Clan:Sacred Templars

The founding and history of the order known as the Sacred Templars, sworn Knights of Honour. An idea is born

As members of the clan Zeonic Force, I, Hurtbullen, and Flummbullen, had gotten an apatite for war. Being Europeans in a US/Aus/Pacific based clan, we found the call of nightly rest a stronger one than the post-midnight calls to PK. Instead we Pked in small teams made up by friends, but there was still no doubt: the great highlight of clanlife, was going to war.

The mighty digital clash of two, three-hundred individuals fighting it out, was and remains an experience no other game can offer. It was from wars our love for the RuneScape clanlife sprung. The grudge we had with Gladz, the rivalry with Devils and the fight for “Number One” with DI. I have happy memories from this time. I joined ZF as soon as i met the requirement of 80 hits. During my time there, i found in the wars the motivation needed to train, finishing third in the first training competition, ultimately going from 102 to 120 cmb.

The discouragement came with crashings, espionage, flaming and running. As ZF grew bigger and bigger, so did the complications surrounding every fight we engaged in. We started to long for simplicity. As both Flumm and I joined ZF quite late in its career, there was obviously many parts of clanlife we’d missed out on, or at least hadn’t been able to enjoy to the fullest. We wondered what it was like to watch a clan grow strong, to form a core around a bunch of old friends, a membersbase of visionaries. A clan hungry for fun with no strife up, but rather ahead. Like in the early stages of a game of chess, where you strengthen your line, get a feel for your opponent, and gradually win ground. In truth – we were both thinking something was lacking in ZF, something we needed to make our RuneScape experience complete.

When Flumm approached me with his thoughts and it became clear we were both thinking in the same ways, the deal was pretty much sealed. We decided that the only way for us to move ahead was to leave ZF and make a home for ourselves elsewhere, a new home, and in all honesty – one where we had control from the start. We started sketching on a theme, decided on creating a Templar-like atmosphere. We chose the name Sacred Templars, after ballparking some names with similar ring, “Crusaders”, “Dark/Light”, etc. With a name and a theme, we begun work on a forum, a process which we both found most enjoyable. We had limited experience working with html and scripting, but we soon grasped the basics, and set up s10.invisionfree.com/sacredtemplars; Flumm doing most of the coding, me doing most of the designing. It was a fun and worthwhile distraction to work with over summer, and we were most pleased seeing the results as work progressed. Word of ST reached only a few ears at this point, but ZF staff was made aware of our coming departure.

The end of an Era

As the days of summer and ZF were coming to an end, the dawning of a new era drew near. There had long been whispers about the closing of ZF, but the day the decision reached the public ear, confusion and malcontent was spread among the now clanless former Zeonics.

It was this day, that I, Hurt, in Flumms absence, posted the first official announcement revealing what Flumm and i had started planning long before the demise of ZF. I made a post on the ZF boards, urging those struck by confusion to take a minute to consider their coming actions. By announcing ST I wanted to present an option to hop off the ladder we’d all been climbing. To find the roots of ZF’s success, together with those willing to wait.

The announcement, however, was not well received by everyone. Many voices were raised against the founding of a new clan, although i still fail to see how presenting a new option can be wrong when the option of joining any of the existing clans, such as the newly refounded RSD and the always prominent DI, was open to everyone. Gershwormjim, High Chancellor of ZF, did mention Dragun6666’s clan “Rage” as an option in his leaving post, but this was presented as an entirely new clan, and not “ZF Reborn”. And yes, both me and Flumm would have hoped to post our resignations at a different time than ZF’s last day, infact we were aiming at the peak of ZF’s power, which we estimated would happen with a second DI-war early fall. With the confusion that erupted with the abrupt closing, there was no time to stand idly by. We had to get the message through to as many old members as possible, and that task fell on me. Through the closing forum, IRC and in-game, i tired reaching and informing all those uncertain of their future. All in all, this was a stressful process, forced by the circumstances.

Many former members of ZF chose to pursue their future with other clans in the top segment, others decided to stay together and form ZFL, Zeonic Force Legacy, in hope of rebuilding the home me and Flumm in our hearts knew was lost forever. Instead of joining any other clan, we now got to work full-time on ST. As the whispers and rumors had now turned to open declarations, the speculation and anticipation grew. What would the Bullens do to live up to the title “A RuneScape Clan Forged In The Name Of Honour”? Soon a date was set for when our gates would open, but already the public community flourished. Flumms many connections from his time as a moderator on the Rune Village community boards, proved a vital part in the campaign to promote our opening. We threw a few non-wild events for those interested in a closer look at this newcommer clan, the most prominent being a get-together in the newly opened Burthorpe Games-room. ST promotion sigs and posts were made, word was spread to every corner of RS, each day one day closer to the grand opening. One word to sum this whole period up would be: Hype.

And so, the day was finally but a week away, when word reached us about what would mark the definite end of the Zeonic era: the closing and disbanding of ZFL. There was no intention to pick up the pieces and start anew, from any of the involved parts, at least not in the open. It seemed many of those who had sought it, had now gotten their closure at last.

The Beginning

Finally the day was here, the day that we would celebrate the launch of our vessel, who we had spent countless hours with in the drydocks, and who we hoped would now catch a new fresh wind, and take us to where we had wanted to go, always in RuneScape. As the moment was upon us, our eyes were almost teared with amazement over the amount of people who had signed up for our seemingly impossible journey to the Promised Land, trusting our hands at the wheel to take them to the edge of the world and beyond. Within our first twelve hours as a clan, we recieved no less than forty applications.

As we had now opened, and were officially registered as a clan, we quickly grew into a force to be reckoned with. We saw a steady app-flow, and in fact we had gotten so many members at such high speed, we were unsure how to proceed. Our vision of fighting our way from the bottom to the top, was somewhat daunted by the fact that our strength in numbers and lvls meant we’d outgrown the bottom segment of the rather sketchy top 20 lists. In order to keep our numbers at a controllable size, and to grow closer together: the applications were closed for two weeks, as we strived to find and organize an opponent for the first of the many wars we’d been dreaming about. Opposition, however, was hard to find. Most of the clans roughly the size we’d grown to, were old clans in demise or in the process of rebuilding themselves, or clans that for some unknown reason didn’t accept wars. We were left with no option other than to open the floodgates to new applicants, in order to work our way up to the more professional segment, or to do what we did at that point. We took the hard decision to let wars stay a dream for yet some time, and instead aimed for a few funwars to compliment our four weekly PK trips.

PK trips was where we found opposition, and this was the first time many of us got to enjoy large scale PKs on regular basis. Being such a newly launched clan, our level of activity was very high, giving us the opts we needed, given the relatively short members list. In the wilderness, especially on the times we were out, one is exposed, and vulnerable to attacks from all fronts, and because of this would fall victim to clans such as The Wilderness Guardians, The Futures, and Fear on many of our PK trips. Through countless deaths we struggled to maintain our place in the world. Slowly we gained members and experience, and our victories became more and more numerous through our blood sweat and tears. At this time we had a large influx of members as we were getting recognition and earning the respect of clans higher and higher up the hierarchy, as well as meeting the expectations of old friends who had chosen different paths in the past.

The Golden Days

This was amazing, one month earlier we were pretty much unheard of, now we were renowned as one of the top clans in RuneScape. The Templars decided our hunger for war had now never been greater, and it was time to act. Since our ability in war had not yet been tested, it was decided we would have a mock war with a small clan known as Chronic Demise before we waged a Full-Out one against another clan.

The day is September 3rd, 2005. We are geared with Mithril armor and Rune weapons. The Templars march to the battlefield with their majestic purple capes rustling in the wind. Chronic Demise approaches, and the battle begins. The newborn warring Templars quickly defeat their opponent, and claim victory, our bloodlust stilled for the day, at least. As we sought to find a real war, Deathrow was challenged and they accepted. However, issues with the times and a mix up, led to an anticlimax, and that war turned into a non-event.

In the month of December we would have our first Full-Out short prep wars, or Mini-Wars with three different clans. These clans were The Runescape Warhungers federation, The Mystic Knights, and The Wilderness Guardians (who were aided by their junior division known as The Descendant Guardians). In these three battles we were defeated by TRWF, and emerged victorious against MK, and WG + DG.

The Templars had shown their ability on the battle field countless times now, yet were still told they needed to prove their worth to the world. To do so, we would have to have a full scale war with another clan. We tried to war several clans.

It is now January 28th, 2006. The Templars are uniting under their banner to represent their noble clan once more in the field of battle. Only this time, it will be a full out war, and not just a random skirmish. Approximately 120 Templars join the ranks. We quickly engage with the BlacKnights, and after a long fierce battle the Templars emerge victorious. 30 templars fell in battle, however their death helped the others to remain alive and claim victory for them.

Our Peak

With these astonoshing victories behind us, and the impressive - to say the least – showing which graced us, came the eye of the public community. For not only were we seen as a “wonderchild of clans”, but as a growing threat. Having yet been allowed to grow off radar, we now dreaded the treatment RSD and other upcoming clans had been served when sprouting up on the map. The merciless blue tide that threatened to sweep away all that fell under its gaze: the forces of DI. It was decided that we had to act quickly to ensure our survival, we had to take measures to prevent this impending doom. It was then, that Flumm, by a poll elected ZF’s “most diplomatic member”, did act, did prevent, and did ensure. A truth was sealed, a pact between David and Goliath, the mouse and the cat. We would be allowed to grow to appropriate hunting size, before we were to be considered prey, and so the happy days of growth were allowed to live on.

During the days of the Truce we were instead of constantly falling victim to the biggest fish in the sea, able to fight many battles with rivals of roughly our own size, and through the countless skirmishes, the affliction of flaming was brought down on ST. “The truth may not seem the same from two points of view”, a quote worthy of repeating, is one we had hammered into us over a long period of time. For many of us, this was the first real rivalry we experienced with ST, and it was easy to see everything in black and white. Having honour as a major creed, each insult violating our honour cut deep into our hearts, but soon we got hardened to the point where we were ready to accept untruths to be spoken about us, like any public persons.

A great success and a turning point to confirm our status as a force to be reckoned with, came with the four subsequent wins, earning us the title as undefeated winners of the ’06 “RSC Tourney – Category 15 vs. 15, lvl 115-126”. This proved our strength in organization, coordination and showing, and also marked the end of our Truce. After a slight grudge with DI, and the obvious strength we’ve recently displayed, they now considered us appropriate game.

The Slump

Seeing we were now under the magnifying glass of the mightiest PK clan ever to have existed in RuneScape, the demand for improved security shot through the roof, and not only the vast desert of the wilderness, but also our own boards became a battleground. A struggle to mend all leaks, and rid us of all possible spies, was initiated. Leadership was proud to see what could have evolved into a vertical which hunt, was resolved swiftly and without unnecessary animosity and persecutions. Our ranks were held, and kept tight, although it would take some time before we emerged the victors of this inquisition.

Along with the suspected spies and leaks, and the newly terminated Truce, followed weeks of utter peril. Every time we set foot in the wilderness, it seemed, DI was already there, waiting for us. They always knew where, when and how to find us, it did indeed seem like a curse. After countless subsequent losses, our cause seemed hopeless, and each time we saw the flood of blue capes, our hope was trampled. In the end this constant hammering took its toll on our members, who ultimately averaged no less than 1 million in losses each weekend.

This occurred at the same time as many involuntary absences due to exams, and with the dropping of opts and following losses, came disillusion and despair. Our showings suffered from a snowball effect, and ultimately despair settled also in the hearts of our PK leaders. Those unaffected by exams, were forced to bear a burden sized for a whole clan united. Malcontent spread, and culminated with a PK made to fit the US/Aus/Pacific time zones, which no leader attended, resulting in internal strife. The outcome of this event proved to be the spark that lit the fuse, and ultimately the powder-keg. All the feelings we had put a lid on and hoped would change and ultimately be laughed at later on, now exploded, and the discussions that followed resulting in many treasured members leaving in the heat of the moment. Leavings that presented an opportunity for those who intended on using ST as a steppingstone, and took the old saying ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ for their new creed, as they left us to our faith. At the price of many members dear to us, looking back, this process known as the ‘slump’, at least rid us of those with questionable loyalty.

A New Dawn

Left in ST was a core of believers, who could not and would not stand idly by as all we had fought for all these months fell like writings in sand lost to tidal waves. Together we reformed ST in hope of bringing us back to our former glory. Soon we all stood united against threats both from outside and within. It was decided to execute yet one more activity sweep, which would prove devastating to our numbers, but ultimately be the road to salvation. With our ranks weeded out, we no longer suffered from the constant scourge of crashings. We no longer saw private information leaked as we wrote it. Finally we were given time and space to recover from this slump, and eventually emerge strengthened, knowing we could survive everything along as we put our trust to each other and stood united. Together there was nothing we couldn’t achieve! Although there still was a long way back to the power of our Golden Age, we were now optimistic. Perhaps the slump had served some greater purpose indeed, as it opened our eyes for the darker side of power. Those who have it seek only more, and those kept from it fall into shadow. It was time to return to the central beliefs that first gave birth to the dream that was ST. The strive to reach onwards, not upwards, to form a core around trustees and old friends. To stand together and conquer everything.

Never has the dream been more alive, than on our first birthday, the First Annual Anniversary of the Sacred Templars.

Written by Hurtbullen with the aid of Flummbullen and DarkPaladin9

-Sacred Templars closed on August 27th, 2006 and was remade under the name Eternal Honour with much of the same leadership and member base.-

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