August Newsletter from Iron Realms Entertainment

July has come and gone, heralding the August edition of the Iron Realms Newsletter. Once again we report on developments in July and taunt you with rumors of the future.

Aetolia
Mounts run wild as the anticipated Horsemanship skill is released in Aetolia. Powerful steeds including horses, camels, griffons, and nightmares now allow you to travel the world in style. Zealots, Druids, Indorani, Infernal, and Paladin Liaison updates were completed, and another round will be starting shortly. Now is the time to contact the liaison for your class and discuss what should be addressed in the upcoming round. Citizens of Spinesreach recently discovered the Crags, a nearby area specifically designed for their newbie players. August will bring comprehensive changes for Forging, a massive swipe at bugs, and rumours whisper of a new guild on the horizon!

Imperian
Classleads dominated July with the Idras, Saboteurs, Justicars, and Wardancers finishing up this round. Players can now create free-for-alls at any time with the new Arena Queue System. Ysaviel and Brydian stood victorious in the worldwide scavenger hunt scoring 17 points with Gristand and Lavinia right behind at 15. Bloodlines received an overdue update and enhancement. Several new areas were discovered, including the Byley Plains, the Northern Breach, the Eor'gahl Encampment, and the Sienna Cathedral. Announce News 855 has all the details for the literary contest being held for the cathedral. August will see new Hunter and Arboreal skills, a chain of interconnecting coachman inns, new areas, and a tradeskill update!

Achaea
The world of Achaea was plunged into darkness by a triple planetary eclipse of the sun in early July! Taking advantage of the incredibly rare planetary alignment, a secret society sought to draw power from the eclipsed sun, only to be double-crossed by a mysterious man who subverted their ritual and locked the planets' alignment in place artificially. Protected behind a ward of power woven from the very energy of the sun itself, the man drew power from the sun for some nefarious purpose while the rest of the world dwelt within a seemingly never-ending darkness. In the darkness, strange phenomena abounded: a demonic bull-demon called the nychtaur began terrorizing the realm; the spirits of the forest retreated within the sacred trees of each forest; ebon-maned nightmares from the dreamrealm crossed into the material realm and roamed the plains of Achaea, giving bizarre waking dreams to all they passed; fountains across the world ran with blood; a plague of zombie werewolves descended upon a city; a transplanar door was discovered appearing in random places, and much, much more. The eclipse finally came to an end in late July, when intrepid adventurers assisted a nightmare foal in gaining life as a unicorn, and with her horn, the unicorn shattered the ward of power around the man sustaining the eclipse. During the time of darkness, two new areas were unveiled: the seaside village of Ka'doloki and previously inaccessible parts of the river Zaphar. Furthermore, the exciting month of July also saw the return of the gods Shaitan, God of Oppression; Valnurana, Goddess of Sleep and Dreams; and Thoth, God of Death!

Lusternia
In July, the Elder God Lyreth was introduced to Lusternia. He had lost his voice and mortals helped him find it as it was scattered in the songs of birds. Once his voice returned, he gifted mortals with the new skill of Dramatics. This new skill supplements the Influence skill, whereby players engage mobiles in ego battles, a form of non-lethal combat. Warriors received a big boost this month with a new skill called “maneuvers” which allows them to more control over choosing which type of special wounding they will give. And druids received a new spell called “thornrend” whereby vines lash out and tie up individual limbs.

That is all for this month's edition. Don’t forget to visit my blog; The Forge. Once again, IRE thanks you for your support, and hope you continue to enjoy our unique worlds.

Sincerely,

Matt Mihály
CEO, Iron Realms Entertainment