The Realm Observer

Zombies and Endermen... we got him. The Realm's finest were brought together on a quest to compromise, to a permanent end, the dragon which had cast a shadow upon our lands. The members of this team had representation from across all of the Realm's regions and factions, their identities witheld for security reasons.

"They're going to call us the Ender Men, the way we brought an end to those men" reported one of these champions, who went only by the moniker 'Phantom Menace'. "We engaged in calculated wet-work" they further stated, in reference to the skilled use of water buckets as a means to counter the Ender Men that inhabit the dimension of the Dragon, with powers beyond us. "This creativity brought a flood against the seemingly more powerful enemy, showing that we were prepared and steadfast" they concluded.

They're going to call us the Ender Men, the way we brought an end to those men

These champions returned home to a hero's welcome, with a new statue erected in honor of their grand feat. The statue is located just outside the entrance to the Adventure Guild Hall in Aridnea, and pictured atop this page, Work will now begin on further exploring the dimension of the Dragon to determine what else can be learned or attained. One thing now made certain is that the Realm won't be threatened by this entity again.

Everburn's Everboom

Returning to form, Everburn is currently experiencing a construction and economic boom. With the recent establishment of the districts of North and South Everburn, the North has expanded out of the confines of the original fortified town becoming it's own unique area. Several new intricate homes and businesses are cementing a vibrant new architectural style, while being host to activity.

In addition to the improvements on the town itself, the nearby Ridgardia region has also been flourishing. The villages of Lushport and Madelta have been formally incorporated and connected to the region's highway system, as well as had the Grand Overworld Railway extended out through them. During construction of these, an enormous mineshaft was uncovered underneath Lushport that provided material and incentive for hasty construction. The Railway is planned to continue it's extension northwards until it finally reaches Fort Pryvoca.

A sand quarry has been sequestered between Everburn and Lushport, with a red sand/terracotta quarry location soon to be identified near Madelta. Rumors are abound that automation will be coming to Everburn's farmland, and that pale oak biome has been discovered in the northwest, much closer than previously thought.

These changes to Everburn, and it's surrounding dependencies, provide the rest of the Realm direct access to a large bounty of resources that will surely shape the culture of the area.

Aridnic Games Delayed

Reluctantly the decision had been made to delay the planned Aridnic Games. Beyond the threat of the Ender Dragon, which has now been abated, a number of factors have contributed to this decision.

Construction of event spaces, courses, and tracks has been slow and interrupted by other issues. Plans have changed, with a desire to make some courses much grander in scale and spread out across multiple regions of the Realm.

On an unfortunately more meta point there have also been fundamental, and frankly rather arbitrary, changes to the nature of physics on servers. In particular; any rideables/mounts have been altered so that their movement is server-side. This initially created untenable lag when using them, which has slightly settled since, but is still very noticable. According to the devs, this is the game 'running as intended'. It will take some time to adjust to how horses and boats in particular, now control (compensating for the major movement changes)

'Tis a regretable situation, but one that can be overcome with time. The games will slowly take place across this year, with the results available in the latter half.

Sakura's Volley of improvements

The littoral landscape along the southwest of Sakura Valley has been expanded upon with several new builds. The new docks now also host a turtle sanctuary as well has a stunning lighthouse. This area sits under the view of the College, with panoramic views abound.

Work is under way to plot and mark a river canal route from this new dock, down through Mansion Lake to the Mines of Corruption. A second phase is to continue from the Mines out to the south sea, granting access to Port Ragga and the established sea/canal routes back to Aridnea.

It has never been a more exciting time to travel this Realm