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I apologize for the condition of the history page - I am attempting to put together the types of elmements I want to use as well as the style of writing I'd like to see, strewn in with the previous history, some tales told by individual members and my own recollections - which at the moment, are broken, incomplete sentences, placeholders and jumbled paragraphs. In short, it is a complete and utter mess. Yet our current history as told largely by Mookster and Raeanna, essentially ends at NeverWinter Nights, with a brief mention of where NOR went from there. It is my objective to update the history to include significant events and enduring realms up to this point. Contributions in any form are welcome. -- Las"
Long ago spirits of mighty adventurers were drawn to a distant land where the cursed King Cleowyn, haunted his former domain with fell armies of hobgoblins and trolls. Betrayed by his chief wizard, Arnakkian, the ghost of the slain sovereign seeks to avenge his murder and end his curse.
Guarding the forsaken palace were the apostate wizard Arnakkian himself and the King's manservant, the stalward dwarf, Deldwinn and the most dreaded of all foes, En-li-kil himself, the elemental scourge at the heart of the restless mountain.
In the shadow of the great volcano "Yserbius" there gathered a host of warriors, artisans, bards, poets, jesters and healers all united for common purpose under a single banner of legendary fellowships to do battle with the evil spirits that plagued this realm, among them, the New OutRiders.
Warm was the home in which I long abided, with rich amber fires and bright faces to greet me. We danced to magical music, took our fill of splendid feasts and endless mead. E'er was I surrounded by friends and companions and our laughter echoed into the dawn.
Not in our darkest thoughts had we dared imagine it would ever end.
Yet from those very shores I bore witness to the death throes of ancient Yserbius, as the implacable wrath of the mountain finally consumed itself and lay waste to all that I held dear.
It all seems like a magnificent dream, dreamt more than a lifetime ago. I am left with only the faintest memories to inspire me, fleeting moments to fill my heart. Yet my heart is thirsting, for even these distant wisps drift quickly away and I am only grasping at smoke as I wander aimlessly through the shadows between worlds …
-- Lasarian Kinnuen
There were many such fellowships, some of common purpose, others not. Most were fleeting, yet a few endured. Those well known to the New OutRiders and other denizens of Yserbius were SOF (Soldiers of Fortune), KOY (Kingdom of Yserbius), DEADZ, The Gypsies, WP (Warriors of Peace), Companions, ILLUMINATI, SK (Shadow Knights), The Mercs and KAAOS.
The “Tavern” is where everyone gathered to rest from the trials of the volcano.
There were three major categories that most Guilds fell into. They were: Social, Teaching or Warrior. Some were a combination of both as *NOR was; a Social and Teaching Guild. Some of the more stable and venerable Guilds were: "The Mercs” and “KAAOS”. These Guilds were formed to do “battle” or to “joust”. The difference was that “battle” was done in “anger” and “jousting” was done as a sport. Regular jousting events were held.
The New OutRiders shared its earliest beginnings with a guild named The NoMads. However, conflict within the ranks resulted in a small group calling themselves the "OutRiders" striking off on their own. Of the founding members, Lady Messalina once recounted: "That guild somehow never quite came together." Later that same year a group of four friends, including the few that had left NoMands formed "The New OutRiders".
These were our founders and the first High Council: Lord Bromber, Lord Damien, Lady Elidriel and Lady Messalina.
The nascent guild was a loosely organized group with a vague mission that stated all new members “Have fun and help your fellow NOR”. The home Duchy to NOR was the Evil Way host in Yserbius. Early NOR followed this creed by socializing, questing, with a heavy element of role playing. There were many 'marriages’ within the Guild, as well as 'births', 'adoptions' and even a few 'deaths'. There were also 'wars' with other guilds when occasion arose, in addition to planned battles or jousting tournaments. and and having PvP with the warrior guild known as the Mercs.
The online marriage of Lord Damien and Lady Elidriel would ultimately turn into a real life marriage ...
As the Guild slowly grew, a more formalized rank system was developed by Lord Damien and Lady Elidriel created a basic rank structure for the membership, organized feudally as Squires, Knights, Barons, Counts and of course Lords or Ladies of the High Council.
The Alliance with the LLOA (Lost Legion of Atlantis) became a reality and *NOR had it’s first ally in the realm of Yserbius. NOR was fast becoming the dominant Guild in YS and was generally regarded as one of the most honorable guilds to be associated with.
New OutRiders eventually made forays into other realms adjacent to Yserbius, such as Twinion and Cawdor. the Guild moved to the other RPG game on INN which was The Fates of Twinion. After a year of sluggish membership recruiting, it was finally decided that it was not a viable place for NOR and the Duchy in Twinion was abandoned. During that point in time the Guild changed their home Duchy to the Mace Manor host of Yserbius, new Lords and Ladies were appointed to the High Council and Grognard (Later to become Lord) was named as Duke of NOR for Mace Manor.
One of the new Lords was Baldrak, probably the most charismatic High Council member ever to hold that office. At this point in time the High Council consisted of: Lord Bromber, Lord Damien, Lord Baldrak, Lady Elidriel, Lady Messalina. It was then that the NOR Guild was about to undergo a turbulent time of change and trouble that would see the Guild change into a radically different organization. Leto was made Lord of the High Council and Lord Baldrak, who was the most vocal and the most influential HC member decided to expand the Guild ranks by opening up Role Play Inn as a new Host for the NOR Guild. To accomplish this he promoted Avatar from Knight to Duke and gave him the mandate to make the new NOR host successful.
...as would that of Eagle and Cnedran ... and Roxanne and Zifnab.
Into an unknown sea the surviors fled ... bound for Faerun.
Duke Sarmaran, with the blessing of the High Council, founded the first Duchy in NeverWinter Nights. With the help of his mentor, Duchess Gwen, they began to rapidly increase the population of NOR in its new home on AOL. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
For years untold, the lands of NeverWinter were home to many folks of power and might ... This was a land of magic, a land of glory, and a land doomed to become a victim of it's own excesses.
The continual use of such powerful magicks on a land by so many folks for such a long period of time finally began to take it's toll ... a family gone from it's farm, a guild's scout disappearing ... The final event that quelled any doubts was the formation of the Nothing.
A great pitch-black cloud had appeared at the edges of the realm, completely surrounding it. Nothing that ventured in ever ventured back out. Nothing. In time, the cloud began slowly, ominously closing in on the lands, evetually cutting off this part of Faerun from the rest. As the outer lands became engulfed, people began to flee towards the center, to NeverWinter, in the hopes that it's fabled walls could hold back the coming gloom.
-- Bard of Norrath
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Until now NOR had principally been a one-game guild. Technically, there were members on both TSoY and NWN simultaneously, but the writing was on the wall for TSoY and the members had gathered in ever-increasing numbers on NWN until Yserbius' eventual demise. Moreoever, the expectation was that once Yserbius collapsed, the guild would simply move its headquarters to NWN.
The NOR "jacket" is a holdover from our psuedo-biker origins (Nomads, Outriders) and members arriving in the Tavern on their Harleys.
NeverWinter Nights would be the last time all members of NOR called a single realm their home and were gathered in one place. After the fall of NeverWinter, the scattering that occured threatened to undermine the unity and cohesion NOR had enjoyed thus far.
"Jacket" lore included a quest on Yserbius undertaken by all members to acquire a 'cloak' - which they trashed if they resigned.
Here is were NOR truly came into its own. Still the longest running Realm at eleven years, NOR was easily among the dominant guilds of the entire game with memberships rolls numbering in the hundreds. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Azure & ardent, the NOR colors (blue and silver) were born of the crafting skills on UO and members dying their cloaks the same color to more readily recognize fellow NOR.
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The addition of white (or silver) was a mere convenience for visibility and contrast to the blue.
EQ2 was to become the core of NOR for the next seven years, populated by the vast majority of its members and host to several High Council members. Although Warcraft would eventually come to rival EQ2 in size ... Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Founded late in 2004, by the following year, despite initial enthusiasm, the Duchy on WoW was already dwindling. When Duchess Cnedran departed in mid-2006 she was succeeded by the earstwhile Duke Lasarian. Of his return he said: "I left NOR in disgrace many years before, but returned determined to make good on that debt and give NOR my very best ... such as it was."
Yet to be written ...
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