What is the name of your allegiance and how many members do you currently have?
As of early 3 February, there are 146 members in my allegiance, up from 130 when I first took over four days ago. It would seem we are growing.

Regarding the name of our allegiance -- well, one of my very first brainstorms as monarch of our little band was realizing we did not have a name! Therefore, I declared a "Name Our Allegiance" contest, with three of our high-ranking members -- Sorren, Kylania, and Miradix -- as judges. I will take no part in the decision and made only one rule, that entries may NOT include my name. I felt such would be both unseemly and immodest, not to mention impractical, particularly if someone else were to become monarch of our group after me.

Ask me again in a week and we should have an answer. Plus one very happy vassal who submitted the winning entry for our allegiance name, whoever he or she might be.

What is your current rank?
I am Thane, rank 5.

About how long have you been playing Asheron's Call?
I've been playing AC ever since the first open-invitation Beta, back in August. This was when existing Beta players were given permission to invite one or two friends each. I was Kadera then, too, on both the Beta Red and Green servers. In Red, I watched and waited in Nanto as the final seconds elapsed before shutdown... (Why couldn't they have shown the comet hit with a blaze of light or something? The 'Connection Terminated' message was terribly anticlimactic after all the build-up.)

In the current round, I've been playing ever since the very first day of retail release, back in early November.

What world is your allegiance on?
Thistledown.

Are any (or all) of your allegiance player killers?
At this time, I am not aware of any PKs in my organization -- but this does not mean they don't exist. As a new monarch, I am still getting to know all of my people down through the ranks. However, if we do have more than even just a few PKs, I'll be surprised. We're just not that sort.

Another of our goals in the coming next few weeks will be to gather information and organize a tree showing all our people and their relationships with one another. One of our members, Coondog, has taken on this task, and I'm sure she'll do a great job.

Is it female only or co-ed? Do you have a variety of player types or are you limited to one or two types (like an all-mage allegiance)?
Co-ed, and no limitations. We have a completely eclectic mix of player types, races, skills, and heritage groups.

Do you allow mules to pledge in your allegiance?
Yes, we do. There is no point in letting those XPs and potential rank boosts go to waste. Moreover, as AC has evolved, people are learning that 'just a mule' is a waste of a character slot. People are creating mules for useful purposes, including fletching, alchemy, cooking, identification, to maintain a presence in certain key towns, and so on, not merely to serve as a mobile repository of trade goods and spare equipment.

I even have one mule on my second AC account, created especially to learn Item magic to the Portal spell level. At level 9, Lamia can cast Lifestone- and Portal Recall, as well as Portal Tie. She advanced by having another mule, a crossbow specialist named Ai, sworn to her, as well as practicing her identification skills at every opportunity. When I was hunting near the Jojii house, in the Direlands at the Small Black Hill, and since I lack Item magic at present, Lamia frequently brought me arrows and mana charges, while I loaded her up with jewelry and magic items for the return to Qalaba'r.

Also, if you are ever near Qalaba'r in Thistledown, be sure to see Tickle there sometime. Working for Kylania, she's a mule in her teen levels who has vassals of her own, and even something of a fan club -- not to mention a truly wicked fashion sense. She has Portal spells, too, and there's not much she can't identify.

What do you offer your vassals and what do you expect from them?
What do I offer my vassals? Anything and everything I can, ranging from equipment to information, not to mention companionship and a sense of 'family' -- at least I hope. What do I expect from my vassals? Only that they enjoy themselves and uphold my good name.

My number one goal as monarch of our allegiance is for everyone to have fun. That's it.

Do you organize your followers according to an allegiance tree or just allow them to join and recruit at will?
People join and recruit at will, although from time to time some of us have, with the consent of everyone involved, reorganized the tree to be somewhat more efficient. For instance, I am Thane rank only because Kylania has been especially clever in organizing the people under him to help boost his rank. I also like to try to match up vassals with patrons who can help them. So for example, the last time someone came to me asking to join our allegiance -- Taia Moonkeeper, a young mage -- I sent her to Sorren, one of the premier archmages in Dereth.

Other than that though, no, we have no hard-and-fast rules.

Does your allegiance have a history in any other games?
No, we don't. We met in Dereth, although I believe a few of us may have known each other from other online RPGs.

Were you ever a part of another allegiance? If so, why did you choose to leave them and start your own?
Yes, I was part of another allegiance, until the end of January. (Get ready for a long story...) That one also did not have a name, but it was generally known as 'Obsyan's Allegiance'. I joined them when I was level 21, recruited by a very noble and well spoken man named Nitsutez. I couldn't have asked for a better patron in Nitsutez or monarch in Obsyan. They embodied everything noble and good, and I was so very proud to wear Obsyan's name.

Unfortunately, over time, both Nits and Obs became dissatisfied with their place in the world. Nits in particular felt that by time he'd reached level 38, he had made several crippling errors in the development of his character. As a result, he started over as Symian, a crossbowman with Item magic, and swore to Sorren (who in turn has been sworn to me since our very first few days online). Despite his change in character, Symian made it clear he wished to stay within the Obsyan organization, no matter what happened. Since Nits was more or less a dead character, he released me to swear to Obsyan directly, which I did at the beginning of January.

About six weeks ago in RL time however, some of us began noticing that Obsyan and his brother Alastron (they shared their account) weren't playing much. When the two were online, they often talked about how bored they were, that there were no challenges in Dereth, nothing new to do. Alastron in particular seemed to disappear. Then, a few weeks ago, Obsyan appeared to have a change of heart. He came back online, said he intended to devote his energies to the allegiance as a way of reviving his flagging interest. We started seeing more of him again.

Obs even made greater efforts to get equipment shared out among his 600+ vassals, and declared an allegiance meeting, to be held in Plateau Village this past Saturday afternoon (29 Jan). Although he did not say so at the time, people tell me he planned to announce two things -- one was a proposed merging with Mythrandia's allegiance, and the other was to tell everyone he wanted to go PK.

Well, if those had come off as intended, it would have been a bombshell already, because for my own personal reasons, I didn't want to be sworn to a PK -- and I suspect a goodly number of my vassals would feel the same. Also, the merger with Myth's organization might've been problematic because some folks in Obs's group are known to have personal objections to certain people within Myth's. (Still got this all straight? Just wait, it gets better.)

Okay, so there we are at Plateau, close to a hundred of us in all, a pretty sizeable chunk of Obs' allegiance. I am the senior and highest ranking person there. Of course with 100 people, there came the inevitable portal storms. Ugh. I did what I could to keep order, told people to spread out, and generally tried to run the show until Obsyan was to show up.

Only he never came. Ten minutes after the start of the meeting, I heard via someone with ICQ access that Obs had been knocked offline was reporting logging problems. Thirty minutes after that, nothing. After forty five minutes and word that more than one person had been put into peril from the portal storms, I announced that on my personal authority I was hereby canceling the meeting, and asked anyone who could to open portals back to the eastern lands.

After most of the attendees had departed, I got word via that same individual and confirmed by another that Obsyan told them that his Zone account appeared to have been hijacked. The story was that he'd downloaded a virus, ACMacro.exe from the AC Help Boards, and it supposedly had trashed his entire computer.

About an hour after that, Alastron came online and started engaging in some very peculiar behaviors, including turning on @notell -- something Al never did. Then Al went away and Obsyan came on, perhaps three hours after the scheduled start of the aborted allegiance meeting. Only Obsyan also had @notell on (something else he'd NEVER done before), and he announced "I got my account back, everything's okay. I'll be in touch later". Someone reported seeing his character in Plateau Village, killing cows with a Sword of Lost Light, also entirely out of character for him. I sent several frantic @p messages (which bypass @notell), demanding to know what was going on, but Obs never answered a single one.

We knew an imposter was using the account, of this at least we were certain.

When people managed to get hold of Alastron (or Obsyan, we're not sure which brother it was) via ICQ, he complained bitterly about the theft, told us that the Zone personnel refused to help him, and said it was useless, the account was gone. He asked that we follow the imposter around and destroy his gaming experience.

No, wait! we said. This is crazy! There's got to be a way to get the account back, we told him. Those of us who counted ourselves Obsyan's and Alastron's loyal friends moved heaven and earth. First, we persuaded a high level Sentinel to impose a 48 hour block on the account. Next, over the next day, we contacted Zone support and made all the arrangements. All Alastron/Obsyan had to do was make a single phone call, verify identity through a credit card number check, and the account password would be emailed -- sent to the email address of record when the account was opened, not to any new address that had been added in the last two days.

It was then some few of us began to suspect something was terribly, terribly amiss. Upon being presented with the information, Obs told Mythrandia on ICQ, "I'm sick of AC because they have nothing to offer high level characters. I can't even PK as an unarmed fighter, because the archers and mages will eat me alive. Haven't you figured it out yet? I took the lowest possible way to leave the game."

Myth was the first to realize the true scope of his betrayal. She was heartbroken, because they'd been the closest of adventuring friends since the day AC went online. The rest of us were simply stunned. When the full details became known, we learned that he'd had sold his account via private auction on eBay. The whole story about a virus and the Zone account theft was a complete lie; there was no virus and nothing had been stolen. And this poor guy who bought the account, whoever he is, was being hounded by enraged vassals of Obsyan and Alastron.

Sunday night, some of our higher ranking members were gathered in Mayoi, and then later portaled to the Crater to escape eavesdroppers, to discuss the fell news. With both the blessing and at the urging of Symian, Sorren, Kylania, Ueal, Leoncour, and even Mythrandia, I broke my allegiance to Obsyan.

(The following day, I confirmed for myself via ICQ in a private conversation as to what had transpired. At first, he tried to continue in the lie, but after I confronted him with what we'd learned and what Myth had put together, he finally admitted having sold the account. The lie, he said, was because he'd been too ashamed to tell us the truth.)

Initially, I'd no real intent to stay as monarch. However, with such short notice, there was no way we could swear to someone else and not have an even bigger mess on our hands. Besides, to whom would we swear? So we decided we would stay independent, with me at least as figurehead, for a few days or a week. There was a lot of explaining to do, information that needed to be shared to everyone affected -- and it was felt that few would object to seeing me there as leader, if even temporarily.

Then, something changed. At first shyly, then more boldly, members of our allegiance began saying not only should we stay independent, they wanted me to stay on as leader -- assuming of course that I was willing to take the job, and in the past, I'd expressed reservations about being monarch of a large organization. Thing was though, ever since that failed allegiance meeting, I'd been acting like a leader, and rather than finding the task too daunting, I was actually beginning to enjoy myself. The initial mild urge to "try the crown on for size" had become a desire to see if I could really do the job.

So there you have it. I've no idea whether my people will feel I'm worthy of keeping the title, but I intend to try. Given our numbers have actually increased in the last few days, I'm beginning to suspect that maybe I can really do this -- and that people really want me to succeed. I feel quite humbled by the outpouring of support.

      *Addendum*

Do you recruit new members or just wait til people ask to join? If you recruit, how do you go about it?
A long while ago, I recruited, just to win myself a few vassals. Then I stopped, feeling I had as many people under me as I could comfortably work with. Still, over time, new folks have slowly accumulated.

The closest I came to actual recruiting recently was just the other night, when I ran into an old friend, Stonewall, and his vassal, Galtrag the Boar. We got to talking and I mentioned that I would like it if he joined my organization, and that on the basis of our friendship, I'd be willing to take him on as a direct vassal. After much thought, he accepted -- a definite high point to my evening. (It didn't hurt matters that Galtrag was very keen on joining, and so practically nagged Stonewall into signing up.)

That's pretty much as far as I'll go with recruiting. If I like someone and feel they have qualities compatible with our allegiance, I'll let them know I'd like them to join us. Then I drop the matter, unless they wish to discuss it further. I've never liked the idea of talking someone into joining, using persuasion or outright bribery. If they want to be part of our organization, they'll join. If they don't, that's fine too. I once recruited Wandering Star, a long time ago. She said no, she wanted to stay independent. I said 'cool by me' and to this day we remain very good friends, helping each other whenever we can.

I also feel it's perfectly acceptable for people of different houses to have adventures together, or even for different allegiances to ally with one another. In our case, we consider ourselves close to the other remnants of Obsyan's former allegiance, as well as that belonging to Mythrandia.

In a related area, it is my opinion that anyone wishing to leave an allegiance should have to do nothing more than ask their patron to be released. I still feel somewhat bitter that this option was denied me when my former monarch sold his AC account, and must live with the reminder that I broke my tie to him every time I see the allegiance screen: "You need 6250 xp to re-swear allegiance..." I don't know why, but it bothers me.

Do you have an allegiance contract?
No we don't. However, we do like to foster the notion that we're all in this together, that the ideals of chivalry and nobility are good ones that should be upheld at every opportunity. The strong should always come to the aid of the weak. Honor and good reputation are the most valuable possessions a person can ever have.

Do you have a town that you consider your headquarters?
Until recently, we've been based primarily in Qalaba'r, but the dramatic increase in portal storms there since the last patch, as well as a rather disturbing trend of increasing thievery -- people scamming the unwary and newbies, others performing the infamous snatch maneuver (intercepting something being exchanged between two people), outright theft of packs in the process of being transferred between mules -- has led me and several others to consider moving elsewhere. We have two or three candidate towns in mind, but have not made a final decision. Baishi seems likely.

Do you primarily adventure in one geographical area or do you cover the world?
I and my comrades venture all over, although when we find a particularly good spot, we'll stay a while, perhaps a week or two, before moving on. Usually by then, that which attracted us to the spot has been noticed by others, who then arrive in droves. These days, I'm often in the Direlands. For a while there, I spent much time at the Jojii house, near the Small Black Hill, but it's become too crowded, and many of the people there now think nothing of putting others in grave danger -- sometimes stooping to deliberate attempts to get others killed. (On the other hand, who am I to say that portraying an inconsiderate jerk or homicidal sociopath isn't as valid a role-playing character choice as going the noble chivalric route? Also, I've found that treating these individuals as mere hazards of the local terrain has helped reduce the feelings of indignation and annoyance. And if that doesn't work entirely, I have been known to use @squelch <name>.)

No, when a particular place I've been enjoying becomes camped, over-populated, or simply unpleasant, I and my adventuring partners just move on to other places, other challenges. Dereth is a big world, and not a single piece of it belongs to any one person or group of people.

How much maintenance do you do in order to prevent your vassals from becoming unhappy and leaving? What do you do to keep their loyalty?
I dislike that word, 'maintenance'. It bespeaks some sort of drudgery that, if I do it right, will simply keep a bunch of faceless individuals sufficiently content that they won't choose to break with me. Yuck.

I am who I am. When I am able, I help those who ask aid, without thought of recompense, regardless of whether they are inside my allegiance or out. I believe in fun and adventure, and that if existence in Dereth becomes a chore, we're doing something wrong. I believe in seeking out the new arrivals, to help orient them in their new surroundings, offer them advice and a little critical help in getting started -- again, without the least thought to repayment or requests to join the allegiance. I believe in friendship -- and that this whole allegiance thing should only be one means of expressing the links of friendship between people, not of setting one person above another, or creating one group to oppose another. True friends do not need allegiances to be friends, and allegiances do not need to merge to ally with one another.

If my vassals need knowledge that I have, I give it to them. If they need equipment, armor or weaponry, and if I have it, I give it to them; if I do not, I strive to obtain it for them. If they want company and adventuring companions, I either do it myself or seek individuals of similar or complimentary skills and capabilities, so they can enjoy themselves.

As far as I'm concerned, there is truly one main goal in Asheron's Call, and it's to have fun. If you're not having fun, there's no point in playing (which is the real reason my former monarch left, he just wasn't having fun anymore). As a monarch and as a player with some experience, both in AC and other RPGs, there's a fair amount I can do to help others achieve this goal. When a vassal signs on with me or with someone close to me, sure, I hit 'em with a bunch of stuff -- not only do they enjoy it, it helps lighten my mules. But I tell them right off the bat that my job as patron and monarch to help them enjoy themselves, to be a friend and to introduce them to other friends. As simple as that.

Do members of your allegiance regularly team up to go adventuring, especially to do some of the more difficult quests?
Oh yes, definitely. When I was level 30, a whole bunch of us went on a quest to the Hall of Lost Light, defeating the Guardian there repeatedly until all of us -- including the mages -- all had Swords of Lost Light. More often though, we simply gather and go forth to find what we can find, like the other night when Sorren, Kylania, Ueal, Leoncour, and I explored the Obsidian Plains and dared the vestibule areas of the Virindi Fortress.

I think this is one of the best things about being in an allegiance. You've got people around that you know, and you know you can count on.

Would you like to see allegiance wars implemented in the game?
No, I would not.

If so, how do you think they would affect the game and how would they make it better?
Given I wouldn't like to see allegiance wars in the game, obviously I think they would only foster a really nasty dog-eat-dog environment, much like the vicious situation on Darktide. Dereth is challenging enough without having it degenerate into a never-ending version of Quake Arena.

Are there any allegiances that you currently have feuds with?
No. I dearly hope this never happens either. If it does, I will likely step down as monarch.

Do you have any minimum rank-required type items that you use?
Yes, I do, although I try not to depend too heavily on them. Just in case, you know? I've an Endurance IV ring, and a Creature IV wand, both rank 4. Probably a few other items squirreled away somewhere.

What do you think is the best thing about the allegiance system?
I think the best thing about the allegiance system is it encourages people who would probably otherwise ignore each other to connect. The second best thing is it allows us to formalize the relationship in such a way that it creates benefits, such as the chat channels and experience point pass-thru.

What would you change about the system if you could?
According to my understanding, XPs not only go to the monarch from the pool, but some come back to the vassal. It'd be nice if people could see what they're getting in both directions, not just what is being coming up to them from their vassals, and what they're passing on to their patron.

Another feature is it'd be nice if the monarch could assign (and change, if necessary) an allegiance name that would be displayed when one looks at a character's description, rather than simply having the monarch's name appear on each and every vassal in their group.

Lastly -- and I don't know how this could be implemented -- it'd be nice if different allegiances could ally themselves in larger organizations, and have that alliance noted somehow, without having to join and be subsumed.

Are there any in-game tools that you would like implemented in order to help you manage your allegiance?
I would dearly love to be able to see a listing of vassals more than just those sworn directly to me. That is to say, I'd like to see a tree of names, so that when someone says they're in my organization, we don't have to puzzle through exactly which three or four people links that person to me. I'm sure that others would like to see their relationship to each other, such as, "Oh, I see -- you're sworn to so-and-so, who's sworn to that guy, and he has a vassal who is patron to your patron. Guess that makes me your aunt. Or maybe a second cousin, once removed."

I would also really like some chat mode enhancements. One would be so that I could automatically respond to a /p or /m message from a vassal, without typing the character's entire name. Right now, the "your vassal <name> says to you" is so bothersome, the first thing I tell people is "Just @tell me using my name. Please don't use the patron or monarch channel, because it's hard for me to type out a reply, especially if I happen to be busy fighting." Another would be the analogue of the /m tell, only in the opposite direction, allowing me as monarch to speak to ALL of the members of my allegiance currently online. The /v tell is just about useless. (Actually, as everyone knows, the chat system is terribly flawed and cumbersome, and prone to mis-tells. I really hate the fact that NPC shopkeepers use the @tell <name> system.)

Finally, and I cannot state this strongly enough, WE NEED ALLEGIANCE HALLS! I don't care what the Turbine guys say, every now and then we'd like to get together in a group larger than 25 people -- and you cannot do that in any town in Dereth without causing portal storms. We tried to have that allegiance meeting in the nearly deserted town of Plateau Village, and several folks were nearly killed when they were portaled away into clusters of Shadows. Buildings are no longer an option since the last patch, so what does that leave? Dungeons? Puh-leeze! "Second order of business-- Um, Kylania, would you please go kill the batch of mosswarts that just materialized at the back of the hall? They're chewing on Te Heca, and as a mule she doesn't have any fighting skills. Oops, too late!"

We desperately need a private, secure location, free of wandering critters, in which we can have up to 100 people or more get together for allegiance gatherings.

Do you think men and women monarchs differ? If so, in what way?
Yes, probably, but I think this quality, this difference of gender and its effect on playing style, applies to all, not just the monarchs. However, if there's one thing I think I've noticed, it's that some of the male monarchs seem to be more interested in building their rank and growing their organizations, whereas the women seem more interested in keeping those they have happy. However, this is a generalization that really doesn't apply to all cases, because my own former monarch, before he bailed, didn't particularly want a large allegiance and took great care to look after his people. Despite my bad feelings about his abrupt departure and how it transpired, there is much I learned from him.

Do you think men and women differ in their playing style? If so, in what way?
Yes, I do think men and women differ, although it's hard to quantify. I do find it quite amusing sometimes when I see what are obviously male players running female characters, because except for a few rare exceptions, it quickly becomes obvious who's really behind the keyboard. They just act -- well, either they act like guys, or they behave like a male stereotyped notion of what women are like, know what I mean?

In other terms though, I think women tend to be more thoughtful, more deliberate and considered in their actions, whereas the guys just rush right ahead and do whatever they're in the mood to do.

Now this is going to sound strange, but I have noticed that in most cases, it seems to me that men like to gab more than the women. They'll stand around and show off their armor and chatter on endlessly, whereas some of the women I know, such as Miradix for example, finally get impatient and decide to head out for adventure because they're tired of waiting.

In other respects, I think the female players tend to be more considerate and kind, and I've never run into one who's caused me problems. The men, on the other hand, particularly the _very_ young ones (i.e., young teenage boys), run the gamut from the noble to the sociopath.

Would you ever consider putting together a female-only monarchy? What do you think the pros and cons of it would be?
No. I don't like anything that smacks of being exclusionary or discriminatory. This doesn't mean I'd object if someone wanted to create a men-only or women-only, or even mage- or fighter-only allegiance. That's up to them. All I'm saying is I wouldn't want to be part of such an organization.

Does your allegiance have a website?
No we don't, but that's something else Coondog has offered to work on, so I plan to set her to it.

Addendum - February 7, 2000

"The Obsyan Saga" -- The Plot Thickens

All right, remember all that stuff I wrote about my monarch having sold his account? And that in speaking to him, he admitted that he'd _lied_ about it having been stolen by a hacker using a trojan horse program?

In the words of Willy Wonka, "Strike that, reverse it."

Or perhaps Miss Emily Latilla said it best: "Never mind."

In _other_ words, we were correct the first time. There was no betrayal. Only a very clever hacker who knew not only how to manipulate computers but people as well.

It would appear that I, and everyone from Obysan's closest friend in Dereth, Mythrandia, down to the humblest vassal were all completely suckered by the hacker pirate. The account really _was_ stolen, and the ruckus Mythrandia and I raised with the Sentinels and Zone Support were instrumental in helping Obsyan get it back late last week.

A revised tale:

Sometime late in the final week of January, Obsyan/Alastron downloaded a program called ACMacro.exe. It purported to allow someone to create programmable keyboard macros for combinations of actions. It didn't work. Or rather, it did -- it went sniffing for passwords and other important private information and shipped it off to this hacker.

On Saturday the 29th, the day of the aborted Allegiance meeting, the hacker finally made use of his purloined password. Knocking the real owner of the account offline just minutes before the meeting, the hacker logged in as both Alastron and Obsyan, changing the account password, and generally messing around for about three hours before Myth and I got the Sentinel to slap the 48 hour ban on access.

Sunday, Jan 30th, both Mythrandia and I received strange replies to our ICQ inquiries to Alastron (his nick there). First, he complained bitterly about the theft. Then, when presented with plenty of information to get the account back with a single phone call, he changed his story and "admitted" he'd sold the account, "So sorry, didn't mean to hurt you, but I was too embarrassed to tell the truth." On Monday the 31st, I had a longer chat with this individual, gleaning many of the same details.

Only I'm sure you've guessed what was going on by now. We were never talking to the real Alastron/Obsyan. The hacker was also using his ICQ nick. He wanted to sow confusion, and it worked.

What the hacker did was keep the stolen account only long enough to resell it to some poor schmoe on eBay for lots of real-world money. He also probably took great glee in telling us, Obsyan's current and former vassals, to go harass this guy.

Our efforts in-game and out to aid Obsyan in getting his account back were helpful, but not as much as they might've been, because we were never able to tell him what we'd done on his behalf -- although he did say that the 48 hour hold probably made a big difference. (This disconnect should not happen in the future, because Obsyan and I exchanged out-of-game contact information.) He also approved of the fact that his vassals all broke allegiance with the imposter.

As of a couple days ago, Obsyan -- the REAL Obsyan -- finally manage to wrest control of his account back, after many phone calls and emails to Zone support. The damage to his characters, from what he told me, seemed to have been limited to the conversion of the Alastron character to PK status, and the fact that most of Obs' vassals broke with him, back when we all believed he wasn't ever to return.

The new owner of the purloined account has been banned permanently from the Zone, which is somewhat unfortunate because he might very well have purchased the stolen property in good faith, but hey, I have very little sympathy for someone who buys a high level character account on eBay. Caveat Emptor, you lamer.

As for the thief/hacker, they're still pursuing him and if they catch him, the vicious little miscreant will be prosecuted for malicious destruction of property, theft, and wire-fraud. (Message to all: Beware any program you might download, particularly any sort of Asheron's Call macro program, whatever its name, whether ACMacro.exe or something else. Also, use virus checkers religiously.)

Last night, Feb 5th, I had a long, long talk with Obsyan, and he and I assembled a few more pieces to the puzzle, including the details I outlined above. Some of the suppositions are still in the realm of theory, but the known facts seem to support the conclusions.

By the way, he said that for that aborted meeting back on the 30th, he had wanted to float the idea of merging with Mythrandia's allegiance, but he had NO intent for turning PK. Or, as he put it, "I don't like PKing, it's just too evil." (Another check-mark in the column of "yes, this is really Obs." Still another was that when he came online to talk to me, before I even asked, he told me several things that only the real Obsyan would know, realizing he needed to prove himself before I could be open with him.)

So where does that leave us? At last count, I'm now monarch of 161 people (yes, the number keeps growing) -- an allegiance that, although it still lacks a name because the contest isn't done yet, has been developing more and more of an identity every day.

I will also admit I was thinking in the back of my head, 'What about our naming contest? How am I going to explain this to everyone, that no, we're not going to stay on our own? Can I even persuade everyone to come back to Obs with me?' And finally, being completely honest, there was a part of me feeling a little disappointment at the idea of having to give up a role I was just beginning to enjoy.

When I asked Obsyan what he would have me do, I was expecting he'd say he'd like us to come back to his allegiance. Or that perhaps we should just wait a few days or a week until things settled down and the real story got out, and then rejoin. Maybe there'd be another attempt at having a meeting or something to help straighten everything out.

Instead, he asked me a question in reply, "So do you like being on your own?"

I swallowed and replied with a little reluctance, "Um yes, kind of. I'm finding it interesting and challenging."

He responded, "Then by all means you should do it. You should stay independent. I think you'll make a GREAT monarch."

In that instant, the last 0.0002% doubt or worry that I might still be speaking to an imposter evaporated. Only the real Obsyan could be so generous, so noble and thoughtful. I said, "If I can do this, it's only because you taught me everything I know about being a good monarch."

In the aftermath of all this, Obsyan will be rebuilding his allegiance, but it looks like I won't be a part of it. Or rather, as I've mentioned elsewhere in that interview the other day, I personally feel there's no reason why allegiance houses cannot be allied with one another.

I've yet to formalize the full arrangement, but ours shall be allied with both Obsyan's and Mythrandia's. I have also taken it as a personal quest to aid in the recovery of Obsyan's good name and reputation.

In the face of disaster, chaos, and seeming duplicity and confusion almost worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy, it would appear ending won't be a sad one after all. With that, I am well pleased.

Best Regards to All,
Kadera, Thane monarch in Thistledown