At long last, this is something we have been waiting to release for a very long time! Ita, Phedre / Threnody, Mazzer, Death, Adsero, Etain, and myself are proud to introduce the Realm of Arda forum, a sub-forum of the Rules & Info forum where you can find a wealth of information about the world of Arda, including a long awaited map of the lands!

Not included in this release are 3 topics: the beginnings of the gods, the creation of the world of Arda, and the running history of Arda. These things have not been released because they are unfinished. They are close to being finished, but with the start of school I haven't been able to spend a sufficient amount of time on them, and there is still quite some work to do. I won't release anything that's less than perfect, so you'll have to wait for those. And trust me, they're very worth the wait, they are 3 of the 4 best topics that will be in that forum! The best of the topics being released today, in my opinion, is the topic on the developmental history of the races. A whopping 2,909 words full of information, plus or minus some BBCode. :p

I really think that every topic in the forum is worth reading, and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it. It should add some depth to the world, and even more once the last 3 topics are completed and added to this tome of Ardian knowledge. :)

I really hope you guys realize how important this information is and how much work it took to get it done. Did you know that this project was started two years ago? This thing was a monster. But when I gave Lothy the puppy-eyes when she mentioned The Realm of Arda a few weeks ago, she let co-admins be able to see it (instead of just herself). Crazy Lothyness is giving me too much credit, though; I only came up with really rough ideas for stuff. Gayadraug? I thought up a first draft, a small paragraph of an idea, sure, but she made it awesome. Who would want to read about an evil human wizard? Nobody, that’s who! Loth also allowed me to be the creator of the naga, which branched off of the lizarian story. What I love about this project so much is that every detail fits in with everything else, directly or indirectly, without any confusing areas or plotholes. That kind of jigsaw-puzzle fitting is a blatantly obvious trait of an extremely immersive, well-thought out story that simply pwns. And you haven't seen nothing yet: there are three unreleased topics detailing the history of Arda. They aren't done yet because of Loth's busy schedule, but believe me, when they are, you'll be blown away.

Loth and I stayed up for hours on end brainstorming, bouncing ideas off of one another, every bounce making the myth even cooler. The latest I was capable of staying up without turning completely useless was about 4:00am, while Loth was working until 7:30am! You really have to give her a ton of credit for losing so much sleep in order to do something for hundreds of people she doesn’t even know. Do you realize what long and tedious work it was for her to edit the Bestiary images so they were transparent? All that to make the page easier on the eyes. Thank her as much as you can, because Loth poured a crapload of time into this project. Especially since everything was being severely slowed down because of various admin duties, moderation of members, and school. I would say the Realm of Arda is the largest, most important, and most awesome piece of writing on the whole site. Read it, understand it, and use it.

Awesome! :drool: This is great! What an amazing jobs you guys did! I really like the topic about the magical creatures and the map! Very well done! This will make things a whole lot more interesting! :drool: (Not that Arda isn't already interesting B) . )

*mouth drops open*

SWEET!

And I say again,

SWEET!

Wow. I can't even imagine the work that went in to these things. x_x They're awesome, though. It really helps to make Arda seem more organized, and clears up a lot of questions that people could have. Grrrreat. :yes:

Thanks for the positive responses, guys :wub:

I've just noticed that in Internet Explorer, the bottom half of the map is separated from the top half with a gap of a pixel or two. There's something in the CSS causing it, but I have yet to pinpoint and correct it. It'll probably wait until tomorrow, though, since I'm pretty tired now, busy with homework and suffering from a cold. :dazed:

Ahem.

YOU FRIGGEN ROCK!

*hugs the Admin team* I love you all. I've been waiting some time for this, and you didn't dissapoint! :w00t: Muchos gracias.

I second this statement ^_^

^^ I third this statement! :lol:

Great job! I can hardly imagine how much effort went into this!

Whoot! Priceless information about Arda's....stuff! Whootness! I shall read, now!

Well I guess I cant really be as gratefull since I have no clue when this whole map making thing started but as everyone else said.


Thanks Admins you are the BEST!

Well...since the topics were posted in March/April, then I guess they've been in the process of being made for a looooooong time now...

*will stop posting here now before he gets in trouble* x.x

Ita also said that it's been in the making for two years now...x.x

Yeah, the whole thing was started two years ago, but there was a long period of stuff not happening. Loth made the Realm visible to all admins around mid-summer. Jeez that stuff was fun to write. :hyper:

:frantic: SO... MUCH... COOLNESS...

This explains it all :w00t:

the only thing i dont like is the bit about the dwarfs... always had a soft spot for them and they will always be elves equal in my eyes *sniff* other than that it is pure awsomeness

Flippin sweet!!! You even added Nagas :) Awesome work guys.

P.S. Can we submit races for the list? ie I might want to write something about the trees where Willow comes from.

Really great work guys ^_^

I've been long gone to long. WAY TO GO ARDA! I WAS HOPING FOR INFO! WEWT!

This is a good improvement ^^ nce job...

:blink: Whoa.....That is so evilly, so awfully....AMAZING!!!It makes me want to drool....

Awesome map and good work with the dates and history races too!

Awesomeness! Great job on the map and races!

Oh... wow. This is amazing. Thank you to everyone who had any hand in this!

:wub:

This is excellent. I couldn't even do something like this uless I was really inspired by something really great, and it just so happens this is great. One of the best things I have seen in Arda. Excellent job everyone. Keep it up. Who knows if this keeps going like this Arda could be awarded something for being one of the most popular site on the net. Whoops gotta run.

This is so friggen great, I am hyped. :drool: :grr: :D B)

Flamablamablous job!!!! This is great!

OMG! That is SO COOL!!!! I have never seen anything like it! The map will be useful and I love the racial information! Also the currency part is great! Keep it up!

So is this the huge update you were talking about Loth? Its awesome ^_^

It's part of it, yeah :yes: There's a more important, bigger piece coming, but school's keeping me too busy to finish that piece yet. It'll probably be another several weeks before I can finish it; the beginning of December when I go on winter break or sommat :unsure:

first time I've read this topic after my unofficial leave of absence---- the race list looks sweeeeet... perhaps we could also help in the future to lessen the workload? :)