Greetings Starmourn,

While everyone (including us) was busy hacking and figuring out how Ta-Deth crystals work, December has creeped up on us, a cold month of celebration, gift-giving, family and friends! To that end, December in Starmourn is all about the Winterflame.

Five hundred years ago, a Tukkav by the name of Laus Koldain began a new tradition, which he called Winterflame (sometimes also called Winterhearth). The holiday was modeled after traditional Toof Circles, but with a decidedly more inclusive bent. Occuring once every quarter century, Winterflame is focused around togetherness, a way for Tukkav in all corners of the galaxy to extend their natural feelings of hospitality and warmth to non-Tukkav. This multi-racial holiday has become rather popular, with gift giving, story circles, and of course, drinking, as popular mainstays and traditions.

We'll be celebrating Winterflame in a specially arranged festival area behind the hunter's lodge in the Tosmar Preserve. Arrangements for transportation (courtesy of Araxi Lamentation) have been made from Omni to Tosmar for those that are generally unwelcome on Uycheon III. As the Tukkav are just setting up the festival now, expect it grow and have more and more people show up as the month runs its course. There will be activities to be done, laughs to be had, gifts to be bought and special, limited time rewards to be earned based on what do you this month for Winterflame.

Right now, you can go and enjoy the snowmounds, start a snowball fight, make some snowmen (be sure to PUSH mounds and snowmen), learn about Winterflame and get accustomed to the cold climate.

Now let's talk about Giftcatchers.
Giftcatchers are a Winterflame tradition that evolved from the Tukkav custom of hanging gift-laden nets in the doorways of their huts before a hunt. Originally meant to appease the local spirits, the custom became associated with prosperity and generosity over time. It was enthusiastically adopted by offworld celebrants as an integral part of Winterflame gift-giving.
Giftcatchers are available for purchase on the website and you are able to hang them in-game for you or your friends! Once you've purchased them, you can simply HANG GIFTCATCHER FOR ME or HANG GIFTCATCHER FOR <player> and it will be placed in the room! You can additionally add ANONYMOUS to the end to give someone an anonymous gift!

Once hung, they will be filled with gifts sometime during the in-game day! Giftcatchers come in 4 varieties: Simple, Silver, Gold and Platinum, with each tier containing higher and higher values of gifts inside! That's not to say that you'll luck out if you stick with the Simple giftcatcher, as they have a chance to contain all the gifts as well. After a giftcatcher is full, you may OPEN GIFTCATCHER and retrieve your prizes. Check out HELP GIFTCATCHERS to learn more about the workings of these Winterflame specials.
Among the prizes you can get are:
- a brand new snowfox minipet
- frost-cold genevaults
- Snow machines and space heaters
- Credit prizes up to 500 credits
- Artifacts up to 800cr in worth
- Matter articulators
- Goredog fight tickets
and more

Additionally, for every 5 giftcatcher of each type you purchase, you'll receive either a hunter's or tracker's version of that tier! So if you purchase 5 gold giftcatcher you'll get a tracker's (or hunter's) gold giftcatcher. These special versions contain double the reward value as the regular versions! However, these giftcatcher will only be filled on December 25th (tracker) and January 1st, 2020 (hunter). These tallies count over multiple purchases, so if you purchase 5 single giftcatchers over the month, you'll get a special version with your 5th purchase.


Also, you might have noticed a large capital ship orbiting certain planets...It seems even pirates take an interest in Winterflame. Nobody knows who captains the mysterious Ironbeard, but this enormous ship that flies the flag of the Iron Corsairs emerges from the pirate fleet every twenty five years to make its stately way around the galaxy. When it falls into orbit around a planet, it is always an ominous sight  surely, such an immense vessel would pack enough firepower to obliterate a civilization. Instead, however, the SS Ironbeard does nothing but discharge ordnance in the form of harmless gifts, delivered to lucky recipients on the planets surface.

NOTE: The SS Ironbeard will only orbit racial homeworlds (and Scatterhome, since it counts as a racial homeworld. But not Glisal II or Song) and will toss gifts to everyone who happens to be on the surface at the time. You may only receive one such free gift per day.

Happy Flameday!