THE ORIENT: PROGRESS REPORT
T-MINUS 24-HOURS AND COUNTING
Sankhkare Thutmose AncientWorlds

The AW8 Committee is scrambling to finish last minute preparations for The Orient's grand opening. Currently, committee members are gathering information to highlight our newest city's first two neighborhoods and festival plans are in the works. Barring any unforseen disasters, we should be launching The Orient on April 16-17th to kick off AW's Springfest activities.

Fully furnished private residences are almost ready to accept tenants thanks to the efforts of a number of remarkable artists here at AW that have generously contributed their time and talent to create amazing artwork for our pavilions. Early examples can be accessed at Asian Perspectives: What has been offered so far. In addition, committee members have been contacted by citizens and patrons from all over AW with offers of area specific avatars. We will be featuring links to these resources on The Orient's main city page.

A list of family names representative of each of the five Orient neighborhoods has been sent to Jot for final selection. Although not all of them will be chosen, the full list of recommendations can be viewed at Surnames for AW8.

Since it was decided that each city would begin by rolling out two of the five chosen neighborhoods, the committee has selected The Yellow Lion Region and the White Tiger Domain as the neighborhoods that will be featured first, with the Black Turtle, Red Phoenix, and Green Dragon to follow.

It's been an exciting and busy three months for the committee so far — and we're not entirely done yet — but along the way we have had the assistance and input of a great many people here at AW. So on behalf of the entire AW8 Committee, jojo, Laurels, Hapshetsut, and myself, I would like to thank all of you for your support and invaluable aid.

ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD
THE ROMAN NEIGHBORHOODS PROJECT
Tanaquil Sergius Rome

You could read it in the Roman Neighborhoods Thread already: with the upcoming change in Ancient Worlds, Rome is to become The Roman World! Next to the families, groups and threads, you will be able to enjoy lots of information concerning the Roman World in text and illustration. The 54 provinces of the Roman World as it was around the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 2rd century A.D. are technically divided into 5 regions, which not only form a technical division for the html wizkids in our community to work on, but also a basic point which will be workable for Romans who like to get in depth with the Roman Republic. These 5 regions are:

Italia, Hesperia, Britannia, Africa and Asia

What do these regions embody?

Italia will be the basis for the Roman world, with its separate regions and highlighted cities like, of course Rome, Caere and Pompeii.

Hesperia will contain the whole of Western Europe, except Britannia, which will be a region of its own. Hesperia will contain Gaul, Helvetia, Hispania and Lusitania, Belgium and large parts of Germania. A featured city will be Massilia.

Britannia will be the lands nowadays called the British Islands and Ireland (did I have to mention Scotland?*s*). A featured city will be Londinium.

Africa will cover the whole western and middle section of northern Africa, except Egypt, which, of course, will be a world of its own. A featured city/region will be Leptis Magna.

Asia must be thought of as "Asia Minor", the coast of Turkey and the Black and Caspian Sea. A featured city will be Constantinople.

The first featured city of the Roman World will be, no doubt about that, Rome! Various vicus or neighborhoods are in preparation, but at the "grande opening" probably the Subura and/or the Palatinus will lead the way. In every region, the opening of the new "neighborhoods" of the Roman World will feature one city and Italia will feature Rome with one or two vicus and Pompeii (if we can all get it worked out in time, that is). The planning will be, that each region will open up information on another city as soon as the information is available and has been transformed into html codes. There will be maps and illustrations and all information will be presented in some kind of a format (Jot, I wish I could see it right now, *s*). Every Roman can pick an occupation of his/her choice, an old AS feature, which will be back in the new AW environments.

None of all this mentioned above could have been produced without the work of a team of industrious Romans, who at this very moment are searching for and collecting information on regions, cities and parts of cities, who are gathering illustrations and maps and who are, last but not least, writing it down, pasting it up and coding, coding, coding….The date of the unveiling of the Roman World draws near and still there is so much to be done!

I want to thank all those Romans, who have been and still are working on the so called Roman Neighborhoods Project, especially Maria Marius and her team (you know who you are!), Restitutus Maj. Caelius, Cornellia Cornelius and Senex Caecilius for the research they already did and are still doing, Calpurnia Caesar, Paullus Fabius, various members of the Vesuvius group and various Demis and Scribes who have helped and still are going to lend a hand in this massive undertaking (you know who you are, too!); and all those who haven't been mentioned here, but are certainly not forgotten!

ATHENS THIS MONTH
Louisa Agis Athens

Preparations continue for Springfest which comes to the city of Athens April 24th-25th. We hope you will join us for the Festival in honor of Zeus. There will be various ceremonies, trivia and games for all to enjoy. We also would like to host several Symposiums to feature our various groups and boards in Athens. If any group leaders are interested in hosting/leading a Symposium during our two days of Springfest, please contact me.

With this being an Olympic year for modern Athens, our focus is on uncovering the history of the games. We have created a new thread on the main city board for discussions about the Olympiads. The thread is located in the Academia section here: The Olympic Games.

Also new to our main city board is the new board entitled Pinacotheca. This board is dedicated to displaying and discussing artistic representations of the ancient Greek World (as opposed to ancient Greek art itself). There is also an area for members of Ancient Worlds to display their own art depicting Ancient Greece.

We hope you will make a return trip to Athens at the end of Springfest for the unveiling of Athens’ first new neighborhood, Attica! Come take a tour to see what Attica (and Athens) has to offer.

CELEBRATING SPRINGFEST AND NEW CITIES
THE SHIFTING SANDS REVEAL ALL
Hapshetsut Nebet Egypt

Egypt has been busily engaged in preparing for both SpringFest and the advent of our two new neighbourhoods on May 2. Much has happened in the intervening month with many continuing to contribute time and effort towards making both these occasions a fitting tribute to our city which, rumour has it, will be undergoing a name change to Egypt World! Kudos and thanks go to all those who have worked so hard to shape ideas and contribute graphics and maps for the neighbourhoods in particular. Special thanks go out to...well, you all know who you are! Accolades and thanks to you all!

Egypt Worlds's two new cities, Waset (Thebes) in Upper Egypt and Abedjou (Abydos) in Lower Egypt, will be unveiled at last on May 2.

April 18 and 19 will see Egypt's SpringFest activities occur. Three main events are planned: a Pharaonic 'Race to the Djet Pillar', 'A Day in The Life' which focuses on the other end of the social spectrum, and the 'Malkata Palace Scavenger Hunt' in Waset. This year a prize will be on offer to the individual who scores the highest points through participation in Egypt's SpringFest activities. The nature of the prize will not be revealed until the close of festivities on April 19 ;) Details of the competitions will be posted in the Announcements thread.

Groups continue to flourish with a new group starting this month which has already attracted quite a lot of interest. Focussing on The Late Eighteenth Dynasty, it hopes to provide a forum for the discussion of those times with an emphasis on the reign of Akhenaten and on those factors that led to the emergence of the Heretic King. Thanks to Sankhkare Thutmose and Senbit in getting it up and running. It was a sorely missed period of Egyptian history!

The Scribe's Palette had hoped to present The Golden Stylus winners for April but this has been postponed until this month.

As you can see Egypt has been and continues to be an active and vibrant place ~ and there is no let up for the forthcoming month! An open invitation is extended to all citizens of Ancient Worlds to come join us in celebrating SpringFest 2004!

BELTANE
A GOODLY FIRE!
Flidais Niafer Celtia

We are planning a very special Beltane in Celtia this year as part of SpringFest. Two new cities will be opening in our section of Ancient Worlds - Lugdunum and Tara! To celebrate this happy occasion, the traditional Beltane fire will be kindled in Lugdunum and torch-runners from Celtia's families will carry the sacred flame over land and sea, all the way to Tara. Then the festivities will begin!

Come and join us in Celtia as we revive the ancient art of boar-hunting. No weapons allowed, only bare hands on the greased pig. The biggest boar captured will be brought in all its glory to the feasting hall.

Celebrity guests from Celtic history will be making appearances in the Standing Stone chat room throughout the festival.

The usual axe-throwing contests are set as the warm-up for a three part lumberjack competition.

Of course it wouldn't be Celtia without at least one big bard-to-bard challenge, theme/s to be announced.

A cattle raid is rumored to be brewing.

And speaking of brewing, Kate MacRoth's booth will be open as well as Moss Niall's healing tent. Past experience suggests that for the convenience of our guests, these two should be placed side by side.

There just may be a May Queen and May King if we can find two qualified candidates.

The Feasting Hall will offer a place for all to gather and enjoy the food, drink, bragging, storytelling, boasting, dancing, bragging, fellowship, boasting, and...well, you get the idea? The Fianna will be present in full force to serve as an escort to those who feel they might for some reason need protection. They will also demonstrate the ancient warriors' art of boasting and bragging to its highest degree.

Don't miss Beltane in Celtia - we promise a good time for one and all!

NEWS FROM CELTIA
Flidais Niafer Celtia

The Celtia lands of Ancient Worlds continue to grow and prosper as we all move together towards Spring! The newest roleplay group, Clan Cumhaill, offers a homecoming for one of the largest and most consistently active Irish families to migrate here from Ancient Sites. Led by the fearless and often boisterous presence of the Ceanfine,Eoghain Cumhaill, the Children of Fionn await you as friend or foe!

The rising of Clan Cumhaill also heralds the upcoming Springfest, when the first of the new "neighborhoods" will be introduced in Celtia. A discussion is currently underway to decide which historic homelands will be the first to appear. So far it has been agreed that Tara, symbolic of our past, present and future hopes, should be featured in the opening of this exciting festival. Let your voice be heard in this important discussion now by posting your opinion at The Feis as soon as possible! Time is growing short.

April 30 - May 1 is Celtia's turn to host Springfest, appropriately coinciding with Beltane. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to the bonfire, with even more than the usual reasons for celebration this year.

One final news item from Celtia is all about a citizen of Germania who over the past several months has endeared himself to our community. On February 26, Amleth Yngling became father to a healthy and beautiful 7 pound 12 oz son. Our congratulations to the Keeper of the Ford and his family!

See you all on Beltane! Happy Spring!

MACHU PICCHU CITY NEWS
Bryce Yupanqui Machu Picchu

New Aztecs, Mayans, Incans and Native Americans as well as some familiar personas have been hard at work planning for SpringFest and the advent of AncientWorlds neighborhoods for MachuPicchu. Besides planning activities and working on neighborhood activities, new groups have been formed to supplement the province boards representing the four main cultures that are in the MachuPicchu city, and what will ultimately be our neighborhoods.

Turtle Nations: Historical discussions on the pre-European cultures of North America led by Mangas Cochise.
Calakmul: Welcome to the kingdoms of the Maya , led by Sak Biyaan ShieldJaguar and Acolnahuacatzin ShieldJaguar.
Tenochtitlan: Welcome to the Valley of Mexico and the Aztec Empire, led by Xolotl Huascar.
Tahuantinsuyu: Welcome to Tahuantinsuyu, the Land of the Four Quarters, the Empire of the Quechua (Inca), led by Anahuarque Coya Yupanqui
At Library of the Americas, Star Eyes CrazyHorse has been busy as a researcher preparing us all for PowWow.

Our current SpringFest plans include a mini-cultural festival masterminded by ChanChan Tupac. A unifying theme to our festival is maize, the domesticated grass that touches all of the civilizations in our small part of AncientWorlds. Highlights will be a storytelling chat, featuring a corn tale, hosted by Mangas Cochise and an Incan play, Apu-Ollantay, put on by Anahuarque Coya Yupanqui, assuming all goes as planned. At an individual participation level, there will also be an activity designed to test your knowledge of the cultures currently in AW MachuPicchu, with a special prize to be announced later. We will be highlighting two of our neighborhoods as well, the Aztec Western province and the Maya Eastern province.

For the neighborhood project, the citizens of MachuPicchu worked very hard to identify job titles in English, Nahuatl, Quechua and Wikipedia. Prompted by Xolotl Huascar, these were requested for collection so that when the neighborhoods that will be featured in SpringFest come to life afterwards, citizens may have an opportunity to associate themselves with a profession. The previously mentioned Anahuarque Coya, Mangas and Acolnahuacatzin, in addition to Izhinawensiwag Sealth and Itzel Tupac prepared an impressive list, in the Neighborhoods, Jobs and Family Leaders thread.

Several Machu Picchu homes were entered in the Arachne Best Homes contest. Regardless of the outcome, please stop by and visit:
Sam YellowBird
Xochiquetzal Tupac
Anahuarque Coya Yupanqui

On behalf of MachuPicchu, we look forward to seeing you all at SpringFest 2004 on Monday, April 26 and Tuesday, April 27.