Travellers' Tales

The Travellers' Tales was written by BeaniePope as an editorial of sorts, giving insight into current server news. In his words,

> *Hello everyone! Welcome to Travelers' Tales, an editorial news team of one, me, The Traveler! I know, crazy. Anyway, my stories will different from what you'd expect; I'll be taking a more immersive route to my storytelling, not only reporting the news, but reporting the news as if it's really happening. Because of this, more often than not, I'll be boots on the ground in war torn areas on the server- so if you see the blue helmet, at least pause before you spawn 4 withers on me- In any case, my first story will be out tomorrow, a brief out of character description of the factions of MagicGum's brilliant server, and a synopsis on my feelings overall on meeting everyone, and the server itself. I can't wait to see you guys out there, ciao!*
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## Texts

### Volume Zero

> *Welcome to Volume Zero of the Travellers’ Tales: This article series will read more like an editorial, where I’ll give my insight of current server news serverwide. In this case, I’ll be whipping together something a bit different than what I’ll usually be covering: Interviews from some of the largest factions in the server, their goals and plans, and more! Every other volume will be as if I was truly living within the world.*
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> *Well, in what will hopefully be the week leading up to Day 0, we’re seeing a lot of activity from the giants of the SMP. Luckily, I managed to sneak myself some interviews with factions like KOTE and The Skull Empire- Hm? You’re new around here? Why, so am I, so let me give you the laydown!*
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> *A faction that controls the End?*
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> *You know it folks, the beasts from the prequel are back, the Kings of the End! I had the privilege of speaking to their current leader, Dr\_RTH. Now, the transcript for all these interviews will not be available, and for those that just want to read them, just DM me! The Kings of the End are what you’d expect, a faction based around the End Dimension, controlling it, making the main island a community hub for the server! KOTE promises to be player friendly, allowing  for there to be mostly free travel throughout the dimension. KOTE themselves want to distance themselves from faction warfare and politics in the UN, but are prepared to defend their home with a standing & funded  military.  In any case, I asked all faction leaders their opinions on two topics: Raiders and the rumors that the Rules Of Engagement are being discussed, and RTH gave me two clear answers; He does not support the unnecessary killing of people nor the people that raid factions, but he is unsure whether to guide KOTE to attack these factions. In the case of the rule of law, RTH is keen on protecting civilians during warfare, and thinks organized war is a preferable idea.*
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> *Where the hell did all these bones come from?*
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> *The Skull Empire, or the Skulls, aren’t quite as scary as they may sound- Ok, they might be a little intimidating- but what you really have here is a faction looking to enjoy themselves, mess around, and maybe down the line, become more serious as time progresses. Early game and beyond, you’ll see the Skulls collecting bones and generally keeping to themselves, but the leader, DarkLion\_\_, hinted at even more as the server progresses. Sure, they may seem weak, but with a standing army, a large private compound, and one of the largest factions in the server, you don’t want to get in their way. As for their question response, they were indifferent towards the raiders factions, stating that, as long as they aren’t targeted, they don’t see any reason to have an issue with them; however, staying consistent with KOTE, they were supportive of some sort of rules of war, stating that: “It’s a good concept”.*
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> *Archers! ...Ready?! ...Fire!*
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> *The Fletchers: Well, their name says it all, while not completely war-crazy, The Fletchers’ leader, benybenbenlmao, have defined their stance on neighbors, saying that they, and I quote, “intend to occupy a strong defensive position, communicate with our neighbours, and either destroy or befriend them.” Brilliant. Honestly, I am happy to see a faction take such a firm stance  on their base. They aren’t there to cause trouble, though , so they’ll build their base up, and protect it like it’s truly their home. In solidarity with other factions, they plan on having a well funded military, but are flexible when it comes to who they allow inside their walls, from traders to travellers alike, although I warn you, trying to bomb these guys would probably get your bones stuck in the Skulls vault. They consider the UN unreliable, but understand the need for Rules of Engagement. They do not intend to assault any raider factions unless they are provoked to do as such.*
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> *Them’s some rude words for someone in crusadin’ distance*
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> *The Crusader Gang: A well defined and large faction, larger than they had expected. With a rich history, I’ll be giving a short synopsis here: Christened by the lord MagicGum himself, the crusaders were given their name and grew quickly after, battling other factions, and settling disagreements for peace, right before becoming a team with more members than they could ever know. Led by Crusading\_Birb,  these guys are in it for the fun, they really don’t have much of a structure, and around riding high— Although, it could all change within weeks of the server’s beginning- time seems to have it’s own plan.*
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> *Khajiit has wares, if you have coin*
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>  *The Merchants’ Guild- A  faction prone and known to sell, The Guild were the only merchant faction that could get a rep to speak to me, and so I did, interviewing Crueteor, the second in command. They’re simple folk, running off a vote system, they’ll be gathering resources and selling them to people. As the server grows, they grow with it, and plan to build a large hub center for people, well protected from griefers and thieves alike. Now, while it may not be word of the guild itself, Cruetor has expressed annoyance towards  Raider factions, speaking about how peace is necessary. They do plan on barring trade from hostile groups, and even giving out bounties for notorious players. This of course, is complemented by the standard guard forces that accompany most merchants. When asked, Crueteor explained that while the United Nations and Rules of Engagement are intriguing, they’re also flawed.*
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> *And… Well, that’s not all of them, I’m missing a few noteworthy factions but I had a day to gather interviews and write all this, alright? In any case, the server itself looks fascinating, and I hope to be a good reporter in the midst of things. Day O, I will have a Day 0 Vol. 1 Article, and then a Vol. 1 video of my tales throughout zero day, and hopefully, if I stay alive, a fully edited version of the dragon fight. Well, this has been fun to write, I do hope you guys enjoy… and I do hope when you see “BeaniePope” you’ll think before you stab.*
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> *Credits:*
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> *Dr.RTH, KOTE Leader*
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> *DarkLion, Skull Empire Leader*
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> *benybenben,  The Fletchers Leader*
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> *Crusading\_Birb, Crusader Gang Leader*
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> *Crueteor, Merchants Guild “Extra Hands” Second-In-Command*
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> *Edited By My Boyfriend :)*
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### Volume One

> *First Steps*
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>  *Writing this is getting hard. The underground’s gotten more and more polluted as time went on. Me and a couple thousand others plan to leave in groups of about a hundred, get the hell out of the mine and finally explore the world after. Christ, the first time I tried to walk out, I had a hard time hearing the people around me, and blacked out along with a lot of others. Leaving at first was difficult, we weren’t sure if it was just the air, or the absence of the smog down deep. In any case, I moved forward through the blackouts, and eventually made it out. We all got a few potatoes, and the others threw us axes, glad to be rid of us, as the less people down there the better. In any case, my first steps were exhilarating, all of us were ready to face the world together… although some “factions” had already been made. Biggest of the bunch was some cultists that wanted to go to some mythical land called the End, “Kings Of The End” they called themselves. Last I heard of it, all our patrols died tracking the place down. I wasn’t too bothered, as they were stuck with the rest of us, gathering resources… and avoiding the beasts outside. It seemed that in our absence, the monsters had gotten stronger, building strength, armor. We only saw a few weak grunts but… anything could be out there. I grabbed supplies and got the hell out as fast as I could. No use standing around and waiting to die. I saw a primitive tribal village- destroyed in the wake of us, bastards tearing through homes. I saw a leader of the End Fanatics murder a golem with some of his crew, scavenged metal from it’s body. Animals. A bit ways past that, I spotted someone, a friendly face. I called out to him, and overjoyed to see each other, we spoke quickly about the plan. I supplied him with a furnace and we cooked food to survive, blacking out yet again, before coming back. It seems another friend had been watching over us while we slept, and the reunion was short. People were coming, and they looked desperate. We packed our bags and moved into a thick forest, the trees dark and gloomy. Perfect for hiding within.*
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> *Getting Equipped*
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> *With friends found, we began to go into the ground instantly, fighting the blackouts and the fatigue and hallucinations, as if what we broke didn’t break, or our furnace running at low efficiency- that one turned out to be us not stoking the flames correctly. In any case, we smelted some gear, but had to move again. More and more people came to us, and we couldn’t risk our things being stolen, so we hoofed it farther out, the 4 of us on the trail for a safe place. Digging into a mountainside, we set up our tools again, and slowly continued to work through the blackouts, although they came less and less as time went on. Slowly, we got geared, and ready. So we continued on, meeting up with more friends along the way. Most of these men were a part of a coalition, a humanitarian group willing to help others and support them. I was simply there as they were kind people, and so I helped them and they helped me. In any case, we avoided others, although helping those we could. I gave coal to one, and tools to another. It pays to be nice, as you have no idea who could be your enemy. In any case, we were geared and ready.*
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> *Final Remarks*
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> *This entry was short, but others will be much larger. I hope to share my story with many…. And so I leave a copy of this here. Maybe others will learn, but a simple message is clear. We’ve broken into a new era… and what’s to come, may kill us all.*
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