Valhallah's Holiday Giveaway and Forum Contest

Hail, Norrath!

On behalf of everyone in Valhallah on the Firiona Vie server, I would like to announce the guild's fifth annual holiday giveaway! There will be lots of raid items from TBL, TOV, and COV given away through various events that all have their own little twist, including hide-and-seek, a scavenger hunt, /random rolls, and some EQ-related trivia!

This will take place on the Firiona Vie server at the Arena stone in the Plane of Knowledge on Friday, December 17 at 8:30PM Eastern (click HERE for a generated list of time zone conversions!). Please keep in mind that you're more than welcome to attend even if you don't play on the Firiona Vie server! All of the items are tradeable, so they can easily be converted into Krono which can then be taken with you to your home server(s)! Please note that Firiona Vie, the "Roleplay Server," doesn't have a common tongue, and therefore the most common language is plain, regular Elvish. Please make sure your character can fluently speak and understand the language so you can interact with everyone!

In addition to the in-game events, we're also taking this a step further by creating some forum-based contests. We've done this before in the past, and we've opted to do this again since it somewhat "personalizes" the holidays beyond the decorations and pixels we see in-game!

What we're asking to see is a display of your holiday creativity! Rumor has it that Valhallahclaus has upwards of 30 Kronos (and possibly even more if enough partake!) to divide amongst the best submissions in several categories listed below.

1. Best holiday-themed guild plot. It would be great if you could include an in-game address so we can come see the decorations firsthand!
   
   
2. Best holiday-themed personal plot. It would be great if you could include an in-game address so we can come see the decorations firsthand!
   
   
3. If you're more into creative writing, we're also looking to pick the best holiday-themed poems, stories, or songs that you create and share with the community. While they don't have to be EQ-themed, it obviously holds more "weight" if they are (given the audience!).
   
   
4. Holiday-themed pets! Take your best friends and deck them out in holiday-themed apparel and/or accessories to create the most purrrrrrfect(!) holiday-themed pet picture! Bonus points if you can capture them in front of your EQ display!
   
   
5. Tell us what you find special about the holidays in EverQuest! So many of us still playing the game have very deep roots and connections to decades worth of stories and memories, and it would be cool to hear about anything that you hold dear to you and yours as it pertains to EQ around this time of year!

We ask that you post your submissions as replies to this thread, and of course, please make sure they follow all applicable forum guidelines! The guild will get together to judge the submissions so that winners are chosen and announced shortly after Christmas (I'm cautious about giving an exact date since much of the guild will be away from the game spending time with their friends and families, so we'll therefore give everyone ample time and say sometime during the last week of December! Check back with this thread for updates!).

If there are any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask! You can post in this thread, or take a shot at contacting the Valhallah leadership at firiona.Caisy (caisy#8529), firiona.Slivern (slivern#3448), firiona.Ssdar (ssdar#2314), firiona.Reisil (reisil#3210), firiona.Bleve (bleve#5327), and/or firiona.Amanyta (scaethach#1345). Their respective Discord tags are also available in parentheses.

Thank you kindly for reading, and we hope to see as many submissions as possible to bring all the best smiles, laughs, and holiday cheer! Take care, and all of the best to you and yours from Valhallah this holiday season!

This is not an official entry (I don't need Krono), but I can't resist a request for a ForumQuest Poem!

GET BACK (On Track)
Sweet Luck-Lynn-a Modern thought it was a new one,
but it was the copied plan.
ToLToL was a fan of everything that's older,
so he couldn't level fast.
Get back, on track,
get back to where you did no wrong.
Get back, on track,
get back to where you did no wrong.

Get back ToL!
<MIDI organ solo>

ToLToL left the icey land of icey-rona,
looking for some luck-ly moon gas.
All the other 'spansions said he had it coming,
but E. G. had to recoup fast.
Get back, on track,
get back to where you did no wrong.
Get back, on track,
get back to where you did no wrong.

Bard playing instruments: "Mamacita, donde esta Santa Cleese... The vato wit da
Bony knees... He comin' down da street wit no choos on his feet... And he's
Going to... " No, no, that's ain't it... "Mamacita, donde esta Santa
Claus... Da guy wit da hair on his jaws... He's... " Nah. Hey, man, come
Over here, man. I need some help, man

Necro: Yeah, man, I can dig that. Like, what are ya doin', man?

Bard: Aw, I'm trying to write a song about Santa Claus, man, but it's not
Comin' out...

Necro: About who, man?

Bard: About Santa Claus, man. You know, Santa Claus, man?

Necro: Oh, yeah, man. I played with those dudes, man

Bard: what?

Necro: Yeah, last year at the Plane of Time raid, man. Me and my alt sat in, man

Bard: Oh, hey, man, you think Santa Claus is a guild, huh? No, it's not a
guild, man

Necro: Wha? They break up, man?

Bard: No, man. It's one guy, man. Y'know, he had a.. A red Hero's Forge Frostfell suit, man, one with
Black padded leather choos... You know the guy, man

Necro: Oh, yeah... He's with Motown Guild, ain't he? Yeah, I played with that dude
Too, man. He's a good puller, man

Bard: No, no, hold on, man. He's not with Motown Guild, man

Necro: Well, then he's with Buddha Guild, man

Bard: Aw, man, you don't know who Santa Claus is, man!

many thanks to my "buds", C&C

Merry Christmas from Sneakylildruid,
I found Rudolph's nose and I stand upon it
Enjoy my Christmas flow and sonnet
Rhymes as smooth as fluid hat made of silk
Tony says that's great, and Smokey wants no fire
Santugg needs cookies and milk and probably wants to retire
I hope you forget about hate and get your heart's desires

#firiona.sneakylildruid

Bump! Happening this evening!

Hmm links don't work from mobile?

A Retelling of The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry in 13 syllables.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222322372234239&set=pb.1414749102.-2207520000..&type=3

Once upon a time there was a story of two twins,
One was Cromson, one was Ilsa both were named Mcfinn.
The kids had no ire or whimsy, only filled with good,
Lived to make their mother happy, as the best they could.
They asked mom, what happened to, their dad that frigid day,
Martar scowled, he tried to flee, but could not get away.
Cromson gathers mammoth dung to use as fuel for fire,
On his travels finds his way, with his grand desire.
Bubar's compass dad passed down, for him to find his way,
Holds it tight no chain or fob to keep to the compass safe.
Ilsa toils and works and slaves for coppers just to eat,
Wishes for a set of combs to her keep her hair so neat.
Frostfell comes a time of love, of peace and joy and mirth.
The love of twins, one could say is more than platinums worth.
She sold her hair to buy the fob and the silver chain
He sold the compass for her combs, her bliss is his gain.
When Santug heard this story, he came to Halas town,
He gave potions to breath water, so they could go down,
Through the ice, down the river, where Miragul still hides,
Their father waits at the cave and patiently abides.
The End.

Written while drinking mead.
Skallagrim
SOA

Just wanted to pop in and thank Valhallah, the Friday event was tons of fun!

thanks!

They said they would announce after Christmas

winners are chosen and announced shortly after Christmas - during the last week of December! Check back with this thread for updates!).

I definitely have a strong sense of nostalgia with EverQuest with the holidays. I started playing the game pretty young - like elementary school young since I had an older brother who was college age and began EQ then who got me started as he discovered it. He ended up joining the military instead of going into college, so holidays were special since that was when we would be able to play together.

As far as particular memories though, I remember being in my freshman year of high school and having a snow day just before Christmas break was about to begin and being completely socked in with heavy snow (heavier than usual given that I lived in an arid/desert climate), so a couple of feet of snow was only a once-every-few-winters kind of thing. It was super cozy and even though my brother wasn't around to play this time, I got to spend time exploring and going places that he'd recommended and doing quests he'd told me about once I had finally leveled up enough; even though he wasn't there to group with me or show me directly it was like I got to sort of follow the path laid out for me or be guided by him anyway.

It was one of the first times I spent any deal of time in Iceclad Ocean. I had a Beastlord that was high enough level to hunt there but I was starting a Warrior and my brother had told me about the Eyepatch of Plunder quest. I'd been lucky enough to get the fourth section of the map off Lodizal as a rotting item on him, so I decided to hunt the rest of the pieces and go for it. I was trying to hunt Stormfeather since I was told that was the time sink of it all (and boy was it ever), so I took the waiting opportunity and explored all around. The igloos nearby felt like I was traveling and experiencing some foreign culture and learning different ways of life. The areas where the dire wolves (and first part of the map) were at felt so wild and reminded me of books I'd read, like Call of the Wild. The giants occasionally encountered would feel like some mythic land of Nordic fairytale that had to be conquered and only the hardiest could brave the lands to tell the tales. It felt so atmospheric with the actual weather and ambience in the cold and occasional howling winds outside. Ultimately a side venture into the Tower of Frozen Shadow, where I'd also never been, felt so ominous and mysterious it capped it all off and made it feel so magical!

I will always hold that day as one of the most magical days in my EQ history even if it wasn't the most "epic" in terms of what I looted or encountered just because it really brought the fantasy of it all to reality and allowed me to chart my own course but stay connected to the person who made me love this game so much in the first place.

Thanks for helping me relive this nostalgia - and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Aivar and Willow (also her birthday)

Thats really cool on Zek Faazeed just did an event handed out 200 kronos

It was the night before Christmas and all through the house nothing is happening because the cats ate the mouse. The stocking where hung by the chimney with care with hopes that some catnip would soon be in there. The kittens where nestled all snug in there bed while vision of while vision of new toys danced in there heads. Merry Chistmas to all and to all a good bite.

Christmas was where this journey all started for me. Christmas 2001 I was gifted the Shadows of Luclin on CD, and never really looked back since. Tomorrow will mark my 20 years in Norrath. All the good times, the few bad times, and all the running laps of PoK in between.

Christmas Day I had a friend from school bring me over to Kelethin's starting area, as he told me it was much better than where I was. He came and got me, as I followed him in awe. Helped me get a few levels and one of the cracked staffs. I thought I was godly with that thing, really showing the wasps and the bats who was boss. My buddy took off by the time I was 4 or so, and I had grown cocky within the newb area, so I ventured north. The first orc went fine, but quickly went sideways and there was my Christmas corpse in the middle of the first main orc camp. Which was devastating at the time, as I couldn't get my cracked staff back. Knocked me back down a peg or two. So now I spend at least part of most Christmases in GFay, showing those same orcs who actually is the boss around these parts.



Christmas Roxy pics





and last but not least-

Cazic Thule and Grimbil urge you all to spread cheer, not fear this Frostfell season and have an EPIC new year! (Save the gnome bashing for next year)



Guild hall- Sleight Village, 200 Vanward Heights, Grand Guild hall (FV)
Quite a bit to it if anyone wants to check it out. Adding visitor access for the names at the bottom of the first post.

Merry Christmas everyone!

-Grimbil (FV)

Thank you to everyone that submitted so far! Just bumping this to let everyone know we haven’t forgotten and are still out and about with family and friends! Around the middle of this week we should be bumping the thread with prize updates, so please feel free to submit up until then!

Dino's sore of respawning over and over
Hard to get through the Holidays sober,
Friends come and go but family is forever
I know there's no Christmas colors but this was clever.

*(From "Wrestler" on Firiona Vie)* [my old char before I transferred]

Hi folks!

Thank you again to everyone that participated, and we hope everyone had a fun, safe, and joyous holiday season and happy new year! I knew our announcements would come after Christmas, but thanks to some unforeseen computer issues and illnesses, here they are coming after New Year's Day and I apologize for the wait!

We enjoyed everyone's submissions, and after discussion will be reaching out to the following forum accounts to divvy up 35 Krono for among the following: (in no particular order):

CatsPaws, Inex, Aivar, Sindace, ScreentimeInfinity, and Amelnara.

Thank you kindly once again to everyone that took the time to submit, and we hope everyone's 2022 is kind and prosperous to you and yours!

Congrats winners and thanks to everyone who helped make this forum contest happen.