Lord Kresovus woke immediately. Before he had a chance to register Captain K'rank's call to arms, he leapt from his stone bed and ripped his axe from the wall. The Mattekar Balor - Kresovus' companion these last several years - awoke with a start, scanning their small quarters with great intensity.

Kresovus hurried out of his door and looked down upon the chaos of Linvak Tukal.

For a moment, Kresovus could not make sense of the scene before him. His own people, dozens of them, slaughtered one another in the streets. Fully armored soldiers fought near-naked warriors, as though half of his people had descended on the other half in their sleep. Skulls were split and limbs were severed. The streets were stained with purple blood.

Kresovus studied the action closely. He realized that the reason for the lack of armor on many of the Lugians wasn't that they were surprised in their sleep. When each Lugian met his end, he was promptly resurrected at the lifestone in the corner of the city. Bereft of armor or weapon, that Lugian then leaped back into the fray and resumed his combat.

Was this some form of jest? Were his normally disciplined warriors engaging in mock battles in the streets? Just what was happening here?

One of the Lugians, a rather large one who still wore his armor, looked up at Kresovus. He hefted a massive boulder and threw it. Lord Kresovus dropped his axe and caught the rock, its velocity slamming him against the stone wall behind him. Without pausing to catch his breath, he stepped forward and flung the boulder back down at the offending Lugian. The warrior tried to duck out of the way, but Kresovus had anticipated that dodge, and led his target appropriately. The boulder crushed the Lugian's head. His body dropped to the ground.

Kresovus looked to the lifestone, waiting for the artifact to resurrect the fallen warrior. He waited several seconds, but nothing happened.

The Lugian was not resurrected.

Kresovus studied the battle again. This time he noticed that each time a naked Lugian fell, he was resurrected at the lifestone. But when an armored Lugian fell, he stayed down.

This was no mock battle. This was an assault.

Before he had time to process this fact, he heard footsteps pounding their way up the ramps that led to his quarters. Kresovus picked up his axe and readied himself for the attack. He looked to Balor. The Mattekar crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce at any who might attack his lord and master.

Kresovus tightened his grip on his axe, listening to the dozens of warriors who were now making their way upwards. Would they be friend or foe? And how would he know the difference?

He looked back down at the turmoil below. K'rank - if he could believe that truly was K'rank - swung his axe wildly about, slaughtering a ring of attackers that had descended upon him. Kresovus noted with some satisfaction that K'rank still wore a full suit of armor. No trips to the lifestone for that warrior.

The pounding footsteps were close now. The attackers were on the ramp below. Kresovus exhaled a long breath and prepared to kill.

The intruders rounded a bend and showed themselves. They appeared identical to his own Lugians in dress, form, and armament. But there was something about their eyes...

Kresovus's stomach lurched as he recognized the eyes of Shadow. He forced down the fear in his gut and launched forward. Before the infiltrators had time to react, Kresovus cleaved three of them in two, spilling their guts to the floor. A fourth tried to take him as he prepared another strike, but Balor intervened. The Mattekar leapt over his master and crashed into the attacker, sending him flying to the stone floor below.

Dozens more of the impostors raced upwards, brandishing their gleaming axes before them. Kresovus and Balor fought back their attacks, cleaving gray flesh and knocking warriors downward towards their doom. As hard and fast as the intruders pressed, they could not withstand the stalwart defense of the lord of Linvak Tukal.

When the last of the intruders was dead or gone, Kresovus allowed himself a moment to rest. He bore not one wound, just the aching muscles of battle. He was pleased to see that Balor had fared the same.

He caught movement on the edge of his vision. Kresovus whipped his head around. The hammer crashed into his face and he fell to the floor.

He lay on his back, tears in his eyes. He tried to peer up at his attacker, but his vision wavered too greatly. He heard Balor attack. Kresovus hoped that the Mattekar would be able to distract the attacker long enough for Kresovus to regain his footing. But such luck was not to be had. He heard Balor yelp in pain, then grow quiet. Kresovus' heart grew cold.

He blinked, his head throbbing in pain. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up through blurred vision. A gray hulking mass stepped into view.

Kresovus' breath caught in his throat. He looked up at the Lugian. He looked up at himself.

*****

Spring had come earlier than usual. The snows which had so recently appeared were gone just as quickly, though they left behind their frigid chill.

Elysa held her fur-lined robe tightly around her slight frame, bracing herself against the cold air which howled through the open window. Logs crackled and split in the fire behind her, but their heat was not enough to fill this large room.

She thought such large quarters a trifle ridiculous for a mere two people, especially when she thought of the thousands who were forced to cram their entire lives into small apartments and cottages in the world outside. But after the attack that nearly took her life the year before, Antius had asked her to move into the uppermost room of the castle's tallest tower, and refused to relent on his recommendation no matter how often she protested.

The thought of her lover brought a smile to her lips. Throughout all the trials of the previous year, he had been the most steadfast and supportive of all her advisors. He had his doubts about Nuhmudira - as did they all - but in the end he agreed with Elysa's decision and did as he we asked.

"My love, please. You will catch cold over there," he said from behind her. Elysa turned and looked at him. He stood at the other end of their quarters, resplendent in his gleaming Celdon armor. He held his helm in his hands. He was ready for his journey, and only waited for her command.

Elysa stepped forward. Even just a few paces from the window, the heat of the fire grew immensely. She felt her face flush. "Where will you start?" she asked him.

"Yaraq," he answered. "I could use the warmth."

She smiled, eager to travel to warmer climes herself. "How do you expect the people to help? If we can't get a word from him, I doubt they can."

He nodded in agreement. "No, I don't think Carlo will speak to them either. I plan to employ them in another manner." Antius nodded to the sheaf of papers on Elysa's desk. "That excerpt from his journal... there must be more than that. Doubtless, there are pages scattered all over Osteth. Either on the ground or in the clutches of the creatures who live there. If I can convince the people to work together, perhaps they will uncover something that will provide us with more information than what we have."

"A scavenger hunt," she grimaced.

"At this point, my Lady, I don't know what else to do," he replied. "We cannot travel to the northern islands, and Carlo won't speak any more than that gibberish he keeps muttering about 'eating' and 'escaping.' I fear that this plan, flawed though it may be, is our best chance."

She stepped forward and placed her hands on his chest. "I don't disagree with you, Antius. This is the best course of action. I just wish we had more options." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

"My Lady," he chuckled. "I'm just going to Yaraq."

"Yes, I know. But still, I fear. These Lugians that assaulted our vaults, this Viamontian in Rithwic... it seems that no matter how much we fight, some new evil is always just around the corner to threaten our peace." Elysa relaxed her embrace and looked up at him. "If there are more Viamontians here - if they are in hiding - you must find them. I will not be taken by surprise."

Antius nodded. "I will find them. The people will help me find them."

Elysa smiled, though she had to force herself to do so. "Good. But don't promise them much. After that mess with the Burun, we have few pyreals left in our coffers."

Antius laughed, and Elysa's heart lightened. "I love to hear you laugh, Antius. It has been too long since you had cause to."

"Yes. These last few months... they have been hard."

Elysa stared up at Antius, letting her eyes take in the beauty of his face. Recent events had not allowed her much time to simply stare at him and admire his grace. She took these moments whenever she could, and when they were over, she felt renewed - ready once again to take on the trials of the world.

Suddenly, a terrible thought gripped her heart and pushed aside all feelings of peace and renewal. Though death on Dereth was not to be feared as it was on Ispar, Asheron had not completely defeated it. Her own brush with oblivion had proven that well enough. She knew that each time she sent Antius on one of these missions, he might not return. Such was the risk that all her soldiers took. But for some reason, that fear that she might lose him was much stronger now than usual. He was so precious to her, so much more important than her crown or castle. More important even than the people who swore their loyalty to her. If she were to lose him...

Antius seemed to sense her thoughts. He caressed her cheek with a gauntleted hand, then bent down to kiss her. She closed her eyes and let herself fall into that kiss, that kiss which always heralded days apart and nights of uncertainty. She drank in the taste of him and wrapped her fingers through his thick, brown hair. She kissed him as though she might never get the chance to do so again, and let him do the same.

When they parted, she stepped away from him and tightened her robe around herself once more. She had had her kiss. The time for passion was at an end. She was no longer lover to the man, but Queen to the warrior.

"Go," she commanded. "Go, and find out what evil threatens my realm."

"Yes," he bowed. "I will return soon, my Queen."

"See that you do," she replied.

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February Rollout Out Article - From the Turbine AC Site - Feb. 9, 2005

Amaroth looked down at his flesh. The grey was fading, but the form remained. He noticed that the same was happening to his brothers. It seemed the Master's magics weren't as long-lasting as they had hoped.

Urleg kicked the wounded Mattekar into the cell, then slammed the iron gates. The beast roared and crashed its massive body into the bars, rocking them in their stone moorings. "We cannot keep it here," Urleg growled. "This cage cannot hold."

"I know," Amaroth agreed. "He will be here soon. The beast will be his problem then."

Urleg hefted a boulder, then looked to his brother. "Shoktok is in position?"

"Yes," answered Amaroth, taking up his own weapon. "As should we be. No doubt, Lord Kresovus is rallying the Isparians against us. They will be here soon."

Urleg smiled, clearly relishing the fight ahead. "Excellent."

Many of this month's changes have already been described in detail in the Letter to the Players. Here is an additional topic that we'd like to discuss in detail:

We have some news on the Billing Migration that we'd like to share

• Forced Migration is scheduled to begin on February 15. At this point all Asheron's Call accounts will be eligible for migration and all accounts must migrate in order to successfully log in to the game.
   
• Migration is scheduled to end on March 31.

We are still working on plans to ensure that accounts that cannot be migrated prior to March 31 (if the account owner is overseas or otherwise unable to log in, for example) are not lost. When we have more concrete information on how this process will work, it will be posted on the Asheron's Call website.

February Build Notes - From the Turbine AC Site - Feb. 9, 2005

• Two new tiers of higher wield-req weapons can be found in loot.
• New dungeons aimed at quick advancement and player combat, the Mausoleums of Hate, have opened on Darktide.

• The buy cap on vendors in Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq has been raised to one million pyreals.
• An early thaw has come to Dereth – snow has melted and snowmen and scarecrows have left the landscape.
• Outlying spawns in the Withered Atoll have been reduced in number.
• Withered Tumeroks no longer spawn with shields.
• We've fixed a bug that was causing spawn and item duplication in the Umbral Halls and Fortified Sewer Vaults.
• The War Room portal, part of the Drudge Hot Air Balloon quest, is no longer tied to a quest flag.
• Some creature spawns that were too close to player housing have been removed.
• The upper level limits have been removed on the Royal Oil quest dungeons.
• The Dark Idol can now be used on the new higher wield-req missile weapons.
• Nen Ai's pet Drudge Skulker will no longer aggro on players who attack a Drudge nearby.

• The Half-Moon Spear is now destroy-on-sell.
• The Untamed Siraluun Claw Hairbrush now has the correct name.
• A typo seen when using the Drudge Flying Machine has been corrected.
• A typo in one of Leopold's tells has been corrected

Letter to the Players Preview- From the Turbine AC Site - Jan. 29, 2005

From Ibn regarding the February LttP:

I just wanted to post that the February LttP is going to be a little late this month, it won't be going up until the end of this week at the earliest.

Currently the February event, Infiltration, is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, February 9.

For right now, I can give you a brief tease of some of the changes and new stuff coming in the February event!

- Two more tiers of higher wield-req loot weapons for melee weapons, missile weapons and casters.

- New Darktide-only dungeons -- within these dungeons are an opportunity for very rapid advancement from level 20 up to level 109... if your fellow players can't prevent you from getting to it!

- An unseasonable thaw is coming... the snow is melting and snowmen and scarecrows will disappear from the landscape spawns.

- The buy cap of all vendors in the three Social Center towns (Holtburg, Shoushi, Yaraq) is being increased from 25,000 pyreals to 1,000,000 pyreals.

- Many of the outlying landscape spawns in the Withered Atoll have had the number of creatures reduced. In addition, Tumeroks in the Withered Atoll will no longer spawn wielding shields. Both these changes were made based on player feedback, and these are not the only improvements to the Atoll that we are working on.

These are all in addition to the new content, quests and items that we're introducing in February. We'll have more details in the February Letter!
 

February Letter to the Players - From the Turbine AC Site - Feb. 8, 2005

Welcome to the February Letter to the Players! Last month in Dereth, unsolicited aid turned sinister. The Lugians who had aided Isparians by constructing Crafting Forges in Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq were seen leading monstrous assault troops in an attempt to steal an ancient magical relic. Who are these Lugians; why did they first aid us and then attack us? As Dereth begins to experience an unseasonable thaw, the scarecrows and snowmen no longer wander the landscape. In the new warmth, adventurers seek answers.

By now you've probably seen Executive Producer Jessica Mulligan's most recent Letter. (If not, go read it. We'll be here when you get back.) As she stated, the Asheron's Call team is dedicating all of its resources to making sure that the Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny expansion pack is as awesome as we know it can be. Unfortunately, this means that February's event will be the last Live Monthly Event until after Throne of Destiny's launch in the second quarter of this year.

For this reason, there is no In-Development or In-Concept section in this Letter. All of our designers, artists and engineers are hard at work on Throne of Destiny. As the launch date approaches, we'll revisit our priorities and resources for the Live monthly events, and come back to you with our plans for the months ahead.

For right now, let's take a look at what's coming next week in the February event!

(These are items that we plan to implement in the February event. Many of these items were mentioned in prior articles. These changes are in addition to the new quests, dungeons and items that we'll be introducing in the January event.)

Coming closely on the heels of last month's new higher wield-req weapons are two new tiers of weapons found in loot! These will include:

• Melee weapons with wield requirements of 370 and 400.
• Missile weapons with wield requirements of 335 and 360.
• Casters with wield requirements of 330 and 355.

These weapons will be found in the highest tier of treasure; this is the treasure found on creatures found in the Valley of Death, Singularity Caul and Withered Atoll; as well as the most challenging creatures in the West Direlands and the Obsidian Plains. This treasure can also be found in other ways as well, including some new surprises we've got for you in this month's event!

The missile weapons and casters will have elemental bonuses rather than increased base damage, similar to the weapons introduced in January.

Each additional tier of weapons has an average damage-over-time increase of 5% when compared to the preceding tier. To clarify, this is a comparison of damage-over-time, not base damage. DOT calculations take into account multiple factors such as speed of attack and damage bonuses from base attributes and (in some cases) attack skill. In addition, the 5% is an average across all weapons – some weapon classes may have a greater or lesser improvement depending on their current DOT.

As discussed in the In-Development section of the January Letter to the Players, in February we will be introducing a set of tiered dungeons specifically for the PvP world of Darktide. These dungeons will have multiple entrances scattered across Dereth, and deep within them one can find a means of very rapid character advancement. Those who want to quickly reach a more competitive level of PvP combat should seek out these Mausoleums; those who wish to prevent their foes from quickly advancing should also seek them out, if only to defend the Pillars and Effigies within from being used!

The initial tiers of these dungeons span a range of levels from 20 to 109. Based on player use and feedback, we are working on plans for higher tiers after the launch of Throne of Destiny.

As we have said in the past, these dungeons are intended to benefit the unique gameplay environment on Darktide. Those who seek to test their skills against other players are drawn to Darktide, and they want an opportunity to level the playing field so skill alone is the deciding factor in battle. The Mausoleums of Hate can assist those who can survive within.

Based on your feedback, we have made two changes to the Withered Atoll for February:

• We've decreased the number of creatures in some of the outlying spawns. This is intended to help those players who are on the very edge of being able to fight effectively in the Atoll and are trying to pull one or two creatures away from the pack. The large camps have not been changed.
   
• Tumeroks in the Atoll will no longer spawn with shields.

These are not the only changes that we would like to make to the Atoll; however further changes will need to wait until Live Events start up again after Throne of Destiny's launch.

As part of our ongoing work on the three Social Center towns – Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq – we will be increasing the buy cap on all vendors in these towns. The vendors will now purchase items up to 1,000,000 pyreals. So when you're done hunting, swing by a social center to sell off your excess loot. Who knows what someone else might've sold just before you.

As we've said in the past, all topics previously listed as In-Concept are still on the table for discussion unless otherwise noted in a previous Letter. We've got a lot of plans for improvements to the game even in addition to the fantastic stuff coming in Throne of Destiny!

And there you have it, the changes coming in the February event. As I said, we'll be coming back to you with our plans for the next Live Event well in advance, and your feedback and suggestions are always valuable.

While you're exploring the new February content, be sure to take part in one of the regular Live Events being run by our new Live Event Operators, or +LEOs! Whether you're tasked to chase down a prison escapee or cook a particular type of cake, you never know what you might get as a reward.

See you in Dereth!
 

Turbine Kicks Off Member Loyalty, Beta Rewards Program - From the Turbine AC Site - Feb. 23, 2005

WESTWOOD, Mass. – Feb. 23, 2005 – Turbine, Inc., a premier provider of online subscription entertainment, today announced that it has launched a member rewards program as a way to say "thank you" to its dedicated and passionate online games service members.  The new member rewards program, which went live on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005, offers anyone with an active subscription to a Turbine service the opportunity to become eligible for future Turbine beta testing programs before the general public.

"Turbine Member Rewards is a great way for us to show our appreciation to the thousands of players who immerse themselves in Turbine's online worlds," said Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO, Turbine, Inc.  "We want to reward Turbine's loyal players by offering them the chance to be among the first to see and try out the new worlds that we produce."

How it Works:

Members of a Turbine service, such as Asheron's Call^® or Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings^®, may register for the program via a link on their service profile page. Prior to an upcoming beta program's "open" phase, Turbine will create a pool of eligible members from those who registered and meet Turbine's criteria.  From this pool, select members will be invited to participate in a pending game beta.  Members who are not selected for play testing will remain in the pool and could be selected for later beta activities or opportunities.

Program Requirements:

To qualify for the Turbine Member Rewards program, members must be registered for a Turbine world through the company's new billing system.  In addition, they must be actively subscribed to at least one Turbine service for at least six consecutive months in good standing.

If members have more than one eligible service account, such as a subscription to both AC and AC2, each account is eligible for its own program membership.

For an FAQ on Turbine Member Rewards, head to http://www.fuzeqna.com/asheronscall/consumer/kbdetail.asp?kbid=919.

About Turbine, Inc.

Turbine, Inc. is a premier producer, publisher and operator of online subscription entertainment and is headquartered in Westwood, Mass.  With studios on two coasts, the Company is the largest privately held online games company in North America.  Turbine's catalogue includes some of the most famous online entertainment brands, including Asheron's Call^®, Dungeons & Dragons^® Online and The Lord of the Rings^™: Middle-Earth^™ Online.  For more information on Turbine and its services, please visit www.turbine.com.

**********

Thank you for choosing to join the Turbine Beta Rewards Program. This program is our way of thanking our most loyal customers - by granting preferred access to future betas for our online games!

To qualify, you'll need to have an active subscription to any Turbine game, and keep that subscription continuously active for at least six months from the day you join the rewards program. After that, you'll be eligible to be invited to join a special group of beta-qualified players. The members of the selected group will be among the first to play our upcoming titles.

There's no fee for the program, but since we want to limit this opportunity to only our most loyal players, you must be an active Turbine subscriber to join and to claim a spot in the beta rewards group if you are selected.

Terms & Conditions:

Turbine makes no specific guarantee of individual participation in any particular beta. Membership in this program is not a guarantee of beta access. Final beta selection status may be determined by technical requirements, network conditions, testing needs, development specifications, server capacity, or any other reason, at Turbine's sole discretion. Selected beta participants will be required to agree to abide by certain terms and conditions of the particular beta, including a confidentiality agreement.

Please review carefully our Privacy Policy (http://www.turbine.com) relating to the collection and use of your information. Turbine will use your personally identifiable information in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy. By electing to participate in the Turbine beta rewards program, you agree to permit Turbine to use your personally identifiable information (such as your email address) to send you promotional and service related information relating to the Turbine games and related betas.

Turbine reserves the right to change or terminate this program without notice.
 

Turbine Beta Rewards FAQ - From the Turbine AC Site - Feb. 23, 2005
 

Q. How do I join Turbine’s beta rewards program?

A. The beta rewards are a benefit we offer to our most loyal customers. To join you will need to be actively subscribed to a Turbine game. To be eligible for one of our betas through this program, you will need to be a member in the program for six consecutive months in good standing.

Q. Six months! Why the wait?

A. Two reasons. First, this program is a “thank you” from Turbine to customers who have been loyal to our current games – we want to give them an opportunity to be among the first to see our new titles. Second, it tends to keep out the riff-raff. We may change the requirements from time to time or offer special guaranteed beta seats through promotions. If we do, it’ll be announced separately.

Q. Can I pay for a spot in a beta?

A. No. We do not sell access to our betas at this time. This program is purely intended as a benefit to our customers.

Q. Can I sign up for Game X’s beta today?

A. No. The beta rewards program doesn’t allow you to sign up for a specific beta, but is designed so that you can be chosen to participate in Turbine-selected beta programs for all Turbine titles.

Q. Which upcoming games are covered in this program?

A. Pretty much any publicly announced Turbine project will be eligible for inclusion in the beta rewards program. Details about each game’s beta inclusion will be announced as that game nears beta.

Q. If I’m a member of the beta rewards program do I get a guaranteed spot in the next Turbine beta?

A. No. Membership grants you the opportunity to be selected before the general public for certain betas. You’ll still need to satisfy the beta requirements to actually participate in any specific beta.

Q. Why do I have to fill out the beta profile?

A. In order to make sure our beta tests are comprehensive and accurate, we need to have many different types of players and systems represented at various stages of the test cycle. We have quotas for each category, and will populate a given beta by selecting players who match specific requirements. Your completed profile allows us to make these selections. Without a profile you cannot join a beta.

Q. I haven’t been asked to fill out a profile. When will that happen?

A. Beta profiles will be offered before the next scheduled beta to program members in good standing.

Q. Game X is in beta and I haven’t been invited, but my friend (who isn’t even in the program) got in. What gives?

A. We have detailed needs for each stage of beta. While we will do our best to select as many players as possible from the beta rewards program, we may need to select some beta members from outside the program to satisfy specific requirements.

Q. Game X has been in beta for months and I haven’t gotten in yet. Will I ever?

A. Maybe. The complete beta process for a modern MMO can run to a year or more. During that time we will build an increasingly large pool of players, and may even rotate players in and out of the beta. In spite of all that activity, there still may not be enough beta slots to let everyone in.
 

DT Mausoleums Being Turned Off - From the Turbine AC Site - June 6, 2005