December 25th, 1998
Bye bye New Messageboard
For consistency's sake (and for the sake of everyone else), I'm gonna shut down the Beseen messageboard, and reroute the link of the "MESSAGE" button to our original board.  On the other hand, the other site I'm running right now is also using the same board that Daedin is using at her site.  Go and check it out at her site.  If you like it, tell me, and maybe, JUST maybe I'll get that board for our use.

Bye Bye Alphon / Ardion
Yea, I'm going... soon... temporarily though.  My long awaited New York trip!!!  I'll be away from 27th to the 2nd.  If anyone has ANYTHING important to post, use the messageboards.  I'll do a Roster update when I get back, so if there's any updates you want me to make, EMAIL them to me using the link above.  Thanks.


December 23rd, 1998

A few Roster updates
I received this from Adept Bh. Gambit yesterday,
"Let it be known that I have decide to resign from my position as a member of your guild.  I hope there is no hard feelings and in the future if we shall come across each other as either friend or foe I bid thee well and hope for your continued sucess.  Have fun above all and I bid you farewell."
Sir Athelstan also notified me of the departure of Initiate Avatar Thor.  I regret to not have the chance to get to know this member, but I ask that both Gambit and Thor to take care, we bid you good luck on whatever is occupying you.  Know that you both will be sorely missed by the rest of the Guild and we long for the day that you do return to us once again.
Sir Athelstan also notified me that Initiate Urlax is elevated to Adept.  Congratulations brother!!
The Roster is updated with these changes.


December 20th, 1998

Alphon has returned
Thanks goes to Dingo for updating the Nexus during my absence.  I still keep myself up to date with things, and... well, Dingo, stop spamming the Nexus. =)  That's one minor thing I have to comment on, otherwise, good work.  I'll be taking control of the Nexus once again.

On horses in the Tower
Holy Lord Marco sent me this:
"To all HCD. The tower is not to be used as a stable. All people who have horses in it must move them to annother building. If they are not moved by Monday, they will be sent to the Holy Cross Glue Factory."
Thanks Lord Marco!

Roster updates
In case those that still do not know, two new members joined our order: they are Initiate Rectrix and Initiate Avatar Thor.  Welcome in brothers!  The Roster is updated accordingly.

UO Real life gathering in New York
I've been gathering details from our host Cat deMedici.  Many of our Atlantic brothers will be present at the party, and probably Granyte and Sabre will go too.  All 3 of my Squires will be there also (Ty Atraites, Lo Wang and Sir Darshan).  I look forward to it!  The date is the 30th of December, and the venue will be Cat's home.  If you're interested in going and need instructions on how to get there, message me at 417898.  I'll get you hooked up with Cat so she can give you the instructions.


December 11th, 1998
Message from Alphon:

All HCDs, past and present. I'll be coming to NY in the end of December, from 27th to 4th Jan, and I'm thinking about a RL UO gathering for us (yea screw Marco/Daed/Elby/Zedd for going to Vegas without us). So far, I've contacted a couple of our fellow ex-brothers from Atlantic and they'll be organizing it. If any HCDs live close to NY downtown, and is interested in coming, pls contact me. Thanks.

Host Note: Well? what ya reading this for?

FoA Quest at an End?

Yesterday Dingo, BlackAngel, Macronus Macbeth, EdGuRaDo and a handful of Warriors gathered to save Britannia from the Armageddon spell. A full story has been written and sent to UOVault.

Host Note: Yea, that's right, I can tell stories! Check the UOVault for details! Though I don't think it's over yet!

HCD is now with The GL Alliance!

I hath recieved word today about HCD joining the Alliance and war against PKs and Thieves! (Well Thieves will be a hard one but PKs are perhaps easier to rid of) As word has it that HCD will go to war with the same PK guilds as The Alliance is, and will now fight side by side in the field of battle. And a few new links towards Daedin's and Macro's Website shall be added for convience of all. Thank you.

Host Note: I think we will declare war on the opposing guilds of the alliance...... and Dae, Macro, I'm a working! I'm a workin! Just hold your horses!

Kazola's Attacked!

Kazola's Tavern was attacked this evening by DSS a PK guild which seems to know how to lag people quite easily, if you see any member of this guild do not hesitate to recall or defend yourself for any surprise attacks. Many have Prices on their heads so if your in the mood, Bounty Hunt. But watch your back, there may be more not far away.

Host Note: Sadly this did happen and I already set my standards for Kill On Sight for these punks for killing Kazola herself along with many of my friends.

December 6th/7th, 1998
Knight Meeting Recap

Host Note: Welp, what news I recieved is that it only had 1 attendent (Daedin) and so she canceled, or so my note says that..... Don't ask me, I can't go to knight meetigs.

Mordos' Story of FoA events

Mordos Krull's Story on the 2nd HCD Message board told of most of the events within the FoA conflict a few nights back and Daedin has asked that a link be made to it: (link has been removed...contact Daedin)

Host Note: He forgot to tell about me and Ed's battle at the Battle Fields! Not to mention left out ME SLAYING JUNIN  PINCE HIMSELF! hehe, sorry just wanted to make it known :P

Lord Shep's UOOS Shard Update

UOOS(Ultima Object Orienented Server or something like that :P) Is coming along well, has most skills in and soon the Magic system along with NPCs will be added into the Emulator. For more information about the next version of UOOS please go to: www.uoos.com

Host Note: sorry just there was rarely anything else to put onto the news section. And well, Shep is part of HCD in his own way, so I thought, what the heck. Besides, I beta test for him time to time, it's worth a try to make your own shard with UOOS!

Thief Info

Dingo and Nitro entered Wrong Troll room to hunt when a Theif known as "Alixor's Stix" stole from Dingo's reg bag, but before hand Dingo knew about Alixor's Stix due he stole from him at Kazola's tavern the night before. So Dingo did not hestitate to attack, but the thief somehow got through 9 bags to his reg bag within a split second, afterwards Dingo informed a GM and talked with his Counselor friend on how he did it. Later on Two people wearing White began stealing regs and items off people, and stole Nitro's Viking Sword of Vanquishing out of his own hands! Nitro didn't wait to see what else was to happen and recalled, Dingo quickly bolted for the exit regless and with his favorite sword of power. But was able to take the names of the thieves: Liselle (Female) and Fyre De something (Don't remember, he was on a horse tough) and both held the Guild title "God's Little Children" but no guild Abbreviation, so watch out for all 3 of these thieves, they will rob you blind!

Host Note: Yuppers, this did happen, and now to reveal how Alixor's Stix was able to get through my bags in a split second:

Walked up to me, peeked in, ran around the table, came up to me again, hit last object, opened packed and went deeper in till all he had to do was go up, hit last object and hit steal.

Best way to bypass this: MAGIC LOCK

I never was stolen when I had a magic locked chest (Till Ath made me use backpacks) So as a warning, take my advice, if you don't wish to use magic lock on chests with regs or important things, then switch the same bag which the items are held such as: Once the thief comes next to you 4 times and you have 5 layers of bags, place the bag of regs at the bottom Bag and each bag over the bottom bag, kinda inside-out thing if you know what I mean. Sorry for the waste of space. Cya.
 

December 5th, 1998 (Part 2)

Dingo's New Hopes
Welcome! Welcome! Doomsday is upon us all! For I, Dingo, Adept Jester hath taken over the site! Expect many changes! WebSite Changes: As I said, Doomsday is upon us all, and now that I have gained control over HCD Website I will try to add things, such as music to make the visits more "entertaining" and such. I shall add different and "New" HTML for HCD as best as I can. I'll even place a "HCD Calendar" once I get the dates and events done (Or maybe just "My" version of the Events Page made Easy! :) . If anyone wishes to help with that, it'd be greatly appreciated. I will try different Techniques on the website to see how things go, if you can, give Feedback on what you see placed so I know what is on your mind. Or if you have any *ideas* for it. Thank you.

Host Note: I will also be adding Host Notes to give my "Unwanted" opinion. I gotta to do something with this extra webspace! Hope you'll like the new changes.
Roster updates
Sir Athelstan notified me of the Initiation of Initiate Rhyannon.  All please welcome our new sister into our Order!  Also, one of our Atlantic brothers has rejoined us on Great Lakes officially - Sir Gareth of Atlantic has rejoined us on Great Lakes as Mrs. Gareth, and she has been added on to the Guild stone as an Adept.  Finally, I was Squired by my master Sir Athelstan last night, with Sir Daedin as the Herald, and Sir Elbryan, Sir Loran, Rhyannon, Dingo, Mordos Krull and Mrs. Gareth as witnesses.  The Roster has been updated with these new changes.

Host Note: Congrats Alphon! Too bad there wasn't a part afterwords :P And hope you enjoy HCD enough to beocome an Adept Rhy, Gareth, hope to hunt with you soon. :)

Adept Dingo in charge of The Nexus
Due to study week and exams, I'll be scarcely on for the coming couple of weeks.  Therefore I have entrusted Dingo to update the Nexus and the Roster while I am away.  I have also changed the email address of the submit news link to his email address.  If you have news or anything worth putting on the Nexus, please contact Dingo instead of me.  Thanks.

Host Note: My ICQ is 19762108

Holy Grand Master Marco Valentino's Message:

Well defenders, it seems as if our bid for the Castle has fallen on deaf ears. I recived a mass e-mail from MoOk today stating that he has decided to give it to an unnamed party. Apparently the losing bidders have to find out just like everyone else, on the UOVault. Apparently some of the more mature bids will be sent an e-mail to ask in help in administering the castle. We shall see if we make that cut.

Host Note: I'm not sure if that is good or bad, I'm only 13 for crieing out loud!


December 3rd, 1998

The Bid for a Castle Donation
Holy Lord Marco sent me this:

"This is the bid I just sent to MoOk in response to his offer of his castle on GL. If granted, this would put our goal of an HCD town in immediate reach. Unfortunatly, the time alloted for bids was short indeed, I had little time to talk to you. Cross your fingers folks.

Greetings,

My name is Lord Marco Valentino and I am the Holy Grand Master of the Holy Cross Defenders. Herein we place our bid to you for the use of your castle in the furthering of the causes of mature role-playing on the shard known as Great Lakes.  As I see the situation, you and your brethren have put in massive work into getting the funds together to buy a Castle. After building a tower ourselves, after all the price increases, we realize this was no small task, and I commend you on your achievement.  To honor this, I feel that the castle must be used to benefit as many players as possible and not to be "reserved space" for just a select few. Such a facility has been our desire for a while and our recent work has been toward creating such a dwelling.

First, let me tell you a little about us. Similar to your guild, our guild has called Great Lakes our home for the duration of it's existence. We found that the central location of the server allowed us to facilitate members from all over the country. Our guild has been active in several incarnations for over 4 years. We started off on AOL as a Nevewinter     Knights guild and then moved to Alpha World and then UO. So, to be brief, our guild is not a flash in the pan, and has weathered three major leadership changes without incident.  Our goal, is to give people in UO a place where mature people can gather and enjoy each other's company. We emphasize character of the player, not the stats and numbers of the player. When the servers go down, what is left, but your honor and character. At this point we have about 40 members of which about 20 are active at any given time. We also have many a friend who can aid us in the maintenance of the castle.

Now to the real question. What would we do with your castle to further the causes of Britannia. Like I mentioned we wish the space to be open to all. The addition of items that can be locked down and secure containers adds greatly to the possibilities. Simply put, we have the ability and the means to create an entire community the size of which has not been seen on our shard. Here is what we propose:

1. The claim period happens. And with your help, we claim the castle and convert it into a deed. We would then move the castle to the spot which we currently have reserved west of Minoc, right against a small mountain range.
2. We would then deed all of our HCD holdings, which include:
1 Two Story Wood House
1 Tower
2 Small Smithies
2 Training Huts
1 Small brick house
1 Small Tailor Shop
3. After everything is deeded, we would then start placing the facility. The center would be the Castle which would house all manner of items usable by the public. Now that forges, looms, ovens, and even abbatoirs(whatever that is...) can be created, we would create several of each all over the castle for anyone to use. To help fund our maintenance of the castle, we would consider "renting" out the secure containers in the castle for payment in wood, or gold. Next the 2 story house and small houses would be placed at strategic places all around the castle. All of the small houses and the 2 story house would be used for public use, with the 2 story house perhaps being used as a tavern. The tower, would remain for our guild's personal use. It would be set a small ways away from the town for reasons of privacy and we do not wish there to be an appearance that the area is for our guild's use only.
4. After everything is built and in place, we would start advertising as much as we possibly could, events that we would sponsor. The roof of the Castle could be used to sponsor tournaments, the courtyard a gathering place for large adventuring groups. Great Lakes Alliance could use the entire facility as a meeting place and staging area for all of their activities. We would make the place as welcoming as and free spirited as OSI will allow.

So, you might ask, why? The goal here is to create a place for any player on UO to go and use the amenities of a player structure, without the necessity of joining a guild. As it stands now, if you want to have use of a player building, you have to do one of two things. #1 Live on UO for a few months, spending several dozens of hours a week playing, to gather the funds to build one of your own. #2 Join a guild. I want there to be a place for people to go who can have some personal space, without a huge cost. A place that all of britannia can use in a mature and responsible manner.

I hope that you take our offer seriously. We building up funds for a castle to start just such an endeavor and as we near the half-way mark, we find this offer. We would love to continue your guild's legacy in the tradition of honor and courtesy to all of the land. I look forward to your response and hope that you will contact me if there are any problems or questions.

In service I remain,
Lord Marco Valentino
Chosen Defender of the Cross
Leader of the Faithful"

Thanks Marco!


December 2nd, 1998

Roster Update
Congratulations to Bh. Gambit for his elevation to Adept.  The Roster has been updated accordingly.


November 29th, 1998

Looking for someone else to update the Nexus
Hail fellow Defenders.  I will be away for the week of Dec 4th - Dec 11th due to reading week (I'm avoiding my computer completely).  And from 12-18th I have my final exams.  So I'm looking for someone to update the Nexus while I'm absent.  If anyone reads this and is interested in doing that, please ICQ me, and I'll give you the details.  Thanks!


November 26th, 1998

A note from our Holy Grand Master
I received this note from Holy Lord Marco last night,
"To all HCD. I am sending this notice to let you know that I will be extremely scarce for the next month. I can still be reaced via ICQ for important decisions, but I will not play any serious UO for a while. Christmas has a whole new meaning for a choir director like myself and it means that I am going to be VERY busy until break. I will check my e-maill and ICQ regularaly."
If any members have any issues that need immediate attention, please direct them to Sir Athelstan, Sir Daedin or Sir Elbryan, or if they're not available, to any present members of the Chivalry.  Thanks Lord Marco.

A note from Great Lakes Preceptor Sir Athelstan
I received the following note from Sir Athelstan last night,
"Hail Defenders!
I am leaving for the Thanksgiving holidays till Sunday night. I have refreshed all the houses except the ones I do not have keys to. Namely, I would like to call upon The Blindmaster (Elb), Zedd, and Olop (Marco) to please refresh the houses in front of the tower. Especially Marco's. We can no longer place houses, so we lose our security forever if one of the houses decays. Others remind them.
Happy Thanksgiving
Sir Athelstan"
Okie dokie... since Sir Athelstan is away for the weekend too, so if anything major happens over this weekend, contact either me (I'm always around), Sir Elbryan, Sir Daedin or any other member of the Chivalry.  Thanks Sir Athelstan.

Roster Call - Pending for Adept
As I've announced a while back, we're clearing up the Roster, and asked all Initiates to please contact me, Sir Athelstan or Sir Daedin if they feel ready to be elevated to Adept.  I've updated the Roster to show who has answered to this call by placing "Pending for Adept" beside their names.  For those members that do not have these words beside their names, please contact either one of us immediately or you will be removed from the Roster (temporarily at least, until you contact us again).  Thanks.


November 25th, 1998

Tower Redecoration is complete
Finally after many weeks, the redecoration of the Tower is complete with the placing and lock down of the last few pieces of furnitures.  Right now, I am thinking about using the vacant spots behind the stairs as a stable for members to stable their horses and pets.  Tell me what you think about this idea.  I'm also planning to set up the new HCD Message Board before my exams begin so members can use it while I'm absent.  Ayahoo!  I'm ready to be elevated to Squire!

New HCD Message Board
I've set up the new HCD Message Board.  You can get to it via the "Message" button on the left.  Give it a try.  From now on, all unofficial announcements (such as unassented decisions, suggestions, ideas, blah blah blah) will have their places in the message board, while the Nexus is reserved for official guild news.  Enjoy!


November, 23rd, 1998

An Invitation for Sonoma Defenders
I've received the following message from Sir Daedin, Preceptress of Sonoma,

This invitation came today from King David, Guild Master of the People's Army of Sonoma:

 "I am inviting all SA and other friends of PAS to a "social" to be held one hour prior to next Wed night's regular PAS and Friends hunt to T2A. I am opening my palace in Nujelm for this event, and PAS will provide food and drinks.

So, meet at Nujelm Palace at 8pm cst for the social, and come meet and mingle with other people that you hunt with, without the interruptions of monsters. We will then proceed to Papua for the weekly hunt at 9pm cst.

I hope to see you all there!"

For those interested, I have a rune to the Palace. We'll muster at the  smithy at about 7:30pm CST on Wednesday. -- Daedin

Thanks Sir Daedin!

More on Guild Commerce
I'd like to compile a list of craftsmen within the Guild, the kind of services they provide, and the fees they charge.  Eventually I'll put all these information in a table for easy reference.  Therefore right now, I hope that any craftsmen in the guild can send me some info on their trade.  Please tell me the name of your craftsman, what services he/she can provide, and at what cost.  I'll start off with my characters.

Alphon Geoma: Alchemy - all potions except - G. Explosion, G. Cure, G. Heal, G. Poison, D. Poison (getting there though), prices negotiable.
Galantic: Cooking - cooked ribs and cooked fish steaks.  3gp each piece.  Other kinds of food available upon order.
Swevan Tres: Animal Taming - horses, llamas, ostards (non-frenzied ones).  400gp for members, 500gp for non-members.


November 20th, 1998

Results of "Champion of the Holy Cross" Tournament
Last night marks the first Tournament for selecting the Champion of the Holy Cross.  Much thanks goes to Sir Elbryan for arranging the tournament, for it turned out to be a huge success.  All of the participants fought for different reasons, but one thing we share in common: we fought to uphold our common beliefs, and respect the honor of all that fought.  All in all, twas a great night!  The following is the recap of the night by Sir Elbryan,
"Hail Defenders! On this night we chose our champion by trial of combat! The fighting was fierce.
Among those that competed were the following:

      Sir Zedd
      Sir Athelstan
      Sir MacAfee
      Squire Sabre
      Squire Derek
      Adept Dingo
      Adept Alphon
      Initiate Macros
      Adept HellSpawn
      Initiate Kilcannon Vryce
      and a guest combatant, Air Jordan

I also fought to insure fairness against one of the finalists.

In the end, only two were left standing. Sir Athelstan and Initiate Kilcannon. Lord Marco raised Kilcannon to the rank of Adept and the fight commenced.  Ultimately Kilcannon came out the victor. ALL HAIL ADEPT KILCANNON VRYCE, CHAMPION OF THE HOLY CROSS
DEFENDERS!

Everyone fought well and bravely.  Congratulations to all who participated in this contest.

In Service,
Sir Elbryan"

Congratulations to Adept Kilcannon Vryce for attaining the honor of Champion of the Holy Cross.  The roster will be updated accordingly to reflect this.

On Guild commerce
Last night after the Tournament, Sir Loran Cordell, who is also the Chamberlain of Commerce for House Starfire, brought a few important problems to my attention.  I quickly called all Knights available at that time in hopes of coming up with some quick solutions to these problems.  Besides me and Sir Loran, Sir Athelstan and Sir Daedin were also present for the meeting.  It seems to us that there are a few commerce relating problems within the Guild.  First of all, it seems that many of the members are not contributing to the Guild's commercial status while constantly requesting free items (mainly armour).  This has put a lot of pressure on our Grandmaster Smith, for with no one willing to pay for his work (in terms of gold or interms of ingots), he has to use his own money to buy the ingots and forge equipment for all of us.  For this reason, Sir Loran's account is dwindling very fast, despite numerous attempts has been made to aid him, not a lot of members have put forth sufficient efforts.  Please respect the craftsmen of our Guild, for they worked hard to attain the skill levels they have.  We should not abuse their generosity.  Therefore the Knights last night had come to a concensus that if any member requires goods from our craftsmen (potions, horses, bows, armour, weapons, scrolls), they must either provide the resources (reagents, ingots, wood, scrolls) or they must pay for the services.  Another decision made is that Sir Loran's tailoring hut in Yew (near Kazola's Tavern) will become a public shop, possibly joining the newly formed Township of Arcordia.  We believe that this will attract more customers to our Guild vendors.  Along this line, deals are being made with Caemlyn and possibly even with Tar Valon to set up Guild vendors there.  So members are encouraged to take up a trading skill, to provide either: 1) gold for the Guild funds; 2) raw materials for other craftsmen (wood, ingots); or 3) finished products (armour, weapons, bows, potions, scrolls).  It was also agreed that Wednesday night will be a suitable time for Guild members to gather to create goods for sale.  We are glad that the meeting was very productive in that we came up with some immediate solutions to mediate the problems.  These solutions will be brought forth to our Holy Grand Master's attention and assent as soon as possible.  Once these decisions are assented, they will be announced here again.


November 19th, 1998

All Initiates please read, a message from our Holy Grand Master
Holy Lord Marco sent me this message,
"Ardion, I want you and Daedin to contact all the "Initiates" on the guild roster.  We have about 20 and I want to either get them up to adept status or off the page and stone."
In case you don't know, Ardion is me, and me and Sir Daedin are both keeping a compiled guild roster.  I wish that all Initiates that read this to contact me or Sir Daedin immediately, stating whether or not you feel that you are ready to devote and commit entirely to the Guild, and be accepted as an Adept.  There is no shame in leaving the Guild when you're an Initiate, because this is the period for you and us to know each other, and to see if we share common goals and ideals.  Please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thanks.

Initiate EdGuardo leaving Guild and UO temporarily
It is with grieve that I announce that EdGuardo is leaving our Guild, and the UO community temporarily because of real life school work and pressures.  He loves the members of the Guild, but he lacks the time for commitment and devotion.  We all wish thee luck, EdGuardo, and will still consider you as a true good friend.


November 16th, 1998

Roster Updates
Today we welcome Initiate Macros the Black into the Guild.  The Roster has been updated accordingly.

Tower redecoration progress
After the turmoil of the past few weeks, I finally have the time to sit down today and do a bit of redecorating of the Tower.  I'd say that the overall layout of the Tower is set, and all we need now are a few extra tables and chairs for the Guild Library and the Meeting Hall.  Also a few counters (small wooden tables) for the main foyer area will be nice, so I ask anyone who volunteers to create the above items to contact me ASAP.  I've taken the time to take a few snap shots of the current situation of the Tower to better describe the current functions of each section of the Tower. Unless stated as "Communal", do not take any items from ANY chests.  Yes!  Even those that are unmarked!  I hope to introduce this rule to avoid anymore confusions and frustrations from members who had to hastily leave items within the Tower, only to return in the future to find them taken because the chest they left their items in wasn't marked.  Let's follow this general guideline (yea yea... I suppose little things like this doesn't need the approval of the entire Holy Council...).  Another thing is, if you have to complain about your itens relocated (especially those within the Knight's Locker room in the Guild Library), do not blame me.  I've given everyone 3 weeks notice in advance to move their belongings.  To settle things down a bit, I have placed a small note book on where I relocated the things within the "Community Chest". If you wonder where your belongings are now, check that note book.  The following is a description of the new Tower layout:

Main Floor (all links have been removed)

- The benches are for members to gather and socialize, and there's a small crate with logout materials   - The Preceptor / Preceptress (Shard Leader) Office is located here too
- Public lockers in the backroom
- Communal chests: take what you need, and donate what you have: be responsible and don't take everything
- I placed a closet there for all the tailored items we have, if you ever need to find new clothes, look there
- The Community Chest: message books, note books, official guild documents, guild colors dye tubs, etc... all belongs to this chest.  Do not take anything from it.  Feel free to write comments in the notebook or message book.
- Once I get a complete rune bank to everywhere in Britannia, I'll place them at the rune bank corner.  Do not remove the runes from their bags!!!
Second Floor
- No huge change, except that I placed 4 Thrones behind Holy Lord Marco's Throne, to ceremonially represent our 4 Holy Masters.  Without them, there will never be us.  The work they laidout for us shall be forever remembered and respected.
- Since the public locker room is filling up, we can use the area outside of the Meeting Hall for further storage purposes.
Third Floor
- Converted into Guild Library.  Within the Guild Library are the Holy Masters / Knights / Squires Lockers that line the backwall.  I've placed all the books inside the bookshelves.  They are there for casual reading, but occasionally, you might find some important information there (I found a book on pricing vendor items, and it seems quite well written.  I've given the book to Zedd to hand it personally to Loran.)
- Within the Library is also the Guild Treasurer's Office (well, as soon as someone comes up with the necessary furnitures for Elby).
- Again, outside of the Library is an area where members can place their personal lockers if they run out of space downstairs.
Roof
- The usual Ceremonial Grounds / Area.
- Threw in a self-serve bar named: Top of the World.  Once we can craft ovens and stuff, we can have more fun with that place.  Meanwhile if you have raw food, please drop them inside the crate - Galantic will turn them into cooked food =)
- Opposite to the Bar is another proposed storage area.
As you can see, there are not much HUGE changes.  But there're some minor changes and additions which I hope will help to foster the roleplaying environment within our Guild.  Especially the Bar and the Gathering Grounds on the first floor, I hope our members will enjoy socializing with each other more with these additions.  Wow!  That's a lot of typing for me, so I guess I'll stop here.  Again, message me if you have any comments and suggestions.


November 15, 1998

Nexus expanded
Yes, I've finally get my ass going in copying over the scripts from the old Nexus.  I've finally got the Events and Ceremonies section running.  So if you haven't seen it or heard about it, take a look at it.  Next thing on the hit list is the Links section.  My first pass will be to include all HCD-related pages first, so if any members have a homepage related to the Guild, please submit it to me using the above Submit News link, or you can send it to me via ICQ.  Not much went on over the weekend, except that I've killed quite a lot of fellow members =)  But bear with me, that won't happen from now on now that I've proven that I can resurrect with the skill in hand.  Another little note from me and Sir Zedd: please refrain from magical healing when not in combat if either of us is around - that's what we are for.  Save your reagents and mana for something more useful.  If you break this little rule when we're around, we'll be glad to have another client to practice resurrection on =P

Post-patch weapons testing by Sir Athelstan
Numbers shown are time to kill a summoned Earth Elemental in seconds.  All data collected are the means of 3 trials, with standard deviations listed after the time.  Weapons named after Loran indicates an exceptional weapon crafted by a Grandmaster smith.  Weapons listed from worst to best:

Hatchet (Power) 165±36
Longsword (Ruin) 150±13
Longsword (Might) 147±6
Viking (Ruin) 117±16
Viking (Might) 93±28
Double Axe (Ruin, Acc) 88±35
Cutlass (Loran) 87±16
Viking (Loran) 87±6
Double Axe (Force) 83±28
Scimitar (Might,Sur Acc) 80±26
Viking (Power) 77±33
Bardiche (Loran) 75±13
Battle Axe (Force,Acc) 75±5
Battle Axe (Might,Acc) 73±16
Executioner's Axe (Loran) 70±15
Scimitar (Loran) 68±8
Katana (Might) 68±6
Axe (Force, Acc) 67±12
Axe (Loran) 52±6
Halberd (Loran) 43±12

Thanks Sir Athelstan!


November 13th, 1998

November Guild wide meeting
Although Sir Daedin will come up with a formal recap of the meeting on Monday, I will throw in here a summary of what were brought to our Holy Lord's attention last night.  First, Sir Daedin and Sir Athelstan gave a brief report on their respective shards (Sonoma and Great Lakes).  Since I was not present for the Sonoma report, I'll only recap the Great Lakes report.  Holy Lord Marco spoke words of encouragement to all Defenders, and told us that the loss of the Dormitory is not a matter to grieve upon anymore.  Sir Athelstan then continued to speak of the great turn out for the last Fight Night.  Sir Elbryan also represent House Starfire and apologized to House Heimdall for the unfair mock battle that was conducted near the end of the previous Fight Night.  House Heimdall found that Sir Elbryan's apology was truthful, honest, and sincere, and gladly accepted the apology.  Sir Elbryan then submitted himself to our Holy Lord's justice.  Lord Marco announced the penalty that House Starfire is to donate 20,000gp within a month to the Guild's Funds in the name of House Heimdall, and all that were present found this decision fair and just.  Holy Lord Marco then introduced a new tradition into the Guild: the Champion of the Cross.  The Champion is to be determined once every 3 months by a tournament.  The location of the tournament will be the Roof of the Tower, and the first tournament will be held next Thursday.  The winner of the tournament will be proclaimed the Champion of the Cross, and will have the duties (and glory) of representing the Guild in all duels, competitions, tournaments that are related to the Guild.  The Champion will also stand guard beside our Holy Lord as his personal guard for all Guild Ceremonies.  Sir Elbryan is organizing the details for the first tournament, so more information should be coming in later.  Finally Sir Athelstan mentioned Sir Drone and Adept Nitrous for their courageous and selfless actions in the battle defending the Dormitory, and all members present hailed to the names of our valorous brethrens.

The Meeting concluded with a number of important ceremonies.  First, Sir Drone was granted entrance into the Order of the Dragon for his supreme courage in combat.  Next, Sir Elbryan announced his taking of Adept Kristiane Sabre unto his wings as his Squire.  All then hailed the virtuous Knight and his new Squire.  Finally, Squire Loran Cordell, after proving himself worthy through time and deeds, enlightened himself through a vigil, was Knighted last night before our Holy Lord Marco, and the presence of many others.  From now on, Loran is known as Sir Loran Cordell "the Dragonflame". At the same time, Sir Loran was granted entrance into the esteemed Order of the Hammer, for his outstanding worksmanship and service to the Guild and to the Britannian community as a whole.  Congratulates Sir Loran and his noble master, Sir Elbryan!  The Roster is updated accordingly.

Good things do not come alone
Finally after months of training and practicing, mine knowledge in anatomy is finally reckoned by our liege Lord British.  He has finally granted me the title of Grandmaster Healer (yay!!!!) today!  Well, just to make matters merrier, I have finally received my long-awaited T2A CD (yay yay!!!) today!  Once my major assignment is done with on Monday, I can travel to the Lost Lands with my fellow brethrens, and utilize mine knowledge in the clerical arts to aid them in that dangerous land!

Roster Updates
Sir Elbryan has just inducted a new member into our Guild.  All please welcome Initiate Methios.  May we all wish our new brother luck for his days to come!  The Roster is updated accordingly.


November 11th, 1998

Roster Updates
Last night EdGuardo (or EdGuArDo... I just refuse to use the alternating caps) was inducted into our Guild.  Everyone please welcome Initiate EdGuardo.  The Roster has been updated accordingly.

PvP Fight Night I
Last night marks the first weekly PvP Fight Night for the Defenders.  I must say that I'm impressed with the turn out.  Sir Athelstan, Sir Elbryan, Sir Zedd, Squire Loran (we prefer to call him Grandmaster though =P), Squire Traeka (Squire of Sir Daedin... um... Sir Zedd I mean), Squire Mordos Krull, Adept Alphon, Dingo, Initiate Morgana, Kilcannon Vryce and EdGuardo all gathered at the Tower for the night.  We managed to do 3 battles, and after each battle, the ghosts were gated to the healers and then brought back.  After everyone returned, Sir Elbryan and Sir Athelstan will conclude the previous battle and there would be an open discussion on tactics used and mistakes made.  We would exchange our views on the battle, congratulate those that did exceptionally well, me and Zedd would practice our healing and curing skills (I felt like Zedd's guinea pig when I continuously poisoned myself so he and I can practice curing my poison), and others would try out the power of the new weapons.  Grandmaster Loran also showed off his collection of weapons that he tailor made for us all to use, all with his unique maker's mark.  All in all, it was a fun night, and I hope that everyone left the night with something new they've not experienced or learnt before.


November 10th, 1998

Guildwide Meeting
I just got word from Sir Daedin that the Guildwide Meeting is set on this Thursday, 9pm CST (10pm EST), at the Great Lakes Defenders Tower.  I will be at Vesper bank back room offering gates to the Tower just prior to that.  All Defenders please make all efforts to attend as this is a very important meeting (not to mention that we haven't had one for a LONG time).  It is also your best chance to meet most of the Defenders, and to voice your opinions to the Holy Council.  "Be there, or be squared!" (sorry, can't resist this quote we used in high school... damn those good ole days!) =)

Roster Updates
Sir Daedin informed me that Gabriella has been elevated to Adept for quite a while now.  Somehow nobody informed me of this promotion, so I've been ignorant about it.  I've made the necessary updates to the Roster now.  Gabriella also informed me that Sir Tariskatt and Kilcannon Vryce has been initiated into the Guild.  Welcome Sir Tariskatt and Kilcannon.  The Roster has been updated accordingly too.  Thanks all!

Nexus updating
Yes, although I promised to do a lot of things this past weekend (including updating the Nexus with Ceremonies and Events, and redecorating the Tower), the fact that I have quite a few major assignments/seminars/tests coming up this week totally raped me of the time to play UO and do much updating of the site.  I'm sure you'll all forgive me on this =)  In fact I won't be on much from now till next Monday.  Please continue to send in your news via ICQ, as I'll do my best to update the Nexus with what very little time I have in hand.  Thanks for the understanding!


November 9th, 1998

Release of ICQ99 Alpha
While this is not Guild news, I am posting it here.  The newest version of ICQ is out - named ICQ99.  Within it is a new function that allows you to group people in your list into various categories, and do group actions to the entire category, which is a blessed thing when it comes to sending out guild messages.  Instead of clicking on every name, I just send a group message and I can be sure everyone will be receiving it.  I cannot find a link on the official Mirabilis site for ICQ99 yet, however, my good friend did put the file up for offer on his site.  Here is a link to it.  Rest be assured that this site is safe and to be trusted (he's a very close friend of mine), unless there's an internal problem of the program.  You're welcome to download the software from this site.

Recap of Nov 8th, Knight's Council Meeting
Sir Daedin sent me this recap of last night's Council Meeting:

The meeting convened.  We opened discussion about the house ownership patch coming up and what plans we wanted to make.  Loran was present and was asked to post an outline of his plans for building and such.  We talked about building in the Lost Lands and what if anything was to be done with our current structures in Great Lakes.  It was decided that we would be best served to wait and see how things would turn out after the patch before we made any final plans for any new buildings.  As it appears that tents are going away, we plan to replace our tents in front of the courtyard with houses before the patch to continue our secure courtyard after the patch. Athelstan will monitor the tents and we'll replace them when they decay.  We talked about our new members and it was agreed that only those listed on the rosters kept by the Nexus and by Sir Daedin would denote membership in the Guild.  Therefore, it is doubly important that new initiates or those raised in rank's names and ICQs be immediately sent to Alphon (417898) and Daedin (1697903).  If someone tells you that they are HCD and are not listed, they are not HCD.

We talked about the situation with the Dorm.  Until the patch, we are considering it lost, but we hope to gain control again when we can change the locks.  We discussed how to better manage keys and the following suggestion was put forth.

1)  All keys handed out should be registered.
2)  The information of keyholders should be recorded and posted on a webpage.  However, this site will not be linked from any of our sites.  Members of the guild could bookmark this site for their own use.
3)  Report lost keys ASAP.  If necessary, key holders may be asked to reproduce their keys for verification.

We're also trying to dedicate one fight night every week to player vs player training.  Members must at least know the basics of player vs player fighting.  Athelstan will orchestrate these workshops--times and days.  We emphasized again the importance of ALL Guild members following Athelstan's orders in issues of war.  He is the final say on these issues and should be obeyed without delay.

We are planning a Guild Wide meeting.  At this point, it is tentatively set forthis Thursday, Nov 12th 9pm CST at the Tower on Great Lakes.  If there is any change in this plan, word will be sent as soon as possible.  Please plan to attend if at all possible.

Thanks Sir Daedin!


November 8th, 1998

Vegas pictures at last
Sir Elbryan just notified me that the pictures for the first Defenders Real Life Reunion at Vegas are posted (finally).  You can arrive at Sir Elbryan's domain from here.  Marco, Daedin, Elbryan and Zedd gathered at Las Vegas in late September for the first real life reunion of the Holy Cross Defenders (at least that's the case for the guild in UO).  I regret not being able to go (due to financial troubles, hey donations are welcome), but as I saw them, they sure had a lot of fun, and I'm happy enough to see that everyone had their blast of time.  Let's do this next year Defenders!!!

Sonoma Dungeon Crawl
I received the following from Sir Daedin MacAoidh, Preceptress of Sonoma:
"After our splendid night last Wednesday with the People's Army of Sonoma and other Sonoma Alliance members, we have received a personal invitation to attend what is hoped to become regular Wednesday night
activities on Sonoma. King David has asked me to extend this invitation to you all to join us for dungeon crawls each Wednesday on Sonoma. As of this writing, the time is set for 9pm CST, meeting outside the teleport hut (mage shop) in Papua. To prepare, we will assemble in our smithy on Sonoma about 8:30pm CST on  Wednesday. Send me word if you wish to be notified of these happenings via ICQ, and I'll be sure to send details."
Thanks Sir Daedin!


November 7th, 1998

Defenders Dormitory Invaded
I suppose this news made the headlines today.  Attention all Defenders, last night, Sir Athelstan and Sir Drone spotted a few suspicious men attempting to sneak into our dormitory, a battle was quickly erupted.  Much of the Defenders available (Alphon Geoma, Sir Athelstan, Sir Drone, Sir Elbryan, Lord Marco Valentino, Nitrous, Bh. Gambit, Loran Cordell, Sir Jobe and Dakkon), were rallied at the dorm, and others crusaders of the realm quickly came to give us aid (thanks goes to Palonand Kyax J Prowl for standing by our side through the entire chaos).  Our attackers were TrenT, Huma Dragonbane, Valdectre, SpAwN, Dr. Adam, Godsman, Drake Swiftriver, Sir Aries, Sir Ajax and WiZZ.  Our attackers attacked us for a total of 6 times, although we managed to drive them away 5 times, we were busy resurrecting and reequiping our fallen brothers at the 6th time, and this was when they finally overcome us.  The dorm was invaded (they have keys, remember), and all valuables were taken.  Apparently, the dorm is no longer secure from now on until House Ownership goes in and we're able to change the lock of the dorm.  Until then, Sir Athelstan as Preceptor of Great Lakes declared that the new Tailor Hut will be the new massing place for biweekly Fight Nights.  Do not leave your characters unattended inside the dorm for safety reasons, knowing that the security of the dorm is breached.  Please pay attention to all suspicious individuals that linger outside of the dorm, and recall out if you're attacked around it.  The dorm is no longer a safe environment, so please use your common sense when going to it.

Holy Council Meeting called upon
Due to the recent "crisis" and many issues that arised within the Guild, Holy Lord Marco Valentino called forth a meeting for the Holy Council.  All following members are requested and required to attend the meeting: Sir Athelstan, Sir Daedin MacAoidh, Sir Elbryan Starfire, Sir Drone, Sir Thumperspawn, Sir Zedd, Sir Jobe, Alphon Geoma (acting on behalf of Sir Ardion Geoma), and Squire Loran Cordell.  Here are the details from Herald Sir Elbryan:
"Please announce a knights meeting at the tower for tomorrow night (Sunday) at midnight CST. Proposed topics for discussion to be:  House Ownership, Guild unity and tactics, Money making, and merchant support.  (or some such)"
Thanks Sir Elbryan.


November 6th, 1998

New Initiates
Please welcome Initiate Dizzy and Initiate Harek for joining our noble cause.  The Guild Roster is updated with their names.

Other sections of Defenders Nexus opening soon
After talking briefly with Holy Lord Marco, I have decided to open the other sections of the Defenders Nexus soon, and perhaps even throw in a new message board that looks better than the previous one.  *glances over to the menu bar*  I think I can say with pretty much confidence that the Ceremony section and the Event section will be transferred over to the new site over the weekend.  Maybe if I have enough time, I'll start the message board too.  But keep your eye on this news section for further updates.

Dormitory redecoration
After consulting Holy Lord Marco, the dorm will be redecorated this Saturday.  If you have any questions, please consult either me or Dakkon as we're responsible for doing the redecorations.

New HCD Tailoring Hut
A new HCD tailoring hut is built just east of Kazola's Treetop Keg and Winery.  There is also a vendor there that needs to be stocked up.  If you have goods for stocking up the vendor, please contact Loran.  If you wish a rune to the hut, please contact either me, Sir Elbryan, Loran, Sir Athelstan or Lord Marco, and we'll mark one for you.


November 4th, 1998

Progress on Tower Redecoration
So far, Sir Elbryan has been most helpful in helping me to obtain some of the necessary furnitures for redecorating the Tower.  Adept Dakkon has also offered assistance in redecorating the Guild buildings overall.  Since no one has expressed any objections or suggestions on redecorating the Tower, I will proceed with the preset plan.  One final warning to all that keep their belongings in the Tower: I will be moving the chests around, so please mark your chest with a book if you do not wish to lose it!  I have purchased A LOT of books, bedrolls, and brought the lockable chests I made in earlier days, and placed them all in a chest on the table in the dorm.  Please feel free to get what you need, and use what you want.  If you respect my service, please feel free to place donations inside that chest.  All donations will proceed to Guild funds.  Remember, redecoration will take place on this Saturday.

Miners needed
Squire Loran asked that members of the Guild mine ingots so that he can start producing various goods for sale.  Let's get on with it!


November 1st, 1998

More details on HCD Shop
Two more details are resolved today after some further discussions.  Holy Lord Marco Valentino has approved of the project, and has given us permission to utilize guild funds to purchase the house for the first Shop.  I have also talked to Kazola, and she welcome us to take the space outside of her Tavern to set up our Shop.  I also have come up with an idea to invite more customers (with the GREAT aid of Sir Athelstan): we'll tame a pet to block the door to keep it open 24/7.  A house with an opened door will surely attract curious people of all sorts.  After shoving through the pet (possibly a welcoming bunny), they'll find a couple of vendors selling various goods, and hopefully they'll purchase the goods that we are selling!  Then when we need to refresh the house, the owner of the pet can just tell the pet to move, use the keys on the door, move the pet back to keep the door open.  Voila!  Neat eh?  What this means is that the bulk of the problems are solved, and provided that we can get our goods sorted out and organized, we can set our Shop up as soon as we can buy the house and the vendors!  Now here comes the fun part: I'm asking that you all come up with a name for the Shop.  It must have the word "Defenders" in it or the phrase "Holy Cross" in it.  Maybe I'll sponsor a prize to whoever comes up with the best name.  I, Elbryan, Athelstan and Loran, (and Lord Marco if he's interested) will decide which name we'll use for the new HCD Shop!!!


October 31st, 1998

Squire Loran Cordell reaches Grandmaster Smith
A wee bit late, but yes!  Loran has finally reached Grandmaster Smith!  All congratulate Loran!

HCD Shop Project announced!!
After a brief discussion with Sir Elbryan and Sir Athelstan, we have come to a conclusion that a perhaps more efficient way of raising funds for the new HCD Castle and the new HCD Town is to set up an HCD Shop somewhere in Britannia, and allow craftsmen in our Guild to sell their finely crafted wares there.  In order to test the reaction to our Shop, we will only build a small house for the Shop first, and if we meet much success, we can negotiate with various player run towns (such as Tar Valon) to place a larger shop there to attract commerce and players to these roleplaying locations.  It has been suggested that perhaps outside of Kazola's Tavern is a good starting place to place the first shop, but nothing has been settled yet.  Members will be free to place their vendors within the shop to sell their wares.  Income from private vendors can remain as private income, however donations to the Guild's Funds will be greatly appreciated.  There will be Guild vendors where various people may pool together and place goods there to sell, and all profits from Guild vendors go directly to the Guild Funds.  Suggested list of saleable items include: bolts and arrows, armours and weapons, rune sets, potions, scrolls, lockable chests, and food.  Ideas for other goods are welcome.  More will be announced when the Shop is ready to run.  Please contact either Sir Elbryan of House Starfire, or myself Alphon Geoma, if you're interested.

Tower to be redecorated and reorganized
Sir Athelstan has given me two quests to fulfill before I am worthy to be his Squire.  One of the quests is to redecorate and reorganize the Tower.  Seeing the current chaotic and messy nature of the Tower, I have decided to do this: I will give everyone a week to book-mark their chests, organize their belongings to minimize the amount of chests being used, and throw away unwanted items.  At next Friday November 6th, I'll start reorganizing all chests within the Tower.  If you have things you DO NOT wish me to move, please give me a VERY GOOD reason, and we will talk about it.  I am giving everyone plenty of time, so do not be mad at me if you find your belongings gone.  If they are, they're probably misplaced anyway.  Soon I will head to town and buy books for all of you so you can mark your chests (so I'm doing everyone a big favor too).  If you have any ideas for redecorating the Tower, please message me, as I am open to discussion.  But please message me before Wednesday November 4th, for after that, the plans for redesigning will be set.  As of now, I plan to design the Tower in the following manner:
First Floor:
Main Foyer - Branch Leader office and gathering grounds.  On the table of the BL Office will be a chest with all in game official documents for the Guild (eg. Roster, Guild Rules, Members message books...).  Another chest there will be contain dye tubs for all the OFFICIAL guild colors - from the HCD blue, Initiate green, Adept yellow, Squire red, Knight white and Holy Master purple - members are required to have their clothings dyed off these dye tubs.  At the gathering grounds there will be chest with kindlings and bedrolls for members to log out in Tower.  If food are prepared for all members, they will be placed in that chest too.  At the corner of the foyer will be the rune bank that all members are welcome to recall off.  DO NOT REMOVE THE RUNES FROM THERE.
Backroom - Lockers for Adept members and above.  All private chests must be either LOCKABLE or BOOK-MARKED, or they become communal (ie. free for all members to use).  I will try to provide books and lockable chests and sell them cheap to members (money goes to Guild of course) so you guys don't have to go crazy around town to buy books and lockable chests.  There will also be communal chests for member to place donations such as potions, scrolls, armours and weapons.  Do not place junk in there.  There will also be a chest for guild clothings such as sashes, capes, kilts, and other tailored products.

Second Floor:
This floor will remain as the Meeting Hall when Guild meetings and Chivalry meetings are convened.

Third Floor:
This floor will serve as the locker room for members of the Council.  Lockers will be placed along the back and front walls of the room.  In addition to being a locker room, this room functions as the Guild Library, where book about the Guild are stored.  Members are encouraged to bring various tomes or essay to the library.

Roof:
A section of the roof will be used for additional storage if the lockers in the first floor and the third floor proved to be insufficient.  The existing Crytal Ball Cross will remain there, and to one side of the roof, there will be a bar where members can gather and chat, all the while enjoying the beautiful view from the Tower's roof.

Basically that's it for now.  Please message me if you have any suggestions for improvements.  Thanks!
 

Death the Grim Reaper attacked Kazola's Tavern!
Tonight whilst I was busying myself from some otherworldly tasks, a flying pigeon arrived at mine place, bearing the message from Maxmillian the Mayor of Yew: "Death itself is at Kazola's, come to aid us!!"  Without much hesitation, I quickly gathered my arms and healing equipment, and promptly arrived at the scene.  There I saw a ghastly figure dressed in a true black death shroud, wielding a bardiche.  "This must be Death the Grim Reaper" I thought to myself.  Already several warriors were battling with this creature of evil, and one hast already fallen, but I saw that Maxmillian the Teacher wast tending the fallen soul, I quickly hasted to aid those in battle.  Upon fighting Death face to face, arms to arms, I realize that no single warrior can outmatch this magnificent foe.  Even the greatest warrior mayst not survive 5 blows from this evil beast, nor can the mightiest blow from such a warrior do much harm to the Grim Reaper.  Magic seems to be ineffective against Death too, for it still retains the same amount of health after sustaining a few energy bolts.  I quickly found myself being overpowered by this enemy, and needed to heal myself constantly to survive.  But luckily, Death is quite slow with blows, and knowest no magical attacks, so as more reinforcements come, I quickly and safely retreated to the rear of the line and performed mine clerical duties and healed those wounded warriors in battle.  It was not long before our sheer numbers started to wear down this evil being.  It was at this time that it started to teleport around, avoiding being surrounded by us.  However, our warriors and magi were persistent, and Death itself was finally conquered.  I knowest not what loots it yielded.  Those that were nearby when Death fell claimed that no corpse was found... and all the loots simply fell on the ground, which I am sure were quickly claimed.  All in all, all adventurers there were well coordinated, and those that fell were quickly resurrected, and their earthly goods left untouched.  As Sir Sean, one of the brave warriors said (slightly rephrased), "All of us landed the final blow together - twas not the glory of a single man but of all that helped and participated."

Ok... saving the BEST for the LAST!
In a chat with Lord Murgen, Founder of HCD-UO, he told me that he's getting a new internet connection that's going to give him superfast connection speed.  So for this reason, and knowing that UO has gotten a lot better with the lag, Lord Murgen is planning to return to Britannia!!!!  This is quite true, and he gave me permission to spread the news.  All Hail to Lord Murgen!


October 30th, 1998

Sorry for the lack of updates
Yea yea... same excuse... too busy... but not a lot of people read this anyhow... =(  Oh well, I have 30 minutes now with nothing to do, so I might as well update the Nexus for a bit.

New members joined
Please extend a welcoming hand to new Initiates Leeroy, Bh. Gambit, Urlax, and Ivanhoe.  The Guild Roster is updated with these members.

Promotions
Due to their interests, enthusiasm, good conduct and honorable characters, Dingo and Nitrous were sworn in and become Adept members of the Guild.  Congratulations to Dingo and Nitrous!  Sir Elbryan has also taken Adept Derek as his Squire.  After passing many tests and quests, Derek fulfilled the standards Sir Elbryan set forth for him.  Sir Elbryan proudly declared Derek his Squire.  Congratulations to Squire Derek and Sir Elbryan!  The Guild Roster has been updated with these changes.

The Holy Grand Master speaketh!
Holy Lord Marco Valentino sent me this message,
"Attention: Due to my lack of presence on UO recently I've transferred control of the stone to Sir Athelstan, Perceptor of Great Lakes, so that he may make changes to the stone.  To facilitate this, we have removed all members but Ath and I on the stone.  Contact Sir Athelstan (UIN: 3811681) to get back on the stone."

Squire Loran Cordell's Vigil
Last night was Sir Elbryan's Squire Loran Cordell's vigil.  Holy Lord Marco, Sir Athelstan, Sir Elbryan, Sir Zedd, Sir Daedin, Squire Loran Cordell, Adept Alphon Geoma and Adept Nitrous all gathered at the Defenders' Tower for the Vigil.  Many questions were exchanged during the Vigil, and many wise and noble words were spoken.  We all learnt a lot from and about each other on this Vigil, and I sincerely hope that Loran will find his Vigil a most memorable and enlightening event.  Of course, everyone started partying after the Vigil, making a mess on the roof of the Tower... luckily, Alphon the Janitor comes to the rescue! =)


October 8th, 1998

New Roster Up
Ok, I've redesigned the look and feel of the guild roster... probably gonna add character bios in later as well.  Right now the Roster is organized using a table format for ease of edition (it took me the entire night to redo the goddamn roster... because my comp just constantly crashes... must be some bug Microsoft put in to force me to buy Win98... bleh!).  I'd advice you guys to take a peek at the new roster, check for the validation of your info, and email/ICQ me if you need anything changed.


October 7th, 1998

Saving Adept Alphon (I know it's a chessy name, but what the hell =P)
5 days past since Alphon's soul was rescued from the depths of dungeon Deceit, from the hands of the Lich Lord Finalex... and Priest Caphuet asked the Defenders to visit him, for he believed that he knows a person who may cure the curse that Alphon was suffering from.  The Defenders started off with few in numbers, with only Holy Lord Marco, Sir Zedd and Alphon's guardian, Adept Derek taking the first journey to the Lycaeum to visit Priest Caphuet.  Priest Caphuet told the Defenders that his master, Elder Priest Kor of Trinsic might hold the key to saving Alphon's soul.  So without much hesitation, the Defenders brought Priest Caphuet along and arrived at the Paladin's Hall of Trinsic, where Priest Kor was found meditating.  The Priest mentioned that the curse is not without cure, and one must find 8 items and bless them at their respective Shrines of Virtue: a Ring for Honor, Earrings for Sacrifice,
a Necklace for Compassion, a Wand for Justice, a Bracelet for Valor, a string of Beads for Honesty, a wide brimmed hat for humility, and a Robe for Spirituality.  The Priest Kor also offered to perform the blessing for the Defenders, so the Defenders left Trinsic in preparation for their journey.  However, Holy Lord Marco must retire for the night, but luckily at this time, the rest of the Defenders arrived with much haste.  So under the leadership of Sir Athelstan and Sir Zedd, the Defenders and Priest Kor headed for the Shrine of Spirituality.  Sir Zedd arrived first at the Shrine to scout out, but was assaulted by an unknown attacker.  He promptly returned to the group and advised that they proceed with much care.  As Priest Kor arrived at the Shrine to perform the blessing, the Defenders surrounded and protected the good Priest.  But suddenly from no where an arrow flew, nearly injuring the Priest if Sir Zedd had not strike down the arrow with his bare hands!  The Defenders quickly found the attacker and done him justice with much haste.  The Priest was unharmed, but who was it that wanted the good Priest dead?  After the Priest performed the blessing, the Defenders proceeded to the Shrine of Honor and Compassion.  The journey was quite safe and peaceful.  When the Defenders were leaving Vesper for the Shrine of Sacrifice, they ran into two rangers, claiming to be sisters.  The sisters requested the Defenders to escort them to the Shrine, and this they did.  But upon arrival at the Shrine, the two sisters attacked Priest Kor!  Some of the Defenders immediately healed the Priest while other battled the two sisters.  Needless to say, they were quickly brought down.  Upon their corpses, a book was found.  Within it were directions to assassinate the Priest, and the book was signed by a person named "G".  It has become apparent that someone is conspiring to have the Priest dead.  The Defenders then proceeded to the Shrine of Justice, and upon returning to Vesper, they were rejoined by Alphon's soul and Initiate Titania.  Next the Defenders travelled to the Shrine of Humility on the Isle of Fire, the Shrine of Honesty upon the Isle of Ice, and the Shrine of Valor, upon the Valorian Isles.  After all the 8 items were blessed, the Defenders returned to the Chamber of Virtues within Britain.  There they performed the final rituals, summoning the powers of the Virtues and dispelled the curse that was preventing Alphon from being resurrected.  With the utter of the words "An Corp", Sir Athelstan brought Alphon back to life.  After a brief reunion, the Defenders retired for the night and the quest is officially over.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the quest and hopefully you all had fun.  Special thanks go to Initiate Dingo who played the part of Elder Priest Kor, and Titania who helped me play one of the sister assassins.

Layout of the new guild homepage
Yes, what you're seeing right now is the beta version of the new guild page I am writing for the guild.  We might be implementing this new layout when Adept Sabre manages to setup the new host for our guild page.  I am still brainstorming ideas that we can use for the new page, so please give me comments and suggestions.  What I'm going to do is basically copy most of the information off the old page, place it here in the new page, and do some streamlining, meanwhile removing old or useless or broken links.  All in all, trying to make the new page grander, better looking, and easier to use.  To send your comments, email me, ICQ me at 417898, or click on the "Submit News" button on top.  Thanks.


October 2nd, 1998

Sir Ardion's Interration and the search for Alphon
Last night, many Defenders gathered before the Shrine of Justice to pay their final respects to Sir Ardion Geoma, who was assasinated on Earth by the minions of the Guardian.  The ceremony was summoned and hosted by Galantic, the loyal servant of Sir Ardion who accompanied him on his fateful journey to Earth.  Galantic briefly explained why he wishes to inter Sir Ardion before the Shrine of Justice and spoke of Sir Ardion's ideals and beliefs, before he blessed the armour he brought back that Sir Ardion was wearing in his final hours.  The set of plate was then donated to House Starfire and Sir Elbryan, a good friend of Sir Ardion, accepted it in grieve.  Then Galantic told the Defenders of Alphon's disappearance and heeded them to find him quick.  He pointed the Defenders to Landos Carlmagne the Lumberjack of Yew, who is a good friend of Alphon.  The Defenders then set off to search for Landos.  After the Defenders found Landos, he produced a book that Alphon asked him to safe keep.  He also mentioned that Alphon was seeking advice from Priest Caphuet, the great cleric who studies in the Lycaeum.  So without any more delay, the Defenders proceeded to Moonglow to find Priest Caphuet.  Caphuet spoke of Alphon searching for a way to restore a vampire back to its mortal and human form, and he also told the Defenders that he suggested Alphon to seek out the Lich Lord Finalex in the bowels of the dungeon Deceit.  Preparing for the worst, the Defenders headed towards Deceit with much caution.  After much difficulties, the Defenders fought their way to the Crypt, Lair of Finalex the Lich Lord.  There they found Alphon's spirit trapped by Finalex's dark magics.  Through much hardship they managed to cure Alphon of this curse, and immediately brought his spirit to the town healers where his health can be restored.  However, Finalex's magics are more powerful than they imagined!  His curse prevented Alphon from being resurrected... but Alphon suggested that the Defenders seek advice from Priest Caphuet again and this they did.  Upon finding Priest Caphuet, he admitted that Finalex's curse is beyond his power to dispel... however... he promised to research and study on Finalex's curse, and asked the Defenders to return in 5 days.  All in all, it was a successful quest, and everyone had fun!  But will Priest Caphuet be able to find a cure for the Curse?  Will Alphon be able to resurrect or will this be his untimely end?  What is it that brought Alphon to the depths of Deceit?  All will be revealed on October 6th, the next upcoming Fight Night!!  Stay tuned, Defenders!

Defenders News layout changed
No big change really, just reverted the order in which the news are shown.  Now the most updated news appear on top instead of down at the bottom of the page.


September 30th, 1998

Sir Ardion Alphon Geoma's Interration
Sir Ardion Geoma's servant, Galantic sent me this:
"The planned interration for my master Sir Ardion Geoma is now set for coming Thursday night, at the GL Shrine of Justice, starting at 11pm EST.  Hopefully able members will provide gates from the Tower or the Dorm.  It is my hope to see you all there to pay thy final respect to a Knight who so loyal and valiantly died in an attempt to save all of Britannia."
For those of you that do not know, Ardion Geoma is my first serious character in UO.  He was the first member on the Atlantic Shard, and was trusted with the assignment of building up a Branch there.  With the aid of a few other members, Ardion eventually established a Branch of the Defenders.  And for his dedication in this matter, Lord Marco granted Ardion entrance to the August Order of Chivalry and pronounced him Preceptor of Atlantic (Shard Leader).  Shortly after this, HCD Atlantic managed to finance the construction of their HQ Tower.  At the same time, HCD Atlantic forged a powerful alliance with New World Order.  However, Sir Ardion eventually found out his destiny - that he must travel to Earth in attempt of saving Britannia.  After many preparations, Sir Ardion finally left Britannia in his fateful journey, one that he never made it back alive.

Alphon Geoma is lost
Later today, Galantic sent me this message:
"My young master Alphon is lost!  He told me that he shalt return to his home tonight, but alas, tis early morning and there is still no signs of the young cleric!  Although I have faith in his abilities however, if he fails to attend his own father, old master Ardion's interration, then we must prepare for the worst..."
Yes, this is a quest that I'm hosting that will lay the foundations of Alphon's story which I'll roleplay, and I wish to share his adventure of a lifetime with all of the Guild.  Ardion's interration is just a prelude from which the entire story will slowly unfold.  If this quest is successful, I hope to create more quests for the Guild to participate and roleplay in.  So hopefully a lot will participate in my first quest!


September 26th, 1998


September 14th, 1998

Updates to the Defenders Nexus
Some of these updates may be a bit late... but here they are:


September 13th, 1998

Holy Master Lord Granyte Ignatiou resigns
Today I received the following message from Lord Granyte Ignatiou:
"Attention HCD. This is an OFFICIAL resignation from myself (duh, well its about time) Well, the only reason this is "official" because even as I type this, my UO account has already been terminated.  Farewell friends.... perhaps I may see thee on a future UOOS server."
For those of you who are a bit short on HCD history, Lord Granyte is one of the two founders of HCD of UO.  To quote Holy Lord Marco, "his passing is a bookmark in the history of the HCD seeing as he was the last of the Neverwinter Knights to leave".  Lord Granyte had contributed much to the Guild, and he shall be missed greatly.  Good luck Granyte and hopefully we'll see you soon in another alternate universe!

Squire Jobe knighted after Guild Meeting
I was notified by Sir Daedin that her then Squire Jobe, was deemed worthy and joined the Order of the Chivalry at the Guild Meeting on Thursday, September 10th.  All congratulate Sir Jobe and his master, Sir Daedin!