These past few months have been months of change. We have seen many new faces join us, but we have seen some old, familiar ones leave. Montalin has left us to go to the golden city once again. He will be in our minds and our hearts.
We also have come to see our lovely heroine, Wildthyme, leave us as well on her own personal journey. One day, she will return we hope, but until that time, our love and our thoughts will go with her.
Both have done a lot for our temple and both will be missed, may fate guard you both in your journeys away from us.
With both our heroine and avatar of elders gone, it falls to us, the path leaders, the masters, archpriests, and priests to pick up the work they have left us.
Hren, Silk, and Bluebell have taken over duties of teaching the interview classes and well as initiations. We are still here to help out in any way we can and we are still here for all of you.
We have been through times like this before, with no hero, and we have always pulled through them. As long as we all continue to work together and keep our focus on who we are and why we are here, we shall do fine.
So, while we will miss those that have left us, we will hold them close in our hearts as we continue to move on the path of fate.

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Since my recent return to the lands, I have been on a constant quest to define my presence here. Why am I here? What is my goal? What is my purpose of being? What is my Fate?

With Wildthyme having announced her sabbatical, I have been thinking about this temple and how I relate to it more and more. Allow me to share my musings with you.

This temple, Fate, is one of unique status and stature in these lands. We were the first, the original. We are the trend setters. The influence of the teachings and tenants reach far beyond the walls of the temple… affecting every fiber of the land. What we do, as a temple, generally sets the trend, pace and tone for all of Terris.

That's all fine and great, you say, but where is this heading?

We find ourselves in a unique situation at this time. With Wildthyme's departure, we find ourselves lacking a direct divine direction, something that has never happened in this temple. In similar situations, other temples have fallen apart, their members moving on to more active temples, their temple halls growing silent and collecting dust. We ourselves now face this uncertain future, yet, considering our special influence and strength, I believe that we can turn Fate and teach the lands that a temple CAN be operated without divine direction and still prosper.

That brings up the question… where do we go from here? We are a temple of fiercely independent individuals brought together for one common purpose. Can we join together and strengthen the base of the tree while at the same time branching out and bringing more strong individuals into the fold? Do we want to?

Here are a few of the things where I have been trying to do more:
· When I enter the lands, I make sure to say "Heya" in temple shouts.
· When a temple mate announces their arrival or departure in temple shouts, I make every effort to reply.
· I make every effort to reply to folks announcing their arrivals or departures in shouts even if I do not know them (which most times, I do not).
· I go on healing trips where I become invisible and walk the trails and roads of the lands and randomly heal injured folks… telling them from the shadows that their "Fate" has changed, or that "Fate" has smiled upon them.
· I make my knowledge of the lands freely available to all who ask, expressing my "Pleasure" in helping them.

In order for us to succeed, each of us MUST find a way to do more for the temple. Just doing a little something extra here and there will make a difference in the overall scheme of things. We can walk this path and succeed… as a family.

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Ask Ms. Know-it-all
An Anonymously Written Advice Column
[ article one ] [ article two ]

Dear Ms. Know-it-all,

Being one who enjoys nature, I find myself wandering the wooded highways and byways for days on end. It brings me great Pleasure to stroll through some of our more leaf covered areas. The problem arises when I have to make the inevitable foray into the city to replenish my supplies. Spending such an extended amount of time in the wilds, my feet collect all kinds of unusual debris. This collection of muck works to my advantage in blending into my natural surroundings. Within city walls, however, my grubby and often pungent footprints never fail to cause an unpleasant scene. After a quick trip to the nearest cistern and a half a day or more of intense scrubbing, I am finally allowed to go on along my merry way.
Do you know of any way that I can quickly and easily remove the goop from my feet so that I may expedite my supply runs and spend more time in my beloved forests?

Signed,

Mucktrodden in Whisperwood

Dear Mucktrodden,

It just so happens that my Great Uncle Toe-Jam had the same sort of dilemma you describe. He used to make a concoction that worked wonders getting rid of what he called "a severe case of swamp-foot."
You gather up six bright yellow flowers, a juniper seed, some robel paste, a shot of fire, and a coconut shell. Crush the flowers and the seed together into a nice fine powder. Then place the powder into the coconut shell and pour in the shot of fire. Mix until the powder is good and dissolved. Now add the robel paste a little at a time until it too is dissolved into the liquid. Give it a good five minutes to steep, and it is ready to go.
Make sure you've got a bucket of water (or the like) handy and scrub for all you're worth! It lathers up like soap and cuts right through even the nastiest, oldest, most dried-on gunk. It should also leave your tootsies smelling sweet and fresh. Hope it works as well for you as it did for old Great Uncle Toe-Jam!

Best of Luck,

Ms. Know-it-all

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Dear Omnipotent One,

You have to help me, Ms. Know-it-all! I am madly in love with a young half-ogre from Tranos and I swear he is the one for me. He has asked me to be his one and only, and I am so very happy! In a few days I will meet his mother for the first time. She will be coming over for dinner and I am expected to cook! I do know my way around a kitchen, mind you, but this is a real nightmare…his mother is full ogre and as such has a rather unique idea about how a girl proves herself worthy of being with her son. I have to make a Troll Stew good enough to impress her or I won't be fit for him. I know he loves me enough to ignore this test and be with me no matter what, but I would rather not be the cause of a family feud. Please help me! I need the best recipe for Troll Stew ever!

Signed,

Desperate in Devardec

Dear Desperate,

I can understand your feelings about disrupting domestic tranquility, but I must say this is an odd situation. Far be it from me to judge, however, so here is the best recipe that I have ever come across for Troll Stew:Gather a nice haunch of Troll Elder, a half-pound of bits of liver (any humanoid's will do nicely), a gnawed bone, a dozen spider webs, six to ten large bat wings, one hobgoblin brain, and a potion of sweet water.
First, fill a large pot or cauldron with water (preferably from the marshes of Dirimloth) and set it over a good flame to boil. (Adding some dragon scales first will help get your broth off to a nice start, but they are optional.) Drop in the bits of liver and the whole haunch of Troll Elder to begin flavoring the broth. After a good fifteen minutes, remove the haunch and start slicing it into bite-sized cubes. Also cut up the hobgoblin brain and the bat wings so they are ready later.
Next, crack open the gnawed bone and dig out all the marrow. Set it on a nice warm stone near the fire so it can begin to heat up. Now it's time to drop in the troll cubes and add the potion of sweet water. Stoke the fire and get a very strong boil going. As the troll meat nears being done all the way through, toss in the chopped brain and bat wings. Boil hard until all of the meat is done, but still tender. Remove from heat and stir in the spider webs to help thicken the stew.
Set the pot or cauldron aside to cool a bit. Lastly, right before serving, float the warmed bone marrow on the surface of the stew. As described here, it should serve three to five.

Bon Appetit,

Ms. Know-it-all

[ top ] [ Ms. Know-it-all ]