By Wolf of Evermore

Greetings to all the Lords and Ladies, Thieves and Assassins, Players of Role and Rare Collectors, Chaos and Order, Factions and PvMers, Merchants and Craftsmen.
*Looking around and seeing no guards, hammers a parchment to the Tavern door. The stranger wipes the splinters off the hilt of his sword as he walks away*

I walk into Felucca for my interview with Adam Ant and Jade of Guardians of Undead Lords (GUL), and I am met at the moongate by several of the Guardians. They escort me to Oc�Nivelle where I am brought before Captain Jade and one of the two Lord Guardians, Adamodious Anthias. I bow to my hosts as they hold back a grin as they notice the blood red bandana I wear.

Wolf of Evermore: Thank you for allowing me to speak with you. I am sure the readers will be most interested in this conversation.

Adam Ant: It's my pleasure.

Jade: Hello, and thanks for taking the time to chat with us.

Wolf of Evermore: I have read much about the Guardians of Undead Lords. Could you tell the readers about that fabled long ago day, the 1st of April in the year of 2000.

Adam Ant: It was the 1st day April, in the year 2000, when I sent Brother Lucan to the town of my childhood, Jhelom.

It was our intent to purchase a stone, a stone that would hold all the names of our kith and kin, those that would swear to uphold our promise.

When Lucan returned to our home in Skara Brae, we placed the stone in the Corp Por Magic Shop. Corp Por was a small house converted into a shop, where Lucan and I sold reagents and other magical items, so that we might one day have enough gold to fund our cause.

The day had finally arrived!
I stepped up to the stone and swore an oath to protect the lich in the hopes that one day they might return to the land of the living, and retake their rightful place as the Mystic Council, Council to the Lord of the land.

Wolf of Evermore: I understand that the Guardians of Undead Lords is founded on the need to protect Liches and Red Mages. Thus I wear this blood red bandana to honor your past and future. Please tell us the how and why of this protect, for I am sure most do not know.

Adam Ant: The Mystic Council had advised Lord British on many subjects, of both war and politics, and were viewed by many as the decision making body within the castle walls.

These warm days filled with hearty meals and even heartier wine had left Lord British soft and suffering from delusions of conspiracy from within his own Council. This, of course, was utter nonsense, but there was seemingly no way to convince him otherwise.

Lord British had begun to suspect the Mystic Council of subterfuge and grew more paranoid with each passing day.
My brother, Lucanis Anthias, son of Kahn Anthias, was Captain of the Virtue Guards, Lord British�s elite corps.
My father Kahn was one of 9 Elders on the Mystic Council.

Possibly forgetting the relationship the captain of the Virtue Guards had with the Mystic Council, Lord British, in a drunken stupor, revealed his trepidation of those that were sworn to protect his life. Brother Lucan tried to pull tight the bindings of courage and strength and assure him that his most trusted were still his closest allies, but Lord British would hear nothing of it.

That very evening, while everyone in the castle was asleep, Lord British had his guards go to each of the Council member�s chambers and strangle them with a white scarf; father included. The guards would bind the hands and feet of the Council members and tie the scarf tightly around their necks so as to cutoff all air and prevent them from crying out.

The next morning when the chambermaids entered to clean the rooms, they found a single, blood-drenched scarf upon each of the Council member�s pillows. In father�s chamber, they found one more thing: the word "lich" scratched into his headboard.

When I learned of the news, it wasn't long before I began to fully understand what had happened, and what was to happen next. The Mystic Council had been delving deeply in necromancy. I knew that if my suspicions were correct then this mystic Council was still among us: undead and hateful of those responsible for their deaths.

Wolf of Evermore: From what I have seen you are an Honor Guild which has a long history and a code of conduct. When did all that come about?

Adam Ant: Lucan and I stayed in the mountain Wind, offering protection to our father and the other counsel members that seek refuge here.

Many ignorant adventures, in seek of fame and fortune, come here to slaughter the �lich�.
They know not the atrocious deed they commit, and many are not old enough to remember the blood-night at Lord British�s castle.

Lucan and I were raised in Lord British�s castle and trained as Virtue Guards. We therefore feel strongly about fighting honorably and treating the slain with a modicum respect.

Wolf of Evermore: I have seen several different titles among the members of Guardians of Undead Lords. How are the Guardians organized? Is there a ranking system?

Jade: The Lord Guardian title is reserved for Adam Ant and Lucan. They are the leaders and founders of the guild and have the final say on all guild matters.

The Captain (who has at times also been the guildmaster) is sort of like a partner to the Lord Guardian, and is also considered a leader of the guild, and is responsible for the maintenance of guild ethics and policy, and the tasks that go along with running a guild like scheduling meetings when necessary, assigning commander duties, approving promotions, etc.

The Commanders advise the Lord Guardian and the Captain on policy matters, organize dungeon sweeps, and serve as 'mentors' or role models for other Guardians, as well as carry out any other duties that the Captain or Lord Guardian might request of them.
The Guardians are the core of the guild, and in fact no matter which title any of us may hold we are all actually Guardians. These are the people who are out there protecting the liches and the red mages from being slaughtered by the hapless heathens :)

The Initiates are now on a separate stone (IUL) and are the people who are new to the guild. This does not in any way indicate that they are "newbies" or new to the game, but simply that they are new to our guild and in a testing period where they (and we) can decide if they are a good fit for the guild. We also had ranks of Enforcers and Squad Leader, but those ranks have since moved on to a separate stone that is no longer affiliated with GUL.

Wolf of Evermore: With being a Felucca based guild there must be many challenges. How do you decide guild policy in such a quickly paced world?

Adam Ant: Issues of great importance are usually brought before the guild Elders. We will often vote, but other times the Lord Guardian or Captain must make very difficult decisions based on a detailed understanding of the history that surrounds the Guardians of Undead Lords.

Wolf of Evermore: Jade, when did you join the Guardians?

Jade:I joined GUL on December 14 of 2000.

Wolf of Evermore: Jade, when did you become Captain?

Jade: I was promoted to Captain in June of 2001, when our former Captain Beldin retired.

Wolf of Evermore: With this latest change to our world (publish 16) has it had any effect on the Guardians of Undead Lords? If so what are your plans?

Adam Ant: We've spent literally weeks debating this issue, both internally and externally. We've posted numerous times on the UO.COM boards and tried to educate the player base as to what these changes would to do a truly role-played evil guild. Alas, the Trammel lifestyle seems to be the focus of the VPs at OSI and therefore the Development Team.

If you know of our code of conduct and honor, you must realize that the changes in Publish 16 make it impossible for the Guardians to continue to protect in the Dungeons and T2A. We as Guardians leave a death-pack with the slain that contains a recall rune to town, a recall scroll, a blood-drenched scarf, and a book explaining the laws of the dungeon and how to avoid our wrath in the future. Our ability to leave this death-pack has been taken away with publish 16.

Jade and I have placed the Guardians of Undead Lords on an indefinite sabbatical where they can go to the dungeons only if their guild title is turned off. It is now officially against GUL policy for any GUL member to enter a Sosarian dungeon as a Guardian.

Publish 16 has removed our ability to role-play a respected and honored evil anywhere but in the overland, and so, that is the only place you will find GUL from this time forward.

Jade: To add to what Adam already said, we really struggled with the decision to make it policy that no GUL members may carry out their duties in dungeons any longer. We knew that it could result in many members leaving and of course didn't want that to happen, as we consider them all a part of our extended family.

But, we could not see any way to continue in dungeons and still maintain the reputation we have built up over the years as a group of honorable pks. All of the things that we did by choice to show respect for the fallen (resurrecting them, not trash talking, not killing horses, leaving the death pack, not rez killing, not dry looting) were 'coded in' with the publish. Having the option to do these things before and choosing not to was what made us different and earned us the reputation of being honorable. Doing the right thing means nothing if it is forced on you and is not a conscious choice that you make on your own.

We ultimately decided that we could not compromise the integrity of the guild, and that there was no way to uphold it inside dungeons after the publish. We are hoping, however, that the promised changes to the overland spawns (which in the initial document mentioned new lich lord and other spawns overland in place of the many 'annoyance' spawns like mongats) will in fact take place and that there will be new overland areas for us to protect in the future.

Wolf of Evermore: Thank you both for taking this time. I am sure many will now understand much more about the Guardians of Undead Lords and it may reduce the amount of inadvertent hunting of the Undead Lords.

Adam Ant: Thank you good sir. I can only hope that one day UO will make a bit more room for the truly role-played Evil in Sosaria.

Jade:Thank you again for taking the time to visit us here in Oc'Nivelle. We will keep you posted on GUL's progress in these ever-changing times.

Afterwards, I am escorted to a moongate and arrive safely back in Trammel. I quickly make my way to the Dragon and Llama Inn to review my notes. I down several ales remove my blood red bandana and realize I am still alive.

May your life always be news worthy and remember to invite me along. Wolf of Evermore