Happy New Year, everyone! As we kick off 2026, we'd love your help shaping what comes next for Iron Realms and helping us bring more new adventurers into the realms. If you have a few minutes, please take our short player survey and share your thoughts. Your feedback helps us prioritise updates, events, and improvements, and it also helps us understand how to better introduce the games to new players. Survey link: https://forms.gle/43Nz5kByngHfsGNJ9 Thanks for being part of the community and for helping us make the worlds even stronger this year! Penned by my hand on the 17th of Aeguary, in the year 994 AF.

Hi folks! 2026 has arrived! Platinum stockings are now filled! Happy New Year from the Achaea team and let's hope it's a good one! Before I dive into the monthly promotion stuff, I have the winners of the Ironbeard lottery to announce: First place is Laras, winning 1000 credits! Second place is Sobriquet, winning 500 credits! Third place is Fitz, winning 250 credits! The feedback for this cross-game event has been overwhelmingly positive and we will definitely be looking at more opportunities for similar events in future. Thanks to everyone for participating and congratulations to the lottery winners! For January we welcome back Globes of Shifting Continents to the Achaea website over at www.achaea.com.credits. Globes contain a variety of prizes, including: - Unbound credits. - Talisman caches containing pieces from the Wanderer, Memory, and Contenders sets. - Card sleeves, containing one card from the deck of legends in each. - Mayan crowns. - Bloodstained shards. - Artefact discount vouchers. - A range of artefacts valued from 50 credits all the way up to the 2000+ range. - Free reincarnations/trait resets(**). - Additional tradeskill slots(**). ** You will not receive free reincarnations, trait resets, or additional tradeskill slots if you already have a means by which to reset your race/traits via artefacts or other means in the former's case, or have 3 or more bonus slots already in the latter's case. You'll receive a different prize instead. Upon opening a globe you will also receive a bonus to experience, battlerage generation, or critical hits! There is also a chance to receive consumables! In addition, the 500th globe bonus prize will award 500 bound credits! For globe buyers who have an Iron Elite membership, every 10 globes you buy earns you a free globe. This is cumulative across purchases, so if you buy 3 globes today and 7 globes next week, you'll still get your free globe! Capping renown 7 times throughout the month of January will award you one free globe! As always, this is not repeatable. I'll be looking to hopefully set up a Tea Time soon (likely early or mid month), so be on the lookout for that, as well as all the usual fun and shenanigans to come through the month and beyond! Enjoy! Penned by My hand on the 19th of Sarapin, in the year 994 AF.

Some classleads to round out 2025 (have a great new year!): Charnel ------- * (190) [0;1;37mCRYPTBOUND[0;37m will now cause the Pariah to embrace somewhat faster, and they shall no longer possess divine grace upon resurrection. Elementalism ------------ * (55) [0;1;37mFIRELASH[0;37m has been sped up in several contexts (also applies to various enchantments and similar): - Lash ground is now 3.0 seconds base, down from 5.0. - Lash wall is now 3.5 seconds base, down from 4.0. Lash vines is now 3.6 seconds base, down from 4.0. * (96) New spell: [0;1;37mMETEORITE[0;37m. Excision --------- * (148) Increased the window of opportunity to activate [0;1;37mMARTYR[0;37m slightly. Formulation ----------- * (bug) Fixed an issue with high [0;1;37mPOTENCY CONCUSSIVE FORMULA[0;37m. Oppression ---------- * (50) [0;1;37mDEMENTIA[0;37m, [0;1;37mHYPERSOMNIA[0;37m, and [0;1;37mIMPATIENCE[0;37m have been cut from the [0;1;37mINFESTATION[0;37m list. I will monitor and potentially cut [0;1;37mCONFUSION[0;37m as well, but I am inclined that this low rate passive focus may be useful as something you can offensively adapt off of, so am leaving it for now. Pervasion --------- * (239) [0;1;37mQUENCH[0;37m has been sped up (3.0 seconds to 2.0). Survival -------- * (146) [0;1;37mLEAP[0;37m has been added to the skill, though with a much slower balance than all other forms of [0;1;37mLEAP[0;37m. * (259) [0;1;37mDOUSE GROUND[0;37m now costs balance even when it fails (2.0s instead of 3.0s for a successful douse). Twoarts ------- * (185) [0;1;37mDOYA[0;37m now increases limb damage. Misc ---- * (194) The [0;1;37mSPEED[0;37m defence no longer clears on death. Enjoy! Penned by My hand on the 14th of Sarapin, in the year 994 AF.

Hi folks! As 2025 draws to a close and the new year approaches amid the remnants of the holiday season, it's time for my end of year post! Looking back it's been something of a whirlwind from start to finish. When we began the year I did not expect that we would be saying goodbye to Nicola and starting a new chapter for Achaea, but we dove right into it and I've survived the last ten months somehow. I was honoured to take the reins and I hope that the climate and culture of Achaea continues to thrive as I believe it has thrived throughout 2025. Let's have a look at what we achieved since February... Our modernisation began with the release of Esteem, dozens of quality-of-life focused updates, new configs, updates to crafting, pathfinding, a massive classlead round (thanks Alyzar), and the triumphant return of pancakes. We hired Edra in March and he's proven to be an invaluable member of the team. Haskor ascended amid trials and tribulations. Gaderian wreaked havoc upon Narcisse while Mhaldor toiled at the building of Sapience's first modern highway. And Razor appeared for the first time! Goose Thera reigned briefly in April, and we celebrated Haskor's rise to Godhood with an Avatar CTF and a Great Hunt while Harae's volcano trembled, finally erupting in a shower of incandescence revealing a paramount fire elemental. The Serpent class underwent a full rework in May while affairs at sea culminated in the return of Neraeos to Achaea. Not to be outdone, lenses of light and a foray into Memory drew the gaze of Aurora to the Prime once again. And who could forget as the machinations of the Baron Balam Agab (that him!) began to bear fruit. June would see the return of the Asterian Restoration, one of the greatest player-run events I've had the pleasure to observe and assist with, culminating in the first new High Clan in a very long time. On Yggdrasil, shadowy figures made deals with wizards in a burgeoning opposition to the Conclave, laying the groundwork for a conflict surely still to come. The storm's fury manifested in the form of Vastar, the Skylord, and amid all the turmoil and emotion, Pandora emerged and resumed her daily bread of wreaking havoc and mayhem! As Summer marched on, Mysian Rot plagued the realm and adventurers delved into the depths of Old Inbhir Ness. From the ruins wielding the newfound (and old lost!) hammer, came Phaestus the Smith! While citrus proved a balm to the world's ills, oracles began to speak prophecies of doom for all to hear. Gear released in August as the first major new system of the new administration. This has been widely popular and one of the best additions we've made in recent years. Expansions are planned! Alongside the gear system came the Elemental Fringes, a new series of advanced PvE focused area builds. Lady Moon returned to the realm after prophecies of doom resulted in a meteor shower, and all throughout the month, the Realm of Love fractured and split, causing emotional chaos across the world until the Muse Ferenthal arose as its steward. Achaea's birthday in September saw the return of the nameless tournament, and as the final quarter of the year rolled around, the township of Bjarnstead was founded on the Yggdrasil, rumoured to be related to planar events months prior. What the Tash'la have planned remains anyone's guess. We also released a huge rework to dexterity and avoidance, and finally brought AUDIT to Achaea! Pirates besieged Targossas, and in the aftermath Captain Blackgale was taken into custody. As investigations progressed and a trial was prepared, the prisoner perished under suspicious circumstances and his true identity was uncovered as the famed Sir Gladius. Dwarven shenanigans continued in Inbhir with a cultural festival (Phaestus REALLY loves Dwarves...), and Targossas won the support of the Orcsplitter clan as new guards. Formicaries redefined totemic defence for Eleusis amid the triumphant return of Gaia, and an adventure by Ashtan resulted in the binding of Shimite's Mirror. Last but not least in December, gifts from distant realms made their way into ours, including Ironbeard's irascible and unpleasant brother, Flintbeard! While festive cheer infected the realm, Cyrene's conquest of the Aalen resulted in broken oaths, murder, and sylvanic ritual causing turmoil in the lands of the Tsol'aa while on Meropis, the Chaghut tribes did ride... As we look ahead to 2026, we plan to continue our focus on modernising the game and implementing much needed and long requested quality of life updates, overhauls to various systems, and a re-imagining of some long-abandoned ideas. Year 1000 looms in March and with it comes the Staff of Nicator Games as well as numerous other plans for this most auspicious of milestones. We'll be continuing in our approach toward events and roleplay with an aim to broaden interest and appeal in as many ways as we can. PvE will remain a significant focus of our development resources with some major plans on the horizon for additional content and perhaps something entirely new! That's on top of classleads, active Gods, holiday events, and no doubt tons of unplanned feature creep that we'll somehow squeeze into the year to come! Here's to 2026! Penned by My hand on the 10th of Mayan, in the year 993 AF.

Hi folks! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings, and festive joy to you all! Gold stockings are now filled and any that were not hung have been converted to platinums. Enjoy your goodies! Those of you who sent at least one present (there are 397 of you, what an amazing number of people!) through the [0;1;37mFESTIVE[0;37m Ironbeard event this year will also find a little something from Iron Realms in their inventories! Be sure to read the card and retrieve what's inside. The event will continue until the 31st so you can still get your milestone rewards if you're not quite done yet, fear not. I'd also like to echo the message within: thank you to everyone for being part of this weird and wonderful world that we share. It's been a rollercoaster of a year and I'm grateful for all of the continued support and well wishes. My end of year post with 2025's recap and 2026 previews will be up in the next few days after I return from a family feast. Be on the lookout for it! Nadolig Llawen! Penned by My hand on the 13th of Valnuary, in the year 993 AF.

How many years have I stood quietly in Eleusis, shuddering in my memories and not facing my fears? I lingered in the past, much like you did. Lost, broken, forgetting who and what I am. Blaming others for what I had become, when I should have been looking forward to what I could grow into. I never quite forgave Her. Displacing the blame as if it might heal me, but it does not.

Oh, dearest Celaabi, if we had known each other before, I might have helped you - perhaps we could have helped each other. I remember what they did to me, while I was in Evil's hands, smelling the red fog, feeling the way my body was [the parchment and ink is discoloured here by drops of dried liquid].

I did not expect to learn of your son and think I could help him. Sitting at his bedside these past few months has allowed me time to think, to be with myself in this quiet room. I am not a mother, but I imagine the loss you felt, the pain you knew he would feel and still accepted the burden of it. The trudge across the mountains, walking down that horrendous highway that destroyed the geography of Her worlda how terrible it must have been.

I am not brave like you, Celaabi, though I am trying to be. I look at your son, and I see the future you must have wanted for him, free of your pain and the past. His road ahead is not easy; the burdens will not ease or be lightened upon his broad shoulders, but I see your village and Eleusis gathering to support him, and I believe that he will prevail, as you would have wanted.

Rest easy wherever you are, Celaabi, Queen Mother of the Aalen. Truly, you were the best of them, and now, they have quite the legacy to live up to.

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Summary: Alianna, the Malefic Dryad of Eleusis overcame her own past with Mhaldor to brew a potion to heal the slumbering King Tu'eras and her efforts were aided by Blackwillow, Yavita, Dierdre, Miriew, Thato and Aelyn, plus a mandrake-digging black dog. She spent over a month at the King's beside, urging him to wake and return to guide his people and to honour the dying wish of his beloved mother.