This is a small guide dedicated for those who are newer to Elanthia. Luckily when I wandered into the lands, I had a lot of help. Bristenn Mires gave me clothing, equipment, and silvers. I was truly blessed to find such good company. Bristenn also introduced me to Voln and Onoir, which I am extremely grateful for.

Even with Bristenn's and Onoir's help, when I was younger, I was still silly. I picked up everything neat and shiny looking and kept it, sometimes wearing it. I don't regret doing that, for sometimes I found interesting items. But sometimes it's just plain silly. In this guide I'll be giving examples of what not to do.



*Starting out*

As a younger, or even older, character, never be ashamed to use DIR.
I myself don't fully know my way around Wehnimer's Landing, and sometimes use DIR. All you have to do is, for example, 'DIR locksmith,' and you can find your way there.

A good place to visit when you're young is the museum. You can also get experience by going to Moot Hall and into the office there on the first floor. You can ask the clerk for a job, there, and he can give you some messages to deliver.

Bristenn took me to talk to the old warrior in the Raging Thrak Inn. I recommend this to others.

You can check how much experience you have by typing 'exp.' Once you have enough experience so that you can advance to the next level, you can go to the front desk of an inn and check in. It costs about 10 silvers to do this, and make sure your weapon and shield are not in your hands.



*Getting equipment*

I think, when starting out, you receive some light leather armor, a heavy backpack, a belt pouch, acantha leaf, and some silver.

First off, heavy backpacks are just that - heavy. I believe they weigh twenty pounds when empty. If possible, get something else as soon as possible so that you aren't weighed down as much.

I was lucky that Bristenn helped me out, so that I didn't have to go through the ordeal of finding my own equipment. However, for many others, this is not the case.

You can find your way to the armory, and the weapons shop, by using DIR. In these shops, you can buy yourself a shield, and a decent weapon. As you get older you can get weapons that are made from a magic metal (mithril, ora, imflass, vultite).

To get the silvers to buy these sorts of things, you will need to hunt.
I started off hunting rats in the catacombs.



*Hunting*

First off, make sure your shield is in your left hand, and your weapon is in your right. Or when/if you decide to practice archery, your bow goes in your left hand, and the arrow in your right.

While defending yourself from a creature's attack, make sure you're defensive by using the command:
stance def

And you'll see:
You are now in a defensive stance.


When attacking, make sure you:
stance off

You are now in an offensive stance.


A good thing to do while hunting is what people call stance dancing. Always wait for a creature to attack you first, while you're in defensive stance. That way you shouldn't get hurt. Then, you attack it, while in offensive stance. Once your RT is finished (usually five seconds), go back into defensive stance.

Then wait for the creature to attack you again, and repeat this process until the creature dies. Congratulations, you are now a stance dancer.



After you kill a creature, often enough you can SKIN it, and then SEARCH it. By skinning you can get something like a pelt, and sell them at the furrier for silver. When you search a creature, you can find things that they were carrying, such as silver, gems, or locked boxes with treasures inside. You can BUNDLE pelts from creatures by holding a pelt in each hand. This will make carrying them, and selling them later, easier. Just be careful when you wear your shield to bundle.

When putting items away, always use MY. For example:
put my longsword in my sheath

If you don't do this, you're liable to lose some of your equipment.



Watch for when you're getting heavy. You can tell you're getting heavy when your RT time increases and it takes longer to be able to defend yourself and attack again, and you can type ENCUM to see how encumbered you are. You can get usually boxes picked in the East Tower that's just inside the North Gate. It's a good idea to tip the person who picked (opened) your boxes. They are often called 'pickers.'

However, try not to carry your silvers around often. There are many thieves in the Landing, and they probably enjoy preying upon young, clueless people. You can go to the bank to DEPOSIT (amount) your silver. You can go back to the bank and WITHDRAW silver at any time to buy items. This guarantees the safety of your money. Also, people can't steal from you while you're standing in front of the bank teller.
Something I didn't know for a while is that people can ONLY steal gems and silver. So your other items are safe. Don't be paranoid.



*A lesson in Ambushing*

I train in the ..art? of ambushing. This is for those who do, also.

Some people find ambushing to be deceitful and wrong. I leave that for you to determine.

The idea of ambushing is hiding within the cover of shadow, and surprising your opponent with a sudden attack.

Sometimes a creature will see your attempt to hide, and you will be unable to do this. Do not be discouraged. I recommend being in defensive stance while hiding, just in case a creature finds you and attacks you. Yes, this can happen. However, when I'm planning an ambush I try to be very quick to attack after hiding, because the creature can sniff me out and ruin it.

A good hide doesn't take long (say, three seconds). Then you move into the offensive stance, and use the ambush command to attack a specific body part of the animal. A common, but good, tactic to use is to "leg" a creature. This is when you ambush the leg of an animal (preferably the left), and when they're lying on the ground, sometimes lacking their leg, you or your hunting partner can get a swift hit to them easily.

To use the ambush command you would do something like this:
AMB RAT LEFT LEG

Sometimes ambushing can take longer than a regular ATTACK. But, it can be extremely helpful. By getting a creature in the leg it can be easier to kill it, and/or make it unable to run from you. However, note that you CAN miss while ambushing. A creature will run if you cut off its right arm.

If it does run from you, you should probably run after it and finish it. Alert others around you that you are chasing it. Simply exclaiming, 'Chasing!' should suffice. Some people aren't very nice about things like that, so watch yourself.

Legging a creature while hunting in a group can be helpful to your hunting partners, or if you're of the helpful type, when you're older and taking a younger person hunting, it's very useful to them. Just be careful not to kill the creature instead of just wounding it, because it'll take away from the group and/or person.

I try not to ambush while hunting in a group. To me it's just not good manners to do so. You can easily miss and (if you're powerful enough), outright kill the creature. It's also not fun to hunt with a person who repeatedly ambushes creatues' heads. Be wise and use good judgement.



*History and Backgrounds*

It's hard to come up with a good story for your character when you're so young. As you get older, your character develops and changes. Your character should have their own personality. Have fun with it. And, also, I'm (and I'm sure, others in the Quill), are willing to help those who need help with their history.



*Other things*

To help you find your way around, don't forget DIR. But there is also:

http://www.tsoran.com

This is where you can find maps to get anywhere! It's extremely helpful, even if (for me) they take a little while to load. It's worth a look.

It's always a good idea to make friends and alliances while in Elanthia. The way I did this was by joining the Order of Voln, and House Onoir. It's fun to hunt with groups, or have an older friend take you hunting. This guarantees a good time, and safety. If you're not going to be hunting with others, you should try to alert others as to where you will be hunting. This is a good precaution to take, in case you should fall. Also, if you happen to die and are saved, healed, and raised - as I said with the pickers, you should tip them. Some people don't allow this to happen. If you have no silvers, try gems, wands, or something else.

Always ask people for advice! I once tried to hunt wraiths on my own, and I died because I was overpowered. Don't let it happen to you.

There are a lot of unkind people in the lands. But there are also many nice ones. You need to know where to look. Don't be discouraged.

When you're resting after a hunt, make sure your hands are empty and you're in offensive stance. Your mind will clear faster this way.

In the small park in town, people often cast spells for others. You can join that person to also receive spells that will help you when you hunt.



That's all for now. Remember, NEVER be afraid to ask questions! And, I'm always willing to help.