The Search BeginsAs was often the way; the regiments of the Underking’s army were making their way through the chrysol lit streets of Mekalia. Some grumbling of sand in their boots, others uncomfortably shifting their helms realizing that some such bug or vermin had made its way in, but many more commenting on the welcomed sight of their home and the growing ache in their souls to find the comfort and peace that came only when they laid upon their own beds. Aasha watched as her mother and father made their way tenderly down the stone covered city streets. Her mother holding onto her father’s arm, Aasha was unsure as to who was supporting whom. Running to greet them, she felt the strength drain from her whole body as her eyes fell upon the wounds covering not only her father’s robust form, but also her mother’s tiny frame. Gathering her strength about her, Aasha took hold of her mother’s hand and helped to guide her father to their home. After attending to her parents and seeing them both put to bed; fed, cleaned, symbiote and poultice covered, Aasha made her way back to the main square, hoping to hear some word of what had befallen her parents upon their last journey from their earthen home. The bustle of the city was intoxicating. Heralds of the Underking made their way through the city bellowing tales of the valor and bravery shown by the Mekalian soldiers. Children ran unattended into the late hours of the night. Their parents were being cared for by their grandparents: a task such as that required that no little ones be under foot, else the bandages would be spoiled, tonics spilled, poultices ruined. But none spoke of the tragedy that had assaulted the forces. It seemed almost all minds were flooded with the awareness of joyful reunions occurring throughout the city, and the overwhelming good fortune that, although many were mortally wounded, none were lost. Those sentiments were resounded by the cheerful city bells ringing out, echoing richly through the city; from the Sanctum of the Deepdark to the Menagerie of Telon where the beasts rumbled in protest of the Gnomish celebrations. As such, not even whispers were spoken of the battle waged and by whom, or by what, the injuries were inflicted. Aasha knew, from the many times her parents had returned from war, that in the nights to follow the meeting hall would be filled with soldiers of all ranks discussing the plans for the next assault, but she could not wait for these meetings to find out what befell her parents. Even if she had the patience to wait for these sessions, she knew that she would not be able to attend. Although she was the child of a very skilled Warrior and an immensely talented Cleric; a team renowned on the battlefields of Telon, her skills as a Blood Mage were yet to have been proven among the military elite. Therefore, the council doors would be closed to her. Worry laid upon her face, unmistaken by any that she passed, for this was the first time in all her recollecting that her father refused to speak with her about whom or what assaulted the troupes outside the safety of Mekalia. There was only one she could trust. One who would follow her to the ends of Telon itself, seeking not only the knowledge of what had assaulted her parents, but also vengeance for that assault. Walking, eye closed, and full of purpose, she made her way to a very familiar dark crevice in the city wall, from whence a putrid smell caught in the stale city air. Goner; a foul beast, grated his talons along the stone covered ground and gnashed his teeth fiercely. He protested her arrival and raised his massive clawed limb to strike, lowering it, finally, when he recognized her scent and retreated into the darkness beside his master. There; meditating upon a stone, hands soaked in blood, the rotting remains of a skull resting in the basin formed by two small, Gnomish hands, was the one Aasha sought. Quietly, barely a whisper parting her lips, Aasha spoke. “Zakonax, my love, awaken.” The dark eyed Gnome turned his face to hers. Deep set eyes told more stories of his life than would ever pass his lips, for his was a secret way. A way that many considered rude, unflinching: more so, unappreciative of the lives and liberties of others…He simply saw it as the only path for a Necromancer to follow: ever living in that place of non-light and non-dark. Dancing on the razor’s edge that was the fine line between the abyss and the land of the living soul; Zakonax dwelled there, contently. Zakonax set the skull aside, dusting his hand upon his cloak, he reached out to her. “What troubles you, my dear? Your face wears worry as I have never seen it, and your soul screams out in torment. Have you forgotten it is my calling to hear those screams most profoundly?” Aasha lowered her eyes from his and spoke once again in nothing more than a whisper, allowing her rage to cut the stillness like a dagger. “I must know what befell my parents. I must know what beast tore at my father like a dog with a ragged toy. My mother, her eyes bleed! What has she seen? What trauma has caused the gods to send her such visions that they leave upon her face trails of her life essence itself?” Nothing more needed to be spoken. Zakonax knew his wife would rest none until she found what had caused such pain to her parents. Before dawn, the two departed from Mekalia. As the sun broke hard and unrestrained upon the earth, a dark omen came upon them. A sandstorm whipped its way across the dunes, tearing and ripping all in its path. Turning with a shudder to Zakonax, Aasha spoke gravely. “We must find companions, for I fear this quest is one that will take our lives should we move alone. We will travel the lands of Telon seeking knowledge, power and understanding of the ancient mysteries. We will take with us all those willing and wanting to join. We will follow the paths laid before us as the gods see fit. But of my quest, our quest, my love, we speak carefully, else we will be seen as more than the eager minded in hopes of finding knowledge. We must keep this cloak upon us, taking only those that the gods choose for our companions. We can take comfort in the knowledge that this will not be a betrayal to our companions; for those in our company will too wear an illusion upon themselves so as to keep their true purpose or cause solely to themselves.” Nodding lightly, a simple agreement, Zakonax took her hand and together they embarked on their most challenging of tasks; creating a family with whom they could feel secure, be trusted and trust…
((The Preferiti In-Game Recruiting Message Expanded)) ((The Preferiti is a light role-playing guild made up of leisure players who share the interest of enjoying Vanguard to its fullest. Our definition of role play is quite simple, if your character knows about it or it exists in the lands of Telon then it is in character discussion, all other falls into out of character chat and should be indicated as such. That being said, we do highly encourage our members to speak of non-Telonian topics, should they wish, as this only helps to build a friendship with the player and not just the character. We have found this blend helps others who are interested in role play but are somewhat hesitant to jump in with both feet. We value quality over quantity, thus we are not aggressive in our recruiting approach and would never “poach” a player from another guild. If players are interested in joining our family and are presently in a guild, please expect that we ask that you extend the courtesy of expressing your concerns with your present guild leadership and, in some instances we will speak directly with the leadership of your present guild. The members that we presently have come to us from grouping together, traveling together, having assisted in channels, or spending quite a bit of time in chatting about what the players are seeking in the way of an in-game family. We have an application on our site that we do request that all prospective members complete, along with a forum registration (using the applicant's main character name). This application helps to ensure two things: That the player has visited our site and is familiar with our guild goals and objectives. That we have a concise means, via the information on the application, to introduce the prospective member to the existing members of The Preferiti so that they can reach out to the prospect and welcome him/her accordingly. Our primary goal is to assist, not only our extended family, but also the community in any way that we can; by means of server events, answering questions in the various channels (/tavern, /craft, /help, /dip and /diplomacy), "random acts of gift giving", etc. We have no mandatory play times and expect nothing more of our members than they are willing and wanting to give. We have diplomats, crafters and adventurers of all levels who can assist with any questions of or concerns that may arise. Our Qalian Guild Hall, on Keejay Cove, is complete with trophies from all three spheres and open to the whole of the server, so please feel free to visit! We are presently recruiting for role players with no play requirements; leisure players to avid players are all welcomed. Additionally, our end membership goal is roughly 60 players, with as many characters as our players would like to bring to the family. We want to provide an atmosphere where our members feel that they have company for grouping and attaining their goals in game but also never feel that they have been “lost in the crowd.” If our members would like to eventually casually raid, then the guild will work in a directions to afford this to our members. To assist with eventual raiding and server events that we will continue to host, we have a Ventrilo server. Although the Ventrilo server is another resource for our guild, it has not and will not be allowed to take away from our role play core. For struggling smaller guilds, should The Preferiti be in-line with your standards and you would like to discuss a merger, please contact Aasha (Thalatth, Mikira, Kiora, ) in game, or via email at aasha@thepreferiti.com. Please note, any guild mergers are discussed completely with The Preferiti members so that all opinions can be gathered, as such, we do not step into a merger without a great deal of research and time to discuss. The Preferiti can be found when selecting any/all of the following Vanguard guild sorting options: Casual, Chatty, Family Friendly, Funny, Helpful, Newbie Friendly, and/or Role play. Please feel free to ask any questions that you have either on the forums, in game, via PM or a direct email to aasha@thepreferiti.com. Thank you and all the best!
((Being that we can not yet edit posts past a certain time frame, I wanted to add a note that our guild application page is currently working again. Should you find the standards and motivations of The Preferiti interesting and feel that our family could be a home in Telon for you, please do complete a guild application. The application form is used to introduce our new members to our existing members and reflects play times and any additional comments that the new member would like to convey to the guild, i.e. personal game goals that they wish to achieve, preferred play styles, etc. We will look forward to speaking with those who have an interest in our fellowship! All the best!))
I played VG at launch and lasted to about level 30 before calling it quits but I always felt that Telon was such a boon for RPers. Well, I'm back again with a whole new character (yay for any race/class combo!) and I am looking for a RP guild. My biggest concern is my time schedule. I live on the west coast and only play late at night. Are there members around that time (after 8pm PST)? Also, I noticed your guild hall is in Qalia. Are most of your functions on Qalia? I'm about to leave the Isle of Dawn and have to decide which continent to go.
Welcome back to Telon, Silverblade! We have members in EST-CST and currently one member outside of the US. Our play times vary considerably. Yes, our hall is in Qalia, but our events are server wide and the vast majority of them have been held throughout the world were our folks dispatch to starting areas and we use a special event channel for the activities. We do have anniversary events that are at our hall. Should you like to speak more in game, I would like that. I will look for Silverblade in game, but if that is not your character name, please feel free to message me here, or contact me in game. All the best!!
My character is Kelian Silverblade. Heh, I'm still on the Isle because I'm trying to hit level 10 on everything.
Brilliant! I have made a note of the character name and will look you up. Good decision about getting to level 10 in each sphere.
Hi Aasha! *wave* I have no idea wether you still recognise me, but I have been a member of the Preferiti way back. Performance issues and activity was what made me quit back then. How have you (and the guild) been? Are you seeing a rise in numbers again, now that Vanguard is F2P and once again has a dev team? Best regards!
Hello there, Yskonyn! Welcome back to VG! Your forum handle doesn't ring a bell for me and I checked our guild forums to see if my memory might be failing me (which is entirely possible!! ) but when you were guilded with us, what was your character name, please? I haven't guild removed anyone in quite a while as I have had hoped, and had said hopes realized, that folks would be returning. Recently we have had two returnees and a few new additions and I have had many conversations of late with folks that have made me feel quite pleased with what appears to be a return of RP'ers to our beloved game. Please give me a shout in game, or here at any time and I will look forward to speaking with you and helping you get re-acclimated in any way that I can.
((Being that I am often asked in game the number of players that we have in our guild. Being that I update this monthly in our guild recruitment message in game, I will try to remember to add the numbers here as well. As of today, May 7th, our number of unique members is 33 and our number of characters is 163.))
I have nothing but respect for the members of The Preferiti. They are a fine roleplaying guild and as the population of roleplayers continue to increase we will have an even better environment for roleplaying events. They are very helpful to other players and they treat everyone with respect. Roleplaying is most alive on Telon! If you are interested in roleplaying you should look them up! Dhelmar Daeda Leader of Blackstone Allied with The Preferiti
Hello there, Eshyn, we are a casual play group, so there are folks who tend to play in ebs and tides, so to speak. But, we are currently awaiting contact with two applicants in game so that we can get them invited and have invited two additional folks last night and this eve, so that would bring our unique members total to 35 and 37 after the two applicants get their invitations. I will be back in game tomorrow evening, likely after 7:30-8:00 p.m. EST, should you like to speak in game and I can also answer any direct questions you have here via PM or you can feel free to email me, should you like - aasha@thepreferiti.com. All the best!
((I am not one to post frequently of our guild recruiting...it just has never been our policy, but seeing some of the new players speaking in the global channels as of late has made me want to just say hello again, we are still here, we are recruiting for the right folks, for our family. The "right folks" is not determined by level, play times, availability to assist but about behaviors, the desire to help and the goal to be in a guild that feels more like a family than a collective of friends sharing a common interest. If a family atmosphere sounds like what you are seeking, and if roleplaying your characters (whether that is a learning RPer or a seasoned one) is something that interests you, feel free to give us a shout at any time to learn more about The Preferiti. All the best! ))
((Hello all... With the returning folks to the game, I have been asked a good bit as of lately if RP guilds are still active in VG. The answer is yes, we are and there are a couple of us that are recruiting and eager to speak with players looking for a Telonian home. So if role playing your characters is something that enhances your game play, please do look us up! All the best, ))
((With the announcement of the server closing in July, we are seeing friends leave, I have been focused on our efforts to create a new place for our community and am thus tardy on posting in our recruitment thread... The Preferiti has been in Vanguard since guilds were allowed and will remain until the end of days in this land. If you are seeking a place to find friends and create an extended family, please let me know.))
Sorry for derailing anything here Aasha. But, don't you find it funny that most guilds were talking about an increase in players right before the sunset announcement was made? I know New Gen had seen quite a few actual for real new players join. So why act like it was any worse now than it had ever been? I would have thought that they would at the very least give it a chance to grow with the all access subs. Oh well. Whatever.
