Okay folks, it’s the big reveal. I want you to imagine me shuffling five coconut shells around on worn table in a seedy alley at this point. Have it firmly in your mind? I’ll wait.

…

Right! The names posted on the columns from March 26th to April 1st now represent the people who actually wrote the articles. Just so you don’t have to dig through the archives, here are the links to that week’s Open Doors, Grandmother Tales, Tell Me A Story, Worlds in Motion, and Building Character columns. I’ll refrain from listing who wrote what in this post, since I don’t want to spoil anyone’s surprises.

Have fun reading. And thank you, both for your indulgence and your clever guesses.

-Sean

And with Mike’s column today, Royal Archivist has wrapped up its two week April Fools mix-up. I kept meaning to write a little explanation about the project, but doing it too early would have given the game away.

Last week, you might have noticed that each of our talented writers traded columns with someone else on the team. Marci handled Open Doors with an overview of space travel in the Ingressa, Geoffrey McVey told the story of Arta with the mythological flair required of Grandmother Tales, Sister Incognita extrapolated the cultural meanings of color from the real world to the Ingressa for Tell Me A Story, I tried to fill big shoes with gladiator sandals over at Worlds In Motion, and Mike McArtor, our founder, tells a tale of dangerous ladies in Building Character.

What some of you may or may not have noticed is that the week before that (March 26th to 30th), some of the columns might have seemed a little… off. Then again, maybe they didn’t, because the writers here at Royal Archivist are as talented as they are deceitful, which I mean in the nicest way.

You see, we also traded columns the week before April Fools, we just didn’t change the names on the columns. I’ll be correcting that oversight early next week, but if you feel up to the challenge, why not go back in time a little and see if you can guess who wrote what? Your clues:

1. No one wrote their normal column that week.

2. Everyone only wrote one column.

3. We did not bring in any guest writers.

I admit it’s not quite filling in brackets for March Madness, but we do what we can. You can post your guesses in the comments or just email me directly at sean@royalarchivist.com. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t expect anyone to get all five right on the first try. Our writers are sneaky buggers. Still, if you think you’ve got what it takes, or even just want to take a quick stab at it… drop me a note!

Staff changes, re-locations, additions–the new year brings all kinds of exciting new changes in store for the archives. Some of them we’ve already implemented, even. Would you like a tour?

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Some people claim that rust bunnies are edible. I… I’m not certain I entirely believe them, but neither am I so adventurous with my meals. However, a trusted friend of the archives vouches for it, and has gone so far as to provide a recipe!

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Ah yes, the empire and its black markets. I know of the subject, but I trust you will believe me when I say I have no personal experience! But there are those who do know a great deal about them, and one such person has prepared a paper on the subject, which we’ve included with our Roman guidebook.

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On the other side of the mountains that split Sakosta, along the nation’s northern shore, a branch of the Fraser family lives in a massive great house near the seaside town of Mistport. It takes a bit more than a day by train to get there. Airship is faster, of course, but no regularly scheduled routes go anywhere near there. I bring up Mistport and its isolation because we have a tale for you concerning the Frasers of Mistport…

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Yes, it is Friday, isn’t it? Where does the time go? Well, then, do you know who Lenora Ghostshard is? The poor girl is famous all over Sanctuary, but not for anything she’s done… she’s the daughter of the infamous Ghostshard. A lot of people are watching her every move, wondering if she will turn out just as wicked and cruel as her father. I, for one, hope not. But only time will tell…

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Oh, yes, I quite know of the Biography of Lady Delinoix. How could I not? I have myself seen both publicly accessible copies, but despite the ties between the archives and TDA, we cannot convince House Delinoix to grant us either copy on loan. There is no doubt the book hides something of wonderful value, but it could drive a person mad contemplating all the possibilities!

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Aha! Welcome, welcome! Please come in. As you can see, the movers have completed the first step of the process, and so I have here some temporary guides so you can find what you are looking for!

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Good afternoon! Have you ever been to Earth? Oh yes, I have, of course. Met the Queen. Toured the Tower. Rode the Chunnel. All very impressive, of course. But all in all I prefer Novagallia. But… ah… where was I? Oh, yes! Quite. As I was saying, one of our interns has just returned from a visit last weekend to Earth. She went with a friend–a Delinoix girl who I believe originated in France. Well, they have returned with stories and photographs, including one of themselves. Haha, yes, they gave me a copy of the picture. Would you like to see it?

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