Welcome to Gaia! ::

A long time ago, in a forum far, far away...

A classical introduction seems so appropriate for the beginning of the guild. Most people will agree that the guild did not happen all on its own, it had to be concieved. The story of which it was concieved is just as important as any other time, if not moreso. It allows for us to understand just the sheer amount of genius that sparked at the time.

October 20th, 2004. It was a Wensday. It was a day which provides probably the best starting point we can discuss. A gaian by the name Aldaron_Tauron decided to make a thread, named Star Wars: The Official Thread. He wanted to dedicate an official thread to this wonderful creation of George Lucas, and discuss all that was around at the time. This was before the Prequel triology happened to be completed, and Lucas had lost the magic touch and created a schitzm in the community. It was a time when discussing things such as ewoks, E-wings, and all such topics were the norm, rather than Hayden Christensen or Mustafar.

That same day, JadesFireMJ (MJ), a talented artist and Han/Leia shipper, made the second post of the thread, and talk struck up about the topic. FrozenPhoenix32 (FP32) posted as well. Nelowulf happened to make his first post ever on Gaia there. It so happens it was the same day he joined as well. At the time this is written, only FP and Nelo are on gaia, and FP has since been irradic in his presence, hindering any further information on this subject.

Talk struck up, and as these four continued to discuss how good or bad the NJO was, or what could be worse than Kevin J. Anderson, they soon became the four of the thread, the leaders and the closest thing to the three musketeers you could get (and yes, there were four of them). Discussions became wilder and wierder, between MJ's Yskrayolinga's (a monster which was a ysalimari, Krayt dragon, and diagona mix which required no food nor water), Aldaron's Flying bantha's with jetpacks, and Nelo's rancors with lasers attached to their heads, dancing the can-can in duct tape tu tus, the brain fluids continued to flow, and ideas of grandeur became greater and greater.

The Great Convergence, the greatest guild at this point in time, was far too open, a public guild which to the greatest dismay of the four was a host of infectious problems. It was an RP guild, dedicated strongly to the ways of Roleplay. Much of its discussion threads were more like blurts and spam that could be found in the chatterbox.

After a wierd discussion of the fantastic hero named Druggie Douggie (nelo) who drove around in the bongmobile, with his sidekick Dopeboy (FP32), the idea sprung up by Alderan that a better guild was needed. One which could be demanding, a rival to the so-called "Great" Convergence. Brainstorming became a great need, as they quickly summed up what they needed. Ideas such as a thread dedicated to talk about anything (the Mos Eisley Cantina), a rank system to measure activity in the guild, and an RP (Tales from the Cantina) came up. But what hurt the guild the most was what were they going to base this guild off of?

Aldaron suggested the Galactic Empire. Quickly this beat out the Trade Federation or Rebellion, due to the sheer awesomeness of the empire in the four member's heads. It is important to note that while the four are instrumental in the beginning of this guild, they aren't the only ones simply giving ideas. We are not trying to idolize them, nor are they as grand as we may be making them out to be. But it is easily said they made the magic work, and therefore are given the most attention.

With the basis made, all that was needed now was two things: Cash, and someone to put it all together. While the cash could be come by, a figurehead of the guild was needed. Someone who could prevent a power ploy by the four to seize the throne, to where all of them could be equals. A puppet was created. It was me, Grand_Admiral_Thrawn, a person who symbolized the empire's most brilliant tactician. This prevented anyone from claiming the title of "emperor", most specifically Alderan, whom probably would have taken the title because of his knowledge in Star Wars, and being the original proposer of the idea.

Cash, however, proved to be more negotiable than it may seem. Aldaron donated 2k, MJ another 2. FP and several other people, most notably Sathdra the White (who changed his name several times), paid up. But the largest chunk came from Nelo. Scared that his position would be sacrificed since he was no expert of the world, having never read a single book short of the essential guides, and not knowing much of what was going on, felt the desire to at least provide an investment into something worthwhile. 11.2k was the amount donated by Nelo, sheer embarassment driving his paycheck.

With that, MJ went ahead, as myself, and on the day of November 8th, 2004, created what would forever be known as The Galactic Empire: The Official Star Wars Guild.

Hikin' it across the galaxy (May 2005 - November 2005)


May opened up somewhat with quite a bit of elation, as the final movie of the prequel triology grew ever closer to the fans. Cale opened up the guide to the galaxy, outlaw style, aptly named the Outlaw's Guide to the Galaxy, or OGG for short.

With the invention of May 19th, 2005, Revenge of the Sith entered the theaters, allowing for the guild to recieve unprecedented amounts of discussion, from the battle with grevious to the fight on mustafar. Outside the guild, many fanatic fangirls (and guys) were talking more jibberish than a three-year-old on a sugar rush, making this guild the only safe haven for many people despite the desire to simply jabber on about the schweetness of graphical editing.

Little changed as the month changed into june. A prominent guest appeared and stayed at this time, known as Angelic Celestia (later known as Celestia Whitesword). CotGCW became quite popular, as talk for a third RP began popping up about a clone wars RP. Inspired by the movies, it held promise, but time would prove quite a problem until it would ever get up and running. Meanwhile, The first Guild ball was held. Hosted by FP and Nelo, in the theme of Red Vs. Blue (Nelo being red, FP blue), it was a quiet social even held on the 20th (began late night 19th really) which served as a test for the layout of the Grand Admiral Mansion, although the idea would be scrapped in later balls. It did provide one of the largest distributions of medals awarded at the time, allowing for a good reason for the active members to come and celebrate.

July happened upon the guild with much work being done. The mods updated the rules of the guild (mostly protocol and defining terms used) from the original five rules into a six sub-sectioned bit of information. On top of that, new force systems were devised, but perhaps the most important part of the guild's history was the opening of the first shop, by Nospai and Nelo. Coincidentally this was also the name as well. The shop would later catch much heat from bad edits (apparantly the editor Nelo relied upon to give him the clothing stole artwork) but that happened some time later.

Unlike the uneventful July, August happened to be quite hectic. With school coming for most people, the guild's activity soared. CotGCW was drawing to a close, but not without honors. It had achieved a sense of success so great that the vote in the guild was unanimous in having a sequel. As the planning underwent, so did the concurrent RP, Band of Vode, the clone wars clonetrooper RP. While Nelo held the reigns of EmSquad and CotGCW, FP was chosen as leader for the newest addition to the guild's repetior of roleplays. On August 28th, the Band awoke on the planet of Geonosis, as hopes ran high for another highly successful RP. Perfect timing, as the 29th marked the end of the first installment of CotGCW, later named Visions of War (although many still simply refer to it as CotGCW, much like A New Hope is still just referred to as Star Wars). It also featured the well enjoyed credit system, a comedic way to thank the major players of the RP.

September gave rise to the towns system, of which many attempted to pounce on, but the idea that all the mods live in the same neighborhood simply flopped. Shards of the Force, the second installment in the CotGCW triology, opened September 2nd, despite the thread's creation in August. The middle of the month gave rise to an unprecidented moment, however. The mods FP and Nelo had grown tired of being the only ones as moderators, and planning their eventual dismissal, came up with the need to bring in new blood as Moffs (the rank below Grand Admiral). A test was put out to three potentials, a ploy just to see how much they really knew about what to do. All three were accepted, as Nospai Deathous, Ryunosuke the White (Sathdra), and Cale Darksun were given new powers and prestige within the guild. Celebration was held throughout the guild (with amusing pictures and false histories) that gave some entertainment. It was also on this day, September 20th, that Cale came up with the guild's signature superweapon, the Cheese Star, a ball of cheddar so powerful, its main laser was of limberger.

October was mostly uneventful (not every month can be a blockbuster smash), but with the invention of subforums, the Imperium expanded to the Outer Rim, allowing for the ability to separate the serious from the not-so-serious. A perfect fit right before the military ball on November 8th, and the close of a full year in guild history.

Under New Management (June - October 2006)

June proved that as a month, things could be cooking despite the summer times. The Medals, as well as the ranking system, were eliminated permanently, due to the sheer logistical nightmare (as well as a lack of interest) they created. More importantly, Legacy came out in stores, the comics, not the books. This spurned the ideas for a new RP set in the era.

July was filled with events that brought life back to the guild in more ways than one. The first half of the month could fool most of the people, but come the second half the month, all gears went into overdrive. One line at a Time, a thread which dedicates itself to the script of each movie line by line, moved into Empire strikes back after being around for easily a year. Then the guild broke 50,000 posts (just keep blowing our rivals out of the water boys!). Cale was promoted to Grand Admiral, becoming the first non-original member to be a Vice Captain for the guild, with Celestia Whitesword and DarkenedAngel being the new Moffs (which coincidentally are the first female mods since the original MJ). For the last part of July, the 29th, Legacy: Dark Ressurrection opened up. Four RPs at once! But it would quickly turn south after a good month.

August started with the announcement for Band of Vode to finish up. Months with few posts and abandonment meant it lacked the energy to keep up. Unlike EmSquad, the BoV didn't even have a life-saving vote on the matter, nor the chance to go on. By the 7th, it had been officially put in its epilogue. Also happening this month was the invention of Guild Podracing, the brainchild of Nelo, which had a working system of randomized racing results, with the ability to bet upon a racer of one's choice. This wound up to be an effort in futility; while the guild had voted that not only would it be nice to see, but also in fact to participate in, only one member actually partcipated.

September met with more action then some of the previous months. Elladen Kennet proposed a KotOR RP, though the thought was frowned upon by most of the guild. Confidence in its success was lackluster, though the clearance was given for it, as if it did happen to succeed, it'd be another object to "rub in the face of the Great Convergence" as it was put. Late in the month, the guild met and surpassed the satanic 666 member mark. However, it also marked the decline of LoP as the leading RP. Rumors began amongst the mods of a crew-only subforum, though at the time, the idea was put on hold. It was also discovered that while we could boot people out of the guild, the member count never went down. This created what is known as the "Great Purge" of the guild. Members and troopers who had been long since MIA (basically non-active) had been re-deemed KIA and booted.

October met with milestones more than actual events. First and foremost, 65000 posts were reached, and we hit the 700 member mark. However, dark times encroached on the horizon, as FP began to talk about retirement. Just as detrimental was the loss of the desire for LoP, creating an empty ending to the great saga.

The Jaws of Life. (June 2007 - October 2007)

June flew by without much to really note. The guild was chatting away, planning its newest RP, though the discussions tended to be quiet. Most of us were having plenty of fun offline. Still, the senate hit the landmark 10th resolution on the 23rd, easy to make note of.

July started off looking like a repeat of June, but come the 12th, the long awaited Entropy RP had begun, a fierce fight between imperial and rebel scum. Three days later, the tenure punishment period for Cale's demotion ended, as the council debated on whether he deserved moderation powers again. Apparantly, on the 15th, the Force smiled upon him, as his rank was reinstated to Grand Moff. Just in time too, as the day after, the guild broke the cieling of 100k posts made in guild. Oh, July didn't stop chugging along there. On the 17th, DarkenedAngel was made the newest GA, putting an end to the monomonarchial reign of Nelo. Cale brought forth a new creation on the 20th, an arena to fight using special powers and skills, while on the 24th, a debate was opened on the main page to discuss a new banner.

While things progressed at normal, the council began to formulate plans for the november anniversary, in hopes of making it the biggest event to hit the guild ever. Edits were being cranked out by nelo, comic ideas by Cale, and item sets by others. As the summer water fight became more and more a reality on Gaia, the Galatic Empire went and attempted to flex its might in support of the Isle de Gambino. It definately was an uphill battle, as Gambino happened to be in last place. Overall, even the might of Thrawn proved no match to the foolish noobs of Durem, who creamed everyone.. badly... I blame it on the fact school started for some of us.

With two very active months behind us, September really was a nice break from all the action. School was in full swing, as the arena finally died down, making plenty of us crank out the brains we wasted over the hot summer.

October, the month of fright, was also fairly mild in activity. With Entropy getting somewhat annoying at times, PaultheWolf5575 proposed getting another RP, one which was easier to get into, not to mention a good way to pass the time while the officers were chatting off. Nelo pulled out his old writing tablet, and began whipping ideas off the chart, and it was soon decided the New Sith Wars would be the best area of non-existant material to start our new fanon RP. Halloween met with vampires, as Cale became a slayer extrodinaire, and Nelo became the Crusnik king, along with other notables such as Missing nin Itachi being Ash Williams from teh Evil dead series and others.