2018 In Review

We've had an eventful year here on NarniaMUCK! Here are some of the highlights:

In Narnia:

• In March, the Centaur Tarval interpreted a prophecy from the heavens pertaining to Narnia's next ruler:
  

  Red will be the crown
  of the one who at last will come home;
  a line once forgotten reborn,
  and valor the path to the throne

  Word of the prophecy quickly spread across Narnia, further muddying the Narnian Councils attempts to ascertain who to select as the next rightful ruler of the country.

• In May, the Wolf Dreygan of Winterden pack, tired of the months of inactivity from the Narnian Council, approached the throne room of Cair Paravel and sat, uninvited, upon the throne of King Edmund. He vowed not to budge from the throne until a ruler of the country could be appointed by the Council and an end brought to the instability the empty thrones brought to Narnia. The Council, already resolved not to appoint anyone as King or Queen of the country until the prophecy given by Tarval could be unanimously agreed upon to be fulfilled, quickly moved ahead with their plans to institute a ruling body of four Stewards until such time as the prophecy could be deemed fulfilled. Dreygan was convinced to abandon his position in order to give the Council time to move ahead by visiting knights, Sir Darrin and Dame Megren of Narnia.
• In July, the Council swore into service four Stewards: Lord Peridan, Lady Avery, Duke Oren, and the Centaur Wintermoor.
• Lord Peridan was given charge of Narnia's security and defense. He oversees the Northern Guard and commands the Narnian Army.
• Lady Avery leads Narnia's diplomatic affairs, both foreign and domestic.
• Duke Oren oversees the country's trade interests and commands the Narnian Navy.
• Lord Wintermoor is the liaison between the Council and the Stewards, and administers any matters of justice that cannot be handled on the local level.
• In October, Duke Oren’s young daughter, Noeli, and her nurse arrived in Narnia from the island of Terabinthia.
• Also in October, the Stewards took the first leg of a proposed two-part tour of Narnia. Lord Peridan, Lady Avery, and Lord Wintermoor visited Beruna, the Narnian Plains, and Lantern Waste. They met both with citizens and local leadership to make a formal introduction and to inquire after any questions or concerns that might be raised by the people. Discussions were also held on how best to encourage cooperation and unity between various Narnian groups.
• Since Halloween, a small group of trees within the main area of Lantern Waste have been acting strangely, exhibiting behaviors far out of the current season. A Dryad called May appeared not long after this behavior started.
• This winter has been an unseasonably cold one, blanketing the entire country in an unusual volume of snow. Lantern Waste particularly has been cold and frozen.

In Archenland:

• Abrielle was appointed Castle Purchaser of Anvard in April, reporting directly to Lord Dar as Steward of Anvard.
• In August, Abrielle and Deonyc were wed.
• Sir Darrin of Coghill and Dame Megren of Anvard were wed in September, on the autumn solstice. They hosted a harvest celebration at the same time.

Staff Projects:

• Pipford joined Roleplay Staff in April.
• A NarniaMUCK discord server was created in June, allowing players to socialize off-MUCK. Blackclaw helpfully created Chervy, an ISO bot which pulls ISOs from the game and posts them to a channel in the Discord, enabling players to tell at a glance when RP is wanted and where without being constantly connected to the game.
• An overhaul of the website’s Acceptable Use Policy and About pages was completed in November.
• Several new recipes were created in the game, among them Butternut Squash Soup and Roasted Eggplant.

On a more sober note, staff have become aware this week that the player behind Nathen, a librarian at Anvard active in-game in 2016, passed away recently. The character has been retired, and we are saying ICly that Nathen has simply moved on from his position in the castle. Our thoughts go out to Nathen’s RL family and friends.

And that’s a wrap for 2018, guys! More good things to come in 2019. We’ve got a couple of engagements that may see weddings soon (Nasrin & Loc, and Peridan & Avery). There’s even rumors Lord Shar may step down soon, giving rule of Coghill to Lord Dar and subsequently passing the role of Steward of Anvard to Sir Darrin. Will the prophecy for Narnia’s next ruler be fulfilled this year? What IS going on with those trees in Lantern Waste, anyways? Stay tuned!