Jump to content

Dry Crackers

Gold VIP
  • Posts

    548
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

230 Brilliant

Contact Methods

  • Minecraft Username
    CYXOI_CYXARb

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male

Character Profile

  • Character Name
    Emanaf Delsaran | Arhiln Sulicelia
  • Character Race
    Wood Elf

Recent Profile Visitors

22380 profile views
  1. Proxy issues have been making the server pretty unplayable for the last week or so

  2. As I understand it greensight doesn’t let you see through non-living objects, so “nature X-ray” wouldn’t really reflect the ability correctly.
  3. To the children of Urguan, In the lands of Almaris, our people stood by yours for nearly a century in peaceful camaraderie and noble defense. The callous acts of my predecessors have torn a rift in what should have been a fruitful and unshakable relationship. It is for this reason that the people of Nevaehlen desire to present a gift of peace in excess of that which the grudge of the sons of Urguan demand. We hope to mark this exchange with a grand feast in our new home, the ruins of what once was Talar’nor. To make doubly evident that we bear no ill will and this is no form of trickery, we warmly invite the seven allies of the dwarves, along whom we have fought in the great wars of the Midland, to bear witness and join us in these festivities. On behalf of the people of Nevaehlen, I am, respectfully, Set and witnessed by Arhiln Caerme’onn, scribe, at the site of the city lately called Talar’nor, on the eleventh day of Snow’s Maiden in the nineteen hundred and sixty second year of Aegis.
  4. Might have been more tempted to stay if we hadn’t had to make all our own RP before, during, and after the war. Hell, I would have liked occupation/conquest RP, but I think most of the haelun’or army hasn’t been active since their raid twenty minutes after winning the siege.
  5. Small folded books of only a few pages have been delivered to the major Elven libraries. On the Names of Elves by Arhiln Sulicelia Caerme'onn, Printed at Nevæhlen in the Year 1946 of Aegis. Being blessed with long life, the question of identity is often of first consequence to elves. By this word identity I do not mean an unchanging characteristic fixed at birth or some other particular epoch, but rather a thing that hovers between an elf and the rest of the world: a midpoint between his view of himself and the world's of him, with each affecting the other continually. Grossly obvious are the evolutions in identity brought about by changes of the subject's environment or outward appearance; these hardly merit discussion. More subtle but deeper and more profound are those changes in identity that result from a certain state of perception unmediated by any shift of the outer world. Persons grieving, or new-charged with pride, or intentionally adapted to sociability, find their identities reflect the changed state of their inner selves, and in time these changed identities work upon those contacting the person. Likewise the subject who is thought of kindly, or badly, by her neighbors, comes to adapt their perceptions into her view of herself, identity acting not as an absolute shield but as a breakwater, dampening and changing the forces which strike a person rather than staving them off altogether. This identity, then, continually shifting, is necessarily under the greatest strain in Mali, as our long lives and continual flexibility of spirit and mind permit the most extensive changes of identity. Of particular interest in this process are names, being both capable of taking form in the outer world (if only momentarily) and reflective of an inner state adopted by the person named. Our ancestors, being in general even longer-lived than Mali of today, felt this strain all the more keenly for the greater time they were exposed to it. However, we know that contributing to their long and comfortable though by no means languid lives was a general disinclination towards petty strife: though the Seeds in ancient days certainly quarreled, the great and highly lethal wars which we know of today were remarkable deviations from a general policy that avoided shedding Descendant blood. Certainly a common feature of their identity, their means of understanding the word and of being understood in turn, was the cause of their equanimity. As we have observed, the practice of naming is of the first importance in constructing and understanding this identity. As with so much concerning the ancients, a definitive statement of their practice of naming may never be possible. We encounter in the historical record a great number of mononyms, though none can say whether from the records alone whether this was the general practice or applied only to the small number of historically significant elves whose names were unlikely to be confused. Certainly long and involved names, comprising multiple parts of significance, were not the usual practice; we see not a single example of this type in the history, and certainly would expect to have at least one, were it common. Though it is improper to consider names simply as functional appellations, a means of distinguishing persons with no ramifications for the inner state of a person, this is nonetheless a role of names, and one which is unlikely to have changed much through the years, and consideration of this functional aspect may permit deduction to give a general picture of ancient practice. The ancients spent their time distributed in bands of no great size: Seeds or components of Seeds; contact, even among the several bands of one large Seed, was incidental except in wartime and certain ritual and trading seasons. Thus each person of a band needed to be distinguished only from the other members of the band, and even within the band, a certain amount of repetition would have been easily disambiguated with use of nick-names or such designations as “elder”, “younger”, and so on. Thus the case for single given names is strengthened. When bands should meet, it is natural that the entire band would receive, as a further distinguishing mark, the name of their band, or perhaps that of the territory which they claimed. The Seed-name might be used in a similar way, with interlocutors of different Seeds: certainly it was proudly proclaimed in war and other contests, and perhaps even repurposed as an epithet, or honorific, by those interlocutors, depending on their impressions of the identity of the Seed. Thus we have a general picture: the single given name, augmented by sobriquets applied by the bearer’s kin, and further enhanced by a distinctive mark of territorial and Seed affiliation when necessary. Here we see an interesting phenomenon: a person adopts an identity, in this case the Seed-identity, which, already constructed, is present in the minds of those who are to view it. It may seem impossible for an identity to exist, pre-constructed, without belonging to a particular mind by which it is fixed to the world, but such identities assuredly exist: any number of examples will suggest themselves to an inquiring mind. However, the interesting philosophical consequences of this fact cannot be sufficiently addressed here and must be set aside. Let it suffice to say that the adoption, or imposition, of any name which identifies a person as being of some particular group, cannot fail to have a profound effect on the identity of the person so identified. The cause of the first dissolution of the Seeds will probably never be known, and indeed every year we find more evidence that it was not so complete as once we believed in the form of remnants of the ancient language, religious practice, and even relics and lineage which survive in continuous use through the millennia. However, we certainly know that the end of the Age of Seeds also brought an end to its concomitant naming practice, for by the time of the establishment of Malinor, in general, Mali had adopted the practice of the Valah in assigning and taking names. No great explanation is necessary here: even those who have never lived without the resurrected Seeds are at once familiar with the common human means of identification by a given first name augmented by one or a series of “last” names, mostly patrilineal, or denoting other family affiliation. Some other schemes are in use, more or less complicated: Among some nations it is only the identity of the father that persists in the child, and we hear of Henrik son of Henrik, and appropriate dialectical variations. Valah women are largely deprived of their own family names, being obliged to bear those of their husbands; while it is only the husbands whose names are guaranteed to persist in the children. The various Valah laws of inheritance may bear on this program in ways that are best left to their advocates: again, even the meanest persons are aware of the general outline of this naming scheme, which was also in general practice among elves for many years, and which persists in those parts of Mali society who have rejected the ancient practices in the years since they have returned to use. In the modern age, the most notable tendency in the names of elves is again the Seed-name, the taking of which, along with the Seeds themselves, was reintroduced to general practice some centuries ago. This effort met with great success, and the Seeds have become at times the only method of organization for the Mali'ame. Thus it is natural that elves proclaim their Seed affiliation, not only with the customary Ilmyumier, but also by appending the name of their Seed to their own given name. This practice has become almost universal among those Mali who take pride in their Seed and wish to establish their membership as a feature of their identity. While laudable, the inconsistency and uneven spread of the practice has come to cause confusion. Confusing but comprehensible are those elves who, having adopted a new Seed, yet retain the name occasioned by their previous affiliation, for identity is often slow to change. Much more serious are a great and discreditable series of abuses brought about by the conflation of Seed-names with patrilineal names: We hear them bestowed upon children who have not the slightest right to use them, or, worse, conjoined with the infamous hyphen to serve as the joint family name of a married couple. While in many Seeds it is customary for children born to the Seed-members to themselves be inducted in due time, and so the bearing of a particular name may only be pre-emptive of an eventual honor, no Seed which follows the ancient practice should confer membership by right of birth alone, and thus a duty to truth requires none bear the Seed-name besides those entitled; as for the latter usage, so often struck into mailboxes and fence-posts, proclaiming the residence to be that of “Dilir’suli-Tahn’lie”, or similar nonsense, no defense against the charges of vanity and false pride seems possible. These regrettable practices of desperate self-gilding reached their culmination in a disgusting episode taking place towards the end of the last age, wherein the name of an old and formerly distinguished Seed, much reduced by the passage of years but still possessed of dignity and honor, was tacked to the names of a great mass of undeserving persons in a transparent attempt to build a dynastic house for political purposes, following the practice of the Valah. Fortunately, these political aspirations failed to eventuate, and the would-be dynasty dispersed, returning an old name to reputability, though not to prosperity. Reflecting again on the existence of a group identity, an identity in the sense now familiar to us but which is not attached to any particular person, and whose existence is so perfectly illustrated by the foregoing anecdote: for how can a name possibly be useful to a political opportunist, or disgraced by his actions, if it is not connected to a set of meanings which can be applied or removed from persons at will?—it remains only to return briefly to one of the philosophical questions earlier laid aside. As an individual identity is worked on by its bearer and the broader world equally, with the influence of each on the other mediated by the mirage-effect of the intervening identity, so too is the form of the group identity the result of a host of influences, coming on one side from the world at large, as in the individual identity, and on the other, from the mass of all the bearers, acting through their respective personal identities of which the group identity forms a part. Again I must disappoint the philosophers, for here my concern is the ability, and accompanying responsibility, that we each have in forming the group identities that we adopt: chiefly, as we have seen, the Seed-name and Seed-identity. Having already deplored the misuse of these intangible objects because of ignorance, and for purposes of self-aggrandizement and cronyism, it remains only for me to exhort their correct use, by and for the persons who have earned them. The practice of the ancients, recounted above as carefully as history permits, is, as in so many things, the best guide. Let us Mali cease abusing our Seed-names by treating them as Valah family names which we, being longer-lived than they, never needed. Let us leave off the vain practice of adopting or assigning Seed-names representing identities to which the bearer has no affiliation. Above all, let us guard against the use of our Seed-identities, which we all aid in constructing, from one side or another, for establishing political dynasties or other systems of corrupt influence. In our names we carry the greatest inheritance left to us by the ancients, and we are obligated to preserve it, through proper use, for the sake of our blessed children and all future generations.
  6. A shower of sparks is struck down on tinder, which catches slowly under the inducement of Arhiln's breath. Crumpled beside the tinder in the bottom of a furnace is a broadsheet from an Ithelanen, along with half a dozen other pieces of paper litter, which soon add their own heat and bright yellow flame to the effort of lighting the mass of charcoal that is to fuel the furnace; a furnace charged deep with iron ore and scrap, in some hours to disgorge a mass of steel to be beaten into arms and armor for the defense of the 'Ame. Arhiln, content with the strength of the growing blaze, closes the furnace and sets to his next task: organizing the veritable battalion of Elves appearing to take their turn in the filth of the tannery. Though his voice is hoarse from continually calling among the fumes of industry, though his fatigue-duty surcoat and leggings are worn and stained, though unaccustomed labor brings blisters to his hands and sends sweat pouring from his body, national pride shines unmistakably from beneath the grime on his face and reflects off the badge of a noble stag's head pinned to his breast. "Ayla, lliran!" he calls, seeing the effort of his brother-workers. "This is how we defend our people!"
  7. Unasked-for reversion to 1.8 aside, making weapon stats randomly assigned makes this whole "update" a bad idea. For years the main criticism of the server has been that management systems are too inflexible to permit good, creative RP: restrictions on settlements disempower the unlanded while making settlements themselves obsessed with self-preservation; adjusting lore takes so long that it can never contribute to dynamic RP; building is needlessly difficult such that only the OOCly well-connected can do it in a timely fashion. And now PvP, supposedly the great equalizer because of mechanical impartiality, will also needlessly favor the best OOC-coordinated factions at the expense of individuals. Obviously "grinders" will always have some advantage just by having more material, but making some weapons randomly inferior seems intended to punish individuals (perhaps new players!) crafting for themselves. That's not even considering the effects of adding new material types or "raid" equipment -- overall, this update could hardly do more to reinforce the ossification of the server into stagnant OOC camps where the main determiner of one's ability to do anything is who you know out of character. Still, new materials are always welcome, though I'd like some attention to be paid to its lore as well. Also, it would be a big help to me if someone on the tech side could publish (or just DM to me) the NBT fields used and to be used for identifying the new weapons, so I can use them for CIT resource packs.
  8. hot take the Void Magic vs Nature/Balance antagonism should never have been given an objective basis in lore

  9. I am once again asking to be able to rename pvp items

  10. Please Sir, may I rename pvpitems?

  11. Arhiln, enjoying the brilliant southern sunlight and a large breakfast while Wynanya was reading, shakes his head. "It couldn't be abridged," he explains, "otherwise someone might say I was being selective!" He considers the little book with a frown before going on: "Though there's something to what you say -- I wish I didn't have to include all those crank proposals at the end."
  12. Slim volumes, almost pamphlets, of some fifteen pages and bound in heavy card stock, appear for sale across Almaris, and several copies are exhibited in a number of libraries. EYEWITNESS REPORT ON THE FIRST SESSION OF THE CONCLAVE OF EBONWOOD Written by ARHILN SULICELIA, of Nevaehlen Preface The present Author, having no part in the lamentable conflict over the governance of the Silver State of Haelun'or, desires to present this, his report on the events of the first session of the Conclave of Ebonwood, that he may, by the impartial, unimpassioned statement of the course of events, forestall any of the various parties to the said conflict, now engaged in the printing of pamphlets and broadsheets, from taking improper liberties in their relation of these events in the promotion of their respective interests. The following report was written in the conclave chamber and in "real time" while the conclave was in session; it covers all the several days of deliberation, from the first speech of the convenor in the presence of the princes to the final adjournment amid less than one dozen common Elves and petty officers; the greatest effort was engaged to summarize the remarks of all speakers who took the floor, as well as those speakers who, though strictly out of order, contributed to the course of discussion. It absolutely reflects the feeling in the room at the instant of writing, being wholly unedited except to correct spelling and to remove some reflection on the oration of certain speakers which might have cast their rhetorical abilities in an unfavorable light. Coming as it does from a pen wholly impartial on the principal issue under discussion, it is this Author's hope its publication serves to establish conclusively not only the strict facts of what happened in the council chamber, but also of the general character or feeling in the room throughout. The Report Begun in the Town Hall in Ephesius on 6th of Snow's Maiden, in the year of Aegis eighteen hundred and fifty-five and the fifty-ninth year of Almaris. Attendees voting: Minuvas Melphestaus, Prince of Ebonwood (for Ebonwood) Captain Lord Hieran Livarai de Melphestaus, I.S.A., High Seneschal of Ephesius (for Ebonwood) Aver'wyn R'ikarth de Melphestaus, Gwaithor of Ephesius (for Clan R'ikarth) Wynanya Daemyar de Melphestaus, Elestel of the Glen (acting), Gwaithor of Ephesius (for Ebonwood) Princess Ivarielle (for her nation) Prince Amaesil Vuln'miruel, Priest of Amaethon, High Warden (for Elvendom) Braxus Ni'leya, Sohaer (for the Silver State, later replaced in voting by Aiera Sullas, Okarir'maehr) Conclave opens about noon on the 6th Snow's Maiden, with convenor's remarks on the goals of the Conclave, viz., to discern "Malin's Will" by means of council. The presence of both the present Sohaer and Ivarielle, who has publicly contested his office, set the tone. Both have brought substantial escorts, heavily armed and armored. These escorts, being Elves, are admitted to the conclave hall. Ivarielle's partisans take one corner of the room to themselves and turn their backs on the table where Braxus sits; Ivarielle herself faces him. (Note: The scribe did not have an ideal vantage to view the exact disposition of the crowd; he was nonetheless able to hear the course of discussion perfectly.) The convenor proposes to discuss the problems of Haelun'or, first yielding the floor to the Sohaer, who mounts a dispassionate defense of his reign. He accuses Ivarielle of thuggery and disrespect for the traditions of Haelun'or, thereby questioning the legitimacy of her claim to the city. The convenor supersedes Ivarielle's reply to ask the Sohaer respond to accusations of slave-taking made by the High Prince of Elvenesse; the Sohaer absolutely denies them, questions the High Prince's sources of information, and states his party is in the process of rapprochement with the High Prince. The convenor yields the floor to Ivarielle for her reply. She has placed several helmets on her side of the table before rising to speak. She claims the Sohaer was elected under false pretenses and reiterates her intention of seizing Haelun'or by force. She then demands Braxus surrender unconditionally, claiming his failure to do so already is further indication of his unsuitability for leadership, and makes increasingly transparent threats. The Prince-Heir of Elvenesse arrived during the previous remarks. Braxus repeats his initial objections to Ivarielle and calls her a Ferryman; she responds with incredulity and escorts on both sides lay weapons to hand. Much disordered yelling and cries by both sides; the convenor attempts to maintain order. The Sohaer and his escort leave, taunted by Ivarielle's party. Order is restored. High Elves (but not of Braxus's party, which has left) continue objections to Ivarielle, both from the floor and without it; Ivarielle replies that continuing the present administration in Haelun'or will lead to war, while she will restore peace, and promises that "when I take my city home, [sic] I will pardon you. Every last one of you. Braxus included." She reiterates the validity of her claim by military superiority. The convenor reprimands those speaking out of turn. The convenor proposes the question of whether or not the Sohaer had taken Dark Elf slaves; Prince Amaesil offers to speak before it is decided and receives the floor. He states the child in question was enslaved and accuses the Sohaer (now absent) of cowardice; the convenor looks for a reply from councillors of the Silver State, who remain in the conclave. The Prince-Heir threatens death to slavers. Aiera Sullas, Okarir'maehr, offers to reply for the Silver State. Disorder breaks out again, with Elves from various corners proposing to re-establish Malinor and construct a New Laurelin, or to pursue unified war against the Dwarves. All proposals are made from outside the floor. The convenor allows this discussion while the Okarir'maehr prepares her reply. Aiera states the slavery controversy was the result of one Sulii'ceru, whose action the Silver State deplores; the Prince-Heir immediately demands he be surrendered to Elvenesse for execution. This is well-received from several quarters of the room. THE CONVENOR THEREFORE DECLARES the question of whether the slavery occured to be settled, and proposes the next question, that the Sohaer and the said Sulii'ceru be surrendered to Elvenesse for trial and punishment. (Refer to remarks by the Prince-Heir for the likely outcome thereof.) Voting begins immediately: On the question of: Sulii’ceru Braxus Amaesil: Ti Ti Ivarielle Ti Ti Wynanya Ti Ti Aiera Ti Abst. Aver’wyn Ti Ti Melphestaus Ti Ti Hieran Ti Ti THE CONCLAVE THEREFORE DETERMINES that Braxus and Sulii'ceru should be tried in Elvenesse for having taken a slave. At the close of voting, Ivarielle withdraws and offers to make Amaesil her proxy. The convenor proposes the next question, on the proper leadership of the Silver State, yielding the floor to one Luthriel, who relates her personal history with Haelun'or at great length, including her work as an intelligence agent for one Orinmon. Minuvas withdraws as convenor in favor of Wynanya, who yields the floor to Usamea. Usamea expresses her distaste for Braxus's leadership, but states Ivarielle is even less popular in Haelun'or. She objects to the conclave considering the present question as an abridgement of the sovereignty of the Silver State. Luthriel continues her account of life in the Silver State, and the violence done upon her therein. The state of the floor is uncertain. The crowd by this point has dwindled to only just over one dozen, with only Wynanya remaining out of the voting members, none of the principals or their parties in attendance except the Councillors for the Silver State, and only a handful of the Ebonwood attendees remaining. Conversation is more general among the dwindling crowd. Luthriel continues her statement on the wrongs done to her by Braxus's party, before observing the evil she perceives in the Sohaer is limited to the jurisdiction of the Silver State, while the evil she perceives in Ivarielle is more likely to spread, through her encouragement of war. Luthriel makes an opaque analogy to the alleged supremacy of the Canonist God over Malin and reiterates her summary before retiring. The convenor yields the floor to "llir [sic] of the Silver State", Usamea replies to the effect that though Braxus is unpopular, Ivarielle's rule would necessarily be imposed through force and therefore cannot be countenanced. She promises that "those who have broken our laws shall face the pariran'tir". The crowd is now entirely High Elves, and the convenor. Disagreement is expressed with no regard for the possession of the floor. The parties discuss the state of military actions against the Silver State, and the legitimacy thereof. Further discussion off the floor omitted (all restatement or contention of previous points). The convenor yields the floor to one Valindra. Valindra expostulates the flaws of the present administration of Haelun'or at length. She establishes her trust in Ivarielle's promises to the citizens of Haelun'or. She proposes a negotiated settlement between Ivarielle and the Sohaer, then proposes an elected monarch govern all Elves (cf. the government of Malinor). The convenor adjourns the meeting in the morning on the 11th.
  13. Every time I PvP on this server I come away feeling small and mean-spirited.

    1. The Media Wizard

      The Media Wizard

      It can happen. No need to feel that way for this one: it was some interesting roleplay and I enjoyed it. Thank you for taking part in it, my guy!

    2. Dry Crackers

      Dry Crackers

      My man really clicked the "Font" button on a status reply.

  14. boomer moment More seriously though, can we please stop sneering at so-called "slice-of-life" players. I get it, I get sick of people's twee affects sometimes too, but all this complaining about bad war has built up this bizarre strawman of tea-partying, child-roleplaying, will-never-raise-one's voice characters (and players!). People like this probably exist somewhere, but that's not what matters: it's rude to go around denigrating people because they aren't interested in fighting in the war du jour for whatever reason, and the idea that these people (if they exist as described) are the reason there's a "lack of consequences" is, I think, a real obfuscation of who holds power in nations and in the server administration.
  15. I will never "loft" a "gauntlet"

×
×
  • Create New...