The United Defenders League

[Afforess]

I was once an ardent UDL member and supporter. In the backrooms of the conclave, I helped propel comrade Mahaj to CotB by publicly questioning Cormac's loyalty and undermining his campaign.

Funny how that worked for the best in the end. Cormac would have sunk the UDL by now. Mahaj, on the other hand, is the epitome of what a defender should be.

[Durkadurkiranistan III]

I was once an ardent UDL member and supporter. In the backrooms of the conclave, I helped propel comrade Mahaj to CotB by publicly questioning Cormac's loyalty and undermining his campaign.

Funny how that worked for the best in the end. Cormac would have sunk the UDL by now. Mahaj, on the other hand, is the epitome of what a defender should be.

True, it backfired on me, in the end. Should have fought for Cormac to win CotB.

[Drop Your Pants]

Mahaj, on the other hand, is the epitome of what a defender should be.

Going offline right before update? Oh i follow that example all right

[Solorni]

Ravania would have been horrible

[Mahaj]

Ravania would have been horrible

Nah.

[PrussianEmpire]

Sorry double post...anyway, regarding conclave stuff, I actually thought Treize shouldve stayed in the election for more than one day.

[PrussianEmpire]

Yes there is precedent of raiders turning defender and coming to the UDL.

But its still not really relevant: Neither Georgie nor Cormac are going to be members of the UDL again.

I was asking about defenders turned raiders turned defenders (triple agent). Anyway I agree we are off topic.

Theres me...

[Hobbesistan]

I was asking about defenders turned raiders turned defenders (triple agent). Anyway I agree we are off topic.

Theres me...

You raid?

[PrussianEmpire]

Theres me...

You raid?

UDL turned TBH turned UDL turned EPSA

#Bi-Gameplayer

[Milograd]

Sorry double post...anyway, regarding conclave stuff, I actually thought Treize shouldve stayed in the election for more than one day.

What if Treize had become CotB and Durk ended up leading the UDL?

Hypotheticals are awesome.

[Tano]

Sorry double post...anyway, regarding conclave stuff, I actually thought Treize shouldve stayed in the election for more than one day.

What if Treize had become CotB and Durk ended up leading the UDL?

Hypotheticals are awesome.

Whu...whu...

[Milograd]

What if Treize had become CotB and Durk ended up leading the UDL?

Hypotheticals are awesome.

Whu...whu...

Fuck yeah, dude. It would've been hardcore.

[PrussianEmpire]

Sorry double post...anyway, regarding conclave stuff, I actually thought Treize shouldve stayed in the election for more than one day.

What if Treize had become CotB and Durk ended up leading the UDL?

Hypotheticals are awesome.

LOL that'd be...interesting

[Milograd]

What if Treize had become CotB and Durk ended up leading the UDL?

Hypotheticals are awesome.

LOL that'd be...interesting

The truly ironic thing is that he'd have just as much power as he would within any of his rogue regimes.

[Solm]

To be honest, I'd still vote for Treize if I could

[Mahaj]

THE NEW TESTAMENT


ACT II
Our Savior’s Temptation and his Glorious Redemption

Deep in the Brachycardian Caves, where defenders, fallen from grace, went to die; Unibot climbed up a rocky shaft, moving the earth and disturbing the skulls in his wake as our exiled savior climbed through the channel for his chance at redemption.

He had been sent here upon quitting The Alliance; they had not voted to impeach him from office, but only on condition that he accepted banishment. He accepted and so he appeared here … alive in the catacombs of the fallen heroes, but for how long, you ask?

A question, too, that oft crossed our savior’s worries as well.

Unibot tightly gripped his hands onto the ledge of carbonate rock and pulled himself into the dark chamber of the caverns, therein the chamber of stalactites lay row upon row, a thousand tombstones of varied sizes. The Red Factions, Democratic Donkeys, Caras Way, Ostendt and Florence Marie… were among many of the names on the tombstones that Unibot saw as he walked through the chamber towards the tallest and grandest of the tombstones of them all. There… at the bottom of the tombstone read, “UNI___T”, with some of the letters covered in mud and grime.

But how could this be? Is our savior already dead? More mysteries left unresolved.

But then, in an unearthly act of intervention, a man appeared behind Unibot; he spoke with a dark tongue and wore a cloak of shadows that dripped of blood.

“You do not need to die here… this does need to be your fate,” said the devil.

“Who are you? What is your name… I beseech you, fiend, tell me your name!!” said Unibot, turning around to address the cloaked man.

“I possess many names… Hades… Diablos… Asgarn… and many more,” said the shadow-bearer, “I offer you a deal… which you could accept or you could decline”.

“What is this offer you speak of?” said Unibot.

“Die here in the tombs of the exiled or live on the surface as the vessel of my return,” said the dark figure, pointing upwards, toward the cavernous ceiling. “I need a form to take and you need salvation… it is a most fair proposal”.

“No,” said Unibot.

“Why not, young defender?”

“Because I shalt not betray the light, I shalt not betray my calling and if this were not enough: Ostendt was never banished from defenderdom,” said Unibot defiantly.

Our hero turned around and wiped his hand across the great tombstone before him; he cleaned the grime off its granite enough to see the tombstone’s name more clearly: “UNISTRUT”.

“A glimpse of cleverness for a fool,” said the shadowed ghoul with a bitter tone, “but what of Ostendt?”

The savior ran towards Ostendt’s gravestone and gave it not a thought of mercy as he shattered it into pieces of a thousand with a kick from his foot. The phantom withered and faded into the darkness with the shattered gravestone, but a gateway appeared: a slab of rock slid away to reveal a long, treacherous stairway towards the surface which our savior would climb.

Upwards and onwards, he thought. Upwards and onwards, he always thought.

At the top of the staircase, the messiah emerged into the glorious periwinkle sky at the top of Mount Arden. Ruins of Randaroh were sprawled across the mountain, which our hero scanned past as he spun around and sought after some sense of direction. If he was correct, the eternal column of smoke to the west marked two miles past nowhere, the cornerstone of Powell’s path to civilization, which meant to his south-east stood The Neverwheres… the marked passing of all creation… the barren end of the map… a desert which, for one reason or another, called to him with divine majesty.

* * *

For forty days and forty nights, the valiant savior walked barefoot through the sands that never were, through the desert that no gameplayer was meant to cross. But on the fortieth day, he came across a travelling theatre troupe of thespians in their pageant wagon.

“Oi! Who ar you, mister?” asked one of the thespians.

“I am Unibot… banished defender of the holy land, who are you?” said Unibot.

“We’re roleplayers o’ course … ain’t we all?” said another fellow of the troupe.

“Roleplayers? I know not what you speak of, good sir,” said the defender. “I was under the impression this was the land of the neverwhere”.

“Well now, tat ain’t very right. You’re som’ere betwixt Gholgoth and thee Realm of Unrestricted Science… off to the next show, eh?” said the thespian holding the reins over the wagon’s horses.

The savior was introduced to many of the roleplayers, Carta, Solm, Saint George, Zwangzug, Delaclava and New Hornopolis, among others. As Unibot walked alongside their pageant wagon, he came to find them to be a curious band of jovial men, but what of their tights?

“May I ask, good men, why you wear those green tights?” said Unibot.

“Because we’re getting ready to perform the tale of Robyn Hode,” said Solm.

“Also, ‘ere comfy,” added Saint George.

As it was explained to him, Robyn Hode was a fabled hero, who fought oppression and injustice alongside his merrymen. Unibot nodded and continued to follow their wagon.

“What if I knew of towns beyond these lands where invaders burnt villages and soiled homes? If you could spare some time, I could train you all as I was once before… so you could fight in the forests of defenderdom as real Robyn Hodes of Yore,” offered Unibot.

The roleplayers… they accepted and the direction of the pageant wagon changed course – onward to the northern front of the neverwheres, their most direct route to defenderdom. The travelling thespians gave our savior his pair of tights and in return, he gave them his stories and his wisdom, the teachings of Ostendt passed down through the ages from mentors and old wise men. These were the lessons of The Innominate, told best over campfire and a hearty wine.

The pageant wagon traversed the desert to the waterlocked cities of Port Thel and the inner core of Lemuria, where it crossed paths with the public hanging of one, Flemingovia. The gallows were calling to Flemingovia as bids were made for his life. He was sentenced with the crime of paganism; Flemingovia had led many villagers of the land to believe he was their god of worship – but this had all been for naught.

The auction for Flemingovia began at the offer of two shillings, but that price rose quickly between the slavers and the seething underbelly, who lived nigh the darkly gallows. Unibot, our savior, made a bid for Flemingovia’s life and he continued to raise his offer, against competition from a cloaked traveler, foreboding and enigmatic. At the price of twenty gold florins, Flemingovia was bought by Unibot, arousing much astonishment from the crowd. Our savior would explain to the false god that he was to be set free, but invited him to join his band of merrymen to fight oppression and injustice across the land. Flemingovia agreed.

It was then the cloaked traveler moved forward and lowered his hood to reveal himself as good, wise Eluvatar of The North.

“You speak of yourself as defenders,” said Eluvatar, “but I was not aware of defenders in these lands”.

“There are always defenders where help is needed, kind nobleman,” said Unibot.

“I am in need of your spirit and will,” said Eluvatar, “Taijitu needs to be refounded; if you would be so gentle and good as to help me refound it so, I would join you and your men to fight for the cause of justice”.

And so it followed, the greenwood band would help the nobleman refound the two parts of ying and yang. Much adventure and mischief lay ahead for those kind and daring merrymen.

[Alyekra]

Hail!

You wrote these remarkably quickly.

[Soviet Canuckistan]

Hail!

[The Blaatschapen]

Nice.

Though I'm a bit sad that Ostendts gravestone was destroyed

What happened to that old defender anyway?

*summons Riemst*

[Feux]

This. This is entertaining.

[South Pacific Belschaft]

Entertaining, yes. An accurate account of the UDL's origins, no. In late 2012/early 2013 Unibot heavily promoted the foundational myth of the UDL as a rag-tag group of RPers, but in reality it was largely made up of defected FRA members at the beginning. Roughly a third of the FRA's update strength left with Unibot when the UDL was set up, as well as the majority of its piler force (which was heavily drawn from EID at the time). The major sources of UDL manpower in 2011 were, beyond the initial wave of FRA defections, Dharma, The South, retired defenders from the Dutch Mafia, and reformed moderate raiders/Europeians - Earth and Oliver being two prominent ones who come to mind. UDL also benefited from a large number of TITO and E-Army 'advisers' who provided significant help in establishing the organisation. Roleplayers did later form a significant element in the UDL, but were not the key element in it's foundation. They didn't really come to the fore of the organisation until the second half of 2012, when most of the initial Lt.s corp of the UDL - which was heavily weighted towards ex-FRA/Dutch Mafia - had split with Unibot and the UDL for a variety of reasons.

[Charax]

Sorry double post...anyway, regarding conclave stuff, I actually thought Treize shouldve stayed in the election for more than one day.

What if Treize had become CotB and Durk ended up leading the UDL?

Hypotheticals are awesome.

Methinks a Durk-lead UDL would be fabulous. I'd re-enlist. o7

[The Dourian Embassy]

True, it backfired on me, in the end. Should have fought for Cormac to win CotB.

I went with Cormac originally cause I knew for certain he'd never stick around and they'd eventually need a new chief(thus making UDL a backup of sorts for me if I lost in the special election in Osiris). My whole campaign was just a demonstration for Madjack, so that he'd resign and let me take over as Pharoah. That said, if I'd actually decided to stick around in that election, I do not know how it'd've ended up. A lot of folks had said they'd have voted for me(and a few people were pretty strong supporters), so I really couldn't tell ya. I think I was only in it for what, one or two ballots?

Could you imagine having a chief that absolutely detests R/D and doesn't believe that "natives" exist? It would probably have been as bad as a Cormac led UDL(for different reasons), only I'd have stuck around for a lot longer.

[Glen-Rhodes]

I'm pretty sure I supported Douria while he was on the ballot. The alternatives weren't all that great, either. There was one candidate that would have permanently destroyed GCR relations. One that just screwed up midway through. Then you had Cormac. Mahaj was just kind of floating in the background until the last few ballots. Douria and Cormac actually had fairly decent platforms, if I recall correctly. Just goes to show how skeptical you have to be about leaders now.

[Cormac A Stark]

I still would have been a better Chief of the Band than Mahaj. Just sayin'.