To my children in Sea of Sorrows…
It is very rare for me to be standing here and not knowing what to say. But this is one of those rare once in a life time occasions, and each stroke makes me tremble in fear of letting go and longing to stay with you for one moment longer.
It all began on August 25th 2012. One hundred and fifty two days have since passed since that fateful day.
Since that day, the glory of Sea of Sorrows has been my only care in life. To me, SOS was more than a server. It was a nation, and its people my responsibility. Not a day goes by where I did not sit and contemplate how our country could become the absolute superpower in military might and its people allowed to hold their head up high on the world arena that is WvW.
Although the perpetual war wages on, and we eagerly await the arrival of our British and European brothers and sisters, the legacy of Sea of Sorrows is forever unchangeable.
My proud children, born in the slums of WvW, took arms and rose up when destiny called upon you to take a stand. You did not give up when the world laughed in your face. You did not give up when your adversaries numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Each wave you beat back made you stronger, and now, after your undefeated streak of victories, as of January 23rd 2013, you are now the legendary champion of North American WvW.
Proud of you I am, but alas the callings of my other life have finally grown too loud for me to ignore.
My sons and daughters, today, I must leave you.
Looking back, you were my greatest pride and joy. You are something that no MMO can give me ever again.
To my dear friends, past and future leaders of the Sea of Sorrows, treasure what we have built together. You are the greatest collection of heroes I have ever had the privilege to work with. I have absolutely zero doubts in your abilities to continue on our dream.
And to my dear Black Lion Mercenaries…
“What if I tried to run an online MMORPG guild like I run my company in real life?” – The idea of The Black Lion Mercenary [MERC] was born from a simple concept. A concept which would be the foundation of our success, exponential growth, and a reckoning force on the world theatre of WvW warfare. Over 150 days, through efforts of every single one of our members, MERC has grown from a 20 man guild of rl friends to a 1500+ member WvW superpower that can sway the war considerably in its own right.
But I did not simply build it without a plan. Through the efforts of each of our officers, the mechanical system of MERC is in place, the cogs in the wheel cannot be shut down, and the snowball can no longer be stopped.
On this day, I am happy to announce that I have found one who is more capable than myself as successor:
Amarathy will succeed me as Lord of the Black Lion Mercenaries [MERC].
Under his leadership, MERC has already begun its path toward solidarity and becoming a professional military might, he has created a monster which I myself could not even have imagined. Perhaps it is most unfair of me to thrust upon him the burden of carrying one of the world’s largest WvW organizations. I expect each and every MERC to lay down your lives in undying support to Amarathy and his administration and I beseech our allies to lend a helping hand.
So this is it. Farewell, and may you live forever.
ALL HAIL SEA OF SORROWS!
FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!
Edit: Before I leave, a little something to remind us of our time together from Tiffany Lockhart, the veteran commanders of Sea of Sorrows!
