MARNIE Archives October 2015

This page holds archived editions of the MARNIE newspaper which is published every Monday. The Archive contains at least four-week-old issues, and links are clickable despite what the Editor's Notes of the paper editions say. In order to keep the reading content manageable, each month will have its own page.

Midgard's Alpha Realm News
International Edition
October 5th, 2015

Editor's Note:
Links can NOT be clicked. All images are in the same Imgur album, and other links lead only to this server's wiki.

In Worldwide News:
New Kaiser Emerged, page 24

In Regional News:
Beginners Cape, page 45

In Local News:
NEAR Transports Network Extended, page 48

Worldwide News

Shako Statue 2.0
(ns) During the night to October 4th, Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras finished the creation of a second statue on New Spawn. He chose recently cleared space directly opposite the still prevailing 'Cirnoko' and erected as base a building somewhat resembling the predominant style of Breshikan structures. Above the main entrance, a sign labels this understructure as 'Breshik Shitbuild Maximum'.
On top of it the flag of the Holy Danikan Commonwealth humbly opposes the oversized American flag dominating the Marketplace roof, while next to it the image of Shakomatic in proper Kaiser uniform proudly flips his finger at his counterpart, nicely captured at https://imgur.com/a/NKMgW#57.
Upon being questioned by Supreme Technocrat Tomoko of the Aresean Technocratic Republic, “Why did you build a Shako statue?” Duke June declared, “To annoy you of course,” and proceeded to taunt S.T. Tomoko in true spirit of his creation. S.T. Tomoko responded calmly that, “It wouldn't annoy me if it were built on your own lot,” taking the wind out of 'retaliations'.
Original statue builder H.C. Austrobernd just briefly commented that this second version lacked a shovel.

Complains About Nether Chaos
(ne) Since September 24th, Moderator Koduck has been lamenting the state of the rail network in the Nether; particularly many unneeded curves and the unsafety of many of them. He has offered various suggestions such as building a clear network on some particular level, and stridently demanded that “somebody please reset the nether!” he even created a poll for it, but resetting the nether was downvoted quickly. On October 4th, Moderator Koduck started on digging tunnels on a set upper level and announced that it was going rather well so far. How his project will be received by the populace remains to be seen.

New Spawn Nether Hub Remodeled
(ns) Last week, the New Spawn Nether Hub has been cleaned up and expanded by Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras. Previously cramped accesses and curved rails were properly placed next to each other and straightened out, leaving two docking stations open for future additions. For now, lines connecting to higher and lower levels were allowed to remain in place, as well as one starting north from a main level side corridor. The south wall is reserved for future extensions of the building, with direct lines from that direction as well as stair building expressly forbidden. An extension to allow tracks docking from three directions is being considered.

Calisia Repopulated
(cl/er) Some of the Chilean visitors from September 18th took heed of the warning about settling on claimed territory and traveled east from New Spawn until they alighted on the shores of Snowbelt Continent. Discovering a forested area apparently unclaimed, they started their a small settlement. Notably Resident Sweetwind and Resident Panaberto decided to stick around, but it was later discovered that the area actually is part of Calisia which is in turn a member state of the Republic of Ender. President Hinoarashi was notified about the development and offered several options to the newcomers.
On September 23rd, after hearing a summarized explanation about the Ender Republic and its politics, Resident Sweetwind agreed to join the Republic of Ender with his group. President Hinoarashi acknowledged the decision immediately, added resident Sweetwind to his clan and granted them free reign over the territory of Calisia.
A little later, Supreme Technocrat Tomoko of the Aresean Technocratic Republic, who was the former leader of Calisia, offered to show Ender's new members the nether rail leading from New Spawn to Calisia. However, since the end point of that line was too far south, S.T. Tomoko got right on creating a nether portal with direct access to the nether rail, and set up a new station for it. Leader Sweetwind of Calisia also agreed to have the NEAR Transports network connect to the same station later on.

'Moon' Claims
(ns) Early on September 28th, Grand-Duke Carluga of the Grand Duchy of Orcaella created a red woolen circle platform above New Spawn. Located at level Y168, it has been declared 'The Moon' by its creator via sign, its disc-like dimension notwithstanding.
Various ambitious explorers have already laid claims on small moon areas, like Resident TheNerd96 demanding it for Russia with a sign and three banners and Resident Semyon and Duke June adding three and one more, respectively. Resident Berezov donated some moon dust and declared the place the 'Lenin Mausoleum', completing the Russian appropriation of the British platform.

New Kaiser Emerged
(cw) As of October 1st, Secretary General P_P_A of Royaume du Kriegstein was additionally inaugurated as Kaiser of the Holy Danikan Commonwealth. As the Steward of Breshik, P_P_A was nominated by King Shakomatic of the Apostolic Kingdom of Breshik. The election by the citizens of the Commonwealth resulted in equal votes for Steward P_P_A and King Niller of Winterlyn. The position was therefore to be decided by a duel over three rounds in the arena of Breshik.
As companions for the duel acted Kaiser Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia and Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras, the latter standing in for King Niller's first choice Grand-Duke Carluga of the Grand Duchy of Orcaella who could not be contacted at the time. Moderator Koduck acted as umpire to ensure fair play.
Both armor and swords were decreed to be made of unenchanted iron, granting equal strength among the duelists. The first and third round were won by Candidate P_P_A and Kaiser Austrobernd, thus deciding the new leader of the Commonwealth. To commemorate the event, Moderator Koduck provided some air-to-ground fireworks. Duke June offered photos of just before and after the battles which can be viewed at https://imgur.com/a/NKMgW#58.
Following tradition, Moderator Rosenmann was called upon to carry out the inauguration and graciously visited Nova Bydlograd for the occasion. Witnesses arriving in time for coronation included Grand- Duke Carluga, Veteran Resident Minoriko and Duke Nekronys of the Duchy of Dobrograd. https://imgur.com/a/NKMgW#59 shows photos with closed caption, again provided by Duke June.
After New Kaiser P_P_A spoke his vows and received the crown, some bold visitors engaged in combat amongst themselves; whether they had too much to drink during the celebration is up to speculation. In the struggle, Moderator Koduck and later Duke Nekronys were slain. Kaiser P_P_A commented on the incident optimistically with, “Well, I got coronated and nobody blew up, and only the intruders were killed.”
Kaiser P_P_A's first official act, according to himself, “was to unilaterally annex Klamdorf to the Commonwealth, as Shako had long desired.”

Spawn Spamming
(ns) After the extreme chicken spam around New Spawn during the week before, last week awoke to the more familiar snow spammers. Interior floors were not spared from being visited by troops of snow golems spreading their uneven white covers over the area. The two most obstinate golem spawners were Resident Kokogumi and High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia, according to themselves acting once again on their perceived 'shittiness' of New Spawn.

Annexed Aestland
(cw/ae) On October 4th, Kaiser P_P_A of the Holy Danikan Commonwealth decided to annex the former Federation of Aestland, long abandoned, into the Commonwealth. he was accompanied on his quest by High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia and Duke June of the Duchy of the Two Sorras. On the page https://dev-urandom.eu/battles:aestland_invasion in the Autism Almanac, H.C. Austrobernd later disclosed the invasion route. The three conquerors “inspected the land, replaced a heathen monument with a cross, and put up Commonwealth flags,” as is being described on the territory's page. It has been integrated as a duchy, later to be bestowed upon loyal subjects to redevelop the area.

Spamming Nerd
(ar) After being repeatedly admonished and banned for spamming chicken around New Spawn, Resident TheNerd96 took to constrain his chicken spamming to his own territory. However, since said territory is not enclosed, several hundred chickens wandered off into neighboring areas, inconveniencing the residents there and causing extensive lag due to their ever increasing number.
Moderator P_P_A destroyed the machine and later, upon its owner complaining, offered to restore it if Resident TheNerd96 agreed to limit its productivity and/or contain the animals somehow. When the agreement was reluctantly given, the machine was restored. However, for the time being, it did not yet work properly.

Redstone Request
(wl) King Niller of Winterlyn asked our newspaper to put out a request for someone knowledgeable in redstone technology to have a look at his shooting range in Wyventon. The machine consists of two parts, a counting mechanism and a deployment mechanism. The first one could be repaired by Duke June of the Two Sorras on October 4th; however the machine is not yet completely functional. The King offered up to half a stack of diamonds for people who can make it work.

Regional News

Sluggish Sorra
(ds) Despite Duke June having enthusiastically taken over leading the Duchy of the Two Sorras, not much progress has been accomplished during the past two weeks. The area of the desert village has been freed of sand and the bases for several residences were laid, but overall the village has not grown in either housing or business as much as projected. As such, the area keeps failing to attract both tourism and trade.

Beginners Cape
(sk) To the east of Kaiser P_P_A's vacation island Sikiliya, two settlers have taken residence on the rocky cape of the Snowbelt Continent. Both Resident Sperger and Resident Blahblahson have revealed themselves to be rather young and inexperienced via their actions and conversations, but they are avid explorers and ambitious builders. They like connecting places and were already sternly criticized by several parties for putting floating rails low above the ocean surface. Their connection to Sikiliya was refused and demolished immediately upon discovering by the island's owner, but the duo decided to just move into another direction and visited the mostly abandoned village south of them.
Their own village has not yet been named.

Local News

NEAR Transports Network Extended
(ug) During the past week, North-East Alpha Realm Transports extended their network south, connecting Midgard to Skellie Farm's capital Skellsborough and Calisia's capital Snow Pines. The Snow Pines station was built in cooperation with Calisias' leader Resident Sweetwind, and two switch stations were added along the way for future connections. One of those is located directly next to the portal to Skellsborough, around which a proper station will be built by Skellie Farm's leaders. Midgard Administration has received permission to connect east toward the Beginners Cape also, and is considering adding a station for East Sorra once the villages gets more fleshed out.

Midgard's Alpha Realm News
International Edition
October 12th, 2015

Editor's Note:
Links can NOT be clicked and lead only to this server's wiki and its media pages.

In Worldwide News:
Suicide Sid, page 16

In Regional News:
Phiagrica's Flower Farm, page 40

In Local News:
Mapping Feat, page 46

Worldwide News

Aesthetic Aestland
(ae) Only days after annexing Aestland as a duchy of The Holy Danikan Commonwealth, its leader Kaiser P_P_A went about adapting some ill-built structures into a more functional layout and cleaned up the surrounding area for a more pleasant view. At https://dev-urandom.eu/_media/nations:aestland-neu.jpg?cache= the difference can be compared. He later declared that this had been the reason for the invasion and annexation all along.

Flag Take-Down
(ns) The oversized U.S. flag adorning the roof of the New Spawn Marketplace for a little while has been taken down “cuz no one was messing with it anymore,” according to its raiser Supreme Technocrat Tomoko of the Aresean Technocratic Republic. He also revealed that he “just made it to make euros butthurt anyways” and is considering raising a different flag on the remaining pole later on. What kind of flag that will be, he had not yet decided.

Reborn Walschor
(jf/wa) Upon being questioned about a name for the area housing his interconnected villages on a far southern big island, Kaiser P_P_A of the Holy Danikan Commonwealth announced, “I might actually just name the whole island 'Walschor' again, since the name actually fits this time.” He explained that the word means 'shore of the foreigners', “the foreigners being the Yevs in this case.”
Far to the east, between the Southrim and Snowbelt Continents, seafarers from Walschor and other islands spend a few weeks every year on a small fishing island to catch migrating swarms. The nearby port city Ostrow has been expanded, featuring a sizable church for the soul, a cozy bar for the body and decorative doorless windmill for the mind.

Table War Memorial
(ns) On October 10th, High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia created a structure on New Spawn that most passersby identify as 'something griefed' on first glance. A closer inspection reveals a sign declaring the Cobblestone/Lava-Conglomerate “the Enchantment Table War Memorial”. Its creator and fans have been describing it as 'deep art' also known as 'Breshikan architecture', and Supreme Technocrat Tomoko of the Aresean Technocratic Republic offered the insight that “the lava represents the tears of the mothers of those soldiers who died.” However, a lack of explanation regarding its historical reference (and its relevance in Alpha Realm) leaves most viewers with only their first impression.

Ender Election
(er) The presidential election of the Republic of Ender that was held on October 8th and 9th has been concluded. Currently, Candidate and current President Hinoarashi leads with a three-quarter majority, with Candidate BearMonger receiving one vote besides his own. The results have not yet been published officially, but President Hinoarashi seems to remain the republic's leader.

Suicide Sid
(ks) The eve of October 5th witnessed King Sidmarcus01 of Royaume du Kriegstein enacting “some staged drama which ended in him falling off a place and dying,” as Secretary General P_P_A reported shortly afterwards, “and thus, with Sid dead, I inherited Kriegstein.”
The act resulted from a “brief incursion” of High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia into Kriegstein territory, were a short skirmish “in full diamond armor” occurred between both leaders upon discovering the lack of active citizens. In the face of choosing integration into the Commonwealth or death, King Sidmarcus01 ended his life in order to avoid affiliations with King Shakomatic of the Apostolic Kingdom of Breshik.
Despite being at the scene, H.C. Austrobernd admitted to being too mesmerized to either stop him or take photos. He could relay the King's last words, namely, “Shall I die for my freedom.” The conversation was also overheard in the ether and published on the page https://dev-urandom.eu/talk:people:sidmarcus01 in the Autism Almanac. King Sidmarcus01 has been noted 'dead and buried' on his page in the Almanac by his relatives, who also declined the throne and appointed Secretary General P_P_A as the new leader of the House of Kriegstein. In their history books, they adapted circumstances to tell that P_P_A is the “4th king of the lineage” and “took the power by force over Sidmarcus.”
Following discussions revealed that Resident Sidmarcus01 fell out of the world forever because “he just lacks the autism,” as recounted by temporary King P_P_A, who declared his intention to dissolve the nation (as the laws demand) right away. Kriegstein thus returned its various duchies to settlement status, with the central ones of which are currently being looked after by Kaiser P_P_A of the Holy Danikan Commonweath due to a personal union, although it has not been integrated into the Commonwealth.
However, the convoluted situation sparked an immediate fire within the Republic of Ender, where a bill regarding the preparations for war has been passed. In personal debates between its President Hinoarashi and Kaiser P_P_A, the Treaty of Castile was cited violated several times. Albeit those claims could be invalidated by the Kaiser's Legalese, the Republic of Ender seems intent on waging a war for any reason, and may be using this opportunity as a trigger for military action after the election. “Enderian soldiers fought for Kriegstein's independence and they neither appreciate nor value it. We have to teach everyone a lesson of respect,” President Hinoarashi explained his stance.
In memory of the late King, Duke June created a statue of him next to the Shakomatic one at New Spawn.

Netherhub Extension
(ns) During the past week, Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras and Moderator Koduck have been collaborating in order to extend the New Spawn Netherhub elaborately. From three levels now leave tracks in all four directions, and many slots have been prepared for future additions. An express track to the Old Spawn Netherhub has also been implemented, albeit it ends slightly outside the actual building.

End Farm Cleaned
(te) After nearly two months, the private chests cluttering up the Endermen Farm in the End have been collected thanks to Moderator Chuck_Fiinley and Resident Nick4629, who claimed the contents for his friend.

Spawn Cat
(ns) Resident TheNerd96 built another Pixelart, this time close to New Spawn. The giant cat statue imposingly overlooks the area in lively appearance between the spawn point and the Giant Dick, which has been listed as a landmark recently.

Bed Explosions
(ne) On October 8th, the Nether was rocked by an impudent traveler trying to sleep in a bed there. High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia, apparently being tired from a short journey, set up a bed near the BellTower Station and attempted to rest. Not only was he fatally injured doing so, he also completely destroyed the station which could not be restored by Moderator P_P_A. Having to rebuild it on his own may just turn out to be a strong lesson for this veteran resident.
Curious when overhearing the news, Resident Applebomber tried to sleep in one of the beds at the End Station house, causing severe damage to the structure in a similar explosion. With permission from its builder, Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras, Moderator P_P_A collected all beds in that house; however, the damage remained to be repaired by the culprit.

Giants of Ur
(ns) On October 10th, the first vendor aside from the Midgard one set up a bookselling stall in the United Book Store on the lower level of New Spawn Marketplace. Employed by Resident Berezov, the first book sold there is a short but interesting travel guide titled 'Giants of Ur'. With this, the main continent's name has appeared in a book for the first time. On its Almanac page, it will hence be referred to as Ur, and the second suggestion 'Origin' shall be removed.

Winterlyn Ad
“The Ministry of Arts have just funded a project to enrich the cultural ways of Alphas realm by launching a program where people can submit literature in the Winterlynian Store on the lower level of New Spawn Mall.”

Regional News

Further Stations
(ug) The NEAR Transports System has been extended east during the past week, where a new station was established for Midgard's eastern neighbors Residents Sperger and Blahblahson. Toward the west, two stations have been added on the existing line, for the Duchy of the Two Sorras and the Mandatory of New Badfacia.
Southward, an extension to Dobrobakanistan Federation and Resident Harcourtien's island is planned.

Phiagrica's Flower Farm
(pg) Resident Santikaye of Phiagrica has been working on building a public flower farm, which he announced finished on October 4th. The farm is located directly northeast of New Spawn, nestled right next to a mountain range. A proper overworld access has yet to be built, but the farm itself is already functional, although not every type of flower is available from it. According to Resident Santikaye, it is semi-automatic and requires interaction in form of lever pulling. Since the farm uses a lot of bone meal, donations to keep it working would be highly welcome.
For residents who do not wish to travel so far, Resident Santikaye has also started a flower shop selling the farm products.

Local News

Planned Move
(mm) To our dear regular readers, the MARNIE editors wish to announce the Midgard Administration's plan to move the newspaper stand to the Station Mall in Midgard Municipality itself. Recently, our vendor tends to experience stress amnesia several times a day, and proper medical care cannot be guaranteed around New Spawn. It has been deemed safer to relocate Ned to Midgard, where less stress is happening.
Whether that will be the only store then, or function as a back-up in cases of amnesia, or be the main store with only a stall around New Spawn, has yet to be decided. In any case, we will inform our readers before the actual relocation.

Mapping Feat
(mm) On October 9th, Explorer Jinx of the Midgard Municipality set out to map the existing rail system in the Nether of Alpha Realm. Properly armed with a bow and potions, he only perished once during the adventure and completed the map within three days. The temporary result has been published on the page https://dev-urandom.eu/transit:start¹⁾ in the Autism Almanac.
Discussion of that map upon publishing revealed that lines had been altered from their intended route without the knowledge of their creators, internal lines have not been included, incorrect line designations and missing information.
Due to that, as well as future changes and additions, the map will be subject to irregular updates. Residents of Alpha Realm are asked to inform about discovered or created additions on the discussion page connected to the Transit page, and are welcome to add information relevant to a station on the Transit page themselves.

Midgard's Alpha Realm News
International Edition
October 19th, 2015

Editor's Note:
Links can NOT be clicked and lead to two Imgur pictures only.

In Worldwide News:
Terraforming New Spawn, page 18

In Regional News:
Delayed Independence, page 44

In Local News:
Light Pollution Initiative, page 48

Worldwide News

Ideas For a New Spawn Area
(ar) During the rollback debates concerning an attempt to broaden the New Spawn area, various suggestions were made for improvement.
Firstly, God AlphaBernd had stated repeatedly that if anyone were to propose a better area, he wasn't averse to moving the spawn point.
Ender representatives also repeatedly suggested to “build a spawn above spawn,” an idea not without its merits if a proper connection to the surface area were established and lighting provided.
High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia lightly suggested to “just build a giant mall instead of a normal spawn,” which could certainly be combined with other ideas, as for example Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras noted that the two most important features should be a noticeboard and an area reserved for emergency buyers (a.k.a. street hustlers). Other residents stated that the Nether Portal should be made more visible. President Hinoarashi of the Republic of Ender mused that, “It would be cool if spawn was protected, you had to buy a lease for a period of time for your shop, and it could expire.” This would prevent lots from being occupied for months by inactive residents, would free such up for new ones and thus reduce the minimum space needed to be constructed and maintained.
Another idea was that building on the spawn area should be either forbidden completely or strictly limited to widely recognized accomplished builders with prior agreement of moderators and/or the public.
A sudden proposal by Duke June found immediate approval. “Let's everyone build in Creative a spawn of their dream,” he encouraged, “and then have a contest. It'll be just screenshots at first [but] if you win the contest, you can use Schematica of course.”
If interested in this plan, applicants please notify the moderators so that a page can be set aside in the Autism Almanac for the posting of such photos.

Eyjan Hvíta 'Maybe' For Sale
(eh) Since Resident Harcourtien no longer lives in his former nation Eyjan Hvíta, he was asked whether he was considering putting the land up for sale. He answered, “Maybe, there is a nice potion machine there too,” making it sound like an advertisement but indicating that he might be picky about whose hand he would want to leave it in. So far, he has not yet thought about what price to stipulate in the event of stated interest.

Conquering the Southern Snow (sj) At the beginning of last week, Kaiser P_P_A of the Holy Danikan Commonwealth stated an interest in great snow plains on Southrim Continent. He spoke at length to Resident Brosephtx who has settled on the northeastern cape and named the area Saint Joseph, about possibly moving close to it in case Resident Brosephtx were to lose interest in the place because, “it's too nice a location to go to waste.”
For now, Kaiser P_P_A has established a small church quite a ways farther west, on the northernmost cape of the plain. The outbreak of war currently delayed that settlement's growth, but the Kaiser plans to build Russian-themed houses as soon as his political duties free him to do so.
As for Saint Joseph, he asked its owner Resident Brosephtx to, “just please actually build this city instead of just making nice roads and plots and leaving it at that, again,” referring to prior projects left incomplete to date.

Terraforming New Spawn
(ns) Very early Monday morning last week, Supreme Technocrat Tomoko of the Aresean Technocratic Republic announced that, “I'm planning to expand and terraform Spawn for more space this week.” Minutes after that, he asked God AlphaBernd, “If I expand spawn, could you move the spawn area a few blocks?” and further explained, “I'll make a square so there's more space. It'll be the same location, just a bit north.” At the same time, Moderator Koduck informed of considering a similar project, and God gave permission to both of them, stating, “Build your stuff and I will move the spawn [point].”
After discussing various possibilities with Moderator Koduck and Duke June of the United Duchy of the Two Sorras at length without reaching a consensus, S.T. Tomoko proceeded to drain the lake and create an even surface in that area, to be used as a less cramped spawn point and for additional buildings.
That same evening, Duke June started a “petition for repairing the Spawn Lake,” declaring, “it's ugly,” as the reason.
That night, with the stated reason that S.T. Tomoko had also demolished Resident Carluga's structures, Moderator Koduck banned S.T. Tomoko in absentia for four days from the Autism World. Without waiting to confirm with the builder or even speaking to the wrecker, he assumed permission had not been asked and wished “to prevent more damage.”
During that time, since at least five residents had signed the petition, the lake and surrounding changed structures were restored by Moderator June.
The sentence was lifted by God AlphaBernd soon after, and early Tuesday morning S.T. Tomoko returned to New Spawn in a rage, collecting most of his placed materials (along with some others') and posting signs declaring he was “boycotting spawn and taking my stuff with me.” He particularly complained about not being recompensed with the netherbrick he had used to build a new road and square.
Upon confronting Moderators Koduck and June about the ban and rollback, S.T. Tomoko received some material but no apology. During a later debate, Moderator P_P_A reluctantly noted that (unfinished) ugliness notwithstanding, S.T. Tomoko did have the right to claim, change and build in that area as “that lake was kinda outside of the spawn area.”
Moderator June insisted that S.T. Tomoko “should have asked,” apparently forgetting that there had been talk beforehand, permission given from God AlphaBernd and later confirmed consent from Resident Carluga as well. He also ignored that others have claimed and built much closer to the spawn point, himself included upon creating his statues on top of a new building right at the main street - without asking prior approval either.
When this was pointed out, Moderator P_P_A counseled that, “Instead of just rolling it back without asking Tomoko, you should have collected the votes against it and confronted Tomoko with them. […] I'm also for redoing Tomoko's stuff. I don't like that Tomoko is burying that nice lake, but he has a right to do so,” he stated, after which the terraformed space was restored on Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, Moderator June justly lamented that, “we should have started the Spawn Lake War. Such opportunity missed.”
Since then, Resident Koduck created a small canal through the newly dried land to connect the swamp to the river, while S.T. Tomoko thus far refrained from trying to construct further adaptations.

A King's Vacation
(wl) As of last week, King Niller of Winterlyn decided to take a vacation from his office and ventured into the unexplored jungle lands of the far south. In order to make a completely new start, the King took only what he could carry and resolved to not return to civilization until October 23rd at the earliest, unless for most dire emergencies requiring moderator assistance.
For the duration of the vacation, he left his Kingdom in the hands of High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia who acts as temporary Vice King. “You mostly have unlimited power in domestic politics, but foreign politics is a no-go,” King Niller explained to him. “Until I return, Winterlyn will remain neutral.” A photo of the handover can be viewed at http://i.imgur.com/2uRM9Cy.png, showing Vice King Austrobernd receiving the iron crown and gold scepter. In order to ensure Winterlyn's peace, the third Treaty of Pomparley was signed by President Hinoarashi and Kaiser P_P_A.

Admin Offers
(ns) In the Admin Shop at New Spawn, wolf spawn eggs are now sold for fifteen blocks of emerald. Ozelot spawn eggs have not yet been added. Mob heads cost ten blocks of emerald. The clay joke was maintained.

Badfacia Enacts Yev Slavery
(bf) Last Tuesday, High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia invited a MARNIE reporter to visit his new slave farm at the northern edge of The Badforest.
The farm consists of four fields, with a fifth in planning, and a small encampment for the workforce. Two small houses were raised for general lodgings, featuring neither a proper floor nor furniture but granting safety from the elements at least. Proper residences are to date an unfinished project, and H.C. Austrobernd commented that “they have to work harder” in order to gain the right to live in better homes. Thus far, none of the newly employed slaves attained such privileges.
The village is informally known as The Slums, and its inhabitants are considered soulless since they are cured Zombies or descendants of those. Snapshots of the workforce can be viewed at https://imgur.com/a/NKMgW#60.
According to H.C. Austrobernd, The Slums were actually created earlier and had its populace gradually raised. After deciding to build the slave farm it that location, that latter project was rapidly implemented within a couple of days.
As to what reason Badfacia's leader had to ignore the current laws regarding the abolishment of slavery within the Commonwealth, H.C. Austrobernd commented, “This is the cultural exchange of New Walschor, I guess. The Walschor Kaiser gave us the idea of using Yev slaves.”
Kaiser P_P_A confirmed that he had also tempted King Niller of Winterlyn into secretly employing slave labor months ago, an industry which might soon be expanded if the bill termed 'C.R.R. 21 - De-criminalization of Slavery' should be passed by the Reichsrat of the Commonwealth.

Regional News

Delayed Independence
(sf) Despite stating their independence from the Holy Danikan Commonwealth as of August 19th and going so far as to call their flag 'revolutionary', the self-proclaimed Free Lands of Skellie Farm are not yet as free as they may think: According to the Commonwealth's Constitution and in the words of former Kaiser Shakomatic, “Leaving requires approval by the Reichsrat, Skellie Farm is treated as an associate still under treaty.”
The Reichsrat bill titled 'C.R.R. 22 - Secession of Skelliefarm', finally suggested on October 18th, was so far answered by two abstainers. (Interestingly, former Kaiser Austrobernd changed his vote from 'no' to 'abstain' within minutes.) In true fashion, Commonwealth officials stated that they would wait until at least one leader of Skellie Farm returns to state their wish anew, ignoring the two-month-old written version of the same. Skellie Farm remains on the map as Commonwealth territory.

Local News

Light Pollution Initiative
(mm) Recently, the population of Midgard Municipality started uttering complains about the too bright lighting fixtures attached to all households' roofs for security reasons. In order to confirm to both such considerations and official safety regulations, extensive roof reconstructions have been performed on every residence. The change was immediately approved by the houses' inhabitants.

Notice:
Due to the overwhelming influx of new developments, not all events could be covered in this issue. A special edition will be published within two days to cover those instances, titled 'MARNIE sped02'.

Midgard's Alpha Realm News
Special Edition
Number 02

Editor's Note:
This issue is an extension of the 'Worldwide News' part of Edition 19.10.15 which, due to the overwhelming influx of new developments, could not include all events.

In Worldwide News:

Dragon Returned, page 4

Aresea's New Government, page 26

First Bank of Winterlyn, page 38

Worldwide News

Dragon Returned
(et) With the memorable greeting, “Sorry for being dead! Life got kinda in the way,” Dragon Ralxtew rejoined Alpha Realm at the beginning of last week, during a most troubled time for the area his home is located in. He immediately took charge of former duchy Nova Etruria again, intending the finish the Etrurian Palace that had been left untended since he had left. One of the first news Dragon Ralxtew heard was the tale of his old friend King Sidmarcus01's suicide, to which he commented, “Let me tell you a secret. Sid was all bitchy and mad and salty to the extreme because he's secretly gay and I broke up with him. […] I've heard [his death] was memorable. I feel depressed to know I never witnessed it.” On the spur of the moment, he decided, “I'm gonna grab the relics at old Kriegstein and put up a museum at Etruria, mainly because there's so much fucking space to use.”
Shortly thereafter Dragon Ralxtew was informed by King P_P_A of Royaume du Kriegstein about the current political situation, leaving the County of Nova Etruria as an independent settlement the choice to join the Republic of Ender or remain neutral.
Together with President Hinoarashi of the Republic of Ender, Dragon Ralxtew toured the Enderian capital Hinoarashington, and upon returning home he started laying the groundwork for a village in front of the palace.
When questioned about his history and future plans, Dragon Ralxtew provided an amiable account. “I created Kriegstein back in 2012. It lasted to about the end of 2014, when I left,” he recounted. “Growth was slow but steady. It was built to last, not to landrun.” As for the present, the Dragon declared, “I thought of annexing BellTower so I could have enough citizens and create a nation, but I decided not to create another nation. Nova Etruria is the spiritual successor to Kriegstein, but I don't think it will become a superpower of any kind. Most likely a neutral standing ground for nations. […] NE is literally between Old Spawn and New Spawn,” he mused, “a phantom of a long gone era - old feels.”
After a moment of contemplation and in the face of an offer to join another nation, Dragon Ralxtew declined, stating that the County of Nova Etruria “is like Switzerland: white and a bit too pretty for its own good.”
He has made steady progress on the palace since then, which can best be followed at https://map.dev-urandom.eu/#/600/64/1100/-2/0/0. The settlement's page at https://dev-urandom.eu/settlements:nova_etruria in the Autism Almanac has been updated and recovered from the dusty archives of the vanished.

Tomoko's Titles
(at) On October 18th, former Supreme Technocrat Tomoko of the Aresean Technocratic Republic informed MARNIE editors about his new titles, with reference to his page in the Autism Almanac, and the expressed wish to have his full title used for any mention in the newspaper. According to the page, said complete title declares Tomoko Kuroki as 'His Excellency, Cleric for Life, Field Marshal Generalissimo, Doctor Idi Tomoko Amin Kuroki, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas, also any puny alien who dares not show their face on Earth and Conqueror of the Breshikan Empire in the Northwest in General and Aresia in Particular'.
MARNIE editors hereby agree to use Tomoko Kuroki's new title upon mention. However, according to established procedure, the titles used will remain the official political ones stated on nation's and settlement's pages in the Autism Almanac. As such, the former Supreme Technocrat is now referred to as Cleric Tomo.

Nerd's Art
(ns) “My latest statue is shit,” Resident TheNerd96 proclaimed on October 14th with a regards to his 3D project northwest of New Spawn. The two statues depict Sam & Max, the Freelance Police, who exist in an entirely different universe.
Resident TheNerd96 did not explain why he invited the giant duo to Alpha Realm; however considering their profession, they might have come here in search for the equally huge cat that recently strayed around the New Spawn area.

HDC Terrorist Watchlist Updated
(cw) On October 18th, High Commissioner Austrobernd of the Mandatory of New Badfacia updated the Terrorist Watchlist of the Holy Danikan Commonwealth. The outlaw status of Tomoko Kuroki has been revoked and the permission to kill on sight when encountered on Commonwealth territory has been rescinded.
This decision might be directly related to the Commonwealth-Aresean Non-Agression Pact, the details of which can be read on the page https://dev-urandom.eu/treaties:com-aresea_non-agression_pact and which had been signed by both parties on October 8th. Cleric Tomo of the Aresean Technocratic Republic was declared 'rehabilitated'.

BellTower Incorporates Nebis
(bt) As of October 10th, Leader Paper of Città-Stato democratica di BellTower expanded his territory to include the neighboring settlement Nebis which was renamed NebisTown under Mayor Superbat98. There have not yet occured notable changes to the area except for a modest tree farm, as it seems BellTower's architects are currently focusing on building strongly individualized residences.

Aresea's New Government
(at) On October 18th, the Aresean Technocratic Republic implemented a new style of government termed The Techno-Grammaton, a.k.a. TechnoGrammaton or Technogrammaton as the legislature does not yet seem to have decided on a unified orthography of the made-up word.
Details about this form of government, particularly regarding Aresea, can be studied at the page https://dev-urandom.eu/nations:aresea:technogrammaton in the Autism Almanac, but in essence, the Aresean Technocratic Republic exchanged their sovereign leadership for a board of directors called 'clerics' and entrusted its legislature to the presence and activity levels of others. Acting clerics are Tomo, Moderator Bikky and returned citizen Moorglade, whereas former Cleric Kokogumi has been dismissed from office and nation due to his outspokenly bellicose mindset.

Growing Graneros
(cl) In the recently resettled Enderian member state Calisia, Resident Panaberto stepped away from the capital Snow Pines to found his own settlement. He named it Graneros with regards to its first building, a barn. Just a little ways south of the capital, Graneros is growing fast while experimenting with various building styles, lending the settlement a playful and curious atmosphere from the outside, while the unlit interiors of many buildings present danger even during the daytime.
Currently, it can be reached easiest via railway from Snow Pines. From Graneros, a further rail leads to the Village, consisting of colorful structures such as a station and two apartment buildings. In between the spread out settlements, small orchards of various trees have been established to provide the necessary wood out in the snowy plains, an insightful decision of the settlement's leader Panaberto.

Al-Mushmis Emirate
(me/at) Resident Moorglade, who had settled in Alpha Realm in this year's first week of April and fallen into an unexplained coma sometime in May while living in Eyjan Hvíta, awoke last week and decided to reunite with his old friend Tomoko Kuroki.
The two former Breshikans first got acquainted during their joint settlement of Salve Plantations, Calisia, and just as jointly left the land to its decline.
Apparently having had enough of the eternal winter climate, Resident Moorglade quickly agreed to Cleric Tomo's invitation to join the Aresean Technocratic Republic as well as the Techno-Grammaton's Board of Clerics, and chose the desert known as Old Sidonia for his new settlement.
Within days, Cleric Moorglade established the Autonomous Emirate of Al-Mushmis und the leadership of a Tripartite Monarchy with himself filling all three positions. On its page in the Autism Almanac, further developments can be monitored.

First Bank of Winterlyn
(wl) Before absconding for his vacation, King Niller of Winterlyn finished his recent project and opened the First Achbadian Bank of Winterlyn on October 14th. It is 'owned by the Commonwealth Central Bank' and employs ten Yev-merchants of Tur-del-Achbad, a Winterlynian colony.
The building displays its riches generously and was sensibly designed to provide the appearance of privacy even in wide open chambers.
On the first floor, three tellers provide currency exchanges from between Forinths and diamonds. On the second floor, three accountants assist the customer with their personal or business finances, and across from those three merchants will trade currency for gold, iron and redstone. One more employee of prominent position greets the customers from the center of the room but refrains from any trade offers to date.
Like many other buildings in Winterlyn, the First Bank too features a high dome with access to a viewing platform about halfway up, from where the central parts of the city can be seen.

Notice:
Due to convoluted political ambitions and various personal accounts, the events leading to the upcoming battle could not be included in this special edition. MARNIE editors have decided to publish a separate special edition reporting only about the incidents leading to the current state of affairs. It has not yet been decided whether the actual battle will be included in Special Edition Number 03 or be covered as an issue of its own, nor has the publishing date been set.

Newer issues are not yet archived but can still be bought at the New Spawn Newspaper Stall.