As the fog drew dense evening last, I had a most unusual experience that I felt I should share with you. I felt a strange force invade my thoughts. It was something alien, unsettling, but most certainly dark and sinister. So I retired to my study, where I dusted off an ancient tome that I had secretly borrowed from the bottom corner shelf of Miskatonic University's expansive library.

As I studied the tome's cryptic contents, the haze from my mind was suddenly lifted and I knew exactly what I had to do! I assembled the few, essential elements I would require into a small, cloth sack, rushed outside, grimoire in hand, and half-ran, half-walked to a small, wooded grove just outside the city. I pulled out the secret elements from my sack, which are most unmentionable to the reader so I shall not describe them in any great detail, and using a hardwood rod I had brought, scratched several mystic symbols into the earth. I built a small fire in the centre, adding elements to the hot coals, as I chanted the forbidden words.

The flames rose higher, and as they did, I just about lost myself to the ritual completely, if not for the brief flashes of clarity that kept the accomplishment of my goal my only priority. Soon, a shadowy figured began to rise from the thick, black smoke!

"Zi Dingir Anna Kanpa! Zi Dingir Kia Kanpa! Arise, Ashton of the Ancient Ones!"

Then, there before me, stood the very image of the Ancient One whom I had summoned forth!

"Great, Ashton, Also called Steve! I beseech thee to summon forth a forbidden smilie from the Abyss! Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn! That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."

Steve Ashton smiled wickedly, as he hissed through his hideous teeth: "So it shall be." Then a sudden flash of light and clap of thunder awoke me from my trance, and the grove became eerily quiet. The flames were extinguished; only smouldering coals remained.

I returned to my study, where I logged onto XMTS to see if my incantation was successful. "Aha!" I exclaimed! "So it is true! The unspeakable smilie now exists!" :cthulhusmiley:

And therefore, my dear rabble. I offer you, this Cthulhumas, in celebration of our new tartan, and those unspeakable, hideously dark kilts that are being made as we speak, a new smilie!

:cthulhusmiley:

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

In order to summon forth the smilie, simply hit the [more] button beneath the list of similes to the right of your text edit box, and scroll to the bottom. Click on Cthulhu to summon him. Alternatively, you can simply just type in: ": cthulhusmiley :" (with the spaces before and after the colons removed).

While I was in my trance, I also managed to convince Steve to add another, long-awaited smiley for those situations where someone posts a thread where pictures are absolutely REQUIRED!



Be careful with this smiley. It will summon automatically if you type in the incantation: "T T I W W P" (again, without the spaces) or click on it from the smiley list!

So anyway, Merry Cthulhumas to one and all, and enjoy the new smilies!

Jim Dunlop
for the Ancient Ones and
The XMTS Staff