“It rains in the desert, but it’s a dry rain.” - a dead travellers notebook.

There are strange things out in the deep desert, far beyond where the stunted trees thin out and odd grasses struggle to find foothold. The creatures, plants and landscapes all change and appear to exist only to torment and harm.

Travellers would be lucky to survive without a Waerd guide, ones who breathe their tribal stories and ancient songs like the dry air; each one far deeper and meaningful than they first seem, allowing the singer or teller to find traces of water and food to keep you alive.

This is where the hardiest few live, having made the best of a bad situation. Trade routes are being established and towns have formed on the edges of the great wastes. Families and communities are growing. And yet there are are also disturbing rumours of ‘strange, perhaps dangerous things’ being found, out beyond the Beyond.

I never saw myself as a leader of people, I just wanted to run a shop in one of the Waerd settlements. But I know that the unbelievable things We Waerd have seen, learned, discovered and made here in the desert, will put crowns on heads and knives at throats. Including my own.

All in the name of Balance, of course.

Remember friends, We are Waerd so We are ALL King!!!

I leave you for the moment with a modern-day interpretation of an ancient Waerd festival celebrating the crowning of a new king. Just click the image. .

The guts of the campaign is next.

Update! Update! 20/12/17

Update:

Well, haven’t things changed lately with the Token Tracker and the more dedicated push for Duke and Count slots! There are now quite a few excellent campaigns out there, far more full of flavour than the original Monarchy-only campaigns.

Now that things are getting to the pointy end I have had a chance to re-evaluate my own campaign.

Over the course of the campaign I have interacted with some great people and I’ve really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would, hence the changes are as follows:

1. This is now a simple campaign for a County. This is the upper limit of what I can manage time-wise.

2. My personal tribal preference is and will remain Waerd, however reality is that I must be flexible so it will be whatever works best for my chosen Duchy.

3. I’ll be up front here, my favourite Monarch campaign of the Free Kingdom event has been NiHZ’s so I will continue to support and encourage others to support her campaign.

4. However, I am drawn strongly to Vigorish’s coastal sea-trade/piratey focussed Duchy campaign (can’t you tell from the SoulboundStone cards?) and he sits under Violets King/Queendom.

I am leaning towards setting up as part of his plans, perhaps thematically as a deserty coastal county if that’s how things pan out land-grab wise, otherwise as a support county focussed on sea/boat/navigation research, learning and training OR something else related that helps with existing plans.

I will make it clear now that, like Seele, I am based in Australia so combat and other ping related issues may arise for me (~ is usually 250-280 to NA-E) but I am willing to accept this fact as I will be focussed on crafting and research and simply would like to experience the exposition setup Of Vigs Duchy. If need be, I will give up this County to someone else and focus my long term play in AU.

I will leave my original campaign info below understanding that, should Adam decide to drop thousands of tokens in my account, that what is stated below still holds true and that if I were to make it as king I will abdicate in glorious sprays of gore to someone more worthy.

And Bless all you supporters of SoulboundStone who have possibly made this county a reality, Mwahh, mwahh!

Welcome to the desert Kingdom/County of Nightsand

Greetings, o jaded followers of the Free Kingdom Campaign. Are you enjoying the show? Are you still even interested?

As December rolls around, you may think there is really no point in any new candidates putting their hands up for the Free Kingdom event for what are they going to achieve in the last few weeks? It’s true, the winner is most likely to be one of the current candidates, be they visible or undisclosed.

Regardless, this IS my campaign, and it’s not really about who I am or what I can achieve as a noble but it’s about you and how you want to be remembered.

It’s A Waerd Life

Every thought I have about Chronicles of Elyria seems to end up with me thinking about the Waerd. The environment, the possibility of Petra-like cave dwelling, the pros and cons of their tribe. Currently there seems to be very few who would choose The Waerd as their tribe and even fewer who would willingly take up Waerd nobility. This is backward thinking and should change.

Whilst SbS are reconsidering some of the more controversial/difficult aspects of the tribe design (as they are likely doing with all tribes) I am putting my hand up to be King of the Waerd on NA-E as they are currently designed, regardless of any changes.

Am I a lefty Communist? No

Am I a freak who loves losing his stuff? Yes and no.

Do I see possibilities with Waerd that no other tribe offers? Very much yes.

And if I become a Noble or even King? Well, if I become nobility it will be the quickest path for YOU to become King – keep reading.

My Problem with Policies

The Two-Fold Queen directs me that her people are Free.

I, as King, will walk freely in the dust amongst the people.

I will not expound any policy or claim any deals with other Kings.

I will not organise Duchies and Counties nor organisations.

Trade is what YOU all make it – no policy

I shall set no rules that limit the freedom of my people for the desert and the Two-Fold Queen herself imparts those limits.

If you want rules and a ruler to enforce them, simply find me and kill me and restore balance. A free Kingdom is available to you.

This will be a ruthless game of Hide and Seek and Kill. But I won’t just stand there. I'm going to run and hide for as long as I can. I'm going to make it as hard as I possibly can. But I will die. And then?

When I have returned to my body (minus a buttload of Spirit), I will seat myself down in my desert workshop and become the crafter and researcher I really want to be. That’s the role for me. And I’ll live peacefully (mostly) under the rule of a Desert King who wanted it more than me.

I can hear it now;

“Stupid campaign”

“Waste of time”

“This is MickDude-level memery.”

But…

What I Offer You Is IMMORTALITY Beyond the Campaign.

And Immortality must have a cost.

My campaign driver for tokens is a simple one. For the remainder of the campaign, I am accepting Kingdom tokens in exchange for designing an exclusive, personalised SoulboundStone™ card (if you don’t know what that is just go to this forum post:SoulboundStone™, based either on your ideas (last chance for a Design Experience!) or mine.

Just know that if you leave it up to me, I will try to find out enough about you to make an interesting card. I won’t hide in the bushes and spy on you through your bedroom window but I might go through your rubbish and posts on discords and forums 😉. Once I can look at it and laugh I will know it’s ready.

Just send me a message on discord (search @Nightfinger) or forums with your request details image, text, ideas etc. and we can work on it.

Is this a joke? Actually, no, although it’s kinda funny. And it raises funds for SbS and the game.

You wanted something different, didn’t you?

Who Are You Again?

I am Nightfinger, I am a dedicated believer in the MEOW (Multiplayer Evolving Online World). I have been more an observer of the development of MMO’s than a player for the last 15 years (unfortunately) and I feel fortunate and thankful to have let myself believe in the work Snipehunter and Ombwah of Skyward Star were doing with Revival. That world is now so alive to me, through the lore and design of these two guys, one of whom is now continuing the dream with Chronicles of Elyria, that I had to follow him here. I still pine for Revival but I am starting to get similar feels for this game and its designers, particularly Caspian.

And I personally hope CoE has the opportunity to engage Ombwah at some point to take the Lore to the next level.

Now I just want to play a MEOW, any MEOW, and do it with people rather than doing it alone. I’m slowly coming out of my shell and putting myself out there. And this is one way I’m doing it for now, as well as getting involved, little bit at a time, in discord and on the forums. The mock up cards are a bit of fun for me but I am always surprised by the reaction they can produce in people. It’s almost a bit of an obsession now, getting a bit of art to mesh with a person’s personality or traits, making some text gel and then seeing the reaction when I give it to them.

As someone a bit more well known around the CoE community is fond of saying…I’m just a duder.

And who knows, maybe I’ll actually enjoy being a Noble or a King more than I ever thought I would. In that case, everything will have to change.

Yours in Freedom,

Nightfinger

Also note that my offer of immortality is open for the whole community, not just those on NA-E.

And who’s to say that my ideas about being a King couldn’t change? I might like it.

I might be bloody good at it! 😄

The Free Kingdom will be Grand, even if our land is Sand!

My goodness I love your take on the Waerd.

I won't lie, your actual campaign is... Uh. Mickdude, like you said.

But the whole second post made me super excited about the Waerd and that's not to be taken lightly.

But Nihz, you don’t have card yet...would you like one?

Only costs a token 😉

Very happy to see this campaign roll out!

Posted By Nightfinger at 6:50 PM - Thu Nov 30 2017

“This is MickDude-level memery.”

You wish you were on my level of memery.

I wrote a short piece for the recent community competition related to Autumn Festivals because the use of the word ‘Fall’ for Autumn got me thinking.

I don’t view the Waerd as the deviant griefers as many out there seem to. I wanted to show the balance. I hope you can see it too.

The Falling

The desert is harsh and it has always been this way.

Drained and oxidised rocks are slowly broken down year upon year by the alternate seasons of searing heat and caustic cold that occasionally takes even Us, its hardiest inhabitants, by surprise. The dry and fragile soil that is created is then scattered at the will of wild, uncaring winds. If you weren’t raised under Our bright blue and ever clear skies, all you might see is a place where life has failed. And whilst there are a few secret places where this is certainly true, We know that were Elyria’s people to spend some time with Us here amongst the low, dry saltbush and twisted marlga trees, they might come to understand that all this death simply makes room for life.

The Two-Fold Queen teaches us this every day and shows us both sides of Her hand. Turn a corpse over and what do you see? Maggots and insects burrowing and feeding...living. But the other peoples of Elyria are not like Us and they do not look to the Queen for the answers that would lead to a beautiful world in balance.

They use and take and breed uncontrolled. Left to themselves they would bring us all to the brink.

The Waerd however, do as the Queen reveals at this time of year. Depending on Her will, We either take the steps required to make space for life on Elyria or we celebrate the Balance as a reminder. When the hottest days have passed and both day and night tend towards dry, bitter cold, it is time for The Falling. And We are not blind or careless. Most years do not require the Falling to be any more than a humble representation of what it sometimes must be. This way our children learn.

When the rains do not come to the desert and the next generation of life cannot take hold in the soil or the nests, we fight for that life. We encourage and nurture and protect that life with our lives. The time of the Falling sees Us take to the high mesas with dry desert flowers or painted dolls and we release them to the winds. Dead but beautiful they fall.

But every now and then, when life is too delicate and the losses from drought are near complete, the Two-Fold Queen turns Her hand and mercy falls. Her tears of rain flood the red dusty ground, turning it to sticky mud and raging rivers. This in itself may kill but in short time the desert is as green and as filled with life as any Janoan jungle, Kypiq tree village or rolling Ne’ran plain ever was. Beauty and life to be sure. We and all the creatures are well fed and happy in those times. Beauty and life and death in balance as it should be. We protect that balance.

This year is not like most years. The bounteous rains have come down across Elyria for three years in a row and now the burgeoning of life is at a feverish peak. All the peoples and animals and insects have eaten and bred well and now the fighting has begun. More land is fought over and more greed and despicable evils fester and grow. The Two-Fold Queen knows Us all by name and if this year’s Falling is not respected then death will come to all.

In my grandfather’s time it was the Kypiq lands that were greatly overflowing with abundance whilst our desert lands were parched nearly white. We were not filled with jealousy as they all thought and We did not harbour plans of domination. We only sought the Queens balance through The Falling. I’m told it was a strangely calming sight to see the Waerd warriors marching the hundreds and hundreds of captured Kypiq up to the highest Mesa. It is even written of two or three warring tribes being represented in the Great Walking, fighting and even killing each other as they were taken to the peak. And a relief when the culmination of the ritual dancing and chanting saw the Kypiq plunge as a great wave over the precipice.

And so now, for the first time since my grandfather’s days, the balance must once again be maintained. It must or the Queen will not turn Her hand and we will all be lost. It is curious that this year The Eye is in the sky. It seems to stand still, watching. Her gaze is surely upon us and We honour Her. I walk alongside the thousand or so of captured up to the flat peak of the highest mesa in our lands, to Tarcolla, the Two Fold Peak. Our children walk alongside us with flowers in their hair and carrying their dolls. Once at the top the people are lined along the edge and the ceremonies begin. Dancing and chanting, fast then slow, happy then sad reflecting the light and dark side of our Queen.

Who are the people selected to Fall, you ask? The Kypiq once again? Is it the filthy muck-eating To’resk or the block-like, stone headed Brudvir whose successes need to be equally tempered with loss?

No. It is We, the Waerd who have become too much of a burden on the desert. The rains have been good for too long. We have grown fat and have become too many. The Two-Fold Queen has seen us and turns Her hand. She called the chosen ones by name.

The chanting stops and the last drum beats sound. I look up and see eagles gently circle overhead, riding the thermals.

Still so full of life, willing and beautiful and as uncountable as a tumbling cascade of Autumn leaves, we Fall.

Do you get it now? Do you see?

Come on, come take my hand and let’s walk into the desert.

I’ll be your King and you will be my people and you will teach me.

I love that story. :)

Added to the Campaign List. Good luck!

So glad to see someone embracing and accepting what I find to be the most unique and interesting tribe so far.

I love the lore you are developing here. Keep up the great work.

It is going to take more work to play this tribe, but the rewards will be there for those so inclined.

I hope to see you in game.

We ARE The Weard. We ARE The One.

Praise you friend, so good to know someone sees the light!....and the dark!