Overview
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[edit] Plan
The goal of this project is to compile stories about all the memorable events that helped shape T2T since its inception. This is of course an ambitious plan, one that necessarily would have to involve many different, almost certainly competing versions of events. It is perhaps best to record the firsthand stories as is, and let the readers sort out their own version of history through comparison and contrast. It is more important to obtain primary sources from people who witnessed the events themselves, before they leave the community for good with their stories unheard. An attempt at a comprehensive and objective retelling can be done at a later time.
This section is not to be confused with Game History, which is more concerned with the development of the game itself over time. At the same time, the plan here is to document real factual events and not thematic embellishments of inconsequential ones. A prose-heavy and thematically faithful version of a roleplay spar may have some fan-fiction value, but unless it is an attempt to accurately describe a memorable historical event in T2T, should not be posted here.
Guilds and clans, their formation, metamorphoses, reformation, and their inevitable wars have been a crucial part of the history we've experienced at T2T. This is now an open invitation to anyone involved in these events to write down what they can remember of the people, events, and the conflicts they've been a part of. Help preserve the history of T2T before it is no longer recoverable.
[edit] Outline
In order to organize the history, we give first a rough division of the Ages of T2T with a brief, perhaps as yet inaccurate, description of each, and hope that the content will materialize as sympathetic visitors suffer bouts of nostalgia. This Age system has been a part of the oral tradition of T2T for many years (this author recalls heard it from Hakim around 2001.) The similar organization used in the Game History section is not the same. We refer to 'The Year of the Trees' as 'The First Age', and so on, but more importantly the information here is meant to be of a different sort as described above.
A valuable source for information is [[1]] compiled painstakingly by Tevildo.
[edit] The First Age
The very beginning of course. When Arda was small and everyone was new. When the best weapons around were Elrond's Blade, Gor's claymore, and the silver-plated axe. This is the time of the original clans, and the first legends. Most players who were around then have long moved on. The events of this age are quickly being forgotten from memories as there is fewer and fewer players left to tell them. There is a certain consensus that this age lasted until the opening of Minas Tirith. The impaling of Fjant's head at Rhosgobel and the mass departure of Khazad-Azanzibar were around the same time and contributed to the overall change.
[edit] The Second Age
The beginning of this age coincided with a shift in the population of the mud. Many first age players retired around the same time, some forcibly so, and a new generation matured to be the primary players. The population at this time was at its highest peak and the auction economy was flourishing. Mortal Council was instated shortly after the opening of MT to be the official avenue of communication between Valinor and the mortal realm.
[edit] The Third Age
This Age started roughly from the first revision of guilds. Valinor at this time, hoping to encourage roleplay, requested that all guilds pick a side in the War of the Ring, and no longer allowed impartial guilds to stand. Thus began a massive overhaul of the guild system which lasted quite a while.
The end of this Age is to be tentatively marked by the removal of sheriffs and a few months later the introduction of strongboxes. More importantly, many of the original admin of the game retired and left the administration of the mud to a newer generation.
[edit] The Fourth Age
The removal of sheriffs, and a few months later, the appearance of strongboxes, started a period of rapid change in the mud. Guild creation and maintenance was automated, some previous deleted guilds were allowed to reform, Mortal Council was replaced by the petition system, entry system into Mordor changed repeatedly, and eventually, the battlepoint system was introduced. This era properly ended with the creation of The New Towers. At this point, tensions and differences of vision between the mortals and Valinor, and between factions inside Valinor had reached a breaking point.
[edit] The Fifth Age
This, the current age, began with the retirement of Draugluin and the return of Aule. Significant changes to the game, often reversing changes accumulated over the previous years, marked the beginning of the new age...
[edit] TO DO
The rough outline above contained barely any information. It is hoped that the willful reader will help to fill out each section with the appropriate detail, branching out to a separate page for personal accounts or a very detailed description. The events mentioned above are hardly the most significant, and serve only to differentiate between the ages. An example of a task worth doing would be to take Tevildo's timeline, separate the events mentioned in it into the different ages, and briefly elaborate on each event. For example, nowhere above is mentioned at all the release and evolution of the evil races. Though technically a gameplay change, it could be elucidated with personal accounts of the events and people that participated.
