Clan:The Rising

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Founded as a PKing clan in July 30th of 2007, The Rising would venture into a clan world where an endless list of new clans would almost always be fleeting sparks of hype at best, such was the insurmountable challenge of finding a way to break into a status quo that had long since been entrenched. Naturally, we enjoyed some brief rivalries with other such clans that were striving to make a dent, including Outcast, Clan Auris, Lethal Blades,Triforce, Genesis Dynasty, Forgotten Templars, and RuneScape Vendetta, with the latter representing the opposition in our first ever prepped event; an old-fashioned melee and binds 15vs15 at members gate ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBhTslQ6IGQ ). Alas, TR also had the privilege of immediately mixing it up with some more illustrious names, including in our first PK trip, which led to a run-in victory over RuneScape Hungarian Knights, whilst within a month we enjoyed PK run-ins with the likes of The Mighty Red Dragons, Divine Forces, The Titans, Collision, Lithuanian Forces, Corruption, Eternal Honour, RuneScape Dynasty, Echo of Silence, The RuneScape Warhunger Federation, Red Devil Clan, Gladiatorz, BlacKnights, ‘The’, Chivalry Legions, Shadow Elves, and Adelais.

Although initially regarded by many as a mere break-off from ‘The Alliance’ (Gladiatorz, ‘The’, TMRD, and Jaguars), TR comprised a contingent of former Dark Slayer members, as well as people attracted to a modus operandi that pivoted around PKing daily, often multiple times, while maintaining strong community oriented values. We knew we were on the right path when a DF official was quoted as saying that TR ought to have its own subforum for its PK run-in topics on RSC/Zybez, but it was other quotes and events that would come to engender our burgeoning morale and momentum at this time, as well as serving the instill an “us vs them” mentality that would pave the way for success in the long-term. One such catalyst was the onset of our rivalry with TMRD. Although initially on good terms,, when a latecomer to our first spur PK trips asked for the current world in an IRC where we had become intermingled, TMRD would rush us soon after logging in. Once we gained numbers, TMRD were cleared, before insisting that it was a coincidence, that they didn’t know it was us before rushing, amongst other happenstance explanations. Whether it was an attempt to try and nip us in the bud, or to prove a point given that around a dozen ex-TMRD had joined the TR cause within the first few days, this run-in did, unfortunately, stir up hostile relations. We cleared a handful of their PK trips in the coming weeks, which led to them eventually having a small amount of CT (Collision and The Titans) in tow. We still hunted a couple of those trips, but the second time around, CT actually decided to mass some people when we did so and consequently got stomped. Amidst these scenes, there was an in-game quote by Nerdbasher91 while clearing us: “Kill TR until they close”. It was just the view of one person and nothing would manifest from it; we became just another clan to be able to fight for TT and Col, especially the latter. Regardless, at the time, those words were impactful, especially when combined with another harsh lesson that ensued within that timeline of our early weeks - our first encounters with Adelais, and then EOS. One of our very early prepped events was a capped run-in against Adelais, whom did provide humour upon showing up 15 minutes late due to a need to login as a phallic object on the minimap. Despite being unable to clear them, we were clear winners by the end of the cap, which Adelais refused to respect, thus prompting us to eventually take our ending options en route to leaving. Adelais did the same, albeit after regrouping, before proceeding to take a picture with lobsters on the ground to inflate their options. They attempted to post a win topic, but initially uploaded an unedited picture which showed the lobsters (as well as the invalid options number), which was quoted before they could rectify this oversight. Soon after, we were clearing Adelais in an unplanned run-in with Adelais, before it was EOS showing up in their stead (who then insisted that they had “intercepted” in their eventual win topic). EOS would frequently hunt our trips, with a similar outcome each time, where we’d battle back until their numbers became too much. There was one instance where we fought back for 7 hours, in a run-in which ended after the CL congo line AC had been hit by some EOS, prompting a melee to ensue. The result was a formality at this point, though, with EOS verging on clearing us. Still, these experiences would all come to be fruitful in providing a crash course of what it would be like as a PKing clan in the ascendancy in this era. There were also early beginnings of long-standing rivalries during this early period, especially with TRWF.

Whether battling a rival in a prepped event, being crashed whilst out, or having nights out entailing an array of clans, TR had started as we meant to go on in the years to come. We would enter the wilderness with the intention of fighting anyone, even if it meant striving to be competitive in situations where the outcome of being outnumbered and overwhelmed was inevitable. We didn’t believe in ever ending an unplanned run-in early, nor in avoidance, irrespective of our chances of winning. We weren’t like the other new clans; we were here to stay. Those early months yielded many memorable moments, including unplanned run-in victories over TRWF (who would almost always defeat us in planned run-ins at this stage), as well as an full-out (non-returning), melee and binds war victory over EH ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPI4cqqCSgI ). TR was thriving towards the end of the wilderness era, even to the point of being ranked 7-10 within the ever fickle Zybez listings, as well as being capable of pulling around 80 people on weekends. Much like other PKing clans, though, TR suffered once Jagex decided to meddle with PvP. (Fun fact: We did have the honour of posting the last ever wilderness era win topic, from a run-in with ‘The’).

The bounty hunter era, when introduced, although a poor substitute for the ways of old, did at least allow the clan world a concept of multi that would offer a thrill of the hunt, as well as cumbersome boundaries for prepped run-ins. It was here that we were given the honour of being chosen as the last opponent for TMRD, and also RDC at the time, even if the latter would fortunately reopen at a later date and give us plenty more memorable encounters. There was also the forging of our unlikely friendship with Luchinot et al. of Wilderland. After a TR vs WL run-in was crashed by EOS, we proceeded to team up to clear, before being on very good terms thereafter and even having some community oriented activities. It was also during bounty hunter that we attempted to have a presence in EST, as opposed to settling for #1 GMT. We proceeded to have late EST evening skirmishes, even if typically with a meagre 100-ish options, which meant having the chance to battle some clans that wouldn’t venture out in GMT. Our last event of significance in this era was when we stepped up, just as we did against EH towards the end of the wilderness, in a capped run-in with TT. While it would only yield a narrow loss on the day, we were happy enough with the performance to be brimming with optimism. Of course, the clan world would then begin to suffer immeasurably when even bounty hunter’s multi functionality was removed, thus leading to the onset of the Clan Wars Arena era. PKing clans suffered to varying degrees, with TR being no exception, and a long list of retirements resulted. TR did participate in the CWPL, but it felt like going through the motions and no degree of consistent success could be maintained, nor was it something we wanted to strive for. We were mediocre, and this chapter was to be a forgettable one.

Towards the end of 2008, the release of PvP worlds represented a glimmer of hope for the clan world, even to the point of capturing the imagination with the innovative possibilities. We did explore this a bit ourselves, such as with a non-returning wars with ‘The’ at Wizard Tower, and versus Black Knights at Al Kharid. Naturally, it would be the wilderness that inspired, and it was soon getting to enjoy a planned, members gate run-in again with TRWF, which we won, that captivated, as well as both the renewal of old rivalries and onset of new ones with the likes of 2Mighty, Future Of Old Style, Red Devil Clan, Northern Gods, Exodus, and Lietuvos Didzioji Kunigaikstyste (Lithuanian Divine Kingdom) as of 2009 onwards. Whilst our dominance in the GMT was long standing, the number of active clans within the timezone would gradually waned during 2010-2012, which rendered it a necessity to strive even more within EST. At this time, TR would have the privilege of being chosen as the last opponent for TRWF, whilst mostly stepping up to have run-ins with Cor, RSD, TT, and DF et al., but still having some GMT action with the likes of Forsaken and Cheer Up.

At the mid point of 2012, the original TR closed, albeit on our terms; on a high, ranked in the top 5 and still capable of pulling 300+ options. From there it was ‘onwards into the game of life’, even if nostalgia would lead to 50+ people returning to the game in 2015 for a reopening on OSRS. It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old names, but with a combination of lack of enjoyment of the game and finding it difficult to adapt to the clan world culture had become, most originals would go back into retirement over time.

Written by: Des Troyer