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Today, we celebrate the anniversary of Terenas's oldest surviving guild.
On
January 3, 2005, a dozen members of a CounterStrike clan who hosted a
server dedicated to being a wholesome gaming environment, as guided by
their belief in Jesus Christ, started a new venture -- a World of
Warcraft guild. Led by their illustrious guildmaster, Allanon (Now
playing under the name Esua,) they chose the name "The Forgiven"
because it contained the initials TF, just like their CounterStrike
clan, TRiBForCe, and because it highlighted their view of Christian
gaming. We're not better, we're not superior, or perfect. We're The
Forgiven.
The Forgiven began with very few members. Of the 10
required to sign the guild charter, only half a dozen were "full time"
players. I myself joined up two weeks later, rolling our first
Restoration Druid. A month after that we were blessed with our first
Warlock player, Deedlyt. Deedlyt was also the first permanent member of
The Forgiven to come from a different real-world location than Alberta,
Canada.
The Forgiven was formed with the desire to create a guild
where
Christian gamers could play in unity and friendship with each other. We
have been blessed with abundant growth over the past four years.
Currently, we enjoy the company of 175 accounts. That's 175 separate
players and families from all around the world, with over 450
characters in our roster. In addition, The Forgiven has touched the
lives of dozens of other Christian gamers over the four years that it
has been in service.
The
Forgiven's focus has always been on creating a guild, focused on
friendliness, altruism, and excellence, all while striving to maintain
an environment that we hope is glorifying to God through Jesus Christ.
As such, our guild has never explicitly focused on PvP or on Raiding or
on leveling players up. We have, however, had members who were and
continue to be constant threats on the battlefield, members who were
and are excellent Raid players and leaders, and more than 200
characters level up to or above level 70.
The Forgiven has
always tried to be involved in the Terenas community. In 2005, The
Forgiven became on of the founding members of the Alliance Small Guilds
Association (www.alliancesga.com).
As such, we have joined together with dozens of other casual or
non-raid-focused guilds on Terenas in order to provide raiding
opportunities for each other. These raids have been highly successful.
SGA raiding teams have found themselves successful in both 20- and
40-man Ahn'Qiraj runs in classic World of Warcraft, in Black Temple and
Sunwell Plateau in Burning Crusade, and off to a good start in
Naxxramas and Obsidian Sanctum excursions in the new year.
In
late 2008, our leader, Esua, chose to step down from his position as
Guildmaster to pursue real-life educational goals. His wife, who plays
Wend (and Jaid, Dranoe, and Ryer,) has stepped up to replace him,
keeping The Forgiven running at peak condition.
In this new year,
The Forgiven hopes to continue in its course, creating a friendly
environment for Christian gamers to play with each other in unity. We
plan to continue to be involved in the larger Terenas community, and to
remain sensitive to the leading of God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Happy Fourth Anniversary, the Forgiven! To God be the glory, for the great things he has done!
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