It was a black reality, an empire of black magicians, steeped in evil now long forgotten. It was finally overthrown by the Hyborian tribes of the west. The wizards of Acheron in Age of Conan Gold game practiced foul necromancy, thaumaturgy of the most evil kind, grisly magic taught them by devils." -- Robert E. Howard: "Hour of the Dragon"

After fighting your way through the jungle running up from Tortage Beach towards the center of the island, you will soon find yourself surrounded by ancient Acheronian ruins.

On one side of Tortage Island rests the gigantic ruins of an ancient Acheronian temple. Its towering size makes it visible from many parts of the island, and the vantage point on the top is nothing short of breathtaking.

Aquilonia is nestled east of the savage Pictish Wilderness, west of militant Nemedia, north of cutthroat Zingara, and south of the Cimmerian tundra. It has pleasant weather and rich, arable farmable lands interwoven and fed by some of the largest rivers in the world.

Argos is a Hyborian kingdom situated southwest of Ophir, west of Koth and Shem, and south of Zingara -- where an Argossean panhandle juts westward.

Ancient Atlantis was a small continent (about the size of present-day Austria), located in the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe, which sank beneath the sea approximately 20,000 years ago.

In The Border Kingdoms: between the settlements within the gray realm of Cimmeria and the prosperous spires of Nemedia's great cities, brigands and would-be rulers carve out hordes of territory within a disparate and chaotic land. The prize of the Border Kingdoms, within the grasp of the bandit-king Atzel, is the main pass into Cimmeria-used by humble traders and merchant-princes alike. Control over that pass keeps Atzel's bandit minions well-paid, well-fed and well-armed.

The last vestiges of Acheronian magic still cling to the ruins, and few are foolhardy enough to risk the wrath of the spirits and demons within...

Its pillared halls, adorned with snake idols and the architecture of Set, are marvelous to behold though seeing them leaves one with an inevitable chill. How many screams have echoed through these passages? How much hot blood has been spilled upon its altars? What abominations wander the passageways and dungeons?

Some 3-day-old news about a cross-territory VW. On 7th January, Square Enix announced that its PlayOnline service (ie. basically Final Fantasy XI Online) hit 500,000 registered users in North America and Japan combined. Final Fantasy XI now has an online population of "nearly a million" characters. How much bigger that's going to get when hordes of PS2 users come on stream in March is anyone's guess. It would be interesting to discover what proportion of these 500,000 users are based in Japan and the USA respectively. Final Fantasy XI was Gamespy's PC MMORPG of the year 2003.