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Past News
Did you miss that important news story? Do you want to read what happened while you were on vacation. Here's where to get that info!
Our news software, Coranto, has a bug which makes it purge links to news articles more than two years old. What is left of programmers who volunteer their time to support this software do not know why this bug occurs. We manually index older news pages in our Archived News
section.
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Wednesday, February 14, 2024
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'We found Love in a hopeless frozen place:' Valentine's Day in the Kingdoms
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The reporter proceeds to typo while attempting to embarrass her husband, Neji, at Lover's Lake. Leviticus and Rozie are forced to witness the horrible act, and the butchering of the English language.
 Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you're single or spoken-for, romantic, or repulsed, there's something for everyone to do this holiday. Lover's Lake is a popular destination for the holiday, and this year, there's an extra incentive to make the frosty trek into the Arctic. Muse Erato is waiting at the north end of the map near the altar to help you and a loved one commemorate the occasion. She explains:
"Greetings! Love is in the air. Can you feel it with every fiber of your soul, can you not? And, I happen to be the Goddess of Love. So, if you wish to let the world know who is your ONE most special someone... All you have to do is bring them here in front of me, and both of you should have love. Good luck!"
In this case, Erato is being literal. Bring a Love Ring and your partner of choice to her in Lover's Lake, and click Erato. Select "Love everlasting" and type in your partner's name to be given a special legend mark: "Found Love with [partner's name]."
As a bonus, both characters receive a special Sprinkles of Love, which operates similarly to a Love Snowball, with 50 charges. Except, trying to rapid-fire this projectile leads to one being reminded that "Love does not hasten."
Some notes about this mini-quest:
- Whereas Love Rings are given to married couples at their ceremony automatically, they can also be purchased at the Lotus, Peach, Kinung, Crystalline, Yebaedang, and Gale Chapels.
- The mini-quest does not take the Love Ring from you, and the ring doesn't have to belong to you. (You can loan a friend a Love Ring if necessary.)
- Unregistered players cannot do this mini-quest.
- Both players must be present at Lover's Lake at the same time.
- The mini-quest is viable for any two registered players, regardless of gender or marital/blood oath status. (Whereas you can get the mark while married to another character, it will no doubt cause a scandal in your personal/social life.)
The Sage of Nagnang, Xevu, roams about his kingdom to celebrate the season in his own special way. He said, "My favorite thing about Nexus' Valentine holiday... I get to indulge in mass-murdering butterflies. I am overjoyed when I find a group of the same color together." (Screenshot courtesy of Xevu)
Other Valentine's Day classic activities available
 Butterflies: You may have noticed the annual butterfly swarm has returned. Giving the butterfly a verbal note of affection can lead to being presented with Valentine flowers, candies, cupcakes, and Valentine dye potions. Pink, white, red, and purple butterflies flit around. Merely say to them, "I love you, [color] butterfly!" to reap the reward. (Example: "I love you, pink butterfly!")
 Valentine Hearts: In addition, bringing a Clear Water Song (purchased at Baek Shop in the northwest corner of Kugnae for 50 Gold) to the Islets Muse (51,5 in the Islets) yields a choice of Valentine Heart. (Note: The 'Let it stay pink!' option is bugged, do not select it.) Next, take your blank Heart to Paryu Messenger (96,132 in Buya) and select "Valentine Card Delivery" for instructions on sending it to your person of choice for a fee of 5,000 Gold.
For more information about these two activities, check out past coverage from February 14, 2022.
Much appreciated
Thank you, vegas, for submitting information about this year's mini-event to the public. Also, a shout-out goes to Leviticus for assisting in testing the event perameters, and Neji, for putting up with my shenanigans for almost 4 years straight (25+ Hyuls and counting).
See something? Say something
As an ongoing project, the reporter is looking to correct errors in NexusAtlas' database. Please N-mail Chongde in-game if you see something needing augmented.
Know something we don't?
Get in touch with the friendly folks at NexusAtlas, or contact Chongde in-game with information, screenshots, or conversation. Got a screenshot? You can submit screenshots to NexusAtlas by writing to reporterchongde[at]gmail.com. Please submit full-size screenshots in a .bmp or .png format. (You can take screenshots in these formats in-game by using the Shift+Ctrl+3 and Shift+Ctrl+4 keys.) Please ensure character names and chat windows are not on display. NexusAtlas staff will maintain your privacy by cropping out your statistics/items/spells.
- Shiori "Chongde" Sato reporting
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Saturday, February 10, 2024
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Happy Lunar New Year! Celebrate the Wood Dragon
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The Diviners, friends, and NexusAtlas reporter celebrate the Lunar New Year in an annual tradition of summoning swarms of the year's auspicious creatures into the Tao te Ching.
 Gong xi fa cai! Happy Lunar New Year! 2024 marks the year of the Dragon! People born in the years 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024 were born under the sign of the Dragon, and it is considered their lucky year.
In specific, 2024 is the year of the Wood Dragon. Wood Dragons are considered to be drivers and powerful motivators. In fact, the Wood Dragon is considered to be the luckiest sign of the Chinese Zodiac, especially when it comes to the business world. As natural leaders and beacons of success, they are known for their self-confidence and brilliant ideas. Whereas their intense charisma is their strength, they have a weakness of sometimes being self-absorbed, which can hinder personal relationships. Their distinct intelligence is counterbalanced by the tendency to sometimes ignore reasoning when it matters.
In terms of romance, their charisma and intellect guarantee the Wood Dragon is a charmer, but their passions are quick and fleeting. But, they're known to boost their partners with their wit and encouraging attitudes, and are most compatible with Monkeys, Rats, Roosters, and Snakes that share the traits of intuition and flamboyancy. They don't do too well with Dogs, Ox, Sheep, Rabbits, or other Dragons, because the Wood Dragon can have a short, and irrational temper that tries the patience of others.
The Wood Dragon is a work-horse, and can overburden themselves to the point of forgetting to manage their own health. They need to make sure to take breaks and vacations, and nourish themselves regularly. Exercise is a must; get away from the desk, Wood Dragons!
Their lucky numbers are 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Gold and silver are a must for any Wood Dragon, and their lucky flowers are the bleeding heart vines, hyacinths, and larkspurs. Favorable directions are the west, northwest, and north. They're advised to ignore the numbers 3 and 9, the colors green, black, red, and purple, and the southeast.
A known Wood Dragon in the Kingdoms is Cinnamon! Congrats, madam, this is your year!
Interested in knowing your Zodiac in the Kingdoms?
The Diviner subpath offers a service to the community to discover what Zodiac sign you were born in. Consult the Subpath Board, or contact any Diviner guide for directions on how you can learn about your Zodiac sign.
Much appreciated
A huge thanks goes to the Diviners, and other friends that ran to the call to help celebrate Lunar New Year with this post. Also, thanks goes to Alilolelotte for the summoning of auspicious creatures! Also, thank you freepik.com for the Year of the Dragon graphic.
See something? Say something
As an ongoing project, the reporter is looking to correct errors in NexusAtlas' database. Please N-mail Chongde in-game if you see something needing augmented.
Know something we don't?
Get in touch with the friendly folks at NexusAtlas, or contact Chongde in-game with information, screenshots, or conversation. Got a screenshot? You can submit screenshots to NexusAtlas by writing to reporterchongde[at]gmail.com. Please submit full-size screenshots in a .bmp or .png format. (You can take screenshots in these formats in-game by using the Shift+Ctrl+3 and Shift+Ctrl+4 keys.) Please ensure character names and chat windows are not on display. NexusAtlas staff will maintain your privacy by cropping out your statistics/items/spells.
- Shiori "Chongde" Sato reporting
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Wednesday, February 7, 2024
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'Longest night' ends with a great weekend at the Imbolc Festival
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Druid Elder Supply welcomes the community at the opening ceremony of the Imbolc Festival in the Sacred Grove.
Imbolc is a time to celebrate having survived the harsh winter, and come together in fellowship and gratefulness for a world that welcomes creativity and expression. It's an opportunity for reflection, divination, and new experiences. And the Druids, in collaboration with the various subpaths of the Kingdoms, beckoned one and all this past Saturday and Sunday to join them in shedding the chill and isolation that comes with winter.
The opening ritual
The bright fire of the Imbolc ceremony pierced the darkness of winter this weekend, as the Druids welcomed the public to their home to take place in the festivities. The Druid Elder, Supply, would kindle the flame needed to garner the attention of the goddess Brighid, and was assisted by Andy, MiniPOCPOET, and VladDimpaler. Together, the four chanted to set the mood and explain the reason behind the rites:
Supply: "Great Brighid, triple Goddess of wisdom, midwifery, smith-craft, and healing, we welcome you into our circle. May your bright knowledge guide us, and your healing touch bring balance to our lives."
Andy: "Underneath the snow, life stirs unseen, bringing winter's end to ths season of green. In the light of Imbolc, the fire burns bright, awakening the Earth from the longest night."
MiniPOCPOET: "Ignite our spirits, like a sacred spark. In the light of Imbolc, the fire burns bright, awakening the Earth from the longest night."
VladDimpaler: "Seeds of intention, planted in the earth. In the light of Imbolc, the fire burns bright, awakening the Earth from the longest night."
Supply: "Yesterday, it snowed, and now I strike a match to papers torn and pushed under damp kindling. I sit by the crackle, and am smudged in silver smoke."
MiniPOCPOET: "I am burning the past on its last remaining day - unsent letters in unaddressed envelopes, and old journals, pain pressed between pages like dried flowers. Time's linearity is seared."
VladDimpaler: "Surrounding snow melt trickles toward the wane of flames. The day's final blaze flares from mottled afternoon clouds behind me, and warms my back like a brief blessing."
Supply: "As we embrace the energy of Imbolc, we thank Brighid for her presence, wisdom, and blessings. May the flames within us burn brightly, illuminating our path of renewal and growth. Everyone come closer, into the circle, and feel the warmth of the bonfire. So mote it be!"
Left: Visitors to the Sacred Grove join the Druids at the ceremonial fire, as they close out the opening ceremony and welcome in the festivities. Center: Incendo engages in some light smack-talk with Rokkeu before their Jan Ken Pon match begins in the Sacred Grove. Right: MiniPOCPOET and Molli clash in a round of Battle on the Bridge in the Sacred Grove.
Day one of Imbolc
A little friendly competition works wonders to get the blood running, and the Monks were happy to provide. This long-standing Kingdom tradition consists of an adaptation of Rock, Paper, Scissors, where two contestants stand before a referee and try to best one another's option. Weaving Tools always best White Paper, which covers up the Pebble known for destroying the Weaving Tools. Participants whisper the host their choice in advance of the match to deter cheating.
Whereas the Monks' choice of event is a peaceful one, the Merchants chose to engage in more than metaphorical bloodshed. Battle on the Bridge requires a one-verses-one faceoff of individuals armed with only their skivvies (or Spring-level garments) and an Ilbon knife. Players that manage to strike their opponent with a Kamikaze first score a point, with the potential of moving on in the tournament to fend off other combatants.
Left: Occam reacts after the misfortune of rolling a 1 in response to Xevu's poison made from stalks of aged wheat over in Cluichi. Center: Ogedei comments on the generosity of the Muse Goddesses during The Ten, held in the Mystic Garden. Right: PrettyBoi (dressed as a blue oni) punishes an Ox in hopes of it dropping a token during Nature's Bounty in the Mystic Garden.
The popular game known as the Shamans' Deadliest Poison has a simple premise of not dying to the grotesque mixture being offered. The host will roll a number that the participants have to beat to stay alive by rolling 1-75. Failure to beat the host's number isn't necessarily the end, as swallowing the antidote (rolling 1-25) adds more points to the player's original role. If even that results in failure, nothing much can be done to save their souls. At least, in Cluichi, where the event was held, there's plenty of ritual circles drawn to try to bring them back to life.
 The Muse activity known as The Ten is a unique sort of racing game, where the results of the dice move the players back and forward across the field. Icons on the playing field are associated with the various Muse Goddesses, with consequences rewarding or punishing the player in tandem with the deity's whims. If a player was lucky enough, they'd land on spaces corresponding with free gold, or the ability to sabotage other people in the game.
The Geomancer classic, Nature's Bounty, took place in the Mystic Garden after The Ten concluded. Normally, people line up outside the House of Chi to await admission, where livestock is spawned around the Earth Dragon. Players are escorted inside by a host, and are asked to swat at their choice of animal, unarmed, until the effigy falls and potentially drops a Bounty Token. The tokens are collected and turned in for various prizes, or saved indefinitely until the next Nature's Bounty.
While the public waited for their turn to enter the Mystic Garden, they were treated to the rare appearance of the Gods, with one causing a little bit of fun mischief with a light show, strange transformations, and appearances of rare bosses out in the Silent Glade. On this strange, yet energetic note, the first night of Imbolc ended. Pictured at left: StarArcherie is transformed into a great beastly warrior, as Queen Lara drains the mana of everyone present in the Silent Glade.
Left: Tsengyu is unrepentant after getting the Safety Dance song in participants' heads during a round of Weapon Dance in the Sacred Grove. Center: Orchids tells the Diviners what his big issue really is during Fortune Reveal in Cluichi. Right: Opponents engage in a flurry after the start of a Barbarian Healout Round in Cluichi.
Day two of Imbolc
In the same mode as the first day of Imbolc, the second started out with a peaceful enough tone. The Do subpath invited the public to dance around a ring of sharp objects in a game of Weapon Dance, held in the Sacred Grove. This "musical chairs without the chairs" involves shaking tail feathers and being faster than the other players nabbing the appropriate weapon. At random intervals, the host would call for all dancing to stop, and for the players to quickly grab a spot on top of one of two weapons in the circle. Failure to stand on the correct one meant elimination from the game, which continued until only one remained.
In a rare collaboration between the Druid and Diviner subpaths, a hybrid Fortune Reveal welcomed the public to get flower readings, rune readings, and fortune readings at various stalls situated in Cluichi. Visitors had the potential to get all three kinds of readings, with the paths being generous enough to donate their attention and marks for the occasion of the Imbolc festival. Whether you were curious about your love life, or wanting a general check-up on your future, representatives from both paths had options to explore.
The Barbarians were tired of the peaceful proceedings and ushered people up to the platform in Cluichi to beat up on each other in heated matches of Barbarian Heal Out. Colloquially known as BHO, four players stand facing each other, and furiously try to cast Soothe on themselves as attackers stepped to the center to assault them. Failure to heal out of the vita attack meant elimination from the round, and receiving a bit of shame on top of it.
Left: King ChaeRi strikes not only his opponent, AquaSea, with a sleep arrow, but also Yetto in a flex of his battle prowess. Center: StarArcherie calls out the results of the rolls in Druid Bingo, and suffers the bad puns of the reporter at intervals in the Mystic Garden. Right: Departed takes his turn sharing a spooky story of poisonous plants during Deadly Tales in the Sacred Grove.
The Rangers weren't about to be outdone, and did not allow the blood-sport to end prematurely. An arena was set up in the Sacred Grove for people to ping each other with Sleep Arrows for the Archery Tournament. The first to force their opponent to take an unintentional siesta two times moved on to become the next seed of the tournament. Players that passed through a round of competition were rewarded for their efforts with a mark, and exclusive prizes of were awarded to the ultimate winners of the tournament.
Those of a gentler constitution enjoyed Druid Bingo, and hoped to match their individual Bingo cards to icons on a grid being called out by the hostess in the Mystic Garden. The objective was to dab out the same pattern for the particular game, such as the diamond shape in game 1, the X pattern in game 2, and the full black-out for game three. The items in the game corresponded to Druid interests, such as runes, flowers, and mythic keys. With two winners announced per game, there was plenty of chance for people to go home with bragging rights and a little lunch money in their pockets.
The KSG and Druids came together in the second rare collaboration of the evening with an event called Deadly Tales. This revision of Tales Around the Fire gave participants a theme to compose a quick story for, and five minutes to tell their story at the fire burning in the Sacred Grove. The theme for this competition was the use and administering of poisons made from the three deadly flowers of Gogoon - Foxglove, Belladonna, and Wolf's Bane. The stories were judged on the basis of creativity and pertinence to the theme, which required research from the Tales of the Earth scroll.
Left: Kaoru, SoonMoon, and vegas are announced as the newest Protectors of Nature in the closing moments of Imbolc at the Sacred Grove. Right: Druid Elder Supply leads the final blessings at the last rite of the festival in the Sacred Grove.
Visitors would be asked to stay put in the Sacred Grove as Druid Elder Supply took to the stage to announce the newest Protectors of Nature. Kaoru, SoonMoon, and vegas received the honor this festival. Each received a nod from a representative of the Druid path, and the appropriate marking for their dedication and presence in the community.
To close out the festival, the crowd was ushered back to the ritual circle in the Sacred Grove. The fire that had been burning for the proceedings had to be dimmed, and the energies released to welcome the coming of spring. Joined by Alys, VladDimpaler, and Kaleaa, Supply would lead the chant and give the final blessings:
Supply: "Great Brighid, triple Goddess of wisdom and creativity, we thank you for gracing our circle with your presence. May your inspiration continue to kindle the flames within us as we move forward into the season of growth and renewal."
Alys: In the spirit of unity, we release this circle, knowing that the energy and intentions we've shared will continue to resonate within us."
VladDimpaler: "May the Magic of Imbolc guide us on our paths, nurturing the seeds of creativity and growth!"
Kaleaa: "Goddess of the sacred pause, please grant me the courage to lay aside swiftness and take up slowness, to embrace limitations as learning, silence as stabilizing, waiting as worthy, and sitting as divine. Goddess of the sacred pause, help me to know patience as power, and healing time as a holy necessity."
Supply: "May the flame of Imbolc light your way, and may Brighid's blessings accompany you on your journey. Blessed be!"
The Kaleidoscope team combats the Pink team during the first match of the KSG 4v4 at the Hammer and the Nail.
KSG 4v4 Tournament
In an addendum to the night's ongoings, the community would swarm the home of the Spy subpath to watch the 4v4 Tournament in the Hammer and Nail. Teams of poets and fighters went head to head for hours in order to establish dominance, under the watch of a Spy host, BraveStones. The winners of this rare, large PVP event were the Pink team: xHEALMANx, SKAGnsdl, Luki, and handyboi.
Much appreciated
A big thanks goes to the hosts, cohosts, planners, and visitors of the Imbolc Festival. Without community-based events like these, the Kingdoms wouldn't be such a special place.
See something? Say something
As an ongoing project, the reporter is looking to correct errors in NexusAtlas' database. Please N-mail Chongde in-game if you see something needing augmented.
Know something we don't?
Get in touch with the friendly folks at NexusAtlas, or contact Chongde in-game with information, screenshots, or conversation. Got a screenshot? You can submit screenshots to NexusAtlas by writing to reporterchongde[at]gmail.com. Please submit full-size screenshots in a .bmp or .png format. (You can take screenshots in these formats in-game by using the Shift+Ctrl+3 and Shift+Ctrl+4 keys.) Please ensure character names and chat windows are not on display. NexusAtlas staff will maintain your privacy by cropping out your statistics/items/spells.
- Shiori "Chongde" Sato reporting
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