The last few months have seen a lot of change for Southern Cross.  Many of us left to explore other games, leaving the kinship in a rather fragile state.  During this time, Rhianwynn staged a coup and usurped the old guild leader.  She managed to keep the kinship and our kin house afloat while the rest of us were off gallavanting in new worlds.  I shudder to think what would have happened to the kin if Rhi hadn't have taken the bull by the horns.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side however.  None of those games could compare to LOTRO so many of us have returned with renewed enthusiasm for the game!  Rhianwynn has gladly relinquished leadership of the kin to me, Aelwen, and I'm committed to rebuilding Southern Cross, seeing it returned to it's position as a well-known, respected kinship once again!  I'd like to give Rhi a big thank you for having the gumption to take charge of the situation!  Although it's not surprising really, this is Rhi we're talking about   <3 you hun!

New leadership has also meant a slight change in the officer team.  I'd like to welcome Beothel (Keeper of Bad Hats), Ohtarwen (ChampTank(tm)) and Benuil (the RK formerly known as Ashwyne) to the team.  Some are old faces, some are new, but all are keen to see Southern Cross restored to it's former state again.

Since returning to LOTRO, many of us have been busy exploring Moria.  For some people, this has also meant jumping off high places to see what happens...Galoras   We'll conveniently forget any of the silly things I may or may not have done however   Also, congrats Beothel on being our first member to hit level 60!  He was followed shortly after by Euphoria and Galoras...grats guys

Beothel and Euphoria mocking me about reaching level 60!

Finally, I'd also like to welcome our newest recruits: Desere, Earenthil, Sansaa and Melisandre   Here's hoping you enjoy the madness and mayhem that's Southern Cross!

What a race! We all started off in Michel Delving on our lowbie hobbits for a race to Angmar, with Ky monitoring the competitors to prevent any dodgyness from occurring. Everyone (except one nub little hobbit, who went through Evendim...lol <3 Aels!), went the logical route East through Bree-Land and then North through the ND, with Ash taking the early lead. However once in the more dangerous North Downs, Mirzy went the sneakier route North along the mountains to stay away from the Aurochs, and thus winning the race. Obviously I was the first to die, gangbanged by a bunch of eagles, but no one else managed to make it to the finish line either! So Mirznub won the 1g, and a big thanks to everyone who participated, was a lot of fun and we'll organise some other novelty events in the future, fo' shiz.

In other news, we are continuing to farm the Rift each week, with many of our members now having 6/6 of their sets, including Aelwen, Forath, Galoras, Ohtarwen, Nuclear and Mash. Grats all!

Also, it's just been announced at Connect '08 that the expansion for LOTRO will be released in the fall of 2008, which will be focussing on The Mines of Moria, with several new features including an increased level cap, two new classes to play (Rune-Keeper and Warden), new raids, Volume Two of the storyline quests, and the introduction of a new item advancement system. Looks pretty sweet! You can view the article here: http://www.lotro.com/article/514

Now for some pics of the Shire to Angmar Marathon!

The Starting Line

Ashbert and Vertnub Neck and Neck!

The Winn0r!