The God-Emissaries

One much-awaited section of the Perfect World's Storyline but we haven't completely constructed was of course, that of the God-Emissaries. Well this time we reveal their intricate origins to the Path-Seekers of the Land.

The God-Emissaries

The burning brightness that passed throughout the Perfect Lands annihilated all the Gods and Demons that have been left to stand watch over the continuously clashing Yin and Yang Energies in the realms between the Heavens and the Underworlds and ensure that both energies are kept dormant and distant from one another. Thus the Celestial Monarch and the Ten-Veiled King were faced with a crisis: A threatening imbalance of the elements and an eventual cataclysmic clash of the Yin and the Yang, now reacting freely with the Gods and Demons gone.

Using the heightened powers of their Cultivation, the Celestial Monarch and Ten-Veiled King communed with one another, passing through barriers they themselves erected to separate their realms from the earth. There they discussed on how to resolve the critical matter at hand. They arrived at a solution after several moments after they had assessed the upper and lower worlds.

The Labyrinth of the Underworld was a bigger and much more complicated structure constructed by the Ten-Veiled King of the Underworld and his Demons to aid in stalling, capturing, and eliminating stray Banes that threatened the lower worlds, and as such it required more Demons on its halls, prepared to ambush Banes that dared trespass. Its vastness and complexity overtook its counterpart in the upper realms, the Vault of the Heavens, and thus both deities agreed that the Celestial Monarch would send down one of his best Gods, while the Ten-Veiled King would send one of his fine Demons.

Thus the agreement was settled and by the next sunrise one God, one Demon, and one Dragonblood appeared into the Perfect Land, watching over the Path-seekers and the thrice-split Kingdom. They were called the God-Emissaries.

Ascending Heaven, God-Emissary of Light

The Celestial Courtyard was a vast expanse of land, spanning multiple worlds. From two, tall poles on the northern and the southern end of the Courtyard was the string of Destiny, and from it, numerous other strands were tied to it. Their ends floated upwards, reaching into the sky - attached to the countless creatures in the Perfect World that Pangu had created.

It was the task of a nameless god to tend to the strings each day, making sure that the cords were not cut or were in knots. He handled his work with dedication; throughout the hundreds and thousands of years, his fingers upon the String of Destiny created stirring music. Those who would hear it might feel transported to one's happy childhood experiences, nostalgic, or be gripped by reflection of one's life. Although he was alone in the Celestial Courtyard, the music would sometimes course its way into the lives of the people whose strands were attached to the String - some say that these were the times of great inspiration to people, when heroes would decide to fight for justice despite adversity, when great minds would come upon a discovery that would change whole worlds, or when a wandering, stray animal would save an innocent life.

The coming of the Soulless was signified by dark clouds over the Courtyard, and soon, it began to rain. The soaked strings of fate became tainted with blackness, and everywhere, people in all the worlds began to experience misfortune. Despite this, the god continued his tasks. Where he could, he would shelter a small part of the String from the rain if only for a moment.

The Celestial Monarch, seeing the graveness of the situation, summoned the god to a tall mountain, overlooking the whole celestial domain. It was there that the bleakness of the scene became clearer - it became certain that drastic measures would have to be undertaken. It was then decided that the god could no longer do his tasks properly, and should instead concentrate on one specific section of the String of Destiny to restore the perfect world, that might serve as the birthing place of the heroes that they need to combat the Soulless.

As the nameless god returned to the String of Destiny, the Celestial Monarch waved his hand at him, causing his body to become translucent and ghostly. The god approached the part of the String where the most threads were attached, and touched it with a hollow hand. Immediately, his body turned to stone, and his spirit found its way into Destiny itself, and into the current existence.

Scholars called him "Ascending Heaven", the god who sought to return to his home. He was said to have come from the part of Pangu's existence that represented inspiration and the taking of one's destiny into one's own hand.

Fel Maiden, God-Emissary of Darkness

A Demon sent from the depths of the Labyrinth of the Underworld by the Ten-Veiled King of the Underworld, the notable Fel Maiden by her fellow Demons was one of the most influential and sinister beings of the lower realms, using her mind and cunning to thwart plots of the Devil spawns of the Void and destroying them most mercilessly with her whip that bore three stinging tentacles. She serves the Ten-Veiled King as his Master Strategist, keeping track of the entire Labyrinth of the Underworld with an enchanted map that she only possessed, revealing traces of Banes by means of the chi channels running deep in the lower realms.

She followed Ascending Heaven shortly after the God descended from the Heavens for it took her some time to navigate the Labyrinth and ascend from the Underworld, the complex structure being extremely unstable and ever-changing, as part of its inherent defenses. To avoid being taken by the commoners as a banshee of sorts, Fel Maiden utilized her knowledge to transmute her appearance into that of a Yao Jing that she laid eyes on, imitating its human-like features and fox-like ears and tail.

Jade Night, God-Emissary of Twilight

During the joined efforts of the Celestial Monarch and the Ten-Veiled King of the Underworld managed to seal the maddened and corrupted Immaculate Lady of the Earth and her minions, the Immaculate Lady spawned one last being in an effort to take on the gods and the demons: a jade egg, overflowing with corrupted energies of the Yin and the Yang. While the main forces of heaven and hell sealed the errant deities, another team of Gods and Demons locked up the various artifacts and weapons of the Immaculate Lady and her minions in the domains of the Divine Dragons.

One of these was the Jade Egg and it was taken in by the Dragon Fu Zhi, sensing divine life inside it. One night of the full moon, it hatched to a being with wild rune marks on its entire body, bearing half-beastly features that seemed to have been ravaged by the yin and the yang. Thus the dragons called him Jade Night. Altogether the dragons raised him as their offspring and used their enchantments to becalm the rage burning deep within the deity’s soul. When he was of age, the Dragons christened him as a Dragonblood; a being of godlike power but bearing a Dragon’s might.

However, try as the dragons might, Jade Night’s corrupted origins still gave way and when his power reached its fullest, he slaughtered all the dragons that took care of him. With their dying breaths, however, they unleashed one last powerful enchantment that sealed Jade Night inside their mountain citadel. Now, with the combined powers of the God-Emissaries Ascending Heaven and Fel Maiden, they undid the enchantments binding Jade Night and took him along as a God-Emissary, Ascending Heaven educating the corrupted Dragonblood and Fel Maiden keeping him sane and his rages at bay.

The Immortal Diaries: Part Ten

Following the Land-walker Kaishen, we bring you the most energetic Immortal of the lot...

MingFu, the Immortal of the Crimson Blaze

The night of the Crimson Moon was filled by despair when the small, desolate Barbarian Village was attacked by the Soulless. Screams of fear were heard everywhere. Houses were burnt to the ground and countless dead bodies were left lying around on the streets.

A little while later, soldiers from Feather City arrived. The soldiers fought valiantly and courageously, repelling the invasion of the Soulless. As they were gathering the bodies of the dead villagers, they found a pregnant woman and her husband among the dead. In the hands of the woman was a child with fiery red eyes who seems to be solemn amidst the chaos that has just happened, still breathing and very much alive. A soldier, Zhing Tsei, adopted the child and named him Ming Fu.

Soon after, rumors spread that the child was born out of Chaos and people started discriminating against the child. Coincidentally, everytime the boy would cry, the Soulless will invade a town somewhere near the vicinity. They all thought that the child was cursed, that the child would bring a great misfortune and grief to whoever befriended him. His foster father, however, protected him and defended him from the hurtful words of the people.

When he reached the age of maturity, his foster father taught him the art of archery and the philosophy of a Yu Mang. His father knew of his talent--his fiery red eyes would allow him to see farther than any of the Wingkin and so his aim was extraordinary. None of his arrows missed their mark. However, the people still saw him as the Cursed One in spite of his talent. In spite of all this, everytime there was an invasion, he protected the villages under the jurisdiction of Feather City with undying courage. None of his comrades in arms were injured whenever he is around. He did his best to protect them as well. Slowly, he gained popularity amongst his division.

Everytime someone would comment harshly against him, his comrades would defend him and explain how he saved their lives during any invasion. Little by little, the people started showing their appreciation to Ming Fu. The stares of anger became looks of admiration and thankfulness whenever he passed by.

On the night of another Crimson Moon, the Soulless invaded again, yet this time they brought the Soulless Champion, known as one that had slain countless of soldiers from Beast to Sword and even Dragon City. As the weaker Soulless were defeated, the fight still raged on with the Soulless Champion and MingFu. Several hours passed, yet they were still battling each other. Running out of options and out of desperation, the Soulless Champion threw a spear towards the Elder. With his pouch out of bullets, MingFu went in front of the Elder, protecting her from the spear. His father then shot a bullet right through the Soulless Champion’s forehead, taking him out.

Ming Fu was mortally wounded in the attempt, and no art of even the wisest Yu Lings coud save him from death. Crying, Zhing Tsei laid his son on his bed and fell asleep beside him.

The next day, his father woke up and realized Ming Fu was missing, the bloodstained sheets slightly singed. He then looked up and wept with tears of joy.

The Immortal Diaries: Part Nine

Expect a flood of storylines, for the Keepers have finally gotten time off their hands to do some dusting on the blog - my goodness we have been lagging behind with everything *sighs*

First off, the ninth installment of the Immortal Diaries! I give you -

Kaishen, the Immortal of the Unsullied Spring

It was a cold and chilly night in Feather City as a member of the Council gave birth to a baby boy. Festivities were already in full swing when suddenly they noticed something odd about the child--he only possesed one ear feather. Everyone agreed to keep it quiet for it is a great shame for a family of Wingkin to have a son or daughter with a handicap, much more a missing wing feather. The ear feather was responsible in maintaining the balance of the flight for wingkins and having just one ear feather made it harder for the boy to even summon his first wings.

The family then decided to get rid of the boy for they were unwilling to kill him in anyway. His father then called one of his old servants and ordered her to take care of the child as if it were her own. She was then dismissed from the family so that they could live in a place very far away from the City, yet she was given money to help her raise the child. The servant, XianShi, never had a child before since she was barren and her husband died early during the battle between the soulless in Feather City. So, in the memory of her dead husband, she called the child KaiShen.

As KaiShen grew, he realized his difficulties in flying. People often taunted him as a half-breed and he was regarded not as a Wingkin, but a land-walker.

He never despised his condition. In fact, he really enjoyed being a land-walker since, he thought, it’s what makes him unique and quite popular as well. But when he reached the tender age of 16, his happiness turned into sadness when he can only see his classmates enjoy flying for hours at end while he, as hard as he tried, could not fly for more than 15 seconds.

He gave up on flying and instead resorted to training hard as a Yu Ling.

One fateful day, three weeks after his birthday, XianShi died of old age. After the burial, he saw a letter by the bed. When he was about to find out who his real parents are, he immediately crumpled the letter and burned it. For him, XianShi is his only family and nothing will ever change that.

The letter gave him the inspiration to train harder as a Yu Ling. He fought many wars and became very popular; his handicap never slowed him down as he protected Bamboo Village from Soulless invasions. Besides, the invasions were mostly from the land and flying will only reduce the attacking power of his skills. However, he didn’t only excel in fighting. He was also regarded as one of the best supporters in the land. Several stories went around about his feat of being the only Yu Ling who has supported 53 warriors in one battle.

He was the first land-walker to have ever reached a Hero status.

On a rainy afternoon, as he was on his way to White Mountain to meet the hermit about a quest, the Soulless began a wide scale invasion on Feather City and its nearby towns. Barbarian, Nanke, Bamboo, and Feather City were invaded by countless of Soulless monsters. Sensing something was wrong, he instantly teleported to Bamboo Village and supported the warriors there. He wondered why there were no reinforcements from Feather City, not knowing the scale of the invasion. They were severely outnumbered and the outlying houses were immediately conquered, yet did his best in supporting the warriors stationed there. Since he can’t fly and avoid attacks, he endured all the attacks that came his way.

Several hours later, reinforcements finally came and several Yu Ling aided the warriors. KaiShen fainted from the injuries he sustained from the battle. Some of his injuries can never be cured for the tainted weapons of these Soulless bore serious enchantments that no ordinary Yu Ling nor Pharmacist could possibly remedy.

During KaiShen’s last hours, he was visited by the Immortal Antares and offered him the path for Immortality. The next day, KaiShen was nowhere to be found, and he was never seen as a mortal again.

The Undying Memoirs Part Four: Silence

"I'll be fine, I told you that already!" he exclaimed, his right hand starting to glow with a bluish flame. "It's just the fatigue of the long travel here to the upper world."

I was a bit taken aback by his retort, and my grip tightened on the tea set tray. How inconsiderate could someone get? I was only worried and his bullish pride gets in the way. Were he not injured I would have taught him a lesson--and I would had Qi Xun Jue not given me a restraining glare. Qi Xun Jue was still examining him from afar from head to foot, and I noticed a slight uneasiness on his part.

"Is he, then, one of us?" I whispered to the Seer as I placed the tea set upon the small night table beside the bed.

"What do you think, little water jasmine? Your instinct is as correct as my visions." Qi Xun Jue replied as he walked out of the room, leaving me to watch over him.

He was still sitting on the bed, his back to me, not even acknowledging my presence. I tried to offer him tea, yet he still sat there, in a defiant silence. He had drawn an invisible wall between us, and I scramble for words that would help me break through. I waited for a reply, yet none came.

"What was your name again? Lord Zhuan Xu did not even introduce you properly to us."

Another round of silence. Strange--here I am, master of words, killed by the slience of a stranger. A stranger soon to be under my wing as Keeper, yet with this silence, how can he be one? I would even prefer all that fake civility to this silence.

"Very well--if you do not wish to talk, then I should leave. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Frustrated, I left the room.

The Undying Memoirs: Part Three

Following my lovely Sui Mei's entry, I now place mine *winks*

The Undying Memoirs
Part Three: Keepers Unite

[ColdFlare's Point of View]

As I felt the woman leaving, I then sensed the presence of a strong human entering the chamber from whence I lay. He seated himself on a nearby chair and examined me closely. I may have had my sense of sight deprived by the enchanted black blindfold given to me by the Ten-Veiled King, but I can definitely feel my way around.

"Are you well?"

It sounded more of an imposition than a question, but I obliged.

"I'll be fine. I just don't know why I had to be laid back like this when I'm actually better."

"Well, it's necessary, boy. You come from a place where pain knows no deeper meaning. Here, it's important to take care of yourself well. I assume you know why you are here?"

"I was sent here by the Ten-Veiled King of the Underworld."

"And similarly I was called in by the Celestial Monarch of the Heavens. You understand now that we are to work together on the mission that the Heavens and Underworld had set upon us, do you not?"

"Yes, I am aware of that."

"Very well. I am teaming everyone up to ensure that there is enough to defend the Land with when the Soulless attack. You are to join Sui Mei and Qi Xun Jue here."

Sui Mei... a womanly name... the name instantly struck me with greater force than the latter mentioned, for it seemed to strike at places I had never thought existent within my body. Years of pain and agony may perhaps have wiped it off and now the feeling is surprising. Or is it because I have lived a life of bloodlust that I had really never paid any attention to its detail?

Perhaps she was the person who tried her hardest to restrain me from getting up... it felt weird even for myself, for I cannot explain the impact it has given me. But I must not be burdened by it. It will affect my overall objective. Years of intense training, meditation, and cultivation, are not to be wasted by such trifling things.

"You are the soldier once known as Cold Flare, are you not? The mystical Fa Shih who introduced Ritual Sword use?" the man asked once again.

"Yes, I am."

"My name is Zhuan Xu. In the great Immortal Hou Yi's name, I am to oversee all of your actions here in the Perfect Land. I pray with everyone's assistance we can overcome the increasing threat of the Soulless."

"I will do my best."

"Good. I leave you to Sui Mei and Qi Xun Jue now."

As Zhuan Xu left the chamber, the woman returned to the chamber, this time with another man who seemed to have the faint traces of age in his movements.

"Are you all right now? You might still have a fever." Sui Mei said concernedly.

"I'll be fine, I told you that already!" I said, annoyed at the pursuit of my condition. "It's just the fatigue of the long travel here to the upper world."

As silence slowly settled in, I felt the other person, Qi Xun Jue, examining me closely. It was like as if he was reading things in my mind, or the feeling that he knows something deeper than what I have just mentioned. Either way, the feeling was unnerving.

The Immortal Diaries: Part Eight

Good Day to the Path-Seekers of the Perfect Land!

Before I make a continuation to the Undying Memoirs, allow me in turn to place here one of the recent accomplished Immortals under the instruction and mentoring of the Immortal Antares. I present...

Ronrinesu, the Immortal of the Silent Storm

A mere mention of his name would silence the laughter of children playing out in the streets.

Once conidered a legend in the streets of Dragon City, he was only known under the name Ronrinesu, alluding to his silent style of execution. Feared by those who do wrong, he would quietly creep into the houses of the Empire's corrupt bureaucrats and return to the people the riches that were rightfully theirs, and sometimes even spilling blood. Rumors spread that he had the likeness of a god; but only a few had seen him, and none would dare describe what they saw for the fear of retaliation. He was, after all, a hero to many.

However, one night changed it all.

It was just to be a routine operation in one of the houses owned by an aide of the General Xia Feng. The aide had been accused not just of spying for the Yi, but also diverting the funds of the City to the enemy camps. Sneaking in, he made sure to bypass all the guards and traps, even side-stepping puddles of water just to make sure that no trace of his intrusion would be left. Having memorized the whole layout of the house, he managed without light, relying only on the glow of the full moon.

As he was about to leave the main inner hall with his loot, a voice cut through his thoughts.

"So you hope to right a wrong with another wrong?"

In the flickering light he saw a man, dressed in regal blue and carrying a small lantern. Quickly his reflexes sprung into action and with his sword he slashed at the man, but his blow was parried by a wall of water.

Fear crept into his veins; none had been able to parry his strikes before. There he realized who the man was--he was the Immortal Antares.

"You cannot wish to exact justice by commiting the same wrongdoings that the ones you say you punish do. If you wish to learn the right Path, follow me."

Leaving his sword and his past behind, he followed the Immortal into the night.

The Undying Memoirs: Part Two

As promised, here is now the second part of the Undying Memoirs, again written from my point of view.

The Undying Memoirs: Disguises

I tried to restrain him from sitting up--he was suffering from a very high fever, a terrible imbalance of the Yin and Yang in his body. Any activity might make his condition worse. Lord Zhuan Xu himself had asked us to keep a close watch over this man; yet judging from his aura, he was not just a simple human who managed to get himself lost in our territory.

"Don't move. You have a fever." I said, yet he still sat up, his bandaged hand pressing heavily down on the sheets and the other massaging his head. "Let me get you something to drink."

I stood up and went out to make some tea.

"Is he awake?" Antares asked as I went out; he was standing guard at the door with Zhu Rong. "Have you asked?"

"He is awake, though he has not said anything yet." I replied.

Surely he was not from around here. His clothes were little more than rags, singed at the edges and stained with blood. He had no weapon nor clan crest. Apart from his blindfold and his aura, there was nothing different about him.

The blindfold. We had not removed it since we found him; and we were told not to.

And I find myself wondering what lay behind them.

Yet who am I to take it off? I myself show only my other side--that of a fox--to strangers. Only the other Immortals had seen my true form, and I wished to keep it that way. We were all bound to secrecy for our safety.

Was he one of us, then? That I wished to know as I walked back to the room, carrying the tea set.

The Immortal Diaries: The Seventh Part

Before I post the second part of the Undying Memoirs, first let me post the long-awaited seventh installment of the Immortal Diaries. These next few installments would be about the new immortals; those who have recently ascended to the highest level of cultivation after their long and tedious training under the Senior Immortals.

Presenting one of the first to ascend the Path under the guidance of Antares, here is the story of LiuBei, Immortal of the Flowing Rivers.

LiuBei, the Immortal of the Flowing Rivers

LiuBei was once considered the best chef in the Empire; his cooking unsurpassed by no one. He worked at the Imperial Palace as the Imperial Chef of the Empress herself but due to the fame and attention that he was getting from the Empress, some of his assistant cooks plotted against him and LiuBei was exiled from Dragon City for allegedly trying to poison the Empress’ dinner.

Traumatized and left with no other possession but the cooking utensils that he had brought with him to the Palace, LiuBei left Dragon City, leaving his bitter memories behind. He sought to refine his talents through traveling, heading to the farthest of towns and even working at several tea houses until he had enough yuan to continue his travels.

During his travels along the banks of the Carefree Pool, LiuBei was met with an unusual challenge. He had intended to camp out for the night in Yujia Forest and decided to fish for his dinner. But having waited all evening, he fell asleep halfway through the morning and did not even manage to make a single catch. For three days it went, as if Fate was playing a cruel trick on him: His travels would always culminate at places where fish would just be the only available source of food, and every time he would try to fish, no fish would dare approach his line.

“You’re doing it wrong.”

During his third night of fruitless fishing in the banks of Carefree Pool, LiuBei turned tiredly towards the direction of the voice. He was surprised to find a man standing beside him, watching his fishing prowess intently.

“For a man that is talented in the kitchens, you are an amateur at catching the very fish you cook.” The man said. “Here.”

He took the fishing rod from the awed LiuBei and cast the line in the water. Almost instantly three fishes struggled to grab the bait.

“Fishing is very much like cooking.” The man said. “To fish, one must have passion and devotion, similar to the way you act when you are facing your utensils and ingredients.”

As the man turned to go, the light of LiuBei’s campfire fell full on his face – it was the Immortal Antares.

“Y-You!” LiuBei cried out.

“Took you long enough to find out.” Antares replied calmly. “I can see in your eyes that you seek more than what the art of cooking can offer you.”

“I confess I cannot completely make others happy with just my talent.” LiuBei said. “But if someone would show me…”

Antares smiled.

“It’s your decision.”

Thus LiuBei followed Antares in his travels, and during this time, the Immortal taught him many things until he was ready to be shown the Path to Immortality.

The Undying Memoirs Part One

Good Morning once again to the Path-Seekers of the Perfect Land!

I presume many have started to wonder about the most recent turn of events by certain Immortals we know of in the Perfect World Message Boards. With that, we shall try to find out the stories behind those interesting turn of events.

Let me present, the Undying Memoirs~

The Undying Memoirs
Part One: Emergence from the Darkness

[Cold Flare's Point of View]

I lived a life of misery and despair whilst under the tutelage of the Ten-Veiled King of the Underworld. The ravages of the Yang down below were too much for any mortal being to bear and I felt I was being killed over and over again at each day I spent in the grim agony of the Underworld. Each passing second was torment in mind, body, and soul, and I felt I was being ripped apart with pain beyond any mortal might possibly contain.

But it had to be done. It was the pact I had made with my own blood and soul, to be in eternal servitude under the Ten-Veiled King after my shameful defeat at the hands of the enemies I had sworn to slay to the very end. It seems that they got me first, and I sold myself to the Underworld's service so I can exact vengeance upon them. And I have to be thankful despite all these despairs, for I was still fortunate to be taken in by the Ten-Veiled King himself to be taught and trained in these harsh domains of the Yang powers, and not resigned to being a common demon or soul. Perhaps there is still hope in me that the King wishes to cultivate.

In a way, the long, agonizing time of despair took its toll on me as I found the Path that I had thought I'd never see even after the day of my death. There I found my calling - to defend the world from being consumed by the Legion of the Soulless and be turned to the living hell that I have undergone. It was truly an honor for me and compensation for all the pain I suffered when the King asked me to return to the mortal worlds and join the others in the similar cause of defending the realm from the Soulless.

Thus I was given one final tedious task, one that seemed easier done the other way around - embark on the journey back to the mortal realm. The only reason why the dead never manage to make it back to the upper world was because of the strong barriers erected to ensure the division of the three realms - Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Sure, it was easy to get to the underworld, especially if dark powers made the journey easier for you, but to do the more difficult inverse of it, and with only you and your training to aid you, toI was surely in for a rough journey.

I had been accustomed to pain, but still the journey beyond celestial and dark borders tore what remained of my mangled and mutilated soul. I adapted to the dangers of the trip with all the skills I had learned but as I neared the end of the journey my strength gave way and I lost consciousness.

The next thing I knew, I was lying on a soft surface. I had to touch it several times for me to realize that, after years of agony in the Underworld, I finally got to lie down on a bed. People were talking not far from where I lay but I cannot glimpse them, for a black blindfold had been drawn on my eyes since I started my Path of Despair with the King. It was part of the training - to fully understand the meaning of agony and be one with it, one must be deprived of its most powerful medicine - sight. Deprivation of sight heightens the torment as you are given the feeling of being alone in the darkness, suffering in despair.

I tried to stand up, but two things restrained me - a brisk restraint from a hand that seemed to come from nowhere and a push back to the bed, followed by a jolt of pain that seemed to revive and reactivate in my entire system. I had completely forgotten that I barely survived the journey and now my entire body was in pain once again.

"Don't move. You have a fever." a womanly voice said.

Don't move? Who does she think she is to keep me from moving? Does she not think I can manage myself?

I got up to a sitting position despite the woman's restraining hand and massaged my head, as if my world was spinning slightly because of a dizziness that had settled in. With the aid of my heightened senses, I was able to ascertain that I was in a small house. Perhaps my mission starts here - to learn to coexist once again with others. Perhaps years of loneliness in despair has wiped it clean off my memory and like a baby learning to walk I must master it once again.

Guess who will post the next part?

Of Clan Funds and Honesty

Finally, a long overdue post. I saw this thread earlier and though I had to close the thread to prevent flaming, the threadstarter does have a point. Many clans have broken up due to in-game monetary issues, and not just clans, friendships have suffered as well.

Yet this issue is not as simple as it sounds. It is a common practice for clans to solicit donations from their members to have a working clan fund come TW bidding time, for it is grossly unfair to the clan master if the clan master alone would shell out the payment. Then once the war starts, there would be costs incurred in the building of the towers and the hiring of the catapults. All these would easliy amount to several million every week, and the returns from the territory would not be enough to cover all expenses. What's worse is had the clan lost, they would not be even able to recoup even a little Yuan just for the effort. Should there be any extra Yuan left over, it will be kept for the next week's war.

This is why some clans break up--thinking that the returns from the territory are more than enough to cover their expenses, they would still ask for a salary. It ends up (as the threadstarter suggested) as a paid mercenary service, and nothing more. Once the payments stop, it's time to go on and look for another clan with more yuan to burn.

They forget the true essence of a clan, its basic meaning--a group of players fighting for one common goal.

Transparency also figures in this case. To avoid these conflicts, clan masters (since they are in charge of the clan funds) should be transparent with what they spend the clan money for. Say every end of the war the master would be able to account for the bid, the tower-building and the catapult costs. It would also help to have a list of those who made donations to the clan fund and make it accessible to the public. That way, no one would complain about the money being misspent.

All in all, it boils down to trust. Some people join clans just for the name, expecting that with a well-known clan, becoming rich and famous will follow. They join not knowing the clan's officers, policies and regulations--that is why we require clans in the Garrison sections to illustrate what their clan is like so that players would avoid making misinformed decisions. When these issues arise, then chaos erupts. They fail to realize that building a clan takes more than having the best high-levelled players in the server; they must also learn to work together as a team and trust their clan master's decision (and yes, sharing the expenses is part of teamwork). The clan master, too, must listen to his members.

It also reflects our views IRL--we live in a society where corruption where trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. And we can't blame people for not easily trusting others, for sad to say, honesty and transparency are now rare traits.

What we can do is to start the culture of honesty ingame. Then bring it IRL as well, and hopefully change society for the better.

Behind the Scenes 2: From the Desk of the Keeper ColdFlare

SuiMei's previous post succinctly sums up the tedious process by which the three Keeper Immortals (that is, myself, Qi Xun Jue, and Sui Mei) and the Administering Immortal and GM (which is GM Asche and the Immortal Zhuan Xu) plough through an event from its conceptualization down to the implementation itself. For today I'll share you some stuff from my own writing desk.

My tasks as a Keeper involve compiling the event stories that we altogether create, revise, and present to the other Immortals. But a Keeper's task doesn't just revolve around event-making and stuff. We also take care of the Perfect World Story, which means that we are responsible for putting flavor and adding spice to the story of the game. You see, canon documents such as this do not have endings revealed. It will depend entirely on how the players build the game for the storyline to be completed, and events aid a little in piecing together the fragments of storyline we make.

Often, my works are always linked somehow with the initial storyline that the Perfect World has (this storyline I refer to is the theatrical play you might have witnessed during the PW Consumer Launch at Megatrade Hall). From there the Keepers take off, and you could note that the stories of the Immortals were all derived from that initial point. Imagination takes over from there and we conceptualize on what an Immortal's personality and past life would fit best.

Now you might notice that several new Immortals have graced the Perfect World. Their storylines, which we are still grilling over and over, are in turn dependent on what we currently have as storyline, which now involves the more senior Immortals, so once we have them up you might notice familiar names already.

Story-building in Perfect World is an everlasting sequence of building upon existing ideas, stories, and documents. The more we write stuff, the more stories we can spawn from these foundations. Maybe if you were to become Keepers like us, you could experience this too!

But of course, even as ordinary Path-seekers, ideas and thoughts are always well-appreciated. Back to my writing desk then, Keep yourselves posted!

Behind the Scenes: The Event-Writing Process

You're probably wondering why there was a huge gap between this post and the last one (one of the last entries for the Immortal Diaries series). Well, for the past few days we were throwing around ideas for events, like the one earlier.

Why does it take days, you may ask, for an event that barely lasted more than a day? Event-planning is a pretty tricky business. You need to know what would click, what's not allowed/possible in-game, and all other sorts of what-ifs. Then you'd have the story writing process itself.

How do we write stories? It's basically a group effort. Either we start from scratch with a really crazy idea (Sana pwede ganito...) or something inspired by real life events (like Chinesse Festivals and mooncakes). Then the draft is written and is passed around through email to the Keepers and the GMs or posted on our messageboards, where it would be edited. This is the long, tedious part, since we don't only look out for grammatical errors. We also try to shoot the story down, trying to poke holes in the plot (like in the case of Qi Xun Jue's story where we had a debate over the social classes and what they consider the legal age of the Wingkin).

At most the editing process will take a couple of days, and once everything's been finalized, it will be sent back to the GM team for approval. Once the story and the mex are approved, a date will be set for the event, and announcements will be posted a few days before the day of the event itself.

So I hope you'd stick around--there will be more events coming up in the near future, and we hope you'd help us make it a success.

The Immortal Diaries: Part Six

I sit here in the pagoda of our gardens, preparing for another story of an Immortal that has been with us since the beginning. Although he did not start off as an Immortal outright, one may consider that he has foreseen the instance of his Immortality.

Readers, I commend to your attention today, the Immortal Keeper QiXunJue.

QiXunJue, the Immortal of the Immeasurable Time

Born without sight, QiXunJue was born in the lowest class of Nanke Village. Even though his parents had enough Yuan to send him to school, they did not; they were afraid that people might make fun of him and lead him into dangerous circumstances. His hearing and his touch compensated for his lack of sight, though—in later years legends would tell about his ability to hear the clashing of swords in towns miles away. And his disability did not stop him from learning. One day, as he was walking home and with only his touch and hearing as his guide, he heard a class conducted in the one-room schoolhouse nearby and began listening to it. Soon it became a daily ritual—sitting at the doorstep for at least a part of the class on the way home from whatever errand it may be. Quickly he learned all the lessons of the teacher and memorized them easily.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the teacher, who noticed the young boy sitting at the doorstep every session. Seeing the young boy’s enthusiasm for knowledge, he gave extra lessons to QiXunJue for free. However, on his 18^th summer, tragedy struck. Both his parents died when the Village was ambushed by the Soulless. His teacher then adopted him, raised him and included him in his class lectures. QiXunJue would then always come out as top of his class. At 21, he finally earned the right to be called a Yu Ling.

One night, he began to have dreams. Being ignorant and not really knowing whether these dreams meant anything, he pushed them deep into his subconscious. He never really gave them much attention because after all, he was blind and cannot see. These dreams, he thought, weren’t visions because visions of the future were only for those who have eyes.

Great news arrived one day when his teacher came home, bringing a bottle to the hands of QiXunJue. In this hand, he said, was the potion that restores eyesight. This struck the young Yu Ling for these words had been part of his dream, a part of his vision. As he took the potion, events he never saw unraveled in front of his blurry vision.

He then knew what he will see next.

It was his teacher, lying down beside him. Though heavily wounded, the old man carried a huge smile on his face. He chuckled a bit and said to his student, “Finally you can see,”. In vain, the young Yu Ling tried to heal him and resurrect him, but failed for the teacher was fatally wounded by the Soulless who, again, attacked the town.

QiXunJue then devoted the rest of his time enhancing his gift of prophecy. His gift was a rare kind for not too many can possess it and not one, save QiXunJue, succeeded in maintaining it. He was the first to see visions more clearly and can warn villages of the impending Soulless invasions. There were many attempts on his life but his gift of vision has helped him thwart it all.

At the age of 101, QiXunJue was still a well-known prophet. However, he knew that soon his time to leave the mortal body will come, and with this the last vision was revealed. This was his last vision: the Path to Immortality.

~~~

That closes the book on the first six Immortals to grace the Perfect Land. Starting tomorrow, we shall try to attempt to share the origins of the new Immortals that have attained the same path we are traversing now :)

The Immortal Diaries: Part Five

The Path to Immortality was never meant to be easy. Along the Path, pain will be your constant companion; sacrifice the only solution. And among our stories, happy endings are rare, for the river of Time never ceases to flow for those whose days never end.

Here, then, is ColdFlare's story; one of the darkest among our pasts.

ColdFlare, the Immortal of the Merciless Steel

No one knows of his real identity save for that name – ColdFlare. Born in the midst of strife after the demise of the great Emperor ZhuanXu, ColdFlare learned to handle the sword at the tender age of six, having to learn the craft to defend himself after being abandoned by his parents. This was a time of war; everyday literally becoming a dance with death, the citizens of the once peaceful empire now living in fear and chaos. The fighting grew so bad that on certain occasions, the air smelled of rotting corpses and burial grounds grew scarce.

When ColdFlare was drafted as a soldier for the war, he was given special education by a master Fa Shi in the way of handling the elements. There he learned to integrate the power of magic in his sword and thus established the use of the Magic Sword in combat, giving him an extra advantage against his enemies. With his newfound abilities he charged into the battlefield, slaying countless demons and enemy soldiers mercilessly. Later on he became known as the Merciless Steel Mage.

But on one campaign, ColdFlare met his match – a soldier with equal cunning and abilities as he is, but with the dark aura of the Soulless surrounding him. He fought with the best of all the abilities he had learned, fought with so much skill and power that his fellow comrades were in awe for they were the only ones left fighting after the rest had been slain. The two fought with all their might, but the Soulless got ColdFlare first, with a fatal thrust to the chest.

Left for dead by his scared comrades, who all took off when the Soulless soldier lunged for them, ColdFlare, with his dying breath, drew several symbols on his arm with his blood. He then called out to the Ten-Veiled King of the Underworld, offering his soul to his servitude. Black flames then engulfed ColdFlare’s body and he disappeared in an instant.

Taken in by the Ten-Veiled King, ColdFlare was subjected to a tedious cultivation path, almost tearing apart both his soul and emotions in sheer frustration. He emerged several years later as an Immortal, with a black blindfold over his eyes, seeking the Soulless that had cost him his mortal life.

The Immortal Diaries: Part Four

A pleasant morning to everyone! Thank you to SuiMei for handling this weekend's portion of the Diaries :)

Since it would appear too indecent for myself to be posting my own origins, I would just in turn, place the intricate storyline of the Senior Editor of the Keeper Immortals for the fourth edition of the Immortal Diaries. Path-seekers, I commend to your attention, Lady SuiMei's story herself.

SuiMei, the Immortal of the Pristine Woods

Considered the youngest among the Immortals, SuiMei was named after the delicate white flowers blooming near the glade where she was found the son of one of the leaders of one of the great clans allied with the great General Xia. Being but a child then, the beastly features of a Yao Jing still had not manifested themselves--at first glance she looked human, except for her eyes, which had tints of yellow common only to those of the beast. The clan who took her in disregarded it, however, and attributed it only to just a quirk. So she grew up in the grand house of the clan, surrounded by all the comforts humans regard necessary.

But the beast within can never be silenced, and on her tenth year in the house, the first signs appeared. Her ears slowly morphed to that of a fox, and sometimes in the dead of the night she would be found unconscious in the courtyard, half-covered in fox fur. Soon the clan council noticed the changes and summoned her to appear before the council.

Since her foster father was now head of the council, having assumed leadership after the death of his father, he persuaded the council to let SuiMei stay, and hopefully still be treated as an equal. But behind his back, however, they discriminated against SuiMei, especially the Fragrant Masters who were jealous of her new powers.

Deciding she had enough, on the last night of a full moon she headed out from the city of humans, hoping to reach the city of beasts to find any clue to her past and lineage. But at her crossing of Dragon Valley, her path was blocked by a veiled man, his Soulless being poorly masked by the mortal body that he controlled. He challenged SuiMei to a duel of words, and only if she won can she continue her journey.

And so they started, shooting terms at each other like the fire-arrows of the Wingkin. It was only after the third day that the Soulless was silenced, and let her pass to the city of beasts, but not after revealing that her Soul was slowly being eaten away as a result of the duel. Only by seeking the other Soulless shall her soul be truly redeemed.

This led her to journey to the corners of the World, to seek redemption for her soul. And on these journeys she found the Path to Immortality.

~~~

There's still several Immortals that have their origins surrounded with mystery. Until tomorrow then :D

The Immortal Diaries: Part Three

Since my fellow Keeper ColdFlare is out over the weekend, I am posting the third part of the Immortal Diaries instead. I'm sure you, dear readers, don't want to wait any longer.

The third part of the Immortal Diaries revolves around the life of ZhuRong, the fieriest of all Immortals, whether in matters of business or, well, love. So read on and get to know the Immortal of the Sacred Flame.


ZhuRong, the Immortal of the Sacred Flame

ZhuRong was originally one of the gods of the Celestial Monarch of the Heavens that assisted in keeping the Heavens and the Earth apart from one another. He held his post at the Vault of the Heavens and helped banish or tame Banes as well, using the Sacred Flame entrusted to him by the Celestial Monarch.

As he was meditating, his visions chanced him to peer into the realm below and in his vision he saw a woman of extreme beauty, seated amongst the flowers like a goddess that has been trapped in a mortal’s body. In an instant his heart was struck with love and conceived thoughts on how he could reach out to her. Going in his form as a god was definitely out of the question and as such he concluded that he would visit her every evening in the guise of a mortal form.

Every evening then ZhuRong paid a visit to the lovely woman and offered her gifts that he took from his own treasury from the heavens, intending to impress the lady to the fullest. From enchanted jewelry made out of white jade to the finest yellow silk, he offered everything save for the items that could grant Immortality. The lady, impressed at his character and standing, also fell in love but alas, she was already engaged to another nobleman.

One evening, as he was hurrying back to the heavens, he met the nobleman to whom the lady was already engaged to and threatened him to leave the woman alone. ZhuRong resisted and several nights later he was ambushed outside the lady’s residence and was left for dead. It was fortunate for him that another god had learned of his nightly secret activities and kept a close watch on him, also saving him from certain death by transmuting some of ZhuRong’s divine powers to keep his mortal body alive.

When he had sufficiently recovered, ZhuRong was brought to the judgement of the Celestial Monarch of the Heavens, on the counts of being in direct contact with the mortals and risking corruption of his divine self with the mixed auras of the Yin and the Yang for his own selfish desires. As punishment for his actions, his status as a god was removed and he was placed in a much lower stature, serving as an Immortal.

Thus ZhuRong lived by the punishment of the Celestial Monarch, who only gave his word that the punishment would be lifted if he manages to endure the tough cultivation of an Immortal and help save the land from the ravages of the Soulless.

The Immortal Diaries: Part Two

And a fine morning yet again! I am taking some time off the Message Boards just to make this entry in our Gardens. I see a lot of people had followed the story of Antares and has been enlightened as to his life before he became an Immortal.

Well, then, for the second part of the Immortal Diaries, allow me to present the earlier life of the highest Immortal among our ranks, the noble Immortal ZhuanXu, head of the Perfect World Immortals.

It starts thus:

ZhuanXu, the Immortal of the Calm Moon

Descending from a pure and delicate line of royalty, ZhuanXu was the grandson of the great emperor well beyond the time of the quarreling nations and of General Kuan and Jade-Eyed Zhao’s war. This was a time when there was still peace and prosperity in the land, way before the burning brightness even annihilated the presence of the gods and demons.

Trained by the best scholars and the most talented pharmacists, ZhuanXu became a well-renowned healer and teacher in the empire, even opening the doors of the palace for those who wished to learn from his teachings and to those who seek his skills in curing illnesses or formulating medicinal potions. Truly his benevolence and wisdom was well appreciated until the time he ascended to the throne as Emperor and became renowned as a godly monarch. The time of his reign was believed to be one of the Golden Ages of the empire; a time where the arts of healing reached their peak.

For seventy-eight years he served the empire until his death at a hundred years old. It was said in several historical books that his death marked the start of the unrest that sparked the conflict between General Kuan and the Jade-Eyed Zhao. However, upon ZhuanXu’s death, his soul was taken in by the Celestial Monarch of the Heavens, after the passing of the burning brightness, and asked him to bring forth the legacy of the Immortals as well with his wisdom and skill.

~~~

Two down, and yet more to go. I hope you all stay tuned ^_^

The Immortal Diaries: Part One

Good Morning to everyone! This is ColdFlare greeting you all once again!

We have been with the community for quite some time already but not many have known how our identities came into being, why we act in differing moods ingame and in the Message Boards, and what our life was like before we started on the Path to Immortality. Allow me, then, and my fellow Immortals, to enlighten you all on this series of posts that we will dub as The Immortal Diaries.

Our Immortal to introduce for today is none other than the charismatic Immortal Antares. He has gained quite a lot of followers in the game and pretty soon I am sure he is bound to have a fans club put up just for him!

As it is, here we are:

Antares, the Immortal of the Tranquil Waters

Antares was a fisherman living a quiet life in Square Village. His passion had been for fishing and uses his knowledge of the element of Water as a Fa Shih to catch fish without harming them. Not that he wanted to cook it, but it was his dream to find the rumored legendary golden fish that was said to be living in the waters beside Desolate Mountain.

One day, as he was fishing, the waters around his fishing line glowed bright yellow. Shaken from his trance, he kept a firm grip on his fishing pole and stared at the light emanating from the waters. As he did, the waters burst; the stream of golden light flooding the lake area half-blinding him.

When Antares had the courage to open his eyes, he was astonished – the droplets of water that splashed have mysteriously stopped in mid-air, like as if they had been frozen. As he looked around, the playful waters of the lake have lost movement and the grass had stopped swaying. It was like the flow of time had stopped. Then his gaze turned to the source of the golden light, and his jaw literally dropped at what he saw.

An immaculate woman hovered above the time-stopped waters, with beauty beyond words. With hair like the sun and eyes of the stars, she smiled back at Antares. She then told him that she had seen his efforts to find the fabled golden fish of the lake for a very long time, and she revealed that it was she who is the golden fish, protecting the purity and tranquility of the lake. Antares was stricken dumb. It was her...it was her that he had searched for all his life.

Since then, every morning as Antares' tackle sank into the clear waters, she would come. And the two have always spoken, meeting at every possible moment, their relationship slowly blooming into love.

It was, however, broken up when Soulless demons descended from the harsh regions of the Desolate Mountain and defiled the pure waters of the lake. Within an instant the clear waters went murky. Fish that were moments ago were swimming in the depths floated to the surface, and even the wildflowers on the riverbank withered away. Overcome by his concern for the lake and his love, Antares rushed to the lakeside with several villagers to stop the Soulless, but only to find out that the demons had fled.

As the villagers scattered to look for them, Antares saw a woman lying unconscious on the lakeshore. It was his love, the goddess that guarded the Revenant Water Lake. Her once golden hair was dulled, her eyes bereft of the spark that had once played within. In her dying breath she spoke that they will meet again, before she faded into golden wisps of light that struck the lake and slightly alleviated its dreadful condition.

Fueled by the desire to meet his love once again and to avenge the defilement of the lake, Antares left his quiet life for one of adventure, hunting the Soulless. It was on his journeys that he discovered the Way of the Immortals, and little did he know that it was a destiny preordained--for it was Pangu’s will that spawned the goddess of the lake and called him to the Path to Immortality.

~~~

That's it for today. Tomorrow another of our fellow Immortals will be introduced!

Patches of Patience: Part Two

ColdFlare's Version: The Item Mall's Misfortunes

I place this entry upon request since this IS a widespread cry of anguish that has gripped the whole of Perfect World, rendering players screaming their hearts out in the Message Boards and ever-continuing to give us things to worry and follow up about from time to time.

We are all aware that Perfect World is a Free-to-Play game, that is to say, it doesn't require players to purchase game time just to be able to play. They can log in whenever they want, wherever they want, without fear of not gaining access to the server because of an inability to purchase game time. Lately the trend of all games follow that framework, and PW is no exception to this. Consequently, though, these games make use of "premium service" systems and methods such as employing the feature of an Item Mall or Privileges that one could only avail of by means of loading up game credits instead of game time and using those credits as "currency" to gain access to these premium features.

Of course, PW has an Item Mall to complement the F2P Framework, and many players, even as early as its tender Closed Beta days, had all liked - no, that is an understatement, perhaps loved - the items stocked in the Item Mall. It offered things from Fashion Equipments, Amulets, Hierograms, Premium-grade Mounts, and various other things that can enhance the gaming experience.

Open Beta came, however, and the Item Mall was temporarily taken down of some items following technical issues regarding the use of a new, better-translated client, and to signify the start of PW as well, having only few items and adding more as the game progresses. However, the general feedback seemed to be that players liked the old stock of the item mall and while they bought items there to sustain their needs, eventually it had to cease, especially when the items said were no longer providing any good use for them, or is being consumed in a flash.

Unable to vent their frustrations ingame due to the ever-active Wardens, they turned to the boards, giving us problems in turn. SuiMei has already placed her views regarding ranting in the Message Boards, and I will share her side in this - ranting is allowed for as long as it is constructive and civil enough to be called. Many even flame us in turn for snapping up at some points, but what are we to do? We can't just let these kinds of things go astray lest people would abuse our leniency.

The Item Mall's stock slowly gets new items from time to time, as signified by the previous update, although players are still complaining that some items are overpriced and some much awaited others are still hanging somewhere, unavailable for them to purchase and use. There are reasons for such delays and pricings, and everyone should understand that. Speculation on such matters is decent for as long as the train of reasoning is valid and orderly.

If the former Moderator Horonaim of the Perfect World Message Boards put up the cliche "Gamers need to Read", then we'd probably put up a counterpart: "Gamers need to Wait". I know the word is so severe an indictment and has an indefinite duration, but eventually it will come, just be patient and enjoy the game.

Back to my work for me. I still have an event story to peruse.

Patches of Patience: Part One

SuiMei's Version: The Patching Issue

"I try to log on to the Internet, but it's not working. It's never been the same since I destroyed the connection. I called various technicians, but when they finally turned up, they could find nothing wrong with the computer. They asked me what was I complaining about, spent half an hour doing tests, changed the configuration, and assured me that the problem lay not with me but with the server. I allowed myself to be convinced that everything was, in fact, fine, and I felt ridiculous for having asked for help. Two or three hours later, the computer and the connection would crash. Now, after months of physical and psychological wear and tear, I simply accept that technology is stronger and more powerful than me: it works when it wants to, and when it doesn't, it's best to sit down and read the paper or go for a walk, and just wait until the cables and the telephone links are in a better mood and the computer decides to work again. I am not, I have discovered, my computer's master: it has a life of its own."

-- Paulo Coelho, The Zahir (2005)

How I wish that people would realize this, in the light of all these patching problems.

I'm not saying that people do not have a right to complain; on the contrary, they have every right to. But please, I'd wish they'd complain in a civilized manner, and not posting at least 5 threads in every section on the same topic. At the very least, I hope people would keep to one thread, read everything that's been posted before to see if their questions have been answered, and well, rant without yelling (figuratively speaking).

I hope they see that we Immortals encounter the same problems as well--behind our aliases, we are still players. I'm not done with the patching as well.

Our work is a labor of love--even though you may say we have perks--it's still a very very hard job. And I wish that people would make things a little bit easier--not just for us, but for the community as well--by at the very least not adding to the problem thru flaming. A perfect community can only be built with the cooperation of both player and admin.

Back to work now, I guess.

The Advent of the Immortals

A pleasant day to everyone!

It is I, the Keeper ColdFlare, greeting you all today as we open the gates to our humble courtyard, the Imperial Gardens. I pray that everyone paying a visit would find themselves comforted and enlightened to the Path.

But there may be some lost souls wondering where they have stumbled themselves into and some might be curious as what we really are and for what purpose we serve in the Perfect World. Allow me, then, to shed some light on your queries and curiosities.

What will follow is an FAQ taken from the Perfect World Message Boards. Please take some time to read up about us.

What is the PW-Ph Immortal Program?
The PW-Ph Immortal Program is a player empowerment program where player volunteers are given the chance to help the PW GMs make the PW Community a better place and help promote good community values.

What are the kinds of Immortals?
1. Wardens - Helps with in-game enforcement of the Mandate of Heaven (Game Rules) as well as guiding new and current players with regards to game mechanics.
2. Keepers - Helps maintain the storyline for the game and the game events.

Are they GMs?
NO. They are players assisting the GMs to implement in game events and enforce the rules. They have a direct line of contact to the GMs. They are the eyes and ears of the GMs and will do what it takes to inform them of the going-ons inside the game.

Do they have any powers?
The only powers that they have is to teleport easily and not die. They have edited characters but are not able to attack, trade with or interact with players aside from chat. They are not allowed to duel with players either.

What accounts will they use?
Immortals use Immortal accounts. They don't use their own personal accounts. Also they are not permitted to reveal their identities to other players.

How often are they online?
Since they are volunteers they can't be online all the time. They however have a required amount of time for random patrols, so violators don't know when wardens will be online at any given time.

Who guards the Immortals?
The PW GM Team keeps tabs on the Immortals. You may also report any vanguard violations directly to GM Asche at asche at levelupgames dot ph. All Immortals signed an agreement putting their personal accounts on the line: Agreement is character deletion for serious infractions to the Immortal Code of Conduct.

Can I report an Immortal for violating the code of conduct?
Yes. File either a customer support ticket or email GM Asche directly (PM over the official message boards, or the Immortals boards, for now).