This official news post is copied verbatim from the WoTMUD website. It is copyrighted by wotmud.org.
Aboard the Silverpike, the captain put his spyglass to his good eye and scanned the shoreline. "Put in there, at the cove," he ordered, gesturing towards the rocky strands jutting out from the shoreline. With a nod his first mate shouted "Heave to! Sweeps out!" and the crew began to skillfully pilot the ship to its new berth.
Further along the coastline, Ebony Blackwood sat back with a glass of sand-colored rum and contemplated a revised smuggler's coastal map. She smiled as her fingertip traced the entire coastline from Tear to the Shadow Coast and took another swallow of liquid fire.
Off the coastline between Tear and Illian, two vessels sized each other up and ran up their colors. "Sail ho!" came a shout from the crow's nest and within moments, the hiss of arrows in flight crossed the waves.
In Illian, Bayle Domon sat in an old wooden chair at The Frothing Slosh and made plans to reprovision his river craft. "Smugglers?" he asked innocently of the Illian watch when they asked him what he knew of the renewed ship sightings along the coast. "Privateers? Pirates? Who knows? I do be a law-abiding water merchant, and know nothing except how to captain my own ship."
Sailors on the stone docks alongside the Stone of Tear kept a weather eye on the horizon, judging the clouds in the sky against the rising tide and redoubled their work to cast off on time. Cargo loaders completed their labors just in time, and like a hawk released from its jesses the ships began to leave the harbor after the Tairen ships, flying the symbol of Tear, cleared the breakwater.
On the deck of the Victory of Jafar, the second mate rang the bell once, twice, thrice. Looking windward he made adjustments to the sextant as the deck hands went below, changing out for another shift.
Outside of Ebou Dar, the dockmaster stood on the pier and smiled as he watched the horizon. "Tis a fair time to sail," he murmured to himself, wishing once again he was on deck as he watched a sleek sloop tie on nearby. His heart filled with longing for the sea once again, he kept his back turned toward the shore and remembered what it was once like to be on the open water.
From Tear to the Shadow Coast, from Tar Valon to Cairhien, crossing the channels from island to island and continent to continent, the sea remains Mother Ocean to those who love her. Squalls and fair skies, whirlpools and dead calm, a sailor's soul can take it all in and never be lonely for land.
Yo ho! Zone Administration is excited to announce that ships now sail the oceans and rivers and you can captain those waters. We're not going to tell you how to do it, but you may find some new life in some old foes as well as new enemies to conquer. This is open to individuals as well as groups and clans of all three races, but you'll need to find your own way to dominance of the high seas. This is a strictly FOFY addition to the game and we hope it will bring you some fun challenges in the days to come.
We've tested this system for the past six months and while we're fairly certain it's bug-free we expect you guys will break it somehow. Be patient, ships are not rockets. Please report all bugs to Zone Administration only.
Brought to you by Zone Administration, Vivienne, Elysia and Nasir.