from the moment of Creation onward to ends unseen. Its tributaries are limitless,” he cried out. “Since the beginning I have stood aloof to the choices of gods and men alike, but now I must intervene. This Bal’met is a dam in the river of time. The endless offshoots and rich possibilities dwindle to a trickle, to a singular future. I will not permit this. It is an intolerable thought.” Inhaling deeply, Aeon felt a profound sense of relief as he committed himself. “All through history I have chronicled the decisions that have shaped fate. Now I make my own. I forsake my prescience and my stewardship of the river. I choose to act,” he proclaimed. Aeon turned as Deucalion manifested beside him. With great deference, the younger god inclined his head before the Lord of Time and offered up His blade. Releasing his hold on the hourglass, Aeon took up the Sword of Dunamis and, with measured precision, brought the weapon in alignment with the timepiece. Drawing the sword back, Aeon did what he alone was capable of. Shattering the glass, He freed the sands of time locked within. The world held its breath as the blade connected. A peal of crystalline purity rang out, and the shattered glass rained down from the heavens and poured into the Flame of Yggdrasil at Aeon’s command. As each grain of sand entered the Flame, Aeon felt his coherence diminish. Barely able to control the forces over which he had long been the undisputed master, Aeon called out, “the restoration of the future is found far upstream, in the past. This is my choice: to restore her. She who is Light will illuminate the dark future. Lightbringer! Come forth! I consign myself to the past so that you may return to shape the future! Be again! Make real what I have seen: by your hand will he be undone.” As his final words lingered, Aeon could only hope his choice was the right one. His last thought before his awareness faded was one of wonder, as the certainty of prescience was replaced with the hope that is the gift of ignorance. ### Bloodsworn
Aurora, the Lightbringer, now stood at the head of the forces of Good, and the realm warmed to her lucent gaze as it had in centuries past. Beside her stood Deucalion, the Righteous Fire, hand outstretched in a gesture of welcome. “Hear us, servants of Good,” called out Aurora. “Oathsworn to Righteousness, to Valour, to Justice, to Light! All whose hands grip blessed steel, hark to our call! You whose souls drink from the wellspring of Devotion, we call you to rally under the Light’s banner. Come now to the gates of the Garden of the Gods.” Hastening first to the Pillars of the Heavens was a former Elysian Silas Maynard and Father Garron of Jaru. Soon a huge crowd amassed about the two deities and a keen sense of energy and expectation rippled through the throng. “We called you here because the time to decide this conflict speeds towards us,” spoke the Lightbringer, her eyes afire with determination. “This war between the gods threatens the fabric of Creation itself. The destroyer unravels the skein of the weave. You can see the strain manifesting across the world as Bal’met gorges on the power of the Fire Behind the Flame,” Deucalion continued, his intense gaze sweeping across the mixed crowd. “Aeon called me, and I came. He made a great sacrifice to bring me through the currents of time. That sacrifice will be honoured. Deucalion and I have spoken, and we will go from you to meet with the other gods. Our voices speak as one. We will advocate there be no more giving of ground. No more retreats. We will make our stand, and we see our choice through to its conclusion,” Aurora stated bluntly. Deucalion, the Righteous Fire spoke again. “You have lost friends and family. Your home. Your patrons. You are weary and concerned. We are not bringers of succour, but take what balm there is in our presence and our purpose.” As the voices of Good swelled in approval, Deucalion raised his voice again. “We are the immortal champions of Good. We are purifying fire and sacred light. We rise now to defend Creation, as we ever have and ever will!” Their visages determined, the two gods turned to face each other. With a solemn nod to Father Garron, Deucalion extended his left hand to Aurora. Unsheathing a razor-sharp knife, she ran the tip of the blade along the length of Deucalion’s forearm, drawing forth a slender line of bright, immortal blood, then extended her own right arm and similarly wounded herself. At a signal from the Righteous One, Father Garron approached the deities, his eyes downcast in their presence. Unfurling a silk ribbon of pure white, he wrapped each god’s wounded arm, binding them with the same cloth as it quickly became stained with rich droplets of crimson. Amidst the charged atmosphere, the lucent voice of the Lightbringer intoned, “I grant you my strength, Righteous Fire. I grant you a measure of my power. I take in return the blows of your enemies. I bind myself to you and name you Bloodsworn.” In return, Deucalion vowed, “I grant you my strength, Lightbringer. I grant you a measure of my power. I take in return the blows of your enemies. I bind myself to you and name you Bloodsworn.” The silk ribbon stirred briefly and then fell, cloven in twain by the power in the spoken oaths. Two lengths of silk were now wrapped around the arms of Aurora and Deucalion, shining with wet, fresh blood. “My sword is yours to wield in this battle,” promised Deucalion. “Be the weapon that shatters our foe.” “My shield is Yours,” pledge Aurora. “Be the aegis that preserves Good.” As the two gazed at each other, never letting their eyes falling from the other’s, Aurora accepted the Sword of Dunamis and, in return, presented Deucalion with the Shield of the Lightbringer. Their commitment to one another witnessed by all, the two gods turned once more to their rapt audience. Aurora made Her final proclamation to the forces of Good: “All the oaths you swore in times of comfort and plenty to serve Good, the promises you uttered to be a light of hope for your flocks, to wage war against Creation’s foes: we hold you to those promises now. Strope your swords. Summon your angels. Pray and draw deep on the wellspring of Devotion. The call will come, and you must be ready.” Striding forth, united under the banner of Good, the Bloodsworn of Light and Righteousness rallied their forces into perhaps the fiercest battle of their lives. ### Fate of the Elemental Lord
Long did the gods ponder the troubles of the world. How many months had passed since the Flame of Yggdrasil had all but extinguished, leaving mortals without the ability to immolate their fallen peers in the sacred fire? That was only one of many growing concerns, as the immortals in the Garden of the Gods found themselves growing weak and more susceptible to mortal ends. Time quakes plagued the world, so small as to be nearly unnoticeable by more than one individual at a time, while larger earthquakes rocked the realms from source beyond the gods’ power. Mortals walking familiar roads found themselves falling through the ether, recovering on the opposite side of the continent. It was agreed that this must be a result of the Fire Behind the Flame faltering. The return of Aurora, the Lightbringer, brought hope that a solution could be found. The simple plan Agatheis proposed seemed too easy, but how could they not attempt it? And so the world watched as, radiant as the sun, golden beams streaked across the heavens. At their heart, Aurora, the Lightbringer appeared on the firmament above the Pillars of Heaven. The space beside the Goddess wavered and flickered as Agatheis, the Elemental Lord appeared. Sweeping the Staff of the Elements through the space before them, Agatheis whispered words in the ancient language of the divine. With a sharp cry, he pierced the seal placed by Sartan over Nishnatoba. Shuddering and cracking, reality tore apart at Agatheis’ command, and an opening spread wide before the two gods. Beyond stood the terrible figure of Bal’met, furious and sinister, trapped upon the plane of Nishnatoba, struggling in vain to cross through the portal. “Aeon, in His boundless vision, has prepared this path for you, Lightbringer,” cried Agatheis. “There lies Your foe. Strike Him down!” Holding aloft the Sword of Dunamis, Aurora steadied her feet, her flawless form poised for a deadly strike. Swift and sure, the Lightbringer thrust the legendary blade through the portal, impaling Bal’met through the centre of his being. Baleful and caustic, lightning slashed through the skies and savage black clouds rolled with thunder as Bal’met howled in pain and rage. Deafening shrieks of Dala’myrr pounded through the minds of mortals as dozens of the great wyrms cried out from distant Nishnatoba. Aurora’s face glowed with the certainty of victory as she pushed the Sword of Dunamis deeper into Bal’met, and the Devourer of Gods writhed in torment upon the blade, his strength dwindling as the screams of Dala’myrr rang out in a cacophonous riot. Suddenly a swell of energy coursed through the dying god, and the inimitable blaze of the Fire Behind the Flame surged within him. With a shout of despair, Aurora was thrust backward from the portal, the Blade of Dunamis still gripped in her hands. As she fell she became consumed by a searing flame of pure ivory, disappearing from sight. “This cannot be!” Agatheis shouted. “His ties to the Fire Behind the Flame are too strong!” After a moment’s hesitation, the ancient blue eyes of the Master of Elements turned hard with resolve. There was a way to sever Bal’met’s power over the Fire Behind the Flame, but it would be costly. Agatheis readied his staff and advanced upon the portal, hurling himself through to Nishnatoba and closing the way behind him with a deafening crack of thunder. A moment later, all the world experienced a brief distortion of the surroundings. The realm bent and shuddered, warping the senses while all felt an abrupt change in the fabric of reality, as though some grip upon the world had been released. Instantly the gods recognised that Agatheis had succeeded… but there was no room for joy in this victory. Though he had achieved what he set out to do, the Elemental Lord stood little chance against the powerful Bal’met. Nevertheless, the god faced his fate bravely; mere moments passed, and Agatheis was slain, overcome by the terrible fury of Bal’met. ### The Great Mother’s Plan
After the death of Agatheis, the Garden of the Gods was again filled with uncertainty. Atop the Pillars of Heaven the deities gathered, heatedly discussing what they were now to do. Much of the sound manifested as rumbling thunder, with only parts of the conversation reaching mortal ears in comprehensible form. “Aeon restored Aurora to us. He was confident she would turn the tide,” cried out Deucalion. “She wields my sword, and all those faithful to Good stand ready to march at our call. This is the hour of Bal’met’s defeat!” “Caution is called for, Deucalion,” thundered the God of Peace. “History is replete with examples of prophecy misinterpreted. Fate is cruel to those who manipulate her. No one knew this better than Aeon.” “Even you cannot believe there is a peaceful solution, Oneiros,” asserted Aegis, God of War. “We cannot leave Bal’met caged on Nishnatoba! We must strike!” “The only way to face Bal’met now is directly upon Nishnatoba,” rumbled the troubled voice of Vastar, the Skylord. “Do you not realise the risk? We lose all advantage the moment we step foot upon that battlefield.” “We would be little more than mortals facing certain death,” agreed Scarlatti, his voice ringing upon a resonant harmonic. “It’s now or never,” Phaestus boomed out amidst the sweltering heat of the forge. “Agatheis broke Bal’met’s hold over the Fire, but he’ll wrestle it back sooner or later. We have to move.” The silken voice of Lord Twilight drifted from the shadows, his position firm. “You can try your hand. I’ll not take part.” “I am sure none of us are surprised at your apathy in this,” was the dismissive reply of Thoth, the Endbringer. “We need you not.” “No. This cannot be done by a selection of Gods,” came the ethereal whisper of Valnurana. “That plan has failed over and over. This requires the force of the full Pantheon together.” “We must all commit, and we must commit fully,” agreed Aurora. “Nothing can be held back. There can be no more contingencies, no more fall backs.” “You suggest a gamble based on Aeon’s foresight, which even he lacked at the end! Remember, the last of us who gambled everything saw his luck run out,” warned Prospero, recalling the fate of Hermes, the fallen God of Luck. Artemis, Goddess of the Cataclysm, shook her head at the Merchant Lord. “I agree with Aurora. If this is our end then let us face it. I will not hide, cowering in the shadows, waiting for Bal’met to claim me.” On and on the gods debated which course of action to pursue, and their words reverted once more into the incomprehensible tongue of the Divine. Listening closely to every word was Maya, the Great Mother, whose thoughts turned fondly to her long-deceased mortal children, Sinope and Callisto, as she formulated a plan of her own. It was true, the gods’ only chance of defeating Bal’met lay upon Nishnatoba. Slowly they were coming to agreement… even Twilight and Sartan were seeing the need for this unprecedented unity amongst the gods. But they would need assistance. Calling the Great Grey Owl over to her, Maya stroked the soft plumage upon her back. “Lend me your eyes, dear friend,” she murmured and, as she had done many times before, the bird acquiesced. Taking to wing, the owl soared across the heavens upon silent wings, graceful and majestic, keenly observing all of Creation and taking in the full extent of the ongoing turmoil wrought upon the world. Then she banked and turned, rising on an upward draft to disappear among the storm clouds. What Maya saw there, through the owl’s eyes, lies shrouded in mystery. Presently the great bird descended from the cloudbank, circling above the Siroccian Mountains before wheeling and landing upon its highest peak, where she was joined by the warm presence of the Great Mother. “Now is the time for all, mortal and divine, to put aside their grievances,” Maya intoned, her voice crossing the barriers of the Veil of Creation. Come, gather at the Shrine of Ascension, for the fate of the world lies in your power.” Heeding the Great Mother’s call, mortals from all walks of life began to journey to the Siroccian Mountains, climbing its highest peak to join Maya upon the high plateau. So, too, did the gods gather at her side, and the Great Mother began her address. “For two centuries and more have I borne the torch passed unto me, raised by the Logos to uphold the balance betwixt Creation and Destruction,” began the Great Mother. “But even these forces do not rule absolutely. Transcending and underlying all is the Fire behind the Flame, the foundation of every aspect of our existence. “The Fire has been touched by the hand of Bal’met, who has drawn its power away from the world and unto himself. And so Yggdrasil ails. The immortal Gods suffer mortal fates. The very planes come untethered. And Bal’met grows stronger. Not since the dawn of humanity have we faced a fate so grim; nay, not since the beginning of time. “The Fire behind the Flame must be renewed and purged of its corruption. It can no longer burn untended, and requires a guardian of singular purpose: a creator to unmake the wrongness that has taken hold of it. Great is my power, but this is a thing I cannot do.” Maya paused, and a murmur of confusion passed through the crowd. “The mantle of Supreme Creator must pass from my shoulders, to be taken up once more by the Logos. Only he possesses that immeasurable knowledge with which the Fire behind the Flame can be restored and preserved for eternity.” The Great Mother looked to the Logos, who remained still, clouded in thought as long moments passed. At last, Sarapis nodded. Clasping her hands together, Maya’s eyes closed, and she became wreathed in radiant light. The resplendent corona flickered about her regal form, intensifying to a nearly blinding brilliance, until only a faint, shadowy contour could be seen of the Great Mother. Maya outstretched her arms toward the Logos and took his hands in hers. Slowly the blazing light passed from the Great Mother to Sarapis, encompassing them both as a sudden gust of wind stirred the Shrine of Ascension. Gradually the light began to fade around Maya, but even as it vanished from the goddess it more brilliantly illuminated the Logos. The Great Mother’s words were strong and final. “So it was, so shall it be.” “So it was, so shall it be,” echoed Sarapis. As his voice echoed upon the mountaintop, the Logos was consumed in the corona of light and disappeared. ### The Immortal Army
Awash in stillness, the mountains seemed lonely with the absence of the Logos, and Maya looked off toward the twin peaks of Mount Sinope and Mount Callisto, Her eyes sombre but filled with wisdom and clarity. “Truly, the Logos has an arduous task set before him. But he is not alone, and the gods labour to defeat the threat to our world.” Maya turned to face the assembled mortals. “So, too, must you. You must travel to Nishnatoba, where you will stand with the gods against Bal’met.” More than a few were prepared to rapidly descend the mountain and race toward the great icons which stood as gateways to the legendary battleground. But before any could depart, Maya held up one finger in caution. Forcefully gesturing with both hands to the ground at her feet, Maya spread wide her arms and a pool of swirling water bubbled up in the centre of the plateau. Tongues of primal fire licked over its surface, burning improbably above the churning basin. “Many are the ways to reach the distant battle,” she said, “but heed me now. Enter this pool, hold fast to the strength found within yourself, and emerge upon Nishnatoba not as a mortal… but as a mighty demigod.” None could believe the words uttered by the Great Mother. Ascension of this kind was unthinkable. Impossible! Trusting in the Great Mother, the warrior Rangor Corten bravely stepped forward, steeled his nerves, and stepped into the pool. Slowly he sank beneath the surface and was enveloped by an invigorating sense of strength and vitality. Always moving forward, Rangor was spun and woven through the fabric of reality, a tempestuous journey that seemed to last for eons before all was suddenly calm. The sentinel found himself standing in a small cavern; at its centre stood the grey-cloaked figure of Sarapis. Solemn and consumed in thought, he faced a column of primal fire, pondering its innate existence as it burned endlessly across time and space. Opposite the Creator stood Aeyr, God of Magic, his gentle, grey eyes locked in concentration upon the enigmatic flames. With slow, deliberate movements the Logos moved his hands, drawing filaments of the Weave from the ether and shaping them carefully, adding them to the Fire Behind the Flame and releasing them to burn in glorious union with reality. Suddenly, without warning, a spark leapt out from the Fire Behind the Flame, making contact with Rangor’s chest and throwing him backward with a forceful discharge of energy. Rather than landing on the ground, however, he found himself once again tumbling through the ether within the maelstrom of Creation. For another eternity, Rangor was tossed about, but slowly the spinning subsided, leaving him standing alone within a quiet grotto. Softly the voice of the Great Mother whispered to him, “Since your first cries I have watched over you, my child, as I have done for all mortalkind across the planes. You have grown much, and achieved even more. And yet… your time is only just beginning.” Rangor’s heart raced as he swelled with tremendous power, and his mind expanded, a burgeoning source of willpower and endurance welling up deep inside him. Again came the whisper of the Great Mother: “Long have I enjoyed immortality, but the time draws near for me to seek a mortal end. With my final blessings I grant unto you a portion of my own godhood.” Divine fire flared about Rangor, and he was overcome with wonder as he felt the capacity to tap into the Weave itself, bringing forth a torrent of power so vast it could instantly vaporise any mortal being. Maya’s whisper continued: “Take this gift and fulfil your destiny. The streams of time must once again flow freely. But be warned that this newfound immortality will not last forever.” An enormous fount of power surged within Rangor, and he felt as if all possibilities had opened to him. The whole of time and space and the planes spread out before his eyes, and he know that with only a thought he could be anywhere he wished. The final words of the Great Mother echoed to him once more. “Your transformation is complete. Go, Rangor, and do what must be done.” Drifting among the eddies and whirls of spectral clouds, Rangor’s eyes closed. Seeking out the plane of Nishnatoba in his mind’s eye, he willed himself to be there, and as reality conformed to his purpose, he found himself standing upon the barren soil of that forsaken plane. Rangor was not alone for long. His courageous first step had inspired others to follow closely behind. One after another the newborn demigods began to appear, their eyes shining brightly with the spark of divinity: an army of immortals raised to defend the existence of all. ### The Ruin of Bal’met
Stormclouds rumbled and lightning struck across the wasted plain of Nishnatoba. Far below, hundreds of demigods forged by the blessings of the Great Mother flexed their newfound powers. Winds whipped across the plain, and the massive, seething cloud of hatred comprising the loathsome Bal’met flowed among the black hills. Writhing hordes of Dala’myrr swarmed over the wastelands, seeking hungrily for anything to sate their monstrous appetites. Flashing with amaranthine lightning, black smoke rolled over Nishnatoba, rising to form the recognisable images of gods lost to the raw power of Bal’met. One by one they appeared, loathsome and corrupted beyond measure: the many-armed shade of Indrani, the darkly beautiful form of Selene, and the enraged, armoured shadow of Matsuhama, and more… twelve dreadful figures, all risen at the horrifying command of Bal’met. Swiftly the demigods spread across the plain, seeking Dala’myrr and divine shades alike. Some were caught unaware by Bal’met’s minions and, despite their divinity, found they were not truly immortal, perishing to the might of the enemy. But this err was seldom repeated: able to revive themselves from near death, the demigods learned to instantly zap their foes and purge them from Nishnatoba for good. Soon the population of Dala’myrr began to wane and the shadowy spectres of the fallen gods were laid to rest by the stalwart demigods. As they roamed Nishnatoba to destroy the stragglers, some lamented that they had yet encountered the foul god Bal’met. Even as they spoke, streaks of etheric lightning punctuated the firmament, scorching the heavens and illuminating, at the heart of Nishnatoba, a towering plateau girded by seething clouds of oily black mist. Cruel and imperious, the terrifying god Bal’met loomed upon the elevated stage, the would-be Worldreaver bent on utter domination. For only a moment he stood alone, but soon the gods of the Pantheon began to make their presence known. The din of clashing blades and dying screams echoed across the planes as the armoured figure of Aegis appeared, his eyes focused upon Bal’met. Humming softly in the air, a tranquil note heralded the stoic form of Oneiros, and War and Peace took their places upon the battlefield. Stormclouds gathered and swelled, rumbling with thunder as Vastar, the Skylord, reclaimed their command and appeared with the other gods. Lightning flashed and struck at his side, igniting a spark that erupted into a fiery cyclone, revealing Artemis, Goddess of the Cataclysm. Neraeos, God of the Sea, coalesced from a fine mist, stern of face and resolved in purpose. With equal aplomb the luminous Goddess of the Moon, Ourania, appeared in a swirl of celestial light. A plume of thick black smoke billowed upon ruined Nishnatoba, churning with eldritch fire as it parted to reveal Babel, God of Oblivion, moving into place. Even as the smoke dispersed, cold white flame rose up, burning brightly and leaving in their wake the pale form of Valnurana. Golden light streamed over the ancient battlefield as the bloodsworn gods Aurora and Deucalion manifested in measured unison, their gaze directed singly upon the Worldreaver. In contrast to their severity, a thrill of wicked anticipation struck deep as Pandora, Goddess of Mischief appeared, her spirited laughter followed by the rumbling chuckle of Prospero, God of Wealth as he stepped upon Nishnatoba. Poignant notes of an ancient harmonic then reverberated gently, augmented by the bold ring of a forging hammer as Scarlatti, the Great Bard, and Phaestus, the Smith, appeared among the gathering gods. As the sound faded, sudden chills washed over the planes and two shadowy forms appeared upon the field of battle: Twilight, God of Darkness, and Thoth, Lord of the Dead. Nodding solemnly to each other, they moved apart and took up their own positions. Last, a chorus of daemonic howls rose from the Inferno as Sartan, the Malevolent took his place among the gods. His appearance drew wary glances from his brethren, but all remained in place, allowing him to join the unified force. The Pantheon was assembled. Caustic laughter uttered from Bal’met as the gods surrounded him, and he threw up his arms. The oily smoke billowing beneath his terrible form churned and rose, twisting into horrifying reflections of himself, identical in every way. With baleful intent the reflections spread out, and Bal’met moved among them, milling about and roaring with laughter until none could determine which was real. Undaunted, Aegis swung his axe forward in command, and his voice resounded like thunder. “To battle!” The skies flashed and rumbled as the gods unleashed powerful attacks of might and magic, striking out at the shadowy visions of Bal’met. As soon as they vanished, more appeared, but the gods were relentless in their onslaught. Flickering across the firmament, the vision of a dark cave appeared between the gaps in the fabric of reality, revealing Sarapis as he laboured over the Fire Behind the Flame. Aeyr, God of Magic, guarded him closely, looking into the distance with growing horror. Giving a shout of surprise, Aeyr was suddenly overcome by a throng of shadows, bestial minions sent by Bal’met. Holding them back as long as he could, Aeyr swung at the distractions, sending some flying into the outer reaches of the realms. But the god could not hold out forever. With an enormous outpouring of energy, Aeyr released his full essence across the multiverse, destroying himself forever, but slaying the shadows in the blast. Back upon Nishnatoba, the shadow-forms of Bal’met redoubled their attacks. Six gathered closely around Oneiros, God of Peace, who had raised a powerful barrier about himself. At last one dark shadow of Bal’met succeeded in penetrating the shield, and as it collapsed, the shadows of Bal’met tore the god apart, and Oneiros was consumed by the fearsome god. The fall of Oneiros spurred the other gods on. Valiantly they slashed and struck at the shadows, working together to destroy the images of Bal’met. As the gruesome likenesses fell to the gods, they drew nearer and nearer to the true form of Bal’met. After long hours of battle, only one image of the god was now encircled by the ring of encroaching deities. “You have managed the one thing that has never happened before, Bal’met,” shouted Aegis. “You have at last united all of the gods in a single purpose: your defeat. Sartan cast you into Nishnatoba, intending it to be a prison. Now it will be your grave!” Furiously the gods began to hurl fire, lightning, and myriad magics unknown to mortal apprehension. Igniting the skies and shaking the planes, they acted with one accord to divert Bal’met from his terrible purpose. Beautiful and awesome in her growing power, Aurora stood alone, unmoving and focused. The Sword of Dunamis blazed in her hand, hungry fire coursing down the blade’s length. With murmured words Deucalion began to direct the prayers of the faithful into a shining shield, standing beside Aurora and protecting her with his arm extended. Nodding to Deucalion, Aurora advanced. Booming with laughter, Bal’met lashed out at the Lightbringer, cracking whips of force that tore at her like seething whips of pure pain. Aurora continued her assault, augmented by the unwavering attacks of the gods that surrounded Bal’met, and Deucalion cried out in pain as he took his bloodsworn’s wounds upon himself. “Aeon has foreseen your fall,” thundered Aurora as she pressed onward. “By our hands you will be unmade, and his vision will come to pass.” Drawing back the blazing Sword of Dunamis, Aurora lunged forward and buried it into Bal’met, and a ghastly chorus of a thousand wailing voices tore across the planes. Unforming and writhing upon the blade, Bal’met clawed out at Aurora with devastating brutality, but she stood fast, holding the hilt steady as her brethren strained, overcoming the diminishing god with the strength of their combined powers. Finally, with an ear-splitting cry that shook the foundations of every plane, causing the seas to swell and the skies to weep tears, Bal’met was finally forced to relinquish His grasp on reality. Held hostage by the Sword of Dunamis, Bal’met perished in agony, utterly destroyed by the magnified power of the Pantheon. ### The Departure of the Logos
Time slowed and stopped as Sarapis, the Logos, summoned to his presence the souls of the brave Achaeans who had survived the battle upon Nishnatoba that felled the terrible Bal’met. “Achaeans. My children. This is the last time I will speak to you. The bright sun will dim to cool embers and the stars that wheel in the night sky will disappear before my task will be done. “When there was no time, no spacial dimensions, nothing but myself as Ayar, there was the Fire. Created as the first and greatest of my works, it was through the Fire that all else was made manifest, from time and matter to gods and dragons. “But by doing so, by giving form to my power such that it be something other than unfocused, raw capability, there was a cost that I paid willingly. No longer was I all that was, and thus no longer did I have knowledge of all that was and would be. I know what it is to experience the limitations of lesser forms. I experienced all that Proteus did, and in the end I absorbed his experiences into myself. “Since that time, I have greatly relished watching Creation and all its myriad parts, for a bit of me has been able to appreciate the incredible struggles, the glorious victories, the ignominious defeats, the treacherous betrayals, the great love affairs, the eternal rivalries, and the rest of the ebb and flow of your daily lives. “And then came this Bal’met, whose existence I did not foresee, and whose threat I did not appreciate until it was nearly too late. It is not that I wished harm on the many that perished, divine and mortal both, in this devastating war to end all wars. But ever have I been content to let my creations play out as they will. If a god dies, it is part of the turbulence of existence. All returns to the Fire from which it was ultimately conceived. “Destroying Ashaxei set the Fire into a state of less than perfect resonance, but even then, I was content to watch, for this did not yet threaten the foundations of existence. By the time Maya and I realised what Bal’met truly planned, and what his aims had been all along, we were nearly too late. Through Aeon’s sacrifice and the courage of the many mortals and gods who fought to defeat Bal’met, we have saved all that has been, is, and will ever be. “But Maya, whose sacrifice you must never forget, for she gave up the divine to save all, was correct. Only I can repair the immense damage that has been done to the Fire. “All my will must be bent to this task, for already it is only through my exertion of power beyond your ken that the Fire still burns. It shall take me nigh unto a very lonely eternity. I must go beyond Creation to where the Fire itself resides in all of its immense grandeur, and there are none who can join me. **“It has been an honour surpassing any that I conceived of to have been witness to your stories and to, occasionally, even take a small part in them. I shall miss you all more than you know.** **“Goodbye.”** Then came a sense of overwhelming loss as mortals returned to their lives, and Sarapis, the Logos, departed Creation. ### Maya’s Mortality
Within a candlelit corridor walked Maya, the Great Mother, and Thoth, the Endbringer. Side by side they passed between two murals of breathtaking beauty and detail, depicting in parallel the lives of two mortals as they grew and advanced in life. With concern and curiosity the God of Death regarded his companion, whose immortality waned before his very eyes. As time seemed to reverse upon her countenance, she had begun to resemble the Aldar of her youth, long before the Logos raised her to godhood, centuries before she merged with Makali, Goddess of Destruction to become the Supreme Creatrix. “Countless souls have wandered these halls, praying for salvation from their fate,” mused Maya as they strolled along the passage. “Again and again have I granted their prayers, rescuing them from the brink of death and returning them to the material world, healed and whole. “Many are they who boldly take risks that distinguish them from other mortals. Their spirits are strong and enduring, but their bodies will falter.” Maya paused, turning to Thoth as she spoke with finality. “To you I entrust their guardianship.” The Endbringer frowned. Long had he ushered into the Soulrealms those whose lives were complete, but never had he needed to turn a soul back. “They will stand before your door,” Maya continued. “Your task is to recognise those souls whose allotted time has not yet run its course, and turn them away, resisting selfish temptation to strengthen your own realm.” With a silent nod, the God of Death gave his consent, and Maya returned a bittersweet smile. “The joys of a mortal life have long been beyond my reach,” she said, “but no more. One day I, too, will stand before you.” With these last words did Maya, Mother of Humanity, draw the Veil of Creation about herself one final time and vanish, truly mortal for the first time since her own genesis. ### Note from Sarapis \[OOC\]
I felt compelled to include a note here, because the Worldreaver Saga is the biggest event we’ve ever undertaken in Achaea. It was an incredible amount of work, under deadlines, but I think it was worth it. We delivered experiences like you’ve never had in Achaea before, and the event resulted in pretty major changes to Achaea, from the deaths of many gods, to the destruction of Shallam, to the departures of Sarapis and Maya. It was also very emotional for those of us in the Garden, as I’m sure it was for many players. People who had poured a lot of creative energy and time into their God characters lost them to permanent death, and of course we lost an entire city as well. Speaking for myself, I had tears running down my cheeks when I delivered Sarapis’ goodbye forever speech. He didn’t die, but it marked the end of Sarapis as a meaningful character. I’d been playing Sarapis since before Achaea opened in 1997 (the Worldreaver event took place in 2012) and it’s fair to say I’m pretty attached to him. Many thanks to Tecton and Valnurana, in particular, for the late nights they put in to make this event happen! So what does the future hold for Achaea’s history? You’ll have to stick around to find out! Best, Matt Mihály CEO, Iron Realms Entertainment
---
### [News](https://www.achaea.com/news)
**Published:** March 9, 2017
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
### Achaean News
---
### [Welcome to Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/welcome)
**Published:** February 22, 2021
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
# Tabletop Designers Invade Achaea
### Four guest contributors bring new stories to a legendary text MUD.
Achaea is collaborating with some of your favourite storytellers and content creators to bring all new adventures into our game! We’ll be featuring a sweet new character from Tim Lanning of GeeklyInc, chills and thrills by Markeia McCarty from Hunter’s Entertainment, an intricate quest from Aaron Reed (whose ongoing articles covering 50 years of text games are the nerdy cup of tea we’ve been dying for), and a new story by Mark Rapson of Nighfall Games – the home of SLA Industries!
[ Click Here to Create a Character and Start Playing ](https://play.achaea.com/) ## What are MUDs?
MUD games are the original MMORPGs that take place **entirely in text**. Before the era of blockbuster MMOs like World of Warcraft, MUDs offered real-time, persistent worlds and incredible multiplayer adventures that inspired innovations and gaming features that continue to define the genre and beyond even today.
In a MUD, your imagination is the real dungeon master. Check out any of our games from the menu at the top of the page!
[ Click Here to Create a Character ](https://play.achaea.com/)## What do you do?
The text adventure game ***Achaea*** consists of over 50,000 locations, from caves to dungeons, to grassy plains and cities, these “rooms” are filled with friends, foes, creatures, and quests to get your teeth into!
On top of the traditional RPG fare, you can also throw your character into politics, into crafting your wildest designs, become a shopping empire mogul, support your organisations through mining and foraging, explore our high seas aboard your own ship, or take the path of the faithful and serve one of Achaea’s Pantheon of Gods!
[ Click Here to Create a Character ](https://play.achaea.com/)  ## Need More Help?
If you need help there are a number of ways to find it!
Our extensive HELP system is right at your fingertips with the answers to many questions! HELP <keyword> in Achaea will bring these up! Try **HELP WHATNOW**!
If your question is more detailed, try asking on [our forums](http://forums.achaea.com) or our [player-run Discord server](https://discord.gg/H9WTkf84)!
And if all else fails, you can always email us at support@achaea.com!
[ Click Here to Create a Character ](https://play.achaea.com/)
---
### [The Gods of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/gods)
**Published:** January 31, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
## The Gods of Achaea
The Deities who preside over the world of Achaea are known collectively as the Pantheon, and the Garden of the Gods is their seat of power. Many of these Divinities embody esoteric macro concepts, inspiring entire ways of life, horror stories, and even moralistic tales of caution. Some bear familial links to one another, others are unconcerned with the actions of their brethren, many view one another with a suspicion borne upon an existence of power struggle. But, without question, each Lord and Lady has an agenda, and their work is conducted by their most loyal followers, their Divine Order. ## The Pantheon
### Fallen and Departed Gods
The countless years have seen triumph and tribulation in Achaea, not only for the mortal residents, but also on rare occasion, for the Gods themselves. A number of the Gods are now deceased, others are turned from Achaean life due to duty or other care. These are the fallen and departed Gods.
- [Aeon, the Lord of Time](http://wiki.achaea.com/Aeon_(Elder_God))
- [Aeyr, the God of Magic](http://wiki.achaea.com/Aeyr)
- [Agatheis, the Lord of the Elements](http://wiki.achaea.com/Agatheis)
- [Apollyon, the Suffering](http://wiki.achaea.com/Apollyon)
- [Bal’met, the Worldreaver](http://wiki.achaea.com/Bal%27met)
- [Caspian, God of the Oceans](http://wiki.achaea.com/Caspian_(Elder_God))
- [Demeter, the Green Lady](http://wiki.achaea.com/Demeter)
- [Daedalus, Guardian of Balance](http://wiki.achaea.com/Daedalus)
- [Eris, the Goddess of Chaos](http://wiki.achaea.com/Eris)
- [Eros, the God of Love](http://wiki.achaea.com/Eros)
- [Hermes, the Messenger](http://wiki.achaea.com/Hermes)
- [Indrani, the Demon Queen](http://wiki.achaea.com/Indrani)
- [Kastalia, the Goddess of Lakes and Rivers](http://wiki.achaea.com/Kastalia)
- [Keresis, Goddess of Vengeance](http://wiki.achaea.com/Keresis)
- [Khalas, the Wanderer](http://wiki.achaea.com/Khalas)
- [Makali, the Goddess of Destruction](http://wiki.achaea.com/Makali)
- [Matsuhama, the God of Combat](http://wiki.achaea.com/Matsuhama)
- [Maya, the Great Mother](http://wiki.achaea.com/Maya)
- [Melantha, the Goddess of the Seasons](http://wiki.achaea.com/Melantha)
- [Miramar, the Goddess of Justice](http://wiki.achaea.com/Miramar)
- [Mithraea, the Goddess of the Sun](http://wiki.achaea.com/Mithraea)
- [Oneiros, the God of Peace](http://wiki.achaea.com/Oneiros)
- [Pandemonium, the God of Strife](http://wiki.achaea.com/Pandemonium)
- [Pentharian, the God of Valour](http://wiki.achaea.com/Pentharian)
- [Raclawice, the Goddess of Rogues and Wanderers](http://wiki.achaea.com/Raclawice)
- [Sarapis, the Supreme Creator](http://wiki.achaea.com/Sarapis)
- [Selene, the Goddess of Love and Beauty](http://wiki.achaea.com/Selene)
- [Tarah, the Goddess of Compassion](http://wiki.achaea.com/Tarah)
- [Thoth, the God of Death](http://wiki.achaea.com/Thoth)
---
### [Mythos](https://www.achaea.com/history/mythos)
**Published:** December 4, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
### The Achaean Mythos
Below you’ll find a lengthy account of the early days of Creation, a civil war between the Gods, the subsequent Chaos Wars, the after math, which would leave the universe forever changed.
Highly recommended reading!
### Chapter List
### Genesis
Past legend and lore, before memory and myth, Ayar, the Creator, willed into existence everything known and unknown. He saw fit to create not only diverse planets in this universe, but entirely separate planes, some with physical laws that differ radically from our own. At the last, he created the Elder Gods and the Aldar, to serve them. The Elder Gods he infused with a small, finite, portion of his own boundless power and gave them the gift of immortality. To the Aldar he gave great power exceeding that of virtually all beings save for the Gods.
Valnurana, Goddess of Dreams
Of the Elder Gods, there were a handful only: Aegis, the God of War. Thoth, whose realm is Death. Matsuhama, the skilled God of Combat. The calculating Prospero, God of Wealth. Vastar, Lord of the Skies. Aeon, who has some control over Time itself. Gaia, Goddess of Nature. Agatheis, God of the Elements. Shaitan, the feared Lord of Evil. Flighty Eros, patron of lovers everywhere. Gentle Scarlatti, God of the Arts. Caspian, who rules the Oceans. Miramar the Evenhanded, Goddess of Justice. Twilight, the mysterious God of Darkness. Lupus, the wild God of the Beasts. Lucretius, enigmatic God of Philosophy, Raclawice, patron Goddess of Rogues and Wanderers everywhere, and Valnurana, Goddess of Sleep and Dreaming. Taking no specific realm were Lorielan, Daedalus, and Khalas.
Though satisfied with the perfection of these expressions of his divine aspect, the Lord of Creation was haunted by a sense of emptiness. Over the aeons, he watched his creations interacting and experiencing the wonderful uncertainty of their lives. Ayar had none of this, for he was all that ever was and all that could be. There were no secrets for Ayar, no goals to be striven for. Ayar spent his time in endless contemplation of his own existence and, for reasons too foreign for we of limited existence to comprehend, grew bored.
He desired to experience his creation first-hand. He wanted to feel the soaring ecstasy and painful despair of those who possess something besides the certitude of total prescience. After a deep period of intense contemplation, Ayar split himself into two beings: Ayar and Proteus. Ayar intentionally limited the power of Proteus and was able to exclude Proteus’ origins from the mighty God’s mind. For the rest of the Elder Gods, he implanted false memories which deluded them into believing Proteus had always been their leader.
So it was that the Elder Gods were created to rule over creation and maintain order and balance. All were given power far beyond even that of the Aldar, but still, not infinite. Proteus was unquestioningly the most powerful of the Gods and ruled them by general consent. For his Queen and lover, Proteus took Lorielan, who was one of the most powerful Gods as well as being possessed of a devastating beauty and razor-sharp mind.
Thus, the ranks of Creation were complete. Ages came and went peacefully as the various planes developed. Some, like our own, grew to incredible size and complexity, while others remained small and relatively uniform. The Gods had the power of effortless planar travel while the Aldar were forced to exert considerable energy discovering and exploring these endless planes. The Gods spent their time exalting in their power and expanding their influence. The Aldar became masters of building and of magic and testaments to their ability may be found throughout the multiverse. It can be truthfully said, and I write this without any trace of heresy, but only a humble historian’s drive for the truth, that the Gods grew complacent, while the Aldar did the work and learned about their surroundings.
### The Prophecy and the Races
Phaestus, the Smith
Still, there were flashes of creativity in the otherwise Cyrenaic aeons after the Creation. Proteus and Phaestus began experimenting with creating life forms, while Agatheis explored the mysteries of matter and energy in their myriad manifestations. During this period, Proteus and Phaestus created many animals, birds, insects and types of vegetation, populating the innumerable planets with life. Finally, they hit upon the secret of consciousness and created the Tsol’aa. Tall and lithe, the Tsol’aa chose to dwell in the forests of the world of Achaea, on the continent of Sapience.
Eventually, Phaestus too created a race called the Dwarves. The Dwarves were short, stocky creatures fond of metal, gem, and all products of the earth. Much to the consternation of Phaestus, his beloved Dwarves seemed to lack any sort of free will. Unable to make decisions for themselves, they were not much more than very complex machinery. Phaestus eventually found a solution to this, but we will return and tell this story later.
Ages came and went with the Tsol’aa building their forest homes, the dwarves, under the supervision of Phaestus building their mountain fortresses and the Gods and Aldar mastering more and more of Creation. Ayar looked down upon his work and was pleased. He enjoyed feeling the triumphs and travails of Proteus, with whom he was one and things were good.
After countless ages had passed, one single event took place that was to forever change Creation. As well as we may know, a being of incomprehensible structure entered Creation from somewhere outside and began wandering. Eventually, it encountered Maya, an Aldar of exceedingly pure and innocent soul. Horribly, it proceeded to rape Maya, who was residing on our planet, the favourite of the Aldar. Upon discovering her, lying prone in a state of shock, Dekalb, a prominent Aldar, began wailing in grief.
Ayar heard Dekalb’s cries and grew angry. He struck out at this being, banishing it to places unknown to suffer in eternal torment for its sins. He erased all evidence that it had ever existed, save for its effect on Maya: she was pregnant with the child of this Unnamable Horror.
It was soon after this that the Aldar, Caymus, began to gain his current reputation as the greatest prophet in history. It was the Twin Prophecies (as they were later dubbed) that forever cemented his place in history. Caymus first predicted that at some point, Proteus would be overthrown as leader of the Gods and another would fill his place. Upon hearing this, many of the Gods called for his death, but Proteus declined, feeling that Caymus was simply expressing what he had seen with his gift, not advocating a rebellion. Caymus’ second prophecy was that Maya would bear twins, and that these children would not be Aldar but would have the potential to someday rival them in power.
When Maya gave birth, it was indeed twins and they were distinctly not Aldar. Many of the Aldar and Gods, upon viewing these children, laughed and ridiculed Caymus, for they were pathetic, mewling, helpless things. Nevertheless, Proteus saw something special in them and ordered the Aldar to build for them a land called Ceylon, meaning ‘Land of the Dawn.’ Designed by the chief architect, Mantru and built with the sweat of many Aldar, Proteus then placed the city on the continent we now call Sapience and decreed that these ‘humans’ would inherit it. Further, he ordered that no Aldar was to exercise dominion over humanity without their consent. This upset many of the Aldar and made them resentful, as they considered this world theirs and the humans merely bastard children, fit only to serve.
### The Seeds of War
In response to these decrees by Proteus, three factions of Aldar emerged. One, led by Han-Silnar was distinctly xenophobic in its attitude. Another, led by Han-Silnar’s brother, Han-Tolneth, was also xenophobic, but had great respect for the Gods in general and Proteus in particular and so resolved to support and respect Proteus’ decision. A third was led by Dekalb, who was known for his loyalty and humble manner before the Gods. This faction always argued for backing the decision of Proteus, feeling that he was able to perceive factors hidden from the Aldar.
It was soon after the split among the Aldar that the Elder God Khalas, often called the Wanderer, encountered the great demon prince Pazuzu in a remote and inhospitable plane. Pazuzu ruled over all airborne demons and was one of the members of a loose oligarchy of demon princes, all of whom wielded as much power as the Gods themselves while in their home planes (collectively known as the Inferno). Ayar, when he created them, limited the demon princes’ ability to travel between planes to prevent them from raging across the multiverse in a conquering orgy of blood and fire.
Pazuzu, with honey-coated words, implied to Khalas that he would welcome and support any attempt to overthrow the current dominion that Proteus and the rest of the Elder Gods held over Creation. Khalas, one of Lorielan’s favorites, knew that Lorielan coveted the power that Proteus possessed and felt that Caymus’ prophecy predicted a successful coup on her part. On his return from the Inferno, Khalas informed Lorielan of the horrific yet boundless power of the demons that dwelt there. He saw an opportunity to harness the power of these new beings in an effort to throw off the tyrannical shackles of Proteus and his allies. Lorielan agreed, and they approached the third member of their eventual triumvirate, Agatheis.
Agatheis, who had not yet mastered elemental control, but was close, agreed to support their rebellion, but felt that more support was needed before they could muster the necessary forces to succeed. The three Elder Gods agreed to wait a few hundred years while they marshaled what forces they could.
Soon thereafter, Lorielan discovered the Crystal realms, inhabited by the Kx’Khrah. A race of crystalline beings, they were highly organised and very disciplined. Though weak individually, they possessed the relatively unique power to merge into vast and intricate composite beings. Through the control of wave resonance, these unique creatures were able to manipulate and harness the powers of sound and light.
Upon their first encounter with a other-planar being, Lorielan, they worshipped her immediately for they had never seen a being so soft and rounded. They could only conclude that the magnificent being before them was a God. Lorielan, as all Gods, had the ability to communicate with any intelligent or semi-intelligent being and was able to convince these diamond-edged people that a grave threat to the multiverse was approaching. She spoke to them of other planes both terrible and wonderful and of the fantastic diversity of Creation. She told them how the Creator, Ayar, created the universe with order in mind and that, perhaps, the Kx’Khrah represented the ultimate order and thus must carry out the will of Ayar, which she claimed to represent. With great eloquence, she bitterly spoke to them of the chaotic Proteus and how his tyranny threatened the very concept of an ordered universe. The Kx’Khrah were swayed by her words and were outraged by this Proteus, of whom they had never heard. They agreed that he must be stopped and began rallying for war, with Lorielan as their general and queen.
Lorielan with Kx’krah guards.
At about the same time, Agatheis had completed his experiments and had obtained the eagerly sought-after power of elemental control. Through this, he was able to contact the powerful leaders of the elements: Sllshya, the Great Ocean, Kkractle, the Eternal Fire, Whiirh, the Western Wind and Garash, the Immovable Mountain. These beings possessed completely foreign thought-patterns and their intentions and goals are to this day utterly unfathomable.. Despite this limitation, Agatheis was able to use his newfound control to force them into the Triumvirate’s army. Though the Elemental Lords could not leave their respective planes, they were able collectively to increase Agatheis’ power of elemental control to the point at which he could summon legions of elementals and command them to do his bidding.
Unbeknownst to Agatheis, Dekalb had also gained a certain degree of elemental control and was disturbed by the tremors he could perceive. It was clear to him – the stormclouds of rebellion were gathering. Approaching Daedalus, he cautiously told him what he knew and promised that the Aldar would always be known as true loyalists of the established order. Daedalus immediately opened contact with the other Elder Gods and informed them of Lorielan, Khalas, and Agatheis’ approaching treachery. Some of the Gods, including Shaitan, Twilight, and Scarlatti did not care to involve themselves in a war, considering themselves above such petty conflict or, in the cases of Shaitan and Twilight, were unwilling to exert themselves for the sake of Gods who had often excluded them. Others, notably the warrior gods Aegis, Matsuhama and Thoth, were eager for the opportunities that a conflict of such epic proportions would inevitably bring. The general conclusion was that this unholy Triumvirate must be crushed lest all the realms of creations be torn asunder.
### The Great Council
Though the Aldar were not as powerful as the Gods, there were many more of them and the Triumvirate knew that they must somehow gather Aldar support if their plan was to succeed. Khalas approached his student, Han-Silnar for support. The taste of resentment towards Proteus for giving Sapience to the humans still bitter in his mouth, Han-Silnar agreed to support his mentor. Han-Silnar assured the three Gods that he could convince the rest of the Aldar to support their side and called a Great Council; something only done twice before in history.
The gathering of the Aldar took seven years and was held in what is now called the Caves of Sorrow. During this time, there was much debate and it became evident that under no circumstances would Dekalb’s faction participate in a rebellion and would, in fact, be likely to fight against one. Han-Tolneth’s faction wanted nothing to do with either side in a rebellion and just wanted peace, to better continue their research and building. The arguments raged back and forth, waxing philosophic at times and descending to the level of base insult at others. Eventually however, Dekalb’s virtue and moral certitude won the respect of all. Han-Silnar was forced to agree with Dekalb and vowed to support Proteus and the other Divinities.
### The Triumverate Marshals
During the time of the Great Council, Agatheis, Khalas, and Lorielan continued to gather their forces. Agatheis, who was worshipped by the Rajamala, a race of tiger-people from the same plane but different planet as Sapience, joined with strike forces of fire and earth elementals to conquer and impress into service vast legions of the Nevaharr. Possessed of a humanoid upper-body and the lower body of a massive, six-legged lion, the Nevaharr resided on a planet in a plane much like ours and were very fearful of fire. The appearance of intelligent fire-beings, along with the Rajamala who made a practice of devouring their victims, caused the Nevaharr to surrendur quickly and unhappily join with these strange Gods in their revolt.
Khalas meanwhile encountered the Underworld, a plane populated solely by undead beings. Prince Slith, whose father ruled over the Underworld, was eager to fight against the hated deathgod Thoth and promised vast undead legions in support. His father, King Ugrach, was mightily displeased and cast Slith and his followers out of the Underworld, wanting nothing to do with a war in which Thoth himself would be involved. Mighty are the Powers of the Underworld, but mightier still is Death himself.
So, the Triumvirate had marshaled its forces and the Elder Gods did not know the magnitude or the composition of them. We turn again to the Aldar.
### The Great Betrayal
After the Great Council, Dekalb and Han-Silnar reconvened the Council as a council of war. Han-Tolneth and his faction did not attend, for they wished to distance themselves from any conflict.
Aegis, the God of War
Before the council of war began, Han-Silnar advised that an anti-magic field be erected, to inhibit any magical surveillance of their council. A side-effect of this field would be that no one would be able to enter or leave the Caves of Sorrow until the field was taken down from within. Dekalb agreed, thinking it a sensible and wise suggestion and together they sealed the entrance. As a prayer was being said to Aegis, God of War, the Aldar were betrayed. Lorielan had conspired to slip some merged Kx’Khrah into the council of war under the guise of Han-Silnar faction members. These master wielders of sound and light were able to pose as perfect imitations, the real faction members lying slain by Lorielan’s hand.
The disguised Kx’Khrah struck with immensely powerful beams of light, striking down many of the Aldar in Dekalb’s faction. Han-Silnar was dumbfounded. Never entirely persuaded by Dekalb’s assurances, he faltered and turned traitor to the Aldar. Han-Silnar truly believed that Lorielan was right and simply wanted time to persuade Dekalb to see the light of ‘reason.’ He had agreed with Lorielan that the other Aldar should be subdued and restrained for the duration of the war. Afterwards, they would soon, so Lorielan said, see the wisdom of Han-Silnar’s decision as Lorielan’s rule brought Creation into a new and enlightened age.
When he witnessed the Kx’Khrah striking down the opposing Aldar, he immediately realized that he had been doubly betrayed. Not only were Lorielan’s crystal-beings killing Aldar, but they must have already assassinated most of his faction in order to infiltrate the Cave of Sorrow disguised as his comrades.
Outrage filled his mind and he screamed to his battlemaster, Yen-Sorte, an Aldar of legendary skill, to slay the Kx’Khrah. Immediately, the voice of Lorielan filled his head, telling him that he must go on, or she would subject him to an eternity of pain and suffering. It was at this moment that Han-Silnar realized he was no longer master of his own fate and was simply a pawn in a game beyond his understanding. He had only wanted to regain the Aldar their position as favorite children of the Gods and eliminate the bastard humans.
Yet, Han-Silnar had no choice. He could not directly contest with a God and could not face the prospect of being singled out for punishment by Lorielan. So, he quickly ordered Yen-Sorte and the other Aldar that followed him to slay Dekalb and company. The Kx’Khrah were, by this time, being overwhelmed by Dekalb’s faction, as they erected barriers to prevent the deadly focused light from reaching them. Then, like a crazed demon, Yen-Sorte struck. A whirling frenzy of death, he cut down a score of Aldar on his way to Dekalb. Dekalb knew he was doomed, for all knew of Yen-Sorte’s unparalleled ability. Nevertheless, Dekalb was also a fine fighter and few could match his prowess at sorcery. Conjuring a sword of pure piscine power, he bravely went to face Yen-Sorte. Within half a minute, Dekalb was bleeding from a myriad of wounds where Yen-Sorte’s scimitar had sliced into him and suffering from a broken shoulder where Yen-Sorte’s mace had smashed into it. It was over quickly after that and the rest of the Aldar, trying to escape, but prevented by the anti-magic field, were slaughtered like pigs. Daedalus, who felt the death of Dekalb but could not aid him due to the interference of Khalas and Agatheis wept, for the Great Betrayal (as it was so-named later) was also the first instance of murder among the Aldar.
### The Gods March To War
The Gods were in dire straits at this point. They had counted on the support of the Aldar and they now realized that not only would they not have that support, but that the Triumvirate would have Aldar backing them instead. They also did not have much time, for the forces of the Triumvirate were already massing on a plane called Nishnatoba, which lies near to our own plane, in preparation for the destruction of the humans and the attack on Proteus and the other Elder Gods.
At this point, Proteus himself took a hand. Exercising his immense power, he transported all the varied forces of the Gods to Nishnatoba to meet the Triumvirate on the battlefield. This was a blow to the Triumvirate, for they felt their greatest advantage lay in the hundreds of years of preparation that the other Gods did not have.
Aegis was there with his legions of Horkval: well-trained insectoid warriors arranged in tight phalanxes, and armed with spears and shields. Prospero’s merchant-lords had been out negotiating with the infamous mercenaries of Arn. Consisting of beings from many planes and planets, these forces were famous for their courage, their ferocity, and their absolute loyalty once paid for. The overlord of this army of mercenaries was an eight-foot tall powerful and craft warrior-lord of a previously unknown race, called Gruul. He traveled constantly surrounded by an elite guard called the Arcanians, composed solely of members of his race, none of whom spoke any language but their races’ own.
Matsuhama brought the four-armed hordes of Scrula. Thoth was there with his snake-like Quisalis assassins. Phaestus, bargaining with Proteus, agreed to pledge his eternal loyalty in exchange for giving his beloved dwarves a soul. Proteus agreed and the dwarves marched to war. Daedalus arrived with the Qui’anar, the army of the Tsol’aa, mounted on various breeds of giant arachnids, with whom they telepathically bonded at birth. Proteus himself brought a legion of unicorns, pure but deadly fighters, who were also possessed of many defensive magics.
So, after hundreds of years of preparation and intrigue, the War of Humanity had begun. Making up the core of the Triumvirate’s forces were the Aldar and the Kx’Khrah. Flanking them on either side were the Rajamala, fighting with short sword and whip and the vast numbers of the Nevaharr, armed with bows and longswords. In the rear, and ready to wreak havoc among the Gods’ divine forces, was Prince Slith and his undead liches, vampires, wights, and a host of twisted undead entities too warped by the forces of chaos to bear any common name. Pazuzu and his enormous Inferno legions were held in reserve, unknown to the Elder Gods.
Aegis, supreme commander of the forces of the Elder Gods, ordered that his Horkval followers polish their shields to a shine and form into phalanxes to match the Kx’Khrah. The mercenaries of Prospero, equipped, naturally, with the best equipment that money could buy, including great catapults and other large missile weapons, were to first slaughter as many of the enemy from afar as possible and then, when the two armies clashed, to abandon the war machines and engage in close-quarters combat. The battle-ready hordes of Scrula were to flank around the western side of the Triumvirate army, where the Rajamala were, and engage them there, while the legion of unicorns was to attempt to stay the stampeding destruction of the Nevaharr.
### Clash of the Titans
The forces thus laid out and prepared, battle commenced.
The war machines of the mercenaries of Arn caused much destruction amongst the opposing forces and were particularly deadly to the brittle Kx’Khrah. Nevertheless, the Kx’Khrah were present in uncountable numbers and the overall damage was not particularly large. Proteus’ unicorns charged under the aerial cover of a stinging insect swarm sent by Lupus to distract and hinder the Nevaharr. The insects began stinging at the eyes of the Nevaharr and it looked like the eastern flank of the Triumvirate army might crumble as the unicorns began tearing into it. Agatheis, however, sent air elementals to blow away the insects and soon the vastly greater numbers of the Nevaharr began to prevail.
The phalanxes of the Horkval advanced towards the Kx’Khrah and sustained surprisingly little damage from the deadly lightbeams, due to their tight formation and polished shields. They were, unfortunately, countered by a group of Slith’s ghosts that were sent in. The ghosts could pass through the shields and could paralyze with a touch. Furthermore, Agatheis was able to mar and scorch the shields of the Horkval with flame elementals, rendering them non-reflective and once again, vulnerable to the deadly lightbeams of the Kx’Khrah.
Seeing no advantage in retreat, Aegis ordered the legions of the Horkval and the hordes of Scrula to charge the enemy Kx’Khrah and Rajamala, feeling that the lightbeam long-range attacks of the Kx’Khrah would not be as useful close in. His strategy proved correct, as many of the melded Kx’Khrah were hacked apart into weaker pieces and quickly exterminated. The Rajamala were able to actually disarm many of the Scrula using their whips, but the Scrula were formidable in both armed and unarmed combat and it became apparent that this contest was evenly matched.
At this point, the Aldar, led by Han-Silnar and Yen-Sorte, took a hand and began weaving magic and skill in a pattern that began to systematically annihilate the Scrula and the Horkval.
Before more damage could be done, Aegis ordered all his forces to retreat and regroup. The Triumvirate did the same and as night fell, the first day of the War of Humanity drew to a close.
The days’ battle had taken a much heavier toll on the Elder God’s forces and things looked grim. The Horkval were greatly reduced as were the Scrula. The unicorns had managed to survive reasonably well as had the well-equipped mercenaries of Arn. The Qui’anar had suffered few casualties.
On the Triumvirate side, the Kx’Khrah were greatly weakened and considering total withdrawal, for they had not anticipated such massive losses. Many Nevaharr had been cut down by the unicorns and insects, but just as many unicorns, proportionately, had been cut down. The Scrula had suffered grave losses at the hands of the Rajamala, whose power had been dramatically magnified by the magical aid of the Aldar.
Many have wondered why the Elder Gods did not directly participate in the battle this first day despite the fact that their Triumvirate counterparts were taking a direct hand. The reason was simply that they were still trapped behind Lorielan and Khalas’ magical field and had spent the entire day tearing down the barrier.
That night, Thoth’s serpentine Quisalis assassins crept across the wastelands of Nishnatoba and performed their deadly trade upon the forces of the Triumvirate. In a triumph of stealth and deception, the massed forces of the Rajamala were murdered in their sleep. This was their greatest hour, for death was their pleasure and this was truly an orgy of blood. However, sleepless vampire guards, set by Slith, detected the Quisalis killers and, arousing the rest of the undead forces, began to steal their life forces and turn the Quisalis into undead. The Quisalis were wiped out that night and became martyrs; slain while worshipping their beloved God of Death.
### False Hope
Dawn came.
Gaia, the Earthmother
Freed from the constraints of the magical barrier, the Elder Gods rushed forth onto the battlefield. Proteus and Daedalus absented themselves to search for Khalas, whose absence was suspicious and disturbing. Aegis sent forth the war machines of the Arn mercenaries. The Scrula and unicorns were turned upon the Nevaharr while the Qui’anar, who had not participated in the previous day’s battle, were sent to fight the undead. Aiding the Qui’anar was Thoth himself, who was overcome with rage and grief at the loss of his heroic assassins. He drew on his own divine essence to amplify the lifeforce of the few remaining Qui’anar, granting them near-eternal lifespans and powerful resistance to the parasitic magics of the undead.
So, the Qui’anar advanced upon the undead, the unicorns charged the remaining Nevaharr and the Scrula and Horkval engaged the Aldar and remaining Kx’Khrah. The mercenaries of Arn and the dwarves were held as a harrying force and they circled behind the enemy to weaken their rear flanks. Matsuhama and Vastar strode into battle to assist in countering the Aldar. Matsuhama turned his anger towards Yen-Sorte, who he felt had betrayed him. Though skilled beyond all mortals, even Yen-Sorte could not stand against Matsuhama and soon fell. Vastar began hurling lightning and meteors about him, wounding and killing many Aldar.
Han-Silnar, seeing some of the most powerful Aldar being slain by Gods, called upon Agatheis and Lorielan for assistance. Lorielan strode out to meet Vastar in battle and the two were soon occupied in battle. Agatheis sent out forces of earth and fire elementals to slay his enemies, but Gaia was able to counter these with earthquakes and localized rainstorms. The Qui’anar were slaughtering the undead forces and banishing them to final rest. Prince Slith saw defeat at hand and the rage-filled form of Thoth in the distance. He retreated with his forces into the Ether, quitting the battlefield and preferring to try to reconcile his differences with his father rather than face Thoth. The dwarves and the mercenaries of Arn joined the diminishing Scrula against the Nevaharr while Phaestus, the Smith picked up his newly-forged Hammer and began laying waste to the Kx’Khrah.
### Legions of the Inferno
Just as victory seemed assured for the Elder Gods, a portal opened high above the battlefield. In a blinding blast of azure light, out stepped Khalas, a triumphant look on his face, followed by the great winged Pazuzu and his flying Inferno legions. Stunned by these abominations the likes of which no mortal or God had imagined existed, Proteus, Daedalus, Aegis and the rest of the Gods ordered a retreat. As they were retreating, however, Pazuzu’s legions swooped down for the attack. Flying nightmares of all kinds attacked the Qui’anar, the Horkval, the Scrula, the mercenaries of Arn, the dwarves, and the unicorns. Han-Silnar ordered his Aldar and the few remaining Nevaharr and Kx’Khrah forward while Agatheis and Lorielan combined their powers and brought legions of earth, air, fire, and water elementals to the battlefield. While Gaia, boosted by Vastar, who had retreated from the more powerful Lorielan, was able to counter many of these, she could not handle all of them.
The scene, then, was that the forces of the Elder Gods were retreating towards their massive encampment many miles away while the Kx’Khrah and Nevaharr that remained, along with Han-Silnar’s remaining and still-powerful Aldar forces, legions of elementals controlled by Agatheis and the uncountable numbers of Pazuzu’s demonic Inferno army attacked and began to decimate them.
Aegis ordered Prospero’s still numerous mercenaries to hold the rear along with the Qui’anar and dwarves while the tired and weakened Scrula, Horkval and unicorns retreated. Proteus and Lucretius began to weave a barrier that would at least temporarily prevent the Triumvirate and Inferno forces from reaching them. However, as with the anti-magic field erected during the Aldar council of war, it also prevented the Gods themselves from leaving.
### Twilight of the Gods?
As the shimmering dome formed over their heads, the Gods gathered to decide what to do. Outside, Lorielan, Agatheis, Khalas, Pazuzu, and Han-Silnar held counsel and decided to attempt to break down the barrier. As the Gods debated, the enemy threw attack after attack onto the magical dome of protection. Proteus stationed his unicorns around the dome and with their powerful defensive magic, they were able to strengthen it. It was, however, only a matter of time until the enemy broke through and both sides knew it. Pazuzu arranged some Ideryc winged demons resembling upright bears with six, evenly spaced eyes about their head, to observe while the rest of his forces screeched, dove, and taunted the Gods and their forces.
Days passed and the Triumvirate, Pazuzu, and Han-Silnar slowly wore the Gods down. Even Proteus began to tire, as the energy he was expending on the shield was great even for his almighty essence.. Despair overtook them and they began praying to Ayar for deliverance from their trials. Lorielan started to feel the ecstatic flush of victory while Pazuzu could be seen gloating with his arch-hierophant, the future chaos lord Jy’Barrak Golgotha. Han-Silnar, though saddened by the murder of the other Aldar, was nevertheless feeling cautiously optimistic about his future, for Lorielan, Khalas, and Agatheis would doubtlessly elevate him above all other mortals for his role in the successful rebellion.
The prayers of the Gods continued, but there was no answer from Ayar. The demise of the Elder Gods seemed imminent as they lay impotent beneath the faltering dome barrier. The Triumvirate forces massed for one, final assault which they were sure would shatter the magical dome. Gigantic earth elementals began pounding on the dome, the few Kx’Khrah left massed into one being and focused on it a beam of pure light. The Aldar, Lorielan, and Khalas wove spells of disentanglement to weaken the dome. Pazuzu’s Inferno army threw itself at the barrier, tearing apart the magical bindings that assured its cohesion. The unicorns that were massed around the interior perimeter began to fall to the ground, dead, one by one, as the force of the assault overwhelmed their defensive magics. The mortals within, the finest and bravest warriors in existence, began to break down into panic. It was not death they feared, for death was ever part of their daily existence, but the demon hordes of the Inferno, which were beyond any experience or expectation.
The dome was on the verge of collapse, and all within knew that within minutes the fabric of existence would be altered for eternity. Scarlatti began singing a sad lament, whilst Proteus thought about what had gone wrong. His grief was great for he felt that it was at least partially his fault that Creation was going to be destroyed. Further, his special relationship with Ayar (which he did not know the extent of) caused him to feel extremely guilty for he, as the leader of the Elder Gods, had failed the Creator. What was to become of them? Would this simply be the end of supposedly near-omnipotent beings? It is said that even the most courageous of the Gods wept that day, their reality almost over.
### The Dragonmasters
Vastar, Lord of the Skies
Suddenly, an ear-shattering keening was heard over blood-stained Nishnatoba. All eyes turned skyward to witness a fantastic sight. Hundreds of huge winged serpents, what we now know as dragons, filled the sky. Of all colours and hues and varying in size from huge to enormous, they were the source of the keening. As they streaked towards the ground, it became apparent that upon each dragon’s back was a rider. Both sides wondered what this event portended: their doom, their victory or a third, heretofore unknown group of contenders for the kingdom of Creation? As the dragon flight drew close, another detail became visible. The lead dragon, an incredible massive beast of opalescent white, was ridden by none other than Han-Tolneth. Every other dragon was ridden by one of Han-Tolneth’s erstwhile faction of Aldar. Han-Tolneth had come at last. Fist raised, Han-Tolneth wheeled his dragon around and boomed a challenge to his brother, Han-Silnar.
The Gods, seeing their salvation at hand, quickly brought down the dome and attacked, concentrating first on Pazuzu’s hordes. The dragons, their Aldar riders hurling magic and arrows, stormed at Han-Silnar’s Aldar and unleashed their awesome weapons of firebreath and claws. The Horkval, Scrula, Qui’anar, Dwarves and mercenaries were filled with an incredible elation as their anticipated deaths were averted. Howling battlecries, they charged the Nevaharr and Kx’Khrah, quickly overrunning them and forcing them into a frenzied retreat. The Elder Gods were also furious at their humiliation and turned their anger on the Inferno hordes, and particularly Pazuzu. Matsuhama and Aegis raged out of the dome in a whirlwind of fury, decimating any foe that dared come near them. Gaia and Vastar threw their awesome energies at the elementals and Agatheis, forcing him into a retreat, while Proteus, Daedalus, Phaestus, Lupus, and Thoth went for Lorielan and Khalas. Prospero, Aeon, and Lucretius turned their attentions to assisting their mortal allies and they quickly exterminated every last Kx’Khrah and Nevaharr on the battlefield.
Soon, with all their mortal allies slain, most of the Aldar dead or dying, the Triumvirate was down to Agatheis, Lorielan, Khalas, and the still-massive forces of the Inferno. Matsuhama and Aegis had Pazuzu on the run, but he was not to get far. Some of the mounted Aldar cut off his escape and he set about fighting like a cornered rat, felling many dragons and Aldar before Matsuhama and Aegis could reach him and subdue him. Proteus, Daedalus, Lupus, and Thoth caught and beat Khalas to within an inch of his existence and Lorielan prudently surrendered under the threat of Phaestus’ Hammer. Han-Silnar proved no match for his brother and he was on his knees, Han-Tolneth looking at him sadly. With the leaders of the rebellion captured and neutralized, it was an easy task to send the remaining demon hordes and Aldar to the beyond. Matsuhama and Thoth in particular set about this task with noteworthy enthusiasm.
### The Tribunal
The rebellion was quashed and now certain questions had to be answered. A tribunal, headed by Miramar, the Evenhanded with Daedalus, Proteus, Phaestus and Han-Tolneth as members, was formed to decide the fates of the traitors and Pazuzu. Proteus advised that Ayar had spoken to him and decreed that he did not wish the destruction of any of the leaders. Still, punishment was not out of the question, for these rogue Gods had almost succeeded in a plan which would have devastated the order of Creation itself. Proteus, who had loved the woman Lorielan once was, advised that Lorielan be banished to the plane of the Kx’Khrah, where she could rule over them, but be limited from ever leaving that plane. Miramar decided that it was fitting that Khalas and Agatheis be forced to forever serve Proteus, the main object of their rebellion, in whatever context he chose, while Daedalus and Han-Tolneth advised that a fitting punishment for Han-Silnar would be eternal servitude to Lorielan, who would no doubt release her frustrations on him frequently.
Thus it was that Lorielan, along with Han-Silnar, was forever banished to the Crystal plane, where she rules over it still as the Jade Empress. To replace the now extinct unicorns, Agatheis was refashioned as one and had the majority of his power and intelligence stripped. Khalas was not destroyed, but imprisoned in a statue and placed on the continent of Sapience to forever remind people of the folly of rebellion against Proteus.
Pazuzu presented a more interesting question, for he was a being that the Elder Gods had never before encountered. He simply smirked during the tribunal and would reveal nothing of his intentions in this, save for cryptic remarks about those he answered to. This puzzled the Gods, for Pazuzu was a being of nearly God-like power and anyone that he answered to must surely rival or surpass the Gods. Proteus in particular was sure that he would have long-ago detected any being that approached or exceeded his own power, and he had not.
In the end, it was decided that the Gods would appeal to Ayar to create a plane to banish Pazuzu to and, at the insistence of Thoth, Slith and his undead forces too. Ayar consented to hear their appeal and Proteus presented their case. Ayar agreed and created the Plane of Chaos for Pazuzu and the undead. He further removed all planar travel capabilities from the inhabitants, ensuring that they would not be able to break out and cause more havoc.
An interesting side-note to these events was the effective creation of a new race, the Trolls. After the mercenaries of Arn had finished their contract, some, including their leader Gruul, decided to stay on Sapience. Though they died off in their natural lifespans, Gruul and some of his massive Arcanian bodyguards mated with adventurous human women, and their offspring began the race of Trolls.
Thus ended the War of Humanity which, though starting with Aldar hatred of humans, almost ended with the death of many of the Gods. This most pivotal event since creation itself would have consequences far-reaching and never-ending. It seemed that, for now at least, the trials and tribulations were over.
### Chaos Rising
They were not.
Soon after the War was over, strange reports began to filter in from the far corners of Creation. Beings that no one was capable of understanding were appearing. More disturbing still, many similarities could be found between the Nameless One of whom Maya had vivid memories, and these new beings. The reports came more and more frequently and became more and more disturbing, carrying tales of the edges of Creation unraveling through the power of these beings.
As this attack on Creation itself grew and spread, the Gods once again marshaled their forces. This time, however, they all participated. Han-Tolneth and his Aldar were there, mounted on their Great Dragons. Some Gods fought personally while others, like Eros, Raclawice, and Scarlatti, did what they could to aid in this fight against Chaos itself, for by then, it was clear that the enemy was not part of the order of Creation and originated from outside. Scarlatti, and his followers wove highly structured music to combat the discord. It is said that our greatest arias are simply an attempt to mimic the music that Scarlatti wove during this time. Shaitan and Glacius came with the shadowy and feared Dreadlords. Proteus, Daedalus, Thoth, Vastar, Gaia, Aegis, Phaestus and Matsuhama personally fought against the enemy, driving it back to the fringes of Creation. Raclawice created pathways and byways to assist in the movement of forces. Caspian fought in the depths of the oceans of the worlds of Creation, calming the excessive storms that this chaos caused and forcing the tides back to natural patterns.
Nothing, however, could prepare the Gods and the Aldar for what would happen next. As they were meeting to discuss this disturbing new phenomenon and their progress in battling it, a rip in the fabric of Creation opened directly before them. All that could be seen through the rip were swirling lights and colours in no discernable pattern. Suddenly, two sections obtained the smallest sense of order, and immediately separated themselves from their surroundings. These beings we shall call Entropy and Discord, for they originate from a place where names have no meaning; where organized thought is not known and where the mortal mind would be rendered instantly insane were one unfortunate enough to experience it. Entropy and Discord came through the rip and immediately began an assault upon the Gods and Aldar, a vast collection of the most powerful beings known, outside the Creator.
### Order From Entropy
Once again, the Gods themselves were under assault. This time, all of them, save for Lorielan, were present. As the Gods and the Aldar with their dragon steeds fought to force back the Chaos beings, the Chaos Lords re-doubled their assault. The Aldar began to die as their minds were overwhelmed by forces alien to Creation. Soon, only a handful were left and the Gods were in very real danger once again. Entering the mind of Proteus, Discord screamed a challenge and there began a combat, not of physical proportions, but of mental. Though Proteus was able to stave off the impending insanity that Discord promised, he was unable to call for help and soon Entropy joined in.
Ayar, watching the battle while undetectable, realized that his creations, including Proteus who was, after all, part of Ayar himself, were about to be destroyed. Though omnipotent, even Ayar could not see the future with absolute accuracy. At the time of Creation, he created two realms. One, the realm we know, was filled with a multitude of planes and universes, each with its own set of physical and immutable laws. The other was a realm of pure chaos and was anathema to Creation. None save Ayar himself are certain why he created this unholy twin, but some of humanity’s more unorthodox philosophers speculate that our realm’s existence is somehow dependent on the other.
Nevertheless, his plan began to fail when, somehow, the Unnamable Horror broke through into our plane and raped Maya. Humanity, the children of Maya, are the only race of beings, then, that are born of both Order and Chaos. It is this that Caymus saw when he predicted humanity’s future greatness. It is the spark of Chaos within us that allows us the creativity and drive we possess. When Discord entered the mind of Proteus, Proteus became aware of all of the Chaos Lords’ plans. He realized why Pazuzu had so much power. Sadly, Khalas was simply a pawn of Pazuzu, who was in turn merely a manifestation of Entropy and Discord. It was the energies released during the rebellion of Lorielan, Khalas, and Agatheis that had allowed this chaos to creep into the world. The entire War of Humanity had simply been a way for Discord and Entropy to gain a foothold in our existence.
The result of this was that all the Gods were forced to expend massive energies to try and drive back the Chaos, unwittingly allowing more of it to enter our multi-planar existence. Finally, Entropy and Discord were able to enter, imperiling all that we know. Ayar knew that he had to act quickly, or his creations would be destroyed. Appearing to all, he commanded Entropy and Discord to cease their assault. Ignoring Ayar (as he knew they would), they continued to crush Proteus and the other Gods. So, he was forced to cause Entropy and Discord to disperse across Creation, adding chaos to it. Why Entropy and Discord didn’t plan for this, we do not know. Perhaps they were unable to fathom the concept of loyalty or affection and thus didn’t see any reason why Ayar might step in. The Plane of Chaos, where Pazuzu, his surviving demons, Slith, and his undead forces were banished, received most of the dispersal, but everywhere in Creation, chaos increased.
### Sarapis
Sarapis, the Logos
Ayar, not wanting something like this to happen again, revealed the secret of Proteus’ origins to Proteus himself and the rest of the gods. Having successfully experienced the sensations of defeat and challenge, he decided to recombine himself and Proteus. Overwhelmed by this news, Proteus resisted at first, but after Ayar had taken him aside and showed him the wonder and beauty that could be his, Proteus agreed. Ayar and Proteus were joined that day, before the assembly of Gods and Aldar, into a new being called Sarapis. Taking on the title of Logos, which means the creative will behind everything, Sarapis now rules Creation as the synthesis of omnipotent Ayar and noble Proteus.
Sarapis’ first act was to create a new god to be the patron of those would seek chaos: Babel. Further, seeing the furor that resulted from the newly created Humanity, he elevated Maya to Godhood, in order for her to have the power to better look after her beloved children.
### The Aftermath
The repercussions of the War of Humanity and the Chaos Wars (actually the same war, but given separate names before the truth was understood by human scholars) were numerous and manifold. First and foremost, the Gods felt that Han-Tolneth and the surviving Aldar deserved much for their timely discovery of dragons and their rescue of the Gods. Han-Tolneth, however, felt nothing but guilt for, in truth, had he and his Aldar supported Dekalb from the beginning, both the War of Humanity and the Chaos Wars could likely have been averted. Han-Silnar would almost surely have realized that he would have no chance of winning against Dekalb and Han-Tolneth and without an Aldar contingent, the Triumvirate would have never rebelled.
Most of the few surviving Aldar simply wanted to live out their remaining lives in peace. Before this however, they exerted their greatest effort yet and built, for the Gods, the Garden. An area of unsurpassed beauty, it is located at the top of the PIllars of Heaven mountains, and touches the mystical Yggdrasil – the great World Tree that travels through many planes of existence. They built the great Amphitheatre, favoured gathering place of the immortals. These and many more wonders are reserved for immortal eyes only and the Garden is said to be the most beautiful and tranquil place in Creation.
For their many services, the Aldar were granted solace on a plane created specially for them and most were never seen again. Han-Tolneth however, felt that his debt to the Gods was not dispensed and he, along with a handful of Aldar, begged to be allowed to serve the Gods for eternity. Thus were the Celani created with Han-Tolneth, known forevermore as the dragonmaster, at their forefront. Immortal and possessing power beyond any mortal, yet not gods, the Celani are the companions and servants of the Gods. In time, they would come to be worshipped as virtual Gods by humanity and they do, in fact, serve as Gods in some ways. With the advent of the Chaos in Creation, the Gods saw that things would change and grow far more quickly than before and that they would need help in overseeing their realms. So Matsuhama, for example, took on a Celani to oversee weaponry and another to oversee honour. Gaia has one to look after forests, to watch over the mountains, and so on.
And so it was that the ranks of Creation had survived their greatest challenge ever. Chaos had entered Creation and had produced offspring, humanity. The Gods themselves survived their challenge and the planes of existence had a new master. Sarapis took on Daedalus and Phaestus as his top lieutenants for their roles in the War, and life progressed for humanity and the other mortal races. History of course did not end here, and indeed this marks the real beginning of history for the mortal races, as they were now allowed to progress relatively unhindered by powers greater than them. Dwarf, Tsol’aa, Troll, Human, and a race we have not discussed, the Mhun, now will be the focus of history, but that, gentle reader, is another story for another time.
---
### [History & Mythos](https://www.achaea.com/history)
**Published:** December 1, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
# The History and Mythos of Achaea
##### Part 1
### Achaea’s Mythology
The universe is created, the Gods clash with darker powers in the Chaos Wars, and reality is forever changed in an epic that spans multiple dimensions. About 8300 words. ##### Part 2
### The History of the Mortal Races
Read about where the original mortal races came from, how the early humans changed everything, and where the first modern civilizations formed. ##### Part 3
### Seleucar and the Black Wave
Learn of Nikolas, Severian, ancient Seleucar and the fight for the light against the Tsol’teth of the Underrealm and their Black Wave. This epic sundered continents and shaped the world we love today. ##### Part 4
### The Seleucarian Wars of Succession
Rife with politicking, poison, and struggle, the Seleucarian Wars of Succession follow the twists and turns of evil Castomira Brangwin, the great Catarin deSangre, and romantic hero Lucaine Pyramides as they sacrificed, murdered, and betrayed in their fight for power, renown, and the crown of Seleucar. ##### Part 5
### The Fall of Seleucar
With great power comes great responsibility, so the Achaeans of old found out. Too often does it all end in ruin. The legacy of the Man in Grey is a murky one of subterfuge and desire, as the morals of man become muddied and bloodied in this tale of civil war. ##### Part 6
### The Saga of the Worldreaver
The attack by Bal’met, the Worldreaver – a being of immense power from the future – was the biggest event ever to happen in Achaea, and lead to the death of over a dozen Gods, the complete destruction of Shallam – one of Achaea’s two original cities – and much more.
---
### [Extensions](https://www.achaea.com/extensions)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### Browser Extensions
Achaea currently hosts extensions for Google’s Chrome browser and the Firefox browser. We currently do not have anything for Safari or Internet Explorer, but we will hopefully have something for people in the future.
Here are links to pages explaining how to get and install the extensions.
- [Chrome Extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/iron-realms-extension/dmlneoclpnmicemijpdenfoljpcemfol?hl=en)
- [Firefox Toolbar](http://www.achaea.com/firefox-toolbar)
---
### [Black Wave](https://www.achaea.com/history/black-wave)
**Published:** January 13, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### The Seleucarian Empire: The Founding and the Black Wave
Read of the life of Nicator, and how he prepared Sapience for the legendary war with the Black Wave of the Tsol’teth.
### Chapter List
## Prophecy
*“Final trust and final foundation,*
*Final reconciliation of light and dark.*
*Let there be a new justice,*
*Let there be a third way.*
*On the undiscovered shore,*
*Let the epoch empire mend the twins’ hatred,*
*Let the age of peace reign,*
*Let the surge of the deep be cast back in breaking waves.”*Lehrinas’ Prophecies, Chapter 14, Verse 45,
as translated from high Tsol’aa by Corrin Melithandes ## Historian’s Notes
The art of the historian is to unify the events of the past under a single vision: the historian’s own. The accuracy of the history is dependent largely upon the ability of the historian to correctly combine known facts, verifiable evidence, and the accounts of his predecessors into a comprehensible picture of the past.
I am not a historian. As a librarian, I study how knowledge is presented, not how knowledge is created or synthesized. Therefore, the text you hold in your hands is not my personal synthesis of the events of history, but a collection of excerpts from the works of the true masters, who I will not insult with my attempts at history. I can only hope that the varied perspectives of these men, along with the first-hand accounts and even fables that I have included, will permit the reader to make his own judgments. Now, in the words of those who have truly made this study their lives: the history of the Seleucarian Empire.
Tancred Lasalle, Ashtan Royal Library, Head Librarian
## Nikolas
**from Raeli Oliems, The Two Prophets: Nicator Before the Empire**
Seleucar is inseparable in our minds from its founder, the legendary Nicator. But who was Nicator, truly?
The Church once held that he was a deluded man who claimed the blessing of Sarapis in order to conquer the world. However, the Chrysalis Basilica quickly realized that Nicator’s new empire was proving far more peaceful and even more friendly to the Church than the previous regimes – and so they quietly revised their stance to fully support the new order. And when armies of Seleucar threw back the Black Wave in the War of the Deeps, Nicator was posthumously accorded the honor of Fire Saint, a warrior of righteousness.
According to the old Cactus Clans of Hashan and the Upper Urubamba, Nicator was a sehakii, a holy spirit sent by Gaia to preserve the world against the Corrupt Ones, the Tsol’teth. As the Selucarian Empire continued its reign, it began to wither, exactly as a plant plucked from the ground withers.
And so who is Nicator? A heretic whose empire gradually came to prove good? Or an avatar whose empire gradually rotted?
The truth begins with a young man – a farm boy named Nikolas.
Nikolas lived on a farm far on the outer limits of the lands called Thera, almost in the wastes. Possibly through some agreement with the local brigands, his family was able to survive, even so far from the town proper. However, whatever immunity his family had from the local bandits, they had none from the armies of Ashtan and Shallam, which at the time were nothing more than militarized bandits themselves, wandering the lands looking for loot first and enemies second.
Nikolas lived ‘a very boring, very typical life’, as he put it, until the day his parents were killed. In the Sermon on the Rocks, he described the event:
When I was fifteen, war burst in through my front door. It killed my father with an offhand blow from an axe, and after having its brutal way with her, it killed my mother with a long-bladed spear. If I hadn’t been too frightened to do more than hide, it would have killed me as well. And let me say that it was not soldiers who did this, nor was it the underlying conflicts that led to war… it was war itself, most monstrous of man’s inventions, that hideous force that possesses man and his beliefs alike and turns them inside out.
After the deaths of his parents, Nikolas began what was known as the Time of Wandering…
## Thirteenth Saga
**from Torrin Ral’Kade, “Thirteenth Saga: Nicator” (unfinished)**
From town to town, from life to life, he ranged.
Another orphan, fleeing strife, estranged.
Who would one day turn back the Wave of Night
Who would one day begin the Age of Light
Who did, those days, set foot in every land,
Turn his hand to every job, to understand
The people, his people, his new friends.
The long road took him to the lands of snow
And there he learned to shiver, chopping wood for heat.
The long road took him to the lands of fire
And there he learned to sweat, washing nobles’ feet.
The long road took him to the lands of stone
And there he learned to build, smelting ore to steel.
The long road took him to the lands of lore
And there he learned to read, to speak, to write, to feel.
And after two fours of years had passed
The long road came full circle,
As long roads often do
And the orphan came to Thera
To begin, forever, anew.
## Severian
**from Raeli Oliems, The Two Prophets: Nicator Before the Empire**
Nicator’s return to Thera was little remarked. In the eight years since his sudden departure, he had changed greatly. Older, harder, stronger, yet in a way gentler, more mature, a changed man. His years as a metalworker, a woodcutter, a shepherd, and all his other odd jobs throughout his self-imposed exile, had toughened him. His years as a servant to nobility and his treasured six months as a covert student under Hypathia of Shallam had awakened him, as well, to a world that none of the Theran peasants were aware of, with injustice and justice higher than that of violence or fair pay. It is no wonder that he was not recognized, this hard-bitten wanderer with the deep eyes.
But then he spoke. It began as an idle conversation outside the general store, about the state of the war and the condition of the world. Nikolas’ exact words have been lost to history, but it is evident that he spoke of the same things he spoke of all throughout his life: the possibility of peace, the possibility of universal human love, the contempt for war, the essential goodness of all mankind, the necessity of uncovering that goodness and living it. And what began as an idle conversation became a public address, as more and more people began to gather to listen to this unorthodox rant. Although crackpot prophets occasionally wandered through town, often still wearing the tar and feathers they’d picked up in Ashtan, those half-crazed men always spoke of punishment and the fear of the gods, of personal penance and the need for divine absolution. But Nikolas spoke differently: he spoke of the ability of men to save themselves and others. He never mentioned the gods at all.
And he was heard. By the time he was done, a full third of the town was gathered in front of the general store, and Nikolas stood on an apple barrel to be heard and seen. And he finished his speech with a calm assurance that there was hope for mankind… and instantly one solid powerful voice sailed over the crowd.
“That’s all very well, but what can we DO?”
Nikolas, by all accounts, was momentarily baffled by this question. The person called, more quietly, “I’m sure we all want to live in peace and happiness, no Ashtan or Shallam turning our wheatfields into battlefields, no wondering if your kids will live to take over the farm, no praying that the next batch of soldiers won’t just kill you and take everything… I don’t know about you, but I also wish I could fly like a bird into the heavens and swig down a tall pint with Daedalus! And I say that’s a lot more likely!”
The crowd began to mutter uncertainly, some trying to shush the naysayer, others admitting he was right. And Nikolas stood, silent, deep in thought, a confused look on his face.
The heckler, a burly fieldhand about Nikolas’ age, was urged up to the fore by the rest of the crowd. Not afraid to debate publicly, he spoke to the assembled people, as even more townsfolk arrived to see what the commotion was. “Peace! I know about peace, neighbors! I know this man, he grew up around here! I used to beat him up and take his lunch. Go ahead, you think I’m proud of that? But I didn’t know a better way, and I was hungry, I was always hungry. And that’s why there is no perfect world of peace, nowhere! Because there’s always someone who’ll be hungry! You all know how it feels, don’t you? When you’re eating the last of your bread slowly because the soldiers or taxmen took the rest? Or when you’re up nights dreaming about the girl your worst enemy’s going to marry? All types of hunger, life is hunger and pain, and we’ll fight and we’ll kill in order to be full, and there’s no place where that’s not true!”
And the crowd was half angry at the doomsayer for shouting what they all wished they could disbelieve, and half angry at Nikolas for making them believe, even for a moment, in a vision so clearly impossible… and then Nikolas spoke.
“There… there is a place.”
“Where?”
“I… don’t know yet. I need to find it. Come on… let’s find it!”
And just like that, Nikolas started to walk away, due south. And half the crowd paced him, asking “Where are you going?”
“To look for it. The place from my dream.”
“What dream?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“What is this place like?”
“I don’t know.”
“How will you know when you get there?”
“I’ll know.”
“What is it called?”
“… Seleucar.”
“You’re crazy!”
“I hope not.”
By the time Nikolas had left the town limits, the only person still following him was the brawny youth who had argued against him. “Hey… I’m Severian.”
“I know. I remember.”
“I… I’m sorry I took your food all those times.”
“Forget it. I was never that hungry anyway.”
“I mean, all the reasons I gave, I made them up just today. I never really thought about it.”
“You don’t have to be hungry, even if you’re not full. I learned that. Forget it. You helped me.”
“As you wish… I’m going to have a good laugh when you can’t find this ‘Seleucar’.”
“I’ll only quit when I die. Will you still be following me then?”
“I’m not following you now. We’re just going the same way.”
“Where are you going, then?”
“Wherever I go. They say it’s very nice this time of year.”
Nikolas laughed, and kept walking.
## The Sermon
**from Kraid Icarus, Accounts of the Sermons**
Nikolas was clearly inspired, whether by his own hopes or by the prophetic dreams he frequently alluded to but refused to fully explain. As Nikolas wandered the land with Severian, seeking clues to the location of his utopian “Seleucar”, he spoke in every village he visited. In some places, word of his speech in Thera had spread, and people were eager to listen to him – in other places, he began just as he had in Thera, finding a public place and striking up a conversation about the war. And every time, Severian debated him fiercely.
Their now-legendary debates ranged from high-flown metaphysics to personal insult contests to crowd-pleasing topical anecdotes, but although the two began to fully develop their remarkable oratorial talent to great levels, in the end it was always Severian who won the majority of their debates, as in those days hope was not a plentiful commodity. People chose to place their hope in their personal hoards of living supplies, praying to survive for another winter, rather than waste what little hope they could muster on something as unlikely as a lasting peace.
But word spread of the two, who came to be known more as prophets than as vagabonds (for in retelling, stories always grow larger). And crowds began to turn out to welcome them, to listen to their public speeches and arguments (and quite often they would already be arguing when they arrived at the city)… and gradually, others started to follow them around, other wanderers or rootless warriors or disinherited sons, to give them some company and help protect them against the lawless countryside.
And one day they came to Shallam. And half of that great city came out to the hills near the city, to a place where the rocks formed a natural amphitheater. This place, called the Theatron Sarapin, was home, in more peaceful times, to a joint Ashtan/Shallam theatre festival (for art was, at one time, perceived as transcending city-state barriers.)
And it was in this natural amphitheater that Nikolas and Severian had their most famous and final debate. Although they covered many topics and spoke for several hours, the climactic moments of the debate are transcribed below:
N: I’m kind of surprised that you’re all so interested in what we have to say. We’ve been traveling all over Achaea, and we’ve been talking and arguing and trying to figure things out for a long time, but always on sort of a small level. There was that big debate in Hashan, I think they’re calling it the “Sermon on the Rocks” now, although I don’t know exactly what religious principle they think I was sermonizing… but mostly, we’ve just been kind of working out publicly the same sort of things that people always think about in private. Why is there good? Why is there evil? Why is the world sometimes unfair? And, most importantly, can it ever be different?
I can’t answer most of these questions. I’m not a priest, I’m not a prophet, at least not your usual kind, anyway. I don’t claim to know everything, or have direct information from one of the gods. But I do know this. The world is a cold place, and it’s a harsh place, and it’s a violent place, but it doesn’t have to be. All the coldness and harshness and violence are human creations, and they can be overcome by human effort! With a simple agreement, we could change everything all by ourselves.
I know you’re all smart people, so I’m going to skip a few pages here. We already know why you can’t just turn your back on your cheating half-brother, or your local crooked merchant, or the outlaws in the woods, even though you wish they’d all be as pure inside as you are. It’s because there are people who aren’t good. People who might have been good, but who have been hurt, or misled, or who simply took the easy way out. People who, for one reason or another, have succumbed to the dark half of the human spirit.
It is said that in the halls of the Logos there are great murals, shown opposite each other, symbolizing the slow divergence between the roads of good and evil. And it is said, more importantly, that the potential for good and evil both reside in each human being. And this is the point which must not be forgotten!
If you were simply to choose to put aside your life-long garments of distrust and fear, and were to exchange them with clothing of love and sharing, you would surely be struck down by the intransigent ones, the hateful ones, the ones who have traveled farther than you down the road of corruption. This is why you are afraid to change for the better. But the fact you do not understand is that even those who are truly evil can change as well!
“Redemption” is not just a fairy story told by the Church to get a larger tithe. “Grace” is not a commodity that can be created only by the gods. The fact is that even the evil can change their ways.
Severian, I see you leaning back with that smirk of yours. You’re fully prepared to rip me to shreds once your turn comes up, aren’t you? Yes, I see you smiling! I know that grin! But rest easy, because this is only the half part of my plea!
People of Shallam, know this! You may say, and perhaps may even be correct, that the true predators of this world, the most twisted and corrupt of men, are utterly beyond any human effort of reformation. But can you claim that a wee baby, in the company of people who know what is right, and follow their beliefs, will ever grow into a monster? Can you claim that a child, having been raised in a close tradition of justice and caring, will lift a hand against his friends or family? Can you claim that a young man who has been trained all his life in the ways and means of harmonious living will ever destroy the land he has been trained to love? Can you claim that a city leader who loves his land, and who is loved by the people who chose him, will ever betray the place he holds dear? Can you claim that an old man, nearing the end of a life of such joy and peace, will hoard his belongings, or use his greater experience to hinder rather than nurture his own children, the younger generations that will carry on the traditions he has lived in?
No! In a society where evil is scorned, lies are hated, malice is abhorred, how can the seeds of darkness ever flourish? In a society where two men are both raised to understand the importance of each other’s feelings, how can they ever compete in hatred? In a society where soldiers are trained first and foremost to hate killing, how can they ever go to war for any but the most worthy of causes?
In the society we, yes we, my people, can create, how can there ever be the darkness, the strife, the starvation, the agony that infects the wounded, crippled, diseased nations of the shadowy present?
In a world created by good, what place is there for evil?
You have heard of this world before, if you have turned out in such numbers just to hear my companion and me speak. You have heard the name that was spoken in my dream. You have heard me speak of the land to which I am going, the land which, I now see, I will have to create on my own, create with help from every good soul that will follow me. The land of Seleucar.
S: The land of soap bubbles, doomed to shatter at a touch, Nikolas. The land of illusions, doomed to fade further into the distance the closer you seem to come. The land of evil, sleeping in the good, waiting its time to fester and explode. You spoke of “those who choose the easy way”, the evil way. That is where your evil will come from, in Seleucar as in Ashtan, as in Shallam, as in Thera, as in Hashan, as in Delos, as everywhere in the whole vast land of Achaea.
A man who does not wish to sweat out his entire life to raise crops from the ground, a man who does not wish to help his neighbors simply because it is easier in the short and in the long run to ignore them, the man who sees the opportunity to take advantage and takes it: this is the man who will break your dream. And this man is all of us. Hate me for saying it, hate me for naming the shame that stains all of humanity. But mankind is weak!
You know the legends! We are all children of the Nameless Horror, we are all children of rape and violation, hatred and fear and uncaring are in our nature! We may try to say we are not inherently evil, we may speak in lofty slogans, we may try to claim that only other people are amoral deep in their hearts… and we may also try to drink the Pachacacha or carry Mt. Vashnar to the Mojhave one boulder at a time. The evidence is inescapable! The evidence is all around us! We know deep in our hearts that we are sinful and corrupt, no matter what we try to do! You all go to church every holy day, and you confess your sins while groveling on the floor, it’s a matter of civic pride. And so you keep yourselves holy, and that’s all well and good.
But even when you have your darker self in control, does your neighbor? What about his half-cousin from the slums downtown? What about those immoral Ashtanian scum? Will you try to forge a new reality with them? Ha! You’ll embrace them as willingly as they’ll embrace hypocritical legalistic swindling imperialist Shallamese! You wish to go to Seleucar? Then go hand in hand with your most hated enemies.
And you will all fail together.
N: We will all fall in together. Trust in a man, and he is likely to prove trustworthy.
S: A myth.
N: One that I would like to believe in. Look, we don’t need to wrangle too much longer. This is the end of our first journey.
S: Huh?
N: We’re done arguing. Now it’s time to act.
S: How?
N: We’re going to Seleucar. And we’re taking everyone with us. Are you coming?
S: …
N: Come on! You couldn’t wait to prove me wrong! Come see me fail! Or, better, come see me succeed, and join me once and for all. Are you with me, Severian? You’ve got to be in all or nothing, you know.
S: Hah! All is nothing, for this fool’s crusade. How will you travel to a place you’ve never even seen? Do you have a map that you’ve been hiding from me all this time?
N: I know the way. I feel it in my mind… I have seen the place in my dreams. I know where it is. I could find it in my sleep, for I have already done so. Across the mountains, across a great swamp… on banks of a mighty river…
S: On the other side of innumerable natural hazards? And how will we perform this cross-country trek without perishing in the wilds?
N: Do not rangers and pathfinders and hunstmen travel with us? Gentlemen, will you lead us, and keep us from danger? (shouts of affirmation)
S: And how will we eat, dear Nikolas? Whose crops shall we uproot to take with us, to keep us from starving? Or do you plan to forage and hunt, feeding five hundred settlers on berries and rabbits?
N: Have we never passed through entire villages that have wished my vision was true? For every farmer who travels with us, we can surely take time to bring his crop in and store it in our wagons. This is the time of harvest, perfect for us to stock up for this journey; and yet it is early enough that we can be over the mountains before winter sets in.
S: And when we get there, how will we build this little “empire of dreams”? How will we become more than mere squatters living in huts?
N: Are there no Dwarves among us? Are there no Tsol’aa? Are there no skilled human architects and builders? How many artisans have followed us, and brought their tools with them? We do not have too few creators and thinkers, Severian… we almost have too many!
S: Then… then…
N: Are you out of objections yet, Severian?
S: Of course not! I’m… I’m just thinking, that’s all.
N: Severian… are you truly so set against this dream? All your argument has helped to clarify my own thoughts. By attacking my dream, you have helped to create it. Severian, why will you not help me make our dream come true?
S: …Nikolas… am I worthy?
N: All are worthy.
S: Then… although I’m sure I’ll regret it later, I’ll give it a shot. To Seleucar, then. May Sarapis have mercy on us. (stunned silence from crowd, followed by wild cheering)
N: Severian, that’s terrific! Okay, we’re going! Who’s coming with?
(more wild cheering)
S: It’s settled then! To Seleucar
Severian’s change of heart at the end of the debate was a shock to the entire continent. Everyone had heard the two go at it, or had heard the tales, and had come to view the two as opposing elemental principles. For Severian’s eternal pessimism to give in to Nikolas’ vision – this was an event that won Nikolas more followers than his words alone had ever done. Nikolas and Severian decided together than they would swing back through the main lands of Achaea, gathering followers until they reached Ashtan, then, with this group of “settlers”, they would go to Seleucar, guided only by Nikolas’ intuition.
Unfortunately, although many people followed them, most brought only a few days’ or weeks’ provisions, not realizing the long road that lay ahead… but then in other places, entire villages picked up to follow the Two Prophets, taking their full harvests with them. Nikolas’ head was oft in the clouds; it was Severian’s logistical skills that kept the ever-growing legions of so-called “Selucarians” from falling apart. And, as Severian made them realize that they could cooperate and co-exist (which was, after all, the dream they were chasing), the followers began to feel a true sense of community. It can be said, in a way, that Seleucar came into existence then, five months before Nikolas ever received his true calling from Sarapis.
## Matic Ridley
(Editor’s note: The defector Matic Ridley was the only lettered hobgoblin to survive the War of the Deeps; his inside knowledge has proven invaluable in telling the true story of the Tsol’teth and their slave races. This text was written shortly before his death, and is presented here for the first time, in its original form. Definitions of hobgoblin terms are offered parenthetically.)
It is truth that the Dar-tezlari-kanit (Great War for the Light) did begin long before the first of the tezlari-jio (Holes of Light) were opened and we did fight on the surface. The blinding light was the ending of the beginning for the Masters. It was the beginning of the ending for the Servants. But the beginning of the beginning happened many many years before the ending of the ending.
I was dulkurio-ma (Servant Who Thinks) to the Master Blue Dark, who called himself Agith’maal to humans. Master Blue Dark was leader of all the Masters, and god of all the servants. We did pray to him at the middle of every day. A day was sixteen aafla long, and each aafla was sixteen caril long. But Master Blue Dark did be the first Master to see Tezlari-tarin (The World of Light). My brother was the one who did hold for him the magic stone that he did cause to show the images from Tezlari-tarin. When Master Blue Dark was blinded by the horrible light of Tezlari-yumap (Piercing Spear of Light), my brother was amazed. Master Blue Dark did kill him because my brother did see Master Blue Dark frightened. But I did hide my eyes and did pretend that I had seen nothing, and so Master Blue Dark did spare my life. Tezlari-yumap is what you do call the sun. For us it is like a terrible spear of pain. To the Masters it is the calling of Thoth. To see it in the magic stone did nearly cost Master Blue Dark his sight, and so forever then he did command his servants to look into the stone instead of him.
When my brother died, I was named Sa-dulkurio-ma, greatest thinking servant to Master Blue Dark. And I did assist him in all his thinkings and plannings about Tezlari-tarin. He did study much of that world, and he did command that our world, Anzari-tarin (World of Darkness) should become like Tezlari-tarin. He did wish that we be hardened to light, and that we learn to live in the world of “day” and “night”. Every day we did learn “hours” and “minutes”, and our lights did change from being painful in brightness to being fearful in blackness.
Master Blue Dark had two other Masters almost as great as him. They were Master Blood Drinker, who called himself Terrin’ukia to humans, and Master Secret Hate, who called himself Gattan’lier to humans. The three Masters did study long about Tezlari-tarin, and did make plans to go there to kill everyone there. I never did know why they wished to do this. My duties were to write down what they said, and to think about small problems that they did not care much about. Once they did ask me what I thought, and I did say, “Almighty Masters, you are greater than the darkness and harder than the stones. It is impossible that you are wrong. But I do ask, since I do not understand, why we do go only to kill? Why do we not also go to take the riches of Tezlari-tarin, to take over the homes of the people there, and steal their secrets?” But the Masters did laugh at me and did tell me that I was too stupid to understand anything.
The Masters did work to marshal their slaves into armies, and did train them to fight in groups. In Anzari-tarin we did fight much against the kal-tai-vakha (Mighty Fang Racers), who the Masters did not choose to enslave. I think now that the kal-tai-vakha were too strong to be enslaved. They were quick and powerful, and they did have a great kingdom even further under the earth than the Masters. They were made of armor and fur and claws and teeth, and they did change their shapes quickly when they fought, and they did worship no god, not even the Masters. But even though we Hobgoblins and Goblins and Ogres and the cold Bug-Men did fight many times, Anzari-tarin is all tunnels and caves. The Masters did make us learn to fight on open ground. They did create huge caves that we did train in.
The Masters did learn much about Tezlari-tarin. They did summon up horrible creatures that knew the future, and they did make plans using what the creatures knew. Once they did drain the blood of two thousand Goblin babies into a great pot made of bones and skin. I did help to make the pot. The Masters did use the blood to call a great terrifying creature that they did call as “Pazuzu”. The great Pazuzu was awful to look at, and I did hide my eyes. He was in the world for only a very short time. But he did say one word: “Seleucar.” And then he did go away, and the Masters were angry at him for his not saying anything more.
But then the Masters did study for a long time, and did learn that the future did have a great army that would fight them. And that this army was from the place that was Seleucar. And that Seleucar did not exist, but would soon. And the Masters did learn that the man who would make Seleucar come to be was called Nikolas. And the Masters decided that they would hurl great curses at him and plague him, and try to kill him before he could do anything to hurt them. They could not send armies to Tezlari-tarin to kill him, because they did not want Tezlari-tarin to know they did exist.
Long did I watch the human man Nikolas in the magic stone. He did lead a huge army, but less than a fourth part of the army was made of warriors. He did lead an army of people who carried food and other things. I did learn much of Tezlari-tarin in watching him. I did learn of “trees” and “wood” and other things. Master Blood Drinker did take me at times to speak to large groups of Hobgoblins and Goblins and Ogres to teach them what “trees” and “wood” and “clouds” and other things of Tezlari-tarin were. The Bug Men did speak a language only they did understand, and so other Masters did teach them through magic.
I did watch the human man Nikolas lead his people traveling sometimes this way, sometimes that way. More people did come with him when he did speak to them in cities. Cities did seem very strange to me, like clusters of artificial caves. I did explain “cities” to the Masters’ armies, also. And Nikolas did finally go into a great place of rock dust called “sand”, and did find a city of people the Masters did call “mhun”.
The Masters did know that Nikolas could only go in one way from where he was. Mountains and jungles did bar his way. The Masters did use their magics to call up all the fierce beasts and monsters into the mountains to bar the path of Nikolas and his people. And when Nikolas did take his people into the mountains, the Masters did magically direct the monsters to attack wherever the people were weakest. The monsters and beasts did cause them to go more slowly, and the time of snow and cold came to the mountains, and many people did freeze and die. Before Nikolas could leave the mountains, one third of his people were killed.
Then Nikolas and his people did go into a place of jungles. And the Masters did work greater magic, and caused there to be deadly diseases in the air. And the lungs and hearts of Nikolas’ people were afflicted, and they did suffer greatly and die. And before Nikolas could leave the jungle, half of the people who escaped the mountains were dead in the jungle. His “army” was only a third as big as it was before, and the Masters did rejoice.
But our own plans to make a great army did suffer, also. No matter what the Masters did do, the Goblins and Hobgoblins and Ogres could not withstand the horrible light of Tezlari-yumap. The Masters did work great magics upon me, to make me so that I could look upon Tezlari-yumap safely, but the Masters did find that those magics required precious materials that did not exist in great quantity. So the Masters did kill all their armies, who would otherwise have lived for two hundred years (for the creatures of Anzari-tarin suffer less from the “great rays of outer heaven”, as the Masters do call it, and so we do live longer than those condemned to the burning hell that is Tezlari-tarin). The Masters did kill them all, and did take from them the “spiral ribbons of future creation” with which the Masters can create new life as they wish. And the Masters did create new Goblins and Hobgoblins and Ogres just like the ones before, but these new creatures were changed in their “spiral ribbons of future creation” so that they were not blinded by Tezlari-yumap, and so that they would be even greater warriors. But this great project did require all of the Masters’ effort and knowledge for a full hundred years, and so only Master Blue Dark alone did spare himself from this effort to continue harrying Nikolas.
And I alone, being Sa-dulkario-ma, was let to live. And I did receive the task of leading all the Goblin and Hobgoblin and Ogre people into the funeral caves where they would all be killed by the magic of the Masters. And within my heart did grow a huge hatred and rebellion against the Masters. And I did resolve to destroy them in the end, if ever I could.
## Severian’s Notes
**from Severian Marcella, Notes: Various**
Rico,
Be sure that the building materials arrive here safely. There are still plenty of monsters in the mountain paths, so I’m relying on you and your Templars to guard the caravans carefully! Brother Valcleve and his men are working on building a series of shrines along the paths, so if you have any chance to assist him, please do so. If we can enforce the trade paths with the powers of the gods, it’ll make shipping far easier.
Severian
PS: For the last time, the Occultists are NOT sacrificing babies. They just speak of the powers of darkness to get respect; the true scholars among them realise that “light” and “darkness” are irrelevant to Chaos. They’re as Seleucarian as you, so you had better learn to get along with them.
————————————————————–
Eveline,
Thank you for your continued efforts in the building. Nikolas and I have sworn that our mud huts will be the last to be replaced with stone houses, which was pretty noble of us at the time. Nikolas doesn’t seem to care, but personally, I’m getting tired of forever throwing frogs back outside in the middle of the night. If you need any supplies that you don’t have, please tell me so I can push them through.
Severian
————————————————————–
Omdoria,
Although I greatly appreciate your desire to help, it seems that most of our citizens are afraid to fly in a flaming chariot pulled by demonic goats. I can’t for the life of me see what their trouble is, but I guess the flaming-goat concept just doesn’t appeal to one and all. Please continue to provide light for the nighttime work crews, and battle against the jungle beasts, but try to keep a low profile when it comes to eating hearts and decaying your victims’ living flesh… although I know full well you Occultists aren’t pure evil, many of the other citizens seem to disagree.
Severian
————————————————————–
Chief Grolmar Lightning-Hand, Lord Baron of Moghedu:
Our leader King Nikolas gratefully accepts your ceremonial gifts of statues and fine leathers and humbly requests that you accept in return our minor offering of gold and carved mahogany from our new holdings. Although we are barely beginning to consolidate our new domain, we will not forget your help in establishing a trade route, and we look forward to generations of productive commerce. I regret to say that we cannot as yet assist you with your grievous drought, but once we have working wells we will be very glad to ship you as many barrels of water as we can spare.
Yours in Friendship,
Duke Severian Marcella, Right Hand of the King
————————————————————–
Meggan,
I am sure that between the expertise of your Druidic dowsers and the technical skill of Crenge’s dwarven engineers, we will obtain a working well in no time, despite your recent difficulties. Please update me on your progress; our water-barrels are running low, and the frequent rainfall is not sufficient to meet our needs. The river water remains tainted with the same diseases that plagued our journey here; I fear that dark forces are at work, but we must struggle on regardless.
Severian
————————————————————–
Nikolas,
For the love of the gods, will you take an interest? I know that you’ve got large matters to think on, but the day to day running of the realm is killing me. It’s like you’ve lost your direction. Come on, Seleucar is what you always dreamed of creating, and now I’ve got so much paperwork I don’t even have time to track you down and talk to you in person!
Swamped Severian
————————————————————–
Guard Captain Ballan Fremont:
This could be a moment of national emergency, insofar as we have an emergent nation. Nikolas has disappeared. He stepped off into the jungle to take care of some business, and then he didn’t come back. It’s been four hours now, and I’m beyond worried. Try to keep this as low profile as possible, please, but use whatever means are necessary to find our erstwhile ruler.
Duke Severian
## Divine Encounter
**from Kraid Icarus, Accounts of the Sermons**
When Nicator returned from the jungle, three days later, his eyes were alight with holy fire… as was the golden six-foot staff in his right hand. In his last sermon as a prophet, and his first speech as a true king, he said:
People of Seleucar, Sarapis sends his blessing.
Three days ago, I was at a crossroads, and so was this entire tiny kingdom. You were all busy building and trading and healing and fighting, and I was very proud of you and still am… the crossroads was mine, because there was a decision I had not made. The decision was this: What are we? Are we to be just a town on a river in a jungle near the sea? Are we to sweep forth and conquer the world? Are we to distinguish ourselves as artists? As craftsmen? As seafaring merchants? Simply put, in what direction do I lead Seleucar, this ideal kingdom of justice and virtue? I could not come to a conclusion, and I did not want to lead you astray. And what’s more, I knew that Seleucar faced deadly problems: the jungle beasts, the disease, the lack of clean water. How could we even survive? Lacking answers, I feared to make matters worse by issuing random orders.
I wandered in the jungle for a full day. It was quite by accident; I stepped into the jungle to smell the flowers, and before I had gone fifteen feet the jungle closed in behind me, and I could not find my way back. As the sun went down, I realized that I would probably be killed by jungle predators… and I wondered if this was a divine judgment for my impossible dream.
Then I came across an altar, nestled between two moss-covered boulders in the middle of the jungle. It was tiny, made of wood, humble and weak, but unmistakeably inscribed with the sigil of the Logos. Exhausted, I fell to my knees before it. The shrine was brand new, and so I assumed that it had been built by a zealous Priest of Seleucar. Although the shrine was carved of fine cedarwood, which does not grow in this jungle, I did not consider for a moment that the shrine itself might be of supernatural origin. Whoever the builder, I hoped that the holiness of the altar would protect me from the dangers of the jungle night. I didn’t pray… I’m afraid that I’ve never been a terribly holy person in the past, even though I’ve been called a prophet.
It may sound strange, but even though I was tired, I didn’t sleep that night. I stayed up by the shrine all night, staring into the implacable darkness of the deep jungle, thinking and wondering.
And the daylight came, and again I wandered around, trying to find my way back to Seleucar. But no matter which way I went, or how straight a path I took, I always came back to that same wooden altar. And by the time night fell, I realized that I was indeed at the mercy of the gods.
My entire life has been a story of self-reliance, and that has made my life difficult. The hardest choices are the ones a man makes for himself. The choice to be good, the choice to be evil, the choice to take a safe profession or a dangerous one, the choice to live or to die. I’ve never relied on the gods for my morality or ethics; I’ve always chosen my own path. But this once, I realized that I had no choice but to surrender.
So I prayed. At first it was difficult, because I was exercising a part of myself that I had never before used. I had never spoken with my spirit before, only with my mind and heart. The closest I ever came to spirit were my dreams of Seleucar. And after two sleepless days and nights of prayer, I came to realize that my dreams of Seleucar were sent by the gods, and that everything I had done in my life was by gift of Sarapis. And I was ashamed for ignoring him for so long. Although I was starving and thirsty, my greatest pain was the realization that I had achieved so much without ever paying tribute to the being who had given me the power to do so.
“Sarapis,” I said at last, “I submit myself to you. From now, I will never act without your guidance. I beg of you now, now that my dreams of Seleucar are fulfilled, grant me another vision. Tell me what I must do next.”
In the legends and myths, a god’s appearance is always heralded with loud noises or flashes of light or mysterious portents. And even if the god appears quietly, he always projects a great aura of awe and mystery. Sarapis did none of this. He walked out from behind a tree, and his feet crunched in the undergrowth like any man’s. He was dressed in a long gray cloak, and the cowl was drawn to hide his features. Except that he hid his face, there was nothing at all to distinguish him, but I knew him nonetheless. I cannot say how I was so sure, for he never even spoke his name, but it was Sarapis, and I am more sure of that than I am of my very existence.
He held a tall golden staff in his left hand, and a mossy black stone in his right. And he said, “Nikolas… I have what you seek. In my right hand I have survival. In the left, greatness. This stone is covered with a moss which I have created, called amar, which purifies the diseased waters of the air and chills them to the stone. Learn the secret of its growth, and your kingdom shall not perish.
“But survival is only the half of your question, is it not, Nikolas? You seek direction? You seek a vision? Then a vision you shall have!”
I saw a city on the shores of a great sea, and the city was full of white light, while the sea was pure blackness. And I saw the king of that city, holding the golden staff of Sarapis, and he held it high in the sky. And small lights traveled all along the ground toward the city, and I could see that each light on the ground was a soldier in armor. And as the lights traveled toward the city, the black sea rose higher and higher, and grew rougher and rougher. And finally, a great wave began to roll in from the sea, and the man with the golden staff commanded that all the lights of his city rise up to meet the wave and break it. The last thing I saw was the wave of darkness striking hard against the massed lights of the city. Did the city hold? I could not see.
“Nikolas. That city of light is Seleucar. The man with the golden staff is you, who will defend it. Will you gather the light? Will you build up Seleucar to stand against the Black Wave?”
“Yes, almighty Sarapis!” I replied. “What must I do?”
“Take this rock and this staff, for they hold your present and your future. With the rock, bring your people out of suffering, and establish them as noble landholders, freemen, creators of their own destiny. Teach them well in the ways of virtue. And with this staff, gather together a great army. All who see the staff and hear you speak will join with you; any who stand against you will lose their will to fight when they see you hold this staff aloft. You must gain dominion over all the land, Nikolas, and you must build the most powerful army the world has ever seen, for the Black Wave is even now rolling in toward the shore, and one hundred years from now it will strike, with a force you cannot imagine. Only your preparation can save the continent of Sapience. Will you do this? Will you conquer in my name?”
“I am not a conquerer…”
“Who is better suited to conquer wisely than one who does not wish conquest? Will you conquer in order to save this world?”
“If it is your will, I shall!”
“Then hear me clearly now, Nikolas! The man ‘Nikolas’ is no more! That young man who was prophet of no god but himself has done well, and now he goes to his rest. From this point onward, you have a new name, one worthy of a true emperor: You are Nicator! And understand well that although you serve me, you shall achieve your dominion of your own power. My staff shall aid you, but only through your own strength and will can you ever succeed. But I have seen that you have strength and will in you that will carry you well, if only you keep hope. Go, Nicator! Go and build; go and conquer!”
I was inspired, I was dazzled. And I went, as Sarapis had commanded, and here I am. So my people, listen well: the Logos is with us! Behold the staff that he has given us! With his words and our strong backs, we will overcome all the obstacles in our way… we will resist the Black Wave! Sarapis said that the threat would come in one hundred years; you and I may die before it comes, but our children will fight in our place! We will fight! We will fight and win! Who is with me? Who is with Seleucar?
## Allies
**from Severian Marcella, Notes: Various**
Chief Grolmar Lightning-Hand, Lord Baron of Moghedu:
The black rock that carries Sarapis’ immortal watery moss is the exact same type of rock that made up the ornamentation of that ceremonial statue you gifted us with! I make apology for the informality of this letter, but this is a very exciting discovery: by growing the amar moss on your unique obsidian, we can solve the water problems of both our communities. Please send an emissary with a quantity of that rock, and we will send him back with as much of the moss as we can grow on it. Yours in Friendship and Hope,
Duke Severian Marcella, Right Hand of the Emperor
————————————————————–
Ralshev,
Congratulations on your recruiting and training efforts. Although we’re all a bit unclear on the exact nature of this “Black Wave”, and the conquest of Ashtan and Shallam both seems pretty unlikely, I’m as excited as anyone to have such a large project to embark upon. Keep bringing in the fighting men as quickly as we gain capacity to feed and house them.
Severian
————————————————————–
Dear Mother,
No, “that ruffian Nikolas” has not lured me into bad influences against my will, and his name is Nicator now. Sarapis said so. And yes, I’m wearing the sweater you knitted me, and a very good sweater it is, too. Tell Father not to work so hard, and I’ll be sure to visit you both when we conquer Thera.
Love,
Severian
————————————————————–
Emre Nikain Ironhand, Supreme of the Mannaseh Trolls:
Mighty Supreme, I send greetings from Nicator, King of Seleucar and Conqueror of the World. He prays that you accept this gift: a two-handed cleaver of folded stainless carbon steel. Fight with this weapon, and you will find that it needs no gems or gold to prove its worth: as it was made using our special magic, it will cut through copper and bronze as if through old cheese, and it will not break as iron will. Its sharpness is absolute; no razor could hold an edge as well as this blade. This is the first such weapon we have made, but we can make many more; and we will give them to you and your people, if only you will help us fight against those who have oppressed you for so long, the arrogant humans of Ashtan and Shallam. My ruler graciously awaits your response.
Duke Severian Marcella, Right Hand of the Emperor
————————————————————–
Ralshev,
Are you doing all right in integrating the Mhun and the Trolls into your formations? I’m still in shock over their response… first the Mhun pledge the loyal service of their entire race for two generations, then the Trolls pick up their entire tribe and march here to become citizens. If you have any troubles, let me know; I’ll get Nicator to wave his staff around and turn everyone into bosom buddies.
Severian
————————————————————–
Nicator:
Only two years settled and all is in readiness! I’ll never believe you gathered so many people so quickly, even though I was the one administrating all the levies… it’s amazing what kind of fighting men you find when you promise them a better life and make them believe it. All right, Nikolas… you know I’ve no talent for warfare, so I’ll handle the logistics. Ralshev and Rico will command the troops. We move for Shallam on your orders, so I hope you get this note as soon as you get back from the temple.
Severian
PS: I’m actually quaking in my boots, but if you wave that staff at me I’ll deck you. I’d rather piss myself than rely on a god’s power to take away my fear.
## Fall of Shallam
**from The Fall of Shallam (popular protest song)**
With a crack and a whack did the White Wave strike
Shattering the armies with a golden pike
Nicator’s Staff did cry our defeat
And we fought and we died in the day’s full heat
Our prayers rang false and their aim was true
And as our front ranks fell, they attacked anew
Seleucar’s pride dashed hard in the van
And our Templars countered, and so the fight ran
We could not lose!
But we could not win
Then death we choose!
But falsehood’s a sin And ere the sun set we were kissing their hands,
Begging for the right to surrender our lands.
Sing hi, ho for Seleucar’s glory!
Seleucar’s victory, Seleucar’s story!
The blades of Seleucar still drip blood
But we’ll gladly walk in Seleucar mud!
## Age of Conquest
**from Retsu Nienhalt, The Age of Conquest**
Although there was much popular protest against Nicator and Seleucar in Shallam, the fact was incontrovertible: Seleucar’s small force had demolished the mighty Shallamese army, and forced the city to unconditional surrender in a period of two hours.
The ease of the victory was due in part to the fact that Nicator’s force was so small that it was not even perceived as an army until there was only a quarter of a mile to the main gate of the city. Shallam was forced to field its army with little preparation and no room to maneuver. Had the Shallamese thought to simply close the gate and wait for Nicator to leave, the Selucarian plans might have stopped right there, but Nicator and his strategists had planned it exactly: counting on Shallam’s reluctance to close their shipping lanes, and the fact that Shallam had no inkling of Seleucar’s existence up to now, they attacked with a force of a size calculated to bring only a half-hearted Shallamese response.
Meeting Shallam’s army with great ferocity, the Selucarian army, only a thousand strong, defeated three thousand men in close combat right in front of the city’s main gate. Selucarian Templars unhorsed Shallamese Knights; Selucarian trolls chopped Shallamese soldiers like weeds; and the Selucarian Occultists, many of whom had fled to Seleucar to escape Shallamese persecution, took great pleasure in using their flaming chariots to clear the parapets.
And in the end, the Emperor of Shallam took the field personally, struggling through the city gate on his noble charger, and a great cheer came up from his warriors… which turned to a great cry of dismay when Nicator froze him in a globe of golden light using the Staff of Nicator, and levitated him into the center of the Selucarian army. Entering the globe himself, Nicator held a long discussion with the Emperor, while the two armies battled furiously. When the discussion was over, the Emperor was given safe passage back to his army. The Emperor ordered his men to retreat into the city. Fifteen minutes later, white flags rose all over Shallam, to indicate the city’s complete surrender.
When asked what he had talked about with the Emperor, Nicator simply replied, “I convinced him that Shallam would do better as part of Seleucar.” It is widely believed that Nicator did not relate the full story.
## Sister Lavaine
**from Arisa Raviede, A Booke of Hystorickal Seraphs, or Angeles of Olde**
(Editor’s Note: I’ve rendered the original text into modern spelling, but kept the syntax of the High Speech. The High Speech is seldom used nowadays, but in the most formal books of the Selucarian Empire, it was much in evidence.)
Here followeth the recent tale of Lisanne, a most worshipful angel what cleaved unto Sister Lavaine, who was full made Priestess of Sarapis under his Imperial Majesty, Nicator of Seleucar. Short hard after the state of Shallam did give up resistance to Seleucar, did Sister Lavaine hear tidings of war. As the book saith, many were hearts glad that the lord called them to smite Ashtan, as many were their grievances and complaints against that black city, and yea, many were that city’s offenses against them. And yet did Sister Lavaine make dole that she should ever fight against so great a city as Ashtan, for she hove from Ashtan, and despite that she had joined Seleucar and her lord Emperor Nicator, yet did she love Ashtan well. And her heart was full sore that she should go against Ashtan, and so too was that of her angel, Lisanne.
And in marching and prayer the days went, and many hymns and prayers did Sister Lavaine sing, and much trepidation had Lisanne, for fear that Sister Lavaine might needs fight her friends of old, from the city of Ashtan. But despite prayers did the day of battle come, and of rushing and fighting there was much. And Sister Lavaine took up a great mace, and did great deeds of arms, and her angel Lisanne with her, and together they traced and traversed, striking many sad strokes, and many hard brunts did Sister Lavaine take, and many did she heal, or other she had died. And she said, Sarapis may you have mercy on me, for that I might have the power to heal me of my wounds, or I shall die. And lo she did heal herself and was whole, so that all marveled, How can this priestess so straitly heal her wounds, that even an hundred knights all to-slashing cannot slay her cold? And likewise did all the priests and paladins on the field, that none might slay them, but instead that all their wounds might close as soon as they were suffered. And slowly did godless Ashtan lose the field, and then the king of Ashtan made great woe, and cried Sarapis! Woe that I ever demanded battle on these bloody plains, for now I shall die on these bloody plains! And then the king waxed wood wroth, and he spake, sithen I shall die, wit you well I shall bear many a noble knight to hell alongside, and too I shall destroy mine enemy Emperor of Seleucar!
And Sister Lavaine did see the king of Ashtan mount a great charge, so fierce that it were like unto the crashing mountain that comes of a tiny pebble’s fall, and she did say unto Lisanne, Go forth, my holy angel, let give tiding to my lord of this charge, and warn him, that he may meet it, for an he meet it not, surely he shall be slain. And by no mean would I see my sweet lord be killed on these bloody plains. And so Lisanne cried, I would do as ye list, but that I fear ye shall die if I leave thee. Fear ye not ever for me, but go ye to save my lord, for my life is as wood, but his is as diamond. And Lisanne said, O Sarapis defend me, for an I do not this one thing, it were as well I had never left the Sacred World.
And straight Lisanne yede, and many strokes did she trade each for other with many dolorous knights of Ashtan, and twice nearly was she cut from the world by the dread scythe of the Chaos Spirit known only as Angelbane. And Lisanne reached Nicator as he encountered full hot with the black knights of Ashtan, heedless of the body of knights that charged full on him. And Lisanne cried, Turn around, noble emperor, for your death rushes up ahind thee! And then did Nicator wheel his horse, and did wit that his foe charged upon him with feutred spear, and then great effort did he make, and mustered his men to encounter upon both sides. And Emperor Nicator was sore pressed. Then did he raise up his golden staff, and cry, For Seleucar! For Sarapis! For Light! And then his men waxed wonderly mighty, and dealt strokes so fierce as if they were each five men, and the Ashtan knights were hard pressed on their side. And the king of Ashtan cried, Who are these knights that fight as they were five for each one?
And Lisanne said, For Seleucar do I battle! And of Seleucar and the Sacred World do I come! And Lisanne fought the knights of Ashtan as she had been a rock and they waves, for an ever they came nigh, she shattered them and kept them from the Emperor. And as the sun fell half down the sky, she fought ever on, and did many great deeds of arms, and slew many knights. And at length she encountered with the king of Ashtan, and then they thundered together with such a force that all men marveled, Look how the angel and the king strike sparks from swords! And they fought one against another, sometimes here, sometimes there, and each traveled the field and did great deeds of arms, but ever were they pressed back together. And Lisanne said, Wit you well, king of Ashtan, the fates have commanded our strife. And the king taunted back to her, Fair you speak, angel, but why hath your halo died out in the affray? And he made mock of her in diverse fashion. Then they fought hard together, ramping and scraping, and dealt such heavy blows that their blood rained on the ground, and dealt such loud strokes that all attended their battle with wonderment.
And in the final clash of the embroilment, Lisanne smote the king so hard that her sword did cut through his helmet and split his brain-pan, and he fell lifeless to the ground. And Lisanne fell too, for she was sore wounded, but Seleucar had won the field, and the army of Ashtan was in disarray, and they fled in rout. And Lisanne said, How is it that I bleed? For all know that angels bleed not. And priests came to her and said, Be quiet, pray to Sarapis for deliverance. And Lisanne said, How is it that my halo has died, for is not the halo the sign of the Sacred Realm? And the priests said to her, Be quiet, pray to Sarapis for deliverance. And Lisanne said, Where is Sister Lavaine, that I love, who I am sworn to protect? And the priests said, Be quiet, pray to Sarapis for deliverance, for Sister Lavaine has fallen in battle, and where to-fore thou would have returned to the Sacred World straightaway, for thy greater love of Sarapis and Seleucar thou hast been made human. And then Lisanne was torn between grief and rejoicing: grief for her lost Lavaine, grief for her lost holiness, rejoicing for that she might live and die in Seleucar, sovereign state of all Sapience, for which she gave up of her seraphic soul.
## Nicator’s Passing
**from “Lucky” Lantis DeGage, Fighting the Tide: A Memoir**
The important part of my story really begins at the end of Nicator’s life. Of course, the Conquest Age of the Selucarian Empire was swirling all around us, but we didn’t notice it; we were too busy making buildings to see the shape of the town, if you catch my meaning. I was one of the young breed of administrators, the appointed nobles who had attained power in the new regime of Seleucar. We were too young to care about the old hates between Ashtan and Shallam. We were just excited to be working on the greatest project we’d ever heard of: empire! Dynasty! Progress!
I was the proudest of all. As the Architect of Thera, I had charge of all the public works from the gates of Ashtan to Lake Vundamere. The Shunai Bridge was one of my designs, as was the Chapel of All Gods near Thera (now fallen in the Black Wave, and never rebuilt, sadly). And my position put me close to the great man himself, Emperor Nicator. I remember him clearly, even as I reach the twilight of my own life: although he was often distant, gazing into a future I could only imagine, he always had a word for me, always had an interest in all his people. At that time, humans and Tsol’aa were the only races with true social status in the realms, yet Emperor Nicator recognized the virtues of the other races, and gave many positions of power to his old allies the Trolls, the Mhun, and even Dwarves like me.
Some criticized the Emperor. They called him a lecher because he took many wives, ignoring the fact that his marriages and offspring brought his many provinces firmly into the new union. They called him a spendthrift because of the money he spent to aid the poor, ignoring the fact that many of them became productive members of the only kingdom that had ever bothered to give them a chance. And they called him a madman, because he marshalled mighty armies and drilled them daily against a threat he could not name, a threat that never even materialized during his lifetime… and later they looked foolish indeed, biting their tongues as the great armies of Nicator did battle with the hideous monsters of the Black Wave.
My personal story is of interest to me, but no doubt of less interest to you; my autobiography tells it quite clearly, for any who greatly care. This memoir is of Nicator, and of his son Piraeus, and of the Black Wave. And it begins, for me, with Nicator’s funeral. It was held in the Chrysalis Basilica, and it could have been the first and last time that the Basilica would ever be crammed with so diverse a group. Templars and Druids and Priests held company with Serpentlords and Occultists. The Templars wore armor specially discolored with soot, to indicate their estate of woe; the Priests dressed in mourning black; the Occultists and Serpentlords, normally secretive and clannish, stood shoulder to shoulder with their traditional rivals. Nicator’s Theran wife, Petra, nobly led her small cadre of sister wives, each in the mourning array of their home cities, each hiding her grief with different degrees of success. Nicator’s eldest son, Piraeus, the heir apparent to the throne, stood solemnly by his sister, Selicande, who held his hand gently, even as Nicator’s other four children wept openly. And of officials and nobles there was a great sea, and beyond them outside the Basilica gates was an ocean of common folk, attentively listening for even the slightest murmurs of the great ceremony.
I cannot remember a word of the funeral service, nor do I remember the speeches given by the many nobles who eulogized the great man that day. What I remember is the face of the noble Princess Selicande as she comforted her brother the heir. What I remember is the strong yet tearful gaze of Queen Petra as she spoke of the love that had grown from her arranged marriage with her lord. I remember the tightly controlled grief on the face of Chancellor Severian as he poured out a libation to the gods in memory of his greatest friend. I remember the silent determination of young Prince Piraeus as he took the Imperial Crown at the sunset ceremony that same day. And I remembered the dark mutterings against the new Emperor, for even before his accession to the throne, he had declared his intent to continue to maintain the mighty host that his father had commanded. These were the sights and sounds of a great empire preparing to prove its worth… the sounds of a realm that would have to pass through greater travail before it could truly create the golden age it promised.
I remember events of the years after that, as well… the cheers and pomp and flash of spears as the youthful Emperor thrust his great armies into ever higher pitches of recruiting and training, and the strikes and protests and outcry as the ever higher cost of those armies threatened to break the coffers of the realm, and the common folk bore the price in full. I remember the stormy arguments between the Chancellor Severian, then an elderly but fiery man, and his youthful liege lord. “It may be that you have sold the chattels of the Imperial line to finance the muster of the troops, and you may well command the rest of the nobles to do the same, but in the end farmers shall starve for your useless armies, not kings!” And the young Emperor Piraeus, implacable, would bow his head in respect for his father’s oldest friend, but would stand firm. “The Black Wave shall shatter on Seleucar. And if farmers must starve, I shall starve with them. Open the royal granaries and relieve those hit hard by the war tax. But the tax must hold.” Chancellor Severian carried his exasperation with him to the grave, and then other naysayers took his place, and asked that the king lift the taxes. And the army’s size increased, until the only ones who had enough to eat were the soldiers. It was only the size of the standing army that prevented insurrection… for who wished to challenge such a powerful military ruler as the cruel Emperor Piraeus? Only I and a few others fully believed in the “Black Wave” foretold in the vision Nicator had from Sarapis. And even we knew our doubts.
But twelve years after Nicator’s death, just as the young Selucarian Empire was close to self-destruction under the weight of Piraeus’ military host, the Black Wave struck, and from a direction none had expected: the depths of the earth.
## Matic’s Bitterness
**from Blade Captain Matic Ridley, An Account of the Earliest Actions in the Dar-tezlari-kanit**
And then the time was ripe, and Master Blood Drinker and Master Blue Dark and Master Secret Hate did all say unto me, “Sa-dulkurio-ma, serve us well! Now we don the Vestments of Blackness, and we rise into Tezlari-tarin! Command the hosts of Goblins and Hobgoblins and Ogres and Bug-Men, and follow us to Tezlari-tarin, to the hated cities of Seleucar, and kill everyone there!” And in their black eyes was a light, which I had thought always was the light of godhood, but then I did see that it was the light of madness. And I did think, “The Masters are broken inside. They will kill us all. I must help to kill them instead. But I cannot escape from them while I am in Anzari-tarin… I shall go to Tezlari-tarin at the front of the army and I shall help the people who live there, even if the Masters torture me for a thousand years.”
And I did travel with Master Blue Dark, who was to destroy Seleucar. Master Blood Drinker was to destroy Ashtan, and Master Secret Hate did claim the right to destroy Shallam. And each of the Masters did lead a great army through the tunnels to the tezlari-jio, the Holes of Light which they had made, that did magically open onto Tezlari-tarin, a hundred hundred feet above. The Vestments of Blackness which the Masters did wear prevented them from dying in the light of Tezlari-yumap. I was Sa-dulkurio-ma to Master Blue Dark, and so I did move all of his armies through the tezlari-jio of the Vashnar Mountains, and I did marshal them and set them to march southwest, toward the city of Seleucar. I did know from the great seeing crystal of Master Blue Dark that the humans in Seleucar were all warriors, to such number that the warriors there did outnumber the civilians. I did not know what plan Master Blue Dark had created to defeat a force so large, but I did not question him, for I hoped that he would fail, that I might gain revenge for my people who had all been killed.
The Goblins and Hobgoblins and Ogres and Bug-Men that the Masters did make from the “spiral ribbons of future creation” were not like the ones who I had lived and grown with. These ones that the Masters did create were without souls. They did live only to kill, and spoke of nothing but killing and eating and fornicating. When the Masters did change their “spiral ribbons of future creation”, the Masters did make them stronger and harder and faster, but they did take away all that made me love my race. They did destroy the goodness and weakness of the Hobgoblin spirit. They did commit a crime so great that there is no word for it in any language: they did make the Goblins and Hobgoblins and Ogres and Bug-Men unredeemable. Where before, the Goblins did be the creators of tools and utensils, the diggers of caves, the builders of fires; now they did be creators of weapons, builders of siege towers, cannibals. Where before, the Hobgoblins did be mighty warriors, masters of honor and tactics, protectors of the lesser Goblins; now they did be wild berserkers, honorless slaughterers, and did delight in whipping the Goblins to make them move faster. Where before, the Ogres did temper their great strength and small minds with sensitivity; now they did delight in hurting those weaker than them, and all save the Masters were weaker. And where before, the Bug-Men were as a tribe of Tezlari-tarin’s “bees”, working to build for the good of all; now they were as “wasps”, working to slay for the good of themselves alone. And all this did be the working of the Masters, and my resolve did harden to bitter crystal as I did consider how I might bring them down.
## The Black Wave
**from Gren Rafale, Telepathic Transmissions: A Reconstruction of the Black Wave**
(Editor’s note: These telepathic records were impounded for many years: it was only after the Fall of the Selucarian Empire that they were released into the public domain, and were compiled and edited by Gren Rafale. It was the custom of the Selucarian military at that time that each officer should be accompanied by a scribe with a Helm of Telepathy, so that the scribe could record all telepathic communications for later tactical analysis.)
10:31:46
(Seleucar): Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar says, “Citizens of Seleucar, have no fear. The Black Wave comes, but what might have been an unbeatable army in normal times is less than half the size of our current glorious force. This army of monsters shall shatter on the spears of Selucarian soldiers!”
10:32:02
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Warleader Lockwood, “Warleader, begin the operation.”
10:33:56
Lia Tremalle, the Wind of Change tells Warleader Lockwood, “I can see them… by the Logos! They make the jungle black! They’re clearing a path… the giant ones are in the front, uprooting trees and hurling them aside. The short ugly ones are the most numerous… they’re led by muscular ones who look almost human, except for their tusks and eyes. The muscular ones look like a superior species of the short ones. The man-sized insects are in the rear… the insects have spears and some sort of small bladed weapon, maybe a throwing knife. So far, none of them have looked up, but I can’t see well through the tree cover either, so I can’t estimate their numbers. They’re travelling through the heart of the groves, though.”
10:34:05
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Spotters have sighted the enemy in the jungle. ETA one half-hour. We won’t wait for them to get to us, though. Hold position. We’ll advance within a few minutes.
10:34:09
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Unit commanders, report your status directly to me.”
10:34:15
Master Chang, Sentaari Fist tells Warleader Lockwood, “My monks are all at maximum readiness. We’re in formation. Condition green.”
10:34:16
Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery tells Warleader Lockwood, “My brood is in readiness. Our entities flock the earth and skies. Condition green.”
10:34:18
Sir Martio Lizardbane, Troll Templar tells Warleader Lockwood, “Condition uhh… green. We all ready.”
10:34:20
Lord Raeman Nikkaido tells Warleader Lockwood, “My templars are ready. Condition green.”
10:34:25
Druidic Prophet Hollis tells Warleader Lockwood, “Our encircling maneuver is almost complete. The enemy is nearing optimum position. Request permission to initiate Operation Eclipse Phase One.”
10:35:05
Warleader Lockwood tells Druidic Prophet Hollis, “Phase One, at will. Make them pay the toll.”
10:35:10
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “All units, advance. Prepare to execute Attack Pattern A on my command.”
10:38:42
Druidic Prophet Hollis tells Warleader Lockwood, “Phase One in progress. They’re wishing they weren’t in the jungle right now, Warleader… between the animals, the plants, and the lightning, they’ll be lucky if a third of them escape alive.”
10:38:48
Warleader Lockwood tells Druidic Prophet Hollis, “Excellent.”
10:40:24
Warleader Lockwood tells Druidic Prophet Hollis, “That flash wasn’t your lightning! Report status!”
10:40:30
Druidic Prophet Hollis tells Warleader Lockwood, “Fighting hold on.”
10:40:31
Lia Tremalle, the Wind of Change tells Warleader Lockwood, “They did something that blasted all the stored light out of our groves at once! Hollis is fighting their leader. I don’t know who it is, he looks like a Tsol’aa but it’s like he’s in a permanent shadow. I’m going down to help him.”
10:40:46
Druidic Prophet Hollis has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord. (Editor’s note: In military confrontations, it was customary that only the scribes would have deathsight; a running list of deaths was considered far too distracting for combatants in a true war. In Gren Rafale’s transcript, only important death notices are listed. In actuality, of course, thousands died that day.)
10:40:59
Warleader Lockwood tells Lia Tremalle, the Wind of Change, “Call the Druids to fall back and prepare to flank the enemy on the field.”
10:41:00
Lia Tremalle, the Wind of Change has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord.
10:41:10
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “This army is led by a Tsol’teth who calls himself Agith’maal. He wields a powerful magic. Our champions will meet him on the field. Footmen, cavalry, concentrate firmly on the mass of the enemies, avoid confronting the leader! Attack Pattern A, execute!”
10:41:30
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Warleader Lockwood, “The reserve priests are waiting inside the city gates. Do you need their holy power to combat this Tsol’teth?”
10:41:38
Warleader Lockwood tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “Send them out. Phase One was far less effective than expected.”
10:42:20
Sir Martio Lizardbane, Troll Templar tells Warleader Lockwood, “We engage enemy now.”
10:43:16
(Military): Sir Martio Lizardbane, Troll Templar says, “These guys not so tough. We kill them easy after all! Look, they not like sunlight! Ha ha ha!”
10:43:20
Lord Raeman Nikkaido tells Warleader Lockwood, “Engaging enemy.”
10:44:25
Sir Martio Lizardbane, Troll Templar has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord.
10:44:41
Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery tells Warleader Lockwood, “We begin.”
10:46:32
Warleader Lockwood tells Sir Emery Zokathra, “Merge your unit with Raeman’s. Continue the attack.”
10:46:35
Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord intones, “Hwarak alshamar osang rach haahl! Kwarak alshamar osang rach haahl! In the name of the eternal darkness, you will all obey ME! Turn on your brethren! Turn on those you love! Slay them all! Hwarak alshamar osang rach haahl…”
10:46:36
Sir Emery Zokathra tells Warleader Lockwood, “I shall not obey you, Warleader. The Master’s defeat of Martio proves to me that he is greater than you. I worship him now. Prepare to meet your end!”
10:47:50
Master Chang, Sentaari Fist tells Warleader Lockwood, “My monks are resisting Agith’maal’s chant due to our telepathic training, but we’re forced to defense! The footmen and cavalry and Templars are coming after us and the Occultists! They’re possessed! I request orders!”
10:47:59
Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery tells Warleader Lockwood, “Our allies have turned to the dark side. Ironically, we’re fighting them. Should I continue to kill our own men?”
10:48:06
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “All loyal troops, ordered retreat! Seek the city walls! Assume Defense Formation B, around the shrines, and wait for the priests to succor you!”
10:49:14
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Raxis Snake-Eyes, “Send your best men into the field. And you are to personally go to the King’s Tomb and bring me the Staff of Nicator. We need it.”
10:49:16
(Military): Master Shun, Sentaari Loyalist says, “We’re being shredded on the left flank! The possessed troops and the monsters are joining up against us! We can’t hold on any longer! Taking losses!”
10:49:20
Raxis Snake-Eyes tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “Sso it shall be done.”
10:49:25
Raxis Snake-Eyes tells Warleader Lockwood, “I’m ssending you my loyal sserpentfolk. They will obey you well, unlesss they too are possesssed by this demon Agith’maal.” Master Shun, Sentaari Loyalist has been slain by the might of a noble myrmidon of Seleucar.
10:50:26
Father Orlan, Bringer of Hope tells Warleader Lockwood, “Each of the shrines is manned by four priests. It seems that the possessed soldiers cannot set foot near the shrines, and the monsters that come too close are destroyed by the monks and Occultists. However, this is a purely defensive position, and I fear that the enemy will use more of his black magic before the day is done.”
10:51:35
Master Chang, Sentaari Fist tells Warleader Lockwood, “I’ve got my men busy mindlocking the possessed soldiers and marching them into the auras of the shrines. The shrines remove the Tsol’teth mind control.”
10:51:46
Warleader Lockwood tells Master Chang, Sentaari Fist, “Excellent! Recover all the troops as quickly as you can, and get them to shelter at the shrines.”
10:51:50
Warleader Lockwood tells Slithering Syrax, Ashtan Exile, “See if you can hypnotize the possessed soldiers into walking back to the shrines.”
10:53:42
Slithering Syrax, Ashtan Exile tells Warleader Lockwood, “It’s working.”
10:54:10
Slithering Syrax, Ashtan Exile tells Warleader Lockwood, “Damn! The monsters are attacking the possessed troops now! They’re killing them before we can bring them in!”
10:55:13
Warleader Lockwood tells Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery, “Use your entities to screen off the returning soldiers! Keep the monsters from killing them!”
10:56:45
Raxis Snake-Eyes tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “The Staff is gone from the tomb, your Majesty. The tomb was completely sealed, it couldn’t have been grave robbers.”
10:56:58
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Raxis Snake-Eyes, “The Staff must have returned to its maker. Return at speed.”
11:01:24
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Warleader Lockwood, “Hold the defensive positions. We still outnumber them two to one; we can hold them off.”
11:01:46
Warleader Lockwood tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “I have an idea. From the city, send anything that could possibly be used as ear-plugs. If the men can’t hear the Tsol’teth’s chant of disloyalty, they can’t be affected.”
11:01:50
Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord intones, “My brethren, the army of Seleucar hides at the shrines around the city, cowering before our might!”
11:02:02
Terrin’ukia, Tsol’teth Destroyer intones, “The same is true in Shallam, my brother. We have slain many, and the slaughter continues whenever they venture out from their walls. We shall lay siege until the very city is dust!”
11:02:10
Gattan’lier, Tsol’teth Avenger intones, “Ashtan’s army is broken already, all killed as a result of my incantations of disloyalty. Less than half their army survives within the city walls. We shall crack their bones!”
11:03:24
Warleader Lockwood tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “This Agith’maal is coming out into the middle of the field. I’m still having a hard time believing that the Tsol’teth have returned, but the evidence is taunting us for the entire continent to hear.”
11:03:38
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Warleader Lockwood, “I don’t think he plans to offer his surrender, but if we listen to him politely it’ll just buy us time to get those earplugs out there. I wish I had the Staff of Nicator, but if it’s the will of Sarapis that we win this battle, we’ll win without it.”
11:03:50
Warleader Lockwood tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “We will win this battle, your Majesty. There is no alternative.”
11:04:30
Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord intones, “People of Seleucar! You have witnessed my might before! Now witness it again! Behold why I am the highest of all the Tsol’teth! Behold the feebleness of your pathetic gods!”
11:04:35
Father Orlan, Bringer of Hope tells Warleader Lockwood, “He’s causing the shrines to explode! We can’t hold our position like this! Do we attack or retreat?”
11:04:38
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Defense Formation C! Retreat to the city!”
11:04:46
Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord intones, “Ha ha ha ha hah! Now you see the futility of your struggles! I shall devour your souls, humans! I shall rip your innards! I shall-” Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord has been slain by the might of Blade Captain Matic Ridley.
11:04:48
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “SAVE THAT MONSTER!”
11:04:50
(Military): Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery says, “We’ll provide cover. I request backup.”
11:04:53
Raxis Snake-Eyes tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “Did you see that, your Majesty? The tall goblin at the Tsol’teth’s side ripped his cloak of darkness off and then stabbed him in the back!”
11:04:55
(Military): Lord Raeman Nikkaido says, “Unit Seventeen, advance! Cover the Occultists on the left flank! We were possessed once, we’ll not fail again!”
11:05:01
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, tells Raxis Snake-Eyes, “Amazing… without his cloak of shadow, the Tsol’teth is vulnerable!”
11:05:09
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, tells Warleader Lockwood, “Agith’maal is ours. Keep him from recovering his cloak.”
11:05:10
Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord intones, “Fools! You can never defeat me as long as this heart beats within my chest! Now, die!”
11:05:27
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Attack the Tsol’teth! Prevent him from regaining that cloak! Kill him as many times as necessary!”
11:05:34
Lord Raeman Nikkaido has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord.
11:05:35
Master Chang, Sentaari Fist tells Warleader Lockwood, “He’s much weaker after resurrecting once, but growing in strength. Even against ten champions, he’s doing great damage!”
11:05:38
Sir Emery Zokathra has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord.
11:05:39
(Templars): Master Kendall, Axe-Wielding Maverick says, “Templars, rally round! Smite the Tsol’teth! Keep him in sunlight!”
11:05:40
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Resume Operation Eclipse! Phase Three execute! Keep Agith’maal busy!”
11:04:41
Father Orlan, Bringer of Hope tells Warleader Lockwood, “We’ve got the creature who killed Agith’maal at one of the shrines. He barely made it away from his own army. He speaks our language, sort of. He wants to talk to you. And we’re trying to burn that cloak, but it won’t catch.”
11:04:45
Warleader Lockwood tells Father Orlan, Bringer of Hope, “If he has information that will help us win, tell me. Otherwise save it.”
11:04:45
Master Chang, Sentaari Fist has been slain by the might of a shambling ogre.
11:04:48
(Sentaari): Iron Fist Tung says, “Sentaari, to me! Hold the monsters away from the fight! Agith’maal is weakening!”
11:05:00
Sir Francis Trabohn, Blade of the Just has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord.
11:05:01
Blade Captain Matic Ridley tells Warleader Lockwood, “You kill Master, burn heart. Heart make him live over and over. You not burn heart, Master rise again.”
11:05:23
Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord, has been slain by the might of Master Kendall, Axe-Wielding Maverick. Master Kendall, Axe-Wielding Maverick has been slain by the might of Agith’maal, Tsol’teth Overlord.
11:05:26
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Cut out Agith’maal’s heart!”
11:05:29
(Military): Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery says, “I’ve done that.”
11:05:34
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Now, burn it!”
11:05:45
(Military): Adchachel, Black Lotus of Mystery says, “I hope eating it works well enough, because that’s what I just did.”
11:05:50
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “By the Logos… just keep fighting! Wipe the monsters from the field!”
11:05:54
Warleader Lockwood tells Blade Captain Matic Ridley, “What if my lieutenant just ATE Agith’maal’s heart?”
11:06:04
Blade Captain Matic Ridley tells Warleader Lockwood, “He did eat it? He die, maybe. Turn evil, maybe. Turn into Agith’maal, maybe. Better he kill self, or you kill, burn his heart.”
11:06:10
Gattan’lier, Tsol’teth Avenger intones, “My brother! What has happened to you?”
11:06:23
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar yells, “He has been destroyed, as was his destiny from the day Nicator began preaching in Thera! And you two shall follow him abruptly!”
11:06:45
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Warleader Lockwood, “I’ve spoken large words, and I rely on you to make them good in the field of battle. We’ll reinforce Ashtan with a large force, as they’re suffering in their lack of shrines, and Shallam with a weaker.”
11:06:50
Warleader Lockwood tells Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar, “I am at your command, my liege. But we must defeat this section of the black army first!”
11:07:12
Emperor Piraeus, Ruler of Seleucar tells Warleader Lockwood, “From the battlements, it looks as though Agith’maal’s death has thrown the enemy into disarray. Cut off their retreat and wipe them out.”
11:07:26
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Attack Pattern E, execute. We’ve as good as won, men, but don’t get sloppy! Let’s finish them off by the book.”
11:07:50
(Military): Apprentice Druid Snarry says, “Hey! There’s this thing in the middle of my grove. It looks like a big door made out of iron, and there’s just a shifting light in the middle of it. And… hey, a few monsters just walked out of it! Should I try to destroy it?”
11:07:59
(Military): Warleader Lockwood says, “Cut off access to your grove. That must be their portal; we’ll demolish it as soon as we can.” ## Sapience Triumphant
**from “Lucky” Lantis DeGage, Fighting the Tide: A Memoir**
The situation grew more dire with every passing day. We citizens, huddled within the walls of Ashtan, held little hope. Although the Occultists had brought glad tidings of the defeat of the Tsol’teth leader Agith’maal at Seleucar a week earlier, that defeat had not benefited us in the least. Instead, the Tsol’teth general Gattan’lier had redoubled his own assault, using his black magic to batter at the city gates. If the Occultists had not devoted their life essence to countering the Tsol’teth magic, we would have been destroyed in the very beginning.
The Black Wave brought out a new side of the mysterious Occultists. Before, they had been granted sanctuary in Ashtan simply because, even in the amnesty given them by the new Selucarian Empire, they felt more comfortable away from the Church-sympathetic city of Shallam. Although tolerated in Ashtan, they were never fully trusted even there, as stories proliferated of the atrocities they committed in their mysterious search for forbidden knowledge. Most Occultists preferred to hide behind secret identities, taking on common faces as grocers, or scribes, or even beggars.
When the Tsol’teth magic threatened to destroy Ashtan’s army outright, however, the many hidden Occultists who had not joined the military in the beginning revealed themselves. At the end of the first day, when more than half our own army stood on the side of Gattan’lier, firmly under the control of his black magic, more than one hundred Occultists joined ranks, using their mysterious monstrous assistants to cover the Ashtanian retreat into the city. And for the week after the siege began, the Occultists used their own life essence to prevent the Tsol’teth’s magic from demolishing the city walls. However, despite the vigilance of the Sentaari and Occultists, who watched to be sure that no citizens were possessed by the enemy, and the Serpentlords and soldiers, who guarded against incursions, some citizens still disappeared from their underground shelters.
By the time we saw the Selucarian relief army on the horizon, the Occultists were nearly exhausted. Gravin, the current Duke of Ashtan, had appointed me as the liaison with the Occult cabal. When I spoke to thank the Ashtanian Secretary of the Occultists, he shook his head wearily in demurral. “No thanks are necessary. As long as you don’t investigate the recent string of disappearances too closely, none of us will have any problems.” I was chilled, but there was little I could do. It was clear that the Occultists had killed our own citizens and devoured their energy, but they used that energy to save the entire city. Were they evil or good? I could not decide then, nor can I now. Adchachel, the Occultist Demiurge, was burned alive to stop his murderous rages after eating Agith’maal’s heart. He had to be tracked to his own secret laboratory, where a close circle of his friends defended him to the death. Was their defense a matter of loyalty to their leader? Or had they gone to the dark side, following the twisted spirit of Agith’maal?
After communicating telepathically with the generals of the Selucarian army, the Duke of Ashtan commanded that all his remaining loyal warriors enter the field, with their ears plugged up against the Tsol’teth’s foul chant of disloyalty. The formation was to be spearheaded by Sentaari and Occultists, who could use their various powers to retake the minds of as many possessed soldiers as possible, while the relief army pursued a similar strategy. Once each monk and necromancer had commanded a possessed soldier back to the fold, our regular troops would advance, spearing toward the Tsol’teth general Gattan’lier, clearing a path for the champions to engage him and strip away his cloak of darkness, so that the sunlight would cripple his powers and render him fully mortal.
Although I heard the plan in the council of war, I did not get to see how it played out. As an administrator and architect, my job was to reassure the frightened citizens of the city, and to oversee the city’s defense against sappers and rams. During the week of siege, I’d already helped collapse five attempted tunnels, and we were all on the alert for more. During this battle, however, it was no tunnel that collapsed. Instead, there was an earthquake, one fierce enough to topple many buildings in Ashtan itself. One of the falling buildings was impolite enough to fall on me, and that’s how I spent the glorious Battle of Ashtan: buried in rubble, with a ton of masonry on my legs.
I heard later that the earthquake was the dying strike of Gattan’lier, as dozens of heroes swarmed him, tearing at his cloak and striking him with sword and spell. None of the Tsol’teth were slain cheaply in the War of the Deep; Gattan’lier’s retributive earthquake claimed the lives of a third of those on the battlefield, on his side and ours.
As I oversaw the rebuilding of Ashtan from my wheelchair, I had occasion to speak with Seleucar’s newest officer, our only specialist on the invading armies: Blade Captain Matic Ridley, the hobgoblin noble who had defected during the Battle of Seleucar. He struck me then as a deeply honorable and very brave being, and I mourned with him the corruption of his own race. Later on, we formed a lasting friendship, but at that time, he was hot to hurry on to Shallam to help finish off the last of his erstwhile Masters, the Tsol’teth Terrin’ukia, or, as Matic called him, “Master Blood Drinker “.
And as I scanned the blueprints for the rebuilt Royal Compound, the city received notice that the Underrealm siege of Shallam had been broken by the combined powers of the Church, the Shallamese regulars, and the reinforcements from Seleucar. Again, the final Tsol’teth had wreaked tremendous havoc before he could finally be killed; this time, it was the famed Warleader Lockwood of Seleucar who was slain, even as he killed the last of the Tsol’teth with his curved sword.
As the last of the magical portals was destroyed and the last of the monster army was destroyed, the rulers of Seleucar spoke long and in depth with the hobgoblin defector Ridley. It became clear then that the Tsol’teth had never even contemplated conquest, but planned to destroy the entire kingdom, and possibly the entire surface world. They came from a realm far underground, which they called “anzari-tarin”, which meant “World of Darkness”; but the common folk came to refer to the Tsol’teth domain as the Underrealm.
It was a year after the armies of Piraeus turned back the Black Wave from the Underrealm when the famed prophet Lehrinas, who had lived three hundred years to see his prophecy of the Selucarian Empire and the Black Wave come true, fell dead at his writing desk. Before him was a sheet of paper containing his last prophecy, which was unfinished…
## Last Prophecy
**from Lehrinas, Prophecies, Chapter 25, Verse 1-19 (unfinished), as translated from high Tsol’aa by Corrin Melithandes**
*The tide recedes, the centuries pass,*
*The young grow old, time forgets.*
*Silence listens, dark creates.*
*The world itself’s a looking glass,*
*The numbers break from finite sets.*
*Chance and will battle fate.*
*The dark tide rises once again to slaughter all who dream of light*
*And saints and sinners join their friends to war again against the night*
*And Seleucar’s redemption comes to those who fight the holy fight*
*And all shall pay the freight of death to match their sins, however slight.*
*The wave of dark shall strike again, and all shall bow in terror.*
*The mad, cold ones who fought before*
*Are Masters of the darkness still*
*And never shall they find their rest*
*Unless this power is invoked:*
*First, the heroes must take heed*
*And arm themselves full strong for war*
*And then must venture nobly forth*
*To find the Dark World’s glowing door*
*To save the soul of Sapience’s light*
*They must recover –*
## Aftermath
**from Sherman Amon, An Encyclopedic History of the Cities and Empires of Sapience, Vol 2**
Despite the sinister prophecy of Lehrinas, the Selucarian Empire entered a period of peace and prosperity that lasted for over four centuries. During this time, the Empire strengthened its trade relationships with every city and town on the continent, and the three major cities of Seleucar, Ashtan, and Shallam became even larger and more metropolitan than ever before.
Proud of having survived the Black Wave without the help of the Church, the city of Ashtan came to believe that personal human will was as important as the power of the gods, and that there was no need for an intermediary force such as the Church. The mysterious Occultists, although still distrusted and feared, came to occupy many positions of power in Ashtan, which caused the Church to issue formal statements against Ashtan. Although these statements were minor in comparison to the insults, threats, and outright warfare that would occur constantly after the fall of the Empire, it is clear that even during the height of the Selucarian Empire, Ashtan and Shallam never had a cordial relationship.
In contrast to Ashtan, Shallam embraced the Church even more firmly than it had before, due to the influence of the shrines in the defense of the city during the Black Wave. Whereas Ashtan’s philosophers spoke of the power of the individual human to change his own life and surroundings, the Shallamese philosophers averred that only by subjecting themselves to higher wisdom and serving the greater good could humans ever improve their lots permanently.
In Seleucar, the philosopher-king Artaius attempted to promulgate his own philosophy: that men and women of personal power and diverse backgrounds, working together to serve ideals mutually agreed upon, could make far more difference in the world than powerful but undisciplined individuals or static congregations of orderly followers. In essence, Emperor Artaius tried to reconcile the viewpoints of Ashtan and Shallam, but although his views were accepted publicly through his lifetime and for centuries afterward, the old conflicts between Ashtan and Shallam were always waiting below the surface.
---
### [Wars of Succession](https://www.achaea.com/history/wars-of-succession)
**Published:** January 28, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### The Seleucarian Empire, Part 2: The Wars of Succession
Four hundred years after the Black Wave, the Empire faces a crisis of succession. Read about the epic struggle between Catarin and Castomira for the crown of Seleucar.
### Chapter List
### Foreward
Four hundred years after the founding of the glorious Seleucarian Empire, it encountered one of its greatest crises: the Wars of Succession. Although a time of great peril for Seleucar, and possibly the entire continent of Sapience, the Wars of Succession also gave rise to one of the most enduring stories of history—the legendary romance of Catarin deSangre and Lucaine Pyramides, its bitter result, and Catarin’s meteoric rise to power from the deepest level of despair.
As before, I tell this story as a librarian, not as a historian: I call on the voices of literature to speak for me, for I myself have little skill for writing. If you have read my compilation detailing the founding of the Seleucarian Empire, you will notice that the following texts call less upon the abilities of historians (with the exception of the famed Meleus Travner, and my own scholarly nephew Orson), and more upon the personal writings of the principal figures themselves. How better to detail the love of Lucaine Pyramides than through his own poetry? How better to detail Catarin’s uncertainty and hope than through her own letters? How better to show the breadth of Castomira’s evil than through her own gloating journals?
After decades of research, this tome is complete. I welcome your commentary. Address your missives to Tancred Lasalle, 15 Stagira Blvd., Ashtan. The Great Library of Nicator was destroyed by divine wrath after one of my legendary delays in publication, or I would simply direct you to my offices there. With a bitter smile, I hope that in time I may be redeemed, through quality if not through diligence.
Tancred Lasalle, Exiled Librarian
### A Series of Beginnings
#### From Meleus Travner, Urban Tactical Confrontation Throughout History: Case Studies, vol. 2: Seleucar
To call it the First War of Succession is historically apt, but technically inaccurate. War was never declared, as there was no formal monarch to declare it. Although Castomira pushed to have her puppet Mycale accede to the throne, the Church refused to bless the coronation before the gods, and even Castomira was not so reckless as to risk divine disfavor during her dangerous bid for power.
The war began by accident, as such conflicts often do. The perspective of history shows that when Castomira realized her assassin Pyramides had thrown in his lot with his onetime target Catarin, she pressed her consort Lord Errikale to move the Royal Guard more vigorously against Catarin’s rebel faction. Although Lord Errikale gave the order only reluctantly, the fanatical Guard Captain Maxim Everhardt used the opportunity to place extreme pressure on the areas of the city held by Catarin.
The war could have been far bloodier than it was. The Seleucarian armies, although much smaller than they were at the time of the Black Wave, were still large enough to have reduced the city of Imperial Seleucar to a wasteland if Castomira had been able to manipulate her faction into enlarging the conflict as much as she wished. Instead of being a contained urban conflict, the First War of Succession could have been even larger and more destructive than the Second. That it was not is due almost entirely to the peacemaking abilities of the two reluctant titular generals, Lucius Errikale and Orin Grandier.
Lucius Errikale is now considered one of history’s most tragic victims, a noble idealist whose ideals were twisted to the service of Seleucar’s greatest enemy since the Tsol’teth, the evil Castomira. The Duke of Seleucar, Lucius Errikale was the feudal leader of the duchy whose capitol was Imperial Seleucar, and therefore was considered first among the dukes. In theory, he was second in power only to the Prime Minister, Orin Grandier. In recent times, however, the office of Prime Minister had weakened relative to the Council of Lords, and so the political might of Lucius Errikale and Orin Grandier was roughly equal. Lucius Errikale gained his position by accident of birth, like all nobles; also by accident of birth, he was of the serpent folk. It is still poorly understood how a Serpentlord can be born of two normal human parents, or how ophidian traits can emerge in a person of any race even after years of seeming normality. Since Lord Errikale hid his serpent nature until minutes before his death, it’s a matter of historical debate whether he was a serpent for his entire life, or whether he gained serpent attributes through study of the secret Serpentlord disciplines. What is known is that for much of his political career, he championed the cause of the Serpent people, despite public opposition. For seven years before the First War of Succession, he had spent a few weeks each year at a resort in far Hashan that is now known to have been a front for the brave but ineffective Coiled Cobra Cult, a pro-serpent terrorist group. It is there that he secretly learned his Serpentlord fighting skills. (The Coiled Cobra Cult was wiped out in a bloody series of crusades by Seleucarian Myrmidons a few years before the Seleucarian Empire’s collapse; the cry “Let’s go bash some CCCs!” is still used by warriors around the world to initiate morally ambiguous bloodshed in the name of personal gain.) Lord Errikale was called “The Man with No Smile” by many, and was considered humorless and cold. He never smiled for fear of revealing his serpent-like fangs.
Prime Minister Orin Grandier was Lord Errikale’s friend for many years, until the First War of Succession forced them apart. A wise and intelligent man, he restored much of the power that the prime ministry had once held, but was unable to fully balance the great political power of the Council of Lords. Furthermore, he was the personal mentor of Princess Catarin, teaching her the political networks and backroom dealings that made the empire work. When the succession troubles began, Orin Grandier strove to hold the empire together, and had surprising success in convincing the empire at large that the succession troubles were a minor upheaval, involving only riots, instead of a major armed conflict. By the time the underkings of Ashtan and Shallam received word from the Church that a civil war was taking place within Seleucar’s walls, the hostilities were already over, and the quest for the Staff had begun.
That Ashtan, Shallam, and the other city-states that composed the Seleucarian Empire did not involve themselves in the First War of Succession is due to the diplomatic phrasing, elegant reassurances, and outright lies of Orin Grandier. But the highly limited nature of the war within Imperial Seleucar itself is due to the cooperative effort of Orin Grandier and his opposite number Lucius Errikale. While Castomira and Catarin were bitter enemies, their generals were loath to fight, and loath to place the citizens of Seleucar at risk. All the time during the four weeks of warfare, Grandier and Errikale organized steady evacuations of their sectors of the city, loading the churches and poor-houses of the outlying villages and towns with refugees. Whether Grandier and Errikale were in direct communication is a matter of speculation, but it is certain that they held each other in high respect, and strove to oppose each other only in strictly military matters.
The fighting itself was unique at the time (previous urban combat had been between small groups; see Case Studies, vol 1). A war within a city requires tactics far different from those employed in the field. Only one battle of the war was fought between units any larger than a few hundred men each, and snipers, traps, and hit-and-fade tactics were deciding factors in the early successes of Castomira’s faction, as Lord Errikale was exceptionally adept at such techniques. Using these tactics, soldiers loyal to Mycale were able to capture and hold the Imperial Palace for days at a time before being driven out by counter-sorties.
The emphasis each side placed on capturing the Imperial Palace is one of the ironies of the war. Originally designed for war by the visionary Nicator, and reinforced by his son Piraeus, the palace had been expanded and altered in peacetime until it was virtually indefensible from any position. Each door required extensive barricading to be secured; in many places, terraces and walkways made it impossible to shield a group of men from missile fire. Although control of the Palace was essential to the political meta-struggle, it was infeasible from a military standpoint, and heavy losses were inevitable on both sides.
The war began with its only large-scale confrontation, the Battle of the Parades.
#### Varos Devlin, The Battle of the Parades
Darkness hung over the city, low clouds roamed
As civil war was preached in streets and homes,
Debated in courts, proven in maps of troops and arms,
That showed the loyal firmly in two camps,
A split city, partisan enmity brewing slow like ale,
Turning dark and potent in casks, intoxicating and poisoning
Friend against friend, lord against knight, might against might,
With no concern for wrong, no thought of right.
The two queens, true queens uncrowned,
Catarin and Castomira, fighting through will, beauty, glamour, glory,
Each seeking, and destined to find, a place in story, legend, history,
For one, infamy. For one, majesty. For a hundred others, death. Success in succession is more than just lords’ acclaim,
More than just law’s color, more than martial fame.
Liege lords lacking loyalty fall from royalty by revolution,
The torches and pitchforks of the common choice, the people’s voice,
Never long to be rejected. So wise suitors to crowns long to be respected,
And give that into the common weal they’ll later take in taxes paid,
In fine parades they ride in state, their lordly manner on display,
Their knights beplumed, their soldiers trim, their wizards conjuring lights on high,
In hopes that show of sword and bow will prove their worth in doubting eyes. A fine day dawned, a holy day, a day when Churchmen raised their songs
And poured out wine and poured out oil, entreating gods for fruitful soil,
Entreating gods for strength of breath, for long, full life, for peaceful death.
A fine day dawned, a day of rest, a day when children flocked the streets
And begged their parents for copper’s shine to trade for peddlers’ fresh-baked treats,
And revelers bought the vendors’ wine and feasted well on roasted meats.
A fine day dawned, a day of parades; Lord Errikale decreed a march,
From Green Snake Way to the Beggars’ Arch, all through the Royal Square.
And all unwitting, Lord Grandier did also sense the festive air
And called his men to polish shields, tighten drums,
Dress in richest martial wear and march around the Royal Square,
And hand out coins to beggars there, rich gold to match their lady’s hair,
The flowing locks of Catarin deSangre, youngest noble heir.
A fine day dawned, a fateful day, a day when two parades of hope
Would clash in battle small in scope, large in implication;
A day when violent civil strife would slash the city, unkind knife,
Cut the bonds of brotherhood that formed the basis of the nation. Through peaceful parks and sunlit streets Lord Lucius led one thousand men,
A hundred drummers and clarion-players, two hundred archers and bandit-slayers,
Three hundred pikemen, sturdy sons, four hundred swordsmen, hot to fight
To save the honor of their lord, Mycale, who rode in state that day,
Waving brightly to the crowd, giving no sign of his soul’s decay.
Lord Errikale rode very nigh, to school his lord if by any sign
He showed the weakness Lucius feared and used, the idiot moral brain confused.
And Castomira Brangwin rode by Mycale’s side, and whispered to him
Words of mother’s love, sister’s comfort, lover’s bliss,
The cruel web she’d snared him in, the love his family never gave.
Cruel irony, that lack of love is grip for evil! At Castomira’s urging, Mycale spoke ill of Catarin,
Addressing crowds who cheered for him, his glassy eyes and wooden grin
Took nothing from his eloquence, and nothing from the fire he roused;
His words, poetry of honey and blood, sweet anger, cold ash,
As he raved, his eyes did glint in spearheads’ flash.
He had the look that day of noble kings
Who fight and die to keep their country dreaming
Of warmth and bread, songs and crops,
And take on themselves unwholesome scheming.
But a cunning king Mycale was not, nor even sly� As soldiers hot for loyal killing followed Mycale’s royal train,
So too did armsmen fresh and willing travel with brave Catarin.
Her smile was bright as suns that day, her eyes diamonds,
Unearthly and solid, enthralling all with sparks of grace.
And people called out fealty: “Golden hair, steel polished soul,
“Forever we support you, lady! Fight! And make our kingdom whole!”
Swords and shields of hardened steel cast sunbeams into cheering crowds
And in the streets and on the walks the people gathered by. The flagstones of the Royal Square, like stove-lids, bent and warped the air.
So fierce were summer’s light and heat that hard-eyed archers flinched away
From endless pinpoint suns and stars that shone from triply-polished arms.
The people’s cheers, an endless roar; and shimmering light, a blinding rain;
Little wonder is it, then, that Catarin’s troops met Mycale’s men
Before each high commander saw his nemesis approach.
And full of patriotic verve, of noble thoughts, of warlike nerve,
The frontmost soldiers took it as their destiny to fight.
No warcries here, no trumpet-sound; the grisly painters worked the ground
With harsh motifs of red on red, the living blood of newly dead.
Errikale called retreat in vain, as soldiers vied to join the slain,
Heedless of their training now, responding to their foremost vows,
To stand and cut their foemen down to win their lord his rightful crown. On the side of Catarin, as well, chaos reigned alone. Shouting to his regiment,
Grandier struggled to defend his fore and flanks against the rage
Of Castomira’s bitter force (good men betrayed by evil words)
And muster order, praying to remove his queen from battle’s reach.
The crowds of townsfolk churned like stormy seas,
Some struggling to flee, some taking arms, some standing near to yell and jeer,
And in an eyeblink, deadly havoc reigned among the common folk
As surely as in soldiers’ eyes, soldiers’ arms and soldiers’ minds. By half past noon, the two commanders knew that they were even matched,
And locked, unwilling, in a deadly combat, deadly game of chess;
If only chess were played with dice, and loss meant instant butchery,
For true war owes to table games what Tsol’teth owe to forest sprites.
The noontime heat, sticky sweat and blood, cries of pain and fear
Caused only greater hatred in these men who’d marched as one last year. Twilight settled on scenes of woe: unspoken truce as families buried dead,
Though stricken with partisan hate; soldiers vowing vengeance on their friends,
For striking adverse blows in self-defense; Catarin and Castomira, blessing the dead,
One with bitter sadness, one only with its semblance�
And city boundaries drawn in bloody strokes: north for Mycale, south for Catarin.
Morning’s gay parades were now a funeral march,
And warrior’s dirges now rang half as strong,
As stout-backed pipers dug their fellows’ graves.
Buried with their instruments, the proud marshals of the march
Stared up through one man’s height in dirt to sorrow at the sight of martial feet
Once locked in formal order, now trudging past the funeral fires. #### Lucaine Pyramides, Catarin (Poem 10)
Blue hope, her eyes, too true to deny–
An order, her smile, too strong to defy–
Her lips are a question; I dare not reply. #### Lord Damen Kephry, Collected Correspondence
My dearest Margaux,
Be assured, my love, that your concern for my well-being is matched only by my own. Though the fighting is fierce in this sector of the city, I am sure that we shall prevail, and place Prince Mycale on his rightful throne. I can only pray that once Mycale’s coronation is complete, his noble sister will capitulate, and support her brother as is her duty. Even among the supporters of Mycale, the Princess is respected and loved, and it breaks our hearts to oppose her ill-conceived rebellion against the natural order of succession.
We lost possession of the Castle of Twelve today. Praise be to Sarapis, no member of the Guild of Knights struck a personal blow against another, but the fact remains that the Guild is broken now, perhaps forever, by this passing political feud. The supporters of Catarin believe that they are doing what is best for the Empire, as their guild oath demands, and I am certain that they believe they are right, so I cannot hate them. But when men under my command pulled Lord Kyralos from his horse and beheaded him, I was forced to commend them for putting the enemy temporarily to rout, even as I shed tears for my oldest friend.
This street-fighting is the worst sort of combat. Even my ventures in the swamps of Mannaseh and the mountains of Vashnar never prepared me for this hellish funhouse of sharp corners and rooftop snipers; and aside from physical peril, nothing is more taxing to sanity than to cut down one’s own countrymen, in one’s own neighborhood. Civil war is an abomination, and I pray daily to all the gods that they deliver us from it.
For us, the day started early. We were to depart the Castle of Twelve before dawn, hurrying through the side streets in a party of fifty, to blockade the Road of Snows and lay ambush for the party that Grandier would inevitably send against the Palace. Simply to walk the streets of Seleucar is torture in a time like this: to see the rows and rows of buildings, shuttered tight with fear. The few citizens out and about fled into alleys at the sound of marching feet. I understand the war is already hard on them; the “foresightful” hoarding by the few has caused food shortages for the many, and the soup kitchens seldom have enough to feed all. Soldiers ransack homes, with the noble goal of redistributing any hoards they find, but too often those hoards are redistributed only to the soldiers. Are you eating well? I can only hope our family’s name is sufficient to keep you from hardship. It is well that our manor is in the far north of the city; Catarin’s men are unlikely to penetrate there.
Near midday, we engaged an enemy element, perhaps a hundred men, as they advanced up the Road of Snows. Our plan was successful; fighting fiercely, then repeatedly falling back into alleys, we slowed the enemy advance long enough for Mycale’s corresponding sortie to fortify the intersection between Royal Circle Road and the Road of Snows. Lord Errikale has shown an astonishing talent for such devious tactics; though he has no formal military rank, the man proves to be a cunning leader, walking a fine line between flexibility and treachery. Perhaps he has been consulting with our distasteful Serpentlord allies, although I’ve no clue how he might stomach their smell. Our mission complete, we returned to the Castle of Twelve… only to find it already under heavy assault.
Built a hundred years after the Black Wave, the Castle of Twelve is a ceremonial fortress, not a practical one. After all, the Guild of Knights was meant to defend the Empire through individual adventure and knight-errantry. We never considered that there might ever be fighting in the streets, as even the Tsol’teth were unable to breach the city walls. As a result, my allies were hard-pressed to defend the Castle and its many windows and doors, even with the aid of the barricades we’d cobbled together after the Battle of the Parades. Even so, we might easily have turned back the enemy, were it not for the presence of the infamous criminal, Lucaine Pyramides.
In accounts from his days as a mercenary bandit, the man has been described as a sort of incarnate demon, and now that I’ve seen him fight, I give those authors the benefit of the doubt. His fighting style wavers between madness and genius. Madness, for he spends half the battle with his sword in its sheath, avoiding blows through speed alone; genius, because when he draws his sword to fight, he turns that very act into a deadly blow. A warrior learns to detect a hundred movements of the blade, a hundred twitches of the body, and when he draws his blade, Pyramides reveals none of them. Even with his sword drawn, the man fights as if possessed. Though his sword clearly is not forged in Bladefire like that of a Knight, nevertheless it glows with arcane power, here setting men ablaze, there freezing them to the bone, there causing them to bleed their life away from a single cut. Each time he draws his blade, men around him die, giving him time to enchant his sword with some new witchery. Just as the Tsol’teth were said to practice some art of destruction unknown to mortal races, so too does this squire of hell, Pyramides. Draw what parallel you will. Mycale’s indecent detractors hint that he is “unnatural.” I submit that if anyone in this war is unnatural, it is that brigand monster Pyramides.
We fought to our utmost, but though the Avenue of Swords ran with the blood of our foe, it ran twice as deep with our own. When the order to retreat came, however, I was dismayed, for we had succeeded in separating Lucaine Pyramides from the rest of his allies. Surely, with just a little more time, we could have overwhelmed him, and damned be the cost to our own lives. So be it, though. I write this from the Selicande Lycaeum, where the remaining Knights in Mycale’s camp have been given a warm welcome. Tomorrow I am to join a sally against the Marcella Library, in the company of Lord Errikale and Prince Mycale. As the Library itself is undefended by Catarin’s men, we hope to break through their front and triumphantly invest the Library, thus winning a psychological victory. Pray for me, my love, as I pray every night for you.
Your loving husband,
Lord Damen Kephry,
Artaius Angus Hall, Barracks 104,
Selicande Lycaeum #### Lucaine Pyramides, Catarin (Poem 14)
Gold and soft diamond and pearl–
The crown is one with the soul, for her.
Empress, goddess, overarching girl–
The part is one with the whole, for her.
My sword will defend her
My sharp sword will keep her safe
My true sword will keep her safe from harm
I shall make her as immortal as my love. ### From Leona Fontaine, Sentinel: The Murder of Lucaine Pyramides
There was a cold fog on the streets, but Deis was colder; he breathed in the dank as a child might smell deeply of fresh bread. His world revolved slowly in his oddly-angled mind: a world of deluded sleepers, where goodness was always a false and fleeting dream, and evil itself the lesser of two wrongs; and he the only wakeful soul, staring insomniac at the full moon. Forward he walked, ever forward, boots clicking on the cobbles like ratchet gears in a clock, moving ever forward to the time when the alarm would go off, jangling the dreaming world awake.
The night was nearing dawn, inevitably, but when Trenton Deis’s mechanical footsteps halted the night halted, too. The night halted, as Trenton Deis entered the tiny apartment, coldly glared at the fragile flame of the single candle, coldly glared at the fragile-looking woman who sat motionless on the bed. Her hair, dark beyond night; her eyes, frozen beyond winter; her smile, warm as a heart. Her name was Castomira Brangwin, and she was not thought exceptional.
“Who?” Deis asked.
“Catarin,” she replied.
“How?”
“Beyond hope of resurrection.”
“She is well guarded.”
“Eliminate the warrior first. His betrayal demands it.”
“Five hundred thousand pieces of gold,” he said.
“Done.”
The night began again, and then the dawn began, and then Trenton Deis began.
### From Lina Stalfos, Stories of the Past, for Children
Once upon a time, in the great Selucarian Empire, there was a great king called Valerias. Valerias was wise and strong, and he had a sport spot in his heart for his two children. Valerias’s son was weak and foolish, even though he was a man, and Valerias’s daughter was strong and clever, even though she was a woman. And Valerias often laughed, “Has any man ever had such unusual children?” The son was named Mycale, and the daughter was named Catarin, and King Valerias loved them both.
One day, King Valerias became very sick and died. And Mycale and Catarin were very sad. They were sad because their father was dead. They were sad because their mother joined the Church as a nun, and left them all alone. And they were sad because nobody knew which one of them should be the new ruler of the Empire. Mycale was a man, and usually men become king instead of women. But many people thought that Catarin was a better person than Mycale. They said that Catarin was smart and pretty, unlike Mycale who was foolish and ugly, and that Catarin did good things, while Mycale did bad things.
And they were right. But other people wanted Mycale to be king, because they thought that since he was foolish he would let them do anything they wanted. One of these people was named Lucius Errikale, and he was one of the snake-people, even though nobody knew it then. Lucius was the Duke of Seleucar, and so he was the highest of the lords, and so many of the other lords obeyed him, and helped Mycale. Another was named Castomira Brangwin. She was the Duchess of Aster Malik, which was a tiny province to the north of the city. Even though she did not have much power as a noble, she was secretly the leader of the people who wanted Mycale to be king. Duke Lucius was in love with her, and so was Prince Mycale, so they both did everything she told them to.
Catarin did not want to be a queen. But she knew that if Mycale were king, he would do small bad things, and the people who controlled him would do large bad things. So she got help from her father’s prime minister, Orin Grandier, and she tried to convince all the other lords that she should be queen.
Lord Lucius told the other lords that if Catarin were queen, she’d keep them from doing what they wanted to. So some of the other lords called Catarin an outlaw, and threatened to have her killed, and not very many lords wanted to help her. It was very bad. The lords who wanted Mycale to be king moved to one side of the city of Seleucar, and the lords who wanted Catarin to be queen moved to the other, and they both gathered armies. Everyone thought that soon the two sides would fight.
And then a man named Lucaine Pyramides came suddenly to Catarin and drew out his sword.
### From The Sealed Files of Castomira Brangwin
The poetry is gone.
When I was younger, I remember writing stanzas and quatrains, staves and verses. I channeled the blaze of my emotions into paper and ink. I wrote to make spirits soar, or sink. I wrote to free myself of the feelings that were too big for me . . . when I felt I would explode with joy, or with sadness, or with anger, I would write.
And now the poetry is gone. And soon I feel I will explode after all . . . with hatred.
There is something blocking the window of my soul, fouling the chapel of my memories. There is something that holds my hatred inside. Nobody can store this much emotion . . . can they? I can feel myself transforming, and I’m terrified. And my fear makes me hate her more.
Catarin. Perfect Catarin. Lovely Catarin. Brilliant Catarin. We were nearly sisters. We played together. We learned to dance together. We went to the same exclusive school, giggled over the same boys. And I would give anything, suffer anything, for the privilege of torturing her to death.
And I don’t know why. That is what frightens me more than anything else. Logic is breaking; falling away into madness like a calving glacier. I’m changing.
I broke diamond today. I reached for my grandmother’s ring, to put it on, and when I closed my fingers around the stone, it crumbled. I’m changing.
The noon light is growing painfully bright. I wear a broad hat and a dark veil. People ask if I’m in mourning. “The sun is very bright,” I tell them. “It’s raining,” they reply. I’m changing.
Now that the king is dead, my chance is near. I can dominate Lucius so effortlessly that he doesn’t realize I’m doing it. My will moves through him. And I dominate Mycale, as if that is difficult at all. In his quest for justice, Lucius will help me bring about the greatest evils I can imagine, and I relish both the irony and the prospect. I never even visited the Chamber of Deliberation until a year ago, and now I toy with the fate of the kingdom like a Carnivalis idly twitching a puppet. I’m changing.
There is a man in Jaru named Lucaine Pyramides, who is said to have the most deadly sword on Sapience, and who will fight any battle for the right price. I have sent for him. I will order her head on a silver platter, with a silver cup to catch her blood. The thought of her clotted veins dangling below a stump of neck is delightful to me. I’m changing.
I hate Catarin. And I would put my hatred down in verse, create words with enough emotion to clear the emotion from my own heart, and be done with it. And I can’t. I’m changing.
And I’m afraid that soon, I won’t be scared of that anymore.
### Lucaine Pyramides, Catarin (Poem 1)
A random encounter
A failure of fate
My cut has been countered,
My sword turned away.
I was a wolf.
Am I now a dog? ### Lord Damen Kephry, An Open Letter to the Guild of Knights
Most noble compatriots, warriors of the Guild of Knights; most honored Nobility of Seleucar and its kingdoms; and all the diverse People of this great Empire;
It is with the greatest Concern and Sadness that I apprehend the current Events taking place within the walls of Seleucar. That we, the great Guild of Knights, who have for so long been an Example to both noble and commoner alike of Honor and Chivalry, should fall to such Depths that our inner differences should become matters of Public opinion is a disgrace of the highest order. Lord Drago, are your concerns truly of such Urgency that you felt compelled to distribute handbills throughout the Market Square detailing your grievances? And Lord Rani, despite Lord Drago’s breach of Etiquette, is it truly needful to consider breaking the Guild’s long-standing Friendship with the Church in such a Spectacular fashion?
The Guild of Knights has the most Noble origins of any private order. Where the Templars originated from the Church’s need for self-defense in its earliest days, and where other warrior Organizations (such as the detestable Serpent-Lords) were established sheerly for Profit or Debauchery, or for purposes of individual Training and Meditation, the Guild was formed by Private Citizens for the inestimable goal of preserving the Empire, and forever defending the Honor of its Monarch. In the absence of a clearly-defined Monarch, are we to fall apart into warring Factions?
While the Templars incorporated the sacred Devotions into their martial discipline, we of the secular Knights mastered the arts of Falconry, and instructed the Templars in its use, to the great Benefit of the Common Folk. Are we to cut off all ties with the Church now, simply because it refuses to Involve itself in the Succession?
The founding Master-Smith of the Guild perfected the intricate power of Blade-Fire, which requires the most disciplined and exacting of Training. If we should collapse into Chaos, who shall carry on that Martial Tradition? Shall we allow it to die out, until it is merely a vague memory in the minds of our eldest citizens?
Lord Rani, your speech of Secession from the ways of the Church is convincing. As a Secular order, composed of private warriors, we should not bend so easily to the Requirements of the Church. I submit that the Church’s goals should be as one with ours in this Time of Trouble, but your opinion has Merit. However, your treatise encouraging Knights to embark on Study of the Arts of Darkness is a true abomination. I pray that it does not influence the generations of Warriors who may come after us, for surely Evil’s pull will be as strong five hundred years hence as it is now.
But this matter of moral alignment is Insignificant in light of our True Peril: we have succumbed, my brothers and sisters. We have Surrendered to Politics. Even now, some fear to enter the Guild Castle, for fear that a fist-fight will occur between supporters of the two honorable Claimants to the crown. Although I have a personal Preference in the matter, I will not air it. Instead, I must beg all of you: let us remain true to our Code! Let us defend the Empire, not help Destroy it! Until such time as open Civil War occurs, let us remain aloof. Let us not pour oil upon the Flames. For if open war becomes reality, and the Guild splits into warring camps, surely it will never recover.
Respectfully,
Lord Damen Kephry ### Public Security Document #3551, Seleucar Imperial Guard
Item 1. Lord Errikale has expressed a wish for more compassionate treatment of the serpent folk. In deference to his wish, which certainly must be based on wisdom higher than our own, I command that torture and decimation be used against serpent folk only in punishment for First Order offenses.
Item 2. Wartime demands more exacting standards of conduct. In order to better control the populace, all Third Order infractions will henceforth be punished as Second Order crimes; Second Order crimes will be punished as First Order crimes; and First Order crimes will be punished by death. The impartiality of the judicial system will in no means be compromised, however! All sentences MUST be countersigned by at least one other oath-bound member of the Imperial Armed Forces, or his nominated representative.
Item 3. Swordsman Lucaine Pyramides, though briefly attached to our forces as a mercenary, has betrayed King Mycale, and has joined Catarin’s usurpers. Therefore, he has been enemied, and is to be attacked on sight whenever he sets foot in any lawful area of the city. This notice countermands any previous orders.
Item 4. I have made perfectly clear that I will tolerate no rumors among the men regarding the supposed private entertainments of King Mycale. Our ruler is a shining example of noble rectitude and propriety. The recent disappearance of local youths is due to the cannibalistic tendencies of the Catarin-led betrayers, and has absolutely no connection to King Mycale’s frequent times of meditative solitude. Any talk to the contrary will henceforth be punished with public lashing and execution.
Item 5. A sortie into the Imperial Palace will commence at 4 am on Friday. Those of you who have been selected to volunteer will receive notice two hours before the mission.
That is all.
Maxim Everhardt, Captain of the Guard ### Lucaine Pyramides, Catarin (Poem 9)
A thousand lives I’ve cut like fragile thread
And sent a thousand souls to last reward
For when my sword is drawn I am the chooser of the dead. Three Moons, whose strokes a thousand widows grieve
Has drawn its sacred circle all my life
Where all who enter perish, save they enter by my leave. But once, I drew that circle in the air
And what has been a sacred place of Thoth
Became a ground of worship to azure eyes and golden hair. Blade, idolatry of death, replaced
By foolish love and foolish loyalty
My bandit’s honor, ruthless reputation, now disgraced. For when I drew my sword to take her life
I glanced into her eyes and saw a way
To justify my anger, redeem my love of strife. ### From Leona Fontaine, Sentinel: The Murder of Lucaine Pyramides
For Lucaine, a black fate: love without daring. He polished his poetry the same way he polished his sword, with endless precision and passion, consistent caution. But while his sword held his word, his words had no edge, he was certain. To show her a poem of his to confess his feelings to leave himself defenseless. And which carried his soul now? His sword or his pen? Though he fought for her in a hundred battles, his true war was with himself, over the course of a hundred poems.
For Lucaine, a black fate: fire without warmth, only burning. He knew her for one year. He wrote one hundred poems. He won her heart without believing it, he lost his last battle, lost in passion.
For Lucaine, a black fate: a hopeless dream, a helpless death.
### Civil War: A City Divided
#### From Meleus Travner, Urban Tactical Confrontation Throughout History: Case Studies, vol. 2: Seleucar
To call it the First War of Succession is historically apt, but technically inaccurate. War was never declared, as there was no formal monarch to declare it. Although Castomira pushed to have her puppet Mycale accede to the throne, the Church refused to bless the coronation before the gods, and even Castomira was not so reckless as to risk divine disfavor during her dangerous bid for power.
The war began by accident, as such conflicts often do. The perspective of history shows that when Castomira realized her assassin Pyramides had thrown in his lot with his onetime target Catarin, she pressed her consort Lord Errikale to move the Royal Guard more vigorously against Catarin’s rebel faction. Although Lord Errikale gave the order only reluctantly, the fanatical Guard Captain Maxim Everhardt used the opportunity to place extreme pressure on the areas of the city held by Catarin.
The war could have been far bloodier than it was. The Seleucarian armies, although much smaller than they were at the time of the Black Wave, were still large enough to have reduced the city of Imperial Seleucar to a wasteland if Castomira had been able to manipulate her faction into enlarging the conflict as much as she wished. Instead of being a contained urban conflict, the First War of Succession could have been even larger and more destructive than the Second. That it was not is due almost entirely to the peacemaking abilities of the two reluctant titular generals, Lucius Errikale and Orin Grandier.
Lucius Errikale is now considered one of history’s most tragic victims, a noble idealist whose ideals were twisted to the service of Seleucar’s greatest enemy since the Tsol’teth, the evil Castomira. The Duke of Seleucar, Lucius Errikale was the feudal leader of the duchy whose capitol was Imperial Seleucar, and therefore was considered first among the dukes. In theory, he was second in power only to the Prime Minister, Orin Grandier. In recent times, however, the office of Prime Minister had weakened relative to the Council of Lords, and so the political might of Lucius Errikale and Orin Grandier was roughly equal. Lucius Errikale gained his position by accident of birth, like all nobles; also by accident of birth, he was of the serpent folk. It is still poorly understood how a Serpentlord can be born of two normal human parents, or how ophidian traits can emerge in a person of any race even after years of seeming normality. Since Lord Errikale hid his serpent nature until minutes before his death, it’s a matter of historical debate whether he was a serpent for his entire life, or whether he gained serpent attributes through study of the secret Serpentlord disciplines. What is known is that for much of his political career, he championed the cause of the Serpent people, despite public opposition. For seven years before the First War of Succession, he had spent a few weeks each year at a resort in far Hashan that is now known to have been a front for the brave but ineffective Coiled Cobra Cult, a pro-serpent terrorist group. It is there that he secretly learned his Serpentlord fighting skills. (The Coiled Cobra Cult was wiped out in a bloody series of crusades by Seleucarian Myrmidons a few years before the Seleucarian Empire’s collapse; the cry “Let’s go bash some CCCs!” is still used by warriors around the world to initiate morally ambiguous bloodshed in the name of personal gain.) Lord Errikale was called “The Man with No Smile” by many, and was considered humorless and cold. He never smiled for fear of revealing his serpent-like fangs.
Prime Minister Orin Grandier was Lord Errikale’s friend for many years, until the First War of Succession forced them apart. A wise and intelligent man, he restored much of the power that the prime ministry had once held, but was unable to fully balance the great political power of the Council of Lords. Furthermore, he was the personal mentor of Princess Catarin, teaching her the political networks and backroom dealings that made the empire work. When the succession troubles began, Orin Grandier strove to hold the empire together, and had surprising success in convincing the empire at large that the succession troubles were a minor upheaval, involving only riots, instead of a major armed conflict. By the time the underkings of Ashtan and Shallam received word from the Church that a civil war was taking place within Seleucar’s walls, the hostilities were already over, and the quest for the Staff had begun.
That Ashtan, Shallam, and the other city-states that composed the Seleucarian Empire did not involve themselves in the First War of Succession is due to the diplomatic phrasing, elegant reassurances, and outright lies of Orin Grandier. But the highly limited nature of the war within Imperial Seleucar itself is due to the cooperative effort of Orin Grandier and his opposite number Lucius Errikale. While Castomira and Catarin were bitter enemies, their generals were loath to fight, and loath to place the citizens of Seleucar at risk. All the time during the four weeks of warfare, Grandier and Errikale organized steady evacuations of their sectors of the city, loading the churches and poor-houses of the outlying villages and towns with refugees. Whether Grandier and Errikale were in direct communication is a matter of speculation, but it is certain that they held each other in high respect, and strove to oppose each other only in strictly military matters.
The fighting itself was unique at the time (previous urban combat had been between small groups; see Case Studies, vol 1). A war within a city requires tactics far different from those employed in the field. Only one battle of the war was fought between units any larger than a few hundred men each, and snipers, traps, and hit-and-fade tactics were deciding factors in the early successes of Castomira’s faction, as Lord Errikale was exceptionally adept at such techniques. Using these tactics, soldiers loyal to Mycale were able to capture and hold the Imperial Palace for days at a time before being driven out by counter-sorties.
The emphasis each side placed on capturing the Imperial Palace is one of the ironies of the war. Originally designed for war by the visionary Nicator, and reinforced by his son Piraeus, the palace had been expanded and altered in peacetime until it was virtually indefensible from any position. Each door required extensive barricading to be secured; in many places, terraces and walkways made it impossible to shield a group of men from missile fire. Although control of the Palace was essential to the political meta-struggle, it was infeasible from a military standpoint, and heavy losses were inevitable on both sides.
The war began with its only large-scale confrontation, the Battle of the Parades.
#### Varos Devlin, The Battle of the Parades
Darkness hung over the city, low clouds roamed
As civil war was preached in streets and homes,
Debated in courts, proven in maps of troops and arms,
That showed the loyal firmly in two camps,
A split city, partisan enmity brewing slow like ale,
Turning dark and potent in casks, intoxicating and poisoning
Friend against friend, lord against knight, might against might,
With no concern for wrong, no thought of right.
The two queens, true queens uncrowned,
Catarin and Castomira, fighting through will, beauty, glamour, glory,
Each seeking, and destined to find, a place in story, legend, history,
For one, infamy. For one, majesty. For a hundred others, death. Success in succession is more than just lords’ acclaim,
More than just law’s color, more than martial fame.
Liege lords lacking loyalty fall from royalty by revolution,
The torches and pitchforks of the common choice, the people’s voice,
Never long to be rejected. So wise suitors to crowns long to be respected,
And give that into the common weal they’ll later take in taxes paid,
In fine parades they ride in state, their lordly manner on display,
Their knights beplumed, their soldiers trim, their wizards conjuring lights on high,
In hopes that show of sword and bow will prove their worth in doubting eyes. A fine day dawned, a holy day, a day when Churchmen raised their songs
And poured out wine and poured out oil, entreating gods for fruitful soil,
Entreating gods for strength of breath, for long, full life, for peaceful death.
A fine day dawned, a day of rest, a day when children flocked the streets
And begged their parents for copper’s shine to trade for peddlers’ fresh-baked treats,
And revelers bought the vendors’ wine and feasted well on roasted meats.
A fine day dawned, a day of parades; Lord Errikale decreed a march,
From Green Snake Way to the Beggars’ Arch, all through the Royal Square.
And all unwitting, Lord Grandier did also sense the festive air
And called his men to polish shields, tighten drums,
Dress in richest martial wear and march around the Royal Square,
And hand out coins to beggars there, rich gold to match their lady’s hair,
The flowing locks of Catarin deSangre, youngest noble heir.
A fine day dawned, a fateful day, a day when two parades of hope
Would clash in battle small in scope, large in implication;
A day when violent civil strife would slash the city, unkind knife,
Cut the bonds of brotherhood that formed the basis of the nation. Through peaceful parks and sunlit streets Lord Lucius led one thousand men,
A hundred drummers and clarion-players, two hundred archers and bandit-slayers,
Three hundred pikemen, sturdy sons, four hundred swordsmen, hot to fight
To save the honor of their lord, Mycale, who rode in state that day,
Waving brightly to the crowd, giving no sign of his soul’s decay.
Lord Errikale rode very nigh, to school his lord if by any sign
He showed the weakness Lucius feared and used, the idiot moral brain confused.
And Castomira Brangwin rode by Mycale’s side, and whispered to him
Words of mother’s love, sister’s comfort, lover’s bliss,
The cruel web she’d snared him in, the love his family never gave.
Cruel irony, that lack of love is grip for evil! At Castomira’s urging, Mycale spoke ill of Catarin,
Addressing crowds who cheered for him, his glassy eyes and wooden grin
Took nothing from his eloquence, and nothing from the fire he roused;
His words, poetry of honey and blood, sweet anger, cold ash,
As he raved, his eyes did glint in spearheads’ flash.
He had the look that day of noble kings
Who fight and die to keep their country dreaming
Of warmth and bread, songs and crops,
And take on themselves unwholesome scheming.
But a cunning king Mycale was not, nor even sly� As soldiers hot for loyal killing followed Mycale’s royal train,
So too did armsmen fresh and willing travel with brave Catarin.
Her smile was bright as suns that day, her eyes diamonds,
Unearthly and solid, enthralling all with sparks of grace.
And people called out fealty: “Golden hair, steel polished soul,
“Forever we support you, lady! Fight! And make our kingdom whole!”
Swords and shields of hardened steel cast sunbeams into cheering crowds
And in the streets and on the walks the people gathered by. The flagstones of the Royal Square, like stove-lids, bent and warped the air.
So fierce were summer’s light and heat that hard-eyed archers flinched away
From endless pinpoint suns and stars that shone from triply-polished arms.
The people’s cheers, an endless roar; and shimmering light, a blinding rain;
Little wonder is it, then, that Catarin’s troops met Mycale’s men
Before each high commander saw his nemesis approach.
And full of patriotic verve, of noble thoughts, of warlike nerve,
The frontmost soldiers took it as their destiny to fight.
No warcries here, no trumpet-sound; the grisly painters worked the ground
With harsh motifs of red on red, the living blood of newly dead.
Errikale called retreat in vain, as soldiers vied to join the slain,
Heedless of their training now, responding to their foremost vows,
To stand and cut their foemen down to win their lord his rightful crown. On the side of Catarin, as well, chaos reigned alone. Shouting to his regiment,
Grandier struggled to defend his fore and flanks against the rage
Of Castomira’s bitter force (good men betrayed by evil words)
And muster order, praying to remove his queen from battle’s reach.
The crowds of townsfolk churned like stormy seas,
Some struggling to flee, some taking arms, some standing near to yell and jeer,
And in an eyeblink, deadly havoc reigned among the common folk
As surely as in soldiers’ eyes, soldiers’ arms and soldiers’ minds. By half past noon, the two commanders knew that they were even matched,
And locked, unwilling, in a deadly combat, deadly game of chess;
If only chess were played with dice, and loss meant instant butchery,
For true war owes to table games what Tsol’teth owe to forest sprites.
The noontime heat, sticky sweat and blood, cries of pain and fear
Caused only greater hatred in these men who’d marched as one last year. Twilight settled on scenes of woe: unspoken truce as families buried dead,
Though stricken with partisan hate; soldiers vowing vengeance on their friends,
For striking adverse blows in self-defense; Catarin and Castomira, blessing the dead,
One with bitter sadness, one only with its semblance�
And city boundaries drawn in bloody strokes: north for Mycale, south for Catarin.
Morning’s gay parades were now a funeral march,
And warrior’s dirges now rang half as strong,
As stout-backed pipers dug their fellows’ graves.
Buried with their instruments, the proud marshals of the march
Stared up through one man’s height in dirt to sorrow at the sight of martial feet
Once locked in formal order, now trudging past the funeral fires. #### Lucaine Pyramides, Catarin (Poem 10)
Blue hope, her eyes, too true to deny–
An order, her smile, too strong to defy–
Her lips are a question; I dare not reply. #### Lord Damen Kephry, Collected Correspondence
My dearest Margaux,
Be assured, my love, that your concern for my well-being is matched only by my own. Though the fighting is fierce in this sector of the city, I am sure that we shall prevail, and place Prince Mycale on his rightful throne. I can only pray that once Mycale’s coronation is complete, his noble sister will capitulate, and support her brother as is her duty. Even among the supporters of Mycale, the Princess is respected and loved, and it breaks our hearts to oppose her ill-conceived rebellion against the natural order of succession.
We lost possession of the Castle of Twelve today. Praise be to Sarapis, no member of the Guild of Knights struck a personal blow against another, but the fact remains that the Guild is broken now, perhaps forever, by this passing political feud. The supporters of Catarin believe that they are doing what is best for the Empire, as their guild oath demands, and I am certain that they believe they are right, so I cannot hate them. But when men under my command pulled Lord Kyralos from his horse and beheaded him, I was forced to commend them for putting the enemy temporarily to rout, even as I shed tears for my oldest friend.
This street-fighting is the worst sort of combat. Even my ventures in the swamps of Mannaseh and the mountains of Vashnar never prepared me for this hellish funhouse of sharp corners and rooftop snipers; and aside from physical peril, nothing is more taxing to sanity than to cut down one’s own countrymen, in one’s own neighborhood. Civil war is an abomination, and I pray daily to all the gods that they deliver us from it.
For us, the day started early. We were to depart the Castle of Twelve before dawn, hurrying through the side streets in a party of fifty, to blockade the Road of Snows and lay ambush for the party that Grandier would inevitably send against the Palace. Simply to walk the streets of Seleucar is torture in a time like this: to see the rows and rows of buildings, shuttered tight with fear. The few citizens out and about fled into alleys at the sound of marching feet. I understand the war is already hard on them; the “foresightful” hoarding by the few has caused food shortages for the many, and the soup kitchens seldom have enough to feed all. Soldiers ransack homes, with the noble goal of redistributing any hoards they find, but too often those hoards are redistributed only to the soldiers. Are you eating well? I can only hope our family’s name is sufficient to keep you from hardship. It is well that our manor is in the far north of the city; Catarin’s men are unlikely to penetrate there.
Near midday, we engaged an enemy element, perhaps a hundred men, as they advanced up the Road of Snows. Our plan was successful; fighting fiercely, then repeatedly falling back into alleys, we slowed the enemy advance long enough for Mycale’s corresponding sortie to fortify the intersection between Royal Circle Road and the Road of Snows. Lord Errikale has shown an astonishing talent for such devious tactics; though he has no formal military rank, the man proves to be a cunning leader, walking a fine line between flexibility and treachery. Perhaps he has been consulting with our distasteful Serpentlord allies, although I’ve no clue how he might stomach their smell. Our mission complete, we returned to the Castle of Twelve… only to find it already under heavy assault.
Built a hundred years after the Black Wave, the Castle of Twelve is a ceremonial fortress, not a practical one. After all, the Guild of Knights was meant to defend the Empire through individual adventure and knight-errantry. We never considered that there might ever be fighting in the streets, as even the Tsol’teth were unable to breach the city walls. As a result, my allies were hard-pressed to defend the Castle and its many windows and doors, even with the aid of the barricades we’d cobbled together after the Battle of the Parades. Even so, we might easily have turned back the enemy, were it not for the presence of the infamous criminal, Lucaine Pyramides.
In accounts from his days as a mercenary bandit, the man has been described as a sort of incarnate demon, and now that I’ve seen him fight, I give those authors the benefit of the doubt. His fighting style wavers between madness and genius. Madness, for he spends half the battle with his sword in its sheath, avoiding blows through speed alone; genius, because when he draws his sword to fight, he turns that very act into a deadly blow. A warrior learns to detect a hundred movements of the blade, a hundred twitches of the body, and when he draws his blade, Pyramides reveals none of them. Even with his sword drawn, the man fights as if possessed. Though his sword clearly is not forged in Bladefire like that of a Knight, nevertheless it glows with arcane power, here setting men ablaze, there freezing them to the bone, there causing them to bleed their life away from a single cut. Each time he draws his blade, men around him die, giving him time to enchant his sword with some new witchery. Just as the Tsol’teth were said to practice some art of destruction unknown to mortal races, so too does this squire of hell, Pyramides. Draw what parallel you will. Mycale’s indecent detractors hint that he is “unnatural.” I submit that if anyone in this war is unnatural, it is that brigand monster Pyramides.
We fought to our utmost, but though the Avenue of Swords ran with the blood of our foe, it ran twice as deep with our own. When the order to retreat came, however, I was dismayed, for we had succeeded in separating Lucaine Pyramides from the rest of his allies. Surely, with just a little more time, we could have overwhelmed him, and damned be the cost to our own lives. So be it, though. I write this from the Selicande Lycaeum, where the remaining Knights in Mycale’s camp have been given a warm welcome. Tomorrow I am to join a sally against the Marcella Library, in the company of Lord Errikale and Prince Mycale. As the Library itself is undefended by Catarin’s men, we hope to break through their front and triumphantly invest the Library, thus winning a psychological victory. Pray for me, my love, as I pray every night for you.
Your loving husband,
Lord Damen Kephry,
Artaius Angus Hall, Barracks 104,
Selicande Lycaeum #### Lucaine Pyramides, Catarin (Poem 14)
Gold and soft diamond and pearl–
The crown is one with the soul, for her.
Empress, goddess, overarching girl–
The part is one with the whole, for her.
My sword will defend her
My sharp sword will keep her safe
My true sword will keep her safe from harm
I shall make her as immortal as my love. ### Combat and Tactics
#### From Meleus Travner, Urban Tactical Confrontation Throughout History: Case Studies, vol. 2: Seleucar
Following is a summary of the strategic progression of the First War of Succession, with accompanying figures. The subsequent twelve chapters will describe the tactical considerations of the war in exhaustive detail.
The First War of Succession can be divided into four major phases, typically referred to as “Weeks,” as each phase lasted between six and eight days. For this section, I have followed that inexact convention; the later chapters will provide a more accurate chronology. The basic street map of Seleucar is [Fig. 2.1](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig_1 "Text Game City Combat Map").
In the first Week of confrontation, the Catarines and Mycalians (as supporters of the warring heirs were called) controlled roughly similar portions of Imperial Seleucar ([Fig. 2.2](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig2 "Text Game City Combat Map")). This was to change abruptly, as each side chose a different offensive focus. Naturally, both armies placed an emphasis on capturing the Palace itself, and as a result, the Palace was never fully occupied. Whenever one side overran the Palace, they built makeshift fortifications that the other side promptly destroyed in the next sortie. Aside from the attacks on the Palace, though, there were three other offensives of note in the first week ([Fig 2.3](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig3 "Text Game City Combat Map")). In the western portion of the city, the Guild of Serpentlords, long masked by a row of nondescript shops, finally made itself known, declaring loyalty to Mycale and immediately deploying in force to clear the surrounding streets. Catarine soldiers, experienced in field maneuvers but inept at urban combat, were rapidly forced into retreat by the unconventional tactics of the Serpentlords, resulting in the loss of the entire western district. The Serpentlords, however, were unable to occupy further territory, due to their relatively small numbers, and so they satisfied themselves with patrolling their immediate surroundings, to an extent of three major city blocks.
Catarin and her military advisor, Orin Grandier, chose to concentrate their forces on the capture of the Castle of Twelve, stronghold of the Guild of Knights. They did not at that time fully appreciate that the Castle of Twelve was not carefully designed for war, and the Knights among them, untrained in urban combat, were equally unaware of the Castle’s weakness. Catarin sent a large strike force against the Royal Palace, but had half that strike force split off to attack the Castle of Twelve in a surprise maneuver, while another force proceeded along the Avenue of Swords to attack the Castle from the west. As Mycalian forces were fully committed to their attack on the Royal Palace and on the Marcella Library, the garrison at the Castle of Twelve was reinforced only by a returning group led by Damen Kephry. Quickly, the Mycalians were routed.
Mycale, meanwhile, had committed the majority of his forces to an assault on the Marcella Library. (Be advised that when I say “Mycale” or “Catarin” in any sense referring to military command, I am in fact referring to the entire high command of that faction: Errikale and Castomira on one side, and Catarin and Grandier on the other. It is unlikely that Mycale had a personal hand in any of the stratagems used during the war.) Already in possession of the Selicande Lycaeum and the Castle of Twelve, Mycale sought to take control of yet another major building, to use it as a command post and mustering point. Since the Catarine forces were concentrated in and around the Amphitheatre Kelanium, Mycale anticipated an easy victory; it was necessary simply to break through the defenses at South Riverwalk and then march down White Owl Street and Red Stag Street, destroying any patrols encountered. To turn the assault into a political coup as well, Mycale personally led the strike force. This was certainly the idea of Castomira Brangwin, as Lord Errikale would have overruled anyone else who suggested endangering the prince.
After airborn Druidic spotters reported Mycale’s offensive, Catarin sent heavy reinforcements to defend the library. The Catarine force engaged the Mycalians at the intersection of White Owl Street and Eastgate Road, fighting them to a standstill and preserving control of the Library. During this battle, Mycale was wounded by a stray arrow. History shows that this was part of Castomira’s hideous plan, for she secluded herself with him for the next two days nursing him to health, and when he emerged, he was horribly changed.
Before, Mycale had been a cretin, physically and mentally unsound, and a pedophile, visitor of the city’s most hidden and illegal pleasure-dens; now, he was perceptibly twisted, indulging desires even darker than before. Whether Castomira had unlocked his personal demons, or had implanted sinister suggestions of her own, Mycale began to exhibit a taste for pleasures that should not be indulged, and his closest supporters turned a blind eye as the young boys who habitually “visited” Mycale in his chambers began to disappear. They had refused to believe in Mycale’s broken-minded pedarasty; now, they refused to believe that his crippled evil might have deepened much further, to include torture and murder. That such voluntary blindness could exist in people who were otherwise honorable and good is unwelcome testament to the inflexibility of the human mind and spirit. Lord Errikale, Maxim Everhardt, and others all believed in the goodness and propriety of their prince, and so they put themselves under tremendous pressure by continuing in their belief. In the case of Maxim Everhardt, that pressure was to relieve itself in a nightmarish fashion. Some have suggested that the greatest tragedy of the war is that Mycale was never treated with the love and kindness that might have kept him innocent and good. Although this author would never lay claim to moral authority, pragmatism suggests that the greatest tragedy is that Mycale was not drowned as an infant, preventing the succession issue from arising at all.
It is clear, moreover, that Castomira was not simply corrupting Mycale for personal entertainment, but as part of her scheme for total domination of Seleucar. As youths disappeared within the depths of Mycale’s rooms at Selicande Lycaeum, Mycale himself began to take on a powerful aura of majesty, such that wherever he took the field, the morale of his soldiers increased a hundredfold. And when he spoke, though he often broke into a form of half-witted glossolalia, the very sound of his voice filled his men with the strength of ten, and he invariably led his soldiers to resounding victory. Mycale’s speeches were never transcribed, so it is impossible to perform a comparison, but given what later emerged regarding Castomira, it is well within the realm of possibility that she seeded Mycale’s speech with a weakened version of the Tsol’teth Litany of Obedience, its arcane powers fueled by the lives of innocents.
At the beginning of Week Two, Catarin’s control of the Castle of Twelve had cut off the Serpentlord territory from Mycale’s main zone of control (see [Fig. 2.4](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig4 "Text Game City Combat Map")). Although they could still communicate through Tell magic, which was widespread in Achaea even then, the Catarine patrols along the Avenue of Heroes and their random sorties into Heroes’ Park ensured that the Serpentlords could not receive tactical backup from their allies. And the Catarine tactical initiatives during this week ([Fig 2.5](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig5 "Text Game City Combat Map")) sealed the fate of the Serpentlords in Seleucar. Catarin sent a strong force against the Serpentlord-controlled neighborhoods, armed with hastily-prepared plans of urban combat and led by rangers with experience fighting Serpents. Although they did not directly defeat all the Serpentlords in the area, they killed many, and ransacked the hidden guildhouse, throwing the Serpentlords into disarray. As the Catarine forces advanced along rooftops and alleys in tandem, the Serpentlords were forced to evacuate their hiding places, although they left behind traps that claimed many a life. Finally, Catarine wizards destroyed the hidden wormhole located in the center of the neighborhood, just after the last Serpentlords fled through it. With the wormhole closed, the Serpentlords were unable to stage a counterattack to regain their control of the area.
Catarin’s forces were not as successful elsewhere on the map. The Serpentlords, unused to battling large numbers of opponents, retreated in the face of a well-organized force of soldiers, and so they lived on, as they always have, despite adversity. Mycale’s men, however, coming straight from the invigorating presence of their newly-charismatic ruler, were without fear, and eager to do battle. A large force made directly for the Royal Palace, and was met there by Catarin’s men as they sallied from the Castle of Twelve and from the Amphitheatre Kelanium. A second force, composed of three hundred men, paralleled the Mnemosyne before splitting into two groups, one to attack the Castle of Twelve, and one to rush the Royal Palace from the north. The Castle assault group succeeded, capturing the Castle of Twelve after a brief but bloody fight.
The force from the north would have decided the Palace battle in Mycale’s favor as well, but for the intervention of Lucaine Pyramides. As if launched from an arrow, Pyramides hurtled through the Palace and directly into the opposing force, intercepting them just as they passed through the main gate into the northern courtyard. Using this choke-point to his advantage, Lucaine killed the entire vanguard (drawing his sword and resheathing it for each kill, according to legend), then advanced northward, cutting down the entire invading group like a field of wheat, including several powerful commanders, masters of their respective fighting professions.
This was the first time Pyramides had revealed the full extent of his incredible powers, and it led to much speculation in both camps as to his true origin, be it demonic, divine, or simply alien. Pyramides never deviated from his story of being an escaped slave from a far-off land, student of a secret fighting art; however, dozens of very plausible theories give him a more arcane background. Only the monks seriously consider the possibility that Pyramides’ powers were thoroughly explained by physical discipline alone, and even they consider him to have been a supreme master of the suspiciously magic-like Kaido. At any rate, it is clear that the abilities of Lucaine Pyramides were supernatural in the sense of having no counterpart in nature or the works of man.
During the havoc surrounding the Castle of Twelve and the Royal Palace, Lord Errikale sent a small group of rangers and Serpentlords to the Marcella Library, infiltrating the enemy line. Once in position, the infiltrators launched blinding fireworks along the main streets, diverting the Catarine lines long enough for Duke Errikale to lead an infantry charge down the side streets between White Owl Street and Red Stag Street. While Catarin’s men had heavily guarded the larger intersections, these side streets held only token resistance, and Errikale was able to sweep through to the Library, occupying it completely. From there, he was able to solidify his control over the entire city sector.
Although the Catarines took control of the Royal Palace for the majority of the week, they realized that their position was untenable now that the Castle of Twelve and the Marcella Library had been captured. At the end of the week, they began an ordered withdrawal to the Halls of Justice, there to launch an assault on the Marcella Library, using the friendly Smiths’ Guild as a staging point. So as not to prompt a rapid assault on the Amphitheatre, they chose to split their forces between the Amphitheatre and the Halls of Justice, with both attacking the Library only at the last possible hour. This way, the troops stationed in the Amphitheatre would move directly from there to the Library, hopefully just as Mycale committed his forces to an attack on the Amphitheatre.
In Week Three, after four days of tense waiting and occasional skirmishes, they executed that plan ([Fig. 2.6](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig6 "Text Game City Combat Map")), and it succeeded perfectly. Just as Mycale mounted an attack from the Castle of Twelve and the Royal Palace, both units of Catarines began to move. Orin Grandier led the defense of the Amphitheatre, fighting alongside his men, waiting to be the very last person to exit the building before supervising the rear-guard action. Further battle consolidated each group’s territory as [Fig. 2.7](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig7 "Text Game City Combat Map"): a considerable loss for Catarin’s side.
Week Four saw little combat, but what did occur was highly significant. Hoping to lure the enemy into a bad tactical decision, Orin Grandier intentionally relaxed patrols along South Riverwalk near the Beggars’ Arch while increasing the guards at the bridges, hinting that he did not expect an amphibious attack. Lord Errikale, who had been winning many battles so far by using unexpected tactics, assumed that Grandier’s weakness was real, and immediately drew up plans for a simultaneous feint from all corners, masking an amphibious movement across the river between the Red Stag Street and Green Snake Way bridges ([Fig. 2.8](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig8 "Text Game City Combat Map")). This played directly into Grandier’s plans. For days previous, under cover of night, divers had taken kegs of fuel oil weighted with heavy iron and left them at the bottom of the river, fashioned so that they could be ripped asunder by pulling on a chain leading up to shore. Upon hearing the first splash of soldiers diving into the Mnemosyne, Grandier’s men pulled on their chains and emptied the contents of the barrels into the river. By the time Mycale’s men had swum halfway across the river, the oil had risen to the surface, and a single hurled torch transformed the Mnemosyne into the Phlegeton, the mythical River of Fire. This was the beginning and the end of the so-called Battle of Beggars’ Arch; the other Mycalian attacks proved toothless, as Errikale had committed his main forces to the water-borne attack, and now one-third were dead and two-thirds stared helplessly at the river of fire.
Such events are dramatic, but for the most part, the specifics of warfare interest only historians and military buffs. During this abortive “battle,” however, an event occurred that would resound on the harp-strings of a hundred thousand bards. Trenton Deis attempted to kill Lucaine Pyramides, and was defeated, then spared.
This event occurred only slightly before the Church proclamation that would inspire Lucaine and Catarin’s legendary cross-city dash ([Fig 2.9](http://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps/#Fig9 "Text Game City Combat Map"))…
### The Battle of King’s Tomb
#### From Leona Fontaine, Sentinel: The Murder of Lucaine Pyramides
> (Editor’s note: Fontaine’s work is a historical novel, not a history, and as such, some of her assumptions are challenged by scientific historians. The physical events of the following passage, however, are upheld by eyewitness accounts. Other narrative elements, such as the specific thoughts and motivations of the principles, are plausible, but open to debate.)
In Seleucar, it rains only at night.
Mages say that local mysteries of air and temperature cause the clouds to release their sorrow only after dark. Priests make holy signs in the air, and thank the benevolent gods for their unwillingness to mar the endless sunny days of jungle-locked Seleucar’s noble reign. The skies, indifferent, continue on as they always have; floating blue-white and aloof during Helios’ circuit, then falling upon the city with the sound of a hundred rapids. During the season of summer rains, the city becomes a wetland for an hour each midnight. Bearing Catarin deSangre in his arms, Lucaine Pyramides crosses the rainscape like a phantom crane, a half-seen shadow blocking out reflected lamplight for a split-second at a time. By the time ripples spread from his footsteps, he is five yards hence; by the time the crashing rain tears those ripples apart, he is gone.
Trenton Deis knows nothing but the rain. The sun long ago became distasteful to him, a gauche reminder of the idiotic concept of “clarity.” Sunlight is as na�ve and mindless as innocence itself, and so Deis has come to embrace the Seleucarian night, and its summer downpour. To him, the night is home, and its varied thieves, gamblers, prostitutes, and drug-sellers are family. But he is apart even from them. Half-mad, he is called, but he is all too sane, crouching atop the Opera Hall, watching the silent progress of Lucaine Pyramides from beneath the broad brim of his pointed hat. And he thought back to the moment when his life had crystallized around him.
The flames, that day, were a wall of light arising from a well of blackness; nothing is so fearsomely contrary to nature as fire creeping across water. Trenton Deis took courage from it. The wheel of the law turns forever, and the wheel of fortune, and Trenton Deis lived from revolution to revolution, revolt hidden deep in his soul. Hidden in his cloak, a long straight sword, anointed with a single drop of the bitter blood of Castomira Brangwin, layered with poisons, enchanted with fell magics.
Pyramides stood alone, that day, gazing into the flames as if into a future of hopeless snows. Fearing his strangeness, his allies kept their distance. Driven by helpless desire, Lucaine’s temper flared easily in those days, the days before he found his peace. To speak aloud his love to her was more than he could do, and so his aura of despair drew an empty circle around him as surely as Three Moons did in combat. And into that circle came Trenton Deis.
Trenton Deis was feared, for he was without fear. He met his victims face to face, killed them without ceremony of respect or concern for self-preservation, he left the scene at the same mechanical pace he approached it. Among his associates, he was called the “point-blank assassin,” and was regarded as insane, or beloved of the gods . . . or both, each being an apt euphemism for the other.
Lucaine Pyramides was a jet-black icon silhouetted against a towering wall of flame, impossible to miss. Trenton Deis lurched forward, as if tripping, revealing his blade only at the last moment, aimed directly at Pyramides’ back. With a hiss, his blade cut through the fabric of Lucaine’s three-quarter coat . . . and into open air. Still staring into the ever-shifting flames, Lucaine Pyramides had avoided the opening blow by inches. Still staring into the flames, he swung his sheathed sword directly into Trenton’s temple, felling him. “Don’t give him a warrior’s death. Let him hang at dawn,” he said to the soldiers who rushed to subdue the stunned assassin.
As Deis’s head cleared, the world resolved itself around him in a slow progression of images: his hands, bound in iron manacles; the roaring flames, waves of heat beating against his face as he approached the lonely swordsman; Castomira’s dead eyes as she hired him for this ill-fated contract; the edge of Lucaine’s jaw, a bare glint of flame off the oblique lens of his eye, as his peripheral vision targeted Trenton for the disabling blow. And as Trenton Deis’s world resolved itself around him, within him arose a new emotion, one that he’d used to his great advantage but never before experienced: hatred.
And now, manacle-cuts still raw on his wrists, Trenton Deis is free, fugitive, hunted and hunter, tracking the rain-swept flight of Lucaine Pyramides and his noble charge. He will not even strike them tonight. His lifetime of uncaring is behind him. No longer does he wish to “get it over with,” to kill and stalk away, to attack without taunts or preamble. He can guess, now, what love is, because he knows what hatred is: it is an attraction, a cold fire, a desire to be known and recognized, a twisted desire for respect and acquiescence. For Trenton, it is not enough to kill . . . he will see Lucaine humbled. And for that to happen, he must first see Lucaine rise high.
On White Owl Street, a block from Riverwalk, Lucaine rose high, a single leap carrying him from cobblestone to rooftop, where he settled as quietly as a nesting owl, and set his princess gently on her feet. (Two blocks away, Trenton Deis folded his spyglass and descended a drainpipe, to track his prey from below.) “From here, we enter enemy territory, my lady. Are you certain of your vision?”
“I am certain, Lucaine. The Staff of Nicator has returned to the King’s Tomb. And only I may retrieve it.”
“Then prepare yourself, for we will move quickly from this point on.”
“Quickly? The world was a blur all the way from the Library. Do you intend to move between the raindrops? Outrun the sound of thunder?”
“Yes, I do.”
Catarin in his arms again, Lucaine moved. His words were not mere boast; at a dead run, he crossed rooftops, leapt across canyon streets, reading the wind and rain, and only one drop out of ten found its way to Catarin’s skin. Whether through careful planning or blind instinct, the outlaw fencer found his way through Mycale’s patrols, clearing one in a single stupendous bound that began in the darkness before their torches and ended in the darkness behind. And then they were on the riverbank, nostrils pinched against the lasting reek of expended oil, the legacy of Beggars’ Arch. Without slowing pace, Lucaine ran along the very surface of the water, cutting tiny wakes in its rain-tormented surface. The darkness of the river was absolute. If Mycale’s guards scanned it idly for silent riverboats, they did not mention the sight of a single swordsman, carrying a woman, running silently across the surface of the black water; for who wants to admit that he is mad, and seeing visions? Lucaine and Catarin passed unnoticed beneath the bridge of the Avenue of Gold, and then up the banks into the Heroes’ Park.
“We’ve bought a lot of time. But they’re going to know we’re here as soon as I kill the guards outside the tomb. The enemy officers are certain to have Deathsight.”
“I know, Lucaine . . . I’ll move quickly.”
Scattering wet leaves in his wake, Lucaine rushed through the woods of the Heroes’ Park, one arm cocked to shield Catarin’s face from whip-like twigs. At lethal speed, Lucaine wove between tree-trunks, avoiding the few soldiers who patrolled the woods. As he broke into the open facing North Bastion Road, he picked up speed again, traveling as quickly as a diving hawk, feet barely touching the ground. Sighting an oncoming trio of guardsmen, Lucaine took flight, literally running up the city wall to attain the northern battlements. This time, he cursed his luck as he heard cries of alarm and disbelief, quickly left behind at ground level. Speed poured upon speed, Lucaine began to breathe heavily, as the continuous run began to tax him. Flitting along the parapet, he encountered another of Mycale’s soldiers, fruitlessly attempting to shelter a tobacco-filled pipe from the rain. Lucaine sprinted past him, a moving blur in the darkness, and the startled guard slipped on the rain-slick stone and fell to his death on the ground below. Lucaine had eaten a skullcap mushroom that day, and the guard’s death sounded in his consciousness; he knew that every military officer on duty must surely have experienced the same thing. He heard Catarin utter a quiet prayer for the man’s soul, and echoed it. Then he whispered a prayer for himself, as well, for he knew he would kill more of Mycale’s innocent loyalists before the night was done.
Lucaine dropped fifty feet to land gently back within the city. The entrance of the King’s Tomb was brightly lit, and even from the other side of Bastion Road, Lucaine could tell that the guards had not yet been alerted.
“None of the guards have Deathsight, it seems. Are you ready? As I take them, you run past me into the tomb. I’ll cover you.”
“Thank you. Good luck, Lucaine,” Catarin whispered in his ear. Lucaine . . . her bold defender. Soon, every Mycalian soldier in the city would converge on the King’s Tomb. She kissed him on the cheek, knowing she might never see him again save as a corpse. “Let’s begin.”
For weeks, fruitless battle had painted streets with blood, turned heart against mind, friend against friend. The Church deliberated long in crystal halls, and prayed for long hours. Church officials held closed Mass to beg the gods for guidance. Their neutrality was required by long tradition. The Seleucarian Empire existed by grace of Sarapis, not by grace of the Church, and so the Church held no sway in governance. But when it seemed that the Empire’s fate might be decided by force of arms, the Church was divided as well. In spite of the continuous debate over shrine placement, the Church was known for impartiality: in many places, priests were called as judges, for their honor was above reproach. It was this honor that forced the Church to bitter dispute. Was it nobler to back Catarin, obviously the better ruler? Or to allow Mycale’s victory by remaining neutral? For three weeks, the elders of the Church begged Sarapis for insight.
And insight they received, in mighty vision that caused the temple halls to ring with divine echoes for a full day afterward. The Staff of Nicator, thought lost during the Black Wave, was once again within the boundaries of Sapience. Whoever found the symbol of Nicator’s reign would take on the patriarch’s majesty as the indisputable monarch of Seleucar. The Church sent emissaries far and wide, to all the cities, proclaiming the news.
The news that the succession had led to warfare was a shock to Ashtan and Shallam alike. They had heard news of riots only, for Grandier and Errikale had shared in the work of hiding the civil strife, holding the peace of Seleucar far higher than personal victory. But the Church’s vision was a message of peace, as well; breaking off all battle, supporters of each contender spread out into the countryside, searching for the legendary Staff.
The questers followed a hundred rumors, legends, bardic tales. At times they did come to blows; private museums were ransacked, castles looted, travelers searched at knife-point. But the Quest for the Staff, in all its turmoil, claimed no lives, caused little lasting damage. One week after the Church’s proclamation, the Staff had not been found, and no one knew just where it might reside . . .
Except for Catarin deSangre, even now walking through the darkness of the tomb, past ranks of royal relatives sealed in gold-inlaid sarcophagi. Awakened by the presence of their sister, regal shades arose, saying “Catarin, my dear, go further on; what you seek is just a little ways away, down the Hall of Years, further in the past.” Time moves differently within the Tomb of Kings; the centuries of Seleucar’s blood tumble in upon one another. One who would reach the tomb of the First must stride backwards along the branches of history, must feel the kingdom’s history unravel itself around her, until she stands in the center of a small city with a giant army, and sees the million lights collected against the Black Wave.
No Tsol’teth, Lucaine Pyramides was all too human, yet a thousand lights smashed and swirled around him. Despairingly human, he cut and slashed endlessly, deftly blocking the entrance to the tomb, but suffering a hundred minor wounds in the progress. His style relied on dodging blows, but here he could only stand his ground, ensuring that Mycale’s frantic troops could not reach his only love. Twelve empty wooden vials were scattered at his feet, and only three remained clipped to his belt. His pouches of defensive herbs were slim, his pipes near empty. Soon, he would be forced to submit, even as the bodies of his foes piled up against the pillars of the tomb entrance.
The enemy fell back, and Lucaine sheathed his sword, breathing deep, ragged breaths. He drank another draft of healing elixir, then wiped blood from his brow where cuts had been a moment before. Mycale’s troops looked at him with suspicious awe. A few brave souls moved in to drag away the bodies of their fallen friends, flirting with the edges of Lucaine’s circle of death. To husband his energy, Lucaine let them do their work. When the corpses were cleared away, the soldiers yet hesitated. “He weakens. Look at him sweat! Look at him gasp! See how he hoards his healing, gauges his defenses! One more attack, and he will surely fall!” The voice was that of Duke Lucius Errikale.
“I knew you’d come after me, Errikale. Since you never smile, I had you pegged as a suicidal sort.”
“Ironic words from one who stands in plain torchlight behind enemy lines! Don’t you know that you’re doomed?”
“When you count up how many of your men I’ve killed so far, tell me. It’s either two hundred seventy-three or two hundred seventy-five, but there was this stretch where I was killing so many people at a stroke that I sort of lost count. Oh, wait, it doesn’t matter, because I’m doomed. How silly of me!” Lucaine grinned amiably, desperately masking his exhaustion. Two more waves of enemies. He predicted he could handle only that many, perhaps another fifty men, and then he would finally succumb, dropping his guard for just the critical moment needed for them to split his skull. Every second he could rest before they swarmed him again was another second in which Catarin might return from the Tomb, Nicator’s Staff blazing in her hand.
And swarm him they did, at Errikale’s command. Lucaine killed four of them as he drew his blade, slashing in a great diagonal from sky to ground. Then, holding Three Moons before him with both hands, he summoned the power of fire to his blade, and his attackers fell back from the sudden furnace blast of heat. Three Moons shone like a tiny sun as Lucaine attacked, casting fiery rainbows in all directions, driving his opponents away from the doorway as a goodwife might shoo rats with a broom. But Mycale’s men were enraged, and scented victory in Lucaine’s trembling stance; they attacked again, tenacious as hunting dogs, giving their very lives to put a single nick in Pyramides’ skin.
At every fresh attack, Lucaine caught an enemy stroke with his blade, snaked around it, and counter-attacked with a deadly blow. But during each capture and counter, three other attacks landed, and Lucaine suffered. But he did not die. Already, once, he had exchanged inner energy for physical health; he could not do this again. But he sustained himself through this battle on determination alone, and drank from his final elixir of healing like a man fresh from a desert.
Slashing in eight directions, he blessed the points of the compass with blood, and another Mycalian soldier fell . . . and Lucaine was, again, alone in the doorway of the royal crypt. “Is that all?” he asked, and was unable to banish irony from his tone of voice. He was very nearly dead. He raised his last elixir to his lips, and found it empty. “Here,” he said, tossing it in the direction of Lucius Errikale. “Could you go get me a refill?” Conserving the last of his inner power, Lucaine allowed the flames of his sword to fade and die. Blood from unhealed wounds stained Lucaine’s skin. The very beating of his heart was turned against him, as it forced precious blood out of his body and into hostile air.
“You are remarkably amusing, Pyramides,” said Duke Errikale, stepping into the torch-lit circle before the Tomb. And for the first time in his life, Duke Lucius Errikale smiled. His venomous fangs glistened in the flickering light, and a murmur of shock ran through his loyal ranks. “I will regret killing you.”
“I will regret dying,” Lucaine said, with weary honesty.
Lucius produced a slim knife from within his clothing, a bone-white dirk that glowed faintly green even in the orange torchlight. “I am curious to see how your Three Moons fares against the Arsenic Fang. The holy weapons of two ancient traditions, pitted one against the other . . . it is poetic, is it not?”
“Do you have any last words, Lord Errikale? Since you’ve revealed yourself as a Serpentlord, you might want to make some pithy little statement before you die. You know, to sort of set your affairs in order.”
“I’ll write a whole memoir, Pyramides, after this is over.”
“I’m sure that memoir will be a best-seller in Hell, then.”
Lucaine Pyramides is a master of The Two Arts, a sword style surrounded with the utmost secrecy. Only once did he mention the name of one of his techniques: the Desperate Angel, the ultimate expression of defiance.
Drawing upon his deepest reserves of hope and fear, passion and regret, Lucaine took all his exhaustion, all his helpless rage, all his futile dreams, and sent them roaring into his blade. The silvery light of heaven, that beckons the dying as they cross death’s threshold, suffused Lucaine’s living features as his sword began to burn with pure silver. Realizing his peril too late, Lucius raised his dirk in feeble self-defense. He sensed even then that his gesture was worthless.
Lucaine’s feet seemed not even to move, yet in an instant Lucaine was behind Errikale, then to one side, then the other, then behind him again. Three Moons left a brilliant trail that briefly formed a broken star, four stellar lines drawn sharp in the dim torchlight. Lucaine shook blood from his sword with a movement of his wrist. Duke Lucius Errikale fell to the ground in pieces, and the Arsenic Fang, shattered by the first blow, sprayed poisonous acid over the body.
Lucaine slowly sheathed his sword, knowing that come what may, he had no strength to draw it again that night. His legs shook beneath him. As Three Moons came to rest in its sheath, Lucaine fell to his knees, then toppled face-forward onto the stones of the entryway of King’s Tomb.
The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the pale blue slipper of Catarin deSangre, and the hem of her dress, lit from above by the Staff of Nicator, as if by a hundred suns.
### Unrequited Love, Unquenched Hatred
#### Public Security Document #3573, *Seleucar Imperial Guard*
**Item 1**. Guard Captain Maxim Everhardt has been relieved of his duties. I am quite aware of the rumors, and wish to make this extremely clear: Prince Mycale did NOT engage in unnatural practices. Captain Everhardt murdered the prince due to temporary insanity of unknown cause, not on the basis of some fictitious “discovery” of the Prince’s fictitious habits.
Item 2. The guards who carried out the “cleansing” of Prince Mycale’s chamber after his death are not to discuss the circumstances of that assignment or the condition of the chamber. All guardsmen will receive an additional bonus contingent on their obedience to this directive.
**Item 3.** Should Captain Everhardt be convicted, his execution and burial are to be private, by command of Princess Catarin.
**Item 4.** Castomira Brangwin disappeared after Catarin’s retrieval of the Staff of Nicator. As she has not made a formal surrender to our victorious forces, she has been declared a city enemy. Apprehend her alive if possible.
**Item 5.** Princess Catarin has chosen to spend a year in mourning for her brother, before formally taking the crown. However, she is the heir, and all guardsmen are to behave as if she were already Empress, in every respect. Infractions will be punished. The succession troubles are over now, and we must put them firmly behind us.
That is all.
Eteocles Tarraquene, Captain of the Guard #### From Queen Catarin I, *Footnotes*
> (Editor’s Note: Footnotes is a queer book to begin with. Catarin intended it as her last word on many issues that had arisen during her reign, ranging from controversial tax reforms, to rebel uprisings, to her behavior at the funeral of Castomira Brangwin. The book is most important to historians as the only source of information on Lucaine Pyramides’ past, and the mysterious country from which he came. The following eleven paragraphs are the only reliable account of Pyramides’ history; the few other accounts come from mercenary acquaintances of Lucaine’s, and are widely considered to be tall tales. This text also contains the only knowledge extant of the mysterious nation of Kashar.)
**Chapter XIV: The Past of Lucaine Pyramides, As He Told It to Me**
Lucaine Pyramides was born in the country of Kashar, far to the southwest, across a violent and dangerous ocean. His parents were slaves, themselves descendants of humans who had been shipwrecked on that continent perhaps a hundred years ago. Although Lucaine was largely of Sapience stock, his muddy hazel eyes and bronzed skin are evidence of several foreign ancestors. Even his direct father may have been one of the Kashari taskmasters who ruled the slave pits with whip and shout; among the slaves, there was no way to be assured of paternity, and no need.
Lucaine was sold away when he was very young, and raised as a house slave for a noble master. In this he was very lucky; many slaves were ill-used, and died in their prime, but if he served well, a house slave might live into old age, and when he could work no more he might ascend to heaven as a sacrifice to the gods.
As a small child, Lucaine had some chores, but was allowed to run free for much of his day. He was taught the basics of reading, writing, and maths, as shopping and contracting were to be a part of his duties. Watching the other slaves, he learned some of the essentials of gardening, and carpentry, and other crafts. But the most important thing that ever happened to him, the one thing that set him on the path that he would follow for the rest of his life, occurred when he was seven, and just about to become a full-time slave, with a full day’s schedule of duties.
Even among the house slaves, life was often harsh. The stronger or more intelligent dominated the weak, taking the easiest work, or the lion’s share of the mess. And although as children the bullying had been “good-natured”, as Lucaine put it, when he was seven he was deemed “worthy” of the interest of one of the older slaves, a lad of thirteen years or more. Lucaine did not remember the exact cause of the fight, but he does remember being forced into a corner of the slaves’ kitchen, shouting defiance even after receiving blow after blow. One of the adult slaves, the old guard captain, watched the fight impassively, making no move to rescue young Lucaine. Only when Lucaine picked up a carving knife and slashed his oppressor to the bone did the captain step in and stop the fight. Lucaine expected to be scourged, or maybe even executed, for using deadly force against an older and more valuable slave, but instead the captain began teaching him the secret Kashar sword style, a fighting system so covered in secrecy that it has no name other than “The Two Arts.”
The noble house which owned Lucaine had needed a house slave, but they needed a new warrior slave even more. They accepted the captain’s suggestion that Lucaine be promoted to the house guard, and that was when Lucaine was given his sword “Three Moons”; for in Kashar every sword has a name, even those given to slaves, and each is hand-crafted differently.
The Two Arts, Lucaine tells me, are the Draw Art and the Blade Art. If both are practiced to their utmost, it is easier to kill a man by drawing the blade from its sheath than by swinging it while it is naked. I would never have believed this if I had not seen him kill dozens of people in single motions, unsheathing his sword for only a second at a time. Furthermore, the Two Arts require a deep understanding of the inner rhythms and energies of the human body. To my ears, this resembled the Kai disciplines practiced by the Sentaari, and Lucaine admitted that I am probably correct.
When he was seventeen, Lucaine did the unheard-of: he fled his master’s residence, killing his teacher in the process. As he tells it, he did not wish to fight his captain and instructor, but when he was caught in the act of escape, the captain forced Lucaine to fight for his life. And Lucaine is certain that his teacher allowed him to win. By pausing each deadly gambit just short of a killing blow, Lucaine’s teacher silently gave away the last secrets of the style. Every time I saw Lucaine meditating and asked what was on his mind, he said, “My teacher’s last battle.”
There is nowhere in Kashar that an escaped slave can flee to. The nation is limited entirely by its natural boundaries: impassable mountains, rocky shoals, bottomless chasms, everlasting storms. Navigation is unknown there, so sailors rightly fear to leave sight of land. Lucaine dared, however. Reaching a northern port, with dogs and men hot on his trail, he boarded a ship and forced the sailors to embark, killing half of them before they surrendered to him. As they set out to sea, he was forced to kill even more of them, until he was sailing with only a skeleton crew. He didn’t sleep or eat for three days, fearful of mutiny or poison; fortunately, his ship was overtaken by deep-sea pirates who used a form of celestial navigation to hide outside view of shore and prey on the coastal sea-lanes. When the pirates boarded Lucaine’s ship, Lucaine immediately challenged and killed their captain in single combat, and forced their ship to sail northeastward, on the promise of rich spoils should they reach Lucaine’s rumored ancestral homeland.
In the end, the pirates did make land on those shores of Sapience furthest from human habitation; and as they made their final harbor, their ship, weakened by storms, struck a reef and sank. The pirates who escaped drowning turned on Lucaine, demanding that he lead them to the “rich cities and defenseless mansions” he had promised them. Upon realizing that he’d been lying to them from the start, they rushed at him, and he killed them to the man.
Thus Lucaine Pyramides was left alone and friendless in the barest wilds of Sapience. Eventually he made his way inland, and learned the language of our continent, and became a common mercenary of most uncommon ability; and there his more well-known history begins.
#### From Morlana ni’Choya, Convergence: *Annotated Letters of Catarin I*
> This letter, written in the first month after Catarin’s discovery of the Staff of Nicator, is the first recorded instance of her feelings for Lucaine Pyramides. Although of course Leona Fontaine’s famous novel describes Catarin as being attracted to him at first sight, Catarin’s own words hint at a somewhat later starting point for her emotions.
>
> Riana Galford was the second daughter of the Earl of Jaru, one of Catarin’s most dedicated supporters. However, Catarin’s friendship with her dates from the three years they roomed together at the Lesser Shrine of Vastar, a nunnery that also housed an exclusive girls’ academy. Although Catarin made friends easily, and tended to keep them even after years of separation, Riana Galford is one of only three with whom she shared her feelings about Lucaine.
>
> Like all nobles of that or any other time, Catarin had an ingrained habit of circumspection. Although she speaks in detail about her feelings, she never names names, lest the letter surface and cause embarrassment. This habit was inflexible and nearly subconscious. The consequences of indiscretion are known all too well; she never thought for a moment that her obliqueness might in itself cause pain.
Dear Riana,
I’m sorry my letters have been so serious lately. Affairs of state press hard on me. Even with all of Lord Grandier’s help, I don’t feel truly fit to take the throne. I’ve been using this time as much to prepare for rulership as to grieve for my poor brother. Since Mycale was so sickly as a child, Father made sure I learned some statesmanship in case Mycale should succumb to some childhood illness . . . but he never taught me exactly how complex and brutal politics can be. The people who backed Mycale are still stubborn about me. I wish I could pass on this burden to someone else, but it is mine alone to bear. The Staff chose me.
That’s something I’m worried about. I’m sworn never to relate the visions that came to me in the King’s Tomb, but I can say that for the first few hours after I received the Staff, it glowed with all its storied radiance. I was told that “the true blood of Nicator, who was born on the Sangre Plains and whose parents were slain there; the child of the regal blood will unlock the power of the Staff in time of greatest need, and of greatest strength and defiance.” And the Staff did shine, and all bowed before it, but soon after I’d secured the reluctant fealty of the opposing armies, the Staff flickered out and grew cold. Where Nicator used its divine glow as a constant reminder of his foreordained dominion, I can rely only on myself and my allies. I fear that perhaps I lack the strength that my ancestors had. I can only pray to the gods for guidance.
And I thank the gods that I have good friends to rely on. Lord Grandier has proven as true a friend to me as he was to my father. He’s helped me negotiate the minefields of court, to such extent that I’m beginning to feel like the ruler I know I must become. Moreover, he’s taken most of the responsibilities on himself, dealing with the Council of Lords and the Hall of Patricians, clearing the way for my coronation. Ashtan and Shallam have dithered over whether to acknowledge me formally. There has never been a female ruler of Seleucar. There’s not even really a word for such a person; Lord Grandier has coined the word “empress,” but it’s much more likely that history will remember me as a queen, even though it remembers my ancestors as emperors.
Lord Grandier has been a solid stone in the past month’s quicksand, but I’ve got another person to rely on, too. I don’t want to say too much . . . there might be a man in my life before long. Remember the boys we swooned over when we were fifteen? They were nothing before this man. Every time I acknowledge his bow, I’m amazed that he’s sworn service to me, when he is clearly without peer. I fear to commit too much to paper, for I know too well that these feelings can quickly prove empty, or be destroyed by some sudden revelation. Remember my brief affair with that dashing young nobleman? The one who sent me the lilies? The sting of that foolishness still resides in my heart.
> Historical perspective reveals this “dashing young nobleman” to be the future Earl of Tomaque, Zoltan deChalce. His journal entries suggest that he courted Catarin for his personal advancement, but unwittingly led her to overestimate the depth of his feelings for her. Given the extremely rigid rules of social conduct that pertained at that level of society, it is unlikely that any physical impropriety took place. Nonetheless, when Zoltan broke off the affair, Catarin was heartbroken. Details such as this have been glossed over in formal histories, but the real Catarin was far more interesting and human than the storybook heroine.
I will tell you more as I become more sure of my feelings, and the worthiness of their object. Wish me luck!
Yours,
Catarin deSangre #### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 21)*
“The sword shines death . . . without mercy . . . kill!”
(warrior chant of Kashar) My only poetry is my sword:
Strike and counter, thrust, riposte,
Direct, sinister, heavenly.
From earth to sky I draw my blade,
Watch it glitter in the light;
Beauty lives from fight to fight—
All is one; the fight is all.
Yet Catarin wakes poetry in me
That needs no streak of blood to earn its pay
And Catarin wakes poetry in me
That melds my words with yearning, learns the way
To soar up skyward, freer than my sword,
Freer than my earthbound soul:
For Catarin wakes heresy in me.
My soul was dead for years, pledged for years to a dead god,
My every deed a burnt offering to Combat, Matsuhama.
And now my faith is shaken by this girl I could not kill.
For once, for love, for a moment or two, my dancing blade is still. #### From Morlana ni’Choya, *Convergence: Annotated Letters of Catarin I*
Dear Alkiera,
I’m becoming more and more convinced that this man is the one for me. In my position, I must give my heart only with greatest caution, so I must still hold back until I am absolutely certain; but sometimes I’m nearly overwhelmed. Even at fifteen, glancing across a ballroom floor at my momentary crush, I never felt so completely . . . idiotic? Yes, and wonderful!
When infatuation is a cart of bricks barreling downhill, reason makes a poor handbrake. When we took that walk through Kephry Park last month, I whispered in your ear who I loved. You met him at the ball, didn’t you? Do you understand how I feel? Do you think he’s as wonderful as I do? I hope not, for then I would have to exile you out of jealousy.
> The ball Catarin mentions is the crowning event in the annual Festival of the Gates in Imperial Seleucar. The four gates of the city, each believed sacred to a different god, are blessed in rituals throughout the day, then two parades march through the city, one from east to west and one from north to south, intersecting at the Royal Square in an elaborate rehearsed interchange. That year, the parades’ routes had been changed, as the traditional meeting at the Royal Square might have been considered tasteless. The ball, however, was held at the Palace as usual, and even the socially awkward Lucaine Pyramides was in attendance. Though he politely danced with the many women who sought his attention, and did so with exceptional grace (being a quick study of complex physical movements), he spoke no more than five words at a time. In her own diaries, Lady Alkiera described him as “silent, verging on sullen . . . unexceptional except perhaps in dexterity,” and was astonished to learn of Catarin’s attraction to him.
The rebuilding of the national polity proceeds apace. My preliminary visits to Ashtan and Shallam suggest that a great deal of bridge-building must occur before they are prepared to fully accept me as sovereign. Lord Grandier still insists that I should “expedite coronation,” but I feel in my heart that if I assume the throne now, without the express support of all my countrymen, I will be little more than an usurper. To win the loyalty of the underkings under such a circumstance would be thrice as difficult. I will carry out the rest of my year of mourning for Mycale; that, at least, is an honest reason for my delay, if not the only one. Please give your father and mother my love, but save some for yourself. I miss you, and will surely arrange to visit you the next time I travel to Tasur’ke.
Yours,
Catarin deSangre #### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 32)*
Floating lilies cross the marble floor
White dress petals shine with sequin dew
Reed-strong men, broken, quick to heal
The water is brackish with plots and dreams. Floating lilies swirl in gossip’s wake
Dashing men, like reeds at water’s edge
I dare the current: move me if you can.
I walk the surface of the lake of schemes. Floating lilies look to me for love
Swaying reeds envision my defeat
Their words are fabrication, water silk
But if lies are fabric, I can see the seams. I walk the surface of the lake, unaware
Catarin walks the bottom, as if water were air.
Once, for a moment, we dance;
We speak of knights and strangers, plots and danger…
This lake drowns romance. #### From Alain, *One Thousand Haiku, Five with Names*
*Castomira*
Rain mist is brilliance
Omen bird fulfills itself
In full emptiness #### From The Sealed Files of Castomira Brangwin
It’s been six months since I went into hiding. Mycale is dead, killed by his most trusted servant, just as I planned. While I was in the city, I layered Everhardt in enchantments of blindness. As soon as I left, Everhardt understood what had been happening in Mycale’s rooms all along, and he conveniently killed the only person who could link Mycale’s evil to my own.
To the lords who supported Mycale, I’m still a hero. Mycale was a monster, Lucius was a Serpentlord, but they have no such label for sweet, brave Castomira. I’m their mascot, as Catarin was to her side. Men love to have a defenseless woman to protect. They fight harder. Most of the lords outside Seleucar are willing to fight on my side. A hundred thousand men await my call to muster. I’ve been reading history. The speeches of Nicator are unintentionally hilarious. He speaks of a nation without internal conflict or war, existing only to fight evil. It seems he has failed, for now the evil is within.
I expected a challenge, but Catarin has simply given me the opportunity I need. She hasn’t ascended to the throne! Out of mourning for Mycale, yet! Even I could not have cut her throat as beautifully as she’s done for herself. In six months, she will rise to become Empress of Seleucar. But I am already six months pregnant, and before Catarin can lay a finger on the crown, I will lodge the claim of Mycale’s son. My powers have assured that the baby will be male.
Many supported Mycale, for he was a man, while Catarin most evidently was not. And Mycale was ill-formed and useless! How many more will support my darling baby Parni, whom they can mold to their own will as he grows up? And they must come to me, for it is I who will control the child. Finally, I will have what I have sought for so long: Seleucar in the palm of my hand, and Catarin’s throat beneath my heel.
Deis failed at Beggar’s Arch, but I have spoken to him at length since then. Our plans are well-laid. Trenton has many associates, and the right amount of gold can orchestrate any number of assassins, like a conductor’s baton. Tune your ears: there will be a symphony of death.
#### From Morlana ni’Choya, *Convergence: Annotated Letters of Catarin I*
Dear Alkiera,
It is final. I have fallen firmly in love. Perhaps my emotion will prove to be the utmost foolishness, but I care not a bit: it is true, and it will last. When first he presented me his sword, I did not suspect what power he would come to have over my heart. But through the battles that followed, physical and spiritual, he remained at my side. He guarded me, took fierce wounds for me, listened to me when I thought aloud, sympathized with my causes, supported me in my angers, commiserated with me in my moments of sadness. And I must come to admit that I love him for it, more than mere infatuation can explain. It is too perfect, and too tragic . . . I the princess, he the noble knight, casting longing glances at each other across a crowded room.
How can you understand my emotion now, though? You are newly wed, married scarce a year, and you and your husband knew as children that you were made for one another. Your story is so perfectly charming that no bard could ever make more than a cinquain of it. But I am lost and burning, weighted with destiny as with heavy stones, and until my true love speaks his mind and heart aloud, I cannot be free. Perhaps I shall die of a broken heart, and when historians view these letters, perhaps my love, by then gray-haired and dour, will read these words and cry, seeing at last that it truly was him that I loved, and for his own sake I could not be the first to voice my emotions. But I can at least let you know. There is one man who has served me better than any other, and he deserves my love more than any man alive.
Your loving friend,
Catarin deSangre P.S. Here is the locket you lent me those many months ago. I’m sorry for the delay in returning it.
> This letter describes no one but Lucaine Pyramides. Although Catarin never for a moment lacked ardent suitors, she showed none of them even a fifth of the favor that she showed Lucaine, and none of the suitors, in their turn, served Catarin even a twentieth as well as he. Lucaine was named head of her personal bodyguard. Off-duty, Lucaine was invited to every function Catarin attended. Lucaine and Catarin often conversed in private, behind closed doors: a practice that might have been considered scandalous if the recent wars had not birthed an atmosphere of daring and romance.
>
> The common folk assumed that the two were lovers already. The court was close enough to the princess to know that matters were not so clear-cut; but those who claimed to be in the know, whether they claimed the princess a virgin or a vixen, were unconvincing. In any case, this fact is indisputable: if the princess proclaimed her love for “the one man who has served me better than any other,” that man could only be Lucaine. But if Catarin had only understood just how unworthy Lucaine considered himself, she might have made her phrasing even more explicit.
Dear Alkiera,
I struggle to avoid the sin of pride. My royal blood and upbringing guarantees that no matter what I do, I will always have an overtone of haughtiness. In recognizing this, I strive to minimize it. Even an empress should not be imperious, in defiance of all logic.
> Catarin’s best attempts at humility only made her look condescending, in truth. Fortunately, it was not long before she learned that it is possible, even preferable, for a queen to be gracious and compassionate without being polite or approachable.
But peasants and princesses alike must sometimes boast, and this time I believe I’ve truly trounced my troubles. Surely, my knightly beloved must express his feelings to me now!
For so long, he has been silent, yet I can see in his eyes and his stance that he loves me. I’m almost positive. But I can’t quite be sure… and it would be improper for me to speak to him of love before he has broached the topic. Not only would it be unladylike, but my position as heiress would place him under pressure to submit to me even if he did not love me in his heart. I would never know for certain that he truly loved me back! And yet, surely he is silent only because he fears rejection? I try to encourage him in small ways, but men are sometimes blind and stubborn in matters of the heart.
So I have outflanked his self-imposed ignorance. My knight had business to attend to in Tasur’ke, and so I gave him a note to take to you. Surely you’ve already received it, for none can travel overland as swiftly as he. In that note, I declare my love for him in the most unmistakable of terms. And, as you’ve already noticed, the envelope was not sealed. An “oversight” on my part. You got your locket back? It was folded into the letter in such a way that the weight of the locket would pull the note out of the envelope, causing it to flutter open. A tiny enchantment purchased from a local wizard should have drawn his eye inescapably to the sentence, “I have fallen firmly in love.” And, reading that, if he truly loves me, he would be unable to avoid reading the rest of the letter, regardless of my privacy. Surely he must know now that I love him . . . I can only hope I am correct, and he loves me back. I will tell you more when I hear it.
Your devoted friend,
Catarin deSangre ### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 36)*
Twenty years of darkness made my eyes sharp
I sought the single sun among myriad stars
As I killed for shining gold, I sought the true light.
True light of dreams that I
could not deny. Twenty years of darkness; never to love,
Never to touch solid stone; never to breathe.
The more evil I became, the greater my need
For redemption, perfection
an end to deceit. Twenty years of self-deceit: Catarin, the truth.
In her name I hear the words “Lucaine, your soul is clear.”
And I am bound to her with golden wire, sick with desire
For her, and I know all too well
that she cannot be mine. Twenty years of darkness.
How many more in light?
The sinner Pyramides lurks in darkness
Hound of justice, strong right hand . . .
She should not stoop to pick me up.
I leave her to her “noble knight”
And dream that I am happy,
That I rest within the light. #### From Morlana ni’Choya, *Convergence: Annotated Letters of Catarin I*
Dear Portia,
I told you before of my stratagem with the note. Alkiera had a psychometrist examine the note, when I requested it, and she reports that my guardian did read it, and reacted to it with strong emotions. And he has responded only with subtle rejections, one after another, in response to all of my subtle invitations. It is clear that although he has received my message, he does not share my feelings.
> “Psychometry” was the art, now lost to all but the most learned psychics, of reading the past and future of a material object. Emotions and events connected to the object could be divined by an experienced mystic. But in the case of the strongest emotions—hatred, thwarted love, desperation—only the presence of emotion could be detected, not its exact nature.
Forgive my emotionless prose. Know that I feel loss, and anger, and desire. But should I use a more expressive style in this letter, I would blur the ink with tears. I am visiting Nicopolis soon. I can cry on your shoulder then. And perhaps in time, I’ll quit loving him after all. I have many responsibilities. I can’t spend too much time staring out the window like a lovesick girl . . . lovesick girl though I may be.
Yours in despair,
Catarin deSangre #### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 37)*
She looked at me today and asked to know the pain I hold inside
“I know you’re strong, but not from pride—what do you hide?”
With sword in hand I never doubt, but here . . .
I cannot let my feelings out. “Nothing . . .”
. . .dear. #### From Lord Damen Kephry, *Collected Correspondence*
My dearest Margaux,
It seems that the danger has not fully passed. Only when Catarin is crowned will I feel comfortable having you in the city. For now, please remain at our family estates in Aster Malik, and know that my thoughts are forever with you. Within Seleucar, you may yet be at risk; but in remote Aster Malik, you are out of the way of whatever battles may still await.
Why do I speak of battles, even ten months after the bloody War of Succession? I hold no bitterness as to the war’s outcome. I realize now that Catarin truly was the better successor, and although I do not regret my support of Mycale, I am willing to embrace Catarin as my queen and give her my undying loyalty. Unfortunately, Catarin’s period of grieving, however appropriate and fitting, has allowed for unsettling portents. The underkings of Ashtan and Shallam refuse to formally recognize Catarin’s authority until she is crowned. They bow only grudgingly to the diplomatic soothing of Prime Minister Orin Grandier. Leophine Errikale, the new Duke of Seleucar, has gone to great lengths to disassociate himself from his elder brother, the late Lucius Errikale, but Leophine has not gone so far as to formally align himself with Catarin. As a former supporter of Mycale, and as a highly-respected veteran of the now-dissolved Guild of Knights, I have been privy to frequent rumors: that Castomira Brangwin, although a wanted outlaw, has been visiting the homes of various noblemen, those who were most interested in using Prince Mycale for their own ends. Although I have sometimes been accused of using my sword-arm before using my brain, even I can guess that Castomira is planning further mischief.
When he opposed me, I spoke of Lucaine Pyramides as a demon in human form. However, in these past months, I have come to respect him, if not to know him. He is a difficult man to come to know. The only person to whom he speaks on a regular basis is Catarin herself, and he receives his orders only from her. He is so well-behaved and silent, now, that it is hard to believe he was once the most amoral and mercenary brigand on Sapience. He spends all of his free time alone. He practices his sword arts in a locked cellar of the palace, where none may learn by observing him. I agree with this practice, as I would cheerfully retire from the business of combat upon learning that there were two warriors in the world like Lucaine Pyramides (farming being greatly preferable to death). When he is not training, however, he is locked in his own room, doing what, only the gods know. The word among the palace staff is that he writes; the soft sounds of a fountain pen can be heard from behind his door, day or night, and his fireplace is filled with the gray dust of burned paper. Perhaps he records the secrets of his swordsmanship, to pass on to descendants. Perhaps he writes his memoir. He might as easily be writing a cookbook, but speculation runs wild.
Lucaine Pyramides is easily the object of half the rumors in Sapience at this moment, and his very reticence makes him all the more intriguing . . . even, I admit, to me. But my attempts to engage him in conversation have all been met with intense awkwardness. He is not a social person, and although I can tell that he is quite intelligent, he has no talent for speaking the right words at the right moment. And after all, his areas of expertise are not good topics for idle chit-chat. I can’t ask him about his fighting style. I don’t wish to talk to him about the best ways to ambush travelers and take their valuables. And discussing the strengths and weaknesses of Catarin’s personal guard, of whom Lucaine has assumed command, would likely be misinterpreted. I wonder what Lucaine himself thinks of his newfound estate. Is it strange for him, to have changed so quickly from dreaded brigand to honored champion? What could possibly have motivated him? A persistent rumor suggests that he has fallen in love with the princess, but surely a man of his bravery would have confessed his love to her by now, and been either accepted or rejected.
I have been quite busy myself, as you already know. The rebuilding of the Castle of Twelve has been progressing quite well. I hope to re-establish the Guild of Knights, although it seems that the stars are against such an endeavor. Failing that, perhaps I will join the Templars; they have already said that they would welcome me as an instructor, to further introduce the skills of the Knights into their practice. I’m not certain that a life of unending worship appeals to me, however. There is a continuous covert struggle in progress between Ashtan and Shallam. Even in this time of peace, they are constantly bickering over the boundaries formed by Shallam’s shrines. Do I really want to spend every waking hour sacrificing goats over the Shallamese shrines to strengthen them against some hypothetical Ashtanian incursion?
I think I can spend my time more productively at home with you. I will try to arrange a visit to Aster Malik soon. Until then, my love, hold tight, and do not forget me. Give my love to the children.
Your loving husband,
Lord Damen Kephry #### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 51)*
I would remember the wilds by howling at the moon . . .
But it would wake her. #### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 79)*
if at this very point she were to tell me she loved me what then would i be able to say that i’ve always loved her back or would she be shocked scared compassionate that i’d so long been lost on her lost for her lost to her lost in her
a lost soul her dog warrior killing to help her bring life from death sending life to death in ironic alchemy a chimerical marriage of steel and heart blood
and i know i could kiss her and die the next day
but if she said that she loved me then what would i say
my blood is still red but my heart has turned gray
and although i can kill i don’t know how to pray for her to stay with me and if she said she loved me i might die
because what if we love and our love dies quick abrupt like killing a man on icy plains to watch his last breath ghost away and turn to fight the next in battle last man living wins
but if this love dies under swords of fate or failure then there are no more foes to fight there’s no more light
#### From Leona Fontaine, *Sentinel: The Murder of Lucaine Pyramides*
Of late, he had tried to be as quiet and undemanding as possible. Her every glance had come to be a form of torture. He could accept that she had secretly given her heart to one of her many noble suitors, but he could come to no accommodation with the gas-flame blue of her eyes. He wanted to avoid her, to be free to dream of her in peace, to be with her every moment, and the paradox slowly bore down upon his mind like a heavy weight.
“Your Highness.” He knocked softly at the open door of Catarin’s study, where she sat penning a letter.
“Lucaine. Thank you for coming to see me before you leave. Please, be seated.” Her smile was sincere. It touched Lucaine’s heart like a thorn.
“I would never leave without your blessing.” Lucaine was grave.
“You’ve been so serious lately, Lucaine. I assumed this would be a vacation for you. You’ve never even been to Ashtan proper, have you? There’s a lot to see.”
“The Tournament of Blades sounds like fun,” Lucaine said drably. “And if a show of personal power is what it’ll take to make Ashtan’s nobility respect you, then I’ll be glad to provide one.”
“Then why so sad, Lucaine? You’ve been unhappy for the past five months, despite my best attempts to cheer you. I know better than to throw you a ball. But it’s been weeks since you rode with me, and you didn’t attend the joust at all. I thought it would interest you.”
“You held that joust on my account?”
“Well, I hinted that you might want to go. I kept a seat free in the royal box.”
“I’m sorry. If you had asked outright, I would have attended.”
“But then it would be a command, Lucaine, and I would never wish to command you.”
“But Catarin . . . I am at your command.” Lucaine held her gaze for a long moment, during which Catarin’s heart began to pound.
She looked away, suddenly. Lucaine interpreted her motion as reticence, and stood straighter. “At any rate, I must depart soon if I am to reach Ashtan by nightfall. Will you bless my sword?”
“Yes,” she said. Lucaine placed the sword upon the desk. Catarin placed her hand upon the lacquered sheath. “Lucaine?”
“Your Highness?”
Catarin was silent for long seconds. Lucaine searched her face as if memorizing it, as if he had not already done so long ago.
“Lucaine. What would you do if I told you that I loved you?”
A million daydreams froze and shattered in Lucaine’s mind. He did not pause to think.
“I asked myself that, only two weeks ago.”
Catarin waited for him to go on, but saw with apprehension that he was lost in thought, staring at a point somewhere beyond her.
“What . . . what did you decide?”
Lucaine focused on her, suddenly, with an intensity, a ferocity, that nearly made her flinch. “First, tell me.”
“Tell you . . . oh.” Suddenly, for some reason, Catarin was more afraid than she had ever been. Afraid that in reaching for him, she would lose him. Afraid that he might gain total power over her. Afraid of the sound of her own voice.
Catarin started to speak, but choked on her own words. She swallowed hard. Took a breath. “Yes,” she managed at last. “I love you. I have loved you ever since King’s Tomb.”
Lucaine stood upright as suddenly as if gravity had been reversed, so explosively that he actually hung in the air for a second before landing on his feet. Fine dust exploded from the bookshelves as Lucaine’s inner power surged as if for battle. In a blur, Lucaine moved himself to the balcony outside the study. There, he gripped the rail so hard that his fingers crushed marks in the wood.
It seemed as though he’d longed for Catarin his entire life, and now he could not conceivably express the full scope of his feelings; could not belittle her uniqueness with commonplace words of love. The realization of all his dreams left him electrified, and like a man being electrocuted, he could not move, for every nerve was on fire. Catarin stared, wide-eyed, uncertain what she’d unleashed.
Five minutes passed. Lucaine’s inner turmoil paralyzed him, and Catarin was frozen, afraid to disturb his reverie. Then the study clock chimed the quarter-hour, and Lucaine was distracted from his paralysis. “Catarin,” he said, as if the word were a wish.
“Lucaine?” she said, disaster and desire writ double on her face.
“I’m going to Ashtan.”
Catarin blinked in anticipation of tears, stricken.
“Catarin, there’s nothing I can say right now that is . . . that is worthy of you. When I get back . . .” Lucaine trailed off, completely helpless. She must read his poems. But first, he had to write the last one, the perfect one, the one that would express once and for all the depth of his love. The one that would make her love him back just as much. The one . . . “Please promise you’ll wait for me. I don’t want you to be hurt.” And with those completely ambiguous comments, Lucaine Pyramides left Catarin, to set out on the long road to Ashtan, to compete in the Tournament of Blades.
#### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Poem 99)*
She just told me she loved me. And my words have failed me . . . utterly.
### Endless Rain
#### From Trenton Deis, *Last Will and Testament*
Some hold that “good” and “evil” are realities higher and more substantial than human actions. However, the merit of this view is directly linked to the optimistic belief that the attributes of mortal actions (e.g., bravery, foolishness, goodness, cruelty) are somehow capable of being considered independent of mortal actions. I do not share this belief.
Some will hold that since Lucaine Pyramides spared me at the Battle of Beggar’s Arch, it will be an act of “evil” to kill him today. Let them think as they wish. It is being noised that he freed me out of compassion; this is propaganda. He did not kill me on the spot, but sent me to the gallows. The jailers being less competent than Pyramides, I escaped them. Small wonder that Catarin now speaks of “the mercy of Lucaine Pyramides.” The weakness of mercy is far more noble than weak guardsmen, and a lie at the right time is not so “evil” as one might think.
So be it: as Mycale’s men rode into the trap at Beggar’s Arch, I tried to kill Lucaine Pyramides and was defeated. Now Catarin has won her first war . . . and Lucaine Pyramides rides into my own trap. And I will kill him.
This I, Trenton Deis, do attest.
#### From Leona Fontaine, *Sentinel: The Murder of Lucaine Pyramides*
> Editor’s note: The following account is pure conjecture on the part of the novelist. Although it is based on historical supposition, no reliable record exists, only a forest of competing hypotheses.
Shredded by leaves, the noontide sun cast mosaic shadows on the notepad of Lucaine Pyramides, as he sat against a tree by the roadside. Hastily, intently, his fountain pen skated and glided across the coarse paper, filling the page with his dense yet haphazard handwriting. Three Moons lay forgotten to his side as he wrote, gripped by a soul-wracking inspiration, the strongest emotion he’d ever committed to paper. Catarin loved him. That love was deadly and elating, like the energy singing between the earth and the moon, like bonds of pure sunlight, like fifty lightning bolts forged into a sword. With this, his final poem, he could capture that energy forever . . . he could prove to her that his love was strong enough to last beyond life. He could say to her, in ink on paper, what he could not say to her using the flawed and impermanent canvas of expression and voice. His mind was a thousand miles above the ground, his body tingled and grew numb, his clenched hand could not even cramp due to its furious motion, and his immortal soul passed entirely into his pen, its salvation absolutely dependent on the perfection of his written words.
He wrote the final word. His breath left his lungs in a great sigh. His head came to rest against the rough bark. Carefully, he blew on the paper to dry it, then capped his pen and returned it to its case. Then, about to stand, he reached for his sword, and touched only grass.
“A fine blade indeed, Pyramides.”
Lucaine’s senses were alive again, belatedly. Through minute signs, he detected a dozen men hidden in the forest around him, all within easy sprinting distance. He turned slowly, and with absolute assurance, to confront Trenton Deis. Clad in a cloak the color of aged bone, the assassin drew Lucaine’s sword and stared coldly at its delicate curve and fine grain.
“You haven’t the skill to use it,” Lucaine said, and began to walk towards his nemesis with a steady and confident pace.
“I don’t plan to use this sword, Pyramides.” Deis took a deep breath, then swung Three Moons, backhand, at a mighty oak. The blade sank two feet deep into the wood, cutting halfway through the trunk. “You’ve said time and again that your sword is your word.” Placing both hands on the hilt, Deis pushed downward with all his might, bending the fragile steel beyond until it hummed with tension. The blade broke with a sound like a spike being driven into a wooden block. “What words do you have for that?”
Without words, Lucaine broke into a run, but Trenton Deis flitted back away from him, as if carried on the breeze. No master swordsman, no Serpentlord, Trenton Deis nonetheless carried deadly knowledge with him; he could move as abruptly as a lizard, strike without giving warning of his intent, scale buildings, spot motion at a mile’s distance, blend into his surroundings as if he’d been there since the Creation. And even without the secrets of poison or magic, he had powerful cards to play; as he fell back from his hated adversary, he drew a small waxed envelope from his sleeve, and flung its mixture of pepper oil and lye in Lucaine’s face.
Though he flung up his hands, still the vile melange found Lucaine’s eyes. Blinded and agonized, Lucaine did not so much as twitch; he calmed his breathing, cast forth his senses, and prepared to fight, unarmed, by sound and feel. He summoned the power of fire to his hands, as Trenton Deis’s hired jackals encircled him. As his flesh began to scorch and burn, they attacked.
Lucaine struck, lashing out to every side with blows worthy of a master monk, setting men ablaze with every strike. But without his sword, he could not kill with every stroke. His blows brought cries of pain and anger, and the assault redoubled. By instinct, he dodged blows, but for every one he dodged, another struck home. Spears pierced his flesh, pinning him in place. He reached for a healing elixir, but his hands set the pinewood vial afire. He struggled, but only drove the barbs deeper into his body. His power was in speed and spirit, not in physical strength, and he could not win free.
With a supreme effort, he brought fire to his entire body, and pushed it outward in a mighty wave, an exploding hurricane of blazing heat, and his enemies fell back, screaming. Lucaine choked back a scream himself, as he felt his skin wither and crack in the blast. He was almost dead. With an effort, he calmed his spirit, and began to invoke the power of ice, trying to quench the flames that fed on his body.
“Pyramides. You’re entirely amazing, you know that, don’t you? I’d meant to make you suffer, and now you’ve burned yourself alive just for my entertainment.” Lucaine’s seared ears couldn’t make out the direction of Deis’s voice, but he knew the assassin was close. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I seem to hear a royal patrol approaching. I’ll leave them a special present.”
Lucaine brought to his blistered face a semblance of his devil’s grin, and began to rip spears from his flesh and hurl them in random directions. Perhaps one would strike true. All his powers were expended, leaving him only defiance.
And the long straight sword of Trenton Deis slid gently, almost lovingly, under his breastbone and through his heart. As the final drops of Lucaine’s blood began to strike the ground, storm clouds knotted like a fist above the site of his death.
#### From Alain, *One Thousand Haiku, Five with Names*
Spine-weary sadness
Endless rain revives earth’s dust
But Lucaine’s, never. Crowned by a symbol
She reigns in death’s fell shadow
Her foe is patient. #### Lucaine Pyramides, *Catarin (Final)*
Driven low by driving rain, it’s easy to be born again, cracking like a fallen leaf that falls before its time is done, and now I know my time has come ’cause there’s an iceberg on my tongue, melting slow in driving rain whose echoes form the dim refrain — Bind yourself and you can be the one soul who is truly free and if your eyes won’t let you see then trust your pulse and follow me — Driving blind in blinding rain that turns to hail and back again I’m driven by the driving rain, I am the winter’s melting dream, the final human carved of ice that turns to steam, carved of ice that shatters sunrays peeking through the parting clouds, shatters sun to rainbow shackles, binding me to final heaven, lightning calling to me saying — Bind yourself and you can be the one soul who is one with me and if your mind won’t let you see then trust your feet and walk with me — Thunderheads embrace the world like battle flags that flow and swirl and snap when sending men to war to fight and fall and hope to rise with silent glory bleeding off them, shining like the falling rain that sweeps the lake with rippling waves, shining like the dancing eyes that sparkle as she dances free, dances spirals ‘cross the waves, her rain-dark dress a battle flag that flies the colors of my hope, flies the letters of belief, spells the words that keep me trying, fighting free of slowly dying, spells the words she whispered to me — Bind yourself in love to me and maybe then we’ll both be free and if your mask won’t let you see then trust your lips and come to me —
### Awakening
#### From Morlana ni’Choya, *Convergence: Annotated Letters of Catarin deSangre*
Dear Riana,
I write this in the dim hope that you will receive it safely. Castomira’s so-called “Royal Elites” are rapidly becoming a hazard for couriers. I’ve hired an independent, a Serpentlord named Caprian Zyle, to bear this message quickly to Jaru. I have instructions for your father; they’re enclosed.
The situation in Imperial Seleucar is desperate. Leophine Errikale continues to express a pious neutrality, but he must eventually be swayed by the weight of Castomira’s supporters. I’m sure you’re up to date on the news? Castomira bore a son by Mycale, and named him Parni. The child’s claim is weakened by illegitimacy only as much as my claim is weakened by my gender. Law and tradition interact torturously, but in the end, the empire must follow whomever is crowned, and in my absence, Castomira might crown the child within a few months. Her legal status as a war criminal does not affect Parni’s personal claim, but it does hinder Castomira in advancing it; that small mercy is the only thing that gives me hope.
I’m traveling from manor to manor, trying to gain support, trying to learn who my friends are. Orin Grandier taught me much, and introduced me to a great many people, before he was assassinated, but with Imperial Seleucar in Castomira’s grip, under martial law, most of the lords who would have supported me are reluctant to make a commitment. Many have joined Castomira’s cause, and they send levies of soldiers to the city. An army is slowly amassing, to forestall any military move I might make. That, too, makes it difficult for me to gain material assistance from lords who once backed me wholeheartedly, even though I hear a waterfall of empty words.
My political position is growing closer to hopeless each day, and execution or exile are distinct possibilities. But I might welcome failure, for my heart has been broken in a hundred places. Lucaine Pyramides is dead.
I was the first to find him, since I fled the palace to follow his route. The assassinations at the palace must have been timed to coincide with Lucaine’s murder, robbing me of all my closest supporters. They . . . they burned him alive, before stabbing him to death. I can’t imagine by what treachery they overpowered him. At the scene of the murder, they left his sword, in two pieces. The end of the blade is buried in an ancient oak, and the tree will surely grow around it, preserving it forever. The hilt and the other half of the blade are with me, along a notebook full of poems, written on bloodstained paper. Now tearstained, as well. I read it every day, and every day I waver between suicide and revenge. It will have to be one or the other.
I never knew how much he loved me. And now that I know, I don’t think that I can ever love again. He wrote one hundred poems, and in them I can track the progress of a love I never got a chance to return. It’s been raining for weeks now. I feel certain that the skies themselves mourn, as I do. The jewels in the Staff of Nicator have changed from white diamond to smoky quartz. Does this mean that the Staff shares my grief, as well? Is the Staff causing the rain? Or is the Staff weakening, along with my inner resolve, warping along with my soul?
Pray for my victory, for I will need the help of all the gods.
Yours,
Catarin #### From Lord Damen Kephry, *Collected Correspondence*
My dearest Margaux,
My astonishment is complete, but my loyalties are not so baffled. A Second War of Succession is inevitable now, and I cannot wait to fight for my rightful ruler! But this story does not merit a haphazard telling, and so I must begin at the beginning.
I’d been invited to take command of the newly-formed Royal Elites. Leophine Errikale had created the Elites as a peacekeeping force, and intended it to be a fully neutral one. However, in the wake of the assassinations of Catarin’s key supporters, the Royal Elites “coincidentally” came to be commanded entirely by officers who had fought on Mycale’s side in the recent War of Succession. Leophine Errikale might have wished to distance himself from his late brother, but he also held a keen knowledge of which way the wind was blowing.
As I’d been a vocal supporter of Mycale during the War, and since my reputation is one of integrity and courage, the new Duke of Seleucar was only too eager to have me as Knight-Commander of the Royal Elites: a figurehead position, no doubt, but still one that interested me. Perhaps as official leader of the Royal Elites, I could take steps to make them truly neutral, instead of simply puppets to Castomira’s hidden will. For there could be no doubt who was behind the recent assassinations, and Catarin’s flight from the city. The other lords, greedy though they might be, were also craven. Only Castomira had both the ruthlessness and the bravery to unleash such a concerted attack.
Remembering that fell night, I am tremendously glad that I asked you to stay at our country home with the children. Assassination is always a fear among prominent nobles, but for seventeen to die in a single night is unheard-of. Some were poisoned. Some fell prey to convincing “accidents.” Some were killed by stealth, some were killed openly by masked mercenaries, and one was even killed by the suspicious explosion of his alchemical laboratory. Lord Orin Grandier, Catarin’s strong voice in the circles of power, was found hanged in his bedchamber, with spikes driven through his eyes. Early that morning, Catarin fled the city with a tiny retinue, and even she barely escaped an assassin’s knife. Only the alertness of her personal guard saved her from the black-clad Serpentlords who attempted to infiltrate her room by night. I understand her bodyguards were hand-picked by Lucaine Pyramides. He chose well. I was aggrieved to learn of his death. He was a good man, in the end.
The new turmoil in the city is tragic. I’d been certain that Catarin would quietly assume the throne, and so I’d never declared personal loyalty to her, thinking my support unnecessary. Perhaps if I, and others in my situation, had lent Catarin the legitimacy she needed, Castomira would never have dared to carry out her vengeful plot. However, since the former Mycale supporters assumed that I would support the infant Parni against his noble aunt, I found myself in a position to subvert Castomira’s faction from within. In resorting to assassination, Castomira had proven herself without honor. The Code of Knights requires that honesty be met with honesty, deceit with deceit; honor with honor, treachery with treachery. Those without honor must be extinguished without mercy. I resolved to attain a high position within Castomira’s evil alliance, that I might bring it down around her ears.
So it was that I found myself at the provincial mansion of Count Xenius Kyra, a former supporter of Catarin, now eagerly on what he perceived to be the winning side. So it was that I found myself sitting to a seven-course meal with none other than Castomira Brangwin herself! I’d met her before, during my service to Mycale. Where before, her face had been pleasant enough, if not pretty, and her eyes had been cool, but not cold, now her face was as perfectly beautiful as a marble statue, but her eyes were as emotionless and as fixed as those of a corpse. The table was set for ten, yet only nine were present: Count Xenius, at the head; myself, to his left hand; Castomira, to his right; one of Castomira’s henchmen, a joyless sort with a beak nose and a permanent scowl; and five minor nobles, vassals of the Count. The seat to my right, across from Castomira’s henchman (introduced to me as one Trenton Deis), was empty, and had no place-card.
I had little time to wonder about the empty seat, however, for no sooner had we exchanged pleasantries than a footman announced the arrival of Princess Catarin deSangre. I was astonished. Surely the princess would not have come to this mansion knowing who guested there? Or had Catarin come to plead for peace? Castomira’s expression betrayed little, but there was no peace in it.
Catarin’s shock as she surveyed the guests was quickly stifled by her courtly training, but it was clear to me that she had not expected to see Castomira Brangwin dining there that night. Then there was only one possibility: she had walked into a trap. I was prepared for anything, even outright murder at the dinner table. I had set aside my sword, but I was prepared to fight for my rightful queen, even if only with a butter knife. But I had to wait for the trap to spring shut. I had to await my moment.
Catarin played her part well. She sat, she spread a napkin on her lap, she traded polite greetings with all present. She complimented the wine. She casually inquired as to the reason for Castomira’s visit to Count Xenius’s lands.
“Ah, Count Xenius was just about to formally announce his support for my pet cause. You know, the coronation of the rightful heir, Parni?” Castomira was the very image of calm. I felt cold just watching her.
Catarin turned to the Count. “Then, Count Xenius, you believe that Lady Brangwin will be a suitable regent for the child?”
A smile oozed across the Count’s face. “Surely, your Highness, when a new Prime Minister is appointed . . .”
“. . . surely the new Prime Minister will be hand-picked by Castomira. Do you doubt that?”
“Regardless, your Highness, I’ve chosen to back Prince Parni with my life, if need be.”
“The need may well arise, Xenius,” Catarin said, in an admirable, if ill-advised, display of defiance.
Then the hammer fell. I shall describe each event in exact sequence, and see if you are not suitably amazed! If you are reading this to the children, you may wish to read ahead and then decide whether it is fit for their ears.
Like a black sun coming from behind frozen clouds, Castomira smiled, and such was the unrepentant evil in that smile that the wine I’d just sipped lost all its flavor. “Dear Catarin,” she said with consummately false sweetness, “what possible reason might we have to fear you? You believe that your personal bodyguard stands outside waiting for your voice, holding the Staff of Nicator safe for your return. But in fact, they are poisoned to death as of this very moment, and the Staff shall be my son’s sigil of office. For after all, my sweet, my alliance with the Guild of Serpentlords persists. And my dear friend Trenton Deis is a master of assassins himself. After all, did he not succeed in slaying your lovely knight, Pyramides?”
Catarin’s hands trembled as she folded her napkin and placed it on the table before her, as if readying to excuse herself. “I cannot believe that he was overcome by anything less than a regiment of dragons. Certainly not by a single despondent ruffian.”
The scowling one, Trenton Deis, at last spoke, a faint smile on his lips. “In his defense, my lady, he was distracted. I believe he was . . . writing something that was very important to him.”
A half-second later, Catarin’s hands stopped trembling. As a warrior, I knew what that meant, and I shifted my weight so that I could quickly spring to her defense. Deis, master assassin though he might be, either did not notice this sign, or he discounted it. And so he was astonished, and I was not, when Catarin threw herself across the dinner table, sending food and drink flying in all directions, diving full-length across the tablecloth to plunge her dessert fork into Trenton Deis’s throat and through one of the arteries in his neck.
Bursting to my feet, I swatted Count Xenius to the ground with my left hand. Then, chivalry be damned, I grabbed for Castomira, intending to hold her hostage against Catarin’s safe escape. But Castomira’s skin was like stone, and her body was literally immovable. To my amazement, she pushed me aside as if I were a small child, and then, as an afterthought, knocked me to the ground with a magical explosion of dark thunder. I’d never known she was a sorceress. I feared for Catarin’s life.
As I struggled to regain my feet amidst a wave of dizziness, I saw Catarin on the floor as well, repeatedly stabbing the lifeless body of Trenton Deis, face and white dress flecked with blood. I’ve seen that happen, on the battlefield, among those who have never killed: the pent-up hatreds and angers of a lifetime focus on one target, and then death is simply not enough for them. And especially if, as I suspected, Catarin had loved Lucaine after all, I could understand her blind rage. But there was no time for that. No time at all.
“Catarin!” I yelled. Too late. Castomira moved her hands as if caressing an imaginary ball, and where her hands moved, a sphere of black lightning formed. As Catarin came to herself, and suddenly grasped the horror of the bloody justice she’d done, Castomira sent the energy forth. It struck Catarin like a battering ram, and threw her up helpless against the far wall. Castomira advanced slowly, hatred and killing lust written upon her face. The Count and his vassals fled the room, terrified, willing to let the witch and the princess settle their fate unassisted. I ran to the door as well, under a bright and overwhelming inspiration.
“The Staff!” I yelled to the outer hall. “Castomira requires the Staff! Nicator’s blood rebels against her power!” I hoped that Castomira’s assassins had not seen my actions in the dining hall. I hoped that they would accept my “authority” as nominated commander of the Royal Elites. I hoped that Castomira was too busy luxuriating in her victory to decipher my intent.
Castomira’s Serpentlords were well-trained. One appeared before me almost instantly, holding the Staff of Nicator in leather-gloved hands. Before he could speak, I wrenched the Staff from his grip and immediately hurled it in Catarin’s direction. And prayed to Sarapis as devoutly as Nicator must have when he first received the Staff . . . if not at such great length.
I kept my attention on the Serpentlord, and my attention was rewarded when he lurched forward with a poisonous bite. But as I struck at him with my bare hands, time seemed to slow. The very air around me took on a syrupy quality, and the high-pitched hiss of my attacker shifted eerily to a low drawn-out rasp. From behind me, a brilliant light shone forth, drenching the world in white and black. The Serpentlord threw up his hand to shield his eyes, but his motion was slow, and slowing by the second. Then there was nothing but white and black, and then there was nothing but white. And then there was a great sense of movement.
When I regained my sight, I was outside, in the rain, the same rain that had fallen ever since the night of the assassinations. The mansion of Count Xenius was before me: five ruined walls, several shattered fireplaces, and great mounds of rubble. Debris had been flung in all directions. The air was alive with dust, slowly settling in the driving rain. The dust itself glowed like the clouds of heaven, lit from within by some impossible radiance, swirling with a powerful vibration. Like a foul omen, a panicked raven flew out from the settling dust, trailing black feathers. But when I blinked, I saw that the raven was actually a white-skinned woman in a tattered black dress, and the black feathers were shreds of some dark residue, that melted away to nothing before they touched the ground. Castomira Brangwin had fled. And Catarin deSangre slowly approached me from the wreckage of the mansion, Staff held aloft, shining, hair plastered against the sides of her face, and her shoulders, by the downpour. She appeared to me as a vision; she appeared to me as she must have appeared to Lucaine Pyramides, when he, too, lay half-dead, outside the King’s Tomb. But whereas then Catarin had been the picture of triumph, now she was at the lowest level of defeat, for the Staff of Nicator was her only crutch, and I her only retainer.
“My Queen,” I said. I did not need to kneel, for I was still on hands and knees, where I’d been thrown by the silent destruction of the manor house. I swore my oath of fealty to her there, and then I could speak no more, for the Staff had, once more, gone dead and dark, and the rain was cold, and Catarin’s face held nothing but empty sorrow, and I could not meet her eyes.
I touched my forehead to the ground, and then she crouched over me, and put her hand upon my head, and said, “The Seleucarian Empire begins again, here.”
My love, I cannot tell you where we are going, and I cannot tell you when we will be back. Know that even if I die in the service of my queen, I will always love you. Know that even though my vows of service, and my life as a Knight, require me to fight against all the odds, nonetheless it is my wife and children that will keep me alive. The desperation I face only makes me love you the more.
I have but one wish before I go incommunicado: quickly sell what possessions you can, and then move with the family to Delos. Stay with cousin Kale. Surely no danger will reach there, and if it does, the impenetrable sanctuary of the Chrysalis Basilica is nearby.
Your loving husband,
Lord Damen Kephry ### Blood and Lives
#### From Ashtan Journal of Warcraft and Tactics, Valnuary I Edition
The yearly of Blades is always an event of high drama and high stakes, but this year’s tourney was historically monumental. City gossip has already woven a hundred different descriptions of the events of the tourney, but this journal’s readership is surely dissatisfied with the uneducated yarns of non-fighters. You wish to know what styles were used, how the battles progressed, and what decisive blows were struck. Be assured, the Journal was there, and every detail was carefully recorded. The routine list of tournament standings is published toward the end of this issue, as it is every month. This special segment contains a first-hand account of Princess Catarin deSangre’s part in the most recent Tournament, exactly as it happened, from tournament correspondent Callisto Vereth.
**Princess Issues Challenge in Tournament of Blades**
ASHTAN – The opening ceremonies had ended. Jesters and clowns had finished their mock battles. Fighting masters had demonstrated their might in a crescendo of broken barrels, slashed straw dummies, shattered tiles, and punctured bullseyes. Cavalrymen had unhorsed each other in a series of jousts. It was time for the true business of the Tournament of Blades: the duels.
As the crowd slowly became quiet, the master of ceremonies bellowed his traditional invitation: “All ye who may wish to challenge, an ye are not yet inscribed upon the register, speak ye now! Who will test himself against the mightiest blades of Ashtan and beyond?”
With a sound like ringing crystal, a blinding light appeared in the air at the center of the great arena. The light slowly dimmed as it settled earthward, and as our vision returned we could see that it came from the tip of a golden staff, held aloft by a stately woman in a voluminous white robe. She faced the royal box with a stare of such intensity that even the king allowed his eyes to drop. “I will be tested, but not for your prize of gold and fame, men of Ashtan. I am Catarin deSangre, right Empress of Seleucar, I intend to crush the false rebellion caused by Castomira Brangwin, and when I win this tourney, King Tephicles, my prize shall not be gold or fame, but an army.”
While the king reflected upon this unprecedented demand, one of his guests moved to the fore of the royal box. It was Lord Odysseus Rani, a supporter of Mycale who had fled to Ashtan in the wake of Catarin’s original victory at King’s Tomb. As a famed fighter, he had found favor in the king’s court. And as a fighter, his favor was dependent solely upon his personal might, requiring him to continually assert his skill. “Your Imperial Highness,” he called out to Catarin, “please accept my apology, for I cannot recognize you as my Empress. You have not been crowned. All your supporters are dead. And as you have entered the Tournament of Blades, where death duels are commonplace, I believe that you may shortly join them.” With that, Lord Rani leaped from the royal box to the arena floor just below. He was not dressed in his battle armor, but his great broadsword was very much in evidence.
The master of ceremonies looked to the king for guidance, and at the king’s small nod, cried out, “People of Ashtan! A special match! Between Lord Odysseus Rani of King’s Field and Princess Catarin, of the Imperial House deSangre!” Raucous cheers rose from the massed spectators. Ashtan values nothing more than personal strength. Our readers are not all of Ashtan, and so I should explain what went unsaid that day: Should Catarin win against such a mighty foe, Ashtan would surely follow her to the ends of the earth. Should she fail, then surely she could not be worthy to rule at all. Such reasoning may sound foolish to philosophers, yet it is the Ashtanian way: a group is only as strong as its leader.
Lord Rani slowly advanced, without drawing his sword. As he strolled, he taunted the princess, saying, “It must be true that royal bloodlines gradually run to cretinism. You seem to have lost your native wit, your Highness. You are lost and helpless. You are without followers. Even if you fled in exile to Hashan, you would eventually be beheaded for your crimes.”
“Crimes?” Catarin asked, half-horrified, half-amused.
“Every royal soul has crimes. The deaths of a thousand Seleucarian men can be laid at your hands, for your part in the city war.”
“Not on Castomira’s?”
Lord Rani stopped a scant three feet away from his delicate foe. “Castomira has won.”
Catarin smiled sweetly, and swung the Staff of Nicator at Lord Rani’s head. The ex-Knight batted it away with one gloved hand, but Catarin instantly followed his motion and bounced the other end off his kneecap, then struck him sharply in the forehead with the jeweled top of the Staff. The warrior reeled for a moment.
Catarin spun the staff in alternating circles, two to the right, one to the left, two to the right, then down to a ready position. The pattern was unmistakable to one of my experience: Sentaari staff style, Grove of Winds variant, Tykonos form. “Castomira faces a different challenge than the fragile butterfly who fled the city two months ago. I am Catarin deSangre of the Grove of Winds, Initiate of the Sentaari monks, and I will defeat her if I must shed my last drop of blood to do it!”
Lord Rani began to open his mouth, but Catarin cut him off. “I know, I know. ‘You’re about to.’ Right? I’ve said what I need to.” And with that, Catarin launched herself bodily at her opponent, spinning the Staff of Nicator in an alternate version of Willows Shaken by the Wind.
> Editor’s Note: For much of their history, the peaceful Sentaari monks used a number of edgeless weapons, including the staff and the cane. These weapons allowed them to defend themselves against attackers without killing them, while still letting them strike mighty blows in the defense of humanity, as during the Black Wave. However, during Castomira’s occupation of Seleucar, her Royal Elites confiscated all weapons in the area of Imperial Seleucar, including those held by the monks of Judgment Mountain, then the headquarters of the Sentaari order. While his guildsmen were held under martial law, the Grandmaster of Flowers meditated for a month, then unveiled the unarmed art of Tekura, vowing that the Sentaari monks would never again be made helpless against evil. Combining Tekura with his pre-existing mastery of Kaido and Telepathy, the Grandmaster drove the Royal Elites from the area around the monastery. After the war, he disseminated the art to all the other monasteries. Within ten years, the armed arts had fallen into disuse. Within a hundred, they had been largely forgotten.
Drawing his sword, Lord Rani countered with a series of vertical ascending blocks. “Now we know where you disappeared to these past months. You were presumed dead. Are you aware that the succession has already been formally decided against you?”
As Lord Rani refused to back away from her attack, Catarin assumed a deep stance and went to the third level of the Grove of Winds style, “Willows in Rain Storm,” striking rapid blows from above and below. Though he clearly meant to toy with her, Lord Rani took painful hits, and was forced to regain initiative with an artless but brutal swing of his sword. Catarin blocked the attack, but was driven backwards. At that point, I got a good look at her face, and realized that for all her brave words, she was teetering on the edge of panic. I suspect that she had never before fought for her life. The noise of the crowd was deafening.
“The child cannot be crowned until he is five years old! Tradition and law demand it. And until that happens, any decision can be reversed!”
Lord Rani assumed the fighting stance of the Eternal Capital style, unique to the Guild of Knights, and rolled up his sleeves to reveal his magical tattoos: a tower shield and a smith’s hammer. “Make ready then.”
Catarin threw off her robe, revealing the light and flexible summer war garb of the Sentaari monks. The shield and hammer were tattooed prominently on her arms as well. She touched the shield, invoking a sparkling aura of protection, and then planted the Staff of Nicator firmly on the ground. Her posture was similar to that of the Blue Dragon Prayer, from the Judgment Mountain Revised style, and I assumed the motion had the same purpose: to focus Kai energy and bring it to the limbs and chest, invigorating her for the battle to come.
Lord Rani used the classic opening attack. Touching his hammer tattoo briefly, he destroyed Catarin’s protective shield, then struck out at chest level with his sword, hoping to run her through. Catarin blocked, then countered with the Tykonos form. The Sentaari staff forms are like chess openings: every possible counterattack is accounted for in the study of the form. Lord Rani was too experienced to be hit by the simplistic attacks of the low-level form, but seemingly could not penetrate its solid defensive motions. For a full minute, Catarin fought Lord Rani to a standstill with the traditional Tykonos form, until the warrior laughed and knocked her to the ground with a single mighty blow. The attack was so heavy that even blocked, it sent Catarin sprawling. “Bah!” he cried. “I should have expected no better from a barely-trained Sentaari initiate. How foolish of me to hope for a challenge.”
The ex-Knight strode forward, intending to crush Catarin’s guard with another stroke, but his blade was deflected by a rapidly erected magical shield. As Lord Rani broke the shield with a blast from his hammer tattoo, Catarin lunged through the harmless mystic sparks and jabbed the Staff of Nicator into Lord Rani’s throat, forestalling his next attack. Immediately, she used another distinctive attack pattern, True Strike of the Live Oak, stabbing the Staff into the center of his chest. Slightly winded, Lord Rani brought his blade up to the defensive.
At the beginning of the fight, Catarin had been somewhat unsteady, wavering between too hesitant and too fierce a strategy. As Lord Rani threw up the famed “Seleucar hard defense,” however, she seemed to gain her footing. I now know that Catarin learned to fight the Eternal Capital style while sparring with Damen Kephry, but at the time it was startling to watch her slip her staff into every seam in Lord Rani’s defenses, scoring minor hit after minor hit. As Lord Rani’s powerful defense began to fall apart, Catarin smoothly transitioned into the fifth form of the Grove of Winds variant, Gaital. Clearly Lord Rani had never seen that beautifully deceptive form, as his every counterattack simply led him to take another blow from the Staff of Nicator.
Even though she was not using the magical powers of the Staff of Nicator, it was clearly as heavy as steel, and its blows commensurately damaging. Its head, studded with divinely unbreakable gems, must have had the effect of a mace. As Catarin tired from the effort of spinning and swinging the Staff, her opponent showed the pain of a dozen bruises, and all his efforts at a deadly final blow had earned him only a single blood-red line along Catarin’s pale forearm. This time it was Lord Rani who touched his shield tattoo, gaining a second of precious breathing time.
As Catarin smashed the shield with her own hammer tattoo, Lord Rani advanced on her, sword arm held behind him. Catarin moved in with another attack, aiming at the side of Lord Rani’s neck. If successful, the strike might temporarily paralyze one side of his body. Lord Rani was too quick for her, however, and dodged the blow, then clamped his free hand around Catarin’s neck and lifted her into the air.
Before Catarin could react, Lord Rani yelled aloud a spellword, and suddenly Catarin’s face filled with agony. The thin cut on her forearm suddenly paled to white, as if her blood were being drawn back into her body, and a low hum filled the air with unnerving harmonies. The Staff of Nicator dropped from her hands as they involuntarily twitched in pain.
Almost all eyes, including those of this journalist, were riveted to the combat. However, reliable reports say that the king stood up at this point, with a troubled look on his face. He is rumored to have mouthed, “Necromancy?” One of his advisors, a prominent Occultist, spoke in his ear for a moment, and the king retook his seat, still unhappy.
For a long moment, the princess struggled to twist free of Lord Rani’s rigid grip. At length, though her movements seemed to be growing weaker, she reached with one hand to her belt, withdrew a long knife, and plunged it into her captor’s wrist once, then twice. At the second stab, Lord Rani violently wrenched his hand away, the knife stuck in his wrist. Immediately he swung his sword, intending to quickly decapitate his unarmed opponent. But Catarin was not moving away from him. Instead, she put one foot on his flexed knee and physically scrambled up his body, grabbing his head from behind and driving her forehead forcefully into his nose. Yet again, the warrior was sent staggering by the unexpected tenacity of his slender opponent.
Catarin herself staggered, and collapsed to her hands and knees atop the Staff of Nicator, rising to her feet only slowly with Staff in hand. And still she did not invoke the Staff’s holy power, even though she had clearly demonstrated her mastery of it. Lord Rani, sensing a clear advantage, decided to make the kill, without mercy. He pointed his off-hand at Catarin, disregarding the knife that still protruded from his wrist. Dark magic swirled, and suddenly Catarin’s legs were encased in separate blocks of ice, and the rest of her body sealed in a thick sheath of frost. Then, at last, he launched his final attack, the Eternal Capital technique known as Knight’s Honor. After gathering power for seven seconds, the blow would penetrate any defense to behead its target . . . and Catarin was immobilized by the icy sheath.
Astonishingly, Lord Rani had underestimated his opponent yet again. Exhausted, beaten, drained of vital essence, and chilled to the bone, Catarin deSangre broke her upper body free of the ice with a mighty effort. By this time, the huge crowds were cheering only for her. For his use of evil magic, Lord Odysseus Rani had been condemned by the spectators; ironic, considering that many Occultists have grown to be well-loved competitors in the Tournament. Many thousands of voices shouted as one for Catarin to use the Staff of Nicator to seal her enemy away in a golden sphere, as Nicator had done to the King of Shallam four centuries ago.
As Lord Rani advanced, swinging his sword in advancing spirals, working up to the deadly and unblockable Knight’s Honor, Catarin struck at the ice block around her legs. She succeeded only in splitting it in two. I felt despair. With each leg encased in solid ice, she could not possibly dodge Lord Rani’s fatal blow. And then I was amazed. She simply stood in the path of Lord Rani’s attack for three more seconds, watching the path of his blade, judging its motion . . . did she mean to use timing to deflect the critical strike? I’d seen the move before, and knew that the final blow would come too quickly to see, and would simply cleave through any weapon or shield held up to block it.
She made no attempt at deflection. Instead, a half-second before the end of the technique, she twisted her entire body into a knee-level kick, bringing twenty pounds of solid ice into direct contact with Lord Rani’s knee. The ice shattered, almost masking the audible twisting crack of the knight’s bones breaking and ligaments tearing. Lord Rani was master of his own body. Giving no sign of pain, he completed the Knight’s Honor, sending his sword lightning-fast at the princess’s neck. His ruined knee betrayed him, and the blade flashed high and wide of its target, severing only a lock of hair, which floated on the wind like a summer cloud.
Instantly, Catarin countered, desperation and innovation combining in an unheard-of stratagem. With the end of the Staff of Nicator, she struck Lord Rani’s off-arm from below, snapping it up to shoulder height. In the same motion, she spun the Staff and struck the hilt of her knife where it jutted from Lord Rani’s wrist, driving the point clean through his hand and into his throat.
With his hand pinned to his neck by Catarin’s astounding attack, the dark knight stepped back, shock and horror in his eyes. His damaged knee buckled under his weight, and he twisted to the ground. When he instinctively threw out his hands to catch himself, he pulled the knife from his throat, bringing a pulsing spray of blood. Lord Odysseus Rani, oathbound to Castomira Brangwin and once of the Guild of Knights, spasmed, choked loudly on his own blood, and was still.
Then, and only then, did Catarin summon light and warmth from the Staff of Nicator. For a second, the Staff outshone the sun, and when the light faded, she was whole and strong again. And the King of Ashtan, Tephicles I, vaulted out of the royal box to bow before his imperial princess.
“Vitem et sanguinem,” he cried, the legendary oath of eternal fealty. “Our blood and lives.”
### Civil War: A Nation Divided
#### From Orson Lasalle, *The Second War of Succession: A History*
> Editor’s note: Within the ranks of the Ashtan intelligentsia, Orson Lasalle has become the most respected current chronicler of the Second War of Succession and the Catarine Dominion. Therefore, his two most general and popular works are used as primary sources for this section of history. If pressed, this librarian must admit nepotism as a secondary and justified motivation.
While Catarin trained with the Sentaari, Castomira made clear her plans for her son’s empire. Seemingly in defiance of all wisdom, she proposed herself as Parni’s regent, a suggestion that was met with surprisingly little resistance. Although custom rebelled against a female monarch, there were numerous precedents for a female regent. And Castomira’s propositions were very influential: her paper, “Seven Intentions for a More Transparent Monarchy,” detailed a revised imperial system in which local lords would gain more power and independence, imperial taxes would be reduced, Piraeus’s ancient but troublesome Act for the Preservation of Integral Human Dignities would be abridged, and various restrictions on resource exploitation would be eliminated. In exchange for these limitations on day-to-day imperial authority, the Emperor would gain certain “emergency powers” allowing him to “unite” the Empire in case of “national turmoil.” Cool heads pointed out that Castomira could quite easily use those “emergency powers” along with her rapidly-growing Royal Elites to take direct and personal control of most of the Seleucarian Empire. But despite being on the losing side of the First War of Succession, or perhaps because of her previous defeat, Castomira was viewed by many as a sort of pro-nobility folk hero. After all, she had never committed any public crime. She had managed to side-step responsibility for the assassinations of Catarin’s supporters, using several of her underlings as scapegoats. And so her proposals gained wide support in the capital, especially as lords loyal to Catarin slowly began to leave the province, heading across the Vashnar Range to the more sympathetic city of Shallam.
Although the Church had sent mediators to all three great cities, their efforts to preserve unity in the face of Castomira’s divisive political actions had been futile. The Ashtanians had, for the most part, supported Castomira’s political platform of oligarchic indulgence and martial empowerment, even as they angled to ensure a new era of Ashtanian autonomy. Castomira had attained a level of influence with Ashtan’s King Tephicles that only an act of incredible daring and determination could override. With her reckless open challenge at the Tournament of Blades, and her one-in-a-million victory, Catarin provided that act, and won the loyalty and adoration of the city-state of Ashtan.
Winning the approval of iconoclastic Ashtan was Catarin’s greatest obstacle. Shallam’s King Dalles VI had been watching developments in Imperial Seleucar with growing concern, and had already mobilized his military in hopes of discouraging an opportunistic invasion by either of the major cities. Although technically loyal to the imperial throne, King Dalles had said, in an acclaimed public address, “We are part of the Seleucar that Nicator and Piraeus created. We are part of the Seleucar of King Valerias. But in the name of the Logos, we are not part of the Seleucar of Castomira Brangwin! The essential doctrines of human dignity and just rulership shall not be overturned within our shining walls.” When Catarin and a delegation of Ashtanian nobles arrived at gates of Shallam to plead for Shallam’s assistance, King Dalles was overjoyed to unite with them.
But Catarin had information of the direst import, information that had won her the whole-hearted support of even the most intransigent of the Ashtanian lords. While in boarding school with Castomira, as children, Catarin had heard Castomira hint vaguely at a portentous ancestry. In the Great Library of Nicator, Catarin studied the records of noble births and deaths, and followed a paper trail from there to the sealed archives of the Guild of Occultists, to find out a horrible and revealing truth: Castomira Brangwin was a direct descendant of Adchachel, called “the Rose of Pain.” Adchachel, a former Demiurge of the Guild of Occultists. Adchachel, who had gone mad after eating the heart and absorbing the spiritual essence of the Tsol’teth Master Agith’maal. Adchachel had been killed, but only after four years in which his insanity slowly grew apparent . . . and during which time he sired a son, whose descendants had eventually risen into the nobility. Castomira Brangwin was tainted by the black power of the Tsol’teth, passed down by bloodline for hundreds of years. Castomira’s magical duel with Catarin at the manor of Count Xenius was all the confirmation Catarin needed: Castomira, willing or not, was carrying out the long-delayed revenge of the Tsol’teth, who had been repelled by the Seleucarian Empire so long ago.
Catarin’s plan was simple: ride at the head of the full Shallamese army toward the capital, claiming right of proper succession. Law and tradition agreed: unless directly denounced by the ruling monarch, any direct heir to the throne was permitted safe passage through all the lands ruled by Seleucar, as long as their honor guard was not “exceeding the amount required by their station, or the requirements of the imperial heir’s personal safety.” Catarin judged that to ensure her personal safety, she’d have to bring at least ten thousand heavily armed soldiers. If the presence of the Shallamese army was met with resistance, that would mean that Imperial Seleucar, not Shallam, had assumed a hostile stance. The fact that Catarin’s army was approaching at a quick march, in attack formation, was technically irrelevant. In fact, to follow the very letter of the law, Catarin was in the right even if her men struck the first blow. A poorly-worded paragraph, originally intended to expedite the destruction of bandits, allowed soldiers under command of the royal blood to “terminate armed elements at their full discretion” within any Seleucarian territory, regardless of jurisdiction. Since none of Castomira’s own troops were directly commanded by a member of the royal family, she had no legal standing to halt Catarin’s advancing army.
In practice, of course, issues of law and tradition were strictly rhetorical. Catarin’s march was a power play, pure and simple, and since Castomira’s Royal Elites were at the core of every Seleucarian division, there was no chance that the defending armies would defer to Catarin’s royal banner. The march on the capital was certain to be a full-scale war from the very beginning, and all Catarin’s troops were ordered to engage at the first sign of hostility. For that reason, Catarin ordered the full army of Ashtan to begin an advance on Imperial Seleucar two days later, in hopes of securing the city while the main Seleucarian forces were occupied with the Shallamese. Using the Staff of Nicator, Catarin could transport herself into the presence of either of the two kings, or their children, and so she should take command of either army at will.
The powers of the Staff of Nicator have manifested differently for every person who has taken control of it, from the first Emperor of Seleucar to the last. For Nicator himself, its powers were designed for conquest: it inspired tremendous loyalty in his followers, it increased the fighting power of entire divisions of troops at once, it could heal large numbers of people instantly, and it had once been used to capture the King of Shallam out from the center of his army. For Catarin, its powers were different, though no less impressive: she could move herself instantly to any person of royal blood, she could open giant wormholes large enough to transport armies, she could heal herself of any wound, and in the presence of Tsol’teth power, the Staff became a mighty magical weapon.
Catarin feared that aspect of the power of the Staff. The last time she faced Castomira, she had destroyed an entire building with a single motion. In an extended battle, what havoc might her uncontrolled power wreak? For that reason, Catarin dared not use Parni’s royal blood to teleport herself to the Imperial Palace and confront Castomira directly. A war might cost twenty thousand lives, lives of soldiers who had chosen to live on borrowed time. But Imperial Seleucar held more than two hundred thousand souls, who Catarin could not sacrifice.
Throughout history, this decision has been disputed: who was to say that Castomira would not attempt to destroy the city on her own if her bid for power was thwarted? Who was to say that it might not become necessary for Catarin to fight Castomira in the end? In the end, Catarin was forced into single combat against her nemesis, and during that battle, the Staff’s power did prove uncontrollable. The arguments for and against Catarin’s military approach have been discussed in depth; for more information, refer to the later works of Ashtar von Muir and Talena Leiden, and to Catarin’s own secret journal, recently declassified. Whether correct or not, Catarin weighed her options, and chose to invade.
During the Seleucarian Empire, the Vashnar Range had two major passes, which had been enlarged and deepened and paved until they allowed easy trade between Seleucar and its subject nations of Ashtan and Shallam. These passes were large enough for an army to pass in a single column, but that army would be entirely vulnerable to attack from above during its passage, and would be at a huge disadvantage against the guarding forces Castomira had deployed at the Seleucarian mouth of each pass. Catarin’s solution was to use the Staff of Nicator to create mighty portals across the mountains, letting her troops leapfrog directly into Imperial Seleucar. Just as Sarapis had required Nicator to win his empire by great effort, the Staff’s power was limited in range. Catarin was forced to bridge the mountain range at its narrowest points: the two passes. Although the advantage of surprise was hers, there would still be a violent battle. However, Catarin’s plans were well-formed; through a minor deception, and a major innovation, she intended to take the initiative in the most decisive fashion possible.
#### From General Norij Gaston, *Personal Journal*
And so the plan has been revealed. I always knew the woman was mad. And brilliant.
Still, the plan may work. I’m Ashtanian born and bred, so I’ve a life’s experience with remorseless cunning. Catarin’s plan is as twisted, deceitful, underhanded, and unexpected as anything I’ve yet seen in my life, and even more impressive because of the scale of it all. And that witch in Seleucar has no idea it’s coming.
I’ve spoken with Lord Kephry, and, while I am impressed with his skill, I must say he worries me somewhat, especially since his story of Castomira’s display of power. He was her lapdog for far too long for my own comfort, and I wonder if Catarin, or any of us, can truly trust his motives.
But none of that will matter tomorrow. Tomorrow Catarin opens the Portal, and the First Ashtanian Cavalry will begin its assault. I must admit, I am excited to be spilling Seleucarian blood, though I would never admit that to Catarin or her followers. Their sparkling Myrmidons will prove no match for Ashtanian swords.
The Pass of Shadow’s Mourning . . . I would never have thought to see it as a military commander in my lifetime. A trap devised by the gods themselves. Narrow, rocky, twisting. An army could be decimated by anyone coming through there. And yet it is the only navigable pass of requisite size to reach Imperial Seleucar. And Castomira’s troops must know that. We’ve already received reports of their scouts near our lines, running like cowards when someone approaches.
But with the Staff of Nicator . . . It may be possible. I only hope the Shallamese play their part without a fumble.
#### From Josiah Lasalle, *elements of seleucarian history, in verse (unfinished)*
*Vashnar Crossing (fragment)*
The holy staff, a bar of lightning-tortured reality
Fantastically, Imperial rapture shatters the galaxy
The air smashes like shimmering windowpanes
It’s as though winter came
And turned the air to breakable ice
And the mountains creak and groan
Like iron under a vise
We run through the portal: colors swirling in rage
We prepare to engage; this is the staging point of an age:
We’ve got blood to spill,
We’ve got a murderous will,
And you couldn’t find a soul among us frightened to kill.
We trust this justice, time to fight, right hand
Clenched around our weapons, we’re secure in our might.
Our leader yells the orders, we break into a run,
And then we dash into the portal as it glows like the sun.
As we emerge and surge forward, there’s blood on the ground,
Distant trumpets sound, men are down and dying.
The cry and tumult of battle, our brave banneret flying
Is the rally point. We were appointed by fate
And now it’s time to start a sprint toward the heavenly gate.
We know we’re going to die, but we’ve no need for tears,
We’re an engine of redemption, we’re not men, we’re gears,
We lower our spears, grinning, we quiet our fears,
And then we sprint from mortal life into the pages of years.
Blood flows like tears as steel strikes our foes,
And blood energy fills me from my head to my toes.
Most of us have never killed, but weak-willed we’re not:
Without a second thought we leave our foemen to rot.
We draw sparks from armor with swords like deadly flints,
We turns shields to splinters, we turn spears to scraps
We turn men to corpses, there’s no going back after that,
Lo, you kill one man, then you can put it in the past,
But if you kill one more, then you’re a killer to the last.
For the banner of deSangre we will give up our soul.
To save the queen, we’ll gladly be consumed like coal. #### From Orson Lasalle, *Blood and Roses: New Theories Regarding the Wars of Succession*
> Editor’s note: This volume, a companion to Lasalle’s The Second War of Succession: A History, comprises source material and analysis that has emerged within the past fifteen years. Unlike the History, many sections are hypothetical, and cannot be taken as undisputed historical truth.
The Ashtanian forces poured from the portal Catarin deSangre had opened, taking the waiting Royal Elites completely by surprise. Accounts say that the unit was killed to the last man, but later journals speak of information gathered from a captured soldier from that first battle. It is unclear as to which version is truth, or if there are simply errors in the interpretation of the archaic texts.
This battle would later be called the Battle of Mourning, and not only because it was fought at the mouth of the Pass of Shadow’s Mourning. This was the first of many battles during which Catarin wielded the broken sword, Three Moons, as her scepter of command. The symbolism was explicit: Catarin blamed Castomira for the murder of Lucaine Pyramides, and she intended to deliver the harshest possible justice.
Recent research into the family lines of Lord Damen Kephry has revealed this fragment, part of a first draft of one of the last letters he would write to his wife. The absolute authenticity of this document has not yet been established (see endnotes).
“. . . kneeling in the blood-soaked grass. I’m not sure if what I saw was real or not, but my eyes have rarely deceived me.
“The Staff lay next to her, seemingly forgotten, and she held Three Moons in both hands before her as if was an anchor in the midst of some terrible storm. She was whispering, and her shoulders shook, so I approached cautiously, afraid that the strain had taken its toll.
“‘It’s begun, Lucaine,’ I heard her say. ‘I’ve started what I promised. And we’ll win. Please, tell me you see. Let me know you’re still there.’
“My darling, I have ever been a man of pragmatism in most things. Where gods and the like are concerned, I give my tithe, and leave the rest up the Priests and Templars. But what I saw next makes me wonder if I might not be better off living a more pious life.
“The Staff, with its clouded gems, seemed to glow from where it lay at her side, surrounding her in a pearlescent aura. I had seen such before, but was still surprised to see it now, especially without her hand on the Staff.
“But then Three Moons began to glow, and I swear that the blade suddenly seemed whole again. It was translucent, ghostly, but whole nonetheless. Catarin gasped in surprise and lifted the blade up to look at it. I stepped around to the side slightly, and I saw a look of such wonder in her eyes that I felt my own breath freeze.
“Her hair flowed back from her face as if in a brisk wind, though the air was still around me. And then, almost on the edge of hearing, I heard a scratching noise, like that of quill on coarse paper. Her eyes widened, and then the glow, the wind, all of it ceased as if it had never been.
“I left her there, not wanting her to know that I saw the tears that followed.”
This account lends credence to the idea that Catarin’s right to rule was favored by the gods, as only a deity would have allowed her such a moment. Whatever the case, the Battle of Mourning marks not only the first battle of the Second War of Succession, but also the first indication that Catarin’s struggle was to resound in every dimension: political, social, physical, emotional, and spiritual.
#### From General Norij Gaston, *Personal Journal*
These first few battles have gone well, I would say. The Elites are not as dangerous as I had thought they would be, but that may be because we consistently attack them from unexpected directions. And, as far as I can tell, they still believe that Catarin’s forces are small and spread thin.
Every three days, we advance the main force by Portal, leaving token units behind to help convince the majority of the Seleucarian army that we don’t have the capability of winning this campaign. And after that token unit has been “routed,” Catarin brings them in via another, smaller Portal.
We could perhaps move faster, using larger Portals to cover more distance, but Catarin insists that Castomira would then know what we are doing. I sense that she fears to attract Castomira’s direct intervention. Does she fear that the Staff of Nicator lacks the power to quash the witch? If so, then either the fairy tales give the Staff too much credit, or the witch Castomira is as strong as hellfire. She walks a fine line, the princess does. We must move quickly if we are to win, yet too quickly and all our plans become useless. And she must also take the time to speak with the Shallamese, though I have little word from her on their progress.
It is their portion of the plan that I wonder about. They have the boats, and the necessary sailors, but no one has ever attempted a full-scale attack by sea since Ashtan’s abortive invasion of Shallam. If this gambit works, the city will fall almost overnight. But if it doesn’t, we will lose half our army almost instantly, and the rest of us will be left to fight a retreat back to Ashtan.
Who knows how it will happen?
#### From Jorin Hornblade, *Tactics and Diplomacy: Seleucarian Art*
> Editor’s note: The following is a fictionalized account based strongly on journals, letters, and other historical documents. There is a minimum of authorial speculation. Although considered “historical fiction,” Hornblade’s work is correct and substantiated in a way that Leona Fontaine’s novel, for example, is not.
General Argan deSoral pounded his fist into the table. “There is no way this will work!”
Catarin stood at the end of the map table, her eyes cool as she stared at the general, her mouth in a slight frown. Argan glanced at Kephry, who stood by her side, but saw no support there, just as he saw none from the others around the table.
“Are you all mad?” he asked incredulously. “You want me to take my Lancers onto a boat, sail around most of the continent, come into Ralshev’s Bay under cover of night, never mind the reefs and shoals, and attack the city from the harbor?”
“Yes,” was Catarin’s only reply.
“It won’t work!” Argan said again. “Our horses will be in holds for days, and we’d need time to prepare them to fight after that kind of confinement. Supplies will have to be rationed, which means my men won’t be at full fighting strength when we finally get there. Not to mention what happens if anyone in the city figures out what’s going on! We’ll be slaughtered!”
“Are you afraid?” Kephry said, silencing the General. “What about Shallamese courage? You will be supported, by Catarin and by Ashtan.”
“You haven’t convinced me of Ashtan’s reliability,” Argan said. “And I am in command of this army. We—”
“Listen,” Catarin said, and the whispered word seemed to echo for miles. Argan’s mouth moved, but no sound emerged, and he froze in shock.
“You are wrong on several accounts,” she said. “This will work. They will never see this coming. I will provide full rations for your men, and fresh mounts just before the attack. And I am in command of this army, General deSoral, not you. If this is a problem, I will replace you. Your own king has given me full authority.”
Argan stared at her for a long moment, and then slowly nodded. He spoke softly, surprised his words were audible again. “I understand, your highness.”
“I have others to speak with. Good day, General. And make sure your men are on those ships by nightfall. There shall be no further delay.”
With those words, she turned and left the tent.
#### From Orson Lasalle, *The Second War of Succession: A History*
It wasn’t until after the war that Catarin’s use of the Staff was made public. She had indeed been using it to move the Ashtanian forces forward much faster than Castomira could predict, and, combined with her use of feints and false battles, she had convinced the Seleucarian generals that her own forces were weak, scattered, and ineffective.
But, unknown to many even on Catarin’s side, two separate Shallamese forces were also on the march. One was a ground force comprised of main-line units, such as foot soldiers and cavalry, along with two platoons of the elite Shallamese Lancers. It was discovered that not only had Catarin been moving the Ashtanian army via Portal, she had been doing the same for the much smaller Shallamese forces.
But it is the second force that deserves close attention. Shallam had commandeered a dozen private merchant ships in the name of the imperial crown. These ships were then loaded with the remaining bulk of the Lancers, totaling nearly six hundred soldiers. This left Shallam itself woefully open to attack, but, as Catarin said, “If Castomira is not stopped now, then no city is safe, no matter how well-defended. Given the regency, she would conquer by law, not by arms.”
As the two-pronged attack from land came closer to the Imperial City, these dozen ships, masquerading as members of various merchant houses, came to dock in the Imperial Harbor. As Castomira had placed an moratorium on unsanctioned trade during the conflict, these ships were told to stay in port, and not to offload their goods until they had passed a formal inspection. It is interesting to note, however, that not one Seleucarian inspector ever set foot on the boats to verify their contents. Catarin still had a thin network of supporters within the city, despite Castomira’s purges, and the Imperial Harbormaster was one of them.
#### From Jorin Hornblade, *Tactics and Diplomacy: Seleucarian Art*
Jerold slid his blade into its sheath as he stood up, stretching his stiff muscles. He, along with his fellow Lancers, had been in the hold of the Magenta Spray for nearly two weeks now, and he worried that he was beginning to lose his fighting edge to boredom. He no longer noticed the sway of the ship, and the occasional bump against the dock no longer sent him to his feet in alarm.
But the waiting was nearly over. When Catarin’s Portal had last opened (and what a stir that had caused the first time it happened), a message had come through with the supplies. Catarin’s forces were near Imperial Seleucar, and the true size of her attack force had not been discovered.
General Argan, who was on the Iridescent Moon, had issued the order to prepare for battle. Short bows, swords, and armor had been broken out, and, under threat of “keel-hauling,” whatever that was, they had made sure to clean and repair their equipment with extreme quiet.
“Tonight,” Jerold said softly. “Tonight we take back our Empire.”
#### From General Norij Gaston, *Personal Journal*
I’ve never heard of such an audacious, outrageous, doomed-to-failure plan working so well before. None of the Seleucarian military seem to have any idea of where we are, or even how numerous we are. Tomorrow, Catarin will close the vise on the Imperial City, and let the hammer pound its Royal Elites flat.
A day worth living for, I suppose. Although some of us, especially Damen Kephry, would disagree. I was there when he heard about his wife and family. I must admit, as much as I dislike the man, now I have every reason to trust him. It was Caprian Zyle who brought the message, and that’s one Serpentlord I have reason to trust a great deal.
To think, Castomira would sink so low. And to commit such atrocity in the very shadow of the Chrysalis Basilica! I wonder how many of her supporters know of this. It would have been better had she killed them outright, but to do what she did . . . I am amazed that Kephry’s response was so calm. I don’t know what mine would have been under similar circumstances.
The Church had declared that all refugees in Delos would be under divine protection. The destruction of Lord Kephry’s family has enraged them. The last I heard, every Templar on Sapience was moving to reinforce us. They’re not privy to our true plans, and they don’t know that we’ve been leapfrogging Castomira’s armies . . . they’re in for a nasty shock when they try to follow in our path. I can’t feel too bad for the Churchies, but I hope they deal a few good blows to those Seleucarian scum. One batch of prigs smiting another, as far as I’m concerned, but for once I’d rather the Templars win out in the end. And as long as the Templars are fighting the Royal Elites in the east, the enemy won’t be able to fall on us from behind when we hit the capital.
Catarin is calling. Time for the battle to begin. I pray I live through this day, at least long enough to spit Castomira and her goons with my sword.
#### From Lord Damen Kephry, *Collected Correspondence*
Catarin,
I thank you for your heart-felt condolences, but yet again I feel I must refuse your offer to become First General in your army. The reunification of Guild of Knights is my one dream, though I know it to be a foolish one. After this war is done, and your rule established, I shall endeavor to make that dream a reality.
I do wish you would spend less time with the Ashtanian forces, or allow me to accompany you more often, instead of relying on these letters. Still, I understand your reasons, though I am not overly fond of them. Do keep yourself safe, and watch your back.
I have received word from Judgment Mountain, and you will be pleased to know that the Sentaari are free. Even though they were stripped of their weapons by Castomira’s occupying forces, they launched an incredible attack against their oppressors, defeating seasoned swordsmen with their bare hands. For my part, I do not know how this can be, but if they can indeed stand unarmed and unarmored against Royal Elites, then clearly they will make potent allies. And allies they are, for they have sworn to aid you in your crusade against Castomira. I’ve learned that Prince Remeer of Ashtan, fifth son of King Tephicles, is present in the monastery; you may wish to use the Staff to visit Judgment Mountain and speak with the monks there.
As to your other request . . . while I am honored beyond words, I would rather my family be buried in our family plot. There can be no true solution for my grief at this time, but nonetheless
I’ve just received word that a contingent of infantry, led by Royal Elites, is advancing upon our position. I will send this off and hope you receive it soon. We may need the help.
Vitem et sanguinem,
Lord Damen Kephry #### From Jorin Hornblade, *Tactics and Diplomacy: Seleucarian Art*
“CHARGE!”
With those words, the magick that had cloaked them from sight fell, and the Ashtanian army boiled up from the ground like liquid magma, it’s heat searing away the Seleucarian forces before them. At the forefront rode Catarin, her hair held under a small leather cap, wearing only the monk’s travelling clothes she’d worn during the Tournament of Blades. With each foot of ground gained, she left another dead soldier behind her, her staff rising and falling with mechanical, deadly efficiency.
Castomira’s army included wielders of magic, as well, but as soon as they began to direct their spells against Catarin, she burned them to ash with reactive lightning from the Staff, and reflected their magic into their own troops.
And, at the same time, Lord Damen Kephry led his own charge against the city’s smaller eastern gate. His forces, having barely defeated the surprise attack less than an hour before, were weakened, but not even the infamous Royal Elites would stop him. His great sword, which would one day be known as Bringer of Tears, slew countless of the enemy, leading his forces to push them back against their own walls.
And there the city stood, caught between two halves of the mill, slowly being ground down. But this did not bother the great Castomira, who had foreseen such an attack, and had prepared for it.
She stood at the balcony of her private rooms, and looked out at the walls, smiling. She turned to the man standing behind her, and whispered softly.
“They chose to attack at night, the fools. Are you ready?”
The man, whose name to this day is still unknown, nodded and stepped forward. Castomira drew forth a black dagger from its sheath and held it over the man’s heart.
“Life’s blood freely given is a powerful thing,” she whispered to the man, who shivered in excitement. “I shall show Catarin the true power that one can wield if she is willing.”
She plunged the dagger home.
#### From Orson Lasalle, *Blood and Roses: New Theories Regarding the Wars of Succession*
While clearly Castomira Brangwin was a force for evil, her efforts during the Second War of Succession led to considerable progress for the Seleucarian Empire. In order to form a powerful coalition army, she set new standards for strategic unification of infantry, cavalry, and bowmen. Her Royal Elites were rightly feared; in only a few months, she took the top ten percent of the standing armies, and formed them into combined-arms units of exceptional training and coherence, under her seven High Commanders. After the war, scattered former Royal Elites contributed to an overall improvement in the quality of the imperial armed forces, guaranteeing a long period of peace and security.
Furthermore, Castomira’s rapid military expansion within the province of Seleucar required extensive logistical support. By emptying the coffers of her supporters, Castomira turned Seleucar’s somewhat haphazard infrastructure into a streamlined transport and staging system. Although the lords who financed her went bankrupt, merchants of the next few decades received an economic boost from the rapid improvements Castomira had pushed through.
Catarin’s reign came to be known as a golden age, most especially for its military security and its economic prosperity . . . boons which were the direct result of Castomira’s ruthless bid for power. Had Castomira’s threat never arisen, Catarin’s reign might have been entirely unexceptional. In particular, the renaissance of culture initiated by Catarin’s extravagant Imperial Bardic Endowment might never have occurred, nor the expansion of Tasur’ke, nor the construction of the lost and legendary Floating Temples of Shar’ilian.
However, was the price of such peace and prosperity worth the loss of life? This author does not know.
### Queen of the Broken Sword
#### From General Norij Gaston, *Personal Journal*
We were winning when it happened. The sky went from clear to stormy in the course of five minutes, and thunderbolts flickered within the gathering clouds. The battle lost intensity as more and more men backed away, spooked by the unnatural display. I ordered my division to engage, but soldiers are a superstitious lot: even in this age of magic, many will not dare to challenge the unearthly.
And suddenly, lightning fell to the ground in sheets, ripping through Seleucarian and Ashtanian alike. The storm of lightning ignited waves of fire that tore across the ground; spot tornadoes hurled men and horses to the afterlife; hailstones the size of billiard balls pummeled men to death. In the space of ten breaths, I watched a thousand people die, and even my battle-hardened senses felt the first stirrings of terror. As the destruction slowly began to focus on our side of the battleground, it became clear that this was a battle we could not win by force of arms.
And then I saw Catarin urge her horse to a gallop, knocking her own men aside as she raced to the front line. A hundred bolts of lightning struck at her, and all were repelled by a dome of golden light, one that grew larger with each attack it deflected. At her side was Damen Kephry, swinging his mighty sword to clear her path through the broken Seleucarian lines. As I watched, Catarin raised the Staff of Nicator above her head with one hand, and Three Moons with the other. Her skull cap had fallen in her headlong gallop, leaving her hair free in the wind, and I swear she was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. By the time she neared the center of the Seleucarian force, the golden shield was large enough to cover the entire battlefield, and the mystic storm overhead raged uselessly.
“See how the witch Castomira would spend your lives to win this battle!” Catarin yelled out to the Seleucarian armies that surrounded her. “Decide for yourselves whether her cause is your own!” The Seleucarian soldiers at the front line, already unsure of themselves, seemed as though they might be receptive to her outcry, but the Royal Elites at the center of the Seleucarian division fanned out to surround her and Lord Kephry. “You are the citizens of the city of Nicator and Piraeus! But this time, the Black Wave comes from the center of the city. Know this! Castomira Brangwin holds the evil of the Tsol’teth within her, and now you see its fruit! The choice is yours, but know that if you side with Castomira, you will share her fate.”
The storm front had reached each horizon, and in every quarter, death reigned. Catarin’s dome of protection covered only a small portion of the dark storm’s ravage. Even as the Royal Elites closed in, and Lord Kephry prepared to make a valiant stand, Catarin visibly came to a decision. She said something to Kephry, then both of them disappeared in a brilliant flash of white. The golden dome of light remained, as Ashtanian and Seleucarian troops engaged the Royal Elites. In this area, at least, the battle could be won. But my spyglass showed Ashtanian and Shallamese armies crushed to bits, and Royal Elites chasing the stragglers through a hellish playground of fire and ice.
#### From *The Sealed Files of Castomira Brangwin*
Win or lose, history will cast me as a villain. Even if I reign for a thousand years, and my empire reveres me for ten thousand more, all things must topple, and when the pendulum of dominion swings back to good and light and happiness, my name will be remembered with hatred and fear.
This prospect fills me with satisfaction.
It’s only been a year and a half that I’ve held these dreams of destruction and domination, and yet I must concentrate to remember how my dark wishes evolved. At first, I wanted only to kill Catarin. Then, I thought to destroy the entire nation of Seleucar. And now, I’ve hit upon a combination that seems perfect to me: kill Catarin, and then rule over Seleucar with such unrelenting cruelty that even in Heaven, Catarin and all her ancestors will feel the agony of loss. Perhaps I shall hold seances solely that I might gloat. Perhaps I shall invade the sacrosanct Tomb of Kings and raise them all as zombies to do my bidding. My son Parni is partly of their blood. That means that in his hands, the Staff of Nicator will take on royal power. But if his soul is black enough, that power will be twisted and vile to match. Perhaps I can spit in the eyes of the gods themselves, for it is said that what is made by the Logos cannot be unmade.
My son. I truly do have a mother’s instincts. I want to protect him, nurture him, raise him to be as powerful and fearless as he can be. I want to mold him in my image, make of him what I wish that I could be. Might a human mother cringe to think that I wish to raise Parni as a monster? He is of my blood, he has drunk my milk. Already his soul is a dark shade of gray. I am hard as diamond, dyed in evil, fed richly on souls and heartbreak. With my power and the blood of holy kings, what might Parni become? The nemesis of a thousand states. The murderer of a thousand dreams.
I no longer think of myself as human. Word has it that Catarin claims I’ve inherited the evil power of the Tsol’teth. I’ve no reason to doubt her; I’ve never researched my own lineage. Perhaps I am an unwitting pawn to the Dark Masters, long after their deaths. If so, then they have crafted a perfect tool, for I feel nothing but joy at the imminent fruition of my plans.
Yet I feel fear, as well. For now, Catarin still holds the Staff. If I can place it in Parni’s infant hands, Catarin’s bond with it will be broken; but until then, she is a very real threat to me. I must keep Parni near me, to steal the Staff from Catarin. But that means that Catarin can find me in an eyeblink, if she uses the Staff to travel to Parni. It is a measured risk I take. And in this journal, no braggadocio: this may be my final entry. To kill Trenton Deis was far more than I expected of her. Have I underestimated Catarin yet again?
#### From *The Sealed Files of Catarin the Just*
> Editor’s note: This single text, written on the first few pages of an otherwise blank journal, was found embedded in the cornerstone of the Second Imperial Palace after it was demolished by the Sapience League. It was contained in a box, along with a slip of parchment lettered “To be read after the fall of the Empire.” Under the circumstances, it was deemed appropriate to open it on the spot.
The light faded. We were in the Palace. I could tell that she was near. At the last second, she had knocked me aside, preventing me from reaching her son directly. I knew that she was gathering her power. I could feel it in the stones around me. The entire Palace throbbed with ill, like an infected cut pulsing pain. Damen felt it, but could not sense its full scope. I could. The scars of battle left by the first war had been hastily repaired, but the violent wrong possessing the palace now would not be so easily erased.
“A very interesting way of getting into the Palace,” Damen said quietly.
“The only way. I did not mean to bring you with me. You should escape to the streets. You won’t have a chance against Castomira.”
Damen nodded. “I remember the last time. Listen. I can hear fighting out there. Castomira hasn’t aimed that storm at the city yet. If you can defeat her, we might win, even with our main forces crippled.”
I remember how he looked at that moment, hopeful, the first to truly believe in me since Lucaine died. All the others had bowed to my force of will, or my threats, or my reasoning, but only Damen Kephry had truly given me his fealty. I had begun to understand why his wife had loved him so. But he and I were far too wrapped up in our personal griefs ever to consider letting them go, for years yet, perhaps. “Perhaps” is the best I can say, for at that moment Castomira killed him.
As the violent crackle of her spell faded, Damen slumped to the ground. Steam rose from the gruesome hole in his back. The air shifted slightly, and Castomira Brangwin was no longer invisible. She held a tiny babe in one arm, and her other hand still rippled with the sinuous afterglow of her magic.
“Catarin, my dear. Ah, there should be a special word, a word for someone you hate so much that it’s stronger than love. Were we lovers, I could say, ‘Catarin, my love,’ and perhaps your heart would leap with anticipation. But there’s nothing I can say like that right now.”
For just a moment, I was drawn in by her posturing. Foolishly, I started to reply. “Why not say, ‘Goodbye?’ Because—” but this battle was not to follow bardic conventions, and there was to be no lengthy exchange of threats. My mistake. The moment I became distracted with speech, Castomira lunged toward me, arm out, almost too quickly to see. Only my Sentaari training allowed me to pivot around her, reaching out blindly to swing the Staff at her throat. My blow struck home. There was a blinding flash, and she flew backwards into a pillar, striking it so hard that it cracked. The infant flew from her grasp, falling head-first toward the floor.
Again, I could only react on instinct. I dove toward the child, both arms out, letting the Staff fall to the ground. I hit the ground hard, but I managed to catch the baby. Was I foolish to preserve his life? He was the heir of the Tsol’teth. But I could not let an infant die, and claim to be in the right.
As I struggled to my feet, I saw without surprise that Castomira had claimed the Staff.
“Interesting,” Castomira said, gesturing with the Staff. “I had thought it would refuse me. Destroy me even. Yet here I stand, untouched.”
“The Staff does as I will,” I said softly. “This is your final chance to repent. The Tsol’teth power might still be cleansed.”
“What will you do? Kill my child? He makes a poor hostage for you, Catarin. Why not return him to his mother?”
I stood there for a long moment, looking at the woman who had once been my friend, someone with whom I had shared my childhood secrets, someone I had once called sister in my heart. And all that was left was a walking ruin of a woman, an intelligent monster twisted out of shape by a cruel and ancient power. “Your evil was an accident of birth. I hope to save him from the same.”
“Brainless wench, you cannot raise him in the light when your soul is damned in darkness!” Castomira clenched her fist, and chaotic vapors steamed forth from it, and began to glow. But before she could unleash her magic, the Staff of Nicator shone with a tremendous brilliance, far greater than anything I had seen before. I was later told that the light shone directly through rock, and even hundreds of miles away over the horizon it was visible as a bright spot on the ground itself. My eyes were not harmed, although after the war the Church had to spend months magically restoring the vision of every person within twenty miles of Seleucar.
I had willed the Staff, “Destroy Castomira.” But its manifestation of power was beyond my intent or, indeed, my imagination. From the Staff, a beam of light reached up and down, boring into the ceiling and the floor, then widened to a pillar ten feet across. After a long moment, the beam collapsed . . . and Castomira laughed in the middle of it, floating in the air, unhurt.
“I am stronger than the Staff! Look how its power bathes me in light!” And indeed, the residual glow that rippled along Castomira’s ebony gown seemed like a ghastly extension of her evil power. In my arms, the baby gurgled contentedly, utterly unaffected by the chaos surrounding him.
Then hell truly broke loose. From the unimaginable depths of the earth, flaming liquid rock spewed up in a geyser. The Staff of Nicator had made a cut miles deep, and the very blood of the earth was jetting forth. With reactions faster than any human’s, Castomira instantly summoned arctic cold to freeze the spurting magma in place as quickly as it flowed, but she was not fast enough to stem the eruption, and she found herself scrambling up a growing mound of steaming volcanic rock, spraying lethal cold from her hands in all directions.
If I left her to fight the rage of the earth alone, however, she might prevail. But if I commanded the Staff again to destroy her, what havoc might it wreak? I could not control the Staff of Nicator.
I had one option left. One that felt insanely foolish, yet perfectly right. I charged. I had heard a hundred times in the last month, “Vitem et sanguinem.” Blood and lives, indeed. For Seleucar, at last, my blood and life . . . or Castomira’s.
Every time Castomira froze the magma beneath her, another section of the rising volcanic mass would explode into flaming shrapnel and liquid rock, defying her every attempt to leap down from the igneous hill she was creating. It was only by luck that I hadn’t already been killed by flying rock. But now, after setting my helpless nephew on the ground behind the scant protection of a marble column, I scrambled up toward Castomira, leaping over rivulets of lava, ignoring the flying rocks that whizzed closely past my head.
Castomira’s face was pale white and glowing. Spots of darkness moved around her skin, like shifting leaf-shadows. Even as she froze another spray of magma in midair with one hand, she raised the other to meet my advance. But the hand she raised to me was the one that held the Staff, and when she tried to channel her evil magic through it, the Staff pulsed white, once, and blew her hand off. Castomira stared with disbelief at the stump of her wrist, and she still wore that expression when the broken blade of Three Moons took off her head. The Staff of Nicator fell, and with my free hand I snatched it out of the air. Castomira’s blood was as red and bright as anyone’s. For the last time, Three Moons had drawn its sacred circle of death.
Immediately the Staff quieted the roaring earth, and the lava flow ceased. The Staff’s power was mine again, and I used it to bring my nephew back into my arms. I thought it was over. And then Castomira’s severed head began to speak, softly and weakly at first, but transforming at the last into an inhuman, demonic shriek.
“This Empire will stretch out for hundreds of years more, hated blood of Nicator. But when the Staff of Nicator comes into Parni’s grip, it will end once and for all time. Pray now, for in the end, all that you have fought for is damned. Run now, for in moments, the heart of your city will be consumed! As long as there are humans, our hatred can never die . . . . Tezlari’tarin shall be destroyed, despite every human effort! The Tsol’teth will not be denied!”
For all my reign, I have claimed that the bright light and the opening of the magma well were the result of Castomira’s magic. May the gods forgive this small untruth. I write this to set the record straight; I write this in hope that whoever seeks to revive the Empire will realize that the Staff is more than just an artifact for personal aggrandizement, more than just a prize for earning credit with the gods, more than just a trophy of personal might: it is a mystery, subject only to the will of Sarapis. I fear the role it may play in the future of the Empire. I do not doubt Castomira’s final prophecy for a moment, although I’ve sought to delay it. I hope that this may serve as a warning to whoever comes to wield the Staff in the far future.
Castomira’s corpse exploded into an acidic wave of black light that consumed the entire Palace, leaving a pitted and uneven crater half a mile across. At its bottom was the geometrically smooth hole that the Staff had burned into the center of the earth. I have always said that the Staff was lost in the battle. It was. In order to avoid the fulfillment of Castomira’s prophecy, I dropped the Staff into the hole. I would rather it rest forever in the depths.
The palace was rebuilt in the crater, and the hole was covered by masonry at my request. I’ve heard them talking behind my back about building a special shrine there after my death, to commemorate the battle. They’re calling it the Well of Fire. I can’t explain to them why I wanted it sealed. Parni is a moody boy, and rebellious, and although he’s never shown a glimmer of hatred or cruelty, I won’t risk giving him any ideas that he is destined to destroy the Empire. True or false, it’s simply not the sort of thing a thirteen-year-old needs to know.
#### From Shigen Galuade, *A Thousand Happy Endings: The Unexplored Tragedies of the Second War of Succession*
Therefore, it becomes clear that Prince Parni showed no resentment whatsoever for the deaths of his mother or his father, having been raised, like all children of the time, in the afterglow of Catarin’s glorious victory. Every memory that he had was of his foster parents, who showed him nothing but love and devotion. And he had been raised as a prince, potentially an heir to the imperial throne, and was given an education commensurate with this responsibility. Certainly he could not have felt abandoned. How, then, to explain his disappearance?
Historians have provided a dozen theories, but only a few carry any weight. Consider the facts, sparse though they may be: he went with a group of huntsmen and retainers on a routine game outing in an imperial preserve. He did not return after dark. A search party was sent out the next day, expecting simply to find that the hunting party had camped for the night. Instead, the searchers found the prince’s companions scattered through the woods, each ripped limb from limb. Of the prince, there was nothing to be found, then or ever.
There are only four plausible explanations. First, something killed the hunting party and kidnapped the prince. Second, something killed the hunting party and destroyed the prince entirely. Third, something killed the hunting party, and the prince escaped, and has either been unable or unwilling to return to the known areas of Sapience. Fourth, the prince himself killed the hunting party, then disappeared or went undercover.
I am a historian, not a detective. I refuse to endorse one theory over another. However, among less exacting scholars, the prevailing opinion is that Parni’s past caught up with him . . . one way or another.
#### From *The Sealed Files of Catarin the Just*
So, for better or for worse, this is it: the real story. I’ve marked this journal to be opened only after the end of the Empire. If my instructions have been followed, and the Empire has already fallen, then tell me: was it worthwhile for me to preserve it?
### Last Words of the Librarian
*From Retsu Nienhalt, The Age of Conquest*
Although there was much popular protest against Nicator and Seleucar in Shallam, the fact was incontrovertible: Seleucar’s small force had demolished the mighty Shallamese army, and forced the city to unconditional surrender in a period of two hours.
The ease of the victory was due in part to the fact that Nicator’s force was so small that it was not even perceived as an army until there was only a quarter of a mile to the main gate of the city. Shallam was forced to field its army with little preparation and no room to maneuver. Had the Shallamese thought to simply close the gate and wait for Nicator to leave, the Selucarian plans might have stopped right there, but Nicator and his strategists had planned it exactly: counting on Shallam’s reluctance to close their shipping lanes, and the fact that Shallam had no inkling of Seleucar’s existence up to now, they attacked with a force of a size calculated to bring only a half-hearted Shallamese response.
Meeting Shallam’s army with great ferocity, the Selucarian army, only a thousand strong, defeated three thousand men in close combat right in front of the city’s main gate. Selucarian Templars unhorsed Shallamese Knights; Selucarian trolls chopped Shallamese soldiers like weeds; and the Selucarian Occultists, many of whom had fled to Seleucar to escape Shallamese persecution, took great pleasure in using their flaming chariots to clear the parapets.
And in the end, the Emperor of Shallam took the field personally, struggling through the city gate on his noble charger, and a great cheer came up from his warriors… which turned to a great cry of dismay when Nicator froze him in a globe of golden light using the Staff of Nicator, and levitated him into the center of the Selucarian army. Entering the globe himself, Nicator held a long discussion with the Emperor, while the two armies battled furiously. When the discussion was over, the Emperor was given safe passage back to his army. The Emperor ordered his men to retreat into the city. Fifteen minutes later, white flags rose all over Shallam, to indicate the city’s complete surrender.
When asked what he had talked about with the Emperor, Nicator simply replied, “I convinced him that Shallam would do better as part of Seleucar.” It is widely believed that Nicator did not relate the full story.
From our viewpoint, the fall of the Seleucarian Empire happened impossibly long ago, and its Wars of Succession are more like an ancient myth than a real event. In these fast-moving times, memories rarely last longer than a few decades, and history is written haphazardly, and seldom preserved. In all honesty, it’s a bad time to be a librarian. But this account that I have assembled of the Second War of Succession is, I believe, the best and most complete that you will find anywhere on Sapience. I hope it proves both useful and educational.
I did not include a summary of the events of the Catarine Dominion, on the flawed assumption that all readers would be familiar with this period of history. Allow me to briefly redress my error. Catarin eventually married Prince Evander Christin, of the royal line of Shallam, and bore two sons and a daughter. Catarin was, indeed, remembered by history as a “Queen,” even though her son became the next Emperor. Catarin used Three Moons as her scepter of office, and after her death it was enshrined at the entrance to King’s Tomb, to guard her eternal soul. The Catarine Dominion, which is the common name for her period of rule, was considered a golden age, during which the Seleucarian Empire reached a new level of peace, prosperity, and cooperation. Some of Catarin’s policies held the seeds of decay, but these seeds did not reach fruition until hundreds of years later. And, finally, there is the famed disappearance of Castomira’s son Parni; although if you know anything at all about the Seleucarian Empire, you quite likely know of that, and his spectacular later reappearance.
Long ago, longer than the memories of most now living, I received a divine commission to gather these histories. My commission is not fully discharged, for the final fate of the Seleucarian Empire remains untold. My nephews have sworn to take up this work; I trust that they will perform admirably. For myself, my days grow short. Soon I will Transcend for the last time. Wish me well.
It is incumbent upon me to offer thanks to those who have assisted in the gathering and editing of these sources. My heartfelt thanks go to Sarapis the Logos, without whom nothing is possible; Vail Mayonet; Saracen, Krizzik, Xander, and Etakk; Morlana ni’Choya; my nephews, Orson and Josiah; Alain; all deLeons, but particularly Ariel; Averroes the Prophet; Eregast; Steel Heaven; Daine of Michael; Hermit; Blade; Ander Kurtzweil; and especially, more than anyone, my beloved Lucrecia. Rest in peace, Lucrecia. And I’ll see you soon.
---
### [Login Customizer](https://www.achaea.com/login-customizer)
**Published:** August 17, 2018
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
This page is used for Login Customizer plugin. It will not be visible to your readers. Do not delete it.
---
### [Privacy Policy](https://www.achaea.com/privacy-policy)
**Published:** May 25, 2018
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
# Privacy Policy
This policy covers how Iron Realms Entertainment, LLC (“Iron Realms “) treats personal information that it collects and receives, including information related to your past use of its products and services. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name or email address that is not otherwise publicly available.
### Information Collection and Use
Iron Realms collects personal information when you register with one of its games, when you use its products or services, and when you visit its pages. Iron Realms may combine information about you that we have with information we obtain from business partners or other companies.
When you register we ask for information such as your name, email address, birth date, etc. Once you register with Iron Realms you are not anonymous to us.
Iron Realms collects information about your transactions with us.
Iron Realms automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, Iron Realms cookie information, and the page you request.
Iron Realms collects information about your in-game actions for statistical purposes.
Iron Realms uses information for the following general purposes: to customize the content you see, fulfill your requests for products and services, improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting.
### Information Sharing and Disclosure
Iron Realms does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or nonaffiliated companies except to provide products or services you’ve requested when we have your permission, or under the following circumstances:
- We respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims.
- We believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of Iron Realms’ terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.
- We transfer information about you if Iron Realms is acquired by or merged with another company. In this event, Iron Realms will notify you before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
### Cookies
Iron Realms may set and access Iron Realms cookies on your computer.
### Communications from Iron Realms
Certain communications from Iron Realms are part of Iron Realms membership. You may not opt out of receiving them. Required communication include account deletion notices and system notifications.
All remaining communication is optional and controlled by the user. Optional communication includes announcements, in-game messages, newsletters, and similar content.
### Confidentiality and Security
Your Iron Realms information is password-protected and encrypted.
We take security seriously and make our best efforts to prevent compromise of your personal information. In the event of a serious security breach, we will alert our registered users.
---
### [Elite Memberships](https://www.achaea.com/elite-memberships)
**Published:** February 23, 2018
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
### Iron Elite Memberships
Iron Realms Entertainment is committed to providing you many options to improve your characters, and Iron Elite Memberships are just one of these! They provide a variety of advantages to help you develop your characters at an advanced rate, as well as allowing you to receive additional benefits from other promotions we may be running.
### What Are The Advantages Of Iron Elite?
- **DAILY LESSONS**
Every character registered to your email address will earn 5 lessons every day upon login. You will earn these lessons the instant you enter the game, resulting in 150 lessons per month (approximately 25 credits). If you have 10 characters then it results in the equivalent of 250 credits per month in lessons!
- **BOUND CREDITS**
Your account will earn 100 bound credits every month, which can be be distributed across any of your registered characters! In addition, you will accumulate 5 additional credits every month you are on the membership (up to 150 total credits per month).
- **PERMANENT CREDIT BONUS**
You will have a permanent 10% bonus to all credit purchases while on the membership. In other words, members will have a permanent sale running. This bonus will stack with any other sale we run.
- **EXPERIENCE BONUS**
Your characters will receive an experience bonus ranging from 5% – 25% (see below), to help you advance in levels at an accelerated rate.
### Cumulative Benefits
Being a long-term Iron Elite member increases the monthly benefits, based on the length of your membership! Each consecutive month you renew, you gain an additional 5% added to your experience bonus, as well as 5 more credits to be used however you see fit.
In your first month, you’ll receive 100 credits and a 5% experience bonus. In your second, 105 credits and a 10% experience bonus, all the way up to your eleventh consecutive month, where you’ll receive 150 credits and a 25% experience bonus every month thereafter!
### Accessing Your Credits
Your membership credits are stored in a “pool” which can be accessed by any of your characters. To access the credits, simply log in the character you wish to access the credits on, and use **CREDITS MEMBERSHIP TRANSFER <AMOUNT>**, which will convert them to bound credits on that character.
You can check **CREDIT REPORT** at any time to see how many credits you have available!
### Purchasing Your Iron Elite Membership
Signing up is simple! Just head to http://www.achaea.com/credits and follow the instructions listed there.
**PLEASE NOTE**: This is a recurring payment! As you sign up, you’re agreeing to an automatic, scheduled payment via your preferred payment method (PayPal or Credit Card.)
### Cancelling Your Iron Elite Membership
You can cancel your Membership at any time! There are no obligations to keep this going any longer than your wish for it to continue.
Upon cancelling your Membership, you will have a grace period of 30 days before the cumulative benefits of your membership expire.
- **IF YOU PURCHASED YOUR IRON ELITE MEMBERSHIP VIA PAYPAL:**
Simply log in to your PayPal account, navigate to the “Preapproved Payments” page, and cancel your scheduled payment.
- **IF YOU PURCHASED YOUR IRON ELITE MEMBERSHIP WITH A CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD:**
Simply log in to Achaea.com as your character, and then navigate to http://www.achaea.com/credits?page=cancel and click on the **blue cancel button** to stop the recurring payment.
### Changing The Card Associated With Your Membership
To do this you will first need to cancel the existing Membership (see Cancelling Iron Elite Membership above), and then wait for the Membership to expire.
Once your Membership has expired (shows as inactive on **CREDIT REPORT**) you will enter the 30 day grace period, and can now repurchase your Iron Elite Membership via whatever method you wish.
So long as the Membership is repurchased during this 30 day grace period, any bonuses previously accrued will be reinstated without loss.
### Subscription Renewal Failure
This commonly happens when there aren’t enough funds in the account to cover a Membership payment and it is not the end of the world!
Please do NOT attempt to repurchase the Membership, after a failed attempt the system will retry the transaction every 3 days (up to a maximum of 3 failed attempts\*.)
\* If your membership payment fails three times in a single billing cycle, you will need to cancel the membership (see **Cancelling Your Iron Elite Membership** above) and then purchase anew.
If you have any questions, problems, or concerns, please email support@achaea.com and we will be happy to help!
---
### [How to Connect](https://www.achaea.com/how-to-connect)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
## Playing Achaea
You can play Achaea in a variety of ways, including both in-browser and downloadable methods. We recommend:
- [Nexus](http://client.achaea.com/ "Nexus"): Our official browser-based client works very well with the latest versions of all the browsers, with the exception of Internet Explorer versions 9 and earlier. This will give you the best and smoothest initial Achaea experience. Windows, Mac, Linux, Tablets.
- [Mudlet](http://www.mudlet.org/): This is a third-party (free) downloadable client that is popular with players due to being highly-customisable. You’ll use it to connect to achaea.com, port 23 (you can also use port 2003 if you are blocked from using port 23 for whatever reason). Windows, Mac, Linux.
- [VIP MUD Client](http://www.gmagames.com/vipmud.shtml "VIP MUD Client"): This is a popular client for visually-impaired players. Free for 30 days, then $30 to buy. Windows only.
## Playing on Mobile
There are a number of options to play on mobile, though playing on mobile can be challenging. It’s more possible on tablets, and in both cases we recommend using [Nexus.](http://client.achaea.com/ "Nexus")
Other options include [Blowtorch](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happygoatstudios.bt&hl=en "Blowtorch MUD client") (Android) and [MudRammer](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mudrammer-a-modern-mud-client/id597157072?mt=8 "MudRammer") (iOS).
---
### [Messages](https://www.achaea.com/messages)
**Published:** March 9, 2017
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
### Character Messages
### Create a New Message
---
### [The Fall of Seleucar](https://www.achaea.com/history/fall-of-seleucar)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### The Seleucarian Empire, Part 3: The Fall of Seleucar
Centuries after the dream of a visionary young man spurred the rise of a great empire, the world was torn asunder, signalling the end of the ancient era. Here is chronicled the fall of Seleucar, the breaking of the continents, and the dawn of the Modern Age.
### Chapter List
### Introduction
Scholars have long despaired of the possibility that a full accounting of the end of the Seleucarian Empire may never be complete, and that the final days of Nicator’s line would endure only in myth, if at all. Exploration of Sapience has to date uncovered all but the most remote caves and hiding places, leaving few stones unturned in the search for evidence of our past. The rediscovery and more recent accessibility of the southern continent, however, has led to a trove of historical treasure and, with it, the pieces that complete our story.
The search for the truth has not been without obstacles, of course. Literacy in Meropis is lamentably low; those who know the value of the written word are few and far between. With Aster Keep and its extensive archives closed to outsiders, access to its collection has been difficult to obtain and its keepers are understandably reluctant to part with original materials. I trust my small selection of documents, hand transcribed under close supervision, will suffice to complement the work begun centuries ago by my esteemed predecessors.
This third and final volume of the history of the Seleucarian Empire follows the precedent set by the first two: a compilation of historic and literary publications excerpted and ordered into a narrative of the final years of the empire. No small amount of credit is owed to Orson and Josiah Lasalle, whose exemplary methods of acquisition and preservation have contributed a near-complete copy of Last Man Standing, the highly coveted field notes of Emmett Bowing, and more volumes of the Golden Gossip Reports than any other collection can boast.
My gratitude extends also to Yen Jaydde-Stormcrow and Delphinus Windancer, who rescued countless books and scrolls from the ravages of time and neglect, and to the Fellowship of Explorers, without whom we might still be searching for a path through the mountains. To Glynthor Oakbright, Keeper of the Scrolls at Aster Keep, I am ever in your debt. To Nissa, Maejin, and the rest of the archival staff, my deepest thanks for your input and careful analysis of this history. To Habbib, my desert-dwelling friend, upon whose kawhe I have been sustained through these many late nights, your value is beyond compare. To Justyn, thank you for your kindness and support. Finally, of course, to Tancred Lasalle, whose name has become synonymous with history, and who has set high the standard for research in the modern age. You are an inspiration to all scholars, and I pray I have done justice to the work you began.
Lara, Keeper of the Scrolls
Lucretian Athenaeum
New Thera
### Before the Fall
The art of the historian is to unify the events of the past under a single vision: the historian’s own. The accuracy of the history is dependent largely upon the ability of the historian to correctly combine known facts, verifiable evidence, and the accounts of his predecessors into a comprehensible picture of the past.
I am not a historian. As a librarian, I study how knowledge is presented, not how knowledge is created or synthesized. Therefore, the text you hold in your hands is not my personal synthesis of the events of history, but a collection of excerpts from the works of the true masters, who I will not insult with my attempts at history. I can only hope that the varied perspectives of these men, along with the first-hand accounts and even fables that I have included, will permit the reader to make his own judgments. Now, in the words of those who have truly made this study their lives: the history of the Seleucarian Empire.
Tancred Lasalle, Ashtan Royal Library, Head Librarian
This partial map illustrates the bulk of the Seleucar province and surrounding areas during the height of Imperial power, well before the fall of the empire and the splitting of the continent. Exact date is unknown.
\[Click image to view at full size.\]
### Sins of the Empire
*from Raeli Oliems, The Two Prophets: Nicator Before the Empire*
Seleucar is inseparable in our minds from its founder, the legendary Nicator. But who was Nicator, truly?
The Church once held that he was a deluded man who claimed the blessing of Sarapis in order to conquer the world. However, the Chrysalis Basilica quickly realized that Nicator’s new empire was proving far more peaceful and even more friendly to the Church than the previous regimes – and so they quietly revised their stance to fully support the new order. And when armies of Seleucar threw back the Black Wave in the War of the Deeps, Nicator was posthumously accorded the honor of Fire Saint, a warrior of righteousness.
According to the old Cactus Clans of Hashan and the Upper Urubamba, Nicator was a sehakii, a holy spirit sent by Gaia to preserve the world against the Corrupt Ones, the Tsol’teth. As the Selucarian Empire continued its reign, it began to wither, exactly as a plant plucked from the ground withers.
And so who is Nicator? A heretic whose empire gradually came to prove good? Or an avatar whose empire gradually rotted?
The truth begins with a young man – a farm boy named Nikolas.
Nikolas lived on a farm far on the outer limits of the lands called Thera, almost in the wastes. Possibly through some agreement with the local brigands, his family was able to survive, even so far from the town proper. However, whatever immunity his family had from the local bandits, they had none from the armies of Ashtan and Shallam, which at the time were nothing more than militarized bandits themselves, wandering the lands looking for loot first and enemies second.
Nikolas lived ‘a very boring, very typical life’, as he put it, until the day his parents were killed. In the Sermon on the Rocks, he described the event:
When I was fifteen, war burst in through my front door. It killed my father with an offhand blow from an axe, and after having its brutal way with her, it killed my mother with a long-bladed spear. If I hadn’t been too frightened to do more than hide, it would have killed me as well. And let me say that it was not soldiers who did this, nor was it the underlying conflicts that led to war… it was war itself, most monstrous of man’s inventions, that hideous force that possesses man and his beliefs alike and turns them inside out.
After the deaths of his parents, Nikolas began what was known as the Time of Wandering…
### The League Assembles
### From Ingram Cairo, Last Man Standing
The Seleucarian Empire ended when Davis Kephry met the Man in Grey.
I am Ingram Cairo. I was Davis’ friend for his entire life. Now, only I remain to tell his story. Only I know it.
We had established a camp in the Tyron River Valley. Emmett chose the place, close to iron deposits and tropical hardwoods. Good place for his armoury operation. Good place to make siege engines, battering rams. He and his Bastion Engineers were already hard at work when Davis and I got there. Emmett’s a good dwarf, practical but cheerful. Good thing he left Ashtan, they never would have used his abilities. Here, he was an engineering hurricane, as if Phaestus had created him for the sole purpose of arming insurrectionists. Could be, in fact. I’ve heard that the gods plan the fate of Achaea in advance, and that mortal actions simply hurry the world along through the divine scheme. Hamster wheel, some call it. Me, I’m just glad to be alive. I pray the gods keep me that way.
Peleus Ecantona arrived just a day after Davis and me, and he brought a regiment of rogue Shallamese Lancers with him. Ecantona was our biggest stroke of luck. Davis talks a lot, and people believe him, but without Ecantona’s smarts, we wouldn’t have had a chance. You don’t find many Tsol’aa in the military, but when you do, they rise high. Smart, good strategists, not too hasty. Good sense of timing. People respect their wisdom. Not so good as tacticians. They don’t like snap decisions. Humans are best for that. Enter Davis Kephry.
You might ask why Emmett and Peleus defected from Ashtan and Shallam. If so, then you don’t realise what it was like in those nations near the end of the Empire. They were both completely subjugated. Ashtan has always worshipped the power of the individual, and honoured the ability of the few to dominate the many. Viewpoint’s worthy of respect. A strong ruler can be a good thing. But as Imperial Seleucar took more and more power away from its subject kingdoms, Ashtan saw the Empire as the alpha wolf. Ashtan was, quite honestly, cowed. I hated to see that, I’m Ashtani myself.
Shallam, same deal, different reasons. Shallam prizes organisation and wealth. Who had the most organisation and wealth? Imperial Seleucar. If power drained away from Shallam and into the capital, well, at least it was centralised. The Church’s power comes and goes in Shallam, and during this period, the Church was pretty weak. Shallam was ruled by bankers and businessmen. Yes, the Archprelate was always speaking out against the Empire’s treatment of its citizens. So what? The Empire threatened to outlaw the Church, and the Church wasn’t willing to risk that kind of battle. End result: Shallam was under the Imperial thumb, and barely squirming.
Some people from Ashtan and Shallam weren’t big friends of the Empire. Mostly peasants, of course, but a few people with good lives and good prospects had their issues with the Empire, too. Peleus Ecantona, Emmett Bowing, Alekh Gunther, Alonzo Lampetides, nowadays we call them the heroes of the Sapient League, but they wouldn’t have joined forces without Davis Kephry.
So let me talk about him. He’s the core. His story is the only story that really matters through all this. Davis Kephry was a descendant of Damen Kephry, Catarin’s personal knight after the death of Pyramides. That automatically made him visible. He held Damen’s sword, the Catarine Defender. It’s got a different name now, but you know that already, even if you don’t know the reasons. All Davis had to do was draw that sword, and show off the words engraved on it: “Save the Queen.” The memory of Catarin deSangre stirs hearts. People listen to Davis Kephry.
His family’s been honourable and kind for hundreds of years, which meant they were gradually more and more out of place in the court. Hundred years ago, they left Imperial Seleucar entirely. Returned to the ancestral manor in Aster Malik. Castomira used to be the ruler of Aster Malik, if you recall. Nobody felt like reviving that particular noble house, so instead, the Kephrys took over as permanent regents. The House of Kephry lost almost all its wealth and power over the years, while trying all sorts of oddball schemes to empower its peasants and share its wealth. Maybe some of it would have worked, but every time a Kephry lord tried to organise the farmers into a cooperative corporation or buy them new farming equipment or some such, the Crown would single them out for additional taxes. The Emperor was oblivious, I assume, but his entire bureaucracy had standing orders to squeeze every ounce of blood out of the imperial turnip. So whether the taxmen were seeing how much straw the camel could carry, or just going straight for the BBT, the Kephry family ended up the single most poverty-stricken noble house in Seleucar.
Davis Kephry half gave up. He left his home province entirely. Just started wandering around like a baby Nicator, talking to people in other villages about how things were going to hell in a rickshaw. Now, I’m a bit young to have sat in on the speeches of Nikolas, but I sat in on Davis’. There’s something about hard living that makes strong men eloquent, and makes weak men get stronger just listening. Davis Kephry raised a rabble wherever he went. It got violent, too. Every now and then, Davis would get busy talking treason, and then the local troop of imperial guards would get teamed by the whole town and kicked to death. After all, if you’ve got just one guy in town who can ink a web tattoo, and one artisan who can make the inks, the entire town becomes as deadly as a red dragon. Then more guards would come and torch the town, and you get the idea. Bloody circle. Davis somehow got off free each time, probably just because the empire tended to kill the peasants without asking them who incited them. If you were hearing about “peasant rebellions” that were “put down” by “noble soldiers,” you might have been hearing about Davis’ early mistakes.
Davis started to feel really sad about it. He didn’t know what he was doing back then. He just knew that he talked up a storm, then people got so fired up that they couldn’t do anything but fight. So before long, he realised that if he had the power to turn people into angry mobs, maybe he had the power to raise an honest-to-goodness army. So he started casting about for people who might help him run it. First person he talked to was me.
I was Davis’ friend since we were boys. What I didn’t mention was that I got an early start with the Imperial Army. Eventually got command of the regiments in Aster Malik and its purlieu. So Davis and I were already working together pretty closely, on this and that. You know, quartering of soldiers, impact of soldiers on the locals, just trying to make the Imperial Boot tread as lightly as possible. I knew a lot of my men sympathised with the commoners. I tended to transfer the ones who didn’t. So when Davis came to me hinting subtly about rebellion, I was ready to act. I put him in touch with Bowing and Ecantona. Bowing started setting up the base in Tyron River Valley, and he started manufacturing weapons and armour. Ecantona brought men, I brought men, Alekh Gunther brought men a few days later, Davis brought in regular shipments of farmers who were eager to become soldiers. Other lords, pretty much every lord who had been forced into poverty by the throne, they all brought men. Kanjera, Avon, Drak Kalthorne, Jathaine, Soliath, all noble cities, all ready to fight against the Emperor and his endless lust for gold. It was busy, very busy. It was like we had two workshops, one where the Bastion Engineers made weapons out of steel and one where Peleus and Davis made soldiers out of peasants. So that brings us up to date, and back to the Man in Grey.
### From Common Enemy: a Rare Correspondence
\[Editor’s note: the selected letters comprise communications between Sir Mordon Derry, Knight-Captain of the Shallamese Guard, and Artinos Ravenmoor, Ambassador of Ashtan.\]
Derry,
What’s happening down there? Our spies are worse than useless. All I know is half our army is gone, run away to follow Kephry in some madcap doomed scheme. I’ve tried sending our small complement of rogue serpentlords to sneak in, but they couldn’t get near him. This could ruin all of our plans.
R.
Artinos,
We have had a little more success, despite having lost many of our own men to desertion as well. You were right: Kephry’s planning revolution. What’s worse, he’s got your mad dwarf and our Tsol captain. This might sound crazy, but… they might have a chance.
Sir Mordon Derry
Derry,
Damn that Kephry, and damn Cairo, too. I tried to tell him before he left that plans were afoot! Normal plans! Plans that didn’t rely on foolish hopes and dreams! We’re going to have to move, and move quickly. I’ve ordered Admiral Conlan to take the bulk of the fleet south to blockade the mouth of the Mnemosyne, and Pallan’s already ridden south with our entire cavalry. I couldn’t stop him. He’s always hated acknowledging that anyone had authority over him.
R.
Artinos,
Your letter arrived on the heels of the Ashtani cavalry. King Pallan marched right past me and into the palace to meet with the Sultan. When they emerged, both of them had terrifying smiles on their faces. I’m staying here, but I’m nearly the only one; Shallam’s barracks are emptying. We planned for this, but I don’t really think we’re ready.
Sir Mordon Derry
Derry,
No, we’re not ready. If I had my way we’d wait a few more years, allow the Empire to crumble even further under the weight of its own bloated incompetence, but Kephry and his blasted League forced our hand. Anyway, it’s time our cities stood up for our rights, just like Kephry’s standing up for his. Seleucar deserves to be taught a lesson, and we’re going to do what we can to help that madman deliver it.
R.
### The Man in Grey
### Eleanor Thalos, Personal Journal
warm rain of summer
soft upon the window, yet
ashen are the robes
compelling whisper
leaving undiscovered that
elusive last breath
butterfly takes flight
light wings upon the sunrise
I can breathe again
### From Ingram Cairo, Last Man Standing
Davis met the Man in Grey a few times before we ever did. At least that’s what I gathered. Then one day, Davis came to a staff meeting, brought this mysterious grey-cloaked figure with him. I distinctly remember the first thing he said: “This is the man who will win us the war.” The grey-cloaked man didn’t even say anything, he just started going through our maps and marking them up with some very precise details about Imperial defences, troop movements, schedules, logistics, pretty much everything we needed to know. All the while, Davis was telling us how this guy appeared to him in his dreams, of all things, and then in real life. We were really just dumbfounded. Nobody except Davis was saying anything. Peleus had that Tsol’aa deadpan up, he wasn’t giving anything away. Emmett was a bit slack-jawed, just staring at Davis like he’d gone mad, which was pretty reasonable. Alekh was staring at the maps, shaking his head in disbelief. This complete stranger was writing down some very secret intel on these maps, in a script so archaic we had a hard time reading it, and Davis was yammering on and on. He said the Man in Grey was guided by a vision from Sarapis, we were destined to defeat the Emperor, we would take less than five percent losses, we’d all have magic swords, our catapults would fire meteors, on and on, just complete wild-eyed fluff.
I should tell you the other thing about Davis. He was a great talker, but if you didn’t immediately get caught up in his charisma, he could be a big idiot. I can say that, he was my best friend. He was a political figurehead, an inspirational commander, but not a deep thinker. Every now and then he’d just start talking utter garbage. This time, that’s what he was doing. Now, admittedly, it turned out that everything he said was true. But at that moment, we thought he’d just snapped. We were ready to kick this grey-robed stranger out of the camp and give Davis a rest day in the infirmary. But then, just as Davis was starting to wind down, the stranger finished what he was writing, stood up straight, and said “Begin next week.” Then he just left. And can you believe this? Without a second’s hesitation, we all just got to work, preparing our army to move out within seven days. Like there was no doubt in our minds at all.
Alekh and Ecantona went over the marked-up maps. The Man in Grey had put detailed attack plans on them, too. All we had to do was paint by numbers. And even though we were doubtful, we just followed the plans, because we couldn’t manage not to. We knew we were under some sort of magical compulsion, but we just couldn’t shake it. Even Davis looked a bit sheepish. I understood. He had no idea what he was getting us into. As it turned out, he really, really had no idea what he was getting us into.
So that’s how it went. Emmett didn’t have time to build his siege engines, so he did the next best thing. He used his workshops to build just the moving parts, with the intent of rapidly constructing the major wooden segments on-site. Yeah, sounds like common sense now, but it was a massive innovation at the time. Alekh Gunther, our field marshal, put the drills and training into double-time, trying to get the men ready as quickly as possible. Ecantona and I helped out, along with the nobles. Davis had the tricky job. Everyone who was in that tent with the Man in Grey, all the leaders, we were pretty much stuck. We were going to do exactly what he said, and no two ways about it. But everyone else needed explanations about why we were ignoring our original schedule. Ecantona gave them some feeble lines about how the Empire might be quick to act against such a perceived threat… not true. Imperial Seleucar was mostly oblivious to anything except whether taxes were coming in on time. Mostly, it was up to Davis to talk everyone into attacking quickly. And talk he did. Talk and talk. We lucked out, he mostly talked sense. Or rather, he talked that specific kind of Davis Kephry nonsense that turns people into gung-ho freedom fighters with limitless morale.
After a week, we were ready to go, easily two months ahead of schedule. Levies were still coming in, but that was too bad. Once we marched, new arrivals would just have to catch up with us. It was time. I think Davis said something like “And now the time has come, my friends! Just as you’ve worked long hours to forge those swords of steel, now we go to forge a new Seleucar, a new state free of tyranny, a nation where the ideals of Nicator will be preserved! We will overthrow the evil overlords who have oppressed us, we will take control of our own destiny, we will yadda yadda honour blah blah blah justice yap yap yap victory!” I honestly don’t remember how it all went, but you get the picture.
### Letter from an Unknown Soldier
My dearest Lilien,
This letter may be the last I can send for some time. We are moving out in the morning and, while doves have been plentiful until now, the dovekeeper has begun restricting the post to official communications only. But this week’s ration of kawhe was a small price to pay to send one final letter to you. I hope it makes it over the mountains.
Yesterday they put together a final feast as a sort of send-off before we head out tomorrow. They sent three dozen of us out for wild boar in the morning. They’re plentiful in the Idoran Glade, and it certainly was satisfying to poach the emperor’s personal hunting lands. We had more than we could carry back with us. I described your mother’s method of dressing the boars to the cooks, with garlic and oranges, and they seemed to do it justice. Everyone in camp was raving about it. I thought you’d like to hear that. My whole company gorged themselves at the feast, of course, and got stinking drunk afterwards, so they spent today recovering for the most part. Me, I had a few drinks but was missing you so I got out of there early.
Have I written about Kephry’s mysterious advisor? I don’t really know his name. He doesn’t mingle much with the rest of us, you just see him talking to the nobles once in a while. Anyway, I went for a walk into the hills after the feast, to get a better view of the stars, and ran into him along the trail. I rambled on a bit about you and the children, and he was polite and listened, but didn’t say much. Peculiar man, not one for conversation I guess. I asked where he was headed so late and he just looked off into the distance and said “to pray.” Which gods does someone like him pray to, I wonder? I didn’t ask.
Alas, I must sleep now. Give my love to the children. Not a day has gone by without the thought of your beautiful smile, and without the whisper of your voice in my ear, urging me to make our sons proud of their papa. Pray that the gods will be with us in the coming days, and that I will return home to you safely.
Ever yours,
\[The signature is unreadable.\]
### Siege of Seleucar
### From Epicurus, Encyclopedia, 300 AF Edition, Vol. 25 (Sa’Rithven-Sulaiman)
SELEUCAR, Fall of: Battle of Tears
The march on Imperial Seleucar was without incident, due to the impeccable intelligence provided by the Man in Grey. Entire divisions moved deftly through gaps in the imperial patrol patterns, with the result that the rebel army was able to move within twenty miles of the city walls before being detected. The army of the Sapient League literally marched down the main streets of the outlying towns of the capital, without being noticed as a military threat by anyone except the local townsmen. After decades of oppression, the common folk were disinclined to render aid to Imperial Seleucar, and so the advance of the rebels went unreported.
When the rebels were spotted by the imperial watchmen, their threat was vastly underestimated. A force of no more than twenty imperial guards rode out from the city’s eastern gate to meet the army. They were immediately captured and imprisoned. Led by Alekh Gunther, rebel cavalry charged at full speed toward the open gates, hoping to secure the gatehouse before the imperial garrison could manage a response. By coincidence, they were met at the gate by the Sentaari guildmistress Eleanor Thalos, who was leaving the city after an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the emperor to lower taxes. Eleanor did not recognise the attackers as an army of liberation, and acted on her first impulse: defend the innocent population of the city by defeating the aggressors. With a nonlethal telepathic barrage, the Grandmistress of Flowers broke Alekh’s charge and sent him and his cavalry wheeling away in confusion and terror. Davis Kephry’s chronicler Ingram Cairo describes the moment: “Irony. Seleucar’s greatest advocate for the peasantry, the Holy Nun of Judgement Mountain. One of my personal heroes. First time I get to see her, she’s standing there in that creepy Dragon stance, mindlocking and terrifying anyone who gets too close, and the gates of the city shut before her, guaranteeing a bloody siege. I didn’t even get her autograph.”
The Sapient League encircled the city and entrenched. The towns outside Imperial Seleucar had built right up to the city walls, so a competition began. The Sapient League evacuated the buildings nearest the walls, and rapidly began to dismantle them for raw material, while the imperial defenders dropped firebombs onto the buildings, hoping to prevent the rebels from using them as shelter for sappers. The rebels were able to prevent the spread of the fires, but the vast majority of the buildings were destroyed by the empire. Finally, a ring of rubble and ashes stretched five hundred feet from the city walls in all directions.
This process took three days. During this time, the buildings just out of easy firebombing range had been converted into fortified barracks, with elaborate steel roofs to defend against the inevitable ballista attacks that would come from the parapets of the city. Imperial Seleucar had not been even remotely prepared for a full-scale military assault, but the city was rapidly gearing up to repel the siege, and the city workshops were busily building weapons that had not been placed on Seleucar’s ramparts since the Black Wave.
Three days after the start of the siege, shortly before Emmett Bowing’s engineers finished building their siege engines, Eleanor Thalos telepathically contacted Davis Kephry and offered her help in defeating the empire from within the walls. She said that she had been visited by a man in grey robes, who was “very convincing.” And she warned Davis that the Empire’s main army was in the north of the Seleucar province, and had been recalled to attack the besieging force as quickly as possible.
Alekh Gunther volunteered to lead half the rebel army north, to meet the Empire at Sutter’s Gap, the most defensible choke point within marching range. He knew, however, that his mission was suicide. As the Seleucarian army gathered, it would eventually crush the army of the Sapient League, through sheer force of logistics. The rebel supply chain was thin, stretched from Tyron River Valley through to Imperial Seleucar, with small tributaries from Soliath, Drak Kalthorne, and Kanjera. The Imperial army could draw resources from any of a hundred depots scattered throughout the Seleucar province.
The plans provided by the Man in Grey were complete in their way, but left a great deal of room for interpretation. For instance, Sutter’s Gap was marked “Stolid Defence.” The main gates of the castle were marked “Rapid Assault.” A certain point on the southern wall of the city, near the Halls of Justice, was marked “Technical Innovation.” And the edge of the Castle Basin was marked “Tears.”
The siege began with a mood of hopelessness. Davis Kephry gave daily addresses to his men, building their fighting spirit and commending their patience, but Peleus Ecantona knew that there would not be time to wear down the Imperial defences before Alekh’s men were defeated at Sutter’s Gap. Many of the soldiers were old campaigners who had fought against the tribes of renegade mhun and trolls at the borders of civilization; they knew the mathematics of a siege as well as their general did, and eventually, a certain muted despair crept through the camp.
In hopes of lightening the mood of the troops, Aurelius Lampetides of Soliath called upon the sympathetic people of the outlying towns to provide support and comfort to the rebels. Secretly at first, but then with greater and greater hope, the citizens of Seleucar worked for the Sapient League, bringing them food, wine, musicians, and fresh clothing. And on the seventh day of the siege, runners from Alekh Gunther’s army brought back news: the first wave of Imperials had been resoundingly defeated at Sutter’s Gap. This news galvanised both soldiers and civilians: perhaps the corrupt emperor could be defeated after all!
### From Emmett Bowing, Field Notes
It’s been one of those days all right. The lads are busting their arses and I’m proud of ’em, but we’re getting nowhere fast. The Man in Grey marked this bloody gate with the words “technical innovation,” which means it’s my problem, like it or not. These are damned fine city walls though, sturdiest things I’ve ever seen short of the mountains themselves. The heavy duty catapults aren’t even making a dent. I’ve pondered loading one up with a couple of these city guard prisoners and launching them at it. It’d lift spirits, anyway.
I’ve heard a lot of nasty stuff about those bastards. Shops getting burned down, daughters getting ravished, such as that. Folks are having a great big party now that they aren’t roaming the streets and trying to shake people down for coin. We had a bloody great feast last night, dancing girls and singers and what not. We’re all pretty worried Alekh’s forces will get wiped out before we can take the city, but if we’re all going to die we might as well enjoy ourselves a bit first.
The stage show wasn’t half bad. The Jesters did a skit about a drunk city guard accidentally trying to shake the Emperor down for unofficial taxes and we got a good laugh out of that. Been nice having them around. I hear they’re not bad in a fight, either. Word is if you get ’em cornered their acrobatics and tricks will have your head off in a heartbeat. Too bad all anyone thinks of when they think Jester is buffoonery and bad jokes and pretty firecrackers.
… Firecrackers. I’m an idiot. \[The page here is smudged, as if the journal were slammed shut before the ink could dry.\]
### From Epicurus, Encyclopedia, 300 AF Edition, Vol. 25 (Sa’Rithven-Sulaiman)
SELEUCAR, Fall of: Battle of Tears
On the tenth day of the siege, the city wall was breached in a matter of minutes by a barrage of explosive catapult rounds created by Ashtani engineer Emmett Bowing. The resulting rubble was cleared rapidly by iron-shielded plough-wagons, also a Bowing invention, pushed by daring local farmers and their heavy work horses. As Imperial troops rushed to the gap to defend their city, they were instantly thrown into disarray by exploding sling bullets fired by rangers from the Soliath contingent, and as the Imperials retreated, they found themselves backing into a holocaust of flaming pitch flung in pots from Bowing’s trebuchets. As the rubble-clearing wagons finished their work, the highly-disciplined vanguard of Peleus Ecantona’s veteran force pressed into the breach to complete the attack. Twenty minutes after the first catapult round was fired, the armies of the Sapient League began to pour into the city en masse.
Had Bowing’s unconventional methods been unleashed for common use, the history of warfare would no doubt have been affected forever. However, immediately after the resolution of the battle, Bowing ordered every device, formula, and blueprint destroyed. He claimed that he was acting on the orders of the Man in Grey. Limericks and puns of the Jesters’ Guild, however, suggest that the destruction was part of a bargain struck between Bowing and the Fools, although what relationship the Jesters might possibly have with the serious business of scientific advance is unclear.
As the Sapient League stormed into the city, Eleanor Thalos and her Sentaari brethren within the city unleashed their power against the defending Imperial soldiers. Every few seconds, an Imperial fell dead, his mind burned to nothingness by Eleanor’s fatal attacks, and the Sentaari monks waded into the fore of the battle, blocking weapons with their bare hands, responding to targeted blows with crushing counter-throws, and breaking bone and marrow with their rocklike fists. Encouraged, the regular army pressed forward, Davis Kephry at their tip, trumpeted onward by musicians of the Jesters’ Guild.
The League slashed through the finest of the Imperial forces like a sword through silk, and Emmett Bowing’s mighty siege engines travelled in their wake, ready to bombard the Imperial Palace itself into submission if need be. But after the first spate of resistance, the League found itself without visible enemies; the far-reaching mindnets of the Sentaari informed the generals that the remaining Imperials had fallen back to the palace.
Peleus Ecantona, always planning for the worst, arranged his men in the cover of buildings, at the edge of the Palace Crater. The smooth depression had been caused by Castomira’s final counterattack hundreds of years ago; the new palace had been rebuilt on the site of the old. Lacking any cover against Imperial archers, the featureless crater would be a killing field when he and Davis ordered their men to advance.
Davis and Ecantona consulted, and agreed: now that the Imperial position had been weakened, they would send an emissary to discuss terms of surrender. History suggests that the beleaguered Imperials would have officially toppled, and perhaps the royal family would have been destroyed or imprisoned, but the incoming Imperial army would have crushed the insurgents when it finally broke through Sutter’s Gap and a new era of Emperors would have begun.
Of course, it was not Davis Kephry who had the final say.
### The Bringer of Tears
### From Ingram Cairo, Last Man Standing
We all knew he wasn’t human, but hey, call us naive, we weren’t expecting him to float six feet off the ground. The Man in Grey spoke softly, but his voice carried, well, probably forever. “Davis Kephry, the heart of the Empire lies before you, naked. Now it is time to strike it down. Your heart is made of iron; let it repel all arrows. Your soul is formed of diamond; let it cast light to all four corners. Your eyes are bolts of lightning; let them see the mark. Your blade is the bringer of tears; use it.”
Our army stood erect, to the man, and to the man, our heads snapped up and fixed on the palace. Mine too, damn me, mine as well. We drew our swords, and they sparkled… they glowed with an inner light, which shone like molten metal, but was the colour of the slush on an overcast day. Our swords hummed; mine too, damn it, mine as well; and the Jesters’ trumpets fell on deaf ears. We only heard the Man in Grey. “Your blade is the bringer of tears; use it.”
That was the end; I could tell. But I couldn’t say a word, I literally couldn’t move my tongue, and Davis turned to his army, and raised the Catarine Defender, and yelled at the top of his lungs, “Attack!”
As he turned back to us, the gentle summery sunlight struck wet light from his cheek, and I realised that he was crying. Crying for the people he loved, who would die. Crying for the Empire, which would fall. Crying for himself, as he rushed to annihilation. Am I getting poetic? I try to avoid it, but if a moment ever deserved poetry, it’s this.
I ran at his right side. We were friends since childhood. It was the least I could do.
Our men poured towards the palace from all directions. The Imperials began their defence. Arrows fell like tears. Men died screaming. But then Davis raised his sword, and cut the arrows out of the air as they approached, and the grey light from his sword got brighter, a dull glow heating up, and we all joined him. It should have felt great to have the magical speed and power to chop arrows out of the sky. It should even have felt great to plough into the palace gatehouse, cutting down slow-moving Imperials on every side, watching Davis spread a hundred and eighty degrees of death with every blow. But it was horrifying. And we grew faster and stronger with every man we killed; by the end of the slaughter, some of us were literally cutting people in half with each strike. Davis more than anyone, and the tears were still pouring down his cheeks.
Suddenly, the Man in Grey was before us, drifting down a hall without touching the ground. No pretence of humanity about him now. He ignored us; his mistake, I thought at the time. We’d broken into the palace. We’d killed every Imperial we could see. There were sounds of battle elsewhere, from the other gates, but ours was clear. We’d done what the Man in Grey demanded, and we were free of his compulsion.
Davis had fallen to the ground, cradling his ancient sword like a child. “The Catarine Defender,” he sobbed. “You defended her life. But you have not defended her ideals.” Looking up at me, he said, “Ingram. Tell them that from now on, this sword is to be called Tearbringer.”
And that’s when the Man in Grey floated by like a ghost. And we didn’t even think about it, we followed him. Not because he’d ordered us, this time; but because we were damn well going to kill him for making puppets of us. We were of one purpose, you might say.
I’d been in the imperial palace before, but Davis hadn’t. So I realised before he did that we were headed towards the Well of Fire. And I realised that there was only one thing he’d be going there to get. And I realised just who the hell he was. And I’m very convinced that I’d gone completely insane by that point, because instead of turning around and running until my legs fell off, I kept going, hustling along behind Davis, watching his back in case any Imperials popped around a corner looking to split his neck.
The Man in Grey was faster than us, even as Davis broke into a run and I was forced to follow. As he flew towards the ironbound double doors that led into the Space of the Well, he raised a hand, and for the first time I saw his skin; smooth, delicate, and a perfect ashen grey, just like his robes. The doors slammed open as if hit with a battering ram, and we all entered the Well of Fire together, the Man in Grey just ahead, Davis and me piling together behind.
In the centre of the Palace Basin is the deep and possibly bottomless hole that Catarin blasted into the earth during her battle with Castomira. Miles down, somewhere resting against the very bones of the earth….
The Man in Grey spoke, and his voice carried, they say, throughout the entire continent. People in the Dardanic Grasslands heard it. People in Ulangi heard it. As far as I know, the gods in the Divine Garden heard it. In fact, I know they heard it; this was their great culmination, the conclusion of another duel of proportions no mortal could understand.
“Staff of Nicator. Spirit of Seleucar. Come to your rightful holder. Come to Parni deSangre.” A bolt of light exploded upwards from the Well of Fire and disappeared as quickly as it came. The Man in Grey – Parni deSangre – turned around slowly, and his grey robe shredded and drifted away from him. His skin was pure grey, like clouds on a sunless day. His armour was blackened iron, carved in demonic patterns. His cold red eyes burned with hatred; no, anguish; no, a fierce sense of duty; no, hatred. I’d seen the Emperor once; but for his grey skin and red eyes, Parni could have been his brother. True blood of deSangre. True blood of the Tsol’teth.
“Davis Kephry. The Empire ends here. The world… is yours.”
Davis screamed so loud I bet they heard that in the Divine Garden, too: “No!” He jumped for Parni, swinging the Tearbringer like a scythe. But Parni reached out over the Well, and caught the Staff of Nicator as it rose up from the depths, and blocked Davis’s blow with an inhumanly quick gesture. Davis flew backwards against the far wall and collapsed, knocked senseless by the holy staff. “The world is yours, Kephry. Save it if you can.”
“Ingram Cairo… the Watcher. Follow me. Watch what happens. Tell the world. There must be a record. You shall craft it.” Again, that mental grip set in around my brain, and I was forced to follow. I didn’t get to see if Davis was all right. I didn’t get to see anything except….
We went through the palace, my weak legs strengthened by the dark compulsion. The Imperial family was boarded up in their quarters, with Royal Elites standing ready to defend their lives. Far too little, far too late. They should have brought a god or two. The Staff of Nicator has had different powers for each ruler who has held it, they say. For Parni, well, he levelled the staff at the Elites, and men and armour exploded into undifferentiated rags.
We walked together, Parni looking almost casual now, going from room to room, slaughtering everyone he saw. The carnage was muffled by an aura of ghastly silence in which the only clear noise was Parni’s voice and the click of his bootheels on the tiled floors. “I lived like a beast for centuries, Watcher. As a deSangre, I could not betray my divine calling to defend Seleucar. As a Tsol’teth, I could not let the royal family survive and prosper.” With a spin of the Staff of Nicator, he summoned a whirlwind that dragged a group of fleeing children towards him. “My mind and soul were locked in conflict, and only animal instinct and immortality remained.” The children… I don’t want to talk about it. He killed them, we’ll leave it at that. “But just recently, I was granted a vision. I assume it was from the Logos.” Parni punched a bolt of lightning through a wall, and in the wreckage I saw the smoking bodies of two men I vaguely recognised as distant cousins of the Emperor. “The vision showed me this Empire; the cries of the peasants. The tax records. The rape and plunder of the army.”
Parni disappeared for a moment, and I heard screams from a floor above, then nothing but a sickening sound of droplets hitting the floor like rain. I prefer to think Parni broke a water jug or something. Not too likely, though. Then the air flickered, and he was with me again, and I followed him still. “I saw Emperor Polymedes, sitting like a bloated slug on the throne. I saw Critias killing his brother Theramenes, who was the last hope for a just Empire. I saw the future Critias would bring.” Parni pointed the staff at the floor, and a horrible unclean light razored out from its tip, melting through the floor and turning someone to sludge in his bed. “And the balance in my soul shifted.”
Parni gestured at me with his free hand, and we both floated down through the hole. With a spin of the staff, Parni summoned twisted grey monsters, and sent them slavering down the hallway in one direction while we walked in another. “I realised my new purpose: as a deSangre, it was my duty to destroy the abomination the Empire had become. And as a Tsol’teth, it was my delight to choose the means.”
We arrived at an ornate golden door. Parni simply glanced at it to rip it off its hinges. Screams echoed down the hall from the direction Parni had sent the monsters. “So now, I serve the Logos and humanity. And my nature is at peace.” We entered the room: the waiting room of a large suite. Parni slowly moved the staff in a half-circle ahead of him, and the walls exploded into dust. “Both my mothers, Castomira and Catarin, would accept this triumph as the simple working of justice…” In the far end of the much larger room Parni had just created, the Emperor himself stood, surrounded by a knot of Royal Elites who were already collapsing into bloody pieces. “… one with rejoicing, one with bitter tears.”
The Staff of Nicator ripped the Emperor’s soul from his body. I swear to this day that I heard it scream as it was torn asunder. “Pray for Salvation, Emperor Polymedes,” said Parni deSangre. “The Logos will give you none.”
“So, Watcher, you see that the will of the Logos is nearly done. I, Parni deSangre, hold the Staff of Nicator. I am the last Emperor of Seleucar.”
Parni’s mental grip relaxed, and I fell to my knees. I was terrified. So terrified I don’t even remember whether I soiled myself. But Parni kept talking, in that quiet voice that carried across the globe. “And now, I too must die.”
Parni raised the Staff of Nicator, looked up into the heavens, and said, “I shall not pray for salvation either, my lord.” Parni gathered his power around him; the walls warped, the earth shook, gravity weakened. Objects began a slow swirl around him, me included. The staff took on an enormous sense of density and weight as the entire power of the continent surged into it. Parni roared aloud, “The history of Seleucar! The history of the Tsol’teth! At my command, let it be purged!” A creaking hiss like a gigantic tree bending in the wind, or a mountain shifting its weight, flowed out from the staff in waves like storm winds. The staff twisted and bent, writhing in Parni’s iron grip. Its golden length darkened, mottled patches of taint roiling across it. The diamonds at its head exploded, one after another, like firecrackers. The holy power of the staff roared upwards and down, with Parni at its core, flaying the clothes from his body, but still not harming his indestructible Tsol’teth skin.
The staff was almost completely black with Tsol’teth power, and divine light (holy or not, I can’t guess) almost blinded me, but I forced my eyes to focus. Parni fired all the energy into the heavens at once, burning a hole upwards through five stories and out into the Valnuary sky.
Noon light poured in through the hole, and finally Parni’s skin began to burn. “Tell them, Watcher. Tell them that the House of deSangre ends here. There are no survivors. There are no more words.”
I watched for ten minutes, as Parni silently burned away to ash, and then even the ash flew away on the breeze that blew down from the upper levels. The Staff of Nicator lay on the ground, its holy power spent. Its gold had transmuted into common wood. The arcane holy symbols that had once covered its length were now reduced to mere carvings.
The Seleucarian Empire was dead. And as its last Emperor said, “there are no more words.”
### The World Sundered
### Thoris of Besulem, Deluge
\[Editor’s Note: The dreamseer Thoris of Besulem was better known to his contemporaries as an early advisor to Emperor Polymedes, though by that time the practise of keeping dream clerics at court was upheld more out of custom than any desire for advice on the part of the monarchy. Less than a decade into the young emperor’s reign, however, Thoris departed the imperial city and spent the remainder of his life in seclusion. It is theorised that he received prophetic dreams of the impending fall of the empire; other scholars assert that any perceptive individual could see that Seleucar was hurtling along a declining slope, and that Thoris was merely being pragmatic in removing himself from court. The following excerpt from his memoirs, however, is no prophecy, but a record of a waking dream journey undertaken many years following the fall of the empire.\]
Beside me upon the peak stood a man robed in shadows, facing north with a grim expression. The mountain range wound for miles into the distance, the plains of Kyndos spread to the west, shining Soliath at its heart, the Murmisian Isles to the east. The village of my own birth lay upon that broad tableau, and I trembled as his gaze passed over it. Then he uttered words that departed my memory as quickly as they entered, though I do recall that at that moment I felt the chilling grip of pure and utter terror. Lightning filled the air around us, and the mountain rumbled beneath his feet. A bolt arced through the sky, striking the nearest peak to the north, and as my eyes took on the sharp vision of an eagle, I saw the barest hint of a fracture begin its fateful journey down the jagged slopes, spreading like poison through a man’s veins. The mountains would fall, but not for days.
I kept my vigil long after the man’s presence faded, leaving me alone atop the mountain. There I looked past what bars waking eyes from seeing, beyond soil and rock and into the blackened depths of the mountains. And in the foetid pits crawled scores of savage monsters, all manner of creations warped and twisted by magics beyond imagining. For hundreds of years they had waited, abandoned by their masters, seething with hatred and growing stronger. Their time drew near.
The sounds of battle echoed throughout the dreamscape, and I could hear every scream from my mountain peak, the anguished cries of men, women, and children, as the dwindling flame of the once-noble dynasty was extinguished. Cygnusina, I beseech you for understanding! For I could not bear to turn my eyes back toward Seleucar, where my heart knew the sky burned with divine justice… instead my gaze was fixed to the north, where that infinitesimally small fracture had begun to widen.
Like the great gaping maw of a leviathan the earth rumbled and opened, the mighty Vashnar peaks falling like felled trees to each side of the terrible chasm. As though Aeon had cast a spell over my visions, I watched as a small village was slowly darkened beneath the shadow of a toppling mountain; all within perished instantly as it lodged upon the plains. A bittersweet smile crossed my lips then, for I knew that they were the lucky ones – they would not know the horrors that were to come.
Out of the bowels of the earth came forth the abominable creatures, guided by some foul power toward defeated Seleucar. Slowly they began to fill the mountains as a basin fills with water, threatening to spill over and ravage all in their wake. The land groaned and could not bear this foul presence, tearing in a thousand ways before shattering like glass before my eyes as the oceans began their raging protest. Massive waves built upon the seas and rolled toward the breaking mountains, unhindered, with no land to slow their progress. Islands sank forever into the depths and tall mountains were humbled beneath the encroaching waves… and one continent became two.
A new figure joined me upon the mount, robed and silent, and I knew him to be the Logos, Almighty Sarapis. Then he spread his arm wide; it seemed the continents moved further apart with the gesture, and a thick haze crept over the turbulent waters that separated them. His gaze fixed with sadness upon the remains of the broken empire, shedding tears for what had once been a beacon of hope for all mortalkind. Those tears fell to the sea and turned to hard rock, becoming islands, forever to stand as a memorial of the eight hundred years of mighty Seleucar.
### From Common Enemy: a Rare Correspondence
Artinos,
Oh Gods. The Vashnars are completely gone, cut off as though with a knife within a few hours’ march south of Mount Nicator. Nothing on the horizon now at all. Shala-Khulia and New Hope are intact, but we can’t get out any further. The turbulence just swallows our boats. Land patrols are surveying the new coastline and we’ve started constructing a lighthouse of highest priority. Please send us what help you can.
Sir Mordon Derry
Derry,
Are you mad!? I haven’t got any “help” to send! I haven’t received anything from Admiral Conlan and his fleet, and worse, I lost contact with the King and his battlemages when the earthquakes struck. The city’s in chaos; the peasants are revolting and the nobles are angling for position since Pallan doesn’t have an heir. Have you tried pressing some of those merfolk for assistance in the search? Surely your priests managed to convert some of them by now. Please advise as to your findings.
R.
P.S. Fine. I’ll send a construction crew. It should arrive by Lupar.
Artinos,
Clearly you’ve never tried to deal directly with merfolk. They have no interest in our “landwalker” problems, even if we’d seen any of them for days. They lack the ability to view things in the long run, if you ask me. Which you probably won’t. In any case, you know that most of our resources were pulled away to follow the march south, including all of our priests. The Church should have a new mission up and running in a few years, but there’s really nobody left who knows how to contact them right now.
Sir Mordon Derry
Derry,
If we can’t recover the fleet our navies will be crippled for years! Don’t you have any more ships left in your docks? What about Jaru?
R.
P.S. Don’t know how much longer I’ll be around. We’ve had three different nobles seize the palace in the past few days. Dangerous men.
Artinos,
I am well aware of the stakes. Now that the lighthouse is functional, we do have coast runners along the south, but they can’t sail far into the chops from shore. If you recall, you insisted that every available deep-hulled ship join the combined fleet. Which is now missing. And doves won’t fly over the water – they turn around after half a day, so don’t bother suggesting that. Actually, do me a favour and stop “helping” with ideas. You should probably consider the likelihood that the entire southern half of the continent has simply sunk, taking our ships, our men, and your damn fool king with it.
Sir Mordon Derry
To the attention of Knight-Captain Derry of the Shallamese Guard:
With the removal of Seleucar from the political climate and the ascension of his grace King Beldan to the throne, Ashtan has declared herself a sovereign nation and will be attending to her own interests from this time forward. The Bastion’s resources under your command have been recalled; we expect their departure to be swift and orderly. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Artinos Ravenmoor
Ambassador of Ashtan
### Heroes
### From Sherman Amon, An Encyclopedic History of the Cities and Empires of Sapience, Vol. 2
After the splitting of the continents, it was an extremely grim time on the southern continent. Monsters swarmed out of the mountains, taking cities and towns by surprise and razing many of them to the ground. The Sentaari of Judgement Mountain were the first to face the onslaught, and the brave monks were slaughtered, including the guildmistress, but only after cutting down a huge number of the monsters.
Only one escaped: a young acolyte sent away from the monastery to warn Seleucar about their impending doom. Years later, this boy would become the guildmaster of the Sentaari and return to Judgement Mountain to re-found the monastery there as a beacon against evil in the heart of darkness.
Seleucar, still in upheaval from the storming of the city by the Sapient League, was a sitting duck. Many citizens responded to the early alerts and evacuated in time, moving west as far as they were able, assisted by the armies of the Sapient League. In the end, though, the majority either ignored the warnings or dallied too long in assembling their belongings. Thousands were left at the mercy of the beasts with only a small regiment to defend them: the Blades of Piety under the leadership of Asra-din, who had volunteered to remain behind to oversee the evacuation. Later sensationalising the story, one journalist would write: “Some darker terror was unleashed within the ancient city, a poisonous magic which wrought atrocities to rival the fates of the emperor and his family.” Unfortunately, there is no way to ascertain the truth of this rumour: no eyewitness accounts exist, and the few who managed to flee once the carnage began do not speak of it.
What remained of the empire beyond the imperial city was tragically unprepared for the onslaught. The militias who had not joined up with the Sapient League were sparse and lazy, the local governments too bureaucratic to respond quickly enough without a central ruler. If the Black Wave had struck then, it would have found an easy victory. But this was no Black Wave, merely its long-delayed aftershock: a wild, unfocused rampage of its forsaken remnants that knew only a desire to kill and devour. Still, even this fragmented force presented a terrifying and daunting danger to the entire continent.
Hope was not lost, however, mainly due to the inspired leadership of a few heroes who emerged. Some credit the discovery of Durandian steel with turning the tide in the devastation that threatened all life in the southern lands, but if it were not for the men and women who bravely wielded those weapons, there would never have been much of a story to tell. The ageing but battle-hardened Davis Kephry, who tirelessly roamed the countryside with his loyal men, rescuing thousands. Orrin Pierce, the newly elected guildmaster of the remaining Sentaari. Jaliah Ormand, a female Serpentlord who led her peers in battles against the monsters from dusk till dawn. And others.
### From the Asterian Refugee Journal Collection (author unknown)
It rolled out from the smoking ruin of Seleucar, crashing through the jungles, flooding the plains, and blanketing the land, until it encountered that vast turquoise expanse where before there was none, and there, defiant and screaming, it finally broke. That roiling mass of tooth and claw, that force of unutterable destruction, found its advance at once cut off and turned upon itself.
We watched, we few bedraggled survivors from a city that was no more, exposed upon a high plateau. Too stunned to speak, too exhausted to act, too numb to feel, we saw the creatures tear into one another, bellowing frustration and unholy fury until they turned back, their numbers greatly reduced. Like filthy water circling the drain, they inexorably returned to their font of death and madness and we, lost to despair, with arms and bellies empty, fled.
Disguised by the meagre workings of a common enchanter, we roamed for days… months… in search of a place spared from the horrors that surrounded us. Oh, the beasts could see through the illusions, that is certain, but only if they were looking. We did not pass unscathed through the countryside, and our losses numbered in the dozens, but those paltry spells assuredly saved hundreds of lives.
It was a sorry affair, this slow and macabre march. Peasant and noble, beggar and merchant, young and old were as one, united by fear and hunger and sorrow. Here it was, Nicator’s dream realised. Where humanity had failed, bitter circumstance had triumphed. All men as equals, all hearts in accord, at last, at last.
### From Lina Stalfos, Stories of the Past, for Children
Long ago, there was a time of great darkness in the southern lands, and people lived in constant fear of terrible monsters. These were not like the monsters of today that are found in dark caves and dungeons, far away from our cities. These monsters ran wild everywhere, and for a long time nobody thought they would ever be able to stop them, for they were stronger than anything they had seen for hundreds of years. The monsters even destroyed the great city of Seleucar, tearing down its beautiful buildings and murdering all the people who did not run away fast enough.
In some towns, children were only allowed to go outside in the middle of the day when there was lots of sunshine, and they were kept safely indoors all the rest of the hours. At night the monsters were more dangerous than ever, for that is when they hunted, and nobody was safe. It was a very sad time to grow up, and many children became orphans. One of these orphans was a boy called Durande, which means “to endure.” His father had been murdered when he was very young by the cruel emperor Polymedes, and his mother died trying to protect Durande and his two sisters, Adeina and Acacia, from monsters in their village in the mountains. Durande took very good care of his sisters when their mother died, even though he was only about eleven years old. They were able to go to Thornwall Hold where many other people who had also run away from the monsters hid safely in the castle.
Durande was a big, strong boy, but he was always kind to his sisters and to other children who were younger or smaller than him. He was always respectful to his teachers, and loved to study the few books that could be found at Thornwall Hold. He learned all about knights and chivalry, and vowed to one day become a knight, for they were the most honourable of all men. But this would be very difficult, because there were no knights left near Thornwall Hold. Most of them were away fighting monsters or trying to become king of what was left of the Seleucarian Empire. Only guards and soldiers remained, and they were not all honourable.
One day when things seemed very peaceful, Durande’s two sisters went out for a walk. They knew they were not supposed to go away from the castle walls, but it was a sunny day and there were fresh raspberries to pick just over the hill. So they walked along together through the rolling scrublands, picking raspberries, and then they stopped to swim in a crystal-clear pond. They swam and splashed in the water, having a wonderful time, until the sun began to set. When that happened, they knew they had been gone far too long and started to hurry back to the castle.
Little did the sisters know, a fearsome monster was stalking them through the hills. They did not see it until it was nearly upon them, and then they began to ran as fast as they could. But they could not run fast enough! During the afternoon they had drunk from the lake, which had been poisoned by the monster, and the girls became very ill. They could hardly stay on their feet, and as they were running up the long path to Thornwall Hold, Acacia stumbled and fell. The monster pounced upon her and ate her all up.
The guards upon the ramparts saw what had happened, and they shot their arrows at the monster while Adeina ran through the gates. But the arrows had no effect on the monster, and all night it tried to get beyond the stone walls. Finally, in the morning, when the sun rose high in the heavens, it gave up and slunk away in search of the shadows.
In the next few days, Adeina became even more ill from the poisoned water she and her sister drank, and the healers could not make her feel better. Durande stayed by her side all day and all night, and he wept because he had loved both his sisters very much, and he felt guilty for not protecting them. He knew that Adeina was going to die, but he did not know what he could do about it. He wanted very badly to do the most honourable thing, just like a knight would, but he did not know what the honourable thing was. And so he simply held Adeina’s hand as she became grey with the nearness of death’s touch.
A few evenings later, Adeina did die, and Durande became very angry. He wanted to find and kill the horrible beast that had poisoned his sisters, and bravely he rode out upon a pony with only a shortsword to protect him, for that was all that the fortress had left to spare. The guards and the soldiers tried to stop him, but Durande was too determined, and they let him go, sadly thinking he would never return.
All night Durande searched throughout the hills for the monster, but when morning came he had not yet found it. Instead he found himself at the lake where his sisters had been swimming, and he saw that it was black and foul, not crystal clear as Adeina had described it upon her deathbed. As he looked into the water, a small frog came hopping along the shore and jumped into the water, where it immediately froze and turned black with death. Durande realised that the poison in the water had grown much stronger. Curious, he dipped the very tip of his shortsword into the water, and the steel burned and steamed, becoming stronger and marked with dark, wavering lines wherever the poisoned water touched. This was the very first blade of legendary Durandian steel, which is named for the boy who discovered it.
Now, Durande did not know that, like his sisters days before, the monster was stalking him. And while he was looking at his strange sword, the beast leapt from the shadows and surprised him! Durande must have been very frightened, but he did not run away. Braver than any knight, he stood his ground and faced the beast, even though it was ten times his size. Closer and closer the monster came, with poisonous claws and razor sharp teeth, and it seemed all was lost for Durande. As the monster reared back and prepared for one final attack, Durande suddenly thrust upward with his sword into the monster’s belly, whose hide even the swiftest arrows had not been able to pierce. Like a knife through butter, the blade went cleanly through! The monster was slain; Durande was a hero!
From all over, brave warriors came to dip their blades in the lake, using it to defeat the very creatures from whence it came. Even now, years later, with the lake dried up and the secrets of Durandian steel lost forever, the blades endure, never losing their edges, known to be among the deadliest weapons in the world.
### The Dark Age
### From Sherman Amon, An Encyclopedic History of the Cities and Empires of Sapience, Vol. 2
The survivors of the empire in the south were forced into a constant battle for survival. Unity prevailed for a time, as people were drawn together against the common threat from the mountains. But it was an uphill battle, a constant drain on resources, and though the monsters were ultimately driven back, the cost was too high for things to return to normal.
Scattered across the continent to battle the monsters, the forces of the Sapient League gradually dispersed, most returning to what remnants of their homes they could find, though some remained together under one leader or another. Elsewhere, the few members of the aristocracy who had managed to avoid slaughter in Seleucar quickly learned to keep a low profile, and began to gather their own protection with what wealth they still retained. New centres of power rose and fell, reaching out with a tenuous grip to extend their spheres of influence.
The peasants, hungry and wounded, their crops and livelihoods destroyed, were at first grateful for the assistance of the various militias. But once the immediate threats had passed and winter began to set in, they rose up in desperation. City granaries were raided, officials were mobbed, theft and murder was rampant, plagues swept the realms, and general anarchy prevailed, this time from within.
Amid this turmoil, the people of the south were thrown backward into a primitive age. Scholastic pursuits were abandoned, much of their learning was forgotten, and magical and technological advancements were lost. Their way back to civilisation was blocked not only by the mountains teeming with monsters, but the separation of the continents. Their ships were burned or swallowed by the seas, and knowledge of naval travel was lost. Truly, the empire was no more. What was left was simply various bands of people struggling to survive, making and breaking alliances, trying to shape a future out of what was left to them.
### Treaty of Meropis
Let it be known to all that we, Theotokos Arrikale, Davis Kephry, and Ulidyn Thornwall agree to and swear to abide by the terms and conditions of this treaty of friendship and alliance in perpetuity on behalf and in the mutual interests of the estates, holdings, and subject municipalities of the reformed lands of Meropis, that are known to be governed by and in allegiance to Sirocco Fortress, Aster Keep, and Thornwall Hold.
In keeping with the goals and aims of the Sapient League, we declare that we do eschew all previous terms of nobility associated with the tyrannical and corrupt monarchy of the Empire of Seleucar. As such, the three dominant seats of authority of the known realm will henceforth be referred to as Territories, to be governed by a Steward appointed in a manner to be decided by each individual Territory, be that hereditary succession, communal election, or otherwise.
In accordance with the state of friendship set forth by this treaty, each Territory agrees that its Stewards and their vassals shall not hide, disguise, nor suppress, by any means or practise, directly or indirectly, any plot, conspiracy, or scheme that would weaken, hinder, undermine, or otherwise threaten the safety and security of the people and the government of any of the Territories, and shall with all haste and expedition bring knowledge of any such plot, conspiracy, or scheme to the attention of the Steward of that Territory. Furthermore, if any outside nation or force makes war upon any Territory we will aid each other in said war, according to the need and insofar as the assisting Territories will not be rendered defenceless or vulnerable to any previous hostilities and threats.
From each Territory three regiments will be dispatched annually to protect and defend the Territories from the vile and repugnant remnants of the Black Wave such as they originate from the dividing mountains to the east, that are known by the name Vasnar. The regiments will be captained by an officer to be appointed by the Steward of Thornwall and confirmed by the approval of the Stewards of Aster and Sirocco.
Each Territory is required to maintain a standing military reserve of no less than two additional regiments of soldiers who are trained and battle-ready that may be called upon to supplement the combined regiments against our enemies. Each Territory will make available to the others annually an inspection of their standing reserve so that each Territory will be satisfied in the strength, discipline, and preparedness of the others.
Any changes, modifications, or revisions to this treaty, are to be made as an addendum to be witnessed and agreed upon with full and unanimous consent by the Stewards of the Territories or their successors.
May the Lord Sarapis, Almighty Creator upon High, to Whom all are beholden for the survival and prosperity of our reformed world, bear witness to this treaty and bless those who keep and enforce that which is agreed upon in perpetuity, and may He lay curses upon those who are found to violate the terms and conditions herein.
Signed before witnesses upon the First of Aeguary in the Twenty-Third Year After the Fall of the Seleucarian Empire:
Davis Kephry
Theo. Arrikale
Ulidyn Thornwall
### Taubek Ascopos, Broken Ground: an Uncertain Geography
A generation has passed since the end of the corrupted empire, and they who fought for our freedom grow old. Those who will rule the lands after us know little of the world that was: they were barely children when the land was torn asunder. Inconsistent reports of the geography of our reformed land continue to circulate wildly, to the confusion of most.
A definitive survey of the new land is desperately needed, but volatile currents continue to churn the waters surrounding us with no signs of ceasing, preventing circumnavigation by sea. And so, in hopes that my call for action may yet inspire further re-exploration, I humbly present my own findings of the changed land.
The fertile Asterian Plains, once the breadbasket of Seleucar, that were so rich from the seasonal flooding of the Tyron River, lie beneath the surface of a shallow bay, leaving only a spit of land from which one can observe those capricious waters that now form our boundaries. The river Urs, once an important tributary to the lower Mnemosyne, is cut short in its course, feeding only the ocean with its montane waters.
The Aurulent Highway has rapidly fallen into disrepair. Traders prefer the relative safety of the merchant road that follows our new western coastline, and so the Aurulent has become a casualty of neglect, its decline hastened by the nearness of the jungle and swamp. I anticipate the Imperial Road will suffer a similar fate in the near future. It sustained significant damages as an initial point of entry for the beasts from the mountains. Its status on the opposite side of the Vashnars is unknown.
The sole pass through the mountains, if it yet remains navigable, lies beyond the battlefield of Mourning Pass. Rumours speak of the spectres of fallen soldiers upon that hallowed ground, stirred from the solace of death by the turbulence wrought in those final years of the empire. While I do not subscribe to such irrational superstitions, I cannot deny that the dangers of the area are manifold. Something terrible has surfaced from beneath the ground, and few travellers return from the pass.
Of the plains across the mountains there is little to say. My contacts confirm that a great gulf now occupies a significant area where dry land once spread; the coastal cities are certainly lost beneath the ocean. Further exploration inland is nearly impossible as the inhabitants are wholly hostile, perhaps as a consequence of the necessity of survival in the wake of the disaster. The vast territory upon which the plains peoples once roamed is smaller by half, at least, and competition for resources must be great. Many speculate that they will fight amongst one another until their numbers are reduced to a more manageable population for the area.
As for Imperial Seleucar itself… all that enters or leaves that place are the Mnemosyne waters. Not a soul has entered the great city in decades, or at least none have returned to tell the tale. The gates have long been sealed shut, and the jungle encroaches upon its walls, swiftly reclaiming the land.
### Closing
As I bring the final pages of this work to an end, I entrust you with the last words of a survivor of Seleucar. After roaming the jungle for days, this unnamed man is said to have died in the care of the clerics of Aster Keep, raving and spouting gibberish, save for a few brief moments of unexpectedly articulate speech. The transcription is generally believed to be prophetic, indicating, through linguistic obscurisms and cryptic riddlery, a time when mortals might once again step foot within fabled Seleucar. When that may be, clever reader, I leave for you to decipher.
Darkness cleaves light and all fragments.
A footprint upon the sand washes away,
But there, black-stained, remain
Curses to overshadow bright memory.
The four eyes close anon, tears pass onward,
Beautiful ruin consigned to fate.
From ashes rise only ashes.
An ending begins anew,
And so embarred remains the curtain
Until augury and verity meet.
Then shall be remembered when
The spindle of the earth found rain,
The brumal sprite did deliquesce,
Gravity sidereal breached aestival accord,
The lofty host unfettered by planar bound
Brought mystery and grandiloquence,
The trickster held hostage the sky,
The numinous icon was restored,
Enduring theocracy succumbed threefold,
The serpents’ bane became salvation,
Encore became the song of ebontide,
A cardinal took wing with precious golden crown,
Disremembered mastery was reborn,
A flighted brute abore forsaken blood,
Remeant, the benthic child appeared before the storm,
And nought was heard at noontime but red.
---
### [Game Maps](https://www.achaea.com/game-maps)
**Published:** March 24, 2017
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
## In Game Maps
Almost all areas in Achaea have an associated ASCII map that you can use to help navigate. These maps are accessible via the map tab in the Nexus client, or you can CONFIG MAPSHOW ON while in game to have this map appear whenever you move around.
The in-game ASCII maps can also be accessed from the dropdown list below.
---
### [Game Help](https://www.achaea.com/game-help)
**Published:** March 24, 2017
**Author:** Jumpy
**Content:**
## Achaea Help Files
Achaea has hundreds of help files to you learn about Achaea. This is a copy of the in-game help file structure. HELP in-game will show you this same menu.
---
### [Portal](https://www.achaea.com/portal)
**Published:** December 1, 2016
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
### Character Portal
### Messages
### Who is Playing?
### Game News
### What’s Happening?
### Organisational Logs
---
### [Logs](https://www.achaea.com/logs)
**Published:** March 9, 2017
**Author:** ironrealms
**Content:**
### Organisational Logs
---
### [Seleucar Battle Maps](https://www.achaea.com/seleucar-battle-maps)
**Published:** February 2, 2017
**Author:** Nicola
**Content:**
### The Battle Maps From The Seleucarian Succession
These maps feature in the [Combat and Tactics](http://www.achaea.com/history/wars-of-succession/#combat-tactics) chapter of the Wars of Succession histories.
#### [ Fig 2.1
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.1")
#### [ Fig 2.2
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.2")
#### [ Fig 2.3
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.3")
#### [ Fig 2.4
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.4")
#### [ Fig 2.5
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.5")
#### [ Fig 2.6
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.6")
#### [ Fig 2.7
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.7")
#### [ Fig 2.8
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.8")
#### [ Fig 2.9
](http://www.achaea.com/combat-and-tactics "Fig 2.9")
---
### [Mortal Races](https://www.achaea.com/history/mortal-races)
**Published:** December 6, 2016
**Author:** Sarapis
**Content:**
### The History of the Mortal Races
Read about the origins of Humanity, the founding of the original two city-states – Ashtan and Shallam – and the other four original mortal races – Tsol’aa, Dwarves, Trolls, and Mhun.
### Chapter List
### Maya’s Legacy
When Maya the Aldar was raped by the Unnamable Horror, the course of history was changed forever. War among the Gods broke out and eventually Ayar himself took a hand. After many years of gestation and a long, painful childbirth, Maya gave birth to two strange babies. Smaller by far than any Aldar babies, these ‘humans’ were also weaker and were born with a tabla rasa; a blank mind. Aldar children are born with inherited memories and skills and are immediately capable of caring for themselves. The Aldar laughed and mocked them, calling them weak and pitiful. When Proteus declared that the children would be the inheritors of the continent of Sapience on the world of Achaea, Aldar dissent grew and exploded across the cosmos into the Chaos Wars (see Mythology).
Maya loved and cared for her two offspring, the male of which she called Callisto and the female, Sinope. As they developed and grew, the two human children were constant companions. As a natural outgrowth of this closeness, and because they had been charged by Proteus to become the progenitors of a new race, they became lovers. We of the modern age, with our iron weapons, sophisticated warfare, and learned scholars may consider this evil, but let us not forget that times were different then. This was the age of legends, and we have no right to judge these heroic figures of antiquity with our modern morality. Sinope bore Callisto seven children, collectively known as the Offspring. Four of them – Pasiphae, Elara, Lysithea, Himalia – were female, while the other three – Carme, Anake, and Ledo – were male.
As Sinope and Callisto grew older, it became apparent that they were not aging. It seemed that they possessed the near-immortal lifespans of the Aldar and would never perish of natural causes. However, Lucretius, God of Knowledge, theorized that as the generations of humans came and went, each succeeding one would possess less and less of this long lifespan, until they were as other mortals. He went on to explain this as being a result of the interbreeding of pure Chaos, in the form of the Unnamable One, with Aldar. The entropic energy would cause the Aldar energy to dissipate over time, leading to lifespans more on par with the lifespans of the other mortal races.
Soon after the birth of the Offspring, Proteus, Phaestus, and Daedalus came to Achaea with the Sceptre of Divinity. They broke the sceptre into seven pieces and gave one to each of the Offspring, saying that whomever could unite these pieces into one would attain rewards beyond imagination. Sinope and Callisto were dismayed at this, for they did not wish to see their burgeoning race torn apart by strife. They had raised their children well though, and, taking the advice of their parents, the Offspring agreed never to strive for domination over the others. The Gods were pleased with this compact, and created a wonderous valley called Ceylon, which means Golden Land, for the humans to dwell in.
Soon after this, the battle on Nishnatoba took place, but the humans, with their limited perceptions, knew none of it. Never did they know, until later generations came and established close relationships with the Gods, how close they came to being exterminated, and what an impact their birth had upon all Creation.
### Anake’s Passion
Life went on for a century. Many children were produced by the Offspring, as they interbred. Sinope and Callisto kept to themselves, watching their loving creations grow and multiply. There was no stigma about inter-breeding, for all were related anyhow. Sinope, however, refused to take another lover. Anake, who found his mother very fetching and her refusal to sleep with him vexing, plotted secretly and killed her one night as she slept. Callisto was out on a hunting trip with Ledo, Pasiphae, and Himalia at the time. Carme, upon stumbling onto his dead mother, cried out in dismay and quickly got Lysithea to gather the other Offspring while he went to bring back Callisto and the rest of the hunting party. Despite this, Anake almost got away with it, except that Maya herself came down and informed them that it was he, Anake, who had betrayed the mother of Humanity and killed her.
This announcement by Maya caused great outrage in Ceylon. Callisto sequestered himself, for he was too broken with grief to think of revenge or justice. Carme, Elara, Ledo and Himalia all counciled banishment from Ceylon for Anake. Pasiphae, the most beautiful and caring of them all, could not bear the thought of never seeing her brother again, but did not support him for she understood the rage the others felt. Only Lysithea would support her brother, arguing that they had all agreed never to seek domination over the others, and Anake had not technically broken that agreement since Callisto and Sinope were not part of it. The majority of the Offspring would not hear of it though, so outraged were they at the death of their mother, who was the most perfect human in history. All later humans are merely shades of their dead mother. Anake was banished and to the sorrow of the rest of the Offspring, Lysithea decided to go with him, for she and her brother had always been closest.
### Blood Feuds
As they burned the body of Sinope, Callisto entered into a state of grief for the next 50 years and refused to speak or participate in any human activity. He was found often staring into the sky, mumbling to himself and weeping. One day, the Gods Shaitan and Thoth, sensing the potential in humanity that Caymus, the Aldar prophet, first did, and wishing to use them for their own purposes, appeared to Callisto and argued that Anake should suffer for his terrible deed. They conjured up vivid visions of beautiful Sinope, and Callisto became mad with grief. Screaming out his rage, he left Ceylon, unseen by his children and grandchildren and spent fourteen years in the wilderness, tracking down Anake. When he finally found them, he was more animal than human. He rushed into the forest dwelling that Anake, Lysithea, and their only two children, Rukal and Lakspura inhabited, and brutally killed Anake while he slept. As he slit Anake’s throat with a piece of sharp obsidian, Anake’s blood splattered Callisto’s face. Callisto, feeling the blood of his son flowing down his face in smooth rivulets, went irreparably insane.
Running and screaming, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded with Sarapis to end his miserable life, he was grabbed by a pair of hands from above. Quickly they wrapped a rope around his neck, dropped him, and hung him. As Callisto’s neck snapped, Rukal and Lakspura looked at each other with satisfaction, having avenged their father’s death at the hands of their grandfather.
### Generations
Rukal and Lakspura mated and produced four children: Loki, Ekanel, Spiro, and Polyphamora. They lived among the animals and learned to disguise themselves from danger, and learned the language of the beasts. As chaos was still very strong in the blood of humans, their offspring had many mutations. Of the four, two, Loki and Ekanel, appeared slightly serpentine. During childhood, as the foursome was out hunting in the woods for small animals, Loki and Ekanel killed and ate Spiro and Polyphamora, much to the surprise of their parents. Rukal and Lakspura, realizing that it was best for the strong and crafty to survive, never even commented on the deaths. Loki and Ekanel lived long and produced many offspring, some of which became the forebears of the modern Serpentlords.
All the Offspring had children, but some warrant particular attention. Elara and Carme had a great number of children, but the strongest two were Glanos and Sahart. They both, Sahart first, then Glanos, seduced and impregnated Enalia, daughter of Pasiphae and Balan, who was himself the son of Ledo and Himalia, two of Pasiphae’s fellow Offspring. Of them, more will be said later, for the story of Glanos and Sahart and their descendants is the story of mankind.
Epitus, the brother of Enalia (daughter of Pasiphae and Balan) had a close relationship with the Gods. He was extremely pious and the Gods almost universally looked upon him with good will. His great-great-granddaughter, Imithia built the first formal temple and later the first church. The first rite held in the new Church was the Rite of Ending for Pasiphae, the last of the Offspring who was not either dead or missing.
### Tales of the Offspring
The tales of the seven Offspring are interesting ones and we shall expand upon them here.
Of Anake, you know. The first murderer, he slew his own mother after she refused his advances and was later slain by his father.
After the death of Anake, Lysithea yearned to bring him back. She was contacted by Lorielan, who now rules over the Kx’Khrah. Lorielan promised that she could bring Anake back to life if Lysithea would simply bring her the two pieces of the Divine Rod that she now had. Lysithea, knowing she could never again enter Ceylon to gain the other five anyhow, agreed and was brought to Lorielan by one of her Kx’Khrah agents. Lorielan had lied, as is her nature, and upon the arrival of Lysithea, the Offspring was forced to give up the pieces of the Rod to Lorielan, and, being stranded on a foreign plane with no way to return, was forced to serve Lorielan forever.
Ledo was always the silent recluse; the solitary hunter. During a hunting trip in the Vashnar mountains, he disappeared and never returned. It was later discovered that he had been attacked and eaten by a lesser dragon.
After the death of his mother and the resulting grief and then madness of his father, Carme took over leadership of the budding human race. He yearned to explore and was lost to Achaea when he ventured into the great northern wastelands, and never returned. The others mourned his loss greatly, for he was a natural leader of men. Over the centuries, however, legends have filtered back to the civilized portion of Sapience that a lone man has occasionally been seen, accompanied by humanoids that look very much like Tsol’aa, in the polar regions.
The mother of mankind’s eternal fascination with the ocean, Himalia sailed off to the west in a small boat, by herself. Searching for lands rumoured to be on the other side of the world, she did not expect to return, and indeed, she did not. Her fate is unknown, though much speculated upon.
After Lysithea was lost to the Crystal Plane, Elara began searching for an entrance into it. As she was experimenting with opening doors to other planes, a great scaled hand reached out from a doorway. As Himalia and Ledo looked on, helpless to do anything, Elara was dragged screaming through the doorway and was never seen again.
Last of the Offspring to remain in Ceylon, Pasiphae died a natural death after many hundreds of years of life. Imithia delivered her eulogy at what is considered the first formal function of the Church.
### Family Tree
Humanity’s family tree.
### The Founders
The story of humanity is, as I have previously written, the story of the Glanos, Sahart, Enalia, and their offspring. Glanos and Sahart were brothers and possessed the irresistible charisma of their father, Carme. They both took Enalia as lover and both sired three children by her. Hopelessly in love with them both, she was unable to choose between them and so vacillated weakly, bearing each of them children. Though at first each professed not to care, their pride was too great for them to stand the thought of his lover sleeping with his greatest rival. Great friends initially, this jealousy ruined their friendship and, in lieu of coming to blows, they went from Ceylon and journeyed in different directions.
Glanos settled finally in an area of plains near the Western Ocean and at the northern end of the Vashnar mountains, while Sahart came finally to the Peshwar delta near the Eastern Ocean and settled at the southern end of a great, lush valley. These two brothers, formerly virtual partners in everything, never saw each other again. With each came his children, grandchildren, and various allies amongst the other humans, until over half the humans had gone to rally around either Glanos or Sahart.
The places that Glanos and Sahart settled were, of course, eventually became known as Ashtan and Shallam, respectively. Time passed and though there were legends in each city of the other, there was no contact between the two for a millennia. When they finally did re-discover each other, it was with animosity in their hearts. Each searching for a source of precious metals without the risks of the perilous Vashnar mountain range, they met north of the Siroccian mountains, within which both had discovered significant mining potential. Initially only wary of each other, they quickly mustered arms to protect these new-found resources and began their legendary conflict.
Though the battles they fought and the campaigns against each other that they won and lost are too numerous to be described individually, the ebb and flow of the campaign took place in three distinct cycles.
### A Tale of Two Cities
In the first cycle, which lasted approximately 750 years, Shallam was able to control much of the explored mainland and with it, built itself into a city of legendary beauty. Covered in mother of pearl and gold leaf, its characteristic domes and spires glistened from horizon to horizon. Between the fanatical loyalty that the city inspired in its citizens, and the vast warchest it had with which to hire mercenaries, Shallam was able to invade and capture Ashtan itself. Under the leadership of Darius, a nephew of the Emperor, Shallam executed a two-pronged attack against Ashtan, captured the Royal complex there, and declared dominion over all of the continent of Sapience.
Cycle two begins merely a week after the capture of Ashtan. The Shallamese conquerors wisely did not loot the city and instead began courting the citizens of Ashtan, hoping to win at least some of them over. It is ironic, however, that what would otherwise have been a wise course of action, in this case doomed their centuries-long conquest. Large groups of the Ashtan citizens began sneaking out of the city and organizing secretly in the Black Forest, south of the historically allied village of Thera, under the leadership of a former Ashtani noble named Zarathustra.
Organizing his followers into an army and enlisting the aid of the Therans and mercenaries whom he promised to pay later, he marched into Ashtan, organized a general rebellion, and freed Ashtan. The main entrance to Ashtan was named in his honour and he went down as the greatest Ashtani hero since the founder, Glanos.
For the next four hundred years, the legacy of Zarathustra’s success enabled Ashtan to capture much of the land that Shallam had previously held, including the mines in the Siroccian mountains. In what perhaps would have been a repeat of the mistake made by Shallam, Ashtan began making plans to invade Shallam by water, sailing their fleet around the hitherto fairly unexplored southern half of the continent, and up the Peshwar delta right to the walls of Shallam itself. Unknown, however, to the Ashtan forces, the Shallamese emperor, Sulaiman, had prepared for them by sinking their old wrecks in the Delta, preventing passage through. Had the Ashtan fleet ever reached Shallam, it would have been sunk, and a full-scale land-war would have been the result, devastating the breadbasket plains and valleys that feed civilization. The Ashtan fleet had turned around, not because of any of these altruistic reasons, but because of the influence of the Church.
Cycle three of this seemingly eternal war of the city-states begins with the long and slow rise of the Church as a mediating force. This began when a Prelate of the Church, — a Priest named Aquinas – gained wind of the imminent ocean-going invasion of Shallam. Journeying to Ashtan, he convinced the powerful, though generally thoughtful, King of Ashtan, Martin, of the probable consequences of another massive war. Martin ordered the cessation of hostilities for a time, but even a King cannot control the hatred of his citizens. Though a full-blown war had been averted, there were constant skirmishes and some large battles for the next two hundred years. Cropland was destroyed by passing armies, villages were burned to the ground, and mankind seemed intent on destroying itself before it could fulfill its massive potential.
Thus was the state of humanity until the birth of the man that would radically alter the course of affairs of not only mankind, but all five of the mortal races living in the continent of Sapience. His name was Nicator, and much more will be told about him in later histories.
### The Tsol’aa
Tsol’aa Sentinel.
The Tsol’aa were first of the mortal races that inhabit Sapience. Created by Sarapis (then split into Ayar and Proteus), they are a tall, slender, and graceful race, often living natural lives for a thousand years. Dwelling in a beautiful redwood forest by the Western Ocean, they developed various types of magic to a high degree, and some became fearful warriors, fighting back goblin hordes that occasionally poured down from the Vashnar mountain range. As a gift from Daedalus, God of Balance, some were given giant spiders as steeds and companions, which they used to augment their already formidable fighting capabilities.
During the Chaos Wars, Daedalus led some of the Tsol’aa, with their spiders, against the forces of the Triumvirate. During this war, however, the Tsol’aa who fought became corrupted by the killing and afterwards began to lust for power. The newly-born human race, they argued, could easily be made to serve the Tsol’aa. This power-hungry group of Tsol’aa began calling themselves the Tsol’teth. They left their racial homeland and settled underground, enslaving many of the weaker goblin races and setting themselves up as fearsome overseers of the violent underground cultures of Sapience.
With the Tsol’teth gone, the remaining Tsol’aa split into two further groups. One elected to remain in their homeland and continue living in the traditional way, studying and furthering their knowledge of both magic and nature. Another, the group that came to be known as the Tsol’dasi, decided that they did not care to be involved in mortal affairs any longer, and left for parts unknown. They have not been seen since.
### The Dwarves
Dwarven Knight
Created by Phaestus and given a soul by Sarapis/Proteus/Ayar, the dwarves are primarily hill and mountain dwellers. Having a common hatred with the Tsol’aa of the goblin races, they have occasionally allied with the Tsol’aa against the goblin hordes, but for the most part the dwarves kept to themselves until the time of the Selucarian Empire. Little is known of the their history until they began mixing with the human race a few hundred years ago.
### The Trolls
Troll Blademaster
Offspring of Gruul, the leader of Prospero’s Arcanian mercenaries during the Chaos Wars, and a human woman, trolls made their home in the Mannaseh swamp. Though this sounds an awful place to live, trolls are well-adapted to such an environment, and built a city that was rumoured to be as civilized as any human city. Troll’s did not leave the Mannaseh much, except for a few explorers who would venture out to the Savannah, or return with horror stories of the dry, arid Mhojave desert.
Life went on for the Troll race as it always had until, one year, a vast emigration of trolls to the surrounding plains took place. Until, as the Trollish senate was meeting to discuss routine issues of taxation, a being of unknown origin appeared to them and claimed to be their rightful God. This being demanded that the senate immediately disband and declare him, who called himself Taug. Now, the trolls are proud, willful race, and though they were not happy about Taug, they felt compelled to obey him, at least temporarily.
But, in a short time, the Trolls grew tired of meeting the often unreasonable demands of Taug and a pair of leaders arose. Schlastan, a senator, and Alcibiades, a commoner, combined their efforts and mobilized the greatest sorcerers of the Trolls race. Between them, they were able to contain Taug in a magical prison. Unfortunately, Taug’s essence had already polluted the Mannaseh swamp, and the trolls left, en masse, to seek new lives elsewhere.
Around the continent they spread, and eventually the Church took an interest in them. Molay, the Paladin guildmaster, recognized the potential of the troll strength of body and will, and recruited some for the Church. Thus, the Trolls were the first race to join humanity in civilization, and the first to join the Church.
### The Mhun
A Mhun monk
Mhun are actually an offshoot of humanity, though this was not known until Nicator came across Moghedu (read more about this in the history of the Selucarian Empire). When Glanos and Sahart, and their followers, left Ceylon, they took more than half of the human population with them, including most of the best and brightest. Further devastating the Ceylonese was a terrible plague that hit a few years later. Those who survived the plague were forced to leave Ceylon forever, for fear of a repeat of this tragedy.
Journeying to the great Mhojave desert, they spent a year there, with the idea that the great absence of moisture would purge the plague from anyone still carrying it. When they felt that the plague was likely gone from any of them, the ones that had survived it and the unfriendly conditions of the desert began looking for a place to settle. They quickly came upon a vast series of caves and caverns directly to the southwest of the Mhojave and in this place, which they named Moghedu.
Though Moghedu was a more hospitable place to live than the desert was, it was no paradise. Water and food were both scarce, though food, at least, could be obtained by venturing out and hunting desert creatures. Over the years and generations, the humans who had settled there began to evolve in response to their environment, becoming distinctly different from the rest of humanity. They took on a gaunt and leathery appearance due to the lack of moisture and generally did not grow to the same size that a normal human would. As the elders saw the younger generations growing further apart from humanity, they decided to call this new race of beings Mhun.
The Mhun did survive, and were able to eke out an existence once their biological changes were complete. They learned to raise and eat various underground creatures, and learned to capture moisture from the rocks themselves, though they still were often thirsty and water was considered the single most valuable possession. The discovered vast veins of precious metals in the deeper parts of their caverns and they mined these, though even gold and diamonds could not compare to the value of water.
Life for the Mhun was hard, and they became hard themselves. Having no time for pity, they often left the infirm to die, and it was expected that the elderly among them would journey into the desert to die, so as not to become a burden to their families. Time went on and little changed in Moghedu, until the day when Nicator discovered them, and everything changed. That, however, is a story for another time.
---
### [Illustrated Map of Achaea's Seas and Oceans](https://www.achaea.com/illustrated-map-of-achaeas-seas-and-oceans)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
# Illustrated Map of Achaea’s Seas and Oceans
Compiled by Czanthria and Zulah, this map shows the various seas and oceans around the continent of Sapience.
---
### [Illustrated Map of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/achaea_maps/illustrated-map-of-achaea)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
# Illustrated Map of Achaea
Illustrated by Delphinus, this comprehensive map depicts the main continents of Sapience and Meropis, as well as numerous islands, all accessible by players in Achaea, the world’s best MUD.
While the below is large, you see or download [the full-res version (4158 x 6932) here](http://www.achaea.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Delphinus-worldmap-post-Targossas.jpg).
---
### [Full World Map of Achaea](https://www.achaea.com/achaea_maps/full-world-map-of-achaea)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### Full World Map of Achaea
Do you want to see what the world of Achaea looked like 10 years ago? Then this map is for you! Presented as a historical reference and as an indicator of Achaea’s massive growth, there are countless new areas and rooms not included here.
---
### [Ancient Province of Seleucar](https://www.achaea.com/achaea_maps/ancient-province-of-seleucar)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### Ancient Province of Seleucar
This partial map illustrates the bulk of the Seleucar province and surrounding areas during the height of Imperial power, well before the fall of the empire and the splitting of the continent. Exact date is unknown.
---
### [Support](https://www.achaea.com/support)
**Published:** January 29, 2017
**Author:** Dalinor
**Content:**
### Contacting Support
For in-game concerns, please utilise the [issue system](http://www.achaea.com/game/helpview/achaea/issues "Achaea Help: Issues") for timely assistance from a game administrator.
If you have questions or problems with credits or Iron Elite memberships, please see [http://www.ironrealms.com/payment-faq](http://www.ironrealms.com/payment-faq "Payment FAQ") or email <sales@achaea.com>.
For anything else, please email us at: <support@achaea.com>!
If all else fails, you may contact Iron Realms Entertainment by mail at:
**Iron Realms Entertainment**
145 Corte Madera Town Center #451
Corte Madera, CA 94925
USA
---
### [Test page](https://www.achaea.com/test-page)
**Published:** December 9, 2016
**Author:** Sarapis
**Content:**
### Apostates
Apostates are diabolical scholars and ritualists in the service of Evil. These black priests spread the teachings of the Gods of Evil throughout the realm, and they also act as the spiritual pulse of Mhaldor, the city of evil. Because of their devotion to Evil, they are rarely welcome in other cities.
# Apostates
In days long past, the armies of Evil plotted to open a rift to the daemon planes through the torture and sacrifice of a holy guardian angel. However, the angel was resurrected and the rift closed, but not before a daemon general by the name of Morimbuul had come through the aperture. The daemon general, enraged at his entrapment on the prime material plane, threatened to destroy all around him. His summoner, a man named Xerimor, was able to subdue him, and much to the daemon general’s fury, forced Morimbuul to instruct him in the daemonic arts. And thus was the class of Apostates born.
Apostates are diabolical scholars and ritualists in the service of Evil. These black priests spread the teachings of the Gods of Evil throughout the realm, and they also act as the spiritual pulse of Mhaldor, the city of evil. Because of their devotion to Evil, they are rarely welcome in other cities.
- #### Apostasy
- #### Evileye
- #### Necromancy
#### Apostasy
The hallmark skill of the Apostate, Apostasy is the art and science of summoning and dealing with the mighty Baalzadeens and lesser daemons. In it, you will learn to use the sentient daeggers, form a relationship with your loving Baalzadeen, and learn to summon a variety of lesser daemons into a pentagram drawn with blood. Perhaps the most feared ability of the Apostasy skill is that which allows your Baalzadeen to tear the soul from an unwilling victim.
Abilities in Apostasy
| Daegger | Call to your side a living, daemonic daegger to aid you. |
|---|---|
| Hunt | Command your daegger to hunt your enemy. |
| Envenom | Envenom your daegger to poison your victims. |
| Pentagrams | Sketch an infernal pentagram, in blood. |
| Baalzadeen | Summon your beloved Baalzadeen to do your bidding. |
| Taste | Taste the flesh of your Baalzadeen. |
| Rest | Order your Baalzadeen to rest. |
| Armour | Request that your Baalzadeen grant you protection. |
| Horror | Instill great fear into your victim with your demon’s aid. |
| Fiend | Summon a daemon fiend to attack an enemy. |
| Scorch | Order your Baalzadeen to melt icewalls. |
| Presences | Locate those in your local area with your Baalzadeen. |
| Mask | Summon dark powers to mask your demonic servitor. |
| Sap | Drain away the mana of a victim with your loving demon. |
| Trace | Command your Baalzadeen to trace the movements of someone. |
| Fortify | Fortify the health of your Baalzadeen with yours. |
| Apathy | Become numb to the crushing pain of existence. |
| Shadowstrike | Use your daegger to strike at the shadow of a victim. |
| Beckon | Your Baalzadeen is an attractive force indeed. |
| Daemonite | Summon forth a small daemonite to annoy your enemies. |
| Strip | Command your demon to strip the defences from someone. |
| Sear | Order your Baalzadeen to sear the flesh of an enemy. |
| Puncture | Pierce another’s flesh with your daegger. |
| Eliminate | Use your daegger to tear the beating heart from a victim. |
| Bloodworms | Summon forth a horde of these foul lesser daemons. |
| Blast | Order your Baalzadeen to blast your enemies from the room. |
| Mindread | Command your demon to listen to incoming tells. |
| Nightmare | A daemonite born of the rape of the Goddess of Dreams. |
| Fury | Cause those around you to go into an enhancing fury. |
| Stain | Stain the soul of someone with your Baalzadeen. |
| Bloodpact | An unholy pact with the Inferno. |
| Syphon | Order your Baalzadeen to draw afflictions away from you. |
| Contemplation | Perceive the state of another’s mental strength. |
| Refuge | Seek refuge in the Inferno. |
| Corrupt | Lay low the heretics with demonic corruption. |
| Catharsis | Perhaps their death is the greatest mercy there is. |
#### Evileye
Evileye is a skill that is perhaps related to the Curses skill used by the Shamans, albeit perhaps less powerful. With it, one may make eye contact with an opponent and give them the ‘evil eye’, imposing a wide variety of afflictions upon the opponent. At the high end of the ability, one learns the craft of giving multiple afflictions simultaneously. The syntax for all evil eye abilities, unless stated otherwise, is STARE .
Abilities in Evileye
| Fear | Instill great fear in your target. |
|---|---|
| Deaf | Dampen an opponent’s hearing. |
| Impatience | Inability to concentrate on focused tasks. |
| Clumsy | Your victim will fumble about. |
| Vertigo | A devastating fear of heights. |
| Bleed | Curse your opponent with uncontrollable bleeding. |
| Amnesia | Make your victim forget what he meant to do. |
| Agoraphobia | Fear of open spaces. |
| Breach | Cut through an opponent’s curseward. |
| Dizzy | Causes problems when trying to move. |
| Claustrophobia | Fear of being under cover. |
| Paranoia | They are out to get you, believe me. |
| Blind | Curse an opponent with blindness. |
| Masochism | The love of your own pain. |
| Asthma | Creates difficulty when breathing. |
| Deadeyes | Inflict multiple ailments simultaneously. |
| Reckless | A dangerous disregard for personal well-being. |
| Epilepsy | Disrupt the nervous system of your victim. |
| Confusion | Befuddle the minds of your enemies. |
| Peace | Fill your enemy’s mind with thoughts of peace. |
| Dementia | Distorts the victim’s perceptions of the world. |
| Sight | Restoring your sight. |
| Sicken | Bring down disease upon them. |
| Plague | Curse someone with the voyria affliction. |
| Addiction | Creates a terrible addiction. |
| Cowardice | Rob the courage from a victim. |
| Stupid | Make a victim dumb as a rock. |
| Manaleech | A terrible curse of the mind. |
| Sensitivity | Cause your victim to become extremely sensitive to pain. |
| Vomiting | Upset the stomach of your enemy. |
| Sleep | Put an enemy to sleep, or remove his sleep defences. |
| Anorexia | A terrible condition, preventing one from eating. |
| Weariness | Weaken the body of your opponent. |
| Truestare | Cast the evil eye through magical shields. |
#### Necromancy
Necromancy is the dark art of death magic. At the lower levels, there is an assortment of rather nefarious abilities. Soon though, the ability of Cannibalism is gained, a skill which has inspired wide-spread fear of those practicing Necromancy. Through cannibalism, a Necromancer increases his life essence, which powers the higher abilities. At the very highest level, a Necromancer gains the power to protect his very soul from death.
Abilities in Necromancy
| Deathsight | Attune yourself to the Underworld. |
|---|---|
| Chill | Send the cold of the grave to plague an opponent. |
| Sense | Seek out the life force of another being. |
| Decay | Causing your opponent’s flesh to decay. |
| Night | Create darkness in the room. |
| Shroud | Perform many actions in secret. |
| Screech | The shriek of the banshee. |
| Taint | Attack those with pure souls. |
| Feed | Derive sustenance from another being. |
| Leech | Leech away the mental energy of your target. |
| Lifevision | Allows you to see many hidden beings. |
| Shrivel | Cause your opponent’s limbs to shrivel up. |
| Cannibalism | Rip out and consume the heart of your victims. |
| Essence | Sense about how much life essence you have. |
| Sapience | Draw upon your essence to increase your mana. |
| Vigour | Draw upon your essence to increase your health. |
| Putrefaction | Cause your flesh to decay and melt. |
| Drain | Drain your life essence into another Necromancer. |
| Belch | Spew forth a noxious gas. |
| Deathaura | Surround yourself in a miasma of evil. |
| Disfigure | Curse someone with the visage of a rotting corpse. |
| Soulstorm | Driving animal spirits away. |
| Gravehands | Summon the hands of the grave to hinder your opponents. |
| Leprosy | Spread disease to all around you. |
| Exterminate | Destroy all plant life in a location. |
| Vengeance | Revenge with your dying breath. |
| Soulspear | Meld soul-matter from the dead into a physical weapon. |
| Transverse | Cross vast distances in a single step. |
| Blackwind | Assume the form of the deadly blackwind. |
| Desecration | Banish the holy rites of the Bloodsworn Gods. |
| Vivisect | Rip your victim’s chest open and torture him to death. |
| Soulcage | Harness your life essence to escape death itself. |
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