January Newsletter || 1st Anniversary
Posted 3 weeks ago :: Last edited 1 week ago by spectralswanJanuary newsletter
❄️ 2026, Frost season ❄️
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EVENT START: 1st ANNIVERSARY EVENT
We are celebrating our 1st Anniversary on LK with a huge event: featuring a MYO event, GA batches, and Discord giveaways!
🎉 Claim your free MYO at the MYO event! 🎉
GA batches will be posted every Saturday throughout the month of January. Each batch includes a mix of sales and F2E raffles by a total of 21 GAs. Announcements will be posted in the Sales tab on-site, as well as in the Discord. Here is the schedule, get ready to see some gorgeous designs!!!
1/3/26: 🏴☠️🐋 Salt and Sundered Depths 🐋🏴☠️
1/10/26: 🔮✨ Celestial Summoning ✨🔮
1/17/26: 🧝♀️🐉 Medieval Fantasy 🐉🧝♀️
1/24/26: 🦚🐗 The Wild Hunt 🐗🦚
1/31/26: 🐍🏛️ Greek Mythology 🏛️🐍
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location of the month
January's Location of the Month is Reeding!
Draw scenes set in this location to earn a 20 wisp bonus! More information can be found in the Prompt Value Guide. Note that this location does not yet have official artwork; refer to the Ocean Map for reference!
New Prompts
A new set of monthly prompts have rotated in! Try your hand at this month's prompts: Annual Reset, Surprise Present, and Scrapbooking !
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NEW Arrivals!
Location of the month bonus
Location of the Month is a new artwork bonus, designed to encourage worldbuilding and exploration! Each month, a new location will be announced in the newsletter, and players can earn a 20 wisp bonus for drawing scenes in that location. This bonus is eligible for any prompt (including Kelp Coin and General Artwork), as long as the artwork meets a background bonus (simple or complex).
More information on how to claim this bonus, as well as bg requirements, can be found in the Prompt Value Guide!
Light items
You may have noticed these mysterious new items in your inventory: the Table Lamp, Explorer's Light, Wooden Torch, and Small Candle! These items have officially replaced the previous Junk Items, and they will come in handy for certain upcoming events...
New ART
The following assets have been reworked in the new art style: special MYO crafting materials, Affinity Totems, Affinity Fragments, all Event Pets + Carriers, all Seasonal Pets + Carriers (some have also received color alterations), and the Box of Junk!
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in the works!
1) Lore event... [expected release: February]
2) Sacred traits [expected release: February]
3) Worldbuilding info on settlements [expected release: tentative April]
+ more...
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Updates
1) Raffle results for the Secret Santa will be posted in the Discord server, stay tuned!
2) Ruptour ear traits have been reworked! Lofty Ears (C) -> Short Ears (C), and Kitten Ears (U) has been removed (previous kitten ears now fit under Short Ears).
3) All Guilds and Major Organizations have been moved to the Factions section of the World Expanded! A new Guild has also been added: The Scepter of Light!
4) The Guide Directory and Event Schedule have been reworked, and are now much easier to navigate. Everyone say thank you Thea!
5) Crafting requirements for Paint Pigments have been lowered from 3 to 2 Paint Swatches!
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Hello 2026!
It is officially 2026, meaning it has officially been 1 year since LK Launch!! This honestly makes me so emotional (if you want to read my huge ramble it's in the spoiler below dshgfdg). This year has felt so short, yet at the same time so long because of everything we've done together. Without further ado, let's take a walk down memory lane!
Here's a recap of 2025!
In January, we officially opened up LK and celebrated with a huge Anniversary MYO event!
In February, the Serpent's Glade was introduced, and Frost seasonal pets released!
In March, you began your Runestone-collecting journey with the Bloom Festival, coinciding with the release of the first seasonal site theme!
In April, we had some big releases: Skill prompts, Bulletin Board prompts, and the full map of Faia!
In May, we hosted the first Community Worldbuilding Contest, and even amidst the horrid annual exam season, you guys designed some amazing plants!
In June, new pets and traits arrived with Bay Season and the Rite of the Reef!
In July, we held an Artfight adjacent event, and your plant designs from May's Flora of Faia event were made official!
In August, we had some major lore releases: Guilds, new chapters on magic, and worldbuilding for sky islands!
In September, we enjoyed a month full of cozy fall vibes with the first ever Harvest Festival!
In October, the entire site was overhauled with new colors, artwork, and BABIES!
In November, we hosted a simple Discord Emote Contest! (the emotes are amazing)
And last but certainly not least, in December, the Serpent's Glade finally released after almost a year of Runestone-collecting!
I created Candle Noodles all the way back in 2022. I’d just started High School, and I spent my free time designing adopts to sell on DeviantArt. In early October, I designed the first Candle Noodle and thought, “huh, I should make a closed species!” I then proceeded to put everything together within the month and launched on Halloween. Looking back 1) I am so jealous of all the free time that 9th grade me had because HOW DID I DO THAT 2) You can definitely tell that “Candle Noodles” were named by a 13 year old... haha
I also had absolutely no clue what I was doing. There was not a single speck of lore to be found, it was just “candle noodles are goofy!” They had this horrendous trait sheet where all of the different rarity colors looked the same if you squinted. Candle Noodle wax color and paw-pads were also traited. I was manually rolling expedition loot and listing out everyone’s items in a very, very compact and unreadable spreadsheet before Adrian made an actually useable one (thank you). At one point, I was running 3 different Toyhouse Worlds because Candle Noodles, Lumendras, and Tortuvinas each launched separately. To everyone who’s been around and stuck with Faia since those olden days, thank you. There have been so many times where I’ve felt frustrated that Faia didn’t blow up overnight, or discouraged after comparing Faia to big ARPGs, but you’re the reason that I didn't quit. Faia would not be what it is today without all of the guidance and support I’ve received throughout the years from all of you and I'm just so grateful for that.
I also want to give a special thanks to all of the staff. To those of you who take time out of your day to check in and process submissions, Faia would literally come to a grinding halt without you. Thank you for everything you do, and thank you for bearing with me and all of the overly complicated design/prompt rules. To the artists, thank you for bringing Faia to life… the site would be really ugly without your banners, drawing banners=my absolute nemesis. To the writer, singular, aka Thea, thank you for giving this world such a compelling story to tell. I’m so incredibly excited for you all to finally see all of the lore Thea’s cooked up when I finally start releasing lore events this year. You guys also have Thea to thank for the anatomy guides and abolishment of ridiculous traits, 80 wisp fullbody values, and more. And lastly, a special thank you to Adrian for being there since day 1, and for all of the guidance and CS wisdom you’ve given me along the way. There have been so many times where, as someone who’s really only been in the CS space since founding Faia, I’ve felt utterly lost, but you guys have always been there to help me figure things out and I truly never take that for granted
I’m now a Senior in High School, and this ARPG has been one of my most fulfilling experiences throughout these past few years. I’m so thankful for all of the people I’ve met and become friends with through this community. It makes my heart so happy every time I see you guys get excited about updates, and I hope to continue bringing you lots of fun updates in 2026!
CrookedAnchors
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2026-01-01 13:51:11
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