Did you see the pun I made there? Potion through the pain? Potion... pushing... hahaha, right? Ha ha? Ha? Right? See, I jammed my finger a week or so ago- my little pinky finger on my left hand- and it hurts every time I have to type the letter A. Which is a lot.

Rolith is glaring at me again. Puns make Rolith SMASH! (He and George Lowe get along really well.) But on to the meat of the delectable sandwich of information that is the Design Notes!

So, I have to ask. Do you feel lucky, hero? Well, do ya? If you don't, you should, because this is the start of the luckiest time of the year, and YOU lead a charmed life! For a hero.

This week, you're fortunate that we'll be releasing an Earth Orb quest, especially because you'll be heading back to Guardian Fortuna. But don't get too wrapped up in what you're talking about with her, because dark and deadly events will be going on while you're chatting about the weather, weapon polish, and Celestia's favorite tea.

We'll also be introducing the Lucky Storybook! Much like the Hero's Heart Day storybook, the Lucky Storybook will allow you to re-play previous years' Lucky Day events. Lukkhi the Sneevilchaun will be playing the part of Master of Ceremonies (and boy, did we have to promise him a LOT of gold to fulfill the role).

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So far in this earthy Saga you've recovered the Secret of the Thorn; discovered the origin of the Elemental Orbs; met Trey Surehunter- Valencia's father- who's motives are suspect but who has managed to be helpful; saw a Salad and DIDN'T eat it; same with the Fruit Loop; fought golems sent by Sepulchure; watched as Fae (who is FINALLY in the game!) whisked to safety by Trey... you've seen and done a LOT.

But your adventures in the story of the Earth Orb are not over! Oh no no NO! You should have a REALLY bad feeling that Trey is up to no good. And if you don't, we'll wait until you start to.

... *waits*

... *looks at clock*

... *munches on leftover BBQ*

... *comes back to the Design Notes post*

Oh, good, it looks like you're done! So, we're all on the same page? Trey is suspicious? Yes? Yes!

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Many people makes jokes about S.O.O.N. lists in Artix Entertainment games (that stands for Sometime Or Often Never) when referring to projects we plan to release in the future. But the sneak peeks we're about to show you are DEFINITELY not on a S.O.O.N. list; they are scheduled for release in the coming weeks!

The new art and content in Oaklore will take a little longer than planned, but we are re-arting an entire zone. The Earth Orb Saga preview we'll be showing you today is coming up MUCH faster than that!

WILLOWSHIRE PREVIEW

Lets start with the Earth Orb preview! I give you the Entropy Dragon! (Yes, that's the official name, though you guys came up with some REALLY good versions on the forum last week!)

If that doesn't whet your appetite and sharpen your interest in the Willowshire storyline, then... well... I could make a "dull" joke to keep up with the theme, but we here on the DF team are not that rude. So we'll just say that the above preview is on the cutting edge of sneak peek animation!

Be sure to log in to DragonFable this weekend to see the next installment of the Earth Orb storyline, because it's going to be AWEsome! (I just sent out the newsletter, so I'm still in pun-mode. My apologies.)

OAKLORE PREVIEW

And now on to a preview I think many of you are interested in. A glimpse at some of the new Oaklore art!

I will warn you, it IS going to be different from what you know and love. But we think it is a definitely improvement, and we're looking forward to seeing the entire zone re-done in the updated art style!

Here is the outside of Oaklore Keep as it is now:

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It's Friday again and time to catch up on some Orb drama!

The Earth Orb and Valorus
Our last quest in the Earth Orb saga had us racing across the country side to provide a distraction for Valencia. Just exactly what did she hide and where?

This week, on your return to Willowshire, you find that the Dravir have pushed forward and they captured Lord Valorus, the original Captain of the Tower of Earth! Fight your way back into the upper reaches of the Tower and rescue Valorous and find out the real Secret of the Thorn! A brand new nature helm made by True Mortal will drop from the quest.

The Darkness Orb and Vayle
The time has come to return to Doomwood, the Darkness Orb, and the story of the luckless Vayle!  When you last left her, she had had the most important thing in the world ripped away from her.
And she blames YOU!  But all is not lost. While she is not quite a friend, she is also not quite an enemy. Even though you're not sure of your welcome with her, you'll still need to find her quickly because dark forces are moving to form an alliance with her.

If that happens, the end of the world will be nearer than it was yesterday. And you don't want that! So talk to Tomix to see if he'll come along with you and assist you in swaying Vayle to your side.
If you can't, there will be dire consequences!  A Darkness helm, cape, and wings will drop from the quest as rewards!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
By player request (/waves at Mordred) a new helm has been added to the Mysterous Stranger's Doom Helm Shop! There are now level 40, 50 and 60 versions of the Pheonix Doom!

New Music!
If you're feeling nostalgic, swing by the Shadow of the Wind Village, Osprey Cove or the Sandsea. Ghost has created new music to experience as you revisit the classic quests!

And I feel fine!
No, no, just kidding.  That describes the end of the LAST Nythera Saga!  This one won't destroy anything.  We hope.  It all depends on you, and if you can help Nythera achieve her ultimate goal: reuniting the Creatioux and Decadere!  Can you tame the Decadere?  Will they bow before Nythera's might?  (Not to mention her AWESOME fashion sense.  Who doesn't love a good pair of purple feathery shoulder-things?)  You'll see this week in the Nythera Saga: Rise of the DragonMage finale!

Ghost is working doubletime on the Nythera cutscene AND the project I'm going to tell you about in 2 or 3 sentences.  The Nythera quest will drop some REALLY nifty Void weapons that Lim made this past weekend.*

Ok, maybe it was less than three sentences.  But onwards and upwards (or outwards and downwards, if you prefer those directions instead), because as I type, the construction of a brand new town is taking place!  Those poor construction moglins have assembled another unit in... Willowshire!  You'll finally get to find out what happened to the Falconreach stable! No, we did not leave the stable door open for the horses to escape. It's MUCH more fun than that! /widegrin

As always, we are working ahead to prepare for future releases.  And speaking of future releases, with the end of the Nythera Saga this week, you'll see the return of the Clashening and Ravenloss in the next couple of weeks! 

Also, half of the DragonFable team is heading to Dragon*Con next week for crowd-filled fun (and crowd-borne germs. I REALLY hope no one gets the Con plague this year!).  We'll be having a panel on Saturday (on the MMO track) and a party hosted by Artix Entertainment on Saturday night.  If you're in the Atlanta area, we'd LOVE to meet you!  So stop on by and chat.  We'll be selling merch and, as usual, giving away free stuff! (Like the non-member pets in AQWorlds.  What will it be?  Possibly a derp-dragon, maybe sorta?!)

Big SALE news!
And finally, we have some very exciting news!  For the week of August 22nd (that's RIGHT NOW!), our AE game cards will be 15% off in Target stores!  That means they'll be $16.95 instead of $19.95.  Now, I'm not a numbers person (seriously, I took Math for Liberal Arts majors in college.  We did word problems all semester...), but that looks like savings for you to me!  You can also find our ad in the Target circular (the pages of coupons Target sends out). 

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