May Newsletter from Iron Realms Entertainment

The Iron Realms brimmed with activity all throughout last month, including a new Holy Wars system in Aetolia; the celebration of Imperian's fifth anniversary; the return of the god Phaestus in Achaea; the release of the last of the monk guilds in Lusternia; and much more.

Aetolia
The realm of Aetolia is abuzz with righteous zeal as the Orders of the realm's Divinities rebuild their influence across the continent after a recent Divine War that decimated all the realm's shrines. In their wake, a new system of Holy Wars has taken hold, pitting the followers of the Divine against one another in the battle for Shrine Energy. In less bellicose circles, the art of Floristry has taken hold, revealing the first of the new Talents that promise to bring unrivaled specialties to the artisans of the realm.

The image featured in this month's newsletter depicts the Atabahi Rout bringing down the fearsome red dragon Yudhishthira. Titled "Pack Hunt", its creator is the player Roux of Aetolia, who is a recent Artisanal award winner. Click on the image to read more about it.

Imperian
April heralded Imperian's fifth anniversary, and we celebrated throughout the month with a massive tournament of more than eighty events, games, and contests divided into five categories. Ashel was triumphantly crowned as the champion of the tournament, winning two categories, while Brydian, Indica, and Ysaviel each won one category. All of the winners received powerful and unique artifacts as trophies of their success. With more events, games, and new surprises planned, our sixth year promises to be even more impressive than the first five, so come and join us under the Sundered Heavens.

Achaea
Achaea recently welcomed the long-awaited return of Phaestus, the Smith Lord, who had been walking the realms cloaked in the disguise of a mortal Dwarf. The Smith Lord's return was fortuitously timed: driven by mad dreams, the river spirit Zaphar sent a flood crashing down upon the merchant town of Delos, reducing the town to ruins. With aid from Phaestus, the town was quickly rebuilt.

Zaphar was not the only one affected by strange dreams: nightmares of ill portent plagued all of Achaea throughout April, many of them proving to be prophetic. Tsunamis brought monsters of the deep to the town of Jaru; alchemical fires threatened the realms; ice demons appeared within untimely blizzards; and more. These dreams and calamities were brought at long last to an end, following a journey to the Dreamrealm to seek out and becalm their source: a strange, powerful nightmare spirit.

On the high seas of Achaea, seafarers have begun to learn the pleasures of deep-sea fishing and diving! What treasures lie in the ocean deep, awaiting to be discovered?

Lusternia
Since last month's release of the Nekotai Guild, the fourth and final guild of the monk archetype, Lusternia has turned its eyes toward the 20 unique races of the land. Many races have been tweaked and rebalanced with new abilities and statistics. For example, dwarves now officially possess alcohol tolerance (at the strongest level, of course), which not only cements their place in the annals of legendary drinking, but includes the gift of reducing damage the more inebriated they are! Other new abilities include advantages in influencing, ranging from the sinister illithoid's prowess in intimidation to the seductive charisma of the artistic trill. All Lusternians have been granted a free reincarnation, so don't pass up the opportunity to slip into the skin of a different race!

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