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               The Avatar Gazette
                   5/10/2001

                SPECIAL  EDITION
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   Table Of Contents
     1. Editorial (Where Avatar went, and how you can get there)


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EDITORIAL by Dizzy
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The Daemon hadn't moved at all for more than an hour.  If any other
breathing entity inhabited the plane (none did, but if they HAD....),
they might have mistaken Daemon Snikt for a stone obelisk due to his
perfect stillness.  A particularly grumpy mountain of stone perhaps,
because he was defenitely NOT a happy Daemon.

Wait! There IS some sign of life.  I saw a small bit of movement beneath
his lowered brows.... In the depths of Snikt's smoky eyes, smoldering
flames leapt and burned. The fire in his eyes slowly gave birth to a
particularly IMPish grin.  The term "Evil Grin" must have been coined
for just such a demonstration of perverse humor. You may appreciate the
magnitude of terror it inspired in me if you were aware of the fact that
I'm a full grown Trog who was raised by a pack of Trolls that were so
Ugly and Mean that they were outcast from decent Troll society.  Rooted
to the spot by morbid fascination and an even greater fear that any
movement would draw his attention (and thereby have an instant laxative
effect on me which would doubtless befoul my Miss America 1956 sash (my
only article of formal attire) and new Tiamat-skin leggings), I waited
with baited breath.

[ED: side note.... Trog breath is ALWAYS baited (like catfish bait),
thats one of the many reasons why Diz is so attractive to the girls.]

Without warning or visible lip movement that I could detect, a voice
"from beyond" reverberated in my head.  I instantly knew that Snikt had
detected my presence and was addressing me telepathically.  The voice
was oddly reminescent of Jack Benny when he called Rodchester... "Oh,
Diiiiizzzzyyyyy...." Suddenly I had a plan for the rest of my life that
began with an urgent and rapid departure from Snikt's office.  I mean,
here's this omnipotent (within a well defined and restricted frame of
reference) being, he's smokin' hot (anger on steriods), and he's calling
YOUR name in that spooky Jack Benny voice.  Finally, lets face it, how
stable can a Daemon be who also furnishes his office with a boat load of
Apple computers?

Taking a firm grip on my fleeing thoughts, and checking the carpet at my
feet for signs of incontinence, I smiled boldy at Snikt and
intelligently responded, "Duh, huh?"  It seemed to take an extra moment
or two for Snikt to absorb my brilliant verbal riposte, then gestured at
the blackend cube on his desk.  I recognized it as the magical SDSL
CONNECTION THINGY!  Why was it dark and lifeless!  Where had the magic
gone! Why am I asking questions that end with exclamation points!  No
brilliant answers flashed through my mind, so I barked another, "Huh!"
at Snikt.  He nodded his understanding, and began to explain it to me in
small words.

He told me that Avatar was still alive.  The portal to Avatar was
disconnected, but the realm was healthy and all the player's souls were
safely tucked away.  He explained that until he managed to complete the
spell of connectivity, the kingdom of Avatar was isolated.  No player
could bridge the gap until the mystical electron stream was restored.

But (and now I understood that wicked grin), players COULD still play on
a copy of Avatar at avatar.dawiz.net:3000 until the spell of binding was
complete.  Yes, players would start over. No, we (probably) won't
transfer the new characters to the "Real" Avatar when the new DSL line
is installed (which could take up to 6 weeks).  In the mean time, join
us at DaWiz's house: telnet to avatar.dawiz.net 3000

--Diz


[Admin notes
- if avatar.dawiz.net fails to work, try 216.85.217.35
- the new line has been ordered, ETA is 5/31, +/- 2 weeks
- Donations are still appreciated, we have some of the cost covered, but
  not all.  See  help support  on West Avatar (avatar.dawiz.net) and
  the message boards

--Cuendillar]