Runes of Magic US / AU

It’s a cliché, but also true: all good things must come to an end.

Today Noto finally closes our doors.

It has been a truly amazing three years, and looking back, I can’t believe it was only three years. It feels like a lifetime. So much laughter, so many late nights, so much fun we had together! Noto was always a group of people, and of course, people came and went, but almost no one came here and left unchanged. I can’t tell you all how much I have learned about life, and about myself, about people, about leadership, about love… from you all.

Thank you for giving me this experience. For this opportunity to get to know you all. For your support and your love and your laughter.

Noto has a proud history, and it was great because you all made it great. Without the people we would have been nothing. But you all saw a goal and refused to stop working to make it happen. We succeeded in changing the face of Palenque. People asked if Palenque could ever compete with the older servers, and we proved that it could. People asked if we could get Spanish and English speakers to work together, and we proved that we could. People asked if we could progress, and we proved that we could. We had to make 10 times the effort to get 1/4^th of the progress, but we did it anyway!

We set an example that others will have a hard time following.

And we couldn't have done it without the support of the forum community. What you all did for us, I cannot thank you enough for. Pazuzzu, Yoman, Kanuu, Raves, Bibby, Saitan, Borella, half of Reni, Greenthing... (I guess that means all of Osha )... you guys did so much for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you are asking the question, “why close now? What happened?” the answer is both a long story and a short one. In short, it boils down to not enough people to sustain a guild. I'll spare you all the long story (just this once). On a server like Palenque, where we’ve always had to struggle, people have always had to face the fact that we are strong together and weak apart. When people choose to be apart, there’s not a whole lot we can do. Intolerance is death. When people stop working together, all is lost.

And the simple fact is, I was not a good enough leader to keep us together.

So rather than ask the people who remain to be miserable, to come in daily to no runs, to walk onwards like the undead, like a zombie guild too stupid to know when to quit- and we walked that way for a while, months worth at least- I have chosen to let those people go, to release them and allow them to seek happiness and life and warmth elsewhere.

I cannot follow them. Every day, logging on is a little more painful. Seeing something you built and nourished and loved die is a really painful thing. And I have had no home but Noto, and I can have no other home but Noto, and if Noto goes, so must I.

So I am leaving Palenque, and I might leave RoM. I think I will make guest appearances on Osha and maybe Artemis to troll Kanuu, but my new “stomping ground” will be Reni. I won’t call Reni a home, because I don’t think RoM can ever have that for me again. Finally, after so many people trying to beat it into my head for so many years, RoM will be “just a game, Fan.” Just a place where I can log in and play and have fun, where I won’t see missing faces everywhere, and where the memories won’t hurt.

Noto had its last siege last night, against Dovakhiin, and we had a terrific time slapping each other around, so we managed to go out in a good way I meant to sign us up for tonight and missed my alarm, which I am choosing to believe is the universe’s way of keeping us from ever losing to Noctus!

However, we will be having some fun instead of siege.

We’re going to have a party! It will start at siege time, 10 PM EDT, and I plan on telling stories, laughing, pk partying all over the most beautiful guild castle on any server, and then doing a naked run through FA and up, til we all pass out or fall asleep. I will be drunk off my ass, so I promise it will be highly entertaining

Anyone who was in Noto is welcome to come- cross-server trolls included. All sins are forgiven tonight. Tonight there is no strife, there is no pain, there are no rivalries, there is nothing but the memories of a place where people came together and made magic happen.

Viva Notorious! Viva Palenque!

<3 Fandreith

Well, we p/k'd nekkind in the guild castle, that was fun

And we had everyoen we could squeze on the vent server, and that was SO FAR BEYOND FUN XD So many of the people we missed were there, so many peopel!

Did you all know we have a married couple with a baby on the way who met here in Noto? And another one about to get married?

How unbeleiveably awesome is that???

I could not ask for a better legacy.

People are not pixels. People are flesh and blood and tired bums in computer chairs. If you make that your guiding principle, then you'll succeed. It's when you forget this that you have issues.

Oh, and I think my sheer level of drunkeness is at least a 7.9 out of 10

So long farewell bye bye!