When I first started working on this month's newsletter, my first thought was that I wasn't at all likely to get as much content as we did for the month of January.  Boy was I surprisingly wrong!  And elated because of it too!

One of the hardest sections for me to find content for in any issue of Ubique's Monthly is the Storyline Spotlight featured article section of our newsletter.  I admit that I was wracking my brain for the better part of the month trying to come up with something.  In the past, I was almost always writing something for that section of the newsletter myself.  But with the exponential growth rate of our membership on Mutual Endeavors over the past year, my work load has been decreased significantly, much to my immense joy.

Again this month we have for you a complete newsletter with all sections filled in with content.  We even have a few more character updates than the month before, but a lot of that was due to me sniffing around the other sites.  I'll admit here and now that a large majority of our headlines and character updates comes from information easily found on the Rings of Honor site.  So I must confess that most of our news concerns the dueling community.  Not all of it comes from that role-playing site, however, but it just goes to show you how much more organized dueling related role-playing is compared to the erratic chaos of FFRP in general.

You can help fix this problem in the future, my friends and readers, by directing our editorial attention to things that catch your interest.  Are there stories going on elsewhere (cough - hint - Dragon's Mark) that we aren't likely to see because they get buried under the scores of other posts made by players here, there and everywhere?  Let us know about it!  Submit to Ubique's this month.  Keep us posted on what's going on in February so that we can report on it in the upcoming March issue.  As for what happened in January, well... Read on!

Top Story!

"There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love." - Christopher Morley, US author & journalist (1890 - 1957).

Role-playing is not only just about the characters and stories we create ourselves.  Role-playing is about inspiration!  Surely your ideas come from somewhere.  As every writer knows, characters don't merely develop out of thin air.  They come from somewhere.  Their existence is influenced by the things we know, be that people or places or even other stories we have read and loved.

The stories are where it's at, and a great deal many of us are readers as well as role-players.  The Nefarious SM herself confesses to being quite the rabid bibliophile, with a personal library growing by the half dozens at least every month.  Published novels and short stories touch our creative hearts in the same ways as movies and music, but often the written word swells our hearts more intensely.

What inspires you to play?  What books do you love to read?  We like to think sometimes that role-playing is just a small hobby that gives us practice for a greater and more green-eyed goal of one day becoming published authors ourselves.  A thought like that is what inspires us, the Ink Wire Associates, to not only report to you on all things related to role-playing, such as game mechanics, helpful hints and tips, but also on those things that inspire us to role-play in the first place.  That said, I now present to you the second annual Mutual Endeavors Ubique's Monthly Book Report.

Storyline Spotlight

"When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is any thing you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it." - Edgar Watson Howe, US journalist (1853 - 1937).

Surely in play somewhere you've heard of it.  Rumors get passed around both In Character and Out.  People whisper about it, but it's not something that has truly received quite as much hype as it justly deserves.  This year, Mutual Endeavors and Ubique's Monthly is hoping to attract more interest into this great and wonderful annual storyline.  With that in mind, we contacted the creator and asked her to tell us about it, and boy were we not disappointed!

Is your character a fashionista?  Or is he or she a total freak and walking anti-fashion horror?  Want to learn more about the Mrs. Governor's behind the scenes business?  Then look no further than this month's Storyline Spotlight feature article!  Our thanks goes out to the player behind the character Koyliak VanDuran-Simon for taking the time, after such a late request, to put together this article on RhyDin Fashion Week! It's a fantastic read if we do say so ourselves!

This Just In

"Patterning your life around other's opinions is nothing more than slavery." - Lawana Blackwell, The Dowry of Miss Lydia Clark, 1999.

Remember that our storyline news Headlines are listed in two different categories.  Information that characters may be privvy to is listed in bold red-brown.  Information that only the players should know about is listed in bold blue.  What goes into This Just In?  Click that link to find out more, and then read on!

TdR Stage 1 Fists Brawl :  The night of January the 17th kicked off the anxiously awaited two month long Tour de Rhydin all sports dueling tournament with its first stage event.  A mighty mega Fists Brawl went down in the Annex, where a grand total of 16 duelists all met to crowd into a single ring and beat the ever-living snot out of each other.  The only competitor to walk away from this pile-up of pugilistic mayhem was a glass ranked little rodent by the name of Napoleon Bonarat!  Well done, little guy!

TdR Stage 2 Fists Regular :  In two consecutive nights, the competing teams of the Tour de Rhydin all flooded the Outback to duke it out against each other over and over again to earn Green Nobles for their teams.  Of a grand total of 58 ranked duels fought, only one member of a single team walked away with the best score, and that man was Kheldar Drasinia of the Wrecking Crew!  Congratulations!

TdR Stage 3 Swords Regular :  In two consecutive nights, the competing teams of the Tour de Rhydin all flooded the Arena to hack and slash each other for Red Nobles to benefit their teams.  Of a grand total of 66 ranked duels fought, only one member of a single team walked away with the best score, and that man was Anubis Karos of team Great of Strength!  Right on!

TdR Stage 4 Swords Tag Team :  On the night of January the 23rd, 14 duelists consisting of 7 pair-ups from every team banded together in the Arena for a tournament to decide which of them was the best of the best in a tag team pairing.  Coming out on top were Thorne and Rekah from team Deathcake!  Accidentally amazing!

TdR Stage 5 Magic Regular :  In two consecutive nights, spell-slingers from all teams flooded Twilight Isle to decide which single contender was the best of the best in Magic Dueling.  As far as we can determine, our sources conclude that the highest scorer in this stage was Sivanna Cyredghymn from team Deathcake!  Well done!

TdR Stage 6 Magic Tournament :  On the night of January the 27th, 11 duelists representing all teams piled into Twilight Isle to sear and score against each other in a grueling Magic Tournament.  Of which only one contender came out on top, and that was our darling Kirn friend Misty from team Fun-Tastics!  Spell-tacular!

TdR Stage 7 Fists Tag Team :  The end of the month kicked off the second cycle of the ongoing Tour de Rhydin tournament in sensationally fist-flinging fashion on January the 31st in the Outback with a grueling Duel of Fists Tag Team Tournament.  Pairings from all teams showed up to duke out to see which match-up was the mightiest, and in the end our sources conclude it was Matt Simon and Sartan from team CrushBob! Nicely done!

Tour de Rhydin Continues :  February continues with the remaining 11 cycles in the Tour de Rhydin.  Check the official TdR Schedule to see what's coming up in the stages yet to come. For future reference, all participants should be advised that any event happening on a weekend is expected to begin at approximately 8:00 PM by the Eastern Clock.  Don't be late, and don't let your teams down!

All-Time Fantasy Madness Continues :  Rings of Honor member Cassius Gaius Maximius continues to poll for who you think is the best of the best in the history of the Duel of Swords.  Check out the All-Time Fantasy Madness folder on RoH and drop your two cents in the polling bin!

Mutual Endeavors Technical Support :  This past month, the Nefarious SM decided to promote one of our more active members to the position of Mutual Endeavors Tech Support specialist.  A news announcement was made on the front end of the site, but we'd also like to remind our readers of this addition in the newsletter here as well.  He's still learning how to work with the Joomla! platform, but we have faith that he won't disappoint us.  Congratulations are again in order for Ink Wire Associate Administrative Technical Support Supervisor ... Trent!  Confetti all around!

Character Spotlight

"How soon was it that the dead are brought to deity in the eyes of those who in life found them little regard." - Linda Berdoll, Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife, 2004.

There is not much that can be said to introduce this feature article that has not been said already elsewhere, both in the article itself and on the Mutual Endeavors forums.  Though I feel the above quote makes itself a decent enough introduction all its own, and I honestly can't think of anything more than that to say.  You all know this month's featured spotlight character, in some form or fashion.  Whether you've heard of her through rumors or had the joyful opportunity to actually outright interact with her in rooms.

People grow.  Life happens.  We like to think we'll be here forever, doing what it is we do.  We like to think we'll never give up role-playing, for any reason.  We may even like to think of ourselves as immortal.  Some very few short years ago, even that cold, hard and unpleasant truth was brought to light.  We as human beings are not immortal, and saying good-bye no matter what the reason, sometimes not even due to dying, is never easy.

We here at Mutual Endeavors and Ubique's Monthly wanted to say good-bye in our own special way, however.  This one player, and the character she has created over the years, is deserving of a special tribute.  So we set aside the random pick-me hat this month in favor of instead giving this girl everything she deserves.  A remembrance party in print.  So here's to you Jewell Ravenlock!  May you never be forgot.

In Other News...

"Do not be awe struck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as you can." - Norman Vincent Peale, US clergyman (1898 - 1993).

As a reminder, there are many ways in which you can submit character monthly summaries to future issues of Ubique's Monthly.  Apart from e-mailing us direct at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , you can also PM the administration direct on the Mutual Endeavors website.  Additionally, we have a handy form you can fill out anonymously for the In Other News... section of the newsletter, also on our website.

Dris  (BardGallant):  Same old stuff, different day.  Sheridan "Dris" Driscol has been seen strutting around the dueling venues more frequently these days.  Not only can he, per usual, be found in the Outback on Monday nights, but with the Tour going on he has also volunteered his time to help calling Magic on Twilight Isle.  If you're looking for him, look no further than those usual locations!

Guillermus  (G. Iulius Fortis):  Guill challenged Teagan for the barony of Dragon's Gate and once again ran his written mouth in exceptionally insulting style. The word "dishonorable" got bandied about quite a lot, as personally deciding who is honorable and who is not seems to be this duelist's common MO. Teagan, however, allowed Overlord Ticallion Carter to intercede for her in this matter, and the chef lost to him, therefore being disallowed to fight the baroness directly himself.

Harold Lowe (HGLowe):  The often-quiet but still badass duo of Maia and Harry may or may not have been spotted jacking a peanut butter and chocolate chiffon pie recently. And it may or may not have been absolutely delicious.

Kalinda Acheron (Kalinda Acheron):  Being the only female of five other competitors to show up for Baroness Maria Graziano of the Old Temple District's Squire tournament on the night of January the 12th, this single stunning contender walked away with the grand prize of a title and a scepter! This makes her the fourth under-ranked duelist of all time to carry the title of Squire to a barony.

Kheldar Drasinia  (Kheldar):  As per the most recently updated Tour de Rhydin standings, we are proud to announce that Kheldar is the current wearer of the Tour's Fists Green Jersey.

Koyliak VanDuran-Simon (Koyliak):  The Mrs. Governor has her hands full these days.  Not only in preparing for the upcoming RhyDin Fashion Week (see our Storyline Spotlight feature article), but also by busting balls in the still ongoing Tour de Rhydin!

Maria Graziano  (Maria Graziano):  Maria challenged Xanth Van Bokkelen for his barony over the Old Temple district, and they met on the night of Tuesday, January the 5th, to decide which of them was going to be the next boss of the church. She won the barony away from Xanth in a single elimination format that lasted only eight rounds. Rumor has it she then later held a squire tournament on the 12th of January. 

Matthew Algiers Simon (Goldglo):  As per the most recently updated Tour de Rhydin standings, we are proud to announce that the Governor is the current wearer of the Tour's All Sports Yellow Jersey.

Napoleon Bonarat (Napoleon Bonarat):  As per the most recently updated Tour de Rhydin standings, we are proud to announce that Napoleon is the current wearer of the Tour's Rookie White Jersey. 

Neo Eternity  (Neo Eternity):  As per the most recently updated Tour de Rhydin standings, we are proud to announce that Neo is the current wearer of the Tour's Swords Red Jersey.

Pslyder (PslyderFTA):  In an effort to rekindle the flames of activity in the Duel of Fists, Pslyder challenged Ticallion Carter for the right to wield the legendary Opal known as FireStar. On the 6th of January, they met in the Outback for their best of three challenge, and Tical soundly trounced Pslyder in only the first two matches. Better luck next time, Psly.

We also hear that Pslyder was recently brutally attacked by an as of yet unidentified assailant.  Rumor has it his condition is stable.  It is a great relief to learn that the assault did not kill him, but we have to wonder... Who's responsible?

Salvador Delahada  (Delahada, Karmic Venganza):  With the Tour de Rhydin making its grand debut earlier this month, Salvador has been seen with increasing frequency around the dueling venues of the Arena, Outback, Annex, and even Twilight Isle to support his spell-casting team mates.  We can't say he's been doing too hot in the Tour himself, but Deathcake hasn't let him down yet!

Sinjin Fai  (Sinjin Fai):  Sin hasn't been seen very frequently out in the public eye this past month.  What could Salvador have possibly done with him?

Sivanna Cyredghymn  (Sivanna Cyredghymn):  As per the most recently updated Tour de Rhydin standings, we are proud to announce that Sivanna is the current wearer of the Tour's Magic Blue Jersey.

Suliss'urn Xukuth  (Natha Oreb, SulissurnXukuth):  Not clattering about in her usual haunt, the drow was spotted at the Medieval Tavern having a head to head with fellow drow, Cianan. The two seemed thick as thieves, or at the very least, Suliss'urn appeared disturbingly smug, tore up his clothing, called him names and bade him fetch her a drink. Overheard were mentioning of money, Houses and bargains. Though what bargain--if any--were struck or even Suliss' purpose is clear. She was later seen strolling off looking rather disgusted.

Classifieds

"A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be." - Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hockey player (1961 - ).

All advertisements found in our classifieds section are links.  If you are reading this from the main website, then be advised that the bold red you are seeing is a URL that you can click on to lead you to another area on the world wide web.  However, if you are reading this from your personal e-mail inbox, it's probably pretty obvious.

Encyclopedia Rhydinica :  One of two major collaborative "everything Rhy'Din" wikis available on the Internet.  The Encyclopedia Rhydinica offers a comprehensive list of characters, races, settings and more that is still being filled in as the years go by.  Registration is completely free, but not necessary to add to this collection.  Check out the site to learn more.

GreaterRealms :  Mutual Endeavors and Ubique's Monthly would like to remind our readers of the existence of another role-playing site that sees far less activity than we'd prefer.  If you're looking for a forum with far fewer restrictions than you're used to that still operates within the realms of Rhy'Din, then look no further than GreaterRealms!  There is plenty of message board space available for you to post and cross-post all your in character stories, as well as a fully functional flashchat that deviates from the standard norms.  GR allows you to not only create and moderate your very own chat room environments, but also comes equipped with a couple of settings you aren't likely to find anywhere else on the sites you're used to.  Check it out!

Lyran Tal Press :  "Lyran Tal Press.com is a site dedicated to free online story-gaming (interactive fiction) where writers and players create and play story games. An exciting aspect of story games is that the whole tale is not written out in advance, and no one knows beforehand the twists and turns the tale will take."  If you're looking for something a little different than what you're used to where regarding role-playing, check it out!

Rhilshen :  Yet another role-playing community that we here at Mutual Endeavors and Ubique's Weekly think our readers should be made aware of.  According to the site itself: "Rhilshen is a setting for collaborative creative writing and online free form role-playing in chat-based 'live RP' and in play-by-post 'forum RP'. The realm is primarily a high-fantasy / dark-fantasy adventure setting on a magic-rich world riddled with Nexus portals to the Multiverse, an infinite set of various parallel universes."  So if you're looking for something a little different than what you're used to, check it out!

Rhydin Wiki :  One of two major collaborative "everything Rhy'Din" wikis available on the Internet.  The Rhydin Wiki follows the same standard templates and style of the more familiar Wikipedia itself, but stands alone as a comprehensive listing of all things Rhydin.  Registration is necessary on the forums to contribute to this resource.  Check out the site to learn more.

Announcements

"We are always the same age inside." - Gertrude Stein, US author in France (1874 - 1946).

Please remember that all birthdays are listed with the date of said birthday falling within this month in parentheses, not the age the character or person will be turning.  For that information you'll just have to do some research and asking around of your own.  Special thanks to the Encyclopedia Rhydinica and Rhydin Wiki for keeping a comprehensive list of character biographies that include birthdays.

Character Birthdays  :  Alice Wycombe (?), Carolyn Valkonan (14), Dris (14), Jewell Ravenlock (2), Kislara Melniboné (13), Locke D'Vestavio (22), Mallora (14), Rekah (29), Skid Trak'kal (20), and Valentine Shyre (14).

Player Birthdays :  Kay (2), Louisa (4), and Lynz (2).

Additionally, February the 2nd is Groundhog Day as well as the pagan holiday of Candlemas this year.  February the 10th marks the Chinese New Year.  Of course, February 14th is Valentine's Day.  The following Monday of the 15th is President's Day.  The very next Tuesday, the 16th, is Mardis Gras also known as Fat Tuesday, and the following day after that on the 17th is Ash Wednesday.  Whew!  Talk about a month chock full of holidays!

Final Thoughts

"The scornful nostril and the high head gather not the odors that lie on the track of truth." - George Eliot, Felix Holt, the Radical, 1866. English novelist (1819 - 1880).

This was yet another issue of Ubique's Monthly that did not disappoint me.  With the growth spurt of membership that Mutual Endeavors has accumulated over the past two years, I really shouldn't be as surprised as I am, but I still find it astounding.  The newsletter has never been half as successful as it has been in the past two months, and my only hope is that it continues to be so!  For that to happen, we of course need your continued support; you the readers and Mutual Endeavors members far and wide.

Special thanks goes out to Mutual Endeavors members The Signal, Amy McGraw and Koyliak VanDuran for the sensational featured articles they provided for us in this February issue of Ubique's Monthly.  Most especially I should be thanking Koy for taking the time on a tight schedule and way-too-close deadline to write up her piece on the upcoming annual RhyDin Fashion Week!  Though additionally I have to thank T.S. for coming to me with an idea, writing it up, and just flinging it at me so that we had something to include in the Top Story! feature section of our newsletter.  I had absolutely no idea what I was going to plug in there until she tossed her idea at my head.

Remember that all submissions for future issues of Ubique's Monthly are due on the deadline of the very last day of any given month.  And with February, that means you have a lot less time to sling your ideas and updates at us.  There are many ways in which you can contribute news to be published in our newsletter, and all of those ways have been mentioned before.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns -- anything at all -- do not hesitate to write me, the Nefarious SM, at the address in the link provided below.  Until next time, I'll continue to be....

Keeping you informed, 

-- The Nefarious SM

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